Dawn, some said, was the time of new beginnings – the time of hope. Even the gloomiest place could be given a little cheer. The promise of sunshine, a new day of possibility!

So Serenity had also thought, as a child.

But after the Order had taken her, every day had invariably turned out to be full of hardship and training. After becoming the head, days of infiltration led to evenings of seduction, and in turn to yet another night of loving and killing yet another mark. Dawn, for Serenity at her peak, was the time for getaways, for disguising yourself as a distraught servant finding her master dead in his bed with an ecstatic grin (or an agonised rictus?) on his face.

And here she was once again, returning to her base after a night of death. It was different, she told herself, as she padded through the halls – still pitted with bullet holes, half the traps still in place after Saber's assault on the castle. It was different, because Emiya Kiritsugu's dream really was worth killing for.

The dawn light filtered in the windows, pale and thin.

Serenity materialised in her Master's bedroom, where she could sense her Master and hear two other heartbeats… well, one and a half.

"The bodies of El-Melloi and his fiancée have been disposed of," she said. Maiya jumped, having not heard Serenity approach. Kiritsugu didn't, having sensed the presence of his Servant.

Irisviel didn't either, having been unconscious in bed the entire time.

She'd collapsed early that night, and stayed asleep throughout her whole kidnapping. Something of a blessing, really, except that even after Maiya had collected her from the El-Melloi hotel suite, she simply couldn't be roused. Something was clearly wrong with Irisviel… and given how her symptoms had started immediately after Berserker's death and worsened immediately after Archer's, it was clearly connected to the Grail.

But. It wasn't Serenity's place to pry.

Kiritsugu stood from where he'd been kneeling next to his wife. If he was distressed about her state, he showed no sign.

"Thank you, Assassin. Caster and her Master requested an audience once Archer or Saber were dealt with; now you are here, I will alert them." He walked out, Maiya following behind.

Serenity turned to go as well – but stopped, her ears picking up the tiniest sound from the bed.

Irisviel's lips were moving.

"Ser…enity…"

Serenity blinked, then moved to crouch next to Irisviel, careful not to breathe. "You were awake, Irisviel?" she whispered.

"Hehe… pretended to sleep. Fooled you… fooled Kiri too…" Irisviel didn't open her eyes, but her lips twitched as though trying to smile.

"Why?"

"Talk… with you…"

Ah. This could be a long conversation if Iri was so weak, and Serenity would be required to attend that. But Irisviel was clearly putting forth heroic effort to stay awake for so long, and Serenity respected that. She could spare a couple of minutes.

"Very well. What did you wish to say?"

Irisviel breathed deeply a couple of times, building up strength. Then she coughed weakly, subsiding back onto her pillow. Serenity took pity.

"Just mouth what you want to say, Irisviel. I will understand."

Irisviel was motionless for a minute, and Serenity thought she'd fallen back asleep. Then she said, breathing so shallowly she made no noise and lips moving so little that even Serenity's skill at lip reading could barely keep track, "If the War goes as Kiritsugu plans, I'll die soon."

Serenity was glad of her mask, because she had no idea what expression she was supposed to wear.

Irisviel continued. "You've probably guessed by now, right? The Einzberns were the family that provided the Grail in the first place – and for this War, that's me. Making it into a homunculus was supposed to make it easier to protect, and giving it a mind loyal to the Einzberns was supposed to tip the balance in their favour.

"I don't mind. But… it's very painful. Servants return to the Grail when they die, you know? And you're all so very strong… every one of you that I need to contain makes me a little more Grail and a little less Iri." She stopped, panting. Had even the tiny effort to say that much tired her out?

"I'm sorry," said Serenity, out of a complete lack of anything else to say. "If I hadn't killed Archer and Saber…"

"Then they would have killed Kiri, or you, or Maiya. I said I didn't mind, Serenity." Irisviel was silent for a moment. "Except… I think I do mind not being there for Kiri. He works so hard, Serenity. So, so hard, and no-one ever understands. Not even me, I don't think. He says he wants to save the world, and that sounds like a fine thing, but what's the world to me? I've never seen it. Before a couple of weeks ago I'd lived in the same building my entire life. It's Kiritsugu that matters to me – whatever dream he had, that's the one I want too.

"But you were matched with him by the Grail. It's never wrong, Serenity, we built it to never be wrong. If you were the Servant he summoned, then you can understand him, I'm sure of it. So, while I'm still me, I wanted to talk to you. Because… I know you'll be the one to carry on Kiri's vision for him, even if he falters."

And he might very well falter. Irisviel was right, Serenity knew that better than anyone. No matter how much Kiritsugu had already given up to get to this point, even though he came into the War expecting to lose Irisviel as well, actually having it happen might well make him lose all motivation entirely. If it happened, it would be for Serenity to keep him on track.

