//------------------------------// // Escalation // Story: Fate/Twilight // by moguera //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Escalation Aaron groaned as he fought his stomach for control. One moment, he and Caster had been standing on a rooftop, enjoying the night air while watching the epic clash of heroes from across the ages in what had grown from a simple duel to a five-way battle-royale that really left him wishing he had some popcorn. But then Caster had started insisting that they leave. Aaron had been understandably reluctant. As he regained his senses and took stock of his surroundings, the only conclusion that Aaron could come to was that Caster had decided to make them leave. They were back in the hotel room. Caster stood slightly in front of the bed, between it and the dresser, her body tense with nerves. Her lavender coat showed some black streaks and smelled faintly of ozone. "Teleportation?" asked Aaron. "Yeah," agreed Caster, sounding a little hoarse. Aaron groaned and settled down into the chair. "You could have warned me." Caster glared at him. "I did. I told you someone was coming but you were a little too busy treating this whole thing like its some kind of action movie that you're the audience to." Aaron winced at that. It had gotten him into trouble in the past, after all. While normally pragmatic about the arrangements he made to accommodate his "hobby," Aaron had to admit that he occasionally forgot about his own safety when he found something that really caught his interest. The few times he had been forced to rely on his knife and actually kill had been the result of such occasions. "Sorry," he said, "I get carried away at times." Caster huffed. "You know, you're gonna get yourself killed doing that someday." Aaron could only shrug. "I figured that was going to be the case a long time ago." Caster raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're okay with that." Aaron chuckled and leaned back into his chair. "As a great man with a fake mustache once said, 'If that's the way I'm gonna go, that's the way I wanna go.'...or something to that effect." Caster shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?" Aaron yawned. "You can figure that out later. Shall we go over the very interesting results of our outing?" "I guess," muttered Caster, "I was a little distracted, so I missed what was going on there at the end." "Luckily, you didn't miss a whole lot. Ironically, the battle was already in its final stages by the time you pulled us out of there. It seems that Rider intervened. He disabled Berserker and forced him to retreat and called upon Lancer's Master to do the same, threatening to join Saber if Kayneth didn't back down." "Did it work?" "That was about the point you pulled me out. But I'm guessing that Kayneth obliged. Lancer would have been in a hopeless position if Kayneth had forced him to continue fighting." "What about Rider and Saber?" "I suspect that they withdrew as well. The reason Rider intervened in the first place was because he didn't like how Kayneth was forcing Lancer to join forces with Berserker against his will. Most likely he plans on waiting for Saber and Lancer to resolve their own battle before fighting the winner." Caster frowned in concentration. "Why would he want to do that? I mean, it's pretty mean, but Saber was at a serious disadvantage given that cursed wound on her left arm. I'm guessing that if she kills Lancer or destroys that golden spear, the curse will go away and the wound will be treatable again. Am I right?" Aaron nodded. "But that would put Rider in the position of facing Saber at her full strength. It's the same situation situation if Lancer wins. Why would he want to do that?" Aaron scratched his head. "If I had to say, it's out of a sense of honor and fair play. First, this whole battle started out as a duel between Saber and Lancer. Apparently Rider would like to see that resolved before he fights himself. He also doesn't want to face an enemy with a disadvantage she received from someone else for the same reason." "What does that mean?" "It means that even though Saber is wounded, it's a wound she received from Lancer. Therefore, it's only fair that the only one who should be allowed to take advantage of that wound is Lancer. So the fair thing for Rider to do is wait for them to finish their duel. Then, either Saber's wound will have been healed, or she'll be dead and he can fight Lancer instead." Caster shook her head vigorously. "This doesn't make any sense. Honor, fair play...they're all trying to kill each other!!! This is absolutely insane! And believe me, I've done some crazy things in my life, so I know what I'm talking about. What is it with these people?" Aaron almost burst out laughing. "Well explaining chivalry and other martial codes of honor would be a little tedious. I can try to find you a book or two on the subject, if we have time tomorrow. But the basic gist of it is that some people got together and decided that if they were going to kill one another, there was no reason they couldn't be civil about it." "Huh?" "I may joke about the subject, but I suspect that people like Saber and Lancer take those things very seriously. To them, it's what differentiates them from mere murderers and bloodletters." "But it's still murder!" protested Caster. Aaron held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not really the one you should be arguing with this about. You're just going to have to take it up with Saber or Lancer, if one of them doesn't take your head off before you can get a word in edgewise." Caster sighed. "I don't like this at all. I just want to go home." Aaron raised an incredulous eyebrow. "I don't know. You were getting pretty passionate there about setting the other Servants on the straight and narrow." "But there isn't any point to it," murmured Caster, "I'm just a pony from Equestria. This isn't even my world. It's not like I can change it or anything." "You could," answered Aaron, a smirk emerging, "You could save the world and bring an end to humanity's history of bloodshed." Caster's ears perked up and she looked back up at her Master. "How, or are you just pulling my leg?" The smirk became a grin. "If you don't like the way the world is, then change it by wishing on the Holy Grail. But, in order to do so, you would have to give up your original wish of returning to your own world." Twilight stifled another groan, irritated that she had risen to Aaron's bait. Of course, that was the answer to everything, some kind of magical wish-granting device. Every outlet, every path led to Twilight being forced to take part in this ridiculous farce of a conflict. "If this Grail is such a wonderful thing, why hasn't anyone made that wish already?" Aaron shrugged. "I'm not sure that it occurred to any of the participants in the past three Grail Wars. Magi tend to be self-centered individuals by default. So the idea of using the power of the Holy Grail to benefit anyone besides themselves is an alien concept to them. That said, I couldn't find totally accurate accounts of the past wars. From what I did manage to gather, I don't think any of the previous Grail Wars ever reached a proper conclusion." "Why is that?" "No idea." Another groan escaped from the lavender unicorn. The insanity of this whole situation was beginning to get to her. She had to admit, she had been dazzled by the other Servants; their magnificent skills, beautiful weapons and the bearing that elevated them above the other humans she had seen. Those things had entranced her. But her innately logical mind was always quick to assert the truth. They were people who had evolved into legends through murder. Their fame was carried on torrents of blood, their monuments were built on mountains of corpses. Their very names festered with the stench of rot and decay that only Twilight seemed to smell. Did humanity really revere such qualities? Is that what they looked for in their heroes, to be the only ones standing amidst the cries of the dead and dying? Aaron's voice, called Twilight out of her bitter reverie. "Well, ethical issues aside, we still need assess the tactical situation." Looking up, Twilight sighed. "So what is it then?" Aaron stroked his chin for a moment. Standing up, he proceeded to the mirror and pulled out his glasses, resting them against the glass. Once again, images manifested upon the mirror. The entire battle had been recorded in its entirety. Twilight suppressed another outburst as she once again watched Lancer and Saber clash. "Things are pretty bad for us, to say the least. I can say with some degree of certainty that we are pretty well outmatched by all five of the remaining Servants." "All five..." Twilight's voice trailed off, "What about Assassin?" Aaron turned back to look at her. "I'd say that our theory about what happened at the Tohsaka mansion was correct. Assassin and his Master are in league with Tohsaka Tokiomi and his Servant." Twilight thought back to the conclusions she had