Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Cerberus

Part VIII

The docks proper thronged with men at work, wearing reflective vests over monochromatic uniforms to make them more visible to spot, as well as hardhats to protect their heads from the danger of falling objects. Gigantic cranes hummed as they moved to and fro, gears clunking as hooks and lines extended and retracted, picking up shipping containers and pallets, moving them from one place to another, or loading or unloading one ship or another. Ships sat at anchor on the quays, while others waited in the waters of the harbor, loudspeakers periodically blaring out status updates on the coming and going of ships and goods among other matters.

Trucks and vehicles rumbled through narrow thoroughfares, men bustling on the sidewalks. Cerberus was among them, wearing dark, workmanlike clothing under a many-pocketed vest, along with a helmet featuring a visor in front. She carried a heavy pack behind her, looking no different from the many men and women who worked on the docks, and so no one paid any mind to her, even when she slipped from the sidewalk and down an alley to the side.

Making her way through the alleys, she approached the docks' central operations center, though her true goal was the gigantic radio antenna which rose up high into the sky above the building, multiple satellite dishes staring out in every direction at periodic intervals along the antenna's skeleton. Casually walking out of an alley and then crossing a street, Cerberus approached the checkpoint guarding the only way in or out of the cyclone wire security fence surrounding the central operations center.

"Your ID and business please." The security guard on duty said in a bored tone as Cerberus stepped up to him.

"You don't need to see my identification." Cerberus said, injecting prana into her voice and giving it a little twist.

"I don't need to see your identification." The guard said, still sounding bored.

"You can go on your business." Cerberus continued.

The guard made a dismissive wave. "Move along." He said, and smirking to herself, Cerberus stepped past and into the grounds behind the security fence.

Crossing the concrete expanse around the building, Cerberus entered through a service door, and studying a wall-mounted map of the building, tapped twice on the map. "Over there." She muttered, before heading for the stairs.

Climbing up to the second floor, Cerberus made her way to the main security center, and knocked a few times on the door. Several moments later, and an annoyed-looking guard opened the door. Cerberus waved a hand as he began to speak, and the guard and those inside immediately relaxed, 'recognizing' Cerberus as a superior and to not question her orders or actions.

"I'm going to need to use the main antenna." Cerberus said, slipping into the room and closing it behind her. "However, I need you people to make sure that as far as everyone else is concerned, nothing happened, and I was never here."

"Leave it to us, ma'am." The ranking guard said, and Cerberus nodded while approaching a nearby bank of computers. She dropped her pack and pulled out a laptop, which she plugged into the security mainframe.

Bringing the laptop out of sleep, Cerberus brought up command prompt, and entering a series of commands bypassed security protocols by piggybacking on the building's own security systems. From there, she introduced a series of ciphers into the mainframe, and after making sure their integration was seamless, cut her connection and unplugged her laptop.

"I'll need a security key." Cerberus said while putting her laptop back inside her pack, and the ranking guard walked to a wall-mounted cabinet. Opening it, the man rummaged inside for a few moments, and handed Cerberus a key card. "Thanks."

"Yes ma'am."

Cerberus nodded, pulling her pack back on, and taking the key card left the security room. Making her way back to the stairs, she climbed up to the rooftop level, and used the key card to open the door without tripping an alarm. Going round the blockhouse, she then used an access ladder to reach the antenna, and after a few minutes of searching found what she needed.

Reinforcement allowed Cerberus to simply tear the lock off the junction box, and opening it examined the innards for several minutes. Lowering her pack, Cerberus then pulled out a large, rectangular device with a dome-like transceiver at the center, and placed it in an out of the way corner. She then pulled out a cable, one end of which she plugged into the device, and the other into the junction box.

She then pulled out her laptop, and similarly plugged it into the junction box. Again bringing her laptop out of sleep, she used her previously-introduced ciphers to again bypass the operation center's security systems and operational protocols, and after introducing a pair of fail-safes, set the laptop down. Grabbing the device from earlier and making sure the cable was long enough, Cerberus tucked it under an arm and began to climb another service ladder, to the nearest satellite dish.

