Fate Identity Reborn

by Nick of Fire

Kirei Kotomine, at the temptations of Gilgamesh, gave in to his dark desires and caused a flood of death and tragedy. But, what if he didn't give in and remained true to his ideals? A cavalcade of changes would follow. The birth of the makeshift family of Kirei, Rin, Sakura, and Caren. Another makeshift family of Artoria, Irisviel, Illyasviel, and Gray. This is a new Fate.

7. Chapter 7: Duel and Abduction

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 7: Duel and Abduction

A flash of green.

Rin was just running at the Edelfelt bitch and the giant guy behind her one moment, the next, she was running just at the Edelfelt.

Stumbling to a stop, Rin's first priority was looking to see if Sakura was still behind her. She wasn't. Rin and the blond weren't even in the alley anymore. They were inside a large meeting room of an abandoned office building. The area was still tinted red so they were within the enemy Servant's Bounded Field. Rin and the blond stood at opposite ends of a long rotted wood table.

Rin tried to telepathically contact Sakura, but she couldn't reach her. The Bounded Field the Gorgon Sisters created must have been able to jam telepathic communication.

"Where's Sakura? Where'd you take her?" Rin's composure broke.

"I'm guessing Sakura is the girl you were with. She's with my butler, Clown. He'll deal with her promptly while I settle the score between our families."

Shit. Sakura was alone. How could Rin screw up so badly? She promised to always be by Sakura's side and protect her. Now, they were in the most dangerous situation of their lives and they got separated. Rin had led them into the most obvious trap in the world.

If Rin didn't finish this fast, Sakura was going to die.

"Now, then." The blond jumped atop the long table. "Let us end this feud onc-"

Rin pulled out multiple jewels and threw them so hard her joints ached from the motion. "Neun, Acht, Sieben. Stil, schießt Beschießen, Erschießung!" Multiple large icicles manifested and fired like missiles at the Edelfelt. Rin wasn't going to waste time bantering.

With a grimace, the Edelfelt threw her own jewels that created a barrier the icicles crashed into. The half of the table behind the barrier was unscathed, but the other half was less than dust. The freezing waves that came from the icicles caused the walls, floor, and ceiling that were on Rin's side of the room to get a coating of frozen air. Even the air in front of the barrier the Edelfelt erected froze, creating a wall of ice between the two magi.

This was actually the perfect chance for Rin to escape. It should take a bit for the blond bitch to break through that ice wall.

Rin was wrong.

The icy partition shattered as a massive blast of magical energy smashed through it. Said blast was a rainbow of colors and was powerful enough to cause Rin to freeze in place like a deer in headlights. It was about to hit Rin dead on.

"Sieben!" Regathering herself, Rin threw multiple more jewels to create her own barrier. The rainbow blast smashed into the shield and made the building rumble, but it failed to tear down Rin's safeguard.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed. You managed to stop The Edelfelt's Kaleidoscope. You may not compare to me, but you're at least someone who's somewhat worthy of defeating."

"You dare name that tiny little spell after Zelretch's epithet? That's truly an insult."

"You Tohsakas are the ones who insult Zelretch. He entrusted your family with the task of recreating the Jewel Sword and you've made no progress worth mentioning."

"At least Zelretch tasked us with something. He didn't see anything special in Edelfelts."

A snarl came from the blond. "Well, I'll prove he needed a more discerning eye." She took out more jewels.

This was bad. Rin was nearly out of jewels at this point. This Edelfelt woman was using high level jewel magecraft spells like it was nothing special. She must have had an absurd number of gems to burn through. The Edelfelts were supposed to be obscenely wealthy, so that made sense.

Rin needed to get in close. If she could, she could turn the fight to one of martial arts. Rin was confident she could beat any magus in a contest of hand-to-hand combat short of a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. If she used the last of her gems, excluding her pendant, to create an opening, Rin could give herself a chance to close the distance. But, she'd only get one shot and if she screwed up, she was dead. It didn't help that the Bounded Field was still sapping Rin's strength. Her head was swimming like she was on a roller coaster.

But, she had to stay sharp. She just needed to deal with the Edelfelt bitch, and then she could go save Sakura.

Rin grabbed and threw all her remaining jewels in one clean motion. At the same time she began to run with reinforced legs at full speed using footwork she learned from Kirei. Less than a second after Rin threw her gems, the blond threw her own. That minor delay was all Rin needed. As Rin's jewels and the Edelfelt's got close to each other, Rin activated her spell first. A spherical purple barrier formed around the blond's jewels. The orb created a strong gravity that forced all the gems to collide with each other at its center.

The blond activated her gems, but as they erupted into a variety of spells, the objects and effects those spells created all got pushed towards the barrier's center as well. It weakened the force of the Edelfelt's spells which, along with the barrier's durability, allowed the sphere to contain blond's attack.

Rin kept on running, jumped on the table, and got right in her enemy's face. She had done it. Now the battle was going to turn in her favor.

The Edelfelt grinned as she tore off her removable sleeves. It looked like she was a practitioner of bare knuckle combat, but she'd never seen a martial artist like Rin.

Rin raised a leg for a kick. The bitch responded by getting low and lunging forward. She was a wrestler, apparently. She was gonna try and grab Rin by the waist while she didn't have both legs firmly planted. As she did, she put out a hand to block Rin's kick by grabbing it at the knee.

