Chapter 3

Three Days Ago, Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki City, Japan, Night.

Kirei was in something of a foul mood. While all had gone according to Tokiomi's plan so far, the three had returned home from India with their two Servants to find a rather unwanted surprise, at least, unwanted for the young priest, waiting for them; Kirei's daughter, Caren, who reminded him so much of her mother, to the point of discomfort.

Kirei's wife, a sickly woman named Claudia, whom he had married as a way of trying to be normal, had died some years back. He still remembered that event with… mixed feelings. He could still smell the antiseptic of that cold, empty hospital room; he could still hear the ever slowing beeping of the heart monitor, and, most importantly, the priest could still perfectly visualize the sad sight that had laid in a hospital bed that managed to make her seem even smaller than normal.

Even when she had resembled little more then a breathing sack of flesh and bones, she had never given up on him, and had never stopped smiling, even through the pain. It had always bothered him, that gentle, accepting smile of hers, especially at the end.

So at peace, so loving, so…damned happy and accepting.

Never once showing how much she had suffered, even knowing how her suffering had brought him… joy. For her, it changed nothing about how she had felt towards him.

I never loved you, not even once.

Yes, you did, and you always have, Kirei.

He still remembered the exact moment that her heart monitor had flat-lined, that the life had finally left her one golden eye. The doctors had said that her body had finally given out. But the priest knew the truth; it had been suicide, through pure force of will.

Her actions that day still left him baffled, even now.

Why had she done such a thing?

A woman with no future, and yet within her, at that moment, she had held more life and energy than an empty man who would live for many years to come.

In what sane world did such a thing make sense? Why, even now, years later, did it still keep him awake at nights? Had it been because she had known what he planned to do, all those years ago?

Soon after she had died, Kirei had sent their three-year-old daughter to live with her mother's relatives, and was resolute to put that failed chapter of his life behind him, as he had so many others. Since then, he had not contacted his daughter even once.

Until today…

As Kirei later found out, his father had sent for his daughter, thinking that Kirei had been feeling depressed, and so was of the opinion that having his daughter close by would be of help.

Why couldn't father have just sent her to Shirou instead? He was her uncle, and had actually seemed to enjoy her presence, the few times that they had met.

Caren was nearly the mirror image of her mother, at least in coloring. As far as her personality was concerned… Well, from what Kirei could tell, she enjoyed the act of riling people up, usually through words.

He was shaken from his thoughts and the sound of small feet padding upon the floor, and turned to see his daughter, look at him with a blank expression in her gold eyes.

"Is something wrong, Father?"

He was quiet for a good moment. "No. Nothing is wrong, daughter. Go to bed, please."

xxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxx

7 Hours ago, Top Floor Penthouse Suit, Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel, Fuyuki City, Japan, Night

Kayneth was starting to think that he might not have summoned the best servant.

Sure, her stats and skills were all of a powerful quality, and she was not disobedient, at least on the surface, but Kayneth did find her to be rather… odd.

For instance, when they entered the Fuyuki Hotel room that he had purchased for the duration of the war, the first thing she did upon materializing was to smash all the mirrors in the suite. She also refused to remove her helmet. In addition, despite her seeming obedience, she still seemed to second-guess all his orders, and appeared willing to only want to talk to his fiancé.

At the moment, she was simply sitting, in her armor, on the couch, making it creak dangerously, while Sola-Ui sat next to her, nursing a full glass of crimson wine. The two were actually chatting, though in a way that made the noble magus feel as if he were being ignored.

So, at the moment, Kayneth was not happy.

"Could you please, if you can, explain to me, Lancer, exactly what happened last night?"

She looked at him in what he could only assume was exasperation, as if he were but a small simple child that had just asked the same question more than once, and she was tired of pretending to answer said question in a happy, understanding tone.

"What happened, Master, was that too many Servants showed up for me to safely engage, at least without the partial risk of defeat."

"That is not a good excuse, Lancer! For a warrior renown through history, you seem to have a rather overdeveloped ones of cowardice!"

Before Lancer could rise and break the impertinent man in two or more pieces, Sola-Ui finished sipping her drink, and then cleared her throat, catching the attention of the arguing servant and master. "Please, Kayneth, calm down. This is war, and Lancer here has great experience in warfare. Stop acting like a child. Impatience can cost you greatly, especially in a contest like this."

The Magus let loose a wordless growl of frustration at this admonishment, and then stalked out of the room, no doubt heading down to the hotel lobby for a heavy nightcap. Sola-Ui watched him leave with eyes full of disdain, and then turned towards Lancer, who was returning to her seat.

"Please forgive my fiancé, Lancer. He can get very excitable about these sort of things, being the sheltered blue blood that he is. Just be patient, is all I can say."

Even to one as Lancer, it was not that hard to see and realize that this was never going to be an even remotely happy marriage, at least if the two did not kill each other first. The husband seemed completely oblivious to everything except himself and his pride, while Sola-Ui's admittedly beautiful features were but a thin mask for a cruel, vindictive, frustrated, and somewhat petty personality. But, the greek hero said nothing, and just watched as Sola-Ui stood up, finished her glass of alcohol, and then headed off the room's bedroom, which had twin beds, of course.

