Fate: Zero Sanity

by X the Reaper

The Fourth Holy Grail War has begun. However, Angra Mainyu has decided to replace some of the Servants with more... interesting characters. Now, Servants, old and new, must battle for the Grail in a war unlike no other. Perhaps, for some, fate can be changed. Inspired by The Infamous Man's Fate: Zero Sense. (Now with its own page on TvTropes!)

25. Maka's Madness and a Dragonslayer's End

Hello everybody, this is X the Reaper, bringing the penultimate chapter of Fate: Zero Sanity!

This time, the fighting is over for real. Two Servants will make it to the Grail!

Disclaimer: Please refer to Chapters 1-11 for the disclaimer. Anytime I need to add something else to it, I'll mention in the needed chapter.

Soul: Let's just get this over with!

---

Assassin vs. Berserker

Within the depths of his soul, Soul sat at the black piano, cracking his knuckles in preparation. "Alright," he said to no one in particular, "Let's do this."

Lifting his arms, he began to play.

From the point of view of both Berserker and Assassin, a strange melody began to play, a song Assassin realized that he could hear even when he tried to tune it out.

It was... different. The melody sounded both dark yet hopeful at the same time, as if it was trying to find the best in a bleak situation. Occasionally, the darker parts of the song took precedence over the hopeful parts and vice-versa, but often they were entwined together in a sort of a strange dance.

'A trick?' he wondered to himself. 'No, there's something special about this...'

Berserker gripped Soul with both hands. "Alright, let's finish this!"

She charged straight towards Assassin, who swung his gunbai up in a defensive maneuver. Once again, their Prana-infused weapons meet and separated with a clang, and once again the two dueled to the death.

But this time, there was something different, and it wasn't just the inclusion of music.

Assassin's eyes narrowed as the song from earlier switched from dark to hopeful again, something about it disturbing him greatly. It felt as if this was a song he should be paying attention to, trying to figure out what was so strange about it...

He shook his head as he parried another attack. 'If this is truly some sort of trick, I have to end this before they can complete it.'

Jumping back, he made several hand-seals, too busy to notice that his movements weren't quite as fast as they used to be...

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"

A stream of fire, much like a flamethrower, spewed out of his mouth, racing towards them like the welcoming committee from hell. Berserker jumped away, avoiding the flames as they passed her and charged Assassin, who used his Prana-enhanced gunbai to deflect the attack. However, despite doing so, he left himself open to an attack from the other side. Berserker aimed directly for this vulnerable spot, twisting Soul quickly in her grip to do so, and Assassin, realizing his mistake, tried to block it again.

Instead of a familiar clang, he felt a sting of pain as the scythe grazed against his side. Placing his left hand against it, he thrusted his right in Berserker's direction.

"Shinra Tensei (Heavenly Subjugation of the Omnipresent God)!"

The Servant of Madness was sent flying and Assassin took a moment to look at his side, confusion crossing his features.

'I should have been able to block that...' he thought to himself, remembering how he had blocked much faster strikes not too long ago. 'What just happened? It's almost as if I got slower...'

The melody from before continued to play, and Assassin was suddenly hit with a sense of tiredness. He felt like he should just stop trying to fight for a moment and take a rest...

He shook his head violently, clearing his head of those thoughts. 'Of course!' he realized, 'that song must have something to do with it!'

Turning his attention towards Berserker, he saw that she was just getting her feet. 'I must have put more Prana behind that than I thought,' he mused, then began making more hand-seals. 'But I need to finish them before I get any slower.'

To his frustration however, his hands just seemed to be extra slow now, no doubt from the damn song. 'It's like moving through molasses!' Finally though, he finished, but Berserker was back on her feet when that happened.

"Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!" Once more, the flames came flying out of his mouth, but instead of taking the form of a fireball, they fashioned themselves into the form of a mighty dragon of flame, mouth open in fury and claws outstretched. The flames then spreaded out to launch a left side, right side, and frontal assault in all three directions at once, completely trapping her in.

Berserker jumped into the air, the black-wings on her head seeming to spread out before literally allowing her to fly out of the danger zone.

Assassin's eyes widened. "How were you able to do that?" he asked, "You've never been able to fly on your own before!"

She smirked. "I can only do on my own when I'm going all out," she replied, then lifted Soul above her head. "And now, I'm finishing this!" She flew straight at him, scythe at the ready. Assassin just barely got the next set of seals done.

"Mokuton: Mokujōheki (Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall)!" Wooden pillars emerged from the ground to form a dome-shaped shield in front of himself, and Berserker's blade cut straight through, destroying it and giving her a clear shot of Assassin.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get Soul up fast enough.

Swinging down with his gunbai, Assassin cut deeply across Berserker's chest, actually bypassing the Black Blood armor due to the fan being enhanced with his Prana, giving it a sharp edge. 'So, there is a weakness in this armor,' he mused.

He swung again, only to be blocked by her getting Soul up in time. The two once again began swinging their weapons against each other, but this time, due to her injury, Assassin managed to cut her twice more even with his slowing moments:Once across the arm and another across the chest, with the former being almost a laceration while the later was just a light cut.

However, neither of these two attacks could put her down. She just kept coming, swinging Soul like a machine against Assassin's weapon, which was beginning to show signs of wear even with the Prana coating. Assassin, on the other hand, could feel his movements continue to slow, the song still playing strong. He felt one of her blows cut him along the arm, then on the other arm, then the chest, arm again, unable to move fast enough to block.

'I need to end this now!'

With a titanic effort, he forced his slowly paralyzing body to move faster, smashing his gunbai against Soul and pushing Berserker back. Grabbing his left forearm with his right hand, he literally pulled it off, revealing it to be connected to the rest of the arm by a black metal cable, upon which were dozens of segmented missiles. Igniting them, he took aim and fired at Berserker, intending to blast her to pieces.

To his surprise, Berserker's only response was another smirk.

"Soul!"

"On it!" Concentrating, he changed the tune of the song, in his mind's eye watching as a large web spread out from his piano to entangle the missiles. As they were caught mentally, in the real world Assassin watched as they started to move erratically, smashing into the ground, exploding in the air, and even colliding with each other.

However, what caught his attention were the small group, about nine or so, that turned completely around and came right back at him. Throwing up the Preta Path's shield, they impacted, exploding harmlessly against it and creating a massive amount of smoke.

Suddenly, Berserker's eyes widened as she clutched her chest, her heart and head pounding. Familiar urges began to come to her: of just slaughtering everything around, to take Assassin and cut him into pieces, ripping Caster's corpse to shreds, being stabbed by blades and laughing when her enemies saw they did nothing...

'Damn it! Not now!' She pleaded, the pain increasing. 'Soul, what's going on?'

...

Within his soul, Soul jumped back from the piano as a black liquid began to pool around it, becoming bigger and bigger. "What? No, this shouldn't be happening!"

"Oh, but it is Soul."

Turning, he beheld the sight of a little red-skinned oni in a black tux sitting on a table. He scowled, though it was less out of surprise it was there and more out of annoyance.

"What do you want, ogre?" He asked impatiently, "I'm kinda in the middle of something here."

"I'm well aware of that Soul," the little imp replied sarcastically, "But this isn't a problem you can solve by being brave or accepting yourself. It's the kind of problem you can only solve by letting it run its course."

"What do you mean?"

"You've overused the Black Blood too much recently. Did you really think that you could get away it, especially with your class being literally the Berserker, the Servant of Madness itself, without some penalty? It was only a matter of time before you succumbed to the Madness built up from the overusage."

"Do you think I'm just gonna sit here and wait for Maka and I to both go insane?" Soul yelled as he turned back to the piano, which was already halfway consumed by the black blood. "We made a promise to our Master, and we're not gonna break it!"

"Oh don't worry," the ogre replied with a small smile, causing Soul to turn back to his in confusion, "You'll both recover. After all, you need to be sane in order to make a wish. However..." Here, he stood up from his sitting position, taking a moment to stretch before giving Soul a wide smile.

"I'll be the one pulling the strings for this fight."

...

Assassin stood behind his barrier, watching the smoke cloud in front of him and waiting for his opponent's next move. The air was still, no sound broke through the- wait...

There was no sound.

There had always been sound, even if the sound had just been that song that had refused to stop playing, slowing his movements. But now, even that was gone.

'Why on Earth would they stop?' he wondered, already feeling his body to start to return to normal, the paralysis leaving his limbs, 'Not that I'm complaining, but-'

He stopped as Berserker came barrelling through the smoke like a battering ram, Soul lifted up and at the ready; however, something was distinctively different about it this time. The blue-white light had had characterized the blade was gone, in its place was now a pure black, giant scythe blade that still shone with the same brilliance, albeit now a dark reddish-black. That wasn't what was disturbing though.

