Hello again readers! Neolyph is here again to bring you a new chapter of A Broken Wizard and A Broken Magus. My apologies for the cliffhanger last chapter, I just couldn't resist. Also, as thanks for all the support, you guys are getting this chapter a day early. I'm really grateful for all the support and reviews this story has gotten. It's my first attempt at fanfiction, so I really wasn't expecting it to go anywhere, but you guys proved me wrong yet again. So, once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart all of you who read, review, favorite, and follow.

Also, again, regarding the fact that I have stated my intention on not making this a WBWL story in the Hogwarts section, I did some thinking on the various things I could do with that and gave it some more thought. I couldn't decide what to do, so I will leave it up to you readers. On my profile, I put up a poll on whether this should become a WBWL story. Check it out and cast your votes. Voting will close at the end of the Grail War. Now to actually answer some reviews!

Also, in case anyone missed it, Saber is changed from canon. She never took the deal with Alaya. She is just a regular heroic spirit, though she still wishes to use the Grail to change the past. I always thought her background worked for canon with Shirou, but in this story since I intend for her to not die at the end of the Grail war, that little tidbit is a little superfluous.

camdawg: Haven't decided whether Harry will keep Archer. Shirou's got his own shit to do after all.

xYuukito: Mwahaha! Fear my cliffhanger powers! This is my story, I am God here! I could end every chapter with a cliffhanger! Mwahaha! JK, I won't though. I'm not that evil.

Squadpunk 2.0: Normally someone like Harry would get a sealing designation, but the Clocktower lives in complete fear of True Magicians, just look at Zelretch. Not to mention, Lorelei Barthomeloi and her family basically revere users of Denial of Nothingness as pseudo-gods.

Thundramon: I agree, some of the characterization could use a little work. Part of that stems from me just not being a very good writer, another part from that I'm still trying to get a feel for how I'm going to write all of the characters and their personalities. Saber is going to have some problems with Harry's more Slytherin elements. Harry is not GAR for Archer... he's just on loan from Rin. Harry will fix Illya, but she will not be in the harem. Also, don't worry. The Dursleys will get what they deserve... mwahaha.

Silent Reader: Well, you got two of the verses I'm considering there. Haven't decided on Bazett. She is still alive, but she won't be making an appearance until the end of the arc.

Pedo: ...we'll see.

Akuma-Heika: The reason I differentiate is because as far as I can tell, Beasts of Gaia are designed solely to kill humans. For example, Primate Murder is Gaia's version of a nuclear deterrent against Alaya. Harry is going to be tasked with removing planetary threats, like Gilgamesh with Ea or a fully manifested Angra Mainyu, things that pose an immediate threat to the survival of planer Earth. Yeah, I get rule 63 Gilgamesh is possible, I just always thought he was a dick, gender aside. Yeah, he and Lorelei are going to have some funny interactions when he gets there. Yeah, EX rank mana... mwahaha. See my note this and last chapter about Saber being fully dead. True, she will be king again, but it would be weird to introduce yourself as the soon-to-be King of England. Haven't worked out a pairing for Illya. Whoever she dates will have to get past her inner sociopathy along with an angry Harry and Kiritsugu. Illya gets along with Saber, but that doesn't mean she isn't jealous.

Delta8: You know... I always thought Gilgamesh was a little underpowered in canon. I mean, he got taken out by a third rate magus, a decent teenage magus, a Servant barely capable of supporting herself, and the counter guardian equivalent of a washed-up drunk. I decided to fix that.

Chapter 8: The First Legend

In the dark basement of the Fuyuki Church, two figures sat, surrounded on all sides by comatose children, aged five to sixteen chained to the walls, most of them haggard-looking, or so thin their bones could be seen through their skin. Yet the two people didn't pay any heed to the weak sobbing sounds, or the stench generated by numerous unwashed bodies.

One of the figures was a middle-aged man, wearing a clerical collar denoting his affiliation with the Catholic Church, although if someone were to look at him in the eyes, they would have seen that instead of the usual warmth and love that a priest was supposed to offer, the man's orbs were dull, dead, and void of any kind of feeling. It was as if he was but a shell, an automaton working on autopilot, without a single shred of emotion.

Seating opposite to the priest, drinking enough wine to kill the average person was a young man with golden hair, whose face looked to be the result of someone gathering the greatest artists of the renaissance and commissioning them to create the ideal man. In short, he was perfect.

This sort of meeting didn't happen often between the priest and King of Kings, but circumstances forced their hands. It appeared that the Matou Master in the war had somehow allied with, or pacified all of the other Masters in the war, despite how ridiculous the idea was. He had even taken out the Servant the priest had stolen from the now one-armed Enforcer they had made sure to keep alive, although she was now chained in a corner, with chains made to resist any attempt to break free.

