I didn't want to update this late, but more COVID-related issues (none is infected in my family, thankfully), the death of my cellphone and losing my ID card made this longer than I wanted to.
Enough ranting, let's go.
Chapter 9: Dollhouse.
Tohsaka Tokiomi was not having a good day.
He was sitting in a cell like a petty criminal because Balcony framed him as an accomplice of the serial killer who happened to be Caster's Master, and now he was the prime suspect of the death of Lord El-Melloi – which he was guilty – and despite Risei and Arai's best efforts, he had to stay for the night.
The Overseer assured him that by the next morning, they would have ready some new 'evidence' that would free him of the association with Uryuu Ryuunosuke and blame Lady Sophia-Ri for the death of her fiancée instead. But it did not help Tohsaka much, especially when he couldn't do anything while Rin was in the hands of the Magus Killer.
Emiya Kiritsugu was a dishonorable dog who forsook the work of his ancestors and instead he used their decades of knowledge to bloody his hands like few men in this era did and hunt down many important magi for the best bidder; by they from the richest noble to the most foul Dead Apostle.
It was fitting that the disgraced Einzberns would hire him to claim the Holy Grail. Old Man Acht has lived for way too long and also forsook the desire of his creators at creating the Heaven's Feel ritual, and would have been kicked out from it if it wasn't for his knowledge in building the Grail in the first place. If the German homunculus dared to rig his own summoning ritual in the Third War, hiring an infamous mercenary to fulfill his ambitions wasn't so surprising.
And if he doesn't act soon, the legacy of the Tohsaka would die before it could truly shine.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi?" a voice asked.
"Yes?" he looked at a young policeman with a fold of clothes.
"Wear this and get out." The man answered, giving the clothes. "Do not go to your Estate, since there are policemen guarding it. Master Kotomine already have a spare of clothes for yourself." Then the body started to twist itself.
Tokiomi looked with a little morbid amazement as the helper's body changed to be similar to himself, muscles and bone adapting to its new image, which was an almost perfect mirror of a naked Tohsaka Tokiomi.
"I'm going to need you clothes too." Assassin spoke with Tohsaka's own voice. The magus couldn't help but to feel a bit unnerved by the Servant of the Mask.
Kariya coughed again as he prepared his familiar to the encounter with Kotomine. Yet his mind was worried in other matters.
The reveal about the incoming Second Impact gave him a heavy weight that wasn't exactly needed in this current issue. Kariya couldn't help to think of the fact that even if he succeeded in saving Sakura, her newfound freedom would be cut short by an apocalyptic tragedy.
Berserker did assure him that his wish for the Grail was to cancel that cataclysm in the first place. "And I know enough of what happened there to avoid a potential Monkey's Paw incident." He added.
Still, from the memories he got after the duel with Saber, the redhead with the swords spoke of a Third Impact, that probably happened between the year 2000 and whatever time that memory was situated. Was Berserker involved in that cataclysm?
Another thing that bothered the Matou Master was Berserker's nationality. Zouken made it very clear that the Grail did not allow the summoning of Heroes from the East due to the 'home advantage' those Servants could get. The name 'Ikari Shinji' should had put him firmly in the list of the banned Heroic Spirits, yet Kariya got him instead of whatever psychopath was related to the piece of wood Zouken brought.
'Either I exploited a loophole involving heroes from the future, or those Vladivostok guys never discovered that Zabaniya was Japanese.' Kariya thought. 'It's kinda funny that he shares his first name with Byakuya's son. Now that might've been awkward.' Still, he was surprised the wreck of his brother did became a father, yet he was an alcoholic mess that followed Zouken's every whim, no matter how much the old vampire exposed his contempt. 'Wouldn't be surprised if the old man ate her already.'
Nevertheless, Kariya knew what mattered the most now was to rescue Rin, while ensuring that neither Tohsaka, Kotomine nor their Servants came out unscathed. A small voice was calling him out for risking Rin's life for the sake of vengeance, but Kariya was starting to think that Tokiomi might turn Rin into another heartless magus if he got his way. Plus, Kotomine was correct in that his Berserker was controllable. 'Technically, his will is mine only during Mad Enhancement. Outside of it, he's his own person.' Kariya laughed at the irony. 'Maybe he was a delinquent before getting conscripted by his old man? To them, obeying adults would be the height of insanity… Nah. He's too well-mannered for that.'
