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.

31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Contortion

I do not own Fate/Stay Night and stuffs:

o. o. o.

"Something interesting occur?" Kirei asked with a hint of curiosity as he opened the door to the wine room where he found Gilgamesh drinking some of the stored contents. "You are not normally out this late. I hope you did not do anything excessive."

"I suppose you could say that my day has been rather informative," Gilgamesh replied, his ever present smug grin on his face reflected back from his crimson drink. "I learned of a good deal of things. Some irrelevant. Some surprisingly worth noting."

"Oh? That is a rarity." The priest expressed some disbelief at that as he sat down and served himself a very small glass of wine. The Servant in front of him was extremely difficult to appease most of the time, especially in this world. He didn't bother to inquire the prideful Servant of the information, as doing so could be seen as an insult. Still, for anything to catch Gilgamesh's attention was a rarity and as such probably meant it would cause a huge stir in the future.

The Servant let out an amused snort and looked at him as if he knew something rather amusing at the expense of his partner. "Indeed. In fact I have not been this curious since our last excursion ten years ago. It is a rather pleasant delight considering how boring this world is. A breath of fresh air in a sense."

"I see. So that is why you have decided to have some of the nicer wine tonight," The priest mused as he swirled the fluid in his cup. To be honest he had yet to come across anything truly monumental or particularly interesting in the war save for maybe Emiya's son participating and plotting. True, there had been some abuse of the Servant summoning procedure on several counts, but nothing that he had considered out of the ordinary given the nature of the war. None of the Servants had died yet even though several fights had occurred, and he was still waiting for Shirou to enact whatever little scheme the young Emiya had planned for the war in particular. To be honest, he was quite curious as to what the boy could do to force his hand to help with his schemes.

The blonde man chuckled. "Come now Kirei. Do not lose faith just yet. In fact this war may prove to have a good deal of potential to be a grand source of entertainment. So much so that I have tried my own hand at spawning a small piece myself."

"What?" That had Kirei's full attention, forcing him to look up and narrow his eyes at the King. "You mean to say that you revealed yourself to the participants? This early?"

"Come now. You know me better than that, Kirei." Gilgamesh drank without a care. "My existence has not been revealed in the slightest." It had merely been confirmed. "No fun would come out of a story where the cast is aware of the audience. I merely gave a few of the plebeians a direction to look and am now standing back to watch my fruit grow."

The priest frowned but said nothing. It would not end well if he critiqued the one in front of him, and if that was the true extent of the King's actions that day he supposed that it would be inconsequential to the end result of the war… or it might affect everything. Regardless it would not matter. The Servant in front of him was capable of fighting all of the other contestants in this war at once and come out on top. That was just how overwhelming his power was.

"I am eager to see how it turns out," he finally stated. "However, for the time being please keep your actions to within the Church. It would be quite troublesome for me if the others established a relationship between us."

"I suppose. The knowledge would disrupt the play should it be known by the cast." Gilgamesh's sigh sounded as if he was making a minor sacrifice on his part that he only vaguely did not want. "I hope you will compensate me for this, Kirei."

The human didn't so much as flinch. Normally when his partner said something along those lines, he had to shell out a good deal of money for one or several bottles of particularly expensive and rare alcohol. He had long since given up on collecting the drinks as the high maintenance King seemed to down the stuff like water.

Thankfully the Church's funding was more than enough to obtain a few bottles of tithe.

"I will see what I can find," the holy man conceded without any hesitation before holding out his cup. "Well then. I suppose a toast is in order. To the King's show."

"Humph. Indeed." The light sound of two golden cups was heard only by them. "Although I suspect that you will enjoy it far more than I this time around, Kirei. Be honored."

o. o. o.

She felt as if she was suffocating.

She didn't know how or why, but even though she was above ground she could not breathe. Air filled her lungs but there was nowhere near enough oxygen to circulate properly.

Oddly enough the world around her was in a blood red hue, as if she and the rest of the world was under a dyed sea where hundreds of fresh corpses had recently been disposed into.

It hurts.

It huts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts…

Hungry.

Yes. On top of struggling to breathe, she was starving as well. Her hunger hurt her as much as her inability to breathe adequately. The combined strain in her chest with the crushing pressure in her stomach was maddening.

And yet there was also a pressure off of her chest as well. She had admitted her love to Shirou. She had made love to him on multiple occasions, however it was the first time she had said it outright. That night had been exhausting on so many levels, but it filled her in a way that she had forgotten since she had been adopted into that loathsome family.

… He didn't return her feelings that night, at least not verbally. He had been too worried about her condition and the situation at hand to probably notice it when they were talking. However she didn't need it. That night he had been more into their session than any of their others. He held her tighter. He kissed her rougher. There was more energy in him… granted just moments before it had been her energy, but that didn't matter.

She didn't need for him to say it. She already knew that he loved her even if he didn't normally act like it. The tainted girl loved the broken boy and he loved her, and that was enough for her to ignore her pain for now.

So she danced and hummed in the crushing pressure that befell the commercial district of Fuyuki, unable to breathe correctly and starving to the point of being crippled.

It did not take long for her to tell that something was wrong. The pressure and hunger was painful enough, but she could not shake the more distinct feeling that something was clearly off.

This dream was unusually lucid. The sensations she was experiencing were too distinct, and underlying them she was recalling something else. Something familiar. Something that she normally was able to control…

She saw some things moving in the distance. A couple of figures were walking down the street towards her.

Without bothering to think about the situation, she swayed some more while moving into one of the nearby alleyways that littered the city. The one she entered in particular she believed went on for a while before it came close to a remotely active road, especially this late at night.

Night? Ah. Yes, it was nighttime. She paused to look up at the sky and saw the moon in the distance, tainted red from the crimson water that had flooded her world.

"Ah… beautiful…" She whispered. Even altered the nearly full moon had an unearthly presence to it that she had never noticed till now.

She remembered occasionally seeing Shirou staring up at the moon on occasion absently after the incident with Louvre… after he himself became tainted. It made sense now that his connection to the satellite was the cause for it, but even so this was probably the first time she wondered what he had experienced when looking at it. She didn't feel any personal relationship to it like Shirou probably did, but she was aware of its unparalleled significance now.

It was akin to looking at an impressive statue as an artist when the statue itself was in tribute to something irreplaceable to the locals. Both parties admired it, but for significantly different reasons.

Just looking and losing herself to the image in front of her was enough to further lessen the pain that still assaulted her existence in this twisted world.

Perhaps she could do this with Shirou next time. Just dance without a care and look at the beautiful moon in the sky…

She was broken out of her musing when something grabbed her shoulder and spun her around roughly.

"Oi- are y- girl? Do- na have so- un?"

She frowned at the thing in front of her. How dare it interrupt her enjoyment of the moon? Of her furthering her connection with the one she loved more than anything else on the planet?

Reaching out to the thing in front of her, she decided to make it go away so that she could go back to her previous activity. As fast as the eyes could follow, black and red fabrics shot out and skewered the man in front of her, spraying blood everywhere, covering both her and the man's paralyzed comrade.

"Wh…at?" She blinked in confusion as she looked at the extended appendage. She knew what this was, but why was it here? She didn't go through the normal procedures to make them, no, she didn't even notice their existences in the first place.

Had she not been surprised, she would have noticed that the hunger that assaulted her had abated just by a tiny margin.

"Wh-! Monster! T- Fuck! H-!" The other person screamed as he fell backwards in fear. The smell of urine met her nose, adding to the list of more than unpleasant sensations she was already experiencing.

Unfortunately for him, simply attracting her attention in her current state was a self imposed death sentence as a small wave of black erupted from the shadows around her and caused his body to disappear from the world.

Realizing that something was wrong with this dream, Sakura shakily looked around at her surroundings and herself, seeing that she had far more control over what she was doing than she should be. Her hands came into view, bloodless, but shaking as much as she felt her body was at the moment.

It was then that she noticed that the darkness that enveloped her was moving around. Her shadows were writhing dangerously in their natural environment almost like Zouken's worms, waiting for the nearest prey to enter their clutches and almost completely independent of her will if she wasn't paying attention to them.

Eat.

It really was impossible to breathe now.

Eat.

Her stomach was contorting so badly that she swore her organs were tearing apart.

Eat.

Her attention was drawn to the corpse that was still there. She didn't know why but the mere sight of it made her mouth water. This pile of flesh in front of her that used to be a person would be able to release at least some of the strain that was tearing her stomach apart.

Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat!

"No…" She stumbled back away from the corpse. The world was becoming more lucid and clear, however the pain would not abate in the slightest. "No… not now. Not when I'm so close…"

Despite moving back, the darkness around her continued traveled forward to the free meal, spurred on by their master's subconscious thoughts until they were right on top of the body.

In terror she watched as the darkness converged on the body. Deep down she knew if it continued, as she was right now, something in her would change.

Thump thump.

Shirou.

Thump thump.

If she continued with this, and Shirou found out…

Thump thump.

Shirou, who had been hiding even more than her, who was as twisted as she was, who had worked as hard as he could to control everything for her sake… how would he react to her turning to a thing that ate people without hesitation?

No… he would still love her as he would always do. It just was the way he was… but how would he be able to live and support someone who was straying even further from that which could be called human?

Thump thump.

She already knew. He would follow her without a second thought down the pit away from the safety of a comfortable life…

She could not allow that.

Thump thump.

No. I don't control much in my life, but this…

"NO!" She shouted, for the first time not talking to herself since the nightmare had begun, pushing through the pain and trauma to establish dominance. The worms in her body began to thrash around wildly as their host battled for dominance, but she paid them no mind. She had already killed two men in cold blood and done… something, to one of them.

Enough was enough.

"The mistress bears the transparent blade.

Her tears of blood give it color.

Neither sees the change.

Neither care about its taint."

The words came from her mouth with a combination of force and anger. The aria that she had never thought of before calmed her mind and claimed absolute control over the shadows. Her entire torso was tearing itself from the inside out, but it did not matter now.

"The blade has no equal.

It tethers her to life.

The mistress has no future.

She is tethered to the abyss.

Her reign has no definition as her land does not exist…"

Her shadows had all but halted, no longer following her subconscious desires and slowly retracting back to her. She could feel the hold of whatever had pushed her into this state losing its grip on her existence. If she could feel her body outside the pain, she might have felt her teeth grind to the point of causing her gums to bleed.

She could tell that she was not here. Not completely at least. She was still at Shirou's home sleeping and experiencing this unholy nightmare. All she needed was a little more control to get rid of her current "self" and return to the reality that she had enjoyed with all her heart.

"…Thus her rule is unquestioned."

Everything around her disappeared, enveloped in a sea of perpetual darkness. There was no light, no life, no conflict, no nothing…

And it never felt more right to her…

…

She was sitting up in her bed in the middle of the night. Her stomach was in pain but she felt more like throwing up than eating bodies. Her lungs sucked and expelled air rapidly, functioning properly for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. The world no longer had a crimson hue. There was no blood near her…

And yet the pain and stress was still echoing through her body.

"Sakura?" Rider materialized next to her. "Is something wrong?" The Servant was completely unprepared for the girl to reach forward and hug her waist tightly. Judging from her uneven breathing, she was on the verge of crying.

"… Just… just stay like this for a little bit Rider." Her original Master mumbled into her stomach.

Rider hesitated for a few seconds, clearly not comfortable with the close contact or the situation, before managing to relax and gently support the girl with her arms. "Alright."

