Chapter Text
Assassin POV
Ever since he had been summoned by his Master, Kirei Kotomine, he had been directed to utilize his multiple bodies to not only protect and watch over his Master, but to also do reconnaissance all over Fuyuki City, for the purpose of finding the other Masters and Servants in the War and learning every secret they could from the shadows. Assassin now possessed a very good lay of the land, as well as the knowledge of where Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, one of the Masters, had set up his base of operations, even learning at the same time that he was the Master of Lancer.
This made for an excellent advantage on the part of Kotomine and Tohsaka, for now they at least had a very good guess as to Kayneth’s strategy for the War, but he knew nothing of theirs. While Lancer’s identity remained unknown, although his possession of two spears was a clue, the Lancer class of Servants was not generally known for possessing especially powerful Noble Phantasms, but rather for their speed and excellent melee combat prowess. Thus, while the Saber class was still considered the most powerful class of Servant, Lancers were somewhat favored for their ability to match Sabers in close combat, and even to sometimes use their spears for long distance strikes at the ranged Archer class.
With that in mind, Tokiomi, his Master’s teacher, had successfully summoned the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, but unfortunately as the Servant Archer, rather than Saber. And so, despite Archer’s legend and power, if Lancer’s Noble Phantasm allowed him to strike back at Archer from a distance, Gilgamesh would have to be cautious in how he engaged him. Thus, logic dictated that observation of Lancer in combat was requisite before it would be advisable for Archer to engage him.
And so, as the evening went on, Assassin continued surveillance, with his bodies scouring the parks, alleys, and every structure in between for a sign of another Master or Servant. Then, one of Assassin’s bodies, which was passing through the modern district of Fuyuki, noticed that a growing crowd of people were looking up into the sky. He followed their gaze.
Master Kirei, he communicated to his Master.
What is it, Assassin? Kirei replied.
I am seeing two Servants in battle at this moment. Both are in flight and engaging one another above the city.
Can you discern their classes?
Not at the moment. Shall I observe them more closely?
Do so, but maintain your distance and stay out of sight. We cannot expose you too soon in this War. Make sure you communicate as much as possible to me.
Understood.
Assassin climbed up one of the buildings to get a closer look, and maintained Presence Concealment so as to remain invisible. He may not have the eagle eyes of the Archer class that would have allowed him to observe more clearly at a greater distance, but his sight was more than sharp enough to pick out the key details from his new vantage point.
One was a pale young woman dressed in what looked like a dark blue, double-breasted military uniform with a poofy skirt, a tall military cap emblazoned with a roaring lion on the front, large metal gauntlets on her forearms, and gloves on her hands. The most distinctive features she had were her long and voluminous white hair that came straight down to her legs and out of her hat as pigtails, and strange red and blue eyes with square pupils. She appeared to be directing a flight of sabers to chase and attack her opponent, another girl who was barely an adult.
She was dressed in a dark blue and red shirt, jacket and dress ensemble with burnished gold edging, high brown boots over black leggings and black gloves. She had a head of long hair as well, but with an outer red tone that included waist-length braids and an inner, orange tone, and her eyes were crystal blue. She flew and dodged around the other’s swords, brandishing one of her own, clearly looking for a chance to get at her.
The fight moved away from Assassin when the girl dived toward a nearby park, the military uniform woman’s flight of blades in hot pursuit, as she brought a ring of swords in orbit about herself and flew in pursuit of the redhead. Assassin, maintaining his distance, jumped after them, settling himself in the branches of a tree nearby. He looked back to the battle in time to see the two lock swords with one another.
“Answer me. Where is this? Who are you?” The redhead demanded of the military woman.
“I told you already. This is the world of the gods, Selesia-dono,” the woman replied.
“What nonsense,” the redhead, now Selesia, declared.
“Nonsense? Do you think I’m telling a joke? This is unmistakably the land of the gods. A hideous world in which dubious creators throng about. You will soon understand the significance of what I am saying. Revolution to your world. Punishment to the land of the gods.”
Then, just as the woman was bringing her swords around to aim at Selesia, a missile flew from out of the blue and exploded, scattering the swords and allowing Selesia to back off from the woman. Assassin looked to where the missile came from, and saw yet another Servant.