'But knowing Tokiomi, he pretty much wants Berserker to act as decoy and/or cannon fodder for Saber while Archer and Assassin tackle the Castle defenses and himself and Kotomine fight against Emiya and Einzbern.'
"Then how the hell I'm going to play my part without exposing Berserker's quirk?" he complained at the air. Thankfully, he was inside the department, otherwise anyone could had heard him and exploit his loose lips.
'Ideally, the attack should happen tomorrow.' Berserker had already left to the foreigner district after making a stop in Verde. 'But after what you told me about this Emiya; I can't exactly blame Tohsaka to want Rin back right now.' Kariya remembered he had to tell Berserker about his grandfather's death later.
"Which would be nice if he did the same thing to Sakura, but noooooooo… he had to give her to Zouken as a lab rat and force Aoi and Rin to forget she ever existed!"
'Kariya? I don't want to play Devil's advocate, but before joining the War, did you ask Tohsaka or his wife if they knew how much it sucked to be the Matou's heir?'
"Why?"
'I say because since their families are supposed to kill each other every sixty years for the Grail, it would be very stupid of them to reveal most of their Mystery to the other party. Maybe Zouken never said that in House Matou 'my heir' is synonymous of 'my new host body' when he made that deal.'
"They obviously know Zouken should've died eons ago, and since Tohsaka is also chummy with the Church due to being a legitimate Christian – somehow, he probably persuaded them to not send that bastard to Hell, or Akasha… Gah! I don't know!"
'…' Kariya felt some trepidation from Berserker. 'I have Assassin's disguise and a few fake letters in my possession, and I'm following Lancer in case he leads me to Rider. But what I do next depends in what happens in the Tohsaka mansion. I'll wait for more news.'
"Very well, Berserker." Responded Kariya. "Over and out."
'Now I'm really hoping a Servant gets killed this night.' Though Berserker as Kariya cut the mental link. 'Can't do much against Zouken until that happens.'
The situation with the worms made it clear to Berserker that Kariya didn't have much time to live, but Berserker knew he needed the prana they provided to stand a chance against the powerhouses of Saber, Rider and Archer in case the plan to make them kill each other went wrong. In the meantime, he had to figure out a way to kill Zouken without risking the possibility of turning Fuyuki into a preview of the Third Impact.
'That scumbag's body is an entire bug hive, but every hive has a Queen or something like that… that might be his weak point.'
Might, not is – and Berserker just couldn't risk both Kariya and Sakura (why did she have to share her first name with Toji's sister?) getting involved in the crossfire until he learnt more about the old vampire.
'Which may be harder than it looks. If I were Zouken, I would hide my 'true' body inside Sakura to further blackmail Kariya into not backstab me and screw him over if he ends winning.' Berserker though. 'Gee, thanks Dad and Mom for giving me the talent to plan like a total sociopath, you assholes.'
Speaking of them, once again his past found a way to catch him up in a moment where it wasn't welcome. Not only he had to eliminate five persons way worthier of being called Heroes than himself plus Caster and Zouken, now he also had to deal with the same scumbags who're smart enough to deal with the Angels and the Servants, but insane enough to follow his Father's Doomsday scenario.
'I was happy despite never learning who they were. At least they were dead, in the Sea or powerless to make more harm than what he… we did.' Berserker thought. 'And since they know about the Grail, there might be someone who wants to skip Second Impact and go ahead with Instrumentality already.'
Berserker breathed in order to calm himself. Despite his Class, he knew getting angry over it wouldn't solve anything. Perhaps the UN-AEC's situation was similar to NERV's, where only less of five persons at the top were aware of its true intentions. He and Kariya could investigate more do once Tohsaka's daughter is safe.
'And if indeed those are the guys who drove me into causing the end of the world, then I'll be more than happy to give them in early exclusivity the death they seek...'
Kirei was sitting in the fountain of the courtyard in the Tohsaka Estate, he checked the clock to see it was indeed 8:00 PM and just as he turned away, a flying bug appeared a few meters ahead of him.
'Tohsaka was right in using the bond Matou has with the former's family.' Though the Executor. "You've arrived in time."
The insect made a buzzing sound, pretty much telling him to get over with it.
"At 8:40 PM, you will be waiting in Koushuuensaikan Taizan, a Chinese restaurant, to be retrieved by Assassin and we will travel to the outskirts of the Einzbern Castle. We will set up the last preparations, but most likely you will have to send Berserker to cause a distraction and fight Saber. Her death is not obligatory, but if your Servant can finish her off, do so once we've confirmed the rescue of Tohsaka Rin."