Despite disliking to intervene too much in the Grail War, Kirei Kotomine knew that he would be unable to deal with the problem himself, so he went to the only asset he possessed that could, even if said asset was an arrogant Babylonian King with a God complex, and was just as likely to kill him for requesting his aid that he was to actually help him. At the very least, since he knew the blonde better than anyone else on Earth, he was confident in his ability to get his help, although he would need to appeal to the King, instead of merely begging for help.

"Your Highness, I beg your forgiveness, but I have dire news that I must convey," he said, head low, in an attempt to not offend the powerful Servant.

Said Servant stopped his apparent but fruitless attempt to become intoxicated and looked at him the way most mortal men would look at a fly while trying to decide whether or not to swat it. While Kirei was far more interesting than most mortals, he would not accept to be spoken to with anything but the utmost respect, for he was the one who ruled above others, almost a living God, and such pedigree deserved nothing but the best.

After several tense moments, the king apparently decided that the priest he had allied himself with was showing an acceptable amount of deference, and thus stopped drinking, raising an eyebrow to signal he was listening. It was something he appreciated in the twisted man, while he lacked a true sense of self, he was most certainly very intelligent and observant, which was why he was willing to help him more than other pitiful mortals.

"Speak, priest, and do not waste any more of my time than necessary. What possible news could require you to come before me directly and interrupt my reverie?"

"Your Highness, I am aware of your plans to take the stage at the end of this Grail War, but if events continue as they are, this end might never come, I am afraid. One of the Masters, the Matou one, has taken four Servants for himself, killed one, and allied with the last two. They all plan to destroy the Grail permanently. As this would go against your wishes, I thought it urgent to inform you, before they could permanently hinder your plan."

While most would retch at the idea of being so subservient, especially to someone as arrogant as the First King, Kirei was not most people. Born with a twisted mind, he had never truly enjoyed his life, despite his best efforts, and it was only thanks to the Servant in front of him that he had finally faced the fact that he relished in the pain of others. The years since that discovery had seen him enjoying life more than ever before, even if it was by torturing other people, psychologically or physically. As such, he had little trouble being subservient, since he lacked the sense of self most people had, that would have rebelled against the idea of being ordered around.

At the fake priest's words, the King of Kings scowled. He had been intending to let this war run its' course, perhaps intervening in a fight here or there whenever the fancy struck him, before boldly striding out and claiming victory at the end, but this forced his hand. He was the lead actor, the star of the performance! How dare those unworthy mongrels try to stop the show before he had even taken to the stage! None crossed the King of Kings, and he would die before allowing a mere mongrel to hinder his plans!

"Which curs have foolishly allied themselves under the Matou banner, priest?" he growled. This transgression would not stand, he would make sure of it, and once he knew the names of his enemies, they would suffer, but none more so than the one who had dared stop the war. All rebellions had their leaders, after all, and they, most of all, were to blame, as their followers were mere sheep, following the strongest voice. Therefore, he would remind them just whothey had dared to cross, and would allow them to live, if they begged for their lives and swore to serve him, that is.

"Saber, Arthuria Pendragon, Rider, Medusa, Archer, Shirou Emiya, Berserker, Heracles, Caster, Medea of Colchis, Assassin, Nameless," delivered the priest, his eyes closed and his head bowed.

He noted the slight hum at the mention of Saber, but it was to be expected. If the information he possessed was to be believed, due to an error in the Grail system, as a result of the same catalyst and summoner being used on a corrupted Grail, the same Saber was summoned from the previous war, with all memories intact. He held in a smirk, knowing that the mention of the female knight the golden Servant had developed an obsession for would be enough to drive him to action. No King would allow their Queen to move against them, after all, and Gilgamesh possessed a pride that would demand him to intervene and claim her as his own, and to ensure that she knew not to cross him. He was proven correct when without another word the Servant stood and strolled out the door before disappearing. He smirked, knowing that the silly little rebellion would be swiftly dealt with. None could stand against the King

-Break-

Gilgamesh was completely blind with rage. So the Matou Master thought he could just take his beloved Saber from him, did he? He would show him. The lowly cur was unworthy to even look upon Saber, let alone be her Master. That right was reserved for him, and him alone once he conquered her. Just the thought of her got his blood flowing. That small, petite frame combined with her noble, aristocratic manners made her the ideal Queen for him. There was also the fact that she was perhaps the only Servant in this war truly worthy to fight him, with her noblest of swords. Even in his entire treasury, the only sword he possessed that surpassed the majesty and might of Excalibur was his own sword, Ea.

