Day 3: 10:12 AM: Kita-ku - Osaka, Japan

Shirou felt like he was back at home with all the hustling and bustling around the crowded city streets. Fuyuki might have been smaller than Osaka, but the volume of traffic didn't seem to vary. Glancing at Rin and Saber, both of them appeared to be in their element as well; which was surprising, at least in Shirou's opinion, in Saber's regard considering the societal differences between England and Japan. But thinking a little more on it, Servants did gain an impressively in depth knowledge of virtually every culture in the world. Shirou chuckled lowly to himself and thought, That is probably the most convenient part of being a Servant; not having to adjust to whatever setting you're summoned into.

As they kept walking, Shirou continued to keep an eye out for someone with lilac colored hair. They'd touched down about an hour earlier and had had to walk to the ward they were presently in. Numerous buildings were filtering out an ocean of students into the already thick crowd and it was becoming difficult to pick an individual out from everyone else. Shirou turned to Rin and asked, "How's Archer doing?"

Rin shook her head, "I sent him to the tallest location in Osaka, but he hasn't seen her anywhere in the city yet which means she's probably still in a building."

"Perhaps it would be best if we split up," Saber suggested, "We could cover more ground that way and increase our chances of finding Sakura."

Rin nodded in agreement and Shirou said, "Good idea. We'll meet up in Osaka Castle Park around noon?"

Getting two nods of agreement, the group each went off in a separate direction.

Day 3: 11:37 AM: Fukishima-ku - Osaka, Japan

Shirou grimaced. He'd been traveling around the city for nearly two hours and had gotten nowhere. Checking out the university campus in Umeda yielded nothing which prompted Shirou to check the residential area of Fukishima where she was supposed to be staying. He'd gone by her apartment, but it was obvious she was out. Since then he'd been walking around trying to see if he could find any sign of her nearby. Glancing at his watch he saw that he had less than a half hour to meet up with Rin. Letting out a sigh of defeat he turned around to make his way toward the nearest train station.

That's when it happened. He sensed it before he saw it and that split second allowed him to live another day. Immediately materializing his white blade, he spun to the side and parried some sort of projectile. The collision sent his arm reeling back and the object was still moving fast enough to crash through the concrete wall nearby. Shirou winced and shook out his arm before saying, "Who's there?"

In response, something slinked from the shadows of a close by alleyway. Shirou frowned. It was feline in shape, but closer to the size of a puma rather than a house cat. Black, slimy looking skin dripped with some sort of ooze and a long, barbed tail swished back and forth. It lacked a proper head and instead had a single eye about the size of a basketball. It watched Shirou intently, it's large eye unblinking, and then roared. It's eye split apart revealing a gaping maw lined with six rows of razor sharp teeth. He summoned his black blade and got ready to fight. The creature's swishing tail rapidly flicked a number of projectiles at Shirou. Shirou dodged out of the way, the barbs deeply penetrating the ground where he used to be standing, and then sprinted at the creature. He closed the distance in seconds and lashed out with both his swords. The beast attempted to evade, but Shirou's attack was too fast. Two large gashes bore into the monster's eye and it howled in pain before falling to the ground, unmoving.

Shirou looked it over, unsure of what to make of it. He moved to poke it with his sword, but when the blade touched the creature's body, it melted into a black puddle. Shirou instinctively reeled back not confident that the puddle was completely safe. Unfortunately he didn't have long to ponder what it was as movement behind him distracted his attention. Shirou twirled around and found himself looking at a pack of whatever that other creature was. A quick headcount made it apparent he was vastly outnumbered; there we're close to twenty creatures, prowling back and forth, looking at him.

He grit his teeth, "What are these…."

Looking around he found a possible exit. About twenty feet away was an ajar gate that lead into someone's yard. The yard was sectioned off by a tall, concrete wall which would hopefully slow down the creatures long enough for him to put some distance between them and him. He took a step back and instantly regretted it. All of the creatures in front of him roared and flicked their tails. Dozens of barbed projectiles shot at him he found himself hard pressed to block the ones that were an immediate danger to him. He parried most of them, but one whizzed by his head, cutting his cheek. He winced again and felt something warm drip down his face; he knew immediately it was blood. Deciding he probably wasn't going to make it to the gate before they launched another volley at him he decided to go with option B.

