Chapter 6: Lance and Blade

Director Hashiyama gritted his teeth at the current situation.

"What is the progress of the enemy?"

"They are hacking into and siezing control of more and more systems. At this rate, the Kurogamis will gain control of many areas in the city, and possibly sieze control of the city itself".

"Impossible. We considered their interference and prepared!"

"It appears they have improved their magecraft since then. Even with the prototype in our possession, these are new methods. Their magecraft is spreading like a living virus on the internet throughout the city".

Hashiyama gritted his teeth, frustrated. Their base had extra protections, so at least for now they should be fine, but this was not a part of their calculations. They had intended to be fully control of thee city and use that advantage, but it was already being ripped right from them.

"Sir, we have spotted among their agents scouring the city right now, Archer Class Servant Gilgamesh is present!"

"What?!"

"According to that computer" his second in command stated, immediately drawing his attention. "Its very likely the moment they learn of the location of our base, Gilgamesh will strike it with his Noble Phantasms".

"Tsk. Fine then, we are deploying. Lets go, Saber".

"Gilgamesh huh? This should be fun".

"Sir, you know this is very likely a trap to lure us out".

"Yes, but if we don't stop Saber, and they learn of our base and expose it, things might get worse. We cant risk that, and we can't let them keep the initiative".

With those words, he and his forces proceeded to move out.

Kuro and Shiro hid behind some crates, as they watched various people in suits go by.

"Sheesh, what did I do to warrant this level of activity?"

"Your sister is a sick, twisted person".

"Yeah, she is".

The two boys had taken cover to evade them, but it was only a matter of time at this rate until they were found.

"The moment we engage a group, all the others will probably notice and flock to us. Not to mention enemy masters and servants, if they are not already aware".

Kuro had a hard time believing his sister could deploy all these resources unnoticed. Undoubtedly, the other masters and servants were watching the situation to see what happened.

Shiro quickly pulled Kuro away, holding a cloth around them both as Kuro got sandwiched between him and a wall. As they did, a golden haired man just passed the alley they were hiding in, keeping watch.

"...Archer..."

Gilgamesh himself was out as well. Shiro seemed quite worried, and annoyed.

"Shiro?"

"We are pulling back, we cant deal with this many".

The two decided on pulling back, using the concealing cloth to help them sneak out.

"Its quite impressive you have something like this though".

"Not really. That guy has something similar, possibly even better" Shiro muttered, as they made it out of the alley on the other side. There were still plenty of people crawling around, but there was at least no servant around. There were still plenty crawling around, so they didn't have much choice to keep avoiding them and keep up the concealment.

The entire city was a powder keg at the moment, and Kuro knew they couldn't fight in the open street. He wasn't sure if Archer or his sister cared though, if Archer was out already. However, something about this bothered them both.

Would Archer really be out so blatantly for them?

"I think something else is going on here. They are after you for sure, but thats not just it".

"You think she is trying to lure someone out?"

"This show of force, displaying control of the city in a flashy way...I think something else is going on here"

The two tried to get off the street, however the moment they tried, they somehow found themselves turned around all of a sudden.

"A barrier?"

Kuro made a guess, but Shiro shook his head.

"This is something else...a Reality Marble maybe? It seems to be of that nature...!"

Shiro immediately looked around, and braceed himself.

"The people, the civilians...have all disappeared".

As Kuro looked around, Shiro suddenly took a shield out of his pocket and blocked an attack, a beam of light.

"Well now, it appears to be all I have found is some kids" a woman's voice said, dissatisfied. Wielding a lance, she seemed to have cornered the two of them. "Still, clearly the blonde haired brat has some skill. That shield is a Noble Phantasm right? The fact it could deflect my attack is quite impressive, although as expected it still took some damage".

"Lancer...how interesting" Shiro muttered. "Master, get somewhere safe".

