Chapter 2: The Clock Tower Goes To War

"Show me what heroes of this world can do. Show me your true power, Bradamante."

In the overwhelming silence, the creature in black took off her dragon helmet.

"Whoa! It's my lucky day!" Dante smiled widely, seeing such beautiful face. "So another sexy and badass woman joins my team, huh? It's a shame to hide something this gorgeous under the helmet, don't you think?"

In the next second the tip of her weird spiky spear landed a few millimeters from his nose.

"Aaaand, another sexy and badass woman wants to stab me. Some things never change."

"I asked you a question," the creature said in cold, deep voice that could run shivers down anyone's spine. "Answer me."

"Well, who'd you expected to see?" - the half-demon replied with a shrug. "Of course I am. Even if I don't like this 'war', or how you call it here, I won't break my promise. A man should finish what he started, right?"

"Hmm." The woman looked pleased by his answer. She withdrew her weapon and – finally – dismounted the demonic horse. Although much smaller than Dante, she still could intimidate basically anyone with just a glance. "Let me then introduce myself. I am Arturia Pendragon, currently in Lancer class. I shall destroy all those who would stand in your path."

"And I'm Dante. Just Dante." He sighed, suddenly feeling out of place. Maybe he should come up with a fancy title for himself? "So… you're a famous hero from the past? Sorry, but I'm not familiar with your legends and history."

"Actually, I was once a king of this country." She watched Dante carefully, searching for signs of disbelief or protest, but couldn't find anything suspicious. Maybe a woman-king was not unusual in his world? Or maybe it was just like he had said before – he was used to company of powerful female warriors? "Ah, I can feel it clearly – we're in the heart of Britain. The land itself feeds me with power. But I suggest you to keep my identity secret as long as possible."

"Right, your weird rules. Fine, fine." Indeed, since the strange red tattoos appeared on his hand (was it a helmet or a shield?), his mind has been filled with rules and names he's never heard of before: Noble Phantasms, Servant classes, Command Spells... The more Dante was thinking about it, the more he was sure he got accidentally involved in some shady business. He sighed helplessly. It was too late for such doubts. "A king from ancient times has come to serve me, although I only slay demons for pizza…"

Arturia wasn't sure if he's joking or not.

"What's your point?" – she asked, narrowing dangerously her beautiful golden eyes.

"That you have a strange world here. Not that mine is much better, but still…"

"I see." Lancer tilted her head, slightly amused. Although the blood of demons was running through his veins (thanks to her powerful dragon circuits, she could sense such things with ease), her new Master was more human than he himself realized. "A Servant is just a tool. Think of me not as a person but a new fancy weapon to your collection. In a Grail War death is a price for stupid doubts."

Dante only stared at her, wondering what's wrong with this reality. No way he's going to accept something like that! She was too breathtaking to be just a material ghost.

"You seem to be more than just a Servant the Grail informed me about. Your body is… too real."

"Indeed, the summoning went slightly different than usual. It seems that I… reincarnated rather than materialized." She focused for a moment. Her heart was beating slowly but steadily, her skin reacted normally to coldness of the wind. But she could feel that her stomach is starting to demand food – and that wasn't typical for a Servant. "I suspect that your lack of magic circuits is the reason of this abnormality, Master."

"Just Dante, ok?" He frowned, trying to understand what she's talking about. Demons usually do not care for spells, they just feed directly on the energy of others. "My lack of what?"

"Mages in this world generate energy for their spells in special circuits, which are carved in their souls. You don't posses anything like this, but your raw power is still outstanding. It seems that, instead of magical energy, you shared your life force with me." Arturia fell silent for a while, then hummed, realizing something. "It won't change my fighting potential, but I'm afraid I cannot dematerialize."

"Oh." That was problematic, considering her outfit, which seemed at least weird in the modern city. Not that Dante looked any less suspicious… "And your horse?"

