Fate Stay Night - Medea Caster route

*1 month later*

'...Yes… This is quite good.' Kiristugu thought after he opened the gun case.

It was a quiet spring afternoon, and at the moment Kiristugu Emiya was alone in the dojo of the residence. What the man was now looking at was the new gun that had arrived earlier that day, his custom-made Magnum Research BFR single-action revolver in .40-75 Government. An 'experimental' gun. The first of its kind.

To obtain this weapon Kiritsugu had to get busy since he had to indirectly contact the facility that could produce them, pay them a very generous sum to finance the project and the relatively quick construction of the gun, and instruct them in modifying the weapon in a way it could fit him best.

He still remembered how when he was looking for handguns that could shoot rifle cartridges, before he had decided to settle for the Thompson Contender, one of the 'normal' handgun of the highest caliber was the .500 Linebaugh, which had been created in 1986 by the American facility Magnum Research. But in the last years, as he tried to keep himself updated on the most cutting-edge weapons, he had heard some rumors that the same facility was interested in making handguns that could shoot rifle rounds, possibly, of the same caliber as his Origin bullets.

But in the end, after he had contacted the facility, he had decided to finance the construction of a gun that used the .45-70 Government instead of the .30-06 Springfield, the kind of bullet his Thompson contender used. He did so because in his circumstances the .45-70 would have been 'more powerful' and would have a better performance.

While the .30-06 is faster and delivers more energy at distance than the .45-70, at shorter distances the .45-70 delivers more energy than the .30-06. This caliber is used to hunt large-sized animals such as bears, mooses, buffalos, and bison, and often it takes only one shot to kill them. For this reason, Kiritsugu did not doubt that these bullets had the necessary power to penetrate the armors of the Einzbern's homunculus and be able to kill them.

There was to say that the trajectory of the .45-70 Government has a very accentuated parabola that makes it suitable for hunting only in short-range shooting, but it must be also said that the ammunition has earned a good reputation for precision even in long-distance shooting, where however the residual powers leave something to be desired. But that was not something Kiritsugu had to be preoccupied about, since for the halls of the castle it would have been more than perfect.

At that, Kiritsugu took the gun and started to carefully analyze it. Made entirely in stainless steel, and with an overall length of 38 centimetres, a height of 15 centimetres, a cylinder width of 4,5 centimetres, and some other modifications he had asked for, the weight of this gun reached 2,800 grams.

This weapon was 800 grams heavier than his modified Thompson contender... Not that the great weight would be a problem since for him now it weighed nothing.

After examining the gun he turned to his right, where a lonely Dragon Warrior stood at the other end of the building. He loaded the gun with the normal .45-70 rifle rounds, pointed it at his target, and proceeded to shoot it five times. While the bullets were not able to harm the Dragon warrior, they were powerful enough to make it stumble and fall to the ground.

At that point, Kiritsugu lowered his gun before he looked at it for a moment. After shooting it he could tell that thanks to its weight and good balance the handgun was easy to shoot even when using rifle rounds.

Just as it was told by the manufacturer, the gun's quality and accuracy were unparalleled.

It would have been more than perfect for his 'dangerous hunt'.

Being quite satisfied with its performance, he removed the cartridge cases from the cylinder and put the gun back in its case. He would have liked to use it with his Time Acceleration, but the last time he had done so while exercising with a Colt Single Action Army, which had not been enchanted or reinforced in any way, he ended up breaking the gun.

Sure, at the time he had casually shooted all 6 rounds in less than 20 hundredths of a second, but as he had expected, a normal revolver could not withstand that kind of abuse without any kind of magical intervention.

Still, there was no time to waste. He had already seen the combined effect of Medea's reinforcement and his Time Alteration. Doing further tests with a different gun would have been just a pointless waste of time.

Kiritsugu at that point closed the gun case and brought it with him as he got out of the dojo. After some moments, he entered the main building, and then he went to the living room and opened the door. There he found Medea sitting at the table, and next to her there was Shirou, who seemed to be taking a nap as he had his head posed on the table.

"Emiya, what is it?" Medea asked him with a low tone, almost whispering, as she turned to face him.

"I'm ready." Kiristugu quietly answered. "We can leave whenever you want."

