Fate / WHO

Shirou sighed. He didn't know how he managed to land in this situation. He might've faced off Dead Apostles, Servants, the Clock Tower and Rin Tohsaka at her worst – hell, he fought heroes of old like Gilgamesh, Heracles and Cu Chulainn – but this was new, even for him.

He stared at the blue box. A simple thing, really. Completely ordinary, it looked like the average police call box in Britain, only repainted blue.

"So… do you like it?"

The person next to him gave off a proud smile. Shirou sighed again. By the Root, this shouldn't be possible! And still, here it was. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Shirou answered: "It's bigger on the inside."

"Exactly! Molto Bene!"

If he'd report this to the Association, they'd be on a killing spree.

"Then this… is your spaceship?"

Spaceship. Time machine, whatever. No matter how the young Magi looks at it, it's utterly impossible.

"Bingo! This is the TARDIS. It stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space' and is a Time Machine." as an afterthought, the man added, "She's stuck like this though, chameleon circuit broke. It's a shame, but it has its own charm, no?"

Nodding absentmindedly, Shirou looked at the man – now in front of him. He wore a brown trench coat over a blue suit with sneakers. Odd combination, for sure. Other than that, he was average – brown eyes, hair – the thing that struck out were his eyes; they looked way too old on such a young face – like himself, Shirou mused. He met this strange man, this Doctor, on his latest assigned mission by the Church. Some kind of mystic code or magically enhanced statues were terrorizing a small town north of Cardiff. Since it seemed irrelevant enough that the Magi's Association would not send out anyone, Shirou asked if he could look into it. Working into both sides' favour, the Church gave him the official get-go.

Landing in Cardiff and deciding to go from there, Shirou met this strange fellow, who introduced himself simply as 'the Doctor'. Offering him a ride to the town, Shirou didn't think it could get any stranger.

Then they arrived. And it was when Shirou tried to slice the granite statue of the angel that he realized that this 'Doctor' fellow was much more knowledgeable than your average human. Or magus.

His first words to him upon entering the town and coming face to face with the statue?

Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink.

After that, they hid in some form of WWII bunker, where the Doctor started rambling about the happenings. I only followed the trace left by the highly-condensed atomary mass of the Weeping Angels, I swear I didn't intend to do this!

Suffice to say, that had been a strange day.

After Shirou had asked him if he were a mage, the Doctor looked at him as if he were insane. Magic?! So I've landed in a parallel universe where people have learned to use magic? That's brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! You humans never cease to amaze me; magic! I never knew it existed – well, at least not in my dimension, you know? Technology, advanced human bio-engineering, alright. But magic? Impossible! Ridiculous – and yet you used it against the Weeping Angel, destroying it! Bravo! Molto Bene!

And while they were coming up with a plan to stop these Weeping Angels, Shirou learned his fair share of interesting information. The Doctor apparently landed in this Dimension, without the utilization of the Second Magic. And the best part was: Without really wanting to.

Then, the strangest chase sequence started for Shirou and the Doctor as they combined magecraft and alien technology to stop the angels. Shirou quickly found himself face-to-face with the revelation that there were far more dangerous threats than Dead Apostles. And that this 'Doctor' may also be one of them. When the town was saved, Shirou found himself in the unlikely position to follow up on the offer of the Doctor.

Become my companion.

It was really a wonderful offer – this man was practically a superhero – but something held him back, still. It still does.

Shirou saw the inside of the TARDIS, he saw the Weeping Angels, the Sonic Screwdriver – he even 'saw' the two hearts of the Doctor.

It was a daring offer, saving the Universe. But if he'd go… he'd leave everyone behind: Taiga, Sakura, Tohsaka, Ilya…

The Doctor was still looking at him with a friendly expression. "I can't, Doctor. Come with you, I mean." shrugging his shoulders, Shirou continued, "I've got responsibilities, friends – a promise."

