11:55pm, Lykavittos Hill
Berserker swung up, tearing the stone and earth of Lykavittos Hill to shreds. The diner and chapel both collapsed from the force of thunder and rubble as the height of the hill was reduced by nearly two meters with a single attack.
Time slowed as Berserker flew in a cloud of rubble and dust towards the shadowed Archer, axe held high and ready to smite the pest that had threatened his Master. Archer, for his part, had no intention of being smote.
He jumped across the flying rubble using other pieces as cover, and as the colossus brought his axe down on nothing but dust, Archer flipped up and behind him, readying an arrow upside-down and letting loose only a few feet from Berserker's back. The exploding arrow cloaked Archer in smoke and flame and sent him flying back as Berserker continued forward in his unstoppable momentum.
In the back of Archer's mind, a voice, 'Archer! Watch Rider!'
It took only a moment to see what his Master meant.
Rider soared past and below Archer, moving towards the body of his unconscious Master on the hill below them.
Another roar of thunder.
A flash of white ivory cloaked in blue lightning shot towards him in the air, faster than any bullet.
Archer, still upside-down, focused on the blur in front of him and exploded in a burst of utter blackness, a sphere of impenetrable ink floating in air that Berserker, in his blind rage, charged through without hesitation, emerging on the other side without err except that the lightning around his body seemed somehow less than it had been before...
Archer emerged from the cloud as Berserker fell behind him and, as if running on air, leaped towards the other side of the hill, his supernatural sight peeled for Rider.
It didn't take long.
Off past the hill was a longboat that flew through the air, a shining green vessel with golden veins, and atop it was Rider, clearly marked by his beacon of glowing locks.
Sprinting across non-existent ground, he charged towards the vessel. It was moving fast, but not nearly fast enough to escape, especially since it had just cast off.
In his mind, 'What are you doing, Archer? What's going on? I can't see!'
'All under control, Master.'
Archer landed on the vessel opposite Rider.
In a flash, Rider's fist planted itself in Archer's face, without enough time for him, even with his heightened senses, to predict. He was sent back with a 'thunk' against the back of the long-ship, but Rider wouldn't let up. In a flurry faster than falling rain, each blow struck true. Hooks led into uppercuts, and back again, each fist flowing with golden radiance, until-
He missed.
Archer's head moved just out of the way of the next blow, and Rider's fist struck into the stern. Sensing his first- and so far only- opportunity, Archer pivoted and raised his crow's foot to strike into Rider's gut.
As if on skates, Rider leaned back into a spin, spiraling like a falling leaf back into his initial stance, fists raised.
Archer stood up, wind rushing by as the boat continued on its course, "Well that seemed awfully uncalled for. Am I not good enough for your alliance?"
"For as far as I am concerned, the greatest tragedy of this day is that you've no teeth for me to break."
"Harsh."
"Worry not. I shall settle for thine head."
Rider charged forward again, but Archer was prepared now. Each blow was met, if only barely. He blocked the incoming attacks, his forearms taking the brunt of Rider's armored fists. Though aching with pain, he remained standing nonetheless, but lacked the speed to counter. All his focus was taken by watching the incoming attacks, his senses watching the attacks before they happened, but his body failing to keep up. It was only a matter of time before Rider's lead became too much to compensate for, and he pivoted to send his ankle into Archer's side. As Archer's block faltered, Rider grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hold, forcing his forearms into the small of his back.
"Ack!"
"Thou art a fool for engaging me in close combat."
"I am an Archer, after all."
Rider put more pressure into him, "Why then? Art thou truly so intent on eliminating my Master?"
"Look."
On the hill which was far from them now, though not nearly far enough, the colossus, Berserker, could be seen, having crested the hill and watching from afar.
"He's after me right now, and I need him to be after you instead. And if your Master should die, well then-"
Rider wasted no time in manifesting a blade of golden light, in a moment it started towards Archer's exposed throat.
'wooooom'
An aura like black shadow flew off of Archer's form, crawling across the ship and enveloping Rider. The blade seemed to fade away into nothing as Rider began to shake and stagger back, the light from his body beginning to flicker and fade.
"Your Authority won't help you here, Son of the Sea."
"Heh. Thou art an agent of darkness, then."
"I'm a hero. Don't disavow me for my methods."
"Then what dost thou fight for, if not snuffing out light?"
A boom of thunder behind them.
Both shifted their attention to the distant hill- to see nothing. Then up-
Berserker crashed onto the opposite side of the boat. The boat- suspended in air with nothing but magical energy to keep it aloft- immediately spun like a waterwheel, sending Berserker down to the ground below as his footing left him, with Rider and Archer being catapulted off- or not.
