Definitions:

Executor - A rank in the church that is given to individuals that are tasked with killing demons and other heretical beings (such as Dead Apostles). To have the rank of Executor means the individual is a hardened killer that has passed brutal Church training to become mankind's weapon against the supernatural.

Enforcer - An agent of the Magus Association. Functionally equivalent to an Executor except instead of burning all traces of a Dead Apostle, they will attempt to preserve their research/knowledge and return it to the Magus Association for study.

Boundary Field - an area of effect magical field. The area can vary between a square meter to several kilometers. The effect depends on what the user casted. An example of a boundary field would be the alarm spell in the Emiya Residence.

Author's notes: As usual, any issues you have with the story or comments are welcome in the review section. Criticism is fine as long as it's constructive.

Day 5: February 5th

- Escalation -

Standing on the edge of the tall skyscraper, Archer looked out at the city of Fuyuki. Despite the bone-numbing wind at this altitude, he felt no different than if he were atop Rin's house. Servants weren't affected by minor factors like the weather. Looking outward, the tall skyline twinkled like stars as Shinto's office lights brightened the dark sky. From his vantage point and his reinforced eyes, he could see all of the city.

In a city of over two million, he counted only several dozen cars on the streets at the moment; excluding Police patrols and trucks from out of town. The city was paralyzed by what the press had dubbed the Miyama killer to describe the numerous murders and missing people within a very short time span. An entire family dead from numerous deep stab wounds. Several students gone missing in the night. A father that never returned from the grocery store.

Normally he would have attributed it to Servants fighting, but that was before he'd seen that Dead Apostle yesterday. His memory was still hazy since Rin's rough summoning. However, he was completely sure there were no Dead Apostles when he fought in the war. She was another new variable he'd have to factor into his plans; just like the other new people that had appeared in Fuyuki recently. It looked like he'd have to shelve his plans for that idealist idiot until he got a hold of the situation here.

"Archer..."

There was Caster as well. Out of everything in the war, she scared him the most. A Dead Apostle showing up out of the blue was a danger. However, for a brand new Servant to appear... a new Servant with unknown abilities, an unknown Master and a new Noble Phantasm. There were too many unknowns. He would definitely have to keep his eye on her.

"Archer..."

Then there was Saber. Of all the...

"IDIOT SERVANT!"

Archer turned his head at Tohsaka, who at the moment looked as if she was going to slap him if he tested her patience anymore. Her arms were crossed and her eyes had the characteristic annoyed look she used when talking down to Shirou. However, all that did was place a grin of amusement upon his face. It was odd, he hadn't enjoyed teasing Rin this much before his time with Alaya. Perhaps it was a result of him finally know more than the vaunted Tohsaka Rin for once. Knowledge that had been gained for a lifetime of servitude.

"Idiot, when I call your name, you're supposed to answer me," she said.

"Very well, Master Rin Tohsaka. What may your servant, Archer, assist you with?" he said before giving a deep bow.

Rin's only reply was to glower at him some more. She raised her sleeve to reveal the two remaining command spells on her arm. Something told him maybe he'd pushed the limits of her patience for tonight. That was fine, there was always tomorrow...

"I believe you mentioned you were surveying the area bounded field set by Caster here?" said Archer. He didn't let any emotion show on his face lest Rin believe her threat had actually worked. The last thing he needed to do was inflate Rin's already overconfident ego, if that was even possible.

"Ah yes, that's what I was about to talk about... while you were busy day dreaming," said Rin before giving him another angry stare. "Anyways, I've dispelled the boundary fields in the building. It looks like the fields were syphoning lifeforce from the people below. We were lucky I was able to detect it. Whoever set these up put in a lot of effort to make sure they were undetected."

"What would have happened if we hadn't gotten to them in time?" Archer asked. For the past several hours, they had been following the magical signature left by either a master or a servant. Their patrol of the city had led them to Shinto where Rin had picked up the faint telltale signs of several boundary fields. Some of the fields were in restaurants or bars while others covered the entirety of an office building.

