I do not own Fate/Zero nor any other Servants depicted here.

Darkest Night

Drip.

A red drop splashed onto the floor, adding to the growing pool.

Drip.

Others flowed down the metal guide before pooling at the base. It has not overflowed just yet.

Drip.

Red, irregular streaks were splattered over metal, sometimes obscuring the intricate decorations engraved into them.

Drip.

A gauntlet covered hand was pressed against the body, sliding off the sword with ease as it pushed against it. Past the tip, Archer over fell backwards, crashing heavily on the floor with an impassive look on her face. Saber spared a stoic glance at the presumed dead Servant closing her eyes and nodded her head. The gamble had worked and she emerged the victor. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a shining glow given off from the Servant's body. As it died out, Saber noticed that Archer had gone back to her other version of herself. And so, she felt a little surprised when said Servant suddenly wheezed in a breath. Placing herself on guard position as not to be taken by surprise, she waited for the Servant of the Bow to catch her breath and then trying to sit up.

Disoriented at first, she finally was able to focus on Saber. She stared blankly for a moment before muttering, "I... don't feel him... anymore." And then, began the tears, as Archer continued, "But... it's no use... I failed... I failed him... my promise..."

"Archer!" shouted Saber. While she knew she should show some sort of sympathy, but there are more important matters to see to. Like where Irisviel was. "Archer," she repeated again at a softer tone, "Please, I know you wish to grieve, but now is not the time. Please, I must find my Master."

"I... I..." the Servant trailed off. Saber frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly. She could not believe it. After all this time, she still harped on about the loss of her Master. As much as she wanted to leave her there and continue her interrupted search, Archer has the knowledge to narrow down the search greatly.

"Archer," she tried again, while stepping closer and kneeling next to her, "I know not your grief, but if I should lose my Master, I will surely experience it. Please, help me at least." Archer slowly turned to her and all she had was a helpless look. Saber closed her eyes with a sigh. She tried her best.

As she rose up and began walking away, she heard the Servant say faintly, "Wait." She stopped in her tracks, patiently, hoping to hear what she wanted to hear.

"Your Master is here."

"You are certain?" she asked as she turned around, not wanting to sound too eager for that piece of knowledge.

"I was there... when he ordered me to do this." Her voice was soft but with the empty hallway, it was very clear to her ears. Saber took a few more steps, dismissing her sword as Archer continued, "I... I'm sorry, Saber, that I could... couldn't stop... him... I feel... stupid for trusting him... huh... I guess... this time... Ragna was right..." The Servant of the Sword did wonder a bit as to why she was taking so many breaths. Her wound, perhaps?

"Come, I should help you up and then you can lead me to her," Saber said as she grabbed her arm.

"Ah, that... uh, we are... she is actually... ah, past the doors," Archer replied in between gasps of pain as she motioned weakly to the doors leading to the auditorium.

Saber blinked, wordlessly looping one of the Servant's arms around her neck. She had not the faintest idea that she was that close. "However, I might have went off to search somewhere else entirely," she thought with relief.

"Please... if possible... I would speak with her... to apologize," she breathed out, also attempting to explain why, "You attack... too much... the energy drain..."

"I understand," stated Saber with a nod as she started taking steps towards the double doors. It seems that even though she had Independent Action, Archer's wounds were too severe for her to recover from. Gripping Archer's body, she used her other hand to push the doors open.

A purple flash illuminated the hall for a moment before fading out. The place was dark, barely lit up by flickering candlelight. Eleanor looked around as her eyes got used to the dim setting. Then, the man known to her as her father's Master let out a groan as she gently let him down to the floor, leaving him in a kneeling position. She frowned as she continued to observe her surroundings, wondering where were other occupants of the house, being that this was quite a large house. From what she could get from her father's memories, he had only met the girl and that evil old man. The old man, she rather not meet, but the girl on the other hand...

"Kariya... oji-san?"

"There she is." She looked on as a young, violet haired girl came into the hall from one of the rooms. She had on a plain purple dress and a pink ribbon on the left side of her hair. But, now that she noticed, there was a glazed look in her eyes.

"... Sakura..." the messed up man, now known to her as Kariya, muttered as he tried to get up and go to her. She quickly went to help him up as he got afflicted with another coughing fit. "Not much... left..." she heard him whisper to himself as he slowly limped his way towards the girl. Thankfully, they did not have to go too far as the girl Sakura was also coming towards them, albeit rather haltingly... as if very hesitant.

