Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Cerberus
Part XIV
The Matou mansion burned. Masonry creaked and groaned as flames hungrily licked out of broken doors and windows, smoke pouring through holes in the roof lit from below with angry red and orange.
Firefighters stood around the property, pouring jets of water into the building in an attempt to put out the fire. But they had arrived too late, the fire having spread across the whole building and hungrily feeding off anything that could sate its hunger for more fuel. It was all they could do to keep the fire from spreading, from chopping down the trees in the yard, to digging a trench as a firebreak around the property.
Sparks flew in the night wind, and causing the firefighters to send for backup and to place the whole district under alert. It was winter after all, and while there was a good chance that snow might damp any potential kindling or fuel, if it did not, then the winter dryness made them all too flammable.
Police stood with the firefighters, holding back the crowds of fearful onlookers from the neighborhood, while others provided support for the firefighters, more than policeman having picked up a shovel to help dig the firebreak. All but unnoticed, a black Toyota screeched to a halt not far away, Tokiomi jumping out to run towards the Matou mansion, desperation all but screaming from his movements, all thoughts of dignity and good breeding gone.
He pushed through the crowd, ignoring all the angered and indignant protests coming from all around, his eyes and thoughts focused only on the burning edifice beyond. The burning edifice of his family's oldest and most trusted ally, to whom he had entrusted not just his daughter's person, but her future as well.
No…NO…NO...NO!
This can't be happening!
How? Matou were centuries old, just as old as Edelfelt even! His family might be withered, but old Zouken was powerful and knowledgeable! More so than Tokiomi, even!
How could Kirsikka have defeated him so quickly? How could she have set fire to the mansion to such an extent in so short a time?
And Sakura…no…NO…NO…NO! She's alive! She had to be! She was their heiress! The future of their family! They'd have given their lives to get her away to safety! She had to be alive!
Tokiomi broke through the crowds only to be restrained by the policemen beyond. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you stay back." One of them said. "It's dangerous to get too close, in fact it's dangerous to just even be here!"
"Please!" Tokiomi begged. "My…the people who lived here…they're…my family! Did they…did they…my…niece at least! Did she get out alive? She had to have!"
The policeman looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry, sir." He said. "But the people inside…no one got out, from the sound of things."
"No…NO!" Tokiomi screamed, struggling to get through, up to and including roughhousing with the police who tried to keep him away. "NO...NO…she can't be…!"
His elemental affinity was fire. These nobodies wouldn't be able to put out the fire, but he could. He certainly would. If she was inside…then…he'd save her. Yes…she had to be alive. She had to be alive and inside, waiting for help to come. And it would. He was here now. He was here.
He was here!
He would save her!
HE WOULD!
A needle pressed itself against his neck, and Tokiomi gasped as he felt ice flow through his veins, and with it, his limbs grow weak and powerless, and his magic circuits…unresponsive? Lethargic? Numb?
It didn't matter. He simply fell back, and felt himself be carried away by strong hands under his arms. "Sorry about that." He heard Cerberus' voice, and Tokiomi felt everything give way, and despair drown him. "Cousin Tokiomi here has misplaced priorities. I'll take care of him."
Tokiomi just limply let Cerberus drag him away, and then holding him up with arms wrapped around his chest, forced him to watch with a hand on his jaw as the Matou mansion burned. "Come now, Tokiomi." She whispered into his ear. "Bear witness as Matou finally gets its long-overdue funeral pyre. Had Makiri Zolgen been removed from the equation early enough, then this need not have happened. But as he was not…well, it wouldn't do to just let a corpse lie around unattended. It'd rot and fester, fouling the air and sickening people. And in this land, burning is the traditional way to lay the dead to rest, is it not?"
"…why?" Tokiomi whispered.
"You chose…poorly." Cerberus answered. "Did you think there would be no consequences? There are always consequences, and you have only yourself to blame."
And then before Tokiomi could reply, Cerberus let him drop onto the ground. Numbed limbs couldn't support him, and Tokiomi fell onto the ground with a pained grunt. And then Cerberus' hands were grabbing him by the head, and raising him to waist-level. "In the name of my father," Cerberus snarled, eyes glowing with the light of death. "In the name of his father before him, and all their fathers before them, I, Kirsikka Edelfelt, cast you out!"
