From Fake Dreams

by Third Fang

Emiya Kiritsugu was happy living the rest of his short days. He had put his past behind him... until he began to dream of futures that had yet to be. Let it be known that the Magus Killer was not dangerous simply because he was dying and had no plans to fight. Slowly being put on Royal Road over time.

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Signal Shot

I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs:

o. o. o.

Three Months Until The Fifth War Begins:

Tokyo:

Shirou was fairly nervous.

It wasn't that he was unused to being alone in the city. Copenhagen was located in the middle of Fuyuki's commercial district and even though he had much less time than he used to, Shirou would still work there occasionally to help out the family owning it. He felt like he owed them as much since he couldn't work for them during the vacation rushes for obvious reasons.

The diner he was in was fairly standard as well. Not a trace of magic was in the air. No magi had appeared yet, and the people there were just going throughout their lives (he had checked to make sure they weren't hypnotized), and paying him no mind even though he had his shroud covering the majority of his head.

He found that most people stopped asking him questions about it after he told them that he had cancer. A bit crude, but it worked fairly well and consistently.

However, the second Magus Killer was still, none the less, nervous as he waited at his table, situated thankfully in front of one of the side doors of the building, and drinking his fairly average green tea.

He didn't even flinch as the scent of something with converted prana reached his nose. Like most existences that were related to thaumaturgy, this one had a unique smell added to it. This time it was a unique scent of something feminine, yet somehow tampered or played with in some way. It wasn't as strong as some sources he had encountered in his life, but this was strong nonetheless.

"Well well." A Japanese woman with short red brown hair appeared to be in her early thirties chuckled lightly as she sat down across the table from him. Her heavy clothing was suited for the late fall weather, but still hugged her mature body in a way that would defiantly draw the attention of any male if they paid attention to her. "They said that you were a kid, but to see you in person really drives it home."

Her appearance matched the descriptions and photos he had been given, but you could never be too sure with sealing designates… especially with the sharp look in her eyes behind the glasses she wore. He could tell right off the bat that the person in front of him was not a magus to be taken lightly. She knew exactly what she was doing, or at least enough that she wouldn't be caught off guard if he made any suspicious actions.

"I'm seventeen. I'm not that young." Shirou replied with a hint of minor irritation. While he was kind of annoyed by people underestimating him due to his age, he also knew that showing some kind of hint of a short temper could cause people to slip up during conversations. Something he had picked up from Waver when he was being taught the standards of negotiating with Association nobility.

"Now now. There's no need to get testy with me." The woman sighed as she took out a cigarette and began to smoke. "You're the one that wanted to talk to me after all." She blew out some smoke. "So what makes me so special that the Magus Killer version two point zero went out of his way to contact using the Queen's own resources?"

Shirou remained quiet for several moments before holding out his hand. "If I may try something?"

The elder magus glanced at the teen's hand for a good few seconds before shrugging and putting her hand into his. "If you do something stupid, consider our meeting done and over with."

"Don't worry." The Emiya frowned as he opened a circuit and structurally grasped the woman's body through physical contact in a second. "I just want to check…"

The Designate's body stiffened for the moment that Shirou's prana acted up before it relaxed with the ending of the scan and Shirou retracted his hand. "Structural grasping? Do you have some sort of hand fetish or something?"

Shirou made eye contact with the woman. "Even if I did, it wouldn't be with fake hands." He ignored the woman's look of surprise. "Please accept my deepest apologies, but I needed to be sure. I had my suspicions that this would happen, but to be honest I'm glad that things turned out this way. Because of it I can now tell for certain that you are indeed the person I need."

The woman stared at Shirou incredulously before she began to chuckle fairly loudly in amusement. "Well well. This is already getting far more interesting than I had originally guessed. I've never come across someone that's been able to tell that "I'm" a fake so quickly before… and better yet, you aren't bothered by it in the slightest."

"You are a designate." The Emiya replied casually. "I half expected you to do this after reading your profile. It's not like I have that clean of a reputation myself."

The smoker grinned. "Finally. A fellow magus that doesn't have his head up his ass for once." She leaned back in her seat and picked up a menu and began looking at what the place was serving. Whether or not she was actually going to order anything was still impossible to determine by the other party. "So then. I already know what you want from me. The question is, what are you willing to put up for it? The cost of what you're asking for isn't cheap, and in all honesty I'm not willing to accept money from someone that's directly related to the Queen. There's way too many ways that it can be traced regardless of the method…"

Shirou nodded as he began to look at the menu himself. "I don't blame you, though we could always just set up multiple bank accounts in a few countries and circulate the money electronically between them several dozen times. You know how bad most Nobles are when it comes to technology." He gave a faint smile as he recalled some amusing memories involving him using a cell phone in the middle of the Association, but Sirius had tweaked out the receiver a bit to get around the bounded fields of the place.

That got another laugh out of her. "I'm liking you more and more by the minute kid. Too bad you ended up as the Queen's bitch." She looked up from the menu. "However, I have a feeling you had something else in mind to pay me with, don't you?"

The Emiya responded by taking out a notebook and placing it on the other end of the table. "Research for research. Consider this a down payment. You'll find the specifics of what I want inside in addition to my work. I believe it would compliment your own branch of studies quite well. It's very valuable if what I've heard is right. Word is that the guys in Atlas would pay quite a bit to get their hands on it."

The smoker paused for a moment before putting down the menu and slowly taking the booklet. "This must be some pretty good stuff you're bartering with if you think you can pull this deal off." She muttered while opening it up. "What you're asking me for landed me with the designation in the first place."

"And what I'm offering to you landed me with the noble color silver." The Magus Killer replied in a matter of fact tone. "It also is the reason why I pegged you for a fake so quickly."

The "fake" glared at the teen with some annoyance momentarily before looking at the table of contents and began scanning them with the eyes of a researcher. "I see. Huh… so if you go that far in depth, then you can possibly…" She looked up again. "I take it my "accumulated years" is what gave me away?"

Shirou smiled in a way that it met his eyes. "Actually you were already figured out just with your "concept of creation". The number of years you existed was just the biggest nail in the coffin. I must say, you look quite mature for a five year old, though aren't you a bit young to be smoking?"

"Tch." The smoker grunted as she looked back at the booklet again. "Cocky little shit. I guess Barthomelloi did actually know what she was doing when she decided to parade you around in front of everyone like a purebred."

"The ironic thing is that I'm actually adopted." The teen added with a chuckle, enjoying the momentarily surprised look that his new acquaintance was giving him before she joined in on the laughter at the expense of the integrity of virtually every Noble in the Clocktower.

Several minutes later the waitress came by to take their orders, never knowing that she was in the presence of two of the most dangerous people on the planet.

And thus Shirou enjoyed a pleasant lunch with the perfect puppet familiar of Touko Aozaki, sister of The Blue and master puppet maker.

o. o. o.

In Europe:

She was leaving now.

Surrounded by white on all sides by the never ending snow of the German Alps, the girl was leaving the castle she had lived in all her life in an antiquated yet still highly valuable car with her two maids… and her guardian.

She did not call the castle home though. As far as she was concerned, she had no home. She had lost the ability to call anyplace that when her mother and that man had left her here alone with no one but those hypocritical fools called relatives to take care of her for the remainder of her shortened life.

At first she had had the misplaced hope that her father had still cared for her. That he would rescue her from this isolated hell, or at least visit her. However as time went on her hope slowly dwindled. She heard stories about how her father had started a new family in that cursed Asian land. How he had abandoned her for another child. Yet still deep down she had held some sort of foolish hope that she had held a part of her father's heart.

News of the Magus Killer's death had served as another terrible wound to the girl's heart. The last of those who she remembered giving her comfort as a small child was gone now. He had never kept his promise to see her again after the war. He would never play with her again…

The traitor.

When she had learned that the war where she would inevitably loose her life would start in a few more years, she realized that she could get her revenge. The boy that caused her father to turn on her would still be living in Fuyuki, and so with her servant she could kill the cause of all her nightmares before dying herself. She would have closure, and for a while this train of thought would help her sleep at night.

If she was a bit more honest with herself, she would admit that she was somewhat curious about this mystery child. What sort of helpless person would keep her loving father away from her? Surely if this person occupied so much of Kiritsugu's time, then there must have been something special about him…

Only, he was not special in the way she had expected. Over the past two years she had heard about her hateful step brother. The next Magus Killer. The Queen's Silver Dog. He was nothing more than another soulless magus that did nothing but yearn for the respect of those stronger than him. So what if he killed an Ancestor. So what if he was supported by the Barthomelloi? In the end he was just like the rest of those hypocrites that practice thaumaturgy. Making empty promises to those with more power than themselves in order to gain a better place on the social ladder.

What was worse was that the fool didn't even know she existed. For all the hype surrounding the fool, he could not even be bothered to know that he had a sister. Even if she wasn't his by blood, she was her father's true child! Such disregard for their standing was absolutely unforgiveable. He even had the nerve to assume that she did not even exist…

Her eyes narrowed in anger. She did not care anymore. She was being sent as a sacrifice. She would die soon enough. The very least she could have is the closure that her family ended with her as the last one standing…

o. o. o.

Four Weeks Until The Fifth War Begins.

Fuyuki:

Shirou grunted tiredly as he stood up from his meditation position. It had a bad habit of cutting off circulation to his limbs, but he was so used to it that he didn't really care much that it did… Still, constantly opening and closing all thirty five of his circuits in different patterns and intervals was a fairly tedious practice after a while.

Looking around his workshop, the teen wearily saw that very little had changed over time. Swords were still floating. Papers were still strewn everywhere. Books were left open or crammed without order on shelves. Random machines and mechanical gadgets were left broken and fixed all over the place. Several dozen blades were impaled on the ground around him in a crude attempt to make him feel more like he was inside his Reality Marble. He found it worked a small amount when he meditated, but not much.

However there were a few things that had changed. Primarily his latest project that occupied a fair amount of space in front of the bigger set of doors of the shed meant for moving in large objects…

But that could wait. While he had fun with that piece of equipment when Taiga and her grandfather sprung it upon him five months ago, despite it clearly being illegal for someone of his age to use or own, he had more productive uses for it that required him to not be arrested in order for it to be used.

He was still horrifically thankful that no one recognized him while he was practicing with it. He never would have heard the end of it at school if he was identified. He would without a doubt never hear the end of it if things were otherwise.

After dispelling the blades he had stuck into the floor and cleared up the gouges he had made, Shirou went through his standard brief morning workout. Stretches. Pushups. Situps. Etc.

By the time he was done, it was almost six in the morning which meant…

Knock knock.

"Sempai? Are you awake yet?" Sakura's voice permeated through the front door rather easily. Normally noise couldn't get through his workshop's bounded fields from either end, but if a person knocked on the front door twice, they could talk to whoever was inside without any trouble. If Waver was to be believed, it had been a standard feature in most smaller workshops since the mid eighteen hundreds.

"Yeah." Shirou called back as he stretched his limbs again and opened the door, allowing the cool winter air to blow in and cool off his body. "You know you don't need to come here this early every morning."

The Matou puffed out her cheeks in protest. "Yes I do. Rin-Sempai and I can't trust you to take care of yourself. Half the time I find you here, you are still unconscious from overworking with your experiments."

Shirou didn't bother to correct the girl with her assumptions and tell her that whenever she found him like that it was because he had put in too much prana into the jewels sewn into his belt after his real experiments. She was close enough anyways that it didn't really matter anyways.

"It's not that big of a deal. I would have managed to get up and ready before class anyways." The Emiya shrugged casually, only to wince as Sakura bopped him lightly on the head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"It's still winter break remember? Class doesn't start for another week." The girl frowned. "You promised that you would spend some more time with me before school started again."

He blinked several times in confusion before his brain finally caught up to him. She was right. It was the first weekday of the year and he had made several promises to spend time with many of his friends during the end of the vacation. It was after all, probably the last vacation he would ever get so he would have to make sure that everyone's last memories of him were good ones…

Smiling cheerfully, Shirou remembered how quickly the last few hectic months had been…

Starting with Luvia's surprise transfer into the city during summer break.

In all honesty, Shirou had contemplated running away from Fuyuki the second he had heard of that little development to get away from the blast radius. At the very least, he had considered asking Lorelei for a series of Dead Apostle hunts or Sealing Designate hunts that would last him until the war started, but he decided against it in the end. As much as he loathed admitting it, he was probably the only resident of Fuyuki, save Kirei, that could reign in the two girls if push came to shove… and he was sure as hell not going to leave the girls alone with that man involved with anything, especially the cleanup, if he could help it.

As much as he didn't want to admit that he was right when it came to pointing out the faults in others, he could not deny that having Luvia and Rin in the same school building was a nightmare for multiple parties. The moment the general school body found out that he was virtually the only student that could calm both of them down without suffering mentally or physically, he found himself being on call at least twice a week to break up the two female magi. Thankfully no magic was ever used, but some of the insults thrown between the two honestly made Shirou wonder if he would die if he got in the crossfire.

Some of the schemes that the girls had spawned and enacted were as evil as they were brilliant in the Emiya's personal opinion. He wouldn't have been that irritated with them if he didn't frequently find himself stuck in the middle of virtually half of all aforementioned plans. He still didn't know why the heck they did that, but in the end he decided that it was best if he didn't know.

