Rin was moving fast, her heels clicking against the pavement as she made her way toward the location Archer had given her. She was close—she could feel the lingering presence of strong mana. Shirō's here. She had to hurry. If Caster got her claws into Shirō any longer, things would get—
She skidded to a stop.
Because there, standing at the entrance like he had any right to be there, was—
Shinji.
Rin's fingers tightened around her crystals, her red-painted nails digging into her palm.
Him.
The miserable excuse of a Magus. The pathetic brat who had lost Rider at Caster's hands.
What the hell was he doing here?
Shinji grinned like he had the upper hand. "Well, well, if it isn't Rin Tohsaka."
She ignored him and took a step forward.
"Move aside, Matou."
Shinji's grin widened. "Now, now, no need to be so hasty. I have an offer for you."
Rin paused.
She already knew it was going to be something disgusting.
"Submit to me, Tohsaka."
...What?
Her eyes twitched. "Excuse me?"
Shinji sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "You heard me. If you beg well enough, I might just grant you mercy. In fact—" His eyes darkened with something gross. "I might even treat you well."
Rin stared.
And then—
She snorted.
She actually laughed.
"Shinji," she said, voice dripping with mockery, "you do realize you're talking to the Rin Tohsaka, right?"
Shinji's eye twitched. "Tch. You bitch—"
"Move aside." Her voice turned cold. "Otherwise, I won't hold back."
Shinji sneered. "Oh, so you think you can defeat me?"
Rin raised an eyebrow. "Of course I can. You know no magecraft. You have no Servant. What exactly do you think you can do?"
That should have been the end of it.
But then—
Shinji laughed.
Loud. Ugly.
Like a cartoon villain.
"Me? Servantless?" He spread his arms like some clownish king. "Oh, what a grave misunderstanding you're in, Rin-chan!"
What?
Before she could even process that, Shinji yelled—
"GILGAMESH! ATTACK HER!"
…
Silence.
The wind blew. A lonely paper cup rolled across the ground.
Nothing.
Shinji froze. "G-Gilgamesh!"
Rin sighed.
Of course.
Of course, she had let herself be stupid enough to think this walking garbage pile had managed to summon another Servant.
She wasn't sure who was more pathetic— the fact that he actually thought he could order around the legendary Gilgamesh, or that he was dumb enough to think she'd even be scared.
She appeared in front of him in a blink.
And then—
CRACK.
Her heel met his ribs.
Shinji flew.
A solid, painful impact as he slammed into the nearest concrete wall.
The dust settled.
Rin adjusted her gloves. "Stay down for your own good."
Shinji let out a weak groan.
Pathetic.
She didn't spare him another glance as she stepped over his miserable form and walked forward, completely missing the way a certain golden-haired king was watching the entire scene with pure amusement.
[—(/-\)—]
Shirō's body ached, the cold stone beneath her offering no comfort. Her wrists were bound, the chains clinking softly with her slightest movement. Across from her, seated on a simple wooden bench, was Kuzuki-sensei, his posture as rigid and composed as ever. Caster was elsewhere, her presence a lingering threat in the dimly lit chamber.
"Kuzuki-sensei," Shirō began, her voice strained, "why are you doing this? I always believed you were a good person."
Kuzuki's gaze remained steady, his expression unreadable. "I have my reasons," he replied calmly. "However, I have no interest in the Grail."
A flicker of hope ignited within Shirō. Perhaps he was unaware of Caster's methods. "Do you know that Caster is killing people to gather mana?" she asked cautiously.
To her initial relief, Kuzuki responded, "I was not aware." But his next words extinguished that hope. "However, I do not concern myself with the fate of strangers."
Shirō's heart sank. "Then why are you doing this?"
Kuzuki's eyes seemed to look past her, as if recalling distant memories. "Before I met Caster, my life was devoid of meaning. I was an assassin, trained to kill, but after completing my mission, I felt only emptiness. Becoming a teacher was an attempt to find purpose, but it was merely a facade."
