Welcome to chapter 7! Experimenting with a bunch of stuff here (like the characterization of a few of the cast members), so please do bear with me.

Alright, here we go:

The night breeze was soothing, but on nights like this it was just a distraction. He would have dearly loved to let it caress his skin as he gazed at the moon, but tonight he could not. He had merely wished to soak in the moon's gentle glow upon those steps, but he was denied even that simple reprieve.

The otherwise gentle breeze now crawled along his face, gnawing at his nerves as it slithered through his hair. The formless force whispered in his ears, its unmistakable jeer ringing against his eardrums. On any other night, he would have found the sensation blissful – every gust a breath of fresh air and every sound a calming lullaby – but tonight, they were warped, twisted, urging him to lose his focus and to drop his weapon. As much as he wanted to, he did not relent. Or, more accurately, could not relent.

The power of her command was great, and the order absolute. He would have wanted to just continue sitting there and admiring the moon, but his body had moved on its own upon sensing an approaching presence. The vile magecraft coursed through his body, burning through every drop of blood to fulfill that wretched woman's decree.

Whoever they were, he or she was trying to hide. It was not a very well done job, but at least they were putting in effort. There was no presence that suggested they were not alone, so the intruder was not a Master, and from their energy certainly no Servant. But for someone to visit the temple this late at night?

"Tis a poor night for hiding amongst the shadows," he called out, his weapon drawn and ready. The steps leading to the main gate were rather well-lit, and he stood right in front of the entrance. No intruder would be getting past him as long as he drew breath. "How about showing yourself? It would be such a waste of exquisite moonlight otherwise."

As though responding to his words, a lone figure walked out of the bushes and onto the stone steps. Every footstep echoed ever so briefly as the person advanced, their gait confident and calm. There was no haste nor worry in the way they walked, as though being found out had not affected them in the least.

"I was beginning to think my scouting of the area would not yield anything," the person said. A woman, though there was something off about her voice; it might be because of the era he was summoned in, but she lacked the air of refinement proper ladies were supposed to have when they spoke. Not that her suit and long pants made her look feminine either. "But it seems this may not be a wasted trip after all."

"If possible, I'd like for you to withdraw from this place," he said. "I would rather admire a delicate flower than cut it down, you see."

"It is most unfortunate, but I have not been brought up to be delicate," the woman said, continuing to ascend the staircase. "If you would protect this place, then there must be something of value here. I will have you step aside."

"Such unladylike words that do not suit your visage," the man sighed. "Very well. If you will not retreat, then I too shall not give way. As the guardian of this gate, I shall not let you pass."

"So be it," she said.

Staring down at the fighter that was Bazett Fraga McRemitz, the Servant Assassin raised his sword.

For a brief moment, nobody moved. It was not so much the effect of a spell or curse as it was a natural phenomenon. It was something very simple, yet very powerful at the same time – fear.

The sheer presence of that monster was towering. Easily over two meters tall, with taut muscles that seemed almost unable to contain his own strength, the mass of bloodlust and violence could hardly be described as 'human'. It was the very embodiment of raw power, a force of nature that left nothing standing in its wake. Even without moving, it exuded enough pressure to crush a normal human being.

Saber reacted first. Stepping in front of the group, she drew her invisible sword and cast aside her cloak. She opened her mouth to tell Shirou and Illya to stay back, only to leave it hanging open as her eyes rested on Berserker's Master.

"I… Illya?" she gasped.

Illyasviel narrowed her eyes. Saber's comment did not escape her notice, but she was unable to say anything about it; before she could, Berserker had already reached where the blonde Servant stood, with his humongous weapon in mid-swing towards her head.

Blocking the blow head on, Saber could not help but wince. Berserker's strike was powerful – more than enough to pulverize her upon contact – and it took all she had just to meet that one attack.

Too heavy, she assessed in her head. I have no chance if I block him directly. If that's the case…!