"...Huh, don't you want me to first enchant your weapon and test-?"

"No need for it to be tested. And you can enchant the gun while we travel." Kiritsugu quickly told her.

"...As you desire. Just give me some time to prepare."

"How much time do I need to wait before you finish your preparations?" Kiritsugu then asked.

"Not much. I have already finished preparing everything we needed, all I need now is to just… put the finishing touches." Medea said as she got up from the table.

"Which are?"

"I have to obtain a physical body, Emiya. Without it, I cannot leave the city."

"...Right… but let me ask you, forming a contract is not enough?"

"Unfortunately no. Even though with your new circuits you now have plenty of mana, it is not enough to sustain me without the aid of the Grail. Forming a contract and leaving the city would just get one of us killed, if not both."

"How much time will it take?" Kiritsugu then asked.

"Oh, do not worry about that. For tomorrow afternoon we are more than ready to leave."

Kiritsugu remained silent for a moment before he said: "...That's way less than I expected."

"I know, but after all, we've been working on it for quite a while." Medea said.

"We? You mean…"

"Yes. As expected, Zouken's assistance proved to be crucial in the matter."

"...Good. I'll begin to prepare." Kiritsugu then said before he left.

After Kiritsugu left, Medea stretched for a bit before she turned to watch the sleeping Shirou.

She had already informed him that very soon she would have gone away with Kiritsugu for a pair of weeks, and she had already thought of who could take care of him during this period while she was away. At that she quietly got out of the room and closed the door, then she went to the landline phone, where she typed the number of the Tohsaka household and waited for a bit.

"...Hello? Aoi? …Yes, it's me. Do you remember that favor I talked about some time ago?"

*Evening of that same day*

Zolgen Makiri was now in his dark basement, and like a madman that toiled surreptitiously in dark rituals, with something closer to fanaticism than attention, he was carefully observing the dissected insect familiar on the table as he was taking some notes under the light of a single lit candle.

From when he had obtained this new kind of familiar, his whole world had changed. He had spent the past hundreds of years creating the best possible familiars that could help him to extend his life, and yet, the specimens that now stood in front of him far surpassed his familiars in any possible and imaginable aspect.

If he said that they were priceless treasures he would not be exaggerating, for this was like receiving the gift of immortality, or rather, something that could help him achieve it.

It had been months, and yet he still could not believe that he had been able to obtain such ancient knowledge and familiars. Unlike his older ones, if he wanted to modify and improve them he did not have to wait for entire generations to start to see the first signs of progress.

These new familiars did not need to breed for they multiplied thanks to a phenomenon similar to mitosis, and that meant that now he could directly modify one of them, and, by that phenomenon, he could immediately increase their number and do further modifications if he saw it fit. This versatility had given him almost an unlimited number of opportunities and options.

But unfortunately, not everything was perfect. Because of the very high mana cost his new familiars had, he now had barely 300 of them, but, their little number mattered little compared to some of the things he had discovered that they could do.

To help him to extend his life his familiar only required mana, and this meant that now he did not need to steal the life essence from other living beings. He could stay hidden in his lair without ever revealing himself or doing something that could ever attract unwanted attention. He now could use all of the time at his disposal to use his new knowledge to become immortal and finally achieve what he always wanted…

But that... had become a problem.

What was he trying to achieve? He could still not remember. His memories were muddled... twisted... distorted… if not outright missing…

That had been another cause of his obsessive study in this last period.

To distract himself from his thoughts, Zolgen had devoted himself entirely to his studies and research. He could discover the reason behind his desire after he achieved immortality… but those lapses of memory still tormented him from time to time.

"Hello Zolgen, how are you doing today?" Medea's image asked as she suddenly appeared behind him.

"Oh, mistress." Zolgen said with a surprised tone as he turned to face her. "I'm fine, thanks. May I ask you the reason for your sudden visit?" He then asked.

"I have come to retrieve the research about your command seals. It is time."

Without saying a word Zolgen immediately turned around and took one of the books present on the table, and then handed it to Medea.

"Here it is. A manuscript of over 400 pages that describes down to the smallest detail all kinds of information regarding the Command seal, their functions, and any possible way that they can be used. I hope that it may turn out useful."

