#at least ciel wasn't his opponent

[princessbutler1316]

[kaibutsushidousha]

Fitting given the recent FGO news, but what are your thoughts on Takeru?

Bundling all these asks together because they're inseparable. Probably the biggest askbox cleanup I ever did in one go.

The short version of the answer is "Fate/Samurai Remnant is the story of a pair completely enamored with each other's least favorite parts of themselves."

Saber was a complete natural. A child too strong. His father quickly noticed that and exploited Ousu as Yamato's mightiest colonizer. All they knew in life was violent conquest until Tachibana taught them love and kindness. But Tachibana was uncritical. She didn't talk Takeru out of their bloody path. On the contrary, she chose death so that the walk would continue. She loved Takeru's good and bad alike.

Through Iori, Saber met a new world. A world where the weak had the option not to fight. A world where rice was easily accessible. A world that had no need for Yamato Takeru's journey, thus no need for Ototachibanahime's death. And there he met an intriguing man who still wanted to fight in a world where this wasn't needed.

In their interactions, Saber grows to envy Iori's rational acclimation to the peaceful Edo. The ability to find solutions that don't require violence. To strategize conversations. To not do things aren't virtuous. To sympathize and empathize. To read and understand the thoughts of others. It's by emulating this that Saber changes.

Meanwhile, Iori is a thinker. His exceptional rationality allowed him to weasel his way out of a village massacre, which lasted until Munenori inadvertently saved his life. After this whole time desperately using his brain to survive, Iori witnessed the easy way out. With a slash that looked like the moon, the sword saint survived without resorting to Iori's tiresome trickery. That absolute strength was the symbol of survival Iori saught.

He learned from Musashi (and Kojirou) for as long as he could, but ultimately couldn't learn all. Without completing Niten's lessons, Iori was left capable only of doing what he does best: thinking, reading, and adapting. He designed his Five Stances model and began fighting by switching patterns according to his circumstances. The opposite of the all-purpose survival mechanism that he began his training for.

Through Saber, Iori saw his original inspiration. Right in the prologue, Iori is already gushing about how Saber fights with the swordplay of a champion who doesn't read or respond to their opponent, letting only themself dictate how they fight, like they were the only one in the field. Saber can survive any situation with far less effort than Iori.

In their interactions, Iori grows to envy Saber's force of character as an unmalleable force. Their outstanding technique is just like the moon he saw at the night at the port. Iori can't feel at peace until he surpasses it. No matter how much of himself he must trim down, he needs to find raw all-purpose power (the Fire and Void Stances). Saber's ability to push through any challenge without as much as evaluating it. It's by emulating this that Iori changes.

The conclusion of Entreat the Darkness sees Iori defeated by Saber's successful read of him. The talentless Iori continuously relied on his "petty" tactic of studying his opponent, so when the talented Saber started pulling the same thing on him, it was so thoroughly hopeless that he had to laugh it off and accept he got as far as he could. Iori was pacified by his own lessons being repeated to him by the person who heartfeltly absorbed them, in classic Ciel route style.

Saber and Iori were born in the wrong eras. The latter would have been more self-assured in an age where he could prove and elevate himself in duels that put the limits of life and death to the test. The former would have been more happy in an age where they could feel assured their treasured companion(s) would last as long as they did.

But through the short time they shared, they got everything they wanted. Iori found satisfaction in finding that insurmountable that confirmed that he became the very best he could possibly be. Saber found satisfaction in gaining a companion through a much more gratifying journey than the unification of Japan.

The logical conclusion to my opening sentence is that Saber and Iori had the missing pieces to each other's puzzle, and sharing those made both of them whole.

[primevein]

The Prime of His Youth: Book IV: Fire's Master: Ch04: Wrath of the Prime

Japheth Prime lifted his right hand up to his ear as he patched himself into the PA, "This is Japheth Prime, all combatants to the cargo bay for a war council."

* * *

Japheth walked into the Ion's cargo bay with Arcee and the twins, Carron already waiting there. Stormwright was the first to follow, followed by Dust Up, Jumpstream, Rust Dust, and Pyra Magna.

"So?" Pyra Magna asked, "What are we going to do? Something underground?"

"Who here knows anything about Moonbase Beta?" Japheth asked, and silence followed. "Who here knows anything about Airachnid?" Again, no reply. He turned to the corridor, "Ciel?" he asked, and she stepped in, followed by Siernia and Roxana. "Ciel will make sure you go over the records. We'll reconvene in a milicycle."

* * *

Japheth and Arcee sat on their bed. "Did you want to talk about it?"

"You know how afraid I am?.." Arcee nearly shook as she asked.

"I know." he said warmly, reassuringly. She curled up, pressing as much of herself against him as she could.

"I also know we have to do this." Arcee replied. "But, you might get a chance to unleash your rage?"

"Apparently, when combined, they can control gravity."

"They can what?" Arcee asked.

"Control gravity. Apparently every combiner has a gift, and their's is gravity."