Putting her two masters out of her mind for a bit, the Servant thought back on the others that she had fought the previous night.

Rider seemed much too powerful to have been a normal hero in life. Maybe a demigod of sorts? He would be tricky, but not impossible, maybe.

Berserker would not be that hard to take down. She was all strength and brute force, with only a small dusting of technique.

Saber would be an interesting challenge, though, unlike most males with large swords, he seemed somewhat reasonable, as well as actually skilled with them.

But Archer…

To Lancer, the Servant of the Bow reminded her of Apollo, though decidedly more serious, and much less of a flirtatious, stalking prick.

To the Servant's slight trepidation, the bowman's presence also brought to mind distant memories of her father, as did that brute, Rider. Rider was her father's bloodlust and wild power, and Archer was his calm, collected fury in the rare moments when he thought things through.

To Lancer, it had been those rare moments that had struck fear into her proud warrior's heart...

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

Kirei studied his servant. He wondered what it signified when a man of the cloth, even one such as him, summoned a pagan goddess as his servant for this Holy Grail War.

The Caster was quite tall, an even 7 feet to be exact. She wore dark blue-and-red leathers, a long armored skirt, and an iron breastplate. The entire ensemble looked only slightly feminine, yet very functional, keeping all her vitals amply covered and protected.

It was her main feature that oft drew his eye; dark wings, like those of a raven's, sprouted from her back, making her resemble an angel of death. Her ears were pointed, like those of an elf's, from a child's storybook.

Lying on the ground beside her was her weapon, a long, blood red spear engraved with runes, from its barbed head to the haft.

Long red, braided hair, decorated with small fetishes and beads, was all that could be seen of her actual visage. Three masks, one white, one black, and one red, each with a different expression, floated about her head. At the moment, the white mask showing a kind, healer's smile rested upon her face. He had not yet seen her face, even when he had summoned her in Ireland.

Stat wise, she was quite powerful, with her lowest being a B+ in luck, while her highest was an EX ranking in Mana. Unusually for a caster, or so he had researched, her physical stats were rather high, though it helped that she had been summoned in Ireland, per Tokiomi's plan, thus giving her stats and skills a powerful boost.

At the moment, in the basement of Tohsaka manor, the Servant was standing over one of her Noble Phantasms; a large black cauldron engraved on all sides with the face of an obese, smiling man. The Servant of the spell was demonstrating something to Tokiomi's two daughters, talking as she stirred with a wooden ladle. A small flock of ravens were also watching as they stood perched upon the alcoves and book shelves.

"Now, dearies, if you pay close attention, you will see how the mixture can react when a proper amount of newt's eye is applied. Too little, and the desired effect is not attained, but too much, and the toxicity rises beyond the safety of proper consumption."

Rin was actually taking notes with an eager fervor. "Very interesting, Miss Caster. Right, Sakura?" the elder daughter asked, looking towards her younger sister.

"Y-yes," stammered out the young girl, a little flustered at being given attention, especially from the goddess, who nodded at her. Before the Servant could continue with her lesson, she noticed Kirei standing by the door. The white mask looked towards him in question. "Can I help you with something, master?"

The question startled him for a moment. "No, it's nothing. We can talk later."

With a shrug, she returned to her cauldron and lesson.

"It bothers me that you two are learning the pagan arts from a pagan goddess, when you already have problems, Tohsaka."

The four turned to see Caren standing behind Kirei, dressed in a small white dress, her hair neatly combed.

"You should show a little more respect to Miss Caster, you brat," Rin replied, with more than a bit of venom. "She is a goddess and a very powerful magus from the Age of Gods, you know, so shut your mouth and grovel for her mercy, rude half-pint."

"Such crass vitriol, and to a guest no less. I guess it is very obvious who inherited the manners between you and your sister," Caren said.

Rin looked about ready to strangle the girl, despite Sakura's best efforts to restrain her elder sister.

"Caren," Kirei said, looking at his daughter with a stern gaze, though it took a small effort on his part to hide his amusement at the scene. "Apologize. Rin is your host after all." At that, Rin puffed out her chest in supposed victory.

Of course father," his daughter said, despite her having no hint of remorse in her gold eyes.

With that, she clasped her hands, as if in prayer, closed her eyes, and began to speak. "Please God, forgive me for selfishly pointing out the sins and flaws of Rin Toshaka, if only in the hope that you, in your benevolence and wisdom, may allow her to eventually rectify and change her manner and ways, with such flaws including her hair-trigger temper, her gluttony at dinner, her over-all demeanor…"

Kirei was somewhat amazed at how fast Rin's face turned a bright crimson. "SHUT IT, BRAT!"

"Now, now dearies," Caster said, with a tilt of her head and raised hands. "A classroom is no place for violence. So please, behave."

