Chapter 61: Shuffled Deck

I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs.

o. o. o.

He had known it was a trap before he had stepped out the front door to follow the woman that claimed to be a representative of the Department of Policies.

Whether or not she really was from the Clocktower was irrelevant. After the shit show that was the Fifth Grail War, Fuyuki should be on lockdown. Not a damn person from any major organization should be allowed into Fuyuki without explicit clearance from the Association or the Tower, which subsequently would be forwarded to Rin or Merem for confirmation. Even if that was the case, the two would be informed if anybody would come for business with him and let him know ahead of time.

Rin and Merem had not contacted him about any guests from the Association. Hence, this woman, or those behind her at least, were not playing by the books. It was as simple as that.

And, in the rare circumstance that he did actually need to be contacted privately in some way by the Vice Director, it sure as hell wouldn't be in as sloppy a way as this.

She was a rather uninspiring sight. Late thirties, early forties. European decent. Medium length wavy brown hair. Glasses. She looked more like a mother more than a Magus, though she certainly carried herself like the latter. He'd wager that she was a nightmare at PTA meetings.

A brief structural grasping indicated that her clothes were concealing a handful of uninspiring mystic codes. Petty offensive and defensive tools that paled in comparison to what he could conjure and what Sirius could make while blind drunk at four in the morning. It wasn't an analogy either. He had seen the old bastard makes some pretty horrifying things over the years while on the tap.

"I hope this meeting won't take long. I still have some obligations to oversee," he drawled while slipping a hand into the breast of his long coat and appeared to scratch his chest. In reality, he had preemptively manifesting a copy of Natalia just in case, hooking it around a specially made loop of leather that wouldn't be cut by his blade's innate curse.

In his other hand, still in his pocket, he began periodically making cheap copies of random small knives before dismissing them. Meaningless trinkets that normally wouldn't do much in a fight, but he didn't intend to use them for that.

"I bet you do. No doubt Lady Barthomelloi has you working quite extensively given the circumstances." The woman smiled politely. It was a practiced fake thing that would fool nobody with experience in politics. However, he let it pass. Her actions were standard for one of her supposed position, and not to be taken as an insult.

"If it were up to her, I'd be leading the charge with half of the other Servants to take out an Apostle Ancestor by now." He shook his head. A bit of a stretch of the truth, but not one that was missed by anyone that knew of Lorelei's habits.

The woman held back an amused laugh. "Oh my. And here we thought that your relationship was more tenable than what many assumed."

Shirou snorted sarcastically. "I said she'd have me leading the charge, didn't I? As far as she's concerned, it would be an honor to lead a force that powerful against such a vile and hated enemy."

He wasn't joking either. Lorelei Barthomelloi was a noblewoman to her very bones, but the moment an opportunity to hunt down an Apostle Ancestor reared its head, she'd make it a point to call dibs on being the one to have first crack at them, lead the charge, and or draw first blood.

Truth be told, if she ever did order him to take such a position against a DAA, he genuinely wouldn't know if she intended for him to be her representative or battle, or expect him to die in the process.

Probably both with all the headaches he's caused her recently. He wouldn't blame her for it either.

"Fufu. Well, when you put it that way. Though I do admit you would make quite the sight. Forgive me, but I had thought you were still recovering from the War. Word was your face was quite, altered."

He laughed humorlessly. Indeed, he had not bothered to cover his face this time around, though that was more out of practicality than anything. She had already seen him when he opened the front door.

He made an eccentric show of covering the left side of his face with his hand, and then pulling it away to reveal his fanged and scaled skin. "You mean this?"

He had to be careful with his tongue when he talked like this. His teeth were razor sharp and he still wasn't used to his mouth being warped like this yet.

To her credit, the woman didn't flinch or falter. She merely blinked in some slight surprise. "Oh dear. That, is quite an extensive injury."

He repeated the action of his hand over his face and returned his flesh and bone to "normal", channeling some mana noticeably so that she noticed it. No doubt she would assume he had casted some mystery to hide his disfiguration. "It is. And there aren't enough diverse words in the English or Japanese dictionary for me to fully express what it was like getting it."

"I shall take your word for it…" she trailed off as she glanced at an upcoming alleyway that bordered some local stores and some fenced off abandoned lots. A convenient location for a private meeting, or other activities. "In here."

His silver eyes glazed over the seemingly unassuming space as if there was nothing special about it.

There was a person hiding by one of the second story windows of the third building. They weren't stupid enough to stand right next to it and risk getting caught, but nobody would normally be situated in such an odd position this late at night. A simple enough mistake, but one that betrayed their intention.

The seemingly empty lot to the right was more interesting. There were around ten bodies hiding in the tall grass. He couldn't tell if they were magi or familiars, but it was enough to clearly indicate that this meeting was not likely to resolve peacefully.

Two steps into the alleyway, his hand in his pocket clenched onto nothing instead of a new dagger.

He wished he could say he was surprised.

"Let's see. What exactly is their bounded field interfering with?" It was an open secret by now that he specialized in Gradient Air by now, and a good quarter of his processes had been exposed over time to the Tower to show that he was actually a Magus worth something, but that didn't mean that his craft could be countered so easily.

Starting from the beginning, his general proficiency with Structural Grasping was... still there, surprisingly. He had half expected them to try and interfere with his ability to map out and generate precise schematics within his mind. Then again, direct mental interference is rather easy to detect. They probably didn't want to risk getting caught right off the bat.

If the blueprints weren't being interfered with in some way, then it must be with the execution of the spell itself then. His mana must be being disrupted somehow while casting, preventing it from taking proper form and concept. Normally this was an easy workaround for most magi, since their skillsets were more diverse. He wasn't most magi, unfortunately. He'd have to deal with this for the time being.

Then again, this setup alone was a tell that these people had been working with limited resources. Generic mana interference spellcraft was far easier to set up than mental interference, but it was also a double edged sword, and would prevent them from using any major spells as well. Odds are they'd stick to familiars and mystic codes if things got messy. Objects with physical mediums to enact their mysteries.

"And just to check… yeah. Looks like they've set up a field to block my connection to Saber too." He sighed, more out of disappointment than anything. These idiots were not being subtle in the slightest. Sure they were cutting him off from his strengths, but it would have been so much more effective if they had waited to enact those parts of the field.

Amateurs. They probably thought that they could block him summoning Saber in an emergency with a Command Spell if he needed to.

From what he could see so far, he didn't need to.

Oh well. More for him to exploit then. Not like he was going to call them out on it like a brash idiot.

He was well past the building with the magus on the upper floors before the woman finally stopped. "We're here. Allow me to introduce my compatriots. Xander Galliasta, third in line of the Galliasta family, and his bodyguard, Finrel."

Two finely dressed men stepped out of the shadows a good ten meters away. A pale tall slim Northern European man in a standard business suit and short cut blonde hair in his early forties, and a handsome slightly shorter man of distinct Middle Eastern descent with wavy dusk brown hair and a tan that unfortunately reminded him of Fina, only much younger and softer.

Galliasta. Shirou recalled that name with some minor annoyance. Whenever he or Sirius tried tracking down the missing samples of the Angra Mainyuu curse that they had sent out for research or examination when Kiritsugu had still been alive, their name had a suspicious habit of always turning up at some point. Normally shortly before the trails conveniently went cold.

A rather ambitious family of magi from the Middle East, to put it politely. They had a habit for exploiting their skills, and people, with curses to further themselves in the mundane and moonlit world. They had been pushing to increase their powerbase in the Clocktower for the past couple of decades, and more than a few groups were wary and annoyed by their activities. But, as with most organizations and cultures, money has a way of keeping people quiet.

"Shirou Emiya. The Magus Killer himself. The Queen's Silver Dog." Xander, the shorter tan man smiled like a predator but made no move to approach him. His English was a bit heavy with an accent that Shirou couldn't identify, but not enough to prevent him from understanding what was said. "My brother actually tried to get into this very War, only to lose his opportunity at the last moment. Given what has transpired, I can only say that he had the devil's luck, even if he will never admit it, the fool. If even half of the rumors and claims about you are true, then by all rights half of this very island should be up in flames by now had it not been for your meticulous work. You've made quite a few waves recently, my friend. A very impressive feat for someone as young as yourself."

"And then some, unfortunately." Shirou shrugged helplessly with an exaggerated motion that allowed him to glance behind him. As expected, the person in the building behind him was now exposed and watching him through the window. "I somehow doubt this meeting would be taking place otherwise."

Xander laughed, the gleam in his eyes never dimming. "Hmhm. I suppose that time under Barthomelloi hasn't been a waste after all. You are not a complete backwater fool. Good good. That will make things faster then. Ms. Faucetti. If you would please."

Shirou skeptically looked at the woman next to him, as if wordlessly asking her if she truly expected him to be as gullible as he was being treated.

She smiled politely in turn. Either she was as good as the rest of those in Policies at hiding her thoughts, or she had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on.

His concerns about the woman's loyalties were immediately shunted to the side however when she pulled out an engraved letter sealed shut with the Barthomelloi family's personal sigil.

He no longer felt like humoring his new acquaintances.

"I see you recognize the work of your Master's house." The cocky magus smirked as Shirou slowly took the letter into his hand. "Surely you were taught how to confirm its validity?"

He was. And he already did so just by touching it.

The Barthomelloi were not ones to simply sendoff official and personal missives whenever they wanted to send a message. Much less with their house's sigil, which was in itself an elaborate array disguised in the shape of a crown. While it would only open for the intended recipient, as a Barthomelloi Representative, Shirou had also been trained to read said sigil to spot any potential forgeries or inconsistencies. After all, it would not do if he was fooled by a mere imitation while on official business.

The irony was not lost on him.

That said, even Shirou would have to admit that it was more or less impossible to imitate the seal. The intricacies in the mystery and design infused in each document were so immaculate and refined that even with his absurd Structural Grasping he felt like he was handling an irreplaceable work of art every time he held onto one.

When he had said as much to the Vice Director when examining one for the first time, he almost suspected she had actually been pleased by his words.

Judging from the seal's minute reaction when placed in his hand, a minor change in the design of the crown sigil, it was actually intended for him. That only made matters more concerning as far as he was concerned.

Without showing weakness or any emotion on his face, he broke the seal and opened the parcel. He didn't have to worry about any curses or traps in the letter itself. Official Barthomelloi missives were specifically designed to not function as intended if their contents contained any foreign and "unworthy" mysteries inside, and it would be a cold day in hell before anyone that wasn't a Caster-level Servant could fool that seal without him noticing.

Inside, was a letter that more or less had one of the many situations he had expected.

An order to relinquish Avalon to the Association for proper containment and research. Complete with the Barthomelloi sigil at the bottom again as proof of authenticity.

But no signature from the Vice Director.

"I hope there is no trouble with this turn of events." The man bowed politely. "The management of the artifact you carry is far too sensitive to be discussed over long distances. I was contacted by my associates, Policies, and the Barthomelloi to facilitate the transfer to ensure nothing went, amiss."

"I see." Shirou folded the letter calmly back into the envelope and pocketed it. "This is an official document from the Vice Director's family. I can verify that."

"Then…" The man made the mistake of looking just a bit too eager to see things were progressing as expected.

"However, please do not be insulted if I wish to validate your task." Shirou smiled politely as if nothing was amiss. "After all, this is the first time a missive from the Vice Director's family has ever been sent to me personally. I had always been under the assumption that they would never waste good paper on the family dog."

The alleyway was eerily silent as his words echoed through their ears.

