Nah, I didn't abandon this story... it's just I preferred to focus on Echoes first and faced a writer block for the last part of the chapter. My bad.

Thanks Slayer Ars for betaing, and big hugs to reviewers and story followers!

Golden King

Night Four

Uneasily, Saber stared at the 'cinema', as modern people called the building, "Are you sure Shirou is… there?"

"I can find Master anywhere, anytime," Tamamo boasted. The duo had been attempting to track down their partner for over an hour, dead-set on informing him of his… peculiar nature. "He is inside… and not alone."

Saber quickly understood. She could feel nearly a dozen Servants inside. She knew Shirou would have called her if he was in danger, and Alexander could probably kill every Servant save Gilgamesh if he wanted to, and yet she was worried.

Her suspicions grew when multiple Servants and one familiar Master exited the place. Both Saber and Tamamo paled once noticing Heracles. Ilyasviel is here, the swordswoman panicked, putting her hand over her invisible sword…

"Pax romana, soldier!" Nero announced as she raised her hand in peace. Heracles made no motion, seeming not to care. "We're here for diplomatic discussions!"

"Our respective Masters are solving their problems as civilized people," Karna spoke, "I can assure you that Shirou Emiya has nothing to fear. The girl, despite her troubled heart, is simply confused and only seeks love."

The words reassured neither of Shirou's Servants. "Ilyasviel tends to have a… volatile temper." Arturia's eyes widened. "Wait, Nero, that means-"

"Yes… I am her grandfather's Servant!" The emperor declared with a dramatic pause.

"I could see the plot twist coming from a mile away," Shakespeare snickered, "I would have done something more imaginative like, 'I am your mother reborn as a Servant, and for mine own good, all causes shall give away'! That would be much more dramatic."

"We must collaborate on a play!" Nero clenched her fist and raised it, "I will not be denied!"

Saint George stared at Shiki, "…Is it always like this around here?"

"No, they're just nuts." The Tohno answered with a shrug before frowning and staring into the fog. His eyes widened, as four figures appeared out of nowhere, "Sensei?"

"Shiki!" Aoko waved her hand. "I was so worried about you!"

"My, my, it's a big reunion," Rin Tohsaka's Archer mused, observing the gathered Servants. "I see… Heracles? Really? Who would have thought…?"

"You can teleport?" his Master asked, staring incredulously at Medea, "How is that even possible?"

"For you, the single simplest aspect of my spell is a miracle. I will let you imagine what difficult spells do." The witch glanced at the crowd, "These two visited us soon after you left. It appears they have uncovered some mysteries on the Grail, and want to share them."

"Shiki-kun, your sister invites you and all Masters you are friendly with to her mansion," Rin explained to the surprised runt, "I will explain later, but we need to hurry. We have underestimated just how dangerous this war is-"

A powerful explosion blew up one of the shops in front of the cinema.

The blast surprised the Servants and threw some civilians to the ground. On pure instinct, the heroes summoned their armors and weapons, fearing a surprise attack. A blonde man walked out of the smoke, wearing a golden armor and beautiful, extravagant sunglasses.

"Mongrel," said Gilgamesh, upon derisively looking at what seemed to be the shop's owner, horribly burned and agonizing, "These 'Ray Bans' belong to the king, and the King alone. How dare you ask for a payment? My interest is more worth than all of the world's gold!"

"YOU?!" Everyone shouted upon recognizing him.

"Yes, the king is here to visit the commoners," He noticed Alexander. "Oi, King of Conquerors! What a pleasant surprise. Have you come for these magnificent sunglasses as well? They are such a work of art; it is astonishing to see such beauty in this degenerated era."

"Hum, no…" For once, the boisterous Rider seemed at loss of words, "Do we know each other?"

"It shames you not to remember me, but I guess this idiotic Grail is to blame. These poor excuses of magi are but mere worms compared to the court mages of my glorious kingdom. I would suggest you to find Ray Bans too, I will not suffer seeing a king settle for anything less."

"You…" Saber seethed, upon noticing people agonizing beside the golden Archer, "You attacked people over sunglasses?"

Gilgamesh finally noticed her and grinned ear to ear, "My Saber, the King can do as he pleases." Then he noticed Nero, "Yet another copy of my crown jewel…?" his eyes narrowed, "What the hell is this? Is the Grail running out of ideas for Servants and using cheap knockoffs as replacements? Leave my sight, faker." It didn't occur to him that everyone was glaring at his face until Nero began to redden with murderous fury, "What?"

"There is a bounty on your head," Karna pointed out, bringing out his lance, "You killed innocents. And, of course, you are simply…"

"Annoying?" Medea suggested.

"Insufferable is a better word," Shakespeare suggested.

Gilgamesh sneered. "Please, I'm stronger than all of you put together with my hands tied. My dear Saber is the only one I desire to live. Come with me and leave these fools, the King commands you to warm his bed."

Saber clenched her teeth, "I would rather die."

"I think with a near-dozen against one, we're better off taking our chances," Tohsaka's Servant pointed out, a bow materializing in his hands.

"My honor as knight commands me to protect the just and the weak," Saint George drew out his sword, "Please surrender."

That did it. Something in the King of Heroes snapped at the request. Gilgamesh roared in laugher… and the volume doubled when the others' expressions worsened, "Ah… hah… You're serious?" his laughter stopped, but still he smiled, "You actually think you can beat me? You jesters," he calmed himself, "…alright, I will give you the opportunity to entertain the King. But not here, you might dirty my Ray Bans, you filth-laden commoners. I command you to come to the bridge at midnight to amuse me. Should you fail to come, Saber… the King's wrath will fall upon your Masters and anyone in his way."

And he turned his back on them, walking out in a supreme act of arrogance. Medea briefly raised her hand to blast him in the back, but Aozaki put an end to this, "Not now. A fight here would endanger civilians." The witch didn't look happy about it, but relented. Arturia, in particular, had to calm herself not to attack him immediately.