drawn from watching Archer and passed them on to Aaron. "That further affirms my theory," remarked Aaron, nodding at Twilight's words, "Archer's pattern of attack when intercepting Assassin differed when he was threatening the other Servants. If you're right, then the only reason he was at that battle at all was because he was answering Rider's provocation. Given that Archer is Gilgamesh, it doesn't surprise me that he would be riled so easily." "How so?" "Remind me to get you a copy of his epic. He's quite the character." Aaron frowned as he mulled over the situation. "Figuring out how Assassin was able to fake his death so effectively is another thing we need to do. There's no way that could have been a decoy or a fake. So how he managed that is also an important clue." "But if Assassin and Kotomine are working with Archer and Tohsaka, what do they plan to do?" asked Twilight. "It's hard to say. Assassin is versatile and his skills in the art of stealth and subterfuge mean that he could get into plenty of places where he isn't wanted. While he's undoubtedly weak in a direct confrontation, if he attacks from hiding, he could potentially be more lethal than any of the other Servants we've seen so far. "But reviewing Assassin's actions, I think I have a notion of what Kirei and Tokiomi are planning. Now that Assassin has been 'killed,' the other Masters will write him off as being out of the game." "I get it!" exclaimed Twilight, "So if he starts killing other Masters and Servants, the rest are bound to notice and will realize the ruse." Aaron nodded. "The possibility of a botched attempt carries the same risk. In that case, Kirei is likely using Assassin as a spy to gather intelligence on the other Servants and their Masters. Then Tokiomi plans on using that information to deploy Archer to his greatest effect to wipe out their enemies." "That seems...risky," Twilight murmured, thinking about Archer's demeanor. Aaron nodded. "The fact that Tokiomi was forced to use a Command Seal indicates just how far Archer's actions tonight fell outside his plans. He must have been planning everything out so carefully in order to ensure his victory. Impulsive actions by his Servant only serve to put his plans in jeopardy. "And speaking of Masters who have trouble with their Servants, let's turn our attention to Lancer." Twilight directed her eyes to the battle being replayed on the mirror. Her eyes fixated on Lancer's crimson spear as he wielded it against Saber. "A spear that cuts through prana. I don't like the look of that." "Indeed. Out of all the opposing Servants, Lancer could be considered your natural enemy. A spear that can pierce through magecraft is the ideal weapon against Caster. We do have some advantages though." The mare's eyes blinked. "What advantages?" A grin spread across Aaron's face. "It seems I overestimated Kayneth Archibald. As a magus, he is unquestionably the most accomplished of our enemies. But as a Master, he is quite lacking." "I don't...I don't understand." "Kayneth may be an expert in magecraft. But he doesn't understand how to properly wield his Servant." Twilight bristled at Aaron's observations. Given her initial thoughts about the "heroes" participating in this war, she might have been at ease with Aaron's assessment had she been an outside observer. But she was a Servant as well. And yet, here was Aaron, speaking as though she and the other Servants were nothing more than tools. "What do you mean by that?" Aaron seemed to notice the edge in Twilight's voice. "Don't be upset. From a magus's point of view, nearly everything and everyone is a potential tool. Servants are but a tool in the arsenal of their Master for the sake of winning the Holy Grail. "I'm not denying that Servants aren't people in their own right or that they don't have feelings and wills of their own. But that is a part of their nature as tools. Understanding that is the key to wielding them effectively. You wouldn't wield a saw the same way you would wield a hammer. And yet, Kayneth apparently doesn't realize this truth. He spends the entire battle scolding Lancer for not instantly winning. And the moment Lancer dares to disagree with Kayneth's orders, Kayneth uses the Command Seal to force him into line." "But that's one of the things a Command Seal is for," Twilight pointed out. "Of course it is. But forcing a Servant to obey your order is about as unimaginative a use as you could put it to. The Command Seals are so much more. In addition, the consequences of such an action outweigh the benefits." "How so?" Aaron met her gaze sternly. "If I used one of my Command Seals to order you to murder an innocent person in cold blood, what would you do after the fact?" Twilight shivered at the thought, but understood what he meant. "I'd be furious. I wouldn't be able to trust you at all after that." "Exactly! By forcing his Servant to act against his natural inclinations, to say nothing of his will, Kayneth has driven a wedge between him and Lancer. Even if Lancer faithfully follows Kayneth's orders without hesitation afterwards, the distance between them means that the trust between them has been compromised. Lancer is more likely to force Kayneth to use his other Command Seals. Each Seal can only be used for one order and now he only has two left." Twilight thought for a moment. "But the payoff might have been worth it," she mentioned, "If Rider hadn't intervened, Saber could very well have been eliminated. And she's supposed to be one of the most dangerous Servants." "But Rider did intervene," Aaron pointed out, "And besides, directing Lancer against Saber didn't look like the most prudent course of action to me. Saber had already been wounded by Lancer's curse and will remain disabled until either he or his golden spear is destroyed. On the other hand, Berserker was uninjured and operating at full strength, and of all the Servants, barring one, the one with the greatest number of unknowns. Of the Servants that showed up tonight, his is the only one whose identity we haven't been able to deduce. More importantly, Gáe Dearg seems to be the natural enemy of Berserker's Noble Phantasm. Combining that with Saber's assistance, the two of them might have been more than a match for Berserker. And Rider was less likely to intervene given his views on how honorable battle should be conducted." "I guess that makes sense," Twilight conceded, "I have one question though. You said that barring one, Berserker is the Servant with the greatest number of unknowns. But who is that one?" Aaron grinned and Twilight felt distinctly uncomfortable. "I thought that would be obvious. The answer is you, Caster." Aaron watched as Caster mulled over his assessment. At this point, she still didn't view herself as a participant in this battle between Servants and magi. Aaron couldn't exactly fault her in this respect, given that his habits as an observer had nearly placed them in a dangerous situation just earlier. They would both have to shed that particular naïveté before long. One way or another, Caster would have to enter the war and obtain victory if she wanted to open the way back home. Aaron decided to keep some of his other assessments of the events that night to himself. He was aware that, had Rider not intervened, Kayneth's efforts to destroy Saber still wouldn't have borne fruit. In fact, they could have instead spelled his end. Emiya Kiritsugu, who might well have been Saber's Master if the homunculus Iriesviel wasn't, had Kayneth dead to rights early on in the battle. Kiritsugu had obviously chosen to hold off on killing Kayneth in order to avoid provoking Assassin's intervention. But by forcing Saber into a corner like he had, Kayneth had probably forced Kiritsugu's hand and the Mage Slayer would have risked exposing his position to Assassin in order to avoid losing his Servant and by proxy, his primary hope for winning the Holy Grail War. Rider's actions could not be overlooked either. Aaron had been taunting Caster earlier with his assessment of Rider's views on honor and fair play, knowing at Caster would object on the basis that murder was murder. In truth, of all the opposing Servants, Aaron regarded Rider as the most cunning. For all his boisterousness, Alexander was a man whose intellect couldn't be overlooked. While his initial actions had seemed ridiculously, even suicidally, reckless, there was a method to Rider's madness. The two greatest conventions of the Grail War were "Do not reveal your Noble Phantasm unless it is necessary," and "Above all else, do not reveal your identity." From the moment of his arrival, Rider had cast aside these conventions, displaying his treasure openly and shouting out his true name for all to hear. Even more shockingly, he had also displayed his contempt for the ironclad rule of the Holy Grail War that "There can only be one victor" by inviting Saber and Lancer to ally with him. By doing so, he had declared that the typical logic of how the Holy Grail War was conducted could not be applied