Fate Stay Night – Unlimited Boob Works

Chapter 24

"The Eighth Sacrament"

"We have to hurry! There isn't much time – "

Caster's hands raced over the controls of her magical machine. From what Rin could tell, she'd set up various spells and incantations in advance. It was part of her innate skill, the Divine Words of Judgment – the language of the creation of the universe.

It seemed to work by using key words that acted as cascades, each one triggering a much longer enchantment, so that by uttering a single sentence she could activate more magic than most Mages could hope to achieve in a lifetime. Such was the ability of a true Servant of the Caster class, and just seeing it made Rin feel rather accomplished – and also a bit smug.

"Most of those bastards at the Mage's Association will go their whole lives only dreaming of ever seeing a tenth of this", she thought to herself. Being the sole legitimate heir to one of the three Great Mage Families had given her strong feelings on the matter – not to mention having to suffer under Kotomine's wretched tutelage. It had also left her feeling perhaps the tiniest bit greedy.

"Just think of how many gems I could charge with all that!" she thought to herself.

Unfortunately she couldn't understand most of it. Caster had set all of the Command Words up in her native language – not out of any desire to be arcane or mysterious – though she did certainly enjoy being arcane and mysterious – but simply out of habit, as that was what was familiar to her, and what she was most comfortable with. But for Rin, it meant that all of the various spells were Greek to her – Old Greek for that matter, such as would have been spoken some several thousand years ago.

"Ugh – I suppose it would have been a bit much to ask that she use Contemporary Modern Japanese", she thought. "Although German would have been nice. I know a bit of German – " The Tohsaka family did, after all, have some ties with the German branch of the Mages Association, as well as their connections to the thoroughly British Clock Tower. "Or Latin – I know a smattering of Latin. That would have been perfect!"

As it was, all she could do was guess. Which wasn't to say she was totally in the dark concerning the matter. Most magic rituals share one of a few basic structures, and act upon relatively similar principles, so that even without being able to read everything word for word, she still had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Several of the spells appeared to be related to containment – boundaries and bounded fields and the like. They were arranged together in alternating rows, some facing inwards, while others faced outwards, evidently intended to keep the outside world out, while simultaneously keeping whatever was inside in, with no communication between the one and the other.

With a sudden realization, Rin gasped.

"An Artificial Vessel – you've created an artificial Grail!"

Caster smiled.

"I thought that would be a nicer alternative to asking you or one of your friends to serve as the Body of the Grail – though if anyone would like to volunteer, please, be my guest."

Saber, meanwhile, remained standing where she was. She was still holding the sword Excalibur in her hands, and though the golden light of the blast had faded and the clouds had since returned to normal, she still felt a bit shaky.

That and – she couldn't say for certain, but for a moment she could almost hear a voice, whispering somewhere in the back of her mind.

"I'll always be here, you know –"

Turning to look over her shoulder, she half expected to see that strangely familiar black figure standing behind her. But there was nothing other than a few old leaves, stirring in the wind. Slowly she turned back around.

"If you ever need me – "

"If I ever – need you . . ." she repeated thoughtlessly.

"Saber?"

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?"

"Shiro . . ."

Saber shook her head.

"I'm fine", she said, looking down at the sword again, pausing for a moment to study its edge. Then she held it up and let it disappear, dematerializing out of her hands.

"Your wish was to destroy the Grail – " she said, reaching up and loosing the ribbon that held her golden hair, letting it spill down, all around her shoulders. "And as a Servant, my only desire is to fulfill my Master's wish – "

"Um, Saber?"

They were interrupted by another of Rin's exclamations as she continued to eavesdrop on Caster's ritual.

"Saber – Lancer – Assassin – Rider – Caster – WAIT!? What is THAT!?"

She recognized all of the symbols as they swam in the green light of Caster's artificial Grail, but there was one off by itself that was unknown to her. Its appearance was wild, a bit like a Berserker, but more structured, with wavy lines that formed into the shape of a flame.

"Is that – "

"Angra Mainyu – " Shiro breathed, looking at the strange symbol in front of them.

Caster nodded.

"It isn't one of the original classes, so I don't know if it has a proper name, but if it did, I would say it's something like an Avenger."

Rin looked at her questioningly.

"But if that's true, then it would mean that the Grail's been purified. Does that mean that it's safe to use now?"