As the golden king vanished into the fog, Shakespeare touched his beard. "For a king of heroes, he certainly behaves like a villain. Maybe is he a fallen hero? I admit not being familiar with his story… but damn, is he entertaining."

"He is a tyrant," Saber spat, "He is wholly undeserving of his title."

Aozaki nodded, before frowning. "Wait a second," she wondered, "Where's Shirou?"

Inside the Cinema

"So… father never ceased to look after me?" Ilya asked, skeptical. The cynical part of her mind was screaming it was a lie, asking her not to believe anything her adoptive brother was saying… but the idealistic girl wanted to trust him, "You genuinely expect me to believe that bullshit?"

"I promise this is the truth," Shirou swore, "He kept looking for you for years, and always regretted leaving you behind." His voice turned sad. "He died thinking about you."

Father… he didn't abandon me? If so, then grandpa… "It has to be a lie," Ilya clenched her fists, "Kiritsugu lied to you. What do you know about him anyway?"

"He was a good man who saved my life and cared for me for years. He was a magus who fought in the last war-"

"He was a magus killer," Ilya snapped, "He was the Magus Killer! He defined the term! He was a murderer and hired gun who participated only because the Einzberns paid for it," That's what grandpa always told her, "He said he loved mom… and then he killed her! He released Angra Mainyu on the world and caused a catastrophe!"

"I…" Shirou clenched his jaw, "I can't believe it. He was always so nice…" But then, it might explain Saber's behavior.

"I'm sure he cast me aside and then pretended to love you too. He's a cold enough man," she grunted. "I thought he abandoned me for you, but… you're too nice. He probably lied to you for his own amusement."

"It's…" Shirou took his breath, "Ilya, I promised on Kiritsugu's deathbed I would find and protect you. If he didn't care, then why would he have let me do it? No matter whom our father was, in the end, he just wanted your well-being and to see you one last time."

"Another lie," she said, although without much vehemence. Why is he so nice and kind? I tried to kill him and he wants to protect me? It has to be a trick… but why did he save me? "It's a lie."

Shirou thought about a way to resolve the situation, and found it. "There is one person who knew father very well, before he died," this stirred Ilya's interest, "Taiga Fujimura. I can bring you to her and she can confirm what I said. She's a Master, I think, but she's nice." He briefly wondered how Spartacus would react to Heracles.

… yeah, that couldn't end well.

The homunculus pondered the offer. "No. I will meet her myself and interrogate her, personally. That way, I can be sure she doesn't lie. If you are lying, I will be very angry," Her tone was dreadful, "But if you're right…" Grandpa is going to die. I'm going to unleash Heracles on his ass. He will die for this. "If you're right…"

"When you will know I am right…" Shirou took her hand, surprising her. His fingers were warm, as was his smile. "Then we can become a true family, and I will protect you like any big brother should shield his little sister."

"It's…" The little girl reddened. She hesitated, before kissing his forehead, "Alright, Shirou. If you're right… you get to be my big brother." She glared at him, "So you better not lie!"

Satsuki's Hideout

"You miss the big picture, mistress."

"She was here," Sakura hissed with rage, cracking her fingers on her seat, "Sister. She was so close, and you prevented me from killing her."

The Assassin sighed. Hassan didn't quite appreciate Sakura's murderous grudge. It clouded her judgment and made her forget their true goals, aka winning the war and killing everyone else. If she wanted revenge, she simply had to do it with some sense. Why wasn't she content with simply having Hassan gut Tohsaka in her sleep, he would never understand, "There were a dozen Servants in the vicinity. You would have been killed in the attempt, and probably failed. Please understand you mustn't believe in risks, but in preparation." Why did he have to be the only one with common sense in his team?

He had hoped to introduce these two school girls to the rest of the Masters and facilitate their elimination, before God conspired against him again. A dozen Servants were present, and Hassan recognized big fishes like Alexander the Great and Heracles among them. He had had to abort the meeting operation and observe events unfolding.

Why were all the events conspiring on delaying the inevitable meeting between this Satsuki and her boyfriend/lust object/whatever? Hassan was beginning to wonder if some force wasn't at work here.

The first to leave had been a silver-haired girl and Heracles. Assassin had wisely decided against fighting the famous Greek Heroic Spirit, instead suggesting to his bosses that they simply let him infiltrate Tohsaka's camp, murder her and put the blame on someone else, but Sakura had stubbornly refused.

"I waited years for her to come and she never did!" Sakura cursed with a mix of anger, disappointment and sadness. She didn't shed tears. How could she? She was a Makiri, and Makiri do not cry. The voice did wake some human feelings in Hassan's heart, which he ruthlessly suppressed, "I will not wait any longer."

Hassan shook his head. He had expected the answer and prepared. Gilgamesh had offered them a golden opportunity to realize all their goals.

… Fitting.

"Mistress, if you wait until tonight, I promise you will get to kill her yourself. I have a plan in mind I would like to share with you…"

It took fifteen minutes to convince her to go along. Satsuki was easier to convince to cooperate. Telling her he would arrange a meeting between her and Shiki had been the right thing to say. I think I'm improving at understanding these girls' psychologies…

Once done, Hassan went on to see his Servants partners, "Medusa, how much time does it take to activate your Bounded Field?"

"It hasn't been properly-"

"With all these dead familiars to feed on, you should have a good power boost we'll need in the next battle. It should compensate."

"You plan to start a fight tonight?" Atalanta asked with a raised eyebrow. An idea however crossed her mind, "Ah, I see! They're all going to be occupied fighting Gilgamesh!"

"Precisely. Gilgamesh is obviously the bigger threat, so most of Team Blue will be arrayed to fight him, leaving us, Team Red, to ambush and-"

"Team Red?" Atalanta murmured aloud, "That… That name… don't you have better…?"

