Fate Stay Night - Medea Caster route

After having finished breakfast Taiga went away since she had some things to do, while Shirou and Sakura remained in the living room and together cleaned up the table.

In the meantime, Medea was now washing the plates that Shirou and Sakura were bringing her, but when she noticed that Sakura had started to bring her the last plate, she suddenly spoke.

"Shirou, could you kindly go to see if the clothes hanging outside have dried?" She asked.

"Sure." Shirou answered with a nod before he turned around and left the room.

After posing the last plate Sakura turned around and started to walk toward the door of the living room since she wanted to help Shirou with his task, but at that moment Medea spoke again.

"Sakura, before you go come here for a moment, I have good news to tell you." The woman said.

Sakura turned around and watched her, wondering just what the good news that Medea wanted to tell her could be.

"Sakura, today you are going to finally reunite with your family."

Sakura remained still and silent after hearing those words.

"Last week I spoke with Aoi, and from what I've seen I can say that she has completely recovered from her previous state. Now that she is able to take care of you, I think that there is no need for you to wait any longer to reunite with your mother and sister." Medea said before she turned to face Sakura. "...Are you happy?" She asked with a smile.

Sakura watched her for a long moment before she just nodded.

"...Look Sakura, I know what you are thinking, but you don't need to have any kind of doubts. I assure you that Aoi and Rin can't wait to see you again. They missed you a lot." Medea said as she walked to her.

Sakura remained silent as she watched Medea.

Even though she wasn't showing it, at the moment she still couldn't believe it. After everything that had happened, after everything that she had gone through, it was finally truly over. She was now safe, and now she could go back to her family.

And for this miracle, she had to thank Medea.

Other than knowing that she was a friend of the family, Sakura still didn't exactly know who the woman was and why she had saved her, but in the past month she had spent in that house, she had come to trust her.

She had discovered how the woman was kind, patient, and benevolent with everyone around her… even though she could be quite strict sometimes.

At first, Sakura feared her since she first thought she was as malevolent as Zouken, but in this month she had passed with her she had not hurt her, instead, Medea had helped her; she had cured her and saved her from everything that ailed her; whenever she had a nightmare Medea would be there to calm and reassure her too; And whenever she caressed her head Sakura could not help but feel the strange warmth behind that gesture.

In her eyes the woman had almost taken on the form of a mother and cared for her like a daughter, taking care of her whenever she needed.

After all the time she had spent with the Matou, Sakura had forgotten what it felt like to be taken care of, and even though Medea was basically a stranger that had appeared out of nowhere to save her, she was more than grateful to have met her.

In fact, as time went by she grew closer to the woman who treated her well, and it was for this reason that Sakura was not surprised of why Shirou looked up to her that much. In this month of time the boy who she always spent time with had often spoken of how after being left alone without any memory under the ruins of a building, just before he could give up and die, Medea had appeared out of nowhere and somehow saved him from certain death. He had even stated more times how he saw her as his heroine. And since Sakura too had been saved by her, she couldn't help but agree with him.

"...Thank you." Sakura then said in a soft voice.

Medea watched her for a moment before she smiled a little. She knew there was a stronger and deeper meaning behind that simple thank you.

"Sakura, you don't have to thank me, that is what I have to do." Medea said as she placed a hand on her head, "But now that you know that you're going home, you should begin preparing your things, and after that, we'll pack them."

Sakura just nodded, and she began to leave the kitchen to go and help Shirou and to tell him the good news, but when she reached the doorway she turned around one last time and looked at Medea. She hesitated briefly, but when she realized that Medea didn't seem to be going anywhere she turned and continued to walk away from the kitchen… for some reason she had started to feel uneasy.

Once Sakura was out of sight of the kitchen, Medea began to think.

The time with the girl was over, and the day where she would have brought the girl back home had finally arrived. There was no longer a need for her to remain there since had already seen and obtained any kind of possible information from her and her interactions with Shirou.

Sure, she had liked to spend some time with her, she had loved buying some cute clothes for her with the help of the young Taiga, and she liked the fact that the girl had formed a friendship with Shirou. But again, her time with them was over, and she had to reunite with her family for her own... good.

She had spoken with Aoi about this subject the week before, but unlike the first time they had met she had not appeared out of anywhere in the middle of the night terrorizing the woman, she simply went to her home and knocked on the door.

After a little Rin opened the door and asked how she could help her, Medea with a friendly tone kindly presented herself with her real name and asked the little girl if her mother was at home.

Rin called her mom, but when Aoi arrived and saw Medea she immediately recognized her and froze in fear. But Medea, to make sure that the young Rin would have found nothing strange with her mother's reaction, greeted Aoi as an old friend, saying something on how it had been almost five years since they last saw each other.

Aoi, understanding what Medea was trying to do, snapped out of her fear and greeted her with a friendly tone, inviting her to enter. After that Aoi asked her why she had decided to suddenly visit them without calling first, just so that she could have been prepared to welcome her adequately.

Medea apologized and said that something urgent had suddenly come up, which was why she had suddenly come there uninvited.

After all of them sat at a table, Medea started to talk with both Aoi and Rin.

For starters, she calmly lied to Rin about how in the past she had been a good friend of both Aoi and Tokiomi, and how after this last one sudden death some accounts of the family had been left unfinished. She then added how since in the last period there had been no one that could take care of them, she had decided to make that task fall on her since the Tohsaka family had aided her in the past.

She said of how in the name of their family she had solved everything that had remained pending, and that she didn't want to be repaid in any way, but, something new had come up, which was the reason for her sudden visit.

She said of how lately she had come to the knowledge of Sakura's adoption by the Matou family, and that to make sure that everything there was alright too, she went to inquire about the affair and about the other family… but ended up discovering something quite negative.

By that point, she had become very serious, both in expression and tone of voice, a thing that clearly made Aoi very preoccupied.

Medea kept speaking and said that she had discovered that the Matou had violated, and ignored, various parts of the contract that had been established between the two heads of the two families, and that those violations had gone to 'harm' Sakura.

To the news, even Rin, who until now was unsure of what exactly was happening, started to preoccupy, and for this reason, she asked her for what she meant and what had happened to Sakura, which was something Aoi did too.

But Medea did not answer their question, she just stared at Aoi for a long moment before she said that it was not something she could talk about since she was still 'unsure' of what exactly had happened to Sakura.

But to reassure them Medea then said that she had already 'confiscated' Sakura from the Matou, 'taken care' of Zouken and his family and that the girl was now in a secure place under her cures. She then even added how, if they wanted, she could bring Sakura back to them within a week.

At the news, Aoi did not know how to act. Sure, the Servant a week earlier had told her that she would have given them Sakura back, but she still had no idea of what the woman wanted from them, and the news that the Matou had somehow harmed Sakura, whatever it was true or not, made her preoccupied for what may have happened to her daughter.

At that point Aoi turned to watch Rin… and the expression of joy and hope she had was obvious.

The way Rin was watching the woman was clear, and Aoi knew why she was like that. After all that had happened to their family, Rin now hoped to see her sister again and to have her once again as a part of the family. But seeing her daughter being so happy made Aoi's heart almost skip a beat since it had been months since she had last seen her like that.

At that moment Aoi realized that there was not much she could do or say in that situation. Refusing the woman's 'proposal' not only would have brought nothing but trouble, it would have been stupid since she really wished to have her daughter again, so for that reason, she just asked Medea to take care of Sakura and to bring her back as soon as possible.

Medea swore that she would have taken care of her the best she could and that she would bring her to them in a week.

And that was exactly what was about to happen.

"Have you seen? You're finally going home." Shirou said with a positive tone. "I've told you that you did not have to worry. It was just a matter of time." He continued, as she passed Sakura her last pair of clothes.

Sakura simply nodded as she finished filling the last suitcase with Shirou's help.

It was now the afternoon of that same day, and soon Medea would take Sakura back to her family.

Even though Sakura was somewhat happy to finally go back home, she was a bit shaken by the abrupt news. After being saved by Medea she knew that one day she would have gone back to them... but at the moment she was not ready to see her family, since she was unsure of what their reaction would have been once they would see her again.

Sure, Medea had told her that they had missed a lot, and that had relieved her in a way that could not be described… but she doubted that they would have not noticed her… changes.

