After eating, Kirei and Archer moved to one of Kirei's bolt-holes in town. Assassin was more than capable of guiding Kirei away from any surveillance, magical or otherwise, that might have watched him enter of leave the Tohsaka estate. Archer just looked on with amusement as Kirei zigged and zagged his way out of his own backyard, as it were.
Once secure in the Church-owned vacant office building (after Assassin checked for traps), Kirei rolled out a gigantic map of the city and surrounding area onto the lone table in the room they occupied. This map was custom printed and actually covered the Einzbern property and castle as well as Fuyuki proper..
Before focusing on the map, Kirei hesitated, then spoke up.
"Archer. I should probably inform you of something Assassin reported last night."
Archer looked up from the map.
"Hmm?"
"After Emiya Kiritsugu summoned Saber to his side, Irisviel von Einzbern was left alone in the presence of Caster."
Archer turned his full attention to Kirei.
"Apparently Caster mistook Saber for a figure from his own time, and attempted to 'retrieve' her."
"Oh, that explains why she was so angry, then," Archer muttered.
"He announced himself as Gilles de Rais and claimed she was Joan of Arc."
Archer considered this.
Well, I don't really know much about Joan of Arc, and since she's not in the War this time I don't get any freebies from the Grail. She had an interesting sword or two, as I recall. However, Caster himself . . .
"Ah. What happened with Irisviel?"
"Caster initially attempted to escort the 'Vessel Sustaining his Holy Virgin' to a secure place, but Assassin intervened and donated three throwing knives to his cause."
"Was he satisfied with the gifts?"
"He was too busy making outraged shrieking noises for me to tell. He then retreated."
"What happened to Irisviel next?"
Kirei looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Well . . ."
Irisviel was leaning back on the car, shocked. All the preparation Kiri gave her was nothing to a Servant. He had told her in no uncertain terms.
Iri. If Saber is not by your side and a Servant of the other two great families threatens you, invoke your status as the grail vessel in your defense. If one of the more knightly classes confronts you, attempt the same. If a Caster class Servant of an unknown master confronts you, run. Scream. Do anything and everything in your power to get attention, and make it as awkward as possible for it to secure you quietly. Caster will probably care the least about your status and attempt to use you itself.
All that had been for naught, as she was trapped on an isolated highway at night. As she was about to futilely attempt to jump the the car and escape, dark shapes fired from the trees to either side and perforated Caster. He screamed some curses and dematerialized. She had looked left, then right, then left again . . .
. . . into the bone-white skull mask of Assassin.
"The vessel must not be harmed."
It gave a short bow, then faded back into shadow.
She slumped against the car door, and recovered her breath.
Archer was holding his chin, considering this.
"It makes sense, at least. They assume that Assassin belongs to Tohsaka. Well done, Kirei."
Kirei looked sheepish once again.
"To be honest . . ."
"It was actually our idea," purred a voice from right behind Archer's left ear.
Years of training and decades of fighting were both meaningless in the face of such stealth. As such, Archer had always taken the attitude that if he was going to be sniped or back-stabbed or otherwise caught unawares, that he wouldn't let it bother him. Instincts screaming otherwise, he simply smiled without turning or flinching or otherwise reacting without decorum.
"Well, it was an outstanding use of initiative. It also amps up Saber's level of paranoia one more notch. Masterfully done."
"But of course." The female Assassin bowed, then faded.
Kirei cleared his throat.
"In addition, I don't think master Tohsaka has informed you of Caster's other . . . activities."
"Oh?" Archer's mind started spinning, and he realized he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.
"Caster, or as he was known in legend, Bluebeard, hasn't changed his habits much, it seems."
Archer frowned and consulted the innate knowledge he gained on hearing Caster's true name. He froze.
"Kirei, would you happen to . . ?"
Kirei wordlessly handed him a dossier.
Archer quietly flipped through the articles, book references, and historical accounts. He then got to the recent newspaper articles and missing persons reports. All expression left his face, and his posture changed minutely.
Kotomine Kirei, for the second time in five hours, tasted fear. He plowed through it and spoke up.
"Assassin has been monitoring the city, trying to find the routes the Master uses to travel by. Apparently he was a serial killer before he joined the War, and simply used his compatible Servant to ramp up his efforts. They have been indiscriminately attacking homes and families, with no regard for hiding their supernatural natures or magecraft. Father, er, Supervisor Kotomine is about to announce a ceasefire and rules change for the purposes of eliminating Caster."
