I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Dances With Shadows

The dulled clink of metal and ice continued as the two Servants fought. One fought more defensively, the other pushed to win.

"Will you-" shouted Rider as he deflected another slash, spinning to send a counter, "- give me-" Quickly raising his guard to block an aerial strike after Lancer jumped over his polearm and after a slight tap on the blade with her foot, she twisted in the air, the momentum making the strike heavier, "-a chance-" Without missing a beat, she spun round the other way and kicked the pole, pushing him back and sending him off his feet. A somersault later, he was back on the ground, still on the defensive, "-to freaking explain!"

Lancer had no reply. The ground under her glowed faintly white before she ran straight at him. Blocking two wide arcing slashes, he blocked another that arced down. "I know the Lancer class is for fast people but this is ridiculous!" he shouted mentally, "What the-" Lancer continued with her onslaught, spinning and doing the same downward slash. He could see the diamond hard ice slowly getting chipped away. Was that a crack in the metal base? He couldn't tell. With a yell, he deflected the latest slash and started attacking wildly as he moved forward, hoping to throw her off her game. For a moment, he was able to gain some ground. Then, she began matching him stroke for stroke. Wherever he swung, her spear was there to meet it. As if she knew exactly where it was going to go.

Suddenly, she stepped back and thrust her spear. He easily caught it with the pole. She followed up with a series of jabs, each one without meeting flesh. "What is she doing now?" he pondered warily. An upward slash, followed by a downward one. And then he caught it. That minute little hum. She spun and another downward was sent his way. This time, he could hear it a little more clearly. "The spear point?" he realized in surprise, "But what..." Lancer's pace increased; stab to the left, jab to the right, and another down slash. The hum seemed a little louder now.

"Hmph."

That was all he heard from her as she swung wide. He expected his weapon to still hold, but to think the spear broke through the shaft; the blade traveled unhindered as it went across his chest, cutting his clothes and leaving a clean cut hole. As such, he was still in shock when Lancer kicked him. He crashed into a tree, hunched over and clutching the two pieces of his broken weapon in his hands. "...Damn... that was close," he muttered, thankful that he hadn't suffered anything serious yet. He straightened up, the tree slowly toppling over behind him. Lancer seemed to take it as her cue to continue attacking.

He threw the two pieces at the charging Servant, one after another. She smashed them aside with her spear. He leaped at her, fist reared back. She stopped and jumped back. He punched the ground; the ground broke, a large spider web of cracks spread out from the impact site, bits of earth and dust going airborne. He got up, careful to keep an eye on her. She didn't seem to be moving. Who knows what her reaction was under that mask...

He ducked down, narrowly avoiding the thrown spear. Thrown spear? "Is this a trick?" he wondered, still remembering how the spear returned to her hand, "Still... a chance!" He kicked off the ground, knowing she was definitely still in range. His hand reared back, feeling the power he was putting in this punch, hoping to stun her or maybe even knock her out. He had to get Lancer and her Master to at least listen to what they dug up.

She raised a hand and much to his shock, lightning surged out, jumping out of the tips of her fingers and at his whole upper body. He yelled in pain as he descended, crashing to the ground, totally unprepared for this.

A shadowy hand reached out, the shape becoming thin and streamlined as the shadow puppet swiped in front of it. Avenger back flipped away and threw out his weapon, the throwing star arcing upwards and behind before returning to his hand. He then burst into a puff of smoke just as a lance of black rock tried to impale him. The long shadow fell to pieces as the puppet retracted its hand. It slowly became bulkier, the body gaining a bit more mass; oddly shaped spikes started jutting out its shoulders, its shins and the sides of its hips.

"Where did you learn such a thing?" asked Saber with narrowed eyes.

"Eh? Saber..."

"I... don't know how to describe him... or it..." stated Sakura calmly as she watched her shadow puppet fight, neatly interrupting Shirou's admonishment, "At least it sounded like a 'he'. He said he was searching for someone to teach and that I was suitable. I... didn't want to learn, at first."

Avenger began swaying. Suddenly, copies of him began breaking off him and circled the puppet. It motioned its arms up in beckoning; streams of darkness spun around it, collecting around its body, arms and legs, as if forming armor around it. Just in the nick of time.

