Chapter 7: Contact

"We're here," Rider announced.

Saber scowled at her. "I know we're here! I'm not blind, you know!"

The four of them stood in front of the abandoned chapel. Jaune had heard rumours about this mysterious building standing in the middle of nowhere, that it was haunted by ghosts or demons or some other superstition. He certainly hadn't had any idea that the place was occupied.

"Brr. This place gives me the creeps," Ruby shivered, holding her scythe to her chest tightly. "Are we really going inside? What if there are monsters?"

"Only one way to find out," Rider said cheerfully, forcefully pushing the old wooden doors, causing them to open with a loud creak. Despite everyone's nervous protests, she walked right into the chapel, yelling "Heellllloooo…anyone home?"

"So you've come." A man's voice responded from the darkness. A tall, skinny old man with silvery-gray hair walked into view, his cane going thump, thump against the floor in a steady rhythm. He had a serene yet weary smile on his face, and there was an aura of mystery around him that Jaune couldn't quite explain.

"Hello, Professor Ozpin," Rider grinned, relaxing her shoulders. "Though, I guess, you probably don't know who I a-"

Ozpin smiled enigmatically. "Fear not, Yang Xiao Long. I remember you quite well-all of you, in fact. It is good to see you here." He turned his piercing gaze to Jaune and Ruby. "Miss Rose…and Mister Arc. I presume you are the Masters, so I would like to speak to the two of you specifically. Miss Schnee, Miss Xiao Long, you may wait in the corner over there."

The two girls immediately did as the old man said. Even Saber didn't protest like Jaune thought she would, simply walking over to a nearby bench with Rider without a word. This guy has some serious presence, he thought, if he order Weiss around without setting her off.

"Now then, both of you," Ozpin continued, addressing Jaune and Ruby. "I don't know how you became involved in the Holy Grail War, whether it was by decision or by accident. That being said, I am fully prepared to answer any questions you may have."

Jaune opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. I had so many questions, but now I suddenly can't think of anything to say. Ruby spoke in his place. "So, um…this 'Holy Grail' thing…what is it? Does it really…does it really grant any wish?"

Ozpin smiled. "Indeed it does…any one desire of a Master-Servant pair. When all but one of the Masters remains in the game, the Holy Grail shall appear here for the victor to claim."

"U-umm…" Ruby bit her lip feverishly. "Do we really have to, uh, kill people to win this 'Grail' thingy? These other contestants, they'll try to kill us too, right?"

Ozpin waited for a moment, seemingly thinking over what to say, before answering. "Technically not. Masters and Servants have a symbiotic relationship, of sorts. The life energy of a Master is what sustains a Servant's existence in this world. And the Servant, in return, keeps their Master safe from harm. If one is killed, the other is effectively rendered harmless…under most circumstances. But I'd advise you to be careful, nonetheless.

"Alternatively…" the old man leaned in closer, and Jaune felt chills running down his back. "As the observer of the Holy Grail War, I can allow you to forfeit your Command Seals and thus your status as a Master. Then, you will no longer be at risk of having the other Masters and Servants hunting you down."

Jaune shook his head violently. "No," he spluttered. "I can't do that. This war is my best chance-the FIRST chance I've ever had to prove myself-to become stronger! I can't be a coward and run away from my chance to win-even if it puts me in danger!"

"…I see. Yes, I thought you might say that." Ozpin nodded, his eyes filled with a strange emotion. For a second, Jaune thought it resembled…pity. He turned to Ruby. "And you, Miss Rose?"

Ruby sighed, fidgeting with her scythe. "I mean, I didn't really know what I was getting into when I read that letter from my uncle. This whole war thing is kinda scary, really. Still…" she smiled at Rider over in the corner. "Yang…she says I'm her sister in another world. And I…want her to stick around. To know more about her, and where she comes from. And hey…this Grail thing sounds really cool, I definitely want to win it." She flashed a bold grin. "So…I'm staying in, too."

Ozpin smiled, giving an approving nod. "Well said, Miss Rose."

