Author's Musings:

Okay. I'm back. I know it has been over two weeks at this point. Whoops. Life got busy and I (Shameless self plug woooo) wrote another fan fiction. A short piece for the Dresden Files, a series I highly recommend for any fans of urban fantasy and epicness in general. That aside, here is the next chapter of The Way to the Clocktower's Heart. It is the longest one yet so maybe I can be forgiven for it being late? Eh? Seriously though I am rather proud of how I keep writing more each time. Let me know if you think the chapters get too long.

About the chapter in general, a lot happens in a short span of time. Hopefully it all flows naturally and I don't give anyone mood whiplash. I also reference Shokugeki no Soma in this chapter. A rather ridiculous but fun series that I pulled Shirou's chef outfit from (look up Soma, the main character). Shokugeki in a non literal translation equates to "food war" or "culinary contest".

I do appreciate criticism if you have it. As for how the story will continue, I have planned how I want it to end in both universes. I do not know how long it will take to get there though. Guess we will find out together.

As I said before I have a decent knowledge of Fate/Stay Night mechanics and I may have tweaked them a bit below. Hopefully my explanations for things make sense. Let me know if there are any questions, I can address them before the next chapter.

That's enough from me. It's late and I didn't get to review this chapter as much as I would have liked, but I decided you readers waited long enough. So without further interruptions (except the disclaimer)...

Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything related to Fate/Stay Night or anything else (Shokugeki no Soma) that is referenced below in any way, shape, or form.

The Clocktower: Immediately Later

Rin moved through the empty halls of the clocktower as fast as she could, ignoring the lack of other mages. It was lunch time, so she knew where they were. Despite the speed at which she was traveling, Rin would never say she was sprinting. Someone such as herself did not sprint, they…. expedited. Rin was expediting as hard as she could. When an immortal and powerful vampire suggested you go somewhere, you went. And you didn't complain about it. Especially if that vampire was Zelretch, and doubly so if he seemed to find it amusing in any way.

Blazing past a mage hiding in a corner crooning 'my precious' over a scone, Rin thought about what could possibly be waiting for her. Was it another Shirou incident? He was definitely the number one suspect in any shenanigans happening in or around the Clocktower. However, based on where the crazy old bat of a sorcerer said he was going next, Shirou should still be in the kitchen. For once, Rin was fairly certain this was not a Shirou related disaster.

The universe chuckled. Oh how wrong she was.

But with Shirou out of the running, that left a whole world of possibilities. And with all she had seen so far Rin's definition of 'possible' had been skewed just ever so slightly. Trying not to think about it, she continued her express journey to the entrance hall and passed two brawling apprentices who each had one hand on a picnic basket.

Sliding into the room to bleed off her momentum, Rin scanned the room with a practiced eye. Her hands twitched towards the various gems hidden on her person, but they were unneeded. The entrance hall was devoid of any noteworthy company, the man swearing vengeance and cursing his fate didn't count.

'This culinary cult is an abomination and a threat to the nation!'

She must have missed what Zelretch was talking about. Maybe whoever it was had moved on? She should search the nearby rooms and… oh root damn it all she hadn't brought any of her familiars. Those would have been useful.

'I will find a way to remove the threat of mind control scones and save us all!'

The door slammed and brought Rin out of her thoughts. A kaleidoscope of colors bathed the room through the stained glass windows and silence reigned. A cry from down the corridor broke the momentary peace.

"SHIROU EMIYA, I HAVE COME TO…"

The voice cut off suddenly, but Rin had heard enough. That shout had contained the name of a certain trouble magnet and was clearly what she was looking for. She sprin… hastened away towards the source of the shout, cutting the corners as close as she dared.

Maybe a little too close as she rounded another corner and collided with someone. Only Rin fell to the ground as she seemed to bounce off whoever she hit. Looking up all she could see was a long curtain of lavender hair, which shifted smoothly as its owner looked over her shoulder. A pair of blindfolded eyes regarded Rin with a cool expression.

"!" Rin half scrambled and half lept backwards before making it to her feet. She knew that face and look. Tensing to run, Rin began to gather prana and reach for her gems. Why couldn't this have happened when Saber was nearby?! She opened her mouth to yell a challenge, use a command seal, or perhaps scream in terror at the proximity of a servant, but she didn't get the chance to make a sound.

Rin was bodily tackled from the side by a purple and white blur.

"Rin! Sis! It's so good to see you! How are you! What's…"

Apparently being tackled wasn't good for one's short term memory as Rin found herself on the ground again and staring at more purple hair. Someone was excitedly chattering in her ear as they clung to her in a tight hug.

