Third Morning (1)
Illyasviel awoke from one of the most peaceful sleeps she had ever had in...well, years. Her body was relaxed, mind at peace with no trace of lingering nightmares, suffused with warmth as she clung to a soft and curvaceous body-
-wait, what?
Crimson orbs snapping open Illya realized she was nestled between a pair of boobs, boobs that were far more sizable than her own.
...Why were there boobs in her face?
Gaze slowly traveling upwards, dread gradually pooling in her gut the albino was greeted with the lifeless gaze of Sakura Matou, a disturbing image made all the more surreal by the fact that her Servant-Jack The Ripper-was sprawled atop of her Master, face slack and grinning like a child's as she drooled onto the purple-haired young lady's face and released the occasional, sniffling snore that Illya could privately admit was rather adorable.
"Good morning, Einzbern-sama. Did you sleep well?"
Face blushing crimson Illya ducked her head...and regretted the action as she only delved deeper into cleavage.
"U-umm...how did I end up in your bed?"
"You became sleepy and were clinging to Shirou-sama, stating you weren't going to let him sleep alone lest he engage in amoral acts with me or Caren-sama. But you wouldn't let go once he awoke from his sleep cycle so he set you in my bed."
…
Illya felt like smashing her head against a wall. Again.
Would it be too much to ask for one uninterrupted night with her brother where other women weren't butting their noses in or she was screaming herself awake?
"Mmm...good morning, Mommy."
Illya once more let her gaze wander upwards, matching the gaze of Matou's Servant as vibrant green eyes locked onto hers.
"Mommy, why is the other woman in bed with us?"
"She thought I was comfortable and slept more comfortably than she would have on her own."
Understanding and even a bit of excitement covered the Servant's previously slack expression.
"Oh, that makes sense! Mommy is really warm and nice, we don't mind sharing!"
"That is very nice of you, Jack. Kindness is an invaluable trait in people, after all."
Resisting the urge to whimper Illya was spared the awkwardness of further conversation as Sakura removed herself from the covers, thankfully wearing a simple nightgown and not that fetish outfit her and the smug bitch thought were Exorcist uniforms.
"Shirou-sama will likely be preparing a meal for us, we should partake of it while we have the opportunity to do so."
"I know that! You don't have to tell me something I already know, hmph!"
Feeling irrationally upset with how familiar the Matou seemed with her step-sibling's habits and schedule Illya marched off to her own room, grumpily discarding her nightwear for simple boots, pants and shirt with a jacket to stave off the chill that would no doubt occur later in the day. A far more simple bit of attire than she was used to but it would do, the Homunculus realizing she already stood out and dressing like some foreign princess would only exacerbate the problem.
Quickly making her way to the dining room Illya felt her eye twitch as the Church hussys were already seated at the table, a far more lively and less sickly looking Caren-much to her displeasure-making comments aplenty as her brother worked his magic.
"Ahh, truly a delectable scent you have created, Shirou-kun. You will surely make your husband happy one day. Oh, I fully expect to be the ordained minister when you exchange vows with your wonderful boyfriend, I shall beseech the Lord on your behalf to forgive such an impure relationship and-"
"Caren?"
"Yes, Shirou-kun?"
"Shut up."
"Goodness me, such hostility at so early of an hour to a woman of the cloth. Were you perhaps unable to properly relieve yourself this morning? Such bestial lust, should I offer up a prayer and hope that our legs will not be unwillingly spread by your hands while remaining under your roof?"
The Homunculus pointedly cleared her throat as she seated herself opposite the silver-haired whore, offering a narrow gaze as Caren just continued to smile at her.
"And a good morning to you too, Einzbern-chan. I hear Shirou-kun tired of your presence last night and relegated you to sleeping with my dearest Sakura-chan. Hardly surprising, with such a childish body you must tire quickly and be unable to keep pace with his proclivities."
Illya felt her eye twitch and was about to lay into the slut-
-and instead felt a sense of mild satisfaction as some napkins directly impacted the woman dead in the face, Shirou's irritated tones of, "Stop running your mouth and set the table," causing the albino to smirk.
Except the Church bitch just seemed inordinately pleased with herself, indulgently smiling as she went about the task as if she was the one doing them a favor.
"So what is to be our first move? Attempt to reach out to the other Masters?"
Shirou nodded, remarking, "You and Sakura should go to the Church as soon as possible and establish communications with the rest of your faction. I need to get ahold of Tohsaka and ascertain her position on things before the other Masters arrive, if they haven't already."
His gaze turned towards Sakura even as he approached with breakfast.
"If she doesn't want to help us and instead hinder...she's all yours, Sakura."
"Understood. Thank you, Shirou-sama."