The human's breathing began to steady slightly. "Don't tell Shirou. He's already working too much for me. There's no point in worrying him now."

"… If that is your wish."

"Thank you, Rider."

It would take the girl twenty minutes to get back to sleep again, her dreams filled with nothing but calm emptiness.

o. o. o.

Emiya Residence:

"SHIIIIIIRRRRROOOUUUUUU!" The familiar sound of Taiga bursting through the front door of the building was made known to all. "BREAAAAKFAAAASSSST!"

"Yes. Yes. I heard you Fuji-nee." The owner of the building replied from the kitchen, making eggs, toast, rice, sausages, and other quick pieces for the morning.

After his time with Sakura last night it had taken him some time to get back to sleep. Again he had dreamt of Rider's past, solidifying his suspicions that physical proximity had something to do with which Servant determined what he dreamed of next since Saber went out driving.

All in all though, he was quite certain that he never wanted to stab a god and goddess in the face as much as he did last night. Obviously the legends forgot to mention that Poseidon was a god that wouldn't take no for an answer, and Athena favored pride more than common sense.

"She must have had some coffee from home before coming over." Sakura sighed tiredly as she prepared the plates in the dining room. "She isn't this loud in the morning otherwise."

Shirou caster her a brief look, noting her lethargic demeanor and the small shadows under her eyes. "You okay? You said that you were good, but…"

"I just had some trouble sleeping. That's all." The Matou smiled weakly. "Don't worry. I'm in control of everything."

"Ohoooo?" The sole human adult in the building grinned as she approached the pair from behind. "Is there something that I should know about you two? You haven't done anything I wouldn't approve of, have you? You can tell Nee-san. Your secret's safe with me."

Shirou and Sakura looked at one another skeptically. Technically they HAD done what Taiga was jokingly insinuating, along with other surreal and potentially illegal activities, but they weren't going to tell her that…

"No, Sensei." Sakura smiled sincerely. "We were just talking about the secret war and conspiracies that we are currently involved in that may or may not involve our violent deaths in the near future."

… Or maybe they were.

"Oi! Sakura! Are you serious?" Shirou frowned in frustration.

"Sakura!" Taiga recoiled with a gasp. "Even if that was a joke it was too much! I thought we told you to hold back on the dark stuff this early in the morning!"

Refuge in Audacity. The nobles of the Association do not use this tactic when dealing with secrets, probably because they gave people the impression that they sucked at humor and imaginative sarcasm to pull it off believably. Other than them though, it was still very commonly used among everyone else involved in their world.

"Sorry, Sensei. It was a bit much. I guess I'm a bit more tired than I thought." The culprit admitted with perfectly displayed fake remorse. "I'll be more careful next time."

"Scary…" Shirou shivered at the girl's ability to get around sensitive situation. The more he saw it, the easier it was for him to believe that she was Rin's sister.

"Come to think of it, you do look a bit off-kilter." The teacher frowned as she got a better look at the girl. "Are you sick? You're a bit pasty."

"I'm just a bit tired. I'll take an aspirin or two before going to school for my headache." The Matou reassured the woman as she put the dishes on the table and sat herself down. She had made sure to keep enough hidden away in the kitchen for the Servants to have later when Taiga left and Saber got back. The King of Knights had yet to return from her biking excursion from last night. "That reminds me, do we still have school?"

"Surprisingly enough, yeah." The eldest human there instantly began to serve herself sizeable portions. "The guys at the temple are a bit freaked at the damage that's been done on their property with the fire, but so far the only thing being enforced has been the curfew. No one's targeted the school yet or anyone during the day so classes are still on. Clubs are out though, so there's no point in coming early for now."

"I see." Shirou mused as he brought the rest of the dishes to the table. "That's a relief. It's good to give everyone a sense of normalcy while the police deal with the situation."

Oddly enough Taiga snorted in disbelief. "Hah. Yeah right. Let me tell you something Shirou. Gramps has told me that the badges around town haven't been doing jack other than covering up everything these past few weeks, but even his moles on the inside don't have the slightest clue on what's going on. It's suspicious as hell if you ask me."

The students looked at one another skeptically. It wasn't like Taiga to have an interest in the town's chaos or bring up her illicit family activities. Actually, she normally put more faith in the local police than her family when it came to maintaining the peace. "Fuji-nee, is something wrong? You don't normally say things like this."

The adult pouted as she swallowed some of her food. "Well, what do you expect? People are passing out left and right all over the place, not to mention the fires that are starting to pop up, and nothing seems to be done about it by the people that are supposed to. Of course I'm a bit frustrated about the entire thing. At this rate one of my precious adorable students could be hurt soon."

Shirou didn't have the heart or lack of common sense to let his teacher know that at least half of the fires started recently were made BY said precious students, himself included.

"By the way…" The woman looked around curiously. "Where's that cute little friend of yours? Saber?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or in this case walk in through the front door.

"Shirou. Are you present?" The King of Knights asked hesitantly as she walked in through the main entrance of the room.

"I'm here with Sakura and Fuji-nee eating breakfast Saber." The only male there replied calmly from his seat. "Come on over and join us. Have you calmed down?"

Arturia walked in with a tired expression. Physically she was in top shape as she was a Servant and was always being supplied Prana from Shirou, but mentally she had no doubt been contemplating her conversation with her Master ever since she had left. "Yes."

"What the heck happened to you?" Taiga blinked owlishly as she began to eat once more. "You look worse than Sakura."

The King of Knights frowned momentarily and looked at the other Master present to assimilate the teacher's words before reigning in her features. "… Forgive me for my late appearance, however I required time to myself to contemplate certain decisions I have made in the past."

"And have you made any final conclusions?" Shirou asked with a hint of worry.

"No, however I have at least become more… comfortable, with seeing different perspectives on the subject." She sat herself down, again tending to avoid eye contact with her Master in shame. "Shirou, I must also apologize to you for my lack of judgment and care. Unfortunately I was so preoccupied in my thoughts that the Hayabusa ran out of gas without me knowing. I spent the last hour walking back to the house with it."

Shirou would have said something about how the gas was of no issue, but he couldn't as Taiga was busy spitting pre-chewed food into his face. It was quite impressive seeing as they were on opposite sides of the long end of the table. Her lungs apparently not only gave her loud volume but good distance as well.

"Ha-cough cough." The teacher gasped for breath before rapidly drinking down the water in front of her. "Ha-Hayabusa?! Shirou!? You actually let this tiny girl ride that monster?! What the hell were you THINKING?! Even YOU have trouble controlling that beast after it goes past a certain speed! And you were the one that tweaked it out and know it better than anyone else! I thought you were more responsible than that!"

Shirou couldn't really blame his sister figure for her reaction, save for maybe not aiming her projectiles in his direction. His bike really was a monster to control, and as skilled as Saber was, he had to admit that she was small enough that the initial image of her riding the bike was rather comical.

Still he could have done this without getting half a prechewed breakfast sprayed all over his face.

Thankfully, while he stalled for time by wiping his face clean of ground up eggs and rice, Saber took the initiative. "I understand your concern Fujimura-san; however, they are unwarranted. I am more than capable of managing the bike to its full capabilities. While I am not a skilled mechanic like Shirou is, you can consider my riding abilities to be of that level. Not once had I feared for my life during the times I was on it."

"TIMES?!" The adult stared at Saber's impassive face before turning to Shirou in disbelief. "As in plural?!"

"As funny as it sounds, she's telling the truth Nee-san." Shirou sighed before eating again. "I've seen it myself. She's better than anyone under your family's employment. Never seen anyone so natural on a bike before. I've managed to learn a few things from seeing her in action to tell you the truth."

Half truth, but still technically not a lie.

"She was one of the main reasons I managed to get out of the fire," Sakura added her two cents helpfully, shamefully looking away and embarrassed to great effect. "If she didn't get there when she did…"

"Urk." Sakura's contribution to the argument seemed to pierce through Taiga's defenses and forced the woman back with a flinch. A quick asking glance at Shirou and Saber followed by a pair of shallow nods was all that was needed to confirm the story. "B-but I thought that Shirou was the one that got her out."

"How do you think I got there with so little trouble?" Shirou continued to eat casually, again utilizing some play on words. After all, if Saber wasn't there, Rider probably would have been killed and he would have had to deal with both Casters at the same time.

Groaning in frustration, the teacher glared at the Servant. "Are you some sort of illegal underage street racing prodigy or something?"

Saber couldn't help but recall her fights against the previous Rider and the two current Casters. "Nothing of the sort. I merely happen to be skilled when it comes to utilizing vehicles of all types. The Hayabusa, while it is an exceptional piece of machinery, is not beyond my ability to control." She began to serve herself some more food. "And once again, I must restate that I am older than I appear."

"But… but…" The teacher looked around at everyone in the room nervously only to see that she was not going to win this one and sagged her shoulders in defeat. "Fine. I'll ignore it for now. Just please don't let anyone see you on that thing. A bunch of gramp's men would go nuts if they saw someone other than Shirou riding it."

Shirou nodded, silently patting himself on the back for putting on the rune sequences that make it easy for normal people nearby to ignore the bike as it ran. "Consider it done. I know I've only known her for a short amount of time, but I know I can trust Saber with at least this."

"Even if she forgot something as simple as remembering to refill the gas?" Taiga skeptically grumbled, her bad mood slowing down her eating rate to roughly a third of its normal pace.

The Emiya couldn't help but feel as if Rider, who was invisible and by the door, was secretly amused by the jab at the stronger Servant. At the very least he could tell that his original Servant was embarrassed by it given by the way she was looking away with the slightest hint of shame and embarrassment.

He couldn't blame her for that oversight. She was a bit stressed out when she left and he was the reason for her being in that state after all. Still it was a humbling experience for the former King. Forgetting to refill a bike was like forgetting to feed her horse back in her time. True the stable boys and squires were the ones responsible for feeding the animals, but any experienced knight would have been able to tell that the horse was hungry in the first place.

Plus, he wasn't sure if she had any money on her to get gas in the first place. He'd have to address that before he left. Perhaps Rider would want some as well if she felt the desire to get something for herself. "Yes. Even though she forgot to refill on gas."

"Can we talk about something else please?" Sakura interrupted. "Like going to school? We still have to get ready."

"Education and maintaining a sense of normalcy to the public are indeed important." Saber nodded sagely before narrowing her eyes at Shriou. "However, is it wise to go still? Given the current situation, it would be safer to remain at home."

The rest of the magically aware people in the room knew instantly of what she was talking about. Since Saber couldn't go to school and Rider was still recovering, it would put Shirou and Sakura in a poor position to defend themselves should they be attacked. With Rider in her current condition, she would only be able to hold off against the weakest of the enemy Servants by herself reliably.

"Mmm." Shirou confirmed as he finished the last of his second serving. "Like you said Saber, going to school is important. Our futures in the end depend on it after all."

Taiga blinked skeptically. "… Since when have you been so keen on your education?"

o. o. o.

Fuyuki High School:

Rin Tohsaka was not in a good mood.

That was the general idea that passed through any and everyone's mind the second they either saw or walked past her that morning. Oh sure she appeared to be the same as normal that Monday morning, with her perfect posture, kind smile, and proper vocabulary…

But the bags under her eyes, the thinly veiled insults, and most importantly the aura of pure irritation around her said otherwise to pretty much everyone.

