Fate/Constellation

[Hierophant]

[This chapter was not easy to write. I drafted and re-drafted, talked with my editor about the direction the story was going in and panicked when I realized it was 3 hours to deadline. I hope the chapter's quality hasn't suffered from it, especially since it's deviated significantly from how I originally imagined the chapter.]

Chapter Seven - Contractual Obligations

You stumble dejectedly through the forest, feeling almost claustrophobic, the trees closing in around you. Your dead arm throbs, and your ears are ringing with faint nausea, but you ignore them. Madoka runs ahead of you, making use of her natural ability to move independently of her Master. Occassionally, she stops and unlooses a trio of arrows from her bow to strike the ground, triggering plumes of orange fire exploding from below.

It's been like that for the past three hours. Skeletal trees, trying to catch up with Rin(who's using a magical spell to enhance her legs, which is totally unfair) and Saber, watching geysers of dirt fountain up. You've passed by the little craters they left behind hundreds of times by now, almost a part of the scenery. You can't tell if the mines or magical, or if Ilya has some arms dealer's number.

Rin turns back to glance at you, scowling. "Hurry up, slowpoke! Or do you want us to fight Berserker by ourselves?"

You picture the three young girls taking on that charcoal-skinned giant by themselves, Ilya smirking from behind and tossing daggers at them. You wince at the thought, and speed up, putting one foot in front of the other. You can't help but think that Rin wouldn't be making jokes like that if she'd seen Berserker for herself. Rin had assured you that size meant nothing, that the very fact that he was a Berserker would mean he was weak, but you can't help being a little nervous at the thought of facing him down.

You trip on an exposed root, but before you fall, Saber's hard gauntlet catches you, and tips you back straight. In a flash, she speeds back up to where Rin is with a couple of bounds, without even bothering to ask if you were okay or giving you anything except a stern squeeze.

The blonde Servant's probably just mad that you argued Rin into coming here instead of Ryuudou. At least, that's what you tell yourself. She's sufficiently scary that you don't want to think about the possibility of her turning on you in the not-so-distant future, once all the other Masters have been eliminated.

A gentle voice jars you out of your thoughts. "Are you okay, Shirou? You look a bit tired. Do you want to rest before we fight?" You don't even bother looking to know that it's Madoka. The warm reassurance of victory that pumps through your body, the way Rin smiles slightly and lets her lids droop half-close, tells you enough.

"No, I'm okay. It's... it's better if we don't stop for anything. If she's watching us like Rin said we might, she might decide to ambush us while I'm resting."

"Shirou is right," says Saber. She sounds much better-tempered than she was at dinner. "We have the initiative, so it is our obligation to attack immediately."

Madoka still looks worried, but doesn't say anything more as she guides you through the path she cleared of mines. She'd offered to carry you at the start of the journey, but you were too embarassed to accept, and there's no way you're going to succumb to temptation now just because you're tired.

At last, you make it to the main entrance of Einzbern castle, the ache of fatigue spreading throughout your body. Despite your exhaustion, you can tell that it's still a beautiful structure, built to last throughout the years. It boasts of large, towering spires and walls that would have made Berserker look tiny. Huge slabs of concrete frame a massive set of double doors.

Taken as a whole, you can't help but feel this castle compares to, or even exceeds, the old ruins that Kiritsugu told you about from when he went to Germany. Actually, maybe it wasn't such a coincidence. "von Einzbern" is a German name, so they might be a family that immigrated to Japan, using magic to build their own castles here. Although you can't imagine why they would choose to live on such a high and lonely mountain.

As Saber forces the double doors open, the four of you fall into step. It's a natural formation, so intuitive that there wasn't even a need to plan or rehearse it. Saber strides in front, as elegant and graceful as she was the first night you saw her, oozing confidence and strength, her sword gripped in both hands. Behind her, Madoka, in a frilly white dress, her bow raised and waiting. And behind her, you and Rin, walking side by side.

You don't like the formation. You'd much rather be with Saber, in front of Madoka, but Rin has lectured you often enough on the subjects of Servants acting as shields to their Masters that you've reluctantly agreed to letting Saber and Madoka go in front.

The inside of the Einzbern castle is just as expansive as you would anticipate. A carpeted marble staircase with fancy golden railings, busts of people you don't recognize lining the walls, and beautiful lamps hanging from the ceilings, illuminating the foyer with a soft yellow glow. At the very top of the steps, in front of a shiny black statue, stands Illyasviel von Einzbern. She tilts her head to one side and smiles.

"Archer. Saber. Tohsaka Rin. And onii-san. Hello, everyone."

A confident step forward, then another. You can't help but imagine what would happen if Madoka put an arrow through her eye right now, even though you know that Madoka wouldn't ever do such a thing.

"I'm assuming you've come to challenge my Berserker?"

Saber starts to say something, but you hurriedly cut her off. "Uh, no, Ilya, we just – we just want to talk."

Ilya lifts an eyebrow and leans forward as though peering at you with her red eyes. "Talk? Oh! You mean you've finally changed your mind about becoming my Servant?"

You hesitate for a moment, not sure if shaking your head would set her off, but Madoka swoops in to save you. "Illyasviel, can I ask you a question?"

The red eyes flick towards her. "What is it?"

Madoka takes a deep breath. Two children, far more powerful than they look, in old-fashioned dresses. There's a similarity between them there, even if their personalities are completely different. "What's your wish?"

Ilya's eyes widen. "My wish for the Holy Grail? What... why does that matter?"

Your Servant steps forward, practically blazing with hope that spreads through the castle like wildfire, lightening the mood of everyone in the foyer. "Because it means you don't have to fight any more. If this wish, whatever it is, is something I can deliver, I promise to give it to you."

Ilya sets her hands on her hips. "I don't believe you. You can't make it come true."

"Yes, I can." Madoka's words are so sincere that there's no doubt that she's speaking the truth. "I have before. Please join us. Nobody has to die here."

