Fate/Stay Night - Prismatic Chaos

[Hermitfold]

Genius. Sheer genius. Lily continues to amuse me.

[ringlhach]

Still kinda surprised Lily didn't start making out with Kirika on the spot. ^_^;

Y'know, to "restore their contract" and all.

Psh, right...

[Keyne]

There is only one "but": Lily, because of her overly open attitude, could be considered lesbian, and I don't think she would hide it. But Saber has no sexual experience whatsoever (if you scratch out Morgan and her rape under enchantments done on Arturia), for until now she was leading an asexual life, so calling her a lesbian is a bit out of place.

[Alyeris]

Still kinda surprised Lily didn't start making out with Kirika on the spot. ^_^;

Y'know, to "restore their contract" and all.

Psh, right...

You will soon see why I didn't have her do it. I needed some way to stick to the main plot for a little longer.

There is only one "but": Lily, because of her overly open attitude, could be considered lesbian, and I don't think she would hide it. But Saber has no sexual experience whatsoever (if you scratch out Morgan and her rape under enchantments done on Arturia), for until now she was leading an asexual life, so calling her a lesbian is a bit out of place.

Eh, it's just Kirika over-generalising the statement. She's just found out who she had summoned (and don't ask me how this happened while they were talking about it in front of Kirei ;_; That's a mushroom hole that I forgot about) and Lily just shocked her brain into a temporary input/output error. It's also possible that she might think the same of Saber since in legend Arthur married Guinevere, but it's not to say that she's directly implying that Saber too is a lesbian.

I am also wondering whether to make Lily an outright les or just bi. Each choice has its pros and cons for the story as I have it planned right now. Hee hee, I am personally looking forward to the Mountain episode which will be the majority of chapter 3.

[Keyne]

Eh, it's just Kirika over-generalising the statement. She's just found out who she had summoned (and don't ask me how this happened while they were talking about it in front of Kirei ;_; That's a mushroom hole that I forgot about) and Lily just shocked her brain into a temporary input/output error. It's also possible that she might think the same of Saber since in legend Arthur married Guinevere, but it's not to say that she's directly implying that Saber too is a lesbian.

I am also wondering whether to make Lily an outright les or just bi. Each choice has its pros and cons for the story as I have it planned right now. Hee hee, I am personally looking forward to the Mountain episode which will be the majority of chapter 3.

Ah, I c. Car un den.

Hmm... make Lily an outright les. It'll be funny. And troublesome for Kirika.

I'm still waiting for that scene where Lily and Saber have a sincere talk in private.

[ringlhach]

My vote's to make her Kirika-sexual- just enough to tempt the hell out of and piss off Rin.

I admit, I love watching her try to go dere.

[Kratosirving]

Well, based on Lily's attitude thus far it's becoming harder for me to see her going for both teams. Thing is, if she is lez, I imagine there will end up being Lily on Saber to get her to "loosen up."

[Keyne]

Well, based on Lily's attitude thus far it's becoming harder for me to see her going for both teams. Thing is, if she is lez, I imagine there will end up being Lily on Saber to get her to "loosen up."

Though I imagine that with the attitude Saber has to Lily, she would immediately punch her in the face. She would not loosen up if there isn't a bit of friendship between them.

[Kratosirving]

They'll probably be friends by the end of it all. Shirou and Archer may hate themselves, but I dunno if the same will apply to our lovely ladies.

[Keyne]

They'll be friends by the end of it all. Shirou and Archer may hate themselves, but I dunno if the same will apply to our lovely ladies.

Well, definitely they're not trying to kill eachother, so they won't end up as Mr. Xerox v.1.0. and Mr. Xerox v.2.0.
First things first, Lily has to understand Saber and Saber has to accept Lily. For now, it's too early for them to get closer.

Btw.... Caster's going to go nuts because of Saber Lily right?

[Hermitfold]

But when they do get closer, it'll be awesome.

[Keyne]

But when they do get closer, it'll be awesome.

Sure, why not?

[Altima of the Gates]

Shirou was changed quite a while back, before Sakura had the chance to notice him at school. She only began to notice Shirou/Kirika later on, after Rin took her in as her apprentice in order to take responsibility for the damage that she had caused. Oh, and Sakura won't be simply a seething rival towards Kirika. Her relationship with Rin and Kirika will be a little more complex than that.

I'll be waiting to see what kind of complexity you show here. For Sakura to have all that power at her command and still bow to Shinji seems rather strange to me. Also, craving attention from the other students? That seemed kind of fishy.

But, I'll be sitting back and watching, see where this goes.

