Welcome, my viewers, to the final installment of Fate: Zero Sanity. Finally, after almost three-fourths of the year, it is finished.

Soul: Don't be getting sentimental on us yet, X! We have a story to finish!

Oswald: Tears will be shed at the end, but first, some bright news: This fic finally has a TvTropes page.

Yes, after so long, it's finally been done. Someone decided this was worthy enough to have its own page on TvTropes. If anyone finds any worthy tropes to put on it, I would be grateful beyond measure. Just go to the website, type in the fic's name, and edit to your heart's content.

Now let's bring up the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Fate/Stay Night and all series mentioned in this story are the property of their respective owners. Also, thanks to The Infamous Man for inspiring the idea behind the fic, Sentinel07 for inspiring X to write in the first place, and finally, to EVA-Saiyajin for agreeing to help beta some of the chapters. X the Reaper owns nothing.

Avenger: We hope you all enjoy.

(This chapter contains the extensive usage of Japanese honorifics. I've done my best to research the proper context in which they should be used, but forgive me if I have made any mistakes. I did not mean to offend those savvy to the language.)

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One Month Later (Mackenzie Residence)

"One month after the horrible events of what is now being called 'The Great Fire' of Fuyuki, mourners flock to the Fuyuki Cemetery to honor the memory of those who lost their lives, both in the blaze itself and the brave men and women who tried their best to rescue them. Services will be held this morning and all throughout the afternoon, and the sole priest remaining at the Church has taken upon himself to perform the services, despite previous ill health...

While most as of this point can agree that the fire started at the Fuyuki Civic Center, even now, experts are still trying to determine the cause of the tragedy in which over seven hundred people lost their lives. Theories are currently pointing towards anything from massive gas leak to even a terrorist action..."

Waver tuned out the sound of the television, just sighing to himself as he munched down on his cereal, a cup of coffee steaming to his right. To his left, Sola-Ui was drinking from her own cup, putting it back down before returning to the task of eating her plate of eggs and toast, a few pieces of bacon on the side in such a manner that he could reach over and grab one if he so desired. Glen was sitting in front of him, having finished his own breakfast and comfortably draining his own cup of coffee while staring at the TV, a small frown on his face, while Martha washed the dishes at the sink.

After they had stayed a night at the Fuyuki hospital, Edgar had returned with that woman called Chryssie, giving them his final verdict: His superiors accepted their stories. They were free to leave the hospital and even return to the Association if they so desired.

However, they wanted to know about something else: Was the Grail really cursed?

They had both learned the truth one month ago from Berserker, who now wanted to be called by her real name, Maka, and Soul, after they had entered their hospital room after speaking to Edgar. The former Masters had listened, in stunned silence, as both of the Servant of Madness and her Weapon went into detail about what had happened at the final battle, the destruction of the Grail, and the black mud which had apparently caused the fire.

After they got to the part where they had apparently been consumed by the sludge, Waver finally found it in himself to ask how they had gotten from the Center's basement to the streets above ground and away, as well as about the coat Maka had been wearing. Both had been unable to answer, their minds drawing a complete blank.

Edgar's response to that question? "Yes."

The news that the Grail was corrupt was met with denial by the two of them at first, particularly Sola-Ui, who couldn't accept that Caster had died for nothing. However, as they thought more about it, the more they both realized that it was the only explanation. That fire was no accident, and no Servant remaining could have created such a blaze, willingly or unwillingly.

The knowledge that everything they had fought, sacrificed, and risked their lives for was all for a corrupted chalice that would twist any wish to suit its purposes left, much like it had for Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine, a bitter taste in their mouths.

So, that left the next logical question: What were the Association and the Church going to do about it?

Edgar's response. "Nothing."

After a rather... explosive response on their part, he explained. It turned out that the Association and Church were under the impression that since the Grail was destroyed before the spirit could escape, it had eliminated the problem. Therefore, the Grail would be perfectly free of corruption and ready for usage come the next war in 60 years.

Neither Waver nor Sola-Ui could believe it. They were just going to brush it off their shoulders like that? Edgar clarified that yes, they would.

Afterwards, Edgar told them both they were free to leave the hospital, having received a clean bill of health, which Chryssie handed to them both, and permission to leave. They could even return to the Association if they so desired. They were at first reluctant to leave Maka and Soul at the hospital alone, but Edgar assured them that they would have all the proper care they needed.

So, the first thing they did upon their official discharge was return to the Mackenzies, where they had been greeted by the worried and scared figures of Glen and Martha. Martha grilled them both for answers in a manner that made both of them feel like little children while Glen looked on. When they explained (in a rather edited version of what happened) that they managed to save two people through their actions though, the elderly couple changed their tune to more pride than anger.

When Martha asked what happened to Caster though, Sola-Ui was the one who answered, stating that he got hurt during the rescue efforts and was taken to the hospital, though the doctors said he would be making a full recovery. While Martha seemed to buy it, Glen simply gave the two of them a sad, but comforting look.

While it was true they had both received permission to return to the Association, both Waver and Sola-Ui had decided to take an extended leave of absence, wanting to try and just relax after the harrowing experiences they had gone through. They stayed with the Mackenzies the entire time, helping around the house in order to make sure they didn't feel like freeloaders, going on walks and even stargazing together with them.

Of course, there was a very logical reason not to go back either. After all, with Kayneth's death, the whole Archibald family would be out for their, mostly Waver's, blood, as he had stolen Rider's catalyst from them and would no doubt hold his teacher's death over both his and Sola-Ui's head, though she would likely get some amnesty due to being his fiancée after all.

At least, that's how things would have been had not two packages arrived only just a week ago. The first was from the same company that Rider had ordered his T-shirt from, but the other had been an unmarked box with the address saying it came from somewhere within Fuyuki itself, but no sender.

The first had contained, he knew that it likely would, an identical T-shirt to the one Rider had ordered, complete with the game logo over a map of the Earth. It appeared that his Servant had ordered it as a surprise.

The second had contained, to both his and Sola-Ui's surprise and more than a little revulsion, a thin, square piece of glass, roughly the size of a human head. What was disturbing was the fact that within the glass was a huge piece of skin, upon which was a Thaumaturgical Crest engraved upon it.

But more importantly, it was a familiar Crest.

The Archibald Crest.

Attached to the package was a note that simply read as:

Waver Velvet and Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri,

I am sure that you both recognize the object that I've sent you, as you would not even be Magi if you didn't. This little thing should allow you both to get back into the Archibald's good graces rather than risk being killed on sight. If you are curious as to why I'm sending you such a thing, I felt I owed something of a debt to you both, after all the hell you've gone through in the past month.

Don't ask how I got it from the dearly departed Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi or why it's so perfectly preserved. Some things are really just better left unsaid.

I would also dearly appreciate it that you didn't tell anyone about this though. I and the Association don't work well together, and if the Archibalds learned that it was I who gave you this... well, they might very well try to kill you both regardless. Safe travels!

With regards to you both,

Edgar Silverstein

P.S.- My friend Chryssie personally found your thesis inspiring, Mr. Velvet. Don't ask how she got it, I don't even know. Hope you share it with others though.

P.P.S.- Be careful when you bring up the Crest to the Archibalds. They might try to marry you to someone within the family.

"Well, you two better hurry up!" Martha called as she walked to the back of the house. "You need to catch your flight soon!"

However, they had finally made the decision to go back, the tickets already in their pockets and their plane set to leave in about three hours. Waver couldn't help but feel a little anxious though. Even with the Crest, there was no guarantee that he would get away scot-free.

"Martha, don't rush them," Glen chided lightly, "They have plenty of time." He then turned to look at both of them, smiling slightly. "Just remember, both of you, that you're always welcomed here."

Sola-Ui gave him a smile as she finished her breakfast, Waver quickly swiping one of the remaining bacon strips as she did so. "Thank you, Glen," she responded, having grown into the habit of calling him that during their time here. "We will."

Glancing upwards, she looked at the clock, her eyes widening as she stood up. "Waver, c'mon! If we don't hurry, we won't make it to the airport in time!"

"What?" he asked confusedly as he glanced at the clock. "We could be there in 30 minutes by taxi you know..."

Sola-Ui sighed as she came back into the room, holding the two bags that contained their belongings. "Yes, but I don't want to take the taxi. I want to get there by foot."

Waver looked at her with a start. "Huh?"

Sola-Ui looked away, her hair briefly hiding her face but not the nervous tone. "Well... I just thought... since this might be the last time we see each other in... awhile... and it's such a beautiful day out..."

Waver was still confused, then widened slightly when she caught her deeper meaning. This might very well be their last few hours before making it back to Britain, to what could be their doom. It made sense that she would want to enjoy herself at least once before it was potentially all over... just a few happy memories to reflect over.

'Yeah,' he thought to himself, 'and her slightly blushing face is clearly just for Glen and Martha's benefit, right? ...Right?'

Glen smiled. "Go on Waver," he said as he gestured towards her, "What's wrong with a walk?"

