Return to Null Chapter 3:

An Unexpected Start

Day 3

"Ah, yet another fine art piece, Ryuunosuke." Gilles said.

The man beside him chuckled. "I'm still an amateur compared to you, boss."

"Oh, Ryounusuke, you flatter this one too much. Please take a good look, I wish for you to grow as an artist!"

"Hehe, shucks boss," replied Ryounusuke sheepishly while taking in the newest addition to the pair's gallery.

It was art made in hell, as Gilles had described at one point: the raw materials were of exceptional quality, as Ryounusuke had procured triplets from his last sojourn; the flesh was still supple and full of vigor, Gilles had been highly controlled in the molding so as to make sure the girls wouldn't bleed out and die before the masterpiece was complete; the art beat with the power of three hearts full of innocence and hope nested deep within the grotesque remains of the three children. The eyes were Ryounusuke's favorite part, plucked out and preserved within the exact moment of hope being snatched away at the last second.

"You know boss, I was wondering if I could try a hand on our next piece." Ryuunosuke said. "You've been a real inspiration for me lately."

"I would be honored." Gilles replied. "In fact it is almost time for us to find more materials for the next art piece. I would love to see what you come up with!"

The two men continued to chat as they left their lair out of the sewers, ready to find their next targets.

(Meanwhile)

The Chaldean team waited by the docks as the sun shimmered on the water's edge. Waver stared out at the water, stressed over Kayneth's response to their alliance. He could only worry about the possibility of him getting killed, just like he did before…..

That was until a bird familiar flew down and landed near his hand with a letter attached. Everyone surrounded the Caster as he took the letter into his hands, and saw the wax seal keeping the letter shut. The wax seal started to glow and Kayneth's voice rang from the seal.

"Good morning to you all. After running it through my brilliant expertise, I have decided to agree to your pitiful requests and join forces. I shall meet you all at the entrance to Caster's Workshop later tonight. Oh and before I forget, there is something I must say to the black haired young man… If you intend to hide the fact you grew up in the gutters, you should really try harder. It was so obvious even a koala bear would have figured it out. Farewell now! This letter shall be burned in three….two…one!"

Waver dropped the letter in surprise as the letter ignited. Ritsuka groaned in annoyance at the display and facepalmed.

"Okay, that was bein' over dramatic. Seriously, that ain't how ya make a letter!"

"Well in any case, we have our alliance with Lord Kayneth." Waver said.

"Don't count on it lasting for long." Cú replied. "With that letter gone, there's no real contract remaining keeping us together."

"He's still going to be useful in getting rid of Caster." Emiya countered. "After that, we can focus on getting another ally for the next step in the plan."

"Ya think Artoria would be on board with this?" Ritsuka asked.

"I think we can convince her." Emiya answered. "My father might need some more work, but if we word it just right, he would agree to help."

"Guess it falls to us to be negotiatin' with them then." Ritsuka replied.

"Ummm, excuse me Senpai, but is there a reason why you are speaking in your actual Kyushu accent?" Mashu asked.

Ritsuka groaned and took a deep breath to "correct" himself. "Okay, what I meant to say was that Emiya and I would be the perfect negotiators to speak with Artoria and his father. With them on our side, we can have more firepower to dismantle the Greater Grail."

"Then we should lie low for now until nightfall." Waver said.

Ritsuka smiled. "I have the perfect place where we can do that."

"And where would that be?" Cú asked.

"See the woods over there?" Ritsuka asked as he pointed behind him. "That would be the best place for us for now."

Everyone simply nodded and followed Ritsuka's lead towards the woodland area. When they walked into the woods, the male Master walked straight for a few minutes before turning to his right, then looked around as if he was looking for a marker. The black haired teen would take a different turn and look around every few minutes, confusing everyone as they continued to follow him. This would go on for an hour before they were deep in the woods, but they could still see a good chunk of the city below them. Ritsuka soon stopped, causing the others to do so as well when he walked up to a lone tree in the center of their path. The male Master put a hand on the tree for a moment, before a small smile filled with nostalgia formed on his lips.

"Okay, we're here." Ritsuka said. "Can you set up a quick Bounded Field for a while, Lord El-Melloi II?"

