Monomyth

Temptation, Part One

"His sons and daughters, who had been uneasy at his long absence, rushed to meet him, eager to know the result of his journey which, seeing him mounted upon a splendid horse and wrapped in a rich mantle, they supposed to be favorable. But he hid the truth from them at first, only saying sadly to Beauty as he gave her the rose: 'Here is what you asked me to bring you. Little you know what it has cost.'"

Hey, Yang, what's up?

BORED.
Illya's been familiar-stalking people all day.
I've been waiting for something to charge the castle and try to kill us.
No luck.
You?

I blew up a school today.

LUCKY!
Why?

It was a death trap.
But don't worry.
I'll build them a new one before we leave.
With automated gun turrets.
So this sort of thing will never happen again.
And I found out something about the command seals.

Ooh, shiney.

Masters only get three.

Nice.

WWW

Rin had never liked enchantments. She was good at them, of course—there wasn't a school of magic that she didn't excel at—but enchantments had always seemed insubstantial. They stank too much of mysticism and charlatans who tried to sound like a haunted house while waving their hands around a snow globe and telling your future.

No, she prefered good, honest magic, which was all about burning stuff down or blowing it up. Oh wow, she thought. I guess that's why I summoned her.

Her, or she, rather, was waiting outside in the hallway while Rin sat next to Ayako. The best way for them to keep their stories straight was for Rin to weave an intricate web of lies and for Ruby to stay as far away from it as possible. Rin cast her spells to dull Ayako's and Kaede's memories, and waited for them to wake up.

Ayako finally began to stir. Rin smiled at her, then remembered that she was trying not to frighten her, and stopped.

Ayako opened her eyes and blinked a few times. "What happened?"

"I have no idea. I found you lying outside the school after it blew up."

She sat up. "What? The school blew up?"

Rin nodded. "There was a massive explosion and everything. I don't know if there was a gas leak or a terrorist attack, but I'm just happy you're still alive." She hesitated. "Do you remember anything?"

"Well, I had a weird dream, but …"

"But it probably isn't important."

"But it was so vivid, it almost seemed real."

"It's safe to say it's not. Especially if there were sexy vampires involved."

"There weren't, but I remember a Shinigami that kept on eating my cookies, and I was like, 'Hey! Stop eating those!' and it was all, 'No! Mine!' Then it fell into this puddle of black goo, and then the goo came up to me and asked me to join the archery club."

Rin stared at her. Once again, your spell has worked perfectly. "I think that everyone has had that dream at some point. I hope you get better soon."

After that, she left to check on Kaede. Her dream, if it meant anything, was about DBZ characters headbutting each other until they turned into a pile of coins. When she was done, Rin found Ruby sitting in the waiting room, playing on her Scroll.

Rin smiled benevolently until she reached whispering distance. "Put that thing away!" she hissed. "Never use Noble Phantasms or magical items in public."

"But it's not magical. Everyone at Beacon has one."

"Common technology from the Throne of Heroes counts! Put it away because I told you to."

Ruby pouted, but put the Scroll in her pocket. No one else seemed to notice, at least. She handled the device like it was nothing out of the ordinary, so others assumed she was right.

Still, keeping magic a secret put Rin at a disadvantage. It was starting to look like most of the other Masters would happily murder the witnesses if they bothered to keep mage law at all, and Rin had to waste some of her precious Mana and hours of her time to clean up their messes.

On the other hand, if her opponents wanted to leave her a trail of anemic breadcrumbs, then she would happily follow them home.

"So, what's the plan?" Ruby asked, walking after her out of the hospital.

At this stage in the War, information was key. They had already encountered three of the other Servants, and they knew where three of the Masters were staying. Rin could spend the evening stalking Shinji, but that would require hanging around his creepy old house, and more ridiculously, treating him like a threat.

Rin would love to know where Lancer was staying, but she didn't know where to look, and that left Assassin and Caster. Assassin would be even harder to find than Lancer, but Caster … Casters fortified their territory, so they couldn't hide. They couldn't even run.

WWW

The Holy Grail War was technically more important that cooking, but far less urgent. Everyone knew that you couldn't be a Hero of Justice on an empty stomach, and his efforts to get dinner ready had nothing to do with impressing Weiss with his culinary skills.

