"This is much smaller than I imagined. Though I suppose it is appropriately sized for the region." The Director spoke the words with the same high taste of a tourist looking through the Cathedrals in Japan. As if her nose was above the bannisters. "Though that could be an effect of the damage and wear." Her eye was critical, but Ritsuka had never had a doubt it would be.

He, however, had never seen a building of this size that was meant for a singular family. No matter how well off they were. Majority of home she had seen were two stories at their highest, deep enough to just fit a single city block. He could walk the length of them in a few seconds, and the perimeter in a little more than that. That didn't even account for how most people in Japan would stay in apartments, stacked over then stories tall.

This home, the manor, looked nothing like either abodes. This looked more akin to a western museum.

Four stories tall, and each story looking as if it were competing with a cathedral, intricate archways and pillars, carved into moldings on the outside, and windows that while not made out of stained glass did have heights and widths to them to be mistaken for large doorways. All of this just from the side. He couldn't even put a guess to how many rooms there were within, or what all their uses were. He could only surmise that the partitioners of the average chapel could all live in here at once, comfortably, perhaps without even sharing rooms.

It was simply enormous. And Olga treated it like was an average residence.

"Where do you think Archer is? Lancer?"

"My guess? I'd say third floor. Guys with bows always go high. After that, I'd say he's left the bony guys down below. That way if anything does get past him, least he's got a last guard to let him know someone's home." He cocked his head. "That being said, I ain't buying he fired at us down the street then just gave up and lost track."

"Neither do I. Which of course leads to the next question. Why isn't he firing at us?" The Director asked. "I can't even see him, but I refuse to believe a Servant like Archer isn't keeping an eye on us now."

"That he is, lass. But I'm thinking he's more wary of me dodging and Jesus over here catching more of his shots. He put out a useless arrow, then I know where he is."

"So, he's hiding. Does that mean you have an advantage over him?"

"On paper? Sure. In practice, probably not as much." Lancer rolled his shoulders. His red lance rocked around him. "Don't forget legends and stuff about us. Sure, I got my name rollin' Ireland as the top dog in the streets!" He almost struck a pose. "But Archer? I'm pretty sure this dude must be known world wide, and for as long as long as there's bene written language."

"And you base that off of?"

"Mostly how stupidly strong he is. If he was lesser known than me, but had a hell of a legend, then he'd be out of arrows or lobbing them once an hour at best."

"He hasn't fired at us recently."

"Now he hasn't, but you think most of those buildings in the town fell cause of the fires? Nuh uh, that was all the big guy upstairs doing, trying to tack me down with those 'logs' of his."

"For how long?"

"I'd say a day ta take out half the city. The rest kinda fell over time."

"Wonderful." Olga let out a long breath. "Then we have to assume there is a part of his legend we don't know, and that will make it more difficult to make up a strategy. First though, we need objectives."

"To leave?" Ritsuka started. The fire in her eyes stopped him. "I mean to return to Chaldea. We are here for an artifact, correct?" He stood near Jesus, who smiled upon him.

"Mash, you have been studying on those connections. Do you think you could recognize suitable materials for connecting to the Leylines?"

"I-I think so. But I won't be as confident with how to do it. Because I've… never actually done it."

"Neither have I, but I think I can incorporate it similar to other magics. Leyline connection may have similar properties as linking the trails of stairs in the sky. Easier to have a connection to at least. That's the main objective, but none of us are so silly as to think we can take a regalia and simply leave. We will have to confront Archer."

"Not looking forward ta that either, but I'm game for it." His smile betrayed his statement. "Need some kind of promise that there's gonna be nothing jumping up at me. Can't have Berserker trailing up or a big ass sword falling on me again."

"I think we have that covered. Afterall, he's done it once before. Isn't that correct, Jesus?" Ritsuka breathed a long breath out of his nose. She had not spoken incorrectly, but that didn't make his pit of a stomach and lighter.

"I am here to aid those who follow me. You are seeking a way home, and I will help." Ritsuka was happy, but it still irked him. His Lord being commanded.

"Excellent. Then that will leave me and this Master. I would normally suggest helping to dispatch of other opposing Masters, but this time, we have to find them instead. Search everywhere for anyone that came from Chaldea. IT shouldn't be too hard to find them, as they'll be wearing your same outfit." Ritsuka tugged at it. "Does that all make sense?"

"Sort of," Ritsuka honestly replied. The Director's ire was quick.

"And what are you opposed to? I imagine even you want to see if anyone else is alive inside."

"Of course I do! I just…" He looked to Jesus Christ. He hoped and prayed his Lord did not take his look of anguish as insult. He had none for the Lord of Hosts. "I don't feel comfortable ordering Jesus."

"Then don't worry, because I'm the one ordering him." That was worse. "You can continue to worship the ground he walks on, I'll see to it he rest of the Masters are safe. Once we have them, then you and Jesus can make yourself scarce, or at least as little as we need you for confronting Archer. And we will have to face him."

"Because there's no chance of setting up a Leyline connection while he's got a bow like his." Lancer agreed. "Makes sense. Guess I better hope my ace in the hole is a hole in one." Ritsuka stared at him, trying to figure out the meaning.

"He means his Noble Phantasm, Senpai," Mash pushed at him. "Cu Chulainn has the lance Gae Bulg, a lance which once thrown is able to guarantee a hit against an opponent's heart."

"It can what? How?"

"You wouldn't understand. Trust me, I know you won't." The Director flipped her hair. "Unless your about to say that the talk about concepts and relativity about the existence in the theoretical number planes make sense to you." The what plane? "There you go."

