Fate-profaned offering

by VitaVitaAR

The Holy Grail War. A free-for-all battle to the death between seven pairs of Masters and Servants. Matsushita Ai, at the behest of the organization that has cared for her for ten years, has been sent back to her birthplace to participate in such a clash. Together with her Saber-class Servant, Okita Souji, she will descend into a violent conflict in which there can be one victor.

16. Chapter 16

Hijikata Toshizo.

The vice-commander of the Shinsengumi. A man who had committed many terrible acts in the name of what he believed was just, whose hands were again and again stained in blood. And yet, he was a man, even after all that he had done, that Okita Souji knew as a friend. He was a violent and terrifying person obsessed with his duty as part of the Shinsengumi, and yet he was still someone who the girl samurai called a comrade. Still someone she called a friend. He was someone that she had wanted to fight to the end alongside.

And now he stood before her, as an enemy.

"Okita Souji-san, you stand before me without the Shinsengumi's colors. Neither do I, but I remain the Shinsengumi all the same," he said, raising his katana, "As the Shinsengumi, I must fulfill my duty. I must kill you in the name of the Flag of Fidelity."

He had always been a violent man, but… something seemed wrong. Did he believe himself to be the Shinsengumi? What was he saying? Saber had wanted to see him, to see the other members of the Shinsengumi again, but this… she hadn't wanted it like this! For a few moments, she was immobilized, unable to force herself to react, to move her feet, to raise her blade. She never wanted to fight one of her comrades. She'd wanted to fight alongside them! Why was this happening?

"Advance! Slash!" cried Hijikata. He lurched forward, swinging his sword downwards, cleaving the night air in an instant. But even now, Saber's instincts responded almost on their own, and there was a shower of sparks as blade connected with blade.

"… The swordplay that cannot be called swordplay any longer… just as I remember, Okita-san!" came Hijikata's voice, as he bore down on her once more. It was… It was difficult to do more then defend. But if she didn't… for the moment, the other two weren't attacking, but how long would that last? They appeared to be allowing Hijikata to attack her on his own, for now, but there was no way of knowing if they would continue to show such restraint… and there was still the unknown enemy, too…

Her silver-gold eyes caught sight of her Master. The short brunette was watching with wide eyes, fear on her features… The girl she loved…

Saber pressed her foot down, bracing herself as she leveraged herself with the edge of her blade. Even if Hijikata was very skilled, the inspiration for her own most trusted technique, she wouldn't allow that to intimidate her! She couldn't allow that to stop her! Of course, even with her ensuing flurry of thrusts and slashes, he was still able to defend himself. But she wasn't going to allow herself to lose. Even against this many opponents…!

Blade clashed against blade, flashes sparks filling the night air! A final thrust clashed against the side of Hijikata's blade, forcing him backwards. Holding her blade up parallel to her eyes again, the edge tilted, Saber stepped forward.

"Even if it's one of my comrades, Hijikata-san…" she began, her voice firm, "I won't allow myself to fail! There's someone that I'm fighting for, and I can't just let that go because one of my enemies is also one of my comrades…"

Hijikata straightened, his sword glinting in the moonlight just as Saber's did. He was her comrade. He was one of the people she wished to have been able to fight to the end alongside. But now… in this moment, a moment she hoped could end quickly… he was her enemy. To deny that would be to lose… to lose would be to fail to obtain her wish, but not only that. She would lose Ai, too.

Even against these three opponents, the swordswoman would do everything she could to obtain victory. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't. For Ai's sake, and her own as well.

"An officer of the Shinsengumi never surrenders," asserted Hijikata as he readied himself, "But I am the Shinsengumi!"

The other two shades stepped forward, the horned woman still looking almost emotionless and empty, while the swordsman's face was still largely cloaked in darkness. But in her clashes with her opponents, Saber had realized something. While they were undeniably powerful, they did not seem as if they were fully on the level of a Servant. They had been degraded, an incomplete summon causing them not to posses the capabilities they were meant to. Or at least, that's what she could speculate. Was it because they were summoned in addition to the Servants that had already been present?

Or was it something else?

No matter what the cause was behind this… she could win! Saber knew in her heart that she could win! For Ai! Even for Hijikata! She would win even a fight like this! She had to claim victory!

Saber set one foot forward, readying herself. The Archer woman had almost been moving in a mechanical fashion, so if she could use that to her advantage there was a possibility that she would remove at least one of her enemies as quickly as possible. The swordsman would be more difficult, and… of course, Hijikata-san… but she had to defeat all of them. That included the as-of-yet unidentified fourth enemy… but it didn't matter. She would win regardless. She had to!

She-

She suddenly felt her grip loosen on her blade. A tremor running through her frame. A pain in her chest. This feeling…

She recognized it immediately. It was the feeling that plagued her during her last days. The thing that had caused her death. The freshness of the air, having been summoned in her homeland, had made a skill that was already unlikely to become active almost totally inert. But now…

Trembling, Saber coughed. Raising her hand to her mouth, she hacked again, pain shooting through her body as she shuddered…

Lowering her hand, she saw flecks of red in her palm.

"… N-now? No…. I c-can't…"

"S-Souji?!" she heard her Master's voice, as she tried to keep a firm grip on her katana. This alone was not capable of killing her, unlike it had in life, but now of all times… She felt lightheaded, feverish. It was difficult to even stay on her feet. She heard the twang of the Archer woman's bow, but she was still able to deflect the first arrow. The second, however, embedded itself into her shoulder, searing pain shooting through her body as she let out a gasp, falling to her knees.

"I… I… won't…" she mumbled, trying to force herself to stand. Why now, of all times? Was it going to rob her of the ability to do what she cared about, to stay alongside her loved ones, once more? Would it rob her of Ai? She raised her head, trying to focus, but what she was able to see… Hijikata standing over her. The swordsman and the Archer beside him, on either side. And now… an expressionless, white-haired, gold-eyed fox woman had emerged from the trees as well. Was she the Caster who had erected the bounded field trapping them in here? Perhaps… if she could just get to her feet… She had to get to her feet…

Saber coughed again, blood spattering onto the ground, now. She suddenly felt Ai at her side, grabbing onto her, trying to help her up… Yes, for Ai's sake, she had to get up. She had to get moving… She had to keep fighting. But she could barely move. As she tried to rise, she could see it… she could see Hijikata raising his sword. The horned Archer drawing her bow. The swordsman preparing to attack as well…

"How pitiful," she heard Hijikata's voice, "But the Shinsengumi shows no mercy, even to former comrades."

She tried to tell her Master to run. If she couldn't move, if this was how it was going to end… the girl samurai didn't want the one she loved to die here as well. But all that came out was another fit of coughing when she tried to speak.

Why now?

But then, without warning, a gunshot rang out. Weakly, looking up, Saber could see what had just happened. The expressionless fox Caster, she'd been shot cleanly through the head before she had even been able to react, her body almost immediately breaking apart and dissipating into nothing but darkness that drifted, rose, and vanished entirely into the night sky. The other three shades immediately turned, stunned, and there…

There was the familiar face of Archer. One hand was on his hat, the other was on his revolver, raised and still smoking from the bullet he'd drilled right through the shadow Caster's skull.

"Howdy," he said, simply, raising his free hand to wave lightly, "Looks like I wasn't a moment too soon."

With the shadow Caster dead… that would mean…! Trembling, Saber managed to glance towards the park's exit. Indeed, the vague shimmering that was the sign of the bounded field was completely gone, vanished in an instant with the fox woman's death.

"Go on 'n get outta here," the cowboy Servant continued, keeping his gun trained on the three shades, "You're in no condition to keep fightin'. I'll hold 'em here."

"You'd challenge the genius swordsman with that?!" snapped the swordsman with fiery red hair, immediately darting towards Archer. He let out a string of shots, forcing the man to stop and deflect them, and soon enough Hijikata had attacked, forcing Archer to dodge as the horned woman drew her bow once more… but for the moment, the three of them were distracted…!

She hadn't yet recovered. The pain of the arrow embedded in her shoulder was still blazing, and she could still barely stand. Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth. But…!

Gripping the shaft of the arrow, Souji gritted her teeth, pain erupting sharply as she yanked it from her shoulder. Without a moment's pause, she forced herself to her feet, still breathing heavily…

"S-Souji, we-"

She cut her Master off. There was simply no time for anything else. She had to push herself… Grasping Ai once more, ignoring every protest of her body, the fever raging, her ragged breathing, the agony in her shoulder, Saber forced herself to sprint. From the corner of her eye, she could just barely catch sight of the armored Archer turning, loosing another arrow… And she felt it bury itself in her hip. Saber let out a strangled gasp of pain, blood filling her mouth, but she couldn't stop…!

Clutching Ai's body closely to herself, even as her Master trembled, unable to speak…

But with Archer keeping their attention…!

In spite of the weakness of her body, the pain in her shoulder and hip, Saber was able to clear the exit of the park and keep running. She had to keep running. To keep going and going and make as much distance between herself and the shadow Servants. To give herself a chance to recover, to-

The concrete behind her exploded. Eyes widening in shock, Saber was sent hurtling forward, given only time to tuck her body around the stunned Ai protectively, hitting the ground on her side. She had barely been able to stay on her feet, and now… there was little more she could do, as she struggled to rise, blood dripping from her mouth.

Her hands were still on Ai's shoulders, and after seeing that the smaller girl was alright, she coughed again and fell onto her side. That… that was good… but what…?