"Ah, but you don't understand, Shirou," he was still grinning, "this is the TARDIS. We can go back to Rome, have a chat with Cicero, and be back for tea. The Universe is big – planets, galaxies to explore; meeting new races, like the Stygorax, Homo Reptilia, Zygons and more!"

And as the Doctor spoke of a greater miracle than the other, Shirou realized something in the man that he took notice of in Archer's behavior, all those years back (and probably his own): guilt. The Doctor tried desperately to overcome some kind of guilt, so he saved all of those places. That was probably also the reason why he wanted a companion so badly – as some kind of anchor, like Rin had been to Archer, ultimately. The Doctor needed saving.

And Emiya Shirou was a person who saved. Smiling ironically, he interrupted the other man's rambling: "Alright, I'll come with you."

"Really?! Molto bene! Then come on; the universe is waiting, Shirou Emiya!"

Grabbing Shirou's hand and practically dragging him inside the TARDIS, the Doctor began running around the console, pulling and lowering various …things. Watching all of this with an amused smile, the young magus leaned against the railing. "Why are you running around so much?"

"She needs to be operated by a whole crew of Time Lords." the Doctor spoke so absentmindedly, pulling the last of the levers, which was the handbrake. The tube in the middle started moving, and with a satisfied nod, the Time Lord turned around to Shirou, mimicking his position and crossing his arms. "So, Shirou. The whole Universe is at your hands – where to?"

"Huh? You're letting me decide?" Shirou was baffled. "Shouldn't you be the one to decide, being the Time Lord and all?"

"Oh, no no no no no! This will be a first for us, you see? Since I come from a magic-less Dimension, SO I don't know what's the same and what's changed! And as my first Companion in this dimension, you get the privilege to choose!"

The Doctor was smiling again, and it was infectious. "I don't really know; give me some examples, I'll look which one sounds the best."

"Well," and here, he took out a pair of glasses and put them on, Tohsaka Rin-Style, "We could visit the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – I've always wanted to see them."

"NO!" Shirou cringed at his own outburst, startling the Doctor. "I mean… no; nothing that has to do with Babylon, please."

I don't want to see anything that has to do with that golden Archer.

"Well, alright… I guess this is a magi thing… then how about we visit Atlantis? I've been there – well, my Atlantis, anyways – and it's a great place to start an adventure. Or how about – oh, OH. Brilliant! This idea is simply brilliant!" his eyes lit up, and he leaned forward, clasping Shirou by the shoulders. "How about 6th Century Britain! I would've put it up as legends back there, but now…"

"Uhm… what do you mean?" Shirou looked befuddled. Why was that so familiar sounding?

"Merlin! The greatest wizard – or magi – of all time! Don't you want to meet him, Shirou?! This will be brilliant!"

Shirou froze. Of course, how could he forget? This was the century of her reign. Of his Saber's. He distinctively noticed the mumbling of the Doctor: -lot Castle, King Arthur and the Roundtable, the Queen and Lancelot's love affair…

"537."

Looking up from his ramblings, the Doctor muttered a 'Huh?'. But Shirou made up his mind. If there was one way of saving her, then it would be this. "The Battle at Camlann, 537. The last stand of King Arthur against Mordred, his son."

Shirou's gaze was piercing into the Doctor's. "Can you get us there?"

He blinked. "Of course. But why this particular date…?"

Shirou shrugged. The Doctor was already turning levers and other applications on the console, and with a last pull, he shouted, "Allons-y!" and the TARDIS vanished from Cardiff –

- to reappear at the Hill of Camlann. The blue doors opened, and Shirou and the Doctor stepped out. Both had a sad look on them as they looked at the destruction wrought by the battle.

"So much death…" I'm sorry. So, so sorry.

"Yeah…"

"I normally come along to avoid such things – but this, this is a fix point in time; unavoidable."

