Third Morning (5)

"Onii-chan...are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Illya. Did you get all of the equipment before we left?"

Jerking her head towards the pair of duffel bags hanging off of Berserker's arms the Homunculus nodded, affixing Shirou with another worried gaze as she chewed on her lip, putting on her Magus face before remarking, "Onii-chan, you aren't alright. You're running a high fever, you're covered in cold sweat and I can see you shaking! Just don't move and let me take care of everything for the moment, alright?"

"I've suffered worse, Ill-"

His words were halted as she placed a finger on his lips, expression stern as she warned, "Don't push me on this, Shirou. I don't doubt you have been injured worse but right now you're going to let me handle things and not complain or strain yourself further, is that clear?"

The pair ignored the jostling and high-speed pace of Berserker and glared at each other in a clear contest of wills...that Shirou eventually gave up on, sighing before grudgingly replying, "Fine...but I'm stepping in if I deem it necessary to."

Rolling her crimson orbs Illya fought back the urge to scowl, knowing that was about as much of a concession she was likely to get from her stubborn sibling.

"Fine, but don't come complaining to me when you're all beat up unconscious after pushing yourself too hard."

"Why would I-"

"Just...never mind, Onii-chan."

Giving up on attempting to talk sense into her probably insane brother Illya instead glanced over Herakles' shoulder, frowning as she could sense Rider and Saber in close pursuit.

The moment they came to a stop the duo would be on them in seconds and they would be right back to fighting. Which wasn't all that bad of an idea, Berserker was incredibly powerful...but she was more concerned with getting Shirou someplace safe so he could rest properly, not to mention they still didn't know where the Apostle Ancestor was sneaking around so any attempt to stop and fight meant risking him showing up and ambushing them before they could react.

This war was turning out to be a real migraine in the making...what happened to her original plan of, 'send Berserker out to crush everyone and win'?

Snapping out of those thoughts as they closed in on the church Illya felt a frown pull at her lips.

The entire building and surrounding landscape were covered by an unnatural mist that blocked any kind of visible observation, meaning they would have to charge in blindly to have any hope of figuring out what was going on. Sure, she was familiar enough with Jack the Ripper's legend to feel reasonably certain that the mist was an allied Phantasm of some sort...but she didn't want to be wrong and suddenly get Shirou hurt because of an assumption.

As if in response to that thought a hole in the barrier opened, permitting them access and quite frankly that was good enough for Illya.

Their pursuers were still moving at a breakneck pace, after all.

"Berserker, don't smash the three we were with before, everything else is fair game!"

Reinforcing the command with clear mental images of Jack, Sakura and stupid Caren just to be safe Berserker growled in the affirmative, blitzing through the mist at a fearsome speed.

...The Homunculus really hoped no one else aside from the enemy had joined up with the trio, otherwise they were about to be turned into a very surprised and very dead smear on the ground.

"What the SHIT-"

Just like the blue-haired Servant that barely had time to place his spear between Berserker's weapon and his body, the force of the blow sending him flying and, if the cracks and creaks were any hint, downing a few trees along the way.

"Hurry, there's still two chasing us!"

Illya held back her questions as the Matou nodded, bounding inside the church without hesitation...freely bleeding from several cuts and lacerations, clear signs that she had fought against the Servant and somehow survived.

What the heck, she thought the girl had been an Exorcist, not an Executor!

"Hey, is Mommy's friend going to be ok, other Mommy's friend?"

Almost jumping as the albino found Jack crouching on Berserker's shoulder, finger pointing at a clearly exhausted Shirou she fought down her surprise and replied, "He will be, given time."

"Ok then."

The childish Assassin returned to watching their surroundings, Illya nervously tapping her finger on Berserker's skin as the seconds wore on-

-and the other two women left the church at a dead sprint, carrying a variety of bags and other things they quickly looped around Berserker's already laden limbs, the Homunculus briefly fighting down the twinge of embarrassment at the necessity of turning one of the greatest Heroic Spirits in the world into a glorified pack mule.

"Get on, hurry!"

No questions were bandied about which Illya appreciated, Sakura latching herself around Berserker's neck next to Jack while Caren hopped onto Shirou with no regard for basic common decency, which Illya appreciated a great deal less.

"Hah, you've got quite the arm on you, big guy! And how about that, I get my wish after all-"

Berserker kicked off the ground in an explosion of dirt, the Lancer's maddened grin-despite the leaves and dirt covering his body-dropping into an expression of thwarted disbelief.

"OI! I DID NOT GET SUMMONED INTO THIS GRAIL WAR ONLY TO GET BLUE-BALLED DAMMIT!"

With a pace that matched and even began to overtake Berserker's the spearman sprinted after them, Illya wincing as she saw the other two also enter her field of view, Saber moving as if the wind itself aided her while Rider was covered in flickering arcs of electricity, no doubt some ability that afforded him the ability to keep pace with the more agile Servants.

"Outnumbering Mommy isn't fair, cheaters!"

Not losing her composure Sakura less than helpfully corrected, "There are more of us than there are them, Jack."

"Oh. Well it's still unfair!"

Impeccably keeping her balance on Berserker's heaving shoulder Jack pulled a collection of pitch-black scalpels from the pouches at her side, throwing them with feral accuracy at their pursuers...to little effect.

