Content Warning: Suicide imagery

Let's look back to just before Assassin attacked Irisviel and company on the morning of the third day of the Holy Grail War.

"So it's basically about people fighting angels by piloting giant robots, but it isn't fun?" Chloe said.

"It's fun! It just isn't happy-go-lucky. It's about the psychologies of the characters and stuff, it's really cool." Illya said to her twin while they walked around the inner courtyard of the Einzbern Castle with Archer invisibly following behind them. They were waiting for mom, Sella, and Leyrsitt to finish getting ready before they left to go to the Fuyuki church. Sella was readying the cars they would use, Leysritt was using the bathroom, and mom was having a snack.

"What was this show called again?"

"Neon Genesis Evangelion."

"That sounds super pretentious."

"No, it's great! It's an analysis and deconstruction of other mecha anime!"

"Why do they need to be deconstructed?"

"It's to evolve the genre, to take it in new directions!"

"It really just seems like a show that's up its own ass."

"You just don't get it! You need to watch it with me!"

"I guess I'll give it a try, but if I think it's shit then we're turning it off and watching Pulp Fiction."

"And you're calling Evangelion pretentious?"

"Pulp Fiction isn't pretentious!"

"Oh come on, it's doing that out of order storytelling thing to make itself seem smart."

"No, it does it with purpose!"

"And Evangelion does what it does with purpose!"

Illya and Chloe were arguing, but they were having fun, or at least Illya was. She hoped Chloe was also enjoying their bantering and wasn't really upset. Illya wanted to be close to Chloe, to make her happy after all the pain she suffered throughout her life. It seemed like she was succeeding in that goal since Chloe had done a one-eighty on her desire for Illya to stay as far away from her as possible at all times. They were talking about their interests and even making plans to watch some shows and movies after the war. If all went well, Chloe's family and Illya's would stay in touch and get together sometimes for holidays and birthdays and stuff.

That was contingent on this Holy Grail War ending well. It should since mama was getting away from Fuyuki and Gray was going to be getting a new body. Touko Aozaki couldn't have been that difficult to find. Thank goodness they were told she could help them. It was all thanks to Chloe.

"Hey, Chloe."

"What? Got any more bad opinions about media. You gonna tell me that, like, Plan 9 from Outer Space is secretly a masterpiece?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you again for all your help, especially for giving us the idea to find Touko Aozaki. I know we all said thank you a bunch yesterday, but I still wanna let you know how much it means to us that you did that. Gray is gonna live thanks to you."

"It was no problem. I just had a passing thought and figured I'd bring it up. It couldn't hurt." Chloe craned her head away from Illya.

"Thank you still. You could have just as easily decided to not say anything."

"Listen, you can quit saying thanks, it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Then is there anything I could do to thank you?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno, that's why I asked. Is there anything you want that I could do for you? Anything you'd like to have done or that you'd like to get?"

"I just want this war to be over so I can relax."

"Do you have any plans for after the war? You have free range now to do anything and so much money that you don't really have limits."

"I don't have any specific ideas right now. Maybe I'll use my money to become a philanthropist or something. I might as well do some good since I have the ability to and I know what it's like to have it rough."

"That's a really good idea. You're a good person."

"It was just an idea." Chloe blushed.

"How about I help you with your philanthropy in that case to thank you for saving Gray."

"Fine, I guess."

Chloe liked to act all aloof and self-centered, but she was a big softy on the inside. Most people when they got a lot of money didn't think about helping others, they thought about what crazy things they could buy. Chloe had a good heart.

Things were going to work out. They were going to visit the overseer in a little bit and he'd see reason and show them to the Greater Grail. It'd be destroyed and everything would be gucci.

Hold on.

A Bounded Field, massive one was just put up around the entire forest, Illya could feel it. She immediately tried to contact her mom telepathically, only to find she couldn't. Illya tried connecting to Mordred, only for the same result; nothing. The field was scrambling all forms of mental communication magecraft.

This could only mean one thing. They were under attack.

Something cold was touching Illya's neck. She felt it press into her skin tightly. Her breathing stopped and she realized that she was about to lose her head.

Illya was yanked back and the invisible blade only grazed her throat. There was a trickle of blood, but nothing important was slit. The one who pulled Illya back and saved her life was Archer who had materialized ready for battle. He lacked anything like Instinct which would let him sense where the invisible enemy was, but he did possess Mind's Eye(True) which would let him analyze the situation and get at least a general idea as to the enemy's location.

"Stay by me." Archer said as he jumped back with both Illya and Chloe in his arms before he put them down and summoned his bow. He nocked multiple arrows to release in a single wave that would leave nowhere for the unseen threat to run.