She shook her head and caressed the demonic horse between its ears. The mare narrowed her eyes and neighed quietly. Dante wasn't an expert, but even he could say that this is an amazing, strong beast. Arturia alone was definitely a terrifying adversary, and the demon hunter had fought enough mounted fiends to know how powerful these two can be.

"Llamrei," Lancer said, seeing raising curiosity in the gaze of her new Master. "Her name is Llamrei. I would invite you to travel in the saddle with me, but I'm afraid she hasn't accepted you… yet."

"Clever beast." The demon hunter smiled. "Trust is something that must be deserved first."

Arturia only hummed in response. They were standing like this for a long moment, thinking intensively. What they were going to do now, lost in a modern city?

"We should make contact with our faction first," Lancer suggested eventually.

"Right." Dante, who seemed to be a man of action, listened eagerly to Arturia's suggestion. "Let's stick to back alleys for now."

Arturia agreed and their weird trio, led by instinct and faint traces of magic in the air, walked slowly into the night, more or less in the direction of the Clock Tower.

Reines Ell-Melloi Archisorte was a very attractive woman. In her twenties she still possessed that special charm and grace of a bisque doll. And she knew well how to use it to her advantage.

It shouldn't be then so surprising for Waver that, during his two-week absence, she totally took over the Clock Tower. But it was a huge surprise, especially when he's learnt that Reines is now in charge of a special operation group… and that she already knows much more about the Fuyuki Grail than he has ever intended to tell her.

"Here you are at last!" She welcomed Rin and Waver on the corridor with unusual enthusiasm. "Now we can finally start the preparations!"

"Huh?" I wasn't the best possible reaction, but she took them by surprise.

"Oh, come on, brother." She caressed gently the only silver strand in Waver's still gorgeous hair. "Don't you know that our great and almighty Queen, our precious Vice Director Barthomeloi Lorelei had been abducted? And because of that the Clock Tower is now preparing for war?"

"What?" – Rin shouted, totally shocked. Barthomeloi was one of the strongest mages of the modern era, able to challenge Dead Apostle Ancestors one on one and win. How anyone could abduct her? Maybe by surprise, but then again – how can anyone could surprise or even approach someone this powerful and skilled? It seemed preposterous! "What are you talking about?!"

"What war?" – asked Waver, not much calmer than his companion.

In response Reines touched the back of Waver's hand, where the outline of Command Spells had already formed.

"The Great Holy Grail War of Ice and Storm, of course. And don't give me that look, of course I knew everything from the very beginning!" She giggled like a little girl, but something vicious remained in her gaze anyway. "But it's not important now. Come, the others are waiting. We have some explaining to do."

Rin and Waver exchanged surprised looks and followed her to a big chamber guarded by two battle mages. Another candidate for a Master of Ice was waiting inside – the red-haired gentleman, and one of the one of the best instructors in the Clock Tower, Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri.

He greeted them with a slight bow of head. He tried to sit on a sofa in a seemingly relaxed pose, but still looked like he wanted to sink into the carpet. Unlike Waver, who would do almost everything to re-summon his old friend and former Servant, this guy never dreamt of being a Master. He would probably pass this doubtful honor, along with his Command Spells, to another mage, if they had time and a painless method to achieve it.

"So, we're almost ready." Reines, visibly excited by her role of the coordinator, made them all take seats around the table. "Before we get started, could you please introduce yourself, Master of Assassin?"

"Okay, okay, nice to meet you and all…" The partially distorted voice came from the weird device on the table. "For some reason I would like to remain anonymous as long as possible. You can call me Ji… if you must."

Tohsaka raised an eyebrow, observing with caution the crackling box – mistrust towards modern technology was carved deeply into her genome. Unlike her, Waver wasn't impressed at all.

"Who's late?" – he asked with hands in his pockets.

Before anyone managed to answer a loud laughter reach them from the corridor. It was such characteristic, awful sound…

"No! Why you, of all people?! Why?!" Rin barely controlled the sudden urge to escape through the window. "Why this always happens to me?!"

