"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Master/Servant Link"

Noble Phantasm


Chapter 25: Early Bird gets the worm.

Archer landed atop the house, staring off into the distance of the Matou manner, the outside was still a wreck. Shards of splintered wood dotted the yard from where he had made his escape, there were gash marks going through the tarmac road from where he had been chased.

Turning his head towards the horizon, he could faintly see the light of morning beginning to approach, he clicked his tongue. They didn't have much time, it would be dawn soon and the Matou manner wasn't quite as isolated as one would like. He was already surprised, and thankful, that no one had come out to investigate, considering how loud they were.

"I'm in position." Archer called through the mental link "Master, are you and Miyu ready?"

"I-I think so?" Illya replied back to Archer, looking towards Miyu with a pensive expression as the dark haired girl stared back, her face unusually blank as she stared at the card in her hands.


"The Saber Card?" Archer answered "Berserker has, from what you have said, an obsession with the Heroic Spirit within it."

"You believe we may use it to lure the Servant out?" Bazett surmised, crossing her arms and nodding her head "Indeed, he appeared to be more focused on the girl using it during the fight than against myself or Edelfelt."

"That is the plan." Archer nodded his head "At which point the Master would need to use a command Seal to withdraw him if it got too dangerous, however we can assume that they have at least one remaining, considering they would have used them on Berserker to retreat from Gilgamesh."

"They would be more hesitant to employ such a strategy again." The Enforcer responded "However it would also place whoever was using the card at in significant danger, considering they would be Berserkers primary target."

"It would…" Archer affirmed with a scowl "However from what I can gather, and from what the fool currently lying in a bed upstairs has shown, is that it does not have to be 'magical girls' who use the class cards."

Bazett stared at him with furrowed brows for a few moments "You...want me to use the Class card of Saber?"

"Ideally." Archer agreed "You are the most experienced here, aside from myself, and I don't think that the priest would assent to using something like that."

"Archer." Miyu called out to him, the two turned to her "I'll do it."

"Miyu-" Archer made to speak when the girl stared back at him, a burning light behind her eyes "I'll do it."

"…" Archer exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose and began muttering under his breath about 'suicidal idiots' before raising his eyes and staring down at Miyu "You are injured, far too much so to pose any great danger to Berserker. So, once you have his attention-sapphire." he turned to the Kaleidostick "You will eject the class card and leave it to us to get him, is that clear?"

"Yes, Archer-san." Sapphire easily agreed while Miyu looked far more hesitant, eventually giving a curt nod of the head, her stubbornness not lasting long against the weight of Archer's disapproving look, which reminded her far too much of her brother.

"Once Berserker has been lured to a safe location, we will ambush him. You and Illya will utilise whatever magical spells you need against him while myself and Bazett will engage him in a more physical sense to keep him from rushing you." He looked to the woman, she gave a nod in acceptance "After we've done enough damage, either yourself or Illya will use the Caster card and stab Berserker at which point, we'll have another servant to use against Gilgamesh."

"What will you do with Berserker after Gilgamesh has been defeated?" Bazett asked, Archer turned to her and gave a shrug.

"If there is still a command seal available, it would be prudent to simply order Berserker to kill themselves."

"Archer-san!?" Sapphire recoiled, horror in her voice "You would condone such a thing!?"

"Of course I would." His voice remained even "A Berserker is far too dangerous to have running around, not to mention their consumption of magical energy makes them freakishly dangerous to anyone not prepared for the burden they bare. They lack any form of higher intelligence that makes them reasonable, therefore they are little more than weapons to be used and discarded."

Bazett raised an eyebrow at him "Like yourself?"

"Naturally." Archer nodded "I'm simply a high grade version of a familiar, my existence is always going to be temporary, no point in becoming worked up about how I may or may not be treated."

Miyu stared at him, her eyes clouded over with an indiscernible emotion, although Archer could feel an overwhelming aura of pity from the girl.


"Miyu?" Illya's voice broke the girl out of her trance, turning her head to see her friend giving her a concerned look "Are you alright?"

"Mhm." Miyu nodded her head, pocketing the Saber card and turning her eyes back towards the mansion "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Illya wasn't the most perceptive of people, even she would admit that, although she did not, for one moment, believe that Miyu was alright. Her friend was still fretting over something and she was sure that it related to their current situation in some part, likely due to her relation with the Holy Grail.