"And you have to tell me everything! It's been forever since we had a chance to actually talk…"

Wait! Rin's mind reset and she looked past the person clinging to her like a limpet and up at the smiling (what?) form of Rider. The same Rider who had been trying to kill Rin and Shirou last time they met.

Ok. Rin was officially a little freaked out.

"And it's not like we have to worry about adults being meanies anymore! Oh how grand to actually have a sister again!"

So who had the purple hair and was hugging her.

Hold on.

Sister? That word finally registered in Rin's confused and unnerved state. Pushing the person who was still babbling away, Rin finally saw who had enthusiastically greeted her.

"Sakura? But…" words failed Rin as she gazed at the now silent and concerned looking girl on top of her.

"Oh. Oh. I'm so sorry," Sakura apologized as she disentangled herself from Rin, "that was highly improper of me," She straightened up and smoothed down her white clothing while looking decidedly embarrassed, a feeling Rin shared, "I was just so excited to see you I…. let me try again," Rin's sister coughed delicately into her hand to clear her throat, bowed formally, and spoke again.

"Greetings Rin Tohsaka, Head of the Tohsaka Family. I am the new head of the Matou Family, Sakura Matou. I formally greet our ancient allies and will be in your care."

Well that was interesting. It's not every day your forcibly adopted away sister tackles you out of nowhere. Rin shakily got back to her feet, feeling conflicted as various emotions awakened.

"Wait," began Rin. It was too much so she latched onto one particular fact instead of trying to untangle the imposing knot that was forming inside her, "you're the family head?"

"Oh is that anyway to greet your estranged sister Rin?" teased Sakura, hand on her cheek, as Rider suppressed a rare display of emotion by badly faking a cough. Sakura ignored Rin's sputtering and smiled widely, her eyes crinkling shut, "but yes, since I am the only surviving member of the Matous the position naturally falls to me."

Rin wasn't sure how to take the information and was struck silent. It was hard to believe that the old bug Zouken was actually dead. Not to mention she was completely unprepared for a family reunion. It was hard to pretend to not have a sister for years, and then only interact with her as a polite acquaintance if at all. It was an old wound, and long healed, if improperly, for Rin even if her/their mother had never gotten past it. At the moment most of Rin's thoughts were guilt at having not done anything for her younger sister and for practically forgetting about her with all the commotion she was wrapped up in these days. The knot inside Rin grew larger. She wanted so badly to just reach out, but wasn't sure she could or even deserved to.

"And like I mentioned a bit ago, with both of us in charge there is no reason we can't try and be sisters aga…. oh," Sakura opened her eyes and, noticing Rin's silence and conflicted expression, hesitantly reached out. She managed to still look calm, but her shaking arm betrayed the contained fear and sadness. She could see the inner turmoil on Rin's face and it was devastating. Her happy mood fell away completely and her head fell, dejected, "that is… assuming you want to try. I-I understand….i-i-if you don't want to. I'm not worth..."

Rin cut her off with a crushing hug that pinned Sakura's shaking arms to her body. Forget anything complicated. Forget the guilt. Forget all the what ifs. Forget being a magus just for now. They could work out the kinks later. Rin felt tears welling up and let them. She felt memories from over ten years ago wash over her and once again felt like a little girl. She saw her little sister walking away from her for the last time. She felt once more the pain of losing her father, her mother, and more. Rin had lost enough family. Like hell was she passing up a chance to get some back. She gripped her surprised sister tighter.

"Don't you go sounding like that idiot," Rin choked out and managed a wet smile, "Of course I'll try."

"Rin…" Sakura brought her arms up and returned the embrace.

The two sisters stood there for a time in silence as tears traced their cheeks.

It was a comforting silence.

It felt whole. And right. Not undamaged. And definitely not perfect. But whole nonetheless.

A few emotional minutes later the two sisters had composed themselves somewhat and resumed Sakura's trek down one of the many labyrinthian halls of the Clocktower. They both wore matching smiles and moved without haste. It was a pleasant atmosphere, but Rin was still Rin and was too curious to let it continue for long.

"So, I don't want to ruin the mood by bringing up the past, but how exactly did you get here?"

"On a plane of course."

Rin's reply was an attempted glare that lacked any real heat. Sakura giggled lightly, hands clasped behind her back as she continued walking. Rider followed with a little distance to give the women some space.

"Don't worry, I know what you meant. You did lose track of me after the war. Since you never checked in on me or anything before gallivanting halfway across the world with Senpai." Sakura pouted at Rin, who was looking more than a little ashamed of herself.

"A-ah, that is..." Rin found no good way of denying the politely stated accusation.