As if in response to her yelling, the door opened and an elegant blonde in blue dress entered the room.

"Isn't it obvious, Miss Tohsaka? It's because I, Luviagelita Edelfelt, am the best suited to become a Master in this war!"

Shirou stared at his cell phone with a mix of annoyance and sadness, like if the poor device was responsible for all his problems.

"Damn you, Tohsaka. You won't die if you pick up your phone sometimes, you know?"

"Calm down, you'll kill the battery." Scáthach leisurely stretched her arms, staring at the window. She looked gorgeous in her simple modern outfit – a purple costume with short down jacket fitted perfectly for the cold region they were heading to. Her deadly spears rested safely in a sheath, pretending to be just skis. Together with Shirou they looked like a funny pair on a mountain trip. "You're a hot-headed brat sometimes, you know? I'm still amazed that you just jumped into the train because that Shinji guy told you that probably the Einzberns have his little sister. What if his informants were wrong and you're just pursuing shadows?"

"Shinji may be an asshole, but he's always been quite popular and knew how to get to people. Even I use his contacts sometimes." Shirou sighed, remembering something. "Anyway, I believe him in this matter."

"I see. Did I misheard something or he said that the castle was not only abandoned, but also devastated?"

"Yeah." Emiya stared at the window, thinking. Their train was slowly moving through silent German woods, already covered under the veil of snow. The landscape that should be rather calming somehow made Shirou more and more nervous with every passing kilometer. "He said that the castle was destroyed 'like if Gilgamesh did it.'."

Shirou did not have to imagine how the building looked like, he had witnessed the battle of legends during the last war. The castle had been rebuilt few months later and a small delegation of the Einzbern homunculi lived there for some time. They were even running some magical experiments, although not as much as Tohsaka (her residence almost exploded several times during only last year!).

"If a Servant or something at least as strong is involved, do you think it's wise to go there in your condition? You haven't fully recovered yet."

Her pupil should at least show some remorse or embarrassment, but instead he gave Scáthach a wide, sincere smile.

"Nothing bad can happen if you're with me, right?"

The beautiful eyes of the Queen of Shadows narrowed dangerously.

"Your insolence is unbelievable," she said, crossing her legs. "Although still far from the level of that idiot Sétanta. I agreed to teach you, not to babysit you, Shirou. Never forget about that."

"Yes, Ma'am." He saluted obediently and fell silent to not tease his teacher anymore. He has already learnt that Scáthach usually doesn't open her mouth unprovoked… but if you push her too much, you will regret it. Like with a butterfly that can cause a stone avalanche if it hits the right spot.

Actually, even the smallest chatter with her felt like a lesson. Emiya did not intend to complain, though. Everything he could learn from such legendary person was literally priceless.

But now they both retreated to the comfortable silence of their own minds, trying to predict what awaits them in the infamous headquarter of the Einzberns.

"What have you done this time, Dante?"

Being transported into another reality without warning or even asking permission is not a very pleasurable experience. Especially when you suddenly find yourself in a dirty back alley and cold rain is shamelessly falling down on your head.

Vergil instinctively ran his hand through hair, fixing it. He didn't like having his hair wet and covering his eyes. His resemblance to Dante was problematic enough even when they did not look exactly the same.

"So... a tournament for mages?" That was interesting. No doubt his little brother had no idea what he's getting himself into. Vergil had much better understanding of the dark arts, so he quickly realized that the spellcaster, who sent Dante to this world, knew exactly what he was doing.

It was a clever trick, honestly, based solely on the demon's legacy in their blood. A summoning spell, using traditional portals. But the mysterious magus couldn't expect that, since the same blood runs through the half-demon brothers veins, they both will come to this reality to become Masters of similar Servants. Or could he?

Whatever it was, this situation, although unexpected, had some pluses as well. The 'omnipotent wish-granting device' sounded very promising. Judging from the knowledge the Grail itself had fed the newly appointed Master, winning the tournament should be easy for someone as skilled as Vergil.