The woman from Policies, Faucetti, slowly stepped away from Shirou, knowing full well that something was amiss. Judging from the way her eyes were darting between the two parties, it was likely that she was not suited for active environments. Not so subtly, she reached for one of the mystic codes she had on her person, but it was one of the defensive ones Shirou had identified earlier so he didn't mark her as his first target.

Xander himself maintained his polite smile, but it was clearly strained. His bodyguard shifted his stance ever so slightly, ready to move at the slightest command. "Is that so? I don't see why that is necessary, Mr. Emiya. Not after you already verified that the message was genuine. As I stated before, matters regarding the artifact of King Arthur himself must be handled with upmost discretion."

"I am quite confident that I can manage discrete, Mr. Galliasta. I would not be a good dog if I was not." Shirou smiled politely while reaching into his pocket with one hand to take out his cell phone.

Xander then did what Shirou half expected the poor fool to do and looked up slightly at a certain spot behind him.

Without even looking, Shirou's free hand whipped back and out instantly, unleashing a rich and majestic golden blur that snapped behind him at inhuman speeds.

"URK?!" The would-be attacker that had been leaning out of the window on the third floor of the building behind Shirou gasped as his neck was ensnared by Enkidu.

It didn't matter that the window frame he had been leaning out of had several bounded fields to hide his position and redirect projectiles coming from the outside. It didn't matter that he had assumed he had hidden himself perfectly from sight and generic magical detection until that point.

The man's location had already been known from the start, and minor magus level bounded fields had no hope of affecting a Noble Phantasm of Enkidu's pedigree. Whatever he had been about to attempt to do to the Magus Killer was stopped dead.

CRACK!

Literally.

"It appears that your efforts for our interaction to remain unknown were insufficient, Mr. Galliasta." Shirou's smile didn't change as the golden chain released its hold on the corpse's shattered neck, falling to the ground and retracting swiftly back under his sleeves like a rapidly moving serpent. Quietly, he pocketed the evidence in the form of a letter. His other hand taking out his cell phone. "Should we relocate, or do you wish to continue the validation of your request?"

"H-how… my bounded field should have…" Xander faltered as what clearly was one of his men was dispatched so carelessly without any effort. It did not help matters that in the barely lit back alleyway, Shirou's silver eyes seemed to glow with a cold shine that belonged more to a predator than a wielder of the arcane crafts.

"Sir." The bodyguard, Finrel took a position in front of his charge.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Galliasta? You don't look too well. Perhaps we should conduct the exchange at another location seeing as this one is clearly compromised. It will give me time to properly contact Policies to ensure that everything is in order." Shirou didn't deviate from his polite demeanor that he had more or less conjured while imagining a bastardized combination of Hiori Adashino's and Rin's confident behavior.

He felt dirty as hell, but then again, tonight unfortunately was not going to leave him clean regardless.

He had the fool's name. He had just taken out the first assassination attempt. And if given time, he would expose this idiot's plan not just to himself but to the Clocktower proper. More importantly, the Barthomelloi would be quite interested in how he got his hands on one of their personal missives.

The man was ensnared in his own poorly constructed trap, and there was only one way out now.

"Gah! Enough of this shallow game of false pleasantries! Kill him before he calls the Clocktower!" The spoiled prince ordered, prompting his bodyguard to pull out and blow a high pitched whistle.

At the signal, roughly a dozen monstrous looking dolls and creatures of all shapes and sizes rushed out of the open lot to the side and charged at Shirou. Some looked like humans, others animals. There were a couple of what appeared to be lion goat chimeras in the batch, surprisingly.

But what stuck out about all of them were the horrendous condition they were in. Very little fur and hair were on any of them, replaced with fetid and sore flesh, festering wounds, pus and zombie like gashes littered their bodies. They were amalgamations of diseases, poisons and…

"Divine Curses. So that's where Dad's samples went." Shirou's fake smile vanished as he reached into his coat and ignored Ms. Faucetti's scream of alarm while she backed away from the mess.

"My family owes you a great debt Emiya! The greatest of curses and soon enough the greatest of artifacts will be in our hands!" Xander boasted as the first beast, one of the chimera, rushed to its target with its diseased maw with only half of its fangs left, open.

It wasn't even difficult for Shirou to toss the grenade down its throat before leaping away at the last moment.

The stupid beast didn't register that it had swallowed anything as it turned to continue hunting its prey. It was just about to leap again before its upper body exploded so violently that both heads flew off in separate directions. Truthfully, it was probably a kinder fate than to just let it live at this point.

Shirou didn't bother to pay the monster any attention as it blew up, instead opting to pull out another grenade and tossing it into the sky as the small army of monsters came down upon him.

Two seconds before they reached their target, the flashbang went off.

A second after that, so did Shirou with the copy of Natalia he had made earlier.

"Trace. On."

Cursed blade in one hand. Divine chain in the other. Body filled with prana. And the enemy was all blinded and deaf.

What occurred couldn't even be considered a fight. Shirou literally butchered and tore his way through the small zoo's worth of corrupted beasts without slowing down. Natalia's curse of Severing all but ensured that whatever he slashed was either split in half immediately or rent so deep that the victim was crippled and could not retaliate properly.

Likewise, Enkidu either ensnared any unfortunate beast that got too close, or pulled Shirou in whatever direction he needed at a moment's notice. Combined with his greatly enhanced state from his Reinforcement and it being night time, and it would not be inaccurate to say that he was the true monster in this fight.

That said, Shirou was fairly certain that if Gilgamesh ever found out he was using Enkidu for a petty squabble like this, even if it was a copy, the King of Heroes would have coughed up blood in pure indignation.

With a final swing down with his off hand, the end of Enkidu crushed the skull of a snake he had cut in half earlier but was still capable of spitting projectile venom that he highly suspected was cursed.

And with that…

He jumped away just before Finrel fell on top of him, potentially crushing him if the small crater was any indication.

A blur caught the young assassin's eyes, but he had already jumped back again before the followup attack had even started. A vicious looking tail that resembled a scorpion's lashed out from the bodyguard's backside and nearly impaled Shirou had he not moved ahead of time.

Shirou's eyes narrowed as he saw the organic plating on the appendage. It was an eerie dull pale flesh color that somehow could fit in dark and bright settings, but did not look healthy at all. His eyes could tell that the thick plated cartilage was more than a step above the flesh and bone that he had been tearing into seconds ago, meaning his sword's curse wasn't likely to dice it up in a single exchange

If he had to make a rough guess, the monsters he had just dispatched were the failed experiments, and the guy in front of him was a success. Or at least, what was passed for one.

The two stared down one another for a few seconds, estimating and measuring the other's potential and weaknesses…

And then Shirou struck first, darting forward with his cold eyes nearly hypnotizing the target with their approach.

Finrel didn't waste any time lashing out in a vicious counter attack. The poison at the tip of his tail was derived from the Angra Mainyuu samples stolen years ago in transit, a noxious consolidated curse that would ensure an instant victory on contact. A single blow was all he needed to kill most targets within a few extraordinarily painful seconds. Even a Servant wouldn't be able to walk off getting stabbed by it.

Their exchange went beyond human limitations as both parties lashed out at one another with their unique advantages and absurd physical skills. Finrel's tail provided to be a vicious threat as it darted and stabbed rapidly, and yet each strike was almost easily avoided, deflected, or countered by Shirou with either the sword in his one hand or the chains wrapped around his other.

To an outside perspective it was an insane battle that few humans could even attempt to follow and even fewer be able to participate in without being butchered instantly.

The air momentarily shook slightly as the large man caught his opponent's chain wrapped fist with one hand and held his ground. Above him, his tail poised ready to strike.

For Shirou however, this fight… was just a dull brawl.

Without even thinking about the situation he leaned in, slashing the tendons of the wrist holding his own to free himself, and body checked the larger man just in time for the sharp appendage to sail three centimeters right over his head. The unorthodox move forced his opponent back and made him let go, but did not stop the man from striking with his tail once more.

"Double Accel."

Before the stab had even fully extended, Shirou had already passed Finrel in a blur of red and gold curtesy of the two armaments he held. At five meters, the teen stopped, released his time spell, and pulled his end of Enkidu taut just as the bodyguard regained his footing and turned to reposition himself for another attack.

Finrel staggered as he realized two things at that instant.

The first was that the other end of his opponent's chain was wrapped around his tail.

The second was that his right leg was deeply gouged right above the kneecap, between the two plates of twisted pale cartilage that armored the majority of his body under his clothes.

The alleyway rang as Shirou threw his sword down at the ground blade first and held onto the golden chain with both hands.

"How did-" The bodyguard's momentary pause of confusion was interrupted as the teen let out a deep roar from his stomach and used his enhanced strength to swing and launch the bodyguard up into the air like a morning star by his tail.

For a good five seconds the poor victim was spun a good twenty feet in the air like a toy, gaining momentum and speed with every passing second, before finally Shirou threw all his body weight down and directed him to the earth on his head.

Even with the speed and weight behind the strike, both Shirou and Finrel knew it was not a lethal blow. The man's body itself was an organic armor and his insides were modified too. He was to be the meat shield of nobility in a cutthroat and inhuman world. If his existence was not a living mystery, then a living tank would be the only suitable replacement…

Directly accelerating an opponent's body without their permission was a needlessly difficult and costly maneuver.

"Square Accel."

Accelerating the chains that held and were in control of said opponent's general movements however, was far easier.

BANG!

The poor human meat shield could not even react as the world seemed to blur for just an instant before it all became nothing.

Shirou grimaced as he saw the top half of his opponent literally crumple and explode into gore as it literally fast forwarded itself face first into the asphalt road. He had killed more than a few monsters and people over the years in some pretty messy ways, but this one was admittedly on the brutal side.

He was somewhat relieved that a four times acceleration was all he needed to kill the guy though. A sixteen times multiplier would have broken the chains he was using, Noble Phantasm imitation or not. The originals could take that level of internal temporal punishment, but his copies couldn't.

Now all that was left was…

"YOU BACKWATER DOG! FLOOD AND CORRODE! BRING FORTH NOAH'S TRIAL ONTO THE LAKES OF THE SEVENTH CIRCLE!"

Shirou faltered as a literal flood of green flames erupted and poured down the alleyway in a display of wide range magecraft that vastly surpassed what he had expected from the man, let alone most magi of this era. So much so that by the time he had recovered enough to gauge his situation, there was little time to do anything about it.

Enkidu couldn't get him safely to an alleyway at this angle, or to the roofs for that matter. The nearby buildings had barred windows and locked doors that would take him a literal second too long to charge through. He couldn't project any weapons in this bounded field. Not enough time to use time acceleration on himself and get away or to cover without seriously hurting himself in the process.

Shirou clicked his tongue in annoyance.

For a brief moment, his left hand almost reached for his right forearm before stopping, foregoing that particular last resort for a new plan that came up literally by instinct.

So, he simply held his ground firmly and was overwhelmed by the burning tsunami.

"My body is made of blades."

Xavier held his spell for as long as he could. He had to be sure the Magus Killer was dead. Otherwise he would have no hope of escaping this mess alive, let alone get back home with Avalon. The support he would gain from this achievement and the artifact was enough to protect him from even the Barthomelloi if it came to it.

He needed this victory. He needed just one more push to surpass his man whore of a brother Atrum to be head of the family. For God knows what reason, stealing the samples of Divine Curses was not enough to prove himself. Researching the curses and using them as agents to enhance his familiars, poisons, and materials wasn't enough.

