Sakaki looked down in worry upon the two-way radio he was using to communicate to Cicada Squad. He had been attempting to contact the squad leader for the past half hour, and only grew more and more worried the longer he went without a response. The only thing he heard was a static noise and the occasional shuffle, filling him with dread.

He went to try again, only for the radio to crackle. Realising that meant he was being contacted, Sakaki scooped up his headset before responding.

"Natsu! What has happened down there!? What has happened to the others!?"

All that answered back his frantic questioning was silence. But then...

"...Hahaha..."

A laugh started to resound. Quiet at first...

"Hahahahaha..."

But it began to grow in volume, and with it, Sakaki felt the dread that had temporarily receded return with a passion, as the laugh felt awfully familiar.

"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"

As the laughter reached a crescendo, so too did Sakaki's dread. Until suddenly, all went quiet. Then, a voice, deadpan, yet somehow capable of delivering a sense of sadistic amusement, spoke to Sakaki. He hated how familiar it was.

"Ah... Professor Sakaki. It has been a while since we had last met. How have you been? Still following your foolish ideal with Kiritsugu Emiya?"

Sakaki could barely respond, could barely think, because of the voice he was hearing. It was the voice of a ghost that he thought had been put to rest over 10 years ago. Mustering up what little he could, he was able to mutter out a name.

"K-Kotomine...?"

"Oh? My my, what has got the normally energetic 'Star Gazer' so quiet? Could it be the absence of a few... Cicadas, was it, from your Den?"

"B-But how? You died. I saw it."

"Oh? I died, did I now? Well, I can assure you, I am quite alive. In fact--"

Sakaki heard a loud voice on the other end of the radio, sounding upset. The voice quickly stopped, with a brief silence ensuing, before Kotomine continued to speak.

"Ah. Sorry about the interruption, but it appears as if I am required elsewhere. It has been good to speak to you again, Professor. I hope, that when we next meet, you will show me that flame of enthusiasm that can consume whatever it touches. You, and Kiritsugu Emiya."

The radio shut off, leaving Sakaki in the relative silence of his room. Or, as silent as it can get with the constant buzzing from all of the holo-screens around him. It was in this silence that he began to stew in his thoughts.

Kirei Kotomine was alive. Sakaki's one-time student, one of the biggest pushers in the research that took place over 10 years ago, was alive. Despite the fact that Sakaki saw his corpse, despite the fact that Sakaki saw the moment his life end, he was still alive.

The natural continuation to the thought was, of course, how? How could he have survived? After all, it wasn't very often one survived a hole in the chest and severe third-degree burns (the latter being post-mortem), unless they were an especially lucky God Eater.

At that, his mind immediately drifted to Shirou. The boy, no, the man, had survived many grievous injuries, ones that he should realistically have no way to survive. Even for a God Eater, his ability to survive was ludicrous. Sakaki knew that it had something to do with what Kiritsugu had given him when he saved him. One of the various things they had worked together on in an attempt to help people.

But Shirou's ability to recover from mortal wounds was beyond what the synthesized Bias Factor was recorded to be capable of. It is much more likely that it mutated when it was injected in Shirou. Of course, it wouldn't just mutate in any regular person, which led Sakaki to the assumption that he must have been a God Eater Child with his own natural Bias Factor that mixed with the synthesized one.

Sakaki had followed that assumption as far as he could, looking for any relative of Shirou, but it was likely they had all died. He had compared Shirou's blood to the databases, but Shirou's own genetic code seemed to be so corrupted by the synthetic Bias Factor that it was impossible to accurately relate it to anyone else's.

Shaking his head, he resumed his initial thoughts. Kotomine shouldn't be alive, and wouldn't be able to survive his wounds unless he had some of the synthetic Bias Factor they had all made. But that wouldn't be possible either, as Kiritsugu had the only remaining sample and he gave it to Shirou, while the others were all lost in the fire.