What was disturbing was the fact that the blade itself now shifted with the consistency of blood.

"KISHIN HUNTER!" she roared, her eyes filled with madness.

With Kariya

Agony. That was what Kariya was going through right now. His entire body felt like it was on fire, the pain ripping into his body to force it into spasms. He clutched his heart as he screamed himself hoarse, pounding like a drum being played by a crazy monkey.

'I can't die here!' he thought to himself repeatedly, clinging to them like a lifeline. 'I can't! I won't die!'

He screamed again, the sound echoing throughout his room.

Back to Battle

The blade struck against the Preta Path's barrier, straining to shatter it once and for all. Berserker snarled, a sound so unlike her that it surprised Assassin briefly, and pressed Soul against it even harder, growling as it resisted her efforts.

Assassin looked at her, his eyes filled with disappointment. "So, you've finally given in to the madness of your Class to give you a power boost? Even with that new scythe form, it still can't pierce my barrier!"

Concentrating, he prepared to absorb the energy of the new Kishin Hunter, only to stop when he realized something... strange. Unlike before, when energy had siphoned off the blade, no such thing was happening here. The blade was still solid and and not losing any energy. In fact, he realized that it was starting to sink through the barrier, as if it was no longer physically there.

"What is this?" he breathed as it continued to sink through, "why isn't it working?"

Berserker chuckled. "This version of the Kishin Hunter isn't made using Prana," she replied creepily, her voice straining to keep from bursting into giggles, "I made it out of my own blood."

Assassin's eyes widened, and he just barely jumped back as it came straight down the barrier and dispelled it. The sound from before was gone, allowing him to start moving fast again, though his moments were still slower. Lifting his gunbai, he swung it at Berserker, only to watch in surprise as the scythe cut it apart.

Berserker's face then twisted into a creepy smile and she swung Soul again. "Bloody Slicer!"

Assassin avoided the blade, only to grunt in surprise as another blade emerged from the end to stab into his stomach, only stopped because of the Asura Path's armor. Another formed out of that blade, stabbing at his chest. He deflected it with what remained of his gunbai, moving back and throwing the now-useless weapon aside.

Berserker charged after him in an almost drunken fashion, giggling like a crazy person. This time though, Assassin was ready. Transforming both of his arms into cannon form, he fired at her once again, intending to finish it. In response, she swung the dark blade down in front of her, giggling like an inebriated woman.

"Pretty lights!" she called out. "It's like Christmas in only one color!"

Mad ramblings aside, Assassin's eyes widened in shock as her strike cut clean through the energy like a knife through warm butter. Even as he finished firing, she kicked off the ground and lunged at Assassin, laughing like a serial killer as she aimed for his head.

He just barely ducked as it zoomed overhead, and even then had to use the Asura Path's ability to grow extra limbs to intercept the blood blade that extended from the main one to avoid skewering him.

'She's way too unpredictable,' he thought quickly as he avoided another swing and blood follow-up, 'I need to strike in close and fast with a technique that will kill her instantly.'

Growing another left limb, making the full total of three lefts, he intercepted Berserker's next swing, grabbing the scythe. Even so, the top left arm was nearly sliced off by the black blade, and the lower two were damaged by the blood spikes that emerged from the blade and even shaft as they grabbed it. Still, they refused to budge.

"Hey, no fair!" the mad Servant whined, "You're cheating again!"

As Berserker struggled to get her Weapon free, he forced a wooden stake to form in his right palm, then stabbed her with all his strength, piercing the dress and into her right lung.

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)!"

With a sickening sound, three branches of wood erupted from her back, shoulder, and right arm in a shower of black blood, just as he did with Rider last night.

Berserker's eyes widened as she registered the blow, then glanced over at the wounds, as if making sure they were there. Her eyelids began to flutter, and she looked back at Assassin, her mouth opened as if to say something, then her head drooped.

"It's over." Assassin said as he dropped her, forcing the wooden stake back into his palm and leaving her on the ground to bleed to death. He turned around, prepared to follow after Caster and-

The sound of a blade whistling through the air was his only warning. He turned, catching sight of the insane eyes of Berserker.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" she giggled, "Why not cut an arm off while you're at it!"

That was the last thing he heard before the black-blood scythe cut him did just that, slicing his right arm off like it was nothing. 'What!?' he thought to himself, 'How is she-!'

"What? Need a hand?"

Faster than he could react, his left hand came flying off as well, blood splattering onto the ground as it landed some ways away.

"Oooh, sorry," she replied apologetically, "I meant my hand!"

Assassin didn't respond, thrusting his handless arm at her. "Shinra Ten-!" He was interrupted by the blade slicing into his chest, causing him to gasp and cancel the jutsu.

"Still, you could've tried a little harder," she chided as if he was some wayward student, "Why stop with stabbing in the chest? Why not follow up with a stab through the heart?"

She swung again, but this time, Assassin was ready. Activating the Asura Path's armor and extra limbs, he grabbed the scythe's shaft with his upper pair, transforming the lower pair into cannon form. He tightened his grip on the scythe shaft, making sure she couldn't pull it away.

"Daburu Shura no Kō (Double Asura Attack)!"

The attack engulfed Berserker at point-blank range, causing her to disappear inside the beam. He allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. 'I got her!'

Suddenly, he lurched, gasping as something drove into his gut, Looking down, he saw a kneeling Berserker, completely fine aside from her missing gloves, her fist in his gut.

"Not bad," she grinned, "But not good enough!"

The force of the punch forced him to stop firing and drop the scythe, which was completely unscathed from the blast save for missing its black-blood covering. The moment she grabbed it, though, the blood immediately spread from her dress and back onto it, also restoring her gloves. With another swing, she cut off both of his lower arms, then lifted Soul up high, her eyes burning with pure insanity.

"Now this," she finished gleefully, "is how you kill a person!"

With that, she swung her scythe down onto Assassin, literally cutting him in half vertically. Clothing, skin, metal, all parted under the dark weapon all the way down from his left shoulder to his left leg.

Even sliced in half though, he refused to end this without some final strike. Concentrating all of his remaining Prana, he forced a long blade of metal to emerge from the stump in his right hand, streaking towards her chest and piercing clean through the center of it. The force of the blow sending her flying away and smashing into a tree, pinned there by the metal spike.

Despite that, the grin never left her face as she grasped the metal stake with both hands and literally tore it out of her chest, black blood flowing freely from the wound.

'How could she still be moving even after all of that!' he thought as he fell, then he caught sight of her injuries. Where they had just moments before been almost gushing with blood, now they were no longer bleeding, literally sealed over with the black blood like some sort of bandage. Even the new hole in her chest was sealing up, the blood hardening with an unnatural quickness.

Assassin collapsed to the ground, his own red blood flowing freely from his injuries. Unlike Berserker's though, they were fatal, which even an idiot could see that. "...I see," he finally said with a cough, "It would appear that that blood is for more than just armor."

He looked into her eyes, noticing how the light of madness had already begun to fade, as if quenched with his spilled blood. The look that replaced them was of surprise, disgust, and then of resignation. Slowly, her black dress began to dissolve, returning to her normal clothing, and her scythe returned to its original form as well.

"My Black Blood gives me more than just armor and increased physical strength," she replied as this was occurring, "It also serves as protection for my internal organs. If something manages to break through the armor and pierce my body, the blood instantly hardens to prevent me from bleeding to death, both from internal injuries and serious cuts." As she finished, her normal coat and uniform appeared, though they both still had the holes where Assassin's final attack had pierced. Black blood covered the puncture holes in her skin however, serving as a cover in the fabric's place.

"...I see..." Assassin coughed weakly, feeling his lifeforce slip away, "I guess... I should have aimed for the head... or maybe the heart."

His body began to dissolve as he spoke, slowly at first, then with increasing speeds, starting with his feet and arms and working its way across his two halves.

'Forgive me, Kirei,' he thought silently, 'It appears that you will not have your wish granted today...'

As he stared up at the moon shining brightly in the sky, he thought he saw images of his previous life, images of his friends and village, of the boy who ultimately defeated him, of the other boy he drove even further down a dark path.

Finally, he saw three people, his sensei, his best friend, and the girl he loved, standing next to each other, waiting for him.

'Forgive me,' he thought to the silent phantoms, 'I failed to save any of you from your fates...'