But Avalon. A genuine Noble Phantasm? And killing the Magus Killer to earn favor with so many families and factions in the Clocktower? That would be enough. His reputation and notoriety would earn more than enough supporters to finally surpass that philandering blonde idiot.

So what if his circuits were not as high quality or numerous? He could easily circumvent that issue with the resources at their disposal. Enhancing and enriching propellants with his own customized water and fire element magecraft, converting the stored potential of electricity into the explosive kinetic of fire with a bit of his personalized cursed and enriched oils from his homeland as an accelerant. It was a disgustingly crude and expensive process financially, but the results spoke for themselves.

He slowly cut off his spell and let the flames die. What he conjured wasn't particularly powerful in terms of offensive strength, but that didn't matter. The fire was a mere medium to produce the secondary effect that would guarantee him his victory. What he truly needed was for his enemy to burn.

Anything and everything burned by his spell would be viciously cursed. Festering wounds that would not heal. A burn was a curse was a burn was a curse, and so on. The cyclical primordial logic between the two would perpetually amplify one another endlessly in a vicious carousel that could eat anything and anything it was imprinted on. Agonizing sears that perpetually dug deep into the bones and nerves that could drive a normal man insane within seconds.

Marring of the soul. Consumption of the flesh. Eroding of the mind. He had tested his ace extensively in case he ever had to use it closer to home. But never did he think he'd have the chance to use it to kill the…

Kill the…

Xavier took a step back, not believing what he saw. "Impossible."

In the middle of the rapidly dying green flames, Shirou Emiya stood unharmed and unburned. And thus, uncursed.

While appearing cool and collected, Shirou himself was also somewhat perturbed by his unfettered state. He had expected for at least his clothes to be damaged by the attack, but he was more or less untouched.

He glanced at his right hand, which was now a metallic claw and covered in metallic scales.

He then casually brushed off some emerald embers that had stuck to his coat as though they were nothing more than stray specks of dust.

Dywrnwyn. White Hilt. A Noble Phantasm from England that generates and protects its user from flames should it find the individual worthy.

Apparently, and fortunately, the Noble Phantasm didn't see much difference between being wielded and being worn like literal skin. Nor did it differentiate between flesh and clothes.

As a result, Shirou didn't burn. And because he didn't burn, he wasn't cursed. And his clothes were fine too.

However, he still frowned in concern. Not because his last second gambit didn't work, but because it did.

He clenched his inhuman hand into a fist momentarily, feeling the metallic nerves firing off and grating against metallic skin.

I shouldn't have known that would work. My body… I really might have to leave Fuyuki faster than originally planned…

It was simple logic. Inside the bounded field, he could not project any weapons. Thus what he had done was not projection but alteration, or rather, a transformation. He did not produce the Noble Phantasm that encompassed his arm, but converted his flesh and bone into the tool itself.

Not that anyone save for Archer and Caster would be able to tell what had happened exactly just by watching it.

But unknown to Shirou, what really sold his intimidating appearance was the seemingly inhuman gleam of his sharp, silver eyes within the darkness of the alleyway.

"M-monster…" His attention gravitated towards Xander again, who was about three words away from snapping and making a run for it.

Shirou casually pointed his warped right hand at the man and fired off Enkidu's chain right at him. The links wrapped around the terrified man effortlessly and rapidly as though it had a mind of its own.

"Now then, can we get back to business, Mr. Galliasta?" Shirou asked with the same calm and pleasant tone he had been speaking with the entire time. "I believe we were about to verify your request for possession of an EX class Noble Phantasm. And while we are at it, discuss where you have obtained such peculiar substances for your bodyguard and what I assume are your familiars."

He took a step forward. "Of course, if you are being insincere in this endeavor, then I would of course be most appreciative if you could divulge just were you obtained these recent peculiar resources."

The lordling looked absolutely terrified as Shirou slowly walked towards him, like a prey realizing that it stood no chance against a predator. "A-Alright! You win, dog! Release me! I… the letter came from-"

That was as far as he got before the canisters on his body that contained the curse infused oils for his magecraft erupted without warning, taking out its owner in a plume of emerald fire.

The poor fool didn't even have time to scream.

Shirou clicked his tongue and dismissed the part of the chains wrapped around the burning corpse and turned to look at the most likely suspect.

"Gah?!"

Said suspect screamed in pain as she was thrown from the alleyway between two buildings that she had just been running down and back in plain sight. Already the right side of her face was starting to swell up nicely.

Shirou looked slightly to the side and noticed Assassin melting from the darkness and slowly walking in his direction, Thompson Contender drawn and aimed right at him…

BANG!

Shirou didn't even flinch as he heard the body of the chimera that had been approaching him from behind drop instantly.

"Was that really necessary?" He had been about to kill it himself. The monster had not been particularly subtle in its attempt.

"I needed to shoot something tonight," the Servant flatly stated, stowing his weapon.

It took a moment for Shirou to remember that Irisviel was still a thing, and then relented. Yeah. He had to give Assassin that much.

"Wh-what? A Servant? B-but you said…" The stunned woman faltered as she realized that she was completely outgunned and out of luck.

"I said that my Servant was out and that I would go alone. Ms. Faucetti," Shirou politely explained. "Do you really think that after everything that has transpired that the rest of the Masters and Servants here would trust me to my own devices without some form of supervision, even if asked?"

Kiritsugu apparently found the idea amusing enough that he actually broke his silence to snort audibly. "You'd let her escape if you had."

The teen rolled his eyes as Enkidu once more lashed out and wrapped around their prisoner so she couldn't run. "Happy now?"

"Never." The Servant almost showed emotion that time.

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly golden at the moment either." He paused and looked to the side as something caught his attention. "And we're not the only ones either."

Opposed to the malicious and dirty setting around them, Sakura's rather diminutive two dimensional familiar waddled out into the open and approached Shirou with its hands on its hips. While it couldn't say anything, the body language was abundantly clear for anyone to read.

The guilty party sighed, knowing he was in for it when he got back home. "How much did you see, Sakura?"

The wide outstretched arms more or less indicated that she had witnessed enough before pointing at him accusingly.

"I know. I know. I'll explain when I get back." He shook his head before looking around at the cursed green fires that were still consuming parts of the alleyway. "Before anything else, can you handle the fires? I have a feeling they need your special touch to deal with properly."

The golem tilted to the side, clearly confused for a moment, before turning to the nearest small embers and approached it.

A moment later, a pitch black pool of void spilled out from the adorable little creature and swallowed the fire whole instantly.

The instant after that, the portion of the alleyway was back to normal. No fires or curses at all.

"Thanks, Sakura. Can you keep it up? Leave the bodies though. We need to keep those around for the cleanup crew and tracking."

The tiny little familiar saluted with an adorable huffing motion before continuing its task.

"Shirou. Are you awake?" Saber called to her Master through their connection. "There's been a minor development that we need your input on."

Looks like the bounded field was down at least. He debated telling her what had just happened before thinking better of it. If something was happening on Saber's end as well it would be best not to escalate matters or otherwise potentially make them worse. "… Ah. Saber. Sorry. I was preoccupied with something on my side."

"Anything we should be concerned about?"

He almost fell for the strong urge to give a sarcastic or witty reply that would make Archer proud. Almost.

"… No." He shook his head, glancing once more at his prisoner while dismissing the copy of Natalia in his hand. Unlike virtually everything else that had happened recently, this he could handle on his own. Sakura's aid during cleanup notwithstanding. "Nothing unexpected that I haven't taken into account. Just time consuming. Tell me. What happened this time?"

He took out his cell phone and scrolled through the numbers he had saved on it before he came to Hiori Adashino's name.

A woman supposedly from Policies decked with substandard mystic codes, guiding a trouble-making third in line magus from the Middle East from a family that had most likely been stealing the Angra Mainyu samples he and Sirius had been trying to get examined? And they had conveniently an authentic letter from the Barthomelloi themselves?

There was only so much bullshit he could take.

The Vice Director was without question still busy and swamped with tasks after recent events, but that didn't mean he didn't have additional private connections in Policies whenever something was amiss.

"Merem Solomon requests to be Irisviel's Master."

His thumb stopped over the call button. And his eyebrow twitched something fierce.

"… I don't know whether to ask you to repeat that or not."

It was going to be a long night.

o. o. o.

Irisviel was practically bouncing with excitement by the time she reached the familiar property in Fuyuki.

"It's still here. And it hasn't changed at all." She looked around excitedly while accompanied by Merem, Illya, Saber, Luvia and Caster. "With how Kiritsugu is and the way you described my new son, I half expected the entire property to be completely remodeled or falling apart by now."

"Perish the thought. I would not even consider accepting his hospitality had that been the case," Luvia huffed.

"I would not let Shirou hear that if I were you, Irisviel. He may have his quirks, but he is quite dedicated to home maintenance," Saber chided.

"And then some. He has threatened me on more than one occasion of what would happen should he find any rats where they don't belong." Merem smiled innocently, completely ignoring the looks that all the women around him were giving.

"And where, by chance, do they belong?" Caser asked warily.

"In a few preselected locations on the property. Guestrooms, the bathroom, and the Kitchen are excluded of course."

"R-right. Of course."

"Master. I hope that there won't be any necessity to use such means for communication in the house while we're here, will there?" Irisviel turned and smiled in a way that promised pain and death on behalf of all women everywhere if her unspoken request wasn't met.

"Don't worry, Caster. I can use birds too. Rats are just subtler to use." Merem wasn't intimidated at all.

"Thank you, Master." Iri's unsubtle expression didn't change in the slightest.

"If you two are done pretending to be nice to one another, we're here." Illya sighed as they reached the front door and opened it. "We weren't gone for long, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about…"

Illya trailed off as the doorway opened, and they saw at the end of the hallway in the middle room Shirou on his knees in a defeated seiza while Rin and Sakura were standing over him with stern expressions.

"Oh dear." Merem held back a laugh.

"Damn it, Onii-chan."

"We were only gone for a few hours." Caster groaned.

"What did he do now?" Luvia lamented.

"Clearly I have not been firm enough in his training." Saber began making plans.

"Oh thank goodness. He's cute."

Everyone turned to look at Irisviel.

"… Well he is."

Illya rolled her eyes and walked into the house. "Rin. Sakura. Against my better judgement, what did he do this time? Seeing as he isn't torn apart or bedridden, it couldn't have been that bad."

"He apparently willingly walked into a trap just outside the house and killed three magi and a dozen familiars." Rin didn't tear her eyes away from the guilty party.

"Well that doesn't sound so bad." At least he didn't fight a Servant or an Apostle Ancestor.

"The leader of these magi had obtained your father's original curse samples and had run experiments with them," Sakura corrected her. "They were all armed with mystic codes and magecraft that were derived from Angra Mainyuu."

"I should have known better than to get my hopes up." She grimaced and looked at Shirou. "So? Where were you hurt?"

"I'm guessing he gets injured frequently?" Iri whispered to Saber, enjoying the show.

"More than advisable, yes. Avalon's been put to a bit of use since I was summoned." Saber didn't deny it at all, prompting Luvia, Caster, and Merem to all nod in consensus.

"I'm not hurt, Illya." Shirou sighed. "I'm just in trouble."

"You're serious?" She gave him an inspection. "You're not hurt at all?"

"I wouldn't still be employed by Barthomelloi if I was that prone to injury," he deadpanned. How hard was it for them to believe that he could hold his own adequately against enemies that weren't Apostle Ancestors or Servants? "Personally, I like to think that these past few weeks were the exception to my record, not the standard."