Ilya stares at Madoka for a long time, her lips pressed together. Saber is tense, fighting off the soothing effects of Madoka's aura. Her Master is the opposite. The last member of the Tohsaka family seems to be daydreaming, grinning childishly while staring at Madoka with adoration. Not that you'd blame her. If you haven't had so much exposure with Madoka's aura, your brain would probably have turned to mush as well.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Those are the sounds that Ilya's shoes make as she descends the wide staircase. Madoka extends a hand draped in ribbon and lace, her pinkie extended, and Ilya entwines her own pinkie with Madoka's. They shake, a solemnly childish gesture, then Madoka grins and hugs Ilya tightly, causing the second girl to squeal in protest.

Madoka whispers something to Ilya; they're too far away for you to catch the words. Ilya looks pensive, then whispers something back. Madoka laughs and tugs at her hand, leading her back to your little group.

As Madoka falls back in formation, Ilya stops in front of the four of you and does a little curtsy. "I suppose since I've agreed to be allied with you, I should introduce myself properly. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, the Master of the Einzbern family." She scans your group back and forth, her gaze lingering on you especially.

Then she waves her hand, and Berserker appears out of thin air, spirit given shape. The raw shock of that giant appearing in front of her seems to have snapped Rin out of her Madoka-induced reverie; she instead recoils a little from Berserker, while Saber looks as though she's expecting the other shoe to drop.

"Berserker, bow." At that instruction from his Master, the lead-skinned Servant dips onto one knee awkwardly, the other hand still holding the hilt of his jagged rock of a greatsword.

Ilya nods, as if satisfied. "I'll be counting on you to fulfil the promise you made to me, Archer. If I find out you lied, I'll have Berserker snap you in two. He's the strongest Servant ever, so you'd better watch out."

That was more the Ilya you know. Moving from friendship to threats in the space of a second, and vice-versa. She turns around as if to leave, then catches herself and spins back to face you. "Oh, and onii-san, your magic is terrible. I'll have to teach you proper magic someday."

With that, she walks back up the staircase. Maybe it's optimistic of you, but you think you detect a spring in her step as she climbs back up. Madoka looks over the moon that she managed to convince Ilya not to fight, but both Rin and Saber are frowning.

"Who does that stuck-up Einzbern girl think she is, anyway?" grumbles Rin. "Calling Shirou's magic bad like that. Well, it is bad, but that's for me to say." She doesn't seem to be aware of how hypocritical she is.

Saber doesn't say anything, but merely shakes her head and starts to lead the way back out of the Einzbern castle. She seems dissatisfied, having prepared herself for a fight but the night only ending in an anticlimatic alliance. Or maybe she feels uncomfortable with so many Masters in one alliance, wondering if you're all going to stab each other in the back by the time this is done.

Saber really is inscrutable. It's a sharp contrast to Madoka, standing beside you, who wears her heart on her sleeve. Oh, that reminds you.

"Hey, Madoka, if it's not too private... can I ask what you were whispering to Ilya?"

The pink-garbed girl looks back at you amusedly. "I was asking what her wish for, of course! I promised to fulfil it, remember?"

"So what's her wish?" The question came out pretty blunt, but you can't think of a more tactful way to phrase it.

Madoka smiles happily, brushing her wind-tousled hair into neatness again. "She said she wanted to have you as a big brother again."

You don't respond to that weird wish, instead following Madoka out of Einzbern castle. As you begin the long trek back to Fuyuki City under the watchful moon, you walk slowly, lost in thought.

-

[Select your choices for the next day's activities. Submit two choices: an activity in the morning, and an activity in the afternoon.]
[ ] Now that you've got Ilya on your side, the only major known threat is the Caster-Assassin duo. Pay a surrepititious visit to Ryuudou Temple, trusting in the fact that there will be people there in daylight to deter an attack.

[ ] Go to school. (Takes up both time slots)

[ ] Pay a visit to the Matou estate.
- [ ] Bring a Servant along for protection against an ambush by Rider.
- [ ] Saber
- [ ] Madoka

[ ] Go to the spot where you first met Ilya, in the hopes that she'll be there and you can talk to her again.

[ ] Saber seemed quite put-out after the events at Einzbern Castle. Maybe a shopping trip with Madoka and Rin would cheer her up.

[ ] Practice using your jacket, archery set and baton, both mundanely and magically.

 

[Hierophant]

Chapter Nine - Brief Respite

The four of you draw stares as you fileddown the street in odd tandem. Even dressed in what Rin had deemed to be sufficiently normal clothes, Saber's Western-style blonde hair and striking features commanded a certain attention, turning heads and inciting excited whispering. Madoka, skipping cheerfully along beside her, was no better. Her otherworldly pink hair could be explained away as being dyed, but the fact that everyone around her walked with straighter spines and brighter smiles was harder to conceal.

You watch as Madoka chatters happily to Saber, then pulls her into the third fashion store of the day. With a kind of weary resignation, you follow, adjusting your grip on the bags that weighed you down. Who knew clothes could be this heavy?

Beside you, Rin gives an annoyed huff and practically stomps in the store. "Any longer outside and I'm going to get suburn." Her own bags jostle against each other as she exaggeratedly folds her arms together, glaring at Saber gravely trying on star-patterned sunglasses to Madoka's applause.

The two of you lean against the first shelf in the little store. Rin is incredibly close to you, to the point that you're hyperaware of the gap between your skin and hers. She doesn't seem to notice, so you carefully shift slightly away, giving her some space. As you do so, she continues grumbling. "And to think they make us, the Masters, carry their bags, when either of them could easily beat Olympic weightlifting champions."

Well, you don't like it either, but seeing Madoka so carefree, you can't bear to break her bubble and bluntly ask her to carry her own goods. Instead, you decide to go a slightly different route in convincing Rin. "Well, it's supposed to be a day out for them, so it's only natural that we'll help them carry their stuff and let them have fun."