Waver nodded and performed the duty as instructed. To make sure that he could cover their bases, he made sure the Field was wide enough to be safe, but still small enough to not let any potential intruders be in range. As soon as he was done, everyone saw the peaceful look on Ritsuka's face as he smiled and looked at the trees and animals before the latter ran after the field was finally up.

"Okay, so where are we exactly?" Cú asked.

"This is where Doc would take me to practice Magecraft."

"Oh, this place is beautiful!" Mashu exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah. This place is pretty special for me." Ritsuka replied. "Whenever she wasn't working on a patient or teaching me medicine or how to swim, she'd take me out here so we could practice."

"This place?" Waver asked as he took out his lighter and lit a cigar. "You must be kidding me. It's too open and isn't secure at all."

"Which is why I asked you to make the Bounded Field." Ritsuka countered. "Doc always put them up before we practiced because she wanted to be sure we didn't get caught."

"You know Senpai, I have been wondering something…." Mashu said. "Do you know what her particular brand of Magecraft entails?"

"I don't know." Ritsuka answered.

"Really?" Emiya asked. "I thought she would have taught you some of it or at the very least told you."

"That's the thing. She doesn't know what her family Magecraft is either."

Waver's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."

Ritsuka nodded. "The only thing she told me of her past before coming to Japan was that her father was a cold man, and he refused to teach her about their Magecraft."

Waver dropped the lighter in his hand. If she didn't know her own family's brand of Magecraft, then that would mean she didn't inherit the Family Crest either…..

"Then how can she be so powerful as you say?" Emiya asked.

"Because I saw her easily manipulate three elements at once." Ritsuka answered.

"Oh right, you did mention she was a master of Earth, Water and Air." Mashu said.

Waver stared at Ritsuka with curiosity before taking a deep breath. "Given what you have told us I think I can estimate her quantity of Magic Circuits at a B+ or an A. Her quality has to be ranked A."

Ritsuka chuckled. "How ironic. A woman who is incredibly talented in Magecraft decided to take in a weak Mage like me as her pupil."

"Hey don't worry about it." Cú said. "It's not like it's a big deal."

"You know if you told me that when I first started learning, I wouldn't have believed you." Ritsuka replied. "Back then, I hated how weak I was at Magecraft."

"Really?" Emiya asked.

Ritsuka nodded. "I saw Doc do so many amazing things like it was child's play. Meanwhile I could barely do any Magecraft."

"What changed your tune?" Waver asked.

Ritsuka smiled and put his hand on the tree behind him. "One night I was frustrated because I couldn't do Gandr at all. I was so upset that I almost ran away from here, but she stopped me and told me something that I will never forget… She told me that Magecraft isn't everything."

Emiya raised an eyebrow with slight curiosity. "You're telling me that a Mage as powerful as her…..said that Magecraft wasn't all that important?"

Ritsuka nodded. "She did, and she was right. I mean who needs Magecraft when I got friends like you all with me?"

"Fou Fou!" Mashu smiled and patted the little critter's head as he wagged his tail at Ritsuka's answer.

"Really? You couldn't use Gandr back then?" Cú asked. "But that's pretty much one of the only spells you're good at!"

Ritsuka shrugged. "I just decided to see Magecraft as something to merely practice like any other skill set, not an obsession like most others. When I did that, I managed to improve, slowly but surely."

"Were there any tricks she taught you that helped?" Waver asked.

"Well she didn't really teach me anything how to do this since most spells she taught me didn't require them in the first place." Ritsuka said. "But I have seen her perform high level spells without any prepwork or incantations."

Waver's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! How in the bloody hell can she perform spells without the proper preparations?!"

"Oh well she had this Mystic Code in the form of white gloves." Ritsuka answered. "They already had the Magic Circles woven into the fabric and all she had to do was clap her hands together, and she could pretty much perform spells without any incantations or anything."

Waver stared at Ritsuka in absolute shock. It was difficult to fathom that someone that talented truly existed. The Caster decided to not voice his doubts and took a deep breath. "Is this just a minor stop here? Shall we get going?"

