Saber had to focus on Rider X reassuming his true form as he charged her. His hand seized her throat, the metallic spikes he had for fingers drawing blood as they found purchase. The Dark Star Saber hurtled in to split her in half, but she managed to deflect the swing with Excalibur before a chain from Assassin X wound itself around Rider X's wrist. Rather than try and slip away, Saber kicked at his wounded leg, causing him to lurch forward, then she drove her sword into Rider X's chest and heaved him with all her strength over her shoulder.
Megatron crashed headfirst into the hall's roof, his weight and Saber's strength sending him on downwards. Archer smirked at the upstart's fall, only to realize Assassin X had somehow wound the other end of his chain around his ankle. A curse sounding slightly like a yelp escaped him as he was pulled after his nemesis. The final two Servants exchanged a nod before jumping through the same hole. They reached the auditorium in time to find Rider X furiously flinging Archer off of him, the Dark Star Saberback at the ready.
For a moment, all four Servants simply stood panting in the large hall. In this brief lull of peace, the accumulated fatigue from tonight's wounds and efforts washed over each of them, forcing them to stop and catch their breath. Even Archer was standing slightly askew, a hand pressed over the gash in his abdomen. Even so, not a single one was about to surrender.
The Holy Grail hovered above a small altar on the hall's stage. For something three of the Servants had coveted, it was rather small. Aside from being (apparently) solid gold and lined with jewels and some embroidery, the Grail looked like an ordinary chalice. Yet they could all sense the magic it radiated, a force beckoning them to pick it up, to claim it and see the wish that had brought them here fulfilled.
Two particular Servants, however, picked up something else in the sensation: the whisper of a familiar presence. "Irisviel…" Saber mumbled, glancing over to her partner who confirmed with a sad nod. The Sharingan could easily discern hints of their friend's od mixed in amidst the Grail's presence, and it didn't take a genius to figure out she was no longer of this world.
For the duo, it was all the more reason to defeat Archer and Rider X and win the Holy Grail. That was the best way to honor her memory. Kakashi couldn't ignore what Kiritsugu had told him, though. If there really is an evil inside the Grail, Irisviel would've died for nothing. …Like hell am I letting that happen.
Assassin X was the first to notice their audience of one. Kiritsugu Emiya stood among the upper seats, his dark eyes silently trained on the object he'd coveted for so long. Even now, he could feel its energy prickling against him, a pushing away where the Servants would be drawn in. That was to be expected, of course. He'd rejected the Grail, so in turn, it rejected him. He wouldn't lie and say he didn't deserve that or what had caused these circumstances.
When the Servants began to make their next moves, Saber noticed as well, but in her case, she sensed his presence through their contract. The Command Seals Kiritsugu had carried on his right arm for nine years glowed with mana. "By the authority of Kiritsugu Emiya and the power of the Command Seal…" He assessed the situation, weighed his options, and decided on the best course of action. "Saber, defend your comrade at all costs."
New strength surged inside the King of Knights' veins. She didn't know what exactly Kakashi or Kiritsugu were planning, and she still didn't fully trust the latter. But at least this command was one Saber had no issues with. Her sword flared anew as she gathered her mana. This time, there was no wide battlefield, no buildings full of innocent bystanders to keep her from unleashing her full wrath on these fiends.
Rider X and Archer turned their heads up to where Emiya stood. As each surmised, Saber's newfound energy came from her Master, and judging by his posture, Assassin X was sure to receive a boost. The Dark Star Saber released an energy wave to tear the human asunder, but its enemy intercepted it even as it grew brighter. "Excalibur!" Saber called as she advanced.
"How many more of you mongrels will persist in meddling with my wedding?!" Archer grumbled before reaching into a freshly spawned portal. There were many armaments in "The King's Treasury" so many that even Kenpachi Zaraki had not seen all of them while having the longest and most intense battle with the King of Heroes. Yet the one Archer withdrew now was one Saber recognized instinctively. "Merodach…" She murmured to herself; that blade was the forebearer of legendary "Swords of Selection" such as the one Artoria herself had drawn from the stone. If she were to face it with Caliburn, she would most assuredly fall.
But the sword in her hands was Excalibur, and here and now, with the Holy Grail on the line, Kakashi having her back, and Kiritsugu actually supporting her for once, King Arthur was willing and eager to test her strength against that dreaded blade. Wiping Archer and his lustful stares from the face of this planet was just a delightful bonus.
So, her blade met his, and the auditorium shuddered from the clash.
Kiritsugu kept his balance, though, and didn't take his eyes off of Rider X. The damage visible across his body confirmed he wasn't in top shape, and with Saber facing Archer in front of him, his way to the Grail was barred. Good. He took a long breath. Truth be told, the Mage Killer had contemplated just summoning Kakashi Hatake to the hall with one Seal and having him destroy the Grail with the last. It would be simpler than explaining everything, and… the blame would fall to him alone. No need to risk jeopardizing his Servants' friendship.
But every time Kiritsugu opened his mouth to make the command… he saw himself stabbing Kakashi dead again.
I'm a pathetic fool. It was the truth Kiritsugu had to face, and he couldn't do this without Kakashi's help, but… he couldn't force Kakashi to dirty his hands with this ultimate sin. He needed Kakashi to understand… and consent. At that moment, the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village looked up to him, closed his eyes… and nodded once. Kiritsugu sighed. 'Sorry you and Saber had me for a Master… and thank you.'
"Kakashi Hatake, by the power of the Command Seal…" The magical markings on Kiritsugu's left hand lit up. "Use your Noble Phantasm and destroy the Holy Grail."
You could've heard a pin drop in the hall. Rider X, Saber and Archer, even the latter two's swords seemed to be frozen in space. Three pairs of eyes stared wide at the man who had just said that command of damnation, then they slowly turned to its recipient.
Assassin X's left eye shifted promptly into the Mangekyō Sharingan as he trained it on the chalice. "Yes, Master."
Saber almost broke her stance in horror, but the Command Seal's effect hampered any attempts she might've made to interfere. She could've tried fighting it off, her Magic Resistance was strong enough for that. But as she stared at the red spiral on the back of her friend's vest, she recalled the question he'd asked her moments ago. 'Do you trust me?'
