fate/first order derivative

Part III.9

> continue: iteration 29, day 8, afternoon

Everything clicks together in my head all at once. I stand there frozen as Caster -- or at least someone who looks like her -- squeals and starts rolling around on the floor gleefully. "I got her I got her I got her eeeeeeeeeee!"

On the television screen, the entire floor of the main hall collapses into the lake as the shadow's tendrils rip the woodwork into shreds. There's a bright flash of light, and the screen cuts out to static. It was a trap. The entire room, Rin included.

I turn and stare at the madwoman as she lies giggling on the floor. "You... I told you about the shadow in the lake on Monday. You went to go find it, didn't you?"

She snickers and sits up. "Dumb Lilyhead. Kept wondering why her puppets didn't come back. So she went to check herself."

"It ate you and Assassin."

She nods. "Went inside, went inside. Talked to him. After that, everything just made so much more sense."

> him?

On it. "Him?" I ask -- actually, I forget. What did we decide we were going to call this, uh, type? Not-Caster? Anti-Caster? Something like that?

> how about alt-caster

What, like alt-rock? Fine, whatever, works for me. "Him who?" I ask Alt-Caster.

"Oh, come on. You know. Him." She puts her arms around her knees and starts to rock back and forth, a big empty grin on her face. "The pharmakos? The blessed-and-cursed, the sacred corruption, the eater of sins. The spark of darkness, the lowest-made-high. The healing sickness. Katharma, perikathairō, peripsēma. He crawls towards Bethlehem, waiting to be born --"

"Okay, okay. I get it. That guy," I interrupt, since this doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. "So you talked to him. Then, what... you tricked Berserker into getting eaten by the shadow, too?"

"Oh, no." She looks a little insulted. "Nothing like that. I just asked and he went."

I raise an eyebrow. "And that worked?"

"Well, okay." Alt-Caster shrugs. "I guess I did help that I had this." She snaps her fingers.

One of the glass panels behind her lights up. I find myself looking into a large tank. Inside of it, in some kind of brackish water, floats Illya. She is unconscious, naked -- a fact that I very much do not appreciate at all, thank you... and also missing all four of her limbs.

> fuck

I quickly avert my eyes. Am... am I really seeing this?

> afraid so
> stay calm and keep her talking

I'll try. Alt-Caster jumps to her feet. "And, y'know, I was really hoping things with Saber were gonna be that simple too. Just -- poof! Just use a Command Seal to summon her straight up."

She points. Another panel nearby the TV cart lights up. And there's Shirou, of course -- naked, unconscious, limbless, except for the arm with his Command Seals on it.

"But he only had one left, so I couldn't. But then I realized -- if I just left you down there with her, you'd be smart enough to find a way to bring her up here to me! And you did!" She beams at me with genuine gratitude. "And now I get to play with her too!"

I feel sick. "... why Saber, though? What do you need her for?"

Alt-Caster giggles. "She's just so cool, you know? And besides... what girl doesn't want to get swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor?" She pauses and tilts her head. "Well, okay... Master's my knight in shining armor. But you get two knights when you play chess, don't you? So why can't I?