Wrote this a year ago and had it posted on DLP and Spacebattles, found it recently, worked over it a bit and found the enthusiasm to write this again, so, thought to post it here as well.
Can't promise regular updates, although the second chapter should be ready soon, since that one was mostly done already, needs a bit of work though.
Fanfiction.net link
A big thanks to Payce D. Elui, Kyurin and Lecos for their help with grammar, spelling and the writing process in general.
So, enjoy.
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Arturia Pendragon, King of the Britons, did not enjoy being summoned. She was hurled from the resting place where she had waited for centuries, pierced through the veil of reality, and manifested into the boundaries of a summoning circle. Even feeling her numerous lethal wounds closing in a speed that surpassed the tremendous healing powers of Avalon felt unsettling. It was a very peculiar experience.
However, it was another chance. It also meant that she was, once again, a Servant.
That was fine; she was already resigned to this fate and she would not give up as long as she had another chance.
After all, she had sought the Holy Grail while she had walked this earth; she would not stop to do so simply because she had ceased to live.
As the light of the summoning faded and she opened her eyes, she saw a dark haired young man sitting in front of her, panting and clutching his bleeding left arm, regarding her with a shocked face. It didn't seem to be a particularly deep wound, from what Arturia could see, but she knew from experience that it hurt. Especially if one took into account all the other injuries and bruises that he had all over his body.
If this was her Master, Arturia hoped he would be better than the last one, or at the very least, similarly competent. For all his flaws, she could not deny that Kiritsugi had been effective and she would once again swallow her pride and her moral code if it meant winning the war for the relict known as the Holy Grail.
Before she was a woman, she was a knight. And before she was a knight, she was a king.
A failure of a king, maybe, but a king, nonetheless.
She stared intensely at the young man in front of her, who was now glaring back. He attempted to stand up and unsheathed the sword he had on his side.
Apparently he didn't like whom he had summoned.
Saber wasn't surprised; it wouldn't be the first time she had utterly disappointed the expectations of her summoner. Nor did she suspect that this would be the last.
Before he could say anything, she locked her deep green eyes on his, noting that they were strangely red, and spoke forcefully, her voice reaching every corner of the room.
It was a voice that demanded attention and obedience, for it was the voice of the king.
"Upon your summoning, I have come forth. I ask of thee, are you my Master?"
The young man had obviously not expected this particular question. His strange eyes had started spinning. They seemed to analyze her, the pupils scanning her from head to toe.
Was he a demon or simply a fallen magus? Arturia didn't care. After allying herself with a mass-murdering assassin, allying herself with a maleficar wouldn't be that much more demeaning.
It certainly wouldn't be the worst thing I have ever done.
"What are you?" asked the young man in front of her. His voice, despite his injuries, was even, and did not betray the pain he had to be experiencing, nor did it convey his emotions.
Impressive, at the very least he is in control of himself.
"I am the Servant Saber, summoned to be my Masters' sword and shield in this Holy Grail War and bring them victory. I ask of you once more, are you my Master?"
His body language was tense and he was apparently prepared to jump away at the slightest notice.
"I am the one that summoned you," he admitted through clenched teeth, his eyes leaving hers for a second to check the door. "But I intended to summon something else."
"Regardless of your intention, Master, you have me now." She glanced at the young man's exposed and bloody arms and was disappointed to see the Command Seals. She had hoped that with an unintentional summon, the Command Seals would have been missing.
Cooperation was one thing, forceful servitude was another.
Even a failed king like her didn't like taking orders. Bending her knee to whoever was lucky enough to have summoned her galled her more than she would ever like to admit. But if the price to save her kingdom was merely her pride, her convictions and self-respect, Saber would gladly pay it.
It was all she had left to give.
She pointed at his arm. "The Command Seals are proof."
The young man looked, only to discover the three seals and scowled. Before he could comment further, however, he froze.
"Shit," he cursed, and turned around. "I don't know who or what you are, but right now, I'm in a fight and don't have the time to deal with you." He glanced once more at her. "If you want to live, girl, you should run away. If nothing else, he is dangerous."