'Aside from being my last,' Waver thought sarcastically, 'nothing much.' He then shook his head with a sigh.

"Alright," he said as he wiped his hands and drank down the last of his coffee, deciding it wasn't the worst way to go. "Let's go!"

Sola-Ui smiled, though was still blushing for some reason, and gave him his backpack, containing his valuables, including the Crest. She then grabbed his hand and led him outside, himself blushing at the sudden contact.

He glanced briefly behind him, waving towards both of the Mackenzies. Martha smiled and waved back, while Glen gave him a similar wave but also a knowing smirk.

For some reason, that just made him blush even more.

'I guess this isn't the worst way to spend what might be your last day...' he thought as Sola-Ui dragged him outside, quickly heading towards the airport. 'After all, I guess most would kill to have their last hours with a beautiful woman... a beautiful woman with long, red hair and a comfy ch- Damn it, Rider!' he thought quickly, memories of some of Rider's more... intimate encounters with women rising in his head.

Fuyuki Graveyard

"I know that my redeemer lives and that, in the end, he will stand upon the earth..."

Rin Tohsaka only dimly heard the words of the priest as she, her family, and all those who had lost people they loved during the events of last month stood in front of the graves of the departed, her eyes misted over in tears as she fought back the sobs that threatened to break her, hands clenched about the cross she had received from Avenger. Her gaze was directed towards a specific spot of this field of white and grey tombstones, right in front of her, where the grave of Tokiomi Tohsaka laid, its white surface seemingly like bone. The grey-colored grave of Kariya Matou laid directly next to it, rather ironic considering their history together, but Mother had insisted on doing so.

"And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God..."

Her mother Aoi wept openly on her right side, grieving for her lost husband and old friend. Rin wanted nothing more than to join her mother in crying, but she held back her tears. She would have to be strong, not just for her mother...

She briefly glanced to her left side, her eyes looking upon a head of purple bowed in sadness, hands placing a small flower on the grave next to her father's after doing the same for it. Sakura stood up, her eyes briefly locking with Rin's own before looking back down, a few tears falling from her eyes.

...but for her sister as well.

It had been a shocker for both herself and her mother when Sakura had appeared quite literally on their doorstep, unconscious and carried by two men, one of whom was also carrying a bundle. The two had then explained to both of them that Zouken was dead and now she had nowhere to go, with the Matou Manor being destroyed and all, and asked if she could be allowed to stay here.

Aoi, her eyes filled with disbelief and gladness, had to restrain herself from trying to rip Sakura out of the blond man's hands, thanking them both over and over again. It had been the happiest that Rin had seen her mother since Sakura left.

The happiness was then ruined when the other man had revealed what was in the bundle: Uncle Kariya's dead body. They revealed the truth about the Matou clan Magecraft, a fact that they hadn't expected either her mother or herself to known, and spoke in great detail about how Kariya had fought to save her.

"He succeeded," the brown-haired man said, "It cost him his life, but he saved her."

Mother would have broken down right then and there, but she managed to restrain herself enough to ask them to bring both of them inside. She thanked the two for their efforts, and then they had left as suddenly as they had appeared.

Before they did though, the brown-haired man turned around and asked that they tell her, "Maka and Soul kept their promise."

Since then, for the past month, Sakura had been trying to adjust to her new lifestyle, and doing a pretty good job of it too. She smiled brightly She was slowly, but surely, returning to the little sister Rin knew before she left.

However, some things couldn't change, no matter how much she would want them to. Sakura occasionally moved with a sense of sadness, her voice seemingly emotionless and tired. They didn't see each other as often as Rin liked, and even when they did it was with a sort of awkwardness she couldn't dispel. Also, at times Rin was certain that Sakura was staring at her with envy, and not just because she was doing something that Sakura never got an opportunity to do.

When the news came to them about their father's death, Sakura was noticeably less saddened than Mother and herself. And now, she was choosing to stand in front of Uncle Kariya's grave rather than her their father's, the majority of the tears she was shedding for the man who had been more of a father to her than their own.

"I, myself, will see him with my own eyes. I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me..."

Not that Rin could personally blame her. If even half of what those men had said was true, then Sakura truly had nothing to be grateful to their father about. She was honestly surprised that she even bother to make a flower for both graves at all.

It was also eye-opening. Once again, Rin found herself confronted with the truth that their father had not been an unshakable pillar of confidence like she made him out to be, a higher power whose decisions were always the right ones. This time though, it was less foundation-shattering, as she already had her shake-up with Sakura's supposed death.

However, it still didn't change the fact that her father had ultimately made a bad decision. It made her question just how many other things she once thought her father was right about were wrong all over again. Was the path of the Magus really worth it, after all?

"Amen."

She looked up from her musings, so wrapped up in them that she had not even noticed the service was over. She watched as the other mourners filed out of the cemetery, including her mother and sister, who realized she wanted a moment alone, and simply stared at both graves.

One had risked his life in the War to achieve the life-long dream of their family. The other had thrown away his life in his desire to save someone precious to him.

Was it wrong that she couldn't decide which of them was right in the end?

"I have to admit Rin, you were rather impressive in your debut as the new head of the Tohsaka family today."

She turned at the voice, realizing the priest had stayed behind and was now walking towards her. "Hello Father," she politely said, "It's good to see you're doing well."

"Indeed. I have been ill of late." No one had seen the priest in over a month, having retreated into the Church due to some sort of sickness that he had come down with recently. Still, he looked rather healthy now. "But I assure you I am well enough to keep going on with my life."

Rin faked a smile. Something about this guy just bugged her for some reason, but she could never quite place it. It certainly wasn't because he was a pedophile, which he wasn't. This was a different sort of bugging. "That's good to hear, Father, but I think that I need to go. My family's waiting."

The priest smiled. "Of course, but before you go, I need to give you something." He then reached into his pocket, fishing around for a little bit before pulling out a small box. "As a present for your position as Tohsaka head, I wish to give you this."

She took the box from him, briefly staring at it before opening it up. Her eyes widened as she got a good look, then, with trembling fingers, she lifted the contents up out of it.

"This..." she breathed softly, "This is..."

"An Azoth dagger," the priest confirmed. "It was my final gift from your father as his pupil, and now it is my gift to you."

"This was... my father's..." Rin muttered as she took the dagger gently in both hands, dropping the box before beginning to sob, trying to hold it back. "...I...this is..."

To her surprise, she felt something pat her on the head. Looking up, it only grew as she saw it was the priest himself that did so. His eyes, if only briefly, seemed to share in her sadness. "You must not fear showing your true feelings every once in awhile," he said simply, "If you keep it all bottled-up inside, eventually it's going to hurt you and everyone around you."

She didn't answer, her tears slowly escaping as she still fought valiantly to keep them inside, despite his words. Finally, she just gave up, letting them spill from her eyes as her body was wracked with sobs. She wanted to curse herself mentally, breaking down in front of the very same person who was now supposed to oversee her training, but she couldn't help it.

To her surprise, she felt something wrap around her body. Opening her eyes, she felt them widen as she saw the priest had knelt down and wrapped his arms around her in a very light, comforting hug, no ill meaning behind his actions whatsoever. "There, there," he said softly as he patted her back, "just let it all out. Nothing to be ashamed of."

A part of her didn't understand why he was doing this, but she didn't care as she silently sobbed into his shoulder, imagining it was her father's, or perhaps even Uncle Kariya's. After what felt like hours, which was in reality several minutes, the priest removed his arms from around her and picked up the box that had contained the dagger.

"There's actually a saying:," he admitted as he held it out to her, "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love. Tears are but water, after all, and all things need water to grow."

She looked at him dumbly for a long moment, digesting his words, then actually found it in herself to sadly smile. She took the box from him and put the dagger away, nodding her head as she ran to catch up with her waiting family. "T-Thank you, Father Kotomine!" she called over her shoulder.

She still thought he was a creep... just not a heartless one anymore.

Nearby

Maka and Soul looked out from their hiding place behind a tree as Rin raced away, Kirei Kotomine turning to walk back inside the Church. When he had shut the door behind him, only then did they emerge from their position and walked towards Kariya's grave. Looking down at it, they read the simple inscription.

Matou Kariya

March 22nd, 1964-December 21st, 1994

Beloved Brother, Loved Uncle, and Caring Friend

"We did it, Kariya," Soul muttered as he looked at the grave. "She's free and safe."

Maka leaned down, placing a small bouquet of white roses on the tombstone, taking care to make sure they didn't cover the small flower that Sakura had put down. "I just wish you could have seen it with your own eyes."

Soul looked at her for a moment, then placed his hand on her shoulder. For a few moments, there was silence as they stared at the grave. "Are you sure you don't want to-"

"I'm sure, Soul." she responded. "It's better this way."

Soul grunted, but otherwise remained quiet. He had wanted to go to Sakura herself and talk to her, see how she was coping, but Maka had refused, stating she hadn't even gotten over Kariya's death yet, much less the return to her family. Showing themselves to her while she was at the funeral of the person they had promised to protect for her would only do more harm than good.