"Oh? Go on." Archer did not look up or otherwise move from his reading.
"For the duration of Caster's survival, all combat actions against other Servants is forbidden. Additionally, whichever Master is responsible for Caster's demise will gain an extra Command Seal as a reward."
Archer closed the folder and set it down on the map. He closed his eyes.
"This is bad."
Kirei didn't respond.
"Kiritsugu won't hesitate to use this as an opportunity to take out some other masters with their guards down. Saber won't wish to cooperate, of course. She'll want to crush the monster. That leaves the masters of Rider, Berserker, and Lancer. Tokiomi won't move, and you're safe in the shadows."
He clicked his tongue.
"Kirei, you have homework. I need a little bit more info than just the identities of the Masters and their movements. I need to know which ones we will have to outright destroy, and which ones may have a chance of becoming temporary allies. I need background information, and their reasons for fighting. Their wishes they intend for the Grail as well, if possible."
Kirei nodded.
"Assassin, consider it an order."
"As you command, Master," echoed the female Assassin's voice.
Kirei looked at the ground for a moment.
"Archer . . ."
"Hmm?"
"What is Emiya Ki- your father's wish?"
Archer looked up from the map. He chuckled, a hollow sound.
"He intends to save the world."
"What?"
"He apparently intends to wish away all conflict and war. His ideals and discipline have prepared him to go so far as to sacrifice a small number of innocents to save the rest. It's only matter of scale."
"And if he's working towards the final goal of saving all of humanity . . ."
"Then he has no limits. No sacrifice is too great. He has no honor or sense of fair play. He apparently didn't have any ethics in that regard back in his prime. He almost didn't call in the bomb threat before he bombed Kayneth's hotel."
Kirei was silent. His expression hardened.
"Fool. And to think I expected . . ."
Archer glanced at him.
"Expected?"
"I thought he'd have the answer. The answer for someone empty like me. In the end, he's just a different kind of fool who was full to the breaking point, such that he lost all sense of self and self-interest."
Kirei closed his eyes and reflected on himself.
Empty as I am, even I . . . he stopped.
I must not think of her.
Why must I not think of her?
Because I must not corrupt my memory of her with the rot at my core. She must not be stained. And neither must . . .
I might be tainted. My heart might be tainted. But even so, I will not betray those I hold dear. Even if that means abandoning them such that I cannot harm them, or wish to.
Kirei finished his thought, opened his eyes, and continued.
"He is weak. Too weak to put his loved ones above others. Too weak to shoulder the burden of communal guilt and responsibility he placed on himself. Heh. The Church uses that tactic to great affect in sermons, but rarely have I seen a man carry it to the extreme of dropping everything else. Does he think he is Christ? Blasphemy."
Archer was quiet for a moment. He leaned forward and grasped the edge of the table with both hands.
"No. He's just doing what he feels needs to be done. He doesn't think about it that much. In that, he's probably more like your Savior than he'd ever be comfortable seriously considering." He locked his eyes on the map once more. "At least, I hope he doesn't think about it much."
"Well, as long as he harbors no feelings for the vessel . . ."
Archer looked up, eyes wide and took in a sharp breath.
"The vessel. Irisviel. Kirei. Explain to me the vessel's role, assuming everything goes according to plan."
Kirei suddenly felt an indescribable amount of pressure.
"The Einzbern homunculus sent to Fuyuki is little more than a mass of Magic Circuits designed to hold the raw prana contained from the dissolved copies of the Servants' souls. At each Servant dies, rather than that soul returning to Akasha as normal, it gets trapped in the Vessel, or the Lesser Grail. As each further Servant perishes, the Vessel is brought closer to capacity, and gradually loses the functionality of a human form and being."
Archer's look right now could cause a man's heart to stop, mused Kirei.
"After a point, the human biomass melts away and all that remains is the spiritual core of the grail. Once the final Servants are dispatched, it is ready to invoke a wish; said wish is manifested as the seven Servant souls are consumed and simultaneously returned to the Root. This is the truth behind the Heaven's Feel. The Einzbern homunculus is a transitory creature that is destined, from the very beginning, to be discarded as a temporary shell."
Kirei jumped as the table cracked and splintered from Archer's grip.
"Unforgivable fool. Of course, he won't believe me trying to convince him. By the time the grail's corruption is obvious, Irisviel will be gone."
Archer chuckled again. He stood up and turned to Kirei.