"Don't worry, I got over that grudge a long time ago. It was irrational, but I did resent you for abandoning me and blamed you for my problems. What with everything I went through with the Matous. My life was more messed up than Senpai's," She was being unusually upbeat for such a dark topic, "But in the end you really aren't at fault. All the originally responsible people are dead, and you wouldn't have been able to rescue me anyway. Not to insult your power, but Zouken had a lot of failsafes."

"Ok… leaving aside why you are so chipper about all of that," it did not bode well for Sakura's mental health, "how did you get away then?"

"I'll answer both questions anyway," Sakura did a little twirl while they walked, "First, I have had enough time to come to terms with what happened, and enough time to realize, and accept, that I'm not normal in the slightest. I am a bit skewed to say the least. Which isn't all bad since there are plenty of strange people in the world. Like Senpai, or you, or most magi actually,"

"That's certainly true," muttered Rin, "wait! Why did you mention me!?"

Sakura only smiled enigmatically and kept talking.

"As for how I got here. Well once I figured out that no one was going to save me, I finally decided to save myself. With the war over and Shinji dead it was a good a time as any. If it makes you feel better you did help me escape in a way."

"I did?" Rin looked hopeful.

"Mmhmm," Sakura nodded, "Unless someone else helped purify the grail system of All the World's Evils?" She cocked her head to the side.

"But how did that help?"

"I'll get to that in a moment. I got away by killing Zouken. You know, for someone so cunning, he really was rather careless with experimenting on me,"

"A magus that old got careless?" that was highly unusual. Being a magus was an inherently dangerous profession. Hence the common phrase, 'to be a magus is to walk with death'.

"Do you remember my elemental affinity from when father tested us as children? This is related I promise." Sakura answered Rin's question with another question.

"Of course. 'Imaginary Numbers' right?" Rin was sure she was correct but phrased it as a question to be polite. Gotta be sure to start off this sibling thing on the right foot.

"Yep! Although it could also have been called 'hollow'. When I was being 'taught' the Matou magecraft I also gained a water element with the Matou trait of absorption. Then Zouken got ambitious and implanted the shards of the fourth lesser holy grail into me so that I would become a lesser grail much like Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"He what!" Not only had Zouken messed with the grail system heavily, he had done it with her sister! Rin was not amused, "But that's insanely dangerous. No one understands the how the grail works anymore, not to mention it was evil when he mucked with it!"

"Oh he knew it was evil, he didn't mind all that much. And he knew a lot about the system. Like how the lesser grail acts as a trigger for the greater grail by absorbing the defeated heroic spirits. So naturally I formed a link to the greater grail. It was not a pleasant experience," for the first time Sakura shivered as she talked, "I try not to remember it," She stopped walking as Rin hugged her again, "thank you…. But then all the darkness just went away and it was wonderful!"

"That must have been when Saber destroyed that thing near the temple," although thing may have been an understatement for the mass of oozing evil muck and the giant humanoid figure in it.

"That's what I assumed when I heard the reports. So with the grail war over, I was left with a hollow/water affinity with an absorption trait, shards of one of the most powerful examples of wishcraft ever, and a direct connection to an unused and untainted well of power," Sakura stopped walking and looked at Rin expectantly, "So guess what I did,"

Rin paused as well to think, muttering to herself as she processed everything.

"As a hint, my elemental affinity was already strange and had been changed before."

Rin drew in a sudden breath, eyes going wide.

"Did you absorb the grail shards into your affinity!? That's… I want to say impossible but you are smiling way too much. So I guess it is possible?,"

"I always knew you were smart Sis. I'm not entirely confident I could explain the whole thing in detail, but I filled my 'hollow' affinity by absorbing the idea of 'wishcraft' from the grail. And now here I am with an element of 'wishcraft' and the ability to draw upon the store of power left in the greater grail. Much like the end of the fourth war you only destroyed the manifestation of the grail, leaving the underlying system and prana store untouched. Zouken and his worms weren't too hard to deal with after that, so I summoned Rider back up and I was free."

Rin wiped her mouth (she was not drooling, definitely not), and looked at Sakura hungrily.

"You wouldn't mind helping me with some experiments now that you are back. Would you?" Now there were two anomalies to study! Shirou was strange but this was just as unprecedented. Although they might have to keep Sakura a bit more secret than Shirou. The only reason Shirou hadn't been dissected or locked up for study was because no one wanted to piss off the new chef.

"um…. I don't see why not," Sakura seemed confused at Rin's sudden question.

"Great! We can discuss details later," Sakura was a little uneasy at her sister's enthusiasm, "but back to you, so you took care of Zouken, then what? You didn't come right here obviously."

