The Burdens of Command

Atalanta led the group into the church. Kirei waited near the altar. Atalanta waved as she walked up the aisle, and bid them all have a seat in the pews. "I'll let you explain," she said as she poured everyone some water. She would have given them wine but they'd had enough alcohol at the mansion.

It had been some time since Yui had seen him; he'd grown his hair out.

"Good evening," Kirei started. "I'm interested to hear how your meeting went, but let's get the obvious out of the way. Though I'm sworn to be the mediator of the Holy Grail War, this War is bound to be quite an unusual one. In order to guarantee the safety of the Church and myself, I decided to become Atalanta's Master."

"What?" Yui asked. "The Mediator can't be a Master. The Grail wouldn't even give you Command Spells."

"That's true. However..."

"Wait." Yui was putting the pieces together. "Bazett Fraga McRemitz."

Kirei stiffened. After a long pause, he said, "You are familiar with her."

"We did our research, obviously." Yui narrowed her eyes. "We met every Master of the current Grail War but one, and Remitz doesn't really fit the description Assassin gave of her Master." She stood up and clenched her fists. "You son of a bitch. You killed her, didn't you?"

Kirei didn't answer, but looked down his nose at Yui.

"You killed a Master. So much for being a neutral party."

"Is it really so surprising that I take such an opportunity to defend myself? I don't need to remind you what became of the previous Mediator."

Yui remembered Risei's fate in the previous War and averted her eyes.

"Besides," Kirei continued, more softly. "Is it also any surprise that I would want to be reunited with Atalanta?"

Yui sat down with a huff and stared at the ground. She still wasn't convinced that Kirei didn't have ulterior motives, but for now, she bit her tongue.

Astolfo gasped, and then his voice turned syrupy. "You love her!! You wanted to be with her!! Oh Kirei-san, that's the sweetest thing! Not even God could stand in your way!" He held up the bouquet, smiling ear to ear.

"Congratulations! Well, I wish you didn't have to kill someone, but, well, I know you, and it was for Miss Atalanta, so I'll forgive you this time!"

Kirei awkwardly looked at Atalanta and cleared his throat. "Well... I'm glad you understand. Now, I'm interested to hear about how your meeting went."

Previously wearing no expression as he was lost in thought, Lazarus' face came to life, "It went well! Mostly...we have an uneasy truce with most of the masters. They don't fully trust us yet, but I'll work towards gaining that trust." he smiled kindly before continuing in a more serious tone, "As for the information you just gave us, at first I'd have to say I was rather upset, but you do make a good point! And to take it further, perhaps you should have a protective servant in any future wars! It can help you enforce the rules and keep you safe. Even though you're very talented, we can't expect you to wrangle servants and masters without a little extra 'firepower'."

Atalanta smirked in response to Kirei's glance. How sweet of him to put his feelings out for all to see. When Lazarus had finished she spoke, "I am wary of Ilyasviel and Assassin. The others seem content to make peace, or too stupid. I met a friend from my former life however, Medea. She can be...unpredictable. I wouldn't fully count on her to stay on one side if it didn't suit her. I like her though, it will be a shame if we have to kill her."

"That's good news," Kirei said. "Even if the few remaining Masters don't want to cooperate, they're too outnumbered to stand against us. And, as it happens, I agree," Kirei responded to Lazarus. "I realize the gate to Akasha will only open with seven Servants, but if that goal is out of reach, I intend to keep Atalanta around as long as possible."

Truthfully, he had no plans to sacrifice Atalanta under any circumstances. He silently wondered to himself if he could still use the Grail for himself without sacrificing Atalanta. He'd have to wait and see.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Ilyasviel has said that we need to find the greater grail and try to cleanse it from there. If that doesn't work, we'll have to destroy it again, unfortunately. I'm guessing we can all get together and try working out a plausible solution, whether that solution has to do with still rescuing the grail, or it's destruction, depends on it's state..." Lazarus was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and it was only getting worse as this war went on. He wanted so much for this to be solved peacefully, but he wasn't very convinced that it would be.

"Greater Grail...?" Kirei echoed. "I've never heard that term before. By the way you describe it, I assume it must be the heart of the Grail system."

He paused in thought. How troublesome. He intended to use the Grail even if it was corrupted, but if they destroyed it before it could collect any souls, there was no possible way.

From Lazarus' point of view, though, there was no sensible reason to delay. He had a lot of thinking to do.

He crossed his hands behind his back. "Interesting. Well, whenever you are ready you can send me a message, and we will both accompany you there."

