Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon. I also do not own the Megami Tensei franchise, it belongs to Atlus.

Aftermath

Chapter 30

Sakura stared. The child version of herself also stared. How could they not? There, standing in the middle of the wilderness, were a pair of doors. Just a simple pair of doors, in an ornately-carved doorframe, with polished and flourished door handles in brass, standing all by themselves in the light of the Moon.

"Weird…" the child whispered.

"…maybe," Sakura conceded. "But we're going to have to go through, I think."

The child just nodded, and Sakura squeezed her hand reassuringly before approaching the doors. Grabbing one of the handles, she turned them and opened the door, leading the way into what lay beyond, the door closing shut behind them a few moments after Sakura let go.

Sakura stared. The child version of herself also stared. How could they not? They stood in the middle of a roughly-circular room, lit by gas lamps hanging from the walls on brass arms, the vaulted ceiling above depicting idyllic scenes in colorful frescoes. The walls were paneled with lacquered wood, though much of it was obscured behind towering, wooden bookshelves lining the walls, their shelves filled from end to end with books and scrolls, filling the air with the faint, musty, and ever so comforting smell of aged leather and dry parchment.

Where the walls weren't hidden behind bookshelves, portraits hung on the walls, depicting scenes from the days of myth and legend. There were also busts and sculptures, depicting heroes and heroines from across the length and breadth of history in marble or bronze, standing aloft on plinths of yet more marble.

The floor was carpeted with a richly-embroidered Persian carpet, Sakura and the child's feet luxuriously sinking into its depths with every step.

There was only one table in the room though, large and round, made once more from lacquered wood. White linen trimmed in simply and elegantly-embroidered lace covered the tabletop and hung over its edges, while the chairs around it were richly-upholstered in red. Places had been set around the table, Japanese porcelain and German silver gleaming in the light of the lamps.

A teapot gently steamed on the table, along with a plate of sweetmeats and biscuits. At the sight and smell, the child's stomach growled, and drawing the attention of the dark-clothed man taking tea at the table.

He was tall, with pale skin and blonde hair, his face lean and cleanly-shaven. An air of regal and aristocratic bearing hung around him, but on seeing the child and the way she flinched at his gaze, a slight touch of softness appeared in his eyes.

"Perhaps the two of you would care to join me for a spot of tea before proceeding to the crux of this meeting?" the man asked, politely rising to his feet and gesturing with hands gloved with white velvet. "If nothing else, your younger companion has already made her needs apparent."

Sakura smiled wryly. "I suppose so." She said. "That said, might I know your name?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Normally I'd say it's polite to give your name before asking others for theirs." He chided. "But, that would be redundant, as I already know yours, Miss Matou. For what it's worth, you have my sympathy. No child born of a proper family should have gone through what you went through in your youth. At least…no child born of El-Melloi blood would have."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Really?" she asked, while leading her younger self to the table, and helping her sit down.

"I am unsurprised you are skeptical," the man said while pouring tea for two. "But I give you my word it is the truth. There is duty and responsibility to the family and the legacy of the past, yes, but there are also standards that must be met. The former would be meaningless without the latter."

The man paused, and inclined his head. "I am Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald." He said with a courtly bow. "The Tenth Head of El-Melloi…and returning to my previous train of thought, as…effective, as Matou's training methods are purported to be, they are utterly bereft of the dignity and nobility that should be expected of those who practice the Art. And more to the point, to subject one's own flesh and blood to such…violation and humiliation…"

Kayneth trailed off with a shake of his head. "…it is beyond consideration." He said.

"Is that so?" Sakura asked while sitting down and taking a sip of her tea.

"Do not misunderstand me, Miss Matou." Kayneth said while also sitting down and taking a drink of his tea. "I am not a kind or gentle man. I am a magus, and fully prepared to dirty my hands in pursuit of my goals. But as I stated earlier, there are standards that must be met. There is a world of difference between abandoning your own flesh and blood to torment and humiliation, to doing the same to your enemies. Or am I wrong?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, but couldn't deny it. She wouldn't do what…Zouken, did to her, to her own flesh and blood. Well, maybe Rin and Tokiomi, but they completely deserved it, and they betrayed her first. Byakuya and Shinji though…

…they deserved, and received worse.

