Return to Null Chapter 6:

Operation Cherry Blossom

Inside the Command Room of Chaldea, everyone watched the monitors calmly as they saw the small band of heroes making their way to the Matou estate to scope it out. Tatsuko couldn't help but smirk, with Alexander staring at her in curiosity.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Alexander asked.

"Because Zouken is about to have a very bad night." The orange haired girl answered.

"That is quite the understatement." Artoria replied, smirking as well. "This is something I am very much looking forward to seeing."

"Well it's definitely bringing out quite the surprising personality shift in Ritsuka." Roman said. "He's like a knight in shining armor going to rescue a damsel in distress."

Davinci giggled. "He certainly looks very dashing right now."

Henry turned to stare at the Caster. "Say Davinci, how do you feel about all this? I mean didn't you know this Zouken guy when he was younger?"

Davinci's mood turned sour. "The man I knew as Makiri Zoulgen is dead. Whatever this….thing, is, it is just a creature who slithered through the centuries to cling to its own pathetic life."

"Well, he's about to get what's coming to him soon." Roman said.

"And with that, how about we change the subject a bit…" Tatsuko said. "So, Artoria, about Irisviel, I know you said she can be reasoned with, but do you think she'd be able to tell Kiritsugu to side with us in dismantling the Greater Grail?"

"It's certainly possible." Artoria said. "For all his faults, he genuinely loved his wife. And it would allow them both to go home to see their daughter."

"Given he adopted a child and watched over Emiya until he died, it seems Kiritsugu is quite the family man." Davinci said.

"I actually see that quality in Ritsuka too." Artoria said. "I think he'd make a wonderful father himself, one day."

"I've also been meaning to ask this…." Tatsuko muttered. "But you seem to look at Ritsuka as if you're reminiscing about something. Does he remind you of any of the Knights of the Round Table?"

"I wasn't exactly reminiscing." Artoria said. "However, I will say out of all my knights, Ritsuka reminds me the most of Sir Gawain."

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are they similar?"

"In many respects, yes they are."

"Care to tell us?" Dustin asked.

"They are both generous, embody chivalry, even if it doesn't seem that way for Ritsuka, and they both have a very strong moral compass." Artoria answered. "However, that also means I see some similar flaws within them as well."

"Such as?" Henry asked.

"They are both stubborn to a certain degree." Artoria answered. "And they do tend to hold a grudge, even if they have perfectly valid reasons in doing so."

"Well they're only human after all." Roman replied. "That's what makes them….well, them."

"I was merely observing, not judging." Artoria countered. "Though Ritsuka does have some similarities to Percival as well….but that's not really important right now."

"Indeed." Davinci said. "The important thing right now is that Teach is taking his time getting back here."

"Maybe he stopped to get us more snacks?" Iris asked. "Meunière did say he was still hungry after all….."

Meunière grumbled in annoyance, causing some chuckles in the Command Room. Tatsuko, on the other hand, felt her stomach rumbling, and sighed. "Honestly, I'm getting hungry too."

Roman's smile beamed. "That's great! I can grab you something from the cafeteria if you'd like!"

"Leave that to me, Roman." Henry said. "Let me know what you'd like, and I'll go get it."

"I actually have a hankering for a nice and hot turkey sandwich right now." Tatsuko replied. "With tomatoes and some onions….oh oh, and lots of mayo!"

Henry nodded. "You know, that actually sounds good for me too. I might just get the same thing while I'm out."

"Then perhaps if it isn't any trouble you could pick up a few items for me as well?" Artoria asked.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "I feel like something scary is about to happen….."

No sooner did he say that Artoria handed him a list of food items she desired….a list so large that it unfolded until it hit the floor. The chief security guard widened his eyes as he stared at the list, and looked at the King of Knights in disbelief. Was her stomach just an empty void or something?!

"I'll…..be right back…." Henry said. The chief of security was about to open the door to leave the command room, when it opened wide, hitting him in the face. Everyone turned around in shock as they saw Medusa running into the Command Room as if her life depended on it.

"I'm so sorry Henry!" She shouted.

"It's fine." Henry groaned. The man slowly got up on his feet, only to see Nobunaga and Blackbeard enter the room with their hands filled with food.

"We had a feeling Artoria would be hungry." Teach said. Artoria scowled at the Rider, but the taller man simply chucked food at her, causing her to calm down. "Sorry for taking so long, but Medusa was hard to find."

"Please be quiet, Captain Teach." Medusa said calmly. The purple haired Rider turned to look at Roman trying not to shake. "Is it true?"