Still amazed by this strange otherworldly magic, the elder son of Sparda stared at his left hand, where a sign of his right to participate in the war took shape of a… spear? A very unusual one, which looked like a two-bladed sword. He wondered for a while if this supposes to mean anything. Or maybe the Grail has some weird sense of aesthetics, to decorate mages with such fancy tattoos?

No matter, it was only a symbol. From what he understood, his Servant is the only thing necessary to obtain the Grail. Speaking of which…

"You may show up already," he said, feeling a partially hostile presence nearby.

A long-legged blonde obediently emerged from around corner. Her big blue eyes seemed to silently judge Vergil and it was nearly obvious that this Servant is not happy to have him as a Master.

"Lancer of Storm, Bradamante," she said eventually with a slight bow of her head. Vergil noticed that her golden hair was carefully pinned up at the top, but unusually long strands were falling freely on her back anyway. "Came in response to your summons. Forgive me for asking such insolent questions, but… Master, are you a black mage? Or…" The next word couldn't slip through her tightened throat. "A demon?"

"And what if I am?"

The warrior maiden tensed visibly, her hand instinctively found the hilt of the strange weapon, which looked like a tip of a spear. Vergil suspected that it can increase its length on demand, or at least emit beams of energy. Whatever it was, he surely could handle it. The magical shield wielded by the maiden seemed much more interesting to him.

"If you're disappointed, know that the feeling is mutual." He smirked mockingly, trying to provoke her. "What a little girl like you can possibly do?"

It worked, because Bradamante's cheeks turned red in an instant. She stood straight, grasping her strange shield like before a battle.

"I am one of the twelve Charlemagne's Paladins, The Knight of White Feathers! Don't take me lightly!"

"Show me then." Yamato suddenly appeared in Vergil's hand and Lancer wondered for a while how it's possible that such a long blade moves so fast. "Show me what heroes of this world can do. Show me your true power, Bradamante."

Lancer hesitated for a moment. Attacking a Master wasn't something she wanted to do, but if this strange man was a demon or even worse - a dark mage! - her duty was to strike him down here and now. Even if she'll become a traitor, a failure of a Servant, she was still a paladin, obliged to fight evil in any shape.

"Fine, if this is an order." She stepped forward with iron determination in her gaze. "Get ready!"

"Oh, but I am ready," Vergil replied, a bit too cheerfully in her opinion. Like if he was enjoying this upcoming duel. Such people were dangerous, in Bradamante's opinion. Maybe even too dangerous to be left alone.

"You won't use magic, only your sword?"

Vergil shrugged at this weird suggestion.

"I like to fight fairly," he stated so simply, that Lancer didn't know what to think about it. "Therefore, you may land the first blow."

So she did. Metal clashed with metal with a rain of sparkles. Even this one strike was enough for Lancer to realize that this strange man is far stronger than any human of this world.

After only a short exchange they both froze suddenly, staring into the darkness of the nearby alley. Soon two figures materialized there: a dark-skinned bowman in white clothes and a dragonlike knight with an oversized two-handed blade.

"Oh? Looks like we interrupted something," the shorter man said politely. Just one glance at him told Vergil, that this slim, elegant Archer is more dangerous than he looks. "Please forgive me, for a moment I thought that two Servants are fighting, but now I see I was wrong." Something similar to admiration was visible in his gaze. Vergil wondered if Masters with high fighting potential are not common in this world. "Anyway, would you like to listen to us for a while before you kill each other?"

Bradamante and her Master exchanged questioning looks, then simultaneously lowered their weapons. If something important is on the matter, their little battle for domination can wait.

"Go on," Vergil said, piercing the bowman with a cold gaze. He almost completely ignored the other warrior, feeling no real threat from him. If things are about to go violent, Lancer will take care of the dragon.

Bradamante either could read his intensions or came to the same conclusion, because she moved slightly to the left, closer to the wall. It was a perfect position to attack the silent swordsman if necessary.