He finally arrived on a rooftop overlooking the building his ally had directed him to as the den those lowly mongrels were hiding in while plotting to ruin his grand performance. He had wished to avoid taking joining the act so soon, but as the modern saying went, "The show must go on," no matter the cost.

He reached into his Gate of Babylon and withdrew from it a simple Noble Phantasm, a rather weak one. Taking aim, he launched it at the miserable hovel the priest had called a "manor." Upon contact with the building, the sword detonated, engulfing half of the building in flames. He couldn't help but feel a bit eager as he charged toward the hole her had made in the estate. Perhaps with every Servant gathered, including his beloved Saber, he might get a worthy fight.

-Break-

Harry sat up, head ringing. Last he remembered, he had been attempting to mediate an argument between Illya and Sakura over who got to feed him. Then, there was a sound, and a light, and then nothing. He looked up to see what was once a rather nice dining room was now a blazing inferno, reminiscent of the Fuyuki Fire.

"Oh right," he remembered absently, "the house got blown up."

It took about three seconds to process the thought before he shot up, ignoring the pain he felt from being thrown by the blast in favor of taking count of everyone else, years of experience making it easy to ignore his wounds. Looking for Sakura, He saw Rider and Caster pulling her out of a pile of rubble from where a section of roof had collapsed. When he saw the blood on her forehead, his vision went red. He didn't know who attacked them, but they had better pray for the Root to have mercy on them, for he would not.

While he looked at the young girl, Saber was standing in front of him, sword drawn and looking rapidly left and right for the threat, her earlier nervousness gone, replaced by the cold and decided mask of the King of Knights, the young woman replaced by the fearsome warrior. Stumbling as he tried to take a step forward, he was caught by Assassin, who was still a step behind him, with a face of stone, although her eyes betrayed her fury at the idea that someone haddared attack her God.

Kiritsugu had already stood up, though he was still bent over, but Harry was unsure whether it was from injuries or from the curse, or even a combination of both, since his earlier state made it clear that what had happened was not good for his health.

Illya was over in the corner where Berserker was standing in front of her, arms wide to shield her with his body. Apparently, he had shielded her from most of the blast because she didn't have a scratch on her, although she was trembling slightly, the shock of being attacked having yet to wear off. Beside her, her two homunculi, Sella and Leysritt, lacked the halberds they had brought with them, but didn't seem to be letting that stop as one of them was wielding a chair leg and the other a ragged piece of piping, ready to defend their Mistress to the death. Leanna, Monica and Joy were all unharmed and had taken their position near Saber, attempting to ensure every entrance was covered. Archer was beside them, dual-wielding a black sword in one hand and a white in the other.

"Everyone alright?" he called out, eyes burning from the smoke surrounding them. He thanked the Root for the bounded field surrounding the building that would keep anyone from getting too curious and calling emergency services. Whatever had happened, things were about to get very ugly, as he had a very bad feeling on who or what had destroyed half the house. Whoever had managed to step so close without being detected, they were powerful, and skilled enough that none of the Servants had noticed their presence.

"Alright here, but Sakura is unconscious," Rider called out to him, holding the small girl against her.

"I will attempt to heal her injuries," Caster added.

"Fine here, Master," Saber said, still in a ready stance and scanning for hostiles.

Assassin didn't say anything, but since she was still holding him up she didn't need to.

"We're alright here. Berserker took the blunt of the blast, but his skin is too thick to take any damage," Illya called from her place behind the bloodthirsty giant.

Kiritsugu was wracked by a coughing fit, but managed to get out a, "Fine here."

"All's cool here boss," Archer said casually.

"We're alright as well, Master. Are you injured?" Monica replied, glancing back at him.

He was about to reply in the negative when he saw her face blanch and he looked down. He was confused as to what she was so shocked about, when he saw the six inches piece of shrapnel jutting out of his side. With a grunt, he gritted his teeth and pulled it out. Almost instantly blood poured out of the wound like a raging torrent, the blockage that had been keeping it in gone. He projected some bandages and had Assassin quickly wrap them around his side, to which she complied with a cold efficiency, no doubt used to treat others due to her past. Still wary of their foe, he projected a sword he had created as an experiment in his workshop.

It was entirely possible to store prana in physical objects, that was the foundation of a mystic code. Normally, one used this to produce an effect such as making the object harder, reinforcement, or giving it certain characteristics, alteration. It was also entirely possible to simply use an object as a storage device to be let out gradually or in a single blast, which was basically what the Tohsaka jewelcraft was. The reason they used jewels was that if was the least wasteful way of doing it. Jewels stored prana for long periods, stored large amounts, and could be released in a singular burst or slowly. This had given him an idea while he was doing research into Noble Phantasms. If he made a sword entirely out of gemstones, he could theoretically use it to enact large rituals instantly if he put enough prana into it, although it would take him months to store enough prana inside it to make it powerful enough to harm a Servant, despite his own immense reserves.