"Uh-huh," Sakura nodded, "I heard about Senpai's quest and how he was pursuing his cooking,"

How did she know that when no one at the Clocktower knew anything about it? I never did get all the details from Shirou. Rin thought as Sakura continued.

"So I started my own training so I could keep up with him. I'm going to be Senpai's Sous Chef!," Sakura clenched her raised fist in determination.

That pulled Rin out of her thoughts and before thinking she blurted out.

"You can't be Senp… I mean Shirou's Sous Chef, he's my… my…" Rin blushed and trailed off. She wasn't certain how she was going to finish that sentence. And now Sakura almost had her saying Senpai. Why was she still saying that anyway?

"Oh? Senpai is your what?" Sakura grinned as Rin's face did a passable impression of her standard red shirt.

"T-That's not important," stammered Rin, "W-why do you keep calling him Senpai anyway? We are in Britain and speaking English."

"Well there is no good English word or phrase that conveys 'person who is older than me in school whom I respect and am attracted to in a nearly fanatical way' properly," her smile was serene, "but that's not important. What is important is that I have returned. I have perfected my craft and will find Senpai."

Rin wasn't sure how to react to everything Sakura had just said. It was a feeling she was unfortunately becoming very familiar with these days.

Wait.

Rin really looked at her sister and noticed that she wasn't just wearing white clothes. That was a chef's coat.

Waitwaitwaitwait.

She perfected her craft.

Rin's mind whirled back to a certain day when a certain idiot had come seeking revenge. Her breath sped up. Those words, she couldn't possibly have…

No! It had to be a coincidence. She had to stop being silly just because Sakura happened to use the same words as Shirou. Rin forced herself to breathe slower and calm down. She was reading too much into things and getting paranoid. Gotta keep things under control.

"You really would make a good apprentice you know," said Zelretch as he leaned against the wall and popped the last of what he was holding into his mouth, "mmmmm. Tasty."

Rin snapped out of her near panic and whipped her head around. Sakura and Rider had apparently moved on while she had been frozen and were down the hall. The prankster vampire who could level the whole city with ease was smirking beneath one of the hall's windows and chewing something.

"Excuse me?" Rin asked. Where did he come from? Zelretch just swallowed and smirked.

"You are already progressing well in one of the most important areas for my students. A resistance to craziness is a necessity and you have been exposed more than most. You are developing an impressive tolerance. Not even a fainting spell this time," He looked very proud, like a grandfather who just saw his grandchildren win something.

"But. I. Grrr," Rin was not in an eloquent mood.

"Ah. Ah. Ah. You shouldn't be bothering with me. You should catch up with your sister and show her to the cafeteria. It will make everything go much smoother than just having her wander around."

Down the hall Sakura, flanked by Rider, reached another door. Flinging it open with a bang, Sakura stepped inside and cried out,

"SHIROU EMIYA, I HAVE COME TO….. oh."

Shirou Emiya was feeling good. Even if today's experiments with Rin hadn't born any fruit, lunch had gone super well. Everyone was contentedly in food comas out in the cafeteria and he was busy cleaning up the supplies that were not projections. Plus Zel had stopped by and given him a chance to make some more unique food again. No one else really liked the flavor produced by that ingredient.

Content and calm, he continued scrubbing the pan in his hands. With nothing planned until it was time to prep dinner Shirou took his time and enjoyed the simple task. At least he did until he heard a loud bang echoed through the cafeteria. He poked his head out of the serving window just in time to see Sakura leap into the room and proudly plant her hands on her hips. It was surprising to see the purple haired girl, but Shirou didn't mind in the least. He always had enjoyed her quiet company and had wondered more than once how she was doing.

Wait.

Was she wearing a chef's coat and matching white pants? And why was Rider standing in the doorway with Rin practically cowering behind her?

Sakura surveyed the room and caught sight of Shirou's head.

"SHIROU EMIYA!" belted the slim girl as she pointed dramatically, "I HAVE COME TO CHALLENGE YOU!"

Shirou blinked. That was as unexpected as seeing Sakura.

"SHOKUGEKI! I SHALL CLAIM A PLACE AS YOUR SOUS CHEF!"

Ah. Things made sense now. Shirou had also taken the elective that covered the dramatic elements of the culinary arts at Totsuki. Ham 101 if he recalled correctly. There really was only one response then. Shirou stepped away from the sink and vaulted through the serving window. He made sure to angle his landing so that his apron and bandana flared appropriately. Standing tall Shirou pointed back at his opponent and replied with gusto.

"I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE! NAME YOUR TIME AND PLACE!"

An intense atmosphere descended upon the room.

"HERE AND NOW!"

