Trial Quest - Arjuna: Ending

"You keep staring at the ocean, is there something you're seeing down there?"

Ash briefly hummed in response before he replied. "You mentioned fishing before, I have been giving it some thought."

He heard the grunt of interest from Nudd, all but urging him to continue.

"I have come to the conclusion that it might well be a skill worth learning, though from what I have seen of the art - and what little I know - it involves standing around and staring at a string in the water until something bites it."

The wet footsteps of Nudd came to a rather abrupt halt, Ash ceased his own movements not soon after and turned his gaze onto the God, briefly frowning at the expression he noticed on the face of the man. Or, more specifically, lack thereof.

Nudd was just staring at him with a face devoid of any and all feeling.

"Have I said something incorrect?"

"...I am required to answer that question with a yes." Was the slow response he received, the God sounding as though they were trying to form their words as delicately as possible. "But if you were to describe fishing in the simplest of ways, then the answer would be no. What you have said is exactly how I would describe fishing…to a small child."

Ash felt as though he should have been a touch more offended than he actually was.

But he was quickly coming to the realisation that his own experiences with things made his perspective no different from that of a child. Rather, it was the manner in which he was having to approach everything. As that of a child experiencing it all for the first time, which seemed to be the most efficient method possible.

The explanations were much simpler and easy to follow.

"Fishing is…" Nudd trailed off, one hand on his hips while the other was brought up, twirling it around in a circle for a few moments before it halted. "Fishing is a matter of patience and skill. There are all manner of factors which play into being able to catch the greatest fish. You need to know about the migration patterns of the fish, the seasons for which they come back to breed, which types of bait are the favourite of which species, the timing to ensure you don't lose the fish."

Ash stared at them blankly.

Nudd, seeing this, stopped and dropped his raised arm down. "It's more complicated than just throwing a tied up worm into the water and then hoping for the best. Because if you tried something like that then the only thing you would be liable to catch would be the bears who came looking for the fish."

A pause, then they added on. "And bear meat doesn't taste very nice."

They were assuming he would kill and attempt to eat the bear.

They were correct to do so.

He would probably attempt that, but it was good to be warned off before he made a fool of himself.

Resuming his walk, Nudd continued on with a light tone of voice. "And, truthfully, it also depends upon the type of fish that you want as well. Then there's casing the environment because certain fish are liable to appear in certain streams as well. If a stream is too shallow then you aren't liable to get anything, or anything you do get is going to be very small."

He raised a finger, smiling indulgently. "Now lakes, on the other hand, are a much better source when it comes to fishing as there is usually a stable population. Though they do shift with the seasons, catching them during the summer is when they experience a population boom. But that can also be true of Spring…but that's dependent on the species."

His hands clapped together. "Alright, weather. The best time would actually be early morning if there is some light rain. Now, that might sound odd, but the key to that is the fact the rain is knocking the insects into the water and the fish know this, so they come up and prowl around the surface-"

"Which means they are more vulnerable."

Nudd pointed at him, smiling in approval. "Exactly. Now then, from that point-"

"No, I cannot say that I have ever been struck by lightning before." Siegward replied with an honest frown, rather perturbed by the sudden question. "Not unless you count being struck by the Miracles of the Gods, but I do not believe the two can be held in equal with one another. At all."

Astolfo just hummed and shrugged his shoulders in front of him. "I'm just gonna come right out and say it. Getting struck by lightning is an unforgettable experience. I mean, I think it hurts like hell, but I can't tell you for sure."

Siegward furrowed his brows. "You think?"

"I don't like thinking, so I'm just going with what my gut says." The Rider shot back without missing a beat. "But even if I was struck by lightning, which I don't remember happening but am sure did happen, then it would definitely hurt. But it could also be like one of those weird pains that people enjoy."

He felt as though his world view was being expanded. "Hmmmmm. When you say that people enjoy pain…what exactly do you refer to?"

Astolfo turned his head, blinking at him twice before letting out a whistle. "Yikes, the Throne really didn't fill you in at all. The modern world got really freaky when it comes to this sort of thing. You know what some of those modern humans are doing to themselves?"

He shook his head, not sure where this conversation was going.

"You know that some people now strangle each other?"

"...What?"

"Yeah. It's true." With a sage nod of the head, they turned back around and hummed. "It's pretty weird. They also tie people up as well, I think there is this one thing that involves whips and all…but that sort of branches into some real weirdos. I get this weird shiver when I think about the chains and whips though…like I had a bad experience with that stuff…or maybe it was just a weird one? Not sure, couldn't tell you."

"For that, my good man, I am rather pleased." Siegward felt himself go a little lightheaded at the sudden conversation which veered into a topic he wasn't at all ready for. "I cannot say I have ever given that sort of thing much thought…do you think about it often?"

"Again, I don't do a lot of thinking. Just go with the first thing that pops into my head."

He replied without missing a beat.

Then his head turned to the side. "It's actually super freeing, not having to put loads of effort into thinking. You just go out and do something without worrying about the consequences until they slap you in the face…and then you can deal with those consequences later."

"...Doesn't that sound rather careless?"

"Maybe?" A shrug of the shoulders. "Not sure. The way I see it, the more time you spend worrying about something, the less time you spend actually doing it. Like, if I saw someone in trouble, I would just go and save them. I wouldn't think about doing it, because that would be taking time away which I could be using to save them."

Siegward blinked.

That made a great deal of sense to him.

"I see." With another hum, he bobbed his head up and down as he considered his words, finding them to make a great deal more sense than before. "So then, what are your instincts telling you about this Archer fellow?"

Astolfo turned his head right the way around, shifting his body to gaze up at him in surprise. "You're asking me that? I'm fine with it. If the guy wanted to hurt Master, then it would have made sense for them to do that already. I mean, sure they might be trying to trick us but we can deal with that bridge when we get to it. Looking gift horses in the mouth and all that."

