US- another chapter. A quick one too. No promises to keep up this pace, mind you.

Enjoy a return to the A Plot. 2 chapters estimated before the attack on the Einzbern faction begins. And remember that we have a TV Tropes page for this story, so fill it in if you're passing through that stretch of the internet.

Chapter 25

It was my second hot chocolate, and the taste of defeat was still strong in my mouth despite it.

"Are you still brooding?" Ereshkigal asked me, sampling her own drink with a small contended smile. By her side is a small mountain of the kinds of treats one might be able to find at any coffee shop. I'd have to chalk it up to Knight Classes, and their unending stomachs. Though, by now I have the wisdom to say nothing on the topic.

Saber, meanwhile, had an expectation defying small sandwich and coffee.

"I guess I am. Just a little bit." All in all, I didn't know what to think of Kiyohime's situation. I hated that she was stuck with Medea... but she seemed happy with it. Because of course she naturally would. The moment I realised that her Master was automatically her Anchin - that was when all the pieces clicked into place.

In many ways, I found her more sad than mad. Unlike Hercules or other typical Berserker's, Kiyohime at first glance seems unusually sane... but here and now, its clear to see just how much worse her kind of madness is.

"I don't think any of us can be blamed for her situation. Its just an unfortunate truth. She is a Berserker, and none are without some form of madness." Saber said.

"I wonder what she'd be like as any other Class?"

"Hmm... an impossibility, is what I'd say." Archer was tapping her mug, and I noticed her body mannerisms mirrored her hosts quite heavily, especially in her 'explanation' poses. "Based on her legend, I don't think she could be summoned to another Class."

"Probably." I agreed – her legend was based around a mad kind of love. She could never qualify for the Throne of Heroes on anything else. It was sad though.

"Best not to dwell on her though. Either we succeed in freeing her from the Witch, or we don't. Either way, I doubt you'll do anything but your best, right?"

"Right, Archer. I owe it to at least try and free her."

"So give it your all then, and worry no more about it." She downed the rest of her drink in a remarkably elegant fashion. "Now, I shall be a generous goddess and share this bounty you purchased for me. We have things to do today, do we not?"

"... thanks." I accepted the cake she offered me. Because true friendships are based upon the exchange of sugary treats.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Do you find any of this familiar then?" I asked as we travelled through the marketplace. We were all laden with shopping bags to supply the Grey Team (with both edibles, miscellaneous items requested from the spellcasters, and enough energy drinks to give an elephant a sugar rush), and just window shopping now before we had to return to the base.

I might have been looking forwards to my next set of Runic lessons... but I'm not fool enough to expect to get another break for quite awhile. She'll push me until I break, or so suggests the School of Anime Teaching Techniques.

"A little. It's... odd." admitted Archer. "While I am made up of the goddess Ereshkigal and the Magus Tohsaka Rin... I feel that those human elements are muted. Its nostalgic, but I don't strictly remember. I know what she did, and if you asked me where to go for a deal on tofu I could likely lead you there, but if you asked for specifics..."

"So I guess you asked to tag along mostly to see if you could settle those memories of yours?"

"Mostly. I also wanted to keep an eye on you. According to Lancer, you do have a bad habit of walking into danger."

I snorted. "Hey! At least I'm not Shirou Emiya – he'd be sprinting for the danger."

The Goddess was able to stifle a small laugh of her own. "I must admit, I can feel that my host had an equal amount of fondness and exasperation for that man."

"Oh, on the topic of that man! Look." Saber pointed to the butchers shop down the far end of the market, and there he was, emerging like the glorious protagonist that he is, accidentally stumbling into encounters and plot points alike.

"Shirou." Ereshikgal said with surprising softness.

And there, beside him, was Saber. Her eyes met mine and she pointed me out to her Master. There was an awkward moment as he stared at the blonde Archer, while she pointedly looked away, while both Saber's gave each other the evils.

So I broke the moment, and waved.

He waved back, a little bit confused.

Still, I made no attempt to approach him. I've learnt my lesson about fraternizing with the enemy, and I couldn't afford to let slip my plans. After all, I did intend to attack him next after all. But if he approached me...

As if reading my mind, the duo began the casual walk towards us.

"Are you fine with having to see him?"

