"Irisviel's gotta die." Chloe spoke with a blank tone that made her seem pragmatically confident, emotionless even in a way that contrasted her normal habit of wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

"So you lied to them." Heracles said as he and his Master stood in the bedroom that Chloe had claimed as her own. Chloe had just finished her conversation with the team made up of Illyasviel, Irisviel, their Servant and the strange girl with the powers of a Divine Spirit. It was at Heracles' suggestion that contact be made with Illyasviel's faction. The demigod was in poor shape due to Scáthach's spears and it would be smart to ally with another handicapped faction for their collective good. It took a lot of convincing to get Chloe on board due to her grievances with Illyasviel and her family, but she saw reason soon enough. It appeared that a truce was achieved, but that may have merely been a deception on Chloe's part.

"Of course! What, are you telling me you're shocked? I really was planning on working with them, but we just found out that Irisviel could destroy the World! We can't just let her keep on living!"

It was good to know that Chloe's motivation for treachery was based in ethics instead of being something she was planning from the beginning. "We're gonna have them come over and when they get in your range, you're gonna snipe the shit outta them with Nine Lives."

"I was under the impression that you cared not for the rest of humanity? Why does their survival matter to you? You curse even your own existence."

"I don't care!" Chloe claimed. "But if everyone dies, that includes Sella and Leysritt and even you. I can't let that happen. Why are you even questioning me on this? You gonna tell me Irisviel isn't a threat?"

"She certainly is, but I simply feel we need not jump to the furthest extreme in terms of how to solve this issue." Heracles was trying his best to come at this diplomatically, to not directly deny any of his Master's claims and instead try to use reason to sway her back towards working with Illyasviel's family. It was the best way for her to reconcile with her wrath.

"You're saying that when the literal World is at stake? Aren't you mister justice and heroism and shit?"

"I do plan to enact justice, but that doesn't mean it has to be enacted in the most extreme way possible." Let the values of Heracles never be questioned. He would always fight to save, to be a hero as long as his senses remained intact. "Irisviel and her family do not need to die. As long as we eradicate the Grail, everything will be solved."

"And do you know where it is?"

"No."

"Yeah, neither do I, and until we do know, we shouldn't be assuming things won't go to shit! If my life's told me anything at all, it's that if things can go bad, they do. That's just life." Such pessimism could only be born and molded into shape by a lifetime of suffering. Chloe was only ten years old chronologically, but her mind matched her body in terms of development, because her mind was made to grow at an accelerated rate. That means that each trauma she experienced was worth double. Such a life had not broken her mind and Heracles liked to believe it hadn't broken her heart, but there were wounds that wouldn't heal any time soon, and perhaps never.

"Trust me Master when I say that I can relate to your pain for I have experienced a lifetime of nigh-endless tribulations and have lost many families, but it is for that reason that I wish not to see another be destroyed. To be a hero means more than just slaying those labeled villains. Heroism also means knowing when to be merciful." So many families made and lost, often by his own hand. Heracles understood loss better than most and he refused to cause that same kind of loss to happen to others. Even if he killed the entirety of Illyasviel's family at the same time, those moments before they all lost their lives would be brimming with worry for their loved ones who were about to die alongside them. Even feeling such sorrow for an instant would be an instant too long.

"Who deserves mercy, some assholes, or the entire World?"

"Why do you continue to speak so poorly of Illyasviel's family when you don't know them?"

"What do you mean I don't know them? They're a group of Einzberns, that tells me all I need to know. All Einzberns are the absolute worst pieces of shit to ever fucking exist and don't you dare try to change my mind."

"You are also an Einzbern, and so are Sella and Leysritt. Are-"

"Don't you dare compare Sella and Leysritt to the Eiznberns!" Chloe's teeth were bared and her finger jabbed towards Heracles with a fury befitting the thrust of a Lancer's spear. "They're special! They're the only reason I was able to survive in the fucking castle full of sanctimonious fucks!"

"And why can't Illyasviel and her family also be special? They also wished to escape from the main Einzbern family. Perhaps you could relate to them."

"Shut up, they're not like us! I could tell by looking at them what kind of people they are! Hell, Illyasviel nearly killed me! Did you forget that?"

"She only tried to take your life after you tried to take her and her mother's. It was self-defense."