Again, it made sense.

"Well, I suppose I will save my judgement for when I meet them." He replied rather swiftly, pulling a smile behind his helmet as he stared down at the young man. "I'm afraid I like to do a bit of thinking when the going gets tough. I spent much too long rushing headlong into problems and needing others to rescue me from them."

Rather than look offended, Astolfo just nodded his head. "Hey, I get that. Not thinking is pretty hard. It takes a lot of effort to just do things and not think about them. You always have to work on not thinking." they pointed to themselves. "It's easier for me because I've got no sense of reason, but not everyone else has that so they'd really struggle. But if you want to do the thinking, then I'll let you do it for me. That's what I did for the other Paladins."

Siegward chuckled. "Not to worry! I shall do more than enough thinking for the pair of us!"

"Yeah! I never have to think about anything ever again when I'm with you! Thinking sucks! I hate thinking!"

…Their enthusiasm was infectious, even if it was rather disturbing.

"Almost got it…" Ritsuka muttered, leaning further over the edge and reaching his free hand out. Wincing for a second, then turning towards Archer as he held his other arm in a secure grip. "Loosen me up a second, gonna try and have another-whoah!"

He gasped, jerking slightly as the boat rocked, thankfully not tumbling over the side and into the ocean, he had the grip of Archer to thank for that. The boat tilted onto the starboard, he stumbled backwards a couple steps before catching himself. Waiting until the boat dropped back down and stabilised.

"I believe that loosening my hold would be a rather poor move on my part, Master." Archer stoically responded a moment later.

"Don't try and put yourself in harm, Senpai!" Mash called up from her small dingy, Ritsuka turned his eyes back to her as the boat leaned port, he stared down at the girl as she reached up with her own hand, fingers just gracing across the tips of his. "I can probably manage it by myself-"

"Nah, this is easier." He cut her off with a smile.

Also it might have been some element of personal pride talking, but Mash was always going out of her way to do this sort of thing for him. It felt right for him to at least do the same for her once or twice. Make everything even between the two of them.

"Hang on…" Biting his lower lip, he pushed off the side of the ship and reached his arm towards her, clasping her wrist with his hand in as tight a hold he could manage. "Got you! Alright Ar-"

The Servant didn't even wait for him to finish, the moment he heard the first words he was already pulling him onto the deck of the ship. Ritsuka released a small noise of surprise at the ease at which Archer pulled both himself and Mash onto the deck of the ship, along with the infallible rubber boat that Mash had been riding upon.

He didn't even blink as he came face to face with the eyes of the raft.

"Thanks for the lift, Archer." Getting his arm back, he helped Mash fully onto the boat, earning a brief grunt of affirmation from the Servant in question as he aided the girl away from the edge, just in case the boat was rocked by more stormy seas. "How are you feeling, Mash?"

"I'm alright, Senpai…" Mash exhaled, smiling at him before her eyes switched onto Archer, then stepped forwards and bowed her head. "Thank you for protecting Senpai in my stead, I can only apologise for you needing to do so in the first place."

Archer regarded the girl with a stray glance, then hummed. "You do not need to thank me for such a thing. Protecting one's Master is the basic nature of a Servant, if I failed in such a task then I would be undeserving of being summoned in the first place." folding his arms, his gaze was cast back to the raft with an unblinking nature to it. "Now that you are here, you might redeem whatever faults you believe yourself to have made."

To Ritsuka, it just sounded like he was telling her not to blame herself in a runabout way.

Which was nice of them.

"Yes." Mash responded, then raised her head back up before she paused, squinting her eyes at Archer for a few moments and rolling her lips. Turning towards him, she took a step closer and dropped her voice into a whisper. "Senpai, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to explain it but…Archer feels as though he should be someone very important."

He raised a brow. "Yeah, Archer said the same thing. You mean like them being a really famous Heroic Spirit then, right?"

"Exactly." Her confirmation was followed by a puzzled frown. "But…that just makes this seem very strange, Senpai. I'm not sure how a Servant with this sort of feeling would be able to forget what happened to them in the first place or why they would be summoned by you."

"..."

"A-ah! Not that I'm saying you wouldn't be able to summon really famous Servants! You really can! You have King Arthur and Jeanne d'Arc, so it's just because of where they were summoned rather than-"

He hastily brought his hands up and waved her down before she could get too into it. "You don't need to go through all of that, Mash. I know what you meant." nodding his head to the Servant in question, he continued on. "Me and Archer thought it was pretty weird as well, given that I don't remember summoning him."

Archer raised his voice. "I believe that it is possible I was summoned by another who was not familiar with the mystical arts. This could lead to a failure in my manifestation which concealed my true name…or it perhaps relates to some manner of legend regarding my identity?" he ventured, bringing a hand up and gazing down at his gloved palm.

Ritsuka blinked, then turned on Mash. "Is that a thing that can happen to Servants?"

Mash frowned, then rolled her jaw from side to side. "I am not sure, Senpai. It could be possible for a Servant to forget their true name if it was related to a very important part of their legend…but it was said that Sigurd also lost his memories of Brynhildr, but he remembered her when they met during the Singularity…so…"

A noise came from Archer.

"Brynhildr and Sigurd…" The Servant frowned, then moved his palm to cup his chin. "Sigurd…The King of Warriors…I believe that I might have had some manner of encounter with a King in the past? Or perhaps multiple Kings."

His eyes closed, a sigh escaped them. "It is difficult to explain. But I believe that my legend involves royalty of some form."

Ritsuka hummed. "That would narrow it down, I think."

"Not as much as I would believe, given that there are doubtless many Heroic Spirits related to monarchies." Archer replied quickly, but not unkindly, rather he sounded somewhat exhausted, shaking his head, his focus moved away from the inflatable raft and back onto him. "I will continue to think on this, but I know I have experience with Kings."

