February 1st, 2007

The next morning, as Shirou and Sakura worked together on breakfast (Fuji-nee hadn't yet arrived), Shirou noticed something on Sakura's hand.

"Sakura, wait a second" he said.

She paused in the middle of putting away unwashed dishes, "Yes?"

"What happened to your wrist?" He asked, referring to a bruise he could see peaking out from her long sleeve school shirt. She hurriedly put the plate away and stood up, covering the bruise with her other hand. "Shinji, again?" Shirou asked, sternly, sometimes Sakura tried to hide her older brother's... violent tendances, even though she was usually the outlet of his rage, "What's he thinking, raising a hand to his little sister?" he finished, outraged.

She turned to him, "N-no, that's not it, Senpai!" she said, trying to aliviate Shirou's anger, "I, um... got this when I tripped and fell."

The lie was weak, and even Sakura seemed to understand that, especially when, now that she'd turned towards him, Shirou could see her other hand was bruised as well.

"You can't get bruises like that from tripping" Shirou countered. Sakura turned away in shame, giving away the lie. "I knew it" Shirou said, heat in his voice.

"Honest, my brother really had nothing to do with this!" She said, furvently, sounding almost panicked, what did she think would happen? "I got hurt by myself, that's all."

Shirou didn't believe her, but he didn't want to cause her more discomfort by pushing the matter. Resolving to confront Shinji himself later he said, "If that's what you say happened, I'll leave it at that."

"It is. I'm sorry, Senpai." She responded, sounding torn between guilt and gratitude.

"Why are you apologizing, Sakura? It's Shinji who's to blame."

"OOH! Is that your famous rolled omelets I smell, Shirou?" Fujimura sang, bursting into the room with an act somewhere between a dance and a pose of triumph.

The tension of the moment snapped, and both Shirou and Sakura were left stunned. Fuji-nee just looked at them confused, before they were able to collect themselves and continue their morning preparations.

S hirou walked alone to school, he didn't need to be there early today and Sakura did. On the way, he brewed over his conversation with the girl. It had been a long time since Shinji had harmed her, Shirou's consistent influence helped with that. He seemed to recognize it was wrong too, which was part of why Shirou was willing to be friendly with him these days. But now Sakura was showing the signs of continued abuse.

Shirou needed to confront Shinji about this, he doubted Shinji would confess or anything, but he suspected the confrontation alone would force Shinji to think about his actions more. It would probably stop any further violence before it really began. Filled with these thoughts, Shirou barely noticed the house surrounded by police and ambulance vehicles. Another gas leak. He thought absently. Then he moved on.

Rin sat on her bed, staring at her alarm clock, which she hadn't set last night in her exhaustion. It stared back showing it's 9:05am time and accusing her harshly with it.

"This is way beyond runing late... I'll just skip school today" she said, trying to convince herself this would be for the best.

The Command Spells on her right hand caught her eye, right. It was the Archer Servant who was summoned, and an Else-Caster, whatever that really means. Two tries and I couldn't summon a Saber servant. With the added bonus that Else-Caster never existed in this world and Archer doesn't know who he is, so I don't know the first thing about either of them. UGH this is giving me a headache! These were not pleasant thoughts to open her day with.

As she walked downstairs she noticed that her mana was low, did the summoning drain all my mana? It's possible, since I accidentally summoned two... she walked into her previously destroyed living room. It was spotless. She'd told Archer to clean up his mess right before going to bed but...

"Maybe he's not so bad" she admitted aloud.

" The sun came up long ago" Archer said, walking in with what appeared to be a tea tray in his hands, "You're quite the slob aren't you, Rin."

Rin refused to dignify that with a response, truth was she was still too drowsy to come up with a properly witty retort, though she did note he'd chosen to call her by name instead of 'girl' or something. She sat on her couch instead, and Archer poured her tea. She sipped it and remarked aloud: "This is good."

She looked up at Archer, who had a very pleased smile on his face, "What's that smirk for?" she demanded. Then, realizing she might be opening herself up to more smart-mouthing, she course corrected: "And more importantly, have you remembered who you are?"