At the way she said that last word, even in her current lighthearted tone, Rin and Caren and Sakura immediately stiffened with fear and became quiet. Even Kirei felt a chill run down his spine at his Servant's pronouncement.

"Now, little Caren, since you are here, would you like to learn, dearie?" The servant asked, as if the implied threat never happened.

"Learn what? How to earn magic through the seduction of other deities, or how act clingy and lovesick around pre-pubescent heroes, and then curse them with misfortune until they die having tied themselves to a boulder with their own intestines, all the while fighting off an army?"

Caster looked at Caren for a long moment after that statement, her head tilted again, and all saw as her mask quickly switched to the red one that had a bloodthirsty growl etched upon it.

For a long moment, everyone could feel the power in the room, as well as the barely restrained aura of violence surrounding the Seven-foot-tall masked woman. Rin managed to stand protectively in front of her sister, though the elder Tohsaka looked half ready to run herself.

Then, the red mask was switched with the white again, and Caster bowed to look at Caren, who to her credit, did not back away. The Servant of the Spell started to chuckle, and patted Caren lightly on the head with one hand.

"I think I'm going to like you, little girl."

Kirei decided to leave the small group. He would have time to speak with Caster later.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later, after the children had left, Kirei found his Servant sitting near her cauldron, nursing a large glass of dark-red wine. The odd thing about it was that she was somehow drinking it through her smiling white mask.

"You wished to speak with me, Master?"

"I was wondering what your wish is."

Caster looked at her master over the rim of her glass. "Why do you ask?"

"I am curious. That is all."

To Caster, this was an interesting question, especially coming from her Master, who, since summoning her a few weeks ago, had barely spoken all of 3 sentences to her.

She remained silent for a minute, and then gave a shrug. "Perhaps all that I wish for is a chance to earn Cu Chulainn's affections, or to help him when I should have."

"That's it?"

"Why yes, that's it."

"That seems rather… small, for one such as you."

She ceased in her sipping for a moment, and ignored what sounded like an insult. "Well, I suppose that I could wish for the chance to take back Ireland from the damned Christians, dearie, but what would be the point of such a thing? I would just be no better than those weak, judgmental cross-holders, and besides, for now, my people have forgotten the old ways. I might have to think about it, though."

This did not help Kirei at all. She was a goddess, and yet that was all that she desired to wish for?

"You are feeling ill-at-ease about something. What's wrong, Master?"

"Nothing. Forget that I asked you anything." Then, Kirei turned to leave.

As he did, the Caster spoke up, and he could feel the scrutiny of her gaze from behind her mask, which had switched to the black one of neutrality. "You really are a repressed, twisted little man, aren't you, dearie?"

Kirei stiffened at that statement. "Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone. But, you really should learn how to cut loose every now and then. You'll feel better, I can assure you."

Kirei did his best not to storm out at that. Caster chuckled a little behind her mask. What an interesting master she had. Very interesting indeed...

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Mount Miyama Shopping District, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

Saber was not entirely sure how to describe the predicament that he was in. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and thus, was quite unsure whether to quantify it as being good or bad.

What was this strange and perplexing situation? Playing chauffer/bag carrier/ minder to an excitable, child-like homunculus who A) has never been in a metropolitan city in the daytime, and B) had what could only be described as a nearly unlimited personal expense budget.

In essence… he was being made to carry her bags, the amount of which was growing at a staggering rate. "Do you not think that you have bought enough things for today, Lady Irisviel," he asked, all the while trying to balance the assortment of clothes, books, kitchenware, knick-knacks, etc… in his arms.

"But there is still so much, Saber!"

"Yes, I am aware, but… do you really need 2 boxes of…" what was it called? "Disposable Cameras… and Orbitz?"

"Of course. Disposable cameras make beautiful pictures, and I want to take a lot of pictures! Plus, Orbitz tastes delicious!"

With a sigh of resignation, the mighty Servant continued along with the excitable homunculus, all without a word of complaint.

Even as the voices in his mind still clambered loudly.

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Tohsaka Manor, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

If ever there was a man who could be described as being content, then that man was Tokiomi Toshaka.

He had a loving wife, two lovely daughters, both with immense talent and potential, a loyal apprentice, and now an extremely powerful Servant. Everything was coming up roses, as the saying went, even with his children, and the situation that they could be facing in the future as prospective magi.

At first, Tokiomi had despaired at the fact that there was not another magus family nearby that could adopt Sakura as one of their own. He was reluctant to reach out to a foreign clan, and of course, Yggdmillenia was completely out of the question.

However, after much deliberation on the matter, he thought that raising them as magi together was probably for the best.

Besides, sharing a magic crest worked for a great deal of magus families; the Pentel brothers, for one, were rather renown for it, and, though he would never admit such a thing in public, sharing a crest also seemed to work for the Edelfelt Family as well.

Though, perhaps the Sorcery trait of that clan of thieves and backstabbers had something to do with it... not that he cared, of course.

But, if it could not work out that way, then he would just have to leave it up to his two daughters to work it out in the ways of magi, or family, when the time came.