She placed a hand on Miyu's shoulder, the girl jolted and stared down at the limb, then towards the owner with a puzzled expression. Illya gave her a bright smile "Don't worry, Miyu! We'll beat all those bad guys!"

It was such a simplistic and childish line of thinking that everything would work out, Miyu couldn't help but crack a tiny smile in response.

"That's my Illya-chan!" Ruby's voice immediately ruined the moment "Spoken like a true magical girl." making an exaggerated sniffing noise, she used one of her wings to mimic the act of wiping away a tear "They grow up so fast! I'm so proud!"

"...Nee-san…" Sapphire sighed in response to her siblings antics, turning her body to face her master "Miyu-sama, I trust you will heed to Archer-san's advice and remain away from the front lines, the healing of the Church Priest was skilled, however you are not in optimal condition for any strenuous work."

"Yes, Sapphire." Miyu nodded absently, turning her head to stare across into the distance towards the Matou house, both herself and Illya were floating in the air, staring down at the target location.

There had been the concern that Gilgamesh would arrive again, thus it had fallen to Chloe to keep an eye out for him. Something the girl had made her surprise known about because she didn't stand even a remote chance of doing anything to the King of Heroes. When it became clear all she had to do was spot him and then run, she became far more willing to follow that strategy.

At this point, they were simply awaiting Kiritsugu's signal that he was in position.


The click of his contender and the rustling of coats were the only sounds that could be heard between the four. Kotomine, Caren, Kiritsugu and Maiya all stood in an alleyway several buildings away. The sight of a nun, a priest and two individuals in combat gear might have been somewhat comical, were it not for the fact they were all armed to the teeth.

"Matou Zouken requires specialised familiars to transfer his body." Kotomine informed Caren, sliding several black keys into his inner coat pocket "They are the smallest variety, however they are capable of minor transformation and flight. None can be allowed to escape."

"Yes, Father." Caren replied in a dull voice "The sacraments will keep him contained in the building."

"Hmph." He turned his attention to Kiritsugu, the Magus killer regard him with a blank expression as he slid a magazine into his calico. "His larger familiars will be more resilient to gunfire."

"Not an issue." He sent a glance towards Maiya, the woman nodded back at him as if conveying a hidden message as she readied her assault rifle.

"Once Berserker has been removed from the playing field, myself and Caren will move in. Should Matou Sakura attempt to delay us, I will deal with her, which means you will need to protect Sister Caren."

"Oh?" Caren turned her head towards Kirei "I'm being viewed as a damsel in distress now, how wonderful, does this make someone my knight in shining armour?"

"…" Kotomine elected to ignore her.

"Provided she does not become a liability." Was Kiritsugu stoic reply, sliding a combat knife into its sheath and strapping it to his leg. Turning to his assistant "Provide over watch of the house in the event that you notice Berserker returning or any of Zouken's familiars attempting to escape."

"Understood." Maiya nodded back, turning away and rushing further into the alley, towards the nearest fire escape stair case, quickly climbing up it. Kotomine looked back at Kiritsugu, patting out his cassock. Kiritsugu stared back at the Priest, flattening out his long coat.

Caren stared at the two for a few moments "...Are you long lost twins?" the equal grimaces on their face when she said that did little to dissuade her of the, rather amusing, notion.


Archer crossed his arms, staring off at the manor, casing one last fleeting glance at the sun as it began to crest over the edge of the horizon '"f you are going to move, Master...It will have to be now."

He was confident that he was just outside of Berserkers field of detection, although he couldn't detect the servant all that well either, likely meaning that Berserker was in spirit form, however if they were right and he had an unusual attraction to the Saber card, then all it would take would be for Miyu to use the thing and walk past the front gate with Excalibur in her hand and the Servant would come barrelling out.

"We're going now, Archer." Illya replied through the link.


"So...Why are you stood here again?" Chloe asked as she rocked on her heels, casting a glance to her rather odd choice of rooftop companion.

Bazett remained silent, still staring down at the house. Chloe made a series of clicking noises with her tongue, eyes occasionally staring off in a completely different direction.

"It provides a good vantage point." Bazett replied, eventually "I will be able to see Berserker attack the girl, then I will move in alongside Archer."

