A/N:

I'm really sorry for the long wait. Most of the chapter was written by not long after New Year's, but then I received the terrible news of our cat dying of poisoning. She was only three years old, and really a lovely little being who brightened my life whenever I saw her. She will be sorely missed, and I urge every one of you who have pets to give them a hug now, while you still can, even if they are frustrating sometimes.

In other news, I had to also put writing on a little hold when a long planned D&D group finally formed, but I was made to be DM, having the most experience with it (I have previously played D&D once, but was experienced with another game, but only GMd there once, so you can imagine what level of experience the others had…). After having spent a ton of time on getting the basics of the rules memorized, and reading a really long, but good pre-made module for starting DMs, we have now finally started playing. Now that things are going fairly smoothly (characters have managed to all accept the main quest, survived their first fights and are only trolling each other every free moment they get plus some more) I have had the time again to finish this chapter. I will probably still be fairly busy with my newbie team, but it shouldn't be too bad now. They are mostly settled and have moved from questioning every single basic thing to having annoyingly stupid questions and puns.

Anyway, just ignore my babbling, and I hope you will like the story!

Chapter 4 – Clashing

Heroic spirit EMIYA, Counter Guardian of Humanity, taker and savior of countless lives, was starting to peacefully doze off in the unexpectedly warm sunshine of the lazy winter day. It has been a long while since he was this relaxed, and frankly he was well aware that this was simply a lull before the storm. Which was exactly the reason as to why he wanted to fully relish in it, given the opportunity that has been presented to him.

Archer stretched lazily, his taut muscles sluggishly complying as he isettled into a more comfortable position. His tanned skin hungrily soaked in the rays of the sun nearing its zenith. He knew that he should in fact be dematerialized to be safe, but he figured this little act of indulgence would be an acceptable risk with the protection of the excessively strong bounded field Tokiomi has set up around the building of the primary school that the spirit was currently lounging on the roof of. Without a doubt, there could not be any magic user or Servant capable of entering the magical ward without detection.

The Counter Guardian has prided himself on his impeccable vigilance, but he supposed once in a while even he could use a break. Yet, he was careful not to succumb to the sweet invitation of the dream world, one steel colored eye at all times open slightly to focus unwaveringly on the form of a small blue-eyed girl sitting primly in a classroom across from the contentedly sprawled Servant.

The white haired man was lying far enough to make it impossible for any stray glances through the window to detect his red and black clad body cautiously placed to be obscured from prying eyes by piles of crates and constructions on top of the building. The spirit was observing the classroom only through a tiny gap between two metal containers, but thanks to the special ability of his class, he would have been more than capable of following the movements of a fly miles away when looking through the eye of a needle. In fact, there really was no good reason for him to be at such close proximity to his charge, other than how hidden between discarded boxes on top of the building's roof was the best place to get some peace and quiet while reveling in the rare good weather.

Archer was very much conscious of the fact that when Tokiomi gave him the specific task of accompanying his daughter to school to watch over her, it was mostly to get him out of his hair while the magus plotted with Kirei or Risei, or whatnot. To be honest, the spirit could care less. This arrangement suited him best anyway.

The Servant knew that it would have been difficult to get Rin out of school for an undefined period of time: the Grail War could just as easily last months as it could finish in days. It all depended on the temperament and strategies of the participants. However, no one needed to point out the obvious near zero probability of anyone making an attack on a primary school, in broad daylight nonetheless. No, Archer preferred not to argue over the futility of the assignment with his Master, he figured that he could use the time to finally ponder over his goals for this incarnation of the War. Time for contemplation was more or less a luxury with constant pestering from two highly assertive Tohsakas. Those devils had no regards for the dignity of Servants of the Holy Grail War...

Anyway, to begin with, eliminating his younger self in this time and reality had to be crossed off the list. Not mentioning the unpleasantness of murdering an innocent child, the spirit had no way of locating the boy either. He could not remember a single thing before that fateful day of fire and death, his name included.

He had a quick check over the students of the primary school that his current little pretend Master attended, but no redhead boy was included. That just left him with no clues at all, and to his best knowledge he was not involved with the Fourth Grail War, apart from its aftermath.

However, being so far back in the past did raise some interesting possibilities. Mainly, he wondered if he could prevent the onset of the Fuyuki Fire. It was difficult to gauge, because he had very little information, but luckily he at least had an inkling about the key players.

To start it off, there was Kiritsugu Emiya, his adoptive father. If it could be avoided, Archer would have liked to not kill him. Besides, he doubted Kiritsugu would have wished for the town to be engulfed in deadly flames.

The other survivors of the war were Kotomine and Gilgamesh. While the spirit was sure that either was unhinged enough to not mind the suffering of hundreds of people, he was also aware that Gilgamesh was the Archer of the war he was a part of now, and as a consequence, he was unlikely to play an important role here where his class slot has been taken by him. That is if his presence as Archer at this war has not been already enough to alter the result of the fighting.

As for Kirei, at the moment it was difficult for the Tohsaka's Servant to do anything about the priest thanks to his alliance with Tokiomi. While Archer had little qualms about betraying his Master to accomplish his ultimate goal, even if he managed the kill without interruptions from his contracted summoner, eliminating Kirei was no guarantee for stopping the fire altogether. As far as the spirit knew, someone else could have caused the same, or a hsimilar catastrophe that would have culminated in his adoption by Kiritsugu.

To sum it all up, it was better for him to bide his time until more pieces of the puzzle were in place. Not that he couldn't use the time to try to discredit Kirei in front of Tokiomi, but Archer wasn't exactly betting on that possibility working well enough either. Although, maybe one interesting option would be making sure to keep his Master alive, and let him win the Grail. Surely, the Tohsaka would not have a wish that could bring so much death upon his own city.

The man saddled with more sense of responsibility than anyone should bear alone relaxed his facial muscles that have knotted into a frown during his previous pondering. He felt a smile tugging at his lips as he spied from the corner of his dark eye a black haired girl raising her hand high into the air, her poise perfectly collected and refined, but the tip of her shoes pushing her body just a few millimeters farther up than anyone else to make her presence more obvious as she competed to be selected for a thing or another within her class.

The image of a young, more carefree Rin made some scattered information in Archer's brain come to the forefront. In some rare scenarios of the Fifth Holy War, he had learnt of Sakura's true identity as the younger Tohsaka sister. In addition, he was also aware that her soul got corrupted by pieces of the artifact from the preceding fight for the Grail.

The spirit wondered if merely stopping the cursed relic from breaking into fragments would be enough to save the lilac haired girl. Yet, the he knew even before finishing the thought that the old worm that went by the name of Matou Zouken would find ways to commit deplorable acts by other means. The only surefire way of keeping Sakura alive and well would be to get her away from the Matous. However, to accomplish that goal, more than likely the Matou patriarch himself had to be eliminated.

Archer was distinctly aware of the fact that Zouken was immensely dangerous, not to mention, incredibly difficult to get rid of completely. If he wanted to follow through with his new venture, he would need not only careful planning, but also formidable allies. This was not a plan he could succeed with on his own, and do a thorough job.

One of the main complications were of course the extremely close watch that Tokiomi kept him under. While the magus himself spent little time with the spirit, his daughter was at almost all times in his vicinity, and he would often catch a glimpse of one of the dark bodies of Assassin creeping near him. The obvious action to take would have been to convince his red coat

wearing Master that the Matou head was a threat that needed to be destroyed. Once again, this was a slippery road to take, as Zouken was not directly involved with the war to Archer's best knowledge, and the Tohsaka and Matou houses were closely allied. The Servant had no illusions that he would need to gather some very incriminating evidence to get his Master to entertain fighting Zouken.

