Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

This Cannot End Well

Chapter 2

The woman working at Fuyuki Social Services put her phone down before looking up at Sakura. "I'm sorry, ma'am." She said. "But none of our offices and affiliates in the city have seen much less taken in anyone that matches the description of the boy that you gave us."

"I see." Sakura said with a nod, before waving a hand over the woman's face. "This inquiry never happened. This conversation never took place. I was never here."

The woman slowly nodded. "I…understand…my…master…" she listlessly responded, before Sakura nodded again, and walked out of the office back into the hallway outside. From there, it was a short walk to the foyer, and then out into the open.

Rin was there, standing to one side, waiting while leaning against a wall. She stood up straight as Sakura approached, and quickly fell into step next to her sister. "We have a problem." She began without preamble.

"Oh, great…just great…what is it now?"

"Someone else used a Kaleidostick…or something like it."

"What does that mean?"

"According to the Wizard Marshal," Rin said. "The energy signature is all wrong. It's…got all the markers of a Kaleidostick, but it doesn't seem right, and the transition between timelines is all distorted, at least compared to the kid we're looking for."

"…more visitors?" Sakura asked.

"Yup." Rin said with a nod. "These guys are trouble, though. According to the Wizard Marshal, there's dozens of them this time around, and the first ones came in with guns and body armor. Then they setup some kind of…cloak, that disrupts scrying. The Wizard Marshal's monitors can pick them up when they transition through, but not where and how many."

"Who the hell are these guys?" Sakura muttered. "And what's so important about the kid that they've brought in so many thugs and hired guns to bring him in?"

"I don't know." Rin admitted. "And neither does the Wizard Marshal. I get the feeling we'll only get our answers once we find the kid, though. That, and I don't like the idea of letting the kid fall into the hands of those…lowlifes."

Sakura snorted. "Well, no argument there." She said. "Besides, this is our land. I don't care who they are and what they want, they're trespassing and for no good reason. They're going down."

"Agreed." Rin said with a nod. "How'd things go at social services?"

"No help, as usual." Sakura said with a sneer. "Japanese social services, such an oxymoron…"

"…unless you're a senior citizen with no family or means of your own…" Rin pointed out, before her expression soured. "…and even then, it's only a matter of going through the motions until you die and the state can take everything you're worth."

"…anyway," Sakura said with a cough. "With social services useless to us, we're going to have to do this our way."

"We have the general location." Rin said with a nod. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"I was just going to ask you that question."

"Familiars…?"

"I don't have a better idea."

"Then familiars it is."

"Well, that was easy." Rin dully remarked as she and Sakura trudged through the slums. "Too easy, I'd say."

"We're being followed." Sakura said, before telepathically sharing her familiars' perceptions of the men in their wake.

"Yeah…looks like the lowlifes who came through recently." Rin said.

"I can take them." Little Rin offered.

"No." Sakura said with narrowed eyes. "Let them come. Let them spring their trap, and when they think they've won, we'll punch them in their noses."

"And then we'll get some answers." Rin said.

"Right you are." Sakura said with a nod.

"Hmm…okay…" Little Rin unhappily conceded. "…where is everybody?"

"Good question…" Sakura muttered, as they all emerged into a circular space in the middle of the slums, the walls around them bare and pollution-stained concrete. There were a few windows here and there, but mostly boarded up, and those that weren't were dirty and nearly-opaque from years of neglect. There was also a large dumpster sitting next to a wall, the air ripe and fragrant with the stink of rotting refuse in its insides.

Rin and Sakura stared at the dumpster in horror, and then at each other. "This is messed up." Rin finally said.

"And the worst part is we can't just walk up to this kid and grab him." Sakura replied. "He's at least a spell-caster, frightened, alone, and hungry. He'll be very jumpy, and I can't really blame him if he just throws a spell or two at anyone who opens the dumpster."

"But we can't exactly do nothing either." Rin said while kicking at the ground. "One of us is going to have to take that risk."

"…well, we could scare him out…I feel bad for even thinking about it…but it's the safest option…"

"…I…" Rin briefly began to protest, before sighing and rubbing her temples. "…I've got no better idea."

"Right then," Sakura said with a sigh of her own. "Little big sister, you're up. Just scare him out, don't hurt him."