"That doesn't mean…" Ritsuka took a long breath. "Look, I know I'm not the smartest guy here. I know I'm not much. I was raised in churches and my life literally belongs to my Lord. My Lord who stands beside me now. You have your loyalties to your father. Can you please understand then-"

"My loyalties, as you call them, to my father are built upon responsibilities. Such as at this moment, with the Master in jeopardy and all of the Order of Humanity in peril, I must take charge and find them." Her amber eyes were focused. "If you think I am cruel for doing so, then label me it, but you have to understand that what am I doing is necessary."

"Even if it insults the Lord?"

"I'll break the Pieta statue again if it means keeping humanity reigned to Earth." He blinked. "You're horrified, and I see that. But know this then, Master. The enemies that are in there, or at least one of them, will do so much worse if given the chance."

"Lass ain't far off. Think Rider was like that."

"Point being, we are going to be taking risks, and you may have to make a sacrifice." Her eyes were still focused on him. "I am not discounting Jesus though. I am not going to ignore what he did for us and how he was able to do it." Her eyes faced him now. "I can't call you Lord, but you are strong. And I can, and do, apologize for even the slight insinuation I made against you before."

"I accept your apology, though I am still concerned with your lack of faith." Jesus held out his arms to her. "I know from your storied history that you have seen the rules of this world bent by the wills of men, and seeing such has broken the bridge between you and my father."

"That's not it. I just don't have faith in any deity like… like immortality." She waved her hand. "Die now or later, I go back to the root, as do all things. I don't need to worship any God to know that, not when I'm guaranteed to reach there."

"And if I were to tell you that such a road was not assured?" Her eyes narrowed. Ritsuka's did not.

"Then… I'd ask you to wait. We have to focus on this first. Then… Then we can have a debate about the immortality of the soul."

"There isn't a debate." Ritsuka's return was cut off by her hand.

"It is now, because we have to act instead." Her hand swung around towards the manor. "Because in there is a force that not only is guarding us from getting in contact with Chaldea, but just as likely holding many Masters prisoner. We have already risked a day, if not more, just surviving until now. We cannot delay any further. Do you disagree with this?"

How could he say disagree with that?

"Follow me then. We'll find the Masters, a regalia, and take ourselves on step closer to leaving this place." She shut her eyes, the air still around them. "But before I forget, please stay close to Jesus through this. Mash, you do the same."

"Director?"

"If any of the other Servants find us, they'll attack. No question. We, as… non-Servants, don't stand a chance against them. Jesus has shown himself capable of dispersing a Noble Phantasm from Saber, miles away. Cu, on the other hand, likely can't be hit. Not if he's trying to run at least."

"Don't put down a good Disengagement." The Lancer kept up his grin again.

"Hardly putting it down, I'm asking you to use it. Especially if one of us is near."

"Will you be?"

"I assume so. At least until we find Archer." She looked over them. "Then, depending on who is near, we separate with our tasks. Are there any questions."

Ritsuka looked to Jesus, his Lord and Savior and King of all the Heavens. The man who was born of a virgin, and able to bring together peoples from all walks of life under the banner of God. Him, the one he had worshipped through all his life.

He said nothing as a woman bearing the title of Mystics ordered him, like a Servant.

"Good, then let's go." She began to walk through the knolly forest. "Push us before anything else, Lancer. That will be notice enough to run."

"Can do, will do." The two were quick to enter the Manor. Ritsuka found his feet dragging.

"Senpai?" The curiosity bubbled from Mash. "Are you… alright?" Her hand was soft as she touched him. "Was there something you wanted to ask? I may be able to answer, u-unless it was a part of the plan. But I may be able to help if it's something else."

"No, it's… just confusion." He made sure to look at her before letting his eyes drift to Jesus. "My Lord, why did you listen to her?" The Lord hummed, in confusion. "I mean… you are God. You are the Lord, you are the king of us all."

"I am. And you do me honor for neither forgetting nor belittling."

"Then why are you listening to someone who says you're not?"

"Because I have listened to others much the same before." He raised his hand, voice soft, even as fires crackled in the distance. Snickering of devils. "The Mystic Leader has not spoken falsely or made incorrect judgement about that which lies ahead. Her mind is on saving the lives of those around her first, a priority to look for the Servants before the tasks. She also values your well-being, telling you both to not stray from me, for fear you will be harmed."

Mash a sound of understanding next to him. Ritsuka was silent as he listened on.

"I have spoken of my disappoint that she will not accept my Word. I find all who will not listen to be pitiable. But that does not mean I forsake or scorn them." Ritsuka's eyes nearly fell from his head.

"I-I wasn't asking for that! I swear!" He waved his hands, nearly yelling. "I don't want that! Just… Just some kind of reminder, I think." He tried to fathom just what he was expecting Jesus to say. The truth, doubtlessly. But the truth of Jesus hadn't convinced her yet.

"You were defending my name, because you do not wish to forsake me." Knowledge and wisdom spilled forth, and a hand was warm on the young man's shoulder. "A trait many will claim proudly to have, but lose at the most crucial of times. You were right to ask of me my wants and look to emulate them, but Olga Marie did not err in her desire to save others. Her dislike for the Church I wed shows only ignorance, but that is a sin bore not of intent. She will also not be the first to discredit my name, then to turn towards me." Jesus smiled kindly to Mash. "Though my grace is divine, too easily do many chose the comfort of what they may grasp over what they may feel."

Clap. The contact and words gave him peace of mind. The anxiety, the unease… the fell away like the timber in the forest. Jesus brought himself up, pulling back hands and turning to the mansion, eyes over his shoulder at Ritsuka and Mash.

"Now come. As she has said, we must work. We do no credit to the saints with inaction."

"Of course! I'm with you, my Lord."

