Author's Note: Proofread by xenahort x. He's looking for other stories to beta read as well. I retconned the use of Caladbolg II last chapter to an unstated Noble Phantasm instead. I also changed Merlin's prediction in Chapter 10 from "24 hours" to "On the coming night" due to timing issues. Also, to those who think that it's not canon for Rin to act condescendingly or with attitude to Shirou at her current age, I refer you to the episode of Fate/Zero where Rin was speaking her mind to Kirei as she was leaving home just before the Fourth Holy Grail War. That was pure Rin energy there. Rin acts polite at school, but that's no different from how she acts in Fate/stay night. She's fully capable of being her willful and opinionated self even at this young age.

Neo: There is no specific update schedule or target chapter length.

Ghostly: You're not wrong about the gods' track record for cruelty in Fate. Something to consider for the future, I'm sure. Shirou's last name, Enjou, is indeed a nod to Kara no Kyokai's Tomoe Enjou. Tomoe is similar to Shirou Emiya in both appearance and in aspects of backstory. I suspect that Shirou might be a cousin or something, but I haven't gone so far as to define that in my plans or not. As of this point, it is an OOC easter egg. I might change that to an explicit IC connection later.

PersonaNinja Lux: I agree, I just had to acknowledge the fact that the person we saw in the Reality Marble was known not to be Waver in spite of the theory. Just because Eumenes was confirmed as the Waver look-a-like we saw in the Reality Marble doesn't mean Waver isn't there as well. This story says they're both in there.

Anime Enthusiast: My understanding of this part of the Master/Servant bond is a bit nebulous. On one hand, severing a Master's arm and taking their Command Seals is a proven method of severing a prana link and stealing a Servant (poor Bazett). On the other, Waver Velvet uses his three command seals up in the canon story to empower Iskandar, and Iskandar remains in the World and even manages to fight his most energy-intensive battle yet.

Servants do vanish when they no longer have a living Master to draw prana from and run out of energy, but the question seems to be if the loss of the Command Seals alone necessarily breaks the Master/Servant bond. I've just heard that the Servant cannot be controlled by the Master and that the Master is then vulnerable to being killed by their own Servant, not that the prana link is cut off from that action alone.

Thankfully, Mordred's summoning is so different from the norm that the question is irrelevant. Kayneth held only the Command Seal duties of the Master while Sola-Ui handled only the prana drain of the Master. They did this with Lancer in the Fate/Zero canon, so they did it here as well. Mordred's connection to Kayneth and her connection to Sola-Ui are independent in this story, so Sola-Ui can still sustain her with prana even after Kayneth runs out of Command Seals or dies. This means Mordred sticks around for now.

Chapter 12: Gambit of the Golden King

November 22, 1994

Einzbern Mansion

127 hours and 57 minutes to Zero

Having seen Hercules being called away with a Command Seal, EMIYA and Lancer Artoria stood in a wrecked and silent courtyard. The man grimaced, not liking the fact that Hercules had gotten away. They'd nearly had him! Sadly, Caliburn's beam simply bounced off of his body instead of doing any damage before he vanished. That had puzzled Lancer Artoria greatly. "Why was he immune to Caliburn's light? I do not understand how it is possible," The woman inquired, amazed at Hercules' resistance.

EMIYA was pondering that as well. That was not the only attack that Hercules had shrugged off that he should not have been able to endure. When he had attempted to hit the behemoth of a man with his own stockpile of A-ranked and higher Noble Phantasms, a number of his heavy-hitters did nothing. Getting him down to one life, even with full prana and Lancer Artoria's aid, had been a chore. Now that he had been called away to recover, what weapons had worked this time would not be suitable next time.

"I don't know, Lancer. It worked fine during the other timeline. Stabbing him and cooking him from inside took seven lives-" EMIYA came to a sudden realization. The weapons that had failed to hurt Hercules in this exchange, including Caliburn, had a single common element. They were all used during various versions of the Fifth Holy Grail War against Hercules. The weapons that had hurt him tonight had not been used at that time. That led to a single conclusion.

"Lancer, I need you to relay something to Dad through your link," EMIYA said in an urgent tone, which compelled Lancer Artoria to adopt a stoic expression. "Tell him 'First Archer has left. Second Berserker has been called away by Command Seal. He carries immunities from weapons used on him from the Fifth Holy Grail War. Berserker likely has memories as well, within the limits of what Mad Enhancement allows.'"

"...Sent, and I already have a response," Lancer Artoria answered. "They successfully evacuated fully, but it seems that Mordred was called away by a Command Seal as well." Lancer Artoria and EMIYA did not need to discuss the weight of that statement. If Mordred's Master truly had only one Command Seal and used it, then it was certainly a life-or-death situation.

"...Should I ride Dun Stallion with you, or should we drive?" EMIYA asked, knowing that they had to hurry. They needed to lend support and were already falling far behind.

Matou Mansion Basement

127 hours and 55 minutes to Zero

While the smoke continued to rise over the Tohsaka Mansion, Zouken worked to salvage what he could of the situation. Any resources he could find were essential, and he had thankfully been monitoring the situation within the Tohsaka Mansion from beginning to end. As such, he was prompt in securing certain...assets. These alone would be worth the effort spent tonight, even without counting Hercules' presence under his command.

A passageway in one of the walls of the Matou basement opened and worms spilled out in a small torrent, along with two severed arms that fell to the floor. Grinning, Zouken Matou approached one of the severed limbs and touched the Command Seals on it. With the quiet chant of a three-line Aria, he transferred Tokiomi's seals to his own hand. Two command Seals had remained after calling Hercules to his side, but it became five after this act.

Feeling a link form with his newest Servant, the ancient Magus chuckled ominously.

Enroute to Fuyuki City

Kariya's eyes opened widely in abrupt wakefulness and alarm, his regenerated left eye a light blue as it watched Saber Artoria remove her copy of Avalon from his restored body. The eye would eventually darken in time once the pigment settled into the typical color, much as it did in the case of newborn babies, but his hair would remain a stark white. He sat up with a start, immediately aware that he was moving. Looking around revealed that he was in a helicopter that was packed with people, homunculi, and the aforementioned King of Knights. A lack of noise from the rotors implied Magecraft-based sound cancellation.

