"If we learn to wield our flaws, then the future will be ours"

Fate/Brave Shine

Chapter 5: Aberration

Arturia and Shirō sat on the hillside looking over Fuyuki on top of Mount Enzou. The grass was damp with morning dew and the sun was just coming over the horizon. The air was clean and fresh, a stark contrast to how it was just over an hour ago, when it smelled rancid and rotten. The giant mass of flesh and blood that had been birthed by the Grail was gone, as was any trace of it ever existing.

Arturia looked to her Master, noting that his wounds had already healed, as hers had. The process had used a good deal of what was left of her Mana, but she thought it was worth it. For him, as least. She had no control over her own regeneration. If she had, she'd have stayed wounded, to lengthen her stay in this world and in this time with her Master. Emiya Shirō.

Just a few weeks ago, all she cared about was winning the Grail. She had wanted to make a wish upon it to give herself, her comrades, and her kingdom a second chance. But, after seeing and hearing about what happens when a wish is made upon the Grail through her Master's dreams and words, that desire changed. Clearly, the Grail was a farce. Something that shouldn't have ever existed in the first place. She felt foolish for seeking it out.

As she spent time with Shirō, she came to care about him a great deal. Not just as a Servant, but as a woman. A part of her that she thought she had left behind long ago had been brought to the surface by her Master.

They had been through an awful lot together. At times, it felt like the entire war was centered around preventing their own victory, when all their victory entailed was a prevention of another horror that would come along with a wish upon the Grail. They'd been forced into some extremely tough situations, but in the end they managed to survive. Together.

Others hadn't been so lucky. They were forced to kill both Caster and her Master, who had been a teacher at Shirō's school. Assassin, who had been a pawn of Caster's, met an honorable end. She had personally dealt with Rider, who had been seducing Shirō through dreams to strengthen herself. Archer, who had been a Future Emiya Shirō in life, had met his end to his previous self. Lancer had been forced to kill himself by Kirei Kotomine, and Gilgamesh..

Gilgamesh and Kirei Kotomine were the two biggest threats to them. Gilgamesh had managed to kill both Illya and Berserker. He was in league with Kirei for some unknown reason. In the end, they were the worst they had faced. They had to be dealt with at the same time, which meant that she wouldn't be there to help Shirō if he needed it.

However, after witnessing what he was capable of with his Unlimited Blade Works, she was confident in his ability to win. At least, against lesser foes. Were it anyone other than those two, she wouldn't have worried for a second.

Both Kirei and Gilgamesh were monsters. Monsters who were smart enough to force them to fight alone. Shirō had made the case for him to be the one to fight Gilgamesh. Not only because they had similar skillsets, not only because of his constant taunting of them, but also because of what he had done to Illya.

So when he faced Gilgamesh, she was worried. All through her fight with Kirei, she was worried for him, and that had cost her several injuries that otherwise wouldn't have happened. However, when she returned to him, he was the one that was left standing. Not Gilgamesh.

Arturia could feel herself fading. Her Mana was almost completely gone. If they had more time, they might have been able to find a way to keep her from fading away, but they both knew better. She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he knew she wouldn't be with him for much longer.

She rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the last few moments of peace together. She could feel his arm around her, holding her close to him.

"I love you, Arturia."

"And I love you, Shirō." She said, as her essence faded away.

Arturia woke, her eyes fluttering open slowly. She was in bed with Shirō, having laid claim to him thrice after their dinner guests had departed. Each time he had reassured her that he had eyes only for her. She knew that, of course, but she needed to hear him say it anyways.

It was strange, she thought, feeling so possessive.

She knew that Rider would be around for quite some time, which meant she'd need to get used to that fact. Even so, it wasn't an easy thing to do. Despite this being an entirely separate Rider from the one who had infiltrated Shirō's dreams, she couldn't just ignore the fact that the present Rider is fully capable of doing the same exact thing.

Her fears were abated as she felt Shirō squeeze her slightly.

"Good morning, Arturia."

"Good morning, Shirō."

After breakfast, Shirō and Arturia needed to come up with a plan to deal with Caster before they met up with Rin and Archer.

