Arc 1: Welcome to Shibuya

4/7 Thursday, Midday

"We have arrived at our destination Shibuya Station. Please disembark the train with caution and patience. Make sure you check your seats for any an all belongings."

Shirou Emiya moved alongside the sea of people, their faces barely registering as he moved with the hoard. The redhead tightened his hold over his school bag as he walked through the train station, letting his golden brown eyes wander around the new and unknown territory. He stretched out his shoulders, uncomfortable with the new school uniform. He found the clothing too stiff.

An annoyed sound escaped him as a wave of irritation welled up from his left forearm. He quickly made way to break from the hoard and went to a corner near the exit of the station with a grimace. He pulled the left sleeve of his new school uniform back and the bandages covering his skin to scratch at the surgical-like scar. He glared at the ugly thing marring his skin.

'I know scars are considered cool and all, but this isn't what people expect them to look like...' He groaned as he began to scratch himself and stifled the itch away. The skin was mismatched pale and mangled encircled by his normal complexion.

"Shouldn't you be hiding that scar?"

Shirou nearly jumped out of skin. He whirled around to see a Caucasian woman. Her face was smooth and beautiful. He thought that if she were a normal human, she'd be one of the models that Shinji liked to fantasize about. The way she held herself, however, said otherwise. She wore a black suit . Over her shoulder was a thick white coat with a high collar, it gave her an air of intimidation. He looked down to see that she was still gripping onto her long metal suitcase, its dimensions allowed for it to carry a sword. Her European features made her stand out among the sea of Asians around the station, especially with her long caramel colored hair held tightly in a ponytail, allowing an unobstructed view of her fierce gaze.

The redhead gritted his teeth at those eyes, he looked away with a subdue fire in his eyes.

"Are you uh…Forte-san…no… I mean…uh…Miss Forte?"

"Yes." She confirmed, her tone said she pleased at being referred as Miss and not with Japanese honorific, however her face remained emotionless The redhead had been warned about this, so he bit his cheeks to stop himself from letting a snide remark escape him. The woman ignored his struggles and turned around, motioning for him to follow. "Starting today, I shall be your handler for the...Clock Tower. Until our objective is completed, you and I shall be working together."

Forte turned and walked off into the crowd. Shirou had no choice but to follow. Or else suffer the consequences. He was her meek shadow, and allowed her to lead him through the train station. For a few moments he bit his cheek, to keep himself from saying something she would disapprove of. He had learned how his snide remarks weren't amusing with other mages, it wouldn't be any different with her.

Shirou rubbed at the scar again and chose his words carefully. "Where are we going?"

"First we'll be going to your new school. The Association has already taken care of the official paperwork. All that's left is for you to introduce yourself to the school." The Magus kept her brisk pace, leading Shirou through the crowd. Her case had already gotten some attention. Nothing more than curious glances. He knew from experience that curiosity was dangerous.

Shirou looked down at the ground, keeping pace. He rubbed at his scar again, tugging at his uniform's sleeve as he did. "I never thought the As—I mean, the Clock Tower would care about me going to school."

"They don't. I felt that this would help us keep our cover. We don't want anyone asking questions, someone your age not in school might cause people to ask questions. Besides, you'll get in my way when I have my own assignment. I work better alone." The woman looked back at him, her fierce look stopping him in his tracks as she glared at his left arm. Her cold eyes stopped him in his tracks. "If you keep scratching at your arm people will see your scars." Those eyes promised him nothing but pain. "Stop scratching."

The harsh rebuke made the redhead cringe and nod silently. "Sorry." He did as instructed.

His handler shook her head and glared and looking down at him. To her he was less than nothing. "Honestly, as much as I detest working with hired guns like your father …at the very least he was a professional and didn't draw any attention to himself. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with you and unfortunately we don't have much of a choice on that. So try and be more competent—remember what's at stake, boy."

Shirou clenched his fist tightly, teeth clenched in fury while his eyes burned with rebellion within. He was ready to snap back at the woman with a sarcastic reply, which was something that he had become rather good at since then.

But…

He buried it deep inside.

His frustrations…

His need to fight…

His rebellion…

And just accepted the situation for what it was.

"…I understand."