She was dressed in a fur-bottomed light purple robe with a navy blue sash with gold embroidery down the front, a brown belt across her waist, with a scholarly green shawl draped on her shoulders, held around the front with three blue gems. She also had pale skin and blue eyes in a young face framed by short, silver hair, with two circle hairpieces on both sides of her head. As she stood suspended in the air, behind her shone what appeared an elaborate display of symbology of two concentric blue circles with three more positioned at equilibric points about the outer circle. And hovering in the air around her were seven magical portals, and out of each pointed a weapon. One to her right was a machine gun, and the other six held rocket launchers. One was smoking from the missile it fired.
“Is that you, Meteora? Have you still not found your creator?” the woman asked, as she manifested another ring of circling swords.
Meteora didn’t speak, instead holding out and opening the book in her hand, which served as the cue for the other five missiles to launch. Her attack failed to kill the woman, as the swords formed a circle in front of the military woman and stopped the two missiles that were on target, while the other three missed.
Unfortunately for Assassin, while the other two missiles detonated a safe distance away and caused collateral damage to the park and one of the surrounding buildings, one came straight for him and hit right underneath his perch, the resulting explosion killing him.
Waver POV
BOOM!
He had just been blown away by the manifestation of Rider’s giant, lightning-sparking, ox-driven chariot, the Gordius Wheel, when he heard them in the distance, on the other side of the Mion River.
Explosions? Now? But I haven’t finished my preparations yet and I only just summoned Rider today! Have the other Masters already summoned their Servants and started fighting? Has the Holy Grail War already begun?
“AAAAAHAHAHAHAHHH!” Rider’s laughter boomed, bringing Waver’s attention back to his larger-than-life Servant. “It appears fortune is smiling upon us, boy! Not only have I been given the chance to accomplish my dream thanks to your summoning, but on the very night of my triumphant return to this world, a battle is waged close enough for us to go and join!”
“W-wait, now?!” Waver yelled. “But we don’t know who’s fighting or what kind of Noble Phantasms they might have! If we go out there now, we’ll be going in blind!”
“Not to worry, Master! We only need approach closely enough so that we may see the fight! We can decide whether or not to engage them after!” He reached out his hand to Waver, who flinched at the gesture. “So then, do you wish to bear witness to my glorious return to war from afar, or to take part in it alongside myself?”
Waver shook like an earthquake was happening, and stared at Rider, fear now overcoming him at he’s been asked. “A-are you crazy?! What on earth makes you think I would want to go with you?!?”
“What’s the matter, boy? Are you afraid?”
“NO! TAKE ME WITH YOU, DAMMIT!” he shouted impulsively, tears coming out of his eyes.
With that, Rider roars in raucous laughter, as he grabs Waver by the collar of his shirt, sweeping him into the Gordius Wheel as he himself climbs aboard and grabs the reins. “HYA!” he shouts, as he snaps them, sending the bulls forward, and into the air, lightning sparking all about as they rose up. Waver clutched Rider as the chariot flew toward where the explosions had been heard.
“THERE THEY ARE!” Rider shouted.
Waver looked where Rider was pointing. And sure enough, he saw a pair of figures flying toward the river. He watched the two of them set themselves down in another of the city’s riverside parks. Rider immediately seized the opportunity and plowed his chariot in their direction.
“YEEEEEEEAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!” his roar rippled across the river as the Gordius Wheel came in for a thunderous landing that sent arcing electricity throughout its vicinity, causing the two he approached to jump back.
Once the chariot stopped, Rider threw open his arms and proclaimed: “Greetings, great heroes and be amazed! For you are in the presence of a king! I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors! I have been summoned as the Rider-class Servant for this War for the Holy Grail!”
Waver looked at the two girls Rider had confronted. The one on the left, a sword-wielding two-toned redhead, looked absolutely perplexed at both Ride’s presence and his words. The one on the right, a silver-haired girl with a strange but unmistakable dress of an academic, just looked on with a blank look that barely betrayed any sense of surprise. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he felt that there was something wrong with this scene-
“Um, excuse me, King Iskandar of Conquerors or whatever,” the redhead said, confused. “But are we supposed to know you or something?”
“What?” Rider spoke incredulously. “Surely you too have been summoned to this world to also take part in the Holy Grail War? A glorious battle of Masters and Servants to attain whatever wish they so desired?”
