This was what the group considered their final attack of the Grail War. After learning of the taint to the Grail itself, none of them really wanted to bother killing the others to get it. And considering how strong Mashiro was as both Master and Magus, there was little chance they could challenge her in any case.

Right now this was more about avenging their pride and ending this war on a stalemate.

Mashiro had taken a spot well above the treeline about two miles away from the temple itself. Thanks to the spell Gilgamesh cast on her, she could see Assassin clearly, as well as a good chunk of the interior court yard of the temple.

Because Rin and Sakura didn't have Servants, they were going to take point on the highest point they could find that overlooked the court yard and let Sakura practice her aim.

Meanwhile Gilgamesh would storm the gate, since there was a barrier that kept Servants from going over the wall. Well, it was less of a barrier and more like a spell over the wall that effectively cut a Servant's power in half unless they went through the gate.

And Gilgamesh was not interested in having his power cut in half. If he wanted to have a good old fashioned ass kicking, he needed most of his power to do it.

"Everybody in position?" asked Mashiro through the head piece. It had taken Rin some time before she accepted Sakura would be the one to wear it, since she could barely operate the TV remote, let alone a radio.

Gilgamesh had one as well, though he had his turned off. If Mashiro needed him, she could use a Command Spell. And if he were hit by the same dagger as Saber and Rider, well, Caster would be dead the second he felt the bond between him and Mashiro broken.

He was not going to become the toy of some twisted Greek witch, and if she tried to use her 'Command Seals' on him he'd make her fight every step of the way.

Unless otherwise enforced (via Command Seals or otherwise), an Archer's Independent Action that came with the Class could be a right pain in the ass. And for someone like Gilgamesh, it would take more power, or likely Seals, to get him to do something he disagreed with.

Kotomine got over that restriction by only sending him on 'missions' that wouldn't bore him to death. He wasn't stupid enough to risk pissing off the King of Heroes.

It was just his bad luck that his 'story' never mentioned Gilgamesh had a crush on a princess who died. A princess Gilgamesh loved dearly enough that his entire personality shifted at the fact she was gone, only to revert back to the way he was before that time when her reincarnation came forward.

Gilgamesh's divinity rating had started to shoot up back to where it had been when he became Mashiro's Servant.

Gilgamesh walked up to the gate, and as before, Assassin was waiting.

"Unless you wish to challenge me, I suggest you leave," said Assassin. He didn't like being stuck as a mere gate guard.

Gilgamesh's red eyes narrowed at him.

"A mere nameless hero, lost to the annuls of history, wishes to challenge me?" he sneered right back.

"A Master cannot challenge a Servant," said Assassin with assurance.

"That would be true...if I were a Master."

Without warning, the gate behind Assassin exploded into pieces. He turned, and saw multiple arrows that radiated a pure energy in the rubble.

"Under the full moon, her power reigns supreme. And with the bow I gave her, along with her own personal arrows, any resistance you put up with worthless," said Gilgamesh flatly. He then had a cold smirk as he then added "Not that you had any chance in hell of beating me to begin with, even if you were a true Servant."

Assassin drew his blade, preparing to stop Gilgamesh...only he found himself suddenly full of a lot of holes and not enough prana to even sustain his physical form. His body vanished as his power became one with the Grail.

"Hmph. Not even a decent challenge to my power."

Gilgamesh suddenly stumbled as he was hit with something from behind. It wasn't one of Mashiro's arrows, but he could still hear the disbelieving snort of amusement from the girls.

Turning to see what it was, he had to blink.

Then he turned on his radio and had to ask... "Did you just shoot your ladle at me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I had the feeling you were being an ass again," said Mashiro simply.

Somehow, he knew Saber would be laughing when she heard this story, if she survived this night.

Gilgamesh shook his head and walked through what remained of the gates.

There he found Saber waiting for him, and she didn't look one bit happy about the situation. At. All.

"Just so we're clear, if you were Rider you would be dead by now," said Gilgamesh, almost like he were commented on the weather.

"And if you were anyone else I would have attacked by now," she shot back crossly. She wasn't an idiot, and no matter what Caster ordered her to do, she knew fighting Gilgamesh with the sudden power-up he had gotten out of nowhere and the realization that Mashiro was playing sniper meant she had to be even more wary.

She had seen Mashiro shoot her bow. She didn't need another demonstration of how quickly the girl could land a hit without much warning otherwise.

So Saber did her best to throw off the Order Caster had placed on her to take on any Servants or Masters who dared get past the gate. Rider had so far managed to avoid having to deal with any of that by slipping into something she really wished she didn't have to.

She allowed her bloodlust and rage to kick in to the point she almost had a Mad Enhancement effect active, which made any demand Caster put on her hard to enforce without overpowering it.

And as much as Caster hated to admit it, the name Medusa was far more well known (and remembered) than Medea. In other words she had a bit more power to throw off the Witch of Betrayal's commands.

So for the moment, Rider was in hiding, ready to attack anyone stupid enough to try and locate her. She was having trouble distinguishing friend from foe.

At least Rin now knew to wait until they had a way to snap her out of it before trying to find her missing Servant.

