Fate/Identity Reborn

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 41: The Final Tests

The gray expanse of the Land of Shadows was lit up by the light of an inferno. Bazett’s fists were covered in flames as she unleashed a series of punches that Scáthach blocked with her spear. Each blow created conflagrations. The high cliff where the spar was taking place became the host of a wildfire. The Flashing Fist skill made Bazett’s fists physics-defyingly fast, but Scáthach used the same skill in combination with her spearwork and prediction skills to casually defend against each punch. Scáthach retaliated with a spear thrust that was too fast for Bazett to perceive at all, her new Accel Turn skill saving her at the last minute with an auto-dodge. As her body acted on its own, Bazett drew a Primordial Rune of flame which she combined with the Mana Burst(Flame) skill. Her fist became so hot that the surrounding air ignited and the hand was so bright that one might mistake it for a small star. Bazett punched and Scáthach swerved around the fist, the missed strike releasing a blast that looked like a nuclear bomb going off. The spearwoman got right in Bazett’s face and jammed the butt of her spear into the magus’ gut so hard it knocked the wind out of her and made various fluids fly out of her mouth. The blow knocked Bazett back off the edge of the cliff. As the side of the cliff whizzed past her as she fell, Bazett kicked her feet into the side of the wall and they dug into it. Her descent stopped and she tensed her abs to hold her body up and keep perpendicular with the cliff face.

Bazett ran up the cliffside as Scáthach appeared at the edge and began charging down the wall of stone. The two fighters were on a collision course and yet neither altered their trajectory. When they got in range, they proceeded to have an exchange of attacks that resembled a choreographed dance. They were both using Revelation and Mind’s Eye(True), so they each predicted what the other would do next, but then they would alter their actions accordingly which changed the futures they predicted, requiring them to adapt once again. It became a game that would be decided by who could see farther ahead as the combatants traded attacks in rapid succession. They stayed on the side of the cliff as they sent out attacks they both had long since seen ten steps beyond. They dodged and blocked each other's strikes and magical attacks with ease as they could already see their vectors of movement. Accel Turn, Reduced Earth, Flashing Fist, Hard Puncher, Pioneer of the Stars, Mana Burst(Flame), Protection from Arrows, Revelation, Mind’s Eye(True), and Battle Continuation, as well as the Primordial Runes. Bazett had learned all these while training under both Scáthachs and now she was using all of them at once. This was the culmination of everything she had learned. Her entire body felt like it was melting as she kept on moving without the briefest of pauses. Her Magic Circuits were burning hotter than ever as they strained to fuel every one of Bazett’s spells and skills. Bazett pushed her Revelation and Mind’s Eye skills the hardest, searching further and further into the future for what Scáthach would do next. She saw as far as she possibly could and took action.

Right when the predicted future had Scáthach thrusting her spear at Bazett as she jumped back, Bazett instead ran ahead. The red spear grazed Bazett’s shoulder as she got in close enough to wrap her arms around Scáthach. Bazett knew that Scáthach predicted this and also predicted that Bazett would try to grapple with her from the front. Bazett was purposely following the events of this newly changed future to make Scáthach think she hadn’t seen that far ahead this time. When Scáthach drew a rune in the air that was about to release a point blank wave of ice, Bazett swerved around to behind the spearwoman. The magus jumped on her mentor’s back and used her legs to pin Scáthach’s arms to her sides while simultaneously wrapping an arm around Scáthach’s neck to squeeze it. This was nowhere near enough to stop the queen of the Land of Shadows from fighting back, but Bazett was already onto the next step. The Master drew a Primordial Rune of death on Scáthach’s cheek. It wasn’t enough to kill the queen, but it would be enough to hurt her and cause her to reel from the damage. That would give Bazett enough time to predict the future and plan her next move.

It was unfortunate that Scáthach had predicted all of this. Before Bazett finished writing the death rune with her finger, Scáthach had already inscribed a rune on Bazett by firing a beam of magical energy from her finger tip that drew the symbol on the Master’s leg. The rune in question used an advanced form of Gandr that’s weakening effect was great enough that Bazett lost all her remaining strength. Bazett’s body was overcome with sickness to the point that she could no longer keep her hold on Scáthach. The magus let go and was about to fall when another Scáthach caught her.

This second Scáthach, who was flying by releasing flames from her feet, was the Servant that Bazett had summoned. It had been three days since Bazett and her Servant had escaped to the Land of Shadows, which had been enough time for the Lancer to regrow her limbs, though she still wasn’t at full strength. To make it easier to differentiate her from her living counterpart, she was going by Lancer and had her hair in a ponytail that Bazett thought was super cute.

“You’ve done well, Bazett.”

“Did I? I lost and the other you was clearly holding back.”

“You still did better than most would have in your situation, not to mention you managed to master all the skills and runes I taught you.” Scáthach smiled. “Your three days of near nonstop straining has paid off. You get a passing grade.”

“You mean the training is over?”

“Unless you want to keep going, but the war might be over by the time we’re done at this rate.”

“That's fair.” Bazett was carried by her Servant to the top of the cliff while the other Scáthach put out the wildfire.

“Do you want your reward now or later?” Lancer Scáthach drew a rune that cleared away the effects of the Gandr.

“Reward?”

“Did you forget? If you met my expectations, we’d have sex.”

Bazett got smacked in the face by her returning memories after her lapse. Her skin turned more red than her hair or the skin tight bodysuit she was wearing. Speaking of the bodysuit, she was still embarrassed to be wearing it, especially while she was being held in the arms of a very attractive woman wearing her own bodysuit who was also propositioning her.

“I forgot about that.”

“So do you want to do it now, or later? Do you still want to at all?”

“I’d still like to!” Bazett’s knee jerk response made her embarrassment soar to even greater heights. “I’d like to wait until tonight so I can prepare for it.”

“If that’s what you wish.” Scáthach freed Bazett from her arms and helped her to her feet. “If that’s the case then I’ll also prepare. If we’re going to wait until tonight, then I want to use the extra time to make sure everything's perfect.” Bazett got goosebumps and a miniscule whimper came from her throat.

“I must admit it’s bizarre to know that another version of myself has gotten so close to someone.” The living Scáthach had already finished cleaning up.

“We’re as close as is appropriate.” Lancer Scáthach’s tone became dismissive, but then she looked Bazett’s way. “As for what is appropriate, that has yet to be determined.”

“I really am frustrating at times.” The living Scáthach chuckled. “Anyway, I have something I’d like to say. I know, Bazett, that you’d like for me to come with you and the other me to the land of humans.”

“I figured you knew.” Bazett said. “I just don’t see why you have to seclude yourself here. I understand your reasoning, but I don’t think you should sacrifice your happiness for the sake of not impacting the modern world.”

“I also think you should come with us.” Lancer Scáthach added. “You and I are the same, and so I know that you would be happy if you came with us, and I know that your excuses for staying here are flimsy at best. It’s time we quit being shut-ins.”

“I could try to argue with you, but there would be no point.” The living Scáthach ran her hand through her hair. “If one version of me was convinced by this magus, then I will as well given enough time. There’s no point in prolonging things.”

‘So you’ll come with us?”

“Of course.”

“That’s great.” Bazett felt herself perk up. “I hope you’ll make a life for yourself that is truly satisfying for you.”

“I hope so too. Before that, we need to finish this Holy Grail War. I’ll help you so claiming victory should be simple.”

“Having two of you on my side will definitely make it possible to beat even Archer and Saber.”

“Let’s return to the castle.” Lancer began walking. “I have to prepare for tonight. Bazett, you can spend the rest of the day how you wish. You’ve been working extremely hard up until now, and unlike Setanta, you didn’t complain. You’ve earned time to rest.”

Bazett and the other Scáthach followed Lancer. The magus was glad that both Scáthachs had seen reason. That said, Bazett still felt uneasy because there was still one more hurdle to clear. Having sex with Scáthach. Bazett had zero experience and she was too stiff a person to be able to just go on instinct. Scáthach would have to take the lead and hopefully Bazett wouldn’t mess up too badly. Bazett and Scáthach’s relationship was riding on how having sex went. This would be the test to see if the two of them were capable of being intimate and emotionally vulnerable with each other. It was really a question of whether they would merely have sex, or if they would make love. Was it lust or romance fueling their desire for each other? Was it a mix of both, or was sexual attraction the only meaningful factor?

These concerns didn’t leave Bazett as she tried to rest and mentally prepare. Now that she had free time she didn’t know what to do with it. She was a workaholic even before the Holy Grail War. There were no hobbies that Bazett indulged in really. She liked board games, but that was more of a passing interest that she never fully committed herself to. Any time spent not working or training felt like wasted time. That meant that Bazett had nothing she could occupy her mind with now that she needed to calm down and prepare for spending the night with Scáthach. She wandered the grounds of Scáthach’s castle to try and distract herself, but there wasn’t much to actually see in the dreary fortress. It was all gray and simple, which just made Bazett think of herself. Maybe that’s why Scáthach liked her, the magus matched the queen’s aesthetic tastes.

As the appointed time grew nearer and Bazett was told exactly where and when to meet with Scáthach, she decided to take a bath. It would help her decompress and would also make sure her body was spotless for Scáthach. The living Scáthach provided the magus with a basin full of hot water along with a ewer and soap. Bazett sat in the tub and cleaned herself thoroughly, not letting a single stretch of her skin go uncleansed. She didn’t want to be anything less than perfect for her partner to be. She got engrossed in the task which helped take her mind off of her worries. By the time she had taken care of every inch of her body, she could sit in the basin with a clear head and just enjoy the water’s warmth as it eased her aching muscles. Bazett had always been more partial to showers than baths in the past, but she was beginning to change her mind.

She couldn’t stay in the water forever so Bazett eventually got out, dried off, and got dressed. She put on just her black dress pants and white button up(and of course her underwear). It was nice to be wearing her normal clothes after being stuck in a bodysuit for multiple days.

Bazett went to the room she was told to go and inside she found a large bed that was perfectly made. There was a table in the corner where lit candles released sweet scents. The room was dimly lit and the ceiling was dotted with runes that released subtle amounts of light. It kept things just bright enough while making it so when Bazett looked up, it was like staring at a starry night sky. Bazett’s feet felt a plush carpet beneath them as the magus walked into the room. It was enchanting.

Upon seeing how much thought Scáthach put into this, Bazett’s anxiety started to increase again. The enforcer started to pace around the room from the stress, but she realized she would just make herself sweaty doing that, so she sat down on the bed. She tried to think of what she could do to lessen her nervousness. She didn’t want to just sit around letting herself get more paranoid. She decided to preemptively strip off her clothes so she’d be ready to start as soon as Scáthach wanted to. Bazett removed every article of clothing and put them in a corner of the room before lying down on the bed.

Bazett’s hands traced her own body. She was fit, muscular. She wasn’t really the traditional ideal of femininity. Would Scáthach find her attractive? Would Scáthach enjoy having sex with her? What if Bazett was terrible? What if it was embarrassing? Would Scáthach laugh at her? Get mad? Not say anything and just keep her thoughts to herself?

The door opened and Bazett sat up. An immaculate silhouette appeared in the doorway as light came from behind her.

“You’re already naked? I was hoping I’d get to undress you. Oh well. I can’t really complain since I had the same idea.”

Scáthach entered the room and she was perfect. Her figure, her skin, her face, her hair. It was all flawless. It was as if her body was created to be the ideal, like Pygmalion sculpting Galatea. Bazett’s fear seemed to vanish as she could only think about how gorgeous Scáthach’s nude body was.

At least until Bazett noticed Scáthach’s eyes moving. The queen was evaluating Bazett’s body. The anxiety was coming back.

“You’re quite beautiful.” Scáthach said. Bazett felt her mind go white.

“Really?” Bazett sounded silly the way she asked that, but she was just genuinely surprised by Scáthach’s simple words.

“Your body is worthy of admiration.” Scáthach walked up to the bed. “Your muscles are lovely. They make one desire to be wrapped in your arms.” The queen’s hand cupped Bazett’s shoulder, the enforcer tensing and making her muscles more pronounced. Scáthach’s fingers began tracing those muscles as they traveled around Bazett’s body. The queen's touch made Bazett shudder. It was so soft, slight, and precise. Bazett nearly began to drool. She felt as if she were being hypnotized. Her senses were heightened and her perception of time was fluid. “Would you prefer I be in charge, or would you like to take the lead?”

“Y-You-You be on top. I’m not very experienced with this kind of-kind of thing.”

“Alright. Just trust me then.” Scáthach gently pushed Bazett back onto the bed before getting on it herself. Bazett adjusted so she was in a comfortable position and Scáthach got on top of her. The queen’s knee pushed against Bazett’s groin which made her shiver.

Scáthach’s face was right next to Bazett’s. Their eyes locked. They were going to kiss. This was it. The big moment. Should Bazett close her eyes? No, she wanted to connect with Scáthach at this moment, not avoid her in any way.

But as Scáthach inched closer, her head changed course. The queen’s face got close to Bazett’s ear and blew. The cool breeze made Bazett sharply inhale, as did Scáthach’s lips and teeth nibbling on that same ear.

Kissing that ear to finish, Scáthach moved on, kissing Bazett’s neck and making her way downward. Scáthach’s lips dotted down Bazett’s upper chest before reaching her breasts. The queen’s lips wrapped around one of Bazett’s breasts, her tongue carefully playing with the nipple. Bazett clutched the sheets. Her breathing was speeding up. She didn’t want Scáthach to stop. Her every touch was amazing.

Returning to kissing down Bazett’s body, Scáthach was about to reach Bazett’s lower lips. The magus knew what would happen when Scáthach reached them. It was time.

Was this what Bazett wanted? Why did Bazett want to have sex with Scáthach?

It was because she wanted to build a connection with Scáthach.

But they hadn’t kissed yet. Were they even going to? Bazett couldn’t even see Scáthach’s face.

This wasn’t romance, this was a transaction.

“Wait.” Bazett moaned.

“What’s wrong?” Scáthach stopped what she was doing.

“I want to kiss you. I want to see your face. This feels like you’re just servicing me.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“The whole point of this was to see if we can build an emotional connection, right?” Bazett craned her head forward to look at Scáthach. The Servant’s face was hidden by her hair. “You seem like you’re avoiding making this intimate.”

“You’re right.” Scáthach got off Bazett and sat at the edge of the bed. “This was a mistake.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Bazett sat up. “Did I do something wrong?” The mgus felt her blood run cold.

“No, I’m the one at fault here. We’re supposed to be opening up to each other, and I’m actively doing the opposite. I tried to just speed through things rather than be vulnerable.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve just been acting as I always have. Even before I was trapped in the Land of Shadows, I kept a degree of emotional distance between myself and others. As a teacher and a parent I was always austere and in all other matters I stayed uninvolved. In the conflict that led to Setanta and Ferdiad fighting to the death, I did nothing. After being summoned as a Servant, I’ve made up endless excuses to not do anything beyond my duty as a Servant. The only wish I’ve ever had is to die, the ultimate isolation.”

“Do you have any idea of why you push others away?” Bazett scooted over to sit next to Scáthach. “You love fighting and that can be very intimate. Even the way you wanted to die was at the hands of a strong warrior. You wanted another person involved.”

“I suppose it comes down to the contradictions in human desire. We’re both desperate for validation and connection, and yet terrified of being rejected or hurt by those we’ve come to trust.” Scáthach’s hand gripped the edge of the bed. “When I learned that Setanta had killed Ferdiad , my first thought was that I regretted even training them, that if I never taught them how to be masters of combat, if I never raised them like brothers, then things wouldn’t have ended so tragically.”

“You had no way of knowing what would happen. You can’t blame yourself.”

“But I can. My Clairvoyance showed me the many misfortunes that Setanta would face and yet I did nothing. I saw him hurt my daughter and kill her lover, I saw him kill Ferdiad, I saw him kill his own son, I saw him perish at the hands of cowards. I saw it all and I did nothing about it. I knew my foresight was accurate, but I also felt an even greater wariness of what would happen if I tried to change things to alter the future. What if my actions made things even worse? That was how I convinced myself to sit by and do nothing.” Scáthach’s voice was a growl.

“You were scared, that’s normal. You never know what the butterfly effect of one’s actions would be and so you decided to be cautious. You shouldn’t hate yourself for that. If I were in your situation, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“But even now I am acting like a coward. I’m running away from you when I should be trying to get closer.”

“You still have the chance to do that.” Bazett inched closer until her arm was touching Scáthach’s and she could grab her hand. This level of forwardness and vulnerability would normally leave Bazett a blushing mess, but she was too busy trying to help the woman who had stolen her heart to be embarrassed. She wasn’t overthinking things anymore, just acting as she wanted. “I’m right here. You still have a chance to take action. If you really regret not doing anything in the past, then make sure you don’t make the same mistake now. You’re immortal, you have endless time to change.”

Scáthach turned and Bazett could finally see her face clearly. It was the first time that the queen’s expression displayed complete authenticity. Her features were not still and small, they openly displayed her grief and her desire. Her eyes were large and her cheeks were stretched by the ever shifting shape of her mouth. Bazett didn’t think Scáthach could be more beautiful, but she was proven wrong.

“Scáthach, what do you want to do?”

“I want to kiss you and make love to you.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Bazett and Scáthach inched their heads closer, eyes locked. The magus memorized every single detail of the queen’s crimson irises, such as the way the subtle light reflected off them like they were perfectly polished rubies. They finally closed their eyes as their lips connected. It was Bazett’s first kiss and it was a sensation unlike any other she had previously known. The way Scáthach’s mouth tasted and the soft feel of the queen’s lips made Bazett feel weightless. Bazett wrapped her arms around Scáthach and held her close, Scáthach doing the same. The bodies pressed into each other and the magus’ hands took note of every contour of her beloved’s figure.

Things became more passionate as Scáthach pushed Bazett backward onto the bed. The kissing became more rough. Bazett had no idea what she was doing. She restrained herself and let Scáthach take the lead. The queen wordlessly guided the Master on what to do, using only the simplest motions to put Bazett on the right track. Even when it came to sexual matters, Scáthach was a wonderful teacher.

Scáthach slowly slid her hand down Bazett’s body and to her groin. The queen’s fingers teased the magus’ privates. Bazett moaned into Scáthach’s mouth and opened her legs to better let the fingers inside. When they did, Bazett’s whole body arched and her mouth finally left Scáthach’s.

The pleasure continued to build as Scáthach showed her mastery of sex, but that wasn’t the thing that primarily occupied Bazett’s mind. What she was mainly thinking about was just how much love she felt. This was the most intimate she had ever been with another person and to have her desire for another so strongly reciprocated and rewarded made it impossible for her not to get teary eyed. An entire life of rejection and isolation had left Bazett feeling unworthy of love. She thought she would forever be alone and that it was for the best that way. Now she was being showered with love and validation from Scáthach, a person who was simply spectacular in all the ways that mattered to the magus. This was the first time that Bazett didn’t feel alone.

Bazett felt like she had become one with Scáthach, orgasming and crying out with happiness.

“Let me do you now.” Bazett had barely finished orgasming when she said that. “I want to pleasure you.”

“Alright.” Scáthach smiled. “But let me keep teaching you.”

The queen and Bazett switched who was on top. The magus was hesitant for just a second as she realized she was now responsible for Scáthach’s enjoyment of this, but then she pushed those worries aside and trusted Scáthach to communicate what she wanted. Bazett fumbled as she tried out various things, but Scáthach was patient and always ready to teach the magus how to improve her technique. Bazett got the hang of things soon enough and she began fingering Scáthach the way the queen had done for her before. Scáthach didn’t let her hands stay idle, using them to play with Bazett’s breasts. Despite the pleasure from that, Bazett mostly enjoyed seeing the way Scáthach moaned as she indulged the magus’ touch. The fact that she was making Scáthach feel good was way more fulfilling than her own sexual satisfaction.

Upon Scáthach’s orgasm, the lovers switched positions again. The night continued on like this with Scáthach teaching Bazett more and more ways they could pleasure each other. It went on for so long that every inch of Scáthach’s body became familiar to Bazett, as did every kind of moan and mewl the queen’s voice could make. Bazett didn’t like phrasing it this way, but it felt like Scáthach’s body had become hers. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the lovers had given their bodies to each other. Their bodies were separate, and yet they were one. Their minds had different thoughts, and yet they were synchronized. They were two instruments working together to play the same song. As Scáthach explained the intricacies of lesbian sex, Bazett didn’t feel any embarrassment. The two of them could be completely honest with each other in a way that they normally couldn’t, even with themselves.

Bazett once worried that she needed a greater purpose in life, but now she realized that didn’t matter. This moment and others like it were what mattered. She was happy and the woman she cared about most was happy. What more was necessary?

Eventually, after much lovemaking and many different sex positions, Bazett reached her limit. She was drenched in sweat as if after a long training session and her body was out of energy. Her muscles were sore and they were bound to ache even more in the morning that was soon to come.

“I’m done.” Bazett said breathily.

“Did you enjoy it?” Scáthach pulled Bazett closed and entangled their limbs.

“Absolutely.” Bazett nuzzled into Scáthach’s chest. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Did my moans not give it away?”

“I just wanted to make sure.”

“Well I can say with complete honesty that this night was wonderful.”

“That’s good.” Bazett’s eyelids shut despite her best effort. “I’m sorry, but I think I’m about to fall asleep.”

“Don’t apologize. You need your rest. You sleep and I’ll wait here for you. I’ll spend the time admiring your body.”

“Okay.” Bazett was too tired to react to that. “Goodnight, Scáthach.”

“Goodnight, Bazett.”

Bazett peaked an eye open one last time before falling asleep. What she saw was the smiling face of the woman she loved. Bazett formed her own smile as she drifted into her dreams.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 42: Strong Paper Tiger

Assassin was hidden by his red wrappings as he traversed moonlit Mount Enzo. It was time for the assault on the Grail and Assassin went ahead to scout things out. He was to give the signal once he made sure the entrance to the cave system was clear and, if possible, figured out the exact positions of all the enemy forces within the cavern. While the surface of the mountain and the forest that covered it was clear of any Servants, the red Servant had a bigger question to answer.

Magical energy had formed inside the mountain and around the cavern system where the Grail dwelled. It was something more than a simple Bounded Field as the caves that were saturated with accursed power could no longer be detected in the slightest. Something had encased the cave system and completely cut it off from everything outside through spatial manipulation. Some kind of defensive Noble Phantasm was implemented to prevent entry into the Grail’s domain.

The entrance to the cave was still hidden by a false wall, but behind the illusion was not a simple hole. There was a door carved from wood that fit into the stone as if it had always belonged there. Assassin could tell it wasn’t locked or booby trapped and it definitely led to the sealed off space where the Grail’s cave was. There was some kind of trap within the bounds of this Noble Phantasm, that was obvious to anyone with half a brain.

Assassin telepathically contacted his allies and told them of the situation. It didn’t sound like the Noble Phantasm of any of the Servants of the last war. It was likely owned by one of the corrupted Servants, though Gilgamesh could theoretically pull out just about anything.

“Assassin, can you describe the look of the door? It might give a hint to who it belongs to.” Lord El-Melloi II said.

“It is of solid wood, yew if I had to guess. It’s been embossed with art of a single individual with a shield facing ten others with various weapons. There’s also a bunch of fancy swirls and such that I can’t pin the exact cultural style of beyond it being European.”

“How big is it?” Artoria spoke with reservation.

“It’s the size of the average modern door.”

“It must have shrunk to accommodate where it was summoned.”

“You know what this is?”

“It’s Dolorous Guard, also known as Joyous Guard. It’s Lancelot’s castle. It was summoned by the woman with Guinevere’s face and Lancelot’s abilities. It was something Lancelot acquired by defeating the previous owner. The fortress is enchanted to be hermetically sealed and impossible to enter from anywhere but the main entrance. Those who enter must face ten knights simultaneously at the first wall and another ten at the second, finally facing the owner of the castle, Brandin in Lancelot’s case and likely Guinevere in ours. Only upon defeating the third challenge can we reach the castle’s center where the caves probably are. Those who enter can only fight one at a time, so even if we all enter at once, we’d each need to take a turn facing the entirety of each wave without assistance. The knights are not to be underestimated. Even Lancelot needed to have his power amplified by enchanted shields to be able to overcome both groups of ten knights and Brandin at the end.”

“The enemy wants to use Dolorous Guard to tire and even kill some of us before we even have the chance to face the Grail’s main force.” Rin said.

“Goddess, can you bore a hole through whatever’s surrounding the cavern? If we use your overwhelming power to create a new entrance, we might be able to circumvent the fortress’ rules.” Assassin suggested.

“Not as I am now. If I had my full strength, then it would be easy, but to do so now would require undoing the restraints on Rhongomyniad. That isn’t possible since the restraints can only be opened when facing some kind of opponent in a fight.” The Lion King showed a tinge of sadness in their otherwise flat voice.

“Should we still go through with our attack tonight?” Sakura said.

“No way.” Henriikka barely waited for Sakura to finish. “Our forces would already be strained if we didn’t have to deal with this castle, but there’s no way we’ll win if some of us are exhausted by this castle.”

“Is there any way to get around the castle’s rules?” Luvia asked.

“Not that I’m aware of.” Artoria said. “Did you ever learn of one in your history, Lion King?”

“No, sadly. I think we shouldn’t proceed with tonight’s assault. We need to take time to reassess our strategy and hopefully determine a method of negating Dolorous Guard’s laws.”

“We should also use the extra time to prepare further however we can, whether that be by gathering resources or simply training.” Lord El-Melloi II’s statement was met with various words of affirmation. “Let us regroup at the church then.”

Assassin began heading back to the church apart from the rest of his allies, which included his Master. He didn’t like being apart from her given the grudges that had fostered over the course of the war. All it would take would be one argument to push someone into acting rashly. The next thing you’d know, Taiga would be dead by the hand of an angered Tohsaka sister. Not only would that be a problem for Assassin since he would have to find a new Master, it would also be a tragic end to Taiga’s life.

The scene of Assassin’s summoning still remained a vivid image in his mind. Assassin felt Alaya call for him. He materialized in a bright flash and when the dust settled, he was standing in a dusty shed on a dark night. The barest remains of a magic circle was on the ground. The Counter Force activated the circle itself while forcing Command Spells on the nearest person to act as a Master. That person was a woman in a suit who had a fur coat hanging off her shoulders. It was someone Assassin knew, but he couldn’t properly remember anything beyond the fact that she was important to him. The Counter Guardian’s memories had degraded after so many summonings. One thing he could discern was that this woman didn’t give off the same feeling as the person he remembered.

The woman looked appropriately surprised at Assassin’s spontaneous manifestation. She was no magus. What she was, however, was a gun owner, as she pulled a handgun out and pointed it right in Assassin’s face.

“Who are you? Where’d you come from?”

“I’m a Counter Guardian and a Servant, but you don’t know what those are. Let’s just say I’m a ghost and a hero of justice for now. You can put the gun down, it can’t hurt me. Modern weapons are useless against my kind and even if they were effective, a normal firearm lacks the power to pierce my skin.”

“And why should I believe anything you just said?”

“Shoot me and you’ll see.”

“You think I won’t?”

“No, I’m serious. Do it.”

The woman obliged and pulled the trigger. Assassin’s superhuman senses meant that the bullet looked like it was moving in slow motion as it was propelled out of the barrel and through the air. The bullet hit Assassin perfectly between the eyes, but it just flattened and bounced off. The woman took a step backward upon realizing what just happened.

“If you need any more proof that I’m not normal…” Assassin held out a hand and a sword projected into it.

“What the Hell are you?”

“To put things concisely, I am what’s known as a Servant.” The sword disappeared. “I am a superhuman being summoned to serve you. You and six others have summoned Servants and are meant to fight to the death. The winner gets the Holy Grail, a device that will grant almost any wish. Following me so far?”

“I think so.” The woman nodded. “You’re a superhuman and you and I are supposed to kill a bunch of people. Winner gets a genie wish.”

“More or less. The twist is that I’m not a normal Servant. I’m what’s called a Counter Guardian, which means I’m here to save humanity from something that threatens to exterminate it. Basically, I’ve got a target I have to eliminate.”

“I think I understand. You said you’re on my side, but how do I know that’s true?”

“I could easily kill you right here if I wanted to. I’m not doing that, so I’m not your enemy.”

“Fair enough.” The suited woman relaxed and put her gun away. She reached into the inner pocket of her coat and pulled something out. Assassin assumed she was going to take out a pack of cigarettes, it would fit the image she had, but instead she pulled out a rice ball still in its wrapper from the store. The woman scarfed the thing down so quickly it made Assassin wonder if this woman was as fast as a Servant, though maybe that only applied to eating. “I’m Taiga Fujimura. I’m the head of the Fujimura Group, the local yakuza.”

“You can call me Assassin.”

“Assassin?”

“It’s my class. I’ll explain soon enough. My actual name is, well, I want to ask you something.” Assassin stared Taiga in the eye and saw something familiar in them, but also something fundamentally dissimilar to the image in his head. “I’m only asking because I think I already know the answer. Does the name Shirou Emiya mean anything to you?”

“Never heard of him.”

“I assumed as much. Let’s head to someplace secure and I’ll explain the situation in more detail.”

“We’ll head to my mansion then.” Taiga left the shed and Assassin followed behind her. Outside the shed was a yard and household that was just like the one Assassin remembered growing up in.

“Why were you here by the way? What is this mansion to you if you don’t live here?”

“It’s a piece of real estate my family owns. We rent out places like this to visiting foreigners who want the authentic Japanese experience. I was just looking this place over to see if anything needed refurbishing. We haven’t rented this place in a while and it was starting to fall into disrepair.”

“You do those kinds of inspections yourself? Aren’t you the boss?”

“Not normally.” Taiga’s pace faltered for a second and she pulled out another rice ball. “I also wanted some alone time to think. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

Taiga ate the rice ball while she and Assassin reached the front of the house where a car was waiting. A man in a suit got out of the driver's seat.

“Who’s that with you, boss?”

“He’s an acquaintance. He’ll be coming back with us to the mansion.”

The driver shrugged and opened the rear door for Taiga and Assassin. They got in and the man drove them to the mansion. They entered the Fujimura compound while men in suits lined up at the entrance and bowed at her return. They asked her how she was doing and who she was with, and she just said it was none of their business and that she wasn’t to be disturbed for the rest of the night. As Assassin and his Master walked through the labyrinthine halls of the estate, any men they came across would stop what they were doing to bow to her. Each time it happened, Taiga’s teeth would grit so quietly that only Assassin could hear it.

They arrived at Taiga’s office, a spacious room with a desk at the back and a pair of couches in front of it. There were wall scrolls showing pieces of traditional Japanese artwork and calligraphy, as well as many sheathed katanas. Taiga sat down at her desk and Assassin sat on a couch, arms resting on the back of it.

Assassin proceeded to explain the Holy Grail war in detail, as well as his personal mission as a Counter Guardian. Taiga listened quietly with closed eyes. It made Assassin wonder how much she was paying attention.

“I can choose if I want to participate?” Taiga finally spoke, eyes still shut.

“That’s right. If you choose not to, you will have to stay at the church until the war is over since its neutral ground.”

Taiga’s jaw moved side to side and she tapped the table in front of her.

“Assassin, what are the limits of the Holy Grail? What wishes can it grant and what wishes are beyond its power?”

“It’s something that works on a case by case basis. In the end, the Grail is just a source of a large amount of magical energy. It needs to be given not just a wish, but directions on how to achieve that wish. Do you have a wish in mind?”

“I wanted to do my life over.” Taiga opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

“You’d probably have to either change the past, or reverse time to go back to a previous point in your life. Those are the domain of the Fifth Magic. I don’t know if the Third Magic is capable of replicating those effects. You could also try shifting to another reality where you made different choices, but that’s the territory of the Second Magic. Any of those methods might work, but I can’t guarantee it. Maybe if you have all the Servants die, including me, then it would be possible. At that point, the Grail would be powerful enough to reach the Root, so it should be capable of something akin to what you want. You could have your soul materialized by the Third Magic and have it ascend to a higher plane. Such a realm would be transcendent of time, so you could descend back down to our dimension at any point in the timeline.”

“So it’s possible?”

“Probably.”

“Would you be willing to die for my wish?”

“I just need to get my mission done, I don’t have a serious wish, so sure.”

“I’ll participate then.” Taiga stood up and walked over to one of the scrolls. It displayed art of a monk lecturing their students.

“I’m guessing you’re not satisfied with your current life if you want to have a do-over.” Assassin looked over his shoulder at his Master.

“That’s an understatement. Do you know what my life mainly consists of?”

“Since you’re the head of a yakuza family, managing the businesses and affairs of the family. Occasionally having to get your hands dirty with people’s blood. Indulging in whatever your wealth can buy during your free time.”

“I think about death. I think about killing people and industries that get people killed. I buy whatever I want, indulge in delicacies, all while subconsciously thinking about how I’m just distracting myself from my sins and my own inevitable death. Do you know what I wanted to be?”

“What?”

“A teacher.” Taiga laughed as she said it. It was a dry laugh mixed with a sneer. “I wanted to be an English teacher. When I was in high school, I met these two foreigners. They were nice and the whole encounter made me realize how important communication is. That’s why I wanted to teach English. My family wanted me to become the new boss when I was old enough, but they said they’d let me be a teacher if I could prove I was good enough. I studied and studied as hard as I could. I stopped practicing kendo and hanging out with my friends, all so I could hone my craft. I pushed myself to the limit. Guess what?”

“What?”

“It wasn’t enough. I wasn’t good enough. Maybe I needed a better teacher to guide me, but I just wasn’t good enough. And so I had to give up on my dream and become head of the family. This life…” Taiga grabbed the sleeve of her coat. “isn’t me. This isn’t me. I wanted to nurture the next generation, I wanted to help people grow and lead happy lives, not cut lives short and make people miserable for profit. I hate my life. I hate it so much.” This was the most emotional Assassin had seen Taiga. Her voice was a mix of a growl and a whimper. “I don’t want to do this anymore, be this anymore. I just want to be a teacher. That’s why I want to go back in time and do my life over again. I want a second chance to be who I really am. I‘ll study even harder, I’ll get the best tutors, and if It still isn’t good enough to convince my family, then fuck ‘em. I’ll run away and become a teacher anyway. Even if I’m terrible at it, I want to help people. If I manage to help one kid reach their potential, then it will all have been worth it. What kind of life is one where you don’t make the world a better place? Who actually wants to profit off people’s pain? This isn’t living. I want to live.”

It was then that Assassin realized that he wanted his Master to win. He was looking at someone he once knew who had gone down a different path, one that destroyed who they truly were. Taiga was a good person deep down, but she had been corrupted by a career predicated on cruelty. It was eating her alive. This couldn’t continue. For the first time in a long time, Assassin felt motivated. He wasn’t just doing his job, he was going to save someone. That was all he ever really wanted to do with his life, save people. He would do whatever it took to win, for Taiga, for big sis Taiga.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 43: GTT(Great Teacher Taiga)

Taiga was annoyed. It was the morning of the fifth day of the Holy Grail War. Including that day, there were six remaining until the Grail would give birth to the monster inside it. Since the reveal of the fortress encasing the caves was discovered, everyone decided to take time to prepare for the war in any way possible. Lord El-Melloi, the overseer, and some of the other magi were mainly thinking about how to handle the castle so it doesn’t lead to everyone being drained and or dead by the time the main fight started.

As for Taiga herself, she had taken some time to train and contact whatever remnants of the Fujimura Group still existed. Most of her men got slaughtered by the Tohsakas and Edelfelts, as was most of her family. Only those out of town on other jobs remained. That should have been more heartbreaking for Taiga than it was. She lost her loved ones, but they were also the ones that dragged her into the life of a yakuza. It was their fault that she was miserable and so she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief at their demise. The Fujimura Group was functionally gone now and so Taiga was free to do what she wanted. In hindsight, it seemed so simple a solution to her problems. Just kill her entire yakuza family and she’d be free. Of course, that sounds easier than it is practically. Murdering an entire syndicate of training killers would be no easy task for a normal human, especially when some of those killers were people who raised you. Taiga no longer had any obligations except to herself. Her wish was granted. Now she just needed to protect the world from getting flooded with curses.

Would it be weird for Taiga to thank the Tohsakas and Edelfelts for their help? Probably.

After assessing her situation and eating a meal worth seven people, Taiga was taking a break and thinking about the steps she’d have to take to become a teacher. She’d spend as much of what remained of her family's wealth on the best English tutors to help her hone her craft. It would take a few years to actually get certified, but what was a few years at this point? As long as she wasn’t spending those years as a yakuza, she’d be in bliss.

To answer the question of why she was annoyed at this very moment, it was due to an external factor. Taiga decided to relax in the church’s courtyard, her back leaned against a wall and her arms crossed.

Also in the courtyard was Artoria and Illyasviel who were currently sparring, the Servant wielding a stick and giving swordsmanship advice while the albino girl used a wrapped up blade. It was clear that the blonde was trying to mentor the homunculus in the ways of the blade, but there was a glaring issue at hand.

Artoria was not a good teacher. Her method of educating her student involved just sparring a lot and giving bits of advice that were far too general to be useful. Lessons were best when they were flexible, able to be tailored to the individual needs of the students. You can’t just say things and expect your students to understand and apply everything without actual guidance. You need to make the topics discussed grounded and specific, offering hints while never giving the complete answers so the student can arrive at the truth on their own. That way the knowledge sticks in their mind and they feel accomplished.

Watching this failure of a swordsmanship lesson was leaving Taiga vexed to put it mildly. She wanted to walk over and give the homunculus proper guidance on how to wield a sword. The issue was that Artoria and Illyasviel hated Taiga after she kidnapped Chloe and caused their loved ones to die. In all honesty, Taiga and Assassin had played a big role in the Holy Grail War becoming the disaster that it now was. If it weren’t for them, Irisviel might not have lost control to the Greater Grail.

To try and help Illyasviel now would be insulting, as if Taiga was trying to sweep her wrongdoings under the rug.

At the same time, Taiga couldn’t bring herself to just walk away and let the travesty of a swordsmanship lesson be out of sight and out of mind.

Taiga just stayed in the courtyard and let herself endure the appalling teaching techniques of King Arthur.

“Don’t forget about your surroundings!” Artoria said.

“Why don’t you tell her how to do that? Give tips. Hints. Anything.” Taiga mouthed while her brow tightened.

“Your blade is an extension of yourself. Treat it that way!” Artoria said.

“What does that even mean? It’s too vague to be meaningful.” Taiga was shaking and her hands gripped her sides.

“If you can’t push me back this round then you’ll have to do pushups as a punishment!” Artoria said.

“Punishments aren’t a good way of motivating students, it just makes them anxious and thus more prone to making mistakes.” Taiga’s teeth were grinding against each other.

“Try harder!”

“That’s it!” Taiga couldn't take it anymore.

“What?” Both Artoria and Illyasviel stopped their spar.

“You have no idea how to teach someone!” Taiga stomped over to the failure of a teacher and the victim of a student. “You keep giving advice that is poorly worded or just confusing, and your methods of motivation are ineffective at best and actively harmful at worst! You need to be specific about things while not giving away all the answers, yet also not leaving your student with too little information to be able to figure things out on their own! Oh, and for God’s sake, don’t tell your students to ‘try harder!’ It is the least helpful thing ever! You think your student is gonna go, ‘oh, I wasn’t actually trying that hard, that’s my problem’ do you? Effort without direction means nothing! Work smart, not hard!”

“I apologize for my rudeness in saying this, but this is none of your business.” Artoria held an arm out between Taiga and Illyasviel. “We may be on the same side right now, but Illyasviel is my daughter and you nearly got her killed.”

“I get that you’re pissed, but your daughter won’t improve if you keep teaching her like this.”

“She’s making progress.”

“And it’s too slow. We don’t have more than a few days that we can wait before we have to face the Grail. Do you think she’ll be strong enough to protect herself when the time comes? At this rate?”

Artoria’s hand balled into a fist, but she didn’t have a response to give.

“How about…” Taiga took a breath. “I teach your daughter. I studied teaching techniques and I’m a skilled swordsman. Plus, the sword Illyasviel’s using more closely resembles a katana than the kind of swords you probably use based on how you fight.”

“I don’t want your help.” Illyasviel said. “I’d rather die than be helped by you.”

“Well, that’s not right.” Artoria’s anger gave way to anxiousness. “I’d rather you train under Fujimura and live than refuse and die.”

“There’s no way I’ll accept her help!” Illyasviel glared at Taiga, the air around her whipping up as her magical energy emitted from her as an aura. “She kidnapped Chloe! She got mom, Gray, and Mordred killed! She’s taken nearly everything from us! She’s lucky we haven’t turned her into a red paste yet! I still might!”

“Illya, I understand how you feel.” Artoria faced her daughter and put her hands on the homunculus’ shoulders. “The problem is that Fujimura is right. You aren’t ready yet for the battle ahead. She might be better at preparing you for it. It’s worth giving her a chance”

“I don’t care!”

“I do.”

“This is my decision! I’m a grown adult! I don’t need you making decisions for me!”

“I-” Artoria released her daughter and stepped back. “You’re right. I shouldn’t try to control you.”

“Thank you.”

“Illyasviel, I have a question for you.” Taiga said.

“And why should I care?” Illyasviel’s indignation was going to give Taiga a brain aneurysm.

“I hope you’d care about this one for your mother’s sake.”

“What?”

“Illyasviel, if you refuse to accept my help and you die, but your mother lives, how do you think she’s going to feel? I get that you’re so pissed at me that you’d be satisfied with that result, but how would your mother feel knowing you could have survived but didn’t? Would she accept that?”

Illyasviel’s magical aura dissipated and the courtyard went from hosting a consistent gust to being distractingly still. The homunculus looked at her mother whose uncomfortable expression spoke volumes. The girl’s pale hands grabbed her hair and squeezed it and she gave a frustrated groan.

“Fuck. Alright, you can train me, but if it ends up being bullshit, then I’m backing out.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint. Let’s start with a spar, you and me. I want to gauge what you can do. Also, no using magecraft or anything else to boost our abilities. This has to be pure swordsmanship.” Taiga pulled out her sword with the sheathe still on it. “Artoria, you act as referee.”

Illyasviel grunted as she readied herself.

Both swordsmen got in their stances.

Artoria raised her arm.

“Fight!” The king’s arm swung down and the match began.

Illyasviel didn’t move. She was waiting so, taking in consideration the thin blade she was wielding, she was probably using a style focused on parries and deflections. She wasn’t going to act first, so Taiga took the initiative. The former yakuza ran in and thrust her katana which Illyasviel parried before following up with a riposte. The wrapped weapon stabbed for Taiga, but the master swordsman just needed to adjust the angle of her arms slightly to reposition her sword, her blade’s guard now in the way of the thrust. The homunculus’ counterattack was caught dead in its tracks. Taiga pushed with her weapon, causing her guard to push Illyasviel’s own sword back into her. The butt of the handle jammed into the newbie’s chest and knocked her off her feet. The whole exchange took less than a second.

“Fujimura wins.” Artoiria said as Illyasviel hit the ground.

“What kind of sword technique was that?” Illyasviel sat up and rubbed the area of her chest that got hit.

“It isn’t one really. It was improvised.”

“That’s not fair.” The homunculus got to her feet. “You can just make stuff up and get yourself the win.”

“That’s where you’re making your main mistake.” Taiga extended a finger to the sky. “You’re looking at swordsmanship as a series of techniques. In sports there are rules you have to follow and so it’s easy to categorize all possible legal actions that you can take into named moves, but real combat isn’t like that. There are no rules and so you can’t restrict yourself to specific kinds of actions. The way you responded to my thrust was a textbook counterattack, but that’s the problem. You don’t know how to adjust your style to unconventional situations. This isn’t chess where every possible board orientation has a statistically optimal course of action. A real fight is amorphous like water. Things can be unpredictable, an enemy can attack you in any way that is physically possible, not just in a certain set of ways that follow particular guidelines. You need to move beyond memorizing how to perform certain techniques and instead learn how to master moving your sword and your body. You need to have precise body control so you can position yourself and your sword in any way you might need to for any situation you may find yourself in. Are you following me?”

“I think so.” Illyasviel didn’t have the same bite to her words as before.

“Let’s look back at the point where you lost, me pushing your sword back into you. Try to think of what you could have done to have prevented your loss at that point.”

“Prevent it?”

“Right as I was pushing your sword back at you and you realized it, what could you have done in that moment to respond? What could you have done that didn’t involve implementing pre-existing sword techniques?”

“I don’t know. I could have tried pushing back against you, but I’m not physically strong enough to overpower you. Maybe I could have adjusted the positioning of my sword so the hilt didn’t push into me, or at least hit somewhere that would have been less damaging.”

“That’s a good suggestion. That might have worked. See, you’re capable of figuring out these out of the box solutions. What are some other things you could have done?”

“I can’t think of anything else.” Illyaviel looked at her weapon. “I don’t see how else I could have moved my sword.”

“Don’t get too caught up in the fact that you’re learning swordsmanship. You’re limiting yourself.”

“But isn’t learning how to use a sword the whole point?”

“Let’s see.” Taiga crossed her arms. “Think of this less as learning swordsmanship, and more as incorporating a sword into your fighting style. The sword is just a new extension to yourself.”

“An extension?” Illyasviel saw where her weapon sat in her hand. She moved her arms around and her legs tensed. The homunculus’ eyes widened. “I get it. I could move the other parts of my body. I could have caught the butt of my sword with my free hand to dampen the force of the blow, or I could have jumped back as I was getting pushed so I’d move with the hit rather than against it. If I twisted my body just right, then I could have sidestepped you. You would have continued forward while I would have already repositioned to be at your side where you’d be vulnerable.”

“You figured it out, good job. You catch on quick.” Taiga snapped her fingers. “You get so caught up in using your sword and the idea of this being a sword fight that you disregard the rest of your body. It seems silly to forget the rest of your body, but tunnel vision is a Hell of a thing.”

“I get what you mean when you said I was too focused on learning specific techniques.” Illyasviel rolled her shoulders. “I’ve got a whole body and I can move it in so many ways. If I can master how to reposition myself, then I can adapt to almost anything.”

“You’re spot on. Adaptability is the name of the game in a real fight. You need to be constantly thinking of all your options and how they’d affect your current situation. That goes for whether you’re using a sword, gun, yours fists, whatever. You have a whole body to play with. I’ve never liked how much people focus on specific techniques or styles when it comes to swordsmanship. It’s needlessly limiting in my opinion.”

“You got that right.” Illyasviel began moving around her arms and legs in weird ways while she held her sword, seeing how each position felt.

“It’s good that you’ve got the theory now, but next is practice.” Taiga clapped her hands. “Time for more specific instruction.”

Thus Taiga began mentoring Illyasviel on swordsmanship and combat in general. She gave her tips on the different ways she could hold her sword and position her legs to maximize how much force she could output and in what directions. She explained the physics behind different aspects of swordsmanship and how these principles could be applied in different situations. Taiga did her best to be hands off, allowing Illyasviel to figure things out on her own, the former yakuza dropping hints whenever it was necessary. Artoria watched from the sidelines, sometimes giving her own input which was appreciated. After a few hours, Illyasviel was drenched in sweat, but still enthusiastic.

“Good work, Illyasviel. It’s time to test how far you’ve grown. Let’s spar.”

“I’ll kick your ass this time.” Illyasviel got into a combat stance again, this one being slightly different. It looked more comfortable than her original one.

“Artoria, call it.” Taiga got in position.

“Fight!” Artoria said and this time both fighters closed the distance.

Taiga attacked first with a thrust like last time. Illyasviel didn’t counter it, instead sidestepping it. It was just like one of the possible responses they discussed earlier. It made Taiga disappointed that her student was just doing exactly what they talked about instead of coming up with a new plan. Her worries were proved unfounded when, instead of attacking Taiga herself, something the former yakuza prepared for by pulling her sword back in to block with, Illyasviel instead grabbed at the weapon with her free hand. It was easy for Taiga to pull her katana out of Illyasviel’s reach, but the homunculus clearly intended for taiga to react that way as she simultaneously raised her knee which hit the hilt of Taiga’s blade. The surprise blow knocked Taiga’s weapon far enough away from her torso that she was left wide open. Illyasviel gripped her blade’s handle with two hands and thrust with it right as her raised leg fell to the ground again, the movement causing the homunculus’ body to naturally move forward. This motion caused the entirety of Illyasviel’s body weight to be focused in the direction she was moving, meaning the maximum amount of strength she could utilize would be concentrated on her sword’s tip. It was a brilliant combination of moves that only failed because Taiga reacted with a side kick to the homunculus’ arms which knocked them off course and caused the thrust to miss. Taiga utilized the fact that her arms were far from her torso by using a wide sword swing that knocked right into Illyasviel’s head and left her out cold. The spar lasted a little more than a second.

The unconscious homunculus was caught by her mother who lifted her into her arms.

“Sorry for being so rough. She really caught me off guard.” Taiga wiped some sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.

“It’s quite alright. Thank you for teaching my daughter. You’ve caused her to make explosive progress.”

“I just tapped into her existing potential. I wouldn’t have bothered if she were a lost cause.”

“It was still thanks to your teaching skill that her potential was unlocked at all. I’m not suited to the field of education the way you are. I must admit that I wasn’t expecting a professional criminal to be a supernal pedagogue.”

“I actually wanted to be a teacher rather than a yakuza growing up. I plan to be one now that my yakuza family’s all but annihilated.”

“I see.” Artoria adjusted her grip on her daughter. “I do not know your life circumstances and I can understand what it’s like to be forced into a situation that requires you to art immorally. That said, I can never forgive you for the pain you caused my family. Like my daughter, I wish to kill you.”

“I’d be weirded out if you didn’t have a bone to pick with me after what I’ve done.” Taiga took a melon bread out from her jacket and opened its packaging. “I obviously don’t plan on dying, but I’m open to other kinds of atonement.”

“That’s appreciated. Despite our grudge, I hope we can focus on the greater good for now. I also hope I’m not too selfish in asking you to continue mentoring my daughter in swordsmanship.”

“I’m happy to do it. Even if I do end up dead by the end of this, I can be satisfied knowing I managed to teach one person something. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” Taiga smiled for the first time in a long time as she took a bite out of her melon bread. “By the way, Illyasviel’s learning to use a sword because the blade she has is able to kill Servants in one hit, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Where’d she get something that powerful? Is it a Noble Phantasm?”

“No. It’s something she made by combining some specific materials she had, her Alchemy, and her Origin.”

“Assassin told me some things about Origins and how they work. What’s hers?”

“Sword.”

“Sword?”

“Sword.”

“If her Origin is Sword, you’d think she’d be naturally talented at using them.”

“She would if her Origin was Swordsmanship, but her Origin is Sword specifically. It is the concept of swords themselves, not the art of using them, that is core to her being.”

“You’re sure her Origin is Sword?” Assassin appeared in the courtyard. He finally stopped using Presence Concealment.

“I am. I checked.” Artoria stared daggers at Assassin. Her animosity for Assassin had yet to be restrained in the same way it had when it came to Taiga.

“How is her Origin Sword?” Why was he so curious?

“Avalon’s inside her. We discussed this at the meeting.”

“She had it in her long enough to alter her Origin?”

“Yes. Why are you so interested?”

Assassin was quiet for a moment, his eyes contemplative. He chuckled.

“I think Taiga isn’t the only one who has something to teach Illyasviel. Assuming her Elemental Affinity also changed to Sword, I might be able to teach her how to make best use of her Origin.”

“And why is that?”

“I guess It’s time I explain who I am.” Assassin removed his head wraps to reveal his dark face and white hair. “Let me tell you about a different Fifth Holy Grail War.”