"Archer is going to want the two of us to go in first. He'll want us to wear down whatever he thinks is in there before taking them on himself."

"What makes you so sure?" Arturia asked.

Shirō smiled a bitter smile. "Because that's what I'd do in his position. He's not going to risk putting Rin in danger if he can help it"

Arturia nodded, his reasoning sound. "If we go in, we can keep Archer unaware of what is truly going on. But then we'll need to deal with both Caster and her Master alone"

Neither of them wanted to kill Caster or Kuzuki-sensei, but they knew the chances of getting Caster to listen to reason were slim. Even then, what would they say? They couldn't exactly tell them about what had happened.

"Caster's weakness is Kuzuki-sensei. If I can incapacitate him, she'll have no choice but to listen. She'll be planning something, but she'll be listening all the same" Shirō said after thinking for a moment.

"Caster's Master might not be a Magus, but he's still extremely skilled. How would you incapacitate him without maiming him?" It was a reasonable question. Shirō hadn't said anything about not wanting to hurt them. He just didn't want to kill them. But, if he were to permanently injure Kuzuki-sensei, there's no telling what Caster might do.

Shirō didn't really have a good answer to that. "I can try to do what Archer did to Rin when he betrayed her. Lock him in a cell made of blades"

They both knew that wouldn't work. Kuzuki was a man of focus. Commitment. Sheer will. He wouldn't give up just because he was put in a cage. They both knew what he was capable of and how far he was willing to go.

There had to be another way.

"Rule Breaker. If you can Trace the original, you can use it again, right?" Arturia asked.

"That's dangerous, Arturia. If something happens and Caster uses Rule Breaker on you, I don't think I'd be able to fight the three of you."

Arturia could see the look in his eyes. She knew what he was thinking of. He had told her everything. Even about Gilgamesh using Rule Breaker on her. Though the current her hadn't experienced that, she had no doubt it was anything other than completely terrible.

Still, Arturia's idea was the only one they had that allowed them time to reason with Caster. "We know about it, this time. Caster is a long-range fighter. She won't be able to use Rule Breaker on me if I know she has it."

Shirō sighed and thought for a moment. "If I can trace Rule Breaker, I can sever the connection between Caster and Kuzuki-sensei, but-"

"No," Arturia interjected "Even if you did that, they'd still have enough time to fight. What if you did to Caster what she did to me?"

Shirō blinked. If he did that, he'd take over the role of Caster's Master. Would that even work, with him as Arturia's Master already? He voiced his question.

"I do not know. I've never heard of a Master with more than one Servant, but you wouldn't need to be one for long. Just long enough to talk to them."

"What about Assassin?" Shirō asked.

"Caster's Assassin was skilled, but with both Rin and Archer there he would not be a problem. If he has been summoned at all."

That made sense, Shirō thought. He'd only fought Sasaki Kojirō on two occasions. He was perhaps one of the greatest swordsmen he ever crossed blades with, but due to Medea's faulty summoning, he wasn't a threat should they attack from a distance.

It was a risky plan. If anything went wrong, it would all go wrong. But, it was the only plan they had.

"So, what do we know about the Temple?" Shirō asked.

"First off, it's heavily warded. There's no sneaking in. Not even for us, Shirō," Rin started "It's built on top of a Ley Line that continuously provides Mana at a slow, steady rate. I'm guessing that's powering the wards directly. The Temple is occupied, but not heavily."

Arturia looked at the sketch provided by Rin. "Is there no other way in?"

Of course, both she and Shirō already knew there wasn't. They had to act like this was all new to them, though. Otherwise, they'd be in trouble.

"No. I spent hours scouting. There's one entrance, and that's it." Archer said, breaking his previous silence. Rin rolled her eyes at his disdainful tone. Then, he spoke again. "We shouldn't all go in at once. If it's a trap, we'll be playing right into their hands."

Shirō pretended to look thoughtful for a moment before agreeing with him. "That makes sense. You're an Archer, so doesn't it make sense for you and Rin to stay back if that's the case?"