"I am." Ereshkigal nodded her head stiffly. "I am not Tohsaka Rin. This is awkward, but I won't let it impact my performance. If Saber attacks, I will strike her down. Such is my duty."

"Its appreciated. Still, I don't think it will come to that." Yet.

"James, Rin." He greeted, having finally caught up to us. "Ummm..." he scratched his cheek. "why is your hair dyed?"

"I'm not her." My Archer said.

His expression didn't change. "Huh?"

"I'll field this one, since I'm kinda responsible for this one." I shrugged. "I teamed up with the Blue Team to boot the Reds from the temple. Naturally, the Blues are made up of sneakin' backstabbers and they backstabbed me... curse their sudden yet inevitable betrayal." Silence – no laughter. "Bah. My references are wasted. On a similar note, someone that is not me also stabbed Rin in the back. Skipping to the chase, shit happened, I attempted my final summoning, and accidentally used Rin's corpse as a catalyst to summon a Servant into."

"So... this isn't..."

"Master... that is definitely a Servant." Saber of Blue cautioned her Master.

"Oh." Now he seemed crestfallen. Not surprising really, since he found out his crush was now dead and being body-snatched by a Servant. "That's... I really hoped Rin would survive this, even if we weren't actively working together."

"Unfortunately not." Archer sighed. "My host died rather suddenly. She didn't even see her killers face." It was problematic – though we were pretty sure that it was either Assassin of Blue or Kotomine Kirei that had done the deed.

"On that note, be careful of Assassin of Blue and Kotomine Kirei." I cautioned him. "Honestly, if you can shank either of them, it does the whole world some good."

"I never got a good feeling about him. So you think he-"

"Maybe. But even without that, he's the fucking worst. He has a secret Servant stashed away from the last war. Archer. And if that isn't enough, try going to the church and asking about the orphans. I bet Ruler's already handled them, but she'll probs explain just what I mean."

"Perhaps I will." Shirou accepted my words for what they were – facts that were probably true, but facts that also benefited me to reveal.

"While we're here, mind if I ask about your wish?"

"You can ask."

Best I could hope for. "What is it? You aren't the kinda guy who wishes frivolously, so you probably really need the wish. Are you willing to drop out? Whatever it is, I would happily sign a Geass contract to help fulfil it instead. And with my Servants, specifically Lancer, I probably have a good chance of pulling it off."

He shook his head. "I definitely need the Grail. I spoke to Illya about it, and frankly, even a Caster class Servant would struggle to handle it. And if they handled my wish, they would only have success if they could get it done quickly."

A problematic wish? Ilya? "Are you trying to cure her Homunculus body? Prevent it from prematurely dying?"

"Not quite. It's... well, how do I explain it..."

"Master, perhaps you should not reveal such details about your sister?" Saber of Blue was cautious, but I couldn't blame her.

"It's fine." Shirou protested. "He's... well, he might be an enemy, but I don't think he's a bad person?"

"Thanks for the heads up. Kinda feels like everybody is out for my head right now."

"Well, it is a Grail War, you know." Archer, stop being so fucking on point already!

"No problem. Normally, I think we could get along, and I would probably be fine with you winning. But in this War... that is impossible. Long term I want her body fixed. But short term... I need her to remain human."

What did he mean by that? Remain human?

"I understand she's a Grail. But... where are you going with this?"

"She might be able to withstand having the energy up to seven Servants within her... but there is no way she can retain her humanity after a wish is made, let alone several."

"Oh fuck." Shirou's hand's were clenched, his eyes were narrowed, he was angry.

"Yeah. With this many Servants around, we can't prevent the War. The Grail WILL be filled. Likely multiple times. And the Einzbern Grail isn't meant to stick around after the war. So while the Grail will be able to remain stable and actove for as long as a War needs to be finished... my sister cannot survive after any wishes have been made. Her personality, her soul... whatever it is that makers her her."

Here, I did something risky. I approached the enemy Master, and gave him a reaffirming pat on the shoulder. "Hang on in there. Okay, yeah. I can definitely get why you have a wish now."

He nodded his head, and plied my hand off his shoulder, and took a step backwards. "No Caster can fix her after the war, because she won't be there."

"In other words... it would take a miracle. Sorcery such as the Heavens Feel." Archer sighed. "It's so unfortunate. If I had been summoned as a Lancer, perhaps then... but no. We can only approach things as they are, not how they could be."

