The Last Chapter

Part I: The Ultimate Proof

"So he has gone mad, after all…"

"You are not welcome here, this is our War, a matter of Fuyuki families of magi."

A strange figure – bald and very old man – stopped them before they could reach Mount Enzou. Bazett and Lancer stepped back instinctively, feeling his disturbing aura.

"Who are you? You're getting in the way."

"Of course I do. I'm here to slow you down, after all." The man smiled viciously.

"Let us pass, fiend!" Lancer did not wait for his Master's command and charged.

A powerful strike straight in the heart was not enough to kill Matou magus. His body smashed into hundreds ugly insects and was rebuilt a few meters away.

"You still insist on messing around?" On the old man's sign horde of flying bugs attacked Bazett.

"It's all right, Lancer." She was moving fast enough to smash them on time, no one could reach her. "Get him."

Cú Chulainn was thinking for a short while before he attacked. He painted a single rune on the tip of his spear and hit Zouken again.

"Ansuz!"

Worms, which built magus body, were set on fire before they could disperse. Most of them died in the flames immediately, yet still they could hear Zouken's laugh in the air.

"It's ok, Lancer. He must be killed with help of someone from the Church. We'll finish this later. Let's go help Rin."

He snorted dismissively but obeyed and went ahead like a blue, furious arrow.

Tohsaka met Kotomine on the stairs to Ryuudou Temple. She was prepared for the worst, her arms and legs strengthened by spells.

"A little girl thinks she can defeat Executor? That's… something." Kirei smiled. "Even your father was not stupid enough to pursue me."

Rin took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. She knew that the priest was provoking her and he was doing it well. Archer taught her how to fight with a clear mind, like playing chess. Anger she felt had to be a fuel only, her inner strength, not weakness.

Repelling and dodging his blades was not difficult, Archer had taught her well. Kotomine's Bajiquan, however, was a different matter, but she was keeping up with him, thanks to some speeding spells. She started to believe that it would be an easy victory…

"Too easy."

Till this moment, Kotomine was just observing her, learning the pattern of her movements. Now he started to be serious, accelerated and hit her with an extremely powerful blow.

It was a heavy punch, indeed. She screamed, one or two ribs were broken for sure… Yet still she managed to fire Gandr, forcing her opponent to jump back and use a Command Seal to shield himself from the magic strike.

"You're not worthy of my time, little girl. Maybe I should call him and order him to kill you. That would be the fastest way to break him."

Tohsaka was trying hard, but could not keep her cool anymore. That was too much already. She would not let this guy torture HER Servant like this!

"Anfang!"

A little jewel exploded with a bright light right in front of Kotomine's eyes. He instinctively covered and at this moment Rin attacked. Azoth sword cut off Kirei's arm with Command Seals easily; it flew into the air, pulling a streak of blood behind.

"If you really want to win, you should fight, not talk!"

"Young lady!" Lancer jumped between the girl and one-armed priest, Bazett also was near.

"Go, Rin!" – she shouted, looking at Kirei, not at Tohsaka, and it was not a nice or peaceful gaze at all. "You're needed somewhere else."

Rin nodded and ran, pressing her hand to wounded chest.

She betrayed you. Abandoned you. Left you here to die. She's ugly like the others.

Archer did not want to believe it, but his 'invisible friend' was repeating these lines, over and over, poisoning his mind, making him enjoy the pain coming from this mental torture.

No, she's not. She just did what was right. She should not be involved anymore. Not everyone is evil.

Prove it.

He was trying to show him some good memories, but he could not find any. The curse was infecting his mind, taking out only the images of death and suffering.

"Archer!"

Rin was running to him through the mud, wounded but determined.

She should not even be here in the first place.

"Please leave me now. Or I will humiliate myself by begging Lancer to carry you out from here."

"Like I could ever abandon you like that! Stop insulting me!"

"Rin…" He touched Azoth sword in her hand. "It still has enough energy to finish this farce."

Rin could not believe her own ears. He was telling her to kill him?

She grabbed Archer's hand forcibly. He was not dissolving, like Servants should, to be reborn in evil form, but was about to go insane, which seemed to be even worse. His skin was covered in some strange shadows. Tohsaka could feel a powerful but somehow frightening energy emanating from his magic circuits. Blackening started to spread also on her hand. She was losing him and it made her sad an angry at the same moment.

Like the hell I'll let you leave me!

He could not stand the view of black stains on her skin and tried to push her away.

"Get away, stupid girl!"

"I will but, please, look at me first."

Finally she was able to look into his eyes and saw an unbearable pain inside. He was still fighting. Darkness of All the World's Evil had touched her barely, but she could imagine what kind of mental tortures he was trying to resist.