Shirō's once-future self grinned before Rin objected. "Emiya! You don't stand a chance against a Servant on their own turf, even if Saber is there to help you."

Her words almost made Arturia laugh. 'If only she knew the truth' Arturia thought.

"I'm not going to let her fight alone. Besides, I have a plan." Shirō said. He pointed to the sketch. "I've noticed that Servants would rather deal with a Master rather than confront another Servant directly. If I can get the Servant to chase me outside, Archer can get a clear shot, can't he?" He finished, looking up at Archer for confirmation.

Archer nodded. However, in the back of his mind, a red flag appeared. There's no way he was this clever before. He didn't have very many memories of his own Holy Grail War, but he knew he was a stupid, naive child. This didn't match up.

Meanwhile, Rin crossed her arms and huffed, angry that the boy she was trying to protect for the sake of her sister, estranged as she may be, was so eagerly throwing himself into needless danger. "You're going to get yourself killed, Emiya. It might not happen this time, but one of these days your luck is going to run out and then what? Saber isn't always going to be there to protect you."

Her words, even if not for the reason she wanted, hit him like a truck. Just the very idea of Arturia not being there with him made his heart ache. To think that they could survive this war, defeat every obstacle in their way and still not be able to stay together was heart-wrenching.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, this is the best plan we have. Unless you have a better one?" Shirō said, managing to keep himself composed.

She didn't.

Medea stared at Morgan's latest pawn. He looked somewhat like the others that had been summoned. His armor was of the same general style, only his was pitch-black. Light seemed to bend around it. His armor, however, was the least interesting thing to Medea. What had her so entrapped was the sheer amount of power she could feel from within him. Morgan had said he was a dragon, and now Medea knew she was telling the truth. Beneath his armor, beneath his flesh, was the soul of a dragon. However, it was a sleeping dragon.

Vortigern. That's what Morgan said his name was. According to her, he drank the blood of a white dragon to gain such immense power. In the process, he lost his own humanity. As he was so powerful, their summoning of him was not like the others. He was no phantom. While his mind was sealed away, the beast within was not. This much was clear when she caught his eyes.

They were not dead, emotionless eyes. They were the eyes of an intelligent being. One that knew nothing of fear. Vortigern had abandoned his humanity to become the ultimate apex predator, and that's exactly what he was. His eyes alone brought fear to her, and rightly so. Their control over him was not perfect, nor was it permanent. Vortigern was to be their trump card, not to be played until the right moment. Until they issued a command, Vortigern would wait. However, once that command was issued, they would lose a great deal of control over him, and something deep within her told her that he would not listen to them after he was set free.

"Marvelous, isn't he?" Morgan asked, coming up behind her. Medea turned to see Morgan was accompanied by all of their pawns.

Medea cast a glance back at Vortigern before responding. "Marvelous is not exactly the word I would use"

"Oh? What word would you use?" Morgan asked with some amusement.

"Dangerous." Medea's words caused a cruel smile to appear on Morgan's usually neutral face.

"He will need time to accumulate enough Mana to be the threat he was so long ago. We can't afford to stagnate in the mean time," Morgan paused, gesturing to her entourage "So we're going to see how well those two stand against what we already have while we begin our next summoning."

Medea's eyes widened. "Another?"

Morgan nodded. "There are still more to summon. We cannot waste such potential when it is so easily accessible."

Medea was silent for a long time before responding. "You think that they might be able to best Vortigern."

"I do not think it likely, but past events have taught me to be more prepared than necessary." Morgan replied.

Medea nodded in agreement, but Agravain's words were echoing in the back of her mind. She stole a glance at Agravain, who was standing uncharacteristically diligently behind Morgan. Morgan saw the question in her eyes and answered before she could voice it.

"I've cast a few spells to make our rowdy pet here temporarily more cooperative."

This only helped cement Agravain's previous words, as she and Morgan had an agreement that, beyond punishments for stepping out of line, Morgan would not tamper with her Servant. Now, it was too late to voice a complaint. If Morgan decided to truly betray her, she wouldn't be able to stand against all that they've summoned and Morgan herself.