If Kiritsugu Emiya had asked Artoria Pendragon that, she probably couldn't have answered. But Kakashi Hatake? He had earned her trust a dozen times over throughout this Grail War. 'You have a plan, don't you?'
'More of a gambit, really,' he admitted over their link.
Still, she nodded and turned back towards their enemies. 'Then go for it.'
With that final encouragement, Assassin X activated Kamui. A dimensional spiral emerged by the Grail, increasing in size and speed with each revolution. Soon, the chalice began to be sucked in. And that was a sight Megatron refused to accept. "You think I'll stand by and let you-" But Saber twisted the swords so their energies lacing off barred his way.
Thus, there was no one to interfere with "Authority of the Gods" slowly sucking up the Grail like flotsam down a drain. And once it was pulled inside the other dimension, no one, not even Assassin X, would be able to access it. The Copy Ninja forced himself to draw out his jutsu, though, despite the Seal's pushing him to just get it over with. He was betting on the evil Kiritsugu had told him about as much as he was on his own power. If whatever's inside the Grail really is alive… sentient… it will want to survive. It will have to fight back.
And sure enough, a black mass poured down in front of the Grail, cutting off Assassin X's line of sight. More… ooze followed, splashing into the hall and spreading across the stage's floor. Rider X and even the dueling Servants soon took notice of it. But it didn't originate from the chalice sitting there all innocently, but above. As the closest, Assassin X was the first to peer up through the freshly made, widening hole in the ceiling, and he saw it:
A dark mass streaming like a waterfall towards them. It carried… hatred. Envy. Despair. Lust. Rage. Every single evil impulse ever felt by a person before… all condensed in a formless state and ready to be given form. Or perhaps calling a black hole it would've been more appropriate. Saber couldn't help but stop and stare, and it nearly cost her victory. She barely parried Archer's attack, rattled as she was by this darkness. 'Kakashi… I-is that…'
'Why he commanded me to destroy the Grail?' Assassin X finished for her, himself more than a bit rattled. '…Pretty much.' He noted how Rider X seemed the least disgusted in the presence, then switched channels. 'It took the bait. Now help me get rid of it, Kiritsugu!'
The Master had stiffened involuntarily at the sight of the darkness, memories of his repeated killings flooding back to him. His Servant's cool voice snapped him out of it, but the words still rattled him. 'Wait, what?' He tried to keep his panic out of his telepathic message. 'I told you, Kakashi, we have to destroy it and the Grail! You don't know what this ting's capable of!'
'And I have no intention of finding out.' Assassin X tore himself long away from aiming Kamui at the Grail to send a high-pressure jet of water laced with lightning Rider X's way. it wasn't strong enough to stop him, but it would keep him back for a little while. 'We still have a chance now that it's out in the open. Use the other Seal, make me seal away the… mud with my Kamui. Artoria and I can still make our wishes, and so can you-'
'No, I can't.' Defeat rang out through their connection like a heavy bell. He looked up in shock to see Kiritsugu turn away, a single tear trickling down his cheek. 'My wish, it's… it's no good. I can't save the world matter what I do.' He turned back, his eyes the hollowest Kakashi had ever seen of them. 'But… we can't let this fall into the wrong hands. We can't.'
Assassin X stared at him a moment longer, then the Command Seal made him turn back and renew his efforts to warp the Grail away. And like a trapped animal, the evil fought back. Meanwhile, Kiritsugu kept talking hopelessly, even if he didn't use his last Seals yet. 'You don't even know if you can… purge it, do you? The Grail won't do me any good either way, so how do you know yours and Saber's will still be granted exactly the way you want it to? How do you know you can make your dreams worthwhile? …How can you still have faith?'
'Because I haven't come this far to give up on the Grail or you now,' Kakashi steered all of his will into that single point, even as the mud tried to envelop him with every passing second, 'and I made a promise to your little girl that she'd see you again.'
Kiritsugu hesitated. He knew better than this, right? Even without Angra Mainyu, the Grail would still require a method for him to properly give his wish, and for the life of him, he still couldn't imagine any other way than what he'd been shown. His dream was over… but Illya's giggling face flashed before his eyes. He could trade her for the Grail… spare her Iri's fate. It might work, but did he really deserve-'Rather than give up on your dream, maybe you should try having some faith, Kiritsugu!' That was Kakashi, always stepping into his plans and shaking them up. But it never did any harm… 'If not in yourself, then how about me?'
Kakashi's words ringing in his head along with Illya, Kiritsugu invoked his next Command.
"By the power of my Command Seal, Saber, win!" It was a simple order and therefore all the easier to draw strength from. Not to mention the King of Knights had zero objections to seeing it through.
So, she channeled all of the additional power into that already residing inside her blade. "EX…CALIBUR!" A pillar of light erupted from her, sending Archer toppling backwards in a desperate effort to hold Merodach upright, and Saber pressed on.
"The Original Sin's" light blazed brightly, yet it was still slowly being eclipsed by that of the "Sword of Promised Victory." A cursing Archer gripped with both hands as tightly as possible, calling up more blades to try and push Saber back, but she persisted. She was clearly putting every last speck of her strength and that of the Command Seals into this single strike, multiplying Excalibur's already considerable power exponentially.
No to mention Archer's form holding Merodach was quite sloppy. So great was his concentration on resisting this onslaught, he nearly didn't notice the portal opening by his right hand. Archer glanced down surprised. When did I-Peeking out of the golden light was a handle he knew verywell. Ea…
The Gate's deepest area had yet to be locked again with Bab-ilu, but when had he decided to summon the "Sword of Rupture?" Why would he, even? The power of Excaliburwas certainly impressive and increasing Saber's splendor all the more, and yes, Ea at full strength could still dominate it even with these conditions. But why bother with it now? Was this situation so threatening to Archer that he saw no other way to resolve it than like he had with Kenpachi…?
…No. He snapped the portal shut and returned his attention to Saber's light. The King had already unveiled Ea once in this War to prove his superiority (albeit the situation then had been justified). He didn't need to deal with his bride-to-be's tantrum; he preferred her body intact for the official ceremony, after all. He'd settle this some other way.
