"This is a disaster."
No-one in the Einzbern's conference room seemed inclined to disagree with Emiya Kiritsugu. Irisviel sat at the table, but didn't seem to have anything to add, instead looking worriedly at her husband. Maiya stood behind Irisviel's chair, a simple soldier to be called upon when needed. For his part, Kiritsugu's face was as blank and cold as ever, but the tension in his shoulders, and the way he fidgeted with his Thompson Contender, made it plain to Serenity if no-one else – he was rattled.
Frankly, so was she.
The most powerful Servant, in the hands of the most troublesome Master – one who, judging by how he'd acted at the Church, already had some kind of interest in Kiritsugu. Despite how it sounded, by itself, that wasn't so bad. No matter which Servant it was, chances were Serenity would have been unable to defeat them in combat anyway.
No, what took this from 'unfortunate' into 'disastrous' was two facts about Enkidu. First, they were that much more powerful than anyone else that simply waiting for Kotomine Kirei's Servant to fall to someone else was no longer a remotely viable plan. Second, and much worse, they could somehow detect Serenity's presence – at least, when close by.
Serenity thought back to that night, to the earth and trees moving as one to the will of the Chain of Heaven. It was possible that Lancer could only detect her when she was on the ground. It was possible that, far away, her Presence Concealment would win out.
But that was the kind of gamble you only took and lost once.
Until they knew what Lancer's limits were, Kotomine Kirei was almost unassailable.
Almost.
"I apologise," said Maiya. "If I had accounted for Kotomine's use of armour, my attempt on his life would have been successful. Had I sacrificed my life, it may have worked even so. I should have persisted."
A shame. Kotomine Kirei – and, more importantly, Lancer – would be on the lookout for Maiya now. Losing the advantage of anonymity was always a blow.
"Yes. That may well have been the best opportunity to kill him we will get." Kiritsugu's reply was blunt. Maiya suppressed a flinch, and she looked down with a forlorn expression.
Irisviel pouted. "Don't be mean, Kiri! Maiya, you had no way of knowing Lancer would make things so difficult. And it's not as though we learned nothing – knowing that those priest robes are armoured is very valuable. Next time, we'll bring the armour piercing rounds, that's all. This isn't hopeless," she finished, jabbing the table with her finger weakly. "We knew this was going to be difficult going in, and we've still got to try our best. For the sake of the world."
Kiritsugu didn't smile, but the tension seemed to lessen slightly. "Hm. The fact remains, this is a lot harder. Maiya or you could have masqueraded as normal humans and evaded Lancer's detection – that avenue is now closed. If Lancer sees you near Kotomine Kirei, he will be sure to intervene. And we can no longer make use of Iri as transportation."
"I'm a getaway driver, Kiri, get it right," Irisviel huffed. "But yes. Sorry, Maiya, but the dynamic duo isn't quite so dynamic any more."
It wasn't really something anyone was talking about. Certainly no-one had told Serenity anything – but noticing weakness was just another killing art she'd been forced to master, and it was obvious to her that Irisviel wasn't well.
Moving under her own power was about her limit. Maiya followed the homunculus woman like an extra shadow – opening doors, pulling out chairs, and generally acting as Irisviel's hands. Irisviel was as chipper as ever, and hadn't complained, but looking at her now seemed to cause Kiritsugu considerable distress.
The fact that this sudden illness had come on suddenly, immediately after Berserker was defeated, was rather suspicious, in Serenity's opinion. But, no-one had asked her opinion – in fact, Kiritsugu almost seemed to have been expecting something like this.
If he wasn't worried about Irisviel, then Serenity wasn't either. The additional mental strain was something her Master definitely didn't need, though.
"Kotomine Kirei… and Lancer… remain the ultimate obstacle for this War," Kiritsugu said. "All our focus must now be on Kotomine. Maiya's face is now known, and Irisviel is unavailable. Berserker's rampage and Lancer's reveal has changed things. I had hoped not to cross paths with Kotomine at all, so I was willing to leave him to others, or to you, Maiya… but I don't think that's feasible anymore."
"I disagree," said Serenity. Maiya and Irisviel both jumped. Serenity wasn't in spirit form for this discussion, and the dining room was well-lit enough that she couldn't even lurk in a shadowy corner, but nevertheless it seemed the two had forgotten she was there. "It makes things substantially harder, yes… but Master, now more than ever you must not become distracted by the Master of Lancer. Please, have trust in your Servants."