Both Servants of Storm must have noticed those little preparations, but did not react to them in any way. They were sent here to negotiate first, so they tried to behave as friendly as possible.

"Let me get straight to the point then: the Grand Master of Storm sends his greetings and expects you to join us in the fortress." Archer bowed slightly, but Berserker only watched them with his cold blue eyes. "The rest has already gathered, we've been waiting only for you to show up."

"What for?" Vergil tilted his head, waiting more for an offer than for an explanation.

"To talk about the conditions of your cooperation. The Grail is currently in our possession, so we must only defend it and slay enough enemy Servants to activate it. No matter what your wishes are, it should be enough to grant them all."

The offer was, indeed, tempting. Except one small detail: the Grand Master himself. No matter who he was, Vergil hated with all his heart the idea of serving as one of his minions.

"And if we refuse?"

"You will become our enemies." The way Archer said it, totally devoid of emotion, was disturbing. Like he didn't care or maybe even tried to provoke them to attack. Whatever it was, he clearly played his own little games behind the back of this so-called Grand Master of Storm. "As such, you will be dealt with. Immediately."

"I see."

The silence that fell between them was thick, tense, and long enough to become awkward. Berserker said something to his exotic companion, who nodded and asked Vergil politely:

"So? What is your answer?"

Instead of responding, Vergil raised his sword again. Archer did not seem surprised and immediately used his bow. At the same moment, Bradamante's spear clashed with the two-handed sword of Berserker.

"Too bad we must end up as enemies," Lancer said, bravely trying to withstand the raw strength of the dragon warrior. She almost fell on her knees when Berserker pressed forward to smash her. "Do not underestimate me! A Paladin won't ever fall!"

But the real spectacle, different than that petty scuffle, started between the other two warriors, and it was a battle of minds more than of weapons. When one summoned energetic arrows, the other answered with incorporeal blades. When one attacked physically, the other dodged with incredible swiftness and grace. Faster, higher, harder, until they both resembled smudges of light more than persons.

The son of Sparda quickly realized that exchanging missiles with an archer is not the wisest idea, but his opponent turned out to be really skilled when it comes to keeping the right distance during a duel.

Fine. It's time for some tricks then.

Another portion of summoned swords clashed with arrows above their heads, splashing into a waterfall of sparks. This little explosion should be enough to blind Archer and catch him off guard. Vergil attacked immediately, shifting into the smudge of shadows. He appeared right behind his opponent and slashed mercilessly with his sword, aiming for the neck.

"Oh? It's been a long time since I last fought a demon." To Vergil's amazement, Archer managed to block the blow and smiled. It was a wild, almost insane expression of a bloodthirsty beast. This strange Servant probably liked fighting much more than he dared to admit, even to himself.

"I knew you're a weird one." Vergil returned the smirk. It would be fun to take this warrior down. Maybe he'll need to fight seriously soon, who knows? For now just toying with the enemy Servant was funny enough.

"Am I?" The bowman dodged the next blow with disturbing ease. "Maybe. But I won't lose to the one like you. I have a much more important task."

"We'll see."

They had nothing more to say to each other, so they let their weapons and magic speak instead.

"Is it certain?" Tohsaka asked, glancing at the cup of steaming tea. No meeting in the Clock Tower could do without tea, to Rin's raising frustration. She preferred the red Chinese tea, or at least Japanese tea, so drinking this brown brew, sometimes with a bit of milk, was a torture for her. "That the disappearance of the Queen is connected to the Grail?"

"Who knows?" – Reines replied simply, stretching on the sofa. "But, if we want to retrieve the Grail, it's better to insist that these cases are connected."

That was true. Even if no one in the Association really cared for Barthomeloi 's wellbeing, they would still be involved. For some mages it was a matter of honor – no one should raise a hand against the ultimate authority of the magi world and go unpunished, right? For others it was a perfect occasion to climb up the ranks of the Clock Tower hierarchy, either by becoming a Master or just supplying the team with necessary resources. There was also a group that only desired the Grail, for the 'scientific purposes', which would aid the challengers just to reach this goal.