"...Okay, then." Chloe shrugged her shoulders "...Are you still going to be after the class cards?"

"That will entirely depend upon how our current situation ends." Bazett replied "The presence of a Servant and the Magus killer was unexpected, as was their relation to the current owners of the Class Cards...it would be difficult to retrieve them as things stand."

Chloe gave an uncaring hum as she turned her eyes skyward again, peering off into the distance "...I'm curious, how much do you get paid for doing this?"

"Are you not supposed to be acting as a sentry?"


"Saber card has been installed, Miyu-sama." Sapphire informed the girl "However, your current state will mean you will need to be quick to escape Berserker should he arrive."

"Understood." Miyu nodded her head in affirmation, giving Illya a glance, the white haired girl gave her a curt nod as she floated into the air. Miyu did her best to control her breathing, the anxiety flooding her body abated only a tiny amount, the memories of her encounter with the Berserker servant earlier were still fresh in her mind. How effortlessly he had outclassed her and apparently gotten the better of Archer in a straight duel as well.

She would have to be quick, and pray that they had the element of surprise on their side or that they had caught the Matou family completely unprepared with their Servant still wounded.


Zouken did his best not to scowl, they had done well to get this close to his house without him seeing them. However he had managed to catch a glimpse of them, the Einzberns and the Church Executors, as they closed in on his workshop. It was a poor position for him to be in.

They were down two command seals, leaving only one left. Sakura had used it in order to compel Berserker to retreat from the second Servant, which Zouken was still fuming over, however it was not all lost.

Within his manor, he still had the advantage, even with the presence of the Executors and Magus killer. They were the biggest threats to him, he suspected that the children were there for Berserker and that the Archer servant would not be far behind them. Berserker could deal with them.

For now, Zouken would allow them to play their hand. They had obviously deduced that the Saber card held some sway over Berserkers mental faculties. Such a thing was rather unfortunate, considering he wanted the grail in one piece, however it was not a problem yet.

Besides, he was somewhat thankful they had gifted him a few hours.

It had been more than enough time to retrieve something for Berserker.


Miyu strode to the front of the house, breathing in and out repeatedly as she tried to control the trembling over her hands. She was comforted by the fact that she wasn't alone in this endeavour. Coming to a stop at the gate of the house, she stared towards the broken front door, still having been unrepaired.

The darkness which lay just beyond the door and into the house held an ominous sense of foreboding. Then she caught sight of it, the faint glowing red light of Berserkers visor. Staring back at her, Miyu adjusted her grip on Excalibur as she glared at the servant, the visor stared back at her.


"What did you say?" Kiritsugu and Kotomine stopped walking, turning their attention to Caren as she delivered the small bit of news.

"I said Berserker had been spotted during the night."

"And you did not mention this now?" Kotomine frowned.

"It had been a fleeting glance during my visit to the police station and I had been able to remove the memory of it easily enough." She shrugged "I merely thought to mention it in case it came up again."

The pair of men looked at eachother and then back to the nun, the question of 'why' it seemed odd went unasked. Caren caught onto it.

"Well...it was on one of the outer docks, sometimes the Yakuza use it to smuggle weapons."

Kotomine frowned "Why are you aware of smuggling spots for the Yakuza?" Caren ignored him, Kiritsugu meanwhile stared at her in confusion.

"What manner of weapons?"

"Firearms, mainly." She replied.

"Why was Berserker there?"

"Apparently he stole several crates of weapons." She shrugged "It seemed a little peculiar."

"What would a Servant need with guns?"


The red visor continued to glare at her from beyond the edge of the door, the silhouette of the Berserker fading into the darkness of the inner hallways, wisps of black smoke leaking from his figure. However, he made no effort to move towards her. He had acknowledged her existence, and then done nothing.

That threw Miyu for a loop, if Berserker didn't chase her down, then they wouldn't be able to lure him away from the house. If that happened, then their plan would fall apart. Miyu inhaled. She needed to provide better incentive.

She took a single step forwards.

Then Berserker opened fire on her with an automatic rifle. Miyu instantly shot back, frantically clambering away to get away from the storm of bullets. Illya widened her eyes in alarm, dropping to Miyu's side and flashing up a petal shaped shield to protect her as the two fell back, wincing as the shield began to crack under the gunfire.

