Ritsuka gritted his teeth as he looked at his hand with only the pale moonlight illuminating the small tent he was sleeping in. He couldn't stop shaking, not after what he saw that day. A massive black dragon that breathed a green torrent of hellfire which swallowed up the entire countryside, a twisted version of a saint that commanded a legion of Servants, and an endless horde of wyverns, enough to paint the sky black.

How could he even pretend victory was something in his reach?

He quietly stood up, walking out of the tent, making sure he wouldn't wake up Mash as he left the camp ground. He didn't know where he was going, he just knew he couldn't stay here. He needed to look strong in front of everyone. They were all expecting him to somehow stay strong, to somehow keep going without folding, and he couldn't let that illusion break. Not yet.

With a tired sigh, he ventured into the woods, somewhere where he could still see the light of the campfire, but was far enough away from the others. When he was sure he was alone, the dam broke, the young boy letting out a cry of anguish.

"Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!" He cursed as he punched a tree, the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness overtaking him. He fell to his knees, his breathing getting shallow as he felt what he could only imagine was a panic attack seizing his body. Before it could get too bad, however, a warm hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"I'm sure the tree has learned its lesson, Master," Emiya's sarcasm was a comforting constant, at the very least. "Calm down. Take deep breaths," Despite trembling under the man's grasp, Ritsuka did as he was instructed, the tension leaving his body as he did. The hero from the future slowly walked Ritsuka over to a fallen tree, where the two took a seat.

"I'm sorry…," Ritsuka muttered as he stared at the dirt. "I wasn't going to run away. There's really nowhere I could go even if I really wanted to."

"Master," Emiya's voice rang out in the night. "I don't doubt your courage. Even if you're afraid, I won't lose any respect for you." He paused as the two looked up at the night sky, each star shining brightly. "You don't need to put up a facade in front of us. You're an ordinary boy who has been tossed into a situation far beyond anyone's wildest dreams. I don't know of a single hero that would answer your call and yet scoff at you."

"I...," Ritsuka clenched his fists. "I don't know what to do!" He finally admitted. "I'm just someone that was there to fill in the numbers, I'm not cut out for this! I only made it past the first singularity because of Cu Chuliann and the Director! And when she needed me the most…," He paused, squeezing his eyes shut as he remembered the way Olga screamed as she was pulled into Chaldeas, and the way he reached out for her… and how he let her slip through his fingers. "I'm not a hero! I can't do this! I can't make these huge tactical decisions, and keep myself safe! I'm going to mess up, and then-,"

He stopped as Emiya placed a hand on his head. "So you're afraid that too many variables will cause you to mess up?" He smiled reassuringly. "Well, then there's an easy way to fix that. We'll just have to make sure you can always keep your eyes on the battle ahead, right? Then I swear this to you. So long as you keep fighting, so long as you don't give up-," Ritsuka looked at the man that answered his summon, the one that fought harder than anyone else to save his fellow man.

"-I will protect you,"


"Rho Aias!" In front of the beam of darkness that threatened to swallow up Ritsuka, seven pink petals bloomed, blocking the beam's assault. Ritsuka stared in mild shock as he saw a familiar back in front of him, the red piece of cloth attached to the Counter Guardian's waist flowing in the wind like a superhero's cape. The mere sight of it filled Ritsuka with courage and stirred him into action. He couldn't and wouldn't feel despair here. He stood up, raising his good arm, doing his best to channel his magic into his non-dominant hand.

"Archer!" Ritsuka yelled out over the roar of Excalibur Morgan, the attack drowning out his voice. Still, Archer's senses let him pick up Ritsuka's call. "I'm going to stun Saber! It won't last long though, so the moment she freezes, you need to grab Rin and get the hell off this mountain,"

"And what about you?" Archer asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm running the second Excalibur Morgan stops," Ritsuka explained as the Gandr he was charging formed at his fingertip. The blue and white curse powered up as normal, but when Ritsuka activated his Mystic Code's function, the Gandr began to crackle with yellow electricity, spinning in place as the curse was fed power far beyond its normal parameters. He did his best to steady his hand, aiming at his enemy before he finally fired.

