Wow, it's been a while since my last update. What can I say? Kinda lost motivation to write for a good while. This chapter made slow progress, but the most important word a person can write is the next one, so here I am with it finally finished. I honestly do apologise for the long wait, but that's just the nature of fanfiction, as we all know.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, your words are greatly appreciated, no matter what they were. All (constructive) criticism is also great to read, so I know what to improve on.

Anyway, enjoy!

0o0o0o0o0

Jaune set down his pen when his fingers started cramping up. He massaged them with his other hand. It was a good time for a break anyway. He had been working on the essay in front of him for the past few hours. It was mind-numbingly monotonous, but necessary since it counted for a huge chunk of his grade in Oobleck's class.

It should count as some sort of war crime to force students to hand write any essay over three pages in this day and age. What was the point of the advancement of technology if it was never used?

Briefly, Jaune considered using a command seal to force Saber to the rest of the damn thing. The immediate relief would be immense, but the scolding he would get from her was sure to outweigh it in the long term.

Besides, giving Ruby any similar ideas would probably end up getting him in a lot more trouble with Archer. That guy could get so...intense. The tranquil fire that lay within his eyes made Jaune glad they were on the same side.

With a shake of his head and a few more finger stretches, he left JNPR's room to grab a snack. Though he couldn't see, hear, or otherwise sense her in any traditional sense, he felt Saber move along next to him. At first, the sensation of someone following him had been off putting, but Jaune had quickly grown accustomed to it.

The vending machine at the end of the hall dispensed its sugary goodness, and Jaune didn't even wait to get back to the dorm to start munching.

Munch munch. Crunch crunch.

Wow, thought Jaune. That hit the spot. He had finished before he had even gotten halfway back to his room. Unfortunately, he was still hungry. And an Arc never denied his stomach.

Saber, instead of speaking, sent a general sense of questioning through their immaterial bond. She didn't feel concerned, merely curious.

"Still hungry," said Jaune. That seemed to sate her. He was always careful when speaking to Saber in her astral form. There was always the possibility that someone was eavesdropping, so as much as he could, he tried to make it sound like regular things people would say to themselves.

The trip was short with the hallways empty due to the late hour. There was always a few staff members still working late in the cafeteria in case students got hungry. The cafeteria itself had a dozen or so other people lounging about. Jaune went to the self serve area, grabbed two bagels, and lopped two heapings of cream cheese into both.

Satisfied, he turned to leave, but caught a glimpse of someone familiar sitting on their own in the corner, head buried in a book and picking at her food absentmindedly. With a huff of amusement, he walked over and sat across from her. Blake lowered her book the tiniest fraction, revealing a raised eyebrow.

"Hey!" said Jaune, as he starting chowing down on his food.

"I'd ask how you're so cheerful this late at night, but I think you just answered that question," Blake said, eyeing the already half-eaten bagel in his hands briefly before returning to her book.

"Apologies for actually enjoying food. I know you grumpy types have a hard time with that," Jaune said with half-suppressed smile. Blake lowered her book once again to glare at him. She looked between the book and Jaune a few times before sighing and tucking it away.

"I'm not going to get any reading done with you around, am I?"

"Probably not," Jaune said. He felt Saber's amusement. First bagel finished, he attacked the second one.

"So what're you up this late for?" asked Blake as she propped up her head with one arm. She continued to pick at her food, which looked like it used to be a piece of cake.

"Working on Oobleck's essay," Jaune said with a mouth full of food. "Thinking too much gets me hungry."

"Of course," she said. "Because using up brain juice requires you to fill your stomach. That makes sense."

"Exactly!" Jaune said. Blake rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth was pulled up just enough to count as a smirk. "What about you? Library too crowded at this time of night?"

"No reason," she said, a little too quickly.

"Oh, come on, Blake," he said. "You can tell me."

There was a second where Jaune thought she wouldn't elaborate, but she sighed in acceptance. "I, uh, crave sweets late at night." A slight blush crept onto her face as she avoided his eyes.

Jaune chuckled. "So? What's there to be embarrassed about?"

"I don't like playing into stereotypes," she said with a slight pout. Jaune looked at her with a confused expression. Blake discreetly pointed her eyes upward, which Jaune followed until his gaze landed on her bow.

"Why would that...oooh. I get you." Blake nodded, still looking embarrassed about the situation. "But is that really even a stereotype? Like who would even come to that conclusion?"

"You'd be surprised, Jaune," she said. "Even discounting the inborn prejudices of our society, people will make connections like that even if it has no basis." She looked around to make sure no one was nearby before continuing. "Is it really a animal thing to eat snacks late at night? Probably not. Even it it were, would that affect me, being who I am, in any way? Probably not. Does anyone outside our friend group know about you-know-what? Probably not."

"Still, I can't help but fight it. For my own peace of mind, if nothing else." Blakes eyes were cast down to her plate now. "I know, it doesn't make sense and I'm being silly."

