The war could not have been going worse. Two weeks of nothing but sitting around and waiting. Archer wasn't making a move. Rider wasn't making a move. Assassin wasn't making a move.

"…Even Nathan hasn't made a move."

The police presence was intense, sure, but for them to not even come out to face our challenges?

To make matters worse, it was plain that the magical energy within the city was rapidly beginning to drain away. Or perhaps it was always draining this quickly, and we only just recently noticed? That would have been even worse…

"Archer I get not moving. Caster I get. Assassin I get. But not even Rider…"

Saber and Lancer didn't have much longer until they ran out of magical energy themselves; a couple of weeks, at the very most. Archer, Caster and Assassin I get being able to last longer, especially Assassin, considering his absence throughout the rest of the war, but if even Rider is sitting back, then…

"Then Rider and the Executor are confident they can simply outlast us…"

…We've become the new Berserker in this war. There was no need to engage us, as we'd be the next to naturally drop out. The onus was on us to hunt the rest of them down.

…We'd lost the initiative.

"…Damnit…"

Going after Archer as is wasn't even feasible, due to the alliance between him and Rider. To fight within his bounded field, when Rider could come and even the numbers at a moments notice? That was suicidal. I knew it. Sortiara knew it. No way the other masters didn't know it. Yet Archer was the only servant we even knew the location of!

It didn't help matters that I was exhausted. As the days passed by with nothing to show for it, Sortiara simply got more and more aggravated. She pushed us to stay out longer; explore more. Between the later nights and school during the day, Sortiara simply spent the rest of the time sleeping. Like now.

It was why I wanted to talk to Saber. Needed to talk to Saber. Get his input; find the way forward. But of course, the one morning I really need to talk to him, he was nowhere to be found!

"Just my luck" I grumbled, stumbling into the kitchen still partly asleep.

…I don't even know why I came down into the kitchen. I wasn't even hungry. I was just running on auto-pilot at this point!

…Frustrated, miserable, and tired. That's what the war has made me. Honestly, I was even starting to question why I was still participating in this damn thing in the first place.

Staring into the fridge absentmindedly, I couldn't help but have a sudden though cross my mind.

"Did we lose this war… by breaking off the alliance with Nathan?"

It was a dreadful thought. A terrifyingly horrible thought. But… was it not true that the only time a servant was eliminated, was when Nathan created his fucked-up plans? …If we lose this war because we ended our alliance with the deranged outsider…

"…I'm gonna be sick…"

…Yep, definitely don't feel like eating.

At least there wasn't any school today. I could go back to bed; catch up on some sleep.

…But that wouldn't help to get us any closer to winning the war.

"…Maybe mother's books will have something…?"

…It was a move out of desperation more than anything. But at this point, that was basically where we were at: desperation. Grasping at every straw we could.

I truly wasn't expecting much as I walked over to mother's former office space. Really, if anyone would have anything helpful when it came to the war, it would have been Sortiara and her parents. Should go to her place tonight, actually, and-

"Huh?"

The surprise of seeing Saber standing in the room was the first thing to give me pause. It was good to know that nothing seriously bad had happened to him during the night, but… what the hell was he doing in here? And why hadn't he answer my call when I was looking for when I first got up?!

The other oddity in the room was a computer that I had never seen before. Couldn't tell much just from seeing the back of it, but two things were clear about it regardless: it was old, and it was not mine.

Looking over to Saber first, I noticed his eyes were closed. Did he… did he fall asleep like that? In here? What the hell was going on this morning…?

"Hey, Saber."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Saber!"

"Hm", Saber mumbled, opening his eyes. "Oh, master."

"You, uh… you good, Saber" I asked. "Were you sleeping? I was calling for you earlier, but you didn't respond or anything."

"My apologies. But no, I was not sleeping. Just… thinking…"

"…Does your thinking have anything to do with… that" I asked, pointing to the new computer, so to speak.

"I… suppose it does, yes."

"…Just to make sure… You didn't go out last night and steal it, did you?"

"No, I did not steal it."

"Then-"

"Nathan came by last night."

"…"

"…"

…What?!

"Saber… what do you mean by that?"

"I believe it would be called a lockpick, the tool he used."

"He broke into the house?!"

"Yes."

"And you didn't stop him?!"

"…"

Saber adverted his gaze towards the group for a moment, before turning back to face me.

"I considered it, in the moment. It would have been easy; he wasn't exactly swift in his attempt."

"…But?"

"…A part of me was… curious" Saber admitted. "For all of his faults, and there are many faults… he isn't stupid. Surely, he understood coming back here was a death wish, especially if Lancer was the one who caught him. Yet he returned here all the same, with the intent to do his business discretely, if possible."

"Do you realize how risky that is, Saber?! His servant is Caster! Who knows what he was attempting to do here?!"

"If I'd sensed any semblance of magic from him, I would have acted immediately" Saber countered, sounding slightly offended. "Or if he'd attempted to reach the second floor. All he did, however, was head straight here."

