Chapter 2: Strategizing for the War

Avenger looked upon his master's mentor, one Kiritsugu Emiya. At first glance, a person would see him as a distant yet relatively unremarkable man. Yet Avenger knew better than anyone appearances were deceiving.

The dull look in Emiya's eyes were that of a man that had killed his own emotions to accomplish his goals. He was wearing clothes that were designed to blend into the environment while also being useful in a fight; not too constricting as to impair movement, not loose enough to get snagged on anything, and able to easily conceal any number of firearms. And Avenger could make out one of his weapons, a Calico M960 SMG, a weapon that allowed one man to easily confront a squad on equal footing should he be able to get the jump on them.

In addition, Emiya seemed to be like a tightly wound spring, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. While Avenger wasn't one for hand-to-hand techniques, he recognized that Emiya was simply due to the man's uniform fitness. It wasn't a man who focuses on a single technique or style, but rather was flexible enough to adapt to his opponent's actions.

Indeed, his master's mentor was a formidable assassin, even without having heard of Emiya's exploits by his master. Avenger wished Maiya wasn't so dedicated to Emiya; it would make getting his wish next to impossible, as she would sacrifice him for her mentor's wish, whatever it was. But he know how to fake it; he had spent what felt like half his life playing an ersatz life.

"So, you are Avenger?" Emiya asked seriously, with no emotion leaking from his voice. Avenger nodded.

"Indeed, I am," he stated calmly. "And you are the one who mentored my Master."

Both men looked at one another, sizing each other up. It was a minute before the room's sole other occupant spoke up.

"Could we get to the point that this meeting is about?" Maiya said, her patience a bit frayed what with the hiccup that Avenger's summoning and the standoff between her servant and her master.

"Very well, because the war is soon to begin," Emiya said. "Now Avenger, I assume you have been brought up to speed about the original plan?"

"If you refer to your plan to assassinate the enemy masters while your wife poses as the master of your servant Saber, then yes," Avenger replied. "I think it is…abhorrent that you are risking the life of your wife all for your wish; rather selfish of you." Avenger saw the strain in Emiya's grip as he restrained to react.

"While in a normal circumstance I could see your point, this is all but normal," Emiya quickly countered. "My wife…doesn't have long and will certainly not be able to live through the Holy Grail War. I don't wish for her life to end; it is something outside of my control. But my wife agrees with my wish and more importantly agrees with my plan, so in the future please refrain from talking about my wife's role in the war."

Avenger nodded, although it took considerable effort. He loathes fools that would willingly to sacrifice their wives for their own goals, but it's another thing if the wife knew of the risk and still acts. It would be like reprimanding a soldier for sacrificing their life for the homeland; ultimately missing the point.

"Anyway, we need to discuss your role in the war," Emiya continued. "You are not suited for actively fighting servants, yet you lack means of fighting the enemy beyond controlling others, so what good are you for?"

"Mighty foolish of you," Avenger said, scoffing at Emiya's dismissal. "Yes, I might not have the raw strength to match the likes of your servant, but I am more readily a threat." Standing up, Avenger strolled towards the window.

"When I was alive, I wasn't what you might call a legendary soldier, I was a formidable commander. I know how to make up for my weakness and how to maximize my strengths to overcome all but the steepest of odds. Thusly, I can assist in the elimination of both servants and masters with proper preparation. Afterall, one does not become a heroic spirit if they can't poise a threat."

At this, Avenger mentally rolled his eyes. He hadn't realized he was a heroic spirit, and if you ask him, his actions were hardly heroic. Necessary, in his mind yes, brutal and devastating, most assuredly, but heroic? Heroics were for fools, like he was when he was younger and more naïve.

"So how can you be a threat then?" Emiya asked.

"As I am sure you know from my master, my noble phantasms could be of use," Avenger said. "Mainly my Anti-Army one; it is the culmination of men, resources, and equipment that I had once control over. I may not be able to use it right away, due to needing mana, but the more I get, the stronger it will become, to the point where the enemy servants will be forced to take action lest I deal with them as I do with my enemies. Right now, I could begin using it for scouting purposes, finding out where the others masters and servants are, as well as subtly influencing the local officials to turn a blind eye to our actions."