EMIYA hovered above her silently, not at all bothering to inform his Master that her efforts to maintain her image were in vain given her classmate's reactions so far. He had no doubt that she had long since figured it out herself but would keep up with the charade regardless. It was a matter of pride for her.

Plus, he was technically the reason why she was in such a bad mood in the first place. If he bothered to say anything superfluous now he wasn't exactly sure how badly she would react at the moment.

Rin had not taken to learning of Saber's identity very well, and for good reason. There were a number of famous historical figures around the world, but exceptionally few of them were as recognized by the entire global population as King Arthur and his sword Excalibur. The fact that EMIYA had tried to withhold that info from her dealt a huge blow in her trust in him, not that he could blame her.

EMIYA had initially intended to either kill his younger self or Saber at the end without Rin's approval from a distance to win her the war if she still intended on going for it. Of course there was the whole tainted grail problem that needed to be dealt with first, but he was certain that his Master could have managed the issue in time. He didn't really care about this reality much as it wouldn't give him his desires, but he still didn't want to bring about the end of the world or kill more than what was needed.

… Well he might as well kill his alternate self here if given the chance. The kid obviously wasn't his past self, but it might do something regardless in the end if he was lucky.

Now though that was nearly impossible as his Master would be keeping him on a tighter leash and second guessing his every word and action. Not to mention that the differences from this world and the one he originated from was constantly catching him off guard and annoying him to no end.

The better prepared version of himself. Rin's knowledge of his magic and past. Assassin's different identity. Sakura's open relationship with everyone. Lancer's original master. Just when he thought he had figured it all out to start planning his own moves another change would show up that would throw everything out of whack…

A slight tingle at the back of his mind caused him to turned around to see Luvia's car stop in front of the school gates.

There was another change he wasn't too eager to see. He had met the Edelfelt in life yes, but after the war and when he was training in the Clocktower. He had nothing against the girl personally and had worked with her on a few occasions but…

… Well, he was unfortunately there when she and Rin blew up the dormitories in London and had absolutely no interest in reliving that experience in any way shape or form ever again.

What was of interest, though, was that the blonde girl from Europe did not seem to be having a good day either given the remarkably familiar aura she had around her.

"It seems you weren't the only one that had a rough weekend." The Servant mused out loud, knowing that his Master would at least want to know of the state of her personal arch nemesis that morning.

Rin had enough self control to not instantly make a scathing comment to her Servant as she turned around to see Luvia in just as bad of a mood as her. "And her Servant?"

Archer shrugged. "It appears to be in prime condition, but I am unsure about specifics."

The Tohsaka's eyes narrowed as she recalled what Sakura had told her about Luvia's servant the previous day. "Be on your guard regardless. So long as she has prana on hand Caster is a credible threat. Also keep an eye out in case Assassin is nearby as well. Four Masters go to this school during the day after all. It would be a prime target for him."

"Understood." Of all the Servants that were in the war, Assassin was the one that Archer wanted dealt with the most as soon as possible. At least with Berserker it was easy to tell how he was going to try and kill you and where it would come from. True, you had to kill the freak of nature and magic twelve different overkill times. However, unlike many of the other times he was summoned, the Counter Guardian actually had full access to his powers from the get go this time so he was sure he could pull it off so long as he didn't have to fight up close from the start.

Rin didn't wait to encounter the blonde as she continued on inside. She wasn't in the mood for their usual back and forth, and they'd have to deal with one another's presence all day regardless since they were in the same class. Shirou was in another class of the same year and Sakura was their underclassman so there was no chance of them talking to anyone until lunch.

A brief scanning around her classroom told her that no one had laid any traps of any sort inside, so the school idol decided to waste no time going to her desk, put down her books and sagged into her seat. Normally she was better at controlling herself when she was exhausted, but yesterday had been exceptionally trying and today would be no better. She didn't want to see anyone, let alone talk or think about them. That went double for Shirou at the moment given how much of a pain his future self was. But lo and behold she was going to the one place that pretty much everyone was going to be at once.

She should have forced Archer to make her coffee black this morning. It would have made her talk to him more than she wanted, but some sacrifices had to be made.

"Tohsaka," a haughty voice greeted her from behind her, much to her ire.

"Not in the mood this morning Edelfelt," the native stated in a monotone voice. "Can this wait till lunch?"

"Oh? You actually bothered to be productive this weekend? I'm surprised."

"So does that mean that you've dealt with your sister and that other Servant she's teamed up with yet?" Rin grumbled, not caring if anyone else heard her at the moment. Normally people did try to listen in on their conversations, but on a Monday morning people were either too busy trying to wake up or gossiping with their friends about what they did over the weekend. "Because in all honesty, the sooner Assassin is dealt with the better."

"Smooth Master. I thought that we weren't supposed to start fights during the daytime." Archer sighed and shook his head. He watched as Luvia stepped back in mild surprise and anger. This would not end well.

"How did… humph. Emiya must have told you no doubt. No matter. I have been occupied with other matters the past few days." The blonde attempted to regain her composure. "Things that have obviously slipped past your lazy eyes."

Rin frowned and turned around. "What the heck are you talking about Edelfelt? And since when did you start calling Shirou by his last name?"

Luvia leered at the native with a level of pure irritation that was new to the Tohsaka and was no doubt about to say something when people began to walk into the room. Class wasn't about to start yet, but it was about the time for more students to start walking in. As such it was no longer possible to talk about such sensitive information. That being the case, she instead turned to her seat. "Emiya's been holding out on everyone Tohsaka. I'd be careful of him if I were you."

Rin skeptically rose an eyebrow as the other girl walked away. "Care to tell me what that was about?"

EMIYA was at as much of a loss as his Master. "I'm honestly as confused as you are."

His master frowned seeing as her Servant left his answer open ended. "Let me rephrase this. Do you know what she was talking about? Yes or no?"

"No. Not in the slightest."

"Do you have any idea or guess as to what she could be referring to?"

"Considering the fact that she still has her Servant? No. I can confidently say without lying that I do not have any idea, hint, or clue that could point out what she is angry at my past self about."

"And your knowledge on Medea of Colchis?"

"I only remember that her witch variant was a tricky and shrewd Servant that undermined the rules more than she followed them. She did in fact take up residence at the temple and she wields powerful magic from the age of gods, and despite what others believe, I do think that she is Assassin's Master. I recall absolutely nothing on her other self and I definitely did not remember their joint attack on the Matou residence."

"And Assassin?"

"Nothing." His voice darkened to express his frustration. "Truth be told, it is as if I was expecting a different spirit protecting the temple."

"No mysterious sense of Déjà vu then?"

"I…" He paused. Archer didn't know why, but for some reason he DID feel as if he had met that Servant before, but he honestly could not tell where. The other changes in the war he had managed to reason with, understand, and connect the dots, but Assassin… he just didn't understand the connection there. "There is… but it's… misplaced. That's the best way I can explain it. I don't understand why myself."

"Wonderful. As always you've been a great help then." Rin's scathing comment was made just as the school bells rang. "Now be quiet will you? I'm going to have a hard enough time paying attention to class without you confusing me more than I already am."

EMIYA rolled his eyes. "Careful. You almost sounded like Shinji for a moment."

Rin paused. "Shinji? You mean Shinji Matou?"

The Servant blinked at his Master's sudden change of tone. "Sakura's brother? Blue hair? Decent looks for a teenage male? Womanizer? Can't open his mouth without saying something offensive? Yeah. Him. Come to think of it, he hasn't been at school since I was summoned…"

"Shirou… Shinji Matou has been dead for two years."

The Servant felt an ominous chill down his spine. "… What?"

Rin's anger abated and genuine concern started to fill her body. "Shinji Matou died two years ago after encountering the son of the Dead Apostle Ancestor Louvre and was turned into a Ghoul. You with me, Bazett MacRemitz and Sirius McGinty teamed up and killed him and his family in the following week. That's when you caught the eyes of the Clocktower. Don't you remember?"

"No… I don't." EMIYA was honestly stumped. Shinji was dead? For so long? But… how? As much as he disliked the worm for his actions which he had found out later in life, EMIYA had remembered that the idiot had served a purpose in giving Sakura prana through is actions. She NEEDED prana from an outside source in order to survive. If Shinji wasn't there anymore than who could have possibly…

It hit him like a ton of bricks.

It was obvious who had taken Shinji's place in this world. Shirou Emiya was already working with Sakura in the War and had supposedly already been close to her at the time. It would not take much to suspect that monster Zouken had already played some cards after the supposed vampire incident to guilt his other self into protecting her without informing him of what she really was. Shirou Emiya was a fool like that.

He could see more pieces falling together now. Instead of Shinji becoming Rider's substitute Master to reduce the strain on Sakura, Shirou served the role instead despite the drain that supplying two powerful Servants with prana would do. It would explain the near perpetual state of exhaustion he had seen the teen in since being summoned. It would also explain how the boy was so quick to Sakura's aid when she was attacked at her home…

The Shirou Emiya of this world was still a hopeless idiot as he had expected… however Edelfelt was right. He was far more capable and withholding secrets than his original former self.

The idiot was not at risk of possibly throwing his life away to save another's life. He was already doing it, albeit in a slightly smarter way.

"Archer? Is something wrong? Did you remember something?"

His Master's voice was worried now. Her earlier anger was gone as she felt his shock, frustration, and finally anger run through his being. He could not blame her. His memories had been a touchy subject since his summoning. She had assumed that after last night that they would be a bit more accurate or that he was purposefully holding out on her for some reason, but due to his slip up he had inadvertently reaffirmed to her that he still did not recall everything in life, or that his memories were mixed up. It was a mixed blessing in a way.

"… I believe what I recall is more uncertain that I had originally thought." He honestly replied with a grave tone. In the back of his head, he made a mental note to keep track of the third Servant that had made its way onto campus just a short while ago. "It would be best if we did not rely on them for the time being…"

"There's no telling what mistakes could be made on my misinformed judgment."

o. o. o.

"Edelfelt-san. Would you please come to my office for lunch? There is something I wish to speak to you about." Kuzuki's monotonous voice snapped Luvia from her bored daze as she struggled to stay awake for class.

History was important, but there was only so much a teenager could stand before they passed out no matter how violent or convoluted the topic was at the time. More so if said teenager was participating in a secret war during the night.

"Ugh. Sure, Sensei." The foreigner nodded half-heartedly as she grabbed her food and made way to the door. She barely noticed Rin giving her a curious look as she made her way out, but didn't bother to make any sign that she had noticed or respond. The Edelfelt didn't know why the teacher wanted her, but she wouldn't give the Tohsaka the luxury of that knowledge. She doubted it was of any importance anyways.

A few minutes later she had made it to the teacher's office area where all of their desks were located and organized… or not in one Taiga Fujimura's case. It wasn't peculiar to see the room nearly devoid of teachers during lunch time as many of them often had some sort of patrolling or supervising duty during this time, and the rest frequently went out for lunch whenever possible…

But this was the first time she had seen it so devoid of anyone save for the Teacher in question sitting at his desk… and Shirou Emiya sitting at a table nearby with his lunch out.

"Glad you made it here so quickly." The young assassin greeted her calmly but with a tinge to his voice indicating that he meant business.

Instantly on guard, Luvia scanned the room to see if there was any evidence of thaumaturgy that she might have missed only to come up blank. "Caster?"

