Author's Note: WARNING! This chapter contains mature content, namely rape. I've tried to be as non-graphic as possible, but if any of you think I should change the rating to M, feel free to say so in a review.

Chapter 17: A King's Secret and a Witch's Scheme

He was in the royal chambers, flat on his back on his bed, with Morgan standing above him and grasping his shoulders in an iron grip. He never knew there had been anyone following him after he'd left the evening's feast, and he wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten into this position. One minute, he had heard Morgan address him and turned around to face her; the next, her eyes had glowed as she looked straight at him and he suddenly found he couldn't move.

"This is merely a precaution." Morgan's eyes glittered icily. "I cannot have anyone interfering, now, can I?"

"You...plan to kill me?" Arthur forced out, struggling in vain to fight against the magic that paralyzed him.

Morgan's lips curled into a cruel, sadistic smile. "Oh, no, dear brother; I shall not kill you tonight. I am simply setting your fate into motion." She straddled him and let go of one of his shoulders to run her fingers across the side of his face; he would have recoiled if he could. She leaned closer to him, so close her lips were almost touching his. "You just lie still..." her voice had now lowered to a whisper, "not that you have a choice."

Horror seeped through Arthur's veins as his brain at last registered the situation at hand. Morgan had paralyzed him, shoved him onto his bed, and settled herself on top of him...all of that could only mean one thing.

His half sister intended to rape him.

No...no, no...I don't want this...I don't want this...get off...get off...get off of me! Such thoughts and more went through his mind as Morgan ripped his clothes off, stripped down to nothing, and pleasured herself with his numb, frozen body. He wanted to fight back, he wanted to scream, he wanted to get away...but he couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, couldn't do anything. All he could do was wait for the nightmare to be over.

Eventually—finally—Morgan got up and redressed. She said something to him, but he didn't hear her. After she left, he remained on his bed, naked and still motionless even as the paralysis wore off. And for the first time in a long time, he felt tears silently slide down his face.

Arthur was not the same after the rape. He doubled his efforts in being the ideal king; he resolved to never be that vulnerable again. The rare smiles he had given to the few truly close to him were nonexistent, and if his devotion to protecting his kingdom was strong before, it was all-consuming now. He looked at every battle with an emotionless, pragmatic eye, mercilessly cutting down his enemies. He hardened his heart when ordering his men to ransack villages whenever supplies dwindled. He kept his face blank as he sentenced his wife Guinevere to death for the crime of adultery.

The people who once lauded him as a god now reviled him as a demon. "King Arthur does not understand the hearts of men," they said. The more battles he won, the more perfect he was, the more his subjects hated him, and the more he was isolated.

However, if one took the time to truly look at the King, they might have caught a glimpse of a broken young man who so desperately wanted to save his people, who felt that his kingship was the only thing that stood between him and utter worthlessness. And he still would rule Britain as her King in the best way he knew, no matter how much he was feared, despised, and misunderstood, no matter how many knights left his service.

The reign of Arthur Pendragon was in the beginning of its end.

Saber!

Shira woke up from her dream, her body shaking with sobs.

Saber...oh, my God, he was...he was...

She wiped at her eyes swiftly, trying to get a hold of herself. But the image of her Servant, helpless, paralyzed, and at the mercy of Morgan le Fay, was still terribly vivid in her mind. Suddenly, things were starting to make a dreadful kind of sense: Saber's reaction to the idea of Taiga believing he'd molest Shira, his reaction to Rin's kiss the night in the ruins, his reaction yesterday when she'd accidentally walked in on him bathing...

It was like the pieces of a puzzle were finally fitting together, and it made Shira sick to her stomach to know that she hadn't realized it until now.

Even after getting raped, Saber still did everything he could to protect his country, she thought. And those ungrateful bastards hated him for it. Anger welled up within her. How could they? Couldn't they see how much he was hurting? And Saber just took their abuse, right up until the very end.

Saber's voice echoed in her head. "I wish to carry out a certain obligation I have that went unfulfilled when I was alive. ... I suppose what I mean to say is that the Grail will allow me to do things over again."

Do things over...? Shira mused. Did that mean Saber wanted to relive his life?

"Shira?"

