Miyama Town.
A flash of silver sped through the busy highway. Left, right, crossing over to the opposing lane to avoid a red light stop, only to leap over a luxury sports car with ease as she drifted back into her lane.
Saber didn't have the same aptitudes as Rider in his class, but no one could call it inferior with how she displayed such skill in avoiding inconveniencing the normal folk whilst keeping up with her opponent in the sky. Merely forcing as much mana as she had into the magically enhanced engine had her revving up to speeds most modern racers could only dream of attaining.
"Damn, she's fast!" Iskandar the Great could only whistle, impressed. "And here I thought I'd be the champion of the mount! Just where in the world did she get such a steed? Bucephalus would be green with envy!"
"IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU SHOULD BE SAYING RIGHT NOW?!"
Even high in the sky, near a kilometre away from their antagonized opponent, Waver Velvet couldn't help but scream in a panic. So expressive was the lad that Saber was able to somewhat make out the complaints he was voicing to his oaf of a Servant.
Their chase continued. Oddly enough, despite stating they would fight in a place far out and remote so that outsiders wouldn't get caught in a crossfire, Saber wondered why Rider chose to lead her through the city and not off to sea. He certainly had the advantage, having the ability to fly, but if Iskandar the Great already knew she was King Arthur, he should've known about her Blessings of the Lady of the Lake and the ability to walk on water. Nowhere could be farther from prying eyes unless they were to leave the cityscape itself and go into the mountains. Which was where they were heading now that she thought about it.
Speeding past suburbia and out onto the empty highway that curved alongside the mountain, Saber confirmed that this would do well enough. However, Rider still kept going.
Something was off. And, being short on time to play cat-and-mouse games, Arturia decided on the next turn that enough was enough. An empty eighteen-wheeler with a car ramp halfway down entered her periphery. She pumped the gas far harder than any machine would ever be able to take, launching her into a high speed wheelie.
It only took an instant to go from playing tricks on the ground to soaring into the sky as she vaulted her bike up and over. Landing would be a pain later, more so for the enhanced, yet stressed machine, but that mattered little now. More so when Saber came eye to eye with Waver Velvet who reeled back with surprise.
"Uh… Rider?!"
"Hm, oh shit—!"
The momentary surprise was the opening she needed. Drawing her invisible blade, a wide swing to the fore of their ride was all it took to cripple their mobility. One of the divine bulls that pulled the giant chariot nursed a slash wound in its flank, torn to shredded ribbons by the tempest that still enveloped her holy sword. It was then fended off by a spatha swung her way.
However, Saber's task was done.
"Damn! We're going down, boy! Hang on!"
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!"
Upon landing on the ground, Saber came to a bouncing, somewhat screeching stop as she managed to drive her bike to a crawl. From below, she watched as Iskandar and his Master came to a crash landing in the distance shortly ahead of her. He eyed his left bull, the poor animal was bleeding but still alive. But with its only mode of propulsion injured, the Servant of the Steed had to dismount and face her on the ground.
"What in the blazes did the poor animal do to you that you had to hurt it so, Saber?" He glanced woefully yet smiling at her. "You could've tried to strike at me or the boy! At the very least, that can be fixed easily!"
His Master looked offended. "Hey!"
"How did you find our hideout?"
"Is it really important when we've come here to duke it out?"
'Something's definitely off.' Saber dismounted. Her regalia was on full display, a silver gleam against the light of her motorbike. Getting about as close as they could talk comfortably but not yet reach one another with their blades, she demanded. "Answer me, Rider!"
Iskandar waved it away. "Some bird whispered it to us. Nothing more you need to know. I came here to fight, not talk. What of you, little girl."
Saying so whilst flicking his fingers at her in a challenging way, Arturia readied herself, sword in hand.
Rider, on the other hand, smiled wide when he saw her take a stance. With a quick whistle, his chariot and bulls vanished into golden dust as he swung his spatha down. Lightning struck the concrete next to him, revealing a black steed far more impressive than any Saber had seen in life.