"A-And me, too." Mash was at his side, nearly skipping next to him. He smiled to her, the girl's smile bright beneath her lavender curtained hair. He almost forgot they were walking into hell. "But my Lord, may I ask one question."

"You may ask as many as you can until your breath tires." It was a tempting idea, but it was as Jesus said. They had work to do.

"For now, I have one. You said Olga will turn towards you. Does that mean she will start to follow you… or just acknowledge you?" He'd seen the difference.

Those who came to church and worshipped God as Lord, then those who sought of him as an unobtainable object, better to ignore. Both were closer than the dismissal attitude of the Director now… but which one.

Jesus replied with a smile.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, I know Olga will one day follow me as you wish."

"I cannot believe that man wishes for me to bow down to him while I give him orders!"

"He ain't the first Servant ta do that." Lancer replied with his grin audible next to her. "Pretty sure any king ya summon will ask you to fix 'em up a hearty meal, endless booze, and then need some kind of tribute. Part of the whole 'noble' thing."

"You're not like that."

"Cause I ain't a ruler. I'm a kickass Lancer." He even gave a thumbs up as he said it. "All I care about is provin' I'm the best here and winning the war." The comment almost made her trip.

"Really? That's it?"

"What? Ya thought I had some grand regret I had ta work on?"

"Actually, yes." Her heels clicked as she walked down the ruined hallway, stepping over a fallen column in their path. "Unless you have forgotten, I was there when you told me about Saber's taunts. I may not have the greatest history with Servants, but I can at least say that no human makes an expression like you did without having a regret behind it."

"I have regret, lass. Not sayin' my life was sunshine through and through. But I'm better enough to know turnin' back that dial ain't gonna make my life a happier one."

"Why not?" She blinked at her own words. Especially as Cu's eyes blinked at her. "Do not take that to mean I believe you should try. My father had to convince not only the council but also the UN and factions of the Catholic Church that the Rayshifting system would be controlled and observed through numerous guards preventing significant impact on events in history, so that-"

"I don't care what yer dad did to keep humans safe in the future." Lancer's words made Olga feel a conflicting set of emotions. Good, but damn him for not wanting to know more. "Just lettin' ya know that I wouldn't be among those dogs lookin' to sink my teeth inta history. Ask my teach if ya ever meet her. Couldn't force me to give a damn about the past."

"I'm not… talking about the distant past, just yours. The desire is… you cannot get rid of that desire. It is a heavy a concept in the order of man as the need to procreate or eat."

"For others, sure. Don't doubt it. Kinda like how a lot of other people will throw away everyin' they got for a few more seconds to live." Olga couldn't deny that. "See somethin' coming, having to decide on life or death, and then choosing the living path." He stopped and looked down an intersection in the hall. He peeked first, nodding, and walking on. Olga looked down it after he continued. A small gasp left her.

A woman was stuck in the hall, staring lifelessly forward. Like all the other statues that had littered the streets, she was a gray thing of what once had to be a body. It transformed even the bonnet on her head, the maid outfit she wore, and the heels spread out in front of her. She was just a body with hands at her throat, holding it with a curling scream stuck on her open lips. Never to be heard. Olga swallowed at the sight.

Cu said nothing as they continued on, but Olga paused as another body was in the hallway, this one they had to walk past. The Lancer gave it not even a glance, eyes rolling over the ruin around them, red lance tight in his grip. Olga could not contain her damning curiosity.

So she looked at this other body, another woman who was caught mid-sprint, arms pumping, look of terror with tears about her face, and a knife in her hands. Her Amber eyes stared at it, the sharp instrument now a dull stone tool in her hands.

"I ain't like that though. I change the past, I ain't gettin' my future. I'd rather burn myself out now than live till I'm old and got nothin' to do but think on regrets. It's what I did, fighting a war that everyone else ran from, and got my named etched into history harder than most of those poets can put words to stone." He looked over his shoulder, grin sharp again. "Why'd I want to change that?"

Because he was your son. Because it was a mistake. Because according to the legend of Cu Chulainn, it was enough to send him into a mad rage that caused the death of his friends and army. Because the gods of Ireland, the Tuatha De Danann, thought it a prank of the Goddess of Shadows and rewarded her for it.

Olga thought of all of that, and said what was most appropriate.

"I suppose you wouldn't. Forget the curiosity and lets move on." She increased her pace to match him. "We have to find Archer or the Regalia. Whichever comes first."

"And you're not concerned about anything else?"

"Of course I'm concerned, I'm simply not going to agitate myself with 'maybes' that aren't here yet." She tossed her hair. "Besides that, we will be given enough leeway time for the other threats."

"How ya figure that?"

"For one, we will hear Berserker coming." If not her cries, then the portions of the mansion falling down. "For another, Jesus has proven he has a unique way of dealing with the bone warriors. All that has to be done is a request and they're gone."

"And Saber?"

"According to Mash, Jesus knew the attack was coming. He stopped it once, and I have no doubt he will again." She nodded, still staring into the ruined halls and few rooms that had their doors broken open. Those that weren't entirely collapsed in on themselves. "He will not let his Master or Mash suffer death needlessly. He isn't that kind of man."

"So ya are startin' to appreciate him?"

"I did before!"

"Did ya?"

"I did! I merely doubted his conviction a-and the strength of his Master! At least one of those is proven now!" She brushed a hand through her hair. "Come now! The sooner we find that, the sooner Mash can re-establish communications with Chaldea. Then the sooner you can face that brute of an Archer."

"Brute huh?"

"No man of chivalry fires arrows more akin to trunks of a tree." The snickering of the Lancer was grating to her ears. "Are you against the description?"

