AN
"Blah..."- Normal Speech
'Blah...' - Thoughts
BLAH... - Driver
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider
Journey through the Kaleidoscope
Fate/Stay Night x Kamen Rider Build
Fate/Best Match
Chapter 4: The Strongest Enemy
"Ten years have passed since the Pandora Box was discovered on Mars and caused the infamous Skywall Incident.
Our city was divided into three districts known as Touto, Seito, and Hokuto, resulting in utter chaos."
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, both Saber and Misora turned around where they were met by the sight of both Shirou and Rin walking away from the church.
"Shirou, I take it that your business here is concluded?" The blond woman addressed the pair as they drew closer.
"Yeah, we're done here." Shirou replied.
"Bout time," Misora grumbled. "I'm freezing my ass off out here."
"Hey, it was your choice to stay out here Isurugi." Rin told the short haired girl. "In fact, considering this doesn't concern you, there was really no reason for you to come out here at all."
"I came along to watch Emiya's back." Misora replied, fixing both Rin and Saber with a stern look, "After all someone's gotta make sure some underhanded harlot doesn't try to sink her claws into him."
"What did you just call me?" Rin snapped, her face contorting itself into a snarl.
"You heard me." Misora retorted, "Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"
Shirou sighed, shaking his head before turning his attention back to Saber. "Anyway, Saber, I've made a decision." He told her, "I will be a Master and fight in this war."
"I see." Saber nodded, focusing on him instead of Rin and Misora as the two of them bickered.
"So how about it Saber," Shirou asked. "I know I'm not a proper Mage like Tohsaka but will you fight by my side through all this craziness?"
Saber shook her head in amusement. "Shirou, you needn't ask. From the moment that you summoned me, unorthodox as it was, I already thought of you as my Master." She told him. "For as long as you have Command Seals, I am your blade and shall stand at your side, ready to face off against any foe."
"Ok then, looks like we're doing this." Shirou said as he offered his hand. "Let's fight until the end, whatever that may be."
Saber stared at the teen's outstretched appendage, a stunned look on her face. 'Shirou, you're nothing like Kiritsugu was…' She thought. 'Could a man like that really have you for a son?'
"Something wrong Saber?" Shirou asked; sounding a little confused. "Did they not shake hands back in your time or something?"
"N…no, nothing like that. I just…I wasn't expecting such a thing." Saber told him, composing herself she took his hand into her own and gave it a firm squeeze. "I renew my vow to you Emiya Shirou, from this moment on I am your sword and will use all my power to ensure you achieve your wish."
"Hmmm, you two are looking awfully chummy there." Misora said, a disapproving look on her face. "Trying to charm this one too, Emiya? Poor little Sakura, she'd be so heartbroken if she knew that you were such a man whore."
Hearing this, Shirou quickly pulled his hand free from Saber's, his face turning red as he attempted to protest Misora's comment.
"Not that seeing Emiya all embarrassed isn't funny, but can we get outta here already." said Rin, "I really don't want to have to be up here longer than necessary."
"Agreed, if we have no further business here then it would be best for us to return to Shirou's abode as soon as possible." Saber said, a look of discomfort appearing in her face momentarily before she composed herself, "Even if it means getting close to that wall again."
Although it was only visible for a brief moment, Shirou couldn't help but note the uncomfortable look on Saber's face as she referenced the Skywall, recalling how unpleasant it had been for her as they passed through the Touto/Saito checkpoint and being in such close proximity to Sky Wall and the Nebular Gas that it secreted.
Still he couldn't deny that learning that Servants were weak to the effects of Nebular Gas was a useful piece of information to have and he'd need any advantage he could get in dealing with opponents as powerful as Heroic Spirits.
"Well, since that's the case I guess is where we part ways." Rin spoke up, her tone firm. "I trust that you all can make it back to Emiya's place by yourselves."
Her words brought both Shirou and Saber to a halt. "Is something wrong Tohsaka?" Shirou asked, surprised at the tone of her voice.
"I brought you to see the Heathen priest because you weren't technically my enemy," Rin told him, doing her best to sound stoic. "However, now that you've agreed to become a Master that's all changed."
"You make it sound like I'm about to try something underhanded." Shirou replied. "To be honest I see no reason why we have to be enemies at all."
Before Rin could say anything the air shimmered as Archer appeared at his Master's side, fixing Shirou with a cold look.
"Rin, whilst I did not approve of you simply not letting me cut this idiot down when we first met I could understand your logic." He said in a stern tone. "However, now that the situation has changed, I cannot agree with simply letting him live and possibly become a problem later when you could just easily eliminate him right now."
"It's not that simple Archer. Like it or not I owe Emiya for not just letting Saber kill us both earlier." Rin retorted. "And if there's one thing I can't stand it's being indebted to someone, so until I've paid it I'm not going to be able to fight him with a clear conscience."
"Huh, that seems uncharacteristically nice of you Tohsaka." Shioru said, surprised by the pigtailed girl's words.
Rin glared at him. "Don't get the wrong idea Emiya." She snapped. "I'm being generous right now, but once the sun rises, consider my debt to you is paid in full."
Archer sighed in frustration. "I have a marshmallow for a Master." He grumbled. "Very well, if that's how it is, inform me when this debt is paid." And with that he vanished once again.
Seeing this Shirou shook his head in amusement. "I think I see how it is. You sure are an interesting one, Tohsaka Rin." He said, letting out a small chuckle. "You act all cool but really you're actually a caring person. I gotta admit, I think I like that about you."
Rin stared at him as her cheeks turned a shade of pink, eyes wide and mouth agape unable to say or do anything in response to Shirou's words. It was as if her brain had shut down.
"Well, Saber, Misora and I better get going, today's been a long one." Shirou said casually. "Guess I'll see you around Tohsaka."
Just as she was about to follow Shirou, Saber's eyes widened as she felt the presence of somebody close by. Quickly she turned to face this new threat, taking up a defensive stance in front of both her Master and the two teenage girls.
"So, are you all done chatting?" Hearing a new voice, everyone quickly turned to look in the direction it had originated from where they were met by the sight of a pair of figures standing a short distance from them. The first being a small girl with red eyes and silvery white hair clad in a purple coat and matching hat, a white scarf around her neck.
