[X] Talk to him, you're in no hurry and it doesn't hurt to be polite. If it's a trap, well, I'm sure you can handle it.(Even if he's a little….Out there)
After Fate/Hollow fake, I have learnt that au Shinji's should be treated as though they are not complete jerkwads, unless we learn they are.
If they are, we just let him get himself killed.
[X] Talk to him, you're in no hurry and it doesn't hurt to be polite. If it's a trap, well, I'm sure you can handle it.(Even if he's a little….Out there)
My curiosity is piqued by this Shinji. Also Rider is Jason... Rider is The Jason.... I am so hype right now!
[X] You really need to get going and you need to leave but that's no reason to be rude. Tell Shinji sorry but you need to get going, hopefully you can get through this without things going south.
[X] Who cares who sicks em', just get him away!
[X] Talk to him, you're in no hurry and it doesn't hurt to be polite. If it's a trap, well, I'm sure you can handle it. (Even if he's a little….Out there)
You look at Shinji and your options flash through your mind. You could just brush him off, you needed to get to the church so you could make yourself official. Or. Just leave this war. That was always an option you had right? You didn't need to fight in this war, you only need to get to the church and say something like "I give up my rights as a master."
That was so simple. So why were you working so hard to keep your place in the war so high? You've made alliances, deals, and right now you have the chance to talk to another one of the masters, literally five minutes away from your chance to get out. But on the other hand, this is what you wanted right? You want to explore the world, see the sights and meet the people. Well. Here's one, he's a little weird but right now your only comparison is Troy.
And saying that Troy's normal is like saying Adam is a polite individual.
"Where would we be going?" you ask.
The question brings several different responses. First off, Saber's gaze snaps away from Shinji to stare at you like you've just said some crazy. Like the world is ruled by mice or something. Rider puts a hand to his mouth, trying and failing to stop a snicker of laughter. Troy grabs your shoulder and clears his throat "Sigyn, standard protocol when strange men ask you to go for a walk with them is to tell them no and then kick them where the sun don't shine."
You raise an eyebrow "I don't understand the 'Sun don't shine' reference. But I do see your point, and don't worry."
"And you're still going with this guy because?"
You think for a second before smirking slightly "I'll answer your question if you answer mine. How is this any different from when you took me and Saber away from Berserker?"
Troy opens his mouth, then shuts it again, looking slightly annoyed. After a moment, he resumes talking. "Technically I was both giving you a ride and helping you get away from Berserker, so…" He sighed and gave up the point. "Ok, I'll admit that this is a tiny bit similar to when I picked you and Saber up. But I didn't have the words 'IT'S A TRAP' hanging over my head in bright, retina-searing neon."
You blink "It's a trap?"
Troy returns the blink "If I had a radar that detected...ooh, let's call them unsavory characters, this guy would have broken it in half."
"Do you even have the decency to wait for someone to turn their backs before you insult them?" Shinji asks.
"Why, that defeats the point! If I wait for that I'd miss seeing your face after it sinks in." Troy says with a smirk that, by this point, was quickly becoming the only feature permanent to his face.
Shinji tried to remain calm but the slight sound of grinding teeth was easy to make out. Saber kept his face neutral but the sense of disappointment was clear to everyone there.
"Clearly, Master Forthill, your ability to amaze has no bounds."
"Thanks. Good to see that my efforts are getting through."
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone turned their attention solely on Shinji. The young Matou heir was furious, his face was contorted in rage and his skin was starting to gain a red tinge. He points a shaky, accusing finger at Troy "I will not stand for this insult! I-!"
"Well, I suppose you could lie down if you prefer..." Troy says, stepping forward. The action had a double effect of cutting Shinji off and raising the blue haired Matou's anger to new heights.
You watch Saber take a step forward, hopefully to defuse the situation "Master Matou, Master Forthill, can you ple-."
His sentence was cut off as Rider elbows him sharply "Quiet, I want to see how this goes."
Saber looks at you with a pleading glance to stop the conversation between the two male masters. You nod, and while Saber pulls Rider's hand off his mouth and glares down the servant, you make your way between Troy and Shinji. You step in between them and thankfully, both of them move out of the way so you didn't have to push them away. You take a deep breath before you begin "This is getting out of hand to fast. Both of you know the rules of the grail war." You make sure that you took the time to look both of them in the eye, securing their attention and making yourself seem better at this talking business than you really are.
"If we start a fight in the middle of the day, in the middle of the city we're all going to be kicked out of the war by the overseer."
"If we get caught." Troy says.
You send a glare at the crazy master "Troy, not helping."
"I wasn't trying to."
"Well, then at least try a bit more."
Troy thinks for a second "Even if I wanted to help, I couldn't."
You resist the urge to roll your eyes "Why?"
"Yes, why?" Shinji asks.
"Shinji," you warn "Please don't push this."
"I have no idea what you are on about," Shinji interjects "I haven't said anything bad to this man since I got here."
"Lack of trying clear to see."
It was at that point, that you notice that Shinji was ready to burst. In fact, he visibly shook with anger and you took a step back. Troy smiles "I seem to have touched a nerve."
"WHY ARE YOU INSULTING ME LIKE THIS!?!" Shinji screams, like a five year old to boot.
Troy puts a hand on his chin "I don't know, my mouth just opens and it sort of happens."
Shinji clenches his fist and moves forward to punch Troy. Only to end up with his face on the floor groaning. The four of you blink in confusion before Saber, Rider and you look at Troy for answers. The mage had his hand in the secret compartment of his hoodie but other than that he was clean. He holds up his hands in surrender "As much as I want to take credit for this, I actually didn't do it this time."
You lean down next to Shinji to make sure he's alright. After a quick inspection you found that the only real damage to him was a rock lying next to his head. You raise an eyebrow and glance at everyone behind you "Did anyone throw a rock at Shinji?"
Saber shakes his head "I have done nothing to hurt Master Matou. Physically or otherwise."
Rider shrugs "I would've thrown a car, gotta put A ranked strength to use somehow right?"
