www.(youtube).com/watch?v=w8wyDWPpdhc

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy Sh-t, what a ride!'"- Unknown

Kiri looked at the clock and shook his head.

"Father?" Aurora asked.

"Coming," Kiri said sadly. "I can't believe it's been a year. A whole year since he died."

He remembered his future self, his kindness, his laughter, his phenomenal skills with sword and shield, his terrible cooking...yeah, some things never change. It had been a year now full of joy of having a daughter. Kiri could not have asked for a better birthday present than to have his daughter. For that, his older self died at ninety years old. For that, his other had endured great pain to save Aurora and even gave her a name. For this gift, he would honor the man and continue the legacy. The Black Knight would continue to reign supreme on the battle field. It helped that much of the other's memories and abilities had transferred when they had interacted. Skills belonging to the older had flowed into the younger at an unprecedented rate.

And he had received the warning. In years to come the Einzbern would attack. Eiko had hinted at it, and with the revelation of the DA Haru, there had been more hints, but his older self had left notes hidden in his plane for what was coming. Speaking of hidden, the things he stored in that plane were fantastic. Though, Rin-kaasan and Luvia-kaasan had shrieked when they realized that they now had a second pair of their worst nightmare in the world. But still, the sheer amount of missiles that had been shrunk and stored were enough to fight a war. Thousands of prana storing jewel were boxed. Probably a billion US dollars of gold and ammunition. And of course, a Noble phantasm.

Avalon, to think that he had stored Avalon inside of the plane. His older self had left a note inside the Sheath that when the day came for them to choose one, he was to tell Kaa-san that he already possessed Avalon. No man should posses too much power, especially rouge characters like the Black Knight. Kiri nodded, but disagreed on one thing. He would give Avalon to Aurora. More than his own life, he treasured her life. So, he took the Sheath and inserted it into his daughter when she slept. He smiled a bit at that thought. She was now probably stronger than DA Haru. With her bloodline, Avalon inside her, and her magic, there was not much that could harm her.

Good.

Kiritsugu grabbed the flowers and walked with his daughter to Prodagos. The Two mounted the artificial horse and rode off for the hill. The two rode in silence as they headed for their destination. An hour later, they were there.

It was so simple a grave. Just a lone tombstone with a poem on it. No date, no name. The Emiya clan had bought the land for the older Kiritsugu and honored his request to be buried in this simple field where war had not touched it in centuries. This simple peaceful spot was all that the old man had wanted, and it was what he was given. Kiritsugu and Aurora dismounted and walked silently towards the grave. Kiritsugu and Aurora both placed their bouquets of flowers on the pile of flowers already there.

"She visits often." Kiritsugu noting the sheer amount of flowers laid around the grave.

"She loved him dearly." Aurora agreed. Poor Artemis, though she doggedly protected the daughter of her savior, the freelancer was at a loss of what to do with herself. She had dedicated her life to protecting the old man and helping him achieve his dream. Well...here she was, a girl out of her time, in a world similar, yet different than her had to be hard for her, yet Artemis never spoke of her difficulty. She merely spent her days tuning up the plane. waiting for the call to duty and whatever mission was available. Artemis had made it her life's calling to never fully acknowledge the Kiritsugu of this world and referred to him as a fake. Matsu-kaasan and a few others had joked that in ten years she would be married to Kiritsugu, but he doubted it. There was a bar she had set for the old man, a pedestal that was impossible to match. Some romances, no matter how much others might wish, would never work. this was one of them.

Kiritsugu had read the journals of the old man and had found that he had two more children in his life. Gwen and Bedivere. Both of them with mothers that had loved Kiritsugu, but never married him. They knew that while he was a good man, he was not the kind to ever settle down. In fact, there had only been one marriage in that man's life, and it had barely lasted a month before a divorce. Still, from the journals, the old man had done his best to be a father, providing funds, toys, books, and visits as often as possible. Yet, reading the journal, there was regret that he could not do more. An ache to have children he could raise, but could never stop for long. The man had a plan, to become an Epic Spirit while pushing the world onto a better path.

Kiritsugu had looked at the journal and understood. To be more than a man, to spent an eternity pushing countless worlds to better paths, one had to sacrifice something. But the biggest regret the man ever had was Aurora. The old man had gone into great detail telling of his confrontation of the Beast. Of Aurora, her atrocities she commited, her rampages, the hundreds of thousand kileld by her. Then he told of the battle, the twenty hour long battle that culminated with the death of Aurora. Not that he knew that it was his daughter at the time. Not until she was dying.

It must have hurt the man like nothing else, to be a kinslayer. To kill his own daughter. Yet, though he carried her memory forever, he had to move forward, to chase that ever elusive dream. So, for almost ninety years of work, he had fought and bled until an accident landed him into a parallel world in the past. And so, by living for the now and the present, a miracle was given. The old man wrote of his plans, his purpose, and the ultimate goal to save his daughter no matter the cost.

And so, the old man did it. He saved Aurora and died with a smiled on his lips. He endured hundreds of blades in the back, but he refused to die until help arrived. His spirit was strong enough to defy death long enough to save his daughter.

Kiritsugu hugged his daughter who was beginning to cry. Words were not spoken as they stood there, honoring the man. Kiritsugu thought for a while, then nodded.

"The Knight has finished the journey and gone to rest

knowing he left the world in the hands of the best.