Archer could feel his head starting to hurt from thinking too hard about what to make as his objective in this unusual situation. He had been mostly going with the flow so far, but there was not much point to his presence here if he planned to achieve nothing. The problem lied in what exactly he could actually realize, and what would be worth his limited time in this reality.

The sharp cry of the school bell signaling the break for lunch period pulled the spirit from his reverie. He knew he had to dematerialize soon thanks to the increased movement bringing higher chances of someone stumbling upon him, yet he found it difficult to will his steel colored orbs to leave the form of a girl with dark pigtails.

The Servant observed curiously as his little charge was approached by a group of girls of similar age, each holding neatly-wrapped bento boxes, only for the blue eyed girl to shake her head with embarrassment, and then trot purposefully out of the door. The man had a fond smile tugging at his lips at how Tohsaka Rin was the same no matter which universe he encountered her in.

It wasn't really ten minutes later when the door to the roof of the school banged open, and one pigtailed girl marched in, a plastic bag with her recently bought lunch gripped in one hand. She didn't hesitate to flop herself down on a nearby box, visibly oozing an air of irritation.

"Why aren't you eating with your friends, Shrimp?" The incorporeal voice asked, his owner materializing out of sight after speaking.

"Hey Archer! Don't scare me like that!" squeaked the little girl, caught off guard. Clearly, she wasn't good enough yet to sense him in spirit form. "Also, remember it's Rin-sama!"

The tall man rolled his eyes at the child's insistence, but chose to stay silent while he waited for the girl to continue.

"I can't let them see the Great Tohsaka Rin eat some measly store lunch." voiced Rin after a little while. She then returned to staring at the concrete floor with an angry frown that Archer was sure could be used to set things on fire with a little more practice in the years to come. "Mother wasn't there to prepare my bento, so I had to get this. My skills at making lunch are not exactly something to show off either." The girl's voice was quieter now, and her body looked painfully small as she drew her childishly thin legs closer to her chest.

"Hm, true enough." agreed the Servant. He grinned roguishly when he received a familiar death glare in return. "But maybe you should also try to pay a bit more attention to your surroundings. I know that you are useless in the mornings, however missing your lunch box waiting in the kitchen for you will end in a situation like this."

"Huh?" The child replied lacking her usual grace, her blue eyes shining with confusion as she turned around to stare at the tall man talking to her. In one of his large, tanned hands she spotted an elegantly wrapped box. The sapphire orbs ogling the box widened, before she bit her lips to keep herself from blurting out something unnecessary.

"Why didn't you remind me, you big dummy?!" she spluttered eventually, her face red. The fake ire of the mini-demon did little to deter the self-satisfied grin on Archer's angled features as he let the girl snatch the tastefully presented food container from him, and storm towards the exit.

"It is a pleasure to serve you, Rin-sama." said Servant. He barely stifled a chuckle, but performed a perfect imitation of a bow.

"Archer." The girl stopped in the doorway, her back towards the spirit warrior to hide her expression, but one small white hand gripping the doorframe as if her life depended on it. "Thank you." she breathed, just below a whisper, before she left.

The burly man crossed his muscled arms over his wide chest, his eyes closing as he drew in a deep breath, letting his lungs fill with fresh air. His darkened face was devoid of its usual lines of concern, the corner of his mouth curved in a pleasant upward arch. When his steel colored orbs were opened again, his sight focused on the same dark haired girl who accompanied him on the roof a little while ago.

The apprentice magus moved towards the earlier group of girls with an air of confidence, now a bento box of her own clutched tightly against her white shirt. It only took a couple apt words with some prim smiles for her to join them. It did not escape the notice of the white haired man, how the sapphire orbs belonging to his pretend Master lit up with excitement and admiration as she exposed the contents of her lunch container. In the midst of the awed squeals of appreciation at the cleverly presented culinary masterpiece he slaved in the kitchen with, Archer could easily recognize the blatant expression of pride, and the sight somehow warmed a bit of his soul numbed by the countless death and devastation it has experienced.

Even when not counting the flawlessly polished red ruby he carried to his deathbed and beyond, Tohsaka Rin always managed to be a central icon in his miserable existence of trying to erase all possible entities who could share his fate. Throughout all of it, he has also had to admit that he owed a lot to her, especially for the several counts of inexcusable acts of disloyalties he has committed.

Despite all and any of his sins though, the girl always ended up making him feel needed, never giving up on him. Maybe this time that his goals weren't so clear cut, just this instance, he might think about ways of repaying her. Not just by protecting her physically, but if he could help it, giving her what she really needed emotionally.

He mused that it would be ideal if he could get Tokiomi to show his love for his daughter like a normal parent would, but in the meantime the Servant was more than capable of proper parental care. The spirit figured that in any case the most important part was to make sure the Rin of at least this one world did not have to grow up in that lonely fashion he had knowledge of. That was a perfectly achievable goal. For anything else, like reuniting the estranged Tohsaka sisters, he would have to see what he could do.

Caster was no stranger to intense killing intent being directed at her, and she found that she had no difficulty in pointedly ignoring the quiet, but potent rage that her dark haired Master was seething with. The woman had her whitely clothed back adorned with thousands of sparkling jewels turned towards the man wearing all black. Despite the darkness of the basement of the Einzbern Mansion, the precious stones on her usual, grandiose dress gleamed vividly, in resonance with the Mystic Codes she was setting up with nimble fingers and quietly whispered incantations.

"Where is Iri, Caster?" Came the hiss from the ex-mercenary. His usually soulless dark eyes ablaze with a vicious passion. The object of his anger couldn't see the expression, but could imagine it from his tone. She supposed that it was better this way, she preferred him feeling something, even if it was resentment towards her. Hate was easier to deal with than a lack of emotions.

"You know Kiritsugu-san, I'm actually quite amazed at the resources that the Einzberns possess." noted the Servant pensively. Her multi-colored eyes scanned colorful symbols lighting up on the smooth, reflective surfaces of wide slabs under her slender fingers that traced features representing a ley line based map of Fuyuki City. "Not mentioning the impressive castle here, getting these large screens made out of high purity, polished crystal quartz must not have been easy or cheap. However they align perfectly with my magic, so give them my regards."

"Don't try to avoid the question." Burning coal black eyes followed every little move of the spirit with a hawk-like accuracy. The Magus Killer's voice was raised only slightly above his regular level of speech, but it had a lethal undertone to it that promised that the man would live up to his title. "I will not let you off Caster, not this time. I have a right to know where my wife is."

"I expect the bounded fields already in place will hold up to standard as well, once I get to examining them properly." The magic user spirit continued her train of thoughts unconcerned, as if she didn't hear a word of her furious Master. In reality, she was carefully evaluating the man's responses behind her, but of course she wasn't going to make it easy for him. Not after how he reacted to her earlier probe into his character. "Not that a few personalized tweaks won't be necessary, after all this age's technology is dreadfully lacking."

"Caster. Stop fooling around." deadpanned the ex-mercenary. He was starting to lose any semblance of patience. Or at least the woman judged it to be the case due to the slightest tremor she heard in his voice. Yet, only the next words forced her to become serious. "You want me to use a command spell on you?"

"We both know, that using one for a purpose like that would be entirely wasteful, and very much uncharacteristic of you, Kiritsugu." she replied breezily, as she turned towards the man with slow, deliberate movements. Her iridescent eyes locked with narrowed charcoal orbs, and she understood that the man across from her wasn't going to back down.

"So be it then. You leave me no other choice." The dark haired magus uttered, pitch black eyes unrelenting as he raised one arm to clutch the other. His dry lips opened to utilize an appropriate incantation, but the words were stopped in his throat when the spirit raised her hands in surrender.