Emiya frowned; what noble phantasm be both a physical danger and also able to do subtle, espionage-like work? He needed to know more.

"How exactly does your noble phantasm work?"

"I refrain from explaining at this moment, if only because if you are unaware of how it works, we could exploit the presumptions of enemy masters, mostly about refraining from fighting during the day, as my noble phantasm could be made to look like the work of terrorists; which would satisfy the need to keep mage craft a secret."

"Wait, are you suggesting carrying out attacks that could kill civilians, just to eliminate enemy masters?!" Maiya asked, shocked at her servant's suggestion. Emiya was glad Maiya asked, as it would allow him time to sit back and examine Avenger's answers.

"Not necessarily," Avenger said calmly. "It was merely an example, as it would be the quick and dirty way to achieve the same results that I could deliver if I had time to manipulate certain individuals."

"Like who?" Maiya asked, her mind scrambling to explain how an attack by her servant could be explained as anything than, as he said, a terrorist attack.

"If I had time to suggest to certain individuals within this country's intelligence and armed forces community that the enemy masters were terrorist that were almost about to launch an attack, we could have the anti-terrorist units take care of the masters, but that wouldn't work due to the need to keep mage craft a secret. Instead, I could influence events to where I could eliminate the masters without arousing suspicions from anyone except the magi. But that would take time, time I'm led to believe I don't have."

"Could you actually infiltrate your way into such a position?" Emiya asked, seeing how Avenger got some of his skills. Avenger chuckled.

"Emiya, you may be a top tier assassin, capable of taking down people that could use magecraft, something I have no experience with, but when it comes to manipulating people, you will not find a better master than I. Put it to you this way Emiya; I once got my former enemies, those that vowed to find and kill me, to rely on my weapons. Getting into position to cover my tracks will be only a matter of time, not if I can."

Emiya nodded. If Avenger was being honest, which why would he not, then it could be game changing for his plans. He wouldn't need to worry so much about figuring out how to safely eliminate an enemy master without collateral losses. But that was on the assumption that Avenger was honest about the capabilities of his noble phantasm. Which sadly Avenger was being silent on, so he would have to trust the servant of revenge. Something that didn't sit well with Emiya.

"And what about your other Noble Phantasm?" Emiya inquired. At this Avenger sighed.

"For the purposes of the Holy Grail War, I would need one hell of a reason to unleash it, as it would inevitably cause collateral damage," Avenger admitted. "While it may be mundane, and I can think of other comparable weapons that you would know, it is simply too powerful to simply let loose with. It's also one that would require more than a bit of work to explain away its effect. So, I will say it is unlikely I will be using it."

Emiya took a draw from his cigarette, mulling over this tidbit. If Avenger's most powerful Noble Phantasm couldn't be used, then that would limit him to his anti-army Noble Phantasm. This meant that if Emiya needed to eliminate a servant right away, his own servant Saber would be a better fit. He exhaled, a puff of smoke flowing out his mouth.

"Very well, then begin making your preparations Avenger; I rather keep civilian casualties to a minimum and have them not affected by the Holy Grail War. So do what you must, I'll let Maiya handle you as need be."

Avenger had to refrain from snarling at the tone Emiya used. He addressed Avenger as though he was his own servant, and that Maiya would be nothing more than a liaison between him and Emiya. But sadly, he knew that his master was too attached to Emiya to do anything about it.

"Very well," Avenger said. "Although might I inquire about your servant?"

"Hmm, what about Saber?" Emiya asked.

"I wondered if I shall ever have to work with her; if so, I will need to at the very least know her so that I can adjust my plans accordingly," Avenger said. Emiya nodded.

"Right now Saber is protecting my wife before they come to the city, so it will be a few days before you can meet her," Emiya explained. "I won't order her to meet with you, so you'll have to approach her on your own accord."

"That works fine for me," Avenger said. "Then I shall take my leave." As he astralize, Avenger smirked; the first phase of his own plans was underway. He vowed to drive a wedge between his master and Emiya, as he refused to have his wish taken from him due to the ambitions of such a stoic and cold-hearted bastard.