Shirou already wasn't listening anymore, following down the bloodied path from memory. Oh, how much blood she must have lost…

"Shirou… wait! Where are you going? Normally I'm the one who should be running, not you!" the Doctor quickly caught up with the young magus. Noticing his tense shoulders, he refrained from another witty comment, opting to follow the serious looking teen.

After almost an hour of running, they arrived at a clearing. The sound of hoofs could be heard, and Shirou pulled behind a tree. The doctor followed suit, still wondering at the antics, since he didn't hear anything. Then –

"That was Sir Bedivere of the Roundtable." the Doctor looked amazed after the knight, who seemed to be crying while he was riding away from somewhere to their south. The horse's ear twitched slightly and Bedivere stopped in the middle of the clearing, turning around, exclaiming "Who is there?!" When neither Doctor nor Shirou moved, the knight resumed his former activity of riding away. When he was out of (Shirou's) earshot, the archer made haste for the direction from which he came.

The Doctor finished his calculations, "Then you want to see King Arthur? Paying him his final good bye?" Shirou muttered, "Something like that," while rounding the corner to another clearing. The Doctor – who wasn't as fast – saw his hands clench. Shirou turned into an inhumanely fast sprint, and the Doctor had to strain himself to follow his new, strange companion.

There she was. Laying with a peaceful expression, almost as if she were asleep, King Arthur, Saber – his Saber. Shirou felt his heart tug at him painfully. He sincerely hoped they weren't too late. Taking the last steps almost fearfully, he knelt down besides her, paying no heed to the Doctor as he entered her clearing. Tentatively, slowly, he outstretched his hand and placed it quivering on her cheek. He trailed it down, carefully, to her chest – still covered in the same armor she had worn as a Servant. That didn't matter. He could strengthen his senses enough that he would be able to feel whatever traces of life she still had. Oh, how he hoped he wasn't too late…

The Doctor for his part looked surprised first – who knew King Arthur was a girl? Then sad and then alarmed at Shirou's behavior. He wanted to tell the magus to stop; but something inside him – maybe the part that knew this expression? – told him to halt. So he waited. He waited for what felt like hours, even though it was only minutes. When Shirou exclaimed, relieved "She's still alive! Thank the root!" and fell sobbing – crying – onto her chest, the Time Lord knew something had to be done.

"Shirou; there are some things that are irreversible points in time…" King Arthur's death is one of them, the Doctor wanted to say, but didn't. I'm sorry. Instead he knelt next to Shirou, scanning Saber with the Sonic Screwdriver. "You're right; she's still alive… but…"

"Do you know…," Shirou began, tears still streaming down his face, "… what they say about King Arthur?" He glared at the Doctor, who stopped his scan. "They say 'King Arthur does not understand human emotions'. 'The King is no human.'" There was a pause, while Shirou knelt down and gently placed his arms under Saber, "From the moment she drew Caliburn – " He stood up, carefully, " – her fate was sealed; she was told that to be the King Britain needs, she has to abandon all her emotions, to become it's perfect King." the Doctor was still kneeling, looking up with a shocked face, "she had to abandon her name, her gender – her childhood; for there was not one moment she didn't work to become the perfect, flawless King – any semblance of a normal human life was taken from her. She was not allowed to fall in love –" his voice hiccupped, " – so tell me, Doctor: does such a selfless person not deserve a second chance at life?!"

There was silence. For all his travels, not even the Doctor had heard of such a life. He didn't believe – no, actually he did. Humans were often the most gruesome creatures.

What was there against granting this human, this little girl, a second chance? The Doctor was no fool; Shirou spoke with such a passion that it would be hard to ignore the feelings he held for her. And all it would take was getting her into the TARDIS for treatment… but still.

His feelings, his very human conscience, were at war with his duty as a Time Lord.

"Doctor… please…" golden eyes locked with brown ones, and the Doctor made a decision: "Tell me, Shirou… what is she to you? King Arthur, who lives so many centuries apart that you shouldn't even know her?" he was also standing up, being almost eye-level now, without breaking contact.