"I heard them calling themselves Team Blue. According to the law of chromatic superiority, Team Red was the most sensible codename to use." Hassan crossed his arms. "Let me explain you the details of this operation…"

Tohno Mansion

Four Masters had answered the call.

Akiha welcomed them to the dining room, gently presenting them their seats. Rin Tohsaka, Shirou Emiya, Shiki Tohno, and Aoko Aozaki obediently sat around a white table. Akiha had been surprised to learn the teen she had met at school was a Master himself, and that Shiki's mentor was another. Small world…

"First, welcome to the Tohno Mansion, and thank you for having accepted my invitation. I know it must be difficult to trust each other with your identities as Masters, but we have one thing in common: we want this war to end and the Grail gone forever. I happen to know where the second is located. In fact, my father helped building it."

While Rin simply nodded, the three other Masters blinked in surprise. "Makihisa?" Shiki asked.

"…but the Tohno aren't a magus family," Aozaki whispered. The sorceress had knowledge of the demon hybrid family, but the Association never reported them as anything more than bloodthirsty brutes.

"Apparently, my father had knowledge of magecraft. By piecing up information from his journal, Semiramis discovered Makihisa Tohno had studied the art through dealings with a crafty magus." Rin narrowed her eyes, "You might know him as Zouken Makiri, but he's better known as Zouken Matou."

Shirou blinked, "Who?"

"One of the creators of the original Grail, Shirou," Aoko crossed her fingers, "He had found a way to extend his lifespan, living on for two centuries… Then he vanished after the Association disabled the Grail." Realization hit her. "Makihisa offered him his protection?"

"Most probably," Rin spoke, "It was how he eluded pursuits. He never left Japan in the first place; he simply relocated to one of the Tohno family's bases of operation, or with relatives. He probably offered shelter to the Einzbern as well."

"I have no idea why Makihisa helped them rebuild the Grail, but he did." In truth, Akiha had a pretty strong guess why he did it. It may have been to wish for the end of his Impulse, or the restoration of his son's sanity. The Tohno lady deposed plans of the city on the table. "The underlined red is Fuyuki's metro. Please pay attention to the design."

While Shiki didn't understand a thing to the situation, it wasn't the same for Shirou and Aoko. Both remembered their last adventure in the metro, and the sorceress quickly noticed the strange circuit, "… oh crap."

"The Tohno Corporation built the city's metro," Akiha spoke, "We believe his magi collaborators chose that design."

Aozaki scowled. This was bad. The metro's design was convoluted, slightly impractical… and so recognizable. She had seen it in the reports on the Fuyuki Grail, its blueprints. She could recognize the arrays when she was seeing them.

The metro itself was a magical circle.

"The new Grail isn't in Fuyuki City. Fuyuki City IS the new Grail." Rin pointed the location of the location of the Ryuudou Temple. "The original Grail's arrays were of around fifty meters of radius. The new Grail's magical circle is around three hundred kilometers large and surrounds the original. It not only leeched on the prana the former Grail stored; it probably stored prana from all of Japan's leylines. That's why it summoned so many Servants in such a short time."

Everyone paled in horror. Shirou suddenly had an idea. "It was how Gilles de Rais could harvest so many people so fast."

"He probably discovered the Grail's nature and used the metro to enhance his rituals," Aoko nodded. She couldn't believe the Association missed something that large. Then again, they couldn't care less for 'modern activities'. They would never look at a metro or even consider examining the map, "Do you realize just how critical the situation is? This new Grail, if completed, would probably destroy Fuyuki itself upon activation. If an evil Master wins it, he could start the apocalypse in a heartbeat or cause destruction beyond our comprehension."

"Er, I have a question." Shiki raised his hand, "Why create something so large? I thought the original Grail could grant any wish. Why make something so utterly powerful?"

Tohsaka took a breath, "The original Grail could only grant one wish. Think about it: each of the organizers has a wish to make, and this Grail can grant an unlimited amount of them. The new Grail is an omnipotent wish machine." The designs themselves showed it. The organizers had come to change 'try to complete Heaven's Feel, with wish granting as a side-effect' to 'wish granting, with Heaven's Feel as a possible side effect'.

"The organizers…" Shirou bit his lip, "Since they designed the Command Spells, they must know how to remove them. They intend to win together."

"The rule was probably created to reduce the probability of creating factions able to oppose them." Akiha crossed her arms. "The only mystery is… why would they start a war in the first place, instead of killing Servants upon summoning and share the Grail's power?"

"Oh, the explanation is fairly simple: arrogance." Aoko forcefully smiled. "The Einzbern family was obsessed with winning the war. They were the cause of the ritual, and yet never managed to win at all. Over centuries, their goal changed from 'obtain the Grail' to 'win the war'. I guess they wanted a fifth war to regain their lost pride." It was complete idiocy that worked to undermine all that they'd worked for. But they're conceited magi; they have no idea how the real world works.

Shirou stared at the metro's design. "Then, the only question is: how do we destroy this thing?"

"I would suggest either bringing down the metro or altering the arrays," said Aoko. "However, there is a more immediate problem: Gilgamesh."

"We need as much strength as we can against him," Rin pointed out, before snorting, "Hey; we have some pretty good military strategists among our Servants. Why not ask them?"

Main hall

"…I am going to kill Shakespeare." Saber ground her teeth in fury. Someone,anyone, had to die. "I am going to crush his neck with my bare hands. Then I will have his rotten body devoured by crows. I will then find the Grail and have him brought back, simply for the sake of killing him again."

"Saber is scary when she's mad…" Semiramis whispered, drinking Archer's tea.

"You have no idea…" the anti-hero from the future nodded, remembering the film's script. Archer briefly wondered who was going to play the rabbit. "Who would have thought Monty Python copied a long forgotten play of Shakespeare he buried in his garden?"

"It hasn't even begun to make sense," Medea noticed, unable to understand the plot, "Did that idiot write it while drunk?" Archer uneasy face told it all, "He did."