After taking the book Medea leafed through it for a minute or so while from time to time she observed the back of her left hand, where the first set of the command seals she had stolen time ago, and never used, still resided.

After a bit, she closed the book and said: "Do not worry Zolgen, it will. From what I've seen your efforts were not in vain. Still, even if it did not, the simplest piece of advice or information could have also been useful to me." She said as she put the book into her robes. "Anyway, how are your studies progressing?" She then asked.

"They are doing well… but they are not going at my expected pace." Zolgen said with a disappointed tone as he turned to watch his notes.

"What is the problem?" She asked.

"While the familiars you have gifted me are incredibly powerful, I'm having some problems in increasing their number since they are very 'expensive' to make... and most important of all, I'm still not capable of fully comprehending them and utilizing all of their properties. I've yet to uncover all of their secrets."

"...It is a matter of time before you'll find the way to use them to their full potential. You have to remember that our two systems of magic have roughly 2700 years of difference, so it will not be an easy task… but I know that you will not disappoint me." Medea said. "But speeches aside, I have another task for you."

"What is it?" Zolgen asked as he immediately returned his attention to her, ready to hear his next order.

"As I had already informed you, soon I will leave the city, and I will leave Shirou in the custody of Aoi Tohsaka. I'm putting you in charge of protecting him and the family, but obviously, they don't have to know anything. If for whatever reason something should happen and their safety should be put in jeopardy, Shirou will have the absolute priority. And if you should feel that the situation has become far too dangerous, do not bother to save anyone else, just focus on immediately saving Shirou and putting him in a safe place."

"Understood." Zolgen said as Medea's mark appeared on his forehead for a brief moment.

"Good. See what you need to do." Medea's image then said before it disappeared.

After Medea's image disappeared, Zolgen returned to quickly finish his studies before he went to do what he had been ordered, but as he did, he had started to think.

Despite being under her servitude for a couple of months, he still did not know Medea's 'origins'. He still did not know where she had come from and how.

He was one of the three founders of the Holy Grail War, and he was the one that had created the Servant and Master system. That meant that he was the first to know that the max number of Servants that could be summoned during the Holy Grail War under normal circumstances was 7… but not only did he still not know how an eighth Servant could be present without him being aware of it, the greater mystery was how Medea had been able to obtain another set of command seals. The set on which he had conducted their studies.

When making the system he had made sure that only the members of the three families, and the worthiest of mages, would have been able to obtain the command seals… and yet, an eight Servant was present, and she possessed the command seals that gave her the possibilities to summon a ninth.

...But could it be that those, in reality, were her command seals? Maybe she has stolen them from whoever had summoned her… he did not know...

Zolgen knew that the summoning and death of Avenger during the third war had corrupted the Grail, but it should not have broken its system… it should not have changed the way things worked…

At that moment a bitter taste came to Zolgen's mouth, for he had realized that the corruption of the Grail may have made Justeaze's sacrifice useless...

...

...Justeaze…

...oh. Now that was a name he had not thought about for a long, long time…

*The morning after*

It was around 6:00 in the morning when Kiritsugu woke.

Immediately after getting up from his bed, he went to the bathroom, and there he washed his face with some cold water before he looked at himself in the mirror.

The time had come, and he was ready.

That day he would leave the city with Medea, and after all those months, his mission to save his daughter would finally start.

Just the sole thought that he would be able to finally see his daughter again almost made Kiritusgu intemperate, and this caused his hands to curl around the sink to the point he caused some small cracks. But he knew he shouldn't get caught up in emotions, and so through sheer force of will, Kiritsugu negated and suppressed everything he felt.

After calming himself, he looked down to watch his hands, then at his arms, and then the rest of his body.

His entire body was chiseled like marble-made flesh. Every single muscle he had became extremely dense and defined that it could be seen beneath his undershirt.

Even though in the last month he had stopped training so that he could focus on mastering his magic circuits as soon as possible with Medea's help, he had kept growing stronger.

As they had expected, continuing to take those concoctions of potions and steroids had been an excellent decision… But as he thought about them, Kiristugu thought that for the occasion he should increase the dosage.

