I do not own Fate/Zero nor any other Servants depicted here.

Summoning is Complete

Kotomine Kirei was a troubled man. All his life he was plagued with a warped mind; he only understood and reveled in the misfortune of others. He was distraught by it, having been raised a devout man. He was a man of many talents, yet none satisfied him. There was a time where he thought he could change himself through marriage; he married once, to a woman he loved and had a child. Yet he had felt no joy, no change, and no happiness. Further down the line, he confessed to his wife all his troubles, all his worries, and his perceived shortcomings. For some unknown reason, the wife decided to kill herself. The note found on her body, addressing her husband, was that she hoped her death could prove he could feel compassion for others. Yet, he did not feel that way. He instead felt sad; sad that he could not kill her himself. It horrified him. Immediately, he sent his child, his daughter, away to live with relatives. He feared himself and what he might do if she remained with him.

Yes, he was a troubled man, which begs the question. Why was he chosen to be a participant in this Grail War? He did not desire it, he did not want to possess it, nor did he covet it so. Why was he chosen by it? The repetitive nature of these questions was in the background of his mind as he completed the summoning of his Servant. He had been under the instruction of Tohsaka Tokiomi for three years now as a matter of getting himself up to speed with the ways of a magus. As instructed, he made a show of breaking his ties to him while still working together with him in secret. Right now, he was using the fragments of the mask of Hassan-i-Sabbah, the 'Old Man of the Mountain' and leader of the Hashshashin, as his catalyst.

As the smoke cleared, he was confused. In the center of the circle stood a slim and muscular man, wearing a form-fitting black ensemble; black turtle neck, black belt, black pants, black knee-high boots that were strapped at the ends, and black detached sleeves which ended looped around the middle finger.. He did not have any visible weapons on him. The things that seemed out of place were the long blond hair and the red blindfold that was held to his head by a black strap. The Servant looked like a foreigner to him, a blind one at that. How could such a person be called as an Assassin? The Servant looked as if he was looking straight at him and it slightly unnerved Kirei.

The Servant bowed and said, "This question I ask, are you my Master?"

He paused a moment before answering with, "Yes."

"Very well, I am Servant Assassin of this War," intoned the Servant flatly, "What would you have me do?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi was taken aback by the summoning. When Kirei told him about the unusual Assassin he summoned, he did not think much about it, chalking it up to being an unknown facet of the lesser known Hashshashin leaders. Plus, they had to modify their plan slightly, because while the Servant's body might not be able to survive a barrage of projectiles, he was able to manipulate shadows at such a high degree that they could be used offensively and defensively. All Tokiomi had to do now was to summon Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, using the fossilized skin of the first snake as catalyst. Yet, once again, the Grail had given an unusual hero. An extreme opposite of what he wanted.

Instead of the King of Uruk, he summoned a girl. She had green eyes, and blond hair that was covered by a blue balmoral cap. She wore a blue cloak, long black socks and blue military boots.

She knelt down and said softly, "I have been designated as Servant Archer of this war. I ask of you… Are you my Master?"

"Yes, I suppose I am," he answered warily. He began to wonder if he really did summon Archer or did the Grail give him a different Servant by accident.

"Contract has been completed," she stated as she rose up, "What are your orders, Master?"

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi frowned. Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, his fiancé, was somewhat surprised. The man was sure he performed the summoning ritual correctly, using the remnants of the mystical swords Moralltach and Beagalltach as catalysts, after having his original catalyst stolen. Originally intending to get Alexander the Great from the cape remnant, his current catalysts were supposed to have summoned Diarmuid Ua Dauibhne, or Diarmuid of the Love Spot. Yet, what he summoned looked nothing like Diarmuid.

The Servant wore full body armor of light blue and white, the surface of the armor looking like scales. He had on his head a winged helm that held his long blond hair back, save a single braid that spilled over the side of his handsome face. Small, draconic wings adorned the back of his pauldrons and from his back a ragged blue cloak. In his left hand, he held his lance, as long and as tall as he was. The shaft was blood red and the spear point a bronzed color with two smaller prongs extending from where the base of the spearhead meets the shaft.

The Servant slowly opened his eyes, revealing his calm black eyes. His eyes darted between the man and woman before him. Taking time to kneel down, he bowed his head and asked, "Which one of you is my Master?"

"Hmph, he may not be Diarmuid, but at least he knows how to show respect," muttered Kayneth, none too loudly, before announcing, "I am your Master." Motioning to Sola-Ui, he continued, "This is my fiancé, Sola-Ui. She will be supplying the additional prana required by you in this War." Said person looked somewhat drawn to Lancer's impressive looks, blushing slightly at her mention.

