Chapter Nine

Mason finds himself in a very familiar hallway. However he is not being chased, he doesn't have a bloody right eye, and lastly he isn't a child like usual but in his current age.. The hallways still show signs of damage and faint alarms sounds are heard in the distance, but that's all the similarities that remain in this dream/nightmare. Every door is locked and shows no signs of opening. He wonders the halls ducking below fallen ceilings and squeezing through debris. After a while, he finds a room with the door open and lights coming from it. He walks in front of it only to find that the light coming from it makes it impossible to see into the room. Mason turns around only to have two blast doors seal themselves on both sides of the hallway and force him to enter the room. Blinding light dies down and he sees his outfit has changed into Jedi robes. The room now appears as an old dojo with a green figure sitting in a meditative state.

"Master Rissa?" Mason asks.

She opens her eyes and smiles, "Padawan Shan."

"Is this another nightmare?" He asks himself.

Rissa gets a confused look on her face, "A nightmare? What do you mean?"

"I mean I tend to get nightmares ever since that night ten years ago, although it appears it's unlike anything I had before. Usually I'm being chased by clone troopers and you will appear to me in an undead form bashing my weakness." Mason answers.

"That's heartbreaking to hear." She gets up only to be met by Mason backing up from her. A sad frown forms on the nautolan's face, "And that's even more heartbreaking to see. I never wished to ever see you recoil from me." She studies at the now young adult she once taught. She hardly recognizes the boy and her focus stops on his covered right eye.

"Admiring your handiwork?" Mason spats out to the horror of his former master. "'You're not strong enough to save me,' with a quick Force push towards fallen debris and you get this!" He points to his eye patch. "Ring any bells 'Master'?"

Rissa grows a remorseful expression, "It wasn't my intention for you to get injured. I only-"

Mason cuts in, "Wanted me dead and belittled for being weak because I couldn't save you or Dad?"

"No! I only wanted you to-"

"Remain weak," A new voice cuts her off again. They both turn to find another doorway covered in darkness. A figure steps out of it with a red face and black armor. "We meet again Mason. Do you prefer being called Shan or Emiya?"

"Skorr," Mason glares at the newcomer. "I knew this is a nightmare."

"You know this Sith filth?" Rissa asks her former apprentice with a growl.

The sith chuckles, "And here I thought Jedi were supposed to be calm and composed, not full of hatred."

"I'll make exceptions for filths trying to lure my apprentice away from me!"

"Whatever do you mean? From what I overheard, you did that just fine yourself. And it's Darth Skorr thank you." He replies.

She ignites her lightsaber, "Dead or not, I will not let you take him. For in his mind, I will guard him from you."

He gently raises his hands, "No need to be hostile for I have no need to take the boy. He will come to me."

"He will do no such thing!" She shouts at the pureblood.

"Oh I beg to disagree. With lineage leading to Raven himself, power and proper training is what he needs." He retorts.

Mason looks at the Sith, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well other than the obvious of having incomplete training," he begins. "The Jedi cannot provide the power you need to save your loved ones nor are there any around to help you survive the current grail war." He outstretches his hand to Mason, "I'm offering you both of them."

"Like hell you are!" Rissa launches herself at Skorr having heard enough.

He summons his own lightsaber to his hand and defends himself. Emerald and crimson clash together, both sides pushing against each other. Skorr uses his free hand to grab Rissa by the throat and starts crushing her throat. Her grip falters and the emerald blade falls to the ground. Skorr then throws her violently against the wall, cracking it upon impact. He just smiles at the sorry state of the Jedi. "Weak like the rest of your kind. Mason was right to throw away his Jedi name." He turns back to the lone spectator, "I have shown you the power the Sith wield against the Jedi. I offer it fully to you, heir of Darth Revan. Together we can bring Lord Nihilus in full and then not even death will be an obstacle, for the Sith Empire will be reborn! Should you take my offer, I will guarantee a place for your loved ones as well. I need not your answer now." He makes his way back to the dark doorway.