There was another option.

"I take it you couldn't contact Chaldea?" He turned on Mash, the girl shook her head from side to side.

If they couldn't contact Chaldea on either end, then there was no telling what was going on or if he could even summon a Servant down here in the first place. He wasn't able to do so during the events in London.

Calling forth Jeanne just to have her serve as the equivalent of an ID check also felt rather insulting to her.

The other option was Ash…however…

Ash's brain was crammed full of just about every piece of information, according to the Avenger himself, which meant that asking them to look for something would either take a couple of seconds or could stretch on for hours. That was if they were even able to remember it in the first place, having knowledge was not the same as recalling it.

No, he wouldn't do something like that with Ash.

If they did recognise Archer immediately, then that was fine, but at the moment there was no reason to force the matter. The Servant hadn't done anything to put him on edge, not all that much. Though there was the incident earlier which had caught his eye, but there was little reason to push that at the moment.

Not until he was sure.

The pillar of water rose like an elevator, Ritsuka could only stare dumbfounded as both Ash and Nudd stepped off the block and onto the boat, then watched as it dispersed, falling back into the ocean like a popped water balloon.

His eyes remained on the spot they had come from, then drifted back to the pair of Servants before he nodded to them. "How was the trip then?"

Ash was the first to respond. "Long. Though it gave me the opportunity to learn of some insightful lessons when it comes to fishing…it would appear as though it is far more complicated than I was initially led to believe. Though Nudd has since informed me of the many skills required to make a decent fisherman. I will endeavour to train with them until I am at an acceptable level."

Ritsuka blinked, then shared a glance with Mash before turning back to the Avenger.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to make of that, but it sounded as though he was interested in it. So he was happy. "Well, as long as you're committed. It does tie into your cooking teachings as well though, doesn't it?"

Nodding his head, Ash grunted. "It does. Though I believe it will be some time before I am capable of making something edible for humans. By comparing my abilities at making vegetable dishes with the art of fishing, I believe that the only ones who could eat my food are Sif and Fou."

"Fou!"

Ritsuka blinked, turning his head down and then raising a brow as the small furry animal just sort of appeared by the feet of Mash, his gaze turned up to the girl as she made a small noise. "Sorry, Senpai. I forgot to mention that Fou snuck in with me again, I was worried about you so I forgot to mention it."

"Eh, I think Fou accompanying us and then just vanishing and appearing is sort of a given for him." He glanced down at the animal, then raised a brow at the almost insulted feeling that the small creature gave off in response to the words of Ash, something the Servant clearly noticed as well, given he was frowning back at the animal, visibly confused as to what they were angry about.

"Talk of the cooking aside." Nudd cleared his throat and put on a smile, stepping forwards and moving across towards Archer. "You must be this mystery Servant we have heard of. It is a pleasure to meet you, lad. You can call me Saber."

Archer turned to them, then leaned back and pinched his brows. "This feeling from you…could it be that perhaps you are…?"

"I have some relation to the Gods, yes." Nudd responded rather simply, Ritsuka fought back the urge to guffaw at his words.

Relation to the Gods, indeed.

That being said, he noticed that Nudd didn't give his true name. It was a relatively smart thing for him to do…were it not for the fact that he was sure that they had all been using their true names through the mental link, so even if they didn't hear it from the mouth of the man himself, he was sure that Archer knew who Nudd was in the first place.

"Much the same as you, it seems." Nudd continued on, something that immediately caught the ear of Ritsuka, whipping his head to the Saber and blinking twice, he noticed and turned on him, jerking his head to Archer. "There's a strong feeling of Divinity from this one, a rather strong tie with his godly parent but I could not tell you which one. It is not one familiar with either of my selves."

Archer looked rather unsurprised by the news, which only prompted them to frown and glance down at themselves. "That news…does not strike me as odd. How strange, but clearly I know much of my past, merely the details of it are lost to me? Perhaps it is a matter of interest in reclaiming such things."

That was…rather troubling to hear.

"What do you mean by that?"

The frown from Archer only deepened in response to his question. "I am not entirely sure myself, Master. Merely that I do not feel this strong urge to reclaim my identity, truth be told. I understand the value of it from a strategic outlook but on a personal level…I hold no true motivation for finding it again."

"...Do you feel some sense of shame in life?" Ash stepped forwards, putting forth his own question on the matter. His eyes traced the Archer up and down, squinting for a second before he grunted. "I do not immediately recognise you, but given time I should have some method of determining who you are."

Ritsuka glanced at the blonde. "Is that really alright Ash?"

A shrug of the shoulders. "It is wiser to know than not to know. Though it will take time, without a name to call upon, I am resorted to looking through every ounce of information regarding someone with his physical characteristics…taking into account I am looking through two worlds, I apologise that I have nothing for your immediate knowledge."

"Don't push yourself, alright?" He grimaced. "I can't really tell you not to, but I don't want you to be throwing all your effort into trying to track something down like this. Not with…any problems that might arise."

Ash's eyes briefly flickered away, then a hum came from his throat. "I…will endeavour to be more careful."

With a single glance left in the direction of the Archer, he strode off to the bow of the ship and folded his arms, gazing across the horizon while leaving Ritsuka with the impression he wasn't actually looking at anything.

When Archer spoke again, it was in a measured tone of voice. "I am afraid that I cannot answer that question. Not completely, I believe that in life I belonged to a caste of warriors and was skilled within that group…I can state with absolute certainty that I was possibly an undefeated warrior during my life."

That definitely sounded like a boast, but the confidence behind the words of the Servant made it feel as though they were speaking the truth.

"And yet…" Archer rolled his lips. "...The notion of reclaiming my identity brings me no personal feelings on the matter. I do not believe that I lived a shameful life and there was much I did that should bring pride. Yet, it is odd, there is no personal incentive for me beyond ensuring I function completely as a Servant."