"Nah, just find ya humor Lass. Don't mind me." He walked ahead of her, hands running against a pair of double doors. "Just thinkin' that-" Olga missed the rest.

The wind was knocked out of her before even he was done talking.

Her body was wrenched back as the Cu put a hand to her shoulder and pushed. The Director's body toppled head over heels as she skidded across the ruined hallway. The shock of it ruined her, and the sounds of an eruption got her. Did that man just break the sound barrier to push her!?

No, he wouldn't. Olga knew that as she pushed herself up on shaking limbs. The shock of the push having her pounding her chest for relief. Teary amber eyes looked up, fingers laced into ash as she tried to figure out what happened. It wasn't hard to deduce what. Cu was standing with his back to her, knees bent and lance forward. Ash and soot were billowing around him. He was far from the focus of her eyes.

Olga cared more for the giant of a man he was facing. Giant in all the truest senses of the word.

Tall as Cu Chulainn was, the man standing opposite in the hallway, in front of a fresh hole blown through the wall, had his head scraping the ceiling. Muscles bulged at his arms, enough that she thought she could fit inside of them, and those lacing his legs only larger than that. She could tell so much detail in them because he wore so little clothing, a simple cloth at his waist that fluttered in some draft or wind.

The same with the ribbon or cloth that covered his head. Draped over him like a table runner, hiding his facial features from view, and disguising his true appearance. The cloth itself was simply, the color of dried blood and rusted weapons, but it did nothing to hide the physical presence of the man beneath it. The giant of a man, carrying an honestly unimpressive bow, by design alone.

By size alone, the bow was twice as tall as she was, and looked as if it would require a divine construct just to pull on. It was something that she would have thought nothing of if viewed in a professor's office. But here, it was enough to make her question the course of her actions. There was no need for introductions. She knew who the man was, but they were had regardless.

"Hey there Archer. You tired of taking pot shots at us?"

"Lancer. I wondered why the cowardly dog would rear his head." The cloth over Archer's face shifted. "A hound such as you, protecting a weak child. Appropriate and misguided as ever." Her breath hadn't returned to her.

"Says the guy tryin' ta kill her. Ya got time to run me through how that makes ya a stronger man?"

"I do not have time for words." He spoke as he raised his bow. Olga felt the flash of Prana, watching as an arrow drew itself on the string. A string that made the hall shake with the draw alone. That, or she was just shaking "But I do have time to run you through."

"Joy." It was just her shaking.

Because when the string was released, the hallway exploded.

"My Lord! Was that-?"

"Doubtlessly."

"Then should we-"

"We will not. But fear not as well. I am not speaking cruelly."

"I thought we were supposed to help her. Archer… Lancer said that he couldn't defeat him."

"He did, but there were also words of the importance of other Masters, regalia to find, and connection to the chamber of Mystics. All must be done, and none is so important that all other matters should be thrown away." Jesus continued to walk silently. The stone around him echoed.

Ritsuka was close to his side, the stone around them rocking with another dull boom. He tried to listen for the sound of cries or screams, but heard none. He didn't take that as a good or bad sign. In the basement of a giant manor, and with the Director and Lancer likely fighting floors up and yards away, it made sense that stone, granite, wood, and copper would dull the sounds of their battle.

They could still feel it though. Ritsuka's boots almost left the ground with the first boom, and Mash had to brace the wall. Only Jesus stood unabated.

"I would also like to save anyone yet alive. I do not wish to have any lost in the dark." His Lord had spoken, and so Ritsuka followed. "Mash Kyrielight. You have confidence with where we are?"

"Y-Yes! I believe so. I mean, majority of regalia that any Magus would store would require a heavy number of seals to not attract familiars or other rival Magus from attacking. They tend to be stored underground, closer to leylines and with more room to lay traps. It's… easier that way."

"Then we continue on. I have no doubt that if they hold treasure here, they will place the Masters in such an area. Your leader spoke highly enough of them." Ritsuka nodded, even if he felt a sour spot on his tongue to call Olga leader. His true leader was speaking to him, and leading him. "The path is winding as a liar's tongue."

"Is that common? I-I mean for houses like this?"

"Many Maguses may change the structure of their house. Sometimes they do so to encourage runes for summoning rituals, or for preservation of parts." He didn't know what parts meant. He was sure it meant the housing parts, as nothing else came to mind. "But I am not sure why it may be constructed the way it is."

"We have traveled further than the manor itself." Jesus spoke as his hand roamed the wet stone. Another rumble shook structure around them. He made no notice of it. "There is much being hidden here. Secrets that were buried from the light of day."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"When is the housing of secrets a wise thing?"

"I don't understand." The words fell from Mash, and Ritsuka found himself unable to answer.

"Then I offer my apologies. I found myself thinking as I speak, and talking as I listen. That wasn't fair to you who ask others for wisdom while eager to assist." His hand slowly fell down, but his eyes trained forward. Ritsuka followed.

The stones were wet with the untreated air, and the fires above likely untold of the climate below. The rumble of the battle able, the dull booms that the untrained Magus likened more to the booms of a storm than the clashes of war, shaking free the dew drops. The tunnel was hardly visible, lit more by the presence of his Lord than any other light source.

Guilt still scratched at Ritsuka, seeing his Lord in such a place. After he had descended from heaven.

"Danger lurks ahead." The words were truth and law. "Can you tell the same, Ritsuka?"

"I believe you. I would never doubt you."

"That is not what I asked." The Catholic shuddered his breath. "Can you tell me of the danger? Do you know what it is?"

The rumble could have been his mind lurching with effort or the shaking of the battle above. Mash's cry told of the later, but the sure stare of Jesus made it the former.

