Fourth Night (8)
Rin awoke from what felt like a very long and very unpleasant nightmare, body stiff and senses haywire as she tried to ascertain just what the Hell had happened to her.
She...had been fighting in her house, right? And Archer-
-Archer?!
Frantically casting around with her senses for any sign of the snarking Servant she was met with silence, a wild glance at her hand revealing...nothing. Not even a trace of red lines denoting a Command Seal.
"The war is over, Tohsaka."
Fighting down an instinctive flinch Rin whirled around, hand reaching for one of her concealed gem pouches...and only grasped air, eyes widening as she met the dispassionate gaze of none other than a Church Executor.
What...what happened?!
"You look confused."
Regaining control of her wits the Magus forced herself to remain calm, recognizing the obvious danger she had somehow ended up in.
"Which I very much am. My memory seems to be a little spotty, could you perhaps fill it in?"
She had to start somewhere and it seemed that this member of the Church was it...not a pleasant indication of current circumstances but it was all she had, since her Servant was nowhere to be found.
"...Do you recognize me at all, Tohsaka?"
"Should I?"
Rin focused on the individual, a woman with unreadable expression, asian features and oddly colored purple hair-
-wait, purple? No, why would a Matou be working with the Church as an Executor?
And...and why had she asked if she recognized her? She didn't know any Church members aside from that fake priest who had thankfully kicked the bucket before the war started.
Her surroundings offered no additional clues either. A small grove of trees, soft grasses and clear, elevated line of sight to a decently sized highway maybe a few hundred meters away, packed tightly with vehicles and frustrated people, held at bay by a cordon of police and military vehicles.
The city beyond the blocked highway was another clue but she couldn't place it, the angle was all wrong and it seemed like it had just recently been through a war, skyscrapers collapsed and roiling smoke rising from its desiccated center.
...Wait.
Feeling an uncomfortable sense of unreality Rin directed her gaze towards a distant traffic sign, reinforcing her eyesight slightly...and felt something cold and slimy settle in her gut.
Fuyuki – 3 Km
Her legs threatened to give out beneath her, breath catching as she realized that the city she had been put in charge of, that she was responsible for...was practically lying in ruins.
"How...how..."
"Tohsaka. Do you recognize me?"
Flinching at the icy tone of the Executor Rin once more gazed at her surroundings, desperately hoping for any kind of context as to what strange nightmare this was-
-and felt her jaw drop as she spotted a small group of people she both recognized and didn't.
The Enforcer, that Edelfelt bitch, Saber, Lancer...those were the ones she recognized. Then there was a young teenager and older woman with pale hair and red eyes, reminiscent of Einzbern Homunculus. Another woman with pale hair and hazel eyes, wearing what she would describe as a fetishized nun outfit while a young girl wearing rags and clothing not appropriate for one her age stood nearby, watching the church Executor like a hawk.
And lastly there was a young man with steel-grey hair, crimson eyes and tan skin with an odd coloration to it, his facial features oddly familiar, reminding her of someone she used to occasionally interact with in school-
"E-Emiya?! Is that you, Emiya?"
While Rin was left confused as to why the smaller Einzbern Homunculus seemed to respond to the Emiya name she was even more bewildered as to why the boy she had known as a redheaded, emotionless maybe Magus looked so...different.
Like an Apostle.
Her suspicions were simply confirmed when he met her eyes and simply nodded, turning his attention back to the Executor-
-who gave off a very unhinged, very unsettling giggle.
"Oh, so you recognize Shirou-sama even as a Vampire but not your own flesh and blood?"
Rin's veins turned to ice.
"...No, you can't be...you were dead with Zouken, with all of the other Matous..."
The Executor spread her arms wide with a mocking grin.
"So good to see you again, Onee-sama~!"
"...Sakura?"
The Executor-her sister-calmly approached her, stating, "Oh, so now you remember? I suppose it can be hard to remember the family you cast aside and haven't seen for, what? Ten years?"