"Very well, Master and Mistress," replied Lancer as he got back to his feet, "Thus the contract is complete. Do you have any standing orders?"

Somehow, this brought a very small, very slight smirk to the nobleman's face. "At least he knows his station," he thought to himself.

Matou Kariya felt quite confused when he completed the summoning. When he first found out that Sakura was given away to his family, of all things, he was horrified. The feeling worsened when that damned vampire Matou Zouken informed him that her 'training' had already begun a few weeks earlier, it took everything he had not to attack the old man; powerful or not, the bastard went too far. So he offered himself to represent the family in the Grail War, withstanding the pain and agony of the Crest Worm implantation, all to save Sakura from that wretched man. Then, when his so called 'father' gave him a rusted piece of metal for a catalyst and ordered him to add two more lines to the summoning mantra, he complied. However, instead of a Berserker with medieval styled armor, as the catalyst seemed to imply, he got something else.

That something else was clad in a huge metal diving suit. The face port of the suit, it glowed a steady yellow, the face of the Servant inside unseen. What stood out was the huge drill that seemed to be attached to its right hand. Slowly, it looked upward and let out a faint, baleful howl.

"Berserker, I am your Master," rasped out Kariya before lapsing into a coughing fit.

"Mmm, not what I had in mind, but I suppose this Berserker would do," stated Zouken, somewhat amused at the turn of events, "Just remember to win the Grail for me, Kariya, and you can have Sakura-chan. Even so, I would not put much stock in a failure such as you."

The weakened man gritted his teeth as he watched the damned vampire took leave of them. Turning his gaze to his new Servant, he wheezed out, "Come, I don't want to stay here any more than I have to."

After Waver Velvet stole the piece of cloth that was his lecturer Kayneth's catalyst and finding out about the Holy Grail War, he immediately chartered a trip to Japan and began his preparations. He could not believe what he stumbled on; a war where only strength and skill mattered. Not nobility. Not lineage. Not fancy titles. A contest determined by pure power and skill of a magus. He was looked down upon at the Clock Tower just by being who he was… looking down on his beliefs. Beliefs that say anyone could be just as great as the higher ranked families as long as they just apply themselves through effort, experience, and knowledge. Everyone there looked down upon it, especially his lecturer Kayneth Archibald. Winning this war would prove once and for all that his beliefs were correct... that they were justified and he deserved recognition for his revolutionary idea.

When he woke up one day to find the Command Seals ingrained on his right hand, he was ecstatic. The Holy Grail itself recognized his strength and pronounced him worthy of entering. That night itself, he used blood collected from the roosters he stole to draw out the summoning array. After chanting the mantra, it glowed and copious amounts of smoke began billowing about. The suddenness made him fall over backwards; it excited him and he eagerly awaited the Servant's arrival. He was not left wanting.

The Servant was extremely tall and clad in a rich, green robe. He wore a green helmet which framed his rather fierce, red face. He also had a lush, well kept beard which reached well below his chest. From where he was, Waver also noticed leather shin guards and thick-soled black boots. The intimidating part was the Servant's weapon. It reminded him of a sort of halberd. A halberd that had a metal butt end and blade that seemed to shine a strange, green light. Or maybe that was just the smoke and lights. But, there was definitely an engraving of a dragon on the blade itself.

"Hmm," the servant mused, "It seems my Master is somewhat short of stature, if you are really my Master."

"What? Yes!" squeaked out the young man, suddenly knocked out of his surprise, "Y-yes, I-I-I am you-your Master, Waver Velvet."

"And so that completes our contract," declared the Servant, "I am Servant Rider of this War." Looking round, he continued to ask, "This one has a request o' Master. Where is the library?"

"Huh?" was the only thing Waver could muster.

"Library, Master. Surely you know what a library is?" repeated the Servant, looking down on the young man, "And please get up from the ground. One must at least know how to conduct oneself."

"Ah, of course," he exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment as he got up, "I'll show you where the library is."

Waver, having already gotten a good grasp of most of the locations in the city, brought Rider to the local library. Satisfied, Rider immediately changed to spirit form and went inside. While waiting, he mulled over what he should be doing. He felt somewhat embarrassed by his poor showing earlier and was wondering if Rider had looked down upon him because of it.