"No need for you to go that far." said the woman calmly. Yet the ex-mercenary watched her suspiciously, keeping his hands in position. "Though, isn't this exactly what you wanted? Iri could not be safer, with not even me having the slightest inkling where she could be, there is no way for any of your extended number of enemies to track her down." There was a small smirk tugging at the corner of the spirit's mouth, some open mocking slipping into her tone. "Were you to lose in the fight, they could dissect your meager brain, and they would still have no clue at all."

"Losing is out of the question." declared the man with absolute conviction, a grim expression on his face. His Servant spotted that every muscle in his body was tense to the point of snapping, and his midnight dark eyes scanned her and her surroundings while calculating the best course of action. "Also, entirely beside the point here. You know very well, that Iri is not familiar with the world outside of her home place. It is greatly irresponsible to let her wonder about on her own, unsupervised."

"She is a mage Kiritsugu, a capable one. Don't discredit her." noted the woman morosely, her stance at first glance was relaxed, but she was sure her Master caught her careful positioning ready to respond to any sudden actions. "She can easily hold her own against normal threats, and there won't be magical ones that can find her."

"All the same, she could be tricked by someone or your contraption could malfunction." came the dry reply. Caster mused quietly that the man must have an inhuman pool of self-restraint, yet the smallest twitch of one tautly held hand in the direction of a certain concealed weapon alerted her to the possible true intentions of the Magus Killer. The Servant made sure to memorize the location of the elaborate gun when her Master seemed to put it away with special care after receiving it from Maiya. The spirit couldn't identify the ability of the uniquely decorated firearm from the little glimpse she had of it, but she had no doubts that it would be dangerous. Well, she figured she would be finding it out soon.

"The artificial core I made her is incredibly simple." she told the man while shrugging. The countless gems faintly jingled on her extravagant dress, before she decided to expand on her earlier statement. "It is merely an amalgamation of my prana filled jewels enchanted to emit small doses of power into her circuits at regular intervals. I'm not an alchemical expert, I can't build a homunculus from scratch, but I know that even something as crude as I have used can be sufficient if enough resources are thrown into it. Yes, connecting and calibrating the device was challenging, but once it was stable, it is not going to fail."

"You appear to forget that Iri is not aware of the full extent of what surrounds her in the outside world, or how to deal with problems that might come her way." repeated the vexed magus persistently.

"Isn't that all the better reason to let her see for herself how things are? Don't you think she should experience the real world when she still has a chance to?" exclaimed the woman heatedly. As she spoke, a flash of red passed through her iridescent eyes before they settled to an impossibly cold metallic color. Her features also shifted to reflect a menacingly icy disposition, the only contrast drawn by a malevolent smile playing on her pink lips.

"Or are you just scared of her changing her mind after seeing what she is actually giving up for some high strung ideal of yours?" The smirk on the spirit's face widened at observing the poorly masked flinch in the normally impeccable posture of the ex-mercenary. She knew she was being reckless, but there was no backing down when her words were clearly eliciting a reaction. She had to see for herself what lied under the carefully crafted layers of calm and detachment necessary for a highly efficient killer.

"You know, we can stop pretending now." breathed the white haired woman ominously, her metallic eyes keeping the man's expression under close scrutiny. "I'm aware that she is meant to be the vessel, and that is the real reason as to why you are so royally pissed that you don't know her exact location. Even though I have told you already that I left her with ways to contact us. No point in trying to play the concerned husband for my sake, when you are simply terrified that you will be abandoned by the woman you have been using to get your way."

"What the hell do you even know about us Caster?" bellowed the Magus Killer with every fiber of his being burning in an all-consuming hatred that boiled over his restraints. There was not a hint of composure in the darkly contorted lines of his unshaven face framed by a mess of black hair. "You act as if you know everything about this damned world, and you might be the greatest mage to have lived, not that I care, but the way you look down on others shows your spineless nature."

Caster recognized that she had crossed the line. Even if she had been trying to destroy the façade of calm that Kiritsugu hid his real self behind, the spirit did not imagine before experiencing it just how utterly intimidating the ex-mercenary could be when deadly serious. It has been many many years before her death that she last felt like helpless prey, yet now she found not only no retort coming from her parched throat, but cold sweat trickled down on the back of her neck as her widened eyes stared into haunting black pools.

"You are nothing but a pathetic excuse for a human being who takes pleasure in forcing her sick desires on others." Kiritsugu pushed on, pouring out all of his bottled resentment when he received no resistance from his Servant. The woman's face was devoid of the earlier jeering smirk, in fact she looked visibly ashen, which fuelled the ex-mercenary to say even more in a tone increasingly merciless. "You are truly mad if you think your self-justified meddling will make up for your own sad failures. You are worse than useless trash, certainly no better than me. You are good at nothing but hurting others."

In another situation Caster would have found the Magus Killer's ability to formulate words with the little information he had of her that stung like salt on open wounds almost beguiling. Right now though she had no luck with stopping memories of regret and self-loathing wash over her, the most recent occasion bringing back the image of hurt and fearful red eyes of two homunculi she has caused to suffer in her self-centered quest of proving a point.

The jewel-user saw that Illya's refusal to see Kiritsugu even to bid him goodbye had a profound effect on the man, no matter how he tried to hide it, but the spirit had to wonder if the lost look on her Master's face at the time was worth the pain visible on Iri's, and the loneliness on Illya's. She stood by her conviction that the magus who summoned her made a choice there that he had to bear the consequences for, but it might not have been her place to pass judgment. There were far too many things in her own past that she felt mirrored mistakes her Master had or had been making.

"You… how can you still continue to preach that madness, after what it had done to her! Your own sister, she was killed because of the twisted magic you idolize so much." Words that she thought she had sealed safely under the strongest locks in the deepest depths of her mind came back to haunt her. She could barely remember what the male voice that spoke them truly sounded like, but all the same she felt her heart clench with pain. "Did she mean nothing to you? Is magic really everything to you? Are you going to abandon and destroy everything for something that will just bring pain and suffering?!"

The sudden torrent of emotions assaulting the Servant left her defenses wide open, a fact that didn't escape Kiritsugu's attention. The next few moments were a whirl, and if not moving out of raw instinct drilled into her body through grueling years of experience, a bullet would have stuck itself between the silver eyes of Caster. As it stood, her pale cheeks only felt the noxious heat radiating from the projectile before it whizzed past millimeters from the white skin, and severing only a couple strands from her luscious, long hair.

The woman watched fascinated as the stark white threads blackened and fell down completely lifeless. Her soft lips set into a thin line as she assessed that the magical infusion within the lost filaments were gone without a trace. She wasn't sure if the ability of the bullets were to just dissolve magic, or something more sinister, but she didn't particularly want to find out.

"I will not miss a second time." said grimly the Magus Killer. He held the unique weapon he drew and shot in under seconds with firm hands, aimed with impeccable precision. The jewel-user mage has didn't need more time to figure out that the threat was not idle. If Kiritsugu sacrificed a Command Seal, he could impede her movements for an adequate period to be able to get her with a bullet, even if she eventually broke free of the seal with her magic. "This might not be enough to kill you, but I can guarantee that I will send your worthless being into a world of pain. I don't care if you abandon my side after this, I don't need the help of someone as vile as you to win this war."

Despite the undoubtedly severe threat to her well-being, Caster couldn't help but smile. This time there was no mocking in the upward turn of her lips, nor was it twisted by malignant undertones. If anything, her expression was closer to impressed as she admired the spectacular sight of an Emiya Kiritsugu abandoning his cold reason to protect something he held dear. Although she still had her reservations, and the man had certainly not earned her trust yet, a sentiment she was sure was mutual, maybe it was time for her to show some respect.

