It wasn't teleportation, per se. Charles could feel that he was being transported through physical space, but the world around him was nothing but an inky void, and just as his feet weren't touching the ground, neither could he reach out and grab onto anything.

Ten minutes later, he'd almost gotten bored. Like a curtain being raised, the world returned to normal and he was in a library. Shelves stacked with books seemingly went on forever, and magician's tools dangled from the roof, seemingly suspended by nothing. The unnamed Servant was a ways away from him, waiting for him to recover.

"Where.. Is this?" he asked.

"You have entered the belly of the beast, O Master, or should I say, the beast dragged you in? This is my own contractor's Workshop, her preferred area of abodement, the place in which she-"

"I know what a Workshop is. And you. What do I call you?"

The Servant stroked his beard. "You may call me Caster, for that is my Class in this Holy Grail War. Although, I suppose I shouldn't have told you even that? Ah, well! My tongue, as much as it flaps, can not help but slip on the occasion."

"Caster, I told you not to give anything away just yet," came a voice from an adjacent room. "Bring him in."

Caster looked down at Charles. "Well? Get up, and make haste, young man. My Master awaits."

Charles got up, for he only then realised he was flat on his backside, and after dusting himself off, ventured into the next room. This one was better lit, and much warmer than the cold library. If anything, it reminded him of his living room back home.

In the centre of the room, by the fireplace, sat a young woman, around his age, with black hair and the brightest blue eyes. Obviously Oriental in background, she was dressed in a nightgown, as if already getting ready for bed.

Charles kept his distance even though there was an open chair next to her.

"Greetings, Master of Saber," she said, gesturing to the chair. "Please, sit. You have my word I won't lay a hand on you until the War begins."

It was the same thing Caster had said just moments ago. Against his better judgement, Charles obliged, sitting across from her.

The woman sipped her tea. Charles blinked. Where had that come from?
"Typically, before trading blows, we Masters make an effort to research the competition. A few of us are rather up in arms, you know?"

"Why's that?" Charles asked.

"Why, because not one, but two magi of the same backwater, second-rate family have decided to take up spots in this esteemed ritual of ours. Not only that, but they both decided to summon their Servants early. One, we accepted, out of respect for the de facto victor of the Cairo ritual. It is only natural that their offspring should be given the opportunity. Two is taking away a position from blood of more… esteem."

She settled her gaze on him. "Do you know who I am?"

Charles smiled grimly. "With those looks and the high and mighty attitude? You'd be from the Tohsaka family. Pleased to meet you, for what it's worth."

"Akira Tohsaka."

"Charles, Yaranes. It's always a pleasure to meet with one of the Founding Families," he said earnestly, offering his hand for her to shake. She didn't. "And I couldn't agree more, Miss Tohsaka. One Yaranes is more than enough for this competition, and you can be assured, my brother will be my first target. But you could've made your disdain for me clear over long-distance communication. What do you want of me?"

"I want to know if you're going to be a threat, Charlie."

Charles' eye twitched. She'd already figured out how to push his buttons.

"You don't seem to be having an easy time breaking your Servant in. Though I don't recognise your Saber… I do know that your family had a particularly powerful catalyst. A shard of the Round Table! How such bumpkins gained access to such a thing is beyond me, but still." She delicately ate a slice of her cake, and- where does she get all this food from?!

"She certainly doesn't carry herself like a dignified knight. And as you can see, my own Servant… Well, he certainly has a winning personality and a bit of a home advantage, but…"

Her Servant materialised in front of them, giving a theatrical bow. Charles jumped, having not even remotely sensed his presence.

"It is true! In terms of combat, I am completely useless! My purpose, if I can be frank, is to record this clash of legendary figures! My only wish, for my newest work to be read the world over! My Master… I could not wish any companion but you to aid me in this goal!"

"He's useless," Akira sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Quite frankly, I'm embarrassed. Please, be quiet, William."

"William?" Charles echoed. "William… William Shakespeare?!" He shot to his feet. He knew that he'd be coming face to face with legendary figures from humanity's history, but there was still a part of him that couldn't believe it. Frankenstein was a story he knew well, but the William Shakespeare?!

"I… I'm a fan. A huge fan!" Charles stammered. "Can I have your autograph?" He turned to Akira. "Can I have his autograph?!"

She only gave him a wary look. "Yare, yare. I knew I should've gone with the younger brother."

This snapped Charles out of his fanboy stupor, leaving him slightly offended. "Hey. Fine, I'll pay attention. Answer me this - what's the Tohsaka family doing with a weak - sorry - underpowered Servant like William Shakespeare? I've seen the history - as one of the Founding Families, you've consistently had access to one of the Knight Classes. What gives?"

Akira hesitated. "Well… I…" she mumbled something in the opposite direction.

"What? Speak up, Miss Tohsaka."

"I… didn't exactly have my family's support, either. If I ended up summoning the Servant with the closest compatibility to my own, what of it?"

"And… that's him? I don't see it."

Akira crossed her arms. "Should I be offended?"

"No, no. So, you're broke, and you want to make an ally of me? What about the Holy Grail? Only one Master can have their wish granted once the Association has their way with it."

To this, the girl simply giggled and waved him off. "It's quite simple, really. Once we've defeated the other Servants, we have a friendly mage's duel. Non-lethal, of course. The loser will cut their contract with their Servant, giving them a painless end, and the victors will make their wish on the Holy Grail. It's rather convenient, is it not?"

"What do I get out of accepting this?" Charles asked.

"Well, for starters, I think you'll be easier to work with than your brother. I… had the pleasure of speaking with him a week ago."

