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

Salvation

Rider soared through the air calmly. Strange enough, there was no other Servant she could see except for the two Sabers. She was quite puzzled. However, she doubted anyone would dare get between the two. And there were none of the strange flying skeletons she fought twice over. So, she decided to swing by the castle to look over the place. The strange fortress seemed to be moving away and she did catch something shining slowly going up. Was that the Grail? Even stranger, her Master hasn't said a single word through their link. Quite strange indeed. Was she still feeling morose at not getting the Servant she wanted? Perhaps she could cheer her up later. Maybe introduce her to Minerva.

At that thought, she smiled. Then, her mind wandered to Jack. She was quite amused when he came back to tell her about his training session with Berserker. He had a bit more life behind those worried eyes of his.

"Perhaps I should check on him," she muttered softly. A moment later, she called out, "Minerva, to the castle."

A roar of affirmation later, she was flying over the Black Faction's base of operations. The fortress had moved on and already a distance away. She circled around, going lower and closer to the parapet and noticed someone familiar carrying something wrapped up with the help of others. Jack looked up and waved at her. She waved back with a motherly smile as she flew past.

"He seems to be doing well. Why, he's even helping out the other homunculi. Such a good boy," she thought to herself, feeling a little proud of him.

However, she was not the only one to have caught sight of him. Celenike got up from her seat and hurried out of her personal room. She walked straight to Fiore's room and knocked. Getting verbal permission to enter, she opened the door and announced, "We have to get the other Masters. We may have a problem."

"So, I suppose I have to get started then," muttered Sagara as he pulled out a ritual knife from the inner pocket of his jacket.

"A moment, Master./ Do hear out my suggestion./ Kidnap all Masters."

He blinked. Why in the world is his Servant suggesting this? "Explain," he ordered.

"Taking all present./ Threaten other Servants too./ Winning faction War."

To be honest it sounded true enough. But...

"You do realize they called this a 'War', right?" he snarked as he stepped to the nearest magus, "I don't see why we should take them all instead of just taking Caster's Master and killing the rest."

"Strange."

The knife stopped moving. "What now, Assassin?" he grumbled out. He just needed a bit of blood for the small detection ritual. Why all the disturbances?

"Berserker left them./ He did not take anyone./ Are they still Masters?"

Good point... but... even if they were not Master's anymore, they could still be made Master's again, so it would be best to eliminate them. And so, he continued to move to the nearest magus.

"Count."

Count? What is this Servant talk-

"Wait... there are supposed to be seven Masters... There are only five here," he muttered as he scrutinized the place. He picked up the magus' hand and noticed faint scaring on it... as if something had been taken away. "So it is safe to presume they aren't Masters anymore... but that means..." he muttered in thought, "The other two Masters have taken their Seals, or maybe even one Master took all of them... but, there is no way an ordinary magus can sustain all seven Servants by their lonesome.

"Information."

He glanced over to his Servant and after a pause, said, "You want to get information out of them?"

A nod.

He sighed and groused, "I suppose it makes sense. I can't really see the point of doing my magecraft here in Caster's territory. Not if it would bring all eyes on me. But to bring everyone out?" He looked around the small room and observed. The room was out of the way and far from the center of the flying fortress. So... it is possible that there might be a way for the occupants to escape the place should the entire thing be compromised. Therefore...

He pricked a finger and deposited the knife back in his jacket. Quickly, he drew out a rough array on both sides of his opposing hand before the blood congealed. A minor thing. Muttering a few words and utilizing his circuits, the array hummed and glowed. He then picked a side and started waving that hand over the wall. Eventually, he felt a buzz and he pressed down on a brick. Without warning, the whole room was filled with white light.

When the light faded, he found himself sitting on the ground. He was a little surprised to feel the earth with his fingers. The other former Masters were sprawled around in front of him, peacefully unconscious. His Servant? Was still standing, in the middle of all this.

"At least we are relatively unharmed," he muttered as he started to get to his feet, but a metallic click froze him in his spot while feeling a cold metal thing pressed against his head. Slowly, he turned his head around to steal a glance behind him.

"Hey there, mind telling me why you suddenly appeared here, with the Red Faction Masters?" asked a large, menacing guy with sunglasses. The metal thing was a sawed-off shotgun. He then glanced up and stated, "Oh, and tell your Servant to back off. If I hear that gun fire, I'm pulling the trigger too."