"Saber!"

Shirou shouted the name into the air. He knew she wouldn't make it to him immediately, but he just had to hold out until she showed up. He gripped his blades tightly and then sprinted toward the group. Three in the front met his charge and lunged at him. Shirou stopped hard and kicked off the ground backwards. The two that were attacking from the sides collided mid air and the one attacking from the front jumped, using his comrades as a springboard, and pounced at Shirou. Shirou took a knee and held out his swords. The creature over shot its attack and it's underbelly skid across Shirou's weapons. It rolled across the ground and then quickly melted. Not breaking his attack, Shirou threw his swords at the two disoriented beasts and decapitated them.

Two more of the monsters dashed around their melting brethren. One circled wide around to flank him while the other rushed at Shirou. The young mage quickly resummoned both of his blades and moved to block the oncoming attack. As the creature in the front closed the distance, it quickly opened its mouth and chomped down on Shirou's black blade. The blade instantly shattered, but the delay in the creature's actions allowed him to stab upwards. The white sword pierced through the monster's chin and exited the top of it's 'head'. Shirou then heard the clacking of the flanking creature's claws close behind him. He turned his head and saw the creature crouch mid run, preparing to pounce. Time seemed to slow as the beast sprang from the ground at him. His arm moving painfully slow, he dropped the remains of his broken blade and moved his now free hand backwards. As he did so he thought of a longsword he'd worked on for one of his blacksmith commissions recently and willed it into existence. The sword materialized directly in front of the beast and skewered it.

The moment it melted, Shirou twirled his arm around and threw the longsword into the rest of them. It caught two in the side, killing them instantly, but their now reduced numbers seemed to cause the rest of them to all rush him in one go. Shirou rapidly summoned up his signature swords and braced himself. They were just about on him when a torrent of wind exploded from behind Shirou sending the creatures flying down the street. Shirou turned and saw Saber, weapon at the ready and fully armored, standing a short ways down the road. She quickly moved up to him and asked, "Shirou, are you alright?"

He nodded, the combat catching up with him, and panted, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Saber looked to the few remaining creatures and asked, "What are those?"

"I've got no idea," Shirou stated, "I was randomly attacked by them."

"There was nothing random about it!" cooed a voice from somewhere nearby.

"Who goes there?" Saber frowned.

There was a low laughter followed by a form flickering into existence on a nearby rooftop. Shirou squinted at him, trying to diffuse the brightness of the sun. It worked and he managed to get a decent look at the man. He looked to be of average height from the what Shirou could tell at the distance he was at. He was wearing a golden breastplate with a light blue sash resting around his neck and over his shoulders. Around his waist was a similarly colored skirt plated in metal and intricately woven sandals snaked up his feet and thighs. He gave a bow to them revealing a laurel wreath crowned atop his curly, brown locks. He righted himself and answered, "My name is of no importance, but you may call me Caster."

At the mention of his name, Saber and Shirou both took up defensive postures.

"A Servant," Shirou breathed.

Saber nodded and said, "We need to be careful. It's likely that he's the source of whatever those creatures are."

Caster clapped his hands together, "A brilliant deduction, but a wrong one none the less. My master is the one who manifests these Fell Cats. I simply have the prowess to control them. Like so."

Caster took up a rigid posture and then began humming. After just a few notes, the Fell Cats went rigid themselves, their gaze locked on Saber and Shirou. The Servant hummed another set of notes and this time the creatures began to vibrate, rapidly melting into goo. The large puddle that formed from this began bubbling and then, with surprising swiftness, reformed into a massive, monstrous shape. It was twice the size of Berserker with a similar physique. It's feet were hooves and it's treetrunk like arms sported wickedly sharp claws. It's beastial head was covered in a dripping mane of black ooze and two large tusks jutted from the creature's snout. It roared and began making it's way toward them. Shirou heard Saber curse and say, "Shirou, I'll handle the large one. You keep the smaller ones off of me."

Shirou nodded and began to focus on the small army of Fell Cats that were rising from the puddles left behind from his previous kills behind them, but had to dodge as three of them tackled Saber from the front into the ever growing pack. A swirl of wind exploded out from under the pile that was forming on top of her and sent a lot of them flying. The sheer number of them, now easily twice the size of the original pack, didn't allow for her to shift her focus. Shirou turned to the advancing monolith and said, "I guess it's you and me."