"Ritsuka is leading the rescue team as we speak." Davinci answered. Everyone watched as Medusa's eyes widened, her body shaking as she started to form a shaky smile. Artoria came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"I can only imagine how happy you must feel right now." Artoria said.

"This….this is really happening, isn't it?" Medusa asked.

"Yeah, and it seems that old fossil Zouken was a terrible father to his own sons too." Dustin replied. "The fact he had that Kariya guy basically kill himself, and still rig it against him…"

Medusa stared at the man in confusion. "Who is that?"

"Ummm, he's one of Zouken's sons?" Tatsuko said with uncertainty. "Did….did Sakura never tell you about him?"

Medusa shook her head. "I knew of Shinji's father, but she never told me about this Kariya fellow."

"He's also Lancelot's Master." Artoria replied. "It's actually pretty strange to think I fought against the Matous in two consecutive Holy Grail Wars."

"Okay, but what is this about Zouken rigging the War against him?" Medusa asked.

"To make a long story short," Roman said. "Kariya Matou was trying to save Sakura from becoming Zouken's puppet and from the worms themselves, so he agreed to enter the Holy Grail War, and allowed himself to have some of those worms consume his internal organs. Zouken made sure he summoned a Berserker Servant as well, which as we all know requires a tremendous amount of Mana. Zouken basically made it his mission to have his son fail and die."

The air ran cold in the Command Room. Everyone watched as Medusa stopped her shaking, and clenched her fists together, scowling. The pink haired Rider's fists trembled in anger and disbelief as she realized the gravity of the situation.

Zouken always intended to take Sakura as his vessel, and never had any intention of giving her a chance of freedom.

"I'm hoping Ritsuka isn't too late…" Tatsuko muttered.

Medusa took a deep breath and loosened her hands. "I have a feeling that wretch hasn't thrown her to those worms quite yet. He's most likely only torturing her mentally right now, which is all we can hope for…."

Everything went silent again as everyone returned their gazes back to the monitors. They could only hope that Medusa was right, and that Sakura wasn't being attacked just yet…

As that was happening, the rescue team finally reached a good stopping point to survey the Matou estate at a safe distance. As they hid under the cover of night, it was agreed that Emiya would be the best choice to look for anything they could use to sneak into the manor without arousing suspicion.

"Senpai, I have a question." Mashu said. "How do you plan on hiding Mr. Kariya's involvement in this?"

Ritsuka grinned. "You see Fuyuki has a natural talent for having countless gas leaks."

"Just how many of those were actual gas leaks?!"

"About half of them I think." Ritsuka said.

"And what about the civilians?" Mashu asked. "If you do this there could be people who would get hurt…."

"You don't have to worry about that. The manor has no gas main for us to use that tactic." Emiya answered. "That and the estate is far enough away from everyone else that if it were possible, there wouldn't be any innocent civilians to get hit."

"Okay then it's a good thing I have a backup plan." Ritsuka said. "Quick question though, how flammable is that house for it to spontaneously combust?"

"Why do you want to burn that house down so badly?" Emiya asked.

"To get rid of those crest worms." Ritsuka answered. "We can't have those running around anymore."

"Would regular fire be enough?" Mashu asked.

"I asked Matou-san before we left, and he said that it would be more than enough." Ritsuka replied.

"Guys be quiet for a second." Emiya said. "I see three people leaving the manor!"

The black haired Master and the Shielder went silent and returned their focus to the manor. Mashu brought out binoculars for both herself and Ritsuka to see what was happening, and confirmed Emiya's statement. Three people were indeed leaving the estate, one was a young boy with blue hair, an older man who was obviously his father with the same hair color, but with a more broken expression. And next to them was a decrepit old man, bald and weasel like in appearance. His very presence felt like an evil spirit that needed to be destroyed. Ritsuka scowled as he watched the older man shuffle with a smirk on his face, the male Master clenched his binoculars so tight, he was afraid he might break them.

This was Matou Zouken. The creature who helped create the Holy Grail War in different timelines, and ruined countless lives for its own selfish desires…..

Ritsuka felt an immense surge of negative emotions in their area, and decided to look. He then saw the culprit as he saw Emiya's venomous glare as the Archer stared maliciously at Zouken as well. His anger was even greater than his own at that moment.

"Looks like once again you and I are of the same mind." The black haired teen whispered.

The white haired Archer simply nodded. While he and Ritsuka hoped to fight Zouken at some point, they both knew that now wasn't the time for that. "The moment they're out of sight, we make our way inside."