Merem and Luvia nodded in agreement, both having seen Shirou on the job before and knew that he wasn't stretching the truth.

"Where's Lancer and his Master?" Caster asked, looking around.

"Out on patrol for any Magi in the area. After wonderboy here had his fun, we decided not to take any more chances." Rin answered before glancing at Iri. "… So, you're our latest headache huh?"

"So it seems. Though from what I've heard of late, I'm unsure just how long that title will be mine." Iri smiled in good humor.

"God you have no idea how much I wish you were simply joking about that. With how things have been going, I doubt you'll still have it by the end of the night."

"A shame. And here I thought that my being here would warrant more concern."

"Don't even go there, lady."

Sakura stepped in before Rin's temper could build up any further. "It is a pleasure to speak to you in a better location, Irisviel. I'm Sakura Matou. Seeing that you're out of the cave, I take it that Merem is now your Master? Was there any trouble?"

Iri nodded in mutual greeting. "I am fine. My Master has been accommodating so far. We did pass by the park where the previous War ended to see if I had any effect on it though. I can't say it was particularly pleasant." Park or not, she had died in that general area.

"She is capable of supporting herself slightly from the cursed mana in the Park. It can be compared to the Greater Grail's cavern, only on a significantly lesser scale." Caster elaborated.

"Best not return there regardless. The less she's influenced by Angra Mainyuu, the better." Luvia stated factually before looking around. "Speaking of afflicted by curses, where is Assassin?"

"On the roof with Archer." Illya answered. "He's still conflicted about all this."

"It must be bad if Archer is willingly tolerating Assassin's close proximity." Caster mentally quipped to her Master.

"Don't drag us into their issues, Caster. The entire Emiya Family is somehow here now. Given their circumstances, I'd hazard to wager that they have managed to put most of the catastrophic family disasters from your time to shame." Luvia chided.

"You'd be surprised about the truths from my era… but you wouldn't be wrong either, Master." Caster relented. "At the very least, it's nice for this tale to not be drowned in incest or bestiality."

"I'll go see him later. Kiritsugu can be rather difficult when he's in one of his moods." Iri sighed whimsically, ignoring the brief looks everyone else shot her. Moments later she stepped around Rin and stood in front of Shirou. "So… you're my son?"

"According to Dad." Shirou gave a weak sheepish smile. "Even with magecraft, I don't think I ever expected to meet you like this."

"I doubt anyone did."

Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted a pale hand up and gently brushed it against his cheek. "You don't look anything like either of us, but… you have the exact same tired look in your eyes that Kiritsugu did when he was with me in Germany. So full of love and concern, but always haunted and distracted by events to come even when you should be happy…"

Without warning she leaned forward and hugged Shirou with all her body, embracing him with an affectionate motherly love that he could only assume he had only experienced before the Fourth War with his original family.

"You're his son. There's no one else you can possibly be. Thank you. Thank you for saving your father, and Illyasviel. I couldn't have asked for a better child to join us, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through so much. I had hoped that the Fourth War… you father had hoped…"

"I know." Shirou gently held her for a few moments before pushing her away again to look into her crimson eyes. "Everything's still a bit messed up now, but… at the very least, things are heading in a way that almost everyone can be somewhat happy with."

"Almost?" Rin frowned.

"I can't hide what I am forever, Rin." He smiled sadly and shook his head. "And Servants aren't supposed to be here forever either. A year. Maybe five if we're lucky. A decade at the most. But we all know what we have wasn't going to last."

The room was uncomfortably quiet as they all digested his words. He was right. Knowing Shirou's luck, he'd be pegged for his Apostle status eventually, and Servants were not supposed to be around forever. Heck, they weren't even supposed to be around for more than a month in most cases.

Unfortunately, before anyone could resolve the discomfort in the group, the quiet was expectantly broken.

It wasn't someone speaking that interrupted the silence, but Shirou's cell phone.

"That was faster than expected." The teen sighed as he fished out the device and put it on the table in the living room.

"Who is it?" Luvia asked with some concern. He had clearly been expecting the call.

"Take a wild guess." He shook his head and put the call on speaker. "I thought you were going to be occupied for a while."

"A minor scheduling adjustment on the other party's side." Lorelei Barthomelloi droned as if not being the one to cancel a meeting was an everyday event. It wasn't. "I am told that you have something of note to report."

"I do. Before all that though, I received your "gift of convenience" a little over an hour ago." He almost casually added. "Though I am somewhat curious about the woman that claimed she was from Policies."

He had managed to piece most of the clues of the recent event together on his way back home.

Lorelei had clearly kept enough of an eye on Shirou and Sirius over the years to know they had been tracking Kiritsugu's missing curse samples. She probably knew more about the matter than they did, meaning she probably knew for a fact who had taken them.

But that didn't oblige her to inform Shirou what she knew. Nor did it indulge her to take action once she did have the evidence.

The Galliasta family had been making splashes in the pond at the Clocktower recently, and people had noticed. Hell, even Shirou knew about it, and he hated dealing with magus aristocracy politics. More importantly, he knew that recently the latest generation of the family had been duking it out and competing to see who would be the next Head.

But what brought things to a tipping point was the recent trial and deluge of information regarding the Holy Grail War. People knew about the curse samples now, what they were, and where they originated from. They had become a known factor, a double edged sword.

And the Vice Director had the information to use that double edged blade to her advantage to start upping the pressure on the rather annoying family.

"Adriana Faucetti was a participant in an apprenticeship program in Policies. Her overall performance was satisfactory. However, it had quickly come to light that she had been engaging in some irreparable and counterintuitive activities. We suspect she was involved in several other unaddressed events in the department over the years, but we kept her around as a known factor to trace some potential leads and leaks. One of which heavily involved the Galliasta family," Lorelei elaborated.

"Ah. That makes sense. She performed her role well enough. But I've never seen someone from Policies with so many substandard mystic codes before." Shirou nodded. He could see it coming together now. Faucetti had been used as an unknowing spy to track leaks and traitors in Policies for whoever knows how long. But she happened to be involved with the Grail War in some way and decided to cut her losses with Galliasta family on one last big score, only to play into the Vice-Director's hands.

Odds are she wasn't even working for Xander himself, but one of his brothers. It would explain why she rigged his mystic code to explode just as he was about to talk. So much for family.

"Of course that is what gave her away." The bitter tone was the closest thing she would ever get to being disappointed and petulant.

"I apprenticed under Sirius. Of course it would." Shirou shook his head. "Speaking of finer things, the letter with your seal was an interesting touch. I was almost worried when I first saw it."

He assumed that one of Faucetti's contacts had been used to give it to her indirectly and fed some cock and bull story about how it was a forgery identical to the original. Good enough to fool even the Magus Killer to do whatever was inside the parcel.

"You know full well I don't waste good paper on the dog. You're trained enough to not require such frivolities." If that wasn't a backhanded compliment, he didn't know what was.

"You'd waste it to get rid of a troubling family." He smirked in complete understanding. "What faction were they close to again? The Neutrals, right?"

"Correct. Even the Democratic faction members couldn't stand their frivolous attitude." In the Clocktower there were three primary political factions always at odds with one another. Barthomelloi's traditionalist Noble faction, the progressive Democratic function, and the seemingly ambient Neutral faction. Despite the rather unassuming name, it was usually members of the Neutral faction that caused the most issues for everyone when eyes were turned away.

Even so, the fact the timing of everything was peculiarly tight. To force Galliasta to make a move now of all times... Xander must have been in a particularly tight spot to go for such a reckless plan. Something else to consider.

"Much less your extraordinary standards," he quipped.

"Careful dog." She warned. "What of the encounter?"

"Everyone outside of Faucetti are dead. I had Galliasta captured and was about to interrogate him, but she had rigged his mystic code to explode remotely. I have a cleanup team scouring ground zero of the event and escorting our survivor to the closest Church facilities outside of Fuyuki for pickup."

"Good. We don't know who among our own is compromised on this matter and the Church could care less about this paltry matter so long as we offer them proper compensation." She was clearly pleased by the clean conclusion on the event. "Is there anything on the matter you wish to contribute to that I am already unaware of?"

Shirou's mirth died as he thought back to his recent experience. "They require a full investigation. The sooner the better. I encountered attempts to integrate and utilize the Angra Mainyu samples with poison, oil, and familiars. They're clearly trying to cultivate more of the curse through biological means."

Even a substandard imitation of the substance was concerning compared to what mankind was capable of in this day and age. He had just stopped the world from being flooded with the genuine article. Having it flood with a false imitation was not only just as bad, but insulting at this point.

"Hoh? Cultivating a Divine Curse? That's rather ambitious. And the fact that you're bringing it up at all means that there's been some degree of success. If you or MacRemitz were not predisposed, I would have likely sent you to address this matter yourselves. I suspect that a Sealing Designation may be in order."

"Warn whoever you send to keep an eye out for oils and fire based magecraft in particular. I managed to deal with it, but it looked like they had made some headway producing that substance in notable quantities. Any mysteries enacted with it should be expected to be distinctively intense. Poisons need to be treated more so, but those seem to be more difficult to produce from what little I witnessed. It's possible they might have potent Monstrous class beast Familiars to facilitate their research. Possibly a mutated or conditional Phantasmal if things are truly bad. We are dealing with a Divine Curse. The longer we wait, the more matters could escalate."

"Noted." Despite how she tended treat Shirou, he knew that she took his advice seriously when it came to matters like this. If the teen actually voiced his concern about a family and the ramifications of their work, then it must be particularly bad.

The line was vacant of conversation as the sound of the Vice Director writing something was heard in the background. Shirou took the moment to glance at his guests watching him with mixed levels of curiosity and concern. Which was understandable.

Luvia in particular gave him an inquisitive look with a raised eyebrow. "Galliasta?" She mouthed in confusion.

"Xander." He mouthed back, getting a momentary widening of the eyes in recognition before she returned to a more neutral expression.

"Anyone I should know about?" Caster asked curiously.

"Not anymore." Luvia replied. Fool was one of her more annoying suitors over the past couple of years. Actually the entire Glliasta family had been pestering hers for an arrangement for the extra money and notoriety, but Xander had been particularly annoying about it.

"Now that the trivialities are dealt with, care to discuss the real reason why you reached out to me at this time?" Lorelei's voice cut through the living room once again. "As peculiar as Galliasta's actions are, it isn't enough for you to risk an open conversation so soon."

Shirou sighed and glanced briefly at Irisviel. "The Grail summoned another Servant behind everyone's backs."

To her credit, the Vice Director took only a couple of seconds to digest that information. "Elaborate."

"Apparently, having three Lesser Grails, a Caster from the Age of the Gods playing with the system, and several erratic large inflows of mana confused the system something fierce and partially triggered some incomplete functions of the Greater Grail system. Our new Caster was originally supposed to be summoned as a Ruler class Servant in charge of expediting and finishing the ritual."

"Ruler?"

"A Servant with the purpose to oversee all the other Servants. Armed with as many Command Spells as the rest of the Masters combined." All it would have taken were a few moments without anyone knowing the better, and all seven Servants would have killed themselves right then and there…

… Well, it would take a bit longer for Berserker to pull it off, but it would happen eventually.

"But it is a Caster instead." Lorelei verified.

"And she was tampering with the Greater Grail system for at least a few days before we found her during our inspections." He grimaced. "Fortunately, she doesn't have access to her full power, so little was accomplished. Edelfelt and her Caster have been examining the Grail since to be certain."

