The sun had reached its zenith. The searing heat of daylight bore down even on the rested huntsmen and huntresses. The god of light's toys have slipped past most of them by now. Though few in number, those numbers are not spent on the ones still on the walls. There were few now. Light's toys have surrendered surmounting the walls. They resorted to a different tactic.
Jeanne lost her balance as the wall she stood on shook again. Pawns have decreased in number, replaced by rooks, knights, and bishops. There were a few kings and queens among them, taking the charge of a primitive leader of these groups. But their position and placement made no sense in any proper army.
"Fall back into the city!" Jeanne commanded. "Fall back!"
Huntsmen rushed down the shaking walls as those further back covered their retreat. Dust rounds were no longer fired from the walls. Most engaged in a melee.
Jeanne and Astolfo covered their retreat. The two descended on the other side of Vale's walls.
The rooks were tougher than the pawns. Huntsmen could still deal with them with ease but not as much as they would the pawns. A line of rooks slammed themselves against the walls, making the cracks larger and larger until it a hole had appeared.
Jeanne swung her banner, a massive wall of ice froze the frontline rooks and served as a secondary wall. It didn't matter, the toys kept slamming against it anyway and Jeanne couldn't reach that far to the side.
Astolfo swung his lance, taking out rooks, bishops, and knights along with it. He was being pushed onto the city gates, still protected and the only means of communications.
"Sir!" a huntsman cried out. "Every huntsman is off the walls, get out of there!"
Jeanne called for Astolfo. Astolfo took hold of Jeanne and leapt in the air.
"Hippogriff!"
The two were on the inner side of the walls. Vale's huntsmen put distance between themselves and the breaking wall.
Further into the city, Jeanne caught sight of Saber's flying across the air, slammed into the building. A draconic roar silenced most others and weighed down everyone's spirit. No Grimm yet.
Jeanne heard a part of the wall being destroyed. Toys crowded that opening. Jeanne blasted the toys back out. But the attack made the surrounding parts crack. Rooks continually slammed against the other parts of the wall, further weakening Vale's defenses. The cracks grew larger and connected with other cracks. More holes were made. More toys kept pouring in.
Eventually, the damage was too much and the walls crumbled down. The ground beneath them quaked. Stone pieces fell on the toys just as they were entering in, cutting them off from the rest of the god of light's army.
But everyone was certain that it would only last for a while. The mountain of rubble and debris could only hold them back for a while. Astolfo rushed into the dust cloud, on the still falling debris. Toys were already climbing the destroyed wall.
A few reinforcements, the refugees from Menagerie, had arrived. At the helm of it was Adam Taurus.
More huntsmen were coming down the walls. But with toys catching up behind them, they were forced to fight back. Jeanne's eyes widened as the huntsman fell to his knees and was subsequently crushed by toys' combined weights as they kept marching.
From behind, the god of light kept fighting with the three Servants. Rider, Saber, and Archer are capable combatants but none of them have the means to deal with the immortal, and their Masters' aura was running out. Jeanne could see them vanish from their eyes as another took their place; they're rotating as they recover their aura.
"Jeanne!" Astolfo called. "Go! I'll hold them here."
There was a moment of hesitation.
"Hey," Astolfo said. "Ils ne passeront pas."
Jeanne paused and nodded. She raised two fingers. "Don't lose those fingers, Englishman."
As she ran off, she heard Astolfo's declaration. "Hold them here! Give them all you've got!"
Huntsmen stood their ground. Vale's stony structure had fallen. But Vale's true walls have yet to fall. Toys beat down on Vale's huntsmen like a rising water, but they were denied further ground. Astolfo personally led the way.
Jeanne paused and looked back. Lines of huntsmen stopped the toys from advancing further. Someone shouted an order to the tower. The huntsmen there moved down and joined the melee.
Saber landed beside her and vanished. Jeanne caught his face changing once more. He left behind a crater.
"Damn it!" Jeanne cursed, unbecoming of a saint.
She looked the area. Archer was shooting again from a rooftop. Archer was forced to evacuate, carrying with him his Master.
Jeanne kept going until she found Ozpin. Disheveled, glass broken, and clothes with rips and tears, she could see the scars on his worn body.
She got to work quickly. A healing touch recovered Ozpin's aura reserves and Saber appeared before them.
"How many lives do we have left?" Ozpin asked.
"I do not know if it's enough." Saber shook his head. "For once, I am not throwing my lives away."