"I find Nero to be a fantastic actor!" Alexander cheered with a grin, as the emperor continued to play King Arthur's role. Karna, however, did not look comfortable in Lancelot's role. Archer believed it had something to do with the marriage scene…

When Nero had managed to summon a Reality Marble looking like a theater, of all things, Archer had briefly wondered if it was some sort of cosmic joke. How could such an insane reality even exist? When Shakespeare had announced the scene's name and started recruiting, the counter-guardian had wisely decided to relent, "Someone has to make tea for the assistance, and I make excellent tea," he had said. And someone had to put Shakespeare's limbs back on his body once Arturia inevitably went mad.

"To be honest, I find that Shakespeare makes a truly fantastic Ser Robin-who-ran-away. George is… passable as Galahad." Semiramis' comments reached his ears, "He obviously has no idea what he is supposed to do. He struggled with the wedding scene."

"It reminds me of my aunt Circe, back when she used slaves for spectacles," Medea snickered, "It had been a complete disaster and she turned them all to pigs as revenge. Her entire obsession with metamorphosis started not soon after."

"I would have loved sharing a cup of wine with her," Semiramis glared at Alexander, who continued to loudly laugh at the play, "She would be better company than this… this boar."

"I couldn't agree more…"

Evil sorceresses united, EMIYA mused, sitting peacefully at a respectable distance from Arturia. Three… Two… One…

"Here comes the mightiest beast of all!" Tamamo shouted, transformed in a cute rabbit with fox ears and tail, "THE RABBIT OF CAERBANNOG!"

Archer put a palm on his face, both in despair at the misuse of the script, and to shield his sight from the vision of hell that would follow.

"SHAKESPEARE!"

Outside Fuyuki

"The fog is expanding."

For a second, the Messenger wondered if his crystal ball had stopped working. Lorelei's voice quickly proved otherwise. "Is this a joke?"

"Unfortunately… No." Watching through the windows of one of his Limos, the magus winced as one of his men was shredded apart by their pursuer. The woman had wrecked his previous car once she emerged from the fog, right after the Association's last attempt at containing it. "It has advanced from one hundred meters since dawn and I'm afraid the rhythm is increasing. It will reach another town within days, maybe less." Their pursuer started running after the limo faster than a motorcycle. "Accelerate, she's getting close!" he warned the driver.

"I gave you the authorization to wipe out Fuyuki from the map before it escalated." Lorelei's displeasure was quite clear. "Must I reach the conclusion you are not up to the task?"

The Messenger's jaw tightened. "I assure you we tried everything from traditional methods to rituals to sacraments of the Church. They proposed their help, since-"

"Since Roa had been located in this city, yes, I have been informed. Have you tried any High Thaumaturgy Rituals?"

The Limo shook, as a fireball barely missed it and destroyed part of the road. She has to be a Caster, the magus thought, starting to fear for his life. Although she's as tough as a motherfucking Berserker and fights like a Saber. "We attempted one to wipe out the area from the map… To say the least, it went poorly. A Servant emerged from the fog and started massacring us before we could complete the ritual. She apparently has a high level resistance to our spells, and since she wields a blade, I suppose she's a Saber or sword-wielding Caster."

Lorelei fell silent, "I will come settle this personally. Try not to die in the meanwhile."

"How reassuring," he deadpanned, as the Servant's sword broke through the windows, extending like the spear. Frantically conjuring a spell, the magi managed to summon a protection between the iron and his face, saving his life. The Servant suddenly stopped, her blue eyes shining in the mist.

"Interesting," the magus noted, as the sword retracted and the Servant turned back. "I guess she can't go farther. She's probably dependent on the fog for prana. Fitting, since she's shielding it." Not that it helped matters. "Fuck you, Einzbern! You owe me a dozen men…" he looked around for a moment, "And a Limo!"

Tohno Manor

Soon after what would be unofficially known as the 'number one reason pissing off the King of Knights is a bad, bad idea', Nero left to return home, though she tried to reanimate Shakespeare using ancient Roman medicine, without avail. Glancing briefly at the playwright, Medea promised herself to act carefully around that woman from now on.

"Master, perhaps it would be best if I went against Gilgamesh first," Tohsaka's Servant proposed, "My skills are adapted to match him. Besides that, I would suggest against sending any Caster against him. He has a vast array of amulets, protections that offer him near immunity to Magecraft, and specializes in killing teams. Fighting all at the same time would just be more trouble than it is worth."

"Agreed," Semiramis added. "Gilgamesh is by far the strongest Servant in this entire war. I studied his history extensively back in my time as queen of Assyria, so I can assure you it will not be an easy battle. Gilgamesh possessed, at a point or another of his long life, all the ancient Noble Phantasms. His mighty chains, Enkidu, can restrain any enemy with divine blood… and his legendary blade Ea can tear the heavens apart. He needs to be killed quickly, before he starts using his full arsenal, and by a small group."

"We need heavy hitters against him, or people who can close the gap between him and our group quickly, like Alexander and me," Arturia added, "We both lost individually against him, but with some cover, we should be able to win a rematch."

"There is the possibility other enemies try to take advantage of the fight to pick on the survivors," Saint George pondered his next words, "Ser Karna fought a team composed of a Rider, an Assassin, and an Archer, who tried to kidnap his Master. The fight with Gilgamesh will give them an opening; hence, I suggest we keep a back-up team in reserve in case they attack… and to flank Gilgamesh in case the battle goes poorly. The best formation should be a Rider to face the Rider, a Caster to defeat the Assassin and offer support to the vulnerable Masters, and a Lancer or Saber to outclass the Archer."

"None of our current combinations match the patterns," Karna pointed out. "Masters and Servants must fight side by side for maximum effectiveness and in case a Command Seal is needed."