"Saber...w-what happened?" Kariya asked, recalling the agonizing pain from before. He looked to the back of his hand, only to note that his Command Seals were gone. "M-my Command Seals?"

"It was Zouken..." Boudica's weak voice groaned from Kariya's left. Artoria sat between her and Kariya, having let her presence provide the dual copies of Avalon with maximum power to heal the wounded. Boudica's ribs were closed now, but they had still been forced to wrap her chest in gauze that was still blood-stained. Irisviel and Illyasviel were sitting on the far side of Boudica, using their Healing Magecraft to hasten the recovery process as much as possible.

"Yes," Artoria started to convey, speaking so Boudica didn't need to strain herself. "Zouken took your Command Seals and somehow summoned a new Berserker that took over her Spiritual Core and burst from her chest. Your worms were all burned out in the summoning process. You were clearly not intended to survive, Kariya, but a copy of my Noble Phantasm was able to heal you."

Kariya's eyes were wide. Indeed, he couldn't feel the worms. The fatigue and the pain were gone, but those thoughts were secondary to Boudica's condition. "I don't know what a Spiritual Core is, but how is she still here without a Master? Is Zouken her Master now?"

"No," Professor Velvet interjected, still among the group and drawing energy from the Magical Energy Reactor aboard the helicopter to avoid draining Iskandar needlessly. "The reason she is still here is that the scabbard Avalon is resisting her injuries and providing her directly with Gaia's power. She currently has no master. Sadly, the scabbard only functions in the general vicinity of either Artoria Pendragon or Shirou Emiya."

"E-Emiya?" Kariya asked in confusion. This time, it was Irisviel who interjected to respond.

"Yes! Part of the purpose of my visit to Tokiomi was to drop off the adoption papers! I am sorry you were so roughly handled back then, but my Grandfather could not find out about that...nor of our discussion about the Grail's condition." She gave a gentle smile to Kariya, one of sympathy. "In any case, I am afraid you are no longer a Master. At the very least, you are not being observed by Zouken any longer. We can safely hide you for the duration of the war."

With that, Kariya shuddered and his expression turned downcast. He felt useless.

"D-don't make that face, Kariya..." Boudica said, fighting through the pain to smile at her ex-Master. "You get to live...when Sakura is safe, you'll be there to see it. You'll just...have to rely on the others' help to save her. I...am sorry I won't be there to say goodbye to her...but she shouldn't see me like this."

"Wait...what do you mean? You're being healed! You'll be fine!" Kariya then turned from the fatalistic Boudica to the blonde King. "Won't she, Saber?" Kariya asked, pleading for reassurance.

Artoria's expression saddened to a degree. "I am sorry. Avalon was never used in this manner before, and this is a duplicate rather than the original. Whether it is somehow inferior in its abilities or unable to regenerate a missing Spiritual Core, I do not know...but the fact of the matter is that she is slowly fading away. The best we could do was to try to keep her alive until you regained consciousness to say goodbye." Standing and moving so that Kariya could scoot over next to Boudica, the redhead reached over and held his hand.

"Call me Boudica...I'm not Berserker anymore, so use my True Name...you and the others know it by now anyway..." The Queen of the Iceni said, enduring the agony caused by the motion of the helicopter. "Kariya, I know I was too weak to help you, but I am glad...to have been summoned for a righteous cause. I know...you will see her smile again."

The truth that she was dying hit Kariya hard, but he steeled himself as best he could. "Boudica, don't blame yourself. You were strong enough to help protect Shirou and get us the allies we need to help Sakura...and I'd rather have a friend with a good heart than a powerful Servant without one."

The woman gave a pained smile. "Friend...I'm glad to be your friend, Kariya. Hopefully, I'll see you all again one day. For now, though...my husband and daughters are calling..." Motes of light started to emerge from Boudica's body, the redheaded woman fading away before their eyes. Gray's and Illya's eyes were tearing up, the former embracing the Saber variant of her aunt and the latter clinging to her mother.

"Rest well, Boudica..." Kariya said, joining the girls in letting the tears flow.

"...She is not truly gone," Artoria revealed as she stooped down and embraced her niece to give comfort. Kariya looked at the King of Knights with a small flicker of hope as she spoke. "Though the Servants are copies of the original souls in the Throne of Heroes, the memories of the Servants are shared with those originals. Somewhere, out beyond space and time, she is there and will remember you eternally."

"She is right," Professor Velvet confirmed. "Gaia interferes with the post-death memories of Servants in normal cases to avoid temporal issues, but the original in the Throne of Heroes will remember it all and even retain objects they obtained in their travels. On a related note, Lady Einzbern will need another copy of Avalon. Boudica took the Traced weapon with her."

"...T-thank you, Saber. Professor. That helps." Kariya responded. The idea that Boudica was still out there somewhere gave him a small measure of peace. Saber's choice of words even made it sound a bit beautiful.

"That's...strange. I don't feel her." Irisviel commented in confusion. "She vanished right next to me. I am the Lesser Grail, but she never entered me. Why?"

Kiritsugu's hand twitched slightly at the reminder of Irisviel's condition, but Professor Velvet seemed to have an answer. "It's because Boudica faded away while under Avalon's care. That allowed her to be shunted directly to an...alternate location attuned to the scabbard. You no longer have to worry about becoming the Lesser Grail of this particular War, as that duty has been assigned to someone else after absorbing the first Servant to lose."

Shirou's Reality Marble

127 hours and 53 minutes to Zero

EMIYA turned his head as a burst of prana was felt from the direction of the Lesser Grail that Shirou had Structurally Grasped at the Fuyuki Church. Walking over and looking into it, EMIYA could see that the bottom held liquid prana. It seemed to be only a seventh or so full, but the man knew what this meant.

"I knew this thing couldn't be any good..."

As EMIYA grumbled at the implications, the gem and hilt of the nearby Sword of Boudica: Sword without Promised Victory changed from red to blue as it and its user's history were updated within Shirou's Reality Marble.