Ritsuka felt himself slightly put off by the words of the Servant.

He didn't feel as though they had done anything shameful, yet they didn't feel a personal need to reclaim their identity?

The idea that they just didn't care briefly struck him, but for someone who had all the sort of confidence and skill that Archer wielded, that seemed to be a rather bizarre thing. Especially if they were a Heroic Spirit, but he thought more on their words from earlier and their actions. His minute hesitance for battle and blowing off his praise.

Could it be that Archer had no sense of fulfilment with his life?

Possible, but that didn't feel like a complete answer to him.

"Are you sure, Archer-san?" Mash's words brought his attention back to the present, the girl looking rather troubled. "Does your true name really not interest you at all? Aren't you curious about who you were in life, especially if you were so skilled."

Archer remained silent for a moment, then shrugged. "I cannot say it interests me. Whether I remember my identity or not, I am certain that the result will remain the same. Whatever enemy I face will be defeated…perhaps that is the problem. There is nothing that matters between my name and my actions. They will happen regardless." they dropped his arms to his side and made a small noise. "I…do not care."

Ritsuka blinked, then gestured to them. "What about your own life? Don't you care about that?"

The silence was deafening.

With a slight turn of the head, he regarded him for a short moment before shaking his head from side to side. "...It is difficult to admit this, but that is true as well. Had it not been for the fact you were present as well, I have little doubt I would have abandoned the battle earlier."

"For one who carries their head so high, you seem to value it very lightly." Nudd's words brought his attention to the Saber, the man folded his arms, gazing at Archer with a blank stare. "Yet there is something more than that, you value your oaths strongly. More so than your own life, else you would have abandoned the boy. Perhaps you have no value in your own life…but you still value your actions."

Archer paused, turning to the Saber. "My…actions? No, that is merely the duty of a Servant. It should be expected of them to attend their Master and yet…the thought of abandoning Master, even if we did not know one another, to their face was not one that even occurred. Rather, it would have been impossible for me to abandon them."

Ritsuka opened his mouth to reply, only to pause when something crackled through the mental link.

Turning from the others, he brought his hand to his head, nursing his temples as the static sound cut through his mind before clearing out.

'Hey, Master?' Astolfo's voice came through, but what concerned him was the nature of it. There was a touch of nervousness in his voice. 'Me and Siegward are sensing something and Hippo-kun is acting a bit nervous now…I think there might be a Servant coming close to our location, but I can't see anything.'

Ritsuka frowned, turning his eyes onto the sky and frowning at the storm, still unable to see them through the storm clouds.

'Hurry back to us, quick as you can.'

His alarm was troubling, combined with the hippogriff being worried as well.

None of it spelled anything good.

Turning to the others, he raised his hand. "Alright, everyone get ready. Astolfo and Siegward will be coming in soon and they're a little worried they might be bringing company-"

A brief instant.

That was all it was, but he noticed it.

The single second in which the attention of the Servants was not upon him, but rather something behind and above him. Their bodies instantly flew into states of alertness.

Ritsuka paused at their movements, namely that of Archer who had strung out his bow within the span of a single second, bringing it up and all but glaring at something just behind him.

He paused, then turned his head around, turning his eyes up and staring at what had attracted the attention of everyone.

They were a pale skinned man, dressed in a dark skin tight suit, covered with plates of golden armour. The most striking of which were the twin disks which seemed to hover above his shoulders, each being made up of three sections, a disk in the centre flanked by curved spiked brackets which did not connect in the least, yet remained close together as though they were.

In the very centre of the man's chest, placed in his skin itself, was a large oval red jewel.

Twin eyes of azure blue stared down at him, though there was nothing in their gaze that appeared hostile, it felt as though it was a gaze that would pierce right through him. He hadn't felt so exposed in a long time.

With tall bleached white hair reached for the sky, spiked in differing places and appearing a mixture of unkempt and well groomed, if such a thing was possible.

From behind the man billowed a fiery cloth, whipping in the wind like an inferno, its shape changing from moment to moment.

Ritsuka found himself rather alarmed with the sudden appearance of the Servant at the wheel of the ship, namely because there had been no indication of where they were and how they got there in the first place.

Had they been here the whole time?

The Servant moved, slow and patient steps which thudded.

Rain hissed as it lapped against the skin of the Servant, indicating the sheer difference in them from their surroundings.

"I apologise for interrupting your plans, but I am afraid that I could no longer hold my tongue."

With a quiet voice, the Servant spoke up as they moved to the steps leading down to the main deck, but not quite taking the first one. Instead they remained at the summit, his eyes lingered upon him for a moment, then turned away and onto those behind him, or rather onto a single person in particular.

"If you will permit me the chance to speak, though I will intend to do so regardless."

They were…certainly polite.

"...Alright."

Closing his eyes, he inclined his head slightly. "My thanks, I realise this request might seem sudden and my presence would be alarming. Indeed…I can sense Rider of Black closing in, thus I shall make this quick."

Opening his eyes once more, he turned his sight onto Archer.

"I must counter your words. You are not one who is unafraid of death with no value in your life, Archer."

With a quiet intensity to his voice, he continued onwards.

"It is merely that, in this summoning, you have not yet seen death nor experienced it for yourself. The version of you that is here, holds the memories of battle without the experience that comes with it. For you, who achieved such glory in life with neither trial nor effort, it can be said that this is the culmination of that philosophy."

Ritsuka turned his eyes onto Archer, narrowing them slightly at the look the Servant was giving the new arrival. "What…did you…?"

"That is the simple truth that stands before me, Archer." Without giving any indication he heard them, the Servant spoke once more. "You have grown tired of life as there has been no experience which truly challenged your being. Where others strive for betterment in the face of adversity, you merely overcame it as a hero endowed with strength and skill from your very birth."

