Title: Fate/Desiderantes Affectibus

Author: Rowan Seven

Teaser: A doomed master summons an equally tragic servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Together, can they change fate or will their journeys once again end in sorrow? Pre-Rebellion.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: This story contains spoilers for both series. The Fate franchise belongs to Type-Moon. Puella Magi Madoka Magica belongs to Studio Shaft and Aniplex. This story is a work of fanfiction written for fun. I make no claims to either series.


Chapter Two – A Girl's Gotta Have a Few Secrets.

When he awoke the next morning, Matou Kariya felt stronger and healthier than he had in months. The crest worms continued their incessant nibbling on his flesh and were hungrier than ever before now that he was sustaining a servant, but the debilitation they'd wrecked on his body seemed less severe and the pain that constantly clouded his mind had dimmed.

The wonders of a good night's rest, Kariya thought to himself wistfully as he reflexively raised both arms and stretched. It's been a long time since I was able to sleep halfway peacefully. Last night's summoning must have exhausted me more than I realized. Probably won't happen again until—Wait, what?!

Jolting in surprise, Kariya twisted his head to the side and gazed at the formerly all but paralyzed left arm now raised above his head. Experimentally, he attempted to gesture with it and found the limb sluggish, weak, and sore, but it was far more responsive than it had been in months. What could have happened overnight to do this?

"I see you're enjoying my handiwork," a cheerful and immensely satisfied female voice called out behind him from the side of the dumpster. "I wasn't sure if I'd done enough to help with the arm, and any further healing magic would have emptied out my reserves and started tapping your own MP. So, although it's not a complete recovery, I'm glad what little I was able to do last night made a difference."

"Berserker...you healed me while I slept?" Kariya mumbled, happy that he was a few steps farther from becoming a shambling corpse than he had been last night but also annoyed that his servant had done something like that without his permission. Master-servant dynamics aside, he preferred to be awake and aware when magic was used on him, especially because the crest worms were so easily agitated.

Kariya heard a sheepish, almost apologetic chuckle and the sound of a light body getting up from leaning against a solid surface.

"I would have asked first, but you were having a hard enough time staying asleep as it was and I didn't want to wake you," Sayaka answered as she walked over and crouched in front of her master. To Kariya's surprise, she was clothed in a light, hoodless blue jacket, a pair of matching jeans, and white and blue sneakers instead of her cloth armor from the night before. "Unfortunately, my magic was more palliative than healing in your case and I can't get at the root of the problem without dealing with the crest worms, but hey—every little bit helps, right?"

Kariya nodded and slowly rose to his feet. She was so earnest that he couldn't be mad at her. Still, he'd better say something to make sure she didn't do something like this again without telling him first.

"I'm grateful, but I'd rather you focus on maintaining your full strength than on restoring mine. My body wouldn't be much use in this conflict even if I was in perfect health, and if we're ever ambushed you'll need every ounce of power available. So, unless I'm in desperate need of healing, please conserve your energies, okay?"

The youthful servant sighed but didn't disagree as she also stood. "If you say so, Matou, but in return I ask that you don't do anything foolish and look after yourself properly. I can't be expected not to spam healing spells if you're falling apart...and as everyone knows, one of the most important tenets of good health is eating right, so how about breakfast? I could really go for some rolled omelets and fish!"

Kariya blinked and bit back a chuckle. He'd walked right into that one, hadn't he? It seemed his servant could be almost as manipulative as Rin when she wanted something. However, as much as a hearty meal appealed to him, he wasn't in any condition to show himself in a public market, and there was a harsher reality too.

"Much as I'd like that, I'm afraid I only have a couple hundred yen on me."

Simply put, Kariya was destitute. However, instead of being disappointed, Sayaka smiled smugly at the news.

"Heh, I thought that might be the case. Fortunately, magical girl and occasional nurse Miki Sayaka has a super brilliant plan!"


Hisau Maiya was not easily surprised. Terrible experience—first as an unwilling child soldier and then as a freelance assassin in both the mundane and magical worlds—had robbed the black-haired, brown-eyed woman of much of her ability to feel amazement. Maiya herself had done the rest, withdrawing into a machine-like mindset of viewing herself as nothing more than a tool belonging to the man who had first saved her, then trained her, and finally enlisted her in his bloody crusade to save mankind from its own evils. To her, Emiya Kiritsugu was the only person who mattered, and she was indifferent to everything else outside of how it might affect him.