Ritsuka nodded. "Did you find a way in?"

"Yeah, I did."

Emiya pointed out an area where sneaking in would be perfect, causing the two teens to nod in silence. They waited for some time as the three Matou men left to make sure they were out of sight. When Emiya gave them the signal that everything was safe to move, they wasted no time and crept casually to the Matou estate as silently as possible. They soon found their way to sneak in in the form of a hidden door, one that only those with keen eyes could have found. After reaching their goal, the three of them noticed it was protected by a barrier, something that Emiya had anticipated. The Archer quickly dispelled it without any issue, allowing them to get through the door to close it shut.

The three looked around in their new surroundings and felt somewhat relieved that there was some light, albeit still dimmed. Once more, Emiya took the lead, and the group silently roamed the corridor on the lookout for any traps or surprises. Their first surprise finally came as a swarm of flying bugs appeared on their left and tried to attack Ritsuka and Mashu. The Shielder easily blocked their attacks with her shield, leaving them vulnerable for her to smash them with her shield, while Emiya came to her aid and sliced the escaping ones to ribbons.

"I had a feeling Zouken would have suspected something like this happening." Ritsuka grumbled.

"Of course he did." Emiya replied. "When you live as long as that thing has, you tend to prepare for any possible outcome."

"Can he sense them dying?" Mashu asked.

"I highly doubt that." Emiya answered. "So don't worry about killing them, as long as we are careful, we might pull this off without any issues."

"Then let's get going." Ritsuka whispered. The group then slowly made their way through the corridor, and when they came upon a dead end with two passageways leading left or right. The three of them sensed a cold front from their right, and turned that direction to follow the air. They continued this journey, twisting and turning around many corners and dead ends. It was as if this place was a maze….

"Don't quote me on this, but I think this has to be its workshop…" Ritsuka whispered.

"The entire Matou estate is technically Zouken's workshop." Emiya replied. The Archer went quiet almost immediately as he thought he heard something. The white haired Servant closed his eyes and focused on listening to the strange sound. As he focused his hearing, it started to become clearer, and realized it was the whimpering of a small child. Emiya's eyes widened in horror as the sound continued to fill his ears.

He would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Follow me."

The two teens wasted no time as they ran to follow the Archer. The two of them soon heard the whimpering themselves, their blood freezing in fear. They had to hope they weren't too late. With one last turn they finally reached the source of the whimpers, and what they saw terrified them.

They found the pit of worms but what caught their attention was a cage hanging over it. Inside was a little girl with black hair and blue eyes. The three Chaldeans watched in horror as the cage slowly lowered itself by an inch towards the pit, causing the girl to cry. "Big sister….Uncle Kariya…please help me…"

"Don't worry, help is here." Ritsuka said.

The little girl turned to face the Chaldeans and stared at them in surprise. She flinched and slightly retreated further into her cage in fear. Ritsuka put his hands up gently and smiled. "Ya must be Sakura, right? Your uncle Kariya told us about your situation."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. A hint of hope returned to her as she slowly shuffled back to see them better. "Is uncle Kariya okay?"

Ritsuka winced and stared at the little girl apologetically. "He ain't doin' so well. That's why the three of us are here. We're gonna rescue ya in his place."

Sakura shook her head. "No…I want my uncle!"

"I know ya do. But I promise that we'll bring ya to him soon." Ritsuka said gently. "I know you're scared, I would be too. But ya have to trust me…"

Sakura thought to herself for a second. These people don't seem to be bad, but she doesn't know how they'd help her. She then shook her head in the negative, only for the cage to suddenly drop a few inches, causing her to scream and the Chaldeans to stare on in desperation. "Please help me!"

"Don't worry, we'll think of somethin'!" Ritsuka shouted. He then turned to the others to formulate a plan. "We don't have much time, so we have to work fast. How do we get her out of that cage?"

"We could burn the bugs first." Emiya said.

"That would risk her safety!" Mashu replied. "We must prioritize getting her out first, then destroy this room."

"Mashu's right, we can't risk her getting burned." Ritsuka said.

"Then I can jump up there and swing the cage closer to our area and cut the rope." Emiya replied.

"Wait….I may have some rope in my shield." Mashu said. "We could tie it to one of Emiya's projections, shoot it at the other end of the pit, and while two of us keep it tight, the other could free Sakura from her cage."

"That's really risky to try." Emiya said.