"I… I… Do not my Lord." He could not hide the frown pulling at his lips. "I am sorry. I do not see it and I cannot tell what-"

"I did not ask to belittle you. I would never ask of you more than you are capable." Ritsuka never imagined h would. "I ask because something of you that must be learned, and you not knowing means you have not learned it."

"Did I have the time?" The internal question was voiced, and he found a mild panic rising in him. "My Lord, I did not know."

"You again assume I am judging you." It was only the comforting cheer in his Lord's voice that gave him peace. Enough of it that the shaking of the stone walls around him did not give his soul sway. "Ritsuka, what I ask of you does not need to be done the moment it is spoken. Neither is it expected to be performed to the perfection of your mind's design. I ask only what you are capable of, and offer time for you to be able to do more."

Ritsuka felt relief permeate him, even as the stones rocked again. Mash made no sound this time.

"For now, as you are learning, look to Mash." He did, and the young girl made a sound of surprised distress. "She did not know of me before you spoke to her, and she now desires to learn. You knew nothing of the world of Mystics before today, and she is teaching you the same."

"Then… this is… a chance for me to learn?"

"All moments in life are." The Lord spoke. His grin, to Ritsuka's further surprise, grew wry. "But yes. At this moment, lean and listen to her. She will know what to do. Do you not?"

"I-I-I have… I have ideas on how to." She gulped, steadying herself. "I believe I do. Dr. Archaman did, um, tell me about them. And Da Vinci showed me more. I-I think I do."

"You do. For I have said you do." That was good enough for Ritsuka. Mash still looked overcome with trepidations. He put a hand to her, steadying her. Her own hand rose to grasp his, fingers running over his knuckles. Her smile was bright in the tunnel.

"Then I… I will do so, my Lord." Ritsuka could not contain his grin. Jesus nodded in turn.

"I am pleased to hear it. Now, please hold for a moment." The pair obeyed.

Jesus continued on, walking the stone laden path without any hesitation. His strides let him a few meters ahead, before he stopped. Ritsuka saw little around him but more stone. Perhaps another path or two that split off, but the darkness of the halls made it impossible to tell if it was the shadows of the lack of light or a true other path. Jesus stood at the crux of them, and did nothing else.

Then his arms stretched out, showing the majesty of his grace, and he spoke.

"Begone. You are not welcome here." Ritsuka did not know who he was speaking to.

Not until he heard the clattering of bones and rags echoing down the path. Like rattles dropped, making him shiver at the number and magnitude of them. The boom of the battle above shook them even after they had fallen. He could not see them, but twice over he heard them.

Then they were quiet, and Jesus turned to face them again. His smile serene and peaceful.

"Was that… more of the dragon tooth warriors?" Mash asked. "Did you cast a spell on them?" Ritsuka knew he had not.

"They are no more because I said they were not allowed to be. They obey the Word, for I am he." He turned to them, with the same graceful smile. "All should be well here now. You may continue."

"Thank you, my Lord," Ritsuka bowed as he took pace. Mash did the same behind him. They were quick to reach him, and continued on. He took only a few more steps before he realized that they were continuing to move, but Jesus had not. "My Lord?"

"Continue on." The order was given again. "You were told of whom to search for and what to find. Look for them, and do so to together."

"We will, I promise. But aren't you coming with us?" Jesus never lost his smile, even as he answered.

"I will not. I am needed above." The floor and walls shook again. Ritsuka steadied himself with Mash. His eyes didn't leave his Lord and Savior. "I have routed the evil that lurked here. You must now search for what is needed."

"Without you?"

"Without me next to you, but I will not be apart from you." Jesus turned away from them. "There is another who needs me, and I will not abandon them carelessly."

"We won't need you?"

Clap. "Ritsuka." The name silenced him. "I will not assist you the way you wish." The words were like ice. "But I will assist you. Do not be like a child, asking for their parent to see to their needs, but rousing to have them treated in the way you wish. I will see to what you need in the way that I know is required. Do not ask of me an action, I only offer consequences." His hand fell away.

The hall shook again, and Ritsuka wondered if that was what made his knees feel weak. Mash made a sound, but he hardly heard it.

"My Lord, I am sorry." He bowed his head. "I did not mean to make orders from you. I-"

"Be at peace and now that I hold no command of your guilt, for you have no sin." Jesus swept away his fears. "Do instead as I ask, and you will be well. I promise this of you." His smile was as inviting as the embrace of his arms. "Mash, find what is needed here. A great deal depends upon you."

"I-I understand! I promise I will… I will do this."

"I know you will." No doubt was in Jesus's voice. "Then search well. I will return when it is done." He turned and walked away, the ground shaking around them. The little light they had fled with him as well, total darkness kept away only by a soft glow between them. Ritsuka looked to Mash, wondering what was to be done.

"Senpai," she started. "Jesus asked us to find the Masters or the regalia, correct?"

"Both are necessary, so I think so, and I think we should start with the Masters. If we can choose which one to look for."

"It won't be that simple. I'm sorry to say it is more accurate to describe it as looking for the more heavily guarded areas, and then hoping we find what is being hidden."

"It makes sense." Ritsuka nodded. "And you know what to look for?"

"You don't know what the other Masters look like?"

"I think we'll help anyone we find down here." He didn't think to let anyone living stay around a battlefield. "But when it comes to the regalia, or the lay lines, I have no idea."

"They are pronounced Leylines, Senpai." Ritsuka tried the word, earning a firm nod from the lavender haired girl. "And I will do what I can. Let's look… down one of the halls, until we find something." She sounded as confident as he felt.

That was okay though. His confidence would grow. He had no doubt it would.

The Lord had given him a command. He would not command of him things he was incapable.