"That's the odd thing," said Rin, her eyes observing the bright skyline of Fuyuki in thought. "The field was relatively low power, designed to be undetected. At most, the office workers below would have felt fatigued or sick. Although I'll eventually have to fight whoever set them up... I respect them for adhering to the Magus' code and leaving innocent people out of the war."

"And if you have to kill them? Even if they're a naive idiotic master?" he said.

"You're talking about Emiya Shirou," she said, correctly guessing the meanings in his word. He nodded, agreeing with her.

"He's not our top priority right now. I know him well enough that he won't be a problem for us... not until the end. We can deal with him when the time comes, if we assume he and Saber even survive that long," she said.

"And if he was right in front of you? Alone and vulnerable, an easy target?" he said.

Rin turned towards Archer and his grey eyes met hers. He held his gaze towards her and she towards him. Although he hadn't stated it directly, Rin knew exactly what he was referring to. It was a challenge; a test to see if Rin was ready for the inevitable results of the war. War was unforgiving and cruel, every winner in war had had to trample underneath the bodies of their opponent to reach victory. He had to know if she was ready for that.

Finally, she broke the gaze and stared over the cityscape before her. Moving her hair back in place against the night wind, she said, "If he does something like that, then I will kill him. I already warned him today. If he can't understand those simple rules then he doesn't deserve to be a master."

Archer nodded. It was the answer he was hoping for. He wasn't sure if Rin would do it if the time came but hopefully she wouldn't need to. One surprise blow from Kanshou or Bakuya was all he'd need to kill that fool. The aftermath he was sure he'd be able to talk himself out of with Rin. There was, however, something else that was bothering him at the moment.

"Rin, there's something else. About the Dead Apostle I told you about yesterday," said Archer.

"I've talked to Kotomine. The Church will deal with the matter," Rin replied casually.

"We're not going after her?" he said with surprise.

Rin shook her head. "No. Going after the Dead Apostle will spread our resources too thin. I might not be an Executor but I know what it takes to hunt down and kill a Dead Apostle. It'll take us too much time and energy to kill her and, as much as I hate to admit it, we can't afford to waste our time and energy on something like that; especially if it might lead us to an ambush by another Master. Besides, you said there were two people chasing them down. Let's just leave it to them."

Archer watched the streetlights below as he mulled over what Rin said. Normally, he would agree but what he'd seen made him nervous. His years of experience putting down various rogue Magi and Dead Apostles had given him a keen instinct in tracking these wanted fugitives wherever they appeared. Dead Apostles were notoriously reclusive. They didn't fight Executors or Magus Association Enforcer because they knew they would eventually become trapped and killed. A fugitive doesn't fight the law let alone pursue them out in the open as this Dead Apostle did yesterday. This vampire didn't act rationally and that fact made him nervous, another unknown on his list that was growing too long.

There were, however, certain exceptions. Closing his eyes, Archer remembered several missions where vampires had decided simply to let loose their powers on innocent people. These weren't the times that they wanted more power or more energy to live longer. Those Dead Apostles reveled in the slaughter they brought upon the people in the cities or towns, as if the thousands of deaths they'd caused had been but a game. "You don't shed tears when you cut a tree or crush a bug do you?" had been the response of one of the vampires. His magic had turned an entire city into a charnel pit and the skyscrapers a sepulcher for the once vibrant life that inhabited the streets. He'd made sure to make that Apostle's death a slow and painful one.

His thoughts turned to Sakura, Issei, Ayako Mitsuzuri and Fuji-nee; even after all these years he thought of the silly school teacher as if she were an older sister. If there was even the slightest possibility they'd be harmed because he ignored this vampire... Even with his lifetime service under Alaya, with all the war and death and desolation, he still knew what was right from wrong. He wouldn't let his hate of a naive fool jeopardize the lives of everyone he cared for in Fuyuki, no matter how much Emiya Shirou deserved it.

