I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Power

Sakura was in a daze.

The day started out in a surprising way. At first she was shocked and scared when Rin suddenly declared that they were going to hunt for Illya in the Shinto side of Fuyuki. The amusing sight of her former sister arguing with Luvia after the former made fun of her new form of transport didn't help. Though, the thought of Luvia using a common car... well, it was still quite a big car... perked her up a bit. Her spirits were lifted when they headed to Noel's house before Shinto... and then they were dropped to the floor when Rin suggested they split up into groups to cover more ground. She sent Archer to look out for them from above. Her fears transformed into joy when she was paired up with her Senpai.

She would spend the afternoon and early evening with her Senpai.

Her Senpai.

Alone.

With her.

Sakura did not show how ecstatic she was, but it was made even greater when Rin grouped herself with Luvia. She truly appreciated the fact that her secret friend was willing to help her with this. Although... she wouldn't want to wish Luvia onto anyone. With Noel and Saber on the third team, they split off after affirming that they would meet at the bridge at the end of the day.

Then... it was sort of unfortunate for her, as being alone with Shirou is good and all... but as he was not quite up to par as a magus, it fell to her to keep an especial lookout for their quarry. It was difficult, wanting to just enjoy the moments walking with him while remaining watchful at the same time. Still, she treasured every second of it, even though they hardly talked.

And then, she appeared.

"Take me to the arcade, onii-chan."

That's all Illya said. With a cute face. While both of them were taken aback, the little albino girl came nearer and put on such an adorable face that her Senpai said yes. Suddenly, she found herself getting dragged along with him to the nearest arcade. As she had never played these sort of things before, she could only stand back and watch as the little girl demanded him to teach her how to play whichever game struck her fancy. She was concerned, as at times she would catch a glimpse of his unease when she would look at her there, his eyes saying 'Sorry' to her. She was worried. Was that the girl's plan? To tire him? To wear him out? Before she killed him? With that in mind, she made sure to keep them close by the whole one and a half hours they spent there.

With a sigh, Shirou sat down on the bench. Sakura could see clearly how relieved he was to be out of the arcade. Sitting to his left, Illya was busy licking her vanilla ice cream. Letting loose a sigh of her own, she sat next to her Senpai. They sat there in silence, accompanied only the slight rustling of the shadow tree above them that protected them from the afternoon sun.

"Illya, you should know..." he suddenly began.

"I know," the Einzbern immediately cut him off, "Rider told me."

"Then why are..."

"Because you still owe me, onii-chan," she said with an innocent smile. Yet, Sakura could tell that it was anything but.

"Why do you need to be so persistent?" the violet haired girl suddenly spoke up, getting off her seat to face the albino magus, "Isn't the tainted 'item' more important than..."

"Hmph, more important?" the little Einzbern retorted with a glare unbecoming of her, "You have obviously no idea what you're talking about, Sakura Matou. Yes, I know of you, even though there is barely anything about you." The both of them continued the stare-off before the later continued calmly but with anger laced in her tone, "What do you know about being abandoned by your own father? That he decided that some random boy of the street was more important than his own daughter?"

"I don't know about the second, but I know fully well what it means to be abandoned," the former replied with a bit of bitterness, sadly noting the shocked face of her Senpai, "My own parents gave me up just to focus on my sister. I know such a thing would probably be typical of a normal magus family, but it still hurts. So, don't think to lecture me on feeling abandoned."

"Sakura..." she heard him mutter as she caught his stare. Pink dusted her cheeks, as she turned away from him.

The sound of slow claps jolted them out of their discussion. She turned into their direction and muttered in shock, "Nii-san..."

"My, my, Sakura," the blue haired boy said arrogantly as he crossed his hands over his chest, "Airing your filth out in the open is unbecoming of a Matou."

The air between them was tense. It helped that they were preoccupied with keeping their eye out for the Master they were looking for.

"You know, we've been walking for two hours and we still haven't found her," said Rin nonchalantly, "Are you sure she would be here? It could just be a one time thing."

"To be honest, Rider has only met her once," Luvia admitted, which sounded a little odd to the Tohsaka, "However, since she actually found Rider, who's to say if she assumed she would stumble on one of us if she tried hard enough."

