Author's Note: Regarding Avalon Nocturne, I realize that it is powerful. Perhaps too much so for some. It's not normally EX like the original but has more versatility. I had pondered downgrading it, but to be fair...Morgan has had 1500 years to make something to help a child doomed to her own fate or worse. She's had little else to do as well. That scabbard was going to be loaded with features and power no matter how I spun it. Thankfully, Sakura will need time and creativity to grow into its abilities. Creativity that I'm willing to hear suggestions on (though I make no promises on using all of those suggestions). I also want to explore a Rin who is not the best Magus in her circle and grows up with the occasional bout of insecurity in spite of her brilliance. She'll be with people who are outright powerhouses, but ones who she knows have suffered greatly to get there. Not to say she doesn't come into her own somehow, just that she will have to work harder than ever.

Guest: You raise some good points, so I'll address them here. First, a 'consort' has two definitions. One is an association that has negative connotations and is the one you're thinking of. The other, however, is a formal term that explicitly refers to the spouse or companion of a reigning monarch without derision. The husband of the Queen of England in real life, for example, as a title of "Prince Consort" rather than "King" because the royal lineage flows through the Queen. Referring to Shirou as Artoria's future consort, in this context, just means "husband of the King" rather than anything sordid.

As far as still calling Artoria King when she should be free to be a Queen, that's a consequence of the changes Artoria and Merlin made to this World. "King" Artoria Pendragon was later strongly suspected to be female, so this World's version of England (Britannia) just calls its rulers "King" regardless of if they are male or female. It's not a statement of "hiding Artoria's gender" as much as an acknowledgment in this particular World that a woman can be King without hiding their gender (thanks largely to Artoria redefining the role). The King of the Britons in this World as of 1994 is a woman titled King Elizabeth II, for example. It's a little bit of world-building I haven't gotten to yet. I tried to hint at it when Lancer Artoria spoke to Irisviel shortly after they met, though.

Morgan did want to keep Sakura from going to the Matou in the first place, but Kariya lacking a reason to fight in the Grail War could have left Zouken as the likely combatant of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a detail that Merlin was unwilling to risk. As far as Merlin being unable to control every little detail, you're right. He hasn't been able to, and there will be consequences of that revealed later. The world has changed a great deal within the bounds of what Quantum Time Locks would allow, and he's had to juggle that. Thankfully, the Counter Force helps keep things in line sometimes.

alharethabdelmonum: Thank you! Artoria has her suspicions regarding EMIYA but is wondering if the man is a relative or something at this point. The truth of EMIYA is a bit too convoluted to guess with the information available. Regarding Gilgamesh's actions and why his Clairvoyance didn't come to the fore to prevent this, it all makes sense if you use the Chapter's title as a clue. "Gambit of the Golden King". Gilgamesh had been taken by a Master he hated and knew he wouldn't bring the Grail to. He used the Vimana to shoot down the helicopter (knowing Artoria would save it) to let them know something was wrong with his situation (and by extension the situation at the Tohsaka Estate) without arousing Zouken's suspicion. He orchestrated the battle with Okita to explicitly reveal his situation and buy time for Artoria to arrive without alerting Zouken. When he realized the opportunity existed, he commented on his romantic pursuit of Artoria knowing that Caster would overreact, attacking him to buy yet more time while also burning through the energy and forces that Caster and Zouken had collected. What was Gilgamesh ultimately buying time for? For that action of throwing a Catalyst through Sakura's window chapters ago to bear fruit as she summoned Medusa.

The whole previous chapter was Gilgamesh using his Clairvoyance to play everyone from a disadvantaged position to screw Zouken over. The fact so few people noticed either means my writing was bad or that he did an extremely good job.

omegadragon2: Good question. The reason the Grail hasn't summoned a Ruler in response to all of this is that it has been corrupted and that particular subsystem has been disabled. As far as the Counter Force goes, most of the Servants are now interested in preventing the destruction of mankind and protecting it rather than using the Grail. Why hinder their summoning when it can use them as agents against a larger threat?

Not Special Dude: You're right about how hard it is to control Hercules. It took two Command Seals just for Hercules to be Spatially Transported away from battle rather than the normal one, and that was without seeing Illya. Zouken's two Servants are both notorious for being able to reject the will of their Masters.