This was foreseen by the enemy who began incanting for some kind of spell as soon as their slash on Illya failed to kill.

"Brennender Himmel

Ich kenne den Kreis; Die Blumen beschützen mich;

Der Wächter des alten Schlosses ist unerschütterlich.

Eine Blume blüht in meinen Händen; Aias der Telamonier!"

Magical energy gathered and formed around the unseen Servant. The magical energy reached levels rivaling a Noble Phantasm and took the shape of five large sakura petals that were bright pink. The petals curved down and formed a canopy around the invisible assailant to function as a shield against the dense stream of poisoned arrows. The bolts impacted the shield with enough force that each shot alone would be enough to shake the castle down to its deepest foundations. With the innumerable number of arrows that were being shot, the entire forest constantly quaked. The bolts were each destroyed as they impacted with the pink canopy despite the power of the shots. Fragments of arrows scattered through the air before disappearing while cracks slowly formed in the petals due to the unending series of impacts.

One petal broke like glass and so did another. Another. Another. Only one petal remained to defend the invisible assailant from the full brunt of Heracles' might. Archer summoned an extra long arrow that he nocked before firing it. The shot moved so fast that Illya only saw the aftermath. She heard a sound like a bomb going off that made her temporarily lose her hearing. The wind became like that of a hurricane and both the arrow and the final petal were in pieces. There was nothing left to protect the enemy Servant now. Another extra long arrow was readied. As the bowstring was pulled back with a soft touch and the enemy's future appeared to be curtailed, magical energy wafted through the air so thickly it was almost nauseating. The multitude of arrows and the canopy of sakura petals were full of so much power that the remnants left after their destruction had dispersed into the atmosphere. It was so overpowering that there was no way to sense any other magical energy signals.

That was probably all a part of the enemy's plan and was the reason why Illya nor Chloe nor even Archer saw the next attack coming.

Archer, Chloe, and Illya all spotted something on the roof of the castle above where the unseen enemy was, something red. It was a magic circle floating mid air and made of blood that gave Illya a headache just looking at it.

"Breaker Gorgon."

The next thing they knew, there was a flicker of red and the circle was gone. At first it appeared that nothing had happened. Illya, Chloe, and Archer were still present and standing with nothing appearing out of the ordinary.

"What was that?" Illya said.

"I don't know and I don't care. Archer, send another wave of arrows and destroy everything in the direction that circle was. I don't care if the castle gets damaged." Chloe said and waited for her Servant to follow her commands, only for there to be no response from the giant. "Archer, did you hear me?" No response, the giant just stood in place. "Archer! Wakey wakey!" Chloe slapped the Servant's side. No response. Chloe looked Archer in the eye and then went slack jawed. Illya noticed it too.

Archer's eyes were glazed over and red, the same red as the bloody circle that was floating earlier. The giant was under the effect of some kind of Noble Phantasm. He had Valor which protected against mental interference, but it wasn't absolute and a Noble Phantasm level mental attack could have been enough to incapacitate him.

"Oh, fuck."

"Time alter - square accel!" Illya couldn't let them sit around like sitting ducks while Archer was in whatever trance he was under. Illya warped time to move at speeds comparable to a Servant as she pulled a hair from her head and used alchemy to make it stronger before lengthening it and wrapping around her own waist and the motionless giant's. Chloe was scooped into Illya's arms and Illya ran at full speed while using reinforcement magecraft to boost her strength. The giant was dragged across the ground behind Illya as she ran since leaving him behind would mean he'd be defenseless, the invisible enemies being able to kill him with ease even if it would take a while due to his God Hand. The sound of projectiles whizzing through the air was heard behind Illya but she couldn't look back. Even the slightest hesitation and she along with Chloe and Archer would die. Thankfully, the giant's absurd durability meant he'd make a nice shield against the projectiles as Illya kept running.

Illya ran at a wall and kicked a hole in it before running though. Illya entered the mansion and sensed for her mom's magical energy. She and Leysritt were the only people who had a chance of handling these invisible Servants. Locking on to her mom's magical energy, Illya ran towards her through the mansion's corridors. Leysritt and Sella were with mom from what Illya could tell and considering the sounds of things breaking and explosions, they were fighting somebody over there. Like the invisible foes, whoever they were fighting had their magical energy hidden. More projectiles Illya didn't turn back to see shot for her. Illya manipulated the string holding Archer to lift him up a bit so he'd act as a better shield. The shots failed to penetrate the giant's skin so they weren't A rank attacks, not that they were any less deadly for Illya and Chloe. The weight of Archer's body was great and yet Illya kept moving forward despite the strain pulling it forward caused her. Her whole body was in pain from both the giant's mass and the strain of using time alter for so long.