Several of the semiconscious mages in the cafeteria began to stir at the commotion, while others remained where they were holding their stomachs in bliss. Completely unaware, or simply uncaring, of the prospective audience the two chefs strode confidently towards one another. As the distance between the two shortened, their eyes locked in a fierce stare and their mouths flattened in grim determination. They met at the center of the room. Shirou by himself and Sakura trailed by a stoic Rider, a dazed Rin, and a grinning Zelretch. The two struck one last confident pose, facing each other with their arms crossed, before the air of drama faded away.

Sakura's body language slumped a little and became very hesitant, she gently pushed the tips of her index fingers together. A slight blush made its way onto her cheeks.

"H-Hi Senpai. Did I do that right? Yukihira-sensei said I needed to work on my confidence,"

Shirou's firm look faded into a genuine smile.

"I'm sure Sensei would have been proud. I can't believe you are here Sakura, and you went to the same school as me too!" The redhead enfolded the smaller woman in a gentle hug, "It's great to see you,"

"School… Crazy…Yelling… Chefs," contributed Rin from her stunned state.

"I missed you Senpai," murmured Sakura into Shirou's shoulder.

"I want to ask you how you got here, but that can wait," said Shirou as he released the hug, "You challenged me, and I know we can't make it official since we aren't in school, but I intent to honor the rules of Shokugeki anyway. What are your terms?"

Sakura reluctantly stepped away from Shirou as she answered.

"I would like to cook with you in your kitchen as your Sous Chef," her request was firm.

"You know you didn't have to challenge me to get that?" Shirou quirked an eyebrow at Sakura who shook her head.

"No. I did. This is more for my sake than anything else. I know it's selfish, but give this your all!" Shirou nodded firmly in response to the fervent request.

"Ok. Now we just need judges, preferably three," his gaze landed on the three people standing behind Sakura. Rider simply nodded once at the implied question. Zel gave a silent thumbs before looking sideways at Rider and indicating Rin with his head. The heroic spirit shifted so that Rin was between her and Zelretch. With a coordinating nod they each grasped one of Rin's arms and snapped her out of her stupor.

"WHAT! Huh? Where's…" The trapped woman started and instinctively tried to jump back, only to find her feet were no longer touching the ground courtesy of the supernatural supports now gripping her elbows. She glowered at them both and then at Shirou and Sakura.

"Well it seems we have our three Sakura. Saber will be a bit disappointed but I can make it up to her later. Shall we?" he swept an arm in the direction of the kitchen, "I wouldn't want to keep our judges waiting."

"Judges!? Wait! I'm not eating any of your food Shirou," Rin's gaze intensified as she focused on just Shirou, "I will not subject myself to mmph mphmmph," the last two words were muffled by a hand from each of her captors, but sounded suspiciously like 'mind control' anyway.

"Well..." Sakura was hesitant, "I think there might be a better venue…I heard about your world and well…" she trailed off.

"Oh? Are you sure. That would be kinda unfair," Shirou rubbed the back of his head before he froze, "unless… did you also…?" he didn't finish his thought, but Sakura nodded eagerly as Rin's eyes widened at the same pace as Zelretch's grin.

"Oh this will be good," muttered the sorcerer in anticipation, as Rin renewed her struggles to escape.

Rin crossed her arms petulantly and held on to the hope that she was wrong about what Sakura had implied. She was pinned between Rider and Zelretch on a bench behind one of the cafeteria tables, which while not exactly comfortable had the benefit of preventing her from shaking in apprehension. Apprehension of what she hadn't quite pinned down. Eating Shirou's cooking held the risk of having her mind altered, which was distasteful. But was what Sakura might be able to do better or worse than that?

I'll find out soon enough, she supposed.

A larger clearing had been made in the center of the cafeteria, with many insensate mages being bodily pushed aside. The ones who could move under their own power clustered at the edges of the area. The 'judge's table' faced the open area where Shirou and Sakura stood facing each other. Neither held any sort of cooking instrument, but both held expressions of concentration. A red ribbon, one Rin recognized as the one she had given to her sister ages ago, held Sakura's hair back in a ponytail to prevent any hair getting in the way.

Without any sort of detectable signal the two mages in the circle shifted stances as one. Shirou bent his knees and put his right arm forward, palm facing outwards as he braced his forearm with his left hand. Sakura bowed her head and placed her palms together in front of herself as if praying.

This was it. Rin hoped she was wrong. Please. Please. Be wrong.

The two began speaking with Shirou leading.

"I am the bake of my oven" power began to gather around the aproned mage and his voice adopted a deep timbre of magic.

Rin squeezed her eyes shut as if to block out what inevitably came next.

Sakura began to speak as well.