"There is a subtle bounded field around the door to deter anyone from entering but other than that he has done nothing to this room. It appears he merely wishes to talk, though why the teacher is still here is beyond me. He is not magically attuned in the slightest and his mind has not been altered in any way… however…" The Princess replied in a dry tone. She obviously still did not trust Shirou for obvious reasons, but she would not lie to her Master.

"However?" Luvia frowned as she looked at the history teacher skeptically. The emotionless middle aged man had always unnerved her for some reason. Shirou and Issei seemed to get along with him for some reason, however she always had the chills when around him.

"He seems more… in tune with the world than a normal human of this era… or rather his breathing does. I have heard of this before although I have not encountered it until now. I believe you refer to it in this time as "Perfect Breathing"."

"And you didn't catch onto this earlier when we had class with him?" The blonde frowned skeptically as she slowly closed the door behind her and made her way to the table. While she was not familiar with the concept in detail, she had heard about people with "perfect" traits before and what they were capable with the right training. The fact that he was here only meant that Shirou had found and exploited this resource long ago from right underneath Rin's nose.

Yet another secret that the Emiya had been keeping from everyone.

"It is a subtle trait Master. Unless I was paying attention to him in particular, it would be easy to miss. Regardless, I would not underestimate this man. There must be a reason why he is still here with the boy."

Luvia did not miss the venom in Caster's voice when she talked about Shirou. There was no love lost between them and she herself was not far behind in that department. "I must admit Emiya, I did not expect our next meeting to take place here, or with such company."

"That simply means I've done this right then." Shirou replied in a factual tone as he took out his lunch. "For the moment, I have to request that you do not speak about sensitive topics while Sensei is in the room, or at least refer to them by name or directly. I will explain more once he leaves."

"And if I don't?" The teenage girl skeptically rose an eyebrow as she sat down at the table and looked at the impassive teacher sitting at his desk and watching them without even the slightest hint of emotion.

"Then you've ruined your best chance at getting her back and wasted one of the greatest resources you could possibly get your hands on." Shirou carelessly began to eat in front of her, not bothering to gauge her reaction. The time for soft handed diplomacy had long since passed between the two.

Luvia's flinched at Shirou's rather callous ultimatum should she not follow his rules. True, given the circumstances they were not that difficult to follow but regardless she was not used to being forced into a corner so hard and fast by someone she had once trusted. "Is… is that so? Please. Care to elaborate how this is the case?"

Shirou swallowed his mouthful of food before turning to the former assassin. "Sensei. Has what I warned you of come to pass?"

"Yes. I assume that you and Edelfelt-san are related to the incidents that have been occurring recently given from what I have gathered." The teacher passively confirmed. "The woman at the temple is an acquaintance of yours?"

The Emiya held up his hand to stop Luvia from talking. "Of sorts, however we will not talk about her." There was a warning in his voice that seemed to hint that doing so would lead to unpleasant things. "I need you to do something for us tonight."

"Will it lead to the end of events that have been surrounding the temple?" The teacher frowned momentarily. "The constant disturbances have been causing everyone living there no end of concern. It has been affecting Issei's classwork and studying habits."

"I see. I apologize for that; however, it is something that I had no control over." Shirou bowed his head in remorse for a second before returning to the topic. "I need you to see if there's any part of the temple that you are unable to access or get near. Don't investigate it, merely confirm its location."

"Is that all?" The teacher asked, not at all perturbed by the odd nature of the question.

"That's all?" Luvia asked, bewildered that she had been called over to oversee such a menial task.

Shirou shook his head, walked over to his teacher and took out a marker. "Sensei, hold out your hand with the watch on it. The ink that I'm going to put on your wrist reacts to certain… activity, and changes color depending on how much of it there is. It'll wear away after a day or two. Black means it's inert. Then it will work backwards down the prismatic color system starting with violet down to red. See how low you can get it but avoiding attention will be your biggest priority. It will also remind you of this favor in case you forget for some peculiar reason."

"I see." The teacher nodded as he looked at his wrist to see the black almost violet dot hiding conveniently behind his watch. It would be easy to conceal. "I have until this wears away at the latest. What is the preferred time frame?"

"By tomorrow if possible, but don't push yourself. A solid general location is just as good." Shirou nodded. "I'm sorry I can't explain more at the moment, Sensei, but I will in time. Thank you again for your help. Now I need to talk to Luvia about some things in private."

"I understand." Kuzuki evenly acknowledged before gathering his papers and walking silently out the door to the room, not at all bothered by the fact that Luvia had not talked to him since entering the room.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" The foreigner skeptically asked in a calm tone while Caster materialized next to her. She was irritated at Shirou's actions and behavior, but even she would admit that there was a rarely seen professional interaction between the two males just now.

"The Witch has set up shop at the temple, and Sensei lives there with the monks as well as Issei," Shirou elaborated. "Given that it would look odd if people simply disappeared or left the temple at once, there is little doubt that she must have cast some spell on the residents there that react to certain uncommon topics or words. Talking about thaumaturgy or inquiring about her in particular to him would no doubt potentially trigger them. Likewise, removing them would inform her that Sensei is no longer under her altered control…"

"I see." The Princess closed her eyes in thought. "By using my counterpart's confidence to your advantage, you have effectively placed a spy in her midst to gather basic, yet critical information on her. In essence, you have just asked the man to zero in on where Caster's main workshop is, or at least where Marjatta may be residing."

Once more Luvia could not help but shiver at the degree of control Shirou had on the war. It seemed that he had managed to get a worm or a hold on virtually everyone participating in it before the fighting had even started. "I must admit I am impressed, Emiya. Even I would not have suspected that Sensei was working for you."

"He's not." Shirou shook his head. "I merely spar with him on occasion. Believe it or not he's a former assassin. This is the first time I've asked him to do anything else but fight me."

"Assassin?" The foreigner blinked in surprise. "You mean like your father?"

"No. Sensei's skills lie in martial arts and his position as a killer was… not his original choice in life. I don't know much to be honest, but he is trustworthy. His style on the other hand is not like anything I've encountered on the job." The teen mentally shivered as he recalled fighting the man. True he had not been using reinforcement, but even so it was a horrifying style to go against, especially if you didn't know what it was like. "… Actually, after his position as a spy is done, I am allowing you to make use of his abilities in the war if you wish."

The two females blinked in surprise before the human of the two snorted in disgust. "Other than a spy? How, may I ask? He's a normal human with some interesting physical skills, but that is it. Do you mean to say that I can use him as a convenient distraction? I must say this is a poor joke even for your taste."

"No. I mean you can use him as a front line fighter, or more effectively as an ambush fighter for the killing blow." His response had no humor in it. "Should Caster enchant his physical capabilities to resemble that of a Servant, and enable him to harm them, Sensei would no doubt be a force that other Servants cannot afford to simply ignore. That is how good he is."

Caster and Luvia looked at one another skeptically, having a hard time swallowing the idea that the somewhat odd teacher could be that big of a powerhouse. "And why may I ask are you letting us use such a potentially devastating individual knowing that both of us are very much inclined to exact our justified revenge on you in the near future?"

Shirou didn't reply at first as he continued to eat some of his lunch slowly before sighing and putting down his food. "… Saber came into contact with Gilgamesh last night."

"That certainly is convenient for you." Caster frowned. "Not even a day has gone by since you revealed your deception and already you are playing this card."

"If you want to risk everything and try and fight off the King of Heroes by yourself, by all means go ahead. I won't stop you." Shirou's ultimatum hung in the air dangerously. "If you want proof, look at my memories. It's all there and I won't stop you."

Luvia shifted in her seat a small bit. Her faith in Shirou had taken a major blow, yes, but she still knew him well enough to tell when he was lying and when he wasn't. Instead she decided to take a different approach. "If he's so dangerous, then am I to assume that Saber is no more?"

The Emiya paused before looking to the side with discomfort. "No. Words were exchanged, but thankfully we did not fight last night. He did not seem to be in the mood for fighting."

"Then why appear at all?" Caster frowned. "What are you not telling us?"

For once the teen hesitated. "It's stupid." He mumbled under his breath. "But he…"

"He what? Speak up, Emiya. We don't have all day," Luvia barked out incredulously.

"He has a thing for Saber all right?!" he snapped with a faint blush on his face. "Saber was summoned in the previous war and because of then he wants her to be his queen!"

Whatever Luvia and Caster were expecting Shirou to say, that certainly was not it given by their dumbfounded expressions.

"Well then…" The Servant blinked. "That is certainly not what I was expecting."

"Seriously?" Luvia was just as shocked as her partner. "He's… into Saber? As in rings, jewelry and flowers?"

"He offered her that in addition to land, gold, riches among other things." The male glared darkly. "He also offered breaking her and forcing her to his whim should she continue to refuse him. He seemed to be extremely pleased when she turned him down again last night."

The almost comical expressions on Luvia's and Caster's faces were instantly replaced with ones of anger and disgust.

"Men." Caster spat the word out like a poison. "Give them power and they all end up the same."

"I take it this means you do not question my story then."

Luvia glared at Shirou. "You are many things Emiya, but even you wouldn't make something as distasteful as that up."

"Glad to know I still have a shred of dignity as far as you're concerned, Luvia." He sighed in resignation.

"While we are on the subject of men, let us go back to our previous subject. Sensei is rather valuable as a spy, however I do not see what his value is after his position is exposed," the other Master spoke up again. "I am somewhat surprised that you would even get another involved in this war that you claim to despise. He is not even a magus. Why would he even help us in the first place?"

Shirou calmed down somewhat before breathing deeply and sagging into his seat. "As I said before Luvia, Sensei's a former assassin, different than Dad though. It was as if he was born and raised for the position. I don't know exactly what he went through, but I can tell for a fact that there was some sort of severe mental conditioning done at an early age. You can't force him to do anything he's against such as hurting his students, but he will genuinely help you out if you ask him without question even if it's dangerous."

"He lacks a purpose." Caster analyzed what she had heard. "Or rather, it is more accurate to say that he is in the process of looking for it for the sake of having one at all. I have heard of people like this before, but none that are as unemotional or self controlled as him. Quite the contrary, most humans tend to be mentally unstable and transparent when possessing this quandary."

Shirou nodded. "I thought the same thing. Regardless, he's aware that something severe is happening in Fuyuki at the moment and my involvement, but nothing about Thaumaturgy or the nature of the war. As you have seen though, he has not said anything about it to anyone so he can be trusted with secrets if you wish. I'm unable to use him much after his role as a spy is done, but you and Caster can."

"And you believe that your encounter with Gilgamesh requires that you expedite your plans to ensure that things to not go awry." Caster crossed her arms and sighed heavily. "It is likely that you would not have suggested our personal utilization of this Kuzuki unless things were dire."

"Just how do you plan on fighting this supposedly overwhelming Servant anyways?" Luvia frowned. "You never went into detail about it."

Avalon. Unlimited Blade Works. Sakura maybe. Abusing the Grail itself. Gathering several of the other Servants together at once to fight him. Informing the Clocktower and or the Church as a last resort and instructing them to take covert operations.

And of course, a combination of any to all of the previously stated plots.

"I have several potential solutions, but none of them are assured to work, and all of them take some degree of preparation. At the moment I only have a couple of them at hand but they could be better set up, and others are blocked by Zouken's and Kotomine's positions. Again, Caster's presence could make the aftermath a complete mess if handled poorly. I'd prefer to not do something radical that would attract everyone's attention first before relying on some of my more extreme fallbacks that may or may not lead to the entirety of Fuyuki possibly bursting in flames. Unless the first one or two fail, I'm keeping them close to heart just in case."