There was a beautiful woman. She was floating about a meter off the ground, circles of purple light drifting over her head and shoulders. She was incredibly pale, with white hair, and eyes a shade of dull gold. The same as the shades…? And yet… this was… she wasn't a shade. She was… a Servant…

"… Then… y-you're…" Saber tried to rise again, but she coughed, spitting red onto the street. At either side of the floating woman was another shade. One, an armored figure on horseback, and the other… an older man with a katana on his hip…

"… Y-You're… the Servant that Rani summoned?! B-but… but she said… S-Saber, you need to… you…"

Desperately, she felt her Master attempting to apply healing magecraft to her body, but this was nothing that magecraft could fix. No, all she could do is wait until she could recover, though the injuries from the arrows mended swiftly… The arrow embedded in her hip was even pushed out. Her Master… Ai was so good at mending her body, even if she couldn't fix something that was a Servant's skill…

"… Ah, so you know already?" said the floating woman, cocking her head. She was nearly without expression. Beside her there drifted a strange box, iridescent, purples and browns that seemed to shift… "Servant Avenger."

Avenger…? An irregular class that existed outside of the seven Servant classes usually intended to be summoned for the Holy Grail War? Atlas had summoned something like this…? Why… why was it so difficult to recover? Her Master was still desperately attempting to heal her…

"I'll eradicate you here," continued Avenger, simply, "It won't be painful."

She had to move…!

"No, Master," came another voice. A girl's… familiar…

Both Saber and Ai stared in shock as they saw the figure that emerged from the darkness. She was now clad in blackened armor, adorned with spines and with red designs across it. Her hair, once blonde, had been bleached to almost white. Her blue eyes were now gold, and a sharp grin adorned her beautiful features, her ragged cape drifting in the light breeze.

There was no mistaking her for anyone else, even considering the changes that had been inflicted upon her.

"I want to kill Saber myself," said Lancer.

For a few moments, the girl samurai simply couldn't understand. The girl, the knight that stood before her, was undeniably the Knight of the White Plume. By this point, Bradamante was unmistakable as anyone else. And yet… her once-white armor was now pitch black, gold decorations red. The Trap of Argalia carried the same colors, staining its form. It was as if her entire existence had been painted in darkness. What had Avenger done?! What had been done to Lancer?! A fire suddenly rising in Saber's heart, in spite of the weakness still plaguing her body, Saber managed to force herself up onto one knee.

"L-Lancer…" stammered Ai, "Y-you… what about… wh-where's Inoue-san…?"

"Inoue Tsubaki is no longer my Master," replied the knight, simply, raising her cavalry lance as she did.

"Avenger…" spoke Saber through gritted teeth, "What did you do?!"

"Would you like for me to show you?" responded the woman in the black dress, a smile slowly forming on her lips, one hand gesturing towards the box.

But Lancer shook her head.

"As I am now yours, I wish to make a request," said the knight, glancing back towards Avenger, "Saber is mine."

Her pale gold gaze returned to Saber, who still couldn't manage to completely regain her footing. Damn this Weak Constitution…!

"I haven't forgotten about our agreement, Saber," she continued, an edge of glee on her voice, "I remember every detail. We were to duel, were we not?"

Saber coughed, her entire body shaking. Indeed… even if her body was in no condition to fight, she had to protect Ai… if she had to duel Lancer in order to do so…

"But it's clear to me right now that your body is in no condition to fight," added Lancer, cocking her head to one side. Her hair, loosened from its usual braid, drifted freely in the light breeze, "And that wouldn't be a very satisfactory end, would it?"

Her grin grew. Unlike the dullness of Avenger's eyes, Lancer's eyes seemed to have a sort of intensity to them… entirely different from that which she have exhibited before. Why did this happen? How could it have happened? For Lancer to become some sort of darkened existence like this… Saber couldn't understand. Why could such a thing have happened, and… what had happened to Tsubaki, if Avenger had somehow replaced her…?

"Of course it wouldn't be," Lancer said, waving her hand without waiting for a response from the swordswoman, "So I won't kill you here. We'll fight again, when you're ready, Saber."

Even in her current state, it was impossible for Saber to miss Avenger's dull-eyed glance towards Lancer.

"… So my Lancer is still merciful, then," the floating Servant commented, simply, her tone completely flat once more. "… Very well."

Slowly, she landed, her bare feet touching the concrete as she approached. Saber felt Ai's arms around her, again… Avenger was utterly beautiful, and yet there was something so very… wrong about her as well. Physically there was nothing unusual, but there was… there was something off, as if she was slightly out of synch with the rest of the world in some fashion. It was impossible to recognize just how that was the case.

"S-stay… stay away!" cried Ai, trembling as she held Saber close, "I won't… I won't let you do whatever you want… I-I won't let you harm S-Saber!"

The Servant could feel how fast Ai's heart was beating simply from how closely they had been pressed together…

"… It is not as if anything in this world will survive," Avenger added, simply, as she leaned down, "Anything the gods ever felt anything for will end. Therefore, I shall accommodate her desire."

She reached out, a faint smile forming on her lips, as one finger ran across Saber's cheek. Just as quickly as she had been touched, in spite of the weakness plaguing her body, the samurai did her best to pull away.

Avenger simply straightened.

"… However, that Archer, in the park," she commented, her tone completely neutral once more, "Has no such agreement with you, does he?"

"… Heh."

Lancer suddenly spread her feet into a wide stance. Realizing what she was about to do, Saber desperately attempted to get to her feet… but another cough racked her body and she feel back to her knees, spitting blood. This… why did it have to strike now!? Even attempting to speak was painful.

"A-Avenger…!" she choked out, attempting to use her katana to rise once more.

"S-Saber, please, you…" she heard Ai's voice next to her. Her Master didn't know what to do… but it didn't matter. After everything that had happened, Souji couldn't even manage to rise to her feet any longer.

Blackened magical energy suddenly swirled out from the tip of the Trap of Argalia. The lance was soon coated in darkness, swirling and churning, spiraling across its surface almost as if it was a drill. The sheer power on display… it was beyond what Lancer had ever displayed before, chunks of concrete being ripped from the street by the roiling mana that encircled the shaft of the cavalry lance.

And with that, Lancer erupted forward, practically exploding towards the park. Soon, she had vanished from sight, disappearing beyond the trees.

Saber had been completely unable to stop her. She couldn't even stand, let along fight someone right now. Would Archer be able to escape…? And Lancer… Lancer's fate… she'd been torn away from Tsubaki and made into a Servant of someone like this… Her entire existence had been changed? Why…?

"… You're an obstacle to my revenge, Saber," said Avenger, gazing towards the park for a few moments, before looking back down at the platinum blonde girl, "One of the very last things between Pandora and her vengeance on the gods."

Pandora?!

That explained it, that box…!

"P-Pandora?!" she heard her Master's shocked voice.

"… Y-you… unleashed All the Evils of the World… from that box…" Saber said, panting, eyes drifting from the Servant to the box itself. There was only one thing it could be, after all.

"… Due to the deception of the gods, I became nothing but a tool to punish the humanity they truly cared about," responded Avenger, "And so, I will destroy it, and everything it has created."

"Y-You…!"

Saber lurched to her feet, her katana glinting…!

And she fell onto her front. Her body had become far too weak to attack…

"S-Saber, you… you can't… you have to rest!" cried Ai, trembling.

Avenger smiled.

As Saber's vision darkened, the Servant disappeared into the blackness as well.

---

He wasn't here on his Master's orders. It wasn't part of some kind of plan to secure the Holy Grail. As gunshots ran out, both from himself and the man in a cape wielding a rifle, there was one thing Archer was absolutely certain of.

He was here because he chose to be.

The cowboy sprinted through the treeline. Flaming arrows fell in a flurry, tearing through the gaps in the trunks and streaking past him. Bullets, too, tore through wood and buried themselves in the earth. He returned fire whenever he could, eyes not only watching the two samurai but also on the lookout for the other swordsman.

These shades, these false Servants, whatever they were. Individually they weren't as powerful as a Servant. He'd been able to kill that shadow Caster before she had even realized he was there. She'd been more like a machine then a Servant, though the same could not have been said for the swordsman, or the man in a cape. They seemed to possess far more intelligence.

And the fact was that three opponents who were similar to a Servant wasn't too far off from fighting enemy Servants, anyway.

But Archer was here because this was where he chose to be, and he was going to see things through. To be honest, the cowboy Servant wasn't exactly certain what was happening. He didn't understand where it was these phantoms had come from, how it was possible to summon things that were so close to Servants and yet weren't when there had already been a full set of seven. But at the moment, that wasn't the most important thing at all.

What was the most important thing was either escaping from these shades, or taking them out. For an outlaw, either was an acceptable response, now that his goal had been accomplished. Saber had escaped. By and large, the reason he'd chosen to intervene on her behalf was because of respect. Seeing someone like that taken out by a bunch of newcomers who weren't even real Servants due to something out of her control… Well, it just wasn't right, now, was it?

Arrows hurtled through the air, ahead of him, forcing him to back up, and in that instant he heard something else incoming behind him! Archer spun on his heel, and the man with the flaming hair and the blazing eyes was already raising his katana!

But Archer hadn't been known as the fastest gun in the west for nothing. His revolver snapped up, and in an instant three shots rang out, nearly at the same time as one another! While Assassin was able to respond, using the flat of his crimson katana to deflect the bullets in the blink of an eye as he backpedaled to slightly, forced to stop.

