Hello and welcome to chapter 3! I had to get this out quickly because I'm still setting the stage at this point, and it wouldn't do to keep the readers waiting before the story's even ready to begin right?

What's that? Did I just spend 3 chapters just to set the stage? …Yes, yes I did, actually. This story's cast is HUGE, and I need lots of time to show them all. And I haven't even shown the Fifth War's Servants yet. Oh yeah, I decided to make Sakura a little less… docile here. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, on with the show!

Matou Sakura was, in all aspects, a Yamato Nadeshiko. She was the perfect lady, capable of doing anything she set her mind to. She could cook, clean, do archery, study and help other people out at the same time. Everything about her was flawless – except maybe for her older brother Shinji.

Being the well-mannered, gentle woman that she was, Sakura was very patient when it came to love. She was very subtle when it came to winning the heart of her senpai, Emiya Shirou, and often went over to his place to clean up and cook him meals. She believed that if she waited, eventually he would come to notice her feelings.

And then he brought a girl home.

"S-S-Senpai?!" she gasped, staring at the little girl he was carrying on his back. She seemed no older than ten. "W-why do you have an unconscious grade-schooler on your back?"

"It's… complicated," Shirou replied, causing Sakura to turn white as sheet. "Anyway, I need your help. She's injured."

She said nothing, but deep down, Sakura somehow knew that from that day onwards, everything would change. It was as though on that day, the world had begun moving in a drastically different direction.

She could not quite place it, but there was a tingling sensation in her chest she just could not rid.

Sakura set aside the bloodied cotton balls and proceeded to wrap some bandages around the wound on Illya's back. Luckily, the wound was not deep, and her spine did not seem to be damaged. Regardless, she would need to rest for a few days just to be safe.

"You can come in now, Senpai," she called out meekly, and the sound of the door sliding open told her he was indeed coming in.

"How is she looking?" Shirou asked, his expression wrought with worry.

"Her injuries don't seem to be too bad," Sakura replied, tucking the girl in. There were plenty of spare futons around the house, and they hardly ever served a purpose until now. "She just seems to be exhausted. She should be alright after a few days of rest."

"I see," Shirou replied. "That's great."

"Um, Senpai…" Sakura said softly. "How did you find her like this? What on earth happened?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure either," Shirou answered. He could not very well tell her 'she fell from the sky'. "She was attacked by this huge man and a girl who looked exactly like her. I don't know what's going on, but until we figure things out, we should let her stay here for a bit; it'd be harder for her pursuers to find her here than in some hospital, right?"

"I guess you're right," Sakura nodded. There was no arguing with him; that was just the kind of person Emiya Shirou was. "But how will you convince Fujimura-sensei?"

Shirou thought long and hard about that one.

"You can't keep her hidden in the house, senpai," Sakura reminded as he opened his mouth, forcing him to shut it again.

"… We could try bribing her with food?" he suggested weakly.

There was a long and heavy pause.

"I'll make my special sauce," she offered.

Miyu Edelfelt wanted to run away. It might have sounded pathetic, and especially cowardly considering her experience in combat, but she was genuinely afraid. Afraid that this room would suddenly turn into an active warzone and blow up half the house.

Seated around the table were Luvia, Kuro and Bazett, while Rin stood between them and a whiteboard mounted on the wall. Even though there were only four people excluding Miyu, these four were more than capable of wrecking half of Fuyuki. The very fact that Bazett of all people was sitting in a room inside the house she once destroyed was surreal. Maybe the debt Luvia forced onto her would be a strong enough deterrent.

Though, just in case, Miyu still stood close to the door to have an easy escape route.

"So, in the end, we have no idea what exactly happened," Rin began.

"We already knew that, Tohsaka Rin," Luvia replied in her usual condescending tone. "Could you please provide us with information that's not quite so useless? Or is your monkey brain unable to discern what's useless and what's not?"

"I'm getting there," Rin snapped, glaring at her rival as well as master. "While we don't know what happened, we do know that the distortion initially present at the school has vanished. We can assume that the distortion somehow interfered with the jump and warped Illya somewhere."