"But what about the Rule of Two? Surely you just mean to use me until you get your master back. There is no way he would allow it and I'd be a fool to believe it!" Mason shoots back.

Skorr stops himself and looks over his shoulder, "The Cult of Nihilus has existed long before Darth Bane purged the Sith forces and created the Rule of two. There is no need to worry about that foolhardy 'rule' for I already have another apprentice and she has long since needed any further training. Even if I have nothing but disdain for their kind, I can't deny that having both Jedi and Sith blood creates a potential in you to rival your ancestors. I only wish to see it realized. Meet with me at the temple with your servant when you see what you are lacking." Skorr then disappears into the dark doorway with the door closing behind him.

The scene then begins to fade, but not before Rissa gets up enough on one knee. "Mason, I know I have failed you and I won't ask for forgiveness. But if there is any small part of you that hasn't shut me out yet, then please heed my warning. Don't accept his offer. The Dark Side will dominate your destiny and only bring you further pain. Find your own path within the Force. It doesn't have to be as a Jedi, but it will show you the strength you are needing to overcome your current trials." She then gives him a pained but genuine smile, "And take better care of yourself dear. You are just as important to your brother as he is to you." The world then fades completely black. "Just as you are to me…"

Mason groggily opens his eyes to find himself back in his room. He sets himself up slowly until his strength finds itself. He notices stuff in the room has been shifted around. "Ugh, I had one of those nights again didn't I?" He asks himself. Once his strength is back, he dresses himself and makes his way through the house until he finds Caster in Shriou's makeshift workshop/shed. "So are you the only one here?"

Caster looks up and gets a smile, "No Saber is in the kitchen chowing down on leftovers. The rest are at school. It's good to see you up. You gave everyone a scare last night after you healed Shirou, then again later as well."

He pinches the bridge of his nose, "Let me guess, stuff started floating and being flown around?"

She nods, "Yes. Shirou says it's a byproduct of your powers being fueled by your nightmares."

"My past isn't something I wish to remember," Mason states.

"I can agree. If I had to deal with what you went through, I would have PTSD myself."

Mason cocks an eyebrow, "How do you know what happened? I thought I sent you away from earshot when I told Sakura."

Caster chuckles at Mason's confusion, "You did and I did not hear a thing. No, I saw glimpses of your past myself. If you didn't know, Master and Servants can see each other's past through dreams. Although I didn't see much, I do know you were involved in a war as a child and what led to you coming here. To say I was horrified and furious is an understatement. They should never send children to war, no matter what powers they possess. And it seems even with those powers, they could not save them or yourself." She stands up and wraps him in a brief hug, "I'm sorry it had to happen to you." She pulls away from him. "But it seems it was a small blessing in disguise since you now have a new family. And from what I can judge from the dreams, this new family loves and cares for you much more than your previous Jedi cult-like 'family'."

Mason smiles, "That I can agree on."

"Wonderful. Although I originally only joined you to get revenge for my beloved, I will also do my best to protect your current family as thanks. Now I best believe you better go get yourself something to eat before Saber eats everything. She is like a vacuum when it comes to food. I still have work on the Grail to do anyways." Caster tells him after turning him around.

Shirou looks around his surroundings. Numerous students are walking down the sidewalk to school while giving looks to the trio. Seeing the two most famous students in school walking together isn't something they see everyday. Guys are sending jealous glares at Shirou for walking with two girls, one of which being Rin. He sighs then stops when he notices a girl on the other side of the road he has never seen before. She has dark skin, short purple hair and eyes. She seems to wear a casual black jacket, gloves, pants, and a headband that looks like small cat ears. She appears to be middle eastern which makes Shirou confirm she's most likely from around here. She catches him looking at her and gives a small smile. Sakura walks past his view and the mystery girl disappears.

Sakura sees Shirou stopped and asks, "Senpai are you alright?"

