Chapter Three: For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

-(=O=)-

"There was once a King," the man said as he scratched his silver-grey beard. "During his time, he was the greatest person in the land. He was strong, fair, and just. He would respect everyone, and lived to keep his kingdom strong."

"But one day, that changed. He was left to protect his country, and had to leave his castle. During that time, a Knight claimed to be the King's child, and took over the kingdom. When the King returned, he was met with rebellion from the Knight. They fought a great battle, and many people died," the man explained to the children gathered.

"When there was nearly no one left, the King and the Knight met each other in battle. The King won, and killed the treacherous Knight, but the Knight wounded the king so terribly that the King too, died."

The man smiled. The children around him were frowning, as they considered the story to be sad. "But the man had a dream, so he too, returned to the world. This man, no, this King, was the most noble of them all, and so, he was called, the King of Knights.

-(=O=)-

[Two Months Ago]

She was as ready as she would ever be. A summoning circle, made of pure silver, was created in the small chapel. Grandfather had said that her father had performed the ritual in the chapel back in the old castle, so she had found it fitting that she too, would summon her Servant inside a chapel. She placed down her now-empty wine glass, and walked to the front of the room. A brilliant magic circle, made only of the purest of silver was there.

She brushed back her platinum blonde, nearly white, hair, and spoke.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let {red} be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

These words were the beginning of the ritual to summon a Heroic Spirit in the form of a Servant in the Holy Grail War. However, the first verse was modified to reflect the unnatural nature of this war: a line added, to make the Servant be one of a faction. In this case, it is of the "Red" faction. The faction that has sided with the Einzbern family, with the goal of maintaining the Holy Grail War. The woman continued the ritual, and with each word that passed, the circle grew brighter and brighter as Prana was used to summon the Servant.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.

Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

The second verse was completed. There was no time to waste-if she messed up here, then she truly would have failed. Any line that differs could mean her Servant could be too weak, not the one she wanted, or she might not even be able to summon a Servant at all. It was all or nothing.

"I shall make an oath here.

I shall become the guardian of Heaven in the eternal world;

I shall be the destroyer of all evils of all of Hell in the eternal world."

One last verse. That's all she had to do.

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

She felt a sudden drain of her Prana, and she knew that she had succeeded as the room becomes filled with a blinding light, as her Servant came down to the world. A knight, who wore silver armor over crimson clothing, stood in front of her. A horned helmet covered the knight's face, and a red and silver sword, and a similarly colored scabbard that encased the sword.

"So, you're my Master?" Saber asked.

The summoner nodded. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. I am your Master."

"I see. A chapel, huh? Interesting choice. I am no Jeanne d'Arc, but I have some respect those of the faith."

"You will not find any priests here. Now, if I may ask, are you Saber of Red?"

The tipped their helmet. "Yes, indeed I am. Do I look like a Caster of Assassin to you?"

The summoner smiled. Her victory was assured with this. To have summoned Saber, her goal was complete. "No, you do not. Now, please answer me once more," the Master began. "Are you Mordred?"

Saber stiffens, before they removed their helmet, and revealed the face of a girl. "Yes, I am Mordred- the true successor to Arthur Pendragon- The King of Knights."

Mordred looked at her Master, before she too asked, "And what is your name, Master?"

The woman grinned at her Servant. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern."

This was her chance. Her chance for revenge against her father, who abandoned her, and against her adopted brother, who replaced her. Confident with her victory, Illyasviel von Einzbern would leave for Fuyuki City the very next day.

-(=O=)-

[Three Days Ago]

Ayaka Sajyou returned home late that night. It was not entirely her fault- Rin had pulled her aside after school to lend her some books from the Tohsaka mansion, so by the time Ayaka had returned home, it was nearly time for dinner at her house. She walked to the front door and unlocked it, and entered her home. The first thing she noticed is that all of the lights were off. It was unusual, as the lights were always on by this time of night.

She carefully put the books down, and walked into the building. Even at the back of the house, the lights were off. It was completely dark inside, as no light entered. She crept around the house, until she found the staircase to their basement. A soft, blue glow bled out from the subterranean room, where the family's workshop was kept.

A glowing summoning circle was present, and a cloaked figure stood in the center of it, the person's features hidden by a hood draped over their face. Ayaka's sister stood before the figure, her hands and clothes bloodied, and a set of crimson runes shined in the darkness.