"We're gonna have to do it eventually though," he reminded her.

"And we have time to," she replied, then smiled slightly, "especially with our new assignment."

He groaned, "And to think I was hoping to at least sightsee a little around this new world..." he grumbled.

When they had first realized that they had living bodies again, their first instincts had been to try and find a way back home. However, Edgar had dashed those hopes when he revealed that was impossible, at least for now. The portal that OSG used to travel to other dimensions by usage of the Second Magic, courtesy of a deal with the Master of said magic, Wizard Marshall Zeltrech, could only be used once every seven or so years, and they had just finished using it a few days ago.

Apparently, this was because attempting to do so in shorter increments could attract the attention of the Counter Force, which responded to threats to the planet and mankind. Bringing beings from entirely different dimensions to this world, or even opening the portal in the first place? That could qualify as a threat to both, and the Counter Force could respond with anything from Counter Guardians, beings who had pledged eternal service to Alaya (the part of the Counter Force representing humanity) and would eliminate anyone deemed a threat, as well as potential witnesses, or even sinking the very continent that they were based on, no matter how many died in the process.

They quickly acquiesced the point at the total seriousness of his explanation.

With that out of the way, Edgar hadn't wasted anytime giving them their first assignment, claiming it was going to be a long-term one. He had given them one month to do whatever the heck they wanted first, but they hadn't really left the city in that time, trying to adjust with their new identity papers that Edgar had quite literally handed them when they had gotten out of the hospital. According to the reports, they were originally from Nevada in the US before moving here by themselves. They had spent the month trying to find work in the city since their assignment was to remain stationed here until further notice.

They hadn't received details yet, but they had more or less figured out that it had something to do with watching over the survivors of the War still here.

Luckily, Edgar had also provided them with a decent hotel, a whole bunch of cash, and working bank accounts: "Shows of good faith," he called them. "You realize how many of my younger agents I've sent to college?"

Maka had managed to get a job as an assistant librarian, while Soul had found a potential job as a mechanic.

Today, however, they were finally going to find out the exact details of their assignment.

"We better go," Maka said simply as she looked away from the gravestone. "We need to get ready."

Soul sighed, following her back to their transportation. It had taken him a month, the vehicle being almost completely destroyed by the fire, but he had finally gotten it fixed completely.

The Yamaha V-Max, shining like brand-new, laid at the curb away from the Church. Soul pulled out the spare key, a final gift from Saber before they had parted on that night after killing Archer, and got ready to start it up.

Fuyuki Church

Kirei Kotomine entered the Church after watching young Rin run back to her family, smiling to himself just a little bit. It would appear that his words had been enough to get her out of her self-induced despair and looking forward to the future again.

Of course, the fact he had just helped a seven, almost eight year-old with a problem wasn't why he was smiling. He was smiling because he had, for once in his life, not felt joy at watching someone else, with the occasional exception of his daughter, suffer and actually felt happiness at helping them overcome it.

It was as if he had undergone a change of heart in the past month...

He stopped for a moment and placed his hand over his chest. "Change of heart, eh?" he asked himself, then shook his head. "In more ways than one, I suppose..."

...

Kirei awoke with a gasp, coughing up a massive amount of blood and black sludge as he did so. He looked around, his eyes blurry as he tried to get a good look at his surroundings. "W-Where... am I...?"

Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to try and clear his sight, he slowly got to his knees. Strangely, he felt fine, better than fine actually, as if all the injuries he had received from his battle with Kiritsugu Emiya had been erased... wait a minute...

Suddenly, it all came back to him. The fight, the black mud, meeting Grey, being shot through the heart, all of it. He looked around again, realizing that his sight still hadn't resolved itself. The entire area around him was rubble, with fires in the background providing sufficient illumination to see things.

It took him a moment to realize that his eyes were actually fine. Everything he was seeing was real.

"...Am I in hell?" he whispered quietly to himself.

"No, but 'hell on Earth' is as close as you're going to get to it."

Twisting around at the noise, Kirei's eyes widened in shock. Standing before, seemingly crafted from the very sludge still surrounding them, was Grey, leaning casually against his black staff like it was a post. "I gotta say, I was kinda worried you weren't gonna get up after that."

"You're not real," were Kirei's first words. "I'm dead. This is nothing but an illusion by my fading mind."

Grey clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Kirei Kotomine, I thought you were many things, but a denier was not one of them. All this," he gestured to their surroundings, "is as real as you are right now." He punctated that statement by swinging his staff at Kirei, who just barely blocked it. "See?"

Kirei gave a small gasp. Underneath his grip was definitely something solid, and he could still feel the dull ache from where it had slammed into the palm of his hand. That dull ache became a stab of pain as a sharp spike suddenly emerged from the staff and pierced his hand. Letting go, Kirei looked down at his hand, watching as red blood slowly leaked out of the wound.

"Blood..."

"And pain." Grey added, leaning against his staff once more. "You don't have blood when you're dead, and pain is a sensation of the body, not the spirit. Ergo, you're still alive."

"But... Kiritsugu shot me through the heart!" Kirei responded, quickly raising a hand to his chest to feel for a hole to confirm his own words. He felt some strange sense relief when he did indeed feel a hole in his fabric, but it quickly vanished when he touched unmarked skin. He looked down, seeing white, unblemished skin where they should have been a bullet hole.

Stranger still, to his growing horror, he couldn't even feel a heartbeat over that area.

"What... happened..." Kirei muttered to himself, his normal sense of cool leaving him faster and faster, then he rushed Grey, grabbing him by the shoulders. "No... what have you done to me!?" he almost shouted.

"Calm down," Grey responded coldly, his tone somehow doing just that to Kirei. He then sighed. "Put very simply, my good friend decided it would too boring to let you just die like that. So he gave you a new heart, made entirely out of mostly the black sludge around you and some of your spilled blood." He shrugged. "Basically, you're alive because of a curse."

Kirei let go of Grey, staring around at the landscape, all in rubble and illuminated by fire. "What happened?" he breathed. "Kiritsugu made it clear he was going to destroy the Grail, not use it!"

"And he did just that," Grey responded, "Using his last Command Seals to order Saber to use Excalibur, he destroyed the Holy Grail, saving the world at large from the threat of Angra Mainyu. However, the curse of the Grail was not content to simply let things end like that. Using its remaining energy, old AM manifested as much of itself as it dared above the Center, releasing it all as a black rain."

Kirei continued to look around. "And so took its revenge on its destroyer."

Grey nodded. "He desired to save everyone? So it decided to follow his philosophy: Kill the few to save the many. A few hundred lives for several billion."

A cracking noise distracted Kirei. Turning around, his eyes widened when he saw that one of Grey's arms had fallen off, dissolving into black mud. "What-What's happening to you?" he asked, realizing that his entire body was starting to fall apart.

Grey didn't seem in the least bit surprised. "I formed this shell out of the mud to speak with you, but since my soul is still bound to the Grail, as its presence and strength fades, so too will mine. Don't have long to talk now."

"Why then?" Kirei asked, "Why did you come to me?"

"For you to make a choice."

Kirei's eyes narrowed. He was honestly getting sick and tired of people telling him he had a choice to make. First Archer, then Assassin, now this? If he had a dollar for everytime he had heard that phrase recently...

Still, he held back his slight annoyance. "And that is?"

Grey simply moved out of the way, pointing behind him at a boulder. Kirei slowly walked forward and looked behind it, realizing there was something there.

Correction, two things.

On the left, where the remains of the stage that the Grail had remained on, were several blacken pieces of the Holy Grail itself, still faintly glowing with a crimson energy.

On the right, a giant black sphere, large enough to contain two people, laid on the ground, occasionally pulsing as if something was inside of it, something... being born.

Still, the presence of the stage confused him. "How did I-" he quietly wondered, but Grey answered for him.

"Whole bunch of mud fell in the basement," he stated, "Carried you out when it flowed upwards and out of the Center, but that's not important. What's important is what you do now."

Kirei looked at him for a moment, back to the scene before him, and then in confusion, to which Grey sighed in annoyance. "Use your damn eye and look at the big sphere."

Kirei looked back, focusing his Sharingan onto the sphere and trying to figure out just what he was supposed to be seeing. It wasn't like there was someone inside of- okay, never mind.

Kirei's eyes narrowed at what his eye was showing him, realizing why it made sense that the sphere was large enough to hold two people. He could sense two distinct presences within the orb, though they seemed to be mixed together, like they were sharing their power with each other. It wasn't hard to figure out the only people it could be based on that.

"Berserker and her Weapon," he whispered. "They're still alive?"