Shirou shakes out of his trance, "Yes Sakura. I thought I saw someone, but I guess it's my imagination or something. So Rin, what's our play?" Shirou asks.

"Hmm," Rin ponders. "The situation with your brother complicates things. He knows the most about the cult at the temple, and I'd rather plan with him awake to give his feedback. So until then, we should patrol the city at night to seek out the other Masters. With the Grail corrupted, we don't need them killing each other and filling it until Caster can figure something out."

"Can't we destroy it like my father did in the last war?"

"We would, but that could end up making the next Grail War start earlier like it did this one. Let's keep that on the back burner and revisit it if there are no other options." Rin answers.

"Alright sounds good," Shirou agrees. "Now Sakura, I'm sure Mason has talked to you about staying out of this right? I'd rather not get you involved."

Given I'm the one supplying Nii-san with Rider, I'm sure I'm already involved, She thinks to herself. "He did mention something like that, but I decided to ignore it. Since you know I was part of the temple ordeal, I'd say there is no staying out of it now. The cult probably knows me as much as Mason and Caster now."

Rin turns around with mild anger on her face, "Wait, Sakura was a part of that?! Why didn't either of you two say that?!"

Shirou flinches for a moment, "Well from what I heard from Mason, she didn't play a big role in it and left almost as soon as the fighting happened."

"Senpai is correct," Sakura confirms, "though my lack of part was due to Mason forcing me out of there."

"Forcing? Is that a pun or something?"

"He used his power to push me into the forest." Sakura states flatly.

Rin is taken aback for a second, "What? Ugh! That was dangerous on his part, you could have been impaled by a branch or slammed head first into a tree." She face palms, "It seems doing idiotic things runs in the Emiya family." Shirou starts to open his mouth before Rin shuts it with her hand, "You can't say anything Mr. 'Run in front of Berserker's attack'." She then realizes what she's doing and takes away her hand blushing and turns back around.

Now it's Sakura's turn to get angry, "You did what?!"

Shirou sighs hard, but is prevented from saying anything when the three pass the entrance to the school. He stumbles for a moment over the weird feeling that rushed on him before correcting himself. "Did any of you feel that?" He asks the two.

"Yes," Rin answers, "It seems someone put together a crude field around the school. For what reason? I'm not sure, but a gut feeling is telling me it's most likely from either a Master or Servant."

Sakura inwardly clicks her tongue from recognizing the feeling coming from the field. Of course Nii-san would do something so stupid as this. I know he doesn't have any mana to feed Rider, but setting up a field for her at a school is like sending a beacon in the night sky for Masters to find you. Exactly, he cannot be trusted with even the simplest of things. I should just take back Rider the next chance I get. That won't sit well with Nee-san. So what? If he becomes a problem, then I'll eliminate the source. But I still have to deal with Grandfather… Tsk, I'll find a way to get rid of his control over me in time.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Shirou asks, breaking her concentration.

"Yes Senpai, just thinking about the boundary field," she tells him.

"Then I suggest we start here," Rin says. "This is the best lead we have to finding another Master. When lunch starts, meet me at the roof. I should have a decent grasp of what this field is for by then. Then after school, we start investigating and locating either the Servant or Master." She then looks directly at Sakura, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Shirou about you staying out of this. From what I can gather, you can't very well defend yourself nor do you have a Servant of your own. If you find anything, then gladly tell me. Other than that, don't get mixed up in a fight. Got it?"

Sakura wants to argue, but is unable to do so without giving away who they are trying to find and her connecting to him. Instead she responds, "Of course Tohsaka-san. If there is a fight, I won't be in the way." However, depending on Nii-san's actions… There might not need to be a worry him that for long.

After stuffing herself with leftovers, Saber finds herself heading to the dojo. Although she may be a Servant, training is always advised. She makes her way to the door, but hears someone inside. She opens the door and peaks in. Mason is there with his lightsaber ignited and seemingly going through various stances. However he is using a style she has never seen nor known by the information the Grail gave her. He stops mid swing and turns to her.