Command Seals. Ayaka knew what they were, as she had seen Rin's and Shirou's Command Seals, but to think that her sister had a set? It scared her. Her sister might kill the some of the only friends Ayaka ever made. She looked over the workshop floor, and saw something worse. A blood soaked hand, lying beside the summoning circle, and behind the cloaked person was her father, lying in a pool of what she assumed was his own blood, a stump present at his right elbow.

Then, it all made sense. Her sister had killed their father. Her sister had committed patricide, all for a chance to fight in the Holy Grail War. When she realised what this meant, Ayaka screamed. She backed up the stairs, then spun, and ran to the door, and grabbed her books and her bag.

She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape. She had to escape.

She sprinted through town, and made her way to somewhere she knew that she'd be safe at: the home of Rin Tohsaka.

-(=O=)-

[One Day Ago]

Kiritsugu sat in a small apartment he had rented. He had chosen to perform the summoning ritual in this apartment, one of many he had rented to use as various forms of safe houses. A simple, chalk summoning circle was drawn onto the floor, and, while it would still function, it would allow him to quickly remove the circle from the room later. He sighed, and put down the can of coffee he had with him.

It was nearly the time when his prana would be at its peak. He stood, and prepared to summon his Servant as the clock struck midnight. He then began the ritual, and the aria used came naturally to him, as if he was ten years ago, when he summoned Saber in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let {blue} be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.

Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.

Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth.

I shall make an oath here.

I shall become the guardian of Heaven in the eternal world;

I shall be the destroyer of all evils of all of Hell in the eternal world.

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

Prana surged, and flew around the room, whipping up loose papers as it did. A person began to take form, called down from a place unimaginable to Kiritsugu. Called by a set of shared ideals, by an ideal passed down from one man to another. A shared identity, the identity of a "Hero of Justice."

Light flashed, as the Servant was summoned. Wrapped in a red waist coat and sleeves, with black body armor unrecognizable to Kiritsugu. The Servant had white hair, and his skin was heavily tanned, and his eyes, a strange mixture of silver and black, show an emptiness inside of the man.

He raised his head, and spoke. "I am Archer of Blue, in this Fifth Holy Grail. If I may ask, are you my Master?"

Kiritsugu nodded, and revealed the cross shaped Command Seals on his hand. "I am. Welcome back to this time period of the living Archer."

Archer frowned. In almost every other Fifth Holy Grail War he had encountered, Kiritsugu was dead. It was nearly always Rin Tohsaka who summoned him, with the occasional exception of Sakura, be it when she carried the name Matou or Tohsaka, Luvia Edelfeldt, or, like that one time, his younger self. Shirou Emiya. There was this nagging sensation in the back of Archer's head whispering that Kiritsugu had been his Master once before, but it was truly Rin who summoned him, and Kiritsugu played advisor to his younger self and the girl.

The boy who was adopted by Archer's Master. By his father. Of course, the question was raised, did this Kiritsugu Emiya ever adopt Shirou Emiya? It was possible. There had been times when the man who adopted the boy who would become Shirou was the bastard Kotomine.

But for now, Archer had to worry about Kiritsugu's last comment. Was he summoned during the Fourth War? Or did Kiritsugu somehow know who Archer was? He had to see.

"I'm sorry Master, but what did you mean when you said "Welcome back to this time period?""

"Ah, yes," Kiritsugu nodded. "I summoned you during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Archer, although you were known as 'Saber' during that time."

Interesting. So if he was summoned before, that could explain how Kiritsugu had survived. He wasn't too familiar with being summoned as Saber, but he remembered that he still had Independent Action, even as a Saber, and so it was likely he had survived for long enough to heal Kiritsugu with [Avalon].

"So, Master, if I may ask, how many other Masters do you know of? From what the Grail has told me, I should be part of a faction of sorts, which will be used to defeat the other faction."

Kiritsugu pulled a notebook from his pocket, and flipped through to a page. He then handed the book to Archer, who started to read.

"From what I've been able to see, the Archer of Red is Gilgamesh, and has Kirei Kotomine as his Master. Kotomine is also this war's supervisor from the Catholic Church," Kiritsugu began, as he started packing a duffel bag with what appeared to be a disassembled sniper rifle. "Assassin of Blue will be summoned by an acquaintance of mine, named Kairi Sisigou. My son plans on summoning Saber of Blue, and personally, I believe that he has a likely chance to do so."