Three Days Later

It had been a long day for Saber, as her master's nature grinded on her own, and even the words of gentle Irisviel weren't enough to put the former King of Knights at ease. But they finally were in Fuyukki. Saber gazed around from atop the stairs that led down from the aircraft she had ridden in. It would've been a shock, if not for the information instilled into her by the Grail, which she had informed Irisviel of on the flight when the kind woman inquired about her thoughts on the flight.

To be sure, while she could've flown the aircraft with ease, that didn't mean Saber herself would've been above the capabilities of the best of flyers, just that she could easily have flown the thing. Indeed, she suspected that there were a few Riders who would've been truly awe-inspiring in their capabilities of flying. As she began to walk down the stairs, she saw Irisviel talking to an older looking man.

To anyone, this wouldn't have been a cause of concern, but Saber could feel his presence; he was a servant. Yet why wasn't he attacking Irisviel, and why wasn't Irisviel concerned?

"Ah, Saber, come over," the German born Magus said. Saber came over, wary of the old man. "Saber, meet Avenger, Maiya's servant."

Saber rose an eyebrow quickly before remembering the oddity that her master's protegee had summoned a servant. She extended her hand.

"Pleased to meet you Avenger," Saber said politely. Avenger returned the gesture and shook her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," Avenger said. "I have managed to arrange transportation for you two; Miss Irisviel, your belongings will be sent to the castle with your servants, I figure you would wish to explore the city today."

"Oh, that is kind of you," Irisviel said. "Although, shouldn't you be busy making preparations for whatever plans you have? Kiritisugu said something about-"

"Ah that, don't worry about it too much," Avenger said. "I have managed to get the support of the local Yakuza so that I can get information regarding the enemy master's locations, in addition to having an insider in the local news station to control the media in case an event was to spill over."

"That's impressive, to do that all in just three days," Irisviel said.

"This was just an exercise in charisma and really most people could secure what I did much faster if they waved cash around. But I wanted discretion, because there is only so much money one can use to bribe people with before someone notices."

"I see," Saber said. "So what was your…profession in life?" She was trying to determine Avenger's nature, as so far, her opinion wasn't great; he seemed to be the servant Kiritsugu would've wanted, one who didn't care about honor, if his attempts to manipulate people were anything to go by.

"Depends, I used to be a military commander, then I became my country's minister of defense, before becoming the CEO and founder of a massive industrial company," Avenger said. "It wasn't easy, transitioning between the roles, changing how I acted and how I interacted with people with each new profession, but one must do what they must to secure their vision."

"I won't deny the difficulties of leadership, but I feel like you are avoiding my question," Saber stated. Avenger shook his head.

"I have answered truthfully; however, it could be considered deceitful since I'm not speaking the whole truth. Then again, with my life, the whole truth was never an option to me. The best I could do most of the time was to assure other with half-truths, something I am sure you can understand."

Saber wanted to say no, but that would be hypocritical. She had lied about her gender, refrained from showing any true human emotions during her rule, which led to the distrust of her subjects and the eventual downfall of her kingdom. At the same time, she tried to be honest with her subjects, never outright lying or being deceitful towards them for her own benefit. She sighed as she had no answer. Thankfully, Irisviel turned the conversation to something that would be, she thought, less stressful.

"So, Saber, Avenger, what were your families like? I know a bit about yours Saber, but I would like to hear it from you directly. And while I don't know what yours were like, surely you must've had one."

Saber was about to speak when she heard Avenger speak.

"My family? Well, I was the son of a successful industrialist and the heiress of my homelands railway system," Avenger began. "My parents were kind yet…distant, I think that is the best way to put it. They were occupied with maintaining their wealth that I was just another thing to deal with. They both passed shortly after I entered the military. I didn't have anyone else until I met my wife."

Saber sensed something was about to happen. She had felt this, often before something broke and all hell was let loose. The so call calm before the storm, yet she felt like it wouldn't be a thundering storm, but a raging inferno.

"She was beautiful, charming, and brilliant. I met her when I stopped her from getting hit by a bus early on in my military career. She thanked me and we began a steady friendship, which eventually blossomed into a wonderful marriage. We even had a daughter, who was our pride and joy. She was named Vera, meaning 'light' in Be- in German. After the birth of our daughter, we decided it was best for me to retire from the military, but thankfully my considerable wealth and rank meant I was able to become the Minister of Defense."