Finally you look at Troy. The formalcraft mage raises an eyebrow "Whoa. Hey. Do I look like the kind of man to throw rocks when I have a gun?"
"Then wh-."
"That would be me."
You turn to the direction of the voice, and what greets you was stunning to say the least. She was a little taller than you but you stopped comparing yourself to her out of respect. She was beautiful, so beautiful that you could see warriors and kings go to war just to have a chance to speak to her. She had crimson eyes that seemed to look over everything like she'd already seen it a thousand times. Her hair was a deep red that flowed down her back. She wore a simple purple long sleeved shirt and skin tight jeans. But underneath all of the beauty, you could sense something dark. It was as if the world was giving a warning to those around her. Run, she'll kill you.
Next to you, Rider lets out a low whistle. Saber looked as neutral as ever, but you did note that he wasn't blinking very often. The woman stretches out her arms causing a few men walking on the other side of the street to forget where they were going and stare. They promptly ran into one another causing the woman to send a playful smirk their way.
They ran into one another again soon afterwards.
It was at this moment that the world decided to give you the information you deserved at this point.
Strength: C
Endurance: B
Agility: A
Mana: D
Luck: E
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (C): Cancel spells with a chant below two verses. Cannot defend against Magecraft on the level of High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals.
Skills:
???
"Oh that never gets old." Lancer says.
She looks over you and the rest of the group and another playful smirk "So you were the group of interesting signatures that I sensed earlier." She says walking up "I have to admit, kind of a disappointment."
You open your mouth to respond but Troy steps forward. The action had the double effect of cutting you off and allowing Rider and Saber to get on either side of you. In a second you had a three man wall of flesh, magic and steel between you and Lancer.
"What were you expecting?" Troy asks.
"From the Saber and Rider classes?" Lancer thought for a moment, putting a hand on her chin "Well someone bigger for the Saber, this one doesn't look like he'll last ten minutes."
Saber said nothing, his gaze only hardened ever so slightly and his hand twitched over his side where his sword was hidden. Saber swings his arm forward and a slow breeze flows over the group. Lancer glances down for a second before picking up something off the ground. She put it out on the palm of her hand to study it. You look into her hand and your jaw drops slightly. In the center of Lancer's palm, was a common fly. Only it was wingless. But it was still alive. The insect squirms in Lancer's hand for a second before the servant sets the bug on the ground letting it scurry away.
Lancer looks at Saber and she nods in respect. Saber returns the nod and relaxes his stance by crossing his arms. Lancer then turns to Rider and the servant of the mount, for lack of a better term, swaggers forward. He glances down at Lancer "Like what you see?" he asks with a suggestive smile.
Lancer tilts her head slightly "No, you just remind me of an old fling."
Rider smirks "A good time I'm sure."
Lancer chuckles slightly "For the five minutes he lasted, yes. It was a good time."
Rider's face fell and Troy bursts out laughing "Better get some ice for that burn, Rider!"
As Rider was about to retort to Troy's comment you step forward. Lancer and Troy look at you confused and you point to Shinji, who still hadn't gotten up from the earlier rock incident. Lancer smiles in realization "Oh don't worry about him," she says waving the concern off "I slap my master across the room at least three times a day. If anything this little stunt should be simple for him."
You think that sentence over for a second "So, you just, beat your master on a daily basis?"
Troy shrugs "Meh, saves me the trouble."
Lancer looks at you, her expression full of mock anger and surprise "How rude. Are you implying that I do unspeakable things to my master in a dark room every day just for fun?"
It takes a second for you mouth to work again "No?"
"Good because I don't."
Shinji coughs weakly from the ground "You're lying Lancer. You enjoy this."
"Only because your expressions are the best."
Lancer leans down, and unceremoniously lifts Shinji's head up by his hair. The young Matou limply slapped and scratched at Lancer's arm in a vain attempt to get her to let him go. Lancer pulls Shinji's head to eye level "Now master, say you're sorry."
Shinji, well, everyone blinked in confusion at that. For the first time since they had known one another, Troy and Shinji spoke in one voice "What?"
"You heard me," Lancer says "Say you're sorry."
You see Troy's face break out into a huge grin and behind you, Rider was on the floor laughing.
"I like this servant." Troy says.
Troy glares pure hatred at Troy but he chewed his bottom lip for a second before taking a shaky breath "I-I'm sorry."
Troy did a quick, mocking bow "Apology accep-."
His sentence was cut off as Shinji's head was slammed back into the pavement by Lancer. Both your and Troy's jaw drop at this and Saber's eyes widen a noticeable fraction. Lancer pulls Shinji's head back up "What was that for!?!" Shinji screams.
"You apologized to them!" Lancer says pointing a finger at you and Troy.
"But that's what you asked me to do!" Shinji complains.
Lancer slaps him hard across the cheek sending the poor boy into the fence next to you. Lancer rolls her eyes "Fool, you were supposed to apologize to me!"
You quickly sneak a glance at Shinji to make sure he was ok before asking the question "Why?"
"Because he's a horrible master and I have to deal with him. And because of this he should apologize for being such a disappointment to me." Lancer says, in a tone that sounded like that reasoning justified everything the servant had done in the last five minutes.
Saber takes a step forward and checks on Shinji. After a second he sighs in relief "He will be fine, but I would advise against beating the poor man any more."
"Today?" Lancer asks with a smirk.
Saber narrows his gaze "Ev-."
"It's called sarcasm buddy," Troy quickly interjects "God, what did I do to get allied with the team that has no sense of humor?"
Rider, who had apparently gotten up from his laughing coma, looks at his master offended "Hey. I'm here and I'm funny."
"Only because you've spent the last three days around me." Troy corrects "It's bound to happen by this point."
At the banter around you, you force your hand away from you face. A headache was growing and you didn't need anything more adding to it. Lancer apparently notices your discomfort and lightly this time, kicks Shinji to get him to stand up. Shinji groans in pain before slowly getting up "Lancer, if I have to use a command seal to stop you from doing that ag-."
