"I don't want a thing to do with the Holy Grail!"
But of course, it's not a matter whether you want anything to do with the Grail; it's whether the Grail wants anything to do with you.
Already they would be coming after her, after all the Sajyou family as winners of the previous War would be a natural contender, and thus target, in this one. Well, or so the other Masters would assume, one self-admitted mediocre witch curled into a cloak in one end of the room was all that remained of the lineage, not exactly an intimidating foe to be eliminated as soon as possible.
Yet sure enough, the sounds of yelping and howling could be heard as the Sajyou Residence came under seige from what the girl Ayaka saw were somebody's hound familiars, cautiously glancing out her window. While the magical defences surrouding her house had thankfully disintegrated most of them, Ayaka knew they'd be almost nothing when it came to keeping out...
Then came another sound, that of her door creaking open and footsteps entering into her house, footsteps that weren't those of a hound's but of a human being's.
Yet Ayaka froze, the sheer magical energy she could feel was nothing like any human's, meaning that this could only be...
The very thing she'd been fearing all these years, that's what.
Ayaka leapt up from her huddled position and sped off down the corridor, using the black feathers that formed part of her Witchcraft to fend off any hounds coming after her.
Of course, what may keep mere familiars at bay is hardly going to be of any use against a Servant.
"Oh, I'm reeling in pain! An eternal curse upon you and your kin, foul devil-woman" a voice in the shadows announced less in agony and more in deadpan, and as the stranger who'd spoken stepped into her field of vision Ayaka saw that the feathers she'd hurriedly thrown hadn't made a single dent in him.
"I'm sorry, wasn't that the sort of thing you were expecting to hear?" the man said chuckling to himself, adjusting his glasses at the same time. Ayaka nervously turned her eyes towards him to see he was an older man with long light-brown hair who wore blue clothing that could've belonged to a scientist, sorcerer or soldier, maybe all three. But for the young witch the most worrying thing was the spear he carried in his hands.
"L-l-lancer?" her voice trembled, she tried to reach for her feathers yet found none left.
"My my, whatever gave you that impression?" came the Servant's reply. "Unfortunately, yes, apparently this Grail counts your exemplary skill and work with Fonic Artes as only secondary to the stick you carry around to channel them" he was forced to admit, before saying:
"Ah shame, I forgot this world of yours doesn't even have Fonons, instead you get these, these feathery things. Well, I do suppose they're nice enough feathers".
'This world of yours' those words in particular echoed through Ayaka's mind. She'd been told Servants were the myths and legends of this world alone... but then she silenced those thoughts, as what did she care wherever Servants were from? The fact that they and the Grail existed at all was cause for enough of her internal strife.
"Well it's been, I wouldn't dare say a 'pleasure', can't have people thinking I'm growing soft in my old age, but it's certainly been decent enough meeting you. However, and you've probably seen this coming" Lancer said slowly as he held his spear at the ready, eyes set on Ayaka "Soldier's duty and everything, you understand".
At these words Ayaka instantly zoomed off, not pausing for one second till she reached the garden at the very centre of the Sajyou manor. As she locked the door to it the Bounded Field covering the garden began to activate, her own father having told her that with it set up there'd be no magic great enough to break in.
So in response to this great defence, Lancer just speared the door down.
"Really, were this Holy Grail Hide-and-Seek instead of the Holy Grail War you'd be undeniably bottom-tier" Lancer sighed as he made his way in "Though it technically looks like you're bottom-tier anyway, oh but there I go again".
Ayaka was truly done for, with nowhere left to hide and nothing left to save her. At the very sight of Lancer she began quivering, with thoughts of her dead father and sister, and everything else to have happened on this day eight years ago, flooding her mind as she knew now she was next.
I'd give anything, she thought, anything, just to get me out of here, just to save me!
Anything? a whole new voice questioned, one Ayaka definitely heard yet saw nowhere from which it could come. 'Anything' is hardly a word you should throw around so carelessly. Even in a life-or-death situation, were I to save you would you then be prepared for whatever came next?
"Hmm, and with hardly a second to spare. Fancy that" Lancer muttered for some unspecified reason, before moving in for the killing blow.
'Yet it's not in my nature to leave a client out in the cold like this. Alright then child, let's see this 'anything' of yours'.
***
As Lancer was about to strike a great light surged forth from Ayaka, veins of strange red light spreading out and her attacker being knocked away. When at last she was able to open her eyes again Ayaka saw a black-haired woman draped in butterfly-themed kimono standing in front of her, in her hand she carried a... baseball bat whose only distinguishing feature was a kanji symbol on it. Kind of an anticlimax really.
"You're a, Servant too?" Ayaka found it hard to voice those words.