Jaune mulled it over. "I don't think you're being silly." Blake looked up in surprise. "I think everyone has things that make sense to them. Even though other people might not get it, as long as it makes sense to you, that's what matters."

Blake stared at him for a moment, as if trying to read his intentions, but Jaune met it with conviction. Finding whatever she needed to satisfy her that he wasn't messing around, she nodded.

"Thanks," Blake said. "That...actually means a lot."

"Anytime," Jaune said with a smile. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Jaune finished his second bagel and Blake continued to read. After checking a few things on his scroll and enjoying the short break, Jaune left Blake to her book with a quick goodbye.

Halfway back to his room, he felt a sense of surprise from Saber. She didn't respond to his queries however, her attention seemingly elsewhere, so he patiently waited for her response. After ten minutes of leaning against the wall next to her astralised form, she finally spoke in his mind.

"Jaune, this may sound strange, but we have been...summoned."

He looked around nervously to make sure there was no one nearby. "Summoned? By who?"

There was a pause, and he felt her confusion. "By the eight Servant."

0o0o0o0o0

After grabbing Crocea Mors and his armor, Jaune let Saber lead him past Beacon's grounds. They headed in the direction of the residential district, which was close enough to Beacon that they could sprint the distance in a relatively short amount of time.

Saber had not elaborated on her cryptic statement, and she refused to answer any of Jaune's questions during their trip. It had annoyed Jaune at first, but he soon recognized the look on her face as one of discomfort. She wanted to tell him more, but for some reason, couldn't.

Halfway through the trip, Jaune started feeling the strain of constant sprinting. The solution had been simple, but embarrassing. Saber carried Jaune. Jaune was glad no one would ever see him like this, since none of his friends would let him live it down if they saw him riding piggyback on a girl almost a foot shorter than him.

The trip was exponentially faster after that. The world blurred around them as Saber picked up speed. When they reached the residential district, the barely slowed, and only to give Saber time to pick out which rooftops to jump across.

Saber landed in front of a derelict building in a shady part of town and set Jaune down. Waiting for them in front of the entrance was Ruby and Archer, which was surprising, but at the same time totally expected.

"Hey," Jaune greeted Ruby.

"Hiya. Know why we're here? Archer was pretty quiet about it." Jaune's hunch had been correct. The Servants were being told to keep their Masters in the dark. And amazingly, they were listening. If there was one thing Jaune had learned about Servants since this madness had started, it was that they were a prideful bunch that didn't like being told what to do. Hence why Masters needed Command Spells.

"No, Saber was the same way. I guess we'll find out." Ruby nodded, and they turned to follow their Servants into the building. Jaune was curious, and a little scared, to find out what this was all about. He assured himself that Saber and Archer would never willingly lead them into a dangerous situation, without reason.

Jaune realized the abandoned building must have been a school for young children at one point. Empty doorways that led to small classrooms littered the hallway they walked through. They turned and at the end of the hall was a giant set of double doors. The dark lighting gave it an ominous look that Jaune didn't like in the least.

Archer shoved aside the doors, revealing a huge gymnasium. The ceiling went up a good distance, and the few scant windows on the upper part of the walls let in beams of moonlight. One such beam fell upon what could only be described as a throne in the middle of the empty gym. It was made of jagged stone that jutted up from beneath the wood panels of the floor. And on it sat a man.

"Approach, Master of Saber. Master of Archer," said the man. Though he didn't raise his voice, the sound boomed across the room.

Jaune swallowed hard. All of a sudden, this entire situation seemed suspicious. He looked back on everything that had happened to see if he had missed some crucial clue, but the panic was setting in and it made thinking difficult. Ruby was frozen next to him, so similar thoughts must have been running through her head.

"I said," the voice boomed again, "approach." An invisible force wrapped around Jaune and began to tug him forward, his feet scraping against the hardwood floor. He heard Ruby yelp in surprise and she was dragged along with him. They were a dozen feet from the throne when their bonds disappeared. Jaune got a better look at the man. And with startling surprise, he realized it wasn't exactly a man.

He couldn't be called a kid, either, but the Servant, for Servant he most definitely was, looked closer in age to Jaune than it first seemed. He couldn't have been older than the oldest students at Beacon. However. his blue-gray eyes spoke a different story. There was an ancient wisdom behind them that belied the Servant's physical age.

"Greetings, Masters. I am the Ruler-class Servant who will preside over this Grail War." There was an air of expectation, as if he expected a greeting in return. Ruby was slack-jawed, so Jaune would have to take the lead.

"Uh, I'm Jaune Arc. And this is Ruby Rose."

Ruler nodded. "I know."

"So, can we maybe get some sort of explanation? Like why there's an eight Servant? Or what the Ruler-class is? And why you're not trying to kill us like all the other Servants?" The questions flew out from Jaune before he could think. If there was one thing he hated about the Grail War, it was how much he didn't know.