As Illya ran, she tore out a good chunk of her hair and let those strands pierce into the floor and spread out into an underground net that would sense vibrations and thus allow Illya to know where people were standing throughout the mansion, even when they were invisible. It was through that that she understood how many intruders were currently in the mansion. There were four, with two pursuing Illya and company while the other two were engaging mom, Sella, and Leysritt. Three of the enemies would periodically leave the ground for extended periods of time meaning they could probably fly or at least hover. The fourth who was one of the two following Illya had a different weight and cadence of steps compared to the other three who were identical. The other three must have been clones of each other of something in that vein. The scent of blood was filling the air as Illya entered the lobby where her mom was.

Leysritt was a homunculus who was built to have physical capabilities on par with a Servant. She was far from a slouch in combat from what Illya understood and so she would not be defeated easily. The exception would be if she was facing enemies she could not detect due to her straightforward combat style or if she was attacked unprepared without her halberd. It was for those reasons that Leysritt was currently a bloody and mangled mess who was barely still standing.

Blood spears were fired by an invisible assailant and Leysritt dodged them, only for another unseen fighter to strike at her side while she was evading and launch her into the staircase. Leysritt was embedded into the steps, but she quickly pulled herself out and ran as fast as her super strength would allow and punched at where the invisible enemy struck her from. Leysritt failed to hit anything and instead was hit herself by another invisible blow that knocked her into the air before multiple blood spears fired at her. Plucking yet another hair from her head, Illya extended it and had it wrap around Leysritt. The airborne woman was pulled out of the way of the blood projectiles and over to Illya and Chloe.

"Liz!" Chloe said while panicking over her friend's state.

"Okay. Are you?" Leysritt said.

"We're fi-"

More blood spears came from the invisible enemies in the lobby while Illya could hear more projectiles being fired by the other assailants who had been chasing Illya and company and who had just caught up. Illya used time alter again, scooped Leysritt into her arms with Chloe, and pulled Chloe, Archer, and Leysritt out of the way of all the projectiles.

Illya looked around for her mom and Sella and when she spotted them, her heart skipped a beat. Sella was dragging mom towards the exit. Mom was limp, her eyes just like Archer's. They got her too and now there was nobody who was strong enough to beat the invisible Servants. This situation was beyond dire.

Pulling Sella and mom to her with another hair, Illya kept on using time alter despite the agony it was causing her as she dragged mom, Chloe, Leysritt, Sella, and Archer towards the exit. The four invisible foes were about to give chase, but the web of hair Illya made underground pierced up through the floor and wrapped around the pursuers. The fetters pulled the unseen quartet through the ground and into the wine cellar below. They would only be delayed for a second or two, but that was enough to get a decent head start. Ilya's body reinforced itself to the limit and she tackled through the doors to the outside. She had to just take everyone and run. As long as Avalon kept healing her, she could just keep pulling everyone away. This all banked on the invisible Servants not being fast enough to catch up and that they didn't have any powerful ranged attacks, but it was worth a shot.

That shot was hampered by the fact that standing right outside the door was a crowd of suited men wielding weapons of varying kinds that were at least Mystic Codes and may have even been Noble Phantasms.

The surprise made Illya stumble and an arrow shot by one of the suits stabbed into her leg and nearly blew it off entirely. She hit the ground and she couldn't move as the recoil of her overuse of time alter hit her all at once and outpaced the healing power of Avalon. The invisible Servants were coming and so were the suits. They were all ready to kill and there was nothing Illya could do as her whole body was now paralyzed. She tried to move with all her will and yet nothing happened. Illya needed to protect her family, Chloe's family, and yet she couldn't due to her own weakness. The helplessness of needing to do something more than anything and being entirely powerless to do that thing was a horrifying sensation. To be destined to fail and having to just sit there and let fate wash over you, it was haunting. Illya had finally felt like things were going to work out and it was then that her life began crumbling down so quickly she couldn't keep up.

"Don't move or the Lesser Grail dies!" Chloe said as she held a knife to her own throat. It was Illya's combat knife, she must have pilfered it from Illya during all the chaos.

Everyone stopped.

"I'm the Lesser Grail, if I die, the war is over and nobody gets their wish! If you try to touch any of us, I'll kill myself! I really will! These are the most important people in my life, without them, I don't wanna live anyway!" Chloe's voice was ragged and honest. She really meant every word. She not only cared about Sella, Leysritt, and Archer, she even had a deep connection to Illya and mom.