"Are you ready to challenge the greatest swordsman in the world, Archer?!" he cried, bringing his blade to bear once more.

"'Fraid I mighta already did that," responded Archer, keeping his revolver trained on the man, even as his eyes darted to his side. The taller man with the black cape wasn't visible any longer… "'N she was a hell of a lot more courteous then you."

Those fiery red eyes narrowed, as the man slide his feet into a ready stance once more. But before he could respond, Archer felt something at his side, suddenly…

"Advance! Slash!"

The man in the cape was there! Archer sprang back, the silver of his blade cutting through the air as he cleaved through the location the blonde cowboy had occupied just moments ago. And if that wasn't enough, the flaming arrows cut through the air again, forcing him to move before he could adjust his aim to fire on either of his opponents!

He gritted his teeth. Even when his enemies were assuredly not fully-summoned Servants, they were still quite potent enemies. If Archer was to be honest with himself, the truth was that this was not the sort of battle he was suited for. Facing three enemies at close range, head on… But…

There was plenty of cover in this park. And his opponents truly were not fully summoned Servants. That left him with a good chance! No, it left him with a path to victory! He was still the fastest gun in the west! He could escape, or even take out all three! Either way, it was his win!

But the best path to doing either of those things would be disabling the woman first, the girl with white hair and a bow. Those arrows made it hard to maneuver, and got him caught up whenever he tried to get distance on the two close-range fighters. The caped man still had his rifle, but that was a lot less threatening then the hail of arrows that kept getting thrown his way. If the cowboy Servant had to guess, the horned woman was a sort of shadow Archer, while the others were… perhaps a shadow Assassin, and…

The tree he had quickly darted around was suddenly sliced completely in half, the caped man in hot pursuit.

"Advance! Slash!" he cried again. Any obstacle in his way was cut apart in an instant! It didn't matter whatever was between him and Archer himself, the man was going to cut it apart without a moment's pause.

In Archer's mind, that made his class obvious as well. There was no denying he was shadow Berserker! And all three of them, each was a shade of this land, a Japanese Servant summoned into some sort of shadowy container… the Caster he'd summoned, too, appeared to have been Japanese… Just where had these Shadow Servants come from!?

Shadow Berserker drew his rifle once more, but in this case Archer was certainly much faster, firing on the man before he could pull the trigger. A single shot struck the caped swordsman in his shoulder, and he seemed to almost let out some sort of growl before finally deciding to dodge, to take some sort of cover to avoid being hit again for the moment. But there was Shadow Archer, drawing her bow…!

An arrow was loosened, and Archer fired his revolver. The flaming head of the Shadow Servant's shot met the bullet in mid-air, and was deflected! It hurtled off-course into the forest, and as the samurai woman drew and let loose multiple arrows in rapid succession, Archer answered by firing his gun just as quickly. When it came to aim and speed, it was difficult to get past him, and for this moment while the other two Shadow Servants were held at bay he could deflect Shadow Archer's arrows by shooting them out of the air! But this couldn't last, now that he was focused on countering Shadow Archer he knew that the other two would be able to move up…!

Wait, where was Shadow Assassin…?!

Indeed, in that moment, the fiery-haired man suddenly burst from the darkness, raising his katana! Damn it, he was too close to take aim at…! Archer couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself, that he'd failed to realize just how close one of the enemies had come while he was focused on countering Shadow Archer's arrows! Shadow Assassin's sword flashed in the moonlight, slicing downwards through the air…!

And metal clashed against metal in an instant, as Archer swung his gun through the air and slammed the bottom of his revolver's grip against the side of Shadow Assassin's katana! It wasn't anything that could last, a conflict at close range was exactly where Archer didn't want to be, but in that instant he'd been able to stop himself from being struck! It gave him that crucial instant, even as he noticed Shadow Berserker raising his rifle to fire, to leap back and gain some distance! Immediately after he got out of range of Shadow Assassin's sword, he opened fire, gunshots ringing out as he forced his attacker back. Even if enemy Servants were capable of deflecting bullets, these shades were still forced back, still delayed each time that they had dodge or defend from each shot he fired. If he could capitalize on that, he could escape… but he wanted to try to win.

An outlaw would always reach for any chance, any glimmer of hope, that they could, after all!

There was a crack of Shadow Berserker's rifle firing, and Archer immediately ducked low. The blond boy could almost feel the bullet hurtling overhead, and Shadow Assassin was advancing once again, blade held low down in a bid to swing it upwards into a sweeping slash. The cowboy Servant had no doubt that it would be difficult to pull off another trick like that against him, and so he focused instead on keeping his distance from the two swordsmen. He definitely had his work cut out for him, but… to be able to find that chance…

Archer could do it!

Cracks of gunfire, the twang of arrows, these sounds filled the park. Archer's plan was slowly coming into play. He was forced to take an indirect path, a wide circle as he fled from Shadow Berserker and Shadow Assassin, but his aim was still clear. He could circle back towards Shadow Archer, get a clear line of fire on her, and with Shadow Archer taken out, one of the biggest threats in the fight would be removed. That wasn't to say that neither of the other two Shadow Servants were also extremely dangerous, but it was Shadow Archer who was making it nearly impossible to focus on them by raining down fiery arrows whenever the cowboy had a moment to think. He had to count on them not realizing that this was his plan, but to be honest… Shadow Berserker's planning abilities seemed dulled by his bloodlust and fervor, Shadow Assassin seemed more like the type to go for the throat as swiftly as possible rather then take his time with analysis, and Shadow Archer herself was almost like some sort of machine.

Not that he could count on any of that. Archer had no way of looking into the minds of others. But he had to do what he could based on everything he had seen so far!

A gunshot fired to his left, and then another. Even as Archer ducked and rolled to avoid them, Shadow Berserker was already charging with a yell, his sword raised. The wound in his shoulder didn't appear to slow him down one bit! But as long as Archer could keep evading him, that was what mattered most!

"For defying the Shinsengumi, the only punishment is death!" snarled the cape-clad man, a fire seeming to have been lit in his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't got any interest in dyin' just yet," replied Archer, as he spun in place to fire on Shadow Berserker and force him to back off for at least a moment. He was closing in on Shadow Archer, just a little longer and he'd have a clear line of fire on her…!

An arrow hurtled through the air as he turned. It caught him in the lower arm, pain immediately shooting up his entire right shoulder, his grip loosening as he dropped his revolver with a gasp. But…

Reaching out with his left, Archer snatched his gun from the air and took aim! Not that being hit in his right arm was a good thing, but being ambidextrous made it easy to recover from something like this! Brushing off the pain in his right side, Archer opened fire to shoot down the remaining arrows hurtling towards him!

For the moment, his right arm hung limply. As a Servant, he could recover, but now wasn't the time to go pulling an arrow out to let his arm heal. He had to focus on the fight himself, to not let the pain of his injury distract him!

But that pain in his arm bought a crucial moment for his enemies. Before Archer could turn again, there was another gunshot, and he felt a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen. Gritting his teeth, he stumbled forward, managing only barely to keep his balance. Breaking off from his plan to attack Archer, he sprinted into the treeline to put as much between himself and his attackers as he could.

It was easy to take stock of the damage after that. The bullet had blown through his body cleanly, but there was no about that it was a serious injury. Down one arm and taking a bullet… Ah, he'd messed up, hadn't he? It wasn't going to be too easy to kill them or escape, now…

"Archer… this is the end."

That voice… it wasn't any of the Shadow Servants.

Straightened, his breathing heavy, now, the blond cowboy turned towards the source of the voice.

Lancer. Her entire appearance had changed, however. Black and red armor, nearly white hair, dull gold eyes… something had happened to her, even If he wasn't sure what. That grin on her lips was enough to tell him that even if nothing else had been altered.

"… You think so, huh?" he asked, raising his revolver. For the moment, the Shadow Servants had stopped their attack… was it because Lancer had shown up? "… I might just be able to make that harder for you, ma'am."

Lancer took a step forward, raising her weapon as she did. Even her lance had been blackened, tainted, the same shades of red and black as her armor.

"… So, this is what the famous outlaw's last stand feels like," Archer commented, largely to himself. He'd never gotten to have one, in life. He'd died in an ambush, surprised by a former friend after having been awakened from his sleep. "Funny, didn't really know what to expect…"

He took aim.

Magical energy seemed to radiate from Lancer's body.

The black knight charged.

Archer fired.

In that moment, he could see it. He could see where the bullet would hit. He could see there was no way for Lancer to avoid it.

And he could see that it wouldn't matter.

The bullet buried itself in Lancer's side, but the knight didn't stop.

Archer's injuries made it impossible for him to move quickly enough to escape.

It was his last stand, after all. Something he'd never gotten to experience in life. There was no way he could escape.

The tip of the lance buried itself in his chest, driving deeper until it erupted out of his back.

He remained on his feet, even with the weapon piercing his chest. Blood trickled from his mouth, dripped from the lance, and splattered on the earth.

Archer dropped his gun.

"… So this is it, huh," he said. It wasn't the first time he had died, after all. At least this time he'd seen it coming, so that was something he couldn't say about the first death all those years ago.

"You are one of the last Servants to fall, Archer," Lancer said, cocking her head to one side as she did, "Take solace in that as you die."

