Author's Note: To the guest reviewer who keeps asking if I'm still working on this, yes, yes I am. Enjoy!

Arjuna, what do you think? Vrishakethu asked silently, the game completely forgotten as they looked at each other. Arjuna frowned, thinking about it. Why is he telling us this now?

Because our enemies know, Arjuna replied instantly. That was clear to him. The secret was nothing but a liability to him. Arjuna thought about it a moment more. It was taking a chance but… I think we can trust them, for now at least. What decided him was Rika. Arjuna did not believe she would be capable of playing them false.

"We will trust you for now," Vrishakethu said, which satisfied Rika. Caster was smiling a little, but sadly. Ah, he was thinking of the ultimate conclusion, when they would have to turn against each other. For a while things were quiet, as he and Vrishakethu played chess. Arjuna steepled his chin in his hands as he considered the board. For a neophyte, his Master was quickly gaining ability with the game. Vaguely, Arjuna wondered if Karna had possessed this skill.

"There is one thing I'm wondering about," Rika said after a while and Caster settled down on the cushions beside her, giving her a questioning look. "Why'd the story have such a crappy end? I mean, all the kids got killed and then everyone dies! That sucks like the Little Mermaid!" …Little Mermaid? "The story of Rama and Sita had a way better end, what's up with that?"

"Well miss, it might be because Rama and Sita are essentially mythological. The Mahabharata might be embellished, but it is something that actually happened," Caster said and Arjuna nodded. He'd lived the events, they had most certainly happened, although modern humans could be forgiven for doubting it. Rika stared at her cell phone for a moment before lowering it and looking at her Servant.

"Shirou, why are we so mean to each other?" That simple question made Arjuna's breath catch in his throat. Looking at Caster he saw the man's shoulder's slump, a great weight of sorrow in his face.

"I don't know Rika. I don't know," he said and Rika suddenly hugged him, resting against Caster's chest. As Arjuna watched, Shirou put a hand on Rika's shoulder, gently cuddling her close.

I think we can trust him to look after Rika, Vrishakethu said softly and Arjuna nodded. There was a bond forming there, as deep as his with Vrishakethu, in a different way. Arjuna lifted his head as he heard someone approaching – his Archer senses were very keen – and quietly warned everyone before the monk appeared.

"Today, you are to work in the garden," he told them all and Arjuna nodded, resigned. This was part of their cover. Vrishakethu rose with a smile as Rika put away her cell phone. Caster had enchanted her slightly so along with her new, monastic clothing, all the monks except Issei believed she was a boy.

Together, they went to the gardens to pull weeds and check the plants for pests. Arjuna really knew nothing about it – even if he'd known much about gardening, many of the plants were foreign to him – but he understood that anything growing outside of the matching lines was not supposed to be there. In the few cases he had doubts, he asked Caster. He and the other Heroic Spirit tended to the harder work of weeding while Rika and Vrishakethu worked on the pests.

"Ewww, gross!" Rika said and they all glanced over to see her hand was coated in slime. Caster didn't look up from the weeds.

"Learn not to crush them, miss." Arjuna chuckled softly as Vrishakethu shook his head. Rika had a bad habit of crushing the snails when she picked them off the weeds. They all knew she was doing it on purpose, to get rid of them permanently. Vrishakethu tossed them into a bucket and they would eventually be relocated. Where? He wasn't sure. But the monks also used coffee and a strange kind of earth to keep the snails away, so they would be risking their lives to come back.

The pests were removed long before the weeding was done – not too many snails made it past the precautions – so Vrishakethu and Rika joined them in weeding. The weeds were truly endless, the monks removed them with nothing but hands, hoes and hard work.

"I think I like gardening. I need to talk to daddy about getting some planters," Rika mused as they worked. She didn't bother with gloves, her hands impervious to any harm as she casually ripped out the thorniest of weeds. Vrishakethu donned gloves. It was more practical than using reinforcement for such a small thing.

They completed the chore in good time and then, Arjuna and Caster were both asked to help out in the kitchen, making the afternoon meal. Arjuna was not a cook but he was proficient at peeling vegetables and oddly enough, Caster was excellent. He was quickly becoming prominent among the monks for his cooking skills.

Supper was mostly vegetables, light on the fish, since the monks believed that vegetarianism was the ideal spiritual diet. However, the children in particular were given more meat. Issei quite firmly believed they needed it to grow and thrive, something Arjuna agreed with.

After supper, Arjuna settled on the roof of the temple to watch the gate. If anyone was likely to try to breach their defenses, it would be at night. Between Caster's wards and the familiars Vraj had already set to guard, they would have plenty of warning, but Arjuna still intended to greet intruders with arrows.