Before the standoff progressed any further, Master and Servant were both disturbed by a discreet beeping signal from the monitoring apparatus that Caster had been calibrating before events escalated. Neither of them moved an inch, but both were aware that something was happening inside the city that the Holy Grail War was taking place in. The tense silence was broken by the feminine voice of the spirit.

"A Servant is making their presence clear in one of the regions of Fuyuki." offered the information the woman impassively, as if she didn't have a deadly weapon pointed at her by her companion. "Something like this is most probably an invitation for a fight. I can turn on a live feed from a marker I placed closest to the area."

"We are not yet finished, Caster." snapped the ex-mercenary, his stance unchanged.

The woman held the poisonous glare of her Master before she decided on what to say.

"I swear on my life that no harm will come to Irisviel von Einzbern. If so much as a scratch is on her when you see her again, I will take full responsibility, and submit myself to any judgment you may pass on me." stated the user of True Magic resolutely, not even a hint of malice in her tone. This was a promise she absolutely meant to keep, and she made sure to let it show in her eyes that were back to their iridescent shine. "However, I genuinely believe that Iri is safest as she is. If she gives me any signal of distress, I can be at her side in less time than it takes you to draw that gun."

Kiritsugu regarded the spirit with calculating black orbs, but there were no signs of deceit for him to detect.

"I accept your proposition." conceded the man with a nod after a moment of consideration. He proceeded to finally lower his weapon, and slip it back to its concealed holder. Despite his now relaxed position, his gaze still held a level of hostility, the fire within the pitch black orbs not completely extinguished. "But be careful Caster, because I can assure you that your death will be slow and agonizing if anything were to happen to my wife."

The woman was silent as she turned towards her Mystic Codes, but the upward tug of her lips belied a pleasant amusement. Would she perhaps grow to hold some form of fondness towards this Master of hers?

Kiritsugu watched slender fingers slid across crystal screens before the multi-coloured eyes of his Servant that were moving quickly to follow patterns of rapidly lighting up and diming symbols. The meaning of the text was unknown to the man, and he suspected to anyone but Caster herself. One thin finger pushed a blurry display that popped up into the middle of the central magic monitor, while her other hand was busy inputting further commands. A couple precise skims of the spirit's appendage later the display window that had several pulsating marks looking like possible statistics overlain on it cleared up a bit, showing the image of a docks during nighttime. The view was swiftly rotated around, zoomed, then focused again until the outline of three figures were discernable.

"Oho, looks like our brave little hero here already has company. Lucky, would have been kind of boring otherwise." said the woman with shining multi-colored orbs, an eager grin on her face. "Sorry about the quality, I only had time to set up something as rudimentary as this."

The ex-mercenary resisted the urge to raise one dark eyebrow at the statement. To him, the interactive surveillance system most closely resembled some futuristic starship control panel from a sci-fi movie. He could not avoid cringing though when a screeching sound filled the room. A few more taps later the loud static noise lulled to a slightly distorted, but just about understandable distant echo of speech.

"You appear to be the only one courageous enough to have responded to my invitation." A smooth, male voice resounded at the same time as a darkly clad figure carrying two thin, different length weapons at one end of the screen positioned himself to face two others across from him. "That pristine valor… you are Saber, I presume?"

Even before a response was heard, Kiritsugu's brain switched to an analytical mode. Clearly, the speaker was the Servant Caster has initially detected, and as a Master, he could see that he had a decent fighting potential. More importantly, his polished, almost felinely graceful movements showed significant battle experience, and his form-fitting dark green leather armor marked him as an agility-based fighter, confirmed by the spears he carried.

In spite of the seemingly reckless way the spirit openly called for a bout, the man scrutinizing the display noted how little the warrior was giving away about his identity. He had wrapped his lances to conceal their true form, wore very generic clothing, bore no distinctive sigils, was of average height, and had no unique coloration. His skin was lightly tan, his hair dark brown and carelessly tousled. The single distinguishing feature the ex-mercenary could detect with the resolution of the recording were the double lances. However, there was no guarantee that the spirit was famous for being a dual spear-wielder, he could simply be holding two weapons to throw off his enemies about which of them was his main weapon.

While Kiritsugu had to commend the man he identified as Lancer for being a cautious, reserved person, his opponent standing on the other side was anything but discreet.

"Splendidly correct observation, for I may indeed be referred to as Saber." agreed vivaciously a bright blonde man wearing a finely detailed, pure golden armor that reflected even the smallest specks of light. Or at least the Magus Killer had to arrive at that conclusion seeing how luminous the figure looked even in the dead of night. "However you have erred with regards to the reason of my goodwill to grace you with my presence. I have come to cast my dazzling gaze upon the person who had the mettle to issue a challenge to the mighty me."

In spite of the awfully conspicuous appearance of this other Servant, the ex-mercenary had already determined that dismissing him as a threat would be an extremely unwise decision. Yes, he had an overall high levels in abilities, though seemingly not extraordinary, but what really caught the attention of the fastidiously observant man wearing was the absolute air of confidence that oozed from him as he stood calmly, arms crossed across his shining breastplate.

An utterly firm, regal disposition like the kind exhibited by the blonde spirit was a rare sight, it either accompanied someone who was so inexperienced they have never encountered true fear and didn't understand their situation, or it was the mark of a warrior who outclassed his opponent so by such an amount that they could consider a fight with them child's play. Kiritsugu was not foolish enough to think his luck would allow for the former explanation to hold true.

"You are one eccentric Knight of the Sword, Saber." came the wry comment from Lancer after he recovered from his initial shock at his enemy's unconventional behavior. "Regardless, I will not hold it against you if you fight valiantly."

"Wrong again!" snapped unforgivingly the owner of the striking suit of armor. "You should feel ashamed for not recognizing your King, mongrel. Calling me a mere knight, how preposterous."

Saber was reproaching the fellow spirit so patronizingly and vehemently that one could have thought the dark haired warrior had made an absurd statement along the lines of the grass being purple, or spring coming after the summer. The boundless condescending and pride of the dazzling Servant managed to catch the man holding the long weapons off-guard once again. It did not take him long though this time either to ready a scathing response.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but you are no king of mine, golden swordsman. I only serve one lord, my Master, and I will not betray him for anyone's sake." declared Lancer calmly, not acting the slightest bit regretful in the process.

"Petty details." snorted the spirit covered in gold while waving a hand in dismissal. "I'm king of the world, and all its dwellers ought to bow to me, or receive my wrath. You are no exception to that, mongrel. If you disappoint me, you will pay the price for it."

Kiritsugu noted how Saber's body language shifted from a distant, ceremonial conduct to a belligerent battle stance, one arm held out to his side ready to grab something that wasn't there yet. The golden swordsman's movements might not have been as gracefully fluid as his fellow Servant's who wove his lances around in an intricate pattern. Yet the ex-mercenary could see it as clearly as day and night that Saber's motions were honed to the absolute limit of efficiency and accuracy of a top predator. If the Magus killer had to compare the two spirits facing off, he would have said that Lancer was like a lithe leopard, careful but swift to strike and escape. Saber on the other hand was nothing short of a stunning tiger, the king of the jungle, whose one powerful smack could break the spine of a leopard who thread too close.

The picture was complete when a sword materialized next to the goldenly-clad warrior. It was an elaborately detailed masterpiece, the pommel round as a golden apple, and the gilded cross guard branched out into coils. The weapon was just as magnificent as the wielder, and the blade lit up with blinding licks of flames dancing across it in response to the touch of the blonde spirit. There was one thing though that bothered the magus watching the scene: the design of the weapon was unmistakably medieval European, yet the Servant who summoned it wore an armor that looked to be from a far older, and different time period. The obvious mismatch had Kiritsugu frowning, but he didn't have the time to dwell on it with the events unfolding before him.