Shifting her weapon such that it was slanted to one side, Saber redirected Berserker's sword to slide down her blade and crash onto the ground.

With a loud noise akin to an explosion, the axe sword buried itself into the asphalt. Chunks of the pavement flew into the air followed by a cloud of dust and debris, and the resultant shockwave almost blew Saber away.

Unfazed, the blonde Servant leapt onto Berserker's sword, avoiding the giant's free hand as it made an attempt to grab her. Wasting no time, she dashed forward and thrust her invisible blade towards the monster's heart. A flash of gold shone very briefly, and was immediately obscured by a spurt of blood from Berserker's chest.

"Howl, Invisible-"

Before Saber could do anything else, Berserker moved. Had he tried to leave his weapon, it would not have changed the result. Had he tried reaching for Saber with his free hand, she would have finished him off without giving the chance. But he had done neither of those things.

He had let go of his weapon.

With a bestial roar that shook the air, Berserker slammed away Saber's sword, drawing a jet of fresh blood as it went. Before the swordswoman could regain her balance, he leaned forward and rammed a massive fist into her chest.

Saber, unable to evade the blow, was lifted off her feet and crashed into a nearby tree so fast the pain only registered after she slid off the trunk and onto the ground. Coughing up some blood, she quickly got to her feet, although her actions were somewhat clumsy and shaky.

"Saber!" Illya and Shirou shouted at the same time.

"Ruby!" Illya called. "Transform! Right now!"

"Roger!" Ruby chirped, although there was a slight bit of urgency in her voice this time. In a shower of glittery sparkles and feathers, a pink-and-white outfit replaced Illya's clothes, complete with a pair of pink boots and feather-shaped hairclips.

"Wha-" Shirou, with the decency of any normal boy, just gawked at Illya in open shock. He did not know exactly what to expect when the talking stick started glowing, but he definitely was not expecting Illya's clothes to disintegrate and leave her naked for a few seconds. He was unable to dwell on the subject, however, what with their lives being in danger and all.

"Shirou, stay back!" Illya told him. It was getting repetitive by now, and that was not a good sign.

"What're you talking about?!" Shirou exclaimed. If anyone was going to help Saber, it had to be him, and definitely not a little girl like Illya. Who in their right mind would make a kid like her fight anyway? "You can't fight against something like that!"

"Maybe not, but I can try," Illya replied nervously. "If I work together with Saber, I might be-"

"You'd best give up on that idea."

Eliciting a terrified shriek from Illya, Lancer raised a hand in greeting, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. The Servant in blue had appeared out of nowhere, literally manifesting himself out of thin air. Shirou instantly stood between him and Illya, but he did not make a move.

"Yo," he said. When neither sibling returned his greeting or dropped their guard, he sighed. "Man, it really hurts my reputation when a bunch of kids are this scared of me. Do I look that scary to you?"

"W-what do you want?" Illya asked. "I-if you want to fight, I'll-"

"Hold on a sec," Lancer said hastily. "I came here to battle that big thing, not to pick a fight with you. I figured I should say something to you, or that ojou-chan might decide to blast me along with that blockhead."

"Are you saying you're on our side?" Shirou asked, struggling to keep Illya from jumping in front of him instead.

"What? Of course not," Lancer replied, as though Shirou had just asked an unbelievably stupid question. "It's my Master's order, so it just means our interests are similar right now. Well, at least until that giant's out of the picture. Now then…" he trailed off for a moment, turning towards Saber and Berserker. There was a flame burning in his eyes, and a dangerous smile on his lips. Despite appearing human, Illya thought he looked like a wolf that had found fresh prey. "If you'll excuse me, I have a fight to join."

And with that, he disappeared. This time, however, it was different from when he escaped back at the Emiya Residence; rather than going into astral form, he had simply moved too fast for the naked eye to track.

Saber hastily regained her footing as she broke her fall, narrowly avoiding Berserker's blows. Berserker was, despite his Class, incredibly agile. Granted, it was not her first time clashing with a Mad-Enhanced Servant, but this one was much more than she could handle.