He wasn't firing at Cu.

That was what Olga realized as she howled in fear. Throwing up poor runic symbols, etchings of the stars of protection, to move the attacks of Archer away from her. She realized it after Cu had to all but bat her away again when Archer fired, her anger, righteous or otherwise, done away as she felt the ripping path of the arrow nearly drag her down the hallway. A single shot, and it felt as if she were being drawn into some vortex!

The Director of Chaldea, the namesake of her father's success, didn't let herself hold onto that fear. She knew it was more appropriate for her to run and let the Servants fight, and she did so.

She ran into one of the many doors hanging in the hall, jumping through it as the hallway was ripped apart. The great oak accesses she had dove past were torn from their hinges as she did so, earning a cry from her lips. It was drowned out by the sound. When the dull boom in her ears faded, she lifted her head to hear laughter. Cu was enjoying himself. Olga had no intention to watch.

The Director looked up in the room, content to find, or make, her way into another hallway in the manor. From there, she would search for the closest Ley Point and establish a focal point for Mash to use. That was her objective and she knew she could find it. She'd find the point, Mash would establish it, and that pathetic Master would make himself useful somehow. Cu would fight Archer and Jesus would help. They would be okay.

She thought that, until her view of the room she was in lurched again.

Lurched, spun, and came out as a dull ring in her ears and harsh throb to the left side of her body. It was until the molding and decoration of the nearby wall was ripping past her vision did the Director realize that she was being thrown through the wall.

And it wasn't until her nerves screamed in pain that she realized she had been shoved through it. The cry that came after, she felt, was perfectly reasonable to make. Lancer did not.

"Oi! Quiet down!" He all but yelled at her, feet planted in front of her. Her body felt broken leaning against the wall, and she had no idea what hit her, or why. "Seriously! Cut out the cryin' or it'll just make things worse!"

Olga fought to do so. Like the harsh teachings of her professors at the Clocktower, she fought against her own will to do what was asked. Her fingers and arms weren't broken, her legs weren't shattered, and considering that she could scream, her lungs weren't worse off. But it was painful. Being tossed through a wall and lying in the debris that followed naturally felt that way.

Lancer's red eyes left her then, focused on the obvious threat.

"What do ya think you're doin' Archer? Prefer to pike a bitch before you deal with the hound?"

"I am aiming for a weak point. That is all." The heavy voice of the rouge Servant came. Olga fought to control her breathing, and whimpering. "You know she is one, or else you wouldn't have reacted so harshly to save her."

"Nothin' harsh about pushin' her through some dried wood." Then he had hit her. "Better that than the logs yer firin'." Olga disagreed, spittle coming out as she hissed through the pain. "But even if she ain't exactly the sharpest point on then staff, what makes flinging your arrows at her the best plan for ya? Afraid to wrestle with me?"

"Fear has nothing to do with it. I have wrestled lions stronger than you, filthy hound." Lancer growled like one. Olga actually wasn't sure if it was him or her. "But I do not have the time or patience to play games with you. You have hidden yourself long enough to tire out myself and Saber. I'll not take chances now that you are here."

"Well I'm so happy to be tha object of yer desire now." Olga's fingers scratched at her mattered and worn clothing. "But I've got some Divine Protection when it comes ta arrows."

"And an ability to Disengage to match." Archer returned nonchalantly. "But Skills that only work to your benefit, and making more of an annoyance than a threat. All the more reason to target her, so you cannot dodge or run away."

Another spark of Prana fille the air, and Olga smelt it like burning oxygen. She could hear the bow of Archer being pulled. Then she felt Lancer pick her up. Her body screamed in protest, then she joined in.

"Me or him, and I know which one yaw anna pick!" Cu's shout didn't get an answer.

The air was ripped around her again as he ran with her, the air tearing past her. The sounds of another explosion meant another ruined hallway, but this time Olga didn't feel it. She didn't' realize that was good until Lancer stopped running, and she was leaning against a new wall in a new room, as fire damaged and worn as all the rest, but no Archer in side.

"Stay here, stay quiet, and don't try and be a hero. That's my title now." She sucked in air against her body's wishes.

"Lanc… er…" Not even Olga was sure if the last part was his name or a groan of pain. Her body hurt. "Gonna kill you… for that…"

"Heh, guess the shove didn't knock yer brain loose at least." He laughed at her ire. "Just hold tight and I'll give ya a chance to pay me back for it." He was gone in another scream of lightning. Dust and soot shot up a trail showing his departure from the room, faster than her eye could track.

He was not quieter than her ears could hear.

"Oi! Ya shootin air the broad side of a barn? Pretty sure ya missed both!"

"You can't hide her from me. You know this."

"I know I got time and just enough patience. Yer the one lackin in those categories."

"Maybe, but I've always had endurance to make up for it." She felt another pull of Prana. "Something I know a human will always lack."

"You crazy bastard. You wouldn't dare." What? What was he threatening? "Ya fuck around like that and yer gonna get Saber swinging at you, too."

"I might, but I can survive a blow from her. You cannot." It wasn't a bluff, whatever it was he was threatening. "Run, dog."

BOOOM! The air ripped again, and the entire manor shook, as another arrow was leased. The manor shook about her, jostling her in place and forcing soot and ash to fall on her. The agony of her pain kept her from crying out in shock, but it didn't make the torment any lighter.

Especially not as she heard the walls being torn down some distance from her. It had to be the walls, as it started to come down after the ripping force of the explosion. Like dominos falling, the supports failing one after the other, and sending through the halls a veritable wave of soot and debris that… that… Olga's already light breathing tightened.