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 44: Telling the Truth

Assassin was a man named Shirou Emiya. In another history, the Grail caused mass destruction at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Shirou lost his parents in the destruction and was on the brink of death, but was saved by Kiritsugu Emiya who adopted him. In this history, it was Kiritsugu who lived through the Fourth War with both Irisiviel and Artoria dying in the chaos. Kiritsugu didn’t live to see the Fifth War, but Shirou did and became a Master. He summoned Artoria and they ended up destroying the Grail after learning of its corruption. Afterward the lad grew up to be a hero and he eventually died by the hand of those he was trying to save. After death he became a Counter Guardian to continue his journey to rescue all he could.

The Saber known as Rin Tohsaka was sitting on the roof of the church as she listened to Assassin explain his history to Artoria, Fujimura, and an unconscious Illyasviel in the courtyard. As he went on to explain the close relationship he had with many of the people involved in this war, including Rin, Fujimura and Artoria were confused and suspicious. That was what the crimson Servant assumed given their expressions. He was throwing out a lot of information that he apparently only fully remembered recently, so finding his claims lacking in veracity was reasonable.

Rin knew he was telling the truth given his claims were awakening the remaining sealed memories in the Saber’s mind. She had known Shirou and fought alongside him to save the world. She even developed feelings for him, though they never went anywhere in her timeline, nor did it in this Shirou’s life according to him. It was Artoria that he fell in love with. In the crimson Saber’s life, Sakura ended up never being saved from the Matous and became the Black Grail. Rin ended up killing her for the greater good and afterward, Rin became the protege of Zelretch the Wizard Marshall. She succeeded him as the Magician of the Second Magic and eventually she became a Counter Guardian to try and save Sakura. This ended up being a futile effort. Sakura could not be freed from her torment and Rin spent the rest of her existence killing those deemed dangerous. The Guardian felt the constant murder wear away at her until all she wanted was an end to her entire being.

There was a part of the crimson Servant who felt like she should cry, but instead she was at peace. There was a catharsis at finally having her memories restored and having them pretty much be what she expected. There were still surprises, like it turning out that she knew Fujimura in her timeline, the yakuza being her teacher in high school. The Servant Rin was acquainted with almost everyone involved in this war.

Now that Rin’s memories had returned in full, she could make full use of her abilities as a Servant, including her Noble Phantasms. She couldn’t utilize her full potential as a Magician due to not being summoned as a Caster, but her Noble Phantasms made up for the loss. Given the mechanics of one of her Noble Phantasms, it would be possible to get rid of all the knights of Dolorous Guard, even Guinevere, without anyone getting exhausted.

Artoria and Fujimura began coming around to Assassin’s story as he gave details about the both of them that nobody unfamiliar with them could know about. To be fair, he could possess an information gathering Noble Phantasm, something fitting for an Assassin, but Fujimura would already know about such a capability by now. If he had such an ability, he would have used it to locate Irisviel, which he didn’t.

“Okay, I’ll believe your story for now, but what does that have to do with Illya?” Artoria adjusted her hold on the unconscious homunculus in her arms. “You said you could teach her something.”

“I was saved from dying in the fire at the end of the Fifth War because Kiritsugu inserted Avalon into me. Like with Illya, it altered my Origin and element to Sword. I managed to utilize those changes within me by learning projection magecraft. I became capable of tracing and projecting copies of any Noble Phantasm that had a physical form and wasn’t a Divine Construct or of too high a rank. I can teach this to Illyasviel.”

“No wonder you have so many Noble Phantasms, you’re a counterfeiter. Are you sure you’re not the Heroic Spirit of Elmyr de Hory?” Fujimura smirked.

“If you let me teach Illyasviel how to use my style of projection magecraft, I’m sure she’ll pick it up quickly. She is already familiar with magecraft involved in the manipulation of matter thanks to alchemy. That will serve as a good foundation to give her a head start on learning how to trace and copy things. If this works, then she and I can handle Gilgamesh together and Archer can be free to face someone else.”

“I don’t know how I feel about Illya fighting Gilgamesh.” Artoria bit her lip. “It’s not my decision to make. You’ll have to ask Illya when she wakes up.”

“If she said yes to me teaching her, then she’ll say yes to Assassin.” Taiga said.

“I’m not so sure. I directly caused three people she loved to die in one sense or another. I think her grudge against me is a step above yours, Master.” Assassin turned around and entered Spirit Form. “Let me know when she wakes up and is sensible enough to speak with.”

Now that Assassin was gone, Rin decided she was done snooping and entered Spirit Form too. She passed down through the roof and into the building. She walked through the halls while thinking about what her next course of action should be now that she had recovered all her memories. Obviously she’d have to tell everyone since she was now far more powerful and possessed new capabilities. They’d need to take them into consideration when making their next strategy to dismantle the Grail.

The real sticking point was whether it would be best to bring up the finer details of the crimson Saber’s life, namely how she killed Sakura. How would the living Rin and Sakura react to finding out? It wasn’t just a matter of if they would think less of Saber Rin, it might make Sakura look at her Rin differently. To know that your sister was willing to kill you in another timeline, even if it was for a good cause, would be haunting to learn. Saber could try to keep the details of her life secret, but her living counterpart’s inquisitive nature would leave her unsatisfied if she didn’t receive the whole truth. She’d definitely want to know about what happened to Sakura in Saber’s history.

“They’d find out eventually.” The Servant said to herself as she found herself standing in front of the entrance to the attic Rin and Sakura called their room. She opened the door and found the sisters on their beds, Rin polishing the pendant she received from her father(or trying to at least given she only had a single thumb to use) and Sakura staring at the ceiling.

“Hi, Saber.” Sakura didn’t stop looking up.

“Hello.” Saber said.

“What's wrong?” Rin immediately picked up on her Servant self’s tension.

“I finally got all my memories back.”

“Really?” Sakura stopped staring at the ceiling.

“That’s great!” Rin stood up. “You know your Noble Phantasms now, right?”

“I do.”

“That’s fantastic! What are they?”

“Before we get into that, I have other things I have to say. You might want to sit down.”

Rin did as her other self suggested and Saber began to explain the details of her life. She told the Tohsaka sisters of how Sakura was never saved in her history and became the Black Grail. Rin killed Sakura and went on to become the Magician of the Second Magic, but she was filled with so much regret over killing Sakura that she made a deal with the Counter Force in a vain attempt to save her younger sister.

“That can’t be true.” Rin’s face was one of utter horror. “I’d never…”

The Tohsaka heir was shaking as she curled into the fetal position atop her bed. It was about what Saber expected.

“What’s wrong, Rin?” Sakura asked while bizarrely poised.

“Do you even need to ask that? I killed you in another timeline. I killed you in cold blood without even trying to find another way. I killed you after you suffered even more than you did in this timeline. How heartless could I possibly be to do that? I couldn’t.” Rin got back into a regular sitting position again. “Saber, you might have been able to kill Sakura, but I never could. We may have started off the same, but we’ve developed into totally different people. I could never hurt Sakura. I don’t care if the world was at stake, I’d find some other way to save her!”

“And what if you couldn’t?” Sakura said.

“I could!”

“But what if you couldn’t? Just answer the question.” Sakura’s voice was low.

“It would never come to that.” Rin’s foot began tapping the floorboards.

“I’d hope you’d be able to do it.” Sakura’s words made both Rins wince.

“How could you possibly want that?” Rin learned forward as she made eye contact with her sister. “You’d want to die?”

“If the world was at stake, then yes. Shouldn't that be obvious?” Sakura’s hands interlocked. “When Saber said she killed me to save the world in her reality, it made me happy. Maybe happy is the wrong word? Relieved. It relieved me to know that my sister isn’t so obsessed with coddling me that she could sacrifice me for the greater good of all humanity.”

“I don’t understand.” Rin was quaking again.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” Sakura rose to her feet. “You treat me like I’m helpless without you. Even after Saber warned us of the dangers of becoming too obsessed with each other, you still wouldn’t let me fight alone when we were planning our initial attack against the Grail”

“It wasn’t just about protecting you, it was also the smartest way to divvy up the work. It was the best option strategically.”

“And would you have left me to protect myself if it was the tactically best option? Or would you have contrived some reason why you’d still need to stay by my side?”

A second passed and Rin didn’t answer. Another second fluttered away and there was still no response. Another second, no retort. Time kept ticking and each moment made it clearer that Rin had no way to refute Sakura’s insinuation.

“Rin, why can’t you trust me? I trust you.” Sakura was shaking too now. “I put my faith in you to defend yourself when we fought Taiga and you did. You even said after you got hurt that we need to trust each other and be ready to protect ourselves. Was that a lie? Does it only go one way? You don’t need my protection, but I need yours? Am I just too incompetent to take care of myself in your eyes? Am I still that little girl in the pit of worms to you?”

“Sakura, I trust you, I do.” Rin held her arm out towards her sister. “I just want to keep you safe. I’m sorry, it’s just that after what you went through with the Matous, I want you to live a long and happy life.”

“I do too, but I want to choose what I do with that life! I should have a say in what I do!”

“You do have a say.”

“Do I really? I always follow your lead!”

“I’m sorry! I’m just doing what’s in your best interest!”

“Is it in my best interest? Do you even know what I need, what I want?”

“What?”

“Y’know, Saber said part of our problem was that we were so obsessed with each other that it was like we were becoming the same person, but she was wrong. You don’t know anything about me. You still don’t even realize that I hate our father! You still act like we both admire him and aspire to be like him! Did you forget the part where he sold me to the Matous for the sake of having a backup to carry his legacy? Did it never dawn on you that I’d be upset about that? Even if I didn’t end up getting tortured by the Matous every day, I’d still despise him for treating me as just an extension of him and his stupid Tohsaka family! Now you’re doing the same thing as him! You’re treating me as an extension of you! When we were planning the attack on the Grail, you said you’d give me father’s pendant to defend myself! You think I want that thing? I don’t even wanna look at it! You just assume I’ve always felt the same as you about everything and that’s because I’ve been too afraid to speak for myself! I’m the stupid, weak little girl who needs you to decide how we feel and what our opinions are! You like father, so I guess I like father too! Well fuck father, I hate him! He got what he deserved when a bullet blew his brains out!” Sakura stopped and breathed deeply in and out before continuing in an even voice. “I’m partly to blame for this. I was obsessed with being at your side and protecting you, all while never rebuking you for protecting me. The problem is that I’ve begun to change and you haven’t.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Rin was crying after everything Sakura had just said. Saber knew herself well enough to know she’d never let herself lose her composure for the sake of living up to the Tohsaka name unless she was truly distraught. After seeing how little she truly understood Sakura, she likely felt like a failure. That would be how Saber would feel in her situation, at least when she was younger. Rin covered her face with the remains of her hand as she broke down.

Sakura’s lips quivered as she watched her sister become overcome with her emotions. Sakura’s eyes searched around the room as if for a solution to her current situation. Was this the first time she had seen her sister like this? It was clear that Sakura had used this moment as an excuse to blurt out a lot of repressed feelings she’d had, some born recently, and some that had festered for years. Now Sakura was realizing the consequences of just dropping so much upon her sister without warning.

The purple haired girl ran out of the room while leaving behind her tears.

Saber wanted to go after Sakura, but she also didn’t want to just abandon her living counterpart while she was overcome with negative emotions. The crimson Saber walked over to her Master and sat next to her. For a little while the two Rin Tohsakas just sat next to each other. The human Rin leaned into her Servant who wrapped an arm around her. The weeping girl let out her grief without reserve while being comforted by the person who would be the least likely to judge her. There was a tranquility to the moment. No facades or restraint, just an honest expression of sadness that the two women basked in.

Rin begam to calm down and she wiped her wet face on her sleeve.

“Are you okay?” Saber asked.

“Sakura is right. Nothing she said was wrong.” Rin’s voice was scratchy. “I’ve been treating her like a part of myself and not her own person. I thought I had moved past that when I was captured, but I guess I jumped the gun thinking I could change so easily.”

“It’s not like you can completely alter your habits in a few days. People are capable of change, but it’s a gradual process. If it was quick, then self-improvement would be a lot easier.”

“That’s true.” Rin sniffled. “I can’t believe Sakura feels that way about father.”

“Do you think she’s wrong to feel that way?”

“Part of me wants to say she’s wrong, but how could she possibly be anything but justified after father gave her away? Like she said, even if Sakura hadn’t heen tortured by the Matous, father still got rid of her so she could be a backup heir. There are understandable reasons for giving your child away, but that probably isn’t one of them.”

“In my life I always put the legacy of the Tohsaka family above all else. For you to prioritize your sister is surprising.”

“Having Sakura come back to me after our parents died made me see just how important she was, how important people are.” Rin sniffled again and Saber handed her a handkerchief. “Thank you.” The girl blew her nose before continuing. “I put Sakura first from then on, at least I thought I did. I unknowingly forced Sakura to help me carry on our family legacy, so maybe I was actually putting the Tohsaka name first.”

“Once again, changing is hard and you were raised by our father to value the Tohsaka name and being the ideal magus above all else. Even if you consciously resolve yourself to adjust your behavior, you will still fall into patterns subconsciously.”

“I want to protect Sakura, but I also want her to have autonomy.” Rin leaned her head on her wrist.

“I think you were right when you argued for you, Sakura, and I to all fight together at our initial strategy meeting. It was the smartest option given the information we had. I think Sakura was over eager to separate herself from you at the time. That isn’t me saying everything she said is wrong, just that she’s at a turning point in her life and so she wants to force the changes she thinks need to happen as quickly as possible. You and Sakura need to have a calm talk where you can both open up and reach some kind of happy medium.”

“You're right. Now probably isn’t the time. Sakura needs to calm down. We’ll talk later today or tomorrow.” Rin was regaining her composure.

“Sounds like a plan.” The Servant pet the head of her alternate self.

Right when the moment reached a form of pleasant resolution, it was interrupted.

Presences. Five of them. A quartet of Servants just let themselves be sensed. They were using Presence Concealment, but they suddenly became able to be detected, but only barely. They were still using Presence Concealment, the rank just went down. Presence Concealment only weakened like that when the Servant in question was about to attack.

Five Assassins were about to attack. No, there were more. They were all over the church premises, it was just that five were in the room both Rins were in.

No, there was only one Assassin.

This was Hassan Alter.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 45: Trade Offer

The five Hassans exited their Presence Concealment as they each threw half a dozen daggers the two Rins’ way. Saber wrapped an arm around Rin’s waist and summoned her Azoth Sword. The crimson Servant still wasn’t much of a swordsman, but she was competent enough to knock away all the daggers in a couple swings.

Things happened so fast that the human Rin finally couldn’t initially perceive what was happening. When her senses did catch up, she pulled out a gem to attack the Assassins with, but stopped when she noticed the way the assailants looked. They all stood at the edges of the room, each possessing a white mask reminiscent of a skull. What was unusual was that besides the masks, the Assassins looked like normal people. One was a man in a business suit, another was a teenage girl in a school uniform, a third was a man in casual clothes, the fourth was an old lady, and the fifth was a little girl. They looked entirely mundane. It could have been some sort of disguise to throw their enemies off, but that didn’t feel right. The magical energy of the quintet was noticeably focused on their masks rather than at their hearts or heads like normal Servants. The magical energy of the masks was radiating outward and infusing into the bodies of the five Assassins.

These were normal humans. The masks were the true form of Assassin. The Servant possessed those that wore its masks. Assassin wasn’t even trying to hide it, they were actively making it clear what was happening. They wanted to make it transparent that, if Assassin’s bodies were slain, it would lead to the deaths of their vessels. It was to force Saber and her allies to hold back to avoid hurting the possessed civilians.

Rin clicked her tongue and, rather than throw her jewels, fired off a series of Gandr at two of the Hassans to try and knock them out. The two civilians dodged around the bullets as they ran at the two Rins along with the other three Hassans. Assassin hadn’t just taken the people over, but had powered them up to the level of a Servant. Saber was surrounded so she jumped up and right through the ceiling, taking Rin with her. They went right through the church’s roof and into the air above. The Sun was still shining overhead. The fact Assassin would audaciously attack during the day revealed how little the Black Grail cared about keeping a low profile. The five Assassins jumped after the crimson pair which meant they were following a clear line of movement that could be predicted. Rin fired more Gandr while the Assassins were stuck in midair, but they threw daggers that collided with the magic shots, the attacks destroying each other. The old lady grabbed the little girl and threw her towards Saber and Rin, making the child fly faster than the other Assassins.

Saber’s blade clashed with the dagger of the child, the little girl angling her weapon so the edge slid down the length of the crimson Servant’s sword. Sparks flew as the dagger slipped off the Azoth Sword and headed straight for Rin’s face. Saber yanked her Master out of the way of the child’s swing before plunging the butt of her sword’s handle towards the kid’s mask. It was likely that the child would be freed once the mask was broken.

The sword stopped in its tracks as Saber saw the little girl hold a dagger up to her own neck. She was holding herself hostage. ‘Hit me and I’ll kill this little girl.’ That was Assassin’s message. The true nefariousness of this Servant’s nature was revealed. While Saber, her Master, and the little girl all began falling back down, the other four Hassans continued their ascent towards them while they threw more daggers. Saber was about to knock the knives away, but the little girl pressed their blade into their own neck, piercing the skin a bit. ‘Defend yourself and the kid dies.’

Saber refused to let her Master get hit, so she held her out of reach of the knives, the weapons driving into the crimson Servant’s body. She had at least twenty or so daggers sticking out of her, though her Spirit Core remained unharmed.

A Gandr fired from Rin’s finger and shattered the dagger in the little girl’s hand, the magus taking advantage of a blindspot in the child’s vision created when Saber pulled Rin away from the knives. The kid didn’t see it coming, nor did she see it coming when Saber smacked the mask on the little girl’s face with the flat side of her sword. The visage of a skull crumbled and the true face of the child was revealed. She was unconscious which was good since she wouldn’t panic that way.

Rin tried to grab the kid with her remaining arm, but she couldn't get a good grip since she only had a thumb and no other digits so the child slipped out of her grasp towards the four other possessed civilians. The remaining Hassans were close enough that two were able to thrust their daggers at the freed little girl while the other two stabbed at the two Rins. They were trying to force Saber to pick between protecting herself and her Master, or the little girl.

Since neither was a preferable option, Saber chose to save all of them. A sphere of black and red formed at the tip of Saber’s finger. She too could use Gandr, but she had far more experience than the living Rin in using the technique. The crimson Servant had mastered the spell to the point that she was able to fire off four shots simultaneously, each aimed at one of the masks of the four remaining Hassans. They moved so fast and the Assassins were so close to Saber that there was no way to avoid getting hit. All four masks turned to dust and the civilians were freed from their possession. The Hassans had made a mistake in following Saber into the air where their ability to maneuver quickly, their greatest advantage, was lost.

The five unconscious innocents fell while Saber fired a ball of green from her finger which flew past them and hit the floor of Rin and Sakura’s room. The sphere exploded into an updraft that rose through the hole in the roof and slowled the descent of the civilians, as well as the two Rins. They all landed on the floor of the bedroom gently.

“Are you okay, Rin?”

“I’m fine. Can you keep fighting?”

“I can’t say no since the fight’s far from done. Just give me a second.” Saber dropped to a knee as she began pulling out the knives littering her body.

The building rumbled as the fighting continued in other rooms. Saber wanted to tell Rin to grab the civilians and take them somewhere safe, away from the church grounds, but considering the nature of this Assassin, there were likely some Hassans at the perimeter that were waiting for anyone attempting to escape. They couldn’t leave the civilians alone or some Assassins might find and use them as hostages again. There was no way that Saber and Rin could guard the civilians while also going to help others being attacked. Saber couldn’t leave Rin to protect them by herself since she’d be dead in seconds if more Hassans attacked her. There was no good option.

“We need to get these people to safety.” Rin dragged the unconscious civilians closer together. “We’ll escort them somewhere safe together and then come back.”

“Is there anywhere safe? Even if we aren’t attacked, some hidden Assassins could follow us and grab the civilians after we leave so they can use them as hostages.” Saber got back on her feet while her magical energy knit her wounds closed.

“It’s possible, but this is the best option we have right now.” Rin lifted the man in the suit onto her back. “Sorry, but I can only hold one person since I still have one arm. Can you-”

“I’ve got them all.” Saber used a telekinesis spell that levitated all the unconscious civilians into the air around her, including the one Rin had lifted onto her back. “Let’s not waste time.”

Rin nodded before the two jumped out the window and landed on the path to the church gate, the floating people following behind them.

It was then that Saber sensed a new Servant. No, it wasn’t that they were new. This Servant had been approaching the church at a leisurely pace while everyone was preoccupied with Assassin. The multiple bodies all throughout the church giving off Servant level power masked the presence of this external threat. It was only upon coming outside that this golden haired man could be detected. He stood atop the closed gate and looked down at the two Rins while wearing a smirk that screamed that he was in a fanciful mood. As for actual attire, he wore golden jewelry and his hair was spiked up. He was dressed in casual clothes consisting of a black button up shirt, white pants, and snakeskin shoes.

This man’s outfit was unfamiliar, but he otherwise perfectly fit the description of Gilgamesh, the biggest obstacle in the way of destroying the Greater Grail.

“So it is you two who shall entertain me, for now at least.” The man put his hands on his hips.

“I assume you are the King of Heroes.” Saber slowly put down all the people she was carrying.

“I am. Rejoice for you have been blessed with having my attention.”

“What might you be doing at our humble church? I’m sorry to say, but we’re entertaining other guests right now so we’re not equipped to fully receive you.”

“I’m aware. I originally wasn’t a part of this operation, but I found myself growing tired of waiting for the Grail to finish gestating, and so I took the liberty of coming here to avail myself of my boredom.” The king’s smile grew wider. “I was also planning on taking my Saber back with me. She is to be my bride after all.”

“I assume you mean Artoria.”

“Who else but her could be worthy of being mine?” The king waved his hand as if brushing away something. “Neither of you are to my tastes.”

“Perhaps you need your eyes checked if you can’t see my obvious appeal.” Rin said with a smirk of her own.

“Cheeky. You are lucky I’m in a whimsical mood or that statement would have caused your head to become estranged from your shoulders.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future. So how do you want us to entertain you? I can’t imagine you mean to have us face you in combat. We’re obviously outmatched. We could just keep talking if you’d like.”

“While I do find you a half-descent conversationalist, I am in the mood to do combat. I acknowledge that you two are out of your depth against me, and so I am gracious enough to restrain myself to only certain items and methods of combat. My full strength would end this in an instant.”

“How gracious.” Saber stepped forward with her sword at the ready. Rin stood in front of the civilians to protect them from any stray attacks.

“Let’s begin.” Golden ripples appeared behind Gilgamesh.

“Pseudo-Edelsteine.
Fünf Sterne im Umlauf!
Viel Licht braucht polarisierte Gläser, Verbinden Sie sich mit Ihren Träumen.
Meine Hände halten viele Spiegel.”

Saber’s incantation coincided with her projecting five differently colored gemstones that were each preloaded with a different spell.

From Gilgamesh’s gates came several bolts of lightning, human forgeries of the arms of Zeus. They were nowhere near the level of the weapon they imitated, but they were both fast and deadly.

“Die Instrumente wurden gestimmt.
Gelbe Nummer vier.
Schwerter zerschlagen Blitze.”

Activating one of the jewels, it shot upward and acted as a lighting rod that pulled away Gilgamesh’s bolts. The lighting struck the gem and a storm of electricity was created overhead as they detonated. Pseudo-Edelsteine was the perfect counter technique to any offensive, even ones of a higher caliber than one’s own level. Multiple spells are prepared ahead of time to be quickly unleashed at will, allowing Saber to pick whatever element would be best suited to defend against whatever her opponent does. The four remaining jewels faded away as they could only last for a few seconds.

“A clever little spell.” Gilgamesh jumped down from the gate, landing on the ground while pulling a scythe out of more golden ripples. He dashed forward and swung at Saber who raised her blade to block, only for the scythe to pass right through the sword as if it weren’t there. The crimson Servant did a backflip, her body arching out of range of the slash before she landed back on her feet. Gilgamesh put his scythe back in his armory and pulled out a curved short sword that was a pale blue. Saber projected several jewels and infused her magical energy into them using her Mana Burst(Gem) skill. Six jewels, each carrying a different spell, all fired at the King of Heroes, but he just swung his new blade which created a trail of ice that formed a wall. The frigid partition took the brunt of the six spells and shattered. A vortex of wind came from the other side of the destroyed wall, invisible cutters of wind slicing across Saber’s flesh repeatedly as she was sucked towards the source of the gale. Gilgamesh was wielding a lance whose tip was composed of four swords that rotated together like a drill to create the vortex. To stop Saber from getting pulled into the lance, Rin threw a gem from the sidelines that exploded into flames, the heat throwing off the flow of the vortex and dispersing it. Saber swung her Azoth Sword and Gilgamesh pulled out an invisible blade that he blocked with. Above him, portals opened up and out shot a chinese halberd, a golden ax, and a vajra. The weapons missed Saber as she leapt out of the way and they impacted with the ground so hard that a crater was formed that took up a majority of the space between the gate and the church.

Saber checked on her master after that last attack and saw that she had taken the civilians and went out of range of destruction. That shift in attention left Saber open, golden gates opening all around her. Magic staves came out and fired various spells that came at the crimson Servant. There was no time to activate Pseudo-Edelsteine or Rho Aias so Saber just created a standard magical barrier around herself. It took the initial hit, but it broke quickly and so the dregs of the multiple spells hit Saber. She endured the damage, but Gilgamesh followed up by summoning a building sized sword above her, the weapon falling while horizontal as if it were the blade of a guillotine. Saber dodged out of the way, but the shockwave created by the sword’s impact with the ground blew her through the air. She was unable to control her trajectory and so she was open for Gilgamesh to fire several more Noble Phantasms at her. That was what Saber expected Gilgamesh was going to do so she preemptively summoned a dozen gems with preloaded spells and fired them all at once without incantation in as an advanced form of her Pseudo-Edelsteine. The various spells couldn’t stop the oncoming salvo of weapons, but they were able to divert their trajectories to make them miss. Unfortunately, all those weapons proceeded to do u-turns in the air, Gilgamesh apparently having predicted Saber’s response and thus used homing Noble Phantasms. There was no way for the Servant in red to dodge and she’d need to use more power in order to destroy the approaching Noble Phantasms. It was time to use full power.

“Jeweled Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg!”

At the call of its true name, a staff that resembled a blade appeared in Saber’s free hand. It was made out of a crystalline substance and it was the one of the two armaments that earned Rin Tohsaka the class of Saber. The weapon began to be filled with a rainbow of colors as it accessed the magical energy of myriad parallel worlds. The bizarre armament was beyond normal Noble Phantasms and could be classed as one of the greatest objects humanity ever produced. It was a true and perfect replication of the legendary weapon of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg which Rin recreated to earn her position as the next Magician of the Second Magic. It was one of the two apexes of Rin’s achievements as a magus. The chromatic shine of the sword grew intense as more magical energy gathered within it. This was the power of the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, the power to draw upon alternate timelines to attack with power great enough to push back a falling replica of the moon. This was the weapon of the man who bested Crimson Moon, an Ultimate One. The Jewel Sword’s light reached a peak as the homing Noble Phantasms were about to reach Saber.

“Gebühr, zweihaunder!” Saber cried as she swung the Jewel Sword and fired a beam of light so grand that it turned the approaching Noble Phantasms into nothing in the blink of an eye. It was a radiance that streaked across the daytime sky and outshone the Sun itself. The light was so fast and focused that the land didn’t shake despite the Noble Phantasm’s power. The air the beam passed through was annihilated and thus a vacuum remained in its wake which pulled in the surrounding atmosphere. Saber landed on her feet and faced Gilgamesh with poise and determination. Even if she was facing the King of Heroes, the Jewel Sword gave her more than enough power to win.

“That is a brilliant Noble Phantasm you have.” Gilgamesh crossed his arms. “I wasn’t expecting something like that from a mongel.”

“You shouldn’t be so quick to underestimate others.”

“My initial impressions of others are almost always correct. You are a rare exception that has exceeded my expectations. I really am glad I came here today.”

Rin was no longer posed ready to fight at the sidelines, instead just standing in amazement at what her alternate self just did. She actually had a perfect replica of the Jeweled Sword Zelretch. It must have been like seeing someone who had achieved all you had ever hoped to do, except that person was Rin herself in this case. She now knew she was capable of achieving her dreams, of making her father proud and carrying on the legacy of the Tohsakas. It would definitely be a confidence boost for Rin which she could use right now given how badly her argument with Sakura made her feel.

“I think I want that sword.” Gilgamesh tilted his head to the side. “I guess I’ll have to take it from you. It will disappear if I kill you before I take it, but I should be able to keep it if I put it in my treasury and then kill you.”

“I never took you for a thief, King Gilgamesh. Then again, you did steal the trees of the Cedar Forest.”

“I am no thief. All things of value in the world inherently belong to me. I consider your sword valuable and thus it is mine.”

“Sorry, but I'll never let you have my Jewel Sword. I worked very hard making it and I think my mentor would be mad at me if I lost it.” Saber stayed in her fighting stance, now with more confidence in heart than before thanks to her Jewel Sword having proven effective.

“I have little interest in your Master’s feelings and neither should you, given it is unlikely that you will live past today.” The blonde man reached his arms into two golden portals. “To forcibly take the weapon from you would be tedious and I’m feeling generous, so how about a trade?” Gilgamesh pulled out various objects from his treasury, from jewelry, to weapons, to coins. All of them were intricately designed to be as visually appealing as possible.

“You want to trade for my Jewel Sword?”

“As I said, I’m in a giving mood. What do you desire? I have everything you could ever wish for. Wealth? Power? Immortality? I have them all in abundance.”

“I have no wish for you to grant.” Saber’s grip on her weapon tightened.

“Then how about your Master? Little girl.” Gilgamesh addressed Rin. “What does your heart desire?”

“Nothing you could make happen.” Rin put her hands on her hips.

“Don’t be so sure about that. Tell me what you want more than anything.”

“It’s none of your business.”

The blonde man’s smile widened which, when paired with his eyes, made him look like a serpent related to the one that tempted Adam and Eve.

“You want to protect your sister and take away her suffering.”

Both Rins lost their composure, the human Rin stumbling back as if just struck from Gilgamesh’s surprise knowledge.

“H-How d-d-d-do you know that?” Rin’s voice came out in stutters.

“You did not think you knew of all of my Noble Phantasms, did you? I know all that I desire to know and that includes the guilt you feel towards your little sister, Sakura. She was tortured and broken, and while you helped her move forward, you can never truly take her pain away. All your efforts to do so merely suffocate her and make her spiteful towards you.” Gilgamesh was exactly right. It didn’t just describe how Rin felt towards Sakura, but it wasn’t far off from Saber’s relationship with her own Sakura.

“What does it matter?” Rin yelled. “Unless your vault has eternal happiness or a cure for PTSD in it, then there’s nothing you have that we want!”

“Oh, but I do have those things.” Gilgamesh returned the many treasures he was holding to his treasury and pulled something new out. It was a clear bottle that was just as immaculate in its design as the previous items. Inside the vessel was a teal liquid that glowed in a way that made Saber imagine it was a jewel in liquid form. “This is the Potion of Youth. Any who partake of it will be returned to their childhood in both body and personality.”

“And how does that help Sakura?” Saber was suspicious of where Gilgamesh was going with this.

“If Sakura imbibes enough of this drink, then she will be returned to her status before she was traumatized.”

“Nice try. You mentioned that the body and personality regress, but what about the memories? If they stay the same, then Sakura’s trauma will remain.”

“Tsk tsk.” Gilgamesh clicked his tongue. “You told me earlier not to underestimate others, and yet now you underestimate me and think of me as a simple trickster. I can assure you that there is no deceptive wordplay being utilized here.”

“So the potion does revert memories?”

“No. It doesn’t have to, at least not for your little sister. Those under the potion’s effects keep their memories, but they are not perceived in the same way as normal. They will know that certain things happened to them when they were older, but due to no longer being the same person as the one who actually experienced those events, the memories are mere information without a formative aspect to them. Think of it this way, your sister’s memories of her older self will be perceived in the same way one comprehends the contents of a history book. You know the events in the book happened and you can understand their implications, but that doesn’t mean you will react as if those events actually happened to you. There is a cognitive distance created as the mind fails to fully comprehend the scope of anything it hasn’t personally experienced. To put concisely, Sakura will remember her torture happened, but she won’t act or think as if it did.”

“Th-there has to be a caveat!”

“There is. This dissonance between the older self and the restored younger self that allows the retained memories to feel abstract and lacking in power is dependent on the older and younger selves having different enough personalities. If a person has an unshakeable personality that has stayed relatively consistent since their youth, then they will be able to empathize with their future self enough that their memories will still feel intimate even after the regression. The memory disconnect is predicated on the younger self being unable to fully relate to and understand their older self. This shouldn’t be a problem for your little sister given her torture certainly altered the trajectory of her identity and molded her into a very different person than she was before she was tossed into that pit of worms for the first time.”

It sounded too good to be true and yet Gilgamesh didn’t seem the type to lie so elaborately. He was the kind of man who would proudly display how easily he could solve other people’s problems. It was a way of asserting his superiority.

This potion would give Sakura a second chance at life, her trauma no longer a factor holding her back from true unabashed happiness. It was the kind of solution Saber gave herself over to the Counter Force to try and discover.

Giving Sakura this potion would also unmake the current Sakura in the process of reversing her development. The presently existing Sakura would functionally die and to give her this potion could be considered murder in that case.

Even if they acquired the potion, it would be up to Sakura to decide if she wanted to use it. To try and force her to drink it would be the ultimate insult given her current crisis over her ability to act of her own volition without the supervision of others.

She might be offended just at the idea that Saber and Rin got the potion for her. It would be like telling her that her current self was broken and required fixing, or that she was too weak to endure her trauma and had to have it taken away from her.

Atop of all this, acquiring the potion required giving away the Jewel Sword. While Saber was willing to give away one of her prized possessions for Sakura’s sake, it would drastically decrease her offensive power which could turn the tide of the war.

While Saber was assessing the pros and cons of Gilgamesh’s offer as calmly as she could, the human Rin, her emotional wounds still fresh from her earlier argument with Sakura, was a wreck. She was shaking as if there was an earthquake and her whole body was damp with sweat born from stress. The girl looked to her Servant with eyes that said, ‘I don’t know what to do.’

Rin was in no state to be making decisions. It was up to Saber to make the call and take responsibility for it when the time came. She thought about how best to handle things and she ended up realizing there was a way she could use this situation to achieve more than just healing Sakura’s trauma. As long as Saber was willing to make a big sacrifice and compensate for it later, this fight could end happily.

“Gilgamesh, do you mind if you and I move this conversation somewhere more private.” Saber pointed to the sky. “My Master isn’t taking this situation well.”

“Clearly. Fine, but you best have an answer for me about my offer when we get there.” Gilgamesh’s body rose up into the air through the power of an unseen levitation Noble Phantasm.

“What are you doing?” Rin sounded like a confused child.

“Everything will be alright.” Saber dodged the question with a smile and used flight magecraft to follow the King of Heroes into the sky and above the clouds. It was decently cloudy so there was a carpet of white that hid the two Servants from any prying eyes below them.

“What is your answer?” Gilgamesh swirled around the liquid in the bottle as he waited for Saber’s reply.

“You have a deal. My Jewel Sword for your Potion of Youth.”

“Excellent. You best appreciate my magnanimity.” Gilgamesh extended the arm that held the elixir. “Come to me and we will exchange items at the same time.”

“As you wish.” Saber hovered over to the king while moving around her arm that held the Jeweled Sword, letting herself feel its weight one last time. She was going to miss it.

“At the same time.” Gilgamesh said as both he and Saber held out their treasures. Each reached for their promised item and grabbed ahold of it. “On three?” Saber nodded. “One. Two. Three.”

Saber let go of Zelretch and Gilgamesh released the Potion of Youth. Each had received what was promised to them.

“I gave up a simple trifle and in exchange I received a fine piece of craftsmanship.” Gilgamesh held his new Noble Phantasm up to the Sun to see the sunlight refract through the stave’s crystalline structure.

While the King of Heroes admired his newest Noble Phantasm, Saber projected a jewel into her hand and filled it with magical energy.

“Really?” Gilgamesh sounded disappointed.

From a portal came a mirror shield. Saber threw her gem and it to release a wave of mystical water, only for the deluge to be reflected back by Gilgamesh’s aegis. The crimson Servant was blown away by her own flood, her body getting flung across the sky horizontally with such speed that the cloud directly below her split in half from the shockwave. She still held the Potion of Youth all the while.

“Did you truly believe such a simple trick would work against someone such as myself? I must admit that my mood has been soured by that disrespect. I think it’s time I end this and move on.”

Gilgamesh assumed he had dealt with Saber’s attempted betrayal, that all she wanted to do was surprise attack him at point-blank range. The Jeweled Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg in Gilgamesh’s hand became luminous as it gathered as much magical energy from other worlds as possible, overloading itself to self-destruct as a Broken Phantasm.

“Welt, Ende.”

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 46: No More Sacrifices

Saber sprung her trap. She had traded her Jewel Sword for the Potion of Youth, leaving Gilgamesh with a secret bomb. After using a spell that Gilgamesh reflected back, Saber was blown a safe distance away so she could make her crystalline staff self-destruct without getting caught up in it. There was no way the King of Heroes could survive an EX rank Broken Phantasm point blank, at least not without his strongest defensive Noble Phantasms. Such mighty treasures would likely require not only taking them out of the king’s vault, but also releasing their True Names to use their full capacity. There was no time for that before the sword exploded.

The magical energy within the Jewel Sword was reaching the maximum which it could comfortably contain and yet the power kept increasing at an exponential rate. It would be only a microsecond between the moment Saber issued the command to self-destruct and when the sword would detonate. Gilgamesh had barely shown any sign of even acknowledging the landmine he held, though he began reaching his arm into a portal as soon as Saber was knocked away, almost as if he had known what was coming ahead of time. He took out a censer that had black smoke billowing out of it dangling from a chain. The curtain of black that the incense burner created invaded the Jeweled Sword and made it cloudy. The light was drowned in darkness and the sword’s connection to other worlds was cut off.

It was unclear how Gilgamesh knew what Saber was going to do, but he did and he possessed a defensive Noble Phantasm that specifically existed to protect against the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon. Saber didn’t sulk and instead tried to force the Jewel Sword to explode anyway. The magical energy the sword had already gathered was enough to kill Gilgamesh so everything would be fine as long as Saber made it self-destruct. The King of Heroes summoned multiple staves that began siphoning all the energy collected in the Jeweled Sword. There was no way for it to explode now. Saber’s plan was dead in the water.

Saber stopped flying through the air and began hovering in place with magecraft.

“A clever idea, mongrel, but one insulting to my majesty.” Gilgamesh’s consistent smile had drooped into a frown. “Did you think deception could overcome the interplanetary gap between us? I told you earlier that I have access to any knowledge I desire, and that includes future events.”

“You really are a cheater.” Saber was struggling to keep her anger at Gilgamesh in check. “You rely on the power of an endless series of items rather than your own. I at least made the Jewel Sword. You just take the creations of others.”

“My tolerance for your improper attitude has reached its limit.” The smoke left the Jewel Sword and the staff was put into the king’s vault. “I’ll get rid of you and then I’ll go find my bride to be.”

The multiple staves that had sucked up the Jewel Sword’s magical energy released the absorbed power as a collection of beams. Saber summoned her Azoth Sword and pointed it towards the incoming rays of destruction. She channeled her magical energy and began to call the True Name of her second Noble Phantasm.

“Sword of-”

The beams all curved downward, descending towards the Earth. The clouds dispersed as they were pierced through which revealed exactly what Gilgamesh’s true target was.

“Let’s see how you fare against simple trickery since you like it so much .” Gilgamesh said.

“Rin!” Saber screamed at the top of her lungs and she flew down towards her Master. Rin was still in front of the church, protecting the civilians. The crimson Servant felt like the dumbest person in the world. How did she not see this coming? How could she possibly protect Rin in time?

“Brennender Himmel
Ich kenne den Kreis; Die Blumen beschützen mich; Der Wächter des alten Schlosses ist unerschütterlich
Eine Blume blüht in meinen Händen; Aias der Telamonier!”

Saber spoke an incantation as she flew, using as much power as she could so she could reach Rin before the beams did. There was no time to grab her and run, which was why Saber unleashed the spell she was preparing. Five sakura petals formed a canopy around Saber, her Master, and the civilians. The best defense Saber could use was her other Noble Phantasm, but it required more magical energy to use which Saber didn’t have after being exhausted from the earlier fighting. There was no way that the oncoming beams would be stopped by Rho Aias, but the shield would hopefully delay them long enough for Saber to grab Rin and the other people, and run.

Four petals shattered immediately upon impact. The beams would eat through the last shield even faster. Saber had already grabbed Rin and used telekinesis to lift the civilians. To get out of range of the rays before they hit the ground would require moving at near light speed. The crimson Saber used every last bit of her magical energy to fly herself and the civilians away. She’d have to focus on moving in a straight line, but if she succeeded, she would not only avoid the beams with everyone, but fly far away from Gilgamesh. He probably wouldn’t waste time pursuing them since he appeared to care most about capturing Artoria. Saber held her Master tight as she and the floating civilians began to move. Everything around them was an indecipherable blur from the speed of movement. The sound of shattering glass signaled that the final petal was gone and the beams were continuing their march. The delay Rho Aias created had to be enough to let them get away. A bright light came from behind Saber and company, painting the muddled surroundings white. They avoided getting directly hit by the beams, but the spells were now behind them and would explode when they hit the ground. How large would the blast range be? It wouldn’t be big enough to destroy the whole church or Gilgamesh risked killing Artoria. The detonation would be small. Would it be slow enough that Saber and the others would outrun it? There was no time to worry. Saber had to focus on going as fast as possible. Heat. Saber felt heat at her back. The beams had already hit the ground. The explosion was gaining on them. If Rin still had her tongue, then she could use a Command Spell to give Saber a boost, but the girl’s tongue was gone and the crimson Servant had to rely on her own power alone. Faster. Faster. Faster. Don’t stop. Keep going no matter what. Rin’s life was at stake. The civilians' lives were at stake. Don’t think, just move. Move. Move. Move.

Cool. Saber felt cool. The heat wasn’t immersing her anymore.

A booming sound. The sound of the explosion that had finally caught up to the detonation itself

Saber looked around and saw the civilians were okay. She looked down and saw the girl in her arms was unharmed.

Saber did it, she got everyone to safety.

A twinkle in the distance. Saber saw it out of the corner of her eye, right as her flight was slowing down. Something was coming. More twinkles. It was multiple somethings. One last surprise from Gilgamesh. A salvo of swords was headed their way. Saber didn’t have the energy to keep flying,let alone properly dodge or get the civilians out of the way. Her heart sank and she used whatever dregs still remained within her to swerve a bit.

The next moment was too chaotic for Saber to keep track of everything. Body parts went careening. Droplets of blood soared in different directions. Saber lost her hold on her Master. Rin cast some kind of spell, but it was destroyed by a speeding blade. The crimson Servant certainly got hit, but there was no pain. She was going into shock.

Saber began falling. She saw the church right before she hit a tree branch. She was in the woods right around the Fuyuki Church. She hadn’t actually traveled very far. The Servant hit the dirt. Blood pooled around her. Her leg was detached and sitting a few feet away. There were various other wounds all over her body. There wasn’t a single part of her that was unscathed. All things considered, Saber was in decent shape, considering the civilians she tried to save were all around, no longer recognizable as once living beings. There was one of the normal people who was still alive, the little girl. She wouldn’t be for much longer if she didn’t get medical attention though. Her wounds were treatable, but too serious to survive unassisted.

What about Rin? Saber returned her head and saw her Master. The Servant inhaled sharply at the sight. Rin’s head was still there, but the left side of her face had torn off. Her torso was bruised and slightly twisted while her legs were gone completely. Her one arm was still there and the girl was using it to clutch something to her chest. The Potion of Youth. The bottle didn’t have so much as a scratch marring its surface. Saber understood. Her Master could have used a spell to propel herself out of the way of Gilgamesh’s last assault, but she prioritized making sure the elixir for Sakura and its vessel remained undamaged. To the very end Saber’s Master prioritized her sister’s wellbeing over her own. If there was even a chance that Sakura would want to use that potion, then Rin would give her life to keep it safe. Now the girl was struggling to survive, all her magical power going into keeping her remaining bodily systems functioning. Rin had already expended all the Command Spells she had on boosting her healing spells. It was only thanks to those that she hadn’t died yet, that and the fact that Gilgamesh was apparently satisfied and was focusing on something else now. Rin wasn’t going to last long though. She was essentially on temporary life support, her mind in an obvious haze as she focused on healing herself and nothing else.

Saber had failed to protect the civilians and she had failed to protect her Master. Now the Counter Guardian couldn’t even stand anymore. She had no way to save Rin the same way she failed to save her timeline’s Sakura. This was who Saber was, a failure. Sure, she had become a Magician and created two immensely powerful Mystic Codes worthy of becoming Noble Phantasms, but what did that matter? No accolades had value than saving someone who truly needed help. Saber had become a Counter Guardian and yet she never truly helped anyone. Just like when she killed Sakura for the greater good, Saber only knew how to help through murder. That was her life as a Counter Guardian. The Saber known as Rin Tohsaka was a failure and a murderer.

“Rin!” Kirei’s voice. The overseer ran into the woods and right to Rin. He must have heard or saw what happened. Good, his medical skills could save the little girl. “How did this happen?”

“I couldn’t protect her.” Saber said while the priest began attempting to use healing magecraft on his adopted daughter. “You can’t save her, that should be obvious. Help that little girl over there instead.”

The priest scowled as Saber pointed towards the child who still had a chance at survival. The priest had always been so pragmatic, but at this moment he was hesitating. Saber assumed he would immediately go to help the little girl instead of fruitlessly trying to save Rin, but instead he just kneeled in place, looking between the two potential patients. He was conflicted. This was completely unlike the Kirei Kotomine Saber knew in her timeline. This man had some semblance of emotions. He wanted to help his daughter, but his only reasonable option was helping a child he didn’t even know. Saber understood how he felt because she also wanted him to help Rin, but she understood that her Master was beyond rescuing.

“I know.” Kirei got up and ran over to the little girl. The child was wheezing while unconscious, her face full of pain. Normally she’d need doctors using special equipment to repair the large open wounds she had all over, but Kirei’s Spiritual Healing would be enough.

Spiritual Healing. Kirei.

Saber remembered an event from her life that showed how Rin could be saved. All the materials necessary were right here in one place. The chances of success were low, but Saber didn’t care.

“Kirei, I think we can save Rin.”

“What?” Kirei stopped operating on the little girl.

“In my timeline, there was a boy who was in a similar situation that Rin and I are in. A Servant version of him was summoned and he ended up grievously wounded. You saved him by using Spiritual Healing to give him the arm of the Servant version of him. You replaced his lost limb with Spiritual Healing and a compatible spiritual body part.”

“You want me to do the same here? You want me to dismember you and give Rin your parts as replacements to seal her wounds?”

“Yes.”

“That’s absurd. With just an arm, while the boy’s body would constantly be in conflict with the limb, it’s still just one body part. To replace everything Rin’s lost with your parts would be a completely different situation. Instead of being a constant power struggle between the host and the new limb, Rin would have to either immediately and completely assimilate you into her, or she would be overtaken. The former would provide her with perfect control over your power with no future risk of death thanks to being forced into an extreme situation that’s either adapt or die, but as that implies, she’ll die if she fails. The chances of her perfectly absorbing you are so low that it’s unreasonable to try. This little girl is someone I can definitely save if I act now, I can’t sacrifice this child’s life for the sake of an asinine plan.”

Despite his words, the priest didn’t continue his operation on the little girl. He just sat on his knees, still as a statue.

“Kirei, you aren’t doing anything.”

“Saber, no, Rin, what would a human do in this situation?”

“What do you mean?”

“What would your average human with empathy do in my place, forced to choose between saving their child with little chance of success and a stranger who has a high likelihood of surviving if helped?” The holy man’s voice was even and his body didn’t shake in the slightest. He was clearly on the fence about what he should do, but it was impossible to know if he was truly distraught.

“Are you asking because you want the decision to be made for you?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well I think any empathetic human would struggle in this situation. This wouldn’t be an easy choice for anyone who isn’t pragmatic to a mechanical degree. That said, I think the most human option would be to prioritize your own family no matter what.”

“Then I am acting appropriately. That is good.” The priest nodded to himself and then looked down at the little girl. “I’m sorry. I must make the choice that is most human, and thus I must be selfish.”

Kirei left the child and went over to Saber, grabbing the Servant and dragging her over to Rin.

“You had already decided from the beginning what you were going to do, hadn’t you?” Saber was finally getting a grasp on this timeline’s Kirei Kotomine.

“Not with complete certainty. I needed confirmation from you to know I was acting like a proper human.”

“You are just like the Kirei from my time, not a genuine emotion in your body. You aren’t conflicted on what to do, it’s just a performance where you play the role of the person you think you should be.”

“I feel emotions, but they are focused on a desire to watch humans suffer. I have enough of a conscience to recognize that as wrong and so I act against those interests.”

“If only my own Kirei had been so altruistic.” Saber couldn’t help but feel a little bitter knowing that Kirei could have been like this instead of the cold man that she grew up with, the one who got in the way of her destroying the Greater Grail and beat her to within an inch of her life, berating her the whole time to take advantage of her insecurities. If his life hadn’t given out, he would have killed her. Even then, it was because of Kirei that she was too weak to do anything about the Greater Grail and everything was put on Shirou’s shoulder to destroy it, costing him his life.

At the same time as the bitterness, Saber was also relieved that this timeline’s Rin and Sakura had a kinder Kirei they could rely on. Saber grew up with nobody but herself that she could truly trust. If she had been lucky enough to have someone like this timeline’s Kirei that she could lean on and be open with, her life might have been a whole lot happier.

“Kirei, I hope your children appreciate you.” Saber stared up at the crepuscule sky that peeked through the gaps in the tree branches.

“Caren doesn’t, but that's a given. Rin and Sakura certainly appreciate me, though only Sakura is willing to admit it.”

“Rin’s still a little too childish.” Saber chuckled. What a fool her younger self was.

“She can be more open on occasion, and I don’t care about recognition nor my own happiness. All that matters is living a respectable life.”

“Admirable. You're a good man, Kirei Kotomine.”

“Thank you.”

Saber was placed next to Rin and Kirei grabbed the bottle his adoptive daughter held. The girl didn’t want to let it go, but the priest managed to wrench it from her. He placed it next to her so she could look at it and see it was intact.

“Are you ready?” Kirei asked.

The crimson Servant turned her head to try and look her Master in the eye, but the girl’s own head was turned the other way. Rin was staring at the potion. She was still out of it, her heart only focused on Sakura’s wellbeing. It was that mindset that caused Rin to fail to protect herself and got her into this situation. The poor girl had to break free of her self-imposed bonds if she was to survive this and achieve her full potential.

Saber couldn’t see her, but the little girl could be heard rasping out breaths that brought her ever closer to her demise. Her life would be forfeited for the sake of a plan that would likely not even work. If only Saber hadn’t brought up the possibility of this ridiculous plan, then that child could have lived. Kirei was also partly to blame for participating in this operation, but the majority of responsibility fell upon Saber. Even in this final attempt to save someone, Saber was taking away someone else’s life in the process. Let this be the last. Let no more people be sacrificed. Let this be the turning point where new solutions beyond murder can succeed and people can be truly saved.

That includes Rin. Let this world’s Rin not fall down the same path Saber did and instead become someone who can genuinely rescue others from their strife.

In that same vein, Saber hoped Sakura and Rin could reconcile and that Sakura could achieve her own self-actualization. She deserved peace. If one Sakura from one timeline could be happy, then Saber could be satisfied with that.

“I’m ready.” Saber said.