"You…who are…your face…"

That, at least, confirmed that the two of them knew one another.

Though from the look Archer was giving them, he was venturing towards the possibility that this was not a friendly encounter between them, though the Servant in front of him was still remaining polite in the face of obvious hostility.

With a sigh, the Servant shook his head. "What I see before me is desperation, Archer. One who holds the knowledge but not the passion. You have a low opinion of your own existence because of your own strength…This path you are threatening to walk…it is not one that I shall allow."

He took a single step forwards, steps thudding as he descended down each wooden board, his eyes never once leaving Archer.

"Indeed, there is one existence in this world that I cannot accept. The one that I know in my heart I must fight and see you overcome. Watching you fall to this version of yourself is infuriating…it is something that cannot happen."

A groan from Archer, Ritsuka backed up several steps which went ignored by the pale skinned man. Moving towards Archer, the tanned man grasping at the front of his head, nursing a headache.

"Does the truth hurt you, bowman?" Coming to a halt at the foot of the steps, the pale man narrowed his gaze. "Harming you with words is not my intent, but if that is the only way you might remember the truth of your existence, then I shall accept that as a consequence of them. As you are now, is someone that cannot be tolerated. Neither by myself, nor by those who fought by your side."

Ritsuka didn't see it, but he felt it.

Archer's head snapped up, a flash of blue light rocketed forwards and then pranged into the air.

The pale man held a spear in his grasp, or rather it seemed to be a spear.

Rather than any ordinary diamond shape, the spear was instead forged into a shape similar to that of a sun, made of many spokes for the rays of light, the longest of which at the very top of the spear, serving as the thrusting point.

His eyes snapped up, watching the arrow fired from Archer shoot harmlessly into the air.

"Archer?!" Mash's alarmed cry ran through the air.

Followed swiftly by the cool words of the Lancer(?).

"Is that the best your endowed strength will allow? A wild and crude shot." With silent judgement, the Servant lowered his spear. "Then I suggest you restring your bow, the next shot might well be your last, if this is how you intend to do battle with me."

"Archer?" Ritsuka turned on the Servant "What are-"

"Master." Archer spoke a single word, all but silencing him. His eyes never once being removed from the Lancer as his hand moved to the string of his bow once more, nocking yet another arrow into it. "I cannot explain it. I do not understand it…but I know in my very soul. That man who stands before me. He is the one man…I absolutely cannot accept."

He did not raise his voice, but he did not need to.

The anger burned brightly in his eyes.

"Ho? Is that some light in your eyes, Bowman."

Ritsuka turned back to Lancer as he lowered his spear, a hint of a smile on his face.

"That is indeed more like it. A strong fury, a righteous anger against that which you cannot accept. A malevolence against such things that could shoot down even the sun…Indeed, that is what I expect from you. That is who you are supposed to be."

With a twirl of the spear, the Servant assumed a stance.

"Hold nothing back, bowman. Loosen your arrows without reservation, for I shall hold none of my own strength back."

Ritsuka very quickly got the idea that violence was about to-

A shape blurred past him, he had a fraction of a second - if that - to recognise that it was Ash midway through a sword swing before the world caught up with him.

The world froze, Ash and Lancer collided, the impact of their strike deafened his ears, the boat under them split in half from the shockwave, a clean line ripping right through the deck of the sip, the boat crumpled inwards, his legs slipped out from underneath him and had it not been for Mash grabbing him by the collar, he was sure it wouldn't have been good.

He knew this was a strong foe.

He did not know their name, nor their legend, but he knew there was something strong about them.

Yet despite that feeling, he could not place why he thought as such from the very moment he swung his sword down into the Lancer Servant, they blocked his strike without putting in any visible effort. A concern as he had both size and power on his side, everything he knew told him that he should have bowled the Servant over.

Wood shattered around them, the ship did not survive their clash, splinters blew past his face as he peered down into the gaze of Lancer. They met his eyes without blinking, twisting his body about and sweeping his leg into his chin, turning back around-

He caught the spear below the head, pulling forwards and thrusting for them.

He ducked, the spear ignited with flames and instantly forced his hand from it. Not through the heat, but the physical power of the now burning lance shunted his hand from the shaft, the boat fell away beneath him, he pushed off, sending his body skywards while drawing his left arm back.

Fire coated around his palm, the orb settled into his grasp.

He swung down, hurling the bolt of black flames for the Servant, their divinity was an eyesore for him.

Barely a flicker of light from Lancer, they rocketed into the air in the split second before the attack landed, the orb punched clean through the boat and erupted beneath the ship, the hull buckled and rippled, pulled apart from the explosion and ballooning outwards, burning debris was hurled past his face.

His mind caught up with what he just did.

His eyes snapped onto the direction where Ritsuka had been, feeling a brief pang of relief when he saw that they were already being carried to safety by Nudd, the pillar of water lifting the trio of Mash, Nudd and Ritsuka into the air, though there was no sign of Archer-

"A fighter with no concern for their allies is a greater foe than the enemy."

Ash whipped to the speaker, swinging up-

Spears made of scarlet energy slammed into his body, exploding on contact and blinding his world with light. He swung up all the same, a ray of light belched from his sword, sweeping up and cleaving through smoke and cloud alike, unveiling the Lancer as they hovered in the air above him, a flicker of scarlet danced between his fingers as they swept his hand forwards.

More of those same spears formed and rocketed towards him.

Drawing back his sword, he thrust forwards and fired another arrow of light from the tip of the blade.

The armour plates of Lancer rolled in the air, sweeping down from his shoulders and directly in front of them, in the instant before he was bombarded with the spears of red, he watched his own attack shatter off the golden armour without leaving so much as a scratch.

"Gugh!"