After he finished cleaning himself Kiritsugu got out of the bathroom and returned to his room, where he opened the drawer that kept all of his different 'medicines'. After taking triple the normal dose of steroids, Kiritsugu dressed up, got out of his room, and went to the living room to have breakfast. But around 10 minutes later, after he had made something for himself and he had started to eat, at one point, Medea entered the room.

"Good morning Emiya." She greeted him after she opened the door.

Kiristugu turned to greet her, but before he could, he suddenly stopped. At first, he did not understand why, but as soon as he posed his eyes on her he couldn't help but feel that the woman was very different from the day before…

"What is it?" Medea asked as she noticed the way Kiritsugu was looking at her.

"...You seem… diverse."

"...Oh? Is it that obvious?" Medea asked as she started to look at herself with a satisfied look.

"...You have already obtained a physical body?" Kiritsugu then asked.

"Yes, I did. I've completed the ritual tonight, and it turns out that it was not that difficult to obtain it. All I needed to do was to retouch some parts of the Command seals I had, give them a bit more energy, and when I was done I simply used them to give myself a body. That was it." Medea said. "...But you know, something quite interesting happened after I reincarnated."

Upon hearing her the first thing Kiritsugu wanted to ask her was just where and how she had found a set of Command Seals that she could use, but he knew that he would not have a concrete answer. For this reason, he just asked her: "What happened?"

"You see Emiya, now that I have freed myself from my Servant vessel, it seems that I have fully reobtained all of my previous abilities. The same that I had in life."

Kiritsugu remained silent for a moment before he sharpened his eyes and said: "I guess that it is an excellent thing, but what does that mean for us?"

"...Hmm, there are many things that I could say, but I know that you will only be interested in one… Emiya, do you remember how my 'legend' went?"

"I don't remember all of its details, but I somewhat remember what happened."

"Good enough. Now tell me, what happened toward the end?"

"...The end? When Jason returned home from the royal palace?"

"After that. Right before the story ended. Before I flew away with my grandfather's chariot."

"..." Kiritsugu remained silent as he thought, carefully choosing his words.

"Before I left, what did I tell to Jason?"

"...As he was powerless to stop you, Jason had started to beg the Gods and the Erinyes to avenge him… while you…" Kiritsugu started to say before he fell silent, but after a bit, his eyes widened in surprise, and slowly he turned his head to look at her. "...You told him how he would have died decades in the future... you prophesied that he would have died a miserable death in his dilapidated ship."

"Exactly, and now that I'm free from that vessel that limited my powers, I have retained my clairvoyance. Once again I'm able to see the future." Medea said as her eyes shone with mystical energies. "...But while I do clearly remember never foreseeing how Jason would have died, and him taking his life shortly after I left, I think that this discrepancy in my memories is caused by the fact that I have been summoned after a different aspect, or version, of my story. Still, now that I have got rid of my vessel that represented that version of myself, and obtained a body, I have regained all of my original powers."

Kiritsugu had remained silent as he kept watching Medea with a speechless expression.

"...I know what you're thinking. I know what you want to ask me. And I'll tell you right here and now. Emiya, it is just a matter of time before you will be hugging your daughter." Medea then said with a sympathetic tone.

A long moment of silence passed before Kiristugu got up from his seat and asked: "...A… Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, for I've seen it." Medea answered in a calm, almost comforting tone as she looked at the man.

"..."

Upon hearing those words, and realizing what they meant, a thrill of sheer euphoria that he had never felt before for how intense it was, went through Kiritsugu's spine… but after that brief moment of solace, everything just stopped, and ruthlessness invaded the entirety of Kiritsugu's being.

The truth was that doubt and terror had greatly afflicted Kiritsugu's very soul all this time long.

Deep down in himself, Kiritsugu had always feared that something could have gone terribly wrong. For each day that passed, a fear that something could have happened to Illya before he could even reach her arose. The terrifying thought that he would have never been able to save his daughter tormented him every day, almost every moment…

But now this fear that he had always felt, in a single moment, had turned into indescribable anger and grudge.

Now that he knew for certain that he would be able to save her, nothing would stop him.

No one would stop him from taking what was rightfully his. No one would stop him from doing the right thing for once in his life.

He will make sure that the future will be the same one that Medea had envisioned...

…No matter what he had to do.