Maiya shifted uncomfortably. "Assassin. I am grateful for your faith in me, but I think it's been shown that I cannot take on Kotomine Kirei."
"I think you underestimate yourself… with preparation and correct tools, I think it can be done." The skull mask Serenity wore couldn't convey a smile, so she took it off to give an encouraging one to Maiya. "I will help you."
Kiritsugu scratched his chin. "It is true that, if possible, I would prefer not to get anywhere near Kotomine. So, Assassin, what am I to do while you and Maiya deal with him?"
"Anything you wish, Master," said Serenity, inclining her head. "Your insight into methods of dealing with all other Masters will be invaluable. Better, since they will all be focused on dealing with Lancer, they will not expect an assault while they live… Master, feel free to disregard my suggestion. I only wish to help."
And to preserve her Master's mental state as far as possible, she didn't say. Serenity didn't know why Kiritsugu had been driven to such distraction by Kotomine, nor did she know why Kotomine was so interested in her Master. But she had a feeling it would be much, much better if they were never to meet. Maiya was not the killing machine Kiritsugu was – but neither did she have any baggage concerning the Master of Lancer.
"Lancer remains an issue, however," Kiritsugu said. "While they remain, Kotomine cannot be ambushed by anyone short of Assassin – and even if he is, it would be the work of a moment to summon him via Command Spell. What did you have in mind for that?"
"Well, he can only do that three times," said Irisviel. "Wait, maybe four? Did we find out if he ever got that extra Command Spell from defeating Berserker?"
"We'll assume that he has," said Kiritsugu. "It is his own father handing them out, after all. I'm not a fan of that option. Assassin… and Maiya… would need to escape from Lancer four times and somehow stop them from realising what you're trying. Not feasible."
Irisviel grumbled and put her head on her arms like a sulky child. "I wasn't saying it was an option, I was just saying it was a limited thing…"
Serenity ignored her, instead speaking to her Master. "This is not a new problem. It is worse than we hoped… but hope is not lost." From what Serenity had seen of Kiritsugu, he would usually have already thought of some way around the restrictions and complications he'd been presented with. He'd let himself become overwhelmed with worry – if anything, it was a sign of how much the Master of Lancer dwelled in Kiritsugu's thoughts.
It was okay, though. As a Servant, supporting her Master when he was off his game was part of her role.
"When your target has powerful reinforcements, what do you do?" Serenity continued. "Let us say… you are to assassinate a magus. Just as you have a thousand times before. The magus has a familiar, or summoned demons, or spirits, or maybe just mercenaries with whom he is in contact. He can summon these to his side, and the reinforcements can sense you, although the magus cannot. What do you do?"
Kiritsugu stilled. Serenity could almost see his mind start to work on the problem, now it had been presented to him in the abstract. "I attack from somewhere outside the familiar's sensory range. Use a missile, or remote-detonated bombs if we can lure the magus into a pre-prepared area. The aim would be to kill the magus before he can summon his familiar – ideally before he knows he is under attack. Failing that, I cut off communications so that his familiar cannot warn him, then go in to finish him off myself." He looked up. "I see. Yes, those make sense. Tricky, with Lancer as the foe… but doable."
Serenity smiled. Not such a disaster, after all. "Those were two approaches I had considered, yes. Well done, Master. Command us, and we shall go."
"Hm." Kiritsugu got up and paced, hand to his chin in thought. "You'll need a distraction, for the first, or bait. And if it is an actual missile you plan to use, I'd need to get in touch with some old contacts. Unless you had another idea?"
"I did." Serenity hesitated. This wasn't going to go down well, if she knew her Master. But it was necessary – or, not necessary, but it would make things a lot easier.
"Master… how do you feel about an alliance?"
There were few places in Fuyuki left untouched by Berserker's rampage, but the river bank was one of them. A wide open area with little in the way of road or foot traffic, there simply just hadn't been all that much to destroy.
Kiritsugu Emiya sat on a bench under a streetlight, and smoked, and waited.
From here, you could see the wreckage of the bridge upriver, and across the water to where Shinto still burned, while the suburbs that Berserker had turned into a deathtrap were set back from the bank itself. The evening sky was lit up in a dull red glow, but the clouds promised rain later. Outside the streetlights, it was a very, very dark night – but power had been partly restored to the city, and while the shadows were deep there was more light than darkness.
There weren't many places to hide, and fewer places where one might gain a vantage point.