The school idol shoots a glance at you. She hadn't seemed perturbed at all by the stares your group drew as you made your way to the shopping district, even though she's always stressed the need for secrecy as magi in the Holy Grail War. It occurs to you that maybe that's because she's used to receiving stares. After all, she's not exactly plain-looking herself.

"You really are selfless, aren't you Shirou?" The strange comment jars you out of your thoughts.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Rin gestures at the bags you're carrying, then at the bags she's carrying. "Archer bought at least twice as much as Saber, and I think she bought heavier things too."

It is a weird question. Madoka is a very girly girl, so it should be obvious that she'd buy more things than the stoic Saber. "Well, you know the two," you reply. "Saber always takes time to make sure something is perfect before buying it for herself, but Archer just buys whatever she finds pretty…"

Rin rolls her eyes and smoothes her sweat-crumpled ribbons. "Not that. I meant – never mind. You probably wouldn't understand anyway. I'm glad you don't mind carrying all those bags."

"I guess so." On that note, the conversation terminates awkwardly. Saber is now in the fitting room, trying out a demure silk shirt that Madoka – who now sports a couple of bright red clip-on earrings and navy blue shoelaces – insisted would look good on her. After a couple of guilty looks around, Rin abandons her bags at the spot where the two of you are resting, going into the rest of the store to look around at the merchandise herself.

Which leaves you stranded near the door, watching over nearly a dozen bags and wondering nervously if you'd get kicked out for loitering. The dilemma is resolved after Saber and Madoka emerge from the closest aisle, bearing two more bags with price tags on them.

"Add it to the pile!" says Madoka, grinning. "I told you that shirt looks good on you!"

Saber hesitates, then nods once. "Yes. You were correct, Archer." The scary blonde Servant directs her attention to you. "Thank you for helping carry our burdens, Shirou."

Carry your burdens? That's a pretty odd turn of phrase. Why is everyone talking crooked today?

Well, at least Madoka was her usual candid self, thanking you enthusiastically and hugging you so tightly you're afraid she'll forget her own strength and snap your spine. Luckily, that doesn't happen. She pulls out of the embrace with rosy cheeks, and you feel her hope aura kick up a notch, strong enough to start clouding the edge of your thoughts.

"Where's Rin?" asks Madoka. "Wasn't she around here somewhere?"

"I'm here," says Rin, stepping out from behind a corner in the labyrinthian store layout. She catches your eye, her expression unreadable, then picks up her share of the bags, dramatically sighing as she does it. "Are we heading to any more shops?" Rin says it in a tone that makes it clear she'd rather go hand-to-hand with Berserker than lug any more bags around.

"Nope!" says Madoka cheerfully. "We're going to lunch! I saw a great ramen place earlier. It reminds me of a restaurant I used to go to back in my old life, so let's go there to eat." Saying that, the whimsical girl skips off, leaving the rest of you to follow.

"And to think I used to like shopping," Rin mutters. You're almost certain you saw Saber's lips quirk up a little out the corner of your eye.

Lunch goes very well. The ramen is overpriced, but delicious enough to make up for it – though the other three decide to pull your leg by falsely claiming that your food is better – and Rin seems to be in a much better temper when she isn't sweating and hauling bags in the late morning sun. At some point, you're not sure when, the conversation turns to memories.

"So, Archer, you mentioned that you've been to modern restaurants before?" asks Rin. "In other words, you must be a fairly modern Heroic Spirit."

Madoka nods with a pleased smile. "Mhm. Actually, I remember technology being a little more advanced than now, so it's possible that I may be a Heroic Spirit from the future."


Rin's eyes widen. "That's… theoretically possible, but how would you even get a catalyst for something like that?"

Madoka shrugs delicately. "Maybe the Grail chose for Shirou or something since he didn't have a catalyst. I don't know. How did you get your catalyst, Rin?"

"I… um… I don't want to give away Saber's identity, no offense. But I can tell you that Kirei gave it to me, since I didn't have any myself." It's a mark of Rin's friendship and familiarity with Madoka that she's not acting like the distant school idol, or even the self-absorbed Tohsaka heir, but rather as a friend, almost. Did people like Rin even have friends? Would she consider you a friend if she did?

Madoka looks thoughtful. "Maybe… maybe Shirou wished or hoped for me to save him so badly that I got summoned to him. Shirou, were you thinking something like that?"

You think back to the flashing lance, the darkened shed. The miracles, and the expectation of a miracle, the feeling of real hope for perhaps the first time in your life. "I think so."

"Right!" Madoka smiles. "That's how I became a Heroic Spirit in the first place, so maybe the Grail drew a connection to that."

Saber reacts to that, but the set of her features at that moment seems so terrifyingly alien that you can't even hope to tell whether it's a positive or negative reaction, let alone what exactly it is.

"In my final moments, I made a wish as well," she says slowly. "The events of the past Grail War have led me to suspect that it had something to do with me being a Heroic Spirit. What was your wish, Archer?"

You know this one. Madoka had spoken the words, an aria to the night sky. Wishing upon the stars, so to speak. "I wished for a world where nobody has to cry," said Madoka without hesiation, utterly sincere. At that moment, you really appreciate how small she is, how young she is. You wonder what it must have been like for her, barely fourteen, to make a wish charged with so much power that it granted her the title of Heroic Spirit, one that legends and myths could spend entire lifetimes obtaining.

"A naïve wish," says Saber. There's no judgement in her tone; it's just a statement of fact as she sees it.

Madoka tilts her head to look at Saber. "What did you wish for, then?"

"I had regrets. I wished to turn back time, to do it all over again. An impossible wish."

The little girl places her hands over that of the graceful knight's. "That's not impossible," says Madoka firmly. "As long as you have hope and your heart is in the right place, you can do anything. You can save everyone. I'll help you do it."

Saber lets out a startled laugh. "No, that's impossible. Even a magician wouldn't be able to fulfill that wish. There's no way to turn back time."