As they walked out of the station, Shirou heard the sound of chains rattling in the distance as a nearby store opened. The rattling echoed and followed his footsteps in twisted irony.

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4/7 Thursday, Afterschool

Shunjin Academy was rather small when compared to Homuhara Academy—was the first thing that had come to mind as he saw the school building. Entering the school and being directed straight to the principal's office was a big relief after the fiasco that was the labyrinth like train station of Shibuya. Trying to board the train that would let him and his handler come here was a pain, made all the worse by the dampening mood of Forte and her soft murmurs of profanity towards eastern designs.

The walk towards the principal's office was uneventful. Although, seeing the principal proper, was not. He was so wide and round that he looked more like an egg than a man, just like one of those game villains Illya played. He kept his face composed, even though he felt the sides of his mouth quirk up slightly at the thought of his sister and, by consequence, the rest of his family.

'I'll make sure to keep you all safe.'

"Welcome, welcome Forte-san, Emiya-kun. I am principal Kobayakawa." The principal introduced himself with a smile and gestured with big and meaty fingers towards the strict teacher beside his desk. He had beads of sweat running down his plump face. "This is Ushimaru-sensei, he will be your homeroom teacher during your stay at our school this year."

After introductions were finished quickly, Shirou pretty much blocked out the rest of the conversation. It was mostly about his responsibilities and how prestigious the school was. He didn't care and he let his eyes wander towards his handler to see if she was going to insult the principal, especially since he seemed out of breath after every word. Her composure and attentiveness to the conversation surprised Shirou. He thought she didn't care about any of his schooling.

'Aren't magus like her supposed to be uninterested with stuff like this?'

A few minutes of discussion passed and Ushimaru walked forward with a stern face. The man looked at him and held a card between his fingers. "Emiya, here's your Student ID card."

"H-Huh…?" Shirou snapped out of his train of thought and quickly moved towards the man. He reached for the card with his bandaged hand. "Okay…"

"Humph, just don't be late to my class Emiya." The teacher grunted, his mouth twisting almost into a sneer as he glared at the bandage. "What happened to your hand boy?"

"Huh?" Shirou looked down at the bandaged hand, bit his lip—unpleasant memories filtering in. The teacher raised an eyebrow at his lack of response, he opened his mouth to say something—

"It was a clumsy mistake by young Emiya-kun. He burned his hand while cooking dinner last night." Forte responded and made everyone look towards the cold woman with some surprise. This was the first time she said something more than either a few hums or small two-to-three syllables responses.

The principal shot the redhead a sympathetic look. "Ah, that must have hurt. Make sure you tell Kamoshida-kun, so he doesn't push you so hard in gym class until you recover. He's a very understanding man. He won't mind.."

With that the meeting came to an end as they left the principal's office. Many students stopped and looked at the two of them muttering and pointing. Forte ignored them and opted to look at Shirou instead.

"Why were you staring at me during the meeting, Emiya?"

"Huh…" Caught off guard again by her question, he scratched his cheek in embarrassment at being caught. "Well I just didn't think you would care about all the rules and things that have to do with the school, that's all."

They neared the stairs and she looked away from him. "I don't. All of this is trivial to me, but knowing the rules and customs of my surroundings is important to the success of my mission. Ignoring this information could create problems for me if something were to occur on your watch. After all, you said yourself that you were barely paying any attention to what your principal and homeroom teacher were telling you on this school's etiquette."

"I-I…I was paying some attention…"

"No you weren't. Your homeroom teacher asked you what was wrong with your hand and you failed to come up with a proper excuse." They were now walking down the stairs and she let her piercing eyes settle on his face. "As such, I had to make one up for you and now you look like a fool. Not just a fool but you made yourself out to be weak as well." Her soulless eyes were digging into him. "That makes you a liability to my mission."

"…" He just looked away as they reached the first floor of the school. Forte sighed as continued on.

"The mission requires you to be attentive and professional. I hope that this foolish facade of yours is only limited to when you are here, because when I ask for your 'help' on other matters…" She glared at him, like a lion as it goes for its kill. "I expect more than a hundred percent out of you, child."

"…" Shirou met her gaze evenly, as he felt a fire burn brightly inside him—until it wilted and faded away, making him look away. Her suit's pocket buzzed and with her free hand she pulled a flip phone out. She looked at the screen then at him.