"My sword and my sheath, just as I am hers." Which was true; they were a paradoxical existence – both were swords. Always fighting, never tiring. But a sword needs a sheath; and like Saber had told him once, so long ago, he was hers. And she was his.

The Doctor seemed happy with this answer. "Well then – Allons-y! We have to get her to the TARDIS; I have a medical station there!" Shirou stood shocked for another second, before he smiled and both started running. He moved Saber into a more comfortable position, her head now resting against his chest. "That won't be needed – I just need a room with a big space. And chalk."

"Oh? And why's that? Some kind of healing magic ritual?" They were running straight trough the tree-lines, both faster than a normal human.

"Not really. I told you, I am her sheath." the Doctor wondered why he would bring up the metaphor again, when… "You meant it literally. You are her sheath – which means… oh brilliant, brilliant! You're brilliant!"

Shirou had to smirk at that.

"Avalon, the sheath that grants King Arthur immortality – but how do you have it? It was lost, according to legends."

"There is a …ritual, you could say." Shirou would tell the Doctor the story; if not the whole – he felt that he could trust this man. "My father acquired the sheath as a summoning catalyst – but the ritual went wrong, and half of my hometown was destroyed." Adjusting Saber again, Shirou continued, "I was the sole survivor of the Great Fuyuki Fire. My father saved me by implanting Avalon inside me, healing my wounds. It's probably the only weapon I know so throughout like myself."

The Doctor was listening, fascinated. "You saw my ability as a magus – swords. I can project almost every sword I've laid my eyes upon. They're not copies, it's more complicated than that – tracing, I call it – but that aside. I could've probably projected the real Avalon, but –"

"— having something existing twice in a timeline would cause a paradox; one reality would overwrite the other. "

"Exactly."

"And that's why we have to hurry inside the TARDIS – she nullifies the effect. You're smarter than I thought. That's brilliant, Shirou." after a short second of thought, the Doctor asked, "But why the chalk? I've seen you 'trace' as you put it, but you did it without chalk."

"I want to draw a magic circle – well, easy put. It's actually more like a bounded field. It's for the stabilization of the projecting, since it also draws in prana – magical energy. I want to make sure that there is absolutely no mistake."

After that, the conversation fell silent, both magus and Time Lord concentrating on the running. When the TARDIS finally was visible between the trees, it was already dark. The Doctor opened the doors, and both rushed inside. Running by the console, he pushed some buttons and what-not's, and the TARDIS begun dematerializing, taking aim for an unknown location. Not wasting time, he hurried into the corridor, shouting "Hurry!" Shirou pumped some more prana into his legs and went after him.

They rounded a few rooms and what was apparently a swimming pool, until the Doctor opened the door to his left, muttering 'thank you, girl'. "Is this room good?"

Shirou nodded. "Yeah." he put Saber gently down on the floor, wondering why a time machine had a room that looked eerie like a chapel. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Shirou accepted the chalk handed to him, and begun drawing the magic circle. The Doctor watched with interest as Shirou finished the circle and put Saber into it. He had to smile, even thought the situation really wasn't smile-worthy, at the care Shirou put to day with everything he did for the female King of Knights.

Shirou meanwhile was mentally preparing himself – now, out of all the times, he wasn't allowed to make a mistake, after all. Taking a deep breath, he went through all of the steps slowly.

Judging the concept of creation – Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia

Hypothesizing the basic structure – created by the Fairies, one of the greatest Noble Phantasms

Duplicating the composition material – a Phantasm he knew as well as himself

Imitating the skill of its making – Emiya Shirou would not allow any flaws

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth – a Phantasm which belongs to his Saber

Reproducing the accumulated years – a Phantasm he carried within himself for ten years

Excelling every manufacturing process – a representation of their dream

Feeling the familiar surge of energy he always did whenever (as seldom as it is) he traced Avalon, the golden sheath materialized in his hands. Shirou heard the Doctor gasp at the Noble Phantasm, and had to smile sadly. He didn't know when she did – but Saber returned Avalon to him, shortly before she vanished on that hill. With it, he had saved Ilya's life, allowing her to live a normal, human lifespan. He noticed – felt – the sheath hum as it neared Saber's chest; and with a swirl of light, it burst into particles and returned to its original owner.

