Chapter 4
A new day goes by as the boys go to school. They do not intend to ditch class because of the Grail War, and Ben needs to be there for his grades. There was an issue of both of their servants wishing to go with them for protection. Unfortunately, that was not an option as they would stick out like a sore thumb and were not students. Ben assured them that if things get rough, he'll Go-Hero and call for them if needed. Saber would be against this, but she has seen Ben's abilities for herself and places her faith in him. The only problem now was explaining the two girls to Taiga and Sakura…
"So what should we do about the girls?" Ben asked as he met up with Shirou in the halls for lunch.
"Well I've been thinking: My father did a lot of travelling and met a lot of people. It's through him I met Taiga so we could say Saber was an acquaintance of his and heard about the issue's in Fuyuki. Travelling here to be my bodyguard and Casko is her assistant." Shirou whispered to Ben his idea. Sounded like the best thing they could give to explain the Saber and Casko suddenly appearing.
Ben nodded, approving the cover story as he did this before Jimmy Jones revealed his identity. The boys continued walking to the Student Council room but ran into Tohsaka herself as she was still attending class like they were.
"Hey", Shirou greeted her, but she just stared at him and Ben before storming off.
Before they turned the corner to the stairway, Ben looked back down the hall to see Tohsaka staring at him to challenge or scare him; he didn't know. However, Ben isn't one to back down and stares back without fear of her before Tohsaka disappears into the crowd of students.
The school day ends, and Tohsaka decides to do some patrols within the city to clear her mind on recent events. She then senses suspicious energies in a nearby office complex and busts the locked side entrance open to investigate.
Undead minions looking for new souls to gather in an office complex walk around its dark halls. Then, a sound similar to a gunshot fired and many fell. Rin was clearing the area of the undead scourges along with Archer, and she walked into a room full of unconscious people.
"Ugh," She covered her face because a noxious gas filled the room. She then checked the bodies and found that some people could be saved while others were too far away.
"Archer open the windows", Rin ordered her servant, and the Archer obeyed. Both of them cleared each floor until they got to the rooftop. Both gazed upon the city while Rin was ticked off as she knew that a Caster Class servant had to be behind this slaughter of innocent life. She had her hands full right now with just her wits and Archer at her side.
"Archer, can you sense the servant that did this?" Rin asked her servant.
"Not anymore unfortunately." Archer admitted
"How are your injuries?" Rin asked.
"I'm So-So," Archer replied.
"Then let go after this servant," Rin suggested.
"Hey, I didn't say I was doing great." Archer quickly gave a proper update on his condition. Rin pouted at this, wanting to end this madness as soon as possible.
"I see. But we can't sit idly by while people are having there mana drained each passing day." The Tohsaka master said.
"Yesh. Why do you go after hard opponents first but let easy targets go?" Archer reminds her of her action of saving Saber and her Master.
"Archer, did you see what Tennyson did to Berserker?" Rin asked to remind him of Ben taking down Berserker once before the titan resurrected.
"I don't know what I saw, but he was also down. " Archer again reminded her of her missed opportunity. Those two were allied in this war, making them a genuine threat to her.
"Casko was also there as well and we don't know what she is capable of. Especially if she is who I am thinking of." Rin said, coming to guess who was Ben's servant as her kitsune appearance narrowed the list of names.
"So what would you do if the other boy was walking around without his servant or, I assume, now his partner?" Archer asked his Master, referring to Shirou.
"Next time, I'll kill him." Rin answered.
It was dinnertime at the Emiya Estate, and of course, Taiga was shocked to find two girls living with them. Sakura was surprised but remained quiet as Taiga was fuming at the situation. Both servants wore civilian clothes to blend in, as they could not go into spirit form. Saber wore a simple white blouse and blue skirt with black stockings, which suited her very well. Thankfully, Tohsaka supplied her with those clothes before she left after learning Saber can't go into spirit form.
Casko, on the other hand, used her Shapeshifting skill to change her clothes into a modern-day look of A pink and white striped hoodie, pink t-shirt, Black shorts and matching stockings. She also had to hide her fox tail and ears into her body as those were a dead giveaway of her being a magical fox girl.
Shirou told the story that he came up with at school to cover both girls: Saber was a friend of his father who came to Fuyuki to protect Shirou after learning of all the murders and gas leaks. Casko was her assistant while on travels, so she was also with them.
That seemed to work as they ate at the table with Saber and Casko sitting beside their Masters.
"SHIROOOUUU. You expect me to believe this!"
Taiga exploded. So much for an easy alibi…
"Ehh uh, Kiritsugu always travelled and met many people, so It made sense he asked someone to protect me if I was in trouble." Shirou reiterated his previous statement to keep with the plan as this was their only and best option.