to him. Thus, his actions became impossible to predict and every future encounter between him and his opponents would be tainted by that uncertainty. But even that did not express the full extent of Rider's intelligence. By provoking the other Servants to arrive, he had also placed himself in the position to gather valuable data on the rest of his potential opponents. Archer and Berserker had answered Alexander's summons, allowing him to gain information on four of the five remaining (at least from his perspective) Servants, leaving Caster the only complete unknown. Finally, there was Rider's intervention in the final phase of the battle. Aaron hadn't been lying when he explained that Rider's sense of fair play had prompted him into intervening. But that wasn't the whole truth of the matter. Rider had also probably acted to spite Kayneth who had originally been the one intended to be Rider's Master. But it had also dealt a severe blow to Kayneth's ability to continue fighting in the Grail War. Kayneth had expended a Command Seal to force Lancer to act against his will and join with Berserker in attacking Saber. By forcing Kayneth to order Lancer's retreat, Rider had also forced Kayneth to retract his original order, thus nullifying the Command Seal. In the future, should a similar or even identical situation arise, Kayneth would be forced to use another Command Seal to re-issue that order to Lancer. Thanks to Rider's intervention, Kayneth had expended one of the three precious Command Seals without realizing any gain from the action. But the damage done by forcing Lancer to act against his will would remain. In other words, Rider had not only taken Kayneth's actions and turned them to his advantage, but he had also transformed them into a wedge driven between Master and Servant, undermining their ability to fight together in the future. Truly, that man makes no wasted moves. "What does that mean?" Aaron was drawn from his musing by Caster's response to his previous statement. "It means that of all the Servants, you are the only one who has not revealed yourself in some manner. Even if it was for the purpose of conducting some ruse, Assassin still revealed himself at the Tohsaka manor, knowing full well that the other Masters were likely watching the place. "But you, my little pony, haven't shown the slightest hint of your existence to the other Servants or their Masters, making you a complete unknown to them. This could be a problem for us." Caster blinked. "Why? Wasn't our plan to sit out the fight and wait for the other Servants to deal with each other?" Aaron nodded. "Initially. The real question is how long the other pairs will permit us to rely on that strategy. We humans are creatures of contradictions. On one hand, we are all too happy to disregard something we know nothing about. But on the other hand, we are also deeply fearful and suspicious of the unknown and will frequently resort to extreme measures to lay those fears to rest." Caster's eyes narrowed. "From the way you're talking, I'm guessing our situation falls under the latter." "The deciding factor is ignorance. People who aren't aware of the gaps in their knowledge feel no need to fill those gaps, whereas being aware that you don't know something important can drive you to extreme lengths to find out. There is no question that the other Masters are aware of our existence. After all, the Grail War cannot begin until all seven Servants have been summoned. That means that they are fully aware that the Servant Caster is out there somewhere, lurking. But they have no idea of her capabilities or her plans. It doesn't help, in their eyes, that the Caster class is the most difficult to predict in terms of abilities. "So, from their perspective, there are two possible explanations for our inactivity. Either you are a weak Servant who has no hope of victory in a direct confrontation and must therefore rely on the remaining six to whittle down the number of opponents, or you are an especially canny opponent, who is merely biding her time for the proper moment to strike a decisive blow." "Well, I'm obviously the former," Caster muttered. "But in the minds of our enemies, until the latter is proven to be a false assumption, it is a very real possibility, which means that assuaging that uncertainty will become their priority before long. Such is the nature of the devil that beguiles their path." "So what can we do about it?" asked Caster nervously, "If they realize that I'm weak, then won't they simply try to take advantage of that?" "There's a good chance that might not be the case," mused Aaron, stroking his chin, "After all, if you are judged to be weak, then there is no reason for our opponents to prioritize gaining knowledge about you and they can safely write you off until the final stages of the war, where your death can be simply dealt with as a matter of completion rather than a serious obstacle." "So I'm just a point on a checklist," muttered Caster petulantly, apparently finding some sort of irony in that statement. I wonder... Aaron blinked, "Of course, getting them to leave us alone could also be our best opportunity to find a way to turn the tables. If we are waiting until the final stages of the war to act anyway, we should ensure that we can best make use of the time we have until most of the other Servants are eliminated." Something clicked in his mind. "OF COURSE!" Caster cringed at his exclamation. "I'm a little worried by your enthusiasm," she admitted. While Aaron had his quirks, he certainly wasn't the kind of person to gravitate towards such...loud behavior. She cringed further when Aaron's eyes and grin began to glimmer with the signs of mischief in the making. "I just had the idea to practice some new magecraft. I generally focus my divination skills on the present and, occasionally, the recent past. But perhaps it's time to try my hand at some future reading as well." "You're going to think up a new spell?" asked Caster, her voice gaining some eagerness, "One to tell the future?" Aaron's grin widened as his own excitement bubbled up within him. He hadn't done something like this in years. It was reckless and completely outside the pale for how he normally acted. "In a sense." In truth, there was no new spell, at least not in the sense that Caster was thinking. It seemed that, just like the magi of the human world, she was to fixated on the concept of magecraft purely in the sense of one's magical circuits. In his own mind, Aaron was convinced that such patterns of thought were one of the reasons magecraft had degraded in the modern age. In a sense, Aaron still felt as though he were a magus, even though he typically never considered magecraft as anything more than a means to an end. But then again, why did magecraft and, indeed, even Magic have to be limited to the product of interference brought about by one's magical circuits. Magic encompassed the world of miracles beyond rational explanation. Could something so awesome be defined merely by things such as prana and mana? This was a frame of mind that Aaron often entered when he was confronted by a particularly difficult challenge. By bringing about the execution of perfectly mundane phenomena, a completely new "magecraft" could be created. Even though it wasn't magecraft by the true definition of the word, if it fosted the achievement of Aaron's objective, then it was a spell to his mind. In a sense, he thought that Emiya Kiritsugu's mind might work in a similar manner. After all, what was a gun but a Mystic Code that launched a piece of metal at supersonic speeds towards its target. In the end, magecraft wasn't vanishing, but rather changing. All a true magus had to do was learn the new parameters that defined its usage. "In some cultures, there is a form of fortune telling where stones, sticks or bones are thrown to the ground and the pattern in which they land is used to predict the future," explained Aaron. "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense," muttered Caster. "Well, rather than bones or stones, we'll use something that will give us a great deal more pertinent information." "And that is..." "The disposition of the other Masters and Servants." Caster sat abruptly on the floor. "I don't follow." "We shall reveal ourselves to the other participants in the Grail War and everything about you; who you are, why you are here and what you seek. That shall be our cast. The way the stones land will be decided by how the other Masters and Servants respond to the revelation." Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been in the human world for a scant few days and she already knew better than to show weakness to their adversaries. Hadn't Kayneth gone so far as to force Lancer to act because Saber was at a disadvantage? Hadn't Aaron suggested that Emiya Kiritsugu would pounce on the first sign of weakness with decidedly lethal results? Revealing themselves to the other Masters and Servants meant revealing to the other magi that Aaron, who by his own admission would be sub-par on the field of battle, was her Master and that Twilight, as a Servant, was equally lacking in that respect. She had seen enough to know that to do so would be to ring a dinner bell for a swarm of parasprites. "You're insane!" she found herself exclaiming, "How will that help us at all?" "There is a lot of information to be gleaned from how they react to our appearance," replied Aaron, "And in the best case, may lead to a more immediate and reliable solution to our most pressing problem." That got Twilight's attention. "Alright, what are you planning?" Twilight found herself distinctly unsettled by the grin that spread across Aaron's face. Settling back into his chair, Aaron stole a bemused look in Caster's direction. The little pony lay under the bed's covers, fast asleep, the events of the day an evening having drawn out all her endurance. She hadn't been very enthusiastic about their plans, but that was to be expected. Given their position and their lack of skills, anything that might bring forth a confrontation before they were ready was a serious risk. They could easily lose everything. But from Aaron's perspective, they had already lost. Caster was unquestionably at a disadvantage to the rest of the Servants. Barring Assassin, the weakest among the other Servants, statistically speaking, was probably Lancer. But in a one-on-one confrontation, there was no question that Lancer would win easily. And that was assuming that Lancer was the one who made it to the final round. If the final remaining Servant was Archer or Saber, Aaron would probably have to consider using the Command Seal to take Caster's life and save her the trouble. No matter how he looked at it, they had already lost. Thus, winning by conventional means was clearly out of their reach. That left approaching matters through unconventional means. Eliminating the other Masters might be an effective approach, but Aaron knew that he was outclassed by them in the same way that Caster was against the other Servants. Even pitting Caster against the opposing Masters was a long shot, assuming their own Servants weren't running interference. Then the only chance we have left is to roll the dice. When all the variables are against us, there's nothing to be lost by resetting the equation. Aaron didn't know how long he sat there, plotting and planning while waiting for sleep to take him. However, he abruptly became ware of the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. A shiver rand down his spine. It was a sense he had rarely encountered, but one he was intimately familiar with nonetheless. They were being watched. As an expert in divination, Aaron was strongly attuned to magecraft with a nature or purpose similar to his own. It had developed into an innate awareness that warned him of scrying magics targeted on his person or area. If he focused, it was generally within his ability to even gain an idea of where he was being observed from and track the opposing magecraft back to its source. Closing his eyes, Aaron activated his magic circuits and began to carefully isolate the interference caused by the unknown scrying spell. It only took him a few seconds. Once he did, he began to trace the spell back to its point of origin, only to have his eyes snap wide open in shock as he lost track of the unknown spell's origin. Was the one doing the observing better at divination than him? Had he finally met his match? Forgetting all subtlety, Aaron latched onto the scrying spell, activating all his magical circuits and pouring the entirety of his prana into the trace. If one were to describe tracing a scrying spell in terms of space, then tracing the spell was little more than finding the line that connected the point of observation to the point of origin. A skilled observer, such as Aaron, could bend or fold the line and even branch it into multiple directions to baffle attempts to follow it back to where it came from. In such terms, the line of the spell that Aaron was attempting to trace twisted at an angle that he couldn't follow, causing him to lose it entirety. It was the creation of a twist or angle that shouldn't exist in this world. Then perhaps, Aaron mused, the source of this spell is not of this world. Then the point where he lost the connection with the unknown magecraft would be where it connected to the world of its origin. There should have been only one thing that was capable of an effect like this. Deciding that attempting to trace the spell was futile, Aaron opted to examine the working itself and found he was not surprised. Similar to how a person's place of origin can be discovered by how they spoke or subtle social cues they exhibited, magecrafts belonging to particular families or schools could also be placed. And there was no question that the unknown magecraft that Aaron was currently examining was of a similar nature to Caster's. I see, so she might not be as alone as we thought. "Thank goodness! We've found her." A collective sigh of relief exploded within Princess Celestia's study as its occupants released the breaths they weren't even aware that they had been holding. "And she's unhurt," added Rarity with a graceful sigh as she settled back, "I was terrified that something positively horrid had happened to her." The elegant, white unicorn flopped back onto a nearby couch in her usual dramatic fashion. "Now that we've found her, you know what this means...." murmured a bright pink earth pony sleepily as she began to nod off, "...a p-" Her voice dropped off into snores before she could finish her sentence. "Ah'd be all fer that," muttered Applejack, her signature hat slipping down in front of her face as she began to follow her friend into the land of dreams, "But Ah think we should wait until Twi's back with us to celebrate." "You said it," agreed Rainbow Dash with a shadow of her usual energy, "It wouldn't be much of a party if the most important guest couldn't make it. Right Fluttershy?" If the canary-yellow pegasus had anything to add, her voice was completely inaudible as her eyes fell closed. It was no surprise, of course. The past few days had been filled with worry, anxiety and sleepless nights as the five mares and two princesses worked desperately to find their missing friend (okay, it was the princesses who had done most of the heavy lifting, so to speak, but never underestimate the value of moral support), the end result being nothing short of complete exhaustion on the part of everypony except for Luna and Celestia, who, with their immortal bodies, were able to handle the strain a great deal longer than regular ponies. Hiding a smile as the five mares began to drift off at the sight of their much-missed friend sleeping soundly under her own circumstances, Celestia turned her attention to the small dragon who was also in the room. Spike had passed out almost instantly at the sight of Twilight Sparkle. He had taken her disappearance the hardest, not having even given a thought to trying to rest or sleep until they had found her. The relief at seeing her unharmed had knocked him out just as decisively as a buck from Applejack. "Truly I am relieved, Tia," remarked Luna as she lowered her head to the portal that allowed them to observe the lavender unicorn. It had been Luna's idea to use the array Twilight had created as the focus for their sorting spell to help them track her location. The resulting work had been complex and had forced Celestia to revisit some tutoring from an old guest, but had paid off in spades. "But truly, I am shocked," continued the Princess of the Moon, "I had never expected Twilight Sparkle to end up in that world of all places." Celestia found herself nodding in agreement. She had only gotten brief glimpses of that world herself, thanks to the assistance of the same visiting friend. From what she had seen, she knew the world of humans to be layered with complexities beyond her wildest imaginations. Given her vastly greater experience, Celestia couldn't help but be uncomfortable not knowing how Twilight was coping. Her train of thought was derailed by a surprised gasp from Luna. "Sister! I think the human that is with Twilight Sparkle is attempting to trace our spell." Blinking, Celestia turned her attention back to the spell. She realized that the human had come awake at some point and was now attempting to track the spell back to its source. However, he kept losing it at the point where it crossed the intangible boundary between their worlds. Then, both the human and the Princesses were distracted as a series of tones danced through the air. "Wha? What's going on?" asked Twilight blearily as she sat up in bed. The resonant sounds of the chime suspended by the mirror forcing her into wakefulness. Aaron didn't answer her as he stood up and strode to the mirror. Twilight followed his movements with half-lidded eyes. I don't think I could take watching another battle tonight, she thought mournfully as Aaron flicked the chime, causing the image in the mirror