Lancer cuts her master off by flicking him in the forehead. Causing him to both stumble back and shut up from any further complaints. As Shinji forces down a scream of pain, Lancer smiles at her work and saw that it was good. She snapped her fingers twice and Shinji, almost robotically snaps to attention "What time is it boy?" she asks. Apparently calling Shinji her master was an insult to her pride or something.
Shinji quickly checks his watch "Um, about five minutes till four."
Lancer thinks for a moment "Good, enough time to have a nice bite to eat before the battle."
Your head tilts in confusion "I'm sorry what are you talking about? We can't fight in the middle of the day while everyone is still around."
"So we eat until it's dark and then we start." Lancer says like it was obvious.
"And you want to fight us afterwards because?" Troy asks.
Lancer shrugs "When you go into a battlefield, there are two things that go through every warrior's mind. Will I survive? And can/we win this fight? I intend to honor the first by allowing you to enjoy something before you fall."
"Oh?" Rider says "You think you can win against the two of us?"
Lancer smiles a cruel, battle hungry smile "I don't think, I know."
She sounded so confident, the prospect of fighting two servants at once not bothering her in the slightest. In fact, if anything the prospect of fighting a two on one battle was exciting her. Besides her, Shinji begins to laugh. The boy looks in complete control for once as he gestures to Lancer "Yes my fellow masters! Tremble in fear! For I! Shinji Matou have summoned the invincible -."
And his sentence was cut short yet again as Lancer hits him in the back of the head sending him back into the ground. Rider and Troy just shake their heads and smile "I could watch that on repeat all day and I would have no regrets." Troy says.
"Same." Rider agrees.
"Do you know of a medical facility we could take Master Matou to?" Saber asks the two of them "Those blows are going to have some unwanted effects if left untreated."
"I good meal and a drink will fix that up." Lancer says picking Shinji up, by his hair again.
"Anyway boy. Find us the closest place to where we can drink the horrors of battle away."
Shinji grinds his teeth together "I'm underaged Lancer, I can't go into a bar."
"And that stops you because?"
"There are these things called rules." Troy jokes "They're useless after a while."
"Wait, how old are you?" You ask Troy. That was strange if you thought about it long enough. You knew next to nothing about Troy's past, so you might as well ask questions. His age however, not exactly a detailed area to start. But hey, it was something.
Troy thinks for a second "I think I'm around twenty two."
"You think?" You ask raising an eyebrow.
Saber copies your expression "How do you not know your age? Did something happen to you in the past? A loss of memory or something of that nature?"
Troy shrugs "Nah, it's more on the lines of I don't keep track of useless things like that."
You open your mouth to ask another question but Lancer cuts you off "You know what I see here? No food, fix that boy."
Shinji groans as he slowly gets up "Fine fine, there's an cafe a few blocks away. Will that please her royal highness?"
Lancer didn't look amused by Shinji' comment. She raises her hand and Shinji flinches in fear causing Lancer to smile "Good, you're learning quick. Now lead on."
Shinji grumbles to himself, something about useless servants but you really couldn't tell much more than that. As Shinji and Lancer walked away you started after them and everyone else follows closely behind you. The walk was short and sweet with no interruptions, magical or otherwise. Soon, you find yourself going through a thin glass door into an average cafe in the middle of an average city. As you go in, Troy points out an open table and the six of you sit down. Shinji and Lancer took the two far seats and Rider sat down next to Lancer while Saber and Troy filed into the seats next to you. Once everyone sat down you look around to Shinji and Lancer "So do they take our orders or what?"
Shinji lets out a small laugh "Oh you're just so adorable you know,"
"Thanks?"
"You get the food by asking the cashier over there." Troy says pointing to a woman behind the counter talking to a line of people. Troy and Saber were also glaring at Shinji but you didn't think too much about it. Instead you opted to look at the menu above the cashier's head. It was a generic mixture of sandwiches, soups and assorted coffee's. Well, you assumed it was generic you had no experience telling you otherwise.
Troy turns to Shinji "Hey Blue, what exactly are you and your master ordering?"
Shinji bit his lower lip in response to the "master" comment "Number six." he says.
Everyone looks at Lancer "One of everything."
Shinji raises an eyebrow "Seriously?"
Lancer nods "Yes, you don't provide any prana of use and I need to get my stores of energy up somehow. Huge amounts of food should be plenty for the first night. Besides, you're paying."
Shinji nearly chokes on his own tongue "What!?"
"Well if he's paying I'll take numbers one through five to go." Troy says.
"What!?"
"I'll take a second order of everything." Rider says.
"What!?"
"I'll just have some water." Saber says, his tone clearly indicates that he didn't want a part in this.
As Shinji and Troy start yet another round of throwing insults at one another, Lancer and Rider start talking in hushed tones, you roll your eyes at the crazy situation you find yourself in. You get up and glance at Saber and your servant nods. You might as well get in line - clearly none of your companions were in any rush themselves. Looking up at the menu, you accidentally walk into the back of a man standing in front of you. Normally when someone runs into someone else both parties move a little bit or stumble. But in this case, it's only you that stumbles back while the man in front of you barely moves. He wasn't much taller than you were with pure white hair and a build so skinny one could've guessed he had some disease. Over his shoulders was a red and black silk robe with gold highlights that looked like it was worth a fortune. But if you think he had a fault diseases or otherwise, you wouldn't think that for long. For some reason, when you look at his features, the only word that came to mind was perfect. His hair was messy and his robe looked only recently put on like he'd just gotten out of bed. All of it came together to be something perfect. He glances back at you "Apologies." he says in a voice that held no emotion. It's been a long time
You wave the question off "No it's fine." I made you a promise
The man nods and went back to looking at a table at the other end of the store. It only had a single cup of coffee on it and its steam was flowing into the air. It was totally unremarkable, so why did it feel like the entire world was centered on the single space? As you watched, steam from the cup faded away for a second only to start up again. After a second the steam stops completely and the man starts to walk away. He briefly touches your shoulder as he walks passes and you wince in pain from the contact. It was like getting too close to an open flame and your skin burned. I promised that I was going to kill you
"You're going to die no matter what you choose." And nothing in white city or the black circle will stop me from completing that promise
You freeze where you are "What?" you ask without turning around.
