I do not own Fate/Apocrypha nor any other Servants depicted here.
There Were Dragons
An explosion ripped through the air as another building exploded. Caster continued to make his way through the road, occasionally using his dragon shout to find the assassin. The entire road behind him was littered with burn marks, electrical burns, and frost trails.
"I can do this all night, Assassin," he called out as he sent out another fireball, blowing up another house, "Perhaps you should allow me to end you like the rat you are."
Spying a moving shadow, he tossed a lightning bolt at it, scouring the wall of another house. He then raised a hand and threw up a barrier to block a hail of bullets. He walked over to the house as the bullets continued. A pause in the hail allowed him time to shout.
"Yol Toor Shul!"
Dragon fire bathed the interior in its entirety for a few seconds before suddenly blowing up, throwing him back a little.
"I tire of this," he growled out as another hail of bullets pinged against his renewed barrier. He braced himself as a rocket flew straight at him. He conjured up a ball of fire and threw it. Both collided and let loose a tremendous explosion. Amidst the fire and smoke, Assassin leaped out with his sword raised.
"Do you honestly think-" he started as he swung his own sword to clash blades yet he was taken aback when fell forward, the image passing through his weapon. His breath hitched when he felt the real blade slide into his side.
"How hilarious./ You just set off my trap ca-," the Servant of Murder stated as he pushed the blade in, but then was grabbed by the head.
"And that was your mistake," stated Caster calmly as he let off a point-blank Sparks spell, electrocuting the other Servant.
After a few seconds, he stopped the stream of magicka and dropped the spasming Assassin on the ground. Scoffing, his hands lit up and he brought his glowing hands together, forming a pulsating yellow-white orb. Soon, the blood streaming from his wound halted and he released the orb once the healing was complete. He glanced over at his enemy. The Assassin Servant had gotten on his knees and was trying to get up. He aimed his hand at the shaky Servant, covered in frost that trailed off, and shot an ice spike in his side. Ignoring the cry of pain, he did the same with both legs and then both arms.
"You were able to trick me," he stated as he lowered his arm, "Never again, Servant Assassin." Turning away, he mused, "Still, if he posed such trouble to me, how much more difficult it would be to fight either Saber Servants. I need more power." Finally, looking towards the sky, it dawned on him what he must do. Stepping away from the other Servant, he looked to the sky and shouted.
"GOL HAH DOV! MIN NER VAH! GOL HAH DOV! MI KHA AIL!"
"Can't you go any faster, Micheal!?" yelled Rider of Red as the dragon dived after the much smaller wyvern.
The dragon laughed and replied, "I can only go so fast. I am much larger, after all." He then shot several fireballs out his mouth at the fleeing wyvern and its Rider.
"Hmph," she huffed as she watched the wyvern expertly evade the shots, "This is truly annoying. We should head back to Assassin's base. Those flying machines have been diverted. I am sure there are Servants clashing all around the Gardens."
"Ah, a sound decision. Let us-" he began before suddenly bellowing loudly.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked in surprise.
"It- it's like my body is not my own," he roared as he started flying towards the flying fortress, "A strong compulsion. I am unable to resist."
"Damn it! Who could be doing this?" she yelled in exasperation.
"I have no idea. Though, it seems that the wyvern was also affected," he noted as the other Rider and her mount flew ahead of them.
A frown marred her face as Micheal continued heading towards the Gardens. It didn't take too long and he landed in the middle of a rubble-strewn street. By that time, the other Rider was already engaging Caster, who was holding his own surprisingly well for a magic user. She noted a grievously wounded Assassin a few houses away. Then, she decided to help out with the fight. Materializing a greatsword, she leaped down from the dragon and dashed in. With a broad swing, she slammed the blade into the other Rider's axe and sent her flying into the rubble of a wrecked house.
"Thank you," he said as he turned his attention to the wyvern.
"No!" yelled the Servant but Rider of Red stepped in, her greatsword and the axe clashing loudly.
"Zii Los Dii Du!"
The wyvern let out a loud wail as an increasing amount of misty tendrils surged out of it and into Caster. It only lasted for a few seconds and as the last bits flowed into him, the wyvern slumped over on the ground, unmoving.
"Minerva!" Rider of Black shouted as she ran past Rider of Red, the latter stepping away and allowing her by. The Servant quickly went on her knees and cradled the wyvern's head in her arms, all the while calling out its name.