Sakura now finally understood why earlier she was feeling so uneasy, it was because at the moment she really feared that the way she had changed would have greatly bothered her mother and sister. After all, they had greatly missed her, and they would be expecting her to be the same Sakura that they knew… but she knew very well that she could not be like that ever again.

Even though over a month had passed since she had been freed by that hell and by the parasites that had invaded her body, whenever she slept at night Sakura could still feel the worms crawl and slither in her flesh, as if they were still there, always reminding her of what they did to her.

And her mother and sister surely would never like something like her, a useless carcass, worthy only to be thrown aside… a disgusting thing.

If anything, they probably would rather have her not even exist at all. It was true that she was thankful for what Medea had done and for telling her that her parents never gave her away, but Sakura was more than terrorized at the thought that her family would never accept her again for what she had become. It would be better if she saw them never again than being rejected by them.

But right at that moment Shirou, like always, saw through Sakura's troubled thoughts. The doubt and fear on the girl's face were clear as day, and for this reason, he went to hug her.

"Sakura, you don't have to worry, as soon as you will go back home everything will be fine." He said, even though he was not sure of the reason Sakura was like that.

Sakura remained silent and still, but she calmed down a bit.

Shirou always had that effect on her. She saw how from the first day they had met he always wanted to cheer her up, and even though she did not understand why he was always so bothered whenever she was sad or scared, deep down she had always appreciated his numerous efforts.

She remembered how before being taken by the Matou she was a lively girl, while now, she had become stoic and impassive. It had become incredibly difficult to simply talk, let alone express herself and what she felt...

...But being with Shirou was pleasant. He never forced her to do anything she never wanted to do, and he himself was someone who spoke little. Being with him was quiet and peaceful. And as long as she was not sad or preoccupied Shirou would not constantly try to cheer her up, and he would act normally with her, something that she liked very much.

And even though she had never said it to anyone since she found it a bit embarrassing, lately she had started to consider Shirou as her... friend.

"I leave the two of you for a moment, and you get like this. You know Shirou, sometimes you can get too clingy." Medea commented amused as she entered the room.

Shirou for a moment looked startled before he quickly released his hug from Sakura.

"Sorry." He said genuinely displeased. He knew that he had yet to learn to not invade others' personal space, but whenever he saw Sakura being worried he couldn't help but to act.

"C'mon Shirou, don't worry about it, I'm just making fun of you." Medea said as she laughed a little. "And I do think that Sakura likes it when you act like this." She added as she looked at the girl.

Shirou looked at her for a moment before turning to watch Sakura.

"...it's not true." Sakura said before she looked aside.

Shirou remained silent since he was confused about what was the right thing to do, while Medea smiled at the little girl's reaction.

"Okay then, since I see that everything here is done, we can start to leave now." Medea said before she grabbed one of the suitcases.

After saying that all of them got out of the room, and Shirou helped Medea and Sakura to carry the few suitcases to the car that was parked in front of the house.

"Shirou, I'll be out just for a couple of hours, so you do not have to worry," Medea said as she turned to face him. "I should come home before dinner time, but if you get hungry just ask Kiritsugu to cook for you."

Shirou simply nodded in response, before he turned to watch Sakura that was next to Medea.

It had been over a month since he had first met the strange girl and she had started to live with him, and even though he now was a bit sad for the fact that she had to suddenly go away, he was more than happy for her since she was about to finally go back to her family.

He had liked the time he had spent with her, and even though he wished that she had been a little bit happier during her stay, he knew that once he would reunite with her family she would definitely be better.

By that point, Medea had noticed Shirou's expression, and she could see that he was a bit sad for Sakura's departure.

"Shirou, you do not have to worry, it's not that you will not see her ever again. Truth is that Sakura lives not that far from us, so if you want we can go there to visit her from time to time." She then said with a smile.

Shirou widened his eyes a little as he watched Medea, before returning his attention to Sakura.

"Well... It's been very nice to meet you Sakura. I hope that we'll see each other soon." Shirou said as he smiled at Sakura.

Sakura nodded and after a moment she replied: "...You too, Shirou."

"Well then, I think that we're ready to go…" Medea said.

Five minutes had passed from when she had said her goodbyes to Shirou, and Sakura was now sitting in the car that was bringing her back home, and she was quietly watching outside the window as her heart pounded wildly.

Even though she was trying to hide it the doubt and fear was still present in her, and the more she got closer to home, the stronger they were becoming. There was nothing she could do about it.

Without any doubt, she was not ready to meet her family, at least not yet, because she was still too diverse from when she had first left around a year before. In fact, at the moment Sakura wanted to protest, she hoped that the car would stop, she wanted to beg Medea not to take her home... but she didn't have the strength to do so since she was too scared to do anything at all.

In the meantime, Medea was now calmly driving the car that the Fujimura clan had 'gifted' her, and from time to time she would look at Sakura through the rearview mirror.

She had been able to see how Sakura was breathing quickly, how she had her fists clenched on her legs, how some droplets of sweat had formed on her forehead, and if she focused enough, she could even hear how strong that little heart of hers pounded...

The girl was completely terrified. Things were going better than she was expecting.

The reason why Medea had not told Sakura the exact day when she would have gone home was to make sure that when she would arrive there she would have been emotionally unprepared, and if possible, completely alienated.

It had to be clear that something horrible had happened to the girl that very moment Aoi and Rin would pose their eyes on her. This had to happen for her plans to work.

Sure, after seeing her memories Medea knew that to 'protect' herself from all the horrible things Zouken did to her Sakura used to detach herself from reality, but just like she had guessed, this defense mechanism of her was not completely impenetrable. When she was thrown in the worm pits this defense of her was quite effective since she did not feel much when she was there… but the situation she now found herself in was completely different.

Not only was the news of her returning home quite abrupt, and she had not been able to prepare herself, she could not even use her defense mechanism in any way possible since it was completely useless for her situation. This was not something she could simply try to ignore.

Soon she would be facing her family, that same family she so much loved; That same family she had missed; That same family she really feared would reject her.

After some minutes Sakura noticed that the car had started to slow down and suddenly halted, and at that point, she turned around to watch outside, and she finally saw her old home.

"Sakura, we have arrived." Medea said before she turned to watch her.

"Mom! Mom! Look! Sakura has finally arrived!" Rin exclaimed as she saw a car stopping in front of the mansion gates.

Upon hearing those words Aoi suddenly got up from the chair she was sitting on as she waited for their arrival, and she went to the window where Rin was. From there she could see Medea getting out of the car and going to the other side to open the car door to Sakura.

'...She really kept her word.' Aoi then thought.

Hundreds of thoughts were now flowing in her mind as she watched that scene, but Aoi knew that the only thing that she could do for the moment was to simply go with the flow of things and hope for the best. After all from what she was seeing the Servant had really kept her word and had brought Sakura back to her… and she could only hope that nothing bad had truly happened to her daughter.

"Well Rin, what are we waiting for? Let's go downstairs." Aoi then said with a smile as she turned to watch Rin.

"Yes!" Rin exclaimed before she turned and started to run.

"Wait Rin, go slower! You'll trip if you run like that!" Aoi exclaimed as she watched Rin go.

But Rin did not hear her, instead, she was too focused to see her sister again.

To say that Rin had missed Sakura would have been an understatement. The sheer solitude she had felt at the time when she had first left had been almost unbearable, luckily there had been her father and her mother for her, but still, from when Sakura had gone away the silence in her house had always been oppressive. And she still had no one to talk with when she was by herself, even during school she felt lonely…

But none of that mattered anymore, because everything was about change and to become just like before, and this was filling Rin with joy and out-right euphoria. Sure, nothing would have brought her father back to them, but at least she, her mother, and her sister were about to finally reunite as a family, and she was sure that father would have been more than happy for them.

And that was all Rin wanted. All that she needed.

After she went down the stairs and got in front of the entrance Rin took a deep breath and decided to calm down.

Yes, she was more than excited to see Sakura, but she still remembered that she had to act her age. Not only was she not a kid anymore, but now she was also the future head of the Tohsaka, and even though she couldn't fully contain her excitement which was causing that unremovable smile that was present on her face, she had to keep her cool. And after all, of the two of them, she was also the bigger sister, and this meant that she had to make a good example so that Sakura could learn from her how to be mature and act properly for her age.