Another buzzing asked him for anything else.
"I'll have some of Assassin's bodies to watch over you and ensure you don't do anything to endanger the operation. If Tohsaka or I suffer mortal injuries, Assassin is allowed to execute you. Also, Archer will not be present with us. He was assigned to hunt down Caster due to the latter's violations of the rules of the Grail War." Kotomine was not going to tell the enemy about Tokiomi's issues in keeping Gilgamesh in line.
The familiar gave one last buzz of reluctant acknowledgment and left the Estate. Kirei didn't hide the smile in his face. Perhaps this night he finally could find his answers from the mouth of Emiya Kiritsugu and so, an escape of the void cursing his existence.
Berserker held the false letter he felt it was the most appropriate for the next step of their plan and wearing Assassin's clothes was simply begging for a swift death at the hands of Lancer, so he went with his normal clothing.
Of all the places Berserker could image Rider concur should he travel in the Pre-Impact world; a videogame store was definitely not high in the list. Watching someone Berserker was completely sure would have kicked his ass in a duel at the peak of their mortal lives geeking out about the latest RPG games was definitely not something he had expected. Something he seemly shared with the exasperated young boy next to the huge Heroic Spirit.
'And that would be the Master of Rider.' The Third Child realized. Either the boy was way underage compared with everyone else, or his puberty was arriving way too late.
Due to being a Servant, Berserker could see Lancer around despite the latter being on spirit form, but also it meant when he got closer, the human foreigner's Command Seals slightly burned his hands as a warning of a hostile party.
As he heard the grunt of the young British Master Berserker froze in his tracks, realizing in horror that his peculiar condition wasn't able of fooling the Command Seals. Many grim thoughts came unbidden to his head, most of them involving Rider killing him with his bare hands.
"Hey boy." Berserker hear fingers snapping. "Are you looking for that game too?" the King of Conquerors grinned.
The poor boy could only make squeaky noises due the panic.
"Rid-I mean, Alexei!" Waver shouted. "Stop scaring that kid!"
"Shouldn't you two be at school?" asked the cashier.
"Huh?" Waver wasn't someone who had studied Japanese beforehand.
"He says that you should be at school now." Rider translated it for him.
"What?! I'm nineteen!" his Master shouted.
"He's old enough to drink." Rider spoke to the cashier. "And you kid?" he turned to Berserker.
'That British boy is a Master and doesn't know Japanese, if I speak now it will sound English to him, exposing me as a Servant and then Rider will kill me…!' Berserker noticed the cashier leaving them to attend someone else. 'That's it! I just have to act like I'm speaking in really bad English. Alright, one, two, three!'
"I… live… with my… teacher." Berserker spoke, ready to astralize should things go wrong.
Rider's chuckles covered the store again.
"I see you don't want to keep little Waver in the dark," the huge Servant said." But don't worry, I can translate for him."
"Teacher said… I should… train English."
"I see… Do you want to look at the games?"
"No thanks… I am looking… somebody."
"And who that may be?"
"Miss… Sophia-Ri… red hair woman." Waver widened his eyes and joined in.
"Did someone send you?" the young British Magus asked.
"Trench-coat man… gave me this…" Berserker pulled out a letter. "Said it was… imp-p-p-portant…"
"We're friends of her… I think." Waver received the letter. "Don't worry, we'll give it to her."
"Thank you." Berserker bowed in the usual Japanese way and left the store as fast as his panicked walking allowed him. 'It worked! Oh God! It worked!'
Meanwhile in the store, Waver saw the contents of the letter, but it was written in kanji, so he didn't know what it said.
"Guess we need talk with Lancer and Sola about this." Said Rider behind him. Waver turned around and saw his Servant's face exposing a mild concern.
"Beta-Five." Yui's voice called in the helmet. "What's your status?"
"I am detecting Type: Sepia lifeforms moving below the street." He said as he looked on at the Mioh river.
"Then it is true. Our target hides in the sewers."
"What should I do if another Green or Yellow signature shows up?"
"See if they want to murder Caster; if they do, let them be and focus in recovering or destroying our gear and secure his Master. If not, don't be detected by them."
"Understood. Over and out." Beta-Five cut the call and traveled downwards to seek entrance in the sewers of the city. However, once he reached near the river's level, he felt a presence similar to Saber above him. Judging him.