"For the moment," Grey replied casually, more of his 'body' flaking off. "Though if they stay in that sphere any longer, they'll be nothing more than dissolved Prana, unable to fulfill their final orders." Seeing Kirei turn to him, he elaborated. "With his final Command Seal, Kariya Matou ordered them to survive and save that little girl, Sakura, wasn't it?, from her grandfather. He died believing they would succeed, but within that sphere, their bodies will dissolve into nothingness, and they'll die as well, unable to succeed."

"They won't last long, even with a Command Seal strengthening them," Kirei countered. "The Grail was the main source of their strength, the Master just serving as an anchor. With it gone, they won't survive long enough to fulfill it even if I save them."

"And yet, they still have the chance," Grey replied with a shrug, more of his armor falling off at the movement. "And that's where your choice comes in, Kirei. Will you save them, only to have them die shortly afterwards regardless, but still with a chance to save someone from their suffering, or will you let them be, to die within that sphere, leaving a poor innocent girl to suffer?"

Kirei just stared at him. "Why are doing this?" he asked simply. "Why me?"

Grey smiled, part of his helmet falling away to shatter on the ground. "You claimed that you struggle to decide between your morals and your desire to be true to yourself. What better way to choose between the two than with someone's life and other's fates hanging in the balance? What better way to prove to yourself what path you will follow?"

Kirei looked back towards the black sphere, then down at his hands, noticing the dried mud upon them. He had finally accepted what should have been his death, at least content with finding the truth on the other side, and now he had been drawn forcibly back from the brink to finally decide with without a shadow of a doubt, with another's life in the balance, what kind of man he was.

He remembered every decision and action up to this point, every moment of pondering his nature and what to do about it, all of it flowing through his head in an instant. He remembered especially his words to Assassin if he couldn't have his wish granted.

'Then I will do what I believe is right.'

And so, Kirei made his choice.

He began to walk towards the sphere, stopping as he came directly in front of it. Using his Sharingan as a guide of sorts, he plunged both hands into the mass of sludge, noticing that it seemed to flow around his hands without actually touching him, as if he was surrounded by a barrier.

"Your cursed heart grants you some control over the mud," Grey called out from behind him. "But I wouldn't spend too much time in there if I was you."

Kirei didn't respond, using his eye to show him where Berserker was. She was gripping her Weapon, who was still thankfully in Weapon form, in a vice-grip, erasing part of his problem. Sinking his arms into it up to his elbows, he grasped onto her arms, getting a firm grip before heaving back.

Now the mud started to resist him, unwilling to let go of its prize. It started to cling to his arms, trying to prevent him from pulling Berserker out. It was like trying to rip a slippery piece of metal out of a hardened ball of plastic with the whole thing covered in drying but still wet glue. However, he resisted, attempting to enforce his will onto the mud, using his extra strength from his left arm to give him better leverage. Inch by inch, he got more of his own arms out, until after what seemed like hours he pulled Berserker's own arms out.

It was quickly followed by her head, upper body, her Weapon, her lower body and finally her legs with a last heave. Upon her exit, the sphere completely collapsed, dissolving into blackish smoke and mud. Giving himself a sigh of relief, Kirei looked down at her unconscious form.

Only now did he finally noticed, previously not so much due to his single-minded determination to get her out, that she was completely naked. Blushing just slightly at the sight, he quickly and unthinkingly removed his priest coat, bullet holes included, and put it on her body, hoping to preserve at least some her of her modesty.

He just finished buttoning it up halfway before her Weapon returned to his human form beside her, still unconscious and also butt-naked. Before he could make any action to do something about that though, a dark burst of energy surrounded their bodies, causing them to disappear in an instant.

He quickly turned around, just in time to see Grey's other arm, still outstretched, fall off to dissolve on the ground, the staff joining it.

"What did you do?" he asked, worry just barely creeping into his tone.

Grey chuckled. "Nothing much, just sent them somewhere where they could receive proper medical attention... and clothes." He suddenly feel to his knees, his legs giving out beneath him, and toppled over sideways. "Might have used more energy than was necessary to make sure they would wake up when they arrived though," he continued casually, as if falling apart was a daily thing. "Oh well."

"Well? Have I passed your damned test?" Kirei asked with slowly rising anger. "Or is there some other hidden truth that you want to see?"

Grey chuckled again. "No, I've seen quite enough, Kirei Kotomine. You've given me enough entertainment to last for quite some time."

"You act as if I'll see you again."

"Oh, you will Kirei," Grey replied, his form really nothing more than a head now. "May take a couple of decades, but we'll be seeing each other again sometime."

A Black Key suddenly appeared right between Grey's eyes. Grey looked shocked for a moment as his head began to break apart, but it quickly turned to a mad grin. "See? THAT'S what I'm talking about!" he yelled quickly, trying to get the words out as his mouth dissolved. "I can.. w..t ..or th.. n..t W...r..."

Kirei watched with an impassive expression as Grey's head dissolved, his voice finally gone. He then turned his head towards the altar, spying the pieces of the Grail lying there.

'What I believe is right...'

Two Keys of Providence, their blades shining with holy inscriptions meant to purify and destroy corrupt objects, appeared in his hands.

...

Kirei sighed once more as the memory faded. After that, he had left the area, returning to the Church to do his own self-inspection. To his surprise, he had no injuries whatsoever, only his clothing still carrying the hints that he had just fought in a life-or-death battle. For the past month, he had laid low while the inspectors hired by the Association and Church came and went, then sent his own report to his superiors at the Church, detailing most of the things that had happened on his end (minus several things... like his death) and announcing his decision to stay in Fuyuki as the Church's caretaker.

To his surprise, his direct superiors agreed, stating it was only right that as Risei's son, he should inherit the position. He had after all mostly severed his ties to the Church as an Executor when he was taken on as an apprentice to Tokiomi, so there was really no real paperwork to worry about. He had also taken on the service of teaching the young Rin her family's Magecraft, as well as some apprenticing to her sister Sakura on the side, assuming she wanted it.

He had to admit, the sight of the purple-haired girl at the funeral today, proof that Berserker and Soul had fulfilled their final command, had put a surprising spring in his step. Not once had he felt disappointment at the fact he did not let her continue her living under Zouken Matou, though admittedly Zouken Matou was the one being in Fuyuki he would be fine with saving anyone from being tormented under him.

That wasn't to say he had become a saint in the past month, far from it. He couldn't count the number of times he had made a person feel miserable at confession time or when he spoke at Sunday Mass, enjoying every moment of it despite himself. He was a man who enjoyed the suffering of others. There was no denying that.

But there was nothing to say that people couldn't try and change their fundamental nature, or failing that, control it.

And by God, he was doing it.

Kirei shook his head and walked deeper inside. The Mass, which had been rescheduled today due to the funerals for the evening, was only a few hours away. He had to get ready, both to save some souls and torture them just a little bit in the process.

Einzbern Castle (Germany) {Five Years Later}

Illyasviel von Einzbern gasped as she awoke from another nightmare, laying on her side as she slowly regained control of her breathing. Slowly, she sat up, staring about her room.

"Just a dream," she whispered to herself, "just a dream."

It had been five years since her mother and father had left for the Fourth Holy Grail War and never returned. Since that time, her grandfather had trained her relentlessly, preparing for the next War. Despite the fact that by this point she should have been thirteen, she looked no older than when her parents had left her, a byproduct of her birth and 'conditioning' as a half-breed homunculus. Her training had been brutal, but she accepted it without complaint. As long as she became a member of the next War, she cared not.

Ah yes, the next war. It would appear that due to the Grail not using any of the energy it had gathered throughout the previous War in any way, the time between the War periods had actually decreased. The next War, according to her grandfather, would happen within five years from now, rather than another 55.

Her dreams had been plagued with many a nightmare since the day her parents left, but this one stood out. Not simply for the realism it presented, but also for the chill it gave her that it might not be as much a dream as she would hope.

In it, there were lumps in her body, much like her last nightmare all those years ago. This time however, they were fourteen instead of seven. A final lump, unlike any she had seen before yet strangely familiar as well, pushed the fourteen lumps in her body up to her throat, despite the efforts of another lump she subconsciously recognized from her last dream pushing back, and began to choke her, dissolving into black mud and coating her mouth and windpipe so that she couldn't breath.

She then turned into a cup and was filled with that very same black sludge, pouring over her edges and setting everything around her on fire. She listened to what sounded like the cries of billions of lost souls, her parent's cries the loudest of all. She saw a vaguely humanoid giant made of that very same sludge rise into the sky, its form rumbling as if it was laughing at everything occurring around it.

Finally, she saw a figure, clad in golden-white and red armor, his purple cape billowing out behind him and wearing a skull helmet, lifting a sinister, golden-glowing scythe blade into the sky. His face was split into an insane grin, the sight of which brought forth a deeper, more primal fear within her than any other image from earlier, before swinging it down on a young, red-and-white-haired boy, his clothes torn and the remains of a blade lying next to him, a five-inch spike attached to a hand guard and pommel all that was left of his own weapon.

A sudden sense of concern for the boy seemed to erupt in her chest, a desire to save him trying to force her forwards and protect him. She tried to move, but she was frozen, unable to do anything but helplessly watch as the scythe user brought his weapon down on the boy's neck.