"You heard correctly Master of Saber," the man says "If don't fall into the trap under your feet, then the arrows of war will finish what is left." So prepare yourself killer
It didn't sound like a threat, and that's what made it so terrifying. It wasn't hollow words meant to instill fear, it was a statement of fact and that fear is only a side effect of the fear was just a side effect of that truth setting in. You feel him turn around and out of the corner of your eye you see his hand point to something. What happens next, forces its way into your very being. It felt as if a star had exploded behind you and all of its energy was being contained in a single form. A skinny man who no one would think anything of besides his handsome features. Behind the coffee counter, the mixer suddenly overheated and exploded. The waitress screamed in slight surprise. Back at your table, Saber, Lancer, Rider and Troy reached for hidden weapons while Shinji and the rest of the normal people around you look around for what was wrong. It didn't take long, everyone normal started to run around frantically to get out of the store.
The man's finger slowly goes down and the feeling of heat and power goes down with it "I was ordered by my master to demonstrate my power and send a message. Leave this war, give up your claim to the grail and you might be able to see your brother again." Because when I find you again
The fear inside you jumps to heights that only living nightmares could attain. As far as you know, you're in one if what you just heard was true.
"What did you do to Adam?" you ask, fear and anger causing your voice to crack. No word will be able to describe the hell I will inflict on you
"I have done nothing to your brother, it was only a message to from my master. I know not if he is in danger nor do I know his fate. You fate however, is clear to see for those who have the patients to look."
"Where is he!?" You demand.
Saber and company turn as you raise your voice. Troy and Rider glance at one another, get up from their seats and immediately start getting people out of the cafe. A few people try to argue with Troy but the magus pulls out a slip of paper, shows it to them and they turn around dazed and confused but alive as well. Even Shinji and Lancer were helping, but unlike Troy and Rider who were keeping it someone contained, Lancer and Shinji were throwing people out. Literally in Lancer's case. Bad news, you were probably going to be on the front page of the news for assisting a somewhat hostile takeover of a ⅗ star cafe. Silver lining, everyone was now scared shitless of Lancer and they wanted to get away as fast as they could so that Lancer wasn't even in the same zip code as them anymore.
Like literal magic, the store was clear of everyone in a few odd minutes. Now you find yourself standing in the center of a circle of masters and servants. Saber, Rider and Lancer were all out of their civilian clothes and in full battle armor. Lancer's was interesting. She now wore a set of skin tight purple leather armor that complemented her figure so well it made her look like a goddess. Part of you felt inadequate looking at her but luckily the other part didn't care. In her hands was a crimson red spear longer than she was that radiated bloodlust and death. The man standing next to you barely glanced at the servants. His face could have been a marble statue with how little emotion it showed.
Saber was the first to point his blade at the man "Who are you? You are not a man, but I don't see information detailing your class."
The man looks over his cloak "Caster gave me this cloak at the behest of my master. I keeps other masters from seeing my abilities."
Lancer scoffs "You know, the point of keeping your assets hidden is so that your opponents don't know about them."
The man shrugs slightly "There was no point in hiding something that you would find out eventually. Besides, it makes no difference on the outcome."
"A little cocky aren't we?" Troy smirks.
The man turns to Troy "Weather it be one on one or all three of you against me, the outcome will be no different." He eyes everyone in the room other than Shinji "You will all fall. Even without facing me, your destruction will come."
"What makes you so sure?" Rider asks.
The man glances at Rider "Because if an army fights against itself, it will be trampled by its enemy."
Saber narrows his gaze at the man "What do you mean?"
The man glances back to the table with the single cup of coffee. And it was full again. The man looks back at Saber "You and your master will learn soon enough Saber. But unfortunately time is short, my master requires my assistance in a troublesome matter."
He starts towards the door and seeing him move away allows you to move from your frozen state. He couldn't leave yet. Something was happening to Adam and everyone and he knew what it is. Luckily, Troy and Rider has the same plan as you. Rider steps in front of him, his body barring his way while Troy put his code flush against the man's head.
Troy smirks "Yeah, no. Even if you are a servant, or some form of wraith I doubt you can take a shot from Fluffy to the back of your head."
You blink in confusion despite the tension of the situation "Fluffy? You named your code Fluffy?"
Troy shrugs "It was better than Mystic-Magic-Railgun 2.5."
"What happened to the first one and a half codes?" Lancer asks.
Shinji raises an eyebrow at his servant "Really Lancer? Out of everything you could've asked, that's what you choose?"
"Well you were to busy trying to look tough by hiding behind me so I might as well ask something."
In spite of everything happening around you, your eyes wander back to Saber.
"No comment." Saber says quickly.
"We're getting off track," Troy says "Back to the topic of interest, this guys head atomized by a piece of metal doing about Mach Ten."
The man doesn't even flinch at Troy's threat "You won't pull the trigger. Even if you did, it wouldn't even be able to hurt me."
Troy smiles "You'll forgive me if I don't take you at your word for that."
At the end of his code, energy began to build up and sparks of prana pooled around it causing a green glow to illuminate Troy and the man. Troy pushes the code flush against the man's head and pushes forward slightly "Why wouldn't I just get rid of an enemy while I have the chance?
As Troy's finger closes around the trigger you race to his side "Don't shoot him!" you scream.
Tory does a double take looking between you and the man "What?! Why the hell not!?"
"Because he said something about Adam! If he's in danger he's the only one who know about it!" you plead.
Troy rolls his eyes and focuses everything on the man "Sigyn, he's lying through his teeth. He'll say whatever you want him to in order to not eat a bullet."
You shake your head "No. He knew exactly what their names were. He knows something Troy, don't kill him please."