The redhead lifted her tear-stained face to see that Saber had opened his bedroom door, looking at her in concern. Every instinct she had told her to run over to him and pull him into her arms, but she wasn't sure if he wouldn't be scared off by it.

Saber spoke again when Shira didn't respond. "Is something wrong? Why have you been crying?" He hadn't needed their bond as Master and Servant to know about her distress; it had been the sound of her sobbing for breath that woke him up.

"I just had one of your dreams," Shira said quietly. "Morgan le Fay was in it, and she was..."

The knight felt his stomach drop. Shira had left the sentence unfinished, but it was clear to him what she had dreamed about—the night his body had been violated, the night his half sister robbed him of whatever dignity he'd possessed, the night he'd tried so hard to forget.

"Shira, I am so sorry you saw that." Saber stared at the floor, not bearing to hold his Master's gaze. "What must you think of me, not being able to—"

"That wasn't your fault!" Shira interrupted fiercely, standing up. "Don't blame yourself for what that bitch did to you."

"But it was my fault," Saber insisted, still looking at the floor. "I was the one who allowed Morgan into my home."

"There was no way you could've known."

"I should have; what king makes that kind of mistake?"

"Saber—"

He looked up at Shira at last, his expression flat. "This conversation is over."

"But wait—"

Without letting her finish, the blond retreated back into his room and closed the door. Shira stared mutely, her thoughts concluding what she'd wanted to say: Don't shut me out.

By the time Shira and Saber went to the dining room, Rin, Sakura, Taiga (who had been just released from the hospital, fully recovered), and Ilya (who must have had some kind of cover story worked out, as Taiga and Sakura accepted her presence with no apparent complaint) were sitting at the table having breakfast. The pair took their usual seats, and Saber grabbed a bowl of rice without so much as a glance at Shira.

"Uh, Saber, listen," Shira began after a slight pause. She saw what Saber was doing—he wanted to pretend that nothing was amiss—but it would be worse if she just let him bottle everything up. "About that talk earlier—"

"I have gone temporarily deaf and have no idea what you are talking about, Shira," Saber cut in neutrally, taking a bite of rice.

Shira sighed, filling her plate with food without really noticing what she was getting. She looked up to see Sakura's worried gaze shifting from Saber to her.

"Did something happen between you and Saber, Senpai?" the violet-haired girl asked.

"It's nothing," Shira replied, trying to smile. "Don't worry about it."

A news report blared on TV in the background. "Early this morning, a man was found unconscious on the third floor of Fuyuki City's financial offices."

"Another gas leak accident?" Taiga exclaimed as she turned her attention to the news.

Shira was careful to keep a straight face as she continued eating. Now more than ever, she was certain that all of these "accidents" were not coincidental...and being done by the witch at Ryudou Temple.

The news report was still going on by the time breakfast was over. Shira and Sakura washed the dishes, Saber remained sitting at the table, and Taiga, Rin, and Ilya all sat in front of the TV.

"This brings the total number of unexplained coma incidents up to more than thirty," the reporter said.

Taiga shuddered. "Isn't this whole thing creepy? I mean, our whole school's been closed down because of these leaks. Shira, Sakura, Miss Tohsaka, you be careful out there!"

"Everything will be fine," Sakura said reassuringly.

But as Shira gave Sakura another plate to rinse, she saw that her younger friend was tense and frowning.

Once Taiga and Sakura had left, Shira, Saber, and Rin gathered around the dining room table to discuss what they'd heard on the news. Like Shira, Rin was convinced that all of the supposed gas leaks weren't just occurring by chance.

"These incidents are getting larger in scale," Rin said. "The Master hiding at Ryudou Temple must be getting bolder now that Berserker's been taken out. If we don't do something, there's no telling how far it'll escalate."

Shira looked down, grabbing a fistful of her skirt. This was reminding her far too much of what Shinji and Rider had tried to do with the barrier. Too many people were being endangered by the witch's soul-gathering; the sooner they put a stop to it, the better.

"Disregarding the Assassin Servant guarding the temple's entrance," Rin continued, "there's the issue of all the people who live there. This makes launching an attack with Excalibur problematic."

"Okay, so full-frontal assault is out," Shira said impatiently. "Any other bright ideas?"

Ilya poked her head into the room before Rin could reply. "It sounds like you guys are trying to come up with a strategy. Mind if I join in?"