It did however kill the long standing dream that Tohsaka Rin was a perfect idol. After the numerous fights breaking out between the two it had become clear to the student body that the 'perfect' Tohsaka was nothing more than a mask. The captain of the Archery club Ayako Mitsuduri was apparently enjoying the destruction of the myth for her own personal reasons that eluded Shirou. Something about long time rival or something...

Issei's reaction to Luvia's presence had been a bit chaotic in itself. On the one hand, the monk in training was elated to see Rin's public mask utterly shattered and realized in front of the entire student body. On the other hand, Luvia was practically just as bad as Rin, both in behavior and in how she treated him. Much to Issei's horror, the student body soon realized that even though Rin's and Luvia's personalities were for the most part fake, that didn't stop them from acting them out regardless of being exposed. In fact it only seemed to make the two female magi flaunt their outer persona even more to those who attempted to call them out on it. So far the only ones that managed to get past their outer layers without much issue were one another.

In the end, Shirou had to ignore the occasional times when his friend began to rant to himself about how "there was two of them now" and "it's not safe anymore". Shirou also used the same method of forced ignorance to pretend that Rin didn't significantly enjoy it whenever she saw Issei act like that without his knowing.

The reason Luvia claimed that she was staying behind, and thus opening the proverbial Pandora's box at school, was for her to better monitor Rin and ensure that the deal between the Tohsaka and the Edelfelt was kept and made easier. Obviously this was said in a less than pleasant manner with Rin in the conversation, but the point was simple enough for Shirou to agree with so he could calm the Tohsaka down.

Marjatta didn't stay with her sibling, preferring to go back home to Europe after a mere week's stay. According to Sakura, the girl had said some rather unsavory things about Japan and them, but he just let it slide. People had their own preferences and ways to express them. In all honesty he was more concerned about the fact that he was partially responsible for splitting up the Edelfelt siblings apart. Luvia told him that this wasn't the first time that the two had spent a long period of time away from one another and that they were perfectly fine with their current situation, but he still didn't like the way things turned out.

"Man, a lot of things have happened over the past few months." Shirou sighed as he closed the door behind him and let the cool air gently seep into his skin.

"You can say that again." Sakura laughed as she walked towards the house. "Since you've obviously been working out, I'll get breakfast ready this time so you can take a shower. We don't want your special kitchen to smell now do we?"

Shirou grumbled to himself irritably as he relented to Sakura's logic. He especially didn't want to dirty his holy place since September, when the school system had a week's vacation off due to multiple national holidays landing on the same week. Due to that, Barthomelloi had deemed it enough time to send him off to take care of some minor sealing designate who had blown up his last workshop in the middle of a crowded city. It was unfortunate too. The man would have been left alone and ignored for bigger targets if his experiments didn't repeatedly cause massive damage on the twentieth floor of a major apartment complex in Berlin.

During the time he was gone hunting the German, Rin had somehow managed to grab a bunch of ridiculously fast and efficient contractors and outfitted his kitchen with the latest in cooking supplies and gear. From what he knew about the construction business, what had happened to his kitchen would have taken most businesses at least around half a month in order to complete from start to finish if they didn't know what they were working with from the beginning… so he was fairly certain that Rin may have used just a bit of thaumaturgy to speed things up. Granted he didn't receive anything outrageous like an automatic potato peeler or something stupid like that, but all his cooking equipment were all top of the line and would hardly ever need sharpening or replacing so long as he was careful.

Needless to say, Shirou was a very happy boy when he came back to his home. And subsequently all of his guests were quite pleased with the following days of him cooking rather grand meals in his personal quest to break in his kitchen as much as he could. Even Luvia was full of nothing but praises on Shirou's cooking, and she had been born and raised on high scale cuisine. That is of course when she was not on the verge of declaring war with Rin in his living room.

If her claims were correct, Taiga was still having exquisite dreams about that particular week of gourmet class dining.

Smiling as Sakura walked ahead of him, he couldn't help but admire her in multiple ways. She was one of the most sought after females in the school, next to Rin and Luvia. She was beautiful, kind, had a nice smile, and was near the top of her class. It was times like this he was simply glad to just be around her and have time to talk, forget about the world of magic, enjoy the peace and…

… Bite her neck. Drink. Quench the thirst with the red crimson fluid dripping down his neck from hers in a glorious and savage feast of sinew, bone, cartilage and flying meat as he claims her body as his own…

Shirou grit his teeth and shook his head, banishing the impulses from his head. His vampiric impulses had been getting stronger as of late. Granted he had been making headway with his training with Merem, but the Apostle Ancestor surmised that Shirou's fairly frequent Apostle and Designate hunts may have had an adverse effect on his physical status and had slowly agitated his other side more than he originally thought.

Thankfully these moments where his impulses flared in him were still very much weak and few in number, barely more than a flash every week or so, but the sudden increase in their frequency was still something that he didn't like.

The other thing that concerned him was that his dreams were changing. Instead of normally viewing the land of Unlimited Blade Works, he was instead dreaming of a single sword. One that he had never seen before until that point.

It meant that the war was beginning soon, and that servants and masters would soon reveal themselves in Fuyuki… but not yet. Zouken had yet to talk to him about the war and the deal they had set up, so it was safe to say that until that happened, there shouldn't be any real problem socializing with everyone with what little time he had left.

And when that time ran out… he would make sure that everyone he cared about in the city would come out alive. With or without him.

o. o. o.

Edelfelt Manor:

Luvia sighed aridly as she stared outside her window and drank the tea her loyal servant Sebastian had made for her, taking a break from her personal project of researching Kiritsugu Emiya once more. In front of her lay a combination of forest and buildings as she watched the city of Fuyuki move without her. It was rather convenient that the property she was in was still under the Edelfelt name even after seventy years of neglect, abandoned by one of her ancestors from the Third Grail War and left decaying until she had arrived and renovated it in record time. There had been another property in the city that her family had owned, but it was too far out of the way for Luvia's liking and so she left it as it was, half destroyed, decrepit, and untouched.

The memory of Rin gaping at the sight of several dozen, possibly magically enhanced, construction teams remaking the mansion within the span of a week put a grin on the blonde's face. She didn't really care if it was due to the Tohsaka realizing the vastness of her wealth, or the fact that she was moving onto her property with a home that significantly surpassed her own. All that mattered was that the annoying girl was put in her place and there was nothing she could have done about it.

Papers both printed and written littered the table in front of her. All of them fell into one of three categories. The first were reports and suspicions of Kiritsugu's exploits that were recorded within the Magus Association. These were the most informative on how the man fought. His tactics, his results, and where he normally focused his attention. The second were notes she had written down after grilling Shirou for every detail she could get on his father. These were the true foundation of her research as they elaborated on the man's psyche. How he functioned on multiple levels. How he thought. What he prioritized. His reasoning for what he did and how he got there…

The last of the three piles of papers around her though were her attempts to combine the first two sources of information into a solid report. Her findings, her analysis, her conclusions. In short they were the rough bits and pieces of an elaborate biography that had yet to be completed.

And what she determined was that Kiritsugu Emiya was a human beyond humans. What he did for a living was, while impressive, not extraordinary. It wasn't how he did it either, though she had indeed learned much about the flaws in modern Magi thinking. What made him so special was far beyond such common reasons that made other notable individuals famous.

Kiritsugu Emiya's most astounding trait was…

"Is something the matter my lady?" Sebastian asked concerned as he stood dutifully behind Luvia as ever.

"It's nothing Sebastian." Luvia sighed wearily, somewhat irritated by the minor irritation that interrupted her thoughts.

The elderly man looked at his master for several moments before closing his eyes. "You do not have to hide. I have known you too long to know when you are troubled and when you are not. You are concerned about the upcoming war… and what you were hired to do…"

The blonde's face twitched in minor irritation as her butler pegged her easily…

Officially, Luvia had indeed moved temporarily to Fuyuki in order to establish a better trade connection to Rin's enchanted Jewel business. The shorter link between her and the source enabled her to cut out the middleman in the system while ensuring that the quality of the gems her family received were up to their standards and what they had ordered.

Granted the actual ties between the Tohsaka and Edelfelt lines were never actually solid, especially given the fact that there was suspicion that the Tohsaka's had stolen a copy of the Edelfelt's magic crest nearly a hundred years prior after the events of the Third Holy Grail War. This was supported by the fact that Rin was extremely good at both the Fin curse and Jewel based thaumaturgy, things that the Edelfelts were known to be competent in.

Yet for the sake of a constant business deal, the two had (barely) put aside their grievances with one another for their mutual benefit and ignored the nagging suspicion. Rin after all valued large amounts of money more than her pride, and Luvia knew that the gems being supplied would be used by many branch members of her family when they were doing mercenary work, increasing their chances of surviving in the process.

Unofficially however, Luvia was in Japan for another reason completely. The Edelfelt family had been hired by the Archibald family, indirectly through the Einsbern (without much complaint) in order to avoid catching ire of Barthomelloi, to kill the Magus Killer.

And Lord El Melloi II was the one that was going to set them up to be able to do it.

The news had been enough to surprise even Marjatta when the Lord had spoken to them privately five months prior after leaving Shirou's home. How could it not? Waver Velvet was after all one of the Emiya's strongest supporters in the Clocktower, next to the Mystic Code Crafter and the Queen herself. Aside from the fact that the man was among the more rational and kindhearted Lords in the Association, and the fact that he had taught the boy himself, the mere idea of betraying the Emiya was not an idea anyone truly thought of employing since he, like his father, had displayed an unnaturally high affinity for killing all his targets, Apostle or not.

Having seen Shirou fight before, Luvia was under the impression that the Archibalds were sending her on a suicide mission in a desperate attempt to regain some pride from their loss in the previous war… is until Waver explained that the best time to go for Shirou would be during the next war which had been determined to take place in six months.

With Ore Scales, Luvia and Marjatta could alter the servant summoning system like their ancestors did and bring out two servants for the price of one, with both sisters gaining three command seals and drastically increasing their odds of pulling off the kill. In addition to that, should the sisters actually win the grail in addition to killing Shirou, they could receive the honor of reaching the Akashic records, solidifying their names in Thaumaturgical history forever.

The enticing glory and reward of succeeding was more than enough for Marjatta to instantly jump on board with the deal. The girl believed that while Shirou's supposed abilities would serve as a problem eventually, it was nothing that she could not take care of, especially with the aid of a Heroic Spirit behind her.

Luvia on the other hand was more skeptical. True the reaching of the Akashic records was horrifically enticing to a Noble such as herself, but she had grown fairly attached to the Emiya. The boy was… down to earth compared to most of the people she associated herself with. Simple. Practical. That wasn't to say that her new schoolmate acquaintances in Fuyuki were not of that category either, but none of them were magi or had any sort of magic potential. Involving them in her life was simply more trouble than it was worth on multiple fronts.

As much as she hated to admit it, Luvia relented that the local people that were most familiar with her were in fact Rin, Shirou, and Sakura. She had only exchanged a few words with Kirei Kotomine, and that was enough for her to get an extremely bad vibe from the man. As for the local school populace, she was for the most part indifferent to them. There simply was just not enough similarities between her and them to establish a decent connection. She got along with them yes, and many of the males her age had on more than one occasion expressed their interest in dating her, however in the end she was simply in a different world than they were.

Still, a job was a job, and this was possibly the biggest one she had ever received. Even if she didn't win the war, being known for killing the infamous Magus Killer would boost the Edelfelt's name to new heights in the magical world. Sometimes one had to prioritize over their feelings for others, as distasteful as it was, in order to progress in life.

She only hoped that she could eventually forgive herself for what she would eventually have to do in the future… perhaps if she wrote a biography on him as well it would relieve some of the guilt she was already getting. After that she would begin to prepare for her sister and their contact's arrival… along with the artifact they would use to summon their servant.

o. o. o.

Three Weeks Until The Fifth War Begins.

The Clocktower:

Bazett was flooded with mixed feelings at this moment. Anger. Guilt. Self loathing. Exhaustion. Excitement. Lust. The young woman had not felt a mix of such variety of emotions since she had first left home and realized that she would not be let back into the Fraga territory unless she had a damn good reason to do so.

The reason why she was experiencing so many sensations was standing in front of her, looking around bored with blood red eyes in a blue armored jumpsuit like getup.

Bazett had nearly been floored when she had been informed that she was going to represent the Association in the upcoming Grail Wars in Fuyuki. On the one hand, she was selected for an extremely prodigious position for her combat ability, something that had until recently earned her the butt of many jokes from the Nobles there. Not only that, but if she was lucky she would even be able to meet her childhood idol face to face.

On the other hand, as she researched the history of the war and soon realized that she would most likely be ending up fighting Shirou, Rin and Sakura in a fight to the death. she didn't know the girls on a deep level, it was enough to dredge up some regret for ultimately agreeing to fight in the war. Shirou she knew and viewed to something similar to a little brother. She convinced herself that if she was the representative, she would at least be able to give the inexperienced girls a better shot at surviving the war while Shirou would probably find some way to survive the crossfire. He was her student after all.

With her advanced combat based thaumaturgy, knowledge, and experience, Bazett was in a sense a big enough to be considered threat by herself without her servant. There were only a handful of Magi that she could think of that could actually give her a run for her money in a straight up fight, and most of them wouldn't even bother to employ the idea of stepping foot in Japan.