However, as substantial as her stoicism was, it was not without limits. And the phone call she received that morning severely tested those limits.

"A servant is doing what where?" she spoke quietly into the cell-phone, a rare note of incredulity in her voice. "Are you absolutely certain?"

A series of affirmatives answered her queries, and Maiya took a minute to methodically confirm several more details before she ended the call and put the cell-phone away. The intelligence network she and Kiritsugu had built in Fuyuki relied heavily on the local yakuza for surveillance and a mix of familiars and spiritually sensitive individuals they'd hired to detect and track the more esoteric happenings. Her recent contact belonged to the latter camp, and if his odd report was accurate then a fuller investigation by someone trained in magecraft was called for. And with Kiritsugu and his Einzbern wife still in Germany, that reduced the possibilities to herself.

Sparing a moment to calculate how long the trip would take on foot, Maiya turned and began to walk purposefully through Fuyuki's western half towards the Mount Miyami shopping district. She ignored the appreciative stares she garnered from men she passed on the way; clothed in an iron black business suit that hugged her slender figure, Maiya knew clinically that she was an attractive woman but took no steps to either enhance or downplay her beauty. Her appearance didn't matter to her unless it influenced a job, and she disliked the hassle of make-up.

It didn't take Maiya long to reach her destination, and she was soon navigating Mount Miyami's narrow streets and brick-paved sidewalks already filled with early morning shoppers, parked bikes, displays of merchandise, and promotional signs. Two and three story mixed-use commercial/residential properties with barely any space between them lined the sides and faced each other in parallel rows, competing with one another for attention and patronage. A small crowd had gathered on the street outside a music shop, and Maiya instinctively tensed as she drew near. Any lingering doubts that a servant was present vanished as she sensed the overwhelming, otherworldly presence of a heroic spirit. For a few moments she found it hard to breathe, as if the air had thickened, but she knew this was an illusion created by her sensitivity to magecraft and that those around her should all be oblivious to the heavy aura.

Reasserting her cold professionalism, Maiya resumed her strides and weaved herself into the throng, eventually stopping behind a red-haired boy holding the hand of a younger, black-haired girl who were both enthusiastically watching the scene taking place in front of them. Maiya's gaze was also fixed forward but for entirely different reasons than the two children's.

There, barely more than two yards away, was a servant, the material incarnation of a heroic spirit who had achieved deeds so great in life that her legend continued to be told today and a wielder of power so fantastic that even a Dead Apostle Ancestor would think twice before issuing a challenge. This was a superhuman, nearly miraculous being, a superior existence that inspired mankind and whom countless people sought to emulate no matter how impossible...and she was breakdancing. On a street. To 1980s American hip-hop music.

What the hell?

The lyrics and beats blaring from the CD player the shop's owner had set up barely registered in Maiya's mind as she observed the incredible spectacle of the seemingly young, blue-haired servant go through a rapid 6-step sequence, her legs spinning in a circle and her body picking up momentum before she transitioned into a windmill flurry that continued for several seconds. The servant then converted her motion into a headspin and then flipped herself over, planted both hands firmly on the ground in front of her, spread her legs far into a boomerang shape, and whirled herself around repeatedly at dizzying speeds before hand-hopping into another 6-step sequence.

As Maiya's mind struggled to rationalize this bizarre sight, she glanced down and took note of the folded white blanket—a cape?, the mercenary wondered—draped on the street in front of the dancing heroic spirit. Whenever one of the spectators dropped coins into it the blue-haired servant would either flash them a brilliant smile or give them a thumbs up without interrupting the rhythm of her dance.

Maiya stayed long enough to verify that this wasn't an esoteric ritual designed to drain strength from the souls of spectators or an unorthodox summoning ceremony. Either would have made more sense to her than the absurd reality that a servant was apparently moonlighting as a street performer. Still, she couldn't detect any magic in the area other than that pertaining to the servant's existence, and with false acclaim on her face she clapped, added a few 10 and 50 yen coins of her own to the heroic spirit's growing collection, and then turned to leave.