Rin pushed a lock of black hair over her shoulder with a sniff. "Little girls like you should go out and play."

Ilya scoffed as she let herself in anyway, not bothering to take a seat. "Oh, please. I've done nothing but play 'innocent little girl' since I got here." She smiled mischievously. "If you want, I can give you the inside info on what you're talking about." Her smile faded as her lips pursed. "But maybe I really will go outside and play instead."

That caused Rin to give pause.

"We're listening, Ilya," Shira told her. "What do you know?"

"That stuff they were talking about on the news wasn't the work of Ryudou Temple's Master," Ilya said promptly, her features grim. "Caster's the one behind it."

Shira exchanged a puzzled look with Saber.

Rin seemed just as confused. "Are you saying that the Master at Ryudou Temple has nothing to do with the coma incidents?"

Ilya was amused by this. "You're not getting it. There's not just one Servant at the temple, there's two: Assassin and Caster."

"So did this Master somehow manage to summon two Servants?" Shira wondered out loud.

"Not exactly." Ilya began twirling around like a ballerina. "You see, the person who summoned up Assassin was actually Caster."

"That's impossible!" Rin exclaimed in disbelief. "A Servant shouldn't have the power to summon another Servant."

The white-haired girl stopped twirling. "Sure they can. If you're a magus, you can summon whoever you want. Caster is a Servant of the magus class, and who do you think would be the best magus in the city right now?"

"That does make sense," Rin admitted, tapping her chin in thought. "Caster must have just used her own power to summon Assassin." She fell silent for a few seconds. "So, who's the Master at Ryudou Temple, then?"

"Caster is a first-class magus," Ilya answered. "She doesn't really need a Master if she doesn't want one. She killed the Master who summoned her and hid herself away at the temple not long after that. Her current Master isn't even a magus; he's just some ordinary human who Caster is using as a puppet."

Saber had let out a slight gasp as soon as Ilya said that Caster had murdered her original Master. "How could she do that?" he asked, his voice low. "How could she just turn around and kill the Master she had just formed a contract with?"

"I'm not surprised," Ilya said, "especially since Caster's true identity is Medea."

"Medea?" Shira repeated. And here I was kinda hoping it'd be Morgan...

"She's a backstabbing witch who dates back from Ancient Greece," Rin explained. She stood up and began pacing. "In that case, Assassin is our only real problem. Caster shouldn't pose that much of a threat against Saber."

The aforementioned knight chose that moment to speak. "Shall we attack Ryudou Temple, then?"

"If we want to stop the collateral damage, we're gonna have to," Shira told him. "And since Caster's Master isn't a magus—"

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut her off.

"Who is that?" Saber frowned.

"Emiya!" a male voice called from outside the estate. "Are you home?"

Shira got to her feet. "That's Issei."

"What?"

But Shira was already heading out into the hallway and towards the front door, so she didn't have time to answer Saber's question, nor did she notice that her Servant's eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"Issei, this is a surprise," she greeted as soon as she answered the door, allowing him to step inside. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was just called in by Mr. Kuzuki on some student council business," Issei explained. "I thought I'd stop by and check up on you, since I haven't seen you lately."

"Oh. Thanks. I just," Shira paused for a second to think up a good excuse, twirling strands of hair around her finger, "have been a little under the weather these last few days. So," she added abruptly, "Mr. Kuzuki is at school?"

"Yes; he headed out early this morning," Issei said. "As you know, Emiya, there's always pressing matters for the—"

"Wait a minute," Shira broke in, "how did you know that Mr. Kuzuki had already left?"

"We happen to live under the same roof," Issei told her matter-of-factly.

Shira's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Issei had the grace to look slightly sheepish. "My goodness, have I never told you? Mr. Kuzuki has been living at the temple for the past three years now."

"Really?" Does this mean that Mr. Kuzuki is Caster's Master? Shira could almost feel the wheels in her head turning, and she wouldn't have been surprised if she had a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face.

Luckily, Issei seemed oblivious, and it wasn't long before he left the estate. After Shira closed the front door, she turned around to see that Saber and Rin had been listening from around the corner of the hall. As she walked over to them, she noticed Saber glaring at the exact spot where her male classmate had been standing.

"That was Issei?" he asked tersely.