"It was Kiritsugu's wish. It was agreed upon that I would come to this city if I felt Shirou's life was at risk." Saber said in a straight, challenging tone, which seemed to make Taiga back down on this topic, as this seemed to be what Kiritsugu would do.
"B-but Kirtisugu wouldn't…" Taiga paused, remembering how he would always travel abroad most of the time.
"Ms. Fujimura. I know our arrival was unexpected, and we apologise for that. However, it's not hard to believe Kiritsugu wouldn't have developed this plan. He seemed like a man who cared deeply for his child, correct?" Casko said, getting Taiga's attention.
"Of course! He always made time for Shirou whenever he got home." Taiga calmed down as she thought about the late elder of the Emiya household.
"Then it shouldn't be too hard to understand that Saber is here under his wishes to keep his son safe for the time being." Casko said while taking a bite of dinner as Taiga grumbled to herself silently for a while.
"...Fine…Only because I believe Kiritsugu would go to such lengths for Shirou. He was a loving father, after all." Taiga finally backed down thanks to Casko's expert way with words and getting her food.
"Also, separate rooms! I want no funny business between you and the boys," she added.
"Already dealt with that, Taiga," Shirou said as his home was big enough for both girls to have rooms. Casko saved the day by using her people skills to calm Taiga and made things more manageable now that they were accepted into his home.
As dinner was finished, Ben and Sakura took charge of the cleanup as the others watched the news on the TV.
"Tennyson-senpai?" Sakura whispered as they finished up.
"Yes?" Ben whispered.
"What would you do if...A friend did something bad?" Sakura asked. Ben raised a brow to that question. Still, he thought about this and then of Kevin and all the shady things he did while on their adventures. Some were annoying but with mostly good intentions, while others were completely out of his control.
"I would get angry at first but I would at least give them a second chance since they are my friends." Ben answered, thinking about the time Kevin went out of control again after defeating Ultimate Aggregor.
"Ah...umm...make sense." Sakura accepted her answer and was relieved.
"Sorry to bother you Tennyson-Senpai." Sakura said
"It's okay. If you have a problem it's good to ask your friends for help." Ben smiled, and Sakura blushed a bit
'He just has to be him…' Sakura thought to herself. Dinner finishes and Taiga walks Sakura home to ensure she is safe for the night. Shirou was seeing them out at the entrance while feeling slightly guilty for lying to them.
"Hey Sakura, sorry for not giving you a warning about Saber and Casko." Shirou said to Sakura since she's been quiet at dinner.
"Oh, no problem, Senpai; I was just worried about Taiga being too harsh," Sakura said with a cheerful tone.
Shortly after, Taiga and Sakura went out. Shirou then went to the dining room with the others to discuss their next move. Everyone agreed that since they had no idea where the other masters were hiding, going out on patrol late at night would be the best option. Everyone then decides to head out for an hour to hopefully find some info or run into a servant before they cause any damage…
"So should we split up? We can cover more ground that way," Ben asked.
"No, since I don't have a cell phone. It would be difficult to contact each other if we ran into Berserker." Shirou responded.
"Right, Ilya might be creeping around. Better to stick together with strength in numbers and all that." Ben said, and Shirou nodded in agreement.
"Casko, can you detect if a servant is nearby?" Saber asked.
"Yes, even if they have Presence Concealment, I can sense them a mile away. No pesky assassins will surprise us with me around." Casko started feeling confident in her abilities.
"Good to hear that." Saber then faces the boys.
"I would like to mention if we run into a servant you leave to us. You both shouldn't be fighting on the frontline," Saber stated, recalling the night against the Berserker, and both masters got injured.
"W-what? How can you expect me not to help-" Ben stopped Shirou by touching his shoulder.
"Shirou, she's just worried. You were nearly chopped in half last night. You can imagine how worried she was while you were recovering." Ben said, mediating the situation as he could tell both he and Saber didn't want to see the other hurt.
"But she was…" The image of a bloodied Saber flashed in his head, the trauma still freshly scarred into his soul.
"Hey, I get it. I have those moments of seeing my friends injured lots of times. When that happens you gotta focus and use your head." Ben said.
"And I don't mean a headbutt," Ben added with a smile before speaking to the girls. Leaving Shirou to think about Ben's advice for a moment. He was so worried about Saber that night that he didn't consider his safety. something that conflicted with his ideals of being a hero of justice as he should focus on saving the lives of others rather than himself…But if Ben, an actual living hero, is giving him some advice…Maybe he should listen.
"We get that you two are worried since Berserker caught us by surprise. Now that we have our bearings, Ilya won't get the drop on us again," Ben said, understanding the girl's worries. Shirou had his heart in the right place but needed to learn his role in a fight.
"If we see a Berserker, we retreat. Ilya doesn't seem like the kind of Master to cause trouble for civilians, so we don't worry about her unless we start a fight." Ben said, ensuring every one of the plans and showing his leadership skills.