Definitely not Assassin, Maiya thought analytically as she walked away and deliberately blended in with the wandering shoppers on the streets. Hassan-i Sabbah would never be seen in public like that. Presumably not Berserker either—too little bloodlust and too much sanity. And I can rule Saber out altogether. So that leaves Archer, Caster, Lancer, or Rider. Kiritsugu will want to be briefed on this.

Ten minutes and several streets later Maiya took out her cell-phone again, dialed a number, and issued orders. She wanted pictures and video for her partner to review, and although she didn't understand why any servant would reveal themselves so casually for no apparent gain or why the master would permit it she did know that having a physical description and photos to disseminate to her agents would help them track the servant in the future. It might even aid in determining the servant's true identity—if she took the blue-haired girl's Japanese appearance at face value then the pool of candidates was already vastly reduced.

Still, I'd better refrain from making assumptions. As illogical as the servant's actions appear, there may still be a devious motive behind them. I underestimate the enemy servant and her master at my own peril.


Kariya groaned as he clutched his head in his hands and fought off vertigo.

Note to self—don't look through the eyes of your servant when she's hopping around like a spider monkey on crack. The next time you're curious what she's doing, just ask.

He groaned again but blearily forced himself to focus past the headache as he sat on a bench in Riverside Park. He'd experienced far worse in Zouken's basement, and while Berserker was busy he might as well use this time to contemplate strategy. Gods knew Tohsaka had probably spent his entire damnable life preparing for this conflict, and what little Kariya knew of the Einzbern made him regard them as potentially an even greater obstacle. Tohsaka, for all his many faults, was a known quantity and would abide by the war's rules; the man was too prideful to cheat. The Einzbern, in contrast, were almost as ruthless and inhuman as Zouken and would do whatever it took to win. And then there were the other four masters to contend with, and he had no idea what they might be like and how much time they'd had to prepare.

I'd have to be an idiot or a madman to charge blindly ahead into this wretched mess, Kariya thought unhappily, snorting at the irony as he remembered his initial hopes for a servant powerful enough to do just that. That certainly wouldn't have ended well, but at least with Berserker looking as young as she does I'll think twice before taking any big risks.

He remained in the park for over an hour, deep in thought until his servant finally showed up with a pleased expression on her face and offered him a bag filled with rolled omelets and curry bread.

"Sorry I took so long," Sayaka apologized as she ran her free hand through the back of her hair in embarrassment. "I forgot that I can't carry items when I'm immaterial, so I spent a good thirty minutes dashing down side streets and running up buildings just to play things safe. Oh, and I already ate, so don't worry about leaving any for me."

Kariya's stomach rumbled at the sweet smell of a decent meal, and he gratefully accepted the bag. He muttered a quiet "Itadakimasu" out of habit before grabbing one of the curry bread buns and digging in. In between bites he asked his servant a few of the questions that were on his mind.

"Thanks, I appreciate this...but wouldn't it have been easier to steal a meal than dance on the streets? And where'd you learn to dance like that anyway? Breakdancing isn't something I ever associated with heroic spirits."

Sayaka tsked playfully and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Purists—" she declared in a faux superior tone, "—prefer the term 'breaking.' Breakdancing is a word invented by the media and is looked down upon by true artists, and I'd appreciate it very much if you don't degrade my performance by referring to it by such a plebian name."

The magical girl only managed to keep a straight face for several seconds after her pronouncement before breaking out in laughter.

"Haha, sorry, but that was—Ha!—too good of an opportunity to pass up. Anyway, as for where I learned..." Sayaka's mind flashed back to the dance competition she and Madoka had both entered in late grade school and the crazy high jinks that had ensued, and she smiled enigmatically.

"Let's just say a girl's gotta have a few secrets and leave it at that, okay? And theft, by the way, is a big no-no. I have standards as an ally of justice, and I refuse to steal when there are better alternatives."

And I'm not just saying that because Kyouko would never stop smirking if she learned I stole food. Nope, definitely not!

Kariya watched his servant carefully as she finished her explanations. Now that he'd had a decent night's sleep and his head was clearer, a few of her words were adding up oddly in his mind. It also occurred to him that he knew virtually nothing about Miki Sayaka other than her name, and he didn't recognize it despite the Japanese origin. Was she a warrior from the feudal era whose exploits remained unknown outside of local legends? A swordswoman from the classical period whose name was remembered only by scholars? A hero from ancient times whose legend had largely disappeared? And how was she so fluent with contemporary pop culture? He knew the Grail provided information about modern times, but providing dance lessons too struck him as a bit much.