“Then I’ll begin operating now.”

The priest began to disassemble the Saber Servant.

Let this be the last sacrifice.

True Name: Rin Tohsaka
Class: Saber
Alternative Classes: Archer, Caster, Berserker, Assassin
Species: Servant, Human, Magus
Type: Heroic Spirit, Counter Guardian, Anti-Hero
Gender: Female
Height: 159cm
Place of Origin: Japan
Likes: Her sister, teasing others, polishing jewelry
Dislikes: Electronics in general, unexpected accidents
Talents: Perfection
Natural Enemy: Kirei Kotomine, blu-ray recorders
Source: Fate/Stay Night
Region: Japan
Alignment: True Neutral
Hidden Attribute: Human
Armaments: Jewels
Summoning Catalyst: Azoth Sword
Strength: C
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Mana: A+
Luck: E
NP: EX
Class Skills: Magic Resistance(C), Riding(E), Item Construction(Gem)(A)
Personal Skills: Magecraft(A+), Mana Burst(Gem)(A), All For Her(A)*
Noble Phantasms:
???(???, ???, ???, ???)
Jeweled Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg(Anti-Moon, EX, 1~999, 1,000 people)

*All Rin’s stats except for luck and NP go up one rank when fighting for Sakura’s sake.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 47: Family Reunion

Illyasviel’s head throbbed as she was dragged out of sleep by the sounds of metal clashing and stone fragmenting. The last thing the girl remembered was sparring with Fujimura. Now she felt herself getting jostled around as her chest was pressed into something. She was on someone’s back.

The homunculus opened her eyes and saw that she was in the middle of a battle. She was on her mom’s back, her mother using her invisible sword to deflect daggers thrown her way while simultaneously dodging the strikes of people wearing masks. It wasn’t only her mom combating the fifty or so assailants amongst the church’s pews. Chloe, Leysritt, Archer, Sakura, Luviagelita, Henriikka, Medusa, Trimmau, Fujimura, Assassin, Mordred, and the Lion King were all fighting the attackers. Lord El-Melloi II, Reines, and Sella were watching over a line of unconscious people who wore casual clothes like the enemies assaulting the church, barring the skull masks. The Gorgon Sisters were probably still patrolling the river to make sure Gilles couldn’t make use of it. Kirei and both Rins were nowhere to be seen, probably somewhere else on the premises.

Henriikka used a Finn Shot which blew apart the mask on one of the attackers’ faces. The enemy fell unconscious and was tossed over to Lord El-Melloi and company to be watched over with the other insensible people. It didn’t take anything more for Illyasviel to put together that these masks were controlling civilians and they would be freed if the masks were destroyed. This had to be the work of Hassan given the Assassin-esk fighting style all the controlled people were using.

The fight was going surprisingly well. Such a large force of powerful enemies would be too much for a normal group of Servants and magi, but the Heroic Spirits present were some of the best. Mom, Medusa, and Leysritt played defense, deflecting incoming attacks and protecting the ranged attack team of Chloe, Sakura, Luviagelita, and Henriikka while they unleashed suppressing fire. Trimmau, Assassin, Fujimura, and Mordred were on long range offense, running into the enemy ranks and brawling with them. Archer and the Lion King were basically doing everything, moving around the room and simultaneously attacking and defending. The group of allied magi and Heroic Spirits had become a well-oiled machine that gradually put pressure on the thralls and destroyed their masks. The biggest issue seemed to be that the enemies kept trying to take their own lives, or at least threaten to do so, but doing that left them open for Archer or any of the other ranged fighters to snipe their masks before they could go through with their ultimatums. The cramped hall was falling apart in the chaos of the combat, but everyone was too focused on the fight to worry about that. Illya wanted to jump in and help, but she feared she would throw off the flow her allies had created and so instead she stayed on her mom’s back and telepathically announced that she was awake.

“I’m up and I’ve got the gist of what’s happening.”

“Are you okay?” Mom said.

“I’m fine. Can I help?”

“Just wait for a moment where I can stop and put you down. I don’t want to just throw you off while in the midst of this.”

“Got it. Hopefully it won’t take too-”

The doors at the front of the church opened. A golden haired man entered and everyone immediately stopped fighting, both Illyasviel’s allies and the brainwashed innocents. The presence the man held was that overpowering. Only mom and Archer’s could compare to it. There was no need to question the newcomer’s identity. He was the biggest threat the Lion King mentioned, Gilgamesh the King of Heroes.

“What an unseemly display.” The man’s upper lip curled as he looked at the possessed people. “To be forced to see a contender for one of the most disgusting Noble Phantasms makes me deeply aggravated. Puppeteering common mongrels. You’re lucky you’re useful for occupying those unworthy of my time or I’d kill you for being such an eyesore.”

“Archer.” Mom said under her breath.

“Saber, my Saber.” Gilgamesh’s sour expression sweetened. “The doyenne of foolish idealists who took my life. It is good to see you again.”

“Are you the only one here, or are even more Servants coming?”

“This place is crowded enough as it is, I’d never dare bring even more distractions when all I want is time with you alone.”

“You wish for revenge?” Mom held her blade at her side as she got ready to lunge forward.

“I wish for you to be my bride. We shall rule with me in the new world born from the Primordial Sea the Grail shall recreate.”

“What?” Mom flinched right as she was starting to dash which made her fall to her knee. “I am not in the mood for jests.”

“I speak with complete sincerity. You have won me over.” Gilgamesh put one hand on his chest while the other was directed towards mom. “You are one of the few individuals of worth among humanity, one radiant enough that I can’t help but want to have you. You will sit at my side as queen of my new kingdom.”

Illyasviel couldn’t believe how ridiculous this guy was. His audacity was staggering.

“I already have a woman I love. I would never betray her for another, and even if I wasn’t committed to anyone, I’d never love you.” Mom’s teeth were bared.

“You act as if you have a choice in the matter. You shouldn’t waste time thinking about Irisviel for she has already given us her blessing, not that I need it.”

“The thing that you serve is not Iri.”

“Iri? I never took you for the type to indulge in pet names.” Gilgamesh had the same expression one would have when admiring a cute animal. “The disparity between your cold demeanor and your more vulnerable side makes you all the more enticing.”

“I think that’s called gap moe.” Lord El-Melloi said to himself.

“Don’t think Artoria is the only one you should concern yourself with.” Heracles stepped forward. “She is far from alone here.”

“Heracles. I must admit that I wish to fight you.” Gilgamesh’s stance became less casual and his muscles flexed. “But I’d rather save that for the finale. A grandiose duel between the King of Heroes and the most famous hero of all will be a good way to cap off the war that will decide humanity's survival. Right now I’m not concerning myself with anything beyond acquiring my bride.”

“You don’t have a choice in this.” Heracles fired an arrow at Gilgamesh that stopped inches from his face, the bolt getting caught within a floating ring that froze it in place through an unknown force.

The area shook and something rose up from the floor, tearing it apart. A golden surface appeared below Gilgamesh and broke apart the church as it ascended into the air. The King of Heroes summoned some kind of flying machine below him in the ground and then raised it up to catch everyone off guard. From a portal by Gilgamesh’s shoulder, a chain shot out and wrapped around mom’s thick gloved hand. The flying machine with green wings and a golden body shot upward into the sky, destroying the remains of the church’s roof and taking mom with him, Illyasviel coming along for the ride. Archer and the others unleashed arrows and ranged spells to try and shoot down the ascending ship, but hatches opened up the machine’s bottom from which turrets came out. Lasers burned away the incoming projectiles and the ship continued rising. The ancient plane stopped high in the twilight sky, Illyasviel and her mother dangling by a chain that began receding to pull them up. They were brought up to the top of the machine, mom putting Illyasviel down. The view from atop the flying machine stole Illysviel’s breath away. She could look down upon all of Fuyuki as it was dressed in the light of dusk.

“I wanted to have a private romantic moment with you, Saber. I hoped you would appreciate that rather than bringing your child along. That’s poor decorum.” Gilgamesh sat atop a throne at the back of the ship’s ‘standing area.’

“I think poor decorum is absconding with an unwilling woman to force her to sate your lust.” Mom held her sword at the ready and so did Illyasviel, taking the cloth sheath off her Origin Sword.

“Lust? My attraction to you is more than simple lust. It is an admiration for the beauty that permeates your entirety. I love your totality, not just your sexual appeal.”

“We’re done talking. Illya, stay close.” Mom dematerialized her gloved hand that was caught in Gilgamesh’s chain, the loss of the glove creating space between mom’s hand and the chain. That allowed her to pull her hand free before Gilgamesh could tighten the fetter. Mom used a tactic the Lion King mentioned using to free herself of Gilgamesh’s chains when they fought in the mountain.

Mom ran towards Gilgamesh, Illyasviel using Square Accel and following behind. The golden haired Archer opened gates all around the mother-daughter duo. The walking space atop the flying machine was already small, but now there was nowhere to go. Weapons fired and the wind around mom’s sword shot forward as she thrust the blade ahead, Strike Air blowing the Noble Phantasms ahead of the pair off course. The projectiles wouldn’t be able to hit their targets and thus a path mom and Illyasviel could take to safety was created. The duo continued heading for Gilgamesh as the Noble Phantasms crashed behind them.

A layered wall of shields cut off the way to Gilgamesh, so mom and Illyasviel jumped up and onto the top of the barrier. Gilgamesh preemptively opened portals around that spot since he knew that’s where the pair would have to go to continue forward. Chains began shooting out and Illyasviel’s eyes met her mother’s for an instant. That was all that was necessary for the pair to decide what to do. The homunculus braced herself as mom kicked off her, the mother using her daughter as a platform to jump off of and propel herself. Mom flew past the chains before they finished coming out of the gates.

“I don’t need to capture you, homunculus.” Gilgamesh clicked his tongue and made the chains he summoned thrust towards Illyasviel to run her through while mom continued flying towards the oldest hero, deflecting more Noble Phantasms along the way.

“Avalon!” The homunculus was protected by the domain of the fairies so the chains failed to reach her. Illyasviel was getting used to the pain of using the scabbard, though it was still far from pleasant, nor was it sustainable.

Mom reached Gilgamesh and she swung the Invisible Air for the King of Heroes’ neck. The man raised an arm as his magical energy wove into golden armor. Gilgamesh’s forearm stopped mom’s sword in its tracks. The armor was too tough to receive even a scratch. Mom landed on her feet and continued slashing at Gilgamesh over and over. The man blocked with his arms each time. Portals opened up on the floor and pikes rose through them, mom jumping back to avoid getting skewered. Illyasviel jumped down from the wall of shield and ran at Gilgamesh, keeping up the protection of Avalon to make sure the King of Heroes couldn’t stop her. The homunculus got right in Gilgamesh’s face and thrust her Origin Sword towards his body’s trunk. She planned to deactivate Avalon right before the moment of impact. The blade’s ability to destroy magecraft and Magic Circuits would let it go right through Gilgamesh’s armor and he’d get impaled in the chest. His Magic Circuits would get mangled and his immense amount of magical energy would cause his own demise.

The exact moment when Illlyasviel deactivated Avalon, the very same moment that the Origin Sword was about to break through the golden armor, Gilgamesh punched the homunculus in the gut. He knew exactly when Illyasviel would become vulnerable. The blow knocked the wind out of Illyasviel and pushed her away. Her intestines popped like balloons inside and began healing by Avalon’s power. She soared through the air and into the arms of her mother.

“I may have been taken off guard by that sheathe last war, but now I know to watch out for it.” Gilgamesh still hadn’t left his throne. “I’ll put it in my collection after I kill you, homunculus.”

“I’ll die before I let you touch one more hair on Illya’s head!” Mom put Illya down and moved between her and the King of Heroes. Magical energy surged around the woman once named King Arthur. She still had wounds from Lancer all over her body that prevented her from using her full strength, and yet her power spiked to her former peak as her emotions intensified. It was as if her entire body was being enhanced by a constant Mana Burst, a battle aura born of her fury and love, limits and consequences be damned. “I’ve lost enough of my family. No more. All I have left is Illya! If you try to kill her, I’ll make you suffer more than you could ever comprehend, King of Heroes!”

The sheer might that mom was radiating made her feel like the axis that the whole universe revolved around, but then that sensation shattered. A familiar disgusting magical energy filled the air and made it putrid. A mass of power was rising up towards the flying machine. Illyasviel felt like a tidal wave was about to crest and wipe away the meager pebble that she was. It wasn’t a wave that was coming, though. It was a pillar of mud atop which was a woman that looked just like Illyasviel. It was her mama, now dressed in black curses. A path of mud connected the tower to the ship and the thing using mama’s body walked over to her former family and Gilgamesh.

It really was true. Mama had become the Black Grail.

“Hi, Artoria. Hi, Illya. It’s been a bit.” The way the thing with mama’s face spoke playfully, not addressing the elephant in the room, made it obvious she wasn’t mama anymore.

Illyasviel’s soul was being torn apart by the sight. Her mama, the one person who had been with her throughout her whole life, the one person she felt closest to, had been transmogrified into a perverted caricature of who she once was. It made Illyasviel sad, but even more so, she was furious. How dare this monster puppet her mama’s body around? They would pay.

While Illyasviel was handling the appearance of her corrupted mama relatively well, her mom was not. Mom’s face was an essay, different emotions laid out clear to see and with intricate detail, each line and curve of her expression coming together to create a bigger picture of just how much a stake through the heart seeing mama was for her. The only reason she didn’t start crying was probably because she had already managed to release her building sadness and mourn when she met the Lion King and the new Mordred. That didn’t mean this didn’t hurt her. Mom’s wife, the mother of her children, was standing in front of her while wearing a dress made of coagulated hatred.

If mom’s face was an essay, then mama’s was a poem. Her expression was complicated and unclear, full of meaning and yet nothing was actively stated. It was up to interpretation as to what mama or the Black Grail or whatever she was truly felt in that moment as she looked upon her wife and daughter, but one thing was for sure. Whatever she was feeling was strong.

“What’s wrong, Artoria? Did you finally break?” The Black Grail said. “Is that why you don’t have anything to say to me after you botched protecting me, and Gray, and Mordred?”

“Mom didn’t fail. Don’t talk to her that way.” Illya stepped in front of her mom with her blade pointing at the Black Grail.

“You’d point a sword at your mother? How ungrateful. Then again, your priorities have always been skewed so this is nothing new.”

“You aren’t my mama, not anymore. You’re just the Grail’s lackey now, a simulacrum of the real Irisviel von Einzbern that’s been drenched in mud like a pig.” Illyasviel balked at the very concept of the thing standing before her being her mama.

“How vulgar.” The Black Grail looked past Illyasviel to mom. “Well, darling, do you think you failed to protect us?”

“Of course I did.” Mom didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Then you also must realize that you need to repent. Joining my side would be a good way to do so.” The Black Grail slowly took steps towards mom and Illyasviel. “I want to make a better world. The Grail will give us a clean slate by turning the planet into a new Primordial Sea like when the World first began. The cruel humans like the Einzberns and the incompetent ones like you will all perish, only the strong surviving alongside the new life that will be born from the primordial soup of curses. A new society will be created with Gilgamesh as its ruler, and you can be his queen.”

The Black Grail stopped right in front of Illyasviel and mom, her daughter holding the Origin Sword right up to her throat.

“Artoria, the mud can cleanse you.” A globule of curses formed in the Black Grail’s hand. “You fail because the you that you are now is imperfect. You and I both know you aren’t good enough as you are, but the mud can remake you to be a worthy ruler. The new you can sit alongside Gilgamesh and help guide the society born after the Grail floods the planet. Let’s make a better World together. Please, Artoria.”

Illyasviel had no idea how mom would respond. Normally mom’s righteous heart meant that she’d never even consider such a proposal and would instead only be infuriated by it. The issue was that this was a request from her wife, and it was one that offered a chance at redemption. Mom had been more emotionally fragile lately than ever before, so whether she would remain strong or give in to despair and accept the offer was anyone’s guess.

Dread filled Illyasviel’s heart at the possible worst case scenario. Mom would never really go along with this nonsense, right? She was too strong of heart for that, too wise.

Right?

“Iri, I love you.” Mom said. “You’re right in that I am imperfect. I couldn’t protect you from the Grail’s influence, I couldn’t stop Gray from losing herself, and I failed to keep Mordred from dying. By all accounts, I am a complete and utter failure. Nothing I try to do ever seems to work and I can’t tell if I’m born under an unlucky star or if I really am that all encompassingly incompetent. It is also true that there are many people that are failure’s like me, and that there are cruel people like the Einzberns who abuse others for their own gain. This world has harmful systems in place that are so fundamentally ingrained into its societies that they may never be truly dismantled. For example, there’s the colonialism that the descendants of my subjects and countrymen indulged in to enslave foreign peoples, a system that still has reverberating effects to this very day. In many ways this world is rotten. The flaws of this world were part of what drove Kiritsugu to try and make it a better place. He wanted to save everyone, and I suppose that is also what you want if you’re telling the truth.”

“Mom?” Illyasviel shuttered.

“I’m glad you understand me.” The Black Grail held out the mud in her hand for mom to take and immerse herself in.

“But your plan is still wrong, plain and simple.” Mom said.

Illyasviel turned around and saw her mom’s new expression. It was firm and clear. Calm and proud.

“Why?” The Black Grail’s arm receded.

“I simply can’t condone a plan that would cost the lives of most of humanity, and I don’t think the human species is so fundamentally rotten as to be unsalvageable. I have another reason that is even more convincing as to why I shouldn’t go along with your plan. Well, it’s convincing to me at least.”

“And what is it?”

“Iri would never go along with this plan. She loved life, the world and the people in it. She felt immense joy at getting to explore the planet beyond the bounds of the castle she was raised in. She had an appreciation for the little things, the things that truly gave life meaning. Those tiny beauties were treasures to her, and they would all be destroyed if your plan succeeded. Iri, I don’t know how much of you is in that body anymore, but the old you would never want Avenger to flood the world. That’s all the motivation I need. To honor the legacy of the old you who is now gone, I’m going to stop you with all that my body, mind, heart, and soul can provide.” Mom held her sword out, its tip pointed towards the Black Grail’s neck. Excalibur lost its cloak of wind so its golden edge could show all its splendor as it sat beside Illyasviel’s Origin Sword. “I’m going to stop you, and not only that. I’m going to save you. Do you hear me, Iri? I’m going to free you of the Greater Grail once and for all and then we’re going to live as a family again.”

Illyasviel swelled with pride for her mom. She should never have doubted her. She was a hero through and through. She’d never give in to the sanctimonious words of a temptress.

“Ah, you truly are my Saber.” Gilgamesh practically swooned. “If you actually gave in to such petty persuasion then you wouldn’t be the woman I chose to be my wife. The only Saber worth having is the one you can only acquire by force.”

“You just can’t help disappointing me.” The Black Grail sighed. “It’s like you do it on purpose. Whatever. I wanted to see you break, but I can still make you comply.”

The Black Grail raised her hand and the Command Spells on the back of it glowed. She was going to supersede mom’s will and force her to let herself be corrupted. Illyasviel had to destroy the Command Spells before the Black Grail could state her order. The problem was that the Black Grail had already jumped back, surfing backward on mud below her feet. With both the homunculus and her mom’s swords right at the Black Grail’s neck, they would have been able to easily pierce her throat, or they could have swung their weapons horizontally to sever the hand with the Command Spells. Now that the Black Grail was moving away from them, propelled my materialized curses, they’d have to hit her hand in one perfect slash before she got away or it would be too late. The problem was that Illyasviel was the one whose sword was closer to the Black Grail’s raised hand. With Illyasviel’s arm in the way, there was no way mom could swing Excalibur fast enough to hit the Command Spells. It was up to Illyasviel. She wasn’t the best at slashing attacks, she preferred thrusts. She’d just have to improvise. It was like she learned from Fujimura, she had to focus less on techniques and styles, and instead on whatever position her body had to be in for the current moment. Illyasviel twisted her arm and swung horizontally towards the Black Grail’s hand. The homunculus’ whole body twisted with the slash, her full body weight being put into it. Square Accel was pushed to the limit as the Origin Sword got closer to the Black Grail’s hand. Mama’s body was getting further and further away. It was too far to cut directly into her hand. The only hope was that the Origin Sword would be able to graze the Command Spells. The Origin Sword’s ability to mangle Magic Circuits would be able to destroy the Command Spells with just a weak hit since they’re basically Magic Crests which are composed of Magic Circuits. The sword was so close, but the hand kept inching away. Illyasviel didn’t let herself be intimidated. She had to focus only on swinging her sword.

Illyasviel felt the slightest resistance against her blade. Did something get in her way? No. The resistance was from the Origin Sword’s tip slicing into the Command Spells. The sword just barely cut into it. Illyasviel hadn’t even cut deep enough to actually pierce into the Black Grail’s hand, but the Command Spells were cut apart and re-tied by the power of the Origin Sword. The marks faded away, mom now safe from their power.

Mud emanated from the Black Grail’s body and formed a wall with lashing tendrils. Both Illyasviel and her mom juked and jumped around the tentacles as the wall quickly approached, decreasing the amount of space the two had. The wall was going to push them off the edge of the flying machine. What was worse was that more mud was trailing across the bottom of the ship to come around and flank the mother-daughter duo. A dome of curses formed around the pair, not even a sliver of light coming through the concentrated hatred. The sphere would just have to collapse inward to drown and dissolve Illyasviel and her mom.

Before mom could blow away the mud with a Mana Burst, a different Mana Burst of gold and black did it for her. The entire sphere was scattered and two figures landed next to Illyasviel and her mom.

It was the Lion King and Mordred Alter.

“And yet more people come to ruin my rendezvous with Saber.” Gilgamesh’s fingers pressed into his forehead.

“Thank you for the assistance.” Mom said. “How did you two get here?”

“My King grabbed me and propelled us up here by firing magical energy from the tip of Rhongomyniad.” Mordred pushed out his chest.

“Well look at that, it’s a family reunion. Though that may be a stretch given that three-fifths of us are very different from who we used to be.” The Black Grail said.

“This isn’t a reunion. This is the enacting of justice for what both you and Gilgamesh have done, which includes nearly killing my King!” Mordred’s grip on Clarent’s handle was so great that Illyasviel worried it would snap.

“You’re a whiny little lapdog. I liked the old Mordred better. He was more fun.”

“You call me a lapdog when you’re just a slave of the Grail? Your ability to introspect is the same as a jellyfish’s.”

“You still have the old Mordred’s lip. If anything about you was gonna change, getting rid of that would have been nice.”

“And getting rid of your constant complaining and pessimism would have been nice. Instead you’ve only gotten worse.” Mordred was speaking from his memories of his other self.

“Ah, the old Mordred’s memories are in your head. I forgot.”

“They are and he really cared about you. He didn’t know you for long, but he really admired your strength of will. You were a maternal figure he never truly had and so he appreciated you immensely.” Mordred swallowed some spit. “He died protecting you.”

“A Hell of a lot of good that achieved. If Assassin had killed me, then none of you would be in this mess, would you? He’s just like Artoria, every time he tries to help he only makes things worse.” The Black Grail’s words got more of a reaction out of Mordred Alter than Illyasviel expected. He looked genuinely hurt.

“Don’t talk about Mordred that way!” Mom said. “It's thanks to him that you’re still here for us to return to normal. If you had died, then you’d just be gone. You may be possessed now, but we’re going to turn you back to normal and you’re going to thank Mordred for protecting you to the end.”

The Black Grail rolled her eyes, but the genuine love in mom’s speech made Mordred Alter’s tense figure become looser.

“Thank you.” Mordred Alter’s helmet disassembled and he looked mom in the eye. There was a spark in Mordred’s expression, a passion that Mordred Alter had heretofore lacked. It was like that of the old Mordred.

“I’m simply speaking the truth.” Mom put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “I love you, Mordred. You’re my precious son.”

Mordred Alter’s eyes became glassy and he looked back towards the Black Grail and Gilgamesh.

It was then that a spontaneous utterance interrupted the moment.

“Mama.” The Lion King said in a voice that sounded unfitting for her. She usually possessed a calm and mighty voice. She spoke dryly, though not thoughtlessly. Just now, as she uttered that singular word, she spoke with an innocent lilt and a higher octave. Her voice was so soft it was like velvet. That cadence when paired with the fact that she called the Black Grail mama created an implication that caught everyone’s attention. “It’s me, Gray.”

“Wh-” That’s all the Black Grail said in her confusion.

“It’s a little presumptuous of me to say that, since it isn’t entirely true.” The Lion King’s posture was unconfident, knees buckled and arms hanging in front of her torso. “I’m still the Lion King, but parts of Gray’s psyche persist within me. I think the unusual nature of my incarnation caused the process to be faulty and so Gray’s Mind and Soul weren’t entirely deleted. I also think Gray’s desperate desire to not be erased contributed. Right now I’m letting the remnants of Gray in me take center stage.” The being that spoke like Gray looked at Mom and Illyasviel. “I’m sorry I never told you. I didn’t want to burden you with more information and potential worries until the Grail was dismantled.”

Neither mom or Illyasviel said anything. Illyasviel was too taken aback to have any sort of precise emotional reaction beyond a general sense of surprise . She did start thinking about the implications of Gray not entirely being gone. If Gray was still sort of alive, then perhaps she could be restored to normal, or at least some facsimile of it. It was then that an anxiety over how to do that hit Illyasviel and she understood why the Lion King had kept this a secret. She didn’t want Illyasviel or mom to get distracted from the fight by their desire to help Gray.

“Why are you bringing this up now?” The Black Grail said.

“Because Gray’s situation is a lot like yours. She too was taken over by an external force that defiled her autonomy. You were corrupted by the Grail, and Gray was possessed by a Divine Spirit. You aren’t alone in this, and Gray proves that you can be saved.”

“How so?”

“Gray is still inside me, parts of her at least. She was injected with the Saint Graph of a Divine Spirit and yet she managed to not get completely overwritten. That shows how durable her Mind and Soul are, but also that the ability of mighty existences to overtake others isn’t absolute. Gray survived my power, and you can survive the Greater Grail’s.”

“Of course I can survive it, I already have. I am in my right mind at this very moment. The Grail doesn’t control me.”

“Yes it does. It’s amplifying your negative emotions for its own gain. It sees you as a puppet and nothing more. Why else would your plan involve Avenger incarnating into your body to become a Beast? Do you think your consciousness will remain after that? It’s using you.”

“That’s ridiculous!” The Black Grail snapped. “I’m doing this of my own accord. The Grail’s just showed me the truth, it made me realize the depths of humanity’s depravity!”

“The Greater Grail blinded you and buried the true Irisviel, the kind and empathetic woman you really are.” The Lion King stood up straighter, her voice becoming more confident, yet still not sounding like how the goddess normally spoke. It still felt like Gray. “I know parts of you, of Irisviel still exist deep within all the curses that you’ve been filled with. I know because you’re strong, you endured these same curses for ten years without giving in. You can resist this, and we can save you. I want to save you, mama.”

“Enough of this stupidity!” The Black Grail generated mud from her dress. “Gilgamesh, kill these people already!”

“Don’t go ordering me around like that. You’re lucky I already planned to kill all these mongrels for interfering with my romantic rendezvous with Saber.”

Golden portals opened from which various Noble Phantasms peeked out. Both mud and weapons were about to rain down on the Pendragon family. That didn’t deter them or make them afraid. They were ready to face anything if it meant saving mama and the World. The reveal that Gray still lived lit a fire in all their hearts that would make them fight harder than ever before.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 48: Retreat

The Black Grail’s mud surged from her dress and towards the four who were once her family. Mordred took point and swung his sword which released gold and black lightning that split the curses down the middle. Some mud sprinkled the Alter Servant’s form, but his nature and the fact that the mud was how he was created meant it didn’t do much to him. The Black Grail growled as she kept trying to bombard her targets with mud, only for Mordred to act as a wall she couldn’t surmount. She regretted ever bringing Mordred back from the dead. If the Black Grail had time to build up enough mud, then she’d be able to flood the whole flying machine and claim victory, but she never had the chance thanks to the constant thrusts and slashes from Illya. The Black Grail had to focus primarily on dodging and creating barriers of mud to prevent her daughter from reaching her. That was a challenge given her daughter’s Time Alter magecraft made her so fast that the Black Grail had to spend a lot of magical energy on enhancing her own senses just to keep up. The situation wasn’t helped by the fact that Black Grail had no good way to keep her former children at bay long enough to prepare a decent counterattack.

Gilgamesh was handling Artoria and the Lion King. The former was the cynosure of the golden man’s interest and affection, the goddess only being an annoyance he kept trying to swat away with various Noble Phantasms. Despite the Divine Spirit being weakened after her last fight with the King of Heroes, she was still a Servant of the highest level and was able to deflect Gilgamesh’s projectiles with single swipes of her spear. She did have to watch out for Gilgamesh’s chains given their ability to restrain those with Divinity made it the perfect way to capture and kill the Lion King, but the goddess was just a little too swift to get caught. Meanwhile, Artoria was having more difficulty knocking away Gilgamesh’s raining weapons, but was still managing to do so. The King of Knights was having an especially difficult time given the Black Grail had just ended her contract with her, meaning she currently lacked a Master to provide her with magical energy. If Artoria kept on fighting as she was, she’d run out of power and disappear. Gilgamesh would probably incapacitate her and let the Black Grail corrupt her before she could completely disappear. At that point, Gilgamesh could finish the Lion King and then help with defeating Illya and Mordred. As long as the Black Grail held out for a little longer, victory was assured.

That plan hinged on Gilgamesh also holding out for long enough. The Black Grail assumed he would have no issue with that, but she was wrong. Two versions of King Arthur, one weak, but the other a deity. This combined force proved powerful as the goddess fired waves of light that blew dozens and even hundreds of Noble Phantasms away, creating gaps in Gilgamesh’s offense that Artoria was able to use to gradually get close to him. The King of Knights got to show off her superior skill in close combat as she unloaded a combination of slashes with Excalibur that were so perfect it was uncanny. Gilgamesh tried to fire more Noble Phantasms to push his bride-to-be away, but the Lion King kept using blasts of magical energy to defend Artoria by destroying the oncoming weapons. The King of Knights didn’t pause for a second to even acknowledge the projectiles the golden man tried to fire at her, for she trusted her alternate counterpart, the woman who also possessed some fragment of her adopted daughter, to protect her. Gilgamesh started pulling out a variety of weapons for him to defend against Artoria’s close range assault. He pulled out swords that froze what they touched, a scythe that passed through objects and absorbed magical energy, holy and demonic swords, axes, halberds, hammers, magic staves, and more. All of Gilgamesh’s weapons had their unique abilities, from severing spacetime to destroying the soul, but these were only cheap gimmicks in the hands of a man who had never practiced using them. Artoria had a simple style of combat, but it was one she perfected over a lifetime. Her swordsmanship expertise let her deal with each new weapon Gilgamesh brought out before knocking them out of his hands. Gilgamesh tried to deceive Artoria by having her hit away a three-edged sword that arced through the air like a boomerang back towards the King of Knights, but she saw it coming and hit it again, this time hard enough to turn the blade to metal pebbles. Normally Gilgamesh had a distinct advantage over Artoria and nearly all other Servants. He had weapons of endless quantity and peak quality that let him overwhelm most opponents. That advantage was mitigated by the Lion King acting as a counter to Gilgamesh’s attempts at ranged bombardment. This meant that Artoria could take advantage of her talent for close quarters dueling. When it came to actually wielding weapons in a traditional sense, Gilgamesh simply couldn't compare to his beloved Artoria. He was but a novice in the face of one of the greatest swordsmen to ever be. The tricks his armaments had were of little benefit when he lacked the technical ability to get the most out of them. From range he had both quantity and quality, but when it came to extended close quarters combat, he only had quantity.

Despite having been pushed into a difficult situation, Gilgamesh wasn’t necessarily losing. He still had yet to take a wound and was holding his own decently well against Artoria. He wasn’t completely unfamiliar with wielding weapons after all, and Sha Naqba Imuru gave the golden king knowledge on how to utilize each of his Noble Phantasms. He still lacked the personal experience and training to truly use his weapons to their full capacity, but he wasn’t entirely out of his depth. Also, let no one forget that Artoria was running on fumes. The King of Knights was getting weaker with each passing second and each swing of Excalibur. If she was at her best, then she probably would have gotten a killing blow in by now, but she was far from her prime at the moment. To top it all off, Gilgamesh was taking this fight more seriously than any other the Black Grail had seen him in. He was up against someone he truly respected and he was wise enough to recognize that he was getting pressured. His pride wasn’t getting in the way of him like it usually would. True, he was likely not using his true full strength, but only those closest to him could ever get him to use all he had.

At this point, whether Gilgamesh or the two King Arthurs would win depended on whether Artoria would run out of magical energy first, or if Gilgamesh would get overtaken by the skill difference. Both Gilgamesh and Artoria were sweating. Their eyes were blazing with intensity and were as focused as lasers. The King of Heroes was flush as his blood flowed and his admiration for Artoria continued to increase. The King of Knights’ pallor made it clear she was on the brink of using up her remaining energy. Despite that, Artoria never acquiesced when Gilgamesh tried to put pressure on her. Her style remained aggressive, never refraining from taking an opportunity to move forward. Prickles moved across the Black Grail’s skin every time she glimpsed Artoria remaining strong in the face of cruel odds. Irisviel’s heart beat faster and-

No! The Black Grail couldn’t let her former feelings distract her. She jettisoned her foolish enrapturement with Artoria when the mud showed her the truth. Artoria had to pay the piper for her stupidity and selfishness.

It was by a narrow margin that the Black Grail avoided getting stabbed by Illya’s sword. She had to forget about Artoria and Gilgamesh’s fight and focus on Illya and Mordred. The Black Grail created a stream of mud, but Mordred blew it away with another Mana Burst. Illya would try and attack next, that was the pattern Mordred and Illya were following. The knight defended, then the homunculus attacked. It was repetitive.

Pain in the Black Grail’s gut. She just got tackled by Mordred. The vessel of the Grail let herself follow the pattern Illya and Mordred created, only for them to break it and disorient her. The dress the Black Grail wore wrapped around the son of King Arthur, burning into his armor. Mordred’s resistance to the curses meant he wouldn’t die quickly, but long enough exposure to enough mud would eventually kill him. This was a fact Mordred didn’t appear too concerned over.

Mordred didn’t just charge into the Black Grail. He also grabbed her and ran off the edge of the flying machine. The two began to plummet, the wind rushing past them as they accelerated towards and eventually reached terminal velocity. This was a ploy to get the Black Grail away from Gilgamesh and allow Illya to go help Artoria and the Lion King.

The Black Grail spawned more mud right in Mordred’s face, the curses getting shot like a pressured water jet. The Knight powered through as the mud burned his face, reassembling his helmet to better block the Black Grail’s attempt to push him away.

The ground was getting closer. Mordred pulled his sword back to plunge it into the Black Grail’s chest. The jet of mud grew wider and more powerful. The knight was struggling to keep hold of the homunculus.

Armored fingers lost their hold on the Black Grail as they were lubricated by the mud. Mordred was pushed away, but he thrust his sword anyway, the blade shooting a torrent of black and gold lightning.

A shield of curses tried to absorb the attack, but there was too much lightning and the Black Grail couldn’t generate enough mud fast enough. The mud and lighting exploded, and the Black Grail felt her bones tremble as the shockwave resonated with her body.

The Black Grail whimpered from the pain. She created more mud that formed a cushion below her. She was right on time for when she hit the ground, the curses diffusing the majority of the impact’s kinetic energy.

The homunculus didn’t move. She inhaled and exhaled through her teeth as she let herself bask in her physical anguish. Her whole body felt like it was being split apart, skin peeling away and her bones cracking. In truth, her body was in almost perfect condition thanks to her ability to heal and her functionally endless reserves of magical energy. It was just the pain that The Black Grail struggled with. She wasn’t a fighter by any means and so she was unused to taked hits. She was experienced with pain thanks to living for ten years with the Grail’s residual influence, but that was more of a slow building, droning agony rather than a sudden sharp burning like she was currently experiencing.

Looking around, the Black Grail saw that she was on the road that led to the church. She had no idea where Mordred was, but he was probably still alive given his durability was his best quality. He hadn’t yet come to attack the Black Grail again, so either he ended up really far away, or he wasn’t targeting the homunculus anymore. As for the latter possibility, there were three reasons why he’d avoid facing the Black Grail again. Option A: He knew he couldn’t kill the Black Grail in the long run, especially now that she had time to build up curses and make some mud giants. That was a solid possibility. Option B: Mordred wanted to get back to the Vimana to help with the fight against Gilgamesh. It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t likely that Mordred could jump or propel herself back up to the ship. Option C: Mordred didn’t want to kill Irisviel for the sake of the rest of their family since they wanted to save her. That last possibility all depended on whether Mordred Alter had been influenced enough by the old Mordred’s memories and emotions.

No matter the reason, the Black Grail was no longer preoccupied with the Knight of Treachery and now had to decide what to do next. It wouldn’t take too long for the homunculus to return to full health thanks to her healing magecraft, so it would be best if she went back to help Gilgamesh. Even with his might, the King of Heroes was already having difficulty against both King Arthurs, so having to deal with Illya too could be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Master.” The collective voice of Hassan Alter spoke to the Black Grail’s mind.

“What is it?”

“We can no longer hold off the coalition of our enemies in the church. We’ll die if we continue. Should we retreat, or self-sacrifice?”

“Shit!” The Black Grail bit into her hand, blood seeping out. There was no way she could waste Hassan on this fight, but if the other Masters and Servants were no longer being held in place, then at least some of them could go help fight against Gilgamesh. If even just Heracles got up there, then it would be a disaster. The Black Grail just wanted to get the jump on the enemy and take some of them out. This was meant to be more of a fun distraction than a serious operation, that was why the Grail didn’t bring all her forces. Now she was at risk of losing some of her best pawns. “Retreat. The plan’s fubar. As long as one of you survives, we can make more masks, so leave some of you behind to stall a little longer while the rest of you retreat.”

“Yes, Master.”

The Black Grail braced herself to talk to Gilgamesh next. Trying to convince him to retreat was going to be like walking on a tightrope made of piano wire.

“Gilgamesh.” The Black Grail spoke to the golden man telepathically.

“What is it?”

“I think it would be best if we retreat. Hassan is near death and the other Masters and Servants will come your way. We shouldn’t waste your time here anymore.” It would be easiest to convince Gilgamesh if the Black Grail framed the fight as beneath Gilgamesh.

“Don’t play to my pride like I’m some fool. I won’t retreat when victory is at hand, and I certainly won’t be leaving until I have my Saber.”

“But at this rate, Saber will run out of magical energy. When Illya destroyed my Command Spells, it cut off my connection to Saber.” The Black Grail lied as to not reveal Saber was near death due to her own choice to cut the connection. “If you keep pushing Saber while she isn’t linked to anyone who can give her power, she’ll disappear. If we leave, she can have one of the humans become her Master. You could try asking for a timeout until Saber can find a new Master, but they likely won’t comply.”

“You act as if I can’t finish this before Saber discorporates. Also, why would Saber’s allies not agree to a ceasefire so she can be saved.”

“Her family may be willing to pause the battle, but do you think the Masters and Servants she’s just met wouldn’t take advantage of the ceasefire to attack you while your guard’s down. You know how cowards fight. They may even take Saber hostage if they learn just how invested in her you are. They’ll try to force you to comply with their demands. Right now, they just think you see her as a passing fancy.”

“My clairvoyance shows me no such eventuality.”

“But Saber herself might try something like that. She’ll nobly leverage her own life to force your hand.”

“That is a future I can see.” Good, he was coming around. “Then I’ll just finish this quickly.”

“But the other servants are coming. They are nuisances that will delay you. Even you must admit that Heracles has the might necessary to jump onto the Vimana and get in your way.”

“That is another future I can’t reject.”

“We should leave for now. You can make Saber yours on the day of the final battle. That would be the most fittingly climatic moment for such an event.”

“Fine.” Gilgamesh didn’t sound happy. In fact, he sounded like he was just barely relenting and could change his mind with but one wrong word.

“I thank you for your restraint.”

The Vimana did an aileron roll while staying in place, the rotation of the ship flinging off Saber, the Lion King, and Illya. Gilgamesh was able to stay on the flying machine as if it hadn’t just spun around thanks to some function of the ship. The Vimana flew off in a zig-zag motion, the Lion King trying and failing to catch up to the ship before it was too far gone by propelling herself with magical energy from Rhongomyniad. Gilgamesh was gone and the Black Grail could feel that Hassan had escaped too. The homunculus followed them by riding atop a high speed stream of mud through the sky.

The humiliation of having to run away was great which made the Black Grail angrier than she already was. She couldn't wait for the final battle to unload the building rage inside her. She originally initiated the attack on the church for the purpose of letting out some of her aggression. Instead of letting out some steam the operation exponentially raised the Black Grail’s anger levels. The Black Grail needed an outlet for her wrath. She was going to drown in her own hate that was constantly being enhanced by the Greater Grail otherwise. She’d truly lose herself to the Grail’s will if she didn’t occasionally release her hate like she was letting her own blood. She needed a target. She didn’t even need to harm her target with her own hands. She just needed to cause someone pain like her own.

Night came as the Black Grail reached Dolorous Guard hidden within Mount Enzo. In front of the door was Gilles who was on his knees.

“Oh, dark messiah, I welcome you to our apocalyptic cathedral!” The serial killer raised his arms to the sky. “Praise be to you! How did your crusade to defeat the infidels go?”

“Poorly. I need to rest.”

“How terrible! I am deeply saddened to hear that your pilgrimage was unsuccessful!”

“Please be quiet, Gilles. My head is throbbing.”

“I understand.” Gilles was struggling to restrain himself to a softer tone. “Before you recuperate, I have some important information to share.”

“What is it?”

“Lancer and her Master have returned. My familiar spotted them. Not only that, but it appears that a second Lancer is present with them.”

“A second Lancer? She summoned a second Servant in the same class?”

“It is another instance of the same Heroic Spirit as far as I can tell.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps my observations were inaccurate. I’m sorry I can’t provide you with better information.”

“It’s fine.” The Black Grail waved her hand. “So Lancer and her Master are back. Looks like I can relieve some stress after all. Gather everyone but Gilgamesh, Hassan, and Guinevere. We’re going after them. We’ll kill the Master and, hopefully, make some new allies.”

“Yes, almighty apostle of our god of vengeance!”

The Black Grail smiled and licked her lips.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 49: Dinner Date

“It’s been so long since I last left the Land of Shadows.” The living Scáthach almost sounded wistful.

The doors of the Gate of Skye shut and faded away. Bazett and both Scáthachs had returned to the world of the living, specifically to the series of craters where mountains used to reside before Scáthach and Archer utterly obliterated them in their duel.

“This was where you fought Heracles?” The living Scáthach admired the rubble. “I thought this was supposed to be a secret war? This had to have drawn attention.”

“I probably did.” Bazett rubbed the back of her head in shame. “We probably could have been more discreet.”

“It was my fault, not yours.” Bazett’s Scáthach said. “I got carried away by my warlust while fighting Heracles. It was the first time in a while that I had a good one-on-one fight, so I got a sort of high from it that made me lose inhibition.”

“We are likely being spied on right now, aren’t we?” The living queen said.

“Almost definitely.” Bazett tried to sense for familiars, but she found nothing. Given the wide open space, any observers wouldn’t need to get that close to spot the magus and her two companions. “We should move into the city. As we are now, a distant Servant could bombard us without needing to concern themselves with collateral damage. If we at least enter Fuyuki, then they’ll have to restrain themselves.”

“We should stop at the building we’ve been using as a base and get our things. We can relocate to somewhere in the heart of the city. That will disincentivize more audacious attacks, even if they know our location.” Bazett’s Scáthach sounded like a teacher as she spoke. “We may also be able to shake off our observers in the density of the city and establish a new hidden base.”

“A fair plan. Let’s move then.”

Bazett amped herself with a Primordial Rune and ran towards the city, both Scáthachs right at her sides. The Sun was already setting when they left the Land of Shadows and so it was night when they reached the forest outside Fuyuki. It might have been better to wait until the next morning to leave, that would mitigate the risk of getting attacked, but each of the trio was anxious to leave as soon as they could. Hopefully the existence of two Scáthachs would act as a deterrent for a while.

The trio reached the former Edelfelt mansion Bazett had acquired from the Clock Tower. It looked no different from when Bazett had last seen it, but there was always the chance that it had been found and tampered with.

“Let’s check for traps.” Servant Scáthach said. “It shouldn't take too long.”

And so, with trepidation, the three entered the bounds of the mansion’s Bounded Field and scouted out the building. Finding nothing, it was determined to be safe.

“All seems as it should be. Let’s rest for a moment before we pack up and go. We expended a decent amount of magical energy since we ran here as fast as we could.” Lancer sat on a couch, Bazett building up the courage to sit next to her. Despite everything the magus and her Servant had been through, Bazett still instinctually braced herself to be repudiated. Instead, Scáthach leaned into her, their heads touching. Despite no longer being a virgin, Bazett still had an innocent heart that made her blush at the blatant reciprocation of her affection. Every time Lancer didn’t reject her, the enforcer felt heartened.

“You must be glad to be home after your sojourn to my queendom.” The living Scáthach sat in a chair across from the couple. “Though this isn’t your primary home, correct?”

“This is just a house I got permission from the Clock Tower to use for the duration of the war. It was built during the Third War by the Edelfelts. They’re actually a family with some experience in rune magecraft. I encountered members of their family on a few of my missions. They’d show up on battlefields to pilfer whatever treasures or knowledge they could get their hands on. They were a nuisance a lot of times. I’d try to capture or kill a target, but they’d get in my way trying to squeeze whatever they could out of everyone involved.” Bazett was talking openly in a way she usually found impossible. Normally her every word was calculated to a degree, efficient and terse. Now she was just talking from the heart.

“Are they in such a poor state that they need to scavenge?”

“No, they’re actually wealthy, even by the standards of old mage families. Their method of keeping up their opulence is by taking valuables wherever they can find them, whether they be from ancient graves or ruins or wherever else. They’re often called hyenas by other magi.” Bazet spoke with an upbeat lilt.

“Any chance of an Edelfelt being in this war?” Lancer asked.

“It’s possible. Even if they don’t have a Master in this war, they might show up just to try and steal a Noble Phantasm or two.”

“Since we’re on the topic of the Holy Grail War, we should decide now if we want to take action tonight, or just wait until tomorrow. We technically don’t even know if the war is still going on.”

“We should probably see Kirei, though it would be best to do that in the morning.” Bazett stared at the carpet. Her body regained its usual tension.

“What’s wrong?” Lancer moved to look Bazett in the eyes.

“I’m still unsure if we should continue participating in this war. I have no wish, and you gave up on dying. We have nothing to gain by winning. I can sustain you with my magical energy alone even after the Grail stops assisting with its own supply.” Bazett wrung her hands. “I don’t even know if I want to live as a magus anymore. I think I’d be happy just living as a normal person.”

“I’m fine with dropping out of the war. I already got a good fight thanks to Archer.” Lancer leaned back into the couch.

“You’re really okay with that?” Bazett didn’t want to force Scáthach into giving up on the war for her sake.

“I am. I could definitely have some fun fighting Archer or Saber or some of the other Servants, but I’d rather avoid fighting to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

“I see.” Bazett’s hand clutched her knee. “I’m sorry you have to worry about me.”

“Don’t misunderstand. Protecting you takes precedence over my desire to fight because I genuinely care about you more.” Scáthach sat up and leaned in so close her face was just inches from Bazett’s “You have brought me a happiness I haven’t known for a long time, perhaps ever. I treasure you more than any fight. You reignited my will to live. If that does not tell you of how much you mean to me and how much I enjoy being with you above all else, then I don’t know what else could.”

“I see.” Bazett smiled a wobbly smile. She was nervous thanks to having such a lovely face next to hers, but she was happy to know that the woman she loved cared so much about her. “I feel the same way about you.”

“I doubt you could possibly possess a zeal for me that matches mine for you.” Scáthach smirked.

“You say that like it’s some kind of challenge.”

“Perhaps it is.”

“I would like to mention that I am still in the room.” The living Scáthach had fallen into the background.

“I’m sorry for our rudeness. We shouldn’t pretend you’re not here.” Bazett’s building lust subsided for the moment. “Back to the war, we should see Kirei to let him know we’re dropping out.”

“If we go to the overseer and tell him of our withdrawal, he’ll likely ask for the Command Spells back and will nullify our contract as Master and Servant.” Lancer Scáthach countered. “Otherwise, Masters could claim they’ve given up, all while secretly waiting with their Servant to ambush whoever else remains at the end of the war when they go to claim the Holy Grail.”

“We could simply leave the city without telling the overseer.” the living Scáthach said.

“That could work, but I feel like that would be a betrayal of the war’s rules. That might upset Kirei. I’d like to avoid that.” Bazett considered Kirei one of the few people who she was on good terms with, so she didn’t want to ruin that.

“Could you persuade the overseer to make an exception this one time and let you keep your contract?”

“Probably not. Like me, Kirei is a strict adherent to rules. Even if we were more than just good acquaintances, he likely wouldn’t budge on this.”

“We still have time to think about what to do. Right now, we should get going. We don’t want to dwell here too long and give any potential pursuers time to corner us.” Lancer was met with no rejections and so the group got ready to leave. Bazett packed up everything in her makeshift workshop and her luggage, which only totaled to a couple suitcases. That wasn’t including the tube of Fragarachs she had slung over her shoulder.

Both Scáthachs changed into casual clothes to better avoid attracting attention when they were in the city, though their beauty would make that effort rather pointless. The living Scáthach wore a black blazer dress with high heeled boots that went up to her thighs while Lancer Scáthach had her hair in a ponytail and was dressed in a cream colored sweater with black tights. Both of them looked like supermodels about to head down the runway.

Making sure to cover any tracks both physical and mystical, Bazett and the two Scáthachs left the Edelfelt mansion and sprinted into Fuyuki. The three of them were moving so fast that the normal human eye couldn’t perceive them, allowing them to avoid causing a commotion as they sped through the streets past plenty of civilians. Upon reaching Shinto, Bazett and company entered a network of alleys that they made several circuits through, looping through paths repeatedly and suddenly changing directions at times to disorient any wound-be pursuers. They shifted from one alley complex to another, repeating the process. Bazett and company did all they could to prevent themselves from being trailed. After that, they calmly left the more out of the way back alleys for the plaza at Shinto’s center, the area currently filled with people heading home from work, or to bars and other attractions. Bazett could tell that the bombastic fight between Scáthach, Saber, and Archer had caught the attention of the general public. There were far more people in the city than there normally should. Curious folks from around Japan and even beyond were out and about Fuyuki in search of the source of the mysterious destruction. This was good, it meant it would be easier to blend in with the crowd.

To stay in the populated area that would make attacking the trio difficult, Bazett found the nearest hotel to the melted Center Building that was attracting so much attention. It was packed with visitors from outside Fuyuki. Thankfully, there were still rooms available since this was a five-star hotel which meant it was too expensive for many of the incoming people to afford, especially since the hotel had raised its prices a touch to take advantage of the recent events that have caused so many people to flood into the city. Bazett was far from rich so booking a room at this hotel was going to use up a lot of her savings, but she did so anyway. The room was relatively close to ground level, a fancy two bedroom suite with plenty of extra space that Bazett began turning into her new workshop. Both Scáthachs used runes to set up a powerful, yet discreet Bounded Field.

“Everything’s set.” Lancer said. “Even though we’ve set everything up here, we shouldn’t stay in this room too much. If we’re being followed, staying alone in this room is the perfect way to ambush us while we’re isolated.”

“We should stay where a lot of civilians are, enough that enemy Masters and Servants won’t risk attacking since they could cause enough of a commotion that the overseer will take umbrage.” The other Scáthach said.