Eyeing this clash of Noble Phantasms, Kiritsugu returned his attention to the Grail, the mud and his… his friend's attempts to take the latter away from the former. He took a breath, then made his ultimate decision. "By the power of my last Command Seal, purge the Grail of the evil within, Kakashi!"
That was all Assassin X needed to direct his gaze at the black sun above, the mud struggling fiercely against its fate. Blood began to trickle like tears from Assassin X's left eye, the sheer strain of his task nearly blinding him. But he pushed through it all to open up Kamui as far as it would go and collect every last drop of Angra Mainyu. He had made it this far, nearly died once in the process, but Artoria and Irisviel had saved him then. Artoria was giving it her all behind him right now. Maiya had supported him every step of the way, placed her last hopes in him. Even Kiritsugu was holding onto a tiny shred of hope for him to pull off an impossible miracle. And his students… his idiot kids… they were waiting for him on the other side.
With all these prayers behind him… What else could Kakashi Hatake do but keep going?
Unfortunately, someone else was behind him, too. Rider X stalked towards the shinobi. The foolish Kings were keeping each other tied to their battle of will, and Assassin X needed to keep his focus on sealing the Grail's power away, rendering them incapable of stopping him in this moment. However, his actions didn't go unnoticed by the sole human in the hall.
Even years later, Kiritsugu wasn't quite sure what compelled him in the actions he took then.
Maybe it was simple pragmatism, the knowledge that with Saber busy holding Gilgamesh off, nothing would stop that sludge if Kakashi fell.
Maybe it was a desire for retribution against this titanic monster who had caused him, his Servants and many others in this War so much fear and pain.
Or maybe… maybe this would prove to be the first truly heroic act Kiritsugu Emiya had ever committed in his wretched, misguided life: Protecting a friend from a terrible evil.
Rider X for his part paid the final Master no mind. Emiya still being alive proved Kirei had fallen to him, and that was an honest shame to the foreign Servant, but such was life. Besides, the fact the Holy Grail was still accessible meant Emiya hadn't claimed it. No, he refused to claim it. All that hard work, all the sacrifices, and he wants to destroy it,Megatron scoffed as he raised the Dark Star Saber. In the end, he is too weak to see his goals through. Just another human. He turned his back on Emiya to cut down Assassin X; the Servant was preoccupied with swallowing up the Grail, Saber was holding off Gilgamesh, and no pathetic human could ever harm Rider X.
That turned out to be the worst mistake the Decepticon could've made.
Just as his right arm had reached its apex for the killing blow, something small but sturdy struck it right below the fusion cannon. Rider X had little time to register this impact as four others just like it occurred across his back. It wasn't as though they were particularly powerful; even without Dark Energon's supplement, his Cybertronian armor had weathered blows from the biggest and strongest of foes, energy blasts, meteorite collisions, and explosions of plasma. Yet some sensation Megatron didn't recognize began to wash over him, causing him to stumble a bit. "…What is this?" He glared over his shoulder and found the culprit. Well, to be accurate, culprits.
Five Kiritsugu Emiya's stood aiming their Thompson Contenders at the monstrous Servant's back, smoke wafting from the barrels. Even as Rider X stumbled to turn towards them, the Mage Killer and his Shadow Clones chanted in unison, "Time alter: Square accel!" Mana surged painfully through their bodies, but as one, they powered through it to remove the spent bullets and load fresh ones in. Two-fifths of a second later, they fired anew.
Their quadruple speed left little room to aim properly, but with their kind of ammunition and against a body as large as Megatron's, it mattered little where the rounds hit. One struck the left side of his chest, another his abdomen, two the Dark Star Saber at different spots. The dreaded blade vibrated heavily as cracks spread across its surface, then it shattered into pieces with a keening wail.
The original Kiritsugu felt cold satisfaction at watching the Origin Round he fired sink into Rider X's right eye.
The clones dissipated in a sequence of smoke clouds upon firing their guns, leaving behind a staggered Kiritsugu Emiya. His insides were on fire from the effects of Square accel, multiplied by five due to the Shadow Clone Jutsu's effects, but Avalon would take care of him. Besides, if one were to ask him how he felt in that moment, he'd have smirked and said, "You should see the other guy," as his bullets took their effect on Megatron.
As a Conceptual Weapon, the Origin Rounds of the Mage Killer could indeed affect supernatural beings like the Servants. How potent their Severing-and-Binding properties were depended on their target, though, and Kiritsugu doubted a single Round would do little more than inconvenience one with the fortitude Rider X boasted. TenRounds, on the other hand…
Saber and Assassin X both fought to maintain their concentration and press on even as a sound escaped Rider X's mouth, a sound no one had ever head the founder and leader of the Decepticons make before, a sound that would surely echo across all of the city hall, perhaps beyond into Shinto:
"AAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!"
Even as the all-powerful light of Excalibur moved ever closer to him, Archer couldn't help but smirk in appreciation. A bit one-noted, but a delectable song to hear…
Assassin X paid it little mind; he could barely hear anything anyway. A primal screech emanated from the mud as it was swept away in the spirals of Kamui, but he powered through his bleeding ears to slam the warp shut in its putrid face. Tendrils lashed out to snag the walls and ground only to be pulled in as well, pieces of masonry flying after it. Then the vortex closed like a fist, trapping it inside even as its creator pitched forward in exhaustion.
His scream ended, Megatron collapsed on one knee trembling in rage and agony. Blue and dark-violet liquids burst from his mouth. He could feel a savage war coursing through his body because of those blasted bullets, but that was not even the worst of it. No, the damage inflicted upon his physical and spiritual form paled when faced with the knowledge of who had inflicted it.
He had envisioned it so beautifully: The inglorious demise of the worm Assassin X, cutting down the King of Knights in a clash of blades, crushing the pompous King of Heroes' skull beneath his heel. Then he would hoist the Holy Grail aloft in triumph, bathing in its energies to become the strongest being the multiverse had ever known, a true King of Conquerors!
And now this?!