"And dare I ask how many of these potential solutions are possible should you and your Servant die?" Luvia skeptically questioned. It could either be a way to determine how bad their situation was, or exactly how vital Shirou was in the end game.

His eyes narrowed, not missing the double meaning of the question. "Roughly a third of the possible strategies would be flat out impossible then, and the rest would be significantly more difficult to complete than if I were to do it."

"Is that so?" Caster leered at the teen with doubt. "You put your abilities that much higher than my Master's? From what I've been told your magic is rather restrictive."

"My abilities? No. Luvia is and will always be a more competent Magus than I will ever be," Shirou agreed with the Servant before his eyes carried a dangerous glint to them. "My resources on the other hand… well you've already seen the evidence a few minutes ago… and Caster... well, she's here isn't she?"

Luvia momentarily grimaced. Despite the fact that she was one of if not the most affluent individual in Fuyuki at the moment, even she could not fathom how many, let alone which circles Shirou had managed to get his hands into. He not only had more than enough time to establish himself in the city that he had grown up with, but two years as the Queen of the Clocktower's personal enforcer.

There was no telling who he had the ear or owned the favors of, not including the fact that he had Direct Access to Barthomelloi herself, something few could claim.

"I have not forgotten what you have done to me boy." The Servant scowled, clearly not fond of the fact that she was only here because Shirou had orchestrated things that way. "You best remember that, otherwise the King of Heroes will not have an opportunity to kill you at all."

"And I will not forget it Princess of Colchis. However please keep in mind that I had only intended for your more… notable counterpart to be summoned. Your appearance in particular was an unfortunate event that I had not expected, planned for, or intended in any way and I apologize for that. Once things have calmed down I will try to make amends to you in any way I can, but for now I must focus on the more immediate issues at hand." Shirou diplomatically bowed his head. He had had a lot of practice at apologizing after irritating the enforcers on more than a few hunts.

Jobs that he was on tended to have a good deal more civilian survivors after everything was said and done than others.

"My willingness to forgive you is not faring well, Emiya, considering the fact that what you said means that I would have been stuck with the Servant of questionable loyalties had your plans come to fruition."

The blonde teen's demeanor darkened. Shirou's eyes matched her own with steel-like resolve. "Had there been only one Caster, I would have already seen Rule Breaker and have killed her by now, thus keeping you safe and out of the War by now, Luvia. I also doubt Sakura's home would be burnt to the ground in that scenario."

"And now?" The Princess' stance was stiff as if ready to move. "Are you still planning to kill me? My Master's Servant?"

Shirou shook his head. "You are not the Witch of Betrayal. You won't endanger Luvia's life on a whim, much less go after the other Servants mindlessly after learning what's at stake. Rider said that you were trustworthy after you two met at my home, so I trust you."

"… Seriously?" Luvia blinked disbelievingly. She would have felt somewhat happy that Shirou had planned on killing her Servant on the premise that it was a threat to her, but the the notion was squashed due to the fact that he was responsible for her summoning it in the first place. "Just because Matou's Servant and mine get along you automatically think that she'll just work with you? That… I mean…" She began to rub her forehead in frustration. "Gah. I'm starting to understand why Tohsaka complains about you sometimes. How have you lasted in the Clocktower for so long again?"

He began to eat again, not at all bothered by the question. "I kept quiet for the most part. You'd be surprised how well the mysterious angle worked for me with the shroud covering my head. Dad's reputation and being picked up early by Lady Barthomelloi didn't hurt either. You were one of the few people that bothered to talk to me on a regular basis when I was there."

A small twitch was seen on the noble's eyebrow. "… I… I honestly don't know what to say after hearing that. I really don't."

"Rin said the same thing when I told her." The sole male in the room snorted before eating another bite of food.

"Forgive me if my hopes of this War resolving without serious incident is not high." Caster's dry comment seemed to drain any mirth there had to be in the room.

"No need. I didn't think it was likely either." Shirou grimaced. "No plan survives the enemy and all that."

"Says the boy that's trying to manipulate an entire secret war." Luvia snarked.

"I've already told you that I've been playing things by ear since the night you attacked Sakura. I've long since given up on attempting on making a single established plan for something like this. Too many variables." The Emiya raised his hands in admittance. "I just know more about what's going on than everyone else at the moment. The longer things take, the less that advantage gets me."

"At least he is not a complete fool. I would have murdered him had he claimed that he had everything under control." No one bothered to question if Caster was serious or not.

"Saber probably would have killed me if she heard me say that too." Shirou shrugged as he focused on his food again. "Anyways there's no point in worrying at the moment. Unless someone acts now, we're not going to do anything for a few more days while I get more info and come up with a plan to get inside. Once Rider heals up we can pick from more options on how to approach things."

"What do you have in mind?" Luvia asked curiously. Shirou was on her shit list, but she could not deny that he was good at what he did when he was on the job.

Before Shirou could answer however, a knock on the door distracted everyone and instantly prompted Caster to go into spiritual form.

"What happened to your field?" Luvia questioned with a frown.

"Doesn't work if they're looking for either one of us specifically." The Emiya put his food away just as the door opened to show Kuzuki. "Sensei? Did something happen?"

"Emiya. Forgive the interruption; however, I believe you would wish to know that Matou has collapsed," the emotionless man stated.

"What?" Shirou's halfway curious expression instantly snapped to one of shock and disbelief. "That shouldn't be possible. She's nowhere near low enough to… unless… shit!"

Before Luvia could ask what the teen was talking about Shirou was already running to the door with a look that instantly made her clam up. Despite being pissed off at the teen, even she didn't get in his way when he looked ready to murder something.

She had been there when an idiotic, albeit fairly well established and a prominent noble at the Clocktower, had picked a fight with Shirou because she believed she was untouchable or too valuable or some other clearly baseless reason. She didn't get much result in his taunting over the course of two weeks, that is until the fool had brought out her fourth fiancée to describe some of her personal experiments regarding puppetry. That and in addition to that she talked about what happened to her previous husbands… ones that were rather distasteful even by the tower's standards.

What came next practically turned Shriou into the boogieman of every puppeteer and familiar user in the Association overnight. Luvia didn't know exactly how Shirou had did it, but it resulted in the fool's soul trapped in the decaying skull of one of her biological puppets (which had apparently been made from parts of his second husband) while its cut, broken, and mangled body slowly bled out for everyone to watch.

It pretty much became an unofficial rule to never genuinely piss off Barthomelloi's Dog ever again after that.

Needless to say, the Queen had been irritated. Not that Shirou had killed a member of a prominent family, one that had only recently inherited her family's crest no less, but that it had taken the Emiya so long to establish the pecking order at the Tower.

The moral of the story though had been that it was never a good idea to genuinely piss Shirou off or get in his way whenever he was.

Making sure to follow from a distance so that no one would think they were together earlier, Luvia followed Shirou and Kuzuki to the medical room where they had taken the underclassman. Caster could tell that they were heading in the right direction as they were travelling closer to one of the two other Servants in the building.

In a few minutes the familiar scent of alcohol and minor chemicals met Luvia's nose as she approached the room and peeked in to see the Matou girl sitting up in one of the few beds in the room. She looked a bit pale, but otherwise fine as she tried to placate the overworked Emiya who was bombarding her with half asked questions. Above the pair, Rider could be felt hovering protectively and ready for anyone, most likely Luvia and Caster in this case, to attack them.

"Hmm. Now that I know what the girl is… yes I can tell that she has been tampered with." Caster warned her Master with some concern. "In some ways she even reminds me of my other self."

"Don't tell Emiya that. We are tolerating him for now, but even without Saber he is not one we should make a true enemy out of lightly. As much as I dislike admitting it, he IS helping us at the moment."

"This is sooner than you thought." Shirou whispered to the bedridden girl in a serious tone so that the busy nurses doing paperwork couldn't hear them. Luvia and Caster however were exceptions to the rule for obvious reasons. "Is it…?"

"Mmm." The purple haired girl nodded with a faint but clearly faked smile. "He's getting impatient. I think it was a reminder, but something was off. It felt more frantic than it normally was."

"That bloody worm. It's not like he's even doing any of the work." The registered killer grunted under his breath. "I know you can hear me you old bastard. If you have anything important to say then show up and say it. Otherwise stay out of this. This thing is hard enough without you making it worse."

Much to the blonde's disgust, whatever was inside Sakura seemed to have understood as it caused the girl to suddenly grab her chest over her heart and cough up a few drops of blood into her other hand. The spasm lasted only for a few seconds, and afterwards the Matou quickly wiped away the evidence before anyone not in the know could see it.

A brief moment later Sakura seemed to have noticed Luvia's presence, which was all the incentive the elder female needed to leave. There was nothing more to be learned for now. Walking away she went back to her classroom to try and eat her lunch with what time she had left, ignoring Taiga Fujimura as she barreled down the hallway screaming her head off in the process to the nurse's office.

"Master. Do you still intend to follow with his lead?"

"For now Caster. Our goals coincide at the moment and he is better informed and connected than we are. Once my sister is rescued and the King of Heroes is dealt with however… we shall burn that bridge when we cross it."

To be perfectly honest, Luvia had not intended on go through with her contract to kill Shirou if she could help it. She'd try to kill him sure, but in the end she doubted that any of her attempts would actually come out fruitful.

The only reasons why she had accepted the job at all in the first place was because her sister had already jumped on it before she knew what was happening, and she worked better with her sister than anyone else in the family thanks to Ore Scales. Marjatta was good, but her planning abilities were not up to par for something like this. They worked best together anyways.

She believed Shirou was, at least at the time, a good friend, a solid contact to the Barthomelloi, a damn powerful fighter, and overall a viable resource for a good range of things. Given how good he was, she had originally planned on encountering him a few times in battle with her sister, make a few elaborate traps, watch him escape, lose, perhaps at best manage to kill his Servant and end his time in the war, and then contact home saying that the job was too much and that Shirou was not worth the current pay.

The last part was technically true by default. The family was getting paid a good deal for Shirou's death, but it was still not common knowledge that he was the one making all of their extremely cost efficient gems that they had been buying in bulk recently. All in all, they would save far more by keeping him alive than they would earn from killing him.

True, they'd also get bragging rights if they pulled it off as well, but it was somewhat of a hollow victory in that Shirou was still rather young and still somewhat riding on the back of his father's reputation. It would have said far more about the Edelfelt family if they had managed to do it when Shirou was at least in his mid to late twenties when he had more to his name, not that it wasn't already impressive enough with an Ancestor kill and multiple Apostle kills.

But with this war being an absolute snafu from the start, and finding out that Shirou had been the one who had decided her Servant in the first place, the Edelfelt had begun to make a good deal of second thoughts.

Her main priorities was for the moment getting her sister, preventing Armageddon, and surviving the damn war. As confident as she was in her abilities, she was not stupid enough to think that she could manage Heracles, the King of Heroes, or a corrupted omnipotent wishing device at once, even if she had her sister and her traitor of a Servant with her. She just didn't have the firepower, the information, or the resources to do it.

Shirou on the other hand apparently did, and from what Luvia had seen she was willing to go with him for now.

However, it still did not change the fact that he had used her. While the blonde did not blind herself with the fact that she was nobility, she was a very proud person.