"Mmm. And where is this troublesome Servant now? Judging from your tone, I doubt she was dealt with."

"About two meters behind me. Killing her would only fuel the Grail. She's currently contracted to Merem Solomon. There should be an announcement from the Church about the situation sometime in the next few hours."

There was a deep inhale of displeasure heard over the line. "… And you could not think of a better candidate to oversee this new development?"

"Our only other valid Master candidates that can handle her with minimal risk are Tohsaka and Edelfelt. She can't be trusted with a connection to any of the Lesser Grail holders. And from a political standpoint, getting the Church involved would stop them from sending anyone troublesome to do something rash. Having a new Servant pop out from nowhere just when things are clearing up is going to concern more than a few groups. If the Church thought that we were trying to abuse the system and strengthen ourselves, it would cause more headaches than we already have in the long run."

That was putting it lightly. The Church was already giving the Association headaches on the matter of them holding onto so many Servants for an indeterminable duration. It was a serious shift in power that they could not ignore. The idea of the Association having the means to summon MORE at any given moment was nothing short of nightmarish.

Still…

"What aren't you telling me, Dog? I can clearly discern that you are holding something back."

Shirou grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. "… The Servant's identity is Irisviel Von Einsbern. The carrier of the Lesser Grail during the Fourth War."

Whatever Lorelei had been expecting, that clearly was not it. "Do you take me for a fool? A Homunculus of the current era as a Servant?"

"It was Assassin that verified her identity. She is a terminal for the Greater Grail system materialized as a Servant." Shirou held his ground. "And I assure you, he is distinctively less pleased about this turn of events than you are considering the fact that she is afflicted by the Grail."

"Afflicted?"

Shirou glanced at Irisviel, and took in her black and gold dress. Her pale skin, and her apologetic expression. "She was summoned directly by the Greater Grail to complete the ritual. It has an influence over her. Not as strong as it could be, but it is blatantly there. She's as much of an asset as a liability at the moment. As much as you may dislike it, Merem is our best option to keep her in check. Regardless of preferences, keeping her away from the Greater Grail itself takes priority."

"If so, then why should I allow her to exist? I do hope you don't expect sentimentality from me and your new familial situation."

He didn't, but that did not mean that he was out of options just yet.

"I told you, she's a terminal for the Grail made by the Grail. There's not a single existence on the planet more suited for aiding the Einzberns and the Association in relocating and potentially purifying the Grail than her. She alone can expedite the process more than our original Caster can. And on top of that, she's more than willing to assist us so long as we can keep her impulses in check. Between Command Spells and Caster, I'm confident it's an achievable feat."

"I can help out too…" Merem muttered petulantly to the side.

"Everyone is going to know she exists soon enough. At the very least, allow the Church and the Einzbern to have their inspections on the Grail before coming to any final conclusions. So long as this is done by the book from an outside perspective, the fewer footholds any opponents and detractors will have to use. Afterwards, having her committed to a project that we will oversee in the first place will ensure that we know what's happening regardless what the Church decides later on."

The line was dead silent as Shirou finished making his case. Longer than normal when the Vice Director was contemplating a decision. It did not bode well.

Just as Shirou was starting to worry that she would hang up on him, she spoke up again. "How long, have you known about this development?"

He didn't like where this was going. He glanced at a nearby clock. "It's a little past two in the morning now, so a little over three hours."

"Three hours… and I take it that the incident with Galliasta took place during that time."

"Yes." He confirmed. "Solomon acted on his own accord and became Caster's Master during this."

"Of course he did," she all but snarled, her patience finally reaching its limit. "And if the consensus between the Association and the Church was to dispatch your new guest?"

His tone grew hard and his reply was immediate. "Then I would ensure that she passes in a clean and humane way that would properly represent your house."

It was a cruel thing to say with Irisviel right there, but it was the truth. She did not belong there, and was a major risk to the delicate balance they currently had. Even she knew that her very existence right put a lot at risk for her family.

"So you say," she drawled, clearly not believing his words, but taking them regardless. He had not hesitated in his response after all. "And if she becomes a problem that needs to be addressed?"

His fists tightened, both in anger and annoyance. He pretended to ignore the looks he was getting from everyone in the room. "If I don't get to her, Assassin will."

"You sound certain of that."

Before Shirou could reply, Irisviel stepped forward. "With all due respect, you do not know what my husband is like. And for your sake, I hope you never do."

"… You are suspiciously proud for someone that just admitted that your significant other is fully willing and able to execute you, Servant."

"If that is the price I have to pay to spend time with my husband and daughter again, meet my handsome son, and know that my children are doing well in the end, then I will accept it happily as any proud mother should." Iri held her ground. "My only regret would be the harm it would do to Kiritsugu and the rest of my family should that come to pass, even if he knew that I would not blame him for it."

"How very selfless of you."

Iri smiled like a cherub. "It comes with being married and being in love with someone you truly trust with all you're heart. From the way you speak, I take it you are still single?"

It was as if the world's most violent, vicious, scarring, and most destructive car crash had taken place in the living room, and it was on mute.

Slowly. Ever so slowly, everyone turned to Irisviel. Their faces morphing into a mix of absolute horror and disbelief.

"… Huh?" Shirou literally squeaked. He had faced Servants and Noble Phantasms. Been mentally tortured by Zouken. And fought Apostles. But he would not lie if he said that he had never been more terrified than he was at that very moment.

Judging from how long it took the Vice Director to reply, she was just as caught off guard as everyone else. "… Care to repeat that, Servant? I didn't quite hear you the first time."

"I was just curious. You are my son's supervisor, and you sound quite young and capable. Even as sheltered as I was when I was alive, the Barthomelloi name and reputation held substantial weight. No doubt you are a talent worthy of your family name. Yet, to not be familiar with the idea of love and the intimate implication it carries… from my perspective, that's an existence closer to that of a homunculus than a human."

"Did, she actually just say that?" Sakura gaped.

"Mama?! What on earth are you doing?!" Illya all but shouted in absolute horror.

"Someone shut her up before she gets us all killed!" Rin agreed, not at all trying to hide her panic.

"Shirou! Snap out of it and get her away from the phone!" Luvia ordered her host frantically.

"Ah… so this is how I die in the end. Who knew?" Shirou didn't respond to anyone's orders. He was too busy staring off into space with a dazed look in his eyes.

Merem didn't say anything. He was simply marveling in what he considered the single greatest moment that had ever happened ever since he stepped foot in Japan. Ever.

He normally didn't reach out to the other Ancestors to gossip but God damn was this ever an exception.

"Ara? What's everyone so worried about? I was just giving a fellow woman some advice so she could enjoy the most out of life before it was too laaaaaa?!" Irisviel's halfhearted mocking excuse for her actions was cut short as Berserker materialized in the living room, hunched over nearly in half to fit in the building, and literally yoinked her away with a single hand.

"Good job, Berserker!" Illya cheered.

"▄▄▄."

"Irisviel, what are…" Saber walked up to the slightly gagged woman in genuine bewilderment only to pause. The corrupted woman's mouth was covered, but her red eyes were still plainly visible to see. Full of life and amusement… and glimmering with a foreign anticipation.

"I'm so sorry for that, Vice-Director." Sakura apologized profusely while simultaneously shaking and slapping Shirou to get him out of his funk, which, judging from his expression, had devolved into his life flashing before his eyes. "We didn't know she was like that. She literally just walked in the door a minute before you called and we've been keeping interactions at a minimum since we found her."

"She's not like this normally," Saber whispered while moving to Caster and giving her and the others a careful look. "It's difficult to discern, but the curses that afflict her also alter her judgement. She may actively try to stir further discourse as time passes. We have to be careful."

"Of course we find out now," Rin hissed.

Surprisingly, Lorelei didn't respond immediately. Whether it was because she was regathering her composure, recovering from sheer rage, or simply because she didn't know what to make of the situation was anyone's guess.

"It is exceptionally unfortunate, that this new addition of yours is under the supervision of the Church." Her tone was cold, tight and clipped. Clearly Iri's words had hit a major nerve, an action that few ever managed to recover the repercussions of.

"I will make it a point to make our conversations private from this point forward. Unless otherwise requested." Shirou swallowed heavily.

"See that you do." Everyone could hear the unspoken "Or else" tacked onto that sentence clearly.

"We only discussed Galliasta and the new Servant. And nothing else." Shirou looked at everyone in the room with a frantic gleam in his eyes. As one, everyone, save Berserker and Iri all nodded in agreement to his unspoken request.

"I suppose I shall have to settle for that. For now," Lorelei ground out bitterly. "I have a meeting to attend to soon. We shall discuss these matters later. That includes your pathetic status as an Apostle."

Those in Japan only had time to pale rapidly before the line was cut off.

o. o. o.

"Is this what it was like for you?"

Archer looked at Assassin as the pair sat otherwise silently on the rooftop of the building they had both once called home. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Iri. Seeing her again, even if it's like this." Kiritsugu didn't look at the alternate version of his son. This was a loaded conversation if there was one, and he didn't want to make it worse. "After everything I had done, and yet…"

"Oh. That." EMIYA almost sneered in anger. The only reason why he didn't was simply because of who it was he was talking to. "Yeah. It's like that. Can't say which one of us has it worse. Irisviel's corrupted by the Grail. I on the other hand, remember that I had forgotten what Illya looked like every time I see her again after I'm summoned. Even when called properly, memory of my life is hazy."

He can memorize the finest details of any weapon he sees, but he can't recall the faces of those he treasured the most, and failed the worst. How could a joke like him have ever been considered a hero?

"Illya can be saved. This time," Kiritsugu supplemented, looking up at the night sky. He didn't have the same hope for his wife. For all intents and purposes, she was lost to the Grail.

"She sometimes uses Heaven's Feel to make herself a new body," Archer offered. "Doesn't happen often. Occasionally another Servant gets summoned that's able to help her out too, though that's more uncommon."

"At the very least, it means that her options aren't completely limited to what we're doing now." The fact that Archer knew of those times must have meant that he helped his sister out in some capacity during them.

"Mmm."

The two remained quiet on the roof for another long stretch of time. They didn't bother reacting when chaos erupted below them. Eccentric chaos didn't fit them very well.

"Not going to join them?" Archer asked.

"I don't do parties well. You?"

"Same. I always wind up getting stuck fixing whatever goes wrong."

"And how many of those times were a result of you offering to help in some way?"

"Don't even go there."

"Humph." Assassin let out a rare snort of amusement, but didn't say anything else about the topic. He simply enjoyed the rare moment of peace and quiet with his estranged son.

A moment later he turned his head slightly to the side. "Hey…"

Archer sighed and stood up. "I know. I got it. It's a bit out of your range, old man."

"You're the one with Clairvoyance as a crutch, brat. And we both know that Shirou can make the shot just as easily from here."

The black bow in Archer's hands was armed with a single arrow. In a single smooth movement, he drew the shaft back past his cheek. "Don't get salty just because you didn't get a common skill geezer. And stop complaining. That ridiculous Opportunist skill of yours is more than enough to carry your dead weight."

The rooftop slightly shook as he released his ordinance at speeds that vastly surpassed the sound barrier. A good five seconds later the top of a building just barely out of conventional sight exploded. Whether or not the Magi that had attempted to spy on them with the setup there had perished was anyone's guess.

Not that they'd get anywhere. Caster's barrier was leagues ahead of anything possible by modern magecraft.

