Heeeeeeeeelloooooo everyone! Time for a new chapter of Fate/gungnir.

In this chapter, the TSAB crew explain their presence, and Saber tells them about the Holy Grail War. Also, we get to meet Rin and Archer around the mid-point of this chapter, maybe slightly before or after depending on whether or not I can think of anything else.

Anyway, onwards and upwards! Don't forget to review! Flames, once again, will be used to light your funeral pyres.

V*V*V*V

Chapter 3

Explanations and First Contact

V*V*V*V

Place: Time-Space Administration Bureau L-class Dimensional Cruiser Arthra:

Dimensional Coördinates: FN-25/SA-11/NV-02

Time/Date: 2045 hours, Mid-Childan New Calender 0070

It had been roughly half an hour since Saber had been summoned, and already, the largest headache of her life was starting to form. She had sat in a chair for the past ten minutes, looking out a nearby window at the empty, glowing purple-blue mists that surrounded wherever she currently was. If what her Master had said was to be believed, she was currently on board a trans-dimensional space ship (whatever that was), locked in a dimensional orbit around the Earth, or Non-Administrative World #97 according to everyone in this place. She knew her Master was a Magus, but for this entire place to be filled with Magi, who normally wouldn't work together even if it was to save their own lives? She drew the line between truth and fantasy right there.

But, apparently, it was true. This ship belonged to a massive organization of Magi, the details of which she'd yet to be informed of, but it sounded similar to how Clock Tower and the Magus Association was described by Kiritsugu and Irisviel before the Fourth War.

Currently, her Master was off reporting to his superiors, and trying to gain any idea of what to do next. And so, Saber sat down and stared mindlessly into the colorful abyss of Dimensional Space. The whirls and eddies were quite fascinating and hypnotic really, now that she thought about it. Swirls and blues, red, and sometimes greens danced and mixed together in an endless cycle. And, if she looked hard enough, she could barely make out a strange, artificial structure in the distance. A Dimensional Bridge, apparently, used to connect dimensions incredibly distant from one another. According to her Master, he was native to Dimension A-01, the very heart of the omniverse, and the place from which all other universes initially diverged. In his words, if one went back in time far enough, one would always end up in Dimension A-01, no matter where or when you started. And, according to information given to her by Fate and the brunette Nanoha, he was correct, as they had accompanied him briefly to see his home world, the world from which all magic traced its origins from.

Al Hazard.

Supposedly a mystical empire that dominated the omniverse centuries ago according to Fate, in actuality, it was much, MUCH older, and a lot more technologically and magically advanced than previously thought. While Al Hazard went by the name of Earth nowadays by the inhabitants, the planet that everyone thought was only 4.6 billion years old was actually twice that age, and was the original home world of the Al Hazard. The Al Hazard's technological superiority allowed them to send the entire planet back in time through Dimensional Space to Dimension A-01. However, as planets are not originally meant to go through Dimensional Space, the surface was scorched and melted into a roiling planet wide ocean of molten rock and ash. It eventually settled into orbit around a young star, an orbit which was further stabilized by a planetary collision which created the moon.

To Saber, the whole story sounded like something straight out of Merlin's addled mind.

Any further musings were set aside when her Master entered the room, flanked by the blonde woman, Fate, and a dark blue haired man who looked the same age as her Master. They seemed to be in conversation.

"I had no idea TSAB was so concerned as to send an admiral, Chrono," Kieren said, who paid half a mind to Saber as she stood. "Let alone an M-class battlecruiser."

"High Command want's this put under wraps, captain. I'm simply here to hear our guests side of the story and then report back to HQ. What they do from there is anyone's guess. You know we can't reveal the existence of magic to a non-Administrative world," the man, Chrono, said.

"Mmm. You're right. Anyway, here she is," Kieren answered, turning his full attention to Saber. Saber felt the other man's eyes sweep over her, silently appraising her to see if she was the real deal.

"I suppose that this is the Saber person everyone on this ship is so fascinated by?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Kieren replied.