"I have to exert control. Even if both Master and Servant wish for the Grail, the Master's position is because of the Command Seals. I have to prove I am in control," he resolved thoughtfully. Then, his Servant rematerialized next to him.

"It is quite a pity, Master," Rider started, slightly wistful, "The books I wanted were not there. Still, all is not lost. I've seen a few which had historical accounts so it should not be so bad." Patting the young man on the back, he continued, "Come Master, let us return to your abode. On the way back, you can show me the changes your city has gone through."

Waver sighed; he wasn't able to speak up again. There was something about this Servant... maybe that red face. It seemed to make him look rather fierce. Wordlessly, he trudged back towards the Mackenzie's house. However, reaching the bridge that connected both sides of the town, Rider came out of spirit form and said, "Hmm, your city certainly has changed a lot, Master. I was skeptical of the information given, but now I see. This 'modern world' is quite impressive."

"Rider, what were you trying to find in the library?" asked the young man after a moments pause, "And why were you interested in historical accounts?"

"Hmm," rumbled the Servant as he slowly stroked his grand beard. Finally he replied, "I looked for two books; the Book of Changes and the Spring and Autumn Annals. I favored those two books greatly, since I grew up with books. Every waking chance I get, when not fighting or training, I shall read them. By educating myself, I had hoped to educate others and maybe eventually, the next generation. The historical accounts... I want to find out what happened to my blood brothers after I died."

Then, staring intently at his Master, Rider asked, "Well, it is my turn to ask a question; What will you do with your wish?" Presented with a confused face, he pressed, "Your wish, Master. The Holy Grail grants you a wish too, does it not?"

"Ah, well... my wish?" repeated Waver, not seeing as to how it mattered to the Servant, "I wish... to change the minds of those in charge of the Clock Tower to recognize my talents..."

Before he could finish, Rider immediately started laughing. "You are still young, o' Master. There would be plenty of time for you to prove yourself!" declared red skinned man after much laughter, "Why would you use your wish to take short cuts? Work hard, be confident, and do not stray from the correct path! That! Is how you prove yourself! It matters not the goal, but the steps you take to get there!"

The young Master glared at his Servant while he was laughing. "First my teacher, then my peers, now even my Servant is laughing at me?" he thought angrily at first. His Command Seals started glowing, displaying his intent. Then, when Rider explained himself, Waver's intent on using the Seals faltered. "He actually says I can do it? Does he really believe in me?" The glow faded off as he rethought his actions, "If I used the Command Seals recklessly, then I wouldn't be able to control him..."

Rider gave his Master a warm smile. "It takes a brave man to realize his errors," he stated as he casually stroked his beard, "When you learn from your mistakes, you become wiser. I can definitely foresee you becoming a man of wisdom, young Master."

Those words lightened the young man's heart a bit. "Rider, what about you?" he asked, "What is your wish?"

"My wish?" repeated the large man as he looked to the stars, "I wish to go back to my time and assist my brothers to reunite the lands and restore the Hans! More importantly, I go back to honor the oath me and my brothers made in the peach garden. That we will live and die together as brothers."

Waver looked at him in amazement before saying, "I guess that's a good wish... as long as we get the Grail. We still need to plan for the other Servants and Masters..."

"That we do indeed," affirmed Rider, putting his hand on his Master's shoulder, "Come now, Master. Let us return to your dwelling and make battle plans."

"Fill, fill, fill, fill... repeat four times... or was it five times?" Uryuu Ryuunosuke asked himself in confusion, trying to remember what the book said. He knew he was supposed to say those words while he drew the pictured circle and all that. He stopped drawing with his feet for a moment to review the book again, its pages worn and almost tearing. "Destroy each when filled..." he muttered as he read the words out loud while counting with his fingers, "Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.. yes! Exactly five times!" Then, he looked up to the television; it was still on and the news was being read. The newsreader was now reporting a series of home invasions that ended up into the whole family being murdered in cold blood. The man grinned at the report; those were good times. Of course, when he stumbled upon that book in his storehouse, it interested him. Supposedly you were able to summon demons with the circle and chanting some stuff. So the following murders after that discovery was him trying his hand at drawing out the circle and do the chanting. So far, no luck in getting any sort of demon. Then again, maybe he had a little too much fun. Still...