So, no matter the outcome, participating in the next Grail War was beneficial for the Association.

"But why Ice and Storm?"

"Who knows?" Lord El-Melloi II shrugged. "Maybe it's named after the most powerful or important Servant in their ranks?"

"It still doesn't make sense. Why their team is called 'Storm faction' then? Since they're hiding on the island of ice, I suppose they have at least one Norse Servant…"

"Maybe they somehow summoned Thor," Luvia suggested, crossing her arms.

"That would be… troublesome."

"Every Servant can be killed. We just need to summon some kind of Ice Queen to counter him."

"But we already have one." Waver chuckled, glancing meaningfully at Luvia. Rin's face brightened in an instant at this joke.

"Excuse me, did you say something?" The head of the Edelfelt family asked so politely that it was rather scary. But the most terrifying was the fact how much Luvia and Rin resembled each other, especially when they got older and more powerful.

"I'm really glad you're enjoying yourselves, but let's get back to the topic." Reines nonchalantly took a sip of her tea. "Since our current plan to invade the island is far from perfect, we should summon other Servants first and prepare something better, based on their abilities. Archer or Caster would be most appreciated."

"Is it not a job for Assassin to infiltrate the enemy territory?" – asked Bram, trapped between two dangerous Gandr users, and visibly tired of their never-ending fights.

"We tried. But Assassin's methods are… specific and not really suited for this kind of cold environment. Do you know what wind and ice can do to origami spies?" Seeing no understanding in their gazes, Reines sighed painfully. "It will be easier to just show you. Can you please come down here, Assassin?"

A small girl in pink and violet robes materialized in the room. She had funny glasses, very long hair and… a cape with bat ears?

"Good evening everyone," she said drowsily, barely glancing at the gathered mages. "I'm Assassin of Ice, the yōkai princess of Himeji Castle, Osakabe. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Assassin." Rin couldn't hold a smile – the cute girl reminded her of someone she once knew. More importantly, it's been long since she'd last seen a Servant and she did not expect how much she missed such sensation.

"Yes, yes, whatever." Osakabehime sighed overdramatically, pretending to ignore the nice welcome. Talking to them was clearly a very unpleasant duty for her. "As our Boss kindly explained, I am far more subtle than some boring sneaking ninja or whatever you may think of an Assassin class. I have my own Servants to do the boring job while I can focus on important stuff, like defense." She stopped suddenly and winced, visibly angry. "I would gladly continue, but my spies have been just attacked, right after they detected signals of fighting Servants. Here, in London. You should probably send someone to check it."

"Yup, I can see them as well," Ji announced proudly through the communicator. "I'm sending a map to the patrolling team."

"It will be done." Reines nodded and summoned an assistant to give him detailed orders. "Do you know who attacked you, Assassin? That vixen again?"

"Yeah. But there's someone else, watching from the shadows. And I really don't like his aura."

With those words she disappeared from the room, leaving the mages in not very optimistic mood.

"Maybe it's some kind of inner conflict within the Storm faction?" Although Rin tried to find any good signs in this weird situation, she didn't look convinced by her own suggestion.

"Rather they found someone from our faction," Lord el-Melloi II said grimly. "And all we can do is sit here and wait."

"Well, we all knew that we're starting from the less favorable position, with them already having the Grail and all, but losing possible allies before we can even meet them is too much." Luvia frowned, deep in thoughts.

Even Bram nodded thoughtfully, although he still was the last one to voluntarily go and fight.

"Our agents won't be of much help, I'm afraid. We're dealing with Servants here." Reines took a deep breath and stood up, gathering strength to face the upcoming challenge. "I think you all agree with me now that we have no time to waste. Come, let's prepare the summoning circles."

"They're losing," Tamamo stated the obvious, staring into the magical orb. A powerful spell placed on this small item by the mysterious Servant let them observe the fight in distant London from their underground hideout.