"How much?" Arcee asked.

"Enough to fly, which given their mass is incredible."

"So?" Arcee asked, "They could pin her with gravity, and we could?.."

"Capture her." Japheth said, and it felt Arcee's entire body shake with fear. "If we can capture her, we have to." he stated.

"Her?" Arcee harshly, fearfully asked.

Japheth let out a great sigh, steeling himself to speak, "Has she killed more than Shockwave?" Horrid, visceral silence followed. "More than Starscream?" he asked. This one wasn't felt as harshly, but they knew he had killed more, at least directly.

It took sometime for Arcee to finally recover enough to speak, "And how do you plan to?.."

"Her spider legs are cybernetic." Japheth stated, and thought he could feel the air being pulled out of her lungs. "From the records of The Forged."

"How do I find it hard to believe he actually caught her?" Arcee finally asked.

"Because he didn't." Japheth said, and paused as they both felt the statement. "She volunteered. He was experimenting with Insecticons."

Another harsh, heady, horrifying moment passed, "And why didn't you tell me?.."

"Uh... heh - heh - heh..." he said, and let out a colossal sigh, "The answer is actually really simple." Another pause passed.

"And that is?.." Arcee asked.

"I couldn't think of a good time." Japheth said, and another heady pause followed.

"You know what?" Arcee asked, "Yeah. Is there a reason we're lying in bed?" Arcee asked.

"Make it easier to take?" Japheth asked.

"Why are we still in bed?" she asked.

"I figured you might want to?.." he asked, and trailed off as she sat up to her knees, looking down at him.

"How about if I want to work off some stress?" Arcee asked.

"And... I'm going to say no?" Japheth asked.

* * *

Japheth walked into the cargo bay, a head taller than everyone else. "So, we know everyone is on the same page. Our primary target is Airachnid, an absolutely deadly opponent, whom I want to defeat with zero casualties. She is surrounded by an army of Terrorcons, many of whom are Elder Insecticons."

"You just say whatever the slag you want, don't you?" Pyra Magna neutrally asked.

"He has a tendancy to do that." Arcee stated, "But, even if it seems impossible, he wouldn't unless he thought we could do it."

"And we also don't have a landing boat." Japheth stated.

"And you didn't want to maybe wait until we get one?" Dust Up asked.

"Oh, slag-yeah." Rust Dust eagerly said, quickly striking her tiny fists together.

"We are waiting for the Phthia." Japheth stated, "And I want this done before they return. Hopefully the calculations will be done right after."

"What calculations?" Jumpstream asked.

"We can do this." Pyra Magna stated.

Rust Dust and Jumpstream turned towards her and developed an intense, committed look.

"I know you can fly, but can you reach escape velocity?" Japheth asked.

"From a moon?" Skyburst said as she walked around him.

"Of course." Stormclash said, following her sister.

"How accurately could the Ion support you?" Japheth asked.

"You would have to aim at the moon." Rust Dust said, proudly looking up at him. "Given the moon's rotation, you have a quarter cycle."

"And?" Japheth asked.

"If we're fighting, to a chord." Rust Dust proudly added.

"You'd probably need someone to be forward observer, and..." he said, and looked a Stormwright. She seemed surprised at first, and then proudly stood to attention and saluted.

Japheth looked over the Rust Maidens, "Again, I want zero casualties. If it doesn't work, I want you to evacuate immediately. We can always return with a larger force." He then looked at Stormwright, "You are NEVER to get within contact range."

"My Prime!" she proudly exclaimed.

* * *

Japheth Prime stood on the roof with Arcee and Carron. Beside them was Stormwright and the six Rust Maidens. "Remember," Japheth voiced, "to take out a Terrorcon, you have to destroy their spark chambre. Stormwright will have the Ion's cannons target major groups at least a chord away. That's the most we can do." he said, and paused a moment, "From here. Proceed at your own time."

The six Rust Maidens watched the relative movements of the ship and the moon, until the time was right and they jumped. They transformed and combined in the air, and plummetted ever quicker towards the moon. When they were 90% of the way to the surface, a gravity field appeared above Victoria. It pulled her away from the moon, slowing down her fall. She landed firmly on the land, and looked about as the Terrorcons shambled towards her. A simple look showed them following a serpentine path up a hill, which was likely where Airachnid would be.

Four energon explosions happened along the path, with one behind her and three in front. She drew her great sword, and leaned forward before dashing towards the top. The gravity umbrella appeared above her as she leapt off the ground, and flew through the air, completely unpowered. It had been Exacycles since she had felt like this. Her cause was just and righteous, the battlefield covered by worthy enemies. Another four shots rang down from above and exploded around her. HE was watching from on high, and as His Rage, she would not be found wanting. She landed at a higher point on the serpentine path. She ducked down, and swung her sword, taking out the spark chambre of half a dozen Terrorcon Vehicons. She activated her gravity umbrella again as she leapt into the air, causing those around her to float and founder. Another barrage landed. Again, three ahead with one behind. Another landing. Another couple of swipes, and a dozen Terrorcon Insecticon elders fallen. Another gravity umbrella, another leap, and another barrage. The difference was that this time there was two behind her.