"There is no reason to be so... agitated. Sit down and return to eat calmly Emiya, for we have nothing to worry about…" Medea said with a confident smile as she watched the man.

*Early afternoon*

"Do you really have to go?" Shirou asked again as he was clutched at her skirt, while he watched for some sort of sign from Medea that she would change her mind and remain with him.

"Shirou, I'm very sorry, but I've been telling you for a while. I have to go with Kiritsugu." Medea told him as she gently caressed his head. "But you do not have to worry. I'll be back in two weeks." She said to reassure him.

"...Really?" He asked.

"Yes."

"...But two weeks is a really long time…" Shirou then murmured as he looked down.

"I know, I know, but I swear that if I can I will come back sooner." Medea then said as she took Shirou in her arms to comfort him a little.

From when she had first told him that she would have gone away for a time, Shirou always seemed very disquiet. By observing this reaction of his, Medea had started to think that Shirou may have developed some kind of abandonment issue after the incident. Knowing that she, his role model and the only family he had left, would have gone away from him caused Shirou to feel unrest, and possibly, even a certain amount of irrational fear.

She knew that it would have been better if she went to help Kiritsugu when Shirou would grow a little older and more stable, but there was no time. Now that everything was in place it was better to just finish everything about Illya and his father as soon as possible... And it was not that she was about to leave him home alone...

"Aoi, as you can see Shirou is quite…-" Medea started to say as she turned to face the other woman.

"I understand, you do not have to worry." Aoi said as she watched the child in Medea's arms. "I'll take care of him as best as I can."

"...Again, thank you for this." Medea then said after a moment.

As Medea looked at Aoi, she started to think.

While the woman was not as devastated as the time she had brought Sakura back, Aoi did still look quite tired and depressed. Not that she was surprised about that, but what Medea had been surprised at instead had been Aoi herself.

Around two weeks before, Aoi had suddenly called her in the middle of the night, asking with an urgent and worried tone for her help regarding Sakura, who according to her had started to suffer from a strange malaise.

Medea immediately went to the Tohsaka Mansion, and in a short time, she had been able to solve all of Sakura's troubles. After examining her, she discovered that it was nothing serious as Sakura had just a slightly high fever, which had been the main cause for all of her troubles.

After doing all of her final checks on Sakura, Medea went to the overly worried Aoi and explained to her that it was nothing she had to be too worried about since what Sakura had was just a normal fever. The girl just needed a good rest.

At that, she was about to go away and leave the child to Aoi's care, but then Aoi suddenly stopped her and asked her to remain a little longer. When Medea asked her the reason for this request, Aoi remained silent for a moment before she said that she wanted to confide in someone.

And suddenly, Medea found herself listening to Aoi.

She was sitting on a chair in the sitting room as she was listening to the other woman talking. The subjects of Aoi's complaints were vague. At one point Aoi would talk about her daughters, then she would switch on to how everything for her was too difficult, and then to how the guilt of her actions was almost unbearable…

As she listened to her Medea was not surprised about the mental state of the woman. Aoi had recently recovered from her brain-damaged state, and after she did she realized that she had suddenly found herself alone, a widow, who by herself had to take care of her two daughters, one of which was in 'terrible conditions' because of her and her husband, and the guilt she felt for it was tremendous. As she listened to the woman's lament, Medea could not help but wonder if they had some kind of inheritance with which they could support themselves.

In the end, after she finished talking and had calmed herself a bit, Aoi ended up thanking her for her time and help.

To say that Medea was somewhat confused by Aoi's behavior would have been an understatement. Despite their meeting, and interactions, from what she could tell Aoi did seem pretty grateful to her, and it did not seem that she was scared of her like the first times they had met.

Since she was a bit curious, at the time Medea asked Aoi what she thought about her, and Aoi said that for all she cared, Medea was the person who saved Sakura. That was the only thing that mattered to her.

After listening to that, Medea did start to understand Aoi's reasoning. In the end, she had really ended up saving her and her family from terrible fates, but it still did not change the things she had forced Aoi to do.

