Fate/Sixth Dual

[Draconic]

Author's Note: This first chapter has been a long time coming. Like, really, really long. I am so glad I have all the material ready. I may polish this a little bit after the fact, though I don't think I missed anything.

Summary: Post [Unlimited Blade Works] Five years after the Fifth Holy Grail War, (three years after the epilogue), an impatient group of mages bent on reaching Akasha decide to hold a War of their own, and where better to hold it than the place that never seems to be free of such conflicts? With several mages sweeping the leylines to generate sixty years worth of mana in a matter of hours, Fuyuki City is once again slated to be transformed into a battleground.

When Sakura senses these mages arriving one after another, she promptly sends word to her sister and former upperclassman currently studying at the Clock Tower in London. But when Shirou and Rin finally arrive on the scene, they find themselves at the center of a battle the scale of which threatens to spin completely out of control. With faces both familiar and unfamiliar appearing at every turn and only a handful of trustworthy allies, they must win a war against twelve other masters who have no idea what kind of horror truly waits for them within the Holy Grail.

If they fail, Angra Mainyu awaits. And with it, the end of everything.


Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

[Draconic]

Chapter 1

It began with a letter.

One of many.

It wasn't an urgent letter, nor was it preceded or accompanied by a phone call. There certainly weren't going to be any emails. The sender knew her sister had enough trouble with technology without being forced to use more of it.

It read as follows:


Dear Rin,

I'm very sorry to bother you, as I'm sure your work at the Clocktower is very important. I only wanted to let you know that strange things are happening in Fuyuki. There have been a string of disappearances over the past several weeks, and one person was actually found beheaded. By the time you receive this, the killer will have been at large for several days already. I don't consider this to be a dangerous situation, but I did feel you deserved to know. I know that it's supposed to take sixty years before the Grail can manifest again, but I just have a nagging feeling that these incidents have something to do with the Holy Grail. These disappearances remind me too much of what happened during the last War. Everything's fine for now though, so don't worry about anything.

Please give Senpai my best.

Your loving sister,

Sakura


Rin found herself on the verge of tears just from reading the signature.

She remembered how Shirou had reacted when he had read her first letter to Sakura.

"I didn't know that you and Sakura were sisters," he had noted, reading over her shoulder.

"Oh, Emiya, you still don't know a lot of things about me. But yes, Sakura was originally a Tohsaka. I've actually been kind of worried about her. I've heard some untoward things about the patriarch of the Matou clan."

Shirou sighed.

"There's something important you aren't telling me. I don't know how I know that, but something feels…I guess like it's an unfinished thought.

Dammit, how did he transform into some sort of social savant at the most inconvenient times. At least he went back to being awkward within seconds.

"Fine, I'll give you the whole story later, just give me some time to get my thoughts sorted out."

The truth was that she didn't know nearly as much about Sakura's life as she would have liked. That was why she had started correspondence with her sister to begin with. She didn't get a response for over a month-and-a-half, and though it hurt, she couldn't blame her for wanting nothing to do with her, though she was thrilled when she finally got a reply. It was a tiny bit prickly in a way that Sakura likely wouldn't have displayed in person, but that Sakura answered a letter at all was progress. It had taken six letters before Sakura had started replying, but they had been writing each other weekly ever since.

As for her sister's 'grandfather,' she had heard far more than untoward rumours about Zouken Matou. The rumours drifting around the mage community about him ranged from unsettling to downright gruesome, but she knew that if Shirou caught a whiff of trouble, he'd go charging off to save Sakura like the chivalrous idiot he was. And that was the one thing that Archer had explicitly told her not to let his past self do. She had one job. Keep Shirou in line.

Okay, she had two jobs; keep Shirou in line and make sure he didn't become a cynical creep with a gargantuan attitude problem.

She thought she was doing a good job of it so far.

The only times she ever got distracted where when that scheming cow Luvia showed her smug face around her.

Although, if Shirou was telling the truth, that obnoxiously huge rack of hers was causing her back pain, and she was apparently jealous of Rin for her less endowed figure. Who would have guessed.

Of course, she'd never admit that she was jealous of Luvia's bust size. Ever.

Back to the topic at hand however, if people in Fuyuki were vanishing, there most certainly was cause for great concern. Though she had faith in Sakura, Rin was still her big sister. She had a responsibility to protect her only remaining family. And that wasn't even mentioning that other thing Sakura had mentioned in one her previous letters.

She'd have to speak with Professor El-Melloi II to get permission to leave, but however strict he could be, he was a reasonable man.

Unlike his predecessor, apparently. She had never seen him get so worked up as when he talked about Lord El-Melloi I. He had actually used the words, 'that manwhore was an arrogant dickhead!'

She wouldn't have believed he said it if she hadn't been there. And upon hearing it, she promised him that she would never share what he said with anyone.

Without being prompted.

She wasn't a kiss-up. She just knew an opportunity to get into someone's good books when she saw one.

"Are you planning to go home for a while?" Shirou asked, jarring her from her thoughts.

"Oh! Yes, I think so. I was just thinking about what I should tell our sponsor."

Shirou grinned.

"Just tell him that your apprentice has a hero complex and he ran off to help an old friend back home."

"I doubt he'd believe that."

"I already told him about my dream. He might buy it."

"Not if you don't leave first. And I absolutely refuse to fly by myself."

"I don't see how you could possibly dislike flying. It's—"

"It's nerve wracking, uncomfortable, and I always feel like that giant hunk of metal could tumble out of the sky at any moment."

"It's the safest way to travel, statistically speaking."

"I'll believe that when I see the study proving it," Rin said haughtily.

* * * * *

Rin was the first person off the plane. She wasn't anywhere near the front of the airliner, but she made it work. Shirou was fully capable of bringing out both of their carry-ons, and though clambering over the seats like a ferret was undignified, given the choice between her pride or getting off the plane even a second earlier, she chose to sacrifice her pride. There were very few occasions that warranted such drastic measures, but airplanes were one of them.

"I hate planes," she grunted as Shirou caught up with her, carrying three bags of varying sizes.

"I told you the other day, they're the safest way to travel."

"I'll believe that when someone explains how that's even possible. In detail."

Shirou put the bags down, and sighed. Eleven full hours of Rin holding on to him like her life depended on it—with a few breaks for the in-flight meal, using the restroom and for a couple snacks.

"I'm so glad to be on the ground again," she said, "I always feel like those things could fall out of the sky at any moment. How do you keep a gigantic hunk of metal in the air anyway?"

Shirou sighed. It had taken a while, but they were back home in Japan.

* * * * *

El-Melloi was surprisingly easy to convince, though despite the rushed nature of their departure, they only managed to book a flight for late afternoon, and all the flights to their part of Japan had stopovers. Those weren't the problem.

The real trick had been getting Tohsaka onto the plane in the first place. She had resigned herself to the necessity of taking a plane, but when she saw the name of the airline, Rin put her foot down.

It was Finnair.

Ever since meeting Luvia, Rin had decided that Finland was a den of evil. She shunned anything and everything that originated there, literature, food, and when he pointed out to her one day that since the building they lived in belonged to Luvia and that there was a chance that much of their furniture was from Finland, she nearly tried to remove every last fixture in their apartment… until she tipped over a bookshelf and saw the 'made in Denmark' sticker on the bottom. Thank you IKEA.

Finnair was no exception to this rule, and she made it very clear that she would doing permanent damage to every part of his anatomy if he continued trying to get her onto that plane.

So he threw the tickets away and bought a pair of tickets for Royal Dutch Airlines for the following morning.

And then she nearly had a panic attack as the plane took off. Cue death grip.

The stopover in Amsterdam was shorter than planned, and Rin, though acclimated enough not to panic again, was no less clingy for the next eleven-plus hours. Shirou had to admit, he kind of enjoyed it.

It was a few minutes past seven o'clock when they arrived at Fuyuki airport, and Rin had never been happier to be on solid ground again. Except for when they first arrived in London.

Though her house was closer, they had already decided to set up shop at the Emiya residence, and had to get a few things ready.

​Walking through the front doors, Shiro and Rin were greeted by the sound of an argument.
​
“Don't give me anymore bullshit! You're the one he trained! You're the one who got all the attention! You're not fooling anyone saying you can't do magecraft!”

​“It's not that I can't, it just doesn't work! I can cast a spell, but it just…fizzles…”

​“How the hell are you so sure about that! You were a Tohsaka! You should be capable of anything!"

"You just want revenge on that woman for embarrassing you!”

"Ding ding ding! Give the girl a prize," Shinji growled. "How can you even be sure that you can't if you aren't even going to try?"

"I told you, it hurts when I try to use magecraft."

"Well try anyway!" Shinji demanded, adding an offhand "I believe in you!"

The sarcasm in his voice wasn't quite as obvious as one might have expected, almost like Shinji actually had the vaguest sliver of confidence in Sakura's powers, should she actually have any. The sarcasm was still there though.

"No! I'm not doing it!"

"Yes, you are! Don't make me do this the hard way…"

​“You can’t force me to do anything anymore, Shinji! I’m not your servant!”

​“The hell you aren’t! You’re the most eager-to-please person I’ve ever met in my life aside from Emiya. What else did you pick up from him, huh? You suddenly want to be a hero too? Tall order for someone who’s already dead inside!”

​“That’s not fair! I'm a lot better than I used to be!”

​Already uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, Rin decided it was time to interrupt, walking into the kitchen, Shirou in tow.