Beta-Five heard a finger snap and noticed three large projectiles firing at his position. He immediately activated his AT-Field to stop them in their tracks, leaving him harmless after they exploded in contact.
"That orange barrier of yours, only someone truly foolish or inhuman can use their vessel as source of their power without killing themselves." A voice filled with arrogant curiosity was heard from above. "And here I though this era showed nothing but disappointment."
Beta-Five grabbed his guns and looked above, finding a golden-armored Type: Green man with some yellow liquid-looking portal shining above his shoulders, making him stand among the falling night.
"Tell me," the man said. "if there are supposed to be six pretenders that must dare to defy me to claim the Holy Grail, then who are you?"
"That does not concern you, resurrected warrior." The face of man in gold instantly was filled with disgust.
"Warrior?! Can't you cur even recognize your rightful King, who bothered to travel in this dump to cleanse it in my grace?!" he fumed. "Grant me a reason to spare your sorry carcass before I feed it to the crows!"
Beta-Five looked on in silence, receiving a call from Mother which told him what to do next. He then dropped his guns, which surprised the golden man, and followed suit by kneeling.
"Apologies, your majesty." Beta-Five said. "I was brought in this land without knowledge of its customs."
Gilgamesh was taken by surprise, but he wasn't going to relent so easily. "Without knowledge? Are you saying you were brought to this world without the basic knowledge from the Grail?"
"I was not… reborn with the means of this Grail you speak of." Replied Beta-Five. "In fact, I am clueless on what it is, beyond its name's origins in Christian Mythology."
"So you admit your ignorance, mongrel?"
"I am willing to learn, ancient King. My main purpose is to aid the salvation of Humankind from its current decadence, after all."
The King of Heroes thought the situation for a moment, his 'duty' as a Servant demanded that he killed that silver dog, but since he was the true King, he would judge this intruder's right to live.
"The reason the other mongrels are fighting for the Grail is because it will allow them a single wish for them and their summoner." Spoke Gilgamesh, opening the Gates once more. "Would you and your summoner use it to stop the degeneracy we both see?"
Yui spoke what would be their answer, but then Archer fired one of his blades near Beta-Five.
"I demand your own honest answer, not the script your Masters has put inside your head."
Gilgamesh could feel the loss passing through the intruder's being. Servant or not, seeing a successful user of a thaumatological theory that everyone saw as mere madness was almost worth the travel to this pitiful dump. But should he be found wanting, that would be another mistake the King of Heroes would've to fix.
"While I have my doubts on some of my superiors, I do not see any reason to obtain it at all." The silver warrior finally spoke.
"And why you wouldn't?"
"Should the Committee be found wanting, I trust Mother can achieve the Scenario of the Philosophers without it." Gilgamesh sensed an air of confidence in the kneeling warrior. Sighing, he snapped his fingers.
Beta-Five noticed more projectiles firing above him, then he heard them hitting flesh, followed by a corpse landing at his side. He recognized it as one of the Assassins.
"Rise, foreigner." Archer commanded, and Beta-Five did so. "Since you're not here for the Grail, what's the purpose of your presence?"
"My primary objective is the identification, proceeded by the containment or termination of the entity identified as Berserker, as my superiors believe he is one of the few entities who can disrupt the Scenario, due to his nature as a possible Aristoteles." Replied the silver warrior. "Currently, my assignment is the elimination of the resurrected madman identified as Caster, due to his attack against my current handler's headquarters."
"Your masters must have never seen a true Aristoteles to consider that mad dog an equal to them." Archer snickered. "Since we share the same goals tonight, I'll allow you to accompany me in making that cur pay for the insult he gave me."
"I am under your command…"
It was dark, humid, and cold in the Einzbern Forest, and Kotomine was already in his position, overlooking the Einzbern Castle.
"Why's Tohsaka taking so long?" Kariya complained behind him, despite having two of Assassin's bodies making sure he wouldn't try anything treacherous.
"He's been busy." Responded Kirei after checking on the Assassin sent to the police station. "Besides, he'll participate directly once the threat of the Magus Killer has been contained."
"That would be Assassin's work or yours?" asked the Master of Berserker, earning a glare from the Executor.
"Where's Berserker?" asked Kirei instead. "Assassin hasn't detected him inside the forest."
"Because he's outside the forest." Replied Kariya. "He will appear once everything is setup. Or do you want to give the Einzbern an early warning with his presence alone?"