Perfect.

When the blond grabbed Rin's knee, the entire leg dressed itself in fire. No, it was infused with fire. The bitch pulled her arm back as her glove burned away and her hand was covered in third degree burns.

The kick continued and the blond had no choice but to take the flaming leg head on. Her arms raised and reinforced and she took the kick, her arms burning as she was flung into the air.

Rin's legs were surrounded by whirlwinds. She jumped, the gusts propelling her at super speed as she headed for the Edelfelt. While they were both midair, Rin punched at the blond. Right before it hit, Rin's fist became a dark purple color as it was infused with a spell that increased its mass. The fist smashed into the arms the bitch used to block and sent her flying through multiple walls.

As Rin learned Bajiquan from Kirei, Rin considered the idea of combining martial arts and magecraft. Rin studied a variety of Chinese martial arts. She never became as skilled as Caren, but she wasn't far behind. Rin then figured out how to infuse magical energy into the body quickly and precisely. This allowed her to enhance her body parts with different spells while fighting hand-to-hand. It sounded simple, but initiating spells into specific body parts rapidly and while performing physical maneuvers required great concentration and practice. It was also very powerful. Thus, a new martial art was born that Rin named Madō(魔道). This was Rin's personal project that she would present to the Clock Tower to get an instant jump in rank once they accepted her.

Rin hit the ground running as she followed her opponent through the many holes she created in the building. Ending up in a dirty bathroom, Rin found the Edelfelt right as she got back to her feet. She was bleeding from multiple places, especially her burnt arms, and she was pissed.

Since Rin could infuse her body parts with spells, the bitch couldn't touch her. That meant her wrestling was useless. As long as Rin kept things short range, she had this fight in the bag.

The dumb bitch tried to punch Rin. Apparently she was too stupid to realize that was a bad idea. Rin raised an arm and began infusing it with electricity.

The blond's fist stopped and opened. She wasn't really punching, she was throwing. A jewel was released from her hand. She was going to use jewel magecraft at close range.

Reflexes activating, Rin swung her arm and knocked the gem away. It flew into a bathroom stall where it exploded into a deafening sound that made Rin's already dizzy head even more muddled.

Before she had a chance to recompose herself, Rin felt arms wrap around her waist from behind. She was lifted into the air and German suplexed into the floor so hard she went straight through it and into the hallway downstairs.

She got to her feet, but when she looked up, a foot stomped into her face. The bitch took a page from Rin's book and used a gem to create a gust to propel herself. Rin could feel multiple teeth loosen from the Edelfelt's heel digging into her mouth.

Rin grabbed the bitch's leg, electricity infusing into her hands and surging into the Edelfelt's body. The blond stiffened as all her muscles were stimulated. Rin spun around over and over with the bitch still in her hands before releasing her and sending her flying through multiple rooms so hard that the entire floor they were on began to collapse.

As the Edelfelt was still flying, Rin dashed at her with both wind and fire roaring from her feet to shoot her forward faster than ever. Rin caught up to the bitch while powering up her elbow with freezing energy while her hand had fire and wind swirling around it Rin raised her arm to drive her elbow down into the bitch. The wind and fire fired from Rin's hand which pointed towards the ceiling, propelling her elbow straight downward into the bitch's torso with greater force than a shot from a battleship gun. The elbow strike created a sound like thunder upon impact due to the power. All the glass in the building shattered and the walls filled with cracks. The blond's body began to freeze from the icy power in Rin's elbow before she was sent careening downward through all the building's floors before smashing into the basement. The freezing of her body made the bitch extra brittle so she took even more damage from the collision.

Rin jumped down the pit she created and landed in the basement. She immediately took an armbar to the neck. She wasn't prepared so by the time she could think to infuse herself with a spell, she had already been sent flying into a wall.

The Edelfelt was already up. The basement was dark, but Rin could see her opponent wasn't in a good way. She had thawed, but her body was covered in bleeding cracks from her earlier impact. Her breathing was wheezy but she was still ready to fight.

She began pulling out more gems so Rin took off. She couldn't let her use the jewels at range or she wouldn't be able to deflect them in time to avoid the spells going off properly.

The jewels were thrown but it was close enough that Rin was able to knock them upward before they could go off. When they exploded above, they produced a rain stone spikes. Rin danced around them with precise footwork, though some did hit her, leaving her with cuts and a few sticking out of her shoulders.

Rin was right in the Edelfelt's face, shooting off punches and kicks that the blond did her best to bob and weave around. She was mostly successful excluding a few grazing blows and some direct hits from occasional wind and fire accelerated strikes.

The blond pulled out more jewels, but every time she tossed them out, Rin knocked them away and dodged around whatever the spells created.

One time, when the blond's hand began to open and Rin prepared to knock away another jewel, nothing appeared. The blond didn't actually throw out anything, she just opened her hand. Actually, that opened hand was right in Rin's face, blocking her view. It was a fake out.

A fist crashed into Rin's lower torso, right at the liver area. Rin felt vomit enter her mouth as she sensed magical energy. The fist that was still digging into her gut was holding a cluster of jewels that were about to fire off a spell. If she took that attack at point blank range, Rin was dead no matter what spell she infused herself with to defend.

Deciding to fight dirty, Rin spat out the vomit in her mouth right in the blond bitch's eyes. The Edelfelt reeled back instinctively right as her spell was about to go off. Shooting wind and fire from her foot, Rin launched her knee into the hand holding the jewels, knocking it upwards.