"He was adamant and very persistent. Eventually, I humored it and did as he asked, since he didn't seem to be reacting violently towards me," she continued, both Shirou and Saber listening intently, "I didn't know that time, but what I learned did protect me in the future."

All the shadows converged on the puppet. It slammed the ground, sending out large thick spikes around it, impaling all but one. All the Avenger copies broke up into smoke while the real one landed on the puppet's head with a hard stomp with both feet. Leaping off its head, he disappeared, only for a dark portal to open underneath it. He came shooting out, weapon brandished.

"After that, I continued to learn out of gratitude. He finished teaching me just before I summoned Assassin," the violet haired magus stated as she turned to face the red head with a smile, "And now, I have a chance to help you, Senpai. With these same skills, no less."

The blades were dragged up through the chest. And yet, it didn't break; instead, it was still able to let loose an uppercut which struck Avenger's body, who tumbled to the ground. It then raised a palm to head level for a second or so, a spiked ball appearing over its shoulder. The ball split into six, each becoming round and spiked, each one zoomed straight at Avenger, one after the other. Taking a short leap forward, it's leg shot out, the shadow suddenly growing out to spear length and striking the shoulder. Stunned, the Servant was unable to stop a shoulder tackle, followed by a stab to the gut. It then stomped the ground twice; each time a large outcropping would strike the Servant from behind and push him back towards it. Another shoulder tackle followed and this time, it struck him in the head with both arms, one after the other. Immediately after, it tackled him again. But this time, it was different; the second its shoulder hit, the shadow suddenly began to peel back and a copy was launched out in a similar position. The original broke away into bits and pieces, with the new puppet striking Avenger. The process continued for four more times. Then, it sunk into the ground, into the shadow. Instantly, five copies of itself were launched upwards one after the other, uppercutting his jaw. The final copy then stopped the counter attack and observed as the Servant crashed to the ground in a daze.

Shirou couldn't believe it. "That thing... beat a Servant?" he muttered in shock. Saber merely looked on, not letting her guard down. Sakura stopped smiling and turned back to the fight, staring intently at Avenger, who slowly got off the ground. He let out a chuckle and ran forward.

The shadow puppet lifted a hand and clenched it; a shadow copy of itself shot up from under the Servant and punched him, but it merely went through the now disappearing copy. Avenger was back in his original position. He ran forward again. A similar thing happened; the shadow kept doing the move and Avenger would continue with his illusions. Several times, the exchange continued when finally when two illusions came up, on after the other. The former charged forward while the latter leaped over. The one on the ground vanished; the one in the air slashed, the blades running from head to chest. Seemingly stunned, the shadow couldn't do anything to fight back while the Servant continued to slash away at it. The onslaught ended when Avenger grabbed it by the throat; the throwing star was dragged across, swiftly cut through it all. The puppet fell backwards and shattered to pieces the moment it touched the ground.

"Kagaribi!" the Servant howled in victory.

Shirou took an involuntary step back, tensing up now that the shadow had expired. The others on his side kept their cool and looked to Caster, awaiting her reaction.

"Stand down Avenger, that's enough for now," ordered the Servant with a smirk, clearly impressed with her summon's performance. "I suppose you can leave with your friends. My curiosity is sated for now," she announced to them, earning her a grateful look from the more polite one.

"Thank you, Caster," replied Sakura with a polite bow. Turning around to walk away, she said to the red head, "Senpai, let's go." Assassin faded out as he turned after her. Shirou and Saber followed after, sparing a glance behind them at the duo, knowing fully who were the victors of the little skirmish.

Caster sighed and commanded, "Avenger. Keep yourself invisible at all times. Only reveal yourself if I'm in extreme danger." She then went back into the temple without sparing him a second glance, heading straight for her room.

"I am surprised that you didn't send him to take them out while their guard was down," a voice stated behind her as she slid the doors open.

"So you were watching?" she asked, wondering what insights Kuzuki had to offer as turned around to face him, "I remember you saying that you are a teacher. I thought teachers here cared for their students."

"I may be a teacher, but the job itself has no meaning," he revealed to her, "If you do kill them, to me, that only means they reap the consequences of staying out past the proper time on a school day."

"I see..." she hummed with a better understanding of her Master, "Perhaps I might... but not today. For now, I do not mind letting them live. Still, that annoying little boy. Tell me what you know about him, Master..."