With notes Sakura had stolen from Rin, which was just about the most insulting thing one could do to a magus (he hoped she didn't find out before the end of the war), when she had sabotaged her workshop, he made a sword out of alchemically created and tempered diamond. He put about half of his daily prana into it for about a year and as a result it had reached the point of almost being a lesser Grail. He could enact high thaumaturgy almost instantly with it, similar to Caster and her Divine Words. It was still crude, since he lacked the experience to draw the energy from it efficiently enough to make it truly dangerous, but it was still more than enough to make it lethal for most beings

With his circuits turned on, and pumping his od at maximum capacity, he shoved as much prana as he could into his mystic code, making it shine brightly, yet it was clear the sudden flood of power was straining it. Most of it was simply stored in the massive gem, but a portion went towards reinforcing the diamond, making it impossibly strong, to make sure the sword didn't accidentally break, which would have caused the equivalent of a magical nuke explosion in the very core of Fuyuki. It was lucky that the same quality that made the gem able to store prana also made it almost infinitely reinforcable. The only downside was that as the prana in the sword was used, it got progressively weaker and more brittle.

With the sword drawn, he produced the kite shield counterpart he had created to go with it on the same principles. Between the lack of a shirt, the bandages, the grit on his face, the sword and shield, and the burning surrounding, he looked like a modern day knight preparing to face a dragon. The fact that he was also showing a face far too serious to belong to someone as young as him only reinforced the impression.

From the smoke obscuring the outside to them came a confident, arrogant laugh. He saw Saber tense at it, apparently recognizing it, and he quickly understood that either she had known the person laughing during her life, or she had met them during one of the Grail Wars. In both cases, that made their opponent a Servant, an eight one that shouldn't exist, yet here they were.

The blonde King lifted her sword higher and removed the invisibility concealing it, and with a glance, he made sure to remember its' blueprints, as he was quite sure that being able to recreate Excalibur would serve him on more than one occasion, if he survived the night, that is. His nervousness was understandable, after all Saber was a very powerful Servant, both because of her class, her legend, and the amount of prana he could supply her with, yet she seemed to think that their opponent was dangerous enough to be taken seriously, a bad sign. From what she had told him in their various discussions after their contract, she would almost never remove the concealment over her sword as it made her too easy to identify. The only time she took it off was in a truly life or death circumstance.

"Saber," he said, not taking his eyes off the smoke before him, "is this someone you're familiar with?"

Said Servant tightened her grip on Excalibur to the point he thought he heard the metal creak. Apparently her stats had really gone up when he had taken over as her Master.

"Yes, Master. You could say that. Unless I'm mistaken, this is the same Archer from the previous war. He seemed to be laboring under the delusion at the time that I would lower myself to becoming his woman. I gave him as firm a rejection as I could manage at the time. It would appear he didn't understand the message," she said, tersely.

"Why, my Saber, I'm genuinely hurt. Wait, are you what they call, 'playing hard to get'?" came a cocky voice from the smoke. The voice reminded Harry somewhat of Shinji, but the undertone of assurance gave the impression of having the power to back up the arrogance.

He didn't like the way he seemed to imply that Saber was his property. Especially when she had already confessed her love to him and been accepted by him. As such, he felt that it was his duty to deal with this waste of flesh. Not to mention, the bastard had hurt Sakura.

From the haze, strolled out a man with blonde hair and golden armor. The arrogant sneer on his face further increased the parallels to Shinji. Yet the similarities ended there. Shinji had never been particularly handsome, but this man was clearly an Adonis in human flesh, one whose presence exuded confidence, but one that the man could apparently back up, unlike his and Sakura's former "brother".

"Tell me, Gilgamesh. How is it you survived the last war? Who picked up your contract? Or are you so depraved as to simply eat people to sustain yourself?" growled Saber, her voice filled with menace.

"Oh my beloved Saber, I would never lower myself to the point of eating the uncouth curs masquerading as humans in this day and age. That would be far beneath me. To answer your other question, the local priest picked up my contract and command seals from the Tohsaka man's corpse. Not that it matters much."

"The local priest?" Harry asked, "You mean Kirei Kotomine, the overseer of the last war? Over in Fuyuki Church?"

Gilgamesh glared at him as if he was nothing but vermin, but perhaps in the hopes to appeal to Saber's sense of honor, he still answered.

"Yes, that one, mongrel. Now stay silent, your King is speaking. Interrupt me again and you will learn what happens to those who do not know their place."