As he faded, he almost swore they were reaching out to him with smiles. 'Looks like I'm going home again... at last...'

And so Assassin, known in life as Obito Uchiha, Tobi, the Fourth Sage of Six Paths, and the Second Jinchuuriki of the Ten-Tails, died.

Berserker simply stood there, keeping a silent vigil until the Servant of Shadows completely dissolved.

"Now, it's really over." she whispered, then stopped when she realized something. Looking towards Soul, she asked, "Soul, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," came his tired reply. "Just exhausted."

"B-Berserker..."

Both Berserker and Soul's eyes widened as they heard Kariya's voice. "Master!" she gasped, noticing the weakness in his voice. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'll live," he said between slow pants, pain quite clear in this voice, "but that's not important right now. Since you've beaten Assassin, head on over to the Grail. It's time to finish this."

"...Yeah," she responded, then turned towards the Civic Center and started running towards it. 'I hope Saber won her fight.'

Waver and Sola-Ui

Sola-Ui and Waver watched from behind the trees as Berserker turned around and raced towards the Civic Center, waiting a few moments just in case she came back, then slowly walked out to look at the devastation they had caused.

"Unreal," Waver whispered in awe and fear as he surveyed the field, noticing the craters, fires and even the wrecked trees and surroundings. "It's a good thing we didn't decide to get closer until Caster finished the Statue, huh?"

"Yeah, we would have been dead." Sola-Ui agreed as she also observed the carnage, her gaze drawn particularly to the spot where Assassin had last been before Berserker cut him down. "And even then, we were lucky neither of those two realized we had gotten so close."

"Well," the young Magus replied, trying to find some bright lining, "at least Assassin's dead, right?"

"But now Berserker's heading for the Center," Sola-Ui reminded him, already beginning to move in the same direction that Berserker had gone. "If Caster hasn't finished Saber already, there could be trouble."

"Should we really be heading straight for the Center?" Waver asked worriedly as he followed her. "We're not exactly in the best condition to fight any of the other Masters, especially Kiritsugu."

"True," she admitted as she began to run, "but we need to be there in order to have our wish granted, so we need to hurry. And besides," she added with just a hint of indignance, "I'm not completely defenseless."

"That's not what I meant!" Waver yelled back as he raced after her, "They call him the Magus Killer for a reason, you know!"

He didn't notice as Sola-Ui briefly clenched her hand, feeling the final Seal burn against her skin. 'Damn it!' she thought, 'I guess he hasn't finished his fight with Saber after all.'

She concentrated on her remaining Seal, allowing it to glow, but not to give a Command. Rather it was to connect with his thoughts and see what was happening.

'Be safe Caster.'

Saber vs. Caster

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Caster's magic attack combined with his Prana Burst struck Saber's sword swing combined with her Prana Burst, both briefly struggling to overpower the other before being sent flying back by the knockback. Caster smashed through the wall opposite of the entrance, heading deeper into the center while Saber crashed through a wooden desk and then into a ceiling pillar, slumping down next to it before using Prana Burst to get up and chase after Caster.

As she came to the hole, she caught just a brief flare of light before the passageway filled with fire. Undaunted, she used Prana Burst again, releasing Invisible Air at the same time to dispel the flames directly in front of her. She quickly passed through the magic and reached the waiting Servant, lifting her sword for a finisher.

To her shock, Caster literally grabbed the golden blade with his bare hands, swinging his feet upwards as he did so.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!"

The fire kick struck her in the chestplate, the force behind it sending her flying back several feet, Caster letting go as she did so. Before Saber could recover, he quickly followed it up with another fire-covered fist, striking her injured arm and sending her even further back.

She gasped, though it wasn't just from the pain of the punch.

It was because she distinctly felt the burning sensation, and pain, of flame against her skin, something that should have been impossible.

Using Prana Burst, she avoided his follow-up punch, slicing across his chest as he attempted to recover and forcing him to get back. She took the moment to look at her left arm, noticing how the blue fabric had been burned away, and how her arm had a small burn.

'So, looks like his Magic can hurt me, after all,' Saber thought as she turned her attention back to Caster, who had just finished looking at the wound on his chest. 'Considering his condition, I'd hope to outlast him in a contest of stamina, but I can't hold back anymore.'

Using Prana Burst, she rocketed once more towards Caster, who responded with his own version, his face set in an iron line of determination.

"Come on, Saber!" he roared as he closed the distance. "If you really want the Grail, you gonna have to work for it!"

Saber responded with her sword, swinging at Caster's side only to be intercepted by his fire-covered fist. She then deflected his other fist as it came for her face with her metal gauntlet, then swung her blade only to be stopped once again.

And so it went. The two traded blows as furiously as two rivals fighting over the same prize, what ones that missed and struck their surroundings either pulverised or cut them in two. Occasionally, they would add a Prana Burst into the mix, creating a knockback powerful enough to separate them for all of three seconds before they were back at it.

It is said that two warriors who fight each other with all their strength in a single life-or-death battle will often be able to understand each better than if they had spent twenty years living together, sharing meals and speaking of every topic. There is something about such a battle, where life and death is on the line, where the two warriors are somehow able to show their true selves without shame or regret.

For Saber, she saw Caster's carefree and reckless nature, reflected in how he took risks to get blows in, even when they would likely result in losing an arm if he was but a second slower. She saw his determination to defeat her by whatever means necessary to fulfill his wish to save his friends, to whom he owed everything that made him who he was now, and to achieve his Master's wish, to whom he had shown nothing but loyalty to this entire War.

She started to see him less as a Caster, and more as a knight.

'Though we were born in different times and likely different worlds,' Saber thought to herself, 'He carries himself with the air of a true knight, yet also retains a sense of humor and joy at almost all times,' A small smile creased her face, even as she parried a fist aimed for her face. 'He and Gawain would have got along well together, though he would have driven Bedivere insane with his antics.'

For Caster, he saw a young woman who wanted to set things right, and, much like himself, was determined to do whatever was needed, shown in how she risked being burned by his punches to strike a lethal blow, taking every opportunity to do so. He saw the love and loyalty she held to her country, and her regret at being unable to save them. She was a knight who sacrificed everything for her people, and would happily do so again if it meant they could live happily.

In fact, as they traded blows, he started to almost imagine someone else's image overlap hers. Long red hair replaced blond, brown eyes replaced green, the armor changed slightly, larger... assets, and he suddenly felt like he was dueling one of his closest friends in a fight to see who was the strongest member of his wizard guild.

'Erza and her would have made an amazing team together,' he admitted to himself, 'the way she fights, those two could have been called the King and Queen of the Fairies.'

Even as these interesting little revelations passed to each of them, neither let up the assault, each furiously battling away at the other, blocking as necessary and whenever possible.

Even so, the injuries began to show up as they went on. Saber's chest armor was becoming increasing warped and dented by Caster's swings, her blue dress burned away in several places, particularly around her arms and the lower part, revealing her armored legs, and her skin in those exposed areas showed burns, mostly just first-degree with one big second-degree on her injured arm. Caster's body was covered in slices from Saber's strikes, particularly across his chest, and there was at least one deep gash across his right arm and two in his chest.

Still, neither would give up. They were as two stone walls being battered, refusing to budge even as cracks appeared all over them. Even so, they could only take so much punishment before one of them finally gave in.

It was Saber that crumbled first.

Swinging her sword down with as much strength as she could muster from her arms, Saber used Prana Burst just before she came in contact with Caster fist, intending to smash through his guard and finish him with a slash through his chest. To her surprise, Caster countered with his own Prana Burst at the last second, but instead of attempting to push the sword away, he grabbed it in the only way he could.

He let Excalibur's blade pass clean through his left hand, jerking the arm away as he did so and gripping its guard with his fingers, preventing her from trying to yank it out. He swung his right fist back, flames gathering for the finisher.

"Fire Dragon's-"

'No!' Saber thought as her mind raced faster than the speed of light, desperation fueling the gears. 'I can't let it end like this! I won't!'

"-Iron-"

Reacting on instinct, Saber used Prana Burst, letting go of Excalibur and crossing her arms across her chest with that burst of speed, trusting her armor to protect her.

"-FIST!"

Caster's fist struck Saber's improvised guard full-force. The later struggled to hold her ground, gritting her teeth as she felt her arms get hot behind her gauntlets, which in turn began to actually get softer under the intense heat.

'You got her Caster!' Sola-Ui's voice rang out in his mind, 'Finish her before Berserker gets there and helps out! She already finished Assassin off!'

"Right!" he yelled out, looking at Saber before roaring, "Take this!"