Lancer simply flicked aside the projectiles with his spear, Saber let her armor take the brunt of the assault while Rider just plain seemed not to notice.

"Really unfair! Mommy, they're cheating!"

Rolling her eyes at the Servant's complaint Illya did some quick math in her head, wincing as she realized the pursuing trio-if the current pace was maintained-would catch up to them before they made it halfway to her castle.

"Illya?"

"What is it, Onii-chan?"

"How much prana can you pump into one of your familiars?"

She narrowed her eyes at the rather ominous question but nonetheless replied, "Enough to collapse a skyscraper, why?"

"I need you to prepare one such familiar and place it between us and them. I can force them away for a while."

"Is it going to leave you a broken wreck?"

"No, you said that's not what you wanted me to end up as, right?"

The Homunculus fought back a sarcastic retort and instead yanked more than a few lengths of her hair off the crown of her skull, going about what her sibling had asked of her, the silvery strands beginning to glow ominously with barely contained energy.

"Caren, I'll need you to steady my arm when it's time."

"Very well."

Slowly glancing over the pursuing Servants Shirou reached behind his waist, pulling out one of the guns Illya had seen him use when going to kill that creepy priest, the one that looked like a single shot.

She'd forgotten to ask what it did in the rush of events that had occurred afterwards...no doubt she'd get a first hand demonstration.

"Ok, I'm all set, Onii-chan."

"Good. Sakura, you might want to have Jack hide."

A simple nod from Sakura was all the Servant needed to halt her ineffectual throwing barrage and dematerialize, Shirou shouting, "Now!"

Instructing the tightly woven and fiercely glowing familiar that resembled a bulky turtle more than it did graceful bird into action Illya watched with fascination as her brother laid his arm over Berserker's shoulder, Caren pressing up against him and laying a hand across his outstretched limb-an action that caused her to hiss in displeasure-before they took aim at the construct as it reached the halfway point between Berserker and their pursuers.

The Albino barely had time to blink as a red length of fabric (a Holy Shroud?) wrapped around both Caren and Shirou's arms as if it had a mind of its own, binding them together as their aim steadied, a swift pull of the trigger causing her ears to ache with pain at the deafening noise as a flash of metal leapt towards her compressed ball of prana-

-and the air seemed to scream.

A horrendous cacophony like someone had just ripped an ocean liner in two assailed her eardrums, hands instinctively plugging her auditory pathways...but her eyes saw everything.

A flash of blue, explosion of sparks and a veritable tidal wave of steel had smashed into the three Servants chasing them, instincts barely saving them as they skid to a halt and raised weapons or armor to guard against the deluge of metal.

But even that wasn't enough, Illya estimating roughly fifty meters of jagged steel having spread outwards in a wide arc from where the bullet had struck and Supernatural body or not that was going to leave a mark.

Most importantly, it allowed Berseker to open up precious distance between them.

"Good work, Caren."

"I'm sure you were simply happy to hold me so close to you, Shirou-kun."

"...Whatever."

Taking a fair bit of vindictive pleasure in the way her sibling pushed away the Exorcist with a disgruntled expression Illya quickly asked, "Onii-chan, what was that?"

"An Incarnation Round. I'm a sword and the bullet manifests my soul in whatever it impacts, converting energy into swords. Stay sharp, we're not done yet."

True to his words she could sense the three energy signatures of the other Servants once more begin chasing after them...but they had lost too much ground.

The rest of the minute long sprint-however tense and jostling-passed without further incident, Illya finally coming into range of her castle's bounded field and quickly altering it to allow all of them inside, Berserker skidding to a halt in front of the main gates with a wild spray of dirt as they all leapt to the ground, Illya fighting down her embarrassment at stumbling while everyone else seemed no worse for wear, smoothly regaining their feet despite the breakneck ride.

...Maybe she should take up Shirou on that training regimen.

"Milady?! Where have you been all this time?! And who are these people?!"

Glancing at Sella and Leysritt as they quickly bounded out of the castle Illya shouted, "They're fine, get ready for a fight!"

While Sella clearly had questions Leysritt, as usual, didn't argue and instead leapt in front of her, halberd at the ready.

Sakura and Jack took up a flanking position to the left of Illya, Sella and Shirou handled the right alongside the albino while Herakles took the center, their motley group primed and ready for a battle if it came to it.

For minutes nothing occurred, Illya sensing the three probing the edge of her castle's defenses, searching for any weaknesses they might be able to exploit...and just as quickly as they came they vanished from her perceptions, finally allowing them a chance to breathe.

As one they released a collective sigh-

-and Illya let loose a startled squeak as a powerful and unyielding hand clasped her shoulder, turning her around with inarguable strength as she was greeted with the terrifying visage of a smiling Sella, the maid Homunculus staring at her with a creepy and unblinking glare.

"Milady? Would you care to explain just what, exactly, is going on here? And why you disappeared without so much as a note?"

Flicking her eyes around the gathered crowd the albino winced as she realized no one was in any great rush to help her.

Hell, Caren even seemed excited to watch the fallout, the bitch.

"Well...about the Grail War."

She cast about for any word that would suitably describe their current state of affairs and settled for a word she had heard a store worker use when he had dropped something on his foot, drawing scandalized looks from several other shoppers.

"It's shit."


Who taught Illya the words of the working class?