He fell through the portal with all the grace of a drunken sod. Falling in a heap on his back, the only thing that could be counted as graceful was the fact that he made sure Saber fell ontop of him.
Breathing heavy, covered in soot, red dirt and blood they were, simply put, a mess.
"Oh gods above!" Was the sound that Shirou heard still half dazed, staring up into the beam of light that fell from the uppermost echelons of the Nexus.
A second later he sees Thomas, and can hear the onrush of approaching feet, he has to consciously release Saber as they pull her off him, and its a moment of nauseous vertigo that hits him as Thomas helps him back to his feet as Biorr carries Saber down the steps and Ostrava yells for the maiden.
"You're alright lad, you're alright now." Thomas assures.
Shirou takes a breath, hacking soon after as his lungs try to get used to the sensation of clear air again, stumbling like a drunk down the stairs, he nearly falls in his fumbling attempts to keep up with Bior and Saber before Thomas grabs him, helping him stand upright.
There is a glow behind him and Shirou feels the static of magic in the air as the Archstone shimmers and pulses before Rin and Scirvir materialize on the pulpit, as ragged, and filthy as he is.
"Oh dear." And like that Thomas lets him go to nearly trip on his own feet to go help the new arrivals.
-0-
Yuria was startled, along with everyone else when Biorr came charging out from between the pillars, roaring at Freke's apprentice to "Move ya git!" all but kicking him off the cot before he lowered himself to settle a blonde young woman down.
She'd seen her before, at a distance it hadn't been too long that she'd arrived before she was gone with her friends through the second Archstone.
She kept herself back, all but hiding behind the pillar that shielded the place she'd picked out for herself within the nexus as the redhead followed, and was followed in turn by Thomas and two others. Distantly she could hear Ostrava shouting for the dark maiden.
The woman was bloodied, her breathing ragged even as she grit her teeth against the pain of Biorr pulling out the edge of a blade that had been driven into the side of her chest.
Yuria watched as Bior knelt, his hands applying pressure to the blood drenched place and the balding man she'd never seen before stumbled forward, the weak light of healing magic dancing on his fingertips.
But he was tired, his magic was weak. He needed rest as much as the others.
"I can't find her!" Ostrava shouted, rushing back to the alcove, heavy boots smacking against the stone floor. "I can't see her anywhere!"
"What do you mean you can't find her!" The red headed boy shouted, voice scratchy as he coughed.
"I swear I looked everywhere she normally resides but I simply can't find her!"
The girl marched past the both of them looking to Freke's apprentice, the old smith the Nexus followers of Umbassa she immediately began shouting orders at everyone to spread out and find the dark Maiden.
Yuria kept herself out of sight, merely watching, waiting.
In the end, the red headed boy and the balding mage stayed at her side while everyone else spread out across the Nexus to search.
She gnawed on her lower lip, hesitation coloring her actions as her hand clenched and unclenched...
-0-
Saber focused on breathing for a time, the pain of her wound and burnt hand nearly blinding in its intensity and only Scirvir's exhausted efforts managed to help in the smallest of ways.
She opened her eyes, looking up to the worried face of her master. "You...should have run." She breathed out between deep, pain filled breaths.
Shirou shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Its done. The demon's dead and we all got out of there."
She wanted to reach up and smack him on the back of the head like Tohsaka always did. Stupid. He was her master, she had to protect him...not the other way around.
"Run next-" She paused, a feeling of warmth coming over her body and the searing pain of her injuries diminished the warmth of healing magic spreading over her limbs for a long moment before it vanished and the pain returned, though greatly diminished from what it had been just a scant few seconds earlier.
-0-
Yuria ducked back into her place, the light of healing magic glowing in one hand as the other gripped her wrist. 'Stop...stop...stop now please!'
Like a fire snapping under the relentless gusts of a strong wind the glow flickered and soon died, allowing her to breathe with relief again.
It would dull the worst of the pain. Enough for her until they could find the maiden.
That's all she would risk.
-0-
When they finally found her, a part of Rin wished that they hadn't.
It'd be a hell of a lot easier to forget this child looking ancient was their last, tenuous hold on survival.
It was worse knowing that he looked like he had a foot in the grave right now even with the Maiden's considerable healing magic washing over him.
Pale as a corpse, his cheeks were gaunt, with the flesh hanging off his bones.
She stepped forward, past Thomas and the servants of Umbassa, too few were brave enough to even speak to this pseudo-child with all the rumors that cycled about the monumental and their mastery over the Soul Arts.
When she got close enough to be at speaking distance she could see the Maiden's lips moving, a soft murmuring incantation flowing from her lips as the healing magic fell over the ancient form.