However it was her companion was what drew everyone's attention, a hulking giant of a man standing what looked to be 8 feet tall his skin was unnaturally dark clad only in a leather skirt, wielding a large stone weapon that looked to a combination of a sword and axe in one hand and staring down at the trio with a look of murder on its face.
"Is…is that Berserker…" Rin gasped out, a tenseness in her voice as she gazed upon the massive man who stood as still as a statue just behind his diminutive Master, her expression a mixture of terror as well as confusion at how these two had managed to get as close as they had without being detected.
"Good evening to you all." The girl said, a smile on her face as she focused her gaze on Shirou. "Onii-san, this is the second time we've run into each other."
Shirou didn't reply, too overwhelmed by the situation he found himself in, a bead of sweat dripping down the back of his neck as he recalled his previous meeting with the silver haired child, in particular her ominous message to him that all of a sudden made a lot more sense.
"You better summon yours soon if you don't want to die, Onii-san…"
With a small chuckle, the mysterious girl stepped forward and curtsied. "It's nice to meet you all." She greeted them. "My name is Illyasviel, Illyasviel von Einzbern. I trust you're familiar…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Illyasviel was suddenly cut off when her Servant began snarling. "Berserker, what's wrong with you?" The silver haired Magus snapped at the muscle bound Servant, "Can't you see that I'm introducing myself to Rin and Onii-san?"
Berserker didn't seem to acknowledge his Master's words, he wasn't even paying attention to her, instead his gaze was fixed upon a lamppost that was located a short distance down the street.
Beneath her hood, Saber's eyes widened slightly as she picked up in the presence that had appeared a short distance away. Acting quickly, she shed herself of her yellow raincoat before taking upma defensive position in front of both Shirou and Rin, her attention fixed upon the same lamppost that Berserker was currently glaring at.
"Saber," Shirou exclaimed, surprised at the blond swordsman's sudden action, "Saber, what's wrong?"
"Shirou, Rin, be on guard. There is someone else here with us." Saber told the pair, taking up a defensive stance as she summoned her sword to her hand. "Whoever you are, you have been discovered. I demand that you show yourself."
"Ohh, it seems I've been discovered. Servant's truly are remarkable." An ominous sounding disembodied voice spoke up, the sound of it putting all four humans and Saber on edge, the tone of their voice putting everyone on edge, "Heh, guess there's no use hiding now…"
All of a sudden a large cloud of steam suddenly erupted from seemingly nowhere, its sudden appearance catching the attention of everyone gathered close by, quickly dissipating to reveal a figure clad in dark armor, their chest sporting a yellow symbol shaped vaguely like a bat standing atop the light fixture.
So fixated on the new arrival that no one seemed to have noticed that Misora had vanished without a trace.
"Good evening all, forgive my intrusion, I could not help but notice your interaction." The armor clad stranger said before stepping off of the lamppost and fell towards the ground before, easily landing a crouched position.
"I suppose it's only polite to introduce myself." He continued as he rose back up to his full height, "I am Night Rogue, one of the commanders of Faust."
"Faust…" Shirou exclaimed, "You're with Faust?"
"That is correct." Night Rogue replied as he moved towards the center of the road. "Despite this being our first meeting, we've had our eye on you for quite some time, Emiya Shirou. Or should I say Kamen Rider…"
"Emiya, what's this guy talking about?" Rin demanded, turning to look in Shirou's direction. "What the heck is Faust?"
Shirou didn't answer her, didn't even register her words. In that moment the world around him seemed to fade away into a dark void where he and the armored man that was standing a short distance away were the only things that existed.
At last, after all this time searching, he was finally face to face with one of those responsible for all the misfortunes that had felled the city this past year. One whose lust for power had led to the destruction of Sento's world and now set to play out the same events again, who'd kidnapped innocent people and turned them into monsters.
Just then a noise from above caught the attention of everyone gathered, turning to look in its direction they were met by the sight of the Cross-Z Dragon Pet as it flew towards Shirou.
Gritting his teeth Shirou pulled out his Build Driver and slapped it against his waist, the yellow strap appearing to secure itself to him, before reaching out and snatching the small robotic Dragon out of the air and folded it up into its module mode.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his Dragon Fullbottle, shook it a few times before twisting the cap before inserting it into the Dragon module and inserted it into his Driver.
WAKE UP! CROSS-Z DRAGON!
Gripping the handle crack attached to the device, he then began turning it, as he did so as always various pipes emerged from the front of the belt, creating a frame and apparatus to create both halves of the Cross-Z armor.
ARE YOU READY?
"Henshin…" Shirou announced, his gaze never shifting away from where Night Rogue was standing.
No sooner had the phrase been uttered, the two halves of the mould slammed down on him, the two parts snapping together to create his Rider armor.
WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH!
"Wha…what the…?" Rin stammered as she stared at Cross-Z, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
While she's heard the rumors of an armored figure supposedly patrolling the city streets at night and fighting monsters that had also said to have been showing up over the past year. She'd never put any stock in these tales, dismissing them as utterly ridiculous.
And now here she was with the rumored armored hero standing right in front of her. Not only that, the true identity of said hero turned out to be Emiya Shirou, the same boy who was revealed to have also been a Mage without her knowledge.
It was pretty clear that there was more going on here than she was aware of and, as the appointed Second Owner of Fuyuki, that was something that didn't sit right with her.
Saber meanwhile was just as baffled by this sudden development Rin was. "Shirou…" She muttered, trying to make sense of her Master's sudden transformation.
She could understand Shirou not wanting to share this with Rin, while not one herself she knew well enough that it wasn't uncommon for Magi to have their secrets, but to keep it from her…
As for the armor that now adorned hjs form as well as the manner in which he'd manifested it, she was more perplexed by it. Just what was this, was this something taught to him could it be, that this was some kind of Magecraft taught to him by Kiritsugu or possibly some kind of Mystic Code that he'd left behind.