The jewels in the blond's hand fired off the spell they had charged towards the rest of the building above rather than Rin, releasing a massive blast of rainbow colored energy like the one from early in the fight. The wave of energy rose through the building above, destroying everything in its path. Rin didn't see exactly what was destroyed, but she assumed that multiple support pillars or the like had been annihilated. She believed this had been the case since the building had begun to collapse in on itself. Neither Rin nor the Edelfelt had time to try and escape before the entire office building above would try to squash them.

The blond still had bile in her eyes as she threw multiple jewels above her that began forming a barrier around her. Rin, the frugal opportunist that she was, dashed within the bounds of the shield her enemy created before it finished forming so it would protect her, too. It was either that or use her pendant and she wasn't going to waste it now if she didn't have to.

The barrier held strong as the rubble of the building finished collapsing and formed a giant pile atop the dome shaped shield. The Masters were now forced into close quarters thanks to the barrier's small size, perfect for Rin. If the bitch tried to use her jewels, she risked getting caught up in her own spell when there's so little free space.

The Edelfelt finished clearing her eyes of the former contents of Rin's stomach and gave a look that could only be described as 'murdery.' Despite her disadvantage she ran at Rin to punch her. As the fist headed for Rin's face, the Tohsaka head's arm raised to block the strike while infusing it with an ice spell.

When the blond's fist hit Rin's forearm and began to freeze over, instead of pulling back or stopping, the blond kept going. Her fist kept pushing harder and actually broke apart the ice around it.

Rin was flung into the barrier behind her as the Edelfelt continued her assault. She threw punches and kicks without fear. As Rin infused her body with fire and electricity, the blond just powered through the damage as she kept thrashing Rin. The Edelfelt forced her body to move by reinforcing it as the electricity tried to paralyze her. She ignored the burns from every burst of fire her limbs were hit with.

Rin's body was getting bruised and her bones creaked. She was beginning to feel tired. She was really low on magical energy thanks to the Noble Phantasm that covered the block and her own rapid usage of spells.

The Edelfelt threw a jewel behind her that created a mighty windstorm that threw her at Rin. The blond's fist plowed right into Rin's solar plexus as the barrier around them deactivated. The storm-propelled blond continued to push Rin, forcing Rin's body to burrow through the debris around them, back first. They tunneled upward through the collapsed building. Rin's back was getting torn up, making it bleed like a waterfall that turned to mist due to the Bounded Field.

Erupting out of the collapsed building and to the outdoors, Rin and the Edelfelt appeared. They weren't outside for long because a furious Rin kicked with a foot turned purple as its mass increased. The bitch was slammed away and into another abandoned building. Rin jumped after her. When Rin entered, she was face to face with the bitch who was already going for a counterattack.

The fight was a wild brawl at this point. The duo kept throwing and hitting each other through walls, ceilings, floors, and even through to other buildings. Rooms crumbled with every strike and entire buildings collapsed in the wake of their battle. The two were jumping around so much that the only purpose the environment had was to provide footholds for every time they leapt at each other for another clash.

Now that the blond was willing to just power through the pain, she was able to put her wrestling to good use. Rin found herself in chokeholds, leg locks, suplexes, izuna drops, and every other kind of grapple that Rin could name.

Rin would get stuck on a submission hold, but she'd smack the ground so hard that she and the Edelfelt would bounce in the air and give Rin the opportunity to palm strike the bitch away.

Rin would go for a flaming punch only for the blond to duck down, sweep her legs, grab said legs, and toss Rin through a wall and into another building.

The fight had long since given up on the idea of elegance. It was bordering on no longer being considered a fight. It was becoming violence and violence alone.

Rin grabbed the blond's head and scraped her face across a wall before shoving her head in a toilet.

The bitch spat in Rin's eyes multiple times as revenge for Rin puking in her face.

But, Rin and the Edelfelt still used strategy. The Edelfelt took advantage of her deadly jewels to keep an edge as Rin had to always deflect them when she threw them out, which created plenty of openings. If just one jewel spell hit Rin dead on, she was dead. The jewels also required little magical energy to activate since they're pre-charged ahead of time. Rin's Madō wasn't so efficient, eating up chunks of her magical energy every time she infused a spell into her body.

That wasn't the only advantage the Edelfelt had. The red Bounded Field the enemy Servant made was slowly killing Rin and sucking up her magical energy. Bits of her skin kept melting off. Her eyes were a few steps away from liquifying. She had constant vertigo. Rin's whole body would have been in nigh-insufferable agony if it weren't from the combat high she was under.

Rin was going to lose soon if she didn't figure out a way to put down the Edelfelt bitch and keep her down.

She had to think of something quick. Sakura was waiting for her. Who knew what kind of trouble she was in? She might have lost consciousness. She might have lost a limb. She might have been dying.

After getting hit through the wall of one building and into the wall of another, Rin got to her feet and ran up to the hole her body just made. She looked across to see the blond standing at the other hole in the adjacent building. She was tired and it was clear that she couldn't keep going much longer. Their next exchange was going to be the last.