"On the bright side," Weiss said, watching him work, "you'll have school off for a while. A deathmatch should always take precedence over all other obligations."

How did the basil get into the spice cabinet? With how often we use it, it goes on the spice rack. It was probably Sakura. He loved her like a sister, but she had strong, silent views about how to best organize his kitchen. "Hm? Yes."

"You are hearing me, but you don't seem to be listening."

"What? I am. Have you ever had chilled ochazuke?"

"Never heard of it," she said, sounding satisfied in her ignorance. "I wouldn't trust Rin as an ally, but I doubt she'll try to attack you again. Soon."

"That's good. It's green tea over rice with pickles, salmon, scallops, and wasabi. Um, it's better than it sounds."

"They always say that. Do you know why Yang's mage wants you dead?"

"Not really, no. I'm usually really good with kids."

"It seemed personal, but when I asked Yang about it, she just changed the subject. With puns. Really bad puns."

"That's weird. Do you have a salad preference?"

"No. If you think of anything, let me know. As much as it pains me to say this, Rin seemed to know a few things about the girl's family, so you may need to ask her for … help."

"That doesn't sound so bad." He just needed to give her a call … he didn't have her phone number. So he'd knock on her door … wherever she lived.

The doorbell rang.

Weiss looked at him. "Are you expecting anyone?"

He shrugged. "It might be Rin. We are sort of working together now."

The two of them walked to the front door, and Weiss drew her sword.

"What are you doing?" Shirou asked.

"Being prepared."

"Weiss, you can't answer my door with a drawn sword!"

"You seem to enjoy telling me things I can't do, and you haven't been right yet."

"What if it's the mailman? Or one of my non-magic friends?" He still had those, people who weren't involved in ancient, supernatural death matches.

"Then I'll pass myself off as charmingly eccentric."

Well, she'd get along with Taiga. Not that Taiga ever knocked. He opened the door and hoped for the best.

"Why hello Shirou, my dear friend," Shinji said, smiling like a used car salesman. "It feels like ages since we had the chance to speak. May I come in?"

Shirou glanced at Weiss, who was standing behind the door. "This isn't exactly a good time."

Shinji nodded. "I understand. The Holy Grail War is terribly demanding. But I promise you, I will make this worth your time."

Shirou's eyes widened. "You're in this too? What's next—is Taiga going to turn out to be in charge of Lancer?"

Shinji gave him a scornful look. "Hardly. The Matou family is one of the original three houses that created the Grail. When I noticed you in the company of Rin Tohsaka, I assumed that she would have informed you of the basics, but clearly she has opted to keep you as her witless lacky. I will ask you once more, may I come in?"

He hesitated, but only for a moment. "Yeah. Sure. I was just getting dinner ready."

WWW

"Well, Shirou, that was excellent. No one makes chilled ochazuke like you do."

"Why didn't your Servant join us?" Shirou asked. "I could have made enough for four."

Shinji shrugged. "Servants don't need to eat, and I have her dematerialized to conserve Mana. As pleasant as they are to look at, keeping Servants physically present all the time is a waste of resources." He sent a dismissive, calculated glance towards Weiss without meeting her eyes.

Oh, so we're playing that game. Shinji had history with Shirou and would rather deal with him than her, so he demeaned Weiss to convince Shirou that he was the authority in their relationship. But, by accepting Shinji's views, Shirou would also place Shinji above himself on the hierarchy. Now would be the perfect time for Shirou to reject Shinji's assumptions, and remind him who came to whom for help.

"You can dematerialize?" he said to her instead. "I had no idea."

Idiot. Minus one.

Weiss gritted her teeth. "What Shirou was trying to say, ineffectively, was that if you wish to work with us, then we will need to meet with the member of your partnership that actually matters in a fight."

Shinji looked at Shirou in an effort to maintain control—it didn't work—and sighed. "Well, that was a pleasant meal, but fine. Let's talk business. Rider, say hi to these nice people."

A woman appeared at his side out of nowhere. No, not out of nowhere; she had always been there, just … dispersed, though still focused on that point. Weiss had watched Lancer vanish the night before, but now that she had seen the process in reverse, it wouldn't catch her by surprise again.