"I can see why."

"Master... who is this?" Saber asked. Kieren eyed her warily, before sighing heavily.

"... Master?" Chrono asked, a bemused expression on his face.

"It's a long story. Anyway, Saber, this is Admiral Chrono Harlaown. He's going to be asking you some questions in regards to this... War, of yours."

Saber nodded. If her Master was to be believed, these people already knew of magic, and were probably curious as to what the War entailed. She then turned her attention to Fate.

"I do not believe we were introduced properly," she said, her voice firm but soft. "I am Servant Saber."

"..."

Saber looked down, but then looked up when she thought she heard something.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I said my name is Fate," Fate said, now speaking louder. "Fate T. Harlaown."

"Harlaown?" Saber asked, looking between the blonde and blue haired male. They didn't look anything like each other.

"She's my adopted sister," Chrono answered for her, pulling his little sister into a one armed hug, which Fate quickly shrugged off, causing Chrono to pout and Kieren to snicker silently.

"And my girlfriend," Kieren said, doing the exact same, only this time, Fate snuggled into his side, a light blush on her cheeks and a content look on her face. Saber's Master had a large grin on his face, one that was on the verge of splitting it in two, if it was possible to reach that far. Saber was happy to see her Master so carefree in the presence of loved ones.

"But enough about relationships," Chrono stated, a serious look on his face, which caused Kieren to pull Fate into him tighter, his grin morphing into a slight frown in an instant, an action mimicked by Fate. It was interesting to say the least, to see someone who could change expressions on a whim.

Chrono gestured for Saber to sit down, which she did, an action that was copied by the other three people in the room, Chrono placing himself in a chair opposite Saber, while Kieren and Fate settled into a longer couch, still cuddling.

The four stayed silent for some time, simply watching each other. Saber opened her mouth to say something, but Chrono simply raised a hand, silencing her.

"We would like you to explain," he said. "About this... Holy Grail War."

Saber shut her mouth and nodded once.

"I do not see any problems with that," she said.

V*V*V*V

Kieren eyed off the armored woman who called him 'Master' with quiet contemplation. He knew that they were connected in some way, the slight strain on his sealed Linker Core was all the proof he needed. At present, the Limiter Seal reduced him to the rank of a B-ranked Composite Mage, and the connection between him and woman sitting proudly in the chair in front of him was draining at least ten percent of the magic he currently had access to. He could lessen the strain by unsealing some of his Linker Core, but with Chrono on board, he couldn't as only the highest ranking Mage could authorize the release of a Limiter Seal. Kieren was a Captain, Chrono was an Admiral, simple as that. When Chrono transferred back to the Junis, the ship that he commanded, he still wouldn't until it left. Currently, the Arthra was one half of a two ship fleet, and until the Junis left, Chrono was the highest rank Mage.

"Very well then," Chrono started. "What can you tell us?"

"What would you like to know? There is a lot," Saber answered.

"Start off with the War. From there you can explain what the Lost Logia 'Holy Grail' is and what is does."

Saber's expression flashed with confusion, but it was gone so fast even Kieren wasn't sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

"Very well. The Holy Grail War is a tournament that takes place every sixty years, however, this War is strange, as the last took place ten years ago. It is fought between seven Masters, who each summon a Servant from one of the seven classes. These Servants are pulled from the Throne of Heroes to take part in the War, for the chance to gain a single wish."

"A war for a single wish?" Kieren asked. Saber nodded. "Seems a little excessive."

"The wish can be anything. The winning Master and Servant will have the chance to wish for anything they want, even impossible dreams and fantasies. The Holy Grail will grant it."

"So this Holy Grail is a wish granting machine?"

Saber nodded. "Yes. However, only one Master and Servant may use it. The Grail will not appear until only one Servant is left."

Fate gasped lightly, clutching Kieren's side even harder than she was before.

"You mean..."

"Yes. All the other Servants must be killed before the Grail will appear before the winner."

Kieren felt all the blood rush out of his face, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Fate's face drain of color.