…? A flicker of movement caught his eye and Arjuna turned his head before smiling softly. Vrishakethu was working on a new familiar, using a dead songbird that wasn't too badly decayed. Living flesh would have been better, but Vraj hated the thought of harming animals so. Rika was by his side, watching with wide eyes as Vraj reanimated the bird. Caster was also there and Arjuna could almost hear his voice, calmly explaining what Vraj was doing. The other Heroic Spirit had no skill with such things, but he did understand them. Arjuna wished he could watch them longer but he dutifully turned his attention back to the gate.

It was his duty to watch.

Cu Chulainn grinned as he cleaned off his spear.

"One down." Working together, he and Belle had just taken down Rider and his Master. Rider had been a piss poor example of the class, in Cu's opinion, and his Master had been just as bad. An amateur magus who hardly knew what he was doing, Belle had observed them with her familiars and then killed him with the same. Pretty sad honestly.

"That's the trash out 'o the way. We gotta look at Caster next," Belle said and Cu Chulainn nodded. Everyone could feel that bastard now, pulling gently on the ley lines and funnelling the power to the temple. It was damned obvious where he'd set up shop and Cu Chulainn looked forward to taking him down. "Unless we find that Assassin." Oh FUCK YES.

"If we find that bitch I'm going after her," Cu said and his Master nodded with a thin smile.

"Wouldn't want it any other way." Cu Chulainn was glad they were in agreement. He'd have done it anyway but it was nice to know he had his Master's full support.

They could gut that bitch together.

Theoretically, this Grail War should have been impossible.

Shirou and Rin did not know, because the Einzberns' kept their secrets well, but they had given up on the Grail. After the failure of their greatest creation, Ilya, they had turned their attention to other things. So they had not created a new Lesser Grail, leaving the machinery of the Greater Grail to moulder.

However, there was another Lesser Grail, still unused. The Greater Grail trembled and spun before spewing out a final Servant.

It was horrifying, but that didn't matter. One way or another, this Grail War would find a conclusion.

Scouting out Caster did not go too well for Cu Chulainn and Belle Laveau.

It didn't go too badly either. Realizing that spirits could only enter via the gate, Belle sent her undead familiars to scout. They got fairly close before one of them was found by another undead familiar. At that point, undead rats and birds began flooding the woods and Laveau pulled back her familiars before she could lose them all.

Cu Chulainn, meanwhile, tried the stairs. He encountered a rather amateurish chimera – Vraj hadn't had the time to properly finish it – which delayed him only a moment. But that moment was more than long enough and then blue arrows rained down.

Shit! Cu, pull back! Cu Chulainn did that with alacrity, realizing that he was facing an alliance of Caster and Archer.

We can't take them here. Cu Chulainn had a decent magic resistance but he wasn't a Saber. Combine that with Archer, in Caster's territory… this wasn't going to work. These two are serious players. This was a potentially deadly alliance, for now anyway. Alliances tended to come apart easily in the Grail Wars.

Yeah. Although I wonder who made those chimeras, Belle mused as Cu made his way back through the forest, alert to any dangers. Can't believe it was Caster, they were apprentice work. Must be a Master.

"That so," Cu muttered, staying alert to any dangers as he headed back to his Master. She was tucked away in the home they'd rented, viewing things through his eyes and her familiars. "Well, we'll skip them for now. Next up is Saber." Although again, it would be better to bait him out. They'd already scouted Shirou and Rin a little and lost undead familiars in the process. "Fuckers all like to hide." It was damned annoying. He just wanted a good fight!

We'll set some bait, someone will take it. Belle sounded confident and Cu Chulainn grinned. He thought she was right, there was always someone who couldn't resist.

Soon, he'd have the fight he was craving.

Scouting out Caster went even worse for Shirou and Rin.

If it had just been his older self, Shirou's plan would have worked. Heroic Spirit Emiya hadn't quite been like Kiritsugu. He'd preferred to use his magic, specialized though it was. And as a Heroic Spirit and a Counter-Guardian, Emiya's abilities with modern technology had mouldered. He could still use it, of course, and he understood it but it was never a first resort.

So the drone strike would have taken Caster by surprise. However, Archer spotted the incoming danger easily and shot down every last one. Rin and Shirou got absolutely nothing but a few blue flashes before thousands of dollars of equipment became nothing but scrap. They didn't realize it was arrows so they achieved less than Cu Chulainn and Laveau. Saber didn't even try to go up the steps. For Arjuna, though, it was quite a busy night. But he didn't mind.

