Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Death and Rebirth

Chapter 2

The situation developed exactly as the Einzbern Archive recorded it would, Saber and Irisviel von Einzbern eventually becoming forced into a confrontation against Lancer at the docks. Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald watched from behind a concealment spell atop a nearby building, while Kiritsugu Emiya and his assistant/mistress Maiya Hisau did likewise from a sniper nest in the distance.

Unfortunately, despite knowing their continued survival and presence in the area, there was simply no way to tell where Assassin was. Apparently, even the greatest Einzbern mysteries couldn't pierce the Old Man of the Mountain's Presence Concealment. Disappointing, but not unsurprising, considering the legend of the Hashashin.

Kariya Matou and Berserker should also be nearby, or closing in, but apparently their concealment spells were very good. Schneeweißchen couldn't find them at all, which was very annoying and concerning. It seemed Matou could be more dangerous than originally predicted, and would need to be taken into account going forward.

Through her familiars, Schneeweißchen watched as Lancer and Saber fought evenly matched against each other, until Lord El-Melloi ordered the former to use his Noble Phantasm. Gae Dearg: The Crimson Rose of Exorcism, its ability to nullify any magecraft on contact cutting through the wind spell woven by the Mage of Flowers himself around Excalibur, and in so doing, exposed Saber's identity to all present. Then Gae Buidhe: The Yellow Rose of Mortality, which cut through her enchanted armor and left a wound in her side that, while physically-healed, remained metaphysically-present, leaving Saber unable to use her full power until Gae Buidhe was destroyed.

That, or Lancer was killed.

Then, in a tempest of thunder and lightning, Rider arrived, loudly proclaiming his identity for all the world to hear. "Alexander the Great," Caster mused telepathically to his Master. "King of Macedon…no, the King of Conquerors. What a commanding presence…and also what fearsome brilliance…"

"You are referring," Schneeweißchen began, all the while watching as the future Lord El-Melloi II vainly tried to restrain his Servant. "I assume, to his flamboyant and bombastic entrance."

"At first glance it's a colossal misstep," Caster replied. "And it makes one wonder how such a boorish brute of a man could have achieved such dizzying heights of success. Yet, on further examination, is that not the whole point?"

"...the knowledge that one faces the greatest conqueror in Human history," Schneeweißchen said after a moment. "Who conquered nearly the entire ancient world in barely a decade…it would give anyone sane pause for thought…potentially worth the risk of exposing his identity…"

Schneeweißchen trailed off as Lord El-Melloi lambasted Waver Velvet as a thief and an upstart, only for the latter to be championed by his own Servant. Then, in a flicker of golden light, a man in gold appeared, and standing balanced on a lamppost, denounced all present as false heroes and pretender kings, before abruptly turning in her familiar's direction. Eyes the color of blood met those of the familiar, and through them, Schneeweißchen's own.

"Mutilated Child, attend me!" the gold-armored Servant snapped in a commanding tone.

"What?" Caster said before narrowing his eyes as his clairvoyance kicked in. Limited compared to what it had been capable of in his life, but still very formidable for all that, allowing him to learn much. "I see…the King of Heroes of Ancient Uruk…what will you do, Master?"

"...my elder sister will scold me if I forget my manners." Schneeweißchen said with a sigh, before sacrificing the familiar to open a Gate of Infinity atop the building opposite Lord El-Melloi's own. To those present, it appeared like a circular hole in space, through which distorted images of what lay beyond could be seen, its edges flickering with corposant and crackling with static electricity. Then Schneeweißchen walked through accompanied by Konstanz, the gate closing behind them.

"Greetings, great one." she said with a curtsy, before raising her head to meet the crimson eyes of the one the oracles of Antarctica had attributed many titles to. Some ancient, others to be realized in ages to come, others constant over time and space.

King of Heroes. Revelation. Anathema. Emperor.

The Master of Mankind.

He who sits on a Throne of Gold atop an Engine of Souls at the Center of All Things.

The golden Servant clicked his tongue and pointed to where light shimmered before exposing the black-armored visage of Berserker. "Deal with this." he commanded.

Schneeweißchen sighed at the near-impossible command. "Don't die." she said with a glance at Konstanz.