Meanwhile, Night Rogue didn't seem to be all that surprised by Shirou's transformation into an armored warrior. "Heh…" He scoffed, raised his hand and beckoned Cross-Z to come closer with a 'come here' motion.
With a growl, Cross-Z lunged towards Night Rogue's position, several pipes emerging from his belt that took the form of his Beat Crosser which he snatched out of the air as he ran.
BEAT CROSSER!
Sword in hand, the blue, black and gold Dragon Rider attempted to slash at Night Rouge only for him to easily side step out of the way of his attempt.
Letting out a frustrated sounding growl, Cross-Z tried again only for his sword to be blocked by Night Rogue's own weapon, an odd looking rifle with a bayonet attached to it.
Their respective weapons locked together, both armored figures glared at one another. "Just who the heck are you?" Cross-Z demanded, "And how do you know about me anyway?"
"Heh, wouldn't you like to know…" Night Rogue replied before throwing his full weight behind his rifle, managing to knock Cross-Z off balance and send him stumbling back a few steps.
Seeing his opening, Night Rogue lunged at the blue and gold Rider, unleashing one powerful slash after another at Cross-Z all of which he was forced to parry with his Beat Crosser, each time being forced back a step.
In a flash of blue Saber appeared, situated between himself and Night Rogue, her sword locked with the armored bat warrior's weapon.
"Saber!" Cross-Z exclaimed, surprised to see the former King engaging the Faust Commander.
"While I confess to not knowing what's going on I will not stand by and allow you to face this opponent alone." Saber told him, her tone firm. "As your Servant, I will engage any foe that seeks to do you harm. But make no mistake, I will be expecting a full explanation for what's going on here."
"As for you, Night Rogue, know that I will not allow you to bring harm to my Master." She told the Faust Commander, "From what you said before it's clear that you're already aware of mine and Berserker's identities as Servants. How is that possible, what do you know?"
"Like I told the Kamen Rider over there, wouldn't you like to know." Night Rogue replied off handedly. "Beat me and maybe I'll tell you."
Pulling back from the sword wielding Servant, Night Rogue quickly leaned out of the way as Saber attempted to slash at him. As he did so he grabbed the red valve located on to the bayonet attached to his weapon and twisted it.
Stepping back out of the way of another of Saber's sword swings, the bat themed warrior thrust his own blade towards her, Saber acting quickly to block his attempt, using her sword to intercept her opponents' weapons, the blade of his bayonet pointing at her.
Beneath his helmet, a sinister smirk spread itself across Night Rogue's lips as he pressed down on the trigger of his rifle.
ELEK STEAM…
All of a sudden a large gout of white smoke erupted from the blade attached to the bat warriors rifle, catching Saber whose eyes widened as pain greater than anything she'd experienced before becoming a Heroic Spirit.
A cry of pain rang out as Saber stumbled back a few steps, her gauntleted right hand quickly pressing itself to her face. It felt as if something were creeping beneath her skin, trying to consume her from the inside out.
"SABER!" Cross-Z cried out as he watched as his Servant writhed in pain, slowly removing her hand to reveal a nasty looking steam burn on the right side of her face.
"Heh, as expected, your kind doesn't react well to the gas," Night Rogue sneered, aiming his rifle at Saber who seemed to be too distracted by the burn on her face to notice. "Let's see if you can handle a second dose."
Gritting his teeth, Cross-Z grabbed the Spike Fullbottle from off of his belt, shook it before twisting the cap, and interested it into the crossguard of his sword before grabbing the pommel of his sword and pumped it a few times.
SPECIAL TUNE…HIPPARE…HIPPARE…HIPPARE…
That done, Cross-Z swung his sword in Night Rogue direction, firing off a barrage of spikes at the mysterious armored figure who quickly turned his attention away from Saber before he dropped down to the ground and rolled out of the way of the spikes that were flying towards him.
Pushing himself up into a crouched position, Night Rogue twisted the red valve attached to his bayonet a few times before pointing his rifle at Cross-Z as he unleashed another barrage of spikes towards him. Pressing down on his weapons trigger he fired a stream of electricity from the tip of his Steam Blade at the incoming projectiles, knocking them out of the air.
"What's this, could it be that she's your woman?" Night Rogue commented, sounding surprised as well as a little amused as he got back to his feet, "You naughty boy, you can't have summoned her more than a few hours ago."
"Shut the hell up…" Cross-Z retorted as he lunged forward, bringing his sword down in an attempt to slash at Night Rogue who effortlessly blocked his attempt with his bayonet, their blades locked and both Rider and Faust Commander glaring at one another.
It was then A feral cry caught Cross-Z and Night Rogue's attention, looking up they were met by the sight of Berserker dropped down from out of the sky towards them, his large stone weapon raised above his head. Separating their respective blades, Cross-Z and Night Rogue quickly pulled back as Berserker drew closer, swinging his massive weapon before his feet touched the ground, the massive stone sword/axe slamming into the asphalt leaving behind a deep gash in the spot Cross-Z and Night Rogue had been only moments before.
"Ohh, what's this?" Night Rogue said, turning he found Illya staring back at him, the silver haired Magus sporting a stern look on her face. "And here I was thinking that you were going to stay back and not get involved."
"Heh, believing such things only highlights your ignorance. To assume such things considering you are intruding on private business." The Einzbern Master retorted, "Berserker, this pesky interloper offends my sight. Smash them like the bug that they are."
A low growl rumbled in the ebony skinned giant's throat before lunging at Night Rogue, swinging his large stone sword/axe at the Faust Commander only for him to get out of the way.
Letting out another roar, Berserker swung his large sword/axe at the Faust Commander who jumped up and out of the way of this attempt. No sooner had his feet touched the ground, Night Rogue took aim at the towering mass of muscle with his rifle, firing off several shots at the giant to everyone's surprise Berserker began howling in agony.
"I…impossible!" Illya exclaimed, shocked "Berserker is supposed to be invincible. There's no way that little peashooter of his should be able to harm him."
"His gun actually managed to damage both Saber and Berserker, that should be impossible…" Cross-Z muttered, just then his eyes widened in realisation, "Wait, could that mean."