"Yes," Serenity said. "I promise. I'll see his world of peace realised."

"Thank you," Irisviel breathed. "Maiya is a good girl, but she'll just follow whatever Kiri wants. I guess that's hypocritical of me to say, but then that's why neither of us are Heroic Spirits. It has to be you, Serenity. You understand my husband, so you'll make sure his goal is reached. Even… even if he isn't there to see it."

Serenity frowned behind her mask. "What do you mean?"

"Well… it isn't all that healthy, is it? I don't know much about philosophy, but I can see how much Kiritsugu hurts all the time. He cares so much about people, but all he knows how to do in order to save them is hurt them. He hates it, but if it's for a wish then it really is the best way… I suppose. I don't know. But Kiritsugu thinks it is, and I decided to put all my trust in him long ago. Please, Serenity. Even if Kiritsugu can't anymore, say you'll carry on his work in his place."

"Um," Serenity said. "Irisviel, you do realise that if Kiritsugu is dead, I'll follow shortly after. You might need to speak to Maiya about that if you're worried about Kiritsugu's successor."

"Oh… of course… silly of me," Irisviel sighed. "Mmm, Maiya might not work, she's too passive. But maybe she can deliver a message. Illyasviel is a good girl… so like her father… yes, Illya can do it…" She had started sweating, and her pale face was drawn and tight. The conversation had taken a lot out of her – in Serenity's professional opinion, Irisviel could no longer carry on a conversation. Maybe later.

"… yes," said Serenity quietly. "I will make sure Illyasviel hears of her father's mission. If she chooses to, she can take up his sword."

Or indeed, any of her father's other weapons. Serenity was, after all, contracted to Illyasviel as well – to the tune of two Deutsche Marks, to kill everyone that threatened Emiya Kiritsugu. If he died, then the Order owed Illya a debt… and, come the next war, who was to say that they would not answer, if she was still around?

"Mmm…"

With that, Irisviel lapsed into her sleep once more. Serenity dematerialised, just a patch of shadow that had made far too many promises.


"Are you sure we're prepared, Caster?" Waver asked, for probably the tenth time.

Not that he didn't trust his Servant, obviously. Caster thought of everything, and he'd bet on her raw genius trumping even Assassin's skill and the Magus Killer's cunning any day. The problem was, even if she thought of everything, that didn't necessarily mean she bothered to implement it – past a certain point, it was wasted effort. So far, her guesses on how far she needed to go had been good, but…

Assassin had already had the pair of them dead to rights once already, and it was not an experience he wished to repeat… even if he hadn't even realised it at the time.

Especially because of that, really.

Even here, in his room at the Mackenzie's, the most magically-protected place in… probably all of Japan actually, Waver found his eyes checking the corners, glancing out the window, found himself sitting with his back to the wall.

That fact that they were in an alliance with Assassin and her Master – well, a co-operative partnership, anyway – didn't really enter into it. Being a magus was about being prepared, even if what you were preparing for was unlikely. Maybe the elite blue-bloods could pull off fancy tricks at the drop of a hat, but for Waver he had to anticipate every possibility if he was going to get anywhere.

Well, Waver was nervous about walking into the Magus Killer's lair, and that was that.

"Of course, of course!" said his Servant, waving her hand airily. She didn't even look up from her desk in Waver's room, where she was working on… something with a lot of wires and circuitry, Waver didn't know.

After agreeing to the tentative ceasefire with Assassin and her Master, Caster seemed to have gotten a burst of inspiration. She'd worked solidly through last night, creating what looked to Waver's eye like weaponry – sci-fi style guns, miniature missiles with aerodynamic lines and worrying-looking warheads, odd flying devices with whirling helicopter blades, anything. All of it was masterfully hand-crafted, with brass filigree and intricate circuitry hiding who-knew-what Mysteries powering the things.

Now, of course, it was all stored somewhere else, which at least kept his room tidy for whenever Martha Mackenzie came in. Waver suspected it had something to do with pocket dimensions, or space-warping, but honestly he didn't really want to know. It was bound to be far above his level right now anyway.

Caster looked up, and gave him a reassuring smile. "All the standard projectile defences are deployed on your clothes, and the Universal Antidote I dosed you with should let you last long enough for me to extract you even if you come into direct contact with Assassin, so there's really nothing to worry about. And, of course, they really do need us more than we need them."

Waver folded his arms. "Okay, but that's not actually true, is it?"

"Mmm, well, as far as they know, it is. Stop fretting! A proper Master needs to be stern and forthright, you know. I can't do all the talking for you forever."