…
And there was another bit of potential chaos that Illya was left wondering at. It was clear that the Matou had quite the axe to grind with her sibling and given her unconventional assassin and 'unusual' circumstances…
Well, Illya wouldn't exactly shed tears over some stranger of a Magus' death but she got the distinct impression it wouldn't be a pretty death. Or quick.
Those thoughts were immediately set aside as a steaming omelet that physically assailed her nostrils with heavenly pleasure was set in front of her, the albino's mood instantly perking.
"It looks delicious! Thank you, Onii-chan!"
The slightest trace of a smile that appeared on his lips made her stomach flip, the small gesture warming her artificial heart-
"Shirou-kun? Aren't you forgetting something?"
-and of course it had to be interrupted by that Caren witch!
Sighing quietly to himself Shirou walked over to one of the cabinets, retrieved something before setting it down in front of the girl...and Illya raised an eyebrow.
It was a bottle of some kind of sauce absolutely covered in flames, Hortensia happily popping the cork-
-and quite frankly Illya would have thought Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to be less lethal than whatever radioactive monster was contained within its plastic shell, her eyes watering just by being in close proximity and even Jack edged away from the concoction, whispering, "Mommy? We're scared..."
Not having a care in the world the Exorcists merrily poured a significant portion of the 'sauce' on her omelet, taking a hearty bite and humming in contentment.
…
Illya decided maybe she should be nicer to her. Anyone who could eat...THAT with such an expression of contentment wasn't one to lightly cross.
"Hmm...strange."
Grateful for the distraction Illya swiftly turned to look at Shirou, the young man hanging up a phone with an expression of consternation on his features.
"What is it, Onii-chan?"
"Rin didn't pick up the phone."
"...Not to be rude, Onii-chan...but couldn't she just, you know, not be there at the moment?"
"She's not a morning person. If she was up this early it would only be for an emergency."
"Obviously Shirou-kun knows this because he has spent many a night with said Magus in question-"
"Sakura, make sure Caren arrives at the Church intact. Illya, meet me at the garage when you're finished eating, we're going to travel to Tohsaka's home and ensure she's safe."
The room immediately entered a state of controlled chaos, the Homunculus hurrying to finish her breakfast-bemoaning the lack of time to properly enjoy it-while the other two and Servant moved with equal speed.
Illya tried not to gawk as Caren began to sweat and steam with ambient heat as she powered through the 'meal', not dissimilar to a Magus that overused their circuits.
She wasted no time in hurrying out of the room before the smell of spicy Hellfire began to stick to her clothes.
"That was fast, are you sure you don't need to take a few more minutes?"
She puffed out a cheek as she approached her step-sibling, annoyedly retorting, "I'm not a child, Onii-chan."
"...You're right. My apologies, I'll be ready soon."
She accepted his words with a small nod, watching as he swiftly and efficiently gathered supplies from all corners of the room and tucked them into his jacket.
A gun that looked like it had some kind of drum attached to it, an older style hunting pistol that he loaded with one bullet and two cylindrical tubes that she assumed were grenades.
Her education at the Einzbern household hadn't exactly covered much in the way of modern weaponry, vague descriptors were the best she could manage.
"Ready, Illya?"
"Right behind you, Onii-chan."
Without a word the two siblings hopped onto his bike and sped off, trusting that the two Exorcists would find their own way.
"Do you sense that, Onii-chan?"
"Yes. Something smells...off. Be prepared for anything, Illya. There's the stench of the dead mixed in with magecraft."
The Homunculus felt her lips curve downwards, a mental order to Berserker prepping the Servant to unleash his fury at a target of her choosing.
The dead? Either the Tohsaka Master was some kind of Necromancer...or something very wrong and very worrying had already occurred without their knowledge.
She put those distracting thoughts out of mind as Shirou skidded the bike to a stop outside the Tohsaka manor...and both scowled to varying degrees.
The front door had been cleanly ripped of its hinges and tossed aside. No other signs of damage but the slab of torn wood was by no means small or light...something with significant strength had done the deed.
"Illya, do you sense anything inside? All I'm picking up now is a strong stench of the dead and little in the way of magecraft."
Eyes narrowed in concern the albino plucked a strand of hair from her scalp, channeling a bit of her power before the strand glowed bright as a candle of silver fire, morphing into the shape of a butterfly before quickly flapping through the front door.
"Nothing in the main foyer, Onii-chan. No bodies, signs of damage or blood. The top of the stairs...not so much. Lots of destroyed corpses and damage to the foundation. Slash marks, dismembered bodies, signs of what I think are Gandr curses...strange."
"What is it?"