Ruler leaned forward on his throne, and caught Jaune in a piercing gaze. The moonlight caught on a gold crown sitting atop Ruler's head, surrounded by unruly reddish hair that hung just past his ears. It was intricate, with leaves and swords pointing this way and that. It looked like an impossible crown to wear comfortably. Ruler's light skin gave him a deathly pallor, made even more eerie in the pale lighting.

"You presume much, Jaune Arc, Master of Saber." Ruler leaned back on his throne, almost lazily, and straightened his ornate red and gold coat with his gloved hands. "But I suppose you are not foolish for wanting answers. Normally, there would be a human who presides over the War. One who keeps track of the various goings-on of the Masters and Servants. They would make sure everything goes smoothly." Ruler let out a scoff. "Or at least, as smoothly as one can make something as chaotic as a Holy Grail War."

"When such a person is not appointed, the Grail itself will appoint its own Servant to preside. One of the Ruler class, who holds their own Command Spells over the other seven. If anything was to go awry, I would deal with it." The air of finality in which he said that left no doubt in Jaune's mind that Ruler could absolutely deal with any situation that came up.

Ruler's gaze drifted past Jaune, as if he had stopped existing. "Moreover, this particular Grail War is strange enough to warrant such safeguards. I must look into these matters." Ruler seemed to be talking to himself now. It struck Jaune that this Servant might not be all right in the head.

Ruler shook his head as if casting aside stray thoughts and returned his full attention to Jaune and Ruby. "And what of you, Master of Archer? Have you not any queries for me? You seem the inquisitive type."

Ruby shuffled in place. "Uh, yes, Ruler, sir. Just one. Why did you call us here?"

"That is less of a duty given to me by the Grail and more of a...personal interest. I have, at various points in time, called all the Servants and Masters here to speak with them. As the overseer of the War, it is within my interest to know its participants. Does that satisfy you?"

Ruby nodded timidly. Jaune was about to speak, but thought better of it. He wanted to see where Ruler took this.

"My congratulations on defeating Assassin, by the way. He was a crass one, and I never cared for those who work in the shadows. I was curious to see if your little alliance would fail, but you have surprised me, young Masters and Servants." Jaune internally rolled his eyes. Ruler said that as if he was so much older.

Wait, Jaune thought, he's a Heroic Spirit, he probably is a lot older. Or was, before he died. It was interesting that Ruler spoke to Archer and Saber like children, though. Arrogance? Or was there a basis to it?

"One last thing. Your wishes, should you win. I would hear them."

"I want a world without the Grimm!" Ruby declared with the utmost confidence. It startled Jaune to hear it, since they hadn't talked about it to each other before. "I feel like humans and faunus can start worrying about more important things after that, and get a lot of cool stuff done, y'know?" Ruby's cheeks turned pink, and she poked her fingers together.

Ruler hummed in thought. "Your passion burns bright, Ruby Rose. Very well. And what of you?" He turned his gaze to Jaune.

Jaune hesitated. Saying it now didn't make it concrete. He could always change his mind later. But for some reason, it felt important to get it right. To tell Ruler what his final wish would be.

"My wish," he started, "is...my wish. My…" Jaune looked to his feet, shame flooding his features. "I...don't know yet. I have some ideas, but it's a lot of pressure." He expected a laugh or admonishment, but none came. Ruler just nodded sagely.

"A wish upon the Grail is not to be made rashly. It is good that you can admit you are unsure. Think on it, Jaune Arc, and weave a beautiful wish for the Grail. You may come and inform me of your resolution, if you so desire."

Ruler dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "You may leave. I will speak to your Servants now. The 'may' sounded too much like 'will' for Jaune's liking, but it wasn't like he could argue. Jaune and Ruby left the gym, passing by their Servants who said nothing. As the doors closed, Jaune caught one last glimpse of Archer and Saber turning to speak with Ruler.

The image of the earthen throne jutting out of the floor, and Ruler atop it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was something Jaune would not soon forget.

0o0o0o0o0

The doors clicked behind Saber and Archer, leaving them alone with Ruler. Saber glanced at Archer to her side, but he looked as stoic as ever with her arms crossed over his chest. Ruler seemed content to observe them in silence. There was something unnerving about how his gray eyes seemed to pierce through her.

It seemed like an eternity would pass before anyone spoke, but Archer finally broke the silence. "Well? Speak or dismiss us, Ruer. I don't care to waste time standing in silence."

Ruler chuckled darkly. "You are bold, I will say."

"I think," Saber said, "what my companion means is that-"

"Silence, Saber. I did not give permission for you to speak yet." Saber held back the urge to protest. "You may be a princess, but I am a king. And besides, you're not the least bit interesting." He gave a disgusted look at her sword, which was odd. Saber felt indignation rise up her throat. She had done nothing to earn this man's ire!

"You, however," Ruler said, turning back to Archer, "are a rarity that should not go unnoticed."

Archer huffed. "A simple bowman is common enough, I think."

Ruler barked out a harsh laugh. "Modesty does not suit you, Counter Guardian."