With Saber resisting more than ever, Caster tried another tactic.

Skeletons, though they barely looked human.

Mashiro was now in a merry game of "Sniper on the Roof" as she suddenly had a lot of things to shoot at. Sakura was doing her best, but it was clear she didn't have nearly the same degree of accuracy, even if she made up for it by at least hitting the target ninety percent of the time. It might not be fatal, but it was still a hit that stuck.

For the next ten minutes, as Gilgamesh laid waste to anything and everything that moved that wasn't Saber, who had wisely gotten out of his way, everything seemed to be fine.

Then, without much warning at all there was a yelp, and Gilgamesh felt the bond between him and Mashiro break. He didn't think she was dead, but the sudden flare of prana and the cloaked figure flying rather fast with two others said enough.

Caster had used Rule Breaker on Mashiro, breaking the Contract, and then proceeded to kidnap her, likely as a hostage. Illya was self-explanatory. Caster obvious planned to use her to summon the Grail, whether she was alive or not.

All Gilgamesh knew was that if Caster dared killed Mashiro he would level the place, Grail or not, and once the war was over he'd leave Fuyuki. He had no intention of sticking around twice.

Mashiro woke up and suddenly remembered exactly what happened.

She had been shooting at the weird skeletal things with a precision most Olympic archers would only dream of, when Caster showed up and used her dagger before either girl knew she was there.

Now here she was in some white dress, tied up in what looked like vines, and without a single weapon. If not for the fact Caster was quite clearly a woman, she would have been angry with righteous indignation.

Oh wait, Caster's Master was a man. Her History teacher, apparently.

Strike that, she was pissed.

Even the door on the bathroom at her house had a lock on it. Put there by Mashiro one weekend after she hit fifteen in order to get rid of the restless energy she suddenly had.

If whatever was supposed to happen after she turned fifteen was to happen, then she was determined it wouldn't occur while she was in the bathroom of all places, and even made very sure her window was locked whenever she took a bath.

If they wanted to catch her off guard, then it would be fully clothed.

Something that amused Taiga to no end, naturally. Even if she firmly approved of the policy, because if a male stayed over then at least the girls would have some protection from accidental wanderings.

It wasn't that Mashiro didn't approve of any accidents that involved one person seeing another of the opposite sex in the nude, it was just she didn't want it to happen to HER until after she was married.

Back to being tied up though.

It took Mashiro a few moments to see in the cavern, but what she did see made her even angrier.

Not only did they have Illya tied up, but it was pretty damn clear from the way they had her pinned under an obvious runic circle that Caster had plans for her.

Likely to use her sister as the lesser grail, whether she was alive for it or not.

In the distance she could hear the others fighting their way down into the cavern, obviously having some difficulty getting past the traps Caster had set for them.

"We haven't got much time. I don't know who or what the golden man is, but he's ripping though my defenses like paper," said Caster.

"How much time do we need?" asked her teacher.

"More than we have at the rate they're going. If only that damn Rider hadn't gone berserk, we might have been able to set her on them!" said Caster in annoyance.

Because Gilgamesh had made it clear he barely tolerated Rider's presence, Caster was under no illusions what would happen if she tried to throw Rider at them.

She would be slaughtered, almost a quickly as Assassin had.

Caster finally noticed Mashiro was awake.

"I don't know if you are Artemis or not, and frankly it doesn't matter. Either way I just have to end the rest of the Servants to get what I want. And as for this girl...she won't live much longer anyway."

Mashiro snarled at her.

Illya didn't look too good, having all the power of the Servants that were killed in her. At the rate she was going, she wouldn't last until the end of the war.

Mashiro was bound and helpless, and to make matters worse she could feel a presence in the air. And it didn't feel nice at all.

In fact it felt malevolent. Almost evil.

The story of a taint in the grail suddenly became a lot more believable. The weird thing was that in response to whatever infected the grail, she could feel a second power inside herself rising up in response.

Almost like it was waiting for something.

Caster was chanting something in Ancient Greek, and whatever it was definitely wasn't good if the way Illya looked was any indication. About the only consolation was that Caster hadn't figured out (despite the obvious signs) that Mashiro was really a Master and not the Goddess Artemis.

Hearing the explosions come closer, Mashiro weighed her options.

Magecraft was out, because she focused more on her bow and other hobbies outside of making special arrows, which were useless since she didn't have her weapon or her quiver. Her sword skills were equally tossed aside, as she only had the dress she was wearing on.

She debated on calling Gilgamesh to her, but that was more her ace in the hole for when things really got bad, and it sounded like they needed him at the moment to get down here.

In short, she needed a bit of time to figure out a strategy in order to deal with this. She hadn't counted on being captured like this after all.

It was aware. Things were coming to a head, and soon It would manifest once more. Things like good and evil didn't matter. All that mattered was that once more It would be born into the world anew, unless some fool noticed It's presence like last time.

That time had HURT. And It shouldn't be alive enough to even recognize what pain WAS anymore at this point.