Archer stared with naked alarm, manifesting his bow in his hand and drawing back an arrow instantly, taking aim at the front of the door. Berserker came charging out towards them, a sub-machine gun held in his left hand, his right hand swung up as the helmet locked onto him.

In its grip was a revolver, taking aim towards Archer. He clicked his tongue, firing off the arrow and then leaping away as Berserker shot at him. The bullet tore through where he had been standing moments prior, ripping the roof tiles away and blasting a small hole through the top of the house.

Landing on the streets, he fired off several more arrows as Berserker continued to unload towards him, several more rounds were cracked off in his direction as he sped around to avoid the enhanced bullets. This was ridiculous, he knew that the Servant could make use of weapons in a similar manner to swords but he didn't think they could do the same with guns. Although he had no reason not to believe so either, but the fact was where the hell did Matou Zouken even get guns in the first place?


Kiritsugu, Kotomine and Caren heard the distant crack of gunfire and small explosions. The nun remained silent for a few moments before she spoke up again "Perhaps I should have mentioned it earlier." she mused to herself. Kiritsugu and Kotomine sped out of the alley way, sprinting up the street in the direction of the Matou manor.

"Maiya!" Kiritsugu called through his earpiece "Report on the situation."

"Berserker had engaged Archer and the children." The woman responded "Matou Zouken's familiars are yet to move, however the Servant appears to be using magecraft to enhance his weapons strength. He is currently armed with a revolver and automatic rifle."

"He's what!?"


Kanshou shattered in Archer's left hand, the fragments of blade shooting past his face as he clenched his teeth, instantly forming a replacement sword as he continued to block the bullets as best he could.

It was a running firefight, with Archer fulfilling the running aspect of it.

"Archer!" Illya cried out, pointing Ruby towards Berserker "Feu-" she widened her eyes as Berserker snapped his left hand towards her, the automatic rifle already firing as he turned it to face the girl.

Archer shot forwards, cleaving through the barrel with Bakuya, whilst swinging Kanshou towards Berserkers head. The shadowed servant dropped the rifle, grabbing the black blade before it reached his helm, the red lines instantly spread across the sword, Archer clicked his tongue as he felt the sword stolen from him. Releasing it and jumping back, Berserker raised his revolver level at Archer.

The pink burst of energy slammed into his back, causing the shot to go wide and impact the pavement near Archer's feet, the buckshot of tarmac shooting off in several directions at the bullet left a small crater in the road.

Illya lowered Ruby, a tiny smile on her face before she took off into the air. Berserker whirled around, staring up at her and letting out an ominous growl, flipping Archers sword in his hand so that his armoured gauntlet was clasped tightly around the grip.

Archer traced a copy of the sword he had lost, getting into his stance. He would have to be aggressive this time, Berserker had seen through the technique he had used last time, not that it should surprise him. If he was a knight of the Round Table, then he was leagues better than Archer when it came to sword play, even if they were suffering from the mad enhancement.

Miyu stood just at the edge of the street, levelling Excalibur in Berserkers direction. The Servant lowered their head towards her, hunching their body forwards and letting out a threatening growl "Aaaaarrrrrttttthhhhuuuurrrr…"

Miyu controlled her rising fear as the servant reared themselves back, throwing their helmet back and letting out a howl of rage before they shot off down the street towards her. Archer barely followed Berserker as he disappeared in an instant, the road where he had been stood exploded as the shockwave of the Servants sudden sprint registered moments after their form had disappeared.

The stolen Kanshou slammed into Excalibur, Berserker continuing his charge and dragging Miyu along with him as he sprinted further down the street and towards the forest. Archer span on his heel, shooting off towards them while Illya flew up above.


Bazett threw herself over the rooftop, clawing her fingers and sticking them into the brickwork to slow her descent before landing on the ground, rolling over then sprinting off in the direction of the Servants.

Chloe looked over the edge of the building with a raised eyebrow, then stared at the clawed marks going through the brick "...So...How are they going to explain this? A big cat?" shrugging her shoulders, she turned her eyes back towards the sky in the event that Gilgamesh did show up.

She could at least let off a warning. Probably. Hopefully.