Saber didn't say anything. She may not like it, but this impudent boy was her Master. In addition, she couldn't feel any prana from him, which was unusual. Even injured and exhausted as he obviously was, there should have been a small amount flowing towards her. Nonetheless, she felt a connection to the Command Seals and him, which was proof enough. And since she was freshly summoned, she was at full strength, so the mysterious lack of prana was a problem that could be addressed later.
Right now, it seemed that her Master was in a fight and needed her assistance. Naturally, she would defeat and slay his enemy.
Such was her pride as a knight. Such was her duty as a Servant.
She formed her sword in her hand, still invisible to hide the blade's true identity. For Servants in a Holy Grail War, there were few things more important than their true names. For their name would reveal their techniques and tactics. Once a Servants' name was revealed, it allowed the enemy to figure out how to fight them best, since their strengths and weaknesses were well known. The way each and every one of the numerous heroes had fallen, was well recorded in history.
That was especially true for particularly famous and well known heroic spirits such as herself. Saber didn't care much for boasting, but it was true that there were few legends more famous than that of King Arthur, and even fewer weapons more recognizable than Excalibur.
The invisibility of her sword had other additional advantages of course. Next to concealing her identity, it was a lot harder to block and battle a weapon whose length you couldn't effectively gauge.
It was efficient and it was definitely smart.
It was a way of fighting she inherently despised.
A fight without putting her name on the line was not a true fight. Not an honourable duel, but rather warfare.
That was another price she had to pay to be a Servant, but she would never complain. Out loud, that is.
With that, Saber was ready for battle; her invisible sword was firmly in both hands, ready to strike at the person that she felt would come through the door at any second. Her Master, too, had tensed, even earlier than she had.
It didn't surprise her. As Saber, her ability to sense an enemy was significantly lower than that of any other class. For now though, that didn't matter.
She made up for that plenty in other areas.
The door exploded and a white blur passed through it. Her Master was just about to jump to engage it, but Saber had already dashed forward with a Prana Burst, passing her injured Master and striking the figure across the torso. The attack sent it flying backwards and she landed smoothly in front of her Master, feeling his astonished gaze drilling on her back.
She didn't smile. This was not the time for such petty thoughts.
Instead, she focused all her attention on the enemy in front of her. She had been in too many battles to believe that this fight was already over, not when she felt its presence just as clearly as she had done before. It was a twisted and corrupted one. Whether it was a Servant or a Master she could not tell, but right now, she didn't particularly care.
Whatever it was, it had injured her Master and was now still trying to inflict even more harm upon him. That just wouldn't do. Having failed to protect her Master a few minutes after being summoned would be nothing but a humiliating disgrace and a monumental failure of her duty.
The figure had stood up, clutching his bleeding chest. This was the first time Saber could see the person with clarity. It was a tall man with an unnaturally pale face. His long, black hair fell behind his shoulders, revealing odd earrings, and torn brown clothing hung from his lithe body. His yellow eyes were disgruntling, but what struck her most, was his tongue. It was too long to be natural and longer than she'd seen on a human in her life.
"Now, who is your friend, Sasuke-kun? I didn't know you had brought a girl here. Such a pretty little thing, too."
He spoke in a fashion that made her tense. His voice was smooth, too smooth to be normal, and it made her hair stand up. It crawled over her skin in a very unpleasant manner.
Saber was disgusted to be even in the same room as him.
However, nothing she had experienced so far, had prepared her for what came next. The man looked up and opened his mouth widely, wider than it should have been possible for a human.
Two white, pale hands came from his mouth, pushing his upper and lower jar apart until it was wide enough for a cart's wheel to fit through, and he peeled his skin off, revealing his own head squeezing out of his own mouth, but healed from all injuries. It was like an unnatural reverse birth. He then stepped out of his…skin, casually kicking it aside, covered in a yellowish-green slime from head to toe. Most disturbingly, he still had his twisted smile on his face.
Saber had never been as repulsed as she was now and her face contorted in anger, her eyes narrowing and her teeth clenching.
"What kind of abomination are you, demon?" she hissed.
The enemy, however, simply looked at her, his amusement obvious, and chuckled.