Closing her agape mouth with a sharp clack Rin struggled to find her voice, stammering, "How did you, why...why are you with the church?! Why didn't you return home-"
SHINK!
Rin slowly glanced downwards, finding her legs neatly perforated through the thigh with a pair of Black Keys, slowly spreading pain causing her limbs to buckle as she forced an agonized hiss to stay where it was.
"Why didn't I return home? Why would I, Onee-sama?"
Quickly moving to roll over and regain some measure of pride instead of laying in a haphazard spread on the ground Rin found her momentum arrested as Sakura quickly straddled her body, arms pinned to her side as shockingly powerful hands dug into her shoulders.
"Why would I ever want to return to the Tohsakas? The ones who cast me aside as if I was unwanted trash?"
Gritting her teeth Rin forced herself to meet the gaze of the stranger that proclaimed to be her precious sibling, retorting, "There was no choice! Father knew the family magecraft could only be passed on to a single child and-"
"And gave me to the Matous. Yes, Onee-sama, I am very much aware of that. But, tell me...do you know how I was to learn the Matou magics?"
"...No, father never said anything about it."
"Did you ever bother to try and find out?"
"Why would we? The Matous were a founding family who's line was slowly fading, surely they had a wealth of methods to properly instruct you in their craft, given your talent!"
A sick, twisted smile appeared on her sister's features.
"Oh, methods Zouken possessed, that he did...do you know about Crest Worms, Onee-sama?"
Rin tried to recall her studies under that infuriating priest, of the many esoteric and unpleasant rituals he would often assign her to research as some kind of sick game-
-and gaped, mind rejecting the very idea that Sakura had been subjected to that kind of fate.
"No...no, father would have never-"
"Oh? Tokiomi Tohsaka would have never let one of his daughters be the nesting bed of creatures such as Crest Worms?"
Sakura bent low, Rin's vision dominated by the sudden and tangible hatred emanating from the young woman looming overhead.
"Then isn't it such a fucking shame that he never bothered to so much as check on the process of one of his daughters? That the sister never tried to visit her oh so precious sibling and compare notes on the grand pursuit of Magecraft they were perfecting?"
One of Sakura's hands traced the curve of Rin's jaw...and with a sudden application of pressure forced the girl's mouth open with a pained cry, Black Key abruptly shoved down her throat as the Tohsaka stilled, fear coursing through her veins as she could feel the blade brushing the back of her mouth.
"Do you know what it's like, Onee-sama? To set your eyes on a writhing pit of disgusting creatures for the first time, to suddenly be shoved inside with no warning and be made the plaything of insects while all you can do is scream for someone, anyone, to help?"
The blade drew the slightest trickles of blood as Sakura's arm began to tremble, voice quavering as she continued unabated with, "Can you imagine screaming yourself raw in such ecstatic, sexual euphoria when you haven't even had your first period yet? Feeling a worm leap inside your mouth, force itself down your throat, through your stomach and intestines until you painfully shit it out? Only for another to repeat the process in reverse, puking up a writhing freak of nature covered in your body's fluids while it rewrites your soul into something it's not?"
The Black Key was abruptly removed, Rin gasping for air-
-and a pained whimper left her as the Key was thrown aside, the same hand suddenly grasping the mound between her legs and squeezing, an action that held no affection or lust whatsoever, a grip meant to hurt and violate.
"Or maybe...you would like to imagine what it must feel like to have solid carapace and sharp mandibles rip through your hymen, one monster after another until your body is so bloated that you feel like you're going to burst, magic circuits and affinity violated and perverted when all you want is for it to stop."
Rin blinked, the hand removing itself from between her legs, warm drops of liquid splattering across her face as she realized Sakura was crying-
-and then a pair of hands were clasped around her neck, squeezing with unstoppable strength as she began to struggle for breath.
"MY FAMILY?! WHERE WAS MY FAMILY DURING ALL OF THIS, RIN?!"
The young woman desperately kicked her wounded legs, wildly glancing to the side in a desperate hope for aid.
