Chapter Text
Three months before the start of the Holy Grail War that would take place in Fuyuki, the Einzbern family accidentally hit a snag in their plan to summon the mighty Greek Hero Herakles as a Berserker, as the treasure they intended to use for the ritual, a column from a temple dedicated to him, was lost in transit, believed stolen, and thus, the ritual was interrupted. Luckily, thanks to their prior research and efforts into obtaining a catalyst for the summon of King Arthur, the Einzberns had kept a treasure, a blood soaked coat said to have been worn by King Arthur himself, as he defeated the forces of the Saxons invading the island.
Thus, the ritual was complete about a month after that, and the Berserker was summoned, certainly not the one intended to be summoned, but a strong one nonetheless.
The ritual to try to force Mad Enhancement, however, was immediately overcome by the indomitable will and peerless power of King Arthur... who was not what they expected. A pale, ghastly figure, almost like a walking corpse, with discolored hair, golden eyes, glowing veins of red mana coursing up her body as she flexed her magical muscles, blackened armor, and a sword steeped in darkness.
"I am King Arthur, I ask of thee, are you my master?" she asked, her mighty gaze glaring down at her tiny master, who was wracked with pain for a good few moments before the flow of mana was adjusted.
"Y-Yes, yes... this will do... I'll kill Onii-chan with dad's own servant, isn't that poetic?"
...
Tohsaka Rin tried to pretend to be perfect. She even double checked to make sure she had the clock set right, and corrected a mistake before it happened. She had to be flawless. She was a Magus, she had to be an example in everything she did, she was elite, she was refined, she was-
Knocked on her ass, but caught by a gallant figure in-
"Ho there," the golden blonde haired, green eyed, irrationally beautiful woman who held her called her attention, wrapping delicate, yet strong, arms around her. "I am Servant Archer, true name, Artoria Pendragon - King Arthur, I ask of you, are you my master?" she asked.
"Bwuh, you're- not Saber," she said.
"Indeed. Although my Holy Sword would qualify me for the class," she said, "in this form and with Excalibur Vivian, I am most well suited to play to my heart's content as a beach goer!" she called, with a bright, charming smile on her face, as the effects of her Beach Flower skill affected Rin, and that was what she would claim later, because she totally didn't expect she'd fall for King Arthur on first sight.
Still... "Uhm... Archer, why are you in a bikini?" she asked. Cute though it was... "You know what nevermind, let's just get out of the basement first..."
...
"Caster, I am your master, and you will-"
"I only have one Master, and it's not you... I cannot bear to defend such a vile man. Perish!"
Before he could even open his mouth to activate his command seals, the would be Master of Caster, whose name she would only vaguely remember as Atomic Gatorade, was torn apart by a series of beams of golden light.
His atrocities would be cleared up. Those he had controlled, liberated. The ones whom he had reduced to a state worse than death, freed from their suffering and allowed rest. She traded her heavy, ornate armored robe for a simpler outfit, a gray skirt, a sleeveless white top, black tights and leather boots. She had much to do and little time to do it.
"We'll be together again, my Master... just wait for me."
...
"I see... no, that makes sense to me, that's perfect, you could not have chosen better!"
The temple was quiet. It sat at the top of the tallest point of Fuyuki, and more importantly, it sat at the most convenient, biggest and most powerful leylines' convergence. For one who was so intimately connected to the planet, harnessing its energies came as child's play. Given her nature as a fundamental aspect of existence, the world was more than gracious allowing her existence.
Enough so that she could even... bend the rules a little bit. Something she had seen done a thousand times, and though she had only summoned herself before, for once, she had been the one to summon another. Surely, if the humans could imitate the Grand Servant Summoning Ritual, she could imitate the inferior knockoff, right?
She summoned an Assassin to assist her. With a blue and gold jacket, a hat that did absolutely nothing to conceal her identity, dark shorts and a familiar face, Assassin responded.
"In this Grail War... yes, I really am the perfect choice. I won't disappoint you, as thanks for the opportunity you've granted me, I'll do my best and hunt all those Sabers down, or my name is not Mysterious Heroine X!!"
...
"There is only one thing that stands between you and oblivion, priest... the light at the end of the world will find you some day."