With that, he activated his Prana Burst once again, the flames around his arm briefly becoming twice as big and twice as strong. With that, he applied the newfound force to Saber's guard, feeling his fist actually make contact with the super-hot steel of her armor.

With the sound of ripping metal, Caster sent Saber flying away, the later smashing into the wall and crashing straight through it.

Nearby

Maiya raced down the hall of the Center, briefly looking behind her every so often in case she saw something there. After a minute of this, she finally stopped, taking a moment to catch her breath.

She cursed herself for her weakness. She was an assassin, a fighter. And here she was now, running like a scared girl away from the place her partner had disappeared with his enemy. What kind of an assassin was she?

Still, the sense of fear she had felt when she had looked upon that mass of... mud that had swallowed them both had been overwhelming. Without a second thought, she had run away, fearing what would happen if it touched her.

'That black mud...' she thought to herself as she took several deep breaths, 'What was it?'

More importantly, where had it come from? There was no way that it could have been a creation of Assassin, as it had Kirei as eagerly as it had Kiritsugu, and none of the other Servants could have make something like that.

"It doesn't matter," she said aloud. "I need to go back."

A shiver of fear went through her as she thought about looking upon that black mud again, but the thought of Kiritsugu being hurt was enough to steel her nerves.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of something crashing through something very solid.

'It looks like I've stumbled near the fighting.' she thought as she looked down the hall, seeing no sign of rubble or smoke. 'I better go now.'

Turning around, she raced back to where Kiritsugu and Kirei had fought, her ears catching the roar of what seemed like flames and air behind her.

Saber vs Caster

Caster looked down at his pierced hand, grabbing Excalibur with his free hand and ripping it out with a loud grunt of pain and a spurt of blood. Letting the sword go all the way through probably hadn't been the smartest idea he'd ever come up with, but his mind had been blank at the necessary moment and that was all he could think of.

"Damn, that hurt!" he gasped as he looked toward the wall, searching for any sign of movement from within. "You really don't play around, do you?"

There was no answer from the hole.

Caster looked down at the sword in his grip, noticing how it was still solid and not at all dissolving into Prana. He looked back at the hole. "C'mon Saber, I know you're not dead-"

With a sound like that of a jet turbine, a blur of blue and silver leapt out of the hole, smashing its fist across his face- the distinct sound of bones breaking greeting both of their ears- and sending him flying back, grabbing the sword from his grip as it did so.

Despite being disorientated by the strike, Caster had taken worse in his time. He quickly recovered, sliding to a halt as he raised a hand to his face, wincing at the feel of the mega-bruise that was forming. "Ouch Saber, that one hurt, even without the gloves." he quipped. "Hope you're not planning on using that arm anytime soon though."

The Servant of the Sword leaned on her reacquired weapon with her right hand, breathing heavily and her left arm hanging limply at her side. Her lower arms were completely bare, the metal armor melted and shattered by the punch and her sleeves burned off by the flames, the arms themselves covered in what appeared to be second-degree and even a few third-degree burns. Her chest plate was torn apart, what parts that were still on appeared to be partially melted, and the dress underneath was covered in soot.

"I won't... lose to you, Caster," she panted slowly, straightening her back as she lifted her sword one-handed, "I've come too far... to lose the Grail now."

'I have no choice either. I can't heal these injuries fully due to his magic, and I can't reform Invisible Air. It won't be enough to overpower him, and he can just use his Prana Burst to counter my own...'

She tightened the grip on her blade. 'I have only one choice. Thank God that the Grail is behind us though, or I wouldn't have even that.'

Caster narrowed his eyes at her actions, hand falling from his face as he got ready. 'She's got something up her sleeve, that's much for sure.' "Then let's finish this, Saber." He concentrated, gathering his Prana for his next attack, noticing how her body tensed.

He wasn't in the best condition either, all things considered. He was breathing heavily from the sword wounds all over his body, and his Prana supply, especially after using Dragon Force and Lightning Flame Dragon Mode together not long before this, was dangerously low. Repeated usages of Prana Burst had taken their toll as well, his body not as used to constant usage as Saber's.

He had enough left for one more safe attack, or else he'd probably collapse from exhaustion.

'Well, I guess I'll find out!'

"Last round, winner take all!" he roared as fire built up around his body, the heat actually starting to melt the floor beneath him. "A Hail Mary!" He looked at her, a wild smile on his face. "What do you say?"

Saber let her actions speak for her, racing forward as her blade began to glow brighter as she gathered Prana into it. She lifted it back with her right arm, face set in a determined line with more than a hint of desperation in it.

Caster breathed in deeply, calling upon his oldest and most trusted spell. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

A burst of fire, even more intense than the one he had used earlier, emerged from his mouth and raced towards Saber, burning away all the flammable material on the wall that hadn't been consumed in the fighting up to this point. And like earlier, Saber faced down the inferno with a stoic expression, ready to break through as she had before.

Unlike the beginning of the fight though, Saber had barely any protection left in the form of armor, only her sword and her Magic Resistance, the later of which was partially negated by his own unique brand of magic anyways. To charge straight in as she was would be suicide.

That didn't stop her though.

Swinging her sword as the inferno came upon her, the light about the blade intensifying, she struck at the flames, activating Prana Burst as she attempted to literally cut through the fire like it was a wall of wood. The flames in turn raced across her arms and body, burning her mostly unprotected form with impunity. Her blue dress caught fire and began to disappear into ashes, forming almost like a black halo behind her.

She remembered once, during a long-since forgotten battle, she had watched as a group of rebels barricaded themselves inside a barn, refusing to leave and threatening to kill any that would try and root them out. In response, she had decided to flush them out with a fire.

Giving the order to her men, they set fire to arrows and sent them into the thatch roof of the farm building, the dry material a perfect feeding ground for the flames. The roof was ablaze in minutes, the entire structure going up in a mass of flame and smoke. However, the rebels were unable to break down the barriers they had erected in time to get out, and all were killed in the fire.

She still remembered the screams as they had burned and suffocated within the building, the smell of burning corpses and smoke.

The same smell once again assaulted her, but she knew it was she that was burning away this time.

Her mouth opened in that same scream, equal parts pain and defiance clear in it like a bell. Her scream continued, long after she would have needed to take a breath, her voice becoming hoarse with strain. Still, she pressed on, activating Prana Burst again when she felt the previous usage running slow, trusting her healing abilities to keep her body in at least halfway decent fighting ability.

'I won't lose,' she repeated in her head as the pain of the flames engulfed her, 'I won't lose. I won't lose! I won't lose!'

...

Unknown to her, a dark being watching from the sidelines, from within the Grail they were fighting so hard for, smiled at the sound of her plead.

Normally, I'm not supposed to play favorites, it being forbidden after all,...but if that is your wish, King of Knights, then I will grant it happily.

The figure held out a hand, watching as a stream of dark energy emerged from it and disappeared. Turning, it vanished into black mist, heading for the location of its... guest.

Just don't go insane. That would make it boring.

...

For a brief moment, the blinding light of the blade changed to a dark shadow, so fast that neither of them noticed the change.

However, both felt the effects.

Saber's eyes widened as she felt new strength blossom through her body, as if something had just injected her with a concentrated syringe of Prana. Her mouth, having stopped emitting its scream in surprise, unconsciously twisted into a dark, victorious smile.

A smile not entirely her own.

"EX-"

Caster's eyes widened as he felt the sudden urge of power from Saber. With growing amazement and horror, he watched as she tore through the magical fire, parting about the blade like a boat through the sea, heedless of the damage to her own body.

'No-!' he thought to himself. 'She can't use that here! She'll destroy the entire building!'

"-CALIBUR!" She roared triumphantly, though had either been listening closely, they would have noticed another's voice, a man's voice, entwined with it, so softly it could have been thought of as just a trick of the ear.

However, one thing held Caster's attention in full. One of those random little things that something who realizes their situation just went to hell notice in a moment of clarity. It was Saber's eyes, of all things.

One eye was still green, but the left eye had turned a stunning gold.

Caster didn't have time to ponder the change though as Saber brought the sword down across his chest, roaring the attack's name and watching as a crescent blade of energy tore through his chest and out his back, engulfing the area behind them with its bright light.

The explosion followed shortly afterwards.

Elsewhere

Sola-Ui gasped as she grabbed her hand, feeling her Command Seal burn her more intensely than ever before. It felt as if someone had stuck a red-hot poker through her hand, then decided to twist it while it was still inside.

As quickly as it had happened though, it ended. But that didn't leave her at ease.