So, for the time being, she kept quiet.

The Night Before...

Rider was scared. She was feeling fear like never before. The source of that fear, the very cause of it was just a few feet in front of her. It came in a pair as a mountain of darkened flesh and muscle, and a small, pale girl with red eyes. Her body struggled to respond to her commands as she slowly gained a bit of distance between her and what was causing her such fright.

She had seen what that beast had done. Her eyes were quick enough to catch him carving runic symbols into the ground. The result was an incredibly powerful barrier, one that would have taken an extremely powerful Noble Phantasm to penetrate.

The monster in front of her had completely shattered it with a single fist, and he had done it so quietly that if Lancer had been any slower at all, he'd be dead. As it was, he was already bloody. The fist hadn't hit him directly, but it somehow caused a good bit of damage regardless.

"Where is Onii-chan?" The small girl's voice came, surprisingly cold and demanding.

"Onii-chan?" Rider mumbled under her breath, not sure what the girl was talking about.

The giant the girl rode atop of grunted in response, seemingly hearing her. To both Rider and Lancer, was clear he was incapable of speech.

"Not sure who you're talking about, kid" Lancer said, a grimace on his face from the pain he was currently in. Again, the giant, Berserker, grunted.

The girl was going to answer, but her nose caught a whiff of something. Two somethings, actually. The first was something that was clearly food, and it smelled delicious. The second was blood, but it wasn't Lancer's blood she was smelling. What she was smelling was blood that had dried already.

It was Shirō's blood, and it was coming from Lancer. The smell of it was overpowering. Lancer had come into contact with Shirō's blood. That meant only one thing to Illyasviel von Einzbern. Lancer had hurt Shirō.

Ilya's pupils shrank, her senses became enhanced, her breathing became shallow, and her blood boiled.

He had hurt her Onii-chan.

He had to die.

Ilya's next words were colder and more emotionless than any other she had said that night.

"Kill him, Berserker."

Present...

Rider clutched her knees to her chest. She had been able to escape the monster and the girl. It was like she didn't even matter to them once the girl had said those words. Once she had escaped, she quickly found Sakura and finished getting her home. Sakura had questions, but she didn't have answers. She explained all she understood, but that was very little.

She shuddered at the thought of Shirō having to face that duo. He was strong. Stronger than she thought possible for a human. He still wouldn't survive. Shirō would be crushed in an instant. The thought of that happening was difficult for her, and not just because of what it would do to Sakura.

Rider didn't know why she felt the way she did. She hadn't had many interactions with the boy, yet she cared about him. She wanted to protect him, but she knew that he wasn't one who stood back. Even against a monster, he wouldn't back down. It was foolish, but she felt like she had met him before.

That's why she knew. She knew that when it came time to face that monster, he would die, and there was nothing she could do about it, no matter how much she wished otherwise. That scared her more than her initial encounter with that beast.

Night time came quickly for Shirō and Arturia. They had decided to stick with Rin and Archer throughout the day and were on their way to the Temple. No changes were made to their plans, which meant they could keep Rin out of harm's way and keep Archer in the dark, since Shirō's once-future self wouldn't dare miss an opportunity to see his once-past self dead.

"Are you sure this is the best idea? I don't like the idea of sending you two in alone" Rin said.

Shirō nodded and Arturia answered for them both. "I will ensure nothing happens to my Master or myself, Rin. It should not take long to draw out whatever is lurking inside the Temple."

Rin pouted, but said nothing else. She was uneasy at the idea of throwing Shirō, who she viewed as an incompetent Magus, into what could very well be a trap. However, her objections had fallen on deaf ears all day.

As they walked down the empty road, the air rapidly chilled as it got deeper into the night. The moon above was blocked by clouds, making it darker than it otherwise would be, only streetlights to illuminate their path.

Shirō's sense of danger was tugging at him. Something wasn't right. He shared a look with Arturia and knew he wasn't the only one who could feel it. They were being watched. Something was going to happen, and they weren't going to make it to the Temple that night. Then, they saw it. A group of people in armor was approaching them from the front. As they approached, the streetlights above them burnt out.