Enroute to Fuyuki City

"There aren't any other Lesser Grails in this War, and Illya's alterations thankfully weren't complete. Did Acht sneak a backup Lesser Grail in with the other homunculi?" Kiritsugu inquired of the Professor. As glad as he was that Irisviel might live this time, not knowing details like this tended to bite him later. Before the Professor could speak further, a prototype Noble Phantasm penetrated the helicopter's protective Bounded Field and tore apart the reinforced tail of the craft. The helicopter began to spin hard as Gilgamesh's Vimana sped by at top speed, its supersonic buzzing of the Gordius Wheel making the Divine Bulls veer off and bellow.

"AHHHH!" Waver cried out as he was knocked off of the Gordius Wheel and began to fall from the sky, only for his Servant to will the chariot to dive and double-back. It took a mere few seconds for Iskandar to grab the boy's arm and haul him back into the chariot, though it was a few seconds that Waver Velvet would never forget.

"Are you alright, boy?" Iskandar asked the trembling and terrified Waver. When he regained a measure of control over himself, the Clocktower student scrambled to tie himself to the chariot using the same rope he'd used to restrain the cask of wine earlier. "...Well, your movements are lively enough." Iskandar decided, relieved that his Master was more or less okay aside from the terror.

During this distraction, the helicopter moved uncontrollably. Kiritsugu clutched the stick as best he could, the children hung on to Irisviel, and Artoria narrowly managed to retain her footing by grabbing onto a nearby handle near the door of the helicopter. "The tail's gone! Hang on! We're going down!" Maiya called out.

Artoria had other ideas. Calling forth her Wind Magecraft and sliding a side door of the helicopter open, the young woman fought the torrent of turbulence with her own control of the air's movement. "Land the helicopter, Kiritsugu! I'll stabilize it!"

"Right!" Kiritsugu acknowledged. The man struggled to steer the craft toward a clearing, thankfully having managed to just barely leave the Einzbern Forest behind. Still, when the damaged helicopter landed with Artoria's aid, they were just under thirty kilometers away from the city. Artoria leapt out of the helicopter once it had landed, ready to defend it from Gilgamesh as the occupants fled for their lives, but the Vimana was now a mere dot in the sky as it shot to the east toward Fuyuki.

As everyone checked over themselves and found that they were alright, Artoria reflected on the fact that Gilgamesh could have destroyed them...but for some reason, he settled for just disabling their movement. Why had his alliances apparently shifted? Did Kirei betray Tokiomi in this timeline as well? Her thoughts were interrupted when Gray approached her and hugged her as tightly as her small arms could manage, seeking comfort from the girl who was of her own blood. A gauntleted hand gently touched Gray's head in response.

"Saber," Kiritsugu said, attracting the attention of the King of Knights. "It'll take some time for Lancer and our Archer to show up. They're bringing the van and car for us. Hercules was summoned away with a Command Seal just before they could take his final life. He also retains immunities to weapons used against him during the Fifth Holy Grail War." This news made Artoria's eyes widen slightly. That was not good at all. Caliburn wouldn't work a second time. But it also meant something else.

"That means that he was likely summoned to the Matou Mansion, and Assassin is the only one at the Tohsaka Mansion to defend..." Artoria said in concern as Rider and Waver landed in the Gordius Wheel nearby.

"Hnn. This is quite a problem. Even worse, Goldie seems determined to slow us down." Iskandar stated, letting Waver hop out of the chariot. The boy practically worshipped the ground he was now safely kneeling on.

"But why did he not destroy the helicopter outright?" Irisviel inquired, puzzled by the actions of the man.

"To slow us down," Iskandar stated in response. "Had you all been wiped out, the boy and I could have pursued. This way though, we stopped to check on you and might be further delayed ensuring your protection or transport. It's the same basic idea as wounding an enemy so that one or two of his healthy allies are occupied by carrying him away from the battlefield and seeking treatment for him. You can sometimes remove more of your foes from combat by wounding instead of killing, at least in the short term."

"Yes, that tactic is often taught in modern-day militaries as well," Kiritsugu stated, though he often preferred to liquidate all of his targets. "The problem is what to do now. If Rider were to transport Saber, we would be without a Servant to defend us. It will be just under twenty minutes before Lancer and our Archer can arrive, even if Lancer uses her Riding skill to its utmost while driving." Artoria wanted to volunteer to go on her own, but Gray still clung to her desperately. Noting the fear on the child's face, Artoria chose another course of action for the moment and pulled out her smartphone. Thankful for having had Shirou Grasp her phone and claim a different number when he Traced a copy, she dialed Shirou's number and waited for someone to pick up.

Fuyuki City Skyline

127 hours and 51 minutes to Zero

RING-RING-RING

"The heck?" Mordred exclaimed as she hopped across the rooftops with the unconscious boy, forced to finally stop on a roof and inspect him for the sound that was emanating from his backpack. Was it some sort of ward that she'd tripped?

She happened upon Shirou's smartphone and took note of the letters displayed on it. 'MHX'. There was a button to accept the call and one to reject it. While the Grail did not give information to her about telephones, she had seen Kayneth use landlines...so she knew just enough to accept the call and try holding it to her head like a handset. "...Uh, hello?"

"Hello...your voice is not very clear. Are you holding the phone upside-down, Shirou?" Artoria's patient voice responded, making Mordred tense up. The Knight flipped the phone to its proper orientation, mortified at her faux pas.

"Hey, it's not like the Grail thinks it's important enough to tell us how to use these things! I'm lucky watching people let me figure it out at all!" Mordred called out, justifying her embarrassment without really thinking.

"Mordred? Why do you have my Master's phone?" Artoria's tone shifted from patient to serious rather quickly. Mordred wasn't sure how to respond and was silent for a moment too long. "Mordred? Answer me, Mordred. Why do you have-"

CLICK

The dial tone was heard after Mordred nervously ended the call, eyes widening at what she'd impulsively done.

"...This is gonna bite me in the ass. I know it."

Helicopter Crash Site

Artoria stood there for a few moments, expression unreadable before she finally ended her side of the disconnected call. "...Mordred answered Shirou's phone. She promptly disconnected. The only things keeping me from chasing her down right now are your collective safety and the fact I feel my connection to Shirou telling me that he is alive. Sadly, he is unresponsive." The woman still seemed distraught to those who knew her tells, as evidenced by the smartphone's casing cracking ever so slightly in her hand.