"If they betray you first," Sakura finally said. "Then yes, I would say doing likewise to even your own flesh and blood would be acceptable."

"…a fair point." Kayneth said with a tilt of his head.

"Though," Sakura said after another drink of her tea. "From the sound of things your objections and sympathy are based on Matou's methods being simply…disgusting."

"Do you disagree?"

"No…but they do give me insight. Your objections and sympathy are based on pride, both as an aristocrat and as a magus."

"I do not think a demoness has any right to criticize Humans for pride."

Sakura smirked and nodded to concede the point. Silence fell, the three of them taking tea, Sakura and Kayneth at a polite pace, but the child ate and drank ravenously as though she hadn't eaten in a long time.

…

…

…

…

…

Which she probably hadn't, now that Sakura thought about it. Byakuya had spent much of his days in a drunken stupor, only making meals irregularly and with varying degrees of edibility at that, and Zouken never prepared meals. Shinji never did either, and it was as much to feed herself – and Shinji – that Sakura had learned to prepare meals as she did to impress Shirou.

And even then, Zouken had randomly put poison in her food, supposedly to 'make her stronger'.

Had dad not claimed that bastard's soul from the Pale Rider before I could, I'd make Zouken's fate make what Beelzebub did to Byakuya and Shinji look merciful.

Sakura simmered in black rage at the resurfacing memories of a decade of abuse and humiliation, woodenly drinking tea as time passed. Eventually though, the child finished eating, sitting back with a content sigh and looking ever so slightly happier.

Kayneth smiled lightly at the sight. "Shall we get down to business?" he asked Sakura.

"Sure, why not?" Sakura asked back.

"What do you want?" Kayneth asked.

Sakura stared. Kayneth stared back. Sakura sighed.

"That is without a doubt the easiest question to answer." She said, before her face and eyes hardened. "Everything: I want everything."

"Greedy, aren't we?" Kayneth observed.

"I don't care." Sakura scoffed. "After being force-fed shit my whole life by the World, now that I have the power to make my own decisions, to choose my own future, it's time for some payback, with plenty of interest. And if the World doesn't want to pay me, then I will make it pay me, even if I have to rip everything I want out of its dead, bleeding, and rotting corpse. I want everything. Everything that should have been mine. Everything that could have been mine. Everything I could ever want. And I will have them no matter what it takes, one way or another."

Locks clicked and eyes turned in their direction, to another pair of doors opposite from the ones Sakura and the child had used to enter the room. Kayneth raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "I suppose we will see whether or not you will get what you want in the end." He shrugged. "But here and now all that matters is that you answer my question. And now that you have, we are free to go."

"We?" Sakura echoed while getting to her feet.

"In exchange for being the one to ask you my question," Kayneth explained while also getting to his feet. "And receiving your answer, I will be allowed a second chance at life."

"…that is fair." Sakura conceded.

Kayneth gestured towards the doors. "Ladies first." He said.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, and then helping the child down, led the way to the doors. Kayneth trailed after them, following in their wake as Sakura opened a door, and led the way beyond.

"Darling!" Luvia gushed as she practically threw herself against Shirou, their armor clanking as they clumsily hugged in the middle of the battlefield. "You did it! I'm so proud of you! You've finally become the Sky Marshal! What a wonderful thing!"

"…I'm not really sure how I pulled it off, to be honest." Shirou mumbled as he and Luvia disengaged from each other.

"All Human beings have a spark of power inside of them." Luvia began to explain. "It always starts out small, but feed it with knowledge and experience, and it can grow from a mere spark to a supernova. Of course, the challenges there are if you can control your power…and if you can survive the trials and tribulations of the scale needed to grow that spark into something greater."