It was to this dish that she affixed the device, physically by means of magnetic bolts, and operationally through another cable to the satellite's own hardware. A flick of a switch activated the built-in transceiver, Cerberus subsequently conducting a couple of trials to be sure the interface was functioning as it should. She then climbed back down, and picking up her laptop quickly began typing away on command prompt.

There was a humming sound as the dish realigned herself as per her command, Cerberus smiling as her bypasses kept the little people working in the center from noticing her subtle, not-quite-sabotage of their machinery. She then typed in more commands, ellipses appearing one after another as her computer attempted to execute.

Minutes later, and there was a beeping sound, a satisfying message appearing on command prompt.

UPLINK SUCCESSFUL, ACCESS GRANTED. MAGES ASSOCIATION, CLOCK TOWER, THE DEPARTMENT OF MODERN MAGECRAFT THEORIES.

Cerberus clapped her hands in triumph, and then typed in more commands. Ellipses appeared again, and with another beep, another message appeared.

UPLINK SUCCESSFUL, AWAITING DATA UPLOAD. MAGES ASSOCIATION, CLOCK TOWER. DESTINATION A: THE DEPARTMENT OF MODERN MAGECRAFT THEORIES. DESTINATION B: THE COLLEGE OF LAW.

Cerberus smiled, and reached out to her Servant. "Status?" she queried.

"I have acquired a boat as per the plan's requirements." Assassin answered. "I am now loading and assembling the D-Equipment as needed."

Cerberus smiled wider. "Excellent," she though. "Everything is proceeding as planned."

A childish yell greeted Cerberus' return to her sanctum, Rin jumping out of hiding and throwing an empty chamber pot at Cerberus. Cerberus dodged as did Assassin, Rin taking advantage to run past in a bid for freedom.

"Fast!" Cerberus thought in surprise. "Is she reinforcing her limbs?"

Rin blurred past…

…only to trip on Assassin's extended leg. With a cry of surprise, the little magus stumbled and fell on her face on the ground outside, and groaning in pain, rolled onto her back. And then sniffing once, fought not to cry while dabbing at the scrapes on her face.

"Kid, you're smart." Cerberus said, looming over her. "But when I have over twenty years of experience over you, and Assassin so much more, trying to escape is meaningless."

"…what do you want from me?" Rin asked.

"Be patient." Cerberus said, stooping down and helping Rin up led her back inside. "You'll find out soon enough. And when you do…you'll be thanking me for opening your eyes."

Rin blinked, and gave a childish sneer. "You're wrong." She said. "And I see what you're trying to do! You're trying to use me against daddy! Well, it won't work! Daddy will save me, you'll see!"

"Yes," Cerberus said with a laugh. "We shall all see, indeed. For now though, stay inside, and behave. And you won't be alone for long. Soon, someone will be joining you and keeping you company."

"…who's that?"

Cerberus tutted, a finger wagging in the air. "That's a surprise." She said. "Now come on, I need to have a look at those scrapes. We wouldn't want them to get infected, do we now?"

"Why do you care?"

Cerberus smirked. "That's my secret." She said. "Later though, I'll have you clean up that chamber pot you broke just now."

"What? Why?"

Cerberus took Rin by the head and playfully gave her a shake. "Because," she said. "It wouldn't have been broken if you hadn't thrown it. And so I'll have you take responsibility for it."

"…it wouldn't have broken if you hadn't dodged."

"And I would haven't needed to dodge if you hadn't thrown it."

"I wouldn't have thrown it if you'd just let me go."

Cerberus laughed. "Very funny," she said. "Regardless, I'll still have you clean it up later."

Rin just grumbled, and Cerberus laughed again.

"Wow," Rider said with a whistle. "Cerberus did a thorough job I'll give her that much."