The small curse flew straight and true, phasing through Archer's shield and flying parallel to the Noble Phantasm's beam, the Gandr making contact with the Altered Servant. Despite her high Magic Resistance, Artoria Alter felt her joints lock up instantly, Excalibur Morgan's darkness immediately dying out due to a lack of mana.

At that moment, Archer sprang forward, Rho Aias vanishing as the hero of the bow rushed to his Master's side. "Jack! We're leaving!" Ritsuka called out as he turned to run.

"Oh no you don't!" Medea called out as she held out her hand, magical energy gathering in her palm. However, before she could fire, Jack appeared out of the shadows, bleeding with one eye swollen shut, but still a threat. She sliced Medea's wrist with her knife before turning, using her element of surprise to quickly bury a knife into Souichirou's gut. A tense second passed as Medea took in what happened, her face twisting into a look of horror as Jack pulled the knife upwards, a spray of blood erupting from Souichirou's stomach. Jack was unflinching as she did this, even as blood splattered onto her face.

"If you chase Mommy… he'll die. We'll make sure of it," Jack's voice took an ominous tone as her green eyes turned gold and glowed. With that, she ran off, moving past the paralyzed Artoria and heading to the retreating Ritsuka.

"SOUICHIROU!" Medea screamed as she ignored her own wound, bending down to use her healing magecraft. "Saber! Don't let them escape!" She commanded, the Servant finally fighting off the effects of Ritsuka's special Gandr. With an explosion of mana coming off her, Artoria moved forward, quickly closing the distance.

"And how do you expect us to escape her?" Archer appeared by Ritsuka's side, Rin holding on to his back as he scooped up the Master of Chaldea in a princess carry, running full speed to the gate.

"Don't worry. He'll repay his debt!" It was almost pathetic to rely on something like the whims of a wraith, but Ritsuka knew how the man thought. Archer made it past the gate, passing Assassin, who didn't lift a finger to stop them. Artoria's aura engulfed the gate as she soared through the entrance, eyes trained on Archer as she went to swing down Excalibur. However, the moment she swung, a katana swung upwards, blocking the legendary weapon.

"Assassin," Artoria's voice was cold as she landed on the stairs, swinging at Kojiro. "You would go against our Master's orders?"

"Our 'orders' included not to kill the stargazer, and with the amount of power you were throwing around, he surely would have perished." Kojiro countered. "Besides, I owe him my thanks for not one, but two wonderful fights tonight!" With that, he dashed forward to attack the King of Knights.

As the two master swordsmen clashed on the stairs, Archer took a giant leap into the air, soaring like a bird away from the cage of death that was Mount Enzou.

"Where should we go?" Archer asked Rin as they began to descend back to the earth. "A hospital?"

"No, no, the hospital's no good," Ritsuka interrupted. "Explaining my broken arm is one thing, but I might get stuck there for a day or more, and we don't have time for that," Now that he had a moment, he fought through the pain of his broken arm to think. "I need to see the Overseer of this Grail War," he decided. "There's something I need to confirm." Rin sighed to herself as she heard that request. There really wasn't a worse way to end the evening in her mind.

"We can't just go see the Overseer now," Archer pointed out. "What if Medea decides to come follow us?"

"She won't. We made sure of it," Jack stated as she appeared by their side, the four of them landing at the base of the mountain. The three adults looked a little perturbed by the blood on her face, but only Ritsuka spoke up.

"Jack, what did you do?" Ritsuka asked.

"We made sure of it," She obviously was avoiding the question.

"I think diplomacy is out of the question now," Archer put two and two together, which made Ritsuka sigh. He couldn't say that he liked that Jack did that, but he couldn't deny it saved their lives, even if it would make their lives harder in the future.