"I would pity her," the Rider stated as she glanced over to the Caster, who was looking over at her dragon. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, "You had better not be getting any-"
Her eyes went wide when he raised an arm at her and sent a stream of electrical energy straight at her. It coursed through her body, causing her to jerk uncontrollably. After a few seconds, the stream stopped and she collapsed to the ground, her whole self twitching. Then, she heard him say, "I believe they say, 'getting one over the opposition' here. I quite agree with that. The less competition I have after Ruler makes his wish, the more I have for myself."
"Zero!" roared Micheal defiantly as he struggled to go against the compulsion.
"I am afraid I cannot let you do that," stated the Servant of Magecraft as he turned to face the dragon, "Zii Los Dii Du!"
"MINERVA!"
Saber of Black skidded to a halt just before he rounded the corner and took a peek beyond. On the far side, a dragon was roaring as Caster of Red did something to it. His Rider ally was lying on the ground twitching while his side's Rider was cradling her wyvern's head and wailing out loud. Looking around, he found Assassin bleeding out on the ground as he struggled to prop himself up against a broken wall. Keeping an eye on Caster, he furtively made his way over to his ally Servant.
"Damn, not looking good," he muttered as he gave a once over. Assassin shook his head and displayed a skull on his face plate.
"That bad, huh?" he continued, "Looks like you're out of the fight."
The face plate went blank and then the Servant materialized a grenade. He held it up and Saber accepted without a word. He then slumped over like a marionette with cut strings. It was about the same time that Rider had stopped wailing. Glancing over, he saw her slumped over as well.
"Well, this looks fucked," he observed, assuming that by some crazy odds, both their Masters are dead.
"You... are dead!"
Rider of Red got to her feet, her whole body trembling with the shakes. Saber could only assume the dragon was hers.
"To think you had such power with you this whole time," the Servant gloated, "I thank you."
"Screw the Grail, I'll have your head for this!" she yelled as she charged straight at him, her trembling shaken off.
Their swords clashed and they moved around as they tried to fight for dominance.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
The wide-eyed Servant of the Mount was thrown back against her dragon and Caster of Red unleashed a stream of electricity at her.
"Perhaps I should end you now for the sake of convenience," he stated as he raised his weapon, "May we never meet again, Rider."
And Saber pretty much had enough of this. He drew his revolver and took aim. The bullet struck true on Caster's sword hand.
"What!?" yelled the Servant as he turned to find the origin of the shot, "Another Servant of Black!"
"You know, I don't know why you are doing this and I don't care," said the Servant of the Sword as he drew out his own, "I'm here to kick ass and stop your leader from using the Grail. And right now, I don't see your leader anywhere, so I'll just settle for kicking your ass."
Jack gritted his teeth as he fended off two of Archer's 'friends'. The weight and the anvil weren't all that skilled but made up for it in power and weight. Literally. The weight had surprisingly fast hands, unleashing a speedy barrage of palm strikes.
Meanwhile, Ruler had to contend with endless bombs courtesy of Archer of Red.
"Ha, ha!" the Servant jeered as she continued taking potshots and summoning pots from the air, "Aren't you gonna try approaching me, Ruler?"
Said Servant huffed as she weathered the storm by dodging and deflecting the visible projectiles with her flagstaff, "A little hard to do when you are shooting at me."
"Nuh-uh, you're supposed to say 'I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer'," she referenced as she called for another flyby.
"...what in the world are you saying?" she asked with a confused tone as she twirled her staff around to deflect the shots, "And young ladies like you shouldn't be swearing."
"I swear as much as I want, toots. Bombs away!" she shouted as she took out a pair of flags and motioned them. More mini planes appeared and lay down a barrage of shots at Ruler.
"You's ain't payin' attention, kiddo," said the anvil as he suddenly landed a one-two combo on him. The blows were cushioned by the nanomachines but he still felt the sting and stumbled back. The weight then leaped up and tried landing on him, but the homunculus rolled to the side and avoided it entirely. However, that let the anvil land an uppercut with a "Gotcha!".
"Alright, boys! I'mma firin' mah laser! Argus AGONY!" Archer suddenly shouted as she leaned forward.
The smaller peacock popped out of her hat and shot a laser at Ruler. As the Servant dodged out of the way, more eye-feathers extended out of Archer's back and fired multiple smaller laser shots that spread all over in front of her. The anvil and weight threw themselves to the ground and covered their heads with their hands. Meanwhile, Jack stood his ground and weathered the shots. His clothes became quite tattered when the attack was over. Meanwhile, Ruler was somehow able to deflect most of the laser shots with her flagstaff.