At that Medea asked her what kind of resentment she had against her for forcing her to 'slander' Tokiomi and lie to her daughters, but to her surprise, Aoi admitted that she had no kind of resentment against her and that the less she thought about that subject, the better. She now just wanted to make up for all the wrongs she had done to her daughters. She had no time to waste thinking about what had happened in the past… she had no time for regrets… no time to think of what she and her husband had done…

Upon hearing those words Medea sensed that the woman was not lying, Aoi was telling her the truth... But she thought that there was something else that Aoi was not telling her.

In the month she had spent healing the woman, Medea had gotten quite familiar with her mind. And at that point, by using a little bit of magic, she reached deep into her thoughts, and 'saw' what Aoi was actually thinking.

Deep down in herself, Aoi thought that by forcing her into that situation Medea ended up doing her a favor in the long run. If after Sakura's return she had not told anything to Rin, one day her daughter would surely pretend to know the truth behind everything that had happened, and there would have been a good chance that she would have never mustered the courage to lie to her…

And never did Aoi want to know what Rin's and Sakura's reaction would have been if she told them the truth.

But after telling her daughter all of those half-truths and blatant lies, Aoi would not be surprised if Rin would never want to talk about that subject ever again, even when she would grow up. And she knew that she had not to worry about Sakura discovering or doubting anything, since Medea had convinced her that she and Tokiomi had been forced to give her away against their will.

Of course, Aoi did wish to tell them. A part of her did want her daughters to know the truth, of how their terrible mother was also responsible for what happened to them... But she knew that this knowledge was too dangerous. Sooner or later, it would tear her family apart.

But the day Sakura had come back, and Medea had given her that 'ultimatum', Aoi ended up making a clear decision: Her daughters had the priority over everything.

And now, all of that, was her burden to carry.

Seeing that the woman had no kind of resentment against her, and actually believed that she had helped her, Medea thought that she too could be useful to her.

And that had been the moment where Medea had asked Aoi if she would be willing to take care of Shirou when she would go away with Kiritsugu for a time.

At first, Medea was thinking of having Taiga and her family look after Shirou, but introducing him to the entirety of the Tohsaka household would have been a much wiser decision as she could use such an occasion as an excuse to make Shirou meet the two sisters.

After listening to her request, Aoi seemed to be quite happy at the thought of having Shirou around her daughters.

Whenever she had asked Sakura about her residence at Medea's house, Sakura always spoke about this other kid, and she had told her mother that he had always been very kind to her. Bringing him to their house would surely have a positive effect on Sakura.

But Aoi also thought that introducing Rin to another child of her age, who could have possibly become friends with her too, could be another good thing. The majority of friends that Rin did have had died in the fire, so meeting a new kid who Sakura already knew would be excellent.

Aoi did want her daughters to have a tranquil and normal childhood now that it was possible, and having some friends was the first step toward that direction.

At that, Aoi told her that she would be more than happy to help her…

"Anyway," Aoi said, making Medea snap out of her thoughts and return to the present. "Is there something else you need to tell me before you leave?"

"No. Other than the nightmares I told you about there is not much to say. Shirou always does what he is told, and he is quite a good kid. Isn't that right?" Medea then asked him.

Shirou just silently nodded.

"C'mon Shirou, don't sulk. I'll come back soon. I swear." She said as she kissed him on the cheek. "And when I come back I'll bring you some presents."

"...I don't want any presents. I want you to remain with me." Shirou muttered discontentedly as he looked down.

Upon hearing those words Medea just smiled a little as she had to keep her composure, but deep down in herself, a cascade of wonderful emotions suddenly hit her.

The sense of belonging that Shirou gave her, his dependence upon her, and this adorable way of his did nothing but make her always feel an incredible bliss.

The wonderful things that Shirou would make her feel sometimes were almost indescribable. And she needed much more of this. Much more.

At that Medea hugged him closely and said: "Once I come back from this trip I swear that I'll never leave you ever again."

"Really?" Shirou asked.

"Yes. Really."

At that, Medea took the suitcase that had all of Shirou's belongings and gave it to Aoi. Then she let Shirou down and told him both to behave himself and to be kind to the two sisters, before saying goodbye.

As Medea walked away, both Shirou and Aoi wished her a good trip, before they turned and entered the home.

And there Shirou met for the first time Tohsaka Rin, who with arms crossed was standing in front of Sakura, almost as if she was shielding her sister from whoever would enter their home.