As he continued walking around in circles in his own mind, the door to his lab opened, bringing his attention outward. It was Rin that had entered, looking oddly serious. Rin had been one of his more interested 'students', always asking about this or that, wanting more clarification on the subject of Oracle. If she retired, Sakaki could easily see her being a researcher, working towards a better use of Oracle for the planet. Along with Shirou, who had shown his own expertise in building things and working with technology.

"Professor, I want to ask you about something."

His attention was drawn back to his guest, before he put on a smile that didn't reach his usually closed eyes and nodded to her. Taking a deep breath, Rin spoke about what was on her mind.

"I talked to Shirou earlier. He told me that you had talked to him about something, something important to him."

Here, Rin paused, bringing her hand to her face as if thinking on what to say next. Sakaki just looked at her with his usual amicable expression, but internally the gears in his mind were turning. He knows what he told Shirou. It was all about the incident that took place, the fire, and the people involved. Sakaki figured that Shirou must have talked about it, leading Rin to him. With a deep breath, he prepared to answer to the best of his ability. Coincidentally, it seems that Rin had decided on what she wanted to say.

"Professor Sakaki... Shirou told me about the fire that occurred almost 12 years ago. Specifically, that the fire wasn't just by an Aragami attack, but was caused by people, including Shirou's father."

Hearing that, Sakaki nodded. Locking his hands and leaning forward, he spoke.

"What I am about to tell you is, in fact, restricted information from the database. No one is meant to hear of this outside of this room. However, seeing as how this concerned the boy, I won't punish Shirou for telling you. But know, if anyone unrelated hears about this, there will be consequences."

Giving Rin a hard look, he waited for her to nod in agreement. Rin did so quickly, slightly scared of how the normally cheerful old man was acting so aggressively out of character. Before he spoke more, Rin thought it was best to inform him that Saber and Sakura also knew. He quietly digested this information before speaking again.

"I see. After this, you can share information with them as you see fit. But warn them that my warning still applies."

Taking another deep breath, he began his recount of the backstory of the fire.

"12 years ago, some colleagues and I had begun working on a new Aragami-based weapon. The concept behind it would be a weapon that uses the Resonance between two or more God Eaters to function, attacking any Aragami at its own level. It would allow more God Eaters to be away from the line of duty, keeping more lives safe. The project was named Spenta, after the Zoroastrian God Spenta Mainyuu."

Here, he let out a dry chuckle.

"You might think that it sounds quite similar to the God Arc Soldiers that were being developed back in 2074. You would be right. Project Spenta and the project behind the God Arc Soldier development shared a fair amount of data in the way of how the Soldiers were controlled by God Eaters, as well as the God Eaters being separate from the weapon. It was the execution that was different. Instead of a small number of God Eaters controlling the total, it would be multiple God Eaters controlling a smaller amount of Spenta's."

Sakaki took another deep breath for the long account he was giving.

"On the research team were various scientists and researchers from both this Branch and Cradle. Among them were two that stood out. The first, was Shirou's adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya. Despite being a God Eater, he worked as one of our best researchers, always putting in more time than he should have pushing to the next level. Whenever the subject of live testing came up, he would always offer himself first, before it was put off for another day by the rest of the team. He was, however, still a God Eater, and had to go on missions every now and then. The second, was..."

A third deep breath, then a sigh, as his body seemed to sink into his chair, a part of his imposing appearance fading.

"The second, was Kirei Kotomine. You might remember him. He was a student under your father, Tokiomi."

At the mention of her father, Rin's expression shifted to one of slight sorrow, before shaking it off and looking back to Sakaki.

"A student under my father? I think there might have been someone like that. He was... annoying, to say the least."

Sakaki gave a dry chuckle at that.

"Yes. Kotomine could be considered annoying by some, but it is undeniable that he was one of our best researchers. Unlike your father and Kiritsugu, Kotomine wasn't a God Eater, meaning he was able to work more often and had a larger bearing on the project."

Another sigh.

"Maybe that's where it all went wrong."