Pausing to turn off the television, he looked over to his side at the whimpering kid, all tied up like a pig ready for slaughter. The terrified expression made him smile. "Do you think demons exist, kiddo?" Ryuunosuke asked as he walked up to the bound child, "The news keeps calling me a demon, but I think that would be a little rude if demons really did exist, right?" He suddenly squatted down, scaring the kid even more with his greeting, "Sup! I am Uryuu Ryuunosuke and I am a demon! Then again, I dunno if I should go around introducing myself like that." He then waved the book over the kid's head and continued, "You know, I found this when I was digging around in my storehouse! Seems like my parents were trying to summon demons or something. So, I really like to know if demons exist or not." He then pat the kids head and ended his monologue with, "So kid, if I do get a demon to come here, do you mind if we let it kill you?"

He started laughing with glee as the kid let out a muffled shriek and started thrashing around in an attempt to get free. "I wonder what it's like to get killed by a demon," he speculated as he pulled a chair over and sat down, "I bet it would be so coo- ow!" He yelped as a blood red tattoo started burning itself on his right hand. Then, the circle began to glow and smoke started wafting about. Then, the coolest thing happened.

A seven foot... eight foot... tall metal giant stepped forth. It was a deep dark blue color with some sort of long skirting with the same color. It had a cool looking, laughing skull with some weirdly placed horns at the place where a belt should be. It had something like a golden two-headed eagle on the right shoulder and some sort of monster with many heads on the left shoulder... a green colored one. Two metal snake-like things with glowing red mouths rose over the shoulders, one on each side. It's head was really huge, with red glowing eyes and squarish horns which were barely scraping the ceiling. And the staff! It was all spiky with two pretty sharp blades on top. Overall, this metal demon looked really cool!

Slowly, it turned its head from side to side, as if to look around the room. "So this is what passes for a hab block in the past. Surely there is more to Ancient Terra than this," it was heard muttering, the voice sounding quite human. Ryuunosuke gaped while its gaze took in everything from the room; the two dead bodies, the terrified and wriggling kid on the floor, and finally, the serial killer with blood on his feet.

"So, it is true. It seems my Lord has made a very interesting bargain with that... thing. Tell me of yourself, young summoner," it requested in mild curiosity.

"Ah, well... I am Uryuu Ryuunosuke... I'm unemployed and I like killing people, especially kids and young women," he slowly introduced himself, still not knowing what to make of this.

It stared at him for a moment before muttering, "Ah, so you are a blood cultist. While I dislike working with those blood-crazed fools, if it is the will of Tzeentch..." It then announced, "Thus the contract is complete. I am supposed to be Servant Caster of this... Holy Grail War..." The last few words sounded very derisive.

The young man scratched his head sheepishly as he repeated, "Holy what?" Suddenly remembering he still had his 'offering' with him, he then asked while motioning to his tied up victim, "Hey, you wanna kill this kid?"

It looked down on the extremely scared kid. Slowly, he walked forward, the boots thudding loudly against the floor. He knelt down in front of the trembling, teary eyed boy, who was still trying to wriggle out of his bonds. It leaned its staff against the wall. A hand outstretched, the bucket full of the blood that was drained from the boy's guardians slowly levitated over. Dipping a metal finger into the viscous liquid while his free hand was laid on the kids head, it started drawing a sign made of blood on the kid's now mysteriously paralyzed head. The finished sign glowed and disappeared into the kids skin. It then stood up, the kid not freely thrashing around once more.

"Thus is the will of Chaos," it announced as it held up its inscribing hand, which suddenly a ball of chaotic energies swirled and formed, "You soul will serve a greater purpose, to fuel the great Changer of Ways. Rejoice, for your fate is sealed."

Letting the ball drop, Ryuunosuke's eyes widened in amazement. It dropped on the kid's throat, instantly melting through it and slowly covering the body; continuously melting it until it became a puddle of unknown origins. The horrific liquid spread and lapped around the metal demon's boots.

"That... was... AWESOME!" he exclaimed, prompting the metal being to turn around in surprise. The serial killer ran up and grabbed the huge metal hand, excitedly saying, "That was so freaking cool! I don't really care about this Grail War thing, but I'll follow you from now on! Show me cooler and cooler ways to kill people!"

The metal demon stared at him for a while before saying, "It is not a blood cultist. It is a pleasure cultist. It seems my Lord has developed a sense of humor..."

Commenting:

Here I go again. Once more, I delve into something out of my depth and this is the result. Thanks to the wonderful inspiration brought on by The Infamous Man, I've finally acted upon the plot bunny and wrote this out. It is official. I must say though, this would not be that frequently updated since I do have a prior engagement beforehand. But rest assured, I will do my best to bring out the regular, creepy and weird stuff for your reading pleasure... as soon as I can complete NIMA. Enjoy.