"That's…Yeah I can agree with that." Shirou calmed down.
"Sorry Saber…I shouldn't have raised my voice." He apologised.
"It's alright Shirou…I understand where you're coming from. It is a noble thing to worry for others." Saber said, accepting the plan.
Casko couldn't help but smile seeing her Master take the role of the leader. His experience increased her admiration of him even if she worried about him fighting.
"Now that we are all on the same page let's get going." Ben said as they all got ready to head out.
"There is a city-wide curfew going on so we are going to have to hide if we see police cars patrolling." Shirou said while bringing one of the practice swords he borrowed from the dojo to practise Reinforcement.
"Right, Casko, you got something for us in case we can't find a hiding spot?" Ben asked as he went through his watch's DNA playlist to see if he got a new alien.
"I can easily keep a stealth spell active while we are patrolling. It will make us invisible to regular people." Casko said with less cheer, but no one seemed to pick up on that. With that, the squad walked through the streets of Fuyuki in the dead of night. They first searched the suburban area surrounding Shirou's home to weed out any nearby threats. Thankfully, there was none to be found. However, Ben didn't like it being too quiet, and they had so much ground to cover.
"Here I have an idea to speed things up since we are covered by Casko's spell." Ben then powered up his watch and went through his playlists.
"I have a form that is really effective at tracking. I don't know if he'll smell magic but it should help cover other ways of detecting trouble." Ben then slammed down on his watch and turned into one of his classic Alien forms: Wildmutt.
The form was a giant, quadruped alien covered with Orange fur. The species was Vulpinmancer, A canine-like alien species that appears to be just an animal, but they are sapient. The furry creatures are furious and, although blind, they are excellent hunters thanks to their sensory hills along their necks.
Wildmutt barked, then realised he forgot to mention he can't talk in this form. He whined in frustration until he felt a hand on his fuzzy head.
"Hmm, blind...But do you have good hearing and a sense of smell? Casko asked as she ran her hand through the Vupinmancer's fur.
Wildmutt nodded.
"And I guess you can't talk either." Casko noticed Ben had yet to say a word.
Wildmutt nodded again.
"Well, It is advantageous to have more ways to sense danger. We should press on." Saber said.
"I agree, even if we don't find anything. That just means no one nearby got hurt tonight." Shirou said he could do more than patrol, even if he wished. But he was trusting Ben since he was more experienced in these things.
As they patrolled most of the neighbourhood, Ben started sniffing and found nothing. Thus, they decided to reach the riverside before returning home at night. They did have some Police cars drive by them, but Casko's spell made the officers not react to them. She said it wasn't invisibility. Instead, it was just making the officers' minds ignore and forget seeing them. Wildmutt kept sniffing about as his servant watched him with a smile. Even if he wasn't a fox like her, she can't help but think he's cute in this form…In its own beastly way, that is.
"I wonder if Master thinks the same about me," Casko's face turned light red when that thought popped into her head. That idea was put on hold when she bumped into Wildmutt, who was halted in his tracks.
"Ben?" Casko asked.
Wildmutt Growled and bolted towards the riverside. Casko refocused her senses and found what her Master was running towards.
"There's a servant." She said, and the group followed both Casko and Ben.
Ben was running with intensity as he picked up a scent, but it wasn't a servant…
It was blood….Lots of blood. The scent trail led him towards the bridge, yet there was nothing. The trail went under the bridge and onto the riverside walkways, opening his sensory gills again. He leaps down and uses a streetlight as a monkey bar to slow his descent before landing in front of what could only be described as…
A blood bath.
Wildmutt opened his jaw in shock as he could smell the overpowering smell of human blood, and no life signs were coming from the bodies. She then senses the monster behind it while they are sucking the blood from her latest victim.
His Vuplinmancer vision showed little detail, but that was optional. This enemy had to be one of the servants draining people of their mana to fuel their power. The shock wears off as the Vulpimancer howled and charged the servant.
The enemy halts their bloodsucking and leaps over the unknown foe. Landing on all forces with weapons in hand. She looks at the creature attacking with curiosity as they have never seen such a creature before. The beast runs at her again, but this time, leaps at them with teeth and claws out.
"Interesting." She said, confirming that they were female as she prepped her weapons.
"Let's see if I can tame you…hehe." She said in a smooth, confident voice.
Ben bolting threw Casko and Sabre off, and were playing catch up. Shirou was embarrassingly held in Saber's arms as he was too slow on foot.
"Damn, Ben's fast as that Alien," Shirou said as Saber leapt from building to building.
"Yes, he should have warned us-" Saber was interrupted by a beast howling.
"Master!" Casko said before running in the direction followed by Saber carrying Shirou.