A grunt forced its way from him, carried down into the water by the barrage and splashing into the stormy waves.

It was barely even a single moment that he was held there.

Mana surged from his body, the explosion ripped a pocket from the water, his body propelled itself upwards like a rocket and towards Lancer once more, upon the Servant within a fraction of a second and hammering into them, sword and spear met with a screech of steel, the Servant parried him to the side, his momentum carried him over the top of the Lancer.

His hand blurred out, throwing out another splash of fireballs at the Lancer.

Brilliant flames of orange engulfed the pale skinned man, rushing outwards and forming a barrier between the black flames and the Servant. Burning them away before reaching him, the Lancer shot forwards, matching his speed and thrusting for his head.

The blow struck his guard, his bones protested the sheer strength behind the thin man.

A grunt, he swung out and twisted himself around, righting in the air so they were no longer upside down. Bringing his sword above his head and swinging down, Lancer blocked the falling blow with the shaft of his spear, yet the strength blasted them straight down into the ocean with a mushrooming explosion of steam and scalding water.

Hovering in the air for a moment, he called forth his Reality Marble.

A whirlwind formed under his feet and kept him in the air, the howling vortex screeched as it caught the water in its hold, to the outside world it would have looked as though the water itself was holding him aloft.

His eyes narrowed down at the bubbling mass where Lancer had been knocked down, watching the steam rise with greater intensity.

The surface erupted as a geyser, the Lancer flew from the ocean as a burning meteor and slammed into him. The vacuum formed around them, without sound or air, a brief orb of absolutely nothing from his clash, then the blast of sound rushed through his ears as the force carried them both higher and higher into the sky.

Light danced across his sword, bleached white lept from the blade as a crescent and flowed for the Lancer, a swing of their spear split the gleaming curve in half and followed through with a thrust, the weapon clanged off the angled sword, pushing past and scraping over his shoulder.

He swung back, a fist hammered home into the gut of Lancer and sent then plummeting back towards the ground, mana burst from behind Ash and sent him following after them. Black flames sprung from his grasp, chasing the Lancer down further towards the ocean.

Lancer twisted, sweeping a trail of fire behind their spear, a wall of orange formed between the two of them, the black flames bursting upon impact and clearing the path between them. Ash burst through and slammed down into the raised spear of the Lancer, the two of them meeting for a fraction of an instant before they carried down into the ocean.

He knew not what kept Lancer afloat, but for Ash it was his own magical energy that roared and kept him above the surface of the waves, the ocean bubbled underfoot as the pair raced across the waters, each clash of their weapons sent tidal waves crashing away from them, sweeping great walls of water into the air.

A thrust met the floating shoulder guard, Lancer surged further backwards with a grunt as Ash accelerated forwards, following the attack through and instead sweeping out his left hand, an explosion of pure darkness sprung from his open palm, the form of Lancer was obscured for a brief instant.

A flash of gold, then the sunheaded spear shot forth from the flames and towards his head.

Raising his hand, he frowned as the tip of the spear burst through his palm, but that was acceptable. His fingers wrapped around the head of the weapon and pulled upwards, yanking it away from his face and locking it still, his sword swung across, cleaving through the flames and striking the Lancer just below his ribs.

The resistance he met from their body was greater than he expected.

It was a blow that - by all rights - shoulder and split them in half.

Yet it was akin to striking solid steel, Lancer winced in pain as the blow cut perhaps an inch into their chest before it battered them away from Ash, whipping the spear free of his hand in the process. Lancer skidded twice across the surface of the ocean before righting themselves, twisting about and facing him.

"An advantage against those blessed by the Gods? I see. You are a dangerous foe indeed."

The comment lacked any sense of urgency, but the weight behind it told Ash something else.

"Indeed, it seems as though there is more than one foe. Yet your eyes…" A frown creased Lancers face for a fraction of a second. "How empty indeed. I am troubled by your lack of passion…But perhaps we all have our own reasons for fighting. It is wrong to judge others by my own standards, but as a fellow Heroic Spirit, it is odd."

Ash pinched his brows for a half second, then dismissed the words.

His hand thrust straight down.

Fingers burst through the ocean and unleashed the spell.

The waters around the Lancer bubbled and hissed, a fraction of a second later and they erupted like geysers, ripping apart as the pillars of flame surged into the skies and straight past the Lancer, yet the Servant displayed an alarming level of agility.

Twisting and turning, Lancer avoided being caught by the chaos flames.

Perhaps an instinctive alarm to their nature?

Lancer jerked to a halt, then gripped his spear with both hands and swung with a cry.

The air buffeted from the spear, the pillars of fire shattered from the shockwave of the blow, a crackle of red light and Ash swung his eyes up, then skidded backwards and avoiding being caught in the rain of spears once more, his eyes flinched back as the world in front of him exploded in a mixture of scarlet and steam.

Yet he sensed the Servant still.

Galvatyne roared, bleached white sprung from the sword as he brought up his left hand once more.

Flames condensed in his palm, forming a sphere in his grasp before he pulled it across and swung outwards.

The orb grew larger in a second, smaller spheres orbiting around it as it burst through the steam cloud and dragged itself along to the other side, meeting a target and exploding upon contact with whatever lay beyond, the burst of light and power blew aside the debris and sent scalding water hurtling into the sky.

A shadow burst from the centre of the flames, the golden shoulder pauldrons flipped around and revealed the Lancer, minor burns but otherwise unharmed.

Some manner of defence?

He had barely a moment to consider that before Lancer was upon him, swinging up and catching his guard, Ash was punted into the air with Lancer giving chase. With a grunt, he took in a deep breath before he opened his mouth and breathed, the purple cloud of dense smog belched from the back of his lungs and into the open.

Lancer, ignorant of the cloud of poison, charged right into the thick of it.