"That is an interesting sword you have there, child. I wonder how it stays invisible. It seems to be some kind of wind technique, no? Now, I wonder, is your sword invisible by itself or is that your doing?"
His grin widened and he licked his lips. "I have never seen such a thing and I would have never thought to do so myself. What a brilliant idea, to cloak your sword with wind and hide its length and form. Just for showing me something fun like that, I will let you live and forgive you for attacking me."
His eyes left her for a second to focus on her Master, who was still standing beside her, apparently unsure what to do, before returning back to her.
"You are free to live, if you withdraw now, my dear girl. I will be busy with Sasuke-kun here. Someone like you, deserves her own time and should not be rushed, especially on such a short notice. Do not worry, he will be in the best hands."
"Unacceptable!" spat Saber, "I will not allow trash like you to lay another hand on my Master. Your twisted life ends here at my sword."
Not willing to talk to that thing anymore, Saber hurled herself at him.
Her enemy reacted almost instantly and jumped back, opening his mouth, and since Saber had come to expect the worst whenever that happened, she wasn't even surprised when he let a snake shoot out, which flew towards her with great speed.
She brought her sword up and sliced through the serpent several times and swung her blade against her opponents' torso again, who, this time, managed to dodge by twisting his body in a way that would have been impossible for her.
So she pressed on, but her opponent was hard to hit. He possessed great speed and agility and was able to step out of range again and again. After a few seconds, his hands formed several weird signs in succession and dozens of snakes, thin and brown, shot out of his sleeves and mouth and promptly surrounded her.
Excalibur soared as it once again cut all of the snakes in the blink of an eye, while she whirled her blade around her body, her eyes never leaving the repulsive abomination in front of her. To her chagrin, he was still looking as if he was having the time of his life.
Before Saber could thrust forward again, her enemy kicked her in the chest. She reacted and tried to jump backwards to lessen the impact of his strike, but it was still strong enough to force her a few feet away from him. It didn't particularly hurt, since the armour that covered her body absorbed most of the impact, but it still rattled her a bit and she could feel a bruise forming.
The pale man opened his mouth again, this time letting a surprisingly big snake come out, which, in turn, also opened its mouth, spitting out a double-edged sword with a black hilt that was adorned by a green emerald. The man took the weapon in one hand and smiled.
Saber's expression darkened even further. She didn't like the thought of sullying Excalibur by crossing blades with a sword that had spent an inappropriate amount of time in a man's snake stomach.
The man chuckled at her expression. She hadn't tried to hide her feelings. "It has been quite some time since I had as much fun as I had today. Really, first Sasuke-kun is showing me all those peculiar little tricks that he had kept a secret and now I see a little girl with a very fascinating sword which she is also able to wield proficiently."
It was true that she wasn't very tall - she was the smallest in the room and even her Master, a young man not yet in adulthood, was taller, - but the man was practically towering her. She also didn't look particularly intimidating, being a relatively short, blond haired woman who was eternally frozen to look as if she were fifteen. Her muscled body was hidden under her clothes and armour but she doubted it would have particularly impressed anyone. However, what she lacked in physical feats, she more than made up for in presence.
There were few people with a stronger presence than hers, and it was usually enough to make people forget they were facing a five foot tall girl with a delicate face and believe they were standing in the presence of their absolute king.
Thus, height had never intimidated her and neither did those demented snake techniques that her opponent used.
"It has been some time for me, as well, since I last saw someone who disgusted me this much." That had been Caster and what he had done to all those children.
The man pointed his sword at her, his cold smile widening even further.
"Entertain me more, little girl," he demanded and his sword extended.
Saber felt there was an inappropriate metaphor hidden somewhere.
Forgive me, my Lady, for I have to stain your gift once more with tainted blood such as his.
She brought her weapon up, deflected the incoming stab and sprinted forward, eyes fixated on her enemy. When she brought Excalibur down with a devastating blow, he managed to block it with his blade.
Apparently it retracted faster than it extended. Again, Saber felt that there was a joke in there.
She went once more on the offensive, this time with a flurry of slashes, thrusts and stabs over and over again, only to find her every strike to be blocked.