Victory denied yet again? But if he was destined to fall, should it not be by the will of a great warrior, a legend his equal? How could he, the destined ruler of Cybertron, possibly suffer such pain at the hands of a soulless killer?! A pathetic rat deluding himself as a savior?! A mere human?!
"You… How dare you…" Sole eye blazing between crimson and violet, the Servant of the Mount lifted what remained of his greatest Noble Phantasm and pulled himself up towards the cold-eyed Master. "Kiritsugu Emiya…" his denta ground through each word, then he bellowed his fury across the room. "YOU WILL SUFFER FOR THIS!"
The Magus Killer merely glared back as he reloaded his Contender again…
"…Agreed." Only to freeze up along with everyone else at the voice.
Assassin X had picked himself off the carpeted floor, kunai in hand to put down Megatron for good. But now he couldn't move a muscle save for the ones in his neck, and they felt so rusty as he slowly turned towards the spot he'd stared at for so long. "No…" he whispered in mounting horror. "It can't be…"
"Fools…" Another whisper answered him, but not from the space where Kamui had claimed the mud… but from the Holy Grail. "…You thought… you could simply… exorcise me…"A whisper that grew darker and harsher with every word. "Cast me from this world…" A hairline crack emerged down the Grail's side. "And claim your prize?"
Noble though Assassin X's efforts were, he had regrettably underestimated how deep the connection ran between the Grail and the evil dwelling within it. Angra Mainyu remained bound to the omnipotent device that had first summoned, then housed it, even when being warped away to another dimension. Through sheer dark will, it clawed its way back across the planes to this world… through its anchor.
"Well then. COME AND CLAIM IT!" The Holy Grail shattered, and pure darkness blasted out.
Having poured all of their mana into their Noble Phantasms, Artoria Pendragon and Kakashi Hatake were swiftly expelled from this world with the initial shockwave. That same force blew Kiritsugu off his feet and against the wall, stunning him for a little while, but his position spared him like his Servants from the tidal wave of mud that followed.
Neither Megatron nor Gilgamesh were so lucky. In their battered states, neither could react in time to escape the mud engulfing them. Soon, they were both broken down and one with the blackness even as it swept through the building like napalm. Walls and the floor were consumed, and the entire city hall began to crumble to nothing. Kiritsugu barely regained his senses to scramble through the first floor and jump out a window before it all fell apart.
He managed a landing without injury, but that was the last mercy he received that night. For he had to watch with open horror as Fuyuki burned around him.
Far, far away, a little girl woke up with a squeak of fright. Her red eyes darted about the dark room, but there was no one there. Just her in the big bed, the snow falling gently outside. She wrapped herself in the covers and tried to stop shivering, half of it from the cold despite the fireplace crackling with life, half of it from… something else.
"Illya? What's wrong, dear?"
She snapped her head up and looked around again. "M-Mama…?" Weird… Even though it looked like she was all alone… She felt like there was someone with her. Her mother watching over her like she always would. The bond of a mother and a daughter. Special, too.
Illyasviel von Einzbern took a breath to steady herself, then she did what she always did in a situation like this: She confided in her Mama. "I… I had a bad dream. I dreamed I turned… into a cup." She shuffled about in her sheets, feeling her mother wrap her arms around her.
"Seven big things… no… Fourteen big things… some bigger than others… were put in me. I felt like I-I was breaking, but… I couldn't move. Couldn't run away… Kiritsugu was there, Kakashi, too… Kakashi was doing… something… And Kiritsugu… protected him. There was a really, really big man…" She shuddered. "No… not a man. Metal on the outside… black on the inside. He… he was in pain… He was yelling at Kiritsugu…
"Then I thought I heard Justeaze… A big black hole opened up above me… The world was on fire… and Kiritsugu…" The daughter sniffled at the memory. "Kiritsugu was crying."
Her father wasn't a man who teared up easily, Illya knew that much. Oh, he showered her with love and snuggles, and he'd make a funny face when she said or did something, but it was really, really hard to get him to cry. Not that Illya tried to that much. She didn't like seeing him sad.
But he was far away from her. Fighting in another land… with that funny man she met just before Kiritsugu and Mama had left. Kakashi… a nice guy. He reminded Illya a little of Kiritsugu, they had similar looks in their eyes…
"Mama…" She glanced up to where her mother should be. "Kiritsugu's going to be okay, right? He… he won't be all alone and scared… will he?"
The little girl felt her embrace grow a little snugger. "Don't worry," her mother's voice soothed her nerves. "That stubborn man will never give up. There's nothing he wouldn't do for you, Illya. He'll do everything in his power… so you'll never have another scary dream again. And he's not alone."
Illya cuddled into her mother's embrace, her worries melting away like the snow outside. "Yeah, Kakashi said he'd be helping him. He promised me he'd make sure Kiritsugu would come back to me… Kiritsugu said so himself."
She looked one last time out the window, eagerly awaiting the moment her father would be home again.
He did not know where he was. Everywhere he looked, he saw only darkness. Darkness so thick he couldn't move so much as a muscle. An… irksome position for him to be in.
Sins raged about him, ranging from petty little things like bribery or disrespect to lying and stealing and bearing false witness to murder and bullying and abandonment. All of them crimes demanding to be made real, demanding attention like mewling newborns.
Who could bear them all? Who could accept all of these dark things the world liked to pretend didn't exist even when they transpired across it? Who could accept this was right?
Amidst the swirling maelstrom of black incorrectness… two distinct voices cried out.
One beckoned to the darkness, claimed it would make for the perfect weapon against all of creation.
The other simply accepted, happily declaring he could bear it all easily. He was the King, after all.
These two voices, so loud, so different from everything else including each other… they had no place submerged in the darkness. No, they strove to rise up and command it. Thus, the mud could not keep them contained.
And there was one other person who found their fate changed…
-03:11:56
Kirei Kotomine sucked in a heavy breath and gasped it out. Once again, he awoke to find himself in the city hall's storage room, but Kiritsugu Emiya was nowhere to be found. He patted his body, feeling no traces of any injuries whatsoever. Judging from the scorch marks on the ground, though, he ought to have been in considerably more pieces right now. But even the final wound inflicted by Emiya's gun didn't exist. Not even a trace.