With an earth-shaking roar, Berserker closed the distance between them in one leap, bringing down his weapon and its jagged edges upon her battered frame. Just as she raised her sword to parry the blow, a blue blur entered her field of vision.

The screech of metallic impact reverberated in her ears, and all of a sudden Lancer was there, blocking Berserker's weapon with his own. He was clearly having trouble as well, but he still turned to give Saber a cocky grin.

"Yo, Saber," he said, acting as though the giant in front of him was not actively trying to kill them. "Having trouble?"

"Lancer," Saber voiced out her own disbelief. "Why are you-"

"Save the questions for later," Lancer cut her off, as Berserker withdrew his weapon for another attack. "We have to take care of this guy first."

Before Saber could reply, Berserker lunged forward once more.

Illyasviel watched the battle rage on with mild interest. She knew that her Berserker was the strongest, but she had not expected things to be this easy. Of all the Servants, Saber was supposed to be the strongest, but she was putting up a pathetic display. Sure, she was able to counter Berserker's blows for the most part, but that was it. She would not be able to kill him, so victory was simply a matter of time. Even with that Lancer getting in his way, Berserker would make mincemeat of them soon enough. She did not really care much for winning the war - exploring the outside world was way more fun - but it was a good opportunity to show off her Berserker's strength to everyone.

"Hey!"

That voice, irksome as ever, interrupted her train of thought. Other than the voice itself, nothing was right about the way she spoke. Even without looking, Illyasviel could tell that it was her doppelganger that had yelled, and it bothered her; listening to her own voice sound so stupid just felt so revolting.

"What do you want?" she asked blithely. She had lost all interest in that cheap fake, and was now more curious about Saber. It was a childish sort of curiosity, but she just had to know how the blonde warrior knew her name. Not just her name, either – the name which only a few people could call her by.

"Why are you doing this?" Illya asked. "Can't you see he's hurting her?! Make him stop!"

"Why should I?" Illyasviel asked back. "They're Servants. They're familiars meant to kill each other for the Holy Grail, aren't they? What's wrong with letting them fight to the death?"

"That's wrong," Illya gasped. "That's just twisted! They have feelings too! Don't treat them like some tools!"

"Stop telling me what to do," Illyasviel said in a low, dangerous tone as she turned to face Illya for the first time. "And what's with that outfit? Are you trying to mock me even more?"

"That's not it!" Illya denied. "I know that's what it looks like, but I'm not pretending to be you! I… It might sound ludicrous, but I'm actually from another world. My name is Illyasviel von-"

"-von Einzbern, right?" Illyasviel finished for her. "Of course. Do you really think I'll just believe something like that?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but please listen to me!" Illya begged. "Just stop that Berserker and let's talk this through!"

"Why?" Illya paused. That one word and tone took her by surprise, and for a brief moment she was unable to respond. Even when she did, all she managed was:

"Huh?"

"Why do you care so much about that Servant?" Illyasviel asked. "You're clearly not even a Master, so you're unrelated to the War. Why do you care what happens to her?"

It was not as if she understood the reason, and was just asking out of spite; Illyasviel held a genuine curiosity about her counterpart's apparent concern for a mere familiar. There was no reason to get attached to those things, and they were just by-products of simple magecraft. What was there to care about?

"Because she's my friend!" Illya replied earnestly. "And I don't want to see my friends getting hurt! Isn't it the same for you? That Berserker is your friend, right? So why are you not concerned about him?"

If she was to be honest, Illyasviel wanted to laugh. The idea of treating Servants like actual human beings – like friends, no less – instead of the tools they were was ridiculous. It was even more ridiculous when she considered the fact that the one saying it was a copy of her. It was all just a bad joke.

And yet, she could not help but think about those words. What would she do if Berserker was hurt? She should not be bothered, since she could heal him, and even if he died once or twice it was not a cause for concern. So why did that thought keep surfacing in her head?