With his chariot out of commission, King Iskandar's man-eating horse, Bucephalus, had joined the fray. With a quick glance over his shoulder, Rider made to warn the boy that fell flat on the road when the chariot vanished.
"Boy, you may want to sit this one out."
"N-no way! As you said, only a Master who can ride with you is worthy to command you! I'm not waiting behind." Waver said proudly, putting as much bravado as he could. "Also, how do I know you're not just going to leave me behind to walk back to town, stupid?!"
"GAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rider's laughter roared. "Well said, Master! Then, let us show Saber how a real King fights!" As if to give a parting insult, he turns and demands of her in turn. "Say, Saber! Do you still desire to change your own legend? To forsake that which is the foundation of your very existence?!"
"I told you once enough already, King of Conquerors!" Artoria clenched her hand around Excalibur's hilt. "I will do whatever it takes to undo my mistakes and save my people. Even if it means erasing myself. Now! Enough with the small talk! Time to finish this farce!"
"Still a stubborn little girl." Iskandar shook his head with disappointment. "Very well. I shall end your pitiful existence, for that is all you can see it as!"
Golden light bathed the dusk-dim mountain highway as Saber unrelated Invisible Air. Glinting in all its glory, the holy blade of her legend was revealed in full. Now was the time to unleash her power. No more will she hold anything back against this foe.
The conqueror drew his spatha; the short sword reflected a fraction of her sword's divine rays. But despite the power radiating off of Saber, Rider didn't falter. Instead, he smiled. "Finally, she's getting serious. Have you a firm grip, Master?"
"I-I d-do!" the boy stuttered but held on regardless.
"Then," Rider, Iskandar the Great, whipped his great steed's reins. "CHARGE! AAHLALALALALALALALALALALALA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
With a battle cry that came accompanied by a frantic, but brave, scream, the mounted pair sped towards the lone knight. A head-long assault, devoid of trickery and malice. A pure and honest attack.
Such was the ideal method of conflict she longed for. Not the kind magi pulled where schemes and tricks took centre stage. Not the type where the innocent had little meaning apart from cannon fodder or hostages. A simple and clean fight where only the strong may claim victory.
Saber closed her eyes in prayer.
Golden light gathered around her. She who had been blessed by the fae stood her ground and raised her blade to the sky. Streams of invisible energy gathered into her weapon, flooding it, overflowing through. What had been a brilliant sword that exuded divine light became something more.
The Sword of Promised Victory sang a beautiful song that both warriors and not could enjoy. An ancient melody of harmony amidst the chaos, of a flower that bloomed only in the battlefield, of a million dreams that took the form of a single wish.
A hopeful air took wind, caressing the beautiful knight's hair as her power spilt forth. Her dress billowed against the soft breeze, her armour clinked lightly, the whole world fell silent as she readied her most powerful attack.
Arturia Pendragon opened her eyes. Emerald orbs sought out and locked onto her foe. As soon as Iskandar's met hers, his eyes widened with acknowledgement of what was to come.
It was one thing to behold the attack from afar. It was another entirety to receive it. For what could be called the most devastating blow imaginable, the receiver couldn't only call it the light at the end of a dark tunnel. A bridge to the afterlife. A road to the forgotten dream that was Avalon.
Its name was…
"[Excalibur!]"
The ensuing blast tore trees from the earth, turned concrete into dust, and would've erased the living in its path. The end result was just that, minus the last bit.
As soon as her holy blade's light vanished into golden fairy dust, the calm returned to the peaceful mountainside highway. Apart from the freshly cleaved mountain and road, however, there was not a single sign of battle. No remains nor dead bodies.
Rider and his Master were gone. Vanished without a trace. A worrying fact, considering she'd come here with the sole purpose of defeating the only Rider whilst sparing his Master, but as she didn't feel his existence vanish like she did Archer and Lancer, she could only hope the young Master lived.