"I wouldn't be so sure," says Madoka.

The conversation turns to lighter topics after that, but Madoka's words remain on your mind. As the four of you leave the ramen shop, laughing lightly at Rin's dry humor, you can't help but wonder what exactly she meant.

-

You sit at the side of the road with three Yan-Yan packets and your new leather jacket draped over your shoulers, keeping the cold out. As you wait, you practice your magic, as Rin instructed. Rapid-fire reinforcement on rocks, tossing them upwards in a ceaseless cycle, trying to keep your focus on the magic while keeping the flow of movement going.

After half an hour, Ilya shows up. She's dressed in the same skirt as before, the same hat, but she looks different. Happier. She skips towards the two of you, the same way she had when the two of you had originally met.

"Hello – " she begins, but is swept into a gleeful hug by Madoka as soon as the pinkette materializes, as though they were close family members who hadn't seen each other for years, rather than opposing Masters who barely knew each other. Ilya squeaked, then
slowly eased into the hug.

By the time Madoka lets go, her cheeks are flushed, and you suspect Ilya would be as well if not for the fact that she was a homonuclus. "As I was saying, hello, onii-san."

"Oh, hello, Ilya. I was hoping to meet you." You smile back awkwardly, unsure what to say. You're still a little in disblief that this snow-haired girl wants to be your little sister.

Red eyes flicker down to the snacks beside you. They looked a much nicer shade of red, now. Less like blood and more like sweet cherry juice. Maybe that was just the psychological bias, now that she was on your side. "Oh! You brought sweets! Are those for me?"

You nod. "Feel free to take one if you want, Ilya. I… um, didn't know what you would like, so I just bought something that looked tasty."

"It's perfect." The homonuclus looks star-struck, then grabs you and Madoka's hands and tugs you towards the other direction, away from the Toshaka manor. "Come on! I know a great place to sit and eat these."

In a matter of minutes, you're dragged past rows of houses and fences and into a park with a little playground. Madoka has a sudden urge to play on the swing set, totally coincidentally giving you and Ilya privacy to talk as you sit side-by-side on the park bench.

Ilya daintily dips a breadstick into chocolate sauce, then bites it off with a crunch, tongue flicking out like a snake's to wipe off the crumbs. "Onii-san, your Servant told you my wish, right?"

"Uh, yeah. You want to be my sister, right."

She looks very serious. "Right. I want to be a real family again." Her muscles jump, all at once, whole body tensing as her Command Seals appear, tattooed on her face like lightning bolts. A moment passes, then it's gone, her body back to normal again. "I don't want this. Grandfather Acht, he…"

Ilya trails off, then starts speaking again. "…I don't even know why I'm sharing this with you. I guess because I don't have anyone else to talk to. Archer's nice, but she's not my brother. Berserker… doesn't really talk back, much. He's good company, though. But he can't give me advice or anything."

"Well, you can always talk to me if you're feeling lonely," you offer. You immediately regret the words; you have a feeling Ilya's going to use the excuse to meet up as often as possible, and you don't think you can survive the awkwardness of sitting on this bench day after day.

But she doesn't respond, instead looking gravely down at the floor, a breadstick sticking out of her mouth, lips smeared with chocolate. "Do you think she can do it?"

"Do it?"

"Archer. Do you really think she can make my wish come true?"

A vision of Madoka laughing flashes into your mind, how she looked as she leapt between you and Caster, the look on her too-young face as she talked about her friends getting killed by witches. "Yes," you say without hesitation or elaboration.

It must be the answer Ilya wanted, because she looks pleased. The two of you sit for a while, watching Madoka effotlessly hang upside down above the slide, a gloved hand clutching her skirt, the other circled around the slim bar. You're reminded that Madoka isn't human, no matter how she acts. Ilya is more human than her, funnily enough.

Ilya talks to you about Madoka a little, but mostly seems interested in Rin and Saber. You expected her to inquire strengths and weaknesses, whether Saber was tough enough to serve as a frontline, and so on. But she asks instead about their personalities, likes and dislikes, their daily routine. About your school, and the feeling of riding a bike, and other mundane stuff. The way she acted, it was as if she'd never been out of her castle in her life.

After you finish telling the story about how the friendly rivalry between you and Rin in terms of cooking skills finally ended, Ilya springs a sudden question at you. "Is Tohsaka-san your girlfriend?"

You pull the collar of your jacket up to hide your blush(are men even supposed to blush?) at the question. "Don't ask such questions," you say in a tone that you're sure will only encourage her to ask more questions. "None of your business."

Ilya giggles. "So she is your girlfriend!"

"No, she's not!" A truthful reply only sends her into further peals of laughter, kicking her legs up and down the park bench.

The litle homonuclus smiles and wipes the chocolate from her chin. "I didn't know you were that kind of guy. Anyway, I don't think you wanted to meet with me just to talk about Tohsaka, right?"

"You're right," you say. "I wanted to talk about Caster."

As though a switch has been flipped, Ilya loses the smile and the cocked head. She's the Einzbern Master again, icy ruthlessness paired with the incomparable strength of a Heroic Spirit.

"You want to kill her." It's not a question.

"Yes." It wasn't an easy word to get out. "Archer wants to get rid of her as soon as possible, and Saber and Ri-I mean Tohsaka seem to think the best way is to attack Ryuudou Temple again. We wanted to know what you and Berserker think."

"Berserker doesn't think," says the Einzbern Master. "But I don't see the point in attacking her in her own house. I already know she wants to kill Berserker, so all we have to do is lure her out and then kill her while she's weak."

Well, that's a good point as well, but you also like the idea of just charging in and killing Caster before she can do any more damage. If you waited to lure her out, who knows how many victims she might take?

After a moment of consideration, you decide on a course of action.

[ ] Pay Ryuudou Temple a visit and finish off Caster once and for all.

