Illusion Breaker

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"Frank Castle, eh? Yes, that does seem to be a name to fit a man like you," he nodded thoughtfully, cupping his chin, speaking in a sort of friendly tone. At least, as friendly as he was able to be, it seemed, "Just like the young miss here. Rin Tohsaka... Yes, it seems like I've found myself in decent company. One that'll hopefully prove to be a good ally, and a powerful magus for a Master... though we might have to do something about that blabbermouth of yours, young Master," the man named Archer spoke with a low chuckle, not moving from his current position, "Tell me, Mr. Castle, are you the girl's caretaker or so? From my experience, magus parents generally don't live very long, so I imagine you're the one acting as her legal guardian or so..." He spoke, seeming to demonstrate knowledge of this modern era despite his strange clothing and armor, like he was from another place, "And more importantly... will you be a valuable ally?"
 
Frank quietly continued to examine him before answering. "I'd like to say we're a little bit closer than that... but she'll probably protest." His eyes met Rin's for a moment, a slightly mischievous light in them. The prospect of the carnage they could wreak with someone like him had brought out the rare good mood in Castle, and had helped him forget his fears. He even ignored Archer calling Rin a blabbermouth.

"As for me being a valuable ally... I'm not one to brag." He shrugged. They were discussing death, and Frank felt like an excited pubescent teenager at a comic book convention because of it. "I don't have any powers, but I suppose I could provide intel and ranged fire-support. Not many people can avoid a bullet coming from a mile away."​
 
Rin gave a slight pout at Frank's first statement, crossing her arms briefly, but said nothing on that matter, even after she met his eyes for a moment. As for Archer, he merely gave a light chuckle, briefly cupping his chin in thought as he nodded, listening to Frank's words. "Oh, is that so? Well, perhaps that would be useful against Masters, but mind you, they'll do little against Heroic Spirits who aren't affected by modern conventional weaponry," he spoke with a confident air to him, crossing his arms.

"He's got that covered. Always a step ahead..." Rin spoke with a sigh, as though the thought of remembering the fuss Frank had made over his magical guns alone had exasperated her, "Bullets laced in magical energy. Almost like the powerful Master from the previous war that Kirei said he had a lot of trouble with. Though they may not sound that effective on their own, Frank always gets his way. Doesn't he?" She asked knowingly, glancing at the older man briefly, also crossing her arms like Archer did.

"Hmm, is that right? Information and cover-fire... Well, as an Archer, that normally should be my department, but fortunately for you, Rin, I'm an adaptable Heroic Spirit who can fight both ways, up close and from far away. You've certainly lucked out. What I may lack in practical statistics, I'm sure I'll make up with my adaptability. And you wanted someone as easy as a Saber..." He spoke coolly with a confident edge, "Even if my Master has made quite a blunder with my summoning, it seems like she's well-prepared in every other aspect. Now, judging from the aura I sense in the city here, it seems that I'm the second-to-last Servant to be summoned. What say you about that?"

"Well, according to the word of the war's overseer, Kirei Kotomine, the war can be said to be officially started once at least six out of seven of the participants have summoned their Servant. The last remaining Master will simply lag behind, but that kind of person will be no problem to deal with at all, I'm sure," Rin said, swallowing briefly as she attempted to keep her cool when it came to the subject of combat and other people's lives, even if they were her opponent, "So for all intents and purposes, with this Command Seal confirming my part in the War, it's begun. I suppose that means we'll start patrolling tomorrow or so. I'm sure the other Servants can sense the new presence of a new enemy, eh?" She asked, holding up her hand and showing off the red insignia that was etched in.


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"Though we'll have to be careful. Not just of other Masters, but of the people who attacked this place earlier," Rin continued, taking a few minutes to explain the day's earlier events, the attack of the Freshmen, and the theft of the copied Jeweled Sword of Zelretch to Archer.

"So that's how it is, eh? An unworthy one has managed to usurp the power of the Second Magic," Archer nodded, calmly taking in what would be otherwise alarming information, at least to an orthodox mage. But it seemed like nothing was really normal about Servants, it seemed, "My, I simply intended to partake in a simple war between mages, and now you pile this extra business onto me... Mr. Castle, you had fought with them, yes? How many of them were there? I'd like to know how well you fare against other, normal humans," he said, intending to see how good Frank was. If he wasn't up to Archer's standards, the white-haired man would simply disregard him as someone in the way, someone that would put them at a disadvantage. The perks of having one's alignment be officially classified as "Neutral."​
 
Frank just met her eyes innocently, as though he didn't know what Rin was talking about.

During the rest of the exchange, he remained very quiet. He already understood most of what they were discussing and just didn't have any input.