Rider and Waver had been tracking down Caster and his Master, and by alchemically studying the prana levels in the river water, Waver had narrowed down Caster's potential lair somewhere upriver, likely somewhere in the labyrinthine undercity. They'd both been planning to take action during the night, only to be caught by surprise earlier in the day when the overseer had made an announcement, lifting the temporary halt to the contest with Caster and his Master's deaths, by the hands of Cerberus and Servant Assassin.

"Too thorough," Waver said, examining the scorched and cracked concrete. "I can see why the authorities cordoned it off. It's not just arson, though it might seem that way to them. The fire Cerberus set to burn this place down was really hot…too hot, in fact. I mean, look."

Waver paused, pointing a finger and his flashlight to a series of cracks running along the scorched walls, and then running across the gallery, pointed to another. And then to another, and then another. Rider stroked his chin. "Hot enough to cause stones to crack, huh?" he mused.

Waver knelt down, and touching the scorched stone studied it for a moment. "More like hot enough to melt the surface." He said. "Look at the patterns here. See those swirling shapes? That's where concrete melted, and then pooled together to cool. And those glittering bits and pieces? That's glass, from where sand used to make the concrete turned into, well, glass."

Rider whistled again. "I'll take your word for it." He said.

"We should get out of here." Waver said, getting back on Rider's chariot. "All these cracks make me worry about the whole place coming down on top of us. I…wouldn't want to get buried alive."

"Well, neither would I." Rider said with a nod, cracking his reigns for the bulls to pull his chariot out. "And that aside, we shouldn't linger here. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a faint…air, here. This is not a good place. It's seen too much death."

"Huh?"

Rider briefly closed his eyes and gave Waver an indulgent smile. "Still an innocent, I see." He said. "It's alright. A peaceful life isn't something to be ashamed about."

"Um…thanks."

Rider was silent for a moment. "This place should be left alone as much as possible." He said. "Too many people died here, and considering what we know of Caster and his Master…let's leave their ghosts in peace."

Waver said nothing, only nodding in agreement. Slowly but steadily, the bulls pulled their chariot out and away, and left the galleries behind in silence and darkness.

The Sun shone down from a surprisingly clear blue sky come following morning. A motorcade of three, black, up-armored Toyotas pulled up in front of the Matou property, thuggish, cadaverous men in black suits and shades standing guard as Zouken hobbled out of the mansion in his usual kimono and with a gnarled cane to help him walk. Making his way through the property, he boarded the Toyota in the middle, and once he was safely inside, his guards boarded their vehicles as well before departing for Kotomine Church.

The drive was nothing of the ordinary, the motorcade driving from the suburbs into the city proper, and through bustling streets towards their final destination. At least, that was the case until the Toyota in front of Zouken's literally blew up, the burning wreck flying apart and causing the driver to instinctively step on the brakes and turn to the side.

Rubber screeched as the Toyota spun to the side, and skidded across the road, sending flying debris in its path flying. And then it slammed hard against a bounded field on the far side of the road, said bounded field defining a large rectangle that covered the road and the shops and buildings on either side.

Powerful compulsions fell on the minds of the pedestrians, who rushed inside the stores before the storeowners and shopkeepers slammed shut the steel barriers they used at night to close their stores. Then their memories began to erased and altered as needed, while nothing of what was really happening inside could be seen from outside the bounded field, everything appearing as normal. And even then, another powerful compulsion drove anyone coming near to find an alternate route around this section of the road.

The surviving Matou guards rushed out, weapons drawn, and then dove for cover as discs with flashing lights were thrown around. They exploded with the hissing of gas…

…and then the Matou guards were dropping like flies, clawing at their necks and foaming at the mouths. One's head literally exploded, worms crawling out only to die in the poisoned air.

Even Zouken was not exempt, clambering out of his Toyota in a black mood…

…only to collapse with a gasp onto his knees, coughing out blood and dead worms. "Oh I'm very impressed." A mocking voice said, the vampire raising his head to see an armored figure standing down the street from him. "Well, not really. From what I know of you, I expected the poisons, while debilitating, wouldn't really kill you. And they shouldn't."