At those words, Cerberus threw Tokiomi back onto the ground, his head striking the concrete with enough force to cause him to see stars for but a moment. But the pain was nothing compared to the pain at the sight of Cerberus…no, Kirsikka's face, a face so similar to his own, to his mother's, twisted in contempt at the sight of him, eyes virtually identical to his own looking at him with no trace of familial recognition.
No…this…cannot…be…
The pain swelled as Cerberus strode away into the night, without even a backward glance much less a final word, her black and white dress vanishing into the press. The pain in Tokiomi's head swelled, spreading down and across his whole body, burning away the numbness in his limbs.
Tokiomi rolled to his feet, clutching his head as the pain grew to excruciating. "No…" he grunted. "Impossible…I never…all I wanted…why…why can't they…I just…no…NO…NO…NO…NO…
The pain…it was too much…he couldn't…
Tokiomi's eyes bulged in their sockets as he screamed a high-pitched scream of despair and denial, which turned to hysterical laughter as his mind gave way in the face of complete and utter failure. At the same time, the crowd burst into panic as the policemen and firefighters turned to run, as the Matou mansion began to crumble into itself.
"It's going to blow!" one fireman shouted, moments before the burning edifice caved in, sucking in huge amounts of the surrounding air, the resulting fireball erupting into the sky and sending debris flying.
As the crowd fled, Tokiomi fled with them, still laughing hysterically.
No…she's wrong! She's wrong! I still have my family! They're all at home, waiting for me! Aoi…Rin…Sakura…they're all at home where they should be! Nowhere else! I'll show her! I'll show them all!
The Sun rose in the morning over the city of Fuyuki.
The doors to Kotomine Church creaked open as Kirei entered, and closing them quietly behind him moved towards the altar where he bowed deeply before the icon of the Lord on His Cross. Rising, he turned and made his way into the interior, before entering his father's apartments. And there Risei was, enjoying a simple breakfast of bread, butter, fried fish, and egg mash.
Risei blinked at his son's arrival, and half-rose from his seat. Before he could speak though, Kirei beat him to the punch.
"Bless me father, for I have sinned." He formally began.
Risei blinked, and then rushing over helped Kirei into a chair. "What has happened, my son?" he asked.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka has gone insane."
"What?"
"Cerberus took his remaining family as hostages, and forcing him to come to a predetermined location, made him choose."
"Choose?" Risei echoed. "Choose between what?"
Kirei turned his head to look into his father's eyes. "Cerberus…no, Kirsikka Edelfelt, knew of the true purpose of Heaven's Feel." He said. "She was prepared to send that information to the Clock Tower, and discussed with Tokiomi the consequences of such an act. He was made to choose between saving his family or his family's legacy. He chose the latter."
Risei was speechless and aghast in equal measure. And yet, somehow, he was unsurprised how Cerberus had known. She was from the – a possible – future, after all. But…why go this far?
"And then what happened?" he asked.
"Cerberus then went to Matou and burned it down." Kirei replied. "Tokiomi arrived too late, and restrained by Kirsikka, was formally disowned by her."
"…could she actually do that?" Risei asked in disbelief.
"I do not know." Kirei said with a shake of his head. "But it matters not, for the apparent deaths of his family has driven Tokiomi mad. Last I saw of him, he was holding court with a trio of dolls, one each for his wife and children, spooning air into his mouth from an empty plate and chatting into silence as though over the breakfast table, responding to words and sentences only existing within his mind."
Risei pinched his nose. This was a complete and utter disaster for their plans…or was it? With the revelation of the Grail's corruption, and how using it in any way would unleash a heathen god (and of evil at that) upon the world, their alliance with the Tohsaka was meaningless. The founding families – by this point Einzbern alone – might think they could salvage something from its ruins, but in his educated opinion, Cerberus had the right of it. Destroying the Grail would be the cleanest, safest option of them all.
"I…see." Risei said with a sigh. "Is there anything else that you would like to say to me, my son?"
"I assisted her in her actions."
If Risei had not been sitting, he would have been floored. "Why?" he breathed.
"It was the right thing to do."
