Chapter Twelve

Zouken clicks his tongue watching the night play out. This Grail War is playing way out of control and now his adopted daughter is conspiring with the enemy to kill him. He never thought Sakura would develop a rebellious mind. She was but an empty shell not long ago for him to easily control. He must stop this plot from happening and he hasn't lost all control over her. Not when his crest worms still crawl within her body. And as long as she remains a lesser vessel, his stakes in this war are far from over. His mind is made, and he goes to do what he hasn't had to do for countless years, to personally deal with a problem himself.

The night is still young and his insect familiars posted all over the city feed him the information needed. Sakura is currently asleep in the Emiya household while that silver haired boy is apparently getting lectured by his own Servant. For what? He doesn't care, his only focus is the girl. Calling upon the bind on her, he pulls what he needs from her without anyone else noticing. The muscle is ready and now the target is next.

Luckily, said target has yet to have made it back into the temple and he moves to intercept. Zouken notices the cloaked guards surrounding the alien woman along with the shadow of the Caster with that ungodly abomination he brought to life in the last war. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. His swarm stays within the treelines and he waits for the ambush.

"If you wish to sneak, perhaps you shouldn't radiate so much killing intent. It just screams, 'I'm over here'." Valia calls out already knowing he is there.

Zouken brings his body down from the trees, "Seems I underestimated your sensing abilities, but that is the only thing I will be underestimating in this encounter."

Valia scoffs, "Obviously not since you are intent on attacking me. While annoying, your insects are nothing more than a nat to be swatted away."

"Now who's the one underestimating the other?" He asks.

"Still you, corpse walker. Honestly having gotten a better look at you I can see why the girl wishes for your death. I'd be rid of you the moment I first saw your disgusting corpse. Actually since this is the first moment I saw you, let's make that a reality." Valia unclips her double sided lightsaber and ignites two crismon blades. Shadow Caster appears beside her while the cloaked troops ready their blasters.

Zouken laughs, "If you think this will be an easy win then I'll enjoy watching your face turn upside down. Also there is one tiny detail you are missing. I never planned on ambushing you myself, I am only a distraction."

Valia expands her senses and quickly moves away from her previous position. Caster follows suit as red and black tendrils crash down on the streets. Valia follows them back to the owner to find the Black Shadow behind their former positions. She recognizes the pattern on the Shadow and easily connects the dots. "Now it's no wonder why the girl wants you dead. You have her on a leash. Seems your weapon has other ideas than her owner."

"It is nothing to stress over," He waves away. "You will die, so will your so-called cult as well. Along with everyone else in this war. Although I may keep that boy she likes alive as a means of making sure she doesn't act out again."

"Sorry to tell you, but my master has already taken an interest in the Child of Revan and I will not have his prize damaged by you." The Sith tells him. "Servant, delay that thing for as long as you can. Squads back him up as well! I'll deal with the cobra's head myself." She snarls before launching herself towards Zuoken.

The old man sends his swarms towards the Sith to slow her assault. She spins her saber around and cuts through the bugs coming from her front. Valia crushes a tree near her and throws it at him. Zouken moves out of the way and stops his attack. With relief, Valia charges forwards once again. They come back to the previous stand still again and enrages the Sith. She shoots out Force lightning shocking the bugs flying at her dead in their tracts. Valia doesn't allow him to recover as she then pulls a thermal detonator from one of the troopers and hurls towards the man of the bugs. The blast blows away the trees and part of a house in the explosion. Zuoken was half caught up in it and part of his body lights up in flames. The other half rots away as worms crawl out of it. Worms and flying insects then converge and mash together to create a new body for the Matou head. Valia clicks her tongue in disgust before formulating a new plan.

Though whatever plans she is making is thrown out the window when her intercom goes off. "My Lord, whatever this thing is, we can't stop it. It's currently trying to suck in the Servant while brushing off any attack we throw at it argh-" The Sith woman turns her head to see what is happening behind her. Multiple dead mutilated bodies litter the street and Shadow Caster is trying to pull off a tendril that has impaled itself through his arm and wrapped around it.

"Hehehe," Zouken starts laughing. "Looks like fate is not on your side tonight."

Valia grits her teeth in frustration before giving in to her anger. She grabs hold of his body with the Force and ignites it with a hate filled glare. It stops his laughter for a moment only for it to echo around through the insects around the battle. She swings her lightsaber around and slicing every bug she can. Seeing the battle is lost as Caster is dragged into the Shadow, Valia orders the remaining five troopers to set off any and all detonators from the dead to cover their escape. The sergeant follows the order by letting the Shadow do its thing with Caster and setting a timer on each uneaten body. Saying a silent prayer to his brothers and sister in arms, he and the other four troopers follow their Sith Lord away from the battle to a safe distance. The detonators explode a two block radius leaving only a crater of rubble behind with the Shadow in the middle of it. It stays for only a moment before appearing like a glitch and disappearing.

Mason wakes up in the middle of the night sweating. He pants trying to recover his breath. A look around the room is clear that another nightmare occurred. He wipes the sweat off and changes clothes into some not drenched in sweat. Then he heads into the kitchen and drinks some water. The talk with Caster wasn't pleasant, but Mason knew he deserved it for running off without her. The encounter with the Sith apprentice could have easily turned into a fight and he is sure Sakura would have been used against him. He pauses from taking another sip when he tries to locate her with the Force. Her presence isn't in her room nor is it anywhere in the house.

"Caster, do you know where Sakura is?" He asks his Servant.

"She should have been in her room, but I can't detect her at all." She answers then materializes in front of Mason. "Curious that she slipped past me without my knowledge."

"Tsk," Mason clicks his tongue. He goes towards the door and slips on his shoes. "Come on. We got to find out where she is."

Caster was about to agree when the boundary field she upgraded sent her a notification. "It seems that will be unnecessary now."

Mason gives her a questioning look before reaching out with his senses and feels it as well. He opens the door to see Sakura standing there with a tired look on her. She gives him a smile before falling over and he catches her before she falls. They both quickly take her to her room and Caster looks over her. At first all she can detect is just exhaustion and they both relax a little. But after checking for any magical properties, her face contorts into disgust and she backs away in shock. "What's wrong Caster?" He asks her.