In fact, it just made her even more apprehensive.

"Sola-Ui!" Waver called as caught up to her, noticing how she had stopped and was clenching her hand. "What's wrong with Caster?"

"I-I don't know..." she stammered as she looked at her hand, suddenly having the overwhelming urge to not let go of it and take a look. "It felt like..."

Suddenly, a bright flash of light illuminated the night. Looking up, the two Masters saw smoke rising from the direction of the Civic Center, the light already fading as their eyes adjusted.

Waver's eyes were drawn to her covered hand, then back to the smoke, and finally back at her face. "Is he...?" he whispered.

Slowly, she let go of the back of her hand, taking a good look at it. She gasped at the sight, only confirming her fears.

The Seal was still there, but with one key difference.

It was slowly, but surely fading away.

Civic Center

"H-How were you able..." Caster said as blood emerged from his mouth, his body spread-eagled on the ground with a humongous gash clean through it, "...to use Excalibur at such close range? That should have... blown up the building easily."

Saber, once again leaning on her blade, her left arm hanging from her side like a dead fish, looked at the once-mighty Servant, the newfound strength she had briefly gained disappearing just as quickly. She was fighting just to remain standing now, her body wracked with pain. Her left eye was closed, shut from sheer exhaustion and hiding the fact it was still gold.

Still, she found it in herself to answer.

"Excalibur... does indeed have the ability to easily destroy a building..." she panted, "but... only if sufficient time has been used to charge the necessary Prana, as well as... both hands to use it..."

Indeed. With less than a third of the time to charge the necessary Prana to unleash Excalibur, as well as without the usage of both hands to swing it, it had but the power of a C+ Noble Phantasm, compared to its full power of A++.

Even so, a simple C-Rank Noble Phantasm has the equivalent strength of an A-Rank normal attack. As such, even the weakened attack had been enough to pierce Caster's body and cause massive damage to the building, which was why Saber was thankful that she had been facing back the way she had came and away from the Grail's location.

"Darn..." Caster muttered before a hacking cough racked his frame. "Looks like I lost this one..."

Saber stared at him with a confused expression. "You don't seem particularly sad about losing..."

He snorted. "Don't be fooled. I'm plenty mad about not winning this... but I'm at least happy I went out fighting someone I actually like." He looked her dead in the eyes. "If it had been Archer or Assassin, trust me... I'd be screaming up a storm of curses." Another cough wrack his frame. "But you... I actually don't mind dying against, so I'll forget the whole 'curse you!' bit."

"Still," Saber pursued, not entirely certain why she was bantering with her dying opponent, yet feeling it was the right thing to do, "now you won't be able to save your friends. Doesn't that bother you?"

He surprised her with a chuckle.

"Yeah... but at least I can remember all the good times we had as well. That makes things a little easier, to know that at least we had the time of our lives before it was all over. Those memories are enough for me, at least until I get another shot..."

She didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing. Caster looked at her again, then grinned sadly.

"You know..." he coughed weakly, "you remind me a lot of one of my best friends, actually. You fight a lot like her, you act a lot like her... Heck, you even have that same look of sadness in your eyes." He noticed the way she looked at him with confusion. "She always had this sort of... sadness about her, regret at being unable to save someone she cared for. So... she hid it behind a mask of armor and ice, always being strong and scary. She finally grew out of it... near the end."

'Maybe that's why...' he thought silently as she looked away from him, her breathing growing easier as she stopped leaning on her sword so much, 'it feels so right to give her this...'

"Saber," he said finally, attracting her attention again. He reached up towards his neck, laying a hand on his white scarf. "I want to give you something. Consider a spoil of war."

Saber looked at him confusedly for a moment, then leaned down next to him to put her own hand on the scarf. "...As touching as it is to give your favour to me, may I ask if this has some specific purpose?"

"Like you wouldn't believe... this baby's a Noble Phantasm and the very reason I'm not currently fading away like you would expect right now." He chuckled again at the look of surprise on her face. "It gives me enough Prana to remain manifested physically, even if I don't have a Master providing Prana, and it's especially useful if I need an extra jolt of power every now and then."

He tried to remove it from his neck, but found he couldn't quite do it with only one hand. "I want you to have it... assuming I can get it off."

Saber looked at him with an expression of part confusion, surprise, disbelief, gratefulness, and worry. "But if you do that..."

"I'm dead anyways," he replied, getting it partially away from his neck, "this thing's literally my life support as of right now, and even its not gonna last long. Might as well have it do some good."

Saber for her part just stared at him, using her still burned hand to help him remove the scarf. She was amazed that he would just give up one of his Phantasms and personal items for her, the person who killed him, and do it willingly. She could understand such a thing from maybe Berserker or Soul, but that was because they were partners and friends. Caster and her had only encountered each other in the company of others up to this point, and once again, there was the whole 'killing' matter.

She just couldn't understand his logic.

As if sensing her continued hesitation, Caster looked her dead in the eyes, his expression that of someone who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Just take it. You won't last against any of the remaining Servants like you are right now. With this, you'll at least have some chance of winning, especially if the only other enemy is also wounded." His feet began to dissolve as he said, proving they didn't have much time.

Saber stared at him for a moment longer, then nodded. Within another moment, they had removed the scarf from his neck, both of their hands still on it. Caster breathed in slowly and shut his eyes. Opening them, he then said with cough, "I, Natsu Dragneel, do hereby grant this scarf *cough* and all its blessings upon..."

"Arturia Pendragon."

"...Arturia Pendragon," he continued without missing a beat, "and all those who *cough* share her blood. May it serve as a shield from misfortune and... you know *cough* what?" he finally said, "Forget that last part I started, just grant Saber your power."

Saber raised an eyebrow at the informal delivery at the end, but her question died when felt what could best be described as a spark as energy seemed to flow from the article of clothing into her body, restoring some of her flagging strength. Immediately, she set the new source to work restoring her burns, healing the worst of them so they wouldn't be tempting targets for an enemy.

Caster immediately broke down into another coughing fit, hacking up lots of blood as his life support was now gone. Now, there was truly nothing holding him back from fading, his legs, only missing their feet up to this point, started dissolving much faster, the rest of his body already going as well, particularly around his chest.

"I guess... this is the end..." he coughed quietly. "Make sure... you don't lose that... I'll kick your ass if you do..."

'Damn it all... sorry Sola-Ui,' he thought silently, 'I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for in life. You too Waver, show those guys back at Clock Tower for Rider and me!' A goofy grin suddenly settled on his face at his next thought. '...Guess I won't get to see the wedding invitations after all...'

Caster stared up at the roof, and for a moment, he could have swore he saw the faces of all his friends and guildmates staring back at him, partying and with smiling like he remembered. They were happy, but none stood out as much as the faces of personal team, from the faces of his first rival, his pet cat, to his scary mentor, his fellow Dragonslayer with her own pet cat, and to finally the blond-haired girl he may or may not have had feelings for... not that he would have ever admitted it.

'Hey guys,' he thought weakly as he reached out his arm towards them, 'Looks like I'm coming home... soon...'

And so Caster, known in life as Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer, the Salamander of Fairy Tail, and, unknown to him, the Hero of Fiore, died.

Saber watched silently and respectfully as the Heroic Spirit faded away. When he did so, she then wrapped the white scarf about her neck, accidentally catching a whiff of the scent. It was like smelling smoke, scented, not burning, mixed with... cat? Still, the strange smell was surprisingly nice, rather than repellent.

Looking back down at where Caster had laid, she bowed her head as a final gesture of gratitude.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Elsewhere

Sola-Ui simply stared at her bare hand, the final Command Seal having long-since completely faded away and her mind trying to process the ramifications of the action.

Caster was dead.

It was the only possible explanation, her mind acknowledged dumbly, but that didn't mean she could accept it.

"Sola-Ui..." she dimly heard Waver call out. She ignored him, her breaths coming in shorter and faster as she continued to stare.

She remembered how Caster had first formed his contract with her, an action born out of necessity. She recalled how he had spent nights drinking with Lancer and how his eyes seemed to sparkle as he told her tales about his exploits.

"Sola-Ui..."

She remembered how he talked of his wish, the pride in his voice as he spoke of saving his friends and how she had seen his memories in dreams.

"Sola-Ui!..."

She could almost picture how he had sat with her on top of the hotel, listening to her talk about Kayneth, and how he saved her from death in the hotel and helped comfort her when Kayneth was killed. She recalled the wild look in his eyes when he had fought Assassin alongside Rider, the pain at being unable to save him.