She had been a bit concerned with Sirius' reaction when she had told him that she was participating in the war and who she had been planning to summon, but those thoughts had quickly been shoved to the side as the elderly man declared that he would help her. And help he damn well did as not even a few days later he had SOMEHOW conjured up the earrings of Cu Chulainn for her to use for her summoning ritual, which she was wearing at that moment.

In addition to the earrings, Sirius had tweaked out her rune arrays to be nearly twice as efficient at they originally were. How he had gotten a hold of her personalized equipment Bazett didn't know but she made a mental note to give the old man grief about it later.

As of right now though, she had put her doubts aside in order to deal with more important matters, such as staring happily at possibly the greatest legend to come from her home country.

"So… you're my master I guess." Lancer stated in a casual tone and looked around before laying eyes on Bazett. "Well far as masters go, you're at least easy on the eyes, even if your choice in attire is rather tasteless." He yawned widely. "Eh. Could have been worse. I could have been summoned by some asshole middle aged guy."

The heroic spirit's comments were ignored as Bazett took in the image of her idol, the legendary Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ireland, right in front of her. The man was to her what King Arthur was to every British child, or what Hercules was to many other children in the world.

"Oi. Master." Lancer raised an eyebrow. "If you're done undressing me with your eyes can you explain what's going on for me? I don't feel the grail or the presence of other servants anywhere near here."

"Huh?" The woman blinked momentarily before realizing what she was doing and instantly gathering herself again. "Oh. Right. Sorry Lancer." She stood up proudly. "It's roughly three weeks before the War is scheduled to begin in Fuyuki Japan, but I decided to take the initiative when summoning you. We're currently in the Association's Clocktower in London England. I figured we could go on a few sealing designate hunts in order to increase our teamwork for the war to increase our chances." She smiled confidently and stuck out her hand. "I am Bazett Fraga McRemitz, your Master and partner through all of this. I'm an Enforcer for the Magus Association."

Lancer paused for a moment before grinning savagely and shaking her hand. "A Fraga eh? Now isn't that a surprise. It's been years since I've seen one of you guys outside of that tiny village you stay in. Not including the time I've been dead of course." He let go and eyed the woman's hips, where a container was hanging off of a belt. "So how many of those convenient balls of death do you have stocked up? I wanna know how well prepared my master is and how often she can cheat death before I gotta save you."

Bazett's eyebrow twitched in minor irritation. She of course assumed that the real Cu Chulainn would be a bit different than what she had been expecting, but did he have to be so rude? "I have four." She replied confidently before flexing her gloved hands in front of him. "I also am quite skilled in close combat. It obviously won't be enough for me to put up a real fight any servant physically save for maybe Assassin, however I am far from helpless."

"Hmmm? You don't say." The Hound of Ireland mused as he inspected his master's physical enhancing rune arrays and let out a whistle to indicate he was impressed. "I gotta admit, whoever made these things is pretty damn good. Eihwaz at the core for hardening and strengthening, but the surrounding three chained rings of runes magnify and stabilize the effects through internal inverting rotational theory while giving you additional stability, impact, and the ability to connect with spiritual and monstrous creatures. As I am right now, it would probably take me a month to come up with something that could top this."

He straightened himself up and cracked his neck casually. "Now if I was summoned as Caster, then I probably would have been able to top it in a few minutes, but that's not what happened so there's no use crying over it." He turned his head to look at the front door where Sirius was standing there with a smirk. "You find something funny you old fart?"

"Heh." Sirius grinned. "Just enjoyin you baskin in ta glow of me work. It makes me happy ta see tat ah can trump a heroic spirit at his own game."

"Oho." Lancer stepped forward, his body slightly tensing like a cat deciding to stalk its prey. "You have quite a mouth on you for an old timer." He looked at the elderly man skeptically. "And you're older than I thought too. What's with the runes you have on your body keeping you alive? Keeping your hips in place?"

The Mystic Code Crafter snorted and allowed the runes on his body to glow visibly and flow all over his skin for a few moments. "Ah fused parts of ta Lebor na nUidre inta mah skin ova a century ago. Ah probably know more about runecraft tan you did when you were alive."

The blue man chuckled as he watched the old man in clear amusement. "The Lebor na nUidre? That dirty bundle of cloth is still in one piece? Not bad." His eyes flashed hungrily. "I wonder who would have won in a fight between us if I had been alive and if you young?"

Sirius shrugged casually before grinning. "Who knows? Now ah don't know about ta lass, but ah for one am feelin a bit puckish. What say you?"

"Sirius!" Bazett protested. "I've barely summoned him and you already want to take him out drinking?!" She paused before looking at a clock on the wall. "… It's only two in the afternoon!"

"Don't ger yer panties in a bunch lass. Yer gonna be hoggin him fer ta next three weeks. Ah at least want ta say tat ah got shitfaced wit a heroic spirit before ah die." Sirius countered as if it was the most obvious thing to say.

"Sounds good to me!" Lancer laughed heartily while casually patting his master on her back. "Does beer still taste like pisswater in this age?"

"Of course it does!" The old man grinned. "But it's all cold and none of ta bastards out there botha to reinforce ta broth before they sell it!"

"Reinforcing booze? You genius!" The spearman roared in approval. "Why the hell didn't I think of that when I was alive?! I love this bastard!"

"Yer not so bad yerself blueboy!" Sirius laughed, already getting along far too well with the heroic spirit for Bazett to feel comfortable with.

"Hey do they still sing that song about the barkeep's daughter in the pubs?" The happy go lucky Lancer asked eagerly as he walked with Sirius.

"Which one!?" Sirius half asked half roared in laughter, causing the heroic spirit to join in with as much gusto.

Bazett could only stare in horror as she watched the two men leave the room as if they were long lost brothers. She had expected many things from Lancer and his personality but… to think he had a mindset so close to Sirius'… it was, terrifying.

Despite the fact that her body was exhausted from the summoning ritual, the woman chased after her whimsical servant and grandfather figure. She would never hear the end of it if she not only lost control of her servant five minutes after summoning it, but it proceeded to make a mess out of the local bar inside the Association as well…

o. o. o.

Several Hours Later:

"Ah gotta say, tat was ta most fun ah've had in a while. Livin in ta middle of Noble country takes ta life outta everytin." Sirius grinned as he lowered Bazett's drunk and unconscious frame onto her bed. "Ya have quite ta singin voice too."

"You're not too bad yourself." Lancer grinned. He loved the fact that his B ranked magic immunity made most pompous magi in the bar that night scared shitless of him. "I wouldn't have minded you being with me during my war days. Things would have been much more interesting with you around."

"How did ya manage ta outdrink me though?" The Giant old man shook his head in disbelief.

Lancer snorted. "I have an A ranked battle continuation. I can just keep on going and going and going for as long as I want."

Sirius blinked in disbelief. "You lucky soddin bastard. How ta bloody hell does tat ability give you ta alcohol immunity of an elephant?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." The blue man shrugged nonchalantly before the mood in the room changed. His calm demeanor didn't alter in the slightest as he made eye contact with Sirius, but the way he breathed and the glint in his eyes were all that was needed to change everything. "So what's your angle?"

The Mystic code crafter chuckled as he stood back up slowly, the alcohol in his system playing with his muscle control a tad bit. "Ah was tat obvious eh? Must be losin mah touch."

"Don't get me wrong. I had a hell of a time drinking all the new stuff this era has, but you obviously have something you want to talk about." Cu Chulainn stated calmly. "Dragging her with us to the bar was the best way to knock the princess out cold without raising suspicion, especially since she just summoned me."

Sirius sighed before scratching the back of his head tiredly. "Ya betta make yerself comfortable, cause tis is gonna take a while. And unfortunately it ain't gonna be good news."

Lancer shrugged lazily, still quite tipsy enough to let it show, and not at all bothered with Sirius' revelation. "I kinda figured that. Surprise news is normally shitty. So what is it this time? A family member is kidnapped? Someone's blackmailing the master? One of the other masters in this war is planning something that can destroy the world with his wish?" He paused before putting on a worried look. "Please don't tell me that Scathach was summoned as Caster. I can handle a lot, but even with my magic resistance I doubt I'd be able to stand a chance against that crazy old bat." The man shivered as he relived some of his more terrifying moments while under the tutelage of the woman who could not be killed.

"Ta grail is corrupted. Badly." The Fraga stated gravely, not once blinking as he stared down the heroic spirit.

Cu Chulainn paused for a moment before slowly tensing his body and frowning his eyes in thought. As laid back as he was, even he knew when things were past the point of simply brushing them aside. He was a heroic spirit after all. His entire life was unfortunately full of events like this. It was because of this that he instinctively knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg.

"… You know, most people would normally start off with the worst news first."

"You have no idea."

"… Good thing we're already drunk then."

o. o. o.

Fuyuki:

Rin clicked her teeth irritably as she read the will her father left her and the report she had received recently regarding the Great Grail underneath the Ryudo shrine.

Why?

Why of all times did the Grail War have to start now? Better yet, how on earth could it have happened? It normally takes at least sixty years for the thing to gather enough energy to summon all seven servants for the event, yet after a mere ten everything was up and running again.

Grunting once more in frustration, Rin attempted to make sense of her current situation. In a few weeks the Grail War would start, or at the very least the time limit for the masters to summon their servants would be up. As the only pure blooded Tohsaka in Fuyuki, that instantly made her the representative for her family. She was absolutely clueless as to who the Einsbern's would send over. Save for the war, the German family pretended that Japan all but nonexistent for all they cared, let alone noted those who lived there. As for the Makiri…

Her heart stopped for a moment as she realized that Sakura would have to be considered an enemy, as the war was the only time that the truce between the Tohsaka and the Matou was nullified. As much as she wanted to protect her sister, compassion in the Grail war would only lead a person into an early grave. It made her sick to her stomach that she would have to fight her sister to the death just as they were getting along with one another, however it seemed that Fate had a sick and disgusting sense of humor.

Wrenching her thoughts from Sakura, Rin attempted to guess who the rest of the other magi in the war could be. She instantly began thinking about Shirou. Normally the Grail would pick magi who had some sort of wish or desire that could be granted as a master. By that logic, the Emiya should be ruled out. Shirou by most standards was pretty content with his life. Sure he was run ragged by the Barthomelloi and despised how most of the magical world dealt with the innocent, but all in all he didn't seem to have any real wishes or desires that required the Holy Grail to fulfill…

… Although now that she thought about it, there was that mysterious promise that he claimed that he had made to his father. As hard as she tried, she could never manage to weasel it out of the Emiya, however she reasoned that the odds of him actually needing the Grail specifically to achieve it were slim. She would have to talk to Shirou about the War later just to be sure.

For a moment, Rin wondered what it would be like if Shirou was chosen as a master. She shivered at the thought. If the Emiya managed to summon Saber of all classes, then the war might as well be done and over with. Shirou's combat ability as a magus was nearly unmatched despite his young age when one remembers that the teen could recreate noble phantasms, and combined with the most desired servant class in the war, the teen would be almost unstoppable unless the other groups teamed up to take them down…

Or unless Shirou momentarily has another one of his gullible moments of pure recklessness and gets himself get completely taken out of the game. Whichever came first really.

… On second thought, Shirou acting as a master wouldn't really be that scary. He was way too trusting of people to be one for long. In fact Rin was fairly certain that she would be spending more time keeping him alive from his own mistakes than fighting other servants.

Moving on, Kirei was out of the running before he even entered her thoughts. Despite the fact that the man was indeed a master in the previous war, the fake priest was serving as a judge for this one. As a representative of the Church, he was obligated to take no sides in the upcoming conflict and serve as a neutral party, the rules, and as damage control in order to prevent the magical world from being exposed to the normal.

What angered Rin even more was that the man had the gall to attempt to secretly aid her in the war, much like how their respective fathers did in the previous war. The girl shot down the idea without hesitation. While the idea did have some merits, teaming up with the man disgusted her and in all honesty she didn't trust him to begin with. She would win this contest alone with grace, honor, and stature like the Tohsaka family creed demands…

So all that left to her knowledge was Luvia. Just thinking about the foreigner left a bad taste in Rin's mouth. It wasn't so much that the fellow Noble was not a local, Rin had long since gotten over that superstition and knew that she would have to deal with being on the receiving end herself when she entered the Clocktower. No, it was simply how that blonde harpy acted as if she was naturally of a higher quality than everyone else. Granted she was more competent than most of the other nobles she had come across during her brief travels with the fake priest, but that only made spending time around the Edelfelt even more insufferable.

Still, if she was chosen to be a master for the grail war, then Rin would definitely have some trouble. The Edelfelt family was proficient in Jewelcraft and the Fin curse, which just happened to be Rin's major lifelines when it came to battle as well. As such she had to think outside the box a bit in order to ensure that she would not get outplayed if she was stuck in a master vs master battle.

Then there was Marjatta to worry about. Rin had done her research on the Grail wars from looking up the data from her family's rather limited library, so she knew for a fact that with the power of Ore Scales, the sisters could summon two aspects of the same servant and class for the price of one. While this could and most likely would decrease the power of the individual servants, should the two work together the end results could be far more devastating than had they summoned just one.