The creature roared at him in response and swept down at Shirou with one of his bulky arms. Shirou jumped back and, as the arm flew by, stabbed both his swords into the giant limb. The mage's body froze as his blades shattered on impact. Just how durable was this thing? His hesitation unfortunately cost him. The other arm flew down and snatched him from the ground. He felt a rib break as the creature's grip tightened. He yelled out in pain and tried to think of what to do. His standard weapons weren't going to cut it. He needed something more.

The creature brought Shirou close to his face and snorted at him. Shirou gagged slightly at the horrendous smell. When the creature opened its gigantic maw, Shirou realized what it was doing it; it was going to try and eat him. Shirou struggled at the immense grip holding him in place to no avail. As he was moved even nearer to the creature's mouth, an image flashed through his head. It was the weapon he needed. Now he just needed a free hand to summon it. His struggling increased, but the beast's hold was too much for him to break by himself. He was just at the creature's mouth when a voice bellowed, "EXCALIBUR!"

A beam of golden energy tore through over a dozen of the Fell Cats, vaporizing them, and then hit the larger creature in the arm. It effortlessly tore through it and Shirou fell to the ground with a thud. The monster roared in agony and began flailing about. Shirou heard Saber move next to him and ask, concern in her voice, "Are you injured Shirou?"

Shirou shook his head, but didn't say anything. He had to move before that behemoth regained it's composure. He sprang to his feet and dashed forward at the behest of Saber. Picturing the weapon in his mind, he willed it into his hands and gripped it tight. The moment he touched it, the red lance erupted with a blazing maroon aura. That seemed to get the monster's attention as it stopped its thrashing and roared at Shirou. Shirou roared back and thrust the lance forward. In the blink of an eye, the lance turned into a brilliant red arc of energy that wound its way around the creature's outstretched arm and stabbed into it's heart. The beast coughed up a large amount of black tar and stumbled back, collapsing to the ground. Its form persisted only a moment before it melted down. The lance Shirou was holding similarly evaporated.

Saber moved next to Shirou, shocked, and said, "Shirou….that was Gae Bolg, Lancer's Noble Phantasm. How did you-?"

"The same way I made your sword and Archer's. I thought about it and willed it form. Although it didn't feel as powerful as Lancer's. The aura was different."

"That's still incredible," Saber stated.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped as something warm landed on her face. Shirou felt a pressure in his chest and looked down to see something protruding from it. He slowly turned his head and saw one of the Fell Cats growling at him, it's tail sticking in his back. He vaguely saw Saber's invisible sword slice through the tail and bore into the creature. As she freed him from the dark appendage, he realized that it had been the only thing keeping him on his feet. His vision darkened as he collapsed to the ground and soon he saw nothing but darkness.

Day 3: 11:46 AM: Tsurumi-ku - Osaka, Japan

Rin impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. She looked at her watch and grit her teeth. She had no idea why she was doing that when she already knew how late she was. While Shirou checked around Umeada and Sakura's apartments, Rin had decided to look around the botanical gardens on the other side of the city. Sakura had mentioned she liked to go there and study; the atmosphere was apparently great for when someone needed clear thoughts. Rin had come to same conclusion as she traversed it earlier; it was definitely a place of serenity. Unfortunately that soothing effect had distracted her and she'd completely lost track of time. She was supposed to be meeting Shirou at Osaka Castle in barely ten minutes, but the train ride itself was going to take almost twenty minutes. The walk, or rather sprint in her case, would still add on another fifteen or so minutes. Rin was going to be extremely late and she hated it; she had built up a reputation of being punctual and she had planned on maintaining it.

Another glance at her watch caught the minute hand just as it ticked onto the large '10'. It was 11:50 and the train was nowhere in sight.

"Perfect," Rin grimaced, "Now the train is late too."