One figure walked in front of them. Agravain.

Archer and Arturia already had their weapons drawn, with Rin standing behind Archer, who was wielding his signature twin blades. For a moment, Shirō was preparing to summon Arcurant, but quickly realized that would be a mistake. He'd tip off Archer and they might have one more enemy to fight.

He thought about projecting Caliburn, but he feared that even that would be too much. So, he went with something he knew Archer wouldn't think twice about. The very same blades Archer himself was holding. Moments later, they appeared in his hands, and only Rin seemed surprised. However, their little party remained quiet as their opponents approached.

Said opponents came to a stop just over ten meters away, a single lit streetlight between them that gave off enough light to see Agravain's face. It was completely blank with no expression present, something both Shirō and Arturia noted.

Behind Agravain stood four of Arturia Pendragon's comrades, or something resembling them. The two they had faced before looked different. Their armor was returned to the appropriate colors and style, and their weapons resembled their Noble Phantasms, one a spear and one a sword. Galahad and Gawain.

Galahad was the son of Lancelot. He was one of, if not the greatest Knight in the world. Not because of his skill that few could match, but because of his steadfast determination and values he upheld. He was loyal to a fault and nobody who once sat at the Round Table had anything bad to say about him. Even those he battled and spared had good things to say.

Where Arturia was the moon, Gawain was the sun. He was chosen as the bearer of Excalibur's sister sword, Excalibur Galatine. He was undyingly loyal to his King and their combined efforts brought down one of the biggest threats they ever faced; Vortigern. The Knight of the Sun was as skilled as Arturia herself.

The other two were as Galahad and Gawain once were; Phantom-Servants, having the same appearance and basic weapons, one spear and one sword. Arturia couldn't tell who they were other than two more of her former comrades. That much was clear by this point. She wouldn't be deterred this time, though.

"Who are these guys?" Rin muttered. Seconds later, her jaw threatened to unhinge as she watched Agravain dissipate into a black smoke. Once he was completely gone, the other four charged, weapons at the ready.

"Stay back, Rin." Archer said. It wasn't a suggestion.

Shinji was devastated. Not only had he lost his Servant, not only had that Servant betrayed him, but it had been at the hands of someone he considered a friend. Head in hands, he sighed deeply. Emiya fuckin' Shirō. He hadn't known his closest friend was a Magus. Otherwise, he would have gone to him long before Shirō found him in the Archery Club.

Shirō had somehow destroyed his Book of False Attendant, thus severing all control he had over Rider. Shinji was no fool- He knew that Shirō could've killed him instead of simply severing that connection. Shirō always softer than he should be. Since that evening, Shinji had been under the protection of the Church.

He didn't like or trust the Overseer. Twisted as Shinji's values might be, Shinji could tell this Kirei Kotomine was bad news. He spoke in riddles and deflected questions left and right. In addition, he could tell that Kotomine was a killer.

However, said killer had offered Shinji a second chance. He said that, in just a short while, he would be able to offer Shinji another Servant. One that he wouldn't need a Book of False Attendant to control. When Shinji asked about why him, Kirei had simply said it was the will of the Church.

Shinji hadn't given him an answer yet, and time was running out on that offer. It seemed too good to be true, and as with most cases, that means it is. However, he desperately wanted a second chance. Not just to win the war, not just to make a wish upon the Grail to give him the ability to use Magecraft, but to stand on even ground with Emiya Shirō for the first time in his life.

Socially, Shinji Matou was Shirō's superior in every sense of the word. Many times over the years he had sabotaged the reputations of other classmates for speaking bad of his friend. However, in every other aspect, Shirō reigned supreme. His Archery skills had no rival in their grade, their school, or even their league. He could fix anything that was broken, his grades were almost perfect, and he could cook food better than a four-star restaurant. Now, he was also a Magus of no small skill, the one thing Shinji wanted to be.

Shinji didn't know what he would do about Shirō if he accepted the Overseer's offer. Obviously, only one person could make a wish upon the Grail, but something told him Shirō wasn't interested in seeing a wish come true. He was still angry that Shirō had so easily knocked him out of the war, but it wasn't out of any true malice.

