I do not own the characters from Type-Moon or DC/Vertigo/The Sandman.

The corrupted Servant known as Saber, once known as Altria Pendragon, looked down at the still, cold form of her body. Its black armor shining in what little light was inside the cave. A small puncture in the armor over the left breast where her heart was.

"What is this?" Saber asked quietly, her own armored left hand going over the same area where the puncture was. She remembered what happened. She had fought her former Master Shirou and the Servant Rider, at the behest of her new Master Matou Sakura. They fought with blades, and little words. Her quick, barbaric sword strikes against his much smoother and yet still experienced parries. His arm was different, the arm of the former Servant Archer. It allowed him to bring swords into being, allowed him the power to fight almost on par with her. Many times, Rider's assistance prevented her from killing the boy.

But eventually, through much pain on his part, Shirou had won. And to avoid fighting her again and surely being killed as a result, Shirou had killed her.

But now, she was here. Looking down at her body which had not disappeared as most Servants do after being killed once more. It was... strange.

"Is this... punishment?" Saber asked herself, frowning. "Is this punishment for my service under Sakura?"

Her corrupted appearance had not changed. Her pale skin and hair... the dark armor that she wore... the black veins that resulted from being corrupted by All the World's Evils... all of it remained.

It would make sense if it was. Perhaps there actually was a God, and wanted to punish her by making her wander the Earth...

"What makes you say that?"

A calm, happy voice made Saber turn to her right side to see a woman, who appeared to be around the same age as Shirou's guardian. She was pale, even more so than Saber herself with a fluffy mane of black hair. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a black sleeveless shirt tucked into the pants, black boots, a black belt with a silver buckle and studs, and a silver Ankh orb around her neck. She had dark line circling her right eye, culminating in a circle that rested above her right cheek.

"Who are you?" Saber demanded. She wanted to summon her blade, to force answers from this strange woman, but it would not come. Perhaps another part of her punishment?

"Have to admit, this place is pretty dark." The woman commented, resting the black umbrella she had in her left hand on her shoulder. "The kind of place my little brother would love."

"Answer me!" Saber growled out, it was a lion's growl. An angry lion that was ready to tear the throat out of her target.

"Come on Altria." The woman spoke, making Saber take a step back in surprise. "You know that you just can't force out answers like that."

"You know my name." It was not a question, but a statement.

"I know everyone's names." The woman answered simply, a small smile on her face.

"Who are you?" Surprisingly, the question was now a whisper. Saber was still shocked, frightened even in a sense. How could this woman know her identity? She never seen her in the war, or even a glimpse of her. And Saber's eyes were sharper than any human's.

"We've met before. More than once actually." The woman said simply before hugging herself, showing her black nails. "I've been in this town plenty of times. I came for Kiritsugu years ago... he was sad to see Shirou having to live on without him. I came here for Irisviel, and she was worried about both Kiritsugu and her daughter. I've even met all the Servants. Poor things, having to come back to life only to battle again... I've even recently seen some of the Masters and Shinji Matou."

"That can't be." Saber stated, regaining her posture from before. "Any civilian who sees a Servant or their Master..."

"Think Altria." The woman stated simply, looking at Saber directly into her eyes. "You know who I am."

Saber frowned at the accusation. Why would this woman even think that she knew...?

Realization then dawned at her. The sense of deja-vu within made sense. The statements the woman said before became clear. She knew this woman. It was like meeting an old friend again.

"You are Death."

"Yeah." A small, sad smile graced the woman's lips. "I am."

"I... I remember." Saber spoke, her voice trembling just a bit. "You were there... when Sir Bedivere brought me to the isle... When Kiritsugu had me destroy the Grail..."

She had not expected this. Death was not supposed to be a person. Death was simply... that. It was a somber thing, one that came for all be they human or animal. If it had a form, Saber would have expected Death to be a somber, skeletal thing. Not a girl with a slightly chipper attitude.

"That was the second and third time we met, actually." Death replied, walking just a bit forward so that they were face to face. "You Heroic Spirits really are something. You come with me once, and then I actually see you all again if you're summoned during the Holy Grail War. I've been with you... about four times now."

"Four?"

"I'm also around when you are born." Death then turned around, looking upwards as she held her umbrella behind her back with both hands. "I'm there for everyone when they are born and when they die."

Saber looked down. It... somehow made sense in an odd way. "So, you are here to take me again."

"That's the reason why I came here."

"So what are you going to do now?" Saber glared at the personification of Death. "Drag me to the Throne of Heroes? I can assure you, I do not belong there. I am too corrupted to be a part of Gaia's system anymore. And after all I've done..."

"You did what you thought was best." Death replied simply. "You followed your Master with all your strength and did your best to defend them. Both of them."

"Yet I betrayed Shirou." Saber spoke, remembering her old Master. His smile, his gentleness... and how she was forced to battle against the one she was sworn to protect after foolishly being lured into True Assassin's trap. "And after that, I failed to protect Sakura from my former Master and Rin Tohsaka. Even before that, I failed to protect Irisviel. I even ultimately failed my kingdom, its subjects, my knights, and the world. My actions have..." Saber paused herself to remain composed. "I have caused so much pain with all my failures and all my actions."

"What's done is done." Death said simply. "Altria... I'm not here to judge you. But I can tell you one thing: Don't be hard on yourself. Your actions may have caused pain, but they also lead to happiness. You should not focus only on the bad when they also resulted in good."

"Yet still the pain remains."

"Without pain, how can anyone grow?" Death turned around, smiling at her.

"..." Saber was silent for a moment before saying, "I've lived long enough. I-I..." She sighed out, "All I want is peace."

"There's no such thing as 'lived long enough' Altria." Death corrected simply. "You lived what everybody gets Altria. You lived a lifetime, and that's enough."

"As for peace...?"

"That actually depends on you." Death looked slightly wistful as she said, "Alexander was at peace simply with the knowledge that the world was bigger than he once thought. Gilgamesh was a peace knowing that even though this age had degenerated, the memory of his deeds were still immortal. Even Lancelot was at peace, knowing that he was able to see you again."

Saber looked down, struck by the revelation. Lancelot truly left the mortal world in peace by him seeing her again, despite her being forced to kill him?

Death raised her right hand outwards, towards her. "Are you ready to go?"

Saber slowly reached out with her own right hand, but stopped halfway. "I have to ask..."

"What is it?"

"Sakura... and Shirou." Saber slightly hesitated, but continued onwards. "A-Are they...?"

"Well..." Death looked towards the direction that Shirou had run off to earlier before looking back at Saber. "That depends entirely on their actions and the choices they made."

"I see..." Saber took in a deep breath. "I'm ready."

She took Death's hand.

Shirou Emiya heard, as he ran to save Sakura from herself, the fluttering of wings from behind him.

And he felt relief, somehow knowing that Saber was at peace.

The End

xxXXxx

Note: Recently read The Sandman yet again, and I couldn't let this idea of a oneshot leave my brain. I'm a bit worried that the dialogue is clunky though, but I hope you all enjoyed it.

I thought it was weird that the Endless existing in the Nasuverse was never brought up, because they totally would be in the world since they are personifications of concepts every form of life in the universe believes in. Especially Death, who'll be around until the Universe is no more.

If anything, I would love to see more one-shots of the Nasuverse characters meeting the Endless. Maybe more of Death meeting the Heroic Spirits.

Also, be sure to check out my ongoing tics A Different Kind of Truth and Just an Unorthodox Thief.

Please review.