As the boat flipped to a perfectly upside-down position, continuing on its trajectory, both Archer and Rider kept their footing as if gravity had shifted to their perspective. Both looked to each other for a moment, a pause, as both waited for the other to fall.
"I really hate you."
"Aye."
Continuing their fight in violation of the laws of gravity, Rider manifested twin blades in each hand, Archer matched, manifesting two obsidian blades, rectangular yet curved with feathers from the hilts, clearly material unlike Rider's light constructs. The two matched the other strike for strike, Rider's short blades moving fast while Archer's longer, broader swords were able to block a wider area.
"Hah! What was that about close combat, Rider?"
"Ah, and yet thou hast failed to land a single blow."
As they clashed, each used their swords to push off the other, each flying back and finally letting gravity pull them to the ground as Berserker leaped up from the earth below, and, in what appeared to be a single strike, reduced the vessel to splinters.
Both fell into a parking lot below, a great modern amphitheater behind them. They landed in crouched positions, facing each other, but Archer, he was scanning the sky: the rubble of the falling vessel.
He was distracted. Looking for what Rider knew not to be there.
With all that remained of his energy from the non-stop fighting, Rider charged forward in a streak of gold, armored grieves sparking across the concrete. The sword in his left hand seemed to retract back into his arm as golden energy snaked across his shoulders and into his other hand, his second blade growing in both length and aura.
"Where art thine eyes, Archer?!"
His assumptions were his undoing. Aaron- Master of Rider- was nowhere among the rubble; he never was. Thinking it was a race between the three, himself, Rider, and Berserker, to capture the falling magus, he hadn't anticipated such a swift attack.
And so he was-
Staring with wide orange eyes back at the silver Rider, a long sword of light in his chest.
There was a tinge of pity as Rider said simply, "Fool."
He cleaved up with his blade, the skewered Archer moving with it, and evaporated it, sending Archer's weightless body tumbling across the pavement.
He wasn't done.
Among the falling rubble, the once-bow of the ship, cleaved from the whole by Berserker's axe, fell towards Rider's head. He jumped up to meet the falling piece in air, catching it with one hand and turning the hollow end towards Archer, who was barely beginning to rise to his knees. Like a spear he threw it across the pavement, letting it skid and slide across and under the legs of a falling Berserker.
With his injuries, Archer could only watch as it barreled towards him, scooping him up into the hollow inside of the bow and skidding with him to the far end, crashing into a boulder with him trapped inside.
It was complete darkness, with him only aware of the thin light emerging from the exposed area between the bow and the boulder and the feel of the ship under his hands, which somehow seemed both wooden and metallic. It was an awkward position that left little room for his lithe frame to escape easily, but that would be no issue.
He could already feel the rampaging steps of the colossus coming towards him.
He rolled as best he could to the side of the hollow ship as the axe came down and split it in two. As the pieces flipped aside, he rolled with the motion out of the ship and onto the pavement, landing onto his hands and knees.
He had less than a moment to observe his surroundings, but a brief glance at the sky was all he needed.
Another ship- identical to the first- was peeling into the sky, the golden veins glowing with radiance.
Was it moving that fast before?
He couldn't waste time. Archer leaped into the air, using all his energy to move as fast as he could-
Berserker's hand gripped his calf, crushing it like a dry twig, but he lacked even enough time to scream before he was pulled to the ground, slammed with more than enough force to kill any normal human. His light body bounced off the concrete lot, skipping like a poorly thrown stone. It's only for the sake of his spiritual body that he wasn't splattered across the pavement.
In his mind's eye he could see clearly what was coming next. Berserker. Fast as lightning if not faster, striking ten times in a single moment and tearing his shadowed form into strips. The fight was lost- without even enough time to unleash his Noble Phantasm as a Hail Mary.
In his final moments, he wondered to himself:
'Was it worth it?'
He felt the axe cleave into his chest.
...
And nothing.
Nothing except the wound.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the full moon far above, shining down through a canopy of olive trees. He felt his chest, the two wounds. One from the sword of light that went all the way to his back, and the other, a large but shallow cleave across his chest. Underneath him was not the concrete pavement of the parking lot, but marble cobbles.
He became suddenly aware of the eyes on him. Looking to his left, he saw his master, Shenghuo, sitting on a tombstone, his right hand dangling between his legs so that Archer could clearly see the sigil, the Command Seals. A circle that wrapped around two crescents on opposite sides, but whereas the circle was once clear and distinct, consisting of two lines, it was now blurred, smeared like ink, or perhaps blood.
"Care to explain, Archer?"
Archer remained where he was, staring at the moon, the pale blue sky, "I attempted more than I could accomplish- or so it would seem."