The magic circle flared up violently. There was a gust of wind as it absorbed every ounce of mana in the air, helping Avalon in the healing process. The Doctor looked shocked, shouting over the wind, "What's happening?"

Shirou took a few steps back, still guarding against the wind. "Avalon and the circle are absorbing residue mana, for the healing procedure."

After the wind died down, and the circle returned to a soft glow, Shirou felt, for the first time, hope rise in his chest. He took a step forward again, afraid to interrupt the pulsating light. He noticed that the whole room was humming a soft sounding melody. Kneeling down again next to Saber, he watched her. The Doctor simply stood where he was, looking fascinated at the whole scene.

They waited like this, for some time, until her breathing became stronger and evened out, and color came back to her pale face. Shirou didn't know which one of them sighed, the anticipation disappearing from both of their shoulders.

A lock of hair fell into Saber's face. Shirou reached out to gently move it aside. His hand brushed her forehead and Saber furrowed her brows.

"Wha-?" repeating the action, her brows furrowed more noticeably now. Shirou held his breath again as the Doctor swiftly went to her other side, scanning her with his Screwdriver again.

"Her vitals are stable." there was relief in his voice, also. Blinking at him, and processing the information, Shirou did the only thing thinkable to him –

"Saber…?" he cupped her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. "Saber…"

If the Doctor was wondering why Shirou called King Arthur 'Saber', he wasn't showing.

She furrowed her brow even more now, but she also leaned into his touch, as if not quite sure what to do. She wouldn't wake up like this, so he had to try another strategy. Shirou leaned down and whispered "Wake up, Artoria." before leaning in and giving her a chaste kiss.

Her body automatically responded, and when the familiar warmth left her, she leaned up, searching for it. Finding nothing, she huffed frustrated, and tried opening her eyes. Mustering up what little strength she had, she managed to open them –

— to be met with strikingly golden eyes, shimmering with unshed tears. As clouded as her mind still was, Saber still recognized those eyes. Trying to say his name, she found that it was hard to speak. Her mind in itself was very clouded and unorganized. "Sh…i…rou…" Why are you crying? That's what she wanted to ask, but couldn't. I am here – that, she wished to shout, - so stop shedding your tears.

But all she could do was watch the man she fell in love with start crying, his tears falling on her cheeks, leaving a trail behind. Frustrated with herself once again at her inability to move her body, Saber tried to lift her hand, wanting nothing more than to wipe away the tears. She lifted it barely from its resting place, but Shirou grabbed it, cradling hers with both of his to his cheek, smiling the most pure, joyous smile she'd ever seen.

"Saber… my Saber… you're finally back…"

…Back?

Saber blinked, trying to clear her mind. Had they not seen each other on the hill…?

I am missing… something important…

She glanced to the side, finding it suddenly too hard to look Shirou straight into the face. Seeing a strange man she'd never met before, her eyes widened.

The hill… the hill where we said our goodbye into the sunset…

My vanishing… my meeting with Bedivere…

Him throwing Excalibur back into the lake… She turned her attention back to Shirou as realization struck her like one of Berserkers blows.

My death…

Saber felt her own tears leave a wet-hot trail on her cheeks as she remembered her last talk with her oldest and last knight, and her death thereafter. She died – or at least she had been dead enough that she couldn't – shouldn't – be here.

But I am. And Shirou is also present.

Trying to articulate her thoughts into words of comfort to her former Master, who apparently traveled back centuries to save her, she saw the strange person take a step closer, also smiling.