A squeal from behind her made her twirl around. She barely had time to register was was going on. Some sort of large black cat was in the middle of the crowd which was now dispersing from around it. As she gained a clearer look at the animal, it was very quickly obvious that it was not a normal cat. It's entire head was a single, large eyeball and it's black coat was pulsating with some sort of dark tar that glistened in the sunlight overhead rather than fur. It had a barbed tail that rapidly flicked something at her. The object only managed to make it halfway to her as a blue lance of energy smacked into it. The impact resulted in a small explosion. Another shot slammed into the main creature creating a larger explosion. The crowd was now in chaos as people beelined for the nearest exits. More of the creatures slinked through the running crowd and soon ten of them were prowling back and forth in front of her on the train platform.

Rin scowled; more distractions. She reached into her jacket pocket to retrieve some of the jewels she had on hand in case of emergency and the motion prompted two of the beasts in the front to roar at her. They started to move toward her, but a gust of wind swiftly moved through them. A figure, barely visible because of the speeds they were moving, stopped in front of Rin. As they did so, the creatures fell apart into numerous pieces. Rin frowned at the figure and said, "You're late, Archer."

Archer glanced back at her and said, "So are you, but we probably shouldn't be discussing our inability to keep to a schedule. We have more guests."

He nodded forward and Rin saw even more of the creatures crawling over the railing of the platform. Hearing movement behind her, Rin turned and saw another dozen or so of the monsters moving across the railway. She frowned and took out seven of her jewels. Turning to face the ones on the railway, Rin asked, "Archer, what are these?"

"No idea," he responded, "I've never seen this type of creature before."

Rin gave a nod and decided discovering what these creatures were would have to wait till they had dispatched them. Gripping her jewels, she said, "Don't leave a single one standing."

Archer chuckled slightly and then flashed out of her view and into the pack. Rin murmured an incantation under her breath and then threw her jewels at the oncoming creatures. They took only a second to respond and violently exploded right in front of her adversaries. The entire group of animals were encompassed in the blast. She smiled at how effective her weapons seemed to be, but that smile quickly faded as something shot out of the smoke and fire. A razor sharp tendril hit her shoulder and pierced right through it. Rin cried out in pain. The pain was only temporary, however, as Archer's blurred form whizzed in front of her, slicing the tendril from it's source. It immediately liquified and left only the gaping wound it had formed. Rin quickly moved her hand to the wound and projected an aura of healing magic over it. The wound knit and bound itself and in seconds the only evidence of the attack was the hole in her clothing. Archer's voice sounded behind her, "You're getting rusty."

Rin narrowed her eyes and scowled, "So are you. You should have blocked that attack before it hit me."

Archer gave another chuckled, "Well we both seem to be late and both of us are rusty. Any other similarities we should get out of the way before we continue?"

Rin didn't offer a response, clearly not finding the situation as amusing as Archer seemed to. Instead she focused on what was moving out from the waning smoke cloud in front of her. It was a large blob of the black ooze that the cat-like creatures seemed to be made from. Numerous eyes lay lopsidedly on it's body and a number of tentacles were flailing wildly at it's base. A sideways opening in the center of the mass revealed a large, tooth filled maw. It roared at her and escalated its advance. The moment it was in range, six of its tentacles lashed out at Rin. The mage dove to the side and skid along the platform. When her movement had stopped, she reached into her other pocket and felt around. She only had five more jewels prepared. She needed to make sure they were used opportunely.

Instead of using them now, she pulled her hand out and focused magical energy into her right arm. She extended her first finger and thumb into the shape of a gun and an orb of black energy formed at the tip of it. When it was fully charged, she shot it at one of the creature's eyes. The impact was dead on and the eye violently exploded into tar. Rin grinned and hopped to her feet. She quickly ran across the platform, firing shots at the creature's eyes, every shot hitting their mark. Only one eye remained by the time she reached the other side of the station and she aimed to take it out. Her world suddenly flipped upside down as one of the tentacles burst from beneath the platform and lifted her into the air by her ankle.

She squealed as her skirt began to fall down. One of her arms shot up to keep it from becoming a victim of gravity. Archer looked up in response and rolled his eyes, "Need a hand?"

Trying to not make her blush apparent, Rin turned her head away and growled back, "No! I've got this!"

With her free hand, she drove into her coat pocket and retrieved the final five gems she had at her disposal. She pulled them out and began chanting in German. The gems glowed brightly beneath her clenched fingers and the moment the blob opened its mouth again, she tossed them in. Its maw immediately closed and there was a pause. After just a few seconds, the bulbous mass of tar began increasing in size. Rin could hear the muffled explosions of her gems going off inside it. The creature reached its critical point and subsequently exploded from the pressure inside it. Rin was dropped and landed hard on her butt. Black ooze covered most of the train tracks and the platform including Rin and Archer.