His Servants all tensed and glared at the blonde king, ready to defend Harry at a moment's notice.

A plan forming in his head, he sent a quick set of instructions to Assassin, who was hiding in the corner, making her astralize and confirm she had understood them through their link.

"I will speak however I wish, Gilgamesh. I have heard your legend, King of Kings. How the mighty have fallen. From king of the world's greatest kingdom to a priest's bitch."

Saber, as well as all those present save for the King, gave him glances that told him they thought he had gone crazy. Gilgamesh, though, had narrowed his eyes at him, the air behind him beginning to shimmer as he opened his mouth, ready to retort, but he cut him to the punch.

"Man, Gilgy, I heard all about you in the last war. When I pictured the First Legend though, well, you aren't exactly what I pictured. I mean, sure, the golden armor could have been impressive, but on you it just looks tacky. I guess that some things are better off worn by people who can make them look good. You don't look like a King, now that I think about it, you remind me more of a child who wants to look impressive, but doing a rather poor job at it."

Rider seemed to catch on to what her Master was trying to do, though not the reason. It was still enough for her though.

"You know, Master, when that first sword hit here, I'll admit I was a little scared. I thought we might be under attack by some kind of powerful enemy, but I guess I was wrong. Good thing it wasn't really anything all that threatening."

Caster also seemed to pick up on what her fellow Servant was doing, and went back to look over Sakura. The only sign that she was nervous was the slight shake of her hands, something that Gilgamesh couldn't see as he was facing her back.

"Well, Master, Sakura is still a bit hurt. If you would be kind enough to deal with this bratty blonde quickly, I can start healing her. It should not be much of a problem, correct?" she said, sounding completely unconcerned with the situation.

Apparently, this was the final straw, as Gilgamesh seemed to literally turn red with anger.

"YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY YOU VILE DOGS? I WILL BURN YOU TO ASHES!"

With those words, weapons appeared. Perhaps that was an understatement. It looked more like the Golden King was attempting to pull every weapon in the Gate of Babylon out of it to attack him. Maybe he had pushed the prideful Servant a bit far, even if he was deliberately attempting to anger him, but there was little he could do about it now. His mind temporarily froze as it memorized everything that came out of the Gate, the information very nearly enough to fry his brain, had he had not been enhanced by Gaia itself. Swords of legend, an almost infinite sea of Noble Phantasms poured out of portals. Some were small, barely worthy to be called Noble Phantasms, while others were almost on the level of Excalibur. Some of them were barely enough to kill someone, others were literally anti-army weapons, able to completely reshape landscapes.

While he was memorizing everything and time seemed to slow to a crawl, he saw Archer produce a giant bow and a twisted sword that looked more like a drill-bit, chucking it as if it was an arrow. The part of his brain processing all the information about it whispered to him the name of the weapon, Caladbolg II, as well as information about its' destructive power. Apparently Archer was taking off the kiddy gloves, as if it hit, it would undoubtedly severely harm Gilgamesh.

As the projectiles the First Hero was summoning grew, Archer apparently realized that offense was out at the moment, and defense was the only option. At the white haired man's signal and warning, everyone piled in behind him, whileHarry flooded the Servant with prana, something only made possible by the tremendous amount of od he himself possessed, as well as his proximity to the Servant. It was fortunate they were in close proximity, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to supply as much prana to the Servant.

Soon, the sky was literally filled with swords, too numerous to count, and obscuring everything. With a snarl from Gilgamesh, the Noble Phantasms began raining down on the group, like a rain of death. It was fortunate that he was too arrogant to use their properties, and used them as glorified arrows, as otherwise the sheer destructive power behind them would have levelled the town, and, most likely, the entire area.

"Rho Aias!" shouted Archer, seven layers of glowing petals forming in front of him. Normally, the legendary shield would not have been able to resist the rain of powerful weapons, but the Servant was currently being supplied more prana than even Berserker himself would take, and diverting every bit of it into the shield, reinforcing it well beyond its' normal rank.

Harry didn't use an incantation, but unleashed a large amount of the energy in his kite shield to form another, stronger, dome around them, encompassing the flowery barrier, the energy in the kite shield instantly replaced by his own reserves. When the swords impacted, he almost fell to his knees from the amount of prana drained to keep the dome up. If he were anyone but a True Magician, and master of Denial of Nothingness at that, the sudden drain would have killed him instantly, frying his circuits and causing him to die a very painful death. As it was, his nerve-circuits burned at the strain from having the entire Noble Phantasm library unloaded on him, but the shield held firm.