to ripple. The reflection of the room was replaced by the image of what had to be the tallest building in the entire city. "What is that?" asked Twilight, astonished by the tower of glass and steel. "The Fuyuki Hyatt," answered Aaron, "The current residence of Kayneth Archibald, Master of Lancer." Twilight felt Aaron manipulating the image in the mirror as he made subtle changes to his surveillance spell. Slowly, the image wavered and changed. "I set up my surveillance spells to alert me under certain circumstances," he explained as he worked, "I key the spell to the signatures of the individual I expect to spend the most time at the sight, such as Tohsaka at his manor or Father Kotomine at his church, and set to spell to warn me if a magus or Servant from outside those parameters approaches." Twilight nodded, understanding his reasoning. Aaron would have hardly wanted to have been notified every time Tohsaka Tokiomi entered or left his house (although, given the current state of affairs, that information could be crucial to their survival). So he had set up his surveillance spells to activate when the assembled circumstances indicated a high chance of conflict between the Masters or their Servants. As the image shifted, Twilight blinked as she saw a shimmering mirage engulf a massive portion of the hotel. Aaron let out a low whistle at the sight. "Kayneth beefed up his defenses since I last checked." "What is that?" asked Twilight. "It's a bounded field, a barrier." "So it's like the one he used on the battlefield?" "Not even close," said Aaron, "That was just something Kayneth set up to keep normal people from noticing the fight between Saber and Lancer. This thing is in a class of its own." "How does it work?" "The basic principle of a bounded field is for a magus to use his magecraft to isolate an area and make it his own. Within that field, there are probably countless traps and summoned spirits and apparitions besides Lancer, as well as Kayneth himself. An atelier like that requires a substantial quantity of of prana, even more than Kayneth should be able to produce even if he weren't supporting Lancer right now. He must be using a mana furnace, possibly more than one." A grimace crossed Aaron's face. "Is a mana furnace what I think it is?" Asked Twilight. Aaron nodded. "As the name suggests, it's a furnace that produces not heat, but mana, sort of an artificial leyline. They're ridiculously expensive to build and operate, the kind of equipment that would only be obtained by someone with the resources of a Lord in the Association." Twilight frowned as she turned her attention back to the image. "But isn't it kind of reckless to leave it so obvious," she said, referring to the bounded field, "I thought magi were supposed to be about subtlety." "Towards normal people, yes," agreed Aaron, "But when it comes to each other, that subtlety often goes out the window. Rather than trying to hide his position, like we are, Kayneth is stating his position openly and in such a way that it dares anyone who sees to just try and breach his defenses. From the perspective of a magus, Kaymeth's territory is like an impenetrable citadel. The bounded field is so comprehensive, even my scrying spells can't get through it." "So what set off your surveillance spell?" "A good question," Aaron murmured as he adjusted the view again. Once again, the image shifted as he began to search for individuals with active magic circuits. As he did so, Twilight noticed something odd. "Is that smoke?" Just as the question jumped out of her mouth, crowds of people began to stream out from the building. A single individual appeared to be highlighted as he made his way into the crowd. Not answering Twilight's question, Aaron brought his spell's view in as close to the individual as possible. Both Master and Servant let out a surprised gasp as the magus's face came into focus. "Emiya Kiritsugu." Saber's presumed Master moved seamlessly through the crowd as they were herded away from the building by the hotel's staff. "Was he the one to set fire to the building?" asked Twilight. "Probably. He must be using the flames to force the regular people out so that they won't get caught up in the coming battle." "Why?" "It's obvious. Kiritsugu must want to remove Lancer's curse from Saber and the best way to do that is for them to finish their battle. By forcing an evacuation of the hotel, he and Kayneth can have their Servants fight it out without interruption." "That's not it!" exclaimed Twilight as they watched Kiritsugu soeak with one of the hotel attendants holding a clipboard, "If he's there to fight, then why is he leaving the hotel like everyone else?" That made Aaron freeze. Aaron blinked as they saw Kiritsugu pull a cell phone out of his pocket. Twilight watched him intently as a an expression of dawning comprehension flowed across his face. "He wouldn't..." From within the hotel came the sound of multiple explosions. A low rumble filled the air as the building shuddered and then collapsed on itself. Twilight was distracted from e image by the vibrations that ran through her hooves and made loose objects around the room rattle along with the window. Suddenly it hit her. She was hearing the actual sound of the skyscraper's destruction, not just the sounds relayed through Aaron's spell. "No!" she whispered, "How could he? All those people..." she wanted to look away as the building collapsed, but morbid fascination kept her eyes glued to the scene playing out in the mirror. After a moment, she realized that rather than showering the surrounding streets with debris, the building was instead collapsing in on itself. The only thing being thrown out at the former residents of the building was an impressive cloud of dust. A soft sigh escaped from Twilight as she realized that there was little likelihood that any innocent civilians had been badly injured by the otherwise monstrous act. If he used the fire to get people out before he did that, then maybe he has a conscience after all. Aaron sat limply back on the bed, ignoring Caster's indignant squeak as she scrambled to avoid being sat upon. He was hardly even paying attention to his own spell as his mind whirled. I thought I understood Emiya Kiritsugu's mindset. I can't believe that I underestimated him to this extent. When he had first realized that Kiritsugu was approaching Kayneth's base, Aaron had been excited at the prospect of seeing what skills and tactics the legendary Mage Slayer would bring to bear. How would Emiya Kiritsugu penetrate Kayneth Archibald's seemingly impenetrable defenses. As it had turned out, Kiritsugu decided not to penetrate them. Instead, he opted to destroy the building itself. Kayneth's bounded field would be less than useless as the entire skyscraper crumbled around him. It was an act that was utterly incomprehensible to a magus. But even as he understood the reasoning why Emiya Kiritsugu had taken this course of action, Aaron couldn't help but marvel at the blind spot existed in his consciousness. I underestimated him. Forget being a magus or even a magecraft user. This isn't the work of a human being. For the first time, Aaron felt that he truly had a handle on what kind of person Emiya Kiritsugu was. But that understanding only served to terrify him. Kiritsugu wasn't a man. He was a machine, a machine whose sole purpose was to eliminate all opposition in the most expedient manner and claim the Holy Grail using whatever means necessary. There was no line that he wouldn't cross, no low that he wouldn't sink to, no trick he wouldn't resort to if it meant moving closer to succeeding in his objectives. It sunk in on a visceral level for Aaron how woefully unprepared he was to face this man. He had thought he could predict Kiritsugu's actions by taking a pragmatic view of the situation and he had still been taken by surprise that the Mage Slayer would resort to something this extreme, even having read the man's dossier. "Aaron? Aaron, are you alright?" The magus was jarred back into the present by Caster's voice as she gave him a plaintive look. Turning to look at her, Aaron sighed. "We have no choice now. We need to follow through with the plan. If we don't...if things stay the way they are, there's no question that Emiya Kiritsugu will be one of the final combatants. None of the Masters stand a chance against that man. The only hope we have of winning is if we utterly upset the current dynamic of the Holy Grail War." Twilight frowned at Aaron's proclamation. No matter how he explained it, she didn't like their current plan one bit, even if he had convinced her of its necessity. The truth of the matter was that, no matter how Aaron schemed and planned, certain things would remain unchanged. The weak would remain weak and the strong, strong. Even if their actions completely shook the disposition of the other Masters, it wouldn't help in the end unless Aaron and Twilight did something about their own situation. Twilight felt like she was suffocating. The situation