Chapter 13: Escape

November 22, 1994

Tohsaka Estate

127 hours and 42 minutes to Zero

As Artoria launched beams of light into tentacle familiars from above, her eyes widened as she felt the summoning of two new Servants. One was in the Matou Mansion and the other was in what formerly stood as the Tohsaka Mansion. "Even more Servants? Where is the Grail getting the power?" Artoria had no idea that these Servants' appearances were empowered by the land of Avalon as her own was, with a little aid from the Divine Spirit Artemis in Rin's case. Regardless, she felt both hope that there was a survivor in the Tohsaka Mansion's ruins and concern that Zouken seemed to have more forces to deploy.

Gilgamesh smirked, not caring in the least as he assailed Caster's familiars. He cleaved through a particularly large one that was at least five meters tall. "I don't believe you are in a position to pause and ponder, Saber." Indeed, the streets were full of tentacled filth in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps the one good consequence was that so much damage had been done to the Tohsakas' hijacked Bounded Field by the jet crashing nearby, the battle raging outside, and the collapse of the house that it finally went down entirely. Artoria moved to defend the remains of the building itself even as Okita glanced at her from the treeline of the nearby forest. Eye contact was all that was needed for the former Master/Servant pair to come up with a plan, Okita dashing toward the wreckage while Gilgamesh was kept busy and Artoria provided cover.

Matou Mansion Basement

"...Y-you know who I am?" Sakura asked timidly, clearly not corrupted by the Greater Grail and oddly wearing a blindfold exactly like Medusa's own around her neck. Though the ribbons wrapped around her felt similar to those Medusa remembered from Dark Sakura, they didn't seem to have the hunger and malice that the originals bore. These actually conveyed a feeling of...hope? Strange, but she'd take it.

They were almost as strange to Medusa as having a bunch of memories from ten years in the future in her head on summoning. Some of these memories were conflicting as well. One had Medusa killed by Saber in the skies over Fuyuki. Another had her shamefully ended by a human with his bare hands. These paled in comparison to what happened in some of the others. There were also a large number of examples that ended with Shirou Emiya dying. It was morbid, really. It had also given her a brief headache.

"I do, Sakura. I am your Servant in this Grail War...what happened to the worms inside of you? I can't perceive them." Medusa also knew that Sakura had been forced to endure the worms for a year before the Fourth Grail War. Her ability to sense Magical Energy, however, indicated that Sakura had no Crest Worms and instead carried a massive number of added Magic Circuits in addition to her 40 inborn ones. She also had her sister's Magic Crest. The prana she was steadily receiving from Sakura was absolutely massive!

"A-Auntie Morgan turned them into Magic Circuits and told me to summon you. Ah! T-their house! It's still on fire! W-we need to save Daddy and Rin! Somebody already took Shirou..." Sakura remembered, explaining why she'd been told to summon a Servant in the first place. Shirou's name was also a notable mention for Medusa. The two knew each other this far back?

Medusa was distracted by Ryuunosuke whistling. "Damn, that is one tall woman. Hey, is she an ally too, or can we cut her open?"

"I doubt you could, little boy." Medusa bluntly responded, making a shudder of simultaneous danger and pleasure run down Ryuunosuke's spine from her voice alone.

"Enough of this." Zouken growled angrily, recovering his nerve. He glared at Sakura, trying to parse this into his plans. She was no longer suitable for his needs if the worms could simply be removed from her...if anything, she was a danger to him now. At the very least he could use her as a young and impressionable Master. "Sakura. Your father is dead. Your sister is dead. That boy is dead. Even Kariya was killed tonight. There is no one left to try and save. Your only chance to revive them is to entrust that Servant of yours to me and-"

Medusa stepped forward, in front of Sakura, and removed her blindfold. Zouken flinched as he saw those entrancing Mystic Eyes with their rectangular pupils. His body rapidly started to petrify as the new Servant spoke. Thankfully for Caster and Ryuunosuke, they weren't in view of her eyes as she looked over Zouken. "No. No more manipulation, no more control. Whether you speak the truth or not, there is nothing tying Sakura to your will any longer." The woman wasn't about to hesitate to end Zouken if the opportunity arose, especially if it saved Sakura from her fate and bought her a childhood in the process. The man and the worms nearest to him were turning to stone as she attacked his very being with those Mystic Eyes.