He turned to face front and saw that his Servant had materialized a gun as well. It was a revolver, red in color.

"Well?" the Master asked.

He let out a breath. Even if this was an unexpected twist, he had to find a way to get out of it. Unfortunately, this guy had a reputation and nowhere in there mentioned a reasonable magus. And now that he got a better look at the other Masters now that they were out of that room, they have their own reputations too. He was thanking his lucky stars that they were incapacitated at the time. Now...

"Fine. Assassin, stand down," he relented. The Servant immediately lowered the gun.

"Right. How about that explanation?" he asked again.

Sagara sighed and proceeded to tell him how he ended up there.

The set of double doors was flung open and Lancer and Ruler dashed inside, ready to retaliate. When the room seemed devoid of life, they relaxed a little. It was a grand room, illuminated by great torches by the side of the walls and moonlight streaming through the stained glass at the far end of the door. The glass had clear religious motifs on them. Underneath it was an altar of some sort. Two great flights of stairs leading up coming down from both sides of the room. Darnic followed after the Servants, Caster and Archer coming in after him, both making careful observations of the room.

"The Grail is not here, and yet why does it feel like there is something off about this place?" Darnic muttered aloud.

"You have every right to feel that way, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia," spoke out a voice. Footsteps could be heard descending down from one of the flights. Everyone was immediately put on guard.

"Who are you? Are you one of the Masters of Red?" challenged the magus.

"I am. Yet, this is not the first time we meet," replied the unknown voice.

Puzzled, he waited patiently for the owner of the voice to step into the light. "What!? That's impossible!" he exclaimed in shock, "It can't be. How are you alive!?"

"Please. You are alive, thus so am I," the white-haired man in priestly vestments replied calmly as he came to a stop in front of the altar, "What is so strange about that?"

"Darnic, how do you know him?" questioned Lancer, glancing to the side.

"He is from the Fuyuki Holy Grail War," growled out his Master, "A Servant!"

"What!?" exclaimed the other Servants of the Black Faction.

"You must be the reason I was called forth," stated Ruler as she stepped forward, "You are of the Ruler class as well. Why are you breaking the rules of this War?"

"The rules... if I were so bound by the rules, then I could not help anyone," he spoke with a regretful face that gave way to a steely determination, "So I shall break those rules if it would assist me in achieving my dream. None shall stand in my way."

"What are you after, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?" she responded in kind, revealing his true identity.

"Is it not obvious?" he declared with a smirk, "I wish to save all of mankind, Jeanne d'Arc. The salvation of humanity."

"As one of the Ruler class, it is our duty to help those living in this world when we are allowed to," she asserted, "Yet, you deviate from that with your actions, trying to force salvation on humanity when such a thing does not truly exist."

"If not, then why was I reincarnated in the War sixty years ago!" he fired back, "I refuse to back down after coming so far. Anyone who opposes me will be gotten rid of."

"These are not the actions of a Heroic Spirit, Amakusa Shirou," she replied as she stared resolutely.

"It is as you say, Jeanne d'Arc. My actions are neither of a saint nor are they heroic," he agreed as he mirrored her actions, "However, if I can bring forth the miracle of salvation to humanity, I will do it."

Lancer and Archer took a step forward, but Darnic raised his hand. They looked at him and he shook his head. He was content to let the Ruler Servants confront each other. If he can have time to figure out his opponent, all the better.

"And what of the other Masters of Red?" she continued to question.

"They already fulfilled their purpose, so they are not needed anymore," he replied.

"Just what did you..."

"Do not fret, Ruler," spoke out a Servant of stunning beauty that materialized, "Or are you saying he is going against the rules?"

"Queen of Assyria. World's oldest poisoner. Are you the Assassin of Red? Semiramis," she asked.

"Indeed."

"Are you his accomplice? Or is this all part of your plan?" she pressed forth.

"You think I was the one who led my Master down this path? You are a bit off, Ruler," Assassin of Red explained, "I am a Servant who is just following my Master."

At that moment, hurried footsteps were heard coming behind them. Archer, Rider, and Caster of Red entered the room and grouped up on the side.

"You had best tell us what is going on, priest," demanded Rider with an annoyed tone, "Why did we feel like we changed Masters?"

Semiramis made to retort but Amakusa held up his hand and replied in her stead, "Indeed. A moment ago I had a peaceful conversation with your Masters... and they agreed to hand over all their Command Seals to me. In other words, I, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, am now Master of all Servants of the Red faction."