Luvia paused, and then briefly opened her magic circuits. "Magic circuits are at once a crutch and a chain." She said. "They allow certain individuals and lineages to access that inner spark, and grow it in a controlled manner. But at the same time, they limit that spark, keeping it within a narrow field of application and raising a ceiling that cannot be broken without…impossible, circumstances."

"I'll take your word for it." Shirou said while scratching at a cheek with a gauntleted finger.

Luvia smiled at him. "The spark within you blazed bright during your time in the Vortex World." She said. "So bright that together with your offering, you and I became as one flesh…though in so doing, I tainted your spark, dimmed your light, limiting the reach of its illumination…could you ever forgive me?"

Shirou stared at Luvia's remorseful and ever so pleading look, and sighing, smiled back while putting a hand on a shoulder. "Well," he began. "It takes two to tango, as the old saying goes. So how could I possibly not forgive you?"

"Shero!" Luvia gushed, throwing herself forward for another hug. Shirou sighed in exasperation, but returned the hug regardless.

Sakura's going to go berserk if she ever saw us like this.

The moment was ruined though, as lances of light struck down from the sky. Luvia and Shirou alike sprang back, swords held at the ready in preparation to meet an attack…

…only, it never came. Instead, the surviving angels of Raphael's aborted attack began to ascend within virtually-invulnerable corridors of space, glaring hatefully down at the victors and survivors below. The corpses of the angels left behind ignited in azure flames, so intense even the King of Heroes flinched back, Enkidu protectively placing himself between his friend and the angels' funeral pyres.

"Luvia, look!" Shirou shouted in alarm. "That's Tohsaka! What's happening to her?"

As they looked on, the Saint of Jewels' broken form ascended into the heavens, her battered and ruined armor crumbling away. Moments later, and even her bodysuit and visor followed, leaving the Saint of Jewels nude even as she curled up into a fetal position. Laser-like lights outlined a geometric form around her, and then flashing with blinding light, solidified into a solid, crystalline casing.

No…

…nothing so mechanical. It was a womb of crystal.

"That is not Rin Tohsaka anymore." A voice said behind Luvia and Shirou, the two of them turning to see Rin's Shadow, her Ishtar Persona active and giving her the visage of the ancient Babylonian Goddess of Love and War. "That is the Saint of Jewels. No, do not argue, Emiya. You know this to be true."

Shirou snarled in frustration before looking up at the sky. Rin narrowed her eyes. "That is all still just a generalization, though." She said with a hint of menace in her voice. "What have the Agents of Law done to my original body? What are they planning to do with it? To ascend a soul-broken woman into an angelic state of existence…why?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well!" Shirou snapped.

"Maybe they're trying to counter Sakura and me?" Luvia asked. "The three of us make a triangle, after all. The Star Maiden Incarnate, the Incarnation of Bane, and now the Saint of Jewels."

Rin just growled in response, and again as the angels vanished into the sky.

"Aww, aren't you the cutest little thing?" the albino woman in a gold-trimmed dress of white gushed while hugging the embarrassed child, and rubbing cheeks with her.

Sakura and Kayneth though, were looking around them. They appeared to be in a tower of some kind, based on open windows in the surrounding walls, which looked out into blue skies and white clouds.

The really surreal part though…

…was that the landing? Platform? Whatever it was they were standing on, was floating in thin air. Looking down over the edge showed only a hollow interior defined by stone walls descending into impenetrable shadows far below.

As for whatever it was they were standing on…

…the doors they'd used to enter were at the bottom, opening out onto a landing with marbled floors, a red carpet leading the way to a stairway ascending to another landing with another pair of doors. A pair of marble sculptures stood on either side of the doors, both depicting mysterious figures cloaked and hooded in black.

"Lord El-Melloi," the blonde woman said, as she finally let the child go, and got to her feet.

"Madam Einzbern," Kayneth said with a nod. "I assume you received the same agreement I did. If so, let us put aside our differences for the present, and focus on our shared interests."