-

Kiritsugu at the moment was in the car that was parked in front of the gates of the Tohsaka mansion, and he had been waiting for Medea to return for a while.

As he sat in the car, Kiritsugu could not help but feel a bit impatient.

Even though Medea had predicted that he would be able to save Illya, he now was still feeling the very strong urge to… act.

He now just wanted… no, he needed to go. He needed to arrive at the castle as soon as possible.

But he knew that haste was a poor counselor and that such behavior could be damaging, so, to calm himself a bit he had started to smoke.

At one point, while he was watching the car roof as he smoked the cigarette, the passenger door opened and Medea entered the car, and immediately Kiritsugu snapped out of his thoughts.

After he had started the car Kiritsugu turned to look at Medea for a moment, and he noted the blissful smile she had on her face as she eyed the mansion.

Despite living with them for some months Kiritsugu still did not know what kind of relationship the woman had with the kid, and while he doubted that she was related to him in any way, it had become clear to him that Medea actually cared for him.

As soon as Medea put on the seatbelt he then started to drive.

"So Emiya, how did you organize our trip?" Medea then asked.

"It is nothing too complex." He answered. "Right now we are heading towards the airport of Oitā, where a private jet is awaiting us. And for tomorrow we will land in Stuttgart, a city in southwestern Germany that is not very far from where we need to go."

"How long will this journey take?"

"...First we have to arrive at Oitā, and it will take us around an hour to get to the airport. Then the flight alone, without mentioning the refueling stops, will last around 18 hours. In around 23 hours, we should arrive in Germany."

"Have you already thought about the airport security?"

"Yes. In both airports, we will enter and exit from side entrances to avoid the check-in and anyone from seeing us. But still, your magic to make us impossible to perceive would be handy."

"To what extent should I use it?" Medea then asked. "Do I have to use magic just on ourselves or even on the transport vehicles we will use? And when should I start using it?"

"After we have landed in Germany, use your abilities on the two of us to the fullest if possible. It is fundamental that the Einzbern agents that are scattered throughout the territory do not suspect or notice anything."

"Do not worry, I can guarantee you that no one will expect anything at all. Anyway, once we get there how will we proceed?"

"We will proceed by car to arrive at the mountain district where the Einzbern castle is located, a mountain district near the Rhine. Once we get to the forest, we will proceed on foot to infiltrate. There we should create a small camp, an operative base, where we will organize ourselves and our plans."

"Very well…" Medea said before she looked at the rearview mirror and saw the gun case of Kiritsugu's new gun on the back seat.

At that, she took it, opened it, and after a careful observation she started to consider how she could reinforce the weapon and what other effects to give it.

*Hours later*

Some hours had passed from when Kiritsugu and Medea had left Fuyuki City, and recently they had arrived at the airport.

After they got to the parking lot, they got out of the car and quickly entered the airport from a side entrance that had been left open appositely for them. And since Medea had applied magic on herself and Kiritsugu to make them almost unnoticeable to both normal humans and mages, none of the airport staff had bothered them.

As they waited for their jet, Kiritsugu and Medea were alone in a little terminal, one specially made for those who used private flights, and Medea was almost attached to the window as she looked at the planes arriving and flying away.

She would be lying if she said that she had not remained a bit amazed at seeing the planes.

She knew of their existence as when she had been summoned the Grail had given her all the information about the modern world, but seeing them with her own eyes was a very different experience.

As she watched those enormous 'birds of steel', Medea could not help but wonder for what reason modern magi saw the current human technology as something useless and inferior, when wonders such as these existed.

While she would be justified to say such things, as her magic was infinitely close to sorcery and was able to achieve things that humans would never be able to, modern magi had no such justification. And most important of all, she did recognize the merit and talent of the humans and gave them credit where credit was due.

Her 'flight' was not simple flying or floating, but rather something closer to transportation and control of matter. And for humans to achieve something similar without any kind of magecraft or magical intervention was a tremendous feat. From her time, the Bronze Age, human technology had advanced tremendously.

She then really started to wonder if it would be possible to combine her ancient magic with the most advanced technology, and what kind of results it could have.

Kiritsugu told her how he used his familiars to transport cameras, but what she would rather want to achieve was a union between them…

But before she could think of anything else, she snapped out of her thoughts when she a hostess arrived at the terminal and informed them that their jet was ready.