She was the only creature allowed to came to this man's chambers, even uninvited. And she did it often, whenever she felt the need of more privacy or just tried to avoid her annoying, tyrannical Master.

"Indeed."

"Then why are you so happy?"

The other Servant laughed, delighted by the spectacle. He didn't care about Lancer, who - as expected - couldn't even scratch their Berserker. But her Master, that strange individual with a demonic katana, was on a completely different level. Who would have thought that he will corner Arjuna with such ease?

Well, Archer was still far from going all out, because he didn't want to use his overly destructive Noble Phantasm in the city. Physically, though, the white-haired warrior was far stronger and faster than Arjuna. Also, the man displayed some outstanding magical potential – right now he kept countering Archer's energetic arrows with his own incorporeal daggers, all while mercilessly pursuing his opponent from roof to roof.

As Assassin said, Servants of Storm were losing this battle.

"Order them to retreat," the man decided eventually. "I've seen enough for today."

"Why?" Tamamo frowned. "This outsider seems too dangerous to be left alone, we should rather send Saber and Rider to finish him off."

"Because there's a better way to use someone like him. Simply defeating this hybrid will be a waste." He caressed gently the surface of the glass. "Such delicious energy… Besides, I must test the other one first. Then I'll decide if playing with them a little longer is worth the effort."

The witch frowned again, but she could understand his logic. There was a new kind of magic within his reach, to discover and master it, and nothing in the world could be more amusing for this man.

"Fine, but never forget that I warned you."

"Mhhhm, wonderful," the other Servant mumbled, still captivated by the fight. Assassin sighed overdramatically to show that she doesn't like to be ignored. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask – how's your little yōkai war is going?"

"I wouldn't call it a war. That petty excuse of a Servant means nothing outside her territory."

Although she tried hard to sound neutral, Tamamo couldn't really hide her raising annoyance. The other Assassin was getting on her nerves. She, the most powerful of foxes, won't lose to a local deity, bounded to an attic of some provincial castle! After all, it was Tamamo's fame that robbed Osakabehime from her kitsune status and reduced her rival to a mere bat demon.

"I see. Don't go easy on her out of the false sense of kinship."

"Don't be ridiculous!" The witch waved her tail and intended to leave, but stopped in front of one of the tanks, alarmed by a strange scratching sound. "She's still fighting," she noticed flatly, staring at the woman trapped inside. Her brown hair was floating behind her like a veil, disturbed from time to time by strong waves of liquid magic that surrounded her. Even though the eyes of the trapped mage were closed, her tired, terrified expression was enough to tell that she's suffering.

"Of course she does. I have no need of a weak vessel."

Assassin hummed, not pleased by his answer. She stepped closer to the tank and touched a single crack on the glass with her nail.

"Are you sure she won't break free? Maybe you should push her harder?"

Finally Tamamo got full attention of her companion. He dispelled the view in the orb and joined the witch downstairs.

"No, fighting someone as strong as her directly wouldn't be wise." A particularly wicked smile appeared on the man's face, when he whispered a weird incantation into Barthomeloi's ear. The prisoner shivered in pain, tortured by some horrible vision in her restless sleep. "She will be defeated by her own fears and nightmares."

He had chosen this woman because of outstanding quality of her magic circuits. Most of all, they were pure, not stained by special abilities or elemental affinity. And that meant endless possibilities for the Grail – in the entire history of magic, the true miracle they all wished for was closer than ever.

The Servant smiled even wider, when he imagined what he will be able to achieve, if he feeds such perfect vessel with the energy of both demonic brothers.

Something in his gaze alarmed Tamamo. She trusted this man, as much as someone like her is able to trust someone, but it didn't put her inborn alertness to sleep. A fox must keep its mind clear, always, or a hunter will quickly become a prey. And this fox did not intend to get robbed of its tail.

"Don't even think of changing your plans without informing me," she warned him, this time sounding coldly and decisively, like a true demon. "I'm aiding you only because we share the same wish."