"And this 'somewhere' is this Mirror World you speak of?" Bazett asked. How she managed to defeat two Class Cards and still not know what the Mirror World was remained a mystery.

"I can't be sure," Rin replied. "We can't get through to Ruby via Sapphire, so we can assume it may be further than that."

"You know," Kuro said, raising a hand. "You say 'assume', 'assume', but what do we know for sure that we can go on?"

"Absolutely nothing," Rin admitted. "The only connection would be the strange distortion appearing across the city. Hypothetically, if we make use of the distortion at another location, we may be able to jump to where Illya is using Sapphire."

"Too risky," Bazett said immediately. "We have no guarantee if it will transport us to the desired location at all, or if it will have any lasting effects on the body."

"Agreed," Luvia chipped in. "And if the distortion really is the cause of the change in jump coordinates, there's no guarantee we'll have access to it on the other side to jump back."

"So for now, we're helpless," Kuro summarized.

"Yes, as much as I don't want to admit it," Rin replied. "We'll-"

"Wait just a moment," Luvia said. "I need to ask something of that woman over there. Before the task of collecting the Class Cards was given to me- I mean, given to us, you were in charge of it. You even took down two of them by yourself, correct?"

"What of it?" Bazett questioned.

"How did you manage to access the Mirror World without the Kaleid Sticks?" Luvia asked. "That may give us a hint-"

"It's useless," Bazett said immediately. "The time it takes to prepare the spell is too long, not to mention it requires too many magi present to pull off. They need to be present to extract the target at the signal as well, so it's impossible for us with the amount of people we have here."

"I see…" Luvia muttered. "Back to square one, then."

"Luvia and I will try to look into this matter a little more," Rin said. "Kuro and Miyu, we'd like you to be on standby. As for Bazett… You can do whatever you please."

"Of course," Bazett said coolly. "That has always been my intention from the beginning."

"Is that right," Rin replied. "Well, so long as you don't get in our way, it's fine. Alright, dismissed!"

"Even after everything they said, you're still going to go?"

Miyu jumped. Turning around swiftly like a girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the cool beauty had a rare look of surprise on her face.

"K-Kuro," she stuttered. "W-what're you…?"

"Well, this is where the eighth card is supposed to be," Kuro said, gesturing around the cavern they were in. Luvia had said she had some construction work going on to allow jumping to where the card was, but it was apparently not ready yet. "So of course I'm here to battle it, silly."

"B-but you can't jump without-" Miyu began.

"Oh, Miyu," Kuro sighed. "You're really stiff, you know that? Sarcasm just doesn't work on you. I'm here because I thought a certain elementary-school-maid-slash-magical-girl would try to be foolish and do something stupid. You know, I thought you were the rational kind."

"Yes, that's true," Miyu nodded. "But… Even if the chances are slim, I still want to help Illya as soon as I can…"

"Hmm…" Kuro mused. "Are you alright with this, Sapphire?"

"I am but a Mystic Code," Sapphire replied. "I will follow through with whatever my Master decides."

Says the one who ditched Luvia and switched to Miyu, Kuro thought, rolling her eyes. "Very well. Mind telling me why you're so desperate to go?"

"I… Because she's probably alone and afraid right now," Miyu replied, clutching her chest. "She… came back for me when we were fighting Berserker, and she fought by my side. She was afraid then, and she did not want to fight anymore, but she still summoned the courage to overcome that fear for our friendship. She called me her precious friend, so I…"

"So you…?" Kuro prompted, a knowing smile on her face.

"So I want to reach out to her this time," Miyu replied, much more firmly. "I want to save her because… because she's my friend!"

Kuro sighed.

"My, my…" she said, shaking her head in exasperation. "Looks like you won't yield that easily… Guess I'll just have to kiss you into submission~"

"E-eh?!" Miyu yelped, retreating a few steps as a furious blush painted her cheeks.