The only true difficulties were when he had to throw up inner physical shields to deflect weapons designed to destroy magical shields like Gae Dearg, which passive ability would have instantly shattered their defenses. When these were shot at the shield he had to quickly project physical objects such as slabs of steel to keep the weapons from penetrating, diverting their course. Everything he missed was blocked by either Archer's Rho Aias or was deflected by Saber's sword or Berserker's slab of stone or Rider's chains. Eventually, after several minutes of non-stop raining, it slowed down. He fell to his knees, panting heavily, his face red and covered in sweat, sweat that was already evaporating due to how high his body temperature had risen.

Glancing around, he found the blonde King sneering at them from a nearby roof, his arms crossed and his eyes shining with disgust.

"So, the little Matou vermin has some fight in him after all. Here I was thinking that this would be simple. I thought I would be able to just swoop in, eliminate the vermin, and leave with my precious Saber, but you just have to make this difficult for me, don't you? It is of little consequence. You may have a powerful shield, but it matters not, for no shield may stand against Ea."

As he spoke, a single portal opened behind him and a sword slid out. Perhaps calling it a sword was something of a misnomer. It had no sharp edges, but was instead made of several round rotating segments, all spinning independently. It was inscribed in red lines, with a bright gold handle.

As Harry looked at it, pain shot through his head, as he found that he was able to store it mentally, but that his connection to Gaia scorned the weapon, deeming it alien, operating outside of the laws of the planet. He mentally identified it as Ea, Gilgamesh's personal sword. Analyzing the aspects of the weapon, he paled as he realized that if used properly and with the correct intent, it could literally destroy the planet. Technically, he would be able to reproduce it, but he wasn't exactly sure if he should or if Gaia would let him, since he highly doubted she would agree to anyone possessing a weapon able to destroy her. He was right, as a blinding pain shot through his mind, his link with Gaia urging him to destroy the weapon, for it threatened all life of Earth, and was in the hands of someone arrogant enough to believe it was his right to decide to use it.

He found himself wholeheartedly agreeing, as nobody, be they man, Dead Apostle Ancestor, or other, should have the power to end all life on a planet at their disposition. Especially not when they were too arrogant to understand the concept of restraint.

As the Golden King grabbed the handle of the weapon, Assassin informed Harry that she had completed the mission he had assigned her, and he sent her his express permission to begin what he had sent her for.

"Now, you see little Matou, how completely hopeless your attempts to survive have been from the start. To force me to draw this weapon is something you should take pride in. Your pride matters not, though. You shall not live long enough the enjoy it."

Holding the hilt of the Sword of Rupture, the King of All Heroes whipped it towards the huddled group, the sections of the sword beginning to spin, quickly gaining speed. Saber raised Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory beginning to shine with a blinding glow, soon echoed by its' projected copy held in Archer's hands, the original and the copy ready to unleash a last, desperate attack in the hopes of countering the Golden King's Noble Phantasm. The two Servants were interrupted when Harry put his hand on their shoulders and shook his head.

Their confused frowns turned to surprise when the young Matou Master pointed at the King of Heroes. Where he had once sported a cocky sneer, he was now showing a face of intense concentration, his muscles clenched like he was trying to resist something. Eventually, with a scream of pure rage, he threw Ea back into his vault and withdrew a small, ceremonial dagger from it. He gave them one last look of utter hatred before stabbing himself repeatedly in the heart with it. His face ended up set into a glare that promised untold retribution should he ever get the chance before he fell off the roof, dead.

"I love it when a plan comes together," Harry said, a smug grin on his face before passing out from exhaustion and blood loss.

-Earlier-

Assassin jumped from rooftop to rooftop, quickly moving to fulfill her god's orders. She felt a warmth in her chest that he had entrusted victory in the battle to her. It filled her with pride to know that he had enough faith in her that he was willing to entrust not only his life, but those of all those precious to him to her, and she swore that she would not such faith be misplaced.

Flashback

"Assassin, I need you to do something for me." echoed the voice of her Lord, the link they shared allowing them to communicate despite the presence of their enemy.

"Of course, Master. Speak and I shall obey." Was her answer.

"You just heard Gilgamesh mention his Master, correct? I need you to go to Fuyuki Church. The priest there is overseer of this war. Due to his position, he has dozens of command seals built into his body. I want you to take control of his circuits and force him to expend all of his seals ordering Gilgamesh to self-terminate with no casualties. Once you're finished, kill him and return here."

"I understand, Master," she replied, "I shall inform you when my mission is complete."

With that, she astralized and shot off toward the church.

Flashback end

After several minutes of jumping, she arrived at the desolate church across town, and she silently slipped in, looking for her target, the situation reminding her of the various assassinations against heretics she had taken on in life. As far as she was concerned, the man she had come to kill was just another heretic acting against her God, and she would ensure that he would order the death of his Servant without fail.