As for this Grail War, he was honestly not worried at all. He had summoned the strongest servant possible, it seemed, which was a title that he would have thought only applicable to the legend of Gilgamesh.

But Karna, son of the sun god Surya, and eldest son of Kunti, was truly deserving of the title of strongest hero, it seemed. Nearly every stat and skill he had was high ranked, and most of his phantasms had the equivalent strength and power of at least one nuclear bomb.

Best of all, the Servant of the Bow was obedient without question, though, at times, Tokiomi did have the feeling that the servant was silently judging him, or, at the very least, regarded everything with cold and frank disinterest.

But, overall, the elder magus found that he could not complain. As it was, the Grail was practically in his hands already.

Though, the memories brought about by the Master-Servant Connection were… Tokiomi would not quantify them as disturbing, per say, more like, odd.

Tokiomi had done his research about the story of Karna, as told in Mahābhārata, from his birth, his abandonment by his mother, all the way to his death at the hands of his own half-brother, the Awarded Hero, Arjuna. Such horrific events in his life, and such malignant curses that had been laid upon his shoulders; any normal person would have bent, twisted, and snapped under such cruel circumstances, or turn cruel and twisted themselves.

But, every night, as he slept, and through each dream cycle, Tokiomi would watch in disbelief as Karna bore it all without a word of complaint or even a plea for mercy. Even at the end, even as Arjuna's arrow had sped towards his neck, all that Tokiomi saw Karna do was turn, and give a small smile, a thing that held no mocking malice, just acceptance and pity.

Tokiomi Tohsaka was a content man, but, were he being honest, he simply could not comprehend his servant, this Hero of Generosity. Could anyone really be so selfless, even in the face of all that?

Simply incredible, these heroes of old. Just incredible...

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Unnamed Mount Miyama Resturant, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

Waver Velvet was beginning to think that he had walked into a fever dream. This was inconceivable, unthinkable, just plain wrong!

How the hell could one person, giant-sized or not, eat so much fucking food?

"By my father, this food is delicious! Is there any more? And more beer!"

With each enormous bite and ocean-sized gulp of beer, Waver could feel his wallet growing lighter and lighter, and he himself was close to tears.

The day had started out innocuously enough, with the McKenzies having actually gone out and bought Rider the largest clothes they could find, despite the giant's protestations. Unfortunately, due to his size and ungodly amount of muscle, even the XXXL jeans and shirt that they had given to him still looked small and somewhat uncomfortably tight on the Servant.

Then, they had decided to venture into the city for the day, after a full hour of Rider pestering him.

Waver had been feeling rather irritable lately, mostly from a lack of sleep, die to the strange dream that he had been experiencing.

He saw someone being born, and living up a great weight off of his fallen father...now he was riding a great chariot made of thunder, lighting, and power... he slew beings twice the size of mountains... a great sized thing, full of evil and malice battled him, as he then retreated nine steps...

Through it all, he heard, as clear and as loud as a clarion call, and as great and piercing as the lark, ushering in the morning... The Sound of Thunder.

Strangely enough, nobody on the street gave the four-meter-tall, muscle-bound giant with a shiny gem embedded in his forehead, and wearing a tight shirt and jeans a second glance, or even a first glance. It made Waver think that the Japanese had a rather high standard for what constituted as an odd sight.

Then, the living mountain had caught the scent of food from a nearby restaurant, and asked Waver if he wanted to have some lunch.

To the young magus' eternal regret, as well as the regret of his wallet, Waver had acquiesced.

The chef, and indeed most of the other customers in the restaurant, watched Rider as he sat outside (since he could not fit inside) devour plate after heaping plate of stir-fired food as it was brought out to him. The chef had a shit-eating grin on her face, mixed with a bit of fear that the large man would deplete the restaurant's stores of food. The other customers, some of who looked like gangsters… some were actually cheering him on.

Then the chef turned towards Waver. "You can pay for all of this right?" she asked in accented English.

Waver silently took out his wallet, and looked inside. There was not going to be enough, and he did not want to have to involve the McKenzies.

The chef evidently realized this, sighed in disappointment, and gestured to a few of the rough looking men. They then began walking towards the young englishman. What

With some fear, Waver called out, "Rider!"

The giant paused in his gorging, saw what was happening through the window, straightened up, and then proceeded to loudly rap on the outside wall of the small building with one of his paw-like hands. "Is there a problem, gentleman? You're not going to hurt my friend, are you?"

Waver used the momentary distraction to rush past the rough-looking men to the protection of Rider's presence. Even though the gangsters hesitated a bit, they still moved forward, even when Rider rose to his full height.

Waver was not sure how this would not end badly. He could not hypnotize this many people!

Then, a young-sounding voice spoke up from outside, cutting through the tension like a knife. "I can pay their bill!" Waver, Rider and the gangsters both looked towards its source; a young girl about waver's age, with light brown hair, and happy eyes.

The eyes of the chef and gangsters widened in surprise, and they hurriedly bowed. Waver could follow what they rapidly said in Japanese, but it was quite obvious that this was the daughter of someone very important.