That worried her, though she did not have the time to think it over. She could not, would not falter now.

Japheth's look turned from interest to concern. The scarce attacks, and scarce barrages did not seem to be doing as much damage as they had hoped.

"You're worried?" Arcee asked, and Carron immediately looked concerned, uncertain, afraid. Stormwright made another pass, and another barrage was fired, this time with 3 behind and one ahead, in an attempt to slow the hordes rushing at Victoria.

Japheth took a step forward. Arcee took a step to join him. He took another, and Arcee looked back, "Watch our back." she said. Japheth leapt off of the Ion, Arcee joining her. Carron hesitated for a moment, and then another, until she could steel herself. She was sworn to him, and could not be if she could not follow him. She leapt off of the hull towards the moon. She transformed in the air, falling after him. She gently flapped her wings, testing to see if she felt air. Before she felt air, she felt the gravity of the moon seem to diminish. She stopped flapping, completely unsure of what was happening. "He's amazing." Arcee simply said, as if that was enough.

If Carron was going to be his scout, she guessed it would have to be. When she came back to her senses she felt air against her wings. She started fluttering them, finding her balance. She could move again. She felt joy, as if her feet were on the ground, but in the end, she could not fly anywhere, as Japheth and Arcee continued to plummet. But the important thing was that she could move, and this made the whole thing seem less insane.

"Carron!" he shouted, and she shook for a moment before regaining her balance, "Could you push us a bit to the right?" he asked.

Carron flew over, and gently pushed him, and then did the same to Arcee. The two fell down, but were not really accelerating. It was then she realized she had almost no weight. Japheth landed on the path, bolter in his left hand, sword in his right. His sword roared as he swung it, taking out the spark chambre of an Insecticon Elder ahead of him with each swipe. He fired a couple of burst from his bolter back down the path behind him. Three struck spark chambres. They exploded, causing them to collapse. The other bolts exploded, creating gaping wounds that did not bleed. Arcee landed with her back to his back, her longshot blasters pointed out. She fired one, and then other, in a slow alternation. Each shot struck a spark chambre, but for her the shots weren't powerful enough to always break them. Still, the Terrocons fell, Vehicons behind them, Insecticons ahead of them.

Victoria landed on the precipice. She reached down with her left hand, and the gravity of the world returned. She created her own gravity field below them, pinning Airachnid to the ground. Her spider legs twitched, trying to move, as Victoria stomped on her. And then again, and again, and again. She released the gravity field as Airachnid could barely move, barely twitching. Her body broken, her Energon spilling.

Victoria broke apart. Pyra Magna held her stream blaster, and pointed it at Airachnid's head. Rust Dust struck her with a shock prod, causing the body to twitch as much as it feebly could. The twins transformed their hands into buzz-saws, and cut off Airachnid's spider legs, each cutting off two at a time. Dust Up flipped her over and applied the transformation-inhibiting cuffs to her. The only thing Airachnid could do was let out a feeble noise. The Rust Maidens then turned dowh the path. Skyburst fired missiles from her wings as the stream from Pyra Magna's blaster cut through a couple of chest plates. The missiles flew up, landing in a stream down the path.

Carron fluttered over. "My master!" she exclaimed.

"Reform!" Pyra Magna shouted, and they transformed back into Victoria. She picked up Airachnid with one hand. They felt the gravity of the world once again ease as she leapt towards Japheth, using her gravity umbrella to lift her upwards. She landed. Japheth and Arcee hugged each other, allowing Victoria to pick them up. She activated her gravity umbrella far stronger than before and leapt from the moon. Carron flew up behind them, able to make incredible progress due to the lack of gravity. Once Japheth left the world's atmosphere, the gravity seemed to return to normal. Victoria flew up beside the Ion and matched speed. She gently threw the pair towards the Ion, whom then gravitized into a landing. Victoria then simply let Airachnid go. She drifted beside the ship, as the ship drifted away from the world.

"Master, this is Roxana. These readings don't make any sense. She should not have enough Energon to be alive."

"Dark Energon." Sirenia said to her.

"I've brought up all of the information we have on it." Arcelia said from behind her.

"Will she survive out here?" Japheth asked.

"I honestly don't know what's keeping her alive." Roxana earnestly replied.

"Should we get her an Energon infusion?" Japheth asked.

"I'll..." Roxana hurriedly said.

"No." Japheth said, "I'll do." He then turned to Carron, whom was gravitized behind him. "Thank you." he said to her.

"And what about us?" Victoria asked, drifting between the ship and Airachnid.

"You are no longer my rage." Japheth said, and she felt like her spark chambre was going to break, "You are my wrath. You fought too cooly, too precisely, too perfectly."