The fourteen year old blonde swallowed loudly, before asking in a quiet voice.

"Y... you... you mean... K... Ki... Kieren c... cou... could d... d... die?!"

"There is the possibility. Some of the more unscrupulous Masters and Servants will actively hunt the Master, as without one, a Servant cannot remain in the material world for long, unless they have a high Independent Action rank, which would allow them to remain long enough to form another contract with another Master."

"And that means?"

"Just killing the Servant does not automatically mean that a Master has been removed from the War. While they can head to the Church and seek protection from the moderator, they can also form another contract with a stray Servant."

"..."

The two humans and one artificial mage remained silent for a time, before Chrono spoke.

"Would you do it?"

Saber looked at him with confusion on her face.

"Would I do what?"

"Would you kill another Master?"

"No, I would not. To kill a defenseless person would go against my code as a Knight. Only if my Master used one of his Command Seals to order me to do so would I kill another Master," Saber answered truthfully.

"Command Seals?"

"The marks on the back of your hand, Master."

Kieren look at the back of his left hand. The intricate symbol wasn't glowing any longer, but the dark crimson stood out against his slightly tanned skin.

"What do they do?"

"The Command Seals serve a dual purpose. Not only do they mark your status as a Master, they also allow you a chance of Absolute Obedience from your Servant. However, using one consumes it, so you only have three chances before the Servant is free of your control. For example, using one of the Command Seals, you can call me to your side no matter how far apart we are at the time."

"You mean..." Fate started, looking quite surprised, as was Chrono and Kieren, all three of which were staring at the seals with something close to shock and awe. "These thing have the ability to warp time and space?!"

"Not as simply. It is... quite complicated, and would take some time to explain. They can also give me a brief power boost. For example, if you were to say: 'Defeat Lancer', the Seals would give me enough power to completely remove Lancer from the War in short order."

Kieren nodded at that. He knew how frustrating it was when he fought that blue-clad man.

It was at this point that Saber turned to look at him.

"In fact, I am quite surprised you lasted as you did against Lancer, Master. No human has ever matched the abilities of a Servant as far as the information the Grail gave me upon my summoning. For you to do so, and cast a spell capable of going through even my own Magical Resistance is quite impressive, even if Lancer was limited in ability at the time, held back most likely by a Command Seal used by his Master."

"I was nearing my current limits as it was," Kieren responded, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I doubt I would've lasted much longer had I not summoned you."

"'Current limits'?" Saber asked.

"Each and every TSAB mage over a certain level has what is known as a Limiter Seal placed on them. It reduces the amount of magic they can use at any one time," Chrono explained. "Kieren here has the strongest Limiter Seal TSAB can safely use on him at the moment, as the amount of magical energy he has available is so great that if he get's too emotional, the pressure of the released magic alone is enough to kill a normal human, let alone any spells he uses."

Saber stared at that statement. Truly, her Master was powerful. Looking at him now, she could see he had a sad look on his face, and tears were starting to form in his eyes. Obviously, he had a bad experience with that particular event in the past.

"Is something wrong, Master?" Saber asked, curious as to what caused the sudden shift from relatively cheerful to downtrodden in such a short time.

"Kieren..." Fate started, rubbing her boyfriends back softly, hoping to calm him. "He had to watch his parents die in front of him. The amount a shock, anger and sadness that washed through him at the time was so great that he lost what control he had over his magic. The person responsible was wiped from existence, but the pressure and sheer killing intent being released was too much for his younger sister to handle. Her heart simply..."

Here, Fate trailed off, and pulled Kieren into her arms, hugging him tightly, even as silent sobs wracked his frame.

Saber was shocked and horrified by what she heard. She glanced at Chrono, and saw that even he had turned away at what had happened. Clearly, it was a traumatizing experience.

"Wh... when was...?"

"Three years ago."

Saber looked down, her heart clenching and berating herself for unintentionally causing her Master emotional turmoil.

"I... I am sorry, for bringing that up... Master," she spoke softly.