"For a time, all seemed like it was going great, despite some setbacks. But then my country was stabbed in the back by our neighbor! My country and them formed a joint company under the notion that the venture would improve both nations' economies by gaining resources in a region call the Five Great lakes, but it was all a covert ploy by them dastards to tank our economy as the region held little to no resources! We had been building up our military due to the cold war between our neighbor and a nation across the ocean, but with the venture failing, we were hit with a depression."

"We looked into solutions to our economy, and soon were forced to give up our eastern territories, lands that we fought bitterly for in the past to gain. But that was all in those bastard's plans; those lands we surrendered ended up having the natural resources we could've used to help our economy!"

Arturia grimaced, knowing what was going to happen next. She'd seen similar things happen between other kingdoms during her time.

"This slight, their masterstroke of a plan, made those in power, myself included, to lead our nation into a fight that would decide the future of our nation! Upon revealing our neighbor's treachery, we had the volunteers to swell our military's ranks, our industries provided the top of the line weapons, and we had countless years of experience to formulate our plans."

Saber and Irisviel then saw Avenger's eyes darken.

"But it was for fucking naught! We were on the cusp of victory, we had achieved the majority of our goals, when our enemy, having rallied and having international support in war material and volunteers, began pushing us back. First we lost the land we sought to reconquer, then we began to lose fragments of our homeland. We tried everything we could to stave off the inevitable, but it seemed like no matter what our forces were getting pushed back."

To Saber, she could feel the air in the vehicle turn into a miasma of despair yet also build up with an untold wrathful energy, one that she could only remember seeing clearly once. Once upon a hill that marked the collapse of her kingdom, by the one of her own blood, all because she didn't crown them her heir. To Irisviel, she could feel the raw mana in the air pouring into Avenger, as though feeding into his emotions. To her, Avenger was analogous to a volcano, about to detonate with fury unmatched.

"Our lands burned, and my family were caught in the crossfire! My hometown, where my wife and daughter were living, was burned to ashes from our enemies' actions! I was in the capital and could do nothing as I received the report detailing the city's destruction!"

"From then on, I vowed to never forget, never forgive my enemy for their actions! We began moving forward with an operation designed to stall the enemy's invasion indefinitely. And it worked, but at immense cost. So much was lost in that operation, that our country was split in half, with those bastards taking our southlands!"

"It was at this time I left the government, due to my nation's enemies wanting to cut off my nation from effective leadership. I had to remake myself, for myself and my country, and I worked in secret to assure my nation's future."

Avenger looked out the window, sighing as he realized how tense the atmosphere had become inside the car. He pulled out a cigar and lit it up.

"Apologizes, I've gone on too long ranting, but needless to say, my motives should be apparent. I will assist you Saber against the other enemy servants but do understand that I have my own wishes to achieve, and technically you are in my way, if not right now."

Saber nodded, waving away a cloud of smoke from her face.

"I know, but I will not surrender the Holy Grail," Saber said, before gaining a pensive look on her face. "But answer my this, how far are you willing to go for your own goals?" She saw Avenger frown, still staring out of the window, gazing into the azure skies. She saw a pair of fighter jets (F-15s if the knowledge from the grail was to be believed), and she noted the look of…commiseration (?) on Avenger's face.

"I've lost so much, that nothing is off the tables for me," Avenger spoke after a moment a silence. "I will refrain from more collateral options, but hear this Saber; nothing will stop me, nothing will deny me my wish. Tod vor Unehre. I lost too much to come out of this war victorious."

Before Saber could respond, Avenger snubbed out his cigar, placing it back into the box he had before.

"Before you judge me for my words Saber, know that I wasn't always like this; I used to be kind and gentle, but my enemies eroded my nature, took from me the things I held above my own life, until what you see is what I've become."

Saber and Irisviel watched as the servant of vengeance disappeared into a golden mist.

"I've never seen anyone become so enraged," Irisviel commented. Saber shook her head at the isolated view that the homunculi had.

"I have."