"Yeah, but it might be our best bet." Ritsuka replied. The three of them broke away and went to work immediately. Mashu did indeed have some rope in her shield, and tossed one end to Emiya. The Archer summoned his bow and projected Hrunting into his hands, and tied the rope at the end of his weapon. Emiya took aim at the end of the other side of the pit, and shot his blade. The moment it connected to the wall, the three Chaldeans immediately pulled the rope to make sure it was tight. Ritsuka immediately released his grip on it and started to walk to the end of the pit.

"Don't worry, I'm comin'!" Ritsuka told Sakura. The black haired teen soon stepped on the rope and carefully made his way towards the lowering cage. The male Master soon had to quickly move his feet as the cage lowered itself again, now lower than he had hoped. Sakura whimpered as the worms seemed much closer than before. Ritsuka clicked his tongue and carefully, yet quickly walked on the rope to reach her. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the male Master finally reached the cage, only for them to watch Ritsuka to stop.

The cage didn't have a lock fortunately, but it was now lowered enough that he couldn't just open it and grab her. If they had any chance of saving Sakura now, they would need her to get involved. He lowered his hand, reached out to her, and stared at her gently. "I'm gonna need ya to do somethin' for me. Open the door to the cage, and jump."

"Will….will you catch me?" Sakura asked.

Ritsuka nodded. "I'm right here, and I ain't gonna let ya down."

"I'm scared…."

Ritsuka nodded and smiled gently. "I know, I'm actually scared right now too. But I'm more scared about what will happen to ya if the cage falls."

"Senpai is right." Mashu said gently. "Mr. Kariya told us how worried he was for your safety. That is why he entrusted us with this task."

Sakura looked at the Shielder for a moment before returning her gaze to Ritsuka. The male Master did not move an inch despite his uncomfortable position. The little girl saw his gentle gaze, and realized they really would rescue her. But she needed to be brave. She had to help them help her escape. Sakura slowly made her way to the door of the cage and opened it. The moment she did so, she gasped as the cage lowered itself again. "What do I do?"

"It's gonna to be okay!" Ritsuka said. "Just jump and I'll catch you!"

Sakura gulped for a moment before nodding. Without missing a beat, the little girl prepared to jump. Time slowed down for everyone as the little girl jumped from the cage towards Ritsuka's hand. Their heartbeats drummed loudly in their chests, the fear and anxiety they felt in that moment nearly overwhelmed them. The sound of hands clasping together soon allayed their fears.

Sakura managed to catch Ritsuka's hand just in time.

"Okay, I'll pull ya up, and we can get out of here." Ritsuka said gently. Sakura soon looked down and whimpered. Ritsuka immediately pulled her up and held her in his arms as he got up. "Don't look down, okay? Just look straight ahead at Mashu."

Sakura whimpered, but did as her savior asked and looked at the lilac haired girl. Ritsuka breathed slowly and carefully as he had to watch his balance with the added weight of the little girl in his arms. The black haired teen did not bother looking down, and instead focused on the door they came from to get into the room. Mashu and Emiya watched silently and with concern as the Master slowly put one foot in front of the other, and made his way towards them. They all gasped as Ritsuka stumbled and nearly lost his footing, but Ritsuka soon regained his posture and breathed in relief. Sakura shook in his arms, but soon stopped as Ritsuka started moving again, speaking to her the entire way to keep her from looking down. Soon she had no reason to worry about falling as she felt Ritsuka jump with her still in his arms and onto solid ground. Ritsuka put her down and took a deep breath as he knelt down.

"Good job, Sakura." Ritsuka said. "Ya really were brave back there."

"Are you going to bring me to Uncle Kariya?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Unfortunately he's not that close by." Emiya said gently. "But we promise to bring you to him soon."

Sakura nodded sadly. "Thank you for helping me."

"There is no need to thank us." Mashu said. "The moment we heard of what was happening, Senpai immediately agreed to help."

Ritsuka turned to Mashu. "Can ya get her to safety? Emiya and I have some unfinished business here."

Mashu nodded. "Leave no trace."

The two men nodded as Mashu knelt down and gently told Sakura to follow her. The Shielder held the little girl's hand and walked out to the door they came from. As soon as the two men knew the girls were far enough away, Ritsuka took a lighter from his pocket and started to try to ignite it.

"I'm glad I asked Mashu if she had one when we were in that maze earlier." Ritsuka said. "Would you like the honors?"