He paused, his gaze focusing on Shirō. "Meeting Caster changed that. For the first time, I felt something stir within me. She asked for my help, and I chose to assist her, not because of the Holy Grail War, but because she gave me a sense of purpose."
Shirō listened, a mix of confusion and understanding washing over her. Kuzuki continued, "I do not seek the Grail. My actions are driven by a desire to support Caster, to find meaning in a life that was once hollow."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words settling between them. Shirō realized that Kuzuki's motivations were complex, rooted in a search for purpose and connection, even if it led him down a dark path.
As the torchlight flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls, Shirō couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy for her teacher, a man who had found meaning in the most unexpected of places.
[—(/-\)—]
Shirō barely had a moment to breathe before Caster's voice rang in her ears, laced with venomous delight.
"Are you ready to submit, Saber?"
Her answer came without hesitation. "Go to hell, witch!"
The room tensed as Caster's face twisted in annoyance. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she drove Rule Breaker straight into Shirō's exposed thigh.
Pain exploded through her body, a white-hot sear that burned through muscle and bone. Shirō gasped, teeth grinding against the agony as crimson stained the once-pristine fabric of her dress. The shackles holding her rattled with her involuntary shudder, but they held firm.
Kuzuki watched the scene unfold with the same passive expression he always wore, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Caster grabbed Shirō's chin, forcing her to meet those cold, triumphant eyes. "I gave you a choice," she said, her grip tightening. "Now face the punishment, Saber. From now on, you are my servant."
Shirō wanted to scream in protest, to lash out, to do something, but a deep, unnatural pull coiled inside her, something foreign and suffocating.
As she gritted her teeth, something shifted on Caster's hand. A dark glow formed, and then, just like that, three blood-red symbols emerged on the back of her palm. Command Spells.
No.
The realization struck like a hammer to the gut.
No. No. No.
A smirk curled Caster's lips. She had won.
And then—
The doors burst open, the sound of splintering wood echoing through the chamber. A sharp voice cut through the tension.
"Shirō!"
Her head snapped to the entrance, eyes widening.
"Tohsaka-san!"
Standing in the doorway, fire in her eyes and crystals crackling in her hands, was Rin Tohsaka.
Caster's smirk deepened into a delighted grin. "Oh my," she mused, turning fully to face Rin. "The little magus has walked right into her own grave."
Shirō's body trembled, the pain in her leg momentarily forgotten. Rin was here. Rin was here.
Rin's expression was a mix of determination and mild disbelief. "What the hell are you wearing?"
That wasn't important right now!
"Tohsaka, get out of here!" Shirō yelled.
Caster chuckled. "Oh no, she won't be leaving." Her fingers curled around the Command Spells, her voice ringing with amusement. "Saber. Kill her."
The moment the words left Caster's lips, Shirō felt her breath hitch.
And then—
Her body moved.
Against her will, her legs pushed off the ground. Excalibur materialized in her hands, the golden glow of the holy sword illuminating the dim chamber.
No. No!
Rin's eyes widened in alarm.
"Shit—!"
Shirō swung.
Rin had been in a lot of fights before, but this—this was pure nightmare fuel.
Facing off against Shirō was already a problem on a normal day, but now? Now Shirō was being forced to attack her, wearing a frilly white wedding dress no less, Excalibur blazing with divine power in her hands.
And Shirō—because she was Shirō—was trying to help while attacking.
"Tohsaka! Duck!"
Rin barely twisted her body in time, feeling the wind pressure from Excalibur's swing as it shredded through the air where her neck had been a second ago.
"Tohsaka, left!—No, no, right!—Shit, jump!"
"How the hell is this supposed to help?!" Rin snapped, diving out of the way as another golden arc of destruction nearly took her legs off.
She landed, rolled, and barely managed to throw up a defensive barrier before Shirō slammed Excalibur down in a devastating overhead strike. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, making the floor crack beneath their feet.