"... Kariya-ojisan..." she greeted with her emotionless stare. Her eyes widened a bit when Kariya suddenly embraced her in a hug. Eleanor could feel a smile coming to her face.

"Sakura," he muttered out as he released his embrace, his hands gripping her shoulders weakly, "Sakura... I... feel relieved... I was able to keep you away from Zouken... I wish I could have done more. I'm sorry I cannot reunite you with Aoi... and Rin... Rin... please don't hate Rin... I tried... to tell her... to tell Aoi... your sister... your mother... please don't hate them... please... stay strong... live..."

With him gasping for breath, he fell to his side, unmoving. His eyes were shut, his breath still. Eleanore spared the man a sad glance before looking back at Sakura. She seemed to be shocked, and her wide eyes were at the start of watering. As the first tears dripped down, she came near and knelt down, "Sakura? Can I call you Sakura?"

The girl flinched a little at first but slowly nodded. Scooting a it nearer, she placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, I'm sorry for your loss," she began, speaking softly as not to startle the young girl, "I may not know who Kariya was, but I have seen his actions. They were of a loving man striving to protect a loved one... or a little sister. He asked you to not hate your mother and sister. I would also ask you to consider this; it would be easy to misjudge and misunderstand." Wiping the young girl's tears away, she continued as she placed her other hand over where Sakura's heart was, "He asked you to stay strong. He asked you to live. He may not be of this world any longer, but as long as you keep his words close to your heart... keep that part of him with you, he lives on. Like my father lives on with me."

She then stood up, her body already slowly fading out, "I would say more but I fear time is finally catching up with me. Before parting, let me say this. Evil is but a word. Mercy is victory. And... when given the chance, forgive. Goodbye, little sister of Kariya." Her gentle smile was the last thing Sakura saw before she winked out of existence.

The pain was great, but she bore it. Archer felt that in a way, she deserved it. She failed. It wasn't that she had felt loyal to her Master. No, not after she learned of what he did to break his family. No, she felt that she had failed to keep her promise. The promise she made to a little girl named Rin. There was nothing she could ever do to fix this. Nothing. And yet, as she weakly pushed open the doors, she had hoped to spare Saber the same feeling. Her words did indeed reach out to her, compelling her to help. Actually, Archer wanted to help, if only to redeem herself slightly and ease a little of the guilt she had in her heart. Yet, as the doors opened to the auditorium, things were different.

There was supposed to be a central stage, fit for grand performances and the like.

On stage, there was supposed to be a plain wooden table covered by a white tablecloth.

On the table, was where Saber's Master was supposed to be laying.

Of the three things, two were not there.

There was no sign of them. Instead, there lay a big gaping hole in the middle of the stage, as if the structure had collapsed onto itself. Shocked, Archer went rigid. It also frightened her. What if Saber lashed out at her on the assumption that she had lied? Very slowly, she turned her head slightly to sneak a glance at the other Servant. It was like she was staring into space. She couldn't fathom what was going through her mind, but it probably wasn't very good.

"Irisviel..."

Archer blinked. She now felt quite confused? Irisviel? Wondering why that word sounded familiar as she looked back to the center of the auditorium, she gasped. Floating above the great hole was a golden cup with a decorated stand. Was that the Grail? Something that could grant any wish?

"That... wasn't here... before..." Archer muttered out as she grasped a nearby seat, going quite pale. As she tried to pull away, Saber seemed to be aware of it as she helped her down into the chair. There were too many unanswered questions and no answers. She felt it was like a daze.

"Archer," Saber started as the Servant in question looked up to her weakly, "My... Master's husband... he must have seen the signals and... I believe has probably saved her while the both of us were doing battle earlier."

She nodded weakly and replied, "I... I'm glad... at least she is safe..." She slumped back into her chair, once more aware of her injuries. The red patch on her uniform had grown quite large, although it seems the bleeding has started to slow down. "Ah," she sounded offhandedly as she stared at the bloodied area, "I guess... this means... you win..."

"I... won..." Saber was heard trailing off in disbelief as the full meaning of the Grail appearing suddenly becoming clear to her, "I... won... the Grail... is mine..."

"By my name, Emiya Kiritsugu..."