She takes a moment to recover before making her way back to the bedside. "She's in a serious state of horror. In all my years, I have never seen such a revolting display of magic! Being from the Age of Gods, this makes me sick like no other. Even the Gods, as terrible as they are, would be a better alternative than facing this!"

"Well don't keep me in suspense, what is it?"

Caster gulps before explaining, "To put it plainly, she is infested. Crest worms all throughout her body are both feeding on her along with changing and controlling certain parts of her. See that?" She points to Sakura's left arm where the skin moves slightly as something passes underneath it. "That is one of them. There are a great number of them festering inside of her and most likely using her as a breeding ground as well."

Mason clenches his fist and gets a maddenly sickened look, "Can you remove them?"

Caster shakes her head, "Not without a proper setup. My Noble Phantasm can easily break the magic control from the mangus, if that is something to call the owner of this shit, but then the worms would have no control and kill her from the inside. Plus there is one directly on her heart that would kill her if the owner wishes. There are also some located in her head that can control her body itself along with letting the owner see anything she can. So it's most likely that they can hear what we are saying and laugh at our current inability."

Mason slams his fist into the wall. "Dammit!" Caster, seeing nothing that can do for Sakura now, moves Mason out of the room to have an eaves free conversation. Mason allows her to walk him out and into the living room.

"Calm down Master." She tells him after sitting next to him at the table. "I know the situation looks grim, but I did say that I need a proper setup. Give me some time to find a way around it."

Mason looks at the Greek woman before nodding. "Alright I trust you Caster, thanks."

She gives a small smile before patting his cheek, "No thanks are necessary. I promised to help your family. Even if the two of you aren't a thing (yet), both you and my apprentice consider her a good friend."

Mason takes some relief from that before turning his attention to someone else. "Archer, is there anything you can tell us?"

Archer materializes against the wall, "Only that it won't be as easy as you hope."

Caster just scoffs, "Well thanks for that tidbit. I would have never figured that out. Honestly, how you are the future of my apprentice I will never know."

Archer sighs before taking a seat opposite them at the table. "Well since the two of you already know who I am, I guess I can tell you what I can. But keep in mind that my past is very different from your present."

"How so?" Caster asks him.

"Well for starters, I never had a brother. So your Master/Servant pairing never happened. Neither were there any otherworldly cult or other beings in this war. Lastly, Rin had a completely different Servant, not that it did her any good winning. Saber and I won my war, but it wasn't a happy ending. Though that is a tell for another time that I will not ever get into." He explains briefly. "For Sakura's situation, I gave Mason a small warning earlier but I'll get into more details. Now remember, different past and stuff so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

"To start, the Matou family's head is a pseudo Dead Apostle. He's not a vampire, but he is a five hundred rotting walking corpse. He uses soul anchors to keep himself alive. As I'm sure you can guess, his current one is in Sakura. So even if his 'body' dies, he still lives through the anchor and can create a new one with the magic of that family." He looks to Caster, "I'm sure you already figured that out while examining her earlier. Crest worms and insects are the main factor for that family. The way they pass down their magic to the next generation is unlike any other. Most families do it by a simple crest transfer and is fairly uneventful. The Matou however throw their children into a pit of their crest worms for days on end. During this time, the worms make their way inside the person through any and all ways. Yes, they'll even violate the person in the means of doing their job. They then physically change the person from the inside and implant the crest on the person that way. But that is not all, they will then slowly kill the person in return for the crest or any other reason they are implanted. They are constantly needing to feed and will either get their mana by either the person eating someone else or through sexual means. There's more, but I think you get the picture. They basically torture the person until death."

"So you are saying Sakura is currently slowly being killed by these means? That's absolutely terrible!" Mason shouts in anger. How could anyone condemn someone, let alone a kid, to that fate? Sure he has learned that the lives of magus on this planet can be very cruel and harsh, but there should be at least a limit.

"I cannot agree more," Caster comments. "This isn't magic, it's a bastardized imitation of it. Archer, do you have more?"

Archer nods his head, "Sadly I do. Though in my timeline, Sakura stayed in the background during the war along with Zouken, the head of the family. Though Shinji and Rider had a fairly long run, but Saber dealt with Rider in time as I did with her Master."

"Did you ever figure out the truth behind the book?" Mason asks.

"Not fully, no. I have my suspicions, but there's no point of getting into that now. Rider and her Master are staying silent, so I think we can leave them be for the moment." He answers. "Back to Sakura, it wasn't until years after the war Rin and I figured out what was going on. I won't go into much detail of her exact experience since it's super heavy and personal. I'll let her tell you, but I can say that Sakura got weak and eventually was beddridden. We traced it back to Zouken and made plans to eradicate the issue," Archer takes a moment to sigh before continuing on, "But by then it was too late. He drained Sakura for all she is worth and goodbyes aren't even an option. That Shadow you encountered," He tells Mason, "Is under the influence of Zouken. It wasn't much of an issue in my time, only showing up once before Sakura's death, so what it is or can do is still a mystery to me. So if we wish to stop it and save Sakura, Zouken needs to be dealt with first. Holy weapons seem to be able to deal lasting damage to his physical body, but his soul anchor must also be destroyed as well to permanently kill him. Though as you know, it will kill her before he dies."

Mason bites his lip enough to draw blood as Caster mauls over the information trying to find a solution. Archer begins to stand up, but Mason asks one more question. "Is it possible to save her?"

Archer takes a long look before turning grim, "Not without casualties. Whether that be from innocents on the streets or one of us, I can't be certain. However, you are welcome to surprise me if you find another way and may ask me if you have any other questions." He then takes his leave and disappears.

Caster places a hand on Mason's shoulders, "Don't worry Master. You have a magus from the Age of Gods, where magic was at its strongest, in this case."

He gives her a small smile again, "Thanks Caster."