As they spoke, Jaune turned his head to where the Servants were standing, listening in on their conversation. "So Weiss, what's your story, hmm?" Rider asked, leaning on the bench with her legs folded. "In my world, you're part of my team at Beacon, y'know? Everyone there calls you the 'Ice Queen', pretty fitting huh?"

Saber scowled. "Beacon Academy? Why would I ever go there? That school is filled with lowborns, amateurs and cheats! I was going to go to Atlas Academy, but then I ended up in this foolishness of a war, with a scraggy fool as a Master!" She flashed an irritated glare at Jaune, who returned her look with a weary smile.

"Huh…so in your world, you never went to Beacon? Hard to imagine that, I think you fit right in with us lowborns, Ice Queen," Rider grinned.

"What did you just say?!"

"Is there anything else you would like to know?" Ozpin's voice brought Jaune back to attention. "Ah, well…" C'mon, think of something, anything… "My parents always wanted to keep the secret of the Grail from me," he began slowly. "My family's been connected to the Holy Grail War for many generations…why would they try to keep this from me?" To keep me safe, Jaune thought, but that answer didn't feel satisfying to him. Or perhaps the idea that his parents had so little faith in his ability to survive wounded his pride greatly.

Ozpin gave him an infuriatingly calm smile. "Some things, Mister Arc, are better kept as a secret…for now. Especially when, if I am not mistaken, you have more pressing concerns at the moment."

"Uhh…what do you…" Ruby began, before being cut off by a loud thump at the door. Everyone went dead quiet, and turned to look. After a moment of silence, there was another, louder thump.

"…That sounds bad," Ruby said nervously. "Hey uh, Mister Ozpin, how did you know there were…uh?" She looked behind her, but Ozpin was nowhere to be found. "W-where did he go?"

Rider smiled wearily. "I dunno about the disappearing thing, but he sure as hell is every bit as cryptic as the Professor Ozpin I know. So," she said, bumping her gauntlets together. "What do you say we get out there and give our visitors a nice welcome, eh?"

"You can just leave everything to me, my reluctant ally," Saber said silkily, as she fidgeted with the Dust canisters on her rapier. The two Servants walked up to the chapel door. "You two, get behind," Saber muttered to Jaune and Ruby. "And don't bother helping me, you'll just get in the way."

There was about a minute of silence in the abandoned building, save for the continuous thumps against the great door, getting progressively louder. "Okay…now!" Rider swung her fist at the door, smashing it open, before charging outside, glancing around her in anticipation. Saber, Jaune and Ruby followed suit. The four of them looked around in confusion. There was no one in sight.

"Hmmm. That's disappointing," Rider sighed, relaxing her arms. "Guess whoever it was got bored of waiting for us, or-"

Saber's body tensed. "Look out!" she hissed, pointing her rapier upward. A large white shield glyph manifested, just in time to block the three balls of silver energy that were barrelling straight towards them. "Wh-wh-what's happening?" Jaune yelled, almost falling over in surprise. Ruby grabbed her scythe, looking around aimlessly with fear in her eyes.

"Hey, now…look who it is." A young man's voice came from the darkness. As the dust from the attack settled, he casually strutted into view, a mischievous smile on his boyish face. "Four on one, huh? Aww, you shouldn't have. No need to go easy on me."

A Servant, Jaune thought immediately.

"I know you," Rider muttered, raising her arms in a battle stance. "You're…a student from Haven Academy…and you were on a visit to Beacon…your name's Mercury Black, right?"

"Assassin," Mercury Black corrected her. "That's what they call me here, anyway. And hey, it kinda fits." Casually, Assassin stretched out his arms, and let out a bored yawn. "And you all…eh, honestly, I don't remember. I've definitely met some of you, but I guess you didn't leave any impression. 'Course, we're not going to be acquainted for long in this world, either." He broke out into a sprint, heading straight toward them.

He's fast! Jaune froze up, completely unable to move. Saber summoned another shield glyph, blocking Assassin's kick. The impact left a noticeable crack in the barrier. "What…" she gasped.