"Stay here, I have to answer this call." With her order given she walked away and outside of the school, standing by a corner as she began to talk to her phone. Shirou's eyes were narrowed, his frustrations piling even more due to Forte's words—but…

'This is all for you…this is all for you…'

He took a deep breath, stepping back to balance himself and—

"Gah!"

"Uah!" The feminine cry and the feel of a female body crashing against his back made Shirou whirl around in surprise. He saw a girl taking a few steps back, her hands filled with stacks of papers—some of which had just fallen to the floor.

"H-Hey! I'm sorry, let me help!" He called out, though he was already on his knees grabbing each paper and stacking them together.

"W-Wait that isn't nece—!" The girl started, but stopped as Shirou got back to his feet with the stacks of papers in hand.

"Here you go." He gave her the fallen sheets of papers, which she accepted with some stunned surprise. He blinked as he took in the features of the girl. Her dark hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and she had dark brown eyes and a gentle face. The girl held the stack of papers against her school uniform, which he noticed had been slightly altered to make it look more athletic. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"H-Huh!?" The girl looked at him with wide eyes, before looking down with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry…I just got in the way…please forgive my clumsiness…"

Shirou tilted his head in disbelief and shook his head. "Hey it was my fault, not yours. So don't feel bad okay, I'm the one who needs to watch out where he's going."

The girl opened her mouth to say something, then stopped as she took a look at him, noticing his uniform. "I…I haven't seen you before…are you new here?"

"Mmhmm," Shirou nodded and offered a smile. "I just transferred to the school today."

"Ah…" The girl looked at his numbered pin on his uniform and her eyes looked back at his eyes. "You're in the same year as me then…!"

Shirou looked down at the pin and nodded. "Yeah…these uniforms ar—!"

"Suzui-san! There you are!" A boisterous voice called out and caught the redhead off guard. He turned to look behind the stiffened girl and saw a very tall, lean and muscular man walking towards them. His curly hair bounced with each step he took as his strong and square jaw tightened slightly as he looked down at him. "Hmm, I don't recognize you young man? You're new here?"

Shirou blinked at the casual way the man spoke, as he looked at his white t-shirt and sports pants. From his choice of attire, he deduced this man to be the school's gym teacher. "Uh yeah…"

"Ah! Then welcome to Shujin Academy!" The man said with a grin as he placed a large hand on Suzui's shoulder. For the first time, Shirou noted how her body went stiff and the way her eyes went wide at his touch. The man pulled the girl away as he was walking away. "I would like to stand around and tell you all the great things that this school has to offer, but I have a busy schedule. Isn't that right Suzui-san?"

"…R-right…Kamoshida-sensei…" Suzui's uncomfortable response and look made the redhead's eyes narrow in suspicion. The teacher, Kamoshida gave a large grin and began to push the girl away. As they turned the corner and disappeared, Shirou saw her eyes dart towards his before they disappeared.

'Those eyes…'

Something heavy and hot set in his stomach as he thought of the girl. He wondered why the girl would look like that…was the girl just that sensitive? Or was the tea—

"Emiya."

He winced at the sound of Forte's voice. Schooling his features, he turned towards his handler. The woman looked at him with those fierce eyes of hers and once more found himself looking away from them. "Yes?"

"Come, let's go." With that said, the woman turned and walked away, doing so with the expectation that he would simply follow like a dog would to its master…

And he did…

The bitter taste in his mouth made him want to vomit his insides out.

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4/7 Thursday, Evening

"This is the apartment we will be staying in."

Shirou looked around, seeing the rather barren place; devoid of any décor or life; a simple white sofa and a small coffee table for the living room; a fridge, sink, stove and cabinets for the kitchen. A hallway that led to three doors, on the left was the door that lead to the bathroom and to the right was the room that would be his.

The last room's door gave an ominous feeling that screamed at him to stay back.

"You cannot enter that place. I believe you have been briefed on a magus' workshop?"

"Yeah…" Kiritsigu had mentioned to him the ethics behind a workshop. He kept his own in a room he hadn't even though existed in their home.

"Then there's no need to explain that if you enter into that room, you will die. Am I correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Good, now strip."

