Fate/Stay Another Night 12

Lancer smirked as he saw the temple mountain only a few feet from him.  "This is going to be..."  Whatever else he was going to say got cut off as he slammed, rather impressively, into a barrier field around the mountain.  Groaning in pain, he let out a whimper as he slid down to the ground.  "What the?"  He shook his head as he sat up.  "What kind of barrier is this?"  Rearing his hand back, he punched it only to yelp as his hand was almost violently thrown back from the field.  "Dammit!"  He cursed before kicking a rock at where the field was, just out of spite.

When the rock went through without a problem, Lancer blinked, the pain in his hand forgotten.  "...Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!"  He sighed and started probing the field for weaknesses.  "A field that keeps out spirits?  Who the hell makes one strong enough to keep out a Servant?"

(---)

Caster sneezed softly and frowned.  "Sasaki..."  Assassin turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.  "Looks like someone's trying to get through the field.  A Servant."

"I see."  Assassin stood up and grabbed his katana before stretching.  "I've been waiting for this moment."  He chuckled as he walked out towards the door.  "BEHOLD!  Today is a good day to die!"

Caster sweat-dropped as she watched him leave.  "Maybe we should limit the time he can be online?"  Caster took one quick look at the computer and grinned.  "EXCELLENT!"  She jumped onto the seat that Sasaki was on and minimized his media viewer so she could use the internet.

When the browser she opened up demanded a password, Caster fell to her knees and let loose a soul-wrenching wail of despair.

(---)

Lancer twitched as the barrier ended...

Right where the steps leading up to the shrine began.  Lancer ascended the stairs while grumbling about what he was going to do to the person who developed this bounded field.  "...Okay, when I find out who makes a barrier like this, I'm going to take Gae Bolg, shine it up really pretty, turn it sideways and shove it straight up..."

"Ah, so you like American Wrestling I take it."  A male voice spoke up and Lancer paused as he looked up and saw a man with a purple kimono walking towards him with a long Japanese sword held to his side.

"You are..?"  Lancer mentally cursed as he couldn't get a real feel of this guy.  "A Samurai?"

The man smirked as he stopped about five steps from Lancer.  "If only...  No, I am Servant Assassin."  Lancer's eyes widened as he heard that.  "You seem to be in shock...  Is it really so surprising to see an Assassin in the war?"

"Typically, yes."  Lancer called up his spear and narrowed his eyes at Assassin.  "Aren't you supposed to wear a mask or something?"

Assassin's eyes widened slightly in confusion.  "Why would I wear a mask?  I don't fight in a tuxedo and I doubt fighting in my underwear is a good idea either."  Lancer sweat-dropped heavily, wondering what Assassin was talking about.  "And since I can't fly, I doubt that a helmet would work, besides, green isn't my color..."

"What ARE you talking about?!"  Lancer demanded him.  "I was told to check this place out and since there's a Servant here..."  He rushed forward as fast as he could, which, given his class's speed, was rather impressive.  Even Saber or Archer couldn't keep up with him when he was rushing at full speed.  There was no way that Assassin could stop him from...

Missing completely as the Servant jumped over his lunge.  'WHAT?!'  Lancer's eyes widened as he turned to look over his shoulder as Assassin pointed his sword down at Lancer's unprotected back.

"To the promised land."  Assassin intoned as he dove straight down at Lancer.  He pulled his sword up at the last second as Lancer used his hand to touch the ground and threw himself to the side.  As his feet touched the ground and he landed in a crouch, Assassin slashed outwards in a perfect circle.  Standing up, he smirked as he looked at Lancer, who had to jump away again at high speeds to avoid getting cut.  "Too slow."  He smirked at the warrior who's back was turned to him.

"Slow?!"  Lancer twitched and spun around to face Assassin.  "Just who do you think..."

"I cut your hair."  Assassin smirked and held up a long rat tail that had Lancer put his hand to the back of his head in shock.  "I probably should have put more effort into cutting you, but I suspect that neither of us are really trying at this moment."

Lancer growled and red energies started to pool around the tip of his spear.  "You...  That's it!  You're dead!"

"Am I now?"  Assassin smirked at him.  "During this time we've been talking, I've already killed you five times."  He blinked and tapped his chin, "wait, no, four."

"What are you..."  Lancer couldn't even finish what he was saying as his arms, legs and chest suddenly erupted, blood flying everywhere.  Screaming in pain, Lancer fell onto his back, twitching and struggling to stand up.

Assassin stood up and turned around, walking back to the temple.  "If you're wondering how I did that, do remember that I am Assassin.  Plus having an extremely long sword that I can cut in multiple directions at once helps out a lot."