The duo watched as the young girl handed the chef a large wad of yen bills, and then gestured to Waver and Rider. "Come on, you two."

With a massive shrug from Rider's massive shoulders, the duo did so.

After walking a short distance, the girl then turned to look at the two with a wide grin. Waver had to admit that she was rather pretty. "Hi," she said in fluent English. "I'm Taiga Fujimara. I think that you should come and meet my grandfather."

Before Waver could politely refuse, she then said something else that sunk his ship, straight down to the bottom of the bottomless depths. "This will help to settle that massive amount of money that you now him, seeing as how he owns that restaurant, after all. Besides, if you refuse, he'll find where you live, and have his helpers break your legs, arms, and faces."

She said all of this with a happy little grin, and in perfect English, which, to waver, was just an added insult to help nail tight the coffin.

Rider burst out laughing.

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Hongzhou Feast Hall, Fuyuki City, Japan, Afternoon

Kirei decided to venture into the city, following the little discussion with his Servant; what a ridiculous wish, and from a goddess no less.

Over the years, one of the few…normalthingsthat gave him pleasure was the consumption of mapo tofu. More specifically, the mapo tofu cooked at the Hongzhou Feast Hall. Though, if he were being honest, any sort of food that could only be described as "ungodly spicy", that was what Kirei preferred to consume. That hot, burning sensation that came with every bite, it made the act of putting food through his mouth to digest itself in his stomach for energy very tolerable, maybe even enjoyable. But the Feast Hall's mapo tofu still held a very special place in his strange and warped heart.

Plus, in the back of his mind, he did enjoy seeing the discomfort that the other customers experienced when they ate it as well, even as he quashed those feelings.

Along the way to the Hall, he had noted that he was being followed.

It was Archer, dressed in civilian clothing. Aside from his skin, hair, and eyes, he looked…unremarkable, if somewhat handsome.

Kirei said nothing as he entered the Feat Hall, ordered his dish and sat down at his table. Later, as it was brought to his table, Archer entered, and sat down across from him.

"My apologies, Kotomine, but my master asked that I make sure that nothing happened to you. The other masters and servants are still about, after all."

Kirei waved the apology off, and began to rapidly eat his dish for a moment, as was his custom. Then, he paused in his eating, and looked at the Servant sitting across from him. "May I ask you something, Archer?"

"You want to know what my wish is if I win the grail, so that you can try to gain insight into why a person such as you exists."

Kirei nearly choked on his tofu at that statement.

"It is quite obvious. You are a twisted existence who takes joy only from the suffering of others, but, at the same time, you are wracked with self-hatred for being such."

"You know nothing about me," Kirei hissed.

"I do not need to know you to understand you. To me, it is as if it were written upon your brow."

Kirei should have expected this. One of Archer's skills, Discernment of the Poor, allowed him to see the truth of anyone before him, whether it was their feelings, motives, or true thoughts. Shoving his anger aside, he went back to his dish.

"If that is the case, then what is your wish, Archer?"

"I have no wish."

Kirei nearly dropped his spoon upon hearing those four words. "No wish?"

"That is correct."

"But your life and legend… surely there is something that you wish could have been different?"

"No. I accepted my fate the moment that I was born. Despite my legend, and even if I wanted to, I hold no regrets for how it ended."

No regrets? That was impossible. Kirei returned his attentions to his dish once again.

Then Archer spoke again. "My armor negates any attack to one-tenth of the damage it would have inflicted, but that also extends to any sensation. For almost all my life, save during that last, fateful battle, I had never experienced the full sensation of anything, only the faintest echoes. For the longest time, during my childhood, I experienced pure hell. Even now, I can barely feel the clothes upon my skin, or the breeze blowing past my face. All of that, but I did not question it at all. I still don't, because there would be no point. Any negative emotion that I may have felt about such things was burned out long ago, by the blood of my father."

"So then is that your wish, Archer? To experience sensation, or at least negative emotion?"

"No. It is as I said before, I have no wish, because is no point to my having one, just as there is no point to you pondering the nature of your existence."

Kirei was starting to become irritated at this, so he stood up to leave. "Then why? Why do you participate in this War, if you have no wish? What is the point, if, as you say, there is none?"

"I participate because Tokiomi Tohsaka called out for a powerful Servant, and so I answered, as is my duty as a hero."

As Kirei was about to leave, the Servant spoke one last time. "You should stop worrying. The answer to your question is simple, o priest. Yours is a natural existence, not part of any plan, divine or otherwise. Accept that simple fact, and move on."

Kirei resisted the urge to snarl at this proclamation. There was nothing natural about the priest; even he knew that, twisted though his heart and mind may be. This War had to hold the answers he sought.

As he stormed out, he mentally reviewed the other masters that his father and teacher had managed to gain info on, and his mental roster rested on one in particular.