​“This argument is as fascinating as it is disturbing, but would either of you care to explain what’s going on?” she asked.

​Shinji and Sakura both nearly jumped out of their skins.

"S-Senpai? Big sister?" said Sakura, "But-but I told you everything was fine.”

​“Tohsaka?!” Shinji sputtered, “Wait, Emiya?! What are you doing here?!”

​“Uh, this is my house. It belongs to me. I live here,” Shiro said, scartching the back of his neck. “What are you two doing here.”

​“Full disclosure!” Sakura shouted, maybe a bit too loud, “We’re hiding.”

​“What are you doing, you idiot?! You don’t tell people that!”

​“Well, it is Senpai’s house."

​Shinji visibly withered, practically shrinking in on himself.

​“Er, okay, that opens up an entirely new book of questions,” Rin said.

​The door opened and Taiga Fujimura strolled into the house, sliding into the kitchen, the grin on her face wide as ever.

"Hey hey, Sakura! You getting breakfast ready yet?"

​“Now what?!” Rin sputtered.

Taiga looked toward the sound of the familiar voice, and momentarily ignored Tohsaka in favor of the boy standing next to her.

​“I didn’t know you were coming home, Shirou!”

​“Why are you still even coming here, Fuji-nee?!”

​“Sakura’s been feeding her… like an idiot,” Shinji grumbled, “Can’t you see she’s freeloading off of your charity?”

​“But we’re freeloading off of Senpai…”

​“He's not your senpai anymore!” yowled Shinji, his voice rising to a hysterical high pitch as his frustration continued mounting.

​“While you’re here, Shirou, do you think you and Sakura could make breakfast? I’m starving!”

​“I haven’t even been home for five minutes!” Shirou complained.

​Secretly, Rin was actually very proud of him for at least showing some disdain for being ordered around first thing. He still decided to start bustling around the kitchen like he was Taiga's housewife though (“Well, I have company,” he said. The dolt). To this end, or at least to make things marginally easier for Shirou—in her opinion, at least—she grabbed Shinji by the back of his collar, revelling in his panicked protests as she dragged him toward the front hall, and sent him flying out the door with a magically powered kick.

“No! You can't do this to me!” he cried as he tried to get back inside, only to have the door slammed into his face. “Please! Let me back in! I’ll die out here! Grandfather's been trying to kill me for months! If Sakura isn't around, I'm dead meat!”

Something about the way he said it, maybe the semi-debilitating terror consuming his voice, convinced her to be merciful.

She opened the door and the greasy haired weasel practically fell inside like gravity was pulling him the wrong way.

Before he had a chance to say anything, she grabbed him by the throat, glaring at him with the intensity of a mercury fire.

Merciful, of course, depended on one's definition of the word.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, you disgusting little weasel,” she hissed in his ear, “Sakura's tried not to give too much away, because despite everything, she still feels some concern for you, but I still know that you put her through hell. You're not quite the monster your grandfather is, but you're still a complete asshole.

"So let me make this nice and clear to you: If it weren’t for your little sister, you’d be a stain on the floor ten times the size of your body right now. I honestly regret pulling you out of that fleshy horror. She told me not to hurt you, but she never specifically said anything expressly forbidding me from making your tongue stuck to the bottom of your mouth forever.” Shinji’s eyes widened in terror, more from the look in her eyes than her threat, and Rin did her best to imitate one of his own lecherous grins, going so far as to parrot his tone, “So the next time I catch a whiff of you giving her a hard time, I’ll break your face in every way it's possible for one to do so. You get me?”

He gasped unintelligibly, but his vigorous nodding was good enough for her. She dropped him.

“Thank you…” he whimpered, crawling back toward the kitchen.

She smiled, high as a kite. She skipped merrily back into the interior of the house.

She had been exaggerating a little, of course. She wasn't about to mutilate him. But she was more than ready to beat him senseless.

Arriving back in the kitchen, Rin watched Shirou scoop five perfectly fried egg rolls out of a pan and into a serving dish, and then started making more. A kettle whistled and Sakura rushed past her and took it off the stove, pouring two cups for the hosts, two more for the guests, and one more for the teacher playing at homelessness.

That said, the roles of 'hosts' and 'guests' were kind of ambiguous at the moment.

“Hey, you two,” Taiga pointed at Shirou and Rin, completely oblivious to the conversation that took place moments earlier, “You wouldn’t happen to have met a busty girl with silver hair in London did you? Tall? Wears fancy clothes? Looks kind of aloof? She’s been hanging around this area a bit lately. Thought she might be looking for you.”

“Uh, no, not that I can think of,” said Shirou, “The only girl I know of that fits even half that description is Lady Luvia, but she’s blonde, and isn’t particularly tall either.”

“What’s the deal with you still calling her ‘Lady?’ ” griped Rin, “It’s not like she’s even around right now, and in all the time I’ve had the displeasure of knowing her, she has never once pronounced your name correctly!”

Taiga suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Ack! I think I left my keys in my scooter!" she ran out of the room and out the front door.

“And that woman the Tiger just mentioned, she's why we’re here. She is our grandfather’s unique way of torturing us. He somehow managed to summon a heroic spirit and she’s been trying to kill me ever since. Mostly she just tries to scare Sakura. I’ll be the first to admit though that it really isn’t very hard.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being respectful.”

Rin growled.

“Seems like this girl rubs you the wrong way, Tohsaka,” Shinji said, the smugness returning to his voice, “What’s she done to you. Maybe she practices the same type of magic as you? Or maybe she’s just cuter and you’re jealous of her looks?”

“Not a chance, you maggot!” she elbowed his head into the table. He was actually correct to a T, but she’d never admit that. That was tantamount to letting that snobby Edelfelt win.

Shinji rubbed his head where it had connected with the wood.

“Would it kill you to not hit me whenever I say anything?”

“You don’t want me to hit you, don’t say anything to piss me off.”

“I should look into this Luvia chick. She probably won’t try to punch me as often at least.”

"So how long do you think you'll be staying?" asked Taiga, taking a seat at the table.

"Dunno," Shirou answered honestly.

"Yay!" sang the irrepressibly upbeat English teacher, "Now I get to eat like a queen for a couple days."

"Don't say it like that," Shirou groaned.

* * * * *

It had been a few hours before Taiga had finally left. She was no less spontaneous than she used to be, asking reams of questions that Shirou and Rin were incapable of answering honestly. Fortunately they had planned for this particular inevitability and had prepared a script beforehand. Even so, by the time Taiga finally headed back out, the sun was high in the sky and Shirou and Rin were both anxious to get started.

She stepped outside into the courtyard and hopped down to the grass, pacing around in a lazy circle.

"Before we head out to my place, do you think that we should check your storage shed?"

Shirou looked at her, uncomprehending.

"There probably won't be much of a difference since I was last there. What would the point be?"

"Are you really that dense? I can already sense the presence of several mages somewhere in the city, who wouldn't normally be here. At least seven of them. This is already unprecedented.

We might only have a few hours left before things turn into a huge mess, and for that reason, we should be taking inventory of the reams of magical items just sitting uselessly in that shed. I mean, this should be obvious."

"What do you mean magic items? There isn't anything in there but tools, metal rods that I collected for practice and a whole lot of garbage that I never got around to tossing."

Rin's left eye twitched, her mouth just barely hanging open.

"How do you go so many years living in this house without realizing you're sleeping on a treasure trove?!" She sputtered.

"I dunno! How come you didn't tell me I had them last time?"

"I assumed you knew and just didn't have anything you thought could help!"

"Then why are you asking now?"

"I— because— gah! We don't have time for this! Wait, no. I mean, because we still do have time, but we won't—" she heaved a sigh, "Look, even if there really isn't anything useful in there, we might be able to recycle a few things for mana. Or maybe you could rig something together out of a few different things."

He still seemed nonplussed, but he shrugged and said, "suit yourself."

Twenty minutes in, and Rin was already frightened.

"What kind of man was your father? You make him out to be some sort of hero, but the spells and equipment here all suggest a hit man!"

"I don't really know much about what my dad did before he found me. He never liked talking about it."

"Well, I can see why, if these things are any indication," she held up a pair of empty assault rifles and tossing them aside.

She moved another box, lifting a pair of bayonets out of another. Shirou couldn't help but feel they somehow made her look sexier.

She made to walk further inside, and her foot brushed along a groove in the floor.

"What did I just—" she looked down to see a curved live carved into the floor, along with a few intricate designs. But whatever it was, was covered by boxes. Though, Rin had a pretty good idea what she had just found. She recognized that pattern.

"Hey, Shirou? Help me move these boxes."

He turned to look at her as she struggled to push the large stacks. He joined in her effort, pressing his back against it and pushing with his legs. And slowly, one pile of boxes began to move. Rin looked down at the floor and smirked. Of course she had been right.

"Did you know this was here?" she leered up at Shirou, who found himself shivering as though the temperature had dropped below zero.

"Yes?" he tried to say.

"Ugh, you are so stupid sometimes!" she let out an ever-suffering sigh. "Well, as long as we're here, we may as well try and summon a Servant for you."

"What about you?" Shirou asked.

"I have a summoning circle in my own house, so I'm going to use that one," she said, suddenly pausing.

"Actually, since you don't have a catalyst, you should probably wait until two a.m. so you'll have a better chance of getting a good servant."

She was utterly stupefied when Shirou completely ignored her suggestion, walking over to the still partially covered circle.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Don't worry, I got this."