Shriou did a double take and gave the woman with a bewildered look. "W-What!?"

"Strip." Forte said seriously, ignoring his embarrassed look and blush. "I don't see why you would be reacting so strongly to this. You have already been seen naked by the mages who were in Fuyuki that experimented and diagnosed your body for irregularities. There's no need for any shame at this point."

At that, his humiliation disappeared—leaving only an empty and cold pit within. Sometimes he could still feel that cold table and the men who had ripped his body apart. A cold shiver went up his spine, inspiring a dormant fury at the thought of that very same experience nearly befell to Illya.

Shirou gritted his teeth and glared at the floor, burying his emotions deep down but the memories were still there. He exhaled through his nostrils and began taking off his school uniform, one piece at a time. Once he was done, he folded the clothes neatly and placed them on the sofa. Completely naked, he turned towards Forte and stared right into her eyes.

The woman crossed her arms and closed the distance between them—at this he looked away as he grew hot. The woman bent to be on his level and sweat began dripping down his forehead and he could not help but gulp as her eyes traveled all over his body.

As much as he disliked her, Shirou could not deny that Forte was beautiful. Her exotic European features were hard to ignore…especially when she was standing so close and examining him so attentively. He was a growing young man…and having a woman so close to him while he was naked was too much.

Forte ignored his troubles and placed a hand on his chest. With red cheeks he looked down at her slender fingers and grew cold—

A bullet wound scarred his chest. A reminder on how close he had danced with death.

"It is hard to fathom that the enemy of the Clock Tower, the Black Mask Assassin, would be using something as rudimentary as gun. The amount of grief he's caused us in an insult. So much trouble with such a mundane tool." She looked at his golden brown eyes and noted his cool gaze. She took her hand off his chest and stepped back. "You were lucky to have been found by the security detail of the late Marisbury Animusphere but then again, appearing out of thin air like you did before them was caution enough for them not to kill you on sight."

"…" Shirou only looked away at that. Even though he didn't remember being found or how his lethal injuries were healed. When he had woken up, he was more worried about Illya's safety. His life and well-being did not even register in his mind at the time. On the one hand, he could safely say that he was glad to be alive but things had a way of changing.

"Though I bet you wish they had killed you, don't you?" Forte continued as she looked down at him, then knelt down in front of him and reached for his bandaged arm. It frightened Shirou to how easy it was for her to read his mind. She started to untie the bindings until they revealed his scarred arm and what was burned into his flesh. "You are a Seal Designated target.. For someone like you, receiving such an honor must be horrible."

"You talk like you know me." Shirou had unintentionally let that remark slip out. The magus looked at him, a little surprised at his backbone. Her expression cooled as she ripped the bandages off and took a hold of his left hand and examined it closer.

"You're right, I shouldn't assume to know you. After all I was expecting a boy with no will of his own for this mission, a child with a fractured mind and focused on the task at hand. Still, here we are. A boy with his free will still intact. A boy who is very precious to my faction. All of this because of the 'Distorted Marker' that popped onto your hand."

Shirou looked down at her with steely eyes, but after a few moments he let his eyes wonder down to the back of his left hand. There he saw the mark that had appeared that day.

The day he had awaken to that cursed power and lead the Clock Tower to claw apart the peaceful life he had with his family.

A marker in the shape of a star shaped eye. The mages at the Association explained to him that it was similar to something called a Command Spell. Similar to the magical mark used for the Holy Grail War, it was divided into three parts. The star was one, then follow by the iris, and finally by the shape of the eye itself. It was abnormal, not just because of its appearance and the fact that a random tattoo was etched onto his skin. The mark was an abnormality. At first it was believed to be a Command Spell, the mages believing that a new Holy Grail War had commenced—but it was revealed not to be the case.

So it couldn't be a Command Spell, since for a Command Spell to appear, there would have to be a Holy Grail War.

And from what he had heard behind his cell-door, his mom and dad had dismantled the Grail years ago. So the war wouldn't be happening any time soon.

But there was something even more bizarre about this Command Spell, something which made it deviate from the norm and made it truly special. So, in other words, it was incorrect to even call it a Command Spell as its function and priorities were different from the typical Command Spell.

The Association then labeled it as the Distorted Marker—a mark that was capable of marking distortions in the world and entering them.