Looking through the eyes of her familiar the Homunculus felt her frown grow, picking up on vague emanations of mana that had been thrown around at a frantic pace.
"I'm pretty sure there's signs of electricity damage at certain parts of the house...big ones, not the kind you get from quick or wordless chants."
"A Servant's power, then?"
"It seems likely, Onii-chan."
"Anything else?"
Quickly scouting the rest of the rooms and hallways Illya replied, "Nothing that I can see, Onii-chan. Just lots of damage and ghoul corpses."
"Ok, good work, Illya."
Cutting the connection to her familiar and calling it back Illya puffed out her chest, smiling at the praise.
"It was nothing, Onii-chan!"
Unholstering the gun with attached barrel he flicked off the safety and cautiously approached the door, Illya following in his wake with a more subdued air.
"Stick close behind me, Illya. Don't unleash Berserker unless it's something we can't handle or an emergency, if the upper floors are damaged I don't want them falling on our heads if it can be avoided."
"Got it, Onii-chan."
The duo carefully entered the premises, Shirou sweeping the building with wide arcs of his gun as Illya silently padded behind him, whispering, "Anything I should look for, Onii-chan?"
"Nothing specific, just keep your eyes open and look for anything that strikes you as strange, there might be a clue that can give us more information as to what happened. If we're lucky Tohsaka might be hiding behind some kind of bounded field or ward line and she'll know we're looking for her."
Nodding in agreement the albino followed her brother's example, scanning the house for anything that might seem out of place.
For almost a minute nothing seemed to be out of place or worrying, their explanation yielding no results-
-and then they both spun on their heels as a light chuckle reached their ears, Shirou yanking Illya behind him as the pistol was aimed and prepped to fire.
"Well aren't you quite the unconventional pair...a Magus using firearms, who appears to be the protector of a Homunculus. Not an everyday sight."
One of the corpses slowly twisted it's rotting neck to face them, empty eye sockets flexing disturbingly as if they still held the ocular organs within, chapped and ragged lips moving in a parody of speech.
The words themselves were...hypnotic. Even as she listened Illya felt herself nod slightly in agreement with them-
-and a violent shake of her head seemed to clear her muddled thoughts, a quick glance towards Shirou revealing that he seemed entirely unperturbed, still aiming the gun as he neutrally asked, "And a Dead Apostle attacking the home of a Magus involved in the Holy Grail War is just as much of an unnatural occurrence, wouldn't you say?"
"A fair point, young man. Or at least it would be, were I not a member of the war myself. Thus, attacking another Master is perfectly logical, wouldn't you agree?"
Illya felt her blood chill, sharply asking, "You have Command Seals? And you're a Vampire? How is that possible, the Grail wouldn't...allow..."
"Hmm, judging by your trailing words it seems all is not right with your precious little artifact. No matter, as long as it can fulfill a rather tame wish then I care little for its...peculiarities."
Illya winced, knowing that anything a Dead Apostle would wish for was something most would be happy to not see come to fruition...especially when the Grail was as corrupted as it was.
"But as of this moment I'm not particularly interested in that...no, it's your eyes, little Homunculus, that have caught my wandering gaze."
Scowling the albino sharply retorted, "And just what have they done to fascinate you so, creature?"
"They're relatively common, fair enough...but Mystic Eyes of Binding are Mystic Eyes nonetheless. I find myself rather curious whether the quality of an artificial human's Eyes are of higher or lesser pedigree than a natural born one's...ah, but where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself, I am the 26th Dead Apostle Ancestor, Cato Flavius."
Illya felt a cold chill settle in her spine.
"...Dead Apostle Ancestor? The Mystic Eye Collector?"
"Ah, my reputation precedes me. But yes, I am he. If you agree to come quietly I promise to be gentle when plucking your eyes from your skull. I will even go so far as to replace them with equally effective-albeit mundane-ocular implants."
A pause as they stared at the puppet Ghoul.
"Ah, my mistake, we are at war. Well the offer of a painless operation is still on the table, albeit I will have to kill you afterwards-"
BANG!
Illya jumped as Shirou fired once, the round catching the Ghoul directly in the skull and causing it to slump as he led Illya out of the manor at a rapid pace.
"...This war isn't what I was expecting it to be, Onii-chan. Quite frankly it's a headache."
"On that, we can agree."
They quickly remounted the bike, the Homunculus asking, "What now, Onii-chan? A Dead Apostle Ancestor is...not that easy of a target to take down. And it looks like he's already started taking out the other Masters and their Servants."
"We need to meet up with Caren and Sakura, inform them of what's happening-assuming they don't already know-and see if we can track down the other Masters that might have survived."
"And then?"
Shirou's tone took on a cold lilt.
"And then we hunt."