“This hotel has a restaurant. It should be busy with the dinner rush at this hour so we can go there for the moment.” Bazett held her chin. “After that, I think the receptionist said there’s a whisky tasting we could go to. There’s also a spa, but that might seclude us too much.”

“If worst comes to worst, we can leave the hotel and go to other buildings in Shinto with a lot of people for a while.”

“Let’s head to the restaurant. We can consider it a date.” Lancer wrapped herself around Bazett’s arm which left the magus a blushing mess as usual.

“Should I let you two be alone on your date?” The living Scáthach said. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s better you stay with us. We don’t want you to be on the other side of the building if something happens.”

Bazett and the two Scáthachs went to the hotel restaurant, a fancy dining area where the trio were seated at a circular table for three. A Scáthach sat at each of Bazett’s sides. The room was gently lit, letting the light from the city shine through the large windows. The magus brought her tube of Fragarachs which she was thankfully permitted to bring in. A waiter passed out menus, gave everyone water, and pulled out a notepad.

“What would you all like to drink?”

“The water is enough for me.” Bazett said.

“I’ll have the imported Bourbon.”

“So will I.”

“Excellent choices. I’ll bring you your drinks in a moment.”

Bazett began looking over the menu. Her eyes were sweeping through each column of options.

“Are you looking for something in particular?” Lancer looked where Bazett was looking on the menu.

“I’m checking all the prices. I’m going to have whatever option is cheapest.”

“Did renting the hotel room eat up too much of your money? We shouldn’t have asked for the bourbon in that case.”

“No, I just don’t see the point of getting something more expensive than the cheapest option.”

“If this time is anything like my own, then the more expensive options are, ostensibly, better tasting or provide more food on the whole.” The living Scáthach was scanning through her own menu with a more leisurely eye.

“I understand that, but taste doesn’t matter to me. Food is just fuel.”

“What?” Both Scáthachs responded at the same time.

“Did I say something strange?” Bazett looked up from her menu to see that both Scáthachs were gawking at her like she had grown a second head.

“You said you don’t care about how food tastes, that’s what’s strange.”

“Is that not common?”

“When you say you don’t care about how food tastes, do you just mean you aren’t that picky, or that the taste is genuinely irrelevant to you?” The living Scáthach almost looked worried or something.

“As long as the food doesn’t taste in a way that implies it is poisoned or nutritionally vacuous, then all flavors are the same to me. I mean, why does the taste matter so much? The purpose of the food is for energy and nutrition.”

“That is a perspective so mechanical that even I have never encountered it in all my years.” Lancer Scáthach was genuinely knocked off balance by Bazett’s food opinions. “Even laissez-faire individuals who just go with the flow without complaint still possess internalized preferences. Have you never really eaten something that you found so disgusting it activated your gag reflex, or something delicious enough to give you pause?”

“Maybe when I was young. By the time I left my home to join the Mage’s Association, I would just eat whatever was available without contemplating the way food tasted. I had resolved to strip myself of superfluous things that could get in the way of my duties.”

“You’ve trained yourself to avoid spending brain power processing the tastes of things beyond whether they’re edible or not. You’re like someone who swallows things whole.” The living Scáthach chuckled.

“Bazett, living such a spartan lifestyle isn’t healthy.” Lancer Scáthach put a hand on Bazett’s. “You need to take your own wants into consideration, otherwise you’re going to become like a machine, or you’ll break down from the stress. You know how I’ve been telling you to stop looking down on yourself and all that?”

“Yes.” Bazett turned her hand over to hold Scáthach’s.

“Well you can’t just not hate yourself, you also have to love yourself. Not be arrogant, but appreciate and occasionally pamper yourself. You’re worth loving, or do you think I’m a poor judge of character?”

“I’d never think that in a million years.”

“Then treat yourself. Pick something off the menu that sounds good. Don’t look at the price. When you eat it, let yourself ponder the taste and savor it.”

“Okay.” Bazett smiled. “For you.”

“Not for me. For yourself.”

“Alright. For me.”

“Good girl.” Lancer gave Bazett a kiss on the cheek.

Bazett ended up ordering a steak, medium rare, while the Scáthachs both ordered spaghetti al nero di seppia. When Bazett cut off a piece of the piece of meat in front of her and put it in her mouth, she let her body be loose, her mind focused just on what was in her mouth. She felt every motion of her mouth and the way the springy meat tried and failed to resist her when she chewed it. The steak had a mild beef flavor, buttery with something else that Bazett couldn’t place due to her inexperience with tasting things. It wasn’t a powerful flow of flavor, instead being like a warm breeze on a sunny day, pleasant and calming. Having one of the asparagus stalks that were her side dish, Bazett was met with far more imminently powerful flavor. An impact that declared that what the magus was eating was undeniably a vegetable was accompanied by more of the taste of butter. Bazett learned what it truly meant to taste something. It was like she had gained a new sense. Her horizon of experience had extended.

“How’s your steak?” the living Scáthach asked.

“I don’t know, but it tastes.”

“It tastes.” Lancer parroted as both she and her doppelganger snickered.

“I just don’t have anything to compare this meal to yet.” Bazett pouted. “This is my baseline.”

“Sorry, your response was just so cute.” Lancer Scáthach composed herself. “I’m glad you’re appreciating the steak.”

“Thank you for convincing me to taste things. Even though I don’t want to be a magus anymore, the more mundane pleasures of life are still foreign to me.”

“In that case, I’ll just have to teach them to you.”

Bazett’s body became warm as she and the two Scáthachs continued their meal. Even beyond the romantic feelings between the magus and the queen, it was also just a pleasant moment of simplicity. Eating a good meal in a calm setting was something Bazett had long since given up, but now she had rediscovered this type of happiness.

In the middle of the meal, both Scáthachs jerked their heads to look towards the same thing. Bazett followed their lead, only to see nothing. They were looking at an empty area of the room. The enforcer was initially unsure of what they were detecting, but Bazett decided to use senses beyond her sight and ability to sense magical energy to look for this unseen thing. Pushing away all unnecessary information, the magus heard a repeating sound. Tap. Tap. Tap. Footsteps. Someone or something invisible was walking towards Bazett and company's table. The unseen thing was heavy of foot, failing to entirely hide themselves because of that. They might have been Assassin, but they were a poor one in that case given they can’t even mask the sound of their footsteps. Then again, they somehow managed to completely hide their magical energy, so perhaps they did have skill in stealth. The inconsistency between the ability to entirely conceal their magical energy while their footsteps could be heard made it difficult to determine the nature of this approaching entity.

The invisible being arrived at the table and became visible. Before she could process the individual’s appearance, Bazett first sensed their magical energy and its magnitude. It made the enforcer jump in her seat and her head throb. There was so much mana contained in this Servant. They were definitely not an Assassin, they had too much magical power. To have so much energy appear from nowhere was nauseating for Bazett. It was like suddenly getting waterboarded. The Servant themself was a male, one so large he could be called a giant. He had a ruddy beard on his blank face and muscles that made him seem immovable. He was wearing civilian clothes in the form of a black suit and red tie. In his hand was a conical hat that was giving off enough magical energy that it was either a powerful Mystic Code or a weak Noble Phantasm. The Servant made no moves to attack. Neither did either Scáthach. Bazett was on edge, but she didn’t want to act hastily and cause a brawl in such a crowded room.

“Apologies for startling you. I am Caster.” The giant bowed forward.

“Hello.” Lancer said. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?”

“My reason is complex. You see, things have greatly changed since you left Fuyuki. If you would allow me, I’d like to explain to you the current circumstances of the Holy Grail War and present to you three an offer.”

“And how do we know you aren’t trying to stall us to set up an ambush?”

“Because the ambush is already here.” Caster was blunt. “They are distant enough that they’re out of the range of your senses, but in a moment they will move in close enough that you will detect them. They are three more Servants for whom I am partnered with. That said, they are merely insurance. I have a genuine offer to present to you. My Master wanted to just kill you three, but after much effort, I convinced her to attempt a peaceful resolution.”

“And why would you be so kind?” Bazett was unnerved by the idea that three more Servants were approaching who were all working together.

“If we conquer you with violence, only one of you will be able to be brought to our side. With diplomacy, all three of you can join our ranks.”

It was then that the three other Servants were close enough that Bazett could feel their magical energy. Caster wasn’t bluffing. One was on the building’s roof, another was on the ground at the structure’s bottom, and the third was flying around the hotel at the same level as the restaurant.

“You would really attack a building full of people?” the living Scáthach said.

“Consider everyone here hostages. They are an extra incentive to not defy us.” The giant pulled out a chair and sat across from Bazett at the table. He looked at the hat in his hand for a moment. “I have to thank Archer for letting me borrow Hades’ Cap. Now, shall I enlighten you three about the events of the last few days?”

“Go ahead.” Bazett grit her teeth.

Caster went on to explain how a Lesser Grail named Irisviel von Einzbern was turned into a Black Grail, a proxy for the Greater Grail’s will. Inside the Greater Grail was Avenger, a Servant that desired the annihilation of humanity as a whole and would achieve it if it managed to incarnate as a Beast. Caster was one of multiple Servants from the Fourth Holy Grail War who the Black Grail revived as Alter Servants. The other Masters and Servants formed a coalition to face the Grail and destroy it before humanity was wiped away excluding a select few who would be ruled over by a golden Archer Servant. The fact the Holy Grail War had escalated to this point, and the fact that such an evil existed within the Greater Grail at all, was chilling. A world-ending threat was really happening, and Bazett was involved in the events surrounding it.

“We really missed a lot.” Lancer said. “You said you had an offer for us. Obviously it's to join the Greater Grail’s side in exchange for not dying.”

“Indeed.” Caster nodded. “You will be allowed to live as heroes in the new society that rises out of the mud. You can either accept the offer, or everyone in this building, including you three, dies.”

“If we join you, everyone in this building will end up dying in the long run anyway. They’re all already dead.” The living Scáthach was unfazed despite the dire situation. She made a good point, but it still caused a pinching feeling in Bazett’s stomach to think that everyone in the hotel was going to die, probably before the end of the night. “These people’s lives hold no leverage in persuading us to your side, you’re just trying to make us panic. The only question is whether we can reasonably survive all four of you attacking, assuming you don’t have even more allies hidden away to take us off guard.”

“I admire your intellect. So, I assume you think you can win, or at least escape.”

“I do.” Lancer said.

“As do I.” the other Scáthach agreed.

“And you?” Caster asked Bazett.

“It isn’t a question of whether we can win.” Bazett took a breath. “It is a matter of there being no other option but to fight. There is no way I would ever side with you when you plan to exterminate the majority of humanity. I honestly can’t believe you’d even think we could be convinced. Do you not grasp the weight of your goal’s implications?”

“Of course I do, it is because of that understanding that I side unflinchingly with Avenger. I live to conquer, and to overtake the world with curses and create a new unified society is the pinnacle of conquest.” Caster stood up. “It is unfortunate that negotiations fell through, but I will still conquer you, for you are worthy of conquering.”

From outside, a dragon’s roar instilled a primal fear in Bazett that paralyzed her while electricity danced between Caster’s palms.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 50: Chaos

Before the sound of thunder had a chance to echo through the restaurant, Bazett and the two Scáthachs had already fled their seats and moved out of the way of Caster’s lighting bolt. The other patrons who were in the path of the electricity were not so lucky, but at least they were turned into a red mist before they could even notice anything was happening. The thunderclap the lightning created rattled the windows, said windows then shattering when a new Servant charged through them. What looked like a dragon in humanoid shape had appeared, the one who had roared earlier. That scream had paralzed Bazett, but Lancer had grabbed the magus and pulled her out of the way before she was hit by Caster’s spell.

Bazett shook off the stun effect of the dragon-man’s yell and scribbled a Primordial Rune on herself with her finger. She was ready to fight, but what she wasn’t ready for was the dragon-man grabbing a random woman by the head and lobbing her at Bazett like a baseball. The magus instinctively caught the woman in her arms, but the force of getting thrown into Bazett at high speed caused the poor woman to get split in two upon making contact with Bazett’s body. The civilian woman’s two halves continued soaring past Bazett while the magus was frozen in place at the shock of what just happened, blood and pasted organs now staining her suit. The dragon-man’s successful distraction was followed up by him exhaling an inferno at Bazett whose Accel Turn skill kicked in and made her auto-dodge. The fire was avoided and instead just turned more civilians to ash. The remaining normal people began trying to escape, their screams making Bazett get goosebumps. She knew already that everyone in the building was likely to die in this fight, but she still couldn’t help but be disturbed by the pointless loss of life.

The living Scáthach was handling Caster, keeping him on the defensive with a fierce string of spear thrusts, so Lancer Scáthach joined Bazett in facing the dragon-man. Like with the other Scáthach and Caster, Lancer and Bazett were using a constant series of punches and spear attacks to prevent their draconian foe from having the chance to do anything besides evading. That didn’t last too long. Sounds of destruction came from the upper floors and quickly grew closer. The ceiling violently broke apart and dust filtered into the restaurant. The cloud of debris made visibility zero, but it was dispersed by a shockwave made by weapons colliding. Bazett’s Scáthach was pushing back with her spear against a similar polearm wielded by a man who was crying blood. His spear was so similar to Scáthach’s Gáe Bolg Alternative that it couldn’t be coincidence. Was this man Cú Chulainn, or someone else from the Irish Cycles? What Bazett did know was that the man had a red sword in his free hand that he tried to slice Scáthach in half with, but she brought out a second spear to defend with. She and the man engaged in close quarters combat and it was immediately clear that Scáthach was superior. Her skill was refined while this man fought with a remarkable, but comparably inexperienced technique. That isn’t to say that his style of combat didn’t belie a man who had fought and honed his skill on numerous battlefields and earned his spot in the Throne of Heroes, but that he couldn’t compare to Scáthach and her hundreds of years of experience. This obvious Berserker was also being hampered by his madness that was dulling his skills and making him less precise. This loss of technique was in exchange for more raw power and a level of unpredictability, but Scáthach’s ability to predict her opponents’ moves and her technical mastery made the advantages of Mad Enhancement near irrelevant. That said, the sheer stamina and raw power this Berserker possessed was allowing him to keep up with Scáthach. He was jumping around the room to attack from odd angles and swung his weapon with his full power every time. It was as if he had no worries over how much mana he used up while fighting. He was linked to the Greater Grail so it was possible that it was providing more magical energy than was normal to him and the other Servants serving it. That meant they could constantly fight at full strength without worrying about using up their mana and disappearing.

The dragon-man rushed at Bazett now that she was on her own. Bazett tried to push the dragon back with punches that combined her Flashing Fist and Hard Puncher skills for extreme speed and strength, but he just took the hits. The fists rammed into the beast’s scaly body and they certainly did damage, but it was barely anything. Bazett didn’t know if her strikes were too weak, the dragon was too tough, or if the dragon-man had some kind of defensive ability. No matter the explanation, the monster tanked the punches with only minor damage and swiped at Bazett with his clawed hand. Bazett whipped her body away from the swing, only to predict with Mind’s Eye and Revelation that the dragon’s tail was secretly coming to hit her from the opposite direction of the dragon-claw attack, the direction Bazett just dodged towards. The magus’ hands both grabbed the tail right as its tip was about to impale her and she immediately swung both the appendage and the dragon-man over her shoulder. She tossed the dragon towards the Berserker that Lancer Scáthach was fighting, but the scaly giant stabbed his fingers into the ground to slow himself down. The floor crumbled thanks to his strength and the force with which he was thrown, but he only needed to stall himself for a moment so he could kick off the ground and propel himself back towards Bazett. The magus drew a fire rune that launched a ball of flames, but the dragon just exhaled his own blaze which met with Bazett’s and overpowered it. The enforcer auto-dodged the dragon’s breath, only for the beast to clothesline her as she did. Bazett crossed her arms to block the dragon’s forearm which prevented her death, but she still felt her bones crack and her skin compress. From Bazett’s perspective, everything around her was suddenly pulled away, though in truth, she was the one moving. The armbar blew Bazett off her feet and through multiple walls. The next thing the magus knew, she was outside the hotel. She looked down to see the several story drop to ground level.

Bazett activated the Primordial Runes of fire she had written on her shoes in case an occasion such as this arose. Flames spewed from the bottoms of Bazett’s feet which allowed her to stay airborne and even fly around. The dragon-man flew out of the gape Bazett’s body created in the restaurant, wings having sprouted from the draconian Servant’s back. The dragon exhaled another blue-green conflagration which Bazett flew away from. The magus headed higher into the sky to make sure the dragon wouldn’t accidentally hit any of the nearby buildings as their fight continued. More streams of flame were exhaled at Bazett by the dragon-man as he chased her into the sky, the magus swerving out of the way of each blast. It became a dogfight among the clouds as the dragon fired more and more flames while Bazett shot her own fireballs back at him. While Bazett dodged the infernos that came her way, the dragon-man just flew through each fireball in his way like he was some kind of juggernaut. The heat of both combatants’ blasts caused the surrounding clouds to dissipate.

As the dragon got progressively closer, Bazett drew runes on her fist and elbow. The beast got near enough to Bazett that it tried to grab her, but she let herself auto-dodge while focusing her conscious mind on angling her body for her counter strike. The runes on her arm activated, flames engulfing and focusing around her fist to the point that it was like Bazett’s hand had a second skin of burning light. The rune on the magus’ elbow released a deluge of fire that propelled Bazett’s fist like a rocket. Bazett’s entire arm looked like a laser as it shot towards the dragon, especially as the enforcer activated both her Flashing Fist and Hard Puncher skills. The punch hit its mark perfectly, the blow resembling a flaring star as it smashed into the dragon-man’s solar plexus and caused an explosion that blew the beast away.

Bazett’s adversary crashed into the roof of a building, thankfully not going through it. What Bazett wasn’t thankful for was the dragon-man getting back on his feet and showing only a little bit of damage from the burning blow. The monster did cough up a little blood and his chest spasmed. Getting a hard hit to a pressure point was going to do some lasting damage, even if the dragon did have high durability. He could just regenerate from the damage though so damaging him wasn’t meaningful unless it was a killing blow or something close to one.

Bazett couldn’t win this fight. Her talents were anti-mage combat, using high power and technique to overwhelm opponents, and countering enemies with Fragarach. None of those were useful against an opponent who possessed superior stats and who didn’t use magecraft or any kind of ultimate move. This dragon was someone Scáthach was suited to defeat. Bazett would have a better chance against Caster, so she needed to get back to the hotel and trade opponents with the living Scáthach. The question was how to do that without getting caught and killed by the dragon.

A roar from the dragon-man made Bazett’s body freeze. The beast flew at the paralyzed magus, but Bazett moved out of the way since, even though her body couldn’t move, she could still control the flames she was using to fly to push herself. Bazett regained her freedom of movement and made a beeline for the hotel, the dragon hot on her tail. Stopping suddenly, Bazett spun around and headed for the monster before he had the chance to stop his own forward flight. More flames left the dragon’s throat and Accel Turn made Bazett dodge them while she continued approaching the beast. The creature was unprepared for the magus to charge at him so he couldn’t stop his momentum from carrying him closer to the woman. Claws tried to shred Bazett’s flesh, but she avoided them and got the dragon in the chin with a swift hook, the monster’s forward momentum causing him to fly into the fist which increased the damage of the hit. The punch failed to penetrate the defense of the dragon’s scales, but the hit to the jaw made the beast’s neck twist and caused his brain to bounce around in his cranium. The dragon was momentarily unable to properly control his limbs, which was a problem for him given that meant he couldn’t use his wings. The monster fell from the sky while Bazett flew back to the hotel.

Entering the hole in the building and flying back to the restaurant, Bazett found the room was in shambles. There was nobody inside, the fight having moved to other parts of the hotel. Bazett sensed for where the most magical energy was concentrated in the building and headed in that direction.

Sprinting through the battered halls of the hotel that were covered in blood stains, Bazett found that there were more than just Servants attacking. Masses of tentacles and teeth were devouring civilians. Bazett wanted to help some of the innocents, but she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about anyone but herself and her allies at the moment, especially as she heard the sound of the distant dragon plowing through walls towards her.

Bazett continued dashing through the building, punching through any walls or demons in her way. The dragon was just a few rooms away so Bazett drew runes on her arm for another fire powered punch like before. She was going to combine her surprise u-turn hit to the chin with her fire rune enhanced blow to stun the dragon-man again. Bazett stopped and spun around right as the beast burst through the last wall separating himself and his prey. The magus activated the fire runes and used her Hard Puncher and Flashing Fist skills. She even used Reduced Earth now that she was able to step on a surface, the movement technique letting her get right in range to strike the dragon before he could do anything. The blazing punch hit the dragon-man square in the face, the hallway both he and Bazett were in breaking apart from the shockwave of air and the explosion of fire the strike generated. The monster was sent flying back from whence he came and Bazet did a heel turn and continued towards the mass of magical energy she was sensing.

Tackling through a door, Bazett ended up at the hotel’s indoor swimming pool. It was large and it currently hosted the fight between Caster and the bleeding eyed man against the two Scáthachs. The fight had begun with the Scáthachs having a slight advantage, but that had changed. There was a dark substance that had consumed half the room and tainted the pool’s water. It was a dark slime that was pure evil incarnated. Looking into it was like looking at a wound in the very fabric of nature, the platonic ideal of sin materialized as a shapeless slurry of curses. This had to have been the curses of the Grail that were meant to flood the Earth. Caster stood atop a mound of the mud, a wave of his arm sending some Bazett’s way. He was the one controlling this stuff using his immunity as the Grail’s Servant and his knowledge of magecraft. Bazett dodged and jumped over to where Lancer Scáthach was standing.

The living Scáthach was currently jumping around the room with the man crying tears, dueling with him while dodging mud. It was especially difficult for Scáthach given the man she was fighting could use the mud covered parts of the room as platforms while she couldn’t.

“How’s the fight been?” Bazett said.

“Not great. That mud dissolves anything and everything. Even my strongest barriers are reduced to the magical energy they’re made of with just a touch. We’ve been on the run since Caster pulled it out.”

“Did he just summon it?”

“No, it's something he pulled up from the pipes in the building. He must have built up a large amount of this stuff ahead of time and seeped it into the hotel’s piping. He’s slowly been flooding the whole building with it. We’re gonna get surrounded by it if we don’t escape soon. Where’s the dragon-”

As if on cue, the dragon-man flew into the room and exhaled flames that Lancer blocked by creating a rune barrier.

The next moments were chaos. Bazett could barely keep up with what was happening. Waves of mud, attacks from the man bleeding tears, and fire from the dragon all combined to create a constant series of dangers that Bazett had to evade. One second she’d avoid getting ripped in half by the dragon-man, but at that very moment she’d have to deal with an incoming sword swing from the bleeding man before she even had a chance to think about how to escape the hotel. Bazett had no time to rest or do anything but stay on the defensive. The Scáthachs were in the same situation, though they were doing a little better given their magnificence in combat. They were still stuck just trying to survive despite that magnificence. If there wasn’t some kind of windfall in their favor, Bazett and the Scáthachs were eventually going to get caught and die. They needed a miracle.

No miracle came.

Bazett saw the disaster that was about to happen next thanks to her Revelation skill and she could tell that there was no way to change the future she had seen. The magus’s foot, right as she was taking a step to dodge, ended up slipping on a puddle of pool water. Her leg slid into the mud of the Grail. The burning pain was a step above anything Bazett had previously known. A wave of curses rose up into a wall that began to collapse towards the magus. Bazett tried to move, but her leg was completely unresponsive. The limb was numb and her shoes and pant leg had melted to reveal her flesh had turned jet black. Bazett’s other leg was functional, but all her weight was already all on her other leg, so she began to fall with no way to move out of the way of the mud wave in time. She tried to gather mana to activate the fire rune on her shoe, but she was too slow. It wasn’t this moment, where her life was in danger of ceasing, that made the vision Bazett saw with her Revelations skill so alarming. The thing so harrowing about the vision, so terrible that it made Bazett begin to cry as the mud was about to reach her, was what happened next.

Loving hands pushed Bazett out of the way of the mud wave. The redhead turned to look at the woman she loved, her Servant and partner, Scáthach. She was now in Bazett’s place, the mud already beginning to wash over her. Scáthach was about to dissolve and be taken into the Greater Grail to become one of its accursed warriors. Scáthach was going to die. After everything they had been through, Scáthach was going to die. It was all Bazett’s fault, her incompetence caused this. Bazett was an abject failure, she knew she was and yet she managed to convince herself for a brief period that she was actually okay, that she wasn’t worthless. All that did was put the woman she loved in danger and forced her to sacrifice herself. Scáthach, poor Scáthach. Such a splendid person who had suffered for years all by herself was now going to perish. This wasn’t right. Bazett should have been the one to die. As the mud was overtaking her, Scáthach smiled and drew a Primordial Rune on her chest.

“I’ll be oka-”

The mud washed Scáthach away.

The halcyon days were over.

Things became a blur. All Bazett could focus on was the fact that Scáthach was dead, the Scáthach she loved and who had made her a better person was dead. Scáthach had made Bazett learn to appreciate herself and made her stronger, and even taught her the appeal of tasting food. The very act of living was full of joy when Bazett was with Scáthach. The great queen of the Land of Shadows was everything to Bazett. They had only known each other for two weeks since Bazett first summoned Scáthach, but every second of every one of those days had been carefully penned into the tapestry of Bazett’s memory due to their radiance. That woman with the dark hair and red eyes, that queen of queens who was always in control, always a step ahead, was so kind. She could have used her plethora of competencies to be selfish, and instead she dedicated herself to the education of others. She was so self-sacrificing that she sequestered herself in another realm for the sake of not interfering in a world that wasn’t her own anymore. The queen had finally learned to let her reservations go and live for herself. She was finally happy. Now she was gone, because Bazett screwed up. Bazett didn’t even know what to do anymore. Her will shriveled and died.

Red flashed as the living Scáthach used her Gáe Bolg Alternative to sew the dragon-man into the surrounding space before throwing her other spear which hit a mass of mud. An explosion destroyed the room and everyone was sent flying in different directions. Bazett was grabbed by the living Scáthach who created a barrier around them before she rocketed them both through a dozen walls and out of the hotel. Scáthach carried Bazett above the buildings of Shinto and far away from the hotel.

“Bazett, where’s the church? We need to meet with the other Masters and Servants asap.”

“…”

“Bazett, where’s the church!”

“…”

“Bazett?”

“…”

“Bazett! Answer me!” Scáthach landed in a bamboo forest in Miyama and dropped Bazett who just flopped onto the dirt. “Bazett, focus! Your Scáthach is fine!”

“How?” Bazett muttered out as she sat on her side. “She was consumed by the Grail’s mud.”

“She’ll come back. It’ll be a corrupted version of her, but she’ll come back and we’ll return her to normal.”

“How?”

“I haven’t worked out all the details yet, but we can.”

“…”

“Bazett.” The living Scáthach crouched next to Bazett. “We’re going to save the other me, trust me. Trust me and trust the other me. You know we’re smart, right?”

“Right.”

“Do you think the other me would recklessly sacrifice herself without some kind of backup plan?”

“No.” Bazett remembered the rune Lancer Scáthach drew on herself before the mud dissolved her. “She probably has some kind of plan. She said she’d be okay.”

“So believe in her, or do you not actually think she’s capable? Was all your admiration for her that shallow?”

“No.” Bazett shot into a sitting position. “I admire her more than anyone.”

“Then prove it. Believe in her.”

Bazett thought back to every time she saw Scáthach stand with confidence, which was almost always. She gave off a constant feeling that she was in control. She was proud and wise. She found the solutions to situations that eluded Bazett. Scáthach had only ever shown a lack of control once, and that was when she and Bazett made love. In that bedroom, on that romantic night, Scáthach let herself be vulnerable. She let her deepest facets be clear to see so Bazett could know them, so they could truly comprehend each other and form a bond. The queen had trusted Bazett with her lesser seen side. That was the kind of connection they had. Scáthach trusted Bazett. Since that was the case, what right did Bazett have to not hold that same degree of faith in Scáthach? Bazett loved Scáthach and now was the time to prove that their love was more than superficial, that Bazett understood how fantastic Scáthach was better than anyone. Scáthach was so amazing that there was no way the Grail could defeat her so easily. She was going to be okay, and if freeing her from Avenger meant she needed some help, then Bazett would provide all the help she needed and one-thousand fold more.

“I believe in her. She’ll be okay.” Bazett said.

“Good. One more thing.” The living Scáthach put a hand on Bazett's head. “Don’t blame yourself. You just happened to slip on some water, it could have happened to anyone.”

“I-” The words Bazett wanted to say got caught in her throat. She was about to go on a tirade blaming this whole situation on herself. Then she remembered that just a few minutes earlier, when she and the Scáthachs were having dinner, that her Scáthach said something. Scáthach said that Bazett needed to learn to love herself. Hating herself was just going to muck up the gears of her mind and prevent her from being the best person she could be. Scáthach chose to love Bazett over everyone else, and Scáthach wasn’t so foolish as to love someone unworthy of affection. Bazett was worthy of Scáthach’s love, and so why wouldn’t she be worthy of her own love?

Bazett felt the gentle weight of the hand on her head. It made the magus feel safe and accepted. She would normally direct her grief inwards as self-hate, but instead she hugged the queen and wept. The living Scáthach embraced the magus and rubbed her back. Bazett stopped blaming herself and simply mourned her loss so she could move forward later.

“I’m going to save her.” Bazett declared. “I’m going to save Scáthach.”

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 51: Rin and Sakura

“Wh-”

Everything around Rin was dark. Her eyes weren’t opened or closed. She wasn't awake, she was in a dream. Rin felt like she was falling, but not in any specific direction. There were things missing from Rin’s body. She was lighter than normal. She tried to move her legs, but there was nothing to move.

“Right, I got hurt. That goldie shot those weapons at us and I tried to protect the potion for Sakura. Then…I don’t remember, but I think I got hit. It doesn’t hurt though. I’m probably dying. Shit. Why'd I try to protect that potion? Sakura probably won’t even want it. Sakura. I can’t protect her now.”

A ping of sensation hit Rin. It was like she was just slapped on the back so hard her snipe cracked. Pressure attacked the magus from all directions like she was in the hands of a giant trying to crush her into pulp. Then there came a heat that made her body spasm and her organs burn. It was as if hot irons were being stabbed all over her body and even spawning inside of her. This hot weight that was surrounding and filling the girl was so intense she couldn’t even scream. As she could do was tense up as everything turned white. The pain kept increasing exponentially. It was overtaking Rin’s ability to comprehend her own body. She couldn’t feel or move. All she could do was embrace the physical turmoil. It was becoming difficult to even think of anything but the pain. If she had a tongue, Rin would have bitten into it just to feel a lesser pain she could distract herself with, and hopefully end her life and its accompanying suffering.

The pain just kept on going. Rin couldn’t do anything to stop it. She was helpless. That might have been worse than the pain itself. Rin wasn’t just feeling greater agony than she could even fully comprehend, but she could do nothing about it. She had a mind, she had a body, but she could do nothing with them to save herself. She was trying her best, but her best wasn’t good enough. She wasn’t being lazy, she wasn’t giving up, she was doing what she should be doing. People commend hard work, and she was working hard at that moment to wake up from the hellish dream she was in, but she wasn’t succeeding. Her efforts didn’t matter. Rin lived a diligent life, constantly training her mind and body, her martial arts, magecraft, and will, and all of it was worth as much as if she lived a life of leisure and lethargy now that she was facing this pain. It was as if Rin herself was being told she was worthless.

Was this Hell? No, this wasn’t Rin entering a new plane, this duress was caused by something entering her. It was like needles were pricking every inch of Rin’s skin and injecting something into her. No, that wasn’t accurate. It was like Rin was being drowned in the hot and heavy water at the bottom of the sea. The liquid was scalding the magus’ skin, crushing her muscles and bone, and filling her insides. Her blood was being replaced by this liquid, this foreign existence. Yes, a foreign existence, that was the thing hurting Rin. It was something that was trying to attach to Rin like a parasite and take her over. The weight Rin felt was the mass of this entity’s existence and the heat was the energy and power this invader possessed. This was like when two planetoids got too close to each other. The more massive one would pull in, break down, and subsume the lesser one. Who or what was this being that was trying to overtake Rin?

“Sakura.” Rin’s voice said, but it wasn’t Rin herself who spoke.

“Who said that?”

“Sakura, I’m sorry.”

“Who are you?”

“Sakura.”

“Hey!”

“I’m so sorry.”

While the pain remained, new senses overlapped and presented Rin with something beyond the whiteness. She was in a familiar body, her body. It was whole. She was in a crimson tinted cave, an accursed womb in the background. Rin looked down and saw a corpse at her feet. It had purple hair and eyes, and there was a stab wound in its chest. Sakura was dead. Rin wanted to scream, but she couldn’t because this wasn’t actually her body she was in. This was a different her from a different history that had already played out. She could do nothing to change the sequence of events, she could only watch them. Rin wanted to know who it was that took her sister’s life. Whoever the perpetrator was, they would pay.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Droplets were hitting the ground. Rin saw the Azoth Sword in her hand and the blood that covered it. No. It couldn’t be.

Saber said that she had killed her timeline’s Sakura to save the world. Rin was seeing Saber’s memories. The thing invading her was Saber. How? Why?

“I’m surprised you had it in you Rin. You’ve made your father proud, I’m sure.” Kirei said. The other Rin was approaching the Greater Grail to destroy it, but Kirei was in her way. “Just like Tokiomi, you put your goals above all else, even your feelings. Ah, but it’s those feelings that make you different from Tokiomi. You hesitate. You think twice. That’s why you ultimately fail to be like your father. You’re too weak of heart. Poor Sakura. If only you hadn't abandoned her and treated her like a stranger while she was getting violated daily by worms. Do you even care? Only after it's too late. How convenient that you only feel regret after Sakura’s already rust on your blade. Either you’re lazy or foolish.”

Rin wanted him to stop. Why was he saying these things? Rin’s Kirei was a kind man who suppressed his dark impulses. To see an alternate version of him say such cruel things hurt, especially since Rin told herself those same things all the time.

Kirei’s cruelties didn’t stop as he began beating Rin into submission, making her suffer as he prevented her from reaching the Grail. Each blow made the pain Rin was already experiencing from Saber’s invasion worse, but the physical anguish was bearable compared to the emotional damage caused by Kirei’s words. Rin couldn’t even fight back. Her heart and mind were already unraveling after killing Sakura, she didn’t have the will to fight and endure Kirei’s psychological assault.

It just kept on going. Rin’s bones broke and she was left in a heap on the ground. Kirei was poised to deal the finishing blow, but he never got the chance. The evil that had replaced his heart could no longer sustain him. He died on his feet after having indulged one last time in Rin’s pain. The sight of her father figure dying was yet one more stake in the present Rin’s heart.

Rin needed to destroy the Grail, but she couldn’t even move, let alone muster up enough power to destroy the wish granter. That was when the boy came in. The red haired lad stopped to look at Sakura’s corpse. Rin couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. He walked past the corpse, past Rin, and went up to the dark tower while projecting a corrupted sword into his hands. He raised it above and it charged with a burning darkness before swinging the blade down to destroy the Grail at the cost of his own life.

This was a nightmare. Rin could handle the physical pain, but watching herself fail to protect those that mattered to her was on another level. She wanted it to stop, but her wish wasn’t granted.

More of Saber’s life was revealed to Rin. She saw the strained relationship she had with Sakura before and how the guilt of killing the girl had eaten away at Saber all her life. She saw Saber submit to the Counter Force for a chance to save Sakura, only for those efforts to prove futile. Repeatedly Saber would be summoned to save alternate versions of Sakura, and never would the magus ever truly succeed. Sakura would always end up scarred at best and slaughtered after a lifetime of pain at worst. Tens of Sakura’s, hundreds, thousands. So many times Saber failed. Eventually Saber made the hardest decision she ever would make. She gave up. She accepted that Sakura couldn’t be saved. From there, Saber became a weapon for the Counter Force, killing whoever she was told for the sake of the greater good. So much blood, just like when she stabbed Sakura to death. How many poor unfortunate souls had been snuffed out by Saber’s hand, by Rin’s hand. All Rin wanted was to save one person and instead she ended the lives of more than she could count.

What a horrid life Saber had lived. Rin kept experiencing Saber’s memories on loop while the pain of getting subsumed by another being continued to increase. Rin was breaking under the pressure that came from all angles. The Saint Graph of her alternate self was piercing into Rin’s Mind, Body, and Soul to rewrite the script of her being. There was no way for Rin to survive this, for how was an ant supposed to live through having a mountain dropped on them. The difference in scale was insurmountable. Rin was going to crumble and be replaced by Saber.

Rin didn’t want to go away, she still needed to protect Sakura. But Sakura didn’t want to be protected. She wanted to be free of the fetters of Rin’s love so she could make her own decisions and forge her own identity. If that was the case, then perhaps Rin going away would be for the best since that way she couldn’t restrain Sakura any longer. If she was gone, then Rin couldn’t continue besmirching the Tohsaka name with her constant failures either. The Tohsaka name would end in that case since Sakura didn’t want to carry it on, but better that than have the Tohsaka bloodline’s reputation be dragged through the mud.

Rin began to disassociate with reality, her desire to live dwindling as she counted all the negative effects of her existence. She began perceiving herself as a cancer upon all those she loved, one that needed to be excised. She’d be replaced with another version of herself, but Saber would be far more useful than the present Rin. At least Saber could fight and, based on the memories Rin saw, could even potentially take down Gilgamesh as long as she faced him with a different strategy. The present Rin would just be in the way. That was the true difference between Saber and Rin, Saber had at least made great achievements while Rin had dedicated herself to developing a magecraft martial art that had gone nowhere. Rin was on a fool’s errand while Saber had achieved one of the Tohsaka family’s dreams.

The pain started to give Rin a masochistic pleasure as she decided to submit and be melted away so Saber could fill the mold she was taking up. Saber’s Saint Graph continued worming its way into Rin’s soul, burrowing through Rin’s flesh and Magic Circuits. Rin just needed to die. Just die. Rin was eager for it, impatient even. What was taking Saber so long? Rin wanted this. She was submitting. There was nothing getting in Saber’s way.

Something was rejecting Saber, but the only thing that could be denying the Servant was Rin herself. There was an incongruity between Rin’s conscious desires and her subconscious ones. Rin was sure she wanted to die. She wanted Sakura to be free from her so she could evolve beyond the hothouse flower she had become. Rin was contrite over her failures to live up to the Tohsaka name.

Why did she care so much about that name though? It was because she was raised to do so by the father she exalted, but her father wasn’t perfect. Tokiomi Tohsaka had given one of his daughters away and even if had a good motive, he still sent Sakura away without looking back and without considering that the Matous had intentions that were less than kind. Rin and Sakura’s father was a man who blindly valued the platonic ideal of a magus as forged by the antiquated traditions of the past. Despite these flaws that had become so clear to Rin after she had grown up, the girl apotheosized her deceased father right in front of Sakura. Rin was so thoughtless that she never thought of how Sakura would feel about their father. Sakura had every right to hate him and yet Rin just sung his praises based on her idealized ideations of what he was like. Rin wanted to never make that mistake again. She would always keep Sakura’s feelings in mind.

So how would Sakura react to Rin’s death? That was obvious. She would be happy, right?

Would she?

Of course she would. After the fight Rin and Sakura had earlier, how could she not despise Rin?

But that was just one fight. If Sakura didn’t love Rin, then why would she even bother getting angry at her? If Rin really didn’t matter and was just an obstacle to her happiness, then why did Sakura run out of their bedroom crying when she saw the way Rin was distraught. Rin had been hurt at seeing Sakura’s hidden displeasure and when Sakura recognized the effect of her words, she ran. She ran because she cared about Rin. She still loved Rin.

Sakura didn’t want to lose Rin.

Sakura didn’t want to lose Rin!

Rin couldn’t let herself die!

None of Rin’s self-deprecation mattered! That was all bullshit! Rin and Sakura could talk things out later, right now Rin had to live!

The pain. Screw this pain! Rin wasn’t going to fold just because of a little pain! Rin had to go see Sakura!

Seeing Saber’s life taught Rin how damaging it was to obsess over Sakura, or anyone. Sakura was her own person and needed space to live her own life. That was true, but it was also important that Rin lived her own life too. Sakura had value as an individual and so did Rin. Instead of living for Sakura alone, or the Tohsaka name, Rin had to live her multiple things and one of them was herself. Everything finally clicked into place for Rin. Now that she understood the truth. She needed to go see Sakura, Rin had to tell her that she understood everything now and that they could properly talk about how they’d move into the future together and as individuals.

“I’m-” Rin got a word out. Finally, since the pain first hit her, she could force words out. “I’m gonna talk to Sakura. I’m gonna, so get out of my way, Saber!”

The Saint Graph’s attempt to paint over Rin’s existence slowed, but it didn’t stop. Even if Rin was reinvigorated, she was still up against the will of a far more powerful version of herself. The pain only increased as Rin began to struggle, but that motivated her to grit her teeth and fight even harder.

“You think you can take me over? Don’t you know who I am? I’m Rin Tohsaka! I’m not just any old Rin Tohsaka! I’m the best Rin Tohsaka you’ve ever seen! You think you’re better just because you became a Magician? That’s nothing compared to what I’m gonna do, so get out of my way!”

Rin’s Magic Circuits became like pikes that stabbed back at the invading Saint Graph before wrapping around it like ivy. Saber wasn’t going to subsume Rin, it was the other way around. Rin was going to absorb Saber’s Spirit Core into herself and wake up from this dream.

The pressure and heat around Rin was getting pushed back as the magus’ body released a great fire like the core of a star. Saber and Rin’s flames mixed and swirled into a tornado with Rin at its epicenter. Things had become a tug of war between Rin’s will and Saber’s Saint Graph.

Rin roared as she felt her body again and moved limbs she had once lost. Fire had funneled into Rin and shaped into new limbs that shimmered like molten metal in a furnace. The pain kept on growing, and Rin cared less and less. She was going to win, there was no question about that. Everything was being pulled into Rin, even the vast whiteness she was floating in. This was all hers because she said so, and thus she was taking it. The very dream she was in, the memories that played repeatedly, the Saint Graph, the magical energy, all of it was Rin’s. It was like she had her own gravitational pull that went beyond the physical and reached the conceptual.

As Rin became the epicenter of everything, she saw a person with their back to her in the distance. It was Saber.

“Can you reach me?” The Servant in red asked.

“Of course I can!” There was no hesitation as Rin reached a hand out towards the distant woman. Her arm began to dissolve as it reached further and further towards that old future, but Rin just willed her arm to stay together. It was her arm, and it wouldn’t break unless she gave it permission. The distance kept increasing, but Rin’s arm closed that distance faster than it could grow. Rin’s heart pulled her old future self closer. She was right in front of her, just in reach. Rin’s arm got right up to the Servant, fingers about to touch her back.

Saber’s head turned to look back at Rin.

She was smiling.

“Take care of Sakura, and yourself.”

Rin’s finger made contact.

Rin’s eyes snapped open. She was awake, looking up at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. Her body didn’t hurt anymore.

“Rin?” Sakura was kneeling at the side of Rin’s bed, eyes red from crying.

“Hey, Sakura.”

“Is that you, Rin? You, you? Are you Saber or you, I mean the real you, no, the original-no, I mean-I don’t know! Are you my Rin?”

“It’s me, Sakura. I’m the sister you grew up with.” Rin smiled.

“Rin!” Sakura was about to hug her sister, but stopped short. “A-Are you in pain? Can you move?”

“I don’t feel any pain.” Rin tried to raise her arm, the one she had lost, and found that an appropriate limb lifted out of the covers. She had been given a replacement, and she knew where it came from. Touching her face, Rin found she had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth again. Legs wiggled and then kicked off the covers to reveal that her entire body had been repaired and she was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Sitting up, some locks of Rin’s hair fell in front of her chest and it was revealed that her hair was now an ombre of brown shifting into solid red at the tips. It was the same shade of red as Saber’s hair. Rin held some of the strands between her fingers as she was overcome with a collage of emotions.

“I guess I don’t have to explain what happened.” Sakura said.

“Saber was used to repair me. I have her memories. It was her idea.” Rin closed her eyes and immersed herself in her body’s every sensation and her weight. “She gave me everything and now she’s a part of me.”

“Yeah.” Sakura began to cry. “She was a good person.”

“She was.” Rin looked at the arms she had been given by Saber. “I feel like I should mourn her, but I also have her within me so the idea of acting like she’s gone feels strange. Her consciousness isn’t here, but everything that defined her is with me. Still, I have to say this: Thank you, Saber.”

“Thank you, Saber.” Sakura repeated.

“I also need to thank Kirei since he was the one who actually performed the procedure. But first, we need to talk.”

“Ah.” Sakura froze for a few seconds before she bowed her head and shook. “I’m sorry, Rin. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you and said all those horrible things. I hurt you and then you tried to make it up to me by getting that potion and you got hurt.” Saber told Kirei about the potion while he performed the operation to save Rin. Apparently Kirei decided to relay that information to Sakura. “This is all my-”

“It’s not your fault.” Rin put her hand to Sakura’s chin and lifted the girls’ head so they could look each other in the eye. “You had no way of knowing that speaking your mind would get me to act rashly, and your complaints were valid. You weren’t trying to hurt me, you were just letting out your frustration that had built up over years.”

“But I was trying to hurt you! I wanted to hurt you because I was angry!” Sakura hit her thighs with her fists.

“But that was just an impulse. You felt guilty and ran away afterward. If you really wanted to hurt me, you wouldn’t regret it as deeply as you are.”

“But I still hurt you!” Sakura grabbed Rin’s wrist.

“And I forgive you. You made a mistake, the same way I kept making mistakes for the last ten years. I’m sorry I kept coddling you all these years, and I’m sorry that, even after I claimed I wanted us to be more independent, I went back on that and was unwilling to trust you to take care of yourself.”

“You were worried about me and you were right to!”

“Yes, but it belied my lack of trust in you. I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for blindly idolizing our father without any consideration for your feelings. That was just thoughtless of me.”

“I-It’s fine.” Sakura shrunk back.

“No, it isn’t. Father’s actions caused you to experience horrible things and that shouldn’t be swept under the rug. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I could ever hate father, but I should at least recognize his shortcomings and be tactful about bringing him up.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you.” Sobs staggered Sakura’s words.

“Sakura, I promise to trust you from now on and be more considerate of you. After seeing Saber’s memories, I realized just how dangerous it is to obsess over each other. We shouldn’t abandon each other, but we need to find not only happiness together, but also our own separate happinesses. We’re sisters, but we’re also Rin and Sakura, two separate people. I love you, Sakura.”

“I love you too.” Sakura wrapped her arms around Rin who reciprocated. The sisters forgave and accepted each other, their reconciliation bringing them peace. They continued to hug for a few minutes, but eventually they separated, Sakura calming down and whipping away her tears with a tissue. Sakura moved onto the bed so the sisters could sit next to each other.

“Well that was cathartic.” Rin said.

“Yeah.” Sakura giggled.

“I like your short hair by the way, I didn’t mention it before, but I think you look cute with a buzzcut.”

“Thank you. I’m not a fan though.” Sakura blushed as she rubbed her head. “I’m going to grow it back out and try a new hairstyle. Maybe a bob.”

“Oh, you’d look great with a bob. You might also look nice with a pixie cut.”

“I think you’d look better with a pixie cut. Saber had one and she looked nice.”

“She’s a future version of me, so if she can work it, I should be able to too.” Rin looked at her new red highlights. “I wonder if these are permanent. Probably.”

“I think they’re pretty.”

“They don’t look very professional. Well, I need to stop caring so much about what other people think about me anyway.” There was a pause in the conversation which gave Rin time to remember the last thing she needed to address. “Sakura.”

“Yes?”

“You know about the Potion of Youth and how it could…help you, yes?”

“Yes.” Sakura’s facial features drooped.

“I got it for you, but I didn't necessarily assume you would use it. I didn’t get it to imply you needed to be ‘fixed’ or anything. I just wanted to give you the option. I’m just wondering if you’ve decided if you want to use it or not.”

“I don’t. If I did, I’d stop being me, the me who is who she is thanks to you and Kirei and Caren. I don’t want to go back, I want to move forward.” Sakura smiled. “Thank you, though, for the option.”

“It was no problem.” Rin smiled back.

“Didn’t you almost die?”

“Eh, I was fine.” Rin's smile became a smirk.

“I’m sure.” Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed. “What should we do with the potion now?”

“We might still be able to use it for something, and if not, we can save it or sell it.”

“Maybe we could force one of the enemy Servants to drink it to weaken them.”

“That might be a little difficult, but you never know.”

Rin and Sakura continued talking like normal sisters do. All the baggage and future worries were put to the side as the Tohsaka sisters just relaxed. It was nice.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 52: Interlude: Assent

It was deep into the night and the coalition of Masters, Servants, and allies had survived the attack by the Black Grail and her underlings. The Fuyuki Church had been decimated as collateral damage from having a Holy Grail War’s worth of Servants fighting in its vicinity, so Fujimura let the alliance set up shop at a mansion in Miyama that her family owned. Apparently it was the same household where the yakuza boss had summoned Assassin. It was a traditional Japanese estate that wasn’t ridiculously large, but it was plenty spacious which made it perfect for housing all the allied Masters and Servants. It was while settling in that the alliance had received a visitor.

“It’s good to meet you.” Illyasviel shook Bazett’s hand.

“Likewise.” Bazett had tired eyes. The Master of Lancer and her ally Scáthach, who wasn’t Bazett’s Servant apparently, just arrived at the Miyama household. She had originally arrived at the ruins of the church and a familiar of Kirei’s found and guided her to the new base. Bazett and Scáthach were being guided around the estate by Fujimura, meeting all their new allies and telling them an abridged version of their story. Her Servant had become a victim of the Grail, but she was lucky enough that she had met and recruited the living version of the Heroic Spirit she had summoned beforehand.

Illyasviel felt bad for Bazett. She could tell that the loss of her Servant had been hard on her, even with the Master being reticent to divulge the full details of her experience. It was easy for Illyasviel to sympathize with losing a loved one given recent events. Illyasviel hated to admit that there was some good that came from Bazett losing Lancer, but now that the Servant Scáthach was gone, the unhealable wounds her spears created disappeared too. Now mom and Archer could fight at full strength again, and in mom’s case she was better than ever since Illyasviel had become her new Master after the Black Grail broke their contract. Illyasviel was built to be the ultimate Master, and though she was proven only second best since Chole existed, Illyasviel was still able to give mom a big boost to all her parameters.

“I’ll show you to your room.” Fujimura said to Bazett before looking back over her shoulder at Illyasviel. “We’ll train more tomorrow. You need to rest for now after fighting that golden dickhead.”

Illyasviel nodded and Fujimura led Bazett and Scáthach down a hall. The homunculus was free to do whatever she needed or wanted. There was certainly something she needed to do, but she really didn’t want to do it. The young woman paced back and forth in the hall, her feet pattering on the wood floor making her more anxious. Illyasviel kept repeating in her mind that she had to do this, that there was so much that depended on defeating the Grail and so she couldn’t be selfish. She just had to bite the bullet, even if doing so would shatter her teeth.

“Okay, just go.” Illyasviel started power walking, not letting herself have the chance to talk herself out of doing what she had to. Running across the backyard and over to the shed, Illyasviel immediately knocked on the door. She actually hit the door a little too hard and ended up hurting her hand. Illyasviel rubbed her aching fingers as the doors to the shed opened. Assassin stood in the doorway and Illyasviel felt the impulse to kick him in the dick. Her resentment towards Assassin for having caused her family so much turmoil was as potent as ever, but she put it to the side for the moment. “Hello, Assassin.”