Most of all, she remembered his promise to win the War.

And now he was just gone.

"SOLA-UI!" Waver yelled as he grabbed her by the shoulder. "Speak to me, darn it!"

In a flash, she was back in the present. Turning her head, she beheld Waver's worried countenance. "Waver?" she asked softly, still in some form of shock.

His worried look changed to a relieved smile. "Thank God! I thought for a moment you had a stroke."

"What-?" Looking down, she realized she was on her knees, her right hand clenched so tightly around her left wrist that she wouldn't have been surprised that she had cut off all circulation to the left hand. She also became aware of the fact she was unmistakably dizzy and sweating profusely. "What happened?"

Waver's smile went from relieved to nervous. "Well... when you saw that your hand was bare, you kinda... shut down."

She resisted the urge to look back down, knowing what she would see. "You mean that Caster's really..."

"...Yeah," he finally said, "I may not be a full Master anymore, but I can't feel the pull on my Prana reserves that I became part of the contract. That means he's gone."

As he said that, Sola-Ui realized that she couldn't feel any pull on her own reserves anymore either. That fact, combined with the missing Seals and she couldn't feel any sort of connection with Caster anymore, made it very clear to her that Caster was dead.

At the realization, she looked down and realized that she was trembling, which only seemed to grow worse at the acknowledgment of being seen. As the sure fact began to truly sink into her brain, she began to feel her eyes get watery, feeling tears start to streak down her face as her frame was suddenly wracked with a hiccup. The trickle of tears became a floodgate as she let them loose, giving into her sadness at losing her partner and, dare she say, friend.

She was dimly aware of Waver wrapping his arms around her kneeling form, much like how she had done the same for only yesterday. She felt his body next to hers through their clothing, awkwardly patting her on the back as she cried unashamedly into his sweater.

"Darn it," she heard him mutter, "if Rider and Caster saw me doing this they would be laughing their asses off..."

She wanted so desperately to say something to him, but her tears and hiccups prevented her. So, she just laid there in his arms, crying softly for not the loss of a key to the Grail, but for a true companion.

Elsewhere

Saber looked at the doors down the hall in front of her and steeled herself, heading for the goal she had sought for so long. Each step her metal-covered feet took in the empty corridor sounded like gunshots, all the until she reached the double wooden doors at the end. Lifting both of her arms, her left having recovered enough to move without hurting too badly, she placed them upon the beautifully-crafted wood.

Opening them with a bang, she beheld the sight of the Holy Grail floating in the air over the stage.

"At last..." she whispered as she slowly walked forward, the sight of the golden chalice she had sought briefly causing her to lower her guard.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

Immediately, Saber's right hand raised Excalibur at to a ready stance, her eyes darting to where she had heard the voice. When she caught sight of the speaker, she didn't lower her guard again.

Berserker walked out of the shadows, Soul in his normal scythe form in her own right hand. "To think that everything we've gone through, all of this suffering, was for this thing in front of us," she continued, her tired yet determined eyes only leaving Saber's briefly to look at the artifact. "You could literally swear this really is the Cup of Christ, the way it looks."

"Berserker," Saber nodded, briefly looking upwards to see an open window. It would appear that they had decided an alternate route was the best choice. "It's good to see you and Soul are alive, if not in the best condition."

"We could say the same about you Saber," Soul's voice rang out, "Looks like Caster did you a real number, if that scarf means anything."

"The fact you're here is proof then that Assassin is dead as well," Saber continued, ignoring Soul's response. "Therefore, we are all that remain of the eight Servants of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

"And yet, only one of us can have it."

Saber's gripped tightened on her blade, her eyes never once leaving Berserker. "Then you know what must be done."

Berserker nodded, her eyes mirroring Saber's own as she gripped Soul in both hands. "I do, but before we start, I want to say one last thing."

Saber waited, her silence prompting her to continue.

"...It really was fun, being partners," she finally said. "Wish it could have been a little longer though."

"As do I... my friends."

There were no more words. There were none needed.

With a final battlecry, Saber and Berserker charged at each other, their blades clashing with a spark.

The final battle of the Holy Grail War had begun.

Elsewhere

Kirei looked about the strange landscape in confusion, not at all recognizing where he was. He seemed to be standing upon rocky ground, the air around him pulsing with a dark-pinkish light. Everywhere he glanced was more and more of the same thing, nothing breaking the monotony of the landscape.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud.

"That's an interesting question," someone said, the voice echoing, seemingly coming from everywhere. "Currently, you're inside the Holy Grail... but I won't bother explaining in full, because I'd doubt you'd understand. For now, let's just say you're having a bad dream."

Kirei glanced around, seeing nothing in any direction, yet the voice had been so near... "Who are you?" he called out.

"Good question!" the voice said sarcastically, "...if not the right one."

Suddenly, the 'ground' in front of him started to shift, a dark mound emerging from the earth. As it started to reach its full height, it started to gain more details. Arms and legs became visible, clad in black armor with some red highlights. A red cape fell behind the figure, the gleaming image of a skull forming about its head like a helmet as two red eyes stared into Kirei's, its facial features indescribable, as in they weren't there. A long, dark staff formed in its right hand, which it held with a firm grip.

For some reason, the thing that caught Kirei's attention the most was that the intimidating figure in front of him barely came to his neck in height.

"If you insist on knowing my name, lets just call me... Grey, for now." The figure said, despite having no mouth to speak with, "The question you should be asking yourself right now is, 'How the hell do I get out of here?'."

"Wait a minute," Kirei replied, looking around again. "Did you say I'm inside the Holy Grail right now?"

"I didn't stutter, priest." the figure replied, annoyance in his, at least Kirei assumed it was a 'he', voice, spreading his arms almost mockingly as he did so. "You're inside the Cup of Christ itself, in all its glory... though if I were you, I'd ask for a refund."

"But how is this the wish-granting device?" Kirei questioned, appraising the surroundings with a critical eye, "Why on Earth does it feel so... tainted?"

"That's actually a very good way to describe it. Ten points to you, priest." the newly-identified Grey responded grudgingly. "Though your friend Kiritsugu is probably seeing something a little different..."

That caught Kirei's attention. "Kiritsugu Emiya is here?" he asked as he attempted to form a wooden spike from his left hand, stopping when he realized that no matter what he tried, he couldn't do it. It was as if his Magic was somehow sealed off. "How? Why?"

"'How'? The same way you did Kirei, taken by the black mud which fell in such generous quantities on your heads." Grey responded casually, leaning against his staff. "The 'why' is where it gets interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that people don't normally come here, dumbass, even if they have been submerged in the mud." He replied plainly. "They normally dissolve into ashes, their bodies converted to Prana to serve as fuel for the Grail's power. But it looks like my good friend decided that you two were slightly above the normal cut, so you were brought here."

"And I suppose that this... friend is why Kiritsugu isn't here?"

"Bingo," Grey replied, "he's currently meeting with him in another part of this place, away from our eyes.

"Why?"

Grey shrugged. "He seems to think that Kiritsugu has the the more... interesting wish. I mean, c'mon, 'The salvation of the world'? Sorry, but that's more impressive than wanting an answer from God about why you were born the way you are."

"Are you telling me the Grail is truly capable of such a thing?" Kirei asked, pushing aside his annoyance at having his wish dismissed so easily. "It can change something as fundamental as human nature?"

"Well... yes and no." Grey replied slowly, "The Grail can indeed grant something like world peace, but not through changing human nature. That's something beyond outside forces to change, even for a so-called 'omnipotent' wish granter."

"...So, even you admit it isn't truly all-knowing."

"Of course. In the end, it's nothing more than a simple cup with a whole bunch of magical power. It has nothing on divinity, so why should it be all-knowing? It's like a pile of scrap metal. It has the potential to be turned into the most powerful weapon on the face of the planet, but unless someone gives it direction and purpose, guiding it along, it won't be anything. It can't 'save the world' because it doesn't know how to save it. It needs some form of a working method to go on."

"So it needs Kiritsugu for that as well."

"Exactly," Grey nodded. "Since it doesn't know the best way to save the world, it will just do the next best thing: Take his philosophy of changing the world and apply it on a global scale."

Kirei pondered that. If what this figure was saying was true, then the Grail wasn't as powerful as Tokiomi had lead him to believe. In fact, if anything, it was even more dangerous. An artifact that that interprets your wish on the grounds of how you exactly word it, taking the literal translation and giving what you ask for, yet not necessarily what you wanted?

"That's insane," Kirei whispered softly, "For a man like Kiritsugu, who sacrificed the few to save the many, that sort of peace would slowly eliminate all of humanity."