She had been used the instant she had been chosen as a Master, and that was unforgivable. Even if it was for the sake of the world, to betray her trust was nothing short of reprehensible.

She did not know how, but Shirou Emiya would pay for his actions by the end of the war. In one way, or another.

o. o. o.

One hour earlier:

He stood in front of the burnt property impassively.

It was not the first, nor the worst case he had seen firsthand. He himself had been responsible for quite a number of them himself. It was not exactly a hard thing to do to start a fire or burn down a building.

Doing so with a well experienced and established Magus' home on the other hand took a bit more work and creative thinking. Not impossible, but far more tricky.

Even nearly a week after it burned down, the property was still saturated with a good deal of prana, indicating the potency of thaumaturgy used at the time. The bounded fields surrounding the land and building had all but been utterly destroyed and most evidence that would have pointed out that the place housed magi was gone.

Most of it above ground at least.

It didn't take much for him to find the secret passage that led to the underground catacombs. There was a bit more ambient mana around it than on the rest of the property, even though said entrance had clearly collapsed upon itself so that it too appeared to be a part of the wreckage.

As previously stated, it had already been almost a week since the place burned down, before he had even been summoned. Most if not all magi would have simply inspected the area within a day of the incident, check up on things, and then leave after finding nothing and disregard the location altogether in the end.

This Servant from experience knew better than to follow such faulty logic as he turned into spiritual form to bypass the debris and reform into the stairway that led down into the earth. Without making a noise or a disturbance in the shadows he proceeded without so much as a pause.

He kept his senses out for any potential bounded fields, familiars, or ambient spells, but encountered nothing so far. Given that anyone who wanted to use this area would probably wish to go unnoticed, it was smart that they did nothing. Setting anything up this close to the surface would cause any magus or Servant curious about the area to be instantly on guard and potentially go back to inform others about the oddity. No, if he encountered anything it would be at the bottom where there should be no hope of escape, in the center of the spider web so to speak.

The disgusting smell intensified as he continued downwards, furthering his decision to inspect the ruins. If what he recalled about it was correct, even if he found nothing he would destroy the place. He had witnessed disturbing practices of Thaumaturgy before, but even he had trouble tolerating the continued existence of this particular method, especially on such a grand scale.

His reinforced eyes saw through the dark clearly. Normally he would use his sniper rifle for the task instead, but the catacombs were too small and he needed his hands free. Soon enough the pathway opened to reveal the massive room with walls consisting of unmarked graves…

And the thousands of worms that were writhing on the floor below.

"Hmhmhmhm." The wet laugh of Zouken Matou echoed ominously through the room as a particular cluster of the sick creatures began to take another form. "Well well. I must say I am surprised. I certainly didn't expect to see a Servant here again anytime soon."

Knowing that there was no point in hiding anymore, Assassin canceled his Presence Concealment. He silently and emotionlessly walked out into the open, barely noting the worms slowly crawling out of the graves behind him. They still stayed several meters away from him whenever possible though. Even as the weakest Servant he was still a force of nature that the blind creatures instinctively shied away from.

"I'm afraid that you will not find anything of note or value here, Servant," Zouken continued as his body ceaselessly formed. "While my family was involved in the creation of the Grail system, I'm ashamed to say that the fire took our recorded notes on the subject. As for the Matou heir, she is currently taking up residence elsewhere. Surely you can see why most would avoid this place. As it stands, all that is left here is a single weak and decaying old man."

"Fire boundary. Two meters. Expansion."

Assassin's self explanatory aria took effect, doing exactly as it said and created a bounded field of fire around him in all directions, immolating any and all of the crest worms that had been approaching him from all sides before dimming enough to appear as if it was only burning the floor around him.

He rarely actually used his thaumaturgy in such a direct way, but even he would admit that such spells like the one he used were useful every once in a while. His weapons were useless in situations like this. Truth be told, he was even now only capable of doing it due to his Grail-given Thaumaturgy skill, which was embarrassing considering that most Magi that practiced fire manipulation and manifestation could do this with ease.

He tended to avoid said situations like the plague whenever possible, however that possibility was not available in this case. The tombs were too far underground and there were too many worms around to try and sneak anything in via his standard means.

He needed to be careful around this twisted excuse for a human, lest he be used as a catalyst for another Assassin to appear. Should even one worm get close to him, his life was forfeit.

The revelation of his skills only seemed to further entertain the old worm as his body continued to define itself in the middle of the pit. "Oho? An Assassin class that can use modern thaumaturgy. How interesting. You wouldn't care to tell a curious old man who you are, would you? You're obviously not one who bears the title of Hassan I Sabbah."

The faint sound of Assassin grabbing something metallic under his cloak caused the smile to drop from the pale fleshy face.

"Careful Servant." The fully formed Zouken frowned. "I am merely an observer for this war. There is no purpose in killing me and there will be consequences should-"

BANG!

Before Zouken realized or could even react, Assassin had taken out one of his disposable Noble Phantasm guns out and shot him in the chest, causing the worm to stumble, but not fall back. The sound of the pistol echoed in the room violently as if to make up for its owner's silence to tell the worm user that Assassin indeed intended to kill him despite how seemingly pointless it was.

"… How disappointing." The self proclaimed frail old man grunted as he stood back up, seemingly ignored the fist sized hole in his chest, and the worms that were coming out of it. "I was hoping for something a bit more interesting from you; however, to see a Heroic Spirit rely on such mundane tools has killed that notion."

The worms in the room began to thrash more actively and savagely before beginning to move to the aggressor's position. "I guess I will have to recycle you after a-"

Assassin took out a second gun with his other hand.

"Origin Bullet."

BANG!

The second bullet shot in the room dwarfed the first in everything, giving the impression that a cannon had fired instead of a mere gun. Its use was so loud that the sound practically shattered some of the stone in the room, and the gun it had been fired from was nothing like the pistol used in the other hand.

The impact on Zouken was clear as instead of stumbling, the feeble man had literally been blown back from the impact and landed harshly on the bed of slime and tissue that made up the floor.

But there was no bullet wound this time.

Instead roughly half of the worms that had made up Zouken's body, apparently the half that had been channeling prana as they were used as substitute magic circuits, self destructed while he was in mid air, taking out another third of the worms in the explosions and marring the rest.

What remained was a cadaver consisting of chopped worm meat in traditional loose clothing writhing in pain.

Likewise, the mindless creatures that were purely driven by their hunger and their maker were rendered near harmless as they thrashed in the agony and confusion transferred by their master.

"What?!" Zouken spat out blood and worms in surprise with his already decaying body falling apart rapidly and drive his prana all but wasted in the process. Due to the nature of his craft he did not die, and likely would not die given his powers. The damage probably would have been worse if it didn't take little to control his weak familiars, but the feedback was painful and horrifically messing with his control.

Even as he began to force the remains of his failed body to fall apart to save the worms that had somehow managed to come out unscathed, he knew that it would take a good deal of effort to reform his body later. The man had long since adapted to feeling his mind, body and soul themselves in a constant state of decay; however, this pain was entirely foreign to him. "What is this?! What did you do to me Servant?!"

Kiritsugu didn't respond as he put his weapons away under his cloak, took out two napalm grenades and began to focus his prana. Early in his career, he had learned that enhancing explosives in particular with thaumaturgy was a suicidal thing to do unless you intended to use them immediately after said upgrades. Then it was only slightly suicidal. "Augment compounds. Firestorm setting. Magnify output. Break Phantasm."

The moment after he had tossed the now glowing explosives into the sea of worms, Assassin had bolted up the stairway as fast as he could, completely ignoring the shouts of rage coming from below. The bombs may have been his Noble Phantasms, but that did not mean that they lacked the ability to kill him if he was in their blast radius.

Indeed, about halfway up the stairway the explosives had gone off, illuminating the pitch black tomb with equally blinding white and orange fire that consumed everything and rapidly travelled in every direction, including up the only way out of the hell. However it was not enough to overtake the Servant as he reached the end of his path and turned into spiritual form to get past the final obstacle before exposing himself to daylight once more. Behind him the rubble that had obscured the path had been partially knocked away and several gouts of flame burst out in every direction, but none that would harm the Servant or the surrounding landscape. His broken phantasms were powerful yes, but most of their output had been dampened by the bounded fields within Zouken's sick excuse for a workshop.

Straightening himself out, the Magus Killer didn't bother to look at what he had sown nor did he bother to check to see if Zouken had truly died. If he were asked, and bothered to answer, he'd admit that the monster was one of the few magi that could survive the devastating effects of his ace in the hole without help. The old man used his familiars likely more often than his circuits for most of his mysteries, which explained why the worms that made up his body had practically blown up upon contact.

The odds the Magus dying from the assault was still unlikely. Zouken had long since shown his ability to survive when he shouldn't have from Kiritsugu's memories. However that didn't matter now.

The inhuman priest had informed him during their meeting that he had been waging his own minor war against the worms that pervaded Fuyuki, albeit he didn't go into specifics. Combined with the Servant's recent purge of the Catacombs, the elderly Magus would be forced into a corner and more importantly, be desperate.

Desperate people did things. And doing things tends to draw attention.

As he left the premises, Kiritsugu noted that despite being in the tomb for five minutes at the most, his clothes had unfortunately taken in some of the terrible smell. He'd be able to and would replace them once Tools of the Trade reset again; after all there were Servants that had strong enough noses to point him out if he wasn't careful. But until that happened it would be best to keep his distance from his so called Master.

The woman was intolerable enough as it was. The less reason he gave her to talk or complain to him, the better.

o. o. o.

In a hotel:

"If you even consider saying that your ankles look fat, I will stab your heart. Just letting you know."

"Actually I'm pretty sure that females of this era focus more on their waists, rears and bust."

"You obviously have not been in many relationships then. Trust me, women will find virtually any reason they can to hate their body in some way if they can."

"Do I look like I am capable of engaging in established relationships with the modern day female?"

"And trust ME Lancer when I say that if you keep on talking on that subject, I will use a command seal to make you sodomize yourself with your spear."

"Now now. Please mind your language Ms. MacRemitz. There are children present after all."

Bazett scowled at the Servant, Vampire, and human sized Rat King as she sat on the couch in a white button up top and green boxers, and looked at her new legs.

The left leg, which had originally been blown off above the knee, now was wrapped in tattoos that resembled three intertwining chains of dry red leaves starting at her thigh and all the way down to her foot where it split apart and around her foot like the lines on a plank of wood. In a way it reminded the human and Servant of the markings they saw on Merem's hands that no doubt extended up the limbs. The right was similar to the left, only the dry golden leaves imprinted on it started from her mid calf downward.

It was a strange experience for the Enforcer in that while she KNEW that these legs were not really hers, she could not help but admit that they felt… well… like her legs. She felt it when she touched them, and she could wiggle each toe as easily as she could before. It was almost haunting to remember that each limb was now a small child that looked to her as a maternal figure.

"So, they can still hear everything then?" She started off slowly, warily looking at the limbs as if they were going to do something suspicious at any moment.

"Oh yes." The King of Rats nodded pleasantly. "The children are aware of everything you are."

"It's rather convenient when I forget things." Merem added. "My limbs are able to remember them for me… well you are at least."

"Yes. It would be somewhat amusing to see you asking your right arm for detailed information." The left arm chuckled amusedly.

"Well that's a mood killer." Lancer chuckled. "Anytime you'd try to go far in a date you'd either have to go legless or ignore the fact that you'd be having fun with a couple of adolescents having front row-"

Bazett instantly held up her left hand which held her violently glowing command seals. "Keep talking. I DARE you."