"Yeah, he's a friend from school," Shira replied.

Saber's glare did not lessen. "I see."

What's his problem? Shira scowled, not understanding why it should matter to Saber if she had friends that happened to be guys. She was about to say as much, but Rin started talking before she could say anything.

"Shira, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If that's your way of asking if I think Mr. Kuzuki is the Master at Ryudou Temple, then yes," the redhead answered.

Rin hummed thoughtfully. "It's at least worth looking into. He's not a magus, and the fact that he's staying at the temple completely fits with what Ilya told us."

"So how are we going to be looking into it?" Shira wanted to know.

"Mr. Kuzuki is at school, so I'll do some meddling and make sure he goes home late. Then we'll lie in wait and attack him when he does. We should do it tonight."

"And if you're wrong about this?" Saber asked, the cool edge in his voice still present. "Personally, I find it likely that Shira's friend is Caster's Master."

"Saber!" Shira admonished him.

The blond didn't even flinch under her glare, his face stony. "I am only saying there is more than one possibility."

"We won't do anything drastic," Rin said in response to Saber's question. "We're just going to determine whether or not Mr. Kuzuki is a Master. I'll give him a little tap with the Gandr Shot, and if Shira and I are wrong, the worst that'll happen is him having a cold for a few days."

Shira only paid half attention to Rin, continuing to stare at Saber. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that he had a point; as both a regular human with no magic circuits and a resident of Ryudou Temple, Issei could be Caster's Master just as easily as Kuzuki. Still, that didn't explain why Saber was acting as though Issei's mere existence was offensive to him.

I guess I'll never know, Shira thought.

Night fell several hours later, and Shira, Saber, and Rin were currently hiding in an alleyway. Shira sat on her knees on the pavement, her back pressed against a metal wall and a wooden rod in hand. Rin and Saber remained standing, the latter decked out in his armor.

"If Mr. Kuzuki's going straight to Ryudou Temple after school, then he'll have to pass by here," Shira stated.

"I've gone ahead and set up a barrier around the whole area," Rin said. "If we're spotted, the game's up, but if this turns into a fight, it'll be completely soundproofed."

Shira gripped her rod tightly at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"He's close," Rin whispered as she crouched down.

A sideways glance was enough for Shira to see Kuzuki's tall, thin figure illuminated by the electric sign of the nearby convenience store as he walked along the street, carrying a bag. Once Kuzuki had passed them, Rin stood up and emerged from their hiding spot as quickly and quietly as she could. With her hand in the shape of a gun, a small black sphere appeared at the tip of her index finger and was fired straight at the back of Kuzuki's head.

But the sphere never hit its target, getting deflected before it could even graze the man's hair. Rin and Shira both gasped as a black shroud suddenly appeared, rising of its own accord. In seconds, the shroud grew to the size of a human, and suddenly, a black-hooded, purple-robed woman—Caster, no doubt—stood with her back to Kuzuki.

"I warned you, Master Souichirou," Caster said silkily. "I told you that you should wait at Ryudou Temple in case something like this should occur."

"I would argue the opposite," Kuzuki intoned. "Our prey finally took the bait."

"That's true; however," Caster's lips curved upward, "our catch doesn't look to be very big, now, does it? Come on out, my foolish little magus."

"All right, Saber, time to get ready," Rin muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "Shira, wait for the signal."

Shira bit her lip, suddenly recalling what Ilya had said about Caster's Master being used as a puppet. If that was true, did that mean Kuzuki was under a spell? Sorry, Tohsaka, but I don't think I can wait for any signal.

"Trace, on." Shira's circuits flipped on, and mana flowed into her rod, transforming it into steel. She got up and headed out of the alleyway, Saber following suit.

"What are you doing?!" Rin hissed as both Shira and Saber stood about ten yards away from Kuzuki and Caster, their weapons at the ready.

"Well," Caster purred at Shira, "I see you catch on quickly, young lady."

Kuzuki turned to fix the girls with his typically stoic gaze. "Emiya and Tohsaka. So, it's not just Matou who's a Master now. Fate has an odd way of doing things."

"Kuzuki," Shira began, "what sort of control does Caster have over you?"

The man's eyes were now solely on her. "What makes you ask me that question, Emiya?"