And was losing slowly. His eyes were now changing to beautiful but fearsome mix of golden, black and red. Rin found herself totally captivated by this astonishing gaze.

"Fine. You're obeying my orders at last. Now let's go home."

"Rin, you will be…"

"And so what? You are MINE, Archer, I can handle you in any form. Deal with it."

Rin's eyes were burning. It was not possible to oppose her in such state.

Tohsakas are hopeless.

"I will blacken completely if you don't hurry, you know?" She sighed. "Not that I really care, but…"

"Rin, I can't let you…"

She sighed again and hugged him without warning.

"You are an idiot, no doubt. You still don't understand a thing. Well, maybe I really should take this power and kick some ass. That would be something, don't you think?"

"I suppose this town will not last long with you raging around. But it may be fun to watch, indeed."

He was holding her, although he knew it was not right. She had to go, while there was still a chance. It must have been an evil will's doing to make Archer think of just holding Rin in his arms now. But why it felt so warm and calm? Such perfect feeling inside this whole madness. Such a quiet and bright place within darkness itself.

Prove it.

Just watch her now, you really need any more evidence?

"I believe in myself who was with you, Rin," he said finally, not able to resist anymore.

"I believe in yourself who was with me, Archer," she replied the same way. And shouted when a sharp pain hit her all of a sudden. She looked at her hand, amazed.

Along with their strange oath, a brand new Command Seals appeared.

It seems that in the end it's not Emiya who saves Tohsaka. No, not at all. It's always Tohsaka who saves Emiya. I was an idiot to not notice it earlier.

"Awesome!" She jumped to kiss him. Just this once.

And after that, she suddenly hit Archer in the face, leaving him with very strange and miserable expression.

"Don't ever dare to comment, remember or try to do it again! Or you will feel the true power of these Seals!"

Technically, I didn't do a thing, but…

"I love you too, Rin." He smirked, like always.

"Shut up. We're going back."

"Ilya, stay back!"

This was Saber's reaction on Rin and Archer coming out from the cave. She raised a sword in defense and stepped ahead. Lancer seemed more relaxed, so was Bazett, but she was watching them carefully, trying to figure out what exactly happened. Ilya did not even bother, she was just standing there, holding Shirou's hand with a 'proud sister' expression on her face, making even Sakura a little jealous.

"You both really screwed it up, don't you?" Lancer said with one red eye open. "But I kinda like your new outfit, young lady."

"Crap, so we've changed this much?"

Bazett did not reply, she only shook her head and gave Rin a portable mirror.

"Oh…"

She was more pale than usual, maybe because of her hair turning ideal black. She had a smile of vixen now, filled with evil intentions, or it just looked like that. Her magic crest also turned red and proceeded from arm to her back, where it laid in some surrealistic shape.

"I hope only outside?" - Bazett asked and Saber's forceful gaze was saying that only one response would be accepted.

"Calm down, Saber," Sakura said with a thin smile. "Don't you recognize Tohsaka? She's more herself now than anytime before!"

"You…! What that supposed to mean?!" Rin protested with her usual expression, making all of them laugh.

Saber chuckled too, but she didn't dispel her sword.

"And what about you, Archer?" She was still suspicious.

Archer… was now all covered in tattoo-like red magic circuits, bursting with shadow-like energy. Some of the lines were visible even on his face, just below his tricolored eyes. His usual red cloak was partially dissolved and completely blackened.

He was watching them all with his piercing gaze for a while. He was able to see through people's emotions now – dark were attracting him and good ones were like a blinding light. Ilya stood attached to her 'brother' with a priceless, possessive expression. Shirou with a typical half-smile on his face, caring deeply for them all, especially Sakura, who was shining with the intense inner strength. Arturia was like a little sun now, with her desire to protect. Bazett was calm even inside, both trustful and worth of trust, full of faith in her friends. An aura of loyalty and warrior's pride was emanating from Lancer. Even Rider, watching them carefully from behind her Master's back, was kindhearted and reliable inside.

And Rin… she was like a shining ruby, full of her own light. The most beautiful jewel in the world.

Some people really shine brighter than the others. And they were all shining so intensely, that watching them was painful.

Archer started to laugh. He was laughing so hard, he could barely say anything.

"You are adorable. All of you."

They reacted with absolute consternation.

"So he has gone mad, after all…" That was Saber's voice.

"No, he was this childish from the beginning," said Lancer with a blink.

"Childish. But not retarded!" Rin was beating Archer with no mercy, targeting mostly his head.

"This is just cruel," said Ilya.

"You're one to talk," Bazett commented. Very, very quiet.