"I wouldn't try it", Caster warned. "But the fact remains, we do have to complete the ritual. The barrier is holding for now, but who knows for how long? If we complete the cycle, the Grail will reset, and go dormant again for another fifty or sixty years at least. We have to let it think that it's granted a wish", she said, reaching up to activate one of her circles of spells.

At once, one of the sections of Fuyuki City visible over the hilltops in the distance flickered, and momentarily grew dim.

"A wish . . ." Shiro said.

"Yes. Something harmless – but of enough consequence that the Grail will think it's satisfied its purpose. One of you will have to choose."

And with that she touched the second circle, and another section of the city grew dim.

"It isn't going to – hurt anybody – is it?" Issei asked a bit sheepishly, startling Rin in the process.

"Oh you – I'd rather forgotten you were here – "

Issei glared.

"I wouldn't worry", Caster interjected. "The bounded field is spread out over a wide area – if everyone in the city gave a single drop of mana, we'd have more than enough. It might make them tired for a moment, or give a few people a slight headache. I doubt most of them will even notice. Heck – it might even act as an aphrodisiac – who knows? The power affects everyone differently."

As she said it, another spell activated, and the circle that acted as the artificial Grail began to emit a low hum. This third sector was an amalgam of all the key lines that crisscrossed the city, as well as the connecting pathways that joined the area's major sacred sites, while the fourth was a collection of all the major cemeteries.

"The living and the dead", Caster said softly.

By now enough power had amassed that it began to be visible. A brilliant white light emerged, emitting a crackle and a flash as it came together where the arms of her machine converged.

Rin stared incredulously.

"You've converted the whole city into one giant Magic Circuit!"

Caster smiled.

"That fellow Zeltrech wasn't half as smart as he liked to think. That and he took terrible notes. I spent most of my time trying to decipher what it was that he did. Once I figured it out, finding a way to duplicate it was actually rather easy."

With a wave of her staff, another circle activated. This time the formless mass began to take shape. The ball of energy pinched out at the top, drawing up, then pressing down, hollowing out to take the shape of an inverted bell, its walls giving the Vessel form while the emptiness within granted it function.

A spindle drew down underneath, long and thin, weaving in and out until it met with the ground where it puddled and splashed, flattening out into a pedestal that became its base. Another wave of her staff, and the excess energy rotating around the cup took on a decided orbit, pulsing at a fixed interval. Shiro found that he could look through the energy's frame like a kind of window. With each pass, the Grail took on a new form. Sometimes it was tall and thin, like a champagne flute, others it was low and broad, more like a saucer. One moment it would be made of wood, then porcelain or glass, then silver or gold. It was as if the thing called the Holy Grail was cycling through all the different archetypes, searching all the forms for every possible configuration of what a cup might be.

At last it settled. With a final incantation, the rotation stopped. Shiro couldn't say if it slowed down, or sped up so fast that it somehow achieved infinite motion. Whatever the case, it suddenly locked, freezing into place as the whole world seemed to rotate around him. The endless stream of possibilities ceased, as the shape of the Grail became fixed – shining – golden – perfect.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash.

"ARGH!" Lancer shouted, followed by a string of expletives. "What the hell's going on!? I thought you were going to activate the ritual slowly!?" He'd been staring directly at the cup when the flash occurred, and did not appreciate being momentarily blinded.

"I don't know!" Caster shouted back. "Something's gone wrong!"

"Do you think!?"

"There's too much energy. How is this possible – I measured everything so carefully – "

"Well measure again!"

Ignoring him, Caster ran her hands over each of the magic circles, searching for what could possibly have gone wrong. And then she froze.

"Another Servant has been cast into the Grail . . ."

Suddenly, Illya pitched forward, then doubled over. Holding up her left hand, she curled her fingers, clenching them into a fist over her heart.

"Father . . ."

Rin's eyes went wide as she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Where's Kotomine!?"

Kiritsugu examined the abandoned building, studying each portion quickly but carefully. It had been meant to be a cultural center for the nearby Ryudo temple, but for whatever reason it had not been completed, leaving the strange modern structure awkwardly clinging to the side of the mountain.