That's not to say she wasn't disappointed to fail to beat the oaf, but what could she do under the circumstances? For all she knew, he may still have more tools left up his sleeve.
"Hm?! What…?"
However, just as she was about to scout the area to make certain of her victory, Arturia felt something. The sensation wasn't definite. It was akin to a gut feeling. However, she always knew to trust her gut when the situation demanded it. This was one of those times.
The only question that remained was, 'Who's in trouble?'
It couldn't be her Master for Kiritsugu wouldn't risk revealing himself if he could help it. Apart from that, he would've used a Command Seal if it were so dire a plot. But instead, she felt differently. Saber stilled as she prayed against a fate that it wasn't who she thought was in trouble.
Dispelling her attire back into the suit, she withdrew her blade and got back onto the bike. Barely a movement wasted as she swung the vehicle around and sped off into the breaking dawn. Her thoughts on her silver-haired mistress.
"Hah… Hahahah! Ahahahahah!" From up above, amongst the surviving trees of the calamitous blow that was Excalibur and far away from any Servant's eyes, a giant hung with one arm as a teary-eyed boy clung to his belt. "Guess my luck A+ is good for something!"
"'Good luck' my ass! Why the hell did you go for a blind charge into that?!" Waver Velvet cried whilst kicking his Servant in the shin with his dangling own. He stopped as soon as his shoe slipped off and he bent a toe against the rock-hard muscles. "Agh…! Haaah…." A sigh and bruised toe later, he added. "What now? Do we go back home?"
"Nay! Let's stay a little bit more until Saber is far enough. Even if we were lucky to avoid it once, that sword beam of hers is truly incredible!" Despite fear overtaking his features the instant the attack was fired their way, Rider couldn't help the impressed smile on his face. "For her to have something that can take down a fortress, the legend of King Arthur really is no joke! I want to have her in my army even more!"
"I get that, I really do…" grumbled the boy. "But how do you plan for us to get back now that she took out both your chariot and horse?"
"Er…" the giant scratched the bottom of his chin with his free hand. "I don't suppose you have the stamina to march?"
"Don't tell me that's all you have as a mode of transport. Aren't you the Servant of the Steed?"
The giant said nothing. To which the boy responded by screaming his name. But despite their poor situation, at least they had their lives.
__________
Emiya Residence.
Upon her return to the home that now sported a collapsed shed, Saber knew she'd come too late. Speeding her bike and hopping off of it to see the ruins, she had to compose herself upon seeing the blood splattered all over. 'No, no, no—!'
"Don't bother. Neither of them is here." Kiritsugu said as he sat on the main home's porch nearby.
Her true Master kept the usual frown, but this time, he was burning through a cigarette with a huff. A look down and she spotted a burnt-out butt of his first, meaning he'd been here but waiting alone for some time already.
That he wasn't berating her on-sight was a surprise to the Servant of the Sword.
"Then, who's blood is all this?" she asked.
"Our guest, Lady Sola-Ui." It seems the poor woman couldn't escape the war no matter how hard she tried. "Seems whoever came in decided to get rid of her soon after taking them… I came back as soon as I felt the perimeter alarm I set up triggered. Only, I find this mess, a shattered boundary field, and you are absent from the premises." He levelled a blank, yet accusing, stare her way. "What happened, Saber?"
Arturia would've been reluctant to share, but considering this was partly her fault, she relented and spoke of Rider's sudden appearance, her accepting his challenge, and the attempt to take him out which resulted in her victory by default.
"Victory? You call this 'victory'?" His tone was low like it was holding back the anger apart from the urge to cough venom. "You left them alone the moment an enemy Servant demanded a one-on-one. Did you not stop to consider it might've been a trick or distraction aimed at you, Saber?"