She quickly and methodically cleared the upper floors of the church, leaving only the basement. As she slid down the stairs and past the locked and warded door, which was complete child's play to get past, she paused at the sight that greeted her.

Chained up all around to the various walls were children, if they could even be called that. They were all emaciated, with blackened skin, and deadened eyes staring at nothing. They possessed no muscles or fat, making them resemble blackened skeletons more than children. In fact, in most of them the only thing betraying their life was the screaming. Like a chorus of the damned they screamed in agony at their fate. She was surprised that in their state they even had the energy to spare for even that.

While mostly deadened to the suffering of others, it reminded her of the childhood of her God, and she felt hot rage seep through her being. No child deserved to live such a life, and even if she had killed children herself during her life, she had killed them swiftly and as painlessly as possible. A painless death was much better than a life of suffering, after all, and though they had been heretics, she knew it was their ancestors the true sinners, as they had taught their heretic god's ways to them.

Shaking her head, she steeled herself. She would ensure that they would have a painless death, as she knew enough to know that nothing could save them, but for now she had been entrusted with a mission by her God, and she would accomplish his will.

Stepping through the corridor, she eventually ended in a room, her target facing a wall at her left, writing on a desk.

Filled with rage at the atrocities this priest had committed against children so like her god, she activated her Ichor of Reverie. He jerked up at the table, searching for an intruder, but she forced him to sit back down. She then activated his circuits, forcing all of their power into the dozens of command seals in his body, taken from the fallen combatants in the previous wars. The seals lit up, glowing in the semi-darkness of the room, and once she was certain they had all been activated, the manipulated her "puppet" to have him utter the words necessary to ensure the safety of her God.

"Gilgamesh," growled the man, struggling with all his might against her control, but failing, "by the power of my command seals, kill yourself and only yourself. Ensure your death harms no other."

Assassin watched the man of god, her eyes full of contempt, and activated her Noble Phantasm, Raving Shadow Flash. The strands of her black hair rose into the air, lengthened themselves, and extended forward like wraiths, gently wrapping themselves around the immobilized priest until he was fully encased in a veritable cocoon of hair. With but a thought, every strand of her hair turned into a razor sharp cutting instrument and tightened, reducing the priest to a large puddle of blood, which poured down a drain built into the concrete floor.

Once she was certain the man was dead, she shook her head, using some prana to expel the blood from her raven locks. After all, if she was to sleep with her God, she would not do so while reeking of blood.

As she walked back into the room with the children, she decided to pay them each a small mercy. Each was beyond saving, so she gave them a painless death. As she got to the end of the row, one of the prisoners stuck out like a sore thumb among the emaciated youths. This one was much older than the rest, looking to be in her late twenties, with an athletic build and red hair, the only sign of the abuse suffered, the bandaged stump where the unconscious woman's right arm should be. She quickly debated if she should take her or not, but decided to ask her God for His guidance, knowing that He would know what she should do. A quick mental explanation later, he gave her permission to collect the woman and return with her. Much more confidant in her actions, she shattered the chains binding the woman to the wall and carried her out.

-Break-

Silence filled the air in the wake of Gilgamesh's attack on the Emiya manor. Kiritsugu just looked depressed from where he was laying on the spot on the floor the rest had dragged him to when the assault had begun. He had quite liked this house. If the initial sword hadn't completely destroyed the house, the entirety of the vault of Gilgamesh had finished the job. The ground surrounding the little circle of protection Harry had set up was no longer solid. It was completely molten, like lava, from the amount of heat the explosions impacting the shields had produced.

Rider was still cradling Harry from where she had caught him after his fall. Apparently the strain of keeping the shield up during the onslaught had resulted in his bandages slipping off and his bleeding resuming. The second they were sure that the situation was secure, Leanna, Monica, and Joy had rushed over to check on him. His face was pale from the lack of blood and his breathing was a bit ragged, but with time he should be able to make a full recovery.

Once the still unconscious Sakura was stable, Caster ran over to secure her Master. She utilized her Divine Words to close the wound, but the blood loss was something she couldn't fix. They would simply have to take him somewhere for him and Sakura to recover.

"So where do we go now?" Illya asked, still flanked by her Servant and maids.

"Master and Sakura will not like it," Rider said, "but I have an idea of one place we could wait for them to recover from."

-Break-

"What the hell do you mean your house was destroyed?!" Rin shouted at the small army on her doorstep, all composure lost.