The number of responsibilities she held just kept growing, but that just made Rin happier.

As she watched the door Rin just could not wait to hug-... speak with Sakura again, and at the moment she also wanted to know so many things from her. Like if she had been treated well; If something bad had ever happened; If she had learned something interesting from the Matou...

And also, she couldn't help but wonder if her sister had changed during this period of time they had been separated.

At that point, Aoi came down the stairs, and with herself, she had also brought a severe lecture to Rin on how she should not run when going down the stairs, but before she could even start with it, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Sakura and Medea were now on the other side of the door…

"Can I open the door?" Rin then immediately asked.

Aoi turned to watch her, and after a moment she smiled a little at the sight. She could see how Rin was trying to hide her excitement, and she just could not help but find her incredibly cute as she clearly failed in doing so.

But on seeing her daughter being so happy a sense of calmness and hope had suddenly invaded Aoi's chest. She now knew that even though they had gone through some terrible thing, all of them were still alive and fine, and now Aoi couldn't help but smile at the future, and all the possibilities that this brought.

"Yes Rin, you can." Aoi said with a nod before she turned to face the door.

Rin turned and opened the door, and after she did, she saw Medea standing in front of them.

"Good afternoon Rin. Good afternoon Aoi." Medea greeted them.

"Hi." Rin said before she started to look around to see where Sakura was, and then she noticed that someone was standing behind Medea.

'Huh, what happened? Sakura, have you suddenly grown timid? Or do you want to surprise me?' Rin thought.

"Hi… Medea," Aoi greeted her, "May I ask you where Sakura is?" She then asked, before she too noticed a little figure standing behind Medea.

"Sakura is right here, behind me." Medea said with a calm tone before she just stepped aside.

As she moved both Aoi and Rin were smiling since they were about to finally see Sakura again after a long time… but when they saw her… it felt wrong to do so.

Sakura was now standing in front of them, but both of them, even though they felt ashamed of it, had some difficulties at recognizing her at first.

With just a simple glance they understood that she was not the same girl who had left a year ago. In fact, the first and most obvious thing that they noticed was how the color of her hair and eyes had changed… But when they focused on her eyes, they noticed how empty, and dead, they were.

With just a simple glance they could even tell that the way she acted felt wrong. Instead of greeting, or going to hug them, she was standing still as she looked down on the ground.

They did not know how to describe her… other than depressing to look at.

Both Rin and Aoi wanted to say something, but the fact that Sakura did not dare to look at them, but instead was looking down on the ground with a scared expression as she slightly trembled, made it impossible to do so.

At one point both of them silently backed down, allowing Medea and Sakura to enter the house. After that, they stood in the entrance for a minute or so since they had no idea how to act or what to do.

Rin was almost dazed as she watched Sakura with disbelief and concern. She just had no idea of what to say or what to ask, and the fact that her mother was confused like her scared her even more.

Just what had happened to her sister? Rin needed to know!

"...Rin" Aoi suddenly said, "Take Sakura to the sitting room and wait for us there. I… I have to talk with Medea a little."

At that moment Rin turned to watch her mother, and she noticed the woeful expression she had.

"...Yes." Rin said with an insecure tone before she turned and walked to Sakura.

As she slowly walked to her with hesitation, Rin noticed how Sakura started to tremble more as she got closer.

"...Sakura…" Rin said with sadness as she saw her sister's state.

"Sakura, don't be so scared, do as your mother said, and go with your sister. I'm sure that the two of you have a lot to talk about." Medea then said as she gently pushed her forward.

After hearing her words Sakura finally mustered the courage to move, and with Rin, she went to the sitting room.

"So Aoi, what did you want to speak about?" Medea asked as she turned to face her after Rin and Sakura left.

But as soon as Medea asked that question Aoi turned around and started to walk toward the stairs.

"Let's not speak here, but in my room." Aoi said.

"...As you wish." Medea said as she noticed her strange behavior before she started to follow her.

After the two of them got into the room Medea closed the door and raised a bounded field around the room.

"Now, what-" Medea started to ask.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?!" Aoi screamed infuriated.

"...Oh, it is your daughter now?" Medea calmly asked with a little smile as she turned around to face the other woman, which was clearly enraged.

"ANSWER ME! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!" She screamed again, even angrier than before.

"...What did I do to her? Hah, how can you dare to assume that I've harmed her? I've done nothing to her, Aoi." Medea said, "Zouken did it. Tokiomi did it. You did it."

"YOU HAVE TO ANSWER ME!" Aoi said as she started to walk toward her.

"...Oh? it seems that you're quite nervous Aoi, why don't you sit down so that you can calm yourself?" Medea proposed with a complacent smile.

"I -!" Aoi started to say before she suddenly froze in place.

She did not know how or why, but something had happened to her, and she could not move anymore. For a moment Aoi thought that time itself had stopped, but when she started to feel an unknown pressure increasing all around her, which made it impossible for her to move and breathe, she realized that what was happening was Medea's doing.

"...First, I don't like your tone Aoi, know your place." Medea said as she walked right in front of Aoi. "And second, stop immediately this stupid drama of yours, shouting and screaming like that will change nothing. The worst has already happened." Medea said before she turned and sat on one of the chairs of a little table that was nearby.

"...And approaching a Servant with that tone and attitude is not the wisest of choices, don't you think?" She then asked.

At that moment Aoi couldn't do anything but wriggle desperately as she was also not able to move and to breathe. And as she futilely tried to free herself, the lack of air started to make some horrible memories that she had repressed suddenly resurface.

Almost half a minute passed, and right before Aoi could faint from the lack of oxygen, Medea decided to undo her magic, and once freed by the spell Aoi fell to her knees, gasped for air, and started to cough.

"Calmed down?" Medea asked as she looked down at Aoi.

Aoi did not answer, she just tried to catch her breath as she held a hand to her throat.

"...Well Aoi, just like you 'gently' asked me, I'll now tell you everything that happened to Sakura... But you'll have to hear each and every one of the fearful words that I will utter." Medea said with a serious tone.

Aoi did not know exactly why, but after hearing her words she gulped as a shiver went down her spine. And after a minute or so, weakly and trembling, Aoi found the strength to stand up, and to sit in front of Medea.

"So, before we start to talk about how Sakura has changed, we have to understand what has happened to her in this period of time…" Medea started to say as she put her left hand on the table. "...And we have to meet the 'ones' that did her all those wrongs." She continued as she removed her hand.

Aoi lowered her eyes to see what Medea had left on the table, and she remained utterly disgusted by the sight.

"This is a recreation of Matou Zouken's Crest worm. One of the thousands he had used on Sakura." Medea said as she watched her worm familiar, which aspect she had modified to make it even more horrendous than the original. "...And even though it may not seem so, these worms are very dangerous. They can easily devour human meat, and their fangs are sharp enough to cut and shred human's bone..."

"...W-What do they have to do with Sakura?" Aoi asked as she started to tremble, and noticed the worm's phallic shape, which until now she had refused to notice.

"Well, as you may possibly know, the Matou family magecraft is based around familiars, and Zouken, to make Sakura the heir of the family, had to make her become close and… 'familiar' with them, if you understand what I mean…"

At that moment Aoi's mind stopped, and a horrid expression started to form on her face as she paled.

"...Yes Aoi, unfortunately, it is as you fear." Medea said as she leaned closer to her. "Sakura, your youngest daughter, that cute and little spring who is barely six years old, has been… stained with mud. These worms were the ones to take away her spotless chastity… and eat away what made her a woman. They were the ones who violated and tortured her incessantly, every single day, for the last year." Medea continued before she sat back in her chair. "...And you have to know that to make sure that she could become a worthy heir of the Matou, and a possible vessel for his phylactery, that literal monster of Zouken had even made those worms fuse and melt with her nerves so that he could control her every move. These horrible things had become a very part of her…" She said as she watched the worm. "And each of those torture sessions, where Sakura was thrown in a grave to be violated and defiled by these abominations, where she hoped and prayed for her parents to come and save her, could last for hours, if not almost entire days…"

Before Aoi could say anything at all, she felt an unknown force in her throat, and when she tried to speak, she discovered that she could not utter even a single word.