There was no more time to waste. Masters were raising together a barrier around the cave, to prevent possible damage from spreading across the town. Servants were preparing their Noble Phantasms, accumulating mana and waiting for remained Command Seals to power them up. And Archer was 'talking' with his invisible friend to keep him too busy to react.

Finally, three Servants stroke as one and the effect was worse than hell. Power unleashed with the blast was enough to blow up Mount Enzou, if not entire Fuyuki.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!" – Rin shouted, reaching for reserves accumulated within Azoth sword. Ilya clenched her teeth and squealed painfully, giving all she had. Even Sakura's shadow familiars were vanishing, one by one, to hold on the barrier around explosion.

"We're not going to make it!" Bazett protected herself with runes carved on her hand. Lancer joined her with his magic, even Saber added her Invisible Air to the shield.

If you're living according to your Origin, you don't need to learn some things. It is not that you need to 'know' them either. You just feel. Feel, that something is possible. Feel when and what needs to be done.

At this moment Shirou just felt it and smiled. He would have never suspected that it was so easy and obvious. All he had to do, was to separate the real, precious part of Sakura from this evil entity, which was now vanishing in the explosion before their eyes. Nothing difficult for someone, who's very soul was a shield.

"We did it, Saber," Ilya said to her Servant and hugged her with affection. After a short while of confusion, Arturia smiled.

"Yes. Wish of my Master was granted. It was also my wish in the end. We are victorious, Ilya."

She kissed gently white hair of the girl, like she would do with beloved daughter or younger sister, and left, with no regrets, in a golden mist of mana.

Tears were slowly flowing from Sakura's eyes, but she was silent and surprisingly calm. She was caressing Shirou's hair, watching a beautiful smile on boy's face. He died happy, there was no doubt. But how he could just leave her like that, playing the hero?

Rider kneeled next to Sakura and touched Shirou's cheek, sadness and feeling of guilt in her every movement. One shiny tear slipped down from beneath her eye cover. Sakura grabbed Rider's hand, thanking for her service, and long-haired woman vanished without a word into thin air.

Lancer was vanishing slowly, with a wide smile, satisfied. Their job was done, they did well. In the end, he did not get the good fight, which he desired, but spending time with his Master and other cute girls was even more than enough. Damn, he would miss even this twisted jerk and an extremely tasty food he was preparing...

Bazett stood before him, her hand reached out in a meaningful manner.

"Lancer, still a lot of fighting awaits me, that's my job, after all. I will need a partner. Would you… lend me your strength? Would you become my right hand?"

"Fighting, you say?" He smiled, only one eye opened and funny expression on his face. "I'm in, Master. Only an idiot would not accept a proposal of such a good warrior."

Bazett blushed a little, embarrassed. Then they hands touched and a new contract was formed, for another kind of war. She smiled, a little tired from a sudden mana outflow, but victorious. Her wish was finally granted and loss of one hand was totally worth it.

"Rin, for the sake of them all… at least let's try to save one. How could we even look in the mirror, knowing that we let all of them die for us?"

"We will need a magic at the level of miracle, Sakura…"

"Is it not the true meaning behind this War? To create miracles?"

Rin looked her sister deep in the eyes and smiled. They did not need words to understand each other.

"Ok. Let's prove that there's no word 'impossible' for Tohsaka sisters!"

It was a painful sensation of being torn apart. While the most parts of him were dying with the Grail, only the part he could call 'consciousness' or 'will' was still functioning. It was a memory rather than true thing. Memory of hands, memory of legs. Memory of having a heart and emotions.

Archer smiled. He was vanishing, completely, to the nothingness. Good, because this copy of him, being a strange experiment rather than a Heroic Spirit, would not end as a blackened psycho for all eternity, or would not affect the Counter Guardian Emiya in any way. Just ending his existence sounded good to him. First of all, he would not be able to feel longing for these people and place. It was almost merciful.

Someone grabbed remnants of his left hand. It was a warm, familiar sensation, that made him feel extremely happy, even at the verge of annihilation. Someone else grabbed his right hand and other parts of him were pleased as well.

It was the best goodbye he could imagine.

Part II: A Grain of Sand

"So why you are not smiling, Kiritsugu?"

"And then we all destroyed the Grail together. It almost blew up the whole mountain, but the energy we got from the golden Archer was enough to keep the barrier."

"And the black Archer?" – Kiritsugu asked, drinking coffee. They were sitting on the veranda in a small European house. It was an old house, but comfortable and hidden well in the Alps. And the sunsets above mountain peaks, like the one they could enjoy right now, were priceless.

"I don't know. I think he disappeared with the Grail. Shirou-brother was trying to separate the blackness from normal magic, but it worked only with Tohsaka sisters. This Archer was already too black in the end."