When Archer turned to him again, he answered readily. "Didn't count, but there were more than three. Didn't give me much problem." He shifted and spoke up. "One had powers. Just made stuff appear out of thin air. Couldn't get a hit on him. Blew him up with the rest of his buddies on their helicopter."​
 
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As Archer would listen to what Frank had to say, he would stand up from his seat, crossing his arms. "I see... Ordinary soldiers led by one who is able to materialize matter into this world, eh? I can't say I'm familiar with any Heroic Spirit who is capable of doing that, so it's unlikely that whoever that was was a Servant, but that only makes things stranger, doesn't it?"

Rin nodded in response to Archer's inquiry, also crossing her arms, though with a frown in contrast to Archer's more interested look. "With a force like that, and from someone I don't even know... I wonder if they'll be back soon. I mean, they got what they wanted, since the fake Jeweled Sword is lost to me now, but I have a bad, foreboding feeling... like they might come back to finish me off to make sure I don't interfere with whatever they might be planning in the shadows."

"Hmph, I think you're thinking too much about it, but what do I know? I was just summoned today, and I need to gather my bearings on this world and try to reclaim my lost identity," he shrugged, "Besides, I'm sure that if they were to try something again, they will be swiftly slain by myself. And Mr. Castle if he wants to join in on the battle as well," the white-haired man spoke coolly, running a hand across his hair with a breath, "In that case, shall we rest? I'm sure it's been a big day for us all, and we should gather our energy on the war at hand, as well as keeping our guard up for any... unexpected anomalies."

"You just got summoned. You can't say that you've had a tiring day. Not until you prove your worth as a Servant and clean this entire mess up!" Rin exclaimed, bringing back to light the fact that the entire room was a mess. And then there was the hole in her bedroom as well...

"... What?"

"You heard me! All of it!"

"I already feel abused..."

"Quit whining! C'mon, Frank. Lemme bunk in your room for a bit while Archer fixes the hole in my bedroom. And my living room..."
 
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Frank blinked at the prospect of bunking with her. He was tempted... and that was exactly why he couldn't do it. Temptation led to things Rin wasn't ready for, even if she was getting close. "I... don't think we should do that. You're not..." He cleared his throat. "I can't..." Frank was very flustered. "You know I'd want to... well... but you're too..." He stammered before turning bright red and finally getting something rational out after pulling Rin aside. "Rin, you know how I feel about you. And if we did that, it would be hard for me to try not to instigate... well, sex," He said bluntly. "But you're not quite old enough... So, for now, you take the bed. I'll help Archer where I can and sleep on the couch."​
 
At first, Rin didn't know what Frank was going on about, as she wasn't thinking about that at the moment. However, when he had to spell it out, her face turned beet red as she blushed deeply, turning away with an embarrassed look, before yelling in frustration and other confused emotions.

"J-Jeez, what's wrong with you?! I wasn't even thinking about that, you know!" Rin exclaimed, putting her hands on her head. Without directly getting to him on her being old enough, as she had decided that was too embarrassing to even talk about, the girl would begin to speak again, "Fine, fine! Just don't try anything! I mean it!" She said, and with that, she stormed off in a rather comedic fashion.

With an amused chuckle, Archer unfolded his arms, looking at Frank with one eye closed. "My, it looks like you sparked quite the reaction from her. But I cannot blame her with what you said. I'd ask you to elaborate, but that'd be quite rude of me. After all, we've only just met, so instead, I shall ask... where might the equipment be to patch the place up?"
 
Frank actually smiled at Rin as she walked away. Being of Catholic upbringing, he was always taught one thing by his parents: If people live together, something will happen, whether they want it to or not. So he was being very cautious. Finally, he turned to Archer and answered.

"I don't know. I haven't had to do anything like that. If we need to, though, we can go buy some tools." He shifted quietly. "As for what happened... I'd like to think there's something between us, but... she's very young. I don't want her to do anything she might regret." Sighing, he examined the damage he inflicted. "I'm sorry she's having you do this. I'm responsible for the damage as much as the intruders were."​
 
"No, no, there's no need. I can simply make do with my Reinforcement magecraft. The process will be tedious, but it'll be effective nonetheless," he spoke, briefly shaking his head, "Besides, is it not late night? I doubt any shops would still be open around this time," Archer shrugged, walking over to the bench he was just sitting on and getting on one knee, bringing together the two crashed halves together and whispering a phrase to himself, before the bench would glow green lines.