"You...gkkt...gaahh..." Zouken struggled to speak as his body quickly began to turn to stone. Hercules, who could have endured Medusa's eyes, simply stood unfazed without making a single move to aid his Master. Medusa then launched her nail weapon forward and slammed it into Zouken's stone chest, pulverizing the statue into dust. She pulled the nail back via its chain, glaring at the fine powder where Zouken Matou once stood.

"B-brutal..." Ryuunosuke said in a mix of fear and awe. Caster, with recognition of his enemy's power entering his mind in spite of his mad state, called upon a single familiar. A wall with holes normally meant to carry large amounts of worms to the tunnels leading outside cracked and strained before shattering inward, revealing a five-meter tall abomination of tentacles...that grew to seven meters...then ten. It gave a screech as it attacked, Medusa grabbing Sakura and leaping clear before it could crush them both. In the meantime, Caster and Ryuunosuke moved up the stone staircase quickly in hopes of escaping Zouken's fate.

Tohsaka Mansion Workshop

127 hours and 41 minutes to Zero

"Kitty..." Rin breathed out before getting a hold of herself, drying her eyes on her sleeves as best she could. Atalanta heard her awestruck whisper but did not criticize. Some children enjoyed her ears and tail, so she tolerated such displays. At least the girl hadn't immediately grabbed them and started to pull. Rin collected herself and spoke in as authoritative a voice as she could. "Y-yes! I am your Master! T-this is my father. He was Archer's Master, but...his arms got cut off and he got stabbed through the chest. That Master broke the agreement and attacked us! He set the house on fire! Tonight was supposed to be about talking!"

Atalanta's eyes narrowed slightly at the thought. There was another Archer besides her? And a deceptive act had led to this situation? Though she thought some rules of war were a bit odd from her animalistic perspective, Atalanta at least understood the concept of parley. To abuse a truce and endanger a child was unforgivable. Still, it was a bit strange. "His arms and chest seem alright now, though. Is there more to the tale?" Atalanta asked patiently, rather than insisting that the girl was wrong simply because her father had arms at the moment. After all, there was blood and damage to his clothing consistent with the child's report.

"Y-yeah...our ally and Saber's Master, Shirou, was with us. He threw a dagger at the bad man and hit him in the chest! Then he healed Daddy with new arms! When the bad Master called his Servant, Shirou attacked the Servant with a blinding sword by himself...but I don't remember anything else after that." Rin was saddened, thinking about Shirou not being here and what it meant. Sakura wasn't physically in the house, but he...

"He sounds like a just man, to maintain the alliance and save you and your father even after your father lost his Command Seals," Atalanta said, silently thanking the man who had allowed this child to survive. He may well have died against an enemy Servant protecting these two.

"Shirou? A man? N-no, he's my age. We're classmates at school." Rin's words made Atalanta's eyes widen in horror. Before she could process this information fully, a burst of wind slammed into the debris in the stairwell with a loud crash. Much of what was there was shredded into kindling or collapsed, clearing the way into the basement. Atalanta was distracted from her thoughts by the probable threat, notching an arrow into her bow and taking aim at the sound...only to see what was clearly a fellow Servant walk down the stairs calmly.

"G-grandmother!" Rin exclaimed in relief, much to Atalanta's surprise.

"Don't fall for it, Master!" Atalanta rapidly moved in front of Rin and Tokiomi to protect them. "I sense her to be a Servant. It must be a disguise!"

Rin seemed confused, tilting her head slightly. "Grandmother is a Servant. She's Assassin." Atalanta's expression of surprise threatened to become a regular occurrence. Just what was with this War?

"So you summoned a Servant, Rin-chan...normally I'd be more worried about you being in the War, but right now I'm just relieved you're still alive." Okita gave a respectful bow to Archer, in spite of being in her sights. "Thank you for answering Rin-chan's call. I am the Assassin-class Servant, Okita Souji, and was allied with this family for the vast majority of my life. Before my death, I agreed to be summoned as needed by this family and the Kotomine family to help keep the Grail War from getting out of hand. We didn't have a good track record for the last two, and this one isn't looking good either."

Okita looked to Atalanta with a determined expression. "We need to get these two out of here while Second Saber is still laying down support fire for us. First Archer has been lost to the enemy's control and Caster has allied with them. Another two Servants of unknown types are in their stronghold nearby as well. There's some internal strife giving us a chance to withdraw, but it won't last."

