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

Wayside

Rider was walking down the hall after having left her Master's room. She was a little troubled when she realized that her Master had her own... personal dungeon next door... and she had a male homunculus in it... already tied down. Even a Servant could have a shudder run down her spine.

"Perhaps I should go out into the open country to talk to Minerva for a while," she muttered as she turned the corner, "I would be good to see her again."

And then she stopped in her tracks. Right in front of her was a semi-naked male homunculus sprawled over the floor. He was out of breath and he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower. Her motherly instincts took over and she ran over to look him over.

"Oh my. Are you alright?" she asked with concern as she turned him over and held him up in a sitting position.

"Help... me..." he whispered out, his throat cracking as if he hadn't drunk anything all day. He was also crying, his body shaking as if in pain.

"And you will have it," she told him as she picked him up carefully and started to head for her room. On the way, she encountered two other homunculi, who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Rider," said one, "A homunculus has escaped confinement. Have you seen anything suspicious?"

"I am afraid not," she said with a smile.

"Pardon us," he said as the both of them bowed before hurrying past her.

"I hope you find the one you are looking for," she wished them as they went by. As they turned around the corner, she sighed and muttered as she looked at the one she was carrying, "Hmm, so you have escaped? I wonder why... hmm, you did ask for help... but where do I go to treat you?"

"What is going on here?" someone grumbled in front of her. She looked up and caught sight of Berserker staring at the homunculus.

"Oh... ah... I am in need of assistance..." she stated sheepishly, "He came to me like this and I haven't the faintest idea on how to help him."

He stared sternly at the both of them, his brow furrowing as he thought this over. Eventually, he said as he turned around to move, "You better bring him to my room. I have a way of treating him."

"What would that be, Berserker?" she asked as she followed after.

"Nanomachines. The future of humanity."

"How can a homunculus escape a tank on its own?" Roche asked as he picked up a piece of broken glass to inspect it.

"Such things are not impossible," Caster stroked his beard while in thought, "Improbably to be sure, never impossible." His eyes slowly followed to where the trail of water led up to the stone steps.

"Well, he hasn't made it outside. The barrier would've reacted," the young Master surmised as he continued to inspect the broken container.

"So he is still here..." the Servant muttered. Turning to the other, he asked, "Are you still intent of capturing him? Using him to make another golem?"

"Maybe... to be honest, it doesn't sit well with me to have an aberration such as this running around," Roche confessed as he ceased his observations and turned to him.

"The concern of a creator, hmm?" Caster hummed out in response as he moved to walk away, "I suppose I can see why. Do as you will. His escape does not concern me the slightest."

"Sorry to disturb you," the magus apologized.

"It is fine. It is your right to call for help when oddities such as this happened in your own workshop," he replied loudly as he continued walking, "I would have done the same thing, trying to control the result of a dangerous experiment."

He blotted out the boy's appreciation as he made his way up the stairs. Such things were beneath him. He had much more important things to do. To search his tenebrous mind for more forgotten secrets and wonders. More terrible secrets. Things that will consume the mind. To bring insight into the great depths of the true world. The Heart needs more blood to be spilled.

It shall have it.

Berserker lifted his hand off the homunculus' chest. A black mark slowly receded into the center and vanished. The Servant smirked as he turned to Rider, "Done. They should be looking after and if possible, speed up his recovery. From what I can see, the kid's probably tired out after escaping."

"It seems I am in your debt, Berserker," she thanked him with a smile as she looked up from her seat beside the bed.

"All I can do to help," he replied as he looked back to the artificial human, "To think this thing mustered enough strength to even try and bust out of here. Color me impressed. Too bad he was only able to get this far." Turning back to her, he asked, "You know either Caster or his Master will be looking for him, right? What will you do then?"

"I will try and help him," she said without a second thought, "The poor thing looks so thin and starved. I also want to know if this was related to his escape."

He grunted and moved to sit down on the opposite chair. "Well, now that I have donated some of my strength to him, I would say I have a vested interest in his well-being," he stated as he pushed his glasses up, "If anything, I'd like to see how he would fare after his recovery."

"I apologize for dragging you into this," she started again but she was cut off.

"Are you kidding me? The fact he was able to escape from that kid and Caster by himself shows his determination," he retorted, "I happen to like seeing people taking their destiny into their own hands. This kid has the guts but lacked the strength. I want to see how far he goes with strength. If he goes far, all well and good. If not, well, too bad for him. He just wasn't good enough to use it and he fell like the pansy he is."