Emiya smiled and nodded. The Archer took the lighter from the boy's hands after it was ignited and slowly made his way to the pit. Emiya looked at the worms writhing and wriggling down there and took a deep breath. Even after all this time, he regretted not being able to do more for Sakura, and help her from her fate. But now he has that chance, even if it was only temporary. The Archer then threw the lighter into the pit, and watched as the bugs were instantly set aflame. The two of them widened their eyes as the flames erupted and burned hotter than they anticipated. They immediately ran out of the room for dear life as they felt the heat surge around them.

It was only a few minutes after Ritsuka and Emiya escaped from the Matou estate and caught up with Mashu and Sakura. The three Chaldeans got away from the manor as quickly as possible with the little girl with them. They made it a safe distance away from the manner when they noticed the little girl starting to move slower, and they opted to stop to let the little girl rest and catch her breath.

Sakura caught her breath after a while and stared at her rescuers with a daze. The Chaldeans stared back at her in concern as she continued to stare. But the little girl was not hurt. In her heart was disbelief. She could hardly fathom the situation before her now. She was saved, and she could get away from the Matous….

Ritsuka noted her expression and walked up to her with a gentle smile. "Ya must be pretty cold right now. Let me take care of that for ya."

Before Sakura could react, Ritsuka took off the coat he borrowed from Kayneth, and put it on her with extra care. The little girl was surprised by the gesture, but did not shy away. Instead she felt a wave of comfort throughout her body. "T-thank you…"

"No need to thank me." Ritsuka said. "I'm just glad we got ya outta there."

"Let's tell Kariya the good news before we do anything else." Emiya said.

Ritsuka nodded and held out another communication Mystic Code to be able to reach the rest of their team. The moment Kariya answered the call, Sakura nearly gasped. These people really were sent by Uncle Kariya!

"Uncle Kariya!"

The white haired man on the other end of the call widened his good eye in surprise. "Sakura!"

The little girl sniffled as she stared at the white haired man in relief. "I…I thought you were not going to come back for me…. I was so scared….."

"I'm sorry Sakura…" Kariya said. "I was not in the best shape to come back for you. But these people decided to volunteer to help rescue you when I told them what was happening."

"Well we did a little more than that." Ritsuka said. "But I think it was for the best ya left it to us."

Kariya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Zouken had Sakura in a cage danglin' over the pit when we found her. And it would slowly descend into said pit, little by little."

Karina's eye widened in horror. "Is this true, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded. "It was really scary in that cage…"

"I managed to get her outta there with some help, but my friend in red here and I decided to take an extra step to make sure that little weasel won't be makin' more bugs and burned the house down." Ritsuka said as he pointed to Emiya.

"I don't care about that." Kariya said. "Did you burn the basement?"

Emiya nodded. "That's where we started the fire."

"And on that note, I'm sorry Matou-San, but I have to ask Sakura somethin'." Ritsuka said.

Kariya took a look at the young man's face and knew what he wanted to ask. The white haired man simply nodded in discomfort, but also of concern. A part of him didn't want to know the answer, but he knew that this was for Sakura to decide, not him. Ritsuka turned to stare at the little girl, wearing an apologetic expression.

"Did Zouken ever put ya into that pit before?" He asked gently. "Did ya ever see that pit before?"

Sakura shook her head slowly. "No. That was the first time I ever saw it before…"

A breath of relief sounded through the air. For Kariya, it was the fact that Sakura was saved from her fate at the last second. For Emiya and Ritsuka, relief that they managed to save a little girl from the horrors that were to await her. It was at this moment that Ritsuka's communicator beeped, causing the black haired Master to widen his eyes in shock and fear as he saw Roman's face on the screen, and heard cheers and applause roaring in the background.

Kariya took one look at the communicator and stared in confusion. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Oh ummm I can explain." Ritsuka said frantically. "Ya see, me and my friends here are part of a group of mercenaries who-"

"Oh do not bother. You can stop this little charade.".

The Chaldean team's eyes widened in shock as Kayneth and Waver appeared on the Mystic Code communicator together. The blonde Master grinned at the black haired Master with much amusement.

"You and your compatriots are from the future." Kayneth said. "Something must have happened to me, and you all were sent to figure out exactly what happened."

"How in the heck did ya come up with that?" Ritsuka asked.

"Simple! I asked back home whether my niece did indeed send aid for me, but they denied it." Kayneth answered. "And yet you all have been tipping the war in my favor a little too much. It is indeed an outlandish theory, but it all adds up."

"You are half right." Waver replied. "We were indeed telling the truth about Lady Reines sending us to your aid. But I never said that it was the Lady Reines of this time period."