"Illyasviel, call Berserker off." The blue and gold Dragon Rider called out to the silver haired Magus before looking over at Saber who was kneeling on the ground, "That goes for you too Saber, pull back"
"You presume to give me orders?" Illya retorted in a dismissive tone.
"Just do it, Saber and the other Servants should stay away from Night Rogue." Cross-Z replied, "Whoever this guy is, his suit and gear, they're powered by Nebula Gas."
"Nebular Gas!" Rin exclaimed, a grimace spreading across her face. "That's not good, not only does that stuff warps the effects of Magecraft and it also seems to also affect Servants negatively. Damnit, we're at a serious disadvantage here."
Despite the stern look on her face, Illya began to feel uneasy as she assimilated the information that Cross-Z had just blurted out, recalling the fuss that Berserker had thrown going near that wall that ran down the center of the city, not to mention the effects it had on her and her Magecraft when she'd had to pass through it to get here.
Worse still, according to the usurper and that vulgar doe Rin, that otherworldly gas negatively affected Servants and, whoever this Night Rogue was, he was able to weaponize it.
Damn, this wasn't how her meeting with the 'big brother' was supposed to play out. As much as it loathed her to admit it, even with her Berserker's God like strength, she he was ill prepared to handle the current situation.
"Tonight is proving most fruitful indeed. Even a Demigod is vulnerable to the effects of Nebula Gas when summoned as a Servant." Night Rogue said casually, more to himself than to those gathered, "I wonder what would happen if I were to subject a Servant to the Smash making process? Maybe I should take Saber back with me to the lab and find out."
"Like hell I'll let that happen…" Cross-Z snarled as he moved into engage the bat warrior again, aiming a slash with his Beat Crosser at his opponent, one that Night Rogue casually avoided by side stepping out of the way.
"So easily riddled up, such a thing can land you in trouble so easily." Night Rogue sneered before aiming his rifle at Cross-Z and opened fire at Cross-Z, the shots that the mystery combatants then fired knocking the blue and gold Rider to the ground.
"And to think the others thought that you were going to be a problem, from what I've seen they've greatly overestimated you," Night Rogue said, taunting the fallen Rider as he attempted to pick himself up. "Kiryuu Sento must have been truly desperate if he thought that a child like you had even a snowball's chance in hell of opposing Faust."
Beneath his helmet, Cross-Z's eyes widened as a shocked expression spread across his face. Night Rogue, whoever he was, not only knew about him but was aware of Sento's existence. How was that possible? The only people who knew about Sento were himself, Misora and Sakura. Could it be that, like Sento, Night Rogue was another survivor of the old world?
"Honestly, I think that the kindest thing I can do is put you out of your misery" Night Rogue continued, quickly flipping switches on his Transteamgun before leveling it at Cross-Z again "Goodbye, little Kamen Rider…"
Before he could pull the trigger, something whizzed past Night Rouge's helmet, looking over both her and Cross-Z were surprised to see Rin standing a short distance away, one of her arms held out in front of her and the tip of one of her fingers crackling with dark energy.
"Another surprise," Night Rogue commented, resting his Transteam Gun against one of his shoulders as he fixed his gaze upon the scowling teenager. "I assumed that you, Tohsaka Rin, would have been smart enough to not get involved in my business with the Kamen Rider here, business that doesn't involve you."
"You know my name then I assume you're also aware of my position as Second Owner of Fuyuki, that makes whatever you've got going on with Emiya here my business." Rin replied in a stern sounding tone, "It's pretty clear to me that you and Emiya here are involved in something that I'm not privy to, being kept in the dark really pisses me off."
"Tohsaka, what are you doing?" Cross-Z called out to Rin as he picked himself up off of the ground. "You need to take Saber and get the heck out of here."
"Quiet Emiya, you're in no position to tell me what to do." Rin retorted, glancing over in the Dragon Rider's direction, "I want to know what exactly is going on here so I suggest someone starts talking. Starting with what the heck Faust is?"
"Heh, you want to know, do you?" Night Rogue scoffed, "You sound so much like your idiot father, believing that your so called authority entitles you to anything."
Hearing the armored stranger say this, Rin's eyes widened and her breath caught itself in her throat. This man, whoever he was, claimed to have been associated with her late father. Was it true, if so then how?
"You…you knew my father?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly despite her best efforts to keep up her persona of a hardened Magus.
"Knew him, I'm the one who killed him." Night Rogue replied, the smirk on his face evident in his voice. "Tohsaka Tokiomi was a fool and died like a fool."
For a moment all Rin could do was stare blankly at the mysterious armored man before her, a feeling of numbness spreading through her as visions of her late father flashed before her eyes, numbness that quickly consumed by a fiery rage that boiled up from within her, her face twisting into a look of pure hatred as she glared at the man who claimed to be her father's killer.
"I'LL…I'LL KILL YOU!" She roared before unleashing a barrage of Gandr curses at Night Rogue, the bat warrior deflecting each one with his bayonet.
Flooding her system with Prana, Rin then charged at Night Rogue, deaf to the sounds of Cross-Z calling out to her. All the while Night Rogue simply stood there, his suits system's tracking Rin's movements.
In the blink of an eye the ebony haired teen had closed the gap between her and Night Rogue, channeling her magical energies into her left leg with she then aimed at armored man before her, intending to deliver a bone shattering kick, only for Night Rogue to casually side step out of the way.
As he avoided Rin's attempt to strike him a message popped up on all of a sudden Night Rogue's HUD, informing him that his suit's scanners picked up on something. "Oh, that's unexpected." He said to himself. "Of all the places I never would have expected to have found one here…"
As Rin steadied another attempt to hit him again, this time going for a punch, Night Rogue raised his Transteamgun, quickly flipping switches and twisted knobs on the gun shaped device, before grabbing a hold of one of Rin's wrists and pulled her in close to him.
"Seems there's more to you than expected Ms. Tohsaka." The Faust Commander said before shoving Rin to the ground, "I can't help but wonder, what kind of Smash will you become…"
Before Rin could respond, Night Rogue pointed the weapon at her and pulled the trigger on his weapon, a plume of thick smoke projected from it which quickly engulfed her.