"Leave it to me!" Little Rin said, ghosting over to the dumpster and literally just going in through the thin metal. There was a brief moment of profound silence, and then a shrill scream sounded from inside the dumpster, before the lid banged open from the inside. A dark-haired boy jumped out, looking scared out of his wits, holding a dirty blue and gold Kaleidostick in one hand, before running away.

"Easy there, kid." Sakura said, trying to catch the boy, only for him to dive and roll past, and continue to run away.

Only Rin was waiting, and quickly scooped him up. "Easy, easy!" she said. "We're not going to hurt you, we just want to help."

The little boy seemed to freeze at the sound of her voice, strangely-familiar blue eyes staring wide at her face. "Mommy…?" he gasped out.

"What?" Rin, Sakura, and Little Rin said at once.

Further conversation became impossible as men in dark fatigues and body armor appeared around them, most on the rooftops with guns aimed at the Tohsakas from above. Others stomped out of the alley behind them, forming a firing line but surprisingly keeping their guns lowered. The answer to why soon became apparent, as more men appeared out of the alley in front, escorting a tall man in a clearly expensive tailored suit.

It didn't take long for the Tohsakas to recognize him either. His face was older and narrower, with shark cheekbones that might be called handsome, along with a pair of eyes with unusual violet irises. His similarly-unusual violet hair though was a greasy mess, stuck together in a way reminiscent of seaweed, and he wore a habitual sneer and smug smile that made both Rin and Sakura want to punch him out of principle.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," Shinji Matou began in an all-too familiar voice that just dripped with arrogance. "You Tohsakas have always been ones to poke your noses where they don't belong. Still, you did all the work for me, so I suppose I can give you that you made things more convenient."

"Mommy…I'm scared…" the little boy fearfully whispered, clutching at Rin tightly, who instinctively held him close. That left Sakura to respond, the other woman stepping protectively in front of her sister.

"In contrast, I'm surprised you're still alive at your age, you little sneak." She snapped. "I'd figured even if you'd lived through the war that attitude of yours would have gotten you knifed in a back-alley somewhere sooner or later."

Shinji's face twisted into a scowl, before a look of recognition appeared on his face. "Well, isn't this a surprise?" he asked no one in particular. "I'd have thought you were just another version of Rin Tohsaka, but it turns out you're actually another version of Sakura…Tohsaka, is it?"

"What's it to you?" Sakura asked, and Shinji's grin turned lecherous.

"I taught you so many things way back when, you know." He said, looking at her up and down while licking his lips. "How to sway your hips…how to show off those tits of yours…even how to…"

Little Rin gave a spectral snarl, and would have attacked then and there, but Sakura pulled on the tether of prana between them. "Don't get reckless." Sakura said, ignoring Shinji's filth and focusing on her sister instead. "There are guns trained on us from above. You attack Shinji now, and they'll kill us."

"Can't you hear what he's saying about you?" Little Rin raged. "What he did to the other you?"

"I'll feed him his own balls." Sakura replied with a mental shrug. "But you have to take care of those guns on top."

"And the ones behind?"

"They can't shoot at us without shooting their own boss."

"Oh yeah…"

"Wait for my signal."

"…fine."

"…this doesn't have to become violent." Shinji continued to preen. "Hand the kid over, drop your mystic codes, and surrender to me and my men. You're all very smart, aren't you? You lost even before we got here, and, well, to the victor go the spoils. No one has to get hurt, in fact, if you just go along it can be very enjoyable for all of us."

"You sick bastard!" Rin shouted.

Shinji tutted. "Now is that any way to talk in the presence of a child?" he asked.

"As if you're one to talk." Sakura replied. "As for your offer, I've got this idea where you can stick…"

She broke off as a door banged open on one of the rooftops, followed by a thunderclap and a bright actinic flash. One of Shinji's men screamed as his chest exploded outwards in a spray of burnt flesh and hot steam, followed by another thunderclap and flash, and the man next to the previous one also screamed and fell.

Things went to high speed. Sakura waved a hand in Rin's direction, her shout of alarm abruptly cut off as she was swallowed by an emergency teleportation spell. Gunfire erupted above as gunmen opened fire at a target Sakura couldn't see, along with thunderclaps and flashing followed by the screams of dying men.