"… Yeah… guess that's all I can do now, huh?" he responded. There was an ugly sound as the lance was ripped from his chest, and he staggered backwards, stopping only when he hit a tree. With a gasp, he slid downwards, smearing the tree with red as he fell into a sitting position. In this moment, his mind drifted to the thoughts of his Master… but more than that, Marion. The little girl liked to spend time with him… she was going to be upset, wasn't she?

"… Guess an outlaw's luck always runs out…" he commented to himself, as his eyes began to feel heavy.

His eyes drifted upwards. The night sky was filled with stars…

"… Dyin' lookin' up at the stars…" he said, as Lancer began to leave, "… Ain't so bad, after all…"

Moments later, golden light drifted away into the air.

Archer was gone.

---

Everything had gone wrong.

Souji had passed out, and Ai couldn't get her to wake up. She was still alive, her body hadn't vanished, the small brunette could still feel the weight of supporting a Servant on her magic circuits. And… Ai at least could tell she hadn't been placed in a coma or something like that. It was the result of that Weak Constitution skill… It had been made less severe by summoning Okita Souji in Japan, to the point where Ai had thought that it wouldn't activate at all. But now… Well, now it was clear that had been a mistaken belief.

She wrapped her small hands around one of Souji's. Even knowing the Servant would eventually wake up… seeing her like this, after everything that had happened… seeing those arrows piercing her body in the park had been painful. Seeing her cough up blood, become so weak that she could barely move when she had been so swift and light on her feet moments ago… It was horrible. Ai's grip tightened on Saber's hand. She desperately wanted her to wake up, but she had no idea how long that would take. She hadn't even been able to try and move her, both girls were still sitting some distance from the park. For that matter…

Ai could no longer hear the sounds of battle from the park. The night had become still once more.

Was Archer dead?

She had no way of knowing.

What had happened to Lancer? Why had she become darkened? Her entire appearance was stained with blackness, and even her simple presence felt dark as well… It wasn't as if Lancer had become like this due to a betrayal of some sort. Even the way she acted had changed… was it something Avenger had done?

Avenger…

Even if she hadn't said much, her intent became clear whenever she spoke. She wanted to… to somehow mount an attack on all of humanity. In vengeance against gods who had long since vanished. Even if she hadn't mentioned her identity, it would have been obvious who Avenger was. That box, her very nature, everything pointed to her being Pandora from the mythology of Ancient Greece. Which meant that the box itself was none other than Pandora's box… what kind of Noble Phantasm would something like that even be? It was devastating, it had unleashed all the evils of the world in mythology. What could possibly be contained within a box like that?

How could someone fight something so terrible?

And if Lancer was now Avenger's Servant, alongside the shades that had apparently been summoned by her, what had happened to Tsubaki? Was she still okay?

Was she even still alive?

Clutching at Souji's hand tighter, Ai leaned forward and buried her face in the girl samurai's clothing, feeling the breathing of the girl she loved. What could she even do now? Even when Saber awakened, how could they fight something like that? They had to try… but… Lancer was now under Avenger's sway, she had summoned shades that worked for her, Tsubaki could be dead…

What could she do?

"Matsushita Ai."

The voice was somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it briefly, not so long ago. Slowly, her gold eyes drifted upwards, away from Souji's prone form…

That uniform was undeniably Atlas's. But it wasn't just that. That purple hair, that dark skintone, her eyes… that petite, almost child-like body… It was Rani!

"R-Rani… IV…?" Ai asked, wide-eyed. There was no way it could be anyone else, right? If it was Rani, then… then she could ask her about Avenger! She could find out... she could find out something useful, right?!

"I am Rani," replied the dark-skinned girl, "But I am not the Rani you know."

For a few moments, the short magus was silent. What… what did Rani mean? She certainly looked completely identical to the Rani she met after the fight with Caster, didn't she? It wasn't just a case of similar appearance, either. The more she looked at Rani, the more she tried to clear her mind and think back to that conversation, the more obvious it became that every single physical feature was exactly the same as Rani IV's had been.

"I am Rani V," elaborated the purple-haired girl. It didn't take much longer for Ai to understand just what this meant. The numerical label… trying to clear her mind of fear and sorrow, Ai took a deep breath. If this Rani was labeled V, and the previous Rani was IV, did that mean that they were both, perhaps, homunculi created from the same 'template'? She knew Atlas was adept at creating homunculi, and that would explain quite a bit about the two girls. What it didn't explain is what Rani V was doing there.

"… R-Rani… V?" she asked.

The girl nodded.

"I have been deployed as part of a recovery mission," she added, her tone just as neutral and flat as the other Rani's had been, "In order to return Rani IV to Atlas and bring the failed project to a close."

Failed project…

Was that the Servant that Rani IV had attempted to summon? The Avenger who had appeared not long ago, who had expressed her desire for vengeance? Given what the other Rani had said, the way in which the project had failed was pretty obvious given it seemed they had never intended to truly participate in the Holy Grail War…

"… Then… Avenger…"

Rani nodded again.

"We had intended to summon the Heroic Spirit Pandora into the class container of Caster," responded the dark-skinned girl, "As such, we waited until the original Caster was defeated and returned to the Throne of Heroes. However, it seems as if we have made a dire miscalculation."

That miscalculation had resulted in so many terrible things, hadn't it…

"I have already spoken to Inoue Tsubaki," continued Rani, "And she is prepared to lend what assistance she can."

Tsubaki?!

"I-Inoue-san is still alive?!" stammered Ai, wide-eyed, "Then… then… but Lancer…"

"I am not yet certain what has happened to Lancer," responded Rani, "More observation is yet required."

"Mmmn…"

Ah… And Saber was starting to wake up, too! She could see the girl's silver-gold eyes flickering open… after a moment, the girl samurai was slowly sitting up, one hand to her forehead.

"Ah… Master?"

Ai quickly reached out, placing her small hands on the other girl's shoulders. Her body still felt hot, as if she still had a fever, but at the very least she was conscious again. Ai could hope that was a sign that Souji's Weak Constitution skill would soon wear off… So much had happened so quickly. Lancer's fate, to be apparently corrupted by Avenger… it was horrible, seeing her with that blackened armor, that sharpened grin on her face. But at the same time, the news that Tsubaki was alive and well… And Souji's recovery, as well…

Maybe Lancer could be saved?

"Rani… IV-san?" Saber asked, trying to shake her head clear of lingering lightheadedness. As her mind cleared, the platinum blonde swordswoman's eyes widened.

"Lancer! Where is she?!" she stumbled to her feet, one hand immediately on her sword even though she still seemed quite unsteady.

"S-Souji, Lancer is gone already," Ai said, quickly. As much as she wanted to do something, it was quite apparently that her Servant had not yet recovered enough to go after anyone, let alone the other remaining original Servant. Even if… she was… Seeing Lancer like that was truly terrible. Her mind continually drifted back to the thought of the serious, yet sweet-natured girl in a sundress who had been so dutiful and loyal to Tsubaki… now this blackened knight with a wicked grin. How could something like that happen? Just what kind of abilities did Pandora's Box possess?

All the evils of the world had been contained in that box…

Rani's voice cut into her thoughts once more, snapping her out her fears.

"Rani V," she corrected Souji, "The Rani you spoke to previously is currently in need of recovery."

If Rani IV was Avenger's Master, did that mean Avenger was holding her somewhere? In order to prevent her from using her command seals to force her to commit suicide, but also to protect her from interference? That seemed likely… the girl had been adamant that Atlas had no intention of entering the grail war themselves. Given that Rani V was referring to this almost in a manner that would be comparable to a rescue mission, referring to the project as a failure, it seemed obvious that Rani IV wasn't willingly acting as Avenger's Master.

But more than all of that…

"… Rani V-san," Ai began, her hands still on her Servant as her gold eyes drifted towards the dark skinned girl, "How… how was Inoue-san doing?"

Even if she was alive… after losing her Servant… Seeing Lancer like that was terrible, but Ai couldn't imagine how something like that must feel for Tsubaki. She had been quite close to Lancer… and knowing how Ai herself felt about Saber… the idea of being in Tsubaki's shoes right now was something terrible to think about.

"She did not seem very willing to talk at length," responded Rani, "But she quickly agreed to provide assistance in any way she was able."

That didn't really give any indication of how Tsubaki was doing… but to be frank, it was difficult to expect anything concrete in those regards when it came to someone who seemed to how as little emotion as Rani V did. The girl was totally expressionless no matter what she talked about, so expecting her to be able to talk about the feelings of others almost seemed unfair. Still… she had to see Tsubaki, to know how she was doing…

"… I-I have to go after Lancer," said Saber, suddenly, taking a shaky step forward. She almost fell over again, coughing suddenly, one hand over her mouth as she did. Ai knew that she saw flecks of red on that pale palm… reaching out, she wrapped her hands around Souji's free hand, to stop the other girl. "I… I h-have to!"

"N-no, Saber!" she insisted, "I… I know… I… I don't understand what happened, she's… she's not like the Lancer we knew before, anymore…"

The short brunette girl averted her eyes, her golden gaze drifting towards the floor, "B-but… you can't fight right now! W-we have to wait until your skill wears off, before we can do anything else…"

If there was a chance to save Lancer, they had to take it…

"I believe that Lancer may currently be bound to Avenger," said Rani, "The Servant of a Servant, in a violation of the structure of the Holy Grail War."