"Aoi, I understand the kind of shock and pain you are now suffering. I understand that now you want to scream, or to cry, or to desperately try to deny everything I said and accuse me of being a liar… but I have a question for you: Why should I lie?" Medea asked. "I've already told you that I'm doing what I'm doing to pay a debt, and that's really it. I saved you, I saved Sakura, cured her as best as I could, and brought her home. If I wanted to harm you or your family, I would've already done it." Medea said with a shrug before she undid the magic that prevented Aoi from speaking.

Aoi watched Medea for a moment, and before she could say anything, the pain and the horror overwhelmed her, and she covered her face with her hands.

Medea then remained still as she silently watched Aoi squirm and fidget. She remained impassive as she watched Aoi pulling her hair and screaming. And she could not help but feel a tiny bit of pity for Aoi when she fell to the ground as she started to cry, expressing all of her pain.

And while she watched her, Medea suddenly decided to describe in great detail what she had to do to save Sakura, and she focused on describing in great detail all the damages that the worms had done to her body. After that, she saw Aoi going through shock, denial, anger, bargain, depression, testing, and acceptance… But she smiled a little, knowing that Aoi's heartbreaking sorrow was only about to start.

Almost 30 minutes went by before Aoi calmed down and returned to reason.

It took a while for her to calm herself down, but once she did her heart still ached from the pain, her face was flushed red, her eyes were still filled with tears, her hairs were disheveled, and just like her heart, her soul was broken apart. And even though Aoi was still wishing for any of this to not be real, she knew that it wasn't over yet.

She had noticed the way Medea was watching her as she had been assaulted by pain… she was waiting for her to finish. There was still more she had to tell her.

Yes, Aoi knew she couldn't bear another word, but she also knew there were more things she needed to know.

She turned to watch Medea, and she started to carefully think about her words. She didn't want what happened earlier to happen again.

"...Medea, before you continue, I… I have a question to ask you…" Aoi said on her knees since she did not have the strength to get up and sit on the chair once again.

"Tell me, what is it?" She asked.

"...Zouken… did you make him pay for what he did to Sakura?" Aoi asked eagerly.

Medea watched her for a moment before she answered: "Yes, kind of."

"...What do you mean?" Aoi asked, confused.

"You see Aoi, just like you, I'm utterly disgusted by the things that Zouken did to Sakura… but his time has not yet come."

"What?"

"Don't worry, I made Zouken suffer unbearable pain for what he did to your daughter, but unfortunately for you, he still lives for now."

"…Why?"

"I've told you, his time has yet to come… and, it's not his turn to pay." Medea said as she sharpened her eyes.

"His turn? …I… I don't understand what you're saying…" Aoi said.

"Zouken will pay for all the things he did, but now the ones who have to pay for what has happened to Sakura are those who gave her to Zouken in the first place." Medea said before she frowned and got up from her chair.

At that moment as she realized what the woman meant Aoi started to sweat cold, while Medea walked right in front of her.

"...B-But Tokiomi i-is dead…" Aoi said as she looked up at her.

"...And what? You are still here."

"...It… it had been… Tokiomi's choice to give Sakura to Zouken…" Aoi said as she lowered her head.

"...Huh, now that's an interesting way for you to put it." Medea said before she started to think.

She was now trying to remember everything she had seen in Aoi's memories from when she had been healing her mind, and after some long moments of silence, she returned to watch Aoi.

"…So, you're saying that you're not in any way responsible for what happened to Sakura, because you were not the one to give her away. Am I right?" Medea asked.

Aoi remained silent for a long moment before stuttering with an unsure and scared tone: "Y-Y-Yes."

"...Really? Is that what you really think?" Medea asked.

Aoi remained silent and kept looking at the ground, but Medea could see the traces of doubt and remorse on her face.

"...From my point of view, Aoi, I think that everything that has happened is also your fault… if not, completely yours." Medea then calmly said.

"...What?" Aoi asked with a perplexed tone as she raised her head to watch her.

"Aoi, when you and Tokiomi married, what did you swear to each other?" Medea asked as she crouched to look Aoi in the eyes.

"...What?"

"…*Sigh*… I mean, when the two of you married, you swore to each other to live the rest of your lives together, right?"

"...Yes." Aoi said.

"The two of you had fallen in love, and you decided to unite under the sacred bond of marriage to live together the rest of your life as wife and husband, with no one ruling over the other, right?"

"...Yes."

"Then the two of you decided to have children, and surely, you swore to each other to love and to raise them together, isn't that right?"

"...Yes." Aoi quietly said.

"Did the two of you keep any of those promises?" Medea then asked.

Aoi remained silent as melancholy memories suddenly flooded her mind.

"...What happened? How did things get like this?" Medea asked again.

Aoi opened her mouth to speak, but not even a word came out since she did not know what to say.

"...I've always said that there is no more faith in oaths." Medea sighed. "Perhaps the gods of the past no longer exist for you… or you think that new laws reign among men today… I don't know, but you know very well that both you, and Tokiomi, have sworn falsehoods to each other." Medea said before she frowned even more. "...And your daughters ended up paying for it."

By this point, Aoi had assumed a dazed and depressed look as she remained silent.

"Tell me Aoi, for what reason did Tokiomi take away from you one of your daughters?" Medea then asked. "Was it because you were dangerous? Was it because you were mad? Because you wanted to kill her?! ...No. It was none of that." She said, "He took Sakura away from you because he wanted her to be… educated rightly as a mage, wasn't it? He dared to separate a daughter from her mother simply because he wanted her to be a mage in a way or the other! And tell me, what happened?! What were the results?!" Medea asked. "Your daughter, a child, has been stained and violated for years, and brought down to the lowest of points where she now sees herself as an object instead of a person."

"...I…"

"Tell me Aoi, couldn't all of this have been avoided if you had been less pathetic and petty?!" Medea asked.

Aoi remained silent for a long moment before saying: "...How… how can you of all people judge us?"

"...What?" Medea asked, quite surprised.

"...I… I know who you are, Medea… and I know the things you've done." Aoi said as she faced her.

Medea remained silent, but she sharpened her eyes as she carefully listened to Aoi's words.

"...After you told me your name I went to read your legend… and I discovered what you've done… how in your insane rage, you've murdered your innocent sons." Aoi said with a tone of disgust. "When they returned from the royal palace after they had unknowingly given the poisoned presents you made for the princess, in cold blood you made the decision to murder them too to punish Jason even further, so you sent them to their room before killing them in their sleep! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?! And how can you dare to reprimand me?!" Aoi exclaimed.

Medea looked at her for a moment before she said: "You know Aoi, I told you my name to make you understand who I was and with whom you were dealing with, and yet, now that you have knowledge of my identity and the things I was able to do, you dare to reproach to me the things I've done? Aoi, it is pitiful how you're still trying to defend your pride… if you can call it like that." Medea said before getting up.

Aoi remained on her knees, but she was getting ready to defend herself from what the woman had in store for her.

"...And also, you flatter me." Medea then said smiling, surprising Aoi a bit. "You really think that I've been merciful enough to kill my sons in their sleep? Let me tell you, you're wrong. Very wrong. Unfortunately for you, I've been summoned under the worst aspect of my legend, and myself. I'm the version of me that without any kind of hesitation cut her son's throat right in front of her husband, just so that he could see his dynasty end right in front of his eyes. Do you understand what I'm saying? Even my own sons could not escape my wrath! I love destructively, I live in an all-encompassing way, and my every action is extremely exasperated. That is who I am." Medea coldly remarked.

At her words, Aoi frowned and finally found the strength to slowly stand up.

"...Speeches aside, Aoi, I know that you have yet to fully calm yourself and to return to reason, but tell me, why you didn't show this courage of yours to Tokiomi before he gave your daughter to a monster who would rape her? And tell me, how does it make you feel to know that compared to me, you are not that much better as a mother?" Medea asked with an amused tone.

Aoi just frowned more at her provocation, but she did not respond.

"The fact that you do not even answer me just further proves my point. Everything that has happened could have been prevented if you simply stood up to your husband, but no, you had to be the perfect trophy wife, isn't that right?"

"…What should I have done? He was the head of the house, and he-!" Aoi started to say.

"You should have killed him. Easy." Medea bluntly answered.

"Tch, it is easy for you to say it." Aoi said.