Jeanne focused on the task at hand. "Where's Pyrrha?"
She never got her answer from Ozpin. Rider fell on the ground near them.
"Pyrrha?" Jeanne asked immediately.
Rider raised his sword before he too vanished from sight. With a burst, Jeanne flew towards the direction and found her hiding away underneath some rubble.
"Jeanne?" Pyrrha asked. "What about—"
"Vale isn't going down easily, Pyrrha." Jeanne healed Pyrrha and recovered her reserves. Rider appeared before them again, nodded and went back in.
With three Servants, the god of light could no longer damage Vale as he used to. As Jeanne rushed towards Archer and Watts, she caught the god's ire. A massive flame came for her. She couldn't activate her Noble Phantasm in time.
Her flag flew with the harsh winds generated by the flame. Rider's rusted shield kept her protected. Jeanne raised a hand a restored Pyrrha's aura again; she'll need what little she could conserve.
Jeanne moved fast, evading balls of flame until she made it to Archer's Master.
A sword beam took the god of light out of the sky. Saber's blade emitted smoke.
"You're lucky with Archer," said Jeanne.
"Independent Action is quite handy, isn't it?" Watts checked his joints.
"How much longer?" Jeanne demanded. "I need to know."
"That would depend on how fast doctors Jekyll and Pietro could decipher the code."
"You didn't give them the code?" Jeanne's eyes burned.
Archer continued to fire from behind them. Jeanne pulled Watts up and brought him somewhere else.
Rider and Saber circled around the god of light as the streets and nearby, destroyed buildings burned. Glass shards and concrete rubble fell. Floor tiles scratched the asphalt streets and street lights ignited flames when vehicles leaked their liquids.
A guess came to her. "That's a dangerous gamble you're playing Watts."
"Well you know how a man like me could be," Watts replied. "I want it all."
"When this is done, I'm coming for you first." Jeanne raised her banner and turned around.
With her Maiden abilities, Jeanne was the only one who could rival the god of light there in the air. Astolfo would have been able to do the same on Hippogriff but he was leading Vale's defenses.
One quick glance showed that Vale's huntsmen held on. Astolfo stayed true to his words, the words of a Paladin of Charlemagne's court.
For one reason or another, the god of light's ire was especially high against Jeanne. She maneuvered in the air as though she were a fighter jet. Avoiding projectiles that kept coming towards her, only being relieved when Rider, Saber, or Archer covered for her.
The god of light dealt with them as was needed. Their Masters' aura reserves were running low. Jeanne could tell that. They covered for her as she came down and boosted their aura back to full before coming in once again.
Jeanne rose to battle with the god of light. But his dragon form had been replaced with a humanoid form, comparable to the titans of Earth's mythologies.
One hand grabbed Jeanne. Rider came in an attempt to free her but he too had been grabbed.
Archer's shots were ignored and Saber was held down by the god of light's foot. Their respective Masters, along with Rider's own, were unable to do anything about it.
Jeanne and Rider were brought closer to the god of light. "You two, most of all, intrigue me. I see the trespassers inside of you and yet I see a bit of my gifts in you."
Voyager's influence and the Maiden powers, Jeanne thought.
"A bridge," god of light said. "You two are a bridge between this experiment and that horrid place."
"God you may be," Rider declared. Fairytale knight currently activated. "But I will not let foul words be thrown at a home not my own. Just as they are filled with villains, they too are filled with heroes, worthy of respect."
"And we are doing what we must," Jeanne added. Maiden eyes burning bright. "Not just for ourselves but for Remnant."
"Do you now?" god of light asked. "Do you not see the destruction that you have caused by being here? How much more peaceful could things have been had your intruder left Remnant alone."
"The threads of fate weaves as it does," Rider retorted. "It is not the fault of the child for being here."
"I think otherwise. For there are countless other worlds out there. Many realities that have yet to be made and discovered. I refuse to accept that it was mere chance that brought Voyager to Remnant."
One shot to the head disrupted the god's attention, loosening his grip on Rider and Jeanne.
Her first instinct had been to catch Rider. She brought him to the ground. Raised her hands and recovered Pyrrha's aura. The crushing grip drained it faster than Rider's Aura Amplification could recover it.
The god of light, still in that titan-sized, humanoid shape, raised a fist. But a sword on the ankle made him stumble and fall. Saber had broken free from his trap and seized his chance.