If she was being honest with herself, she was more hoping that Illya wouldn't end up doing something stupid. She bit her lip in frustration. She had been beyond lucky that Onii-chan had been there to save her, but he wouldn't have been in that situation if Illya had listened in the first place. Made worse by the fact he had been horribly wounded in the ensuing battle, at the very least she hoped Illya would be more careful in future.


Miyu parried the black blade away from herself, kicking back from the Berserker as he brought the sword down where she had been stood, the blow slammed into the ground with an explosion of debris, causing Miyu to shut her eyes to avoid getting dirt in them.

Berserker took advantage of that blunder. Charging forwards, cocking his fist back, he aimed towards her midsection.

A beam of magical energy struck his side, knocking him over and sending him hurtling through the air and slamming into the railings at the side of the road. Berserker growled, his free hand clenched around the metal railing, gripping tightly as his red visor locked onto Illya. His movement blurred, in a single breath he had ripped out a section of the metal guard, swinging his arm towards Illya and hurling the pseudo projectile towards her.

Illya threw up a shield just before it struck her, although she still let out a squeak in surprise from the sudden movement. Berserker kicked off the ground, charging Miyu again, then span on his heel, parrying away Archer's blow aimed at his back.

Steel grey eyes widened as Berserker thrust the Dao sword towards Archer's head, he flung his body to the side, the blade just skimming past his ear, swinging Bakuya upwards towards his chest, the black sword grating against the armour as it cut upwards, leaving a small scratch on the chest piece.

Berserker slammed his boot in Archer's chest for his troubles. The force of the kick sent the servant rocketing down the road, slamming into the concrete incline at the side and leaving a small carved out trail where he had crashed.

The armoured gauntlet of Berserker traced across the small slash across the front of his armour, it was a tiny nick in the metal, barely a cut. But it was enough to incur the servants anger.

Illya landed in the road in front of the Servant, eyes narrowed and Ruby held in her hands "Schniden!" she slashed across in front of her, the thin blade of magical energy erupted from the Kaleidostick and shot at Berserker.

He swung Kanshou up, detonating the magical projectile in front of him and leaving him unharmed. Illya widened her eyes "Shield!"

"On it!" Ruby affirmed, moments before Berserker slammed into their transparent pink barrier. A large spider web shaped crack instantly forming where the servant had slammed their shoulder into it. Growling Berserker reared back, grabbing Kanshou with two hands and holding it above their head.

A burst of blue mana slammed into them, they stumbled forwards into the barrier, turning around to see Miyu with the saber card ejected from her body. Sapphire held in her hand and pointed towards the Servant.

"Luvia-san was correct. The Magic Resistance of this Servant is low, Miyu-sama." Sapphire spoke up "We have a chance at defeating them."

"Good." The girl nodded jumping into the air and leap frogging off of the thin sheets of mana beneath her feet.

Berserker growled, swinging the sword behind him in a blur, shattering Illya's shield, the force behind the blow sent the girl shooting down the street. He rushed over to the nearest railing, grabbing a hold of the metal barrier and ripping it from the ground. The red lines spread across the weapon and in a manner similar to Illya, he threw the divider towards the girl in the sky.

Miyu swiped Sapphire upwards, a vertical line of mana cut through the projectile, splitting it in half. Concrete beneath Berserkers feet shattered as he launched himself upwards towards the girl. Sword outstretched and thrusting towards her midsection. Miyu threw up a barrier seconds before the Servant collided with it, straining under the force of the blow as they were both carried off with the momentum of his jump, moving further into the forest.

Illya shot off into the sky, following after the pair while Archer dragged himself out of his crater, rubbing the back of his head.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he saw Bazett running up the street towards him, marginally impressed that she had been able to make it up her so quick.

"They've moved off further into the woods." Archer informed her, looking towards their direction, then looked back at her with a frown "If you have any intention of useful, you're going to need to get there quick."

"I am not as fast as Servants or Kaleidostick users."

"I know...Which is why you're going to have to close your mouth."

"Why?"

"I have yet to meet someone who enjoys swallowing bugs."

"What do yo-Ahh!" Bazett was cut off when Archer picked her up, spinning on his heels and leaping off into the distance, the woman let out a short startled scream as the pair flew away.


A quick burst of gunfire obliterated the dozen flying insects surrounding them, Kiritsugu ducked as Kotomine's fist flew over his head. The enhanced punch pasting another bug, Kiritsugu let off another burst behind the Priest, killing several worm like familiars.