"Actually we're right where we need to be." Ritsuka said. "I saw one of the entry ways you gave to Kayneth yesterday, and the closest one to him just so happens to be near here."

"So you're saying that he will be showing up nearby?" Emiya asked.

Ritsuka nodded. "We can just wait for him, instead of him waiting for us. So let's just stay here where no one can see us, and just think of how to deal with Caster and Ryuunosuke."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Cú replied. As the Lancer and the two other Chaldeans went to Ritsuka to discuss their plans, Waver couldn't help but wonder why Ritsuka would choose this place instead of somewhere closer to the city. Then it dawned on him, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

He wanted to make sure to beat Kayneth to their destination without him realizing.

The bustling night life of Fuyuki raged around Kayneth as he walked through the streets. However, the blonde Master paid them no mind, and calmly looked around the city. Oh, if only this city had more class and elegance, it would have been a great place for his honeymoon with his beloved Sola-Ui. However, he had to keep his eyes on the prize. Tonight, he has to face Caster, and his Master. From what he heard, the Master was a serial killer, and had evaded the local law enforcement through meticulous planning and cunning. In light of this, it would be no surprise if this Ryuunosuke is a slippery little devil, and a master at escaping. He had doubts of that impudent youth's suggestion of just turning him in, but perhaps there was some merit to the boy's words. Kayneth couldn't help but chuckle as he thought of that boy again. He was rude and completely without any sort of elegance, but he proved quite the entertaining distraction with his attitude. He couldn't wait to see how he could rile him up again, and he had all the time to wait and…..see….

Kayneth stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes in surprise. Standing right where he was supposed to wait were none other than his newfound allies. The black haired boy simply wore a smug grin and chuckled. "Nice of you to finally show up!"

"I believe I said that you would be meeting ME here." Kayneth replied.

"I apologize Lord Kayneth, sir." Mashu said. "But the letter never specified to have us arrive here after you, so I guess we assumed that we would meet you here."

Kayneth sighed. "It saves us time from waiting too long at the very least. Now, let us all just get this over with."

"Just make sure you don't slow us down, you Draco Malfoy reject." Ritsuka replied.

Kayneth gritted his teeth in annoyance. He had no idea who he was referring to, and it really irritated him to no end. "How uncouth…."

Waver cleared his throat. "Allow me to lead us through the tunnels towards the Workshop…."

"Then I shall stay in the center of our formation." Kayneth replied. "Lancer, you shall stay by our guide's side in this endeavor."

Diarmuid nodded and walked to Waver while Kayneth turned to Ritsuka and Mashu. "You two shall stay with me as we trek through this area."

"That's probably the smartest thing you've ever said." Ritsuka snarked.

Kayneth chuckled. "You really are a peasant at heart."

Without another snarky comment the group went down into the sewers, following Waver as they navigated their way to Caster's workshop. As they traversed the sewers, they could sense they were getting closer, yet every second they did, a sense of dread and foreboding filled their souls. That was when they heard the muttering. Waver's eyes widened, and recognized the voice…..Caster was not far from where they were…..

Waver raised his hand to the others, giving the Servants and Mashu time to ready their weapons, and for Ritsuka and Kayneth to prepare their Mystic Codes. They then rushed at the enemy Servant together to try and take him out before he could mount any sort of defense. Gilles turned around and saw the group rushing him. The enemy Caster immediately summoned his Starfish Demons to slow them down as he tried to run away. As the creatures rushed to them, the group looked at each other and nodded. The best way to end this was to split up and take care of their targets. Much to Kayneth's displeasure, Diarmuid and Cú stayed behind to take care of the Demons, while he and the others dealt with Caster. They continued their chase through the labyrinthian sewer system, dodging his spells with Ritsuka and Waver shooting their own spells at him in turn. Gilles continued to mutter to himself as he ran and ran, trying to give his pursuer's the slip. That was, until he returned back to his Workshop, and turned around to see the others stop in their tracks at the grizzly scene before them.