Kirei stood up with ease, prodding himself all the while. Not a speck of pain anywhere, Magic Circuits fully functional, too. Even his remaining Command Seals continued to adorn his arm. The Dark Energon remained inside him as well, slumbering rather peacefully in his soul and ready to awaken at a nudge. Kirei did no such thing, though. As a man of the church, tempering his own desires was a fundamental task, and he needed no outside help to understand what he wanted. Not anymore.
That's when the priest noticed a bit of sweat trickling down his arm. It wasn't from fear or excitement, though, he recognized it as a simple chemical reaction to an outside phenomenon. In this case, the air seemed rather hot. Kirei could also pick up an unusual smell, one that he still recognized: The burning of human fat.
Curious, he wandered after the smell and quickly found himself outside. "You're quite thoughtful for the migraine you are." Archer greeted him from his spot. Seated casually atop a pile of rubble, not a speck of clothing on him. Even his hair was down, obscuring most of his forehead save for the scar Berserker X had bestowed upon him. "I nearly had to venture in there and dig you out of the rubble, but then you find your way out of your own accord." The King of Heroes seemed in an absolutely pleasant mood, nonetheless.
"Gilgamesh," Kirei bowed his head to him absentmindedly, his eyes drawn to the utter chaos surrounding them. "What happened?" He eyed himself again, noting his heart hadn't produced a single beat since he woke up. "I was… blown to pieces. Did you restore me?"
The Servant shrugged. "Not me, the mud released me only a few seconds ago." No, Kirei realized with a second glance, Gilgamesh was no longer a Servant. He seemed to be… human. "It seems the heavens seek for me to grace this era with my presence and rule once again. And as a side effect of our contract, you regained your life and your body intact."
He nodded silently at this information -the Grail's energy was a sort of life support for him, then- before pausing at a discrepancy. "In that case… is Megatron here as well? He was my Servant far longer than you were."
Gilgamesh scoffed. "That upstart would never be gifted the same blessing as I. He was also severely injured in the final clash, more so than me. Most likely, he was flung back to his own universe after having been such a blight upon mine." His smile sharpened as his red eyes scanned the area. "On the topic of blights, I confess to being vexed, nonetheless. To think we had all spent so much time fighting over that thing, believing it would answer our prayers. A paltry story straight to the bitter end."
Kirei's attention drifted from his lifeless yet living body to their surroundings and back again, his thoughts going in circles as he processed what had happened. He still remembered learning of the Grail's true nature, its rejection by the man it had chosen, his death which followed swiftly… "All other Servants have fallen," Gilgamesh continued, regaining his attention, "leaving only you and me as the victors. So, you simply need to see this scene from another perspective, Kirei."
The King of Heroes nodded his head at the hell all around him. "If the Grail truly can make its victor's wish reality, then you see before you, Kirei Kotomine, is what you seek from the bottom of your heart."
Somehow, the priest knew exactly what his Servant, no, his friend was about to say. Flames crackling, dying screams on the breeze, the sky pitch black, a ruined landscape no matter in which direction he turned. So much death and destruction… Kirei had only seen it before in the memories of Rider X. As much as they had reviled them and their source, he had always been drawn to them every night.
Now, he had reached the same spot as Megatron. He knew in his soul he had caused all of this. He had done so by placing his own selfish desires over that of everything else… and this was the result.
As tears gathered in his eyes, Kirei Kotomine couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so joyously.
He doubled over, holding his sides in utter mirth. "Wh-wh-what is wrong with me?" he gasped out through his chortles. "Destruction… evil… this is my wish?" He raised his head to drink in the terrible sight before him. "All of this… is my heart's desire?!"
He swept his hand out to encircle the two. "This is why I ended up calling forth a being like Megatron? Is this the answer of the son of Risei Kotomine?" Another round of giggles burst out of him as he tried to turn away. "No… that can't be right! Or can it?" Something tingled and danced inside his chest. A familiar presence. "Ah, Dark Energon… Are you happy to be inside of me? Are you happy to know your host is such a despicable cretin?!"
Gilgamesh watched this odd battle between acceptance and rejection as Kirei's laughter echoed far and wide. What an odd end to a farce. "Are you satisfied, Kirei?" he asked softly.
Kirei finally regained some control over himself. Wiping away his tears and eyeing them, he decided: "No. This alone isn't enough." He jumped down from their spot and began to walk through the rubble, his smile wide as ever. "True, I've finally found the answer I've sought in a life full of questions, but this is just the answer. I took a shortcut and avoided all the effort in puzzling out the answer for myself." He picked out a red cloth from the wreckage and turned back. "How am I supposed to be satisfied with such a result?"
Gilgamesh listened on even as he caught the cloth flung to him. "Somewhere inside the equation that led to such a vile reason exists a clear and simple reason. No," Kirei corrected himself, "there has to be. I must keep searching and experimenting, even if it takes me all of my life." Thus, he had fully begun the journey Megatron had counseled him on. The priest and the conqueror were different in so many ways, but therein lay what had brought them together:
A refusal to simply accept any answer given to them, and the will to find their answers no matter the effort needed. Or the lives lost.
"Megatron was an ambitious fool, but I must agree with him on one thing." The being formerly known as Archer covered his nude form, pleased himself at the relaxed smile Kirei sported. "You never cease to exceed expectations. Very well." He, too, rose to his feet. "Your pursuit of answers would run right through the gods. So, I, Gilgamesh, shall bear witness to your quest."
Kirei nodded in concession to the King's decree, his smile settling into a straight line as he remembered a certain name: Angra Mainyu. The thing that had brought about this destruction in answer to Kirei's heart. The thing that had restored him, perhaps because it sensed a kindred spirit in him. One day, it will return again. I must be there when it does, he vowed to himself as they began walking through the ruins. I must see the birth of All the World's Evil, the proof of its existence.
Glass crunched underneath him with every step, but the Executor's honed ears still picked up other footsteps. He turned to see Kiritsugu Emiya standing a ways off from him but facing him. There's no way he couldn't have seen Kirei. Kirei readied his body, stiff though it was, as the man drew nearer. Dark Energon rippled inside him, eager for more slaughter. Come.