[Alyeris]

I'll be waiting to see what kind of complexity you show here. For Sakura to have all that power at her command and still bow to Shinji seems rather strange to me. Also, craving attention from the other students? That seemed kind of fishy.

But, I'll be sitting back and watching, see where this goes.

I would make the point that she only wants that attention because she thinks that by getting it she will get Rin's attention, but... *shrugs* I hope to satisfy. Sakura is actually a pretty difficult character for me to write. Kinda like Kohaku in Tsukihime in a way. They are both characters with complex backstories and due to their circumstances it's very hard to handwave away changes in their personality without ridiculous amounts of exposition that kill the story.

... Ugh... Chapter 4 and 5 is going to be so hard to write...

[Grant]

Then why not do flashes with disturbing implications that get explained later?

[Alyeris]

Then why not do flashes with disturbing implications that get explained later?

That is an option I admit, but I'm already using flashbacks with Saber and Lily. Adding more might be overdoing things.

[Grant]

Point. But what I meant was brief flashes (set in the past or present) or snippets that hint at darker things going on, not flashbacks.

[GlanGR]

Kotomine is trolling very well.

[Alyeris]

2-4


They had just crossed the bridge and were going through the park when she appeared.

"Finally!" They heard a bright young voice exclaim. "I found you onii-chan~!"

With their servants instantly alert for threats, Rin and Kirika were wondering what was going on when a little girl holding a strange stick jumped out of the bushes on the far end of the path they were on.

"That took forever!" she complained out loud as she brushed away a leaf that had stuck to her purple coat. "Never mind though. Now that I've found you I can ki-ki... Huh?"

As everyone on Kirika's side wondered what was going on, the girl began to look up and down between them and the stick in her hand. She appeared to be confused about something as her expression was that of someone who couldn't understand why something was in front of her when it should obviously be something else.

The strange interlude continued for a while longer before the girl finally sighed and threw the stick away into the bushes. For the oddest reason, Kirika felt like telling the girl not to litter, the motion being so similar to that of throwing away an empty juice can after one was done with it.

"Uuuuu," the girl pouted and looked at them annoyedly. "I knew I shouldn't have listened to that stupid old man. What does he mean that worthless stick is a priceless artefact? It can't even find one person!"

Kirika was still confused but Rin had apparently gotten some idea of the situation, and she moved to try and clear things up.

"Excuse me," she called out.

The girl stopped here muttering and turned her eyes to Rin. "What is it oba-san?"

Twitch. Rin froze for an instant before she responded, in a much frostier voice than before.

"That white hair and those red eyes. I had assumed that they indicated that you were a member of the noble Einzbern family, but I must have been mistaken," Rin stressed the word 'noble'. "There is no way that they would have sent such a rude little brat as their representative after all."

When she heard Rin's thinly veiled insult, the silver haired girl put her hands to her waist as she leaned forward to glare cutely at Rin.

"Oh, I'm sorry O-ba-san," the girl apologised, making sure to pronounce each syllable clearly. "I suppose you are one of the local mages that live around here? Let me introduce myself then. My name is Ilyasviel von Einzbern, mage of the Einzbern family. Pleased to meet you all."

The girl curtsied graciously, but then ruined it by spinning nonchalantly in place as soon as she had finished. Rin was near boiling point by now, and Saber didn't look all too happy with their new enemy either. Lily and Archer on the other hand were looking at the little girl almost fondly, as if she were just another child acting as children will.

Kirika was the only one who showed no real reaction to the girl's presence. She was caught up in that odd feeling again, the one where she felt as if she should know something, but the knowledge lay just beyond her reach. The feeling had started up with Ilya's appearance, and had only gotten stronger the longer she looked at her. Frustrating, to say the least.

"Oh, that's right," Ilya said as she clapped her hands delightedly. "Baka-san! That was the name of the family that lived here!"

"That's TOHSAKA you abominable little brat!" shouted Rin, unable to restrain her temper any longer.

Ilya tipped her head sideways, visibly surprised by the correction. Soon enough though she put on a naughty smile and danced around in a small circle.

"Toh~saka, Toh~baka, Chew~bacca," she sang in a charming voice. "Could you please tell me if you know someone called Emiya Shirou?"

"I said that's Tohsaka you -... Eh?" Rin was about to protest against the mangling of her family name when the content of Ilya's request penetrated the red haze of her outrage.

"Did you say Emiya Shirou?" Kirika asked, surprised by the mention of the name she had thought buried amidst the ruins of her past.

Ilya's eyes lit up as she spun around to face Kirika.

"Oh! Do you know where he is pretty nee-san?" Ilya skipped up to them until Saber cut her off her approach.

"Uhm... I guess I do," Kirika said sheepishly.

