Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/ Stay Night or any other related properties. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please Enjoy!

Chapter 17: Rin

Rin stared down the hooded figure before her. Something nagged at her about his posture and the way he held himself. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't place why. She also believed that this was the second time she had seen him. The first being when she was in trouble with the mage hunters. He had appeared as she was about to lose consciousness, and when she had woken up, him and the mage hunters had been gone and she had ended up at Ben's house.

Rin grit her teeth. "Why won't you answer me, diviner?!" She shot another blast of gandr at him and oddly enough, it hit him, sending him sprawling. He had made no move to dodge. He simply took it. "Where is Blake?! Who is Blake?! Why did you erase him from our memories?! Who was he to us?!" She paused, her lip trembling. The question she had been asking herself for months since the grail war ended finally tore free from her. "Who was he to me?"

The man rose back up to his feet and let out a sigh. Not one of frustration, but almost one of sadness. The cool air of the sea washed up from behind him as his shadowed face came up to meet hers. She hated that hood. She wanted to see the face beneath it. She wanted to see the face of the man who had erased someone so precious to her that she still remembered that person in her soul.

"Blake Ryan is still alive and well," the figure answered plainly. "Don't worry. He will return to you soon. I recommend not digging any deeper until that point. You already saw what happened when you got too close."

Charlotte Ryan's lifeless face flashed into Rin's mind and she bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Her actions had caused the death of that woman. Maybe he was right.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"Safe," the man responded. His voice was so familiar. But she couldn't place where she had heard it before. "Now please stop digging any further. I may not be around to stop one of those things next time."

Stop it? So he was protecting them? Why?

Rin glared at him. "I can take care of myself, you know! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

The man laughed. It was the first sign of positive emotion the figure had shown in their exchange.

Yet again that feeling familiarity rose within her. Lines started connecting towards a conclusion that she had subconsciously been coming to throughout their interaction. Yet, she didn't dare to hope it, let alone understand if that conclusion was the correct one.

"I know who you are, all too well," the man said as he sighed from his laughter. "Ms. Tohsaka."

An image of Rin standing on a roof in Berlin, being addressed in the same fashion, flashed in her mind.

"Please, call me Rin," she had said.

The figure turned away and a blazing white gate with the black symbol of infinity opened in front of him.

"Wait!" Rin called after him. "Who are you?"

The man stopped and cocked his head to look at her over his shoulder.

Another familiar movement. It couldn't be him. There was no way it was. She couldn't rationalize his actions if it was.

"Nobody," the man responded plainly, yet his body has stiffened at her question. "I am nothing but a ghost. One who no longer belongs in this realm."

"Why did you stop that thing?" Rin pressed. "What's your goal."

"That thing took something precious from me," the man responded bitterly. "I was just getting revenge. Nothing else."

Rin could feel the sadness rolling off of the ghost.

The monster had taken something from him? The pieces were all lining up too perfectly. It couldn't be true.

Charlotte's words came to mind. The woman had dabbled with tarot cards, but had stopped. Was it possible? Charlotte had most definitely been Blake's mother.

"That sounds lonely," Rin said. She felt sad for the man for some reason. She couldn't afford to believe what her mind was piecing together. She refused to believe it. "There's nothing else you want?"

The ghost turned his head back towards the portal and began to walk again.

"I only want to be reunited with the person I love," he said just loud enough for her to hear. "Remember what I said. Stop digging. Blake will return to you soon."

With that, the man stepped through the portal and it closed behind him.

"Wait!" Rin called out. But it was too late. He was already gone and with a flash the gate vanished without a trace.

A tear rolled down her cheek as her former feeling of loneliness returned. She hadn't even realized it had left.

——

"Have you lost your damn mind!" Integra screamed at him. "You could have been found out! Or worse, killed! Did you hit your head?! Or have you always been this short on marbles?!"

Anger rose in his gut, but he choked it down and regained his cool.

His master had been waiting for him outside of the gate to the Realm of Life and had instantly begun tearing into him over the risk he had taken.

"What did you expect me to do?" Blake responded pointedly. "Let my friends be killed by the very same thing that killed my mother? And it's not like I died. I won didn't I?"

Integra took a deep breath, as if gathering her thoughts. "You got lucky. That's what happened. If it had still had its spear, you would have most definitely been killed. Do not presume that you could take a fully equipped Observer by yourself. You were foolish and rash. If your friends hadn't disarmed it by the time you had arrived, it would have been over, and things would have turned out very differently.