"Have I ever lied to you, Mikuzume, my dear friend?"

She didn't answer, only sent him another icy glare and dematerialized, to end the fight in London before those two idiots get killed.

"That's… a lot of relics."

"Indeed!" Reines smiled widely. "Thanks to our efforts we'll be able to perform the grand summoning immediately!"

"OUR efforts?" Bram snorted… or at least wanted to, but his innate pride made him stop the sound before it managed to leave his throat. "I don't remember you lifting a finger to help."

"It was a figure of speech." Reines rolled her eyes. "I'm the coordinator of our special group, so I have right to speak for everyone."

"Fine, fine, we get it." Rin interrupted their meaningless exchange of malicious comments and took a closer look at the relics. She could easily tell that every single one was a powerful magical item, even if in form of a scrap of material, shard of a weapon or piece of stone. She instinctively touched the pendant hidden under her shirt. It let her summon Archer once, maybe this time, too… She sighed heavily. It was nearly impossible back then, no way he's going to ever come back. "I can't believe I'm willingly doing this again."

"You can still go home if you're afraid, Miss Tohsaka," Luvia said with a smirk, although no one really asked her opinion.

"No, someone must keep an eye on the ones like you, so you won't make a mistake during a summoning spell."

"You…!"

"Ladies, please…" Waver impatiently shook his head. He was the only one who had already chosen the relic, while the rest of their team just let the fate decide which Servant will make a pact with them. He realized that he's even more scared and nervous now than years ago, when he was just an ambitious, stupid brat, who had no idea what he's doing. Tonight he probably cared too much – and that almost paralyzed him with fear.

"Yes, yes, it's nice that you're enjoying yourselves, but it's about time to start." Reines clapped her hands. "So… Everyone's ready?"

Four mages formed a square, facing each other in silence. The summoning circles were glowing faintly on the floor under their feet, and a pile of relics had been placed in the centre of this strange geometrical figure. Soon they adjusted their circuits to the flow of magic in the room.

"Fine then." Reines must have been excited as well, because she raised her voice a bit too much than necessary and made a slight movement of her hand, like starting a race or something. "Let the grand summoning begin!"

After a moment of heavy silence the metallic sound of activated magic circuits filled the room. Every magus reached for his unique form of power, from jewels to ritual sacrifice, to awake the circle and start the actual spell. Soon the entire place was glowing with cold blue energy and the group incantation began.

"Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.
Let ice be the element I pay tribute to."

With every word the tension in the air raised significantly. The four Masters could feel the Commands Spells on their hands taking their final shape, vibrating with power…

"Let it be declared now;
your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth."

The hurricane of magic surrounded them, tugging their clothes and hair. It was hard to even stand under such pressure.

"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power,
come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance!"

The light filled the room, then burst out into a cloud of magical mist. Reines literally jumped in her seat, her eyes were burning red from large amounts of magic in the air. She clenched her fist in a winning gesture, realizing that the ritual ended successfully.

"Your summons have been answered. We are the Servants of Ice!" – four men declared proudly, finishing the contract. "Our swords are yours to command."

Rin tilted her head, quietly judging her new Saber. Luvia smiled widely, visibly pleased by the statistics of her new fighting partner. Even Bran seemed quite content with the result of the summoning.

An uncontrollable sobbing was coming from the corner of the room. Both mages and Servants stared at Lord El Melloi II, who was standing there, trying to behave like a serious adult… But he couldn't keep his emotions in check anymore and burst into tears like a baby.

…

Sorry for the delay, but the last few months were terrible for me… I hope the hype did not burn out completely and You enjoyed the chapter.

A lot of explaining in this one, I hope it was useful for those of You, who are not familiar with Fate series.

There were many questions about the DMC timeline used in this story. Well, if You really insist… Let's say it's a DMC5 reality before the start of DMC5 [as if Capcom did not mess up the timeline enough already ;)].