"Was it?" Risei growled out.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka had proven questionable in his role as a father and a husband." Kirei said with a sigh. "Yes, I am well aware my own record in such is questionable. I couldn't find happiness with my own wife, and when she took her own life, all I could think was how…regretful, it was that I could not end her life with my own hands. And yet for all that…I acknowledge my lack of merit. I know I am unworthy to be a father and a husband! That is why Caren is being raised by my in-laws, and not by me! I can offer her nothing of value."
Risei's anger faded, turning to confusion. "In contrast Tokiomi has always considered himself the perfect husband and father." Kirei continued with a hint of venom. "Even when he pimped out his own daughter to become a nest for worms, a toy and a puppet for a monster which should have been cut down and burned a long time ago, and all knowingly so, he did not think he did anything wrong. No…he thought it a noble sacrifice on his part, a chance his daughter should have been grateful for, to become just like him in the future. A future wherein she and her sister, born of the same flesh and blood, would be as mortal enemies, fated to clash and slay one another, all for the sake of some hollow concept of glory and honor."
Kirei paused and took a deep breath. "Kirsikka gave him a chance to prove there was a Human being beneath." He said. "A chance to face, accept, admit and repent for his sins. And then afterwards, to atone for them, to start over anew and be better. But in the end…nothing changed."
"Innocents died, my son." Risei gently pointed out.
"They did not."
"What?"
"What Tokiomi saw were simulacra born of Kirsikka's fusion of magecraft and technology." Kirei replied. "And there were none within the Matou mansion when she reduced it to ash. She had slain Zouken before, yes, that incident in the city, she was behind it. She rescued Sakura from Matou, and allowed Byakuya Matou to leave with much more than the clothes on his back, a chance to start over anew."
Kirei paused, and met his father's eyes again. "Ironic," he said. "Byakuya Matou was a drunk, helpless and enslaved to Zouken Matou's will. But given the chance to start over anew, he took it. Tokiomi had everything a man could ask for. Love…family…respect…and he still threw it away."
"…but…if the truth behind the Grail is revealed to the Association," Risei began. "Tohsaka would have been placed under sealing designation."
"Indeed," Kirei said with a nod. "Tokiomi would have been taken into custody, all his positions revoked, and his assets and positions sealed. But, his family would have been left alone. His children are too young, and his wife untrained and lacking potential."
"They would have been destitute." Risei observed.
"Edelfelt would have taken them in." Kirei answered. "They are still family, after all."
Risei sighed and shook his head. "Save his family…and then sacrifice himself for their sake…" he murmured while shaking his head. "Instead, Tokiomi chose to sacrifice them…and Edelfelt cast him out for it. Yes…I think I understand. It is…cruel, but not unjust. You did the right thing."
Kirei closed his eyes and bowed. "Where are they now?" Risei asked.
"Tokiomi's family are at Ryuudo Temple, under Cerberus' protection." Kirei replied. "When this war is over, they are to go to Finland, and join their family there. Indeed, when I departed earlier, communications were ongoing."
"…and how were they proceeding?"
"Well, actually. Lord Edelfelt seemed to be rather enjoying his talk with his cousin from a different world, and – unsurprisingly – approving of her…vicious, treatment of their mutual relative." Kirei answered. "To quote, "Nothing less is deserved by one which abandons the rest of the clan, and their own mate and pups no less"."
"That is…only to be expected."
Kirei nodded, and Risei sighed again. "So," he said. "What now?"
"I will continue to support Cerberus with regard to her plans to counter the corruption within the Grail." Kirei said. "Afterwards, I will return to Rome and rejoin the Eighth Holy Sacrament."
"What?" Risei asked with visible surprise.
"I joined this war to find answers." Kirei said with a nod. "No, before that, I became Tokiomi's apprentice in the hope that through him I could find answers to the questions which tormented me. Why am I like this? How can I live with myself like so?"
"And you have found your answers?"
"I believe so."
"Oh?"
Kirei smiled sadly. "It seems that I truly am a psychopath born." He said. "No, do not blame yourself, father. Indeed, you should be praised, for you raised me so well that even with my abhorrent nature, I know and understand what is right and what is wrong with every fiber of my being."