"Yay! The stick wasn't so useless after all!" Ilya said gleefully. "Tell me, tell me!"

"Well Emiya Shirou is..." Kirika's reply to Ilya's question was delayed as she watched Rin frantically signal for her to stop talking.

"Emiya Shirou is... ?" Ilya's eyes were wide as she focused all of her attention on Kirika. She looked so innocent that even Saber felt a bit of her wariness fade away.

Kirika laughed half-heartedly, remembering all the scary stories Rin and Kirei had told her about what would happen if her identity was revealed to a mage. "That's a bit difficult to explain," she told Ilya as she tried to fumble her way out of the pit she had dug for herself.

Ilya pouted. "Oh come on pretty onee-chan! Tell me! I will even promise that I won't kill you if you do!"

Ilya's bribe sunk the atmosphere instantly as the servants bristled at the implied threat to their masters' wellbeings. Archer summoned Kanshou and Bakuya into his hands, while Saber and Lily took up positions in front of Kirika.

"You go a little too far Ilyasviel," Saber told the Einzbern mage as she planted her sword point down in the ground to reinforce the message.

"Eh?" Ilya looked Saber up and down before she looked at Kirika again. "Is this your servant pretty onee-chan? She looks really weak."

It was Saber's turn to restrain herself as her hands tightened upon the hilt of her sword upon being dismissed by a child.

"Would you care to test that remark Ilyasviel?" Saber said through clenched teeth.

For some reason Lily suddenly became alarmed and was about to say something when she was interrupted by Rin.

"You are pretty confident Einzbern for someone who has three enemy servants in front of them," Rin said in a polite voice. "Or is just that you haven't learned to count yet?"

No sir, Rin wasn't angry about being called 'oba-san' while Ilya called Kirika 'pretty onee-chan' at all.

"You stay out of this oba-san," said Ilya, and followed this up by pulling a redeye at Rin. "It's just that all your servants are so wee~eak."

There was the sound of popping joints, which originated from Rin's closed fist. No sir, Rin wasn't angry at all.

"As I said just a moment ago, Ilyasviel von Einzbern," Saber raised her sword and pointed it towards Ilya's face. "Would you care to. Test. That. Remark?"

Ilya rolled her eyes. "Oh fine! I will just kill all of you and get the answer out of the pretty onee-chan later!" Ilya skipped back and threw up her arms. "Berserker! Get them!"

"■■■■■■-!"

The ground-shaking roar accompanied the grey-skinned giant that emerged from the air behind Ilya. Unshaken, Saber calmly attempted to jump back so as to avoid the wild swing that was aimed at her.

Attempted being the key word here.

"Saber?" Kirika let out an exclamation of surprise as Saber failed to get clear and barely managed to interpose her sword between herself and Berserker's crude sword-axe. Saber herself appeared confused as to why she hadn't been able to get back in time, and was having trouble holding her sword properly as she landed on her feet close to Kirika.

"Heh? Your servant is so weak pretty onee-chan!" Ilya commented as Berserker charged towards them.

Kirika was still too surprised at the way things had gone to react in time, but found herself moving back anyway as somebody grabbed her by the waist. When she looked, she saw that it was Lily. Who, for some reason, had an abashed grin on her face.

"■■■■-!"

Sparks flew off Berserker as Archer rained down a storm of arrows upon him, but to no apparent effect. Berserker did not even slow down as he chased down Saber, who had abandoned any thoughts of a direct confrontation in favour of simple avoidance for now.

"Lily, what's going on?" Rin asked as she shot a gandr at the enemy servant, only to see it splatter against Berserker like a drop of water. "Why is Saber so weak right now?"

"It can't be helped Rin," Lily said meekly. "Our link to Kirika was broken, and we are both in the state we were in when we were first summoned."

"Eh?!" Rin looked at Lily in consternation. "But that means..."

Lily was staring up at the sky. "Yes. To borrow the words of one of my knights. We are in quite the mess."

"Ha, ha, ha..." Rin's laugh was dry as she took in that information. Looking up at the rooftops where Archer had taken station, she then shouted, "Archer, we need some time! Can you hold Berserker off by yourself?"

"What, alone? With all of you here? Are you kidding me?" was Archer's reply.

Ilya was scornful of Rin's order as well. "Oh please Baka-san. There's no way your pathetic Archer could even hope to scratch my Berserker."

That was it. Rin couldn't take any more.

"Archer!" she shrieked. "I don't care what you do! Take that thing down and show this brat why you don't mess with the Tohsakas!"

Archer made a face, but summoned a peculiar arrow into his hand anyway. He probably would have pulled it out anyway but it went against his grain to reveal one of his hidden aces this early in the game. Oh well, it wasn't as if he could use it immediately anyway. Not unless he wanted to kill Saber as well as Berserker.