"Only the best I assure you. The Saber class, at your... well I won't say 'at your service', more 'at your service, if I feel like it'. Which I probably won't" the voice Ayaka had heard now emerging from this woman.
"Hmm, so this shall be our base-of-operations then. Not exactly up to the standards of my old shop, but it'll have to do in the meantime" Saber continued, before catching her eye on a recovering figure in the corner of the room.
"Ooh my aching back, I'm really not what I used to be" Lancer moaned as he got back up on his feet.
"Right, forgot you're still here" Saber said with considerably less enthusiasm. "While the frontline isn't my natural habitat" she uttered, bat now at the ready "I'm hardly one to back down from a competition".
"So you don't claim to work on the frontlines, yet you're the strongest physical class" Lancer observed "And that's... not exactly a hallowed greatsword of legend you're wielding there. Well, my day keeps getting more and more dignified, doesn't it?" he said half-heartedly.
"Hah, don't let looks fool you, my bat contains the spirit of as many swords as I will it to. Though I admit, the Saber class wasn't the first thing I had in mind" she replied, swinging the bat to counter Lancer's attack "Personally I'd say the Caster class'd suit my abilities the most".
"I see. Sure don't know anyone like that" Lancer said with a smile you could tell was faked.
From the breathless Ayaka's point of view Saber could easily match Lancer for speed, no small feat from what she knew about the class, and seemed pretty resistant to any blow he could muster too. Yet when she had Lancer cornered, her bat raised above his head, she suddenly stopped.
"As a competitor in this War there must be wish some grand wish you're hoping the Grail will grant you, am I correct?" Saber began "I'll make you a deal, allow me to grant you and your Master's wishes instead, and in exchange I'll cease any further hostilities towards you. Mind you, I'm not without my terms, but it'll be far more efficient than this longwinded Grail War I promise you".
Ayaka was agape. This woman she'd summoned could just bypass the Grail like that?
"How gracious, I'm flattered. Truly I am" Lancer replied "Sadly I must decline, I'm not one simply to put so much faith in word of mouth alone, and knowing my 'Master' I doubt she'd give you a more favourable response. Until next time, it would seem".
He then began to chant "Oh mighty explosion, Energy Blast" before unleashing a burst of magical power. It barely even scratched Saber (her class's Magic Resistance kicking in Ayaka guessed, before she condemned herself for remembering so much about Servants), but it served as enough of a distraction for Lancer to exit the scene. Not like Saber seemed to mind.
"Hmm, his talent for magic is most impressive" she noted, yet immediately added "Though light-years behind my own naturally".
"You..." Ayaka slowly began "Said you could grant wishes, just like the Grail".
"Indeed I can" Saber said "I granted yours, did I not? Wasn't it you I heard calling out for a saviour?"
She then lowered her gaze to be at eye level with Ayaka "But you must understand, true wishes can only be granted if an object of equal value is given in return, one can never expect something for nothing. Though as your very magic reserves are now being drained in order to supply my existence, I believe that is enough".
"Oh" Ayaka muttered as she now remembered that part "Yeah".
"And one more thing" Saber then turned around and said "In return for me assisting you in this War, I expect for you to assist me in running my newly re-opened shop. Good, I'm glad we can come to an understanding".
"WAIT!" Ayaka suddenly shouted out "I don't want a thing to do with the Holy Grail!"
"What a coincidence, neither do I" Saber said, before pausing "No, scratch that. Take note Ayaka, that there is no such thing as coincidence. 'Coincidence' is simply a word people use to derive a moment of any meaning, everything that has lead to this one moment has been predestined, not just by your actions, but by your very relationship with the world".
"And that is what has made the two of us, who have no desire for the Grail and cannot abide its very existence, partners in this Grail War" she proclaimed down to Ayaka "For starters, I can't dare have anything compete with my own wish-granting business, now can I?".
Remembering all that had happened that day, Ayaka thought 'Father, is this... what you left for me?'.
"Now, where do you keep the sake around here?"
"What?!".
FICTION/PROTOTYPE
A/N: So essentially this is a crossover in the vein of Fate/Inertia Dawn or Fate/Zero Sense, where canon servants are switched out with fictional characters instead. I decided to set it in the Proto-verse though because it's less covered ground and therefore more interesting to me as a writer (plus the allure of Jade-Misaya scenes too).
I have to say writing a battle scene with Yuuko (c'mon, it's obvious) in it is quite hard as it contrasts heavily with how she operates, yet I wouldn't have had her summoned as Caster as she could probably win the War in her sleep that way. Nor would I have Jade (again, blatantly obvious) summoned as Caster either, simply to make things more annoying for him.
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Originally Posted by Bridgeburner90