Saber learned three things during this clash; One, her opponent had not much skill in swordsmanship. Two, he more than made up for it with pure strength and speed, and three, she was faster and stronger, still.
That last insight came a bit as a surprise to her but then again, it was more than obvious by now that he wasn't a Servant. It was actually very impressive that he could keep up with her as he did.
No matter how depraved or sick this abomination in front of her was, he had the skills to become a heroic spirit someday. And she would bet Avalon that someone who possessed such a twisted presence, had a reputation to match, too.
One might think the heroic aspect would matter a bit more, but Caster had qualified, and there had been nothing particularly heroic about him either.
Saber knew she had the advantage and pressed harder, using more prana now. Her blows were getting faster and heavier, her strikes were coming from different angles, her steps were getting sharper and second by second, blow by blow, the disgusting smile on her enemy's face was getting smaller, slipping slowly into a concerned frown.
She remembered what he had done last time to get enough space to even the odds between them, so Saber stepped to the left, parried his strike from below and used the opening he gave to connect with a powerful kick of her own.
Her enemy crashed through the wall. Saber used that moment to look at her Master, who was still standing in the same position and watching her every move intensely. Saber was pleased to see that he had taken advantage of the break and had tended to his most critical wounds. Seeing that there was no medical equipment lying around, it seemed most likely to her that he had used some sort of magecraft.
A Master who could heal suited her better than anything else, for it was her one big disadvantage since she lost possession of Avalon.
A Master who did not try to join her in a fight was an even better one. She knew young men didn't like being defended by anyone, much less females and it made her glad that he had not tried to participate.
She was uncertain though, whether to tell him to run away or remain there. Both had their advantages. However, since they were in a hostile and completely unknown territory and since she lacked knowledge on the amount of potential enemies lurking around, it would be overall safer to have him in her line of sight.
If worst came to worst, she could at least grab him and flee. The survival of her Master was more important than any pyrrhic victory here.
Her Master's presence also disabled her from using her Noble Phantasm recklessly, but that was not something she liked to resort to if she couldn't help it, anyway. Besides, for all his unusual skill, her pale, unnerving enemy hadn't seemed like someone against whom she would need her most powerful attack. Seeing that she still hadn't received any prana from her Master, using it would mean being nearly defenceless against the next enemy, since it consumed most of her energy.
Not to mention that it was completely impractical to bring into play in close combat against such a fast enemy in the first place.
She shifted her eyes back to the hole in the wall as her enemy climbed through it, looking no worse for wear even though she had kicked him with enough force to tear through iron.
He chuckled again with that irritating laugh of his.
"So the little girl knows how to use her magnificent weapon, after all. That is most pleasing." He strode towards her; his complete attention was focused on Saber now.
"I admit, it has been a very long time since I have been challenged to a sword fight like this. No doubt, you have noticed that I am not particularly used to it, although, I would like to think that I can hold my own, for an amateur."
"Your skills are acceptable," started Saber, her eyes still cold, pointing her invisible weapon at her enemy. "However, they are not worthy of the sword you use."
Indeed, they weren't. Excalibur was among the sharpest of swords and among the most durable. Not to mention a Noble Phantasm. To exchange so many heavy blows with it without breaking or even receiving any damage meant that his sword was of similar calibre. Adding the extension abilities and she had no doubt that it was some sort of legendary weapon, a weapon that this dog was demeaning by using.
"What is the name of the sword you are defiling, monster?" asked Saber sharply. Her enemy laughed again, not the slightest bit intimidated.
"You would rather ask the name of my sword rather than mine? How rude. Is that how you were raised, little girl? Wanting names, without giving your own? I am much more interested in your name and that of your weapon. It must be an excellent one, if mine couldn't cut through it."
"My name and the name of my sword are both something that I refuse to give to someone like you, for it would mean I am elevating you more than you deserve. And if you are not willing to tell me the sword's true name, then I will find out after I have put you down. However, do not let it be said that I lack courtesy; you may address me as Saber, for that is the purpose for which I exist and for that is the very reason that I will strike you down."
Her green eyes narrowed. "So tell me, wretched abomination, the name of your sword. I demand it!"