That, however, was a minor issue compared to the woman with long, purple hair, a blindfold, and a pair of breasts that one might describe as vampiric, given the way they kept trying to suck everyone's gaze. Weiss smiled.

"Uh, Shinji?" Shirou said gently, but more coldly than before. "I don't know if you already know about this, but earlier today Ayako told me she saw someone matching your Servant's description attacking students and drinking their blood."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And was this before or after you blew up the school?"

Technically, that was Ruby, but to hide behind technicalities would be to show weakness.

"Before," Shirou said. Plus one. He had soared to the exalted heights of zero. "Now answer the question."

"You didn't ask me a question."

"Well … then answer the question I didn't ask."

He shrugged. "Fine. I've been supplementing my Servant's Mana reserves with blood donations. But let me ask you something, Shirou. Did she kill anyone?"

Shirou hesitated. "Not that I've heard of."

"She hasn't. And if you understood how zealously the Mage Association guards its secrets, you would know what risk I'm taking by sparing witnesses."

"You know, I have wondered about that," he admitted. "I haven't met the organization yet, but they seem terribly okay with killing innocent bystanders, and the more I hear about them, the more they seem like the bad guys."

Needlessly sidetracked. Minus one. "More on point," she said, "what do you want? An alliance? An exchange of information? What?"

Shinji rolled his eyes and gave Shirou a look. "Is she always this much fun, or is she usually worse? No, that's a valid point. This afternoon, I was approached by none other than Servant Assassin, who wanted to form an alliance with me. Or so she claimed. I would say there's a better than even chance I'll end up stabbed in the back within five minutes of agreeing. So I thought to myself—who do I know who wouldn't stab me in the back if his life depended on it?"

"And you came to me?"

"And I came to you. Now, I know you're already in an alliance with Rin, and I wouldn't want to intrude on that, but I'm sure you can see the prudence to not locking yourself into anything this early in the war. If you come with me tonight to meet with Assassin, as an insurance measure, then if the alliance works out, I'll be in a position to help you out later on."

"And if it's a trap," Weiss said, "then it will be a trap with two Servants instead of one." Though she suspected she already knew who Assassin was. This could grow interesting.

WWW

"So, what did you think?"

Weiss shrugged. "You've known him for longer than I have."

They had left Shinji in the kitchen to "conference." Weiss' word, not his. "I've gone to school with him for a few years now, and … I'd trust him about as far as I can throw him. He's always been able to tell you what you want to hear. We used to be good friends, but he tends to treat his friends more like pets than people, and sometimes even stuffed his pockets with candy bars to hand out like dog treats."

Weiss gave him an odd look, and Shirou decided that he didn't need to have brought that up. "I see."

"Of course, there is a huge difference between lying to someone to get a date or taking advantage of someone's generosity to clean the dojo, and luring someone into a trap to murder them in cold blood. I can't imagine anyone I know from school doing that."

"Except for Rin."

He shook his head. "No, she's always been very up front about her desire to kill me."

"Her one redeeming quality."

"Then there's Sakura. She's his little sister. You haven't met her, but she comes over now and then. She's a sweet girl, there's not a mean bone in her body, and she can make spring chirashizushi like nobody's business. Shinji could be walking into very real danger with this deal with Assassin, and if anything happened to him, I don't know how she'd take it."

"I see," she said again. "So, you want to blindly follow him on the off chance that he isn't going to stab us in the back at the first opportunity just so he doesn't get stabbed in the back at the first opportunity."

"Uh, yes."

"Interesting. Now, here's another idea. How about, hear me out here, we kill Rider as quickly and quietly as possible. If he's having her eat people for Mana, then I doubt she has a whole lot. If we end up destroying this place in the process, then we can just move into one of my other houses."

"Wait, you bought a house?" Shirou blinked. "Wait, you bought houses?"

She shrugged. "It's a buyer's market right now. Don't interrupt. Then we take Shinji, whom we did not kill, and beat Assassin's location out of him. In the end, he'll be alive, so his presumably sweet sister will be happy, Rider will be dead, so innocent bystanders still with blood in their veins will be happy, and we'll have a solid lead on Assassin, so I will be happy. What do you think?"