Who are you, Berserker, and why haven't I heard of you before?

The haggard Matou briefly contemplated asking the youthful servant to talk about her past but decided against it almost as quickly. If her recent answers were any indication she preferred to remain mysterious, and right now it was more important that they decide upon a battle plan. He'd ask her later, after she'd become more willing to trust him with her secrets.

Which hopefully won't be long at all. Gods know I'm already trusting her with my life and Sakura's future.

Kariya nodded his head nonchalantly after another moment, dismissed the semi-bitter thought, and finished chewing one of the rolled omelets.

"Fair enough. I wasn't expecting to get good meals out of this partnership, so I have no right to complain regarding how you go about it. Just remember to be careful and prepared to return to me at a moment's notice. The war's rules forbid combat where there could be witnesses so we should both be safe during the day if we stay in public areas, but that doesn't mean we won't be watched or that one of the other masters won't make use of a good opportunity if he sees one."

Sayaka smirked in response, snapped her fingers, spun, and was nearly instantaneously clothed in her blue and white battle attire as a blue disk of light rapidly traveled up her body. Another snap and another spin with another accompanying disk of light—this time traveling down—and the servant was wearing a long-sleeved, tan middle school uniform with a white-striped, black skirt and red bow. A third snap, spin, and circle of light and she was garbed in her earlier casual outfit of jeans and jacket again.

"That shouldn't be a problem, Matou. An ally of justice is always ready," she answered, sounding childishly pleased with herself.

"...Right." Kariya fell silent for another moment as he debated whether it was worth asking her about the wardrobe changes before shrugging and deciding to jump to the main issue he wanted to discuss.

"On a different matter, how much information did the Grail give you about the war? We should develop a strategy before the battles start, and it'd be helpful if you shared how much you know."

The servant shrugged apologetically. "Just the basics, I'm afraid. Seven masters, seven servants, three command seals each, and two separate wishes for the winning team. I don't know how any of it works other than that wizards did it."

Kariya grunted as he finished a curry bun. That wasn't as useful as he would have liked, but it was about what he'd expected. Zouken and the other founders who designed the Grail system wouldn't have wanted any of their secrets to leak out to unaffiliated magi and would have taken steps to minimize the information that was shared. Still, it was odd that she was virtually a walking encyclopedia on pop trends but knew so little about the war for which she'd been summoned.

"Let me start with the basics, then," he said as he set aside the bag of food and leaned forward to rest his chin on his hands. "Zouken—" He nearly spat the name. "—created the Holy Grail along with the ancestors of the Tohsaka and Einzbern families. Like the Matou, those two are both guaranteed a slot in the War, and they'll likely be our greatest enemies. They've had sixty years to prepare and are top-notch magi, and, while this is true of all magi, it is especially true of the Einzbern—they can't be trusted at all. In their own way, they're just as obsessed with the Grail as Zouken is, and they established a reputation for breaking rules in the Third War. The remaining four masters could be anyone with magic circuits, although one set of command seals normally goes to somebody in the Mage's Association."

"Mage's Association?" Sayaka questioned.

"They're an organization of magi dedicated to self-preservation and research, and they're utterly ruthless when it comes to keeping magecraft hidden," he explained with a scowl, his mind dwelling on some of the horror stories he'd heard about the Association's Enforcers. "Whatever we do in this war, it is vitally important that we don't show any magic to bystanders. It's not unheard of for the Association to eliminate witnesses."

"That's horrible!" the blue-haired servant exclaimed with righteous anger. "Murdering someone over something so trivial? How can they possibly justify that?"

Kariya sighed unhappily. Considering where he intended to lead this discussion, he should have phrased that more diplomatically.

"Magi...have a different value system," he explained slowly, restraining himself from speaking the worst despite his own feelings on the matter. "To a magus, perfecting spells and increasing their power and knowledge of magic is everything. And unfortunately for everyone else, magic is a finite resource that is weakened as more people know about it. That is why magi will do everything they can to keep magic hidden from the rest of society. In most cases they'll simply use hypnosis to erase memories, but there are times when they take more extreme measures."