DEVIL STEAM…
"TOHSAKA!" Cross-Z cried out, running towards the cloud of smoke that had engulfed Rin, knowing that he was far too late to save her.
The smoke quickly dissipated to reveal an inhuman looking monstrosity where Tohsaka Rin had been only moments before. Most of its body was clad in what looked like a black armored bodysuit while its exposed arms and head looked to be made of a greenish uncut crystal while somewhat resembling the points of a starfish, several crystalline spikes sticking out of it from various areas of its body.
"Dia…Dia…" It growled, a slight glow emanating off of its crystalline body, "DIA!"
Elsewhere, Archer had just landed atop the rooftop of one of the many high rise buildings that lined the skyline of Fuyuki's business district when all of a sudden his whole body was awash in pain, a pain unlike any other he'd ever experienced, not since… its suddenness resulted in him collapsing onto the surface of the rooftop he'd been traversing.
Lying there, his face twisted into a look of pure agony, Archer felt as if his whole body felt as if it were being flayed from the inside. What was this and what was the cause of it?
"Rin…Rin…" He called out, trying to contact his Master through the connection that existed as a result of their contract. "Something…something's wrong…"
Nothing, no response on the other end. Not a verbal one anyway. Through his connection to Rin, Archer felt an overwhelming sense of pure, almost animalistic aggression.
Gathering himself, Archer turned his head to look in the direction where he'd left his Master in the company of Emiya Shirou, Saber and Isurugi Misora. Whatever had been going on since his departure something had gone horribly horribly wrong.
Back at the patch of grass located near Kotomine Church and the graveyard that was attached to it, Cross-Z, Saber and Illya were all staring in disbelief at the Smash that only moments before had been Tohsaka Rin. "Tohsaka, no!" Cross-Z cried out, a feeling of rising panic beginning to swell up within him as he stared dumbfounded at the vaguely starfish shaped Kaijin.
"Lady Tohsaka!" Saber exclaimed, shooting Night Rogue a stern look. "What devilry have you done to her?"
"Merely an experiment, one that requires a live test subject." Rogue replied, unphased by the look that Saber was giving him, looking over in Cross-Z's direction, "I'll take my leave now. Oh and Emiya Shirou, give Sento my regards."
Before anyone could respond to his comments, a large blast of smoke erupted from the pipes on Rogue's suit that quickly enveloped him, the smoke quickly dissipating to reveal that he'd vanished from view, leaving Cross-Z, Illya and the two injured Servants to deal with the newly created Smash.
From her position, Illyasviel wore a pensive look as she watched things play out. Damnit, things had escalated far from the expected norm. What should have been a clash between Mages and their familiars had been thrown out the window by two unexpected variables.
Her 'big brother' and this Night Rogue, both of them were in possession of some kind of armored suit and weaponry, both of which were powered by another worldly substance that could actually pose a real threat to her supposedly invincible Berserker.
Not only that, Night Rogue's gun had transformed Tohsaka Rin into some kind monster. While she wouldn't hardly shed any tears for her, one less annoying Master that she had to deal with, seeing turned into the gleaming starfish-esk beast that currently thrashing about erratically and letting out bestial sounding moans, they sight of it had been…disturbing.
If a vulgar doe like Rin was susceptible then…then what could that Gas do to her? The Enizbern were created as vessels for the Lesser Grail, if she was hit by that gas…
At that moment all the silver haired snow maiden wanted was to get as far away from here as possible. All the same the thought of running from the enemy wasn't going to sit well with her grandfather should he find out about it.
No not run, merely a tactical retreat, that should satisfy him.
"Berserker, we're leaving." Illya addressed her hulking Servant. "Things here have escalated out of control."
"Wait, you're just going to leave in the middle of a fight?" Cross-Z questioned the silver haired Master, who in turn fixed her crimson eyes in a cold glare back at him.
"A good Master knows the value of a tactical retreat, only a fool would continue to fight a battle that they are ill prepared for." Illya said sternly, "And, as much as I'm loath to admit it, we're currently at a disadvantage at this masked intruder's weapons. Thus, the most prudent course of action would be to pull back for now."
Hearing his Master's words, Berserker struggled back to his feet before he knelt down on one knee and stretched out a hand out towards the diminutive Magus, slowing her to climb up onto his meaty shoulder. Once she was secure, Illya turned her gaze towards Cross-Z, fixing the blue and gold Rider with a stern look.
"One last thing," She called out to the Dragon Rider, fixing him with a stern glare, "You'd better not die before we meet again. And when that day comes don't go thinking that your little trinkets will save you, Berserker and I will be better prepared to deal with them."
'What's her problem…?' Cross-Z pondered as he watched as the large form of Berserker disappeared from sight. Turning his attention back towards the Diamond Smash, the titled green crystian Kaijin wailing and thrashing about wildly.
Hearing a groaning noise behind him, Cross-Z looked over and was met by the sight of Saber struggling to get back to her feet, grimacing as she did so, clearly still feeling the effects of the Nebula Gas that she's been hit by.
"Saber," He told her, concern in his tone, "Saber, you don't have to do this, you're clearly in no condition to be fighting right now."
"Do...do not worry, I assure you that even in my current condition I can still fight." Saber replied as she moved to stand alongside him, a note of pain in her voice, "As I said, I will fight beside you no matter who the opponent is."
Taking her place beside the Dragon Rider, the blond Servant took up her fighting stance, gripping her sword in both of her gauntlet clad hands. "Shirou, what was done to Lady Rin, is it fixable?"
"Y…yeah," Cross-Z replied, "If we can defeat her then Tohsaka will return to normal."
"Then…then let us not delay, Lady Rin is counting on us to save her from this affliction most cruel."
Taking a deep breath, the blond haired swordswoman lunged at the Diamond Smash, doing her best to push past the pain as a result of being hit by Nebula Gas, raising her sword as she prepared to engage the crystalline Kaijin.
'Lady Tohsaka, please forgive me.' She thought to herself as she drew closer, 'I will do what I must to see this affliction lifted from you…'
She swung her sword in a downwards arc, the blade of her wind encased weapon striking the Diamond Smash across the chest, only for it to barely react, the blow from former King's blade leaving not even a scratch behind.