After a flight that lasted around 19 hours, Kiritsugu and Medea landed at Stuttgart. After getting off the plane they reached the parking lot, where a jeep left by some of Kiritsugu contacts waited for them.

They got into the car and then drove to Karlsruhe, another city in southwestern Germany that was not very far from Stuttgart. That city in particular, used to have arms factories, and while they were not in function anymore, there were still some articles that made Kiritusgu stop in the city for a while.

After buying some equipment, they resumed their travel and went to Nord-ovest, where the castle was located. And after some hours of driving, they arrived at their final destination.

"Now, these are some quite impressive bounded fields." Medea thought aloud, as she got out of the jeep and observed the bounded fields that extended for kilometers and covered the whole forest.

As she observed the scenery she could feel that the air around the entirety of the territory was filled with magical energies. This would be more than perfect for her as she could exploit them to use some of her most powerful spells.

"While the family is not as powerful as it used to be in the past, all the types of defense systems that Einzbern do possess are some of the best that the current millennium can offer. The castle and its territory are protected by powerful Bounded Fields, evil spirits, potent familiars, dangerous beasts, and artificial harsh weather. It can be considered a natural fortress that requires little maintenance, and in fact, few are the places that have a defense that can be compared to this."

"...Good to know. Now, how do you think we should proceed?"

"The first thing we have to do is to penetrate all of the bounded fields without damaging them and activate their alarm system. Of course, I entrust this task to you." Kiritsugu said.

Letting Medea, a Mage from the Age Of The Gods, handle this task would have saved an incredibly huge amount of time, and reduced the risk of them being discovered to 0.

"In half an hour I should take care of them all." Medea said. "Then?"

"Since you're still a supernatural entity I do not think that the harsh weather will bother or have any effect on you, but…"

"When we will create our base I'll raise a bounded field that will thermally insulate it, and then I'll raise another one that will camouflage the base with its surroundings. You'll not need to worry about the weather, nor of some sort of sentinels discovering us." Medea said. "Then? What else do you suggest?"

Kiritsugu opened his mouth to speak again, but when he suddenly remembered something, he stopped and remained silent for a moment before turning to watch Medea.

"...Because of your abilities, you know what needs to be done…" Kiritsugu then started to say as he thought.

"Yes, I do." Medea confirmed.

"...If you already know, then why are you asking me what should be done?" Kiritsugu then asked.

"It is because this is your mission, not mine." Medea answered. "Emiya, you have come here to rescue your daughter, and I am here to assist you in this endeavor. Just because I have a certain set of abilities you should not expect me to take the lead in this operation."

Kiritsugu remained silent for another moment before he said: "...I understand what you're saying, and you're right. It is my mission. It is my duty to save my daughter. But I think that there is another reason for you to act like this…" Kiritsugu insinuated.

"And you are correct." Medea quickly confirmed. "You see Emiya, the future is not carved in stone, for through 'enough' alterations, it can be changed. At the moment I'm making sure to remain on the sideline, and not do or say anything that could alter in any way possible the future I foresaw. According to my premonitions, everything will go according to our expectations, and there is no need for that to change. I hope you understand that I'm not refraining from telling you vital information on a whim."

"...You're saying that if I come to know something about the future, I could alter it?" Kiritsugu then asked, genuinely curious.

"Not really. But knowing what is next to come could possibly make you take a different 'path' from the 'predetermined' one, for it could be better and more convenient. And as you may understand, the unpredictable events those changes, even if little, could later cause could prove to be… possibly counterproductive. Something that we want to avoid at all costs."

"I see… I must go in blind." Kiritsugu said as he turned to watch the dense forest.

Now he understood why Medea had refrained from telling him anything at all other than the successful rescue.

According to her premonitions, their victory was assured, and rightly so, there was no need for things to change even in the slightest. But it seemed that this 'plan' to work required him to remain 'ignorant' about future events, but he did not have any kind of problem with it. The only thing that mattered to him was to reach his final goal.

"Now that we made things clear, let us waste no more time." Medea then said as she started to work on the bounded fields.

Kiritsugu just nodded, as he now knew the respective role that the two of them had.