"Always empty, surrendered, alone" her voice held the same weight as Shirou's and sounded clearly in Rin's head.

Root damn it! She was just as crazy as he was. The confirmation of her fear did not help Rin's mental state. The familiar feeling of being overwhelmed crept into the corners of her mind.

"Flour is my body and milk my blood" these words passed through Rin's mind. She had already heard them and was busy questioning what she knew about her sister.

"A vessel for the wishes of others" tendrils of darkness began to leak from the smaller magus, curling around her still form as her voice remained placid.

"I have created over a thousand flavors" Rin was somewhat concerned as the power laden words continued to flow. That blackness was just a little too familiar for comfort.

"Witness to all the blights of man" streaks of red wove through the anomalies surrounding Sakura. Rin opened her mouth but anything she tried to say, any warning she wanted to give was swallowed by the arias being spoken.

"Never once too salty, never once too dry" Shirou did not seem to be concerned with what was happening, his gaze was locked on Sakura and full of trust as his own power began to warp the air around him.

"Yet all chains can be broken, all burdens lifted" Sakura's eyes were still shut and her words were still calm, like a pond on a windless day. Faintly, she began to shine with a white light that washed away the darkness.

"Withstood heat to create pastries, waiting for them to brown" a warm wind swirled around Shirou and rustled his apron and bandana. The dark streaks around Sakura were completely eclipsed by the growing light.

"With a wish of my own, I pursue that which I desire" seeing the recognizable signs of the holy grail's former taint vanish, Rin's mind switched from growing concern back to increasing confusion and vehement denial.

"I have no regrets, I travel a delicious path" how did two people in the same room come to possess what had only happened six or seven times in history? Reality marbles were supposed to be rare in humans! She must be hallucinating or something.

"I will reach forward and grant my own request" then Sakura's words from earlier came flowing back into Rin's mind. "My life was more messed up than Senpai's" How had she missed that!

"I am the chef of…" if being saved from an endless fire and inheriting a dream could distort someone enough for them to form a reality marble then….

"For I truly am…" more words came back to Rin. "I am a bit skewed to say the least". Sakura had been through far worse than Shirou. It was more than possible that her perception of the world was as warped as Shirou's. Warped enough to develop and manifest a reality marble.

The two distorted beings spoke their final words in unison.

"Unlimited Scone Works"

"A Wishing Well"

Power flowed over the room in an irresistible wave. Flames spread outwards from Shirou's feet as blinding light blazed forth from Sakura's form. The two forces met in the middle even as they expanded outwards and consumed the room.

Everything was lost in white.

An Alternate Universe: Fuyuki City

Baker stared down the lance of crimson light that sought his heart. His right arm extended in a futile stopping gesture as he spoke his final words.

"My body is made of scones."

The instant he spoke those words two different things happened within two distinct worlds. Both were extremely important.

In the world known as reality, the cursed spear Gae Bolg pierced the heart of servant Baker. This was unusual in the fact that the spear itself was still several yards away from the organ in question. However, the Barbed Spear of Impaling Death was no ordinary weapon. It was a noble phantasm. A weapon or ability so renowned and legendary that it served as the armament of a heroic spirit and journeyed along with its owner even after death.

In this case, the legend of Gae Bolg stated that it always pierced the heart of its target when thrust. Ascended to the power level of a B rank noble phantasm, the cursed spear retained the ability to always strike true. However, its power was magnified exponentially to the point where time, space, and causality itself bent to ensure the outcome of unleashing it. What normally was: the spear was thrust and thus the heart was pierced, became: the heart was pierced and thus the spear was thrust. It was a nigh unavoidable killing blow, and it was bearing down on a defiant Baker.

So in the real world, Baker's heart was pierced and the spear was being thrust.

The other important event was occurring within the inner world of servant Baker, once known in life as Shirou Emiya the King of Scones.

A reality marble normally swapped the locations of a person's inner world and the physical world, with the caster's body acting as buffer or portal between the two. The mechanics of how exactly the world could fit 'inside' someone are a highly advanced aspect of the 'world egg' theory and were not relevant at the moment. What was relevant was the fact that reality marbles could be used in another way. The marble could be swapped into the body of the caster and deployed internally instead of replacing reality. This use generally required an altered aria to invoke, such as: 'this body is made of scones'.

So in the world of Baker, his reality marble was expanding and manifesting inside of his body and not in the real world. This altered the servant in many ways and many places, including his heart. The heart that had already been pierced. The universe just needed to catch up to that fact.

Baker grunted softly as the disturbing feeling of his reality marble overtaking his body spread. It was never a good feeling and the results were only useful in specific circumstances.