They managed to reach where Ben howled and saw that he was battling a woman. She was in black attire with pink accents that hugged her womanly form. Her hair was very long purple hair that flowed about with their acrobatic movements. The weapons of her choice appear to be two spikes attached to some chains.
"She's a servant!" Casko confirmed as she cast a firebolt at the enemy. Forcing her off Wildmutt and retreating to the bridge supports above.
"Humpf…Looks like I brought some attention. No matter, I have enough energy to play for a little longer." She said with a devilish grin. Her eyes were hidden by a leather blindfold that matched her hair.
She spots Shirou and bolts at him, seeing him as the Master of one of the masters. Saber Jumps to intercept, but she kicks her right in the throat.
"Gah!" Saber coughed as falls to the ground.
"Shirou, duck!" Casks pushed him out of the way and smacked the servant with her mirror. The woman recovered and threw one at the ground, and it bounced past Casko's defence.
"Trace, ON!" Shirou reinforced the training sword and deflected the weapon just in time.
"Thanks!" Casko said.
"No problem. We have to take her down." Shirou said, gazing at the corpse on the ground. Seeing them made his stomach churn, but he had to keep his focus.
"It's a four versus one but her speed is hard to keep up with. She must be a Rider, The class is known for being fast." Casko.
"Well, those daggers are nothing to be of note. If I was able to deflect them, then Rider must have something else up her sleeve." Shirou stated that he could analyse the weapons within a split second. A new and surprising record for the novice magus.
"Impressive. I guess weapons must be your thing." Casko said.
"Maybe," Shirou said, unsure why it was so easy.
Saber and Wildmutt battled Rider, using their numbers to their advantage once more. Unlike the battle with Berserker, the batter was leaning towards their favour
"Whatever you are, I swear death to those who prey on the weak." Saber said to Rider.
"I do what I must for the sake of my Master. I will resort to whatever means to win as long as it doesn't put them at risk." Rider said to Saber, who was disgusted with their words.
"How dare you even say that! You are nothing but a fiend!" The servant of the sword clashed with Rider as Wildmutt started to sniff around, sensing something in the air.
Rider then jumps, clings to the nearby wall, and focuses on Casko, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Hmm…You are different…I can sense something special about you…" Rider said before smirking. Casko scowls before activating six talismans to fire a barrage of icy spears at Rider. The speedy servant dodges, but the shockwave is felt by everyone. Even Casko was surprised at the power surge as she knew her power.
Wildmutt's senses were on high alert, and he barked, warning everyone. Casko's ears perked before looking upward and gasping.
"Everyone, scatter!" Casko yelled, and everyone moved to avoid a horde of skeletons diving down at them from the bridge above.
Demonic cries filled the air as darkened skeletons appeared from nothing and surrounded them. All had their weapons aimed at them and not Rider for some reason. Leading the group to assume they were working with her.
"Didn't know a rider could summon Dragon tooth warriors. Or am I expecting too much from you?" Casko glared at Rider.
"I'll be honest that these are not mine. But they do provide an opportunity.." Rider reached the back of her blindfold as the undead monsters swarmed the squad before her.
"Shirou!" Saber said, blitzing through them to protect her master
"I'm fine, Saber. we both may be still recovering from our fight with Berserker, but that doesn't mean we can't help each other out!" Shirou reassured his servant. Saber thought for a second and accepted Shirou's resolve.
"Alright master, let's do our part!" She nodded and slashed at the undead.
Shirou poured his energy into the sword, and it became hard as steel. Allowing him to bash through the skeletons with minimal effort. Wildmutt was running around and smashing the monsters with ease. Using his claws to cut through them or biting their torsos off.
Wildmutt growls as they leave a nasty taste in his mouth as he spits out the bone shards.
"Dragontooth warriors aren't meant to taste good, Master," Casko said as she smacked the monsters with her mirror. Seeing no end in sight, Ben decided it was time to turn the tide of this battle and go ultimate. After turning the dial on his chest and activating it, he was once again engulfed in a green light.
"ULTIMATE WILDMUTT!" Ben shouts as the hyper evolution gives his Vulpinmancer form the ability to speak. His form now has sharper bone claws, a tail with a bone spike, a bigger overall size due to enhanced strength, and is covered in red fur with a white mane running across his back.
"Time to let the dogs out!" U. Wildmutt said as he rushed through the horde, crushing them all with hyper-evolved strength. The skeletons' numbers fell, allowing Ben and the servants to break through and attack Rider.
"Casko, Saber. On me!" Ben shouts, and they oblige by charging towards Rider.
"Fools." The Rider then removes her blindfold and opens her eyes.
Her eyes with square pupils…
Both Saber and Casko froze as their muscles refused to move. Saber was blocking Shirous's view, but even he felt his body seize up. stopped and looked at Saber and Casko, wondering why they had stopped.