Kayneth raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Can you please tell me who you all are, and how does Reines's future self play into this?"

Waver cleared his throat and stared at the blonde Master calmly. "The organization that me and my associates work for is called Chaldea. And that man on the other communicator is Doctor Romani Archaman. He's our acting director for the moment."

"Acting director? How did this happen? And why is a mere human leading this organization instead of someone more capable?" Kayneth asked.

"Doctor Roman is plenty capable!" Ritsuka snapped.

"Silence, boy. The adults are talking." Kayneth said.

Waver cleared his throat. "You see, the previous director passed away suddenly, and Doctor Romani had to fill in their shoes."

Kayneth scoffed. "I do not approve of a regular human leading an organization that was funded by my family, but I am willing to let it slide."

Roman scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I promise I won't disappoint you."

"Ummm, what is happening?" Sakura asked. "Am I going to see Uncle Kariya soon?"

"I'm lost too." Kariya replied.

"Ah, allow me a to explain why we are here." Waver said to the two of them calmly.

Sakura pointed at the Mystic Code communicator with an air of innocence. "You look very grouchy, and you probably don't like snakes at all."

Ritsuka held back a chuckle as Waver grumbled silently before recomposing himself. "You see, Lady Reines funded for our research in time travel, for the sole purpose of getting to the bottom of this current event."

"Are you talking about this Holy Grail War?" Kayneth asked.

Roman nodded. "We have been looking into the matter myself, and we have confirmation that this is indeed a plot against you. This entire War was to be a distraction so your enemies could get you to lower your guard."

"And what proof do you have?" Kayneth asked.

"That student of yours." Waver lied. "Him stealing the mantle of Rider was a part of their plan to sabotage you."

"Well it would seem that you and I were both played for fools, Matou."

"Well what happens now?" Kariya asked.

"I know what I shall do." Kayneth said. "I shall spring a trap of my own and catch them off guard by returning to the Clock Tower at once!"

The Clock Tower Lord turned to face Waver directly. "About my dear Sola-Ui, did she ever receive a letter after this?"

Waver smiled. "Do not worry, she is perfectly fine in the future. And she thinks of you every day."

Kayneth smiled. "That makes me even more eager to return home then."

"What about our alliance?" Kariya asked.

"Do not fret." Kayneth replied. "These…Chaldeans will be fighting in my stead. Our alliance has not changed the slightest."

Kayneth turned his attention to Ritsuka with a smug grin. "As for you, my former little hostage, you will be given Lancer to take over for me. Be sure to not disappoint me."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes in annoyance. "At least I'll have a break from your ego."

"And perhaps I shall miss that wit of yours." Kayneth said. "However I want you to meet me at a particular landing strip before I depart so we can go over the details."

Before Ritsuka could say a word, Kayneth disappeared from view with the sound of a door closing behind him. Sakura crossed her arms in annoyance and pouted. "I don't like that man. He's a rude meanie!"

"He definitely is." Ritsuka said in amusement. "Now, how long until you can get to our rendezvous point, Matou-San?"

"Actually I thought about it, and I think it might be better for Sakura to be under your care for the night." Kariya said. "She's been through so much today, and she must be tired."

"I was about to suggest the same thing." Roman said. The acting director turned away for a moment before smiling and nodding. He then turned his gaze to Sakura and smiled. "You must be Sakura. My name is Doctor Roman, and I'm a friend of the three brave people who rescued you."

Sakura tilted her head in curiosity. "You look like a man from the Bible."

Roman chuckled weakly. "A-anyway there's someone here who'd like to meet you."

"Me?" Sakura asked.

"That's right." Roman said. The acting director turned away to face the mystery person and smiled. "She's ready for you now."

"W-wait hang on this isn't what I was expecting!" The mystery person said.

"Oh no you don't!" Tatsuko said out of frame. "You're going to talk to her!"

Before anyone else could react, Tatsuko shoved Medusa into frame, with Roman stepping aside to allow her to be front and center. The Rider looked at the little girl with a flustered expression, blushing a bit as Sakura tilted her head to the side in curiosity and waved. "Hello."

Medusa waved awkwardly back. "H-hello…"

"You're very pretty." Sakura said.

Medusa's lips quivered as she saw the little girl smile at her innocently. Seeing her like this, free of her torment, even if it was just for a little while, it felt like a true miracle to her. The Rider remembered what was happening and smiled back. "Thank you. My name is Medusa."

"Why did you want to speak to Sakura?" Kariya asked Roman.

"I…am also a Servant." Medusa answered.