Saber and Edelfelt wavered for a moment, unsure of what to do...and strode forward before being stopped by Shirou, his face set in a resolute mask of stoicism.
"No...no, it wasn't you, it wasn't mother, it wasn't father...it wasn't even Uncle Kariya who at least tried before failing. The ones who rescued me, when I'd retreated so far inside that I was just living because that's what nature dictated? A twisted and mechanical boy exploited by adults to become a tool, who nonetheless took an interest in me. A cruel and zealous girl who believed I was worth saving, despite being both a heretic and sullied whore."
Rin's vision began to fade, spots dancing across her eyes-
-and just like that the pressure was gone, her abused airway spasming as it greedily sucked down oxygen, eyes only slowly swimming into focus and resolving into the sight of her sister, tears dripping down her face as she stared down at Rin with a million different emotions present on her features, arm raised overhead with Black Key angled to land right between her eyes.
"They were more of a family than any Tohsaka ever was."
The blade descended, Rin shutting her eyes as she fully expected to die-
THUNK!
-and could only blink as she realized she still drew breath, the Black Key embedded to the hilt in the soft ground next to her skull.
"...Why?"
Sakura made no reply, staggering to her feet before looking down at her with a dead expression, a wrap of crimson cloth that had been tied around her waist slipping beneath her uniform as the uneasy and malicious aura that had surrounded the girl faded away.
"Do what you want, Onee-sama. Return to the city, run and hide, stay here...I don't care. Letting you live after this disaster and suffer the fallout is a more satisfying punishment than any swift death could ever be."
With that she walked back to her companions and allies, the white-haired girl slowly offering a comforting embrace as the oddly dressed short girl hugged her leg, eyes staring up at Sakura with clear concern.
There wasn't anything else that was passed between them, Sakura slowly walking away with her family, Shirou and the two Homunculus following suit.
…
Rin just laid there, sightlessly staring at the sky as the Servants and Magi crouched next to her, concern apparent on Saber's face and even on Edelfelt's, to an extent.
"Tohsaka? Do not simply lay there, a founding family must retain some measure of pride, correct? Tohsaka?"
Luvia's worried tone did nothing to reach Rin, her arm slowly covering her eyes in a vain attempt to hide her tears, the sting of failure, regret and guilt coursing through her.
"Well that was certainly...emotionally charged?"
Merem's attempt at being polite went largely unappreciated, Sakura still lost in her own world as the Shroud of Martin quelled most of her turbulent emotions brought on by the Grail fragments while Jack and Caren were keeping a close eye on her.
Shirou was as stoic as always and it fell to Illya and Sella to seem annoyed at his words.
"You weren't there, stay out of it."
Appearing miffed at Illya's stiff words the Apostle nonetheless let the matter drop, instead clapping his present limbs together with a pleasant smile on his youthful features.
"Let's get to the heart of the matter then, shall we? All of you are in very precocious situations right now. Hortensia, Matou...you're in slightly less danger simply because you don't possess nearly as much imminent threat now that the Grail War is over, although many of our superiors in the church are less than pleased at how poorly you handled the situation. But as for you four..."
Merem's gaze landed on Shirou, Jack, Illya and Sella.
"You all possess an unknown allegiance-"
"We listen to Mommy."
"I am loyal to Milady, now and always."
"I'm here to keep Illya safe. Nothing more, nothing less."
The Ancestor blinked, clearing his throat before amending, "Some of you have unknown allegiances and carry a great deal of power...especially the two of you."
Solomon pointed to Shirou with a friendly smile.
"A newly minted Apostle Ancestor, who mere hours after being turned fought one of the strongest Heroic Spirits-arguably the strongest-and won singlehandedly."
"I had help."
Rolling his eyes as Shirou pointed to the formations of prana still laced across his body Merem dryly retorted, "Help that is really not that hard to apply. And there is something...different about you that tickles my fancy. You mostly feel like an Apostle, yet a bit...purer."
Cocking his head in confusion Shirou neutrally explained, "That might have something to do with Illya, she expedited the process when I was still being turned."