"No." was Archer's only response.

"Fine" Rin said, "I'll think about what to do about your amnesia in due time. For right now... wait where is Else-Caster?"

"He took over one of the basements. Said he needed a workshop to build... whatever he's been building."

Rin considered. Obviously, if she wanted her Else-Caster to be in any way useful, she did need to let him work on his own craft. But something nagged at her... she really wasn't a morning person... Her mana drain. His Noble Phantasm.

She stood up, startling Archer, though only his eyes gave that away, "We're going to see him."

She could sense the Else-Caster's position relative to her own, her question to Archer had been more of a 'why isn't he here', and she quickly found his new workshop. It was, as archer had said, in one of the basements, one that had been her own miniature magic workshop when she'd been a child. She hadn't been down here since her Father had died. Little remained of that workshop now, her desk and all the books she'd long since outgrown were piled off to one side. The room was now well-lit with modern lights, all hooked up to a glowing piece of technology that was mounted on the wall. The wires connected to the… Rin guessed it was a generator, didn't all lead to lights though. The generator was also powering several gizmos that either lay scattered about, or were lined up on the metal table that now dominated the room.

Her Else-Caster, True Name: Tony Stark, was there, working with his back to her at the moment. His expensive suit was gone, instead he wore cargo pants and a dirty tank-top, revealing surprisingly strong muscles that hadn't been obvious before. On his head we're a set of goggles, through which he was focused on a odd bit of machinery Rin couldn't begin to comprehend. The tools in his hand sparked and sizzled, which made Rin worried about a fire or something, but there was nothing flammable near where he was working and she supposed her Else-Caster probably knew what he was doing.

Else-Caster seemed to complete something and he set down his tools and turned back to her, removing the goggles that Rin could now see were incredibly dark.

"Hey, sorry I didn't respond to you coming in, Master, I couldn't stop welding that piece part-way. What's up?"

Rin put a hand on her hips, "I just came down to see how far you'd come, you used a huge amount of my mana overnight. Is that one of your weapons?"

The Else-Caster turned back to the construct, which allowed Rin to see it clearly. It seemed to be an arm of some kind and, though unfinished, actually reminded Rin of a new type of magic gizmo she'd heard some families were researching.

"A bronze link manipulator?" She asked?

"Not likely, unless that's what you call robots here. I haven't even started on any actual weapons yet, I'll need to build a several more robots to get started on the real thing" he said simply.

Rin raised her eyebrows, "You drank up that much mana setting up for the real thing? This had better be some weapon."

"Technically, I used up so much mana making that" he said, pointing at the glowing generator on the wall, "it's another of my Noble Phantasms."

"Maybe you should tell me what your Noble Phantasms are then" Rin retorted, that didn't seem to her like much of a crystallization of his legend that Noble Phantasms were meant to be.

"It's called an Arc Reactor. It's a self-supporting generator of clean energy. If you don't overtax it, it'll run forever."

Rin's jaw dropped, "How much can it sustain?!" She asked with wonder, if this really were what Else-Caster said…

"3.3 gigajoules of usable energy per second" Stark said, proudly.

Both Rin and Archer just looked at him, uncomprehending.

"I had entire factories running off of what effectively amounts to a prototype of that one on the wall" Else-Caster explained in better terms, "With some work we probably could have gotten them to a high enough quality to power entire cities and eliminate the need for fossil fuels, though there were reasons besides technological advances that made that… unlikely to happen."

Rin was… well she wasn't really sure exactly what her reaction to that was. Even the stoic Archer seemed taken aback by the sheer power in the tiny device.

"Y-you… can use that to keep building your… your weapons then?" Rin asked.

"Unfortunately not, I still need mana to make physical matter with my first Noble Phantasm, but you won't suffer the drain you did last night anymore. That original drain was the deployment of my second Noble Phantasm, the Arc Reactor and all the stuff I build runs off my Arc Reactor, not your mana."