"Wait there's more Servants?"

"It's a long story." Ritsuka replied. "What is important is that Medusa is from Sakura's future."

"Her future…." Kariya muttered. "Wait…did she still manage to get rescued from my father during this war?"

"Yes." Medusa lied. "Unfortunately, you did not survive to do so, but you still entrusted the task to others and they got her out."

"Then she came back years later with a wish of her own, and summoned you…" Kariya said.

"She did indeed." Emiya lied.

Waver then cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I understand that we revealed a lot about ourselves. But I think that we should discuss this at a later time. Right now I suggest that Ritsuka's team finds a safe place to lie low for the night so Sakura can get some rest. We can then resume discussions tomorrow when we reunite the two of you and formulate a few battle plans."

"Hang on a moment, something doesn't sit well with me." Nobunaga said as she appeared behind Medusa and looked at the holographic form of Kariya. "What about your….condition? Can Zouken spy on you with those bugs?"

Kariya's good eye widened in horror. He forgot that his father could do that….

"Matou-san, what's wrong?" Ritsuka asked.

"That girl was right. Zouken is able to spy on me with the Crest Worms still inside me."

"Uncle Kariya? What's happening?" Sakura asked nervously.

Kariya stared at the little girl apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but I don't think we will be able to see each other for little longer."

"But…but why?" Sakura asked.

Emiya knelt down and stared at her gently. "I don't know how to put this…. But your uncle Kariya had to go through some training to prepare for a little event that he volunteered to participate in. However, it seems that Zouken put a spell on his enhancements, and will be spying on him…."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Does that mean grandpa will hurt him if I see uncle Kariya again…?"

Emiya nodded. "I'm sorry, I wish we could reunite you both right now, but we need to figure out how to do so without letting your grandpa know."

"There's now another issue that we did not take into account." Waver said. "We have to take on Archer in a couple of days, and we need everyone there to be able to beat him. We cannot leave her alone, but taking her with us is too dangerous."

"I have a question." Cú said as he walked into view next to Kariya and Waver. "What about the leylines under that Tohsaka guy's control?"

Ritsuka's eyes widened as a smile grew on his face. "Cú you're a genius!"

"Well I know I'm smart but I wouldn't go that far." Cú said.

"No no, ya just gave me an idea!" Ritsuka replied. "We disrupt the leylines!"

Waver grinned. "Not a bad thought. Not bad at all."

Kariya stared at them in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ritsuka did not respond to him. Instead he turned to stare at Medusa with a devious grin. "Ya should stay in the Command Center for a while."

Medusa grinned back. "I like where this is going."

Kariya stared at them in absolute shock and disbelief. "Are you all saying what I think you're saying?"

Ritsuka nodded and turned to face Sakura with a mischievous smile.

"How much would ya like to meet the pretty lady in person?"

OC: And with that, the Chaldeans no longer need to hide their identities. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Y: Writing around that is pretty rough. I suppose Dramatic Irony has its virtues, but carrying it for a while really hurts the back. But at least we're done and through with it.

OC: Yeah it was getting pretty old anyway lol. In any event we had a lot happening here even though it doesn't seem like much. For scene one we have some interesting tidbits from Artoria and the other viewers, and one thing that stood out was Artoria mentioning how Ritsuka reminded her of Gawain. For those wondering, no, it's got nothing to do with cooking.

Y: Well, comparisons are always a fun thing to point out; it draws attention to shared traits. Though I always thought Ritsuka was more similar to Bedivere in terms of personality, though that might also be due to fanbase's idea of suffering Bedivere.

OC: Poor Princess Bedivere…..well onto Scene two! This was the big money maker here and it was also the most difficult part to write as the Matou manor isn't really described much aside from the few things we see. Then there's the infamous scene with the crest worm pit. To be honest, Yatsu and I didn't really know how to tackle this issue for a day or two mainly because of how wonky the timeline is for the crossover, but then after we read the event again we remembered it was an alternate timeline of an alternate timeline (timelineception?), and in doing so, we reached a conclusion on what we wanted to do.

Saving Sakura completely from the worms.

Y: You're saying it all seriously. Though I do find it darkly amusing at times when the writers themselves seem to treat it…kinda comedically. Check Carnival Phantasm and especially Hollow Ataraxia. Though HA Sakura was basically the basis for BB, so…kinda fitting?

OC: Well the main issue was I really wasn't comfortable with having to deal with her getting attacked by the worms. I may be a sadistic little gremlin, but there's a line I will never cross.