"Hrahhh!" Assassin swung another kick, shattering the shield and meeting Saber's sword edge. Quickly, he leapt onto the tip of the sword and kicked her in the face. Rider fired several shots from her shotgun gauntlets, but Assassin simply deflected them with his legs. "C'mon, that's all you got?" he taunted.

"Grrrr…" Rider gritted her teeth, clearly angered by the insult. She ran at Assassin, her hair glowing with golden energy, swinging powerful punches at him while Saber attempted to stab him with her sword. Assassin leapt from side to side with startling agility, parrying their attacks with his kicks.

He's better than both of them, Jaune realized, horrified. He'd thought Weiss and Yang were unbelievably strong, but this new Servant was outperforming them like they were nothing. He remembered reading in a tome that the Assassin-class Servants were supposed to be among the weakest. Clearly, this one wasn't very fond of following tradition.

Assassin leapt onto one of Rider's gauntlets. A loud bang rang out from his gun-boot, twisting her arm sideways as she cried out in pain. Assassin grinned as the impact from the shot launched him upward, before stretching his right leg forward in preparation for a powerful kick. Saber desperately prepared to summon another glyph. She's not going to make it on time, Jaune thought, despairing. He wanted to help, but what could he do?

"Hey, what's that?" Ruby suddenly asked, pointing somewhere above her. Jaune looked up just in time to see a bright red fireball slam into Assassin. The young man's eyes widened in surprise before crashing to the ground, arms flailing. A woman dressed in red landed gracefully in front of Saber and Rider, her hands glowing with fire. "H-hey…what're you doing here…" Assassin muttered angrily.

"Ah…" Saber looked taken aback at the new arrival, as she quickly dusted off her dress. "Erm, I'm not sure who you are, but thank you for hel-"

The woman cut her off with a large wave of fire that blasted Saber, Rider and their Masters several feet back. Jaune grunted in pain as his back slammed into the ground. "No need for thanks," she purred, her amber eyes glowing gold. "I'm afraid you still have other problems to deal with tonight."

Four Servants and two Masters, Blake observed from her perch. She had a feeling the battle was going to get more fearsome as the night went on. It looks like the blonde and the girl in red are working together. But there are two Masters missing…she looked around. Are they also hiding around here, watching?

"Master. Look about…I'd say seventy degrees to your right." Caster's voice rang out from her earpiece. Blake looked, and sure enough, there was a man there, holding a sniper rifle and wearing a familiar outfit.

White Fang. That didn't necessarily mean Adam was with them, but it raised the possibility. Assuming that one of the two other Servants down by the chapel belonged to her former ally that still left one Master unaccounted for. Blake looked around into the trees, using her Faunus eyesight to analyze her surroundings.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a head of red hair run past in the distance, and a chill of fear ran down her spine. Looking closer, though, she saw that it wasn't Adam, but a young girl. She ran deeper into the forest and was soon out of sight. Could that be the other Master? Blake wondered. It seemed likely.

The bullet flew past her, barely missing her shoulder, embedding itself in the tree behind her. Blake froze, glancing at it in shock. Static ran through her earpiece, and she heard a familiar voice. "That was a warning shot, darling," Adam said softly. "Don't worry, I don't plan to kill you yet. But stay still like a dear, won't you? Once the other Servants have been dealt with, I promise I'll come back and take good care of you." His voice cut off, and there was nothing but static left.

Shit…shit! Blake turned and ran into the forest, looking behind her as she went. Finally stopping to hide behind an old oak tree, she pulled out her backup earpiece and whispered to her Servant. "He's here. He's got some grunts with him…I don't know how many. And there's another Master, a red-headed girl, somewhere around here. Incapacitate them if you can, but try not to reveal yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Caster replied.

Everything went quiet, aside from the sounds of the battle raging below her. Blake took out her pistol and loaded it slowly. She knelt down, feeling her heart pound against her chest, and glanced around nervously, waiting for a chance to strike.