This is getting interesting, as we see the changes I've made as a result of earlier actions. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the Fate series, Lupin III, Ni No Kuni, or My Hero Academia.

Chapter 19: Second Lost Servant

Tokiomi groaned as the sound of an explosion rocked through his manor, waking him up from his peaceful sleep. He got himself dressed and walked to the front door. Or at least, what was left of it, or the front wall for that matter. He frowned as he saw Kayneth standing there, having used his Volumen Hydragrum to blast the wall open. "I hope you don't mind the rude entrance," Kayneth said, "But I rather think simply ringing the doorbell would not have sufficed for rousing you from your slumber. By the way, you really should consider stronger magical defenses than a single Bounded Field. It's no wonder Assassin was able to sneak in here."

Tokiomi scoffed, still remembering how the supposedly weak thief had humiliated his Servant. "Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. To what do I owe this unexpected displeasure?" "Merely here to shoot the breeze as our two Servants duel," Kayneth explained. Tokiomi chuckled. "Do you really expect Lancer could defeat Archer so easily?" To his surprise, Kayneth shrugged. "Well, I have considered it, but I'm not really sure. That said, I need to try at some point. It's not like I wouldn't get a second chance. Well, that's not entirely accurate…"

Tokiomi looked shocked as he realized what Kayneth was getting at. "You're in league with Avenger's Master!" Kayneth grinned. "If my Servant can defeat yours, so much the better. But if he can't, I'll have a better understanding of his temperament, and Avenger can have his chance at a later time." Tokiomi facepalmed as he chuckled to himself. "If I didn't know any better, I would swear all this was the machinations of that annoying thief Assassin…" "Well, that's why it's never a good idea to underestimate Lupin the Third," Kayneth admitted, "You never know what actions you take would only benefit him in the long run."

Lancer did not like this situation one bit. He wasn't normally one to gripe about women, but Sola-Ui was treating him as expendable. On the one hand, he was glad there was one less woman not affected by his Love Spot. He definitely had to thank Evan for that. On the other, this meant she was far more willing to risk his life whenever the situation called for it. It didn't help that his own Master saw him as a tool, while Evan was treated like the king he was. Speaking of kings, he found Archer standing at the top of the Tohsaka manor's roof.

"Archer!," he called out, "I am the Servant Lancer! I have come here to duel you for my Master's path to the Holy Grail!" Archer turned to look at Lancer and scoffed. "I could almost pity you, as a fellow victim of that mongrel Assassin. Speaking of which, I've no interesting in facing anyone until other than Berserker until he is dealt with. Begone, and I will spare your life." Lancer was put out. Archer was treating him as less than a musclebound brute and dishonorable thief. This definitely got his ire up. "You… You dare to insult my honor as a knight!"

Archer shook his head. "I see you are even less than a mongrel. At least Assassin learns from previous encounters. I overheard your talks with him and Saber before I made my attack. You follow the Code of Chivalry far too much to the letter. It is not a rulebook for life, but a guide for better living. Why, I'll bet the King of Knights himself, Arthur Pendragon, would not be above breaking chivalry if it meant saving innocent lives. What of you?" He smirked as Lancer realized he had no answer. "As much as I hate the mongrel, I will admit Assassin has the right frame of mind for this war. Now leave my sight, lest I expend what is left of my patience and end you here and now."

Lancer gripped his spear. "I… Will not back down!" He readied his spear, but Archer simply raised a hand and opened his Gate of Babylon. Lancer found himself having to dodge several bladed weapons. Luckily, he had the speed to do so. Even so, Archer scoffed. "The young king had greater speed than this. If he were here, those weapons would not even had gotten close to him. What are you in this war? We have a mighty hero from the future, three legendary kings, myself included, a master thief who's skills surpass all reason, a master of Hamon, and up until recently a conjurer of horrors beyond mortal comprehension. Compared to that, what do you have? Two cursed spears, one of which was stolen, and a cursed mark that can't even affect anyone involved in the War."

Lancer shook his head, not wanting to listen to Archer's words. 'I will prove my worth in this War! With this… I will end it!' He made ready to throw his spear, even as more weapons were flung at him, some exploding, with one actually penetrating his body. Still, he was able to throw Gae Dearg as hard as he could, aiming to bypass Archer's ability to track incoming attacks. Archer smirked. "A good try… But ultimately futile. He snapped his fingers, bringing out another exploding sword which intercepted Gae Dearg." Lancer could barely register his failure as Archer fired one more sword, which split Lancer's head in two.

Kayneth grimaced as he saw his Command Seals vanish. 'Well… It was worth a shot.' "I suppose our meeting will have to be cut short," he said to Tokiomi. As he began to leave, he said, "One more thing… How much do you know about Zouken Matou's magecraft?" Tokiomi looked confused. "Only that it is the only means Sakura could have had for a better future." Kayneth chuckled. "I wish I had known about her first. If you knew the truth about Zouken… You would have thought twice about your actions." Tokiomi looked confused as Kayneth left.

The truth was that Kayneth had learned about Sakura's condition thanks to Evan's meeting with Jonathan, All Might, and Lupin. Sola-Ui had been horrified when she heard the full scope of Sakura's plight. Kayneth wasn't lying when he said he had hoped to have found about Sakura first. Not only could he bring out her full potential without resorting to such horrendous tactics, it would give him and Sola-Ui a head-start on parenthood. Little did Tokiomi realize, he may have unintentionally robbed Sakura of the happy life he wanted her to have. 'Well, he'll soon learn the consequences of his actions.'