"No you don't! You don't know anything about summoning a heroic spirit! You told me yourself that summoning Saber was an accident!"

"Look, I know there's absolutely no way you'll believe me, but what if I told you that I know I'll summon her again?"

"What?" she gave him a look.

"I'm being completely serious," he said, "I don't know why, or how, but I'm sure that I'll summon Saber again."

"You are completely out of your damn head," she seethed. Shirou could practically see steam pouring out of her ears.

"Just trust me. Please. Just this once. If it doesn't work, then it'll serve me right for being so arrogant. If it does… well, then we have Saber again."

"You're an idiot. You were still memorizing the incantation on the plane ride over here!"

Shirou smiled at her.

"I'm honestly, surprised you were paying attention, but good for you, this indicates progress toward overcoming your fear of flying.

"And don't worry. I promise, I will summon Saber."

He projected a dagger from his reality marble and held it over his hand.

"Uh, stop! You don't have to do that!" Rin yelped.

Shirou looked at her quizzically. "I heal pretty quickly, so it shouldn't be a problem…"

"Yeah, but I have powdered silver, and that'll work just fine too. I don't want you to do this, but if you're going to do something incredibly stupid, at least do it without bleeding all over the place."

She dug around in her bag of gems, pulling out a thick glass flask of the aforementioned substance and handed it to him.

"This is your first actual summoning ritual. You realize what you're doing is tantamount to suicide if you want to keep people from dying in this Grail War?"

Shirou took the sparkling dust and scattered it on the floor.

"It won't be. I can feel it. I can't explain it, but I know I'll get her. For a fact. I'm that sure it'll work."

"Hmph," she looked away hautily, "Watch it be sone deranged loon. Caligula would serve you right."

Shirou rolled his eyes.

The dust began flowing through the grooves in the floors and the circle began to glow with an otherworldly light.

"Close the four gates. Come forth from the crown, and follow the forked road leading to the kingdom."

He saw the scabbard in his mind's eye, rotating in a void.

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.

Repeat five times, but when each is filled, destroy it.

Set.

Heed my words: My will creates your body, your sword creates my destiny.

If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning!

I hereby swear, I shall be all the good in the world. That I shall defeat all evil in the world. Seventh heaven, clad in the great words of power. Come forth from the circle of binding, guardian of the scales!"

The light turned blue, but it was so blindingly bright that neither Shirou not Rin could tell.

Then something became visible. The silhouette of a young woman in armor. The light began to dim, revealing a regal blue dress, thick gauntlets and a shining silver cuirass.

"I don't believe it," Rin breathed.

Shirou, having been closer to the light was still unable to see anything.

Amidst the ocean of blue, Rin saw a shock of gold, and two points of green.

In front of her, Shirou could see the sword, just waiting for him to grasp it. To join him again, just as before.

He reached for it.

The sword reached back.

Shirou felt the gauntlet grasping his arm as his eyes finally began to readjust.

"I ask of you…" came a familiar voice, "are you worthy to be— Shirou?!"

He knew that voice. Even after five years, his memory of it had been perfect. It was so good to hear it again.

He scratched the back of his neck, a grin playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Well, I guess. I mean I hope I am, because I don’t know how to be anyone else.”

He finally saw her, in all her resplendent glory.

He turned to shoot a triumphant smirk at Rin, whose expression was beyond priceless, wide eyed, her mouth open wider than he had ever seen it. She was looking from him to the King of Knights, pointing at Saber like she was some sort of miracle.

"I'm glad to see that one of us finds this amusing," said Arturia, "Not that I find this arrangement disagreeable. Far from it. Merely that it is so far beyond unlikely that it approaches the realm of impossibility."

Rin took a deep breath, swallowed hard.

Shirou nodded at Saber, looking for a moment at the command seals that had appeared on the back of his left hand, and turned back to Rin. Just for a moment.

"Told you," he said.

[Draconic]

Chapter 2

Luvia felt like a fool for even worrying that the Tohsaka girl might notice she was on the same plane as her. The poor girl was so terrified of flying that the experience must have taken years off her life. Or at least, she hoped it did.

Unlike Tohsaka, Luvia had quite enjoyed the flight to Japan. She liked flying in general. It was such a thrill to feel the plane leaving the ground.

That, of course, had taken place eleven hours ago in Amsterdam. Now all she had to do was check into a hotel. Her summoning circle was crude; simply a foldable piece of hardware made entirely out of silver, with a curse of her own design worked into it. But it would work as well as any carved diagram, and it wouldn't arouse suspicion. As for the curse, it ensured she wouldn't get a wuss for a Servant. Only the most ruthless and efficient of Servants would satisfy her. No Teslas or Robin Hoods for her, thank you.

The room she found was quaint. A fairly standard two bed setup with a bathroom and a small kitchenette. Finding no space on the floor large enough, she unfolded her summoning circle on top of one of the beds and lay down on the other.

She looked again at the letter her informant had left her.


Holy Grail War VI suspected to commence within the week.

Known participants:

Talia Lieber
Huang Lei Long

Expected Participants:
Shirou Emiya
Rin Tohsaka

If you participate, please be cautious.


Only one of the certain participant's names meant anything to her. Talia Lieber. The woman was an Israeli alchemist, and a damn good one, if her sources were correct. Rumour had it that she was also an expert in the field of golem and automaton construction. She would likely be a dangerous foe, to be sure.

Unfortunately, the informant in question hadn't left her any details on any of the participants, however, that was to be expected considering that the man who left the letter in her mailbox wasn't one of her usual connections. He had intended to make it look like it was from one of hers, but she already knew she had one of her favorite professors to thank.

Unfortunately, this lack of detail also meant that the Chinese mage could be absolutely anyone. She didn't even know if he was actually Chinese, or if Huang Lei Long was no more than a pseudonym. He might not even be a 'he' at all. And since Luvia was going to participate—and win, obviously—she hadn't had the time to find any info through her family's connections.

Setting the letter on the nightstand, she pulled her shoes off and lay back on one of the beds.

She would rest up for now. When two in the morning rolled around, she had to be at her best. The ceremony would take a fair bit out of her, so she needed to be ready.

Nothing would stop her from putting that bratty, backwater excuse for a magus in her place.

* * * * *

Halfway across the world, in the country Luvia had just left, a ritual much like the one performed by Shirou was taking place.

Lightning erupted from one of the many messy offices in the Clock Tower. Like most lightning that occurred on the premises, it was not natural in origin. The entire room shook as a chariot slammed into the floor, shooting even more lightning everywhere. Fortunately, it died down shortly after that.

A large man with red hair and an impressive-looking beard stepped out of his chariot and looked around, appraising his surroundings.

"Well, hello there old friend."

The man stared down at Lord El-Melloi II, his expression that of someone trying to recall an important memory.

"Hmm, do I know you?" asked Rider.

"You should, vaguely at least," El-Melloi II frowned.

"Hmm," he stroked his beard thoughtfully.

El-Melloi grimaced. He was really hoping that the King of Conquerors would at least have some recollection of their time together. It didn't sit well with him that one of them could forget a relationship that had help shape the other's life. In fact it bordered on insulting. On the other hand, he didn't exactly look the same as he used to. Was that it?

The room was suddenly filled with Iskandar's bellowing laughter.

"Oh come now, Master Waver, you didn't really think that I'd completely forgotten you?"

"Hmm, so you do recognize me."

"Well, mostly. It's coming back easily enough." he said.

Waver staggered as Rider gave him an amicable pat on the back. Or at least, amicable for Rider. It was still painful as hell.

"And look at you, boy!" he continued, "I told you you'd put on a good few inches! Looks like you've gained some weight too. You don't fall over as easily as you used to." He barked with laughter.

"Yeah, I did, but as you can tell, I'm getting old. You can't exactly call me 'boy,' anymore."

"Nonsense! You're, what, in your mid-thirties, early-forties? I'm already over two-thousand!"

"Moo…" said the oxen supportively, flicking their tails from side to side.

Waver looked up at Rider, not very enthused. Was this guy serious? Actually, that was a dumb question; Iskandar had proven time and time again that he was earnest to a fault.

"When you put it that way, I can't really argue, but I'd say that physically speaking, we're about the same age. In fact I'm probably older than you."

"Just because my physical body died at the age of thirty-two means nothing."

Waver smirked. He knew where this was going, and he was fully prepared to interrupt.

"Because as long as your name continues to survive throughout history and as long as people admire you for your achievements, you're immortal. I know your game."

Alexander looked at him with amusement. He might have grown up, but Waver was definitely the same boy, or rather the same man, as the one he served in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

He wouldn't tell him that he didn't actually remember a great deal of their time together. That was just too sad a thought for him to cling to. He wasn't that kind of man. It was important to stay positive after all.

"So, what do you do here?"

"I teach, actually."

"Is that so? Teach what?"

"Mostly Formalcraft, but I also do investigations for the Mage Association, some research, and of course, I do my best to work history into my curriculum. I have an entire unit on you actually."

"That so?"

For a man just told his friend was teaching a course about him, he didn't seem all that enthused.

"Yes. Right after Cyrus the Great."

"Now there was a great man!" that was more like it. "I'd like nothing more than to meet him if he's ever summoned as a heroic spirit."

"I can understand why. He's the embodiment of your greatest ideals."

"MooOOpph!" agreed the oxen. Were they agreeing? They were certainly nodding their heads…

"Indeed. Did you know that the soldiers who I had assigned to watch his tomb—"

"—Desecrated it, yes. Prompt execution for them, I must say."