"Here? As in… this office space?"

"Yes."

"…I take it that's when you confronted him."

"Not right away. It wasn't until after he had finished messing around with that" Saber indicated towards the computer.

"And what did he say when you did confront him" I asked, wondering how the hell I got to the point where I was practically having to interrogate my own servant.

"He said he was going after Rider, and that he wants our help."

"Nathan wants our help… to fight Rider? That doesn't make any sense."

"Not to fight Rider, no" Sabe shook his head. "He claims he will deal with Rider. Rather, he wants us to eliminate Archer while he deals with Rider. A joint attack, as it were."

That… that still didn't make sense. Nathan had Caster; he didn't need to fight anyone! Unless Nathan was really at the same point we were, where the war needed to come to an end quickly, but…

"…"

"…"

"…Did he say anything else?"

"He said that regardless of if we agree to assist him or not, he was still going after Rider."

…None of this made sense! Nathan… unless I still completely fail to understand you, none of this is optimal play! So why?! What are you doing this for?! What chaos are you planning now?!

"…What is this plan of his?"

"He didn't say. All he said was that he was going after Rider, that he wants us to take out Archer as he does so, and that regardless of what we do, he was still going after Rider. Beyond that, he only left behind the computer there, and a note."

"…Did you read the note" I asked, walking around the desk to face the computer, which I could now see was a laptop.

"It was addressed to you" Saber shook his head. "It did not seem my place to look. I was just here thinking, and staying on guard to make sure Lancer didn't come and get rid of it all before you took a look for yourself."

"I see…"

Yeah, the laptop was old. All scratched up and nicked in some places. It was in sleep mode though, so I couldn't tell if the screen had any dead pixels or not. Resting on top of the laptop's keyboard was a simple note, written on lined paper and folder over a few times. The only word visible on it at a glance in this folded state was a name.

Johnathan

Taking a deep breath, I opened the note and began to read.

Undoubtedly, I am the last person you want to hear from. I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to forget everything about me, and about us ever even meeting that fateful night. However, I can't forget the things I've experienced. The things I've seen. All thanks to you, all those days ago. As such, I come to you again, now, with three things: a warning, an offer, and a gift.

Tomorrow night, Caster and I will be going after Rider. You can't stop us, so quite frankly, don't bother to try. It will only end up with your elimination from this war, and I do hope you believe me when I say neither of us want that. At least not yet.

As such, I write this note to you, seeing as I'm fairly certain you're the only one of the four that will even consider reading this, to extend the offer of an alliance, one final time. I know not who still remains in this war. To be frank, I'm unsure that Rider is even still in this war as I write this; simply my assumption that he is. However, if Rider is still in this war, as I suspect he is, then I also suspect Archer still remains as well. Thus, I propose a joint attack. I will deal with Rider. You and Sortiara will deal with Archer.

While you may have your doubts about this working, I believe this is, in fact, the most optimal way to eliminate both Archer and Rider. Rider will have undoubtedly realized, through his assassin network, that we are no longer together every night. Given the extent of time that has passed, I suspect he will be under the impression the alliance has run its course. As such, neither he, nor Archer, will be expecting such a maneuver. With my plan, I believe we can eliminate both Archer and Rider in this one swoop.

Regardless of your and Sortiara's decision on this matter, I will still be seeking to eliminate Rider. As such, I will not disclose my plan in detail to you here. If you and Sortiara agree, I have provided you the means on the back of this letter to contact me. I will explain in detail then. However, there is a time limit on this offer, for if you are not in, I need to complete the plan myself, which will require time. As such, you have until 2 PM to contact me. Silence come that point in time from you will indicate I am to expect no support, and any attempt at contact with me past that point will be futile on your part.

Regardless of the outcome to the offer, I cannot deny that I owe you a lot for everything you have enabled me to see and experience. As such, I leave this laptop, my first computer, to you, as well as what you will find upon waking it up. While I suspect it will by no means make it up to you for the wrongs you undoubtedly believe that I've committed, I do hope you find it helpful, in more ways than one.

P.S. I wasn't lying that night, when I said I believe you have a shot if you go for it

…This…

Turning the page over, I found a phone number hastily written on it. Faded, and barely legible, but still… it was there. If we were to accept, we would have to call him, huh?

"What does it say" Saber asked eventually, breaking the silence.

"…Well, it seems he wasn't lying about wanting an alliance for a joint attack" I spoke evenly, unsure as to how to feel about… all of this. "It also says we only have until two this afternoon to contact him if we agree."

"He didn't mention his actual plans?"

"Not in the letter, no. If we want to know that, he said we'd have to call him. Considering the time now, I'm going to have to wake up Sortiara; too urgent to ignore."