Y: The worms always felt like overkill when reading FSN the first time, though I guess the edginess was part and parcel of early 00's visual novels. Wish they could be written out completely since they don't really add anything to the story except maybe some retroactive connection to Kiara's creepy sex-based mystics.

OC: Yeah there is that. So we decided to make it less edgy, but more psychologically terrifying and scary.

That's where the cage Sakura was trapped in this chapter came in. If I remember correctly, Zouken wanted to break Sakura's spirit, but pushing her in didn't seem like it would be enough (even though it is…). And given Zouken is a sadistic little monster, I thought that him putting her in a cage hovering over, and slowly lowering into the pit on autopilot, would be MUCH more effective. She's effectively helpless in that situation, because if she tried getting out of the cage, she'd fall into the pit and get worms, or stay in the cage and get attacked either way. It's literally a no win situation…that is, unless a few heroes arrive.

Y: Kinda like a pit and pendulum perspective. Well, it's more tasteful and slightly more pragmatic to Zouken, since he did indeed need to break Sakura. Hence why he doesn't do anything in Fate or UBW routes since Sakura had basically become numb to everything he threw at her…until Shirou gets added to the picture.

Very interesting re-reading the scene where Shirou first meets Zouken; you can practically hear Zouken's gears turning on how to use Shirou and Shinji to mess with Sakura.

OC: Too bad for him though. He's now dealing with the Chaldeans, and after hearing what he did to Sakura, they are not going to show any pity or compassion towards him. And Ritsuka really proved himself here by calming Sakura down, and risking his own neck by walking on a makeshift tightrope to carry her to safety. If there was anyone aside from Atalante who could be considered the protector of children, you're looking right at him.

Y: Throw the children into the furnace, as I say. Lol. Well, so far the Chaldeans have most of the Servants on their side: the enemy side still includes Gilgamesh, who is kitted out for taking out Servants. Will be a rough approach to take him on…and keep the town intact. And, of course, Kirei and Kiritsugu.

OC: And there is also the fun part of Ritsuka becoming a domestic gremlin terrorist alongside Emiya as they burned the house down. I believe you had a phrase that you loved using when we wrote that. What was it again?

Y: Fire purifies all. Soon, my pet…soon I will feed you the world. BURN THE HERETIC!

Those are a few of my favorites. Also, yes, burning the Matou mansion to cinders would be the best thing to happen so nobody (like a certain Mage family in Strange Fake) gets any ideas to continue Zouken's 'research'.

OC: That's why Emiya and Ritsuka used lighter on the Crest Worms. It was super effective; and the worms fainted.

Well now onto scene 3. That one was perhaps the sweetest scene to have come out so far. But before that we also have Kayneth and Kariya learning the truth that Chaldea is actually from the future…kinda. So it's not exactly like in the game, but we had to improvise due to these circumstances. We basically had to have Waver use their plan B cover story early so that way the Chaldeans can now take control of the situation.

Y: Hrmm, I'm wondering if Kayneth would know about the theories of Rayshifting; he IS a Lord, one of several that Marisbury presented his research to in the past but never got funding or support until the Fuyuki HGW. Actually, with Case Files showing Dr. Heartless knew Marisbury (he tells Marisbury that the Grail is no good in the Avenger timelines), I'm curious if any more will show up with revelations…

OC: An interesting little idea! And what's also interesting is that the Chaldeans really didn't take into account that Zouken could spy on them through Kariya, which Nobu pointed out. They had the heart and the right idea to save Sakura; but they didn't really think about the consequences. Thankfully Ritsuka and Cú managed to bring up an idea, and it's going to be a very happy day for a certain snek. And speaking of that, I always planned for Medusa and Sakura to at least see each other through the communicator. It was a really sweet moment as Medusa gets to see the child form of the girl she cared about in the Fifth Holy Grail War; and now she gets to protect her once more. What are your thoughts on this, Yatsu?

Y: Well, that's Zouken. He's been playing the long game for a long time; proper information is worth its weight in gold as the old adage goes. I'm imagining he had several little worms in Kariya to make sure he didn't get ideas; would make sense if Zouken immediately nabs Lancelot after Kariya loses his hand in the Zero event. And yeah, smol Sakura and Medusa would be cute, though I'm curious how smol Medusa and smol Sakura would react…probably keep her away from Stheno and Euryale.

OC: Indeed. And with that we are out of time folks. Thank you for staying till the end of this chapter of Chaldean Chronicles. Please stay tuned in for the next chapter. Owen Chaser and Yatsu, signing off.