"I see. And this boy also died?"

"Yes." Ilya was visibly sad for a moment, but then she shook her head and smiled. "But Shirou-brother was happy. And he was like me, someone invented him to live very short. I will be happy too, when my time will come. I'm also a hero, right?"

"Yes, you are, Ilya. You saved the world for me."

"So why you are not smiling, Kiritsugu?"

He stroked her hair gently, not knowing what to say.

"I'm…"

"For me you are a hero, Kiritsugu," Ilya said, staring at him with love.

"For me too." Maiya joined them, she had hot cocoa and biscuits.

Hearing their declarations, so honest and full of affection, Kiritsugu had no other choice, but to smile at last.

Lancer was fishing. It was the best possible location for him – a small Irish lake and a small Irish house nearby. He even did not mind the mosquitoes, although Bazett was killing them without mercy, with her iron fist or modern chemistry. He smiled at the memory of her reaction on his comment about the smell of spray to avoid insect bites. One more word and a Command Seal would be used, no doubt.

"We have a job, Cú Chulainn." Bazett joined him, with a letter in her hand.

"Another Dead Apostle?"

"I don't know yet." She sat on the small bridge next to him and read the letter. "Guess where we are going this time?"

"I have no idea." He looked at Bazett and quickly understood the meaning hidden behind her smile. "No way? We're going back to Japan?"

She nodded.

"I should call Rin in advance or something…"

"No need, we'll just take a lot of Irish specialty with us. They call it 'omiyage', right?"

"A bribe? And how do you plan to take this much alcohol to the plane, huh?"

Lancer gave her a wide, predatory smile.

"Just trust me, Master."

Bazett sighed heavily. It would be a very long and hard journey, no doubt.

"Well, well… To sleep like that, on the grass, in the middle of the day…"

He opened one eye to look at Tohsaka, sitting next to him. She was smiling and this kind of grin could mean only one thing – she was planning something he would not like at all.

"I'm guarding your bags, it's a very important task. And I'm sensing a danger from you." He sighed. "Let me guess – you want me to try on some clothes, again?"

"Yeah, we found a very nice jacket for you."

"I have enough clothes already. You all buy something for me every week, literally."

"So what?" She smiled viciously. "It's your fault that it's too easy to find good clothes for you."

"Forgive me for being extremely handsome."

"Jerk." She hit him in the shoulder, laughing.

He chuckled and grabbed her hand, closing his eye again. Sunlight was touching his skin, and the feeling of warmness was so nice that he wanted to purr, like a big, lazy cat. A gentle breeze was pleasant too, carrying the heavy smell of summer flowers. Chinese roses, perhaps?

"Tell me…" Tohsaka was serious and a little hesitant. "Everything's ok? I mean… your condition and…?"

"Rin. I'm your familiar, you know about my condition more than I know myself…"

"I know, but I mean… How do you feel?"

It was different from being a Servant. He had no projection or Reality Marble, and shifting into spirit form demanded an additional spell. There were no Command Seals, but a bond between him and Tohsaka sisters was even stronger than the first one. And he was still good with bows and swords, although he had to use 'real' ones now. He felt and looked like an average human, and had some weaknesses typical for humans as well.

To think that his new magical body was formed from the energy, which remained after Sakura 'devoured' Gilgamesh… Well, King of Heroes was mumbling something about finding creation funny, so…

"I told you already." He rose to sitting position and looked her in the eyes. "I'm perfectly fine. Actually, I've never felt so good before."

"I'm glad to hear it." The gaze she gave him now made him feel defenseless and dependent. "Oh, they're back at last."

Two women were coming, with more bags. One look at them was enough to tell that they were a family. Mother and daughter had identical smiles and similar clothes. Just to watch their reunion was worth the effort. They all worked hard to reach this point.

"This is for you." Sakura gave him a little box. He opened and found a nice sunglasses inside. "Mother and I thought that it must be painful to walk in the sunlight without protection for someone with eyes as sharp as yours."

"You're blinking almost all the time," Aoi added with a gentle smile.

"I do?" He looked surprised; he would never realize this problem without their help. "Thank you." He put the sunglasses on and all three women smiled at the view. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No," Aoi said and put on her new hat. "It's perfect. Come, all of you, it's almost lunch time already. "

He stood up, took all the shopping bags and followed Tohsakas, like a family pet should. He looked at the summer sky through his new sunglasses and smiled. No gears on it, no need to think of Alaya, world conflicts and possible timelines. He felt like a little grain of sand, completely meaningless, lost in the endless universe.

For him it was the best future he could ever imagine.

Thank You for reading, I can't wait to know Your opinions!

Also, I have a plan for continuation, so please tell me if you're interested.