The architects for the project clearly had not communicated – the building suffered from a strange, intellectual sort of schizophrenia, being composed of several different styles, none of which agreed with each other. The exterior was postmodern, on the order of Frank Lloyd Wright, with modern lines and sharp corners, altogether at odds with the source material it was meant to contain. Still, it executed its intended style admirably – the crisp edges and sharp angles ran between the jagged curves of the mountain, hugging its contours closely in a way that was clearly at odds with, yet not altogether opposed to their surroundings.

The interior was Classical Western, making a silent appeal to authority by giving the whole thing the inescapable feel of a museum. The inside was squared off, but the central gallery was round, with a sunken floor that evoked a Greek amphitheater, or a Roman coliseum.

Perhaps the effect was unintentional. So far as Kiritsugu could tell, the keepers of Ryudo Temple had no idea that their grounds were also a potential summoning site for the Grail. Certainly the boy, Shiro's classmate, was unaware, and as far as his grandfather the priest was concerned, his knowledge seemed to extend only to the specifics of his own rite, together with a few particulars native to his sect – and nothing more.

But whatever the circumstances, the results were clear. The low ceilings, meant to give a sense of intimacy between the viewers and the objects they contained – the absence of windows to create a sense of darkness and mystery, and to protect the relics from ultraviolet light – the shape of the building itself, with its sharp modern lines against the backdrop of the curves of nature, and its floorplan of a squared circle – for all their attempted sensibilities, the designers had unintentionally created an enclosed space, the kind of place that would be ideal for a magician's workshop.

The only question was –

"What is HE doing here . . ?"

Kiritsugu asked as he studied his quarry through the lens of his Walther rifle.

"I guess I have to admit, being a Servant does have some advantages . . ."

Normally the boxy contraption took some time to deploy. The rifle itself was bulky, but with the addition of its bipod and dual scopes, it became downright unwieldy, more suited to surveillance than combat, and so he normally reserved it for reconnaissance missions. But as a Servant, he could summon it at will, and in any configuration he desired.

"Convenient indeed", Kiritsugu thought, as he looked through one of the rifle's dual scopes. One was set up for low light conditions, helpful for seeing in the dark, while the other was infrared – especially useful when dealing with Mages, for it could detect the telltale energy of their magecraft at work. Between the two of them, he could observe a target from extremely long range, in near perfect darkness, and monitor its magical energy output. But none of that gave him a clue as to Kotomine's intentions.

"What's he doing?" Kiritsugu wondered, zeroing in the scope for a better view. He alone had noticed the priest's disappearance. He'd been very subtle, managing to slip away without alerting any of the other Servants or Masters. Without raising the alarm, Kiritsugu had decided to follow him. There had been several opportunities for an ambush, but thus far, he had held off.

"If we interrupt him now, we won't be able to find out what he's up to . . ."

From what Kiritsugu could tell, he was making a broad orbit along the Gallery's outer rim, pausing momentarily at each of the posts that ran up to the ceiling.

"Does he mean to bring down the building?" He didn't seem to be planting explosives. Kiritsugu could see no practical purpose to the exhibition center's destruction, and besides, that would be horribly inefficient – most of the columns were decorative; only a few of them were load bearing.

"It looks like he's making inscriptions for some sort of ritual", Kiritsugu thought.

But to what end?

"Has he decided at the eleventh hour that he wants to participate?" As the Overseer of the Holy Grail War, Kotomine had no shortage of Command Seals at his disposal, and could have easily joined the battle at will. All he'd have to do is summon a Servant.

"No, the circle he's tracing is too big for that. He must have some other purpose in mind." The inscriptions had no hint of magical energy. They did not show up on infrared, and it was too dark to read them even with the help of the starlight scope. "I guess we'll just have to get up close", Kiritsugu said, holding the rifle up, letting it disappear from his hands.

The gallery was quite large, and empty, making it impossible to cross the middle without being seen, but a series of display cases was stacked off to one side, and it was here that Kiritsugu went. Most of them were empty, their square sided glass boxes exhibiting nothing more than dust. A few held trinkets, artifacts of lesser importance that had been moved at the start of the project, and when it stalled, had not been deemed important enough to bother with moving back again. The most important relics of course still remained back at the temple.

Kiritsugu flitted among the boxes, a dark shadow against the shining glass, moving carefully to avoid being seen. When he got to one of the columns where Kotomine had paused, he stopped. The lines of the inscription were irregular, being scratched into the plaster, so that even up close they were difficult to read.

