It was probably time for dinner by the time Akiko and Lancer reached the Emiya residence. Not wanting to be needled by Taiga's questions on why she not only went out of the house, but why she and Lancer were now wounded, the girl went into the house through the back, helping Lancer. She went straight for her and her Servant's room. She helped Lancer onto the futon as she got medical supplies out of a cabinet for the both of them.

A minute later, Rin, Shirou, Saber, and Archer opened the door to the room looking for the two. Rin's jaw dropped when she saw the state Akiko and Lancer were in.

"What the hell happened to the both of you?!"

Akiko looked up. She was working on disinfecting her and Lancer's wounds. Shirou and Archer went red, as the silver-haired girl had her shirt off to get at her long slice, only her bra on her chest at the moment. However, even some of her bra was cut, revealing part of her breasts. "I'll tell you after you guys tell us what happened at school today! When we went there, there was a bounded field around it! And where's Sakura?! I thought she would be with you all!"

Rin crossed her arms. "The reason why there was a bounded field around the school was that Shinji and Rider created it. It was draining the life force of those within. Emiya and I told Kirei what happened and he took care of the rest. Everyone was put in the hospital after Kirei saw to them. Ms. Fujimura and Sakura were among those hospitalized. Because of this, school is cancelled for tomorrow."

"What about Shinji and Rider?" Akiko asked.

"When we arrived, someone had already killed Shinji," Saber replied. "We can only assume that Rider has also died, due to mana depletion."

"Now it's time for the both of you to tell us what happened," Rin said.

Akiko let out a deep breath. "Lancer and I investigated the cause of the comas, just as you had requested."

"You can stop calling him Lancer around us so we don't learn his true name," Archer put in.

Saber nodded. "Indeed. After all, we both know who he really is."

"Yeah, so do Emiya and I," Rin added. "Our Servants told us that Lancer is the Irish hero, Cu Chulainn."

"Oh, so all of you knew?" Akiko said.

"I knew because of his spear-wielding skills," Archer said.

"I knew because Gae Bolg was used against me," Saber added.

"Great, so they both know me, but I don't know either of 'em," Lancer grumbled.

"Why should that be a problem?" Shirou asked. "After all, we aren't trying to kill each other."

"For now," Akiko reminded him. "Just remember that as soon as Berserker is defeated, we'll all go back to being enemies."

"He should already know that," Rin said. "Now, please continue with what happened to both of you, Akiko."

"Oh, yeah. So like I was saying, Cu and I were checking out those 'gas leaks'..."

"Cu? Are you trying to imitate a dove?" Archer asked with a smirk.

"It's easier to say than the full name! Now shut up and let me finish what I was saying!" Akiko snapped. Archer instantly took a step back and shut his mouth. Akiko sighed. "Anyway, during the investigation, I discovered that all of the life force was going to Ryuudou Temple. So we both tried to tell you guys at the school, but the bounded field was in the way. So we went to Ryuudou Temple ourselves. But on the stairs, we encountered the Servant, Assassin. During the fight, Cu and I were badly wounded and Assassin let us go. And that sums up what happened to us."

"So a Servant was the reason!" Rin exclaimed.

"Actually, I think there are actually two Servants at Ryuudou Temple," Lancer put in.

"Why do you say that?" Saber asked.

"True, we only saw Assassin. But that was outside the temple gates. I believe that Caster, the one I think is behind the comas, is lurkin' within."

Rin put a hand to her chin. "If that's the case, then we need to come up with a plan for fighting both Assassin and Caster."

"Assassin is just guarding the front gate. We need someone to keep him busy while the rest of us slip past an' root out Caster," Lancer said.

"In that case, it will have to be one of us Servants," Saber said. "Lancer isn't in any condition to fight Assassin again, so that just leaves either myself or Archer."

"As another swordsman, ya are probably more suited to fightin' Assassin, Saber," Lancer said. "The rest of us will deal with Caster."

Saber nodded. "Very well. When do we strike?"

"Tomorrow will be our best bet," Akiko answered. "For tonight, we should all rest up. We need to be in peak form if we want a chance at beating Assassin and Caster."

"Fine, I'll fix up some dinner," Shirou said.

"I'll help out," Akiko offered.

"Are you sure? What about your injuries?"

"Don't worry, I've tended to a good majority of them. Besides, that healing spell I used on myself helped to dull the pain."

"I take it your Servant won't be joining us?" Archer asked, staring at the large gashes on Lancer. They were only partially covered by bandages.