Idiots. If they had just stuck to trying to spy on the property it would have been fine, but the morons had pushed their luck trying to examine and pick apart Caster's bounded field in a vain attempt to learn about mysteries from the Age of Gods. That was the main reason why they let that woman approach the property earlier. She had just walked up and knocked on the door, and nothing else.

"Says the one with a Reality Marble full of Noble Phantasms." Assassin shook his head and sighed. "That makes three tonight."

"Four, if you count the one that the idiot below us took care of." Archer corrected, dismissing his bow. "You'd think that they'd learn by now."

"You sound surprised by the attention."

"The few times I remember staying after the War, it wasn't like this. I blame the brat bringing this mess to the center of the Association's attention. Being someone remotely important didn't help matters."

"Blame that on me. I'm the one that introduced him to Waver and Sirius and involved him in the Clocktower early on."

"Sirius, huh." Archer shook his head. "Lord El Melloi II, his name rings a bell, but I'm drawing a blank on that other guy. Must have never met him my time around."

"A pity. The old drunk would drown himself into depression if he ever heard you say that." Kiritsugu noted with some amusement. "Took a real shine to Shirou pretty quickly. Treats him like a grandson."

"How lovely." Archer's tone didn't seem to emulate his father's mirth.

"You're distracted." Assassin observed. "It's not something new either."

"It's nothing."

"… I may be a terrible father at times, but I'm pretty sure there's a rule that says I have to push whenever a child of mine is troubled and says that."

"You're long past the point where you can treat me like some child."

"And you're doing a poor job of trying to change the subject." Kiritsugu didn't change his tone or move from his spot. "… Shirou, if there's anyone you should be able to talk to privately at this point, it's me. How many times are you, are we, going to have this opportunity?"

EMIYA clenched is fists tightly in genuine anger and annoyance. For a moment, it appeared as if he would brush off his father's request and leave in Spiritual form.

And then that moment passed, and he let out a defeated sigh.

"… Your notes, revealed something that I had not anticipated before. Something that, I'm not exactly thrilled learning."

Assassin frowned, confused. "I don't follow."

"The third timeline you observed. The one with Sakura becoming the primary Lesser Grail. When I gave the Shirou of that timeline my arm." Archer looked up at the sky wistfully. "I shouldn't have known that would have worked. I know the dangers that it would have. No, if anything, I'm confident that it would have killed the boy. Regardless of Kirei's skills, there is no way I should have known that the Priest had the Shroud of Martin. The one I have now was a gift from someone back in the Church proper that I received years after this. Grafting the arm of a Servant onto a normal human body, same person or not it should have killed him. But… I have vague memories of knowing that it would work somehow. Without any base or foundation or reason…"

"What are you implying exactly?" Assassin was getting a concerned feeling in his stomach.

Archer shook his head and smiled sadly. "An unexplained desire or urge to take specific actions? When humanity was on the cusp of crisis? Those are telltale signs of the Counter Force at work."

"The Counter Force?" Whatever he had been expecting, that particular topic was clearly not it.

Archer sighed. "My goal of killing my younger self in this War to get out of the Throne was based on the idea that I could move with autonomy while summoned as a Servant. But… if my actions were proven to be influenced by the Counterforce even then…"

Then there was a chance that his actions had been subtly influenced every time he was summoned during the Fifth Grail war to begin with.

His faint hope of freedom was based on the false assumption of having a window of free will.

But the cruel truth of the matter was that there had been no window from the very beginning, let alone an escape.

Kiritsugu didn't say anything. He couldn't. Archer's revelation was like a punch to the soul. The fact that he had realized that he had been robbed of even hoping to escape from his status of a Counter Guardian was nothing short of horrifying.

"…" He thought of apologizing. Of trying to relate. Of trying to lighten the mood. None of that escaped his lips, because he knew that at the end of it all, it wouldn't do anything to change the situation.

"Forget it. If we mope about how pathetic I am, then the idiots down there will notice and make things worse." Archer shook his head. "Best I can do is stretch this nonsense out as long as I can and turn it into a twisted mockery of a vacation where I hopefully won't have to kill nearly as many people as I normally do. At the very least, it's not like one of those messes in the Mooncell."

"Mmm." Kiritsugu nodded, more than disgusted with himself. He desperately didn't want the talk to be like this. Just one distraction after another, but for two broken men like them what left was there? "Mooncell?"

Archer smirked dryly glad that the bait to change the topic of conversation was taken. "Right, most conventional Servants wouldn't know or remember about that nonsense… well, maybe Saber might, but she'd probably avoid talking about it as well. That place is nothing but a headache at the best of times. How to put it, did you see that American action movie about people living in computers. I forgot the name."

"The Matrix?" It was one of the last films he saw with Shirou with he passed. Not really his cup of tea, but it was entertaining at times. He particularly liked that scene with the endless gunracks.

"Yeah, that one. Basically, think of that, but on the moon."

"There's a Matrix. On the moon." Assassin's tone couldn't be drier or unconvinced if he tried.

"Yup. And it hosts its own Holy Grail Wars too." Archer enjoyed his father's reaction. "Alaya's influence is near nonexistent there, but it doesn't make the idea any less stupid."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know. I've been involved in half a dozen shit shows up there and I still never found out the answer to that. Not sure if I care at this point. What I do know is that it usually isn't active unless some fiasco happens on earth that drains the planet of mana."

"Drains the, what?"

"Relax. If it hasn't happened already, it probably won't in this timeline."

"Best not jinx it and stop talking about the matter altogether. There are two of you here now."

"Humph. Don't remind me. Just the luck of one of us is bad enough as it is. Then there's Lancer to add to the pot."

"You almost sound like you pity him."

"Have you read your notes about what happened to him?"

This time Kiritsugu did laugh.

Archer did too.

It was a halfhearted, pathetic thing that they shared. One that did nothing to hide the cruel truths that had been discussed that night. But it was still a welcome thing that made the experience barely bearable.

o. o. o.

"So. How are we going to deal with her?"

"Shirou, I know Mama's… off, but…" Illya grimaced.

"The Vice Director knows that Aozaki is coming here soon. And she knows at the very least that I'm an Apostle whatever." Shirou held his cold tone. His mood must have been particularly bad to shoot down Illya as hard as he did. "It's a miracle in itself that she isn't tearing us apart as we speak, let alone after what just happened. If we can't get Irisviel to behave in a consistent and reliable way by the next time someone from either the Association or the Church inspects us…"

"We're fucked," Lancer summed up properly next to Bazett. The pair had arrived just a few minutes ago and were updated on the situation. Neither were particularly pleased.

"Lancer. Language," his Master chided, nodding to her legs.

"As brutish as it may sound, killing her is off the table." Luvia sighed aridly. "After your rather stern stance on the matter, going back on it now would only leave you in worse favor with Barthomelloi."

"And having someone babysit her the entire time would just look bad. Not that we could follow her everywhere. Especially since she's technically part of the Church now." Rin sighed.

"I'm right here you know." Irisviel pouted, only to flinch as more than a few sets of annoyed glares where shot her way. "Ah. Ahaha. Would it help if I said I was sorry again? I told you, I can't help it. I instinctively take actions that I feel will complete the Grail Ritual the fastest. And since everyone's said that you're more or less the reason why the War's been put on hold…"

"Killing him would be the best option to resume everything." Merem nodded, not at all alarmed by the woman's twisted logic. "Cruel, but not incorrect."

"Wait, if killing Shirou would be the fastest way to start things again, then why didn't you do it yourself? You could technically have done it when you were hugging him earlier. You're still a Servant and stronger than a normal human." Sakura asked.

Irisviel looked shocked and appalled by the idea. "No! I could never do that! He's my son! I could never hurt him!"

"But you're willing to make Barthomelloi do it for you," Rin deadpanned. "I'm going to be honest here, between you and her, I think you picked the crueler option lady."

"It's not my fault!" It really was something to see a Servant flail around like a child.

"Don't bother trying to reason with her. It's blatantly clear the curse from the Grail is affecting her judgement." Caster sighed. "If we are to try a long term solution, it will have to be one that counteracts, or at least interrupts the logic and directive implanted into her."

"I agree." Merem nodded. "Once we can identify those, we can implant a strong suggestion that can at least mask or derive that logic to something less radical. Caster can magnify the efficiency of it by conjuring something that can weaken Irisviel's link to the Grail proper."

"Wonderful. Another unreasonable task. And here I thought that my workload would be less arduous once the fighting was over." The Princess of Colchis lamented sarcastically. "I can update the bounded field around the house to do the latter as a stopgap. However, I will need more time for something more permanent. Odds are I'd have to set something up around the Greater Grail, but even then I don't know how long it would last."

Shirou took what he could get. "It's a step. Please start on the property's fields tonight as a priority above everything else. We don't want Irisviel to start accidentally trying to kill everyone when they sleep."

"Oi. You make it sound like she can." Lancer sounded insulted. Rightfully so. "Unless you've forgotten, every human here's got at least one Servant to protect them, save for the midget shrew that's still recovering in Caster's room. And it's more than obvious that our new guest isn't exactly strong. Hell, I'm pretty sure you'd be able to take her out with little trouble on your own, brat."

"I'm not fighting her." Shirou held his ground firmly, though even he quietly agreed that as far as Servants go, Irisviel was unusually weak. She had an A Plus ranked mana stat sure, but that was more reflective of her capacity than what she had right now. Merem had made it a point to give her enough power to sustain herself, not fight. Her physical stats weren't exactly ideal for that matter either.

Then there was the inherent weaknesses that all Servants had regarding their original histories. What killed them once could kill them again. Or rather, history was inclined to repeat itself in some way whenever Servants were summoned. King Arthur died to Mordred. Cu Culaiin died to all the promises he made. Medusa died distracted by her own reflection. And in Irisviel's case…

No. He would not let that happen. Not so long as he still drew breath.

"Well whatever we do with her, we better make it so that we can at least get some sleep tonight," Rin grumbled as she made her way to the bedrooms. "While some of us are busy killing intruders and others are dealing with random Servants that pop up from nowhere, the rest of us are busy perpetually drowning in paperwork and litigation."

"Oh, that's right. You're the Second Owner of Fuyuki," Irisviel gasped as if just realizing this. "My apologies for causing you so much trouble. Thank you for being so patient with us."

"As if I have a choice at this point." The sleep deprived teen retorted as she walked away. "Just try to stop getting us all killed, will you? It would be nice if we could have at least a full day of that not happening for once. Oi. Caster, Vampire. Come here for a moment. I have an idea about how to stop her for a while. I want to run it by you two first."

"I have my own ideas, but am more than open to suggestions." Merem followed with a care free attitude.

"Might as well." Caster sighed, following suit.

"This is a mess." Shirou sagged in his seat, energy leaving his body in droves.

"It's not a completely lost cause." Bazett tried to console him. "If you were completely out of luck, Barthomelloi would have ended you by now."

"Gee. Thanks." Shirou glanced at his older sister figure with a dead expression. She meant well, but sometimes her bedside manners were as properly worded as Sirius' general vocabulary.

"Shirou, I advise you get some rest." Saber rested a hand on his shoulder.

"But-"

The King of Knights would broker no arguments. "Lack of proper rest is the enemy. You have shouldered much time and again recently. A clear mind will do you and the rest of us some good. Remember, you are not alone in this."

"We'll take care of Mama." Illya smiled sadly. "Go get some sleep Onii-chan. We can handle this much."