"...So I should try to keep the big flashy lights and chanting in Latin to a minimum, then," Sayaka said after a pause, a displeased expression on her face at what she was hearing about the magi of this world.

Kariya nodded. "At least when you're around other people, yes. And as much as I hate saying this, we might need to team-up with one or two of the other masters, at least temporarily, to deal with the Einzbern and Tohsaka."

Sayaka looked at her master dubiously. "Didn't you just spend the past five minutes explaining to me how almost all magi are self-serving power maniacs who can't be trusted at all? And now you're suggesting we ally with such people?"

"I'm not happy about the idea either," he grumbled with another scowl on his face, "but we might not have any other choice if we want to win. I'll wait and see what types of servants the other masters summon before making a decision, but I wanted to let you know about this ahead of time in case a partnership becomes necessary. Until then, I want you to scout Fuyuki and see if you can use your magic detection to find where the other masters and servants are staying. Knowing where our enemies are will be useful no matter what we do in the future."

Sayaka nodded her head reluctantly, still not fond of the prospect of allying with another master-servant team. "I suppose that makes sense...So, any suggestions where I should start? And what will you do while I scout?"

"I'll pay the war's overseer a visit," Kariya answered quickly, getting to his feet with a groan and picking up the bag of food. "Ever since the Second War's aftermath the Holy Church has sent a priest to mediate the conflict and enforce the rules. Fuyuki's church grounds are neutral territory so I'll be safe while I'm there, and I need to set-up a familiar in that area anyway to receive the overseer's updates about the war. Part of his responsibilities is letting the combatants know which masters and servants have been eliminated."

"Can you trust the Church?" the young servant asked suspiciously. "You've already told me to be wary of the Mage's Association and magi in general, and from the sound of it nearly everyone involved in this war has a strike against them of one sort or another."

The emaciated Matou laughed at the question with unusually vicious pleasure in his voice.

"Zouken hates the Church," Kariya explained with a smile. "He can't stand them, and if they raise his hackles that much they must be good."


"I can confirm Matou Kariya as a master," Kotomine Risei spoke into the enchanted phonograph set on a pedestal within the stone walls of his church. Night had fallen outside, and now that he was free from his daytime activities the gray-haired priest felt it was time to share what he'd learned with his fellow conspirators. "He stopped by several hours ago to ask a few questions and station a familiar within the permitted range outside the church grounds."

There was a pause on the other end before Tohsaka Tokiomi answered from the phonograph's counterpart in his mansion's basement. "...It is as we suspected, then. What did he say, and did he bring his servant with him?"

Risei's eyebrows furrowed further over his seemingly perpetually closed eyes as he recalled the earlier meeting. "He mostly wanted to know what I could tell him about the other masters and servants and if there had been any early rule changes. I informed him that Caster has yet to be summoned and, because it is common knowledge, verified for him that you have been chosen as a master and that my son has been serving as your apprentice for the past three years. Surprisingly, he did not know about the latter, but I left him with the impression that I strongly disapproved of my son's 'choice' to study the heretical arts to reassure him of my neutrality. His servant was not with him, and he did not reveal its class."

Tokiomi sighed distastefully. "No, I suppose not even Kariya would be that foolish. Did you learn anything else from him?"

The old priest nodded his head out of habit despite the absence of anyone else in the room. "Yes. Kariya's health has deteriorated greatly since he was last seen in public. He had difficulty walking, and I doubt he has more than a few months left to live. The Matou magecraft has...taken a great toll on him."

"That's only to be expected," Tokiomi replied without missing a beat. There was an aggrieved note in his voice as he continued, as if his sensibilities had been offended. "Kariya abandoned the path of the magus long ago, and trying to make up for that negligence in a single year is the height of recklessness. His selection as a master would be an insult if the Grail weren't compelled to assign the Matou a set of command seals along with the Einzbern and me."

Risei remained silent. As the priest assigned to Fuyuki he knew more about Zouken and the mysteries of his magecraft than any non-Matou with the possible exception of Tokiomi, and he also knew that Tokiomi had given his youngest daughter to the Matou for adoption. That was a decision he had disapproved of, but he had never spoken of it to his friend. It was a matter between magi, and in all of his dealings with Tokiomi since then the man had never mentioned Sakura and acted as if he'd never had a second daughter. Risei had idly wondered if the news of Kariya's ill health after going through training that Sakura was surely experiencing as well might elicit a reaction from Tokiomi, but it seemed the answer was no.