Jeanne gave a quick glance on the battlefield. Huntsmen still held their ground but were beginning to fall behind. Toys were being drawn to the alleyways, funneling them into smaller numbers. Astolfo himself stayed on the front, spit flying all over as commands had to have left his mouth.
Archer himself has frustration written on his face. Enacted plans that are now giving the man regrets as the god of light came for him and his Master. Independent Action allowed him to be farther away from his Master but that distance was being abused by the god of light; the Master was more vulnerable than the Servant.
How much longer? Jeanne asked.
She looked up. The sun was still in the sky but it had already moved. The heat of the afternoon was bearing down on them and the heat from this battle only made things hotter.
The exposed steel of cars and street lights were hot to the touch. The glass shards and broken debris made their steps difficult. Civilians were still being escorted to someplace safe. Jeanne wasn't sure where safe was. Huntsmen on the other side of Vale's walls were called back.
Rider placed his sword in his sheath. The shield expanded slightly and became a two-handed sword.
"No defense?" Jeanne asked.
"It isn't going to help us out much," Rider answered. "Besides, I can still use the shield."
Making his point, the shield expanded fully before it collapsed back into the two-handed sword form.
Jeanne nodded and flew towards Ozpin to recover his own aura. She spent more time going back and forth between the Masters just for their aura. Being the only Maiden here, it was the best she could do.
"No matter what happens," Ozpin said with a voice of depressing acceptance. "Vale will be wiped from the map."
"Vale isn't the place," Jeanne replied. "It's the people."
"I know." Ozpin's cane expanded. "I never meant the kingdom to begin with."
"We'll prove you wrong, headmaster," Jeanne promised, banner flying in the wind. "I promise."
"I hope you do, miss d'Arc. I hope you do."
/-/
Astolfo swung his lance, taking out an entire group of rooks. There hadn't been any pawns now, almost all of them had been replaced by rooks, bishops, and knights. There were toy guards among them too, and these ones were the best fighters among the god of light's army that Astolfo had ever faced.
They still weren't much against Servants but they've become a challenge for the exhausted huntsmen. Those still in training would be about equal. Not that Beacon's students would fall behind, they had Port and himself as their mentors!
Knights jumped on their fellows and climbed the low buildings. They jumped across the rooftops until they made it past the main line. Many were shot down by the huntsmen further in the back.
"Get huntsmen on those roofs!" commanded Port. "Never let yourselves be outdone. Keep your heads high!"
Astolfo and Port were back-to-back. "You know, I lost count." Astolfo thrusted the lance, taking out the bishops and knights.
"Same here, my friend!" Port shot a rook. The spraying rubble put the other toys off balance. Nearby huntsmen did not miss their chance. "Let's see how far we can sail this ocean!"
The toys kept coming. They were led to the alleyways and thin gaps where their superior numbers meant little.
Toys funneled into small and tight spaces. There huntsmen went as wild as the space allowed. Taking out as many with them as they could. Toys mounted other toys but fell when the ones bellow them were crushed by their own weight.
Unfeeling and uncaring, the god of light's armies could never be called living. Even the Grimm had more life in them that these. They were mechanical. Puppets. Nothing more than mere tools with the capacity for movement. One couldn't even compare them to artificial intelligence.
"Push!" said one of the huntsmen. Some have begun to form their own shield walls, taking what tool they could find.
Trashcan lids, broken doors, and shattered portraits all came together to form a shield wall. Reinforced by their aura, huntsmen kept the toys away as those behind them thrusted and shot as they were able.
Astolfo himself kept to the open field. He was a danger to those nearby and the toys didn't always funnel there. Port was among the few who could take them in the open field.
Some of the toys were lifted in the air and were slammed back down on the ground. The fallen toys took down many more as an unseen force pushed them forward so great that they fell like bowling pins, a perfect strike.
Behind them, Glynda Goodwitch's figure was seen among the huntsmen. She too had been leading her own. With her natural command, huntsmen followed like they were soldiers in an army.
"What are you people doing?" Glynda demanded. "They're inching closer to the tower!"
She opened a gaping hole in the god of light's army, though it was quickly recovering.
"Get in there, now!" Glynda commanded.
It was Oobleck who followed orders first. A torrent of flame came from his flask, further slowing down the toy's march.
"Break formation!" Astolfo called for the open field. "Glyn-glyn, a little boost, please!"
Glynda sighed but complied.