"Fuck that! I saw the look in her eye when she was about to pull the trigger! She only cared about killing me! That's it!"

"And you only cared about killing her."

The hands of Heracles' Master held her head. "What is your fucking problem? Why can't you just listen to me? I mean fuck, you even let some of them go last night when you could have killed them! I told you to show no mercy!"

"I felt killing them was unnecessary and to be fair, my Master, the last time I listened to you unconditionally was when you ordered me to bombard the bridge with arrows. I ended up both destroying the bridge and poisoning the river. You told me you could purify the river with alchemy beforehand which was why I followed your command, but that was a lie." Heracles felt betrayed and honestly infuriated as his Master's behavior in that moment led him to cause unnecessary destruction. They were lucky they didn't end up tainting the entire city's water supply. He had held his tongue earlier only in hopes that Chloe would bring up her actions herself, but it was self-evident that she had no plans to broach the topic at that point.

Chloe actually paused upon hearing mention of what she did and looked ashamed. "When I saw Illyasviel and Irisviel, I got pissed and wanted them dead no matter what." Tanned fingers pinched some locks of white hair and twiddled them around. "I just told you whatever I had to in order to get you to go all out." It was doubtless that she regretted her decision back then which made Heracles feel better. She wasn't a bad person, only a misguided one.

"Then perhaps that tells you that your grudge is unreasonable and leads you to make poor decisions."

A growl came from Chloe as her rage was rekindled. "I'll be more careful, but I'm not giving those Einzberns any mercy! Quit trying to change my mind!"

"I simply feel your decision is wrong, both in a moral sense and in the sense that I feel it is bad for your own mental health. You need some degree of reconciliation so you may find inner peace."

"Well, you're wrong! I don't need anything other than for Illyasviel, and Irisviel, and the rest of their fucking family to be dead and gone forever so there won't be any more stupid Einzbenrs on Earth other than me, Sella, and Leysritt! You're gonna kill Illyasviel and her family even if I have to use a Command Spell to force you to! This discussion is over!" Chloe was well and truly blinded by rage. She had lived a life of following the orders of others and now she was free of that. Upon achieving her liberation, she refused to let her preconceptions of things buckle at the word of others for she would feel like she was being told what to do and think once again.

Upon realizing that there was no swaying Chloe's heart, Heracles relented and returned to Spirit Form. Chloe herself was still seething so she tramped about her room while huffing and puffing, occasionally lying on her bed to try and rest before immediately getting back when she realized her energy would not drain.

The Master traipsed out of the room eventually with the immaterial Heracles in tow to eventually arrive at a different room that had been renovated into a gaming area. A variety of video games, many still unopened and in their original packaging, were stocking shelves and littered about the floor of what would have been an elegant looking room of the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki. After attaining her freedom, Chloe set out to indulge in as many forms of luxury and entertainment as she could. That included the fashionable attire she always wore and the many games she had stocked the room with.

On the fancy couch in the room's center was Leysritt, one of Chloe's beloved family members, currently in a rather revealing and casual outfit that reminded Heracles of Caenis. She was playing a video game called Super Smash Brothers Melee while engorging herself on potato chips and pocky. How she never gained weight with a diet like that and without being some kind of demigod or Heroic Spirit, Heracles would never know.

Chloe jumped onto the couch and immediately grabbed a controller.

"After you finish this match, we're having a couple rounds." Chloe said.

"'Kay." Leysritt was a woman of few words.

It wasn't long before the pair began to face each other on the digital battlefield. Apparently the game was similar to wrestling in that your goal was to throw the opponent out of bounds, but it was restricted to a 2-dimensional plain and you played as fictional characters with their own unique abilities. It was something that actually appealed to Heracles' sensibilities since it allowed for friendly competition without risk of physically hurting someone. Heracles actually tried to play once, but the controller was too small for his large hands which meant he couldn't properly control his chosen character. He had chosen to play as the swordsman named Marth since he reminded Heracles of Jason if he was more…blue.