Zouken snarled as he realized he'd been drawn into a trap, and made to dance to another's tune. That he was forced to his knees and openly mocked added further insult to injury, and his pride as a magus would not allow it to stand.

Flesh seemed to explode as Zouken unleashed his swarm, and the armored woman tilted her head indicative of amusement. It fizzled, Zouken's counterattack, worms collapsing mid-transformation into winged insects, falling to the ground twisted and dead, though here and there were a few twitching limbs and jaws.

Zouken groaned as he pulled his body back together, the act of unleashing his swarm allowing more of the poisoned air to affect him. Dead worms fell as his body literally and visibly flowed together, until once again, there was only an old man there, struggling to get up.

The woman drew her sword, and settled into a stance, sword held one-handed behind her, and the other hand held forward. "I am Cerberus," she declared. "And I shall be your death!"

At those words, Cerberus leapt forward, running to flank Zouken from his left. Zouken rose to his feet, ignoring the protests of his body as it simultaneously rotted while trying – slowly but steadily – to evolve an immunity to the poisoned air, and faced Cerberus…

…who then suddenly cartwheeled to the right before charging straight at him.

"You think petty tricks and a fancy sword will help you!" Zouken thought with malice, and erected an entropic field around him. Asphalt and concrete cracked and crumbled, fires died, metal rusted away, and rubber turned to dust…

…and then to his surprise and shock, Cerberus swung her sword once, and destroyed the entropic field.

Impossible!

"You've been marked for death for nearly four hundred years, Makiri Zolgen." The woman's mocking voice came. "It's time to go."

Cerberus again cartwheeled as Zouken fired off a bolt of black light from a crooked finger, the light striking a lamppost and causing it to crumble into a pile of rust. At the same time, he spat a word in Russian, redeploying the entropic field with greater intensity, and added a vampiric effect, Zouken feeling his internal injuries heal and his evolving resistance speed up as he sucked the life out of the microorganisms in the air and on the ground around him.

And then Cerberus swung again, and again Zouken was shocked as his entropic and vampiric field simply ceased to be.

No! This is impossible! How can this…?

And then Zouken felt cold steel pierce his body, and he looked down to see a wakizashi buried in his chest, Muramasa's distinctive work apparent from the patterns on the blade. "You think this…will…be…enough…" Zouken struggled to speak.

And then he couldn't speak anymore. In fact, he couldn't…

…remember…

…do…

…speak…

…cold…he felt…cold…

Dust crumbled and fell onto the ground as Cerberus flourished her sword and sheathed it, shimmering into invisibility as the bounded fields fell, and normalcy was allowed to return to the surrounding area. The case of the burned motorcade, the poisoned bodyguards, the missing landowner along with mysterious, dead worms of a kind never seen before found on the crime scene would cause a stir in the Japanese investigative community for months to come, but no closure would ever come to the case.

"Sorry I'm late," Cerberus said as she entered Kotomine Church, having changed from her armor to her casual black and white dress. "Traffic was bad…

She trailed off as Kirei intercepted her. "Your weapons, please." He said, with a hand held expectantly out.

Cerberus raised an eyebrow, and turned a deadpan glance into the church. She pointed at Tokiomi. "How come he gets to carry his cane?" she asked. "I know it's a mystic code, and thus technically a weapon."

"As you said," Kirei said. "It is a mystic code. If you have any mystic codes of your own, you are free to retain them, but any pure weapons must be surrendered."

"…is there a private room?"

"Of course, this way please."

Kirei led the grumbling Cerberus to an antechamber, and expectantly indicated a nearby table. Cerberus sighed, and unbuttoning her cuffs, rolled back her sleeves. Kirei raised an eyebrow as he spotted the harnesses strapped to her forearms, as well as the trowel-like weapons holstered in them, and again when she removed the harnesses and exposed the burn scars on her wrists.