Saber's eyes widened. Counter Guardians were rare indeed. For one to be summoned in a Grail War was even rarer. Her respect for Archer grew. Only the most dedicated could do what he did.

Archer seemed to take it as an insult, judging by his face. "If that is what interests you, then I hate to disappoint, but it's something I don't wish to speak of. You'll have to use a Command Spell."

"Archer…" Saber mumbled. To go so far to keep it secret could mean a host of things, but Saber didn't want to jump to conclusions.

Ruler sat for a while, staring down Archer. They stayed there, two irons wills silently battling it out. After a few minutes, it seemed the victor was decided.

"Very well," Ruler said. "A just mediator I would not be were I the type of man to fling Command Spells at my own whim. Which you knew." Archer's only response was to smirk. "It seems I was mistaken, Archer, in my judgement of your character."

"As I was for yours," said Archer. "When I realized there was a Ruler watching over this strange Holy Grail War, I felt more at ease. But meeting you, I think we would have been better off without one."

It felt like Saber's heart skipped a beat. Had she heard that correctly? She hadn't taken Archer for the brash type, but he was proving otherwise at the most inopportune time.

Ruler's scowl darkened. "Watch your tone, Servant. You forget who you speak to. Even without my Command Spells, you would still be lower than the dirt beneath my feet. If I simply willed it, the universe would bend itself to erase your existence."

Even with all she had gone through, Saber's pulse quickened at being near Ruler's anger. She could only imagine what it felt like for Archer, who was its focus. Still, Archer looked unfazed.

"Leave," Ruler spat. "I care not to hear the wishes of two Servants who do not have respect nor self-preservation."

Saber was almost too stunned to move, but Archer put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go, Lucina," he said gently. Hearing her true name snapped her out of her stupor, and she followed him out. The last thing she heard before they left the room was Ruler mumbling to himself. The thought of an unstable Heroic Spirit mediating the war made Saber uneasy. The only small comfort she found was in the presence of her three teammates as they headed back to Beacon.

0o0o0o0o0

With their Masters safely back in their beds, Archer and Saber took to their usual spot on the roof of the dorm. Archer stood at the very edge, red shroud billowing in the wind.

"Archer…" started Saber. He shifted his head to look at her. "I...that is when you...I mean…" She took a breath. "Thank you."

Archer raised an eyebrow as he fully turned to her. "Why are you thanking me?"

"I am not daft, Archer. The way you treated Ruler was because of how he spoke to me, was it not?" Saber held back a laugh at the small twitch on Archer's face. She almost thought she saw a slight blush, but it was too dark to tell.

"We are allied in all things. What kind of partner would I be if I allowed someone to disrespect you so blatantly?"

Saber rolled her eyes beneath her mask. She had a feeling he would have done the same even if they were not allies. That's just the type of person Archer was.

She bowed in an exaggerated way. "I appreciate the gesture all the same, partner."

A comfortable silence settled between them. The night wind was a pleasant chill, and Saber had always secretly enjoyed the way her cape billowed. She thought back to their encounter with Ruler. What could have caused such an immediate dislike towards her?

Saber couldn't figure it out no matter how much she wracked her memory. Ruler had seemed a bit unhinged, but it still didn't add up. She just had to accept it and move forward, in any case. Saber hoped that Archer's small act of rebellion didn't come back to bite them later.

Eventually, they both sat down, legs dangling over the edge. Saber still remained alert, just as she assumed Archer was, but being overly vigilant was bad for the mind. They remained quiet for the most part, but sometimes chatted idly about easy topics, though Saber had to initiate most of the conversations.

She studied Archer's profile as he swept his gaze across the school grounds. He had a hard look about him, but every once in a while, his eyes would soften, and he would look much younger. Saber tried several times to locate what he had seen that had caused his reaction. Mostly, she wasn't successful, but a few times she managed to follow his eyesight. Without fail, it was some ordinary object or area that she was sure could hold no significance to him. The best guess she had was that whatever he looked at triggered some memory, for it did seem that he withdrew into himself for those brief moments.

The urge to ask him what he was remembering bubbled up, but it felt a bit too personal. Though he knew much about her through Falchion, Saber hardly knew anything about Archer, besides what little he had divulged the night they shared their identities.

Right as she worked up the courage to query about his past, Archer was on his feet. Instead she asked, "What is it?"

"Something moved between the trees, and it was no Grimm." His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "It could have been a student, but I didn't get a good enough look."

Saber stood up in a flash, hand gripping the hilt of her sword. Though her eyesight was nowhere near as precise as Archer's, she scanned the trees where he was looking. There was the occasional rustle of branches, but no movement or splotch of color to contrast the green and brown of the forest.

"Should we investigate?" she asked when the silence began to stretch.

Archer kept his eyes focused for a second longer before turning to her. "This could be a ploy to draw us away from our Masters. I'll stay here and keep lookout, while you go and see if there's a Servant about."