"What!" Saber exclaimed, taken aback by what had just occurred. Her sword, the enchanted blade that had defeated many foes, had seemingly no effect on the crystalline Kaijin before her.
A low sounding moan escaped from the Diamond Smash before it then lashed out at Saber, swiping at her with one of its roughly cut spiked arms, the former king quickly snapping out of her stupor in time to block its attempt with her sword.
Again and again the Diamond Smash sliced at Saber with its spiked arms, each time Saber intercepted its attempt with her sword, something that only served to infuriate the crystalline creature.
Letting out a snarl, the Diamond Smash pointed its arms in Saber's direction, from which it launched a barrage of roughly cut spiked gem needles at her, forcing Saber to use her sword to deflect the incoming projectiles.
As it continued its assault on the blond haired swordswoman, all of a sudden Cross-Z dropped down, appearing from seemingly nowhere, aiming his Beat Crosser at the Kaijin and slashing it across the shoulder and quickly followed it up with a second slash across its midsection, while this seemed to cause no lasting damage it did halt its assault on Saber.
With its attention now on him, the Diamond Smash attempted to slash at Cross-Z, the blue and gold Rider quickly side stepping out of the way, aiming a swig of his sword that stuck the Kaijin across the chest.
Letting out a growl the Diamond Smash was just about to make another attempt against Cross-Z when Saber appeared, shoulder checking the Diamond Smash and knocking it back a few steps. Seeing an opening both Rider and Servant acted at the same time, both of them slashing at the Kaijin across its chest with their respective swords, knocking the Kaijin back a few more steps.
Seeing his chance, Cross-Z took the opportunity to grab the pommel of his sword, the blue and gold Dragon Rider pumped it several times.
HIPPARE…HIPPARE…
All of a sudden blue flames ignited and coated the length of The blade of the Beat Crosser's blade. Both Cross-Z and Saber once again slashing the Kaijin in unison, the Diamond Smash's body crackling with energy as it stumbled backwards before it was engulfed in a large explosion, consumed by the sudden release of light and energy.
SMASH HIT…
"That…that should hopefully do it," Cross-Z said, sounding slightly winded, "Damn Tohsaka, the Smash that turned into made for a really tough opponent."
"Shirou," Saber addressed the Dragon Rider, "you are sure that Lady Tohsaka will be unharmed once the affliction is undone?"
"Yeah, that's what usually happens anyway." Cross-Z replied.
The results of the explosion died away, revealing the Diamond Smash still standing there, not even the sign of a scratch to its diamond hard body, as if it were impervious to damage.
"Wh ...what the!" Cross-Z exclaimed, shocked at what he was seeing. "That didn't do anything?"
Letting out a low sounding moan, the Diamond Smash plunged its arms into the ground beneath it, moments later a multitude of crystalline spikes erupted from it, the force of the emerging knocking both Cross-Z and Saber to the ground, his Rider armor vanishing off of his body leaving a panting Emiya Shirou behind.
With a grunt, Shirou rolled himself onto his side, as he did so a shadow fell over him and looking up he was met by the sight of the Diamond Smash standing over him, a low sounding moan escaped from it as it pointed one of its arms towards him and fired off a barrage of uncut spiked projectiles at him, all of them moving so fast he had no time to get out of the way.
Just before the crystal spikes could reach him Saber appeared in front of her Master, appearing in a blur of azure, raising her sword the former King used her weapon to deflect the incoming barrage.
Letting out a frustrated sounding growl, the Diamond Smash increased its rate of fire, unleashing more crystalline spikes towards Saber in greater numbers as well as increasing the rate of fire.
Gritting her teeth, Saber fought to stand strong against the barrage being fired at her as she attempted to shield her Master. Even so, while she'd likely never say so, she could feel her strength waning.
The energy she'd expended to repel Lancer had yet to be replenished, something her current Master was incapable of doing himself. That in combination with the effects of the Gas she'd been hit with, the alien substance she'd yet to fully recover from, with each projectile she intercepted she could feel herself be pushed back ever so slightly.
Volley after volley were fired at her in rapid succession, the former King doing her best to intercept as many of them as she could, that was until when one of the shards went wide, whizzing past her and slicing her arm in the process, the suddenness of it causing Saber to lose focus for just a moment.
That momentary lapse proved to be just enough, the crystalline Kaijin fired off one final volley at Saber, a couple of the roughly cut projectiles impaling themselves through her chest before sending flying backward and over Shirou's head before she came to rest a short distance away from him.
"SABER!" Shirou cried out as he stared at the blond swordswoman, gasping for breath as she lay there upon the ground, despite her efforts to save face it was evident that the Nebula Gas that Night Rogue had hit her with was affecting her greatly.
This was bad. Saber was greatly compromised in her current condition and Illya Berserker had bailed on him, not to mention Archer was nowhere to be seen. Then there was Tohsaka's Smash form, he needed to save Tohsaka but this Smash form of her's, nothing seemed to be able to hurt it.
No, there was an option. A dangerous one, one that came with a lot of risks. But, given the situation that he found himself in, what other choice did he have.
Picking himself up, slowly reaching into his jacket pocket, Shirou produced an odd looking red device, bringing it up so it was eye level with him. "Damn, guess I got no choice…" He muttered to himself before using his finger to flip open a plexiglass case located on top of it to reveal a button which he pressed.
HAZARD ON!
Taking a deep breath, he lowered the device towards his belt, preparing to attach it to a slot located on top of his Build Driver.
Just as he was about to, he was suddenly stopped by Misora, seemingly appearing from out of thin air, wrapping her arms around his, trying to prevent him from connecting the two devices together.
"Shirou, Shirou no!" Misora pleaded, "Don't you remember what happened the last time you used the Hazard Trigger?"
"Misora, I'm sorry," He told her. "But that Smash is too strong, there's no other way…"
Before she could say anything in protest, he shoved Misora off of him and slotted the Hazard Trigger onto his Build Driver.
MAX HAZARD ON!
Taking the Dragon Fullbottle, Shirou shook it a few times before inserting it into the Dragon pet and attached it into his Driver.