It was strange though. It sensed the presence of an unusual energy, something that was counter to It's aura. Where It brought death and darkness, this brought Life and purity. This other presence might even have the ability to purge the taint in the Grail, if given the chance.

It was unsure whether or not this was something to allow, or fight off.

It happened right as the group made it past the last defense. Mashiro watched with horror as Caster finished whatever it was she was doing, and with absolutely no warning at all, plunged her hand deep into Illyasviel's chest, ripping out her heart.

Time seemed to stop all around Mashiro as she gazed almost without comprehension at the fact her sister Illya was dead. Or would be in seconds unless a miracle happened. She could see from where she was the light dimming in the albino girl's eyes, as the lack of her heart killed her.

She was already dead. Her body just had to catch up to the fact.

"NO! ILLYA!"

As tears fell freely from Mashiro's eyes, something seemed to pulse deep within, answering her all consuming desire to save her sister.

Her previous self, which had slumbered up to this point, woke up at full force. The power which had been waiting reached out, trying to find something to latch on to, to kick start the transition of mortal to Goddess.

It seemed to spread across the cavern, past the people waiting at the entrance, until it found something close enough to fit the requirement needed to start.

In short, this other power that all the Moon Queens (and Princesses) had waiting to awaken found the Heaven's Feel.

In the breath it took for Caster to all but murder Illya, and for Mashiro to realize she had lost her sister, something reacted. Without even knowing how or why, Mashiro said something that would lead well past the Grail Wars and into her true destiny.

Moon Crisis Power, Make Up!

The power flared, and even without the compact that had been created to harness the full power of the Ginzuisho, the words had finally been spoken.

Mashiro's tears, which were still flowing, coalesced into a jewel Gilgamesh recognized immediately. Any doubts he had (not that he had any mind you) went away seeing that crystal form in response to Mashiro's desire to do something that would save her sister and end this nightmare.

The dress Mashiro had on faded as armor took it's place, though it looked far more like the uniform Sailor V wore...just in different colors. For one thing, it was more white and the ribbons were much longer.

The jewel itself also shifted, as something seemed to form on the bow that Mashiro was wearing. It looked like some sort of odd moon with wings, the same as her Command Seals. Around it were eight other jewels of varying colors, each with a different symbol. They were all smaller than the crescent moon though.

On Mashiro's forehead was something that looked like a cross between a royal crown and a tiara like Sailor V had.

Super Sailor Moon had woken up and she was not happy.

"What the hell?!" shouted Rin. Seriously, what just happened? First they find Mashiro and Illya, and then Mashiro goes and does some sort of weird magical girl transformation! And what was with all the power in the air.

"Is that supposed to impress me or something?" said Caster dryly.

In any other circumstance, Mashiro, no, Super Sailor Moon, would have done some tacky little speech about love and justice. Right now, she was way too pissed off and confused to even consider it.

Instead she seemed to reach out for something as a staff appeared in her hands. She could feel the words well up inside her, ready to be spoken aloud.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

The Ginzuisho understood what she wanted. It's Mistress was tired of this war and tired of the killing. She could care less about the Grail, or the potential wish she could gain from it.

So it did what it did best. It brought life where there was none.

All over Fuyuki people felt some sort of energy fill the air. But unlike ten years ago, this felt pure, almost gentle. Those near death or mortally ill with disease suddenly found themselves filled with life they thought they lost. Those that suffered from the 'gas attacks' suddenly woke up from their comas, their lives restored from Caster's vicious attack.

Wherever the energy touched, the taint that infected the Grail was driven away with brutal efficiency.

But the only thing Super Sailor Moon cared about was an albino girl with red eyes.

The second the power of the crystal touched Illyasviel, it healed both the damage Caster had done, and the very thing that would have cost the girl her life shortly after the war's end.

When this day was done, Illyasviel would have the most interesting and strange time having sudden growth spurts until she reached her actual age. If off by a few years or so.

Even Sakura was touched by the light, as she felt all the pain and suffering she endured at the hands of Zouken healed over and her body restored in full.

The Masters weren't the only ones who felt the effects.

Saber, who had come out from where she was, felt her body change from Servant to living. Then she realized even her armor had changed, from the blue dress to something like a lily opened up. Excalibur seemed to radiate with the energy in the air, before it shifted to Caliburn, to her shock.

Rider, who had been in a pseudo Mad Enhancement, felt her mind clear up and her body become alive. She immediately went looking for Rin.

But the biggest shock of it all was the sudden appearance of a youth with odd tribal markings. He seemed to radiate malevolent energy without a thought, though under the light of that crystal it was suppressed.

Angra Mainyu was reborn...but at least now there was something that could actively counter his powers.

With the Grail purged of evil, and everyone healed (except for Caster and her Master, who were killed by a very irritated Gilgamesh) the transformation became undone.

The now-alive Gilgamesh immediately rushed to Mashiro's side. Aside from being drained of energy, she was still breathing. Considering this was the first time she had synced up with her true self, and the fact she was now on the road from 'human' to 'goddess' it was understandable she was exhausted.

And so the Holy Grail War came to a sudden end. Just not in the way any of them had expected.