Wordlessly, she stole a glance at her Servant. Overwhelmed by the team of Saber and Lancer, Berserker was forced to his knees and was barely moving. Even in that state, he still reached for Saber, but the latter had already driven her blade of wind into his chest. With a majestic howl, the wind surrounding her weapon roared to life, tearing apart a section of Berserker's chest.

In that one instant, Illyasviel panicked, almost calling out for her fallen protector. It was only then, when her Servant's carcass began giving off a queer energy, that she finally came back to her senses and regained her composure. Watching the Servants heave a sigh of relief at killing her Servant, she almost laughed. Not just at their stupidity, but also at how unbecoming it was of her to have been swayed by those pointless words. Only a child would fall for such a stupid trick.

I didn't fall for it, she convinced herself inside her head. I didn't fall for it. I'm better than that.

Berserker would not lose to anyone. He was the strongest in the world. There was not a single person who could match him, so concern was unnecessary. There was no reason or need for her to embrace that kind of weakness. She had been hurt, deceived, broken by Kiritsugu because she had been weak, and it was never going to happen again.

"Enough playing around," she said. "Finish them off, Berserker."

As though responding to her wishes, the corpse that had been Berserker moved. It was most certainly dead, but despite that the Mad Servant still managed to stand. The grievous wound inflicted by Saber, which had surely killed him, healed itself almost instantly, piecing together his body and leaving not a single scar.

"Regeneration?" Saber wondered aloud, shock filling her face and voice. "No… It's resurrection… A curse that revives the target after death…!"

"Well, that's a shame," Lancer said. "Though it wouldn't be interesting otherwise. It wouldn't be a challenge if he went down so easily."

"Lancer," Saber said. "If what you said is true, then I presume I can consider you an ally until this foe is vanquished?"

"Do what you want," Lancer replied, smirking. "Just don't get in my way, and don't die until I kill you myself."

"Very well," Saber, despite the situation, smiled. "Then I shall-"

Her words were interrupted by Illya, who had decided to enter the fray herself. Standing between the towering giant and two other Servants, the little girl looked even smaller than before, and that was saying a lot.

"Illya?!"

"I'm going to join in," Illya said, retrieving a card from the holder tied to her thigh. "I have something that might be able to defeat him, but I need your help to get to him."

"You mustn't!" Saber protested. "He's far too dangerous for you to handle! Leave this to us and escape!"

"I can't just run away when you're in danger!" Illya yelled. "Class Card, Caster – Include!"

In a brilliant burst of light, Ruby transformed into a strange looking dagger. It was far too impractical to be considered a weapon, with a blade that was twisted into a zig-zag pattern, and it was too short to have any reach. Compared to her staff form, Ruby was even more useless now, especially against an opponent like Berserker.

If Servants are like familiars, this should get rid of him, she thought desperately. Taking a small step forward, she completely forgot about her allies and charged straight towards Berserker, who hesitated a little before raising his weapon to crush her.

Master or no, Illya was confident in her speed. Even without Ruby, she had managed to escape his blows somewhat, so it was not out of the question for her now. Diving to the side in mid-air, she narrowly avoided the axe sword as it slammed mercilessly into the ground. Her opponent was dangerous, so she had no time to think. Raising the dagger in her hands, she thrust it forward-

"Illya! Saber!"

Drowning out the sounds of Shirou's shout, was a fiery explosion that swallowed Berserker. Unable to stop herself in time, Illya rushed straight into ball of raging fire, and would have been incinerated had it not been for a certain spearman.

Moving faster than Saber, Lancer had stepped in the moment he heard Shirou's shout, in an attempt to pull her away from the explosion. However, what he had not expected was for Illya to blindly thrust her weapon forward at that point, and in his haste the tip of that weird dagger met his skin instead.

With a dull, almost silent sound, Rule Breaker plunged itself into Lancer's chest.