"As my master has ordered, I will be taking out any masters and servants I encounter" she said, although she looked a bit begrudging when she said it. She charged right forward, lance in hand. And yet the moment she got close, chains shot out of the shadows and wrapped around her, stopping her charge and restraining her as Shiro took out a weapon. However, for some reason no one could actually see it, it was kept hidden.

"I wont make it so easy for you!" he said, charging forward and opening with a powerful slash. Lancer managed to use their lance to repel the chains, but the sword went right through that to attack directly, causing her to block with the lance. She was still pushed back, but only took a bit of damage.

"Well now, you may look like a brat, but with that you definitely qualify as a Heroic Spirit".

Lancer and Shiro charged forward, clashing weapons against each other and fighting each other with great speed and power. Their weapons radiated with such power that the area around them received damage with every clash, and neither side looked like they were taking any damage.

The battle inside the isolated space had begun.

At the same time, there was another showdown happening in another isolated space.

"What an interesting trick you have prepared. I take it your master is the mongrel that has decided to try and steal my treasure, Saber?" Archer said as he faced a woman with a sword in front of him. She almost felt familiar to him, but it was hard to place.

"Your treasure? Don't make me laugh. Your nothing more then a one trick pony. I had intended to let you go and finish off some of my work for me, but it seems you have forced my hand".

"It seems you have quite the impertinence to you. Therefore, I shall show you the brilliance of a true king" Gilgamesh stated, as the Gates of Babylon opened behind him. Noble Phantasms of all sorts were launched at her. However, despite the fact she stayed completely still, not a single one hit her.

"It appears you have quite the weak connection to your so called treasures. They like me far more then you" she stated, as she raised her sword. The noble phantasms that had been fired raised up and pointed themselves back at Gilgamesh, to his surprise. They were all launched right at him, but he drew a new weapon into his hands and knocked them all away, sending them back into Babylon.

"You are quite the wretched mongrel indeed, to think you have permission to command my treasures and leacture me" he said, as he held a lance in his hand. A blast of energy was fired from it, and this time Saber was forced to dodge...right as a Gate of Babylon opened behind her and pierced her from behind. However, she pulled the sword out, her wounds regenerating as she launched it back at Gilgamesh. He blocked it with his lance, watching her regenerate.

At this point, he already had a good idea of her powers and abilities.

"I see. It seems like I will need to break that sword".

Saber was shocked for a moment.

Did he see through everything and figure it out already? With that encounter? As expected, we must finish him now.

"Can you defeat me without your Gates of Babylon?"

"Hmmf. You seem to have made a fundamental mistake".

As he said that, hundreds of gates opened up behind him, behind her, all around them.

Immediately, a barrage of Noble Phantasms came down on her, with everything coming from all sides. At the same time, Ggilgamesh raised his lance. "Ea, feast!"

Lightning came down from the sky. All of these attacks at once, Saber was forced to try and dodge and block some of them, while others seemed to almost hilariously veer off course, and others hit each other. However, she still got a cut here and there, and some came far too dangerously close.

Yes, it was a sheer capacity that even she had difficulty with.

"As I thought, you are truly a mongrel to think you could possibly keep up with all my treasure" he muttered, but as the lightning came down to strike again several Noble Phantasms intercepted the bolts. This caused him a bit of surprise.

"You shouldn't go underestimating me" a voice said from behind, causing Gilgamesh to quickly turn and block the slash. He had just barely sensed her presence in time.

The weapons he had once used against her were now coming back at him, as she launcher her own attacks against him in a rather brutal fashion.

Furthermore, Gilgamesh could feel his ability to use Ea against her worsen every time they clashed blades. It was as if the essence of the weapon itself did not wish to fight her...or rather, her blade.

"I see...I think I understand now. What a surprise though, to fight a Primordial Being in a place like this" Gilgamesh muttered as he floated up above her.

"Tsk".

"I can roughly figure out your true name. If so though, I must say, this is quite the farce. You are not just some fake, you are something else entirely".

He launched another powerful energy blast at her, which she was forced to block this time. However, this one ended up being far more powerful. In addition, when the gates of Babylon opened around her and attacked, her ability to control the weapons seemed to have diminished.