Then there was the concern of just which servant they would summon. In all honesty, Rin didn't know what could pose a bigger threat, two Sabers of slightly diminished power but worked hand in hand, or two Casters that had the potential to magnify one another's powers to significantly higher levels than anyone could possibly comprehend…

And don't get her started on multiple Assassins. She had heard enough of the fiasco regarding Kirei's multiplying servant from the previous war. Had that servant been used more efficiently, no, she didn't even want to imagine how badly that could have turned out for the other masters.

Still, that counted for only five class positions taken up if everyone she thought about (save Kirei) took part in the war. Of the last two, one would without a doubt be a representative of the Magus Association, seeing as they seem to have at least one every war. And the last one was a complete wildcard.

In all honesty the "wildcard" was the one that had Rin concerned the most. Kirei had told her that in the previous war, the psychotic bastard who had filled the role by pure happenstance was a serial killer with no magic circuits and had no respect for the war, secrecy, human life, or the magical world. His servant, somehow, was even worse.

If she concentrated hard enough on the man's picture, she could actually force herself to remember the one time she had the misfortune of encountering him when she was looking for her missing friend from school, but she could not for the life of her remember how the heck it all turned out. What she did remember without a doubt was unequivocal fear, and she hated being afraid.

And therein was the problem. She was scared even if she would never admit it, hence she wanted a strong servant (other than Berserker, she wasn't suicidal after all). One that could protect her from any possible threat and be strong enough to lend some aid to her allies if she felt like it. The issue was that she had no medium or item that was linked to any of the great names in the Throne of Heroes. Without one of those, her summoning ritual would just pick up whatever heroic spirit matched her personality the best… and if she was more honest with herself, Rin would admit that having a heroic spirit with her personality serving under her might not be the best route to take.

She still technically had time to try and scrape up something from a collector nearby, but knowing her luck, she might just end up wasting her time on a cheap imitation. Worse comes to worse, she could always just use the gem stored with almost ten years worth of prana in it that her father left her in the ritual as the medium, but since she didn't think it was linked to any heroic spirit, the best she assumed it could do was increase whatever summoned spirit's stats a little bit when it was brought out.

Honestly, she didn't even need anything specific at this point. Even something vague would do to make sure that she didn't summon something that would backstab her, like an old Greek pot, or a decayed copy of a famous haiku, or a strip of a holy cloth, or…

Rin froze for a moment before slapping herself in the face briefly and then bolting out of her front door as fast as she could.

o. o. o.

Matou Manor:

Zouken chuckled dryly as he watched Sakura endure her endless training in the worm pit. He must admit, when he had first allowed the girl to spend more time with the Tohsaka heir and the Emiya, he had merely assumed that the benefits would be limited to being able to destroy the girl's mind easier, gaining control over the Emiya boy, and getting the outsiders to lower their defenses…

However he was wrong and oh how he was glad to be so. Sakura's mind had been a hard thing to crack before yes, but now, oh it was beautiful. There were more cracks, bigger and distinct yes, but the parts that were intact were oh so much stronger than they originally were. The girl was pure art to him.

Strong yet weak. Perfect yet flawed. Like a glass mural, the girl's varying brilliant natural colors were only accentuated by the dark thick cracks that gave an additional layer to the grand picture of her soul. If he broke her now, the pieces left behind would be more than enough to fabricate a suitable puppet to replace the old persona… yet it was not yet the right time to do so. The current "Sakura" was needed to keep the Tohsaka and the Emiya off his case, for now at least. If he was not so determined to obtain immortality above everything else, he would have even considered being proud of the fact that the girl would be the next Matou heir.

Admittedly, he did get the idea to turn the girl into a living grail from the Einsberns when they too began to use their Homunculi as living containers for the golden grail. However in this case, instead of some feeble individual that could only walk around and run away from danger, the Makiri's black grail was more than capable of fending for itself. With its sorcery based magic, it could not only protect its existence, but additionally feed its ever growing power over time with other sources of nourishment, making it far more versatile than its original, albeit somewhat less stable.

But he could see it now. Yes, he could see the girl slowly falling apart from his treatment of her. Her self loathing was increasing every time the Emiya boy took her to bed, even if it was at her insistence. Her hatred for her sister grew as their bonds grew in turn as well. Truly Love and Hate were two halves of the same coin. When one grew in size, the other must as well in turn in order to maintain balance.

And yet the idiot children continued to train his adopted granddaughter. Much to his delight, the progression of her abilities had far surpassed what he had originally anticipated. Even if his plans didn't work during the war, the girl would be able to utilize what she has learned already to accelerate her transformation into the black grail decades ahead of what he predicted.

Her skill with the Matou line of magic had progressed wonderfully. Bounded fields that gently sap away ambient energy from the earth to feed the user or make the field stronger, bounded fields that absorb curse based spells, and so much more. The girl had even managed to display a fair amount of control over her other half without even realizing it, though not to the degree that would cause issues with his plans…

Yes. The girl was coming along far better than he had anticipated.

As one of the ones that had originally set up the War in the first place, particularly the servant system and the command seals, the man obviously possessed inside information on some aspects of the war. Much to his surprise, Berserker was the first servant to be summoned, long before it was normally possible to summon a servant. He had no doubt that it was most likely the Einsberns who summoned it. The Germans always did have a habit of playing around too much with the system.

Lancer had been summoned recently. Zouken didn't really care much for the class. Granted, they were a fairly solid class with their speed, agility, balanced stats (save for luck. He never understood why their luck stats in general were so abysmal on average), and solid magic defense. He would also admit that their noble phantasms normally had the most interesting abilities and effects compared to the weapons of other servants, but on the whole he didn't really pay much attention to them.

So all that remained to be summoned were Assassin, Caster, Saber, Rider, and Archer…

He had no doubt in his mind that the Emiya boy was going to summon Saber. The child's interest in fairy magic and his unique magecraft all but told him flat out that the boy possessed whatever it was that his father had used to summon King Arthur in the previous war… a very promising and comforting thought if he did say so himself, though he would have to take precautions in the event that the boy was stupid enough to turn against him.

So all that left Sakura to choose from was: Assassin, Caster, Rider, and Archer. Sticking true to his sadistic personality, the man honestly hoped that the girl would summon Rider or Archer, if only to make causing more trouble for the Emiya boy due to their… unique deal… however he also admitted that Saber paired with either of the two stronger classes would all but guarantee his victory as well.

He shook his head slightly. No. He has his catalyst already, a mirror from a temple in Eritrea, a Greek temple, however he wanted to make sure that Sakura didn't summon Caster. The girl's past and nature made it so that she was likely to summon that class due to how morbid things tended to happen to them in particular. He would put off summoning a servant for a little while longer and see who else was summoned. Should his luck hold out, Caster would be taken and increase the odds of getting a servant he would approve of for his plans.

It's a shame that there was a chance that he might have to get rid of her should the Emiya boy or her actually win the grail this time for him… then again, he was slightly curious as to what he could use a second unlimited wish for…

o. o. o.

Fuyuki:

Waver sighed deeply, blowing out a large cloud of smoke from his mouth as he walked with Marjatta through Fuyuki to Luvia's mansion. Looking around, the man couldn't help but wonder at how much the place had changed and remained the same since his initial visit to the city. The skyline was more distinct and developed. The hotel that Kiritsugu took down in the war, once the tallest building in the city, would now have merely become one of many today as several colossal structures reached for the sky like giant tombstones…

He grinned to himself briefly as he employed the amusing thought of imagining how the original participants of the war would have reacted if they saw what the battleground was like now. No doubt they would have either been appalled or absolutely confused at how to conduct a secret war in such a highly populated area with so many variables. A massive city was certainly not an appropriate place to hold a secret war starring over empowered legendary heroes and magic wielders after all.

An annoyed grunt snapped him out of his musings to bring him looking at his charge. "I don't see why we couldn't have simply gone in the car that carried our luggage to my sister's." Marjatta growled, clearly not liking the fact that she was walking such a long distance of three miles, to get to her new base.

"We have gone over this before my lady." Waver stated calmly, making sure to hide his annoyance while shifting the box under his arm to hold it better. "You might as well get some bearing of your surroundings now before the fighting starts. Even your sister has a better idea of what the terrain is like, and where notable locations of use are here in Fuyuki, and she is not the only one to have that advantage. It is best for you to familiarize yourself with this place as much as you can while you have time. Your life may depend on it."

"Don't tell me something that I am well aware of Lord Melloi." The Edelfelt girl growled. "I am well versed in combat tactics and theory. Unlike some people, I do not underestimate my opponents and go rushing in without knowing what I get myself into."

The lord resisted the urge to roll his eyes and ignored the jab at his own integrity. "That may be so, but please do take care to not overestimate your own abilities as well, for that obviously can be just as bad as underestimating your foe."

"I take it you are speaking from experience." The teen narrowed her gaze at the elder man.

"You have no idea." Waver shook his head, not even bothering to take offense to the girl's thinly veiled shot at his experience during the fourth grail war. She'd learn soon enough that theory and modern tactics meant little in a war of Epic Spirits. Mortals were just not on the same level as the ancient heroes, be it in the past or present.

A light chuckling was heard through the night from a nearby road, catching the attention of the two magi. "Hmhm. She has quite the mouth on her for a child doesn't she?" From a nearby alleyway, a handsome golden haired man with blood red eyes walked out. Dressed in casual black and white clothing, an aura of authority hung around him as if it was only the most natural thing to do.

Waver froze in his steps, his eyes wide open and his breathing stopped. Of all the people he had to encounter before the war started, why did he have to come across HIM?

"Excuse me?" Marjatta raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking being treated like a child well, though if one paid attention they would notice a faint blush on her cheeks as well. It wasn't as if the handsome young man in front of her wasn't easy on the eyes after all.

Gilgamesh ignored the teen as he inspected Waver casually up and down, noting his red coat and golden scarf. "You have cleaned up adequately since last I saw you boy. I see you wear his colors with pride."

Waver closed his eyes and breathed once to calm himself, letting the smoke in his lungs go into his system and soothe his nerves. "As the last of his men, I would be ashamed if I had not been able to do at least that much." He looked down at Marjatta. "If you be so kind as to go ahead Lady Edelfelt. I will not be long."

The teen glared at Waver and Gilgamesh irritably before walking up the road without saying another word. Despite the polite manner in which Waver had asked her to leave, not a single one of the three had been unable to tell that he was ordering her to leave.

"I do hope your status is higher than that of a mere caretaker for the spawn of lesser houses." The servant with a body mused aridly.

"Please don't play me for a fool King Gilgamesh." Waver frowned slightly. "You know the girl is a master."

"And the medium for her summoning is in that box you are carrying. It somewhat worries me that the war that I took part in has been reduced to a mere game between women and children." The man who was said to be two thirds god stated as if he was talking about the weather before making eye contact with the human. "You knew that I still walked the earth."

It was a statement, one that demanded an explanation. Waver knew he could not hide such a thing from this man. His blood red eyes, evidence of his god heritage, said as much. "You had been seen after the war." He replied simply, trying his hardest to stand his ground against the King's horrifically overwhelming presence.

He was technically speaking the truth. Kiritsugu had before he died staked out the Church Kotomine stayed at and planted several hidden cameras while the man was gone. He had gotten good footage of the priest and the servant chatting with one another about rather twisted topics on more than one occasion. The videos however, were deleted as soon as they were shown to Waver and Sirius in case the house was ever raided prematurely.

"A paltry excuse, yet you do not lie. I shall allow it for now." The blonde man sighed aridly before looking down on the human with some mild form of discontent. "… Hm. You do realize that I normally kill others for the audacity of staring at me so directly like that."

The Lord didn't falter in his stature. Having been exposed to Lorelei's presence and ire on multiple occasions, he had developed some ability to retain his unparalleled fear by now. Of course the Queen of the Clocktower's presence paled in comparison to the King of Heroes', but it was enough to get by for now. "I am the last of my King's men. If I were not able to even meet your gaze, it would be the same as admitting that his reign is truly gone. That is something I will not allow."

The golden king remained quiet for several moments before smiling briefly as if amused by a small joke. "Truly that amusing man has a fine eye in followers to manage to claim someone of your worth among the rabble that populates this filthy world. I can see that time has only magnified his presence in you. Even after his defeat, his reign slowly grows once more. How entertaining." He looked at the human again. "And even still, as his loyal retainer, you have played cards to kill the one who took down his lord, even if his target is the one and only true king."

Waver's heart skipped a beat, however he did not lose his cool and merely nodded politely. "It is as you say. While I may not be the one to do the deed, I have organized things to increase the odds of your defeat has been raised this upcoming war."

Gilgamesh frowned. "I admit I am somewhat irritated by your audacity retainer. Not only have you made a gesture against the one true ruler of this stained world, but you have the gall to believe that my defeat is even comprehensible, let alone possible." His killing intent rose to palpable levels. "While I will allow your play to proceed out of curiosity and boredom, I am none the less not amused by your activity. Out of respect for that man, I will give you one opportunity to explain your reasoning for this travesty and why you foolishly believe your efforts are at all with grounds."

Waver swallowed heavily. He had a feeling that things would turn out like this. Gilgamesh was after all a rather simple man to understand once you figured out his logic. The world is his, hence he embodies the greatest authority there. The strong stand over the weak and make the rules, and he stands at the top, hence, he has the final say in everything. Yet at the same time he doesn't bother with "mundane" problems that do not relate to him directly or catch his attention. Such things are, from his perspective, issues that the commoners should deal with since they are below him.