Ai could see Saber's hands balled into fists at her sides… But she could also see the way that the girl was barely able to stay on her feet. That wasn't to say that she didn't seem to be slowly recovering. She was conscious and able to stand at all. But right now… Ai couldn't let the girl she loved charge into danger when she was feeling so weak, no matter what it was that Souji said to the contrary. If Saber tried to fight Lancer when she was in this condition and died as a result… Ai wouldn't let something like that happen.

"… We'll… we'll meet up with Inoue-san, Saber…" began Ai, "… Maybe there's some way we can save Lancer, too…"

It was difficult for Ai to convince herself of this possibility. But the fact was that she was hoping it was the case. Even if Lancer was one of the last remaining Servants in the war, the fact that she had been forced to serve Avenger, twisted to fit Pandora's needs…

"… We have to stop Avenger, too…" replied Saber, "She wanted to take revenge on the gods by attacking humanity, we can't let her… I won't let her."

Ai nodded. Saber's voice seemed a little stronger, now. But even still… ah, what could she do? What was Avenger really planning? She said she wanted to take revenge, but how could she do something like that? To attack the entire human race?

Could a single Servant do something like that?

But right now, there was no way they could pursue Avenger. Saber still needed time to recover.

"But Souji, we… you're in no condition to do it right now!" she insisted, "I… I don't want to see you get hurt… or worse… wh-what if she tried to do the same to you that she did to Lancer?"

That thought was terrifying too. It was worse then the idea of Souji getting killed… seeing her warped into something else like that, someone who would follow Avenger. The idea of that was so much worse then anything else. There was no way that she could allow Saber to go charging off and risk something like that…

"… Ai… I…" the platinum blonde samurai was silent for a few moments. Her voice still sounded much stronger then it had moments ago, but the fact remained that she still seemed to be unsteady on her feet, her breathing somewhat ragged and uneven. "… If I can't fight to the end, I…"

Her shoulders sagged.

"… I'm sorry, Ai-chan," she turned towards the short brunette, giving her a weak smile as she did, "… I don't want to just sit here and spit up blood when I should be fighting, not again… Lancer doesn't deserve this."

That much was obvious. And it was obvious how Saber felt… The way in which she had died in life was left stuck in her bed when the people she knew as here allies died in battle. But this wasn't the same. The idea of facing Avenger and Lancer was frightening enough, and Ai didn't want to lose Saber…

"… I know, Souji," Ai replied. It was painful, knowing how Saber must feel, but at the same time the idea of something happening to her was far worse. Images of Saber getting injured and coughing up blood played out in the small magus's mind again and again… "But I don't want to lose you. If you can't fight right now, pushing yourself won't help a-anyone… Shouldn't… shouldn't we talk to Inoue-san first?"

"…"

For several moments, Saber was silent. Apprehensively, Ai clenched her hands into fists. Okita Souji was… she was the most beautiful, kind, and wonderful girl that Ai had ever met. Just seeing her made Ai's heart beat faster. That lovely, silvery-gold hair… her smile. Her golden eyes… The way that she moved. She could remember, even now, after everything that had happened so recently, the way that her skin felt, her body against Ai's own… Her voice, everything about Souji was almost too wonderful for words. In a similar fashion, the idea of losing her was almost too terrible for words. Was she strange, for falling in love with a Servant who had been summoned to do battle for the Holy Grail? That didn't change that she was a beautiful girl, though… but regardless of anything else…

She couldn't lose Saber.

"… I guess it wouldn't help if all I could do was cough up blood on them," said the girl samurai, finally, "… If I'm going to get back Lancer and defeat Avenger, I want to show them the real Okita Souji."

Ai relaxed immediately. Even now, when they were up against a Servant threatening to attack all of humanity and one of their allies had been… taken by her… she was still capable of putting on a smile and being optimistic. But that was just one of the many things Ai loved about her, wasn't it?

"Yes. We'll show them just what you're made of, Souji-chan."

It was a lot more difficult to for Ai to put on a smile, but for the sake of her Servant she did so.

All this had made her almost forget that Rani was still watching the both of them. Ah…

There was something important to discuss with her, before they went to meet Inoue again.

"… Rani V-san," she began, turning to face the dark-skinned girl, "Avenger said she wanted to attack the human race to take revenge… is… is it possible for a single Servant to do something like that? If she were to obtain the Holy Grail, I know she could wish for it, but…"

Rani's purple eyes drifted, as it appeared the girl was undergoing some swift mental calculations. The still somewhat unsteady Saber, too, was now facing the diminutive Atlas homunculus as well.

After what seemed like forever, Rani finally spoke.

"The nature of Pandora's Box is as a receptacle for All the Evils of the World," she began, "It is not literally the origin of all evil that has ever existed. Rather, it is a divine construct created to embody this nature conceptually. From the moment of its creation, its very existence was painted in this blackness."

That stood to reason. Given the way the world functioned, Pandora's Box could not have been the source of the existence of the concept known as evil. But it could be understood as something that contained everything that was considered to be evil. And Pandora was the one who, from the moment of her creation, had been destined to open it. At least that was what the gods that had created her intended.

"It can be said that while it did not exist from the beginning, Pandora's Box became something that had always contained All the Evils of the World even though it was not present for the conception of the idea of evil," continued Rani, "The black mud that pours out of it is this evil, the physical existence of an endless, infinite amount of curses and hatred that pours from it whenever it is opened even slightly. I believe this may be the way in which she was able to corrupt Lancer into becoming her Servant."

So that was it? The mud from within Pandora's Box has been used to corrupt Lancer? It was a terrible thing to think about.

"Fundamentally, this mud truly is All the Evils of the World," added Rani.

"Because of this, there is no doubt in my mind that Pandora's Box is an anti-world Noble Phantasm capable of attacking all of humanity."

---

Avenger… Pandora.

Tsubaki sat at her desk in her room dully. She had drawn her legs up onto her seat, hugging her knees to her chest. That was the name of the one who had taken Lancer away from her. Pandora herself, the girl who had been used by the gods to unleash All the Evils of the World. That was the one who had taken away Lancer.

It wasn't as if it was the first person she had lost so recently.

There was a part of her, the part of her that had succeeded on some level in retraining her mind to be that of a cold-blooded magus concerned primarily with the advancement of her family's magecraft rather than anything else, that was attempting to argue that Lancer was a Servant, a temporarily existence summoned to fight for the Holy Grail. But that fact didn't change just who Lancer was, did it? Just because she was someone who was long-dead, someone who had been granted a transient form in order to do battle with others who existed in the same manner… It didn't change that Lancer was a diligent, loyal, kind girl. She was every bit the Bradamante of legend.

And now she was, by Rani V's words, taken by Avenger. When she had tried to ask what that meant, it seemed the Atlas agent hadn't known at the time. She hadn't been able to bring herself to say much more afterwards. Atlas had taken Saori away from her, too… the only reason she had agreed to help…

It was her fault. If she'd said something to Ai, maybe they would have still been together when Avenger appeared. Maybe if Lancer and Saber were still working together…

The tanned girl hugged her knees more closely to herself.

Saori. Ai. Lancer. The people she cared about were disappearing from her life, one way or another. Tsubaki supposed with ai it had been inevitable, no matter what she had tried to do. With Lancer… if she hadn't run, was it possible she could have been able to support the knight? She didn't know. But the idea, even the slimmest possibility of an outcome where she had prevented Lancer's defeat… it played out in her mind again and again.

Tsubaki had told her father that she'd win. She'd succeed where he had failed, and that she'd do it without killing any of the other Masters. It wasn't as if he had ever told her, but she was certain he felt no small amount of guilt for the deaths of both of Ai's parents. He had never told her what happened, she simply knew that he was responsible. It was one of the reasons she had decided not to kill any other Masters, if she could help it. She wouldn't have blood on her hands for something like this. She wouldn't hurt anyone else. She wouldn't hurt another member of the Matsushita family.

How could Tsubaki have said something like that to Ai? And yet, because she hadn't…

Everything had gone wrong.

As a magus, she had failed. She lost her chance at claiming victory in the Holy Grail War. As a friend, she had failed. She hadn't told Ai the truth, thought she knew that would have lead to the same result. She had failed as a Master. She'd run, leaving Lancer to be defeated by Avenger.

She'd failed and failed and failed. Had there ever been a point to her entry into the Holy Grail War in the first place? She hadn't even been able to help Saori.

Just what had she done right, in the end? Her efforts to find Saori had turned up nothing, her efforts to try and make peace with the Matsushita family and become Ai's friend had ended up like this, and her Servant was gone. As a human being and as a magus, she had failed.

Tsubaki had barely had the motivation to leave her room when Rani V had appeared. If nothing else, the Atlas agent had affirmed that Saori was unharmed, but was unable to provide further details on her whereabouts. It didn't really make things any better… but, at least, whatever remaining optimism resided in Tsubaki's heart was able to acknowledge it didn't make things any worse, either, when it came to Saori.

The girl hadn't left her room since the previous night. Since the crimson seals on the back of her right hand had simply faded away into nothing. She hadn't sought the Church for safety, either. Not only did the idea of doing so even now make her feel like a coward, running away and seeking asylum after Lancer was defeated like that, but it was hard enough to motivate herself to do anything at all at this point, anyway.