"Rejoice in the fact you have made my Master use a Command Spell against you".

The Command Spell had apparently strengthened their magic and also was repelling Saber's ability to control their weapons, resulting in her taking far more damage. She didn't mind, but she in fact was forced to take quite a few that aimed for her sword, to prevent it from behind destroyed.

At the same time as these two powerhouses were clashing, Shiro and Lancer were at each other's throats in a great battle. Just like between Archer and Saber, one side used a sword, and the other used a Lance.

Their overall battle had not changed too much, both of them were still clashing against each other with their weapons. However, this made Lancer look at the invisible blade quite cautiously.

"Your weapon is on par with a holy weapon. The way you keep it invisible, perhaps...Excalibur? With blonde hair, a child version of King Arthur, is it?"

Shiro said nothing, but his eyes narrowed and he bit his lip.

"Seems like I might be onto something. I would have prefered to fight your adult self, but oh well! The Holy Lance or the Holy Sword, let us see which one prevails!"

As she said that, suddenly the Lance glowed with a great deal of energy right as the two weapons clashed again. This surprisedd Shiro, but also Lancer as well, as Shiro was blasted back.

Was that a command spell? They got us!

Shiro was able to get back up easily, still holding his sword. Lancer was about to charge forward again, her weapon still glowing bright. As she charged forward...that was when it happened.

She was forced to quickly stop her attack and block as two blades tried to find their way into her back.

She clashed blades as well with another boy, clad in dark colors, who seemed to appear from nowhere for her.

"What is this, another child?"

"You regret something, don't you aunty?" Assassin muttered in her ear, somehow behind her now. "You regret something so terrible and awful".

"How do you..."

"I can see it, the trouble in your heart. The darkness growing inside of it. Would you like to finally take control of it, rather then being controlled by it?"

"T-take control of it?"

"Yes. You can sense I am truthful, cant you? If you embrace it, consume it, it wont trouble you anymore".

The boy bent his bare knees, standing on a streetlamp above her.

"So, want to take control and no longer be burdened by the darkness hanging over us".

As he said those words, for a moment she hesitated. She couldn't decide. However, her weapon, still under the influence of the Command Spell, suddenly moved on its own and attacked him, snapping her out of it.

"Tsk" Assassin clicked his tongue as he jumped back. The moment that happened, Lancer was back to where she was before she heard the voice, when she juust blocked the attacks. Kuro and Shiro seemed a bit surprised.

Shiro, was that just now...

"Yeah, that was Assassin. I am not sure what he did, but it seems Lancer was saved by the Command Spell still in effect on her weapon. It was strange though, I could barely feel or notice it. I still don't even know how they noticed us when we were concealed".

They tried to take the chance to take out Lancer as well, but a barrier emerged and launched them back. Furthermore, both Lancer and Assassin suddenly launched an attack on Shiro.

"With a Command Spell, Shiro, fortify yourself and counter the attacks!"

Shiro quickly acted, his resistance increased and recovering his damage, and immediately countering the attacks made on them. Assassin quickly disappeared again, but the chains restrained him. At least, that was what Shiro thought, but he vanished once more, with the chains falling to the ground.

Lancer took some damage from the counter, plus the mental damage from Assassin's attack earlier, so she retreated as well. The Command Spell seemed to be wearing off anyways.

"So, that is the 8th Master" Velvet muttered, having had Flat set something up so they could watch remotely. Somehow though, instead of a projection, he had it displayingg on a TV screen in their base as he prepared some other things. "The 8th Servant though, will it be easy or hard to figure out his identity?"

"Eh, I thought Lancer deduced it already?"

"Its not quitte that simple..."

"Wait, you faked a reaction. So you aren't King Arthur?" Kuro asked.

"False information can be quite a powerful weapon, as can deception".

"Then that sword..."

"Well, who can say?" Shiro said, as the sword disappeared. It seemed they had been released from the isolated space thanks to that battle, so they were making their escape while Saber and Archer were busy with each other.