"How the heck did you become a Servant?" asked Archer of Red after a pause.

"An interesting development," said Caster of Red, "I, for one, am curious as to where this would lead."

"Why are we supposed to accept your leadership, Ruler?" Rider of Red continued to demand, "Our former Masters are the ones who went through all the effort to summon us, as useless as they are. What right do you have to command us?"

"I will answer all your questions later, Servants of Red," he replied calmly, "If you would please be patient until then." The Red Servants glanced at each other and silently moved to stand with him. Then, he turned to the Black Faction and continued, "Regarding the conflict between the Black and Red factions. I propose this. Surrender here and now the three of you. Jarvan the Fourth. Mael Radec. The Ancestor of the Heir."

"I refuse. A Demacian does not go back on their word."

The former Ruler turned his eyes to Archer of Black.

"You know better than to ask. My place is with my leader and my Master."

"And you?" he asked Caster of Black.

A blink. An unnerving smirk appeared. "A question. How do you intend to save humanity? It must be near impossible of an answer for you to need the Grail," the Servant queried in return.

"It is."

"Such a grand design," the Black Servant of Magecraft with a strange eagerness in his voice, "I must agree with Caster of Red. I am curious."

"Caster. Do not..."

"I cannot help it, Lancer," the latter admitted easily, "One such as I have an unending thirst for knowledge, be it forbidden or otherwise." He then proceeded to step aside, away from his group and faced them, "I will join them. You will be unable to stop me."

"You will pay for this betrayal, Caster," spoke up Archer of Black as he materialized his pistol. However, it was shot to smithereens by a cannonball.

"Nope. I haven't decided on the change of management, but now is my turn to bust your weapons," Archer of Red gleefully said as she kept that portable cannon pointed at him.

"My liege, I advise retreat," spoke up Darnic after having been silent this whole time, "With six Servants against three, I doubt we can gain a victory without casualties."

"Then, I am afraid I cannot let you go, Darnic," Amakusa declared, "If you stand against the salvation of humanity, then you should be removed. You, Ruler and the other Servants of Black will fall here in Assassin's Gardens." Looking at Caster of Black, he requested, "I know we haven't made a contract, but could you lend us your aid?"

"Certainly," the old Servant replied as he raised his hands and clenched, now aglow in a red aura. Two figures draped in black robes materialized, blocking the door and the only exit of the room.

"Tch, between a rock and a hard place," muttered Lancer of Black as he readied himself and his lance.

"It has been an honor serving you," stated Archer as he brought forth a rifle and aimed it at the robed figures.

"Amakusa Shirou, this is folly," protested Jeanne, but she readied herself as well to fight their way out.

"I am sorry, but..."

A loud boom interrupted him. One of the robed figures shuddered, as if in pain. Another boom caused it to collapse into a bloodied heap. The second robed figure turned around to face this new threat and opened the front of the robe. Berserker of Red stepped out of the shadow and grabbed something. A human spine with a sharpened tip, protruding from a heap of writhing red flesh. He smashed his other hand into the spine, breaking it off. He then stabbed the pointed end into the center of its mass and walked past its crumpling form.

"Ah, you made it back, Berserker of Red. Doomslayer," Amakusa greeted.

Berserker took one glance at everyone and proceeded to summon a pistol and aimed it at the former Servant.

"Berserker, think twice about your actions, I will not suffer-" warned Assassin but before she could finish, he pulled the trigger and shot once. A shield of snake scales appeared in front of her Master and absorbed the shot. Her eyes went wider when she saw that it somehow burned a hole right where her Master's head would be. If he shot a second time, her Master would have expired.

"Berserker, please stand down," Amakusa said as he attempted to persuade the Servant of Madness, "The Black Faction wishes to stop me from pursuing humanity's salvation. Even Caster of Black has decided to join hands with my efforts."

"Do not be tricked by his words, Berserker," called out the present Ruler, "As well-meaning as his ideal might be, the dead should not be the ones to lead the living."

The Servant kept staring at the priest. For a moment, nobody moved, all wondering who will he side on. Each one hoping that they had been convincing enough to gain his aid. The energy pistol dematerialized.

"I am glad that you see reason, Ber-"

The words died in his mouth when a rocket launcher appeared over his shoulder. Before anyone could recover from the shock, he aimed at the ceiling and fired. Which in turn, got everyone reacting.