"Let's just see the Overseer," Ritsuka stated. "I have a theory about exactly what happened up there, but I need to confirm something before I can say for sure,"

"Wait a moment," Archer said as he placed Ritsuka on the ground. He reached for the cloth dangling from his waist, detaching them before he held them up towards Ritsuka.

"Oh, oh! Let us! Red Nurse Lady and the Mean Doctor Man taught us how to do this!" Jack called out, grabbed Archer's cape. "Lay down, Mommy!" Ritsuka slowly got on the ground, laying his head on the pavement, desperately wishing he could use Rin's thighs as a pillow at this moment, but he wouldn't say that out loud.

With a painful grunt, Jack set his arm into proper position. Meanwhile, Archer projected two small nameless swords, using his magecraft to alter their appearance, making a metal splint, which Jack quickly placed on Ritsuka's arm. Finally, she wrapped the cloth around Ritsuka's arm and shoulder, keeping the arm level to his chest.

Ritsuka looked down at his arm in surprise. That actually went much better than he expected. Maybe he was just too paranoid since his primary doctors were now Nightingale and Asclepius? With a sigh, he slowly got back to his feet, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Thanks Archer, thanks Jack," Ritsuka smiled as he looked down at his broken arm. "Now, at the risk of sounding like a broken record…,"

"Yes, yes, I'll take you to see that fake priest now," Rin sighed. "Archer, let's take him to the Overseer," Archer nodded, but before he could go to grab Ritsuka, Jack swept Ritsuka's feet from under him, the small child looking very comical as she held Ritsuka in a princess carry.

"No! We'll take care of Mommy now!" Jack complained, holding Ritsuka close.

"Um… Jack, it would probably be easier if-," RItsuka began, only to be interrupted by Jack crying out,

"No!" She pouted, causing Archer to chuckle.

"Well, you heard the little lady. You'll just have to deal with it, Fujimaru," With that, Archer grabbed on to Rin and took off, leaping into the air. Ritsuka didn't know how to feel as Jack easily kept up with Archer, the small child not losing her balance as the four stayed in the shadows, out of sight of everyone else.

Honestly, Ritsuka was just glad no one was here to see him right now.

This emasculating position was sadly held for quite awhile, until they had crossed the entire city to get to a small church on top of a hill. A light fog had rolled in at this time, making the place a tad bit more unsettling for Ritsuka. They finally got to the front gates of the church, where it took a few seconds for Ritsuka to pry himself away from Jack's grasp. The Servant pouted and faded into the shadows, obviously intent on keeping an eye on Ritsuka.

With a sigh, Ritsuka waited for Rin to open the metal gate, and the two walked down the pathway to the church. Despite the fact this was a place where people came to find God, Ritsuka could only feel uneasy. The church seemed creepy when the sun was down. The inside was not much better, as there were no lights on, and the only person in the church was a priest standing in the front of the altar.

"You've never accepted my repeated invitations," The priest spoke, causing Ritsuka to freeze in place instantly. "And now here you are, with an unusual guest," The man turned around, causing Ritsuka's muscles to tense up, and his breathing to get short.

"Fujimaru?" Rin looked at Ritsuka with a worried expression. Ritsuka didn't answer, however, as instead he saw the priest's face covered in blood, his hand spearing through Da Vinci's chest before the Master's vision flickered back to reality. This man… was in this timeline too? What the hell was wrong with this timeline?

"I take it this means he is the seventh… Rin," The priest known as Kotomine Kirei finished his greeting.

"No, I am not," Ritsuka stated. "And you already answered my question. Goodbye," He quickly turned on his heel and walked to the door, not wanting to stay another second in the same room as that man.

"An efficient young man," Kirei's amused voice rang out in the night. "You do know if you wish to revoke your right as a Master, you'd be under my protection until the end of the War, don't you?"

"I'm not a part of this Grail War," Ritsuka answered. "I just came to see if the final class had been summoned, and you answered that question. You're a busy man, needing to oversee the war and prepare sermons, so I won't waste your time, Father," Kirei let out an amused chuckle.