Supports were failing. BOOOOM! And Archer was still shooting. More supports were failing, which meant that more of the supports for the ceiling were failing. Too many of them. BOOOM! Far too many of them.

Krrrrrr…. Amber eyes looked up, pin-pricks of their usual fullness, staring at the ashen fire-burned ceiling shifting in place. She watched a bulge form in the corner of the room she was in, bending in the direction of the explosions she had heard. It looked as if it were trying to separate itself from the wall, and succeeded in pulling up supports until the joists and nails were exposed one by one.

"N-No…" Olga pushed against the wall she was on to stand. She succeeded in letting a ripping sense of pain push through her, body. The wall rumbled beneath her grip, and she heard no other explosion.

KRRrrrrr-CRACHCH! Until the sound of the ceiling above her gave way.

A cry let out from her as she felt the debris smashing into the ground ahead of her, pulverizing the few articles of ruined furniture in the room. Dust and whatever was used to hold up rotten wood flew at her, and coughs came after her cries. Injured limbs tried to shield her body, only reminding her of how painfully she was maimed, all through the efforts of one servant trying to protect her. She thought she was going to be buried this time.

But blessedly, as if that Servant Jesus was actually standing behind her, the collapsed ceiling didn't fall completely on her. The debris only spat dust at her. Instead, the damage was relegated to the opposite side of the room.

Her room, and likely several other rooms having completely fallen in on themselves. The cries of Cu made that clearer.

"You lazy self-righteous bastard! You're gonna bring down the roof on our heads rather than fight me!?"

"I have no desire to fight you. I have no desire for a challenge. I only desire to rid this world of the weak rulers. That girl you carried was one, and the humans behind her." She felt prana stain the air again. "Weak as you are, you are no ruler. And for that, you cannot stop me."

"You wouldn't believe the number of dead men who've said that!" Something else shifted in the air, and Olga that was the efforts of Cu fighting back. Sounds of clashing steel met her ears, like the heavy twangs of large bolts being pelted against one another. Rumbles through the wall she had her hand on, but not enough to shake the ground she lay on.

She could only hear them across however many hallways and rooms Cu had run through to deposit her here. They were strong, each one more than enough to kill her. A passive push nearly killed her after all. But that was speaking of her, a Magus who didn't qualify for… for the more important roles in the Clocktower.

Archer was different.

"You lack the divinity to harm me." Archer's ominous words were barely heard. "You'll injure yourself before you draw my blood."

"That's a bet I'm willin' to take! Sides, I'm double down on that gamble and say you refusing ta strike out at me shows a lot of fear on your part!" He laughed louder than he spoke. "Can't tell me a guy trying to kill a scared little girl is brave, not when he's got a real fight right in front of him!"

"You are as much of a fight to me as a wasp is to a spider. An annoyance to be wrapped up and thrown away. I care not for you, but for your queen." Prana again shifted in the air. "Now be quiet while I let the walls crush her body."

BOOM! Another ripping arrow shot through the hallway around her. A tortured scream left her, drowned by the wave of eruptions. The creaking of the walls continued again, but mercifully from further away. It took the agonized Director a moment to realize what had happened.

He'd shot down a different hallway. Meaning, Archer didn't know where she was.

It was a mercy, a small one at that. But just because he didn't know where she was did not mean he had no ways of harming her.

Especially not as she heard another section of the ceiling collapse in some distance away. Close enough for her to hear the snapping of wood and crumbling of support, but far enough that she did not have and shrapnel or debris thrown at her. Her side was no less pained and her senses no more dulled. She was still trapped. And Cu was still fighting.

"Shooting wide there. Aiming for me or are ya really that short sighted. Thought you'd be a bit more accurate, considering the shooting ya did to me when I was hop-scotching through the city."

"You were a flea biting upon the mane of a lion. An annoyance that was scratched at, but never seen as a true wall to what was coming. A new threat has come, however, and you're nuisance has yet to sway."

"That mean yer gonna finally try and lay your claws in me? Might be a tick here, but I got a bite ta match."

"Hounds have more bark than bite, and I have more patience than anger." Prana flashed through the air again. Enough to make Olga feel like she was choking. She prayed desperately that it was because she was weakened. She hoped, but her mind wared with her. She knew better.

The more Prana a Servant pooled, the more powerful the shot. Her fingers scratched at the teetering wall.

"And my anger is not meant for filiciders like you." BOOM! The explosion of the arrow's release came again.

This time, it wasn't just an explosion of sound, but the vortex of the air. The pull at her hair, draining of her lungs, billowing of dust, yards away from where the conflict was taking place. The Director went deaf, bracing herself against the wall as the tormenting feeling washed over her. It mattered little.

KKRRRR-CHCHCAHHCAHHCAHH! The ceiling gave way again, this time, throughout the hallway she stared at.

Her voice was silenced only because she had to suck in the air she'd lost. Her head fell from the pain of being thrown and the fear of what was happening. She heard chunks of brick, mortar, wood, and perhaps even steel fall in the hall, shattering the floor. She felt the wooden flooring, charred from fire, bend with the efforts as well.

And burned wood bending so easily broke. Olga had no warning more before the floor gave way.

"UGH!" The pained noise of fright left her as her body tumbled. The pained thrumming of her body intensified as she was unable to catch herself on the broken wood. The splinters of the flooring finally breaking and sending her sliding down into a darkened abyss.

It turned to terror as she fell the feet left to the solid stone beneath her, sending a cracking sound through her body that would have earned a holler of agony. Where she possessing the air to do so with. But the Director was net even blessed with that.

The shattering of the floor had let the scorched furniture slide forward as well. She heard them through the rumbling of the stone and the ash falling on her. They scratched, gliding down the slope of the broken floor. Her eyes, wet with pain and chest spasming for breath, saw them approaching. She tried to kick her legs, only for agony to race up her once again.