"He won't. Assassin's attack damaged his intestines. Until they heal, he won't be eating with us," Akiko replied.

"Given his regenerating power as a Servant, they should be all healed in no time," Saber said.

"I already know," Akiko told her. The teen got up. "Well, let's start cooking dinner, Emiya!"

Everyone except Lancer, who was still treating his own wounds, went to the kitchen. Only Akiko and Shirou went to the appliances behind the counter. Everyone else sat at the table. After everyone was done eating, they all turned into their rooms for the night. However, Akiko couldn't sleep. She had her eyes closed for what felt like hours as she tried to drift off, but sleep didn't come to her. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling until she was sure everyone else was asleep, including her own Servant.

She carefully got up out of the futon without waking Lancer and looked down at her Servant. He was still sleeping peacefully, even with his wounds. She decided against waking him for this since he was injured. It would probably also be better if he didn't come for this. It should go smoother without a threat like him being near. She put on some new clothes and carefully snuck out of the house, careful not to wake anyone. Once she was outside, she made her way to Ryuudou Temple. She chose to go up the stairs. One reason was that she didn't feel like seeing if the barrier would harm her. And if so, what would it do? Another reason was that she needed to see Assassin.

At the top of the stairs was the constant guardian of the temple gate, Assassin. As soon as the man saw the mage, he reached back and pulled out the long katana in the sheath.

"I let you and your Servant keep your lives once today. Are you here to throw it away? Don't think I'll allow you to flee again." Kojirou took a step down the stairway, katana at the ready to strike.

Akiko held her hands up in front of her chest, showing the Servant that she wasn't holding any weapons. "Calm down, Assassin. I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk to you."

Assassin slightly lowered his katana. "Talk?"

Akiko lowered her hands. As she thought, he was decent enough to at least listen. "Yes. I've come to ask if you would allow all of us to enter the temple when we come to it tomorrow."

"And for what reason do you need to enter?"

"We believe Caster is hiding within the temple grounds. If you allow us to investigate it in peace, it will save your life from it possibly being lost to Saber."

Assassin smirked. "You say you're here without any intent of fighting, and yet you have a Servant with you?"

Akiko's eyes widened then she looked behind her. She didn't bring him with her...

Yet there he was, making his way up the stairs toward Akiko. His armor was on, covering his bandages. He also didn't look happy.

"What the fuck were ya thinkin', sneakin' out without me?!"

Akiko looked at him, shocked that he had followed her all the way to Ryuudou Temple without her knowing. "Cu?! I just wanted to keep you safe!"

Kojirou raised his katana again. "Well, no matter. Whether or not your Servant appeared makes no difference. I would have refused anyway." He got the weapon at the ready for his attack. "My duty is to keep any Masters or Servants from entering, and I won't allow anyone to convince me to let them through."

It happened in just two seconds. In the first, Assassin lunged at her from his position ten steps up from the flat area Akiko was on, katana aimed at her.

One second left.

The demonic spear materialized in Lancer's right hand. He went right in front of his Master and blocked the katana with the shaft of his lance.

"Like I'd let ya harm her!" the demigod growled. Pushing back with all of his strength, he managed to force Kojirou to the first step above him, breaking away the spear from the katana. In that same instant, Lancer swung Gae Bolg sideways at Assassin. The enemy grunted in frustration of being forced back and jumped, up over the red spear, and back, landing three more steps up. In one second, Lancer closed the gap between the two, stabbing the lance forward at Kojirou's head. The samurai leaned slightly to the left, the tip going past his right ear and slicing his right shoulder. The attack only drew up a little blood. Then the Japanese man went at Lancer with an attack of his own in that same instant.

Time seemed to slow down as Akiko saw the scene unfold before her. One moment, Lancer was quickly trying to block a strike from Kojirou that was aimed at his abdomen. The next, the katana had easily knocked away the hasty defense, blade slicing deeply through flesh as it changed to a slash, aimed at the same area. Red was spraying out all over the steps and Assassin. The bandages around the knight's abdomen fell off, revealing the previous wound that was trying to heal. Right now, it looked ugly, mostly black-red with dried blood and forming scabs. The demigod took several steps back, going a little down the stairs, his left forearm pressed to the massive, gaping wound on his gut. He was trying to keep his intestines in his body. He snarled and groaned in pain, red flowing out of his mouth. He started to fall back, but Akiko caught him before he hit the cold stone below.