…But first…

Why would Nathan leave me his old laptop? What could possi-

The moment I ran my finger along the track pad, waking up the computer in the process, my jaw dropped. On screen was the main client window for WotH. In of itself, that wasn't all that surprising; I'd seen him play that one time. Of course it'd have been installed on his computer.

What was surprising, though, was the user ID on display in the corner.

"No… T-That can't be…"

But tired as I was, I wasn't seeing things. I knew I wasn't seeing things. That ID, right there, was undoubtedly correct, despite the impossibility.

"Yaldabaoth…"

…This was it, wasn't it? I-It had to be… This was the account of Yaldabaoth. But how-

Then I noticed the chat box open in the bottom right corner. Despite the history of chats being empty, and the friend list being empty, there was a lone message open. Not sent, but set up to be sent to my account. My user ID.

Regardless of the path you choose to walk, I entrust my legacy to you, my greatest supporter. Do with it what you wish.

Username: RazE_t0_AsH

Password: Tr4mple_tHe_Cind3rs

…Yaldabaoth… was Nathan… Or rather… Nathan was Yaldabaoth…

"Master" I heard Saber call out, though his voice sounded impossibly far away. "Master, are you alright?"

"…No" I shook my head, unsure as to whether I should laugh or cry, though I could already feel some tears forming in the corner of my eyes. "No… I'm far from ok, Saber."

Nathan was… That sick, twisted man, who treated everything like a giant game. Like a joke. He… he was the one I looked up to, all these years…? He was the one I'd admired? The one I'd studied and learned from? Supported?

…In a perverse way… it actually made too much sense… How did I never suspect…?

I wanted to deny it. I wanted to claim that this was a fake account. That Nathan had just hacked the account, stolen it. But I… couldn't. The account was legitimate; even if I could feasibly doubt the ID, the match history lines up perfectly with Yaldabaoth's last publicly known activity within the game.

Still, he could have hacked it. Stolen it. I'd have believed it, too! Convinced myself that was the actual truth!

…But I'd seen him play. Not just any character, either. I'd seen him play Guo Jia. His known main. Yaldabaoth's known main. The way he piloted it, even though Guo Jia was scuffed on my account-

Nathan was Yaldabaoth

"What the fuck" I muttered, barely audible to even myself.

I wasn't lying that night, when I said I believe you have a shot if you go for it

…Those words… from Yaldabaoth himself… A month ago, I'd have killed to hear those words. But now… now all I felt from them was… hollow…

The note said he hoped I'd find this helpful. How was I suppose to find this helpful now, though, knowing who Yaldabaoth really was?! How was I supposed to be inspired by… by that?! Look up to that, of all things?!

That was where my mind was at as I stared between the letter and the laptop screen: numb. As Saber watched on from the side, unsure of what to say. As I mindlessly flipped though the different tabs of the account of my… my idol… long considered lost to time. At least to people outside the company. Yet here it was, now in my possession. With Daedalus proudly displayed on the main screen, from the legendary victory that made the name Yaldabaoth famous, brief the stint it was, in the larger community.

…And all the letter said was that he hoped I found this helpful.

…Hoped that I found this gift from him helpful.

…Helpful, in more ways than one…

…More ways than one? How would this be helpful in the first-

…No…

…No… he wouldn't…

…There was no way…

…It wouldn't make sense!

Flip that on its head, and what do you end up with?

…It would make sense… because he wants this alliance…

…There was a way… An attempt to approach in good faith…

…Yes… He would…

…Because he's Yaldabaoth…

…Because he's always played the game differently…

…Even the Holy Grail War…

"Holy shit!"

I nearly crashed into the desk as I bolted from the room, rushing past Saber.

"Mast-"

"Sortiara" I shouted, running for the staircase leading to the second floor. "Sortiara!"

I didn't even knock when I reached her door. Caught up in the moment as I was, I threw open the door and burst into her room, causing her to bolt upright in her bed in fright.

"Sortiara-"

"Johnathan! What the hell" Sortiara cut me off, looking absolutely pissed. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! I'm trying to sleep-"

"I know who Caster is!"

…That brought everything to a standstill. Sortiara went quiet immediately, staring right at me as if I'd just spoken in some foreign language. By the window, Lancer materialized, revealing himself to the rest of us. Behind me, I felt the reassuring presence of Saber. All of them were looking at me, yet none of them said a word.

"How did you come to learn that" Lancer would be the first one to speak, the questioning tone of an interrogator plainly evident.

"Because Nathan told me" I waved the letter I only just realized was still in my hand frantically, staring right at Sortiara. "We need to talk! Now!"


A/N

Originally wanted this to go up last night, but I fell asleep before I got to editing xD

Take this as a warning though, people: never meet your idols. Often times, they're far, far worse than their most public personas.

On a different note, this upcoming week is reading week for me, so I'm going to make it my personal mission to try and have one part uploaded per day over the next week. Emphasis on TRY here; at this point, we should all know me well enough to know this isn't LIKELY. But still, I'ma try!