Kiritsugu Emiya…

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, Mount Enzou Forest, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

Berserker was feeling bored. Plus, this forest was kind of giving him the creeps, as well as the fact that it brought up bad memories. Oddly enough, it did not seem to bother his two companions; his Master, and the blank-faced, red-eyed, blue-and-brown-haired fake human. The fake human was, at the moment, currently cleaning his large and long sniper-rifle/ crossbow. Berserker's master was also going over his various items, which included some guns, a small number of actual hearts, fingers, and assorted bones, much to her disgust. The area in which they were residing was sparse, save for a few tents, a small fire, and a car, which was currently hidden.

After that battle at the docks, and getting punched into the sea by that fucking Archer (it was a lucky shot, no one was actually able to beat him, since he was the best!), the Servant of Madness was eager and itching for a rematch. Plus, the knight cunt with the two swords, well, he was just asking to die by merely existing!

He turned to his two companions. "Remind me again, master, why are we staying in this place, out in the open, instead of in real shelter, like normal people?"

His master paused in his workings to look up at him. "First, because this is the cheapest option. Even cheap motels can be expensive. Second, it gives me good access to resources that I need, and the leyline here can keep you charged. Third, and most importantly, the Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, is involved as a master in this War. Because of that, it's too dangerous to stay in any pedestrian area. The man is absolutely ruthless, and the words "collateral damage" are not in his vocabulary. As such, we need to be as inconspicuous as possible. That includes moving only at night, or as inconspicuously as possible during the day. Got it?" "Sure, sure, whatever," she said, flippantly.

The fake human than spoke up. "Mister Sisigou?"

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned that you worked with the Magus Killer before, correct?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Wouldn't he expect you to take up residence in a place such as this?"

The necromancer smirked at this. "Nah. I made sure to reveal as little as possible when I worked with him. It's kind of a necessity when you have to work with him, since ya never know when he's gonna come gunning for you next. So don't worry you two, I ain't as dumb as I seem."

"Understood."

"Whatever. Man, you spell-slingers are really a messed up bunch." Still better than knights, though, the sword-swinging asshole mother-fuckers! Except for his mother, anyway, who he hoped was rotting in hell.

The Spellcaster gave a small grin at their replies, and then went back to going over his assorted items and components and ammunitions.

This Grail War was turning out to be a lot more interesting than what he had researched, or what he had been expecting, when he was hired to participate over a month ago.

xxxxxxxxxx

Now, New Garan No Dou Headquarters, Fuyuki City, Japan, Day

Shiki Ryougi, if were she being fully honest, loved and lived for a good fight. The scent of blood as it flew out of cut arteries; the adrenaline coursing through her veins as she dodged blows; the fear that would write itself upon the faces of her opponents when they realized they were about to die; and, of course, the fact that even the slightest mistake could mean grievous injury, or death. All of that could help bring a smile to her normally dour face.

Sadly, the Ryougi heiress had been in so few of those sorts of fights since her employment with Touko Aozaki had begun. Though, the best and most memorable had been the one against that psychotic psychic, Fujino Asagami. She still remembered the sensation of her arm being twisted beyond repair, and how that bridge had bent until collapse. It had been exhilarating. But, alas, that had been over two years ago.

Ever since the accident with the bus... and the death of HIM... she had, admittedly, been feeling somewhat empty since awakening from her coma in that hospital room. Though, her hopes had started to rise a little when Touko had dragged her and Mikiya to this strange little deathmatch called the Holy Grail War, in this city that seemed remarkably similar to their home.

She remembered how Touko had explained to her and Mikiya what the point of it all was, showing the two the strange, glowing red markings on her right hadn't, wrought in the rough, simplified shape of a puppet dangling on strings. On some level, Shiki could understand the appeal of a wish, and the lengths that anyone would be willing to go to get get even the chance at such a prize, though, on another, she found the whole thing to be somewhat rediculous. Mikiya had been shocked of course, and she suspected that the only reason that he had come along was to try and keep as many people safe as possible.

She also remembered feeling a little miffed at how Touko had told her that, unless absolutely necessary,, she was not to engage with any of the other Servants, which meant that her bloodlust would probably go unsated.

Then along came Assassin, summoned by Touko a day after they had arrived.

This man, this Servant who called himself Mr. C? Fighting him was a treat. He seemed just as, if not more, skilled as her with knifework and unarmed combat. Earlier today, Touko had asked her to spar with the ancient Hero, to test herself. That had been over an hour ago. The entire time, they were being observed by Touko and Mikiya, who sat nearby at a small table.

Touko smoked, as always, and Mikiya watched with apprehension, a first-aid kit on hand, just in case. He was always worrying about her.

Shiki then put those thoughts out of her head as she quickly ducked and dodged a slash to the head, quickly trying to sweep his legs out before stabbing up with her knife, both of which he dodged with a backflip and a smirk.

"I will admit, you are pretty good, little lady," he said. "But this is boring. You should be fighting to kill me!"

That caught her off guard for a brief second, and she barely managed to dodge his fist. "But we're just sparring."

"So what?" A quick jab to the head, which turned out to be a feint, and then his strange dagger stabbed towards her stomach. She leapt left, but he followed with a burst of super-human speed, just as, if not faster than, her. "Tell you what, if you don't start to take this fight seriously, than I'll just kill your earnest friend in the glasses over there."