"Hmph, I suppose that is a reasonable assumption," she agreed. Then, she spotted Rider coming out of a shop in front of them. "Rider?" she muttered.

"What were you doing in that shop?" questioned Luvia incredulously, "I thought you had something so important that you had to let us walk."

"Oh, I was just checking this out," the Servant replied as he held up a rectangular-shaped metal object, "This player stopped working after our clash with Lancer the other night." He scratched his head as he continued, "So far, nobody could find out what's wrong with it, and I visited all the electronic shops on the street."

"Hmph, all this effort for some 'player'?" muttered Rin with disbelief, as she normally doesn't interact with that many modern and mostly more complex devices.

"Hey, I like to listen to music from time to time when I get the chance," he retorted good-naturedly as he slipped the music player into his suit, "Besides, your world has some good music."

"So are you done? If so, please bring the car around. I rather not walk any more than I have to," the blonde magus ordered.

"Yeah, I'm going," he replied as he went past them, "Sit tight, I'll be back soon."

"As if we would be going anywhere," the Edelfelt said with a smirk.

"I don't think we should search by car," Rin protested earnestly, "We can be more thorough on foot."

"Rin."

She blinked and paused to focus on the voice, "Archer?"

"I found Illya. She is with Shirou and Sakura... and Shinji is there."

"Eh!?" she exclaimed aloud, drawing not only Luvia's attention, but also two other passers-by.

"What are you doing, Rin?" asked the Edefelt curiously. At that moment, the car rolled up to them, stopping by the sidewalk.

"We have to go. He found them," was all Rin said as she quickly ran over and entered the vehicle. "Archer."

"I know. I'm heading to Saber right now."

"Good. Where are they right now?" she asked as Luvia quickly clambered in after her and shut the door.

"They are..."

"Hey, Saber? Remember when we first met each other?" asked Noel as she stood outside the store. The front window still looked the same, with a multitude of plush toys on full display.

"I believe you mean the first time you sat down with us in peace," Saber replied as she stood beside the former Servant, "Until now, I never would have thought you to be fond of toys like these."

"H-hey!" she answered with a pout, "It doesn't make me any less of a fighter even though I like cute things. Don't you have anything you liked when you were a kid?"

Saber shook her head and muttered, "I never had much time for such things. All my time was poured into becoming a knight."

"Eh? You never had any time for a little fun?" she asked in surprise.

The Servant of the Sword shook her head and stated, "All my life, I knew that I would be king. I had no explanation for it, but it felt like it was my destiny. So, I trained. Trained to become a knight. To be someone who kills to protect others. Not once did I ever falter, becoming stronger day by day until that fateful morning where I rose above everyone else to be chosen."

Noel could only stare at her and her little speech. She let out a sigh and went back to staring at the plush toys; she decided to reign in her feelings and not show the Servant any pity, feeling that the female warrior wouldn't want any given to her. Still, she still felt sad for her.

"Are you done? We should continue to scout the area for Illya," reminded Saber as she turned to move on.

Silently, the former Servant followed after her, moving a bit more quickly to be side by side with her. A pair of friends walking around the more modern side of the city. Not a word was spoken as the both of them were trying to be aware of their surroundings and attempting to spot anything out of the ordinary. Like another Master.

"Saber," Noel suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence, "Even after telling me that, do you still wish to undo your actions? Even if you are going against your destiny to do so?"

"I only made things worse as king," Saber immediately replied, "Yes, I brought victory against the enemies of my country. Yet the wars I dragged my country through wrecked it, especially the last one. I only made things worse." She stopped at the corner of the road and faced the police officer, "I may be destined to be king, but my country deserves better than me. I would gladly sacrifice myself in order to prevent its destruction, even if it means giving up the legend."

She shook her head and sighed, "Ah, you're really persistent, Saber."

"You disagree with my choice?" the former asked in return.

"Well... it's not my place to tell you if your decision is right or wrong," she said carefully, "But... let's see this from another angle. Would you affect any other legendary heroes if you were never chosen to be king? Let's say... Lancelot?" Noting the narrowed eyes and the tensing up, she continued, "Yes, I looked up your legend. You shouted your sword's name, remember? It was narrowed down to only one... and a whole other list of heroes associated with it. Heroes who would not exist if it weren't for yours."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Saber asked her, the stare becoming glaring.