"What does it say?" he thought, trying to decipher the letters by running his hand over them.

Suddenly the carved text lit up. Simultaneously, all around the room, the sequence of letters glowed red.

"A bounded field! He means to steal the Grail and keep it for himself!"

And then in the dark he heard an ominous laugh.

"Hmm – mmm – mmm – mmm – you can come out now. I know you're here somewhere. I've been waiting for you – Kiritsugu Emiya . . ."

Kiritsugu studied Kotomine through the notched V of the rear sight of his oversized Calico machine pistol. The priest went on, unconcerned.

" . . . So you see, those are my terms."

"And the barrier?"

"I figured it would make things easier. This way, we won't be disturbed. So long as it's in place, there can be no communication with the outside world. I will tolerate no interruptions to our little contest."

Kiritsugu bent his arm, pointing the gun at the ceiling, but in a manner he could easily lower it again.

"And just why the hell would I go along with any of this?"

"Because if you satisfy this one requirement, I give you my word that if I should win, I will do everything in my power to see to it that no harm comes to the boy OR the girl."

"You think I would trust the word of someone like you?"

"Oh? That's a funny thing for someone like you to say. Perhaps we should ask Kayneth El-Melloi about the trustworthiness of YOUR word – I think he would have very interesting thoughts on the matter."

Kiritsugu smirked.

"If you don't like it, then you should do your best to defeat me. Then there won't be any question as to my word."

"Hmph – you really think you can defeat me - a human versus a Servant?"

"Ah, yes – you're a Heroic Spirit now, aren't you?"

"I've – never cared for that term."

"Regardless, that isn't a problem. As an Executor for the Holy Church, I am authorized to carry out the Eight Sacrament. My duties include the occasional exorcism – "

Kiritsugu's eyes narrowed.

"On the other hand, should you lose . . . it's not good for Rin to be alone. She could use a brother and a little sister. And I DO so look forward to raising them as my own – "

Kiritsugu lowered the machine pistol and cocked the hammer.

"You're just a ghost from the last two Grail Wars – you can go exorcise yourself!"

And with that he fired. The body of the Calico was oversized, meant for two hands, but he held it with one, squeezing the trigger with such impossible precision that each time it spat out a perfect spray of three round bursts.

Whether this was the result of a lifetime of honing the Assassin's damnable skill, or some ability he had acquired as a Servant, who could tell, but when combined with the acceleration of his time magic, the result was that with each press of the trigger, a neat spray of three 9mm bullets left the muzzle of the gun, hurtling towards Kotomine, at which point a corresponding series of three holes would appear on the wall behind him. At such speed, the holes seemed to appear instantly, with no delay, as if with each press the pistol somehow painted them on.

"Yes! THIS is what I've waited for! You can't deny you've missed this!" Kotomine shouted.

With each pull of the trigger he seemed to flicker, appearing momentarily in Kiritsugu's sights, the white bead silhouetted against his long dark robes – and then, just as quickly, he would be gone – vanished, only to reappear somewhere else again, each time gettingcloser.

"Hah! It doesn't matter how much time magic you use! I can read your thoughts – your murderous intent! It doesn't matter how fast you can go – I move before you pull the trigger. Your shots will never find me!"

Another burst of automatic gunfire. Another series of holes appeared on the wall. By now, Kotomine had gotten close. Reaching into his robe, he produced a long, slender knife, drawing it out of a breast pocket, up over his head.

"A Black Key – "

Kiritsugu recognized it as he saw the murderous point descending. It was a spiritual weapon, meant to be used against spiritual targets. The blade was long and thin, coming to a stiletto point, more meant to be thrown than for hand to hand combat, but at this range it didn't matter.

Reaching up, he intercepted Kotomine's arm, catching it on the underside of the pistol, where the barrel met the trigger. Hooking it with the metal flange at the bottom of the guard, he brought it down and around, out of the way, so that it passed harmlessly in front of him, then levelled the gun, and fired. With one squeeze, the Calico emptied its entire 50 round drum in a single instant.

Kotomine's body shuddered with the impact as the 9mm shells flattened against him, the softer lead mushrooming out around their copper jackets.

"HRR – RRR – RRR – RRK!"

His entire body convulsed with the sudden violence. Kiritsugu smiled grimly. But then, to his horror, the priest reached down. Straightening his arm, he flexed it, causing the flattened bullets to rain down to the ground as harmlessly as a handful of pebbles.