“You will have to excuse my new companion’s ignorance of these matters, Servant Rider,” stated the academic. “She has been transported to this world against her will and still lacks the necessary knowledge for living adequately here. I was about to provide her with those essential details before you so rudely interrupted us.”
“Oh,” Rider mused, turning to the pale-haired girl. “It appears that I have mistaken you for Servant Caster, but rather you are this Servant’s Master?”
“I’m afraid you are still mistaken. Neither she nor I are Servants or Masters in this war. Neither of us are Heroic Spirits of this world’s history, legends, or myths. And if my Magic Book has not led me astray about the system of the Holy Grail War, you should have already been able to discern that by now if you hadn’t been so eager in looking for a fight.”
That’s what was bugging me, Waver realized.
“You, standing next to Rider, you are Rider’s Master, correct?”
Waver was startled when the girl addressed him. “Um, yes?”
“Tell me,” she questioned. “Did either you or Rider sense us during our earlier fight or while we approached your general position?”
Waver scratched his head as he briefly mulled it over. “Actually, now that I think about it, I didn’t feel anything through my Command Seals.”
Rider scratched his beard as he came to the same realization. “That’s true. We only came this way because we heard the sounds of battle, not because I felt the presence of another Servant. Come to think of it, I don’t feel the presence of another Servant even now.”
“Hey, ah, I’m still confused about all this,” the redhead interjected. “So, could someone please explain everything to me already?”
“Sorry,” the white-haired girl said, turning her attention to her. “Events must have been moving too quickly for you since you have arrived for you to comprehend. I believe we should follow Rider’s example and introduce ourselves to establish a basic understanding.”
She turned to the group as a whole. “My name is Meteora Osterreich. I’m a librarian at the Library of a Thousand Miles Kunst Wunderkammer, at the end of the Last Tableland.”
The redhead decided that she was next. “I am Selesia Upitiria. I’m a knight for the kingdom of Earthmelia and the pilot of the Vogelchevalier.”
“And what about you, Master of Rider?” Meteora asked. “Who are you?”
Waver started a little bit at the question. “I-I’m Waver Velvet. I’m a mage and a student at the Clock Tower in the Mage’s Association.” He mulled over the identities that Meteora and Selesia had given him, and found them to be utterly absurd. Going over the conversation in his head, he then caught onto something he had missed earlier.
“Wait, Meteora,” he addressed, gaining her attention. “Earlier, you said that Selesia came from another world, correct?”
She nodded. “That is correct, and to follow on your thread of thinking, I too am from another world, although I arrived here over a week earlier, and the aid of my Magic Book has been very helpful.” She pulled out and opened her Magic Book, which began to shine a bright light from within, to Waver and Rider’s wonder.
“It was easy to understand this world,” Meteora said, as the book flipped through its pages on its own. “The lay of the land, history, biological distribution, laws of physics, political structure and thought, system of magecraft, we must be thankful to our Creator.” She then closes the book.
“Amazing,” Rider said. “If I had a book like that, conquering the world would be a far simpler task!”
Waver, paying close attention to Meteora’s words, caught on to one important detail. “Meteora, who is this Creator you’re talking about?”
“I don’t know. But before I can return to my world, I must discover who he is, find him, and meet him.”
“AHAHAHAHAAA!!” Rider roared. “To seek out and find the god who created you and your entire world! That is a great and daring quest indeed! Fit even for the greatest of kings!”
“Wait, Meteora,” Waver inquired disbelievingly. “Even if you really did come from another world, what makes you think that your ‘Creator’ is in this one? Magic has never been capable of creating entire, self-sustaining worlds, and that’s been the case since ancient times when magic was at its strongest, let alone today, when magic has declined very far in potency and application.”
“Oh, it seems I must apologize to you again, Waver and Rider,” Meteora said. “I have, in answering your questions, unintentionally left out the most important detail as to what Selesia and I actually are.”
“And that is?” Waver asked.
“We are people who play active roles in stories that people in this world have written and created for others to enjoy, who have been released from the yoke of our story worlds to manifest in this world, from which all story worlds originate.
“In short, we are fictional characters who have become real.”
Waver had only one response to that statement once he had fully processed it: “You’re crazy.”
Kirei POV
“The Holy Grail War has already begun?” Tokiomi Tohsaka asked his student, Kirei Kotomine.