Shiki's eyes widened at this, and then her face twisted into a snarl, and she swing her knife towards his stomach, which he blocked by trapping it between his elbow and raised knee.

For a moment, they were locked in this position, grappling, and the he smirked again, pushed her face, and released his hold on her weapon.

They both jumped back. Facing each other. Shiki felt her eyes glowing, as she activated her power of Death Perception.

Just as she was about to sever his fate, she felt a pull on her own lifeline, and saw him, holding his strange, shifting knife in exactly the same manner as her.

How? She saw his smirk again, now feeling slightly irritated. "Not bad, little girl, not bad at all. Your eyes are like mine, it seems." As he spoke,, for a second, his eyes glowed the same as hers.

With a yell, she cut to sever...

...Wait, why was she standing in this yard? Why was she all sweaty? Why was she holding her knife? Had she been fighting someone? Aside from her and Mikiya and Aozaki, there was no one else here.

She looked around. She saw Mikiya standing with a first-aid kit. Why did he have that, nothing had happened. He too looked around in bewilderment and confusion. What was he confused about?

Touko, meanwhile, was just smirking, though that was not unusual. What did she know?

Then, suddenly, she felt the cool, sharp edge of a knife at her throat, and a voice next to her ear whispered, "That was fun. We should do it again sometime, when you want to get more serious."

It was the Servant, Assassin. How had he gotten behind her? And what had happened? What had he done? How had she forgotten him?

"Okay, that's enough, you two," Touko called out with a smirk and a laugh.

Assassin withdrew his knife, bowed deeply to Shiki, then walked over and bowed to Touko, kissing her hand as he did so. "I am so very gladdened that you are pleased, master."

Touko smiled. Indeed, she was very pleased. Truly, Assassin was the best servant for her. Plus, that one particular skill of his was indeed quite handy. Ambiguity of Existence ranked EX. Despite having clear memories of his life, there were many among the mundane and the magical community that doubted that Assassin had even existed, which thus translated into him having the ability to negate his existence to a degree.

Nothing could see him, nothing could touch him, though he could still interact with things to a small degree, and, best of all, anyone who had seen, heard, or interacted with him forgot about him the moment he activated the skill. Everyone that is, except for her, which she attributed to the Master-Servant connection.

That, coupled, with his rank A Presence Concealment, and his other skills, as well as his noble phantasms? Well, it all made him the perfect killing machine, her perfect killing machine.

Plus, he was very easy on the eyes, which helped a great deal.

Suddenly they heard the phone ringing, from within the building. Mikiya ran inside to answer it.

Ten minutes later, he returned. "Miss Aozaki. It's a prospective client."

"What do they want?"

"Something about strange occurrences, and disappearing bodies from the hospital here, as well as a ghost that seems to kill terminally ill patients."

Touko took a drag of her cigarette. "Interesting. Sound like a new case..."

xxxxxxxxxx

They had slipped into the water, it and its brother, so similar, yet so different, and so connected.

They were small, now, but still stronger than normal. They seethed with hatred at the memories of the ones who had killed them before, with sharp and cursed swords.

They wanted revenge.

But for that they needed to grow; and to grow, they needed to eat.

There would be just enough fish in this sea for them to eat. Start small, and work their way up.

xxxxxxxxxx

Unknown Time, Unknown Airstrip, Unknown Location, South America, Day

The man fingered his ornate cane with his gloved hands, mostly out of habit, as the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft began to descend, his eyes closed behind his dark sunglasses, as if deep in thought.

"You think this is another gosh-darn false lead?" asked the diminutive figure across from him, as she idly twirled her parasol. "If it is, please let me kill everyone there. That would just be so much fun! Plus, I need to eat!"

"We will see," he replied, opening his hidden eyes. He looked around at the interior of the Boeing; two-dozen blank-faced homunculi, each outfitted in high-end tactical combat gear and equipment, and armed with powerful automatic weapons.

To anyone else, it would have been somewhat disconcerting that they were just sitting quietly, with no hint of conversation passing between the soldiers.

The landing door opened, and sunlight filtered in to the aircraft. In formation, the Homunculi escorted their master out of the aircraft, where he was greeted with the sight of several large jeeps and other vehicles waiting, each manned by more homunculi.

A man approached the group. He was a typical native of South America, black-haired, and ruddy-skinned. But, he was also a magus of above-decent skill, and a proud member of the organization headed by the man in sunglasses. As such, the native was sweating rather profusely at being visited by his lord and master.

The man in sunglasses gazed upon the magus without a word, while at his side, his child-like companion shifted eagerly from foot to foot. Then, the native magus spoke.

"Meu Senhor. Me alegra que você tenha chegado." (My lord, I am glad that you have come.)

"Cadê?" (Where is it) Asked the man in sunglasses, just as fluently as the native magus.