"It... it... it's okay," Kieren murmured, wiping his eyes, even as he sank deeper into his girlfriend's embrace. "You didn't know."

"That incident, and an event that followed shortly after we returned from Al Hazard, led to a law being passed by TSAB that penalized anyone who brought it up. Most mages, even those higher up in the ranks, know not to say anything, and will even turn a blind eye if someone intentionally brings the incident up. If they survive the pounding that Kieren, Fate, and/or Nanoha unleash on them, they're jailed, and stripped of any and all privileges that they may have. Most don't survive and sought of attack from Kieren himself, and it's getting rarer and rarer finding people who survive either Fate's or Nanoha's these days," Chrono stated. "Kieren himself is still going through regular counseling."

Saber nodded somberly. Something like that would mentally destabilize anyone.

"Now..." Chrono stated, clapping his hands. "Moving away from the past, I'm informed you want to know about us."

Saber nodded, casting the recent events into the deepest, darkest portion of her mind that she could, hoping that it would be forgotten very quickly.

"Yes. I am confused as to who and what you are."

"Everyone on board this ship is a member of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, a trans-dimensional organization that administers and controls the existence of magic, keeping it a secret from those who are not yet ready to know of it, and training those who are capable of using it. This ship, the Arthra, is an L-class dimensional cruiser, and is normally the first to respond to any sort of dimensional disturbance. We actually came here to investigate a large dimensional fluctuation that was picked up on NAW#97, or Earth as the locals call it. We now know that it is this War you just told us about," Chrono explained.

"And... Lost Logia?"

Chrono sighed.

"Lost Logia... no-one likes to explain or get involved with them. Lost Logia is the name TSAB gave to extremely powerful magical artifacts left over by either Ancient Belka or Al Hazard. Kieren here could be considered a living Lost Logia, as he is the last Al Hazard mage, along with his and Nanoha's Intelligent Devices."

"Magical Devices," Kieren said automatically.

"Sorry."

"Intelligent... Devices?" Saber asked, now highly lost.

Kieren simply raised his right arm, showing Saber the black, orange and gold fingerless gauntlet that encased his arm and hand. A small, red-orange gem sat embedded in a mount on the back of his hand. Fate pulled out a triangular amulet with a yellow gem in the middle.

"These..." Fate started, gesturing at the two objects. "Are Intelligent Devices. Currently, they are both in Standby Mode. Chrono has one as well, but his is called a Storage Device. Intelligent Devices are more powerful than Storage Devices, but are consequently much harder to produce. Magical Devices, like Gungnir (here she gestured back to the gauntlet) are even more powerful than Intelligent Devices, but were only ever manufactured by the Al Hazard, and so, we only know of the existence of two: Gungnir, who is used by Kieren, and another Device that was initially thought to be an abnormally strong Intelligent Device, Raising Heart, who is wielded by Nanoha. There are two more types, the Armed Device, which is more combat orientated than a Intelligent Device, and the Unison Device, which can merge with its user to increase the strength of their spells and increase their reserves."

"There must be some kind of trade off," Saber said, remembering her lessons with Merlin when she was younger.

"There is," Chrono said. "Storage Devices don't have an AI, Artificial Intelligence, like an Intelligent Device and only have a single form apart from the Standby Mode, but are capable of processing magic much faster than an Intelligent Device. They are still much slower at doing calculations and processing magic than either Gungnir or Raising Heart, but that's to be expected of two Lost Logia designed while the Al Hazard was at its height."

Saber nodded slowly, seeing the logic in what Chrono was saying. Artifacts from an ancient, technologically and and magically superior civilization would be more powerful than a more recent civilization.

"Just... how fast can your... Device, process magic, Master?" Saber asked curiously.

"Hmm... from what I can recall, Gungnir can process magic rather rapidly, around about forty thousands units every ten seconds. Bardiche, Fate's Device on the other hand, processes roughly 18,000 units every minute, while Durandal, Chrono's Device, processes the same amount in half the time," Kieren explained.