[ ] Lure Caster out of that cursed place and kill her while she's weak.
- [ ] To school. If Shinji's there, he might be able to help out.
- [ ] To the scorched area that Rin told you was where the last Grail War ended. As well as being a thematically fitting battlefield, it's also clear of innocent people that might be hurt by your battle.

 

[Hierophant]

Chapter Ten - Cat and Mouse
You feel as though you're the only impatient one. The others stand arrayed around you - Saber, Rin, Madoka, Ilya and Berserker. You'd run through the strategies, the battle plan with the others so often you could recite it by heart. Now all there was to do was wait, casually radiating magical energy and waiting for Caster to come.

And come she would. Madoka had assured you that the witch wouldn't be able to resist making a clean coup here, wiping out three Servants in a giant attack. Especially when two of those Servants were unable to reach her in the sky. Just the thought of going face to face with Caster again makes your heart pound and your feet itch, but the others seem to be frighteningly calm. Madoka and Berserker both seem content to remain still and keep careful watch, Ilya is dancing around in the middle of the blackened field and Rin has adopted a cross-legged meditating position to the side.

Saber… she seemed pretty eager to do guard duty, patrolling around the perimeter of the clearing you've come to think of as the "arena". She seemed pretty uncomfortable, and you weren't sure why. But at least she has something to do, instead of killing her mind with boredom out here. You wish you'd brought a book or something.

Then, just as you thought Caster wasn't going to show up after all, the sky darkens to a blood-red, causing Rin's eyes to snap open, the usually elegant magus jumping to her feet in alarm. Ilya stops dancing, and speaks. "Looks like a Bounded Field. She wants to trap us here."

So sudden. There weren't any signs, hints or traces of magical usage. You stand up, jacket stiffening and hugging your shoulders tighter as you reinforce it. The baton at your belt gets the same treatment, as do the bow and quiver slung across your belt. That's the best you can do. You grab the bow, clutch it tight as you spin around, looking for Caster –

A ground-shaking thump, and Saber comes flying through the air into the clearing, twisting her body in mid-air to land on her feet like a cat. Her armor shimmers into existence around her body, her invisible sword raised high. Not in preparation for combat, but a shield, blocking attacks from above.

You feel your stomach turn as Caster floats into sight. There's an instictively repulsive feeling to her that wasn't there the last time, as though merely looking at her robe sends thousands of microscopic insect feelers brushing across your skin, sneaking into pores and stroking over flakes. Something that makes you want to flay yourself head to toe just to get rid of the feeling.

"She's taken their souls," whispers Rin.


"An interesting set," says Caster, her voice echoing downwards. "Two strong, capable Servants… and Archer." Bat wings stretch lazily outwards.

The uncharacteristic anger that suddenly pulses from Madoka shorts out any help her aura might have given you in pushing away that repulsive feeling. She fires witout waiting for a signal, triple volley after triple volley arcing through the air to home in on Caster.

As those arrows near Caster, they are shaken off course, pulled by some sucking force into a swirling vortex around her, looping around her four or five times before dropping to stick into the ground, snapping easily in two instead of exploding. A space bending effect, or some sort of enhanced telekinetic magic. Either way, it's something that's so beyond your level of knowledge you can't even comprehend the spells that make it up.

A perfect counter to Madoka's Noble Phantasm, the massive pink arrow that she used against Caster at Ryuudou. It didn't matter how big a punch it packed if it didn't hit. And with Saber and Berserker being unable to reach Caster, it means she is more or less free to rain down hell on the six of you as she likes.

Berserker tries anyway, leaping at Caster with the strength of a beast, the force of his jump cracking the scorched ground. The first wave of purple blasts slam into him, but he merely shrugs them off like raindrops, not even letting them kill his momentum. His rock-sword swings in a perfect circle, aimed to catch Caster in the stomach and bring her to the ground.

He misses, of course, the witch bobbing slightly to the side to avoid it. Another crater is formed as he lands, his knees bending only slightly with the impact. Berserker roars, and it's loud enough to make you flinch and cover your ears.

Caster flicks a pale hand outwards, and six spheres of crackling blue appear around her, moving in an accelerating orbit, descending as they do. They fire outwards, and all three Servants dive to push their respective Masters out of harm's way. You see Berserker hunched around Ilya protectively, Saber launching forward to body-slam Rin out of the way of two of the spheres coming around to pincer her. Then Madoka grabs you, and hauls you out of the way just in time.

Where the spheres touch, massive chunks of rock, dirt and wood are carved away, almost deleted from existence. You're slammed to the ground, panting for breath, an invisible weight on your chest, still in shock over how close you were to death. Without even making her usual reassuring comment, Madoka stands over you, moves into a perfect archer's stance and fires.

The volley just gets caught up in Caster's vortex, but she's timed it to coincide with Berserker and Saber's double leap. A coordinated attack by all three Servants, not planned by instinctive, as if it was the obvious move at that moment. Berserker grabs a spinning arrow as he passes just under Caster, but it only shatters under his weight and leaves him to fall to the ground again. Saber is lighter, and the arrow holds, allowing Saber a shaky handhold to spin around Caster.

She slashes at Caster one-handed, her sword unerringly graceful, but the awkward angle disperses most of the power of her swings, and the force that's left over isn't enough to break the shimmering barrier around Caster. Two lines of defense. A vortex to stop Madoka's projectiles, a barrier to parry melee strikes. And Assassin still hasn't shown up. For all you know, he might be waiting in the wings, ready to cut down you and the other two Masters the moment your Servants are distracted.

It's a testament to Saber's speed and skill that she's able to dodge four of Caster's indigo projectiles even while clutching onto a slim crystal arrow, caught up in a tornado of wind and force, but the fifth hits her and she's send tumbling out of the vortex. Maybe your best shot at getting her close enough to Caster to drive her to the ground, it failed.

You struggle to stand, managing to suck in blessed oxygen into your lungs. The Servants had done all that in the space between breaths, moving so fast they were blurs. You'd barely been able to track what was happening, even with your newly trained magic-sense.