That low but deep voice caused both Servants to look up. On the terraced seats overlooking the stage from behind was a man. It looked like a local man clad in dark colored clothes. His right hand was raised up. On the back of the hand, the part that they could see, was the red color of the command seals.

"Eh? Who..." wondered Archer aloud, quite taken aback by the non stop surprises. The man's words, though low, was loud enough to pierce through much of the silence in the auditorium.

"Command Seals? But why..." muttered Saber in quiet surprise.

"... I order you with my Command Seal..."

"Saber... who is he..." the former asked.

"He... is my real Master..." was the latter's reply.

"Eh?" she sounded, looking at the man wide eyed.

"... Saber, use your Noble Phantasm to destroy the Grail."

Archer gasped, her mouth dropping open a little. And from what she could hear, Saber sounded quite shocked as well. Her head quickly snapping to the Servant of the Sword, she was quite unprepared for the image before her. She stood there with her weapon already in her hand, the wall of wind surrounding the weapon already dispersed, revealing the golden blade. She also saw that her body trembled slightly, the vibrations growing greater as she struggled against her body, raising the sword over her head despite her loud protests.

"Why, Kiritsugu!? You, of all people! Why!?" Saber shouted in defiance, the sword half raised.

"By my third Command Seal, I order you again..."

"Stop!" Archer suddenly shrieked, unable to stand this any longer, "Why are you doing this!? You won!" Fully forgetting the pain that jolted through her body as she stood up, she lunged towards Saber and attempted to help pull down her arms. Tears started to flow down since even though it was logically impossible, she had to try anyway. Even with her meager strength, she had to try.

"... Saber, destroy the Grail."

"No!" shouted Archer as the arms moved mechanically by themselves, raising up to an appropriate height.

"Stop!" shrieked Saber as the arms came down again, unleashing a powerful beam of light that impacted the Grail with a huge explosion.

Archer fell to the floor, right in front of Saber. The light of the explosion was blinding; she closed her eyes as the roar of the blast filled the auditorium. As the light that filled her eyelids died down, she slowly opened them. Smoke and dust filled her vision. She turned away, trying to find her fellow Servant. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Why... why did he do it..."

Turning back to the smoke, she shouted in rage, "WHY!? Why would you do such a thing!? You didn't need it! Let Saber use it! WHY!? WHY!?" Tears once more began to form on her eyes as she remembered her fellow Servant. "Why..." she wheezed out as she lay back, suddenly feeling as if all her strength had left her. It did not prepare her for the next horrifying experience.

It was black. The moon had turned black. There was a great hole in the ceiling, where the great explosion had torn through. The black moon was clear as day, giving out an eerie red glow.

"That... that thing... what is it... is it... no... it couldn't be... it couldn't be... the Black Beast?... no... impossible!"

She could only watch in shock and disbelief as black mud rained down into the hole, turning her world black.

Looking around at that place, Waver could only sigh. He had yet to make up his mind about what Rider said before he died. Thus he was here, the wooded area away from the beaten path.

"What am I to do..." he muttered. He still wanted to be a great magus. He wanted to show those at the Clock Tower that his thesis was valid, that it had merit. He took the catalyst from Kayneth on whim, just to prove the man wrong, to show that even a third generation magus like him could be recognized as great.

A sudden bright light then turned him away from his thoughts. He turned round and watched, observing as the bright light shot to the heavens and died out. "That... must have been the winner..." he mumbled as he made his mental assumption. Wanting to turn back to the clearing but something inside him made him continue to watch the night sky. Then, before his very eyes, a dark blot swirled into existence; a black mass gradually growing and growing until it blotted out the light of the moon, bathed in a sinister red glow. Moments later, it began raining down where the bright light came from, the black mass pouring down as if someone had opened a tap.

Feeling a bit uneasy, he quickly moved away from the clearing and came out into the open. From afar, he could see the flickering glow of ember light, signalling a fire.

"Should I go... but surely, it has nothing to do with me," he muttered offhandedly, thinking that he should go back and mull over his next course of actions.

"...Fill your life with virtue and walk down the correct path. In doing so, Heaven will give you the success you desire..."

Rider's words made him stop. For a while, he felt a little conflicted, as it wasn't the proper way of a magus to care. Yet, he took a deep breath and slowly took a step forward in the direction of the fire. "Maybe I should," he decided in whisper as he quickened his pace. Maybe... just maybe... he might be able to get something out of it.

"How do you feel?"