He hesitated. "I kind of like my idea better."

She scowled, and though she didn't say another word to him as the four of them climbed into one of her cars, he heard her mutter something under her breath that sounded like, "Negative three."

WWW

"Knock, knock." Yang punched the door down with the same cheerful abandon that she lived her life. She looked at Illyasviel and shrugged. "Well, the door's open. I guess we'll just let ourselves in."

"All the lights are off," Illyasviel said. She looked at Yang suspiciously. "You didn't warn them or anything, did you?"

"No, but we did try exactly the same thing last night, and they might be crafty enough to plan around that. They're probably having a sleepover with Ruby and … what was her name again?"

"Tohsaka."

"Toe-taco, right. We could crash their slumber party if you knew their address, but then we'd have the same issue of being outnumbered two to one like last time." She wandered into the kitchen and peered into the fridge. "Huh. As far as bachelor pads go, your evil step-brother seems pretty domestic." She pulled out a jar of pickles. "Want one?"

Illyasviel shook her head. "We could wait here and lay a trap for him, but that would require us to be quiet and subtle and …" She glanced at the shattered pieces of the front door. "No."

"We could just go out for a night on the town," Yang suggested. "See the sights, go clubbing, if we're lucky have a rematch with that Lancer Servant. There aren't a whole lot of guys who can pull off spandex, let alone like that. I think his abs had abs."

Illyasviel looked around her brother's home. It was small, dark, and lonely. Even with the lights on, there was an emptiness here that wouldn't go away. Or maybe she had brought that with her. "Is that what you want, Yang?" she said softly.

"Well, sure. That's what this gig is all about, right?"

That was debatable. Everyone joined the War for their own reasons, ranging from the answer to life, the universe, and everything to family honor. That was what Grandfather wanted—to win and fulfill the purpose of his creation, having long ago lost sense of the reason behind it. As for Illyasviel herself, she'd come for her brother.

"I know you don't like to think about it," she said, "but I'm not going to live for very long. Homunculi are not built for longevity, and as the vessel of the Holy Grail, the more Heroic Spirits I receive, the less I will be able to function as a person. I'm not going to see the end of the War, but that's why I summoned you. The Berserker class cannot be controlled. It only needs to be unleashed. After three or four Servants are dead, you'll be free to do whatever want, and I hope you win. But before that … before that, I need to finish this thing with my brother."

Yang let out a sigh. "Well, shoot."

WWW

"So, what's your riding skill?"

Weiss kept her eyes on the road. "None of your business."

"It's high enough to drive a car, so, what, D? I prefer magical beasts myself, but I doubt a Saber could handle one."

Weiss tried to come up with a better comeback than, 'Your mom's a magical beast,' failed, and said nothing.

"You were supposed to turn there," Rider added.

"What?" She made a U-turn. "You're supposed to tell me that before the turn, you know."

"I did. Five minutes ago."

"That's not … look, do you want to drive? Because if you do, just say so."

"I would, actually."

"Well … too bad. It's my car, so I get to drive it. You can stick to navigating and being a lousy back seat driver, which I can only assume is A rank for you."

"Would I feel less carsick if Rider were driving?" Shinji asked.

"You … don't want to get involved," Shirou said.

"No," Rider said. "But we'd get there faster."

"Right," Weiss said. "Because letting the blind girl drive is such a wonderful idea."

"I'm not blind."

"Oh? And what's the blindfold for? A fashion statement?"

"You don't deserve these eyes."

"Rider!" Shinji said. "That's enough." He turned to Shirou. "Sorry about that. You know how women are."

"Um, I'm not sure that I do. Not to change the subject, but you're a mage."

"I come from a family historically rich in magecraft, yes."

"I didn't know there were any other mages in the school until last night, but now there's Rin, you, and … is Sakura a mage too?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"I mean, you said your family was magical, so … genetics."

"Yes, well, Sakura is adopted, so genetics don't apply."

"Oh. Wait, really?"

"What?"

"Sakura's adopted?"

"It does happen to people sometimes."