WAKE UP! CROSS-Z DRAGON! BUILD UP!
Gripping the handle crack attached to the device, he then began turning it, as he did so as always various pipes emerged from the front of the belt.
DON TEN KAN! DON TEN KAN!
GATTA GOTTON ZUTAN ZUTAN! GATTA GOTTON ZUTAN ZUTAN!
As the various pipes took on the form of an apparatus to create his armor, however this time it took on the appearance of a pair of large cast iron vault doors.
ARE YOU READY?
Shirou paused for a moment, once again taking a deep breath as he locked his gaze upon the Diamond Smash as it continued to rampage. "Henshin…" He said, his tone serious.
The second these words left his mouth the pair of cast iron doors slammed down on him, massive jets of steam erupting from it.
OVERFLOW! WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH! YABEI!
The cast iron structure vanished leaving Cross-Z standing there, his armor now black and silver, the only hint of colour were the lenses of his helmet which were their usual blue.
His gaze fixed upon his opponent, Cross-Z's body tensed for a moment before he launched himself towards the crystalline Kaijin, moving at a speed not displayed previously, covering the distance in the blink of an eye.
Finding their opponent before them, the Diamond Smash took a swing at the black and silver Rider with one of their spiked appendages only for Cross-Z to avoid it with seeming ease, side stepping out of the way before retaliating, aiming a punch at the Smash, his fist striking it in the chest. In response The crystal starfish let out a groan before stumbling backwards a few steps.
Seeing an opening, Cross-Z pressed his advantage, aiming a string of punches to the Smash, striking it in the chest and head, driving it back more and more with each step, before following it up by delivering a kick to its midsection which knocked it to the ground.
From her place on the ground, Misora stared up at the now black and silver Cross-Z engaged the Diamond Smash, a look of apprehension on her face. "Black Hazard…" She muttered.
"Black Hazard?" Hearing Saber's voice, Misora turned her gaze away from the scene before her, finding the blond haired Servant of the Sword standing over her, clearly confused as to what was going on.
"Lady Misora, by your tone I can hazard a guess that you are familiar with it is evident by your tone that you are familiar with Shirou's new appearance." The blond haired Servant addressed her, "What of that device Shirou used, what was it?"
"A very dangerous item, a product of devil science, the Hazard Trigger, using it results in this: Cross-Z Hazard Form…" Misora told her, turning her attention back towards where Cross-Z and the Diamond Smash were fighting. "The Hazard Trigger boosts the user's combat prowess but…it comes at a price. Eventually Shirou will lose himself when that happens he'll become super violent, attacking anything that moves."
"Hazard Form…Devil science…" Saber muttered as she turned attention back towards where Cross-Z and the Diamond Smash were fighting, shocked by what she'd just learned.
"I…I can't watch…" Misora said, turning away from the scene before her, despite her whimpering tone, no one noticed the evil looking smirk that spread itself across her face.
Watching as his opponent tried to get back to their feet, Cross-Z grabbed the hand crank attached to his Build Driver, turning it several times.
READY GO! HAZARD FINISH!
All of a sudden his right hand began radiating with a fiery black aura, balling up his fist Cross-Z then lunged towards the Diamond Smash, delivering a fiery punch to its chest which, to everyone's surprise, punched straight through its seemingly impenetrable body.
A low guttural sounding groan escaped from the crystalin starfish Kaijin as it stumbled back a few steps, its body crackling with energy as it did so, with a final cry before its body suddenly released a massive amount of energy of light and heat that engulfed its entire form.
Just as quickly the resulting explosion began to die down, revealing an unconscious Tohsaka Rin lying there on the ground, energy radiating off of her body that gathered together taking the form of a new Fullbottle that had an image of a diamond emblazoned on it, shooting itself towards Cross-Z who snatched out of the air.
When all of a sudden Cross-Z began groaning, clutching his head as he began thrashing about in an erratic manner.
"Shirou!" Saber cried out, unsure of what she was witnessing.
"Wha…what the hell's going on?" Rin cried out, sounding confused and disorientated.
"Oh no, no. It's happening," Misora muttered, "He's about to lose himself."
With a final groan Cross-Z thrashing ceased and his arms cropped to his sides. For a moment all was still when Cross-Z let out a long, guttural sounding moan, as he fixed his gaze towards Rin, the lenses of helmet suddenly flashed blue.
All of a sudden the Beat Crosser reappeared in Cross-Z hand before he all of a sudden lunged towards the still fallen Rin, his weapon at the ready the ebony haired girl seemingly too stunned to move as he brought it down towards her.
Just as the tip of the sword could find its mark, a flash of blue shot past him, snatching up Rin as it did so, the black and silver Rider's weapon slicing nothing but empty air.
Glancing over Cross-Z was met by the sight of Saber standing a few meters away from him, the blond Servant standing over Rin, a look of apprehension on her face as she held her sword out in front of her.
"Wha…what the heck is going on?" "What with that get up of Emiya's and why did he attack me just now?"
"Never mind that Lady Rin, you should get away from here, it's currently not safe for you to be here." Saber retorted, "I will hold off Shirou while you get to a safe distance."
"But…but…" Rin replied, confused and finding herself overwhelmed by what was going on.
As the Tohsaka heiress tried to formulate a coherent sentence a guttural sounding growl caught her attention as Cross-Z suddenly lunged forward, clearing the distance between his position and that of Saber and Rin almost instantaneously, his sword raised above his head.
Acting quickly Saber was quickly to intercept his sword with her own, a loud metallic sounding clang ringing out as the two blades met. For a moment both combatants glared at one another before the air that encased Saber's sword began to swirl more intensely, the force of which knocked Cross-Z back a few steps, seeing this the formed King then unleashed a horizontal slash at Cross-Z, who fell back further to avoid it, before darting away.
The lenses of Cross-Z helmet flashed once more before he took off after his Servant, aiming one vicious slash at her. Seeing that Cross-Z's attention was now solely focused on her, Saber planted her feet and readied her sword as the enraged Rider moved to engage her.