Assassin... Eddie... looked up at the newest mask of the Grail. A white blouse with light blue hemlines and a color that covered her neck. Padded arms. Whole length gloves. Light blue head band. Blue eyes. Extremely long blonde hair.

"I see you took on my former host's lover," the assassin stated in recognition. Turning back to where Kirei formerly stood, he asked, "What do you wish now? You have no herald."

"Now, now, we can't have that, now can we?" the Grail sneered with a malicious look on her face, "Besides, before me stands a very suitable replacement. Why do you think I have spared you?"

Assassin looked to her as he pondered what it said.

"Do not worry. In addition to what you have gained from your former Master, there are a few bits of information that I can impart on you..." She then paused, looking of into the distance, as if distracted. She then brightened up and said, "Well, before we do that, let me take care of this first..."

Archer's eyes flew open. Inky blackness was the floor. The rest was pure white. She didn't know how she got here. The last thing she remembered was being drowned in... black mud.

"What was that?" she pondered as she observed her surroundings in caution, "All that darkness. It couldn't be the Black Beast... could it?" It was then she noticed a change in her uniform. Actually, she no longer had her uniform; instead she had a collared, backless and sleeveless white shirt. She still had a blue cloak, but it seemed to be shortened and had golden yellow trim. She had on a pair of gloves and a rather short skirt held up by a big belt. She could feel something like holsters behind her, one for each gun, on the back of her belt. Her long, back length hair was now free of her cap. Raising her hands to her hair, she could feel two round hairpieces on both sides of her head.

"What is going on here?"

"Ah, what is this I see? Well, well, what do we have here?"

Quickly spinning around to face the owner of the voice, she froze. Green hair. Ever smiling face with eyes closed. No... there was no way HE was here... yet...

"You still alive? Now what are the chances of that..."

She trembled and quaked in fear. Impossible. Please. Not him. Anyone but him...

"I thought you were done for... but now... hmm, what to do with you," that man mused nonchalantly as he took off his black fedora and started spinning it on his finger.

"You... you can't be here! You can't! There's no way!" she shouted in terror and disbelief. Slowly, she took a step back, wanting to put as much distance between her and him.

"Now, now, that's not the way you should speak to your commanding officer," he chided her as he replaced the hat on his head. He paused, his smile waning a bit while rubbing his chin, "Then again, I haven't been your commanding officer in a while..." However, the smile reappeared and he continued while taking a few steps towards her, "Anyway, let us hear what you've been up to, eh?"

"You... you... stay away!" she stumbled over her words as she materialized her guns in her trembling hands. Even if she might not be that accurate currently, an Optic Barrel should be enough.

"Ah, I can't do that. Let's get a bit closer instead," he replied, grinning as he took a few more steps.

"No!" she shouted, "Optic Barrel!" Her dual gun sign appeared in his face before exploding. She was scared, but she didn't truly believe that he was here. She must be... must be still in the black mud. She must be hallucinating or something. Yet, the next thing she heard sent a chill up her spine.

Laughter. The miniscule amount of smoke dispersed... and she could see his eyes open. Those golden eyes. The man's hair spiked upwards. All the while, that terrible, creepy laugh... That smile too... he looked happy enough to kill her...

"I am so glad you decided to do this the hard way, Miss Vermillion. So very happy," he cackled as he grinned madly at her, "So, let's have some FUN!"

"Sword of Decimation."

With a look of great surprise, both halves of that man faded away. Behind him, stood Mu... the other side of herself. Her Murokamo side straightened up and slowly floated towards her.

"Remember."

Archer blinked. That word, as well as Mu's appearance, brought back memories. Good memories. With her help, she was able to save and protect her friends.

"I do. I do remember," she said gratefully as she clasped her other side's hands, the both of them slowly being bathed in green and blue.

Both of them were unaware of another figure seeping out of the ground. "Hn, too bad she had to cut me off," the green haired man grumbled, "I wanted to play a little more... Oh well, time to wake everyone up! Many things to do."

Gravel and tiny pieces of debris crunched underfoot. Waver calmly jogged all the way here; the building that was supposed to be there, where the signals came from. Where the fires came from. The place where the mud poured onto from the sky. He didn't know what he would find. Perhaps he might not find anyone there, only the dead. Maybe a Master or two survived and perhaps if he saved them, they could put a good word in for him to the Clock Tower. But then again, the latter option seemed far less likely to happen, as the fires seemed to have burned out anything living. Strangely enough, he saw no sign of any mud... he was so sure he saw it pouring out over here.