Saber nodded with a singular sharp motion and leapt off the building without any preamble. For a blessed second, she felt as if she were flying, then the ground rushed up to meet her. She astralized to lessen the impact so she didn't leave an obvious trace. Staying invisible, in case any non-participants were nearby, she sped to the spot where Archer had seen the movement. It took less than a few seconds to cross the clear expanse between the schools border and the trees.

She strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. A well trained enemy would know to keep out of line of sight, but any motion to attack would make a sound, however slight. In a situation like this, where an ambush was a high possibility, sound was the most important sense.

Archer hadn't specified the direction he saw the person move towards, so Saber swept back and forth, covering as much ground as she could. After a minute of fruitless searching she was almost ready to give up, but something odd caught her eye.

With great caution, she walked over to an object jutting out from one of the trees. An arrowhead was lodged backwards into the bark, so that it pointed deeper into the forest. Small bits of the tree were scattered near the base, so it had to have been done recently.

The whole situation smelled of a trap so Saber. The kind that made one part obvious to throw off the prey from the real threat. The likelihood of another Servant's involvement shot up a hundredfold.

Leaving now would be the safest option in the short term, but they would learn next to nothing, while the enemy would have studied their patrol spot, how fast they responded to a situation, what steps they took to scout an area, and a dozen other bits of crucial information. In the long run, knowingly springing this trap was better for their group than leaving it be.

Saber followed the direction in which the arrowhead pointed. It didn't take long to confirm her suspicion. One after another, she found them, pointing exactly to the next marker without fail.

Following the most recent one, she broke into a small clearing. On the other side, a hooded figure sat cross-legged with their hands on their knees and their head bowed. A sword wrapped from hilt to point in cloth lay against a tree a few feet behind them, and next to it was a sturdy looking wooden bow. The mysterious stranger raised their head at Saber's arrival. That at least confirmed that they were a Servant.

Everything about it screamed trap, but Saber pushed onward and materialised. She kept her hand on her hilt, ready to draw at a moment's notice. The hooded figure seemed at ease, however, and made no move to ready for battle.

Saber's patience was uncommonly short today after her encounter with Ruler, and she felt her anger rising up. "Enough games! Why have you led me on this wild goose chase?"

The hooded figure stood up in a casual manner and held up his hands as if to ward her off. They pointed at themselves, then pointed at their half-hidden eyes and turned the two fingers to Saber. They faced their hands together and opened and closed them rapidly like a crab.

A moment passed when the incredulity of the other Servant's actions stunned Saber, but she caught on. "You have been watching me-" The hooded figure shook their head and held up four fingers. "-watching my team and wanted to talk?" They nodded excitedly.

The stink of a trap got worse, but Saber would play their little game for now. "Okay then, let us talk. What is your class?" If they genuinely wanted to just have a chat, they would have to give up information.

The hooded figure put a finger on their cheek and thought for a moment. Holding up both their hands, one in front of the other, they held out the first two fingers on each and wiggled them, bobbing the whole thing up and down slightly.

A Rider then. It made sense, since they didn't seem the Caster type with the light leather armor. Lancer would have been a stretch also, unless they had purposefully gotten a phony sword and bow.

"Okay then, Rider, what did you want to talk about?"

Rider pointed at themself, then at Saber, then shook his two hands together. Then they pointed at a random far-off direction, bared their teeth in a snarl, and flailed their arms around wildly. Their face returned to normal and they took a few swings of an imaginary sword in mock battle, finishing with a flourish. They pointed a different direction, adopted an evil smirk, and waved their arms around as if dancing. They finished with another mock battle.

Saber thought for a moment. "You want to form an alliance and go fight Berserker and...Caster?" Rider shook their head up and down vigorously.

Why those two specifically? Perhaps it was a ploy to defeat the only other Servants Rider thought could pose a threat to them, then betray Saber and Archer. Or perhaps Rider was in the same boat as them, and needed help to take out Berserker, who was ridiculously powerful. Saber wished Archer was here so she could discuss this potential alliance.

It was hard to say, even with her ability to see the general sense of an individual's character. Like with Archer, she got many different impressions at once, making it hard to read accurately. What made those two special that confused her Brand of the Exalt?

Rider pulled something from a pouch on his side and Saber pulled her sword out in a flash. Rider froze for a moment, but quickly held up the object in plain view. Saber relaxed a bit when she saw a pen and small parchment of paper.

With exaggerated slowness, Rider walked halfway between them and set down the items on the floor. They walked back to their original position and pointed at Saber, then mimed writing something down. Pointing at their bow, Rider drew an imaginary one and shot it off in the direction Saber had come from.

Ah, thought Saber, a message to send to Archer. She retrieving the offered writing utensils, she wrote down a quick message.

Archer,

Worry not, for I am okay. Your sharp eyes were correct. It was another Servant, Rider, but they wanted to team up, not fight. I am still wary, but they do seem genuine. I would like for you to meet them as well and make your own impression so that we may discuss this potential alliance. Meet us near where you first spotted them.