"We were attacked by a remnant of the last war, and in his attempt to kill us, he destroyed Emiya's estate. Master and Sakura were injured and we need a place for them to recover. As you have a geass obligating you to render aid and are the last living magus in the city outside our group, we decided that we could seek refuge at your manor until they are stable enough to continue." Replied Saber, her tone cordial, but a hint of steel in her voice. While she would not lower herself to threaten a child, she would not allow her Master and his Servants to live in less than ideal conditions when Rin was obligated to render aid.

Rin just wanted to cry at this point. She had foolishly gotten involved in a war far beyond the scope of her abilities and it kept coming back to bite her in the ass. Now she was magically obligated to shelter sixteen people in her home, any one of whom could easily level the entire manor if the urge struck them.

She reluctantly stepped away from the entrance and permitted them to enter. The procession slowly entered, looking like they had just come out of a warzone. She grudgingly led them to the guest rooms. She could only sputter when all the Servants with the exception of Berserker and Archer joined their Master and her sister in bed, in addition to those three maids of his. Saber had looked hesitant, but had said something about "protecting him from assassination attemptss in the night. That's it, just protecting him," and joined the rest of them, although she, unlike the others, was not naked, wearing some pajamas instead.

The Einzbern girl also climbed into bed, while her pet giant astralized outside the door. Her two maids took a second guest room while Kiritsugu stumbled his way to a third, uninjured but still rather ill. Assassin placed the unconscious woman she had apparently recovered from the church in a fourth guest room, locking the door from the outside as a security measure before rejoining her Master in his bed. Archer took his place on her couch again like he owned the place. She just sighed, wondering how her nice peaceful life turned into this.

-Break-

Harry woke up feeling like his side was on fire. His immediate instinct to reach down and check it was stymied by an unconscious Sakura subconsciously clutching him in a death grip. He discovered that the cause of the pain on his side was the large jagged scar on it, although it was far from being as painful as the large wound that had created said scar. He imagined that Caster had repaired it after the battle with Gilgamesh. He would have to fix that with alchemy soon or the scar would become permanent, as he had enough scars from injuries prior to his discovery of medical alchemy.

Now that the reason for his pain was clear, he wondered why he couldn't feel his right arm, and looked to see Rider claiming it again, but clutching it so tightly that it had fallen asleep. What shocked him was the look on her sleeping face. He had thought that nothing could rattle the purple Servant. With few exceptions, the only emotions she displayed were a laconic stoicism and a warmer, teasing side. Currently, it appeared that she was having a nightmare. He could hear her muttering faintly under her breath, "No, Master. Please don't die. We need you." It appeared that she had not taken well to him getting injured.

Leaning over as much as his position and the rather tight hold his Servants, Homonculi, and Sakura had on him, he gently whispered:

"Shhhh…It's all right, Rider. I'm here, I promise."

This earned him a slightly contented look, and the bone-crushing grip lessened.

Sighing in relief, and looking past her, he saw the latest addition to his bed asleep. He wasn't really surprised to see that she was, unlike his other Servants, clothed, since his impression was that she was far from being comfortable enough to sleep naked, like his other Servants did. It was understandable, as unlike Rider, Caster, or Assassin, who had lived as women, from the day she had withdrawn Caliburn from the stone, Saber had been forced to live as a man, and had taken every possible precaution to avoid people discovering that their King was a woman. Therefore, she was extremely uncomfortable in any clothes that did not cover her body completely, and lacked confidence in herself as a woman, since she had always had to be proud as a "man". A large part of her life had seen her destroying every thought of herself being female, and trying to convince everyone, even herself, that she was a good King, so it would be a long time before she was comfortable enough to wear clothes that truly showed her female beauty. So the sight of the typically noble Saber cuddling up with Monica in her sleep brought a smile to his face.

When he looked down and saw Assassin still awake, she informed him mentally that she had taken the woman recovered from the church and stored her in another guest room. He made sure to thank her, both for recovering the woman, and for saving their lives, making the devoted woman blush as she reaffirmed her grip on his leg, and continued to stare at him with nothing but pure adoration in her eyes, while he tried to shut out the feeling of being watched while he was in bed.

Caster shifted in her sleep, slightly pulling on his leg. She too looked to be having a nightmare, and it took him sending as much soothing emotions and words through their link to have her calm down.

The three homunculi had moved in even closed than they usually did, though whether it was because this bed was slightly smaller than the one at the Emiya estate or because they were seeking comfort he couldn't tell. Illya was still curled up between him and Rider like a cat. She had her face buried in his uninjured side and her arms carefully wrapped around him so that she didn't hurt him.

He had been lucky that this was the only real confrontation he'd had so far in the war if this was how those close to him reacted to him getting injured. He wouldn't let them suffer because of the Grail any longer.

"Tomorrow," he silently vowed to himself, "The War will end. No matter the cost."