Bits and pieces of children were strewn about, limbs detached and put on different parts of other bodies, or even on a different place of their owners. There were not many faces, but those that remained were twisted in agony and fear. What's worse was the fact that some of the limbs were still twitching. The Chaldeans and Kayneth looked at the center of the Workshop, and saw a man's body lying in a pool of blood. Waver could only click his tongue in annoyance as he saw exactly whose corpse lay on the floor. "Looks like someone got to his Master before we did."

The rest of the group examined the body further and saw the Command Seals on his hand, but what's more, the now dead Ryuunosuke was smiling even in death.

"Oh! Ryuunosuke! Forgive me, I have failed you!" Gilles shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Mashu demanded, skipping the formality.

"I have driven out our intruder, but it seems that he managed to take your life." Gilles said, ignoring the others in the room. "Oh you have been snatched from me, just like my Jeanne!"

"Shut the fuck up, creature." Ritsuka said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to make sure you don't hurt anyone else!"

Gilles turned around, feeling bloodlust emanating from behind him. He ignored the sheer hatred from the black haired boy and stared at them all with a curious gaze. "Oh? Are you all here to marvel at our works of art?"

"This isn't art." Emiya countered coldly. "This….this is atrocious."

Gilles stared at the Archer in confusion. "I take it this art style isn't your cup of tea then?"

"Cup of tea….? Cup of tea?!" Ritsuka snarled as he clenched his fists. "You killed children, twisted and damaged their bodies, turning them into….those things….and you have the gall to call that art?!"

"Of course it is art!" Gilles replied. "I simply used materials saved from God, and used them as art to profane heaven!"

"And how many…materials have you gathered?" Waver asked.

"Oh about forty or so, give or take!" Gilles answered happily. The Caster's bugged out eyes widened further as Ritsuka aimed at him and fired Gandr at him. Gilles summoned a tentacle and blocked the spell with ease, but stared at the boy in shock and disbelief. "Why would you- no, you are an uncultured vagrant! A person who would betray Jeanne at the stake!"

"And you are nothing more than a monstrous creature who preys upon innocent children!" Ritsuka shouted. "If Jeanne were here, she'd be disgusted with your very presence."

Gilles shrieked and sent a tentacle to try and smash the Chaldeans and Kayneth. The blonde Master smirked as everyone prepared themselves against their foe.

"Despite being a subpar Mage, you certainly have a way with words."

With a snap of his fingers, several silvery tendrils shot out from his coat and formed an orb around himself and the Chaldeans. The tentacle was soon pierced by the orb as it shot out like a spear, stopping the enemy's attack before it could even land. The mercury then sliced through the appendage like a whip causing Gilles to shriek some more. "Impossible! How did you manage to stop my attack?!"

"As if that poor excuse for an attack could ever hope to harm me." Kayneth boasted. "Now how about you show some gratitude, Caster. I just showed my greatest Mystic Code and trump card to you, so please die quickly."

Gilles gritted his teeth and roared out in anger. "Inconceivable! Oh Jeanne! Please give your loyal retainer the power to smite these heretical agents of God!"

Everyone watched as Gilles raised an arm in the air. "Oh Ryuunosuke, I will honor your death, and show them the meaning of COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!"

THWIP!

Gilles felt something hit his head. The Caster could not for the life of him figure out what happened until he felt something wet flowing down his face. As he heard droplets hit the ground, he looked down, and realized it was blood. He looked up and realized that there was a shadow in his line of vision.

He was shot in the head.

"Oh….."

Not a second later, Gilles fell to the ground and dissipated in golden dust. The battle against Caster was over before it could even begin.

"Thanks for shutting it up." Ritsuka said. "I couldn't stomach hearing it talk anymore."

"At the very least we can finally leave this place." Mashu replied. "I cannot stand seeing this place…."

As she said that Cú and Diarmuid arrived at their location, and remained silent as they saw the hellscape before them. Cú saw the dead children, and could only feel pity for them. He saw the Chaldeans staring at them sadly, causing the blue haired Servant to take a deep breath and sigh. "Let's get out of here. This place is too much, even for me."

"Alright, I think this is where it converges."

Waver's eyes widened. That loud and boisterous voice….there was no mistaking it.