"I...can keep...goin'..!" Lancer insisted as he pushed himself off of the teen holding him up. He grunted and lifted Gae Bolg up, using only one hand this time. The other was still over his wound.

"Cu! Please stop trying to get yourself killed!" Akiko cried out.

"Don't worry...I'm...not gonna...die..." Lancer promised. Assassin closed the gap between the two. He stabbed at Lancer again, at the man's neck this time. Lancer quickly tried to knock the incoming blade away by smacking it to the left with the shaft of his spear, which was held vertically. But it wasn't fast enough to block the weapon entirely, just to knock it slightly off-course. The blade still bit into flesh, though.

Blood flew from the large slice in his neck. Lancer fell to one knee, dropping his spear so that his right hand press onto the wound. But blood continued to gush out from in between his fingers, staining the stone step he was on.

Assassin brought the katana back down to his side, blood dripping off the glistening metal. He looked down at the kneeling spearman before him. The warrior was unarmed and defenseless now, having to be using both hands to try to stem the bleeding from both of his wounds.

Akiko bit her lower lip and fired a ball of fire at the samurai that loomed over her own Servant. Assassin held the katana in front of his body diagonally to easily block. The man lowered the katana and set his sight on Akiko. He took a step toward her.

The man was only a meter away from Akiko when he struck. Lancer groaned from the pain in his neck as he looked back over his shoulder. Even without his weapon, he could still protect Akiko, the one he loves!

He got to his feet, more blood dripping off him as he did so. He turned around and ran toward Akiko, ignoring the protests of his wounds as he did so. The long blade was only a few centimeters from going through Akiko's neck, which would cause her to bleed out. Lancer still made it on time, going in front of Akiko and taking the hit for her.

He groaned in pain. The blade had gone through his heart, piercing his spiritual core. He let go of his wounds to hold tightly onto the blade as it went through him, preventing it from still hitting Akiko.

"Cu!" the girl screamed. blood was swelling slowly around the blade in Lancer. It was plugging the wound, but it still didn't change the fact that a vital area of the young man, his spiritual core, was hit.

Assassin smirked. Some of Lancer's blood that flew out from his chest splattered on the samurai's face. "So you would choose to give up your own life to save your Master's?"

"Of...course...I...would..." Lancer managed to say as his voice trembled.

Assassin's smirk changed to what looked to be a gentle smile. He pulled the katana out of Lancer, crimson leaping forth from the wound on the young man's chest as it did. "In that case, you have earned my respect, Cu Chulainn."

Lancer smiled as he fell back, his lips caked in blood. "Like...it's...yer...respect...I...want..." Akiko caught him just before he hit the ground, only his lower body touching the stone. The rest was laying back in Akiko's arms. "Sorry...It...looks...like...I...can't...help...ya...win...the...War...anymore...Akiko..."

Tears were falling from Akiko's eyes. She didn't care anymore that Lancer saw his Master feeling helpless."It's okay, Cu...We'll get you back to Emiya's...and you'll feel better soon...!"

That entire time, Assassin wasn't budging. He respect for the Servant was too great no that he wouldn't do something cruel like killing his Master right in front of the knight.

Lancer chuckled weakly. His eyes were getting heavy now and it was getting hard to keep them open. "If...only...I...had...more...time...with...ya..."

Akiko held him close as his body faded, blue mana floating up into the air before vanishing. His body was becoming translucent. Even the blood surrounding the two and soaking into Akiko's clothes was slowly fading. The tears were pouring out of her eyes quicker now.

"Please don't leave me, Cu! I love you so much!"

However, his body continued to fade out of existence. Once his body was completely gone, Akiko covered her eyes with both hands, crying hard into them.

"Please, Cu! I beg of you! Come back to me!"

Her Command Seals flashed and the mark on the far right faded. As long as she had them, she would remain a Master even if her Servant was defeated. However without a Servant that she made a pact with, they were useless. Just like with the one she just used. Assassin walked down the steps to the crying girl.

"If you value your own life, leave now. Otherwise, I'll be forced to kill you as well."

Akiko looked up from her hands, eyes red and puffy, her nose running. But rage suddenly filled her and she instantly got up off her knees, running at Kojirou, full of fury.

"YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM, YOU MONSTER! YOU- -"

The katana swung sideways at the teen in that instant. All she saw was a spray of red before she hit the ground. She suddenly felt very light headed and an intense pain flooded her senses.