"Archer?" said Rin in confusion. He opened his eyes and turned to Rin.

"Rin, I disagree with your call. Leaving the Dead Apostle alone is always a mistake. The problem may seem small, but if we leave them alone then all of Fuyuki may be swept up in her machinations. In any case, you'll remember I said her two pursuers were also ambushed and had to retreat," he said.

"I still haven't figured out who those two are," he thought to himself idly.

"Oh, finally remembering something of your past life now? It sounds like you were quite the 'van Hellsing' if you know this much about vampires," she said with a wry smile.

"Possibly. As I said, my combat and general knowledge is returning quite quickly. It is the personal memories that are still hazy" he said, the lie prepared well ahead of time. "Perhaps if I had been summoned properly..."

"Oh shut it! If it wasn't for thosestupidclocks..." Rin's voice slowly died off into a mumble as she tried to find a rationale for her failed summoning other than 'she screwed up.' Her continued grumbling under her breath told Archer she had yet to find one. His lips curled upwards in a smile at her frustration.

However, his enjoyment was cut short as something in the far distance caught his attention. Despite the fact he had been conversing with Tohsaka, part of his attention had been surveying the ground below. It was his duty as a servant to watch over Tohsaka as a bodyguard and, as such, maintain situational awareness around them. He had originally been looking for a certain Berserker and albino loli or perhaps the dark blue of Lancer's clothing who had disappeared after their encounter at Homurahara High school. As for the other servants, it was unlikely for Caster to leave her home territory where she'd most likely set up numerous boundary fields and Assassin, for obvious reasons, would not be seen. What he hadn't expected to see were several hordes of Dead breaking down doors and pouring into houses in Miyama.

"Rin, that Dead Apostle is attacking Miyama," he said calmly. His tone of voice was equivalent to someone ordering coffee.

"...and that damn cat... huh? What is it, Archer?" she said. His words had roused her from her 'blame allocation' stupor. Placing more mana into his reinforcement, Archer's eyes looked far into the distance at the attack. Although the attacks were taking place several miles away, with his reinforced vision he could see clearly even the individual house numbers.

"The Dead Apostle is attacking several locations in Miyama," Archer said, turning towards her. "Rin, what are your orders?"

She looked far off in the direction of the attacks. Her brow was rumpled in uncertainty and she bit at her lip, trying to come to a decision. Finally, she nodded her head as if to convince herself of her decision, before turning towards him. When she spoke, it was stern and controlled; with no doubt.

"Take me to the closest location, Archer," she ordered. He nodded in return. Taking her by the arm, the master and servant duo leapt from the skyscraper.

Archer watched the entrances of the blood covered room and surveyed the scene before him. Blood splatter and the remains of limbs and bodies lay scattered within the hallway, the remains of the battle scant moments ago. They had arrived to see the house being swarmed by the Dead. Compared to the nightmares of his past, such a paltry force couldn't even compare to the Cities of the Dead he'd had to cleanse. Kanshou and Bakuya had made short work of the several dozen undead. He'd cleaved them. Decapitated and bisected them. Thrown both twin swords through them, the yin and yang swords cutting down a dozen life so much wheat. He'd pierced through five with a single projected sword. With each move the undead corpses had fallen with such ease Archer couldn't even say it was a challenge. With each attack, blood splattered against the wall and pooled onto the floor as he moved forward.

But despite all his power. Despite all his strength and dexterity, he wasn't able to save them.

He looked at the three corpses that lay on the ground. Two parents and a daughter.

He avoided looking at the parents. Both had sacrificed their lives to protect their children for several more seconds, meaning the swarm had fallen upon them first. Their bodies had been nothing bits of red flesh and bleached-white bone by the time he'd hewn through the Dead that had been feasting on their corpses. He couldn't even identify them by their physical features anymore.