Emiya stared at him a second longer… then looked away. Kirei watched befuddled as the Mage Killer staggered about, eyes drifting dully from one spot to the next. He sank to his knees and began digging about with a strange energy, seemingly unaware of the danger not far from him. Perhaps he really is unaware, Kirei wondered.
"What's the matter, Kirei?" Gilgamesh called over to him, snapping him from his musings.
Kirei Kotomine watched his nemesis root about in the rubble, feeling his interest ebb. Kiritsugu Emiya had never held the answers he'd sought. It had simply been his own misunderstanding that had brought the two men into conflict. Thus, he turned his back. "It's nothing."
Gilgamesh obviously didn't care, for he was walking off again. "Well, this also proves without a shred of doubt that Iam the victor of our game, upstart." He bragged to himself, spring in his step growing more noticeable with each word. "I remain standing while all that is left of you is your memories. What an inglorious end for such a proud conqueror."
Kirei wondered about that, though. After all, there was a saying about eggs and baskets…
-02:04:48
"NO! I will not be denied a second time! I refuse to accept my defeat at his hands! I STILL FUNCTION!"
…Happy to hear that. And you may prove the victor yet…
Such were the words to the forefront of Megatron's mind just before he awoke. He groaned as his vision shifted through one blurry image to the next, then it finally resolved itself.
The Decepticon found himself outside on a battered street. "By the Allspark…" he pushed himself up grumbling while rubbing his head. His servos were probably still recalibrating themselves because he registered a… fuzziness from the action. "What happened…?"
Welcome back, Megatron.
He stilled at the voice having freshly implanted itself in his memories. He didn't bother looking around for the source, it was not a voice you could hear with your ears. No, it resonated inside his mind and his soul. "Angra Mainyu, I presume," Megatron replied nonetheless in a verbal manner. It could surely hear him, after all. "All the World's Evil… Yet another lofty title for a dweller of such a damp, puny world."
Charming as always, I see, the entity "replied" with a little testiness. While your spirit remained strong as ever, your body was in critical condition. Therefore, it took longer to restore it and reawaken you than expected.
Megatron nodded slowly at this, rising to his pedes. "So, if you have kept from returning to the Throne of Heroes, then it seems you still have need of me. Kiritsugu Emiya proved too soft-hearted for your taste, yes?"
Foreign anger prickled against his being. It seems he was too much for you, too.
"A… momentary setback," he snarled while looking about. The sky was still dark and the only humans he could spot were dead ones. He had yet to be spotted, then. Good. He made to walk down the street, considering his options of where would be a good place to reconvene. Kirei's church wasn't too far away, a quick jump with-
Megatron paused. Strange… He couldn't assume his Alt-Mode. And his steps were rather unsteady, come to think of it. If the Grail had returned him to this world, why did his legs feel so frail-
He tripped and nearly fell against a piece of smoldering rubble, his hands reaching out to arrest his fall. Megatron couldn't help but wince from the impact, though. What is the matter with- That's when he noticed his hands, no, his arms, too, they were much smaller than he remembered.
Fleshier, too.
"No…" Megatron pushed himself away from the rubble and stumbled about, refusing to look at the red droplets dripping down his fingers- No, those weren't his fingers, they couldn't be! They were far too slim, too frail, too, too- "This cannot be…"
He didn't know how far he had wandered before coming to a stop. Glancing about, the proud Heroic Spirit finally found a cracked piece of a mirror lying amidst the ravaged streets. He plucked it up and gazed at his reflection with mounting horror and fury… Then he screamed.
"NOOOOOOO!" He faced the glass again, but what he saw hadn't changed. Glaring back at him was a human face.
Megatron poked and prodded himself in hopes of dispelling the illusion or nightmare or whatever in the name of the Allspark this was, but his results only confirmed this grotesque image: silver hair curving down each side in front; sharp, angular cheekbones; bloody lips and teeth bared into a snarl that grew with each passing second; a single red eye blazing with hatred on his left while his right only had an empty socket stained with blood…
"What has happened to me?!" He glared down at himself to see the rest of his body had suffered the same transformation. His arms, his legs, his torso, it was all organic now. Revoltingly so, as the appendage swinging between his legs confirmed. "What have you done to me?!"
I saved your life, Megatron, the voice answered him. Kiritsugu tore your body's insides to shreds. There was little left magically for me restore, so I had no choice but to make… alterations.
"Alterations?!" The former Servant parroted in disgust. "You turned me into one of them! I am now but one more of the insects scuttling about on this miserable ball of mud!" He slammed his fist against a block of cinder, cracks forming at the point of impact. But Megatron could feel tiny fractures in his bones, and blood dripped from his torn skin.
His "benefactor" tutted in disappointment. Do take better care of yourself. I understand your reservations, but there is unfortunately little else I can do. The Grail has returned to its slumber and so will much of my power.How could the fool possibly understand, Megatron scoffed to himself. He glared down at his bloody knuckles. The strength he had honed in countless battles, the alt-mode that had allowed him to traverse the stars, even the Dark Energon he had subjugated and made his own… All of it…
Gone. Out of reach so long as he was trapped in this… lesser form. No need to fret, Megatron, he was told in a manner supposed to be reassuring. It wasn't. Under normal circumstances, the Holy Grail would require sixty years to accumulate the mana necessary for the next Grail War. But this War has ended… incompletely. I retain much of the energy you and the other Servants have yielded me.
"But not enough to fully manifest yourself… or grant my wish." Even without millennia of experience, he could easily see what the creature was alluding to. "How long will it take for the next War to begin?"
Oh, ten years at the most, I would say. Hardly any time, really. Megatron felt a curse on the edge of his tongue (yet another disgusting thing). Ten years mattered little to Angra Mainyu, he could simply float about inside the Greater Grail, twiddling his muddy little tentacles for his next chance. But to spend ten whole years trapped inside a human body, having to walk these filthy streets and mingle with the primitive organics, awaiting his next opportunity…
The sound of footsteps reached Megatron's audio process-ears, and he tore himself from his fury to spin about, bracing himself the best he could for battle. He half-expected to see Gilgamesh standing over him with a smirk of mockery; wringing his neck would've cheered him up considerably.