"I know that; I was adopted myself ten years ago, but I didn't know she was too. Is it … weird having an adopted sister?"

Shinji shrugged and looked away. "Let's just say that my family makes Hamlet look like the Brady Bunch." He fell silent for a moment. "Wait, you were adopted?"

WWW

"Well, we're here," Weiss said, parking below the Ryuudou Temple. "On the way back, feel free to hitch a ride on the nearest passing unicorn."

Rider probably rolled her eyes at that, but the blindfold made it hard to tell. "Are you sure this is the place?" Shirou said.

"That's what she said," Shinji replied. "She being Assassin. I don't know how trustworthy she was, on account of her being …"

"An assassin?" Shirou finished.

"I was going to say a woman, but sure. Why not."

Shirou glanced at Weiss, thoroughly impressed that she hadn't stabbed anyone yet. "Did she give you any indication about who her Master was? Because if it turns out to be Issei, I'll …"

"He's not. You might have managed to go undetected all these years by hiding under an impregnable shield of incompetence, but if there was another mage at our school, I'd know. Besides, Assassin referred to her Master as a woman, and I doubt the student council president has been hiding that as well."

"At this point, nothing would surprise me." Shirou looked around. Night had fallen, and the temple grounds had always been eerie when he didn't think that an Assassin Servant was watching them from the shadows. "So, where are they?"

"Late, obviously," Shinji said. "Terribly unprofessional."

"Of course, the fact that you showed up with two extra people has nothing to do with it," Weiss said.

"Arriving with an entourage is synonymous with arriving in style."

"Oh, so we're your entourage now?" Weiss looked at Shirou. "Remind me again why we're helping him?"

"Because he needs our help."

"What he needs is a good kick in the face."

"Are you going to let your Servant talk to me like that?" Shinji demanded.

"You are making a lot of assumptions about the nature of our relationship," Shirou said. "Letting doesn't factor into it."

"I imagine," said a soft, wry voice from the darkness, "that you guys will start killing each other if I don't say something, so … hey."

The woman was dressed as a shrine maiden, with long, wavy black hair and golden eyes that almost seemed to glow. "Assassin," Shinji said. "You're late."

"Nope. I told you I'd be here when you arrived. I never said when you'd see me. Besides, I had to check with my Master to make sure she was okay with you bringing … friends."

"A location of your choosing is hardly a neutral meeting ground," Shinji said. "And I am not nearly so great a fool as to step into your lair unprepared."

Assassin held up a hand. "I said I checked, and my Master's fine with it. In fact, she would like to extend the same offer to whom I can only assume is Saber and her Master." She glanced at the two of them, and Weiss nodded in return. "My Master is at the temple proper. Right this way."

She turned and headed up the stairs, and the four of them followed. "So, what do you think?" Shirou whispered to Weiss.

"I think that outfit looks ridiculous on her."

"I mean, about her offer."

"Oh. A trap, obviously. We are continuing blithely on, I assume?"

He glanced at Shinji. If they pulled out now, Shinji would keep going, wouldn't he? And probably end up dead. "Yeah, we are."

"Of course we are."

The five of them walked up the stairs to the temple. Nothing attacked them on their way up; nothing even seemed to notice them coming. Shirou didn't come here often, but Issei's father was the head priest, and the social studies teacher Mr. Kuzuki lived there too. If a fight broke out at the temple, any number of monks could end up seeing too much.

At the top of the hill past the gate, Shirou found waiting for them none other than … Souichirou Kuzuki himself.

"Welcome, Shinji Matou, Master of Rider," he said. "And welcome, Shirou Emiya, Master of Saber. We have much to discuss."

"Mr. Kuzkuki," Shirou said. "You're Assassin's Master? I had no idea you were a mage."

"Or a woman," Shinji added.

Kuzuki's face showed no emotion, just like it hadn't in all the years Shirou had known him. "I guard my secrets carefully. As do you."

"Fair enough," Shinji said. "Let's get down to business, shall we? Starting with why I should even consider allying myself with the weakest class in the War."

The negotiations were Shinji's concern, not his. Shirou looked around for any sign of the trap that Weiss was convinced was coming, but Weiss herself had her attention focused completely on Assassin, who seemed merely bored.