Leysritt was quite skilled at the game as she racked up a series of victories, but Chloe wasn't deterred. Each match she fought with greater vigor than the last. At first she was completely outmatched, but slowly she began to actually knock Leysritt off the battleground occasionally. It was a slow process, like watching a snail cross a vast distance, but progress was undeniably being made. The fruits of Chloe's efforts were sweet as the Master managed to actually win a match against Leysritt, prompting celebration. Chloe skipped around the room and danced while Leysritt watched and very weakly clapped. That wasn't enough for Chloe to be satisfied, though. She sat back down soon enough and the battles recommenced.

As the two homunculi played their game, Chloe began to become brighter, more relaxed. Her frustrations slipped out of her mind as she just focused on defeating Leysritt and not on the real issues at hand. She just wanted to play in the end, it's all she's ever wanted. Heracles wondered if it actually mattered how fun Chloe found the game itself, or if she would have been satisfied with any game as long as it was something considered fun and not work. Either way, Heracles was happy to see that Chloe was enjoying herself rather than being mired in negative emotions, as she so often was despite her best efforts. It was okay to just escape reality and frolic from time to time.

The Sun slid up the sky with great speed and time faded away as the two women dueled in the digital dimension. It was amazing the kinds of things modern humans were capable of creating, but also scary in how easily they could suck a person in. Considering Chloe and Leysritt had been playing so long that it would probably only be an hour or so until Illyasviel and her family arrived, perhaps Heracles' Master should have been doing more to prepare for what was to come at this point.

"Chloe, Leysritt." The door to the gaming room opened and in stepped the conservatively dressed Sella. She had become the maternal figure of the family in contrast to Leysritt's sisterly dynamic with Chloe. "Come on you two, help me prepare for when Illyasviel and her family arrive." Heracles' Master must have telepathically told Sella and Leysritt about her plans.

"Prepare how? Archer's just gonna kill them all in one shot." Chloe kept her eyes on the television screen.

"They may be able to dodge or defend against Archer's Noble Phantasm. We need to prepare countermeasures around the castle just in case things devolve into a brawl. Chloe, you need to set up traps and Leysritt, you need to get your halberd and prepare to guard Chloe."

"Stop worrying." Chloe was dismissive of Sella's concerns to the point that she assumed the conversation was over. Heracles knew that was what she thought because she was obviously annoyed when Sella didn't drop the topic.

"I'm trying to be careful. That was the whole reason we contacted Illyasviel in the first place, because Archer isn't at full strength so we decided to be cautious. There are at least three Servant level fighters coming to the castle, we can't take this lightly."

"Archer's the strongest there is. He'll be fine." The Master leaned forward in an attempt to focus on the game she was playing.

"You don't know that for sure."

"C'mon, me and Liz are just trying to relax right now." Chloe scoffed.

"This isn't the time to be playing around. We're in the middle of a war, a war you decided you wanted we should participate in, I'll remind you."

"Yeah, and so if things go bad it'll be my fault and I'll handle it then. For now, quit nagging me." Chloe's tone was getting more sharp.

"I'm not nagging you!" Sella exhaled out her nose and did nothing for a moment before she walked in front of the television screen.

"Move out of the way!" Chloe snapped.

"No. You're done playing." Sella stood as a wall between the television and the two young women playing games.

Chloe jerked her body left and right, up and down to look around Sella's body, but she failed to see past the woman. Leysritt had stopped mashing buttons and flicking her control stick and was just sitting around waiting for the situation to resolve itself one way or another. Chloe refused to quit playing her game, even if she was just pressing random buttons out of obstinance. It became an endurance match to see who would cave in first and let the other have their way, Chloe or Sella.

"Move!"

"No."

"I said move!"

"No."

"Why can't you let me just relax?"

"You've been relaxing for hours. You can't keep sitting around."

"I just wanna have some fun!"

"You've been having fun all day."

"Just leave me alone and let me play!"

"No. You decided we should take part in this war, now you have to take responsibility."

"I am taking responsibility. I made the plan to kill Irisiviel and shit, so let me relax now!"

"You still have more to do."

"I'll do it later!"

"Illyasviel and her family could be here any time now. There might not be a later."

"Just go away!"

"No."

The sound of Chloe's character in the game falling off the stage was the straw that broke the camel's back and made Heracles' Master shoot to her feet. Her magical energy flared and for a moment it actually appeared that Chloe was going to attack Sella. Both Sella and Leysritt were as motionless as statues from the utter shock at Chloe's disproportionate rage.

