Here's the next one at last! Sorry for keep You waiting and, again, thank You for reading this far! I can't wait for Your comments and suggestions!

Special thanks to hyperomegasonic26 for some fantastic ideas and observations!

Chapter 10: The Threads of Fate

"I'm terribly sorry for demolishing the house, Master." He looked around and took a deep breath. "Well… but it seems that it was already demolished before I came back, so… What's happened?"

Kiritsugu just shook his head in disbelief, staring blankly at the monitor and trying to understand, what's just happened in front of the Tohsaka residence. He gladly picked up the phone from Maiya, who was right now near the place. He hoped to hear some reasonable explanation from her.

"You've seen it, Kiritsugu?" – the woman asked, even more disturbed than the Magus Killer.

"Yes, but I'm not sure…" He sighed, it was not even worth saying. "You've heard them? What did they talk about?"

"I really don't know, it was a very strange language. Like an older version of Irish or something?" Emiya could bet that Maiya shrugged just now, she wasn't really into this kind of stuff. "Anyway, the warrior with two red spears evidently used runes. Only a Command Seal saved Assassin from certain death. This woman was like… a cat, toying with a mouse, to show its cub how to hunt. And Lancer definitely was a kitten here." Kiritsugu nodded. It was a perfect description of the situation, no matter how absurd it sounded. "She… just yelled at him and punched him in the head! And then she's sent him somewhere."

"Yes, I can feel him, although barely. He's near Mount Enzou." Emiya stopped for a moment to reconsider his last decision. "Let him be. He'll gain their trust, so we'll be able to destroy them from the inside."

Kiritsugu glanced at his two remaining Command Seals. It was fortunate. Emiya already knew what orders will give Cú Chulainn, especially considering the fact, that his Servant's connection with a potential enemies has been revealed.

So this strange, purple-haired woman is probably also a Servant and an old friend of Lancer from the same mythology… But who is her Master? She's with Tohsaka now, so…

Maybe Tohsaka family managed to bend the rules of this Grail War and summoned all three knight classes at once? The purple-haired woman was a Lancer then, and the nearly invincible guy really has to be the second Saber.

Kiritsugu frowned, disturbed by his own theory. Does it mean that this extremely annoying red Archer of Tokiomi Tohsaka was also somewhere around?

Maiya must have come to the same conclusion already, because she asked all of a sudden:

"Any news about the enemy Saber?"

"He's been seen near the bridge. With golden Archer."

"Another alliance?"

"Who knows? It would be really bad."

Kiritsugu sighed, thanked Maiya for the report and disconnected. He drank some coffee, trying to organize the information and come up with a new plan.

Caster was defeated and Berserker must have vanished silently with her. Two Servants were already gone. Or rather three, because a Rider class Servant did not show up even once, probably already killed by one of the others. There was also a small chance that Tohsaka's Servant was a Rider class, not Saber, but it did not look this way, and it would not explain a sudden appearance of the second Lancer…

Fortunately, Ilya has not been recognized as a vessel. So the last serious obstacles were Ruler and this obscenely powerful Archer.

Too bad that they still were not sure, who was the Master of Assassin. Emiya glanced involuntarily at the monitor which was constantly showing the Matou residence, but the house was now empty and seemed to be abandoned. Just in case, he checked if the camera there is working properly, and he noticed a movement near the lens.

"A worm?"

It was definitely a worm, a very ugly one, fat and rounded. There was also a sign nearby, a message written with blood.

We have the common enemy, Kiritsugu Emiya. Let's meet tomorrow night in the park.

"Yeah, I can feel it too, friend." Rider patted the horse's neck. "We can't let them touch us. Don't worry."

It was just like the birds said – a lot of shadows gathered around the ruins of Ryuudou Temple. They were much bigger than an average man, more or less humanoid in shape and clearly made of something more dangerous than darkness and magical energy.

And, what was even more surprising, none of them attacked. They just let Siegfried and his fearless stallion pass through the temple gate.

Rider looked around and sighed heavily. The signs of their last fight with Caster were still fresh here. To tell, that they left this place completely devastated, was a huge understatement.

There was a girl in the centre of this mess. She was sitting on the rubble and waving her bare feet in the air. The night was cold, but she was wearing only a simple white dress. Her partially violet, partially white hair was tangled and she looked lost in this abandoned, depressing place.

"Oh, it's you." She tilted her head and just one glance in her eyes - one violet and one disturbingly red - was enough for Rider to make sure that she already knows everything about him. "Good. You may wait here for her. She likes you and thinks about you. She'll be pleased to have you here, you'll keep her company."

"You mean Ruler?"- Siegfried asked, trying to find any sense in her mumbling. "There's no use, she answers only to the Grail."

The girl gave him a peaceful, but also a terribly sad smile.

"You don't understand, do you? I am the Grail."

