Day 1: 7:30 AM: Undisclosed Location, Germany - Einzbern Family Castle
Knock! Knock! Knock!

Something shifted under a vast sea of blankets.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The rapping at the door intensified and yielded the desired effect. A small head popped up from beneath the expanse of covers and gave a large yawn. A thin, pale arm soon followed and attempted to rub the sleep from two tired eyes. It helped a little and the eyes opened to reveal a set of blood red irises. They lazily looked around the room. It was massive, easily a hundred feet in length and very well furnished. Numerous desks and chairs and dressers were positioned snuggly along the walls. Central amongst the other furniture was the bed. An oversized mattress rested in the middle of a four post bed frame. Dark red sheets lay strewn in heaps on top of it and a young girl's head was resting on a horde of black pillows.

The knocking came again, this time accompanied by a shrill voice, "Mistress Illyasviel? Mistress Illyasviel! Are you awake, madam? It is time to rise and prepare for your coronation. We only have two hours!"

Illyasviel von Einzbern released another yawn and sat up. A tangled mop of snow white hair fell about her head. Half heartedly she called out, "I'm awake. Give me a moment to orient myself. I will be out shortly."

"Yes ma'am!" the voice shouted back, "But I again stress that you hurry your orientation post haste!"

Illya gave a low groan and flopped backwards into the comfort of her pillows. She'd been back home for just about a week, but the strictness of procedure here was vastly different to the more lenient habits she'd fallen into while living by herself in Japan with her brother. Her grandfather, Jubstacheit von Einzbern, who had been the head of the house for almost two centuries, had recently and suddenly passed away. Illya had been recalled from her life in Japan to undertake the mantle as heiress as no other candidates existed. She didn't mind being home, rather she missed the freedoms she had back in Fuyuki as well as her adoptive brother, Shirou Emiya. With the thoughts of Fuyuki and Shirou at the forefront of her mind now, she forced herself out of bed so that she could potentially hurry this coronation process along and return to her other home as quickly as possible.

Her feet touching the ground, Illya shivered. A quick look out the window showed that a snowstorm had picked up the previous evening and was still somewhat raining down white flakes. While the air in the room was warm thanks to the heating systems in the castle, the stone ground was persistent in its attempt to match the outdoor temperature. Illya quickly moved onto the long red carpet and shuffled to the door. She opened it and found the head maid, Madam Eunice Holtbruner waiting just outside it. She was an older woman, in her early seventies, and had assisted in Illya's upbringing since she (Illya) was a child; she was essentially a second mother to Illya. Long gray hair was tied up in an ornate bun and capped with a wool bun cover. She was dressed in an eccentric blue gown with a white apron covering the front and wore a pair of black flats. A stern look was set on her face as she hurried Illya out of the room, "Come on, come on Madam! We have so much to do!"

Illya didn't bother putting up any resistance as she was too tired to care. And thus began the multi hour task of preparing for the coronation ceremony. Following a very thorough shower, Illyia was dressed in the ceremonial robes and gowns. After that she went through a strenuous ordeal as multiple groomers fashioned her mid-back length white hair by tugging, looping, and braiding it into a glamorous shape. Makeup and perfumes were then applied and she was just about ready. By this time it was almost nine thirty. She was rushed to the ceremony hall in the attached monastery next to the castle.

Illya found herself positioned in front of the large double doors that lead into the room, but her attendants were waiting for their cue before letting her go in. The pause finally gave the teenage girl a moment to take in what was finally happening. She'd been putting off facing the fact that she was about to be crowned head of the Einzbern Family because she knew it was nothing more than a formality. Because of her age she wasn't going to actually be running anything. Orders from her grandfather dictated that until she came of age, Illya's normal duties were going to be carried out by a number of trusted members from her extended family. She still had three years before those duties were going to fall to her, but the sense of anxiety was building nonetheless. She had just become accustomed to a great deal of freedom and in a relatively short amount of time it was going to be gone. Illya let out a sigh and did her best to refocus on getting back to Shirou and Fuyuki to keep her mood level. As she did so, she heard an organ start to play. It was time.