"Oh? Well, then I won't waste any more time on you. Farewell, young man. I'm sure we'll meet again," The priest smiled as he watched the boy leave. The priest had a very good idea who that boy was. Seeing as he was here, alive, Gilgamesh must have found him entertaining. Perhaps he too would get some fun out of the stargazer.

Ritsuka was quiet as he left through the church's doors. He saw Archer waiting for them by the gate, Jack appearing on Ritsuka's back, burying her face into it. Rin was right behind him, looking annoyed.

"I didn't realize the front door of the church was actually a revolving door," Archer snarked as the three walked through the front gate.

"What was that all about Fujimaru?" Rin asked, keeping her voice even. Ritsuka looked at her with a confused look, which caused her to turn red, her voice raising a bit. "Don't look at me that way! You had us come all the way out here only to walk out the church door without asking one question! So what answer did you get from those two seconds?!"

"Oh right, that!" Ritsuka said with a laugh before his voice got serious. "Alright, so, what I'm about to tell you might not make much sense,"

"This entire night hasn't made sense, so my mind might be a bit more open than usual," Rin commented. Ritsuka nodded before dropping the bomb on Rin.

"I think there's a second Holy Grail in Fuyuki," Ritsuka explained, causing both Rin and Archer to have matching confused looks on their faces.

"A second… Holy Grail?" Rin muttered, putting a hand to her head. "And how did you come to such a conclusion?" She asked, sounding exhausted.

"Well, it's because of Sasaki Kojiro," Ritsuka explained. "Let's pretend Medea summoned both him and Saber from the same Holy Grail. It doesn't make much sense that only one of them is a wraith instead of a true Servant. Sasaki Kojiro was likely summoned because of Medea cheating. Instead of giving her say, a Hassan or Li Shuwen, it gave her a wraith. A skilled one, but a wraith nevertheless. A Servant summoned by the Grail summoning another Servant would be cheating… however...,"

"You believe that if Caster summoned off a Grail other than the one that summoned her, it would not recognize her as a cheater, instead as just another Master, and give her a real Servant?" Rin sighed. "So what, you think there might be two Holy Grail Wars going on at the same time?"

"Yeah, that is a small problem with my theory," Ritsuka admitted. "So far, every Servant I've met has fallen into the standard classes of the Holy Grail War, no overlaps. However, that doesn't mean my theory is wrong. It could be that the second Grail hasn't finished summoning all its Servants yet,"

"And how would there be a second Grail in Fuyuki?" Rin commented, to which Ritsuka shrugged.

"Frankly, there's way too many ways that something like that could have happened. It could have been sent through time, or perhaps only a shard of a Holy Grail fell here, or perhaps I'm just completely wrong. However, the fact the Overseer didn't know that Saber had been summoned yet makes me think that Saber isn't connected to this Grail War,"

Rin sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose in the end, it doesn't matter,"

"Actually, it kinda does," Ritsuka muttered, causing Rin to look up. "If I'm wrong, then Shirou really can't summon a Servant, and Illya is going to send Heracles after all of us," He nodded to himself, thinking. "However, I'm very confident that my second Grail theory is right. All we have to do is get Shirou to summon, and we'll see if I'm wrong or not,"

"And what about Caster?" Archer pointed out. "We need to take care of her for sure now. There is no way she won't come after us the moment she can,"

"She won't. We made sure of it," Jack commented again.

"Even if she won't, we still have to stop her. This time…," Ritsuka nodded. "I thought just the four of us could beat Medea, and we could, but Saber and her Master were literally outta left field. This time, I'm going to summon some more Servants besides Jack to help us out,"

"You can summon more than one Servant at a time?" Rin commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Chaldea helps me support them. If I summon the right person, we should be able to take care of it, no problem. I just need to find a suitable place to summon. It's probably not a good idea to try to summon on Mount Enzou right now,"

Rin nodded, thinking to herself. "I can think of a few places that might work out for you,"

"That's good. For now, we should head back to Emiya's and-," Ritsuka began but suddenly stopped.