Little Rin similarly howled in mindless fury as she phased into existence, her skin pale and her eyes red, claws extended to rip and tear. Men screamed in terror before opening fire, bullets just punching into her to no effect before she was tearing into them. Flesh tore and blood flowed, men's screams turning into gurgles as Little Rin sank her fangs into their necks and drained them dry.

Shinji screamed in frustration before pulling out a dagger and throwing it at Sakura. Sakura half-turned to dodge and catch, before throwing it back. Shinji threw himself to the ground to dodge, the dagger instead punching into the neck of one of his men, who fell gurgling. Screaming in frustration once more, Shinji scrambled to his feet and ran.

The remaining men on the ground opened fire, Sakura teleporting away and then in close, beam sabers cutting men down left and right before she chased after Shinji, leaving Little Rin and their unknown helper to finish off Shinji's thugs. She tried to teleport next to him, only to growl in frustration in her turn.

"A personal cloak?" Sakura thought. "Where the hell did this guy get this kind of hardware? Or even figure out how to travel between timelines? He's Shinji Matou. There's no way he could…!"'

Shinji ran into what looked like a machine shop of some kind, Sakura following in after him. Then she stopped in shock and surprise, as her beam sabers spluttered and died. "A Jewelcraft Inhibitor…?" she mentally gaped. "How the hell…?"

"Get that bitch!" Shinji screamed shrilly from the second floor. "But don't kill her yet! I need to teach that little whore a lesson in respect first!"

The men in the shop dropped their guns and pulled out batons before rushing Sakura. Sakura narrowed her eyes before charging in with her body reinforced, aiming to use a lightning offensive to turn her enemies' greater numbers against them.

A left hook dropped a man, his nose crushed and the front of his skull shattered from the force of her blow. A man screamed as Sakura caught him by the wrist, and then simultaneously twisted his arm while breaking his neck with her free hand. A third man found himself body slammed into a nearby machine with enough force to dent the metal, before Sakura slipped behind a fourth man, and grabbing him from behind around the waist, lifted him up and then down in a German suplex that practically turned his spine into an accordion.

A thickly-built six-footer went down after a punch from Sakura to his gut ruptured his innards. Another man found his skull splattered all over the concrete wall. One man blindsided Sakura, repeatedly bashing her head with his baton until the wood splintered, only to gape as she just looked at him in disbelief.

Then he whimpered as she grabbed and then lifted him up, before breaking his back over her knee. At the sight, the last man dropped his baton, and backed away with hands raised in surrender. Sakura ignored him, instead chasing after Shinji up the stairs and to the upper level.

"Come out, you little sneak." Sakura taunted, unable to sense Shinji with his personal cloak on. "You sure like to talk like a big man, but I guess when all's said and done, you're all talk, aren't you?"

Shinji's response was a kick from the shadows, hitting her in the jaw and actually staggering her. It was more from the surprise than anything though, her reinforcement making hitting her without reinforcing yourself like hitting concrete. It was even more surprising that Shinji kept hitting her, a pair of haymakers followed by a pair of spinning kicks and then another pair of high kicks quickly wearing him out.

"You like that, you little whore?" he shouted at her.

Sakura kicked him through the wall, cheap cement crumbling as Shinji went flying with a scream. Sakura quickly ran over to look down at the street…

…and then away, Shinji apparently having landed in a dump truck passing by on the street below, and which was already driving away.

"Lucky bastard…" Sakura thought, all thoughts of pursuit disappearing as she sensed Little Rin and another magus below. Rushing back to the second floor railing, Sakura looked down, both at her little big sister and a magus dressed in a white shirt under a brown vest and over grey trousers, along with a black coat over it all. He also wore a cowboy hat of all things, which he took off as she looked down at him.

"Looks like you managed to take these guys down by yourself." He said in accented Japanese. "Nice work, little lady."

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Thomas Sawyer VII." He said with a nod and a smile. "But you can just call me Tom. More importantly, if you want answers, I can give them to you. Well, as much as I know, anyway, but if anything else, I'm no friend of that son of a bitch Shinji Matou. So, how about it?"

"…let's talk."

