Rider (Fate/Crossover - Ghost Rider)

**Rider** (ライダー, *Raidā*) is the Servant of Sakura Matou in an alternate version of the Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail War

"*Prepare to suffer the sting of Ghost Rider's power! Prepare to know the true meaning of hell!*" - Ghost Rider

## Profile

### Identity

Rider's true identity is the **Ghost Rider**, a being formed by the bond between a powerful fallen angel known as Zarathos, the Spirit of Vengeance and a human host who harbors a desire for retribution, transforming the host into a powerful flame-headed skeleton. Bonding to Stunt Cyclist **Johnny Blaze** through a pact with the demon lord Mephisto to save his sickly father that went horribly wrong, Blaze became the Ghost Rider. Blaze rebelled against Mephisto and used his powers to punish the guilty, becoming one of the most powerful heroes in his world.

### Relationships

#### **Sakura Matou**

If Medusa is like Sakura's protective elder sister, then Rider, as Johnny Blaze, is like a weird but ultimately caring uncle, if not a father figure; Rider finds her reminiscent of his old love Roxanne Simpson, whose pure heart kept Mephisto at bay. As the Ghost Rider, he acts as an avenging angel to her, while she acts as a moral restraint, keeping him from taking his pursuits in punishing wrongdoers too far.

#### **Deadpool**

"*Not you again. Your soul is so... Repulsive.*"

#### **Doctor Doom**

"*Doom. This time, I'll send you back to hell permanently.*"

#### **Darth Maul**/ **Madara Uchiha** / **Maleficent** / **The Joker** / **Reinhard Heydrich**

**"***Hell has a special place for people like you.***"**

#### **Scorpion**/**Homura Akemi ​​​​​/ Spawn**

"I *know what it's like to make deals with devils.*"

## Role

In an alternate reality, this Rider is summoned as the servant of Sakura Matou instead of Medusa. Upon being summoned, Rider immediately attacks Zouken Matou, trapping him in a ring of Hellfire before ensnaring him in chains and destroying him with the Penance Stare. Rider then grabs Shinji Matou and prepares to kill him the same way, but Sakura, horrified by what she had just witnessed, uses a Command Spell to force Rider to spare him, deciding enough was enough. He begrudgingly complies, but Shinji is left in a delirious, catatonic state, horrifically traumatized by the pain inflicted on him from the Penance Stare.

By day, Rider acts as a guardian for Sakura, posing as a visiting family friend of hers named "Uncle John" to divert public suspicion. She becomes highly appreciative of his presence and begins seeing him as the father she never had since being given to the Matous. By night, Rider is off cleaning up the streets while hunting for the other Masters and Servants, terrorizing the local criminal element, from street hoodlums to the Yakuza, along the way. His actions end up attracting the attention of the media who suspect a vigilante on the loose. The Church spins the news story as simply being the work of a highly persistent and brutal, but otherwise mortal man in order to cover the truth of the Holy Grail War. Shirou gets to know "Uncle John" when he and Sakura visit his home for dinner, with Taiga staying with her grandfather, since her family is on high alert due to Rider's vigilante rampage. While Shirou does his best to act polite around his new house guest, for Sakura's sake if nothing else, he is instinctively suspicious of "Uncle John", finding his mere presence unnerving. "Uncle John", for his part, admits Shirou is a good kid with a pure heart, and a positive influence on Sakura. Later that night, Kirei sends Lancer to assassinate Rider to prevent him from attracting anymore unwanted attention. Lancer manages to intercept Rider in the middle of one of his patrols, but his sheer power and nigh-invulnerability forces Lancer to retreat to pursue other priority targets, leaving Ghost Rider to rush back to the Matou residence to make sure Sakura was safe.

Shirou and Rin are also alerted to Rider's activities. Linking together the suspicious timing between "Uncle John's" sudden appearance, Shinji's absence from school, and the string of vigilante news reports, they immediately deduce "Uncle John's" true identity as Rider, confirming Shirou's prior suspicions. They intercept Rider on his way to the Ryuudou Temple to kill Caster, and Saber and Archer promptly engage him in battle. Rider is able to gain the upper hand against Archer, due to him being a completely unexpected factor in his plans, but Saber manages to actually damage him with Excalibur, as its divine properties are able to easily pierce Rider's defenses. Sakura arrives and comes to his defense, forcing both parties to back down. Both parties agree to work together to defeat Caster, with Sakura acting as peacemaker between the two. When they reach Ryuudo Temple, Saber duels Assassin, while Rider and Archer deal with Caster and her master. Rider's super strength, rapid regeneration, and plethora of hellfire powers and weaponry prove an invariably strong counter to Souichirou's Snake fighting style, forcing Caster to come to his rescue and for the both of them to retreat. Rider, however, relentlessly pursues them and drags them back down to the ground, where he kills them.

## Abilities

As the host of the fallen angel Zarathos, Rider has the power to transform himself into the Ghost Rider, granting him a host of extraordinary supernatural powers:

* He possesses great Strength, Agility and Endurance. He could lift over 25 tons, tear a man's spine out with his bare hands, perform spectacular stunts in rapid succession, catch bullets in his teeth, and survived attacks from a being whose rage-fueled strength shook the entire world.
* He possesses an extrasensory awareness to anything supernatural around him.
* He can empathically read the very souls of others and determine their innocence and guilt, identity and sins.

* He also has the power of regeneration, able to restore himself from most damage almost instantly with only minor prana cost. This, combined with his already high Endurance, makes Rider nearly impossible to harm without A ranked magic, or any weapons or Noble Phantasms of Holy or Divine nature.

* He possesses power over hellfire, an ethereal fire from the depths of Hell. With it, He can burn his opponent's very soul, conjure it for various attacks and weapons like his chain whips and shotguns, and imbue inanimate objects with his power.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Hell Cycle**

Rider's signature mount, a hellfire empowered motorcycle capable of out-speeding conventional vehicles and riding up vertical surfaces or across water.

#### **Penance Stare**

    Rider possesses the Mystic Eyes of Penance, which can inflict upon any who stare into them all the pain and suffering caused by the sins they have committed across their lifetime, directly damaging their soul in the process. The more numerous and terrible the target's sins are, the higher its rank will increase.

## References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost\_Rider

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost\_Rider\_(Johnny\_Blaze)

https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Johnathon\_Blaze\_(Earth-616)