"Why? You should have murdered him on principle for even thinking to take away your daughter from you, to divide and ruin your family. But no, you had to be a complete imbecile and let him do what he wanted. You wanted to be the 'perfect wife', but you ended up being a simple trophy."

"...I…"

"Aoi, what you fail to understand is that the so-called 'perfect wife' should take care of the entire family, not just of her husband or his desires. And not only the 'perfect wife' priorities would have been that to preserve the family and its well-being, but she would also have used everything at her disposal to make sure of that. But you were not the perfect wife, and most important of all, you and Tokiomi were a couple. The two of you had to make decisions together. You should have spoken with your husband and made him understand, even by force, that giving away your daughter and denying her from your lives just because he wanted to follow some senseless tradition, was a terrible decision! And maybe, on that occasion, you should have also reminded him that he not only had responsibilities as a mage, but also as a father! He shouldn't have taken part in one of the most dangerous magic conflicts and put both himself and his family in grave danger!" Medea exclaimed.

"…Say what you want, but I wouldn't have been able to change his mind." Aoi said. "The tradition wants the family to have a single heir, and Tokiomi had to-."

"Then I firmly believe that if your husband insisted on dividing and destroying your family, you should have destroyed him in retaliation."

"H-How could I ever do it anyway? He-"

"Do you really think that you could not kill your husband just because he may have been better than you as a mage? I mean, is it that difficult to kill a person in their sleep?" Medea asked her.

"...Even if I tried, I wouldn't have been able to do it." Aoi said.

Medea just smiled at Aoi's naivety before she said: "Do you really think that your husband was infallible? Trust me Aoi, he was not as clever as you think, because if he was he wouldn't have died stabbed in the back."

"...How did he die?" Aoi asked after a long moment of silence.

Aoi still had some difficulties at remembering the events that happened during the period of the war, but if there was a thing that she certainly remembered, it was when she entered the church and found Kariya near Tokiomi's corpse. Sure, the memories were still a bit foggy, but she still remembered the whole encounter.

"He died backstabbed." Medea answered. "And surely, he had been deceived and betrayed by a person he trusted. The expression of shock his corpse had was very clear." Medea answered.

Aoi remained silent, and at that moment she started to consider Medea's words.

If what the woman was telling her was true, that Tokiomi had been betrayed and killed, it couldn't be Kariya the one who murdered him. Since he too was a Master, he and Tokiomi were enemies, so unless they had to fight there was no reason for them to interact with each other… unless they wanted to form an alliance.

But as she thought about it, Aoi suddenly remembered that it had been Kirei, Tokiomi's ally, the one who told her to come to the church, and there, she found Kariya near Tokiomi's corpse. Aoi then even remembered how Kariya tried to tell her that she hadn't killed him before he snapped and ended up attacking her…

And only at that moment did Aoi finally realize who was the real responsible for her husband's death.

"What is it Aoi?" Medea asked as she noticed Aoi realizing something.

Aoi snapped out of her thoughts and returned to watch the witch.

"...Even… Even if I had killed him, tell me, how could I ever watch again my daughters in their eyes for having murdered their father?" Aoi then asked.

"...No!" Medea suddenly snapped, making Aoi jump a little. "Now you have to tell how you can now dare to look at Sakura in the eyes, knowing what had happened to her because of your inability to stand up to Tokiomi?! Tell me!" Medea exclaimed.

Aoi wanted to say something, but she just greeted her teeth as she looked aside.

"Tell me Aoi, tell me, how can you ever go to Rin and tell her just what her dear sister has suffered, and how she, by pure luck, had been spared by that terrible fate?! Tell me!" Medea exclaimed again as she walked in front of her.

By that point, the shame had grown to a level where it hurt Aoi, for she knew that what Medea was saying was true. And it was for this reason that she closed her eyes and tried to ignore both Medea and her feelings.

"...You're still not answering me? Oh well, we will pass your punishment right now." Medea then said.

At those words, Aoi immediately opened her eyes, took a step back, and got ready to defend herself, but Medea just watched her for a moment before she simply turned around and started to walk toward the door.

"...Where are you going?" Aoi asked.

"To Sakura and Rin." Medea said. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt them... I will just tell them everything."

Medea calmly walked to the door and grabbed the doorknob, but after she did so, she felt Aoi's hand suddenly grab her shoulder. Medea then turned to watch the woman, and she could see the panicked expression she had as she had started to sweat profusely.

They looked each other in the eyes for some long moments without saying a word.

"What are you trying to do?" Medea asked her.

"...D-...Don't." Aoi muttered.

"...Hmm?"

"I… I know that I can't stop you… but please, don't do it." Aoi said.

"Why?" Medea asked.

"...Because if they knew what I did… they would hate me." Aoi said with a terrified tone.

"I know, but they deserve to know the truth." Medea said.

"But they are everything I have left! Please! Don't do it!" Aoi begged her again.

"...Ah, now you care for them?" Medea asked.

"...You're right. I was wrong. I've been stupid and selfish. Everything I have done was nothing but mistakes that could have been avoided. Everything had been my fault! But please, do not ruin my family even further! Have mercy on us! I beg you!"

Medea watched Aoi for a moment, thinking, and after a bit, she said: "Fine, if you insist like this I will only tell the truth to Rin. After all, it is better if Sakura does not come to know the truth."

"P-Please, no! Not even Rin!" Aoi exclaimed.

Once again Medea remained silent as she thought for a moment before she said: "…Ok then, you will be the one to tell Rin everything."

"...What? No, I beg-!"

"I've bargained with you far too much Aoi. That is my final decision. Your eldest daughter, Rin, will have to know what really happened to her family. And you will be the one to tell her everything."

After Medea finished speaking Aoi remained silent, but she started to think about what she could do next. The Servant had made her decision, and she was sure that if she didn't go to tell Rin the truth, Medea would say everything both to Rin and Sakura… now she didn't have much of a choice.

But after a while from when Aoi had fallen silent, Medea spoke again.

"...Look Aoi, I know that I've put you in a very difficult spot, so I wouldn't blame you if you… let's just say, shifted all the blame on only one person." Medea then said vaguely.

Aoi remained silent for a moment before she realized what she wanted to say.

"...You want me to blame Tokiomi?"Aoi asked.

"I mean, it's just an advice. That is what I would do in your situation." Medea said.

"...You… You're not making any sense." Aoi said as she frowned. "Why do you want me to tell the truth to Rin? Why do you want me to blame Tokiomi? What really is your objective?!"

"...I have no goal." Medea calmly lied. "I just want Rin to know what happened to her sister and to her family, so that she will not make the same mistakes of her father as the future head of the family."

"...But saying that it was just Tokiomi's fault would be a lie..." Aoi said.

"You are not telling a lie… just half of the truth."

"But that would still be terrible." Aoi said as she looked aside.

"Really? Tell me, why would that be a bad thing?"

"Because I despise the idea that even one of my daughters would grow up hating their father."

"...But they have all the rights to do so. In fact, by telling them that half-truth, we're sparing your daughters from hating their mother too." Medea said with a smile.

Aoi once again gritted her teeth at Medea's words, before she turned to look at her.

"Medea, look, Tokiomi was a good man…. he was just… misguided by his responsibilities as a mage. He doesn't deserve to have his good name slandered after his death. Please, let him rest in peace, and let him be remembered as the good man that he was." Aoi said.

But after she said all of that, Aoi got a bit confused as Medea assumed a somewhat shocked expression.

"I… I thought that you had realized it by now… but it seems that I have to clearly tell you." Medea said.

"...Realized what?" Aoi asked.

"Aoi, tell me, Tokiomi was an excellent mage, wasn't he?"

"...Hmm, yes." She answered.

"And as an excellent mage, he had a very vast knowledge of all the forms of magecraft, including that of familiars. Therefore, he knew what he was doing when he gave Sakura away…"

"...What are you trying to say?"

"Tell me, do you think he knew what would have happened to Sakura after he gave her to Zouken?"

Aoi did not respond, instead, she just looked at Medea without answering.

"...Aoi?" Medea called her.

"...no. Tokiomi didn't know. Because if he did he would have never given her to those monsters." Aoi then immediately answered.

"...So, you're saying that he was never really interested in what would happen to Sakura, and he just gave her to the Matou without making sure that she would be safe?" Medea then asked.