itself was smothering her. She couldn't stand the way things were. In this world, she was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even the man that was supposed to be her staunchest ally was more than a little suspect in her view. This was not a situation she could tackle the way things stood. She needed something more than power or weapons. To truly turn the tide of this war, Twilight realized that only one thing would do. She could only turn to the thing that had utterly transformed her life in the past. She needed friends. Luna was so stunned by what she had just watched that she briefly forgot to breathe. Even Celestia was looking rather troubled by what they had just witnessed, although clearly watching the human's scrying spell through their own scrying spell didn't begin to do those events justice. "Tia, just what has your student gotten herself into?" "I wish I knew," replied the Princess of the Sun, "But all that I can tell is that she has gotten involved in a human conflict of some sort. Until we learn more, we have no choice but to wait and watch." Morning came and Aaron found himself traveling they and streets of Fuyuki once again at Caster's request. As he had promised, he visited the bookstore in order to get the volumes on the information she desired, namely the different heroes they were up against and their legends, as well as texts on the concepts of chivalry and knighthood. What confused him was Caster's other request, a bolt of purple cotton. He couldn't imagine what the unicorn wanted with the fabric. They had to make their visit to the church later in the day, so the last thing they needed was for Caster to suddenly take up a new hobby. Twilight lay on top of the bed's covers. She had used an invisibility spell to hide herself while she waited for the hotel's staff to finish cleaning the room. Now that she was sure that she would no longer be disturbed, Twilight closed her eyes and delved deeply into her own consciousness as she dredged up all her knowledge on magical theory to make sure that this new magecraft of hers was going to work. In spite of her nearly encyclopedic knowledge of a variety of subjects (including actual encyclopedias), Twilight Sparkle did not actually possess an eidetic memory. She did however reread texts frequently until she had the contents practically memorized, often in a single sitting. That said, her k owl edge of magecraft was beyond that of simple memorization. It lay at the core of her being, the very factor that defined who she was as a pony. Magic was her special talent after all. Twilight pulled forth all of her knowledge as she began to develop one of the most complex spells she had ever created. She would by casting this spell without focuses or arrays, nothing but her horn and her own concentration. To make things even more difficult, she would be supplementing this by casting a second spell simultaneously. Fortunately, the second one would not be so difficult, Twilight having easily gotten the hang of it after seeing Rarity perform it once. Trixie's visit to Ponyville had been good for more than just boosting Twilight's confidence after all. A grin grew on Twilight's face as she finished her preparations. She was sure that her fashion savvy friend would be overjoyed if she ever got the chance to see the end result of Twilight's labors. Even if it was by the human world's standards, Twilight Sparkle was absolutely sure that she would look fabulous. Aaron closed and locked the door before turning to Caster. He had to rub his eyes for a moment. The unicorn looked ecstatic, a rather drastic change, given the more subdued attitude she usually displayed as a being displaced from her home in an unfamiliar world. "Did something good happen while I was out?" he asked. An eager grin spread across Caster's face as her horn glowed and yanked the roll of fabric from Aaron's grip. "I just finished a new spell and I can't wait to try it out! Now we won't have to worry about keeping me from being noticed and I won't have to cast that invisibility spell anymore." Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Aaron could only favor his Servant with a wry smile as he shrugged. "And here I was thinking, since we were going to the church, that you could turn yourself pink while you were at it." "What?" "Nothing," replied Aaron quickly effort turning and muttering on his breath, "Might as well ask for a spaghetti monster." Caster had apparently stopped paying attention to him and was instead focusing her concentration on the roll of fabric. Her horn began to glow, lifting the cotton up and unrolling it. The material began to stream around her body, even as a second glow in a different tone appeared on Caster's horn, incasing the glow of her first spell. The light from her second spell flowed over her entire body, before causing it to shine, hiding it from view. The silhouette of light began to change and morph as the fabric surrounding her continued to whirl through the air. Aaron's eyes watered as the glow filled the room, worrying him that it might even burn through the spell he had cast on the window. Fortunately, after a few seconds passed, the glow faded and Aaron got a good look at the end result of Caster's efforts. Twilight Sparkle stood before him, a lavender unicorn no longer. Instead, she now stood upright as a human girl her body adorned with a simple purple dress. Her eyes remained the same color as those of her original form, while her hair matched that of her mane, dark purple with a hot-pink streak that ran along its length. By human standards, she was quite attractive. Not that Aaron cared about that last part. It was ironic that, in spite of his reputation, his libido had been one of the first things he had lost as he became consumed by his interests. He was amused to note that Caster's human form looked to be approximately the same age as Rider's Master. He found himself wondering whether or not that was a conscious choice on her part. His heart thudded alarmingly in his chest. The one thing that did excite him was the feat of magecraft he had just witnessed. Long ago, stories of magi being able to transform their bodies into completely different forms, changing gender and species at will, had been almost commonplace. Needless to say, such magecraft had been lost to modern magi. Even more impressively, Caster had launched another sell at the same time in order to create her clothes. Given that taking human form had removed her horn, Caster's second spell should have been disrupted as she completed her transformation. But instead, she had somehow found a way for the spell to complete itself free of her conscious input, another feat that would have left the Association's top members drooling. Caster let out a slight giggle at his stupefied expression before heading towards him. Aaron was surprised to see that, for someone who had probably spent her whole life on all fours, Caster was adapting surprisingly well to her new status as a biped. "I guess the spell does more than just change your shape," he observed. Caster nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I actually patterned it off of the way the Grail provides us Servants with information regarding the current era and, in my case, your species. It's a bit hard to describe, but my transformation also encoded everything about being human into my new form." I can die a happy man, thought Aaron wistfully. "So...if you're functionally human, does that mean you'll give being omnivorous a try, or are you going to remain a vegetarian on principle." Caster grimaced. "I'm not about to start eating meat just because I'm temporarily a human," she said. The magus shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask. In any case, this brings up a new problem. You might be human, but I am registered as the only occupant of this room. Leaving the room with a pretty young lady, considerably younger than me I might add, who was never seen entering the room with me could gain us some unfortunate attention." Caster frowned. "I never took you for the kind of person to care about those kind of things." Aaron let out an irritated sigh. "That would be the case normally. But I'm about to out myself as a Master. Our greatest hope in surviving right now relies on keeping our base hidden from the others. I don't have the power or resources to pull off what Kayneth did, and even if I could, Emiya Kiritsugu would have about the same lack of difficulty that he did last time." Aaron got some small measure of satisfaction from seeing Caster shudder. While the attention being garnered by being seen leaving with Caster wouldn't have been a matter of concern most of the time, it was the kind of move that would attract attention to him. Aaron had already packed his belongings, along with Caster's book collection, in preparation for changing their base of operations. While most of the other Masters would be unlikely to take notice of such mundane affairs, it would be exactly the kind of