There was Archer's confirmation on one thing. The existence of Shirou Emiya. There, on the page, beside the boy's name written neatly in blue ink, was a name for likely Servants. The top of the list had the name "King Arthur" written on it.

Archer frowned. So, Kiritsugu still gave Avalon to Shirou. Did he pass along his ideals too?

"We have also hired Luviagelita Edelfelt to summon a Servant for our side, although she will only likely do so for the money I have spent, as the Edelfelt clan still despise the Tohsaka clan, and having "Fought in a Holy Grail War for the Magus Killer" likely won't help her resumé," Kiritsugu joked.

Archer looked up from the page. Kiritsugu making a joke? Now he was becoming closer to the man Archer once looked up to.

Archer kept reading. The list was very comprehensive, as to be expected from the man once known as the Magus Killer. Every detail that he could cram onto the page was there. Names, possible Servants, possible Servant classes, it was impressive. He compartmentalized the data listed, and sorted the information into who was in each faction, and general information about them.

Kiritsugu slung the bag that carried his rifle on his bag, and accepted the notebook back from Archer. Archer dissolved into spirit form, and Kiritsugu left the front door, his black trench coat blowing in the wind behind him as he closed off the door to the apartment. It was time to go to war.

-(=O=)-

[Day One]

To Shirou Emiya, the Holy Grail War was a challenge. A challenge to prove himself, to prove that he was worthy to take up his father's ideals. Worthy to take over his father's quest of becoming a Hero. Years ago, Kiritsugu had once warned him that the thing he was to do would change him, and Shirou accepted that. If it changed him for the better, maybe he really would be fit to call himself a hero. If not, then maybe he would one day take up the mantle of "Magus Killer."

It all depended on fighting in the Grail War.

However, before he could do that, he needed to summon a Servant. He had already received his Command Seals, and now, he just needed to sit in on Rin's summoning, then he'd be on his way home. Of course, the fact that Ayaka's sister was a Master bothered him, but his friend had told him not to worry about it. To be a magus is to walk with death, and Ayaka knew that. Shirou supposed that it was touching that Ayaka had that much confidence in her friends, but still, it was concerning that Ayaka might have to bury her father and her sister by the end of the Grail War.

As for right now, he waited for the kettle to boil as Rin summoned her Servant. Tokiomi was out of town apparently visiting a magus who might be willing to assist the blue faction in the upcoming war. Ayaka was in the guest room that had been provided for her, and Rin was in her family's workshop, and was in the process of summoning a Servant.

The kettle came to a boil, and he reached out to pour it with a yawn, just as the lights in the house flickered out. A sickening crash echoed out from the sitting room, and Shirou blinked as he poured the tea. He wiped off his hands, and picked up the tray that held on top of it a teapot and several tea cups. He looked into the sitting room to see a man sprawled across a pile of rubble.

The man's green-blonde hair was spiked up, and his shirt and pants were dyed black, and he wore silver and grey armor over his chest, shins, feet, shoulders, and wrists. An orange strip of cloth, familiar to a scarf was wrapped around his chest. He looked towards Shirou with a confident smile, and asked "Hey there. I guess that you're my Master?"

"No," Shirou said. Really, how would he explain this? "I'm not your Master. Your real Master will be arriving shortly. I think."

Seconds after he finished speaking, the door to the sitting room was kicked open, and revealed Rin, her fingers pointed, ready to shoot off her signature Gandr shot. She blinked when she saw the man who lounged on the sofa, and Shirou, who was seated in a chair, calmly drinking tea.

"I assume that you're my Master then?" the man asked. He sat up a little straighter, a relaxed grin on his face.

Rin straightened herself somewhat, her eyes still narrow. "I might be. Who are you?"

"I am Rider of Blue!" Rider proclaimed.

Rin nodded. "My name is Rin Tohsaka. Is it safe to assume that you are the Heroic Spirit Achilles?"

Rider shrugged. "Is it truly that wise to ask me that with someone who is potentially an enemy Master?"

Rin narrowed her eyes. "That someone is a good friend of mine, Rider. He will be our ally in the Holy Grail War, do you understand me?"

Rider shrugged. "So be it. I am Achilles, a Hero of the Trojan War. If you expect to order me around constantly, then let me warn you- I served no kings during life, and I will not do so now, unless I feel that I truly need to."

"I hope you will at least listen to my opinions then, Rider," she said, as she flicked back some of her hair.