That was a total lie, Waver thought. Caster kept up a near-constant chatter, no matter what else she was doing. It wasn't out of distractedness – if anything, it was because whatever Caster busied herself with could only ever occupy a tiny fraction of her enormous mental capacity, so she talked out loud to stop getting bored. He wasn't complaining, because Caster's idle chatter was worth a Clock Tower masterclass in whatever she happened to be doing, but it was exhausting.

In this case, though, she had a point. He really should break out of his shell more. Negotiating and speaking in public were just more skills to master, nothing special – any limits were set by nothing more than his own mind, and after meeting Caster he refused to be held back by something like that. He set his jaw and squared his shoulders.

"Okay. Let's go then, Caster."

"You got it!"

Caster aimed her gauntlet at the wall, and an orange portal appeared there. Waver stepped through.

The air was cold on the other side – draughty, a change from his cosy room. Resisting the urge to shiver, Waver looked round.

So this is how the old-style magi greet their guests. He was in some kind of conference room – all done in wood panelling and ornate decoration, the table made of solid wood and probably worth more than any single item Waver owned. The gas lighting gleamed off countless polished surfaces, though about half of them had been dimmed, creating patches of shadow. The effect was undeniably impressive, even if you were ready for it.

You're less than us, it said. You could study for years and still be less than us, because this? This is real power. This isn't an illusion, this isn't a trick, this is the kind of quality we can afford to throw away on a room specifically for meeting scum like you because to us, this is nothing.

Caster winked at him, almost too quick to notice, and Waver steeled himself. In this place, he was every bit the equal of the Einzberns. A Servant tended to level the playing field like that.

He and Caster had stepped out of a blue portal at one end of the room. Emiya Kiritsugu sat at the other.

Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer. The man who, just tonight, had shown why he had that title, by managing to kill the most proficient magus Waver had ever met up until Caster in the safety of his own atelier. (OK, probably by having his Servant do it, but that was the thing about the Grail – because of how it matched Masters and Servants, anything the latter did really was a reflection on the former.)

Waver wasn't sure how he felt about that.

When Caster had woken him with a plate of toast and news that his teacher was dead, Waver had surprised himself by his first emotion being… sorrow. Which was bizarre! He hated Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald – had joined a War for the specific purpose of showing him up! He'd thought he was fully prepared to see El-Melloi dead...

… but, in his heart of hearts, he'd been imagining an epic battle, the conclusion of which left both teacher and student bloodied and exhausted, after which El-Melloi would congratulate him on proving himself a real magus, admit he'd been wrong about Waver's theories on magical talent, then die gracefully.

Instead, it had just… happened, while Waver was asleep. And now, he could see what had been lost. For all El-Melloi's faults, and there were a lot, the El-Melloi classroom had been a genuinely excellent learning opportunity for those enrolled there. The man had still had so much to give to the world of magecraft – and now he was rotting in a river.

What a waste.

A patch of shadow directly to Waver's right detached itself and moved to sit behind Emiya. Assassin coalesced, skull mask gleaming, having made not a sound.

Waver hadn't even seen her, and judging by Caster's grin being slightly more fixed than usual, she hadn't either. He took a moment to breathe deeply, and try to let his racing beatbeat slow. Again, again he'd been within arm's reach of an enemy Servant, and nothing Caster had prepared could have saved him.

"Good morning," started Waver, refusing to show how rattled he was. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"You are welcome," said Emiya. "As agreed, Saber and Archer have been killed. The coalition most hostile to you has been neutralised – you can now begin work on solutions to Lancer."

"We certainly can!" Apparently, Caster's desire to let Waver do the talking lasted for literally five sentences when there was an opportunity to show off how clever she was. "In fact, we have. For example, catch!"

She threw a cylinder towards Emiya. Before it had made it halfway, it was intercepted by a thrown knife from Assassin and pinned against the wall. Emiya fixed Waver with a blank stare, and Waver felt, not for the first time, the need to apologise for his Servant.

Instead, he kept his expression stern, and his eyes on the pair of killers. "Caster, a little explanation might have been handy. You can understand why Assassin might have been concerned about your throwing things at her Master."

Caster laughed. "Sorry, sorry, I guess that was a little sudden? But don't worry, this particular grenade is for you to use, not me. Here, I'll show you what I mean." Another cylinder appeared form nowhere in her hand, and this time Waver was able to examine it more closely.

Ah, yes, this thing.

It was roughly a foot long, with the same baroque aesthetic all Caster's tech had. It widened at each end, where it was carved into something like a pinecone shape. With a twist Caster opened up the body to reveal a small reservoir.