The homunculus gave a curt nod, and then just as Berserker leaped at the Emperor-to-be, he leaped forward and off the building, halberd raised to strike with two hands. Berserker nimbly avoided the blow, rhenium alloy and superhuman strength allowing Konstanz to collapse an entire section of road. Quickly pulling his weapon back, the homunculus leaped away to open the distance as Berserker counterattacked with a roar, wielding a piece of rebar turned black and red with prana like a sword.

Undeterred, Konstanz danced around Berserker's blows, using the superior length of his weapon to keep the Servant away, but unable to counterattack himself. But that was fine, Konstanz only needed to keep Berserker busy, all the while Schneeweißchen sampled the prana emanations from the Servant, and traced it to its source.

"Ah, there you are, little worm." Schneeweißchen said while rising into the air. "Please die."

Mandalas flashed into existence around her before lashing out with brilliant lances of light. Like an artillery barrage, they rained down over an entire section of the docks, causing buildings to collapse one after the other, and tearing up the roads and streets between. Then Schneeweißchen sniffed, the air around her suddenly stinking of ozone while static crackled off her body.

Blinding white fingers of electricity stroked out, and sent burning and smoking husks of Matou familiars falling to the ground below. "Hmm…Blade Wing Worms, I believe, the archives describe these as…" Schneeweißchen murmured as she turned through the air, electricity continuing to bring Matou familiars down around her by the dozen. "...not particularly impressive all things considered…allow me to show you what real magecraft looks like."

Then she blinked as with a cry of pain, Konstanz was sent flying through a wall. He'd managed to block Berserker's blow with his halberd, but the force behind it was too much. Still, that wouldn't do at all.

Beams of light lanced down and hammered at Berserker, who roared in fury as the beams splattered against and around him. It failed to do more than superficial damage, but again, Schneeweißchen didn't need to beat him. His Master, in contrast…

"Gewitter." she said softly, and lightning blazed down from the sky in a number of strikes that bleached the color from their surroundings, while the booming of thunder shook the ground and shattered windows for kilometers around, until at last, Schneeweißchen canceled the spell.

For a long moment, she just floated there in the sky, and then finally, hissed in dismay as she sensed Kariya being spirited away by his Servant, summoned to his side in an instant by a command spell. "He got away." she said while floating down.

"You are surprised, Mutilated Child?" the golden Servant - Archer - drawled. "You are already aware that the one who holds that rabid dog's leash is a witless little worm. And you are also aware of what they are like."

"They feed on carrion," Schneeweißchen remarked. "And crawl on and through the dirt when they encounter something beyond them."

Archer just smirked, while Rider laughed. "Pretty good show there, little lady." he said. "So, mind telling us who you are? Wait, you're not a Servant are you? Are you a Master as well?"

"I am Schneeweißchen von Fernhügel." Schneeweißchen replied with a curtsy. "No, I am not a Servant. And I am indeed a Master. As proof, allow me to show you my command spells."

Gasps filled the air as Schneeweißchen fed mana into her command spells, blood red sigils coming to life over her entire body and shining through her clothes. "That's impossible!" Irisviel erupted. "Those command spells…their pattern…that's…no, it can't be! It's not possible!"

"And yet, they clearly are, mother." Schneeweißchen said, and causing Irisviel to recoil in shock and surprise. If she weren't so pale, the blood would have visibly drained from her face.

"W-w-what did you call me?" she stammered out.

"Mother." Schneeweißchen said before tilting her head and relaxing her command spells. "Your confusion is understandable, but rest assured, it is simply the truth. Out of all available gene-lineages, yours was deemed the most suitable to stabilize Subject M-0042's compromised gene-song, as per the reconstruction phase of Projekt W…"

"My lady…" Konstanz said, hurrying over and giving an apologetic bow before whispering in Schneeweißchen's ear. The female homunculus blinked in realization, and then smiled apologetically.

"Ah…my apologies…" she said. "...it seems I've said too much."

Archer chuckled, clearly amused by the whole show below. "Something amuses you, golden boy?" Rider called from below.

"This is better than a play." Archer said with a grin. "I can see why I would indulge the Mutilated Child's elder sister so. Her little games have such amusing outcomes, with interesting new characters…yes, for that alone, I will suffer the survival and escape of that rabid dog and its witless worm of a Master tonight."

"Rest assured, King of Heroes," Schneeweißchen said with a bow, and ignoring the gasps and exclamations across the battlefield. "I fully intend to kill every last wretched worm in this city by the time this…farce, of a conflict ends."