Archer, having just finished with the last of the group of enemies he had been dealing with, swiped at the tar and brushed it off his coat, clearly unhappy that his clothing had been covered in the stuff. Rin too began wiping the crud off. Looking at Archer, she smiled proudly and said, "Told you I had it."

The Servant gave another eye roll and said, "Yeah. You apparently-RIN!"

Rin's head immediately twisted in the direction Archer's shocked eyes were looking in. She only briefly saw a severely wounded cat creature slinking from the tar puddle in front of her for the rest of her vision was obscured by the fast flying barb that bore into her skull.

Day 2: 11:05 PM: Airspace over Tomsk, Russia en route to Osaka, Japan

Shirou awoke with a start, grasping at his chest. He looked down expecting something to be protruding from it, but saw that he was perfectly fine. His heart was beating rapidly, banging against his rib cage, and cold beads of sweat were strew across his face. He wipe his forehead with his arm and sunk back into his seat. It was just a dream. He looked to Rin and Saber, both sleeping opposite him, and let out a sigh of relief. They were both still sleeping and looked fine. Realizing their group was one member short, Shirou surveyed the cabin for signs of Archer. The mage frowned as he found no trace of the Servant. Exhaling sharply, he found sleep was swiftly returning to his eyes. Shrugging off Archer's absence, his vision gradually blurred as he drifted back into slumber.

A little over ten minutes later, Rin sat bolt up and exclaimed, "NOOOOO!"

She instinctively shielded her face and closed her eyes. When nothing happened, she slowly opened them and lowered her hands. Blinking at the dim light of the cabin, she placed a hand on her chest and let her head fall back on the seat. It was a dream; nothing more, nothing less. She took a couple deep breaths to calm down her pulse and then let out a long sigh. Thinking on the dream, she was impressed with how vivid it had been. She felt like she'd actually been living it. The sensations felt real and the environment had be incredibly authentic.

"I guess that's what lucid dreaming feels like…" she murmured.

After a moment of silence, she glanced at her friends. Fortunately her scream hadn't woken Saber nor Shirou. She relaxed into the cushion of her chair and murmured, closing her eyes, "Archer, do you have a moment?"

Rin peeked her eyes open when she received no answer. She looked around the cabin and realized that he wasn't visible.

"Archer?"

When she once again got no answer, she let out a low breath and once again closed her eyes. He was probably slacking off somewhere and Rin was too tired to push it; her thoughts could wait. Giving in to her exhaustion, Rin rapidly slipped back into sleep. Her weariness was so great that she didn't hear the soft music playing far below.

A cloaked figured grinned. A second figure, similarly cloaked, moved up next to him and asked, "Did you get everything we need?"

The first man nodded, "Of course!"

Holding his arms outstretched, he shook the fiddle he held in his hand and continued, "Music is the purest way to coerce information from the mind. My instrument is a perfect tool to project the tune that reveals the truth! I-"

Something whizzed by the man's head and stabbed into the ground. A form swiftly followed, taking the object and spinning around. Finishing his twirl, the newcomer pointed the object, now revealed to be a curved white sword, at the first man and then rapidly materialized a second black sword he pointed at the other man. The first cloaked figure gave a laugh, "Ah! Archer! How nice of you to join us! How fares thee this early morning?"

Archer was wearing a persistent frown on his face as he answered, "A lot better than you two are going to be. What did you do to Rin and the others?"

"Don't forget yourself!" the man added, "And nothing invasive, I promise. I simply...played some music."

"What does that mean? Explain now."

"Or what?" smiled the man.

Archer's eyes narrowed, switching back and forth between the two men he had at sword point, "Why are you so calm?"

The man cocked his head, "Oh? Is it not obvious? The answer to your question is simple: we didn't come alone."

Archer immediately turned on a dime as a new presence made itself know behind him. He attempted to block the attack, but the titanic figure that had appeared broke through both his swords and slammed into Archer's chest. Archer's vision instantly went black as the force of the blow knocked him unconscious.