It hurts...It hurts a lot...Cu...make it...go away...

Instinct told her to run, but her legs wouldn't budge after her brain ordered them to. She was aware that the intense pain was radiating from below her abdomen and warmth was spreading there. Sticky wetness was pooling under her and she could see that it was red as the puddle extended past her chin, joining the blood that spilled from her mouth. It was falling like a waterfall. She tried getting her legs to move again.

Move...Move...Dammit...

But once again, they failed to respond. Barely holding onto consciousness at this point, she weakly turned her head to see what was wrong with her legs behind her. Then she saw what the problem with them was.

Her hips and everything below were gone now, only a mass of blood spilling from her at the bottom of her abdomen. Akiko blinked, too weak now to fully process this. She coughed, a large glob of blood hitting the ground.

Huh...?...What...is...that..?...What's...going...on..?

Assassin was gazing at her, katana pointed at the girl. He raised it over her neck. Akiko turned her head to the other side to stare at him, crimson liquid falling from her chin like water. Darkness was encroaching the sides of her vision now.

It's...getting...dark...Cu...I'm...scared...

As Assassin stood before her, enough of her mind was left to know she was going to die.

I...don't...want...to...die...Cu...please...help...me...

"I am afraid I cannot allow a Master such as yourself to leave here alive," was the last thing Akiko heard him say. But barely. Her hearing, like her sight, was leaving her now as death crept up on her. But bleeding out wasn't what ended her life. The long blade swung down, the metal glinting in the moonlight. It sliced the girl's neck, her blood painting the samurai's skin.

Once the deed was done, Kojirou sighed. He hated to kill any woman. But his policy was also to put anyone out of their misery. It was a bit of mercy on his part to end her suffering now instead of letting her bleed to death. Now, he would have to clean up this mess.

Akiko woke up with a scream, breathing and sweating heavily.

"Are ya okay?!"

Akiko looked up. Lancer was standing over her, spear out, and a panicked expression on his face. Akiko then saw she was in her and Lancer's room in the Emiya residence, and not at Ryuudou Temple. In fact, she had never left the room all that night. Those events had all just been one big nightmare. She looked down at the back of her right hand. All of her Command Seals were still there, proving that those events were all in her head.

She stared at her Servant. "Cu..?" Then she quickly got to her feet and embraced him tightly. "I'm so glad that you're alive!"

Lancer allowed his spear to dematerialize. He just stared dumbly down at the girl, too taken by surprise at her sudden action to react properly. "Y-Yeah...Mana threads had found their way in. By the time your moans woke me up, they had already wrapped themselves around ya. I was able to cut 'em an' that's when ya woke up. Did they cause ya to have some kinda nightmare?"

Akiko was sobbing into him. She was afraid he was really gone from her for good. "Don't worry about it...I'm fine now...Just...stay close to me...please..?"

Lancer reached to the top of her head and stroked her hair gently. His right hand was around the back of her waist, pulling her in. He carefully sat down on the futon with her. "I don't know what ya saw, but I promise to be right here with ya." He lay down, Akiko snuggling as close to him as she could. The man closed his eyes and leaned his mouth close to her head. "Always..."

At Ryuudou Temple, Caster was cackling so loudly that her voice bounced off the walls. She had been the one to send mana threads into the Emiya residence. As reported by that dog, Assassin, Lancer and his Master seem to be extremely close. To see this for herself, she had her mana threads find Akiko and pull her into a dream involving her, Lancer, and Assassin. She had the dream play out so it would be like their first encounter, but any injuries that Akiko and Lancer sustained during it were worsened.

According to Assassin, Lancer was much more injured than Akiko, meaning he would die first in the dream. If she did truly care for him, she would seek to avenge him. However, this would mean her own death by Assassin. But that knowledge wouldn't stop her from trying to take revenge for Lancer's death.

Even though Lancer interfered and severed the mana threads, Caster still got enough information to know the two were in love with each other. Now, she knew what kind of weapon would get to either. Oh, this was going to get interesting.

OK, for the last part of the dream, did I have you readers thinking that this chapter was going to be a Dead End? Well, Type-Moon works are mind-fucks, so why not this? And who else agrees that Caster was being fucking evil?

I might decide to make a Dead End for real down the line, but the reader won't know whether it's for real or just a nightmare. No one will. Only I will. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, her dream started after she went back into her room for the night. She had in fact fallen asleep, but wasn't aware of it.