"Very well," drawled the pale man, "I suppose you do deserve a reward for entertaining me so much. This is the sword of Kusanagi, one of the three treasures given by the gods. Or so the legend goes. Of course it's more likely that some particularly talented swords smith created it but what would we be without our legends?"
"So you sully a sword of the gods." Her heavy gauntlets tightened around the grip of her sword. "Such impudence shall not be forgiven!"
"Come at me, Saber. Attack me with all your strength! Banish the boredom that has plagued me for a while. It has been too long since I had last faced such an intriguing person. I, Orochimaru, will make it worth it."
Orochimaru, the name tasted foul in her mouth. She refused to share the same battlefield with him any longer.
With a huge Prana Burst, Saber closed the distance once again and attacked with a vertical slash. The power of this strike was great enough to knock Kusanagi out of Orochimaru's hands, much to his surprise, and with a second, even faster slash, Saber cut neatly through his body, separating it into two parts.
To her disgust, numerous snakes erupted from both body halves and connected with each other again, as he jumped backwards. Not willing to give ground, Saber sprinted to where Kusanagi had fallen and took place in front of it to prevent her enemy from recovering his weapon.
Meanwhile, he had healed and was looking at her with a strange smile. "Glorious," he praised.
This was becoming ridiculous; she had never encountered an enemy who could regenerate this much before.
"Behind you!" her Master warned. She spun around and deflected the incoming Kusanagi sword as she felt it piercing her armour and cut into her flesh. It was levitating on its own.
What a vexing ability! It seemed the weapon was as troublesome as its wielder.
The sword had pierced through her armour, but thanks to her fast reaction, it had only injured her shoulder. She then smacked it away, only to immediately cut the two snakes that Orochimaru had shot from his sleeves at her back.
With another Prana Burst, she tried to close the distance again but this time, after flashing through several hand signs again, a wall of snakes erupted from Orochimaru's mouth.
Hundreds of serpents, coiling and hissing, advanced on her like a wave. Some of them were even brandishing tiny swords out of their mouths.
"Invisible Air!" Saber shouted, and the wind around her sword flared as she released her secondary Noble Phantasm Invisible Air: Bounded Field of the Wind King. The layers of wind that had coated her sword and had hidden its presence from prying eyes stopped protecting it and attacked, blasting all incoming snakes away. The technique left Orochimaru unprotected and pushed him backwards. Her sword, now visible again, golden and majestic, sought its way into Orochimaru's heart and pierced it with a strong thrust.
He grunted, and tried to bring his hands up to pull it out, but Saber heaved the sword upwards, cutting its way towards his head, and with little difficulty, tore it in two.
She would like to see him regenerate from that!
To her disappointment, he did. In front of her eyes, a white serpent slithered out of the corpse, rapidly growing in size until it filled a good proportion of the room they were in. It was enormous, with huge, white scales, but the head resembled Orochimaru's face more than it did a snake. It was a gross distortion, a revolting one.
On the other hand, it explained a great deal: his seeming immortality, his skill in battle and why he could keep up with a heroic spirit even though he himself was not one. He was a snake spirit or snake demon of some kind. Apparently, it had tired of keeping human form and had taken on its less restraining, true appearance.
Most likely, the fight would become tougher, but at the very least he should be mortal again.
She felt that she should have been more shocked to find out that he wasn't human.
It is not like he concealed it particularly well.
Ultimately, it didn't matter in the bigger sense. Human or monster, corporeal or spirit, it tried to attack her Master and for that, she would kill it.
It was as simple as that.
The Invisible Air formed once again around her sword, but this time, she pointed the tip of Excalibur behind her, to the opposite direction of the giant white snake, who still regarded her with great interest. Several more of its scales extended and turned into snake heads, and she could see sweat forming on its face or at least something like it.
Despite its projected confidence, Saber was sure that it was concerned by now. Throughout the whole fight, she had been in control and she didn't plan on relinquishing that control now.
It looked like it was about to say something, and opened its revolting mouth, revealing several sets of teeth, but Saber had no interest on hearing it out.