What he saw instead was Kiritsugu Emiya ambling about, a hollow look in his eye. Megatron recognized the look and his gait, it was one he'd seen on countless battlefields. Broken souls bereft of sense or purpose, wandering about on autopilot in hopes of finding something that could… release them. Well, as his fingers drifted to the empty eye socket in his head, the former Decepticon was more than happy to oblige him, his temper boiling red-hot at the man.
That's enough, Megatron, you and I have other matters to concern ourselves with. He is of no interest to us. But Megatron disagreed strongly with that assessment. He took my eye… Burning a hole into the back of that head with his glare, he reached down and picked up a sizable rock. Nice and heavy, sharp on one end… Perfect. He took my victory… He staggered towards the fool responsible for his humiliation. He took everything from me… I'll kill him!
He barely made it two steps before collapsing to his knees, one hand clamped over his chest. I said that's enough. A searing agony had erupted inside where his Spark had been, now, a different organic thing (a heart…?) pounded erratically inside. It felt like it would burst right through the feeble skin. The more he fought to get up and bash that wretched fool's skull in, the greater his insides burned. Meanwhile, a new message carved itself into his thoughts:
Do not forget that the only reason you remain in this world is due to my power, Megatron. Kiritsugu Emiya shall be punished in the manner I see fit, and unless you wish to share his fate, you will heed my words.
Humiliation after humiliation… The Cybertronian turned human relented in dropping the rock, though, and the pain in his chest promptly subsided. Nevertheless, he refused to be cowed so easily. "I remain in this world because you still require someone to help you birth into it. Given my circumstances, I have little choice save for compliance. But do not presume to give me orders. You have no concept of strategy; you are simply evil made manifest. You need me as much as I need you. Therefore, I shall be the one who plans our ultimate victory."
Angra Mainyu did not reply, having clearly accepted Megatron's logic. He got back up to a standing position, spared the distant form of Kiritsugu Emiya one final glare, then stalked off with a scoff into a different direction. There was more than one kind of revenge, and Megatron had grown well-versed in nearly all flavors through his life; Starscream had provided himself as an apt target for more than one of them. One way or another, he would make good on his promise to that sneaky rat. You will suffer for this, Emiya… You will suffer.
A few minutes of walking later, something buzzed past his face. "My, my, here's a face both new and familiar," a raspy old voice said to his right.
The former Rider was forced to turn his head to see his addresser, but he already knew who it was. "Zouken. Here to pick over the War's remains like a good little scavenger?"
"Well, you certainly retain some vitality, even if you're hardly the monster I first met some nights ago." Though he cackled at his own wit, the Matou patriarch himself had seen better days. Leaning heavily on his cane, Zouken's shoulders had shrunken together. More wrinkles than normal were scattered across his ancient face. His black eyes, though, burned with an odd sort of vitality. He then tossed over a bundle of grey cloth that his onetime partner caught easily. "Do cover yourself, Megatron. No matter what passed for etiquette on Cybertron, here, you simply cannot go walking nude around your fellow humans-"
Megatron shot a cold glare at him even while he wrapped himself in the cloth. "I am not human despite my appearance, Zouken, and you are all the more decrepit than when we first met. Mock me at your peril."
Zouken cracked his neck, a harsh snapping sound, and Blade Wing Worms chittered about him within seconds. "I may be a little weaker, but I am far from helpless. Frankly, I retain more of my strength between the two of us. Who knows how long you might last in your current state?"
"Then stop prattling and fight, Zouken," the ex-gladiator sneered, squaring his shoulders. "The longer I must remain in this form, the more I seek death. Mine or another's, it matters little to me."
The two squared off for a few seconds, then Zouken waved off his familiars with a sigh. "Relax, Megatron, expending our exhausted energy does neither of us any good. And I've never had any personal grievances against you, even if I prepared for your betrayal."
A half-smirk emerged on Megatron's lips. "And I for yours," he admitted casually. "Nothing personal, simply business." His anger slightly abating, he made to walk away. There was little point in continuing this conversation among the defeated, and he needed some peace and quiet to think, to plan. Where he would find that, though…
"Where do you intend to go?" Zouken called out to him, aware as well of Megatron's doubt. "You have some sort of safehouse prepared in case you lost the final battle?" Another cackle. "No, defeat likely never crossed your mind, let alone a situation like... this."
"I distinctly remember your house being reduced to a smoldering pile of rubble," Megatron shot back before gesturing to their surroundings. "It would certainly match the current ambience, but I fail to see what you have to offer me."
"So, you mean to return Kirei and… what? Beg him to take you in when you're like… this?" The old magus gestured to the covered sweating bleeding body that looked as though it wanted to strangle him. "In your current state, you have very little to offer anyone, let alone the man you've spent so much time grooming into your protégé. Truth be told, I'mhardly in a charitable position myself, and one needsresources to win the Holy Grail War.
"Still, you did kill Caster X… though if you had done so at an earlier stage, maybe we would both be in better circumstances." Zouken only received an unapologetic huff in response. "Like it or not, the best option right now for you and I is to maintain our friendship."
Megatron eyed him warily. "You know of the Grail's current… condition, then."
Zouken nodded once. "I had my suspicions since the beginning of this Grail War, though I hadn't quite imagined this outcome. Seeing as you still stand before me," the ex-Servant brushed away some actual insects scuttling about near him, "and my darlings do detect some residual power on you, it may yet be of use to us." His cane tapped along the scorched street as they stepped closer. "And we can still be of use for one another. There is no one who understands the Grail's system better than I, and there is no being in this world whose talent and appetite for warfare matches yours. When the next Holy Grail War begins, it will end with you and I the victors, but only if we work together." He shrugged. "Come now, Megatron. You have nothing left to lose … and everything to gain."