"That... is rather harsh," she said as the smile faded away, giving way to concern.

"Heh. That's how I lived. It's how I died. Deal with it," he stated as he got up. As he moved to the door to leave, he requested, "Keep the door closed. Don't want anyone snooping around."

"Alright," she agreed as he closed the door. Turning back to the unconscious homunculus, she wondered, "I hope you recover soon, young one."

The truck went speedily down the road, moving ever closer to Trifas. The back of the truck only heard the whistling of moving air as Ruler and Sagara kept to themselves throughout the entire journey. Strangely enough, even Assassin was quiet. Not even a hint of a haiku directed at the sole Master there.

Suddenly, the Servant moved to lean over to the side and told the driver, "Sir. You can stop. I shall get off here."

He replied in surprise, "How can I leave a young girl alone on the road at night?"

"I beg of you," she ordered, her eyes glowing slightly for a few seconds.

The driver complied and stopped the truck. The curious magus followed after the girl, who took her bag of clothes and hopped off the back of the truck. As it made a U-turn and headed back to Sighisoara, he asked, "What's going on?"

As she watched the truck drive off into the darkness, she replied, "I sensed a Servant as we came in close. I sent him back as to not endanger him."

"What a kind Servant you are, Ruler."

The two turned around and looked up to the voice. Someone was standing on the overhead road sign, shouldering a lance.

"Kind of sad really... but I'm going to have to end you now," the Servant declared before jumping off the sign and hurtling towards them, lance directed at Ruler.

Said Servant was about to push Sagara out of the way and summon her armor when Assassin materialized and shot at Lancer with a pistol. The Servant of the Lance swerved out of the way and landed on her feet.

"Now that wasn't really nice," she teased as she stood there defensively, "Mind introducing yourself?"

The lights appeared on his face-plate.

4SS4SS1N

"Let's duel, you and I./ So we can compare weapons./ And know who is more skilled," he challenged as he dismissed the pistol and summoned a katana, moving off to the side and settling into a stance.

"I am Lancer of Red and..." she trailed off after looking at the display, "I have no idea what's on your face."

D:

With an exasperated sigh, Sagara called out, "He is Assassin of Black and he likes poetry for some reason."

"Assassin? Is that all?" the former asked as she stared at the opposing Servant, "Alright, I'll make this quick and then take out Ruler." With that, she lunged forward, her speed already bringing her in front of the Servant. However, just as the tip of the lance went through the red letters and numbers, his entire body faded away. Her eyes widened. He then reappeared to her left, slashing downwards. She twisted away in the nick of time and blocked with her weapon. She was then thrown back and crashed to the ground.

"How hilarious./ You just set off my trap card./ Your death approaches," he declared as he switched out his sword for a rocket launcher, which he fired at his opponent. The explosion sent off a cloud of earth and debris everywhere. Ruler manifested her armor and weapon, standing in front of Sagara to protect him stray rocks. At that time, a car pulled to the roadside.

Seconds ticked by as the dust settled. Then, Lancer charged out and clashed blades with Assassin, who resummoned his katana. She smirked and suddenly lashed out with a roundhouse that struck him in the side of the head. With his turn to fly, he dug his blade into the ground to steady himself as well as land on bended knee. He took time to shake his head a little, but within scant seconds Lancer was already in range and ready to impale him. Without warning, another shadow dashed in between them and parried the lance away. A little surprise, Lancer backed off and took stock of the situation.

"Hope I'm not too late for the party," Saber joked as he shouldered his sword, "Did you save me a dance?"

"Why, hello there, pretty boy," she replied with a similar tone, "I can dance with you if you like."

"That was a close call, Ruler," called out Gordes as he huffed and puffed his way over, "We came here for you." Then, noticing Sagara, "Oh, you're here too?"

"Yeah. I've got Assassin here too," the magus said as he thumbed behind him. The Servant of Black just waved.

"Saber of Black and his Master," she queried.

"Indeed," the newly arrived Master affirmed, "I am Gordes Musik Yggdmillenia." Turning to face the combatants, he declared, "Lancer of Red. We witnessed you trying to murder Ruler. Attempting to kill the hero who is to oversee the Holy Grail War is an outrageous violation of the rules."

"Can't deny that," she admitted with a shrug. Looking back to the new arrival, she said, "So pretty boy here is Saber from your side? You guys just like to put up roadblocks against me, huh."