The pair worked in tandem as they fought their way through to the house, Caren walked behind them at a leisurely pace, an idle look on her as she would occasionally step over the goo-like remains of a bug.

Kotomine burst through into the house, stomping down on a crab like insect without even looking at it. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, scanning for signs of activity.

"Caren. Accompany Emiya Kiritsugu and locate Matou Zouken. I will attempt to locate Matou Sakura." Without even waiting for a reply, he launched himself in the direction of the stairs like a missle, leaving behind the pair to see the vaguest imprints of his boot marks in the broken floorboards.

"He disappeared again." Caren commented, then looked at Kiritsugu "It's alright. He does that all the time."

Kiritsugu decided he wasn't going to comment on that particular comment "Maiya, keep watch over the Matou manor, if the familiars or Berserker make a move, contact me." he looked back at the white haired girl "Lets go."

Caren hummed and waddled past Kiritsugu, a perfectly serene expression on her face as she moved through the house. "You should know that I can only detect daemonic possession." she commented to the man, an unchanging almost amused tone in her voice "Unfortunately, I don't think Matou Zouken counts as that sort of thing."

"Can you Exorcise him?"

"Don't know. Never tried." She shrugged "Father is better for that sort of thing."

Kiritsugu wanted to scream his frustration out loud. He calmed himself, exhaling through his nose as he walked on ahead of her, continually checking every single corner of the hallways.


Kotomine slammed open the room door. Staring into the, rather empty, bedroom. A flat expression on his face as he turned away. Shutting it behind him and moving down the hallway. He paused, narrowing his eyes as he did so. A faint tingling on the back of his neck alerted him to something.

He spun around, the black key extended into a blade as he slashed the air behind him, The centipede was split in half, dropping to the ground, he looked up to see a thin shadow stretched across the ceiling. More bugs began to emerge from it, falling down towards him. Kotomine frowned, kicking himself away from the downpour of bugs of all varieties. Spiders, beetles, centipedes and several bizarre amalgamations of the three.

It would appear that the Matou girl had quite the skill with imaginary space.

'I wish Rin would tell me these things.' He sighed into his head, he was no Magus. Everything he got came from Tokiomi, but he could see that the girl had talent. Whatever talent she had was reduced to spewing forth bugs. He could feel the corner of his lip twitch upwards.

How would Tokiomi react if he found out his daughters potential had been so clearly wasted? Would he get angry? Insulted? Would he despair?

The thoughts were banished from his mind as he landed down, following the trail of the shadow as it led off further through the hallway he was in. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a small vial full of salt. He muttered a verse under his breath before throwing the vial towards the insects, exploding just above them and allowing the white cloud of mineral to scatter just above them and float down.

The insects began to hiss and scream as they burned away. Kotomine sprinted further towards the direction of the shadow. More black ribbons stretched over the walls around him, releasing more familiars. Kotomine ignored them, speeding as fast as he could, slamming through the door in front of him at top speed.


Kiritsugu and Caren heard the shattering of wood from downstairs, the pair turned their eyes upwards. The white haired girl remained quiet for a few moments before she shrugged, continuing her walk through the house "That'll be Father."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Kiritsugu continued his pace "Zouken will be downstairs. The Tohsaka heiress described a basement which functioned as his workshop."

"A basement? How cliché." Caren shook her head, somewhat disappointed expression on her face "I thought he would do something a bit more dramatic. Maybe and attic where he kept his victims."

The magus killer kept silent, still unsure how he was supposed to respond to whatever it was she was saying. She was rather prone to making dark jokes, more so than one normally expected a member of the Church to. Not that he cared very much, as long as she fulfilled her role, then he wouldn't complain too much about her personality.

Despite how odd he found it to be. Then again, he had met worse.

He kicked the door to the lower staircase open, staring down at the old workshop of the magus. Zouken stood in the centre of the room, looking up at them with an almost amused smile.

"Well, if I knew I would be having visitors, I would have-" A burst of gunfire obliterated half his body, sending the shattered remains of bugs spraying up the floor and towards the wall. The amused smile of Zouken remained, as well as Kiritsugu's unsurprised expression. "That was rather rude."