"N-N-No! He knew what he was doing when he gave her to them! You said it yourself that the Matou had violated the agreements and harmed Sakura!"

"...Oh, that. You see Aoi, the majority of the things I said that day were lies." Medea said. "I said those things because at the time Rin was with us, and I did not want to let her know what had truly happened to Sakura… and how her parents had a hand in it."

Aoi remained silent, but Medea could see the traces of doubt, terror, and conflict on her face.

"...You must be lying…" Aoi muttered. "Tokiomi would never do such a thing… Yes. Everything you said until now must have been just lies."

"Are you in denial? Again?" Medea asked her.

"I'm not in denial!" Aoi exclaimed as she put a hand through her hair. A terrible headache had started to form in her head.

"...You're right. You're not in denial." Medea said. "Cognitive dissonance is a… terrible thing."

"...What?"

"You firmly believe that Tokiomi loved and cared for his daughters, and yet, he still gave away one of them, as if she was just an object, to a monster who committed unspeakable acts on her."

"...He… he did so because he thought…" Aoi tried to justify.

"I'll ask you the question once again. Did Tokiomi know what Zouken was going to do to Sakura?" Medea asked. "Before you answer, think. If he didn't know it means that he didn't really care what that monster of Zouken would have done to his daughter..."

"...No…"

"...If, on the other hand, he knew... Well, it makes us understand the kind of man he really was." Medea said.

"...That can't be…"

"He never loved Sakura and Rin as his 'daughters', but he only saw them as 'heirs'. He only cared for them to keep alive his dynasty. That's it. And from what I know in the world of modern magi, such a mentality is quite common too, isn't that right?" Medea asked.

"...No… He would never do such things… he was not like that…" Aoi kept muttering.

"Think whatever you want Aoi, you just need to tell 'your point of view' to Rin..."

"...I… I… I just need some time to think…" Aoi said with a tired tone.

"...I'm sorry Aoi, time is the one thing you don't have." Medea said before she suddenly turned and opened the door.

Before Aoi could say or do anything at all Medea got out of the room, and after she did she brought her left hand to her throat and said aloud: "Rin, come here for a bit. I… there is something I have to talk to you about."

Aoi remained completely silent as she heard that Medea called Rin with 'her' voice, and after she finished speaking Medea returned into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Copying other people's voices is not that easy of a task, you know?" Medea said.

"...W-W-What have you done?! Why have you called Rin?!" Aoi exclaimed and panicked.

"I called her so that you could tell her 'everything'." Medea said as if it was something obvious.

"B-B-B-B-But-"

"C'mon, it will not be that hard for you to do it. After all, you let Tokiomi give Sakura away to be tortured. You let Tokiomi take part in the war and die. You let yourself get almost killed by that other man and left Rin completely alone. Now all you have to do is simply lie about what really happened, and compared to what you did in the past, this is something easy." Medea said before she smiled again. "C'mon Aoi, I know that you can do it. Paint Tokiomi as the ruthless mage that never cared for his family! Paint yourself as the powerless victim! And reunite your family under the pain that 'the monstrous' Tokiomi caused!"

"What? No? I can't…?" Aoi started to say as the pain in her head got even more intense.

"What is it, Aoi? Don't tell me that you don't want to slander Tokiomi after all the terrible things he definitely did?"

"...I…I…"

"Remember Aoi, you have to. It is better this way. Better to assure right now that your daughter will forever think that everything that happened was Tokiomi's fault, and will never ever think that you were involved in anything at all. Slandering Tokiomi is the price to pay for your family's sake, isn't that right?"

Aoi remained silent as she couldn't think straight anymore, the headache had become too strong for her to bear, but at that moment, before Medea could say anything else, they heard knocking at the door.

Aoi raised her head as she widened her eyes as she realized that Rin was already there, while Medea watched her and said: "...She is here. I hope that you've made up your mind." Before she walked to the door.

Aoi backed down and ended up sitting on the bed, while Medea went to open the door to Rin.

"...Did mother call me?" Rin asked as she saw Medea.

"Yes, Rin. She has to… to tell you something." Medea said with a serious tone as she made her enter.

Rin entered the room, and she started to immediately preoccupy as she saw her mother. For some reason, Aoi was now sitting on the bed, and she was covering her face with both of her hands while she breathed heavily, as if she was scared.

"Look Rin," Medea said as she posed a hand on her shoulder and kneeled to look the child in the eyes. "Now your mother will speak with you, and she will tell you some things that… will shock you. Yes, you're still a child, and you have yet to fully understand many things, but we have come to the conclusion that you have the right to know what happened to your family… you have the right to know what happened to your sister. I'm sure that Aoi will refrain from going into the details since you're still young and you don't deserve to know such things, but the things she will tell you you won't like at all." Medea said before she remained silent for a moment and sighed. "...I'm sorry. You should not deserve to know those things… but you have to… and from now on, you'll have to be strong for your family's sake."

Rin watched Medea for a moment before she returned to watch her mother. She did not know what was happening, and this scared her incredibly. From when Sakura had come back Rin did not know what happened to her and why she had become so diverse… and the fact that her mother was now like that after speaking with Medea, preoccupied her even more. At that moment Rin felt incredibly powerless.

'…Tokiomi… I'm sorry Tokiomi…' Aoi thought as she was on the verge of breaking down. 'I have no choice now… I… I have no other options, do you understand? If I do not do what that woman wishes, she will tell everything to Rin… and even to Sakura… and I can't let them know… I can't let them hate me! I hope you will understand… no… y-you have to. Just look at me, what can I do? Nothing. I'm powerless, like always… and… if… if you were here… if you never left me alone… if you never gave Sakura away… nothing of this would be happening. Yes… it is because of you that everything happened… so you can't blame me for what I'm about to do, right? …Right?'

"...Mom?" Rin called her, making Aoi snap out of her thoughts.

"...Rin…" Aoi just said as she looked at her daughter in the eyes.

"...Well, I think that I will leave the two of you alone." Medea said before she got out of the room.

Aoi kept watching Rin before she simply made a gesture that told her to sit next to her. Rin did as her mother said, and after she did, her mother kindly took her hands and started to gently kiss them.

"Mom?" Rin said as she watched her mother start to cry.

"...Rin… I'm so sorry Rin…" Aoi said as she sobbed. "...I… I should have been stronger… I should have been stronger for yours and Sakura's sake…" Aoi then started to say as guilt started to already consume her.

Some time had passed from when Aoi had started to speak with Rin, and Medea was now on the other side of the door as she was carefully listening to their conversation.

From what she had heard until now Aoi had told Rin that some terrible things had happened to her sister, and even though she did not dare to specify what, she made it pretty clear how terrible they were as she could not stop crying as she spoke about it.

Rin asked numerous times what had happened, but each time, Aoi refused to explain to her. When Rin then asked her why all of those bad things happened to Sakura, Aoi said that it had been the fault of the Matou's since they were all bad people. And when Rin asked her why she and Tokiomi did not go there to save their daughter, her sister, Aoi fell silent for some long moments, as she had to muster the courage to lie and came up with something that would leave her with no faults.

To Medea's surprise, after some pair of seconds or so Aoi immediately started to slander Tokiomi, and blame everything on him.

She started by saying that she never had a choice regarding Sakura leaving their family since Tokiomi forced her to give her daughter away. She said that the Matou did all of those terrible things to Sakura only because Tokiomi wanted Sakura to be the best possible heir for the other family, no matter how. And she then even 'revealed' that each time she tried to reason with him to not take part in the Holy Grail war whenever Rin was not at home, Tokiomi would turn violent, have fits of rage, treat to hurt her, and 'remind' her that he could do whatever he wanted since he was the head of the family.

Medea had heard the way Aoi said all of those things, and it was pretty clear that she was inventing them on the spot… but would a child like Rin understand that her mother was lying?

But after she finished saying all of those things, Aoi could do nothing but cry as she begged Rin to forgive her.

At the moment Medea did not even need to look at Rin to understand just what was going on in the child's head.

She had been 'revealed' that her father, the person she had always looked up to, was, in reality, a terrible person who did not care about his wife and his daughters. Just how terrible it could be for her for a child like her to have this knowledge? And even if she did not believe at first what her mother was telling her, why did her mother have to lie about those things in the first place? What was the reason that would push her mother to talk badly of her father after his death?