"Saber is here? Does that mean Shirou is still alive?" Rin asked, with hope.

Okita glanced at the child. She was unsure of what to say, so she settled for the truth. "His body isn't here, and Second Saber is throwing prana around without any signs of depletion. All I can tell you is that there's a chance that he got out in time." Okita approached a wall, pulling a specific stone block out of position. A bounded field checked her identity and allowed her entry before she claimed several swords from inside the hidden cubbyhole. These included two blades and scabbards that looked exactly like the ones that she wore on her side.

"Your catalysts," Atalanta stated in realization.

"Hidden here twenty-five years ago, just before my death. One set is for my Assassin class, the other for my Saber class. Do you believe me now?" Okita inquired of the woman, who had little choice but to acquiesce with a nod. Her Master knew Assassin as 'Grandmother' and her family's Workshop had the Servant's catalysts hidden inside. How much more proof could one have?

"Good." Okita picked up Tokiomi, glad that he was breathing strongly. "Let's hurry while we can. We need to get to the tree line and withdraw to the Fuyuki Church!" The pair of Servants each carried a human passenger as they ran up the stairs and were met with the night sky, streaked with energy beams emitted from Artoria's javelins. Rin gave a shocked sniffle at seeing her home reduced to ash when the group emerged from the basement but was carried away by the fleet-footed Atalanta into the night.

The Chaste Huntress transporting Rin couldn't help but look upon the jewel-winged warrior in the sky raining energy beams and javelins of destruction down upon the tentacled monsters that plagued the battlefield. She would occasionally use a blade of unparalleled beauty as an instrument to cast a spell and attack the battlefield below her with flame, wind, or earth. Artoria's eyes met Atalanta's own for a brief moment, the former ascertaining the situation and giving a subtle nod before returning to holding the line.

Atalanta could feel it in the prana saturating the area from her attacks. This regal young woman assisting in their withdrawal held Artemis' favor. In addition, she was continuously using her Noble Phantasm. Just what sort of Saber fought in this manner? Just what sort of child could sustain this kind of Servant's energy needs?

If Atalanta was impressed, Rin was in outright awe.

The group had gotten halfway to the treeline when a missile of destruction exploded outward from the yard of the Matou Mansion in a flash of brilliant white light, causing the entire structure of the home to shift dangerously as a large portion of its basement's structural supports were suddenly non-existent. The projectile launched into the sky and shattered the Matou Bounded Field before it changed direction to cut off the retreat of Okita and Atalanta. The newcomer was in position even before the Matou Mansion could begin to cave in on its own basement.

The destruction of the Matou Mansion barely registered to those assembled, the group instead regarding the newcomer. Atalanta's eyes widened as she immediately recognized the flying mount of the lilac-haired Servant that now blocked off her retreat. No Greek Servant would fail to identify the blindfolded Servant after seeing her sitting atop her Pegasus. The fact that a little girl was with her, and that the child could even endure the acceleration of the Noble Phantasm to ride alongside her, was stunning. The child didn't give off the feeling of a Servant, but she was literally clothed in prana. The Command Seals on the back of her hand left no doubt that she was a Master.

"...You have claimed my Master's father and sister," Medusa said bluntly and calmly. "Return them to her and I will let you leave unharmed."

Rin's eyes widened as she called to her little sister. "You got a Servant too, Sakura?" Atalanta was surprised at the revelation that yet another child and member of this family was a Master.

"Y-yes...I had to help you and Daddy! Shirou's with someone else. T-that's your Servant?" The girl asked, surprised. Medusa's expression didn't shift, but she did tilt her head slightly in inquiry.

"Rider?" Artoria inquired in surprise from her place in the air. The last time Artoria had seen the woman and her mount, she was battling against them on top of a skyscraper in 2004. Medusa took note of Artoria and her recognition, along with her apparent upgrade in combat ability, mentally adding those things to her growing list of questions.

"A-ah! Saber! Auntie Morgan says hi!" Sakura said while waving, thoroughly confusing the King of Knights.

The discussion was interrupted by a wave of Noble Phantasms launched at them by Gilgamesh, but it was promptly intercepted by Artoria's countermeasures or dodged by Rider's Pegasus. This was clearly not the time for discussion. Thankfully, Gilgamesh's effort was less an 'attack' and more a 'get on with it, mongrels' gesture.