Everyone turned to their left and watched as two figures stepped into view. The moment they entered, they stopped in their tracks and stared at the Chaldeans and Kayneth and Diarmuid in slight surprise. Both were male, but that was where the similarities ended. One was large and muscular, tanned and with red hair and beard. The other was smaller, almost bookish with black hair and black eyes. The Chaldeans immediately recognized who they were, and Waver could only stare at them in shock, why were they here now?! It was too soon for them to come here!

"Well well, this is certainly a surprise." The large man said with a hint of amusement. "It seems we weren't the only ones who received Caster's location!"

"Uh oh." Ritsuka muttered. "I get the feeling something bad is gonna-"

"Well well well, it would seem you finally showed yourself again, my traitorous pupil!" Kayneth shouted. Ritsuka had to stifle a sigh. Sometimes he hated being right….

The smaller black haired boy clicked his tongue as he saw Kayneth. "Of all the times to run into him, why did it have to be here?!"

"I am of the opposite mind, Mr. Velvet." Kayneth replied. "Caster is dead, and now you and Rider show yourselves? It's like fate is on my side this day!"

The young Waver gulped as Kayneth readied his Mystic Code for battle. "This isn't going to go over well."

Rider looked at the group with a calm expression. "This is definitely a strange turn of events. We have your former teacher, a black haired kid, a girl with a large shield, a silver haired man with a bow, and…oh? Well this is a surprise. Two Celtic Lancers, and that man over there…..something is up with him."

The young Waver stared at Rider in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

Rider shrugged. "Beats me! But I'd like to take a bit of time to test out those Celts!"

Cú grinned. "Oh I like where this is going."

"Hang on a moment." Ritsuka said. "Can't we talk this over?"

"He's got a point, Rider." Young Waver replied. "You can't possibly be thinking of taking on this many people! We have to retreat!"

"Oh I don't think so!" Kayneth shouted. "I will snuff out your candle here and now!"

"Wait!" The elder Waver shouted. "Lord El-Melloi, please stay your hand!"

Kayneth looked at the Caster in disbelief and annoyance. "This boy disrespected me by stealing Rider's catalyst, and you expect me to spare his life?"

"I have a theory as to why he did so, but I cannot have solid proof if he is dead." The elder Waver answered. "If he survives a while longer, I might be able to figure out the why."

Kayneth stared at the Caster in light surprise, but also annoyance. His treacherous student was right in front of him, and he could end his life here and now. However, this man's advice and services had proven useful so far…..

Kayneth clicked his tongue and glared at the younger Master. "It's your lucky day, Mr Velvet. We will be sparing your life… for now at least."

Without another word, Kayneth stormed off, with Diarmuid following not far behind. As soon as he was out of view, the Chaldean Servants soon started to leave, but Ritsuka stayed behind a bit and flashed a sympathetic smile at the young Waver. "Sorry about that. Caster really gave us some…..issues."

"I….I see." Young Waver said. "Well, I guess I appreciate you trying to deescalate that situation with Lord Kayneth."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Ritsuka replied. "Well in any case, I have to catch up with the others. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances."

Young Waver gave a slight nod in confusion as Ritsuka ran towards the others to catch up, leaving him and Rider alone to look at the carnage before them.

"Damn….this is….this is just disgusting." Young Waver muttered.

"It's definitely not a good way to go…." Rider replied. "Well, all that matters is that the Master of Caster is dead alongside his Servant. And those guys took care of both of them."

Young Waver furrowed his eyes and looked at Ryuunosuke's corpse. There was a small hole in his head, meaning he must have been shot with a small projectile. It didn't look like something those people would use, especially Kayneth. The young Master could see them killing Caster, but he had doubts that those people were the ones to kill this man.

No…this was the work of someone else. And whoever they were, they were incredibly dangerous.

Not long after they left the sewers, the Chaldeans, Kayneth and Diarmuid returned to the blonde Master's suite. Due to the death of Caster and his Master, it was time to discuss the fate of their future partnership, and where it shall go. Kayneth didn't show it, but the fact Ryuunosuke died before they could do battle troubled him, and the fact that he still had no idea who his benefactors were further annoyed him.