Below him, Saber was stuck in a deadly dance with Berserker as she continuously evaded death by the narrowest of margins. Her body was a lot slower than she remembered, and it was only her almost supernatural instincts that allowed her to remain relatively harm free and mobile. Even then she was already covered countless little wounds as the force of Berserker's wild blows turned the air around his crude weapon into a scything blade that tore at her as it passed by.

"■■■■-!"

As she ducked under another ground-shattering blow and got the armour on her back torn away in return, Saber realised that this was an opponent that she would have had difficulty against in her best condition. As she was now she had no chance at all, and she belatedly recalled Lily's look of alarm when she had challenged Ilyasviel. Her 'twin' had probably wanted to warn her about just this, but it was too late now, and she doubted she could even maintain this situation much longer.

While Saber put her life on the line to stay alive, Kirika was faced with a different dilemma in the background.

"I can't do that!" she screeched as Rin once again told her how they needed to do things.

"We don't have a choice," Rin snapped. "I would have preferred we use the standard contract as well, but we are only going to get one chance while Ilyasviel is distracted, and the last time you couldn't do it without this."

"But, but..."

"Not the time Kirika," Rin grumbled. "Hurry up and do it!"

"..." Kirika glanced nervously at Lily, and then at Saber who was barely staying beyond Berserker's reach as Archer distracted the grey giant with his arrows.

Ilya must have gotten a little tired of the cat and mouse game between Berserker and Saber, because she stamped her foot and shouted, "Berserker! Ignore Rin's servant and just take care of Saber! Those piddly arrows can't even hurt you anyway!"

Archer was being looked down on a lot these days.

"Enough dithering," Rin said impatiently. "Lily, just do it!"

"My pleasure," Lily said cheerfully.

Kirika looked at her servant a little fearfully, unnerved by the way she was being looked at.

"Now master," the white knight whispered in a hushed voice. "I would like to take my time and enjoy this like before (before? was Kirika's sudden thought) but Saber's situation requires me to help her quickly, so-."

Moving faster than any normal human could, Lily suddenly ambushed Kirika before she could even think of resisting. Kirika's gasp was smothered as Lily covered her mouth with her own, and Kirika felt her lips being forced open. Something sticky and coppery was passed between them, and her breath cut off until she was forced to swallow. Only then did Lily let her go, and Kirika slumped against her servant as she coughed and gasped for air.

Her head was in such a muddle from the unexpected kiss that Kirika missed what went on for a few seconds after that. She unconsciously did everything that was asked of her, but when she could think clearly again it was to see Berserker leaping at them like some gigantic wrecking ball of doom.

Fight or flight, the ancient equation. Unable to decide, everything slowed down as Kirika's instincts fought each other to a standstill. Sound faded, and Kirika's world shrank until it encompassed only that which she could see. The grey giant flying through the air, Lily shouting for her to get down, and a bright speck of light in the corner of her eyes. She saw everything with an unnatural clarity, but was unable to do anything as her body refused to act as she wanted it to.

She didn't know what it was that first signalled a return to normal perception. It might have been Berserker's sudden twist in mid-air to face something, or it might have been Lily crashing into her so that they both went down to the ground. Whatever it was, sound returned to her world, and it announced its reappearance in the most violent manner possible.

"■■■■■■■■-!"

As loud as Berserker's roar was, it was dwarfed by the explosion that rocked the still night air. Kirika's ears popped as the overpressure wave passed over her, and if the heat was as intense as it felt, she thought she might have a mild burn on the side of her that faced the epicentre of the blast.

Somebody shook her shoulder. When she looked she saw Lily as she lay on top of her, saying something that she couldn't hear through the ringing in her ears. Kirika motioned her condition to the servant, who nodded as she realised what was wrong and stood to let her up.

Kirika took the offered hand and let Lily help her to her feet. The temporary damage to her ears had thrown her sense of balance out of whack as well, and she doubted she could have stood up without her servant's help.

The flames that the explosion had left behind illuminated park with a ruddy light as Kirika looked around for Rin. She had just located Rin as the other girl got up from behind a concrete decoration, when something hit her foot.

"A... Sword?" Kirika mumbled to herself as the odd item faded out of existence as she watched.

Error - cataloguing of item: Caladbolg failed. Reason: Parallel line personality actualisation UBW impossible. Conciliating.

First Shard activation - Successful. Possibility assimilation and registry function, beginning operation.

Kirika felt her a headache coming on as she thought about the strange missile she had just seen. She called it a missile because she somehow knew that the strange twisted sword had caused the explosion, and that it had come from Archer. How she knew this was a mystery, but dwelling on the matter made the headache worse, and so she ignored it for now.