A sofa, charred with fire and fit for a family to rest on, tumbled over the cracked flooring, racing for her.

Something broke, someone shouted, Olga had no idea who and in what order. All the Director knew was what she saw.

The sofa broken above her, falling to the stone floor in a clattering mess.

Jesus Christ, standing above her, arm raised and eyes down cast.

Her voice was hoarse as she tried to yell again.

"Hush. You have no reason to force pain upon yourself." The Servant spoke as he knelt next to her. "Be at ease, Mystic of Chaldea. You have seen the terrors of war and have not the body nor will to follow them. You are not weak for being wise to your body." Jesus spoke to her, hand over her head. His hand was warm. It only reminded her how cold her body felt. "I ask you to stand now. Stand and rise above this pain you feel."

How… How could he ask that of her!? Anger swirled within her pained limbs. The cool agony of what she was feeling melting away with the fury of this arrogant… delusional… Servant! Her teeth grit, arms drawing up to grasp at him!

Olga did so, latching onto his arm with ease. Her anger fell away to shock.

"It doesn't hurt." Even the smoothness of her voice surprised.

Clap. "Rise, Olga Marie. Rise as I command." He stood taller and, latching onto him, the young woman was pulled up as well. The fear of sudden pain through her injured legs overcame her, and nearly let go of Jesus. Her legs bent on instinct, fear of agony clinging to her again.

But nothing came. She found herself standing on stone with ease. Ease, discomfort, but still clasped to the offered arm of the Servant. Her amber eyes blinked, looking over herself in confusion.

"H-How?" Her side didn't hurt, her legs weren't broken, her voice was hoarse, her eyes could see. Nothing was wrong with her. Nothing at all. Despite having gone through the terror or Archer's bombardment. Nothing was wrong. "How?"

"You laid your life out for others to find what was needed. I told none would be harmed." She didn't recall him saying that, to her at least.

"That was not what I asked."

"You have proclaimed to know the workings of my father, or that I at least am no more common than any other Servant who may cross the path of your Mystics. For what reason do I need to speak of my common abilities?"

He was making a joke. He was smiling. He smiled the same way when he was first introduced to her, and when Ritsuka was with him, and he was talking to Mash, and he stopped Archer's arrows… Archer.

"You know what? I may not know how, but I don't need to." Not at this moment. It was likely a Skill of some kind. There were many ancient Greek Servants with a high-affinity for healing others. A Witch worth the salt she was burned with could do it. "The bigger concern is-"

"ARCHER!" The rattling of the stone around them made her yelp, as well as the explosion from above. Soot and dust fell on her, staining her hair and making her jump away. Her Amber eyes flashed at Jesus, but he did not look away from her. Nothing stained his alabaster cloak.

The lucky Servant.

"Him, the Servant attacking us. He hurt me by trying to bring the manor down on my head." She blinked. "Our heads… all of us, Mash is here, too!" She was looking for the regalia! "I-I may be safe, but she and that Master are not. You have to go help them!"

"I have sent them away." She shook her head. "To look for the treasures you seek, be it the regalia or the Mystics who accompanied you to this land." Olga flushed.

"But you are not with them!?"

"I have no place searching as they are. Just as you have no place in this fight. You will leave." He turned away from her.

"I-I will not be-" She bit her lips, realizing how rude she was.

Then she remembered she was being belittled by this man's wisdom for the past day.

"I will not be thrown back so easily! I appreciate you saving me, I do! But do not order me like… like…!"

Another rupture of battle echoed above her, and the woman nearly fell down as the floor bounced beneath her. The stone cellar floor that had likely nothing beneath it, shaking from the effort of Archer firing his arrows. That, or Cu clashing with him in some duel that was beyond her abilities to watch.

Humans were no match for Servants. She was a human, not a Master.

"Your mind is acute, and you are thinking of things that will lead you astray." Jesus spoke. He had no idea what was in her mind. He couldn't. "I tell you instead to find Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight in the cellar of this manor. They are looking for treasures and souls." The messiah spoke to her. She nearly felt against it again as another ripping bolt was fired a floor above her. She cried in surprise.

"Wh-What are you saying?!"

Clap. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I am saying you act as you said, and I will do as I promise." Jesus looked at her and smiled.

He was a Servant, and that was it, just a Servant that a lazy Master had been miraculous to summon. She knew that at every core of her being. Unwilling to attack despite his power, it made Cu the clear and infinite better choice.

But his smile drew her fears away. It almost felt necessary of her to hold onto them. She'd later find herself wondering why she ever did.

"Be well, Olga Marie, and return fruitful." He pointed down a hall she hadn't bothered to glance at. "The summoned beings have been dispatched. You will be safe down these halls."

"They're still fighting." Another explosion ripped above her. The ground shook beneath her, dew falling from the stones. "The ceiling will collapse again."

"It will not. I promised Ritsuka Fujimaru they would not." He looked away again. "If not faith in me, then in him. Have faith that this will not be your end, and I will protect you. Of this, I promise you." He knelt with bended knees. Then with a hop, of near all things, cleared the floor and landed on the ruined flooring above.

It was a war short lived, with her running down the corridor a moment later. Arms pumping and breath filled with curses. More for her strength in spirit.

Author's Note: Well now we know it's not Emiya, though I thought it would be obvious considering how Berserker wasn't Herc. So… I think people will figure who this is, and it plays still into the themes of the others servants.

That said, I am being careful of how Jesus will handle the other 'divinities' when he sees them, and I'm hoping the interpretation works.

Aside from that, Merry Christmas to all!