It was this what had granted him the glory of having a Sealing Designation. His father's words, were that it was a pain in the ass.

"If you want that thing for yourself," Shirou started as he glared at the mark on his hand with a cool gaze. "I would be more than happy to give it to you and have my memories wiped. Then me and my family wouldn't have to deal with you people."

Forte looked at him, then she let her hand travel down to the scarred flesh on his arm. She rubbed it in thought. "I agree with you, but is quite unfortunate that this thing is attached to you—and only you. My faction came to that Fuyuki city after the demise of Lord Animusphere, a sad parting. I will miss the man's endless ramblings. He really did like to hear the sound of his own voice."

Shirou remained silent as Forte continued, his eyes trained on the floor.

"Fortunately Assistant Director Archaman took control of the situation and had the good will to hold you and your sister captive. It was quite fortunate for us that my factio—the Association managed to come to the conclusion that taking the Marker from you was a bad idea before your father could disrupt the operation."

Instinctively Shirou's hand went for the scarred tissue and gripped with a grimace. "My dad-" He tried but the Enforcer cut him off and she placed her hand on his chest again, none too gentle.

"I will admit that I had underestimated him, as well as your mother. None of us expected a mercenary with his reputation to be capable of negotiating. Your mother's violent tendencies were just as surprising. Your lucky your father managed to calm her down. The Association wouldn't tolerate any more casualties from that Homunculus.

"Don't call her that!"

Forte tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Why? That's what she is. That's what more than half of your family is in fact. Or is that you wish to return to how things were? Impossible. Your father's negotiations skills, while impressive, were not good enough to let you be completely free, now were they? After all, he decided to lock you in a Geis contract of all things."

"Only because you didn't give him a choice!" Shirou grounded out as the woman scoffed as she looked into his eyes.

"It was the best choice that man had, it was either the Geis or complete annihilation." With that the woman chanted something and soon found markings appearing on his torso, stretching all the way to his back.

"This spell that will allow me to know where you are at all times. I can't risk you running off now, can I?." Forte explained before she pulled her hand back and looked at him squarely in his face. "Your father could've let us destroy your mind and get rid of all semblance of humanity within you and simply have you be our special weapon against the Black Mask Assassin. By the end of it all, we would've even installed a personality similar to the old one…though I really shouldn't be saying this. You belong to us. You are the property and the tool we need to ensure order. Giving you false hope for normality is unnecessarily cruel. You will never have that again. It's best to accept it now. The sooner you do, the sooner we can complete our mission, and the sooner you can see your family can live happily again—though, with a lesser member in their mixed."

Seeing the way she talked, knowing how the Association's mages were, it made Shirou angry "It doesn't matter."

"Oh?"

"It doesn't matter in the end what happens to me. As long as I can help you people solve this case, then you'll let my family live in peace, right?" He asked with as much conviction as he could possibly muster. Even if he couldn't fight against this woman—or against the entirety of the Association-if he could keep his family safe, then that would be good enough for him.

"Your father is a wanted man within the Association thanks to all his crimes. So many lineages were destroyed because of him, lineages that could have been salvaged. like what he did to the Archibald family's magic crest only ten years ago. The same for your mother, sister and those homunculus you consider maids my faction would greatly benefit from the dealings with the Einzbern family should we negotiate the return of their property."

"Don't call them that!" Shirou glared in annoyance at the woman who flicked her wrist dismissively. "They don't belong to anyone. They're people."

Forte ignored this outburst and continued. "But, should you accomplish the tasks that have been submitted in the Geis made between yourself and the ones in charged of your diagnoses and this mission—stopping the aforementioned Mental Shutdown and Psychotic Breakdowns cases that have been plaguing the Clock Tower for the last two years and it's prestige members, then your family will be spared from the Clock Tower's politics and judgement. My people shall leave Fuyuki and your family will be left alone. Of course, you will be forced to stay within the Tower itself for experimentation on how to enter the Distorted Labyrinth. Like I said, you belong to the Association."

The redhead lowered his head. He knew he was trapped. His family would be free but he could do nothing. Nothing at all. But that was fine—as long as they were okay, then everything would be fine.

So, he nodded his head in submission.