"There are countless forms of weakness and of strength in this War," Kuzuki replied. "Rider is an average class, and Saber is one of the strongest, but you are the two weakest Masters who have entered this deathmatch, and your weakness will limit your Servants until you die."

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "Well, this weak Master has half a mind to order Rider to kill you both if you insist on insulting me."

Kuzuki tilted his head slightly. "Insult? I was merely making observations."

"But if we're as weak as you say," Shirou said, "why would you want to unite with us at all?"

"Because your weaknesses are irrelevant. Beneath your feet is a boundless font of Mana, greater than any one Servant could need or use. Assassin at full power is still not a frontline fighter, and your Servants limited by your reserves will never reach their full potential, but together, the rest of the Servants combined could not threaten us."

"Well now," Shinji said. "That is an interesting proposal."

"Hold on," Shirou said, remembering something Rin had told him that afternoon. "If you just naturally had that much Mana, then it would go from you to her, but you said it was beneath us? How did it get there?"

Kuzuki gave Shirou the same cold look that the man was probably born with. "It was gathered, and stored."

"Gathered where?"

"Does this really matter?" Shinji said.

"Yes!"

"From three hundred and eighty-eight harvested souls, Shirou Emiya. Does that satisfy you?"

"Three hundred and …" He clenched his fists. "Yes, Mr. Kuzuki. That was all I needed to hear."

Shinji nodded in agreement. "We're in."

"What?" Shirou said, turning to him. "Weren't you listening? He says he killed nearly four hundred people, and the War's only been going on for two days!"

"And I am thoroughly impressed."

"He's a mass murderer!"

"No, if he were killing people for no reason he'd be a mass murderer. Instead, he's a war hero, and I want him on my team." Shinji met his gaze. "I take it by the unyielding rage in your eyes that I cannot persuade you into changing your mind."

"You're sick."

Shinji sighed and shook his head. "Shirou, my friend, you make me sad. Still, I am glad you consented to accompany me. This allows me to bring so much more to the negotiation table."

"What?"

"Rider, kill them both."

"What?"

"Finally," Rider and Weiss said in unison. Rider leapt forward swinging a chain sword, and Weiss blocked it with her sword, then plunged the blade into the ground, causing an eruption of ice all around them. Rider stumbled on the terrain, but Weiss ran across it as though she had been born on frozen shards.

It would have been a short fight if Assassin hadn't appeared behind Shirou with a blade to his throat. It wasn't as though she'd just snuck up behind him, no—it was as though she had always been there and had only been waiting for someone to notice her.

"Checkmate, Saber!" she called out.

Rider jumped back and smiled, smiled because she hadn't needed to defeat Weiss, she had only needed to distract her for long enough for Assassin to get into position. Weiss hesitated only for a moment, then lunged sword first at Assassin.

Shirou expected it to end there with Assassin slicing his throat open, but instead she vanished as though she were never there. Weiss cast a white snowflake glyph on the ground beneath them, and half-led, half-dragged Shirou out through the main gate.

No one followed them. Kuzuki referred to the ground as his source of Mana, so maybe they didn't want to fight them at a disadvantage. "That was close," Shirou said on the stairs down to the parking lot. "I can't believe Shinji betrayed us like that!"

"I can," Weiss said. "And it wasn't close. We were never in danger."

"Is that how you remember it?"

"Blake wouldn't have hurt you. She and I go back to the beginning of the school year."

"Blake? You mean Assassin? You didn't mention it."

Weiss shrugged. "We sometimes pretend not to know each other in public."

"Is there a reason why she was dressed as a Shinto priestess in a Buddhist temple?"

"Honestly, I never really understood her."

"But you understood that she wasn't going to slit my throat?"

"Of course. Checkmate. That was our team attack name. Checkmate, Freezer Burn, Ice Flower. Ruby came up with them one day and was convinced that they'd come in handy." Weiss gave him a cold look. "You must never tell her she was right."

Then they heard a scream.

WWW

"They're getting away!" Shinji said.

"Let them run," said a voice from the night sky. A silhouette against the stars floated down and took the form of a woman. "The real prize is right here."

