What, in a castle, did you really need?
The furnishings, no, probably not. They made the place look slightly less sparse than it otherwise might, sure, but the Einzbern war residence had not exactly been furnished for comfort. In the end, they were hardly used, mere decoration.
The defences? Those were useful. Some might say they were, in fact, the main advantage to living in an isolated castle in the middle of the woods rather than, you know, a house in the middle of the rest of the city where everyone else lived. Certainly the public transport access wasn't anything to shout about. It would have been nice to keep them, but that wasn't an option.
The soldiers inside… ah, yes, those were essential.
Serenity watched from the rooftop of the Einzbern's new base, and watched the car roll up. She materialised long enough enough to open the doors to the property, then faded back out of sight.
This place had been bought, by Maiya via proxy, shortly prior to the start of the War as part of Kiritsugu's preparations. It was intended as a backup base, in the event of something happening to the Einzbern castle – one of Kiritsugu's first decisions, reasoning that while their main base had many advantages, the other two founding families knew precisely where it was and it was only sensible to have somewhere secret to operate from.
Events had proven this line of thinking prudent.
The car parked in the yard, and Maiya got out from the driver's side, and started carrying boxes from the boot to the house. Kiritsugu emerged from the back seat, and carried Irisviel into the house, bridal-style.
There were many things that Serenity wanted to talk to him about… but for now, she was by far the strongest person on the Einzbern team, and she could be more useful elsewhere.
Besides. Connecting with the other member of her team was never time wasted. As assassins went, Serenity was by necessity something of a people person.
"Good evening," she said, materialising next to Maiya and picking up a set of latex gloves.
It was maybe a sad comment on how much Serenity had done this over the course of the War that Maiya only jumped slightly without screaming hardly at all, and handed Serenity the box to carry.
"Ah… Assassin. Good evening."
"Is this the last of it?" Serenity asked as Maiya heaved another box onto the first. It made a metallic clink, and it was heavier than Serenity might have expected, although the weight was still barely noticeable. These would be the weapons and traps, then – everything that had been left after Saber and their Master's assault on the castle.
"Not quite. I think it will take another trip to retrieve the rest of the weapons. I will handle that, naturally. Kiritsugu will stay here to look after Miss Irisviel."
Serenity accepted a third box. "Thank you for doing this. I hope you understand the need for it. We don't just make you drive across town with a small arsenal for fun."
Maiya blinked. "It hardly matters if I understand or not. If Kiritsugu thinks it's a good idea, then we'll do it. I'm just here to help, whatever he decides." She took the last box herself, then closed the boot. Serenity fell into step beside her, tread light and silent even while carrying three boxes stacked up higher than her head.
"Mmm… you're not just a tool, though, Maiya, please don't think that. Kiritsugu did let you know why we had to move, didn't he?"
A shrug. "Yes, of course. Caster has seen the castle, and has probably analysed the defences while she was there. Her betrayal means we needed to move to this new base of operations – likely she can find it if she chose, but with Kiritsugu's observation of how she seems to have antagonised Lancer… we are probably not the priority." Reaching the front door, Maiya opened it and carefully took a box off Serenity so she could fit through.
"Good," Serenity said, and smiled at Maiya. Even with the total obedience demanded by the Order, it was always preferable that its assassins knew why they were told to do things a certain way or at a certain time. It made them more flexible in the field, and meant they could achieve their superior's intent even if they had to go about things in a slightly different way.
Or, at least, that was how Serenity had run the Order when she was Hassan-i-Sabah. It looked like Kiritsugu shared her view.
Maiya paused to kick off her shoes in the entryway. Serenity just waited, not having any shoes to take off.
When they got into the living room, Irisviel had been carefully placed on the sofa. Next to her, Kiritsugu sat, still in his outdoor coat, head resting on her shoulder.
Seeing them Maiya paused, then carefully padded past to quietly place her box in the main bedroom. Serenity lingered a moment, looking at her exhausted Master and his wife.
This wasn't sustainable.
"So. Our strategy, going forward," announced Kiritsugu.
After a long sleep, it looked like he'd recovered a little vigour, although he would have had to get up much earlier to fool Serenity into thinking he was perfectly fine. Given that, due to the War wreaking as much havoc on their sleep schedules as it did to the city, this meeting was taking place at about a quarter past eleven, this really was saying something.
He, Maiya and Serenity sat at the kitchen table in their new house. After the bleak opulence of the Einzbern castle, the contrast was stark – much smaller, Japanese-style rather than Western (at least, so Serenity's information from the Grail informed her) and somehow much more… homely.
But also, yes, much smaller. Serenity held her breath, because filling the air with poison gas and killing her Master and his assistant could have been seen as impolite. At least in the Einzbern planning room she could lurk in the opposite corner and open a window.
"Caster and Lancer have, finally, moved against each other directly," continued Kiritsugu. "Caster seems to have conducted their fight in some alternate dimension – however, one of my familiars did witness them both emerge near the Mackenzies' house. Following this, Caster escaped to an unknown location after her Master used a Command Spell."