"…Shir…ou… how…here…? Stop… cry…ing… I… here – love… Shi-rou…"

Her words seemed to have the intended effect, because Shirou stopped crying; instead he opted to kiss her still cradled hand. Were she in a better condition, Saber was sure she would have slapped him. He murmured between his kisses "I love you… I love you so much, Saber…".

The strange person knelt down next to her, and pointed a …screwdriver? – it at least looked like one – at her. When it emitted a blue light, he looked satisfied.

"Well, welcome back to the living, I guess. I am the Doctor." he glanced over at Shirou, who was now simply holding her hand in a comforting matter. "Can we move her out of this circle to a normal room for explanations?"

"We should – it acted only as a second set so to speak – Saber, can you stand already?" he directed his gaze at her at the last part. And as much as she wished to answer him with an affirmative – she still could barely muster up enough strength to hold her hand aloft – so she shook her head, biting down her pride. Shirou muttered a "Thought so." before he swiftly hoisted her up, bridal style.

She protested with a weak "Shirou…", before leaning against his chest, blushing. The Doctor laughed at the scene, taking the lead. Taking notice of her surroundings for the first time, Saber noticed that she, indeed, was not in the forest anymore. "…where…?"

Glancing down, Shirou answered, "We're in the TARDIS – it's a time machine. I asked the Doctor for help; but don't worry, we'll explain everything soon. Doctor – " he turned his attention back to the man leading them, Saber's following, " – where are we going?"

"Back t to the console room, I want the TARDIS running a check-up on her; to see if there's something we missed."

After some running – way too long, in Saber's opinion – they arrived back in the control room. Saber looked on in wonder at the control panel in the middle, fascinated. She could feel the humming of the machine. Shirou set her down on the cushiony chair, gently petting her hair.

"I am… not… ma-de of glass… Shirou." she was watching him amusedly, taking in his features for the first time. His hair had turned white at some spots and his skin was tanner than it had been during the Grail War. Saber was about to question why he started to look uncannily like Archer, when the Doctor reemerged with a …thing.

"Doctor, what is that?" Shirou asked, perplexed.

"It's a machine that goes 'bling'" was the cheery answer. Saber tried her hardest to shoot a deadpan look at both men in the room. Mustering up her most flat voice, she turned to the stranger.

"What… are you?"

"Oh, she's good. Very, very good." The Doctor was scanning her with the machine, grinning. "I am the Doctor. Most people normally ask who I am, but you're smart – I am a Time Lord; the last one, actually." he turned to the control panel, typing in something and connecting the machine. "and this, my dear King Arthur –" she grimaced, he spread his arms out in glee, "- is the TARDIS: Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. She's my trusted companion across my adventures."

The TARDIS gave a scandalized beep. "Well… misadventures, alright." the Doctor scratched his cheek awkwardly. Processing the information, Saber nodded and turned her attention to Shirou. "…How did you meet?"

"…" Shirou sighed, grabbing a handful of hair. "Well, this will probably be a bit long to explain, so here's the short version: after the Grail War ended – the magic ritual I was talking about, Doctor – Tohsaka and me set out for the Clock Tower. She cleared things up, and ended staying as an apprentice. I stayed behind as her 'student', but didn't really become part of the Association. After a few odd jobs here and there, I turned into some kind of blank slate for both the Church and the Association, doing work on both sides. On my latest assignment, I met the Doctor in Cardiff, and we took care of the … living, monstrous, time-consuming … angel statues; the Weeping Angels, that infested the town."

If Saber didn't know better, she would've thought that Shirou was flat-out lying to her; alas, she knew of the strangeness of the world, as she knows about a certain Flower Magus and his penchant of crazy ideas.

"After some misunderstanding…" Shirou shoot the Doctor a look, "I decided to take up his offer of traveling with him."

"I see…" her mind was processing the information, and she whispered with a faint smile, more to herself than the others, "…yes, Shirou. This truly suits you… helping as many people as possible…" after continuing louder: "I take it you took the opportunity this provided to fulfill your ideal as a hero? Certainly, I am able to see you do it, but that still does not explain…" she wanted to say 'the situation at hand that I am alive and not yet in Avalon' but refrained from doing so.