"How dare you!" yelled Assassin. She quickly covered the top of their heads with snake scales to prevent the ceiling from burying them.

"Retreat," yelled Lancer and almost immediately, the rest of the Black Faction and Ruler ran towards the exit. Berserker turned after them when they had cleared the room.

Archer of Red laughed. Caster of Red looked up in surprise. Rider quickly dashed forward with the intent of hunting them down. She caught sight of a strangely shaped thing bouncing at her and was taken aback by the explosion that followed, throwing her back into the room. Meanwhile, Caster of Black gestured with his hands and grasped the air, both hands now glowing orange.

As the Black faction ran down the corridor with two new allies in tow, they were halted by a cry of disbelief. Spinning around, they found Darnic being pulled away from the group by glowing, orange tentacles that seemed to sprout from the ground itself. It speedily entangled his limbs and sought to trap him there, now moving around his face to silence him. They only seemed to be preventing him from moving and not constricting him. Lancer dashed after him, intent on freeing his Master but was now blocked by numerous chains launching themselves from the pillars and the ground itself. The other Servants moved to intervene but Lancer held up his hand.

"I shall remain. The rest must leave," he declared sternly, "He is my Master, and so my responsibility. They will not be so quick to kill him while I am here. You, however, must return to the castle and warn everyone of his betrayal."

They looked at each other and then to the appointed leader of the Black Faction. "You will die here, my liege," said Archer.

"A certain fact," agreed the former, "It has been an honor serving with you."

"Very well," replied the latter. Turning to the others, he shouted, "Move out. Back to the castle."

As they continued to race down the path, Lancer turned around and glared at the chain barrier. "FOR DEMACIA!" he roared as he leaped at it, bringing down his lance with his full might.

"Oi, Saber, I found out something interesting."

"Not... right now," she hissed back, her full concentration on her Noble Phantasm, "I have... a Saber of Black to kill."

"Well, it seems that almost all the Masters of the Red Faction have suddenly appeared in front of the car, along with a Master of Assassin of Black."

"Eh?" she muttered. The beam of red light faltered a little as her mind shook with minor surprise.

"And after some questioning, it seems when he discovered them, they had their Seals taken. I have a hunch that the priest has betrayed us."

"Che, like begets like. I'm not surprised," she replied, recollecting her composure and maintaining the beam, "Want me to finish this guy off and get on that flying castle?"

"Talking about Assassin? Heh, no need. It's already flown ahead and he also said most of the Black Servants are there... Still, I think we need to find out what else happened up there. You think you can stop fighting for a moment and ask that other Saber for a truce?"

"What? Oi, what are you talking about?" she retorted out, both aloud and through her link, even stopping the beam and stepping aside. The opposing beam fired past behind her for a few seconds before dissipating.

"I'm saying that our worst suspicions have come true. That we were right to mistrust that duo at the church. Somehow, that priest has gotten hold of their Command Seals and is now in control of all the other Servants of the Red Faction. I rather not go in fighting blind if I can help it. If we can make use of their help, we might just make it out on top."

"Oh, why didn't you say so!" she fired back with a smirk. Turning back to face Saber of Black, she found him on one knee in his original place. The metal contraption on his hand had disappeared and it sounded like he was regaining control of is breathing.

"Why'd you stop? I thought you wanted a good fight?" he asked with a mirrored smirk.

"If you wanna continue getting beaten up, I'm all for it," she taunted, but soon cleared away her own smirk, "But something came up and my Master is asking for a truce. Care to relay that message?"

Commentary:-

Happy Lunar New Year everyone. Welcome back to the next chapter of Doubtful Origin. We start off with Rider of Black getting Jack in trouble. Then, we move part of the timetable forward a bit and do a bit of rescuing. And as we saw earlier, a faceful of shotgun is never a good thing. Then, we have the confrontation at a chapel of sorts. At least I think it is. Darnic has extended his life expectancy for the moment since he didn't get Vlad. Confrontations. Revelations. Everything out on the table. The betrayal that happened with eldritch accompaniment. And this time, the cavalry comes in the form of Berserker of Red. Nothing that a rocket can't fix, eh? However, as the retreat commences, the sole Master-Servant pair was entangled. Will they survive? Then, Saber vs Saber ending unexpectedly. And there was much confusion here.

Alright, folks, that's a wrap. If you're able to, please leave a comment or a review after reading, would you kindly?