Disclaimer: Fate Stay Night is the property of Type-Moon.
Author's Note: It's been quite a number of years since I published a story, or updated one for that matter. Instead I've been reading quite a number of different novels and fanfictions and haven't found one that I liked for this pairing. So I'm going to do it myself. This will be from Archer's POV. In this story, Archer(EMIYA) is the future Emiya Shirou from the Fate Route of FSN. He's slowly losing his ideals and himself to despair. Now he finds himself in the UBL route, with the chance to see his beloved Saber again after countless years. Also, Archer in this story is OP. Why? In this instance, he is not here as a Servant per se, but as an agent of the Counter Force to stop the Grail. He is given enough power to be equal to the strongest Servant during the war. Should he fail, he will revert to his status as a counter-guardian with the appropriate power to kill everything in Fuyuki City on the will of Alaya.
Begin Story
It's quiet. The sky here, in my world has an eternal sunset. Time here means nothing. I cannot remember how long I've been sitting down at the top of hill, surrounded by swords. It could have been seconds. It could have been decades. Whenever I am summoned to fulfill my duties as a counter-guardian, there is no warning. I simply appear, given the knowledge and context of the era I am summoned into fight. Time itself has become meaningless to my being. Sometimes I forget myself. I no longer know why I agreed to do this. I take a look at the tattoo on my hand and something clicks. It's a remnant of the past. My old command seal, although now it's powerless ink. I start to remember. I had it tattooed so I would never forget. And I've become so close to forgetting. I guess in retrospect, I thought I just might see her again. And I saw her again, although it was just in my mind.
Every time I fought, every time I was at the end of a battle, I would see her. I was haunted by a ghost. In the small actions of normal life, I could feel her. And every time I would reach out to her, she would disappear. I would hear her footsteps out in the hall when I woke up early in the mornings. I would see her smile at me whenever I closed my eyes at night.
During those times when I was with other women, I would close my eyes and see her face. Whether it was Rin herself as she became my teacher, Illya as she latched onto me for warmth during the night, those times I worked with Ciel, or even when I met Akiha. I found it in me to love them, but they were they were still placeholders for her. My Saber. We were separated by time and space, but I could still feel her loving embrace. And I loved her fiercely. I cherished her, and her memory. The only time we were actually together was that War all those years ago. I still remember it. In my memories, I see it. The very first time I summoned her.
She was bathed in moonlight, wearing full armor. Her hair was blonde, with sharp green eyes, and the most beautiful face I've ever seen. At the time, I had no idea that this encounter would shape the rest of my life, and what came after it. Her green eyes bore into mine. I fell in love completely. Even as I was about to be killed by Lancer, I was lost. She said to me:
"I ask of you. Are you my Master?"
I haven't thought of this in years. As I begin to remember her, I fall.
The world around me distorts, and I find myself in a void. I feel like I'm falling from a great height, and it's not unfamiliar to me. It always feels like this before I have to clean up after someone else. Before I have to slaughter again. From the nothingness, I hear a voice. It's faint, but I feel like it's for me. It's calling to me -
"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny -
If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.
I hereby swear that I shall be all that is good in the world,
that I shall defeat all that is evil in the world..."
I know this voice. But I cannot remember who's it is. I want to follow it. Is this the will of Alaya? Can I really use this chance to grant my wish?
"You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power,
come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of the Scales!"
I fall, and crash through a roof. Surprisingly, all the furniture I've broken has become a makeshift throne. It's a western style room. I can feel it in the air, this belongs to a magi. How have I been summoned by a magi? My mind then overloads with the with the knowledge of the era I am in. Why I have been summoned. The Holy Grail War. I thought I put an end to this years ago?
"What the hell, the door's broken!". I hear the same voice that called to me.
The door then bursts open, and I see her. It is at that point, I know exactly where I am, why I'm here, and who I've become. The reason I'm here is obvious, and I know now why that Archer was summoned all those years ago. It's because the grail is corrupted, and to prevent that disaster from ever granting a wish, it needs to be destroyed. I'm here not because of my own wishes, but the wish of Alaya. I check myself. I'm stronger than I've ever been.
Rin looks at me with hope in her eyes. I've been summoned to the 5th Holy Grail War. The one where I met her. My Saber. And a weight slips off my shoulders. Ever since we destroyed the grail, almost milennia ago to me, I've been wandering. Everything I've done, or set out to do, it was with the intent to see her again. I'm going to be with my Saber again.
I break out into a smile. My best friend from ages ago, looks at me and a question hangs in the air. She shifts now, a bit unsure of herself. I can see all thoughts running through her face, a leftover from our own time together in my past. She doesn't know me, but right now I know her probably more than she knows herself. It's good to see her, but it gets overshadowed by the fact that I know I'll see her again soon. My beloved Saber.
I decide to play my part. No one can know exactly who I am, or why I'm here until the time comes. I remember her again, as I speak the words she herself asked me so long ago. This is the way it should be.
"I ask of you. Are you my Master?"