Okita called out to the Tohsaka girls and their Servants. "There's no more time! We all want the family safe, so keep moving and talk later!" Finding no reason to argue, the trio of Servants withdrew from the battlefield and into the treeline with a human each in their care.

"It seems that they left you high and dry, Saber." Gilgamesh casually readied another volley of weapons, though he instead launched them at another group of tentacle familiars that attempted to attack him in their rage rather than at the group of Servants. He spoke with a slight smile, enjoying the battle not because of difficulty but because every single move depleted the energy stores of his new 'Master' further. It was an act of rebellion that he couldn't even be blamed for thanks to Caster attacking first.

"They rightly have other priorities, Archer." The woman kept up the fight, ensuring that the familiars did not follow the Tohsaka family. Indeed, Artoria had no blame for them getting the children out of there. The prana she felt from Sakura was a huge surprise, but maybe Morgan had something to do with it...

Streets of Fuyuki City

127 hours and 37 minutes to Zero

"Let me know when you reconsider my offer, Archer!" Iskandar stated cheerfully over the radio while Archer rode Lancer Artoria's V-MAX through the streets of the city. The man still wanted EMIYA to join his army as his personal armory and EMIYA's refusal did not dissuade the man in the least. It was a good thing that EMIYA didn't mention that he was tapping into Shirou's Reality Marble to make the more exotic weapons, or Iskandar might be trying to recruit the child instead.

"Not the time, Rider. How are things looking from up there?" EMIYA sped forward on the street, impaling familiars with flying blades as he passed. He had entered town ahead of the slower van and sports car at the group's disposal, while Iskandar provided aerial observation of the whole battlefield.

Iskandar's tone became more serious. "It's not good. Though the Saber version of the King of Knights continues to rain death upon the main battlefield from above, those beasts have spread themselves into areas far beyond. There is no one outside, but whether it is because they stayed indoors or because there are no survivors, I couldn't say...wait!" The large man's commentary stopped. "There is a girl fleeing them! She is roughly five stadia to your north!"

Gritting his teeth and unwilling to let someone in front of him die simply to keep Magecraft secret, EMIYA pushed the engine before he even realized what he was doing. There was just under a kilometer between him and the person in danger...and even if he hated himself for it, he couldn't deny his nature entirely.

938 meters to the north

Taiga Fujimura's EX-rank luck stat was beyond that of normal humans and even beyond most Servants. As such, when she decided to seek out the criminals that dared to steal her family's order of wine from the Copenhagen, she unknowingly managed to avoid the many Bounded Fields that would have made her fall asleep, stay indoors, or absorb her energy for Caster's and Zouken's efforts. Of course, having EX-rank luck carried a notable downside.

When that absurd luck finally did fail, it could fail badly.

"Stay away from me! I've read enough doujinshi to know what you're after! I'm on to you!" Taiga 'bravely' roared while fleeing down the sidewalk, the schoolgirl batting away tentacles that got too close to her with her bamboo sword, Torashinai. Even if it was merely a training weapon, the curse it had taken on by rumor and belief through her kendo career still allowed it to stun her pursuers. This was the only reason she was still alive.

Sadly, it wasn't enough. She soon found herself surrounded and cornered. The creatures approached menacingly as Taiga shivered fearfully in her kendo stance...only for EMIYA's swords Kanshou and Bakuya to intercede as the girl's luck reasserted itself. The married blades altered each others' paths like opposing magnets as they flew in the air, crisscrossing as they flew and passing Taiga safely as they tore apart most of the creatures around her. The sound of steel slashing through flesh and bone met Taiga's ears before most of her foes literally fell apart into a fine mist.

The sole remaining creature, the largest of the group at two meters, didn't even have a chance to respond before EMIYA rode up to the beast at over 100 kilometers per hour and bisected it with a one-handed swing from Berserker's stone sword. He used the speed of the bike to strengthen the blow before he subsequently drove the sword into the pavement. Using the resultant drag to slow the bike in a rather short distance, at the cost of digging a trench into the road behind it, EMIYA and the V-Max had halted before the tentacle creature even finished dying.

Taiga just stared for a moment as she took in her rescuer's appearance. It was particularly cool, especially with the bike. She noted his black body armor, a red coat, white hair...and a familiar tanned face that immediately ruined the illusion for her.