The only thing that really was motivating Tsubaki, in the end, was the idea that she could possibly, just maybe help to end it. She didn't know how… But Rani had sought her out anyway. It was possible it was simply because she was one of the remaining Masters, or it could have been something else. Either way, if Rani V thought she could help… She had to do something. To try and resolve a situation born out of the mistakes she had made. At least, that was how she felt about it.

Tsubaki hadn't spoken to her father since the previous night, either. What did she have to say to him? That she'd lost her chance to claim the Holy Grail? It was likely he already knew, given how her Servant had vanished and she had remained in the house for so long.

And yet…

She'd go when Rani needed her. It was the only thing left that she really could do. There was that remaining sliver of hope in her heart that she wouldn't fail at that, as well, in spite of her doubts. It was her final chance to do something right. She knew that Ai would never want to speak to her, that she'd likely never see Saori, and that Lancer was gone forever.

But if she could put things right, at least… it was something.

With that in mind, Tsubaki couldn't simply sit there any longer. She may have failed at everything else, but… that was what made it more important to do whatever she could. Taking a deep breath, she slowly rose to her feet. No matter what reservations she could have, she had agreed to help Rani, after all, and deep down she knew that this was the right course of action. Her father… it was likely what he would expect of her as well.

And, perhaps most importantly… it was what Lancer would have wanted her to do. The knight had a strong sense of justice, and so stopping Avenger due to the threat she would pose to innocent people would have been chief on her mind. In fact, Tsubaki was certain those thoughts were on her mind… right up until the very end.

Unbidden, the tanned girl could suddenly feel tears welling up once more. Taking a deep, trembling breath, she swiftly wiped her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Now was the time for action. It had to be. She couldn't allow for anything else. Swiftly, she opened her drawer. The black-haired girl hadn't had the opportunity to fight directly very frequently over the course of the war. In fact, it had only been when she was up against that bastard Natsuki that she had done so, using her wind-based magecraft to strike him with a heavily enhanced punch that sent him flying.

As a result of this fact, Tsubaki still had a large number of resources. What use these would be against a Servant, she had no idea… but she had to try. There were capsules of compressed mana that could be released as a destructive blast of air, strong enough to shatter stone. There was no doubt in the girl's mind that it would be useful against flesh as well, though she had never tried attacking anything living with them before now. There were various items she had stored mana inside, one in particular being a knife specifically crafted for such a purpose. By her guess, it would likely explode if she attempted to release the mana inside of it, but that would certain add to its offensive potential if nothing else.

This encompassed everything that she could offer to Rani's cause. To the cause of defeating Pandora. But without being a Servant herself, she wasn't certain if it would even be possible for her to do any real damage to the Avenger.

But she had to try, didn't she?

As she turned to leave her room, the tanned magus paused for a moment. Rani had mentioned seeking assistance from the other Masters, as well… so it was only to be expected that she would speak to Ai, as well, given Saber was one of the few remaining Servants in the war. That meant…

There was no way Ai would even want to look at her, that was for certain. Not after what she'd learned. Tsubaki wouldn't have even known what to say. But somehow, there was maybe just the smallest glimmer of hope in her heart at the possibility of speaking to her once again. From the very moment she had met Ai, she'd never wanted to hurt her. She had been worried, hoping that another member of the Matsushita appearing was just a coincidence. But after it became clear she was part of the Holy Grail War…

But it wasn't only that. There were more factors to her allegiance with Ai then that. There were the practical reasons related to Tsubaki's existence as a magus, but those were ultimately secondary… The truth was that the main reason was, after their conversation on Ai's first day of school… Ai was simply a nice girl who seemed like she needed friends. Tsubaki had wanted to be one of those friends, if nothing else. Not only because it seemed like a nice thing to do, but because she had simply wanted to do so.

She'd certainly failed when it came to that, hadn't she?

Tsubaki packed up her things can headed out of her room, quietly shutting the door behind her. As she began to leave, the black-haired magus glanced towards the door to her father's room. She had no idea what it was that he would say when she told him. She hadn't yet. She didn't intend to, yet. Would he say she had done her best, or say that she was a failure?

Tsubaki wasn't sure what would have been worse.

Turning away, she headed downstairs and out of her home, adjusting the bag hanging from her shoulder as she did. Rani was not too far away, having created a temporary workshop in an old building that had yet to be demolished on the orders of her superiors, as she had explained. It wouldn't be hard to get to, and if Rani wasn't there at the time all she would have to do was wait.

The streets were quiet. They usually were, at this time of night. It was one of the many reasons that this town was suitable for a Holy Grail War, on reflection. There simply wasn't much of a night life in Minami. Especially in the residential areas… It was the kind of place that you could do these things at night and not have to worry about witnesses. Most of the time, at least.

Most of the time.

Tsubaki paused. It wasn't a Servant, but there was no doubt about it. There was someone following her. To be honest, if it had been a Servant, she likely would never have noticed. But she could feel a slight tingling sensation up the length of her spine, she could tell that there was someone there, someone watching her.

Her grip on her bag tightened.

"… Who's there?" Tsubaki asked.

For several moments, there was no response at all. It was somewhat foolish to expect one, if she was being honest. Whoever was tailing her had wanted to do so in secrecy.

"Impressive."

Suddenly, a foot came scything down towards her! It was not the strength and skill of a Servant behind the attack, that was immediately obvious as Tsubaki hurled herself away from the initial blow. Not, this was an attack by someone who was human, albeit reinforcing themselves with magecraft. Even so, she could feel the wing rushing past her from the swipe of her attacker's leg. Had they struck her, the kick could have taken her head off! The man's heel slammed into the concrete where she had just stood, cracking it from the sheer mana-enhanced impact of his foot.

"There are many others who would have utterly failed to react in time even when they did notice me. You have quite sharp instincts, Inoue Tsubaki."

That familiar voice… it took only a moment for Tsubaki to realize just who was speaking to her. That tall, imposing frame… Her attacker was none other than Hirata Genjiro! But why?! He had already lost his chance to claim the Holy Grail! Had Rani not approached him about the matter of Avenger? She had never expected to stand facing him down like this after Rider was defeated. But this… it had been obvious he was intending something from the very start, when he told Ai about the deaths of her parents. But Tsubaki hadn't thought it could be something like this! Attacking her?!

"Hirata Genjiro?!" exclaimed the tanned girl, raising her fists. Her bag hadn't fallen off in the flurry of activity that had occurred when he attempted to quite literally kick her head clean off her shoulders. Just what was he thinking? There was no way that he could claim the Holy Grail any longer! "What… what are you doing?!"

No matter how confused and surprised the girl was, she wasn't about to let something like this frighten her. Her opponent was a single human being, absolutely someone she could win against.

"I am going to kill you, Inoue Tsubaki," he said, simply, raising his fists as he did, "Those who are soon to die need no other answer than that.

She stepped back. Tsubaki had never fought another magus before like this, but she was able to have some level of understanding when it came to the sort of spells that Genjiro could use. To begin with, it was obvious he had reinforced his body a great deal, allowing him to crack the street with the impact of his foot. Other than that… Had he been the one who created the explosion that could have killed Alysvial von Einzbern had Ai not intervened? If that was the case, it was safe to assume that such spells were among the man's magecraft knowledge.

"Why?" Tsubaki demanded, "Neither of us our participants in the Holy Grail War any longer. What possible reason could you have?!"

"Do you not realize?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, "Indeed, I have lost my Servant, but… I was greeted by another not long before Rider's death."

Greeted by another… Wait…

"Avenger?!" Tsubaki's eyes widened. Had Hirata Genjiro formed an alliance with Pandora?! Was he insane!? He couldn't be her Master, given the fact that Avenger had been summoned by Atlas and according to Rani was still bound to the other Rani, but that was the only other Servant she could think of that wasn't accounted for. But making an alliance with someone like that… it was madness! Who could possibly think that it was a good idea? Her entire existence was painted in the blackness that seeped out of Pandora's Box! There was a reason that it was said to contain All the Evils of the World!

"Are you insane?!" she cried, "Avenger is Pandora, she's carrying with her a box that contains All the Evils of the World! I knew you were a magus who had forgone morality, but I didn't think you were mad!"

"Insane?" asked Hirata Genjiro. He seemed calm, completely nonplussed by Tsubaki's comments. It was as if nothing had phased him whatsoever. "Of course not. I have simply understood that this is my best path forward in order to claim what it is that I desire. A lack of sanity has nothing to do with it. It was only logical that I make this decision."

His feet slid back into a ready stance. It was difficult for Tsubaki to analyze just what fighting style he was about to use, but to be honest she was surprised to see him using hand to hand as well. She did, in fact it was something a lot of her magecraft have been intended to work in conjunction with. Utilizing breathing, the flow of her body's motions, combining it with her magecraft to condense and release blasts of wind or move herself around, that was the way in which Inoue Tsubaki's magecraft had been intended to function.

She hadn't expected Genjiro to utilize the same methods.

"What could you possibly desire that would make you risk making an alliance with someone like that?!" she asked, eyeing Genjiro warily. From her perspective, forging an alliance with the monster that had taken away Lancer, who was a threat not just to the participants in the Holy Grail War but to humanity itself… it was difficult for her to even begin to understand why someone would do such a thing. She simply couldn't understand. Pursuing knowledge, pursuing the root, that was something that she could grasp. Allying with an existence so thoroughly toxic to the existence of humanity she could not.

"Did I not say you need no other answer?" Genjiro asked, "You are about to die, after all."