Saber of Team JASR

The mention of their team name, as well as small details like knowing that Archer was the one that noticed Rider, would alert him that this was truly her sending the message. The meeting spot was also far away enough from their Masters so as not to endanger them unnecessarily by bringing an unknown Servant nearby, but also close enough that they could respond to any other disturbances that may occur.

Saber folded up the message and lay it and the pen back down on the ground before stepping back. Rider grabbed their bow and walked to the message. Pulling out a thin rope from their pouch, they carefully wrapped it around an arrow that materialized in one hand. After knocking it loosely, Rider looked up at Saber expectantly.

"He should be on the same rooftop we were on," she said, understanding their unasked question. They nodded and took aim. The arrow shot off like a bullet, and Saber had no doubt that it went exactly where it needed to be. Rider's lithe frame belied how easily they had pulled back the bowstring.

"Follow me," said Saber as she turned around to head towards the meeting spot. By unspoken agreement, Rider kept a bit behind her and a dozen feet to her right so they were still in her peripherals. It would give her just enough time to react in case they tried anything.

Saber inevitably found herself wondering what Heroic Spirit they were. They must be very famous indeed to cover their features with a hood and wrap their sword up. The strangest thing was she couldn't help but feel that Rider was familiar, like trying to remember someone from a half-forgotten dream. She could almost place it, but it kept slipping from her grasp, always sitting right at the tip of her tongue.

There was no time to ruminate on it, as they quickly arrived at the meeting spot. Archer was already there, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. Cautious as always, his stance was just wide enough to be ready for any trickery that an enemy Servant might have planned for him. Upon seeing Saber, he seemed to relax the slightest bit.

Saber walked up next to him as Rider stayed a respectable distance away. "Archer," she said, "meet Rider."

"A pleasure," he said flatly. "I need to speak with my partner for a bit. Alone." Rider nodded and walked off out of earshot.

"Now that you aren't restricted by a written note, speak your thoughts freely," said Archer, keeping his voice low, just in case.

"My eye has a hard time discerning their true nature, but what I do get points towards someone who keeps their word, if nothing else. I would guess they are also very famous, else they would not go to such lengths to hide their identity. They seem...familiar, but they are definitely not from my world, which raises a lot of questions. I am not opposed to working with them, but it would be unwise to have them meet our Masters, I think."

"I agree," he said, surprising Saber. "Oh? Didn't think I'd agree with you?" The tiniest of smirks made its way onto Archer's face.

"No, no!" Saber said while waving her hands back and forth. "It is just that I thought you would be opposed to working with another Servant." Even though it was blocked by her mask, Saber lowered her gaze.

From the edge of her vision, she saw Archer cock his head in confusion. "Why would you think that?"

Saber stayed quiet for a moment. "Though you have been nothing but kind to me...I feel that deep down you may resent the fact that we were practically forced into teaming up."

The ensuing silence gnawed at Saber's heart. Archer's chuckle pierce her worry like an arrow. "If I remember correctly, I was the one who sued for peace while you tried to take my head off my shoulders."

Saber met his eyes. "Yes, but-"

"No buts," he said, cutting her off with a stern voice. "You take too much upon yourself. In all my life, both as a living man and as a Heroic Spirit, I can count on one hand the amount of people I have worked well with as partners. Rest assured, you are one of them."

Saber's mouth dropped for a moment before she remembered propriety and gathered herself. A warm glow emanated from her chest at his words, and the heat reached her cheeks. Once again, she was glad that her mask covered her reaction from Archer.

"Thank you, truly. Your words honor me."

Archer huffed. "Shall we go tell our patient friend our decision?" Saber nodded.

Rider was leaned against a tree a few hundred feet from where they had conversed. Saber appreciated that he had gone far enough to leave no doubt that he hadn't eavesdropped. With casual grace, he stood up straight and awaited their decision. Archer motioned for her to speak.

"Archer and I have decided that we will be willing to work with you." Rider seemed pleased with their answer. "However, you will not meet our Masters, nor get near them. We hope you understand out caution."

From the shadows of Rider's hood, Saber saw them frown for a moment. It was so fast, she almost thought she imagined it. That worried her, but she kept it to herself. For now. Rider nodded their assent, regardless.

From his pouch, he pulled what looked to be an oddly shaped plant. They placed it to their lips and blew. The strange plant emitted a piercing sound. They handed it to Saber and pointed at their ear.

"We shall use this to call you. Understood." With a nod of their head, Rider ran off into the woods. A wind rustled the trees, almost as if the world itself celebrated the newly minted pact of Heroic Spirits.

"At this rate, they'll be no more Servants to fight since we recruited them all," said Archer dryly.

"If only that were possible."

"Yes, if only." A wistful tone entered Archer's voice.

"Let us not dwell on such melancholy thoughts and return to our post." Saber put her hand on Archer's shoulder to comfort him.

Though he tried to hide it, Saber saw the pain of someone who knew they would have to shed blood in his eyes. A stronger feeling covered it quickly; determination. They set off to once again guard their Master's from the night.