She awoke just before it bisected his head from his shoulders, but it had felt so real...

This was more than a nightmare. This was a premonition for the next war, she knew it deep within her gut. She knew not who the last two in it were, but something was telling her that they would be important in it...

She thought about telling her grandfather, but discarded the notion. He was concerned with one thing: Winning the Grail. What happened afterwards he cared not. She was just a means to an end of reaching that.

Of course, she had other reasons for entering this War than simply fulfilling her grandfather's dreams. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to finally meet her little 'brother'.

Her eyes narrowed at that thought, almost forgetting completely about her dream in an instant. The boy who made Kiritsugu abandon her... oh, did she have many things she wanted to talk with him about. Of course, first was the matter of finding him.

And after that, who knew? Maybe she would keep him as a souvenir.

A severed head might do nicely.

Clock Tower

"...And that's how even a Magus from the more recent generations can potentially rival and perhaps someday even surpass the older families!" Waver Velvet, now called El-Melloi the Second, yelled with confidence as he faced his students, carefully observing each of their expressions. "And if anyone tries to tell you different, they obviously never meet someone like me!"

He had grown considerably in height in the past five years, finally having hit his growth spurt. His attire now consisted of a black suit and undershirt, over which he wore a long red jacket. He had let his hair grow out as well, now reaching down his back to slightly past his shoulders.

He also developed his lung and voice capacity, as well as his public speaking.

"I was no better than some of you sitting right here and now, just a student from a three-generation family! And look at where I am now, teaching you as if I was a born Lecturer!" he continued. "The point is, don't let others tell you what you can and cannot be. It's ultimately up to you to decide what to do with your life, how far to reach and fly, and how hard to try and reach that point! Because only you can make your dreams reality, and no one else, not your friends, not your family, and not even I, can do that for you!"

"As a Lecturer, it is my duty to not just teach, but to inspire you to dream. And as my students, it your duty to see those dreams through to the end!" He finished, then spread his arms out wide. "What say you all!?"

As one, they erupted into cheers, both members of lower and higher-generation families applauding and calling for more. "YES! YES! YES!"

Waver grinned, then looked up as he heard a bell ring, signalling the end of the class and the day. "We'll continue this Monday," he called out as his students left the room, talking animatedly to themselves, "Remember, I expect your reports by that point, and I don't care if you are enjoying the holidays over the weekend, I want them then, got it!?"

He watched as the last of them left, then sighed to himself, putting a hand on his throat. "Damn it, I'm gonna need some cough medicine before the day's over..."

He briefly flashed back to his and Sola-Ui arrival back at the Association. To their surprise, they were greeted with thunderous applause. Apparently, Edgar Silverstein had returned to the Association with the report that they were the official 'winners' by virtue of being the only Masters still alive. Kiritsugu Emiya was disqualified for destroying the Grail, and Kirei Kotomine, while it was a shock he was still alive, had declined, citing that Assassin had died before Caster did, leaving them the only 'acceptable' candidates.

The Archibalds had still been willing to kill him regardless, though his presentation of their Crest had calmed them down enough to avoid that. The Tenth Head, Reines Archisorte El-Melloi, only nine at the time, had then offered him the title of El Melloi the Second, stating that he could accept it and join the family, or be punished. Knowing what punishment would entail, he had begrudgingly accepted the proposal, remembering from Edgar's note that he would likely have to marry someone within the family to be fully accepted.

Of course, he turned out to be half-right. There was indeed a marriage, but the person he married hadn't exactly been who he expected...

"Waver?"

He turned at the sound of his wife's voice, watching as she walked out from the door leading to his office, a smile on her face and a cup of coffee in hand. She had been sprucing up the former quarters of his predecessor, waiting for him to finish his last lecture of the day. She was wearing a white blouse with grey pants, her red tie accenting her waist-length red hair well as she got closer, her grey high heels clacking onto the floor. She stopped in front of him, and he looked her in the face, still surprised he now stood tall enough to look at her at eye level.

"Hey Sola-Ui," he smiled in return. "Sorry about time, I guess I just got carried away again."

Yes, he had, to both his own and his companion's shock, been married to Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri. When they both demanded to know just why they were being married, Reines reminded the later that she had been promised in marriage to an Archibald, and since Waver needed to be married into the family, why not kill two birds with one stone?

"Plus," she had stated with a small smile, "I think I'm quite young to be married to a seventeen year old, don't you agree?"

The wedding had been awkward, to say in the least, but they had made progress in it... the first rule they decided on being instantly that there would be no copulation to the marriage until Waver was at least 21. There was some obvious friction at first, so much so that Waver was originally afraid they would never even be able to just get along as friends again. Still, with time, and some counseling, they managed to rekindle their friendship, and only just two years ago did they actually begin the actual process of dating, deciding that if they were going to be a family, they might as well have some proper romantic dinners as a couple first.

She simply shook her head. "No, it's quite alright," she responded, "it was rather worth the time to listen to you go on and on. After all, you practiced that speech for how long?"

"Three days," he admitted embarrassingly. "And my throat feels like sandpaper."

She shook her head, giggling lightly as she handed him the cup, which he gratefully accepted, "Well, are you ready now?"

He looked her for a moment, trying to remember what was important about today, the memory coming back to him quickly. "Oh yeah, our anniversary."

She then moved closer to him, hugging him lightly as she did so. "Our first real anniversary, if you recall."

Why their first? Because this would be the first time they actually celebrated it with a vacation.

He smiled as he put the cup down, wrapping his arms around her to return the hug. "Of course, and I know it will be spectacular."

Overall, he couldn't really argue with the way his life was going. He had a dream, a job, and a woman who he loved and knew loved him back. Life was good.

If Rider and Caster could see them now, he had a feeling that they would be watching with happiness and pride.

...Along with some lewd grins that he had gotten such a beautiful woman in his life.

Tohsaka Manor Basement

"GAAHHH!" Rin yelled (she didn't scream, darn it!) as she fell to the ground, gasping as she held her left arm, the red cloak around it falling away to reveal from the elbow down an almost pitch black arm with shadow tendrils flowing off of it, what appeared to be an orange eye looking around from the back of her hand. Slowly, the tendrils began to flow upwards, crawling towards her shoulder as she gritted her teeth and tried to force it back under her control just as the damn priest had taught her...

Suddenly, the fire that had consumed her nerves was gone, replaced with an almost ocean-like coolness. Rin relaxed and sighed to herself slowly, the tendrils that had been rising up her arm slowing and then stopping, receding back into the black part of her arm.

"You shouldn't be so reckless you know."

Rin's bliss was shattered the moment she heard her teacher's voice. Opening her eyes, she looked at Kirei Kotomine, whose hands were currently glowing a calming green as he slowly rebounded the red cloth from earlier around her arm.

"Actually, I take it back. Using a dangerous power that you haven't even learned to control enough to stop it from trying to consume you as a resort against a clearly superior opponent? That's not recklessness, that's suicidal," he continued as he finished binding her arm. "I gave you the Shroud of Martin specifically so you could control it, remember?"

"Oh shut up," she muttered, "I'm not allowed to use my real ace in the hole down here after all..."

"Your pistol?" Kirei responded, noticing how her right hand had subconsciously clutched the silver cross in her pain. "Well, you did blow holes clean through the walls the last time you used it down here, and let's not forget the case of magical jewels," he answered with a small smirk. "One centimeter closer and we both would have been-"

"I know!" she yelled out, her anger and frustration quite clear, then it faded just as quickly. "...I just wanted to beat you for once..."

He glanced down at the ground, noticing the fissure in the rock that started from her position and continued across the room, cutting a two-foot gash in the opposite wall. Had he been in the way of that wall of shadow, she would have beaten him... in a potentially more permanent sense than she wanted...

"There better ways of doing that than with cursed body parts," he replied simply, allowing some slight admonishment to enter it, "Especially cursed body parts that were gained because of trying to disassemble a Noble Phantasm that came from an extremely powerful, very dangerous vampire with shadow powers."

She flinched. That probably wasn't the best time to surrender to her Magus curiosity. About a year ago, she had decided to experiment with the silver cross Avenger gave her to see if she could figure out how to turn it back into its gun form. She succeeded, though with some... unintended side-effects.

Turns out in order to keep a Noble Phantasm manifested in the physical world without their usage, a Servant needs to transfer a portion of their soul into the Phantasm. This leaves it manifested even if the Servant dies, providing a constant small supply of energy, which is why even a Noble Phantasm like Avalon can still use its powers even after so many years, although its full power can only be used when Arturia herself is providing energy.

Unfortunately, it also means that, if tampered with or feeling sufficiently threatened, that piece of soul can and will strike back in self-preservation.