Kiritsugu stared in disbelief.

"Kevlar threads woven into his robes – just what sort of priest are you!?"

For an answer, Kotomine hooked his dagger around Kiritsugu's arm, pulling downwards, then surged forwards in a vicious uppercut, letting the butt of the knife strike him under his chin.

"Hyah!" he recoiled, feeling his teeth gnash together as he fell back.

"You don't have it any more, do you?" Kotomine taunted, lashing out with a sudden strike that began where his feet met the ground, travelling all the way up his legs, along his back, across his shoulders, and down the length of his arm, becoming at last a shockwave whose winds were visible at the end of his fist.

Kiritsugu leapt back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

"Avalon – you gave it to the boy, didn't you?" he said, hooking in from the other side with another punch that narrowly missed crushing Kiritsugu's ribs. "How noble – but how foolish. Without its power to regenerate, all it takes is one strike from my baijiquan, and you're finished!"

"He's right", Kiritsugu thought, feeling another shockwave pass directly in front of him. "If he connects with one solid hit like that, it's all over", he said, raising the pistol for another shot, but before he could fire, Kotomine lunged in close, jamming him. Twisting his body, he dug his elbow into Kiritsugu's arm, letting the sharp edge of the bone dig into the softer flesh of his bicep.

"Damn! Is there any part of him that isn't a weapon!?"

For an answer, Kotomine swept both his arms to the side, and rammed into him with his shoulder. The force felt like he'd been slammed into a brick wall. But as he toppled backwards, the front blade at the end of the Contender's oversized barrel settled into the notched V at the back. When their picture aligned, he fired.

In the enclosed gallery the report was like thunder, hurtling a shell that had originally been intended to be fired from a rifle. It had no difficulty tearing through the black cloth of Kotomine's robe, passing through it as if it wasn't there. Kotomine's eyes went wide. Seeing the octagonal barrel descending, he leapt to the side, narrowly missing the round as it went zinging past, before falling to the floor.

"Heh", Kiritsugu chuckled, wiping the blood from his mouth. "This is it", he thought, pulling the flange at the bottom of the trigger, making the barrel break apart as the extractor lifted the empty casing slightly, so that he could grasp it with his fingers. Taking hold of the brass shell, he drew it out, replacing it with a new one, then cracked his arm like a whip, making the barrel snap back together again.

"This is the one he fears."

Lunging forward, he pointed with the Calico first, firing a series of controlled bursts, bracketing Kotomine with their fire as he sought to pin him down and then steer him into the Contender's murderous path. But Kotomine was undeterred.

"I suppose you think you're clever with that gun of yours – " he said, leaning to one side as he used his palm to push the barrel off of line, not flinching at the thunderous report, even though it was only inches from his face, before answering with another strike aimed directly at Kiritsugu's heart.

Kiritisugu dodged, breaking the barrel apart again, once more replacing the spent shell with a new one. Kotomine sneered.

"All you've really done is make things easier. Give a man a bat, and he'll try to hit you with it – " he said, using his forearm to shove the barrel away before burying his fist into Kiritsugu's ribs.

"Give him a gun, and he'll try to shoot you – " he went on as Kiritsugu lowered the pistol towards his face, turning away before he could pull the trigger.

"It makes you that much more predictable – " he said, lunging with the back of his hand as Kiritsugu dodged behind him.

"But in the end, a gun's no use if you can't point it at your target – " he said, smiling wickedly. "Or pull the trigger – " Moving with alarming speed, he leapt back, and threw one of his Black Keys with such force that it was almost invisible, seeming to just materialize inside the guard, so that Kiritsugu had to withdraw his hand, or else it would have sliced off his finger.

"Heh – in my first Grail War, the first Servant I ever summoned was an Assassin. I was never fond of the jumpy bastard, but I did learn several things from him. You should remember that – "

"Shit!" Kiritsugu cursed, finding his best weapon suddenly rendered useless. With Kotomine bearing down on him, he had choice but to let it dematerialize, disappearing into thin air as the priest closed the distance.

"Hyah!" he shouted, sinking a stiff armed punch into his chest, once again aimed directly at his heart. Kiritsugu raised the Calico to mount a defense, but Kotomine jammed his arm, slamming his forearm into his chest, then lunged, sinking his elbow into the soft flesh just beneath where his ribs met, making him crumple backwards.