"Do you want save Tohsaka Rin?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then keep quiet and obey." A third voice joined in. Kariya turned around and saw Tohsaka Tokiomi, making his presence known with grace and elegance, despite wearing the clothes of a mere policeman. "Kotomine, is everything ready?"
"We only need to send Berserker at the Castle's gates so we can begin." Responded the Executor as he passed a set of clothing more fitting of a magus.
Kariya grumbled to himself, wondering if Berserker's plan has worked. Even with his Servant accepting the possibility of having to activate his Mad Enhancement, the best case scenario was that Tohsaka and his cronies will have a better picture of Berserker's skills and tell Archer what Noble Phantasms would be the most appropriate to kill him.
"Assassin tells me of a presence travelling across the forest, tearing its defenses apart." Kotomine said.
"Is that Berserker?" asked Tohsaka.
"Rider and Lancer with their Masters." Responded Kirei.
Kariya barely managed to hide the smirk from his mangled face. "I'm sure sending Berserker now would be suicide." He said, not so secretly enjoying Tokiomi's annoyed grimace at being thwarted by Rider 'again', as they saw the Servant of the Mount destroying the entrance of the Einzbern Castle like it was nothing with his chariot.
"What are you doing here, Rider?" Saber was geared up with her armor and Excalibur in hand. She had been warned that an alliance between Archer, Assassin and perhaps Berserker would invade the castle today or tomorrow.
"Hello Saber. Want some drink?" the King of Conquerors hold proudly a barrel of wine he 'borrowed' from the local yakuza. That had brought some antics with their granddaughter of their leader, but it was nothing an application of Suggestion and Rider's Charisma couldn't solve.
"Aren't you here to fight?" asked Irisiviel
"No, just to talk." Responded Rider. "I had this letter directed to Lancer's current Master,"
"I have a name." Sola-Ui complained from the chariot.
"And we thought it would be a good excuse to sit down and known each other." Rider continued.
"Who sent that latter?" Saber asked.
"A kid with an awful grasp of English, he claimed a man with a trench-coat was the real sender." Spoke Lancer, who jumped out of the chariot with Gae Buidhe in hand. "Do you have anything to do with it, Saber?"
Saber and Irisviel looked at each other, already suspecting who it was.
"I'm not, Lancer, but I suspect an assistant of my Master acted on his own once again." Saber responded. "As for why, I suspect it has to do with a previous mistake he did."
"What happened?" Rider asked.
Saber told them about her kidnapping after the duel with Berserker and the subsequent 'rescue' at the hands of Assassin from them and Caster – without mentioning the UN-AEC. The King of Knights noticed Lancer's discomfort as she mentioned Assassin, before following with Kiritsugu's misguided retaliation by kidnapping Tohsaka's daughter.
"Are you planning to return her?" asked Lancer.
"Only after we're sure that Tohsaka will not act irrationally." Saber sighed. "If it was for me, she would be far away from Fuyuki right now."
"So, where's she?" Waver asked.
"I can't say, except she's safe as long as Assassin and Archer don't take a footstep there." Saber responded. "I wish things were different, but this Holy Grail War has more foul trickery than I expected." Of her entire court, she felt only Agravian would feel right at home.
"I share that sentimentality, Saber." Lancer said. Sola sunk inside the chariot in shame.
"Still, that would explain why Archer wasn't interested in tagging along." Rider commented.
"You what?!" asked Saber.
"I wanted to bring everyone along if possible, but apparently Caster did something yesterday to upset Goldie, so he's not coming."
"You definitely don't want to bring Caster here." Saber responded. "At least Berserker is kind enough to keep his thoughts to himself." She then gave a hard exhale. "I propose you a deal, from King to King."
"I'm listening." Said Rider, smiling widely.
"I'll allow you to use the backyard for your feast and I'll even join with Irisiviel in it, but should Archer, Assassin and/or Berserker attack tonight along with their Masters, you'll fight at my side." Proposed Saber. "Can I trust your word, King of Conquerors?"
"How this can be?" asked Tokiomi after Kirei reported the situation. "Do you know why this happened?"
"I sent Berserker with a letter to invite Rider to the Einzbern Castle." Kariya 'joked', earning a glare from Tohsaka, Kotomine and the pair of Assassins.
"Assassin, smack him." Kirei ordered and his Servant obeyed without question, then the former directed at Tohsaka. "Speaking of him, can I ask a question?"