She waves it off, "Like I said, thanks are not necessary. Though like Archer said, there is a good chance people will die if Zouken is as he says."

"Then it is unavoidable," Mason sighs. "Though I have faith in you that those deaths are not one of us."

Caster smiles as well, "Of course. I'm not the princess of Colchis for nothing! Also I must say you willing to let innocents die wasn't what I expected you to say. I figured like your brother, you'd rather take the necessary hard path to avoid it."

"Well while I'd rather no one die, I will accept it if it's necessary." He explains.

"Oh don't get me wrong. It was a surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one. It means that I can work much more easily with you. I do have a neutral evil alignment and am fully willing to let others die to achieve my goals." She pats his cheek once more when she sees the shocked expression from Mason. "In fact if my beloved were still alive as my Master, I would have drained the people of this city dry to get my mana supply."

Mason blinks, "Well that's a revelation I didn't expect."

She laughs, "But then where would the fun be from learning more about others if not by surprise?"

"Fair enough," He replies.

"Glad you agree. Now before you venture off back to bed, I have something for you." Caster pulls out a small satchel from her pocket and hands it to him. "I know your nightmares still plague you, so I made a charm to ward them off. You should get some better sleep with this."

Mason looks the satchel over before placing it in his pocket. "You didn't have to-"

"But I did." She cuts him off. "I haven't been doing nothing this whole time by the way. Sleep is important and both you and Shirou, I made one for him as well, get little of it. If our Masters are not in top shape, then our performance can be hindered. Shirou especially since his untrained mana reservse leave Saber weaker than she should be. Not only that, but you both are the type to rush in and fight personally as well. A well rested body leaves less room for mistakes to be made. Now try to get some sleep and hopefully Rin will recover so we can plan our next move.."

"You alright my apprentice?" Skorr asks when he enters his makeshift treasury at the temple.

"That old bastard caught me off guard," Valia explains, cleaning a gash on her arm. "But next time he won't be so lucky. I have an idea of what he can do and I'll go after him prepared next time."

"I'm sure you will. Did you learn anything at the very least?"

She smiles viciously. "Yes quite a bit actually. First, he controls that shadow thing and that same shadow is an extension of his granddaughter."

He raises a brow, "And what can you tell me about the Matou girl?"

"She's a real catch that one. Has a wicked side and taste for blood that is very reminiscent of my younger self. You'd like her." Skorr grins at that. "Her power level is also fairly strong, almost rivaling the Dark Side. I can tell she is untrained, but her power is strong enough to where it wouldn't matter in a lot of cases."

His grin turns into concern, "If she is as powerful as you say, I hope you have a plan put in place to be rid of her."

"I have one even better, she came to me for help." She finishes placing a bandage on the wound.

"Really? Now that isn't something I expected. Do tell what she wants."

"Turns out she wants the old man dead as much as we do. She wants to be freed from the leash he has on her, in turn she offers pieces of the previous Grail that he kept from the last war." She awaits Skorr's approval in which he doesn't disappoint.

"Yes," He says excitedly. "Yes! If we were to obtain those pieces, we might just have what we need to get the necessary firepower to start the ritual!" Skorr turns to the wall and approaches one of the displays and opens it. Reaching inside, he pulls out a white mask with two red lines each rising from the top of the eye holes. "Soon my Lord Nihilus, you will rise once again and reclaim the glory of the Sith Empire!" He turns back to Valia after placing the mask back down, "I shouldn't have to express that failure will not be an option here. One of Assassin's personas has reported that the Child of Revan and his adopted brother is already forming an alliance against us. I'm willing to give the boy a chance to join us, but I will not wait until it's too late to take the offer off the table."

"Of course my Master," She bows then looks back up to him. "If I may offer a way to get him to join us…"

Skorr's interest is peaked, "I'm listening."

"It would seem that he and the Matou girl wish to be a mated pair. If we were to use her situation against him…" She suggests.

"Yes, yes I can see how that can work. It wouldn't be the first time a Jedi falls to the Dark Side because of attachments," He grins greedly. "Yes, I can already get ideas formulating in my head. This will do nicely."

Rin groans awake at noon the next day. Her eyes are heavy, but opened enough to notice this isn't her room nor it is her house. She panics for a moment thinking she was captured, but when she fully takes in her surroundings she realizes that she is in the Emiya household. Rin sighs in relief. But how she got here is not something she remembers. Archer probably brought her here, which is surprising to her seeing how much he dislikes Shirou. There is definitely a reason for that more than being an opposing Master, but that can be investigated later. For now, she thinks back to the last thing she remembers.

Let's see, I was going home when the Skorr guy attacked with a Berserker, but that couldn't be right since the Einzbern girl summoned it. It's obviously not an Assassin and I already meet all the other classes, so the only logical explanation is that the cult must have found a loophole. It was probably one of the things Caster detected when she investigated the Grail a few days ago. That's not good if they are able to summon more servants than originally allowed. After that, Archer fought Berserker and I fought Skorr. Archer somehow managed to use Caliburn from King Arthur, so would that be who he truly is? Somehow that is not likely since any evidence of the King of Knights points towards Saber. So how did he manage to have and use it? I'll have to confront him about it. Anyways, why was I out of it for? I was knocked down by a slice on my foot, She checks her foot to see it healed with only a faint scar. Caster's handiwork no doubt. Then after blasting Skorr one more time, he… She trails off remembering the lightning. Rin covers herself and freaks out as she can still remember the pain it caused and feels like it is still causing. She curls into a ball trying to shake out the feeling that is reliving the sensation she never wants to relive.

"Rin!" Archer slams open the door as he races to her, taking her in his arms trying to comfort his Master. Caster, Shirou, Mason, and Saber run in after, having been brought by Archer sensing her stress through their telepathic link. "Calm down, you're safe. It's alright now." He rubs her back trying to soothe her. She seems to regain herself a bit until she sees Mason and gets a little freaked by him having the same power and pushes further into Archer's arms. The tanned Servant follows her gaze to Mason who glances at Archer, understanding the unsaid words, and removes himself from the room. Rin steadily paces her breath to a calmer pace along with her racing heart. She then blushes seeing the embarrassing position she is in with her Servant and pushes away.