"H – R – R – R – K !"

But as he fell, he once again held out the Contender, and fired.

Kotomine's eyes went wide. Seeing the danger, he tried to turn away, and was almost successful – the bullet passed in front of him, just barely grazing him. But the moment it brushed his shoulder, all of his nerves erupted.

There was a crackle, and then a red flicker like lighting, as the priest dropped to the floor, writhing in agony. It was Kiritsugu's skill of Severing and Binding – the one that had earned him the nickname of Mage Killer. The moment one of his Origin Rounds connected – even slightly – all of the subject's magic circuits that were currently in use would be destroyed – utterly cut off, and then bound back together in a jumbled mass, a confused tangle of what they were before.

To Mages it was deadly, and the more magic circuits they possessed, the deadlier it was. Kiritsugu watched coldly as Kotomine writhed in agony.

"There – it's done."

"H – R – R - R – R – R – R – R ! ! ! !"

"Don't struggle. It will only make things worse. Whatever you might think, I'm not cruel. I take no joy in watching someone suffer."

"RRR – AH – HA – HA – HA –"

Kiritsugu's blood went cold as the priest's groan slowly morphed into a laugh.

"That's – where we're different – " he gasped.

As Kiritsugu watched, Kotomine put one hand on the floor and pushed up, using the other to hold his ribs, as if here were trying to put himself back together.

"Unlike you, with your fake benevolence that smiles on atrocity, I at least am honest enough to admit – I LIKE watching people suffer!"

"But how!?" Kiritsugu asked as Kotomine crawled to his feet. "All of your magic circuits should be destroyed!?"

"Did becoming a Servant make you go senile or something? Or maybe it was all that time you spent as a Berserker. I told you once before – I'm not an ordinary Magus. I guess you could say I'm rather like the boy in that respect. I don't have a Family Crest. Not in the usual sense, at least. The only real magic permitted to Kirei Kotomine is this – "

And here Kotomine rolled up his sleeve, revealing a mass of red lines that slithered along his arm.

"Command Seals – "

"My magic circuits are rudimentary at best. But being the Overseer of the Grail War has its advantages. As the inheritor of the position from my Father, I have all of the Command Seals from the previous four wars. This one makes five – together with a few extras that the Grail was kind enough to throw in for emergencies. I had to use one of them to overcome your Origin Round. A Command Seal to defeat a Noble Phantasm – that sounds like a fair trade – Tell me, how many bullets do you have for that gun?"

Kotomine smiled. Kiritsugu pulled down the flange to load another round.

"That will have to be it, then. Nothing less than a direct hit – it will have to be a killing blow."

"Hmm – hmm – mmm – mmm – You know, those bastards at the Mages Association actually believed you did it all for the money?" Kotomine said, as Kiritsugu observed him at the end of the Calico's barrel.

"But I knew that couldn't be true. Kiritsugu Emiya – The Mage Killer they called you back then – appeared in every major war zone for nearly a decade, only showing up when the fighting was fiercest – when the flames of war burned the hottest, like some sort of ill omen – a Dark Angel who served as the harbinger of death.

'Then suddenly, one day, you left your veering path. Like a compass needle, your way became narrow, and your path became fixed. I used to wonder – what was it you were seeking? And what did you find? You have no idea how I longed for that answer.

'Imagine then my disappointment when I found *you* - a doting fool of a husband and a father whose only goal was to try to save the world by wishing for peace on the Holy Grail!?"

"The Grail doesn't grant wishes Kirei – Not in a way that anyone would want – "

"I don't give a DAMN about the Grail! Eleven years ago, I defeated you, but you killed me in the process. Thanks to the power of Avalon, you revived, and so the Grail decided that you had won. But you ordered Saber to destroy it. So then the Grail resurrected me.

'But I don't care about Servants or Masters or any of that – All I want is to finish this DAMN GAME – to see what will happen when the Grail is finally born – to see how the world ends! HYAHH!"

"Damn! What a monster – " Kiritsugu thought, leaping back to avoid another strike aimed at his ribs. "Getting up close only favors him – he has the advantage at this range.