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"For now, I suppose you could help by gathering the crashed pieces of rubble and placing them in the general location of where they're supposed to be. I'll deal with the ceiling myself, but for now, take those clock pieces to... well, the clock, and I'll do the rest from there," he spoke, before shifting the conversation back to Rin, "Hmph, it is no problem. Though I do not remember much of my past due to the botched summoning, I do recall I had an affinity for housework... though not to this degree. Speaking of which, is that so? Your feelings for her, that is? Hmph, yes. She seems like quite the popular young lady. I would expect nothing less from a girl like her, even if her personality is quite over-bearing. Still, that's quite the surprise. You're attracted to her in that way? She doesn't strike you as the daughterly type?" He asked without any judgment in his voice, but more objective intrigue than anything.​
 
His expression darkened. "Yeah, she is... but I already lost one daughter. Not gonna put myself in a position where I might lose another." Frank started to do as instructed. "It was hard enough, going this far."​
 
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"Ah, is that so? I see... Indeed..."
Archer nodded somewhat thoughtfully. His voice lacked any semblance of pity, but he wasn't completely apathetic. Instead, one might say he was almost understanding of Frank's position. Almost. Continuing to work on the bench, the green lines would eventually disappear and the giant crack where Archer once sat on had disappeared, as if the two pieces had been effectively glued back together. With that, he'd walk towards another damaged area, continuing his work.

"Yes, it's quite a pain, isn't it? Being close to others... the notion of losing them is a scary one, eh? Tell me, Mr. Castle. What exactly do you do? A man like you... I can almost sense a warrior's spirit. If not just someone who knows his way around fighting. And killing..."
 
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With a hint of sadistic pride, he answered whilst working. "I was something of a soldier, until I met R... Miss Tohsaka. Fought my own war, though. Cleaned up the streets where I could... in ways that weren't exactly met enthusiastically. Plenty of psychos are burning right now, and the world sure as Hell doesn't miss them." Frank paused before continuing. "It was a vendetta, in all honesty. Crime took what mattered from me... my family. So I returned the favor." His voice was empty of sadness. He actually smiled faintly. "It was pretty fun, making them squeal."

As for Frank's room, Rin might notice what might be Frank's only decoration; a piece of notebook paper mounted on the wall. Scrawled across it was the unpracticed cursive of a young child. It was a letter from his daughter, Lisa. It was fairly standard. It talked about how nice he was, if he was a bit quiet. Thanking him for being such a great father.

Thanking him for taking her and the rest of his family on a picnic to Central Park.

The bottom of the page had died blood obscuring some of the words.​
 
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"Ah, a vigilante, eh? Normally, I'd scoff at such a thought. The thought of deciding to take matters into your own hands and believing you can save and kill all you want all by yourself, but alas, judging by your age and what I sense from you, it looks like you were actually somewhat successful in whatever endeavors you set out to accomplish," Archer spoke, fixing up the cracked wall with the same method he used on the bench. He showed no fear, no particular disgust, but no particular affinity or agreement either. Just mild amusement. Perhaps it was fitting that the Akashic Records labelled his alignment as True Neutral after all, but that was another story, "Perhaps I can say more once I become adjusted to living in this world, but I feel as though I can relate to an extent. Though my goals were initially more... openly heroic. Lord knows how old I must have been when I set out on that journey... Tell me, do you ever question if your approach is the best way? The most convenient way? Do you ever wonder if there could have been another way? Any of that self-conflict jibber-jabber?"

Meanwhile, Rin would look curiously at the letter, reading it silently to herself. She was familiar with his past, and was sensitive about it. After all, she couldn't possibly imagine how devastating it must have been for him to go through something like that. Rin always had most of the things she wanted and kept it like that, and usually, the things she had lost were things that could be easily replaced, but family... family could never be replaced. That's why the things she did lose, the people she had lost, still bothered her, but what she had lost could never hold a candle to Frank's.

At least one of those whom Rin cared for was still alive, and thanks to the motivation Frank had given her back at the Coalition Headquarters, she was determined to keep it that way.

Jeez... still. How can he keep moving on like that? It makes me wonder... did he ever care about being hurt again? Did he ever let himself be hurt again?

She frowned a bit, before sighing, briefly shaking her head. If she wanted answers to those sorts of questions, she'd simply have to ask him herself, and that likely wasn't going to happen for a while. With that in mind, she'd take a breath, getting into his bed and laying down, thinking of the events that had transpired that day, and the steps she should take to prevent such things. Kotomine had advised to act as if nothing had happened while he and the Association took care of this, but it wasn't that simple. It never was.​
 
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Frank flashed back to his more recent vigilante excursions, all dressed up in his Sunday best as usual.

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This was the time where he questioned himself most. Where his very life was subject to his own scrutiny. What was he still doing? He should have retired years ago. His motivation and methods never came into question, though.