Troy doesn't move, if anything his grip on the trigger tightens. Right before the hammer comes down your frustration and fear pour out in a single instant "Please he could save my brother!"
Troy's finger stops cold in the last possible space right before the code is forced to fire. You desperately look between Troy and the gun. Troy's face was a mixture of confusion, frustration and barely contained anger. For a few tense seconds it looked like Troy was just going to shoot him "Three minutes."
"What?"
"You have three minutes to ask your questions before I blow his head off." Troy says "And if this was ever in doubt, no. I'm not taking the gun away from his head." NO DON'T HESITATE END HIM NOW!
You smile in thanks before moving around the man so you can talk to him face to face. He still had the same emotionless expression and his gaze was fixated on Rider before it turns to you. He didn't move or say anything but it was clear that he wasn't going to stop you from talking. You shove the anxiety and fear so that your voice wouldn't crack "Who told you about my brother?"
"My master."
"So you are a servant?"
The man bows slightly "I am, my name holds no meaning in this time or this place. But if you wish to call me something, my master and the grail have named me Archer."
Class: Archer
Master: ???
Titles: ???
True Name: ???
Keywords: Inevitable, Does not lie?, ?
Noble Phantasm: ???
Saber and Lancer both raise an eyebrow at their fellow knight class. You didn't know the cause for the look. Maybe they were expecting something bigger and better for the Archer? You didn't dwell on the thought for very long, you were on the clock.
"Where is my brother?"
"I don't know." Archer responds. STOP ASKING USELESS QUESTIONS AND JUST KILL HIM
Your fist clenched in frustration and in your anger mana began to pool around you. Years of training and discipline only allowed it to form a blue haze around you but beyond that nothing. Shinji's looks at you and his jaw probably needed a servant's strength to get it off the floor. Lancer smirks like she just found a new interesting show, Rider's grins "Better tell the truth Archer, the lady's getting angry."
"I am speaking the truth," Archer says "Why would I lie about a topic I know nothing about."
You grit your teeth "Then where's your master? He must know where Adam is."
"I cannot tell you."
Your grip on your fist grows until you feel your knuckles about to pop "Why not!" you demand.
"Because my master has ordered me to only tell you my class, the message and nothing else. It was his order that lead me here, and I see no reason to go against that order."
"Good for you Archer," Troy says "Good and all that you're a nice little puppet for your master, but your answers are keeping a friend from the information she wants. Your prize is that three minutes goes down to one."
The code continues charging until a high pitched whistle came from the gun. It didn't sound like it was breaking, it was more of a warning to anything in the area. Run or die. KILL HIM NOW! DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES
"Fifty-eight, and like that I say, goodbye Archer."
_________________
[] Stop Troy from pulling the trigger.
[] Let Troy shoot Archer
[] Write-in
As Shinji and Troy start yet another round of throwing insults at one another, Lancer and Rider start talking in hushed tones, you roll your eyes at the crazy situation you find yourself in. You get up and glance at Saber and your servant nods. You might as well get in line - clearly none of your companions were in any rush themselves. Looking up at the menu, you accidentally walk into the back of a man standing in front of you. Normally when someone runs into someone else both parties move a little bit or stumble. But in this case, it's only you that stumbles back while the man in front of you barely moves. He wasn't much taller than you were with pure white hair and a build so skinny one could've guessed he had some disease. Over his shoulders was a red and black silk robe with gold highlights that looked like it was worth a fortune. But if you think he had a fault diseases or otherwise, you wouldn't think that for long. For some reason, when you look at his features, the only word that came to mind was perfect. His hair was messy and his robe looked only recently put on like he'd just gotten out of bed. All of it came together to be something perfect. He glances back at you "Apologies." he says in a voice that held no emotion. It's been a long time
You wave the question off "No it's fine." I made you a promise
The man nods and went back to looking at a table at the other end of the store. It only had a single cup of coffee on it and its steam was flowing into the air. It was totally unremarkable, so why did it feel like the entire world was centered on the single space? As you watched, steam from the cup faded away for a second only to start up again. After a second the steam stops completely and the man starts to walk away. He briefly touches your shoulder as he walks passes and you wince in pain from the contact. It was like getting too close to an open flame and your skin burned. I promised that I was going to kill you
"You're going to die no matter what you choose." And nothing in white city or the black circle will stop me from completing that promise
You freeze where you are "What?" you ask without turning around.
"You heard correctly Master of Saber," the man says "If don't fall into the trap under your feet, then the arrows of war will finish what is left." So prepare yourself killer
It didn't sound like a threat, and that's what made it so terrifying. It wasn't hollow words meant to instill fear, it was a statement of fact and that fear is only a side effect of the fear was just a side effect of that truth setting in. You feel him turn around and out of the corner of your eye you see his hand point to something. What happens next, forces its way into your very being. It felt as if a star had exploded behind you and all of its energy was being contained in a single form. A skinny man who no one would think anything of besides his handsome features. Behind the coffee counter, the mixer suddenly overheated and exploded. The waitress screamed in slight surprise. Back at your table, Saber, Lancer, Rider and Troy reached for hidden weapons while Shinji and the rest of the normal people around you look around for what was wrong. It didn't take long, everyone normal started to run around frantically to get out of the store.
The man's finger slowly goes down and the feeling of heat and power goes down with it "I was ordered by my master to demonstrate my power and send a message. Leave this war, give up your claim to the grail and you might be able to see your brother again." Because when I find you again
The fear inside you jumps to heights that only living nightmares could attain. As far as you know, you're in one if what you just heard was true.
"What did you do to Adam?" you ask, fear and anger causing your voice to crack. No word will be able to describe the hell I will inflict on you
"I have done nothing to your brother, it was only a message to from my master. I know not if he is in danger nor do I know his fate. You fate however, is clear to see for those who have the patients to look."
"You have three minutes to ask your questions before I blow his head off." Troy says "And if this was ever in doubt, no. I'm not taking the gun away from his head." NO DON'T HESITATE END HIM NOW!