Waver's eyes widened a bit. "Wait! If Mordred was able to get to your Master this quickly, then it was only because my teacher called her away with his last Command Seal! She was saying that Lord El-Melloi's prana had dipped down to almost zero just before she was taken away. Maybe he did something to your Master or ran into trouble nearby?"

The possibilities this posed weren't lost on the group. After a moment of concentration and silent communication with Lancer Artoria, Kiritsugu made a decision. He raised his Command Seal-bearing hand and spoke. "Lancer! By my Command Seal, I order you to bring yourself, Archer EMIYA, and the vehicles in your collective care to us!"

The black 1993 Suzuki Carry Van, as well as Irisviel's 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL, appeared in the clearing in a flash of light. Lancer Artoria parked and stepped out of the Mercedes while EMIYA removed himself from the van. Saber Artoria looked puzzled on seeing EMIYA. "Hold for a moment. Why did Kiritsugu call you Archer EMIYA when commanding that you be brought here?"

"There is no time. You need to depart, do you not?" Lancer Artoria asked as she opened the back of the van and revealed the 1994 Yamaha V-Max stored inside.

Kiritsugu, however, shook his head. "Even the V-Max won't be fast enough, Lancer. Archer, you have data on what armaments were shown at the Battle on the Mion River. Can you call up something faster for Saber to use?"

EMIYA didn't have to think for long before understanding what his father was referring to, and he gave a smirk of confirmation. Stepping away from the group, the ex-Counter Guardian focused on the image in his other self's Reality Marble and borrowed the Marble's properties by way of their shared connection.

"I am the bone of my sword."

With these words and a flash of light, an aircraft appeared which would be quite familiar to Saber Artoria. The blackened craft bore accents that were glowing aqua instead of red, but it was otherwise identical. "F-15J, enhanced with Magecraft. This will get you where you need to go, Saber."

Saber Artoria stared at the aircraft for a moment before glancing at her old ally. "First you copy Avalon for Irisviel, and now Lancelot's aircraft from a war you were not even present for? We will have to have a long talk later, 'EMIYA'. Still...thank you." With that, the girl rushed over to the fighter jet and climbed into the cockpit before beginning to taxi onto a nearby road. Employing her own Riding ability to control the modern implement of war, Saber opened the throttle and surged off into the night sky.

EMIYA smiled as he watched Saber Artoria take off before turning back to the group. Waver Velvet was simply gawking at the Servant that could summon fighter jets, while Iskandar had a contemplative look on his face. Soon, the man broke into a wide grin and spoke. "Well, well! A Servant that can call forth modern implements of war? That would make my conquest of the world far easier! Archer! How would you like to join my army?"

Tohsaka Estate

127 hours and 48 minutes to Zero

Sakura was panicking through her familiar. She couldn't find Shirou, her sister, or her father. Of course, she hadn't had a chance to do a thorough search. Hostile worm and tentacle familiars were continuously attempting to enter the home's remains and were promptly being torn to pieces by the shadow familiar obeying the girl's instinctive urge to defend her family. Oh, she wasn't perfect at the task. A number of them that had stayed on the periphery rather than attempting to enter the wreckage proper managed to escape from her, but those that sought to use the underground as cover for a closer approach tended to find the darkness to be their undoing. The shadows were Sakura's domain, and the child's construct was the undisputed predator of anything under a certain size that sought to hide within them.

Unfortunately, by the time Kirei and Okita could arrive in an attempt to lend support, the Bounded Field of the Tohsaka Mansion had been re-activated under the control of Zouken Matou. Sakura was alone in her frantic search while the locked-out Master/Servant team had other problems to contend with. Through the seemingly limitless horde of tentacle familiars strode a single being whose gleaming golden armor reflected the shifting flames of the mansion beyond.

"It seems that you've failed to defend this place in my absence, mongrels." Gilgamesh walked toward the pair as he looked over the damage. He regarded Kirei and Okita with an impassive glance as they fought the familiars, making no move to do so himself. "Kirei, report."

Kirei responded as prompted. "Caster's familiars gathered at the Matou Estate and started to attack their Bounded Field. Fearing for his daughter Sakura, Tokiomi asked us to defend the site while he stayed with the other children within the Tohsaka Estate's Bounded Field. After a time, there was a bright flash of light and this was the result. I strongly suspect that we were outmaneuvered." Kirei stated, wondering why the familiars here did not attack Gilgamesh.

"I know you were outmaneuvered. You played right into the old mongrel's hands. Because of you, I must now suffer that worm-ridden corpse and go without my cook." A chill ran down Okita's spine as a mass of golden portals shimmered in the air like ripples in a pond. "Now, you will know the fate of those who fail me. Convey my displeasure to Tokiomi once you see him."

Making a decision, Okita exhaled...before taking off her haori and tossing it to Kirei. The man promptly put it on himself and vanished from sight before beginning to move, attempting to avoid being killed by the Gate of Babylon. At the same time, most of Okita Souji's parameters increased by one rank from the discarding of her Coat of Broken Oaths.

"Hoh? Discarding your stealth for your Master's sake? Loyal, but foolish. An Assassin's Presence Concealment is often the only thing of worth they have." Gilgamesh taunted.

"Don't be so certain, Archer. My true legend only started after I discarded my haori," Okita stated, recalling how casting aside the article of clothing was done shortly before meeting Artoria in the Second Holy Grail War. That transformation of her life led to her true legacy in this World.

"Implying that you are stronger without it once you decide not to sneak around anymore. Well then, do your best to keep your Master alive." Gilgamesh grinned condescendingly, launching his weapons recklessly in an attempt to hit the invisible priest and the Hero of the Meiji Restoration.

Matou Mansion Basement

127 hours and 47 minutes to Zero

Zouken Matou was quite pleased with the display. The Archer-class Servant Gilgamesh was now under his command as well. On regaining an external prana source, Gilgamesh had promptly opened his Gate of Babylon and used his Vimana to arrive as quickly as possible to verify the truth and to 'berate' those responsible for his current displeasure. Zouken hadn't even needed to use one of his new Command Seals on the typically headstrong King of Heroes for him to do so. Sadly for the humanoid worm, Gilgamesh hadn't bothered destroying the others he encountered enroute. The golden being did that largely to demonstrate that he could have done so and chose not to, solely to irritate his new Master.