She hissed her words out with such vitriol and hatred that it almost, key word being almost, caused Kirei to flinch. But the ever somber priest simply remained impassively unmoved, hands locked together behind his back, no fear in either his voice or his demeanor. "So it seems, and yet here I stand, shrouded in darkness still," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Go forth Lancer, test your opponents, learn the lay of the land and get the measure of our enemies."
"That I shall;" she responded, "you best hold to your end of the bargain."
"I've been known to be many things in life, King of Knights, but I've never once been known to not follow through," he said, "as long as you obey, I will ensure she survives. If you do not..."
The blonde bombshell narrowed her eyes, then turned around. Clad in radiant white armor and a thick mantle, her stunning figure was hidden from view, but even so she was dashing and gallant, and as she turned around, her steed appeared before her. In a moment, she put a hand on the saddle and then jumped astride Dun Stallion. King Arthur, wielding the divine lance Rhongomyniad, set off, her mighty steed becoming but a ray of dashing light, invisible to the unenhanced eye.
The priest's smile was as fake as every other part of his demeanor as he observed the servant depart.
...
A heeled shoe hit the ground with not a clack or thud, but instead, a disgusting, dirty squishing noise. A mop hit the ground, and in just moments, water flowed from within its tresses, soapy bubbles foamed up.
The Matou Household had never been as cleaned as it was just a few hours after Matou Sakura completed the summoning of her servant.
Rider, Artoria Pendragon, King Arthur, had answered the summons of a young girl in distress, but rather than a radiant figure of a Knight King of legend, what appeared from the summoning circle was... a young woman in a skimpy fetish maid bikini, holding a bucket in one hand and a water pistol in the other. Not two seconds after confirming that her Master was indeed the purple haired young girl, she wasted little time in beginning the process of cleaning, tidying and pest extermination.
"I think that is the last of the worms," the maid said, wiping nonexistent sweat from her brow. "With that, my task is complete, and I declare the house to be clean."
It was positively spotless. Not a single worm, nor their master, remained. The pest was gone. The mess cleaned up.
"I- Rider, I don't understand... you would go this far," her master said, "in just a couple hours... I feel so inadequate right now."
Rider scoffed. "You have great potential to follow in the footsteps of your seniors and become a Maid, I see it within you, the spirit of one who would serve another... with love, with care, with affection, with the utmost dedication that only a true Maid is capable of," she said, turning to Sakura. "Fear not, for I possess the skill Coaching, and with its power I can guide and raise you to perform well in any battlefield, and love and cleaning are battlefields like any other!" she said, putting her mop on the ground and holding it in front of her like it was a sword stabbed in the ground. "I will turn you into a true maid, befitting of my apprentice!"
...
One last one remained.
Under normal circumstances, it would've been a moment of desperation that would have brought her out...
Instead, perhaps due to a nudge from a certain force, instead of a moment of desperation leading to a fateful encounter...
It happened while Shirou was cleaning his shed instead. He cut his finger on something, while still reeling from artificially creating a magic circuit, and a droplet of blood happened to connect a circuit from the circle drawn on the floor that he'd never actually really seen.
The circle glew with effulgent light, and the divine form of the Once and Future King emerged from within.
Shirou fell on his ass, and looked up at the serene figure in front of him. Her eyes fluttered open, shining like green jewels, the light of the moon trickling in from the open window of the shed, casting upon her, as Shirou beheld perhaps the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"I am Servant Saber. I ask of you..." she extended a gauntleted hand towards him, palm up. She was serious, perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Shirou would swear he saw her smile just then. "... are you my master?"
Shirou was going to need so many explanations... thankfully, it didn't take long for him to actually have another fateful encounter of destiny that would set him on the path to the reveals he needed.
...
Among all the servants, however, what none of them knew...
The Banquet of Kings was held, a moment of civility, as all the instances of King Arthur were present for it, each flanked by their master, except for Caster and Assassin, due to their special circumstances.
Saber Artoria placed her hand on the table, her eyes scanning all of her peers, trying, and failing, to look like she wasn't jealous of Lancer's assets.
"My instincts tell me..." she narrowed her eyes and glared at each Artoria in turn, looking eyes with them, "there is an imposter among us."