Imagine the diagram of the human circulatory system, just like you can see it in every school. You can find a lot of big and small blood vessels there, forming a net of countless blue and red lines. It seems to be chaotic at first glance, but, after taking a closer look, a careful observer will see the hidden pattern, unique for every single creature.

For Rin Tohsaka the magic circuits of a Servant looked exactly the same, like a tangled strings. And the women magi gathered in the basement were like three Norns from Norse mythology, spinning the threads of fate.

Rin smiled to herself, amazed why she'd even thought about it. It must have been Siegfried's influence. Right, this was it. He had spoken with the dying dragon about many things and now his memories of this ancient knowledge came to Rin through their bond. It was amazing!

She did not know how the others visualized the ritual, but for Tohsaka it was enough to focus on her work. It was harder than she expected, and the fact that the three of them – the powerful, immortal queen of the Land of Shadows, the strongest magus of Fuyuki and the strongest Master in this Grail War – were already sweaty and exhausted, was at least disturbing. Rin even started to hesitate… Maybe this task is really too difficult for them?

"As I suspected – the double magic circuits," Scáthach said suddenly with a completely neutral expression, although her voice was trembling with exertion.

"But they're not just double, they're completely different!" Ilya was truly amazed. "No, wait… Not completely, some parts are the same. The core is the same, for sure! And… Is it?"

"Yes." A sudden excitement could be heard in Rin's voice as well. "The projection magic circuits. They seem to be infected, but not all of them. We should preserve as much as we can."

"So stop talking and do it. Quickly." Scáthach wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was a very exhausting operation, just like she suspected. But it shouldn't be THIS difficult – the nerves of this Servant were more tangled than the Gordian Knot!

The silence between them was heavy and humid, just like the air in the room, for almost two next hours.

"What's this? Ouch!" Something black started to spread from Berserker's circuits, burning Ilya's fingers.

"It's a materialized curse?" Rin's eyes widened, a pure terror on her face. "What in the hell! How?"

"Don't tell me that we activated his Noble Phantasm?"

"No, this is not it. But it's still bad." Scáthach frowned, trying to take back the control of the situation. "Why there must be always an Einzbern magus around to screw up something important?"

"It hurts!" – Ilya cried, desperately trying to withdraw her burned fingers.

"And… Jeanne? What are you d…? Jeanne?!" Toshaka turned pale but remained in place to support Scáthach with all her mana. "Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!"

Then Ilya started to squeal painfully and the chaos began.

"Hey, Grail Lady! How many more do you have?"

The girl smiled to him, unexpectedly gently, and Rider was somehow sure that kindness was an important part of her true nature.

"Countless. So please surrender already and wait for her with me. I will not have to hurt you if you obey."

"That's what I've thought…" He sighed and cut another of her familiars in half. "I'm sorry but I have to refuse. Don't worry about me."

"Ok." She smiled again, but her gaze was empty this time, like her mind was already disconnected from the body. "Just tell me if you'll finally change your mind."

Rider looked around, searching for a possible way out. The barrier around the Temple was still active, so he had to leave the same way he came – through the main gate. He barely could see the exit from here, so many shadows guarded the way…

Actually, he had something in mind. He did not want to win, just to break through. Although he had never tried to activate Balmung's power from the horseback, especially in the move, but it seemed to be possible and definitely was worth trying. All he had to do was to trust the instinct of his mount and his own riding skills.

Well, this is the first time for me, but they say that Rider class Servants have the most powerful Noble Phantasms, right?

The magic was gathering slower than before, he was probably too far from Rin and was forced to use his own resources. He smiled. Tohsaka should be concentrated on her important task now, he wouldn't dare to drain her for such a trivial matter.

Balmung soon started to glow with a golden light, calm and beautiful. Siegfried was sure that it will work. After all, in his hands it was the holy blade, long ago connected to the power of the sun – what more is needed to dispel the shadows?

"…and the world will now reach the sunset."

Sakura was observing his reckless charge with a bored expression and evidently did not intend to intervene in any way. She must have been sure that his resistance was meaningless and that it was only a matter of time for him to meet his fate.

"Balmung!"

The wave of energy smashed everything's on its way and Siegfried followed it without a pause. Grani reached the stairs just in time, a second before shadow giants managed to regenerate and block the gate again.

"Good job, friend! Now let's go home, I have definitely enough for today."

He did not have to say it, to be honest. The stallion did not even try to slow down, determined to leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

I really don't understand, why he's resisting so much. It would be easier for him to give up.

Jeanne blinked, utterly surprised.

From where did this thought come from?

She would never think this way. It was obvious that Berserker did the right thing. Being forced to share one material body with his twisted, almost demonical alter ego was difficult and tragic enough, and Ruler couldn't not imagine the other way than to resist this evil and overwhelming madness.

But why? He should rather let go, enjoy himself.

Because he doesn't want to hurt anyone.

But he's hurting himself, right? So it's useless.

She smiled, completely sure that she's right.