In other words, it was the worst possible ground for an Assassin.
In other words, it was the best possible place for a show of good faith from Emiya Kiritsugu.
It had taken a lot of persuasion, from Irisviel and Serenity, to get him to reach out to Caster and his Master. (Maiya had been no help at all, predictably.) It had taken them even more to convince him to remain out in the open like this, even with Serenity on-hand, even with Maiya providing covering fire if necessary, even with Lancer's moratorium on top of everything else.
And even then, he'd insisted on a little extra insurance, just in case.
But the threat of Kotomine Kirei and his Lancer was a powerful motivator. Caster was best placed to bend the rules of the War in the way they needed, and if Serenity's hunch that Caster was behind Berserker's actions after her rampage were true, then she was a force to be reckoned with indeed.
And, alone of all other Masters and Servants, she might actually accept. When Kiritsugu had pulled his bluff with the hostages, only Caster had seen through it – seen through it instantly, and correctly deduced Kiritsugu's character. None of the other Masters had, and the Magus Killer had very few friends.
An alliance with Archer might have been ideal. Archer was perfectly-placed to snipe Kotomine Kirei, might have been the only one who could do so from beyond Lancer's range. Kiritsugu and Serenity had a lot to offer the Matous as well – Saber was immune to Archer's Noble Phantasm, while El-Melloi had proven singularly incautious and was easy prey for Assassin.
But that had been before Kiritsugu had threatened Matou Sakura. They'd both seen Archer's almost irrational rage at the idea, and knew there was going to be no help there.
No – it was Caster and her Master, or no one.
Just when Serenity was almost convinced it was going to be 'no-one' after all, she made out a pair of figures approaching from Miyama.
Master, she sent.
I see them.
Just like always, even just observing the other Master-Servant pair as they approached told Serenity a lot. Caster led the way, confidence practically rolling off her in waves. Or, on second thought, maybe that was just the many, many layers of personal defences she'd set up, so thick they distorted the air around her like a heat haze.
They were attending a meeting with an Assassin, after all. This much was probably only sensible.
In contrast, her Master followed behind, nervously looking round at the buildings as though wary of an ambush. He wasn't, technically, wrong to do so.
If Serenity had to guess, Caster was the dominant force in this pair. Maybe even the one making the decisions. That was… fine. Less predictable than a modern magus, and far, far more open to non-traditional avenues of thought, but in some ways having someone who could be guaranteed to always make the smart move was almost as valuable.
As expected, Caster spoke first.
"Those things will kill you," she said, pointing at the cigarette. "Or, so I'm told."
"Caster. Thanks for coming."
"Oh, straight to business, is it?" Caster pouted. "Well, how could we not come? You made a… very strong impression. Now, my Master and I had a little chat, and we decided that we couldn't see your message as anything other than a show of good faith. You didn't have to tell us that the toast wasn't poisoned, or leave any kind of message at all – if you wanted to kill us, you could have just poisoned it anyway, and that would have been that."
"We still checked for poison anyway, though," grumbled her Master. "Hours, it took us, going through every test she could think of. And on the tea as well."
Caster reached back and bopped her Master on the head. "Shush, you! There are mages who'd sell their firstborn for a lesson in practical alchemy from me, so no grumbling, mister!" She turned back to Kiritsugu. "Yes, we were all in a tizzy. It's rather embarrassing, but I still don't know how you did it – Martha Mackenzie doesn't remember taking us tea at all, and I know you're not better at hiding hypnosis than I am at finding it. And yet, you somehow had her deliver the message anyway…
"You had us dead to rights, and I don't mind admitting it. So, I'm thinking that was a message, a warning, and a sign that you weren't going to kill us. And, when Assassin suddenly shows up on our radar, and when you meet us in a place like this… well, I'm thinking I'm inclined to listen.
"Now, obviously we've come prepared, because we're not stupid, but I'm guessing you've done the same, because neither are you. You're meeting up with the Servant of the Spell after all, and who knows what kind of tricks I might have up my sleeves. So, I'm thinking you've got overwatch somewhere, you've maybe prepared the area as much as possible, and obviously Assassin is in hiding nearby… although, funny thing, they haven't disappeared, but I don't see them anywhere. I suppose they're hiding somewhere unexpected. Am I right with any of that?"
There was no reply except an exhale of cigarette smoke.