"What it is?"
"Have you ever heard of a man named Keel Lorenz?"
"What?!" Exclamied Tohsaka, his eyes widening. "Where did you hear that name?"
Kotomine pointed at Kariya. "Matou claimed he hired Emiya in the past before the latter 'retired' with the Einzberns."
Tokiomi had to remind himself that instead of a magus, Kariya choose the path of journalism, so it was expected that he could stumble in that while doing his homework about the Holy Grail War.
"Kariya, have you ever heard about the Wandering Sea?"
"No."
"How about the Prague Association?"
"Are they Doomsday cultists?"
"No." Tokiomi wouldn't stand with this ignorance. "The Wandering Sea is one of the Three Great Branches of the Mage's Association, the other two being the Clock Tower and the Atlas Institute. They are an association of European mages dedicated at the exploration of magecraft from the Age of Gods, as they feel modern magecraft is completely worthless."
"I'm following…"
"For their part, the Prague Association is one of their larger groups. They are the masters in traditional alchemy and many of the founders of House Einzbern studied under them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the former recommended Emiya to Old Man Acht. Normally, those under the Wandering Sea are less concerned about the matters of those ignorant of the Moonlit World than the average Magus, but in the last decades the Prague Association has slowly intruded themselves in the mundane world."
"Is Lorenz their ambassador among the world outside the Masquerade?" asked Kotomine.
"He's their leader." Both Kariya and Kirei's eyes opened in surprise. "I don't know why the rest of the Wandering Sea hasn't killed him yet and how Kariya ever heard of him in the first place."
"Well Tokiomi, there's this important non-magical device where you can keep updated in everything you want. It's called Television." That earned the Matou Master another smack from Assassin. "That guy is a chairman in the United Nations, that's how I heard of him!"
"We should focus in the matter on hand." Interrupted Kotomine. "We can't bring Archer without angering him and Matou might be right in that sending Berserker would be a waste we can't afford."
The three humans were at loss in what to do, but then Kariya felt Berserker speaking in his mind and giving him a crazy idea.
"In other words, we're boned for today, unless…"
"Unless what, Matou?" asked Kotomine.
"Unless we decide to play along with Saber and Rider's rules…"
"Maiya, did you finish your assignment?"
"Yes, should I get back to the apartment?"
"Negative. Wander around position AC to misdirect Assassin."
"Understood. Take care." And then she ended the call.
Kiritsugu put his attention to the small computer where he was observing the cameras, he had to concede to Saber in using Rider's unexpected intrusion as additional reinforcements for the eventual assault by Tohsaka and his lackeys was ingenious. He didn't miss the bounded field installed with tools of the Church to keep away the ghosts from the forest.
It did raise suspicions on who may had sent that false letter to Rider. Whoever the party responsible was, they knew about him.
The most likely suspect was the UN-AEC, who after the chaos brought by Saber's escape, perhaps decided to adopt a hand-offs approach and manipulate events to see the Servants in action without risk of getting mauled by those glorified mass murderers. Maiya proposed the alternative of Assassin himself being who sent the letter by proxy, either to set up the competition in a position to let Archer free to kill them all in a fell swoop, or an attempt to sabotage Tohsaka under his own nose.
But now, almost all the Servants were present, and even if he wasn't able to listen what they would say in the backyard, the recorders he installed this morning would ensure that once the wine has done its job, all the guests' motivations, ambitions, sorrows, and other secrets would be laid bare before him, waiting to be exploited.
'So long as me, Irisiviel and Saber survive to fight the next day, this night will be a benefit for us.' The Magus Killer reflected, as he looked on the cameras, warning him of four figures entering the Castle, one of them coming from the wrecked front door…
"How did you get there?" asked Irisviel, a bit tense about the new arrival.
"Berserker and I followed the trail of broken trees outside," responded Kariya as he limped forwards the garden. "I wasn't expecting a feast over here, though." He was grateful of the bug familiar he snuck inside to hear what was happening in case Assassin and/or Kotomine were manipulating the information they got.
'And I wasn't expecting Tohsaka putting me at the line with three Servants, two of which I screwed over the day before yesterday.' He cursed inwardly. He and Berserker hoped either Kotomine or Tohsaka would be brave and stupid enough to join the feast Rider was providing. Sadly, he was the one put in the ring of fire because of the legitimate reason of him the one who angered the less at the members of the feast, even if they weren't aware – Kariya hoped – of Berserker being the one who struck first blood against Lancer's first Master.