"Enough games, I want to know who you all are." Kayneth demanded. "Except for you, Child of Light. I already know who you are."

"Guess that fight with Diarmuid earlier alerted you then." Cú replied.

"Indeed." Kayneth answered. "Now, the rest of you shall tell me what I need to know."

The blonde Master looked at Ritsuka with a grin. "You first, boy. And since we are speaking your native tongue here, I want you to use your real accent, not that forced fake one you tried to pull over me on the way here."

Ritsuka's eyes widened in horror. How did he figure that out?! But more importantly, why did he have to be so cruel as to force him to speak like…that….?

"Please, don't make me do it…." Ritsuka begged.

Kayneth chuckled. "My my, where is all that bravado you had? Now, I'm losing my patience. Tell me what I need to know in the way I asked."

Ritsuka clenched his fists and glared at Kayneth angrily. He couldn't believe that this bastard was forcing him to do this. The anger, the humiliation, the damned pain and hatred was overwhelming, but even so, Ritsuka would have to acquiesce to his request, but like the others, planned to use a codename. Something random, but given the circumstances, he guessed there was only one that was fit for a filthy street rat like him….

"Shinkaichi." Ritsuka answered. "The name's Shinkaichi. I was born here in Fuyuki, but I ain't tellin' ya no more than that…are ya happy now?"

Kayneth nodded in satisfaction. That boy's real voice was definitely a pleasing sound to listen to. In fact, he would make for an excellent host, and would be able to seduce many women with it. He turned to Emiya next. "And now you."

"Shirou." Emiya answered. "I'm a native here like Shinkaichi ... .only from a different part of town."

"I see… That makes some sense now." Kayneth answered. "Now you, girl. Tell me your name."

Mashu glared at Kayneth and crossed her arms over her chest. "My name is Morgan. And I do not appreciate how mean you-

"And now to the leader." Kayneth said, ignoring Mashu. "What is your name?"

Waver turned to face Ritsuka. The black haired boy was obviously still reeling from the humiliation from a couple minutes ago, and was still clenching his fists in frustration. There had to be a way to calm him down, and appease Kayneth at the same time. Waver took a deep breath as he knew what he needed to do. He would need to use THAT name, and make a fool of himself.

"Severus Snape."

The Chaldeans stared at Waver in shock. They weren't ever expecting him to have gone with that one. A small smile formed on Ritsuka's face, for he knew that Waver only did that to ease the tension. Kayneth, on the other hand, merely stared at Waver with curiosity. That name didn't ring any bells, but it is possible that such a name could exist.

"I hope this eases your suspicions, Lord Kayneth." Waver replied.

"I am satisfied with this, for now at least." Kayneth answered. "Now, let us discuss what we have managed so far. We have defeated Caster, yet his Master was dead on the ground before we even reached him. We can guess on the why, and the how is not important. What we need to know is the who."

"Well Rider can be ruled out." Emiya replied. "He and his Master showed up just after we killed Caster, so they couldn't possibly have done it."

"And I doubt it would have been Saber." Cú said.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Diarmuid chimed. "She would have destroyed that entire workshop entirely."

"Then what about Archer?" Ritsuka asked, keeping up the charade.

"It could be possible." Waver replied. "Though I do not know if they'd have done so without taking Caster down first."

"It certainly wasn't the work of any Berserker." Diarmuid quipped.

"It would have to be Assassin then." Emiya lied. "Caster didn't seem to be the type to betray Ryuunosuke like that."

"No, Assassin is already dead." Kayneth replied. "Killed on the first night."

That wasn't true of course, and the Chaldeans knew it. But they decided to play along in order to not play their hand.

"So, if it wasn't Assassin, then who could have done it?" Waver asked.

"Maybe we're lookin at it the wrong way." Ritsuka said. "It could've been another Master, or a third party's gettin involved and stickin their nose where it don't belong."

"That is a very good observation." Kayneth replied. "We do not have any evidence, but it is the best lead we have."

"I could go back down there tomorrow and check out the corpse." Ritsuka answered. "I know a thing or two about dealin with stuff like that."