"Thank you," Lazarus nodded to Kirei and hustled everyone out. Atalanta gave Astolfo a hug goodbye.

When they had left she turned to Kirei, "You seem to have some ideas. Care to share them?"

He scratched his chin worriedly. "I mentioned before that I wanted to use the Grail even if it was corrupted. But, that will be impossible if we destroy it before it even collects any souls." He nodded as if deciding something. "Of course, I don't intend to go against them, but I wonder what options that leaves. There must be some way to see what's inside. Perhaps if it's destroyed, there might be something left I can still study."

Atalanta nodded her sympathy, "Well, if it is destroyed, then perhaps we can look inside of it next time...or maybe find the greater grail before anyone else does?" she ran her fingers around the rim of her wine glass, making it softly sing.

Kirei stroked his chin. "Hmm... that is a thought. I don't know exactly where the Greater Grail could be. If this Illyasviel knows where it is, I don't know how we could find it before her."

"Why not just ask her? You are the overseer. Surely you could leverage that much out of her..." she smiled at him, "and if not, I bet we could find it. It has to stand out. It must have a huge energy signature..."

"Good point. I will send a message to the Einzbern Castle to have her meet me here. If she won't tell me, we should be able to narrow down its location. If it's the engine that drives the Grail system, it must be on or close to a leyline. We can start there."

"Good. Let me know when you need me." she rose from her seat and headed to the living area they shared in the basement.

A few hours after sending the letter with an oblivious courier, Kirei sensed the presence of a Servant drawing closer. An overwhelming, stifling presence. It was coming slowly, so Kirei hurried to the stairs.

"I believe that's her. To be safe, why don't you move out of their sensing range? If I need to, I can summon you to me instantly with a Command Spell."

"Of course." she dissapated into spirit form and moved just a little ways past their sense range, not wanting to be too far. She materialized again at a safe distance

Kirei waited just outside the doors of the church as the oppressive presence came slowly closer. Soon, he could feel the ground shaking slightly under his feet. Heavy footsteps. It wasn't often that Kirei felt nervous, but this was fast becoming one of those times. What kind of Servant was this?

He had his answer when a hulking figure appeared down the road, easily ten feet tall, carrying Illyasviel on its shoulder. As soon as he saw it, Kirei understood its oppressive aura.

Though the Servant had the body of a man, made of pure muscle, its head was that of a bull, protected by a steel helmet. Two large black horns sprouted from the side of its helmet.

Unbelievable. This is the Berserker the Einzberns summoned?

Illya and Berserker stopped some hundred feet from the church, and she hopped down from its shoulder.

"He'll wait outside, of course!" Illya sang before Kirei could say anything. "But it's obvious not to come all this way unprotected, right?"

The minotaur exhaled, two clouds of steam coming out of the front of its helmet. A bead of sweat formed on Kirei's brow.

"Perfectly understandable," Kirei replied, hiding his anxiety well. He opened the door. "Come inside. This won't take long."

Illyasviel skipped inside the church. Kirei took one last look at the Berserker, which growled softly back at him. He hurried inside and closed the door. Berserker continued to stand where Illya left him, staring ominously at the doors of the church.

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Ten minutes later, Kirei let Illya back out of the church. The girl bid the priest goodbye and hopped back onto her faithful Servant. The minotaur looked back and growled at Kirei one last time, before stomping away into the night.

Once it was finally out of sight, Kirei let out a long sigh of relief, and waited for Atalanta to return.

Seeing the whole thing, she returned immediately, "Gods...a minotaur? Did everything go alright?"

"Thankfully, yes," Kirei responded. "I would have never imagined that being summoned as a Servant. It can't be helped, I suppose."

"She was hesitant at first, but I convinced her that it was in everyone's best interest that the Mediator know the location of the Greater Grail if all the participants will be heading there. She says it is in a giant cavern underneath Mount Ryuudou. Which I believe is currently occupied by Master and Servant already."

"Well, that can't stop us from going to look at it can it?" she had been quite worried for him; more feelings bubbling up from her previous visit, she supposed.

"That all depends on them, I suppose." As his anxiety faded, he smirked. "I may not be as fit as I was ten years ago, but I won't shy away from a fight, if the situation calls for it. Shall we?"

"Please," she grinned, and gestured for him to lead the way.

He led Atalanta down the hill toward a car waiting in a garage. It would be a long drive to Ryuudou, and they'd surely be sensed by several people on their way, but he hoped the recent truce would be enough to keep them away.

This visit was going to be very interesting.

She took her place in the passengers side, the two driving off into the night.