"Right. And I'll fight to save Ilya. I owe that much to her. Come on, Saber." He turned to leave.

"In that case then... good luck in the fights to come."

"Same to you. I hope your own wish is worth it." and with that, the enemy Master left, and he left me with the question I'm always asking.

Is my wish worth it? Is my participation?

I sighed aloud. "Fuck it. Come on team. Let's head back to base. Suddenly, I'm in less of a mood to fuck around and kill time."

"Same." Archer's face was devoid of emotions. "I think I've had enough of walking down Tohsaka Rin's memory lane."

XXXXXXXXXX

"A decent application, but the Array you present would have unexpected results." my teacher pointed out using a red market pen, circling the final symbol I'd drawn. "Ansuz is a decent guess, but can you guess what mistake you made?"

I looked back across my notes, and the small collection of symbols I'd settled on. We'd been working most of the night on Runic 'puzzles' such as this, trying to solve hypothetical problems with Runic means. A very different way to spend my nights than I'd recently been doing, but coursework was a nice change of pace to going outside and participating in the local Murder-Death-Kill tournament. "Is it... the second level associations? Would Sowilo be more effective?"

"Asking me, or telling me?"

"Telling." I said with more confidence than I felt. "Ansuz should work, but Sowilo is better."

"Correct. More specifically, for the activation type you chose, the quick trigger properties of Sowio would be necessary."

"Ahh." Yeah, I could see where she was coming from. "On that topic, in practice just how do you fight with Runes? I know I won't be able to replicate it, but I'm curious. Runes are looked down upon by modern Magi because they are ineffective if cast at range, while up-close its difficult to engrave it upon a target. For any effect worth casting, it tends to require too many symbols to be easily applied in battle. So..."

"There is a difference in how I cast, and you do." Scathach warned me. "There are actually three different types of the Runes we use, and can largely be broken down to time period. The Primeval Runes of Odin, from the Age of Gods. Then, the Runes I grew up using, Old Runes. Finally, the degraded results of present day Magi: Modern Runes."

"But... aren't they the same symbols?"

"There are some differences. Plus, each set has their own mystical properties and conceptual weight. One doesn't know how to cast a Primeval Runes simply from being able to draw it."

"Intrinsic knowledge." As Scathach had explained it, some things just inherently have meaning. Case in point Runes. The symbols alone are just symbols, but the concepts associated are what grant them any kind of metaphysical weight.

"I can cast Primeval Runes. So in combat, I can cast the higher concept Runes and create great effects with minimal work. But Modern Runes would require far more effort for the same results."

"May I assume that I am using Modern Runes?"

She nodded her head. "They are the quickest to learn, and even I can admit that they have some uses that the older sorts don't possess."

"Not all languages are created equal." An example I might use would be programming languages. Older languages might be able to do some things that modern languages don't allow, but newer languages likely also adapted to perform what the industry at the time needed.

She clapped her hands together. "Exactly. So while I admit that I have been testing the waters and giving you some knowledge that will serve as a decent stepping point for Old Runes, I doubt that we will reach that point before the end of the war."

"A shame." I sighed. "So even if I did want to, if I wanted proper Runic abilities for combat purposes, Modern Runes just don't hold up well."

"Indeed."

With that insight gained, I went to my notebook and started quickly jotting down all I'd learnt from that exchange. "So to clarify, the only real in combat way to use Runes is to use higher concept ones up front?"

"Pretty much."

"Dumb question... but can't you just detonate Runes remotely?"

"An odd question. Not really. You could lay a trap that can activate without your direct influence. Ultimately though, Runes require Prana and intent to be run through to activate. So unless you set up the Array to use the worlds Mana in advance, you will need to use your own Prana, which requires direct contact."

"Figured." It was a shame though. "As a hypothetical, if you did Bullshit with Quantum Entanglement or something like that, could you force a Rune to activate when another does, getting the same result?"

"I don't understand the term."

"Its a very modern idea, the Grail likely doesn't provide it."

"Oh, Quantum Entanglement!" she clicked her fingers.

"Did you just use your Bullshit Wisdom skill to pull that knowledge from thin air?"

"Why yes, yes I did."

Yup. What a wonderfully broken Servant. "Goddamn, I love having some OP on my side."

"And yes, maybe with some Thaumaturgical connections you could remotely force activations, but just to set something that complex up, it is akin to just making a trap in advance."