"Yup, and that's not even going into the corruption..." Grey added, then stopped when he noticed Kirei looking at him in growing horror. "What? Did you really think that this place," he gestured to their surroundings, "is personal preference? The Holy Grail has been tainted, as you so eloquently put it, ever since the last War when the Avenger class Servant, the Root of All Evils incarnate, was killed and absorbed."

"Any wish on the Grail carries his mark," he continued, "to cause as much death and destruction as possible in granting it. You wish to be the wealthiest person alive? Kill everyone with more money than you. Desire to save the world? Kill all the humans in order to 'save' it from humanity. Want a sign from God? Make sure it involves some form of suffering and death. As long as something gets hurt, it doesn't care."

Kirei briefly felt dizzy, his mind trying to come to terms with what he was hearing. They had been fighting for their lives, all to obtain a miracle, only for it to be just a curse?

Grey noticed the look. "Kiritsugu's coming to the exact same conclusion from his talk with my friend. The only difference is how he's coping, currently by strangling a fake version of his wife to death while she curses him."

"Who are you really?" Kirei demanded, shaking his head in growing frustration. "And why are you bothering to tell me any of this?"

Grey sighed. "I'm nothing but a wandering spirit the Grail decided to accept to keep it company in its years of loneliness. As to why I'm saying anything, it's because I, for lack of a better term, want to see what this knowledge does to you. Now that you know what the Grail will do if you perform a wish, will you still pursue it, or will you abandon your quest?"

A part of him wanted to scream that of course he'd abandon it, but something held him back. For some reason, the idea of millions of people suffering in eternal torment, their tortured cries filling the sky with their music, was appealing. He wanted to see the Grail take form in all its unholy glory, to watch as the Root of All Evils manifested in the physical world and kill everything. He wanted to listen to it all and laugh in merriment and-

He stopped himself, the iron chains of his morality wrapping around him as a safeguard. 'That's not what you want, Kirei,' he thought to himself. 'You have far more important things to worry about.'

"...I desire to know why God would create someone like me, who enjoys evil yet was born with a conscious." Kirei finally responded slowly. "I desired the Grail because I thought it would let me realize the truth."

"But now you're telling me that it is corrupt, unable to grant any wish without suffering. That then defeats the very purpose of my wish, for how can I know why when the truth has been so maliciously twisted?"

Kirei clenched his fists and stared Grey in the eyes. "I'll find my answer to my wish, but not with the Grail. My morals, the very thing that keeps me from enjoying the act of hurting others, will not allow me to use such a device."

Grey was silent, then began to clap. "A man who refuses to abandon his morals and yet desperately looks for a purpose in life, only found in other's suffering. Fine then. One way or another, you'll have your answer."

Without warning, he swung the black staff into Kirei's head, smacking him across his forehead and causing him to crumple, his vision already failing.

"Be warned though," Kirei barely heard through the fog, "when all is said and done, you might not like what you see."

...

Kirei awoke suddenly, coughing up blood and black mud before, with great difficulty and pain, he lifted himself to his knees and looked around. There was a massive hole in the ceiling and the Grail's corrupted contents were all over the floor. The lights were off, most broken, and there was no sign of Kiritsugu Emiya.

'Is this truly what we sought for?' he wondered to himself. 'Was everything we lost and sacrificed all for nothing?'

Kirei's thoughts were cut off when he felt the unmistakable shape of a gun barrel press against his back, right over where his heart would be. He knew who it was, so he didn't bother asking. Instead, he settled for another question, his voice completely calm and devoid of emotion.

"You know the truth, don't you? About the Grail..."

"Yes," was Kiritsugu's short and quiet reply. "I will not use it. There is too much to lose and not enough gain."

"To think that everything we sacrificed was for nothing..." Kirei continued, a mirthless chuckle escaping his lips. "It really shows what fools we are... I take it you've already decided what you're going to do with it as well?"

There was no answer, but the silence alone was enough for Kirei.

"Well?" He finally asked, "Aren't you going to finish me and avenge your wife?"

While he didn't see it, he heard Kiritsugu shift at the question. "What, no final threat?" he asked, "No demand for me to give you the Grail or even to try and fight back?"

"I have no desire for such a thing that twists your words in the most horrible way possible. It's as worthless to me now as it is to you." Here, he shrugged, "As for fighting back, what's the point? I'll die anyways. Perhaps I'll get my answers in the place you'll send me."

He wasn't lying. The very real threat of dying here and now, still wondering the truth about himself, didn't actually bother him much. If the only way he could understand why God would let someone like him live was to die and ask Him personally, then fine. It was the least he deserved.

Though neither turned to face the other, a quiet understanding passed between the two. One might even call it respect.

Then Kiritsugu pulled the trigger.

...

Maiya was racing down the stairs when she heard the gunshot. Eyes widening, she quickened her pace, tearing into the room with her pistol at the ready.

She just caught sight of Kirei Kotomine's form slump to the ground, a surprisingly peaceful smile on his face as his blood mixed with the Grail's contents. She watched as Kiritsugu placed the Thompson Contender away, then turned to face her.

He looked terrible, as if he had just had his worst fears brought to the fore and shoved in his face. His eyes especially looked horrible, staring at her as if not quite able to realize she was real.

"Kiritsugu..." she began, but was cut off with a wave.

"I'm fine, Maiya," he said softly, his tone and appearance contradicting that statement, before it became stronger and more like normal. "I need you to do something for me."

She subconsciously stood up straighter. "Yes?"

"I want you to get out of here."

She stopped, not quite believing what she had just been told. She looked at him in confusion, taking a good look at him. His current air was that of resolution. She hadn't just misheard.

"...But-"

"Go," he cut her off. "Please. There's something I must do here alone."

For a moment, all of Maiya's iron-bound will and loyalty was tested as she looked at him, fighting to keep herself from disobeying his command. A feeling of worry and fear was growing in her gut, of what she couldn't quite understand. It was telling her to stay, to stop him from doing whatever it was he was about to try.

However, her loyalty won out.

With great hesitation, she nodded her head and went back up the way she came down. Before she did though, she looked back, staring him in the face. "Just promise me you'll come back," she finally said. "The last thing I need is for you to die."

Kiritsugu just nodded his head, then watched as she left. After waiting a few moments, he looked up towards the ceiling, his gaze locked on the gaping hole.

There was one last thing to do.

Saber vs. Berserker

The clash of steel rang throughout the theatre as Saber and Berserker struck at each other with equal strength and speed. Sword clashed with scythe as they swung, blocked, parried and dodged each other's attacks, each attempting to overwhelm the other.

There was no strategy to their actions, no signs of charging weapons with Prana or complicated maneuvers. So close to their prize, as well as being exhausted from their previous battles, they had forgoed those fancy tricks entirely. They were fighting each other with nothing but their skill in their personal weaponry and sheer determination.

Even so, the odds were against one of them.

Saber grunted in pain as she deflected yet another swipe from Soul, feeling her still-burned skin cry out in pain as she over-extended herself. Ignoring it, she jabbed at Berserker's chest, cursing the fact that both her still-mending arm and burns slowed her down. The scarf had been a godsend, but even it hadn't been able to provide enough Prana to heal her injuries as quickly as she would have liked.

'It's to be expected,' she thought to herself as she watched her strike only graze Berserker's chest, 'Anti-dragon injuries can't just heal that quickly, even if I was at full strength.'

She then gasped as Soul's blade made it past her guard and took her across her unprotected forearm, she having forgotten that she needed armor. Gritting her teeth, she willed part of her armor into existence as Berserker swung again, smiling slightly as it only left a gash in it and put her opponent off-guard.

Saber swung again, feeling a sudden surge of strength as she cut across Berserker's arm, forcing her back. Attempting to capitalize on her advantage, she raced after Berserker, only to have her next swing blocked.

Suddenly, a lance of pain seemed to sprout in her left eye, distracting her and making her reflexively let her guard down.

Berserker took advantage of it, disengaging from Saber's strike and swinging Soul directly at her chest, aiming for her heart. However, Saber managed to, by more luck than anything else, use her sword to partially deflect it, instead forcing the blade into her left shoulder.

With a grunt of pain, Saber jumped back, causing the blade to emerge with a disgusting splat sound. Slowly, panting as she did so, she raised her left hand to first the wound, seeing it wasn't deep enough to truly cripple her from fighting, then to her closed eye, feeling it sting with pain just from touching it.