The other complaint Zouken had was how taxing it was on his prana reserves to power two top-tier Servants, even with the connection to his and Caster's assorted prana draining bounded fields built into the sewerwork and underground of the city. The worm was used to stealing prana, not giving it away. He didn't dare try to field both of his Servants at the same time, especially with Hercules recovering and with Caster using so many familiars. They were burning through their reserves quickly. Strangely, Sakura was helping to fuel his energy needs better than he had expected. He decided that it was something to look into later.

Zouken returned from his thoughts to watching the battle on Caster's crystal ball. He looked forward to observing Assassin being torn apart by overwhelming firepower. Okita Souji had been a thorn in his side for two Grail Wars already and he did not want her to interfere further in a third.

"After this, maybe that upstart will have the decency to stay dead." The five-century-old monstrosity in human clothing failed to notice the hypocrisy of his statement.

Tohsaka Estate Remains

"Air Strike: Windbreak!" Okita called out one of the techniques she'd developed after the Meiji Restoration. She was once more using her ability to make three attacks converge, but with a slash instead of a thrust. Carefully staggered so they were ever so slightly out of phase and pace with each other, the supersonic shock waves crashed into each other and made a barrier of air that rushed forward to intercept Gilgamesh's first volley of weapons. Knocking away some of the Noble Phantasms and even causing others to detonate, the girl glared at Gilgamesh.

"Being angry at us will accomplish nothing. Toki-chan sent us to defend out of fear of his daughter coming to harm or being used against us in the War. Are we to blame for following the orders of your vassal?" The woman asked, attempting to buy time for Kirei to get away or to find and extract survivors. She hated throwing Tokiomi under the bus, so to speak, but the fact that Gilgamesh had a new master spoke strongly to the possibility that Tokiomi was no longer among the living. Still, there was no time to grieve.

"Perhaps not, but this failure has still roused my anger. It will only be quelled by your blood. So do this final service to your King and struggle for as long as you are able. Endure long enough and I may even be satisfied merely with your own passing." Gilgamesh smirked at the brief contemplation on Okita's face before it settled into determination. If she lasted long enough, Kirei might just be ignored...it was a chance she had to take. Not that she had planned to do anything else, anyway.

Noting his target's resolve, Gilgamesh resumed his attack. Prototype Noble Phantasms resumed their rain from the sky, this time focusing solely on Okita. The woman got to work skillfully dodging, her EX-ranked Agility allowing her to weave, dodge, and dance between the attacks. Those that homed in on her were deflected with her blade. Unfortunately, Okita wasn't given the time or breathing room to enact any more of her techniques. It was all she could do to keep evading the implements of death. Just how long could she last?

Okita's reprieve finally came when Gilgamesh glanced abruptly to the skies above him. This was only a split second before an empty fighter jet crashed into him at Mach 2.5 and erupted into a Magecraft-boosted fireball that briefly turned night into day.

Skies above Fuyuki City

Even before Kariya had awoken, Artoria had heard from the wounded Boudica about Zouken joining up with Caster. The fact that Sakura's well-being had been in danger if Zouken observed either Boudica or Kariya speaking of the alliance had thankfully eliminated Artoria's anger at the omission. Now, as she descended toward the Earth below in freefall after briefly using Spirit Form to phase out of the jet's cockpit, she was more focused on dealing with the present.

The magical aircraft had gotten her to where she needed to be and she had witnessed Gilgamesh attacking Okita while the former was left unassaulted by Caster's familiars. The Tohsaka home was burning and seriously damaged. She was forced to make a judgment call based on the information available. Artoria decided that Gilgamesh had changed sides, and she elected to make optimal use of her transportation by slamming it into her new opponent like the fist of an angry god. The explosion was immense and left a flaming crater in the road in front of the Tohsaka Estate. A large amount of shrapnel littered the area. Several pieces of the jet had made huge trenches in the road and surrounding yards.

Given his apparent preference for high explosives in certain situations, Artoria suspected that Kiritsugu would have approved of her decision. The King of Knights was honestly unsure how to feel about that.

Artoria suspected that the explosion was highly unlikely to do much more than kill a massive number of familiars and irritate Gilgamesh. The first priority, however, was to find a way to slow down as she had ejected from that aircraft at full speed. An idea came to her that Merlin would have enjoyed. It was one that was a bit too theatrical for her tastes, but it would have to do. The King of Knights used Wind Magecraft and a mastery of her own body to direct her fall before employing the more advanced abilities of Carnwennan.

Artoria used the dagger to form a dozen shadow-based structures that allowed the blade to multiply its effectiveness, each appearing as a floating aqua-blue jewel javelin behind and to the sides of Artoria. They collectively looked like a set of strange blue wings made of detached feathers, and they began to serve that purpose once Artoria fed Wind Magecraft through them by way of the true dagger. Oh, she'd learned to fly in the land of Avalon simply by using Wind Magecraft around her body and pumping it through her legs, but this was more controlled.

Once she'd slowed to subsonic speeds, all of the javelins tilted toward the ground and started pointing at the smoking wreckage with their tips glowing ominously. Artoria did not like this attack initially due to similarities with Gilgamesh's own Gate of Babylon, but Merlin had stated that Shirou would one day have a very similar power and that its name was based on his own move. It was also a counter to Gilgamesh's own ability. The girl had promptly abandoned her misgivings about the technique and practiced it thoroughly to the point where Sir Francis Drake teased her about being suitable for the Archer class.

"Shadow-Treading Barrel: Full Open!"

On Artoria calling out the name of the technique, the twelve shadow javelins launched away from her and descended from the sky as a rain of death. As they approached, a greater number of golden ripples appeared near the smoking crater and launched Prototype Noble Phantasms in retaliation. Beams of prana launched repeatedly and rapidly from the tips of the javelins as they descended, striking the opposing wave true and knocking a large number of the weapons off-course or destroying them. With the wall of enemy Noble Phantasms softened by the discharge, Artoria's javelins then encountered the wall of swords directly. The javelins struck the weakened wall of blades and caused massive explosions that further led to disarray, being overcharged to emulate the process of using a Broken Phantasm. The result made the crater even bigger and even strained the nearby bounded fields of the Tohsaka and Matou Estates.