So there he sat, in the pews of the Church, contemplating whether or not to accept Kotomine's offer and, if he did, what actions he would take, if any, against his closest friend.

This was bad.

This was really, really bad.

Those were Shirō's thoughts as he carefully blocked, dodged, and countered the attacks of Agravain. Though he was bloodied, most of his injuries were superficial.

Arturia's former comrade hadn't said anything this time. Instead, his face assumed a rather robotic look, and only when their blades collided did Shirō feel any emotion coming from him. Like before, he didn't want to do this, but obviously his Master had used some kind of spell to keep him quiet and obedient, which made him more dangerous than before.

Agravain was an Assassin. He fought best when concealed by darkness. However, that didn't mean he was incapable of fighting where he could be seen. Quite the opposite. Shirō quickly realized that he was an extremely adept fighter even outside of the shadows, one that he never would have stood a chance against had he not been tempered in the fires of war a thousand times over.

Agravain was both quicker and faster than he was. If Rin and Archer weren't there, he might technically be faster with Time Alter, but that wasn't an option with those two present. He was also stuck using Kanshou and Bakuya. His saving grace was that instead of tracing Archer's skill, he was using his own, with his own pair of the twin blades. That meant he could adapt to Agravain's constant series of change-ups.

While Shirō fought Agravain, Arturia was facing down Gawain and Galahad. She felt lucky that neither of their weapons maintained the power of their Noble Phantasms, despite their appearances. However, they still had their skill, and because of that she was being pushed close to her limits, and she had the injuries to prove it.

Her former comrades were every bit as skilled as she could remember. She had suppress her nostalgia to fight them properly, which wasn't easy. Upon the first few clashes between her and Gawain's blades, she'd had flashbacks of sparring with Gawain in the past. This made it difficult for her to counter his attacks or make any attacks of her own. Each time their blades touched, a flash of sparks would meet the air as a memory would reawaken within Arturia. She'd managed to get a few good hits, but they neither bled nor seemed to feel pain, which meant they were unhindered by any solid blows she might land.

Archer quickly learned the same lesson Shirō and Arturia had fighting the otherwise nameless phantom-servants. The more effort he gave, the more they would give in return. This forced him to fight defensively. Thankfully for him and his temporary comrades, none of their enemies seemed to be interested in Rin. So long as she held off on attacking them, he assumed it would stay that way.

He wasn't blind to the fact that his former self had so easily traced and projected the very same blades he was using, and was now fighting with such skill and precision that, for a moment, he thought his former self might be better at swordplay than his current self. The thought vanished almost as quickly as it came, as Archer had other things to worry about at that moment.

As the various battles went on longer and longer, Archer was getting worried. Rin wouldn't stay out of the fight forever and if his incompetent past self and his Servant were beaten, he and Rin would be next on the chopping block. That was something he simply couldn't allow. He thought about projecting something more powerful than his married blades, but quickly cast that idea aside, not wanting to give Emiya Shirō anything he could trace himself. Idea after idea was struck down as his mind worked it's way closer and closer to his ultimate trump card: Unlimited Blade Works.

Rin, however, was too distracted to even think of getting involved in the battle. She was awestruck by Shirō's sudden fighting competency. His sudden projection of the same swords Archer was using was shocking for sure, but that was nothing compared to the shock she was experiencing now. Shirō's movements were that of a seasoned warrior, and his face held no hesitation even though he was clearly going against a Servant.

Upon further inspection, she noted that both Shirō and Archer were using the same style to fight, but Shirō.. Shirō's style seemed more refined than Archer's, even though she didn't think that was possible. He was somehow fighting on a level above that of her own Servant, with that Servant's same weapons. Everything she was taught and everything she knew told her that what Shirō was currently doing was impossible.

And in the back of her mind, set far behind the awe Shirō was inspiring within her, that scared her.