Ash carried himself backwards and called the power of the storm to keep himself afloat once more, but it was much less controlled than the Lancers own flight.

Bringing his sword up, he gripped it with both hands as the stream of light from the blade tripled in size. He moved forwards and started to swing the blade across.

The cloud of poison burst into flames.

He had barely a second to recover from the wave of heat before a kick hammered into his gut, forcing him away from the Lancer and rapidly towards the ocean, his eyes narrowed as Lancer pushed themselves back, the sun carved spear in their hand exploded with power, burning red hot as flames rippled across the length of the golden metal.

Drawing his arm back, Lancer swung forth while crying out.

"Brahmastra Kundala!"

The spear exploded, a wall of flames fell from the sky as the spear dropped like a meteor.

But that was not all, a name exploded.

Both in his mind and in the world.

"KAAAARRRNNNNNAAAAAA!"

A streak of blue light burned a hole clean through the wall, reaching right up towards the Lancer and engulfing them in an explosion of azure. Ash blinked as he fell, turning his eyes as the Archer rushed for the sky, their bow glowing bright with power, the fragmented noble Phantasm fell like rain around him.

Ash jerked, something slammed into his body and caught him by the shoulder.

His head turned, meeting the one who grabbed him.

Pale, taloned fingers wrapped around his arm, his head turned straight onwards, a brief hiss as a large eagle face dropped, looking at him upside down, soon joined by a grinning pink face.

"Told you!"

That name!

That face!

He knew who they were!

He knew exactly who they were, that spearman whom he could not abide.

"Arjuna!"

He burst from the result of his attack, without even a scratch on their body, darting through the skies and moving towards him, their spear flung back into their hand as they swung down with all their might, their weapon powered by a jet of fire.

The bow in his hand glowed, a cobalt light draped across the weapon like a blanket, sweeping it upwards and meeting the spear head on, neither one of them gave an inch of ground. Neither him, nor the spearman bearing down on him.

But that was how it should be.

That was how this was meant to be!

This-

He wanted to win.

He needed to win!

This need which had been absent from him since the moment of his summoning, this empty feeling that was replaced with a single desire. It was not just the urge to win and claim a victory, it was the urge to claim a victory over this man.

Not just any victory.

It needed to be one that could not be doubted, a total victory where he bested his opponent completely.

An explosion broke them apart, the forces sent them flying at least a dozen metres away from one another, but he was already moving.

The string of his bow danced, arrows hurried from the weapon and into Karna, who was as skilled as he remembered. Which was perfect, he would never be satisfied if they were not fighting at their complete strength.

Weaving through the sky, they avoided his arrows, blocking those that came close but bearing the price for such moves, their body shunted with each blow they received, screeched through the air as light struck their shield. Turning on him, their hand glowed with light, something he was already prepared for.

Arjuna twisted, throwing himself to the side and turning his gaze upwards.

The arrow launched from the bow, ricocheting from the orbs of blue, forming a single beam as it reflected across the space above his head, the glowing spears of light shredded in explosions of scarlet light, never once reaching him.

Another turn, the next arrow was hurried along.

"You fight with your passion now, Arjuna."

The voice of Karna echoed across the sky, sounding only slightly fatigued, the only evidence of their battle at all. He truly hated their stoic face when it came to conflict, the image of a warrior who remained unbroken regardless of whatever they fought against.

"Your eyes burn with a desire to strike me down, however, you know as well as I that such a gaze is worthless if it cannot hold itself true-"

A flash of red in the distance, his head whipped around, already drawing forth another arrow. His senses screamed as the voice came clear cut, the flash of red centred on the gaze of Karna, their right eye burning like a sun upon their pupil.

"-if you cannot kill with it!"

The air screeched, a high pitched whistle as the stream of crimson rocketed past his head, only the last second reflexes had saved him from taking the blow to the head, but he still felt the heat of the gaze, the hiss of his skin boiling under the intense pressure. Ducking low, he accelerated towards the ground, drumming his fingers along the string of his bow, arrow after arrow swerved through the air to Karna.

The Lancer turned, the burning gaze swept across the barrage, scattering his arrows amidst and explosion of azure and rose, the mixing coloured splashed against one another, the beam of light cut through the waters of the ocean, steam billowed from the impact, the line of hissing smoke rose from the ocean before it cut short with a final splendid detonation.

But that was not the end.

Karna emerged from the cloud of light, charging forth like a falling meteor towards him.

"Show me that you are back, Arjuna!"

"Karna!"

The bow in his hands roared, light billowed from the weapon, streaks of blue arched through the sky as they jumped from his weapon and onto the Lancer, they powered through the explosions, bit by bit the damage accumulated, their pale white skin scorched with bruises, cuts and burns by the time they reached him.

He saw their arm coil back, not their spear but their fist.

A clear challenge.

One he would not back down from.

His hand burned with light, flashes of blue danced across his hand as he reached for the skies, propelling himself to meet the charge of Karna head on.

"Haaaaaa!"

A scream left their lips, the both of them.

His arm swung with all his might, slamming into Karna's own punch.

Space rippled between the two of them, the shock travelled through his arm as he held the blow for as long as he could, fires burned through the both of them, both blue and golden. Neither one backed down, yet he felt his lips pull higher and higher, the smile he wore was matched only by the grin on the face of Karna.

He did not even care when they shock moved through his arm, the cloth that covered it tore asunder, his flesh soon followed, the explosion shredded his right arm, he recoiled backwards as the limb was blown from his body amidst a shower of flame and blood, a brief stench of burning met his nose but was deftly ignored.

Not least of all because he watched the damage replicated upon Karna.

His arm exploded, the force blew everything from their elbow down completely from their body, not even a single gasp escaped the Servant as they flew backwards, though their expression tightened as the only measure of pain.

He caught himself in the air, his teeth moved to draw his bow-

He halted.