"Don't you think it's past your bedtime, 'kid'?" EMIYA asked, snapping the girl out of it.

"H-hey, I was just looking for the creeps who stole my family's wine barrel from the Copenhagen! I didn't expect tentacle monsters to attack from out of nowhere!" Taiga responded in irritation. Knowing that Iskandar had brought such a barrel to the meeting at the Einzbern Mansion clarified the situation well enough for EMIYA.

"No one ever expects tentacle monsters. Hop on behind me and hang on tight. I can't leave you out here, so I'll have to bring you with me to the relay point," EMIYA instructed, even as he pulled another pair of blades out from thin air and flung them at more of the beasts further down the street. Their screeching death cries were all the motivation that Taiga needed to get on the bike and firmly wrap her arms around EMIYA's waist.

"Sheesh, couldn't I have been saved by someone with a better attitude?" Taiga complained, though only once she was thoroughly in position on the bike.

"What, expecting some young Prince Charming out of that doujinshi of yours to romance you afterward? Sorry, you'll just have to make do with staying alive," EMIYA taunted, the girl tensing up in mortification that he'd overheard her earlier statement.

"...you heard nothIIIIIING!" The girl had meant to sound threatening, but the effect was ruined when she cried out at the sudden acceleration of the V-Max. It was a good thing EMIYA had held her arms in place with one of his hands until she recovered.

Fuyuki Forest, Approaching the Edelfelt Forest Mansion

127 hours and 35 minutes to Zero

Mordred had since realized that she could carry Caliburn unaided on her hip, so long as she didn't actually stab it into anything and get it stuck. She also couldn't access any of its powers. Apparently, that was restricted to her father and the unconscious child she carried in her arms as she moved through the forest. It was another reminder that the sword deemed her unworthy. The reminder of the rejection made her wince.

It had been over 20 minutes since Mordred withdrew from the battlefield, and the Knight of Treachery knew that things had escalated shortly after her departure. Mordred had heard the distant roar of an aircraft only a few minutes after impulsively hanging up on her father's phone call. Looking back from whence she came, she had watched from a distance as the source of the sound slammed into the ground in a large fireball. Her father then descended soon after, used Carnwennan's power to manifest detached jeweled wings to fly with, and started to systematically rain death down on the battlefield below like her summoned class was merely a suggestion.

Mordred felt a deep shiver run down her spine at the realization that her father was somehow even more deadly than before. She quickly deluded herself into thinking that the feeling was purely excitement for their imminent duel rather than having a component of fear.

She and her unconscious passenger had since entered the Fuyuki Forest and approached the Bounded Field surrounding the Edelfelt Mansion. It let Shirou in without issue because Mordred was the one bringing him, though the Knight doubted it would be such a simple matter convincing Sola-Ui to let him stay. This was especially unlikely considering what Mordred had done to Sola-Ui's fiancé in defense of the child.

Entering the building with a measure of empathy for the woman she was about to speak with, Mordred was greeted by a timid Sola-Ui. She had stayed up and had clearly packed with the intention of fleeing in a hurry. This made Mordred narrow her eyes as she considered a new possibility that painted the woman in a less favorable light. "Master...did you know that Kayneth was planning to break the truce and murder the people in the Tohsaka household? Did you hide it from me?"

Sola-Ui noticed the term 'Master' being used for her and immediately feared the worst. They'd agreed that Mordred would call only Kayneth 'Master' for the purposes of tricking the enemy, so the implication wasn't a good one. "In Kayneth's mind, the truce only applied to those who went to the parley. He wanted to have a Mage's duel without Servants after deciding that the Tohsaka Master had to be the one behind the attack on the hotel. Kayneth wanted to get revenge for my suffering. He told me to leave for the Church if anything bad happened..."

"I don't care if Kayneth went to the parley or not! He was bound to the truce when he agreed to send representation to the meeting! Even War has rules! That's why you weren't killed at the hotel! They thought you were a non-combatant tag-along and treated you accordingly!" Mordred responded hotly, looking at the woman who had helped conceal Kayneth's plan from her. "Kayneth went there and had his duel, dragging Tohsaka's daughter and my father's Master here into the fight too! When your fiancé was wounded by a dagger to the chest in retaliation, he called me with his last Command Seal and told me to execute two children and a man unable to fight!"