"Saber?" He asks, wiping a brow of sweat with a towel. "Didn't anyone teach you not to spy on people?"

Saber faintly blushes in embarrassment and comes out from the doorway, "Sorry Mason. I didn't mean to."

Mason laughs it off and shuts off his lightsaber, "You're fine, I'm just teasing you. Surely a king such as you has heard of jokes right?"

Saber pauses for a second before whipping her head to him, "You know?"

"Yeah both Shirou and I know who you are. Why else would I tell him that only he would summon our father's servant?" Mason asks with a confused look.

"I guess that makes sense now," Saber says. "Though I didn't think Kiritsugu had any sons. I'm sure at the age you two are at, I would have at least heard him mentioning you."

Mason walks over to a pair of chairs and they both sit, "That's because we are adopted. He found both of us in the aftermath of the last war, though both of us were there for different reasons."

"Well that would explain you two," Saber trails off for a moment after thinking about how familiar the girl from last night looks.

Mason studies her before understanding, "Thinking about Illya?"

Saber brings her attention back to Mason, "Yes. She looks so much like…"

"Irisviel," Mason finishes, earning a nod from her. "That is because she is the blood daughter of Mom and Dad, Irisviel and Kiritsugu. Dad had pictures of her and told us all about Irisviel. Because of this, we will always consider her our mom even though we never met her. In some ways, I'm glad that our dad is no longer here so that he can be with Mom again. The same is said for our dear older sister, Illyasviel von Einzbern. But unlike Mom, she is still alive and it's been our goal to finally bring her home. So Shirou recklessly charging towards her last night was his way of achieving that goal, though anyone with a sensible brain could see that wasn't going to happen last night. She was out for blood. Best to go to her on better terms."

Saber smiles faintly, "That's a fine goal to have. Sadly my family's history isn't as good as I could hope."

Mason pats her shoulder, "I read your legend from multiple sources and none of them has a happy family ending. Well, except for the 'made for children' ones." This gets an amused smile from her. "Although none of them says you're a woman, so I'm not sure if any of the legends are true." This gets a snort. "Hell next you'll tell me you had a dick at one point." Saber gives Mason a sly look, which causes his eyes to go wide. "Oh shit! Really?! Actually don't answer that. I don't want to know nor do I want a visual." Mason shakes his head trying not to think about it.

Saber laughs at his struggle. This is not what she would have imagined her former Master's children would be like, however she isn't complaining. She takes a look around the dojo before finding a stand with wooden swords. Getting an idea, she gets up and grabs two of them. Then she tosses one to Mason, who stops shaking his head and grabs the sword without looking. "That wasn't very chivalrous of you, King of Knights."

Saber sports a smirk, "Oh but that's where you are wrong. The chivalrous thing to do is to beat the image of my dick out of your head. Now come forward, this knight needs a warm up and I wish to see your fighting style for myself."

"Far be it of me to deny a king from her request." He comments getting up.

…

Mason falls to a knee panting and covered in sweat. He is using the wooden sword as a leverage to prevent himself from falling. Saber grabs a bottle of water, walks over to him and hands it over. He downs the water and positions himself to sit instead. "You lasted longer than I expected. I underestimated your swordsmanship greatly for a human against a Servant. I have to ask, what style is that?"

Mason looks up to her, "It's called Soresu. It's a defensive lightsaber form. It focuses on blocking projectiles and tiring out your opponent. Obviously against a Servant, the last part isn't going to help."

"True enough, our stamina lasts a whole lot longer than humans." Saber agrees after taking a seat in front of him. "The form is great for defending yourself against us, but without a way to attack us you are wasting energy. Which is what I get from your fighting style. Your defense can make a phalanx wall blush, but your offense is atrocious. You need to find a way to overcome it." Mason gives her a weird look. "What?"

"You reminded me of my former Master for a second. She said something along those lines as well."