0o0o0o0o0

The days were passing too quickly for Jaune's liking. He should have appreciated the peace is gave Team JASR, but all it did was increase his anxiety. A day gone by with no Servant activity meant another day their enemies were left unchecked to do as the pleased.

The oppressive heat forced Jaune under a nearby cluster of trees for shade. Walking across Beacon's grounds in this weather was tantamount to torture. Fortunately, he wasn't in a rush, so he enjoyed the brief respite from the sun.

From what Saber had told him a few days ago of her encounter with Rider, it seemed Berserker and Caster were the ones they had to worry about the most. He had already known that Berserker was a problem, but Caster was a complete unknown. That particular Class was supposed to be crafty, and their absence had worried both Saber and Archer, though they had tried to hide it.

Something needed to be done soon, or else Jaune was going to start ripping his own hair out. All the important things seemed to be happening without him or Ruby around. He refused to be a bystander in this war where failure could mean catastrophic results. He refused to be useless.

His swordsmanship had been improving by leaps and bounds, a fact he attributed almost solely to his training bouts with Saber. She was a relentless teacher, but not unkind. Though Pyrrha had built up his basics splendidly, Saber drilled tactics and strategy into his head in addition to advanced techniques. Jaune had to admit, sometimes it was a but much to take in all at once, but he tried his best.

Professor Goodwitch hadn't called him up for a bout recently, and he found himself excited at the prospect of seeing tangible results. Once he could empirically prove his growth, Jaune planned on asking Archer for some training lessons. It wouldn't feel right asking for his help before a victory. Almost like it was a test Jaune had to pass.

Thinking of Archer reminded him that the enigmatic Servant had promised him some upgrades to Crocea Mors and his armor tonight. With the past few days being as quiet as they were, Archer said that this would be the best time to do it. Jaune needed something to lift his mood after feeling purposeless for so long, and these changes to his equipment were just the thing.

"You know, I never took you for the silent, brooding type, but you've been stuck there with that introspective look on your face for almost ten minutes." The sudden voice broke Jaune out of his stupor, and he looked around to see who had spoken. "Up here."

Jaune looked up and saw Blake lounging on a low-hanging tree limb with an open book in her hands. One leg rested on the branch while the other dangled lazily off the side.

"I'm almost not surprised to see you up there," Jaune said with hint of mirth. She rolled her golden eyes, but Jaune saw a small twitch on the corner of her lips. "So what's up? Besides you, of course."

"Wow, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that horrible joke. Unlike you, I like to read while I brood, and this happens to be one of my favorite spots to do so." She snapped her book shut and swung her other leg down so she sat up straighter.

"Not my fault you can't appreciate good humor. And I was not brooding."

"Oh, really? Could've fooled me." She brushed some stray strands of hair back behind her shoulder.

Jaune shook his head in mock exasperation. "You gonna come down here so we can talk like normal people or am I gonna have to climb up there? Or is it just that you just enjoy looking down on me that much?"

"You think pretty highly of yourself if you think I enjoy looking at you," she said as she raised an eyebrow.

Heat rushed to Jaune's cheeks. "I- That's not- You know what I meant!" Blake's only response was to smile and scoot over, giving enough room on the branch for Jaune to sit. He grumbled incoherently to himself as he clumsily made his way up the tree, almost falling twice.

The branch groaned the slightest bit as he sat with a huff, but it held firm. "You know that's not how I meant it, right Blake?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was just poking fun, Jaune." A sly grin crept across her face. "Besides, I know you only have eyes for Weiss."

Jaune glared at her. "Ha ha, very funny. And if you haven't noticed, that ship has sailed." Jaune averted his gaze. "I just took longer than everyone else to realize that."

He felt Blake's hand on his shoulder. "Well at least you did. Some guys never even get to that part. Maybe now you can work on moving on."

Jaune sighed. "You're right. I've been too distracted recently to worry about it anyway." He realized his mistake as soon as he said it. Blake withdrew her hand and leaned towards him with a concerned look.

"You have? Distracted with what?"

Jaune's brain worked at a mile a minute. What story would sound believable enough? Of all his friends, Blake was among the most observant. If there were any flaws in the logic of his excuse, there was a high probability she would see through it. If he shot his mouth off more, he could blow his cover, but if he took too long to answer, she'd know something was up.

"It's my cousin, Lucina," Jaune started without knowing where he would finish. "She's not, uh, doing so well recently. Her parents are...going through a rough patch. It looks like they're probably gonna split up." He apologized to Saber in his head for throwing her under the bus.

"Oh, Jaune, I'm so sorry." The apology confused him for a second before he realized that Saber's 'parents' were also his 'aunt' and 'uncle'. "Is that why she's staying in Vale right now?"

"Yes," Jaune said, struggling to keep the exciting out of his voice. Blake had somehow managed to line up his story with Saber's reason for being here, which legitimized it all the more. "Her parents didn't want her to see it all go down, since she's so sheltered. I've been trying to ease her into the idea."

"And how are you taking all this?"