Should there be a subject that is vague in any sense that he bothers to take interest in, he will address it as he sees fit without any issue regardless of the destruction that may happen in his wake. If on the other hand someone attempts to say, steal a treasure that belonged to him or make an attempt on his life, he is in his own mind obligated to serve as an appropriate judge, jury and executioner.

Whether or not he allowed them to live was merely a part of his self imposed duty as the judge and jury.

It was Waver's job at this point to make sure that he didn't take up the third role.

Waver knew deep down that Shirou would be a bad excuse to use. While the boy had talent, his ability was merely mimicking others, something that a King such as Gilgamesh would not appreciate or entertain in the slightest. Elaborate schemes were also out since the servant would simply take them out at any point. As such his only route for surviving was…

"She will be summoned again." The Lord reluctantly admitted to King of Heroes. He couldn't die yet. He had yet to deliver the summoning catalyst which was needed to avert another major threat in the war, and he had still to truly spread Rider's name and vision to the rest of the world.

Gilgamesh frowned for a moment before lessening his pressure. "She?" He muttered before smiling dryly. "Ah yes. Her. My wonderful King of Knights would have indeed crossed paths once more with me as my business with her was yet to be concluded, and one such as myself would never leave an important relationship such as that without a suitable end. To think that she would be used again so soon is indeed a pleasant thing to look forward to in this otherwise mundane show. A shame she will not remember me, yet I am afraid such is the unfortunate fate of being trapped in the throne." He looked down at Waver. "However, the arrival of my future bride is not something that I had not factored as a possibility…"

Waver almost clicked his teeth in irritation before speaking up again. He had to speak up while he had the chance or else he would be killed. "You misunderstand King Gilgamesh. SHE will be summoned once more. Memories and all."

The Golden King paused for a moment before a faint but long dry chuckle escaped his throat, his royal blood red eyes glowing madly with amusement. "Oho? Now isn't that interesting? Yes I see no lies. You are indeed speaking the truth retainer of the King of Conquers. Not all the truth, but enough. How you come to believe this is irrelevant, as you do not doubt that it will come to be." He chuckled some more and closed his eyes. "I will ignore the audacity of you interrupting me retainer, in addition to refraining from telling me everything. Your excuse for me to let you live was well spent, and I have given you only one reason to do so. To change my mind on such a trivial matter is beneath one such as myself."

Waver didn't even consider letting out a breath of relief. He was not dumb enough to assume he was out of trouble yet.

"In fact, I am pleased enough with your news that I will ignore your blatant attempts to kill the one true king." Gilgamesh continued. "Indeed, even though they will all be for naught, I am confident to assume that a war that you have tampered with personally will produce at least some interesting and amusing things to witness than one that would have gone its course. The current cast of the oncoming events has so far left me severely wanting." He looked at Waver approvingly. "Once you are done dealing with the children, I invite you to stay and watch over the fruits of your labor. So long as you keep to yourself, I will ensure that no harm will come to you."

This time Waver did show signs of nervousness. He was not supposed to be anywhere NEAR Fuyuki when the War finally got underway. At best he would serve as a live target for both servants and masters in the war, and don't get him started on Kotomine.

But simply turning down an invitation from the King of Heroes was akin to suicide, and Waver still had things to do in life.

"You are indeed most generous." Waver bowed politely. "However I regret to inform you that I do have rather sensitive significant matters to address back in England. It would be rather unsightly of me to simply just ignore my obligations without sound explanation to my superiors and students, and I do believe that you not wish to be exposed to the bulk of the magical populace as of yet." He stood back up. "In addition to that, I have no wish to participate in the war beyond what I am doing now. Should a master die and I am chosen to receive their command seals I would have to take part in it… and to be blunt, I do not trust the priest managing the war with my life. A playwright should never risk altering his work with his presence once put in motion after all."

Gilgamesh's demeanor lessened a bit before closing his eyes. "You are quite a rude little retainer aren't you? Quite fitting for one belonging to that man." He let out a sigh of mild frustration. "However you none the less do point out rather compelling arguments. Kirei is indeed not an individual one such as yourself should place their life in the hands of in a time of strife. Should you indeed receive more command seals, it would place you in an unfitting position. The grail is quite whimsical in that manner. Had I still have my Vimana, I could have simply kept you as my ward with me for the duration of the war wherever I went, however that blasted mad dog destroyed it. A pity."

"Indeed, yet I still follow my King's orders. He commanded me to live, and as such I am merely choosing the path that will ensure my survival." Waver nodded.

The Golden Archer looked down irritably at Waver before turning away. "It is a travesty when a playwright does not stay to witness his own work. Make no mistake, you survived this night only due to my respect for your master. Should I see you in this dwelling again come morning, I will end his legacy without a second thought."

Lord El-Melloi bowed deeply and did not say anything, for there was nothing more to say. Gilgamesh had given him his leave and with that the conversation was over. It was as simple as that. He stayed in that position for a good five minutes as he listened to the Golden King walk away until he was gone just to make sure. Looking up prematurely would spell his end. It was a simple as that.

Once Waver was absolutely sure that the servant was gone, he stood back up and sped towards Luvia's home, certain that Marjatta didn't wait up for him. As soon as he helped the sisters summon their servant he was going to get the hell out of town as fast as he could. Everything else was pushed out of his mind.

He could be concerned about practically condemning the girls to death later.

He could worry about telling Shirou about Gilgamesh's reappearance later.

He could care about the box full of literature from Colchis under his arms later.

o. o. o.

One Week Until The Fifth War Begins:

Tohsaka Mannor:

Rin breathed heavily as she inspected everything in her basement for the hundredth time. Everything of value was moved out of the way in case something went wrong. The ritual circle on the ground had been drawn perfectly as far as she could tell, using a good number of the original jewels that she had spent nearly ten years storing power into to make. The time when her power would reach its peak was approaching very soon…

Thank all that was holy she remembered to take into account daylight savings. It was probably the only time that she had actually been thankful for Luvia's constant mocking as it reminded her to take the changing of the hours. She'd never admit it of course, but that was a given. For a moment the teen shivered at the thought of what could have happened if she forgot to address such a simple mistake… no, such a thing should never come to pass.

She could feel it now. Her power was definitely coming to the peak that she had reached countless times before during her experiments and training. She could feel her internal reserves swell slightly as if it too knew what was to happen.

Looking down at the small sample of Shirou's Shroud of Martin (donated willingly of course), she breathed out slowly, opened her circuits, and held out the final gem that her father had entrusted to her above the circle.

"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg."

Rin wasn't stupid. When she had asked Shirou for a small bit of his shroud, she had also checked his hands for Command Seals, which indicated whether or not a person was a Master for the war. It only took her an instant to confirm her suspicions.

"The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."

But much to her surprise when she all but bluntly attempted to convince him into an alliance with her, he refused almost instantly with a sad smile on his face. One that told her that he had not only made another treaty, but that he knew something else was going on in the war.

Her circuits were beginning to warm up now. She could definitely tell that her ritual was working if the growing drain on her reserves was any indication.

"Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill).
Repeat every five times."

However what bewildered her the most was that Shirou claimed that he had absolutely no intention of winning the war he seemed to be dead set on fighting in. She could tell right off the bat that he had something in mind, something that he had already committed himself absolutely to, but she had no idea what. At first she had assumed he was doing it to reduce the number of potential casualties to an absolute minimum, but she couldn't help but think that there was something much more to the teen's drive…

"Simply, shatter once filled.
I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword."

And that honestly terrified her in a deep part of her body. Shirou was normally a very peaceful person. A bit dense sometimes, but he avoided causing trouble whenever he could. However there was a reason why he was called the Magus Killer damn it. Unless he was caught with his pants down or in unique circumstances, the boy was almost guaranteed to at the very least maim anyone who he was absolutely fixated on beating, even if he did lose in the end…

And when Rin left his home, she could tell that his mind was absolutely made up when it came to the war…

Her circuits were burning now. All one hundred of them were absolutely flooded with prana as it coursed from her body into the ritual. Summoning a heroic spirit was obviously going to tax her body heavily, but the girl had already cataloged this particular ritual as one of the most taxing ones she has ever conducted.

"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."

The Tohsaka had already resolved herself to the most likely inevitability of encountering Shirou in the war. Since her friend soon enemy had already indicated that he wasn't fighting to win, she would assume that defeating other masters and servants was not his goal. That being the case, she would be careful when she next encountered him, but not be overly aggressive. If the world didn't hate her, she could talk to him reasonably and possibly figure out what he was up to and not get into a fight.

If things did get messy though… she would have no other choice but to take him down in any way she could.

Her vision was almost blurring now as she watched the circle she was in glow a deep vibrant red. As she reached the end of her Aria, the drain on her power reached its peak and the air around her thrummed with magic that could not be replicated anywhere else.

"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"

A drop of blood fell from her outstretched hand onto the seal, establishing her connection to the summoned hero and setting off the final trigger needed for the ritual as the complex circle began to spin above the ground around the girl blinding her with the tremendous amount of energy that it was producing, wielding enough prana to become visible to the naked eye…

And in front of her he appeared as the ambient power in the room focused on a single point… Standing tall in black armor with a red shroud. Tan skin and spiked up white hair, with eyes the color of steel and an edge that normally only belonged to a hawk…

Soon enough the air calmed down and the room returned to normal with the now two human figures looking at one another with varying levels of interest.

"It looks like I've been summoned." The servant observed casually as he looked around almost lazily before looking down at Rin. "I guess you're my master?"

Rin on the other hand could not say anything as she pointed and gaped at her servant in disbelief. In front of her was without a doubt an older version of Shirou Emiya. She had summoned Shirou Emiya. Her longtime best friend, had eventually become a Heroic Spirit.

In another world, where due to the lack of previous events Shirou Emiya had never developed a solid relationship with Rin Tohsaka before this point, where the girl never knew about the teen's powers, what he was capable of, or what he was truly like, she would have been insulted. She would have been annoyed that this random and unidentifiable servant would address his master in such a crude and disrespectful way. She would have yelled at him, ordered him around, and eventually wasted one of her three command seals to put him in line.

However this was not one of those worlds. Rin Tohsaka knew who she had summoned the moment she saw him, and as such she reacted the only way she could at the moment given the circumstances.

Repeating the fact in her head several hundred times at rapid speed that she had somehow summoned Shirou of all people as a heroic spirit after her ordeal of trying to convince him to team up with her, Rin did the only sensible thing anyone would do in this sort of situation.

She laughed

Relentlessly and hysterically, she laughed and laughed and laughed at sheer mad irony of it all. She laughed to the point that her new servant clearly wondered if she was sane.

"I have a feeling that I will not like the reason why she is laughing this hard." Counter Guardian EMIYA thought to himself as he watched his master collapse onto her knees, unable to keep herself up from laughing so much while still pointing at him and the exhaustion from the summoning ritual itself.

Even in the future, the counter guardian would admit that he never could understand what went on in Rin's mind…

o. o. o.

Three Days Until the Fifth Grail War Begins.

Edelfelt Mannor:

Luvia frowned as she read the newspaper that morning. "This is unacceptable." She growled as she read the article with distaste.

"Is something the matter my lady?" Sebastian asked as he poured his boss a cup of tea.

"Has the local barbarian society done something inadequate again sister?" Marjatta asked lazily as she drank her coffee. Unlike her sister, the girl liked having some black go juice in the morning to start her day. It woke her up faster.

"No." Luvia threw down her paper on the table, showing the article of more murders in the area. "Obviously a master is already getting full of himself and is attacking the local populace in order to gain ground on the other participants."

"Is that so?" The younger sibling yawned. "I thought that it was to be expected. In this ritual, only the strongest can win. Some would even say that any tactic is a viable option here."

The elder clenched her teeth. "But we are not. We are Edelfelts! We do not need to rely on such petty methods in order to achieve victory!"

"Hmhmhmhm… you say that now, however correct me if I am wrong, but have you not already resorted to other "petty methods" in order to increase your odds of victory girl?" A third female voice chuckled from behind Marjatta just before the owner materialized behind her. Dressed in elaborate and ornate midnight black and violet robes and dress fit for a master spellcaster or witch with a matching hood that covered almost all of her head, Medea, the Witch of Betrayal materialized with an amused grin on her face.

"I believe she is referring to involving those uninvolved in order to gain a minor boost in energy." A fourth female spoke up from behind Luvia with a voice near identical to the third's, only less condescending and more regal. Soon enough the owner appeared behind her own master. "And I personally agree with her opinion."

She was dressed in an elaborate, yet simple in design white tunic that covered her body, arms and legs, with a light grass green sash over her hips that held many pouches and pockets. A golden fur shawl with grass green trimmings was draped over her shoulders covering the top half of her body and held together by an ornate golden medallion.

Medea, the Princess of Colchis appeared, staring disapprovingly at her counterpart. Her getup was more sturdy and simple looking than her other half's, allowing her full use of her legs and showing more of her rather generous figure. While she also possessed a hood, she did not have it over her head, allowing her beautiful features to be seen with her pale lavender hair cascading down her back over her pointed ears and nearly flawless face.

"Humph." The witch snorted. "Even after all this time you still hold onto such stupid optimisms. No wonder we ended up the way we did."