Well, at least it doesn't sound like he can become completely self-sustaining, a Servant that doesn't need a Master could, would, only be dangerous. "Well, then, it's time you took a break. Get ready, you and Archer are going out with me, I'll show you around the city, since it's the battleground for the Grail War."

The Else-Caster shrugged and set down his tools. Satisfied that he wasn't up to anything she wouldn't approve of, Rin turned from him and left his workshop to prepare for a trip around the city. With a start and a blush, she realized she'd gone down there and held the entire conversation… in her nightgown. She rushed to go put on actual clothes.

Shirou's day went uneventfully until lunch. For once he hadn't brought his own, and needed to go to the cafeteria today. It was a tactical decision. He was hoping to corner Shinji there, since he always ate in the cafeteria. This meant not eating with Issei, his normal routine, but it worked out when Mr. Kuzuki, one of the teachers, called Issei away for some reason. Mitsuzuri cornered Shirou first though, catching him while he chose his meal.

"Going with the chef's choice for today Emiya?" she asked from behind him, he turned to her, "You're not eating with the student council president today" she stated with a conclusive tone.

"Yeah..." well, he might as well learn what he could from Mitsuzuri, "Say, Mitsuzuri, has Sakura seemed okay to you lately?"

"Sakura? Yeah, she's practicing her heart out" she said lightly, then her tone took a graver one, "it's her brother that's the problem. He's been tearing into the first year boys."

"What for?" Shirou asked.

Mitsuzuri lowered her voice conspiritorially, "From what I hear, he got shot down pretty hard by Tohsaka yesterday."

"By Tohsaka?" he asked, surprised, and a tad louder than Mutsuzuri wanted, for she shushed him.

"Keep your voice down!" she whisper-shouted at him. He clamped a hand over his mouth, he was really not used to having conversations down here. "Anyway" she continued, "Shinji's been in a foul mood ever since yesterday. I've had to keep a close eye on Shinji during practice, so I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, Shinji does have a foul temper" he consoled. The pieces were falling into place. Shinji had made a move on the most popular girl in school, and she'd rejected him. Since Shinji both didn't handle rejection well, and had a very poor handle on his temper, he'd been taking out his frustration on those weaker than himself: his younger sister and those in the archery club he could get at.

"I hear he's planning to do something to Tohsaka to get even" Mitsuzuri said, slurping her noodles.

S hirou disagreed with that guess, though, Shinji was taking out his frustrations on those weaker than him because he knew if he went after Tohsaka somehow, he'd only fail harder, "No, Shinji would stay far away from someone who rejected him."

"He can't avoid her if she comes to where he is" Mitsuzuri countered.

"Huh?!" Shirou asked, incredulously. "I don't know why, but Tohsaka's been coming to watch at the dojo a lot lately. You probably don't know since you quit and all."

Well that bummed him out a little. Off to the side he could hear Shinji regaling a couple of giggling girls with whatever story of his. This, Shirou decided, isn't the place to confront Shinji, I'll catch him later.

After the school day was done, Shirou walked over to the dojo looking for Shinji, though the building seemed abandoned today. When Shinji gets mad, he doesn't know when to stop. He thought to himself, but he was prevented from going any further by a shout.

"Hey! You there!" Shirou turned just in time to see a pole of some kind being swung at him, he dodged but he felt the wind as it passed his face. Standing in front of him were three girls with incredibly varied demeanors, the one in front was holding a pole-vaulting bar like she thought it was a poleaxe and seemed fired up by something.

"Shinji Matou!" she announced, "I hate to break it to you, but Tohaska isn't coming no matter how long you wait!" she swung the pole around dangerously, grinning like she was looking forward to something.

"Huh?" Shinji asked, confused, why did they think he was Shinij?

"Maki, this guy doesn't match the description Mitsuzuri gave us" said one of the other girls in a clear, even tone, "he doesn't have wavy hair either."

"The way I see it, he just wet down his naturally curly hair today! And a face this stupid-looking can only belong to Shinji Matou!" the first girl, Maki, countered; still fired up.