Apart from the veiled animosity, his voice ran thick with disappointment. As if he was talking to a child. She stared at him. "It was the King of Conquerors. Despite his braggart nature, he isn't the type to plan something like this. Even a barbarian like he has the modicum to not involve regular folk—"
"And it is with that naivety that you are blind to our other enemies!" he snapped back with a momentary rage. Tossing his half-burned cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his heel, Kiritsugu approached the ruins of the shed. "You may be right about Rider's character, but you fail to remember that it is not just the King of Conquerors who are our foes. Your focus on him has blindsided you of your descendant and his own Servant, Avenger."
"Lelouch?" Saber felt offended despite having expected Kiritsugu to pin the blame on someone. It still didn't help that she felt a bit defensive of her progeny. "How would you even be sure it was he and not Berserker's Mas—"
"Matou Kariya has neither the capabilities to go up against a normal human, much less a weakened magus." interrupted the suit-clad assassin. "Even if he sent his Servant on the errand, Berserker neither has the rationality nor self-control to minimize damages, much less kidnap their enemies unharmed." Falling to his knees, Kiritsugu studied the shattered remains of an electronic device. "One of Maiya's communicators," he explained. "Destroyed by a bullet shot. The same with the shed. It's riddled with holes that can only be made by a matchlock volley. Avenger's signature weapon."
Saber couldn't respond to that. If the evidence was that damning, then she had no choice but to accept it as such. But… to think her blood would resort to kidnapping Irisviel…
"The boy's clever. He made sure to leave no evidence behind. Nor did he leave witnesses." Kiritsugu might've sounded impressed if he wasn't sporting a frustrated glare at the remains of their base. "Hm. I should've taken him out when I had the chance…"
Saber would've snapped back, but she didn't. Maiya being absent meant she was either dead or taken as well. The crushed remains of their captive, once Lelouch's ally, meant he also chose to remove her before she could talk any further. What more could she do to defend someone whose deeds were as clear cut as the blood on the broken building?
Arturia could only sigh as she turned to her Master. "What do we do now?"
"Search the city. We can't leave Iri in his hands. I don't know if he's aware of it, but she's too valuable to—" Kiritsugu stopped when he felt something vibrate in his pocket. In a swift motion, he quickly pulled out his phone and narrowed his eyes when he saw who was calling. "Maiya's spare phone number…"
Saber looked hopeful, but the sharp look Kiritsugu was giving his phone snipped that hope in the bud. "What's wrong?"
He didn't respond to her. Instead, he just accepted the buzzing of the patient caller and waited. Stepping closer, Saber heard neither her Master nor the caller spoke until Kiritsugu broke the silence first. "Lelouch Lamperouge, I take it?"
"Hello. You must be Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer I've been hearing so much about." The boy's familiar polite voice said. "I've been wanting to speak with you for some time now. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Where is my employer?" Kiritsugu, still keeping up his ruse as a hired mercenary, demanded calmly.
"And why is it that you still seek her?
"I won't get my payment if she's dead, now can I?"
"Would you secede from the war if I offer to pay you in her stead, tenfold, no less?" That Kiritsugu didn't reply must've been a telling enough answer for the boy as Saber heard a light chuckle on his end. "Don't worry. I have no intention of hurting the only person who can lead me to the Lesser Grail."
Lelouch likely didn't see it, but Saber did. The moment it was mentioned, Kiritsugu's stone-faced expression flickered to shock and silence. So surprised was he that the boy could somehow tell without anything being said.
"Oho? I take it your silence is due to being aware of it as well. My, how interesting! A mere mercenary assassin is aware of the intricacies of war only its Master participants should be aware of. It makes one wonder just how much an outsider like yourself knows—"
"What do you want…?" Saber had never heard Kiritsugu sound so beaten before. The man looked just about to snap. And he did when the boy continued to play the silent game. "Answer me, kid!"
"Oh come now, Master Emiya. I know you take pride in your professional title, but let's not kill the fun so soon into the game."
"You think this war is a game? Is that it?!"