"Silence!" the former shouted indignantly, "Between Assassin, Saber, and Ruler, you don't stand a chance!"

"I cannot," stated the chosen mediator, much to Gordes' surprise, "As Ruler, I cannot interfere with a battle between Servants. Lancer of Red's attempt on my life is a separate matter. As such, I can only oversee the fight."

"Geez, all this talking. Enough with the blah, blah, blah already," muttered Saber. Glancing back at his Master for a moment, he then dashed at Lancer, "Sorry, for interfering, but I think I'll take over from Assassin."

With wide, swinging arcs, his attacks put her on the defensive. She retreated to the air and he leaped up after her, dashing through the air and sending a slash her way. She blocked and lunged down as gravity brought him down. He blocked with his sword and the ground exploded as they landed. She then pushed herself off hastily as a bullet ripped through the air, right where her head was. They looked to the side as Assassin reset the bolt on his sniper rifle.

"Assassin! You should not interfere!" Ruler admonished. The Servant in question waved her off like it was nothing.

XD

"I don't mind," spoke up Lancer as she readied to charge, "Keeps me on my toes. Done that before." And she made her move.

Saber twisted around to avoid two jabs and then leaped back as she jumped up and hammered the lance downwards, producing a small shockwave. She flipped back to avoid another bullet and Saber took this time to attack, dashing forward and slashing wide several times in rapid succession. Forced back, she suddenly swung her spear around, catching another bullet sent her way and deflecting it to him. His eyebrow raised, he jumped over it and the bullet exploded on impact with the ground, green sludge bursting out. Saber smirked at that. He and Lancer then rushed at each other, blade and point clashing as they swerved and parried each other's attacks several times. As they did this, she leaned back and dodged another bullet by a breath of hair. Swinging once, she proceeded to kick Saber away, who guarded with his sword. She leaped up and charged at him, her lance crashing on the ground as he jumped over her, already anticipating the attack.

At the apex of the jump, a large revolver appeared in his other hand and he shot at her. She danced around the shot as well as another of Assassin's sniper rounds, which exploded in an electrical discharge. He landed, shooting at her several times, each shot expertly dodged as she danced around them. In return, she swung her spear around and deflected Assassin's shot into him again. This time, he was ready and shot the bullet, the resulting clash exploded in a conflagration of fire and electricity.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," she praised as she suddenly relaxed her stance, much to the wariness of Saber, "But I think that's enough for now. It's time."

"Time? What time... oh," started the Servant of the Sword, but then only noticed the beginnings of a rising sun peeking out from behind the mountains.

"That's right. As much as I'd like to continue dancing, but this girl doesn't work after hours," she told him with a shrug, "After all, the War is supposed to be kept a secret, right?"

"No harm no foul, I suppose," he replied as he shouldered his sword, "I guess we'll have to continue this dance later."

"You sure know how to keep a girl wanting more," she teased him as the others came nearer, "We should definitely continue later, pretty boy."

"Wait! Lancer of Red," Ruler called out, but her words were ignored and the Servant disappeared. A look of disappointment graced her face as she stepped up to Saber and said, "It was a good fight. It could have done without Assassin's interference, however."

"Hey, whether he jumped in or not, is up to him," Saber of Black stated nonchalantly as he shrugged, "It was his fight, to begin with. I just helped end it. Right, Assassin?"

The Servant concerned nodded. Then, focusing on Ruler, more numbers and letters appeared.

3MTA3

She shook her head sadly. Gordes interjected by clearing his voice and requested, "Ruler, would you now come with us to Castle Millenia?"

"No. I must stay neutral," she refused.

"But, there is no better place to survey the area than our domain!" he tried to persuade her.

"I am able to oversee the whole of Trifas at once. No need for concern," she refuted.

His eye twitched at that moment. Sagara quipped in, "Oi, calm down Gordes. She's right you know. Hell, I bet she found my Assassin the same way." At that mention, she nodded in agreement.

"...I see," the large magus gritted out, apparently put off by the whole thing. As he turned around to walk back to the car, he ordered, "Saber, we're leaving!"

Said Servant sighed and said to the neutral party, "Don't worry about the hard ass. You do you." With his part said, he shifted back to spirit form.

"Oi, oi, what about me?" called out the Master of Assassin as his Servant decided to make himself scarce too.