"You're only a human, not a magus," Shira said, "so you might not be aware of what Caster is really up to."

"Oh?" Kuzuki's expression remained unchanged. "And what exactly is Caster up to?"

"She's set up shop at Ryudou Temple and is collecting mana from people in town. She's the one behind all the mass comas that have been happening." Shira spared a glare at Caster, whose smug little smile had yet to fade. "If she isn't stopped, someone's bound to actually die sooner or later."

"I see," Kuzuki said, as casually as if Shira had just answered a question in one of his classes. "What's the problem, then, Emiya?"

Shira blanched significantly, looking shocked. "Are you serious?"

"The only issue I have is how Caster is doing it," Kuzuki informed her calmly. "Instead of taking only half their lives, it would be more efficient if she took all of it at once."

I can't believe what I'm hearing! Shira thought, clenching the rod in her fist. "Are you saying you don't care if innocent people die because of this?!"

"Not one bit. If you must label it, then I suppose it's evil, but I don't care how many people die to get what I want."

He said it so callously that Shira had no choice but to believe he was telling the truth. She stared furiously up into those dark, empty eyes. "So you're not a puppet—you're just a sociopath."

Kuzuki continued as though he hadn't heard the redhead. "It's true, I'm not a magus. I have no interest in this Holy Grail War." He set his bag down on the stone pavement, took off his glasses, and put them in his breast pocket. "I'm only the kind of killer you'd find rotting in the dark corners of society."

Before Shira could do more than tense up, Caster raised her hand to fire a sphere of energy at her. Instantly, Saber jumped in front of Shira, deflecting Caster's attack with Excalibur and sending the energy crashing into a window of the store.

"If what you say is true," Saber said to Kuzuki, his voice as angry as Shira felt, "then you should have no qualms about dying here. Is that not correct?"

Without waiting for a response, Saber charged forward towards Kuzuki, Excalibur raised. His sword slashed at his opponent, intending to cut the man in two and end the fight right then and there.

But to the knight's utter amazement, his attack was stopped before it could be completed. Kuzuki had leapt up as soon as Saber was in striking distance, catching the blade in between his knee and elbow.

Saber jumped back, still wielding Excalibur. "Impossible!" Who was this man? He was neither a magus nor a Servant, yet he was able to stop a direct blow from Saber's sword with his own body?

By now, Kuzuki was back on the ground, straightening up. "Caster, enhance my fists."

Caster gave a short nod. "As you wish."

Kuzuki's hands glowed briefly, and he raced towards Saber. With a battle cry, Saber swung Excalibur, but Kuzuki jumped backward, unharmed. He ran forward again, raining a flurry of blows on Saber. The blond dodged the fists coming at him, but it wasn't long before Kuzuki punched him in the stomach, causing him to sink to his knees with a gasp. Saber looked up in time to see another punch aimed for his head, and he quickly got out of the way. There was no time for Kuzuki to pull back, so his fist smashed into the street's concrete, forming a small crater.

"I'm impressed you dodged that," Kuzuki said stoically. "Was it your swift intuition, or perhaps your dynamic visual acuity?"

Saber ducked Kuzuki's next punch, but before he could get back into a standing position, Kuzuki grabbed him by the throat, squeezing in a vice-like grip. Saber's breath came out in choked sputters, and Kuzuki threw him as easily as if he were a ragdoll. The knight flew through the air and crashed to the ground, Excalibur falling from his hand with a clatter.

"Saber!" Shira cried out when he didn't get up.

"How is this even possible?" Rin wondered out loud, nonplussed.

"Most assume that a Master's only role is rear support, but there's always an exception to every rule. For some Masters, their only asset is taking an active role in the fighting. Caster," Kuzuki's eyes flickered to his Servant, "I seem to recall asking you to kill all the other Masters."

"My apologies, Master Souichirou, but if you don't mind," a smirk played on Caster's lips, "I would very much like to deal the final blow to Saber, leaving the Masters for you."

Kuzuki silently nodded, his emotionless gaze switching back to the two girls. Shira was about to race towards him, but Rin beat her to it, hurrying a few steps forward and making a gun shape with her hand again. A black sphere appeared at the tip of her finger, but before it could be fired, Kuzuki closed the distance between himself and Rin, punching her in the chest.