As you watch, Berserker lunges forward to catch hold of Saber before she hits the ground, wrapping his oversized arms around her legs and spinning her around once before throwing her right back at Caster, a living discus toss with enough force to smash through steel walls.

Saber's gotten both her hands around the sword this time, and the momentum propels her forward, delivering a full power swing straight at Caster. You feel the repulsive aura coming from her turn into something akin to panic, the warping as she vanishes and reappears a few meters away.

How was she so strong? You see Rin standing with a limp, holding handfuls of jewels as though ready to toss them, and Ilya, deadly calm with birds fluttering about her hair. They're watching the fight, just like you, knowing that they aren't strong enough to affect the outcome.

Then Caster moves, and you see her bleed. Somehow, you're surprised to see human blood trickle down from where the very tip of Saber's sword had caught her in the side. For some reason, you'd thought her blood would be black ichor. Still, it wasn't serious. Pain at most, nothing more. Pain was nothing to Heroic Spirits. Madoka had proved that over and over again.

A miracle. Hope. The familiar thoughts rush through your mind. It had worked the first two times, but it didn't work now. Madoka still flits about, firing arrows, and they all get sucked into the vortex. Berserker and Saber make giant leaps and miss, while Caster sprays shots at them. Berserker allows them to splash off his untouchable skin, and Saber weaves around them or blocks them.

Cat and mouse, a game where none of the parties have any efficient way to hurt each other. Every time Caster tried to turn her attention towards the Masters, she would find herself blindsided, Berserker moving to shield the three of you while Saber and Madoka hit her alternately, distracting her with spinning arrows and slashing blades. That was a planned maneuver, if not a practiced one.

You take a rattling breath. You have to do something, anything. Madoka's conserving her energy, not daring to use even a partial unleash of her Noble Phantasm for fear it would merely be wasted on Caster's anti-projectile vortex.

In a way, though, the stalemate is a good thing. It keeps Caster here, in this burned-out field. Stalling her until your backup arrives. All you have to do is survive until then, and you'll surely finish Caster off once and for all.

As if sensing your thoughts, Caster turns and fires a spell at you. You recognize it. Needles of famine and plague, lancing straight at you in a tight spiral. It's the same spell that turned Madoka's lower body to mincemeat, and the range is wide enough that you can't possibly hope to dodge.

Berserker is the one who bounds towards you, this time, shoving you violently aside and stretching out a pillar-like arm to absorb the shock of the spell. It nearly killed Madoka, but it doesn't seem to affect him at all, leaving not even so much as the tiniest of scratches etched on his skin. It's as if he was struck by nothing stronger than a tiny gust of wind.

"Saber-san!" calls Madoka, firing a veritable storm of arrows from her rose-bow. They are sucked into the vortex, so many that it almost appears as though Caster is surrounded by a wispy pink cloud. You swear you see her wobble, her flight suddenly unstable, bat wings flapping furiously to allow her to keep her balance. Did the weight – physical or magical – of the wings pull her off balance? Was it something else, a feint?

Saber doesn't hesitate, dropping to one knee and raising her sword in triumph. A typhoon explodes forth from the blade, revealing the most beautiful broadsword you have ever seen. A perfect combination of elegance and brutality, forged in steel that looks indestructible, alien letters carved along the side. You know instantly that this is her Noble Phantasm, and that if she uses it here there's absolutely no way Caster can hope to survive.

You see Rin's smug smile out the corner of your eye, Ilya's impressed gasp. The typhoon that emerged from Sabers blade hugs close to Caster, trapping her in a whirlwind, making use of the momentum of the vortex that surrounded her to push her along. It's an impossible dilemma. If she keeps the vortex up, the whirlwind latches on to that to keep her spinning like a top, trapped and waiting for Saber to unleash her death blow. But if she drops the vortex, she'll get killed instantly by Madoka's own Noble Phantasm.

Caster elects to keep it up, trapped wobbling in place as Saber readies her sword. The blonde knight speaks quietly. "Do you have any last words, Servant of the class Caster?"

The witch regards her a cold stare under her hood. "Yes. Kill me now, if you wish. But Taiga Fujimura will die."

Saber's sword falters; your heart stops. Caster turns her head to look straight at you, hood rippling around her skull, wings outstretched to their fullest length, calm and unbent in the face of imminent death, surrounded by a cyclone that whipped her robe into disarray and tore at exposed flesh. "My Master is holding her hostage at the school. He will kill her if fifteen minutes pass without hearing from me."

Fifteen minutes. You could run fast, but not nearly fast enough. You'd need a Servant to get to the school in time, rescue Taiga. Saber is needed here, to finish off Caster. Berserker might be able to make it, but that would leave Ilya defenseless, and you don't have confidence in the brute's ability to take out Caster's Master without hurting Taiga. That leaves –

"Madoka!" you call, but she is already moving towards you, scooping you up in her childlike hands and lifting you in a bridal carry. Without looking back, she bounds up and away from the clearing, her feet skimming past the top branches of trees, not caring about being seen. Her dress twirls and twists as she sprints, bouncing off branches and trunks.

Your mind is overloaded with visions, a shadowy figure drawing a kitchen knife across Taiga's throat or ripping her apart with lightning magic. Or worst of all, paralyzing her with a touch and slowly draining the life from her body, her face going blank as she topples to the ground. Madoka's aura of soothing hope does little to dispel these visions. But you look up, and take comfort in her determined expression. Focused and shining, a Servant burning with the need to protect others.

It remains to be seen whether the two of you can save Taiga, but you're going to try, even if it costs you your second arm and both your legs to save her. As the two of you soar across Fuyuki City, the seeds of a plan start forming in your mind, and you whisper instructions to Madoka, who nods grimly.

What is your plan?
[ ] Since Madoka is a Servant and the enemy is just a magus, she should be able to easily defeat him. A head-on charge with a volley of precision-targeted arrows to disable him should be enough to save Taiga.