"W-what's going to happen?" Ben asked as both servants struggled.
"Mystic…Eyes…Of Petrification! W-we can't move." Casko said, feeling every cell in her body freezes up.
"...We are turning to…stone!" Saber said as patches of stone grew on their bodies.
"No! Stop this now!" growled at Rider, who just pulsed her eyes again at Ben. Yet nothing happened to him.
"How?! How are you not turning to stone!" Rider said, putting all her power into her eyes. Increasing the rate of petrification on the girls, but again, not affecting .
"M-master!" Casko cried, feeling the deathly effects on her body.
"Saber!" Shirou shouted as he pushed himself forward while keeping his vision to the ground.
"RIDER!" U. Wildmutt road as he leapt at her with immense speed. He was fast, but Rider was faster; thus, she dodged the attack…
She then felt a sharp pain in her torso as fresh blood dripped onto the pavement. Three claw marks tore through her outfit and flesh. Ben didn't let up and whipped his tail at her, sending her flying backwards and breaking her concentration on her eyes.
Ben is about to pounce on her, but she jumps away and puts back on her blindfold.
"Get back here!" Ben roared, but Rider just kept jumping away with superhuman speed.
He was about to chase her but needed to check on the girls. Thankfully, they were still alive and moving again, thanks to Rider retreating. Saber was kneeling on the ground using her invisible sword for support as Casko was well on her feet.
"You girls alright?" Ben asked.
"Well, I am nearly recovered, but Saber will need more time." Casko said while using her magic to cure her ally.
"Shirou, are you okay?" Ben checked in with him.
"Just a bit sluggish, I am more worried about Saber." Shirou said.
"Well, she's out of the woods now, but she'll need a day or two to fully recover," Casko said. Seeing how crazy and powerful Rider was, Ben didn't want to let Rider getaway. He still handled her scent, and Casko was recovered.
"Alright. You and Saber head home. Me and Casko will go after Rider. I just can't let her get away after killing innocent people." Ben said, looking towards the corpses drained of life…Shirou understood his frustration; he also wanted to go after Rider, but Saber needed help, so he trusted Ben.
"Okay, I don't like this but me and Saber still need more time to get used to things." Shirou said while taking a deep breath.
"Shirou…" Saber said, noticing the pain on his face.
"There's a payphone nearby, I'll call Kirei about the…victims and then head home." The redhead suggested, and Ben nodded.
"Understood, Casko, hope on." Ben gestured towards his hyper-evolved back.
"Eh?! You want me to ride you?" Casko said, feeling her face turn red.
"It will give you some more time to recover from the petrification. Come on! Rider can't have gotten too far with those injuries." Ben said, and Casko obliged by climbing onto his back and holding on tight.
"We should be back soon!" then started running at full speed to chase down Rider's scent. Leaving Shirou and Saber to report the incident to Kirei and return home. Shirou looked over again at the dead and could only feel frustration as he couldn't do anything to save them…
"Shirou…are you okay?" Saber said, getting his attention.
"I… don't know. I entered this war to keep innocent lives from getting hurt…Yet they still died." Shirou said, feeling the guilt of not being able to stop Rider.
"Those aren't your fault, Shirou; we couldn't have known earlier than we already did. All we can do now is learn from our mistakes and improve. For the sake of all the victims caught in this war." Saber said. Shirou agreed they only knew Rider's location after Ben found her. The best they could do now is keep trying until this madness ends, and Ben could be the best bet for them right now.
"Yeah, I guess you are right. Thanks, Saber." Shirou then pulls her up to her feet
"No problem Shirou-" Saber tripped on her own feet, causing Shirou to catch her from falling.
"-I think my legs haven't recovered yet." Saber said embarrassedly.
"Probably because of me being a novice master. Here." Shirou then lowered himself to offer her a piggyback.
"S-shirou, I can walk." Saber stammered.
"Saber, If I can't supply you with mana properly then at least let me carry you home after getting petrified," Shirou asked politely, and Saber sighed. The boy was right; he was supposed to be in the support role.
"Fine…" Saber then dispels her armour and swaps back to her casual wear before hopping on Shirou's back. They both head to the payphone to give Kirei a call; he tells them that he is on his way to clean up the mess. With Saber still on his back, he looks back at the fallen and notices one of them is fidgeting.
"Shirou!" Saber said but was stopped by Shirou running over to the survivor.
"Come on…Please be alive!" Shirou found one still alive, and it was someone he knew!
"Mitsuzuri?!"
Ben and Caskio were hot on the Rider's trail as they chased through the suburbs.
"I won't let you get away you monster!" roared as Rider dashed into a construction site, which Ben followed by jumping over the fence.
"Where did she go? *Sniff* I lost her scent!" growled in frustration, causing Casko unease seeing her Master like this.