Becoming a grandfather has made me too expectant, the priest reflected wryly, thinking of his son's daughter Caren. Tokiomi is a good man, but first and foremost he is a magus. His sense of family values is completely different from my own.

"Still, although Kariya is a disgrace to his bloodline, his selection as a master is another sign that fortune is favoring us," Tokiomi spoke musingly. Risei could easily imagine the man was stroking his goatee as he thought out loud. "Lord El-Melloi lost his original catalyst and used a hastily procured and presumably inferior substitute, the Matou master enters the war crippled and with only makeshift training, the Grail—thankfully—did not choose an Edelfelt as a master this time, and none of the other powerful magi families have shown themselves in Fuyuki either. That leaves the Einzbern as the most serious obstacle to our victory."

"The Einzbern must not be underestimated," Risei agreed solemnly, his mind flashing back to his experiences in the Third Holy Grail War when he'd been a young man in his early twenties and only just beginning his career as a member of the Church's Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. "Even after they lost their servant in the last war they refused to accept defeat and abused their role as the Lesser Grail's caretaker to remain active in the conflict. They bear much responsibility for the horrific bloodshed that followed...but no master and servant should ever be underestimated, or do I need to remind you again of the Third War's Assassin?"

Tokiomi laughed while Risei smiled slightly. There was nothing funny about what the previous Assassin had done, but when coupled with the bizarre manner in which he'd cooperated with his master to eliminate enemies the tale served as an effective warning about the dangers even a weak master and servant could pose together. Risei himself had never been able to look at dolls the same way again after seeing that Assassin's handiwork, and between the two conspirators it had taken on the air of an old story often told and repeated as a friendly cautionary tale.

"Don't worry, Risei. I've taken your lessons to heart," the fire magus spoke gratefully. "My grandfather gave me the same admonition when I was younger. I won't dismiss any of the enemy masters as threats until their servants have been eliminated and they've either withdrawn from the war or perished, but prioritizing the Einzbern is—at least for now—the most sensible course...unless you perceived something about Kariya that makes you think he warrants more attention?"

Risei hesitated. On the face of it, Matou Kariya did not appear to be someone Tokiomi needed to worry about. Kariya was an inferior magus who wouldn't even be able to compete properly without the Matou magecraft boosting his lackluster power, and any servant he summoned would be weaker as a consequence. With Kariya's health as poor as it was, there was even a chance his servant's exertions in combat could kill him if the magic drain became too much. However, although Kariya had tried to hide it while they talked, Risei had seen the desperation and crazed determination in his eyes. Such things could make even a harmless man dangerous, and when that man was also a master...

"No, but we should remain cautious until we've identified his servant," the old priest said firmly. "The master may be a man of little consequence, but Matou Zouken has centuries' worth of catalysts from which to summon a powerful heroic spirit, and that may be enough to make Kariya...disruptive, at the very least."

That was what Risei said and what logic and common sense assured him was true, but despite his words the war's overseer couldn't shake the niggling suspicion that Kariya would be more of a thorn in their side than anyone expected.

And God help us all if the Matou get their hands on the Grail.


Sayaka was living the dream of every shounen enthusiast and martial artist wannabe as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, a caped crusader patrolling the night and fighting evil by moonlight...minus the evil part, and the fighting too, but she was trying not to be too disappointed by that. For now her mission was simply to explore the city and learn where the other masters and servants were staying. Her own master had already shown her where the Tohsaka mansion and Einzbern estate were located, and whoever was residing in the Hyatt Hotel in the eastern half of Fuyuki wasn't even attempting to hide his presence. The hotel's upper levels were so saturated with defensive spells that her soul gem had detected the magic from nearly twice its normal range. And with three locations known, that left only three more to find.

However, despite her relative success thus far and the rush of adrenaline the puella magi experienced as she darted through Miyami's southern residential neighborhoods and sprinted over the predominantly western-style homes, her thoughts were unsettled. Part of her was irritated at herself for being upset over her master's suggestion of allying with another team. Forming a partnership was the smart thing to do, and gods knew Madoka would have embraced the possibility if she'd been able to come here herself. For Sayaka, though, the prospect was a reminder of darker times when she'd been the weakest of her puella magi friends, and she resented the implication that she might not be strong enough on her own to do the job she was summoned for.