Unlike the parents, he could see the fear and desperation in the older sister's final moments. The daughter, she couldn't have been more than eighteen years old, seemed to plead at him as she held the remains of her throat with her hands. Blood soaked the shirt she wore from the neckline almost to her waist. He examined the massive gaping hole within her neck that used to be her throat. Death had most likely been filled with horror and despair as the undead had piled on top of her, their expressionless faces closing in to feast upon her in her final moments.

Taking his cloak, he wiped the blood that marred her face. She couldn't have been older than twenty years old. With reverence, he placed his hand over her face and slowly closed her eyes. He'd had to do this many times to too many good people. Innocent victims, allies from the Church, friends that just wanted to help him... Good people...

Archer closed his eyes and cleared his mind of those memories from long ago, lest they return to haunt him.

He wondered... had she lived long enough to see her killers be cut to pieces by Bakuya and Kanshou before death had taken her? Had she seen how close hope had been? How she had, by throwing herself at her attackers despite how futile it might have been, she had bought the time to save her little sister's life.

Looking up, he watched as Rin placed the final touches on her memory wipe charm. They had gotten into the room just in time to save the youngest daughter before the horde descended upon her. He couldn't be sure, but he guessed her age to be about the same area as Rins. She might have even gone to the same school as her. However, even though she would survive, her life was already ruined. Bother her parents and her sister were dead. His thoughts turned to her future. She was now stripped of everything familiar to her and thrust into a world of the unknown. Where would she go after all of this and how would she go on?

White hot rage burned inside him and he analyzed and ran through different scenarios in his mind. Could he have saved them? Could he have gotten here faster or been more alert when he had been surveying the city? He pushed those thoughts aside. That was neither here nor there. There were other lives at stake and he didn't have the luxury of time at the moment. There would be time to think about his actions later... Too much time...

"Rin. We have to go. The Dead are still out there," he said.

Rin finished her spell. Looking up, she gave him with an armor piercing stare that even gave him pause for a moment. There was a fire in her eyes, one he hadn't seen before even on that night when he fought Lancer. Her knuckles were clenched white in anger and, for a moment, he thought she was going to yell at him. However, the moment subsided and he watched as Rin bottled her anger away. With a simple nod, she followed him outside the door.

They wove their way through the bodies and corpses of the Dead in the house hallways while walking back outside. On the steps of the house, he noted several bodies had begun to wither and dissolve into dust. Without the Dead Apostle's magic binding their bodies to the physical world, Gaia's force would expel their form from the world. The Dead, like the Apostles themselves, were an unnatural element in the world and the physics and rules of reality were exerting against their existence. Without prana or blood to maintain their forms, they would disappear.

Passing through the broken front door, he had walked halfway across the driveway before Rin's footsteps paused behind him. Turning around, he saw her staring backwards at the house they had just left. Her eyes seemed pensive as she gave the house one last look before returning her attention back to him.

"Rin?" asked Archer.

"Let's go, Archer. The other sites might have survivors," she said. Rather hastily, she brushed past him and headed towards the street; her twin-tails flowing behind her from the wind. He watched the back of her crimson jacket as she continued walking away. Although she had said otherwise, the saddened look within her eyes told him Rin didn't believe her own words.

- Crimson -

Blood pooled on the floor from her fatal wounds and stained the wooden stage around her. She felt tired... oh so very tired. Her vision was blurred yet she could still see the damage and the light from fires that resulted from the battle mere moments before. A black silouette was walking towards her, chuckling and clapping his hands in rapid applause.
"My my... you are quite the skilled foe. I applaud you for your acting and performance. Long has it been since I have seen such a magnificent play... And yet... it seems such a waste for you to perish so soon. The world can ill afford such an ineloquent end to a talented actress..." the figure said.
Too tired to even respond, she felt her head collapse onto the stage and her vision faded to black; unconsciousness taking her.