He grunted louder as Gae Bolg, in the form of a crimson beam, blew a hole in his unguarded chest.

Chunks of what looked like flesh and copious amounts of a red substance splattered across the yard and onto the shed next to a recoiling Shirou who flinched.

"hmmm," Lancer nearly purred in satisfaction as he lept backwards and surveyed his handiwork from a distance. The red spear, solid once more and no longer glowing, came to rest on his shoulder, "shouldn't have held back buddy," his grin was pleased, "but it wasn't a bad fight."

Baker's body, missing its heart and a good portion of the surrounding chest area, took a single staggering step backwards before falling to one knee.

"Arghhhh," came a rasping cry as more fluid leaked out from the gaping hole.

"Don't bothering hanging on so stubbornly. I don't care how high your endurance or battle continuation is. There is no way to …. Recover…. From ….that…." the spearman trailed off in disbelief, his last few words staggered and disjointed.

Baker was rising to his feet. Something other than red was running into his wound. It was pale and seemed to stick to the edges of the wound. It almost looked like…. Dough?

"Owww.. ack.." the chef coughed out a glob of red and then spat out more, "asperry," he managed to choke out as the hole continued to fill in.

"That's...Impossible," managed Lancer through his disbelief as he stared. His fellow servant straightened and raised his head, face set in a grimace of pain. Within moments the wound was completely covered in a pale substance that slowly began to brown.

Shirou, seeing that his servant was not dead, took a better look at his double. It looked like the injury was filled with baking pastry. Not quite believing his eyes, he took a closer look at the rest of his servant and audibly gasped. Baker's tanned skin didn't just look weathered anymore, it was covered in a myriad of small cracks and had the texture of perfect pastry. The sudden intake of breathe also brought the smell to Shirou's attention. As the fresh dough continued to brown he could smell a divine aroma of baking with an undercurrent of fruit. There was even a little steam rising off of the now covered wound.

"Ah that's better. It's hard to speak when you are missing a lung and a half," spoke Baker, his voice still distorted and choppy, but understandable. He wiped the last of the red off his chin and licked it off his hand, "mmmm. Raspberry. You are both welcome try some of me if you want. I guarantee I'm delicious," a hand gesture indicated the chunks strewn about the area.

Shirou paled and felt just a little sick even as his head pounded and his vision flashed white.

Lancer just got angry.

"That's ridiculous! You shouldn't be able to do that!" the blue haired man swung his weapon back into an aggressive position, "This time I'll be sure to…." he cocked his head to the side as if listening and gradually his face fell into an expression of disappointment, "fine," he spat out, "Looks like my master wants me to retreat. Next time don't expect to be so lucky."

As the spearman lept away Baker called out once more.

"Say hello to that false priest for me!"

Lancer stiffened briefly in mid-air before vanishing from sight. For a few moments Baker stood tense before relaxing.

"It's safe Shirou. He left." The servant's skin faded back to its normal texture but the hole in his shirt remained, revealing the browned skin of his chest and back.

"..."

"Shirou?" The servant glanced back at the shed before spinning fully around in concern, "Shirou!" the young master was curled up in the shed's doorway clutching his head and moaning in pain. An instant later Baker was hovering over the alternate version of his younger self. He reached out, but hesitated.

"Shirou, can you hear me?" a groan was the only response, "I might be able to help, I think I know what's causing this. I'll try and give you only the relevant bits so that you can at least function," he gently pulled the teen's hands away from his head, being careful to only grip clothing. Tanned hands quickly replaced pale ones and gripped the sides of Shirou's head.

For Baker nothing happened as he brought everything he knew about the grail war to the front of his mind, but for Shirou…

Shirou let out one last gasp as a final spike of pain drove itself through his skull and with it came images and memories.

He learned of a ritual called the holy grail war. Where spirits of the past were summoned to fight for mages of the present. A gruesome contest of battle and blood where the victor claimed the ultimate prize: a wish. But all was not as it seemed. The wish was real, but it was corrupt and twisted beyond imagining. Angra Mainyu, All the World's Evils, resided within the grail and sought to pervert any wish into a means of destruction. It was horrific.

He saw the experiences that his double, his servant, had been through. How his classmates were involved in the current crisis. How his friends lives were risked and ruined. But as he saw he also learned. He learned about the hidden pasts of Sakura and Tohsaka. The sordid truths of many magi like the Matous. How his own magic was incorrect and incomplete. He even learned of one of his possible futures in the form of an Archer.

Knowledge of his current situation flooded his mind and answered so many questions while raising even more.

But amidst the memories of the war were flashes of other places and times.

He knelt down and a crown was placed upon his head by a petite blond with luminous green eyes.