"It doesn't matter how powerful a magus is," Kuzuki said as Rin had the wind knocked out of her. "Interrupt them mid-incantation and they are rendered helpless."

Rin fell to her knees, coughing violently. Shira charged forward with her rod in front of her, but one blow from Kuzuki caused it to be smashed to bits. Time seemed to slow as she watched the shards of the rod disappear. Was she falling? She couldn't tell; all she knew was that if Kuzuki could break her weapon so easily, then her death at his hands would be inevitable.

A weapon...I need a weapon!

As soon as that thought passed through Shira's head, a mental image of the black and white broadswords she had seen Archer use vividly appeared.

"Trace, on!"

Mana roared to life, and every bit of Shira's focus was set on projecting those two swords. Don't double-check it, just create it! she ordered herself. Visualize it and make it real! There's no difference between strengthening and duplication!

Little by little, the broadswords conjured into existence. Hurry up! It's not just your life that's at stake! If you don't make it work, Saber and Tohsaka will—!

Time sped up. With a yell, Shira blocked Kuzuki's latest punch with the white blade now in her right hand. She stood up as Kuzuki backed off a little, increasing her grip on the hilts of her new weapons.

"Kanshou. Bayuka," Rin breathed as she stared at the black sword, then the white sword. "How did you...?"

Shira ignored her as she ran at Kuzuki. He effortlessly blocked her every attack with his fists, and soon Shira was forced on the defensive. The night air rang with the sound of metal as she parried Kuzuki's punches, the force of his blows eventually bringing her to her knees. Kanshou and Bayuka fell from her slackened grip, blood flowing freely from her wrists.

As a panting Shira looked up at Kuzuki, she could see the faintest hint of a cold glare on his face.

Meanwhile, as Caster approached Saber, the knight had at last mustered enough strength to grab Excalibur. He swung his sword in Caster's direction, but the witch floated away from Saber's rather weak attempt at an attack and retreated back to Kuzuki's side. Saber got to his feet and went to stand next to Shira.

Before anyone could launch another attack, Caster held up her hand. "Just stop. Why don't you cease this barbaric fighting and joins forces with us instead?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Saber growled.

But Rin stepped forward towards Caster. "What are you saying?"

"Your objective, like ours, is to obtain the Holy Grail, isn't that right?" Caster asked rhetorically. "So why are we fighting? I know how to call forth the Grail without having to kill each other."

Shira shot up, looking incredulous. "You can do that?"

"I've figured out how the Holy Grail works. If you agree to cooperate, I will gladly share the blessings of the Grail with you all."

Rin seemed just as skeptical as Shira. "And just how do you intend to get your hands on it?"

Caster let out a small, wicked chuckle. "This area contains a spiritual leyline powerful enough to call down the Grail. All that's missing is something with enough mana to act as the key component in its summoning; once we have that, the power of the Holy Grail will be ours."

A grim smile spread across Rin's features. "Yes, that's all fine in theory, but tell me, Caster, just how many souls are you willing to burn through in order to obtain the massive amount of mana this little scheme of yours will require?"

Shira whipped her head in Rin's direction. "What?"

"Let me think," Caster said. "To simply summon the Grail, I would probably need the souls of every person in this city, but that still wouldn't be enough to keep it working indefinitely." Her mouth curled into a slight sneer. "On the other hand, there really are far too many people in this world, so I can always find more. There are plenty of logs to throw on the fire, if you know what I mean."

Shira gasped, an image of that fire ten years ago flashing into her mind. She gritted her teeth in an attempt to keep the flashback at bay.

"One more question," Rin spoke presently. "This key component you need to summon the Grail would have to be a magus, wouldn't they? The only ones who can touch the Grail are Servants, but the only ones who can summon it are Masters who are also magi. Unfortunately, that Master of yours isn't a magus, so," at this point, Rin's voice became steely, "you have to find a substitute, don't you?"

"A substitute?" Shira parroted. "For what?"

"To sacrifice." Rin didn't even bother hiding her disgust. "That woman plans to offer a magus as a human sacrifice to call forth the Holy Grail!"