And then Cerberus was removing her belt…

…to expose a second belt beneath, which she removed and placed on the table before replacing her first belt. This time, Kirei's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair as he spotted at least a dozen bo-shuriken holstered in Cerberus' second belt, and again when she reached behind her neck and removed a concealed holster from behind her, carrying multiple hira-shuriken inside.

"See something interesting, Father Kotomine?" Cerberus teasingly asked.

"I must admit your weaponry is most…obscure." Kirei said.

Cerberus laughed. "I suppose they are." She said. "Though they suit me and my nature."

"Do they?"

"Yes," Cerberus said, before looking into Kirei's eyes. "Just as I know that your nature could suit your occupation just as well."

"…you know nothing." Kirei whispered.

"Don't I?" Cerberus asked. "I'm sure your father's told you that I come from an alternate timeline. A possible future in fact…and I know you. I know that you enjoy watching people suffer, especially if you're the one behind their suffering. But while I didn't particularly like you…I respected you."

"Did you?"

"Indeed," Cerberus said with a nod. "We need not run from our natures, Kirei Kotomine."

"You know nothing." Kirei repeated.

Cerberus smiled. "Then let me tell you a secret," she said. "My origin is 'death', and my elemental affinity is also 'death'. My nature is as an incarnation of death."

Kirei's eyes went wide, and with a smile, Cerberus unrolled her sleeves, and buttoning her cuffs returned to the church. Kirei stared after her for a while, and then followed.

"So…" Cerberus began, walking up to the gathering. "Where's Matou? I see Tohsaka, and Einzbern, but no Matou."

Archer smirked knowingly nearby, but he said nothing. "I was told he'd attend this meeting." Tokiomi said with a frown. "This is…unexpected. Perhaps he was delayed? As you said, traffic is bad."

"Hmm…maybe…no matter. We have a quorum, and that's all that's needed." Cerberus said with a shrug.

"Before we begin," Risei said. "I would have all present examine this geis for context."

Cerberus stayed quiet as Risei passed around the geis scroll she'd signed yesterday, and ignored the surprised glances aimed at her. "What is the Wizard Marshal planning?" Tokiomi asked.

"That I do not know." Cerberus said, before activating her omni-tool. "All I know is that we have a chance to prevent a disaster as occurred at the end of this war in my timeline, and the near-disaster that occurred at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War."

"…what do you mean?" Tokiomi asked with narrowed eyes.

"One word: Avenger."

At that Irisviel looked extremely uncomfortable. "Something you'd care to share with us, Lady Einzbern?" Tokiomi asked with a deadpan air.

Irisviel was disinclined to answer, and after a moment Cerberus spoke up. "Then allow me to explain." She began. "During the Third Holy Grail War, Einzbern made an effort to gain an…unfair, advantage over other competitors by summoning an anomalous Servant: Avenger."

"Yes, we know this." Tokiomi said with a nod. "It doesn't explain why it threatens the Grail's safety, however."

"What you didn't know is that Avenger's true identity is that of Angra Mainyu, the Persian God of Evil." Cerberus said.

"What?" Tokiomi exclaimed.

"Impossible," Risei said. "Actual divinities cannot be summoned as Servants in a Grail war."

"Normally, yes." Cerberus agreed. "But Einzbern is one of the founding families, and the ones most knowledgeable about the Grail. It was originally their design, after all. Matou provided the means to control Servants with, Tohsaka the location, but everything else about the Holy Grail is Einzbern's. Even the name: Heaven's Feel. Einzbern's lost and coveted True Magic."

Cerberus tapped away on her omni-tool, and projected a glowing schematic of the Holy Grail. "Einzbern used their knowledge of the Grail to bypass numerous built-in limiters and safeties," she said. "And summoned Angra Mainyu as Avenger. However, both because of the limitations of the Grail, as well as being summoned in the Age of Man, Avenger turned out to be a pathetic weakling, the first Servant to fall even in that war."