“It appears so,” Kirei replied, standing before the Tohsaka Master in his study, alongside his father, Risei. “Assassin has observed a battle between three Servants taking place over the city.”
“Did Assassin discern any key details?” Tokiomi asked.
“The first was a woman wearing a strange military uniform with metal gauntlets on her arms. She had long white hair, and her eyes were red with square pupils.”
“Could she perhaps be an Einzbern homunculus?”
“No. She was levitating and flying through the air during the battle with ease and without any discernable mechanism of flight. A skill beyond any modern mage. She also appeared to be directing and creating dozens of identical sabers at once in her battle, either keeping them in orbit about her person or held in front as a shield against attack.”
“Hmmm. These details are plentiful, but I don’t believe I have heard of a Hero who wielded so many different swords at once in battle. She could perhaps be this war’s Servant Saber, or she could also be Caster.”
“Caster has not yet been summoned, so we can discount any of the three being him,” Risei explained.
“Assassin has also already found Lancer, and his Master Kayneth,” Kirei explained. “Since you summoned Archer and I Assassin, we can be sure that the three Servants we witnessed were Saber, Rider, or Berserker.”
Tokiomi smiled at that. “The war has barely begun and already we have six Servants accounted for. What of the second Servant, Kirei?”
“The first Servant, possibly Saber, was initially battling against another Servant who also possessed the power of flight. This girl was unarmored, dressed simply in comparison, wielded a sword against the first and demonstrated good skills and reflexes, and her only distinctive feature is her two-toned red and orange hair.”
“Anything to indicate which class she may be?”
“Nothing else. She also could be Saber, but without more information, she could just as easily be Servant Rider or Berserker.”
“And what of the third?”
“She was also capable of flight, and was dressed in blue and green academic robes. When she attacked the first Servant, she used a modern rocket launcher, rather than any magecraft of her own. Also, that same Servant identified her on the spot as ‘Meteora.’”
Tokiomi frowned. “I have never heard of a Heroic Spirit using modern, mundane weapons in battle in a Grail War. Neither have I heard of a hero or legend with the name ‘Meteora.’ She also appears a perfect fit for either the Archer or Caster classes, but Gilgamesh has been summoned as the first and the latter hasn’t been summoned.”
“The oddities don’t end there,” Kirei continued. “The first two Servants conversed with one another during the fight. The second Servant seemed to act wholy ignorant of the modern world and the Grail War in general, and the first called it, quote, ‘the land of the gods.’ She made reference also of bringing revolution to her world and punishment to this one. It was at that moment that ‘Meteora’ interfered. She also asked Meteora if she had apparently found her ‘creator’ yet.”
“I am tempted to think that she may be a homunculus, but one capable of standing up to a Servant could only be the product of another Servant-”
“And Caster still hasn’t been summoned,” Kirei concluded. He turned to Risei. “Father, is there any way for a Master to summon a Servant and have it slip by your knowledge?”
“There is none,” Risei firmly stated. “The Holy Grail is in charge of the actual summoning of Servants, and since the Grail recognizes me as the overseer of the War, I have knowledge of the summoning and death of any and every Servant in the War.”
“Was there any more information Assassin was able to glean from them?” Tokiomi asked.
“Unfortunately, no. When Meteora pressed her attack against the first Servant, the Assassin observing the scene had the misfortune of being caught in the blast of one of the rockets that missed their target. While the others have been made aware, we have yet to find the three again.”
Tokiomi sighed, as he stood up and looked out the window. “There’s nothing more that we need to do for now. We need merely wait for Caster to be summoned, and then we can move forward with our plans. We already possess the advantage in this war. We have knowledge of all but one other of the enemy Servants, we have control of two Servants ourselves, including the most powerful one of all, and we have a winning strategy for obtaining the Grail. Gentlemen, this war is practically already won.”
Kirei could not help but feel in his bones that they were all missing something. Something so huge that it would overturn everything they knew.
Maiya POV
The reports had just come in from the spies Kiritsugu and she had planted throughout Fuyuki about the Servants who battled in the skies above the city. They included pictures of each of them as well as details of all of the abilities they displayed. One of them even came with a name that they had somehow managed to snag from a conversation two of the Servants were having. While the computer the apartment came with couldn’t run detailed analyses based on images, she figured that it could be more thorough when searching for a name.
After all, who had ever heard of a Heroic Spirit named “Meteora?”