"No, I'm not Shinji." Shirou said, trying to defused the situation and not get attacked. "See what I mean? That's what all the bad guys say!" Maki said, triumphantly.

"Wait" said the other girl who'd spoken, walking forward to him, "Sorry, would you mind showing us your student ID?" she asked Shirou directly and holding out her hand for the item.

"Sure, here" Shirou said, awkwardly. He handed it over. The girl looked at it, and turned to show it to her friends. Maki dropped the pole and started sweating buckets.

"Maki, we have the wrong man" the third girl said, speaking for the first time.

"Emiya? THAT Emiya?!" Maki said, starting to freak out, "The guy who fixes our gear whenever he has a spare moment?" she darted behind her friend as if to hide, "The one they call the Homurahara Brownie?" she finished.

"I don't know that nickname, but I do know the Track Club's president when I see her" Shirou said, a little weirded out but trying to break the tension a little. It didn't work, Maki threw herself down to the ground in an apologetic pose.

"We're sorry, it seemed like you were looking for someone so we just assumed" the third girl said.

"It's okay" Shirou said, seriously, did the club president think he was going to stop helping them because of this or something? "What was that about Tohsaka not coming? Did something happen?" Shirou asked, tucking away his student ID again.

"She stayed home today" said the third girl. "Tohsaka said she has a cold so she's staying home, buddy." Maki said, looking up, "It's hard to believe a model student like her is capable of catching a cold though" she said with an air like she thought the paradox proved something.

Her cool, logical friend promptly sat on her, earning a grunt, "We're sorry if our exotic beast here caused you any trouble, Emiya" she said, unmoving as her friend struggled underneath her, "But you shouldn't be here either. Weren't you told that students with no club meetings should go straight home?"

Actually, he hadn't, "Did something happen?" he asked.

The girl showed her first emotion of the event: light surprise, "You don't know? There was a murder at an intersection near school. Of the family of four, the only survivor was a child. They say the parents and older sister were all stabbed to death. The killer is still at large and everyone's freaking out about how it seems like a random killing. In New City, it's those gas leaks. Here, we have a grisly murder. It's no wonder they're sending students home early" she finished, almost to herself.

The other two practically had to carry their friend, Maki, away, who still seemed mortified she'd attacked and threatened Shirou. He thought about what he'd been told, and suddenly remembered the building he'd passed on the way to school, the one that had been surrounded with dispatch vehicles.

Shirou stopped by the house on his way to work, there wasn't really a point or anything he just... needed to. As he rode in the bus he mused to himself, and remembered old defining moments. I know helping people and being a hero of justice aren't the same thing, he thought, recalling the moment his father had come to him in the hospital. It was soon after the Fuyuki Fire, that devastating moment so powerfully set in Shirou's mind he couldn't even remember who he'd been before it.

He, Shirou, had been the sole survivor of the area directly effected by that calamity. He'd sat, staring blankly out the window when he'd noticed someone coming in. A man talking to a nurse, thanking her for something. He'd turned, he wore a suit, but the top button was undone, and his tie was very slack. Combined with a couple day stubble on his chin, it made him look completely disheveled.

He'd walked slowly over to Shirou, "Hello, you must be Shirou" he'd said, "I'll come right out and ask you which you'd prefer: being sent off to an orphanage or taken in by a man you just met?"

Wordlessly, Shirou pretended to consider, he didn't really need to, the man wanted to take Shirou in? Shirou hadn't even dreamed this might happen. He pointed at the man to indicate which option he'd take.

T he man's smile was both disbelieving and overjoyed, it told Shirou he'd done the right thing, "I'm glad!" he said, "Then let's get you dressed right away, you need to get acclimated to your new home as soon as possible" he set down the case he'd been carrying and pulled out clothes for Shirou.

Other children were in the room, staring at them wordlessly. They were all injured, but they hadn't been survivors of the same cataclysm Shirou had, but some were orphans and stared with apparent confusion and jealousy. It did make Shirou feel bad.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something important" the man continued, unheeding of the children staring at them, "There's something extremely important that I have to tell you. Ready?" he paused for a moment, "I should get this out of the way... I am a mage."