She turned to the Doctor again, who marveled at her ability to completely lead the conversation even though she was still mostly unable to move her body; except for her head and vocal cords, apparently. "There ought to be some sort of set rules to follow, if I am not mistaken."

The Time Lord blinked, "Yes, yes there are. How did you know?"

Saber gave a bitter smile which, the Doctor decided, did not suit her. "Merlin always spoke of such matters, how I would be unable to change my future after I pulled the sword from the stone – " there was a short pause, " – I simply state the fact that my death was one of them, as it even was recorded down in history, I believe so."

The Doctor didn't even need to answer, as Shirou cringed – which was all the answer she apparently needed. Truly, King Arthur had a sharp mind.

"Shirou…" her attention was back on him, and she smiled that small, self-depreciating smile the Doctor had seen on the teen quite a few times in the short span that he got to know him. He watched with further amazement as she continued, "… I am truly thankful for what you have done, but I do not see how someone like myself is more important than the regular flow of time. As it is, my death should have been at that tree; you do not know how you changed the timeline by removing something that – even I – had been foretold would happen." almost like an afterthought to something of a trivial matter; like what should we do today?, she added "For better or for worse, I fear."

The Doctor was throughout impressed with the woman in front of him. She had such a small sense of self – or she valued the life of other so much higher than her own – that she was practically asking to be brought back to the tree to die. It was a surprisingly sobering statement. On one hand, he was fascinated with her strength at an emotional and human level, that she was so easily talking about her death – and the fact that she understood that changing the current set timeline in this case was more bad than good. On the other hand… well, she was a living being – a living, breathing, human being – the fact that she saw herself so unimportant was sad. The Doctor recalled what Shirou told him about this girl-King, and he knew he had to stop her (technical) self-loathing, before the TARDIS turned into a war zone between the two very apparent lovebirds.

… and he was beginning to sound like one of his former companions, he noticed.

Shirou shook his head, angry. Or maybe sad? "You deserve this second chance more than anyone else, Saber. You've done much more than these people deserved – you gave your life for theirs – so I'd like to think that my saving you was more than a bit appropriate."

She was about to retaliate, but the Doctor cut her off. "Trust me, Lady Saber –" she also winced at that. What else should I call her? I am standing in front of the King Arthur, after all, " – if it would've proven too big of an impact on the timeline, I would've dragged Shirou out."

He found it mildly amusing how she shoot him a sly look, as if they were competing about the matter.

"But," and this, he stressed, "it also was said in history books that nobody found the body of the King after his death. So maybe King Arthur didn't actually die…?" he left the end deliberately in a question, but didn't wait for an answer, "and also; I've traveled with historical figures before, the only important thing on such an occasion would be to bring said historical figure, let's say… maybe King Arthur? Back to the time where a historical event would fall into place. But – " here, he smiled again, " – the TARDIS is a time travelling, living spaceship. So that would be in an estimated long time period from now on."

Saber's eyes widened in realization, and Shirou was grinning in elation, "So, Saber. Care to join in on the fun? As a companion, I mean. The TARDIS would love to have you and Shirou on board, I bet."

The console let out a round of affirmative 'blings' and 'Beeps'

"I…" Saber was torn between the rational thing to do (listening to her feelings) and her own duty. The Doctor noticed, because he grabbed a coat from the railing and headed for the door. He was talking again. "…then how about I give you a quick sneak peek at what's to come? Both of you? Shirou, get her; we are going out."

The magus looked skeptical. "Do you even know where we are?" he still obliged and took a hold of the now-again protesting Saber… who was definitely almost back to her full strength by now, he noticed, wincing slightly.

"No! But that's the fun with a time travelling machine; you never know where you land exactly. So –" he swung the doors open and stepped out and aside, Shirou following. "Allons-y!"