Alexander frowned disdainfully.

"I can't understand what drives men that they would feel the need to deface anything built in the honor of their superiors. I imagine they somehow thought I would appreciate it, but that was nonsense. Cyrus was a far greater man than I ever was. To dishonor him is as bad as dishonoring me. Perhaps even worse.

Lord El-Melloi II suddenly noticed his assistant, standing by his desk, silent as she so often was. She had been standing there before the lightning had started, in fact. How had she avoided all of that without appearing to have moved so much as an inch? One of many mysteries that made up this strange girl.

"Oh, right. I should probably introduce you to a good friend of mine," he said. Rider, this is Gray. She's a star pupil, and the most dependable assistant I've had since, well, you, to be perfectly honest."

"Hello, little one," Rider greeted. "You look familiar somehow in a way I find difficult to place."

"I've been told that before," she answered quietly.

"Gray, this is Alexander the Great. Yes, that one. He prefers Iskandar, but Rider is fine too, and actually preferable in public."

She nodded.

"Not the most talkative person, is she?" Rider noted.

Suddenly Waver swore he heard a tiger in the room with them.

"Err… sorry about that. I'd like to continue catching up, but, well, your school here wouldn't happen to have one of those cafeteria things would it? I feel like I haven't eaten anything in years."

"I don't think it provides for banquets on most days, but yes, we have food here. Come with me, I'll take you there. Incidentally, you probably haven't. Eaten, I mean."

It really was good to see him again.

"Hey, what's that big machine over there?" asked Rider as he followed Waver out the door of his office, pointing to what could be best described as a Tesla coil on wheels with colorful glowing orbs orbiting it's central antenna. "The one that girl's carrying?"

"Don't wander off."

* * * * *

"You're telling me that you heard her calling to you?" Rin asked, her voice dripping skepticism.

Having completed the summoning ceremony, several minutes earlier, they had since moved their conversation into the living room

"I didn't say that. I said that I felt like she was calling out to me. I didn't hear anything. It was more like… you know how sometimes a person brushes past you and they don't quite touch you, but you sort of feel something going by? It was like that."

"You're being extremely vague. What you're saying doesn't make sense."

"I'm rather uncertain as to how accurate your testimony is," added Saber. "However, I am nevertheless very pleased with this outcome."

"Excuse me," piped Rin, "but there's something that I have to say really quick. I've been holding it in since he summoned you, but I feel like I'm going to crack at any moment."

Neither the Servant, nor her Master knew how to respond to her.

She took a deep breath. Then started dancing around Shirou like he was some sort of religious totem.

"You did it, you did it, you actually freaking did it! I didn't believe you could, and then you proved me wrong, which never happens, but oh my god, you freaking DID IT!"

She took another deep breath, and adopted a more dignified stance.

"Okay, glad I got that out of my system. The first one of you to tell anyone about this little episode dies. The second person… also dies."

"You make a very convincing argument," Shirou answered, deadpan.

"I am so serious right now, you have no idea."

"I wasn't questioning that."

She gave him a suspicious look.

"Just know that I'm watching you. Always. Watching you."

"Do you really have to make things weird?"

"Weird, maybe, but no one and nothing in this world will ever be weirder than you."

"That seems like an unfair statement," noted Saber.

"Life isn't fair—" Rin started with a grin only for it to expire on her face, as she saw the glare Saber had fixed her with.

"I'm well aware of that fact."

Something in the room with them roared and Tohsaka looked around wildly for whatever monster had made the noise, rolling up her left sleeve, while Shirou merely stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble?" Saber asked timidly, just as Rin caught on.

Meanwhile, Sakura looked thoughtfully at the summoning circle she had found in the storage shed.

"Hmmm…"

* * * * *

Lunch was a fairly quick affair, considering Saber's voracious appetite. Though Shirou's mana capacity had improved over his time at the Clock Tower, he was still unable to provide her with the mana she needed on his own. That being the case, he had still made several strides forward. Of particular note was that she was able to use her anti-fortress Noble Phantasm without immediately vanishing, though the kind of cooking he would most certainly be required to do after the fact was as much a deterrent as any.

Before they finished eating, Shirou remembered that he had missed asking her something vital. Or at least, it felt vital to him.

"Oh, r-right, I almost forgot, Saber. I, well, Rin told me who you were…er…are… a while back. I-I just wanted to know if you'd prefer it if I called you by something with more of an honorific? Like a 'Your Majesty' or something?"

Saber actually went bright red at the mention of said honorifics. Oddly enough, she also hung her head, letting her bangs hide her eyes from view. If Rin didn't know better, she would have sworn that Saber somehow felt ashamed of her position.

"I'd actually like it most…if you could avoid bringing up my kingship, if at all possible."

"Then when we'e around friends, maybe just, uh, actually it feels kind of strange to call you Arth—"

"Arturia," she corrected, smiling, and lifting he head to look back at the two mages. "That will be fine."

Despite the addition to their group, their plans remained unchanged. After another foray into the storage shed fruitful in its own way, all three of them headed to Rin's house. What they had found so far were an old gun in an ornate wooden box, as well as a metal briefcase labeled 'lethal to mages, do not touch.' They had decided against opening it, but it was still a good find. If things got bad, they'd have a look at what was inside it.

It was mid-afternoon when they arrived at her house.

Before doing anything relating to the protection of their city, Rin decided that there was something she wanted to try out. She had given Shirou a tour of most of her house when they had started dating, showing him just about everything there was to see with the exception of several rooms; noteworthy exceptions being her father's workshop in the basement, the washrooms (it was good enough for him to know where they were, she didn't need to walk him through them), and of course, her bedroom.

She had decided she wanted to see what would happen if she removed an item from that list. She was going to remove two actually, but one in particular.

"Saber, would you mind waiting in the study for a few minutes?" she asked. "I just need to borrow your Master for a bit."

"Very well. I trust you will not allow any harm to come him."

Rin smirked.

"Not any lasting harm."

"Wait, what?" Saber jumped to her feet, wide eyed.

"She's kidding. I hope," said Shirou, almost as an afterthought.

Rin then took hold of his wrist and led him up the stairs.

"So, you've seen most of the place already, but I've been dying to show you in here for a while now."

She opened the door to her room and led him inside.

There was no visible change on his features. If anything, Shirou seemed to be evaluating the contents of the room.

She felt her bag of jewels and her pendant rattling around uncomfortably in her pocket, and set them down on her end table next to that evil alarm clock.

"There's kind of a lot of empty space for a bedroom," Shirou said curiously. She frowned with one corner of her mouth, a slight blush colouring her cheeks.

"Yeah, well you're one to talk!" she snapped.

"Point taken. Actually now that I think about it, it's less that there's a lot of empty space, and more that it's just a very big room. I mean, the colors are nice, very… you, I guess, with all the red. And the curtains are nice too, but it's still so huge. Don't you feel lonely going to sleep in a room like this?"

Well, if that wasn't an invitation, what was?

She grabbed the front of Shirou's jacket and fell backwards onto her bed, giving him a quick peck on the lips while he was still off balance.

"Is now really the time?" he asked. Though his tone was that of annoyance, it was impossible for him to hide the smile on his face. Victory was hers. She went in for a kiss. He dodged.

"I do like your choice in furniture though. The canopy bed is probably something I'd like if I were able to sleep above floor level."

Rin momentarily stopped trying to make out.

"You know, I was disappointed that you weren't embarrassed by coming in here, but I think you just made up for it," she snickered, "because that may be the most feminine thing I've ever heard you say."

"Why would I be embarrassed? I come into your room every other morning to wake you up. Why would it feel different just because it's in another house?"

Before Rin could respond to that, he added, "The bed'd probably be nicer with curtains to match the ones on the windows."

"Emiya, are you sure you aren't a lesbian?"

"What?"

"Perhaps you don't understand the vernacular. You see, a lesbian is a woman who is interested in other women, and as you're obviously a chick—"

"Oh, shut up!" he groaned.

"How can I when you just jump right into these traps? And you're so cute when you're blushing."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"If you're finished sexually assaulting my master, would you mind returning to the matter at hand?"

"Yikes!" Shirou nearly jumped out of his skin as he and Rin both turned bright red. He took a deep breath. "It's… it's not assault, Saber. We've been dating for over a year now."

Saber was the one to blush this time.

"I apologize, I assumed that the two of you had gotten into an argument."

She asked if they would prefer that she leave then alone.

"It's probably a good thing that you got us when you did, actually," said Rin. She straightened out her shirt, which had begun riding up her body. "We are here for a reason after all. Though, I have to ask, how did you come to the conclusion that I was assaulting him. He was the one on top."

Saber blushed again, but stayed silent, knowing that anything she said would just dig her in deeper.

Once she had also showed Shirou around her father's old workshop, they spent the day packing up items that Rin expected she would need over the course of her stay at the Emiya household and preparing for the summoning ritual that would take place that night, or perhaps more accurately, the following morning.

With help from Shirou and Saber, she had carried several bags, boxes and other containers full of gems loaded with magical energy up the stairs from the basement and into the front hall, transferring the contents of each container into suitcases. It wouldn't do to go walking around in public carrying a giant burlap sack full of jewels, for obvious reasons.

The hours dragged on and on, every tick made by the clocks in the house making Rin more anxious to get started. She nearly lost her restraint and performed the ritual at midnight, but eventually, the time came.