Shooting down drones was an excellent use of his skills.

The next morning.

"Aw, Archer, why didn't you wake us up? This sounds awesome!" Rika complained over breakfast. It was Japanese omelettes with rice and miso soup. She picked up her cup of soup and blew on it a bit before taking a large swallow. Caster looked mildly pained at the action while Vrishakethu emulated her, to Arjuna's amusement.

"You needed your sleep and I had the situation well in hand. If necessary, I would have called Caster to support me," Arjuna said easily, picking up his chopsticks and taking a piece of the omelet. It was one of Caster's efforts and beautifully made, fluffy and just a touch sweet.

"Indeed, there was no reason to disturb you Miss," Caster supported and Vrishakethu yawned, pushing a bit of hair out of his eyes. It immediately flopped back down as it was wont to do.

"Well, I lost half my familiars and that big chimera I made. I'll have to make another," Vrishakethu said and Arjuna took another bite of omelet as Caster made a face. Arjuna wondered why, he'd had no objection to Vraj's other efforts.

"I suppose you'll need Archer and I to purloin some raw materials?" Caster asked and Arjuna paused in his eating a bit as he realized the other Heroic Spirit was right. For the current crop, Arjuna had helped Vraj harvest corpses. This time, though, if they wanted the children to remain safe, well… but Vrishakethu shook his head.

"No, I'll go with Archer again. I can take care of myself," Vraj said firmly and Arjuna felt rather relieved. Vrishakethu could animate the corpses, in a temporary fashion, and get them to follow. It was vastly preferable to carrying them. Even knowing he wasn't susceptible to illnesses, handling the dead made Arjuna feel dirty. "And it will be a huge time saver. If you and Archer have to carry things by hand it will take at least twice as long."

"Can I help too? Can I can I?" Rika asked and Caster replied very firmly.

"No." Rika looked ready to argue but he continued. "Vraj can show you how he animates corpses at any time. You would only be exposing yourself to danger, miss. We should both remain at the temple."

"Awww." Rika pouted a little but accepted that, to Arjuna's relief. Not that having Rika along would slow them – it wouldn't – but there was no point to it.

The rest of the day, he and Vrishakethu spent doing just that, gathering body parts from various places. Fortunately Vraj knew all the tricks. Arjuna would not have thought of visiting the local dog shelter to take the dogs that had been put down, before their bodies could be incinerated.

"Father did this although he usually took the living ones," Vrishakethu said quietly as the dogs silently followed them back to the temple. "I'll take the shortcut." That was a path through the woods. Arjuna couldn't take it without risking death, thanks to the incredible hostility of the area to unwelcome spirits.

"Yes, that would be wise," Arjuna said, confident that Vraj would be fine. And they didn't need to bring a pack of dogs up the stairs. Dead dogs as well although fortunately, they didn't look very dead.

So Arjuna entered via the gate while Vraj went through the woods. The met with Caster and Rika and Caster directed them where to put the dogs for safe-keeping while they tended to the chores. Soon everything was put away and when the sun began to fall, Vrishakethu would replace his chimera. After that he would begin on collecting more small animals.

Arjuna had a pleasant evening helping in the kitchen. He was a touch surprised when Rika accosted him after supper.

"Um, Arjuna, can you do something for me? I'd ask Caster but I think he'd plotz." Plotz? Arjuna didn't know the word but he got the gist, as Rika twirled her hair in one finger and looked embarrassed. "Can… can you buy me some condoms?" …Ahhhh. She was right, Caster would 'plotz'.

"Certainly," Arjuna said instantly. He found the idea pleasing. To his way of thinking, Rika was eminently suitable for Vrishakethu. She was young, pretty, energetic and while Vrishakethu wasn't aware of it, Arjuna thought he was reciprocating her interest. And condoms were a wonderful invention. Arjuna wished there had been something as convenient when he'd been alive. Rika's eyes went wide. "I will get an assortment of sizes." He had no idea what Vraj would take. Rika squeaked before giving him a relieved smile.

"Oh thank you! You're so cool! I don't know what I'd do without you!" Rika suddenly hugged him, to Arjuna's surprise. But then he smiled and gently hugged her back. Ah, she reminded him of Pragati so much. That one incident… but that boy had been completely unworthy of his daughter. Unlike Vrishakethu. "Thank you!"

"It is nothing. I will do that immediately," Arjuna said easily. He had the time. Although he should change his clothing first, a monk buying so many condoms would be… unusual. Chuckling softly at the thought, Arjuna went to his rooms to don street clothing.

It was an odd errand but he didn't mind it at all.