Why she was smiling? Who was smiling, if she did not want to?

"And… Jeanne? What are you d…? Jeanne?!" A familiar voice was calling her, a voice of a good friend. No, it was rather a voice of her greedy rival, who wanted to take all the best guys for herself! "Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!"

Her heart was beating like crazy and she couldn't catch a breath, terrified but also strangely excited.

Am I going to go mad, just like our Servant?

"Jeanne! Jeanne!" She couldn't recognize this voice, but this one too sounded familiar. Right, it was the pagan queen, the wise and brave one, who wanted to help, although she had no obligation to do so. No, it was a voice of this annoying bitch, who did not know her place! "Give me the Command Seals, quickly!"

But of course, she should do like this woman said. Something wrong was happening to her right now and she could not let the Command Seals be lost or used improperly because of her sudden indisposition. She reached out her hand and then…

This mud… This black, ugly substance... It burns!

So good… It feels so good to be free at last!

It's just like back then, in flames! This pain…

There's so many things I would like to do. So many people I would like to punish. So many wishes to be granted!

She smiled viciously, finally free from stupid little things like morality or conscience. Who needs them anyway?

"Rin? So quiet in here…"

Siegfried entered the house with Balmung in his hand. Something was clearly wrong, not only unnaturally quiet, but also…

"Trace on."

It was a very nice surprise attack, but it would be even more effective from a distance. Still, when the enemy Servant jumped from the stairs, he managed to reach Rider's back with one of his twin blades and leave a thin trace of blood on the edge of his vulnerable spot.

"Berserker?" The mad warrior was really hard to recognize now. He was wearing only a black armor and there were even more strange tattoos on his skin. "What the…"

What's happened to his eyes? The left one was like a circle of gold surrounded by the complete darkness and Rider was sure, that this eye sees much more than it seems. But it also made this guy look even more insane than before.

They've already demolished the corridor and, with a terrible noise, came to the one of the rooms. Siegfried was so damn tired after a long night of fighting far away from Rin, that he could barely keep up with this strange warrior. His twin blades, slightly curved and kept in black and white tones, were magnificent, yet fortunately not enough to break through his dragon skin.

But a wardrobe was not durable enough to withstand their fierce exchange of blows. The same with the table. And chairs. And with a wall to the next room, smashed by Balmung, when Rider tried to block the last blow and make a strategic retreat to the stairs.

"Stop, you idiots! Save your strength!"

Rider was first to obey Rin's order and he slowly stepped back, but he was watching his opponent carefully, irritated by his mocking smile. The white-haired guy spread his arms in a gesture of surrender and dispelled his weapons, making everyone even more annoyed by his disrespectful and provoking behavior.

Siegfried was first to ignore him and try to break the awkward silence.

"I'm terribly sorry for demolishing the house, Master." He looked around and took a deep breath. "Well… but it seems that it was already demolished before I came back, so… What's happened?"

Rin had not enough strength to roll her eyes, so she only sighed and headed slowly to the living room.

"Come. Both of you."

Scáthach was lying on the couch with a cold compress on her head. She looked pale and truly exhausted, but it did not stop her from being aggressive towards her Servant. The warrior queen gave him a very angry gaze. He just sighed heavily in response and sat in the corner of the room with his eyes closed, probably to minimize the cost of mana she had to provide to keep him materialized. He didn't speak or move without permission or command to do so from this moment.

"Something went wrong with the ritual," Rin explained, although it was clear for Rider from the beginning. "Ruler, Saber and partially Ilya, were affected by the curse from the Grail's mud, and went on rampage. The mud from the corrupted Grail was in Berserker's magic circuits, but Jeanne was probably infected sooner." Tohsaka noticed that Rider did not look very surprised by this conclusion. "We had to wake up Berserker sooner and fight, then Jeanne got away and then you came back." She shrugged, having nothing more to say.

"And Saber?"

"We had to knock her out for a while. It was difficult, demanded the use of one of Ilya's Command Seals… and a lot of fighting. But she should be fine when she'll awake. They both should."

Siegfried could hardly imagine the chaos which lead to this mess. It was truly admirable, that Scáthach and her strange Servant managed to keep raging Saber and Ruler in check, even if only for a short while.

"But why in the hell did you fire this thing inside the house?" The warrior queen sighed heavily, still mad at Berserker or whoever he was now. "Never do that again, understood?"

The white-haired guy nodded reluctantly. They had no time to examine him yet but it was even more than obvious that he was not the same person anymore. He still made an oath, both to Ilya and Rin as his connection to this world, and seemed to obey Scáthach, at least as his mana donor. But his insultingly nonchalant attitude was getting on everyone's nerves equally.

"Actually, we were lucky that you were far enough to not get affected, Siegfried" Rin said and sat on the chair. "But you too look awful… What's happened?"

He was not sure, if hitting them with some bad news was the best idea right now, but there was no time to waste, so he just sat next to his Master and started to tell his story.