"...how do I know you are not lying to me? You still have not told me your true name, or your class. Although, I can roughly guess at this point".

"Just dont say it aloud. You never know who might be listening" Shiro mentioned, as the two made their way to safety. Shiro made a new expression however. "So that was assassin huh? I wonder if I knew him in my previous life..."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is...something about him seemed familiar, but only vaguely. But this is the first time we encountered assassin, so he might be someone I knew from my time".

"You knew an assassin?"

"...you could say that" Shiro muttered, as they further went into hiding.

At the same time, Archer and Saber's fight had reached a bit of a stalemate. In the beginning, Saber had the advantage, but strengthened by a Command Spell, it was now Archer who had the upper hand.

Is this really all from one Command Spell, that we have been cornered this much?

Hashiyama wondered that as he watched the battle.

"Very well. Saber, with a Command Spell, use your power to its fullest!"

Saber suddenly held up her sword into the air, and invoked some sort of power from it. The moment that happened, Gilgamesh felt strange suddenly, and nearly collapsed right then and there. It was clear whatever Saber had just done or tried to do, it hurt like hell and was having an effect on Archer. His golden armor sparkled, and some sort of Noble Phantasm seemed to activate to help resist, but this time the ability was empowered with a Command Spell. It wasn't ggoing to be shrugged off so easily like last time.

Archer's master suddenly felt her connection to Archer was in grave danger.

"What? Is it trying to sever our bond? This ability...is quite troublesome. Archer, with a Command Spell, I order you to return" she said, recalling Archer out of the fight before whatever Sager was trying to do was finished.

Saber, who was now alone, sighed.

"Archer has retreated, Master. It appears his master realized what was going on and decided to stop it before we could succeed".

"Oh well, it should still have had some level of effect, and we made her use a Command Spell again. Still, they know more about our abilities now. I didn't realize you had a limit".

"Neither did I. I doubt anyone but Gilgamesh could make me reach it".

"How troublesome. However, his master should be down to a single Command Spell, so they shouldn't be able to so freely challenge us as an equal. After all, you could say you are Gilgamesh's natural enemy".

He then turned to the others in the van.

"And? How was Lancer versus the Unknown Servant?"

"Lancer retreated after Assassin showed up and attacked them both. Assassin retreated as well, and the 8th Servant and his master escaped. However, we confirmed he used a weapon that was on par with The Holy Lance, so he seems to be a weapon based class".

"Good. The Holy Weapons with their divine aspects might be difficult for Saber to control, but we should still have the advantage".

He went over and watched the images, and then looked a bit shocked.

"A chain user as well?"

"It appeears so".

"So Assassin, 8th, and 8th's master are all children. Peculiar, but not unheard of. However, did we get any match on their profile and abilities?"

"Nothing from mythology on any of them, although there are suspicions for the 8th Servant. It appears he might be a child version of King Arthur. We cant be sure though, but it's possible he might actually be a she. Possibly Assassin too for that matter. However, the Master we identified as Kuro Kurogami, the younger brother to Ayumi Kurogami, Master of Archer".

"If I recall, she has made moves to have him killed as soon as possible. So I guess unless that is all an act, they might not be working together. Still, if he is from that family, it's possible he is the one to hacked into our hijacking of the Grail War system in Fuyuki, and is responsible for that surge".

"Their Magecraft is uniquely suited to such a task. In that case, he might have prepared other surprises. He might be a child, but if he is desperate...then it's quite possible that he has gone through incredible lengths to get what he desires".

Hashiyama then looked at Assassin this time, finally having an image of him, even if it was a bit blurry.

"...is this image getting blurrier?"

"Yes, sir".

"I suppose that fits for an Assassin. Still, that ability of his...its quite dangerous. I don't know what he did, but it seemed he was able to make it so that Lancer collapsed. And no one but the victim seems to be able to see or experience it. An Assassin indeed".

Armed with this new information, Hashiyama started to prepare his next move.