Meanwhile, Kirei and Lupin had arrived near the Matou manor. "Pops should have his little raiding party ready by now," Lupin noted, "We just need to stall until they get here." Kirei nodded. "At which point we should be able to escape with Sakura in the confusion. And if Zouken should prove difficult… I've a few skills that should be able to handle him." Lupin grinned. "That's the plan. Now, let's go rescue the princess from the nasty old wizard, shall we?" Kirei couldn't help but find Lupin's goofy grin infectious. Clearly he was getting into this mode both as a defense for himself, and as a means of easing Sakura's concerns.

Sakura was just getting into her room, her mind a complete mess after all that had happened. She was still wondering why her father would let her go through all this torment. And wondering how long it would be before her grandfather would take away her last bit of hope, her uncle Kariya. However, just as she was thinking this, she was surprised to see the nearby window open on its own. "W-Who's there…?," she asked meekly. A friendly chuckle could be heard, and the moonlight revealed Lupin's form. "Just a thief in the night," he said with a friendly grin, "Here to rescue a fair princess on behalf of her concerned uncle."

Sakura looked confused. "But… Real princesses don't exist…" Lupin facepalmed. "Jeez, how sheltered were you? Even in this day and age there are still royal families. They're just more figureheads and celebrities than anything else." Sakura nodded, then remembered something else Lupin had said. If she was the princess, the concerned uncle could only be one person. "You… You're doing this for Uncle Kariya!?" Lupin nodded as he kneeled down to Sakura's level. "He originally put himself through all this for your sake. But then fate offered him a few alternatives to just giving in to that mean old wizard's demands." Sakura couldn't help but giggle at her grandfather being called a "mean old wizard".

"I'll admit the moniker is accurate," came Zouken's voice, prompting Lupin to pull out his Walther in response, "But I must admit it is strange to see one of the Assassin class act so noble." Lupin chuckled as he saw Zouken enter the room. "Well if you knew anything about me, you'd understand. Or maybe not, you seem like the kind of guy that only thinks in terms of his own mentality. Tell me, how much did you tell Tohsaka about what you were going to do to his daughter." "Very little, naturally," Zouken admitted, "Otherwise I doubt he would have allowed me to adopt her into my family and would have looked elsewhere. I believe the Archibald family would have thrived with such a potent magic user."

He chuckled. "Well, your nobility aside, I have to assume Kariya put you up to this. Only he would want Sakura saved so readily." Lupin scoffed. "I think you underestimate people. Sure, most wouldn't understand the nature of your magecraft, but considering what your actions would be seen as, I think you'll find that many would be outraged." "Regardless, I'll have to ask you to leave Sakura here," Zouken said, "Otherwise I can simply have Kariya killed here and now." Lupin wagged his finger in Zouken's face. "Tsk tsk, that would get you nowhere. For one, I still have a commission to fulfill. Two, removing another Servant from the war, while slowing my plans down, would only benefit me in the long run. Besides, I would have done this even without Kariya asking me to. Besides, my own Master is just outside…"

He grinned. "And he's very good at dealing with tethered spirits still haunting the Earth." He then gave a goofy grin. "And one more thing, while we've been talking, my plans are already complete. In three… Two… One…" As if on cue, several police sirens could be heard wailing outside, as Zenigata's voice could be heard shouting, "THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" As Zouken looked on, dumbfounded, Lupin chuckled. "You can set your watch to him." He picked up Sakura and revealed rockets under his jacket, which he used to fly out of the building.

Zouken had to commend Lupin for his foresight. He had obviously sent information regarding his actions to the police earlier. By now they had to written up reports, so using hypnosis was out of the questions. And from the sound of the sirens, there were two many to start just outright killing. This many officers dying at once was only going to draw even more attention. As he turned to leave, he felt a strong presence flaring up. He barely had time to move before the five energy signatures launched into his house. "Magician's Red!" "Silver Chariot!" "Music in the Trees!" "Hierophant Green!" "Star Platinum!"

Zouken gasped when he realized who they were. The Stardust Crusaders, some of the strongest Stand users ever. Jotaro himself for killing the dangerous vampire DIO Brando. If Stand users were here, at least some of the police knew of his mystical actions. Now he really had to leave. "I concede this victory to you," he admitted, "But my plans are just beginning." He disseminated into Blood Worms and crawled away. Fluttershy stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Is he literally just made of worms?" "I wish they weren't so fast," Avdol said, "This whole building feels so unclean, I have a growing urge to just burn to the ground." "Save it for after Zenigata gets his evidence," Kakyoin said.

Meanwhile, Lupin and Kirei had finally managed to ditch the officers Zenigata was leading to chase him, Sakura in the backseat. "Well, now that we're out of danger," Lupin said, "Allow me to introduce my partner, Kirei Kotomine." "Pleasure," Kirei said. "And my name is Arsene Lupin III," Lupin said. Sakura was still processing what had just happened. They had actually escaped. She wouldn't have to deal with that horrid bug room any longer. Even if her grandfather came for her again, something told her this was the last she would ever see of him.

Sola-Ui noted Kayneth's sigh of disappointment as he came back from his trip to the Tohsaka manor and realized what had happened. "So, no good?" "I'm afraid not," Kayneth replied, "Nonetheless, this may be blessing in disguise." Sola-Ui raised an eyebrow. "The ones who told me about Kirei," Kayneth explained, "I've always had my suspicions about them. For now we keep our heads down, let the War pay out a little longer. Before long, we'll need Evan to make a move on of the other Servants. Likely either Archer or Rider." It was time for him to take a step back from his ego and focus on what he was truly good at, politics. The Court of Owls would soon learn just how much influence he had over them.

Yep, it was indeed the Court of Owls who told Kayneth about Kirei. They'll be talking with him a little later, but things won't go as they expect. Read and review.