"Now now. There's no need to resort to such things. We are capable of sleeping, for lack of a better term, while attached to our hosts." The left arm laughed nervously. "Please do not be concerned about that."

"We can be quiet." A soft voice echoed in the woman's mind, suddenly putting her on guard for a few seconds before she realized where it came from.

"They spoke to you didn't they?" Merem easily determined what the Enforcer's reaction meant. "Don't worry. It takes some getting used to, but it's no different than what familiar users experience with more capable servants. At the very least you speak the same language. My legs require… more basic methods of communication most of the time."

"Will they interfere with my magic?" She asked skeptically. "I put runes on my clothes and sometimes use reinforcement."

"No doubt the latter was from Shirou." The vampire smiled. "No. For all intents and purposes, the young banshees are as much a part of your body as they are individual beings. They are dual existences that satisfy one and both positions whenever you wish."

"That's nice and all but can they do anything while they're like that?" Lancer looked at the legs curiously. "I mean… other than being legs and give Master headaches?"

The question had the vampire and his separated limb pause. "Well, normally no they wouldn't, but I'm afraid I am unsure in this case."

"Unsure?" Bazett frowned for good reason. "Why?"

"We stated it before did we not? Your blood has unique and potent properties," The King of Rats elaborated. "Your… daughters for lack of a better term, are young and have yet to adapt or learn of their powers yes; however, we can tell that their latent abilities are incredibly potent. I am not that familiar with their legacies in particular, but I do believe that they have the potential to be as powerful, if not more, than those that attended the Irish kings of old. I recall that the O'Brian clan's Banshee in particular was rather powerful…"

Bazett swallowed heavily. While there were a good deal of legends in Ireland, Banshees held a particularly strong position in them and not just because they originated from their lands.

The wailing women, the Bean Sith, the Fae of the Mounds, these creatures were held with a sort of reverence back home. Their songs were omens to indicate that someone in a family had or was about to die soon, supporting that they possessed a unique ability that resembled a specified hybrid of both clairvoyance AND precognition, something that was extremely hard to come by in a single species or existence.

They had been so respected and idealized that it was almost standard for any great clan in the older days to have at least one as a member of court. The banshee that the King of Rats had been referring to, Eevul, was so strong that she had twenty five other banshees at her beck and call, and she only cried when a truly significant or holy existence died. To put it in perspective, the latter was something that was also signified with the wailing of numerous banshees at once.

Hell, almost any family that had some sort of relationship with them in the past had the prefix O' or Mac' before their last name. Seeing as her last name was MacRemitz, apparently there had been more to her family history than she had remembered.

Still… the ability to determine when death was near… yes, it could definitely come in handy in the near future.

"… I know I'm in a war and their powers will come in handy, however I am still a bit unsettled with the fact that I will be in fact taking advantage of making small children cry on purpose." The young woman frowned skeptically.

"You wouldn't be the first or worst perpetrator of that act in the history of the war," The King of Rats mused. "I believe the Caster of the previous battle in addition to his Master were both renowned for their carelessness and cruelty to the general public and often focused on women and children."

Bazett shivered. She had talked to Waver briefly about the Grail War when she had first gotten her seals. She had seen some disturbing things on the job, but what the veteran had described to her was nothing short of an affront to Gaia and Alaya themselves. "Thank you. I so very much wished to be compared to Gilles de Rais of all people."

"Bluebeard?" Lancer raised an eyebrow as the name jogged his memory. "That nut got summoned in the last War?"

"From what I've learned, his master possessed the same depraved mentality as he did," The rat priest added.

"Ouch."

"Can we focus on more important things than psychotic murdering Servants, please?" Bazett sighed as she began to stand up and slowly walk around to see if everything was in order. "Back to the… my legs. Solomon, unlike you I do fight up close and with my limbs. Will that be any trouble?"

The Apostle Ancestor looked at his limb warily. "That I am afraid is up to you and the young ones. So long as you keep them and yourself in shape, they should be able to handle impacts as well as your old limbs could… however any real damage done to them will proportionally be dealt to the girls and vise versa. My right leg was heavily injured against this war's Berserker, and as such when he returned to me it was broken in several places and bleeding in others."

To prove his point, the immortal lifted the pants leg to reveal his slender, pale, and distinctly bruised leg. "On the other hand, as our limbs are certainly not normal in origin, they do heal significantly faster than their originals. Mine would obviously recover faster than yours… but then again your limbs are peculiar even by the normal standards, and Banshees are known to tend and look after the dying. It would not be abnormal to assume that they have healing abilities of some sort."

"I… I think we can do that…" The 'younger' child's voice echoed in the woman's mind. "We helped clean Mommy's legs when she was asleep and they got better faster… I think…"

The Enforcer frowned at that statement and looked as where her real limbs ended. It had only been roughly half a week since her limbs were blown off but the stumps that were now the ends of her legs were nearly healed now. They were a bit red and sore true, but they didn't need to be wrapped anymore. At first she had thought that Lancer or Merem had done something, but now she was wondering if that was really the case. The Fae were supposed to possess unknown potential after all.

"Is something wrong, Mother?" The 'elder' child asked telepathically.

"Er… no. It's okay. I'm just thinking," the woman muttered out loud, appearing as if she was talking to herself.

"So then," Lancer sighed as he sat down on the bed. "They can cry, scream, and or sing when someone is about to get killed, and maybe heal. … It's not much but it's better than what you had before."

"Shut up, Lancer," the Master absentmindedly commanded him before deciding to test out the "girls" a bit more and began to hop around while switching martial arts stances, first going through a quick few small evasive maneuvers that relied more on footwork than legwork. Mentally she tried to reach out to the children to try and communicate silently. "Let me know if I do anything that you find uncomfortable or painful. I need to know what our limits are."

"Yes," both voices replied simultaneously as their mother figure thrashed out her fists in a quick shadowboxing pattern before kicking out her right leg, pretending to cave in the right half of her imaginary foe's ribcage.

"Do I have to feed them regularly or can they survive off of just my prana?" Two punches to break through the enemy's guard and an elbow to shatter their sternum.

"The latter." The King of Rats watched with some curiosity. It wasn't often that he witnessed martial arts that weren't used by the Church. "However we are capable of both, and tend to be fonder of the former. I for example am quite attracted to pizza of all types." He licked his lips at the thought of his guilty pleasure, revealing that is tongue was checkered in red and white squares.

"Do I have to worry about them doing something erratic while connected to me?" Two subsequent roundhouse kicks. The first to the enemy's left thigh to break their stance, the second to their head as they collapse from the first hit, potentially snapping the neck. So far speed and reaction time is within acceptable limits.

"No. When they are with you, they are for the most part dormant," Merem answered with a casual smile. "You're the dominant existence in that state, even if you're unconscious. As time goes on and they grow up this will not change, their connected forms will always take the shape of what your limbs should be with respect to your body. I've altered my right arm several times over the years but it always looks the same when it reattaches to me."

Lancer snorted. "Heh. That right? Oh it's gonna be funny in a few years having a couple of teenaged banshee girls going through puberty stuck to your OI!" The Servant ducked as his Master's left kick nearly collided with his face. "What was that for?!"

"Take a wild guess," said master grumbled. Given from how her body felt she'd probably need another day or two to recover, mainly focusing on regaining prana and getting rid of her bed sores. Odd or not, her new legs seemed to work and feel just as fine as the originals did if not more; she was unsure if she considered it a good or bad thing.

Regardless, she continued with her routine as if she didn't just try to kick off Cu Chulainn's head.

It got even harder to focus when she heard the laughter of two girls in her head.

This was going to take some time to get used to.

o. o. o.

Emiya Residence:

It had been over twenty minutes after Taiga left with a full stomach before he had arrived.

They knew he had come before he had knocked on the door because the bounded fields around the home had triggered the instant a foot had crossed the premises.

Tapping into his home's magical security, Shirou had instantly been able to see who his uninvited guest was even if the man had made no efforts to hide himself in the slightest. Clicking his teeth in irritation and prompting Saber to follow him, the owner of the property walked to his front door and opened it.

"Mhmhmhm," Zouken chuckled as he stood seemingly harmless in front of him. "You have an interesting set of defenses and fields Emiya. The trigger itself is quite an unexpected design. A shame you will probably never let me study them in more detail."

"You have a lot of nerve showing up after what you did earlier." The teen asked evenly, "What do you want? You never make house calls personally."

"And for good reason. There is a reason why the elderly are not allowed to do strenuous exercises boy. Our bodies aren't meant for it." The worm user's false grandfatherly sense of humor slipped through. It was frequently used to drop people's guard, but neither party truly believed that would happen now. "Come now. Aren't you going to invite this poor homeless old man in? Where are your manners?"

"They are saved for the trustworthy." Saber stepped forward without tearing her eyes away from the man. "The fact that you have triggered the fields to my Master's home proves otherwise. I have heard of what happened with Sakura during the day. Explain yourself."

The seemingly harmless old man's disposition darkened. "Humph. You may have reason to distrust me; however, I assure you that today's events were not of my intentional doing. What happened to my granddaughter was merely an unfortunate aftereffect of what I had to deal with."

"I find it difficult to believe that you dealt with anything Makiri. You said it yourself that you prefer to hide in the background and watch everything play out." Shirou frowned, using Zouken's original name to drive the point home. "Because of what you did I'm set back another couple of days so that I can restore both Sakura's prana and Rider's condition before I can confidently go on the offensive again."

"That is true boy, however I am currently left with few options after what Assassin came for me."

The news of the mystery Servant caused both Shirou and Saber to blink in surprise. "Assassin? Why? He is paired with Caster at the temple. She shouldn't even be aware of your existence," Saber asked completely bewildered. Pleasantly surprised in fact, however she did not reveal that much emotion.

"Regrettably, I have no lead on that." Zouken's irritation at the situation was clearly heard in his voice. "He may have been investigating the catacombs in the hopes of stealing some of my work. He may have been after me in particular for some other reason. I have nothing to go on. The only words he spoke were to activate his mysteries and Noble Phantasm. As much as I dislike to admit it, at least he was not like the other brainless Servants in this and other Wars and did not gloat about his abilities."

He did not say that he had barely managed to escape with enough worms and prana to reform his body, or that he had spent the following hours recalling all the few remaining worms he had in the city to an underground cavern that not even rats could reach.

His home. His workshop. His research. Virtually all of his work had been destroyed in less than a week. It was more than enough to cause the five hundred year old magus to thirst for violence.

"I do not care what your plans were for this war boy, but I have a new condition. You will kill Assassin, the Casters, and all of their Masters first before any of the others. My legacy has all but been wiped off the face of the planet thanks to them."

"I was already making plans for them in the first place, Zouken. The Caster at the temple has been tapping into the leylines of the city and is causing the mass faint spells. Assassin is capable of attacking others during the middle of the day without revealing Thaumaturgy or the War. Both are priority targets. While individually they are not that great of a threat, together and situated at the temple their danger levels have increased to the point that I have to approach this with caution," Shirou bluntly told Sakura's "grandfather" without hesitation. "As for the other Caster, I have been making plans that utilize her abilities to make dealing with the former two more manageable. Once they are taken out, she will pose no issue."

Saber glanced at her Master calmly. Her Master had revealed his plans without exposing his true intentions or complying with Zouken's wishes of killing the Masters, or the Princess for that matter. But at the same time he had revealed enough information that would indicate just the opposite.