The smoke billowed to the side as the enforcer shot through the obscuring cloud, taking Luvia by surprise. Still, she was still aware enough to take her on, Reinforcing her body beforehand. Fists, legs, and palms collide as she deftly blocked a few punches and kicks, slowly maneuvering herself into a better position. What she didn't expect was how powerful those punches and kicks were. They were wearing her down faster than she would have liked. Grabbing the latest kick, she pulled Bazett in and grabbed her by the waist, following up with slamming her to the ground. She got a punch to the head for her troubles, the force of it lifting her up into the air above the enforcer, who then kicked her to the side. She traveled a bit before crashing into a tree.

"You would do well to surrender your Command Seals to me," said the enforcer as she stood tall, adjusting the gloves on her hands. Luvia said nothing, but got to her feet as well. "So be it," continued the enforcer with finality before she dashed forward, intending to end it.

Just as the fist was about to reach her head, the blonde ducked, the attack crashing against the tree; the plant broke and splintered, tumbling backward. She quickly dashed forward, going round her attacker and grabbing her by the waist. She lifted the enforcer up and bent over backwards, slamming her opponent headfirst to the ground. The ground sunk and cracked, the spider web of cracks spreading out around them. Letting go, she quickly scrambled away and onto her feet. There was no way the enforcer would go down that easily...

She froze. In front of her was a figure. A fully black figure, as if it was wrapped in a cloak of darkness, staring at her with faintly glowing red eyes.

"It seems you seem to be on the verge of defeat. Allow me to make it a more permanent feature for you..."

The voice sent a chill down her spine. There was something... something about it that unnerved her so. She took a step back, ready to react; she berated herself for somehow getting scared at a time like this, "I was named the heiress to my family. Damn it, why am I feeling this?"

"Step aside, mon-keigh."

The first reaction she had was to throw herself to the side, as if compelled to listen. She could feel... something powerful moving past her at a ludicrous speed as she tumbled on the ground. The following reaction was...

"Who the hell called me a monkey!?" she raged inwardly with indignation.

A hiss of pain came from the shadowy figure, prompting her to look. Much to her surprise, it was bending forward, the spear that was sticking out of its chest presumably a bit too heavy to support. Slowly, it reached up and pulled it out, letting it fall to the floor as the wound closed up like it was nothing. "It seems I have underestimated that Servant of hers," it said as it stared at both Masters, "Is this body somehow affecting me that much? ...No matter, I am out numbered for now. Do not worry, Edelfelt... I will see to you soon enough." The shadow then sank into the ground, disappearing beneath the earth.

"You make some strange enemies, Edelfelt," commented Bazett calmly, even though her clothes looked a little dusty.

"You mon-keigh make enemies so easily," said Lancer as the spear floated up and flew back to her hand, "It is a wonder your kind hasn't died off yet."

Luvia's eyes looked past the Servant to check on hers. Much to her surprise, she spotted him kneeling on one knee while gripping his head. "Rider?" she muttered as questioned raced through her head. Was he defeated? If so... why did Lancer spare him?

The enforcer chose that time to ask, "Why isn't Rider dead?" It seems she noticed that too.

"The mon-keigh spirit's well being is of no consequence," Lancer stated plainly, as if nothing interesting really happened, "I came here to gain information, and so I did. Just as my divination had revealed to me."

"Eh?" she sounded, feeling confused. She noticed the enforcer frowning a little as her face twitched.

"And what was so important that you had to come here?" the Irishwoman questioned, "I assumed that you meant there would be progress in our efforts in the War."

"Merely a suspicion confirmed," started the Servant before moving the attention onto her, "And yet, that is not all that was revealed. I brushed against the spirit's memories when I attacked his mind. Tell me, mon-keigh, what proof do you have that the Grail is corrupted?" The enforcer ceased frowning, now donning a surprised look.

Luvia steeled herself and replied, "I... am not sure. All we have are words of... someone claiming to be a former Servant. I do not know why, but she claims that the Caster of the previous War activated a powerful curse on the Grail the moment he was defeated and killed. My apologies, but that is all I know."

Lancer stared at her before stating, "I sense no deception from you or your words. I shall consider them." With that, she disappeared, shifting to spirit form.