That quickly escalated into... several problems. Long story short, turns out she had gained the ability to transform her cross at will into its pistol form, even a form that's more comfortable for her usage. At the same time, the remainder of Avenger's presence had invaded her arm, allowing her to manipulate the pistol's shape at will, enhanced strength, transformation abilities reserved for that arm, and even firing burst of shadowy energy and increasing the power of the spells fired from that arm.

It also left her with a presence that could, if she let it, try and take over the rest of her body. While it seemed to have some form of sentience, not enough to actually communicate, it appeared that it would only stop trying to take her over if she proved she was strong enough to control it. Until then, Kirei had provided the Holy Shroud of Martin, a Church relic that served as a Seal that kept it from spreading any further, though also sealed the additional powers aside from the pistol usage.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. To use it here and now, having not even fully mastered her own Magecraft or even the pistol itself... really was suicidal.

"I know..." she muttered, this time her tone apologetic.

Kirei sighed, then stood up. "...But you do raise a good point. If you're going to train your other abilities, including your aces, its probably best that we practice outside from now on."

She looked up, her eyes now filled with slowly growing excitement. "You mean..."

Kirei tilted his head towards the upstairs. "Let's see if your aim with a weapon is as good as your Gandr shots."

She was practically bolting up the stairs before he was finished, hand clenched around her cross. Every since she had first got her pistol over a year ago, she had been studying up the proper techniques to holding and firing a gun, using books she had managed to find at the library and training manuals she had managed to acquire (blackmail, stole, and smuggle) from other people. She had almost given her mother a heart attack when she found a viable stack of them under her bed, but managed to convince her mom (with help from Kirei and Sakura) that she could be trusted with such things.

She was still grounded for a month regardless, but it had been worth it.

She bounded out of the basement, heading straight towards the door.

"And where do you think you're going, young lady?"

Rin stopped and slowly turned around, grinning sheepishly as she did so. Behind her, her mother was standing in the middle of the kitchen doorway with a wet plate, a dish cloth in her other hand as she absentmindedly wiped it. Next to her, Sakura was standing there with a small smile as she wiped her own dish, her eyes almost twinkling with amusement.

"...Just a few practical lessons with Kirei-Sensei..." Rin replied nervously. "Nothing major."

"Rin-Oneesan was going to practice with her cross," Sakura simply said as she walked away, her dish dried and reaching for another. "She's never so eager to go anywhere with Kirei-Shinpu otherwise."

"Sakura!" Rin cried out in annoyance, though on the inside she was actually smiling. Of the two of them, while Kirei had offered to train her as well, Sakura had decided not to try and learn much in terms of Magecraft, leaving the bulk of the training to Rin. While she had given some effort in studying, particularly in terms healing or defensive spells, she wasn't actively trying to learn. She was content with simply helping around the house and living a quieter life, or as quiet as a life as you can when your older sister experiments and trains with potentially life-threatening items.

More than that though, Rin was just glad they were on better terms. It had taken time, but Sakura was definitely returning more to that fun-loving sister she remembered from childhood.

Even if she did seem to get a bit of a silent kick out of watching Mother scold her, as well as having an impressive sense of sarcasm.

Mother for her part simply sighed. "Just be careful," she said, "I don't want you going to the hospital again."

Rin eagerly hugged her mother and then Sakura before she turned around, only to see Kirei at the door, with absolutely no showing how he got there without opening the basement door. "Better hurry up," he called, "or I'm leaving you."

"Hey!" she yelled as she quickly ran after him. "No fair!" She had long ago stopped trying to figure out how he could seemingly appear and disappear like a ninja. Everytime she asked him he got a coy smile on his face like he was enjoying her confusion, then brush it off with the line, 'A trick from an old friend.'

"Be back before dark!" Mother called from behind her.

As she raced after Kirei, leaving her mother and sister behind, she briefly thought back on everything that had happened to her five years ago: Avenger, the battle, her father and her sister. She thought about how she had promised to become a Magus unlike any ever seen before, and how she had promised to obtain the Grail. She remembered when she thought she lost Sakura forever, only to get her back and learn of the nightmare she had been suffering all this time.

And she remembered what she had decided to do.

She would forge her own path to becoming a Magus, as she had promised Avenger, and she would use that power to protect her family, no matter what. She had already lost her father and almost lost Sakura once because tradition demanded it. She would not do so again.

Even so, a part of her couldn't help but feel this was a betrayal of everything her father had taught her. 'To be a Magus is to walk with death', after all, to willing sacrifice anything around you to succeed, even your emotions.

She loved her father dearly, but at the same time she couldn't deny that much of what had happened was because he simply couldn't defy the traditions that had been ironed into him from birth. She couldn't, in good conscience, do something like abandon part of her family because the rules dictated it.

If it meant she would have to sacrifice everything her father had taught her, meant betraying the 'traditional' path of a Magus... she would do it with a winning smile.

OSG Headquarters

Edgar sat at his office desk, staring straight across it at Anderson. His gaze shifted to the figure by his side, partially hidden by the priest's coat.

"Well... you're certain about this?" he asked, sipping a mug of coffee as he did so. "He's only a boy, after all."

Anderson snorted. "And so is that so-called prodigy you're waiting on. This kid's a surprising good shot, took two ghouls straight through the head with that bow, plus saved two girls. That's a win in my book."

Anderson had just gotten back from a small ghoul outbreak in one of Hawaii's smaller islands. Nothing major: Ghouls killed, rogue Magus who caused it eliminated, survivors, maybe five out of the original 40 or so people living there, rescued. Apparently, two of those survivors had only avoided being killed because of the efforts of a third, who, armed with only a faulty bow and a couple of arrows he had scavenged from around the place, killed two ghouls, buying time for Anderson to get there and killed the other eight before they murdered all three of the living.

That third survivor, a boy of about twelve or so, was standing behind Anderson, trying to make himself as small as possible. Apparently, he had no surviving family, the other four survivors being related in some way to each other, and wasn't really from the island at all, just a visitor from the main island who had come here to relax. Even then, he wasn't really from Hawaii, but just sorta stayed there after his father and grandfather died in Japan, living with some friends for the past five years.

Edgar put down his cup. "True enough... let's see this 'hero' then huh?"

Anderson looked down beside him, giving the still obscure child a small smile. "It's alright, come on out."

The boy did just that, shifting out from his position next to Anderson so Edgar could get a better look. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue shorts, his skin tan as expected from someone living in a place like Hawaii, but the lightness of which indicating he spent more time indoors than actually outside. He had curly, messy blue hair that was cut somewhat at an average length, and his blue-grey eyes nervously glanced everywhere but Edgar.

"Look at me, please," Edgar said, not unkindly but firmly.

The boy did just that, staring at him slowly shifting his focus towards Edgar. Blue-grey eyes met golden-brown and emerald-green, and the two stared at each other without a sign, the later searching for something in the former's gaze, the former simply trying to prevent his heart from jumping into his throat.

"What's your name, child?" Edgar asked suddenly, causing the being in question to almost jump with its suddenness. "I feel it's rude for people to meet without knowing each other names. I am Edgar Silverstein, as my colleague might have already mentioned to you."

For a moment, the boy tried to form the words to respond, then spoke, stuttering at first before growing stronger. "S-Shinji Matou, Mr. Silverstein," he answered. "Future head of the Matou family of Fuyuki... for all that means anymore..." he finished with a mumble.

"Why did you want to come along with Anderson so badly?" Edgar asked, his tone making it unclear if he was actually interested or simply fishing for reactions. "From what he's told me, you practically attached yourself to his hip when he tried to leave after the authorities came, and you even followed him around like a little stalker while he was still on the islands, asking him to take you with him when he left. You only stopped when he finally agreed. Why?"

Shinji looked like he was about to try and start staring everywhere but him again, but he seemed unable to look away from Edgar's eyes. He swallowed slowly. "I... I just wanted to know where he came from. I've never seen someone like him before, so... I just started following him around, hoping to see what he was doing here."

"And the whole 'please take me with you!' bit?"

Shinji was silent once more, then spoke. "Well... When I saw how he tore through those... things," he shuddered as he talked, "it was like watching some sort of real-life superhero. I wanted to be like that, so I thought if I could go with him..."

Edgar held back a snort of amusement. Hero admiration. Not the most uncommon way for people to first get interested in their group.

"Tell me something Shinji," Edgar said as he turned away in his seat, just barely hearing the boy's sigh of relief at no longer looking into his eyes. "You said you belonged to the Matou family in Fuyuki, next in line, if I recalled. Why haven't you gone back there yet?"

Shinji tone grew somewhat bitter. "Because everyone's dead or just permanently gone. My house is burned to ashes, everything I was supposed to inherit gone with it. There's nothing to go back to."

Edgar was silent for a moment more, then stood up, back still turned. "Well, from the way you talk I can guess titles don't mean much to you anymore, do they?" He glanced back at him.

Shinji slowly nodded.

Edgar turned back around and, unseen, let out his first grin of the day. "Well, you'll find that titles never meant much here in the first place kid."