"She went into spirit form. Hold on…." Casko then dismounts and expands her senses to try to find Rider…
"I'm sorry Ben I think she…Wait, I am picking up a servant in that building." Casko pointed towards the incomplete apartment building.
"I'm on it!" Ben said before running into the building and jumping onto the first thing he sensed.
"Ben, wait!" Casko shouted, chasing after her Master.
"I got you now Ri-What a second!" had a servant pinned…But it was not a rider.
It was Archer and Ben's watch timed out due to the extended use of an Ultimate form.
"Uhhh…Honest mistake?" Ben said before noting the claw marks on Archer's arm.
"No." Acher then kicks Ben in the chest, sending him flying out of the building, much to Casko's worry.
"Ben!" She yelled as Ben coughed up some blood. Casko swiftly uses a healing talisman on him to patch him up.
"Owww…That smarts…" Ben groaned as he pulled himself up. Archer appeared from the shadows, looking very unpleasant with his arm scratched up. Casko stared daggers at him as Archer summoned a pair of yin-yang twin blades.
"Projection magic and using swords? What kind of Archer are you?" Casko said, mocking.
"The type of Archer that will get the job done," Tohsaka said, walking up behind her servant, looking very angry.
"I see you have chosen your battle Tennyson. You attacked my Archer first, and I have no qualms against fighting another master." Rin said, assuming that Ben was after her and Archer.
"Oh man…Listen we are not here to fight-"
"Quiet! You attacked us out of nowhere and claimed it was an accident?! I just had enough of you being an interloper! Archer! Attack!" Rin ordered, and Archer dashed forward a Ben only to be intercepted by Casko's mirror. The two servants glared at each other as Casko's magic quickly held Archer back.
"Huh, you are stronger than you look." Archer said, pulling back.
"Feeling a little outgunned are we, Archer?" Casko said with a smirk.
"Hardly," Archer re-engaged her with a flurry of slashes and strikes, but she kept fast on her feet and countered with fearsome elemental attacks.
'Wow! She's pretty great with magic. Wonder if she can teach Gwen a thing or two.' Ben thought as he watched the fight since the Ultimatrix was recharged. He should have swapped to XLR8 or Fasttrack to chase Rider down instead of wasting the battery as an Ultimate.
"Eek!" Casko yelped as she narrowly dodged a blade. She got distracted by Rin shooting at her while trying.
"Hey! Let 'em fight fair!" Ben shouts at Rin, who just ignores him and continues assisting Archer.
'I can't let Rin mess with Casko.' Ben thought to himself and ran into the building to at least distract the magus. He picks up a metal pipe for defence before running past the fight, believing Casko would handle Archer at least until his watch recharged.
The red-clad Archer spots Ben gunning for his blaster. He scoffs and throws a sword at him; Ben ducks just in time, only to lose a few strands of hair.
"Hey no fair! My watch is recharging!"
Ben then covered his mouth, revealing his limitations.
"So, he can't transform for the time being? Archer!" Rin called for her servant, and Archer already knew what she wanted. He chucked his sword, and three more rained down on Casko. Seeing the cloud of smoke left behind, he runs at Ben, blades in hand, ready for the easy kill.
"Nothing personal-what?!" Archer was halted mid-way and felt his whole body ravaged in pain. Looking down at his feet, he saw a talisman emanating a dark purple miasma. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Casko standing on top of the arm of an excavator. The Kitsune servant held another talisman covered in miasma while glaring at Archer. Casko's glowed yellow through the shadows of the night while her pupils mimicked those of a beast.
"Yikes, remind me never to get on her bad side. Thanks Casko!" Ben said before returning to his objective to deal with Rin. Now that Ben is away from the fight, Casko's curse on Archer dissipates.
"A curse that would activate the moment your Master was threatened. Impressive, you have proven yourself proficient in Witchcraft." Archer said sarcastically.
"If you are trying to get under my skin, you are better off using your blades." Casko said before creating more talismans of greater curses.
"I guess it's time to stop playing around then…" Archer said while dispelling his swords and projecting a bow instead.
"Finally acting in your class I see?" Casko mocked him.
"Only when I want to get serious like I have to know. You understand it's only 'fair' with that annoying land advantage you have." Archers said while prepping an arrow.
"Land advantage?" Casko muttered to herself before engaging Archer.
As the battle continued outside, Ben was inside the building, sneaking around. He would try and convince Rin to stand down to avoid more bloodshed. It would be easy if the Ultimatrix wasn't in recharge mode, but he still followed his plan.
Ben runs up the stairs to the floor Rin was sniping about and finds no one there, oddly enough, but his hero senses urge him to duck. He listens to his gut, and a barrage of magical projectiles hits the wall behind him. Look around his spot for the girl aiming around the corner, so he rolls into some proper cover.