The doors were opened and Illya began her walk to the stage at the front. Glancing around the room she saw only a handful of people had shown up. Most were members of the Einzbern family she'd met only briefly during her solitary childhood. The others were trusted associates and other familial partners. The room itself hadn't been altered at all. The lighting was natural and came from the large open windows on the far end of the chapel. Columns boxed in the pews and separated them from the side walkways. There were fifteen rows of the large seats and a majority of the attendees were seated at the front. The central aisle had a long red carpet leading up to a slightly raised stage where an older man was standing obviously waiting for Illya to finish her procession. He was dressed in almost identical garments to her. A semi-ornate white robe covered his body and a white and gold stole rested around his neck. On his head was a tall, thin hat similarly colored to the rest of his clothing. He had no facial hair and wore a pair of black, circular spectacles. Illya didn't know him personally, but recognized him as the family's holy man. She was fairly sure his name was Aldrich.

The walk to the stage was fairly short as Illya's pace was increased compared to what is probably should have been. Coming to a stop next to Aldrich, Illya gave him a bow and then turned to face the assembly. She said not a word as the holy man began the ceremony. He pulled out a small book and began reciting from it in German. Illya's composed face betrayed her impatience. The priest was speaking non-stop for nearly ten minutes straight. A quick survey of the audience showed that none of them were expressing any signs of boredom, at least not openly. The man's shift to english queued Illya that the ceremony was almost complete and he was almost done talking. Illya turned to face him on his command and remained silent as he said, "Illyasviel von Einzbern, with the passing of your grandfather, Jubstacheit von Einzbern, you will now inherit the title, as well as all subsequent powers associated with said title, of the Head of the Einzbern Family. Do you accept this title and swear to do nothing but bring honor to this house and its members?"

"I do."

Illya spoke those words without a trace of the resentment she felt for them. Aldrich nodded and turned to face the group of onlookers, "If there is anyone present that feels these proceedings should not be followed through with, please speak now. If not, I will-"

Something flew from the shadows faster than Illya could follow. It reached the stage and Illya just barely managed to see it slice through Aldrich's neck. Whatever the object was was connected to a chain that swiftly pulled it back behind one of the pillars to Illya's left. Aldrich managed a cough before his head slipped off his body and tumbled down the stairs into the center aisle. There were numerous gasps and a shriek or two as every stood up in shock. A man moved out from behind the column and shouted, "I'm going to have to voice my disagreement with this party."

He was tall, over six feet, and had chiseled facial features. Black hair adorned his head and his eyes were dark green. He was dressed in a pinstripe dress shirt that had its sleeves rolled up and a pair of khaki slacks. He had a cigarette in his mouth and Illya noted the exceptionally strong German accent even compared to most natives of the country. One of the partners to the family closest to the man moved forward and hissed, "Just who do you think you are?! How dare you interrupt this ceremony and kill-"

The man snapped his finger and the object appeared again, this time from the other side of the room. Again, its movement was too fast for Illya to catch, but it followed the same kind of path it did the first time and the partner was quickly beheaded. The man let out a poof of smoke from his mouth and said, "How about everyone sits down. Now."

Illya felt the pressure rather than saw it, but something formed over the group assembled and they were crushed into their chairs. They struggled against it, but were unable to sit or stand up. Illya suspected some sort of intricate bounded field was involved. She frowned and finally spoke, "Who are you? I was just about to finish my coronation before you rudely interrupted it."

The man turned his attention to her and said, "Ah. Ms. von Einzbern. You're just the lady we were looking for."

"We?"

"Oh apologies. I forget that he likes to remain hidden," he snapped his fingers and said, "Show yourself."

The air next to one of the pillars wavered and shifted apart revealing a similarly tall man with a head of white hair. He was wearing a long jacket that fishtailed in the back and stopped at his waist in the front. On his legs he wore a pair of thick, white tights and thin, uncomfortable looking shoes covered his feet. In his hand was a long shaft. At the top there was what looked like a long piece of metal with a wickedly sharp edge on it. The man with the cigarette gave a small smile and said, "Well I suppose I should introduce us. My name is Klein. And my friend here, well...you can call him...Lancer."

Illya's composed demeanor shattered. A look of shock and worry engraved itself on her face. Lancer? A Servant? Her brother had destroyed the Holy Grail, the only thing capable of summoning servants, close to three years ago. This was impossible. She shook her head, trying to think clearly. The how didn't matter right now. If what he said was true and that was indeed a Servant, she was hilariously outclassed. She could put up a fight briefly, but there was no way she could win in an kind of direct confrontation. Not to mention whoever this Klein was was obviously an accomplished mage himself. To be able to physically impair most of the major players in the Einzbern family was beyond impressive. She grit her teeth in frustration and began slowly backing up.

"What do you want?" Illya snapped.

Klein raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that obvious? You."