"I'll do my best, Master," Rider replied, a casual grin present on him.

Shirou just sighed, and handed Rin a cup of tea, before she could become too upset over her Servant's attitude.

"Rin!" he called to her. "I'm going to go home. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She watched him leave, and waved to him as he left. She sighed, and looked back at Rider, who still lounged on the couch. "So, are you two engaged?" the Servant asked.

Rin glared at him. She silently begged that he wouldn't say anything. She really did not want to hear anything else from him...

"When's the wedding?"

"DAMN YOU RIDER!" she yelled.

-(=O=)-

Sakura Matou too, was summoning her Servant that night. Unlike the Emiya patriarch, she wasn't able to summon her Servant inside an easily disposable safehouse, and unlike the Tohsaka heiress, she couldn't do it from the comfort of her workshop, no, she had to to it from the dark, decrepit basement of the Matou house. A stray worm crawled pass, as the summoning circle flared in light and mana, with wind that whipped around the basement. She didn't move, unfazed by the events. It was just a simple act, meant to create what could be basically described as an advanced familiar.

Her right hand that had her Command Seals present on it was stretched out, and each Command Seal glowed red.

There were reasons why she was doing this, many, many different reasons, but the primary was revenge. She wanted, no, needed to kill Zouken Matou. She had to maim her foster brother so much he would never question her again. She needed to torture Tokiomi Tohsaka to death for abandoning her. She had to destroy Kiritsugu Emiya for killing Uncle Kariya. But most of all, she would have her revenge on Rin Tohsaka, for daring to be happy when she, Sakura Matou, was given up, and forced to live with the monsters that are the Matou. For being happy while her sister was being turned into a monster.

She finished her ritual, and, with a flash of light, her Servant was summoned. The woman in front of her kneeled, and her long purple hair pooled in loops on the floor. The woman was scantily clad, and wore a short skirt and stockings, leaving large sections of skin exposed.

"I am Rider of Red. I ask, are you my master?" the woman asked, and Sakura smiled.

Her plans were just beginning.

-(=O=)-

"Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let {blue} be the color I pay tribute to."

He started the ritual with those words, as blue light poured forth from the magic circle in his workshop. Shirou spoke the words he had memorised by heart, with the images of his ideals floating inside of him.

"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

The wind was starting to pick up now, and Shirou could feel his mana drain rapidly as the ritual commenced. He was close now, to summoning a Heroic Spirit, a legend of old, to fight for him, to fight with him.

"Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.

Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

Since he started the ritual, he had been feeling something deep inside of him, pulling to something, someone, somewhere, at some time. That was good, the catalyst was working. The power of the King of Knight's dreams, the Noble Phantasm known as [Avalon] would indeed call to a Heroic Spirit, even if it was implanted inside someone.

"I shall make an oath here.

I shall become the guardian of Heaven in the eternal world;

I shall be the destroyer of all evils of all of Hell in the eternal world."

This was true. He would become the savior of Heaven in the eternal world. He would become the destroyer of all the evils in the eternal world. He could feel it deep inside of him.

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,

come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

Home stretch. Here it is, the final lines, the last key. The ambient Mana whipped around the room, and the wind blew away anything light enough to be lifted. Light bursted, as his Command Seals glowed on the back of his left hand.

When the wind and light died down, he saw his Servant. A man clad in silvery armor, definitive of medieval knights, with a blue shirt underneath, and a waist-coat that was a similar shade of blue. His eyes were emerald, and his messy hair was blonde. The man kneeled, his glowing sword, that was crafted beautifully, with a blue grip and golden cross-guard, and pointed into the ground. Shirou could tell at a glance which sword it was.

"I am Arthur Pendragon, King of Knights, and the true King of Britain, and I have been summoned as Saber of Blue. I ask of you, are you my Master?" the man asked Shirou, a confident smile on his face.

Shirou raised his Command Seals and replied. "Saber, I am Shirou Emiya, your Master. Tell me, do you wish to win the Grail?"

-(=O=)-

and so, the contest continued once more

the daughters, and sons,

and even fathers previously seen,

all fighting for what they believe is best

to save the world through destruction

or doom it through salvation?

to be praised as

(false) heroes to a select few?

or to be unknown as true heroes,

to the entire world?

only they can decide,

as it is their choices

that will shape the world,

for eons to come.

-(=O=)-

a/n

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