"Your arrival is unexpected, but not unwelcome." Said Rider. "Why didn't you bring Berserker along?"
"And have him break this place apart?" Kariya said with his best impression of bewildered surprise. "I thought a son of Zeus would know the importance of respecting the host's house."
Saber gave a glare at Rider, who timidly scratched his own head.
"Can I join, then?" asked Kariya, raising his good hand. "I promise I won't send Berserker at you unless it's in self-defense."
Saber thought about Maiya's first impression about the Matou's heir. It spoke of him as an angry child with a weapon he barely understood its use screaming against the world, and she was sure if it wasn't for the kidnapping, Tohsaka Tokiomi could've simply dispatched Assassin to kill him. But her ordeals were caused partially because of him being capable of handling that weapon and Kiritsugu's analysis so far gave the impression that the one who had the better chances of taking on Archer and win, would be Berserker.
And since Archer's Independent Action made killing Tohsaka now a suboptimal strategy, someone was needed to soften or outright kill the Servant of the Bow.
"Fine," Saber sighed. "but if I see treachery from you, I'll cut your neck myself."
"Got it," replied Kariya. "Can I have a cup, please?"
Berserker had mixed feeling in this rescue/sabotage operation. For one part, he was grateful that his plan to bring Rider and Lancer along was successful, and that his chariot destroyed most of the bounded fields installed in the castle – but Kariya was now in the center of the storm that would inevitability start once Emiya found Kotomine and/or Tohsaka.
'Berserker,' he heard his Master's voice in his head. 'I can confirm there are homunculus maids patrolling the castle, so beware of them too.'
'Got it, just try to not get drunk there.'
Gripping in his semi-automatic USP45 pistol (of course) that he got in one of Kariya's secret hideouts, Berserker gave a breath to calm his nerves. Had he known Archer would go to hunt Caster tonight, he would had brought to Rider the letter that would convince him to directly fight against Saber instead. He noticed the lower floor from where he entered was filled with traps, most likely to blow up any unlucky mage who dared to enter the lair.
'And most of them must be enhanced to harm Servants too.' After the draw he had with Saber, it was wise from the Einzbern to have some counter measures to alert them that Assassin was mucking around.
Or at least being cannon fodder for Archer and himself.
'Can you send one of your worms to find out the power center of this castle? The electric one I mean.'
'I can, but I'm sure the hosts are aware that I'm Tohsaka's patsy, so I pretty much have to stay here and hope to not get killed when it hits the fan.'
'Just don't be a jerk and it may go alright.' Replied Berserker.
'Kinda complicated when Lancer's Master is currently drinking more wine than the rest of us mere mortals. I will call you if something important happens.' Berserker then felt Kariya cutting the call. He then went upstairs after no finding any trace of Tohsaka's daughter.
"There you are!"
'Speak of the Devil…'
Of all sources of headaches that he's been having these last days, Tohsaka Tokiomi wasn't expecting seeing Balcony in the flesh. Sure, the suspected Dead Apostle was now wearing a ski mask and some street clothes similar to Kariya's, but the small frame and his own gut instinct told him immediately of who he was.
"Are you now in cahoots with Emiya too?" Tohsaka accused
"No." A distortional voice, probably from a technological device, responded him. "Just making sure my current client doesn't get murdered by that psycho."
"Amusing words coming from an undead fiend." Tohsaka said. "Is that why you framed me as an accomplice of the Demon of Fuyuki?"
"Considering you're in bed with Assassin's Master and most likely the Overseer too…" Balcony replied. "Never mind that you stole the Magic Crest of Lord El-Melloi. I don't think his relatives will accept that."
"They will have to." Tohsaka countered. "Lord Kayneth, after he lost his right as a Master, broke the rules of Mystery by invoking the Casses Circumdat and unleashing hundreds of wraiths all across Fuyuki. As the Administrator of Fuyuki recognized by the Clock Tower, it is my duty to maintain the secrecy of Magecraft by any means necessary. That includes killing bloodsuckers like you."
"Sounds like a convenient excuse to me, especially with that Caster cultist around." Balcony said. "But I can always kill you and the Kotomines when it's necessary." He then turned his pistol and opened fire at a camera behind him. "And I'll rather not give Emiya pictures of your death to send at both Rin and Sakura."