You smile in thanks before moving around the man so you can talk to him face to face. He still had the same emotionless expression and his gaze was fixated on Rider before it turns to you. He didn't move or say anything but it was clear that he wasn't going to stop you from talking. You shove the anxiety and fear so that your voice wouldn't crack "Who told you about my brother?"
"I don't know." Archer responds. STOP ASKING USELESS QUESTIONS AND JUST KILL HIM
Your fist clenched in frustration and in your anger mana began to pool around you. Years of training and discipline only allowed it to form a blue haze around you but beyond that nothing. Shinji's looks at you and his jaw probably needed a servant's strength to get it off the floor. Lancer smirks like she just found a new interesting show, Rider's grins "Better tell the truth Archer, the lady's getting angry."
The code continues charging until a high pitched whistle came from the gun. It didn't sound like it was breaking, it was more of a warning to anything in the area. Run or die. KILL HIM NOW! DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES
"Fifty-eight, and like that I say, goodbye Archer."
I doubt the mystic code would hurt Archer, or worse it will trigger an ability Archer has which will allow him to harm Troy. Also using a magical railgun in
"You heard correctly Master of Saber," the man says "If don't fall into the trap under your feet, then the arrows of war will finish what is left."
Maybe, though scathach had purple hair in GO. Still though, if it is Scathach, that speaks a bit about this Shinji's character: She seems to act playfully with him. My guess is he's decent, if a sleazeball, and seems to be this universes variation on Sunohara from Clannad. But that's just from what we know right now.
You don't remember when, but you read somewhere that there are moments in everyone's life that time seems to stand still. We can't control when or how, it's just when we make choices that we realize might change our lives forever. It terrifies us that we might not make the right choice, but we normally live with the consequences. You watched Troy aim his weapon, and the choice to let him fire that gun was not a consequence that will change your life for the better.
So before you know what you were doing, you grab Troy's wrist and you force his aim upward. You silently thank whatever being or fate that allowed you to be within reaching distance of Troy. If you weren't, you would have never been able to do this. Troy eyes go wide in surprise and he says something in another language. Something European. While you do probably the stupidest thing in your life, going against one of the few allies you have just to stop him from taking out an enemy servant? Not the best choice you've made today and considering you only got here after agreeing to come here with a shaded blue haired master of Lancer, that was saying something.
Rider looks at you like you just became the queen of irrational choices. In complete disgust and disappointment was all over his face. Saber on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His eyes still hadn't left Archer but the corners of his mouth were bent slightly upward. Like he was smiling at you.
Shinji was still hiding behind Lancer so you couldn't see him, but Lancer looks at you with the first positive emotion you've seen on the woman. She smiles at you, like a mother to her student, the kind when the child had a tough choice but they made the right one. You try to look at Troy and send a silent, desperate plea to stop. Don't fire, if you fire something will happen, I don't know what but it won't be good for either of us.
He didn't see your plea.
And then the code fired all of the magic that a human weapon could store.
It blew your hair back and made your eyes water from the wind that it threw in your face. It was also bright, extremely bright. You've only seen the code fired a few times before this, but the difference between this blast and the others was like night and day. Everything else was a controlled shot, used for precise aiming and pinpoint destruction. This one was a blast with no control, no restraint.
And no mercy of what it destroys.
It takes a few seconds for the light from the blast to fade away. When it finally does, the entire cafe looked like it had just gone through a renovation from a psych patient with a sledge hammer. The tables were either in several pieces by the expert slices of someone's blade or in cracked and shattered splinters as if someone threw them against the wall. The real center of attention for the entire building, however, was the singular hole leading outside. It wasn't as if a giant bullet had torn through the building, the hole was perfect and there were no cracks or other disorientations. It was if the entire power of that shot was focused solely on that singular spot. The small area around you, Troy and Archer was the only place left untouched from the inhuman forces at work. It was like a god decided that this small circle would be protected from the servants and master's power.
Speaking of the servants, they were uncomfortably close right now.
Next to Troy, Rider was holding his short sword in a protective stance over Troy's chest. Behind the trigger mag, Lancer held her crimson spear over his shoulder pointing it at Archer's face. Standing between you and Archer, Saber held his blade Archer's throat.
In the second between the shot and now, Archer had switched into a set of battle armor. Well, looking it over you hesitate to call it armor. It looks like a black skin tight suit with gold highlights that covered his entire body except for his chest and his face. In the opening of his chest a singular red ruby was imbedded in his chest and said gem was surrounded by a ring of golden rays making the entire thing look like a miniature sun. On his arms were a set of gold arm guards and on his legs, he had similar set that stretched from his upper thigh to his lower shin. Attached to his back was a gold disk that had several red blades that came together to look similar to feathers. Flowing behind him was a red and gold cape that was on fire! It was burning with the rage of an exploding star, but the subtly of a simple fireplace.
Despite the heat of the flames, causing you to sweat, no it wasn't the heat causing you to sweat. It was just being near Archer that made your body act like this. After Troy's bullet went off, you had a pretty good idea what it felt like being right next to an overwhelming amount of power. Just standing next to Archer made the level of mana Fluffy discharged look like a candle next to a supernova.
And you wouldn't lie to yourself. You were scared. The fear of death from Assassin's ploy and Berserker's Legion looked meaningless next to Archer. He wasn't showing off his power, he was just that, Power.
The only change in his emotionless face was his right eye. Instead of the sky blue that you first saw it was now red like the flames behind him. Sparks and embers danced in the red eye, creating an otherwise beautiful sight. He was notching an arrow on a bow wreathed in the same flames as his cape and the arrow wasn't aimed at Troy.
Archer was aiming for you.
Class: Archer
Master: ???
Titles: ???
True Name: ???
Keywords: Inevitable, Does not lie?, Flames like the Sun, Power Overwhelming
Noble Phantasm: ???
Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: C
Mana: C
Luck: E+
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance (C): At this rank, spells with an Aria below two lines will be cancelled, and the effects of higher-potency spells will be numbed.
Independent Action (A+): Servant can remain in this world indefinitely even without a Master. With a rank of A+ that exceeds even A, the support of a Master is unnecessary, even while unleashing a large amount of Magical Energy.
Skills:
???
Well, his stats weren't anything to get scared by but the feeling still remains. Troy, however, is apparently immune to such feelings of fear and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Everyone in the close proximity looks to him "Not that I mind the attention," Troy says and there was a steel in his voice that everyone could hear "But I have several questions that I'd want answered before we break away from our little Mexican standoff here."
He looks at you "Ok Sigyn, I know you're new to this sort of thing, but when you get the chance to take out an enemy, you take it. Instead of, say, stopping someone from blowing their head off!" He screams in your face, all his rage forced out and it confirmed one thing.
He's really, really mad.
"T-troy, calm dow-."
Troy takes a deep breath in to prepare another outburst, but he bit down hard on his lip. "Sorry about that. I am... Ever so slightly in immense pain" He says.
You watch as a small line of blood flows down from his mouth and the room was so devoid of sound you could faintly hear the dripping of the blood.
But there were two sources of the sound.
You search for the second source, but it was a feeling of your hand not your eyes that draw you to the source. A small stream of blood was flowing down the hand Troy was using to hold his code. His hand was, oh god the human wrist is not meant to bend that way. You only knew the basic structure of the human body, mostly for the vital area's to aim for with your curses and channel healing spells.
But even with that lackluster knowledge you could tell that Troy's wrist was broken in several places along with his right pinky and ring fingers. You see Troy nod in the corner of your eye "Yeah, happens when I fire this thing off without proper precautions. Normally it's not a problem, but when people force me aim where I wasn't expecting it to be." He glances at you "It tends to happen."
"How'd you manage to do that to yourself? What kind of weapon is that?" Lancer asks, she actually sounds genuinely curious.
Just curious, not a single grain of concern for Troy. Then again, she was battering Shinji like a rag doll and was getting enjoyment out of that, so that's a thing. Speaking of which, where was Shinji? After a quick look around you found the heir to the Matou line hiding behind a table which had survived the past few minutes only by the virtue of it being nailed into the floor. Shinji was shaking slightly and you could understand him. You would be shaking too, but if you did, you might accidentally end up startling one of the four extremely tight wound, super powered servants standing right next to you.
Troy rolls his eyes "Oh yes. In fact, why don't I tell you exactly every flaw this thing has? It's my wrist that's broken, not my brain."
Lancer rolls her eyes and Rider smirks at the action "And good luck guessing."
Lancer returns the smirk "I'll have you know Rider that it would be an easy feat to summon me in the Caster class. Give me five minutes and I'll have a code that surpasses that one. So do me a favor, boy, and let the adults deal with the war."
"Ooh, what are you going to do if I say no?"
Lancer smiles "I'll punish you."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Get a room you two." Troy says rolling his eyes.
"This conversation is irrelevant." Archer says, his voice alone enough for everyone to turn their attention to him. He looks at you "Why did you stop your ally's attack?"
Before you can answer Saber edges his blade closer to Archer's neck, "You only need to know that her choice saved your life. The why of it is irrelevant."
Archer didn't even spare your servant a glance, instead opting to remain focused solely on you. After a moment of silence Archer tilted his head questioningly "You have nothing."
You blink a few times, that was more than a little cryptic "Nothing of what?" you ask.
"You could have the strength of the gods, but not the strength to defend yourself from the hell that you call your life. You let others protect you, but you do nothing to earn that trust, you just go through the pain. You seek something to fill an empty shell, because that's all you are."
You open your mouth to respond, but a cold feeling starts to well up in your chest, but it wasn't coming from inside you. Adam's necklace felt like it was a chunk of ice slowly growing colder with each passing second. Soon it felt like a frozen star was swallowing your chest. You have no right to accuse her of anything you monster!
But the feeling left almost as soon as it came. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. I'm almost there, so prepare yourself
"I," you stop yourself for a second and the realization hits you. Everyone was looking at you, you'd never had a problem with public speaking before, but it was just being the center of attention to beings that could put every human weapon to shame was slightly intimidating.
"Don't worry, you'll be perfect."
You swallow any doubt you have left and you meet Archer's gaze with your own.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't want power, I have all that I could ever want or need." You break away from Archer's gaze for a second as you remember the years in the Hildebrand manner. It was hard, the training, the punishment and the constant fear of being used as an excuse to end someone's life. But there was also laughing, glimpses of humanity in the people who took care of you, and a stupid brother who always went out of his way to try and guard you from all the evil in the world."
You feel yourself smile just a tiny bit "My life isn't a hell. It has its ups and downs, but that's the case with everyone's life. I'm no one special, so that rule applies to me as well. My name, is Sigyn Hildebrand, and I have everything I need waiting for me back home."
The collective reaction to your small speech was, varied. Saber smiled his approval, completely contented and proud of your answer. Lancer shook her head, like she thought everything you said was above average at best. Rider just looks at you with raised eyebrows. Archer tilts his head as if listening to something, before he looks at Saber.
Saber's eyes narrowed "Wha-?"
Before Saber could even finish the question, Archer's flaming aura intensifies to incredible heights. The force of the mana sent you and Troy flying back into the destroyed tables. You felt the shock of your head hitting something but you couldn't feel anything else after that. A good thing for not being in pain, but a bad sign for your mental health.
You try and open your eyes, but your vision is so blurry you couldn't make out anything of note. Red, orange and purple shapes were dancing in the ebb of your vision, probably the servants. The red blur fires something in the corner of the cafe and the purple blur threw a red spear to intercept the projectile, probably Lancer. Lancer ran over to her spear and stood strong guarding something while the two oranges, Saber and Rider you assumed, continued to fight Archer. One of the two of them took a kick from Archer and crashes into the series of piled wood and chairs. You want to help but if your head wasn't treated soon something back was going to happen in the long run. First things first, healing spell. You gently lay your right hand over your head. You didn't even have to try and remember the spell, it came to you as easily as breathing. Prana goes through your limbs as easily as air to your lungs and sure enough, your vision comes back to you.