[ ] Someone crafty enough to be Caster's Master isn't to be trifled with. A sneak attack from an unexpected angle is best, pinning him down and stopping him from doing any harm.

[ ] You won't risk Taiga's life by enacting a foolish attack. You'll try to negotiate with the Master and see if Madoka can convince him to give her up the same way she convinced Ilya to join your side.

[ ] Write-in.

 

[Hierophant]

I have no excuse for the lateness of this chapter. I'm really sorry it has taken so long to write and edit - at times it felt like I was going at a snail's pace.

Interlude - The Heiress
Even trapped in a typhoon of swirling wind, a moment away from utter destruction, the Servant Caster still inspires fear in Tohaska Rin. Maybe it's her confident smirk, far too calm for someone about to die. Maybe it's the sheer frightening potency of her magic, tossing out spells that her largest jewels would struggle to imitate like they were minor cantrips.

The scion of the Tohsaka family doesn't let that fear show on her face, of course, any more than she'd let concern show for the red-headed boy dashing off recklessly into the woods, carried by Archer, whirling in pink lace and ribbon. To do so would be uncouth, undisciplined.

But Ilyasviel smells it on her, somehow. "You're scared, aren't you?" murmurs the homonuclus, looking up with pale eyes. "I'm scared too. Something's wrong."

Saber is still standing stock-still in the center of the field, both hands reaching up to support her golden sword, pointing straight at Caster. The tip of the blade does not waver, but neither does Caster's smile.

Rin is broken out of her unpleasant reverie by the sight of a familiar pair appearing amongst the trees on the other side of the clearing. Their backup, their trump card against Caster's tricks. Never in her life had she thought she'd be glad to see Matou Shinji, as cocky as ever in school uniform, Rider standing eerily still at his side, expressionless.

Saber opens her mouth to shout the true name of the Sword of Promised Victory, unleashing its power and amplifying her mana, drawing it into the sword and focusing it into an unstoppable laser blast that destroys everything in its path. There is no way for Caster to dodge – she needs concentration and time to do a teleportation, and the typhoon whips her around too shakily for that. Of course, there was no shield or barrier she could possible enact that would defend against Saber's Noble Phantasm.

At the moment before Saber speaks, Rider attacks her.

A low dash across the blackened field, leaving a visible trail of cracked dirt and a shockwave that Rin could feel all the way from where she stood. Only Saber's uncanny instinct saved her from being impaled immediately, barely managing to block the attack and roll backwards to parry the follow-up thrust.

Rin reels backwards from the betrayal, while Ilya's eyes widen. No. Not now.

Saber doesn't even react to Rider's betrayal barely a couple of hours after Shinji had promised to come to their aid during the fight. Her face has settled into a cold hard mask, exchanging sword blows at lightning speed with Rider, so fast that all Rin sees is a flurry of steel and sparks, Caster laughing madly as she watches from within her whirlwind.

But the battle is over quickly. As good as Rider is, it's clear his sword is mostly ceremonial, constructed in a curving spiral. That meant it was decent for thrusting or slashing with the tip, but there as no cutting edge whatsoever, giving Saber the edge in both functionality and weight. In addition, the sword is conceptually not even close to a weapon of actual war, which meant that it was not as suitable as Excalibur for individual combat.

Whoever he was, Saber's parameters outranked in him in every respect. She was stronger, faster, more durable, more experienced. Step by step, Saber forced the young man back, each stumble only allowing her to accumulate her advantage. It seemed as though everyone was entranced by their duel, Ilya even holding Berserker back so he would not interrupt their fight.

Rider set a foot back, and the invisible sword ploughed into him with enough strength to shatter a rock wall. He seemed to absorb the blow, merely missing a single beat in their deadly dance, a moment of vulnerability as he sought to regain his footing. It was more than enough. Saber pressed the attack, broke his guard with three furious slashes, then struck directly at his torso without mercy or hesitation.

…In that instant, Rin notices his power source changing. Before, he had been taking energy from the blue-haired coward that stood at the far end of the clearing. But in that moment, as Saber pulls back her gauntlets to strike at him, that energy changes to something she can't comprehend. The best analogy is like a power socket plugged into himself. Rider stopped taking mana from Shinji, and kept himself alive with some sort of internal source of power.

No, it wasn't an internal source of power. It was something stronger like that. A curse delivered by a Noble Phantasm would fit the criteria, only curses tended to, well, curse. Debilitate, rather than providing power. Rin isn't sure what sort of spell this is, but she has a sickening feeling that it might be his Noble Phantasm, in much the same manner as Heracles.

Rider moves aside with terrifying speed, then counters with a sword blow that knocks Saber back. She, with her enhanced agility and speed, powered by one of the strongest magi in Fuyuki City, can barely whip the sword back to block Rider's blow, locking swords, their gazes meeting, each as cold and emotionless as the other.

For a moment they stay like that, swords crossed, pushing with all their strength. Then Shinji calls out, in his usual mocking tone. "Kill her, Rider! Use your Noble Phantasm!"

And Rider leaps back, away, sparks showering at the violence of it. Caster watches with glittering eyes, Saber pounces forward, pressing the attack, before he can –

Before he can –

"Lancelot…"

Something flashes in Rider's hand, his attire, for a second, replaced by a military-style white bodysuit, a microphone arcing up to his throat, his handsome green eyes intent. An incredible amount of power surges into him, a supernova, irresistible, enough energy to wipe a skyscraper from existence with a single blow.

"…ALBION!"

A monster emerges from Rider. Pure white, with gold lining, almost exploding out of him. Replacing his tanned skin with cold metal, his slender hands with its oversized ones, his ceremonial sword with a gleaming laser blade. The last to go is his face, as his body grows to an enormous height, swapping out pounds for tons of metal. And then it is swallowed as well, leaving only a massive helmet in its place.