It was so disproportionate that even Chloe herself was taken aback as soon as she realized what she was doing. She was about to attack someone she considered family over something as benign as an argument. Such volatility was terrifying to Chloe herself most of all as she just stood and looked at the floor for a minute.

"I'm sorry." Chloe whispered. "I'm really sorry. I just had this moment where I was just-I guess it has to do with the Einzberns, the whole thing where they wouldn't let me play ever, and so you telling me to stop playing just triggered something in me. I'm not making an excuse!" Chloe's energy returned as she worried she would be misunderstood. "I still shouldn't have done that. I just wanted to explain. I can't believe I was about to-about to-" Chloe hiccuped. She was about to hurt her family and that fact appalled her, as it should.

Leysritt got up and hugged Chloe from the side and petted her head with tenderness. Sella turned off the game console and the television before staring at the wall, processing that Chloe was actually about to hurt her, possibly even kill her. Heracles wondered if she was thinking the same kinds of thoughts his own family did right before he killed them.

"Chloe." Sella's voice heaved a bit when she spoke that name. "I forgive you for letting your anger get the better of you, but don't ever do that again."

Chloe lunged for Sella and was about to hug her, but instead nuzzled into her when she saw how the woman she saw as a mother flinched. "I'm so sorry, Sella. I swear, I'll never do anything like that again."

With shaking arms that soon became steady, Sella embraced Chloe and said, "I know you won't."

"Master." Heracles barely fit in the cluttered space as he materialized. "I know this may be impertinent of me, but I feel that the outburst you just had is a symptom of the issue I was talking about." Chloe turned her head enough that just one eye was uncovered by Sella's bosom to gaze upon her Servant. "I said before that you should reconcile with Illyasviel and Irisviel for your own mental health and that is because right now your heart is inundated with rage. You want to kill Illyasviel and Irisviel because of your hate for the Einzberns, which is also part of your motivation to destroy the Grail. Though I do agree that the Grail is too dangerous to be left as is, you need to find a way to quell your anger rather than find channels to blindly direct it towards. Otherwise, it will overflow and you will lash out like you just did."

"And that's why you want to work with Illyasviel and Irisviel, so I can find some inner peace or something." Chloe turned her head a little more to reveal her mouth.

"That is correct. I'm not saying you should befriend them, or that we mustn't confront them in combat if necessary, but I think you are enabling your wrath and that isn't going to end well. My own wrath has stolen away far too many innocent lives. I wish not for you to face the same fate of being a destroyer."

Chloe hid away her face again within Sella's chest and everyone waited as the Master deliberated with herself. Though there were certainly doubts, Heracles held a deep and firmly set confidence that his Master would make the right choice.

The Master's face peeked out again, this time fully.

"Okay. I'll try to make nice with Illyasviel." Chloe was pouting, but she accepted.

Heracles smiled as he said, "Thank you, Master. You're very brave."

"I don't know about that. I just don't want to hurt Sella or Leysritt."

"That reasoning is perfectly acceptable. As long as you are following a just path that will help both yourself and those around you, then you will forever be sanctioned by me." Heracles put a hand to his chest as he made that simple vow.

"Thanks, Archer." Chloe managed to smile. "I'm glad to know you've got my back."

"We've got you, too." Leysritt said as both she and Sella also wore smiles.

Chloe was blushing so deeply that not even her tanned skin could obscure it. "Anyway, let's prepare for when Illyasviel gets here."

"But we aren't fighting them now, correct?" Sella said.

"Yeah, but we should probably still get ready in case it turns out Illyasviel and her family really are as bad as I think and they try to surprise attack us or something. We've gotta be careful and all. It's the responsible way to handle things." Chloe's ham-fisted reference to the argument that just occurred was accompanied by a smug expression that made Sella roll her eyes, though her own smile faltered not.

And thus the family set out to spend what little time they had remaining preparing for the arrival of Illyasviel, Irisviel, the Saber who survived the last war and was most certainly King Arthur, the other Saber who was still a mystery in terms of identity, but greatly resembled Arthur, and the human girl descended from King Arthur who somehow held Servant level power and Divinity that her mother lacked. An unusual band, but a sincere one from what Heracles could discern. Hopefully they would be a good influence on Chloe and set her on a better path as they all worked together to eliminate the Grail.