"Ow," Rin was looking at a skinned elbow as she walked up to them. "Stupid Archer, he could have given us more warning if he was going to do something like this."

Oh, she could hear things again. Kirika nodded in agreement with Rin as she looked around for Saber.

"Do you think it was enough?" she asked as she looked around for any signs that Berserker had survived, even as she searched for Saber, who she had last seen jumping away from the enemy servant.

"I think so," said Rin. "I mean, that was an A rank attack no matter how you look at it. No servant could have survived a direct hit like that."

"..." Kirika wasn't so sure, and apparently neither was Lily. The fair haired knight was on her guard as she stared intently at the heart of the flames that licked the crater that Archer's attack had created.

"Be careful," Saber warned as she trudged out of the bushes nearby. To Kirika's relief she didn't look much worse than before. "I can still sense Berserker."

"You are joking," Rin stated flatly as she turned to look at the crater.

With little fuel to burn on, the flames had retreated, and they could see the still form of the huge servant through the heat rippled air. Missing an arm and a significant portion of the upper chest, he would under any normal circumstances have been declared dead. As they watched however, the hulk began to move, and all those there were treated to the sight of a servant defying the laws of nature to restore their body from a fatal wound.

"Regeneration?" Rin wondered out loud as she observed the way that Berserker's body returned to normal. "No, that's more than simple regeneration. It's more akin to an overturning of a result. But, how?"

"Your servant is more interesting than I thought at first Baka-san," Ilya said as she reappeared from wherever she had hidden herself, interrupting Rin's train of thought. "He actually managed to take off one of my servant's twelve lives."

"Twelve lives?" Rin frowned as that phrase pinged something in her brain. "That strength, ignorance of damage, and that restoration. It can't be that..."

"You are right! My servant is Hercules!" Ilya clapped in congratulation of Rin solving the mystery of Berserker's identity. "For his labours in life he was granted immortality by the gods after death. My Berserker is invincible!"

"Hercules..." Kirika murmured.

Ilya's casual revelation of her servant's true name went against all common sense in this grail war, but it was understandable. Hercules was a mythological figure famous across the world and there was nothing in his legends that might prove a critical weakness to him. Ilya had nothing to lose from telling them this, and the knowledge that they faced the greatest of Greek heroes was enough to give anyone pause.

"I admit that I looked down on your Archer, Baka-san," Ilya continued. "But I bet he can't do that again though~."

Rin didn't reply to Ilya's teasing assertion. Saber and Lily were quiet as well. They knew very well what Archer had just done. Though they didn't understand why he would have done such a thing, they knew the cost involved and were silent in the knowledge that Ilyasviel was absolutely correct.

Which left Kirika wondering by herself what the heck Ilya was talking about. Why wouldn't Archer be able to do that again? It was just another arrow wasn't it?

"Anyway, this is boring now," Ilya said sullenly. "I need to find Shirou nii-san, and for that I need that pretty nee-chan over there. So, Berserker! Beat aside that weak Saber and grab the girl!"

"■■■■■■■■-!" Berserker roared in answer to his master's order.

"Master, get back!" Saber shouted as she ran over to bar Berserker's way. Though she knew she had no chance of stopping him, in her current condition it was the only thing she could do. Hopefully her sacrifice would give Kirika time to retreat with Rin.

In so doing however, Saber had completely forgotten about Lily's presence on the battlefield.

"Ah~ah Ilya-chan," Lily wagged her finger at the doll-like girl as she strode confidently past Saber. "To get to our master, first you have to get past me!"

Lily swung her sword at Berserker, and a golden arc inscribed itself onto the darkness. Clashing with the charging giant, the dazzling light tore through the arm of Berserker to cut deeply into the body beneath. With his arm lost again and a gaping wound in his chest Berserker's dead body continued on for a few steps, carried on by the inertia of his charge, but soon stopped and crashed to a stop onto the ground.

"Berserker?" Ilya's eyes were wide. "What? No way! How did your servant get so much stronger all of a sudden pretty nee-chan?! Berserker just lost four lives!"

"Four?" Lily got an unsatisfied look on her face as she herded Kirika away from the temporarily fallen servant. "Only four? I suppose I should have expected that from that way he moved at the last moment, but nevertheless..."

Ilya was obviously upset now. Looking back and forth between Berserker and Lily with frustrated tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Uuuuuuu," Ilya turned her attention to Saber, who had restored her wounds but was still just as weak as she had been when the fight began, if not weaker. The two servants were obivously of the same class, but why were they so different in power?