"…I suppose that is agreeable." The blonde woman conceded after a moment, and Kayneth nodded again. The blonde woman then turned to Sakura with a sad smile.

"Greetings, Miss Matou." She said. "First of all, I would congratulate you on freeing yourself, though I wish there'd been a different, less destructive way of doing so. And second, thank you. Thank you for the choice you made in the Vortex World, and giving the World a second chance."

"Don't think too much of it." Sakura bluntly said. "I had personal reasons not to let it die."

"I'm sure." The blonde woman said with a sigh. "Anyway…my name is Irisviel von Einzbern. Yes, I'm one of those Einzberns. At least, I was in life…"

Irisviel trailed off, but Sakura was silent, her face cold and hard. "Ask." She eventually said.

"Who are you?" Irisviel asked.

"I'm Sakura Matou." Sakura immediately replied.

"Really?" Irisviel asked with a meaningful glance at the locked doors behind her. Sakura set her jaw, and glaring out one of the windows, forced herself to think.

For a long time, there was only the sound of the wind howling through the windows, and rippling through their hair. Then the child tired, and walking back to the stairs, sat down next to where Kayneth was standing, the tall mage-lord keeping a watchful eye on her. The movements of the little girl drew Sakura's attention though, her eyes and expression softening as they fell on her younger self.

She stared for several long moments, and then glancing once at Irisviel, walked past to stand before the doors. "I'm Sakura Matou." Sakura repeated softly. "But before that I was Sakura Tohsaka. Yes…that was the name I was born with. But because Tokiomi Tohsaka was a pathetic, worthless, and pitiful excuse for a father and magus both, I was sent to hell. I lost my childhood…my innocence…everything…I lost everything to a monster pretending to be a person!"

Sakura punched the doors at that, and with enough force to crumple battleship armor like paper. Even so, the doors didn't budge, while everyone present stared.

"But that doesn't matter." Sakura continued after a moment, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the doors, her eyes closed. "All that means at the end of the day, is that I'm just a hurt and angry child, throwing a tantrum at being given a bad hand in life, jealous of and wanting what everyone else has, and willing to kill to get it."

Sakura let out a shuddering breath, and then she opened her eyes, their mismatched irises glowing with malice. "But that also doesn't matter." She growled. "So what if I'm just a hurt and angry child? So what if I kill to get what I want? Life isn't fair, right? Well, the door swings both ways! If someone else has the advantage and gets what they want at mine and others' expense and it's alright, then it's also just as alright if I have the advantage and get what I want at others' expense!"

Sakura whirled, meeting Irisviel's horrified expression, Kayneth's coolly-neutral one, and the child's vaguely-interested one. Then Sakura briefly closed her eyes, and let out a breath. "But that doesn't matter either." She said in a softer tone. "All that really matters is that I am who I choose to be. If I choose to be good, then I'm good. If I choose to be bad, then I'm bad. That's all who Sakura Matou is in the end. A scarred, hurting, and angry child who'll lash out at the World if she wants to. But if she doesn't, then…"

The locks clicked open as Sakura trailed off, and turning her back on her impromptu companions, Sakura turned back to the doors. "Come on." She said, opening a door and leading the way beyond. "Let's keep moving, and get this over and done with."

Titania placed a hand on Shirou's breastplate, both the Sky Marshal and the Star Maiden Incarnate surprised by the intimate gesture from the Queen of the Fairies. It lasted for only a few moments though, and then Titania was withdrawing her hand with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Ah," she said. "I see. So that's how it is. I had no reason to either suspect or expect something of this nature, leading to this surprising development. But now that I know the cause…it all adds up."

"And what might that be, Your Majesty?" Luvia asked.

Titania gestured at the scabbard at Shirou's hip, leather woven with gold and lapis lazuli by the patient and precise hands of fairies, and enchanted with mysteries to complement the sword mated with the scabbard. "How long have you had that scabbard?" Titania now asked.

