Irisviel didn't have many options when it came to conversations. The maids they had initially brought with them had to go back home. The Einzberns didn't want to waste them on this war, which irked her on many accounts. Maiya wasn't much for conversations and even while Saber was a dear friend, she was busy training at the moment. Irisviel wasn't going to interrupt that, especially with how much the war depended on her being at top capacity. So she decided to visit her dear husband and hopefully cheer him up.

She tentatively opened the door, peering inside. "Kiritsugu, are you alright?" As she stuck her head inside, she saw him sitting at a desk, browsing some documents. Given his lack of a reaction, she walked inside and quietly closed the door behind herself. She walked up behind him, "I would hazard a guess that you're studying the other masters."

Kiritsugu nodded. He leafed his hand through the folders, opening them as he went along. "Given that we don't know much about their servants as of yet, I've had to try and get a hold on the masters and gauge them. First we have Joseph Field, master of Beast. Small town farmer. No battle experience and I would hazard a guess that he doesn't have much in the way of mage craft experience either. Minimal threat."

He moved his hand over another one, "Kariya Matou, minimal mage craft after having left his home quite some time ago. Should pose more of a threat then Field, but still minimal."

"Waver Velvet. Young, inexperienced but probably more adept at magecraft then the previous two masters. However, he is still not much of a threat. If this trend continued, this war would have been as good as won," Kiritsugu softly sighed.

"Caster's master is an unknown factor. We don't know who he or she is and I don't like that. If at all possible, we should try and locate them before they strike again. While Saber is resistant to her magic, I don't want to try our luck."

"Irina Spalko, former head of the Soviet Union's Mage Organization. A formidable opponent. She is a master strategist and highly skilled with ice magic. I've done business with her before and she isn't to be taken lightly. I would advise caution with dealing with her. Major threat."

"Tokiomi Tohsaka. As traditionalist a magus as you can get. Highly skilled in gem magecraft. Moderate threat. However, if my suspicions ring true, then he is likely working with Assassin's master. If Archer and Assassin are working together in this war, that puts us at a severe disadvantage."

"Ruler. Confederate General Robert E. Lee. From what I've read, he shouldn't be too much of a problem. Saber is skilled enough to take him in combat before he activates his noble phantasm. Still, a reality marble isn't to be taken lightly. Moderate threat."

"Lastly, Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. Another traditionalist magus. Even more skilled in magecraft then Tokiomi is the reports are to be believed. However, he shouldn't be a problem anymore." He lifted his head, "Did you feel… anything?"

Irisviel stared at him for a moment before she understood, "No, nothing."

Kiritsugu closed his eyes and sighed, "Then he is still a problem, or at least his servant is. Moderate to high level threat depending on the circumstances."

"Lastly…" Kiritsugu hesitated as he came to the last master. "Kirei Kotomine… master of Assassin… The most dangerous player in this game." He stared at the photo of the man before cupping his face in his hands, "Iri… do you think there is still time?"

Irisviel frowned, "Time for what?"

"Time to run away," Kiritsugu slightly shook. "To just escape all this madness and live a happy life. Just you and me and little Illya. Just us."

Irisviel's face took on a sad complexion, "You know that's not possible."

"It can be," Kiritsugu looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears. "It can be. We can get away. Illya can live a happy, normal life with both her parents. We could watch her grow up. You could teach her all those things you wanted. I could scare her first boyfriend. We could… we could just let this all go."

"You would never forgive yourself if you did that," Irisviel countered. "It would eat away at you. Destroy you. You would be wracked with guilt for the rest of your days before…" She looked away, "You took your own life. No, we must continue with this war."

Kiritsugu simply stared at his hands, "I want you to be there for Illya. I want you to see her grow up and…" He clenched his fists, "Damn magi. Damned war. Damned wish!"

Irisviel took his hands into her own, "It is that damn wish that gives you the drive to fight. Please, keep going. Give Illya a world she can be safe in. That she can actually live in without… becoming like me."

Kiritsugu simply stared at her for a moment. He stood up and held her against him tightly in a hug, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't be," Irisviel softly cooed. "I was born for this role, remember?" She felt him hold her even tighter at that. Yes, she hated the fact that she had to die. She hated the fact that she would never see him or Illya again, yet she was content. She was content to know that she would give her life for them to be happy. That someone actually loved her. She was content to stay in his arms as long as possible. Unfortunately, a small painful spike ran through her body. She pulled back and looked up at him. "Someone's come through the barrier."

Kiritsugu's eyes widened for a second before he steeled himself, "We'll see who it is before we send Saber out to deal with them. Then get Maiya. Get away from here. I'll take care of the master."