"It's been a long time since our last 'session', hasn't it?" Kuro asked, licking her lips. "Miyu's always had a lovely supply of mana, so I'm really looking forward to it…"

"Wha- I-" Miyu stammered, backing herself into a wall. "W-wait, I…"

"If I don't, I'll disappear, you know," Kuro reminded, leaning in close. "Is that what you want?"

"N-no, but-" Miyu, being the rational one, could not actually come up with a proper reply. "I… I… Ugh… B-be gentle… P-please…"

Kuro smirked, and pushed her face closer. Miyu, bracing herself for the worst, shut her eyes tightly, forcing out the tears that had been building up and waiting for the impact-

"Just kidding," Kuro sang, flicking her forehead with a finger. "I have enough mana reserves to last me a while, so you don't have to worry. But I must say, you look really cute when you're flustered, Miyu."

Drowning in embarrassment and unable to speak, Miyu felt her weak knees give way as she fell on her rear, desperately trying to recover her dignity despite the lack of kissing. Chuckling to herself, Kuro twirled around and looked at some trees.

"Peeping on little girls is a terrible hobby to have," she called out.

"Peeping was not my objective," Bazett said calmly, emerging from the side of the entrance and walking into the cavern. "Observing the situation at hand is."

"Every peeping tom's excuse," Kuro countered. "Are you here to stop us, scary onee-san?"

"That would be ideal," Bazett replied. "But I know from past experience that you will not give up even if I break your limbs and grind your bones to dust, so I will abstain from such futile acts."

"Such scary words from an onee-chan," Kuro muttered under her breath. "So let me guess: you want to tag along, is that it?"

"Naturally," Bazett replied. "Retrieving the cards is my mission. I will see it through till the end."

"And what about the risks?" Kuro challenged. "What if you end up in some strange dimension filled with scary monsters?"

"Then I shall simply adapt and annihilate everything in my way," Bazett replied, dead serious with her words. "If it moves, I crush it. Simple."

"So you're the scariest of them all, huh," Kuro sighed. "There you have it, Miyu and Sapphire: a trip to the unknown for three."

"W-wait, Kuro," Miyu said uncertainly. "Are you coming as well?"

"What're you talking about?" Kuro asked. "Of course I am. As the big sister, I have to look out for my crybaby imouto, don't I? Or what; do you have any objections to raise? I'd be more than happy to 'convince' you otherwise with a ki-"

"There's no need," Miyu said quickly. "I understand. Sapphire."

"Yes, Miyu-sama," Sapphire replied, glowing brightly enough to envelope Miyu's entire body with light. The glow soon became a powerful shine, and as it faded a blue-and-black dress replaced Miyu's original clothes, complete with a pale blue cape and boots. "Transformation complete. I will now proceed with the jump."

"You…" Bazett seemed to be at a loss for words, her expression somewhere between disgusted and shocked. "That… outfit… Does Lord Zelretch's Mystic Code always disintegrate the user's clothes before replacing them?"

"It is necessary for the transformation," Miyu deadpanned, her face totally expressionless. "It is no different from stripping before one bathes or when one undresses in order to change clothes."

The look on Bazett's face would have been worth a picture (and the possible risk of having it crushed along with her hand afterward), but Kuro contented with concealing her mirth behind a series of giggles. Just as Bazett was about to retort, Sapphire started glowing again.

"Jump!"

The world had no end in sight. Nothing existed in this void, and even the darkest of shadows were swallowed up by the surrounding darkness. In this space, nothing was allowed to take shape, to be born.

And yet, inexplicably, it existed.

Writhing about the boundless sea of black, the shadows converged, creating a shade even darker than that of the world around them. Their very existence rejected the void, refusing to be consumed by this overbearing fiend. Powerless as they were by themselves, they moved, seeking out each other like ravenous snakes.

Slowly, it began to form. Rising from the murky shadows was the figure of a man – a man blacker than darkness itself, darker than even the shadows that gave him form.

Raising a hand and stretching towards something eyes could not see, the figure started moving. It had no eyes, no mouth, no ears, and no nose, but it knew, surely, that what it sought was right there on the edge of this void.