Saber and Shirou looked on in wonder at the strange place they found themselves into. Or rather, at something that could be described as a bazaar; colorful creatures were wandering around, talking to each other. There was some kind of herbs stand right next to clothing stand, all full of extravagant, strange-yet-beautiful things. If Saber wouldn't know better, she'd say it was almost like the monthly markets they had in Camelot, full of wondrous tools and trinkets from overseas (or the rare phantasmal beast). There was a commotion further away from them, as some were apparently haggling. A starfish-headed being talked excitedly to another, smaller one – probably trying to sell him the magic sword-wand thing in his hand. There was a bubbling sound next them, and Shirou and the Doctor stepped to the side, letting a fish-headed being pass.

"Hath." the Doctor clarified, "Said 'Hello.'"

After watching the Hath walk around the corner – Saber would've loved to say she wasn't really staring, but that would be a lie – she looked up at Shirou again. They made eye contact, and with a nod of her head, she gestured him to put her down. Avalon had healed her completely by now, and her pride didn't allow her any more than this. Shirou gave her a warm smile, and put her down gently, turning back to the Doctor to give her some privacy.

And while Shirou asked the Doctor about the bazaar they had stumbled upon, Saber was mulling over her possibilities. She was essentially freed from the burden of the King; or the burden of the Holy Grail War, as her contract with the world had ended. She was free to live out her life with Shirou, living the life of the girl she once was. She would be able to see all of the people dear to her – the ones she could call true friends, even if they only knew each other for naught but two weeks.

Two weeks… was this really how long the fifth War was? Was this really the amount of time it took her to fall in love with Shirou?

Two weeks compared to probably the rest of eternity (or at least the rest of their lifespan; when did she get so poetic anyways)…?

Looking back at Shirou, who was smiling at her, she found herself smiling back. With the facts deduced, it really was no decision from the beginning. "It seems that I will be taking you up on that offer, Doctor. Someone has to keep both of you from doing the impossible."

And as Shirou hugged her, and as the Doctor laughed at the scene, Saber knew that her decision had been the right one.

… now that she was face-to-face with their apparent spaceship, having turned around to hug Shirou back, there was only one other thing to be cleared. "…why is the TARDIS bigger on the inside than on the outside?"

The Doctor's laugh echoed across the alley of the Csirr'zay great bazaar, sounding delightful at the question asked.

End of Fate/ Who

Hello, folks! This is my first Fanfic in both Doctor Who and the Fate series, which I've recently discovered (female King Arthur? GAR Archer? Take my money, Type-Moon!) …ahem…

I've been a long running fan of DW, having discovered it in Hungary, seen everything in the New Series' since then. But it's incredibly hard for me to write the Doctor, because I'm meshing Ten and Eleven together, so I hope I did him justice. Finding a good ground between Saber's formal-ish speech was also interesting, since I use the "shortened Forms" to my hearts extend xD Oh well, I hope this is a nice little snippet of how exactly Shirou and Artoria could meet outside of Avalon: the Doctor and his TARDIS! Shirou also totally bought the sword-wand

I apologize for my (probable) misuse of the Nasuverse Magic, but I'm still new, and I only managed to download the VN. I know Fate/ Zero and Fate/ Prisma Illya, and the …interesting… Fate anime, but that's it. I've started UBW, but I only want to finish watching it after I finished the VN.

Also, I use Artoria instead of Altria or the more common Arturia/Arthuria because…

I like it more. And I keep on calling Saber Alter Altria and Saber Lily Arturia, to distinguish them. Saber from Prototype is Arthur and the blonde haired-red streaked one from strange fake (if his identity is that of King Arthur, since I'm mainly using the wiki as a source, where his identity is unknown, but he uses Excalibur apparently…) is Artorius.

Five Saber's walk into an bar… like the beginning of a bad joke xD

Also… who ships Lily x Alter?

ME!

- LunaChi out