"Ah, don't go too hard on James. He's a good kid. Just a bit spoiled," Charles sighed. "Secondly?"

Akira Tohsaka shrugged. "What can I say? Maybe I relate a little. To be spurned by family, it's something I can relate to."

"Yeah. I mean… no offence, but your mother's a big deal. And she'd have a stake in making sure this Holy Grail War goes as smoothly as possible. Does she really feel comfortable just leaving you to your own devices, without any support?"

Charles wasn't a massive magus genealogy buff, but of course he'd heard of the Tohsakas. Though their history wasn't as extensive as some of the more prestigious families, her ancestor, Nagato Tohsaka, was still a disciple of the legendary Wizard Marshall Zelretch, and along with the Matou and Einzbern families had developed the seemingly impossible Heaven's Feel that this Holy Grail War was based on. Akira's mother, Rin Tohsaka, was the de facto winner of the fifth final Fuyuki Grail war. Most acknowledged her as one of the prodigies of her generation, though what actual research she was working on was completely unknown to him.

Akira nodded. "That's just how it has to be, in accordance with Mother's will. That being said, Charlie-" Her eyes turned hard. "This Holy Grail War… It's extremely important. The right person needs to be victorious so the right wish is made, and to that end, I promise to make you an extremely rich man if I can count on your assistance. All the resources, facilities and time in the world to carry out any research you want are as good as yours for life if we win this."

Charles took a deep breath, thinking for a moment. "Tempting. What I want from the Holy Grail is a little beyond what you can promise, Miss Tohsaka, but I'll consider your offer. You have a phone number, right?"

Akira nodded.

"Great." He scrawled his number on a bit of spare notepad and tore it off, giving it to her. "Call me in a few days, then. But… Why me, of all people? I know you have your 'grand cause,' but even so, there must be other families with finer Master candidates than me."

Akira gave him a small smile. "It's a matter of trust, Charlie. I'm glad that my intuition has led me to the right person so soon. If you must know… It's because I can tell that you don't want anything. You're happy to stay in your Workshop and tinker with your golems and your chemicals. You don't feel the need to change the world. With your brother here, I assume participating in this Holy Grail War is a matter of pride more than anything, right?"

Charles nearly blushed. "Wow. You've got me figured out. It was good meeting you, Miss Tohsaka. And… Mr Shakespeare. Wow."

"Forsooth!" Caster smiled widely, shaking Charles' hand profusely. "It is always the highest joy to meet an enthusiast of my work. Pardon my asking, but could you tell me your favourite? Would it be Romeo and Juliet? No, no, no, you strike me as a lover of King Lear!"

"Julius Caesar, actually," Charles grinned. "It's… wow. Great meeting you." He felt like an idiot, repeating himself over and over again.

"William will show you out, Charlie. Think about my offer." With that, Akira left the room, and the Servant William Shakespeare was left to show him out of her home.

Caster dropped Charles off in the middle of the Kensington Gardens. He couldn't tell exactly where Saber was, but the feeling of the bond between them growing more defined over time told him that she was closing in on him.

Green lightning split the evening calm, and Saber arrived, tearing up the ground as she did so. Her eyes were wild and her breathing was ragged. Charles couldn't help but take a step back.

"Saber…?" he said softly. "Calm down. Everything's alright."

"Enemy… Servant."

"Just breathe, Saber. It's over."

"I'll… end him… I'll… kill…" she ranted.

"Saber! Calm down!" Charles barked.

Raising his voice seemed to do the trick. The fog over her eyes liftened and her expression softened, until the lightning around her stopped crackling and the night once again grew still.
"Master…" Calming down, she took a couple of steps closer and cleared her throat. "You're safe, Master. I'm glad."

"Good to see you too, Saber. I've got a lot to explain, I know."

"I don't like it," was the first thing to leave Saber's mouth after Charles finished explaining his encounter with the Tohsaka Master. Charles' mother had always told him that the best way to break bad news was over a hot cup of tea, so he'd waited until they'd gotten home to tell her. Too bad that Victor Frankenstein's monster didn't like tea. Or anything else too warm, for that matter.

"Only temporarily, until we've defeated all the other combatants. Besides, this is good for us. We still need to complete your Noble Phantasm, and we very well might go up against some serious threats." Charles put on the most positive face he could.

"With him on support and you on the offence, we'll be an extremely well rounded team. Plus, you could twist him in half if you wanted to. He's really a pushover once you get to know him."

"I… can't support you alone?" Saber's eyes narrowed. "You… doubt me?"

Charles shook his head. "I'm doubting my abilities as a Master, Saber. You're the best Heroic Spirit I could've asked for, but… well, I'm still part of this team, and I don't want you to go down for it."

Of course he doubted her abilities. With her lack of an offensive Noble Phantasm, relative lack of Mystery and the very real possibility that he wouldn't be able to control her battle rage, their changes of victory were looking lower and lower by the day. But saying that wouldn't exactly be great for her morale.

"Miss Tohsaka will cover our weaknesses. Besides, once all the dust has settled, her Caster will be easy pickings for you."

Saber hesitated. "But, Master… That Caster… I don't remember, but…"

"Maybe you fought him in another Holy Grail War. It's certainly possible. But, hey. That was then and now is now. We have to work together for the good of all of us. You have a wish to make on the Holy Grail, don't you?"

Saber nodded.

"Then you'll work with me," he said firmly.

Saber crossed her arms. "Not happy."

"It's okay, Saber. I'll protect you. Trust me, okay?"

Charles had given her his most winning smile, but she only backed off. "Good night, Master. I will watch over you tonight."

"Huh? Saber! We were going to do some more work on your Noble Phantasm!" he called after her.

But she'd already left.