Still, that was a only a minor annoyance, and Sayaka could comfort herself with the knowledge that she was stronger now, armed with the composite skills and experience she'd gained from Homura's repeated looping of time. More importantly, she was wiser too. She knew it would take more than a wish and righteousness to be victorious in this war, and if she was going to win she needed to focus on her strengths, do what she could rather than dwell on what she couldn't, and under no circumstances lose sight of what she was fighting for.

No, what disturbed her thoughts the most this night was something harder to put into words. From the moment she'd entered this section of the city she'd felt a sense of wrongness, of violation in the air. There was something so unnaturally and fundamentally vile present she could almost mistake it for the hate-filled, cursed miasma of the wraiths she'd once fought, but she knew that was impossible. There were no wraiths in this world. This ambiance had to be caused by something else, but what could possibly invoke such dread? She'd already doubled back twice to track the source rather than continuing on to the next neighborhood, but thus far her search had been futile. The servant felt her frustration mount as tiny black motes began to form inside her soul gem—

Over there!, she thought, relieved as her soul gem finally registered a 'ping' nearby. She had no idea if the magic she'd just detected had any relation to what was happening tonight, but she desperately wanted an explanation and was eager for a distraction.

A few more minutes of roof-hopping brought Sayaka to the former edge of her one kilometer detection range, and she alighted on the top of a house across the street from a small family home. Crouching to make herself less visible, she examined the nearby building with both her mundane and magical senses. The front lights were on but the rest of the house was dark, and although she could sense magic within it felt weak and listless, as if something had swelled up and then burst and was now nearly completely spent. If there was a second source of magic present, it was far weaker and clouded by the first. More ominously, the sense of malice in the air had grown palpably thicker the closer she'd come to this building, and it was now so thick she felt like gagging. She wasn't going to learn anything more by standing outside, though, and if she wanted answers she knew she'd need to enter the house.

Heh, that's an easy choice. I'm not sensing any servants so, strictly speaking, this doesn't fall under my orders for tonight, but something's definitely fishy and I'm sure Matou would agree that anything involving magic is worth investigating, particularly when it's at the center of something as foul as this...super nasty vibe I'm feeling. I'll take a quick look inside and see what I can find. An ally of justice would do nothing less.

With a wry grin on her face, Sayaka leapt off the roof, shifted into her invisible spirit form in mid-air, and then floated across the street and phased through the home's front door. What she saw inside the lit foyer was so shocking and unexpected that she reflexively reverted back to her material body and gagged, horror and disgust welling up in her throat.

Gods, what could have...how?

Blood and the eviscerated remains of a young boy lay haphazardly splattered against the floor of the home's main hallway and stained the walls and ceiling. Sayaka could only identify the gender and rough age of the victim by a sheared off section of the child's head that had landed on a low side-table and was slightly more intact than the other shredded remnants. The full sight was a vision of appalling, wanton slaughter that sickened Sayaka to the core of her being...and it was uncomfortably familiar to the young girl as her memories called up a similar scene from a train with two strangers.

"No way, man, you can't let the dumb slut make any excuses. Gotta get her to fork over all the money she makes, no shit."

"'Cuz women are complete morons. They get money in their hands and they blow it all on stupid crap."

"Yeah, seriously, man...You can't treat women like rational human beings."

The puella magi furiously shook her head to clear it of the despicable conversation she'd overheard that tragic night and the subsequent actions she'd taken. She...she needed to focus on the here and now, find out what had happened and what it had to do with magic! Hastily looking away from the horrid shower of viscera, she reached for the nearest door, pushed it open, and staggered into the living room. The lights were off, but she could see fine with her night vision and the sight that greeted her was even worse.

There were two adult bodies in the room, one with its head decapitated and turned sideways on the floor. It seemed a safe assumption that these were the boy's parents. One pail half-filled with blood rested on the ground, while another lay upturned at the end of a large crimson puddle. The faces of both victims were fixed in expressions of horror. Whatever had happened to them, they'd had time to see it coming and been helpless to stop it. The boy's death had been an act of outrageous carnage, but this...this was slow, calculated, deliberate murder, and it brought Sayaka's thoughts back again to that late night train ride while, in the present, the motes of darkness gathering in her soul gem picked up speed as they swirled together and grew larger.