A silence persisted between the two, as Sakaki seemed to be within his own mind, reliving the memories from 12 years ago.

It was a few minutes of awkward silence (at least on Rin's part) before Sakaki snapped out of his reminiscing and focused back on Rin, appearing to be in a slightly better mood than before.

"Ah. Sorry about that. It appears I became too wrapped up in my thoughts. Where were we? Ah, that's right. Now, Project Spenta eventually reached the proper stage for live testing. Kiritsugu offered himself as a subject, but it was Kotomine that convinced everyone to use other subjects. They were just a pair of regular God Eaters, not new enough to be called newbies, but not old enough to be considered experienced. As I mentioned, the two were meant to use the Resonance phenomena to control the Senta. This would be achieved through both positive, or at least neutral, thoughts and the combat experience of the God Eaters."

Sakaki's seemingly good mood evaporated at his next words.

"However, Kotomine got to them. I'm not certain of the specifics, but I understand that the experiment went out of control due to the negative thoughts of the God Eaters, and that it was later found on security tape that Kotomine had talked to them, him leaving them in a poor state. I should have seen it sooner. The two were in poor condition at the time, but they told us they were alright and that we should continue. I knew something was wrong, but I continued anyways. I was such a fool."

Putting his closed fist to his head, Sakaki breathed a heavy sigh, before looking back up to finish his recount.

"It first appeared as spikes in our readings, a high amount of monoamine oxidase A being produced from the two. Then, the spikes began to transfer to the Spenta. It was small at first. Slight twitches near the hands, a staticky noise occasionally emanating. But suddenly, it took a terrible turn. The two God Eaters began to scream, displaying signs of pain and distress. Some of the doctors on hand went to investigate, but what no one was looking at was the Spenta. It released a roar, and then the glass that separated us in the administration room from those in the testing room was covered in a thick black gunk. More screams issued from within, before they went silent.

Then, another roar. The black gunk covering the windows receded, revealing flames, corpses, and the Senta, now covered in the black mud and altered, appearing much more Aragami like in appearance. It was then that Kotomine revealed the role he had in the events that occurred, laughing with glee and renaming the Senta as Angra. But, it seems fate had other plans, as the newly named Angra broke through the glass and killed Kotomine. Then, the disaster from 12 years ago occurred. The Angra left, spreading its flames and mud as far as it could reach, killing hundreds. Of them, the only survivor was Shirou."

Sakaki went silent, now finished telling a less-detailed version of the events that he told Shirou. Looking to Rin, he saw that she looked shocked, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape. Sakaki coughed into his fist, drawing Rin's attention.

"You should be going now, Rin. This old man still has work to be done today, you see."

Rin nodded at that and quickly left, a goodbye trailing from her. Sakaki waited for her to leave before sinking into his chair, bringing his hands to his face. With a sigh, he asked to the void,

"What should I do? Kiritsugu? Johanne? Aisha? Just what am I supposed to do?"

Shirou stood alone in his room. It had been about an hour since Saber, Sakura, and Rin had visited him, where he slightly opened up about what was bothering him. When Shirou thought of it, his cheeks went lightly red from how he had acted, and from Sakura's hug. It was quite soft, actually. Shaking his head from those thoughts, Shirou once more went over his appearance before looking away again.

Instead of his usual white shirt with long blue sleeves and blue jeans, he was wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black jeans. It was a gift from Rin and Sakura, who both said that it would suit him. He honestly wasn't sure. Looking in the mirror, he sees his two-tone appearance blend with the clothes in a bizarre way, slightly wierding him out. Honestly, he would rather if he could just become one colour instead of being two, but that wasn't his only issue with it.

His other issue was how much skin it showed. It wasn't his arms that he was worried about, as they were always bare whenever he wore his combat armour. It was, instead, the rather decent amount of his chest tthat was exposed. Not large, mind you, but still more than usual, and a part of him couldn't help but find it embarrassing.