"Any chance we can talk this out? You asked for a ceasefire before." Ben asked.
"I was going easy on you and Emiya-kun because I have some decency as a magus. Now the kid gloves have come off." Rin answered. She jumped out of the cover, expecting to find Ben in the open. To her frustration, she didn't see him, so she began to hunt for the boy.
"Wasn't expecting you to be a coward, Tennyson." Rin taunted.
"No cowardly. I am just smart." Ben said, appearing behind her weapon at the ready.
"You really should've attacked me when you had the chance!" Rin then started to get into Close-quarters combat against Ben, who was ready. Magecraft was one of many skills of the Tohsaka mage, as she was also adept at Karate.
However, Ben could keep up with using a defensive stance and counters when he needed to with the pipe in his hands. Strike after strike, Ben dodged and blocked until he got an opening and swept Tohsaka's legs with a spin kick.
"Tch!" Rin grunted as Ben stood over her pipe at the ready.
"You're pretty good, Rin, but I got the experience when it comes to fighting. You still kept me on my toes though so I'll give you that." Ben said, and he then offered a helping hand. Tohsaka stared at Ben, thinking about how ridiculous he was for being so naive, in her opinion, but she could tell he was genuine in seeking a ceasefire.
"Gaaaaaaah!" Casko's screams froze Ben before he instantly sprinted to the edge of the floor he was on.
Casko was bleeding on the ground, with her body riddled with arrows. Even worse was a sword stabbed through her abdomen. Seeing her like this sparked fury in his eyes as he spotted Archer aiming for the kill shot.
"CASKO!" Ben shouts and jumps from the second floor onto a dirt pile that broke his fall. The emerald hero continued to sprint and threw his pipe to Archer with great accuracy, forcing Archer to miss the fatal blow on Casko.
"ARCHER!" Ben yelled, running at the man with Ultimatrix activated. Archer aimed at Ben, seeing him as the more significant threat. Ben tried to pick an alien to lay the smackdown on him, but the device only showed him a blank, flickering yellow hologram.
Seeing he has no choice, he smacks down on the dail as Archer lets an arrow fly.
"Master…?" Casko lifts her head, sensing her Master in danger. Pushing herself up, she sees Archer standing before a dust cloud.
"No…No…I…Failed…" Tears started to well up in her eyes, thinking Ben was dead. The archer class servant turns around to finish off Casko, seeing her as nothing more than another loose end.
Casko then closed her eyes, holding on to her brief moments with Ben Tennyson.
She heard the crack of the bow string…But nothing hit her.
"What?!" Archer said.
Casko opened her eyes to see an Armoured figure holding the arrow meant to kill her. They caught the arrow mid-flight to save her life. But who was it that kept her?
The armour resembled a knight's, but the plating had strange flowing shapes and patterns. Glowing green fibres were akin to muscles pulsing between the pale white plates of peculiar metal. Around its neck was a scarf of matching green energy flowing independently of the wind.
But what brought Casko the most relief was the badge with the green hourglass symbol on its breastplate.
"Ben." Casko said, happy to see him alive. Her Master opened his metallic eyelids to show a pair of silver eyes with green pupils that matched the energy of the rest of his body. Ben nods at her as he crushes the arrow in his gauntlet hand. Ben then creates a bolas in his hand out of what appeared to be threads of pure magical energy before throwing it at Archer at the speed of sound. The whole thing explodes into more threads tying up Archer, removing the threat for the moment.
"Archer!" Rin said; seeing her servant trapped, she went to free him.
"That will hold for the moment." Ben said as this new alien form. This voice sounded mature and concise with a metallic echo.
He walks over to Casko and sees the damage up close. It was a miracle that she wasn't dead because of all those arrows embedded into her along with the sword in her
"Master…I…I." Casko winced under the pain.
"Save your energy." Ben then knelt down, grabbed the sword by the handle and put a hand at the base of the wound.
"This will hurt. Please bear with it."
Casko nodded, putting her trust in him as he swiftly pulled the sword out and tossed it aside.
"Gah!." She recoiled from the pain as more blood spilt out.
"Just a few more moments, Lady Casko." Ben then placed his palm gently over the wound and focused his power on it. More threads of light appeared from the crystal palm and started to weave into her body. The threads began to heal her by incorporating all the damaged tissue and pushing the arrows out of her body. Within just ten seconds, Casko was nearly fully recovered.
"I see, Healing Hands. That will hold until you can get a proper healing spell activated." Ben said, removing his hand, revealing no more visual sign of the impalement.
"T-thank you master-MIKON!" Casko was about to thank him but was picked up by him and teleported about ten feet away from where they were now riddled with more arrows.