"Bem assim, meu senhor." (Right this Way, My Lord.) With that, the magus lead the man in sunglasses, his small companion, and his escort to the assembled trucks and jeeps. He opened the passenger door of the front vehicle for the man, and then got into the driver's seat. The convoy made it's way across large tracks of land, and, as the sun began to make its descent into the western skies, they arrived.

The convoy approached what could only be described as an excavation site. There was a single temple, built in the style of the ancient Aztecs, surrounded by a veritable city of tents and other vehicles. It was manned by a small army of more homunculi and other magi sworn to the service of the man wearing sunglasses.

What was truly odd about the area was that the temple, and the land surrounding it, were all comprised of, and crafted from, glowing crystal. "Wow! It's just so gosh-darn pretty!" his companion exclaimed, her eyes wide with decptively child-like glee and wonder.

The native magus led them to and around the temple, passing more magi and homunculi as they did so.

"Demoramos anos para encontrar este site," (It took us years to find this site) he said, as they continued their descent. "Estava bem escondido pelas habilidades naturais do ser e por um forte campo delimitado. Na verdade, alguns dos moradores até adoram como um deus adormecido." (It was well hidden by the being's natrual abilities, and a strong bounded field. In fact, some of the residents even worship it as a sleeping god.)

"Eu imagino que eles se opuseram à escavação aqui?" (I imagine that they objected to the excavation?) The man asked offhandedly.

"De fato. Eles foram ... tomados cuidados," (Indeed. They were... taken care of) the native magus replied, somewhat hesitantly.

"E seus corpos?" (And their bodies?)

"Salvo e armazenado, de acordo com suas instruções permanentes, meu senhor." (Saved and stored, as per your standing instructions, my lord.)

"Excelente." (Excellent)

Finally they stopped at prize, the entire reason for the excavation, which had cost twelve years of research, interrogation, death, blood, and money to find.

It was an enormous cavern, the width of a mountain, with it's roof removed for the moonlight to seep in, and nestled within the enormous hole was a large, round, orb like structure, that seemed to glow with a disturbing green light, and pulsed, as if it were alive.

Surrounding the thing were statues, carved from the same crystal as the temple, each one depicting a human, with their faces contorted into expressions of extreme agony and fear.

They had not always been statues.

The group approached it without fear, save on the part of the native magus who grew more an more uneasy the closer they got.

Once they stood right in front of it, the man removed his glasses, revealing eyes the color of freshly-spilled blood, and brushed his blue-grey hair away from his eyes.

Without hesitation, the man reached out with his gloved hand towards the unearthed portion of the glowing carapace, and watched with interest as a green, crystalline formation extended out to envelop him, like a chrysalis. The area to which the man's mind was transported was both disconcertingly alien, and yet oddly familiar. There was everything, and nothing, and all seemed comprised of glowing crystals.

WHO ARE YOU

"I suppose you can call me an admirer, great one. But, I think I should seem familiar, even to one as great as you."

INDEED THIS ONE RECOGNIZES WHAT YOU ARE UNDYING LIFEFORM OF EARTH AND MOON YOUR FLAVOR IS EXCEEDINGLY FAMILIAR

"I feel honored to be recognized by one such as you, o Ultimate One."

WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE TO THIS ONE

"To make you an offer, if you would hear what I have to say."

In that strange, alien world of concepts and crystals and everything and nothing, the man explained to the being why he had worked so hard to find it, and what he planned. For what seemed like hours, he explained, and for what seemed like hours, it listened. Then, for what seemed like hours, it reviewed what the man had said. Then, it answered.

THIS PLAN IS AGREEABLE

"Excellent, I am humbled by your generosity." With that, the mindscape slowly erased itself, and the man was brought back to reality. "Golly! That was fast! So, did it work? Are we good?" his companion asked in english.

"Yes," he said. "It has agreed." He then turned to the assembled homunculi and magi. "Prepare the spider for transport. Eliminate any witnesses."

The man then turned his imperious gaze to the native magus, who gulped, and then fell to his knees. "Por favor meu senhor. Eu levo suas instruções para a carta. Eu tenho tudo o que você pediu e muito mais. Por favor, me poupe." (Please my lord. I carried out your instructions to the letter. I have done all that you have asked, and more. Please, spare me.)

The man stared at him for a long time, while his small companion bounced eagerly from foot to foot, as if excited at the prospect of death. Then, the man reached out, causing the magus to close his flinch in expected pain and death. The man's hand drew closer... closer... and...

lightly patted the native magus on his shoulder with his gloved hand, and gave him a small smile, though it was one that resembled what a person gave to their favored pet when it performed an interning trick, or perhaps a predator letting their prey know that, at least for today, they would live. "Você se preocupa muito. Fique à vontade, meu fiel vassalo, você fez bem." (You worry too much. Be at ease, my faithful vassal, you have done well.)

He helped the magus to his feet, and then motioned to the homunculi, speaking in English. "Move out!"

His small companion squealed in childish glee. "YAY!"

A/N

Thank god for google translate, and I do apologize to anyone who speaks Portuguese. Please review.

A/A/N

I hope that this gets put on TvTropes, or at least a mention.