"I... I'm just giving you a bit more information, that's all," said Noel, thinking now was the time to ease up the tension, "You should consider everything your decision may affect, that's all."

They stared at each other for a moment. She didn't know what to expect. Would she start shouting at her? Give her the cold shoulder?

"My decision still stands," the Servant told her, "But... thank you for your opinion."

She nodded. "Well, now that I got this off my chest, let's..." she started when Saber's head suddenly snapped to a different direction. She turned, catching sight of Archer motioning them to follow him. They looked at each other for a moment before going after him, careful not to arouse any suspicion. Turning into a back alley, Archer turned around and told them something surprising.

"Illya is with your Master now. Shinji is there too."

"Shinji..."

"Ah, Emiya, just the person I want to see," exclaimed Shinji, suddenly shifting to jovial, still sporting that haughty smile, "I have a proposition for you."

"Shinji, why did you attack the school?" Shirou asked seriously, finally overcoming his surprise, "Was it that book,Shinji? Please, get rid of it. Don't let it corrupt you any longer."

"Firstly, you are quite mistaken. The book had nothing to do with my decision to attack the school," the blue haired boy told him, "Granted, the rituals it provided helped immensely. The power gained far outweighed the cost."

"How could you!?" the red head shouted at him, "How could you talk like that!? They had nothing to do with..."

"Really? Compared to what I've gained?" he sneered.

"Senpai, we need to keep it down. You might attract attention," reminded Sakura. Turning her attention to Shinji, she asked, "Why are you doing this, nii-san? I thought we agreed that..."

"Hah! After having its secrets revealed to me, why should I wait?" he declared, "I have the power to return my family name to greatness once again. Of course, that comes back to my proposition. The second thing." He then extended his hand out towards Shirou, as if to shake his hand.

"Join me."

"... What?" the red head muttered in surprise.

"Join me and you can have power too," he offered, "Power beyond your wildest dreams."

"Why would I... you are killing people, Shinji," Shirou retorted, "I refuse."

The boy chuckled darkly. "Even a hero needs a bit of power to fight evil, Emiya," he stated with a sneer to the wide eyed boy.

"... Nii-san, stop this," Sakura finally said after getting a hold of herself, "You have to stop this. At the rate you are proceeding, you will bring the Enforcers on you."

"Let them come," he said with a smirk, "By the time I've uncovered all its secrets, nothing can stop me."

"Maybe you should stop raising your voice, soon you will be drawing a crowd," spoke up Illya calmly, "For all your bold words, they have only proven to be hot air so far."

"Hmph, be quiet, the adults are speaking," Shinji retorted haughtily, but also lowering his voice.

She did not give out any visible reaction, only a death-like glare.

"Well, my offer stands, Emiya," the blue haired boy stated as he crossed his arms in front of him, "If you change your mind, you can find me here tonight. Only tonight."

"Shirou!"

They turned to look as Saber and Noel ran up to them from behind the three Masters. The officer on leave narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of Shinji. "Matou Shinji..."

"Remember my offer, Emiya," the boy said once more before walking away, "My offer stands until tonight." Very nonchalantly, he walked away. He didn't even stop to greet the two heiress' that froze as he went by.

"... No, Archer. It would look too suspicious," Rin muttered as the two girls walked over to the group.

"I think I'll go too," said Illya as she hopped off the bench, "Bye bye."

"Wait! What about..."

"Hmph, don't bother trying to convince me, I refuse," the little girl declared, shutting up the Edelfelt heiress. Turning to Sakura, she told her, "I shall give you time to settle your house. Do not mistake this for kindness. I still want my onii-chan's head."

"... So... what now?" asked Rider as he came up to them, the little albino leaving.

"Why did Nii-san ask Senpai to meet him here?" Sakura spoke up, drawing the attention of the Masters and Servants present, "Why only tonight? What is he going to do?"

"More importantly, why me?" asked Shirou in confusion, "I doubt I would be of any help to him. I can barely do anything..." His shoulders slumped over as he muttered, "Yeah, I could barely do anything to help."

"Senpai..." the violet haired girl sounded worriedly.

"... We didn't make any progress either," muttered Rin in annoyance, crossing her arms in a huff.

"Perhaps we should return to Shirou's house for now," suggested Luvia, "At least until we plan out our next move."