"Okay, so, I think we can say the cat's out of the bag that you're a poison-based killer, Assassin? I mean, after what you did to the Matou house, and then poor Archer, and then the Master of Saber, it's not that hard to figure out. Oh, don't worry, I don't think anyone else knows? But, well, I was keeping an eye on all three, so I couldn't not notice what you were doing.

"Anyway, I was thinking about delivery systems. For example, your knives are wonderful, Assassin dear, but did you ever think about lacing bullets with your poison so your Master could use it too?"

Emiya and his Servant exchanged a look. Then Emiya said, face frozen, "We did not. That is… an interesting idea, though. I assume, then, that you have devised some method for this?"

Before Waver could open his mouth and berate Emiya in disbelief at how poorly he'd used his Servant, Caster huffed. "Oh, phooey, you did think of it then. I suppose it wasn't that tricky a mental leap, but my big surprise is ruined now!" To Emiya's disgruntled expression, she added, "Cold reading, dear – your poker face is good, but not that good."

Emiya grumbled. "As it happens, Assassin's poison corrodes physical matter too quickly for that to be practical long-term. However, preparing a small dose to be smeared onto bullets directly before entering combat was found to be effective. Unfortunately, Kotomine Kirei wears reinforced priest robes, and the calibre we used was too small in the one opportunity we had had so far."

"Not to worry!" Caster beamed. "This is an aerosol grenade – simply fill the reservoir like so," she conjured a tiny sphere of water in her gauntlet, which directed itself into the grenade, "Twist and press like so," she did something complicated, which caused the thing to light up in subtle blue outlines, "And it's primed. After a couple of seconds, or if it senses magical energy nearby, or… well, any number of actuation methods actually, I did go a bit bonkers with the options there but it's probably easier for you to leave it timed- oh, there we go!"

The pinecone shapes opened up, and a cloud of water vapour issued forth, at high speed – in seconds the entire room was humid.

Caster held out her gauntlet, and activated it. All the water rushed back towards her palm to hover above it in the original tiny globe, and when she closed her fist it was gone.

"So, there you have it," she said. "No issues with armour, fast enough that it can't simply be evaded, and can be launched far enough away that the Master isn't in danger. What do you think?"

Emiya and Assassin were silent a moment, before Assassin reached under the table and produced a bottle of bug spray. Emiya looked at Waver and quirked an eyebrow.

Caster sighed. "Oh, fine, if you're going to play hard to get…" She pressed a button on her staff, and a bubble of force floated from it to surround the grenade. Then she grinned, and pressed a different button on her gauntlet.

The grenade exploded. In its place was a cloud of razor-edged shrapnel, caught like flies in honey by the forcefield.

"For those that do manage to deal with the aerosol, a small surprise! I'm no fighter, but I did try to think the way you types might, and came up with this idea. Who thinks about a grenade that's already exploded, am I right? Including you! Hee, the look on your faces- ow, Master!"

Waver pretended he hadn't just trodden on his Servant's foot in clear view of the pair of professional murderers she was busy taunting. "As you see, Caster has been applying herself to the task. A brief rundown of what else we're offering? No demonstration necessary," he added hurriedly, when Caster's eyes lit up.

"Oh, you're no fun. Well, you know, it's all things along the same lines. Let's see, a rifle that will spit out globules of poison, accurate to 500 yards, refilled from a reservoir but with the option to take NATO 5.56… um, a small missile and launcher that will home in on the profile of the person designated, either by blood sample, magical energy pattern, or True Name – oh, also, that one is cross-compatible with the grenades I showed you earlier, although in that case you have to handle aiming yourself because I couldn't fit the homing mechanism in with everything else yet…"

Waver cut her off with a raised hand. "You get the idea. So, what do you think?"

"Impressive," Emiya said. "But ultimately useless. Lancer is probably immune to poison. Kotomine Kirei is not – but if it were as simple as reaching him with a weapon, Assassin would have done it already. Lancer seems to have some kind of detection method that foils even Assassin's Presence Concealment. We will not get inside grenade range, or even have Kotomine in our sights, without Lancer being aware – and once they are, nothing here will save us."

Waver nodded, but inside he was focused on Caster. Here it is, he sent. This is our opening. Out loud, he said, "Yeah, Lancer mentioned they could find you after they killed Berserker. We actually had an idea for that as well – but, I'll warn you, it isn't certain. Caster has a hunch, and she says she's confident it'll work, but it's based off interactions between Servant skills, and there's no guarantees where those are concerned. What we really need is a test."

He looked at Emiya Kiritsugu – who, if Caster was to be believed, was the particular focus of one other Master in particular. "Emiya, what would you say to a parley between you and Kotomine Kirei?"