Arjuna narrowed his gaze.

Karna made no effort to do anything else.

That was wrong, they were not the sort to be patient for a plan, they would have charged forwards the moment they collected themselves, and yet they remained there. Doing nothing more than gazing down at him.

What were they-?

"I must apologise, it seems as though this is the end of our bout."

Arjuna's mind ground to a halt.

"Wh-at?"

Golden lights peeled away from Karna, their apologetic expression remained as well as the agitation in their gaze. "It was selfish of me to engage you when I had no chance of giving you the fight you deserved, that we both wished fulfilled, but it was necessary to ensure you recalled who you truly were."

"You-!" His words caught on his lips, frustration welled within him as he swung his bow arm down. There was nothing he could say that would capture the immense anger he felt in this one moment, thus he settled for merely glaring at Karna, watching as their body broke apart from a lack of magical energy.

Again.

Once again.

"...This is not a victory." He declared after a moment, fighting back his emotions and drawing his expression blank. "Merely a reschedule. We shall fight again. When that happens…do not engage me unless you can fight with all your strength."

Karna, infuriatingly enough, had the nerve to smile back at him. "Of course, such a thing should go without saying. I, as well, am rather frustrated, but it seems my eagerness got the better of me…How shameful…but perhaps it is better for us to fight again, at a time when we can truly use all our powers."

His eyes pulled from him, glancing down at something behind. "...I believe your Master would make a worthy witness for that clash. Though it might be too far for me to say this, I believe they are a Master worthy of your contract. Perhaps that is why they appeared at this moment…but that is neither here nor there."

Arjuna kept silent, but nodded his head. "Until we meet again…Karna."

"I shall await the day with bated breath, Arjuna."

His body faded with that final comment, leaving him alone in the sky with nothing more than the parting clouds above his head. A wince as the sunlight broke through the grey, he stared at the horizon, the dawning sun as the storm settled.

Ritsuka stared up at Archer as they lowered themselves back to ground level, or ocean level as it were.

The platform made by Nudd proved to be rather fitting for this sort of thing.

The Servant showed no indication that they were in any pain, despite the fact they were missing their right arm.

"I believe that we might have the chance to reintroduce ourselves, Master." Archer spoke first, inclining their head and dismissing their bow. "I am Arjuna, Servant Archer."

Ritsuka watched them for a moment longer, then smiled back to them. "Ritsuka Fujimaru. Nice to meet you again, Arjuna."

His eyes flickered back to the wound, bringing up a hand and gesturing to them.

He barely managed to get a word out before Astolfo blurted out.

"That was totally amazing! No wonder you're a match for Lancer of Red!" The Rider all but exclaimed, looping an arm around the neck of Ash and dragging them down, pointing rather excitedly at the Archer. "Did you see all that with the explosions? And neither of them really used their Noble Phantasms either! I mean, Vasavi Shakti was pretty scary when it was pointed at me and it technically wasn't pointed at me!"

Ritsuka had no idea what they were saying, but it sounded like another of those previous encounters. Certainly enough for Arjuna to immediately zero in on the Rider with an intensity in their gaze which had been missing before.

"Vasavi-You saw Karna fight someone and bring that weapon forth!? Whe-No. This is not the time for that." Closing their eyes, they stepped backwards and took in a deep breath, their gaze switched back to him. "My apologies for that display, Master. It was merely that-"

Arjuna was cut off when Ritsuka raised his hands. "I should be the one apologising, you took off into the air and then…Well…" Ritsuka's face turned downcast for a moment. "I wasn't able to get anyone to you quick enough. Astolfo was coming back around but-"

Arjuna had remained silent until that point, but Ritsuka saw a flicker of something in his eyes all but demanded he stopped speaking. "That is not the case. Merely that…I know that request seems improper, but it was for the best that I face him alone. I would have been…troubled if I received aid during that battle. It might well be - no, it certainly is - a selfish request, but that is the one man whom I must absolutely defeat with my own two hands."

Ritsuka rolled his jaw, feeling a touch of unease within himself before he gave a single nod of the head. "I'm going to assume it is one of those fated rivalry things then? I can't say I'd like the idea of leaving you alone to fight but if it's against him then…then I can make an exception if that's what you really want…Does that mean you're going to stick around with us then?"

Another beat of silence, then the Servant nodded once more. "Yes, Master."

That was good.

That was actually very good.

His eyes glanced in the direction of Ash, the Saber pulled themselves free of the hold from the Rider and grunted lightly, wiping himself down before turning to him, briefly pausing and offering a grimace.

"...I apologise about the boat."

"...Just…be more careful, next time." He waved them off, then reached for his communicator. "Now then, let's see if we can't call Chaldea now. I get the feeling that this went way off base for all of them."

Sure enough, the communicator hummed to life. "Fujimaru-kun! Thank goodness we finally got through to you, but it looks like the minute Singularity is starting to fade away. What happened down there?"

He made a small noise. "Long story. Tell you about it when we get back…Bad news, we couldn't pick up any supplies while we were down here, unfortunately."

Romani made a small face. "That's not great, but it's not terrible. We've already got a couple of other minute singularities lined up in the event that one didn't work out. But there's no rush to head towards those."

As long as they had options, he was fine.

"Alright then, I guess we're ready to come back." He paused for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Oh! I picked up another Servant while we were down here!"

That brought an odd look onto Romani, their brows pinched together. "...When you phrase it like that, it makes it sound like you found a dog at the side of the road or something." they froze, then winced. "Did…did the new Servant hear me, just now?"

"Yes." Arjuna flatly responded from their location. "I did."

Closing their eyes, the doctor leaned back and covered their face with their hands. "Oh boy…I'll get everything ready for your return, Fujimaru-kun. You can brief us when you get back…because the Director is probably going to want to know what happened down there."

Yeah.

He could imagine.