Shaking his head, he finally decided to just go, not worrying about how much of his skin was exposed. He left his room and entered the elevator, making for the Laboratory Floor. When he reached his destination, he exited the elevator, making his way to Sakaki's lab. Without pausing, he opened the door, only to find the room empty. It was odd that Sakaki left his lab, but not necessarily impossible. Although, this was only the third time he hadn't seen Sasaki within. Shrugging, he made his way to the door in the back.

Just before opening the door, Shirou took a deep breath and then entered. Within, on the bed, was the snow fairy, her long white hair contrasting with the colourful 'wallpaper' of the room. She turned to face whoever had entered, only to gasp when she saw her Onii-chan standing there awkwardly.

"Ah... Hey, Illya. Sorry for being so late."

She continued to stare at him before huffing and looking away from him, crossing her arms. Shirou sweatdropped at the action, before making his way over to her bed and pulling out the nearby chair. Sitting on it, he leant forward and stared at Illya. She kept looking away from him, only huffing. Poking her, Shirou said,

"Oi. Illya. Come on."

She still refused to look at him, only huffing every time he poked her. Bringing his hand away from her, he put his together and bowed his head in the way of apologies.

"Listen Illya, I'm sorry. I'm really, really, really sorry. I shouldn't have kept ignoring you like that. I just got too caught up in everything that was happening. But I promise, I won't avoid you anymore."

He said this last part with determination flaring in his eyes, but Illya continued to look away. However, she then let out a sigh that felt way too old for her appearance and looked back to Shirou. With a pout, she responded.

"Fine. But if you forget, I won't forgive you. Okay, Onii-chan?"

Looking at her, Shirou nodded, a slight smile on his face. Illya smiled in kind, and the two began conversation, the atmosphere happy. Eventually, they got around to what was a common topic between the two, normally signalling their goodbyes: Shirou telling Illya a story from his childhood.

"This time, Illya, I want to tell you about a special day."

"What was so special about it, Onii-chan?"

"Well... It's the day I first met Kiritsugu."

From there he related his first and oldest memory. Walking through fire, ignoring the cries of the dying, seeing the beast, and holding out his hand, hoping for something to save him. Finally, he mentioned Kiritsugu catching his hand and giving him the smile. The smile that has defined him for years.

When he finished, Illya seemed to have tears in her eyes, leading to Shirou panicking, asking if she was okay. She sniffed, calling him a 'baka-Onii-chan' before giving him a hug and telling him comforting words. Shirou looked at her perplexed, before smiling slightly and wrapping his arms around her. When she let go, he gave her a pat on the head before telling her goodbye and leaving.

However, when he left Illya's room, Shirou's attention was drawn to the slumped over form of Sakaki, looking for all the world like a corpse. Shirou merely sighed before deciding to ask him what was wrong.

Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, I'm seriously not sure how to do a good Kirei. I really hope I'm not insulting any of you with my depiction of him.

I don't know if having Bias Factor injected into you messes with your genetic code, but I sure hope so.

Sakaki got serious, and I can't remember that ever happening, at least to this extent. I called out his OOC-ness, so I'm probably fine.

With Project Spenta, I honestly wasn't sure if I should make the two test God Eaters actual characters or not. If any of you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Monoamine oxidase A is a chemical produced by the brain that inhibits the normal nerve connections that produce the happiness chemicals. That is to say, MO-A is the sadness chemical.

I'm kinda sorry this is mostly a background dump chapter, but just note that what Sakaki said was mostly the events that occurred without specifics.

Also, did you know that GE3 happens 16 years after GE1? That means this story officially fucks with canon. Not that it didn't already, but I wanted it to be less oblique about it. So let's pretend that GE3 happens way later than it does in canon. Not that it actually comes up in the story.

Thank you to Heretical God Douluo, Red Thrasher 2000, ncread, naseem.miah97, 28th00, kilian.bureau87, kilian.bureau.schoetter, and Shirou000 for favouriting or following.

Goodbye.

Word count: 3075