"What else can you call the Holy Grail War if not just a big deadly game? I mean, it's full of farces, lies, deceit that is even played against one closest of allies. But despite it all, it's still a bit entertaining so long as one watches from the sidelines, is it not? Being dragged into becoming a participant, I'm just here, trying to make the most of it. Wouldn't one prefer to enjoy their life to the fullest?" The moment Kiritsugu heard it, his expression froze. Memories of the deranged child-killer flashed through his mind as the caller continued. "And let's not forget, this is a fight between legendary figures! Heroes from across space and time! One cannot fathom just how much of a game-like scenario the old families designed such a ritual—"
"Cut to the chase, Lelouch Lamperouge."
The boy sighed from the other side of the call. "No love for dramatics, I see. Very well, I want a duel. Between Avenger and Saber. Meet us in the community centre building of Shinto tonight. Of course, no funny business like involving the police or attempting to form a truce with the other surviving Servants. Not unless you want Lady Einzbern to die fruitlessly. See you there, Magus Killer."
With a quick beep, the call ended. And, as his arm lazily fell to his side, Kiritsugu marched towards the exit of the estate.
"Where are you going?" Saber asked but he didn't look or even speak to her. He just continued to walk like a dead man heading to the gallows. Despite everything being her fault, the fact that he just ignored her rubbed her off the wrong way. She attempted a second time. "Oy! Kiritsugu—!"
"I'm getting my equipment. Your successor is acting like this is a game and is playing with fire. In that case, I will make sure he gets burned for it."
"But… this is obviously a trap!" She tried to reason with him once she realized he was seeing red. The fact that he was gunning for Lelouch was the least of her concerns, it was the fact that he was willingly going along with it without much in the way of explanation.
"Rider being a trap didn't seem to stop you, did it?" the comment had her reeling but she kept her childish retort back long enough for him to add. "We will play along until we're close enough to either free Iri or kill Lelouch Lamperouge. I'll be acting on my own as per usual while you distract Avenger."
"But… Kiritsugu—?!"
"Because you allowed this to happen in the first place, ensure she will not be able to help her Master," he snapped, this time with a little more venom. "I will take care of the mess you made as well as your long lost problem child."
With that, he vanished out the gate. The hum of a car engine fading in the distance told Saber she was now alone in the half-destroyed backyard of their once-new base. The girl in a suit couldn't help but sigh as she held her face in one of her gloved palms.
'Dammit… Dammit. Dammit! DAMMIT!' Stamping the ground hard enough to dig a mini-crater, she sighed once more as she lifted her gaze to the red sky. The King of Knights narrowed her eyes when she was met with the rising sun on the horizon, bathing the day in a bright orange-red. 'How the hell did things get like this…?'
From one depressing mess to a whole fuck-up, Saber wondered how she was supposed to save her allies and friend if her actual Master was this adamant in refusing to cooperate with her. But, knowing not why he continued to hate her and knowing very much that she would never get a proper answer, Saber did the only thing she could do. She prepared herself for the upcoming fight.
She'd drained a lot to use Excalibur once today. Considering their foe's identity, apart from her former kingdom's heir, was still unknown, she needed to be fully charged in case she needed to let off more than one blast.
However, the fact of the matter remained. She would be going at this alone.
While it wouldn't have been a problem at the beginning of the war, it became a bit harder considering that the one person she could always speak with now had their life on the line. And while she didn't understand Kiritsugu's refusal to work alongside her in rescuing his wife, she did understand that it was still her fault.
'Please be safe, Irisviel.' She prayed as she entered the cold and lonely house to rest. The knight only felt a small breeze in response. The silence was damning, a result of her poor choice of action. 'I will save you… On my honour, I shall return you to your husband… even if he does not expect me to…'
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Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update it's because I just got out of the hospital because of dengue, Hope you enjoyed this chapter and be prepared! We are entering the endgame! Now, I know that Lelouch and Arturia aren't related by blood in any way but I will explain it later, please wait a little bit
NEED SOME NEW REVIEWS AND NEW COMMENTS!