When Assassin disappeared at the top of the steps, Lancer let out a grunt of anger and pushed himself backwards to roll down the steps.  "Ki...rei...  You bastard..."  He groaned as his vision started to swim.  Servant or not, suddenly losing about a third of the blood in your body tended to cause bad things to happen.  "What the hell is up with the Servants in this war?"  Lancer wondered as he returned to being Astral.  "Two Archers, one that's more like a Saber, the other who's more like a Lancer, a freaking Caster that can fight as well as a Rider and now an Assassin who can fight like a Saber?  What's next?  Masters that can fight off Berserker?!"

When Lancer got back to the church, he was going to find some booze, eat some meat and find a hot woman to spend the day with.  "Worst job ever!"  He grumbled to himself.

(---)

"Caster!"

"Master Ilya?"  Caster blinked as Ilya frowned at her.  "What's wrong?"

"You went to see my sister, didn't you?!  Why else would you..."  Ilya blinked as Caster shook her head.  "Then what took you so long?"

"While out buying batteries, I met this lovely young man."  Caster began, trying to make sure that Ilya didn't know about Yuuno.  As much as she liked Ilya, she didn't want her master to fight against her previous master's friends.  "We stopped, talked and then went on our way."  Ilya tilted her head in confusion.  "Really, it was nothing more than just talking between the two of us.  I swear."

Ilya sighed heavily and slumped into her chair.  "I just think that..."

"Master," Caster interrupted her as she walked close to Ilya and knelt down to look her small master in the eye, "I told you, your grandfather is wrong.  I won't leave you and if you talk to him, I'm sure that your brother isn't anything like your father."

Ilya let out a huff and turned away, crossing her arms over her chest.  "And what would you know about that?  Why wouldn't dad come back for Ilyasviel and myself?  Why would he just leave us for someone he never met?  It's because we're not real, isn't it?"  Ilya balled her hands into a fist.  "I don't care about the Grail, Caster, but we are, for sure, going to visit Onii-chan and make him tell us why dad left us.  I bet there's someone here who got dad's attention.  Grandfather told me that you can't trust anyone from..."

"Master..."  Caster sighed heavily.  "I really doubt that your brother is your father's illegitimate love child."  Ilya turned to her and glared.  "Maybe your brother was never told about having sisters?"

Caster wished she could have taken that back a moment later when Ilya lost all her anger and just sighed heavily.  "So, I'm not even worth a mention, is that it?"

Caster idly wondered how long these emotions had been building up in Ilya for them to rush out like this.  "I do not know.  If we talked..."

"Why?  So we could see just how cold and heartless he is?"

"Very well..."  Caster nodded at Ilya.  "If your brother is cold and heartless and rejects you, I promise, as your Servant, that I will personally end his life with my hands.  I'll even defeat Saber if I have to."

Ilya's eyes sparkled as she looked at her Servant.  "You mean it?"  Caster nodded and Ilya lunged forward, hugging the silver-haired Servant tightly.  "You are the best Servant ever!"

Caster sighed and wondered if this is really what her master wanted, or even needed.  As she hugged her master back, Caster thought that what Ilya needed, more than anything else, was a real family.  'Then again, it's probably my fault that she's so emotional.  If I didn't talk to her about her problems, she wouldn't be venting everything out like this.'

(---)

Ilyasviel looked out at the city from her position in the Einzbern castle and sighed heavily.  Sure, it had only been a day, but still...  "Berserker!"  She turned to see the Black Giant sticking his head through the door.  It wasn't like he could get through the doors normally, but at least he was nice enough not to smash everything in his wake.  "We're going out tomorrow!"  The giant grunted and pulled his head back out of the room.

Turning back to the city, the dark skinned girl grinned as she imagined her brother and sister, both laying helpless at her feet while Berserker tore their Servants apart.  Nothing else mattered at all.

Kuro closed her eyes and smirked.  "After all, the weak die, isn't that right...  Grandfather?"  She turned to look at the corner of the room.  In a jar, the head of Jubstacheit von Einzbern stared out at her, seeing nothing.  "After all..."  Ilyasviel grinned at the head.  "Didn't you say that we were all expendable?"  An unsettling grin came to her face as she walked over to the jar.  "You wanted to see Berserker's power, didn't you?  It's too bad that he's so...  Protective...  Maybe you shouldn't have tried to throw me out into the snow naked, huh, grandfather?"  She hunched over, started to chuckle before throwing her head back and laughing.  "It's just great!  I'll prove that I'm stronger than anyone else!  And then, I'll show you!  I'll show all of you!  Especially Onii-chan and Ilya...  Yes..."  The dark skinned girl threw herself onto the bed, laughing madly.  "Hahahahahahaha!  Yes!  Then...  Hee hee...  Then I'll...  Ha..."  Tears welled up in her eyes as her laughs slowly changed to sobs.  "Then I'll show...  All...  Of them..."

Outside of the room, Leysritt listened to Ilyasviel break down and sighed heavily.  "Ilyasviel-sama..."  She muttered sadly and wished that things had gone differently back in Germany.

Her only hope was that this war could somehow bring ease to her young master's soul.