"T-thanks… Archer…" She mumbles with a tomato red face.

Archer gets a sly but concerned smile, "Well someone has to save you."

"I-I don't need saving! W-what are you saying you baka?!" She stampers out.

"Her tsun is showing big time," Caster whispers to Saber who nods in agreement.

"I am not a tsundere!" Rin denies while pointing at them.

"That's exactly what a tsundere would say Tohsaka-san," Shirou adds.

"I am not a tsundere!" She shouts again.

Caster then says, "Alright we got her out of her strut, cut the teasing for now."

"My strut?" Rin asks before realizing she isn't feeling like she did moments ago. "Argh fine you guys win this round. I feel much better now."

"Enough to be able to talk about it?" Caster asks. Rin nods. "Enough to not have to send my Master away?" Rin doesn't immediately answer, but nods again after a few moments of hesitation. "Good. He said you may have had some mental side effects from the attack and since he is our only expert on the Force, not having him here would do anyone any good." She sticks her head into the hallway, "Master you can come back in, but perhaps keep your distance at first."

Mason steps back into the room which causes Rin to flinch for a moment, so he stays at the doorway. "How are you holding up Rin?"

"I'm fin…" She starts to wave off, but a twitch in her body makes her second guess that. "Actually I'm feeling quite out of it. I can still feel the lightning move through my body at times."

Mason gets a thoughtful look, "Would you be okay if I touch your head and check your body for a moment?" Rin wants to reject that offer, but the magus in her steels her nerves enough to give a slight nod. Mason slowly makes his way to her bed and sits on the edge of it. Archer stays seated beside her offering a comforting hand, which she tries to sneakily take. Mason then places his own hand on her forehead and closes his eyes. Rin immediately feels something from it and jerks back in shock, but moves her head back to let Mason continue. The foreigh feeling returns but unlike the lightning, this is soothing and relaxes her. She feels at ease with it and invites it in closing her own eyes as well. It moves through her body and those twitches she feels die down. A few moments later, Mason removes his head and both of them open their eyes. Those twitches are barely there and very less noticeable.

Rin is unable to put thoughts into words as Caster smiles knowingly. "Incredible isn't it?"

Rin can only agree, "It is. I've never felt anything like that before."

"Truly," Caster nods. "It's powerful, but at peace. Being fueled by it, it's comparable to what magic was like back in the Age of Gods. Perhaps even more so with the serenity it gives off. I know Mason's training was abruptly cut short but if this is what his feels like, I can't help but wonder what a fully trained Force user would be like."

"Well sorry you're stuck with a reject," Mason remarks.

Caster's face loses any trace of joy, "Let me make one thing clear, I will hear none of that talk about yourself. You are not a reject. A reject is someone who is a mistake of this world and you are far from being one. A reject is someone you give your love and trust to, only to have them betray you. Those betrayers are one of the types of mistakes of this world. If you consider yourself a reject, then you might as well forget about saving Sakura since your word is worth shit."

Rin does a double take at the last sentence. "Saving Sakura? What's wrong with Sakura?"

"Um… Well-" Mason starts.

Rin slams her fist down, "God damn it, you better tell me what's wrong with my little sister right now!"

Everyone but Archer jerks back in shock. Mason looks to Archer after he stops being stunned, "You didn't mention that last night."

"Wasn't my place to say," Archer replies.

Rin looks back and forth between them, "Didn't mention last night? What the hell are you two going on about? Archer, what are you telling them?"

Archer takes a glance towards Shirou, "It's not really someth-"

"Archer I swear to God if you don't tell me," Rin raises her arm to show her two remaining command seals, "I'll force you too."

"Rin that would be a stupid waste of a command seal!" Archer shouts in alarm.

She gets furious, "I've already used one to make you to clean up the mess you made when I summoned you, so don't go thinking I'm fucking around here! Now just what were you talking about that makes you so secretive that you can tell others but not your own Master?!"

Archer grows a serious scorn, "Fine! You want to know? Then I'll just tell you everything then! Mason figured out who I was the moment we first met since I share the same Force presence as his brother." It didn't take a genius for the remaining three to figure out Archer's identity. "That's right, I'm a future version of Shirou from an alternate timeline where I became a 'hero of justice' only to find nothing but despair! So I decided to become summoned as a Servant to kill my younger self to prevent that from happening! Caster later figured out who I was when she started training him and realizing how similar our abilities are. As for what we were discussing? Well they found an exhausted Sakura on their doorstep last night after having to find a meal to feed the crest worms in her. Oh by the way, your dear little sister that your family sold off has been raped, viaolated, and tortured for the past ten years by her adopted family and by the crest worms that are slowly eating and killing her! Is that what you wanted to hear?!" The air in the room is at a standstill. No one said anything and nothing made a noise nor did anything move. Everyone was too much in shock by all the information to even attempt anything. Archer takes a few huffs before regaining some form of this normal expression, "If you don't mind, I do not wish to be disturbed for a while. We all need some time to let this settle before jumping into anything." He then dematerializes.

A few moments later Saber then speaks up for the first time, "Archer is right. Nerves are high and we don't need to be jumping into doing anything rash. However if you feel the need to speak respectfully, then I don't see anything wrong with that. Just don't be getting into a heated argument that can easily turn into a death match. That includes you as well Archer!"

The four in Rin's room begin to leave when, "Wait, Emiya-kun."

Both Mason and Shirou turns to her, "What?"

Rin face palms, "Oh yeah I forgot you two share the same last name. Mason-kun, please stay for a moment. I need to know what's all happening with my sister."

Mason arches a brow, "Wouldn't Caster be better? She knows more about magic than I."

"Don't worry, I'll bug her later along with my actually Satan of a Servant. For now, there's something I want your opinion on."

Mason looks to the other three who give their acknowledgement before leaving the two. He takes a chair and pulls it close to the bed. Rin somewhat flinches again with him coming close, "Sorry Mason-kun. Even after what you did for me, I'm still a bit jumpy with you."