Saber smiled wickedly as he held his sword against Lancer. The darkly-clad spirit's original expression of anticipation fell away when an astounding roar coming seemingly from the blade of his opponent's sword was heard. The footage on the screen shook, possibly indicating that the recording device was experiencing tremors of the earth, and the ex-mercenary inspected with fascination the rapidly flashing up new symbols on the surveillance crystal. It wasn't a noble phantasm, as no release words were spoken, but the dark haired mage could tell it was a powerful effect once the display steadied, and he saw how the warrior of spears had adapted a defensive posture, lances crossed in front of him, one leg firmly set in front of the other in a slight crouch to stabilize him as a remnant gale swept around him.

"You sure don't hesitate to reveal your blade, Saber." commented Lancer dryly as he straightened himself after his enemy's display of strength. He seemed unfazed, but Kiritsugu could tell that his stance was considerably tenser than before. "Albeit, it would appear you have some power to back up those bold proclamations of yours. Now I come to regret that the rules forbid us from exchanging our names when we are to fight each other to the death."

"I care not for paltry laws made up by humans of no consequence, for I am the rules myself." said the gilded swordsman with his usual arrogance. Then he proceeded to fix his opponent with an angry scowl. "Yet, the ignorance that you show despite my generously given clues about me means you have not earned the right to know my true name."

Lancer continued standing still, unaffected by the derogatory words.

"However, you may rejoice, as you are not cowering in fear before my sword, I have determined your meager self to be worthy of a grain of my time." Saber announced his goodwill with a flourish that was at contrast with his previous aggression. He ignored the pointed silence and raised eyebrow from the man in the dark armor as he continued melodramatically. "Stand tall, Servant of the Lance, for I give you permission to fight me."

The warrior of long weapons blinked several times, then frowned and narrowed his eyes. When the golden armored spirit across from him kept his benevolent expression, just calmly waiting, there was only one conclusion to reach: the swordsman was dead serious.

"I would normally think your words are poorly crafted insults aimed at goading your enemy into reckless attacks. But Saber, with you, I'm genuinely concerned that you fully mean what you say." Kiritsugu supposed that Lancer couldn't have given a more accurate summary of the flashy man's behaviour. The Magus Killer also understood the earnest look of the spearman as he flashed a challenging smile at the bright warrior standing opposite of him. "Don't worry, I will soon prove that supremacy of yours flawed."

"Bwahaha, step back you useless wench, I might accidentally kill you while I teach a lesson to this yappy little dog, who dares to bark at his superior." hollered Saber heatedly, his anticipation toward the fight poorly masked. This was the first time he has addressed the girl standing closely behind him, and Kiritsugu decided to give her a closer look now that she might actually participate.

She was in her late teens, early adulthood, distinctly of Caucasian descent, slightly above average height, and slim. Her hair reached the middle of her back in straight, dull dark blonde locks that Kiritsugu had often seen in Western and Central Europe. Her face was framed by mid-chin strands and a fringe. She wore a dark navy coat that was not a designer brand, but had a feminine cut that was most likely considered fashionable to the man's best knowledge, and the garment at least looked appropriate for the weather. Any attempts at a refined look were countered though by a pair of large purple and pink rimmed glasses that had enormous decorations on the side, and a bulky backpack.

Apart from the obnoxious glasses, the girl was entirely unremarkable, and had very little presence, especially next to an attention-hogging man like Saber. It was no surprise that the Magus Killer had not given her a second glance previously. Actually, he had to wonder if such a weak, and normal looking person could really have summoned the golden Servant in front of her, or if a clever Master wanted everyone to think she was the summoner. It was certainly an idea he had considered, but decided to be too risky with his unpredictable Caster.

"Oi, stupid woman, I'm talking to you…" snapped irritably the man holding a flaming sword. When he received no response, he turned towards the girl who kept facing in the direction of the enemy spirit. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, and she didn't react at all to the blond man, until said man brutally kicked her in the side. "You miserable little pest, how dare you ignore me, in favor of that mutt! Be grateful I'm not twisting your wretchedly ugly little head off your lewd neck here and now."

The young woman crumpled to the ground with a soft grunt, the air most likely having been knocked right out of her chest. Her lack of protest as she curled up to shield herself confirmed Kiritsugu's suspicion that this was not the first time she has been hit by her Servant. Furthermore, she whimpered what sounded like an apology in a language foreign to the ex-mercenary's ears.

"Je vous en prie votre majesté Saber, veuillez me pardonner pour vous avoir grièvement offensé!"*

"Don't think you can just apologize, bitch!" bellowed an infuriated Saber, stomping for emphasis with one metal-covered foot on the back of the girl, essentially pushing her flat on the ground. For every muffled cry that the young woman let out, the gilded shoe ground deeper in her back while the spirit responsible for her pain continued to chew her out, voice dripping with contempt. "Your incompetence makes me sick. You are not even capable of paying attention to your rightful ruler, I really ought to replace such a good for nothing retainer."

The golden swordsman was interrupted by a loud bang.

"Saber, that's enough!" yelled Lancer with a look of angry disgust on his handsome face. He had successfully grabbed his opponent's attention by slamming the hilt of one of his spears into the ground. The concrete was cracked where the weapon impacted.

"I may have no business in how you conduct yourself towards your Master, but as a Knight I refuse to stand by idle if someone is to abuse a defenseless person before me." declared the spearman proudly. His face then twisted with something more than just disgust as he continued. "Besides, her entranced state was not her fault, but is caused by the magic I was cursed with. If you are angry with someone that should be me, not her."

"I do what I want with her, dog." snarled the blond man at the long weapon user, without letting up on the pressure he was putting on the girl's spine. Her knuckles were white as she gripped at nothing to bite back hisses of pain, and Lancer gritted his teeth. "Her ineptness is the reason why my endless might was brought into this world in such an incomplete state. Her falling victim to a simple charm of yours is just another example why I was exceptionally lenient in letting a fool like her waste this much air."

Saber watched from the corner of his eyes how the exposed muscles on the other Servant's arms flexed, ready to spring into action to stop him. With a sigh, the blonde man lifted his foot, to the relief of the woman below him. Unknown to her, the gold covered warrior smirked, then proceeded to kick her hard again, this time making her skid and tumble several meters.

"Now that she is finally out of my hair, do not make me wait any longer Lancer, or in my boredom, I may end up thinking of better punishments for this shameless eyesore of a whore." said Saber, this time clearly goading his enemy.

"You might not actually be that bad at riling me up, golden swordsman." admitted the spearman, his teeth bared in a feral grimace. The concrete split from the force as his feet pushed away from it to propel his body towards the madly cackling brightly colored Servant holding a flaming sword.

"Why did you turn off the display screen?" queried a confused Kiritsugu when the image in front of him popped out of existence thanks to a white finger placed on the crystal.

"It is going to keep recording anyway, and we can analyze the footage later." said Caster with a shrug. Her hands made quick work of putting her Mystic Code into a standby mode, then concealed it from mundane eyes. "It would be best practice to use this chance to look at things from a closer viewpoint. While my devices are very sensitive, and can record accurately from a distance, there are going to be things that won't be clear due to the positioning of the marker."

"Unfortunately I haven't had the time yet to make my surveillance net as dense as I would have liked it." expanded the jewel wearing mage while starting in the direction of the exit with purposeful steps. Her white dress swished around her soundlessly, and as if she could turn the noise off with a click of a button, not even the softest clinking of the sparkling crystals on the many folds of the dress was heard. "As it is, it's thanks to pure luck that the first fight of the War is happening this close to one of my installations."

"Not that I oppose a proactive approach, but why not use familiars then?" implored Kiritsugu dispassionately, as he fell in step next to his Servant.

