Isabelle looked at Illyasviel in surprise. "What?" she asked.

"I want your help," Illyasviel repeated.

"No, I know that," Isabelle said. "But...why? And for what? And how do you know who I am and how do you know I could help you?"

Illyasviel looked down. "I've been watching you," she said quietly.

"Watching me?" Isabelle said incredulously. "For how long?!"

"A few weeks."

"A few weeks? What?"

"I just...I need you to help me. Let me explain."

Isabelle exhaled. "You have five minutes," she said.

"I only learned about the Nephilim a few weeks ago," Illyasviel started. "I knew if I could get a Shadowhunter on my side I'd have an advantage. So I looked for one. And I found you."

"An advantage on your side?"

Illyasviel dodged the question. "You look unassuming," she said. "I thought if I had you, we could perform a sneak attack. I've watched your brother and your friends, Alec, Jace, and Clary. Jace is too arrogant and bold. Clary's too inexperienced. Alec didn't seem like he'd be able to help me. And then there's you."

"Should I be offended that you only 'chose' me as a process of elimination?" Isabelle asked. "Or should I be concerned that you seem to want me to help you with some revenge fantasy?"

"It's not a revenge fantasy," Illyasviel said. "It's a life or death situation."

"So what else is new," Isabelle muttered. "Okay. What's the situation?"

"There's this thing," Illyasviel said, hesitating. When Isabelle gave her an impatient look, she sighed and continued, "this thing called The Holy Grail War."

"The Holy Grail War?" Isabelle said, fighting back a laugh. "What is this - some fairytale?"

"You'd think that as someone who fights demons and associates with Downworlders you'd be a little less...mundane, as you call them."

Isabelle glared at her.

"I'm sorry," Illyasviel said, noticing Isabelle's expression. "The Holy Grail War is a fight to the death. Seven mages are chosen to summon a Heroic Spirit, called a Servant. You don't get to choose which one you get."

"And what do I have to do with any of this?"

Illyasviel ignored her question and went on. "Each mage becomes a Master of their Servant. Then the Servants fight each other until only one Master-Servant pair remains. The last ones standing gain control of the Holy Grail, which grants them any wish they want."

"That's really weird," Isabelle said. "You haven't answered me, though. What do I have to do with any of this?"

"You heard me before," Illyasviel said. "If I had a Shadowhunter on my side, I'd have an advantage."

"An advantage against the other Masters and Servants?"

"Exactly." Illyasviel smiled. "You'd be like my secret weapon."

"Well, sorry," Isabelle said. "I'm not interested in playing bait for a girl I've just met and being thrown into a bloodbath."

Illyasviel's expression darkened. "If you won't help me willingly..."

"Then what?"

"You won't live to see tomorrow."

~0~

The silence in the room was deafening, as the five stared at each other. Rin wasn't quite sure where to look and so focused her vision on a small, black speck on the wall. Then she looked down at Emiya who looked about as surprised as she felt.

Then Sebastian laughed. "You all look so surprised," he said.

Annoyance suddenly settled over Rin. "Well, sorry that I didn't know some psychopath knew anything about our Servants," she said.

Sebastian gestured towards Archer. "If he's your Servant, I know nothing about him," he said. "I only know of Saber."

"And why is that?" Emiya asked quietly. "How-how do you know about her?"

"Oh, we go way back," Sebastian said. "Ten years ago-"

"Stop," Saber said quietly. "They don't need to know."

"Maybe not, but I'd quite enjoy watching all of your reactions if they did."

"Would you just tell us what's going on here?" Rin asked, impatience lining her voice.

Saber slowly walked over to Sebastian. "We need to talk. Privately."

Sebastian smirked. "Two minutes. Say something to change my mind, or they all find out the truth."

Rin watched as the two walked to a small corner in the room, speaking in voices so low that not even she could figure out what they were saying. Sebastian laughed at something Saber had said, and Saber glared at him. What looked like banter went back and forth until finally Sebastian rolled his eyes and started walking away.

As Saber returned, Rin looked at her. "Well?"

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," Saber said. "It's not important."

"I think it's plenty important," Rin said. "You're involving yourself with someone who's not another Servant or a mage. Isn't the protocol that you kill anyone who isn't involved in the War?"

Emiya tried to stand up and winced. "You can tell us," he said. "It's not like we'd judge you."

"I can't," Saber said firmly.

"You can't or you won't?" Rin asked.

Saber bit her lip. "Forget it. Please."

"Fine. Whatever," Rin said, rolling her eyes. "But if this comes back to haunt us later, I blame you."

"I think it's time we get out of here," Archer said, speaking for the first time.

"Couldn't agree more." Rin started walking away.

Saber helped Emiya up and let him lean on her for support as Archer dematerialised and Rin was out of sight.

~0~

Magnus flipped through the pages, his eyes skimming the pages as quickly as they would allow. There were seven Servants that answered to a Master. There were four Holy Grail wars to date, and a fifth one was...well, it never said.

He then moved on to the descriptions of the Servants. Although Magnus knew this was just fantasy, something nagged at him, something telling him this was important.

There was Berserker, a Servant that prided itself on strength. This Servant used brute force, and had multiple lives, so killing it once wouldn't kill it altogether.

There was Assassin, a Servant who, in the Fourth War, had up to eighty different copies of itself. In the fifth, Assassin was a...false Servant, if one could say that.

There was Caster, a Servant who used magic as their main opposing force. This Servant was somewhat weak in battle, and who depended on their magic.