When the smoke cleared, Gilgamesh stood unharmed. He looked at Artoria with a serious expression, observing that she had generated another larger set of 'wings' and was now directing Wind Magecraft through both her legs and Carnwennan to hover seven meters above the ground. Gilgamesh had to admit to himself that she was radiant.

"Given that you are supported by the familiars of Caster and that Assassin would sooner kill herself than betray us, I must assume that you are the aggressor here," Artoria stated. Oh, she knew how strong Gilgamesh was. She also had no idea if the copy of Avalon made by the Grail was enough to stand against Ea's full might. However, she would not yield.

"So it seems. The worm has somehow taken Tokiomi's Command Seals. It's a bore, really, being tied to a lich who serves only as a parasite in my garden." He looked upon the figure above him and a memory was brought to the fore with his Clairvoyance, a memory from beyond space and time...

February 15, 2004

Ryuudou Temple

"...You are a hateful woman. You oppose me to the very end." Gilgamesh said, having been cleaved by Excalibur and now starting to fade into golden motes of light.

"But I shall forgive you. Some things are beautiful because they cannot be obtained." An arm fell to the ground in defeat as Gilgamesh acknowledged his loss without bitterness. Not since Endiku had he enjoyed such a battle. "Heh...and if that is the case, then it was inevitable that I would lose to you."

In his final moments, he smiled. "Goodbye, King of Knights...It was indeed fun."

November 22, 1994

Tohsaka Estate

127 hours and 45 minutes to Zero

Gilgamesh smiled widely, finally recalling fully what this worthy woman before him had accomplished in her travels. After a few moments, he began to laugh openly and clap his hands in amusement. Artoria hovered above him, confused but schooling her expression. "Wonderful! To take one of your weakest weapons and turn it into an effective counter for my Gate of Babylon? Age has only made you more beautiful, Saber! It is good that you resisted me. I believe that taking you as my wife back then would have stunted your growth as a woman."

Caster's familiars, as one, turned toward Gilgamesh with malicious intent at his words.

Matou Mansion Basement

"Did he dare? Did he actually dare to attempt to claim my dear Jeanne's hand? My Holy Angel?" Gilles de Rais screamed out in rage. Oh, Gilles had been ecstatic on witnessing Artoria's arrival on the battlefield. The mad Servant had grinned before starting to laugh maniacally, Artoria's current winged appearance feeding into his delusions even further. That came to a screeching halt, however, on realizing that Gilgamesh had attempted to become a suitor to the woman he saw as Jeanne.

"Hey, big guy? She clearly turned him down hard. Just relax, okay?" Ryuunosuke said, trying to placate his Servant.

"Of course she did! My dear Jeanne would not be swayed by displays of wealth or power! But that does not change the fact that this...this...gilded filth dared to make the attempt!" Gilles' rage had an immediate effect when it reached its zenith. The remainder of the power he'd gathered came to the fore and, before Zouken could stop him, Gilles initiated an even larger mass summoning of familiars. Monsters of all shapes and sizes spread out across the area, most emerging from the sewers and underground, and many began to approach Gilgamesh. "Onward, my minions! Kill!"

Zouken knew that striking Caster down at this point would disable the network they'd set up and dissipate much of the energy they'd collected. Knowing the Servant would not see reason and that Ryuunosuke would not use his Command Seals, Zouken attempted to dump as much of their energy into Hercules' lives regeneration as possible before Caster used it all.

He had severely miscalculated the friction Gilgamesh could cause with mere words and overestimated his ability to control Caster.

Tohsaka Estate

"So you remember our battle at Ryuudou Temple...your Clairvoyance is truly that powerful? To view your experiences in Parallel Worlds?" Artoria inquired in surprise.

"Indeed. I am able to see all possibilities if I truly seek to do so. Those of this World you've forged are uniquely interesting, but I won't spoil it for you." Gilgamesh felt his available power drop off as Caster tore into their combined reserves for himself, the tentacle familiars beginning to turn on him. Gilgamesh smirked as the familiars approached, a lone slash from a weapon now in his hand tearing apart the first set of creatures. The prototype of Harpe hindered the familiars' regenerative abilities to only what nature would allow. "It seems that Caster does not approve of my seeking your hand. Not that it is any of his concern. He is simply a fool chasing an image of radiance. Something he will never attain." With this taunt, the battle truly began anew. Caster's familiars went mad and charged the King of Heroes with a single-minded focus that compelled all parties involved to ignore Okita. Gilgamesh began the slaughter of those monsters that assailed him, smirking all the while. As Artoria got to work assisting in the battle against the monstrosities to keep them away from the Tohsaka Estate and allow for Okita's withdrawal, both with her Shadow Javelins' beams and her own Magecraft, she couldn't help but silently ask herself if Gilgamesh had planned this as some act of rebellion against his new Master.

"Strike Flare!" Artoria called out on drawing Excalibur, using the sword as a focus to cast the spell. More of Caster's familiars were cut down wholesale by this technique, the element of the numerous slashes cauterizing the wounds and preventing regeneration as well. This, in conjunction with her Shadow Javelins still firing beams into the familiars below, made Artoria appear far more like a combat-oriented Caster than a Saber.

Once she'd gotten far enough away, Okita was aware of her Master removing her haori from his frame and coming into view. "Kirei-chan!" Okita whispered in concern. "You need to get out of here, or Archer will-"

All discussion abruptly stopped when the Tohsaka House fully collapsed in on itself, the flames having consumed it fully and the smoke reaching high into the night.

Tohsaka Mansion Workshop

127 hours and 44 minutes to Zero

Rin snapped to awareness with a start at the sound of a loud, roaring crash. She ached all over and couldn't help but groan. Raising her head, she realized that her small body was protected by that of her father. He was breathing and his arms were attached to him once more, though the sleeves of his suit and his Command Seals were gone. Looking around herself, she realized that she was in the basement workshop of the house. Tokiomi had just barely managed to bring his daughter to safety before passing out once more...

Stone protected their location from the flames which consumed the house above, but she could see that flaming debris had collapsed onto the stairwell. A defensive bounded field kept the fiery debris, smoke, and mercury fumes from entering the Workshop. Unfortunately, it also trapped the father and daughter inside. Sakura's familiar had been unable to find this buried location due to the nature of the Bounded Field as well.