"I'm doing alright, I guess. It's hard to process all at once. I just want it all to be over already." It pained Jaune to lie to her, especially when she was giving her sympathy, but it was for the greater good.

"Well, we can always talk if you ever want to." The offer warmed his heart, even given the circumstances. It was strange to think that she most likely wouldn't have done the same a few weeks ago. Their friendship had grown a lot in that time.

At that moment, it felt like he could tell Blake anything, and he knew she wouldn't judge him for it. He had a frightening realization; he wanted to admit something. He opened his mouth, heart hammering, unsure what he was going to confess.

"What are you lovebirds up to?" Jaune's heart skipped a few beats, and he felt Blake twitch in surprise next to him. Below them Yang stood with a wicked grin, hands on her hips.

"N-nothing! I mean, we're not lovebirds!" Jaune winced and turned to Blake. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just-"

"It's fine, Jaune, you don't have to explain. Yang's just being...Yang." With easy grace, Blake slid off the branch and landed softly. "We were just talking. About serious topics, too, before you rudely interrupted."

"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help but get jealous. It looked like lover boy was trying to make a move on my teammate. And no one's allowed to do that but me." Blake rolled her eyes, but she smirked.

"Even if that was the case, your first instinct is to barge in?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow. Jaune, not trusting his agility, clambered down the side of the tree back to solid ground.

Yang pouted. "No! My first instinct was to pummel vomit boy. This was my elegant solution."

"Pummel?" Jaune asked, paling slightly.

"Pummel," Yang said matter-of-factly.

Jaune gulped. "I promise you we weren't doing anything, so that won't be necessary."

"That's boring, though! Let's settle this, right here, right now. Blake, if Jaune and I were drowning, who would you save?"

"You moron's can't even swim?"

"It's a hypothetical question," Yang said in exasperation. "Just answer it. Which would you save?"

"My time and effort." Blake turned and started walking away.

"Blakey!" Yang whined as she followed her. "Answer the question!"

Jaune stood there and watched them leave, wondering what just happened. It was times like this that he was grateful for his own team. Even Nora, with all her quirkiness, was easier to understand than most of the girls from Team RWBY.

Jaune's scroll buzzed. A message from Blake.

I meant what I said. We can always talk later, if you want.

Jaune smiled.

Thanks.

For what wasn't the first time, Jaune wondered how he ended up with such amazing friends. The thought of them determined Jaune all the more to win this Grail War. There was no way he would let some power hungry Master potentially hurt those he cared about. No one but he or Ruby could get that wish, and the only way to do that was to not be useless.

A plan started to form in his mind.

0o0o0o0o0

Caster strut across the warehouse floor. Each step sent a clack echoing throughout the building. It was empty, save for what few thralls he had gathered. His damnable Master had told him to keep the amount of victims to a minimum. He could almost hear her sickeningly sultry voice and her thinly veiled threats.

He understood why, of course, but the very idea of a mere mortal ordering him about made him clench his fist in fury. That sack of flesh and blood was lucky their goals had aligned, albeit temporarily. Even the most antagonistic of Masters and Servants begrudgingly worked together for such their prize.

The Grail.

The thought of it was enough to send shivers of ecstasy down his spine. With it, he could conquer this new world in an instant!

Though it was nothing like his own, there was plenty of humans to be subservient. Even these...Grimm would eventually be brought to heel. All would bow down!

Caster was hit with a fit of manic laughter. He scratched at his head, pointed fingernails clawing through his golden locks, digging into his skin. Blood oozed down the sides of his face as he howled in delight.

The wounds closed almost instantly.

This War was as good as won. His Master, though he loathed to admit it, was powerful in her own right. Even had she been incompetent, he could take any enemy.

After all, it was only a matter of time.

0o0o0o0o0

I feel like this chapter is all over the place, and I didn't really edit it that much since I wanted to just get it out there, but honestly? I recently realized that I shouldn't be waiting for perfection to write/post things. I've been treating each chapter like I'm submitting it to a big publisher, when I really just need to have fun with it and stop worrying about every single grammar/wording/story element being exactly right.

Anyway, I'm sure those of you who are familiar with Fate are thrown for a bit of a loop with a Ruler being here. And we finally get to see a bit of Caster! We've officially seen every Servant in the story, so feel free to go buckwild with who's who theories. (I love it when people guess, if you haven't noticed). Just to give a bit of a hint, we have 3 anime characters (I'm counting Archer one of these), 3 video game characters, 1 comic book character, and 1 book character. Also the title is (as usual) a hint for some identities.

Also, a few people were wondering/complaining about how fast Assassin was taken out. Looking back, I do wish I waited on that a bit. What's done is done, though, and when/if I get to the second route of the story, he'll have more of a role that time around. For those that correctly guessed his identity, he is a younger version, which is my logic as to why Archer was able to pull off what he did.

Once again, no promises on when the next chapter will come, as I want to finish chapter 3 of my other RWBY fic first, but I've been on kind of a roll lately, so who knows. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review if you did!