There was Lancer, a Servant who used two spears, a red and gold one. He fought mostly in close combat.

There was Rider, a Servant who changed every War, but in the most recent one, she was a girl who depended on her speed and used a dagger.

And then there were two left. Saber, who was considered the strongest class of Servants, and who used an invisible sword. She had incredible speed, strength, and stamina, causing her to be the most feared Servant.

And...Archer. A Servant who used duel swords to fight close combat. A Servant who could use the term "Unlimited Blade Works" to create a Reality Marble.

Magnus looked at his picture more closely, surprise overtaking his features. He'd seen him before, that day in the park. The day he'd frozen Rin and a man had materialised in front of them. A man in red with two swords, using inhuman strength, using precision different from anything mankind had seen...a man who had almost killed a Shadowhunter.

There was only one thing to determine.

The Holy Grail War was real. And they were all in danger.

~0~

It was always said that the Idris, the home of Shadowhunters, was only accessible to the Nephilim. This, however, turned out not to be true, as Gilgamesh materialised in Alicante. He smirked as he looked around. Idris really was a beautiful place...too bad it wouldn't last.

Gilgamesh did not intend to burn Idris to the ground out of spite. He really only wanted to send a message, send a message to the Nephilim that he was a force to be reckoned with.

But what he really wanted to was to send a message to his old enemies.

After his experiences with Saber and Sebastian ten years ago, Gilgamesh had been looking for a chance to get revenge. He'd spent years trying to figure out how...and his mind kept wandering back to here. How burning Idris would get back at them was unknown, but he knew it would work.

He just had to stay under the radar, get to know the natives, and form a cohesive plan.

It couldn't be that hard.

A red-haired girl approached, out of breath and wheezing. She was small and quite beautiful, he had to admit, but in a simple way, much like Saber to his dismay, and she looked in pain.

"Are you alright?" he said, feigning compassion as he walked over to her.

The girl looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said - or tried to say as she burst into a fit of coughing.

"You don't sound fine," Gilgamesh said, running a hand through his blonde hair. "I can help you. If you let me. I...I've never been here before."

"You're a Shadowhunter?" the girl asked.

"Of course. How else would I be here?"

"Good point." The girl smiled. "I'm Clary." She began coughing again. "Clary Fray."

Gilgamesh smiled back. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Clary Fray."

"Now that you know my name, what is-"

She was cut off as she coughed so hard blood came up and splattered on the pavement. Tears ran down her face as she fell to her knees, blood dotting the ground in front of her.

"That's not important right now," Gilgamesh said, surprised at the sympathy he felt for the girl. "We need to get you help. Now."

Clary looked up at him for a moment and coughed again. "Okay," she croaked.

Gilgamesh held out his hand and Clary took it gratefully, attempting to stand. She let out a few weak coughs, and he put his arm around her to steady her. "Alright?" he asked.

Clary nodded, and the two set off down the road. "I don't know anyone here," she said softly.

"I don't, either," Gilgamesh told her. "But we'll figure it out."

As they kept walking, Gilgamesh tried to calm the swirling thoughts in his brain. In all of the Wars he'd been in, he'd never felt compassion for anyone. He'd used people to get ahead, he'd declared war on his enemies, he'd killed thousands of people...and yet this girl he'd just met was softening him. It was maddening.

Gilgamesh shook his head as if it would clear his thoughts and return him to his old state of coldness, but he couldn't stop looking at the red-haired girl beside him. He told himself this was good, getting people to trust him would help him with his revenge plan, but he knew there was more underneath all of that.

Finally, Clary's knees gave out and she sank to the floor. Gilgamesh looked at her with concern.

"I'm sorry," Clary gasped. "I can't-"

He looked at the house closest to them. It was a small brick house that didn't look particularly friendly or alien, and he knew he had no choice but to knock on the door and ask for assistance. If someone was home, of course.

"It's alright," he said, looking at Clary. "I'll get someone. Wait here."

"As if I could go anywhere else," Clary said.

Gilgamesh smiled. Then he started walking towards the house, walking up the stairs and knocking on the door.

A few seconds later, the door opened. A middle-aged female with brown hair and striking blue eyes answered. "Do I know you?" she asked, her tone friendly yet suspicious.

"Uh, no," Gilgamesh said. "But a girl needs help. I don't know..I don't know who she is, but she can't walk."

The female looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Show her to me."

For a second, he paused, but then said, "Very well." He led the woman down the stairs and motioned to Clary who sat still on the ground, coughing slightly.

Then a man exited the house and ran down the steps. "Clary!" he cried.

Clary looked up at him. "Luke," she managed to get out. "How did-why did you-"

"You know her?" the woman asked, turning to Luke.

"Yes, she's Jocelyn's daughter," Luke said, clearly alarmed. "We have to help her, Amatis."

The woman who now had a name sighed and nodded. "Help me carry her inside," she said to Luke.

Gilgamesh watched as Amatis and Luke picked Clary up and carried her into the house. He tried to follow, but Luke stopped him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I ran into Clary, and I helped her. I brought her here," Gilgamesh responded.

Clary turned her head and looked at him weakly. "He's okay," she barely got out. "Let him in."

Amatis and Luke watched him warily. "Alright," Amatis said. "Come on in."

Gilgamesh felt unreasonably relieved as he entered the house. Clary would be okay.

~0~

"You know what to do, right, Lancer?"

"Murder them all."

"Exactly. And who do we save for last?"

"Rin Tohsaka."