"What happened?"
There was no answer, the Maiden continued her incantation and the boy lay there, slumped against the wall.
She knelt, and it was then she noticed his eyes were barely keeping open.
I had..." He wheezed. "...to save you..."
It was only half a second before she understood. "The archstones...you forced them through the fog..."
"I did..." His reply was a broken thing, offered in a scratchy, faint voice.
"How much did it drain you?" She asked.
"Enough...I will live...but...I don't think I can ever do it again. The..." He paused, the echo of his voice fading from her thoughts. "The next time you leave...I will not be able to manifest a stone...until the final demon is slain in that land."
She nodded turning to look at the maiden. "Saber needs your help too." She ventured carefully.
"I need some time still." The Maiden answered carefully, her concentration never wavering. "Go...tend to her to the best of thine efforts. I will descend the Nexus to offer aid soon.
Though she really didn't want to leave without getting Saber some help this was gonna be the best she could hope for given the circumstances. She nodded, stood up and left them, hemming the others back down the stairs.
-0-
It was approaching dawn, the first of the sun's rays beginning to reach over the edge of the horizon by the time Archer had to finally face facts.
Wherever Sakura had gone, she did not want to be found.
The silver haired servant breathed through his nostrils, staring out into a city beginning to wake as his brows knit a crease in the middle of his forehead.
"What are you going to do?" Ilya asked, stepping close to lean against the edge of the rooftops stone plinth, looking up at him with big red eyes.
The servant looked at her, this little, faux girl he could remember from time gone by. "You should be happier." He commented. The memory he held of her would be."
This one frowned. "I'm not...Sakura-chan was nice and...I'm worried...and yeah you were gonna pick her as your master Archer but..." She paused, letting her words drift off. "Its complicated I guess. Am I glad that you'll be my servant now? Kinda yeah. You're the only servant that's ever been able to hurt my Berserker that bad. With both of you...I'll win this war for sure! There's no way I could lose. But..." She trailed off again.
"Its complicated." He simplified.
She nodded, sighing wearily. "Yeah. Tohsakah san...she might be dead...Shirou-niisan and his saber too...We couldn't find them!"
Archer frowned. Rin had been his only assurance that they were alive...with that tenuous tether gone now who knows they could all infact be dead.
The only one they still knew was alive was Berserker and that was not exactly someone he was looking forward to bringing back. The demi-god heracles had nearly killed him once already and a second round would not change the outcome any further.
Berserker was just too strong.
The one chance...the only chance was finding a way to summon him through the fabric of reality, fast enough so as to have one or two other servants still around to kill him as many times as they were able and deal the final blow himself.
A pipe dream.
But still...it had to happen. If this war was to have any end Berserker had to be summoned again and either kill or be killed.
He took a deep breath
"Come on." He finally said, kneeling down to pick her up, carrying her as he had Rin all those night's ago. "We've got work to do."
The red eyed, silver haired girl looked up at him, as sad as he'd ever seen her. "I'm...I'm sorry Archer." She knew just as he what would happen.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
Her eyes got a little sadder.
She could recognize that smile...it was the same one he'd worn that fateful night, when he'd marched infront of Tohsakah, Saber and Shirou.
"Stalling him is all well and good...but would you be upset if I killed him master?"
She'd thought it bravado...empty words from a low class dreg of a servant she couldn't recognize, someone Berserker would flatten with barely any effort.
"I'm sorry Archer." She found herself repeating, looking down at her feet.
To serve another master...it was still a long shot, still a near impossible feat. But perhaps...if the master was strong enough...if they were prepared enough.
He could even target her directly...
But to serve the same master and fight Berserker blow for blow?
He'd never do it. And his smile said it all, revealed it there as plain as day like it had that night. That smile of a man staring death in the face, with no more remedy available to him...other than a smile.
She couldn't repeat it enough...
The red clad warrior said nothing...he just reached forward and lifted her into his arms carrying her back through the city rooftops.
-0-
"I'm sorry."
Saber opened her eyes, taking a deep breath as she turned her gaze to Shirou's guilt striken face as he hovered beside her. She forced herself to remain conscious, to keep herself out of sleeps tantalizing caress, keeping herself in the world of the wakeful.
"For what?" She asked, her addled, pain hazed mind failing to form the connections of his acts to the apology as it normally would have.
"For getting in the way." He answered, eyes downcast. "Its...its my fault you got hurt."
As far as admissions went, it was one of the most painful he'd had to make.
To face that he was more a hindrance than a help. That he was more likely to cause her death as opposed to helping or saving her.