"'Human sacrifice' is such an ugly phrase to use," Caster said, adopting a tone reminiscent of a mother scolding an unruly child. "I will simply use a Master as a means of igniting the mana. Most likely, the magus won't be able to withstand the power and implode the instant the Grail is called down, but," the smirk on her face was downright predatory, "shouldn't one of you be selfless enough to sacrifice themselves so that another's wish may be granted?"

"Shira, Rin, pay no attention to anything she says," Saber told them curtly.

"No need to worry about that," Shira replied, glaring defiantly at their enemy.

"Oh, what a pity," Caster crooned, slipping her hand into Kuzuki's. "But fortunately for me, there's still another suitable magus besides the two of you."

With a swirl of her cloak, Caster and Kuzuki teleported out of sight, leaving Shira, Saber, and Rin standing out on the street.

"Who else could there be?" Shira asked. She racked her brain for any other magus that Caster could be after right now, but no one came to mind.

"It has to be Ilya!" Rin exclaimed after a few seconds.

"It can't be," Shira argued. "Ilya's not a magus."

"Well, who else is there?" Rin snapped, a little too defensively.

"I have to get back." Saber leapt into the air in the direction of the Emiya estate.

"Wait, Saber!"

But Shira's voice fell on deaf ears as Saber continued on his way.

It was starting to rain by the time Saber arrived at the estate. He hurried inside, bursting into the living room to find not only that all the lights were off, but a familiar-looking figure was lying on the floor.

"Sakura!" Saber dashed over to the violet-haired girl's prone form, kneeling down to gently shake her shoulder.

Sakura slowly sat up, blinking as if regaining consciousness. "Saber..." Her eyes were wide with fear.

The knight allowed himself a small, comforting smile. "It's all right; I am here."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Sakura suddenly stabbed him in the chest. Saber stiffened, much more from shock than pain, and looked down to see Sakura pull out a crooked, multicolored dagger from where she had stabbed him.

Saber stood up and backed away from the girl. "Sakura?"

Sakura got to her feet as well, and when she opened her mouth, Caster's laughter was what came out.

"You grew careless, Saber," Caster said through Sakura, lifting the dagger. "This is my Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker. It negates all magecraft."

"What exactly does that mean?" Saber asked, dreading what the answer would be.

"This girl's mana levels weren't strong enough for me to wipe out the contract you have with your Master," Caster/Sakura informed him, "but I was able to take away your trump card. I'm afraid you won't be able to use that special sword of yours."

Appalled, Saber opened his mouth again, but he yelped as a pink light engulfed him, forcing him to the ground. And with that, Caster/Sakura left the room.

Shira and Rin arrived not two seconds later.

"Saber! What happened?" the redhead asked urgently.

"It's Sakura." Saber winced in pain as he stood back up. "Caster has Sakura."

What?! Shira thought, her eyes widening. But Sakura isn't a magus!

Caster's evil laughter could be heard from outside. Rin and Shira rushed out into the front yard to see Sakura with a dangerous-looking dagger in her hand.

"This girl is the perfect sacrifice to call forth the Grail," Caster's voice crowed from Sakura's mouth. "She's full of latent magic circuits."

From beside her, Shira could've sworn she heard Rin take a sharp intake of breath.

A smirk that didn't belong on Sakura's face crossed her lips. "If you two think you can save her, then meet me at my temple."

With another cackle of laughter, the possessed girl rose into the air and flew up into the dark storm clouds.

Author's Note: In some stories where Mordred is Arthur's inbred, illegitimate son instead of his nephew, either Morgan or Morgause (depending on who the writer says is Mordred's mother) disguises herself as Guinevere and tricks Arthur into having sex with her—basically, rape by fraud. Since I decided for this fic that Saber's marriage to Guinevere wasn't a particularly passionate one, I went with a more...direct approach for Morgan to get pregnant by Saber: magically paralyzing him and proceeding to force herself on him.

If you don't feel sorry for Saber after this chapter, you have no heart. :'( Believe me, I do not condone rape in any way, shape, or form, and I do not enjoy writing about it. I included it because, let's face it, legend says that King Arthur had a really bad track record with women, and I wanted to explore the effects such experiences would have on a male Saber.

In summary, it's discovered that Morgan had really disturbing taste in men, the green in Saber's eyes is suddenly more noticeable, Kuzuki is competing with Kotomine for Biggest Creep in Fuyuki City, and Sakura has become Caster's sock puppet.