This was a serious threat and a bluff at the same time. Chloe was a Lesser Grail, but both Illya and her mama were too. This was all predicated on the assailants believing Chloe was a Lesser Grail, that they understood what the Lesser Grail was, and that they didn't know there was more than a single Lesser Grail.

The suited men all stood still while Illya and her companions all lied on the dirt and the invisible assailants stayed quiet, their current actions hidden from everyone. Were they preparing to attack? Discussing whether they believed Chloe? If they had a telepathic connection with each other that functioned within the Bounded Field, then there was no way for Illya and company to know.

Illya could only wait helplessly to see what happened.

Seconds gave way to minutes and Illya was getting more afraid as time went on that the assailants wouldn't comply with Chloe's demands. She began grinding her teeth just to have something to do, something to focus on besides the danger of the moment.

One of the suited men took a step for some reason. Maybe they were preparing to pounce, or maybe they were just repositioning their feet to be more comfortable. Either way, Chloe didn't take kindly to the man's step. She pushed the blade of the knife harder into her throat and pierced it slightly. A line of blood slid out of the wound and everyone stopped making even the slightest movements. Chloe had a hair trigger and would end her own life with the slightest provocation at this point.

"I am one of the Servants who has been attacking you. I'd like to appear so we can negotiate, is that okay?" A voice came from one of the invisible individuals.

"Fine, but don't move."

"As you wish."

Appearing from nowhere was a woman wearing a red cloak and wrappings. Under that they were wearing some kind of red dress. Their blue eyes were serious and calm.

"What do we have to do to make sure you don't end your own life?" the Servant asked.

"Leave. All of you leave."

"I sadly can't do that."

"Then I'll die."

"That isn't an option for us. To put it briefly, some of us are actually being blackmailed into this. Our allies will be killed if we don't at least capture you." They weren't acting of their own volition? What could their situation be?

"I don't give a shit about your friends, leave or this war will have no winner."

"How about we take just you in and we leave the rest of your companions alone, even your Servants. If they stay here and agree to not pursue us when we leave with you, we won't hurt them or you."

"And how do I know you won't go back on your word once you've restrained me?"

"We can establish a geis. I have the knowledge necessary to make that kind of contract. We will promise to not harm you or any of your companions and in exchange, you will not end your own life, you will willingly become our prisoner, and your allies won't track, follow, or attack us. Your Servants will also be restored to normal. The terms of the contract will last for twenty-four hours. That's enough time for your allies to find a new base and relocate. We'll also be using a spell to make it so your servant can't find you through your connection to him as his Master. This is the best deal I can offer."

Chloe's hands shook which caused her neck wound to widen. She bit bottom lip so hard it bled and she made some quiet grunting noises as she struggled to think of a better option than the one the red Servant was offering. Illya didn't want Chloe to be taken away, but she also couldn't think of any way out of this situation.

"Fine. I accept your offer. Make the fucking contract."

"Alright."

The Servant slowly readied the spell. It took some time given everyone present was a part of the geis and during that time Illya seethed. She hated how helpless she was and how unfair this whole situation was, especially for Chloe. She had to use her own life as a bargaining chip in a rigged game just to protect the people she loved.

The geis was completed and Illya could feel the contract seep into her magic circuits and intertwine with them. A second heart of magical energy formed next to her existing one and she was now bound to the terms of the geis with her life as collateral.

Chloe sighed and pulled the knife away from her neck and dropped it.

"You guys gonna tie me up or knock me out?"

"No need for either since you have to follow the geis' terms. I'll just carry you."

"Alright." Chloe stood up and as she did, both Archer and mom regained their senses from the Noble Phantasm that had trapped their minds.

"Chloe?" Archer looked at his Master as she approached the unfamiliar figure in red.

"What happened?" Mom asked.

"Long story short, you guys got paralyzed or something, we're under a geis now, and I have to go with these guys or we'll all die." Chloe was pulled into the red Servants arms who bridal carried her. Both mom and Archer didn't have a response due to the lack of information. They just understood that Chloe's words were serious and that they couldn't interfere with her capture. "See you guys. I gotta admit it's been fun. Hopefully we'll make it through this. If we do, Illya," Illya raised her head. "I want us to watch Evangelion together."

With those words, Chloe was taken away as everyone could only watch. Nobody said anything.

Illya cried as she continued to feel useless despite all her efforts. Her ability to cry was the only thing Illya still felt control over, and even that might be lost to her if things kept spiraling down.

Everything was happening so fast.