"Holy… Grail…"

A terribly warped voice echoed across the space, twisting the air with its ominous words. Deprived of all reason and mind, the mass of shadows advanced, driven by instinct alone to seek the object it could not understand.

"Sapphire," a faint voice called out. A girl's voice, one that swiftly dissolved into nothingness as soon as it was uttered. That weak sound, however insignificant, made him pause.

It was not the Grail, at least not in its truest form. It was missing something to become complete, but it was without a doubt what he sought.

"Holy… Grail…"

A powerful radiance illuminated the space, sucking in the shadows without mercy. The mass of shadows relented, allowing the pathetic flicker to absorb it, to take it to its rightful prize.

"Jump!"

Following the voice without a hint of fear, the figure of the man changed ever so slightly. Upon its head, where its face supposedly was, a large crack appeared, widening as it drew closer to its goal.

It was, undoubtedly, a smile.

Dim orange glow adorned the walls, granting the gloomy space some illumination. It was a depressing atmosphere, but he had since grown accustomed to it; as a King, he was magnanimous enough to allow such depraved living conditions, and he was well aware that vain luxuries were not things sought by the man who had offered up this room.

"I tire of this," he said to the empty room. "To think that this age would be such a disappointment… Will humans never be satisfied with the depths to which they've sunken?"

"It is highly unlikely," a deeper, more callous voice replied. Compared to the first man, whose voice carried an air of authority and power, this man sounded so emotionally detached that his words no longer felt like his own. "But is that not why you are here – to judge those unfit to live in this world?"

"Indeed," the first man said. "But make no mistake, Kirei; I am not 'here' in this age. This age merely happened to be blessed with my presence. I do not appear somewhere with a purpose or for a purpose like some pauper; the world gives itself a purpose to serve me when it basks in my radiance."

"Of course," the man called Kirei replied. "It's only logical."

The first man opened his mouth to say something else, only to close it almost immediately. Turning around and staring at the wall at the far end of the room, he narrowed his scarlet eyes.

"What is the matter?" Kirei asked.

The blond-haired man did not reply. He merely maintained his gaze, as though the wall had done him wrong, but Kirei knew he was looking at something far beyond it. That, or the golden king had finally gone insane (not that he would ever say that to his face).

"Say, Kirei," he said slowly. "Has another Servant been summoned?"

"Not that I know of," Kirei replied calmly. "Is something the matter?"

"No, it is nothing," the King said, walking out of the room.

Even Kirei would know something was up with that. The blond-haired man was never wrong, and so his question must have had some significance. The King's every word was like gold, and his every command heaven's decree. After all, he was mankind's oldest hero, and without a shadow of doubt its strongest as well. In this world – no, in this universe – there could only be one of such an absolute existence.

Preposterous, he chided himself in his head. As if such a thing could be possible.

Laughing derisively at those thoughts for daring to surface in his mind, the hero Gilgamesh disappeared in a swirl of gold dust.

Buried deep within the Earth, the shadows breathed.

He could feel it. He could almost reach it. He knew now, clearer than ever, that what he sought was there, above the ground and, for now, still sleeping.

He could feel his face splitting into a wide smile, and his body tremble with excitement. Every inch of his form was howling for the Holy Grail, to claim the forbidden chalice as its possession.

"Holy… Grail…"

Buried deep within the Earth, the Eighth Class Card seethed.

… Whew. To be perfectly honest, I'm not confident in my ability to write Gilgamesh's character, but I will try my best. Do let me know how to improve in the reviews! It really does mean a lot! Next chapter's gonna be on the Masters and Servants of the Fifth War, with some rather… conflicting introductions to familiar faces!

And on the topic of Goldy, I've been told two Illyas and three grail conduits in Fuyuki was not enough, so I added a third Illya, a fourth grail conduit, and a second Gilgamesh to the mix. How's that for a gathering of-

Wait; what'd you mean having two of Gilgamesh is a bad idea? He's just a Servant, what can he-

*Does research*

… Oh. OH.

Oh crap.