Saber stared intently at the crystal ball that Irisviel was peering through. Her hand clenched around the hilt of her blade. If one of the servants had dared to approach so brazenly onto their doorsteps, they must be confident of their own abilities in combat. She had to be on guard and prepared for anything. A part of her hesitantly hoped it wasn't Rider. If there was one thing she never wanted to face again, it was a dragon.

"Found him," Irisviel said, drawing everyone's attention. Her eyes widened, "It's Avenger."

Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes, "This isn't like Irina. She wouldn't…" He looked to Saber, "Get out of here. Now." He turned to Saber, "Kill Avenger as quickly as you can. Irina is up to something."

Saber nodded, "Understood." With that said, she raced off. Her speed was obviously faster then any human could hope to match given that she was a servant.

Irisviel turned to Kiritsugu, "What about you?"

He raised his pistol, "I'll be catching up with an old compatriot."

Saber raced through the forest, ready to face her opponent. More than ready, honestly. Even though she hadn't known Avenger all that long, she knew he was the sort she wouldn't lose sleep over killing. He was smug, selfish, and she could tell he was the sort of ruler that she utterly despised. While his wish may have been sincere, she wasn't about to hand over her own to a man such as him. She would be ready for anything he could throw at her. Which is why she heard the gunshot and reacted as quickly as she did, just narrowly dodging the bullet as it hit the tree behind her.

"Such quick reflexes," Avenger said as he strolled forward. A pistol was held in his left hand while his red sword was held in his right. "I guess I'll just have to be faster on the draw next time."

"I shan't give you that chance, Avenger." Saber declared as she used her Prana Burst to rush out from behind the tree and towards Avenger. He fired two more shots which she deflected with her sword before she swung it at him. He raised his sword, blocking the blow. He pulled his gun up to fire again at her, but she pushed his sword back as she dodged the shots. Coming around at his side, she started to hammer away at him.

Avenger scowled and used one strike to put away his gun. He knew he had to focus on his swordsmanship at the moment in order to get out of this mess. He would parry and deflect her blows, making sure that none of them were life threatening. Even as a slash or two cut into his arm, he kept at it. He would not fall here to her, but he knew he was on the defensive in this fight.

"Is this all you can muster, Avenger?" Saber brushed aside a strike from Avenger and nearly gutted him had he not jumped back. She pushed herself forward to keep up the assault.

"I am no fool Saber," Avenger said and Saber knew he was grinning underneath his helmet. "I didn't come here alone."

With that said, Saber felt a bullet graze her arm. She smashed her sword hard enough into his to push Avenger a couple of meters away before she turned to face her new opponent. Her eyes widened, "What the…" She deflected another bullet.

"I am never alone," the new opponent was none other than another Avenger.

"I always wanted someone as smart as myself to talk to," the first Avenger chuckled and raised his sword. He charged as the other one kept on firing at Saber.

Saber hadn't been expecting this and she admonished herself for this error. It was only thankful to her Prana Bursts and swordsmanship that she was still standing. Avenger was quite skilled but he didn't seem to have her level of experience. Had the fight just been between them, she was confident he would have been downed already. Now though, even with her skills she was up against two of them. One Avenger would come up and take action against her. She would counter before he pulled back and fire. She would block before the other tried to strike. She deflected the blow and nearly took off his head, but another grazing round made her wheel around and stare the two Avengers down. She readied her sword and hoped that everything with Irisviel and her master was going well.

Explosions rocked the forest and she turned her head towards the castle, "What…" She turned to glare at Avenger. "What have you wrought, Avenger?"

"My master has quite a few formidable tools under her belt," Avenger chuckled and the two versions readied themselves to continue. "However, you won't live long enough to see them."

Saber narrowed her eyes, "We shall see about that."

Waver sat himself down in the middle of the forest and stared at the rock before him. It was a small rock but it was floating in the air. He was silently amazed by Rider's skill with magic. It felt similar to the magic of his world yet it was so much more. He wanted to know every in and out of it. So that's why he was out in the middle of the night with Rider to practice.

Rider let the small rock fall into his hand, "This was one of the first spells that was taught to me. The Ancient Language allows you to basically bend reality at will. However, you must remember. It is connected to how fit you are. Once you start a spell, you can't stop it and if it takes too much power, it will kill you."

Waver chuckled, "Same thing here so I'm no stranger to that sort of stuff." He scratched the back of his head, "Which is why I kinda prefer Alchemy. Still," he held out his hand. "I'll give it my best shot."

Rider smiled and put the rock into his hand, "Reisa. Say it."