He placed his hands on the table. "To sum up: Lancer was not able to finish off Caster." He regarded Maiya and Serenity, to make sure that they both grasped the implications. Neither were particularly expressive people, but Kiritsugu seemed satisfied, and continued. "It seems logical that each sees the other as their biggest threat. While each remains focused on the other, we have options. Three realistic ones, in total: interfere in favour of Lancer in order to remove Caster, interfere in favour of Caster in order to remove Lancer, or do not interfere at all and hope to subsequently defeat the victor."
In actuality there were rather more options than that, reflected Serenity. They could attempt to engineer a situation where Caster and Lancer defeated each other, or interfere in such a way that one's victory over the other was rendered far more costly, or even simultaneously kill both Masters such that the battle was never fought at all. All of those would be very satisfactory results.
But, yes, the word 'realistic' was key here. In the end, Caster or Lancer would win – the question was which result better helped achieve Kiritsugu's dream and whether the risk involved in actively making that happen was worth it.
The other option, of course, was to fail to successfully interfere and expose themselves as a result. It wasn't like 'interfering' was a one hundred percent instant win for their chosen side, after all. As a Servant, Serenity was almost never an insignificant asset in a fight, but 'almost' was doing a lot of work there when it involved Enkidu – or, apparently, a Caster who could survive an alternate-dimension cage match with them.
So… Serenity thought. What was her preferred outcome? Kiritsugu's should be similar, given the connection guaranteed by the Grail. She waited to see if she was right.
"My decision is to support Caster," stated Kiritsugu. "Despite their betrayal, and despite the fact that they more about us than any other pair, and despite the fact that they are the best-suited to coming up with countermeasures, I believe they are still an easier team to defeat than Kotomine Kirei and his Lancer. Like Caster, Lancer is now also aware of Assassin's poison tactics and shapeshifting – and, more, Kotomine has proven far more cautious than Waver Velvet. The latter may yet still give us an opportunity to defeat him quickly and decisively. Kotomine is unlikely to."
Maiya nodded. "I had come to the same conclusion. Caster is a true wild card, and I'd rather not find out first-hand exactly what it was she needed Lancer alive for. It is likely she'll bring out whatever trump card she's been working on against Lancer, giving us the opportunity to figure out how to work around it."
Serenity sat quietly, frowning beneath her mask.
That had not been her conclusion.
For a few moments, she simply stayed silent. Had this been a simple mission when she was alive, she would never have dreamed of doing anything different. You did not argue with the client, and you did not argue with your superiors in the Order. When she had led the Order, Serenity had never been quite as lethal about enforcing discipline as her predecessor – part of being a people person was valuing alternative opinions. Even so, no-one would have dared to gainsay her once she had made her decision without a very good reason.
But this wasn't the Order. Kiritsugu was her Master, but also her partner. He deserved all Serenity's service – and right now, that meant her disagreement.
Tactful disagreement.
"If I may offer an alternative viewpoint…" she started. Kiritsugu stared at her. Maiya froze, and looked between them both, as if unsure how to process this.
Eventually Kiritsugu nodded, although his frown was clear. "Of course. Go ahead, Assassin."
Serenity took a (mental) deep breath. This was going to be a hard sell.
"I believe Kotomine Kirei is someone we can work with," she said. "In a permanent sense."
"Out of the question." Kiritsugu's response was immediate. "He is too dangerous – too unpredictable. Of all the Masters, he is the one whom I most fear. You know this, Assassin."
Serenity didn't back down. "I do. Even so." She held her Master's gaze, and after a moment he grunted and motioned for her to continue.
"Your fear comes from how similar you are to Kotomine Kirei, coupled with your uncertainty as to what goal drives him. This allows him to be exactly as unfettered as you are… less so, even, without your ideal of sacrificing as little as possible. From our conversation with Kotomine, even speaking through Lancer… I think you are right. You are similar, despite how different your Servants turned out. But that same similarity means that there is a chance you could work together."
"Explain," Kiritsugu said.
Serenity remembered Kotomine's words – spoken through Lancer's lips, but surely his all the same.
I respectfully ask as one man lost in the night to another who seems to have found a beacon of his own to follow…
I have lately been giving much thought to wishes, and what it is to desire something…
Kiritsugu may not have focused on what the man he'd decided was his greatest threat was saying. With the reveal that Serenity had been talking to Lancer the entire time, he may well have discounted everything said as some sort of trick. His fear of Kotomine wouldn't let him truly connect.
But for Serenity, there was no doubt. She had been talking to Kotomine.
She was a people person. And she didn't think she was wrong about this.
"Kotomine Kirei strikes me as a man in search of a wish," she said. "In my opinion, he can be talked round to our way of thinking. He can be persuaded to fight for your ideal."
Kiritsugu's mouth opened, just a fraction. It was enough to convey his shock.
"No-one would throw away their chance at a wish for a goal like mine," he said at length. "The temptation of the Grail is too strong, and without going through what I have, no-one could simply be… sold it, as if I were some politician hoping to change minds on a doorstep. Who else would support what I am trying to accomplish?"