"Archer," Ben said, seeing that he was free again. Without wasting a second, he places Casko on her feet and opens his palms. The metal of the gauntlets warps as some of the material turns into liquid metal before being shaped by the threads from his palms. Ben creates a sword and shield as his choice of weapons for fight. Completing the look of a great knight regardless of the alien aspects of it.
Without skipping a beat, Ben attacks first with another blink teleport right at Archer, followed by a shield bash into the wall. Archer was stunned and dazed by the sudden shift in power as he was embedded into the concrete behind him.
Ben blinks again right as Archer grabs him by the collar of his chest plate. Using his inhumane strength, he pulls the servant out of the wall and throws him to the ground. The alien knight stands over Archer as he attempts to push himself up and raises his sword.
"Tennyson!" Rin was about to throw a fistful of Gems at him.
The sword doesn't hit Arch but instead the ground with mighty force to create tiny fissures around him. Ben then dispels his weapons without another word and walks back to Casko before pausing to look at Rin.
"We were chasing Rider earlier after she killed a group of civilians. I told Shirou to Contact Kirei Kotomine to report the deceased." Ben said, causing Rin to lower her guard.
"If you don't believe me then go ask him. I am done talking to either of you as this battle was unnecessary." Ben said before warping to Casko and picking her up in a bridal carry.
"M-mikon?!" Casko stuttered before Ben warps them out of Sight of Rin and Archer.
"...That idiot…How can he just say that after nearly killing my servant!? Just what the hell is he?" Rin said while pulling her hair in frustration. Ben Tennyson was really getting on her nerves with his constant surprises.
"I wouldn't let it bother you too much, Rin. He's just another naive master…He won't be a real threat to us until he learns the harsh reality of being a 'hero'." Archer said while in spirit form.
"Sigh…And just right after you recovered from Saber's strike. Well, Did you confirm my suspicions about Tennyson's servant?" Rin asked as she left the construction site.
"No true name, but the fact I had to exert myself to break through her witchcraft confirms that she has the land advantage as you guessed," Archer reported.
"...That would also explain how her Spirit Origin wasn't destroyed with that barrage you unleashed on her. She's getting an overall stat boost because she is a Japanese servant, which is why they are excluded in a Holy Grail War due to it being located in their land of origin." Rin said as she decided to head home for the night.
Ben and Casko find a quiet spot on a rooftop as Ben needs a moment to catch his breath after that battle. Ben slaps the badge on his chest and reverts to human after letting Casko down on her feet.
"Are you okay? Archer did a number on you." Ben asked as Casko's outfit was still blood-stained and torn up.
"I am good thanks to you Ben." Casko said with a smile, but it didn't remove the saddened look on his face. He felt immense guilt for not staying with her when she needed him the most.
"I'm sorry Casko, I messed up thinking Archer wasn't that big of a threat. I shouldn't have abandoned you like that and it nearly got you killed. Some master I am-"
Ben then froze as Casko gave him a big hug. The feeling of her warmed a part of his heart long since untouched.
"Casko…Why did you?" Ben said, feeling his face turn red.
"Because you needed one and I wanted to thank you for saving me." Casko said with another smile.
"But I-"
"No buts! I messed up by letting my ego get the better of me. I thought I had him cornered but he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve." Casko admitted to her faults in her battle, and Ben understood the feeling when bad guys always seem to have something in their pocket.
"Hehe, Thanks Casko. Let's head then." Ben then transforms into Jetray, his Aerophibian form that looks like a stingray but red with hands and talon-shaped claws. He and Casko then head home, keeping above the streets to avoid attention.
"Little do you know Ben…You have already granted my wish, My knight, My Goshujin-sama."
AN: More action and a bettter introduction into the OC alien. I felt good with new flow in this chapter since I am doing better at making new scenerio's instead of sticking to the script of the setting all the time.
With the Rider fight I wanted to give Wildmutt more attention since well his a perfect couter for out favourite gorgon because he has no eyes and its another pefect time to go Ultimate...Also I feel like I am on the few guys who doesn't mind 's design, no hate on people who don't and I love the fan-redesign by the Ink Tank.
Now for the Ben v Rin stuff. I felt like Rin and Ben settled there differences a little to fast in the Original so wanted to add a little more conflict before the eventual alliance. I don't intend on a constaint conflict since I always found that dumb when lives are on the line, but I digress. This scenerio is better as an introduction into Steelguard than just a random transformation unlock and build upon the bond between Casko and Ben.
I also want to point out that any other alien could've also smacked Archer silly easily. I am not going say he's better than every other alien, he's just another tool in Ben's arsenal along with some connections to Casko. (I've been trying to avoid the usual 'OC' Tropes). There are going to be some polish on his lore and powers like what you saw above. I'll have a completed list of his powers in the next chapters notes as I want to adjust some things.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter and as always.
Have a niced day!