Kiritsugu's hand went into his coat pocket, pulling out a grenade, removing the pin and then throwing it into the basement, the metal object clattered to a halt at Zouken's feet. The old man looked down at it with a blank expression, slowly trailing his eyes up as Kiritsugu slammed the basement door closed, locking the old magus in the same room as the explosive.

"You must be-" The detonation of the grenade cut him off, the green mass of bugs painted the walls. The amused laughter of Zouken soon followed as a swarm of insects burst forth from the holes in the wall, soon coalescing together to form the old man again. A grin on his face. His form dispersed before rushing towards the door.


Sakura had been certain to prepare familiars for the priest, just like Grandfather had said. So when the door to her room exploded inwards and the churchman came barrelling towards her, she was rather surprised he had killed the bugs so quickly. Although the rational part of her mind jumped to the conclusion that he was an executor and that it was expected.

"Matou Sakura." The Priest announced as he came to a stop in front of her, staring down at her with vacant eyes. The two sets of soulless orbs locked onto eachother. Hazel eyes trailed down to her right hand, and the petal shaped command seals on them. Two having already been used.

Sakura moved, shooting forth the black shadows from under her feet as Kotomine sprang into action. Slamming his palm into her ribs.

Sakura felt the air explode out of her lungs, the cracking noise of her ribs being fractured echoed through her being like a gunshot as she slammed into a wardrobe, coughing and sputtering as she attempted to get air back into her lungs. The Priest crouched at her side, grabbing her eye lids and prying them open so she stared into his.

"Sleep." He commanded, she felt strength leave her body as she was too distracted to attempt to resist the hypnosis spell. Slumping over, unconscious. Kotomine returned to his full height. Grabbing the girl and hoisting her over his shoulder. A rumbling noise echoed through the house as the foundations shook.

Kotomine raised an eyebrow, and soon began to run back through the house the way he came.


The tsunami of bugs exploded out of the basement door, Kiritsugu instantly opened fire with his Calico as he ran across the house, pulling out another grenade and preparing it.

Caren appeared in front of him, the red shroud around her body weaved outwards like a snake, cutting across the doorway they had just passed through. The insects came to a halt just shy of hitting the holy shroud.

"Ho? An exorcist here…" A mocking laughter echoed out around them "I'm afraid that I can't allow you to take my Granddaughter from me, she's quite precious after all."

"Yes, I assume you're just one of those closely knitted families." Caren dryly replied.

"Kekekekeke…" Zouken chuckled again, the swarm began to break off and seep into the walls, Caren and Kiritsugu's eyes trailed to their surroundings as the dull buzzing sound began cry out from the walls, the plaster began to shake as hundred of insects began to move just behind it.

Kotomine came barrelling down the stairs, shooting past the pair and out of the house. Kiritsugu threw the grenade in his hand towards the heart of the swarm and then followed after, Caren whipped the red shroud back to her and joined the duo in their escape. The explosion of the grenade followed after them, shattering the windows in the room and sending fragments of wall and glass shooting off in all directions into the yard.

Kotomine threw Sakura towards Caren, the white haired girl stumbled slightly when Sakura was dropped into her arms, a frown was thrown the Priests way, which he pointedly ignored, as he span around to face Zouken, black eyes in his hand and eyes narrowed.

Kiritsugu raised his gun, putting a fresh clip into the weapon.


AN: We're gonna just leave it there…

It took a little longer this time, but guys...I'm at Uni, I can't magic out chapters as fast as I could previously.

*Stares at rapid updates of other stories*

Okay...Fine. Be like that. But I hasn't even been a month since my last update, that's still pretty damn fast.

Anyway, some questions emerged last time about the summoning.

Basically, it was 'If Archer can just project weapons, aren't they catalysts?'

The answer to that, is no. No they aren't.

They are projections of the originals, no matter how close there are in scope and power, they are still fakes. Very convincing fakes, but fakes none the less.

The catalyst system requires something that was owned by the person in life. The copy of Ascalon that Archer projected two minutes ago is not really going to be summoning Saint Georgios anytime soon because the guy didn't own it in life.

They didn't have any Catalysts on hand. Without that, you're relying on the fate system. Which is just a random throw in the dark as to who you're going to get.

Yes, you could end up with someone like Georgios and wants to help out…

Or you end up with someone like Caster Gilles. You know how it is.