That was what it was to save someone. Shirou had had nothing left, no home, no family, barely any memories. He hadn't even had an identity. But this man had walked right in and given him all of those things and more. Saving people wasn't just about saving their lives, you had to finish the job. You had to make sure they would still live afterwards. Shirou had learned that that day. He glanced at a clock set on the street as he walked from the bus stop to work, and noticed he was running a little early. He cast his thoughts back a little further. To the event that had shaped him forever.

Rain was slowly putting the fire out, but Shirou was barely conscious of that. He was trapped in rubble. And he was dying. Dying like everyone else had. Suddenly, a rock shifted, and the sky came back into view. Shirou could see the stars. The fire had blocked them out before. More movement, and the pressure slowly eased off Shirou. It didn't matter, his life still slipped away from him regardless. He closed his eyes to die.

Then he opened them again, a man was talking: "He's alive! He's alive!" As Shirou came to, he found he was clear of the rubble entirely and his body no longer hurt, though, he didn't have the strength even to lift his hand.

The man who would become his father stood over him, holding Shirou's left hand to his cheek, crying, but with a smile on his face. "Thank you. Thank you!" he said while Shirou tried to comprehend the sight in front of him, "I'm so glad I found you! By rescuing just one person... I've been saved."

He stood now at the site of the fire. Or, at least the memorial of it. The flames had covered so much ground that it had been impossible to leave the entire area as a memorial, so this small park had been sectioned off for the purpose while New City had been built around it. Fuyuki had survived, but with a nasty scar.

All I remember of that day was that it was hot and I couldn't breathe. And people trying to save each other and both of them dying in the process. I hate it. It makes me mad, when people who try so hard, die. Is is greedy of me to wish for an outcome where everyone is saved and are happy and can share a laugh about it afterwards?

He'd asked his father about it one day while training in the dojo, "It's not that simple" Kiritsugu Emiya had told him, "because what you are describing is trying to save everyone, Shirou."

Kid-me wasn't convinced by Kiritsugu's answer. I mean, Kiritsugu saved my life, right? I knew he was a mage who could do anything.

So Shirou had gone to Kiritsugu again, asking if he could have saved everyone that night.

"Shirou, saving one person means being unable to save another" he'd replied, "You see, a person can only save those who belong to the side they're on. It should be obvious, but that is the very definition of a hero of justice."

Shirou's musings carried him through his work shift as well. I understand that now, when you put it like that, it is obvious. But still... but still I hate it. How is it Justice to only be able to save some people but not others? Why must a hero be forced to choose between those who needed saving? That isn't Justice... but then... what is?

Rin's day-trip with her two Servants had proved relatively enjoyable. Though they'd stayed in spirit form, causing her to look like she was talking to herself all the time, she rarely stayed in one place long enough for anyone to notice. As dusk turned to twilight and twilight turned to true night, she brought them up to the top of one of the larger skyscrapers in New City.

"What do you think?" she asked her Servants, "Doesn't this place have a great view of the city?"

Archer shimmered into his corporeal form, becoming visible to the naked eye for the first time since they'd left Rin's home, "If we'd come up here i n the first place, we wouldn't have had to walk around all day."

"Oh stop whining, all you get up here is a panoramic view of the city. You can't get a feel for how a city is laid out unless you go there in person" Rin responded.

Else-Caster appeared next, he was dressed in his suit from the ni ght before when she'd summoned him, "Kinda have to agree with the little lady on this one. I can use maps to know where I'm going, but it will always be slightly slower and, in a battle, microseconds can mean victory or death."

Archer looked at the Else-Caster, face betraying nothing, "Well, I guess I can't speak for him, but for me it's not quite true. My class isn't called Archer for nothing. Bowmen aren't much use if their eye-sight isn't good."

To the side, Rin noticed Else-Caster nodding like he understood.