"What!? How'd you do that? That so ain't fair!" shouted the Archer after blowing a whistle, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Archer, please let us through. We do not have to-"
"Ruler! Look out!" shouted Jack as he ran at her, spotting a shadow under her.
Surprised, she looked up and was shocked just as Archer shouted "Garbage Day!" as she pulled out a gun and started shooting. Jack made it to her just in time to push her out of the way. The bullets struck him and were deflected by the nanomachines. He was blown onto his back and the nanomachines spread all over his body as the road roller landed on him. The smaller peacock then appeared on top of the roller and screamed.
"WWWRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYY!"
It then started pounding the roller, shaking it loudly.
"MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA...!"
After a few seconds, it disappeared and the roller exploded.
"Jack!" shouted Ruler as she shielded herself from the blast.
The dust and smoke slowly settled, and much to everyone's surprise, the homunculus was still standing. The darkness on his skin, the nanomachines, slowly receded back into his body.
"Oh, c'mon! You're supposed go splat on the floor! What gives!?" Archer yelled in surprise, pulling her hat in exasperation.
He sighed in relief and smiled, "Berserker called them nanomachines. He gave them to me because I had the will to fight." Clenching his fist, he continued, "With this power, I'll do the right thing and fight."
"Tch. Man, you had to be so damn difficult. But I can respect that," Archer replied with a smirk, "I liked forging my own path myself and everyone else can go screw themselves."
"Archer, please, you have to see reason," pleaded Ruler, taking advantage of the lull in battle, "Surely, you know that Amakusa having the Grail, using it, bodes ill for the rest of humanity. Please, help us."
The other side fell silent in contemplation. Then, the anvil said, "You know, boss, she's kinda right? I ain't said this before, but ain't this a bit too close to home?"
"Yeah," piped up the weight, "It's a bit too like... ya know... the skull. Wishes and all?"
Archer groaned and wiped her hand on her face, "I know! I know! I was gonna wait and sneak in to have a chit-chat with the Grail myself since he said he was able to do that."
The smaller peacock popped out of her hat and said, "Boss, you know, with that witch prancing around the priest guy, we ain't getting away with sneaking in. If anything, I say we whoop his ass and go in ourselves."
"Please, Archer. Listen to reason," asked Ruler again.
"...Alright, fine. that guy never explained properly how he was gonna do this saving thing anyway," relented the Servant.
"That was... easy?" questioned Jack.
"Kid, I'm doing this on my own," declared Archer as the smaller peacock handed her a cigar, lighted it for her, and ducked into her hat again, "None of that telling me what to do shit."
"But-"
"But nothing, toots," she fired back as Ruler tried to say something, with her other friends dematerializing, "Now let's go see us a priest."
Combat resolved, they headed towards the main double doors leading to the throne room. Archer slammed her fist a few times on the large doors, shouting, "Hey, Queenie! You done with that Saber yet?"
Silence.
"Hey, toots! Ya done or not?" she called out again as she banged on the door.
Silence.
Scratching her head, she said, "Weird. Normally, if you disturb her royal high-and-mightiness, she gets all bitchy and stuff. Ah, screw it. Boys, if you will?" Getting a nod from them, the anvil and the weight pushed it open.
The throne room had seen better days. The throne at the center was reduced to rubble and there were copious amounts of blood on it. And at the foot of the broken throne was Saber of Red and her Master. The smoking magus himself was bloodied and bleeding out.
"Huh, looks like I was late to the party, eh?" joked Archer.
"Saber of Red. Sir Sisigou. Assassin of Red has been defeated, I presume," stated Ruler.
"Heh, cut her down myself," confirmed Saber with a grin.
"...Your Master is dying," spoke up Jack, "If you need someone to take over..."
"Nah. I'm fine. I'm a 'one Master' kinda hero," replied the former.
"If you're sure..."
"Oi! You guys wanna give the priest a beat down or stand here chatting? C'mon!" shouted the Archer as she motioned them onward.
Ruler and Jack looked at each other and nodded. They hurried after their former enemy. The Master-Servant pair looked on in pained amusement.
Saber then turned to Sisigou, "So, how was it? I was a good Servant, wasn't I?"
Commentary:-
Hello everyone. I'm here again. Been a while. A bit too long since the last one, methinks. Anyways, here's the next chapter. And hopefully, I don't have a drop in drive compared to during the sickness.