Though his body lies beneath the tilled earth,

he left his dreams and hopes in men of worth.

After a lifetime of pain, disease, death, and strife,

for his daughter's safety he gladly gave his life.

Weep not for the end of the man little one,

for his task was merely delayed, not done.

Though his ruined body returns to the earth

He sits in the throne of Heroes awaiting rebirth"

Aurora sniffled at that then turned to him and hugged him tightly, "Thank you."

"He was the best of us, and I intend to do better. Follow me Aurora, for we shall make the world he wished for, one day at a time." Kiritsugu said

"Yes," Aurora said determined, "Until my last breath, i will make his world. Until I see that Elusive Utopia he wanted, I will not die."

Kiri rubbed her head fondly, "That you will. Remember us when our time comes my daughter. Remember our dream, our wish. Even if we are no longer by your side, we will always be with you."

Aurora hugged him even tighter thinking of what was to come. Humans only life for so long. As a half dragon, how long would she live? Dragons were immortal, and with her mother the Echidna, she had probably inherited her lifespan. "But-"

Kiritsugu bent down and hugged her tightly, "Worry not my daughter. There is still plenty of time before my end. And my end will not be the true end, if you ever get too lonely, remember, it is possible to summon me. Call for me when you need me, both me and him will always come." He hugged her for a long time, feeling the warmth of each other, enjoying the precious time they had as the winds swept around them lightly like another was hugging them in turn.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

www.(youtube).com/watch?v=-6gvprxUPdk&feature=related

Untold Years later

Five women watched as they saw the last structure of the city of Avalon grow from the ground with the guidance of Gaia. The crystalline city would be the symbol of a new age of man, An age of peace, and prosperity that would last for untold millenia.

"With this, everything is finished." Eiko said happily.

"Everything is done." Reiko agreed. This is what they had envisioned for all these years. The end of wars, and the beginnign of a new way for man to think. No longer were they greedy creatures that ook form the earth without a care. Now, they were one with the planet.

"She is pleased with everything." The voice of Gaia Emiya Ichigo chirped. "She will forever bless her children with happiness and health.

"Alaya has gone to sleep until she is needed," The spirit of mankind's willingness to adapt Shinra agreed.

"No, this is not the end." the fourth woman disagreed. The others looked to the one in black armor. Aurora stood there with two swords on her back and a black shield. "As my father was fond of saying, Utopia is easy to make. It is maintaining it that is the problem."

"What are you saying?" Eiko asked. This was not in her vision, not at all.

"The universe will always need someone to watch in the darkness, to answer to no one. To keep an eye out for dissident voices and strike down those that want to burn everything down." Aurora continued. "Be content in what you have built. But I will do as my Father's did throughout their lives. I too will wear the black armor till the end of my days and pass all I know to the next generation."

"But..." Ichigo said, "We don't have to."

Aurora shook her head and smiled, "No, you don't. But there must always be a Black knight. A being that is more than a man, more than a mortal. A symbol. I will be the guardian in the shadows." Aurora saved her hand dismissively, "Oh, I will not harm the innocent, the guiltless, the niave. But, I will be there to face the enemies of man."

"Good luck," Reiko said.

"Thank you." Aurora said donning her helmet. "Enjoy, the next Emiya tournament is tomorrow right?"

"Yes, are you coming?" Shinra.

Aurora shook her head, "It just wasn't the same without Rin and Luvia-kaasan ripping up the enviroment. But...maybe I can cook something up." Aurora began to chuckle at that while the others paled.

"Aurora, my favorite niece, please. Please stop trying to cook. The last time you did set back construction by a week." Eiko begged.

Aurora strode off chuckling, 'still got it.' She walked for a bit, until she found what she was looking for. The original tombstones had been worn away by the winds of time, but they had been easy to replace. Three tombstones stood side by side on a hill that hand not seen war in what felt like forever.

Three tombstones with only simple poems on them. Two of them were her fathers' death poems, each of them the same. But the third was that of Artemis. Unlike her father, hers had her name on it.

Artemis

Loyal Squire

Faithful Attendant

Goddess of the Hunt

Best D*mn Pilot in the World

It always made Aurora smirk at the self proclaimed titles. But still...it was good to see them.

"I'm home fathers, Onee-san." Aurora said sitting down next to the graves. "It took longer than I thought, facing things we never dreamed of...or cook out. I have seen things that would have driven you mad, haunted your dreams, and made you claw out your eyes. I have seen friend turn on friend, family turn on family, wars of unmatched devastation, but we did it. We made the world you dreamed of. And I intend to protect it." She swept the top of her fathers' graves. "Wait for me Tou-sans, I won't be able to join you any time soon."

Aurora looked up to the sky and watched the ships of the time fly through the air like dolphins in the sea. She sat there, drinking in the sights of the world, enjoying the feeling that everything that her fathers' had given up, sacrificed and endured was worth it. They had started the chain to make a better world. Even without her help, Aurora was certain that this outcome would have come to pass. Simple events from long ago had echoed into the now creating this world. A plan so complex she wasn't sure she ever would fully understand it had lead to this moment. This one precious moment.

Aurora sat there until the sun had set, then she stood up. "I'm off fathers Onee-san, to keep the world as it is. I don't know when I will return, but I will protect this world and carry your dream to the future."