"Another Servant," Rider said, exhausted from her brief fight. She would need to feed soon, unless Kuzuki pulled through on his deal. "Caster, I presume."

"Caster?" Shinji narrowed his eyes. "If there is another Servant in this alliance, there must be a third Master as well. Where is he? And why hasn't he shown himself before now?"

"Do you want me to tell him?" Assassin asked. She had changed into something tight fitting and monochrome during the fight.

"All will be revealed in time," Caster said. "First, our new friends must receive everything that was promised to them."

"I agree," Shinji said. "After we share in your font of Mana, it won't matter who our enemies are." Saber had insulted him, and Rin had insulted him for years. Shinji didn't know if he wanted to go after them first or save them for last. Lancer wouldn't be a threat to him with Rider at full power, and at three to one odds, not even Berserker would be a challenge. And after that … well, if one of his new "friends" died along the way, then it would be only a one on one battle with his Servant being in prime condition.

"Now, this may sting a bit," Caster said, stepping closer, "so Assassin? I'll need you to restrain Rider for a moment."

Assassin nodded and grabbed Rider from behind, wrapping her in a long, black ribbon.

"What's going on?" Rider demanded. "Let go!"

"Just relax," Assassin said. "It will be over in a moment. You might even enjoy it."

"Master?"

"Do shut up, Rider," Shinji said. "I weary of your pathetic mewlings."

"Oh, yeah," Assassin said. "You'll enjoy it."

"So how does this work?" Shinji asked, looking at Caster. Whatever was going to happen, it would be her doing. "You will restructure the contract in some way, I assume."

Caster smiled beneath her cowl and took his hand. "Yes." Then she stabbed him.

"AAAAAHHH!" Shinji tried to pull away, but Caster's grip was far stronger than her frame suggested, and red hot blood flowed from his hand.

"That is the usual location for Command Seals," Caster said. "But that didn't work, so let's try again."

"AAAAAHHH! Rider, do something!"

"Like what, genius?"

"Anything!"

He was going to die. He was going to die! No! Think! There had to be a way out! There had to be!

"You should not have stepped into my lair," Caster said, slicing his sleeve open, looking for his Seals. "You should not have betrayed your friends so quickly. And you certainly should not have abandoned your fate to the Witch of Betrayal."

WWW

Shirou would recognize that girlish shriek anywhere. "Shinji's in trouble!"

"How horribly karmic," Weiss said. "I'd offer to do something, but it would be in bad taste to record it, so let's continue to do nothing."

"It was a trap," Shirou realized. "Just not for us."

"Such is the petard that has hoisted your worm of a friend."

"Weiss, we have to go back!"

"No we do not."

"We can't just let him die!"

"I have never been one to interfere with poetry nor justice. You hear that? That is the sound of both at once, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

Justice. Was it justice? Shinji tried to kill them because Shirou wouldn't help him slaughter innocent people, so letting him die was … still wrong. He wasn't going to play judge or jury when everyone around him wanted to be the executioner, and he wasn't going to say that someone deserved to die when so many people died who didn't. And that was his father's dream, wasn't it? To save … everyone.

"Yes there is," he said. "Saber, by the power of this Command Seal, I order you—"

"Oh, don't you dare!"

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A/n I was planning on making the fight with Caster one chapter, but this way I get to get this out before the holidays are over. Merry Christmas everyone, by the way, and a happy New Year! Hopefully not too many of you had to sleep in an airport for the holidays.

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing this, and thank you Magery for always being the first to read over my chapters when their crude and crappy and for helping to make them better.

As a disclaimer, I know even less about Japanese food than I do about magecraft, and I picked the recipes out of the spinoff series, "Today's Menu for Emiya Family." I try not to study my food too closely, but Japanese cooks seem to have a supernatural ability to take disgusting sounding ingredients and combine them into something that looks like it belongs in a museum for fine art, and tastes like it was stolen from the gods.

I found out that Caster's Rule Breaker requires her to stab the Servant, not the Command Seal, but that was after I wrote the scene where Shinji was getting stabbed repeatedly, and by then I figured, meh, it's worth … breaking the rules.

And let's be honest. I've been making stuff up since chapter one.