"I'm an Enforcer from the College of Law." Tom said as he sat in the Tohsaka mansion's living room. "Me and my partner were investigating possible breaches of the Masquerade by a certain Shirou Emiya…"

Tom trailed off as Rin and Sakura both gave a groan and palmed their faces. "Was it really that bad?" Rin asked.

"Mister Emiya's become something of an urban legend," Tom replied. "A…vigilante, who can pull swords out of thin air and move faster than men can fire guns. Normally this isn't really a problem, but the urban legend's becoming front page news, with his involvement in Third World bushfires and vigilante attacks on corporate properties out on the fringes."

"He's going to get himself killed, or worse." Sakura groaned.

Rin slammed a fist on the coffee table. "Idiot!" she raged. "Just what is my counterpart doing? Or yours? Letting him go wild like that?"

"…if Shinji's remarks are any indication, my counterpart's busy being a sex slave." Sakura darkly said.

"And…Miss Rin's counterpart, is suspected of being an accomplice." Tom said.

"…has she gone completely insane?" Rin gaped.

"More importantly," Sakura cut in while massaging her temples. "What's Shinji's connection to this?"

"Our investigation led us to Japan, where Mister Emiya was based out of." Tom continued. "By that time, his activities had lagged, and we wondered if he or his mistress had finally come to their senses."

Rin twitched. "Mistress…?" she echoed. Tom looked at her curiously, but decided not to elaborate.

"It turns out they were busy with problems back home," he said instead. "Turns out the Matou had usurped Fuyuki, and were involved with some kind of scheme over harvesting corpses for organs and even magic circuits."

"…that doesn't sound good." Sakura said grimly.

Tom clenched his fists. "My partner ended up killed when we looked into things." He said. "Well, we didn't have reason to really interfere before then, but after that…well, the College of Law doesn't like it when their agents get killed, so I was sent in to unravel all of Matou's schemes."

"How far did you get?" Rin asked.

"Not far, unfortunately," Tom said with a sigh. "I…I don't know how they did it. Somehow, Matou fractured…time…"

"WHAT?" Rin and Sakura yelled.

"…they fractured time in Fuyuki." Tom said. "Some places…it was like back in the 1800s…other places…well, they look futuristic, or seem that way, hard to tell considering all the battle damage…I don't know either how they managed to travel between the various pockets, or what they're really up to."

"And…?" Rin pressed.

"This was supposed to be my big break." Tom said. "Mister Matou had gone out to kidnap Mister Emiya and Miss Tohsaka's son, which was my chance to catch him in the open. Bring him in, and find out everything he knew. He came so close, you know. He tricked both Mister Emiya and Miss Tohsaka into leaving their son all but unprotected, and Mister Matou swooped in for the kill…"

"…but the kid…" Sakura began.

"Nagato." Rin interjected, and Sakura winced.

"…unfortunate name…" she muttered before continuing normally. "…used a Kaleidostick to escape."

"Yes." Tom said with a nod. "This left me holding the bag, so I ambushed one of Mister Matou's men and took his place to infiltrate Fuyuki further."

"And what did you find out?" Sakura asked.

"They have another Kaleidostick." Tom said grimly. "They have it hooked up to some kind of…well, I'd call it a machine, only machines aren't supposed to be made out of flesh."

"Oh for God's sake…" Sakura said, palming her face again.

"That's how they fractured time." Rin breathed in realization. "That's also how they travel between timelines. My God…another Kaleidostick…and they've somehow managed to subvert it and its functions with some kind…fleshcraft?"

"Sounds typical for the Matou." Sakura said in disgust.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough to see the…flesh-construct's, inner workings." Tom admitted. "I only saw one of its terminals, and inferred the rest from what I overheard from Mister Shinji. And when he decided to chase after the kid into this timeline, well, here we are."

"We need to tell the Wizard Marshal, ASAP." Rin said.

"No argument there." Sakura said.

"Likewise." Tom said. "I get the feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

A/N

What, did you think the title was a joke?

No, Shinji's not dead, well the one that appeared here, the one from another timeline, since the 'local' version of Shinji got killed by Illya (or rather, Berserker Hercules). As amusing as it would be for him to go out like Cioccolata and/or Secco, that'd be boring. He's not a punch-clock villain who ought to go down in a villain of the week format, after all. He'll be back, though whether or not he's more successful in the future remains to be seen.