Archer turned, "I can make out how many tiles are on that bridge."

R in looked at said bridge, it was visible but hardly distinct to her eyes, "Incredible" she praised without a hint of sarcasm, "The Archer class really is made up of archers."

"Rin" Archer asked, "could it be that you are having me on?"

"Of course not" she said, still with a completely straight face. Then she noticed something below, it was too far down to make out a face and yet... she had the distinct feeling... "It's him. I know it" she said, quietly.

Both her Servants clearly heard her, Stark looked down, trying to find who she was talking about.

"Rin, have you spotted our enemy?" Archer asked.

Shirou's private musings were interrupted by a feeling, an odd certainty of being watched. For some reason, he knew to look up and there she was. Standing precariously on the top of a large skyscraper, was Rin Tohsaka. He didn't need to see her face to know it was her. But she was supposed to be sick, looks like she'd just skipped out of school today, but what reason she could have for doing that, he couldn't guess. When he looked again, she was gone.

"No, just an acquaintance. An ordinary person who has nothing to do with all this" she said, walking away from the edge of the building.

"In that case, I've neglected to ask you two something" Archer said.

Both Rin and Stark straightened, "What?" Rin asked as the same time the Else-Caster said: "Sorry, I can fix just about anything, but your temperament might be beyond me."

Archer glared at the other Servant before speaking again, "Rin, were you trained from an early age to be a Master and have you gone along with that."

"That's right, winning the grail has been the dream of the Tohsakas for generations" she answered him.

"Then I expect you to know your goal. I would ask the both of you what you would wish on the Grail. I cannot entrust my blades to you unless I know what your wish is, nor can I fight beside someone whose goal remains unsaid" Archer stated, "Rin, Stark what would you wish for?"

"I don't really have one" Rin said, the question was fair and she answered truthfully.

"Me neither" Stark said, "I died satisfied on my world. There is very little I could ask for from this world that would have any meaning anyway. I was summoned because the Grail plucked me out of my world's Throne. Something's gone wrong with this war and the Grail had to find 'Else-Servants' that matched their Masters. The Grail told me this world is in some kind of trouble, though it didn't seem to be able to say what, but that's enough reason to come and fight. Not like I'm leaving anything behind to help anyway."

Archer narrowed his eyes at the man, "I can accept that you don't have anything to gain or lose by fighting, I'm in a similar position, but what about you, Rin? The Grail is an omnipotent wish-granter capable of conquering the world for you. How can you not desire something from it and still be here to fight the Holy Grail War?"

Rin shrugged, "Conquering the world seems like a pain in the butt, there's no point is wishing for dumb things like that."

"Help me understand, why do you fight?"

"Because there's a battle to be fought, Archer" Rin said, confidently, then she looked at her Else-Caster "And if there really is something wrong, I'll try and help you put it right."

Stark looked at her like he saw something he hadn't before, "So you're a highly capable mage whose willing to fight a fight just because it needs fighting? You'd have made a good Avenger kid. Reminds me of someone else, someone a lot better than me."

"So you..." Archer began, but Rin cut him off.

"That's right, I entered the war just to win."

"Heh, alright you win, you really are my ideal Master. There can be no doubt you are the perfect Master for me" he said with a smile on his face, "There is no one else I could hope to serve" he bowed when he finished. Rin flushed, then smiled confidently at them both.

When Shirou got home, Fuji-nee was laying on the ground, munching on some snack, and watching TV. He looked around a bit but didn't see Sakura. When he asked Fuji-nee, the freeloader explained that Sakura had gone home early. When Shirou had accused her of being irresponsible and not walking Sakura home, Fuji-nee said she'd had 'one of her guys' do it. It wasn't that 'her guys' were untrustworthy. If Fuji-nee told them to keep someone or something safe, they did it. Shirou just... didn't know why they did. It made him uncomfortable. After some light banter, Fuji-nee bullied him into making dinner.