"Then we change the teams." Everyone stared at Alexander, as he started outlining his plan with surprising focus. "As Gilgamesh killed me once, he has to know my Noble Phantasms and probably has the means to counter them. Medea needs more prana than her current Master can afford." The witch raised her head in interest. "I suggest we switch with Tohsaka's current Servants."

Medea, much to her surprise, hesitated if it was a good thing or not. Her new Master would provide her with more prana she desperately needed and was a cute girl, but the Witch of Colchis had grown fond of Tamamo and her Master had… astonishing potential.

Bah, she guessed the situation called for it. She could always stab her current allies in the back and return to the previous ones if needed.

"Hmm… under normal circumstances I would advise against depriving your team of an Assassin, but killing Gilgamesh's Master might be the only way to weaken him," Semiramis whispered, "I am the best fit for that task."

"Kirei is too much of a weasel to risk his life in such a situation," Rin stated, quite angry not being able to kill him herself.

"Do not worry, little girl," Semiramis smirked with a predatory grin, "I will get is only a matter of when."

"Meanwhile," Alexander continued, interrupting the exchange, "Akiha Tohno will be kept as back-up for her brother's group. The rest of you will confront Gilgamesh. As Archer needs the least prana of us all thanks to his Gem Sword, he will make a deal with Shirou and replace Medea."

Archer grinned, though inwardly he laughed his ass off at the irony. If Rin's amused expression was to be believed, the same thought crossed her mind.

"Semiramis will make a deal with my current Master. The new formations should add much versatility, and Shakespeare and Tamamo will give support to the Servants with reinforcements or supporting enchantments. A vanguard of Arturia, Saint George and…"

"McFly. Marty McFly."

"Marty," Alexander continued, missing Archer's sarcastic grin and Rin's repressed hilarity, "Will attack and flank Gilgamesh. This should give us all the edge in our coming battles."

Most of the group, who had witnessed the man's previous bumbling and boisterousness, now understood why he hadn't been called King of Conquerors for nothing. After twenty new minutes of battle planning, the teams started changing composition. Oaths were broken and remade.

"Archer…" Rin trailed off, with an uneasy expression, "Don't screw up."

"I won't," he promised with a large grin, "How can I not come to back to you?"

Rin blushed, "S-Shut up, you moron!" She was quick to calm herself, however, and presented a devilish smirk that deeply unsettled her Servant, "Besides, once we're done, you owe a date."

Archer's expression crumbled into sheer terror, "WHAT?!"

"Good luck, woman," Alexander said, ignoring the two's bickering in the background, "Bring glory to your name!"

"You better come back, King of Conquerors," Aozaki replied. "You're part of Team Blue. So you've gotta stick to it until the end."

"Team Blue? Bah, Alexander's army needs no name to be feared!" the king boasted, "It is merely the law of nature!"

Meanwhile, the separation between Medea and Emiya Shirou was a lot colder. "Well…" the teen scratched the back of his head uneasily, "I wish you good luck."

"I don't need it," the witch replied. She lived without it and it wasn't as if she would gain it post-mortem. "Just keep an eye on your Servants, and it will be alright." She glanced at Saber and Tamamo, "I think they both want to speak to you right now."

Einzbern Castle

"You should commit suicide. It would be better than what will happen to you once I get out."

The Einzbern Patriarch stiffened and glared at the sealed entity. "What is this stupidity, Saber?"

The seal glowed with sick green light, "You summoned me to deal with the King of Knights… but you are a very foolish man to keep me on a leash like some dog. I will kill her, and I will murder you next for delaying my revenge. Release me now and I promise your demise will be swift."

Grandpa Acht, as dozens derisively called him, grinded his teeth in annoyance. "I summoned you, Red Knight. I fed you with prana and gave you a Master. You will be freed when I wish it, and you will kill when I allow it."

"I was right, then. You are truly the King of the Fools. You have meddled with powers beyond your comprehension, and you will pay the price. The seal will be broken, and I will get out bring waste upon you and yours. I will lay claim to the title that belongs to me. You do not command me, for I am a killer of kings and you are but a dead man walking."

Leaving the Servant to its madness, the Eiznbern lord got out of his castle's crypts. Summoning this creature had been a terrible idea, as calling upon Angra Mainyu back in the third war. This Saber was powerful, true, but rebellious and spouting nonsense each time they tried to hold a conversation. "I should have summoned another knight. Galahad would have been much easier to control."

"You're speaking to yourself now?"

The Einzbern straightened, as he sensed a gun against his back. How could someone have sneaked up on him? The Bounded Field should have alerted him, and from the attacker's aura, it was a Servant. A Caster or Assassin… "There are dozens of Homunculi in this castle."

"All dead," said the man. The voice was vaguely familiar, and the patriarch slowly remembered who it belonged to. His blood froze in his veins, "I didn't find the right one."

"On the c-"

"You try to call your Servant and I blow up all your magic circuits. You may survive, crippled, defeated… Or you may die a quick and horrific death." the ghost taunted him. "If you want to keep your Magecraft, you will be a very obedient man. Be obedient… and I will not shoot you."

The patriarch cursed, "How is it possible?"

"I would like to know, too. But first…" Kiritsugu Emiya narrowed his eyes, "Where. Is. My. daughter?"

A few hours later, the Castle was empty. Emiya had spoken the truth. He never shot Acht.

It was something he had to do with his bare hands.

In the crypts, beneath the earth, a seal broke, and the Red Knight smiled.

The Temple

"I won!"

"Goddamn Zubat!" Jack the Ripper watched blankly at her Nintendo DS, as her last Pokémon fainted. "Who designed these creatures?"

"Bats are awesome," Arcueid smirked, glad to see her Pokémon wasting her rival's team… She had become rather fond of the game since her Assassin friend introduced her to it. It made her hostage situation a bit easier to deal with.

She stared at her restrains. The True Ancestor had tried almost everything to remove them, without result. Could it be a powerful spell from the Age of the Gods? A curse, maybe…?

"They are the chains of your wish."