"That's quite alright Rin. While the Force can be very peaceful, it can also be very dangerous. Even as a Force user, I fall prey to it many times as I'm sure you probably saw with my nightmares." He says understandably.

"Yeah…" She shudders. "That takes haunted houses to a whole new level."

"Well at least I have one career path of what to do after graduation." Mason jokes getting a soft chuckle out of her.

"I'm not sure how profitable that'll be in the long run," She comments. With the ice breaker, Rin switches to the topic at hand. "Tell me what you know about her." Mason nods and begins to tell her what he knows. Rin can't help but be mortified by it all. "I think I'm going to be sick." Is all she can say by the end.

"If you don't mind," Mason starts. "What's the story about the two of you being sisters?"

Rin looks at him before sighing. "Not pleasant. Well correction, when we were a family we were great. It wasn't until my father sold her off to the Matous that our relationship went out the window. I know you aren't part of the magus world, so I'll fill you in. Typically the first born is the one taught magic and gets the family crest past down to. Any other children are 'backups'. From what I know, the Matous' magical line declined to the point where it was non-existent. To regain it, magus families will usually buy the 'backup' children from other magical families. Such was the case for Sakura. It wasn't even a choice for either of us that she was sent away. All I was told is that I am the only Tohsaka child and I don't have a sister. Our contact was cut and I had no way of knowing what she was doing. I did notice her sense of self died fairly quickly and throughout the entire ten years, all I wanted to do was talk to her as a sister. But my magus pride and faith in my father won over. My father…" She grits her teeth and slams her fist down again. "HOW DARE HE PLACE HER IN THAT KIND OF SITUATION! THAT SELFISH SELF CENTERED BASTARD!"

Rin takes a few breaths before regaining her composure. "For the whole time I never knew how her life was. I figured that me being around her would cause her pain, so I forced myself away believing that me being in greater pain was better for her. But I see now that my pain of being apart from her is dwarfed by what she went through." A tear threatens to leak out, but Rin wipes it away before it gets the chance. Then she turns to Mason with a serious expression. "Be truthful with me, what are your feelings towards her?"

"My feelings?" He asks before thinking it over. It only takes a few seconds, but to Rin it took hours. Mason adopts a determined look when he finds his answer. "I like Sakura. Possibly to the point where the previous Jedi Order would proclaim it to be an attachment. However last I checked, we were attacked and I doubt their influence reaches this far. Path of the Dark Side be damned, I'm willing to take that risk with her."

She gives a relieved smile, "Although I don't understand the Jedi and Force thing, I think the context clues are good enough to know that you are willing to step up for her despite what risks are involved. This is good. If you said something along the line of pity, then I would have had to kill you if you tried."

Mason shakes his head in a grin, "That's an overprotective sibling if I see one."

Rin gives him a shove, "As if you can talk. You and your brother are almost dependent on each other to where it is literally deathly scary. Seriously, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume you both had a bro-con going on."

"Huh? No, ew!" His face is full of disgust which has her dying of laughter.

"That's what you get for you all calling me a tsundere," She states holding her sides.

"Hey, that wasn't me! That was all Caster and Shirou."

"You laughed, guilty of association."

"This is an obvious abuse of power. I demand a retrial!"

"This isn't a democracy nor is it a trial. This is a sentencing."

Mason just stares in shock before erupting in laughter with her. They continue laughing for a few minutes before calming down. "Mason-kun," Rin says, wiping another tear, this time a happier one. "Take care of my little sister."

"I will, although there's nothing stopping you from reestablishing your relationship with her." Mason tells her.

"That would depend on her. I wouldn't blame her if all she thinks of me is abandonment." She replies defeated. But before he can say anything, she claps her hands. "Alright! I need you to leave the room now. I need to change and have a talk with Archer about lying and keeping things from me."

Shirou and Saber are in the living room eating what little leftover lunch Saber didn't get to yet. "Shirou, do you want to talk about it?" She asks, wiping the mayonnaise from the sandwich on her mouth.

"Not particularly," He answers, slipping through the tv channels.

"Are you sure? Finding out there is a future you isn't exactly something one can brush off."

Shirou stops on the news and puts it on mute, "What can I say really? Yeah, finding out that a future version of me lost his way from my goal isn't exactly comfortable hearing, but that doesn't mean that it will happen to me. And the part he said about wanting to kill me, well we never really saw eye to eye anyways and he already blew his chance at killing me back at the church. He hasn't tried since. And though he does occasionally hint at wanting to go through with it, he probably could have while I was sleeping."

"Unlikely," She declares after downing two more sandwiches. "Your room is between mine and your brother's and at least one of us would have intervened if he tried. Plus Caster stays awake as well and most likely has eyes all over the house. This house is the safest place for you."

"Yeah I guess you're right," Shirou agrees. "Except for the Sakura situation."

Saber puts down the last sandwich, losing her appetite, and sports a grim solemn face. "It's truly a terrible fate that has befallen that girl. I haven't had many interactions with her, but she seems like a sweet girl. I can only hope your brother and Caster can save her."

"Of course he can," Shirou says confidently. "While I'm a hero for justice, he is a hero for family."

She puts a hand to her mouth and gives a small giggle, "A hero for family, huh?"

Shirou nods with a grin, "Oh yeah. When we were kids he told me this, 'If you are going to be saving people, then who is going to save you? I will, because a hero will need help when they get in trouble.'"

Saber listens with a smile, "You two really must be close then. Not that I haven't already noticed. The way you are with him during his nightmares and the way he saved you the other says it all."

"What about you? Are you close to your siblings?" He asks her.

What he gets is a sorrowful shake of her head, "Not really. The exact opposite actually. My Sister, Morgan, grew very bitter when I took the throne. She claimed it should have been hers and began plotting my downfall. I still stayed in contact with her to try to mind some kind of relationship, but my duties as king killed what little emotional connection I had. You remember our talk about me having a…" She trails off.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mason says after leaving Rin's room with a mischievous smirk. "One day you'll find a good wife to sheath your sword into-" A plate crashes to the wall next to him.