"Shut up and get in," Gordes retorted as he continued walking. The former rolled his eyes and went after him.

He slowly opened his eyes. That dream was horrible. So many of his brothers and sisters being used up and then tossed aside. It was horrible. He looked to the side and saw a lady with red hair sleeping in a chair next to the bed. This was unexpected. Did she bring him here? Was it her that helped him? So many questions and no answers.

"Who are you?" were his first words, already deciding that it was the best question to answer at the moment.

She slowly stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled, "Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

A little taken aback ber her concern, he said slowly, "I... am fine. Thank you for saving me."

"Oh, so the boy is up already?" spoke another voice. He was shocked to see another person materialize on the other side of the bed. He was huge! He had never seen anyone so tall before.

"Ah, you should thank Berserker too," spoke up the lady, "He helped save you as well."

"Maybe you shouldn't thank me yet, Rider," said the man as his eyes stared directly at his own widened ones.

Berserker? Rider? These... are Servants!

His heart started racing in fear.

Are they going to send me back? No...

His hands clenched at the bedsheets.

"Berserker, whatever it is you're doing, stop. You are frightening the poor boy," admonished the red-headed Servant.

"Are you joking? He's fine," the giant Servant chided with a grin. He continued, "Well, son. Do you know who you are and where you are right now? I hope you do cause' I'm sure my nanomachines can't fix memory loss."

"I... I am a homunculus..." he trailed off as he tried to muster his words without tearing up, "Creations like me only have a few years to live before dying..."

"You poor boy," muttered the lady sadly.

"So, what's next on your agenda, son?" the giant asked, "Now that you've escaped capture, what will you do now?"

"I... don't know," he admitted. This much was true. What now? He was clueless. All he knew was that he didn't want to die in that tank. To be discarded like a puppet. What did he want? The burning question.

Berserker let out an exasperated sound and said, "Then you can stay here and think about what you want to do. For now at least. Later, if I should ask you again, I expect an answer. If not, I'm taking them back."

"No. How can you do this when you've just helped him?" protested Rider as she stood up.

"I can and I will. Those machines are mine to give and mine to take. That is final," the former retorted as he dematerialized.

She sighed and turned back to the homunculus. "Ah, I'm sorry you had to hear that," she said kindly, her motherly smile returning to her face, "Don't worry. Until you find your answer, I'll help you in any way I am able to." She then disappeared too.

He settled back into his bed, the question of what to do next weighing heavily on his mind.

Several minutes later, he felt restless in addition to his troubles. He got up and tried to move around. Each step was shaky, his legs trembling with the strain of his body's weight.

I don't know what to do. I'm supposed to use this time to figure it out on my own but I have no idea where to start.

He stumbled. He reached out to grab a nearby table and managed to steady himself. He paused to take a moment's rest.

Berserker will kill me if I don't have an answer. What do I say? I don't want to die. I want to live. I just want to survive and live. What do I do?

He tried to walk over to the bookshelf but he misstepped and tumbled down to the floor. Groaning in pain, he tried to push himself up to his feet but it felt that even his whole body felt tired after that ordeal. So he sat there, his heart troubled and his body worn out.

What should I do next...

Commentary:-

Hello everyone. Welcome back to the next chapter of Doubtful Origin. So... not many people tried to guess their identities. Hmm. I suppose I can list them down.

Red Faction

Saber - still Mordred.
Archer - Peacock from Skullgirls
Lancer -
Rider - Zero from Drakengard 3
Berserker - Doomslayer from Doom 2016
Caster -
Assassin - still Semiramis

Black Faction

Saber - Nero from DMC5
Archer - Mael Radec from Killzone series
Lancer -
Rider - someone from Fire Emblem
Berserker - Senator Armstrong from MGS Revengeance
Caster -
Assassin - Zer0 from Borderlands 2

As you can see, there are still a couple more Servants up for identification. Yes, DocHoliday, Rider of Black is not Church. This ain't Red vs Blue. I think we all can blame autocorrect for not having her name here. Nevertheless, maybe someone else can put her correct name down. On another note, this chapter does feature Lancer of Red a little more, so guess away! Other than that, we have Seig. Although, I think I should call him something else since I don't see Seigfried anywhere near here. And... Ruler is still the same. I have not made any changes to Ruler. Good or bad, I'll deal with it. Also, if you want, you can also leave suggestions on what to call him. Yeah? Great!

Also, don't forget to leave a review after reading, would you kindly?