Rin shuddered as she remembered Shirou's actions. Stabbing that bad man, saving her father and his arms, then using that shining sword against the Servant and making everything light up. He wasn't here now, though. Did he die?

Tears ran down her face as she cried in fear...

Matou Mansion Basement

Sakura gasped as she returned to consciousness in the worm pit abruptly, her familiar crushed by the Tohsaka Mansion and bathed fully in flames. Enemy familiars had promptly attacked and sacrificed themselves to ensure that her own was destroyed. The adopted Matou shuddered as she looked around, seeing a new hulk of a man in the room in addition to the two crazy men and her grandfather. Hercules stood completely still as he attempted to recover lost lives, though her grandfather looked away from something he was working on as he took note of her awakening.

"Ah, Sakura...good of you to wake up. I have some bad news for you." He donned a sadistic smile, knowing that he would enjoy her response. "There has been a fire at the Tohsaka Mansion. It has collapsed with your former father and sister inside. They are...casualties of the Holy Grail War." Tears started to flow from the girl's eyes, having seen and lived the nightmare that Zouken spoke of. Still, it wasn't enough for the monster in the form of a man. "Don't fret, though. Given your...conduct when you left the house before, I believe you wished to be embraced by your father's arms again. Well, it is still possible." The man grinned as he showed Tokiomi's severed arms to the horrified girl before tossing them into the worm pit. "You had best hurry, Sakura. There won't be anything left soon. Not even the Tohsaka crest will survive for long! HahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!"

With the backdrop of Zouken's elated cackling over eradicating the Tohsaka family and Magic Crest, Sakura swam through the worms. The sobbing girl resisted and endured the writhing mass before she managed to grab the limbs...holding them close to her in desperation even as the worms began to eat through the skin of her father's remains.

Avalon

"Now, Morgan. Don't forget her father's crest, circuits, and the Magic Circle in the room. Use all of your available assets." Merlin said, touching the Magic Circle around Artoria that governed their connection to the Grail. Energy poured through from the land of Avalon, and Morgan le Fay now understood why Merlin had her wait until now. While horrible, this sequence of events gave Sakura the best possible chance to survive.

Morgan le Fay willed a scabbard of her own making, one that had been covertly placed in Sakura's body before her birth, to enact its long-delayed role. "Awaken your mistress, Avalon Nocturne: Shadow of the Everdistant Utopia!"

Artemis, while they performed their task, quietly placed a hand on the edge of the Magic Circle as well to lend her own kind of aid to the cause...

Matou Mansion Basement

127 hours and 43 minutes to Zero

A pitch-black dome of energy started to fill the basement around Sakura's crying body, though the area in the center directly around her form glowed with a warm, pink light. She was able to hear Morgan as the process began, whispering to her through the scabbard within her flesh. 'Do not mourn, Sakura. Shirou has protected your father and sister. He has even given your father new arms. They now need you, so let your strength finally bloom...'

Screeching filled the worm pit as worms were vaporized from the energy forced through them. Zouken's expression shifted to horror as he felt the worms perish not only in the pit but even within Sakura's own body. No...the worms within her did not merely perish. They were transformed into new Magic Circuits. Even the Magic Circuits in her father's arms, including the Tohsaka family's Magic Crest, were transplanted into her flesh.

The prana density in the area was absolutely massive as Sakura's nude form was wrapped in black ribbons of shadow with purple trim on the edges. When the light dimmed, Sakura's eyes shone a brilliant pink as she looked around herself while clad in a dress made of the shadow ribbon. Zouken was frozen, his instincts screaming at him that the being before him was a predator of the highest order...and then, prompted by her adopted aunt from a distant land, she began to speak.

"Elements of Hope and Hollow. Foundation of Shadow and the Archduke of Pacts.

The ancestor is my great master le Fay."

Tohsaka Mansion Workshop

Even through her tears, Rin became aware of the building glow of the Magic Circle on which she and her father lay. She realized that this was where her father summoned his Servant. Maybe...a Servant could get them out of the basement? She remembered Shirou's Servant, Saber. A child could clearly call on one, so maybe...

She tried to remember what she'd read of her father's notes before the war and started the Aria.

"E-elements of Silver and Iron. Foundation of Gem and the Archduke of Pacts.

The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg..."

Matou Mansion Basement

"A wall for descending wind. Close the four cardinal gates.

Come forth from the crown and follow the three-forked road leading from the Kingdom."

The magic circle that was used to call forth Hercules glowed, and Zouken felt the hairs on his neck stand up. "W-wait, how do you know that Aria?" Sakura did not dignify him with a response, simply continuing her chant.

Tohsaka Mansion Workshop

"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time.

Behold, my will creates your body and your sword my destiny!"

Rin chanted in spite of the increasing light and wind from the center of the circle, knowing that she couldn't stop. Not if she wanted to survive...

Matou Mansion Basement

"If you would save the World, and obey my will and reason, then answer me!

I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the World and that I shall defeat all the evil in the World."

Zouken noted the changed Aria and grimaced. He attempted to fire a water-based attack at the Magic Circle to wash it away, but the circle glowed intensely and simply repelled the strike with a burst of wind. It was as if someone was manipulating the Magecraft in the circle so it would protect itself...

Tohsaka Mansion Workshop

"From the Seventh Heaven, clad in three great words of power,

Come forth now, Guardian of the Scales!"

When she finished her ten-line Aria, a bright light made Rin scream as it filled the room. Her scream was also instigated in part by a burning sensation on the back of her hand as her Command Seals formed. For a time, everything was bathed in white...then, when the light faded, Rin saw a cat-eared woman. Her hair consisted of green bangs that gradually turned into gold on the rest of her head.

Looking to the crying girl that had summoned her, clearly held protectively in her unconscious father's arms, the Servant's heart went out to the child. There was no way Atalanta could ignore the plea for help, and she could feel Artemis' power fading from the Magic Circle as well. Knowing that her choice was endorsed by her patron goddess, the Chaste Huntress knelt down and spoke gently. "Greetings and may Artemis' blessings be upon you. I am Servant Archer. I ask of you...are you my Master?"