It was two o' clock.

If there really was a war about to start, this was where things truly began.

The dust began flowing through the grooves in the floors and the circle began to glow with an otherworldly light.

* * * * *

Close the four gates.

Come forth from the crown…

…follow the forked path that leads to the kingdom.

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.

Repeat five times…

…but when each is filled, destroy it.

Set.

Heed my words…

My will creates your body…

…your sword creates my destiny.

If you heed the Grail's call…

…and obey my will and reason…

…then answer my summoning!

I hereby swear, I shall be all the good in the world.

That I shall defeat all evil in the world.

Seventh heaven, clad in the great words of power.

Come forth from the binding circle, thou guardian of the scales!

* * * * *

As Rin completed her incantation, she looked at the back of her right hand, where her command seals had appeared. She looked around for her servant. For a moment she didn't see anyone, but then, with a shimmering flourish, a woman in gleaming azure and silver armor appeared before her. Her turquoise hair reached almost down to her knees, and seemed to flow around her like a cape, and her eyes, windows to the night sky, held an intangible sadness. However, what drew Rin's attention was the large spear she held in her right hand with a vaguely heart-shaped blade.

The heroic spirit stood by silently, evaluating Rin, as much as Rin was evaluating her. Behind her, Shirou let out the breath he'd been holding.

"And why do you sound so relieved?" grilled Rin.

"You're going to kill me for reminding you now instead of five minutes ago. See, I'm just kind of glad it slipped your mind that your pendant would ensure that you summoned Archer. And you left it in your room. I'm actually a little surprised that you didn't get him anyway."

Rin stated at him blankly, a blush slowly creeping up her neck and onto her face. She trembled furiously, clenching and unclenching her fists.

"I'd break your face for being a total scumbag, but…" she looked away. One deep breath. Then another. Her voice was nearly in a whisper, "But it was my mistake. I should have remembered, so it's on me."

"That's surprisingly mature of you, Rin," Saber acknowledged.

Rin spun around and just barely stopped herself from grabbing the collar of Saber's breastplate.

"Are you saying I'm immature?"

"Not at all, merely that you tend to display rather… aggressive behavior when confronted with your own deficiencies."

"That's not calling her immature?" asked Shirou, cringing slightly.

Saber blinked.

"My mistake. Rin, please accept my apologies," she said, giving a short bow.

Rin was about to try and make social commentary about having been bowed to by a king, but, perhaps fortunately, a new voice cut in.

"If I might ask, am I to assume that this girl is my Master in this conflict?"

"Yes, that is correct. And you're a Lancer, if your weapon is any indication."

"Indeed."

Rin was eager to continue grilling Shirou, so she asked Lancer if she would wait just a few minutes before they introduced themselves properly. Lancer agreed, and Rin turned back to her boyfriend.

"So, why didn't you remind me, Shirou?"

"It's nothing against you. I just don't want to give my competition a leg up after I've already defeated him."

"Competition? What kind of idiotic thing is that to say?"

"It's not idiotic. You liked Archer more than you like me. Of course he's my competition."

Saber's eyes said she was horrified, but her mouth said she was stifling a laugh.

"So, if you really loved me, wouldn't you have done the opposite?"

"Let's just say that I've found something that I like, and I'm not going to roll over and let an asshole have it."

"I call objectification."

"I call I hate Archer's guts!"

"That has nothing to do with it! Also, his guts are your guts, both figuratively and literally."

Lancer looked at Saber.

"Is she dissatisfied with me, do you think?"

Saber shook her head. "From my experience with her, she's prone to very brief episodes of hysteria, but she's more than ready to accept you as her servant.

"Hold on a minute…" Rin muttered. She suddenly went wide-eyed as a brilliant idea struck her. She tore out of the workshop, scrambling up the stairs to her room and grabbing her pendant. She jumped the stairs, rushed out the front door and tripped over something that seemed to vanish in the next instant. No, she did not just trip over her own feet!

"Master? Are you in a hurry?" Lancer asked, joining her and helping her back up. "If you'd like, I could get you to where you want to go. I am an exceptionally fast servant, even among the Lancer class.

"Is that so?" Rin rubbed her lower lip with one finger. "Then I need to get back to Emiya's house on the double."

"Very well, Master."

Lancer scooped Rin up in her arms.

Rin sighed. It just wasn't the same!

And then Lancer broke into a run… no wait. Rin looked down and realized that the Servant wasn't running at all. She was literally flying several feet above the ground! And Lancer hadn't exaggerated; in fact, she had definitely undersold her abilities. Her agility was phenomenal. Rin had to brace herself to keep from getting nauseous. She was at the front door to the Emiya house within ten minutes, but despite not having run at all, she found the ride had left her out of breath.

Rin hurried to the door and knocked. Shinji let her inside. She pushed past him, tossed her shoes aside and scrambled to the living room, hoping that Sakura would be there.

She was, but…

* * * * *

A woman in a violet robe, eyes hidden beneath a deep hood, stood before Luvia.

"I've been summoned onto a bed it seems," she growled, "If you were a man, your head would now be on a different continent."

"I do apologize for the implications," said Luvia. "My summoning apparatus was too large to fit on the floor. I ask that you forgive this sleight against you, if possible. It shall not happen again."

“Pray it does not. I ask you then, girl; are you my master?” the woman continued, smiling with the corner of her mouth.

Violet lipstick? Luvia noted, Who would ever wear such a thing?

“Why, yes I am.” she answered, “My, I’m glad to see you catch on quickly.”

She began to notice a chill in the room. It hadn’t been nearly this cold before she had performed the summoning rite. The woman frowned beneath her hood.

“It would have been ever so tiresome to have a Servant who needed to have things explained to him,” she said, gliding around behind Luvia to whisper over her shoulder, “Now wouldn’t it?”

With that as her only warning, a skeletal hand ripped its way out of the floor, followed by an arm. Luvia shrieked as skeletal creatures began pulling themselves out from beneath the floorboards with an unholy rattling noise. A thin fog began to condense around them as the temperature in the room began to drop. Though the woman’s hood hid her eyes completely, Luvia was overcome by the sensation of being carefully watched by a cunning predator.

“I assure you that you have no need to instruct me, little miss,” she continued to speak over Luvia’s shoulder. “And don’t be frightened of my dragon tooth warriors. They’ll never attack you as long as you possess your command seals, and as a magus, you’re skill is… adequate. At least for a child.”

“How dare you!”

The woman’s lips twitched upwards ever so slightly, and the skeletons’ bones clicked together as they shuffled closer.

“How dare I? I wonder?” she drawled, “Perhaps if you were to pay more attention, you’d have sensed the difference in our abilities. In comparison to myself, your capacity as a mage barely warrants so much as a glance, much less any true attention.”

Luvia’s eyes narrowed, trembling with fury.

“That said, I will admit that I have you at an unfair advantage, being a heroic spirit.”

Taking a deep breath, Luvia answered with as much dignity as she could manage.

“I take it that this means you belong to the Caster class.”

“Yes, indeed I am.”

As angry as she felt, Luvia knew that there were still a few formalities that needed to be taken care of.

“Very well, so you’re a Caster and have all the strengths and weaknesses associated with that class of Servant. What else should I know about you? Do you have any proficiencies or deficiencies that I should know about?”

Once again, the invisible eyes watching her began boring holes into her soul. Caster’s brief smile had vanished and her lips were now set in a neutral line.

“Perhaps we should get to know each other better before I start telling you what makes me tick.”

“Hmph. Have it your way then. My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt, heir to the Edelfelt family.”

“Mind your tone, little girl, lest I be forced to teach you a lesson in manners that has nothing to do with etiquette.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Caster took to drifting around the hotel room, keeping her eyes, locked on her master. She also dispelled her dragon tooth warriors, knowing that for the time being, she needed to conserve her mana. One by one, the skeletal monsters dissolved into black mist and vanished.

“I—You… Argh!” Luvia ran her hands through her glorious curls with obsessive fervor as the frustration she felt continued mounting. “I thought Servants were supposed to be obedient!”

“We are, dear. You just need to focus on the bigger picture here. I’ve no intention of insulting your pride. Even the difference in our skill levels has no reflection on your ability as a mage.

“I merely meant that as a spellcaster, I am beyond comparison,” once again, Caster let a smirk appear on her lips, holding it for a few moments before letting it drop.

“You’re that good, are you?”

“Yes I am, and I say that without exaggeration. No sorcerer throughout history could ever match my skill as a mage,” she paused, putting a hand to her lower lip in contemplation, “Actually, though it pains me to do so, I may need to retract that statement. There is one who might be my equal or even superior to me, but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet him.”

“And who might this powerful sorcerer be, Servant?”

“Why, Merlin, of course.”

“And you say he is the only man whose skill can even be compared to your own? My, now I’m burning with curiosity. Who are you, really?”

Caster’s expression, at least what Luvia could see of it, didn’t change, but her tone indicated that she was satisfied.

“I’ve been called many things, but aside from Caster, my favorite is the name I was born with. You may call me Medea.”

“Medea,” the smile that took over Luvia’s face was reserved, but she was quite obviously thrilled. “I see why you’re so confident in your abilities. The witch who brought heroes to…their…knees.”

The temperature of the room plunged. Caster’s mouth was twisted into a scowl as she lunged across the room toward Luvia, stopping inches from her face. Her cloak billowed out to her sides like a pair of batwings.