There was a battle taking place. Rider could sense it. She could feel the sheer amount of magical energy even from Sakura's bedroom. To her, it was like a signal flare in the sky. From the way it felt, there were several participants. However, one among them shone more brightly than the others, and she knew exactly who it was. Shirō.

Rider looked from the window to the bed behind her, in which Sakura was sleeping. Sakura was highly desensitized to just about every form of magical energy, so she could sleep soundly even when such a battle was taking place.

That wouldn't be the case for anyone else, though. If a Servant or Magus were in the area, they'd feel it, too. That meant the monster and girl would know something was going on. They'd likely be heading to that very location.

Rider was faced with a decision she didn't want any part of. She could stay there and do what she had promised by protecting Sakura and allow Shirō to face that monster, or she could leave Sakura's bedside and go to him. Even with her help, even if Shirō and his Servant at their best, they might not even be able to damage that thing. Not without a miracle.

Archer had made a mistake.

He'd put too much into one of his attacks, hoping to make a decisive blow. After finding out that no amount of damage meant anything, he realized his mistake when they retaliated with an equal amount of force. Only, they didn't stop at one attack. Now, he was truly on the defensive and was fighting for his life.

Their skill and their strength was a direct consequence of his haste to end this fight, and now he was paying for it. He had several injuries that would, in time, spell the end of him if he didn't find a way out of this mess.

Arturia was better off, but not by much. Though Mana still flowed between her and Shirō like a raging river, she still had several injuries that would take time to heal and were hampering her ability to fight at a level she deemed acceptable. She thought of using her Noble Phantasm, but thought better of it. Last time, it had transformed two nameless, faceless Phantom-Servants into two of her most experienced, most trusted comrades. She didn't want to risk making the situation any worse than it was.

Shirō was faring the best out of the three, having effectively countered Agravain's style of fighting. He had a few cuts, but they were mostly superficial. His own skill with the black and white blades was more than enough to shut down Agravain in his current state. However, this gave him time to observe the other two fights and knew that they were all in trouble. He saw the Phantom-Servants' increase in skill and strength. If Archer were defeated, he and Arturia would be next, and they didn't have a whole lot to deal with five, highly-skilled attackers that didn't involve risking what had happened last time.

He needed something. Something to fight back with. With Caliburn out, he immediately thought of Durandal, the holy sword said to encase three miracles within it. A miracle was something they needed, but Shirō feared that Durandal's close connection to Excalibur might have the same effects on the Phantom-Servants as Caliburn did. That meant Gram, a demonic sword, was also out of the question.

As he defended himself from Agravain, he went down the list of weapons he had at his disposal that would provide them with what they needed. Then, he stopped at Ea, the last weapon on his list. Ea was immensely powerful, fully capable of destroying the planet at full output. Unlike every single other weapon on his list, Shirō had never once used Ea, both out of fear and respect for the weapon.

He couldn't simply project Ea. It wasn't even a weapon he was capable of tracing. It was only by chance that he had possession of Ea in a past life, and he wasn't even sure if he were capable of using it now. Ea would certainly be capable of providing them with what they needed, but Shirō feared the weapon. For some unknown reason, it had chosen him after he defeated Gilgamesh. He had picked up the weapon without thinking as the blonde-haired Servant faded away and it imprinted upon him.

In that life, he could always feel Ea after it was his. He had no right to it and never once claimed ownership of it. Rather, it seemed more like the weapon owned him, or a part of him.

Shirō didn't even attempt to see if he still had the ability to call forth Ea and banished the thought of using it. No, there was only one weapon that had any chance of helping them in that moment. He just didn't want to tip off Archer, but it was the only option remaining. Shirō steeled himself for what was to come and focused his magical energy.

A riptide of energy suddenly swirled around him, giving pause to Agravain's next attack. However, the energy faded soon after as something else drew the attention of everyone present in that moment. A hulking mass of flesh and muscle was suddenly behind one of the Phantom-Servants, and said Servant wasn't aware of it until a gigantic fist came crashing down, crushing him instantly.