Both women looked each other in the eye and time seemed to freeze completely, even the frigid wind no longer blowing. A mutual respect had formed between the two. They didn't like each other, but they couldn't help but admire each other's ingenuity and skill. The intimacy of combat told them much about each other. The end of this battle wouldn't be between two women who reviled each other, and it wouldn't be between representatives of two rival families. This battle was going to end between two fellow magi, marital artists, and warriors who considered each other worthy rivals.

Both fighters leapt towards each other. The Rin's rival acted first, tossing out multiple gems that all flew towards Rin. Cupping her hands at her side and infusing them with wind magecraft, air began to gather and condense between them. Thrusting her hands forward, the condensed air released as a large horizontal tornado heading for the incoming gems. The vortex wouldn't be strong enough to overpower the jewel spells, but it didn't need to. The wind's strength caused the airborne gems to have their courses altered. They all flew in unintended directions far away from Rin.

The wind spiral continued towards Rin's rival. Clever as ever, she tossed a jewel to her side that released a wave of wind that pushed her out of the way of the tornado. As soon as it was clear the direction she was moving, Rin shot wind and fire from her feet to shoot towards her rival. Rin's rival pulled out more gems, but those were Rin's target. Grabbing at her rival's hand, Rin snatched her opponent's gems so she could use them herself.

Her rival still had more, but as she took them out, Rin front kicked her in the stomach and sent her into the wall of a building, embedding her into it. She was stuck. Pulling her arm back, Rin was about to throw her pilfered gems when she sensed magical energy approaching her from behind.

Turning, Rin saw that the jewels she redirected had done a u-turn. They must have been programmed with a spell to make them track Rin. Her rival must have prepared for when Rin would redirect her attacks again considering how many times she did it before. Rin didn't have time to infuse her feet with another spell to fly away. She was forced to throw the gems she had just stolen.

"Acht!" Rin said as the jewels shattered and created a barrier that blocked the incoming gems that exploded against it.

Rin spun back towards her rival only to see one more jewel heading for her. Rin's rival had pulled her arm out of the wall and threw another jewel. Rin still didn't have time to fly away. This gem was even closer than the other ones were. She had only one option. She had to use the pendant she inherited from her father. It was either that or die. Reaching into pocket, Rin came to a grim realization. One that sounded silly, and it was. Rin didn't remember where on her body her pendant was. Sakura always remembered where she kept things, so Rin didn't put much effort into committing where she put things to memory. Rin sensed for the pendant's magical energy. She found it. But, she didn't have time to pull it out. The incoming jewel was about to activate. Rin put every single ounce of her magical energy into her legs and infused them with a wind spell. The gem cracked apart and released an omnidirectional explosion. Rin began to propel herself backwards with wind, but the blast was catching up. One of her hands was in the pocket where her pendant was, still not fast enough to pull it out. The other hand extended towards the blast to make a barrier against it. The blast caught up right when the barrier formed and the explosion ate right through it. It reached Rin's extended hand and disintegrated it. Rin's entire arm was being blown apart by the blast. There was no pain, only shock. Rin was lucky as the rest of her body only got hit by the edge of the explosion, a shockwave blowing her away and through the wall of the building behind her.

Rin skipped across the floor of a hall like a stone across the surface of water. As her body jumped and spun, her blood splattered all over. The walls, floor, and ceiling looked like a picasso painting from all her blood. She eventually stopped and she couldn't move at all. Rin was missing an arm and her flesh had been mangled by just grazing the blast. She was going into shock.

Rin lost. It was all because of such a stupid mistake. Such a long, arduous fight, ended by a simple screw up. Maybe Saber was right. Maybe Rin did rely on Sakura too much.

Sakura. Was Sakura going to die? No. This was the worst. Rin not only got herself killed, but Sakura, too. Poor Sakura didn't deserve to die. Sakura was so kind. She was perfect. Sakura endured so much. The Matous made her life Hell. Sakura deserved nothing but happiness. But, Rin was selfish and dragged her into a Grail War. Now, thanks to Rin's stupidity, they were both going to die.

Rin was a failure. She didn't deserve to be head of the Tohsaka family. She didn't deserve anything.

Hold on. Rin's blood was on the walls. It wasn't evaporating. Actually, everything wasn't red. The Bounded Field was gone. Did Saber defeat the Gorgon Sisters? If so, she can go save Sakura.

Either way, Rin was going to die. It looked like Sakura was gonna have to live without a sister. That was probably for the best. Rin was just a screw up. Sakura would be better off on her own.

Rin's vision was filled with blue. The Edelfelt was kneeling next to her. A jewel was in the woman's hand. She held it up to the wound on Rin's side where an arm once sat. The jewel released healing light that seeped into Rin's wound. Blood stopped flowing as rapidly as the injury began to seal. The Edelfelt was saving Rin.

"Why are you healing me?" Rin slurred out.

"I don't like killing if I don't have to. Plus, you were a worthy opponent for a Tohsaka. It would be a shame to let you perish. My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt, though many call me Luvia. What's your name?"

"Rin Tohsaka."

"Just Rin Tohsaka?"

"Yeah."

"Not as extravagant as I prefer, but it's a fine name I guess."

Rin had earned Luvia's respect and her life along with it. Luvia must have ordered her Servant to take down the Bounded Field for that reason.

"What about my sister?"

"I don't plan on killing her either, though I don't actually know her current status. I tried contacting Clown, but he didn't answer. Considering his diligence, that likely means he's unconscious. I assume he was knocked out by your sister, but I don't know for sure."