"It looks like your first step on the path of your own salvation will be to practice some applied suffering, Kotomine."
Kirei blinked and tired not to turn away from the stare he was being subjected with.
"Applied suffering?"
Archer smiled.
"Sometimes, a man will not listen to reason, will not respond to threats or mercy, and will not be dissuaded from his course by anything less than death. This is called a fool, and fools cannot be conventionally saved."
Kirei opened his mouth, but before he could speak.
"In which case, since killing him is off the table, he'll just have to bear with our plan to put him in a situation worse than death, which he cannot escape without dancing like a puppet on our strings. We'll rub his face in his own flawed logic, and drag him kicking and screaming to his own future."
Kirei considered this, and suddenly realized his face had the barest hint of a smile.
For the first time since he entered this farcical war, he realized he might be starting to have fun.
Elsewhere, earlier:
"So, the ritual was corrupt?"
"In his 5th War, yes. Apparently his Kirei caught on was caught in a hard spot. Greedy less civilized magi being what they are, I do not doubt none of the participants would have wanted to believe that claim. I don't know what happened between that 4th and 5th War, but I can say for sure, the grail system is as it was at the peak of the 3rd War. There are no irregularities, and it is perfectly responding to my commands."
Risei and Tokiomi were finishing their earlier conversation.
"But how would one corrupt the ritual?" mused Tokiomi.
Risei grunted.
"I put nothing above the capabilities of the Caster class in that regard. I consider it a mistake that it was ever included. Metaphorically, it's more or less tossing a wolf in with the lambs we are guiding to slaughter. Summoning a magus greater than any of the participants? Simply unwise. They could probably see right through the Greater Grail if they had the opportunity to scry it. Or the Vessel."
"Mmm. Well, as long as it's just that, there's no need to worry. This Caster will be done soon enough."
"Indeed. I should make the official announcement here now. I'll speak to you again soon, old friend."
"Indeed. Until then, Risei."
In Caster's Workshop:
Uryuu Ryuunosuke looked up from his latest 'work' to greet his new patron . . . and recoiled as the wounded Servant staggered into the dimly lit chamber.
"THAT FOUL BEEEEEAAAIIIIIIIIIIiiiist" Caster's curse couldn't be discerned from its subsequent shrill squeal. Making further wrathful and pathetic noises, he knocked Uryuu's latest project off the main table, utterly splattering it on the far wall.
"Ah, sir!" Uyruu started.
"Now is not the time for fun or art, Ryuunosuke! I was lax! I underestimated! All of them, circling my maiden like vultures! Each ready to return her to that horrific fire!"
At this, Ryuunosuke wisely held his tongue.
"We must WORK! We must work hard. I'm sorry we cannot focus on our fun for the moment, but something much more vast and imperative awaits us, and I have been made ever so rudely aware of the circumstances arrayed against us! She must be saved, and to be save her, we need power! Fuel! Food! You must go and collect, and collect, and collect!"
"Aww, but Sir . . ."
"I know Ryuunosuke, it's hard. We want to badly to give these objects more meaning, to bring them to the epitome of terror and despair and by doing so transform them into art, but a greater duty is in front of us for now. You must go out and increase our efforts in collection, while I toil here at preparing us for the conflict to come. I have to attempt one more time to convince Jeanne to join us, and if she refuses, I will have to stain her as much as necessary to rescue her from the burning wrath of God. And more importantly, from those who would stain her other than myself."
"Ri- right. Well, umm, I don't see myself getting as much done by myself as fast what with the news coverage and such- people are getting a little bit more vigilant. I've had to, you know, be on the lookout for vulnerable families, right? Is there anything more than the bracelet I can use?"
Caster blinked, and his rage vanished.
"Ryuunosuke, fear not. Even if you stormed the very gates of this town's castle . . . ah, precinct? Whatever the case, I will be protecting you. Even before, from the shadows, I have had you under guard. Worry not. Ah, here."
Caster opened his hand, and in it appeared something round, flat, and organic. It twitched, and the surface peeled back to reveal an eye. Another twitch, and it closed.
"Put this on a pendant, or somewhere else close to your skin. It will convey your intent to our monstrous allies. It will be slightly more intuitive than having them devour all who approach you over a certain size."
Uryuu took the slimy object and didn't complain.
"Thank you, sir. Well, in that case, I guess I'll be off!"
"Be well, Ryuunosuke. I will see you soon."
After Ryuunosuke left, Caster turned to his remaining stock of objects, and smiled.