"You give 'em an inch and they're all over you, whining to get married and shit. You just can't let up on them. I'm like, 'You think a shit-for-brains hostess like you will still be around in 10 years? That hoe body ain't gonna last forever, y'know!"

"God, they're so annoying when it comes time to dump them."

"You are really good at dumpin' hoes, though, Sho. I envy you! Dude, I gotta learn from you."

This time, a distraction readily provided itself to snap the puella magi out of her dark recollections. A sinuous, slithering sound from the main hallway seized her attention, and she turned around just in time to see a monster straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare pass by and stop in front of the open doorframe. The creature consisted of a single maw filled with sharp, hideous teeth and the large mass of writhing tentacles rimmed with serrated, bony protrusions that surrounded it. Whatever the beast was, it was abominable, alien, and ancient...and it didn't stand a chance.

Sayaka's lips shifted upwards into a cold half-smile that unsettlingly matched the black mood of her environment. Sparing no time for dramatic words or flourishes, she charged at the monster with superhuman speed as a cutlass magically appeared in hands raised above her head. Her otherworldly opponent wriggled and reached out for her with its tentacles, but it was already too late. The puella magi sidestepped the alien appendages without slowing down in the slightest and brought her sword down in a vicious overhead slash that sliced the creature clean through.

"Hey, tell me more about her."

...

"That woman you were talking about just now. Tell me more about her."

...

"That woman...she probably loves you and tries hard to make you happy. I bet you know that too, don't you? And yet you call her a dog? Have you never told her, 'thank you?' Are you really going to dump her once she stops being useful?"

Crimson ichor spurted forth from the bisected horror, but Sayaka remained unfazed. Instead, she watched as the ruined maw and tentacles fell to the ground and then bubbled hideously as the flesh surrounding the wound regenerated on both halves. Her icy smile grew more twisted at the sight, and she reached out with one hand to summon another cutlass. The monster would pay for this atrocity!

"Hey...is this world even worth protecting? What have I been fighting for all this time? Tell me. You, right now. Tell me. Or else, I'll..."

Berserker brought her swords down again to slice through the regenerating beast...and then brought them down again, and again, and again. Her cutlasses were a frenzied dervish of blue steel, rising and falling more rapidly than a heartbeat. She ignored the monster's inarticulate wails of rage and agony, slashing the creature into smaller and smaller smatterings of flesh until the remnants were too damaged to heal and she was stained in its red blood.

Two men cowered in terror in their seats as the blue-haired girl who'd confronted them grinned a crazed, merciless smile. Darkness wreathed her body, and instead of human eyes two orbs filled with spinning, skittering musical motifs looked down at them in judgment. The pair were frozen in horror, unable to understand what was happening and unsure what to do, and before they could make a decision let alone run for it a sword appeared as if by magic in the girl's hands. She laughed dementedly, a haunted, hopeless sound, and then she struck—

Sayaka finally stopped her attack when the gutted pieces of flesh stopped writhing. Slowly, hanging onto life for as long as they could, they disintegrated into a bloody mist that rose into the air and vanished. Only then did she dismiss her summoned weapons, stand up straight, and take several deep, haggard breaths as her soul gem's blue glow restored itself and eliminated the black specks. A moment later she was brought back fully into the present by the sound of her master's worried voice filling her head.

Miki, what's happening?, Matou Kariya asked through their telepathic link, a wheezing quality to his telepathic words as if he were under physical strain. Your magic intake suddenly jumped! Have you been attacked?

The aspiring ally of justice sighed and shook her head as she took another long look around the room and offered a silent prayer for the murdered parents and child. What had happened here was horrible, an atrocity only a true monster could commit...and a crime she was guilty of herself, many times over. Those two men on the train had only been her last victims; there had been others, in other time loops, who had the similar misfortune to encounter her on the cusp of surrendering to despair and her witch transformation. She couldn't lose control of herself like that ever again, at any cost!

I'm fine, Matou, she reassured him, forcing herself to focus on the here and now rather than her uncomfortably recent past. But we have a problem. I found a...I don't know what to call it other than a demon, and I fear that whoever summoned it is still alive...and somewhere in Fuyuki.