After some minutes the door of the room opened, and Rin came out of it, looking quite shocked.

As Medea watched the girl, she suddenly remembered the day when she went to the Tohsaka mansion for the first time to meet Shirou. She could remember how while speaking with him about all the pieces of information he had discovered about Rin, Shirou mentioned how the girl had always looked up to her father, and how she wanted to become a great magus and reestablish her family name to make her father proud...

To have the image of the person you admire the most be shattered and stained, especially if it was one of a parent, could be quite traumatic for a child…

"...Rin, I'm so sorry that you had come to know some of the truth… but we needed you to know." Medea said as she approached her and kneeled. "As you understand, many terrible things happened behind your back, and unfortunately, you have to be strong and face them. Even though your family has been finally reunited, in front of you all there is still a hard path that you have to cross, one that you have to cross together. I know that you may have hundreds of questions, but I have to ask you to put aside this desire to understand everything and focus on your family. Both your mother and your sister are in desperate need of help. Your help. The only one who can help them is you, Rin. Do you understand?"

After a long moment of silence, Rin said: "...Yes, I understand."

"...Good. Very good." Medea said. "Now that we made things a bit more clear, I have to ask you to go back to your sister. Soon your mother and I will reach you."

Rin just nodded in response and started to go downstairs, and Medea watched her go.

She knew how a single 'truth' could hit harder than a life of suffering. Rin was now forced to live with the 'knowledge' of what her father 'really' was and what he had done to her family. How in the pursuit of his selfish desire, he had almost condemned those he supposedly loved and lost his life.

And now Medea couldn't help but wonder how this knowledge would form the girl in the future.

But after thinking that Medea re-entered Aoi's room, and saw her still sitting on the bed, crying.

"...Aoi, Rin has already left, you can stop now." Medea said with a low tone of voice.

Aoi did not answer her, instead, she just kept crying.

"...Ohhh, what is it? Are you feeling bad, Aoi? Are you suddenly full of guilt? Could it be that you have realized the gravity of all of your actions? ...Or you just want to blame everything on me?" Medea asked, mocking her.

Aoi kept ignoring her and just kept crying.

"Don't worry Aoi, I understand your agony, I know what it feels like, and I assure you that the guilt you're feeling for the things you did will never go away."

Upon hearing those words Aoi stopped crying and looked up to watch Medea.

"The truth is that you were 'happy' all the time because you did not realize the things you did. Think hard. Who are you really? You're not the victim. Just like your husband, you're the perpetrator. It is not the world's fault that your family has been ruined, but only yours."

"..."

"I hope that you're strong enough to live with the things you've done Aoi… because it would be a shame if Rin and Sakura remained orphans if you took the easy way out..." Medea said before she took some steps back and started to slowly close the door. "...And I don't think that you're that selfish… am I right?"

Rin was now walking back to the sitting room where Sakura was, and even though her head was spinning, she was thinking.

She could still not believe what her mother had told her, and even though she wished that the things she had heard to be just lies, it would not make things any better. Her family has been torn apart, for one reason or the other, and now she has to help her mother and her sister.

She has to help her family.

When Rin walked into the sitting room, there she saw Sakura still sitting in one of the couches. From when she had first sat down, she had not moved, said, or done anything at all… she just kept looking down with that hollow stare.

Rin was not entirely sure why, but seeing her sister in those conditions, now that she knew that some terrible things had happened to her, made her feel incredibly guilty.

'…Why did it have to be Sakura?' Rin then started to wonder. 'Why could it not be me? Why father had to make his youngest daughter suffer?' She asked herself.

...Could it be that he never loved her? And why was it? …Was it because he saw her as less useful? …Was it because she was fitter to be the head of the Tohsaka, and therefore Sakura's presence was useless?

…And if that last thing was truth… then… was it her fault that all of those things happened to her sister in the first place?

Rin did not know, but she walked to Sakura, and she saw that she still refused to look at her. At that point, Rin immediately went to hug her and to say: "I'm sorry…. I'm sorry…"

She did not know what happened to her, but now she could only make sure that nothing would have happened to her sister ever again.

In fact, at that moment Rin swore to herself that never again Sakura would suffer, and that as the future head of the Tohsaka, she would make up for all the mistakes of her… predecessor.

Rin now could only hope that Sakura would never reach a point where she would hate her and her mother… and she could only hope that in the future she would be able to earn even a scrap of her forgiveness.

Some minutes later Medea arrived, and when she saw Rin hugging Sakura, she could not help but smile.

After that, she sat on one of the couches, and she started to speak with Rin about Sakura. She told her that after everything she went through Sakura had been greatly traumatized and had undergone some 'notable' physical changes, and it was for this reason that she would need some medicines to help her recover and change back to how she was before. At that point from the purse she had, Medea took out some vials, and she started to describe the purpose of each one.

After some other minutes Aoi too came down, and when Rin started to hear her footsteps coming closer, she decided to finally let Sakura go from her hug.

At one point Aoi entered the room, and when she did she stopped to look at Sakura. After watching her for some moments she opened her mouth to speak, but after some seconds she closed it again. It was clear that she wanted to say something, but if it was to beg forgiveness or admit her guilt, Medea did not know.

Still, without saying anything Aoi walked right in front of Sakura, took her in her arms, sat on the couch, posed Sakura on her lap, and held her close to her chest as she kissed her head. As she did all of that, Medea noticed how hard she was trying to not cry.

After a while from when Aoi had sat down, Medea proceeded to repeat everything she had said to Rin to her too, and after that, she got up from her seat and said that she had to go. But before she started to leave she said that if they ever were in need of help, to not hesitate to call her, and that she would help them the best she could before she gave them her telephone number written on a piece of paper.

After that, she wished them a good evening, before she started to leave.

Medea then arrived in front of the entrance of the house, but just before she could open the door to get out, she heard some little footsteps behind her. For this reason, she turned around and saw Rin standing on the other side of the corridor.

"...Excuse me Medea… you are a mage, right?" Rin asked.

"Hm? Oh, yes. Why do you ask?" Medea asked genuinely curious.

"...If I remember right, the first time you came here you said that you have eliminated the Matou after all the things they did to Sakura, right?"

"Yes."

"...If by yourself you were able to defeat all of them… then this means that you're very strong as a mage." Rin said as she thought.

"Yes. You could say that I'm an excellent mage." Medea said as she tried to understand just where the little girl was going.

"...Then …Could you teach me magecraft?" Rin then asked.

"...What?"

"I… I want to be a great magus. I want to become strong to protect my family. And if you were able to defeat one of the founding families by yourself, you can make me strong!"

"...Heh." Medea smiled a little after a moment. "Rin, I find this desire of yours to be very noble and cute, but unfortunately the kind of magecraft I use is… different from yours."

"Different?"

"Yes. Not only do I use a magic system that comes from another land, you could say that my spells are way more powerful than the normal ones since they are a bit older and more complex, but also, you could say that they are... somewhat limited under our current circumstances."

"...Is that a no?" Rin asked.

"No, it is not. I'm just saying that it would be better if you stuck to the more 'modern magecraft' since my knowledge is incompatible with the... more modern ones."

"...If I should reject and forget everything I've learned, would you teach me?" Rin then asked.

At hearing those words, Medea sharpened her eyes. She had heard her tone, she could almost feel it, she could tell that the girl was serious… But just how serious did she have to be to reject her father's teachings, which were possibly one of the few memories she had of him?

A very strong will, that was something that she really liked, and now Medea really started to consider her request. First of all, she had to see if the girl had the capabilities to actually learn something from her.

Now, she had obtained many pieces of information about Rin from both Shirou and Aoi's memories, and from what she knew not only the girl has an affinity with all the five elements, but her Origin was also surely one of the imaginary elements, an Origin very rare even by her times.

There was also to mention the naturally high quality and number of the magic circuits the girl had, which could make it possible for her to have enough mana to actually use the spells she would teach her.

Sure, the number of spells that she could teach to the girl was very limited since the majority of the spells she knew required just too much mana, but she was sure that under her teachings she would be able to master the few of them with little problems.

Why would she ever need to know dozens of weak and inferior spells, when with only a relatively good one she could achieve far greater results than modern magi could ever imagine?