"…only just now?" Shirou asked back with obvious confusion. "It appeared when I…well, became the Sky Marshal. Along with Excalibur…Excalibur's scabbard…wait…in the legend…"

"…so long as King Arthur bears the scabbard," Titania said with a nod. "No mortal weapon may harm him, and no ailment of the mortal coil may assail him. And so it was, until Morgana in her envy and hate stole the scabbard…but blinded by those same emotions, unknowingly returned the scabbard to its maker and guardian."

Titania paused, and then favored Shirou with a smile. "You truly did not know that you were blessed with this scabbard's presence your whole life?" she asked.

"No, I definitely didn't." Shirou insisted. "In fact…I've gotten sick and injured plenty of times in my seventeen years of life. If I had this scabbard, then I wouldn't have been."

"…the blessing only works for King Arthur I'm afraid." Titania remarked with amusement. "Or it should…for the blessing now extends to you as well, you whose being reflects the scabbard and its mate's shared images. How I know not, with it clear beyond all doubt that you did not possess the scabbard until now…"

Titania paused once more, and tilted her head with narrowed eyes. "Or perhaps you did possess it," she mused. "And simply did not know all this time. Fear not: if that were truly the case, you cannot be held responsible for that which you did not know. Nor it is so much that ignorance excuses wrongdoing on your part…it is simply that wrongdoing is not apparent in any way."

Titania smiled again. "In any case," she said. "The spark within you that rose to great heights in the funeral pyre of the World only to be gutted by the aborted birth of a new one, has now come to reflect your being's reflection of that which you now possess. And as your star arose once more, this time by your own will and power, your appearance and ability now truly shows you as you are: The Sky Marshal, Hero and Savior of the World, Wielder of the Holy Sword, and Guardian of the Gateway to Avalon."

"…that's a lot to take in." Shirou said, clearly overawed by Titania's words, though Luvia gave him an encouraging smile and a pat on a shoulder.

The Queen of the Fairies meanwhile took his hands, and squeezed them with her own. "You have been given a great gift." She said. "And with it great opportunity and responsibility. Use your gift well."

"I understand." Shirou said with a solemn nod.

"I'm sure you do." Titania said with a smile. "You could not have won the Star Maiden's heart if you could not, much less calm the wrath of the Fallen Angel's child. As the one who bound your fates together, I grant you this: think not of it is a curse or a hindrance, but as an opportunity. A chance to stand three as one, and achieve great good against any and all evil which stands against you."

Shirou and Luvia looked at each other, and then linking arms, smiled at Titania. "We will." Shirou said.

"Though we'll have to wait until Sakura returns before sharing your wisdom with her." Luvia said.

"Yes…" Titania said, looking curious. "…when she returns. I wonder…where has she gone?"

"KIRI!" Irisviel happily yelled as she bounded across the empty room, and practically threw herself at the dark-haired man sitting at a table looking out over the sea at night under the Moon. So much so, that they both fell to the ground, Irisviel on top of the man, hugging him tight and rubbing her cheek against his cheek. "I'm so glad we could see each other again! More than that…you've gotten the same arrangement as I did…which means we can be together again! Start over and do things right this time!"

The man sighed and gave a small smile. "It's good to see you too, Iri." He said, raising a hand and cupping Irisviel's cheek. And then pushing himself up to a sitting position, leaned forward to place his lips against Irisviel's. Irisviel reciprocated, wrapping her arms around the man's neck and leaning into the kiss.

The moment stretched, uncomfortably so, and then Sakura coughed primly. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she genuinely began. "As this looks like a really heartwarming reunion between the two of you, but this isn't something that should be seen in public."

"No, you're absolutely right." The man said, getting to his feet and helping the blushing Irisviel to her feet. Then he spotted Kayneth nearby, a vein throbbing on the mage-lord's forehead. "Ah…Kayneth…no hard feelings…?"

"SCREW YOU, SPELL-CASTER!" Kayneth roared.

"…yeah, I should have seen that coming." The man said with a sigh.

"Bad history, I take it?" Sakura asked.