When the man Miss Fujimura had gotten to take Sakura home dropped her off, the dread of going home at all finally settled into her. Of course, it might be just as bad, if not worse, than staying at Shirou's place for dinner. Sakura loved Shirou, she was certain of it. But he only seemed to treat her like a younger sister. That was alright, she could live with that since she didn't deserve him anyway, even if she pined for more.

But that morning, when the makeup covering her Command Seals had started to rub off... she'd thought he was going to be angry with her for hiding the truth. Shinji's shouting was everyday, even Grandfather's... different abuse wasn't anything Sakura wasn't used to, but Sakura thought she'd die if Shirou started hating her. No, she told herself, he would never hate me. He's not like that. It was a hollow shout at the darkness inside her.

Sakura looked up and saw a man waiting along the short path to her home. He was blond, and wore black and white clothing. She hung her head and tried to walk past him, but he moved in front of her. She stopped in front of him, waiting for whatever violation he wanted to do to her.

"You're tainted" the man said, "If you want to do some good in your life, go die right now."

The man walked past her.

She knew she was. She'd been violated from head to toe since the day she'd come to the Matou family. What was more, she could feel that darkness in her, the one that wanted her to reach out and take Shirou for herself, destroy those who'd done her wrong, and feed on those who had not helped her. It was wrong, she knew it, to have those feelings but they were there, all the time. Maybe the man was right, though how he knew she couldn't comprehend, maybe she should go and die. He was right that it would be the first good thing she'd ever done, but dying meant never seeing Shirou again. Even if dying meant protecting him... she couldn't do it. She'd survived everything, she couldn't just give up... not yet at least.

"Rin, why are you hiding?" Archer asked her from his spirit form.

Rin was crouching behind a low wall, "It's someone I know, I skipped school today so I don't want to run into anyone" she lied. Well, it was mostly a lie, with a grain of truth.

The real truth was that she'd just seen Sakura talking to a strange man. She must be on her way home from... abruptly the conversation ended and the man walked away, right on past Rin. Sakura looked shaken by the encounter, but the man had only spoken to her, one look told Rin the man wasn't the type who assaulted a random girl on the street just because he could, he carried himself in a manner far too controlled for that. A mystery Rin would likely never be able to solve.

"Something's off about that guy, like that outfit was made to lower his station, not mark it" Stark said.

It was an odd statement but, as Rin thought about it, the concept made sense. Even she wore more expensive clothes all the time, even over her uniform at school, not just because she could but because it marked a status, a separation. Rin stood up and walked home with her two Servants.

Sakura got home only a few minutes later, she'd only been dropped off a stone's throw away. Shinji was waiting for her there.

"Grandfather is waiting for you, sister" Shinij said.

Normally, he'd taunt or verbally abuse her the moment he saw her home... but both of them knew, you did not delay an instant with something Grandfather wanted. Sakura nodded her understanding and walked down to the basement promptly, if not quickly. Dread settled in her heart, the darkness inside that wanted revenge wilted away entirely. Grandfather was there, decrepit form only barely concealing the infinite well of malice and hate inside him. He watched her come in from a place near the bottom of the stairs, surely... surely she wouldn't be made to... to go down. She forced herself not to look at the basement floor. The floor, she called it. But she'd never once seen the floor. Awful as he was, looking at Grandfather was better.

"Heh heh heh" the man's laugh was somewhere between a cackle and a cough, and he never laughed at anything actually funny, "Well, child, it seems there's been a new development in the Grail War. It seems you won't have the option of not fighting anymore."

The words pained Sakura, she didn't want to participate. She wanted to be like Shirou, she wanted to help people not hurt them. But she new it for true, though she'd hoped Grandfather might not notice. A second set of Command Seals had appeared on her left hand, blue this time. She'd covered them with makeup as she had the original ones, but when she'd seen her brother sporting those same seals...

"Yes, Grandfather" she assented, pulling all emotion from her voice.

"You will not be allowed to waste time with that boy any longer, after the Grail War, do whatever you like, but until then: you will spend your nights furthering your efforts in the war. Tomorrow night, you and your brother will summon your Else-Servants."

