The Battle for the Holy Grail

Yui laughed nervously. "Actually, I had everything in the house shipped away this morning. I guess there won't be a lot for us to do in the mansion now."

Astolfo's eyes widened in consideration. "But... If I'm going to die anyway, I don't want to fight anyone for that to happen, and this way I won't have to sacrifice myself, right? I can just live a sort of... natural life! Maybe!"

"Well then, perhaps we can begin discussing new lodgings." Caster moved the earth above the stairwell. "The battle is over! Are you all right down there?"

"Well yes! but this way you'll have a longer natural life," the mage chuckled. "It will give you more time to write down your experiences and spend time with your friend."

Astolfo pounded with a fist into the palm of his other hand, realizing Lazarus's idea. "Oh! That works for me! Could I use a tape recorder instead? I'm a better talker than a writer."

"I'm alright," Irisviel called up weakly. "But confused. Were the other Servants not defeated?"

"I'm not really sure where else we could go," Yui pondered. "But, I could probably have everything back here by morning."

"Absolutely!" Lazarus chirped in agreement, clapping his own hands together. He didn't want Atalanta to be left alone, however. "Atalanta, I definitely won't leave you out in the cold either! But we have much longer to solve your problem than Astolpho's. However, I will think of something!" He led everyone upstairs as he spoke. "Perhaps, if Miss Yui is inclined, we could check into a hotel for a couple of days."

"We've come to a truce! Are you up for meeting everyone?" He walked down the stairs and gently picked her up, carrying her like a bride.

"Well..." Yui wondered. "Lazarus and I are already supplying too much mana to take on another Servant. If only we had another Master... Unfortunately there's no way to give a new person Command Spells. You could conceivably take them from a living subject, but not a dead one."

Caster brought Iri up into the room, the chicken winding and dancing between his steps. "Hallo, hallo, did I miss anything? You all look quite thoughtful."

Lazarus perked up, "Your stone! Quick, Yui, help me silence him! I doubt he'll take our side but we can take his command seals for Caster!" he whipped out his pocket watch. "Actually! Nevermind. I can take care of the bindings. Yui, talk with Caster about what he must do to remove the spells. I will subdue Kirei." he opened his pocket watch and turned a dial. It was a normal looking one, the same as one you would use to wind it or set the time, but any watchmaker would know that it was extra. Seemingly needless. The world around Lazarus slowed and ground to a halt. He immediately began casting several binding spells onto the other master. Paralysis, Silence, Confusion,Anesthesia...he even went so far as to tie him down and remove his weapons. After several layers had been cast and Kirei had been made satisfactorily captive, time sped back up, and only a few seconds had passed to the others, in which Lazarus had blinked away and appeared again, along with a very magically and physically bound Kirei.

"The sp -" He gasped. "Is someone taking the Command Seals away from Kirei?" He paused. "Am I taking the seals away?"

Yui was stunned for a moment at Lazarus' rapid actions, but turned back to Caster. "Archer still needs a mana source. You can take Command Spells from a living Master, but not a dead one. Lazarus thought you could bring him back with your Stone and take his Spells."

Irisviel blinked in surprise. "This is not how I was expecting things to turn out."

He looked at Iri. "That goes double for me, but I'm not angry about it." He gently placed Iri on the floor and drew out the Azoth sword, retrieving the stone from the handle and placing it on Kirei's forehead, the skin pale and clammy.

The stone shrank, almost withering as life returned to Kirei's body.

Kirei's eyes popped open and he shuddered as he drew his first breath of his second life.

His eyes darted around, now taking in the seven other people standing over his prone body. Archer and Rider were standing next to their enemies, looking down on him with equal disdain. What was going on? He remembered Berserker unleashing her Noble Phantasm. A hot, burning feeling in his chest. Then blackness. Did he die?

He couldn't speak, or even move. A dozen different enchantments bound him from head to toe. There was nothing he could do to resist. He could only look up at Archer with a dazed and confused expression.

Yui smirked. "You can cut off his arm first, if you want. He just has to still be alive while you take them."

Archer gave the other servant the side eye, "Please don't. He doesn't deserve that much cruelty."

"So bloodthirsty, Miss Yui! I'm sure that's not quite necessary. No, I'll just get down to business. I'd like to ask the squeamish to please turn away, this requires a degree of chirurgic finesse."

Using the tip of his index finger, as he chanted Kirei's numbed skin split as easily as wrapping paper from a roast - and looked not entirely dissimilar. Even after the circuits were severed and gone, he cast healing spells to keep the bleeding to a minimum, leaving mundane veins, ligaments, and bare skin behind.

Once each seal had been removed, he placed them carefully on his own hand, watching the marks burn themselves onto his own skin in awe. He flexed his fingers, watching the marks move with his skin. "I suppose... It's done, then."

Meanwhile, Lazarus talked with the others. " So...do you think he's redeemable?"

Atalanta shrugged, "He enjoys torture, but he doesn't enjoy that he enjoys torture. He also has no wish. I believe that he would fight to continue the grail war, personally, but I can't be certain of course. His thoughts are his own."

Rider shrugged. "I can't cast judgement, only the Lord God can do that."

Kirei realized what was happening even before Caster touched his skin. He knew Command Spells could be transferred, even without being the Supervisor. They were stealing his authority over Archer and Rider. But why was this happening? Why was Archer allowing it?

He cringed as Caster extracted the Spells, then raised his eyebrows when Caster grafted the Spells onto his own hand. Could a Servant actually act as a Master to another Servant?

At the end, he looked back up at Archer. Not quite begging or pleading, but silently telling Archer that he still wanted to live.

Archer looked down at her master. "He can still blink. Let me ask him. Blink once for yes, and twice for no." she thought for a moment. "Will you try to kill anyone here if we let you survive?"

Caster watched Kirei's expressions, searching for too much pain or confusion. "Any Magus with the power can become a Master. I have qualified as such long before the Wars began."

Caster massaged the back of his hand, the marks beginning to become commonplace. "I'm sure this is a drain on my Master, but it helps that we're on a layline. As for your fate..." He stepped back and let Atalanta ask her questions.

Naturally, he wanted to kill all of them this very moment. But he wasn't stupid. They had already stolen his right as a Master, and with it, his only hope at the Grail giving him an answer. He could command no Servant and even a highly trained Executor stood no chance against them.

He blinked twice.

"Are you aware that releasing the Grail involves the sacrifice of every Servant in the war?"

Every Servant? Did he mean every enemy Servant? Or even one's own?

Rather than answer directly, he cocked his head curiously, searching for more information.

"Every servant, even your own. Even Archer, even Rider."