“Little girl,” she said, her tone smoldering in contrast to the chill in the room. “Call me what you like, but if you value your continued existence, you will never refer to me as a witch, ever again. Do we understand one another?”

“Y-Yes! Yes! M-my deepest apologies!” Luvia gasped, shocked by the aura of sheer terror Caster had given off. “I promise, I’ll never call you…that… ever again, whether you’re present or not. Not for the rest of my life.”

The room’s temperature abruptly returned to normal, and Caster nodded, taking a slow breath to calm herself.

“That will do. That will do just fine,” she said, “My apologies, Master. I assure you that my temper isn’t lost easily. I happen to have an… unfortunate history with men who’ve called me a witch. You do seem to be a decent girl. Perhaps a little naïve, but who isn’t at your age?

“I’ll admit, you do remind me of another girl I once met. An enemy Master in a previous Holy Grail War. I found her to be an unbearable little tart. Perhaps my perspective is biased by my opposition toward her, but you seem to lack the qualities that made me dislike her so much.”

Luvia didn’t like admitting that she had anything in common with that lowborn upstart, but she was still curious, even if it was also incredibly unlikely.

“This girl you refer to,” she began, “Her name wouldn’t happen to have been Rin Tohsaka?”

Caster broke out in a grin, her shoulders trembling until she couldn’t contain her glee any longer and laughed. It was a diabolical laugh, but it did seem appropriate in the context of their conversation. For the first time, Luvia felt just the faintest bit of warmth in that invisible gaze.

The sorceress allowed her laughter to run its course and then glided into the easy chair in the corner of the room and with a flick of her hand toward the kitchenette, made the kettle fill itself and set itself down on the stove.

“Miss Luvia, was it? You seem to be quite the interesting young woman. I expect that we’re going to get along incredibly well.”

Luvia was beside herself. Not only had she summoned an incredibly powerful Servant, but the wit… er… sorceress even knew and disliked her sworn nemesis among her peers at the Clock Tower. Things couldn’t possibly get any better!

“Hmm…”

“Are you sensing something, Caster?” she asked, checking on the tea.

“Nothing of great importance. Nor can I be certain,” Caster noted, “as my scrying crystal is still foggy. However, it appears as though that our mutual friend has just tripped over a stray cat.”

Luvia grinned like a bottle imp.

Life was just so wonderful.

* * * * *

"Sakura!" Rin said hurriedly, "Quick, I need you to—"

She looked at the occupants of the room. Though she had indeed found Sakura, there was one more person with them.

He wore an outfit of varying shades of green. Forest green, mostly. Red hair peeked out from beneath the hood of his tattered cape. Why was he wearing a hood inside?

He was holding out a rose to Sakura, who was blushing red as the offered flower.

"Is that…a servant?" she asked, helplessly.

"Oh! Rin, I didn't see you come inside! Oh, right. A Servant. Mhm. This is Archer."

Rin Tohsaka let her legs give way in defeat and fell flat on her face.

Why…? Why had Sakura summoned a servant? Well, to be fair, that was kind of what Rin had wanted her to do, but while using the pendant!

"So, who's this other lovely lady?" asked Archer speaking up. He had a pleasant sounding voice, actually.

"That's my big sister, Rin," said Sakura.

"Oh! So that explains why she's so beautiful. But though she is a bright star in her own right, she's nowhere near as enchanting as you are, Master."

"Look, Archer, I'm really flattered by your attention, I mean it. I really am. But I've already told you, I have feelings for someone else."

The green Archer sighed, getting to his feet, and slipping his rose back into a pocket in his leather armor.

"In that case, I guess that I'll just have to work that much harder to win fair maiden's heart."

"Ugh, he speaks casually but pretends to be all gallantly polite when talking to girls," Rin groaned into the tatami mat just as Lancer joined them.

In a heartbeat, Archer had a crossbow trained on the other servant's head.

"Rin, is this your Servant?" asked Sakura, watching her sister push herself up off the floor and into a sitting position.

"Yeah. She wasn't who I was hoping for, but she's already been able to show off. She's fast like you wouldn't believe. And she can fly. Apparently."

Sakura gaped in awe, mouthing the word 'wow' over and over again. A servant who could fly. That was so cool. After all, flying was the ultimate form of freedom.

"Hey, Robin Hood, cool off. I'd sooner break a thumb than hurt Sakura, so the two of you are safe."

Archer suddenly looked very perturbed.

"Sorry, I've gotta interrupt you fit a sec. Just need to ask you a quick question: How did you figure out who I was so quickly?"

"Huh?" Rin responded. "What do you mean by— wait, you really are Robin Hood? I was just joking around because of all the green you're wearing. I didn't think you were really him." She flashed an evil grin at the Servant, "Though it was so nice of you to just tell me like that."

"Aw, crap," he rubbed an open hand over his face, "Sorry, Sakura. I completely screwed up there. And she beat me at my own game too."

"It's okay, Archer. At least no one bad overheard. Everyone here is a friend."

"Gag…" Shinji grunted derisively as he stepped back into the living room.

"Except him," said Rin. "He's an enemy weasel in need of extermination."

"Meh, he's not that bad. And Sakura already told me that I shouldn't shoot him if he harasses her."

"Damn… Hey, Lancer, wanna hit him with the blunt end of your spear?"

"That seems unnecessarily unpleasant. I find the thought of performing such a task distasteful."

Seeing that this would likely go somewhere unpleasant for him, Shinji vacated the room.

"Oh fine, defend the damn weasel, see if I care." she took a deep breath. "Look, there's actually one more allied servant who'll be joining us. Just wanted to make sure you don't freak out when Saber comes back.

"We have all three of the knight classes all together actually. We're pretty much unstoppable as long as our alliance stands, and it will. I'll never betray Sakura, and Shirou would never betray anyone."

"Oh. Good," said the forest archer. "I'm generally not that enthusiastic about fighting women. I have a thing about never hitting a girl. And this one's clearly a demigoddess."

If Lancer had any reaction to his remark, it wasn't visible on her face. She just stared back at him with her melancholy gaze.

"Do not speak to me," she said eventually, "I find you to be most unpleasant."

"Okay…um… that's cold," said Robin, "I'm… sorry? I guess?"

The front door opened and Shirou dragged himself inside, completely out of breath. Setting down three large suitcases, he crawled onto the wooden floor and just lay there.

"Shirou? Are you alright?"

"No, but I will be. I just…need a minute."

Saber sighed and joined the others in the living room, turning toward Rin, who had propped herself up against the wall.

"Rin, I apologize for bringing these matters up again," she said, "but your behavior was incredibly inconsiderate. Though my strength allows me to operate beyond human limitations, you left three bags each for the two of us to carry. An unwieldy task for anyone. Shirou's about ready to pass out."

As Saber had mentioned, they were each carrying three suitcases filled to capacity with gems and magical tools.

She also noticed that Sakura was blushing.

"Sakura, you seem flustered. Is something the matter?" she asked, "Might it have something to do with this scruffy individual?" she gestured toward Archer.

"Scruffy? I'm not scruffy! Am I scruffy?"

"Indeed," Saber answered matter-of-factly.

Robin Hood hummed thoughtfully.

"Though your criticism is harsh, I suppose I can overlook a few unkind words. You have the mannerisms of a knight, yet the beauty of a princess. Might I ask your name?"

"Your observational skills are commendable. Having said that, I also feel obligated to inform you that idle flattery will get you nowhere."

"Umm… Archer, I don't mean to be rude," said Sakura nervously, "but… do you, um, hit on every girl you meet?"

For the first time that night, Archer blushed.

"Y-Yeah, I do," he hung his head. "I'm a hopeless flirt. It's a bad habit. But I swear on my heart that through thick and thin, and no matter how difficult or painful the road gets, I will always remain loyal to you, Sakura."

Shirou, having peeled himself off the floor in the hallway, finally forced himself into the living room.

"Okay, so this is the Archer?" he asked, still breathing heavily. "Yeah, I can already tell he's got some issues. Still…"
"I already like him more than the other guy."

Rin groaned, wallowing in self-pity. Why didn't she get Archer?!

* * * * *

Deep underground, a man had summoned a king wreathed in fire. This heroic spirit was a man, and at the same time, was anything but. He had willingly given his soul over to fire and destruction. His very soul was blazing envy incarnate.

He had been defeated once before by a pathetic band of knights. Humans in frail metal shells. But with his augmented power, they would stand no chance against him now. He almost hoped he came across one or more of those gallant, chivalrous imbeciles in the upcoming conflict. One in particular. That one deserved a special punishment.

No matter the cost, he would see her burn.

The king laughed, and a roar echoed through the cellar. He could feel the nigh limitless power of the monster within himself. Nothing was capable of standing before him. Nothing was worthy! However, this human that had brought him forth from the abyss, granted him such immeasurable power, perhaps he was worthy.

"I ask of thee, you who would deign to call yourself my master, are you worthy?"

The man smirked.

"We shall see soon enough, now won't we?"


Author's Note: I hope the colors didn't confuse people. It seemed kind of vague, which was my intention. I'm also kind of worried that people will overlook my story because of its seemingly grammatically incorrect title. Should I rebuild the thread under a new name?

[You]

are you going to post this on ff.net

[Draconic]

At some point, probably, but I'm limited to using a phone at the moment, using an internet server that blocks fanfiction.net, and even if it weren't blocked, ff.net is even less friendly to phones than this site. When it comes to posting your work at least.