"We made an arrangement!" Kayneth spat. "An agreement in good faith, signed in blood and with my family's pride and achievement as the collateral! In exchange for surrendering all ability to participate in the Heaven's Feel contest, my life and that of Sola-Ui would be guaranteed! I fulfilled my end of the bargain! Then he had his accomplice murder us both, using a loophole in the agreement to stab us in the back!"

Sakura looked at the man disapprovingly. "That was uncalled for." She said.

"It was war." The man said with a shrug. "No one fights fair in war, nor should they. And I don't think a demoness has any right to lecture me on, well, anything."

"You said it yourself." Sakura said while crossing her arms. "I'm a demoness. And to my kind, agreements made in good faith are ironclad. Especially once the other party has fulfilled both the letter and spirit of the agreement. Going against even the latter in the aftermath is in poor taste, especially if the other party has done everything to your satisfaction."

"And he did." The man admitted. "But like I said: we were at war. Needs must."

Sakura set her lips in a thin line, while Kayneth growled low in his throat. The former then sighed, and looked around her. They were in a rather long thatched hut, making the ornate doors they'd come through stand out like a sore thumb. The hut itself stood on the shores of the sea, on a tropical beach if the coconut trees nearby were any indication.

"Do we know each other?" Sakura finally asked. "I don't know why, but you seem strangely familiar to me."

"That's because you've probably seen my picture in the shrine in my house." The man bluntly said. "I'm Kiritsugu Emiya, and you are sleeping with my son."

"Technically we haven't done it yet…wait, what?"

"You heard me." Kiritsugu said, before Irisviel grabbed him by the collar, a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Your son?" she asked with a similarly-sickly sweet smile.

"I adopted him after the war." Kiritsugu said. "I'll explain later. You know me: I would never cheat on you, much less abandon our Illya."

"…I do know you." Irisviel admitted after a moment. "So alright, I'll wait and hope for your explanation."

"Good." Kiritsugu said, before pressing a kiss to his wife's forehead. "Now then, Miss Matou. Are you ready for your final question?"

"Let's just get this trial over with." Sakura said with a sigh, and rubbing a temple in frustration.

"Alright then: who do you trust?"

"Myself, first and foremost." Sakura bluntly replied. "There's my dad too. Sempai and Luvia, Fujimura-sensei, my friend Elwyn the Pixie, Ayako-sempai, and so many more…"

Sakura trailed off, while Kiritsugu looked around. Then he looked back to her, and shook his head. "That's not good enough…" he began, only for Sakura to interrupt him.

"Long story short," she said. "I trust people who earn my trust. I've learned the hard way that blind trust, like that of a child for their supposed parents, only bares my back to a knife lying in wait."

Kiritsugu winced at that, then glanced at the doors which had appeared out of nowhere right behind him. "…congratulations, I guess." He said with a sigh and running a hand through his hair. "You've passed the Trial of the Self."

Then taking one of the handles, Kiritsugu opened a door and gestured for Sakura to enter. "Shall we, then?" he asked. "Your final trial, the Trial of the Will, is waiting for you."

Without a word, Sakura stepped forward, to meet her destiny.

Her chosen destiny.

A/N

The Trial of the Self continues and ends here, with surprise appearances by such characters whose return will be as bombshells for their interested people. Kiri and Iri (hey, their nicknames rhyme, they must really be soulmates) for a couple (literally), plus surprisingly-sympathetic if still something of a jerk Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.

At the very least, Kayneth knows and understands what's really important in life. Had Tokiomi faced the same choice as him, he'd have let Kiri kill Aoi and Rin in favor of his – Tokiomi's – shot at the Grail. And through it, the Root.

Though if he did that and reached the Root afterwards, that'd make for a funny (in terms of schadenfreude) conversation between Tokiomi and either the Shining One (the custodian of the Akashic Records) or the Great Will (the Abrahamic God and creator of all things). Especially with all the funny (again, in terms of schadenfreude) questions either will be asking about all the shit Tokiomi pulled to reach them.