Elsewhere in Fuyuuki, there was an old abandon airfield. It was built during the Second World War for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service to launch interceptors against US bombers firebombing cities like Tokyo. In the aftermath of the war however, it fell into disuse as its purpose was no longer needed and there was no need for it to serve in a civil capacity. However, its hangars, munitions bunkers, and control tower were still standing and intact, mainly because after being stripped, the post-war Japanese government saw no need to spend money on completely dismantling the airfield.

It had seen some use in the 1960s and 1970s to ferry illicit drugs into the country, but after the police raided the airfield once, it became abandoned once more. And it should've remained a ghost of the Second World War, had it not been for this Holy Grail War becoming twisted with the presence of Avenger.

Avenger appeared in the former control tower, which in his brief time had been converted to act as his GHQ. Inside were advance computer readouts that included RADAR, a live feed from the city's various security cameras that his agents (brought to the fore by his first noble phantasm) had hacked into, and radio interception equipment, so that Avenger could listen into emergency responders' radio chatter. In addition, there were armed soldiers loyal to his cause, equipped with G-36 assault rifles or MP-5 submachine guns.

He strolled over to a terminal, where one of his agents was working.

"Report," Avenger commented.

"Sir, we have managed to infiltrate the Japanese Military's Radar Network, allowing us to cover the movements of any flights you may wish to conduct," the agent replied. "In addition, we have begun our efforts to subvert control over the local police and first responders. It'll take a while, but hopefully we can manage to get you the necessary identification needed to pose as whoever you may need to be sir."

"Good, and what of our service personnel? What assets could I look to field?"

"Due to this country operating different equipment that what we generally use, and due to this country's maddening inability to declare war, the use of them is furthered hampered. However, our Air assets, due to our subversion of their RADAR network are able to conduct their missions at night, mainly because not too many civilians will be awake and able to notice them in the night sky."

Avenger nodded.

"Very good. Then I want a flight of UAVs to begin scanning the city, looking for the mana signatures of opposing Servants and Masters," Avenger commanded. "They are not to be armed at first, so send up the KZO to do the first flybys."

"Jawohl, mein kommadant," the solider replied.

Avenger turned his attention to the window, watching as a mobile launch vehicle rolled onto the tarmac. One side of the vehicle opened up, and the near silent whirling of a small two-stroke engine was all that was heard before a white stout aircraft took to the skies.

Avenger smirked as he had one advantage that he doubted any servant would be able to contest, not even Emiya's Saber servant; dominion of the azure skies.

Author's Note: God damn, I took me over a year and a half to publish the next chapter. I hadn't expected to be so late, but that was because I wanted to make this chapter just so. And also, Ace Combat 7 came out not too long after I started this story. I went through numerous iterations, some that were really quite shit, others with clunky dialogue. I just hope that this chapter it enough to compensate for the long ass delay. And don't worry, the next chapter won't take so damn long. But let's get to your reviews;

-Longbowchris50: Alright, let me preface this with that your review had me change the exact nature of the anti-army NP, because your two examples gave me a reason to rethink my choice due to their nature. The SOLG and Arkbird are too powerful of a noble phantasm, as they allow for a attack that can't be blocked, can't be taken, hits practicality instantaneously, and can't be countered by most servants (Gilgamesh is the exception, but then again, being the oldest recorded hero of Earth's history lets him have a pass).

So, I decided to rethink the anti-army NP to fit his role a bit better. Avenger is not a straight up fighter; he is most akin to a puppet master, so he should have a NP that reflects this. Not immediately powerful, but after setting a situation up, he can unleash its full potential and it be pretty damn difficult for most servants to counter, but this time some of the more powerful servants actually can. And due to his nature of keeping to the shadows, and the need to keep the HGW a secret, its not like he can overtly use the more powerful aspects of it to his advantage.

His Anti-Nation class on the other hand, has not change. It is something that we never get to see its full potential used in the Strangereal universe, but after looking at its design, there is a very real counterpart in our world that I could use as a comparison. What it is, I shant say, as it would be too much of a spoiler for future events, but this chapter could be used to figure out what it is.

-Slamer466: Well, here's the next chapter, and yeah, Avenger is a member of the Grey Men, that much I will say as anyone who is interested in Ace Combat lore will pick up the not so subtle references in this chapter.

Alright guys, thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting the story, so I'll see you guys next time in the next chapter.