“Hello.” It was just one word and yet it pissed Illyasviel off. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, there is.” Illyasviel sounded like she was trying to start a fight. She paused to recompose herself before speaking again with a more respectful tone. “You offered to train me in the use of projection considering my Origin combined with my existing alchemic ability and talent for magecraft makes me suited for it, correct?”

“I did. We may only have a few days, but I think you’ll be able to pick it up faster than I did. That fact that you’ve been consciously able to use Avalon and have done so multiple times has exposed you to its influence and thus strengthened your Sword Origin to a level beyond my own. I assume you’re asking this because you accept my offer.”

“That’s correct.” Illyasviel paused. “Please teach me projection magecraft.”

“Hm.” It was hidden by his red wrappings, but Illyasviel just knew that Assassin had a condescending, shit-eating grin. “You’re a strong person.”

“What?”

“You’re putting aside your rightful hatred of me for the sake of becoming stronger so you can protect your loved ones and the world. That requires strength.”

“It’s just adaptation. It’s fundamental to humanity.”

“I suppose, but it still isn’t easy and many would be blinded by their vitriol and thus refuse my offer. You have self-control and wisdom along with your strength. Be proud of that.”

Illyasviel pinched her lips together and looked away. She didn’t want to accept the felicitations of Assassin of all people.

“Y’know, pouting at a compliment makes you seem unappreciative. It isn’t very ladylike.”

“Piss off. Anyway, when do we start?”

“You’re even brattier than the one I knew.”

“What?”

“Nothing. We’ll start in the early morning. We’re both too tired from the earlier fight so we wouldn’t achieve anything if we tried training now.” Assassin crossed his arms. “As soon as you wake up tomorrow, we’ll start going over Gradation Air, occasionally taking breaks to focus on swordsmanship.”

“Hold on, swordsmanship?” Illyasviel put a hand on her hip and leaned to the side. “I already got your Master on sword duty. Is she not teaching me well enough for your standards?”

“Not at all. She’s a great mentor and a far more competent swordsman than me overall. The reason I also want to teach you swordsmanship is because, while My Master will give you a stronger foundation than I could, I understand how you need to use your swords.”

“You mind elaborating on that?” Illyasviel spun her finger.

“My Master is a swordsman of the highest grade this era could produce and an excellent teacher, so she is the perfect person to teach a swordsman. She will show you the optimal way a sword should be used and will help you far more than I can. If you had to pick between only being taught swordsmanship by myself or only by Taiga, you should pick Taiga, you’ll get more out of it overall. The problem is that my Master can only take you so far.”

“Why? Is there a limit to what someone can learn from another or something like that? Do I have to meditate by myself to reach enlightenment or something?” Illyasviel snickered as she spoke.

“When I say that Taiga can only take you so far, I mean you specifically. I said that Taiga is the perfect person to teach a swordsman, but you’re not a swordsman. I could tell when I saw you practicing that you aren’t suited to wielding blades, you lack the necessary talent. Because of that, while Taiga can teach you how to be a swordsman, you can’t fully utilize that knowledge. You’ll never be a master swordsman, you simply aren’t capable.”

“Thanks for the pep talk.” Illyasviel bared her teeth a bit. “So why do you want to train me?”

“Because like you, I’m also lacking in talent. Neither of us are swordsmen and so we shouldn’t fight like them. That will only stifle our unique potential. We are people who make swords. We are swordsmiths. Our style of combat must utilize our unique capabilities. I have learned over a lifetime the way to best make use of our skills and I can teach you that method. Taiga will give you the fundamentals of swordsmanship and I will teach you how someone who isn’t a swordsman uses a sword, as well as how to best take advantage of and incorporate projection into your sword combat.”

“In other words, I suck at sword fighting so you’ll show me your weird fighting style that compensates for what I can’t do.”

“If you want to take the elegance out of my explanation, then yes.” Assassin was the one pouting now.

“I wouldn’t call your explanation elegant. I’d go with pretentious or self-indulgent.”

“You’re such a troubling woman.” Assassin turned around, his back to Illyasviel. “You don’t have anything else you want to speak about, right?”

“I'd rather be eaten by a pack of wolves than spend another second with you right now.”

“You could just say no.” Assassin sighed. “Goodnight.”

Assassin returned to the shed he had claimed as his workshop. It wasn’t painless, but Illyasviel had done what she had begun down the path of acquiring the strength she needed to defend her family. The worst part was yet to come given actually being trained by Assassin was going to be way worse than just speaking to him for a couple of minutes, but Illyasviel would deal with whatever she had to. She was sick of being weak.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 53: Stupid Love

“Here.” Caren placed a large helping of mapo tofu in front of Reines, the sauce bubbling and releasing a miasma of spice.

On a chilly morning, Caren and Reines had met at the former’s place of work, Koushuuensaikan Taizan. Well, technically not work, but apprenticeship. Caren wanted to serve her new friend a meal, one that was definitely not made to melt Reines’ tongue off. Nope, not even a little. Caren definitely didn’t want to watch and enjoy her friend’s agony. Nope. Okay, maybe a little.

Reines looked up from her seat at Caren who was currently dressed in the red cheongsam that was her uniform. The blonde squinted at Caren who was stone faced.

“Really?” Reines said.

“What’s wrong?”

“You think I’m going to eat this?”

“Are you not going to eat something I made for you?” Caren’s head tilt did nothing to sway Reines’ heart.

“Caren, I know this is too spicy to eat.”

“How do you know?” Reines put a finger to her cheek.

“Because I know you, and I know what I would do if I were you. Also, this tofu looks like magma.” Reines scooped up some of the tofu and took a whiff, only to recoil and pinch her nose shut.

“I just made it the way I think it tastes best. A true friend would eat it to be nice.”

“Well I’m not nice.” Reines put down her spoon and Caren clicked her tongue. The blonde proceeded to take a sip of water which she then spat out. She breathed heavily and covered her mouth as she was overcome with spiciness she didn’t expect.

“Did I forget to tell you? That water’s a special recipe of mine, mapo water. Do you like it?”

“I can never let my guard down against you.” Reines was having a coughing fit so bad manager Batsu had to bring her milk.

“A friendship without a little hostility is boring.” Caren sat down across from the Reines.

“Caren, you’re still on shift.” Batsu said.

“I’m taking my break early.” Caren’s dismissal was met with a huff from Batsu who returned to the kitchen.

“God.” Reines finished chugging her glass of milk and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I thought I was bad, but you’re on a plane of sadism all your own.”

“It was just spicy water, relax.” Caren leaned on her hand.

“I have a gentle palette.” That was rather self-evident. Reines began looking at her reddened lips in her compact mirror. “Moving on, how have you been lately? It’s been a bit since we last met up.”

“Nothing besides using every modality at my disposal to spread misery. The usual.”

“You need to see a psychiatrist. So do I. So do most people.”

“I don’t want to see a psychiatrist. I like my life as it is now.” Caren had been thoroughly inoculated to any attempts to change her behavior after having lived a decade saturated with her father’s lectures. “It’s not like I’m doing any real damage to anyone.”

“I want to chastise you, but we share the same predilections so I’d be a hypocrite if I did. It doesn’t really matter anyway since you’re all talk.”

“No I’m not. I have plenty of substance to me.” Caren sat up.

“Please.” Reines waved a hand. “You claim you use ‘every modality to spread misery,’ when all you do is act rude sometimes and serve people spicy food.”

Caren frowned but couldn’t deny Reines’ declaration. Despite her captivation with human agony, she was rather tame, all things considered. Perhaps that was a good thing? Caren wasn’t even sure anymore. She used to be proud of her unique proclivities, but gradually she began to doubt the rightfulness of her behavior, and now she was just muddling through things based on her momentary impulses. Sometimes she’d be cruel, other times she’d hold back. This dichotomy of instincts was one among multiple lately that had caused discord within Caren’s once copacetic mind.

“How have you been? You said you haven’t been able to meet up lately because you’ve been busy.” Caren changed the subject.

“Yeah. I’ve been helping my brother with business, it’s a whole thing.”

“What kind of business requires a fifteen-year-old’s assistance?”

“I’ll have you know that I’m quite the savvy negotiator.” Reines smirked and raised a finger. “My brother’s the one in charge of the family business right now, but he’s just keeping my seat warm until I’m of age.”

“I see.” Caren knew that Reines was avoiding the truth. She was involved in the Holy Grail War, with her brother probably being a Master. That should have provided a conflict of interests from Caren’s perspective given her sisters were also participants in the war and thus Reines and her brother were a threat to them. Initially this didn’t bother Caren since she generally cared about others as much as she cared about any food that wasn’t spicy, that being not at all. Then, as time passed, and Caren saw Sakura in the hospital, something stirred within Caren. She felt discomforted by Sakura’s pain rather than enticed. The threat of the war felt more real all of a sudden, and so did its consequences. Seeing the collateral damage of the war on television, hearing reports of skyscrapers being demolished and people disappearing made Caren anxious. Rin, Sakura, father, and Reines popped into Caren’s mind every time and Caren began to genuinely worry about their wellbeing. She was acquiring the first inklings of empathy and she hated it, but she found no way to stifle the growth of these feelings.

Her cultivation of empathy had caused Caren to become especially concerned when it was reported on the news that morning that the Fuyuki church had been destroyed and its residents were nowhere to be found. Was Kirei dead or had he secretly relocated somewhere else? Caren wanted to just not care, but she did care.

“Reines.”

“Mmm?”

“How’s the Holy Grail War going?”

“…”

“…”

This was a dumb idea. Reines probably thought Caren was affiliated with an enemy Master or even was a Master. Would Reines attack? No, she wasn’t so brash. Did Caren just ruin this friendship? Probably. Why did she mention the war? What compelled her to be so idiotic?

“It’s technically over.” Reines closed her eyes. “You don't know that, but you know that the Holy Grail War is supposed to be going on. Interesting. I assume you’re a magus.”

“No, I’m just a normal human. Well, I have a certain psychic ability pertaining to demons, but that’s irrelevant.” So the war is over? Then why’s there still chaos in Fuyuki and why hasn’t Kirei said anything? “I’m the overseer’s daughter.”

“He did mention a third daughter. What a coincidence.” Reines put her thumb to her chin. “With everything happening, I guess he hasn’t had the chance to contact you. He’s been spending every waking moment preparing for the final fight.”

“What’s going on? You said the war’s over, so what do you mean by a final fight? I’ve been in the dark for most of this because my father’s so protective.”

“On the one hand, I want to follow your father’s wishes if he really is keeping everything from you intentionally, but on the other, I think you’ll be safer if you’re aware of what’s happening. I suppose I’ll tell you. Buckle-up, this is going to be a rollercoaster.”

Reines wasn’t exaggerating when she called the war a rollercoaster. Three Lesser Grails, two Counter Force agents, a corrupted Greater Grail bent on human extinction, a group of revived Servants, a Divine Spirit, a warrior woman from another realm. It was so complicated. The part that gave Caren the greatest pause was hearing that Rin had summoned a parallel timeline version of herself who she then had to fuse with to survive. Caren felt like she missed a year of events.

“So that’s what’s happening.” Reines stood up. “I have to get back to base. I need to get back to preparing.”

“Preparing how?”

“Strategizing, readying Mystic Codes, that kind of thing. There’s not much I personally can do, but I can’t do nothing when the world is under threat.” Reines picked up her suitcase(which Caren now assumed carried some kind of Mystic Code) and kicked her legs a bit to stretch them.

“What are the chances that you and the others will actually win against the Grail?” Caren stood up too.

“Not low, but not high.” Reines’ voice was low.

“Can I help?” Why did Caren say that? It was because she would die along with the rest of humanity if Avenger got its way. Right? No, it wasn’t just that. Caren wanted to be there to help her father, sisters, and new friend. If they died, then Caren genuinely didn’t know how she would react. If Caren could protect the people who were significant to her, then she wanted to. No, she didn’t want to, she was compelled to because she was starting to have feelings.

“Do you want to?” Reines’s head pulled backward and had a creeped out expression

“I…do. I do. I don’t want to die, so we have to stop the Grail.” Caren regained confidence with her false reason.

“How could you help? You aren’t a magus and your psychic ability isn’t combat applicable I assume.”

“That’s true, but I have a mastery of bajiquan that’s superior to even my father in his prime, at least according to him. If a magus can boost my abilities with magecraft, then I should be able to provide some help.”

“You told me you practiced martial arts, but I didn’t realize you were that good.” Reines adjusted her hold on her suitcase. “Maybe you could help. It isn’t up to me alone to decide. I’ll take you to the base and you’ll present your case.”

“You act like I’m going to be put on trial.”

“You really won’t. I doubt that anyone besides your family would object to you helping.”

“My family definitely won’t want me to help. They’ll be afraid I'll get killed.” Caren wasn’t sure she could convince them. “Whatever. Manager, I’m leaving!”

“But you aren’t done for the day!”

“I don’t care!”

Caren and Reines left the restaurant and went to the base of the anti-Grail force. It was a traditional Japanese mansion, one of many in Miyama. Reines took Caren through the gate and probably multiple Bounded Fields Caren couldn’t detect.

Before Reines and Caren reached the front door, it was slid open by Rin. She looked similar to how she used to, but she had red highlights in her hair and she was a little taller, a little older. There were no wounds on her body so the weird fusing with another version of herself thing worked. The consequences of this war had become just as apparent as they had when Caren saw Sakura in the hospital.

“Hey, Caren.” Rin said timorously as she looked back and forth between Caren and Reines. “How have you been?”

“Fine.” Caren’s surprise at Rin’s changes trickled into that single word.

“That’s good. Why are you here?”

“I know about everything that's happened in the war.”

“Really?” Rin glared at Reines. “However did she find out?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t bring it up, she did. I didn’t even know she was anyone related to you until she just blurted out something about the Grail War.” Reines crossed her arms and Rin’s lip curled.

“Caren, why are you here? You knowing what’s happening doesn’t explain why you showed up.”

“I want to help fight the Grail.”

Rin’s head tilted forward and her facial muscles slacked. Her eyes stuck to Caren before darting around. The magus’s face scrunched together as if she tasted something sour.

“Why do you want to help?”

“Because I don’t want to die. If you guys screw this up, I’m gonna die along with the rest of humanity.” Caren let her tone sharpen. “I can’t trust you guys to handle this alone so I’m going to help.”

Once again, Rin’s face played around. At first her features settled into a configuration that had become very familiar to Caren. It was the usual look of annoyance and resignation that Caren had come to know, but then the expression shifted into something more cautionary.

“How could you help?”

“How rude of my sister to underestimate me. Did you forget that my hand-to-hand combat skills surpass even you? If one of your group uses magecraft to let me exceed my physical limits, I’ll be more than able to help.”

“You’re better than me, but that only applies to bajiquan in a controlled setting. Kirei’s father was on your level, but he never used the martial art in a fight to the death, so if he and Kirei had a life or death battle, Kirei would win. You’re the same, you don’t know how to implement bajiquan in a battle where you have to kill. You lack experience.”

“You say that as if you didn’t have your first life or death battle a few days ago. You were just as inexperienced as me before this war.”

“Rin, who are you talking to?” Sakura peeked out from behind Rin. “Caren? What are you doing here?”

“This is going to be annoying to explain over and over.” Caren said. “Can you go get father? I need to talk to him.”

“Sure, I guess.” Sakura left to go get Kirei.

“He’s going to say no.” Rin leaned against the side of the doorframe.

“I’ll convince him.” Caren just didn’t know how yet.

One awkward silence later and Kirei stepped through the doorway and was before Caren and Reines, Rin and Sakura at his sides. Rin updated both Kirei and Sakura on Caren having learned about the current state of the war and her desire to help.

“Absolutely not.” Father’s words were spoken ex cathedra. “I was actually planning to contact you to tell you I want you to get out of Fuyuki and take a plane to the opposite side of the planet. Fuyuki isn’t safe, even if Avenger doesn’t incarnate. All it would take would be one encounter with Gilles de Rais for you to be used as a sacrifice to summon a tentacled abomination.”

“Won’t I be safest if I’m with your group of gathered Masters and Servants? I’ll literally have some of the strongest beings on the planet to protect me.”

“You’ll be at the heart of the conflict and with the quantity and quality of the enemy’s forces, everyone will be too preoccupied to protect you.”

“I can protect myself as long as one of the Casters gives me a boost with magecraft.”

“It’s still too dangerous. I’m already infirm in my decision to allow Rin and Sakura to participate,” Kirei looked at the girls at his sides. “I certainly won’t let you get involved. I can’t even trust you to tell me the truth of who you're spending time with, let alone trust you to fight a host of horrors.”

“I only didn’t tell you I was meeting with Reines because I wasn’t sure she even was a magus involved in the war.” Caren wasn’t entirely lying, just obfuscating the significance of her previous suspicions.

“Then why did you refer to her with a fake name? I believed you called her Reiko.”

“Because even if you weren’t sure they were a Master, if they had a foreign name, you would have been worried they were involved in the war and you’d have told me not to see her.”

“And I would have been right to do so.”

“This is besides the point.” Caren raised an arm. “I can help and I have the right to considering my life is already on the line just like every other person on this planet.”

“You are a child who lacks the intellectual capacity to make these kinds of decisions on her own. If You go to the other side of the planet like I’m telling you to, then you could still survive, even if Avenger incarnates. The Counter Force won’t take the Grail’s effort to exterminate humanity lying down. It will send Guardians to stop the flood of curses before it can reach the other side of the Earth and kill all human life. As such, it is vital that you go to the other side of the planet and wait. That way, at least one person who knows what happened in this war can live and remember. This is non-negotiable. The conversation is over, now come inside for now while I ready a car to take you to the next town over where you can get a plane ticket.”

“No.” Caren scowled.

“This isn’t for discussion.”

“I’m helping.”

“Why are you so dogged about this?”

“I just want to make sure I don’t get killed by the Grail! Why are you making me repeat this?” Caren’s shoulders jittered.

“Because you’re making no sense. You’d have the highest likelihood of survival if you follow my orders and go to the other side of the Earth.”

“I disagree. I’ll best secure my survival by fighting.” There was a hitch when Caren said best.

“You’re lying. It’s obvious you are.” Kirei leaned closer to Caren. “You’re normally quite proficient at lying, so seeing you spit out such dismal fibs is bizarre. Why do you really want to participate in the fight?”

“I already told you why!” Caren stood stiffly.

“Caren, stop acting…childishly!” Kirei probably wasn’t used to describing Caren that way.

“I’m not!”

“Stop lying!”

“I’m not!”

“I think I know why Caren wants to help.” Sakura became the focal point of attention. “It’s because she’s worried about us. She wants to be there to help us so we’re less likely to die.”

A whimper came from Caren’s throat while Kirei and Rin made sure to check Sakura’s expression to make sure she wasn’t spouting some gobbledygook as a goof. The purple haired girl’s face was stone cold. Checking Caren’s face, Rin and Kirei found she was displaying more emotion than she ever had before. She actually looked like a fourteen-year-old girl for the first time. At least that's what Caren thought since she couldn’t see her own face. The fact that she would imagine herself in such a vulnerable way was proof of just how out of her comfort zone she was.

“Is this true, Caren?” Kirei asked.

“It…” Caren felt a hand on her throat. It was her own, constricting her windpipe to stop herself from giving away her newborn weakness. She didn’t want to admit the truth, but it would be in embracing that truth that Caren could act upon her desire. To hide her genuine self behind a veil was to blind not only those around her from her true face, but also blind herself, preventing her from attaining what she wanted. “It’s true. I don’t want you all to die.”

“Really?” Rin laughed, assuming this really was a joke, only to see that Caren was serious. “You really care about us? Why? I mean normally that would go without saying given we’re family, but you’ve always been, uh, distant.”

“I don’t think she even realized her feelings until they were put to the test.” Reines was still standing on the sidelines. “Now that you’re all in danger, she’s come to understand that she does actually value you all. It’s hard not to become attached to people you spend so much time with.”

“Huh.” Rin brushed some of her hair behind her ear. “Well, thank you for caring about us. That sounded weird and condescending, sorry. I don’t really know what to say, but I will say that I care about you too.”

“So do I.” Sakura nodded. “I get what you’re feeling right now Caren, at least part of it. The desire to help those you care about, people who seem so close yet distant. You want to help, but you also think you might get in the way. Every rejection of your offer to assist feels like a personal statement confirming that you’re just as useless as you think you are. Caren, I think you’d be a useful ally if you fought with us. I think you should be allowed to help.”

“I understand where Sakura’s coming from, but I still think it’s too dangerous to involve Caren given the scale of the battle ahead. As was said before, at least one of us should be sent away to be a survivor if things go south.” Rin said.

“Father?” Caren’s fate was in the hands of Kirei, the man who would break the tie formed by his adopted daughters.

The priest sighed and stood with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back. Would Caren’s true motivation be enough to persuade him? The fact it was affecting him at all was a good sign, though Caren wasn’t sure as to why. Why did her motivations matter so much to him?

“Caren, you genuinely care about us. Did you only just discover these emotions?” Kirei still had his eyes closed.

“Yes.”

“And you realized them due to wanting to protect us?”

“Yes.”

Father went quiet again.

“These feelings in you are something I want to nurture so they flourish. Caren, suppose you followed my orders and went to the other side of the planet. In the optimistic situation where we succeed, but we still all die in the process and so you are left alone, how do you think it would affect the development of your burgeoning empathy?”

“I’d probably feel betrayed by my new compassion and see it as a hindrance. I’d suppress my empathy until it was practically deleted so I wouldn’t be hurt by losing anyone ever again.” Caren let her heart speak.

“In that case, you may participate in the final battle.” Kirei opened his eyes. He was stoic. “The empathy you now possess is something that needs to be preserved, and it certainly can’t be allowed to regress. If helping us is necessary for you to continue down the path you’ve found yourself on, then I will allow it.”

“Really?” Rin said.

“Yes. If this helps her stay distant from the urges both she and I share, then I will allow her to join the fight.”

Caren felt at peace. She wasn’t excited by being accepted. She was calm. Relieved, but also concerned by the fight she would now need to participate in. One wrong move and everyone would die. Even if the war was won, Caren might still get killed. Why did she want to do this again? Right, her family and Reines. Stupid empathy.

“Congrats.” Reines grinned. “Now can we go inside? We’ve been standing outside with the door open this whole time. We’re gonna let flies in the house.”

Kirei nodded and led the way inside with everyone else following.

“Thank you.” Caren scooched close to Sakura and whispered that to her.

“No problem.” Sakura whispered back with a smile.

Caren was going to help save the world, and more importantly, herself, her family, and her friend. This was the dumbest decision she had ever made in her life. Oh well. Here’s hoping it wasn’t a complete disaster.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 54: Everyone’s Moment

Kirei was on his knees in his room, praying. He repeated the Our Father in his mind, mouthing the words and keeping his children in his heart. The priest was pleading with the Lord for his and his allies’ success in the final battle that was soon to begin. Multiple days had passed and tonight would be when the war would end. If the Grail wasn’t destroyed before sunrise, it would finish its preparations and be born into the world of humanity. Such destruction and suffering that could cause, it would be like staring into the core of Eden for the dark-souled priest. He couldn’t imagine anything more captivating and thus it had to be stopped. That said, to actually think Kirei and company would succeed in dismantling the Grail would be blue-skying at its finest. That was why the priest wanted Caren to be sent away, preferably with Sakura and Rin. That was the most human thing to want as a father figure, but he was also too pragmatic to rid himself of assets that could help win the fight. Perhaps that was why he was willing to accept Caren’s help as soon as he could spin the situation as being an opportunity to nurture Caren’s empathy. He needed to convince himself that he was following a moral path, regardless of what path he was actually on. That, in and of itself, was human. What did it truly mean to be human in the end? Kirei chased that platonic ideal of what it meant to be human, but he wasn’t sure what such an existence was actually like. His aspiration was inherently faulty for he could not properly define his goal’s form. He spent his life chasing after a vague concept that he could never reach. For some reason, that felt pretty human to Kirei, even as the definition of human became more diluted. He was thinking too much about the definition of humanity. A true human was a sublunar existence, so trying to be the perfect representation of an imperfect thing was foolish. Kirei had to continue as he had been, walking down his flawed path.

Caren was in the dojo, sparring with Rin. It was all martial arts, no magecraft. Caren was on the offensive with a consistent string of strikes while Rin blocked or dodged each. This was the most trouble Rin had ever given Caren. Now that she had the experience of an alternate version of herself, she had honed her hand-to-hand combat techniques to as close to perfection as she’d probably ever reach. Having an actually threatening opponent made the spar thrilling in a way it normally wasn’t for Caren. She wasn’t sure she’d call it fun, but it was stimulating in a way that wasn’t unpleasant. Caren wouldn’t mind fighting against Rin this way again since it was an entertaining way to waste time. It wasn’t lost on Caren how unusual it was for her to have a ‘not bad time’ with Rin, or anyone who wasn’t Reines or a plate of mapo tofu. How much of that ‘not badness’ was the result of Rin’s specific characteristics and how much was the result of just having a challenging opponent in general was murky. It didn’t really matter. Caren was having a decent time with her sister and whatever the greater implications of that were didn’t matter at the moment.

Rin countered Caren’s attacks while throwing in some of her own. She had never been able to put up this much of a fight against Caren before. This was the perfect opportunity for Rin to practice her new and improved martial arts before the final battle. That said, she wasn’t using her magecraft martial arts against Caren, and it was that special style that Rin had invented which had received the greatest boost from acquiring Saber’s knowledge and abilities. The unique art which Rin had worked hard on, Madō, was finally going to bear fruit in its new form, Madō Shinken(魔道神拳). On the one hand, it was cathartic to finally complete her Madō, but it was bittersweet knowing that it became completed, not by Rin’s own efforts, but through acquiring the abilities of another version of herself. She felt like she had been handed success rather than having earned it herself. That said, the true test of her Madō would be when she used it in the final battle. That would be when Rin could prove herself, finally showing what she as an individual could achieve. There was no time to be sulky about getting some help when Rin’s true trial was only a few hours away.

Sakura was sitting on the back porch of the household, admiring the sky that was beginning to transition from blue to orange. Bazett and Scáthach were training in the backyard, the queen helping the suited woman practice making runes quickly without compromising on quality. The final fight was soon to come and yet Sakura wasn’t as afraid as she thought she would be. She was definitely scared, terrified even, but she wasn’t in pieces over it like she worried she would be. Despite her fear, there was a determination inside her that made up for it. Sakura had suffered as a child in ways that were beyond the comprehension of most and that left her as a damsel in people’s eyes. She was a wounded animal that needed to be taken in and protected. That had initially been endearing, but eventually Sakura grew sick of it. People were being nice to her, but they were also looking down on her. No more. Now was the time for Sakura to prove her strength, as well as protect others for once instead of being protected. She was going to be one of the last lines of defense protecting humanity from being dissolved in curses. It was an honor for Sakura to be in such a position. No more Sakura the victim, the child, the broken. Now was the time for Sakura the hero, the protector, the strong.

Bazett’s hands had become numb from punching into Scáthach’s spear so many times. They had originally been working on runes, but they had since transitioned to close range combat. She knew she should probably take it easy given the final fight was on the horizon, but the magus had too many emotions building inside her to just sit and relax. Bazett had to release her worries through training or she’d be too wired to fight at full efficacy. This was the magus’ method of meditation through combat. The fact that she felt a certain kind of peace through combat was similar to Scáthach, though Bazett didn’t actually enjoy battles to the death like her beloved did. Her beloved Scáthach. Bazett was going to save Scáthach. This would normally be the time where Bazett would doubt herself, but she was done with self-loathing. Such feelings would hold her back and she needed to be at her strongest in order to save Scáthach. It didn’t matter if she didn’t know how she was going to save her beloved, Bazett was going to save Scáthach no matter what. It was time for Bazett to prove she was worthy of her queen’s love.

Scáthach, the living Scáthach that had only recently left the Land of Shadows, was enjoying her spar with Bazett. Watching the redhead act so earnestly in every moment was endearing. It was no wonder that another version of Scáthach fell in love with Bazett. Such a relationship was something the living Scáthach envied and always had, though it was only in recent times that she was able to admit that. The yearning she felt for such a connection is what motivated Scáthach to save her counterpart so she and Bazett could be reunited. The love between the Servant Scáthach and Bazett was a miracle of such rarity that it may have been the only one of its kind throughout all existing parallel worlds. Such a wonder needed to be preserved.

Chloe was reading a hentai manga while sitting in the mansion’s living room. One might wonder why someone would read such a thing while Sella, Liz, Archer, and Reines were all in the room, but Chloe just didn’t care. She was proud to display her choice in reading material and the fact that she wasn’t ashamed of it. Reines wasn’t judging her since she was sitting next to Chloe, looking over the young woman’s shoulder at the manga’s contents. The blonde sat in what looked like a silver bean-bag chair, but was actually a blob of mercury named Trimmau. While most everyone else was probably stressing out about the final battle, Chloe was just relaxing. She was confident they’d succeed in destroying the Grail. After that, she’d get to move on from the stupid Holy Grail War and travel the world while keeping in touch with Illya and her family. Everything would be fine. Totally fine. Positively fine. Okay, maybe Chloe was a little stressed out.

Sella was vibrating with fear for the future to the point that she looked comical. She was thinking of every way things could go wrong in the final battle, mainly Chloe and Leysritt dying to the odious mud of the Grail. Trust in everyone, that’s what Sella kept telling herself, but it was hard. She had to trust in Chloe, the Chloe who had grown so much in just over a week. Chloe had once been drenched in her own desire for revenge, but now she had achieved inner peace. If she could do that, Chloe could do anything, including survive this last battle. As for Leysritt, she was as strong as a Servant so she could take care of herself. Sella just had to trust them.

Leysritt was raiding the kitchen connected to the living room for whatever snacks she could nosh on. Leysritt wasn’t concerned with the battle to come. She would just do as she always did in a fight, protect her family while terminating any and all threats. Chloe and Sella would be kept safe.

Heracles was in Spirit Form, secretly reading the hentai. He was ready for the battle to come. In life, he continuously destroyed all that he loved, killing family members so many times it became a sick joke. He couldn’t repeat the same mistake again. Now was his time for redemption. He would use his nigh-immutable body as a shield to protect the entire world from the Grail’s billions of curses. If he couldn’t save everyone, then he’d at least save Chloe, Sella, and Leysritt. They had become the newest of Heracles’ families and this one wasn’t going to die.

Reines was looking at hentai for the first time and it was quite the enlightening experience. While there was much to be worried about at the moment, the only person Reines was really seriously concerned about was her brother. He was going to face the man he loved, now as an enemy. Brother was a man with a strong will when push came to shove, but he was still a human and was thus vulnerable. Would he be able to bring himself to kill the man he had previously worked so hard to meet again? He probably could. Would he be okay afterward? That was the real question.

Waver was sitting on his bed in his room. He was staring at his Servant, the Berserker known as Iskandar Alter. The maddened conqueror stood in place, breathing in and out like a beast would. There was no deeper reason in his eyes. Waver knew that staring at the man he knew wasn’t truly present only increased his longing. It was masochistic. Waver was pretending that he was trying to desensitize himself to Iskandar’s face so he wouldn’t hesitate in the final battle. He really just wanted to look at the man who had defined him. That giant of not only body, but of will and heart, was someone that Waver would never truly meet again. All he could find were echoes of him. A maddened warrior. A villain bent on killing most of mankind. The hero who was too big for the world was gone and wasn’t coming back. Waver knew this, he did. Now if only he acted like he did, then maybe he could be free.

Iskandar Alter wanted to conquer. He wanted to kill and pillage and defile. He wanted everything to be his. If he didn’t want everything, then he wouldn’t be Iskandar.

The Gorgon Sisters were who they were because they were three. They were a trinity, a trio, even as they flew around the poisoned river of Fuyuki to make sure Gilles wasn’t going to use it to summon a gargantuan demon. That was why they couldn’t imagine the loneliness of most beings who were fundamentally individuals. They especially didn’t understand how their fellow Caster, Medusa, could survive alone. The very idea that Stheno and Euryale wouldn’t give away their Divinity in all timelines was hard to swallow. Three sisters that were no longer a collective, but were instead unique personalities that didn’t have the constant company of each-other’s minds. Terrifying. Poor alternate Medusa.

Medusa the Caster was accompanying the Gorgon Sisters in patrolling the river. She struggled to pay attention to the waterway when she was accompanied by a trio who were everything she’d always dreamed of. Medusa wanted to be as close to her Stheno and Euryale as the Gorgon Sisters were with each other. That unyielding love that was without judgment or disguise, that infatuation with their own collective consciousness, it sounded like heaven. The closest Medusa got to achieving that kind of existence was when she became the monster known as Gorgon and devoured her sisters to become one with them. But she was barely even herself anymore at that point, only a shadow of her original intentions remaining as the force driving her mutated body. It wasn’t the same as what the Gorgon Sister had. Oh how Medusa wished she could have lived in a history like theirs.

Henriikka paced around her and Luviagelita’s bedroom while her sister sat on one of the beds. The reclusive sibling was running simulations in her head of every possible way the fight to come could play out. No matter how she imagined things, she only found futures where they failed and died. This wasn’t even accounting for all the x-factors that could throw things into chaos. It was these kinds of situations that Henriikka dreaded more than any other and were the reason she was so cautious. She hated feeling helpless. Her fear wasn’t just for her own safety, but for her sister as well. They may not have got along most of the time, but Henriikka and Luviagelita were siblings who cared about each other the way sisters should. That’s why Henriikka was so afraid. Of all the things to have to deal with, the end of the world was just too much.

Luviagelita sorted through all the gems she had. She had been buying up all the jewels she could from all over Fuyuki in preparation for the final battle. As she did, she thought about Clown, and how much she wanted to strangle Fujimura to death for killing him. She couldn’t though, because that criminal would be a useful tool in defeating the Black Grail, as would Assassin. Luviagelita would get her chance for revenge after the fighting was done, but that would only be if Fujimura survived the fight. There would be no satisfaction in that criminal getting killed by a stray spell or dagger. Ironically, if she wanted to kill Fujimura, Luviagelita would have to protect her first. How vexing.

Taiga was eating a bucket of fried chicken as she watched Assassin and Illyasviel train in the shed. The homunculus was scanning and copying a variety of Assassin’s Noble Phantasms to add them to her arsenal. This was also a way of contributing to her developing her own Reality Marble. Taiga didn’t understand how all this worked, but she did know that Illyasviel was getting stronger fast. In terms of her swordsmanship, Illyasviel had become more than proficient, especially with Assassin’s help. The homunculus had developed her own strange way of using swords that wasn’t something that could truly be called swordsmanship, but it worked. The yakuza felt light on her feet when she thought about how much her student had grown. It was this satisfaction that Taiga had desired to feel for the last decade. She had become a teacher, if only for one person. It did not cleanse her of her sins, they were still things she’d have to pay for someday, but at least Taiga could say she helped one person in a way that mattered. There was consolation to be taken in that.

Assassin projected seven spears into his arms for Illya to simultaneously trace. Not only was Illya gradually adding every weapon in Assassin’s arsenal to her own, but she was practicing tracing multiple things at the same time. She had grown with the rapidity Assassin expected of her. At this rate, she along with himself and one other person would be able to theoretically defeat Gilgamesh. Assassin could only say theoretically because Gilgamesh was such a wild card in terms of mood that it wasn’t possible to accurately predict what he would do. It would be nice if Assassin didn’t have to see another world in flames, but things weren’t looking great overall. It would be especially painful to fail this time given Assassin would end up seeing several people he once knew die. The only cushion for the blow would be if he was one of the first to get slaughtered so he wouldn’t have to watch everyone else get murdered. When did the man named Shirou Emiya become so pessimistic? After so many summonings, it was impossible to pinpoint an exact moment. Manifesting into the Assassin class didn’t help given it emphasized Emiya’s colder personality traits. Perhaps it would be better if he tried to have some faith, in Illya, in Rin, in everyone. Hopefully he wouldn’t get stung this time.

Illyasviel looked at the weapons Assassin held and declared, “Trace on.” In multiple phases, the homunculus began scanning and analyzing the structure of all the Noble Phantasms simultaneously. Not only did Illyasviel’s Magic Circuits heat up, but her brain also felt like it was on fire as wireframes of the weapons appeared in her mind, the arrays filling in with detail until the homunculus knew every property the objects possessed and even their histories. All that information was jammed into the woman’s skull without delicacy. It wasn’t pleasant by any means, but Illyasviel’s indefatigable will had allowed her to acclimatize to the tracing process. With all the weapons that were now in Illyasviel’s arsenal, along with the Reality Marble she had just about completed, the homunculus might actually be able to go toe-to-toe with Servants. Whether or not she’d be able to beat Gilgamesh, even with help, was unlikely. Then again, only a few entities could perfectly prognosticate the future, so there was no use acting like she knew how poor her chances of victory really were. Worrying about her chances would only get herself worked up. She needed to stay confident, but cautious. Illyasviel was going to save her mama, and her mom, and her siblings. Don’t question how, she just had to do it. As long as her animus was clear, things would be fine. Illyasviel was strong now. She wasn’t weak like before, she had learned how to wield the kind of true strength that only those born weak could access. That’s right, Illyasviel was strong. She was, nobody could tell her otherwise. Nobody except herself. For so long she had been wracked with anger towards herself for every single thing that had gone wrong throughout the Holy Grail War and even before it. Chloe’s suffering, Mordred’s death, Gray losing herself, mama getting possessed, mom being wracked with guilt. All of it ate at Illyasviel and made her parched for the strength she needed to protect what little still remained in her hands. At first she assumed the strength she wanted was the power to win in battle, and that was why she created the Origin Sword. While her assumption wasn’t altogether wrong, her perspective was simply that she needed the power to break and destroy. That pretense was debunked when it became clear just how large a gap Illyasviel would need to climb to truly have destructive power that could rival Gilgamesh or the Lion King. It was insurmountable, and so Illyasviel had to look elsewhere. That was where Taiga and Assassin came in. They made Illyasviel realize that she needed a different strength that was eclectic. She needed variety and great numbers, something learning Gradation Air gave her. The homunculus’ entire fighting style was born from various sources coming together. Alchemy, projection, daddy’s Origin, Avalon, swordsmanship, Illyasviel’s Sword Origin and Element, her Thaumaturgical Attribute of the flow and transfer of power, her functioning as a wish-granter, her time magecraft. Different powers from different sources coming together to form a technique that Illyasviel could never have achieved alone. That was true strength, the ability to learn and gather together the abilities of many for a common cause. This wasn’t just Illyasviel’s fight, it was everyone’s fight. It was because this was everyone’s fight that it was so vital that Illyasviel won, because it would be everyone on Earth that paid the price of failure.

Mordred Alter wondered who he was. He was in the shower, letting the feeling of the water against his skin act as grounding for him as he explored his identity. This was one of the only times he had left the Lion King’s side since the Pretender knight had been summoned. Mordred needed to have a tête-à-tête with himself. Since being summoned by the Black Grail, the knight had felt distinctly separate from the previous Mordred. The old Mordred was just a fool that served as the catalyst for Mordred Alter’s materialization. That opinion changed as Mordred came to meet the family of the old Mordred. That familial connection had reestablished itself in Mordred Alter and with it came emotions that were hard to process. Memories and beliefs that were once meaningless remnants of a deadman now held weight. It wasn’t a question of if the old Mordred was still alive inside Mordred Alter, it was a question of if Mordred Alter was the same being as the old Mordred. If so, then what should Mordred Alter do? Did that information change anything? Should Mordred return to his family? Why? They’d be better off without him if history was any indicator. Then again, Artoria really did seem to forgive Mordred, just like how the Lion King forgave Mordred Alter. Artoria’s family accepted Mordred as one of them and they appeared to genuinely care about him and appreciate his presence. Perhaps he wasn’t such a problem after all. He even managed to protect Irisviel and Gray from Assassin. Did that counterbalance the sins of his first life? No, nothing could. Mordred was getting distracted with questions of identity when nothing changed what he was, a sinner who needed to be punished.

The Lion King was on her knees in her room, meditating. She was searching within her very Divine Core for Gray. For the last few days, while everyone has been training, the goddess has been finding and retrieving whatever pieces of Gray’s being she could find within her essence to put them back together. She had been mildly successful. Little strands of the tapestry that was Gray were retrieved and woven together. The full picture was still incomplete, but there was at least something there that could be used as a basis for Gray’s return. Perhaps that was wishful thinking, but such idealism was powerful at times. It was that optimism and refusal to accept dark realities that defeated the Lion King’s in another timeline that was under threat. While the monarch culled thousands and was preparing to sacrifice humanity’s autonomy for the sake of their preservation, a lone Master and the allies they had gathered together managed to not only stop her, but save the timeline from destruction at the hands of a Beast. Where the Lion King acted alone and in fear, that one Master acted courageously as just one among many. They were a true hero and an example of what the Lion King needed to be. She needed to face the impossible odds before her and her allies while staying hopeful that, by working together, they could overcome. After that, they would save Gray.

Artoria Pendragon, King Arthur, the King of Knights, the Once and Future King, was standing atop the mansion’s roof. She was staring at Mount Enzo as if she could see through the earth and trees to lock eyes with her love, Irisviel. Artoria was going to save Iri. She already had a plan, though it wasn’t going to be easy. No matter how difficult, Artoria was going to save Iri, and Gray, and Mordred, and Illya. Everyone was going to make it out of this okay, that was non-negotiable. Artoria was done pitying herself over her past mistakes and her inadequacies. It was unproductive and only served to hurt her. She needed to think about the future and what she needed to do to make it a good one. As the head of her family, it was her duty to remain strong and act as a good leader should. A true king must be powerful, charismatic, brave, and they need to always think about the wellbeing of others. The mistake that Artoria made in her old life that made her less than a true king was that she thought she needed to do everything alone, apart from everyone else. She thought she needed to be an icon like some kind of messiah. In truth, she just needed to be herself and rely on those willing to stand at her sides. As King Arthur, the distant king, she was weak and always would be, but as Artoria Pendragon, the woman who stood with her family and her allies, she was unstoppable.

The Black Grail, or was it Irisviel? She couldn’t remember. What was she doing? Destroying the world, right. Why? Because humans were irredeemable. What about her family? They were just as bad. Right? She couldn’t remember anymore. She stood in the chamber where the Greater Grail was held, the Beast within on the verge of being born. When that happened, Irisviel would be its vessel. What would happen to her then? She’d become nothing. Was she okay with that? Yes, she was. Right? Maybe. Who was she again? It was getting so hard to remember. How did she move her limbs? She hadn’t done so herself in a while. Her body was just acting on its own. Could she ever control her body? That felt like a dumb question, but why? Everything was strange. Nothing made sense anymore. Did anything ever make sense, or was it all just nonsense and only now was the Black Grail questioning things? So hard to remember. Only one thought remained consistent in the homunculus’ head. One phrase.

“Save me.”

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 55: Arthur or Artoria

Artoria was alone as she made her way up the forested mountain of Enzo. The Sun had set and it was time for the moment that would decide humanity’s fate. Everyone had separated into small groups who were approaching the entrance to the Greater Grail’s domain from different directions. They didn’t want to be all bunched together since they could all get sniped by a single Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that way. Lord El-Melloi II asked if Assassin could supply enough of his invisibility robes for everyone to use, but he said that it was impossible because it would use up too much of his magical energy and he wanted to conserve all of it for the fight to come. As for why Artoria was traveling alone, it was because everyone was separated into groups based on their individual missions.

Artoria’s mission was one she had to complete on her own, and that was to overcome Dolorous Guard. As long as that castle was surrounding the true cave where the Greater Grail was, nobody could get to the corrupted wish granter without having to defeat the fortress’ challenges. While it would likely only take besting Dolorous Guard’s test once to get rid of it, only one person could face the multiple waves of enemies at a time. If they weren’t careful, the alliance to destroy the Grail would lose multiple people to the castle and anyone who did best it was sure to be exhausted. Artoria volunteered to take on the castle due to the foes in the castle likely using styles of combat from her era, styles she had learned the weaknesses of. Also, she was no longer afflicted with the cursed wounds of Lancer’s spears and she had gotten a boost to her stats thanks to Illya becoming her Master. The King of Knights was the strongest she had ever been in her second life, to the point that she was confident that even Heracles couldn’t defeat her.

Of course, Artoria’s true motive was more selfish. She just wanted to have the chance to talk with the Servant with Guinevere’s face and Lancelot’s capabilities. While their true nature was currently obscure, they were a specter of Artoria’s past that she had to deal with. It was both her responsibility as King Arthur to deal with this strange Alter, and it would be the last step Artoria needed to take to finally put the past to rest. Not only that, but the path would be clear for everyone else to get into the cave while still at full power. Artoria’s victory was the linchpin in this entire operation. This responsibility, along with the idea of meeting someone who looked like Guinevere, should have made Artoria stressed, but instead she felt at peace. The intensity of the situation caused the king’s mind to enter a mode of deep focus to maximize her effectiveness. She was ready.

With armor on and invisible sword in hand, Artoria arrived at the gate of Dolorous Guard. She opened it and stepped in to find herself within the bounds of a familiar castle. In front of Artoria was a great open space of Grey brick lit by unnaturally bright torches, the area large enough to fit a city block within it. At the far end was a tall wall, and Artoria looked back to see that there was an identical wall behind her. The gate had disappeared and, looking up, there was nothing by uncarved stone, likely that of the mountain which this structure was forced within. The addition of a ceiling had turned the normally open court into a cube shaped room. The only light was from the torches that lined the walls, leaving the room dark, but not so much so that sight was lost.

Bronze colored liquid began seeping out of the ground from between the bricks and rising upward. Artoria got ready to move at a moment’s notice as the fluid formed into humanoid shapes that surrounded the King of Knights. More details appeared. Pauldrons, helmets, chest plates, and more. In a circle around Artoria were ten knights in bulky bronze armor, their entire bodies encased, though there might not have actually been anything inside those metallic shells. Each held different weapons, from a sword and shield, to a spear, to a mace. Each was ten feet tall. These warriors were the first wave that Artoria had to defeat.

“I assume you’ll all attack me at once. Could you truly call yourselves knights if you fight in a way that so deeply lacks chivalry?”

The knights all ran at Artoria who jumped above, doing a flip in the air that positioned her so she was upside-down. With a horizontal slash, she aimed to lop off the heads of all ten warriors simultaneously, but the first one her blade approached raised their spear and blocked. Artoria’s weapon was stopped in its tracks and she was stuck in the air as the other nine knights launched their own attacks. A Mana Burst allowed Artoria to push herself off the spear and away from the incoming blades and arrows. She touched the ground, but nine of the ten knights were already in her face before she could do anything. The only one who stayed back was an archer who sent a volley of arrows in their place. Thanks to Artoria’s prescience when it came to predicting enemy attacks, the king was able to block and dodge the various weapons of her enemies despite them outnumbering her. That wasn’t to say that some slices and stabs didn’t get past her guard and graze her more than a few times. It was no wonder Lancelot needed a boost from enchanted shields to overcome this challenge, each of these knights could earn a seat on the Round Table for their strength and skill.

The bronze men had surrounded Artoria again in a single moment and this time they aimed their attacks vertically downward so the King of Knights couldn’t dodge upward like last time. They were smart and able to coordinate. Since up wasn’t an option, down was next. Artoria slammed the ground with the flat side of her translucent blade, causing the floor to break apart and the entire room to shake like there was a magnitude 10 earthquake. Stone became like waves of water and five of the knights were off balance while the other half, including the distant archer, jumped right at the moment of impact to avoid the chaos on the ground. It was time for the counterattack. Artoria avoided more arrows as she ran across the tops of the waves of earth, right up to one stumbling knight. A single slash was all that was necessary to split the man from helm to groin. The figure returned to liquid. One down.

The other knights were imitating Artoria’s feat of predicting the positions of the waves and running across them. As they closed in, Artoria ran at them and, as soon as one swung their flail at her, she grabbed it with her thick glove. With a pull the knight was dragged closer to the king of knights for an impalement, but before the tip could pierce the bronze man, arrows shot at Artoria which forced her to sidestep and miss her stab. It was then that the knight that Artoria just pulled in latched his arms around Artoria. Her arms were pinned in the bear hug as yet more arrows and several other weapons approached the King of Knights’ vitals. There was no way to escape, at least not with the elegance of a proper knight. While Artoria would always prize her honor in the past, there were more important things to worry about and so she decided to fight a little more like Mordred would. Artoria’s head jerked back before smashing it right into the armored face of the knight hugging her. The king couldn’t remember the last time she performed a headbutt, but it worked well as the center of the helmet’s face caved in. The knight was alive, but their hold loosened enough for Artoria to not only free herself, but grab the bronze man’s arms to use them to shield herself from the incoming attacks. Blades and arrows destroyed the bronze knight’s arms while Artoria used a Mana Burst to enhance a jump that sent her to the ceiling.

Looking down at her nine opponents, she singled out the archer who was already firing more arrows at her. Time for another Mordred move. Artoria did something that felt sacrilegious. She threw her sword. The invisible weapon became like a buzzsaw as it sliced through the arrows and headed right for the archer who dodged out of the way. Unfortunately for the bowman, Artoria had kicked off the ceiling to shoot herself right for them, her fist colliding with their helmet. The bronze figure’s head was slammed into the ground by the punch, the helm and its contents crumpling. Two down.

The remaining knights charged at Artoria as the ground finally settled into an uneven mess. She grabbed her sword and ran away towards a corner of the room, dodging a spear that was thrown at her as she did. Artoria got right in the corner and turned to face the incoming enemies. The biggest danger that came with fighting a group when alone was getting surrounded. That meant there were always attacks coming from blindspots or areas that couldn’t be as quickly protected such as the back, as well as there being multiple attacks from different directions that can’t be guarded simultaneously. By moving to a corner, that limited the directions attacks could come from and Artoria could watch what all her enemies were doing at once.

Of course, it wasn't that simple when super strength was involved. The walls at Artoria’s sides would normally limit the range of movement of the enemy knights, hindering their ability to swing their weapons, but their power allowed them to just swing their blades and poles right through the solid stone as if it were just air. That meant that cornering herself lost a benefit it normally would, but at least the areas the enemies could stand and attack from were still restricted. Artoria’s focus increased as she blocked and deflected as many of the enemy’s thrusts and swings as she could. Some still got through, a morning star driving into her side and breaking her ribs, along with various stab wounds and cuts peppering her skin and muscle. Artoria wasn’t just defending as she was slipping in her own attacks that were far more effective now that her foes were bunched tightly together. A stab through the head took out one, and a slice that severed a head took out another. Four down. The knight whose arms were destroyed was fighting with kicks now, but it wasn’t enough to let him keep up and he was pierced through the heart. Five down.

Artoria was currently dueling four of the knights at once, the fifth burrowing into a wall to get behind Artoria and attack from there. Part of the plan involved the knight taking advantage of being in the walls to obfuscate their exact position, but Artoria’s Instinct created a hole in that tactic. One backwards thrust into the corner behind her and Artoria had stabbed both stone and the body of the knight. As for what she hit, it wasn’t anything immediately vital because the knight in the wall kept moving. Their sword stabbed out of the wall and towards Artoria right as a spear was coming for her as well. With a precise spin, Artoria avoided both weapons and grabbed each as they continued moving forward and she was rotating, pulling them towards new targets. The spear went through the rock and right into the warrior in the wall while the sword went right into the neck of the spearman. Both knights stopped moving. Seven down.

Artoria grabbed the spearman right as the remaining three knights went in for a three-pronged attack, using the body as a shield to take the blows before it could liquify. As the human wall crumbled under the three-fold blows, Artoria juked around them and sliced another knight in half at the waist. As the bisected knight began to drop, it tried to get a hit in with its mace, but the knight in silver knocked the bludgeon away before slicing the bronze warrior’s head off. Eight down.