"How did you…!" Tokiomi pulled out his Jewel staff. "Intensive Einäscherung!"
Flames came out of it, which Balcony jumped again and responded by firing his pistol at Tokiomi. The magus snapped a small jewel, forming a shield that blocked the bullets.
"Where are the tricks you used to defeat Assassin?" Asked Tohsaka. "Why do you lower yourself with such petty tricks?"
"Mystery." Replied Balcony, then opened fire again. Tohsaka this time dodged the bullets.
"You better step up, otherwise your only worth here will be as a warmup before Emiya." Tohsaka taunted as he kept using fire spells at his opponent, yet the suspected enforcer kept firing at him until a clicking sound was heard.
Despite being unfamiliar with current non-magical technology, even Tohsaka knew what that sound meant, and when his foe began to replace his empty clip, the battle mage used this window of opportunity to bring forth a whip of fire and strike at Balcony, whose eyes showed surprise at the attack.
Tohsaka smiled as the flames consumed the other side of the hallway, but he gasped as he saw an orange-colored field in front of Balcony, who looked no worse to wear from the fire.
"You blocked the fire." The magus said. "And I sense little od coming out from you. What more secrets are you keeping from me?"
Balcony answer was a resume of gunfire.
Kotomine Kirei was thankful that one of Assassin's bodies was currently following Tohsaka.
The arrival of Balcony should've brought an instant explanation on Rider's presence, but the fact that if Balcony were truly responsible of the letter opened the possibility that he lied about his allegiance with House El-Melloi. Unless only the late Lord Kayneth was aware of the existence of this Dead Apostle.
While one eye was keeping watch of the duel, the other one was keeping him alert in another section of the castle, where his own body was looking for Emiya Kiritsugu.
His mind was honed to treat this as another battle, yet his soul was quivering with anticipation. The only man who could give him the answers he desperately needed was in reach, and he would get these answers, one way or another.
While Emiya was nowhere in sight, Assassin's vision showed him Tokiomi gaining an advantage against Balcony, the battle mage managing to push back the gun-wielding Enforcer forwards another room.
He saw how Balcony jumped away from another fire strike, responding with more suppressing fire. Tohsaka instead chose to go for attacks that covered great amount of space, making Balcony waste more bullets. Once the clicking was heard again, Kotomine realized Tohsaka's plan.
The Administrator of Fuyuki immediately made a charged spell that interrupted Balcony's reloading, then he changed to a stance that Kotomine recognized from his own family's Bajiquan. Balcony barely regained his wits before Tohsaka lunched himself in front of him with a single step, followed by a punch in the gut, freezing his movements, and a reinforced kick over his head, burying him to the ground.
"I admit," Tohsaka commented as he regained his breath. "that you forced me to improvise. I hope I didn't offend Kotomine with my sloppy copy of the Eight Postures of the Buddha Guards."
Tohsaka brought back his Jewel staff, ready to finish off Balcony.
"Zab…"
Balcony then manifested his orange field to push Tohsaka away, then jumped out of the floor and made a run forward the nearest staircase. Tohsaka immediately followed him.
"-Pruinae Amabael!"
In a mere instant, the air was filled with cold and humidity, and Kotomine saw how Tohsaka almost tripped in the now frozen floor. The magus managed to keep his balance with the use of a wind spell, but then one last gunshot was heard across the air, and the bullet passed through his right shoulder, making him drop his Jewel staff.
Assassin's vision changed from Tohsaka's surprised anger, and Balcony's murderous red eyes, yet the latter went back to his escape.
Near a staircase, Kotomine felt a buzz trough his head. He had to cut his vision with the Assassin looking of Tohsaka to respond this new call.
"What it is, Assassin?"
'We found Tohsaka Rin. She's currently resting in your father's Church, Master.'
"What?"
'We saw a car dropping her there. Your father tried to call you, but someone sabotaged the telephone's cables nearby.'
"Is any of you pursuing that car?"
'Two of us, but you should communicate with them as soon as possible.'
"Understood. I'll go find Tohsaka before-"
Kotomine's orders were interrupted by a fiery explosion, and they saw how the section where Tohsaka and Balcony were fighting was demolished and its pieces began to fall into the ground.
And done.
Counting the "votes" about if should make more interludes here and in SP, I got five in favor versus three against, so I will make more when I feel it is necessary. I warn beforehand that the next one (if there's one) will be after this current version of the Feast of Kings.