"Well it's good advice for you and the fact that you remember her saying that means what she said has stuck with you."

Mason gets a look of disgust. "Yes," he grits through his teeth. "Her words have stuck with me."

Saber gets a confused look at this response. It's the words she thought he would say, but the way he said it is not what she expected. "Um if you don't mind me asking, from your tone it seems like-"

"I do mind you asking," Mason cuts in. The shock on her face tells him he was more vicious than he meant to be. "Sorry, Saber. My former Master is a touchy subject for me. It'd be best if we avoid that topic. Why don't you go on ahead? I'll clean up here and we'll see if Caster has learned anything." She accepts and leaves him to himself.

Mason sits on the floor thinking about all his fights during the last few days. The first one with Skorr nearly cost him his life if that Black Shadow didn't arrive and he was on the losing end with Lancer if Saber didn't get summoned. Both times he did what he was trained and neither of them proved to help him win either of those fights. The only success he has had in his fights was last night when he tapped into the Dark Side and toppled both Archer and Berserker. He remembers the feeling clearly. He felt powerful, more powerful than he has ever felt and it felt good. He almost wants to tap into it again, but a thought crosses his mind tells him that it's just the start of an addiction by the Dark Side. He was always told to be wary of it, for it is for the weak. But if it was for the weak, then why is it that the Sith throughout the years have been able to beat back the Jedi time after time? Count Dooku was a respected dueling Jedi Master but after his fall to the Dark Side, he became the leader of the Separatist movement and was able to fight off many Jedi. Mason's ancestor, Revan, is known throughout history as one of the most powerful Sith to have existed. Hell Valkorion was so powerful in the Dark Side that he not only survived for many years and 'deaths', but also became so much of a threat that the Sith and Jedi had to team up to defeat him. With that kind of power, Mason might be able to survive this war and protect his family. The offer made by Darth Skorr sounds much more tempting.

Shirou walks into the Archery club dojo. Although he is no longer a member, he still gets asked to come by and will occasionally clean up after them. This was supposed to be one such day. He starts picking up the scattered equipment and placing them where they belong. Rin has been able to figure out the purpose of the field during lunch. Turns out that it is a life draining spell. In fact, a lot of students have been ending up in the hospital and they are sure it's because of this spell. Rin has brought it upon herself to figure out how to undo the spell and Shirou is left to find the user. However being who he is, Shirou wouldn't be the unofficial janitor if he wasn't conned into fixing or cleaning something. During his clean up, he hears someone else come inside. Placing the broom against the wall, he finds that Shinji is the newcomer.

"Oh hey Shinji. Were you needing something from the archery club?" Shirou asks his friend.

"Oh no, I'm actually here for you." Shinji corrects him. "You see, I've heard an interesting rumor about you and I wanted to see if it was true. So I came to the source of it."

Shirou furrows his brow, "What kind of rumor?"

"You know, just that you and I have something in common. See rumor has it that you got yourself a Servant." Shirou twitches in shock for a moment. "Ah, so my grandfather was right. Well that's perfect then. We've been friends for years now, right?"

"Yeah that's right," he answers, not understanding where this is going.

Shinji holds out a book, "Well it just so happens that I am also a Master with a Servant of my own. So seeing how we're friends, let's say we team up together. The two of us together should be able to win this war simply."

Shirou doesn't let himself relax, but gives Shinji a faint smile. "Is that all? Well I don't see the harm in it. I'm already teamed up with two other Masters, and I'd be glad if you joined us."

Shinji jerks his head in shock, "Already teamed up with two Masters?! Shirou my friend, I think you got the wrong idea about what the Holy Grail War is about. We have to kill the other Masters to win the Grail, not sit around a campfire holding hands."

"It's pretty long to explain, but the gist of it is that the Grail is corrupted and killing Servants will make it worse. I'm not denying your offer to team up, I'm just giving you a greater offer to make sure needless deaths don't occur." Shirou explains.