Matou Mansion Basement

When the light faded, Zouken looked toward Sakura to see her Servant kneeling before the child in what was left of the now-empty worm pit. The tall, lilac-haired woman wore a blindfold over her eyes that was just like the one Sakura wore around her neck. The woman held her head briefly as if enduring a headache, but recovered quickly before saying a word that made Zouken's eyes widen.

"...Sakura?"

ATTACK DATA:

Name: Air Strike: Three-Stage Slash (Air Strike: Windbreak)

Owner: Okita Souji

Rank: B

Inspired by seeing Strike Air during her time as Artoria Pendragon's Master in the Second Holy Grail War, Okita Souji decided to try to learn how to do a wind-based attack. Lacking a capacity for Magecraft, she was forced to rely solely upon her prodigious skill with the blade. Most would fail in this task, but Okita Souji was among the best swordswomen of her generation and eventually succeeded.

With the ability to make three slashes overlap in a single moment by using a mechanism similar to her Three-Stage Thrust, Okita can make layered shockwaves of air from her sword that result in a cutting edge of wind slashing forward from her blade up to 30 meters ahead of her. By ever so slightly staggering the slashes to be out of sync, Okita can instead make a wall of wind to interfere with an enemy's attack. This version of the technique is known as Air Strike: Windbreak.

Name: Shadow-Treading Air: Wings of the Dragon

Owner: Artoria Pendragon

Rank: N/A (Support)

Artoria's dagger Carnwennan has the ability to make Shadow Javelins that hover near her person to either be launched or to channel her prana for beam attacks. She had long used Wind Magecraft to augment the javelins' launching speed after training the ability in the land of Avalon, and had also learned to use Wind Magecraft on her legs to generate thrust and allow for flight. However, it was only during her second time through the Fourth Holy Grail War that she realized she could combine these two concepts. By using Wind Magecraft on the javelins that were still 'docked' to her, she was able to improve her flight speed and control by a significant margin and even achieve more refined thrust-vectoring.

Name: Shadow-Treading Barrel: Full Open

Owner: Artoria Pendragon

Rank: B (A, if emulating Broken Phantasms)

Inspired by word from Merlin of Shirou Emiya's future Sword Barrel: Full Open ability and designed to help counter Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, Artoria developed this attack to emulate Shirou's technique by exploiting Carnwennan's ability to make shadow javelins. It is a two-step technique where the javelins are launched at an enemy or group of enemies while firing beams to soften or confound the target enroute. Then the javelins reach their target and detonate. It should be noted that as these javelins are mere copies carrying Carnwennan's power, Shirou's and EMIYA's technique of overpowering the projectiles to the point of detonating as a Broken Phantasm can be freely employed for an added prana cost. Carnwennan's ability to 'always hit its target' is also employed, allowing Artoria to more easily aim her strikes without as much focus being needed.

As a result of exploiting the duplication and targeting properties of this otherwise humble Noble Phantasm in these ways, Artoria can employ this technique to emulate the abilities of an Archer-class Servant.

WEAPON DATA:

Name: Avalon Nocturne: Shadow of the Everdistant Utopia

Owner: Sakura Tohsaka (and heirs if desired)

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)

Rank: A

Range: N/A

Maximum number of targets: Self

In the sixth century, Morgan le Fay once switched Excalibur and Avalon for fakes and entrusted the originals to her lover, Accolon, to kill her sister Artoria with. Accolon failed in his task and would perish, with the originals returned to Artoria as spoils of victory. Morgan was later able to re-steal the true Avalon while Artoria was recovering from the battle. It was a mere footnote in Artorian/Arthurian legend, but the fake weapons were still recorded as being wielded by Artoria even if only once and bore conceptual weight. Later, when Morgan le Fay wanted to make something for Sakura Matou centuries before her birth, she took advantage of the fakes she had made and their place in history. Their foothold in her sister's legend gave them the chance to become Noble Phantasms of Artorian/Arthurian legend rather than mere Mystic Codes, even if a step lower in rank than the ones they were copied from. These were Noble Phantasms she could assign the ownership of by merit of being their creator. With this, Morgan collected select fakes and Mystic Codes she'd created that had found a place in history and started reworking them to make the "Second Stage" of Artorian Noble Phantasms for use in the distant future.

The nameless proto-Noble Phantasm in Avalon's form was remodeled in a manner suitable for Sakura Matou's nature as an Incarnation of Hollow, an element that Morgan le Fay was profoundly proficient in herself. Having the original Avalon and Excalibur available for study made her job even easier. It became Avalon Nocturne, an obsidian-black scabbard with purple enamel trim, that was a direct contrast to its original. If the scabbard Avalon could be considered the shining light of its namesake's day, then Avalon Nocturne is the shadow of its night. Light always casts a shadow, and it is this shadow filled with Avalon's intrinsic hope that gives Avalon Nocturne its basis as a Conceptual Weapon of Hollow and Hope. At its core, this dark implement embodies the concept that darkness is not inherently evil and that hope and salvation can exist within it.

Its powers include the ability to heal, to control(or halt) aging, to transform Sakura into a being that can handle its power(giving her a Magic Circuit composition much like the Fae, Glam Sight: Fairy Eyes, and Mystic Eyes of Hollow), and the ability to tap into the shadows of Avalon as a power source. It also allows for limited interference by Morgan le Fay from her place in the land of Avalon, should Sakura permit it. This is typically in the form of dreamscape communication, but can also be used to assist in rituals such as Magic Crest transfers or Servant summonings, or even to deliver 'care packages' of sorts through Imaginary Number Space. It is a scabbard meant to 'hold' things, after all. Unfortunately, the original's vaunted defensive barrier was a power superior to the True Magics and was not replicable. This version of the scabbard instead acts as a battery and regenerative boost in a combat situation. The Magus using the scabbard must rely on their own spells and skills to make optimal use of it. The scabbard is intended to be used by Sakura and passed down to her descendants if desired, though it is just as likely that Sakura may simply choose to live indefinitely with its power instead.

Morgan le Fay fully intends to teach Sakura what her older Heaven's Feel counterpart learned through instinct and grooming without the corrupted aspects, and has already begun to do so. A degraded built-in barrier function is just superfluous if Sakura's own shadow ribbons would do just as well, after all. In this way, Avalon Nocturne encourages Sakura to develop her own abilities to use Avalon Nocturne to optimal effect.