Her blood froze, as the screen of her DS turned into a red light, "These chains were made from a wish and refined with pain and agony and frustration and… other nasty sentiments," said Seraph, its sinister voice echoing, "They cannot be broken. Your perseverance is a waste of time, my dear. Your hopes are foolish."

The blonde vampire almost broke the DS in a fit of anger. Once Shiki's eyes break those chains, we will see if you can't be broken, she thought to herself.

The light grew stronger, and the voice became sheer malevolence. "You cannot destroy a wish… unless you kill all of mankind beforehand. I would suggest against thinking such bad thoughts, because I'm a very petty creature, and I might… take them bad." Ignoring the True Ancestor's surprise, the entity paid attention to the other girl in the room. "Sweetie, could you bring Dracula and little Shiki? I need you three to do a very important job! You will get a candy if you do~!"

"What kind of job?"

For an instant, no answer came.

"…so the Kingslayer has been released…" The voice started to monologue. "Kiritsugu, you say? Oh, the irony… did he learn the truth? No? Regretful. I so wanted to see the despair on his face, as all his hopes died… I guess I will have to be patient."

Arcueid briefly wondered what was happening. Had the monster lost its mind? Or… the vampire's eyes widened in understanding.

Servant and Master were talking, not caring if their conversation was noticed.

"…alright! Brilliant~! This will be fun! Yes, Roa will be done by tonight. Zouken is going to have a nasty surprise. With the organizers silenced, Ea, Rule Breaker, the Counter-Guardian and Ruler become the new most pressing dangers… Emiya?"

Arcueid paled.

"NO. Emiya is mine. I have waited years for this moment… Yes, yes… Keep an eye on them. I will come for their head as soon as I get enough prana to manifest fully… no, I cannot hijack the Grail that far, I have my limits… have a nice day, too~!"

The voice stopped, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's with great regrets you will wait here until everyone else dies. It hurts me not to watch you hurt others, but don't be sad! The time for bloodshed will come… sooner or later."

Arcueid stared blankly at the phone. "It was your Master?"

Seraph didn't bother to answer her. "Jackie, listen, this job is very important. I want you to hide in the shadows and capture one person for me when the time is right… a priest. And I want him alive, so I can show him the answer he sought all his life…"

A dream

"I was getting restless," a shadow whispered, sitting on a big settee, watching a tv in a very dark room. "I thought you would never fall asleep. The worst is that you did it alone. I mean, have you even stared at the women around you? I was so frustrated I had to remake this whole dream!"

"You knew, didn't you?"

That ticked off the humanoid shadow, who glanced at him. It had no eyes, no mouth, but the voice was annoying as hell, "Knew what?"

"About my Origin."

"Ah, that? How the hell should I have known? I met you yesterday, midget. The only things I know of you are your dreams and some memories I picked up from time to time, and to be honest, why the hell should I have cared about your motherfucking Origin?"

"Then…" Shirou sat on the settee, right next to the annoying creature, "Who, or what, are you?"

"Angry Manjew. Heroic Spirit Jesus, for intimates," the teen's expression made it chuckle, "You want my backstory? I got sacrificed by my village, against my will, to save them from all evils. Does it sound familiar? You want the undeniable proof I'm Jesus?"

A hamburger popped out of nowhere.

"This is my flesh."

…Then a bottle of ketchup.

"And this is my blood. Worship me now, for I am a power unlike none other! THE GOD OF JUNK FOOD! Fast foods are my temples, and my worshipers pray with their stomachs! AND THEIR TONGUES!"

"…why do even my dreams sound insane?" Shirou cursed upon massaging his temples.

"Because you're the only sane man. Figure, I was in the same position once, although it was a lot less funny than it sounds." The shadow gave him a light tap on the back. "One day, you will learn to go along with the flow and be the sarcastic bane of morons all over the worl- OH yes, finally!" The tv lightened, showing a man and Medea kissing and making out and…

And it became adult content.

"Wh-what is that?" Shirou's jaw dropped.

"Porno memories, took me forever to find them," the shadow laughed happily. "Seriously, why did you have to drop that gorgeous witch for a guy of all things? Mind you, I've nothing against bisexuality, but for some reason when I tried to read his memories, I saw yours. And your other Servants don't offer as much mature content as I would like, although there is that kinky threeso-"

"Stop talking. Just… stop talking."

"Alright, alright. Well, it's good I managed to record as much as I could, it will provide entertainment. Here," the images changed to become a lot more unpleasant, "It's when she kills her brother by ripping him limb from limb."

Shirou was so paralyzed by the horror unraveling in front of his eyes.

"She did under the influence of a spell, only to get rejected by Jason and forced to wander the world as a witch, for centuries… guess we can understand why she's so bitter and uneasy around men. And let's not talk of the death of her former Master. That little Assassin was fucking creepy."

"How can you speak so callously of the suffering of others?" Shirou spat in disgust.

"Cut the crap. You think you're better? You don't save people because of morals, but because realizing others' wishes gives you the mental fuel to rise up the morning. If you had no wish to grant, you would be a hollow shell of a man and die!" The creature took its breath. "Replace wish by human suffering and you can understand why I keep clinging to sentience inside this fucking jar of a Holy Grail."

Shirou's mind stopped working briefly, "We're inside the Grail?"

"My soul is inside for a long time. I think it may be why we're connected, since your Origin is Grail. Why, I don't know, but it happened. You asked me who I was… well, Aozaki briefed you on what happened during the last war? Well, genius, you face Angra Motherfucker Mainyu, first Avenger, wish granter and god of assholes. So speak with respect from now on."

"You…" Pieces of the puzzle assembled in Shirou's mind. "You caused the fire! You ruined Kiritsugu's life!"