Just in time to see a barrage of arrows barreling right at your face.
An orange blur comes from the corner of your vision and Saber appears in front of you. He slashes with his blade, but the arrow explodes on contact. Fire washes over Saber and he grits his teeth in pain as the skin on his face is burned. You didn't have any time to heal him before the next arrow hit him, and the next, and the next. It was almost like a machine gun of fire and prana being forced on Saber and with each arrow, another part of him was burnt. There wasn't a single second of rest and your eyes widen as an arrow cuts Saber above his right eye before continuing on. You watch as it goes straight through the wall behind you and explodes in the street. You could faintly hear the sound of cars screeching and swerving to avoid the huge burning pot hole that appeared in the street.
"Stop this Archer."
You look back at Saber, and he was pissed. His face was marred by several burns and cuts and the chest piece of his armor had a bad burn across the center. But despite all of that, the fury in his eyes was enough to incinerate Archer where he stood.
Saber charged Archer with a speed that would put a Lancer to shame, closing the short distance in the time it took you to blink. Saber swung his blade right at Archer's neck, causing the servant of the bow to bend backwards to almost inhuman proportions to dodge. Archer ignited his foot and aimed a kick at Saber's chin. Saber leans back slightly just for the bare minimum necessary to dodge, but the fire still causes him to wince slightly. Before Saber could get an attack in, Archer spun like a dancer on his free hand. He twirls around in a small circle sending several kicks that connect with Saber's chest before vaulting off his hand and in the span of heartbeat sends three arrows in your servants chest.
Point blank.
The force of the attack causes Saber to fly through the air and land hard next to you with a crash. Saber tries to get right back on his feet, but he coughs up blood and goes back down to one knee
"Sab-."
"I'm fine Sigyn. But a bit of healing would be appreciated." Saber says through gritted teeth. A quick motion later and you comply with Saber's wish, but he was fighting a losing battle. And the situation for you was only getting worse as you look around. Shinji was cowering behind Lancer near the door. Troy was near you, groaning in pain within a pile of broken chairs while Rider was dusting himself off from his trip to the wall. With a battle cry he charged Archer and the two of them engaged in a one sided fight. Archer's favor.
You didn't have to watch the fight closely to know the obvious, Archer wasn't a servant that you could beat with strength alone. A quick look at Saber told you everything you needed to know. Both of you knew that you needed to get back and plan, but Archer could catch up with you easily.
A miracle needs to happen for you to have a chance to win this fight.
"Sigyn," Saber whispers getting your attention "I am no fool to think that I can best Archer with skill and strength alone. With that in mind, I'm going to use my Noble Phantasm to give you time. Get away from this place and head to the church, you'll be safe there."
Your eyes widen, was Saber really "Y-you don't plan to-."
"No," he says, he places a hand on your shoulder to reassure you "I'm not dying here Sigyn, trust me. I won't die until you find the thing you're searching for."
You tilt your head in confusion, what was he talking about? You knew exactly what you were searching for. Before you could ask what he meant, Saber raises to his feet just as Rider scream in pain as an arrow sends him tumbling back. Saber charges Archer swinging his blade in a low arc which Archer meets with his fiery bow. The two engage in a close quarter's brawl that seems relatively even but Archer coats his fist in fire and lands a hit on Saber's chest. Saber grits his teeth, but keeps fighting regardless. He pushes forward, forcing Archer to move back slightly and opening a route to the exit. The door had been blown off its hinges by Archer's earlier, leaving no obstacle between you and freedom. I
You take a deep breath and get ready to ru- "Archer." Have
You freeze when you hear that voice. That multi-layered, anger filled voice. Finally
"Archer." Found
You turn, and behind you hidden in the shadow of the destroyed wall two glowing red eyes were staring at the battle taking place before you. Those eyes could only belong to one being in the entire world. You
Berserker was here. Murderer!
**** [] Warn Saber through your mental link
[] Shout out a warning.
[] Don't warn anyone.
[] Get out of here by yourself, you'll move faster by yourself.
[] Get yourself and Troy out of here. He helped you before, now it's time you returned the favor.
[] Just get yourself and Shinji out of here. You haven't known him long, but he seems nice enough.
[] No matter the cost, get everyone you can out of there. Troy, Shinji it doesn't matter. Everyone is getting out of here, no one is dying here.
So Archer is Karna, and Berserker is someone who hates him either because the met in their original lives, or Archer has been eliminating witnesses, which might fit with the gravestones Sigyn saw in her dream.
So we might be in a war where Berserker can beat Archer who can beat Saber who can beat Berserker. Alternatively Archer was summoned by Caster of the previous war whom did so to work around the whole needing a anchor given another Servant won't suffice.
Also not killing Archer was the correct choice given Berserker was already in route to this location, and a fight to the death with him/her would've seen the civilian casualties skyrocket given Rider would've out of action.
[X] Warn Saber through your mental link
[X] No matter the cost, get everyone you can out of there. Troy, Shinji it doesn't matter. Everyone is getting out of here, no one is dying here.
Only warning Saber through the mental link will hopefully make Archer surprised enough that we can get away safely, although Berserker wanting Archer to know he is there before attacking him will reduce the effectiveness.
In regrades to Sigyn hoisting Shinji, and Troy over her shoulders before running for the Church it keeps them alive to hopefully return the favor in the future, and insures she has three Servants covering her retreat instead of one.
[X] Warn Saber through your mental link
[X] No matter the cost, get everyone you can out of there. Troy, Shinji it doesn't matter. Everyone is getting out of here, no one is dying here.
If Karna had gotten shot he would have killed Troy. You would be in a room with a ticked off Archer Karna without Rider Jason. It would be a fun time, not for very long but it would be a fun time.