"Familiars have their uses, but they do not substitute first-hand experience." explained the woman matter-of-factly. "Besides, my familiars are a bit eye-catching for me to use them for spying. Not to mention, I want to personally ensure that the players of the War get one of my bug devices on them without a hitch, so I can keep each under close watch."

"Hm, yes it would be best to have a close eye on the winner of this match." agreed the ex-mercenary thoughtfully, though he decided to press for further details. He wanted to understand his Servant's abilities better. "However, I thought your surveillance was already quite sophisticated. How come there is a need for such individual tracking?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Kiritsugu, but I don't have the ability to spy on anyone arbitrarily with a crystal ball." crooned the spirit with a mocking tone. She decided to drop the act as the man narrowed his dark eyes at her. "The concept is certainly not unreal, but even with my class specialty giving boosts, I never dug myself deep enough into the realm of detection magic. Of course, the innate class abilities as a Caster type does mean that even like this I'm superior to almost any of the other Servants when it comes to detecting each other, but not quite as good as a specialist of my class would be."

"No need for you to worry though, I have many tricks up my sleeve to make up for any lack of tracking skills I may have." added Caster at Kiritsugu's pensive frown. "Hm, I guess I you could have meant that almost literally… but yes, there are some things I need to do the hard way, like planting a bug on someone I want to follow when they are not exuding their magical signal like a cat in heat. On the other hand, there is next to zero chance of any of them detecting my apparatuses, as the technology doesn't exist in this time yet, and is far from being discovered."

"Hn, let me get my equipment then." The Magus Killer nodded with finality. "In the meantime, do something about that atrocious dress of yours, Caster." he included as an afterthought, but hoped that the fuming woman didn't detect a smirk tugging at his lips as he changed direction to get to his weapons cabinet.

The dark haired man reached his collection in short order, and not a moment later that he internally debated which gun to take, he heard heavy stomping behind him. He did not need to turn around to know who it was.

"Ugh, satisfied?" hissed an irritated female voice.

Kiritsugu lifted a long-range sniper gun out of the array of fire arms, then picked up some rounds for it, and also pocketed a couple flash and smoke grenades. He wasn't particularly planning a fight, but it was better to be prepared. After he placed his rifle into a custom-made black weapon bag that went over his shoulder, he finally looked at the irate woman he called his Servant.

The black orbs of the Magus Killer did well to only widen a fraction in surprise at the profound change. White, flowing dress was replaced by a midnight black body suit that clung close to the spirit's body, decorative patterns now morphed to elegantly fitting panes that mimicked a plated mail armour, and previously sparkling jewels appeared to be absorbing the light rather than scattering it. In addition, the moments ago loose, long hair of the woman was now gathered at the back of her head in a painstakingly complicated array, every strand a deep raven colour. His own dark gaze was met by a matching charcoal.

Intent on not letting the aggravating Servant get any compliments from him on her flawless stealth attire that made her look more like an assassin than a caster, Kiritsugu marched past her without a second glance. As he neared the exit of the mansion, he contemplated how exactly Caster's appearance change worked. If it was illusion based, it was realistic to the last speck, though it made him wonder if what he regarded as her usual look was also a trickery.

"This is at least the fourth time your eyes have changed color today." noted the ex-mercenary offhandly while pushing the small door at the back of the complex open to reveal the Einzbern forest. He was aware that the woman had been at his heels all along, though his ears couldn't pick up her steps, but his battle experience fully alerted him to her presence. "Is it really that important a detail to mask?"

"I pity the women of your generation Kiritsugu, who are deprived of the convenience to match their eye color to their outfit." bemoaned the currently black haired woman with an exaggerated show of fake sympathy. "Now hold on tight, I will jump us to my marker point."

"Are you able to teleport, Caster?" asked a slightly befuddled Kiritsugu. He didn't think his Servant would have such a convenient ability, though he wondered why she haven't used it already. He had judged her to be the type to virtually abuse a skill as effective as that.

"True teleportation is expensive." confessed the spirit with a sigh of regret. "A cheap alternative is using space distortion and wind magic to move between magically marked places at very high speeds. It is only safe if the landing location has been chosen and readied beforehand. As long as I have the time, it is easy enough to set some seals up at a regular grid, and at key locations. Even if we have to walk a bit afterwards to the actual location of the fight, this way should be the fastest transport method."

The Magus Killer felt genuinely impressed for a moment, as his brain was already coming up with ways to fit Caster's ability into a battle strategy where its maximum potential could be exploited. He didn't feel this excited in a while.

"No need to look that baffled." said the spirit in a bored tone. She stretched out her right arm towards the dark haired man. "You should know already that magic that can be prepared in advance is the forte of my class. There are many things I can do with enough time and resources."

Kiritsugu took a hold of the outstretched arm of the Servant, in the meanwhile thinking that he really ought to have a serious talk with her about what she was capable of. If he wanted to be successful in this war, he had to get a better understanding of his partner, whether he wanted to suffocate her in a spoonful of water or not. He guessed it wouldn't be easy work to get her to open up, but he was used to bumpy rides.

Not that much later, the Magus Killer found that last idiom he was thinking to be annoyingly ironic, when he felt his stomach lurch with a mind-boggling force as he was yanked by one Servant's magic.

A flurry of sharp metallic clangs mixed with static screeches reverberated between the cold stone walls of the basement study room. The resonance meshed into a melody of expert swordplay, a hymn that Tokiomi wasn't all too familiar with. His piercing blue eyes followed in apt fascination the small, blurry figures on the surface of his enchanted obsidian mirror that his former student was projecting into the images of the combat received through his connection with his Servant, Assassin. The darkly clad priest was also attuned to a complex crystal amplifier that made the somatic component of the power of the Mind's Eye audible to others' ears. The devices both required close proximity and immense concentration on Kirei's part, and his relative inexperience was showing in the instable flickering of the scene.

The jewel expert cared little for the deficiencies of the display, after all it was not every day that one could observe such skilled warriors. He knew well to cherish the beauty that lay in the stunning dance of death he had the pleasure to observe. Of course, he was never one to neglect his duties either, and he took special care to commit to memory both the style, and any abilities that the Servants used. This was a golden opportunity to study their potential future enemies, and gain valuable information.

The tanned leather covered lithe body of the spearman twisted at an angle beyond mortal capabilities while retaining a pragmatic grace to it to avoid the flaming slash of the sword aimed to incapacitate in a single blow. The armour was visibly strained both by the stress of the immense heat of the narrowly missed thrust, and the forces of torsion applied by the breakneck execution of skilful evasion that lead into a quick, but powerful stab delivered through the shorter spear of the two. The precise counterattack was just a feint though, and the arm of the warrior holding his lance with longer reach swung in perfect synchrony with his frontal assault to sweep out the legs from behind of his enemy who has entered close range, and as such had little opportunity to deflect attacks from different directions.

Lancer's masterful combination of sheer skill and combat expertise however fell short of cornering his opponent. The golden swordsman appeared to have seen through the trick, and without hesitation pushed the short spear that lacked any true force behind it to the side with his metal gauntlet, while his sword shrouded in a blazing inferno met the longer lance as he sidestepped. The shining warrior used the momentum of the clash to land a savage kick into the dark green clothed abdomen of the spear-wielder.

As the brown haired man tumbled back a few meters, a casual onlooker might have judged his movements to be a mess of limbs and weapons. Yet, as he skidded to a halt, his bigger lance was in the perfect position to intercept the golden warrior's powerful charge. On the other hand, the spearman seemed to have expected that it would take more than that to skewer the approaching blond, and at a carefully timed moment kicked the left side of his body into action to intercept his enemy with his smaller spear, complementing the threat of his other weapon.