[Draconic]

Chapter 3

While Rin was on her mad rush to get Sakura to summon EMIYA for her, Luvia decided to go out for an early patrol. There wasn't likely to be another Master out and about already, not to mention it was two-thirty in the morning and the only people still out were unsavoury types or barhoppers.

Nevertheless, what she was doing was a rather sizeable risk, considering her Servant was better suited to espionage and behind-the-scenes work than open combat. However, that was what she wanted to take care of. Caster had explained the functionality of her Noble Phantasm, and the idea of stealing another Master's Servant from them made her tingle all over.

Of course, Caster couldn't yet support another Servant with her current mana supply, so while Luvia went out scouting, her new friend was setting up a temporary bounded field around a residential neighbourhood. Nothing too fancy, just a weak mana syphon system until they find a more permanent solution. Caster had suggested a more efficient means of mana collection, but Luvia had decided against it due to the above average risk of fatalities, especially amongst children, who didn't have nearly as much mana to spare.

Ultimately, Caster had agreed. Or in her words:

"While I'm not above killing children, you have a point in that it would be something of a waste."

Luvia had to admit that this comment had taken her by surprise.

"Good to know…" she had said, distaste coating her voice like marmite on a birthday cake.

Luvia's weaker field was certainly going to cause some cold and flu symptoms, but nobody would die, and the bounded field would be gone soon enough once the two of them figured out a better way of collecting mana.

She would have thought about this for a fair bit longer, but then she saw the exact thing she hadn't expected.

"Well then," she said to herself, "it seems this is where the fun starts."

* * * * *

Caster admired her handiwork as she completed her bounded field.

There really wasn't all that much to admire. It was just so inefficient… but as per her Master's specifications, it wouldn't kill anyone. Or at least, no one who wasn't already dying.

What a boring little toy this field was.

She needed to find Souichirou. It was strange, no matter where in the city she scanned, she couldn't find any sign of him. Though she loathed the thought, she needed to ask those two brats what had happened to him after she sacrificed herself.

Her mind continued to wander and she thought of ways she could acquire more power. The survivors of the previous war were already wise to her apparent gas leaks, so that was out. She didn't want said brats getting in her way.

At the moment, her Master's primary suggestion was to construct a bounded field that fed on people's emotions. She could also kill sections of the forest surrounding the city. An old enough tree could have a fair but of mana stored up in its beaches. As much as any city block she'd syphoned, but on the other hand, most trees barely had anything. It was only the oldest that yielded results, so she'd need to search for specific trees in a forest. What was that saying about the best place to hide a tree? Gods be damned, this was a frustrating puzzle she was being forced to riddle out.

Leylines might be useful, but finding one unguarded would be… challenging.

She could reemploy an old, but nevertheless effective strategy and reconstruct Blood Fort Andromeda over Ryuudo temple. It had worked during the previous war after all. Though that boy—Issei if memory served—had never particularly liked her. Fortunately, that issue could be easily remedied with a quick hypnosis. And she would have access to the leyline there as well… that could work… there was merit to that.

An odd thought crossed her mind. Why was this war happening so soon after the previous one? It had to have taken the cooperation of several of this era's obscenely self-centered mages to drum up the mana necessary for the Grail to manifest.

She dismissed the thought. It wasn't that important. And it would give her something to think about should things slow down at some point. Though her wartime schedule didn't really leave her much downtime.


"Caster, I believe that the appropriate phrase is 'target acquired.' " said Luvia through their telepathic connection. She really was a clever mage to have set such a link up. unfortunately, it was a fairly simple spell requiring one to speak rather than directly transmitting a thought.

Her work done, Caster activated the field, faded into spirit form, and teleported to her Master's side.

* * * * *

"He's just letting his servant walk around in the open like that?" Caster scoffed." I sincerely hope that he's merely cocky beyond reason.

"Because if he isn't, it means he really is just that stupid. And where's the fun in that?"

"It could also be a trap," Luvia pointed out.

Caster grinned. "Except that it isn't. There are no people around and not even a trace of magic worked into the area."

Luvia frowned.

"You're right. This one is boring."

"Would you prefer it if I attempted a preemptive strike?" Caster asked.

"Tempting, but you can't discount the fact that this is most certainly a knight class servant we're dealing with. If it's the Saber or the Archer, you might have a chance, but even then it's a very slim chance at that. And if it's the lancer, you'll be skewered before you even get near him.

"You make a good point," Caster nodded, expression grim.

"I'll distract them. If he's dumb enough to think that walking around with his Servant on display is a good idea, he might just believe I'm the Caster class servant."

She forged ahead, moving to intercept the pair at the next intersection.

"Strike only when I give the signal. I'll launch a gold stone into the air and shatter it like a firework."

Medea nodded, vanishing a moment later.

"So then I say to her, 'if you don't want me to yell at you, then don't be such a dumb bitch! And she knows my hearing's no good either, I can't help it if I shout! I swear, I'm frickin' surrounded by dumbasses."

He was so engrossed in his monologue—and it was a monologue; the Servant wasn't speaking at all—that he didn't even notice her step into the road in front of him.

"My, what a vulgar creature you are," she said, "do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"The woman died last year. Didn't listen to me when I told her to see a doctor."

"My apologies, I didn't know. However—"

"The hell do think you are anyway, speaking like some sorta princess or some shit? Go the fuck home and play with your dollies. Or my friend here will just beat the shit out of you and that'll be that."

"How rude of you," Luvia glared at the man. "Let me give you a demonstration," she said, pulling fistful of jewels out of her satchel, "of why it's important not to offend your superiors."

The American sneered at her in that way only a very specific demographic of white Americans can.

"Saber, gimme that sword."

She actually wished she had misheard him. Was this fool really a mage? Never mind that, she just didn't like this man's attitude, so she'd beat him up a little, real mage or not. Either way, he had a servant. She threw a handful of gems at the man which spiked out, in random directions. Fortunately for the Master, the swordsman took the hit for him.

"Master, I mean no offence, but are you sure that's wise?" he grunted, pulling away from the crystals which shattered moments later. "I cannot fight without a sword. I will be far more useful to you—"

"Shut up, moron, just give me the damn sword!"

The Servant, put a hand to his head as though he were suffering from a particularly bad headache.

"As you desire, Master," he said, handing over his sword.

Likely a holy weapon.

And now it was in the hands of the kind of American that opposed gun control policies.

"You… have my deepest sympathies, Servant," she said, making eye contact. "Sincerely."

There was the sound of a coin landing on the ground nearby and she looked down at her feet to see an American one cent coin. Wait. Was it glowing?

She jumped out of the way as the coin exploded in a human-sized fireball. Okay, so he was a mage after all.

Moments later a sword nearly pierced her somewhere unmentionable, but for a timely roll to the side.

"Really? Attempting to 'penetrate' me with a holy artifact? I'm asking you seriously now," she spat. "Is there any part of you that isn't utter filth?!"

"Oh, insulting me now are you?"

"Oh, you attempted to kill me with a bloody sword by using it to rape me, ignoring the fact that it's likely a timeless, divine artifact, but I'm insulting you?"

She threw another gem at him which liquified, expanded, and resolidified around one of his feet. Then she reinforced her arms and legs and pounded him until he managed to escape.

"Damn right you're insulting me! You've already pissed me off! You're stupid, you're whiney, you think you're better than me—"

"I don't think, it's just obvious! To anyone! Just by listening to you for more than ten seconds! And considering how vile you really are, simply being called my inferior is a complement! I don't even know how you—"

She dodged a swipe from the Servant's sword, as the Master swung it around artlessly.

"Stop interrupting me, you stupid whore! l get enough of this crap at home!
Everything you've said to me tonight has been a big mistake," he snarled, "But I can't expect a stupid bitch like you to learn her goddamn lesson, the first goddamn time, so maybe I'll hold out on killing you and have some fun first."

"You'll regret saying that, almost as much as you would regret trying."

Three more coins landed in a line near her and exploded, and she threw down three of her yet unused gems to form a wall of crystal in front of her. The flames singed her slightly, but she didn't take the full brunt of the hit.

"Hey, you! The hell do you think you're doing, moron?!" he shouted at his Servant, though he wasn't considerate enough to at least turn halfway around to look at who he was shouting at, "Stop playing with yourself and get the fuck over here! You're supposed to kill her, aren't you?"

"I'm also a swordsman. But as you can see, I no longer have a sword. Ridiculous, but your choice, nevertheless."

As the American continued swinging said sword at her, Luvia threw a handful of jewels at the American, but stumbled, and most of them merely exploded in midair. Though a few fragments still managed to pelt the man in the back of the head.

"You sonofa—I order you by command seal to kill this bitch!" he snarled.

The servant seized up for a moment, then stood still.

"I'm afraid not," he said.

"The hell are you saying! You can't disobey me, I've given you an unbreakable command!"

"Except you're not his master anymore," said Caster.

"And who the fuck are you?"

"I'm your personal gateway to Hades, if you don't shape up. And I recommend you be quick about it."

She left the ground, her cloak billowed out behind her like a pair of batwings, and several purple nodes of lethal energy appeared in the air above her.

"You can't just steal another Master's Servant! You think I'm that much of a fucking dumbass that I'd believe that load of horseshit!"

Caster held up her hand to display three command seals. Judging by the look on the American's face, he recognized them. He looked at his hand. There was nothing on it but some very faint red marks. Shapeless, like a rash.

"How the fuck did you—?"

"It's my Noble Phantasm. It's appropriately called Rule Breaker."

