The trip to the postal office was uneventful. Ilya mailed a letter, Shirou stopped by an auto parts store and, oddly enough, a music store for supplies. Rin's only thought was for Gejno's letter that was being held for her.
It was in a slim manilla envelope postmarked the day before. It looked mundane, belying the secrets it might unlock. She forced her self to wait until they were all back at the mansion before she opened it. She could tell that Shirou and Ilya were just as eager to find out what it said but they were both tactful enough to hold off their questions while she read it.
Genjo's envelope contained a single sheet of paper. It had that stiff, crinkling property that paper gets after it's gotten wet and then been dried out. It wasn't exactly yellowed with age but the date at the top placed it as having been sent nearly fifteen years ago.
Tohsaka,
There's been another security breach and we believe that the mole is somewhere in your organization. A shipment of subjects was being transported from our Siberian lab to our lab in Spain when several of them regained consciousness and nearly escaped, possibly with help from someone on the inside. They had to be killed. It was a waste of resources.
I don't need to remind you what will happen if the rest of the Mages Association discovers that we've allied ourselves with the Church for this project. And between the three of us, the von Einsberns only see this as a contingency plan for their own Grail research. They can't be counted on for any more than they've already contributed to the project.
The church's representative is scheduled to arrive at the Valencia laboratory in four days. Keep a careful eye on him, if there really is a mole they may try to contact him. If anyone tries to contact Kotomine while he's there kill them both.
Matou
Rin re-read the letter as she tried to make sense of it. Secret laboratories? Test subjects? At least the letter shed a little light on the mystery. It mentioned that Kotomine was the Church's liaison for the project, which explained why he had such a personal stake in locating it. It also revealed that Omega wasn't a joint project between the entire Mages Association and the Church but a secret project between the Tohsaka, Von Einsbern, and Matou families. That would explain why Magnus assumed that Rin would have information on the Weapon while knowing that the Barthomeloi family had none.
Ilya's impatience reached its peak and Rin handed the letter over to her while she mused. Ilya looked more confused than illuminated before finally handing the letter over to Shirou, who read it while Rin and Ilya discussed the implications.
"So Omega is the result of a research project between our families, the Matou's, and the Church. But I've never heard of it before Kotomine mentioned it. Had you?" Rin asked.
Ilya shook her head.
"No, as far as I know the only magical research my family is even interested in is the Grail." Ilya said, bemused.
Rin considered for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin.
"Well, the letter doesn't mention where that laboratory is, although it confirms that it's here in Valencia. I guess our only lead is to go to the delivery address for the letter and see if we can pick up any clues. Shirou, what do you..." Rin turned to Shirou but paused in shock.
His hands were trembling, he clutched the letter in a white knuckled grip, his face was crimson with rage. The change was shocking. Shirou was always so kind, so cheerful. Even when he was scared or angry it was half tinted with his own brand of good natured humor. Rin had never seen him truly, genuinely angry. It was a little frightening.
"Tohsaka...Von Einsbern..." He growled through gritted teeth.
"You two were a part of this from the beginning!" He bellowed.
"No! Neither of us had anything to do with this!" Ilya burst out before Rin could answer, rushing to Shirou's side. She reached out to him but he brushed her hand away angrily. Ilya snatched it back, hurt, and tears began to fill her eyes.
"Fine! Maybe you'd like to be judged for all your parent's sins too!" She snapped, whirling and rushing from the room.
Shirou's eyes widened and he glanced at Rin in sudden uncertainty.
"She's right, you idiot." Rin said angrily.
"Look at the date on the letter. It's nearly fifteen years old. I would have been eight at the time, and Ilya would barely have been born. We both know just as much about this as you."
Shirou's anger wavered and then collapsed into a look of guilt and sudden regret.
"Just...just promise me that you didn't have anything to do with those butchers." He said.
"Of course not. I know as little about Omega as you." Rin replied, her anger waning.
Shirou looked into her eyes for a long minute, searching. After a moment he nodded.
"Alright. I believe you. I'm going after Ilya." He said, turning and heading through the doors that Ilya had fled through.
Rin waited a moment, processing what had just happened. Shirou's rage made one thing abundantly clear. He was far, far more emotionally invested in finding the Omega Weapon than he let on.
When Rin finally went to look for them she found that they hadn't gotten far. Ilya was in Shirou's arms in the hallway just outside the kitchen, crying into his shoulder. Rin felt a sudden sting of jealousy. She knew it was irrational. But wasn't Shirou her shoulder to cry on?
"Shhhh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You're important to me, Ilya." He said.
"Really?" Ilya asked, looking up at him through glistening eyelashes. Her words held an expectancy, a yearning.
Rin's heart fell and she turned away. She knew what was coming next. But her head snapped back around as Shirou spoke.
"Of course. You're like the sister I never had." He said.
"Just a sister?" Ilya asked meekly.