Mordred glared at Sola-Ui, feeling betrayed and misused by her Masters. "Instead of murdering the innocent, I passed sentence. I ripped the dagger from Kayneth's chest and left him in that burning building to die. The father and daughter are probably dead in the fire, but I saved the boy."

"You...killed Kayneth?" Sola-Ui asked in stunned horror.

Mordred shrugged, dismissive of the weight of the question. "I didn't have a chance to stick around with the house falling apart, but he had maybe a couple of minutes at most to live unless he got help. If you have a problem working with a Servant that executed your fiancé for trying to murder children, or with trying to win a Grail that would just curse the world when you tried to use it, then you should go to the Church now and wait out the War. Assassin knows we're here, so somebody's going to show up sooner or later for a fight."

Sola-Ui had been watching everything through Mordred's eyes, with the exception of the events within the Tohsaka Estate which were jammed by Zouken's efforts. Some of the weapons that EMIYA used against Hercules made Sola-Ui realize that Kayneth may have attacked the wrong group for the hotel assault. But did that even matter now? She saw how easily Kariya Matou and First Berserker had been torn apart by Zouken's actions without his even being there. She bore witness to the monumental fight immediately after. Then she'd seen Second Saber from afar, flying and dispensing death from above. Sola-Ui knew how easily she could die, and that Mordred couldn't win against that behemoth Second Berserker. She also heard compelling arguments regarding the corruption of the Grail from both Second Saber and from the future version of Kayneth's student that further dissuaded her.

Still...

"...Even if I reported this to the Clock Tower, I would probably be disowned by my family if I returned without something to show for it. I'm the spare, not the heir, and my contribution was to marry Kayneth for the family's gain. The group that lent us Prydwen and your Catalyst would also consider this a failure because I didn't recover Rhongomyniad. I need something to bring back...hn? What's that sword?" Sola-Ui asked, noting Caliburn's presence on Mordred's hip.

"Huh? This is father's sword, Caliburn. I tried to scare this kid into calling Father with a Command Seal, but instead he pulled out this Noble Phantasm and fired its magical attack at me. He's too young to use that much power and got knocked out. Still, if I didn't have Prydwen to shield me, he might actually have hurt me with...it..." Mordred looked to Sola-Ui's face and saw a contemplative expression that made her uncomfortable.

"How could a Master maintain and use a Servant's Noble Phantasm while they were over thirty kilometers away? I mean, Rhongomyniad and Prydwen would be possible, but only because they're not Grail-made. Maybe it's a copy made through alternate means like that Second Archer was able to produce? That doesn't explain how a child could empower the weapon, though..." Sola-Ui pondered, reaching for the sword only for Mordred to step away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mordred asked in a dangerous tone.

Sola-Ui looked to her Servant with a measure of irritation. "Listen, Saber. I need to analyze that sword. If it can exist away from the Servant and be used by someone else, then this is at worst a prime opportunity for me to do some research and bring something worthwhile back to the Mage's Association! At best, I could even bring it back to Britannia should it still exist after the end of the War! That sword might just be what I need to get out of this mess you've made!"

The words 'be used by someone else' stoked Mordred's frustration at being unable to use the blade. "You're not taking this sword! My wish was finally granted, and I'm not giving it up!" Mordred's outburst was enough to make Sola-Ui flinch back a bit. The redhead remembered that her Servant's wish was to have a chance to test herself against the Sword in the Stone. The very blade she desired had practically fallen into her lap.

"...So you have no more reason to chase the Grail. How...convenient for you. You get everything you want either way while I'm left with nothing." Sola-Ui's words had a bit of bite to them, while Mordred's expression was hardly one expected to be worn by the victorious.

"You're left with your life." Mordred said, reminding the woman of the stakes. Sola-Ui stared into Mordred's eyes, the two women glaring at each other for several moments. Finally, Sola-Ui sighed before holding the bridge of her nose. She finally decided to shelve this discussion for the moment.

"Let's get the boy into a bed and check him over for injuries before we talk further. You're manhandling him by holding him like that. If nothing else, I don't want your 'father' thinking her Master has been mistreated when the time comes. You know that there are familiars all over the place that watched you bring him here." It was more an excuse on Sola-Ui's part for a change in topic than anything else, but one that Mordred accepted. The Knight was glad that she didn't mention that this boy had been the one to initially wound Kayneth. Otherwise, keeping him here would be even more difficult if Sola-Ui blamed him for Kayneth's death.