"What happened to us was the result of petty gods, which no longer exist in this era." The Princess countered calmly. "However we must rise above the path that they had set for us so long ago. What is happening here is the result of a servant and master. Whom, I know not, but they must be stopped none the less before things get taken too far."

Luvia nodded. "I agree Caster. We must address this issue posthaste. Not only will it allow us to stop this fool from gaining us more attention, but it will prevent them from growing in power as well."

"I take it that you will also use it as another opportunity to show up Miss Tohsaka in the aftermath as well?" Sebastian asked with a dry tone before turning to the servants. "Do you desire anything to drink my ladies? I am not sure if what we can supply can compare to what you were used to, either back when you were alive or on the throne if it was there, but I will try to accommodate you to the best of my abilities."

"Don't overwork yourself Sebastian. They live off of our prana. They don't need anything." Marjatta yawned, causing her servant's lips to twitch very faintly.

"Sister. Don't be rude. It is only proper courtesy to treat our servants with respect while they are with us." Luvia frowned as she drank some tea.

"I admit it is a tempting offer, however I must decline for now." The Princess bowed apologetically to the elderly man. "I am going to spend this morning finishing up my territory defenses and setting up our observation spells."

"It is as my master said butler. I have no need for food or water." The Witch stated in an almost monotone manner, what little mirth in her voice from before clearly absent.

"Should either of you two change your mind, please do not hesitate to ask." Sebastian nodded kindly before turning to Luvia, ignoring the lighter version of Caster as she disappeared with a faint smile on her face. "My Lady. You still need to prepare for School."

The blonde girl nodded. "Indeed." She turned to her servant. "Stay here and finish your preparations for your observation spell while I am gone. You do not have to worry for my safety. No master worth their salt would dare fight out during the day in the middle of a crowded area. Tonight we will finally spy on the other masters and servants and gather suitable information for our assaults."

"About time." Marjatta snorted as she finished her coffee. "I don't want another incident like the one with Lancer again…"

"Indeed. We were fortunate that we surprised them with the fact that we have two versions of Caster and the noble phantasm of mine." Luvia nodded.

The younger Edelfelt clicked her teeth in irritation. "You are lucky that your version has the stronger Noble Phantasm sister. Had my Caster been yours, I could have handled the situation by myself…" The girl turned and left the room in irritation, leaving her servant, butler and sister behind.

"Hmhm. My my. I have such an impatient and jealous master, don't I?" The dark Caster chuckled in amusement.

"She is merely frustrated. Please forgive my sister's words." Luvia sighed tiredly.

"It is no issue at all. My master is correct after all. We are nothing but tools for the war. My other self and I more so than the others. We cannot truly be considered the one that was once Medea of Colchis, only different aspects or reflections of her." The witch smirked. "Now if you will excuse me, I will accompany my master as she researches some more…"

Sebastian looked blankly as the servant disappeared as did her presence. "My lady, this may be out of place for me to say this, but I do not feel comfortable with Lady Marjatta's servant."

The elder Edelfelt sighed. "do I Sebastian, however she is an ally as of now and thus she will be treated as one. There is nothing else we can do about it for now."

Elsewhere in the mansion, the youngest master there grunted as she overlooked some books again to look for tactical advantages in the war.

"Your family is rather concerned about you… or rather, me." The Witch chuckled as she appeared behind the girl.

"As they should be." The blonde replied without turning around. "I am of much higher value in the grand scheme of things than you are."

"Indeed you are." The woman nodded aridly before turning to her luggage. "… So when will we use your little spoil of war?"

The girl frowned and glanced at the case that held the body of some noble twat that she had discovered to be the last master of the War. The idiot had been bragging about it for weeks in the Association about being chosen before Marjatta had come up to him about teaming up and then killing him, preserving his body and the command seals on his hand in the process without anyone knowing any better.

What was his name again? Stanbrush? Pitwell? Whatever, it wasn't important anyways.

Marjatta knew that she and her sister would be summoning Caster months in advance in order to prepare for their job more accurately, and as such she assumed that a servant with a higher knowledge of the arcane arts would be able to summon their own servant with the right tweaks and materials. With a third servant under their command, even if it consisted of two Casters and maybe an Assassin, it would pose a strong enough force to threaten a Saber classed servant.

The only issue now was finding the right time and place to summon their third tool.

"Not yet." The girl stated calmly. "You and your other self are still setting things up. We want to at least gain some information on the other servants and what locations are safe before we conduct the ritual. When everyone is occupied with one another, then we can summon our personal servant to take out the others with their back turned…"

"Hmhmhm. Such a devious master I have." The witch chuckled darkly. "Very well then. I will follow your orders. I have high expectations of you…"

o. o. o.

In a Hotel in Fuyuki:

"Man this is the life." Lancer grinned as he laid back on the bed. "You future guys don't know how good you have it. Back in my time people would have killed for beds like these. No joke."

"I figured." Bazett sighed as she stepped out of the shower dressed in nothing but a towel. "Do Heroic spirits sweat, because if you do I will use up a command seal to make you take a shower before you stink up the room if needed."

The Irishman smirked. "Bathing is relaxing and nice, but conveniently enough us spirits only break a sweat against other spirits, and even then it goes away as soon as we go into astral mode and then come back. You need to relax more."

The woman frowned. "I can do that when Berserker is beaten. I've heard stories about strong servants, but Heracles as Berserker of all classes? Even you couldn't put a scratch on him."

"That little snowflake of a master of his was pretty impressive too." Lancer pointed out. "Normally that class has a tendency to drain their master's dry long before the war ends, but that little girl didn't even seem bugged about how much that guy was fighting." He scratched his chin casually. "Though she didn't seem human when you looked at her. Red eyes. White hair. Was she an Ancestor or something?"

"She's a homunculus. An artificial human." Bazett frowned and crossed her arms. "Which means she's the master representative for the Einsbern family."

The blue man looked at his own master skeptically. "And… that means what exactly?"

The enforcer frowned at her servant for a moment before blinking a few times and then looking to the side thoughtfully.

"You have no idea do you?" The man looked at her with a dry grin.

"Yes I do!" The woman snapped childishly. "It's… um… oh right!" She hit her fist into her palm as if she just remembered the answer. "It means that they have a castle outside of the city that's heavily protected…" She paused before she realized what she was saying and her mood darkened. "… Which means that we have to wait for them to come to us in the city if we want to fight them again… or else we would have to encounter them on their own home turf."

"Sounds like fun." Cu Chulainn grinned, clearly not experiencing the same feeling of dread as his master. "I need to pay back that giant bastard anyways. We can do it after getting back at those Caster bitches too."

"Two Casters…" Bazett shook her head in disbelief. "I don't even know how that's possible."

"Hey, more fun for us. I have B ranked magic protection and A ranked battle continuation. Unless the Saber of this war is some kind of anti magic juggernaut, I'm probably their biggest threat right now." The man shrugged. "The black one wasn't that hard for me to deal with. It was the lighter one that caught us off guard. It won't happen again."

"It better not." The enforcer frowned. "Letting the second Caster gain steam nearly got us killed and caused a ton of damage to the area. I don't even know how Kirei managed to cover that incident up as well as he did."

Lancer frowned for what seemed like the first time that conversation. "Yeah, that priest nut is something interesting all right…"

Bazett rolled her eyes. Ever since she had brought Lancer to the Church to register for the war, she had noticed that her servant always got rather twitchy whenever the place or Kirei were brought up. Admittedly she did get a bit of an odd feeling from both the man and his dwelling, but she trusted him. "So what do you think would be the best thing to do tonight?"

The male shrugged. "No clue. Both Caster's will probably be in hiding for now, Berserker's out unless we think of a way to kill him by tonight, and we don't know how many of the other servants have been summoned yet."

"Scouting it is then." The woman sighed scratching her head before going to put on some clothes. Lancer had already seen her naked before on their trips when they had to share a room, so she wasn't bothered by the possibility of him seeing her.

"Sounds like fun." Lancer yawned. "Almost makes me wish I was a Caster or Archer class. They'd have less trouble finding the others…"

o. o. o.

Shirou could tell that there was an underlying tension between everyone that was aware of thaumaturgy these days. He had no doubt in his mind that they all knew of the war coming, but none of them wanted to bring it up or else it would shatter the brief time of peace that they had now.

Rin and Luvia were more reserved and on more than one occasion he had noticed them give him, Sakura, and surprisingly one another looks of what appeared to be concern when they thought that no one was paying attention. On more than one occasion the girls had attempted to say something to him in private, only to hesitate at the last second and brush aside the meeting as not important.

Rin so far had almost twice the number of attempts that Luvia did, but he honestly didn't know why the two girls were so hesitant to tell him about the war. It wasn't like he was defenseless. Heck, he was probably one of the few humans on the planet that could actually kill a servant without any prior preparation time needed… keyword could. After viewing Waver's memories, Shirou was fairly certain that he at best would be able to beat a servant if he was horrifically lucky…

Watching Gilgamesh actually destroy the previous Rider's Reality Marble with that… that THING that was called a sword… it sent shivers down his spine for a whole slew of different reasons. How on earth anyone could stand being near it let alone wield it like a weapon was beyond him. He had to deal with massive headaches after watching that memory for a good two days before it finally went away.

"…rou?"

Then there was the sudden spike in murders and "gas attacks" that have occurred in the past week. He brushed off the first one or two of each since there really was a chance that they could have been just coincidences, but three times a charm, and he was counting on six each now. Granted the murders had started three weeks ago as opposed to the "gas leaks" and were fairly spaced apart, but he still blamed himself for allowing things to get this far.

"He… ention sen…"

Screw waiting for Zouken's signal to start the war now. He was summoning Saber TONIGHT. He should have done this earlier, but since he and the worm user had agreed to team up and summon their servants at the same time, the idea of dragging Sakura into things prematurely had left a bad taste in his mouth. How stupid of him to think like that.

He also pretended not to remember that he was most likely going to have sex with Sakura right before she summoned her servant "just to be safe" since they didn't know when they would have another opportunity to do so…

"Oi! …ke up!"

Actually there were already a bunch of other things that he didn't like about his current situation. Rin had already pegged him as a master, and he didn't know how she would react the next time she encountered him alone. They were good friends yea, but she had a magus' pride and that was something that he never was too fond of encountering on the battlefield.

Then there was the info he had received from Sirius and Waver recently which left him a whole new slew of headaches. He already knew that Berserker was Heracles and was summoned by Illya from his father's letters, but learning that Bazett-nee was the one who summoned Cu Chulainn as Lancer threw him for a loop and dropped a stone in his stomach. According to Kiritsugu's dreams, Kirei had killed Bazett long before the war started and stole Lancer in order to play with the war, but Sirius had claimed that he had already warned the servant about the priest… so he didn't know what could happen now.

It wasn't as if he could just call her and ask if Kirei had ripped off her arm or something.

The old man had also mentioned that the Association had another master in the war. Some kid that he used to teach that had been gloating about being chosen for a few days before mysteriously disappearing. If Shirou hadn't been more worried about what could have happened to the new master, he would have been a bit irritated with the old man for seemingly not caring about the guy's well being.

Waver on the other hand had texted him at three in the morning about a week ago to tell him that he had helped the Edelfelt siblings summon two versions of Medea of Colchis as two different Casters. This was mixed news since he did need Rule Breaker to avoid several potential snafu's in the future, but having another additional servant in the war would horrifically complicate things in the long run, especially if two were already teaming up and could significantly boost one another's power like two Casters could.

Last but not least was the fact that Gilgamesh knew that Saber was going to be summoned again and that he was being gunned at by at least one party in the war. If he wasn't so busy trying to figure out a solid way to get the drop on a King of Heroes who was actually expecting an attack, he would be actually worrying about how badly things could turn out if the golden servant told the priest…

WHAM!

Shirou grabbed his head in pain and looked around to see what the hell just happened frantically, only to see Fujimura standing above him with a confident grin and a book in her hand, the spine pointing at him. "Glad to see you're back among the living Shirou-kun." The English teacher spoke in fluent, albeit slightly accented, English.

Shirou made it a point after then to not dwell on plans for secret wars during class ever again.

o. o. o.

"So where are we scouting today?" Lancer sighed as he stretched his limbs and watched the sun go down.

"The residential part of town across the river." The enforcer replied as she put on her gloves. "Hopefully we'll have some luck there for once…"

"Hey it's not my fault I have E ranked luck." The blue man grumbled as he faded from sight.

o. o. o.

"Master, the scrying room is complete." The Princess of Colchis bowed as Luvia entered her home. "With it, we can observe any significant activity of prana in a range of ten kilometers without them knowing."

"Good." The blonde nodded sternly. "We shall begin our reconnaissance tonight and begin to make plans with regards to the other masters and servants."

"I hope it won't take too long." Marjatta yawned. "It would be unbecoming of us to stay back for the entirety of the war only until the end." She blinked. "Why are we not killing Emiya yet like we were hired to do?"

Luvia paused momentarily. "I discovered that he's a master, but he hasn't summoned his servant yet. For the sake of the war, we should at least let him summon it first before we take his life…"

o. o. o.

Shirou yawned widely as he walked back home from Copenhagen at nearly eleven at night. Despite the fact that he had committed himself to the war now, he had still promised to help out Neko (her real name was Otoko, but she hated being called that), with moving the last of a large shipment of wine that night even though he wasn't obligated to do so. Since it was probably the last time he would be able to work there, he felt it was the least he could do.