For a split second, Ritsuka stopped breathing.

In the distance, he could see a familiar sight, a weapon, no, a shield, one that in his mind represented his entire journey so far. Only one person could hold that shield, the very Round Table itself.

"Mash...?" Ritsuka muttered to himself, confusing Rin as the girl looked over to see the shield in the distance.

"Who… is that?" Rin's eyes narrowed as she looked at the form in the distance. The person was too far away to make out normally, but she could see a giant shield. A normal person wouldn't carry that… was that a Servant? Before she could react, Ritsuka ran off, headed to the mystery person.

"Mash!" Ritsuka called out as he ran forward, slipping away from Rin.

"Fujimaru?!" Rin was taken off guard by Ritsuka's sudden movement. Ritsuka didn't hear her as he ran forward. Mash was here now. That was all he needed. With her by his side, he could solve this singularity easily. With her by his side, he didn't need to act strong.

"Mash!" he called out happily. But something was wrong.

The person holding the Round Table turned to face him, and Ritsuka realized something was wrong. He could see the wielder's face, and it was a face he recognized. Even the hair was the same, a bang covering their right eye… but… instead of the light purple he was so used to, the person's hair was jet black, and instead of a visible purple eye, their eye was a piercing red. Looking closer, he could see that they weren't even wearing the same outfit. Instead of the bulky Ortinax armor, the person had on a red and black form fitting bodysuit, and the Round Table didn't have the exoskeleton around it.

"Who... are you?" The woman that resembled a dark version of Mash asked, causing Ritsuka to freeze in place. The look in her eyes was so dull and lifeless… it made Ritsuka's heart ache.

"I-I…," He felt the words dying in his throat. He had so many questions, so many things running through his mind. So many things he wanted to ask, but he couldn't focus enough to get the questions out. All he could do was answer. "I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka… who… who are you?"

The woman in question looked over him, as if she was looking for something. "Fuji… maru?" she frowned as she turned away. "No, you're not him…," She turned to walk away, but Ritsuka reached out for her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Wait a minute, you-," Before any more words could come out, he felt himself being roughly pulled back, Rin moving him out of the way as the mystery woman turned, swinging her shield in a wide arc. Archer held on to his two weapons as he got into position, Jack on his shoulder as she brandished her knives.

"Are you… going to get in my way?" The girl asked threateningly. "I will find that boy again… I will make him-,"

"No!" Ritsuka called out in desperation. "We're not here to fight. Just… who are you?!" Why did she have that shield? Was she a Demi-Servant too? But how? It made no sense. The girl blinked once, before her entire countenance changed, her posture changing completely, going from a young girl fearfully holding a weapon to a knight who stood at the ready. Her eyes lit up, turning from the ruby red to a bright gold as she spoke once more, this time, her robotic voice replaced by a calming tone.

"Please, forgive my host. She's rather single minded towards her goal," The woman's body bowed politely at them. "I am the Shielder Class Servant for this Holy Grail War-."

"Wait a minute!" Rin called out suddenly, shocking everyone gathered. "A Shielder Class Servant? That… even if Avenger exists as an eighth class… the idea that a Shielder Class Servant exists is just-,"

"So I shouldn't tell you about Ruler and the other Extra Classes, got it," Ritsuka said jokingly as Rin's face turned red. "But anyways… Gal- Shielder, you still haven't answered my question," The woman's eye narrowed as she heard Ritsuka's sentence, but decided to ignore it.

"I don't believe I should tell you her name. We are in a Holy Grail War, after all," There was a pause as the girl's eye drifted to Ritsuka's arm. "You don't seem to be in any condition to be staying outside right now. Go home. We'll grant you this one respite." Before any more words could be spoken, the girl took a giant leap into the air, disappearing into the night.

Ritsuka could only watch them vanish into the darkness, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips as he muttered.

"What the hell is wrong with this timeline?"