Archer laughed, throwing his head back in delight. "Wonderful!" he gleefully exclaimed. "Very wonderful! Even better, you even managed to get that lazy fool Tokiomi to get off his chair!"

"And I intend to kill him as well." Schneeweißchen said with a shrug. "Perhaps he can share a grave with Makiri Zolgen?"

Archer snorted. "As if you intend something so dignified for either of them." he drawled before crossing his arms and shaking his head. "And now that fool has the nerve to call me back like a dog on a leash…very well, you have proven yourself amusing, and potentially useful. You are your sister's sister indeed…for all that, you have earned the king's magnanimity…for now. Continue proving your value, Mutilated Child, and you will be rewarded. Remember that."

Schneeweißchen just bowed, and then Archer left in a shimmer of gold. "Well, that was interesting." Rider mused. "You seem to know a lot of things, um…Schneeweißchen, wasn't it?"

"I know a lot of things." Schneeweißchen said while walking parallel to Irisviel and Saber, and keeping a constant distance between all of them. "For instance, I know that Kiritsugu Emiya has sniper rifles trained on us from that building yonder, and that Assassin is skulking in the shadows nearby. Yes, he's alive. In all honesty, none of you believed that pitiful piece of theater at Tohsaka, did you?"

"No, we didn't." Rider said while rubbing his chin. "Seriously, if anyone tried to pass that show off back to my old theater tutors, my mother would have them flogged. Assuming they didn't get stoned to death by a mob, that is. Theater is a very serious matter."

"Considering your background, King of Conquerors," Schneeweißchen began. "That is not surprising."

"But," Lord El-Melloi said from above. "That sham could only have been conducted with the cooperation of both Servants Archer and Assassin…meaning Tohsaka and Kotomine are…allies?"

A snarl of rage echoed from above, before Lord El-Melloi barked new orders at his Servant. "Lancer!" he snapped. "We're withdrawing! Lady Einzbern, Lady Fernhügel, and…Waver Velvet, we will continue this another time. For now, Tohsaka and Kotomine's treachery take priority."

"Hey, wait a minute…damn it…" Rider began before grumbling unhappily at Lancer and Lord El-Melloi's departure, and then focusing on Schneeweißchen again. "...hmm…let's see…we've seen Archer, Saber, and Lancer. I'm the Rider, and we've also just seen Berserker. We've also seen Assassin - who probably has multiple bodies or can make illusions with a Noble Phantasm or personal skill - so that leaves you as Caster's Master."

Schneeweißchen gave a small smile. "Astute, I see." she said with a small bow. "As should be expected of the King of Conquerors."

"What?" Rider modestly asked. "It's just simple elimination. Still, that brings me back to my point? Would you at least consider joining my army?"

"I might." Schneeweißchen said much to everyone else's shock. "It doesn't seem to contradict my goals, but I'd have to think on it first. Also, you should ask my Servant yourself when the time comes."

"Fair, I suppose, on both counts." Rider said before tilting his head. "Still, you were a bit harsh on both Matou and Tohsaka…"

"On the contrary," Schneeweißchen interrupted. "I am simply being fair to them. Matou is…a special case, so I will not speak more of them in public. Tohsaka, however, are thieves and upstarts, parvenus as the French would say, who put on airs and boast of undeserved glory all the while dealing in flesh and innocent lives on the side."

Schneeweißchen paused at that, and tilted her head back as though in surprise, confusion, and introspection. "Something wrong, Master of Caster?" Rider asked in concern.

"Interesting…" she eventually said. "...it seems that a certain degree of Subject M-0042's consciousness lingers…infinitesimal, but there for all that…how very interesting…I must see to this as soon as possible, so I apologize, mother, King of Conquerors, King of Heroes, and Waver Velvet, but I must be leaving now."

"Wait, how are you…" Irisviel erupted at the same time, but already Schneeweißchen had opened another Gate of Infinity, and with a bow at them all, departed followed by Konstanz. An awkward silence lingered, broken only by police, fire, ambulance, and other sirens in the distance.

"Well…" Rider eventually began. "...that certainly happened…anyway, King of Knights! Would you care to give my invitation a second thought?"

"My lady," Konstanz began as they walked down a corridor in Schneeweißchen's atelier. "With all due respect, was it wise revealing so much information?"