Their attackers turned to face this sudden new threat to see Berserker in all his glory, standing several feet taller than everyone else present, and Illyasviel von Einzbern riding atop his shoulders. The red-eyed girl was looking directly at Shirō. The remaining Phantom-Servant prepared to attack, but suddenly he, along with Galahad, Gawain, and Agravain faded into a black mist, recalled by their Master. The remains of the crushed Phantom-Servant dissipated along with them, leaving no trace of them left behind.

Now, the four of them were once again facing down Ilya and Berserker. Archer, Rin, and Arturia quickly regrouped with Shirō, each for their own reasons, but Shirō shocked them all by walking towards Ilya completely unarmed, his twin blades having dissipated.

"Shirō!" Arturia called out, attempting to grab him but meeting air with her grasp as he moved just a bit too quickly for her to stop him from doing something foolish.

"It's fine, Saber" He started, carefully using her title rather than her name "If she wanted me dead, I'd be dead by now. She won't hurt me." He turned towards the small girl. "Right, Ilya?" He asked with a warm smile.

She returned his smile, but hers was much less warm than his. "That's right, Onii-chan. I saved you, so you have to come with me now."

Inwardly, Shirō chuckled at the simplicity of the statement. She saved him in more ways than one, and he was thankful for that. "Okay, Ilya. I'll come with you for a little while."

"Shirō, no!" Arturia said. She couldn't believe this. He would go willingly with her, even though he knew what she and that Servant of hers was capable of? She made to move forward, but stopped when he held up his hand.

"I'll be fine, Saber. Take Rin and go home. We'll have to deal with the Temple some other time." He said, his voice calm and reassuring. Arturia's confusion remained, but she trusted in him and his judgment.

She bowed her head in acceptance. "I'll wait for you at home, Shirō."

Arturia didn't move from that spot until Shirō, Berserker, and Ilya were long gone. She wanted to go after them and rescue Shirō, but she knew that wasn't the play Shirō wanted to make. However, there were two others who did follow Shirō, unseen by all others.

Merlin was angry. At himself, at Morgan, and at Fate. In his chamber, his prison, a soundless projection played back the events of two nights ago. The image became bright as two flashes of golden slight overtook everything else for a few moments before dying out.

Excalibur and Caliburn. Two legendary swords, capable of scorching the Earth with their power. As the light faded, the two targets of the twin attacks came into view, changed from how they were before the attacks. Different. More powerful.

Previously, Merlin thought the Phantom-Servants to be a creation of Morgan's. He thought the style of armor and weapons were meant to be a jab at Arturia and nothing more. He's never been so wrong in his life.

Instead of mere creations, when he saw what- who they changed into, he knew what Morgan had done. Somehow, she had tampered with time as he did, but on a different scale. A different frequency. Bathing the two Phantom-Servants in the holy light of the swords their King used, it unlocked a part of them that had been sealed by the summoning itself.

He thought Agravain's presence to be a cruel coincidence, but upon seeing the other two transform, he knew better. It was the cruel hands of Fate intervening by allowing Morgan to do such things in the first place. Shirō and Arturia knew better now than to use Excalibur and Caliburn, but the damage was done. Gawain and Galahad were two of their King's most trusted, most accomplished Knights, and now she was being forced to fight them. Even more cruelly, they weren't able to use their minds for anything other than fighting, yet he was sure they were fully aware of what was going on. It was torture for both sides.

Merlin yelled out in frustration, knowing he was unable to do anything while still locked away. His only hope was that whatever changes were made to Arcurant, whoever Vivian had contacted for additional help, would be enough to tip the scales back in their favor, or at the very least level the playing field.

If only he knew who and what Vivian had contacted.

A/N: This chapter was fun. Writing it legitimately allowed me to escape life for a bit and just enjoy the story. However, life always catches up and it took its toll on me, so it might be a while until the next chapter. We got to see a bit more into Medusa's perspective and got a bit of a glimpse into not one, but two of Shirō's past lives. I'm sure the bit about Ea brought about a great deal of questions. As always, I'll tell you that all questions will be answered in due time within the story. I promise.

I look forward to reading & responding to your reviews. Thank you once again for reading and I hope you're as excited for the next chapter as I am.