"'To make sure needless deaths don't occur'?" Shinji asks him. "My friend we are way beyond that point."

"I don't like where this is going…"

"Why I set up this field just so my Servant and feed on the meaningless students here. The Holy Grail War is about blood and death, and I am willing to take part in it as Masters are supposed to. In fact you're the odd one here trying not to kill the others, but I like that about you. You desire to be a hero. Well you can be a hero with me in beating the other Masters. So what do you say friend?" Shinji outstretches his hand out.

Shirou is horrified that his friend for years is the one behind the field. He takes a step back, "I'm sorry Shinji, I can't join you if you are the one using this spell."

The blue-haired boy's face fell along with his hand, "That's too bad. I thought you were a friend, but I see our bond isn't as strong as I thought. Fine, we'll do this the hard way. Rider!"

The wall bust opens and a tall woman with long purple hair comes through the hole. Her eyes are covered by a purple mask, but she seems to see just fine as she directs her attention to him. She delivers a swift kick and sends Shirou out of the dojo. Shirou barely got a reinforcement off on him before getting hit and landed on the ground to roll back up.

"How do you like Rider? She's pretty strong right? Where's yours?" Shinji taunts in safety.

Shirou looks down at his command spells before calling upon it, "You want to see her? Then you will have it. Saber!" Rider quickly tries to make her way to Shirou to end him off before his Servant can appear, but is too late. A blonde with blue and silver armor now stands in her way. Saber wastes no time and counterattacks right away. Rider is flown away from Shirou and Saber quickly makes her way to her enemy. Shinji's smile has gone and he worriedly looks at Shirou before taking off with Shirou giving chase. They run across the schoolyard and into the woods. During which time, Rider has managed to catch up at a rapid speed. She pulls out two big iron nails hooked to their own chains and swings it at Shirou. He projects the cortosis blade again and blocks one of the chains. The other chain is deflected by a third party. Shirou whips around to see Archer with a black bow. It disappears and his signature twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya take its place. He swings at Rider, who tries to back up but is cut off by Saber. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Rider adopts to speed away from the engagement with the two other Servants following her.

"Emiya-kun," Rin shouts coming from the tree line. "I see you found our target."

"Yeah, it is Shinji. Come on, I'll fill you in while we go after him." Shirou tells her before running where Shinji went.

"Matou? I didn't know they had the sources to summon a Servant unless…" Rin trails off her a moment before something clicks. "Hey, did you notice any command spells on him?"

Shirou shakes his head, cutting through the brush in front of them. "Not that I saw. Although he had this odd book with him."

Rin mauls it over, "Hmm, then that would be my guess about how he became a Master without being a magus. I'm guessing he is using the book as a command seal. Usually transferring command seals involves ripping it from the original master's body. But it seems that Matou compelled the former Master to give it outright."

"So if we are able to destroy the book," Shirou starts off.

"Then Rider won't be a problem, in theory anyways. However, it's not totally ideal given the fact we don't want to send Servants back to the Grail at the moment. Though what they are doing cannot be allowed to continue, so we don't have the luxury to figure out something else." Rin finishes. Shirou agrees since he doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt by the actions of his friend. The clash of steel is heard in the distance along with the breaking of ground. "Although from the sounds of it, it seems we are in a race with our Servants to see who gets to their target first."

Shirou increases his speed with Rin still behind him. The pair finally sees a spot of blue hair and Rin readies one of her gems before firing it off towards him. The shot lands near the runner and it blows him off his feet onto his back. Shinji scrambles to get back up but Shirou jumps on him preventing him from escaping. "Rider! Help!" Shinji cries out. Rider tries her best to race to him, but Archer is proving to be a pest by shooting at her path with Saber hot on her tail.

Shirou draws the blade to Shinji's throat. "I'll give you one chance, drop the spell and call off Rider."