With only two left, Artoria no longer needed to rely on more complex and nonstandard strategies, just her own mastery of swordsmanship. The remaining knights tried to swamp her with attacks again, but Artoria was able to keep up rather easily now, especially when she used a Mana Burst to give her the strength boost she needed to cut clean through both the knights and their weapons in a single slash. Ten down.

Artoria checked to make sure all the knights were nothing but puddles now and that no more would come for her until she moved to the next wall. Upon confirming that, the king collapsed onto a knee, sword stabbed into the ground to prop herself up. It was a taxing battle, though that was partly due to the fact that Artoria was restricting herself from relying on Mana Burst or using her strongest assets like Strike Air and Excalibur since she wanted to conserve energy for the final duel. She savored the moment’s respite despite knowing it wouldn’t last long. Magical energy sewed the king’s wounds closed as she contemplated everything she did right and wrong in that last fight in preparation for the next. Artoria also thought about her allies and how they were doing. There was always the chance the Grail laid a trap for them, it was honestly pretty likely, but Artoria trusted her family would be able to handle themselves while they waited for Dolorous Guard to be conquered.

Ending her reprieve, Artoria stood up and faced a gateway that appeared from nowhere. She dashed at it and gave it a kick that knocked the doors off their hinges and turned them to shrapnel that tore up the next room that was identical to the first. The floor from which the bronze ooze was meant to seep up from was broken apart. The liquid that was meant to form soldiers splashed into the air, quickly taking humanoid form. Artoria’s surprise attack had taken the knights off guard and left them playing catch up. The King of Knights lopped the heads off two of the bronze figures right when they finished taking shape. She attempted to do the same with a third, but the bronze knight stopped the invisible sword with their kite shield. That was no problem as Artoria used Mana Burst as she kept pushing into the shield with her blade, tearing through it and the warrior behind it. In the last room, Artoria took down the last two knights by cutting through their weapons with a Mana Burst attack. That told the King of Knights that, despite these bronze knights having Servant level parameters, their armaments weren’t Noble Phantasms, nor were they on the level of them. With just a little extra force, Artoria could deal handly dismantle the arsenal of her foes. That along with Artoria having learned the attack patterns of the enemy warriors, as well as the fact that they will imitate and adapt to their foes in effective but obvious ways, meant this round wouldn’t take long.

The remaining seven knights tried to swarm Artoria, but she destroyed most of their weapons in one swing, though a jousting lance did pierce thigh. The king bisected the weapon in her leg before it got too deep. A barrage of fists came Artoria’s way and a few hit their mark, but Artoria responded with a wide slash that split the seven warriors in half at the chest. A few more swings and the bronze men were in pieces.

That was quick, but not painless. Artoria stayed on her feet this time as she took a breather to let her body regenerate. Next up was the true battle. The King of Knights let her heart be strong, but not closed off. This wasn’t just a fight, it was the time to get closure.

Artoria reached the last gate, considering if she should kick it so she could use the same strategy she used for the second wave, but she decided against it. She needed a chance to talk first. The king pushed open the doors and walked into the final room. It was a throne room that was dimly lit like the others, if not even darker. Tattered blue banners hung on the walls and a carpet led from the doorway to the thrones at the room’s center where a figure sat stiffly in dark armor of familiar design. The one wearing the armor had a face that was even more familiar. Those emerald eyes, that brown hair, those glasses. It really was Guinevere, or at least someone with her appearance. There was a feeling of constriction around Artoria’s insides, the same feeling the king felt when she realized the identity of Berserker in the Fourth War. It wasn’t as intense this time. It didn’t leave Artoria shaken to the point of near incapacitation. This time, Artoria was ready to face this.

“Apologies for keeping you waiting.” Artoria dropped her combat stance. “I want to greet you properly, but I don’t know who you truly are. If I may be so bold and a touch rude, could you tell me who you are?”

“Still so formal.” said the Servant on the throne. “I’ll do you the courtesy. I am Guinevere, but I am also Lancelot. You could say that Lancelot is my core, and Guinevere is my shell.”

“You are an Altered version of Lancelot in that case.”

“Yes. I am technically Lancelot Alter, but I’m also more than that. I possess the Noble Phantasm, For Guinevere’s Glory. It represents the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere, especially the aspect of Lancelot acting as Guinevere’s secret champion. That willingness of Lancelot’s to sacrifice so much for Guinevere’s sake combined with his ability to disguise his true identity to become the ability to take on the appearance and memories of Guinevere.”

“That sounds similar to Mordred Alter’s armor that lets him impersonate me, but superior.”

“I do not just imitate Guinevere, I am the unification of Lancelot and Guinevere. I am the strongest feelings they share, and those feelings are all about you, King Arthur.” The Alter stood and summoned a blackened Arondight to their hand. “I am their hatred for you for all the pain you caused them.”

“For not punishing them or taking action until it was too late?” Artoria was exhausted with herself.

“You put Guionvere to death, but not because of your own desire to punish her, but for the sake of appeasing those in your kingdom who would not accept their king being cuckolded without appropriate retribution. Your inability to truly commit drove Lancelot to madness with guilt, most of your knights to die in combat with each other, and Guinevere to be marked as a whore who caused Camelot’s downfall.” Arondight was pointed at Artoria. “All this could have been avoided if you just let yourself be human. That was why Lancelot and Guinevere had their affair, to goad you into taking off the armor around your heart.”

“I was fully aware of their goal, I just couldn’t bring myself to be vulnerable.” Artoria maintained eye contact with Guinevere-Lancelot. It hurt to hear about her failures again, but she couldn’t run from them nor wallow in them. “The ultimate fault for everything that happened back then falls on my shoulders. I apologize with all my heart. Is there anything I could do to make amends?”

“Suffer and die like we did.” The knight in black’s voice made the air gain a chill.

“I can’t do that. I have people I must protect and I can’t do that if I die here. They are more important to me than either of you are, if I am being honest.” Artoria got back in her fighting stance.

“So now you choose to be selfish?”

“I don’t know how selfish I’m truly being when I’m choosing to fight to protect others rather than dying to appease you. This is different from back in Camelot however. Unlike then, I am acting with my heart open and on display, doing as I wish.”

“Of course you change only now, when it serves to sustain your current happy life.” Guinevere-Lancelot’s spite was obvious. “Little good that does us. We weren’t so lucky as to get a second chance and yet you still get to frolic along with your new wife and children despite our suffering having been the result of your actions. Do you feel no shame?”

“I do. I understand how you feel and I won’t tell you you’re wrong, but I’m doing what I couldn’t before. I’m being selfish. I’m selfishly choosing my family over you two and your desires. If that means you can’t rest in peace, then that’s unfortunate for you. It won’t sway my heart.” Artoria held her sword with both hands, her muscles like compressed springs ready to expand and fire her towards her enemy.

“I won’t allow you to enjoy your new happiness after you ruined us. We won’t allow you.” Guinevere-Lancelot gripped their blade with both hands as well.

“Despite choosing my new family over both of you, I will still do something for you. I will kill you and thus free you from the hatred that has putrefied this manifestation of your being.”

“Do not be arrogant. Remember that Lancelot was said to be a superior combatant to even you, King Arthur.”

“Yes, and it’s about time I put that misconception to rest.” Artoria smiled.

The distance between the knights became zero and their weapons smashed into each other. The knights’ swords entered a dynamic bind, the two warriors constantly repositioning their blades as they pressed into each other to try and cut their opponent. Nostalgia hit Artoria as she recognized the unique habits of Lancelot’s swordplay. As the dark knight was able to consistently put pressure on Artoria, even as they continually repositioned their swords and feet, the former king pushed her hilt forward. Her sword became a slope that Arondight slid down, carried by the force of the dark knight’s own pushing. The blackened blade slipped off the invisible weapon, leaving Guinevere-Lancelot’s torso unguarded and right next to Artoria. The silver knight slashed at the Alter Servant, but the translucent blade was stopped when Guinevere-Lancelot raised a knee and brought down their elbow to catch the sword between them. Such a maneuver would have been impossible for almost anyone unfamiliar with the invisible Excalibur’s dimensions, but Lancelot knew that Holy Sword well. Arondight was thrust at Artoria who dodged out of the way, her stepping to the side causing her captured sword to pivot. The area of the blade that was pinched between the dark knight’s knee and elbow acted as an axis for the weapon to rotate. The tip of the blade swung towards the dark knight’s side, forcing them to release the sword and jump back to avoid getting sliced open.

The duel shifted to a more traditional sword fight. Each fighter swung their swords at each other, the combatants dodging and deflecting each other’s attacks as they both stayed on the move. They zipped around the room, leaving gashes in the floor and walls. The space became a contained hurricane that eroded away the surfaces, turning clearly defined bricks into amorphous masses of gray that blended together. Things intensified further when Guinevere-Lancelot charged his sword with blue energy and Artoria started using Mana Burst. Sounds like thunder rocked the fortress as the knights left craters in the wake of the slashes. The way everything quaked made it seem like the very World itself was writhing in pain as it tried to contain this battle. The surroundings became a haze of flying debris that had pulverized, a gray sandstorm with Artoria and Guinevere-Lancelot as its ever moving epicenter. Sprinklings of blood mixed into the chaos as the warriors began taking hits. Sharp edges broke through armor woven from magical energy and left long cuts on the fighters’ bodies. Each wound was deeper than the last as both knights became more ferocious. Artoria was definitely in worse shape due to taking hits from a sword with the property of dragon-slaying, as well as having already fought twenty other knights before this.

“What’s wrong, King Arthur?” The dark knight shouted over the sound of raging wind. “Is this the extent of your resolve?”

“No!”

Artoria released the Invisible Air, the wind expanding out into a second hurricane before wrapping around the silver knight as a transparent aura. Excalibur was revealed in all its glory, the light of its blade shining through the storm as if it were the only light left in the entire universe. That sliver of radiance met with the dark sword that shone blue, an explosion of energy being released that blew both knights away from each other. They dashed at each other again, both of them planting their feet firmly this time as their blades danced together and lit up the room with gold and blue. No more dodging. Power met power, technique met technique. This was the test to see who was truly superior when it came to the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

“So you think you can overcome this hatred? This isn’t just the fury of Lancelot and Guinevere, but also that of the Grail and all the evils it embodies! Over a billion curses together is where my power comes from, how could you ever defeat that, especially when you hold no hatred in your own heart?” The dark knight’s strength only continued to increase with every strike. Their wrath only served to empower them while Artoria could only get weaker as the fight dragged on.

“It isn’t your hatred you feel, it is the poison of the Grail that makes you this way!” Artoria didn’t step back, meeting the dark knight’s vitriol head on. “I am going to free you!”

“With what? You have nothing inside you to give life to your sword!”

“Yes, I do! It is something that easily outclasses your billions of curses!”

“And what’s that?”

“Love!”

“Are you jesting?” The dark knight swung so hard that Artoria nearly fell backward, but she tensed her abs and pulled herself forward to swing back, returning to the fight. “You have no love in your heart! Even if you did, such childish sentiments are nothing compared to the hatred you face!”

“You call me childish and then prattle on about hatred! Your nihilistic anger serves only to fuel the tantrum of the Greater Grail, for what else is killing all of humanity for the sins of the few but a tantrum? What will your hate achieve? Only pain from which more hatred will be bred!” Artoria’s silver armor returned to the magical energy from which it was made, leaving her with just her sapphire dress, that power being repurposed to amplifying the king’s attack power. The armor no longer did her any good as defense, so it was better to use that energy to help boost her offense along with Mana Burst.

“Is love any better? It is you scorning Mordred’s love that led him to betray you! You have no right to speak of love!” Guinevere-Lancelot was getting faster.

“That’s true, but I don’t care! I already told you, I made mistakes in the past and I’m choosing not to make them again! You are stuck in the past!”

“Because you left us in the past!”

After one last clash of blades, both weapons and the arms that held them were knocked back. The knights met their gazes. They both knew what the other was going to do. Both knights held their swords in front of themselves, the weapons charging their ultimate attacks. Magical energy was forced into Arondight beyond its normal limit, overloading it without damaging it due to the blade’s famed invincibility. The edge shined with the blue of the Unbreakable Lake Light that would be a certain kill if it hit Artoria dead on. The King of Knights’ blade became a pillar of light as photons gathered around Excalibur. The sword was held above, ready to be swung down and be released as a laser that would leave nothing behind of the Atler Servant. Who would release their attack first? That was the question neither knight wasted time pondering as it would only serve to delay them. The space became a sea of gold and blue light that seeked to devour each other.

“Arondight-”

“Ex-”

Both knights took a step forward and swung their arms down. Everything became slow, so slow it was as if time had frozen in its tracks. Every millimeter the swords moved felt like it took hours. Artoria couldn’t feel herself breathing, nor feel the flow of her blood. It was as if her entire body had frozen besides her arms, all so she could put every bit of her energy into swinging Excalibur. The dark knight’s swing was faster, but Arondight had to reach Artoria’s body in order to kill her. Excalibur didn’t have to reach as far in order for it to unleash its light and atomize Guinevere-Lancelot. It appeared that Artoria would complete her attack first, but both she and the dark knight knew that wasn’t the case. They had both foreseen what was to come. It wasn’t through the use of any skills or anything of that nature. It was their experience and understanding of what each other would do that allowed them to see how this exchange would play out. Arondight wasn’t aiming to hit Artoria dead on. It was going for something much closer. The edge of the black sword cut into Artoria’s right arm. Excalibur needed both hands to work. Artoria could feel the sword slice clean through her flesh and bone, its anti-dragon effect causing the king pain that coursed through her whole body and down to her Core.

“Overload!”

Before the two pieces that Artoria’s arm had become could separate, the wound released Arondight’s stored up power in an expansion of light. The limb was destroyed in an instant while Excalibur’s golden energy lost cohesion and petered out. The rays of magical energy Arondight Overload created didn’t stop at Artoria’s arm. The entire right side of the king’s body was burned and mangled, her right eyelid completely disappearing while her right eye was reduced to a sightless orb. The eruption of light blew Artoria away, her limp body skipping across the ground as the dust settled in the open area the two knights had carved out of Dolorous Guards’ insides.

The pain Artoria felt was surprisingly minimal, probably due to her body being in too much shock to process it. She wasn’t lethally wounded, but she was drained of her stamina. The glimmer of Excalibur dimmed as Artoria held it in her remaining hand. With that, there were no more light sources left in the area to keep it from being blanketed in pitch blackness.

“You knew this was how it would end as soon as you stepped into my domain.” Guinevere-Lancelot’s voice came from the darkness. “You claim you didn’t plan on dying for us, but this looks like nothing other than suicide to me. Why did you choose to face me?”

“Part of it was that I felt obligated to. You are a Servant that only exists due to my failures.” Artoria’s voice was weak in a way that was unlike her.

“So even now you’re a slave to your duties.”

“But that wasn’t the main reason.”

“Really? Then what was your primary motivation?”

“I just wanted to.”

“What?”

“I wanted to confront my past so I could move on. I did this for me, first and foremost.”

“You can’t fool me. If you had the choice, you’d run away so you never had to confront your failings.”

“Believe what you want.” Artoria stopped caring about being tactful. The dark knight growled.

“It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you die.” The sound of metal boots trampling across the ground echoed throughout the chamber.

Those footsteps stopped when Artoria started to move. Her arm shifted and was used to prop up the king’s upper body. She got on her knees and stabbed Excalibur into the ground. Artoria pushed herself onto her feet before yanking her sword out of the dirt.

“Your stubbornness knows no bounds.”

“I’m just selfishly choosing to live.” Excalibur lit up again, the light scaring away the nearby darkness. “I still have to go see my wife.”

“You could at least die with dignity rather than struggling like an injured animal.” Blue light appeared in the distance, the magical energy surrounding Arondight shining on Guinevere’s face. The metal footsteps returned as the dark knight drew closer.

Artoria grunted and groaned as she struggled to hold up Excalibur with her one tired arm. Her body hunched forward.

“If only your family were here to see the sorry state your in, King Arth-”

“Just shut your mouth.” Artoria straightened her back and spun Excalibur so she was holding it in a reverse grip. The light of the Holy Sword intensified.

“What are you doing?”

“Evolving.” Artoria pulled her arm back, almost falling backward from her sword’s weight.

“Are you-”

The former king whipped her body forward and pitched her sword like it was a javelin. Excalibur moved in a straight line towards Guinevere-Lancelot, the weapon’s light making it look like a divine arrow that left particles of light in its wake. The dark knight was dumbfounded upon seeing such a maneuver. It was completely unlike King Arthur, the refined monarch who would never resort to such an unseemly improvised strategy. That was because the dark knight only knew King Arthur, but he was not fighting King Arthur. That old ruler was long dead. The woman standing before the vengeful warrior was Artoria Pendragon, the wife of Irisviel von Einzbern and mother of Illyasviel von Einzbern, Gray Pendragon, and Mordred Pendragon. Artoria had cast aside her pride and was willing to do whatever it took to destroy the Holy Grail and save her family.

“Nothing but desperation!” After being stunned from the surprise, the dark knight pulled back their sword in preparation to knock Excalibur away as soon as it got close. It would be easy given the current speed of the projectile.

But Artoria wasn’t done. There was something Guinevere-Lancelot had forgotten.

“Strike Air!” The wind that had been swirling around Artoria this whole time focused in her palm as a condensed sphere. Thrusting her arm forward, the compressed air burst forth as a vortex that struck the hilt of Excalibur, propelling the sword forward and causing it to rotate so fast it resembled a golden drill.

The dark knight didn’t even have time to widen their eyes before the accelerated holy sword ripped through their sternum and left a hole in their chest. Guinevere-Lancelot dropped backwards and hit the dirt, Excalibur stabbing into a distant wall.

Artoria stood hunched in place, struggling to breathe. She couldn’t fight anymore. If it turned out that the dark knight wasn’t defeated, then Artoria was helpless. Guinevere-Lancelot wasn’t moving as they had their back to their ground, limbs stretched out. The former king waited for some sign that the dark knight was unable to continue or was about to get back up. It was difficult given the area had returned to darkness so all Artoria could see was the dark knight’s shape. The fingers of one of Guinevere-Lancelot’s hands twitched. They began to curve towards the shape of a fist, but they couldn’t fully tighten. The limp hand shifted to trying to push against the ground, the dark knight's shoulders trying to raise upward to no avail. There was no strength to be found in the Alter Servant’s body after having his Spirit Core run through by Excalibur.

“We curse your name, King Arthur.” The fallen warrior’s spiteful words made it clear that he was no tangible threat anymore and so Artoria fell to her hand and knees, drinking in as much air as she could, to the point that she began having a coughing fit. “You really aren’t the dignified king we once knew.”

“I already told you that.” Artoria said before coughing again. “I am Artoria. I’m not the same person you want revenge on, she’s gone. You have to stop living in the past.”

“But it is the past which defines us.”

“Yes, but we still have the present and future to live. More events are always being added to our pasts, expanding who we are. You’re not letting your past define you, you’re letting a single incident define you.” Artoria’s breathing steadied. “I’m sorry for all the pain I caused Lancelot and Guinevere and Mordred and everyone else in Camelot. When I was first summoned, my goal was to wish upon the Grail for me to have never been king so my mistakes would never have been made. I was forced to abandon that dream because of the Grail’s corruption and that left me time to think about whether changing the past would be right. I came to the conclusion that no one had the right to alter history. Doing so would lead to a chain effect that would completely rewrite the future and thus erase all the people that lived in that future. It would be genocide. That’s what you're doing. You’re assisting an attempted genocide for the sake of getting vengeance upon me. It isn’t your fault, for you have been poisoned by the Grail, but you’re still wrong.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with you, it’s not possible for me to. I am a Servant that exists to oppose you. I am Lancelot’s spite made dominant and alive.” The dark knight’s body was starting to dissolve into magical energy. The golden specks the warrior was becoming lit up their face, revealing a melancholic smile.

“I thought you were the hatred of both Guinevere and Lancelot?”

“Not truly, for Guinevere could never actually hate you. She was too kind. It was she herself she blamed to the end. That’s why I am enraged on her behalf. If she cannot express hate, then I as her knight will do so for her.” The head of Guinevere turned to a dark mist and dispersed, revealing Lancelot underneath. “Do not hold a grudge against Guinevere.”

“I never did, nor do I hold one against you.”

“And that is what I can’t stand. Why can’t you just hate me? I want to be punished, it was that need for retribution against me that drove me to madness. Why do you restrain yourself, because you must stay impartial as king?” Lancelot raised his head as best he could so he could look at Artoria as his body had almost completely disappeared into particles of magical energy.

“No. I just don’t hate you. I understand why you did what you did. In the end, I just don’t want to hate you, so I don’t.” It was as simple as that.

“I see.” Lancelot’s head fell back and he laughed. “How selfish of you.”

Lancelot Alter’s body returned to the magical energy from which it was made, as did Dolorous Guard. As the castle turned into an ocean of mana around Artoria, the former king felt bittersweet. It was sad to have to kill someone she was so close to in her past life, but she was happy that she and her allies were one step closer to destroying the Grail and saving Iri. Artoria had put her past to rest, so now it was time to deal with her present.

The castle was gone and Artoria was left in the depths of the mountain’s cave system which reeked of curses. She wasn’t alone as standing before her was a man in golden armor who held two things. In one hand was Excalibur which the golden man had stolen as the castle vanished. In the other hand was a goblet full of mud.

“Hello, Saber.”

---

True Name: Lancelot Alter, “Guinevere Alter”
Class: Avenger
Alternative Classes: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Shielder
Species: Servant, human
Type: Heroic Spirit
Gender: Man/woman
Height: 6’3(191cm)
Place of Origin: England/France
Likes: Guinevere/Lancelot, human emotions
Dislikes: Emotional restraint, extreme mercy
Talents: Martial Arts, horseback riding
Natural Enemy: King Arthur
Source: Arthurian legend
Region: England/France
Alignment: True Neutral
Hidden Attribute: Earth
Armaments: Sword
Summoning Catalyst: His Saint Graph
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: A+
Mana: B
Luck: B+
NP: A++
Class Skills: Avenger(A), Oblivion Correction(A), Self-Replenishment(Mana)(B)
Personal Skills: Knight of the Lake(A), Eternal Arms Mastery(A+), Protection of the Spirits(A)
Noble Phantasms: For Guinevere’s Glory(Anti-Unit, B, 0, 1 person), Arondight(Anti-Unit, A++, 1~2, 1 person), Arondight Overload(Anti-Unit/Anti-Army, A, 1~50, 500 people), Dolorous Guard(Fortress, B++, 1, Maximum number of people inside the castle)

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 56: The Pieces are in Place

Mordred Alter leapt out of the way of corrosive mist and acidic purple bile spewed by a tentacled atrocity. He carved the monster into pieces while he kept his back to the front gate of Dolorous Guard and the entrance to the Grail’s cave. Mordred’s king had entered the castle to complete its trial a little while ago, but she evidently wasn’t done yet. In the meantime, the other forces fighting to stop the Grail were facing an army of demons that had been summoned by Gilles de Rais. The Grail was trying to weaken the forces of its enemy so they’d either die or be too exhausted to overcome Dolorous Guard’s test. It wasn’t just the eldritch beasts, but also the Alter Servants that were attacking. Mordred could feel their tainted magical energies at different points on the mountain, attacking different groups, though the area around the cave’s entrance was only dealing with the octopus creatures. Gilles was likely not present anywhere on the mountain. He was holed up in the deepest chamber of the cave system where the Grail was so he’d be safe while his monsters did all the work.

Another creature was cleaved by the half-corrupted Excalibur Mordred wielded, as was another by Heracles’ ax-sword. Mordred Alter was a part of the group tasked with infiltrating the cave as soon as Dolorous Guard was dealt with, along with the Lion King, Illya, Chloe, Heracles, Rin, and Assassin. They stood in front of the entranceway, waiting for the gate to disappear so they could dash in, all while they were swarmed by starfish-like demons that kept discharging black gas and acid. There was also a second group at the entrance, one dedicated to holding off the demons after the infiltration group entered the cave. If some of them didn’t stay back to keep the monsters at bay, the grotesqueries could flood into the cave and there would be no place to run as the infiltration would already be busy with the Grail and whatever Alter Servants were acting as its bodyguards. How tenable such a defense would be against the sea demon hoards was questionable, but it was the best plan the alliance against the Grail had. The group meant to hold back the demons consisted of Sakura, Luviagelita, Henriikka, Leysritt, Sella, Taiga, Reines, Trimmau, Caren, and Kirei.

“Is the castle still not gone?” Sakura said as she threw a gem that turned into a bunch of icicles to skewer some tentacles.

“Not yet!” Rin fired a shotgun blast of gandr that riddled a squad of demons with holes.

“What’s taking so long?” Chloe wrapped a hair around a demon and squeezed until the monster was sliced into chunks.

“Be patient and focus! We can’t lose our composure now!” Kirei tossed three black keys which stabbed into a demon before lightning magecraft released from the blades and turned the monster into ash.

Both groups were surrounded on all sides and they couldn’t use a Noble Phantasm to destroy a large number of the demons so they could have a breather since they had to save as much power as possible for the bigger threats. Every second that passed was energy that felt wasted. The worry that Artoria had already failed the trial and lost her life grew ever larger. Mordred worried for his king and parent, but he pushed down those concerns and had faith in the woman he admired more than anyone. There was nothing Artoria Pendragon couldn’t do. If Lancelot could conquer that castle, then there was no way Artoria couldn’t.

Mordred reignited his own passion and used a rising slash to cut a demon clean in two, followed by a downward swing with such might that it created an invisible blade of displaced air that carved through a dozen more monsters. The false King Arthur then thrust his sword forward while twisting it, creating a vortex of more displaced air that imitated the true King Arthur’s Strike Air technique. Demons were turned into vivisected tentacles and broken teeth that were then launched at other demons. While Mordred was loath to use his imitation techniques and insult the true King Arthur, Mordred’s prudence told him he had to put his reservations aside for the moment.

It didn’t matter how long he had to keep terminating these grotesqueries, Mordred wasn’t going to despair.

Distant trees rustled before breaking apart in the wake of someone barreling through them. A blur rushed right up to Heracles, tentacle monsters splattering from being trampled. Archer blocked the red spear of the surprise enemy, the giant being pushed back slightly. Heracles pushed back, knocking away the enemy who landed on their feet, spear poised to thrust again. The two engaged in an exchange of slices and stabs that never hit their mark due to each fighter’s exceptional ability to defend. The duel was so intense that there was no way to jump in to help Heracles without getting broken in two. The entire mountain rumbled and fissures stretched out from below the two fighters’ feet. One time that Heracles and the attacker's weapons clashed created enough friction to ignite the hydrogen in the air and generate an explosion that both fighters jumped back from, pausing their fight long enough for everyone to actually see what the enemy looked like.

The spearman had a grin made up of sharp teeth. Her hair was long and dark while her eyes were red. This woman had the exact same face as one of the newest members of the alliance against the Grail.

“Scáthach.” the giant said.

“It’s nice to face you again in combat.” Scáthach Alter sounded cheerful.

“I wish I could say the same.”

The blackened Scáthach wore dark armor on her legs, arms, and most of her torso, with the front having a plunging neckline that revealed sanguine tattoos. She had similar tattoos below her eyes and eyeshadow that was a matching red. The back of Scáthach’s shoulders had crimson fur and from her lower back protruded a long spiked tail that complemented the suit's draconic feet.

“I’m so glad the Grail took me.” Scáthach ran a hand through her hair. “Now I get to fight so many strong opponents at once.”

“It’s sad to see how you’ve changed.” Heracles grimaced.

“I haven’t really changed. My personality and desires are the same, it is simply that my inhibitions have been peeled back.”

“Your desires are the same? Then what about Bazett? You loved her, didn't you?” Rin palm striked a tentacle demon, ice magecraft freezing the monster.

“She was a passing fancy I used to amuse myself with when I was still refusing my urge for violence.” The corrupted queen summoned copies of her spear which floated behind her. “My true love is battle.”

Mordred felt bad on Bazett’s behalf. It was a good thing she wasn’t here to hear such a dismissal of her love, though she would eventually if everything went according to plan.

“You think mere brutality is worth more than love?” The wind around Heracles whipped up.

“I do.” Scáthach’s grin stretched wider.

“I understand. I also understand that you only act this way because of the Grail’s pollutants. That is why I must apologize, for I am about to release my fury upon you.”

Space itself warped as the giant took only a single step that closed the distance between himself and Scáthach. His arm and the great ax he wielded vanished from sight for an instant as it reached top speed instantly. The mass of stone was blocked by the queen’s spear, but the force of the blow launched her off the ground and towards the stars above. Heracles summoned his bow and fired off so many arrows they resembled a river. Scáthach’s Gáe Bolg was engulfed in red energy as she fired off the extra spears she conjured earlier at the giant. Heracles batted away the polearms while Scáthach did the same to the arrows. A kick was all that was needed for Scáthach to shoot through the air back down to the greatest Greek hero. When Scáthach was in striking range, Heracles dropped his armaments and held his arms out to grapple. The queen stabbed at the giant, but Mordred jumped in and parried the thrust. The Archer grabbed and slammed Scáthach into the ground. Dirt flew upward as the giant restricted all of Scáthach’s limbs. It wasn't a hold that could be maintained forever, but it didn’t have to be.

On the sidelines, Luviagelita manifested a green rune that floated above her pointer finger’s tip. While the others protected her, the Edelfelt aimed her finger like a gun at the pinned Scáthach. This was the linchpin to the alliance’s entire strategy.

Clown, the now deceased butler of the Edelfelt family, was a Bounded Field specialist, and in particular, Bounded Fields that swapped spaces between each other for teleportation. Spatial magecraft of any kind was rare and required much training, but thanks to the efforts of Clown’s ancestors which were sublimated into his Magic Crest, he could achieve magecraft akin to a miracle. Clown’s teleportation required that he prepared waypoints ahead of time and he had left several dozen all over Fuyuki and its surrounding landscapes before his death. Those waypoints still existed as the magical energy put into them gradually faded rather than suddenly dispersing all at once. The living Scáthach was able to link the waypoints to different runes that she handed out to everyone who possessed magecraft knowledge. Those runes would, once they struck someone, teleport that person to a specific waypoint depending on the rune fired.

The alliance’s plan was for all of them to arrive at the mountain in order to make it look like they were straightforwardly assaulting the Grail’s domain. This would cause them to inevitably to fall into the Grail’s trap and be swarmed by the enemy Servants. The Alters would assume that they held the advantage, only for each of them to get teleported away by the runes to different isolated places around Fuyuki. It was too dangerous to leave them be as they could quickly return to the mountain, so after the enemy Servants were teleported away, specific members of the alliance would teleport themselves away to face specific enemy Servants. The matchups were decided ahead of time based on numerous factors and the battlefields have been set up to give an advantage to the members of the alliance. It would go from a battle on the Grail’s terms to one on the alliance’s terms, one that would leave many of the alliance members free to infiltrate the cave and destroy the Grail.

Luviagelita fired the rune and it hit Scáthach, her body warping away in a flash of green.

“Everything’s working as intended.” Kirei said as he stabbed another demon. “I’ll telepathically tell the team meant to face Scáthach Alter that she’s in position and they can teleport themselves off the mountain.”

“Archer, are you okay? Mentally I mean. I was surprised you got so angry at Scáthach.” Chloe made two birds out of her hair that fired magical energy blasts at the demons.

“I just can’t stand those who don’t appreciate how blessed they are to have people who love them and that they can love in return.” Heracles stood up and grabbed a demon, crushing it in his fist. The acidic fluids that coated the hero’s arm couldn’t even burn the outermost layer of his skin.

“Are we sure the king’s not dead? We’ll need to send someone else if she’s gone.” Caren’s fists and elbows, enhanced by magecraft from the Gorgon Sisters, drilled into a demon and made it implode.

“If she were gone, I’d know it.” Illya pierced through a monster’s core with her Origin Sword.

“But she’s still taking a while.” Taiga was chopping away at the monsters. “You guys can’t waste too much time here. You’ve gotta deal with the real monsters.”

It was then that Mordred felt a surge of magical energy at his back. He turned his head to see the gate dissipate into mana that flowed out of the cave.

“The cave’s open!” Mordred alerted everyone.

Rin met eyes with Sakura and Kirei, Chloe met eyes with Sella and Leysritt, and Assassin met eyes with Taiga. They were all looking at people who were important to them who they might not see again. It was a wordless goodbye, an assurance of trust, and an expression of affection.

The infiltration group ran into the system of caverns, with Mordred, the Lion King, and Heracles at the front, Illya, Rin, and Assassin at the back, and Chloe at the center. The group followed the putrid mana that had been disseminated throughout the mountain towards its source. If Mordred weren’t an Alter Servant, he’d be getting nauseous from the curses in the atmosphere.

Mordred was thinking of how proud he was of his king’s victory over the Guinevere lookalike, but the thought was interrupted when Artoria came into view, her arm gone along with her armor. She did not look triumphant, she looked worried as Gilgamesh approached her, one hand carrying Excalibur and the other holding a goblet overflowing with mud. He was going to try and corrupt her.

“No!” Mordred rushed to save his king, his Excalibur powered by gold and black lightning. Gilgamesh didn’t even look away from Artoria as Mordred approached. A golden portal opened up and from it a dome shaped shield dropped around the golden man and Artoria. The dual colored Excalibur struck the partition, but its lightning could not leave even a scratch or scorch mark on the barrier. “No! He’s going to ruin her!”

They had seconds at best before Gilgamesh forced the Grail’s mud down Artoria’s throat, and that was if the arrogant monarch was in the mood for some verbal foreplay with the King of Knights.

“Mordred, move!” The Lion King’s command made Mordred jump to the side before he could even question her. The goddess ran at the dome and thrust her spear into it. Despite not releasing enough of the weapon’s restraints to call its True Name, Rhongomyniad was able to stab right into the shield. Cracks spread through the barrier until it fell apart. Gilgamesh and Artoria could be seen again, the cup of curses inches from the King of Knights’ lips. A laser shot from Rhongomyniad’s tip and vaporized the goblet of mud in a single shot, Gilgamesh wrenching his hand back before it could be destroyed as well. The golden man bared his teeth as he saw how his glove had been burned.

Before the Lion King could follow up, Noble Phantasms fired out of ripples in space. The goddess destroyed the weapons with a swing of Rhongomyniad, but more kept coming from all around her which pinned her down as she kept defending herself. Mordred tried to grab Artoria and pull her away from Gilgamesh, but more weapons appeared that he had to stop and knock out of his way. Those Noble Phantasms failed to stop the arrows of a certain giant, Heracles’ bolts ramming into the weapons and causing mutual destruction. This created the opening Mordred needed to reach over and get ahold of Artoria.

“Let go of my bride.” Gilgamesh summoned chains that tried to capture Mordred and Artoria, but Heracles fired arrows to knock the chains away. A few of the fetters evaded the hero’s shots so it was up to Assassin to launch some weapons of his own to hit the chains while Mordred carried Artoria away.

“Hold Gilgamesh down. I need time to prepare.” Assassin said telepathically. “Illya, Rin, get ready.”

“Your efforts perniciously scratch at my patience.” Gilgamesh opened up far more gates than before, but as soon as the weapons started coming out of the portals, the Lion King destroyed them with a wide ray of light. The blast also destroyed the continuous flow of Noble Phantasms that were holding the goddess in place like a cage. While Gilgamesh kept firing more Noble Phantasms, the Lion King and Heracles kept countering the weapons with beams of light and poisoned arrows

“I am the bone of my sword”

More ripples appeared behind Mordred and company. The false King Arthur let go of the genuine article and began deflecting the new wave of armaments. He couldn’t stop all of them with just one sword, even if he used Mana Burst, so he focused on hitting some weapons into other ones in order to cause a chain reaction that would cause all the Noble Phantasms to destroy each other. It was somewhat effective, though there were still weapons that got past Mordred, the Lion King having to multitask and send waves of wind with her Invisible Air to blow the remaining Noble Phantasms from each wave away. Chloe tried to help by firing off swords made of her hair, but they simply could compare to Gilgamesh’s high rank Noble Phantasms. Rin and Illya also tried to help, but they couldn’t afford to waste much of their magical energy yet, so their assistance was negligible.

“Steel is my body and fire is my blood”
I have created over a thousand blades”

“Avalon!” Mordred couldn’t let everyone waste energy helping him, so he activated his sheath so he could act as a human shield that could tackle into and stop any Noble Phantasms that he couldn’t destroy in time. The knight could feel their magical energy drain as he hurried around to deal with the unrelenting series of weapons. He couldn’t do this forever, and he needed to conserve his strength to face anyone else who could be guarding the Grail.

“Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.”

Assassin stood ready to run, Illya and Rin following suit. They burst towards Gilgamesh who launched more Noble Phantasms at them, but the Lion King and Heracles protected them with more attacks of their own.

“Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything”

Assassin, Illya, and Rin all got right up to Gilgamesh who sneered and swung at them with Excalibur. The trio all summoned their blades, the black and white Kanshou and Bakuya, the elegant Origin Sword, and the mysterious Azoth Sword. The swords came together to block the stolen Holy Sword right as Assassin finished his chant.

“So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.”

Flames formed a ring around the trio and Gilgamesh, consuming them and the space where they stood as reality was rewritten by Assassin’s will. By the time the blaze disappeared, Assassin, Illya, Rin, and Gilgamesh were gone, now inside a Reality Marble.

Mordred deactivated Avalon and put a hand on his solar plexus as he steadied his breathing. Everyone else took a moment to recuperate as well. Artoria dropped onto her buttocks, Mordred running over to her.

“Are you okay?”

“I’d like to say yes, but one look at me is all that is necessary to debunk such a claim.” Artoria smiled. “I’m stable and I can move, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t retrieve Excalibur.” Mordred Alter bowed his head before Artoria. “Hopefully Illya and the others can take it back from Gilgamesh.”

“Don’t worry. If worst comes to worst, I might be able to gather Invisible Air back together and use it on its own.”

“Like for wind blasts and the like? It doesn’t seem like your style of combat.”

“It normally isn’t, but beggars can’t be choosers and I care little about fighting like a knight at this point.” Artoria tried to stand up, Mordred helping her get onto her feet.

“I’ll teleport you somewhere safe.” A rune floated over Chloe’s palm.

“I’m sorry, but I need to stay. I need to see Iri.”

“That’s a really stupid idea.”

“I know. I don’t care.”

“We won’t be able to protect you very well.” the Lion King said.

“I’ll protect myself. I refuse to not be there for Iri.” Artoria was in such a fragile state and yet Mordred felt like she could destroy anything in the way of her seeing Iri.

“Fair enough.” the Lion King turned around. “Let’s move then.”

Artoria nodded. Mordred was worried if she could really handle herself in her condition.

That worry was interrupted when a new Servant raged down the tunnel towards the group.

“Saber!” A man crying blood ran in carrying a spear and a sword.

“Lancer.” Artoria spoke softly as she frowned.

The Lion King and Heracles fired attacks at the weeping Berserker, but he jumped around the cave to avoid them, his eyes trained on Artoria alone.

“You! You are the one! You are the King Arthur who betrayed me!” The weeping man shot towards Artoria, but Mordred got in the way and blocked his spear. The man followed up with his sword, but Mordred slashed as well and their weapons clanged together.

“All of you run! You can’t waste time! I can handle this!” Mordred stomped the Berserker’s foot to hold him in place for a moment while the others escaped deeper into the cave. Heracles grabbed both Artoria and Chloe to carry them while he and the Lion King moved at top speed.

“Get back here, Saber!” The Berserker slipped his foot out from under Mordred’s and knocked the ex-king away with his red blade. The weeping man was about to run after the object of his wrath, but Mordred grabbed him by the shoulder and thrust his sword towards the madman’s back. The Berserker jumped and did a flip midair to dodge and free himself of Mordred’s grasp. As he did, Mordred ran over to an area ahead in the cave that was tight, a bottleneck that the false King Arthur blocked to make sure the Berserker couldn’t get through and reach Artoria.

“You won’t hurt Artoria as long as I’m alive.”

“Then I’ll kill you!” The Berserker named Diarmuid rushed Mordred and they engaged in combat.

Last time they fought, Diarmuid got past Mordred and ended up severely wounding the
Lion King. If it weren’t for that failure, then the Lion King’s Spirit Core wouldn’t have been permanently damaged and this whole operation would have been a lot easier. Mordred Alter wasn’t going to fail again.

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 57: Chrysaor

“Get ready, we’re going to warp him to you in a few seconds.” Those words telepathically beamed into Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters’ minds.

The foursome waited in a grove near one of the craters made by Scáthach and Heracles during their battle. Their opponent was someone prone to causing collateral damage so it was best to have the fight take place somewhere that was already beyond repair. Unlike the other groups who waited to teleport themselves until after their targets were already warped to the appropriate battlegrounds, Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters were against a Servant who was unlikely to sit still for long, so they were already at their battlefield, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

All four women stood around the spot their opponent would appear, removing their blindfolds and letting their Mystic Eyes gaze upon the world..

“Breaker Gorgon!”

“Tri-Breaker Gorgon!”

With a flick of their hands, the blindfolds were tossed in front of themselves and formed four magic circles that surrounded the spot their opponent would appear. If all went well, the enemy would immediately get caught in one of the Breaker Gorgons and thus be trapped in an illusion that would leave him easy to kill.

Medusa let her eyes wander to those of the Gorgon Sisters. They were all the same as hers. The other Medusa had truly shared everything with her sisters. Such beautiful eyes. They looked so good on Stheno and Euryale. They were all so beautiful and the lone Medusa was so disgusting. They all looked the same, and yet Medusa could only look upon herself and see ugliness. She lacked the beauty of community and family. The Gorgon Sisters were the platonic ideal of what living beings should achieve. They were many and they were one, and that made them as infinite as a zero-dimensional point.

Green light. The enemy was appearing. Medusa freed herself of her distractions and readied herself to use Breaker Gorgon upon the target.

“▂▂▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!”

A scream to rock the very foundations of the world.

Flashes of horror. Medusa’s head falling from its shoulders only to get stomped into a slop full of her hair. Her chest getting torn open so the putrid heat of her insides could fill the air and her organs could be comfortably torn out. Flames spreading over every inch of her flesh to boil her bodily fluids and cook her fat and muscle black. These images that flicked across Medusa’s eyes were not the byproduct of any illusion. They were simply born from the primal fear the Caster felt at hearing that draconic roar. It left Medusa frozen with fear, unable to attack with Breaker Gorgon. It was the same for the Gorgon Sisters. The dragon man that had appeared was free to jump up and exhale flames that resembled a waterfall due to their azure coloration. All four Casters would be turned to ash if they didn’t dodge.

Medusa let her senses focus not on the fear that had been instilled in her, and instead on her surroundings and the current moment. The smell and heat of a crackling blaze grounded her. She regained her senses and was about to dodge until she noticed that the Gorgon Sisters were still paralyzed. They just quivered and looked at each other.

Were they unable to withstand fear such as this alone? This was merely Medusa’s theory, but she suspected that the sisters had become so reliant upon each other for support in all things that they couldn’t overcome the fear Siegfried had created in them without one of the other sisters comforting them. Since all three of them were shaken, none could be the rock that the other could stand upon in the sea of terror they were in.

From Medusa’s sleeves came snakes that stretched over to the Gorgon Sisters and pushed them all out of range while Medusa herself flew backwards. The bodies of the snakes turned to gas from the flames, but the identically faced foursome avoided getting drowned in fire.

Given the short timeframe, Medusa didn’t have time to be gentle when she knocked her lookalikes away. The impacts were enough to return the sisters to their senses and they flew into the sky to avoid more flames from Siegfried, Medusa joining them. The dragon man flapped his wings and shot for Medusa who swerved out of the way as she attacked with more snakes and the sisters launched spears of blood. The Casters’ creations failed to penetrate the scales of the beast, but his body began to gain small portions that were petrified. The Mystic Eyes of the four women couldn’t completely turn the dragon man to stone due to his high Mana stat, but he was still able to have all his parameters ranked down to the point that he wouldn’t be fast enough to tag Medusa or the Gorgon Sisters.

The foursome kept their distance from Siegfried who continued pointlessly trying to chase after them in the sky, exhaling flames that never hit their mark. Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters retaliated with more blood and serpents, but the scales of the Berserker held strong despite the two-times rank down of his parameters. His natural armor had to be a Noble Phantasm with durability that disregarded his own natural endurance. Killing the dragon man was going to be a challenge.

Changing tactics, both Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters activated the magic seals they had placed around the area a few days ago to gather magical energy. Red lighting was expelled from the marks that convened at the sky’s peak, a red dome forming around the battlefield that sealed the dragon man within its bounds. An eye like those of Cybele appeared at the Bounded Field’s peak. This was not one, but two Noble Phantasms combined. Medusa’s Blood Fort Andromeda and the Gorgon Sisters’ Tri-Blood Fort Andromeda. The two barriers became one and not only combined, but multiplied their power. These fields normally needed ten days to gather the power necessary to act at full capacity, the seals for this activation only having been around for three days, but the synergized power of the two Noble Phantasms together allowed them to act as one fully powered Blood Fort Andromeda.

Siegfried Alter began having his magical energy siphoned to be fed to the four bloodsuckers. This Berserker was unlikely to ever run out of magical energy since he was getting a direct feed from the Greater Grail which was functionally bottomless, but sapping that mana would allow Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters to also have all the energy they’d ever need for their spells. The kicker was that the Bounded Field dyed the area red because it was saturated with the blood of Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters, the blood they used for their magecraft.

Medusa used the life giving properties of her blood in the air around the dragon man to create several serpents the size of houses. The bloodsucker’s spawn wrapped around the Berserker and formed a tight ball. Inside that cage of snakes, the beast was about to exhale an inferno to burn his way to freedom, but first he had to inhale. What the Berserker inhaled and filled his lung with was more of the bloody air. From the blood soaked oxygen came more snakes that started ripping the dragon man’s lungs from the inside and biting into them to inject various poisons. Dragon fire filled the lungs and burned the serpents away, but not before the Berserker had taken significant damage. The Berserker exhaled his blaze and burned a hole through the reptilian ball that was holding him. He flew out of the hole, but more snakes formed around him. He was quick to lash out with his claws and begin tearing Medusa’s creations to pieces. This left him preoccupied and in one place. Everything had gone to plan.

The Gorgon Sisters had gathered together and formed a magic circle of their blood in front of themselves. They had been preparing this Noble Phantasm the whole time Medusa was keeping Siegfried occupied.

“Tri-Pandemonium Cetus!”

From the sigil fired a beam that was a concentrated version of the Blood Fort that would liquify anything organic, everything else being turned to stone. The blast was fast and it was unlikely that the Berserker’s scales could nullify it.

Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters were chosen to face Siegfried Alter because they had the intelligence and varied abilities necessary to overcome the powerful and dull minded Berserker. The rest of the alliance had initially been unsure as to whether the four bloodsuckers could kill Siegfried, not because they didn’t not have faith in the competency of Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters, but because they had near no chance of winning if Siegfried transformed into Fafnir. That was why they had to keep the Berserker distracted so he didn’t have the chance to transform. If he got even a brief moment of freedom, then the fight was his.

The beast reacted on instinct to the incoming Noble Phantasm, exhaling flames to his right to push himself out of the way. He wasn’t fast enough, his right arm, right wing, and some of the side of his torso getting caught in the beam and turning to ooze that was absorbed into the bloodsuckers.

More serpents were born from the air around the Berserker, but he exhaled more flames to propel himself, this time towards the ground. Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters kept trying to attack him with snakes and blood projectiles that they formed point blank around him, but his scales protected him. He just kept exhaling without pause thanks to using circular breathing, inhaling through the nose while simultaneously breathing out through his mouth. This would normally present the opportunity to create attacks inside him with the bloody air he was intaking, but the air was continually cleansed by the dragon's fire that kept forming in and being released from his lungs. The dragon man’s body crashed into the dirt and burrowed deep into the Earth as he kept on breathing out fire.

Medusa realized his plan. He was digging so deep into the ground that it would take a moment for the bloodsuckers to get through the soil and stone to attack him again. That meant he had a moment where he wasn’t preoccupied with anything. He was free to transform.

“Akafiloga All-Grið!”

Rising from the ground, hunks of rock and dirt getting flung about, a dragon appeared with only one arm and one wing. Despite being injured, it was no less intimidating than the strongest dragon should have been. Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters were monsters, they were creatures that instilled fear in other entities, and yet they felt like children dressed in costumes standing before a real terror. The true monster roared with such might that the Blood Fort began to warp, space itself quaking. The fear that the bloodsuckers felt at the dragon man’s initial scream was nothing compared to the bellow that they were hearing now, drowning out all other sounds and overpowering their minds. It was like falling into Hell while gazing upon its deepest layers, the layers you knew you were headed to.

The dragon looked up at the Gorgon Sisters who were clutching each other’s bodies. It knew they were the most apparent threat. They needed to run, but they couldn’t, because they were petrified by their fear better than Mystic Eyes ever could. Each of them was scared and sought comfort in their sisters. Since none of them were calm, they could only feel each others terror which reinforced their panic and left them inert. They had become so reliant on each other that they couldn’t function when all of them were under duress. Medusa may have been myopic in believing the nature of the Gorgon Sisters was something worthy of envying.

A magic circle formed in front of the sisters again as their desperation peaked. Their power charged while the dragon opened their mouth and breathed in, an azure color rising out of the beast’s throat.

“Tri-Pandemonium Cetus!”

The beam of organic dissolution was fired down towards the dragon that responded with an exhalation of flames. The two streams met and the blood in the air began to boil from the fire’s heat. Medusa’s skin was scalded and the sisters screamed as they poured all their power into the Noble Phantasm. The blue of the dragon’s breath painted over the Blood Fort’s redness as it pushed back the Gorgon’s Sisters’ beam. The alternate Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno didn’t have the chance to bewail their loss as the fire incinerated them. The blazing wave continued stretching across the air and when it reached the edge of the Bounded Field, it simply burned a hole through it and kept soaring until it reached the vacuum of space where the flames finally died from lack of oxygen. A gape was left in the Blood Fort that allowed the light of the outside world to shine in.

The Gorgon Sisters were dead. The dragon turned its attention to Medusa.

Medusa regained her composure and created dozens of snakes that were just as large as the dragon, the serpents wrapping around the king of Phantasmals. Despite the comparable size, the dragon broke free of its living bonds with its bare claws. Bloody scales and mangled heads were left around the dragon as it fired another burning wave. Medusa flew out of the way, the dragon thankfully still slowed by the power of Cybele, though far less so given the beast’s even greater mana and the Gorgon Sisters no longer contributing to its petrification. Another hole was made in Andromeda, its effects becoming lessened.

As she continued dodging the dragon’s repeated breaths, Medusa saw how foolish she had been to think the Gorgon Sisters were an ideal to aspire to. Such obsessive and incestuous love was not a form of enlightenment. Such a relationship was a cushion to the world’s ills and a shackle that stunted growth. No wonder Medusa’s life ended in disaster. She became a monster due to her desire to protect her sisters, and in the end she devoured them and was then beheaded by Perseus. One might think she would have learned her lesson from that experience, but sometimes the truth only became apparent when seen from a certain angle.

If only Medusa could retain this lesson learned, but memories did not persist between Grail Wars. It was too late to fix her past mistakes, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fix the problem currently before her.

Blood Fort Andromeda was barely holding on from all the sections of it that were now missing, its attempts to restore itself getting outpaced by the flames of Fafnir. Medusa, seeing the dragon breathe out once more, didn’t completely dodge the exhalation. She let the fire at the edges of the blast graze her, which was all that was necessary to vaporize her legs and cause her whole body to ignite in blue.

Like a bug swatted out of the air, Medusa plummeted without grace and hit the ground. She did not writhe. She just let the fire cremate her.

The dragon began to turn to leave. Good. With its back turned, it wouldn’t take much to finish it.