It was surprisingly easy to get past the mobilizing rescue forces. It was strange though. He thought the fires would still be blazing but he did find a route that was cooler than the rest. A thought flashed by in his head, that something was leading him somewhere, but that was quickly disregarded. After a while, he stopped moving and looked around. He had reached there. The center of the conflagration. Nothing. Absolutely nothing moving nor breathing except himself.

"Maybe... I'm just wasting my time here," he mulled over as he walked around at a slow pace, trying to discern the odds of surviving such an incident, "There is no way anyone could have survived the fires... not even the other Master's..."

The distinct sound of debris shifting caught his ear and he quickly raced through the place. What he found though, was not what he expected.

"A... ah... Archer?" Waver blurted out in surprise. His first reaction when she suddenly and slowly scrambled out of the hole she came from, presumably from digging herself out. His follow up reaction? A great tomato red blush spreading from his face when he realized she was devoid of clothing. Quickly looking around, he tugged at a large piece of cloth, tearing off a great piece before hurriedly draping it over the Servant. And then she fainted.

Still in shock, he wrapped her up in the cloth and took a good look at her. She didn't look none the worse for wear... and yet...

"Wait... she is a Servant... then why hasn't she... what?" he muttered in surprise when he went to feel her forehead. Skin. Real skin. And it didn't feel cold, but warm to the touch. Real, human skin. How? A typical magus would whisk her away to his or her workshop to try and find out what happened. However, a typical magus would never have been exposed to Rider as he was. His words still being brought up by his mind, Waver gently picked her up and walked away, intent on finding help for her. He could ask her what happened later.

He sat up and took stock of his surroundings. Looking down on his body, he felt the wound on his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. Nothing. Not a beat. The heart was destroyed quite a while ago with a bullet. His mouth twitched. A wry chuckle came out of it.

"So it would seem that this was the method it used," Assassin mulled over as he examined and took note of his new body. The body still felt pristine, despite the apparent lack of pulse. With him in control, no one would ever suspect that Kotomine Kirei had perished during the Grail War. And so it was up to him to remain unseen in plain sight, to make sure that the next Grail War unfolds in its entirety. To make sure that it... was brought out into the world. Until then...

"Until then, I shall experience being a human. A human not destined to be leashed to a weapon," he whispered to himself. There was surely ample time for him. Many memories needed sorting and skills to be determined its usefulness. For Kotomine Kirei had many skills indeed.

It was then he heard footsteps echoing from the side. Curious, he stood his ground and watched as that man Emiya Kiritsugu came into view. He had a dead look in his eyes. It was as if the years of his life had caught up on him. His movement, sluggish and lethargic. It was like he was moving on autopilot. Assassin, now Kotomine Kirei, watched as the Magus Killer fumbled around and started digging amongst the rubble. It dawned on the resurrected Spirit that the man was looking for survivors. He knew that the man had been cursed; the Grail told him so. But why would he want to look for survivors? Surely the calamity the Grail bestowed would have destroyed all life in the area.

Kirei decided to stay and observe the man's actions. He followed, out of sight, using the shadows as his eyes and ears. Time passed and the man continued digging through the rubble at random intervals of his journey. Eventually, he found someone. A young boy, still alive. The man was happy, his eyes brimming with tears. Kirei drew back his shadow construct. It seems there was much about human behavior that eluded him still. No matter. There was still time. He had a lot of it.

Commentary:-

Well, that was long. Longest chapter yet. But we aren't done just yet. Still need to cover the epilogue a.k.a. the aftermath of the night's events. Also, one thing kinda struck me looking at the comments for the previous chapter. I kinda get the impression all of you knew who was the woman that was talking to Kirei, the woman whose face the Grail took. Like the Grail taking Irisviel's face when talking to Kiritsugu, the Grail took on the face of someone that had meaning to Kirei. Same goes to this chapter too. Someone that Assassin recognized. Someone that frightened Archer. The Grail sure likes to use masks, doesn't it.

Also in the chapter... Berserker's Little Sister giving words of wisdom. Archer remembering why she came to terms with herself in the first place. Waver growing up a bit. Eddie finally getting some body to call home... for now at least.

Right. As always, please read and review. Would you kindly?