That had, however, been pretty much exactly Serenity and Kiritsugu's thought process in sending their message and meeting in this place. To a scary degree. For a moment Serenity expected Caster to announce her hiding place, but apparently that much was beyond even her.
"Hm. You're harder to read than I thought. Still, now that we've established that we don't really trust each other… hi! I'm Servant Caster, and it's good to meet you! This is my student and Master, Waver Velvet." Caster introduced herself and her Master with a flourish. They made an interesting contrast – Caster beautiful, flamboyant, clearly having the time of her life, and her Master a gloomy-looking shadow behind her, peering out with a slightly overwhelmed expression.
And… 'student' first, Serenity noted. It looked like Caster's relationship with her Master was more complicated than the usual. Well, she wasn't here to judge.
"Master of Assassin. …Emiya Kiritsugu. Magus Killer."
Caster beamed. "Good-o! Lovely to meet you. Well, all of that is nothing we didn't know already, actually, but thanks ever so for reaching out to us anyway. Since we're in the spirit of getting to know each other, let's fill in some blanks, shall we? Here, I'll go first." Caster put a finger to her cheek, as though to pantomime deep thought.
"I've done my homework, naturally, but there was a limit to what I could find and what I could observe from seeing you directly, so let's see how close I get. You're rather lethal, as modern magi go, thanks to what seems to be a mix of modern technology and some Mystery to destroy Magic Crests – judging by after action reports, anyway. It wasn't easy, but I did see a little something about an Emiya line of magi that specialised in time magic. You don't prefer to rely on it, though, and I'd guess that's because you just aren't that powerful. That's okay though! You really have learned to compensate, goodness me, yes…
"It's rather hard to separate out fact from rumour, because you've made yourself into something of a myth, but it's clear you specialise in killing magi and are perfectly willing to accept collateral damage. Despite that, though…" she smiled, dark eyes glittering with intelligence. "I got a look at you in person, and you're not as hardhearted as you seem. You'll do simply atrocious things to get to your target, but if you can avoid it, you will. I suspect, given how long you've been active, that your most notorious acts are rare cases, and that you usually manage to finish things rather more cleanly. What sets you apart is simply how far you'll go if problems present themselves… if I had to guess, I'd say you actually hate killing, despite how good you are at it.
"The question then is 'why enter the Grail War' – and while I'm good at cold-reading, I'm not that good. I'm thinking it's something to do with stopping suffering in future, though, just going by your history."
Caster put her hands on her hips and smiled, apparently done with dissecting Emiya Kiritsugu's innermost personality. "Was I close?"
The feeling of alarm coming through Serenity's link with her Master was enough to tell her that, yes, Caster was very close. Far, far closer than anyone should be. It was eerie, having what should be deep secrets seen through so easily.
What would Caster be able to tell about Serenity, if she got the chance?
Something had to be done to regain the initiative.
On the bench, Kiritsugu didn't respond except to take another drag on his cigarette. After some hurried conversation between Serenity and her Master, he spoke.
"Waver Velvet, third-generation magus and student at the Clock Tower, enrolled in the El-Melloi classroom. Posing as 'Waver Mackenzie', grandson of Glen and Martha Mackenzie. Servant Caster. True name unknown, but referred to by the Mackenzie family as 'Lisa del Giocondo', also known as the likely model for the Mona Lisa, whom you closely resemble. Likely identity, Leonardo da Vinci."
Caster laughed, apparently unconcerned. "Oh dear, you have been a peeping Tom, haven't you? I knew trying to be clever would backfire on me… "
Her Master was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, but didn't seem to be able to muster any words. It was probably just shock, but Caster might have just silenced him with a spell to prevent any flustered squawks.
If so, Serenity was grateful.
"Displayed great facility with rune magic, formalcraft, and item construction. Great intelligence, with a tendency to show that intelligence off given the opportunity." Kiritsugu paused, while Caster pantomimed great offence, cheeks puffed out and hands on hips. "Suspected talent in manipulation, subversion or outright mind control, based on how Berserker wasn't acting quite herself at the church."
"Ooh, you spotted it! I wondered if anyone would. Yes, that was me." Caster winked. "Don't worry, your Assassin is safe. I needed someone loud and obvious to draw attention and take on the other Servants head-on. Berserker was perfect for it; Assassin, not so much. Oh, and before you ask, that method won't work on Lancer."
That was a lot more brazen than Serenity had expected. Caster seemed to be completely shameless. Not necessarily a bad thing.