Medusa, when she was a Caster, had the magical nature of her blood emphasized. This manifested as magecraft that allowed her blood to heal, to be made into constructs, and to generate life. That last point was vital. Some legends hold that the Pegasus was born from Medusa’s neck after her decapitation, but in truth she was given the steed by Poseidon. That said, there was certainly a child born from the mystical blood of Medusa’s corpse. This demi-god progeny, born with the blood of not only Medusa, but also Poseidon, was the ultimate Noble Phantasm of Caster Medusa. It was a temporary Heroic Spirit with the goal of retribution who would be blessed with abilities attuned to slaying whoever was responsible for taking Medusa’s life.

“Chrysaor.”

As the last of Medusa’s body turned to ash and left behind an amber orb, a fragment of her consciousness remained to watch the womb birth a woman identical to her. This new Spirit wielded a golden sword and wore armor adorned with large wings. The new warrior flew at the dragon while it was crawling out of a hole in the Blood Fort and towards Mount Enzo. One slash powered with the concept of dragon slaying was all that was necessary to lop off the head of the dragon. An easy win thanks to the beast’s already wounded state and the fact that it was distracted.

An anticlimax, but Medusa was glad it was one. Her consciousness wouldn’t have lasted long enough to see through a full battle between Chrysaor and Fafnir. Both the dragon’s body and Chrysaor began to fade away, so Medusa found it appropriate to let her mind do the same.

Medusa and the Gorgon Sisters had failed to learn from her mistakes, and that was why this victory cost their lives. They could only pray the others would be able to grow and survive. Medusa thought of her Master, Henriikka, and hoped she would be okay.

---

True Name: The Gorgon Sisters
Class: Caster
Alternative Classes: Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Avenger
Species: Servant, Bloodsucker
Type: Heroic Spirit, Divine Spirit, Anti-Hero
Gender: Female
Height: 172cm
Place of Origin: Greece
Likes: Alcohol, reading, snakes, each other
Dislikes: Mirrors, being separated
Talents: Acrobatics, stalking
Natural Enemy: Humanity
Source: Greek mythology
Region: Greece, Shapeless Isle
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hidden Attribute: Earth
Armaments: Blood
Summoning Catalyst: Mirror dug up from a temple in Eritrea
Strength: C
Endurance: E
Agility: B
Mana: A+
Luck: B
NP: A+
Class Skills: Item Construction(Life)(A+), Territory Creation(A+)
Personal Skills: Divinity(E-), Independent Action(A+), Bloodsucking(B), Monstrous Strength(C), Mystic Eyes(A+)
Noble Phantasms:
Tri-Breaker Gorgon(C-, Anti-Unit, 0, 3 people)
Tri-Blood Fort Andromeda(B+, Anti-Army, 10~40, 500 people)
Tri-Pandemonium Cetus(A, Anti-Army, 1~60, 400 people)

True Name: Medusa
Class: Caster
Alternative Classes: Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Avenger
Species: Servant, bloodsucker
Type: Heroic Spirit, Divine Spirit, Anti-Hero
Gender: woman
Height: 172cm
Place of Origin: Greece
Likes: Alcohol, reading, snakes
Dislikes: Mirrors, measuring her height
Talents: Acrobatics, stalking
Natural Enemy: Artoria
Source: Greek mythology
Region: Greece
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hidden Attribute: Earth
Armaments: None
Summoning Catalyst: Mirror dug up from a temple in Eritrea
Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: B
Mana: A+
Luck: D
NP: EX
Class Skills: Item Construction(Life)(A+), Territory Creation(A+)
Personal Skills: Divinity(E-), Independent Action(A+), Bloodsucking(B), Monstrous Strength(C), Mystic Eyes(A+)
Noble Phantasms:
Breaker Gorgon(C-, Anti-Unit, 0, 1 person)
Blood Fort Andromeda(B+, Anti-Army, 10~40, 500 people)
Chrysaor(EX, Anti-Unit(Self), 0, 1 person)

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 58: The Confidence Necessary to Love Another

Bazett looked like she had one million arms from how fast she was punching. A sea demon was full of holes from all the blows that went clean through its body. It didn’t even resemble anything living as it plopped onto the ground. The living Scáthach chopped several demons into small cubes using twin Gáe Bolgs. The duo had been fighting on Mount Enzo for a little while now, waiting for the OK to teleport and face their opponent.

Their opponent. Scáthach Alter. Bazett’s Scáthach. The magus was both dreading having to face her stolen lover, and yet also anxious to do so. Bazett didn’t want to see how the Grail’s corruption had influenced Scáthach, but the enforcer was also desperate to set Scáthach free so they could live happily ever after. Would they be able to achieve such an ending? Was it even possible? Bazett and the living Scáthach had a plan, partly thanks to Assassin who provided them with the Mystic Code necessary for it, but there was no guarantee. There never was in life.

“Bazett, Scáthach, it’s time. Teleport.” Kirei’s voice echoed in Bazett and Scáthach’s minds.

The suited magus swallowed her worries and doubts as the living Scáthach activated a rune that shined green. Bazett and Scáthach were warped to a thick forest, both of them in their combat stances.

Scáthach Alter was there. She wore dark armor that left her front exposed in a way that would have made Bazett blush under different circumstances. Instead Bazett felt sad and relieved. Sad that the love of her life looked so different, and relieved that she still resembled her old self.

“Of course you’re the ones to fight me. I’m not interested in you two, though. I already know I can best you both at once and it won’t be a challenge. I’ll kill you both and then find Heracles. Hopefully I’ll be able to challenge King Arthur too.” Scáthach Alter didn’t even spare more than a passing glance for Bazett and the living Scáthach. The slave of the Grail was too busy looking around to pinpoint her location relative to Mount Enzo. She didn’t even have her spear raised, she just stood straight with her muscles loose.

“You’re underestimating me? You and I are the same.” The living Scáthach said.

“My history has forged me into a far greater warrior than you. We both became isolated in the Land of Shadows, guarding it from Divine Spirits. While you treated such conflicts as pleasant distractions, I lived for them. I grew so starving for battle that I forsook our decision to avoid influencing the modern world. One time when a Divine Spirit invaded, I slew them and used the entryway they created to escape our dead queendom. I abandoned the Land of Shadows, embraced our love of combat, and became a hunter of gods.” Scáthach Alter raised her spear and gained some enthusiasm in her voice as it rasped like a hound’s. “My life became dedicated to combating any and all divinities I could find. I never rested and pushed my limits until I eventually broke through them. You reached the halfway point to becoming a Divine Spirit, but I fully became one. The only reason I can be summoned is by possessing a weaker, non-deified version of myself as a form of mock Pseudo-Servant. I am everything you could have been if you embraced your desires.”

“You say you embrace your desires, but what about your love for Bazett?”

“Her?” Scáthach snickered and looked Bazett in the eye. “As if I ever truly loved her. She was an amusing distraction while I was still prohibiting myself from being who I truly am. Is there anyone who could earnestly love a dull woman whose defining trait is her ineptitude? On a whim I decided not to bat her away when she latched onto me like a dog. Don’t overthink it.”

The living Scáthach turned to look at Bazett. Both queens were anticipating Bazett's reaction. They assumed she would break down from hearing such cruelties from the woman she loved. At the very least they expected Bazett to be sad or to shed a tear.

“Are you expecting something?” Bazett was unaffected. “I know that isn’t you saying those things, Scáthach. It’s the Grail’s pollution. You sacrificed your life for me, that’s why you got corrupted in the first place. I know you love me the same way I love you. When we explored each other's bodies that night, when you told me I was worthy of love and that included my own love, those weren’t lies said flippantly. Those were genuine expressions of what you wanted for me. You can retroactively dismiss those things all you want, I know we’re in love. I know I’m worthy of your love, and you’re worthy of mine.”

The living Scáthach smiled and the Altered one rolled her eyes.

“Believe whatever you want, I’m going to impale you on my spear in a second anyway.” Scáthach Alter finally got ready to battle.

“You’ll try.” The living Scáthach took the initiative and lunged at her Altered counterpart. It took only the first clash of their weapons to see how different they were. The living queen was poised and minimalistic in her every motion while the Blackened divinity was overbearing as she made use of every muscle in her body to draw out the maximum amount of power she was physically capable of. It was a wise monarch who was dedicated to the fostering of others versus a maddened huntress who’s instincts remained sharp as they lusted for battle. The Berserker thrust her spear so many times that the afterimages left in each attack’s wake blended together to create the illusion of a red briar. The living Scáthach opted to dodge rather than block given she could never match the sheer power of her counterpart. She twirled her spears to counterattack, but Scáthach Alter knocked the attacks off course with the back of her free fist. The Berserker grabbed the living Scáthach’s spear while charging her Gáe Bolg with red energy and stabbing forward with it. The living queen released the spear her opponent held and jumped out of the way of both the Berserker’s spear and the beam of energy it released that felled several dozen trees. Both Scáthachs summoned more spears around them that they fired at each other. Gáe Bolgs crashed into Gáe Bolgs and rebounded, flying in wild directions while obliterating any plants or stones that were unlucky enough to be in the way. The spears all returned to the control of the Scáthachs and telekinetically fought. Some attacked whatever Scáthach was their enemy while other spears played defense against the incoming polearms. It was a war of weapons without warriors to wield them, the floating Gáe Bolgs striking and blocking each other while raging around the forest. The bodiless Noble Phantasms duked it out and the Scáthachs returned to their close range engagement, each using only a single spear.

Scáthach Alter was stronger in every meaningful respect. She was stronger, faster, more skilled. The living Scáthach needed help or she’d quickly die. Bazett used Reduced Earth to immediately join the fray. A couple of the floating Gáe Bolgs belonging to Alter shot at Bazett’s back like missiles to prevent her from interrupting the one-on-one battle between the Scáthachs, but Bazett knocked them away with two reverse punches. The enforcer’s hands ached from the outermost layers of skin to the center of their bones just from those two impacts, but Bazett didn’t care. Fire runes ignited not only her fists and feet with flame, but even her suit. Her entire body gained a thin layer of flame around it that made it look like her body was a conflagration molded into a human shape. Even her hair looked like a ball of fire. Bazett’s lightspeed fists forced Scáthach Alter to block them as the magus threw out every martial arts technique she knew. The living Scáthach joined in with her own offensive that include various elemental Mana Bursts infused into her spear along with plenty of spells from fire and death runes, to Baptism Sacraments boosted with High-speed Incantation and runes, to curses and illusions. Scáthach Alter countered this barrage with one of her own, her spear attacks and spells being more than enough to match both her opponents. The Blackened Servant wasn’t just holding her own, but she was dominating. Her parameters kept rising as she started using her own collage of skills that seemed to extend beyond what even the regular Scáthach was capable of using. She was using skills that were likely considered exclusive to individual Servants. The Altered queen’s body kept changing in small ways from her physique becoming more or less bulky, to her even gaining an extra pair of arms and a set of wings, all these new appendages being covered in the same dark armor Scáthach Alter was wearing. At one point her eyes changed into Mystic Eyes and both the living Scáthach and Bazett began having parts of their body petrified. Her eyes changed again and Bazett’s Instinct told her to dodge to the side. She did so, as did the living Scáthach, and it was a wise decision as everything that was within Scáthach’s Alter’s range of vision was twisted along with the fabric of space itself. Everything distorted in a way that felt more akin to a Noble Phantasm than a skill given the power on display.

It was without a doubt that Scáthach Alter possessed a skill like Wisdom of Dún Scáith, but not limited to skills possessed by more than one or two Servants. Berserker was using the kind of exclusive skills that often defined the power sets of Servants. There was no way Scáthach Alter could copy any skill without limits, as demonstrated by the Berserker’s eyes returning to normal and her extra appendages shrunk away. She couldn’t copy these skills for long and, given how sporadically they were used, it was likely that Scáthach Alter couldn't use them intentionally. She just instinctively used random skills that were beneficial to her in a given moment. It was a lottery.

As the flying red spears continued to battle around the trio, Scáthach Alter ran at her former allies once more. Both Bazett and Scáthach were covered in wounds that were unable to heal while the Berserker only had a few small ones that didn’t hinder her in any noticeable way. The fight needed to change its tempo or a worst case scenario was guaranteed.

The blazing bodied Bazett shot jets of fire from her back along with using Reduced Earth to rocket towards Scáthach Alter as fast as she could. As soon as she was close, Bazett found that the tip of Berserker’s spear was already right in her face, nanometers away from stabbing into her eyes and then her brain. Alter had predicted what Bazett would do. A normal person would try to dodge on impulse, but that would end in failure and thus death. Instead, Bazett did what she did when she first met Scáthach and they sparred. The magus grabbed the spear with both hands. She couldn’t stop it, but by using every ounce of her strength, she was able to delay it long enough for her to kick her legs off the ground and point the bottoms of her feet towards Scáthach Alter. Fire shot out from Bazett’s shoes right into Berserker’s face. It didn’t do any significant damage, nor was it intended to. The propulsion caused Bazett to move with the motion of Scáthach Alter’s spear which prevented her from getting stabbed into it, and it meant that both the enforcer’s flames and Berserker’s thrust were moving the two of them in the same direction. Bazett and Scáthach Alter went flying off past numerous downed trees and deep into another part of the forest that remained intact for the moment.

Bazett pushed off the spear and flew away from Scáthach Alter who regrew wings to pursue. The Berserker was interrupted when she fell into Bazett’s trap. In the days before the final battle, Bazett and the living Scáthach covered the forest in runes that they poured as much of their magical energy into as they could. Scáthach was even able to link them to the local Leyline to give them even more power before hiding the runes so they couldn’t be detected. Each of these rune traps could be activated with just a thought from Bazett or the living Scáthach, and Scáthach Alter was currently right above one.

A freezing wave rose up from the ground around the Berserker and froze not only her, but the trees, dirt, and even the air to create a giant frozen block the size of a proper glacier. The frigid mass shattered with a mere flex of Scáthach Alter’s muscles, only for Bazett to fly in like a burning meteor and dive kick the Berserker. The Blackened queen was still defrosting and thus was too slow to avoid the heel that slammed into her gut and knocked her into the ground so hard that it looked like a small nuke went off from all the debris that was tossed upward on impact. Scáthach Alter hadn’t just been kicked to any old stop in the forest, but right on top of another rune trap that created an eruption of flame that also resembled a nuclear detonation as heat and wind expanded outward and flattened a large portion of the forest. Scáthach Alter stood on soil that was burning orange, her body being scorched a bit and certainly fazed, but not too much. It was then that a deluge of water rose up from a second rune in the ground while a second infused that flood with a death curse. Scáthach Alter was pushed across the forest by the wave of water while the curse ate away at her Saint Graph, but she then accessed multiple aquatic skills that let her quickly gain her bearings and take control of the water itself. She redirected it all at an approaching Bazett, but the magus countered by firing off multiple Fragarachs, the non-counter version, which she had amplified with multiple runes so they were far more durable and had an aura of flame around them. The flaming beams shot into the flood and evaporated a path straight through it which Bazett flew through to avoid the cursed liquid. The Fragarachs targeted Scáthach Alter, but she just destroyed the projectiles with a few swings of her Gáe Bolg.

“You think a handful of traps are enough to stop me?” Scáthach Alter willed a mountain sized golem hand to rise out of the ground through numerology, the limb attempting to slap the earth and Bazett with it.

“As if that would ever be enough to beat you! The woman I love isn’t so weak!” Bazett tapped into a nearby rune trap and, instead of springing it, absorbed the magical energy it had built up and formed a connection to the linked Leyline. Bazett’s power increased so much that her previous might seemed infantile in comparison. Her flames intensified and turned blue-white as she got a constant feed of energy from the mana that streamed through the land. Bazett jumped at the great hand and punched its palm, the golem construct melting away before Bazett made a beeline for Scáthach Alter and performed another dive kick. “Ansuz-Eihwaz!”

The Berserker blocked the kick with her spear, but the force of the blow drove both her and Bazett into the ground, the magus’ flames causing the area to melt into a sparkling white liquid. Bazett got onto her feet and began punching with greater speed and power than ever, Scáthach Alter reciprocating by summoning a second Gáe Bolg and stabbing repeatedly with both spears. Bazett dodged as best she could, but she still ended up with a multitude of lacerations from grazing blows. Meanwhile, Scáthach Alter wasn’t even bothering to dodge Bazett’s punches, letting her body instinctively use numerous defensive skills to mitigate the damage of each blazing strike.

“Even after training with both me and my counterpart, even after gaining all that extra mana from that rune and the Leyline, you’re still so weak!” Scáthach Alter took a step forward despite the constant blows from Bazett. “You really think I’d ever care about someone as weak as you?”

“If you don't care, then why do you keep insisting on this point!” Bazett, against all odds, took a forward step as well. “Why are you so eager to convince me you don’t care, or are you trying to convince yourself?”

“Do you think you’re being clever with that little comment?” Scáthach Alter raised a spear and swung it down, Bazett narrowly avoiding getting sliced in half. The land split into a canyon wide enough to fit a skyscraper lying on its side and was long enough that it stretched into the perimeter of multiple distant cities. It would probably become a new Japanese monument. Bazett stood at the crevice’s rim, but the Berserker swung their spear at her side. The enforcer raised an arm to block the polearm, but the hit still cracked the bones all throughout the limb and pushed Bazett into the trench. “You overthink everything! I always hated that about you!”

Bazett stopped her fall with more fire from her feet, but Scáthach Alter flew after her with two sets of draconic wings. The magus tried to fly away, but the Berserker was right on her tail, catching up in mere moments and grabbing her by the leg before tossing Bazett at the wall of the canyon. The stone began to melt from Bazett’s heat as her head was grabbed by the Alter Servant. The magus’ face was scraped across the side of the crevice as the Berserker flew at top speed, taking the magus with her. As all of the rock and dirt that Bazett was dragged across melted into a burning waterfall, the magus managed to wrap her hand around one of the fingers holding her head in place. Bazett yanked using as much strength as she could, breaking the finger backwards which loosened Scáthach Alter’s grip enough for the enforcer to slip her head free and fly away, the Berserker in hot pursuit. Thankfully, Alter accessed a different skill that provided her with different wings, ones that didn’t provide the same speed. The main weaknesses of Scáthach Alter’s endless supply of skills was that they were temporary, involuntary, and inconsistent.

Bazett felt the raw skin on her face, blood seeping out and vaporizing from her own heat. Her head was pounding and there were probably half a dozen cracks in her skull. Her every motion made the cuts all over her body stretch and open further. She wanted to throw up. She kept thinking about how nice it would feel to just go to sleep and die. She couldn’t, she had to save the love of her life. Just imagining Scáthach’s face was enough for Bazett to ignore the pain and become even more energized than before.

Something appeared in the corner of Bazett’s eye. She changed direction towards the landmark she spotted and landed in front of it. Scáthach Alter landed as well. The two combatants stood in front of the Edelfelt mansion where they once stayed. Despite having just been engaged in combat, they both stopped.

“Do you remember when I first summoned you?” Bazett studied every nostalgic brick of the house, letting her guard down despite her opponent being right across from her. Scáthach Alter wasn’t taking the opportunity to attack, she just looked at the mansion too. “I was so nervous. I was meeting the mentor of my idol. You were so beautiful and intelligent and collected. You attacked me and all thoughts left my head as I just tried to survive. Then you acknowledged me, but then doubled back and trivialized our connection, only to then say we should go out into town. You’re so cute when you get flustered like that.”

“I wasn’t flustered.” Scáthach Alter said which made Bazett chuckle. “I just felt bad when you started moping.”

“So you did care about me. You said you just considered me a distraction, but you didn’t like seeing me sad. You wanted me to be happy.”

“I won’t tolerate these slights.”

“They aren’t slights.” Bazett chuckled more. “You’re just as ambivalent as always.”

“Meanwhile, you've changed into an impudent little neophyte.”

“I suppose I have changed a touch, and it’s thanks to you. It was you who taught me the necessity of loving myself before I could ever love another. That’s why I’m doing my best to appreciate my strengths and accept my weaknesses, it’s all so I can love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“…”

“…”

“Maybe I did care about you.” Scáthach Alter’s declaration made Bazett turn to look at her, but the Berserker just kept staring at the mansion. “I denied our history, incredulous at who I was and what we had. I did love you. You made me feel fulfilled in a way I had never known throughout all my centuries.”

“I’m glad to have made you happy. It’s what I want more than anything.”

“But I don’t need you to make me happy anymore.” Gáe Bolg was thrust at the mansion and the entire structure was blown to pieces. “Now you’re just in the way of my happiness.”

“Scáthach.” Bazett watched the ignoble end to the one location she had formed a special connection to, the place she and Scáthach met.

The Berserker let go of her spear and kicked it skyward, the polearm ascending above the clouds. Scáthach Alter then jumped so hard that the ground exploded and she reached just above her red weapon, the starry sky at her back. The draconic foot of the Blackened Servant caught the spear between its toes. The leg pulled back. This was the usage of Gáe Bolg that was spoken of in legend. The implement of impalement was covered in so much raging red energy that the space around it visibly distorted before it had even been thrown.

There was no way that Bazett could run far enough to escape the blast radius. The magus pulled out multiple rune covered rocks and threw them in different directions, the stones creating a cube shaped barrier around Bazett that could withstand most Noble Phantasms. It wouldn’t be enough to stop the attack that was about to come, so Bazett began funneling all the magical energy she had gotten from the precharged rune trap and all the mana she was getting from the leyline into the barrier. Her flames went from a radiant blue-white back to a common red and in exchange the cube became a rampart that could stop all but the absolute strongest Noble Phantasms.

“Gáe Bolg Alternative!” Scáthach Alter kicked forward and released her spear, the weapon looking like a single red sparkle in the sky before it suddenly split into thousands of copies that each held the same power as the original. These were the thorns that Gáe Bolg was said to create when thrown with the toes, a briar of unfailing spikes. As soon as the first spears of the downpour made contact with the ground, myriad explosions filled the forest in a scene that resembled a carpet bombing. The woods became a deathscape that rejected life, cursed power erasing plants and animals without prejudice or regard. The barrier around Bazett struggled to keep out the destructive force that was coming from all directions but below. Small cracks formed in the cube. Bazett swallowed spit as she fed as much energy into the shield as she possibly could without causing her Magic Circuits to surge and burn out. The cracks kept growing larger and made contact with each other. An interconnected web of faults in the barrier formed. It felt like the defense would collapse at any moment. Bazett ignored how close she was to the death that was just micrometers away from her, separated by only a single barrier. She just kept on fueling the shield, her mind focused. More cracks. More. Yet more still.

The cube crumbled. Bazett’s defense was gone.

A pause.

Bazett had braced herself, but found that nothing came to kill her. The explosions had ended. Gáe Bolg Alternative had completed its activation a moment before the barrier broke.

Looking around, Bazett found that the entire forest was now a wasteland full of craters from the spherical detonations. All the rune traps that had been placed around had been destroyed. That meant no more traps and no way to siphon magical energy for a power boost.

Dust was kicked up as Scáthach Alter landed. Her leg was mangled, not from falling so far, but from kicking her spear with her maximum strength. The limb quickly healed itself as Gáe Bolg Alternative flew back into the queen’s hand.

“That was a nice warmup. Now to start fighting for real.”

“You just used such an intensive Noble Phantasm and yet you can just jump right back into the fight?” Bazett’s whole body was shaking from the strain it was under.

“With the Holy Grail as my benefactor, I could fire off Gáe Bolg Alternative over and over and I’d still have the fuel to keep fighting.”

“For someone who likes a challenge, you sure seem to like giving yourself an unfair advantage.” Bazett’s arms felt like they were being pulled down given how hard it was to keep them raised in a boxing stance.

“You aren’t my challenge. The true challenge I’m waiting for is that which will come once the World is flooded in curses. The new humanity and whatever other species rise from the mud will be the ones to provide me with the entertainment I seek.” Scáthach Alter ambled over to Bazett. “You’re just an ant that’s standing in my path.”

“You’ve become cr-” Bazett was interrupted by a hand wrapping around her throat.

Gáe Bolg Alternative was pointed at Bazett’s chest. The magus tried to remove the hand from her neck, but she wasn’t strong enough. The spear pulled back in preparation to penetrate Bazett’s chest and then her heart.

It was at this point that it was clear Scáthach Alter had forgotten someone. She wasn’t fighting just Bazett, but thanks to a mix of Disengage and Information Erasure, the Berserker was unable to focus on her other enemy.

A spear drove through flesh and organs.

Scáthach Alter spat up blood as a Gáe Bolg stabbed through her gut from behind. The living Scáthach had snuck up on her Blackened counterpart thanks to using Presence Concealment, Sphere Boundary(Extreme), and Espionage in tandem. The Berserker was sewn into space by Gáe Bolg Alternative, preventing her from moving.

Now that Scáthach Alter was immobilized, it was time to save her.

Bazett released herself from the Berserker’s grasp and pulled a golden dagger out from inside her suit jacket. It was Erosion, or rather a projection of it created by Assassin given that the original was lost in the chaos when Assassin attacked the Pendragons as they tried to leave Fuyuki. The knife had the power to separate the Mind and Soul from the Body. In the case of a Heroic Spirit, it would separate their Saint Graph and Spirit Core from the Body. The Graph and Core could then be directed wherever Bazett wished, such as into the living Scáthach. Using runes, the two Scáthachs, given they were fundamentally almost identical, could be fused mentally and spiritually into one being with the memories and personality of both of them. This would separate the Servant Scáthach from the will of the Grail that was manipulating the Altered manifestation of the queen. Such a procedure was only possible thanks to the Servant Scáthach drawing a rune on herself right before she was dissolved by the mud of the Grail that let her preserve a portion of her own free will. It was that free will that was causing Scáthach Alter to hold back while fighting Bazett rather than kill her immediately. This free will was also necessary because when the Servant Scáthach was absorbed into the living Scáthach, some of the Grails’ pollution would remain to try and reestablish a connection and corrupt them. Having not only the living Scáthach’s will, but some of the Servant Scáthach’s will meant they had a better chance at beating back the Grail’s influence than they would otherwise. That fight would also be made easier thanks to the living Scáthach being a flesh and blood person and thus more resistant to the Grail’s mud than a Spiritual Body.

Erosion was thrust towards Scáthach Alter’s chest. Just a single wound was needed. Once that golden blade entered the Berserker’s skin, Bazett’s role would be over.

“Curruid Coinchenn!”

The bonds of sewn space that held Scáthach Alter in place were torn asunder as she gained new armor that amplified her strength to awe inspiring new levels. A beastly helmet with a red blade for a horn wrapped around the queen’s head while her arms were sealed in large claws. Both arms swung, one at the living Scáthach, the other at Bazett. One hit was death. No defense could stop it.

Bazett and the living Scáthach shot flames from their feet to fly away, used Accel Turn, and hoped their Pioneer of the Stars skills would keep them alive. Normally in moments like these, everything would slow down for Bazett as if time had nearly halted. That’s what happened when Scáthach Alter used Gáe Bolg Alternative. Not this time. It was all over so fast that even saying it happened in an instant didn’t capture the brevity of the moment.

Two legs were soaring through the air, removed from their host. They were Bazett’s. The magus couldn’t tell up from down as she was blown away from the slash.

Bazett regained her bearings only to see the armored Scáthach approaching, claw already approaching again to break down the magus into her base atoms. The other Scáthach appeared behind the Berserker, having avoided the blades of Curruid.

The living Scáthach didn’t try to attack the Berserker, that wouldn’t stop her, so instead she threw her spear at Bazett. The weapon’s point stabbed into the side of Bazett’s suit and dragged her away from Scáthach Alter, the magus narrowly dodging the Alter’s claws.

The two Scáthach engaged each other, the Alter on the offensive while the living queen focused all her efforts on evasion. Each dodge was by the smallest of margins, the living Scáthach only being able to delay how long it would be until she was disemboweled by her Blackened doppelganger.

Bazett and the spear carrying her landed far away from the two queens. The magus watched the battle while thinking of how she could end this fight immediately. That armor was certainly Scáthach Alter’s trump card, which meant Bazett could use Fragarach to kill the Berserker. It would also bring back Bazett’s legs given Fragarach would reverse time to before the armor was activated.

There was no way Bazett could do that. It would kill Scáthach, the woman the magus adored. Scáthach Alter knew that, which was why she didn’t hesitate to use her armor.

Unable to help, Bazett gathered her flames into one of her palms and pressed it into each of the stumps where her legs once were. The wounds cauterized as the magus sifted through every idea that popped into her head about how to help the living Scáthach. Distract Alter with projectiles? No, Bazett was too weak to even be worth dodging the attacks of at this point. Strike the ground to shake it and throw Alter off balance? No, she wouldn’t be thrown off with a little quake. Threaten to kill herself to play to whatever affection Alter still feels for Bazett and distract her? No, Alter’s made it clear that she’s ready to kill Bazett so she wouldn’t care. Each ideation was more desperate and illogical than the last. Nothing, there was nothing Bazett could do to help. The living Scáthach was going to die and the Altered Scáthach would forever be trapped in her new accursed existence. Bazett was helpless, useless, and worthless. She just had to win this one fight, that was all the magus had to do. Hit Scáthach Alter with Erosion. That was all she needed to do and she still managed to screw up. The fire around Bazett’s body fizzled out and she was left to wallow in her own incompetence. She was so weak and stupid and didn’t deserve all the love and help she had received.

Stop. Bazett was relapsing. She couldn’t get distracted with hating herself. Scáthach loved her, even Scáthach Alter admitted it. Bazett was considered worthy of love by the wisest woman she had ever known. Bazett was worthy. She was. After bringing happiness to Scáthach’s life, the life of a woman who had suffered the horror of solitude for centuries, how could Bazett not be someone worthy of affection? To say otherwise would be to diminish the suffering of Scáthach, to say that alleviating her pain was not something praiseworthy or meaningful. There was nothing Bazett could imagine that was more important than making sure Scáthach was happy. Well, there was one thing she could think of, and that was saving Scáthach from the Grail. No more doubt. No more panic. She just needed to keep calm and show why she had earned Scáthach’s love.

And just like that, Bazett had a good idea.

“Get ready to use Matrix Wodan as soon as you’re free to do so.” Bazett telepathically told the living Scáthach. “Aim it at teleport spot 6.”

“Got it.”

Bazett drew multiple runes and a fireball launched at the Berserker. It wasn’t weak, but it was far from anything remarkable by the standards of a Servant. It looked like nothing more than a pathetic attempt by Bazett to try and help despite being all but completely out of commission. It was such a miserable display that Scáthach didn’t bother trying to dodge or block the fireball.

The flames did nothing to Scáthach Alter when they made contact, but what did do something was the green rune hidden within the fire, its appearance and magical energy disguised by the veil of flame.

Scáthach’s Alter’s instinct acquired skills that should have provided the Berserker with the ability to foresee Bazett’s trick, but perhaps Alter got unlucky when it came to what abilities she got that time. The other possibility was that the Berserker did realize something was amiss, but the part of her that was the old Scáthach’s will forced her to ignore the deception.

The Berserker disappeared in a flash of green, teleported to the nearest teleportation seal the alliance ended up not using for their plan. The living Scáthach immediately got to work writing out eighteen Primordial Runes, the original symbols of Odin’s Authority. The runes shot upward into the sky and formed a great ring. The crests began to revolve until they blurred together into a ring of white light. In the middle of that ring appeared a name written in runes. “The All-Father.” It was a seal that acted as the culmination and focal point for the chief deity of the Norse, possessor of many names. A light would soon shine down, a focal point of Odin’s dominion over war, magic, and death, as if the god himself had shapeshifted into an attack. This was an Anti-Fortress A-Rank Noble Phantasm-level spell, more than powerful enough to kill Scáthach Alter, and if she survived then she would have her parameters ranked down, all her buffs made null and void, and constantly active Noble Phantasms like her Curruid Coinchenn would be temporarily disabled. There was no way she would be fast enough to escape the attack radius and she couldn’t defend with rune barriers since the spell the living Scáthach was using was the personification of Odin’s power over the runes he created. The Curruid armor provided great strength, but not the necessary area of effect to block or clash with an Anti-Fortress tier offensive. Scathach Alter likely had access to the Gate of Skye, but that couldn’t be activated fast enough to react in time. There was only one thing the Berserker could use to counter the power of Odin.

“Ochd Deug Odin!”

The All-Father’s sigil became a spear so large it was more accurate to call it a pillar or column, a shaft of mana and death curses molded into the shape of Gungnir the precursor to Gáe Bolg. At the same time, a red spear ascended before splitting into myriad copies. It was Scáthach Alter’s Gáe Bolg Alternative again.

Right as Bazett could see Alter’s Noble Phantasm, she pointed another teleportation rune at herself and fired. A flicker of green and now Bazett was in the middle of a wooded area next to a small cliff, the magus sitting right in front of Scáthach Alter whose leg was still extended and torn up from kicking her spear skyward. She had shed Curruid Coinchenn, her armor apparently not allowing her to use Gáe Bolg Alternative when active. The queen was focused on Ochd Deug Odin and disheveled from having to hurriedly use a counter-attack, leaving unready for Bazett’s sudden appearance.

The lone magic spear met the salvo of red spears, an explosion resulting that filled the area with blinding light that washed away nearly all visibility. Bazett didn't need to see, she knew she just had to stab forward. Erosion in a reverse grip, the enforcer thrust the knife for Scáthach Alter’s chest. Bazett wasn’t sure how close she was to her target, how long it would take to reach her, if anything had gotten in her way. She didn’t falter. She let the anxieties that once held her back fall by the wayside, this time for good. The light began to fade as a storm of wind blew through. A vague shape became visible in the dying light. It was moving, approaching. Bazett saw Scáthach’s chest, but she also saw Scáthach’s hand.

Scáthach Alter caught Bazett’s wrist before she could stab the queen’s chest, the blade half an inch away from the goal. The light died away and the air stilled.

“Once again, you’re a failure.” The Berserker looked down at the magus who didn’t even have legs to stand on.

“No I’m not.” Bazett responded with pride.

Erosion began to morph. Bazett, instead of letting her mind drift to loathing at her failure, immediately remembered something she learned about Erosion when Assassin gave it to her. It had more than one form.

The dagger grew into a sword, the blade extending and penetrating Scáthach Alter’s chest and coming out her back.

“You did it.” Scáthach Alter said. “I-”

Bazett didn’t let Scáthach Alter finish that thought, grabbing the sword with her free arm and ripping it out of the Berserker’s chest. Out of the wound flowed not blood, but a light with creeping blotches of darkness within it. It was Scáthach’s Saint Graph, as well as her Mind. As light tried to float away, more curses reached out of the Berserker’s chest to pull back Scáthach’s essence, but in teleported the living Scáthach using the same method Bazett did. She had already drawn all the runes necessary to transfer the Saint Graph into herself, the seals flying through the air and into the light. The Saint Graph and Mind were pulled away from the curses and into the living Scáthach. The spiritual shell that was the body of the Berserker dissipated into magical energy.

The living Scáthach fell backward onto the grass. Her face was a pained wince as the two Scáthachs became one while trying to combat the remaining influence of the Grail. It was all a matter of will now. Either the Scáthachs would unify into a single individual and expunge the Grail’s mud for good, or the curses would corrupt them and take control.

Bazett crawled over to the downed Scáthach as the queen occasionally spasmed. There was nothing that the magus could do to help, and yet she needed to stay at her lover’s side. She needed to be close to her while she was under such duress. Propped up on her hands, Bazett looked down at the pained face of her beloved, praying that she would be okay.

The Moon hung high, its light passing between the leaves of the surrounding trees. The pinhole effect created little crescents that covered Scáthach’s body as she squirmed. Such a phenomenon might prove a distraction to others who were forced to wait, but Bazett barely noticed them as her attention was only on Scáthach. Every jitter of the queen’s body made Bazett’s heart stop for a moment. The magus kept visualizing Scáthach’s body calming down and her eyes opening, the queen back to her old self. Bazett kept imagining it as if she could will such an occurrence into reality. Her perception of time dilated as she kept on imagining her desired future, her locus of control so strong that she thought even fate might bend to her singular want.

Oh how Bazett wished to see what was happening in Scáthach’s head. What it was like inside the queen’s Mind and Soul was an arcanum beyond Bazett’s ability to solve. She just had to wait. Despite logically understanding that, it didn’t ease Bazett’s heart. Why was time so slow? Why was the future not guaranteed? Why wouldn’t Scáthach just open her eyes already?

“Scáthach! You can do this! No amount of curses can beat you! I know it! You’re the strongest person in the world! I believe in you! I love you! Wake up so we can leave this city and live together! We can live wherever you want! We can go to your home country of Scotland, or we could go to Ireland, or anywhere! I’ll get a job and we can live normal lives! Peaceful lives! As long as I’m with you, nothing else matters! I don’t need my legs! I don’t need my arms! I don’t need anything but you, so please just open your eyes! Let me hear your voice! Let me know you’re okay!” Bazett was crying. She clamped her eyelids shut as her tears dripped onto Scáthach’s face.

Bazett felt a gloved hand touch her cheek and she opened her eyes.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting.” Scáthach said with a smile. Her eyes were open and there wasn’t a hint of the Grail’s influence remaining.

“Scáthach, is it really you?” Bazett’s crying intensified and it made it hard to see.

“It is. The Servant and living versions of myself successfully fused and the corruption’s gone. I remember everything.”

“Good.” Bazett grabbed Scáthach and hugged her tight, the magus falling on top of the queen. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” Scáthach hugged back. They stayed like that for a moment before the queen grabbed Bazett’s head and lifted it over to her own. They kissed. Bazett never felt so at peace. The relief that her beloved was back made this moment the sweetest in all her life. She could feel every vibration that passed through her and Scáthach’s bodies as they were connected. It was as if they had become one, as if they were finally whole after a lifetime of being incomplete.

Their lips inevitably had to separate, but the connection between them remained unbreakable.

“I love you.” Bazett said.

“I love you too.” Scáthach said.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Scáthach giggled.

“I love you.”

“You don’t have to keep repeating it.”

“Yes I do.”

“Why?”

“Because saying it once isn’t enough. I love you too much for just three words to get it all across.”

“You’re adorable when you get all sincere like this.” Scáthach pet Bazett’s head.

“Aren’t I always sincere?”

“And that’s why you’re always adorable. Let me sit up.” Bazett got off of Scáthach and the queen helped her sit. Scáthach looked at where Bazett’s legs should have been. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For cutting off your legs, and for giving you all those cuts, and for saying so many cruel things to you.” Scáthach touched the tip of her fingers to what remained of one of Bazett’s legs, drawing a rune on it to help it heal. “I don’t think I’ll be able to grant you new legs.”

“I said before I don’t need my legs, and don’t apologize. Everything bad you did was because of the Grail. If it weren’t for the rune you drew on yourself before the mud got you, then you wouldn’t have been able to hold back. I would’ve been slaughtered, so I should be thanking you.”

“I still feel guilty.” Scáthach drew a second rune on what was left of Bazett’s other leg.

“Don’t. You told me that I have to love myself and to stop beating myself up over everything. You should practice what you preach.” Bazett grasped Scáthach’s hand.

“You’re such a pedant sometimes.” Scáthach’s smile returned and she ran her hand through her hair like she always did when she was embarrassed. “You’re right I suppose. Let’s leave the past where it is and focus on the present.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Bazett smiled as well. “The most pressing matter right now is the Grail. I can’t fight anymore for obvious reasons. Can you?”

“No. I have the same magical energy the living Scáthach did before the fusion, which wasn’t much after having so much of it drained in the fight. I’m also mentally and spiritually exhausted from beating back the Grail’s attempts to take me over. I could theoretically fight, but I doubt I could even handle repelling those tentacle monsters for very long while in this condition. I’d just be a liability.”

“I suppose our part in this is complete then.”

“I suppose.”

“I’ll let Kirei know we defeated you and we can’t keep fighting.”

“I suppose you did defeat me, but it sounds funny when you say it that way.”

Bazett telepathically contacted the priest and summarized the situation.

“Understood, good work. That’s three of the enemy Servants dealt with. You’ve done more than enough, you can both rest now. Also, congratulations on being reunited.” Kirei was brisk but kind as always.

“Kirei’s up to date. What should we do?”

“We should get somewhere safe in the city.” Scáthach stood up and stretched her limbs before crouching down and grabbing Bazett and lifting her into a princess carry. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s.” Normally something like this would cause Bazett’s skin to match her hair in redness out of embarrassment. Instead she just leaned her head on Scáthach’s shoulder and enjoyed the touch of the woman she loved. Their fight was over and while the war was far from done, Bazett didn’t concern herself with that. All she was thinking about was how happy she was and what her future with Scáthach would be like. “I love you, Scáthach.”

“I love you too, Bazett”

---

True Name: Scáthach Alter
Class: Berserker
Alternative Classes: Lancer, Caster, Assassin
Species: Servant, magus
Type: Heroic Spirit, Divine Spirit, Anti-Hero
Gender: Woman
Height: 5’5(168cm)
Place of Origin: Scotland
Likes: War, killing
Dislikes: Peace, the Land of Shadows
Talents: Violence, martial arts, magecraft
Natural Enemy: Scáthach-Skadi
Source: Celtic mythology
Region: Ireland
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Hidden Attribute: Heaven
Armaments: Spears, armor
Summoning Catalyst: Her Saint Graph
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: A+
Mana: C
Luck: D
NP: A+
Class Skills: Mad Enhancement(EX)
Personal Skills: Primordial Rune(-), Instinct of Dún Scáith(A++), God-Slayer(A+), Madness of the Spirits(B)
Noble Phantasms:
Gáe Bolg Alternative(Anti-Army, B++, 4~70, 500 people)
Gate of Skye(Anti-Army, A+, 2~50, 200 people)
Curruid Coinchenn(Anti-Unit(Self), A, -, 1 person)

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 59: Bittersweet Rendezvous

Green light faded and Waver was on a new battlefield with his Berserker at his side. A bamboo forest within Fuyuki’s bounds was the setting of Waver’s face off with a man who looked identical to Berserker, Caster Iskandar Alter.

There he was. Instead of the attire of a warrior king worn by the Rider Iskandar that Waver loved, nor the armor of one who was purely a butcher like Berserker, Caster wore the raiments of a monarch. Dressed in purple, white, and black, the magus Iskandar was phlegmatic in a way that was so divorced from the image of Rider in Waver’s head that it made the Lord question for the briefest moment if they were truly the same individual. This man was so grim, his face so sour it reminded Waver of himself. It made the Lord’s heart hurt in a way he had predicted would happen. This was the final confirmation that there was no saving the king. The plan Ms. McRemitz was going to use to save her Lancer wouldn’t work in this situation given Berserker Iskandar didn't have the mental faculties necessary to reject the Grail’s mud. The only hope was for there to already be a spark of the old Iskandar remaining in Caster, but that asinine dream was now debunked. Just looking in Caster’s eyes was all the Lord needed to know that the king was a hollowed out husk of his former self. The Grail would pay for besmirching the image of the King of Conquerors.

“Hello, boy.” There was no life in Caster’s words.

“Hello, Caster.” Waver pulled out a cigar and lit it. “I’m surprised you recognize me given I look so different.”

“You started smoking?”

“That should be rather apparent. Why do you ask?” Waver held his cigar between his teeth, letting himself naturally breathe in the smoke.

“You’ve grown up.”

“I have. It’s thanks to the old you.”

“I’d ask whether you’d be willing to join the Grail’s side and help us conquer the World, but I suppose your will cannot be shaken at this point.” Caster closed his eyes briefly before reopening them. “I commend you on your plan to isolate us. Your allies even managed to separate me from the river of Grail mud I brought with me.”

“I’m honored to be praised by the king of conquerors. It’s strange but I think I’d be less honored to hear that same praise from the old you. I suppose I see that Iskandar as less of an idol and more of an intimate companion, so kindness from him feels different than when it comes from you.” Waver smiled.

“You work hard to differentiate me from the Iskandar from the Fourth War, but we are the same Heroic Spirit and even possess the same manifestation of our Saint Graph. I am the Iskandar that you fought with and came to love.”

“I know.” Waver sighed and removed the cigar from his mouth. “You are the same, but only in a technical sense. Your personality and ideology has been drastically modified from what it once was, to the point that it’s debatable whether you still count as the same person. The Ship of Theseus and all that.”

“I’m not that different from the man you knew, I simply lack as many limiting principles.”

“A man needs principles to keep himself civil and human.”

“Principles keep a man tamed. They are a collar that must be removed if one wishes to acquire all their dreams.” The Caster spread his arms out as if he was passionately preaching to a congregation.

“The fact that you can say such things is a sign of how divorced you truly are from Rider.” Waver gripped his cigar a little more tightly. “The true Iskandar would be disgusted with you and would probably try to kill you. That actually helps. Now I can kill you without reservation.”

This wasn’t Waver reuniting with the man he loved, this was Waver putting the past to rest. He participated in this war for a chance to see Iskandar again, because he hadn’t achieved closure in the last war. Waver was desperate to recreate those halcyon days of the Fourth War, but it became quickly apparent that the past was dead and gone. There was no recreating it, it was something to remember fondly while never getting lost in what had disappeared. Perhaps it was better that Waver didn’t summon Rider Iskandar again, that would only feed into Waver’s inability to move on. As agonizing as meeting two corrupted Iskandar’s had been, it was what the Lord needed to mourn and stop gazing backward.

“We’ve wasted enough time on words.” Caster gathered lightning in his hand, but that electricity was ripped away and into the surrounding bamboo shoots. “Well now. I should have known you’d have more to your plan.”

“I’ve nullified electricity based abilities.” Waver put his cigar between his teeth again. Within many of the bamboo shoots were Primeval Batteries which Waver had expropriated from Atrum Galliasta post his death. The batteries were boosted with Primordial Runes and made to act as lightning rods to all forms of electricity, whether it's made from magecraft, a Noble Phantasm, or anything else. The electricity gets distributed among all the batteries to weaken it before then channeling it into the ground and down to the Fuyuki Leyline to revert the charge to magical energy.

“To create an area that could so thoroughly counter electrical techniques, it likely has to be non-discriminatory.” Caster rubbed his neck. “It will also nullify your Iskandar’s lighting, but that isn’t a problem since he has the physical strength to kill me. Clever.”

“Let’s skip right to our trump cards instead of dragging this fight out.” Waver put away his cigar to finish it later.

“Ionioi Doúlos!”

A Reality Marble burst out of Berserker’s body; a desert filled with humans in manacles, heads bowed to the conqueror. The rewritten reality receded and was absorbed into Berserker, his body acquiring the physical abilities of all those the tyrant had dominated. Black armor broke apart and muscles expanded as Berserker became gigantic with chains of electricity coming from his back. In his hand was a multi-branched bolt of lightning that resembled a langxian. In this form, Berserker’s power was too tremendous to be affected by the lightning rods.

“You assume I also have a trump card that won’t be stopped by your lightning rods. Other people would have assumed they had cornered me and would let their guards down, but you’re too cautious for that. Laudable. Megálos Zeus Funder.”

A bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and struck Caster, completely unaffected by the numerous lightning rods. The magus Iskandar’s hair became even darker and increased in length slightly. His eyes turned electric blue and released trails of static while his whole body was surrounded in an aura of lightning that caused him to levitate off the ground. This power was divine. Everything clicked into place. Waver never understood what qualified Iskandar for the Caster class given he wasn’t a true magus. When Iskandar was a Caster, he harnessed his own claims that his father was Zeus and that he was thus a demigod. It wasn’t lightning magecraft he used, but divine lightning that had now been strengthened beyond what the Primeval Batteries could handle.

Thunder boomed as Caster fired dozens of lightning bolts at the Berserker twice his size. The giant stopped all the electric streams with his forearm alone while he ran at Caster and thrust at him with his branched weapon. The false magus dashed backwards, his body sliding slightly above the ground through electromagnetism. More lightning was shot at Berserker, thundering so rapidly from all the concurrent blasts that it sounded like there was a war going on that was being fought with cannons alone. Berserker just kept charging through dozens of bamboo stalks, only putting up his arms to defend his vitals as the bolts barely reddened his skin. The giant thrust his weapon again with speed far too great for Caster to avoid.

“Megálos Zeus Funder!” Caster was hit with another bolt from the sky. His Divinity increased further as his hair lengthened again and became pitch black. His muscle mass increased and his lightning aura grew larger while he dodged the numerous branches of lightning heading his way before flying into the sky. The false magus swung his arms down and a downpour of lighting bolts hit the giant. The hits were doing more damage, though it still wasn’t enough to stop Berserker.

“Megálos Zeus Funder!” Another boost to Caster’s power as his hair continued to lengthen and his aura became so bright that it made it hard to even look in his direction. His attacks were starting to leave burns on Berserker’s flesh, though they healed almost instantly. Berserker shouted and from his throat came a beam of electricity that Caster narrowly dodged by pouring as much energy as he could into his flight speed.

Caster was activating his Noble Phantasm over and over, increasing his Divinity further and making him closer to a Divine Spirit. If this power was something he could use repeatedly, then the question was why Caster wasn’t using it in rapid succession from the onset of the battle to become as strong as possible. The obvious answer was that it had limitations. It could perhaps require a lot of magical energy to activate, but that shouldn’t matter due to the power the Grail was giving Caster. Using the Noble Phantasm too often within a certain span of time might have consequences. The constant alterations to his Saint Graph might degrade it or cause it to ‘overheat,’ thus requiring a wait period between uses. That was possible. There was also the fact that this Noble Phantasm was slowly turning Iskandar into a Divine Spirit which had an obvious problem. Divine Spirits couldn’t normally be summoned, requiring a vessel to stay for extended lengths of time like in the case of Gray and the Lion King. If Iskandar used his Noble Phantasm too much, he would become too powerful for his container as a Servant to hold and he’d quickly return to the Throne of Heroes. It was similar to how Ionioi Doúlos was taxing on Berserker’s Spirit Core and would eventually kill him if he used it for too long.

If Berserker didn’t hit with a killing blow soon, then this fight would devolve into a test to see which Iskandar had greater spiritual endurance. In that case, Berserker would lose given his Saint Graph was under constant strain from his transformation while Caster was only putting gradually increasing increments of pressure on his own Saint Graph.

Berserker did not relent in his attempts to vaporize Caster, tearing down more of the bamboo as he fought, but the false magus continued to successfully evade, especially as he used his Noble Phantasm two more times which increased his agility. Caster kept releasing streams of electricity in retaliation that were starting to actually do meaningful damage to the giant and flashed rapidly enough that Waver was thankful he wasn’t prone to seizures. At this rate, Caster wouldn’t need to use his Noble Phantasm again, because he could just hold out for a while until Berserker self-destructed.

That said, Caster was fast enough to consistently dodge Berserker who’s physical abilities were currently beyond the normal maximum Servants could achieve. To be that fast meant Caster was also at a level that was exceeding his limits, overclocking himself like a computer. If his continually Divine ascensions had already made him that strong, then it would likely take only one or two more uses of his Noble Phantasm to become too powerful to remain as a Servant and get unsummoned. Caster would never intentionally use his Noble Phantasm again though because he understood the repercussions. Thus, it was up to Waver to force the demigod to use it.

Waver claimed earlier that he wanted to jump right to using their trump cards and proceeded to have Berserker use his Noble Phantasm. That was purposefully phrased to make Caster think that Ionioi Doúlos was Waver’s trump card. That was a lie on Waver’s part to disguise his true trump card.

“Reines.” Waver telepathically called his adoptive sister.

“Yes, brother?”

“Can you spare Trimmau? I need her.”

“Sure. Caren can protect me for a bit. How’s the fight going?”

“You should know how it’s going given I’m asking you for Trimmau.”

“I meant emotionally. How are you doing?”

“My mind is clear, as is my goal. I am going to put the man I love to rest.”

“Love? I’ve never heard you be so open about your feelings.”

“Are you going to mock me?”

“Brother, even I have the tact necessary to know when not to mock someone. I’m going to teleport Trimmau over, get ready.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck.”

