"Gilyasviel Von Einzbern" by Mereo Flere
A FSN One Shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night.
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It was an impossible meeting. Something that should have never occurred. An enemy that shouldn't have been here. Her very existence was something to fear.
Pale white hair, that reached down past her feet. A familiar smile, on a face that had somehow grown up. Golden armor, seeming to clutch to her form, resembled a certain King of Heroes but Archer knew that, whoever had been summoned, it wasn't -that- man.
No. It was someone else entirely.
A young girl he had once known. Maybe not the one he had met personally, but their origin was without a doubt the same.
Yet...
Despite the similarities between the Ilya he had known, and the woman before him now, there was one important difference: this girl, this "Gilyasviel" was dangerous.
Ilya to begin with, was someone who couldn't be taking lightly. Gilya, however, was someone he should avoid entirely.
But that was impossible. He'd fought, struggled, all throughout the Grail Was - facing death every time he'd fought another servant. Even his master, Rin, had nearly died - and even now, remained in bed.
He was alone. But, she was the final enemy - the last one standing in the way of the Grail.
"What's wrong, Archer?" the woman asked, a devious smirk appearing on her face. "Or, should I say, EMIYA?"
Archer tensed up. Against an opponent like this, he instinctively knew that she was his natural enemy.
"Heh. There's nothing wrong at all," he said, trying to sound confident as ever. "I was just wondering, how many times we must have met before. Is this the first time, or..."
Gilya smiled. Arms crossed in front of her chest - trying to emphasize through her armor the bosom, one of the biggest differences between her and "Ilya."
"You know that's not how it works," she said, cheerfully. "We eirei are beyond the reach of time. What comes first is no different from what comes second...
"...however, if I had to take a guess, then this would definitely be the 'last' time."
The last time. Archer couldn't help but be curious.
"And why would you think that?"
"Because," she said, holding out a hand to him. "You are the final one, EMIYA. Won't you become mine?"
Her expression changed. It became soft, and for a moment he wanted to go over to her.
But that was impossible.
"Sorry, but I still have my mission to complete."
That was right. He needed to destroy the Holy Grail. Something like that couldn't be allowed to be born, therefore...
He had to get past this obstacle, no matter the cost.
"That's a shame," Gilya said, sighing. "I didn't want to have to do this by force."
She raised her hand. What once was an offering of mercy became an offering of death. Magical energy swelled in the area, and when she snapped her fingers Archer expected for the swords - the treaures that Gilgamesh had gathered - to appear.
However, that was a mistake. From the beginning, she was not the same as -that- Archer. To begin with, he was Archer - therefore, her class had been different from the beginning.
Saber. Lancer. Caster. Berserker. Assassin.
Those were the enemies he had faced in this war. Seven servants had been summoned. Therefore, the last one that remained had to be
"Rider..."
"It seems you've finally realized my class," Rider said. "But it's too late."
Her unspoken order had been given. They appeared.
One after another, they stepped forward - appearing out of thin air. All different, yet all the same.
But, for Archer, it was impossible to recognize them all. After all, each of the soldiers that she called forth was none other than himself.
An army of Shirous, all under the command of Rider.
"Well, what do you think, Archer?" Rider asked, a smirk on her face, victory already in her voice. "My collection is quite amazing, wouldn't you agree?"
"Heh," Archer say. "An army of nobodies only amounts to nothing.
"Besides," he continued, drawing his bow. "It's still incomplete. The EMIYA SHIROU that stands before you does not stand beside you."
He had already won. He couldn't lose to "himself" - even if there were ten, twenty, or a hundred of them.
Rider's eye twitched. If it hadn't been true, it would not have been as painful.
Yet...
"You're too confident," Rider said, keeping her composure. "Even if you're the last one, it's still no different from before.
"Emiya Shirou. You will become mine - all of you!"
With that, she gave the command: Attack. An infinite amount of Shirous charged - sanity lost, but enhanced through madness. Even Archer couldn't defeat them all normally.
But...
"You're too inexperienced, Rider," he said. "After all - every hero has a weakness. Emiya Shirou is no different."
Rider raised a brow. She was curious, but it had to be a bluff. After all, if there was a weakness that Emiya Shirou had in life, then it had to be...
His harem.
Her eyes widened. Suddenly, it all made sense - the ultimate attack of Archer, who had an unhealthy of picking up strange women in all of his lives.
"Could it be - no, Unlimited Harem Works?!"
For a moment, all the Shirous paused. Even Archer did, but not because of Rider's shock.
"..."
"No?"
Archer wasn't sure how to respond. Something as ridiculous like that would probably backfire on him to start with.
"No. It's nothing like that."
Still, it had bought him time. Enough time to draw out his prana, to form the image in his head. Pulling out his bow, he readied his weapon.
"But, in a way, even that would be more merciful than what I have."
Involuntarily, all the Shirous stepped away. Even Rider was surprised when she saw that weapon - the one that spelled ultimate defeat for Emiya Shirou.
But, she couldn't believe it. No, there was no way she could lose to that!
"Go," Archer called out, releasing the sword made arrow. "Torashinai!"
The cursed blade, that hungered for blood. It was a weapon that would absolutely knock out the one known as Emiya Shirou. Hungering for blood, it moved from one enemy to the next.
In an instant, Rider's forces was defeated. Before she knew it, the shinai had struck her on the head. Rider staggered backward, head in a daze. Falling backwards, she closed her eyes and braced herself to hit the stone steps.
And suddenly she stopped. Caught by the very treasure she had seeked to collect, she felt herself gathered into Archer's arm.
Eyes opened. Looking at the man who had defeated her, she smiled weakly as she saw his troubled expression. "So, this is how it ends for us this time?"
"Yes," he said, to the Ilya that wasn't his. "This time."
The last enemy faded away. The Holy Grail still remained, but it would have to wait. He had his duties to his master, to the world.
But, just for this moment, his heart belonged to her.
It was an impossible meeting, that would never happen again.
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Do you have enough routes, Queen of Shirous?