"I fail to see how Assassin would pose that great a concern Emiya." Zouken frowned. "From what I could tell, he was exceptionally weak compared to your Saber."

The King of Knights nodded darkly. "That may be true, however Assassin's threat level is greatly magnified when within his own territory. The reason why Rider is currently recovering is because of a failed attempt to get to Caster by both her and Archer, who at the time was unknown and was encountered just before the assault. He held them off at the same time and would have killed them had they not retreated."

Zouken glanced at the blonde. "And where were you?"

"Here with Shirou and Sakura. My Master was still recovering prana and could only sufficiently support one Servant in battle at a time. He decided to use Rider to scout the temple when we encountered Archer and decided to proceed."

"You've made your request and now you know I'm already working on it." Shirou stepped forward. "Unless you have something else to say, I have a few things to ask myself."

"Hmm. Well I guess I can humor you and listen to them. After all, I came here to do that in the first place." The man chuckled darkly. "It does sound like you need some help after all. You look quite pale."

The fact that the old man's flesh was so white he was practically transparent was not missed on anyone.

"I need some way to find or locate you," Shirou bluntly stated, ignoring the bad joke. "That wasn't a problem before, but with your home burnt down I have no idea where you could be hiding. The only reason why I knew you weren't killed in the fire was because your familiars in Sakura were still alive."

"Hmhmhm. Well then, how convenient. I actually had a second request upon coming here." Zouken's laugh sent down more chills down Shirou's spine than he normally got.

"No," the Emiya said on reflex, knowing exactly what the request was instantly. "There is no way you are staying here. I forbid it."

"Come now. Where's the infamous hospitality of the Emiya household that I have heard of for the past few years?" The old man's mocking smile did nothing to ease the tension in the air. "It would be nice to spend the night in same building as my lovely granddaughter again after the traumatizing experience of your home burning down around you. Don't tell me that you want to have her all to yourself?"

"Bastard." Saber stepped forward threateningly. "Continue to speak in such a manner to my master and…" Whatever she was going to say next was interrupted as something loud fell from inside the building.

"Shirou! Something is wrong! Sakura has collapsed and is clutching her chest!"

Rider's sudden message was all Shirou needed to confirm his fears as he glared at the old man in front of him with murder. Unlike when he was a child, Shirou Emiya did not yell explosively when he truly got angry. Instead he oddly enough donned a cold and ruthless persona unnaturally similar to his father's. "Careful old man," he warned softly as the field of blades in his soul began to slowly shift. "If she dies, you die too."

"Hmhm. Yes, but from what I can tell at the moment, her continued living will require a… joint effort, on both our parts," the more experienced magus amusingly replied the boy. Clearly he did not believe that Shirou could make do with that threat, even if he secretly was on his last small stores of worm familiars.

"She's beginning to lose consciousness!" Rider's mental voice was beginning to show far more signs of emotion than he would felt comfortable with coming from. It was a sign that it was getting far worse than she was saying.

The Emiya grit his teeth in frustration but did not turn away his gaze or move his face. "You will abide by my rules, the Sixth head of House Emiya. You will leave everyone else be, especially Sakura. You will not appear in front of guests. You will NOT have a workshop here, nor will any of your experiments, nor will you perform any thaumaturgy here without my permission save for that which keeps your body together. You will not touch my workshop. You will not expose any of my secrets to anyone else once you leave. In exchange I will supply you with a room, food, water, free entrance to my home, and the protection my home provides."

"How generous." The Matou scowled, clearly not as fond of the conditions.

"Take them or leave them. You are the one who wanted to stay here in the first place. Save for your interactions with others, the conditions is the same as what I grant anyone else that stay in my home." The home owner didn't budge. "I am going to have to adjust my bounded fields a good deal to account for you simply being inside."

"I will need to store my worms somewhere nearby in order to maintain my body," the elderly man noted.

"Not in my home you're not. I'm already making an exception for the ones that make you up and the ones in Sakura's body. I am not the reason you have lost both your home and your workshop, Makiri, and you are already intruding on my home. Do not embarrass yourself further. You can hide the rest in the woods down the street. I'm sure that it isn't too far for one of your disposition."

"Humph. Arrogant little brat. Fine. The Head of House Makiri accepts your terms of hospitality." The old man clicked his teeth. Both males knew it was a shallow vow that would not be followed during an extended stay; however, both doubted that it would last long regardless.

"Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from toying with Sakura, lest you void the terms of the agreement." The Magus Killer frowned.

Without so much as flinching, the elderly man cut off his connection to the worm around his granddaughter's heart, enabling her to blood to flow freely through her body again. "Hopefully you have an adequate room for me to stay in."

"I don't have any tombs on hand, so you will have to make due." Shirou turned around and slowly walked back inside, guiding Zouken, with Saber following in the back to ensure that he does not do anything. "I have traditional Japanese rooms, and I believe I have one western room left."

"A pity." Mocked the five hundred year old demon. "Give me the western room. I have never adapted to this land's bedding style, and at my age it would be difficult to pick myself up from the floor."

Doubting that greatly, Shirou walked through the living area with the old man, trying his hardest to ignore Sakura's look of surprise as they passed, out through the outside hallway, and to the end of the admittedly large property to where the designated room was. Thankfully it was far from where everyone else would rest and recover, so Shirou didn't have to worry about him trying anything while they rested.

"Here it is." Shirou showed the room. "Unfortunately dinner has already been made, so you'll have to wait for breakfast for food. Now if you don't mind, I have to adjust my bounded fields and then prepare to go out tonight. Thanks to you, we have to go gather prana for Sakura else we get distracted again."

"Oh? Why do you not simply conduct another ritual instead of go out of your way to her fields?" The elderly man mused as he inspected the somewhat small room. He had not immediately commented on it which meant that it would do for the moment at least, even if there was a small layer of dust from disuse. "Do not tell me that you tire of her skills."

The Emiya didn't rise to the bait. "I'm trying to conserve my prana which has been low for quite some time, and Rider is still recovering from injuries. It wouldn't bode well for us if Saber was the only one of us capable of fighting to her full potential if we were caught off guard. Our alliance is hardly a secret to the other Masters by this point."

"Mmm. Yes that makes sense I suppose." The elderly man walked into the room. "Do I have your permission to set up some fields Emiya? You must be aware by now that I am not comfortable with open and bright settings."

Shirou looked at the room warily before slowly nodding. There was a reason why his shed was his workshop and not inside the house. The main building was too thinly set up and would easily leak the contents if too much energy was used. If the old man tried something big in the room, someone would be able to tell. "So long as it is only to make your room more accommodating to you, yes, but only for that. No other field is allowed."

"Very well." Zouken relented as he closed the door. "If that is all Emiya, I must start adjusting this room to my standards."

o. o. o.

Two Hours Later:

"Are you sure this is wise?" Saber questioned as she, Shirou, Rider and Sakura crossed the bridge that connected the two halves of Fuyuki together. "Leaving your home while that monster is inside is not something I would recommend, Shirou, and taking us to less familiar territory will raise the risk of us getting attacked."

"Sakura needs to recharge, and it's better if we use up all the farthest bounded fields now so we don't have to rely on them later." Shirou's answer was logical but it didn't make any of them feel better.

"I'm really sorry," Sakura apologized in an almost audible tone. Between what happened during the day and just a couple of hours ago, the girl's ability to stand on her two legs was somewhat impaired as Rider sometimes had to help steady her. "If it wasn't hard enough, now Grandfather…"

"It's not your fault," Rider consoled her. Regardless of how long she was Shirou's Servant, she would always be Sakura's. "That monster is to blame."

"Don't worry. Soon enough you won't have to bother with him again," the only male there consoled her. "I'll make sure of that personally."

"Why don't we just kill him now?" Rider questioned Shirou through their link. "He's staying at your home. We know where he is."

"It's not that simple." Shirou replied. "It's nearly pointless to kill his body since it's made of his familiars. Even if he's running low on them, if he has enough to make just one more body, we'll be back to trying to find him again. Then there are the worms inside Sakura that need to be dealt with and I don't have the ability to remove them. And then we'd need to take her somewhere that Zouken won't be able to kill her before that happens."

"I see. It seems that we have no choice but to follow his commands for now."

"… Rider… I said it was not simple. I never said it was impossible." Since Shirou was walking ahead of everyone, no one ever saw the small knowing smile on his face.

The Servant paused in mid step before continuing on forward. "I take it that what you have in mind is circumstantial?"

"Yeah. In fact, until a couple of hours ago, it wouldn't have worked."

Rider once again paused momentarily before continuing forward, this time though a small knowing smile formed on her face. "… I am beginning to see why the other Masters consider you to be so terrifying, Shirou."

"Only to my enemies Rider, and Zouken made himself one years ago. Zouken is not a stupid man. He knows I know more than I show, and probably suspects that I'm trying to do something now, but… let's just say he… no, everyone underestimated what I'm capable of in this war by a very large margin."

"I never suspected that you would go against your end of the deal first."

"No. Zouken had defaulted on his end before the agreement had been made. He simply doesn't know that I was aware of it the entire time."

"I will keep that in mind. I take it you intend to act now."

The smile on Shirou's face disappeared as he looked up to see the church in the distance. "… I need you to follow my orders to the letter, Rider. Zouken showing up saved us from dealing with the hardest part of the plan…

… But the next is by far going to be the going to be the most dangerous."

o. o. o.

A/N:

Thank You Wayfarer2000 for betaing.

My black cat is a lazy shit. Just throwing it out there.

Chapter's done and things are picking up again. Muahahahaha!

Ok. So I know people wanted more of Saber after last chapter, but I honestly couldn't find a good spot for it and end it where I wanted without making this thing even bigger than normal. As of right now, she's still contemplating everything, but she's more willing to consider different viewpoints and options at this point. As a result of this, she's going to be a tad bit more subdued when things aren't being hectic.

As for Sakura, basically her condition is a bit hectic. Zouken can pretty much turn her into the Shadow on a dime now, but at the same time, she has enough experience and control over herself that she can, with a good deal of effort, fight back. It's not something that she'd be able to pull off every time though.

For anyone who would complain about Assassin just wrecking Zouken… yeah, he's a Servant with a ton of tricks that knows his target, Zouken's not a Servant that tends to underestimate people. Of course it was going to end up like that if Zouken wasn't on the attack.

Luvia on the other hand… yeah. I agree with many people that her character has been a bit shallow as of late. The way I'm trying to make her, she's halfway between Rin and the standard Noble. She still has the conscience of a normal person, but she prioritizes her family and pride by nature. Shirou's actions pretty much crushed her pride as a Merc, a Fighter, and as a Magus on a fundamental level and it would take something massive in order for her to forgive him for it.

On other news. I have a favor to ask from you guys. My sister is looking for a ps2 visual novel game that's in English, so it has to be torrented. It used to have sources but it's so old that no one is torrenting it anymore. I don't know what it's called, but its based off of the manga Skip Beat and it's supposedly the second game in the series. If anyone can find it that would really be great.

And yeah, TV tropes, updates. Blah. You know the drill.

I'm gonna start my job in a couple of weeks, so… yeah. That's gonna be fun.

That's about it!

So Review! Worship the log! Pray that Bazett won't sodomize Lancer with Gae Bolg even though his Luck Sucks! AND REVIEW AGAIN!