"Then we have an agreement." Kayneth replied. "We must obtain more information to create a plan to take out the other Masters and their Servants. So if you find anything down there, you shall tell me immediately. With this now in affect, you are all dismissed."

The Chaldeans nodded and got up to leave the suite. The moment they reached the door, Ritsuka stopped in his tracks, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion.

"Senpai, what are you doing?" Mashu asked.

"I'll catch up with ya shortly." Ritsuka answered. "There's somethin I need to discuss with our host."

"Well fortunately for you, I am in a good mood." Kayneth said. "I shall entertain you for a little longer, Mr. Shinkaichi."

The Chaldeans looked at Ritsuka with reluctance. Someone just killed a Master, and yet Ritsuka wanted to be alone in the lion's den with Kayneth. Ritsuka noted their concern and put a hand on Mashu's shoulder to help alleviate their concerns. "I ain't gonna be long. I promise."

Waver nodded. "I get the feeling Shinkaichi will be safe here for now. Let's just do as he says."

The other Servants nodded and decided to leave their Master alone in the suite. Ritsuka then gently closed the door, and turned to face Kayneth. The blonde Master was now sitting down with a grin on his face. "Have a seat."

Ritsuka returned to the chair he sat in previously and took a deep breath. "If it's all the same with ya, I'd rather we talk in english for this."

"Oh very well." Kayneth said. With the agreement set, the two of them waited a few moments as the clock continued to tick until they were ready. "Now, you will indulge me as to why you decided to remain."

"It's simple." Ritsuka said. "I…..have a request to ask of you, but I am sure you don't want to hear of it."

"Oh? A request?" Kayneth asked playfully. "You are quite the presumptuous one, aren't you."

"With all due respect, Lord Kayneth, this is something I had planned out in advance." Ritsuka replied.

"I see." Kayneth muttered. "Very well, then tell me what it is you want of me."

Ritsuka clenched his fists. Ever since last night, something had been gnawing at his heart. He couldn't let it go, no matter how hard he tried to keep it suppressed. He had to do this. He had to ask Kayneth about it, and if he didn't do it tonight, he might not get another chance. The black haired teen took a deep breath to calm his nerves before returning his gaze upon Kayneth.

"I want to know more about this Clock Tower Rebellion."

OC: Hi everybody, just letting you all know we're not dead. Real life kept us really, really, REALLY busy these past few weeks so we didn't have a lot of time to sit down to write like usual. It was no one's fault, just terrible timing and just things needed to get done.

Y: Yup, it's been a rough and busy year, just part of life. Still, we are progressing forward, so please sit tight while we update chapters. On that note, it was an experience going through Zero again (both original and FGO event); I've noted it's kinda gotten a bit of backlash since its heyday.

OC: Honestly I can see why. Almost all the Masters and Servants didn't really get along, and the Masters, well most of them, were not really…..I don't know the words to describe it, but they were unpleasant is probably the best one I can come up with. And another problem this event has is the pacing, because some events are shifted around, so Yatsu and I had to figure out ways to try and make it easier to flow and to give time to delve more into Waver's and also Ritsuka's backstories a bit.

Y: It's a Gen Urobuchi special: very slow early buildup and then have everything crash down at the end. He did it for almost every work he was part of, except for Madoka, and that's mostly due to him channeling Revolutionary Girl Utena but with far less episodes and worse pacing. Well, I suspect that might be why Nasu and Urobuchi seem to get along well when they're making stuff together.

OC: Yeah, and we do intend to follow a similar formula, but in reverse from Urobuchi….kinda. However, let's not focus on that right now. We have to discuss some other things, like Hannah's new revelations and how she taught Ritsuka, and her own skill set. Vlad and I always intended for her to be incredibly powerful and talented so as to make an ironic and heartwarming twist that someone as talented as her would look after a pretty below average Mage, and not only encouraged him, but also gave him more important life lessons outside of Magecraft. As for her fighting style we also had the idea of taking a note from Fullmetal Alchemist as inspiration with her fighting style, because the rules between that series and Fate are SUPPOSED to be similar and follow the same logic. Except Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't really break its rules constantly.