"Invisible Air," she declared and released the winds around her sword once more. The exploding air currents propelled her forward with a speed three times greater than what she had displayed so far, and the distance was closed in a blink of an eye. Upon impact, Excalibur cut through the creature's face along with half of its body in one swoop. The push from Invisible Air had stopped, so she immediately set upon cutting through the body in several places.
After all, she couldn't be too sure whether he would regenerate again or not.
She stared at the bleeding carcass of the snake, only to see a reddish smoke cloud filling the room slowly. Saber immediately jumped in front of her Master, using Invisible Air to form a barrier between them and the smoke.
She didn't know what it did and she didn't want to find out.
Thankfully, she hadn't breathed much of it in but what little she had was already making her feel a bit sluggish but it had not been enough to seriously impair her fighting. A Servant's body was many times tougher that of normal humans, after all.
The head of the snake had repaired itself, and was now looking at them again. To her relief, it didn't seem that it was capable of regenerating his whole body, or maybe it just didn't feel the need to.
"I admit I have grossly underestimated you," hissed Orochimaru, his voice as distorted as his face. "What are you, girl? Why do you stand in my way? Why have I never heard of you or your weapon?"
Saber didn't reply. Instead, she was trying to think of a way to finally slay this monster in front of her. Should she simply keep slicing it until it couldn't regenerate anymore? She could protect herself from his poison with her Invisible Air, but what if he had no real limit to physical regeneration? Or what if he had more prana to regenerate than she had to keep attacking?
Saber judged that to be unlikely, since she felt that her prana capacity was huge even for a heroic spirit. But simply because something was unlikely didn't mean it was impossible.
"Answer me!" he roared.
Saber had decided and without turning around she addressed her Master.
"Master, please retreat to a place where his poison won't reach you. I will simply kill him so many times that he will not be able to regenerate. I will come and find you once I am done with him."
"He has a technique that allows him to transfer his mind and soul into another body, destroying the soul there," Her Master said and vanished.
Saber was surprised, but pleasantly so. It seemed that her Master was more capable than she had assumed. That technique was worrying, though. Alone the thought that this beast would even dare to try to claim her body and devour her soul was so utterly abhorrent and enraging that Saber felt her teeth grinding.
Now it had truly earned her wrath, a king's wrath.
However, the very second her Master had vanished, the snake had lunged towards her with a roar, a great amount of his scales, having revealed themselves as snakes, attacking with him.
"Sasuke-kun's body is mine!"
The disgust on Saber's face couldn't have been greater as she pressed forward, her golden sword cutting through the attacking snakes with little difficulty. She whirled around, avoiding the snakes that she couldn't cut, while holding the Invisible Air as a barrier around her so that it dispersed the poison in the air.
In her ire, she fought more recklessly than she would have normally and couldn't react when suddenly the tail of the snake, having reattached itself without Saber being able to see it, slammed her into the ground. Roaring with delight, the snake engulfed her with its mouth before giving her a chance to defend herself.
The inside of the abomination was dark, damp and absolutely revolting. She felt a tingle as something intangible brushed over her body but she paid it no mind, concentrating instead on the wind forming around her sword, even in a place such as this.
"Strike Air!" she roared, and the wind pounded into the snake around her with the force of a battering ram. Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King was another way to use her secondary Noble Phantasm Invisible Air. It shot the wind sheath of her sword like a hammer thrown by the gods against any target in range that she aimed at. Normally, it was a long range weapon, but Saber felt justified to use every means possible to escape her predicament.
It wasn't very strong, and it certainly wasn't strong enough to kill a Servant. However, it was more than strong enough to blast her way out of the stomach of an unstable abomination such as this.
The snake exploded and showered the room with its intestines. Saber wiped her face clean, glaring at the remains. This had been a fight she could have lived without.
She waited for a few minutes, slicing the bigger pieces lying around into even smaller parts, and when she was satisfied that Orochimaru seemed dead at last, as none of pieces tried to heal, she turned around to search for her Master. Saber didn't need to, as he had already returned.
His sword was drawn and his ominous red eyes were blazing.
"Who are you?"
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Originally Posted by VelspertheCat