Trimmau appeared in a blink of green and Waver took control of her. The mercury golem looked up at Caster and began running calculations, strings of numbers appearing in the air and coming together to form complex equations. Threads of mercury formed from Trimmau’s hair and weaved into a magical circle that floated above her. The golem was struggling to analyze her target with the small amount of energy Waver could provide, especially while he was also feeding power into Berserker. Two of the Command Spells on the back of Waver’s hand lit up before disappearing, their magical energy funneling into Trimmau to power her calculations.

The maid was not only a tool for combat, but a computational device. Before getting involved in the Holy Grail War, Waver had his student Flat help him give Trimmau an upgrade. Flat specialized in hacking magecraft and mysteries to control or nullify them. Since such an ability was fundamentally one of calculation, Flat’s ability could be programmed into Trimmau so she could achieve the same effects. When Flat heard about Waver’s idea, he started yapping on as he often did, referring to Waver with way too many nicknames. The Lord didn't want to be called a ridiculous name like Professor Charisma ever again. At least Flat agreed to help and did so with enthusiasm.

The ability to hack the spiritual granted Trimmau many new capabilities, including taking control of familiars. That obviously included Servants, but such a feat would normally be impossible given the amount of power that would be necessary to analyze all the facets of a Heroic Spirit’s Saint Graph, and to then still have enough magical energy to actually hack into the Servant and program orders into it was even more unlikely. That’s why Waver had to use two Command Spells to give Trimmau the necessary fuel to anatomize Caster and build a link to his Saint Graph. That still wouldn’t be enough to control him, but through the link created directly into the coding of his Saint Graph, Waver could use a third Command Spell on Caster as if he was the Lord’s Servant. Waver would force Caster to use his Noble Phantasm three times in a row and thus cause him to return to the Throne of Heroes. Waver would have tried to order Caster to end his own life, but such an order might be met with more resistance and thus might not work when using such a roundabout form of Command Spell.

The only flaw with this plan was that running the necessary calculations would take time, and Berserker only had a little bit more time until he died under the weight of his own power. Waver couldn’t return Berserker to his normal state since he’d just get killed instantly by the powered up Caster. Waver just had to hope that Berserker would be able to hold out until Trimmau finished her analysis.

Trimmau immediately caught Caster’s eye and though it was unlikely he knew what she was doing, he was astute enough to know the maid was part of some plan Waver was initiating. The near god changed target from Berserker to Trimmau and Waver. Caster’s array of lighting bolts resembled a net as they approached his targets, Berserker running in the way and taking the full brunt of the electric lattice. At the same time, Caster called down more lighting from the sky which headed for Trimmau and Waver from the opposite side of them from where Berserker was. The giant dived over the pair and took the new bolts. Berserker twisted his head and screamed another beam of electricity from his throat towards Caster. The false magus dodged, but Berserker tossed the branching lightning bolt he held at Caster, leading the shot to where the near god was about to go. Caster turned as hard as he could, barely skirting past the makeshift javelin, only for that branching bolt to split into multiple smaller streams of electricity right after it passed the false magus. All the lighting homed in on Caster who formed a barrier made out of electricity around himself. The lighting hit the shield and Caster grunted as he tried to maintain it. This struggle was made more intense as Berserker fired another beam from his mouth at the barrier. Grunts became groans as Caster forced his barrier to hold strong against all the electricity. As soon as the shield stopped enduring attacks, Caster dispersed and reformed the electricity that formed it into a ball that grew to three times the near god’s size. The sphere was thrown at Berserker who caught it with outstretched arms, the orb exploding and shaking the bamboo forest so much that Waver couldn’t stay standing. By the time the Lord hit the dirt, the detonation had finished and the majority of the forest was gone, only a few shoots still standing at the edges of the battlefield. Waver and Trimmau were fine since Berserker had once again acted as a human shield, his skin badly burned.

The back and forth continued like this, Caster trying to take out Trimmau and Waver while Berserker played defense using his own body, counter attacking when he could. The mercury maid’s analysis was coming along nicely, but Berserker was barreling towards death’s door; this fight was nearing its end. If Trimmau managed to finish before Berserker died, it would be by milliseconds.

Waver was sweating as he got back to his feet, his eyes glued to the fight while the maid’s progress remained in the corner of his vision. The formulas in the air were going ungodly slow, at least from the Lord’s perspective tinted in anxiety.

Berserker created more branching lighting bolts which he kept on throwing at Caster to force him to defend with his barrier rather than attack. That was less than successful given Caster had started keeping up his barrier while also shooting out lightning. This meant his shield wasn’t as strong as it could be, but that wasn’t a problem since many of Berserker’s bolts were getting stopped by Caster’s own lighting meaning the barrier wasn’t under as much strain. The false magus’ lighting streams that weren’t stuck matching Berserker’s were instead heading for the giant. The bolts kept on striking Berserker to wear away at him. His body was red and raw, the outer layers of his skin having long since turned to ash. The lighting just kept on eroding away the giant’s form, all while Berserker used his own attacks which only served to further his own deterioration.

It wasn’t a surprise when Berserker finally hit his limit. The giant’s body and Saint Graph could no longer contain his power. His flesh began to split open, lighting seeping out instead of blood while his muscles were like water as they shifted in waves from a series of expansions and contractions. Berserker’s Spirit Core was undergoing the equivalent of a nuclear meltdown. The breaking body was going to erupt and leave all of Fuyuki as nothing more than a pit to the planet’s core.

This was Caster’s chance to finally take out his real targets. The near god took down his shield and gathered electricity between his hands to create another fulgurant ball. Like the last, the sphere began to expand, but then it condensed down. The power of the spell was being focused down to a marble sized ball.

While Waver initially ordered his mind to search for a solution to the current problem, that mind stopped when Berserker looked back over his shoulder at the Lord. Waver and the dying giant looked each other in the eye and for the first time, reason could be seen in Berserker's gaze. There wasn’t just a single desire piloting the giant. There was something inside Berserker that Waver had managed to connect to in their time together. Waver hadn't even realized, he just thought Berserker was a puppet of Iskandar’s wish to conquer. Waver regretted not trying harder to break through the shell of madness around the Berserker Iskandar’s mind.

The giant turned back towards the Caster right as the false magus thrust their arms and the sphere they held forward, the condensed lightning becoming a beam that was so large and fast that it wouldn’t even take a second to turn Fuyuki into less than atoms.

Berserker roared, expunging all the magical energy in his body. He even turned his dying Saint Graph into mana to further strengthen the tidal wave of electricity that left Berserker’s mouth and swept upward towards Caster’s beam. It was a collision of two attacks that were equivalent to Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms. Earth rose upwards while air ran away from the dueling lightning. A great clap of thunder bellowed and just kept on going, rising in pitch without an upper limit. Berserker was winning, his wave inching closer to Caster, pushing back the false magus’ beam. The problem was that the giant was disappearing and, at the rate he was going, he would be completely gone before his lightning could reach Caster. Berserker’s arms were gone and his torso was but a thinning stalk. His legs were almost gone and the sides of his head were following suit. It was then that the very Spirit Core that was the center of Berserker’s being was converted to mana and acted as one final push, the wave of electricity rushing through Caster’s beam. The false magus had no choice but to stop firing his attack and fly out of the way. Berserker's whole body turned to magical energy and joined his beam as it shot to the Okeanos of stars above, looking like a new star in the sky before it finally disappeared from view.

“Goodbye, Berserker.” Waver said.

The near god was panting after firing that last beam, having used up so much of his magical energy, but he had no time to waste. He flew towards Waver and Trimmau to take them out, his hand readying a bolt of lighting to incinerate them.

“Analysis complete.” Trimmau said.

“Activate the spell!”

The maid did as she was commanded while Waver put a hand on her back. The magical circle above the mercury puppet illuminated red, as did a seal on the back Waver’s hand.

Caster went wide eyed as he felt the connection establish. The electricity in his hand heated up as he was about to fire it.

“By my Command Spell, use Megálos Zeus Funder three times!”

The near god stopped in his tracks, floating in the air with a creased face as he tried to resist the order. As the despoiler of countries did all he could to remain in control, his magical energy intensified in preparation for using his Noble Phantasm.

“Megálos Zeus Funder.” The Caster growled as he was struck by lightning that made his hair lengthen into a great mane and his veins glow white through his skin. The near god clutched at himself, hands squeezing his biceps tight as he continued trying to regain control. “Megálos Zeus Funder.” Another lightning strike. Caster’s clothes were all but completely burned away at the same time that his hands and forearms changed, their skin having changed to be made of solidified electricity. The near god was just a step away from his apotheosis. Caster’s teeth clenched and his luminous veins pressed tight against his flesh. He was giving his whole heart and soul in resistance to the Command Spell, but it wasn’t enough. “Megálos Zeus Funder.” One last bolt came down and struck Iskandar Alter. A crown of electricity floated around the tyrant’s brow as his aura shaped into a disk that floated behind Caster’s head, a halo that declared the completion of his ascension to godhood. He was a true Divine Spirit.

The plan had succeeded. Iskandar Alter had become a Divine Spirit and would inevitably disappear.

Eventually.

Caster was still there. He hadn’t disappeared.

How? There was no way a fully fledged Divine Spirit could survive in the container of a normal Servant. He had to disappear eventually.

But nothing said he would disappear immediately. It was possible that he could maintain himself for a little while. Oh no.

The deity looked down at Waver with his brow pinched downward and teeth clenched. The wrathful god raised an arm and from his hand came a release of lightning that started as one bolt before branching out into tens, then hundreds, then thousands that all rose past the clouds and into the heavens like a World Tree that sat in Caster’s palm. He was destined to disappear, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get revenge upon Waver. As long as the Grail’s plan succeeded, then Caster would have the spiritual victory as his actions would help the World be conquered by curses. All he had to do was bring his hand down and the great bolt Caster held would come down upon the World and raze a large portion of the very Texture that mankind lived on.

Waver couldn’t think of anything. There was no solution to this. It was over. The Grail had won. Caster had won. Waver was a fool who had doomed humanity.

The radiant eyes of Caster met Waver’s. The Lord could feel the fathomless wrath within the deity. He could also feel that wrath attenuating as eye contact was maintained. The tree of lightning thinned and lost branches as Caster’s expression was drained of its strength, creases disappearing as the conqueror calmed. The lightning bolt disappeared and the new god floated down to earth, feet firmly planting as his eyes never dared leave Waver’s. He walked over to the Lord, his stiff posture and breathing slow. He stopped right in front of Waver, his chest puffed out.

“Why did you stop?” Waver had no right to complain, but he was confused as to why Caster had given up. “Your victory was just in reach.”

“It would have only been a spiritual victory and that wouldn’t have been worth it.” The god’s voice was quiet.

“It wouldn’t have been worth what?”

“Killing you.”

Waver tried to say something, but nothing came out.

“I still hold the old Iskandar’s memories, and with those memories comes affection. I love you. I love my dream more, but not so much that I’d sacrifice you for a meager victory of spite.” Iskandar’s voice gained some life to it that made Waver nostalgic.

“Really?” Waver felt his mouth unintentionally form into a smile. He moved a hand to cover it as soon as it came into his notice, but Iskandar grabbed the hand and moved it out of the way.

“I must say boy, you grew to have such a sour expression. It makes your elusive smile all the more worthy of observing.” Iskandar was smiling too now.

“I-this-I-I can’t-” Waver got choked up as he began to cry. He looked down at the soil to hide his face. “Life is so cruel. I finally get to reunite with you, and it’s only right before you’re going to disappear again.”

“And that’s all the more reason we have to savor this moment.” Iskandar’s hand reached under Waver's chin and lifted it up so they were looking in each other’s eyes again. Waver was enchanted looking into his love’s eyes and what came next was only natural. The two men kissed. Waver clenched his fists as he was overcome with so much bittersweet elation. This was something he had been anticipating for a decade, and yet it wasn’t to last. That was all the more reason Waver had to savor this, to burn every last detail into his mind, every motion of their bodies, every wave of warmth that pulsed through them, all of it.

Their lips separated and Waver immediately felt a pang in his chest. Iskandar’s body was starting to dissipate into particles of magical energy. He was leaving.

“Not yet.” Waver whimpered.

“I’m sorry, boy. All journeys end eventually, but yours isn’t over. Make sure to enjoy the rest of your adventure for me.”

“But-” Waver was interrupted by a flick to his head that knocked him over.

“It is how it is! I don’t want to hear any complaints!” Iskandar yelled like he used to in the Fourth War whenever he was angry or annoyed. “The man I came to love isn’t so weak as to crumble after one heartbreak!”

Waver looked up at his king and remembered what he loved about him. Waver wiped away his tears and smiled, standing up on his own and facing Iskandar with his head held high.

“You’re right. I still have so many dimwit students to teach. My conquest is far from over.”

“Good, now get to conquering!” Iskandar’s body was about to finish fading. The king smiled that big toothy smile of his. “Farewell, Waver.”

“Farewell, Iskandar.”

The King of Conquerors disappeared and Waver was left alone with Trimmau.

“I should send you back.” Waver pulled out a green rune and it flashed, sending the maid back to Reines. “It’s done. I did it. I did it.”

Tears left the Lord’s eyes again as he lit a cigar.

It was done.

---

True Name: Iskandar Alter
Class: Berserker
Alternative Classes: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Avenger
Species: Servant, human
Type: Heroic Spirit, Anti-Hero
Gender: man
Height: 7’(212cm)
Place of Origin: Macedon(current Greece)
Likes: Conquest
Dislikes: Things he has yet to conquer
Talents: Conquest
Natural Enemy: His mother
Source: Historical fact
Region: Macedon(current Greece)
Alignment: Lawful Mad
Hidden Attribute: Human
Armaments: Sarissa, kopis
Summoning Catalyst: Piece of Iskandar’s mantle
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: D
Mana: C
Luck: A+
NP: A++
Class Skills: Mad Enhancement(B)
Personal Skills: Domination(A), Divinity(C), Disengage(A)
Noble Phantasms:
Gordian Cutter(Anti-Unit, A+, 0~10, 1 person)
Ionioi Doúlos(Anti-Unit, EX, -, 1 person)

True Name: Iskandar Alter
Class: Caster
Alternative Classes: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Berserker
Species: Servant, human
Type: Heroic Spirit
Gender: Man
Height: 7’(212cm)
Place of Origin: Macedon(current Greece)
Likes: Conquest, holding dominance over others
Dislikes: The idea of completion, dissent
Talents: Conquest, leadership
Natural Enemy: His mother
Source: Historical fact
Region: Macedon(current Greece)
Alignment: Lawful evil
Hidden Attribute: Human
Armaments: None
Summoning Catalyst: His Saint Graph
Strength: C
Endurance: B
Agility: D-
Mana: A+
Luck: A+
NP: EX
Class Skills: Item Construction(C), Territory Creation(EX), Divinity(B)
Personal Skills: Domination(A), Tactics(B)
Noble Phantasms:
Megálos Zeus Funder(Anti-Unit, EX, -, 1 person)

[nick_of_fire]

Fate/Identity Reborn Chapter 60: Goodbye Nostalgia

A dead sky hung over a graveyard of swords that was to serve as the theater of battle. The air was dry and full of smoke and embers as if this entire dimension was simply the heart of a furnace hard at work. Gears turned in the sky without thought, working away at the generation of more weapons. This was the inner world spawned from the mind of Shirou Emiya, a symbol of his mind that had been forged in countless battles until it had turned to steel. It was a mind that moved not by the flames of his passion, but simply from the built up momentum that he had accrued over several lifetimes. Shirou Emiya did not fight because he was choosing to do so, he simply no longer remembered how to stop. He was a perpetual motion machine with only one goal; kill those who had been marked as enemies.

At the Counter Guardian’s left was a girl with hair that was dark brown and red that had been tied back into a ponytail, her hand holding an Azoth Sword. She wore a red sweater with a white cross on it with a black skirt, the same outfit that Emiya always remembered her wearing. In his time, they had been allies, friends even. She was Rin Tohsaka and she was unyielding in her will. She possessed skills born from both talent and effort, her potential getting to reach its apex now that she has become one with a future version of herself. There was a sense of pride that the Assassin felt at seeing this girl be all that she could be, as if he had previously had some investment in her. He didn’t. This Rin was nobody to him, and yet he still cared for her just a little bit. Perhaps some grain of the old and naive Shirou Emiya still stuck to the Counter Guardian despite all this time.

To the Assassin’s right was a young woman who hated him, and yet she was also his protege. She had put aside all her grievances with Emiya so they could work together for the sake of the greater good and so her mother could be saved. She was wise and mature. In another history, Emiya and the homunculus had been like siblings, and yet they were reluctant allies at best here. Despite that, Emiya still felt proud of her in much the same way that he did for Rin, though perhaps that was helped by him getting to see her match and surpass his expectations as a student. Illya had traced every single weapon Emiya had in his arsenal to add to her own, along with her magecraft and her Origin Sword that she was gripping tight. She wore quite the unique outfit, a modified version of the Dress of Heaven she created by tracing Leysritt and projecting a copy of the homunculus’ inanimate form. This permutation of the outfit was less of a dress and more of a pant suit, white with gold trimming and a cape that split into seven tassels, each strip tipped with a golden ring. The outfit made Illya look like a fairy tale prince while it amplified her magecraft and ability to transfer souls. Its most practical use in a fight was that any who made skin contact with the outfit would turn to gold if they weren't an elemental, demi-human, or homunculi.

Standing across from the trinity was a man in golden armor who’s serpentine eyes were as wide as could be. A moment earlier he was in the middle of a fight with Heracles and was only a few meters away from Artoria Pendragon, the woman he wanted to take for himself as if he were Romulus kidnapping the Sabine women. Now the King of Heroes had been cut off from both his rival and his quarry so he could instead face three individuals who were as worthy of acknowledgement in his eyes as a dying ant on the side of the road. Emiya expected King Gilgamesh to be more expressive in his rage, to make some display of power, but instead there wasn’t even a single fluctuation in his magical energy. Perhaps he was not only angry, but genuinely taken aback by the audacity of Emiya and his allies to try and face him in this isolated setting, distant from any further help. It was also possible that his ire had become so fathomless that it was simply beyond comprehension or traditional measurement.

“Heh.” A laugh from the golden man. “Fuhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!”

This wasn’t what Emiya was expecting.

“I must say, you mongrels have left me feeling a cornucopia of different things right now!” Gilgamesh put his hand on his forehead as he laughed more. “On the one hand, I feel outrage so deep you could drown it! I also recognize that I’ve fought two of you before and yet you both still have the courage to face me again!” Gilgamesh pointed at Rin. “I was sure I blew you to pieces, and yet we meet again after you’ve stitched yourself back together with the pieces of your Servant self! That is infuriating, and yet it is commendable! The other girl is the annoying child of the woman I will make mine! The fact you keep getting in my way makes this whole situation resemble something out of a comedy! You two girls are starting to grow on me! I want to punish you both, but I also want to know what nonsense you’ll show me next! To top it all off, there’s this faker who’s somehow strong enough to summon a Reality Marble! You three are so anger inducing that it’s funny! What a strange feeling! Fuhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahaha!”

Emiya, Illya, and Rin all watched Gilgamesh laugh and clap his armored hands. One might think this reaction as a good sign, a sign that his guard was down, but the trio knew better.

“None of that changes the fact that I cannot allow this insult.” The King of Heroes stopped laughing and everything felt heavy. His power weighed down on all that was within the Reality Marble. His power didn’t take the form of an aura like Heracles, nor whirling wind and light like Artoria. Gilgamesh’s power was just weight and solidity in its purest form. He felt unchanging and inescapable.

The hegemon’s power made Emiya’s body ache. His instinct screamed for him to run away. Meanwhile, both Illya and Rin stood with their swords at the ready, any fear in their hearts paling in comparison to the determination they felt to save and protect those they loved. How could Assassin be losing his nerve now, while these two girls were unflappable in the face of the oldest hero? Emiya smiled and crouched slightly, Kanshou and Bakuya raised.

“You do not tremble.” Gilgamesh said. “The question is whether that is because you are courageous, insane, or insolent.”

“It’s just that you aren’t very intimidating.” Rin was smirking, trying to piss Gilgamesh off.

“It’s tragic. Even after having seen my power once before, you’re simply incapable of comprehending how out of your depth you are.” The king put a hand on his forehead and leaned his head back.

“Or maybe I just know something you don’t.” Rin said.

“Don’t tempt me, little girl. I can learn exactly what you're planning at any time with my Clairvoyance. Be grateful I’ve decided to go along with this diversion or I’d have already spoiled the details of your strategy and ended all three of your lives.”

“Can we skip the banter and get to the fighting?” Illya was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. “Fighting you is just a detour, Gilgamesh. I need to kill you real quick before I go save mama.”

“Detour? You dare consider me a detour on your path? I am the one whom all roads arrive to. I am the one whom all those roads were paved for in the first place.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. Shoot your weapons and shit already.” Illyasviel wasn’t looking at Gilgamesh, she was looking past him.

“Mongrel.” Gilgamesh’s eyes were wide again. “Never mind what I said earlier. My emotions are no longer in conflict and I do not plan to indulge this farce anymore. All three of you are going to die.”

A wall of portals formed behind Gilgamesh, a variety of Noble Phantasms creeping out that were all of high rank. Emiya began tracing them, as did Illya and it was apparent that many of them were Divine Constructs and thus beyond their ability to project copies of. Gilgamesh had been incensed enough to actually bring out some of his strongest weapons. The King of Heroes didn’t have nearly as many Divine Constructs as he did man-made Noble Phantasms due to the nature of his treasury’s purview, but that was like comparing an ocean to the seven seas; both were still massive. Thousands of armaments began to fire from the gates and that was just the first wave.

“Trace on.” Both Emiya and Illya began projecting copies of the weapons they could comprehend. The Assassin handled most of them due to the advantage Unlimited Blade Works gave him. As for the Noble Phantasms that were beyond being copied by both the Servant and the homunculus, they would be dealt with by the third member of their trio.

Rin pointed her Azoth Sword at the storm of weaponry.

“Sword of Tohsaka. Trace on.”

The Azoth Sword, a common Mystic Code, was designed after the Sword of Paracelsus created by the famed alchemist for whom it was named after. Rin Tohsaka, the one from an alternate future who eventually became a Counter Guardian, had managed through research and experimentation to turn her Azoth Sword into a new Sword of Paracelsus. The weapon could analyze and copy the magecraft of others and even create a mimicry of True Ether, but that wasn’t good enough for Rin. She had recreated the Jewel Sword and the Sword of Paracelsus, but those were mere recreations of the successes of her predecessors. If she were to cement herself as a legend, she had to create something new. That was why she upgraded the Sword of Paracelsus so it could not only copy magecraft, but trace and project copies of anything that were exactly the same as the originals. It was a use inspired by a dumb boy Rin had once known. Thanks to the sword being able to create something akin to True Ether, it could even generate replicas of Divine Constructs like the ones heading the trio’s way. This was Saber’s legacy.

Emiya, Illya, and Rin created copies of all of the incoming Noble Phantasms, a feat helped by the Sword of Tohsaka’s ability to amplify the power of magecraft and skip any rituals necessary for usage. The weapons crashed into each other and were all destroyed. Fragments went flying. There was no time to rest as more Noble Phantasms appeared from an increasing number of gates.

“You mongrels dare make forgeries of my collection?”

“You got a problem with that?” Rin roared as she and her allies instantly made copies of every single one of the new weapons. An endless flood of Noble Phantasms came out of the gates that formed a dome around the trio, but they just kept on creating replicas that matched and destroyed them. Assassin’s Magic Circuits were blazing, but the pain did not shake him; he just focused on his tracing and projecting. The entirety of Unlimited Blade Works was rumbling as the highest class of Noble Phantasms were being unloaded. Swords that could sever fate and causality, explosives that could erase space itself, arrows that could generate World ending floods, they all were met by duplicates of themselves and were annihilated. This was an impossibility. Someone was actually matching the Gate of Babylon. Veins bulged on Gilgamesh’s forehead as he kept opening more gates and yet he still couldn’t outpace the three who dared defy him. This was an insult he had never experienced before. It wasn’t just that the contents of his treasury were being copied, it was that this specific trio was copying all of his treasury. Even as he pulled out some of his greatest Divine Constructs, they were still copied. Even Assassin and Illya had begun copying some of the Divine Constructs thanks to the boost they were being given by the Sword of Tohsaka. This feat the trinity was performing was only possible thanks to all three of them being there. If even one of them wasn’t present for this fight, then they wouldn’t have been able to face this large-scale unlocking of the Gate of Babylon. Portals opened up on the ground to try and get the trio from below, but Rin lifted the three of them into the air as they began firing projections downward too.

“This is nonsense!” Gilgamesh’s whole body shook and his teeth grit.

Assassin projected a copy of a large golden ax he just saw that could carve space and used it to slice open a portal that the trio jumped through, ending up right next to Gilgamesh. Emiya swung the ax again, but Gilgamesh caught and pulled away the weapon with a chain he summoned. Illya used her time dilation to quickly attack from behind Assassin, her Origin Sword thrusting below the Guardian’s armpit and towards the king. Gilgamesh jumped back while taking hold of his chains to actually wield them as a normal weapon. Given the skill he whipped around those chains with to attack, it was one of the few Noble Phantasms he was proficient in wielding. The chains lashed while more weapons fired from portals. The projectiles were deflected by Rin’s copies and the chains were knocked away by Assassin, leaving Illya to dash in close to the King of Heroes. More portals opened by Gilgamesh’s sides, a freezing chemical, man-made lightning, and a white inferno all coming out.

“Avalon!” Illya was embraced by the land of the fairies which made the elemental attacks all fail to affect her. She stabbed with her rapier again, but Gilgamesh protected himself with a summoned shield right when Illya left Avalon. Emiya, right as Gilgamesh was dealing with Illya, threw Kanshou and Bakuya. The weapons were deflected by electric bolts fired by golden disks that appeared from portals; auto-defensors. Emiya projected another pair of black and white blades that entered their Overedge form while the first pair curved back towards the king and Rin projected and fired multiple Divine Constructs. Staves appeared from gates and enacted a combined spell, creating an octagonal field in front of the king that blocked both Assassin and Rin’s attacks, the impact making all the sand in the desert jump upward. Simultaneously, Gilgamesh spun and deflected the swords coming for his back, but Illya had been running around to flank Gilgamesh from the side. The homunculus thrust the Origin Sword towards the King of Heroes’ exposed back while he was in the middle of whipping with his chain. The auto-defensors fired lightning at her, but she used Avalon to tackle through them as her blade’s tip neared its target. A portal opened from which a hammer appeared and blocked the rapier.

“Don’t underestimate me, mongrel!” A chain whipped at Illya and she was hit before she had the chance to use Avalon. Her body was sent flying and her arm was nearly broken off. She spun through the air as Avalon began to heal her, but Gilgamesh wasn’t done with her. Portals opened up all around the homunculus as she was mid-flight and weapons fired out of them. Rin sniped the Noble Phantasms out of their air with her copies while Emiya used his cloak and Presence Concealment to try and sneak up on Gilgamesh. A scythe that bypassed defenses to sap targets of their energy appeared in the Assassin’s hands and he swung wide with it, but the king jumped over the slash.

“I have plenty of Noble Phantasms that let me see through all your little obfuscations.” Gilgamesh began to rise higher into the air until it was obvious he was flying through the use of a Noble Phantasm. Several lances fired towards Emiya who deflected them with swords that shot out of the ground and into his hands. Each time one of his blades knocked away a projectile, Emiya felt like his arms were going to tear off from the force he was redirecting. More swords ripped out of the ground, thousands coming from all throughout the desert expanse and even beyond the horizon to rise towards and impale Gilgamesh. Rin added in her own projections, as did Illya who had quickly recovered from the hit she just took. The wave of weapons was so thick that no light pierced through the mass of them that had gathered and formed a ceiling of sorts, blanketing the land in shadow as it rose towards the King of Heroes.

A beam of light burned a hole down through the wave of weapons, Rin dodging out of the way of the attack as it bored into the desert sands. Then another beam created another hole. Another beam, another hole. The trinity’s mass of Noble Phantasms was whittled away to nothing in a matter of seconds. Gilgamesh was still floating above, a sword in each hand and more floating around him. Emiya traced them. Merodach, Gram, Durandal, and many others of their ilk that were even stronger. They were swords of the same genus as Excalibur. It was no wonder how they could so easily dispatch the onslaught of armaments the trio had thrown at the king. The swords all fired their beams again, aiming for all three of Gilgamesh’s enemies, Rin summoning her own copies of the blades. Instead of just having them unleash rays of destruction, Tohsaka shot the swords themselves as Broken Phantasms which increased their power and allowed them to drive through Gilgamesh’s beams. The King of Heroes used the same barrier spell as before along with summoning thousands of shields of both the physical and conceptual kind. The projectile swords exploded on impact with Gilgamesh’s defenses, an explosion of light filling the sky as far as Emiya could see, all visibility getting drowned out in the radiance.

The light faded and a heat haze remained which distorted the visage of the King of Heroes. He was alive, but his armor had cracks in it and his swords were in pieces. His expression was hard to read. It seemed neutral but it was hard to believe that the King of Heroes didn’t have any strong feelings about the damage he had just taken, or at the destruction of some of his greatest treasures.

“This is truly an unprecedented occurrence. To think three fakers could pose any kind of difficulty for me to dispatch.”

“Well believe it.” Rin said.

“I don't, because I have realized that truly isn’t what’s happening.”

“What is happening then?” Illya was sweating.

“I’m not fighting three fakers. Ultimately, I am fighting myself. You utilize my arsenal against me, and I am so overwhelming a person that it would take at least three people to equal one of myself. You are simulating me, because I am the only person that could ever pose a challenge to me.” Gilgamesh had a shit-eating grin that made Emiya want to roll his eyes.

“How have you not suffocated yet?” Illya said.

“Why would I suffocate?”

“Because your head’s so far up your own ass. I’m surprised there’s air in there.”

“What a vulgar little cur you are.” Gilgamesh reached his arm into one of his gates. “Returning to my point, I am facing myself in battle right now. In that case, it would be an insult towards myself not to fight at full power.” The King of Heroes pulled out something that could never be replicated or even be utilized by anyone but Gilgamesh. It was a weapon that vaguely resembled a sword, but was in truth a device meant to manipulate the air and destroy space itself to damage and even terminate the World. Its name was Ea.

“It’s time!” Emiya looked at Illya for a second, signaling that it was time for her to use her secret weapon.

“Be honored that you will get to die by the full power of my Sword of Rupture.” The three cylinders of the strange weapon began rotating in different directions, a vortex of wind forming around it that scraped away at the surrounding space. Multiple miniature galaxies floated above the weapon as an expression of its sheer might. The very World itself was under threat of destruction. Emiya felt the instinctual fear one experiences when seeing something of too grand a scale to comprehend or stop. This version of Ea was weaker than its true full strength given Gilgamesh was limited in his power as a Servant, but it was still more than enough to overpower any offensive the trinity could try to counter with.

That was why they had to use their ultimate defense.

“Enuma Elish!” A storm of red started splitting apart Unlimited Blade Works on its way to eradicate Emiya, Rin, and Illya.

Illya used the high-thaumaturgy she had just barely finished mastering. Thanks to the Sword of Tohsaka, the incantation could be skipped, and yet Emiya swore he still heard Illya chant.

“I am the heart of my world
Light is my body and time is my blood
I have created this lone utopia
Aware of hate,
And aware of love.
I have withstood pain to create a miracle
An impossibility I forced into reality
My power is Transient Avalon Works.”

Golden light from the planet’s core came forth and washed away Unlimited Blade Works. The graveyard of swords was replaced with a flatland of green; immaculate grass being fed by a generous sun whose light was tempered by a sparse amount of clouds. It was a simulacrum of the domain of the fairies created by using the sheath within Illya as a catalyst.

The red vortex raged across the entirety of this new Reality Marble. Emiya, Rin, and Illya all got enveloped in the chaos.

It did nothing. The sword that could sever heaven from earth failed to do anything to either the Reality Marble, or the trio that stood in opposition to Gilgamesh.

“What?” Gilgamesh only said that at the sight of his greatest weapon failing.

Emiya didn’t only show Illya his traced weapons, but also his Reality Marble so she could trace as much of its structure as possible. It was impossible for the homunculus to copy Unlimited Blade Works, or create a Reality Marble of any kind with this method, but it allowed Illya to understand the framework of what a Reality Marble was to use as a blueprint. Even this was only achievable due to Emiya showing Illya Unlimited Blade Works multiple times and the fact that they had the same Origin. To add more onto this conceptual skeleton, Illya channeled the power of Avalon within her into the framework using her Thaumaturgical Attribute of the flow and transfer of power, using the barrier the sheathe created to build off the blueprint and form an actual space. Then she used her knowledge of matter manipulation through alchemy to boost her ability to alter her surroundings and thus apply this half-baked Reality Marble to reality. Finally, Illya infused the transformed space with her time magecraft, which is something close to a Reality Marble already, and an extremely weak version of the Third Magic that was only feasible given she was wearing the Dress of Heaven. This gave the Reality Marble just enough substantiation to be completed. That was how Transient Avalon Works came to be.

This Reality Marble embodied the same power as Avalon, making the space itself and all those that Illya chose immune to all harm.

Emiya, Rin, and Illya all projected dozens of Noble Phantasms and fired them at Gilgamesh. The armaments and their wielders were all accelerated by time dilation magecraft infused into the Reality Marble while the King of Heroes was being slowed down by that same power. The king thrust Ea and unleashed another spiral of red, but it did nothing to the weapons as they too were protected by Avalon’s grace. Rho Aias appeared from a portal in its original form as a physical shield along with the barrier created by the various staves and the lightning of the auto-defensors, but the weapons broke through all the obstructions. They were being protected by Avalon which meant they'd normally be unable to attack anything just as they couldn’t be attacked, but this Reality Marble changed that fact. The Third Magic existed to move and manifest Souls which were higher dimensional existences. Avalon’s power also existed in a higher dimension so Illya, using a small-scale form of the Third Magic through her modified Dress of Heaven, could materialize Avalon’s protection partially. This meant that Transient Avalon Works and those it protected were able to still enact harm upon others.

Gilgamesh raised his arms and Ea to block, the Noble Phantasm proving so durable that even the projectiles dressed in Avalon’s light were deflected upon impact with it. The king’s arms weren’t so lucky as they were torn apart by incoming blades. Ea dropped along with the remnants of Gilgamesh’s arms and the armor they once wore. Before the King of Heroes could use one of his Noble Phantasms to retrieve his strongest weapon, not that he could use it without his arms, he was assailed by Rin who had flown right into his face so fast he barely perceived her. Having his time dilated to be far slower than those around him who were accelerated meant that Gilgamesh had no chance of keeping up on his own. Rin swung her Azoth Sword as the king’s legs entered two golden portals, coming out wearing the winged sandals of Hermes, or at least a similar pair of footwear. Gilgamesh dodged the slash and flew away with speed that left him a near blur despite having his time decelerated. Rin projected three more pairs of the sandals, the trio quickly putting them on and pursuing Gilgamesh. They nearly caught up to him in less than a second.

The seeming infallibility of Transient Avalon Works was obvious, but such a powerful ability would certainly have a weakness, and that was that it didn’t last long. Illya couldn’t maintain this Reality Marble for extended periods and the only reason it was still active was because Rin was using her sword to give the homunculus a boost, otherwise it would have vanished already. Suppressed squeals of agony came from Illya as she was straining herself to an incomprehensible degree to keep up her patchwork Reality Marble. It would only be a few more seconds before it would disappear.

Illya, despite her agony, projected multiple copies of her Origin Sword and fired them all at Gilgamesh who was pulling out a large disk, a wheel with the asterisms of the different Babylonian zodiac signs on its rim. It was a counterpart to the Wheel of the Zodiac that belonged to Chronos the Greek god of time. It began to spin and as it did, Gilgamesh’s time sped up to its original speed and even exceeded it beyond what Illya’s time magecraft could provide. Gilgamesh continued to dash backwards with newfound velocity that allowed him to evade Illya’s swords. To have to run away from three fakers after losing his arms and having his ultimate weapon fail was clearly unpleasant for the King of Heroes given that he was visibly shaking and a vein on his head was bulging.

Rin began to project a copy of the wheel Gilgamesh just used, but it was then that the jewel on at the end of the Sword of Tohsaka’s hilt cracked. The weapon had been overtaxed from having to copy so many Divine Constructs. It didn’t completely stop functioning, but it could no longer replicate Divine Constructs like the Wheel of the Zodiac. They couldn’t even project a new Sword of Tohsaka that was fully functional due to it being too complex.

Gilgamesh was getting farther away by the millisecond. The trio projected and fired several Origin Swords, but the King of Heroes maneuvered around them while never taking his eyes off of his three opponents. He was going to keep running until Illya couldn’t maintain Transient Avalon Works anymore. Despite his arrogance, Gilgamesh wasn’t stupid enough to keep on the offensive at the cost of his life. He was just going to enact his revenge after the trio was left without Avalon’s protection. The king will go all out with his Gate of Babylon while Emiya, Rin, and Illya are too exhausted to fight back.

Another copy of the space severing ax appeared in Emiya’s hand and with a wide swing, a hole opened up that led right next to the king. Both Illya and Rin sent more Origin Swords through the gape. The wheel next to the king reversed its direction of rotation and Gilgamesh’s body was sent backwards in time slightly, appearing in the position it was a moment ago which caused all the blades aimed at his previous position to miss. One sword under Illya’s command changed trajectory and curved back towards Gilgamesh who dodged again, but then the blade swung as it moved past the monarch. The edge missed the king, but it did hit the wheel, slicing through it. The wheel stopped spinning as its power was destroyed.

Now that Gilgamesh was under the slowing effect of the Reality Marble again, the trinity flew right through the hole in space and over to him whilst firing even more Origin Swords. A red spear came out of golden ripples in the air and touched the bloody wound where one of Gilgamesh’s arms once was, the time magecraft influencing the king disappearing. It was the prototype of the cursed spear Diarmuid used. Regaining his full speed again, Gilgamesh flew out of the way of the Origin Swords while keeping the spear against him by tying it to himself with a chain. Emiya and his allies continued to pursue the King of Heroes, but the golden man opened a gate from which an incense burner appeared and released a wave of white smoke. The area was blanketed and it became impossible to sense magical energy through the whiteness, nor could any of the five senses perceive anything through it. It was a perfect smokescreen. There was no way to find Gilgamesh and blind firing attacks would only serve to waste energy.

A whirlwind blew through and dispersed the smoke, Rin holding a jousting lance made of four swords that was the source of the gale. The trio looked around for the King of Heroes, but he was nowhere to be seen. He must have used a Noble Phantasm or two to keep himself from being found.

“Gaahh.” Illya leaned forward, head hanging down as she grunted and whimpered. “I-I can’t-I can’t, I can’t anymore. I’m gonna die.”

“You can release the Reality Marble.” Emiya said with quiet resignation. “I’ll reactivate Unlimited Blade Works. Rin, give me a boost with your sword so I don’t have to say the incantation. Both you get ready for Gilgamesh to counterattack.”

The replica of the land of the fairies fizzled away into light while great flames filled the space and recreated the wasteland full of swords.

“Mongrels!” Gilgamesh’s voice was accompanied by his reappearance high above the trio who took away his arms. “You’ll pay for this defamation! I’ll tear your very souls apart and even that will be a mercy compared to what you deserve!”

A ceiling of portals opened up between Gilgamesh and the trio below him, a waterfall of weapons coming down while a floor of portals appeared at the ground and unleashed their own Noble Phantasms upward. Four walls made of more gates completed the cube that served to trap the trinity who began projecting Noble Phantasms of their own to counter those heading their way. The problem was that there were so many and a significant number were so strong that the weakened fakers couldn’t create weapons of their own that could match them. The trio had to dodge around the weapons beyond their ability to stop, which added an extra layer that Emiya and his allies had to keep track of. The Assassin’s Magic Circuits burned hotter than ever as he simultaneously projected hundreds of Noble Phantasms, fired them at precise targets, and dodged around incoming projectiles. Illya was constantly groaning in pain as she kept on fighting, her fatigue from enacting her Reality Marble leaving her exhausted. She was clearly only acting on instinct at this point. Rin was doing relatively well given the situation, but she was wheezing. None of them were going to last much longer.

The trinity needed to escape the prison of portals and attack Gilgamesh. Hopefully that could cause him to lessen the amount of Noble Phantasms he was firing due to the distraction. Illya could do it if she used Avalon, but could she handle it in her state? Using it would probably kill her if she did so while projecting weapons to help protect Rin and Assassin. If Illya didn’t still help to ward off the constant offensive, the remaining duo would get overwhelmed by all the weapons and die. Rin would have been capable of handling a double share of the work if her sword hadn’t broken.

Emiya could do it. If he pushed himself beyond his limits without concern for his own wellbeing like he used to when he was young, then he could do it for a little while. He’d die, but he’d do it. What other options were there at this point? It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to throwing himself into danger for other people's sakes. This would just be a return to the old Shirou Emiya.

“I can take one of your shares of the work for a little while.” Shirou spoke telepathically. “It’ll give one of you time to get over to Gilgamesh. Which of you thinks you can do it?”

“Can you really handle that much work?” Rin said.

“I can. Unlimited Blade Works and the upgrade your sword’s giving me have made me the most capable person for the job right now. Which of you thinks you can put pressure on him?”

“I’ll do it.” Illya’s movements became less lethargic.

“You’re in no shape for that.” Rin projected a shield that deflected a spear.

“I’ll use Avalon.”

“You’re in even less shape to use that.”

“I’m the only one that even has a chance of getting to that golden prick.” Illya dual wielded Origin Swords to deflect a string of Noble Phantasms. “Can you stand toe to toe with Gilgamesh without Avalon?”

“Possibly.” Rin projected some jewels and powered them with a Mana Burst, the gems making a tornado enhanced by the Sword of Tohsaka to blow away multiple projectiles. “As long as I maintain complete focus, I might be able to.”

“I definitely can if I use Avalon since I won’t have to worry about evading or doing anything besides attacking.” Illya dodged a vajra, a dart, and an arrow.

“That’s if you live long enough to hit goldie.”

“I can last long enough to divert his attention. Longer than that? No, but I just need to distract him.”

“And what if he runs?”

“I can hold him down long enough to make him distracted which will cause him to reduce his rate of fire towards you guys. Then one of you can also escape and come over to help fight him.”

“I agree with Illya.” Shirou knocked away a sword. “Avalon’s the only thing that will definitely stop Gilgamesh’s weapons and allow for someone to actually be a threat to him.”

“But can Illya really use Avalon in her condition?” Rin said.

“She says she can and I trust her. Do you trust her?”

“I guess so. Fine, Illya can do it.”

“Thank you.” Illya said.

The trio strategized for a bit to make sure their plan of action was clear. They thought up plans of action for every scenario they could imagine.

“Illya, get ready.” Emiya began building up magical energy.

“Got it.” Illya became livelier as she fought.

Shirou’s Magic Circuits glowed against his skin, sparks and electricity-like streams releasing from them as they began working beyond their maximum capacity. The faker’s body was burning from his own power, and yet he didn't pay the pain or damage any mind as he just needed to focus on tracing and projecting as many Noble Phantasms as possible. Thousands of different weapon blueprints ran through Shirou’s mind, were processed, and then materialized into the world so they could be launched as projectiles at other armaments. There was a sort of omnipotent feeling that accompanied processing and performing so many actions, or being aware of so many things in one’s surroundings and creating countermeasures against them. It was complex work, but it required a human touch that didn’t allow Shirou to just act on autopilot like a machine. Blood came from all of the Counter Guardian’s orifices as his internal organs broke down from the strain they were under. Shirou didn’t care as long as his brain still worked, until that burned out, he could still keep going. Two storms of weapons collided with each other, Shirou and Rin giving it all they had to keep Gilgamesh’s onslaught at bay.

“Avalon!” Illya was protected by the light of the fairies as she projected the space-severing ax to cut open a portal to Gilgamesh. She flew through, but the king was already beginning to fly away with his winged sandals. Combining her copied sandals and time magecraft, Illya closed the distance and began rapidly thrusting both the Origin Swords in her hands whilst projecting and firing more copies of her blade. Gilgamesh pulled out his own ax to create a tear in space that the projectiles flew into and away from him. As for the thrusts, they were easy to block with just a series of non-magical shields laid atop each other. Since Illya had to release Avalon’s protection to attack, Gilgamesh took the opportunity to try and take her out with multiple projectiles from portals he made all around her. Illya barely managed to reactivate her sheath’s protection in time to avoid getting turned into a fine red mist. Illya projected more Origin Swords all around Gilgamesh while she kept up Avalon’s protection. She couldn’t attack while protected in the realm of the fairies, but that only really applied to the actual point of impact for her attacks. Illya could still prep and fire her attacks with Avalon still active, which is what she did as she launched the swords around Gilgamesh, waiting for the very last moment when they were right about to touch the king to deactivate the sheath. Gilgamesh was ready for that as weapons appeared from gates that knocked away the Origin Swords right as they lost Avalon’s light. The Origin Swords could scramble magecraft and Magic Circuits, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t simply be hit away by things.

“Die already!” Gilgamesh’s words were barely intelligible due to his voice having become like a dragon’s roar.

“That’s what I was gonna say!” Illya’s own voice was also more bestial than normal.

Illya and Gilgamesh continued their close range back and forth. As the one-on-one went on, the number of weapons being released from the gates around Emiya and Rin decreased in number. The opening had been made.

Rin flew from her spot while deflecting the Noble Phantasms that got close to her. Emiya took her workload too as she got out of the cube and made a beeline towards Gilgamesh.

“All of you just get out of my way!” Gilgamesh opened a portal and from it peeked out a familiar crystalline staff. The Jewel Sword Zelretch fired a beam of magical energy at Rin that was impossible for her to block. Rin created multiple copies of the space rending ax to make a giant portal for the beam to go through and come out right behind Gilgamesh. The king was in the middle of deflecting another wave of Origin Swords as he summoned a spear that could sew space. The weapon stabbed into the portal that was manifesting behind Gilgamesh and closed it. This simultaneously closed the portal that Rin just made in front of herself, leaving her right in the path of the ray of energy again. One of Rin’s axes made a new portal that Rin flew through to safety. The magus reappeared somewhere else, close enough to King of Heroes that she could fly up to him quickly yet far enough that the portal she used couldn’t be closed by the spear again. Rin flew at Gilgamesh, but the Jewel Sword appeared from a portal again. Before the staff could fire another beam, Rin projected and launched a vajra at the Jewel Sword, destroying it. It may have been one of Saber’s greatest achievements, but Rin wasn’t so sentimental as to risk her life to keep the Jewel Sword in one piece.

Continuing towards Gilgamesh, Rin dodged and deflected more weapons and got right up to the King of Heroes. Her arm reared back to slash at him right as he was busy with another wave of Origin Swords from Illya. A knife shot out of a portal and blew Rin’s arm off at the elbow, the limb flying away and taking the Sword of Tohsaka with it.

“Can I go one fight without getting mutilated?” Rin yelled.

The force of the hit to Rin’s arm caused her entire right side to be pushed backwards. Instead of letting herself move back, Rin rotated her torso, letting the motion of her right side going away from Gilgamesh push her left side forward. The momentum of the hit was transferring from the pivot into her remaining arm that punched forward, increasing its speed and power. Within Rin’s fist was the pendant she inherited from her father, the magical energy inside it getting infused into the strike.

Madō Shinken, Rin’s perfected magecraft martial art born from the union of the present Rin’s experimentation and Saber’s knowledge. Though the Counter Guardian known as Rin Tohsaka was summoned as a Saber and thus couldn’t use the Second Magic at its full potential, she still knew how to use it and that information was passed onto the present time’s Rin. She lacked the practice to use it for combat, but Rin learned how to implement her Magic into her martial arts for a single use attack the same way she could infuse her strikes with normal spells. As Rin punched, there was a flash and her fist became three fists. The Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon caused Rin to reach into parallel worlds to bring about two other punches from alternate versions of herself, each with their own pendant powering them up. The fists formed a triangle around Gilgamesh’s head to crush it from three different sides.

Rin’s accelerated fists flew at Gilgamesh’s head faster than he could react thanks to Rin using the force of his last attack to her advantage. The only way he could stop the triple strike was if he saw it coming ahead of time, which he could thanks to his clairvoyance Noble Phantasm. The king had opened two more gates while he was still busy deflecting Origin Swords, magecraft negating spears, space-rending axes, and other weapons from Illya. From one came an incense burner that released a black smoke which negated the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, making the two extra fists vanish. A shield came from the other portal, but Rin’s punch didn’t hit it. Rin coordinated with Illya, letting her know how she was going to attack Gilgamesh ahead of time. They knew he’d be able to stop the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon and block the remaining fist, so Illya projected the golden ax one more time and pretended to slash at Gilgamesh with it. When he deflected it, the ax went on a new path right in between Rin’s punch and the shield, slicing open a portal that the magecraft strike entered. Gilgamesh, even if he could predict the future, could only process and react to so much and it was clear that his ability to see the future didn’t leave him infallible. The exit portal appeared right next to the bloody wound where the king’s right arm once sat, Rin’s fist leaving the hole in space and hitting the unarmored weak spot.

“This can’t-” Gilgamesh never got to finish that sentence.

There was an explosion sound as the punch’s magical energy pierced into Gilgamesh’s flesh and burst within his torso. His body’s trunk ripped open with bits of flesh and shattered armor flying everywhere. Some shrapnel stabbed into Rin and Illya, the latter having stopped using Avalon. Gilgamesh’s head and the rest of his remains began to dissipate into magical energy. The king locked eyes with Shirou as his head arced through the air. The faker smirked at Gilgamesh who sneered in response as he disappeared completely.

Illya fainted, all the tension that kept her conscious having released upon seeing the King of Heroes’ death. Rin caught her awkwardly with her single arm and they descended to the ground.

The Reality Marble began to warp and gradually fade back to reality. Shirou was pouring blood at this point. His brain was burning. It was hard to think due to the overload caused by projecting so many Noble Phantasms. He was glad he lasted until Gilgamesh was dealt with.

Despite the gradual shutting down of his brain, Shirou still managed to form a few cohesive thoughts. He thought of how proud he was of Rin and Illya. They exceeded his expectations. They would be okay. Why did he care? He wasn’t sure, he just did.

It was unfortunate that Shirou didn’t live long enough to see Big Sis Taiga turn her life around and follow her dreams. She would be okay though, Shirou had faith in her.

Shirou’s body began to disappear. Unlimited Blade Works was almost gone. Rin was looking at Shirou. She wasn’t sad, but her features still drooped.

Shirou smiled. He was glad he managed to save someone again, and this time in a way that was unabashedly good.

“Nostalgic.” That’s all Shirou said before he was gone.

---

True Name: Shirou Emiya
Class: Assassin
Alternative Classes: Archer, Caster, Berserker
Species: Servant, Human, Magus
Type: Heroic Spirit, Counter Guardian, Anti-Hero
Gender: Male
Height: 187cm
Place of Origin: Japan
Likes: All kinds of housework(he denies it)
Dislikes: A hero of justice
Talents: Fiddling with junk, all kinds of housework
Natural Enemy: Rin, Sakura, Illya
Source: Fate/Stay Night
Region: Japan
Alignment: True Neutral
Hidden Attribute: Human
Armaments: Mantle
Summoning Catalyst: Taiga Fujimura, the shed
Strength: D
Endurance: C
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: E
NP: ?
Class Skills: Presence Concealment(A+), Independent Action(B)
Personal Skills: Bulletproof(B), Mind’s Eye(True)(B), Projection Magecraft(C(A+))
Noble Phantasms:
Unlimited Blade Works(E~A++)