The extra bit of money he had received from his work was nice, not something he would have accepted under most circumstances since he really did the work out of obligation, but Neko had been adamant on giving it to him, and he had long learned that saying no to the woman was a bad idea when she was stubborn. Besides, from his father's notes, it sounded like Saber's stomach was a bottomless pit, so a little extra cash would help out a lot there.

Granted his extra work with the Association and Rin had earned him a fairly nice stash of money as well stored in several private multinational accounts, but he was trying to stay away from using that particular stash of money unless there was an emergency. In his case, one would qualify as either needing a new identity, place to stay, or living on the lamb from the Association. It was a small trick he had picked up from his father's notes, but needed if things after the war went to hell.

Because it was winter now, not many people paid him much attention as he walked through the city and over the main bridge of Fuyuki with the trench coat Sirius made him. Ever since things had been picking up in town, he had decided to begin wearing it whenever he had to go to work alone or stay out late. While it wouldn't do him much good against something along the lines of a Servant, it would at the very least increase the odds of him surviving an encounter with one. It wasn't like his casual black and blue clothing underneath it was going to help much. The shroud underneath that… maybe.

Reaching one of the main intersections on the residential part of town on the side of the river that he lived on, Shirou looked up the road that leads to the western houses. More specifically Rin's and Sakura's homes. He had no desire to fight against anyone to be honest, but unfortunately the odds of that happening weren't likely. Sakura had told him after class today that Zouken decided that now was the time to summon their servants, as if reading his mind across town and agreeing with him for once…

Still, Shirou's greatest time of magical power was virtually midnight on the dot, and he was supposed to summon his servant first, so he was in no rush to get to Sakura's place until a few hours later.

He sighed and rubbed his temple. All this excessive thinking was driving him nuts. He had to calm down if he wanted to get anything done. This was just like preparing for his apostle and designate hunts. Breathe in and out. Repeat. Clear your mind. Don't worry about the what if's. They will only get in the way. Just focus on the task. On what is confirmed, and what needs to be done. Let your nerves calm down as your body takes in the cool prana saturated air around you and…

Wait. Prana saturated air?

"You don't look so good onii-san." A young female voice laughed lightly from down the road, causing all mental functions in Shirou to stop at once. Her tone was light and playful like a fairy's, but there was the slightest hint of a predator's presence behind it as well. "You better summon it soon, or else you won't live that long looking like that." The owner laughed heartily, though with more of an edge this time.

Looking up the road and instinctively reinforcing his eyes, Shirou laid eyes on her. Eyes red as blood. Hair white as snow. A small body that belonged to maybe a thirteen year old at the latest, yet one without flaws. He watched as the girl skipped playfully down the street without much of a care in the world, dressed in a thick coat and hat that while appropriate for the cold weather this time of year, seemed out of place for this part of the world.

She was exactly as Kiritsugu's said she would be…

… Including the shrewd and confident look in her eyes as she looked down upon him.

"O-Onee-san?" Shirou's voice escaped his throat in disbelief. "Illya-onee-san… is that really you?"

The girl who had been nearly dancing on her feet with a knowing grin on her face suddenly stopped in place and looked at Shirou with a look of shock and incomprehension, as if she could not comprehend or believe the words that her step brother had just uttered. "What… did you just call me?"

Had Shirou paid more attention, he would have noticed that something was wrong about Illya's reaction to the way he addressed her. Had Shirou paid more attention, he would have noticed the girl's sudden flux of prana. Had he paid more attention, he would have noticed the small but extremely potent spike of something horrifically dangerous and deadly coming from the direction of the girl…

"Onee-san… you're really here. You look exactly like dad said you would." Shirou continued on, too happy to finally see his sister to notice that something was wrong, or that Illya seemed to have twitched somewhat violently when Kiritsugu was mentioned.

The woman in a girl's body looked at him with uncertainty and fear, slowly raising her hands up in front of her in a gesture that indicated that she was on the defensive, though there was a small fire that began to burn in her eyes. "H-how? How do you know my name? How do you know who I am? This isn't right. You're not supposed to know who I am. They said you didn't…"

"Dad told me." The younger sibling replied gently, not knowing he was adding fuel to the fire. "He never forgot about you nee-san."

"But he never came for me…" The girl whispered, her hands slowly clenching into fists.

"He told me so much about you and how much you meant to him." The Faker continued.

"… But he betrayed mama and me…" Illya muttered to herself in a half growl.

"There's so much I have to tell you, about the war, about the grail, about Kiri-"

"How dare you!" Illya cut him off with venom in her voice, surprising the taller sibling. "How dare you bring up that man in front of me? How dare you call me your sibling when you have not done anything to earn such a right, leaving me abandoned in that place without even attempting to come into contact with me? You even denied my existence when you were in the Clocktower!" She glared at him with utter hate and loathing that was only matched by Louvre.

Illya's rant snapped the Magus Killer out of his joy and made him realize that his sudden family reunion was going south fast. "Dad DID try to save you multiple times from the Einsberns, but the wounds from the war prevented him from getting to you!" He argued. "Please believe me! Even though he tried to hide it, I could tell that he cared about you far more than he did about me! I had to hide the fact that I knew of you or else the Einsbern's would have…"

"Lies!" The homunculus shrieked hysterically while grabbing her head frantically with tears going down her face. "He never came for me! You never came for me! I was abandoned to be another sacrifice for this war like my mother was! I won't trust myself to anyone this time like she did! I won't be thrown away again!"

"Illya! Please listen…" Shirou tried to argue with his sibling, but to no avail. The girl's life had been nothing but pain and experimentation ever since word of Kiritsugu's betrayal had reached the Einsberns. In addition to constantly having her body altered, she had been fed lies that she had been abandoned. That Kiritsugu had forgotten her for her new brother. That her new brother was now upholding her father's legacy in her place. That her new brother had no desire to learn of her existence or believed that she did in fact exist. For ten years the lies and facts had piled onto one another into a foundation that had made up the girl's mindset and life… a very delicate mindset.

With Shirou's initial admittance that he knew Illya right off the bat, he had already destabilized that fragile mind, and his attempts to calm her down only made things worse. Things had indeed been shaken loose, but the sudden shock to the girl's view on the world had been too much for her to try and pick up the pieces to try and make sense of it all. She was now questioning what was true and what was lie, and in the chaos that was her mind right now, it was all but impossible to do. As a result her basic instincts took over and caused her to violently lash out at the source of the inconsistencies…

And while she herself could not do much to stop the offender from making things worse, she had something that could…

"BERSERKER! KILL HIM!"

o. o. o.

Bazett turned her head as she suddenly sensed a massive source of prana appear nearby.

"Oi." Lancer spoke up, still in spiritual form.

"I know." The woman frowned as she made way to the source. "Berserker."

o. o. o.

"Master, we have a source." The Princess frowned as she and her allies sat around a rather large crystal ball, which seemed to be displaying a picture that was gradually clarifying by the second. "… Odd." She muttered.

"What is it?" Marjatta asked. "Is something wrong with the signal?"

"Of course not master." The Witch smirked. "It is only that there is only one servant fighting… meaning that they are probably going to feast again…" Her smirk fell as the globe's image clarified even more to reveal the large frame of a massive man with muscles made of stone and horrifically dark skin. "… No… no it couldn't be him…"

"H-Heracles…" The Princess whispered with a pale white face as the black giant roared incomprehensively with enough blind rage to send shivers down all of their spines. "Out of all the servants and classes possible… Heracles was summoned as Berserker?" A massive feeling of dread was felt by all in the room as they realized just how outgunned they were, even if they were teamed up.

Both Casters in particular felt dread and some remorse, as the Argonaut was one of the few legendary figures in history that had stood up for their original self when they were alive. As such the giant man was one of the few individuals that "Medea" actually liked… though she did fear his power as much as the next individual who had witnessed the demigod's wrath up close and lived to tell the tale.

"Who on earth is the unfortunate fool that is his target?" Luvia whispered as the globe's view of the scene panned out slowly to give them all a better view of the situation… only to show…

"Emiya?"

o. o. o.

Death.

That was the only sensation that Shirou could confidently determine was emanating from the monster in front of him. As much as he wanted to address his sufficiently hysterical sister right now, all of his senses and attention had been ripped from what they were focused on in an instant to address the giant in front of him. Everything else was insignificant.

Just by merely standing there, the beast with a human like appearance made Shirou certain that he was going to die. No previous experience he had had in life could even come close to this monster's glare upon him. Louvre? Hah! That fool was nothing compared to this embodiment of destruction that was just about to come at him with that THING that was more like a giant stone club with an edge than a sword. How anyone could perform a technique as complex as the one it had in its history he would never know…

"▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

The monster bellowed like some kind of human monstrous beast hybrid at a volume that would have made Shirou wonder how people would ignore such a thing if he wasn't too preoccupied with the pain in his ears from listening to such a call.

He could not win. Shirou Emiya did not stand a chance in hell against such a monster. If he fought he would die. If he ran away he would die. If he stood where he was he would die. There was only one thing he could do in a situation like this and that was to try to live by any means necessary…

Thump!

The beast's foot slammed down upon the asphalt of the street, launching it forward at its prey that its master had commanded him to kill. Indeed, the monster was more of a dog now than a human with its mad enhancement robbing him of any higher thought process it had in exchange for a massive boost to his already legendary physical strength. In less than three seconds he had already crossed the hundred feet that was between the two parties, and in a fraction of one his weapon swung down and…

"RHO AIAS!" The target roared defiantly and conjured up a seven petal bounded field in between the two forces, defending the smaller male just in time and repelling the giant almost violently back to the halfway point.

"What are you doing!?" Illya yelled, more angry then she was confused as to how on earth a normal human magus could create something that could force the strongest heroic spirit to ever exist back. "Kill him!"

Shirou panted heavily as he regained his bearings. He had almost not been able to project the shield in time due to his initial shock of being in Berserker's presence… a rookie mistake and he had almost died already because of it.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

Berserker charged at his shield again and this time hammered on it hard with one arm, his altered mind preventing him from trying to go around the shield and urged him forward through it like it could virtually everything else. The impact of the unstoppable force and the unmovable object was deafening as the resulting shockwave broke some of the nearby fences to the homes next to their fight to the death.

Shirou could already see some thick cracks on the first petal of his shield. Cracks that would only grow significantly in the next few blows.

He had no choice, he had to use his other shield as soon as possible if he wanted to get out of this.

"My body is made of blades." The Emiya grunted as Berserker hammered upon his shield relentlessly like a raging insane lumberjack and broke the first petal within seven more strikes that lasted less than a fraction of a second each. He felt the shield's resonate with his body as several of his muscles spasmed under the damage. His chest was growing warmer by the second as he risked a glance at the near hysterical Illya who was still calling for his death. "Process select. Model identified. Sequence start."

Eleven models made. Ideally he needed at least fifty in order to hold back the giant efficiently…

Another petal shattered under Berserker's chaotic assault. He was fairly certain that a couple of his bones were now at the very least bruised by this point. Twenty three copies fabricated and loaded.

A third and fourth petal broke not even ten seconds later. Forty nine models made. He wasn't sure if the pain in his heart was from his shield or from his crest searing into his body.

The fifth petal broke, nearly shattering Shirou's ability to stand as his tendons in almost all his limbs began to snap. He would most likely have to rely on reinforcing his body to move after this, however this would be the last barrier to be sacrificed in the preparation.

"I've had enough of you…" The Magus Killer growled irritably before thrusting out his barrier at the unsuspecting servant and forcing him back before dispelling his shield. While using Rho Aias, the user was forced to stay in place, however it did not prevent him from moving the shield as he wished.

"Synchronous fire set. Trace…" The younger sibling raised his right arm at Berserker, who had rebounded almost instantly at its target.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

Berserker howled, not pleased or happy, but… content that the annoying red and gold wall that had prevented it from killing its target was gone. Just an instant more and the fool that caused its master such pain would be nothing more than a red splatter on the…

"… Null."

In an instant over seventy swords materialized around the raging giant in a dome like fashion. Beyond all known logic that stated that such tiny weapons should not be capable of holding back such a monstrosity that was Berserker, the blades did just that with ease.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

The strongest servant yelled in frustration and rage as he stepped back from the wall of swords that, while not even scratching him somehow prevented him from achieving his goal which stood not even a few meters away from him. Roaring angrily, Heracles swung his massive axe club onto the barrier, intent on breaking it like anything else would under his mighty strength…

… However the swords remained in place. Granted the shockwave produced by the blow was still violent enough to throw the target away a good dozen or so meters, but despite his display of near apocalyptic power, the servant had yet to be freed.

"Wh…what?" Illya stared in shock at the abnormality that was in front of her, not even paying attention to the coughing and slowly recovering teen that had been until just moments before the target of all her rage and animosity. "How on earth… could you stop Berserker so many times?"

Such a concept was unimaginable in her mind. Berserker was the strongest. There was nothing that a mere human magus could produce that could stand against a single swing of the giant's club. It simply just wasn't possible…

And yet… and yet this sickening boy that had claimed her father for his own had done just that not once, but twice!

Her gaze turned from the almost imaginary sight of her servant being stuck in a trap to her hated target, only to momentarily flinch as she made eye contact with him. "What are you?"