So even Luvia didn't know if Sakura was okay. Hopefully she was fine. All Rin could do was hope.

Rin's wounds continued to heal. She was still in bad shape and wouldn't be moving anytime soon, but at least she wasn't in critical condition anymore.

Flying in from the hole in the wall, one of the Gorgon Sisters appeared. She had some cuts that were decently deep, but was otherwise fine.

"Master, I have defeated the enemy Servant. I've petrified most of their body but have refrained from taking their life. Considering you ordered us to take down the Blood Fort to spare the enemy Master, we were wondering if you wanted to spare their Servant as well."

Luvia paused. "You can finish the Servant off, Caster. My apologies, Rin Tohsaka, but my mercy only extends so far. I will be winning this Holy Grail War and your Servant is an obstacle to that."

Poor Saber. She was going to die thanks to Rin's screw up. She wouldn't be able to eliminate her target and protect the World. Maybe Rin could tell Luvia so she could take up Saber's task. That way, at least the World could still be protected.

"As you wish, Master. The other mes will kill the Servant now."

"Belay that order or your Master dies."

A man's voice. Someone had appeared behind Luvia. A short sword with a curved black blade was held to Luvia's neck. The man had a red poncho draped across his upper body and his head was swaddled by red wrappings like a mummy in an old horror film. The slit where the man's eyes came through revealed dark skin and a little bit of white hair. His arms were also tightly bound by the red wrappings. The man's pants and what little of his shirt that Rin could see were black with bits of silver.

How did the man appear from nowhere like that? Was he an Assassin class Servant? That was possible, but his stealth was beyond the bounds of normal Presence Concealment. The most surprising thing was that he didn't want Saber to die.

Luvia and Caster had become still as statues. With a blade to Luvia's neck, they couldn't be too careful.

"I'm guessing your Assassin." Luvia said.

"As if it weren't obvious."

"You say that, but any good Servant should be able to misdirect their enemies as to what their true class is."

"My apologies for not meeting your expectations in that case."

"You could make it up to me by removing your sword from my throat."

"You didn't really think that would work, did you?"

"No, I was making a joke."

"Sorry, it's just that you were caught by me so easily that I assumed it was due to you being unintelligent. I guess it was actually just your general incompetence."

Luvia's fists clenched and teeth bared. "Just tell us what you want."

"I have some demands to make. From now on, these two Masters are my hostages." Assassin formed a white blade that mirrored his black one and put it to Rin's throat to show that she was also a part of this transaction. "As an Assassin, I'm not one for direct combat. As such, winning a Grail War would be difficult. But, winning a Grail War with some begrudging allies would be easier. To get to the point, these two Masters will be in my custody." He looked to Caster. "You and the other Servant will be fighting for me and my Master for the rest of this Grail War. You'll help us win the Grail and assist me in a personal mission of mine. Refuse or try to defy us in any way at any point, and your Masters are dead on the spot."

So that is why he wanted Caster to spare Saber. He wanted to have Saber and Caster be his and his Master's lackeys to make winning the war easier. He must have been waiting for Rin and Luvia's fight to end and so they'd be weak and easy to capture. He may have been even using the fight as an opportunity to study and see if Saber and Caster would make valuable allies or not.

But, all that would require Assassin to be within the Bounded Field since the barrier likely hid everything happening within from any outside view. In that case Assassin was likely drained from being in the Bounded Field. That meant that if Caster was careful, she might be able to take Assassin by surprise and snatch Rin and Luvia away from him.

"That's ridiculous! Do you really think you can-"

Luvia stopped talking when Assassin pressed his blade so tightly to her neck that it started to cut into her. Blood trickled down and it was made clear that Assassin wouldn't hesitate to kill Rin and Luvia for the slightest of infractions.

Rin was wrong. There was no space for Caster to jump in. She had to follow Assassin's demands.

"So, are you going to do what I say, or are these two young ladies going to die?"

In response to the ultimatum presented, Caster could only say, "I'll do what you want."

Luvia's face screamed frustration and a feeling of defeat. She had just taken down someone she perceived as her rival in the name of restoring her family's honor, and now she was in the lowly position of a damsel in distress.

"Good. I'm glad we can all be reasonable. Caster, have your other 'yous' fill in Saber on the situation. I'm going to be taking these two Masters somewhere for safekeeping. If you try to follow or track me in any way, trust me when I say that I'll know, and there will be consequences."

Caster's lips pressed tightly together. She must have felt helpless. Rin knew that feeling really well.

Rin and Luvia had their limbs tied up and blindfolds covered their eyes. They were hoisted over Assassin's shoulders, the blades in his hands pointing their tips to the two girls' backs for a quick impalement if necessary. Assassin was really methodical. He wasn't letting there be even the slightest opening that could be exploited.

"Once again, don't try to follow me or send familiars to tail me or anything else. I've got the awareness necessary to notice those kinds of simple tricks. For now, rest up and de-petrify Saber. You'll meet me tomorrow at 10pm atop the Center Building. If you aren't there or if you try to attack me when we meet, I'll give a telepathic signal to my Master to kill these two." Assassin shook the girls on his shoulders. It made Rin's wounds hurt.

"You'll pay for this." Luvia said.

"Don't get your hopes up."

Rin couldn't see, but she could feel Assassin begin to move. He was going so fast that Rin's body kept flopping about on his shoulder. The cold touch of the wind gave Rin goosebumps. Saber's magical energy was getting farther and farther away.