"So excuse me if I'm bashing my head against the wall and all, so you just need to run Prana through a Rune?"

Scathach sighed. "I appreciate curiosity of all forms, but I'm not sure you're quite understanding me."

"But what about Rin?" Blink. "Welp, more accurately, her Gemcraft. That's about storing Prana in vessels, then chucking them at the enemy. That's your Prana, right? So could you use a Jewel to trigger a Rune?"

"It would have to be pure vessel." For once, the Lancer looked deep in thought. "The intent of the caster upon the Prana is necessary to inscribe the correct depth of meaning upon each Rune. So you could probably pull it off, with the correct vessel. Why? Do you intend to try and ask Archer for if she remembers her vessels Magecraft?"

I scratched my head skittishly. "Actually, I just kinda got sidetracked and followed a train of logic way further down than I expected. But yeah, it might be cool to do something like that after the War. It's more that I was considering how to weaponize Runes."

"Carve them onto a Runestone and throw them at someone. Simple." A deadpan Lancer, is indeed deadpan.

"So... does it have to be a stone?"

"Not specifically."

I put on my most innocent tone of voice, and brought all my years of teenage acting experience to my facial features to make the most innocent gaze. "So... could you make a Rune bullet. Just... purely hypothetically?"

Scathach signed, and reached over to flick my face, prompting a loud ouch on my end. "What is it with modern youths and guns? Aren't you meant to be an Englishman, and not an American?"

"That's stereotyping." I pointed it out, rubbing the mark her deadly fingers had left behind. "And I have reason to my madness. You aren't teaching me any martial abilities because I don't have the time to learn a proper weapon. But a gun is remarkably easy to use. Point it, pull the trigger, done."

"I respect it as a weapon, but it lacks finesse." she glared. "No student of mine will specialise in guns."

"W-w-wait! I don't need to specialise! Just saying... a gun now would never not be useful in not getting me killed. And maybe I could learn whatever weapon you want afterwards if you help me out? Please?"

She gave a cold look, before giving me her ultimatum. "After the war you will not simply become proficient in my weapon of choice, but you will excel. Understood?"

"U-understood."

"Very well then. A deal has been made. I look forwards to teaching you the spear." A lot more than I will look forwards to learning it, anyway...

"So. Rune Bullets. Yae or nae?"

"A firm 'maybe'." She concluded. "You could likely use the concepts assigned to a bullet to ensure that the Rune reaches the target, and specific work on the Bullet could ensure that it won't deploy until the Bullet hits something. You could likely use Runes on the 'gun' to help fire the Bullet too."

"So you'll make me a cool ass Rune Gun?"

A sharp dismissal. "If you want this toy, then you will make it. You may ask for my help and your other Servants, and I shall help you refine it. Medea could even help make it, while I would assist in its design. But you will need to put the work in."

"It won't be ready before we attack the Blues, will it?"

"No. But perhaps by the time we face Gilgamesh."

Sounds like a lot of hard work... but it also sounds like a lot of fun. A bit beyond me right now, but that's how all projects like this start. I didn't get good at programming my knowing everything before I got started. 9 times out of 10 I only figured the shit out to get my projects done while working on them.

"Will you give me time to work on it?"

She gave me a cautious smile. "Naturally. With such a goal in mind, I can tailor my teaching appropriately. Now we know longer need to devise test projects to work on such as the Array from earlier. We can instead work on Array portions you might be able to use."

"Excellent. Much appreciated."

"On that note, there are still two hours of work remaining before you will be permitted rest. We shall immediately begin work on the next portion of my curriculum – using Runes to physically manipulate forces upon an Engraved Item. Prepare yourself."

"Mercy?" Naturally, there was none.

XXXXXXXXXX

"You look dead, oh Master mine~" I cracked open one eye to see who had dared to interrupt my deathliness and joined me on the bed. And there, her face too close to my own, was Mata Hari. I closed my eyes once more.

"Assassin, tell my wife and kids I loved them. Alas, James Branson died. Cause of death: excessive lecturing."

"She really put you through your paces, huh?"

"Fucking tell me about it..." I whimpered. However, while I bitched a little at the workload, I couldn't deny the effectiveness of Scathach's work. She was a damn fine teacher, and once she knew what I wanted to work towards, she was quite adept at giving me the pieces I'd need to work with amidst the fundamentals she was drilling into my head like an ancient caveman would trepan into skulls.