Noticing Ilya's interest in Saber, Lily glanced at Kirika. "Kirika, could you please recreate the link between you and Saber right now? Something tells me that we will need her at full strength."

Kirika's face went red as an apple, as did Saber's. Neither of them was comfortable with the idea of doing that, especially with another girl. Lily's request however had the effect of tipping the balance of Ilya's considerations, and the little girl let out a shrill shriek of frustration.

"Berserker, come! We are going back," she ordered her servant, judging the situation to be against her. "I'm going home for today, pretty onee-chan. Wait for me though, because I will be getting some answers from you!" Leaving that promise behind Ilya clambered onto Berserker's shoulder with his help. "Oh, and Baka-san? Meh~!"

Ilya stuck out her tongue at Rin over Berserker's back as the grey giant strode away into the night. Rin was too tired to respond to the provocation however, and she simply shook her head as she watched the pair go.

"First you summon king Arthur, and now the Einzberns pull out Hercules from under their robes. How ridiculous is this grail war going to get?" Rin asked of the world in a weary tone.

"Cheer up Rin, at least no one got hurt," said Kirika as she tried to find the bright side in all this.

"For which we were very lucky," Rin reminded her, eyes flashing. "I can't believe we forgot to restore the connection between you and your servants before we left the church!"

"..." Kirika didn't regret the lapse, and for a good reason. "Rin, there was no way I was going to do that anywhere near that place. Do you think Kirei would ever let me live it down if he saw me like that?"

Rin thought about it, and realised that Kirika was right. The sadistic priest would have delighted in being able to sit Kirika down in order to lecture her about the evils of same sex relationships, regardless of the truth of the matter.

"They are gone Rin," said Archer as he came down from the rooftops. "I just saw Ilya get picked up by a car."

"Thank goodness for small mercies," Rin muttered. She hadn't been sure that the rude little brat had really gone.

"Saber, are you alright?" Kirika asked her servant, concerned about the damage that she had seen her take.

Saber looked down at herself. Her armour was in pieces, the blue dress underneath torn and stained with blood where she had suffered wounds.

"A healing spell would be greatly appreciated if possible master, but there is nothing that will hinder me in future battles if that's what you mean," Saber replied once she had gauged her current condition.

"Let me take care of that," said Rin who had overheard. "Kirika isn't that good with healing and restoration."

Rin got out a small stone, and whispered a few words. A soft blue light enveloped Saber, and when it was gone the servant stood there in perfect condition again. At least externally.

"Thanks Rin," Kirika said gratefully. There was no way she could have done that all at once like Rin just had. She would have had to treat one wound at a time, and each one would have taken longer to take care of than Rin's spell just now.

"Thank you Tohsaka-san," Saber bowed slightly towards Rin as she expressed her gratitude.

"I told you, call me Rin," replied the young but skilled mage. "How's your condition now Saber?"

Saber frowned. "Not very good I'm afraid. Fighting with Berserker wearied me much more than it should have. I don't have any problems maintaining my existence for now, but I wouldn't be able to fight another battle until I've restored my reserves of magic power."

"That's why I tried to stop you Saber," Lily told her twin. "It was a bit rash of you to challenge Ilya like that when you knew what state you were in." She paused. "You did know what state you were in, didn't you?"

Saber coughed softly and looked away. "I was a little, distracted. And... I may have temporarily forgotten when Ilya announced her intentions towards our master."

"Silly Saber," Lily chuckled.

Saber coughed again, louder this time. But then, there wasn't much she could say. She had forgotten about her condition, and she had underestimated their opponent. There was no refuting that she had made a mistake.

"Well, I'm tired, and the rest of you must be tired too after everything that's happened," said Rin. "Hurry up and redo your contract with Saber so we can go home Kirika."

"Hah?"

"..." Saber had frozen up.

When Kirika showed no signs of moving anytime soon, Rin sighed and wagged a finger at her.

"We can't leave this till later Kirika. What will we do if we get attack again on the way home?" she waited for an answer but didn't get any from Kirika. "In any case, it's not as if it's your first kiss. Or even your second or third for that matter."

Kirika was staring up at the starry night sky, wondering just which god had decreed that all of her kisses would be with others of her own sex.

When neither Kirika or Saber moved from their spots, Rin frowned slightly and shared a conspiratory look with Lily.

"Again?" she asked the open minded knight.

"Yes," Lily nodded.

"Uhm, just a minute Rin. I feel much better now," Saber told them as she began to creep away from them. "Really, I do. There's no need to rush. I am sure we can do this later. Are you listening Lily?"

"Grab her Lily!" Rin suddenly shouted. "Get her over here!"

Realising that her attempts to delay the event were pointless, Saber tried to run. Weak as she was however, she was unable to get very far before the fully powered up Lily grabbed her and dragged her back despite her strident protests about the indecency of the whole thing.