Shinji looks in fear at the blade as it nicks his neck. He glances at Rin who holds another gem on her fingers. "Okay, if that's all you want, fine. Rider do as he says." Rider whips her head in shock, but relents. She disappears before Saber could hit her mark.

"Now hand over the book," Rin demands.

"What? No! It's my ticket to the Grail to prove Grandfather I'm worthy," He pleads. "It's worthless to you anyways since Rider will only respond if I hold it."

"All the more reason, Shinji. We'd rather she not be able to do anything than attack innocent people." Shirou states.

Shinji glups before sighing, "Fine take the stupid book!" He flings it to Rin, who catches it with her free hand. Shirou gets off of Shinji and he gets up. "I will not forget this." The blue-haired boy rushes away from the four.

"Let him go," Shirou says, seeing Saber about to chase. "He's no threat to anyone now that we took away his weapon."

Rin looks over the book curiously, "Perhaps we may be able to do something with this. Let's go back to your place and discuss it over with Caster."

Caster sets the book down, "So you are wanting me to use my all powerful ancient magic to get Rider to answer to us?"

"Yes, but without the ego." Rin says, taking a sip of tea. The group made it back to the Emiya household and told the other two what had happened. Sakura decided to go home to tend to her brother.

Caster scoffs, "What do you know? You wouldn't last a day in the age of gods with your magic. Your best bet would be a vessel for a goddess to survive."

Rin swings her hair, "So you think I'm worthy of a goddess? My, my, Caster you flatter me."

Archer reaches down and flicks her head, "Now who has an ego?"

"Ouch, Archer you're not supposed to flick your Master." She rubs her head. "You're supposed to be on my side and agree."

"Sounds like you all had a good time today though," Mason says, ignoring the Master and Servant spat.

"Well we took a Servant off the board without having to kill them. So I count that as a win," Shirou agrees after giving Saber her fourth helping of food. "Here you go, Saber."

Mason leans over to Caster, "Between Rin and Archer bickering and Saber's contant eating habits that Shirou feeds into, I do believe we may be the most normal one here."

Shirou looks at his brother, "Says the guy who crashed on Earth in an alien spaceship." Caster lets out a long snort and horribly covers it up.

Mason about to retorts, but something catches his attention. "Um, is the book supposed to do that?" Everyone stops and looks down at the book to see it start fading before it dissipates to dust. They all turn to Caster for answers as Saber slowly raises her chopsticks to her mouth.

Caster takes a moment before coming to a conclusion. "The only reason I can think as to why the book disappeared is that this Shinji person is no longer in a state to continue being Rider's Master. In other words, he died and Rider has gone back to her original Master."

Moments earlier at the Matou house:

Sakura shakes her head walking into the house. Seems 'Nii-san' failed even worse than I could have imagined. How did he manage to get Rider taken away from him like that?! Well he was up against Senpai and Tohsaka-san. There wasn't anything he could have done. Yeah there was, not to start a fight his ass couldn't cash. Hurry up with this please. I would rather not deal with him for long. Sakura sets her bags down and makes her way up the stairs. She makes a turn to Shinji's room and opens up the door. There is the boy in question looking like a mess in a trashed room. "Nii-san?"

Shinji looks over at her, "What do you want? Here to gawk at me? Oh wait, you don't do that. You don't do anything anymore other than running off to Shirou's house and letting me use you. You know, that's just what I need at the moment." He stomps towards her and grabs her arm. "I need a release and here you show." He rips open her blouse and pulls her towards the bed. "At least you remain a constant here. Now we are going to do what I normally do to you and you will take it. After that…" He stops halfway before getting an idea. "Yes, after that I'll get back at Shirou for what he did. I'll find a way to get Rider back and use her to kill his brother in front of him."

"Mason?" Sakura finally speaks. What?

"Yeah that's his name! Thanks, now I remember. Seems you have more than one use for you. After I get my fun from you, I'll kill Mason in front of Shirou. That'll teach him to cross me. But that is for later, for now I need a different kind of enjoyment." Shinji begins to try to pull Sakura again but unlike before, she remains still. He tries again, "Come on dammit you know you aren't worth anything else."