Picking himself up from the ground and coughing up a large amount of blood, the teen glared at his sister with a face that was completely different from before. Gone was the teen that was happy at the sight of his sibling. Gone was the boy that was concerned for her welfare. In front of her was none of those things, but a man that had killed. One that had willingly stepped into the throws of death and done things that would crush other people.

There was no doubt in his eyes. No fear. No hesitation. No regrets.

"I am your brother."

The cage that entrapped Berserker consisted of common swords that Shirou frequently used when he didn't need a specific task to be done. They were cheap to make, easy to project, and simple in design, hence they were easy to adjust inside Unlimited Blade Works…

… Such as when he needed to remove the conceptual progression of time from them.

An object with no concept of fire could not burn. An object with no concept of water could not get wet. An object with no sense of light could not see colors.

So it was only logical that an object without a concept of time could not change. It could not grow older and accumulate history. It could not develop. It could not move. It could not grow more powerful. It could not be fixed…

… and it could not break.

Not physically at least. Unable to understand the concept of progression, for good or for bad, the projected weapons were permanent fixtures of reality and would remain so until the maker either dispelled them, or until a magical existence of some sort disrupted the magic that held them up in the first place. Gaia itself could not dispel them due to the fact that it could only chip away at the irregularity of a well made projection's existence gradually over time. Without "time" to give it an opening into the structure of the object, they were more or less untouched... or they at the very least degenerated at a "rate" that was outside of human comprehension.

Shirou had spent years perfecting the conceptual removal of time manufacturing process inside his reality marble with this exact use in mind. He had hit a slight snag along the way when he first attempted to project one of his products. Apparently if he wasn't careful, the items made would be isolated from Gaia's sense of time as well, causing the sword to truly stay in place in the universe while the planet moved, causing Shirou to accidentally cut his arm off when he moved past the blade at the speed of the planet traveling around the sun while spinning on its axis.

Hence the need for projecting objects in the G.E.O. coordinate system so that the weapons were established as a part of Gaia's system and stick with the moving of the planet. It wasn't until years later when he became a member of the Association that he managed to solve this issue.

The timeless blades were Shirou's personal major achievement of being a magus. He had been guided by his father and Sirius when it came to his original projecting methods through his father's dreams, and after that Waver and Sirius had aided in his general magical education, but the timeless weapons were his personal achievement that he had made by himself. While he didn't consider himself a real magus, he felt that if anything this spell was the sole landmark that he could say was his own. In fact, this had been the first concept that Shirou or Sirius had managed to truly remove from an object while they had originally been studying the process in the first place.

Permanent Projections.

Swords that would not move or break regardless of what was thrown at them physically, their existence anchored to reality through the very laws of Gaia itself. An atom bomb. A hurricane. An avalanche. Nothing as simple as those could possibly affect weapons of this make.

Only an act of god or something that surpassed the might of Gaia would be able to break them through pure physical means…

Crunch…

Or… apparently… an act of a being with an A ranked Divinity and A plus ranked strength.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

"Impossible…" Shirou whispered in disbelief as he watched Berserker hammer on his previously assumed unchangeable weapons relentlessly and, against the laws of physics and thaumaturgy itself, slowly break his way through.

"Don't stop!" Illya commanded, realizing that she wasn't defeated yet. "Kill him!"

Realizing that he had only a few more seconds to save himself, Shirou frantically resorted to the only other method he could think of to stay within speaking range of Illya without leaving himself completely helpless. It was a tactic he had developed almost a year earlier and had served him well during one of his apostle hunts.

Wordlessly he pulled out the largest weapon he had in his Reality Marble. It was a massive, but otherwise simple, two sided broad sword with a leaf shaped blade the length of Berserker's club and twice as wide, hovering parallel to the earth nearly a foot off the ground. While not really useable as a weapon or as a projectile, it instead was used as a mobile floating platform for Shirou which is why he had asked Sirius to make it for him in the first place.

Ignoring the screaming protests from his body from Rho Aias' backlash and being thrown back by Berserker's interrupted blow, the Magus Killer jumped onto the weapon and instantly willed its "position with respect to Gaia" to change to rapidly increase its altitude. The teen knew that if he overdid the height or the speed, he would be severely crippled by the sudden change of pressure, suffering from the "bends" as many aviators or scuba divers liked to call it, however being disoriented was significantly preferable to being killed violently by a giant stone axe sword.

Higher. Higher. Higher.

He rose through the sky with tremendous speed. He could not consider what he was doing flying. Flying was the action of keeping off of the ground. A process. What he was doing was merely adjusting the position of where he was and keeping the object he was on a constant in Gaia's realm. His changing in location was merely applying a velocity to the constant that was the sword he had made. Using his projection in this method came at a higher mana cost, and required more concentration to use, however the benefits of higher ground were at times nearly infinite depending on the adversary it was utilized against. As such he was moving higher and higher.

He did not notice that his lungs were not taking in enough air. They were already having trouble with that due to the wounds he had suffered. He did not notice the damage his body had undertaken since Berserker was still there. He did not notice the danger he was in… since Illya still did not know how little she truly knew of the war…

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

With a final earth shattering swing, the black giant broke through the unchanging phenomena that its prey had erected around it. Wasting no time, the servant charged forward, hunched down, and then launched itself up into the air at the rising boy at speeds that would kill a normal human being.

"Shit." The Emiya swore as he saw the servant rapidly approaching him at a velocity that nearly shattered the sound barrier. He had put enough distance between the two that he had thought that he might have been out of reach… however he had once again ignorantly forgotten about how little Berserker's existence seemed to care for the laws of rationality and physics. As it stood, Shirou would only have a few more seconds before he was caught unless he did something quick… and only one thing came to mind.

"Time Alter." He grimaced, preparing his already battered body for the strain that was about to hit him. "Triple Accel."

How he managed to stay on all fours and not black out or break his limbs as his platform rocketed towards the sky at over eleven G's of force he would never know, but that was exactly what had happened. The moment his spell took hold, Shirou's entire being felt like it was being crushed and his vision momentarily went white from the strain. Breathing was a luxury as the sudden unwanted pressure on his body forced his brain to focus on ensuring his vitals could still function properly in its new environment, even AFTER he had reinforced his body beforehand.

Instantly tripling the speed he had been moving before, Shirou literally just BARELY managed to get himself out of Berserker's reach before gravity finally took over and pulled the mad servant back down to earth.

Feeling the ever present killing intent slowly weaken, Shirou instantly let go of his time enhancing spell and unsurprisingly felt weightless as his projection shattered under the corrective forces of Gaia, catapulting him straight up nearly six hundred feet in the air. Still in some control over his actions however, the teen managed to produce another one of his platform like blades right underneath him just as he hit the apex of his flight, allowing him to collapse right on top of it and cough up an unhealthy amount of blood.

Back on the ground, Illya stared in disbelief as her adopted brother hovered above her, having escaped her seemingly undefeatable servant.

Impossible.

There was no other way to describe what had just happened but that. A mere human teen had managed to hold off her Berserker twice and escape his reach. Not completely unharmed mind you, but ALIVE. That alone should be unimaginable. Only a small handful of humans were even capable of putting up a fight against a normal servant, let alone hold one off… and her servant was anything BUT normal…

A sudden thought spawned itself in Illya's mind. Was this what Kiritsugu saw when he first laid eyes on Shirou? Was this the reason why he abandoned her? Did he leave her because she was too weak?

She glared up. Her target was too far to reach by normal means now. Sure she could use one of her command seals to force Berserker to reach him and be done with it, but it would be too much of a waste. Not only that, but the reports on his abilities said that he was horrifically dangerous with projectile magic and with a bow and arrow. As much as she loathed to admit it, as of right now, her brother had her in a stalemate. The moment Berserker would move to attack his target, the teen could bombard her area with weapons and most likely move out of the servant's way. In short, if she separated herself from Berserker, she was instantly defenseless, something she vowed to never be again.

As much as Illya did not want to do so, retreating was the smartest thing she could do now. She would have other times to kill her brother… and she needed time to think about what he had said anyways…

"Berserker." She snapped angrily at her servant before turning around. "Come. We're leaving."

Ignoring the growls from her insane familiar, the girl began to walk away…

SHINK.

Much to her surprise, a pitch black sword with yellowish brown veins and blood red edges embedded itself into the ground a few meters in front of her.

"O… Onee-san!" Shirou's voice rasped out from far overhead. "You may not… believe me now… but at least listen to this! Take that sword! Find the connection… between it and… Fuyuki Memorial Park… and then come to me! Once you do… I will tell you the truth! I will tell you why… Dad threw away the grail!"

The girl with snow white hair resisted the urge to turn around to look at her brother… and instead focused wearily at the weapon in front of her. Something about it seemed familiar… yet at the same time she could tell that it was heavily cursed. The weapon was dangerous and yet… for some reason she couldn't help but employ the urge to humor her stupid younger brother's wishes… for now at least. He had made her curious…

"Berserker. Take it." The girl commanded stiffly and watched her servant follow her order, though she made a mental note of when the giant actually seemed to hesitate touching the weapon for a moment before grabbing the grip. To her knowledge, she had never seen the insane man hesitate in anything after she had robbed him of his mind for the pain he inflicted on her body by merely existing.

Not bothering with looking back, the daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya walked away with her legendary protector, not at all in the mood to deal with anything else for the night…

o. o. o.

The Edelfelts and their servants watched their scrying sphere silently as the black giant walked away from their prey, each one processing what they had just learned and all coming to the same conclusion…

They would need help if they were to overcome Berserker and survive the war. Shirou Emiya was no longer the current priority.

o. o. o.

"Archer. Is something wrong?" Rin asked warily as they stood on top of the tallest building in the commercial district of Fuyuki.

The red and black knight frowned as he looked across the river at something so distant that even he wasn't sure if he was seeing things right. "I'm not sure." He replied honestly. "It may have been a servant battle, but we're too far for me to tell."

o. o. o.

Lancer chuckled amused on the rooftop of a medium sized inn as he watched Shirou slowly lower himself back to the ground after Berserker and his master left. "I gotta admit master. Your student definitely has some decent skills to hold off Berserker like that. When I first saw that brat sic Berserker on him, I could have sworn that kid would end up a red smear on the road in three seconds flat."

Bazett grit her teeth angrily as she glared at her servant. "You are not the only one… and if we were allowed to help him out, he wouldn't have been left in such a bad situation in the first place." Her eyes shot over to her other side where the person who prevented her from helping Shirou out sat casually.

"Please don't look at me like that. He's still alive and in one piece isn't he?" Merem Solomon smiled innocently. "You have to admit, things are turning out much more interestingly than you originally thought, aren't they?"

o. o. o.

A/N:

Let the Games Begin.

Once again, Thank you Maximorph1 for betaing.

Sorry for the larger than normal length. I just wanted to get to the damn war part done and over with before I could go back to the smaller chapter pace again.

Ok. Let me just say this. I just had my first full two day weekend in almost half a year, and in it, I wrote practically half this chapter. Dear. Fucking. GOD. I missed these. The ability to rest a full day and then have a full day to yourself while being fully rested is indescribable. I will not lie… I almost cried due to how good it felt to me.

So we are finally at the war people and trust me things are only going to get more chaotic from here. More than half of the servants are summoned. Shirou's already nearly been killed once, (heheh, I laugh because we all know he's going to be pretty much everyone's rag doll at some point in this), a few chekhov's guns have been fired, WAY more are going to be set off in the oncoming chapters, Illya's gone nuts, EMIYA was summoned, and Merem is going to play the role as the neutral troll in the war.

On the subject of EMIYA though, I know that people are going to complain that "he's not a part of this timeline, he shouldn't be able to be summoned". In most cases, I would agree with you, however I will use the following as my excuses. First, Rin used both the Shroud of Martin (complete with traces of Shirou's blood and sweat), and her father's amulet as the catalysts for the summoning, even though she didn't know the latter was a factor. EMIYA has both of those objects all of his life.

The other part of my argument is a bit more flakey, but here it goes. There is more than one dimension in the universe, parallel worlds… Kaleidoscope. The thing is, technically, any person that has ever existed on the face of the planet has the potential in at least one world to become a heroic spirit, which would then be stored in the Throne of Heroes and kept outside the bounds of standard time and space. That being the case, why aren't they summoned, or why couldn't say, a dark version of Arturia be summoned when Avalon was used as a catalyst?

My answer is rather simple, the grail sends out, if there is no other influence, the most standard copy of that individual possible within the Throne of Heroes. For Shirou Emiya, of which there could be possible versions of a heroic spirit, EMIYA was summoned due to the grail recognizing him as the most standardized and recognized version of the future heroic spirit Shirou Emiya.

Now having EMIYA as Archer in a war with his memories is one thing, having him in the war with his memories and people actually recognizing him… well… you'll see.

Hold onto your hats boys and girls. The show is only just starting.

So onto less interesting things. I got nothing really to go on about. No new fanart. The TV tropes page hasn't been revamped in a while. Just… meh.

Just a note though, a personal goal for now is to reach 2k reviews by ch. 25.

So… REVIEW! WORSHIP THE LOG! SOMEONE KEEP A COUNT OF HOW MANY TIMES SHIROU WILL GET PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY TRASHED! AND REVIEW AGAIN!