"Very well," Kiritsugu said. "Then, on that subject: can we work together to carry out solutions to Lancer? We had some thoughts on how you may be able to distract them at the right moment to allow us to deal with their Master…"
This was it. The bread and butter of the meeting. The most intelligent Servant, and the most subtle. If they couldn't, between them, come up with a viable plan, then they may as well all jump in the river and save Lancer the trouble of killing them personally.
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked! Well, certainly I'm convinced. But, Master does tell me I'm a little overconfident sometimes, and it really is his decision…" Caster turned and waved her Master forward. "What do you think? Can we work with them?"
Waver Velvet approached. Compared to Caster's easy air of competence, he looked like a scared kid in over his depth. Still, he walked up to the Magus Killer without fear. A growing confidence, or just trust in his Servant?
"I… don't think an alliance will work," he said. "I can't read you like Caster can. There's this wall of trust between us, and I don't think we can just pretend it isn't there. I know this might be a bit rich coming from us, when we've turned up with about seventeen safeguards against this being some kind of ambush."
"Only sixteen, Master, we couldn't get both the clockwork homunculi working in time- ow, Master!" Caster hopped up and down where her Master had stood on her foot.
Waver went on as though his Servant hadn't spoken. "I'm not very good at this, but I guess you've got safeguards in place as well. Maybe even something that'd stop us, even with all of Caster's protection. I don't know. I still don't like how you invaded the Mackenzies' home, even when I know that you could have followed through and didn't.
"That said… I know you've extended a lot of trust to us in showing yourself in a place like this. You haven't sprung an ambush, even if you prepared for one. You showed your face, when you didn't have to. You could have poisoned the toast," he said with a small smile. It was gone in a moment, and he squared his jaw. "We can't build an alliance. Neither of us can trust the other enough. But I'd like to think that we can work together, despite all that. Co-ordinate, even if we can't co-operate. We're probably the best pair for dealing with Lancer, and you're the best for dealing with his Master, so…" He stuck out his hand.
Serenity felt, very keenly, that they were at a crossroads. If they refused now, it might very well start a fight she wasn't sure they could escape from. If she needed to, she could still kill the Master of Caster, the second-most dangerous Servant in the War.
Well, Master, what do you think?
Caster's aid is too valuable to lose. Kotomine and Lancer are too large a threat. Do it. And… Serenity felt the hesitation, then the decision. An additional show of trust would seem to go a long way at this point.
As you wish, Master.
Kiritsugu stood. But he didn't take Waver's hand.
"In the interest of working together, allow me to show another capability of mine that may prove useful to your plans."
Serenity dropped her transformation. 'Kiritsugu's' flesh flowed like water, and in a moment the Magus Killer had vanished. In his place was Serenity, the masked Servant Assassin, less than a step from an enemy Master.
Morph (Infiltration). Not a skill Serenity used often, but one that was very useful at times. She couldn't do anything particularly impressive with her shapeshifting, but so long as she kept a human shape, taking on others' appearances was simple. Many of the Great Chiefs of the order had removed their faces. Serenity had gained a thousand.
This was the last safeguard Kiritsugu had insisted upon – that she take his place at the parley.
It certainly seemed to have taken Waver Velvet by surprise. He scrambled back, almost tripping, to stand behind his Servant.
Caster looked very awkward indeed, fiddling with her staff and looking sheepish. "Oh. Yes, that would make sense. That was how you delivered the message to us – Martha Mackenzie never did take us tea, it was you all along! Which means you've been right inside our inner sanctum, and we never knew… um, Master, this is really embarrassing, actually…"
"Yes! It is! Dammit, Caster, I nearly died! Again!" Waver beat his fists against a light blue forcefield Caster threw up at the last minute.
"We apologise for the deception," said Serenity. "As you said, it is hard for us to trust others. But, please, if we can return to the matter of the Chain of Heaven who wishes to destroy us all…"
Caster laughed. "Of course! Yes, I think we can work very nicely together. First, let's talk about the shape of the War in the next few days, as I see it…"
Through their link, Serenity felt Kiritsugu relax, and remove his eye from the scope of his sniper rifle. Apparently he no longer felt there was a risk of a sudden attack from the Servant of the Spell. Serenity, for one, was very glad.
After all, they had no idea just what an Origin Bullet would do when used against Caster's shields.
Caster and Assassin, the two most dangerous Servants in a Grail War, united. Intelligence and guile against sheer power.
If they could work together well enough to matter.