"Perhaps not," Schneeweißchen admitted. "But…yes, I suppose on some level, I find that I…owe gratitude, and thus the truth, to my mother. Yes, yes, I am aware the…term, can be somewhat misleading, but it is also the most accurate adjective for Irisviel von Einzbern's relationship to myself. Her gene-lineage was used to repair Subject M-0042's damaged gene-song, that much is true, as is the fact that chimerization has resulted in any and all gene-scans identifying her as my biological mother. Whether she actually bore and birthed me, as is the case for normal mother-daughter relationships, is irrelevant to that fact."

"I understand." Konstanz said with a nod.

"In any case," Schneeweißchen continued. "I did not say anything that could potentially hint at our origins. Besides, even if the Lord of the Kaleidoscope is inclined to intervene, there are contingencies in place. Assuming, of course, that the Lord of the Kaleidoscope is willing to risk a potential confrontation with…the Fuhrer."

"...you are concerned." Konstanz said after a few moments.

Schneeweißchen sighed. "I trust in my elder sister's judgment." she said. "But even so…the Aryans…they are…disturbing. Surely you felt the same way at Xanadu, and at the…people, who live in it."

"...space-time at Xanadu is distorted," Konstanz pointed out. "Which would explain the…unnatural, and psychologically-compromising, atmosphere of the city. The same could be said for the Aryans, between natural adaptation, their own eugenics programs, and of course, the alchemical rituals regularly conducted therein."

"True…" Schneeweißchen admitted, but trailed off as the sense of wrongness about the Aryans and their city of Xanadu in Antarctica continued to linger. It was something that transcended her own Trans-Human nature, affecting her as much as it did baseline Humans, and that worried her. Still, like she told Konstanz, she trusted her sister, and if Iris von Märchenwelt thought the risk was worth taking, then she - Schneeweißchen - would defer to her judgment.

Besides, if Operation Referee succeeded, then Schneeweißchen's simulations about her own postwar psychology would likely lean in the direction that the risk was worth the rewards.

"...prepare for a Level 3 Diagnostic." Schneeweißchen said as she entered the medical lab, already discarding her mantle and beginning to disrobe. "Initialize the Source Subject Archival Databank, with Protect Level set to four. Anima Buffer should be at Level 5."

Konstanz looked on dispassionately as his mistress stripped down to her bare skin, before putting on a neural collar, all the while calmly giving orders to the homunculi manning the medical lab. Climbing up a set of steps to the regeneration capsule's upper opening, Schneeweißchen hooked up her neural collar to a hardlink conduit, the other homunculi checking on the integrity of the connection.

Then, once all checks were done, and final preparations completed, Schneeweißchen clambered over the regeneration capsule's lip, and slipped into the salty medium below. It was cold, very cold, and would have most Humans thrashing and shaking at the low temperatures. For a homunculus, it was…uncomfortable, but nothing they couldn't bear with as their bodies took a few minutes to fully adapt.

Likewise for Schneeweißchen opening her mouth and breathing deep, allowing the gel-like medium to flood her throat and fill her lungs. As she was still physically Human, there was still a gag reflex and a sense of drowning, but her Trans-Human mind easily brushed it off until the medium had completely filled her lungs.

Then she breathed normally, her lungs filtering oxygen and carbon dioxide from the medium even better that it could from air. As her body relaxed, suspended in life-sustaining liquid, she closed her eyes, entering a state of semi-consciousness where her mind was effectively semi-detached from both body and soul, allowing for examination and adjustment with much greater objectivity and versatility than was otherwise possible.

…commence Level 3 Diagnostic.

…checking system connections.

…standby.

…standby.

…standby.

…system connections, all green.

…commencing Level 3 Diagnostic.

A/N

Continuing on from Ryuunosuke's death in the prologue, the battle at the docks goes completely off the rails in this chapter.

Strange as it might sound, that NGE-like bit towards the end of this chapter, liquid respiration, is actually theoretically-viable in reality. The scientists are still working on how to make it work, but the principles are sound. And anything technology can do, magecraft can do just as well.

Well, actually, it's the reverse. Anything magecraft can do, technology can as well, it's just that the former has a head start and the latter is playing catchup (if slowly but steadily gaining). And since Einzbern are literally grown in vats, it makes sense that for major medical issues or in-depth examinations, they can just throw themselves into those same vats they're grown from.

Within reason, of course, as Illya was shown to need several surgeries over time.