Beaming with excitement Merem turned to the Homunculus, eagerly asking, "Did you now? You will have to explain to me how and what you did, little miss~!"
Eyebrow twitching at being called little miss the albino testily retorted, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. How about you get to the point of whatever it was you were saying?"
"So touchy...very well, the fact of the matter is you yourself are arguably more dangerous than your proclaimed guardian, as lethal as he is. A fledging practitioner of the Third Magic who is able to supply and keep manifested three Servants? That's a rather terrifying prospect and I don't doubt the Mage Association-alongside several other interested parties-have a multitude of Sealing Designations or their equivalent with your names on them."
"...Is that a threat?"
Illya's silky tone of voice didn't even phase Merem, the Apostle cheerily explaining, "Not from me. As a matter of fact, I'm here with a bit of an offer for all of you, one that would go a long way in ensuring the fallout from this disaster goes over smoothly and with little conflict."
The Homunculus looked dubious and was about to ask what that entailed when the blue-haired Burial Agency girl jogged up to them, remarking, "Highways are closed, city is in lockdown and the Sixth Sacrament is prepped to go off in a few minutes. And unless someone screwed up we should be a good hundred meters outside the 'blast' zone."
"Ah, thank you, Ciel. I was just about to explain to our newest friends here the benefits the church is prepared to offer in exchange for a few...concessions, shall we say?"
The Executor slapped a palm over her face at Merem's ominous tone, Caren stating, "Enticing others to accept a proposed deal is not best achieved with an unsettling tone of voice, Vampire. You should make the pros and cons highly evident and do so with a charming cadence. Observe."
Yellow eyes locked onto ones of crimson, the Exorcist stating, "Dwarf-chan, you should accept this most generous offer from the Lord's messengers, else you will live out the rest of your days being chased and hounded by opportunistic Magi, monsters and heretics."
Illya dully glared at the angelic woman, sighing in exasperation as Ciel looked like she was visibly restraining herself from smacking her two companions over the back of the head.
"Ignore those two, Homunculus. The church's offer is this. Full membership and protection from outside organizations that wish to pressure you, as well as full amnesty and relieving of any responsibility the fallout of this mess would have otherwise ended up being attributed to you. And a vacation. Don't ask me about that last part, I didn't even know we could get vacations..."
Illya raised an eyebrow as Sella narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
"Hold up a moment, it's starting."
All the church members turned their attention towards the city, everyone else following suit as the air stilled, noise oddly reduced as distant song began to suffuse their surroundings.
"Ahh, truly a sight gifted only to the Lord's most faithful..."
Caren's oddly genuine tone coincided with countless feathers of white, gold and silver to shimmer into view, dancing and floating on imaginary breeze in a perfectly round arc around the city, stretching across the horizon in an unbroken chain of beauty.
Civilians, emergency response and denizens of the Moonlit World alike gazed upwards, transfixed by the sight as disembodied voices of men, women and children alike begin to sing echoing hymns with perfect cadence and pitch, a soothing and lulling crescendo that faded into blinding light as the uncountable feathers suddenly blazed with holy fire-
-and normal sound returned to the world, distant wail of sirens and murmur of confused conversation quickly picking up steam as the gathered group watched the previously panicked and angry crowds glance around with bewilderment and confusion.
"Well, that's the first step done...so glad we don't have to take care of the rest, that level of work would drive me crazy."
Ciel's comment went unopposed as Merem turned to face Illya and Shirou, the albino cooly inquiring, "Those are generous terms...what's the catch?"
"Well it's quite simple, really. Do you two happen to know anything about the Aylesbury Valesti?"
Freakin autocorrect...I go through the whole story and then the AN goes ahead and turns 'Rin' into 'Run'.
Et tu, Auto Correctu?
But yeah, Sakura had some choice issues to work out. Will they reconcile? Only future chapters will tell...
And in the meantime the Church is recruiting kids right out of school in order to fight the Dark Six war, with generous prmoises of a paid higher education as long as they don't die.