What's left isn't identifiable at all. Not as a human, or as a Heroic Spirit. It is like some kind of robotic demon monster, something you'd see in a childern's show. A massive giant, so high that he loomed over even Berserker, over Caster, cast a shadow over the clearing. But not brutish – sleek, every line graceful, speaking of speed and the raw power to back it. The closest thing Rin can compare it to is a suit of armor, with modification after modification attached.

The force of the transformation buffets, Saber, throws her backwards to skid in the dirt, and Rin hears Shinji laughing, gloating. The now-giant Rider plucks Caster easily out of the tempest, and sets her to the ground.

"You'll keep your end of the bargain, right Caster? In exchange for saving you with my Rider."

"Yes," says the witch, beautiful and dangerous and inhuman and fragile. "You will have Tohsaka Rin."

Rin feels her spine clutched in a cold grip, sudden fear and disgust breaking through the calm façade shielding her expression. She hears the shouting of a little girl, standing beside her.

"Kill her, Berserker! Kill Caster!"

Berserker obeys unhesitatingly, leaping forward to pummel Caster into the ground. He cuts into thin air, a shimering illusion, and the real Caster appears behind him, striking his skin with a shower of brightly colored effects that don't seem to affect him at all.

Rin forces herself away from the view of the two of them fighting, and finds herself watching Saber and Rider instead. She had expected Saber to engage him immediately, and to her surprise she sees the two of them exchanging words. Saber's voice is hard, saying something that Rin can't hear over the noises of battle between Caster and Berserker.

Rider replies with a mechanized rumble that has only the barest trace of a human twang. His reply is easier to hear, loud enough to cut over the sounds of battle.

"How about one strike? Can you take that?"

In response, Saber grips the Sword of Promised Victory with both hands and steps into a steady position, leaning her weight on her back foot.

Emerald green wings unfold from behind the mechanical giant's back, shardlike fields of magical energy springing into existence from two slim rods that extend outwards. Rider leaps up, and the wings allow him to take to the sky. They propel him upwards, a smaller and smaller speck. Disappearing beyond the clouds, into the atmosphere.

Saber doesn't react, except to raise her sword into an attack postion. The same one she had used against Caster. There is nothing but stillness for a moment, Berserker and Caster both swaying backwards, ceasing combat for a moment. It's just a guess, but Rin thinks that maybe they both understand the importance of this moment, instinctively.

A roar from the sky, the speck reappearing, growing larger and larger as Rider accelerates back towards the clearing at a speed just short of supersonic. Its sword is extended, pointing straight at Saber just as Excalibur's tip is pointed at it.

Saber waits only a moment, allowing it to draw closer, before unleashing the true power of her Noble Phantasm.

"EXCALIBUR!"

Golden light, an impossible amount, rising from the clearing around them and drawn towards her. The sword shudders and glows. Rider speeds nearer, rushing towards the legendary sword. The earth quakes, forcing all in the clearing but Saber to move to regain that balance, and in that moment of clumsiness the sword fires.

A massive laser of light, so beyond white that Rin marvels at the fact that she is able to see it at all with human eyes, convinced that she'll go blind in that one instant. Her retinas must have been seared, the optic nerve surely scorched. But she is not blinded; she is able to see the light consume the earth, the sky, billowing out outwards to devour Rider as well.

Rin blinks, and when she opens her eyes again Excalibur no longer glows. The only light that fills the clearing is the cool blueish light of the sun, obscured slightly by the massive cloud of dust rising from the ground. Rider is kneeling beside Saber, in terrible condition. Half his body has been blown away, leaving only a smoking, sparking ruin that's barely able to function. It takes him an effort to force himself upwards, jerking and twitching from the damage to his right arm, his torso, his face, his neck, everywhere.

It's far more healthy than he should be. Excalibur unleashed should have vaporized him completely. Which meant –

"You dodged it," whispers Saber, disbelievingly.

The mechanical, grating voice replies with one word.

"Yes." And Excalibur clatters to the floor, Saber's gauntleted fingers wide, palsied, unable to grasp it. She falls to her knees, reaching for her sword with spasmic movements. Tohsaka Rin stares, unable to accept it, that her Servant, the strongest Servant, could possibly be vanquished so fast.

Shinji laughs in the background, a mocking sound that grates at her and makes her want to burst into tears for some reason. Not tears of sorrow, or grief, but angry, frustrated tears. That Saber wasn't good enough. That Saber, in the end, died, unable to slay even a single Servant, or protect her Master even a single time.

Rin moves forward, to say something to Saber. She doesn't know what. An apology, a plea, a requiem. At the very least, she would be able to hear Saber's last words. But she is unable to. Her feet her rooted to the spot, terror clawing at her stomach, Ilya's hand tugging on her shoulder, motioning her to get back.

Rider draws a weapon, a gun larger than Saber's entire body. Saber tries, desperately, to lean out of his line of fire, but only topples over with a surpisingly human cry. A crimson line trails its way through her body, and Rin can feel that she is keeping herself together only by sheer force of will and mana. At the last, Saber looks straight at Rider, lying in a pool of spreading blood, and speaks. Six syllables, short and rasping.

Whatever she said, Rider nods, the movement almost gentle, and pulls the trigger. There is a sound like the impact of an artillery strike, and Saber is removed from existence. Rin glances down at her arm, blinking tears away, and sees that the Command Seal has faded to a dull red, the mana connection severed.

If she had been closer – if she had been just ten meters closer, she would have been able to do something. The artifact that Kirei Kotomine gave her still rested within her body, but with the death of her Servant, Avalon was now as dead as her Command Seals. Rin feels a hard pull at her arm, and she numbly follows, fleeing out of the forest, hand in hand with Ilyasviel von Einzbern.

Berserker covers them, using his hulking frame to shield them both from Caster's attacks, and Shinji's mad, arrogant laughter follows them, still ringing in Rin's ears. They flee, broken and routed.

Shirou…

{Status page updated}