"And Nanoha's?"

"Thirty five thousand every fifteen seconds."

Saber was impressed. That amount of magic put even Merlin to shame, and the fact the Kieren had palmed it off without even blinking meant that most TSAB mages had a lot of power to call on.

That would help her greatly in her quest to obtain the Grail.

V*V*V*V

Rin Tohsaka sighed heavily as she looked over the Emiya household. She'd come here to find out if Shirou ever made it out alive, and was dumbstruck to see a massive scar in the earth, passing through one of the walls and into the trees nearby. The near overwhelming pressure from residual magic in the air made it hard to breath, and it had brought Archer into partial visibility, something she'd never heard of before. Archer himself was frowning heavily.

"Archer?" she asked her Servant. "Anything you can tell me?"

"Two Servants fought here. One was summoned shortly before the second, most likely Lancer, fled. And it seems Caster got involved as well towards the end, but the lack of presence doesn't seem to lend credibility to that theory."

Rin frowned. She hated not knowing anything. Knowing that there was another Magus in her city frustrated her beyond belief. The bounded fields, or more accurately, remnants, told he that Emiya was a Magus, one she hadn't known about. He was nowhere in sight or sense, however, so she couldn't take her anger out on him.

Suddenly, Archer stiffened next to her, materializing into the tangible world.

"Archer?"

"Two people, magi by the feel of it."

Rin grinned sadistically.

"Find them."

Archer vanished in a blur of movement, Rin running through the gates to the compound, pulling out several gems.

Archer landed on the roof. His previous self was nowhere in the house, and from the faint traces of magic he could detect under the more recent surges, hadn't been here since morning, meaning he hadn't summoned Saber like usual. This sent Archer cynical and analytical mind reeling, but he held his thoughts in line. Reinforcing his sight, he scanned the courtyard and buildings.

There!

Turning towards the flash of movement, he saw two people dressed in strange clothes, both carrying a long staff. Both were female, one with blonde, waist length hair, and the other with brown hair pulled up into a single ponytail on the right hand side of her head. The blonde was dressed rather daringly, in a black, one piece swimsuit like leotard with a pink half skirt hanging from her waist and a red cape, thigh high black stockings and metal boots. The staff in her hand resembled a large axe, with a yellow gem where the blade met the handle. It also had two odd cylinders coming off the gems mount.

The brunette was dressed much more conservatively. A primarily white outfit with blue and gold trimming. Metal bracers encased her wrists. From Archer's position, he couldn't make out any other details. Her staff was odd as well, a bright golden hoop with three spokes and a side missing surrounded a bright red gem, with a white and gold handle with, off all things, a rifle magazine just forwards of the upped grip. In Archer's opinion it was more along the line of a staff that a sorcerer like Merlin would use, however, it was clearly made out of metal of some kind, one outside of his knowledge when her did a quick Trace of both staves. It to, had two cylinders protruding from the ring, but they were closer to the handle. He Reinforced his ears to find out what they were talking about.

"I still can't believe Kieren roped my into this," the blonde complained. "If he had just...!"

"Calm down, Fate-chan!" the brunette chirped. "He just told us we had to come down here and scout the area and set up a teleportation link so we don't end up miles off course."

"And why couldn't he and that Servant of his do it?"

Archer cocked an eyebrow. Servant? He thought.

"Because they're still talking with Chrono-kun."

"Tch. In my opinion he was using that as an excuse to get out of doing grunt work. He used to be down here as well."

"And now he's a captain and the commanding officer of a spaceship."

Spaceship? What is she talking about?

The blonde sighed. "You have a point, Nanoha."

The brunette, Nanoha, giggled slightly before holding up her staff.

"Raising Heart, please help set up a teleportation link."

Is that girl addled... Archer trailed off and his normally impassive face morphed into one of shock when the staff spoke.

[Yes, my Master,] it said in a cheery, slightly mechanical female voice.