Scratching the back of his head, Shirou sighed and relented the argument. He knew a lost cause when he saw one. "Fine. I've already gone off tonight anyways. And at the very least it looks like the world isn't going to end tomorrow. I… we'll figure something out later."

He glanced at Irisviel, who to her credit really did look concerned for her son as he showed how tired he was. "I know it's not the best of circumstances, but it is nice to finally meet you."

"I'm sorry I'm such a bother, Shirou." Iri smiled apologetically. "It seems like no matter what you or Kiritsugu do, things are never easy for you. It truly is unfair."

"Yeah," He trailed off. "I… if things turn out well, we can talk some more tomorrow. Goodnight everyone."

With a tired shake of his head, he turned around and made his way to his room.

"It's frustrating." Sakura watched his back. "It always feels like for every hurdle he gets past, two more problems that are just as big appear. He doesn't deserve this."

"I know the feeling." Lancer snorted. "It's what happens when you get big enough that people start noticing you. Medb was a right pain in my ass after she set her sights on me. And Berserker can relate when it comes to crazy stepmothers that want to kill their kids."

"Hey! I don't want to kill Shirou! I just have urges to get him killed that I can't control! There's a difference!" Irisviel's protests didn't help her position.

"▄▄▄." The giant apparently took offence to Lancer's statement.

"Ah? What's got you bothered? Everyone knows your legend. The vast majority of shit that went wrong in your life that wasn't a result of your temper was directly tied to Hera. The bitch was even the reason why you died." Lancer ignored Iri's protests and glanced at Heracles.

"▄▄▄."

"Fine. Fine. Have it your way. See if I try and give you a boost again."

"Berserker, keep an eye on Mama tonight. Onii-chan isn't the only one that needs to sleep at this point." Illya yawned.

"That sounds like a good idea," Sakura agreed.

"And to think that we believed our issues were over once we came to a consensus and became a group with the might of Seven Servants at our disposal." Luvia laughed bitterly. "Truly the world is a grand place to expand one's horizons."

It was a concept that few enjoyed to entertain but most knew to be truth.

The end of one story was often merely the beginning of another.

o. o. o.

"I'm surprised he's not breaking yet."

Merem's dry chuff clearly indicated his thoughts on Caster's comment as he convened with her and Rin near Shirou's workshop. "Don't play ignorant. Shirou was showing faults when Fina appeared. Our cooperation and acknowledgement of his situation merely enabled him to recover and endure more than he would otherwise. Had we not…"

"Shirou would have done something extremely crazy by now. He still might later if this keeps up." Rin sighed, trying to compartmentalize everything that was taking place. Barthomelloi. The Clocktower. The Apostle Ancestors. The participants of a corrupted Grail War. Just having one potentially bearing its weight on a person was enough to cause a person to go mad, and Shirou had all of them at once.

"I am unfamiliar with this Barthomelloi woman that the boy serves. I have been told of her influence and distaste for vampires but..."

"The best analogy I can give you is the relationship that Hera has for all of Zeus' bastards." Merem provided. "The family itself loathes my kind, but the current Vice Director takes it further. It is only her professionalism and strong will that stays her hand whenever she is in the same room as myself or another that she knows she cannot harm at that time. Likewise, it is common knowledge that she personally hunts Apostle Ancestors on the full moon to prove her superiority when she does go for the kill."

"That boy, the more I hear of his troublesome associates, the more I am likely to pity him."

"She sounds more like a Berserker than a Caster when you put it like that. No wonder Shirou's more or less terrified of her. There's no point in negotiating with someone like that." Rin grimaced. She had hoped that the rumors about the Vice Director weren't that bad, but apparently they were worse. Seriously, hunting Apostle Ancestors during the full moon on purpose? "Any chance she knows that Shirou's the Tenth?"

Merem shook his head in denial. "If she did I assure you, she would not have entertained a conversation with our friend, much less give him a warning."

"At least there is that small grace." Caster sarcastically sighed in relief. "Shall we return to the issues that we can address for the time being? Our new guest has certainly proven to be a handful."

"And then some." Merem laughed, clearly amused by recent events. He was going to have an incredibly difficult time not keeping a straight face or bursting out in giggles when addressing Lorelei Barthomelloi for the next few years. Much less resist the urge to ask her about her personal love life.

"In Assassin's notes, it said that I had used a Command Spell to force Archer to obey me. It wasn't absolute, but if he went against my orders, his stats would take a heavy hit." Rin got to the point. "Since Irisviel's Master right now is an Apostle Ancestor, the effect of his orders would hit even harder if he made the same demand."

"That won't work. She would still act against such a command if the moment presented itself." Caster shook her head rejecting the idea.

"I know that much, but we can use it for a base for something else." Rin suggested. "Say, if the spell was to tweak her logic to assume that "the War won't conclude unless we fix the Grail", or "killing all the Servants won't complete the ritual". If we focus on a single suggestion, it could take hold for a while. Maybe permanently."

"That could work, but we would have to be careful." Merem nodded. "For example, Irisviel's prerogative might boil down to "kill the other Servants", and she might not care about the Grail. Worse still is the chance that the Greater Grail might be able to update or change her orders, rendering our efforts wasted. We should consider the measure a stopgap for now. A costly one at that."

"I can modify the bounded fields of the property to minimize its influence on her. Fortunately, counteracting the influences of Gods is something that I made a point of excelling in after my experiences with Perseus and Aphrodite. Even if the deity in question stems from a different pantheon." Caster placed a hand on Shirou's workshop. She had already received permission to modify the property's barriers as she saw fit, much to her discomfort. "My counterpart would probably have served better to permanently address this issue. Her Item Creation skill would have been invaluable."

"There's nothing we can do about that now. She had her chance." Rin waved away the topic. "Will these modifications make Irisviel's behavior less erratic? Or will it just mute her connection to the Grail?"

"Both, if I can help it. Our new guest will certainly have her moments, but nothing as vicious as what we saw tonight. Within the property line at least." Strands and waves of power radiated around Caster as she muttered in a language that was unpronounceable to the modern tongue. "Outside on the other hand…"

"Will be for another day. She is not someone that needs to do much of anything for the time being. So long as she behaves herself, her issues are the least time constrained out of what we have so far. Addressing the Greater Grail is a long term project, and her by extension," Merem resolved the issue calmly. "It is fortunate that Irisviel is actively trying to counteract the Grail's influence on her own, and cares for her family so much."

"Lucky us. Not sure we'd be able to say the same about my mother."

"Oh? Standard Magus family drama?" Merem poked curiously at the teen's offhand comment.

Rin shrugged carelessly. "Just the opposite. Typical housewife with some good genes. Mom was nice and kind to be sure. The image of an "ideal housewife" according to some people that knew her, but… she was too much of a pushover whenever things got heated. She did whatever dad asked. I doubt she even put up much of a fight when the idea of handing Sakura over to Zouken first came up."

Rin loved her mom, she really did, but love didn't equate to respect. No parent could be respected for allowing their child to go through what Sakura endured.

"All the more curious that someone as strong willed came from such beginnings." Merem hummed with mild amusement. "While Caster tends to the bounded field, perhaps we should discuss other rather intricate and dire matters."

"Such as?" Rin played along, but she knew full well what the Apostle was referring to.

"The future. After Altrouge, and Fina, and young Illyasviel's treatment. Should our lovely band make it that long intact." Merem looked up to the sky. "When our mutual friend attempts to try and find a new life for himself. What will you do with your life? I must admit, from an objective standpoint, out of all the participants in this event, your future is both the most ambiguous and yet holds a substantial amount of potential. Rin Tohsaka. It has me, curious."

She shivered as the ancient monster stated her full name for what she felt like the first time. She felt violated by the otherwise simple and mundane action.

He had a point though. Her future was still up in the air. She wasn't constrained by anything as of yet.

Shirou's messes went without saying. Sakura and Illya had already made it clear that they went wherever Shirou did. Bazett still had her job as an Enforcer. And Luvia was the head of her own significantly larger and established family in Europe... the cow.

But she…

Her territory was a mess as it was. Her parents were dead. Her finances and family resources were either a jumbled mess because of Kirei or directly tied to Shirou's support. She wanted to go to the Clocktower and excel obviously. Hell, odds are that Zelretch was waiting for the best or worst moment to take her under an apprenticeship since she used the replica of his sword. But…

What did she want to do after that?

She had exceptional potential as a magus. That much was obvious. Anyone that spent time with her could tell as much. Reaching the Root of All things was an incredible goal as well. But did she want to spend her time on just that?

No. She didn't. Going down that path would just lead to the same pointless mistakes her father did.

She glared at Merem Solomon, who maintained that infuriating fake smile that he always had while staring at the sky. She still didn't know why exactly he was in Fuyuki, but she had pieced together enough that recent events only made her more uncomfortable around him. Monsters like him played their games in decades, not days. He was clearly after something, and she knew he was trying to steer her in a direction that would suit his interests.

But worst of all was the fact that she knew that, at least for now, their respective interests pointed in the exact same direction.

"I have enough headaches to worry about in the short term. Once we get even half of those out of the way, I can attempt to think about what I can do with the remains of my life." She brushed aside his curiosity as much as she could, but no one there believed for a second that she wasn't concerned about the topic now.

"Fair enough. So long as your fate is tied to Shirou, it would be best to prioritize the many matters at hand. Even I can't escape from that particular pitfall in the current circumstances. A consequence of my own doing without question, but a fault I will bare without complaint." Merem shrugged shamelessly.

Well sorry she wasn't an immortal bloodsucker.

She wasn't an idiot. He was clearly planning something and wanted her in on it. For whatever reason. But she wanted no part in it. Shirou she could trust to act in her best interests, even if he was liable to make a mess of it all with his good intentions. Merem though? She couldn't trust him as far as she could throw his super monster limbs. The rat didn't count.

The fact that Caster, and by extension Luvia, were listening in on the conversation didn't help.

No, this entire ploy might be just to get Luvia on her case for the next few weeks for all she knew. Great, as if the blonde wasn't annoying enough as it was.

"If it'll get you to shut up, I'm going to the Clocktower if I can survive this mess," she relented. "Zelretch's appearance during the trial wasn't a coincidence. He sensed my use of the Jeweled Sword."

The sound of something breaking was heard in the background coming from the house. Probably Luvia having a minor fit. Good.

Her words had Merem's attention if his widened eyes were any indication. "Kaleidoscope… yes, of course. That makes sense. He'd no doubt take notice of another user of his craft here. And if that's the case… my apologies. It seems that your future will be quite occupied for some time."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the pity in your voice."

"His reputation among the other Apostle Ancestors fares as well as it does in the Association."

"Thanks for the warning. Though if I can tolerate being in the presence of two of you, then I suppose I have the means to survive him as well."

"You have my best wishes then." The concerning thing was that he sounded like he genuinely meant it too.

"… You sound like you actually know the guy." She was aware that Apostle Ancestors met on occasion but Zelretch was firmly on Humanity's side. She, like many others, assumed that when encountered most of the other Ancestors, it was usually for a fight to the death.

"We've met and conducted exchanges on occasion." It was such a bland and empty response that Rin knew instantly that there was more to it than that.

"Oh? But I thought you were a staunch supporter of Crimson Moon. Why would you do business with the guy that-" Rin's taunting was cut off the instant the monster looked at her.

His passive expression hadn't changed in the slightest, however normally ocean blue eyes were now a haunting crimson red that seemed to pierce straight into her soul.