Y: Amusingly enough, Arakawa did do a lot of research on alchemy and its fun relationship with eventual chemistry and physics; Edward's color palette is a reference to the steps of a Philosopher's stone, lots of hidden reference to hermetic elements, and symbolism that helps frame a lot of conflicts and characters. It's mostly stripped down so the characters can have fun and exciting battles without needing a few college courses' worth of background knowledge, but the rules are very consistent and the characters actually use them to make logical deductions…Arakawa is a genius!

OC: That she is! However, that doesn't mean Hannah, who has some similarities to her works, is perfect. She might have taught Ritsuka the best she could, but there are some things even she couldn't have foreseen, but she does think of contingencies. She's been living in a hellhole afterall. And one of her plans was to practice Magecraft in secret and teach Ritsuka in a secluded woodland area. She definitely knew how to distract him, and make it fun.

Y: That sounds like something Musashi-levels of inappropriate…Well, it would be funny if Waver stumbles in since he was camping in those woods to recover some of his prana in a sleeping bag

OC: Oh dear god that would be funny! Now onto scene two. I know some people will be disappointed that Gilles and Ryuunosuke were taken out so quickly and in an anti-climatic way, but we were getting really behind schedule, but most importantly, Yatsu thought it would be more interesting for it to happen that way.

Y: It'd act as a set up to Kiritsugu acting as a Counter Guardian and thus effectively a Rogue Assassin taking out troublesome Masters. In particular, Waver would've realized that things have gone off the rails since he knew Caster was Excalibur'd at the pier. It's going to mean that he can't exactly Peggy Sue things like he wanted…

OC: And there's Ritsuka's…less than stellar behavior/ opinion of Caster Gilles. Look after all they saw, do you really expect ANYONE to not feel hatred and disgust towards Gilles for that? Those were CHILDREN, folks! There is something called going too far, and that was crossing a line several times over. Well in any event, that nasty business is over with, and now Ritsuka has calmed down….mostly.

Y: It was definitely a horrific act since the duo explicitly targeted children. I'm surprised Urobuchi didn't go deeper into Gilles legend involving pederasty, though I'm pretty sure the LNs probably wouldn't have gotten a big publisher if that was included. I do recall Kariya's intended final moments were going to be even more disgraceful and messed up before Nasu pulled the leash…

OC: Wow, when Nasu decides something is too much you know it's bad. Didn't stop him from making some questionable and downright horrible writing decisions of his own though….Then again I'm not one to talk since I have made lots of mistakes too. In any event, we also have Ritsuka speaking in his natural Kyushu dialect from his home base, and it's definitely….what's the word I'm looking for, Yatsu?

Y: Cringe? In-setting, at least? Hehehe

OC: I was thinking more rough and…..aggressive and unrefined lol. But yeah that's actually what he sounds like when speaking his natural accent. And he hates it for a multitude of reasons. That's why he prefers speaking English because he has more control over how he sounds! That and Vlad and I wanted to convey the idea of him growing up in the slums, so what better way to do that, than to make him sound very unrefined. I showed him a draft of him speaking to some acquaintances from that district and he liked how they all had the same way of speaking, so it kinda stuck.

Y: Unrefined urban youth speak, one of the several modern dialects…well, it was interesting trying to find a written English equivalent to Kyushu. I recall Kansai-ben is easier to anglicize (I recall Ruroni Kenshin had a character with a Kansai-ben dialect speak in a southern drawl), but Kyushu was trickier.

OC: Well thankfully I managed to read up on Kyushu's dialect, and the closest one for English speakers is more New Englandish vibes. However for Ritsuka I see him sounding like he's more from Brooklyn or New Jersey, not saying those places all sound like that, but it's more of a general idea…..

Y: True, you can only go so far when linking two concepts. It's always a tough decision; I recall the Atlus translation team admitted there was a lot of work done to localize their dialogue and culture-heavy games, it doesn't always help when the devs themselves are unfamiliar with English and try to help…(*cough*NasuandAltria*cough*)

OC: And with that I think our business is concluded for this chapter. Thank you all for your patience, and we hope to get the next chapter out much faster than this one. Please stay tuned for the next installment! Owen Chaser and Yatsu, signing off.