Waver stared at the rock intently. He took in a deep breath and let it out, "Reisa." He felt power course through him in a way that he never could have imagined beforehand. He watched the rock wobble before lifting itself an inch from his hand. It was more taxing than he thought, almost as if he was lifting a heavy box. He held it a few more inches into the air before gasping and letting it fall.

Rider clapped his hands, "That's way better then my first try. Good work, master."

Waver smiled, proud of himself. "Thanks. So how many spells are there in the Ancient Language?"

"Too many to count," Rider said. "The Ancient Language basically gives you mastery over everything in the world, as I said before. So there are thousands, possibly millions, of ways to use spells and have different effects. It helps that many of them are small and easy to remember." He tapped his chin, "I think I'll write some of them down later for you to remember, just in case this war ends abruptly."

Waver rubbed his hands together, "Now that sounds like a plan!" The sudden sounds of explosions rocked the forest to its core. His eyes widened and he looked to Rider.

Rider looked towards the source of the sounds, "Looks like someone's fighting close by." He turned and grinned at Waver, "Looks like we're going to have to cut our training sort." He passed his Zar'roc. "To battle we go!"

Kirei never felt so motivated to find someone before. His whole body tingled at the thought of finally meeting Kotomine in person. He would finally get his answers. He would finally be at peace. This was his chance. His chance of discovery. Archer and Assassin were both with him since Tokiomi opted to stay at his house by himself. Kirei thought it a bit bold of him, especially since Berserker's master hated him so. Still, he doubted this Kariya Matou would be so bold as to attack a magus's stronghold.

He turned to look at Archer, "Keep yourself away from the fighting until I give the signal." Archer nodded and levitated up through the trees. He then turned to Assassin, "Kill Saber. We can't have her getting in the way of my mission."

Assassin frowned, "I know I sound like a broken record right now, but why do we have to kill her? Caster is the one killing children, not her!"

"This is a Holy Grail War," Kirei reprimanded her. "The lives of regular children pale in comparison to the ultimate wish."

Assassin growled, "But you don't have a wish! How could you be so heartless? You and your master and that damned priest."

Kirei brandishes his hand with the Command Seals, "Do I have to use one of these to force your claws?"

Assassin snarled, "No, I'll kill her. Then I'll kill Caster, whether you order me to or not." With that she took off.

Kirei was obviously relieved she was gone. She was starting to get annoying. She messed with people for fun but never took it too far. It was sinful and she had no right to call him out on anything because of that. He did care about the children and the heartbreak their families were going through. He silently grimaced. The problem was that the feelings he received from those thoughts weren't wholesome or righteous fury. He wanted to see their anguish for himself and that sickened him like nothing else. He turned his attention back on Kotomine, to get away from such thinking. He would have his answers and be rid of these horrid feelings soon enough.

Explosions rocked the forest, making Kirei quirk an eyebrow. It would seem that fighting had already started. He would need to make sure Kotomine survived long enough to get his answers, then he would finish him for good.

The shadows outside of the Tohsaka building were not silent or still this evening. They crawled, skittered about, and gnashed their long teeth together in anticipation. Several large armored rats readied themselves for the upcoming battle. The Skaven were prepared for war, which delighted Berserker like nothing else. He was so giddy that he couldn't help but hop about, slashing at trees nearby until he turned to glare at any soldiers that he deemed to be lazing about. This battle would be swift and merciless. If he was lucky, Archer would be home and he would have her head. If not, he wouldn't miss her. It was Saber, the strongest sword servant, that caught his attention. He would have her head no matter what.

Berserker turned to Ska, "Are the soldiers ready?"

Ska nodded, "Of course they are, greatest of all skaven warlords. They scurry-hurry to the formations which now eagerly await your orders. Tonight you will be victorious."

Berserker laughed, "Berserker is always victorious for he is Queek Headtaker, greatest of all warlords!" His tail lashed out from behind as he readied himself. "This war is proof. Only the greatest, most powerful beings are to fight-kill each other here. This war will be my victory. The greatest victory of any skaven. All will know-remember the name of Queek. This world will know. Our world will know. All worlds will know! Always they will fear Queek. Berserker is very sure of that, right Ska?"

Ska nodded again, "Yes-yes, very true, master. There was never any doubt of that. It is good that I convinced the man-thing master to go along with this. Now there will be no interruptions."

"Yes-yes," Berserker narrowed his eyes. "But Berserker wants to do what he wants to do without care-worry of stupid Command Seals. Bah, no need to worry about that. A Battle-Fight is about to happen." He raised his sword, "Someone will die tonight!"

I originally planned to have the battle happen in just one chapter but I found that a bit too daunting so I decided to show just the start. (A bit of a tease, I know.) But I hope you all enjoy this build up. So please leave a comment as that is very much appreciated. Until next time, have a great day.