Under her mask, Serenity's eyes flicked to Maiya.
No good. She followed Kiritsugu out of respect and love for him, not his ideal.
Irisviel? The same, she'd told Serenity as much.
But there was someone else.
"I do," she said.
Kiritsugu blinked. "You?"
"Yes. Master, you never pressed, so I never told you… what would you say was my wish for the Grail?"
"I had assumed…" Kiritsugu glanced down in thought. "Something to do with your body. I never did press. It wasn't important."
"Correct. My wish was to have a normal body again." Serenity stabbed the table with a fingertip. "Was. Then, I met you. I learned of your dream. Suffice to say, I found it persuasive. In the unlikely event that I somehow get the chance to wish on the Grail without you? Now, my wish would be: to end all conflict in the world, forever. No matter what I have to give up to see that realised, I will. Even if that be myself." Serenity removed her finger. In the centre of the table, a black corrosion mark remained.
The room was silent for a moment. Then, Serenity smiled.
"So you see. Your goal is not quite so unique to you as you believe."
"That's… I never…" Kiritsugu seemed at a loss. The look in his eyes could only be called bafflement. Then, it hardened to scepticism, and Serenity's heart sank. "No. Even if you have taken my goal as your own, Assassin, you have a Grail-given guarantee of compatibility and we have worked together more closely than I have with anyone else for years. Kotomine Kirei shares neither of these things.
"My decision stands. We will ensure that Caster prevails. Until then, we wait, and prepare." He looked around, from Serenity to the stiff, freaked-out statue that was Maiya. "Am I understood?"
In response, Serenity rose, bowed, and dematerialised.
The morning sun rose over the rooftops of Miyama. Serenity perched on the rooftop of the new Emiya house, deep in thought.
Perhaps Kiritsugu's stubbornness shouldn't have been surprising. Kiritsugu had had years as a solo operator – even Maiya acted as more of an extension of him than anything else. During her time as his Servant, Serenity had rarely challenged him. Had rarely needed to.
The only time she could remember doing so, in fact, was over the issue of Kotomine Kirei. She'd advised that Kiritsugu let Maiya and Irisviel handle him, precisely because Kiritsugu's almost instinctive fear had clouded his judgement where that man was concerned.
In the end, that hadn't really worked out, had it? Berserker's rampage had overtaken events, Maiya's one attempt on Kotomine had been repelled, and after that they were busy working on behalf of Caster. But it hadn't been the wrong decision, at the time. If Kiritsugu had been as objective as he usually was, he would have been just as in-step with Serenity as usual.
That time, Kiritsugu had listened to Serenity's recommendation. She supposed she was asking rather more this time… and he was significantly more stressed. Even now, he slept only fitfully, clinging to his unconscious wife for comfort.
If Irisviel had been awake, to lighten to mood, to joke and cajole her husband out of his most hardheaded tendencies… Serenity was sure she could have convinced him. While Irisviel knew almost nothing about war, or tactics, or killing, she knew her husband better than anyone. Without her, there was just Maiya, who was no use at all when it came to contradicting Kiritsugu.
A memory floated to the top of Serenity's thoughts – Irisviel, in the last conversation she'd had with her.
It has to be you, Serenity. You understand my husband, so you'll make sure his goal is reached. Even… even if he isn't there to see it.
At the time, Serenity had thought Irisviel had just forgotten Serenity's status as a Servant, who couldn't possibly outlive her Master. Now… in light of the conversation they'd just had, another meaning presented itself.
It wouldn't be perfect, but… Kiritsugu was scared of Kotomine precisely because of how similar he believed them to be. Serenity, as a Servant, was guaranteed by the Grail to be similar to Kiritsugu.
So…
Serenity closed her eyes and imagined… herself. Not as she was now, but as she was in life. Hating herself, hating her nature, hating the life she'd never chosen for herself but had been thrust into. All she had had was her faith, and that only scant comfort.
One man lost in the night to another…
Her wish, as she'd told Kiritsugu, had been nothing more than to save herself. A fundamental change to her nature.
What had changed?
Only one thing. She'd been shown an example, a better wish than her own. The woman she'd been had found that enough reason to abandon her own salvation in favour of the world's.
If she was right, and she thought she was, then Kotomine Kirei could very well be brought over to their side. Through Lancer, she'd told him of Kiritsugu's wish. All that was left was to show that they were serious about it.
Serenity stood, and leapt from the rooftop to land silently in the yard. Dematerialised, she padded through the house, to retrieve a certain tool Kiritsugu had prepared.
What, in the end, was their objective? Their real objective?
Win the War? No. A ruse. The War was just a ritual, built to emulate the Third Magic but capable of being used for other things. The real win condition was 'be the Master of the last Servant standing'. That would allow you to claim the Grail, and wish on it.
But… the Grail was just a means to an end. What mattered to Serenity – and her Master, if he was being honest – was that the wish get made. Not that one Master in particular be the one to make it.
A real assassin cared about results, not methods.
While Kiritsugu slept, Serenity slipped out of the house.