After being brought up to one of the rooms on the second floor and having his bag finally removed from his back, Shirou was placed in a bed by Mordred. Sola-Ui placed a hand on the boy's forehead and started doing a check of his health using an analysis spell. She wasn't acting out of kindness, but merely concern that the coalition of Masters and Servants would come down on them hard if the child wasn't cared for. The woman's eyes widened on perceiving the results.

"Oh, Tohsaka, you sneaky..." Sola-Ui uttered in realization.

"What's wrong, Master? Is he badly hurt?" Mordred asked.

"Not a scratch, but this kid's going to grow up to be an absolute juggernaut in Magus terms. If he's really an orphan, there's no doubt Tohsaka wanted to make the kid his son-in-law one day. I can see how he could power a Noble Phantasm on his od alone, even if only briefly." The idea that a person could use a Noble Phantasm in the modern-day solely with their body's internal prana supply, or od, was not something that Sola-Ui would have thought possible...save perhaps for members of the Fraga or Barthomeloi families. Of course, this Holy Grail War was taking her preconceptions and tearing them to pieces. Who knew what other cases might exist?

Mordred simply shrugged, not really impressed by the details. All she heard was that her father's Master was a very special one. She'd already convinced herself that was a prerequisite for someone to summon her father in the first place. It was then that she noticed Sola-Ui start to go through Shirou's bag. "Really? Are we looters now?" The Knight asked in irritation.

"I'm looking for weapons to confiscate or clues to his identity," Sola-Ui responded while sifting through clothes and mundane things, silencing Mordred with a reasonable answer. Mordred also couldn't complain too much considering that she was still in possession of Shirou's phone, Caliburn, and Carnwennan. Sola-Ui first found Shirou's schoolwork but reading it to find the child's name confounded her. "Tch...why did it have to be in this Oriental chicken scratch? Mordred, can you read the kid's name?"

Mordred rolled her eyes at the casual racism, noting that humanity hadn't changed much in some ways. She read the top of some of Shirou's math homework and gave a response. "His name is Shirou, family name Enjou. If you'd looked at his British language classwork there, you'd probably have found it on your own."

Sola-Ui fought the urge to grumble about her Servant's attitude. Continuing her search, she found Breaker Gorgon. Her eyes widened as she ran an analysis spell on the item. "This...is a powerful Mystic Eye Killer blindfold that uses Bounded Fields somehow, but I can't recognize the mechanism. It's certainly not something from the Age of Man."

"So it's another Noble Phantasm?" Mordred asked, raising an eyebrow. Just how heavily armed was this kid? "It's nothing I recognize from Father's legend, though."

"Tohsaka's Servant must have provided it to help with his Mystic Eyes. We can't exactly trust the kid with it right now, though. It might have measures he can use against us." Sola-Ui confiscated Breaker Gorgon from his backpack, fully intending to keep it and study it for herself for as long as it remained in the World. Mordred knew her intentions, but couldn't bring herself to care. If Sola-Ui was studying some random Noble Phantasm, she wasn't trying to get her hands on Caliburn.

Finally, she repacked his bag. "There. I'll get to work researching this. You're on babysitting duty unless you need to intercept someone who enters the Bounded Field." Sola-Ui was met with an incredulous stare from her Servant.

"W-wait, I don't know how to take care of some brat!" Mordred exclaimed.

Sola-Ui yelled back in a rage she had been narrowly containing until now. "You dragged him here, he's your responsibility! I'll be busy trying to research this blindfold and get enough information about ancient Magecraft not to be disowned! Which, by the way, would also be your fault because you executed my fiancé!" Mordred had to flinch back. She couldn't really dispute any of that, and Sola-Ui stormed out of the room.

Mordred sighed and had a seat at the foot of the bed, taking on the boring duty of waiting either for the exhausted kid to wake or for an enemy to come calling. Between people knowing their location and the familiars that her Master said were watching the place, it was bound to happen sooner or later. The Knight of Treachery knew what was coming, silently steeling herself for the fight that was sure to come.

None of this mental preparedness, however, protected her from the torture of her own thoughts that the silence of night called forth. If Caliburn had rejected her...were all her efforts thus far futile? Had her kingship been doomed from the start?

The silence carried no answers.