Astolfo charged forward. Monstrous strength in full display as he chaotically went against the toys.
Without the pawns, these toys have slowed their pace. The rooks were heavier and the knights were few in number, moving in awkward places. Bishops did little and were of little use. Kings and queens didn't need to be said.
Swinging harder, Astolfo took out more toys than he did earlier. There was no Master to support him but that also meant less danger to others. He was fighting without restraint and with allies, all of them capable of holding their own.
In the funneled places, numbers counted for nothing. But in the open field, that meant everything. The main city of Vale hadn't been reinforced nor had their time to reconstruct it to be a battlefield. There had been no reason for it, no justification that Ozpin could propose for such an action.
But that was where Archer came along. Glynda had taken command and had huntsmen and huntresses move away.
After a while, explosions went off, making a trench in the ground, taking with them many of the god of light's toys. That moment's pause gave them their pause and momentary relief. But for Astolfo that was when he pressed his advantage.
"Reinforce the streets!" he said.
Glynda gave out her commands. Vehicles were pushed and driven into place. Debris filled the gaps as huntsmen reloaded their firearms. Volleys of bullets rained again as the toys struggled to get up from the newly made trench. There were no paths that they could take and they couldn't simply climb up.
Astolfo took out most of the knights. Annoying things were the only ones who could leap out of the trenches. The rooks couldn't smash this one and their weights made them too heavy to be lifted. But they allowed a platform to walk on.
Taking them out was the simplest part. These toys didn't remain for long, shorter than even Grimm. As far as Astolfo knew, they weren't being replaced by the same pieces either. There still weren't any new pawns anymore.
The ground beneath him was uneven, expected of something that had just blown up. But Astolfo could handle it. With the lance's tip facing forward, Astolfo charged forward, uncaring and never slowed in the momentum until he reached the end of the trenches.
After that it was another trip to that first point. Rooks fell and only made Astolfo stumble. But not once did Astolfo fall.
Colors flew above him. Huntsmen were moving forward. Rather than walk backwards, they forced themselves forward. The ground still shook and Astolfo could still hear the distant roars of the god of light.
"Right," Astolfo said. "Can't stay cooped up in here, forever."
With a great leap, Astolfo readied his lance as he landed on the other side of the trench. Huntsmen continued to fire as toys that made it fell into the hole. Astolfo kept pushing forward while the toys he couldn't get to were moving forward.
Being the only Servant there meant that only he could push forward. Everyone else were holding the line. The others were either protecting the tower or were fighting off the god of light. Astolfo can't fall behind.
Pushing onward, Astolfo went further and further away from the rest of Vale's defenders. He swung everywhere, toys would fall no matter where he would strike. He will go all the way to the other end if he could. But right now, he settled on making it to the broken walls of Vale.
There were weak spots in the god of light's army. Less rooks than the others, mostly bishops and with leaping knights. Astolfo moved from weak spot to weak spot. Each swing took out more of these pieces. Toy guards came in and dueled with Astolfo; they fell after one or two exchanges, bringing with them their fellows as well.
Astolfo made it to the wall. While beating away the toys, he looked for an elevated place. He found parts of the wall that were still standing. He climbed up.
"Hey," Astolfo said. "Their numbers are going down, I think!"
There were small gaps in the army now. More were still coming but they must have been from faraway places. This first wave must be from the continent of Sanus only.
"Alright," Astolfo declared. A massive horn appeared in Astolfo's hands. "But first!"
Great sounds came from it. Knights climbing the walls were blown back, falling on their fellows. Rooks no longer aimed to destroy the wall.
"Let's relieve them of their woes!" Astolfo called out. A great eagle's call was heard and a beast had appeared. Arrows were being shot but Astolfo dealt with them easily.
He leapt onto his mount and pulled out his lance.
"Show me your true power!" His lance pointed forward. "Hippogriff!"
Hippogriff's eagle call was deafening. It did an aileron roll. With Astolfo's lance at the front, they were an aerial drill, eliminating most of the toys along their flight path.
Small booms were heard drumming in the battle field. A light rose and fell as the explosions hastened their rhythm. Toys fell and were obliterated by the tens and hundreds.
The light moved in great speeds, it was as though many beams of light rained down upon the army of the light. But this wasn't the light of Remnant's creator. It was the light of a paladin.
The drumbeat of the explosions rose and rose in a crescendo. The light faded away. The forceful blows reached into one final climactic boom, clearing out much of the field.