Naturally possessing a single spell coming from the Age Of The Gods would put the girl on an entirely different level compared to that of the modern mages, but such knowledge could also function as an improved deterrent by increasing her pre-emptive strike capability against possible enemy elements. Rin could just use a single spell in any fight, and her superior firepower would put the brakes on enemy attacks.

And eventually, if she would be able to make the girl stronger than she was in the 'past', Rin would be able to become a true menace for all the mages of this generation.

...Sure, as much as her magecraft could make Rin powerful, it could also put her in grave danger. The modern magi would literally do anything they could to come to know even a single fraction of what Rin may learn from her... but the only thing that Medea could do to counter this was to assure that Rin would keep everything secret.

If the modern magecraft that modern magi used had to be kept secret from the human world, then the magecraft she would teach Rin had to be kept secret even to the Magi world. She would make sure to put a strong emphasis on how powerful the knowledge she would bestow her was, and how dangerous it was for her to have such knowledge.

Under normal circumstances, she would never even take into consideration teaching the girl, but, the possible pros outweighed the cons. For Shirou, to have someone like Rin as an ally in the future Holy Grail War, would be priceless… To not mention Sakura, who could become just as talented and strong as Rin…

The Tohsaka family could once again reveal itself to be incredibly useful for the future.

"...Yes. Fine by me." Medea then said.

"Really?!" Rin asked excitedly.

"Yes, but before I start to teach you anything at all I have to take care of some business… and, I'm serious, you have to swear to me to not ever mention me to anyone."

Rin said nothing, but she watched Medea with a confused expression.

"Rin, there are some people you are very close to you who you should be very careful of. For example, Kirei Kotomine is to not be trusted. I know that he was a friend of your father, but please, for your own safety, stay away from that man as much as possible."

"...O-Okay." Rin said with a serious tone.

"Good. I trust you Rin. See to not fail me." Medea said before she started to turn around.

"I will not, but before you go, could you tell me when we will start our lessons?"

"Well… I think that in around 2 months we will start." Medea answered.

"Two months? That long?" Rin asked.

Medea turned to watch her and said: "...Rin, I understand that you want to immediately become able to protect your family, but first, it will take a very long time for you to become strong, and second, I think that it is better to use these months of time to assist your mother and your sister."

"I… You're right… I'm sorry…" Rin then said as she lowered her head a bit.

"Rin, you do not have to apologize, instead, take this as our first little lesson. From now on, before you act, you have to properly think about what your options are and what your priorities should be. And only when you have wisely taken your decision, will you start to move."

"Yes!" Rin then said as she nodded while she started to apprehend her first lesson.

"Good. Now Rin, I have to go. Have a good evening." Medea said before she turned and got out.

"Bye." Rin said before she turned and walked back to where her mother and sister were.

As Medea walked back to the car, she could definitely say that things had gone better than expected.

Author's note: Wow, more than 4 months since the last update. Now that's a record.

I would like to apologize for the long wait, but it will be pointless since I have no idea when the next chapter will come out. Yeah, sorry, the time I have to write is very limited.

Now, apologies apart, let's talk about the chapter.

1)For the moment I don't see any problem in Kiritsugu becoming somewhat of a monster to save Illya, but if you find it stupid, let me know.

2)Someone may say something about Medea's plans to teach Rin and Sakura magecraft coming from her time period, because according to the Nasuverse Lore humans from back then, compared to now, are somewhat different and modern humans "should" not be able to handle ancient magecraft for a reason or the other. And since I do not plan to ever show Medea teaching them magecraft (I'll only ever mention it) in the future I'll make Medea say something about how she "broke the rules" (haha) and made it possible for them to learn. And no guys, I'm not taking any liberties while ignoring Fate rules, I'm just following the 'rule of cool'. Wouldn't it be cool for Rin and Sakura to go along while also being OP? Of course it would.

3)About Medea and Aoi, there are far too many things we could say about them, like them having some similarities. For example both of them are quite terrible mothers, even though for very different reasons, and both of them have selfish partners who never really cared for them and their children. But while we can say that they had found themself in some similar situation, they could not be more diverse. When Jason decided to betray Medea and simply let the king of Corinth exile her and his sons, she 'surprisingly' stands up against her husband's decisions, and tries to make him understand just how much he was wrong and how he was ruining everything. While, on the other hand, Aoi never went against Tokiomi, not even once, and she let him do whatever he wanted, which, as we all know, ended up being the ruin of their family. But we will not talk about that. Instead, as you may have noticed during their dialogue, I used this opportunity to somewhat start Medea's "redemption" as a parent, which had already started with Byakuya, by somewhat helping Aoi at realizing her mistakes and making her "repent".

Sure, you will rightly say that she will never be able to make up for the things she did, and I have to say that you're absolutely right. But just because they are not able to make up for the things they did, does not stop a person from reflecting on their actions, and if possible, to repent.

That is the kind of character development I want Medea to have. If she was just a victim of things far greater than her, and never did anything wrong, her so-called redemption would be meaningless since she is not truly guilty of anything at all. But, since I'm using the worst incarnation of her, the witch side of her that was able to do unspeakable things, I have the opportunity to give her the proper redemption that a character like her should deserve.

Now, there are some little spoilers ahead regarding the future of the story, but I invite you to read them.

I can say that to complete this story I'll have to write 5 more chapters. Yes, in the last chapter I did say that this one was probably the penultimate, but please, forget it. At the time I too had no idea of how this story would have ended. Anyway, now I'll very briefly tell you what the future chapter will consist of since I'm not sure of when they will come out. I don't want to let you down too much.

Charter 32: Medea and Kerry go to save Illya.

Charter 33: 5 years time skip, in where something special happens.

Charter 34: Another 5 year skip, all the characters have their conclusion.

Charter 35/36: Different endings, and commentary of what may happen after each end.

Now, before you leave, as you may have already figured it out, this story is very limited by my lack of writing skills and understanding of what the hell I am doing.

For this reason, I fear that I will never find a proper way to show how Aoi, Rin, and Sakura will develop as characters in the future since I do not plan to focus on them too much and have them as background characters for the majority of the time, but I have already thought on how they will develop, so here are their 'thoughts' toward the end of this story.

Aoi: Because of my inability to stand up to my husband and my desire to be a 'good wife', I let Tokiomi do whatever he wanted, but in doing so, I've ruined our family. I let him give away our daughter to a literal monster, and then I even made him proceed towards his death by letting him take part in the holy grail war. To excuse everything and to make myself appear innocent in the eyes of my daughter, I blatantly lied to Rin about how everything that had happened had been only her father's fault, while I painted myself as a victim… my god… what have I done? It's been years, and yet, for each day that passes, it becomes more and more difficult to look my daughters in the eyes as the shame grows. I don't know how long I can keep this act...

…Rin…Sakura… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…

Rin: After all the things I've discovered that day, I was incredibly saddened by the discovery Tokiomi never truly loved us. But as years passed, the sadness that I had inside of me turned into anger and bitterness. As I pass each day with my mother and sister, my love for them just keeps growing, and it becomes even more difficult for me to understand how that man could do such things to his own family. For this reason, I've decided that I want to become a strong magus. For this reason, I asked Medea to teach me her magecraft. And in fact, now I'm strong enough to protect those who I love from those who would ever want to harm them. And even though I want to become even more powerful, I know when to stop. For I will not become the ruthless, cold-hearted magus that is willing to do anything… I will not become the type of mage that almost everyone in that savage mage society looks up to!

I will be different. I will be better than all of them! And I will put an end to this useless conflict that the Holy Grail War is!

Sakura: Even though I vaguely remember that I went through some terrible things when I was a child, I'm joyous that in the end, I was able to reunite with my family. Everything now is fine. I enjoy every single day of my life thanks to my family and my friends. Life smiles at me and it could not be any better. But… There are some things that deeply bother me. Whenever I talk about our father and how much I miss him, both my mother and my sister always seem to look away. Even only the mention of him makes them somewhat uncomfortable. Until now they never told me why they act like this, and I never asked them since I faked to not notice… but I really fear that there is something that they are hiding from me…

What should I do? ...I want to know the truth… but for some reason, I'm scared of what I would discover…

Is this enough to make you understand their development? I hope so. Let me know.

Anyway, that's it my dudes and dudettes. I hope that we'll see each other very soon. Thanks for your patience, thanks for reading, and stay safe!