"Not just a sister. The best little sister a fellow could hope for." Shirou replied reassuringly, completely misinterpreting Ilya's tone.
Rin's heart went out to her friend. Imagine pining after someone as emotionally dense as Shirou? Well, on second though Rin realized that she didn't really have to imagine all that hard. Ilya began crying into his chest again and Shirou, as oblivious as ever, just rocked her back and forth and patted the back of her head reassuringly.
Rin sighed and turned to leave when she felt movement from one of her pockets. She was puzzled and reached inside where her fingers touched a small hoop of metal. It was the washer that she had enchanted to notify her when the Map was acting up, and it was vibrating like crazy.
"You guys? I hate to break up a tender moment, but it looks like we've got a situation." She said.
Shirou tactfully extracted himself from Ilya's hug. She let him go reluctantly and followed him as they made their way into the study. There was a huge spike of magical activity on the map over the touristy antique section of the city.
"Crap." Shirou said. "It's the middle of the day. We need to get down there right away. If that Burial Agent gets there first things'll be messy. Carlos doesn't exactly know the meaning of restraint."
Rin nodded and soon the four of them, Rin, Shirou, Ilya, and Caster, were in the car racing towards the tourist district. Rin resisted the urge to reach out and search for sources of magical power, she knew that the act of scanning would reveal them and give away the element of surprise. Even without a magical scan it wasn't that difficult to tell what direction the commotion was in. There was a wail of ambulances and police cars headed towards it and a steady stream of panicky civilians headed away from it.
Shirou squealed around the corner into a large square and slammed on the brakes. The square was bordered by the massive front of an ancient cathedral on one side and a charming and eclectic collection of diners and cafes on the rest. The entire area was a turmoil of bystanders and passers by crowded around. Some watched in fascination, some tried to escape in a panic. And the reason for their panic clashed back and forth around the massive stone fountain that dominated the center of the square.
It was Lancer with her gleaming armor and her harpoon and chain. But Lancer's appearance paled next to her opponent. He was short and swarthy, bulky muscles bulging under princely robes. His hair was short and curly, as was his beard. His face was sunburned and wind blasted, giving him the impression of a working man despite his finery. In his right hand he held a short pointed sword. But the truly eye capturing thing about him was the shimmering mass of a golden cloak thrown back over his left shoulder. It seemed to shift and change in length, never dragging on the ground or getting in the way of his lithe movements but always long enough to cover him from neck to ankle. The hue was of the purest burnished gold, faceted and glimmering as it rippled.
There was only one Servant he could be but Rin confirmed it with a quick glance through her Grail vision.
CLASS: Rider
TRUE NAME: ?
MASTER: ?
As Rin was looking through her Grail vision Lancer charged once again and Rin marveled at her blinding speed. One could catch glimpses of her, here and there, pausing like a single freeze frame in motion, her ornate serrated harpoon held high, but otherwise she was moving so fast that she couldn't be seen by the naked eye. Gusts of wind caused by her passage billowed through the square, pelting the onlookers with crumpled newspapers and bits of dust. She leaped forwards, spear extended. With callous unconcern Rider flourished his cloak. Altho it appeared to be nothing more than scintillating golden cloth Lancer rammed into it with the force of a locomotive, sparks flying upwards and outwards in a brilliant shower. Rin's eyes widened and she checked lower on Rider's report.
NOBLE PHANTASM: Golden Fleece
TYPE: Barrier Phantasm
DESCRIPTION: The Golden Fleece is immune to damage and does not pass physical forces through to its wielder. It does not absorb or block attacks, but rather reduces the rank of all incoming attacks to zero. It could therefore be said that any attack levied against the Golden Fleece does not constitute an attack at all.
To be bearing the golden fleece left Rider but one identity and, sure enough, when Rin re-checked her Grail vision she saw his name listed.
CLASS: Rider
TRUE NAME: Jason the Argonaut
MASTER: ?
WEAPON: The Sword
NOBLE PHANTASM: Golden Fleece
CLASS ABILITIES:
Magic Resistance C: Provides resistance to all incoming magical damage or control.
Riding A: All vehicles and mounts can be ridden save for Divine Beasts.
Charisma B: All men will follow his command, and Heroes will be bolstered.
Tactics B: Gives advantage to battles fought with large numbers of troops.
Eye for Art C: When a Noble Phantasm is sighted gives a small chance to identify it.
Sailor A: Gives advantage to battles fought on the sea.
STRENGTH: B
ENDURANCE: B
AGILITH: C
MAGIC: D
LUCK: A
NOBLE PHANTASM: B
As she read Lancer continued to rain down attacks with her blinding speed, attacks which Rider continued to block with contemptuous ease. The Fleece was more powerful than any shield. A powerful enough blow against even the strongest shield will test the strength of its wielder, sending them staggering back. Any blow against the Fleece wouldn't even be felt by Rider, despite it being as supple and flexible as cloth. Rin was a bit surprised that Rider would expose his identity so readily, but she supposed they were past the point where holding back was an advantage. At this point the war was all or nothing.