"Should have done this earlier!" Astolfo declared as he looked over broken wall of Vale. Then, he looked out into the horizon. "Actually, yeah. Probably not a good idea."
There were still many more. But Astolfo gave the huntsmen time. More time for them to keep going.
The sun was descending from the sky.
"Nightfall already?" Astolfo said. He groaned. "Can't you toys sit back and rest for a while?"
There was no response. The arrows couldn't reach high enough to touch Hippogriff's feet
"Oh right." He realized. "Too high. They couldn't hear me."
Hippogriff descended quickly and cleared out the path with another sounding boom. Sword and lance drawn, Astolfo fell back, taking out the remaining toys that were closer to Vale's huntsmen.
Port was there to greet him when he did. There were still toys around but Vale's huntsmen could now move to reinforce their line. With Glynda around, that made it the simplest matter to do.
"They're still coming!" a huntsman declared.
From Astolfo's viewpoint, it would take hours before they could move. Every huntsman used that time to rest and recover.
"Everybody move!" a huntress warned.
Astolfo raised his head. A dragon of light was heading towards his direction. He panicked and was sent flying when the dragon's back landed to where he was. The dragon kept going. Astolfo saw that Rider's own mount had struck the god of light's jaw and forced him back.
Juniper faded away and Rider fell back, shield ready to block anything aiming for his more vulnerable back.
Saber and Ozpin followed immediately after. Both of them were worn with messed up hairs and Saber looking like he was about to change his face again.
Jeanne and Pyrrha were last to arrive, the former carrying the latter.
Archer and Watts were nowhere to be found.
Astolfo moved first. With sword and lance, Astolfo stood near as Rider ran past him. After that, Rider stopped and turned around, his own sword drawn.
The dragon in front of them turned back to that humanoid form with deer antlers. Damaged but not quite wounded, it was hard to tell if they did anything at all. The god of light was exhausted at least.
Saber moved forward, putting himself between the god of light and everyone else.
"This is my kingdom, your divinity," Saber said. "I will not let you destroy it so easily."
"You'd do well to remember, Ozma," said the god of light. "That your kingdoms, your empires, your homes, all of it was built upon lands which I have given you. Every stone you've carved was with the tools that had come from me."
The god of light stood back up. Every Servant readied themselves for another battle. Without the toys there, all that mattered was that these huntsmen were safe. He left them but they all knew he would come back.
Everyone there fell back down. Rider and Saber vanished from sight as Jeanne struggled to raise her hands and recovered their Masters' aura.
Glynda approached Ozpin. She looked like she was about to ask for something.
"Set lines of defense," Ozpin said. "Prepare for the night battle."
/-/
"How much longer will it take?" Raven was nervously tapping her foot. "I can feel the danger on Tai and Yang. Vale is not feeling so good."
On their end, there hadn't been any of these toys on account of most of them headed in another direction for some reason. Whatever was the case, Atlas was safe from the toys for now. Even Grimm avoided Atlas but that was more to do with the toys on the way.
Jekyll and Pietro ignored her. Any time spent on conversing that wasn't about the Golden Record was time wasted. They were on a time limit. Arthur Watts and Archer were gambling that the battle could eliminate the other Servants, or at least weaken Ozpin's side for Salem to finish them off, securing their own victory.
Though his eyes were that of Hyde, it was more accurate to say that Jekyll's mind and Hyde's rage were in perfect sync. As Hyde, he wanted nothing more than to tear Archer apart for keeping this information from them for as long as he did. As Jekyll, he wanted nothing more than to choke the man for putting Beacon's students, this Remnant's version of his team, and so many other lives in danger.
It wasn't an automated process. They were decoding the Golden Record by hand. A series of codes and safety measures that kept them from simply playing the record. General Ironwood had already begun on Amity as that would be played on every CCT across Remnant.
Penny was of little use here. The upgrades and improvements from their sparring match was being put into her before deployment.
"Hello?" Raven insisted. "I can't stick around and twiddle my fingers over here!"
In the corner, Qrow kept his distance, not wanting his semblance to act up. In that regard, Clover was nearby in the hopes that his would act up.
Qrow was also nervous. He was the professional huntsman. He had more years of experience. Yet, it was his nieces that are putting their lives on the line.
Finally, Jekyll said, "get to Mistral. Bring Chiron here."