This was better than being dead, but not by much. Rin had lost an arm, was separated from Saber and Sakura, and was now the hostage of an enemy Master. If the Master was smart, they'd finish patching up Rin's wounds so she wouldn't risk dying. Rin could only hope she'd find a way to escape. Maybe if she worked with Luvia. But, Assassin was pretty meticulous so far. He'd likely account for almost every possible way Rin and Luvia could try and escape.

Sakura's status was completely up in the air. She could be completely fine, dead, captured, or anything else Rin could think of. Rin's poor sister. Poor Sakura. She didn't deserve to suffer. But, she did. She kept suffering. Rin wanted nothing more than for Sakura to be okay. She'd give her own life if it guaranteed Sakura's survival and safety. But, Rin couldn't do anything for Sakura. Rin's anxiety was at a peak. Her breathing was getting ragged. Her head was light. Her heart felt like it was banging against her ribs from how hard it was beating. Rin was having an anxiety attack.

Everything was foggy. Thinking was getting difficult. Rin was passing out. Having myriad wounds including losing an arm whilst having a panic attack exhausted Rin's consciousness. She wasn't going to be awake for much longer.

Rin felt despair seep into the deepest depths of her existence. Rin was a failure. She failed her father, her sister, everyone.

"I'm sorry." Rin murmured as her tears soaked into her blindfold and she finally fell unconscious.

The magus had become an agent of the World's will, killing and killing to protect humanity. She enslaved herself for the sake of saving the girl she abandoned and murdered.

But, that girl could never truly be saved. The ideal reality the magus desired to make for the girl was just a pipe dream. The magus' efforts were all for naught. Nihilistic despair crystalized in her mind and became a lens through which they viewed all things.

Hatred for the self became the only consistent emotion the magus felt as they continued traveling to an endless slew of times and places to slaughter more beings deemed a threat to mankind. Her failures played over in her mind every time she had a free moment.

The magus' afterlife became a monotony of the same murder and self-loathing. It was a tortuous state of being that whittled away at what remained of the magus' humanity. Morals shaved away. Personal desire eroded to nothingness. The magus' mind turned to steel. She was a mechanism of the World's functioning, a gear in the system of preserving Greater Human History.

The machine-minded magus gave up their sense of self so they could be nothing but a tool. She'd arrive where she needed to, hunt down and slay her targets, and then disappear. That was it. Nothing else mattered in the magus' endless task.

Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear. Appear, kill, Disappear.

The magus was like a line of code in a computer. She existed to cause a specific result and nothing more. She had no will, no emotions. She was just software in the hardware of the World.

Then, the magus forgot their memories, their self-loathing, their despair, their loss of self, and their sins. Now, the magus was a warrior for another's cause, but also still a soldier for the World. The magus returned to a simpler state, though they were not free. The horrors of their life still crawled across their back and in the corners of their mind. But, for now, the magus was free. The magus, for a while, was allowed to be happy.

Rin's eyes were damp. She reached the realm of consciousness with a pounding head and a blindfold absorbing the moisture of her tears. Rin wasn't a morning person, but she felt more exhausted than usual. She tried to pull off the blindfold, but she couldn't move her arms, or rather arm. Rin felt a phantom pain, the sensation of a limb that wasn't there. She couldn't move her legs either but they were both present and accounted for at least. Her body was wrapped tight by ropes.

Rin squirmed, her body feeling cloth under her shift. She was on a bed.

"Hey, quit moving!" an unfamiliar voice said. "You try any of that magecraft shit or anything else we think's suspicious and we'll blow your brains out on the spot."

It started coming back. Rin remembered how she had been defeated and lost an arm before getting kidnapped by Assassin along with Luvia. Saber was defeated. Sakura was, well, who knew? Rin tried telepathically contacting both Sakura and Saber, but she couldn't connect to them. Her signal was getting jammed, likely by a Bounded Field.

This sucked. Rin had supremely screwed up to the point that she lost an arm, hopefully she could get a puppet replacement, and Sakura might have been dead or worse. Unlike Rin's arm, Sakura was irreplaceable. Rin might have burst into tears but she was too tired at the moment. Rin not being a morning person was actually handy in this case as she didn't have the energy to waste getting emotional.

Since Rin was calm, she could evaluate the situation with a clear head and figure out how to escape. Though there was the distraction that was the constant pain that coursed through Rin's whole body. She was bandaged up from what she could tell. Her captors had provided her with medical attention, but it was the normal kind. No healing magecraft. Weird. Did Assassin's Master not know it? It was a pretty basic kind of magecraft all magi learned at least a little of. Did they think it was better to keep Rin at less than 100%? She would be easier to restrain that way. Maybe they just didn't want to bother. That was also a reasonable explanation.

Rin also lacked her Azoth Sword and pendant. They must have been recognized as tools for magecraft and were confiscated.