Risei was silent, and after a moment, Kirei continued. "I enjoyed watching as Cerberus brought retribution to bear upon Tokiomi." He said. "Perhaps it is ungrateful, after all he has done for me, but if so, then I will atone for it later on. And it led me to think back to my days as an executor, on how I brought the Lord's justice on heretics and monsters, and how I enjoyed it when I ended their lives, their misguided ambitions, and at seeing the despair at all they had and sought to gain be taken away forever."
"And?"
"Kirsikka told me that we need not run from our natures." Kirei said. "But neither should we let them rule us. On the contrary, we should face them, and then come to terms with them."
"Ah…I see."
"Indeed," Kirei said with a smile. "I am an avenger, a destroyer even, born to bring death and despair to all that come before me. But I will not let it rule over me, and be indiscriminate. I will instead bring retribution upon those who deserve it, and thence satisfy my nature with their well-deserved fates."
Kirei paused and closed his eyes. "I know now how to live with myself." He said with a nod. "As for why I was born like this…the Lord works in mysterious ways. Perhaps that is all the answer that is needed, the mystery of faith."
There was a long moment of silence, and then Risei sighed and nodded. "Very well," he said. "As your father I am glad that you have found your answers. But to your actions…it seems you did right, though in any case, it is not my place to judge. No, mine is only to accept your confession, and to guide you to penance."
At that Risei rose, and walking over to his son, raised a hand over his head. Kirei bowed his head, and clasped his hands in prayer. "For your penance," Risei began. "I would have you stand vigil on this day, to reflect on your actions, and when this war is over, to visit your daughter and let her know she has a father, and your reasons for not being there for her all this time."
"Yes, father."
"Deus meus, ex toto corde paenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum," Risei chanted the Act of Contrition. "Eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed praesertim quia offendi te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia tua, de cetero me non peccaturum occasiones proximas fugitarum."
"Amen." Kirei whispered, and then crossed himself.
Risei smiled. "Go, my son." He said, patting Kirei on a shoulder. "Be at peace."
Kirei smiled, and nodded.
Cerberus bowed as Archer sat on his throne, clapping in approval. "Well done," he said. "Very well done, Cerberus. You have not disappointed in your conduction of Tokiomi's trial. A bit simple, but sometimes, simplicity is enough. A single choice, made in the dark and on the knife's edge, to show the kind of man he truly was."
"I believe Kirei described him as less a man, and more a machine." Cerberus answered.
Archer snorted. "Machines at least have meaningful purpose." He said. "Whether a press meant to produce oil from olives, a pen to write with, or a wheel to make pottery with or for a chariot to roll with on the ground, even swords, spears, bows and arrows…the purpose behind them has meaning. Tokiomi and his kind's purpose…what does it serve?"
"None." Cerberus answered in a matter-of-fact way. "They seek the Root simply for its own sake. In their eyes, that is purpose enough."
Archer scoffed. "If so," he said. "Then they should just all take their lives and be done with it."
"Death is a sure way to reach the Root."
Archer laughed. "Of course you would know that." He said.
Cerberus smiled and bowed. "It is the source of my greatest gift." She said.
"Indeed," Archer said with a nod. Then both of them paused as Tokiomi actually entered the room, holding a doll that – disturbingly – resembled his elder daughter. The man didn't seem to register them, holding a conversation with the doll as he approached a shelf, and taking a book walked back out. Archer laughed at the sight.
"He's gone completely mad." He said. "And yet for all that he is much more interesting now than when he was sane. A jester in full…and because of that, he serves his king to greater satisfaction than before."
Cerberus was silent. "Nothing to say?" Archer asked with a knowing smile.
"I have my answer." She said. "I have nothing more for him."
Archer laughed. "Indeed." He said.
"He would have betrayed you." Cerberus observed after a moment.
"I know." Archer said with disgust. "I have foreseen it. But it is not meet to judge an act before it is committed. He might have surprised me, though I doubt it. Regardless, how very like him to think a command spell would work on me, whether one or two, or even more. Pretenders might be different, but to the king…they are but favors to be invoked, and to which the king reserves the right to deny as he deems necessary."
Cerberus again stayed silent, and then Archer waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Enough about that," he said. "Cerberus, what do you plan to do about that dead god waiting for its chance to pollute my garden?"
"I fully intend to destroy the Grail." Cerberus answered. "But first, I must remove the possibility of Einzbern's intervention, should they think they can salvage something from it. And of course, I am preparing countermeasures in case Angra Mainyu somehow manifests an avatar as it did in my world."