"If you could, I would be most appreciative if you didn't speak about my benefactor in such a disparaging tone."

Ah. How stupid of her. She was speaking to one of the oldest and strongest Apostle Ancestors on the planet and had just tried to push his buttons.

"R-right. My mistake."

"Is there a problem, vampire?"

Rin's eyes were trapped by Merem's, but she didn't need to look to know that Archer was standing on the house roof nearby with his bow drawn and aimed at a new target.

Merem held eye contact for what felt like an eternity to Rin but was only for a few more seconds before turning his attention back to the night sky. "None at all, Archer."

"Archer. It's fine."

"Dare I ask why you tried to get into a pissing contest with Merem Solomon?"

"Stupidity and pride."

"I'll throw in sleep deprivation and stress to your case to make it look better." The bow and arrow in Archer's hands faded away. "Do you need help?"

"No. But thank you." She needed to focus on a way to satiate Merem's… wait. "Actually, Archer, maybe you can help. In the worlds that you stayed after the War, what did I do usually?"

"After the War?" He frowned. "Depends. You normally went to the Clocktower. Then it was a coin toss between you learning under Lord El Melloi II or Zelretch. Usually depended on whether or not the latter was around. Don't go asking for long term plans though. Usually I only stayed around for at most a year in those scenarios."

"Anything in particular that stands out that I should know?"

"Run away from the magical stick."

"… What."

"It's another mystic code of Zelretch's that he tends to give you. A far more annoying one."

"I take it you are having a curious conversation with your Servant." Merem noted absently.

"O-of sorts." She laughed nervously.

"Care to share what has you so perturbed?"

Rin opened her mouth to shut him down, but at the last moment had a better idea. "… Zelretch."

"… Ah. My condolences. I apologize for pressing you about your future. It seems that you're guaranteed to be quite occupied with your own troubles for a while if Archer is warning you of it."

Please stop. It didn't feel right to be pitied like that by an Apostle Ancestor.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's it. Enough about my apparently nightmarish future. I'm going to sleep before something else either drives me insane or tries to kill me."

"It has been rather eventful recently…"

"I don't want to hear that from you!" She snapped. "Just, keep Irisviel under control until Caster has the bounded field done. We can bounce ideas about how to ensure she doesn't destroy us all the moment she walks out of the property tomorrow."

"Fair enough. A good night to you, Rin Tohsaka."

She held back a shiver, still not comfortable the way he said her name. "Whatever."

Merem didn't take offense as Rin walked away from him. He didn't bother to comment on Archer still staring at him from the roof, or Caster keeping tabs on him while updating the bounded fields.

Instead he stayed in place, casually staring up at the winter sky.

Irisviel's appearance had complicated matters.

But by what degree, even he didn't know as of yet. Only time would tell.

He would have to maintain his focus and alert for the time being though.

Hopefully, contracting her as his Servant wouldn't bring to light certain events that had long past.

… Damn you, Zelretch.

o. o. o.

Omake: A bullet dodged

Chaldea:

Shirou and Saber were enjoying a rare meal in the Chaldea cafeteria between singularities.

"I still can't get used to this place sometimes." Shirou waved as Mashu and Ritsuka passed by. "There are so many Servants here it makes the hair on the back of my head perpetually standing."

"Hmm. I would have assumed that it would make one's hair white, but I believe it's too late for that." Saber lightly mocked as she ate her third serving of the meal.

"Hilarious." Shirou deadpanned. He still technically had some coloring to his hair unlike EMIYA, but all it did was give it a pinkish hue that he'd rather not talk about. "I don't see why you're so amused about my hair color though, given your circumstance."

Saber paused mid bite and looked at him curiously. "… I'm unsure what you are referring to. Just as I am unsure I wish to know."

Shirou snorted, looking at her skeptically for a few seconds before realizing she was serious. "You mean you haven't noticed yet?"

"Noticed what?" Saber put down her half eaten bowl, an unconscious reaction, but one that clearly indicated that she was being serious.

The Master opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, clearly recovering from his surprise before grimacing and preparing for the fallout.

"You know your promise to Alaya? And how you'd be a Counter Guardian?"

"Yes?" She replied slowly.

Shirou shook his head and pointed to the kitchen where EMIYA was on duty (There was a silent armistice between them. The kitchen and cafeteria were hollowed grounds). "Counter Guardian."

He then pointed to a dark corner in the room where EMIYA Alter was brooding and pretending that he had Presence Concealment instead of admitting that he just creeped everyone out. "Counter Guardian."

He pointed to EMIYA Assassin, who was in another dark corner of the room and pretending that Irisviel wasn't eating just a few feet away and talking to him. "Counter Guardian."

Then he pointed to one of the middle tables in the kitchen where Okita Alter was eating with the rest of the Shinsengumi Servants, save Hijikata who was approaching them with a giant barrel of pickles. "Counter Guardian."

He gave her a dry look. "See anything in common?"

Outside of the fact that most were Emiya related? Saber focused on the outlier that was Okita Alter. Nothing about the peculiar Servant struck her as odd save for…

Her tan skin and white hair.

Her head snapped as she looked at EMIYA again. Tan skin and white hair.

EMIYA Alter. Tanned borderline black skin and white hair.

Emiya Assassin? Tanned skin and white hair.

"By the gods…" Saber shivered as she slowly looked at her own hands. Flashes and mirages of tan flickered in and out of sight. She then desperately began to claw at her own beautiful golden blonde hair and almost let out a whimper.

But she didn't, because kings don't whimper.

"Yeah, surprised me too." Shirou shrugged, not at all bothered by the fact that he also fit the criteria. "Personally, it makes me wonder if Alaya has some kind of ganguro complex or something. Hell, for all we know it might be a criteria to be a Co-."

"Shirou. Stop talking." Saber cut in with a hint of hysteria. "We will never speak of this again. Am I understood?"

He held back a laugh and smirked. "What's wrong? Your Alters' pull off white hair pretty good. Although I don't think you'll be able to do tan as well as Mordred-"

His words were cut off literally as an Invisible Air shrouded Excalibur rested itself on his shoulder.

"So how was training with Gawain today in the simulator?" His amused smile didn't change and his change in conversation didn't skip a beat.

"EH?! Did that cocky asshole just say my name?!" Mordred asked from the background.

"Not now Mordred. Mommy and Daddy are talking." Shirou chided without looking.

"The fuck you say bitch?! You're not my mother!"

Unnoticed by the bulk of the inhabitants of the cafeteria, EMIYA and EMIYA Alter were looking at their hands in morbid horror and fascination, as if they had just learned something that completely shattered their grasp on reality.

Da Vinci and several other Casters were miserable that month, either busy trying to convince both EMIYA's that they couldn't alter their spirit origins to have colored hair, or that doing so wouldn't convince Alaya to kick them out of the Throne of Heroes.

In yet another corner of the cafeteria, Fujino Asagami pouted. "I'm a Counter Guardian too."

The Author's voice echoed in a way that only she could hear him. "Did you ever actually do anything as a Counter Guardian yet?"

"Well, no but…"

"Then come back later when you do something related to the plot. Or you become a ganguro. Whichever comes first."

"Awww."

o. o. o.

Servant Stats:

Caster

ID: Irisviel Emiya

Alias: Cursed Holy Grail

Master: Merem Solomon

Alignment: Chaotic Good/Evil

Stats (Kept low at Master's will by restricting Mana source)

Strength: E

Agility: C (D)

Mana: A+

Luck: B (D)

Endurance: E

Noble Phantasm: ?

Class Skills:

Territory Creation: B

Goddess' Essence B (Because she was summoned by the Deity known as Angra Mainyuu, even in its incomplete and dormant state, this skill is higher than it normally would be.)

Personal Skills:

Sacrificial Resolve: A

Child of Nature: B

Love of the Black Grail: A+ (EX): A twisted skill similar to one that is granted to a certain Counter Guardian Assassin, it is a monkey's paw that allows this Servant to bless and curse the recipient with an absurd boost to their Luck Stat. They will be capable of excelling and survive ordeals that they would normally be unable to endure, but at the cost of losing something dear in exchange, be it a person or their own health. The effects of blessing and curse are further magnified based on the Servant's affection for the target.

Due to the unusual circumstances of the current War, this skill's effects are magnified to the point of achieving miracles on par with True Magic, altering causality for the best (worst) results possible, regardless of the Servant's intentions. At this stage, it is more of a passive curse that will infect and twist the world around her akin to a Reality Marble than a skill to activate. Extreme care needs to be taken when around her.

NP: ?

A/N:

As always, thanks Wayfarer for Betaing. Glad everything's settled down for you. Good luck on selling those properties.

Sorry for the late posting everyone, I intended to get this out last week, but my roommate was moving out to go to Grad School and it was a bit hectic here. Looking for a roommate atm, but I'm in no rush. The extra room in the kitchen is particularly nice.

I have mixed feelings about this chapter. A lot happens but I don't feel like the plot has moved as much as I'd like. Maybe that's just me.

So Iri is back and she's trolling it up for everyone for better or for worse. I'm still getting used to writing her and having her fit into the dynamic of everything. She's like Taiga at times, and at others she turns into something almost akin to BB on a very bad day. It's a bit difficult, which in hindsight is a bit surprising since I haven't had that much trouble before with similar characters.

Shirou also got some well-deserved time to vent on something that wasn't Servant level for once. The first scene I felt was long needed to underscore just where he stood when compared to the generic rank and file Magi of the world. In a nutshell, he'd flat out curbstomp most of them even without Kiritsugu now. In terms of power scaling, he's significantly closer to Servant level than human level, to the point that the lesser experienced would compare him to the former (even though he'd still get wrecked 85% of the time against most conventional Servants in a straight up fight).

More importantly, I wanted to show just how differently he treats those that aren't from his inner circle. FFD Shirou is vastly closer to Miyu-verse Shirou in mentality than the Canon route variants, albeit far more trained and professional, and I wanted to show that.

That said, the stress of everything really is starting to pile up on him again. Had he not received the motivational support of everyone when Fina popped up, he would have been in a real bad state by now.

Of course that all went out the window the moment Iri started to lecture Lorelei about her love life. No level of preparation could secure a person for that level of madness. Hell, it was a miracle that Merem managed to not burst out hysterically laughing during that part.

Anyways, that's about it for now.

I have a new Tshirt for sale.

A Kill Merlin tshirt. Complete with Saber riding Fou.

Yeeeeeees.

Go to the Teepublic website and search for "The hunt is on". It is a marvelous shirt with a beautiful Merlin Murdering design. And yes, I do have Xolef, the commissioned artist's permission to use this. I paid him with a tshirt. He was very pleased with his compensation.

Teepublic website /t-shirt/22765065-the-hunt-is-on

Again, I have a Pat-eon account. Just look up Third Fang if you want to support me and what I do, and get a few extra things here and there in the process. Thanks to everyone that do support me. I'm using the money earned to do more commissions, which are patrons only. Looks like the next will be an FFD UBW pic, which will be sweet.

And that's about it. Gonna post this now and get it out of the way so I can get to the next chapter. Again, sorry for this being so late. IRL stuff and all that.

SO REVIEW! WORSHIP THE LOG! IRISVIEL'S ATTEMPT AT HAVING THE TALK WITH ILLYA AND SHIROU WILL BE THE STUFF OF LEGENDS OF WHICH THE WORLD WILL NEVER KNOW AND IT WILL BE GLORIOUS AND HORRIFYING! AND REVIEW AGAIN!