Megatron wanted to dismiss the offer; he had always succeeded on his own terms before. He had taken what he needed, fought for anything worthwhile, and built himself an empire with the spoils. But in his present, fragile condition, with nothing but the cloak on his back and the schemes inside his mind… could he afford dismissing Zouken? Ten years was but a blink of an eye to a Cybertronian, but Megatron was a Cybertronian no longer. He required resources… and if the Magus Association were to find him… he'd become just another of their experiments…
He glared one final time at his red-stained human hands… useless, weak little things… and dropped them with a bitter sigh. "Very well." He turned to Zouken. "Given the circumstances, there is indeed little else either of us can do other than stand together…"
Megatron's sole eye raised up to the remains of the great fire that had sundered the city. "And prepare." He vowed then and there it would be a mere spark in comparison to the inferno he would unleash once his time had come.
And it would come, regardless of how long he had to wait, ten years or ten million. It. Would. Come.
Years later, people would still speak of the great fire that had ravaged Fuyuki City that night. Damage assessment would report the destruction of 134 buildings and nearly four hundred lives lost. Ironically, the happenings of the past few days had led to a small but noticeable fraction of Fuyuki's population temporarily vacating their homes, thereby reducing the casualty rate somewhat. It was a cold comfort, though, for the survivors and family members and loved ones of those lost.
Kiritsugu Emiya found little solace as well, wandering dazedly along the streets. His eyes glanced about in desperation, trying to find some sign of life. Anything to keep himself from contemplating the absolute catastrophe he had caused. How could I… All these people…
Men. Women. Children. Infants… He had pulled burning bodies from the water, kicked open scorched doors, lifted broken young bodies while screaming his lungs raw for someone, anyone to help… but all he found was death. He dug and dug and dug into the smoldering earth and only had ashes to show for his efforts. A fitting metaphor for his life's work.
Kiritsugu finally stopped digging, his trembling hands shifting into the clone sign. Three clones burst into life around him, and they all staggered off in different directions while crying. He, the original, couldn't fault them for that. This… this was all his fault. He should've stopped this, stopped himself… Instead, he had forced Kakashi to try and clean up a hopeless mess. And Saber, the good comrade Kiritsugu wasn't, had added her own strength to Kakashi's. They had pressed on to make the impossible possible… and he'd failed them.
In another setting, the Mage Killer would've grudgingly accepted this state. Tragic though the fire was, it was still preferable in such a "small" setting. But faced with the full reality of what had transpired of his way of thinking, of the memories from inside the tainted Grail, Kiritsugu could only weep in despair as his clones reappeared, nothing to show for their, for his efforts. What was it all for?! The sacrifices… Iri, Maiya, Kakashi… Illya?
He weakly pulled himself up, the image of his daughter all that gave him the tiniest bit of strength. He… he wanted to see her again. But… he couldn't do that… he couldn't call himself the father of such a sweet, innocent thing… without doing something right.
The four Kiritsugu's pressed on, widening their search as best as they could. The fires had died out, leaving only embers and smoldering rubble. Fittingly, Kiritsugu's own flame was on the verge of sputtering out. He wasn't even sure anymore what he had hoped to find when he went on this mad dash through these streets. "Perhaps…" One of his clones (or was it him? He couldn't be sure at the moment) paused, then went on. "Perhaps this would be time better spent preparing for the Einzberns. Justabacht still expects the Holy Grail delivered, after all."
"Illya…" another clone(?) muttered. "She's probably lonely as hell right now. She gets nightmares so easily…"
"She'll have climbed into our bed by now. Pretending we're still with her, even if… even if…"
The conversation trickled away as four identical men continued their search. No matter how fruitless it seemed, even with every last weight in this world pressing down on them, they walked. They searched as despair hung over them darker than the clouds above. After what seemed like hours, the man that was Kiritsugu Emiya began to hang his head in utter defeat-
A couple of pebbles rolled to a stop by his foot. "Hey!" He heard his voice call out and snapped his head up to see his duplicate pointing at something. The other two were already rushing over, and so was he a second later.
It was a hand. A tiny hand reaching out of the rubble.
Kiritsugu stumbled to its side just as it began to fall, the other Kiritsugu's hastily digging around it. He grabbed the hand tightly with his own, his heart leaping at the weak pulse against his skin. It seemed with each passing second. No… Don't give up… Don't give up!
He quickly added his own efforts to the dig, and the poor boy was nearly completely unearthed when a heavy groaning rang out. Kiritsugu snapped his head up in horror to find a heavy steel beam leaning over them. Probably part of a bigger foundation, judging by the cement still clinging to it. Damaged by the napalm-like ooze that had struck it, it began to topple over towards them-
Kiritsugu's Shadow Clones didn't even hesitate. All three threw themselves against the metal, pushing it back even as its heat sizzled against their coats. "Get him out of there!" One called to their source in desperate hope. "Now!" Kiritsugu didn't bother with trepidation or words of gratitude. They were his clones, after all. They knew what he'd say. They'd say the same.
By the time the clones' strength had given out and the beam fell down, kicking up ashes and dust in its wake, he had brought the boy to relative safety. "It's okay…" He stroked the red hair caked with ashes and some blood. "You're going to be… okay…"
Poor kid… probably seven years old at the most. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, but Kiritsugu saw his mouth quivering… and only a tiny wheeze came out. Not even a real cough but blood trickled from his lip. "No…" Kiritsugu carefully probed his body. "H-hang on…" Internal bleeding? Broken ribs? A collapsed lung? W-What is it, what can I do…? Panic began to surge through him, but the Mage Killer's thought process reminded him of his assets. He didn't just have a trick or two from Kakashi.
Even as he summoned Avalon, he wondered, Would it work? It needs Saber's mana, otherwise, it's just a fancy sheath… With trembling hands, he placed the fabled relic onto the tiny body, willing it to be absorbed. I… I have to try…
A glimmer of golden light shined where it had entered the boy, then he coughed again. Kiritsugu feared the worst at blood flying from that little mouth, but he calmed down quickly, and his breath grew steadier with every second. Then the boy's eyes fluttered open, and Kiritsugu gripped his hand tightly. The look in his eyes reminded him a little of Saber…
"You're alive…" He whispered joyously to the young boy. Vibrant red hair smeared with dirt, auburn eyes staring dully up at him, a gasp of life. "You're alive… You're alive!"
"T-thank you…" Kiritsugu sobbed out, smiling full of relief. "Thank you for this… If I… could save… just one life…
"I might be saved…"