"It was a human wish that caused the fire, and Kiritsugu ruined his life on his own," the shadow shot back scornfully, "Ilya told you what kind of hypocritical jerk he used to be before the fourth war scared him straight. Terrorism, massacres, he'd kill the few to save the many, what a joke. If you kill the few to save the many, you give a sentiment of impunity to the many who never get to suffer from their blissful ignorance and apathy, and they start the same mistakes all over again. It's always the innocent who are sacrificed for jerks, never the other way around!"

Shirou kept his mouth shut. The tone had fallen into sheer bitterness. He had the feeling Angry Mainyu's scorn of Kiritsugu had a much deeper source than mere evil.

All the World's Evils gave a melancholic sigh, "…you want answers to your questions, and solutions to your problems? Ask quickly before you wake up." Angra Mainyu regained a formal tone, and beer manifested out of thin air. "Want some?"

Shirou politely declined. "What do you know about this war?"

"Except what you already know? Well… for starters: I'm about to get out very soon." Shirou's expression told it all. "Someone is messing with the Grail to release me, I feel it. And when it happens, cue fire and brimstones and man-eating hamburgers-" He raised his head. "Ah, you're gonna wake up."

Shirou opened his eyes.

"Shirou," Saber's eyes watched over him. "It's eleven. Shiki's team has already left."

The teen nodded, as his Servant helped him rise up. He had decided to rest after… after Saber and Caster informed him of his peculiarity. He had hoped the dream creature would offer answers. Instead, he added new questions to the mix, "Saber."

"Yes?"

"If you want to switch Masters with someone else, there's still time," he said, making Saber gasp in surprise. "I mean, I'm not really the prodigy magus kind and I'm quite useless in a fight. Perhaps would it be better if you joined someone like Tohsaka?"

The swordswoman glanced at him with a difficult expression. "Shirou," she started, "I do not follow you because you are a magus, I serve you because you have a kind heart, and you are perhaps one of the most selfless people I ever met. This is why I shall stay at your side."

She smiled at his expression of surprise. "Shirou, being a hero is not about having the greatest skills. It's about staying true to your morals and ideals. People like Gilgamesh," her face twisted in disgust, "Are heroes in name only. At least people like Alexander and Semiramis thought their actions were the greater good, or Medea did not choose to be what she is. Gilgamesh loves himself and only himself, and he's glad to violate the rights and will of others."

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I'm completely useless in a fight," he pointed out.

"Only because we don't know the applications of your magecraft yet," Saber shot back. "And to be honest… maybe it's already in effect. You survived wounds that should have been lethal, and events seem to conspire to make us survive. I don't think it's a coincidence Spartacus and Gawain just suddenly appeared when we needed them the most."

Shirou's jaw dropped. "You mean… I could be using my magecraft subconsciously?"

"Possibly. We will need further training to be sure." Saber smiled. "If you stay at our side… I am certain luck will be on our side."

On the Big Bridge

"You dared to make the king wait?" the armored Gilgamesh snapped.

"I didn't make you wait; it's you who's early." Cu Chulainn commented, his spear readied, "So… it's the two of us versus all of them? It's going to be pretty one-sided," he sighed, "And I really wanted a challenge…"

Though Gilgamesh laughed loudly in amusement, Archer wasn't amused by the Lancer's presence. One of them was a danger on his own, so the two at the same time… The man from the future raised his eyes and stared at the golden ship stationing above the bridge. Why is this war so fucked up? A Mesopotamian spaceship… Are you serious? Hopefully, Semiramis was going to pay a visit to the pilot…

"If you touch Saber, you're dead," the golden king warned his unwilling teammate, before observing his enemies, "Women and children… where is the King of Conquerors? He would have been a challenge."

"We don't need him to defeat you, Gilgamesh," Saber snarled in anger, her Master waiting a few feet behind her. Archer and Saint George were at her sides, while Tamamo, Shakespeare, and Aoko formed the second line.

"Insolent, arrogant woman." Gilgamesh snorted upon loosing patience. "You force me to do this…"

He opened the Gate of Babylon… and seized his Ray Bans, placing them on his nose. "I though you might have been able to dirty them," the golden king snorted, upon noticing the others' surprised expressions. "Since, obviously, I was mistaken… I think I can put them back-"

The noise interrupted him.

It was a screeching, sinister sound coming from the depths of the river. The screams of a thousand agonizing children, the roar of departed souls, the horrifying curse of the abyss… Slowly, the King turned his head in the direction of the noise. And Gilgamesh stared at his left side, in a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

The fog was too dense to make the entire creature visible, but what emerged from the water was as high as a skyscraper, and had tentacles… which promptly seized Gilgamesh's floating ship.

… And Gilgamesh went from curious to furious. "How dare you?!" The golden king snapped, opening the Gate of Babylon, "You will not dirty my ship!"

Then, a familiar roar echoed on the bridge, from behind the golden king himself.

"That howling mad dog…" Gilgamesh hissed, remembering the previous war's Berserker. Turning around, he found himself in front of a red and black vehicle, glowing with a dark aura. It was huge, and it was a heavily customized version of the vehicle called a tank.

The machine emerged from the mist, pointed its canon at Saber, and fired.

Nearby…

"What the fuck is that?"

Shiki stared at the towering monstrosity in the mist, approaching from the bridge. It was hard to distinguish its shape, but it was huge. "I have no idea, Tohsaka-san."

Rin grumbled. She and the back-up team had taken residence near the bridge, in case they could flank Gilgamesh. Fortunately, at that time, the street was empty, and they had avoided the police patrols. "It… brings bad souvenirs from the last war."

"It is an Outer God," Medea whispered, recognizing the creature, "Or at least, the spawn of one. It is a mindless, chaotic demon of the sea from another plan of existence." She focused and took the Gem Sword. "I will banish it and-"

The bullet hit her brain and blew it up.

Hassan-I-Sabbah had documented himself a lot on the subject of assassination through rifles. And according to the biography of the one called John F. Kennedy, a bullet in the head was lethal for any kind of man. So the Assassin, with the help of Sakura, reforged two of his Dark daggers into eight bullets, each with the potential of getting past the Servant's annoying protections.