His form suddenly blurred. He was faster then she'd expected! She felt the air practically explode beside her as his palm thrust forward, piercing the air like a spear. It wasn't as devastating as an attack by a Servant, but it was enough that if she hadn't moved his hand would have pierced her chest as if it was nothing.

Even so, however, she had still been able to dodge it!

As swiftly as she could, Tsubaki began to attempt to recite the single-count chant that would enhance her physical capabilities further. She had applied basic reinforcement almost immediately upon noticing she had an enemy at all, faint blue-green lines appearing across her arms and legs, pushing her body beyond human limitations. Upon seeing just how monstrous Hirata Genjiro was, even if he wasn't on the level of a Servant, it was obvious that further reinforcement was only necessary. She had to put as much as she could into her defenses, her reflexes, every aspect of her body. She couldn't let this bastard kill her!

But even as she began to feel her circuits flaring with further activity, mana passed through her limbs, Genjiro suddenly spun in place, his leg catching her before she could retreat further. Even protectively slinging her arms across her body was hardly enough to negate the impact, the tanned girl able to feel pain explode through her arms from the sheer force of the man's swinging kick. Tsubaki let out a cry of shock and pain, the impact knocking her off her feet and sending her hurtling through the air, landing on her rear end and toppling backwards.

Before she could even begin to recover from the blow, or think about what had just happened, Genjiro was already upon her. He raised one foot up, ready to slam it down on her and stomp her as hard as he possibly could! Eyes wide, Tsubaki swiftly rolled out of the way. Genjiro's foot slammed down mere centimeters from her head, and as she got to her feet she could see the fact that he had cratered the asphalt of the street with his foot. There was no ignoring it, Genjiro had managed to enhance his body to a monstrous level!

With that level of enhancement, she couldn't let even a single direct hit through. She could deflect the damage if she blocked, her reinforced arms having taken the blow with pain but no real damage. But if he landed a direct hit to her body, to her chest or abdomen, she couldn't expect to get off so easily. Taking a deep breath, Tsubaki leapt to her feet and was then immediately forced to duck, a fist sailing over her head. She hadn't even been able to answer back, Genjiro's attack was completely relentless! It was all Tsubaki could do to keep him from hitting her!

Immediately as she ducked under his fist, his knee snapped up with enough force to pulverize skulls. Even though it missed, she could feel the sheer air pressure. She could already tell, the incredibly aggressive fighting style exhibited by Genjiro was designed not to let an opponent get a single strike in between his blows. It was a manner of fighting based on absolutely overwhelming the opponent, the spirit of each attack being to utterly destroy. She hadn't honestly expected another one of the magi in the Holy Grail War to be this adept at hand to hand!

But if she could simply gain some distance on him, then she could try and counter with her magecraft! If nothing else, it would force him to stop attacking so relentlessly and start defending himself! If she could gain that advantage, she would be able to press it harder. No matter how she felt about anything else right now, Tsubaki at least had confidence in her magecraft that was difficult to shake no matter how much she felt she had failed at everything else.

But in order to get that distance, she'd have to make an opening herself.

The black haired girl backpedaled, and Genjiro almost immediately followed. She had to give herself just enough time, so that she could do something instantly. An actionless spell afforded by the fact that she was utilizing something that had already stored mana inside of it…!

Her hand snapped into her bag, grasping one of the air capsules she had prepared. A single word was all she needed…!

She hurled it towards the ground between them.

"Ignite!"

It was a common single-word command for something like this. Even though fire wasn't involved, nothing was actually being ignited, it certainly got the idea across.

The capsule flashed white for a moment, and then split completely in half as it hit the ground. Immediately an enormous rush of air exploded out of it, slamming into the bodies of both combatants, and sending the two of them hurtling away from one another! Having already prepared herself, Tsubaki landed on her feet, her shoes skidding across the street for a moment before she straightened, raising her fists and taking a deep breath.

Genjiro was not so prepared, landing awkwardly and forced to use one of his hands to catch himself. This was her opening!

"Air, condense, collapse, crush!" Tsubaki declared, the air itself almost seeming to become visible as it contorted itself into a tiny space ahead of her. It was one of her most basic weapons, a spell that condensed air into a 'bullet' and then launched it at the target. But if it could hit…! "Fire!"

She pointed, and the bullet of air exploded forward, hurtling towards Hirata Genjiro! Just because it was simple didn't mean it wasn't powerful. If Tsubaki had to guess, a weakpoint of her opponent was when it came to speed. He'd defaulted to fists immediately even when he had the drop on her, which meant that perhaps his magecraft was ill-suited to direct combat.

But suddenly, her air bullet veered wildly off-course! It twisted away from its target at the last possible moment, tearing downwards and drilling its way into the street, making a perfect hole in the asphalt. Just what had happened!? Tsubaki's aim had been perfect… she'd failed plenty recently, but she had confidence that she'd correctly cast the spell and targeted Genjiro. There was no reason it should have suddenly diverted from its course!

Tsubaki stepped back, trying to understand what had just occurred. Her air bullet had been aimed well enough that even if he had managed to evade it, it wouldn't have been by that much. And of course, he hadn't even moved! He also hadn't appeared to have cast any kind of spell himself… Did that mean he had some kind of automatic defense that had diverted the current? A mobile bounded field seemed unlikely given how incredibly difficult creating such a thing would have been, especially so quickly, but if he had some method of interfering with air currents… That could have been the way he was able to divert her bullet! Which meant that she'd likely need a stronger method of ranged attack to be able to overwhelm it!

But that meant figuring out just how he had been doing it as well. As Genjiro rose, preparing himself to move in and attack once more, Tsubaki took another step back and reached into her bag once more. If he was the one responsible for the explosion when all the Masters had met outside of Harazuki Forest, then it was likely he had possessed some kind of magecraft that related to the manipulation of heat, which had allowed him to make the explosion in the first place. A barrier of heated air could explain how he had been able to divert the bullet from its course, but it was difficult to confirm if that was the case from this range…

But letting Hirata Genjiro get in close to her once more was potentially lethal. His hand to hand assault was relentless, so she had to keep some distance… if his barrier was heated air, there was no question in her mind that she'd be able to overwhelm it with a stronger spell! Even if she had to use another one of her capsules to fuel it in order to cast the spell instantly rather then give Genjiro a chance to close in and attack her, Tsubaki would still do whatever she could in order to defeat him! The madman, the bastard who had allied himself with Avenger, who had used the actions of her father to further his own plans…!

The air warped directly in front of Tsubaki as she pulled one of her capsules from her bag, and suddenly ignited.

Tsubaki realized why Genjiro hadn't attacked immediately. He'd been casting his own spell in response to her air bullet! Damn it, she'd been so caught up in trying to figure out how his defense worked that she hadn't planned a proper response to an attack like this. Frantically, she flung her capsule into the air and ignited it before defensively throwing her arms across herself. In a flash of light, just like the first, it split before exploding into a rush of air just as Genjiro's spell exploded! The force of the blast was disrupted by Tsubaki's quick thinking, but even one of her air capsules wasn't enough to completely negate an explosion. The force of both the blast of air and the explosion propelled Tsubaki backwards with a gasp, feeling searing pain blaze up her arms and legs as she hit the ground. She'd failed at this, too… and all this time she thought at least she was the superior magus of the two. Even if she was, she hadn't anticipated the way in which he would utilize his own magecraft.

It was her first real battle between magi, after all.

Was it going to be her last? Her arms and legs were blazing with sharp stabbing sensations, and she was certain she was bleeding. The explosion, even if Tsubaki had diverted it, had still been strong enough to knock her off her feet and injure her… If she'd had just a little more time, she may have been able to counter the explosion as it was being formed by manipulating the air. But it was too late for thoughts like that, Tsubaki was struggling to rise to her feet… and she could see Genjiro closing in on her.

"Another dead for the salvation of humanity," he said, simply, raising his hand quickly. Even now, even now… Tsubaki's eyes were blazing with defiance and anger as her hand slowly made its way towards her bag. How dare he think of her like that, even now…! She… she wasn't done yet…!

"I… won't…!"

She reached into her bag, weakly, but he paused before kicking it away. Damn it… He'd noticed… she had do something. She couldn't let it be her last battle, she couldn't let him kill her… she couldn't… she couldn't…!

Moments before Hirata Genjiro's hand came down, he suddenly stopped again. With a grimace, he turned and immediately ran, disappearing into the night just as quickly as he had appeared. Confused, pain still blazing up her arms and legs, Tsubaki fell onto her back. Why had he fled? It wasn't as if she wasn't thankful, but he had been about to win… what had made him run away like that without another word?

Her question was answered moments later.

"Inoue-san?!"

Was that… Ai's voice? But where had she come from? A shadow fell across her, and as Tsubaki struggled to rise again she realized that it was the silvery-haired Saber-class Servant. Ai and Saber had come? But why? Didn't the brunette girl still hate her? What reason would she have had for coming to rescue her, knowing her father had murdered Ai's parents?

"Ai… Ai-san? Why…" she winced as she tried to rise further, able to take stock of her injuries now. The blast had caused fragments of the street to cut into her arms and legs, and the heat had burned her as well. Not as badly as would have been the case if she hadn't been able to defend herself… but it was agonizing to move very much…

"Ai, she's hurt!" Saber called to her Master, looking back over her shoulder towards the approaching girl. Indeed, there was the diminutive brunette magus, sprinting as quickly as she could towards Tsubaki.