A portal immediately opened. Truth be told, Jekyll didn't want any disturbance for the next minutes. It had taken a while before the portal opened again. Chiron and Vernal stepped out with the former immediately rushing in and aided them with the decoding.
"Is that it?" Raven asked. "That's all you're going to ask of me?"
"We're working as fast as we are able to avoid mistakes, miss Branwen," Chiron replied. "Any more and we would have to start all over."
Notes and papers were being exchanged between them. No words were spoken outside of what was necessary. No small talk, no time for breaks, not even for tea or biscuit.
They kept working at it even as the general arrived. With him was Winter. Jekyll may have paused as he saw Winter approach but he shook his head and went back to work. Now is not the time. No pleasantries, they must decode ready the Golden Record.
One sight of the trio working together and the general was making his own plans already.
"Schnee," Ironwood commanded. "How soon can they be deployed?"
"As quick as lightning sir," Winter replied.
"Good. As soon as we have the clear, lead them to Vale."
"Yes, sir. I'll put them on standby."
"You got soldiers ready, Jimmy?" Qrow looked eager to join in the fight. With Vernal here, there was still one path back to Atlas.
"You will not join her, Qrow," Jekyll answered. "Once we're done here, you will go down to Mantle and assist the Happy Huntresses however you can. Raven will rejoin the battle."
"Finally," Raven said. "Yang is still safe." She hesitated. "Safer."
"I could go with them right now," Qrow insisted. "It's not as fast but I'd rather get moving."
"No." Chiron shook his head. Not once did any of the three raise their heads. "Penny will accompany Winter on this endeavor."
"They're not soldiers, Qrow," Ironwood added. "They're a new kind of paladin."
"Full mechanized army?"
Ironwood nodded. "We're not throwing human lives there on Vale." His face hardened. "Not when I know we'd be throwing them here."
Jekyll, Pietro, and Chiron kept going. Right now, they were rushing it. They were double checking, frustrated as their eyes began to blur on them. Not here, not now.
An alarm came from Pietro.
"Penny is done."
"Get her to Winter, now!" Jekyll demanded. "We're almost done here!"
"Finally!" Raven said. Muscles already itching for something. "Now what?"
"General?" Jekyll asked.
"I'll have it ready. All of you, come with me."
"I'll stay," Pietro said. "Someone needs to make sure that this goes off without any problem."
"Guess that means I'll stay too," Clover said. "Got to use everything we have don't we? Wish us luck."
"You're here for a reason, Clover," Jekyll replied.
Jekyll, Chiron, Ironwood, Qrow, and Raven all hurried towards where Amity was. Construction for its repairs and maintenance was in full swing. The Happy Huntresses all gathered there, protecting Amity. They weren't in the know as Robyn was, but they trusted her and she trusts Ironwood right now.
The group got inside and made their way towards the communications. Further adjustments had been made there, much to Raven's frustration.
"Seriously? Why?"
"Because we are now deliberately hacking into Atlas' mainframe in order to get this message out." Jekyll worked through the codes. "Watts made the system with protective measures in mind but that was before he had been kicked out of Atlas and before he became a Master."
"Good news," Chiron added. "Watts gave us the code to hack into it."
"If it wasn't for the necessity of the situation," Ironwood said. "I would have had him arrested right now."
"Can't override them?" Qrow asked. "Not even as a general?"
"The level of access required is higher than even my own clearance. The kingdom's council is required to let this message play out."
"And we're hacking into every piece of tech we could get." Jekyll finished. He nodded once. "Are we ready?"
Raven took out the Golden Record.
"Careful with that!" Chiron rebuked. "If it thing breaks, all is lost."
Raven bowed her head. For once, she was genuinely ashamed at her carelessness.
Ironwood pulled out his scroll. "Schnee, as soon as you are able, contact Polendina and deploy at once."
Winter's response came but no one could understand the muffled voice.
AN: Responding to a comment in FFN: you're not wrong in that Rider's RM involves the Ever After, specifically the Origami Acre. You're also not wrong in assuming that it could be OP. I'd like to add that "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet" becomes absolutely bonkers when you consider any timeline shenanigans/potentials involved with the Throne of Heroes. I already mentioned how the limitations of such a RM depends on the aura/magical energy reserves of the Master and that it could be made even more efficient with Jaune's Aura Amplification. This is as far as I can go without spoilers.
Sometimes, I forget that Astolfo is technically an Englishman. In that same vein and unrelated, I also sometimes forget that Lancelot is French.