No sooner had he closed the distance between them, Cross-Z once again attempted to slash his Servant with his sword, each time she was able to either parry or avoid his attempts.
"Shirou, I implore you to get a hold of yourself." Saber told the enraged Rider who merely growled in response as he continued to slam the blade of sword against hers again and again, all the while the former King could feel herself begin to falter as more of her remaining energy was used up by her efforts to hold Cross-Z off.
"This…this is not good…" Saber muttered to herself, the latest blow from Cross-Z sword against her forcing her back a step before she caught herself. As she readied herself for her opponent's next assault, she happened to notice Misora watching on, a look of panic in her face.
"Ms. Misora, from what I can infer Shirou has used this Hazard Trigger once before." Saber called out to the dark haired teen, "Tell me, how were you able to stop him before?"
Misora stared back at the blond Servant, fixing the heiress with a look of total seriousness. "I didn't. You really think that I could stop something like this?" She told her. "The only thing I could do last time was stay out of sight and wait until he wore himself out and pass out from exhaustion."
A frown etched itself into Saber's face at Misora's response, it had most certainly not been what she'd wanted to hear. She wasn't given much time to dwell on this however as Cross-Z lunged at her once again, swinging his sword wildly at her, quickly raising her own sword to block each of his attempts.
This couldn't continue, she had to do something to end this quickly, with her energies running low she didn't have time to simply wait until Cross-Z exhausted himself the way Misora had described and if things dragged on she'd exhaust herself leaving not herself vulnerable but also both Rin and Misora unprotected.
Summoning up all her remaining strength, the former King threw her full weight behind her sword, knocking the enraged Rider off of his feet and sending him flying backwards a fair distance before he planted his feet on the ground, the soles of his boots skidding across its surface until he came to a halt, his gaze never shifting away from Saber.
Straightening up, the black and silver Rider let out a low sounding grunt before, to Saber's surprise, he threw his sword away and grasped the hand crank connected to his Driver, and began cranking it.
As he rotated the crank a fearsome sounding roar filled the air as a large Chinese style Dragon, its body composed of dark energy with red sparks radiating off of it, appeared and positioned itself behind him. Releasing the crank, Cross-Z assumed a wide legged stance, his arms held out on either side of him before leaping into the air, the Dragon breathed flames that coated Cross-Z foot as he assumed the position for a flying roundhouse kick, his energy covered foot aimed towards Saber.
READY GO! HAZARD FINISH!
As he drew close a barrage of multiple red energy arrows rained down from above, striking the black and silver Rider before he could reach Saber in the chest, knocking him out of the air and sending him crashing into the ground.
Moments later a portion of the air shimmered and in the blink of an eye appeared the dishevelled form of Archer, a stern look etched into the tanned skinned man's face.
"Archer…?" Saber exclaimed, taken a back somewhat by the state that the white haired man was in.
With a growl, Cross-Z was quickly back on his feet, his attention fixed upon the new arrival standing before him, his body tensing as he prepared to engage him. He wouldn't get the chance however.
Just as Cross-Z charged at him Archer acted quickly, conjuring up one of his signature swords and hurled it in the Rider's direction, the weapon spinning like a disk as it cleaved its way towards Cross-Z who quickly dropped down into a crouched position to avoid it, the sword sailing overhead.
Having avoided it Cross-Z looked up to find Archer standing before him, before he could react the white haired man reached out and grabbed a hold of Cross-Z's Build and tore it from around his waist.
With a final gasp the Dragon themed Rider's armor glowed momentarily before it disintegrated off of his body, leveling behind a disorientated looking Shirou.
Blinking several times, Shirou's blank eyes returned to normal as he managed to get a hold of himself, a confused look on his face as he found himself staring at Archer. "Wha…what…"
Before he could even form a coherent sentence, Archer delivered a blow to his midsection, the rust haired boy's eyes widening and a spurt of blood escaped from his mouth before he dropped to the ground where he lay unmoving.
Taking several deep breaths, Archer shifted his gaze away from the unconscious boy who lay upon the ground and over to the device he held in his grip. This was a fine mess that he found himself in.
AN And with that another chapter is in the can. Yeah, I'm back after another extended absence, I swear I'm not trying to make a habit of this, however life just kept finding away had a way to keep away from the keyboard. First I came down with something that really kicked my ass followed by a medical emergency with a member of my family needing an emergency trip to the hospital. So yeah, I've had a rough time as of late.
Getting back on the topic of this chapter itself we've got our first proper chapter since the first one in chapter 38, and the events of which follow on from the mini scene that was featured the first compilation found in chapter 51. Shirou comes face to face with Night Rogue, Rin and Saber in turn learning about Shirou being Cross-Z and the existence of Faust, before Rin is transformed into a Smash and anyone asks, yes Rin's Smash form is based on Diamondhead from Ben-10.
Of course the main event is Shirou using the Hazard Trigger to transform into Cross-Z Hazard Form, a form that wasn't in Build but one that I'm sure a lot of us really wanted to see, to defeat the Diamond Smash before losing control of himsellf and duking it out with a weakened Saber whom has to hold him off until Archer can step in.
Obviously quite a bit has happened in both Boonboomger and Gavv. Boonboomger is moving into its final arc with the boss off the Hashiriyan's, Waruido Spindo has arrived on Earth and has pretty much confirmed to Taiya the connections between the Hashiriyan's and the ISA. Not only that but he's the one who's in charge of the BBG which could mean that he was the one who sent Bundorio the illegal parts to modify himself that resulted in the accident that got him kicked out of the BBG and got his licence revoked.
Meanwhile on Kamen Rider Gavv, Shouma is being confronted Siita and Jiip who blame him for their many failures leading to them being fired from Stomach INC. Obviously episode 15 aired earlier today and while I've not seen it yet but according to things I've seen Siita apparently dies and from the trailer for episode 16 it seems the ever so shady Suga has some connection to Nyelv Stomach, guess we'll have to wait and see where that gose.
This is starting to get pretty long so I think I'll sign off here. If you've all got any thoughts on this one please drop and tell me, feedback is always welcome and appreciated, and I'll catch you all for the next chapter for this years Christmas instalment.
Until next time, peace out y'all.