No matter how easy it was with Lancer's speed and cunning to ready a pressing situation for his enemy, the darkly clad spirit was wholly unprepared for the devastating force of the sword that struck his longer lance as Saber's two-handed swing connected with it. The spear-wielder was thrown off balance for a moment, and it took little effort on his opponent's part to duck away from his left-handed attack. His advances mostly unbroken, the blonde warrior used the opportunity to backhand the darkly clothed spirit with the hilt of his sword, resulting in a sickening crunch as the bones of the finely angled nose of the brown haired Servant splintered.

Lancer might have been superior in speed and agility, traits which he expertly utilized in devising complicated manoeuvres, yet that wasn't enough to counter the raw power, and keen senses of the golden swordsman. On the surface, the blonde man's swings might have looked careless or simple-minded, but they were laced with a haughty elegance that Tokiomi could not help but attribute to a vast combat experience, and a well-founded confidence in one's abilities. Indeed, the greatest advantage that the lance user might have expected to hold, his dual-wielding, seamlessly incorporated into his intricate and crafty fighting style, seemed to have left Saber completely unfazed. The owner of the blazing sword appeared to always know how to counter everything that the dark green-clad spirit threw at him, always correctly identifying the intent and purpose behind each of the lances. It was as if the golden warrior had a good grasp of not just sword, but also spear techniques.

From what the magus has seen, it was already crystal clear to him who the winner of this match would be. If anything, he thought that the blond spirit was just toying with his prey. The Tohsaka head had no doubts that this Servant would prove to be an exceedingly difficult threat to deal with.

"It is still blurry on my end, Tokiomi." the raspy voice of an older man pulled the red wearing magus from his contemplations.

"Ah, give me a moment Risei." answered the jewel mage obligingly, his voice devoid of irritation if he felt any at being interrupted. "I'll adjust the settings a little bit."

"Hmph, maybe Risei-san should just put on his glasses." His daughter though, still lacked his patience. She was very apparently miffed that her view was obscured when he bent over the obsidian mirror to fine-tune the link it had to an identical device located in a church miles away. The Tohsaka head also didn't miss the amused smile a tall, muscular man clad in red and black sported, observing from the corner of the room. He was confident that Archer's eyesight allowed him to keep track of the combat on the small screen despite his position.

"Rin." Chided the blue eyed man firmly, but quietly so Risei wouldn't hear. For her part, the girl did look at least somewhat embarrassed, so her father continued in a louder tone. "Is it better now?"

"Ah, thank you, Tokiomi." replied the old priest. The magus wearing red directed his attention back to the clash.

The mild shock of having his nose decimated into a bloody mess had forced Lancer on the defensive, and the only thing that let him retreat from the unyielding blows delivered with the fiery passion the burning sword implied was a small, but audible gasp from behind his opponent. The sound clearly angered Saber, and he diverted his attention toward his young Master.

"You better not pity that piss-faced cur, you ugly bitch!" yelled the blond man with undisguised fury at his companion's sympathy towards his opponent. He was obviously taking the gesture as some sort of personal insult. "If you have the time, make yourself useful or I swear I will skin you alive when this is over. Not that you would make an acceptable rug for my exquisite taste, but it would still be a better use than as you are now."

The girl's knees buckled, and she hastily switched from watching the fight, or rather ogling Lancer to taking off and rummaging through the sizeable backpack she carried. When shouting at his Master, Saber only half turned his body in her direction, not completely disregarding the dark haired warrior he had been engaged in battle with. He also didn't seem that surprised when the lance user took the opportunity of his momentary distraction to launch a new assault after having wiped off the blood from his newly healed nose, courtesy of his Master. The leather-clad muscled legs carried the Servant in a superficially unpredictable pattern towards the golden swordsman.

"Did no one teach you" bellowed with indignation the dark green clothed warrior as he raised both his spears to strike, the longer angled low towards his adversary's legs, and the shorter high in the line of his shoulder and neck. "How to treat a lady properly?!"

The bigger lance was deflected with ease by the flaming sword of Saber, and bits of concrete was sent flying as the tip plummeted into the ground. The shorter spear was simply dodged, and the golden warrior wasted no time in drawing his weapon to strike. This time though, Lancer wasn't finished yet. The spear-wielder has used the leverage provided by his long lance stuck in the hard concrete to propel himself up towards the other spirit, a sharp knee aimed straight towards his almost bored looking face. The impact seemed inevitable, yet the swordsman grinned widely as he noticed the advancing limb. The next moment a burst of flames originating from Saber's sword hit the brown haired Servant square in the chest.

"And did no one teach you not to meddle with how someone disciplines their unruly servants?" cooed the blond with malice, then laughed heartily. "Is what I was going to say, but honestly that was a good effort, Lancer. Should I just start torturing this sad excuse for a wench to get you to fight me seriously and make our exchange worth my while, chivalrous knight of the Spear? Who knows, if I get creative, you might even be able to land a blow on me eventually. Really, it would be killing two birds with one stone."

Despite the high-degree burns he had sustained, the spearman was back on his feet, lances held wilfully in position, only his heavy breathing belying his pain. On the other hand, the golden warrior who was yet to receive the slightest scratch did not even look winded. He waited for his opponent to be healed with the calm confidence of someone who knew he could overpower their enemy no matter the circumstances.

"Hm, looking at him now, I think there is no doubt about it." said with conviction the overseer priest of the current Grail War. "He certainly fits the description."

"Indeed." The head of the Tohsaka family nodded in assent, his perceptive sapphire gaze trained on the target of their conversation: the blonde spirit. There were many things that bothered him about the situation, so he voiced his most pressing concern to begin with. "I cannot help but wonder how that girl ended up summoning him when I had the suitable catalyst."

"Maybe the reason you couldn't summon him was that she had already performed the ritual." suggested the older man in a thoughtful tone. "And remember Tokiomi, there can be more than one catalyst available for the same Heroic Spirit. Of course they should be the rarer the older the spirit is, which makes this situation more of a puzzle."

"The mystery should be solved once you ask her about it, Risei." announced the magus when he arrived at the logical conclusion that they simply lacked enough information to speculate further. Given the obvious lack of experience on the fellow Master's part, he was sure that a straightforward approach would prove the most effective.

"You want me to speak with her?" The priest sounded only mildly surprised, yet the jewel using mage could already picture before him how his long-term friend had arched one graying eyebrow at his brazen proposal.

"We know from Kirei's initial description of the combatants that the girl does not have the normal bare minimum of prana output that would classify someone as a magus." explained the magus his conclusions in a composed, objective description. Half his attention was however kept on the enchanted mirror where Lancer's Master was finally making an appearance to instruct his Servant to utilize his Noble Phantasm. It wasn't particularly difficult for Tokiomi to record in the back of his mind the arrogant, though agitated style of the spearman's summoner even as he continued speaking to his cohort at the other end of the obsidian's magical link. "Her lack of magical presence makes it highly unlikely that she is even associated with the Clock Tower. I would not be surprised if she performed an accidental summoning, and wasn't actually aware of what she had been dragged into."

The magus in red laid back comfortably in the velvet-padded chair he was occupying in the dark study. His crystal clear blue eyes watched intently as the bindings on the weapons of Lancer fell away to reveal two strikingly coloured spears. The increased light from the small volcanic glass crystal conveying the display of power illuminated the almost benign smile that crept its way to Tokiomi's features.

"Wouldn't you agree with me Risei," the Tohsaka family head enunciated, choosing his words carefully in the presence of his young daughter, who still retained her childish innocence. "That as the neutral overseer of this War the duty to enlighten this unfortunate soul about the full extent of the danger she is facing would fall on you?"