discrepancy that the Mage Slayer would be looking for. The last thing Aaron wanted to do was give Emiya Kiritsugu even the smallest lead towards his whereabouts, even if that lead only to a led to a place where he had been previously. Caster cupped her chin for a moment as she wrestled with the problem. Then her eyes lit up as some kind of realization hit her. "I've got it. I'll just cast an invisibility spell while we're moving out and lower it once we're in a safe place." Aaron blinked. "Wouldn't you have to return to your original form to do that?" He was taken aback as Caster gave him an amused smile. "It's true that I can't use my unicorn magecraft in this form. However, when I planned out this transformation, I also included a set of human magical circuits, so I am technically a human magus. All I need to do is cast the appropriate human spell and I can become invisible. Luckily, I got a good look at one such spell last night, so I think I can imitate it." There were no words that could describe the absurdity of Caster's notion. Because of the uniqueness of a magus's magical circuits, the way in which those circuits differed individually meant that no two magi could perform exactly the same spell, even if they were utilizing the same thaumaturgical principles, unless those magi were of the same family line. Unless Caster had taken the time to understand how her magical circuits interacted with the world, there was no way she could figure how to produce the necessary interference that would allow her to replicate Kayneth's invisibility spell. But then her form rippled and vanished from sight, leaving Aaron gaping at the empty space where Caster had been standing. "What?" A giggle sounded from right next to him. "Let's get going," said Caster, making no effort to hide her amusement. Aaron let out a low sigh and bent to pick up his suitcases. She got me. Twilight was grateful that the invisibility spell kept Aaron from getting a good look at her face, because she was grinning from ear to ear. It felt invigorating to have the upper hand in their relationship for once. Before, Aaron had been the one leading her on by hooking her through her curiosity in order to manipulate her actions towards her desired outcome. But now that Twilight understood how Aaron's mind worked, she could turn the tables on him. The only problem was, aside from generally rattling his cage, Twilight had no idea what outcome she desired. Her smile wavered a bit. Being the one in control wasn't nearly as invigorating if you had no idea of where you were going... ...But it was still fun. It was just past midday when the pair arrived at Fuyuki's church. They had first taken a taxi to the location of their new safe house to deposit their belongings. In preparation for the Grail War, Aaron had made arrangements in case any of the involved parties took exception to his presence and had laid out a few other bolt holes he could run to if things got dangerous. However, his funds were not unlimited and he had been forced to satisfy himself with a small, rundown, western-style house in Fuyuki's foreigners district. In spite of this, Aaron was satisfied with his choice. Such a house was less likely to be noticed, which would enable him to keep from being discovered by the other Masters. It was going to be a critical advantage before long. As the taxi slowed on its approach to the solemn building, Aaron leaned over and whispered to Caster, "Remember, not a word about Assassin." Twilight nodded, her eyes betraying her nervousness. She had seen the other Servants the previous night. Soon she would be face-to-face with the magi that controlled those powerful heroes. She was horrified at the possibility that they might be similar to Kayneth in some way. He had been bad enough. While Aaron paid the driver, Twilight stared up at the looming structure of the church. It's size was certainly modest compared to the towers that dominated the skyline of Fuyuki's urban district. And yet, the architecture gave it a sense of foreboding that was completely absent from the relatively unadorned skyscrapers. The two walked to the door in silence. Raising his hand, Aaron grasped the handle and pulled one of the heavy wooden doors open. Together, they stepped into the church's cavernous interior and began their journey along the lines of pews, slowly approaching the alter. Light filtered in from the stained-glass windows, providing the only source of illumination in the empty space. Twilight was about to inquire if anyone was actually there when an older-looking man stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed in simple black with a priest's stole over his shoulders. Twilight immediately recognized him as the man who had allowed Kotomine Kirei to take sanctuary in the church. This must have been Kotomine Risei, Kirei's father. "Hm, I haven't seen you here before," the old priest observed, "If you've come to make a confession I'm afraid that you will have to come pack later this week." "Actually, it's rather ironic that I have come to make a confession of sorts," replied Aaron with a smirk, "I would like to confess that I am the seventh Master in the Holy Grail War and that this," he gestured to Twilight, "Is my Servant, Caster." Risei's welcoming smile changed to a frown as he absorbed this information. "Is that so? I was beginning to wonder when the seventh pair would be revealed. Now then, seeing as you have brought your Servant with you, I can safely assume you haven't yet been defeated. What then brings you here?" Aaron's smirk faded. "I have come to request a temporary ceasefire, Father. I would also like to speak with the other Masters, particularly those representing the Three Families of the Beginning. An anomaly has occurred that I need to consult them on." "And the nature of this anomaly...?" Aaron stepped aside to give the priest a view of Twilight. "Go ahead and show him, Caster." So she did. Twilight scuffed her dangling hoof against the worn floor of the church. Looking up, she glanced along the length of the pew she was resting on towards Aaron, who sat in silence, leaning back with his eyes closed as though he were asleep. Twilight had expected many things from this situation. She had anticipated traps and trickery, fear and anxiety as they waited for the other Masters to find out the truth about the two of them. What she hadn't expected was absolute boredom. I should have at least brought a book to read, she thought sullenly. Glancing up towards the windows, she idly wondered if she should try to calculate how much time had passed through the change in the angle where the light filtered into the building. It would at least give her something to do and the lack of a clock within the worship space left her with no concrete idea of how long it had been since Risei had disappeared. He had taken Twilight Sparkle's revelation with remarkable composure, all things considered. The fact that he was not a magus, nor one of the participants in the war probably had some role to play in that. He had retreated in order to "Meditate upon the best way to address the problem." Although, if Aaron's theory about The Church's affiliation with the Tohsakas was true, then it was possible that he was trying to consult with Tokiomi in some manner. After Risei had left, Aaron had simply settled back in silence, his intent clear. Even though the church was supposedly neutral ground, they both knew that they actually stood in enemy territory. Assassin was still around somewhere and might even be in the dark shadows around them, watching. That thought had alleviated Twilight's boredom at first, replacing it with a surprisingly welcome shudder of apprehension. But as time marched on and nothing happened, she found herself thinking that if Assassin was indeed watching them, he must have been as bored as she was. As the silence wore on, Twilight found eyelids drooping. Her lethargy was disrupted when she felt a faint breeze stirring. Lifting her head, she blearily wondered if someone had opened the door again. But it remained tightly shut. Turning her head, she looked around for the source of the strange wind. Ultimately, she tracked the source down and realized it was coming from Aaron. He was casting some sort of spell. Twilight's body went rigid and she had to do her best to avoid squeaking in panic. They were in the center of neutral ground, however dubious that distinction might be. For Aaron to be applying his magecraft inside the church was disrespect of the highest order, whatever's his suspicions might have been. If he was caught, Twilight was fairly certain any goodwill Father Risei held towards them would evaporate in an instant. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Twilight consoled herself by recognizing that aside from the wind, there was no other sign of Aaron's spell-casting, not even the slightest flicker of prana. Whatever he was up to, he probably wouldn't be caught, given his expertise in that particular area of magecraft. Twilight's train of thought was interrupted by the groan of hinges. Looking up, she saw the door that led to the sacristy, as well as other areas of the church, swing open to admit Father Risei. The priest's expression was carefully neutral and Twilight wondered if he had noticed Aaron's spell. Looking over, she saw Aaron's eyelids slide smoothly open, not giving the slightest indication that he might have been distracted. "After thinking the matter over carefully," declared Risei, "I have decided to grant your request. I can directly communicate with the Three Families in order to summon them in person. For the other Masters, I shall issue a general summons in order get their attention. They will most likely send familiars, but it is the Three Families who will be able to provide us with the best insight on how to deal with the situation." Aaron gave the priest a thin smile. "Understood. Thank you for your cooperation, Father." Risei nodded sagely. "Good. While you are waiting for their arrival, perhaps you should walk through our grounds. I'm afraid that they don't look like much this time of year, but they are probably more interesting than spending all your time in this space." He gestured to the empty church around them. Aaron got to his feet. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Come, Caster. You should probably take human form to be on the safe side. Twilight frowned, but did as she was told. The two of them made their way outside and began to pace the church's perimeter. Nervously, Twilight cast her eyes around, looking for some kind of threat. She paused when she felt a gentle hand come to rest on her arm. She looked over to see Aaron giving her an amused look before shaking his head. A sigh escaped from her as she tried her best to let go of her nervousness. Even if Assassin was here, he was unlikely to try anything out in the open like this. Or Twilight hoped that was the case. There was a strong argument to be made that she and Aaron had been sent out her to die, after all. If Kotomine Risei was in league with the Tohsakas by virtue of his son's affiliation, then this would be the perfect place to set up the elimination of Caster and her Master. After all, here on church grounds, no one but Tokiomi's allies were guaranteed to be present. Their deaths could easily be covered up, along with Assassin's involvement. Twilight's nervous train of thought was brought to a crashing halt as a figure stepped out from the shadows in front of them. Her first thought at the sight of the black-clad man was that it might be Assassin, but then she realized that he wore no mask. Instead, his black clothes were slightly less elaborate of the clerical vestments worn by Kotomine Risei. Twilight shuddered. No, this was even worse than Assassin. There was no mistaking that rigid stance and those lifeless eyes. This was the man whose very first impression had struck a chord of fear in her heart. Aaron had spent the entirety of the war so far fretting over the threat of Emiya Kiritsugu. And yet, Twilight thought that this man might be more dangerous by far. Kotomine Kirei, Assassin's Master. Author's Note: Ugh. I'm sorry that took so long to get out. I just recently started a new job, which is eating into a lot of my time and making it hard for me to get any writing done. It may be a while before the next chapter is up and I hope everyone can be patient with me. I have plans for starting another fic, possibly two that might render my updates to this one even less frequent. Please be patient. Now then, I have a request for any of my more artistically inclined readers. I am looking for someone willing to do a piece of cover-art for this story. So if any of you would be willing to do that, please let me know. And now for an omake. I've been planning out Servant stats for the other members of the Mane Cast. Up first is Pinkie Pie. While all of these stats are on the humorous side, ironically, it's Pinkie's stats that I put the most serious thought into as she is the only other member of the group that I felt would fit into a Servant class. So, without further ado... Berserker True Identity: Pinkie Pie Master: NA Alignment: Chaotic Good Parameters: Noble Phantasm: C+ Strength: B+ Agility: A+ Mana: C Luck: A++ Endurance: EX Class Skills: Mad Enhancement Alter: EX Personal Skills: Clairvoyance: A Cupcakes: NA Earth Pony Magecraft: C Lucid Madness: NA Metabolic Conversion: A Class Skills: Mad Enhancement Alter is the alternate form of the Mad Enhancement skill typically applied to members of the Berserker class. Rather than raising a the affected Servants parameters, this skill produces external effects unique to the identity of the affected Servant, allowing the existence of phenomena normally not considered possible because the affected Servant's mind is incapable of recognizing said phenomena as impossible. Rank EX: At this rank, the effect is similar to that of an omnipresent Reality Marble, where phenomena can be realized by the user, even if said phenomena is not normally allowed by the rules of The World, enabling the performance of feats comparable to high thaumaturgy and even true Magic. Personal Skills: Clairvoyance is superior perception of one's surroundings through one or more of the five basic senses. The fifth war's Archer utilizes his clairvoyance in the form of enhanced visual perception, while Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense is processed via the sense of touch. At high enough ranks, it is possible to perceive future events. Rank A: Pinkie Pie is able to perceive events in the immediate future ranging from the than a second to several minutes in advance. She is also able to sense events outside the limits of her physical perception up to a distance of several kilometers. The sense manifests in the form of twitches and spasms throughout her body, with individual twitches as well as several different ones occurring in conjunction with one another foretelling specific types of events. Pinkie's understanding of this sense is not intuitive and she relies on previous experience to understand what particular signals mean. Furthermore, the significance of the event being sensed is reflected by the severity of the twitches on her body, which, in severe cases can reduce her agility rank. At doozy-level, Pinkie's body can be almost completely immobilized by the resulting spasms. Cupcakes is...never mind. Earth Pony Magecraft is the ability to utilize magecraft unique to earth ponies. Earth Pony Magecraft is passive in nature and typically manifests in the greater strength and endurance possessed by earth ponies. Its connection to the land allows earth ponies with greater levels of proficiency being able to effluence and enhance the growth of vegetation, particularly that which cultivated. In contrast to Unicorn/Equestrian Magecraft, which is all but entirely drawn from the caster's Od, Earth Pony Magecraft is drawn almost entirely from mana. It is this complete mastery of mana that ensures earth pony control over farming and food production for Equestria. Rank C: At this rank, Pinkie has access to the enhanced strength and endurance common to all earth ponies. Lucid Madness is an unranked skill that serves as an accessory to the Mad Enhancement of the Berserker Class. Instead of losing higher cognitive functions in exchange for the effects of the Mad Enhancement, the affected Servant is instead afflicted with a skewed and/or distorted perception of reality that is often incomprehensible to those not experiencing it. Because of this, the affected Servant is able to think and communicate, but their manner of doing so can be impossible to understand through typical human or pony logic. A Servant with the Metabolic Conversion ability has an enhanced metabolism that is remarkably efficient at converting the nutrition of ingested food into usable prana. The degree of efficiency is reflected by the rank of the ability and the nutritional value of the food being consumed. Rank A: At this rank, the efficiency of Pinkie's metabolism gives her approximately five-times as much prana generated through food intake as regular ponies, to the point where the effect is similar to the Mana Burst skill and allows her to increase her agility to ranks matching that of Rainbow Dash. Furthermore, as a side-effect of Pinkie's Mad Enhancement Alter, the potential energy value of the food is determined by Pinkie's preferences, rather than any actual nutritional value the food may have. Noble Phantasm: Party Cannon Rank: C+ Type: Decor/Anit-Army The Party Cannon is Pinkie Pie's unique creation and the ultimate in party-creation magecraft. It actively shapes and converts the effects of Pinkie's Mad Enhancement Alter, allowing her to decorate a convention-class venue with just three shots, distributing decorations and party-favors with perfect accuracy. In times of danger, this mighty tool becomes a formidable weapon, with Pinkie being able to utilize it to subdue a platoon of enemies with a few well-placed shots.