"You're going to kill Mason?" A dark shadow covers Sakura's eyes. Do you want me to take over?

"Yes I'm going to kill him. Stab him, rip his limbs, tear out his eyes." He desperately tries to pull Sakura, but she remains unmoving. Because of this, Shinji smacks her. "You will do as I say. You have no self, it was lost when you came into this family. Now get on that bed and I will not go easy on you. The more you resist, the worse I'll be."

I didn't hear a no… Sakura gives a small giggle. The room starts to darken with shadows and the door is swung shut and locked. Shinji releases her when he sees a terriorifying smile come from Sakura. The smile looks happy, but at the same time projects only malance. The darkness covering her eyes grows darker with the room. "Nii-saaannn…?￢ﾀﾝ she sings out, walking slowly towards him.

He stumbles backwards and backs up with an arm raised as a shield, "S-sakura, I don't know what game you are playing at, but you better stop." He notices her hair is slowly turning white.

"Niiiii-sssaaaannnn…? ﾝﾆﾕ" She sings again with her arms behind her back. "You've been a naughty boy Niiii-saaannn, and naughty boys deserve to be punished Niii-ssaannn…?￢ﾀﾝ Shinji has backed up to the wall and is unable to hide his fear as the shadows sends out black and red tendrils wrapping themselves around him and holds him still and covers his mouth. The shadows of the room cover his vision from his adopted sister to only a dark figure. She bends down with only the tips of her hair keeping their purple color. Shinji slowly looks up and is shocked when he meets her eyes. The emotionless purple void is replaced with a crimson red. "You're very naughty aren't you 'Nii-san'? I waited so much for this day. No more raping for you nor will you be able to carry out your threat on Mason." With a snap, the tendrils start to pull on him. First it's a pop from the shoulder being dislocated, then the cracking of ribs breaking apart, finally it's the ripping of flesh and muscle that ends it. With a muffled scream, Shinji is pulled apart with red staining the walls and her clothes. The tendrils recede into the shadows having their work be done. She wipes the blood off her cheek and gives it a lick, only to be disappointed. "Even in death you fail me. All you have to give is a rotten taste. Truly pitiful to the end." The shadows lessen and light starts to come back. The purple starts to return in both her hair and eyes, however there is a thin crimson line around her pupil that is easy to miss. Rider materializes next to her as she rebuttons her blouse. Well there is step one completed. Now onto step two: ridding myself of the bug king himself.

Author's Note:

Hi I'm still here, sorry about the late posting. Turns out I get distracted easily. Anyways new chapter new things. I do know my 'fights' need work. I will get better eventually and I'll come back to fix them. Moving on, I did have a bit of fun with this chapter. Especially the last part with best girl finally coming out to play. What? I find Dark Sakura dangerously hot in her own psychotic way. Don't judge. Jokes aside I'm going to keep this short since I tend to spoil a little in these notes. Now onto the comments!

keybladelight: Okay that's a lot to unpack there and I'll do my best to go over all of them. The cult may end up seeing some use in Sakura in the future, but not like any of the ways you are describing. First, I have a different role for Valia to have with Sakura altogether. Though I may toy with the idea of luring Sakura, no promise though. Second, I'm not having of the Fate characters be Force sensitive. Like hell, Dark Sakura would be unstoppable with the Force and no amount of Rin using a magic sword will help anyone. That's a Taiga Dojo bad end waiting to happen. Sorry but that's way too much for me to handle, so I'm going to have to deny everything that follows that rabbit hole. That includes the kyber crystal, her become empress, torturing people, and destroying the throne of heroes. Again I'm sorry but no. The Sith toying with Zouken might be decent, I'll think about it. I hope this answers everything.

Well that's everything! Thanks for reading and I'll talk at y'all next time!