The caustic chuckle that followed did not come through the magical voice connection. The sound originated from the dark corner of the basement room where a tall man stood, arms crossed indolently in front of a muscled chest. Despite his excellent self-control, Tokiomi glanced towards his acerbic Servant, but the white haired man's face was overcast by shadows. The magus returned his gaze to the display, knowing that it would be futile to try to read the expression of the spirit. Besides, the dark haired man knew that soon enough the warrior would make his opinion very clear in the form of some sarcastic remark.

"Master, are you perhaps thinking of making that girl forfeit to get your hands on the Servant that you have desired all along?" implored the white haired man wryly, never one to pass an opportunity to mock his summoner's habits. In this case his tendency to voice his plans in a wayward manner was being toyed with. While the owner of the red coat did not deign to turn around, the spirit made sure to put on his best grieved expression, and tone as he lamented. "Am I really that disappointing a Servant that you would want to replace me so soon?"

"You can stop your absurd jokes Archer." retorted the older Tohsaka dryly, one hand discreetly gripping the armrest of his chair. His other hand was in a very visible move stroking his small beard, giving him the appearance of being deep in thought. "That Servant looks like far too much of a liability to be useful. He might be very powerful, but he appears to have an immense pride that not only makes him hard to control, but is also a weakness that can be easily exploited. No, I should count myself lucky that I ended up with you instead."

Yes, the thought has crossed his mind initially, it would have been difficult for it not to, but Tokiomi wasn't lying to the steel eyed man. His statement was the genuine conclusion he had to draw after watching the interaction of Saber with his Master. The jewel mage was no fool to think that he would have had an easy time controlling a Servant this unpredictable and lethally volatile. In truth the experienced magus could only feel pity towards the poor girl who had drawn the spirit who apparently lacked even the most basic form of respect towards their summoner.

Of course the Tohsaka was not someone who normally let any sympathy he might have felt affect his judgement when it came to achieving his goals. He had already recognized that the young and most likely naïve woman could prove to be a valuable pawn on the grand scale of the Holy Grail War, if manipulated well enough. That is if she survived for a sufficient period, which was not guaranteed at all by the looks of things. Letting her get through this ordeal in a functioning state would have been the fire mage's preference, but he was painfully aware of the limitations of gallantry or even mercy in the gruesome reality of the situation they were in. He was a kind man, but only to the extent that didn't interfere with his more important interests.

"I bet that Goldie can't make tea or bentos even half as good as you either." The fervent declaration of his daughter dissolved the solemn mood just as easily as the droplets of a light spring shower shattered the tranquillity of the surface a quiet pond. Yet, there was a hint of a small smile tugging at the mage's lips.

"Ah yes, I would consider myself the most unlucky if I didn't have you to serve us refreshments, Archer." conceded Tokiomi to the delight of the child, and the abhorrence of the warrior. The sharp blue orbs of the mage also spied how the tip of those tanned ears were burning with a blush, which prompted the spirit's Master to let his Servant off without further teasing.

As the Tohsaka head mage redirected his full attention to his mirror, he was greeted by a blank black crystal. He was just in time to catch the slight stumble of his former student as he lost concentration, and with it, connection to the enchanted device. While the jewel user knew that it was straining for the priest turned mage to carry out a complex magical task like that for extended periods of time, he was also a good judge of his pupil's capabilities and limits. He didn't need to be told that something went askew on the other end.

"Kirei, what happened?" questioned Tokiomi, his poised tone laced with a hint of urgency.

"This is not good." answered the dark haired priestly man, his eyes shut in a frown, and one callous hand at his brow. "Assassin has detected another Servant arriving, and this spirit has also reacted to his presence."

There was a hard screeching sound when the Tohsaka head pushed back his chair, and stood abruptly. All eyes in the room turned towards him, including the coal black orbs of Kirei. The blue eyed magus took a deep breath, and willed his heartbeat to return to an even rhythm. Things were bound to go awry sometimes, and there was no point in working himself up over it. Calm and collected judgement was the gateway to victory, and the experienced magic user knew he could handle that, and even add some flourish to make it look good.

"Hm, I didn't think they would make an appearance so soon, but to detect your Assassin that Servant must be Caster." stated his assessment the mage, his spine held straight in a dignified pose that sufficiently balanced his earlier rash movement. Tokiomi was a man who liked things to be in order, but most of all he prided himself in the practice of self-control. "Pull back Kirei. We don't want to compromise our hard-earned favourable position just yet. As I had thought, we need to take some special measures when Caster is concerned."

The dark haired man in question nodded in understanding, and proceeded to tap into his mental link with his Servant to comply with the quickly issued order from his former teacher. The man dressed in the dark clothes of a holy man has long since learned to trust the fire mage's insight.

"But Tokiomi, will it not be a shame to miss the chance to see how this battle progresses?" objected the disembodied voice of the older of the Kotomines. The sound connection to the church alcove was not affected by the deactivation of the obsidian mirrors. While some might have called the Tohsaka head paranoid for insisting on keeping magical apparatuses of similar functions separate instead of just lumping them into the same Mystic Codes (not to mention having backups of everything), it did pay off when one malfunctioned. Rather than overcomplicating matters, the fire mage was simply cautious.

"You are right of course Risei, it would be a considerable loss." admitted the man clad in the stylish red coat. He smiled furtively before adding: "Good thing we also have a Servant whose presence being detected won't be a problem."

*Translation of the French sentence: I beg your Majesty Saber, please forgive me for having grievously offended you! (Thank you very much Caladcholg for providing me with the French phrase!)

A/N.: Phew, that was long to edit. A friend of mine who likes editing finally gave my previous chapters a read, and he told me how I should correctly be doing my speech capitalization. Also he told me to cut back on the adjectives on people (especially pointing out how he didn't want to read one more time how tanned or broad-shouldered Archer is… XD oh well, but he is the GAR-man…), and etc, so I tried correcting this chapter and properly editing, but not sure if I will have time to correct the previous ones too.

So yeah, plot is still moving slow, but at least a teensy bit more action. I think I will now change one of the genres to be action, as I think I have got an ok handle on it, and there should be more in future chapters. Other genre might remain general, or maybe you guys can recommend something?

Ah yeah, I also feel very humbled and grateful for all the reviews, faves and follows. Thank you very much everyone! Actually I would like to state something in a disclaimer fashion due to a reviewer pointing it out:

This fic might be RinxArcher but there absolutely won't be any age inappropriate mature content related to them. I know there is a lot of things in the depths of fandom, but I definitely won't support any sexual content with a child in it.

On the note of mature content, I would also like to state that I definitely don't support abuse as portrayed by Saber towards his Master, but I put the mature tag on this story for a reason. Unfortunately worse things might happen to that poor OC, or others. It's not fully decided yet. (Mature content might not only mean sexual content, I'm still unsure if there will be any of that in this fic… Might not have time).

The full mechanics of how Gilgamesh ended up as Saber will be revealed later on in the story. I'm sure some will argue it's impossible canon-wise, but I wanted to include that prat (come on, it's not like I could have left such a fun to write character out of the story). I know old Gilg is acting here quite differently to Zero, but his circumstances are quite different too, and mostly he is pissed at his Master on a whole different level than in Zero. Yep, the exact reason I decided to give him a novice Master is exactly because I knew how he would hate it (so I loved the idea), and for full hilarity it had to be female to fall under Lancer's charm. Yep, yep all planned out perfectly (also I really didn't think Yuusuke would have survived even this long with Gilg, so I had to design an OOC).

As for Lancer, I left him unchanged, because I did think his character is interesting enough to still be explored without too much repetition, and I definitely loved the idea of pitting him against an arrogant Gilg.

That's all, I think, thank you very much for reading!