He held aloft a knife (a kitchen knife?!) and swung it down as explosions swept across the land.

He bowed his head in chagrin as a woman who looked much like Tohsaka pointed an accusing finger at him, one hand on her hip.

He lept backwards as a man/thing bore down on him with glowing red eyes.

He looked down in concern at his own face as he grasped the sides of his double's head.

He stood tall, apron catching the warm wind, at the summit of a hill surrounded by endless, dusty plains covered in scraggly grass. Around him echoed a wordless roar emanating from things in sight yet out of focus. Just what were they?

He looked up once more at the endless blue sky as his eyes drifted shut. Panicked cries echoed in the distance, "SHIROU!" they called but he was just too tired. "SHIROU!" Too tired. His eyelids slowly slid closed.

"SHIROU!" a faint mix of male and female resounded in the darkness.

"SHIROU!" a familiar voice, his voice, called out and he felt someone shaking his shoulders. Shirou snapped his eyes open and saw the silver haired and tanned face of servant Baker looking down in concern.

"What was….. That?" he asked, finding no accurate way to describe what he had witnessed. It was a lot to think about. At least the headache and pain were gone.

"You got a look at my memories. Since we are different versions of the same person we share a connection that lets stuff like that happen," the servant leaned back and sat on his haunches, "mages use something similar to relearn skills from a falsified version of their past selves."

"Huh?" Shirou was on a role as far as clear questions went. Baker just sighed.

"We can do magic theory later. Let's leave it at this. Due to our similarities," he grinned as if he had made a joke, "you were subconsciously picking up some of my memories and it was causing the pain you felt. It was overwhelming you since I have so many more memories as Shirou than you do so we were imbalanced. To help clear it up I purposefully transferred more memory to you by strengthening the connection through touch. It seems like it worked."

"That does make a little sense, I don't really feel all that different though."

"You shouldn't really. After all, I'm you and you're me. They are your memories. I tried to focus on just what you needed to know about the grail war. Did it work?"

Shirou propped himself up and shifted himself so he was sitting against the wall.

"I think so? I know what you are and how similar it is to Rin's servant when… you were in the war," he made a strange face, "man that's weird. It was you, but now I remember it so it was kinda me. There are also some other memories, but I don't think I can sort through it right now."

"Understandable," the chef servant hopped to his feet, "do you think you can stand? We have something else to deal with before the night is over."

"We do?" questioned the newly informed master.

"Yeah, see if you remember what comes next."

"... Rin shows up?" Shirou answered hesitantly after thinking it over.

"Right in one. And we will have to see who she summoned as well. It might not be Archer," Baker began to extend a hand to help Shirou up before quickly retracting it. He looked a little embarrassed, "whoops, no need for that again. Do me a favor and don't mention that I kinda transferred a bunch of my memories to you. Especially to Rin. Please," he looked nervous despite how powerful Shirou knew him to be.

"Why….. hold on," Shirou shut his eyes and let his mind fill in the gaps, "you… promised Rin not to… give me ideas," he opened his eyes and looked up at himself, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"Weeelllll," Baker was sheepish, "Rin thinks that one Shirou like me is enough insanity, so in the event of something like Archer happening, but with me being summoned, she made me promise not to 'corrupt' myself. She made a few logical leaps and assumed I would end up as a heroic spirit, but I can't fault her thinking. She was right, as usual," a fond smile graced the tanned face for the last few words.

Shirou stood and found himself only a little stiff.

"But what does 'corrupt even mean…." a memory fragment lept to the front of Shirou's mind unbidden, "huh…. King of England? Really?" he gave his servant a skeptical look as his older version face palmed.

"This is exactly what she didn't want to happen. Well no helping it now. I can sense another servant so let's go play the gracious host," he turned to lead the way but added a few words over his shoulder, "remember, no mentioning the memories."

Shirou took a few quick steps to catch up to his servant.

"But why would telling Rin matter? It's not like she knows any of this stuff. Right?" The two passed through the Emiya house and entered the street outside. Down the road two figures in red could be seen approaching. Both looked familiar and paused as they caught sight of the two Emiyas exiting the house. Before either group could take action a glowing light sprang up between them.

A point of brilliant white hovered a few feet above the pavement before it changed. It seemed to both unfold and grow larger even as it crumpled in on itself. A multitude of colors were born within the bending and fracturing light, throwing shadows into disarray. The whole phenomenon began to swirl in hypnotic patterns before resolving into a single rotating kaleidoscope of optics. From within the center of the psychedelic storm stepped a figure wearing a black skirt, stockings, and a red sweater.

Baker finally answered Shirou's question.

"It's not your Rin I'm worried about."