"..."

"..."

Kirika and Saber tried not to meet each other's eyes as they were forced close to each other by Rin and Lily. Both were red-faced, and their hesitation over the act required was not helped by the two other girls who were hanging over them.

"Uhm, Rin," Kirika spoke up as she accepted, in her head if not her heart, that they were going to have to do this sooner or later. "If we are going to do this, could we get some privacy? It's a bit embarrassing with everyone looking at us."

"Archer, turn around," Rin ordered immediately. "And wipe that goofy grin off your face."

"If anyone has a goofy face around here, it's Lily," Archer replied drily as he obeyed Rin's order. He wasn't so shy that he wouldn't admit to taking a degree of perverse pleasure in watching Saber make out with another girl, but if ordered not to he wouldn't.

Kirika watched him turn around, but raised an eyebrow when no one else moved.

"Don't mind me, I've seen it all before," Lily said with a bright smile on her face. "Carry on."

"What? It's not as if I haven't kissed you either," said Rin when Kirika looked at her after she had glared at Lily.

Kirika sighed. "Rin, Lily, you too."

Lily looked at her plaintively, but acquiesced to Kirika's demand when her master didn't so much as flinch. Rin too seemed to want to keep looking, but saw the growing annoyance in Kirika's eyes and quickly turned around.

With the audience gone, Kirika carefully snuck a look at Saber, but found that Saber was staring at her at the same time.

"..." Saber was fidgeting with her fingers.

"Uhm..." Kirika had no idea what to say.

It took a while before either of them drew up the courage to speak, and when they tried to do so it was at the same time as the other. Which only ended with both of them urging the other to talk first.

"You go first Saber."

"Ah, no. You first master."

A standoff again.

"..."

"..."

As the seconds ticked by, the atmosphere grew more and more uncomfortable for both of them. It was only when Rin cleared her throat to signal that they were taking too long that Kirika sighed and got a little closer to Saber.

"..." Her face only inches from Saber's, Kirika could feel herself going red from embarrassment.

Saber wasn't much better, and was visibly shaking as she tried to keep herself from moving away.

"Uhm... I'm really sorry about this," Kirika said meekly as she bobbed her head.

Saber blushed and shook her head. "It's not a problem master. We are only connecting a pass between us after all."

Contrary to the ease conveyed by her words, Saber's hands were opening and closing as she fought her nervousness about the whole deal.

"..."

"..."

There was nothing more they could say really, and Kirika knew that if they didn't do something soon Rin or Lily was going to lose patience and do it for them. Knowing that whatever Rin and Lily did would be much more embarrassing than a simple kiss would be, Kirika took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leant in towards Saber.

A short eternity passed by for Kirika as she sensed Saber's lips approach hers. Just before they would have touched, both of them froze, restrained by the morals that they had grown up with. That moment soon passed, and the two of them made contact. Kirika felt Saber jump as their lips met each other, and knew that she had done the same. They fumbled clumsily like that for a while, neither of them very sure as to how they were going to get this done. Finally, remembering how Lily had done it earlier, Kirika covered Saber's mouth with her own.

"Mmph?!" Saber gasped, and Kirika almost choked as she felt some air go down her throat. Despite this she maintained the contact, and hesitantly stretched her tongue into Saber's mouth.

To her surprise Kirika felt a sweet taste at the end of her tongue when she entered Saber's mouth, and she stopped for a second to enjoy it. When she came back to her senses, it was to the realisation that Saber was trying to pass something across through their joined mouths and into her. Remembering that this was one of the last steps, Kirika carefully accepted the sticky coppery fluid and swallowed it.

Task complete, Kirika opened her eyes and found Saber's green eyes staring into her own. She became lost in those pools of turquoise for a while, feeling as if she were floating in the warm waters of the Carribbean. It was such a comfortable feeling in fact, that Kirika only remembered that she was still kissing Saber when she heard someone gulp loudly somewhere to their side.

Shocked back to her proper senses, Kirika jumped back from Saber and turned towards the rest of the group. To her displeasure she found that all three of them had turned back to look at them as they... Made a connection.

"Rin! Lily! I thought I told you not to look!" she cried out with her face cherry red from mortification.

"Sorry, sorry," Rin put up a hand in apology. "It's just that you were taking so long, and I got curious."

That wasn't the only reason, but never was Rin going to admit to Kirika that over last few days she had begun to wonder if she was bisexual.

Lily said nothing and backed away from the angry pair. She had never been one for excuses, and she wasn't about to start making them now.