Caster looked to the night sky. She shifted a little, her place on the top of the temple steps moving to the right. Silently, Souichirou halted behind her, following her gaze.

"I am curious, Caster," he began, "Why do you look to the night sky? You have never done so before."

She sighed. Getting to her feet, she said, "There is something wrong. Tell me Kuzuki, What do you see over the city, past the river?"

The teacher adjusted his his glasses and looked to where she mentioned. "Other than being cloudy, I do not see anything out of the ordinary."

"Hmm, then perhaps only magic users can sense it," she assumed as she crossed her arms, "Trails of purple and red are coming from the sky and towards the center of the city, all converging onto one place. The inherent wrongness I felt at the school is strong. Far too strong." Turning to her temporary anchor, she continued, "I do hope that the other Servants can handle whatever trouble is brewing there."

"You do not wish to join them," he stated.

"No. I think five or six should be enough," she replied, explaining herself, "I doubt any of the knight classes could stand idle when there is something foul about to happen. They won't be able to call themselves heroes otherwise."

"Oh, I quite agree."

The both of them spun around, surprised by the voice behind them. A man, dressing in black. Long hair framed his face and long robes flowed well with his height. He sported an unnerving smirk, making him menacing if only slightly. He had his arms clasped behind his body as he stared at them.

"Well, I don't recall having any visitors," Caster spoke up, finally getting a hold of herself, "Who are you?" Kuzuki, meanwhile, readied himself to retaliate, yet giving nothing away.

"You couldn't have known of me," the man said, still maintaining his pose, "I am the mediator of this War, and I am puzzled as to why there hasn't been any Servant deaths lately."

"It still doesn't explain why you are here, Mediator," she retorted, "Nor do I care for your reason. Their deaths will come at my own time, not by yours."

"A pity. I hoped to have the War progress a bit faster," he said with a sigh. Then, he began staring intently at her.

"In that case, let us start with yours."

The journey back to Shinto was a quiet affair. Once again, Taiga was sent to sleep by hypnosis, in spite of Shirou's vehement protests. By then, Luvia arrived at his doorstep and everyone was on their way across the river. Having arrived there, they kept an eye out for Shinji. They did not have to.

"Well, I only expected Shirou," the blue haired boy mentioned as he cradled the book in his left arm, "So! Emiya... what's your answer?"

"...I decline," the red head declared, "Shinji... I'll do everything I can to save you from that book."

Much to his surprise and the suspicion of the others, the elder Matou started to giggle, which in turn morphed into full blown laughter. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around me, Emiya," he said after having his fill, "Fine. So you won't join. It doesn't matter. Regardless of your answer, I suggest you and whomever wishes to follow to come to the park. I have something extremely interesting to show you." And to their shock, the boy melted away into nothingness, as if it was just an image they were speaking to.

"... I don't like this," Rin finally said.

"Hmph, I agree. He seemed a bit too happy to see us," agreed Luvia reluctantly.

"... We better go to the park then," summed up Shirou as they all returned to the car. Much to their surprise, they received another passenger.

"Hello. How did your meeting go?" asked Noel, standing next to it. They filled her in on the way to their next destination.

The park was quiet. The wooded area seemed larger than before due to the darkness and shadows. Saber took point while the four Masters followed up behind her with Shirou in the middle, carefully walking along the trail while keeping an eye out for sudden movements or anything out of place. This led to a more gruesome discovery.

"Wh-wh-what? How?" Shirou sputtered in shock as he slumped to his knees, horrified by the scene. The others grew tense, wary and ready to react.

The bodies of two police officers lay in the middle of a huge circle that was drawn in blood. At the very center stood Shinji, his clothes untouched by any red that stained the ground. He spread his arms, still keeping a good grip on the worn tome, announcing, "Welcome, Emiya. Tonight, you will see true power."

"Bolverk," stated Noel as she glared at the boy, her guns forming in her hands. Saber readied herself as well, her sword up and on guard.

"What in the world are you doing, Matou?" confronted Rin, "Have you lost your mind? Has the book twisted you that much?"

He laughed as he brought his hands back down, "No, Tohsaka... my mind is very much very clear. Clearer than ever before."

"Nii-san..." muttered Sakura in shock, unable to believe her own step brother would be capable of doing this.