"It would seem that way, yes."
"Apologies."
"Your apologies won't return my lost Command Seal. What were you thinking exactly?"
"You instructed me to watch Rider's Master. Our goal was to eliminate one or both of Rider or Berserker, no? I was trying to be sure our operation wasn't a total failure."
"But victory is more important than success, is it not? You can't win if you're killed, Archer, and I can't give you orders when I don't know what's going on. I'd expect you of all people to understand at least that much."
Archer snarled back at his master, "I'd encourage you not to question my conviction, Master."
"Then explain your fixation. Explain what made Rider and his Master more important than your life."
Archer turned onto his side to face his master, "We need the Master of Rider, don't we? You want to understand the nature of the war, and he's almost surely one of the designers. Don't we need him?"
Shenghuo scoffed, "No. I looked into him. Regardless of his circumstance, he's a nobody. He has no formal magecraft education, so unless he's some prodigy, he's no more than a pawn in someone else's game."
Archer stared daggers, "And that wasn't information worth sharing?"
"All you need to know is my orders, or do you have your own plans?"
"Of course I do! We all need contingencies!"
"And what's your contingency plan, eh? To replace me?"
Archer looked away and sighed, the energy that built in him falling away, "No."
"Then what?"
"I need to know as much about this war as I can. That way, if I fail, I can-"
"If you fail?"
Archer remained silent, clutching at his wounds.
"So you risked your life for 'what ifs' instead of what is? What you don't know instead of what you do? Here I thought you were a pragmatist."
"Contingency plans are pragmatic."
"And what's pragmatic about sacrificing your chances at success because you're afraid you might fail?"
Archer began to climb up and onto his legs, standing weak but firm, "I- I have lost everything that I have ever had. Forgive me for not being an optimist."
"And I don't care. You can be as pessimistic as you want up to the point that it endangers our victory. If anything, you were being too optimistic in taking on Rider in close combat."
"I underestimated him."
"No, you didn't underestimate him as much as you didn't estimate at all. You jumped in without thinking and got yourself killed."
Archer looked down at his feet, breathing heavily despite seeming not to have a mouth.
Shenghuo's cold eyes became freezing, "The Ichor Chalice will be yours. Victory will be mine. These things are certain. Make as many plans as you wish, but our victory comes first, understand?"
Archer looked back to him, "If that's the case, then transparency shouldn't be too much to ask for."
"Of course not, assuming that goes both ways."
"I've only ever once let down the people who put their faith in me, and I don't intend to repeat that. You have my word. I wouldn't have made my pact with you if I didn't think I could trust you."
"Good. Don't make me waste another Seal."
"There is one thing you should know."
"Hm?"
"Master of Rider: his energy was the same as Berserker's. They aren't allies, clearly, but there's some relationship there."
A roll of thunder in the distance.
"Berserker sounds like he misses you."
"As powerful as he is, he doesn't seem to have clairvoyance, but I can still go into Spirit Form if you'd like."
"No, that's fine. Besides, you need to heal. When will you be back at full power?"
Archer looked up to the sky, "With the moon as it is, by morning."
"Good."
"Will we renew our plans then?"
"We'll see. I think we should deal with dear sister first."
"Lancer is a joke. He'll be no issue."
"Joke as he may be, he's a joke wielding a Divine Weapon, and my sister is perhaps the only other Master we could truly bring to our side without risk of betrayal."
"Are we really so sure of that? Your last talk with her didn't seem too productive."
"She's forgotten her place; that's all. A reminder should jog her memory. Even so, she may be useful in her ignorance of the war's nature."
"And what of Caster? Or Berserker?"
"Berserker seems more useful dead than alive. We wait until he engages with another Servant, then snipe his Master. Using your Noble Phantasm if necessary. Whatever knowledge he has, it isn't worth it, unless you think you can defeat him?"
Archer shook his head.
Shenghuo stood and walked past Archer "We'll place Rider on pause for now. We focus on Lancer. We wait for an opportunity to kill Berserker's Master, and speak to Caster if he should ever show himself. Saber and Assassin will be dealt with as they become relevant, but for now, we focus on what we know- right?"
"Right."
...
On Lykabettos Hill
Berserker crushed the ground around him, stomping, jumping and swinging his axe, tearing the pavement to shreds and roaring in anger, searching desperately for his target. As his rage subsided, he turned his face to the sky, the flying ship now distant and disappearing into the clouds. Remembering the arrow that threatened the life of his master, the body of the colossus shook and shuddered as he discharged the static that clung to his form and disappeared into golden ether, walking back to the distant hill and away from the mountain of rubble he'd left behind.
....