Suddenly, another spasm of pain overtook her as it felt like something was attempting rip her eye straight out of its sockets. She barely held back a scream as she clasped her hand over it, all her thoughts focused on trying to overcome the agony.

'What on Earth is happening!?' she wondered to herself as she looked at Berserker, who was staring at her in shock and surprise.

Of course, that wasn't all she was doing.

"Did you see that Soul?" She asked her partner quickly.

"What?" He asked worriedly, concern for Saber clear in his tone.

"It was her left eye."

"You mean how it was all gold when we saw her, and now she's keeping it shut while screaming? Yeah, what about it?"

Berserker hesitated. "It's just that... for a moment, before she flinched earlier, I could have sworn it was glowing a blood-red."

Before the Weapon could say something to reassure her, he was interrupted by another pain-wracked voice. "That doesn't matter right now, Berserker. What does matter is beating her and getting the Grail."

"Hey Kariya," Soul said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'll last this fight, but you have to end it now," Kariya panted. "Take her out while she's still distracted by the pain, and finish this."

"Right," Berserker said solemnly both in her mind and aloud. Turning her gaze towards the struggling Saber, who by this point had raised her sword to a ready position with her right hand, despite the obvious pain she was in, she concentrated.

"Ready Soul?"

"Right!"

"Soul Res-!" She stopped when she beheld something behind the Grail, her eyes widening in surprise and fear as she got a closer look. Saber turned her head as well, her own eye filling with surprise and hope at the sight.

On the other side of the theatre was Kiritsugu Emiya, cold expression on his face as he raised his right hand, revealing his remaining two Command Seals.

"Saber." he spoke, making her look at him with attentive eyes.

'Help me win...' Saber thought as she gripped Excalibur with both hands, pain in her eye forgotten.

'Is he going to have her use Excalibur on me? At this close range to the Grail?' Berserker thought worriedly as she prepared to race forward and intercept Kiritsugu. 'I can't let him finish that command!'

"By the power of my Command Seal, use your Noble Phantasm..." Kiritsugu continued as Kariya, listening from his connection with Berserker, felt sweat of anxiety collect on his brow, joining the sweat of exertion and pain.

'Stop him Berserker!' he thought quickly.

'Give me the Grail!' Saber thought at the same time as she stood up straight.

The Servant of Insanity obeyed her master, but faster than she could send the command to her legs to start moving, she heard his next words.

"...Destroy the Holy Grail." Kiritsugu finished as the second seal vanished and all who heard stared in complete disbelief, stopping any action they were going to take.

"What?" Saber asked in a disbelieving tone as Excalibur revealed itself in all its glory and she raised it, her hands shaking as she fought the Command Seal's influence.

"No!" Berserker yelled as she raced towards Kiritsugu, Soul raised high. "I won't-!" Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes widening in shock and horror.

"Berserker! What's wrong!?" Kariya yelled over the link, then suddenly gasped in pain.

"Maka! Say something!" Soul yelled.

She didn't hear them, her gaze slowly turning towards the Cup they were fighting for, her Presence Detection going haywire.

"It can't be..." she whispered.

She could sense something coming from inside of it.

A dark presence assaulted her senses, overwhelming her mind with its sense of scale. Her mind was overrun with a sense of fear as she was exposed to a black hole of pure madness: every negative emotion of humanity suddenly thrust upon her in such a massive intensity. She tried to look away, yet found she couldn't, listening to the wails and screams of what seemed like damned souls suffering for eternity.

The next she knew, it was gone, leaving her staring at, for all intents and purposes, an inert chalice.

Still, she knew what she had seen wasn't fake. It was beyond what she felt when she had seen Avenger's soul, and even more so than the Kishin Asura's soul. Their madness was like a puddle compared to this.

This was the Grail's soul.

She struggled to comprehend how she couldn't have noticed this... thing beforehand when they had arrived and the Grail was already formed. She then realized why.

It had been trying to hide its true nature, to trick them into granting a wish before revealing itself. Saber's actions had frightened it into revealing itself, if only briefly.

"Berserker!" She heard Soul yell again, shocking her out of her stupor. "You have to stop Saber!"

'Oh God, Saber!' she thought in horror before turning around, seeing that Saber was still struggling to avoid using Excalibur, the sword already over her head and starting to glow.

"Why Kiritsugu?" Saber questioned as it did so, "Why you of all people...?"

Once again, Berserker tried to charge forward, but suddenly felt strangely weak. Falling to her knees, she clutched her chest. "What...?" she panted.

...

Kariya clutched his own chest, feeling his heart start to beat irregularly and rapidly. "Damn it!" he yelled as the pain spread throughout his chest, his breath becoming ragged and shorter. "Not now!" Fighting the urge of unconsciousness that had started to take him, he looked at his hand, activating a Command Seal.

Zouken watched from his worm familiar, a somewhat amused expression on his face. "Unbelievable," he muttered to himself. "He survived the full drain of a Berserker's capabilities, now it's a heart attack that kills him. That's just bad luck."

...

Kiritsugu watched Berserker's collapse with brief surprise, then turned back to Saber, his final Seal glowing. "By the power of my final Command Seal, I order you again Saber..."

Berserker and Soul looked on in helplessness at the sight, then stopped when they felt another surge of power from their Master. "By the power... of my Command Seal, I order you..., Berserker..."

'This can't be how it ends!' Saber thought to herself as she gazed helplessly at Berserker. 'Stop me, damn it!'

'Hurry up Master!' Berserker screamed in her mind, feeling him start to fade. 'Don't die yet!'

"...Kill Saber." Kariya finished with a gasp, the Seal fading away.

"...Destroy the Holy Grail." Kiritsugu finished at the same time, his own Seal fading away.

"STTTTOOOOOOPPPPPP!" Saber and Berserker shouted at the same time, tears simultaneously flowing from their eyes, though for different reasons.

For Saber, it was for the destruction of that which could save her people.

For Berserker, it was for killing her friend.

Berserker's scythe came around and stabbed Saber straight through her back and out her chest, piercing her heart completely and dealing a blow that would have killed her instantly under normal circumstances.

Unfortunately for both of them, a Servant given an order enforced by two Command Seals will do whatever it takes to finish that order.

Even if it means to defy death for the precious seconds it needs to finish.

As such, despite her already fading strength and consciousness, Saber still swung down Excalibur with a horrified expression, her body guided by the unbreakable order.

In a flash of gold, the Holy Grail was cut in half.

---

...And with that, the Holy Grail War ends.

I hope you guys like the final conflicts between the Servants, as well as the new way to end the confrontation between Kirei and Kiritsugu. I hope you guys in particular got the meaning behind the title of this chapter. After all, Saber is officially a 'Dragonslayer' of sorts now, since she just killed a Dragonslayer in single combat. Pretty clever, huh?

Oh yeah, the guy who gave Saber that power-boost and changed her eye color in the left eye? That's the same guy as Grey, who talked to Kirei before he woke up. Let's just say he's gonna play a big role in the sequel, potentially an even bigger threat than the Holy Grail itself. By the way, 'Grey' isn't his real name, just that of someone he knew in life.

As for that power-boost, you're probably wondering how I justify that. Well, since the Grail is the whole reason a Servant exists in the first place: copying the information stored in the Throne of Heroes to create the Servant, imparting the knowledge of everything about the current era they're in to them, and absorbing them after death to use their energy to make the wish, I figured, "If it can do all of that, why can't it give a Servant more energy?"

However, while the potential to do this exists, since a Servant must be consciously chosen to provide energy to, and the Grail itself is really nothing more than a lump of magical energy with some basic command inputs to follow, it's rarely ever done. That's where Grey comes in. Since he's a being bound to the Grail, he can abuse the system to give Servants more energy.

And if anyone is wondering why he didn't do this earlier at all, several reasons. Firstly, he's not supposed to do this, as Angra Mainyu thinks the fights are more 'interesting' if the Servants fight with their own power. He only got away with it because old AM was off with Kiritsugu.

Secondly, of all the remaining contestants, he finds Saber the most interesting and wants her to survive to the end.

Thirdly, and related to the second reason, that little gift wasn't all out of the goodness of his heart, as the golden eye and the pain she felt from it is a clear indication. He has plans. Unfortunately, you won't see the full effects of that 'till the next fic! :)

For now, let's just say that anything that comes from the Grail carries its taint...

Anyways, this fic really is almost over. All that's left is the next chapter, which may or may not contain the 'five years later' epilogue, so they'll probably be anywhere from one to two more chapters.

Stay with me just a little longer, my readers! Keep reviewing, favoriting, and following! I'll make the next one a good one!