"I doubt the Clocktower would stand for this if your actions reveal magecraft's existence to the world," said Luvia, steeling herself for a potential fight that she could see herself winning.

"After this display, I doubt they would be able to do anything," he replied, brushing off the warning like it was nothing.

"Why... why did you do this, Shinji?" the red head finally spoke up, overcoming his shaken state.

"Well, the book says that the summoning requires plenty of sacrifices," began the elder Matou, "You remember all the rumors about the park, don't you Emiya? About random people suddenly going missing the past ten years? Of the supposed hauntings and ghost stories plaguing the park? It was merely the book harvesting sacrifices to gain power, the two officers here being the latest ones. It will be a great summoning, one that will trump all the other Servants here. That itself will bring back the renown my family name has lost over the years. I will be the one to bring it back! All this will be done through their sacrifice. And... as the book has shown me, power does require sacrifice."

Saber and Noel narrowed their eyes. That phrase was something they knew all too well. Even after so much time in between Wars, memories of their most dangerous adversary left a mark on them. Before they could do anything, however, a flash of white burst in from the side. The blade of the spear passed through the midsection cleanly, yet there was no blood.

"An illusion," Lancer stated as she stood upright, "To think your corruption has brought you this far... you must be destroyed."

The now revealed illusion chuckled darkly and replied, "The book has been in this place for ten years. The park is its territory. It was folly of you to try anything in the first place... Eldar."

The Servant shifted slightly but gave no other visible reaction. Footsteps thudded behind the group and Bazett jogged up to them. She took in a deep breath before taking in the surroundings. She didn't bat an eyelid to the corpses and the blood, as if having seen it all before.

"Knowing what I am does not change the outcome," Lancer finally said after that silence, "Your summoning will be stopped."

"Oh? Who says it will?" he taunted with a manic grin. The ground started to rumble lightly and the great circle of red began to glow blood red. Multiple shafts of light shot up to trace a similar looking circle two or three stories above it. "The summoning had already started the moment you entered the park!" he declared with a grin. Taking a bow, he said, "Now, I shall take my leave."

The Masters watched helplessly as the image faded away. Lancer let out a visible sigh and muttered, "It seems it falls to me to fix your mistakes, mon-keigh."

"What in the world is happening!?" shouted Rin, the first to speak up.

"A greater daemon," the Servant of the Spear replied, her back to them as she faced the summoning circle, now crackling with red lightning, "Possibly the first to be summoned on your world... and the last. It must be defeated here or all is lost."

"Rin," Archer called out as he landed beside her, "I don't suppose you have a plan for this."

"How do you think I'm supposed to plan for this?" she retorted angrily as she pointed at the circle, "How in the world do you stop a demon?"

"Whatever it is, it's going to be huge," said Rider as he and Assassin materialized, ready to fight, "Not sure if the fighting will spill out of the park, but I hope it won't come to it."

"It will not have to," declared the Servant of the Bow. He turned to the twin tailed magus and said, "Rin, you may have to sit this one out."

"Why?" she asked, eyes narrowed. The other Masters stared at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

"I thought long and hard," he continued, ignoring her question, "This situation is forcing my hand. As much as I loathe to use it in front of the other Masters, I must."

"What in the world are you talking about, Archer?" she pressed on, getting irritated by his deflection.

He took in a deep breath. The wind started to pick up, the trees began to sway, the gusts seemingly centered around him.

"I am the bone of my sword..."

Commentary:-

It has begun! It has finally begun! Chaos has begun! And all we needed was a few officers and multiple deaths spanning ten years. It simply is that simple... or so the book says.

Finally.

Welcome back! Here is chapter 15! We have so many interesting things for you here. We start off with a happy note, but slowly getting more and more convoluted. Caster already deciding to sit this one out, but somebody doesn't like the stalling of the War. And thus, we come to the end of the chapter, with a greater daemon. The first and the last summoning to take place. Will our heroes be able to handle it or will they die trying to stop it. Find out next time on our regularly scheduled program!

Alright, honestly, I'm pretty sure all of you can pretty much guess which greater daemon is going to be summoned. What with all the earlier minor summons that Shinji and the book did. But, that won't be all... no, they will be summoning a different type later on. But, who knows which chapter that would be, eh? Just be sure to stay tuned to find out.

Lastly, please leave a review after reading.