"Aren't you being a bit dramatic?"

"Probably a little."

"Well, rejoice, for your adorable Servant brings her Master tribute."

"If it isn't warm and wet, I'll throttle you." Then, I understood exactly what words I'd used. All was quiet. "I meant tea. Or hot chocolate. Or coffee, in a pinch."

"Uhuh." Silence.

"I did!" Silence.

Silence. "Oi, I don't need to hear you to guess when you're wiggling your eyebrows suggestively."

I felt her get off the bed, and opened my eyes once more. There on a bedside table stolen from god knows where was a nice mug of tea, just how I like it. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

"You are still the biggest menace amongst all those I summoned, you know. And that includes immortal killers, magical girl witches, boner confusing knights and a literal Yandere." I commented as I took a quick sip at the beverage, savouring the caffeine shot. After all, the night was still young. Soon my teacher would return...

"I'll take that as a compliment." she smiled.

"My suspicions are piqued. Okay, why are you buttering me up? What do you want?"

Her smile fell. "Okay. Well, I want to accompany you when you attack the Einzbern mansion."

Now that was a surprise. Never did I think I'd hear Mata Hari want to be in a fight. "... Assassin, aren't you literal shite at combat? Didn't you specifically request staying out of fights? I don't get why you want to take part."

"Because you're more valuable than I am." she admitted. "Honestly, I never thought I would be summoned to an actual Grail War, nor that I could last this long. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be in a normal Grail War with just the two of us... and every time I consider it, I thank every power I can that this didn't happen. Because then we'd both probably be dead."

"Oh. You're worried after the temple."

"Of course I am!" she snapped. "You died. Sure, Medea saved you, but you died. And the only warning I got was that our bond snapped. I was terrified!"

"I was too." I admitted. "All I saw was a glimpse of Assassin, and I just knew it was over."

"It would have been worth me being there, even if all I could do was to shield you with my own body." I was used to Mata Hari being warm and teasing, self-confident and womanly. So to see her so subdued and serious – it was a change of pace. A little nice too, to see that depth.

"I wouldn't want you to do that." I reminded her. "I want everyone to survive."

"No war is without casualties." Case in point, she was killed as a spy. "And if you died, I would fade away eventually anyway. So I'd rather be out there, where maybe my Noble Phantasm might make a difference, where I am at least in a position to act. Because even if I don't expect myself to survive a Grail War... I want you to survive."

Well fuck. What the hell was I meant to say to something like that? What kind of words are there to reply to a statement like that?

I didn't have any words, so I pulled myself off the bed and instead threw my arms around her in a heartfelt hug. Because I did appreciate what she said – what she was willing to do. "I don't wanna hear no quitters talk, m'kay, Mata Hari? But fine. You'll help support Rider and Saber against Artoria."

Mata Hari returned the hug. I felt her nod her head in agreement, before she let the hug end. The serious look in her eyes were gone – she'd returned to her old wicked ways. "Well, I for one feel much closer now, don't you?"

"Never have I been so glad that Berserker was kidnapped, if only to stop you from teasing her."

She shrugged. "She should learn to grow some thicker skin."

"Like dragon skin?"

A distasteful look. "Okay. I think I can see how I keep running into the firing squad."

"For a spy, sometimes you really don't know how to watch your words."

"Ass." she smacked my arm teasingly. "Well, if I can't tease anyone, then I want something."

"I know it will be something unreasonable, but ask."

"Call me by my name." she requested.

I raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Mata Hari."

"Dumbass. My actual name."

Right. Stage name. "Margaretha."

She nodded with satisfaction. "Much better. When we aren't on the battlefield, I fully expect you to call me that."

"Well, better than something actually unreasonable." if she was willing to go onto the battlefield despite her weakness, how could I do anything less? Mata- Margarethadeserved that much respect. "So, Margaretha, got any other deep conversations you wish to share with me this evening."

"Hmmm... nah, I think I'm done. Always leave a man wanting more~"

"Joy." I rolled my eyes. "Now, excuse me while I prepare for more lectures. It's a different kind of hell than conversation with you, but its one I choose."

By the end of the night, however, I was proven thoroughly wrong. James, you picked poorly.