She made a twisted looking dagger materialize in her hand. "If I can only get close enough to a servant and stab them in the heart with this blade, they become my own," she turned to look at the Servant she had just appropriated. "I apologize, by the way. I imagine that stung for a moment. And after having the misfortune of being summoned by /that thing. You drew the short straw, it seems. In this case, these command seals will be mine in form only. I'm turning this Servant over to my Master. I'm terrible in a fight, you see, so now she has a decent bodyguard."

"Don't worry about my feelings for being stabbed. Thank you. Being under this cretin's control for only fourteen hours was enough to make me consider suicide. Speaking of which…"

He approached his former Master and held out his hand.

"Return my blade to me now, and I won't use it to remove the head that sits uselessly on your shoulders. I will if you force me to take it back myself."

The American, so full of himself not a minute earlier, was now on his knees, trembling. He dropped the weapon and scrambled backward.

"You can't do this, you bitch!" he screamed at Caster as the Servant picked up his sword.

"You have no idea how close you just came to being reduced to slime just now," she sneered. "And I'm afraid I can.

"I pity you. Whatever life you have is a mountain of disappointments. You can't please anyone, not even yourself. You take out all your frustration on your wife, because you were fired for taking it out on your coworkers. You picked on so many people, yet the most pathetic of these other people was a god compared to you. And one day you threatened to cave in a coworker's skull with a hammer. You now live like a parasite, leeching off your wife, who doesn't love you anymore and only remains with you out of pity, and fear that you'll kill her if she leaves. You would.

"You're a hack mage, past your prime, barely capable of anything, beyond making tiny bits of metal explode, and you wanted the Grail so that you could force people to love and respect you. You failed before you began, because not only do you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take, you also miss one hundred percent of those you do. You delude yourself into seeing a world that isn't there. A world where you're important. That's why you get so angry with everyone. Because every time anyone opens their mouth, they shatter your entire world. Because you aren't important. You have no value, no purpose, and nobody will ever care about you. Were I to kill you here, no one would grieve. I'm sure that several of the people you've hurt would even pay good money to watch.

She frowned, ruefully.

"I would give anything to be in your place."

The American was sputtering with rage. How dare this whore try to analyze him! How dare she mock him! What fucking right did—

"I'm not mocking you. I would switch places with you in a heartbeat. But, tragically, that's impossible.

"Now run along before I decide that killing you is a better punishment than allowing you to live."

"So that's it? I just lose? I'm supposed to just walk away and go back to my shitty life?!"

"Be glad you're going back to a life at all."

"Bitch!"

He struggled onto his feet.

"Just to remind you, there is an alternative."

He froze.

Nobody said anything.

"Well? What is it?" he demanded, quickly running out of patience.

"How quickly you forget," Caster smirked. "You only have two options: You can go home to your sorry existence…"

She paused, waiting for his reaction.

"And?!"

She smirked.

"Or, I could kill you right here.

"It's really your choice."

Oddly enough, he made the smart choice this time, running off like his life depended on it, which it likely would have had he stayed much longer.

"Exactly why would you want to trade places with him?" Luvia asked, the very thought making her skin crawl.

"Not just him. You would be an acceptable substitute. Or that Tohsaka girl, or any of the normal humans that scurry about this city during the day.

"Because, unlike me," she said, conjuring a noose and staring at it dispassionately, "you actually die when someone drops the floor out from under you."

"I don't…understand," said Luvia.

"I wouldn't wish that manner of curse on anyone. You'll be happier if you don't."

Luvia nodded. What exactly had happened to this woman since the end of her myth?

"If you wouldn't mind, tomorrow night, I would appreciate it if we could find the Tohaka brat and get some information out of her. There's something she knows that's of vital importance to me.

"As for you," she continued turning to look at their new companion with a smirk, "you're the Saber, are you not?"

The Saber nodded.

Caster didn't need to use divination to know that they had a bright future ahead of them in this war.


Author's Note: This chapter was a bit shorter than I would have liked, but the next chapter has to be separate, being a side story told mostly from the perspectives of the Matou siblings briefly detailing the sub-par course their lives took upon finishing high-school. And the story unfortunately can't progress without that.

[SeiKeo]

eeeeuuuaarghe okay let's see how long I feel like doing this. Not going to pick at grammar/prose down at the sentence level because that's time-consuming, is often a matter of personal style, and is boring as all hell.

It began with a letter.

One of many.

It wasn't an urgent letter, nor was it preceded or accompanied by a phone call. There certainly weren't going to be any emails. The sender knew her sister had enough trouble with technology without being forced to use more of it.

Dear Rin,

I'm very sorry to bother you, as I'm sure your work at the Clocktower is very important. I only wanted to let you know that strange things are happening in Fuyuki. There have been a string of disappearances over the past several weeks, and one person was actually found beheaded. By the time you receive this, the killer will have been at large for several days already. I don't consider this to be a dangerous situation, but I did feel you deserved to know. I know that it's supposed to take sixty years before the Grail can manifest again, but I just have a nagging feeling that these incidents have something to do with the Holy Grail. These disappearances remind me too much of what happened during the last War. Everything's fine for now though, so don't worry about anything.

Please give Senpai my best.

Your loving sister,

Sakura

Hmm okay! So, Sakura has a rosary of murders on her hands, suspects it has something to do with a superpowered magical ritual that almost/did ruined her life, and it's not important. In fact, it's so unimportant that she has to mention it's not worth mentioning twice in the letter, along with twice in the narration? Charitably, this doesn't make any sense, both for Sakura to apparently think it's not a problem (yet write Rin anyways, mind) and for Rin to think the same. A mystery to me.

More generally for openings, this is really weak. Good openings are important, I don't think I have to explain that, but even moreso for fanfiction. You can never take a reader for granted: getting someone to open your story is actually very difficult, and so is keeping them on the page. Chances are, if you don't have them on board with what you're doing in the first page (say 500 words) they're going to close and go to whatever they have open in the next tab. Nobody cares what you're doing or has any reason to stick with you; getting them on board is all on you. If I look at your first page (this is everything I can fit on my browser window), there's... a letter warning of nonspecific Bad Things, and Rin feeling around in her relationships with Sakura and Shirou, which is, frankly, a sleeper. And Rin doesn't even have any interesting feelings - vague regret over distance from Sakura, plus vague affection for Shirou? Okay.

Stop using your enter key so much, the poor thing needs a break. You're separating dialogue, so good for that, but what's the first principle of the paragraph? It separates text into individual complete thoughts, much as a sentence does the same for words. Ex:

She'd have to speak with Professor El-Melloi II to get permission to leave, but however strict he could be, he was a reasonable man.

Unlike his predecessor, apparently. She had never seen him get so worked up as when he talked about Lord El-Melloi I. He had actually used the words, 'that manwhore was an arrogant dickhead!'

She wouldn't have believed he said it if she hadn't been there. And upon hearing it, she promised him that she would never share what he said with anyone.

Without being prompted.

She wasn't a kiss-up. She just knew an opportunity to get into someone's good books when she saw one.

This is three line breaks too many; you see how every sentence tracks Rin's relationship with Waver? That's why they belong as the same paragraph. None of the sentences deserve being spaced out to have special attention called to them - using your line break too often in fact works against you here, since it makes you sound like you're writing for a sitcom, like there's a hidden [APPLAUSE] in each break.

It looks like you should start evaluating what you actually get for words. Let's have an example:

Rin was the first person off the plane. She wasn't anywhere near the front of the airliner, but she made it work. Shirou was fully capable of bringing out both of their carry-ons, and though clambering over the seats like a ferret was undignified, given the choice between her pride or getting off the plane even a second earlier, she chose to sacrifice her pride. There were very few occasions that warranted such drastic measures, but airplanes were one of them.

"I hate planes," she grunted as Shirou caught up with her, carrying three bags of varying sizes.

"I told you the other day, they're the safest way to travel."

"I'll believe that when someone explains how that's even possible. In detail."

Shirou put the bags down, and sighed. Eleven full hours of Rin holding on to him like her life depended on it—with a few breaks for the in-flight meal, using the restroom and for a couple snacks.

"I'm so glad to be on the ground again," she said, "I always feel like those things could fall out of the sky at any moment. How do you keep a gigantic hunk of metal in the air anyway?"

Shirou sighed. It had taken a while, but they were back home in Japan.

This is a full two hundred words, used to tell us that Rin doesn't like flying. It doesn't really add to the Shirou-Rin relationship; maybe that she depends on him in stress situations, but that isn't the focus so I won't count it. And if not that, does it add to our understanding of Rin - at least, beyond the bit of the conversation right above the excerpt? Not really, I think. So at standard reading speeds you spent 1-3 minutes of the reader's time giving them next to nothing, which isn't a good use of anyone's time.

though despite the rushed nature of their departure, they only managed to book a flight for late afternoon, and all the flights to their part of Japan had stopovers. Those weren't the problem....

It was a few minutes past seven o'clock when they arrived at Fuyuki airport, and Rin had never been happier to be on solid ground again. Except for when they first arrived in London.

Why does this come after you show them landing in Japan?

until she tipped over a bookshelf and saw the 'made in Denmark' sticker on the bottom. Thank you IKEA.

???

So make that 400 words of flying I suppose. And then after that there's Shinji, who is at least providing some interesting character conflict? I feel like 'give the girl a prize' doesn't sound very much like Shinji, but honestly it's late so I'm skimming at this point. G'ni