Archer nodded, and then narrowed his eyes. "Proceed with your plans for Einzbern." He said. "I grant you freedom in that. But, on the matter of Angra Mainyu manifesting an avatar, should it come to pass then I will deal with it personally."
Cerberus blinked. "You will face it yourself, Your Majesty?" she asked.
"Of course," Archer answered. "This world is my garden. All that exist within it belong to me, and all who dwell within my subjects. They have grown weak and purposeless, but they are still my people. No one else has the right to pass judgment on them for their sins, least of all a god in this day and age. For this is the Age of Man, where the gods are dead and gone, as they ought to be. For a god to return from the abyss into which their accursed reign was rightly cast into, and to dare pass judgment on this world and seek to remake it in its image…it is unforgiveable. Ten thousand deaths would not suffice, and I am here. I shall pass judgment, and teach that mongrel divinity its place, before casting it back into the abyss!"
Cerberus smiled with anticipation. "It will be quite the spectacle." She said, and Archer laughed.
"Indeed it shall be, child of twilight." He said. "Should it come to pass then be honored, for you shall witness the power and grandeur of the one true king."
Cerberus bowed low, and with a hand Archer dismissed her. Rising in silence, Cerberus turned and left.
"Excuse me, is anyone here?"
Lancer blinked at the sound of a woman's voice, and then making his way through the ruins that were his and his Master's lair, watched from the shadows a pretty young woman wandering through the ruins. She looked lost, and while Lancer wanted to – and would – help, he still groaned inwardly. He knew what his face could do to the fairer sex.
Gods…why…?
"Can I help you?" Lancer asked, walking out of the ruins. The young woman turned, and then she smiled.
"Indeed you can, Lancer."
In the next instant, a spear was drawn and aimed at the young woman. "Assassin, I presume?" he asked.
"I am." Assassin said with a bow. "And I come with a message. And by all means, use your other spear to address suspicions you might have to it being…enchanted, to cause harm to your master."
"Place it on the ground, and walk away slowly."
Assassin did as asked and moving slowly forwards, Lancer picked up the letter placed on the ground. Briefly breaking eye contact with Assassin, Lancer touched Gae Dearg's tip against the letter, and shattering any spells thereon. Opening it, it didn't seem to be poisoned, though worryingly addressed to Sola-Ui instead of to Kayneth.
They know. They're watching.
"Very well," Lancer said. "You have delivered your Master's message, which I will relay to my Master. You may go."
Assassin bowed, and then vanished into astral form. Lancer stood alone and waiting for a few moments, and then hurried back further into the ruins. "Lady Sola," he began, as he approached his current Master. "Assassin passed by. She's brought a message addressed to you from her Master."
"For me?" Sola-Ui asked, taking the letter and hurriedly reading it. "I see…so they know. They know I'm your new Master, and where we are. Which means they're spying on us."
"So it would seem."
Sola-Ui thought for a few moments. "We'll have to find a new hideout." She finally said. "But first…"
"The message?" Lancer asked, and Sola-Ui nodded.
"Yes," she said. "It's an invitation for a talk this afternoon, at a public place in the daylight. I'm to come with you, and Cerberus is to come with Assassin."
"It doesn't seem to be a trap." Lancer remarked.
"No, it doesn't." she said. "I suppose there's no reason not to go. Might as well hear what they want to say."
"…perhaps you might wish to consult with Lord Kayneth about this matter?"
Sola-Ui shot him an unhappy glance at that, but Lancer's face was resolute and unmoved. Finally, Sola-Ui sighed and nodded. "Very well," she said. "I'll consult his opinion. Though given his current state, I'll take it under advisory."
Lancer wasn't too happy about that, but he couldn't fault her reasoning either. Staying silent, he simply bowed in acknowledgement.
A/N
Fun fact: groups of hyenas are called 'clans', which can number up to eighty hyenas. They're also matriarchal apparently, with female hyena being in charge of the clans. Funny that, considering all major Edelfelts in canon – Luvia, her unnamed twin mentioned in El-Melloi Case Files, the Edelfelt twins from the third war (one of whom was Tokiomi's mother) – are all women.