Illya saw Klein nod and then saw his Servant begin swinging his staff around his head. She gauged when he was going to throw it out and dodged to the side accordingly. Her dive was perfect; any normal weapon would have missed her by a mile. Unfortunately she was being attacked by something far beyond a normal weapon wielded by a being light years beyond a normal human. The blade rocketed out from the top of the staff and grazed Illya's cheek. She gasped at the pain as she tucked into a roll and immediately dodged behind the thick stone table nearby. Lancer refocused his attack and sent another strike toward her. Illya was sent sprawling away as the table exploded when hit by the impact. She looked back and saw the Servant moving into a better position to attack her. The girl cursed and made a move to put one of the stone pillars between her and the Servant.

She heard Lancer's attack hit the column, but it fortunately held out...barely. Illya took a deep breath to calm herself and began chanting. As she neared the end of the chant, she rolled out from her cover and threw her arms out. Thin glowing strings flowed from her fingertips and quickly began fusing together to form a cohesive shape. The form it took was that of a large bird. It spread out its wing and released a screech. Illya grinned. This was her most powerful familiar. It wasn't going to be enough to stop the Servant, not by a long shot, but it should give her enough time to-

The familiar exploded. Illya's face contorted into a look of horror. Lancer's weapon returned to its owner and the Servant began moving toward her. She heard Klein let out a groan and call out, "Lancer stop playing around. Hurry up and bag her. We don't need her alive if you can't help it, but we do need all of her. Make sure you get her head if you decide to kill her."

The Servant nodded, not speaking, and began twirling his staff around his head. Illya instinctively backed away and felt the wall come up behind her. She clenched her teeth together, anger and fear welling inside her. There was nothing she could do. There was no defense she could muster that would allow her to escape, no offense she could bring to bear that would even inconvenience the Servant, no speed she could utilize that would allow her to dodge the coming attack. Frustration and refusal to accept the coming events boiled over and she shut her eyes tight. She heard the chain on the staff start to extend from the shaft and in response she shouted the name of the one person who flashed in the forefront of her mind, "SHIROU!"

An explosion rocked the entire building and Illya heard something fall down in front of her. The sound of metal clanging to the ground made her slowly open her eyes. In front of her stood a figure. Massive in size, easily twice the size of a normal human, he had dark gray skin and a mane of flowing black hair. He wore only a tattered loincloth around his waist and wielded a massive club of what looked like concrete. He snorted and turn his head to look at Illya. After a moment he spoke, his voice deep and gruff, "Illya...safe?"

Illya looked at him in awe, not fully believing what was in front of her. She cocked her head to the side and timidly asked, "Berserker?"

The figure nodded. As a previous Master in the last Holy Grail war, Illya knew very well that what she was seeing should be impossible. With the Holy Grail destroyed no Servants should be able to exist. Yet here stood her old Servant and protector. His presence also did away with any suspicion she had about the other Servant's credibility. Somehow Servants were being summoned and she was once again in the middle of some sort of conflict involving them. A thought coming to mind, she asked Berserker, "Are you here to protect me?"

Berserker nodded again. Illya smiled and directed her attention to Klein who was obviously contemplating his next course of action more carefully. Locking eyes with the man, Illya said sweetly, "Berserker...kill them."

Berserker let out an earth rattling roar and was on the other Servant in a fraction of a second. Despite his immense size, his speed was ludicrous. Lancer barely reacted in time and, though he blocked the strike, was sent flying into a pillar which shattered on impact. Berserker gave him no quarter and continued with his assault. Another direct hit sent the enemy Servant flying through the wall and off the edge of the cliff it was positioned on. Lancer's master cursed under his breath and said, "Damn. I was not expecting resistance from another Servant."

He looked at Illya, who was beaming, and said, "Well it seems I have overstayed my welcome. I'll be leaving now."

"I don't think so," Illya chimed, "Berserker?"

Berserker snorted again and his head snapped to Klein. He was on the man in seconds, but he stopped short as black, flame-like wisps encompassed Klein's figure. Klein chuckled and said, "Perhaps next time Ms. von Einzbern. Tchuss."

He gave a short salute before the flames completely distorted his figure. As they died down, Klein was nowhere to be seen. Illya could no longer sense the other mage, but his presence was obviously gone as the magic affecting the guests had receded. Illya let out a breath of relief that the danger had passed. Now she could focus on trying to figure out what was going on. Ignoring the concerned voices of everyone else, Illya made her way toward the door and said, "Berserker, follow me. We have a lot to do."