"Actually... no. People like that... the men I went after... they deserved every second of agony I gave them. I wouldn't take back a thing I've done. Except... well, you might think I'm crazy, but maybe I'm just a senile old man. What if what I did was the other way around? Hunting innocents? To be honest... the thought doesn't frighten me as much as it should. But... no. That's not what I do. Not who I am. Hell, Frank Castle isn't even my real name." He sat the rubble down without explaining his last comment. He hadn't told anyone his real name in a very long time. Not since he traded his Bible for an M-16. "Short answer: No. I don't ever question what I did- and sometimes still do- to people like the men who gunned down my children."​
 
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"Ah, I see... Yes, very interesting,"
he spoke with a nod, continuing to fix the place up, giving a small chuckle, "Do not worry. It's not the notion of being okay with mass slaughtering of those who deserve to die that makes me think you are mentally unwell, but rather, the idea of trying to achieve such an ideal like trying to stomp out a concept like evil with the means that you employ. But I suppose I'd have to learn more before I can fully judge, eh? You don't sleep that much, do you? Perhaps we could bond over some tea after we're done with this mansion?" Archer would ask, before ceasing to speak any further.

He personally felt some sort of strange urge to go further into criticizing Frank's lifestyle, as if he found having ideals about anything, regardless of whether they were idealistic or cynical in tone, but refrained for now, as he was personally more concerned with the details of his past life, which were lost on him due to Rin's faulty summoning. Perhaps if he waited for the details of his past to return, he would know why he was like this, but for now, he kept quiet, continuing to repair the broken objects as his Master had commanded.​
 
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"I guess I'd like to stomp out evil... but I know I never would have. I'm not even a vigilante anymore. I'm more Miss Tohsaka's... bodyguard." Frank didn't really know what they were. He was too afraid to ask. "Anyways, I'm not much for tea, but... very well. I guess we should talk. I'd like to know the person I'm going to fight alongside." He shifted. "So... you have no freedom? You're like a slave?" That seemed to bother him. Archer was clearly as much a person as he was.​
 
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"Bodyguard, eh? I suppose that's a suitable way to describe it. Quite a lucky girl, isn't she? A bodyguard and a Servant at her disposal..."
Archer spoke, somewhat amused, "No, not exactly a slave... I'd rather describe myself as realistic. You could try to take on all the evils in the world, but in the long run, wouldn't your efforts be wasted? After all, such a concept like that is everlasting. Indestructible. It is a part of human nature, and evil can only exist as long as humans exist... unless you're doing this for a less idealistic reason," he would inquire, almost hinting at what he believed to be Frank's sadistic tendencies, before clearing his throat, "Forgive me if I was... ah, imposing. It's simply been a while since I've met someone new."
 
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"Wiping out evil is all well and good... but what I want... Er, wanted... is revenge. Bloody, sadistic revenge." Frank had never kid himself. He never believed he could clean up the whole world. "Ever heard kids scream, Mister Archer? Really scream? I'm not talking about that melodramatic nonsense they make when they're upset. I'm talking about the sound a nine year old girl makes when she has a bullet in her stomach. When her father tries desperately to just stuff her guts back into her belly. It's not a sound of this world. It's a screech of horror and agony. Or the sound a six year old boy makes when he's shocked by the cacophony of gun-fire and when he sees his mother with a gaping hole in her chest right before he catches a bullet in the mouth. In the end... that's why I killed people. Not because of some delusion, but because of how much I hate those bastards for what they did."​
 
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"Hmph, then I guess I misjudged you, Mr. Castle,"
Archer lightly chuckled, finishing up with the living room and making his way to the bedroom now, expecting Frank to follow, before listening to his question and his little monologue, "I see. So that is why you chose to fight. Instead of becoming a protector, a guardian, you chose to become a hunter. I would not be able to answer if I've heard such a sound come from a child, as my memory is still a blur to me," he said calmly, briefly shaking his head, before using his Reinforcement magecraft to work on the hole in the wall in Rin's room from earlier that day.

"But I can imagine just what it might be. Suffering and pain is inevitable in life. Some are bound to suffer far worse fates than others, and that is why the world is a cruel mistress, eh? So in that case... I'm assuming you stopped for little Ms. Tohsaka? Trying to break habits you've kept for decades for a girl you've met... how long ago?"
 
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"Over fifty thousand notches on my belt... yeah, you could call me a hunter." Of course Frank followed. It was more his responsibility than Archer's to him. "I haven't known her terribly long... but I'm getting old, Mister Archer." The former vigilante let out a mirthless laugh. "I am old. I don't really want to settle down, but... if there's anywhere I'm going to do it, it'll be wherever she is. If that doesn't mean we're together... that's fine. As long as I can make one person happy before I die... I'll feel pretty damn good about myself." He proceeded to help the Servant. "As for the sound... I pray you never have to hear anything like it." He peered over to the room Rin was presumably asleep in. "I... Well, I'm not sure if I canmake her happy through romance. I've been a widower for over thirty years, so I'm more than a little rusty, and I'm not terribly long for this Earth. Not to mention she's... never really explored that venue. So I guess my real fear, right now, is that I'll fail her and someone will take her away." His voice was smaller than before. "I guess that wouldn't be the end of the world. At least she'd be happier."​
 
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