But… why? Why had Ai come to her rescue, after what had happened?

"Ah… it's bad but… nothing's b-broken," the brunette stammered as she knelt beside Tsubaki, looking over her arms and legs as she did. "I can definitely heal this… sit still, Inoue-san!"

For a few moments, Tsubaki couldn't understand why it was that Ai was healing her. Shouldn't the small brunette magus still have hated her? The child of the man who had murdered her mother and father… And yet Ai was doing this all without question. She'd never expected their reunion to be like this, as a warmth spread through her limbs, as if somehow she was being submerged in a pleasantly-heated bath. Before her eyes, her injuries were being knitted back together, the gashes and burns slowly fading as her flesh mended itself slowly. As she was being healed, Saber straightened, looking vigilant as she looked up and down the street, silver-gold eyes on the lookout for anything unusual.

Moments later, another familiar figure arrived. It was Rani, looking just the same as usual, though she too seemed to be carefully looking down the street for any sign of an attacker. Was that why Ai was helping, just because they'd have to work together? No… she looked genuinely as if she cared…

"… Matsushita, why…?" asked Tsubaki, as she stared up at Ai, trembling as her injuries mended themselves steadily.

"… I… no matter what your father did…" Ai began, smiling weakly, "You're not at fault, Inoue-san. Souji-chan helped me understand that. I… I don't want to hate you, so… so we'll team up again!"

Ai didn't hate her…

Even though she had hidden the truth, and everything else… Ai still didn't hate her. Thinking back on everything that happened, Tsubaki could feel the tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.

"I-Inoue-san…?"

Tsubaki couldn't help but begin crying.

---

So this… this was the location in which the Holy Grail Would descend.

Lancer had been here, before, when Tsubaki was still her Master. When they had first encountered Caster's undead. The parking complex near the apartments didn't seem like a particularly impressive location before, and it still didn't now.

Tsubaki…

For a few moments, the blackened Servant was given pause. Even now, with her darkened nature, her entire existence painted with All the Evils of the World… Lancer hoped that Tsubaki would simply remain safe, to leave the war entirely. But for the moment, the chief matters on her mind were Avenger's plans.

One of the Shadow Servants, Caster, was dead. She had barely been existent, a mere shade of the power of the Heroic Spirit. According to Avenger, this was because that heroic spirit had been immediately aware of the nature of the summoning and refused to appear, allowing her to capture only a fragment of that existence. The result was essentially an automaton in the shape of a Servant, something that could only dully follow orders without any thought of its own.

Her death had been a setback, but not entirely unexpected. As of now, Avenger's plan was simple. The claim this location, the place where the Holy Grail would descend, as her own base of operations, to use her remaining Shadow Servants to guard it. Lancer would take the foremost position in ensuring it was guarded, as she was a proper Servant capable of utilizing the full range of her abilities rather then a shade who was more or less a phantom rather than anything else. No, less than a phantom, a phantom would still have some semblance of a mind. This was something more comparable to a mindless ghost, a poltergeist phenomena given a form and shape. Nothing more, and nothing less.

There were only two Shadow Servants would could be said to properly possess an ego. That was Assassin, and Berserker. The both of them seemed to have either not cared, or been fooled by Avenger's summons, resulting in near complete Servants. Assassin in particular was an important part of Avenger's plan for revenge. She intended for him to remove the Church's Overseer. At one point, before being blackened, Lancer would have been wholeheartedly opposed to such a move. But now… The Overseer wasn't particularly good as a nun, anyway, and she posed a threat…

She posed a threat to the girl who was bleeding away everything.

It wasn't simply due to the influence of the mud, though Lancer was capable of understanding that it was the reason that she had begun to work as Avenger's Servant, that had caused her to become sympathetic to Pandora. No…

It was the fact that Avenger was someone who was deeply and utterly broken. Her attitude, flipping from near emotionlessness to a manic state of intermixed hatred and excitement, seemed to hide this to most others, but the link between Lancer and Avenger that had been forged… it was impossible not to notice.

Avenger's very psyche was terribly broken. Her obsession with vengeance against gods who were no longer present in this world, it was clear that the experience of having been used by the deities of Ancient Greece to unleash the contents of the box had shattered her utterly, and what remained had been stuck back together with hatred.

It was no wonder that Pandora could qualify for Avenger, her entire existence was painted with vengeance. She was utterly suited for such a class.

Lancer had no idea if Pandora's plan would achieve victory or not. She wasn't certain if the Holy Grail would function in the manner that she desired. But now… in this blackened state herself, she would do what she required. She would serve as one of the parking complex's guardians, in order to give Pandora time to complete her plan. Nothing more, but nothing less as well.

This would be the battlefield where she found her final victory, or she died. As long as it was against Saber, that was something that she would accept. She would not allow for any other outcome, she desired that final duel with the girl samurai even after her corruption.

Even if the Shadow Servants attempted to get in her way, she would not allow it. She and she alone would be Saber's final enemy in the Holy Grail War, for better or worse. After that point, whatever the outcome was, she simply hoped that it would help Avenger find some kind of peace in her heart. Even the words that Avenger had given to her as a promise, that she would be united with the one she loved… was that really true? Lancer was no longer sure it mattered. Indeed, it would have been her wish for the Grail, had she still been with… Tsubaki… had she claimed victory with her. But In a way, she had mainly intended to use it as an excuse. Her true goal in the Holy Grail War was to serve a Master, honorably, as the Knight of the White Plume.

A crooked smirk suddenly crossed the girl's lips.

It was more like the Black Plume, now, wasn't it? Yes… The Black Plume that told of slaughter and death, killing anyone who stood in her way. She had no regrets for slaughtering the wounded Archer. Even… even Tsubaki, if she did attempt to fight… she'd kill her. If she had to. If she had no other choice.

But only then.

The black knight's armor clanked as she approached the edge of the current level of the parking complex, looking out over the city of Minami. Shadow Assassin would be preparing for his attack on the Church's Overseer soon enough, to prevent any potential interference by an outside organization in Avenger's plan before it could be properly executed. Given the extent of Avenger's power, if the Church did suddenly attack she wasn't certain if it would have mattered, but it seemed that her new Master did not enjoy the prospect of her vengeance being delayed. So, she would cut off any warning they could receive at its very root. Even if they did recognize that the Overseer was gone, it would take longer for them to do so then to receive a warning from her.

And time was a most important resource.

But in the end, Lancer had no love for Shadow Assassin. He was a manslayer with no honor, insofar as she could tell, and if he succeeded or failed she cared little. The two things that mattered most to her now were Saber and Pandora herself. Though… perhaps Tsubaki did constitute a third…

Regardless, she would stand and wait. For the moment where she would encounter the final foe that she desired. Just as Avenger had told her to serve as this location's guardian, she would do so. Anticipating the arrival of the enemy she desired to face.

At this point, she felt it was an inevitability. What else would Saber do, other than come here? The only remaining Servant in the Holy Grail War, the location in which the Grail itself would descend… she would inevitably get her final duel.

The thought made Lancer's crooked smirk grow into a grin.

"Lancer."

That was Avenger's voice…

The knight turned. Indeed, as she suspected, there stood the pale woman. She was beautiful, and yet there was something unnatural about her. Just as she had appeared in those first moments before their battle.

"The preparations will soon be completed," continued Pandora. For the moment, her voice was once again flat and without inflection. She was calm. "I can feel it. The Grail will soon descend. The wish-granting device will serve as the fuel for my revenge against the gods."

Lancer nodded. In the very depths of her blackened heart, she wasn't sure if she truly desired for Avenger's success. No, perhaps she did not. But what she did wish for was something that would at least put Avenger at ease… and resisting her plan would do no such thing. And so, regardless of her personal feelings, she would support Pandora until the end.

"I see, Master," responded Lancer, with a nod of her head, "Do you wish for me to do anything else, or am I to remain here as this building's guardian?"

"The remaining Servant will undeniably come here," Avenger replied, with a wave of her hand, "Drawn by the grail or by some misguided desire to stop me. As a result, she will undeniably encounter my guardians."

Lancer nodded. This was the exact outcome she saw occurring herself. Indeed, it was exactly what the black knight was counting on.

"And so I am to remain here?" she asked.

"Of course, Lancer," the white-haired woman cocked her head to the side slowly. "You are the one who stands closest to me. The one I can place my deepest trust in. And so, I wish for you to remain closest to me until I can complete my revenge."

It was clear to Lancer that Avenger had no plans for what would occur after her vengeance, truthfully. Her entire being was dedicated to the purposes of vengeance, and anything beyond that had simply never occurred to her. There was absolutely no idea in Pandora's mind that related to anything beyond taking revenge on the gods of Greece. But… that didn't mean she would ever betray her. A broken girl like Pandora simply couldn't be betrayed.

It was due to the blackening caused by that mud that Lancer was able to overlook everything else.

"As you wish, Master," Lancer said, bowing her head slightly as she spoke.

A few moments later, Avenger vanished, darkness consuming her as she seemed to simply fade away entirely. With that, Lancer turned away and looked out at the city once more. Yes… it was coming soon, wasn't it? The descent of the Holy Grail, the success or failure of Avenger's plan, her final duel with Saber… It was rushing towards them with every moment. The very thought of beginning the final battle was cycling in Lancer's mind over and over again.

She couldn't help it. That crooked grin was returning.

She'd have the final battle that she desired.