"OKAY I GET IT!" Saber yells with a red blush. "Haha, a female with a dick, very funny! Now quit it with the jokes or the next thing I throw at you will be Excalibur!"

Mason backs away to the hallway with his hands raised, "Alright I can see I'm not wanted here. I'll just go somewhere else." He turns the corner to leave, but not before facing them one more time. "Also I hope Excalibur isn't what your dic- OOF!" Saber had enough of him as she summons her sword and releases some of the air around it to send Mason flying away. A crash is heard, but Saber doesn't care to check.

"Your brother has a weird knack for appearing at the right for a joke like that," She tells Shirou, putting Excalibur away.

"Yeah, that's sadly a notable trait with him." Shirou agrees.

"Well other than that, I should finish what I was saying." Saber tries her best to push her blush away as she continues, "When I had my 'one use only penis', Morgan got me drunk and used it on herself. Then around ten years later one of my knights, Mordred, said I was his father and wanted to be the heir."

Shirou gets a questioning face, "Hey, hold up, time out now. Did you say ten years?"

She nods, "Yes, it was around there. Why?"

"Well wouldn't that have made Mordred only a ten year old?" He asks.

"I guess it would, though he had the body of a grown person and always had the armor on." She then gets thoughtful, "Actually he may have been a girl now that I think about it. During our fight, the helmet was broken and a familiar face appeared. It almost was like looking into a mirror for a second. Only difference was that the hair was a bit paler than mine. Mordred looked just like a clone of me, and I had no doubt that he was an offspring of Morgan and I. Most likely he was a homunculus to make up for the years. His gender is irrelevant now in any case since he said he was a man and never said anything different. I refused to make him king and I guess he threw a rebellion. Though looking back now, I could have explained it better. In our last fight, he asked if I refused to make him king just because he was a spawn from Morgan. Maybe if I told him that it wasn't earlier than maybe my kingdom would have lasted longer.

"I wasn't great at reading the emotions of people and I'm still not much better. It's one of the reasons my relationship with Lancelot is down. He wanted to be punished for falling in love with Guinevere, but I didn't give it to him. Instead I just looked away and allowed it to happen without saying anything. Our fight in the last war, I talked to him during it and did my best to do what was needed. Hopefully it did something or else when we confront him again I'm not sure what else to do. No offense Master, but I'm weaker with you than I am with your father from the last war, and he outranks me with a sword. I only won our last fight because his Master died and he ran out of mana to sustain himself."

"Well you do have me to help," Shirou offers.

She gives him a soft smile, "That's good to know, though you still have much to learn about both swordplay and your magic. I can't have you get close and personal with the best swordsmen from my round table with madness enhancement."

"That I know all too well, though I do have my skills with a bow. And it obviously must be good enough if a version of myself ended up in the Archer class."

She nods along, "That you do. Even if you might not be able to deal much damage, you'd be able to disturb him at the very least which would give me a chance to take advantage of those openings. That is assuming if the cult would allow you to join my fight with him. Skorr made sure to keep Rin from helping Archer afterall."

"Well that is something I didn't think about." Shirou admits being unsure what else to offer. He then just decides to change topics, "You know you mentioned that you weren't able to do emotions that well, but you managed to read me just fine."

"Well um that's because of a different reason. It's easy to read someone I have an interest in…" Saber comments up with a little blush. "But I'm better now mostly because of Irisviel."

"You knew Mom as well?" Shirou asks with great interest.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot I only told your brother and not you yet." She tells him. "She was my decoy Master while your father hid in the shadows doing his sneaky backstabbing stuff." The spite is not hidden in the slightest on the last part. "I ended up spending more time with her than him. Irisviel was a lovely woman and I dare say we could have easily become friends if things were different. I honestly don't see what she saw in your father, but she was very devoted and loved him dearly. Your father and I shared the same ideals, but not the methods. Honestly I would have rather just been her Servant instead. Maybe then she might have lived." Saber says with some remorse.

Shirou stretches his arm over the table and takes her hand, "I'm sure Mom would have gladly become friends with her. And though I never knew the Magus Killer, I do know my father would have rather she not have died as well. He told us one of the reasons he agreed to take the place as the Einzbern Master in the last war was to prevent Nee-san and Mom as the Grail vessels."

Saber takes his hand and thumps the back of his hand, "I have failed Irisviel, but I will not fail to protect her children. That goes for you, your brother, and your sister, even if the last one wants you dead."

"Good," He replies with a smile. "Because I don't plan on failing them either." They remain this way as they look into each other's eyes. Shirou can't find a way out of her emerald eyes and Saber has an equal experience in his amber. A faint blush creeps its way up on both their faces, but neither notices. Time meant nothing for them at that moment.

"Ahem," However, time still meant something for everyone else. They break away to see an amused smile from Caster. The blushes they didn't notice flare much more. Mason comes up behind Caster with a smirk of his own, "Were they doing the thing?"

Caster nods with a chuckle, "Yes they were. They really tuned the world out for a moment. You hear stories about it, but never see it in person. It was quite something."

"Um, is there something you guys need?" Shirou asks, trying to deflect the conversation elsewhere.

Mason decides against teasing too much after being flung earlier and answers the question. "Well I figured enough time has passed and we needed to actually plan our next move."

"Our next move?" Shirou asks, which Mason points to the muted TV. Shirou unmutes it after seeing it's a news reporter standing near a crater in town. Rin comes in with Archer and they all settle around the room to listen in.

"As you can see, this is just another attack that took place just hours ago." The reporter gestures around her. "This makes it the second within the night and in much worse conditions. While the first had injured survivors, this left none within the blast radius. Police believe this attack is linked to the first since there were similar armed men seen fleeing the area after the explosion. Police also are now believing that this is a terrorist attack and believe more may yet to come. As such, schools will be closed and the city puts in place a curfew during the hours of 9pm to 6am for the foreseeable future. People are advised to have at least one other person with them if you leave your homes. The Fuyuki News will continue to keep you updated on this situation as-" Shirou places it back on mute and turns to the others.