Bazett sighed as she massaged her head and said, "It seems there are more complications than expected. I suppose that was why your Servant wanted to talk. Why hasn't the mediator called for a temporary halt to investigate this?"

"One, the former Archer does not wish for him to get involved," she explained, partly glad that they are finally on talking terms, and part cautious as the enforcer may very well disregard her words and attack, "Two, that damnable priest tried to attack me earlier."

"Kirei? Attack you? That doesn't sound like him," the Irishwoman voiced calmly, but her eyes narrowed slightly, "I worked with him before. There was no way he would attack without provocation nor without orders from his superiors."

"Well, I'm just telling you what I saw," Luvia retorted, "What you do with 'my' information is up to you."

The executor stared at her for a moment before replying, "I would rather meet this 'former Servant' before I make any sort of decision. Is there any way for us to meet?"

"...ugh... I suppose I'll have to ask Tohsaka about this... that is, if she even knows where Officer Mackenzie lives," she mused aloud with a frown, "How would I contact you if this were any way possible?"

"Just have Rider flare up his power," was the immediate response, "That would easily detected, even for a Master."

"Hmm, I suppose..." she muttered as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"If there isn't anything else, I'll take my leave," stated Bazett before walking off. Just as Rider came up to her.

"So... I guess we didn't too bad after all," he summed up quite nicely.

The way back seemed to take a long time. For the two young Masters in particular, it was especially long coupled with the uneasy silence. Both of them seemingly hesitant to talk after they had left the temple. Saber trailed behind slightly, keeping not only quiet, but also a watchful eye on the violet haired girl. The girl's magecraft reminded her too much of Assassin's powers... well, the Assassin from the previous War. It was far too convenient for a shadowy patron to have suddenly appeared and to be wanting to teach her. And then, they suddenly stopped walking.

"Sakura, I..." started Shirou.

"... It's okay, Senpai," she assured softly as she turned to face him with a demure smile, "I already told you that I was happy to help."

"But... I didn't want to drag you into this," he protested weakly, his fists clenched by his side as he took to staring at the road, "I only wanted to see if Issei and his family were alright..."

"Senpai... it's good that you worry for him, but these are dangerous times..." she countered. Then, she tilted her head to one side and asked, "But... who told you Ryuudou-senpai might be in trouble?"

"Er... your brother told me..." he replied as he calmed down, his fists loosening their grip.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Nii-san? But how... is it because of that book?" she wondered aloud, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Yeah. He also told me that there was a Servant at the temple. That's why I was worried for Issei," he explained further as he looked up, "I never expected to be caught by Caster though..."

"... I still feel worried," she admitted after some thought.

"If you're worried about me, then you don't..." he started to assure her but she quickly brushed that notion aside.

"No... I mean I'm worried about what Rin-senpai would say about this," she confessed, giving him a worried look, "What are we going to say? You told us that you would be staying in."

"We tell her the truth," he immediately said.

Sighing, she turned around to keep walking and muttered to herself worriedly, "I was afraid of that."

Shirou stared before walking after her, sounding puzzled by her reaction. Saber turned to take one last look at the temple before trailing after them. This leaves Lancer's location to ascertain. She hoped that maybe, either Rin or Luvia would have found that out, perhaps making it easier to find the last Master and to get that magus to cooperate. She certainly hoped so.

Archer resisted letting loose a sigh for the umpteenth time. Having to return to the house with a rather irate Tohsaka Rin after long hours of scouting, only to find not a soul present in the house... Well, at least he confirmed that his younger person was just as foolish as he remembered himself to be. The only problem was that everything else was different. Mostly everything. Of course, somethings do remain the same...

"Do you sense them yet?" asked Rin through their link. He could imagine her sporting a rather serene and calm smile, yet the atmosphere around her being anything but.

"You do know, Master, that the boy technically didn't lie to you," he pointed out as he spotted the red head in question coming down the lane with Saber... and a few more guests, "Speaking of the boy, he's back."

"Good. I have some very choice words to say to him," she replied, "Please get him here."

He shook his head and shifted to spirit form, sinking down into the roof and drifting towards the front door. Just in time to greet them too.

"Hn, it seems you have some explaining to do, Emiya Shirou," he said, laced with a bit of venom, "My Master is waiting."