Archer was quiet, but had a smug smile on his face that none of them could see as he stood facing the other way from where Kirika and Saber had been. Having a clairvoyance rank of C had its advantages. An eyesight good enough to pick out individual strands of a person's hair from a tiny reflection being one of them.

"You people..." Saber said ominously in a shaking voice. "Learn some manners already!"

Roaring like a lion on the savannah, Saber leapt after Lily with her invisible sword held high. Since she hadn't completed the connection ritual yet, Lily was easily able to keep beyond her enraged twin's reach, and it took a while for Rin and Kirika to defuse the situation.

This was pretty much the last event of the night. After she had calmed down, Saber swore to serve as Kirika's sword once more, and then everyone returned to the Tohsaka mansion to unburden themselves of the fatigue from the night's activities behind the formidable wards of the estate. For the four girls this involved going to sleep, while the lone full astral retreated to the rooftop, where he spent the lonely hours of dawn thinking about his past and his future. One and the same for him, yet twisted somehow in this strange version of his world that he found himself in. What that meant for him was a mystery beyond his ability to ken, but he had high hopes.

It wasn't as if he had anything to lose by hoping after all.

________________________

I had to nerf Saber and Lily for this battle because otherwise it would have been a total massacre. Caliburn managed to kill Berserker seven times in one hit in the fate route, and it might have done more had he more lives left at the time. Here Lily already has Caliburn at the ready, and both Saber and Lily are much stronger at full power than Saber was under Shirou. Throw in Archer and... Yeah, Berserker wasn't going to be surviving the fight. That would have been a bad thing in regards to the plot I have planned. Thus, the lapse.

This is also the last part of chapter 2. Next up will be chapter 3 and the groups encounter with the Caster team. All the little intro stuff for the setting and Kirika is done now, and we are about to enter the grail war itself. I'm looking forward to it actually.

[Keyne]

Niiiiiiii~~~~ce! :3

Also:

With the audience gone, Kirika carefully snuck a look at Saber, but found that Saber was staring at her at the same time.

"..." Saber was fidgeting with her fingers.

"Uhm..." Kirika had no idea what to say.

It took a while before either of them drew up the courage to speak, and when they tried to do so it was at the same time as the other. Which only ended with both of them urging the other to talk first. I find two shy people sharing a kiss a pretty dear image. Especially if its gentle, like here.

"You go first Saber."

"Ah, no. You first master."

A standoff again.

"..."

"..."

As the seconds ticked by, the atmosphere grew more and more uncomfortable for both of them. It was only when Rin cleared her throat to signal that they were taking too long that Kirika sighed and got a little closer to Saber.

"..." Her face only inches from Saber's, Kirika could feel herself going red from embarrassment.

Saber wasn't much better, and was visibly shaking as she tried to keep herself from moving away.

"Uhm... I'm really sorry about this," Kirika said meekly as she bobbed her head.

Saber blushed and shook her head. "It's not a problem master. We are only connecting a pass between us after all."

Contrary to the ease conveyed by her words, Saber's hands were opening and closing as she fought her nervousness about the whole deal.

"..."

"..."

There was nothing more they could say really, and Kirika knew that if they didn't do something soon Rin or Lily was going to lose patience and do it for them. Knowing that whatever Rin and Lily did would be much more embarrassing than a simple kiss would be, Kirika took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leant in towards Saber.

A short eternity passed by for Kirika as she sensed Saber's lips approach hers. Just before they would have touched, both of them froze, restrained by the morals that they had grown up with. That moment soon passed, and the two of them made contact. Kirika felt Saber jump as their lips met each other, and knew that she had done the same. They fumbled clumsily like that for a while, neither of them very sure as to how they were going to get this done. Finally, remembering how Lily had done it earlier, Kirika covered Saber's mouth with her own.

"Mmph?!" Saber gasped, and Kirika almost choked as she felt some air go down her throat. Despite this she maintained the contact, and hesitantly stretched her tongue into Saber's mouth.

To her surprise Kirika felt a sweet taste at the end of her tongue when she entered Saber's mouth, and she stopped for a second to enjoy it. When she came back to her senses, it was to the realisation that Saber was trying to pass something across through their joined mouths and into her. Remembering that this was one of the last steps, Kirika carefully accepted the sticky coppery fluid and swallowed it.

Task complete, Kirika opened her eyes and found Saber's green eyes staring into her own. She became lost in those pools of turquoise for a while, feeling as if she were floating in the warm waters of the Carribbean. It was such a comfortable feeling in fact, that Kirika only remembered that she was still kissing Saber when she heard someone gulp loudly somewhere to their side.

I started visualizing this in my head and the outcome was pretty sexy. Though, I had to add Kirika's palm on Saber's cheek for the full picture.