"Don't the mages of this world usually have a handle on the activities of the Grail War? This seems as if it's anything but," Caster asks Rin.

The Second Owner rests a hand on her chin, "That would mostly be in the fake priest's department. Normally the seven Masters agree to fight in out of the way places or minimize damages to make easily fibbed stories. However I think we know that the cult cares little for the rules of this world, and letting the general public to believe it's just a series of terrorist attacks is probably the best option do go by. That being said, if we let the cult continue then it's very likely the world of the magus will be brought to light and the outcome of that would not end well. It would start numerous wars between countries trying to get something for themselves and wars against magus in fear for what we can do. That's the best case scenario and I'd rather not see what the worst case is. We need to stop the cult before it's too late. They matter a whole lot more than some wish of the Grail."

"I can't agree more," Saber comments. "But with them able to summon more Servants, we'll need all the help we can get."

"Are you suggesting we ally with the other Servants and Masters?" Rin asks.

"Yes," Saber replies. "A temporary one at the very least. In the last war, multiple Masters and Servants allied with one another to stop a very serious threat that also could have exposed the magus world."

Rin sighs, "What even is this war anymore? Whatever, sure, let's try that. Who are we going after first?"

"If I may suggest," Archer finally chimes in. "Berserker and his Master would be the best first pick given it's the only pair we know who the Master is and where they are. Plus if we can get them on our side, then having Berserker might be the leverage we need to convince Lancer and Rider's Masters."

"What of Assassin?" Saber asks.

"Assassin was summoned by me when I had my beloved as my Master. He died shortly before the cult attack on the temple where I then fell under Mason's care," Caster explains.

Rin arches a brow, "The cult killed Assassin? Even if it is the weakest class, humans shouldn't have been able to do that easily."

"No, I don't think they did. Sakura and I seen Assassin's body before it disappeared. It looks as if something came out instead of the wound leading internally." Mason adds in.

"So we potentially have a rogue Assassin running around with or without a Master." Archer says. "Though I doubt it's the latter since they don't have a skill to survive that long without one. If he did find a Master, then where are they? Surely with us having three Masters, one of us would have encountered them."

"Do you suppose Shinji ran into Assassin? It might explain why the book disappeared."

Archer shrugs, "It's possible. Shinji was unremarkable in my war so getting an easy kill wouldn't be that far fetched." He then holds a hand up when Mason opens his mouth again. "Before you ask, I know nothing about the new Assassin. I only know about the one Caster had. There was no chestburster in my war."

"That does bring up another point though," Rin goes in. "Do you know the Masters of the other Servants?"

"Rider I have my suspensions, but that's all they are now. Lancer on the other hand had two Masters. His original Master was Bazett Fraga McRemitz, but Kotomine ends up killing her on the first day of the war and stealing her command seals. He is now Lancer's Master." The servant explains, much to the dismay of the Emiya brothers and Saber.

"Figures he finds a way to be more involved in the war than he should be," Rin remarks. "Seeing how he did help teach me, I'd say I have the best chance of talking to him than the sons of the Magus Killer."

"Agreed," both brothers said in unison. Shirou keeps talking, "Though it'd be best if you didn't go by yourself in case the cult attacks you again."

Rin gets frustrated, but relents. "My pride is hurt, but the outcome of my fight says I can't argue that fact."

"Alright I guess we have it settled for now?" Mason asks the group. "We first talk to Illya then Rin will meet with Kotomine, with some extra muscle, then we narrow down Rider's Master and possibly Assassin afterwards. We all agreed on this?" Everyone does, "Great, then I suggest we move towards Einzbern Castle when everyone is ready."

"What about Sakura?" Rin asks before everyone leaves.

"She will be safest here," Caster answers. "I improved our boundary field and set up for my dragontooth familiars to attack anyone foolish enough to break in. If it is too much, then I can easily teleport myself and others back here. Does that settle your worries for your sister?"

Rin blushes slightly, "I'm not worried. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget about her. Now I'm going to see if I can dig up spare mana for the empty gems I have left. I know regular spells, but all my big firepower is stored in gems." She then heads off into her guest bedroom with Archer dematerializing along with her.

Shirou then stands, "Well I'm going to dig up a bow and some arrows just in case Nee-san decides to fight before fighting."

"I'll go with you my apprentice," Caster says following Shirou to the shed. "There is something in the workshop I've been making that might prove useful."

That leaves just Mason in the living room as his eye watches Saber pick up the sandwich she didn't finish earlier. With a shake of his head, he heads off into Sakura's room. He knocks before entering and finds her awake. She rolls her head over with a smile, "Hello Mason."

He returns the smile, "Hello Sakura." He closes the door and pulls up a chair next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," She tells him, but he can easily see otherwise.

"You don't have to act tough. I already know the situation with you and the Matou magic." Sakura's smile drops instantly upon hearing that.

"How much do you know?" She asks hestinantly.

"Just that you were thrown into a pit of crest worms when you were little and had horrible stuff happen to you since and am currently suffering from it. Possibly dying as well." Mason sums up.

Sakura quietly sighs to herself. Good, he doesn't know about Rider or Me. Though now he knows I am nothing but a defiled girl with nothing to offer. "I'm sorry Mason."

Mason gets confused, "Sorry? What are you apologizing for?"

"Because I have nothing left to offer. I am corrupted and defiled. My body can't be offered to you as a virgin." She explains defeated. However she is surprised when he takes her hand.

"That won't change anything. If anything it is I who have nothing to offer. All I am is a broken survivor of a war far from here with potentially dangerous night terrors. Sure I have the Force, but it is a double edged sword. I can use it, but it can easily be used against me and my loved ones." He tells her.

She sits up with a frown, "There is nothing broken about you. If there is then I will find the pieces to stitch it back together."

He locks into her eyes, "And there is nothing corrupted about you. If there is then I will find a way to cleanse it."

Sakura looks down, "If we both are focused on fixing each other then we may end up becoming something other than what we are."