"Ah... she's early," the boy muttered. Turning back to Sakura, he said, "Thank you, Sakura, for sending me back. I guess I'll go face Tohsaka now."

"No," she said as she shook her head, "Not alone. I've decided. I'll face her with you, Senpai."

"Eh?" the red head sounded in surprise, "But, won't Shinji..."

"Don't worry, Senpai," she assured him with a smile, "You may not know it, but I have been friends with Tohsaka-senpai for a while now. So... I'm quite sure that she won't be as angry with me around."

"Er... okay..." Shirou replied as he scratched his head.

Watching the both of them head to the living room, Archer was left in a semi bemused state."Sakura seems to be a little braver now," he thought to himself as he went back to his lookout point on the roof, "For once, a good change... maybe... no, he is still chasing after that dream. No matter the change, that fact still remains the same."

"You seem fixated on the boy."

He spun round, Kanshou and Bakuya materializing immediately. A single blade blocked the white sword. His eyes narrowed, glaring first at the black skull. "Why are you here?" he asked as he withdrew, his eyes moving down to analyse the weapon.

"Merely wondering whether the boy is safe under his own roof," was Assassin's reply as he spun his sword on the palm of his hand, the blade collapsing into the handle.

"The boy irked me the moment I met him," Archer explained smoothly, "I only tolerate him because my Master has allied herself with him. I'm pretty sure he dislikes me as well."

They stared at each other for a moment before Assassin said, "Perhaps. I still feel that you are hiding something but... I'll accept your reason... for now." He shifted to spirit form and phased through the roof.

He was all alone on the roof. He sighed in annoyance, wondering what was with all the Servant's in this War. Every weapon used by a Servant should have some discernible history behind it. And yet, he could only grasp Assassin's sword. Berserker's was made of an unknown metal. Rider's was not even a proper weapon at all; at most, one would call it an improvised weapon of sorts. He pushed the exasperation away and called forth the sword the Servant used. He squeezed the handle, the sword unfolding out. A second squeeze retracted it. It was well made and sturdy enough to take on his favored weapons. He dismissed the tracing and once again took watch, all the while contemplating what to do about Emiya Shirou under the pale moonlight.

Commentary:-

EDIT: So, finally got him to check this chapter out. So far, so good. My grateful thanks to him. After this, please check out Mincemaker's Warhammer fic The Bloody Hand. It's set in Warhammer Fantasy and its a good read involving Witch Hunters, Priest of Sigmars and watchmen. Give it a try!

Now... I must admit, this is getting more difficult the further I continue. Yet, trying to come up with new stuff sometimes brings a smile to my face, especially with this Chaos undertone that has been set up in the sequel. However, difficult or not, this ain't gonna stop until the epilogue. And so...

Welcome back, readers, to the newest chapter. In this one, the night is winding down and everyone is getting ready for bed... somewhat. With multiple fights wrapping up, of course. Sakura's first outing? Not too bad, I think. Considering who her teacher was, that shadow puppet should be an even match to a few Servants. If not, it may buy her and anyone else just enough time to retreat. Plus, try and guess which gaming character the shadow emulated. Luvia was able to get Bazett on their side, but Lancer doesn't seem to be interested in them... yet. But, I suppose that's enough about the chapter. Let's get on to something else. Servant Stats. Not quite the expected Servant.

Servant - Avenger

Identity - Basara

Game - Samurai Showdown series

Strength - C
Endurance - C
Agility - B
Mana - E
Luck - C
Noble Phantasm - B

Skills

Disengage - C

Demonic Ghost - A, Avenger is a yurei forcibly brought back to life. Skilled in making use of the shadows and illusions.

Noble Phantasm

The Evil-Doer Destroyer, Executioner's Lament - B. Anti-unit type. A giant triple bladed shuriken hooked to a chain.

Surprise! Avenger first. It may have been expected though. I suppose I somewhat built up for this. Still, the stats are a little threadbare. The Avenger class is supposed to be, well, an anomalous class and the weakest Servant. But here... this Avenger is very, very tricky to fight, as was seen in the previous chapter. Then again... Assassin would probably have no problem fighting him... or a more powerful shadow puppet.

Right, I hope you enjoy reading this latest chapter. Be sure to leave a review when you're done, would you kindly? My thanks.

P.S. Cccccombo breaker!