Since he believed in overkill, Hassan used the weapon's three-round burst. The first bullet was certainly a kill shot, but the second and third hit home about a foot lower into the chest and heart just before she hit the ground. At the end of the day, however, the result was the same.

As expected, the prey started striking back. Karna reacted first, and noticed Hassan standing above a house, the rifle in hand. The golden Lancer charged, confident in his ability to kill the Assassin in close-combat…

And Medusa's Pegasus hit him at three times the speed of the sound; destroying half the street and sending him flying into the river. The Lancer wouldn't bother them.

Then Alexander the Great roared, summoning his chariot in thunder and lightning. The redhead sister of Shiki Tohno also prepared to enter the fray.

Unfortunately for them, Hassan never entered battles he wasn't certain to win. I may be of a Lawful alignment according to my Servant Sheet, but I'm Lawful EVIL, not Lawful Stupid. And only idiots do not fight dirty.

Shadows appeared underneath the two, and creatures of darkness grabbed both the Servant and woman, dragging them into the hell that birthed them. The surprise prevented them from retaliating, and within a few seconds, they both had vanished, while the darkness kept expanding in the street.

Both the girl's brother and Tohsaka reacted, the first drawing out his knife, the second grabbing the Gem Sword of the Caster, already decomposing into particles of light. Already having switched to single-fire, Hassan's fourth bullet destroyed the knife. An arrow from Atalanta wrecked the Noble Phantasm.

"Surrender," Hassan declared, as his Archer and Rider partners landed right in front of the two helpless Masters, "You are outmatched, and if we wanted to kill you, we would already have. Make one move, just one, and they'll have to glue you back together."

Tohsaka glared at them, but did not move. Shadow familiars promptly appeared, seized her hands, and made her kneel on the ground. Others did the same with Tohno. "Who are you working for? Someone we know?"

"What did you do to my sister?" Shiki snarled.

"Your sister is our guest, and if you want to see her again, you will be a god dog and shut up." Hassan commented, keeping his rifle pointed at the two. "Mistress, you can come out. The situation is under control."

"Indeed, good job," Sakura whispered, upon emerging from the darkness, alongside Satsuki. Rin paled upon recognizing her opponent. "Long time no see… Nee-san."

"S-Sakura?" Rin gasped.

"Yumizuka?" Shiki's eyes widened. "What are you doing her-" According to his expression once he noticed the girl's Command Spells, he apparently put two and two together, "You're the Master of this group?"

"Only Atalanta," she replied, with a sad expression, "Shiki-kun, I just wanted you safe, outside this war. I… I am sorry to go this far, but it's necessary."

Sakura slowly approached her restrained sister, and caressed her hair. Hassan found the scene incredibly creepy. "Hmm… You kept mom's… as you see, I… well I didn't have that luck."

"Sist-"

"Do not call me that!" Sakura snapped, grabbing her sister's mouth and preventing her from speaking. "You have no right! You abandoned me, forgot me, you lived the life I always wanted… our parents may have died together, but we aren't sisters! I have been alone ever since Kariya died… while you… You… Hassan was keeping an eye on you for weeks. He told me everything about your popularity, about…" Tears formed in her eyes. "How could you forget me so easily?"

If Hassan still had a heart, he would have pitied the girl. But since he was a professional, he kept focusing on the situation. "I suggest we retreat to our lair, remove Tohno's seals before Karna returns for a new round and… just avoid being caught in the nearby crossfire. You can always pay your sisterly debt at home, mistress."

"I am afraid this is not an option."

The voice was disembodied, resonating through the destroyed street. Sakura and Satsuki paled, and Hassan snorted. "Are you a fool, Old Magus? Why risk ourselves when our competitors are gently taking care of each others?"

"Because Einzbern is dead," Zouken shot back, "At the hands of an old enemy rushing toward this place. It is time to use my ace in the hole," a pause, "You were a fantastic heir, Sakura, but I am afraid you served your purpose."

A second later, Sakura screamed, a cloak of shadow covering her body. She staggered backward, black oil spilling from flesh.

"Old Magus, what are you doing?" Hassan asked, feeling things were about to go horribly wrong.

"She will be a wonderful catalyst for the summoning," Zouken said, "Come forth, Angra Mainyu!"

The black oil grew in size, adopting a humanoid shape… and a mouth.

"Free again!"

Author Dojo

"Welcome to the Author Dojo!" Tiger Taiga beamed, "While here, we will discuss the author's thoughts with a Servant of the Day! And today, our Servant is…" she blinked and reread the card, "Hey, is this thing right?"

"Yep," intoned Slayer Ars, "That's right."

"But how! I thought-"

"Nope."

"We haven't even introduced this one, yet!"

An armored figure in red broke through the ceiling, bringing fire with its presence. Slayer Ars adopted a bemused expression, "It would appear that doesn't matter. We observe a figure whose desire for revenge far outstrips common sense and the laws of space and time… On another note, it would appear said figure is armed."

Tiger Taiga grabbed a shinai, "This is for the last Omake, isn't it?"

Slayer Ars just laughed.

"Useless!"

A clash of epic proportions began. Yet Slayer Ars simply stood back and watched with a smile. "Well," he said, "This was a fun chapter. A lot of conflict, Medea got a grassy knoll treatment, and Kiritsugu got his revenge at a steep price. Next time, everything burns."

"That's not the plan at all, bastard!"

-CLANG!-

Slayer Ars took a breath, "Revenge, it is most sweet. I do like Hassan, I play dirty! I mean, it's a war... and Assassins assassinate!"

"Next time!" Taiga shouted, parrying a blow with her shinai. "Alexander makes a brilliant return! Gil gets pissed! Servants become awesome! Siblings fight side by side! Angra Mainyu screws with everybody! And Kiritsugu RULES!"

"And remember, read and review and get your membership card!"