The question was who the person that just spoke to Rin was. Were they Assassin's Master? They said we, so there were likely multiple people in the room with Rin. Assassin didn't seem like the gun-toting type, so the statement 'we'll blow your brains out' probably didn't include him. Also, if he was in the room, he'd be all that was needed to swiftly execute Rin. That meant that Assassin probably wasn't in the room at all. The fact that they used a statement that implied firearms was also peculiar. They might have had magecraft like Gandr that could be conceptualized as a mystical firearm, but most magi wouldn't use that language. If they were implying they had guns, then that almost definitely meant that they were either a spellcaster, or a nonstandard magus. No traditional magus would be caught dead with a gun. Firearms were the result of the 'barbaric science' of the common masses. The weirdest possible option was that the person and whoever they were with weren't users of magecraft at all and were normal humans. It wasn't an impossibility for a normal human to become a Master, but it was extremely unlikely. Then again, Kirei did tell Rin that the last Master or two that the Grail picks are usually just there to fill out the lineup so they can be outliers compared to the other Masters.

Rin needed more information. She had to be careful though. She had just been warned that anything suspicious would get her instantly killed. She'd need to use very weak magecraft that wasn't detectable. Funneling magical energy into her sensory organs, Rin cleared her mind and took notice of anything her senses found noteworthy.

The room was quiet, but she could hear chairs creek and light objects being placed and removed from a surface. The objects sounded like paper. Cards. Money, too. The people guarding Rin were playing cards at a table to pass the time. They were being quiet about it though, not saying a word. Either they weren't supposed to be doing anything besides watching over Rin or they didn't want to accidentally say anything that would give Rin useful information.

Sniffing, Rin caught multiple scents. The cologne, deodorant, and natural body odor of the guards all mixed together. It made it impossible for Rin to parse them and tell how many people were in the room. The only info Rin got out of it was that there was a low likelihood any of them were women as they all smelled of men's body products. That said, it still wasn't definitive. There was one other scent that just barely reached Rin's nose. It was the smell of new tatami mats. Once again, that didn't lead to any definitive conclusions, but it implied that wherever Rin was being kept was in north Miyama where the traditional Japanese houses were.

Rin was blindfolded so sight wasn't going to give Rin anything and the only thing her sense of touch told her was that she was in a lot of pain.

Lastly was taste. Rin couldn't taste anything. Not because she had nothing in her mouth to taste, but because she was incapable of tasting. Rin tried to move her tongue, only for there to be no motion. Rin shifted around her jaw, but her teeth hit nothing. Actually, Rin's teeth couldn't even hit each other. What did touch each other were Rin's upper and lower gums. Sucking her lips as far into her mouth as she could, Rin made a terrible discovery.

Rin's tongue and all her teeth were gone. Rin's captors had removed them. It was a smart tactic. It made it so Rin couldn't use her Command Spells as they required a verbalization to activate. Rin couldn't teleport Saber to her this way. Actually, Rin couldn't use any of her incantations now so all her spells were either unavailable or severely weakened excluding ones she used through her Magic Crest.

There's a saying that goes, 'when it rains, it pours.' Rin had just realized that idiom was incomplete, as if forgot to mention that what poured wasn't water, but shit. Shit was just flooding Rin's whole life.

Events so far did not portend a bright future.

"Rin Tohsaka, can you hear me?" A telepathic voice spoke to Rin's mind. "It's Luviagelita Edelfelt. Rin Tohsaka, are you there?"

"I can hear you." Rin mentally answered. "How did you establish a telepathic link? The Bounded Field should have stopped you."

"The Bounded Field is amateurish work that only stops telepathic signals that try to go through it to the outside. I was able to form a connection with you without being detected." Luvia was honestly impressive. "I'm guessing you're also bound up and blindfolded."

"Yes. Are you also missing your teeth and tongue?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Hopefully I can find someone who can make good replacements. I also had all my jewels taken from me. They're keeping us in separate rooms with multiple guards posted."

"I know. Assassin really is thorough, or maybe his Master is. I've determined that we're likely in the northern part of Miyama. Do you know anything else? I passed out not long after Assassin took us and I just woke up."

"I'll fill you in on what you missed. When we arrived wherever we are, Assassin began giving orders to multiple men and we were taken to different rooms. They patched up our wounds and I was sedated. When I woke up, my teeth and tongue were gone and I was tied up in the room I'm in now."

"Could you figure out anything from what Assassin and the men he commanded talked about?"

"The only thing I gathered is that the one who is Assassin's Master was not present for his arrival. They seem to prefer staying hidden."

"They used vague language, right?"

"Yes. They were really careful about every word they said. There was one thing that stood out to me."

"What's that?"

"At one point while I was being taken through the halls, I heard someone in another room mention they hadn't gotten their back tattoo yet."

"Back tattoo? You're sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure."

"In Japan, back tattoos mean only one thing. Yakuza."

"As in the Japanese mafia?"

"Yes. If we really are in Miyama, then there's only one yakuza clan it could be. The Fujimura Group. They're the ones in charge of organized crime around here. They're actually the top yakuza group in all of Fuyuki."

"That would explain who the henchmen Assassin is ordering are. Are the Fujimura's a family of magi?'

"No, they're not. At least, not that I'm aware. It isn't impossible for them to have acquired knowledge of magecraft with their connections. They could have hired a freelance spellcaster to act as a Master for them."

"Do you know who the head of the Fujimura Group is?"

"No. I know the previous boss retired relatively recently, but nobody knows who their successor is. I assume it was a family member, but there's no explicit proof. The new boss likes to keep everything about them and everything the Fujimura Group does especially secretive. If they're the Master, then that matches up with the fact that the Master has been staying hidden."

"Assuming our deductions are accurate, we've made startling quick progress towards understanding our situation."