"Good. That Marker is the key we have to enter into the Distorted World. For whatever reason, that mark is capable of connecting into another world." She started, humming in thought as she looked at the mark with curiosity. A phenomenon closer to True Magic…it almost reminds me of the cases that had spread throughout Japan in the past. The midnight rumors or the strange fogs murders. Hmm, it's unfortunate that a weapon such as this ended up in the hands of an incompetent child. If you learn anything, learn this. You will pretend to be normal and attend school. You will do nothing to attract attention to you or myself. You will not discuss anything of what we are involved in with anyone. You will not interfere in my own investigation but most importantly, you will be entering the Distorted Labyrinth on my orders and my orders only. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Shirou answered plainly as he looked at the woman's eyes with some bite. Forte ignored it as she regarded him coolly.

"From the top, how does the Distorted Marker function?"

He nodded and raised his left hand. "In order to fully have this thing be completely operational, I need to activate my magical circuits and flood the Marker with magical energy. After that, all I need is a name, a place and a distortion…"

"Those are for Distorted Marbles, not the Labyrinths." Forte sounded annoyed and the redhead obeyed. Though, he bit the inside of his cheek and fortunately stopped himself from snarking back at the woman.

"The Distorted Labyrinth is access by locating the entry point in the city, activating my magical circuits and force open a door that leads us into the Distorted World."

"Good." Forte walked around him and headed for the door. Shirou blinked, he didn't expect her to be leaving so soon.

"You're leaving?"

"You don't need to know what I'm doing, is that understood?"

Shirou bit his tongue.

"All you need to know is that you need to remain here and prepare for your first day of classes. You are not allowed to leave. You are not allowed to call anyone. If you do, I will know. If you try to leave, I will know. If you try to contact your family, I will know. If you break these rules, I will make sure you remember them." Her blue eyes extinguished the final flames within his. "Any violation of these rules, it will be your family that suffers the consequences. Do remember that they aren't free, despite the fact they are still in Fuyuki. Am I understood?"

Shirou bit the inside of his cheeks, the metallic taste of blood hitting his taste bud as his frustration kept piling up. "I understand."

"Good" She finally turned away from him. "And stay away from my Workshop."

With that she opened the door and disappeared out, locking the door behind him. Shirou looks away, and stares at the hand holding onto his Distorted Marker. He clenches his hand into a tight fist and lets out a breath. He gathered his clothing and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

After a few minutes of letting the water washed away today's stress and filth off him as he blankly stared at the shower wall. After freshening up, he to his bedroom, opened the door and with steel like eyes as he gazed over the contents of the room. Much like the rest of the apartment it was bare, with only the essentials being present. A bed, a counter and a closet with a window by the side. Shirou walked towards the bed and let himself drop down on it. He stared at the ceiling with tired eyes as distinct voices started to fill his head.

…you are our secret weapon boy, our means to end this madness and reach power…

…the choice on whether you want to help us or not, it doesn't exist—you only have one route in this matter…

…if you wish to cause trouble then remember—your family is expandable. They are only alive as long as you can work with us…

…even the ruthless Mage Killer understands that it is pointless to rebel, so I trust you are smart enough to do as you are told…

…this boy, is kindness. You will have your will and your family will be safe and sound once you are done—you should treasure this moment boy…

...as agreed by the Geis contract by us and yourself, you are bound to bring to an end the cases known as the Mental Shutdown and Psychotic Breakdown cases. You are to obey all and every order given to you by a magus affiliated with us and to bring this case to a close. You are not to harm any magus in charge of your mission. And most importantly, you are to see this through to the end...

…it is all for the greater good, after all…

Shirou scoffed at that as he remembered the Black Mask Assassin.

…'Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature' and you…you just went against the worse type of current…'

"I can't help but get myself into more trouble," He muttered and raised his left hand up, staring at his Marker with a cool gaze.

He let his arm drop and closed his eyes, letting sleep conquer him.

Story Beta by Crossovernaru & Nikon Asturias

Author's Note

Hey everybody and thank you all for reading the chapter. I was and still am surprise by the amount of attention this story received, I was kinda of expecting this to be shot in the dark and be completely missed. So I can safely say that I'm quite happy and glad for the attention and support.

So thanks, I hope you enjoy. Until next time!

Adios.