The ground beneath the brunette's feet glowed a bright pink as a magical circle, with mathematical equations and odd runes between four mathematical symbols and two counter rotating squares suddenly appeared on the ground. The girl began to chant under her breath, and a faint, bluish circle began to inscribe itself onto the ground. The blonde girl on the other hand, gripped her axe-staff and cast wary glances around the area, constantly keeping an eye out. Archer was mildly impressed. He sensed his Master nearing and was about to move to meet her, when he felt a spike in ambient magic.

The blonde girl, had vanished. He could faintly make out a yellow streak racing straight towards his Master.

A Servant? Archer thought. There was no way a human could move that fast, even with magic.

Still, he had to protect his Master. With a blur of psuedo-motion, Archer moved. Twin Chinese falchions appeared in sparks of prana in his hands, and he arrived just in time to stop a massive glowing scythe from slamming into his Master. Rin stood there, shocked for a moment, before she regained her bearings and jumped away.

Archer pushed his body as fast as he could, ducking and dodging, weaving in and out of his opponents strikes. The girl was incredibly fast, her yellow scythe tracing glowing trails in the air. Sparks flew as Traced metal met magical energy blade. The blows had some serious strength behind them, if you were human. The girls red eyes were fixed entirely on Archer. However, Archer could tell she was more than aware of her surroundings, and proved this when they next broke apart, dodging the black sphere that streaked towards her.

"Bardiche!" the blonde yelled.

[Sir,] the scythe answered, making Archer almost lose his focus.

TWO talking staffs?

[Zanber Form.]

The scythe blade vanished, and the axe head swung down, long side pointing up instead of down like it previously was, before the blade split right down the middle of the edge and swung 180 degrees to the other side. In a flash of light, a massive glowing yellow blade as long as Archer was tall fizzed into existence. A steely expression on her face, the girl leapt forwards, even as the staff/axe/scythe/claymore spoke again.

[Sonic Move.]

The girl buzzed, like static, before she completely vanished. Archer's eyes widened in shock.

That's faster than Lancer!

His instincts suddenly screamed at him to duck. Having never got as far as he did ignoring them, he did so, barely missing the massive energy blade that swung through the space where his neck was, carving a burning path through the air. Archer dodged again, leaping through the air and landing on the roof, letting the damaged Kanshou and Bakuya shatter into prana, before materializing a new pair before the prana had even dispersed.

If the girl in front of him was surprised, she was damned good at hiding it. Leaping straight up and back, Archer was shocked to see small wings sprout from her ankles, holding her in the air. Several glowing balls of magic appeared in the air around her. She drew her blade back, even as the six balls merged into a large one in front of her.

[Plasma Smasher,] the staff intoned, a gleeful edge to its, his, voice.

Fate swung, slamming the blade into the ball, and sending out a massive arc of electricity, aimed directly at Archer. His eyes widening in shock again, he leapt straight up, letting the arc obliterate the roof and part of the building he was standing on. Archer floated in the air for a moment, letting himself overcome the shock. Lightly touching down on another roof, he quickly Traced his bow and broke another nameless sword in his armory, knocking, aiming and firing it faster than the girl could think. Her eyes widened, and she brought her sword around to block.

An explosion rocked the sky as the broken blade slammed into her with the force of an RPG round.

Archer knocked another broken blade and aimed again, before letting fly at the middle of the smoke cloud. The arrow/sword passed through, exploding when it hit something.

He waited. Even if this girl had somehow survived the first shot, the second would've finished her. She was no Servant, that much was clear. He was then surprised to see that both shots had done nothing. The reason:

A glowing yellow barrier between the arrows and the girl. Her teeth were grit in effort, but the obnoxious voice of the staff sword spoke out in a smug voice.

[Protection.]

V*V*V*V

Fate panted. Her reserves had been strained severely blocking those explosive arrows. She probably only had enough for two Arc Sabers before she succumbed to exhaustion. Three if she canceled Flier Fin.

Nanoha! She called. The telepathic cry reached her friend just as she finished setting up the teleportation link to the Arthra.

Fate-chan! Are you alright? Came the concerned reply from Nanoha.