"What do you care?" Blake shot back. "I'm just a pet project to you all anyways! It's not like I'm not expendable!"

Hurt entered Integra's grey eyes and he regretted his words almost immediately. "That is simply not true! Maybe to Vollu and Jondor you are. But to me, you are my precious apprentice. Never be mistaken about that."

He had to calm down. Silence hung between them as he gathered his thoughts and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Look," Blake sighed. "I'm sorry I went to the Realm of Life. But if I didn't, I would have lost all of my reasons for doing this. It won't happen again."

"Good," Integra sighed, ending the subject, though the look of hurt still lingered in her eyes. "But do you really think the Tohsaka girl is going to stop digging? I believe your encounter raised more questions in her than anything."

"Oh, I know she won't give up," Blake sighed. He could tell just by the look in Rin's eyes that she wouldn't. "But hopefully my warnings will give her enough pause to allow me to finish everything here. Then I can go back without her having to search and further."

"Fair enough," Integra nodded.

"Now if you don't mind," Blake turned. "I'm going to go get some rest. I'll set off for the world domain tomorrow."

"Ryan, one last thing," Integra called.

Blake stopped.

"If you attempt to enter the realm of life again, I will have to detain you." Integra informed. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Blake responded, and then walked out.

——-

When Blake reached his room, he instantly shut the door but didn't bother to lock it. He had more pressing issues on his mind.

The diviner walked over to his bed and sat on the edge of it, the mattress sinking down as his weight was placed on its surface.

He placed his head in his hands and began to unload his thoughts.

He had gotten revenge. He had avenged his mother. The monster...the Observer had been completely annihilated, leaving nothing behind. He should have been happy. He should have felt some sort of satisfaction from that victory.

Yet, that victory felt as nearly hollow as he did. There was nothing left to be angry at. There was nothing left to blame. The only thing he had left to blame was himself for causing her death.

He should have never erased their memories. He should have let them keep those. If he had, the Observer never would have targeted them.

His mom was dead.

Dead.

His eyes began to sting as rage reentered his body. He shot up from his place at his bed and strode over to his desk, sweeping everything from its surface. He picked up his chair and threw it against the wall, shattering it on impact.

Tears were streaming down his face now and he screamed to the heavens. Screamed at whatever gods had taken her from him. Screamed because that's all he could do. His heart was fracturing and he couldn't stand the pain.

The utter and complete loss. His chest hurt. It hurt so badly that he could barely breath.

Dead.

She was dead.

That was all he could think and feel as he pounded his wall, punching hole after hole into the stone face. Not even the pain that exploded from his hand at that point could overtake the pain in his chest.

Dead.

The woman who had raised him and loved him and given him all of her time was dead.

His mother was dead, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

Absolutely nothing.

He fell against the wall, his breath ragged and harsh as he slid to the floor, tucking his knees to his chest.

She was dead.

And those were the last thoughts he had before his door slid quietly open and two arms wrapped around him along with Integra's voice whispering comforts to him until he fell asleep from the exhaustion he felt deep within his soul.

———

Vollu sat in his study looking out of the window into the clear night. The eternal moon of the Diviner Realm cast a bright light over him as he soaked in the light.

Not everything had gone according to plan, but he would prove once and for all the true nature of Blake Ryan. The man was a danger to society and needed to be put down. The others didn't believe him, but he'd show them how unstable the young diviner was.

Vollu did have to admit that the boy was powerful. He was able to take on an Observer and come out in one piece. Just the loss of his mother had spurred on the boost required for that feat.

Once Ryan was stripped of everything, the man would lose control and Vollu would prove that he was a menace. He would be put down and the older diviner's mission would be complete.

He had intended for the Observer to finish off the Tohsaka magus and the occultist before Ryan had appeared, but the younger diviner had responded a lot quicker than he had expected. He'd just have to take care of things himself now.

The plan would still succeed. There was no true issue.

"Prepare yourself," Vollu said to the empty room. "I'll show them what you really are...father."

A/N: A shocking reveal and the end of the first half of this story. I'm considering this the "mid-season finally" but that does not mean we are going on hiatus. The story will continue on its regular schedule. As always, please drop of a review and let me know what you thought. I've been getting some very good support for this story and I thank everyone who has been reading it. I hope you all have an awesome day, and please stay tuned!

-B