Tohsaka gritted her teeth. This was bad.
This was really bad.
Shirō was now under Caster's control, which meant she had unlimited mana being pumped into her.
Which meant that every one of her attacks was coming at full strength.
Which meant that Tohsaka was very, very close to dying.
And she really, really didn't want to die to a friend wearing a goddamn wedding dress.
Rin barely managed to twist out of the way as Excalibur came crashing down, splitting the stone floor where she had been standing. Dust and debris flew up, and Shirō—no, Saber—lifted the holy sword effortlessly, her expression twisted in frustration.
"Tohsaka, move!" Shirō yelled, her voice strained. "Left—now right—shit, duck!"
"As if that helps, you idiot!" Rin snapped, barely avoiding another brutal swing. "You're the one swinging the damn sword at me!"
But Shirō's body wasn't hers anymore. The moment Caster had branded her with the Rule Breaker, she had lost control. It wasn't just her strength that had increased—her instincts, her skills, her everything had been forcibly amplified under Caster's command. Excalibur felt weightless in her grip, and every movement was precise, calculated, deadly.
And she couldn't stop it.
Caster watched from above, perched elegantly on a floating platform of violet mana, grinning. "This is perfect! Look at you, Saber, a true knight in shining armor. Except, well—" she chuckled, waving a delicate hand at the wedding dress Shirō was forced into. "More of a blushing bride now, aren't you?"
"I swear—" Shirō growled, her arms swinging on their own, barely missing Rin's midsection. "I will—" She suddenly ducked, her body twisting into a perfect stance, Excalibur rising above her head. Wait, why am I—?!
Rin's eyes widened. Oh, hell no—
Just as Excalibur was about to descend, two streaks of color cut through the air—red and blue.
CLANG!
A pair of weapons slammed against the holy sword, locking it in place. Sparks exploded from the impact, a shockwave shaking the room.
Archer and Lancer had arrived.
"Oi, oi," Lancer grinned as he pushed back with his crimson spear, his muscles tensed. "Was I late to the wedding?"
"Took you long enough," Rin huffed, backing up to safety.
Archer, standing to Shirō's left, was holding a twin set of curved blades, his amber eyes narrowed at the ridiculous situation. "Yeah, well, Lancer was not easy to find," he said, glaring at the blue-clad Servant.
Lancer shrugged. "Hey, I was busy! A guy's gotta get his beauty sleep, y'know."
"Spare me," Archer muttered.
Above them, Caster burst into laughter. "Oh? So you've made a temporary pact with Lancer? That's cute. But against my Saber?" She leaned forward, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "You're nothing."
She raised a single, elegant finger and pointed at the three.
"Saber," she purred, "kill them all."
A brutal force surged through Shirō's veins. Her vision blurred for a moment as something shoved her consciousness deeper into her own mind.
And then she moved.
Her body twisted, her footwork flawless. Excalibur blurred in golden arcs as she shot forward, slashing at Archer with inhuman speed. He barely managed to parry, gritting his teeth. "Tch—this is pathetic."
"Shut up!" Shirō yelled. "I literally can't stop myself!"
"You're still weak," Archer taunted, deflecting another strike.
Lancer whistled as he danced around the attacks. "Man, I knew Saber was strong, but this is something else." He grinned, brandishing his spear. "Alright then, let's see if I can keep up."
He lunged. His spear shot forward like a bullet, aimed directly for Shirō's stomach.
She caught it.
With one hand.
Lancer's eyes widened. "What the—"
With inhuman strength, Shirō twisted her grip and threw Lancer across the room. He crashed into the stone wall, leaving a crater. Dust settled as he groaned. "Okay. Ow."
Archer didn't waste a second. The moment Shirō's focus shifted, he leapt back, drawing a bow in an instant. A golden arrow materialized between his fingers.
"Alright then, Saber." His voice was cold. He pulled the bowstring back, mana crackling around him.
"Let's see how strong you really are."
TBC