"Or perhaps we are the missing pieces to each other's puzzle," Mason offers instead.

"Well I can at least give in to that," She says with a soft smile.

He gives a quick chuckle, "This isn't how I intended on this conversation going, but it is pleasant."

"It is," Sakura agress before tilting her head in question. "Though how did you plan on this going?"

"Well I was going to say that we were planning on visiting my sister in order to get her to join our side."

Her eyes go wide, "What? But don't you remember what happened the last time you guys met? Senpai almost died and you did too just to save him. You can't put yourself in danger like that."

"But I have to. The cult is getting really dangerous and we need all the help we can. She might have tried to kill us, but I believe we can talk to her. We'll be back later tonight," Mason explains.

"Even if the cult is dangerous, facing a magus on their home turf is suicide!" Sakura protests.

Mason stands up and drops her hand. "I know, but we have very little choice. I promise I'll be back later and perhaps we can have a better talk about us."

Sakura wants to protest more, but goes against it. "Alright, but you better come back like you promised."

He places a hand on her cheek, "I will. Everything will be fine." They say their goodbyes and Mason leaves her room. It wasn't how he wished the conversation went, but seeing her acting better than this morning sets his mind at ease for the moment.

He finds the others in the living room with Caster holding three armbands. She sees him coming and motions him over. "Ah, good you finally emerged Master. I was afraid we would have come to get you and found you in a compromising position." A fearsome blush forms on his face as she laughs. "You're too easy, Master. Now come, I have something for you, Rin, and Shirou." Mason joins them as Caster hands the armbands to each of them. "These are mystic codes I've been working on after our fight against Berserker. They create a suit that can protect A rank magic and a few of hits from Servants. Now just because I said that they can protect you from a couple hits doesn't mean you should charge straight at Servants halfcocked. It is meant to mostly keep you alive long enough for one of us to come. Each is coded to each of you and will be activated when you want it. It will take a form that comes natural to you. Go ahead and try it."

The three Masters give each other a questioning look before placing the armbands on and activating it. Within seconds, it expands and covers them to fit their bodies. Rin's form a red and black bodysuit with white outlines all over it (based on her Extra Encore suit). Archer thought Shirou would become something like he is wearing, but while Shirou gets a black under armor, he gets a white sleeved top that drapes on his shoulders and fastens on his chest (based on Muramasa second ascension clothes). Mason gets a white form-fitting plate armor with a black body glove. "Of course I would get the style of clone armor…" He mumbles as he looks down at himself. "Though I can't deny it does look good."

"Clone armor?" Rin asks curiously.

Mason looks at her, "It's just what we call the armor that went with the Republic's military troopers in my previous galaxy. It was made up of clones, which hints at the name."

"Okay, but the government used clones? They basically used an army full of homunculus?"

"Hmm, not quite. Clones and homunculus are both similar and different. There's a whole segment I can go on with them, but it'd be like picking out straw from a pile of hay." Mason deactivates the suit to return to being an armband. "This seems to work great so far. Thanks Caster." The other two follow suit.

Caster waves off the incoming thanks, "I'm pleased to be praised, but it's no matter to me. You all are the most valuable to us, and we can't have you dying on us. Now come, let's head to the homicidal elder sister and hope we don't need to field test them so soon."

The group of six heads out the door leaving Sakura to herself. She sits in her bed as she thinks about what the group is doing. They probably don't notice the extra signature tagging behind them, and she hopes it stays that way. She gets up and heads to the mirror on the wall. "Why must Mason be difficult? Because he doesn't truly understand yet. Doesn't understand that he should stay. He needs to come back and let me take care of him. There is no safer place for him than by my side. He has no need for an older sister who hasn't cared for him just like me. Older sisters are nothing but troublesome. They do nothing and cause only pain. Anything can go wrong when he tries to meet with her. Like an accident that causes her to no longer be needed. But Mason is right, the cult will be a problem in time. Especially if they get what they want. Which is why I don't plan on upholding my end of our deal after they kill off that old geezer. I'll be free and can kill them afterwards. I still haven't gotten that snack I wanted last night. Snacks will be a thing to worry about later. For now, all I need is Mason to come back to me." Sakura smiles viciously into the mirror. "What I need is Mason to be in a condition that will allow me to care for him. Then I can nurse him back to health then he will understand that only I can keep him safe. Only I can give him love. Mason will be mine. He is mine!"

Author's Note:

Oh hey I'm back again so soon. What can I say other than I was in a Fate mood and wanted to ride that train instead of wasting it by pushing it aside to write my other fic. Which seems to have paid off since this chapter is the most I've ever written. Though the next chapter won't come till next month since I will be writing on my other one. Anyways, this chapter is mostly just a emotionally impacted one with a spice of action in the beginning. I couldn't find much on Archer's backstory than it vaguely following the original fate route without the happy ending with Saber. So I took liberties of filling in some of it. Some might argue that Saber is more skilled that Lancelot, but from what I can dig up, he is known has the most skilled duelist on the Round Table and the fight from Zero between them showed as much. I do believe that Lancelot could have won that fight if his Master didn't die. Though I will concede that in terms of overall strength, Saber has the edge over Lancelot and would have won if she was able to go all out. But that is a subject to get into another day since this note would be long as hell. Lastly the mystic codes, yes I know it a bit weird but this is a mage from the Age of Gods after all. If she can make a luck charm in Carnival Phantasm that can bend the world in a very crazy way and buff her master to go toe to toe with Saber, then she probably can create suits to protect the three Masters.

Keybladelight: Like I said in a earlier chapter, there is a plan for Lancelot other than him being a character just to be thrown in here. And I'm glad you liked Mason and Archer interactions. Family to the Emiya is important and can be seen easily in most fate adaptations with them. Sakura, in her twisted personality ways, does have her own agenda and sees the Sith the same way they see her. And depending on their actions, Mason may find himself where he doesn't want to be. But who knows what that will be? Oh, right that would be me... For the rest, be patient. All will be revealed soon. Also I liked your idea about Rin being more wary about the Force and incorporated it into the story.

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