"Yes, Grandfather" Sakura said again.

How did Grandfather even know they were called Else-Servants? For that matter... how did Sakura? When the blue Command Seals had appeared, a few days ago, a few days after the summoning of the Rider-Class Servant, she'd instantly known their meaning and use. But she didn't know how she knew.

"You and your brother will work together. Your three Servants will work together and win this war. Rider will stay under your brother's control, he has a plan already in motion with her, and he will be allowed to enact it."

"Yes, Grandfather"

Medea, the Caster-Class Servant appeared beside her Master who stood still, hands on some railing, looking out from the vantage point Ryuudou temple provided.

"It's done" she said, "I sealed that... that thing away."

He only nodded, staring sightlessly out at nothing. Medea understood. They'd summoned their Else-Servant almost a soon as possible, desiring the further strength it would lend. Caster believed that, with her methods, the war was basically already hers, Else-Servants or no Else-Servants, but let it never be said that the Princess of Colchis let anything go to waste. That was what she had thought. Then she'd summoned... that. Medea and her Master had both thought themselves able and willing to go to any length for their goals. Now they knew better. That thing was no hyper-powerful familiar to be controlled and wielded like Servants were meant to be. It's madness wouldn't allow for control. Only by using a Command Seal to hold it down and layering Bounded Field upon Bounded Field did she feel safe against it.

"Caster" her master commanded, "Never let that man out. He would break us."

Medea nodded, understanding. That creature was it. The line they wouldn't cross. She wouldn't unleash that kind of madness on the world.

Servant Compendium Archer Servant

True Name - ?

Noble Phantasm - ?

Skills

Independent Action B - Allows the Servant to exist and even fight for a time with little to no mana supply.

Magic resistance D - Grants a small protection against incoming magical effects, most modern mages will be unable to produce anything powerful enough to bypass.

Clairvoyance C - Improves vision and accuracy to match the increased strength of a Servant's body.

Mind's Eye (True) B - Allows the Servant to calmly assess the situation in the heat of battle, letting them both think carefully and fight at the same time.

?

?

?

Stats

Strength: D

Endurance: C

Agility: C

Mana: B

Luck: E

Caster Servant

True Name: Medea

Noble Phantasm - ?

Skills

Item Construction A - Allows for the manufacture of magic items, components and time are still required.

Territory Creation A - Allows for the creation of a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself.

High-Speed Divine Words A - Allows for the use of divine language in place of magic circuits for casting spells.

Stats

Strength: E

Endurance: D

Agility: C

Mana: A+

Luck: B

Else-Caster Servant

True Name: Anthony (Tony) Stark

Noble Phantasm:

? - A Noble Phantasm that draws from both the owner's near-infinite wealth in life and firm grasp of chemistry to grant the ability to transform mana into matter of nearly any form with the limitations of being in individual parts, and created from component elements that could otherwise be found and purchased. This replaces (at least functionally) the Class Skill of Item Construction, as Stark is not a traditional 'Caster' and does not use magic in any form. It is also useless without a high ranking Golden Rule Skill.

Arc Reactor - A Noble Phantasm in the form of a mechanical device that uses Vibranium (an element not found in Proper Human History) as the key component to a generator that produces more energy than is required to power it. With one kickstart in power, it will become a powersource of self-sustaining clean energy. It does not produce mana (magic energy) and cannot power a Servant's existence or any non-technological skills, Noble Phantasms, etc.

?

Skills

Item Construction E - Allows for the manufacture of magic items, components and time are still required.

Territory Creation B- Allows for the creation of a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself.

Pioneer of the Stars EX - A Skill powerful enough to alter circumstance, it makes paths or challenges that should be 'impossible' turn into 'events that can be realized'.

Golden Rule A - A skill that manifests a Servant's ability or tendency to acquire wealth.

Charisma B - A skill that composites natural charm as well as natural talent in leading others, it increases all ally Servant's skills a small amount in team battles.

?

Stats

Strength: D

Endurance: D

Agility: D

Mana: E

Luck: A