While Lancer and Rider's battle raged Shirou parked the car at a crazy angle halfway up the curb and jumped out.
"Wait!" Rin called, and he paused.
"Think for a moment before you go charging in there. What good will interfering with their fight do?"
Shirou quirked an eyebrow.
"I couldn't care less about the Servants." He said. "We need to get these people out of here. They don't know how much danger they're in."
Rin supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Shirou was perfectly willing to risk his life facing Assassin for the sake of some theoretical victim. With an entire crowd of bystanders he wasn't likely to sit meekly in the car. Many of the people filling the square had fled but there were still observers who thought it was all just a part of the show. He charged off towards the nearest group of bystanders and Ilya made as if to follow but Rin restrained her.
"Let him go, there's no stopping Shirou when he's got it in his head to rescue someone. We need to get to higher ground." She said.
"And keep an eye out for Magnus Barthomeloi. If Lancer is here he can't be far away."
Ilya nodded and Rin turned her attention to the shops. A nearby building had an exposed fire escape and soon she, Ilya, and Caster found themselves up on the roof with a good view of the square.
The duel below had devolved into a stalemate. Rider's impenetrable defense made Lancer's fiercest onslaught laughable, and Lancer's super human speed left Rider with no chance to counter attack before she was out of his reach. Rider had resorted to readying himself for Lancer's charge and swinging at her with his shortsword whenever she launched an attack. Things would have continued like that indefinitely until Lancer sought a way to break the stalemate.
She threw the weighted end of her harpoon to wrap around a lamp post on the opposite side of the square from Rider and then charged past him in a dash attack. He swung at her ineffectually but her charge brought her to the other side of the square. She quickly looped around a sign post and then charged again, trailing her chain. Four more times she attacked, each time her momentum carried her past Rider and each time she looped around a tree or lamp post before attacking again.
"Oh, that clever bitch!" Rin exclaimed.
Ilya looked confused and Rin explained.
"Look what she's doing, she's threading her chain around those obstacles and weaving a trap around Rider. Soon he'll have nowhere to go."
And sure enough, Lancer skidded to a halt in front of Rider. Her chains rattled in the wind, looped taunt around various objects in a rough pentagram with Rider in the center. Too late he realized the trap that had been laid for him and made a dash for open ground away from Lancer's chains. She was too quick for him. She braced herself and gave a mighty heave. There was a crack and the sound of wrenching metal and the five points that her chain was looped around gave way simultaneously, sending the trap constricting inwards to bind Rider. He gave a mighty leap and the chains crashed together into a knot where had been standing an instant before.
Ilya gasped at his evasion, but Rin knew better.
"It's over." She said.
With a burst of wind from her passage Lancer kicked off again, dashing to the point where Rider was sure to land. Without his feet on the ground he had no way to dodge, no way control his momentum. All Lancer had to do was strike the killing blow as he fell. But Rider had other plans. With a flourish he pulled the Fleece from his shoulders and, rather than shielding his fall like Rin expected him to, he flung it out behind him and pushed off against it. To Lancer's great surprise he suddenly changed directions in mid air. Suddenly his fall carried him far beyond where she was waiting for him and, as he passed overhead, a viscous downwards stroke connected with Lancer. She cried out and fell to her knees, blood geysering from a wound that ran from shoulder blade to waist.
It had all happened in less than a second but it took Rin a moment to work out what had happened.
"Of course!" She exclaimed. "The Fleece doesn't respond to external changes in momentum! It will still fall at the rate of cloth, but even while it's falling he can jump off of it just like it were solid!"
By then Shirou had cleared the last of the bystanders from the square. He was nowhere to be seen but Rin assumed that he was making his way back to the building where she and the others were watching from. She glanced around for Magnus but paused when she caught sight of a dark figure on a rooftop across the way. He was standing fearlessly on the edge of a tall building looking down on the battle just as she was. She couldn't make out his features except that he was clad in a long black coat. Altho she couldn't see him well she somehow felt certain that she had seen him before. Where?
Suddenly it came to her. The night she and Berserker had seen Saber and Archer battle there had been a man in black watching. It had to be the same person.
Below in the square Lancer painfully drew herself up. She leveled her spear at Rider.
"This isn't over. The same trick won't work twice." She spat. And then, with her superhuman speed, she was gone.
Rider barked a deep laugh and swirled his cloak dramatically, fanning it across his shoulder and checking his appearance in a nearby shop window.
"Well, well. Cowards will be cowards!" He called out.
"Let us be gone from this place Master. It bores me."
A short, fat mage that Rin didn't recognize waddled across the square. He said something to Rider that made him laugh and then they both strode off down a nearby alleyway, looking like they hadn't a care in the world.