I need help, Fate answered. I'm running low on magic, and I can't release the Limiter Seal without prior permission.

Hold on Fate-chan!

Fate glared at the white haired archer below her, but the intensity was lowered by her exhaustion. The archer knocked another arrow, but decided that was a bad idea when he heard something.

"DIVINE BUSTER!"

A pink beam of destruction screamed through the space he'd previously occupied. Fate was glad that they set up a barrier before hand, keeping the people outside from knowing what was going on. The Earth mage on the ground was hiding, a good idea on her part. TSAB mages, especially Nanoha, Fate and Kieren where known to cause some kind of collateral damage. Nanoha always did the most out of the three due to her being more focused on Bombardment-type magic to Fate's Precision and Speed-type and Kieren's Sniping-type. Of course, both and Fate and Kieren had their moments. The holder of the Most Collateral Damage in One Engagement Award went to Kieren a year back when he cast Solar Storm for the first time. It ended the battle right then, but wiped out an area of the Mid-Childan terrain the size of several city blocks.

"I'm sorry!" Nanoha called, flying up next to Fate. "You're interfering with TSAB operations."

The archer looked confused.

"TSAB?" he asked. "Is that similar to the Magus Association?"

Fate and Nanoha looked at each other and shrugged.

"We wouldn't know, never heard of them."

"... I see." The Archer raised his bow. "Still, I can't let you live with what you've seen."

He was about the pull back on his bow string when the seal Nanoha was etched into the ground lit up, glowing a brilliant yellow. The seal rotated, even as an exact copy rose up from it, rotating in the other direction. There was a flare of light, then Kieren appeared along with Chrono and several Enforcers. All had their Devices out and Barrier Jackets equipped. A blur of blue and silver revealed the presence of Saber-san as she leapt towards the black and red clad Archer, whose eyes widened. He couldn't dodge.

"Archer! Vanish!"

Archer did so, barely avoiding the invisible blade that carved through the air. He was still there, as they could see, just intangible.

""Wha...?"" Fate and Nanoha breathed.

Saber then turned her attention briefly to the floating girls, before leaping straight at the Earth mage. Kieren and Chrono saw this, and instantly they raised their Devices.

""Chain Bind!"" they both called. Twin magic arrays, a red-orange square and blue circle respectively appeared in front of them, before several chains of magic shot out and grabbed hold of Saber, halting her progress just short of the dark brown haired girl who had revealed herself to get Archer to dodge. The girls eyes were wide in fear and shock, and Saber was struggling against the chains.

"Master!" she shouted. "She's an enemy Master!"

"She's also a human being! And if you weren't paying attention, she's the Master of Archer, who from what you told us, has a high Independent Action skill!" Kieren shouted back. "Servants are fair game, humans aren't!"

Saber stopped struggling. Kieren had raised a point. Just because she killed the Master didn't mean Archer couldn't escape and find a new one. And, as much as she hated it, she appreciated her Master and his CO from stopping her from killing the girl. It went against her code as a Knight to kill unarmed opponents.

"Very well," she said, letting her sword vanish, waiting to be called upon in the future. "I concede to you point, Master."

The Earth mage looked between Saber, Kieren and Chrono as the chains faded into sparks of magic. Her eyes were filled with a mix of confusion, fear, anger and awe. In her mind, seeing two human Magi cast a strange spell and stop a Servant with such little effort was a shock to her. The anger she felt was in embarrassment to seeing the ease with which that spell, which she could feel had more magic in one link of the chains than she had in her entire body, and all the gems on her person combined. Soon, the events of the night caught up with her, and her eyes rolled back into her head, falling over in a dead faint.

V*V*V*V

Poor Rin... she couldn't handle seeing flying humans, spells powerful enough to demolish buildings, teleportation and Binding spells strong enough to hold back a Servant.

Well, that's it for this chapter. 10 pages size 11 font in OpenOffice. Hope you enjoyed it!

Read & Review. Again, flames will be used to light your funeral pyres!

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