Even the one time he had possibly saved her against Berserker it had very nearly cost him his life when the insanely powerful servant very nearly ripped him in two.
He was no hero...just a magus who couldn't even cast proper spells.
"Stupid."
He looked up at her voice and was surprised to see a small smile tugging at her lips, green eyes gentle.
He smiled back, a brittle false thing. "I'm sorry...I just get in the way."
Her eyes dropped a bit, loosing their battle against sleep. "No you don't"
"I got you hurt." He argued.
"You did..." She gasped out, shifting her weight a bit to look at him better, the pained smile returned. "But you didn't run did you?"
"You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't been there..."
"I already was...I'm not sure I could have won against it anyway. She smiled and somewhere in her addled mind she found it in her to laugh a little. "Like Berserker I was losing...and you came...and we're both still alive." Her smile became a little wider.
She was beautiful. She was always beautiful...but that smile and her laugh, weak as it was, made her features truly breathtaking.
He wanted to see that smile...hear that laugh. But next time he swore it wouldn't be like this, with her lying with her arms crippled and in pain. He didn't want the experience marred by the shadow of guilt hovering over him.
Before he can gather his wits, there's a rabble of feet striking stone behind him, he turns, looking over his shoulder to see Rin and the others making their way back into the side chamber.
"Where is she?" He asked as Rin came closer.
"She'll be down in a bit." The brunette answered. "Looks like saving us took a little bit too much out of our host."
Shirou's lips pursed. "How bad."
"Don't know." She answered sitting at Saber's other side, avoiding Scirvir's legs where the stuttering scholar rested, exhausted. She looked over the slumbering servant. "How's she doin?"
Shirou looked at his servant. "The healing magic helped..."
"But she's hurt enough to knock her out." Rin finished, answering her own querry. She looked up at the red-head, his face scrunched up in worry. "Perk up Emiya. She'll be ok. She's tougher than both of us you know."
Shirou nodded opening up his mouth to agree when an echo drifted in through the main chamber of a cursing voice and the clatter of metal striking stone.
"Argh! Blasted, stinkin magic! Never trust the bloody thing."
Both Magus looked at eachother, along with everyones confused faces flitting about the room before they stood and marched to the main chamber.
They arrived to find a short man, covered in soot and filthy rags, junk littering the starlight, runic floor along with the Archstone walkway where he had evidently fallen from when he'd arrived.
"Argh...bloody piece of junk..." He cursed, standing as he wiped himself down, for all the good it did his filthy state.
"Ed?" Rin ventured, shifting closer.
The diminutive blacksmith turned, goggled eyes comically wide. "You!" He shouted, pointing a scale covered finger at her. "Do ye have any idea the kind'o mess ya made!? Whole mountain's gone up in flames!"
Her nose scrunched up. "Stone Fang erupted?"
"Aye." He answers. "First time in a thousand years, and all I got time to grab is my tools and-"
He pauses looking around searching for whatever it was before Shirou reached down drawn to a bundled burlap cloth, he uncoiled one side to reveal the gleaming blade he'd admired on the wall of Ed's filthy hole in the ground not so long ago.
"Give it here boyo. S'not finished yet." Ed demanded and Shirou bundled it up again, handing it back.
"Are you alright?" Shirou asked, stepping forward to pick up a set of tongs that had fallen and helping him gather his things.
The filthy blacksmith nodded, lowering the blade before putting it back in its place on his back. "Aye... s'long as ya got a forge and a place for me to lay down I'll be just fine boyo."
Rin looked around at the wide expanse of the nexus, nearly empty for its size. "Pick out a spot I guess..."
-0-
Well here, this is the latter half of the previous chapter which I posted after my injury which is now thankfully, fully healed. Its 8 pages in total and honestly I debated with myself whether or not I should just add it to the previous chapter and not make it an entirely "new" chapter since it was so short and just served to tie off the loose ends of chapter 20.
Ultimately I decided that the "alert" that goes off to the reader was a bit more important since, if I just edited/added when the next alert came people would be a little lost if I didn't warn them in the AN, which some people don't read.
So yeah for better or worse I made it a new chap.
If anyone feels that an edit/add with an AN in the real chapter 21 would have been better feel free to let me know, likewise to those who think this is better let me know just in-case something like this happens again.
All n all, next chap we'll finally be heading towards the Shrine of storms which I hope to finish off by chapter 23 and finally heading off to the place everyone's been waiting for, Valley of Defilement. The next chapter is well under way since this one had so little to really go on hope you'll all enjoy it when its released. It'll have a bit of a surprise too ;p