Quick as a flash, he turned around, a smile on his face as he held out his hand. "Congratulations, Shinji Matou! You are hereby a member of OSG! Don't worry about your previous living spaces, our services will take of that for you!" he replied in a hush, words almost tripping over each other as he said in a voice that sounded like it should have been at a very lively auction.

His lessons in other dimensions had served him well... as well as creating something of an aversion to anything with balloons or the color pink, but that had been worth learning this.

Shinji just stared at him as if he had sprouted wings out the side of his head. "Wha-?"

"Oh don't be surprised boy," Anderson replied simply, used to his leader's habits of occasionally just acting completely random to psych newcomers out, or even just annoy veterans and people he didn't like. "You'll get used to it eventually."

Citeaux Abbey

Caren Hortensia, the estranged twelve year-old daughter of Kirei Kotomine, walked down the halls of the abbey which she had called her home for three years, mid-length silver hair flowing behind her, trying her best to maintain her mask of calmness.

Ever since her... 'special' abilities had begun to manifest themselves within her body, her step-family had given her over to the Church for training. In the three years since then, she had worked to master the abilities she had born with, as well as potentially become an Executor to the Church. She had begun to learn and train with gusto, rising in the ranks despite her youth, and had even been talk of giving her a position in the Eighth Sacrament once she was fourteen. Those who had known her father often claimed she was doing him proud, excelling as she was.

She had to fight the urge to stab those people in the face.

She didn't like to think about her father, even after all this time. Ever since her mother's death and her father leaving her behind, she had long done her best to find her calling in life, in which she had attempted to avoid any connections to the Church, wanting nothing to do with her father's line of work. Of course, once again, her abilities made her an invaluable asset to the organization, so she would have been recruited with or without her consent regardless.

Worse, she found she actually excelled in what she was doing, which often drew comparisons to her father as another genius, something she honestly didn't want. She wanted as little to do with the man who abandoned her as a child as possible, with as few comparisons as possible as well.

'And now I have something else to compare myself to him,' she thought with part annoyance, part worry, 'Does the world just have a real twisted sense of humor?'

It shouldn't be possible, they said. You need to have Magic Circuits, they said. Well, obviously she either had them hidden within her, or she was just an exception to the damn rule!

About her entire body and hidden by her vestments, bandages covered her from collarbone to foot, the results of her power, Masochistic Pneumatic Automatism Diathesissuitable (useful for sensing demonic presences), manifesting physically on her body. To her eternal relief, they also covered her up to the fingers on both hands, which prevented anyone from seeing her right hand.

'Why?' she wondered as she walked the halls. 'Why me?'

The silent halls offered no answers, but the person at the end waiting did. She marched up to the man standing there, briefly glancing over his appearance. His white hair, in sharp contrast to his youthful appearance, stood fashioned in a sort of a spiky-mullet hairstyle, his brown eyes and skin standing out underneath it. His clothing was standard of a member of the Eighth Sacrament, though he also wore red cloak, which she instantly recognized as a Holy Shroud similar to the one wrapped around her own arm, that complimented the look rather well. He appeared to be around his late teens or very early twenties, though his eyes spoke of experience beyond that.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hortensia," he told her smoothly, holding out a hand in greeting. She slowly responded with her own, taking care to use her unmarked hand. "I've heard much about you from your teachers, particularly the head of the abbey, and I admit I'm quite impressed."

"Thank you," she replied calmly, not batting an eye. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Executor."

He raised an eyebrow at her words, but didn't comment on it. It would appear that he was aware of her strange habit of referring to people by their titles rather than names if they had them, as well as the part-mocking, part-sincere tone that always inflicted her voice save in certain circumstances.

"I must admit, this is a rather... surprising turn of events that have been brought to my attention," he told her as they began to walk down the hall towards the exit. "Is it true that you've-"

"Yes," she interrupted him, glancing about quickly as if searching for any eavesdroppers. "I don't know how or why, but I do."

He stared at her for a moment, then held out his hand. "May I?"

She hesitated just for a moment, glancing around once more, and then slowly nodded.

He took her right hand and slowly unwound the bandages about it, stopping when he caught sight of a red mark. He drew in a slow breath at the sight.

Upon the back of her hand, the three Command Seals that denoted a Master of a Grail War shone their familiar color.

Caren stared at them as she had when they first appeared: Equal parts amazement, anger, and confusion.

Amazement because she, a simple, not even full member of the Church, had been chosen to participate in a War for a miracle.

Anger because she didn't want to, in any way, be around her father, who was stationed in the very place the War would be taking place.

Confusion because such a War shouldn't even be possible right now.

Another Grail War wouldn't be happening for at least another 55 years. Why had they appeared now, and on her of all people? She wasn't even a Magus, having never inherited her father's Magic Circuits, those having been granted to him at birth as a miracle, and she had absolutely no desire for the relic itself. A wish-granting artifact held little appeal to her: She was a rather down-to-earth person, despite having a bit of a nasty streak, and was content with what she had.

"I see..." the Executor muttered as he rewrapped the bandages, obscuring the Seals from sight and bringing a sigh of relief from their bearer. "So that's why you wished to speak with me... who else knows of this?"

"Only the head of the abbey, and he said that if anyone could help me with this, it would be you." she replied, then her voice shifted, the sincerity overtaking the mockery. "Can you?"

The man sighed. "If you want me to get rid of them, I'm afraid I can't. Those Seals are proof from the Grail itself that it recognizes you as a future Master."

"But I'm no Magus!"

"Regardless, the Grail has chosen you, and from the looks of things it has chosen early," the man replied simply, then held up a finger, "but I can help you prepare for such a War, if you are willing to do so. This way, you'll go in at least halfway competent and ready, and the Church will have its own official representative as well, in order to further prove the legitimacy of the War in general."

Noticing her confused expression, he elaborated. "The results of this last War have been very trying on both the Church and Association, especially with the revelation that a Servant had corrupted the Grail with its death. In order to prevent the Church from sending agents to find, confiscate, and dismantle the Grail on the grounds of being too dangerous, the Association has agreed to allow a sole member of the Church to enter any future Grail Wars as a willing participant."

Caren was silent, then asked, "But what if my-"

"If you are referring to your father, Kirei Kotomine, do not fear. As a supervisor for the War, he will at most be an impartial judge for the Church, forbidden from interfering directly with any Master, including any sent by the Church, assuming this War happens within his lifetime."

Caren was silent for a second more, then glanced down at the Seals, hidden by her bandages. She remembered the day that her father left her behind, not even turning around as she cried long and hard for him to come back, as well as how so many continued to compare her to him. Suddenly, the idea of succeeding where he failed, to obtain an omnipotent wish-granting device, was starting to sound better and better...

"Fine," she finally stated, her golden eyes blazing with determination not unlike her own father's when he fought his greatest enemy. "I'll go with you, Mr. Executor."

The man chuckled as they began to walk again. "Please, Ms. Hortensia, call me Shirou."

Fuyuki Streets

"Come on, guys!" Taiga Fujimura, wearing jeans, a striped blue sweatshirt, and black running shoes yelled to her comrades while running ahead of them. "Kiritsugu is going to be making dinner soon!"

"We would have been there already if you hadn't crashed the bike yesterday!" Soul, wearing jeans, a light-orange T-shirt, white and black shoes, and a black headband, now twenty years old, yelled back, though just slightly increasing his pace. "That's the last time I ever let you take it for a spin..."

"I said I was sorry!"

"'Sorry' doesn't pay for parts I had to buy to replace what was broken! If you're really sorry, hand me 200,000 yen and we'll call it even."

"Will the both of you stop acting like immature brats?" Maka, also twenty years old and wearing a white blouse, jeans, and black shoes with white buckles, her black coat slung over her shoulder, sighed. "Taiga, just buy him the newest guitar for Christmas if you want him to calm down." She then looked at Soul. "And besides, you never paid her back for breaking that expensive vase, remember? Consider yourselves even."

"Why are you taking her side Maka?" Soul half-asked, half-whined (because he was too cool to completely whine), "You're my partner, you're supposed to be on my side!"

She smashed a book into the back of his head, making him crumple to the ground. "Not when you're immature I'm not!" She then lifted him up, watching as he rubbed his head in pain. "Now let's go before Shirou and the others wonder where we are."

Taiga giggled slightly at the sight. "You know, I can kinda get why Shirou sometimes says you two should get married. You're made for each other!"

Suddenly, the two of them were right in front of her, their faces blushing a deep red. "We're not getting married, no matter how many times you say that!" they said at the same time, "Now let's go!"

With that, they passed by her and began speed walking towards the Emiya residence, muttering something along the lines of "Boyfriend/girlfriend?...", "Damn brat...", "Going all out on him next time..."

Taiga watched them for a moment, then smiled. "Yup, made for each other."

She quickly jogged after them. Kiritsugu's cooking was good, but those two could eat half of it in one sitting. She wouldn't be left out.

