The Church on the Hill

"I was only curious, but I know there's more than I've seen so far!" Rider stretched his feet out in front of him, watching his boots shine against the dark floor.

The vehicle was sleek and luxurious, like a slice of night itself. The chrome accents glittered like the stars themselves, yet he found no comfort in it. It was more than the strangeness of riding in an alien structure, it just all felt... wrong.

The two men, everything around them, felt wrong.

Atalanta held Rider's hand as they approached their destination. Her surroundings were not as comfortable as they appeared to be.

[[When Rider and Archer get back they find Kirei and Risei both standing by the altar, looking over a letter, both with grave expressions on their faces.]]

Atalanta had made a brief stop at a grocery store to pick up some supplies for dinner. She looked a bit concerned when she saw the two men. "Is something amiss?"she asked, setting the bag on the floor.

Kirei looked up and nodded, walking over to the two of them.

"We received a letter from one of the other Masters. The Tohsaka girl." He handed the letter to her for her to read. "They say that they just had an encounter with Lancer, whose Master is a Dead Apostle. In other words, a vampire. A powerful undead that sustains its life by drinking blood."

Astolfo started with a gasp. "Drinking blood!? The fiend!! We have to stop them!!"

"We cannot let it live." Atalanta said after surprise swept through her features. Though her face had returned to it's placid state, her ears twitched nervously and her hair was a bit on end. Even back when she lived, no one had been certain vampires existed. How strange to encounter such a creature now.

"It's worse than you think," Risei cut in. "Dead Apostles are no ordinary undead. They regenerate alarmingly fast, and have honed their combat skills over hundreds of years. In many respects, he could be more dangerous than his Servant. Luckily, we have the perfect countermeasure on our side." He gestured to his son. "Kirei used to be an Executor of the Burial Agency. A specialist of fighting against Dead Apostles and their ilk."

Astolfo brightened immediately. "Milord! Please permit me to join you on the quest to quell this evil!"

"Very good." Atalanta said, nodding to Kirei. "Do you have a plan in mind yet?"

Though Kirei's face remained flat, Risei couldn't help but grin at Rider's excitement.

"Yes," Kirei answered. "The vampire most likely fled to ground after that battle, so we probably won't be able to find it now. But, it can't hide forever. Dead Apostles have no Magic Circuits, so it can't provide mana to Lancer. Consuming souls would be Lancer's sole means of maintaining themselves, and they would have to do it often. I expect that by nightfall tomorrow, both will be desperate enough to revitalize themselves that they will come out of hiding."

"They must be behind those murders then," Atalanta commented. "I have forgotten the details though. Is there a common area they've been taking place?"

"Downtown Miyama! That's what Fuyumi and I were looking into when we were at the cafe." His heart still broke when he remembered that day, but he was able to discuss it and remember details without immediately casting them from his mind or tears welling up in his eyes. Now, he had to be brave.

Kirei nodded in agreement. "Dead Apostles can't cross running water, so we can rule out any place east of Mion River.  We don't have any other real details."

Kirei thought for a few moments, thinking back to his days as an Executor. "Beyond their extreme strength and agility, they have a few other strengths. By feeding their blood to humans and animals, he can turn them into familiars. They can shapeshift. They can also create powerful Bounded Fields that mask their presence. Some of the older ones can hypnotize people with their stare, but it didn't sound like this one possessed such an ability."

He went on. "Luckily, they have a few weaknesses. Though they regenerate quickly, they can be killed if one can deal enough damage all at the same time. Without constant access to the blood of human beings, their bodies will degenerate. Sunlight will also speed up this degeneration. Basically, if you can restrain a Dead Apostle for long enough, they will die on their own soon enough."

"Do we have a method of restraining him?" Atalanta couldn't think of any of her own traits that might help on the restraining front. "I know my noble phantasm can do quite a bit of damage, but only if he is unable to dodge it."

"I can't do anything to hold them in place, either." Astolfo frowned, hands on his hips. "But we can't just do nothing!!"

"If you two can distract him for long enough, and wear him out, I have a few tools that should be able to restrain him. If possible I may even be able to kill him outright, but I can't make any promises."

"I swear to do my best, milord! On my honor!"

Atalanta nodded. "We will do our best. Is there anything else you would like us to do at the moment, or shall we simply rest until tomorrow?"

"Thank you. Go ahead and rest. You will need all the energy you can muster tomorrow."

Atalanta headed up to her bedroom after putting away the food. She changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, eager to get some sleep.

As Atalanta slept, aside from her usual dream, a clear vision came to her.

Bright light filtered in through a window, illuminating a plain, white, sterile room. It was quiet but for the soft beeping of medical machinery. It was a hospital room.

In the bed lay a young woman with stark white hair and yellow eyes. At one time, she must have been beautiful, but now she was only skin and bones, a husk of a human being. Each breath was ragged, slower. Claudia, that was her name.

Now a man stood by her bed. Kirei Kotomine, only a few years younger than the present day. He bent over her bed, his face hidden in shadows.

"It is my duty to tell you the results of my experiment." Claudia looked up at him in confusion, but his eyes were dark and empty. "The result is... I could not love you."

Claudia stared up at him, emotion surging through her bright eyes. Tears formed and slid down her cheeks, but still she smiled. She raised one hand and put it against his cheek.

"No," she croaked weakly. "You do love me." She lowered her hand to her opposite arm, then roughly pulled the IV out of her arm. Kirei rocked back in shock as the alarms on the machines started to go off.

She looked back up at him one more time to see that tears had begun to roll down his cheeks as well. His normally stoic face began to twist into one of despair. Then Claudia smiled and closed her eyes. The heart monitor flatlined.

Kirei's shoulders shook with sobs as he bent over her body, tears rolling down to his chin and dripping onto her.

The scene shifted. Kirei was no longer in the hospital room; he was in some dark room, presumably in his home. It was only a few days after Claudia's death.

Kirei stared at the floor, his eyes once again dead and dark. He held a pistol in one hand, and a single bullet in the other.

Slowly, purposefully, he slid the magazine out of the pistol, put the bullet in, then reinserted it. He stared at the pistol for several long minutes, debating in his head. He raised it and rested the barrel against his temple.

But he didn't fire. He held it there for what seemed like an eternity. But, he couldn't fire. Tears welled in his eyes again, and he lowered the gun. He couldn't do it.

"Agh!" He suddenly gasped, dropping the pistol, and holding one hand in pain. He stared down at the back of his hand in confusion as a strange red symbol began to form. Before his eyes, his Command Spells appeared on his hand.

As the pain subsided, he continued to stare down at them, wondering what they meant. Then the vision blurred and disappeared.

Atalanta woke with a start. She had heard rumors that this could happen between servants and masters, but the experience itself was quite unnerving. She shivered, a chill running up her spine from the emotion of the events she had witnessed. She would not be sleeping anytime soon. She carefully extracted herself from the bed she and rider shared, and padded softly into the church, half looking for Kirei.