"But?" Kirei asked.

"Avenger was an anomalous class." Cerberus said. "As such, when he fell, he wasn't cast back to the Throne of Heroes as he should have been. Instead, he was trapped inside the Grail…"

"No…" Tokiomi said with mounting horror.

"Oh yes," Cerberus said with a nod. "He can't control the Grail, not fully, but his presence taints it. It's why Servants like Caster, Gilles de Rais, could be summoned despite his kind not normally able to be summoned should the Grail's safety parameters still be functioning. But the really insidious part of the corruption was revealed to us – the Masters of the fifth war – by Kiritsugu Emiya. Mister Emiya attempted to use the Grail to make his dream of lasting peace a reality…"

"And Avenger attempted to twist it?" Irisviel breathed.

"…yes." Cerberus said, projecting an image of an older, broken, and weary Kiritsugu. "Apparently, with the Grail corrupted, any wish would be twisted to one of complete destruction. Lasting peace was interpreted as the death of every last Human being. Technically peace…the peace of the grave."

"…so what happened?" Irisviel asked. "How did Kiri prevent it?"

Cerberus tapped her omni-tool, bringing up an article on something called the 'Fuyuki Great Fire'. "Mister Emiya responded by using his command spells to order his Servant to destroy the Grail's vessel." She said. "Unfortunately, it was filled with the energies of five fallen Servants. The resulting…explosion, incinerated a large portion of the city and killed countless people. Mister Emiya survived along with Father Kotomine here…"

Cerberus paused and nodded at Kirei. "Though the experience…changed them both." She said.

"No…no…no…no…" Irisviel said, staggering away. "It…it can't be…"

"She is under geis." Tokiomi said with a glare at Irisviel, infuriated at how her family's greed had damned them all. "She must be telling the truth."

Cerberus smiled and bowed, activating her mystic eyes to show their continued presence and thus her abiding by the geis' terms. "That's not all that happened, is it?" Tokiomi asked.

"No, of course not." Cerberus said, again tapping on her omni-tool. "Mister Emiya destroyed the Grail vessel, not the Grail itself. When the Fifth Holy Grail War came…well…maybe it's best if I just showed you…"

Cerberus projected a recording, though she glanced at everyone else. "There are my memories, and as per the geis, is the truth." She said. Eyes turned to the recording, which showed what looked like streams of strange, painful-to-look-at fluid pouring from four directions into a pool of…

…infinitevastundefinedimpossibleunrealfantastic…

Tokiomi and others staggered away, clutching at their eyes. "That pool…" he hissed. "What is it?"

"Yeah…that's where the Avatar of Angra Mainyu arose from…" Cerberus said with an unhappy tone.

And they all watched as fluid falling into the pool drained, the pool itself merging and rising and shaping itself into a humanoid form, the shadows around it turning black and solid as though it was a thing in itself and not just an absence of light. "Talk to us, Kirei!" a voice came from the recording, which made Tokiomi jump. He knew that voice: it was his daughter's. And sure enough, Cerberus' memory self turned to look at a pigtailed girl that Tokiomi recognized as an older Rin. "What's happening?"

"I have no answer for you. This is a surprise to me as well."

The memory then showed Kirei, taller and with longer hair, and looking less dour and more alive than he tended to be. And then the memory turned back to the Avatar of Angra Mainyu manifesting itself…

…and then Irisviel was screaming, as the avatar achieved full existence.

Through Cerberus' memories, her reflection stared at her.

A/N

Goodbye Zouken. Go to hell where you belong.

Poor Iri…realizing she and her husband failed to win the war and what that means for Illya is bad enough…and then just to rub salt into the wound, she discovers in Cerberus' timeline she's eventually resurrected to become Angra Mainyu's avatar. No doubt Kiri – watching through her eyes after last night's…um, marital relations – is having a BSOD of his own at this time too.