Emiya Residence (Later)

"Hey old man!" Shirou called out as Taiga, Soul, and Maka left, sporting a bandage around his head where Maka had 'accidently' broke a practice sword on and a black eye where Soul 'mistakenly' hit him in the face. "If you're going to sleep, at least do it inside with your bed!"

'Old man' Kiritsugu looked behind himself from where he was, currently sitting on the back porch looking up at the moon. "Oh... right," he muttered softly.

He watched as Shirou sat down next to him, smiling slightly as the twelve-year old winced from the injuries Maka and Soul had given him in a practice bout not too long ago. He admitted that Shirou deserved that after what Taiga told him about what they had learned during their walk here. Insinuating that Maka Albarn and Soul Eater Evans were dating, much less getting married, was tantamount to self-inflicted torture.

He himself honestly didn't understand what was so hard for them to admit they had feelings for each other. They obviously liked each other, they held hands and even slept in the same apartment together, yet as far as he knew had never once gone on a date... unless one counted their very passionate kiss while drunk during Shirou's last birthday a sign.

Sometimes, with the way those two had assimilated into the lifestyle of the household, serving as tutors and confidants to Shirou and watching him when himself and Maiya were unable to, it was easy to forget they were the agents sent by Edgar to watch him.

It made sense, he supposed, letting the two people who he had worked extensively with recently to stay and watch Shirou, help train him and do some rather fun things with him as well, such as taking him to amusement parks. He had originally been afraid of some friction at first, but they revealed that they knew about the Grail's curse and actually thanked him for what he did, stating that they succeeded with what they set out to do anyways.

That didn't mean they forgave him completely though. They still hadn't forgiven him for what he forced Saber to do, but they eventually got by that. They had eventually found a rhythm with the rest of the household, and nowadays it was an actual treat to see them around, like they were old friends. Hard to imagine sometimes that they had only met five years ago.

Had to give Edgar credit. The bastard knew how to do things right.

He winced slightly, bringing him back to the present. Five years: That was how long it took for Angra Mainyu's curse to reach its peak. He was in constant pain, his vision was failing him, and he could hardly move without Maiya to assist him. She was gone right now, having left earlier today for something and wouldn't be back until midnight.

Too late for him, in other words.

"Hey old man," Shirou said again, this time with his voice laced with some slight concern. "Are you alright?"

Kiritsugu looked at Shirou, the twelve, almost thirteen year old staring at him with a concerned, yet admiring face. He briefly flashed back to how he had originally taken him under his wing. Despite his words to Edgar, a part of him had indeed adopted Shirou because he knew he would never be able to see Illya again, and had wanted at least some sort of child figure in his life to make the pain at least a little more bearable.

Up until the last year or so, when he had become too weak to travel, he made multiple efforts to make it into the Einzbern Castle and take her back, but the Bounded Fields were too strong, too complex, and too changing to ever succeed. Even Edgar himself admitted that Einzbern Castle 'is one of the few places on Earth even we can't get into, at least not without them finding out. And we've gone into other worlds, old friend.'

Yes, at first, Shirou had been just something of a 'replacement goldfish' for him, but that had changed. Shirou had gotten along with him and Maiya splendidly, and what was once feelings being projected became actual emotions for the boy in front of him, not just the girl he left behind. Even the stone-hearted Maiya had warmed up to him to the point that she often smiled when he wasn't looking, and when he was the supposedly hard lines were actually just barely concealing the warmth she felt for him. It was like they were an actual family.

Speaking of which, never once since they took Shirou under their wings had they had another fling. He no longer wanted to hurt her with false love and empty sex; she deserved better than that.

"I'm fine..." he lied as he looked back at the moon. He most certainly was not fine, but he didn't say that to Shirou. He wanted their last moments together to be filled with happiness, not sadness on both parts. A little lie was preferable in this case.

"...You know, when I was a boy, I was hailed as a hero once." he began again, slowly seeing the face of his wife Irisviel within it. "People saw what I did and were amazed by the lengths I would go to do what I thought was right."

Again, not entirely untrue. People had been amazed... at the utter ruthlessness he had shown in his missions.

"Really? You were?" Shirou questioned while looking upwards in amazement. "Did you give it up?"

"Yeah, sadly I did..." Kiritsugu muttered as he felt his eyelids droop a bit. What it just him, or was Iri's image getting closer? "You can only be a hero for so long, and when you become an adult, you start to realize that it becomes harder to call yourself one..." His head lowered by a fraction as his breathing got a bit harder. "I wish I had realized that sooner..."

He then looked upwards again, the image of Iri definitely closer than before. It was also changing slightly, growing a body, arms and legs as it got closer.

"...but it truly was beautiful in its own way though..." he muttered. "...being a 'hero of justice'..."

"Yeah, it really sounds like it." Shirou admitted, following his gaze towards the moon before looking back at him with a smile and determined eyes. "And since you couldn't become a hero, I will instead!"

Kiritsugu looked away from Iri's descending form to stare at Shirou with a curious expression. Shirou continued regardless. "Since you're an adult and can't do it, I will instead! I'll become that hero of justice in your place!"

Kiritsugu's eyes widened a fraction as he stared at him. For a brief moment, he saw another young face in Shirou's place, a girl with blue eyes and hair, but with the same determined expression. A face he never thought he'd see again.

'Heroes aren't dead in this world! All the members of OSG, we're all heroes! I'll prove that much to you!"

'Sayaka,' he thought to himself, recalling the name of his old OSG partner, the one who had vowed to prove him wrong about the existence of true heroes in the end. 'I wonder what you would have said if you could see me now? You would have loved to have met this boy.'

A small smile formed on his face. "...I see. Well, that's a relief..." He then looked upwards once more, seeing Irisviel almost right above him, wearing that white dress with gold trimming she had worn on their wedding day. To his surprise, next to her was a teenage Filipino girl with her brown hair tied back into a ponytail, wearing a white T-shirt and blouse, her brown eyes twinkling with merriment and cleverness.

His first love, Shirley.

They both held their hands out to him with small smiles, and he in turn closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hearing both of their voices at the same time.

"Kerry, what do you want to be when you you get older?"

And as he clasped their hands, he said exactly what he had told her all those years ago.

"I want to be a hero."

And so Kiritsugu Emiya passed into the void with a smile on his face.

...

Grail Space

Well, this was a total waste of time. Now we have to wait a whole 'nother 60 years for the next War!

On the contrary friend, this wasn't a total waste of time. In fact, it's actually been a rather good one.

Really? And why's that, genius?

Seven Servants died, and of those, two had the Prana equivalent of two Servants, and another had the total worth of three. Even without that damned Saber, that's still ten Servants worth of Prana left over. With this much spare energy, I can cut the time required for the next War to ten years!

Well... I guess that's better.

And that's not all.

What do you mean?

I have enough energy even after that to summon even more Servants, almost double the original amount here!

...You mean...

Yes, you'll finally have your shot at winning the Grail, Grey. Your chance to have your wish granted will come. In fact, I've already chosen one of the new Masters, just to give her a fair chance to prepare given her... circumstances.

Since when were you about 'fair' chances?

Since I didn't erase your existence within this place after you told her father all about me.

...Heh, alright, I'll wait another ten years. Next time, we are getting out. I'll personally make sure of it.

Of course you will, Grey. I know it.

Stop calling me Grey, damn it. I'm tired of using my brother's name.

...As you insist... Prometheus.

That's more like it, Angra Mainyu.

...

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

-Winston Churchill

---

And so concludes the last chapter of my greatest work yet. Ironically enough, by the time I post this, it's the last day of my school year, so now I have the whole summer to rest, think, and of course, write down the sequel.

I greatly enjoyed writing this story, and I'm so glad so many were willing to give this fic the chance it deserves. I've even done the math: This fic, in terms of favs, follows and reviews combined, is the most popular multi-crossover of them all, surpassed only by TIM's own two stories. I can't express how happy it makes me that it has been so well received, so I will simply say: Thank you to everyone.

Unfortunately, the sequel itself won't be next. I need to write a sort of 'interquel', detailing the events of what happens to Shirou during the next five years between Kiritsugu's death and the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War. Basically, just a little character development, both for him and for OSG, who haven't gotten much in this fic.

It won't be long; at the current rate of writing I'm doing and what I plan to write, it should only be a few weeks of waiting. Afterwards, the true sequel begins, and I will endeavor to top this one in every way possible.

Once again, thank you all for staying with me for so long. Please leave a review of what you ultimately thought about this story in the end, and I hope to see you all soon.

Also, if you see any tropes worth mentioning on TvTropes, I would be grateful if you added those tropes to its trope page. Just type in the name and edit when you get there!

Goodbye everyone. This is X the Reaper, signing off... until next time.

(Note: I'm having a crisis on a certain Servant appearance, so I need your input. Would you rather have Ulquiorra Cifer or Barragan Luisenbarn of Bleach fame to appear in the next Grail War? Go to my profile to vote on the poll. Depending on the public's answers, I'll choose one or even both.)