"It won't help much though. We're still trapped."

"Don't worry, We'll be rescued."

"How do you know?"

"I activated a pre-prepared distress signal that is subtle enough that the Bounded Field won't stop it."

"Who will the signal alert?"

"My sister."

Rin was suddenly hit with a realization. The Edelfelts were usually headed by pairs of women, sisters. Said sisters had the Sisters attribute that allowed for the siblings to both inherit their family's Magic Crest. From what Rin had read, in the Third Holy Grail War, the sisters heading the Edelfelts at the time were able to both act as a single Master and summon two versions of the same Servant, both within the same class. Luvia likely also had a sister who had her own version of the Gorgon Sisters. That might have meant the Edelfelts had six Servants, essentially. Terrifying.

"So, your sister will come save us?"

"Yes, but it will probably take a while. She is far from the outgoing type and is so cautious she makes Assassin and his Master seem reckless. She'll come save us and when she does she'll succeed with flying colors, but it'll take forever."

Rin felt the urge to squirm but she didn't want to risk getting a bullet in the head. She couldn't wait so long to be saved. She needed to confirm if Sakura was okay. Rin had promised to always be by Sakura's side to protect her. Guilt was washing over Rin's body. She was failing Sakura so terribly. She wasn't with Sakura to help her. Sakura needed her.

But, Rin remembered what Saber had said about Rin and Sakura being overly reliant on each other. If it weren't for Rin always having Sakura help her, she wouldn't have forgotten where she kept her pendant and she might have been able to defeat Luvia. If Sakura was also being harmed by her connection to Rin, then what if Sakura died because of a mistake like the one Rin made? Sakura would have died all because of Rin. More guilt injected into Rin's veins.

"Oh, how the Tohsakas and Edelfelts have fallen." Rin telepathically said.

"The Edelfelts haven't fallen. This is just a bump in the road."

"Getting captured and having your tongue and teeth cut out is a bump in the road?"

"The Edelfelts can endure such inconveniences as easily as a breeze blowing across our skin."

It was admirable how strong Luvia's confidence was, how sure she was about everything. Then again, she had to have her own insecurities.

"Luvia, what is your sister like?"

"She's an introvert among introverts. She's quiet and likes staying home and reading and such. Getting her out of the castle is like pulling teeth. I didn't mean to make a pun about us lacking teeth right now."

"I assumed. How do you two get along?"

"We get along as sisters do. We argue and annoy each other, but we still care for each other, too. I'm constantly trying to get her to be more outgoing, but she just won't have any of it. I really worry how she'll get on as we get older."

Is that what normal sisters were like? They argue but still love each other. Luvia cared about her sister, but she also didn't feel the need to coddle her. Was that a better relationship between sisters? A healthier one?

"'Are you worried for your sister?" Luvia asked.

Rin was going to protest, but decided it was a futile effort. "How did you know?"

"The way you asked about my sister tipped me off."

"I'm just worried if she's okay, or alive. I've failed her and all because I let us get separated and then I got captured. I'm a terrible sister."

"I can't say anything about your quality as a sister since I don't know you that well, but if your sister is half as strong as you are, she'll be fine."

"Thank you. I wasn't expecting such a genuine compliment from you."

"After you gave me so much trouble, I'd be insulting myself if I downplayed your capability."

"Well, it wasn't exactly a close fight. You were still standing while I lost an arm."

"All it would have taken is one slip up from me for the roles to be reversed. You were a worthy opponent, Rin Tohsaka. I suppose the Tohsakas aren't so terrible."

"I must have fallen asleep again because I just heard something an Edelfelt would never say."

"Watch your tongue…I think the rivalry between our families is a little childish at this point. Perhaps we should bury the hatchet."

"Of course you'd say that after you defeated me and avenged your loss in the Third War."

"Don't try my patience."

"I'm just joking. I do think it would be better to end our rivalry here. As head of the Tohsakas, I, Rin Tohsaka, declare that I and all other Tohsakas from now to time immemorial won't try to end your family or cause you undue harm."

"Alright then. As head of the Edelfelts, I, Luviagelita Edelfelt, promise the same to you and your family. Also, I'm sorry about vaporizing your arm."

"It's fine. It was weighing me down, holding me back. I'm stronger than ever now."

"In that case, I should cut off both my arms. Then I'll reach a whole new level of power."

"I'll just have to cut off my remaining arm, and my legs, and I'll even throw in my spleen for good measure."

"You think you can mutilate yourself better than me? I'll have my body turned into mincemeat before I let myself lose to you!"

"I'll disassemble myself atom-by-atom and achieve power that would make even Servants bow! Then what will you do?"

"You think that's special? I'll have every one of my atoms shattered to unleash my body's hidden energy. I'll transcend the confines of matter to become a godlike being!"

Rin wanted to laugh but she couldn't without garnering unwanted attention. Rin's mood was lightening by the second. Having such a silly conversation was therapeutic. Luvia was surprisingly charming. That was weird for Rin to think about someone who, not too long ago, hit her in the gut so hard she needed to vomit. But, it was the truth of how Rin felt. Luvia was obnoxious, but also had a confidence that made Rin get wrapped up in her pace.

Rin was at the lowest point in her life, but at least she had a stimulating conversation partner to pass the time.

But, there was still Sakura to worry about. Poor Sakura.