'But if I let him get too far away, he has too much room to dodge", he observed, watching Kotomine flicker in and out of his sights again as the Calico's 9mm rounds danced all around him. "I can't let him get too close or too far – I'll have to measure the distance carefully."

The machine pistol blazed to life, spraying rounds that enveloped Kotomine like a cloud, punctuated by a blast from the Contender, which thundered as it spat another of its rifle rounds. For an answer, Kotomine fanned his hand in the air before him, summoning four of the Black Keys at once, then hurtling them in Kiritsugu's direction. He dodged at the last instant, watching them shatter the glass exhibit cases behind him, leaving their wooden stands empty, though a few still held various trinkets mixed in with the shards and debris.

"I can't let him pin me down", Kiritisugu thought, grabbing one of the exhibits by its frame and throwing it at Kotomine with sudden violence. But instead of making any effort to evade, the priest clasped one hand over the other, and let the case splinter against him, destroying the wood, glass, and all as it fell harmlessly to the floor.

"Let's see you absorb this – "

Kiritsugu said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a fragmentation grenade. He took some satisfaction at watching Kotomine's eyes grow wide as the metal body of the grenade bounced in front of him, the ensuing blast destroying most of the remaining display cases as he dove behind them.

"I wonder if that robe of yours is rated for shrapnel – "

For a moment there was nothing but smoke and flames. Then Kotomine burst over the top of them, trailing fire behind him. Once more the Calico blazed to life, bracketing him as Kiritisugu sought to fix him in his sights, but it was no use. As quickly as he appeared, he disappeared again before he could get a shot.

"Even now he's still being cautious – damn him! Another few blasts like that and it will bring down the building", he thought, looking down at the pistols in each of his hands, weighing them as he considered his options. "If the building goes down, then his barrier goes down along with it", he thought. "But that would mean – "

His eyes travelled over to the wall. Somewhere on the other side was Illya, her hair as long and white as a winter evening.

"Just like her mother's . . ." Kiritsugu thought wistfully.

And with her was Shiro, his red hair like flames.

"Just like ones from that night eleven years ago . . ."

Amid the flames there came a roar, as Kotomine's form came into view, black like the smoke all around them.

"EMIYA!"

"I need to deal with this here and now –"

Once again the machine pistol blazed to life, spraying 9mm rounds as Kotomine raced towards him.

"He's as relentless as the Grail – " Kiritsugu thought, watching him flicker as each burst struck the place he had just been, seeming to disappear, only to reappear again several feet closer.

'He only has one purpose – "

Closing the distance, Kotomine lunged, striking out with his fist.

'And he won't stop at anything until it's been accomplished – "

Kiritsugu blocked with his arms, but Kotomine jammed himself against them, pulling them apart, then driving towards the center, sinking the point of his elbow into the midst of his chest.

"Just like the Grail, he'll continue to reset, over and over – " Kiritsugu thought, feeling his body collapsing. Kotomine charged in, folding his arms to the side, not bothering to strike with his limbs, but hitting him with shoulder, slamming into him as if he'd been thrown out a second story window.

"Ten years ago, then one year ago, then now. He'll never stop, unless something makes him – "

Drawing back, Kotomine cleared the space between them, readying himself for one fatal blow.

"I'm sorry Illya – "

And with that, Kiritsugu stepped into the onrushing shockwave. Holding up the Contender, he fired. The slam of the hammer ignited a spark that became an explosion, filling his hand with fury as the spiral grooves of the rifling imparted the bullet their spin before sending it down the barrel, to where it collided with Kotomine.

The moment it met his black robe, the soft lead of the nose flattened, mushrooming out as the steel core behind it raced forward, tearing through the open end of the metal jacket, puncturing the Kevlar, utterly destroying his heart, all in one blow.

Kiritsugu looked down at the priest's closed fist where it had met with his chest. He could feel his own heart collapsing, leaving him filled with a sense of nausea. Pain radiated down each of his arms, leaving them uncoordinated, disconnected from the center, with no more will to guide their motions, while a sickness rose in the back of his throat, filling his mouth with blood.

But it didn't matter now.

With a shrug he smiled and settled back against the wall.

Kotomine looked down at the hole in his chest thoughtfully.

"An excellent shot Mage Killer", he said as he adjusted his lapels. "But unfortunately it won't amount to anything – "

Kiritsugu's face soured.

Opening his coat, Kirei revealed the gaping hole that had been torn in his chest. There was no blood or anything – only a wispy blackness that escaped from the jagged edges, wafting up before it disappeared into the air.

"You see – you actually DID kill me back then – in the Fourth Holy Grail War – eleven years ago . . ."

Kiritsugu fought to lean forward, but his body would not obey him.

"You should have taken your victory while you had it. Avalon may have revived you – but the Grail revived me. It gave me a new heart – though I daresay it's just as black as my old one. That's why, there's no weapon you possess, no technique you could master, as a human or a Servant, that could possibly kill me.

'For you see, my life is tied to . . . the Grail . . ?"

From the outer hall that connected to the lobby there was a flash, and then a golden flicker, followed by a still, small voice from somewhere in the distance.

"E – X – C – A – L – I – B – U – R ! ! ! !"

Kotomine put his hand to his chest. As he watched, the column of black smoke grew wispy and thin. And then it ceased altogether. With a groan, he slumped against the frame of an open doorway.

From his place along the wall, Kiritsugu smiled faintly.

"Heh – she always was such a stubborn woman . . ."

"It won't hold!" Caster shouted, ducking to avoid one of the arms of a whirlwind of energy that had formed over the Grail, and threatened to take her head off.

"There's too much power. Things were fine as long as we brought the level up slowly, but with a seventh Servant added to the Grail – the artificial boundary isn't strong enough. It can't contain itself – not without a proper Vessel."

Illya and Sakura exchanged a look. By now the Grail had begun to change forms again, as if with the addition of a new Servant it needed to reconsider what form it would take, and began cycling through all of them again. Caster frowned.

"Our choices are limited. Einzbern, Matou, or – "

"Tohsaka . . ." Sakura said breathlessly.

Issei cringed. Even with his dislike for the girl, he was pretty sure that becoming the Vessel for the Grail meant something terrible. Illya cut off his worrying.

"Tohsaka isn't here. It will have to be one of us – "

"I can do it – " Sakura said timidly. "Grandfather taught me the ritual, so I could – "

Illya shook her head.

"No. It will have to be me – "

"But Illya!" Shiro shouted. "You can't – "

"I'm the best choice. Every Einzbern homunculus is created with the ability to become the Holy Grail – "

"But you AREN'T a homunculus! NOT ANYMORE!"

Illya smiled gently, taking a step towards him.

"Shiro – "

Sakura folded her hands and looked to the side.

"Shiro's right – the two of you are – you and he – I don't have anyone, so – "

"Lady Illyasviel, I have to agree", Saber said, hastily putting her hair back up into a bun.

"It's all right", she said, looking at both of them with her red eyes, and then at him. "I don't mind. Not really – "

"But I DO!"

Gently she took hold of his hands.

"From the time I was a little girl, I had a feeling that something like this might happen. Our time together was like a dream Shiro. A very happy dream – " she said, kissing him on the lips, not bothering to hide from Saber or Sakura or anyone else that when she did it she opened her mouth.

"It was an Einzbern who gave her body to become the First Grail, back when this all started", she said, looking at him longingly as she used her sleeve to dab her lips. "It's only fitting that I should do it now. Besides – " she added with a small laugh, "I'm the one who started all this mess – "

"I don't care!" Shiro shouted, moving to reach for her, but he found his hands restrained. Looking down, he saw his arms were entangled in the magic threads of her white hair, with their borders encased in ice.

"Take care of him, Saber – "

Saber looked down guiltily.

"He's going to need you – The two of you are going to need each other – "

"DON'T DO THIS!" Shiro shouted, still struggling.

Steeling her heart, Illya took a first halting step. The moment she moved towards it, the Grail pulsed, excited at the prospect of its new Body approaching, at the thought of being born.

"SOMEBODY STOP HER!"

Lancer and Archer regarded him grimly.

Another step, and the sky grew bright, as the window around the cup began to rotate again.

"The barrier's collapsing!"

By now the ground beneath her had fallen away, exposing the chasm of the cave of the first Grail's birth. Both she and the Grail were floating, having become celestial objects, like the moon and the stars in the sky, as she ceased to have a physical being so that it in turn might acquire one. Seeing that it was impossible to go back, and that none might reach her now, she decided it was safe to allow herself a moment's hesitation.

Looking over her shoulder, she called to him.

"I love you, Shiro – "