"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Master/Servant Link"

Noble Phantasm


Chapter 5: The Boy. The Moon. The Dream.

"I assume everyone understands the plan?" Archer said as he materialised his bow.

Rin nodded before turning to Illya and Miyu "Illya, your the nimbler of the two so you'll be a more direct distraction for her fire. Miyu, you'll handle the more support part of the distraction to allow Archer to take out Caster."

"Yeah." Miyu and Illya nodded.

"This is the rematch." Rin punched her fist into her palm "Let's finish this in one fell swoop."

"Miyu." Luvia turned to her "Send us over."

"Yes. Sapphire." Miyu spoke and Sapphire began the chant.

"Hey, Archer? What are you going to use to shoot her down?" Illya turned to him.

"I'm an Archer." He said, then smirked at her slightly "...But that doesn't mean I can't fight with swords."

"What do you…" Illya began only to be cut off when they arrived, Caster still had the offensive magic circles set up and opened fire on the group the second they arrived.

Archer jumped out of the cloud of fire while Illya flew into the air, Miyu jumped and created transparent plates beneath her feet to get into the air and immediately began to let off consistent barrages of mana at the card.

It all dissipated harmlessly off of her reflection barrier, however it had the desired goal of shifting Caster's attention to her.

Illya was doing something similar, letting off mid-tier barrages of mana to divert Casters attention between her and Miyu.

Archer held up his bow in his left hand, he opened his palm in his right and began projecting.

Luvia and Rin, who hadn't seen Archer's magecraft up close watched with slight amazement and shock as Archer projected a Drilled sword.

"I-is that…?" Rin began, mouth slightly agape.

"G-gradiation air!" Luvia was equally startled as seeing the, assumed useless skill, manifest a Noble Phantasm.

Archer placed the sword in the string and pulled, the Drilled sword began to elongate and stretch itself.

"Master, I'd suggest having yourself and Miyu get clear." He informed her over the link as he took aim.

"I am the bone of my sword." He incanted, magical energy converged on Archer, and the sword began flooding with more mana than it could successfully hold, the Noble Phantasm broke.

"Miyu-san! Archer says get clear!" Illya shouted to the other girl while flying away, Miyu nodded and began running in the opposite direction to Caster.

The servant, oblivious to what was happening, continued firing on the pair.

Archer took aim "Caladbolg!" and the projectile was released.

At speeds which couldn't be reacted to, the sword-arrow twisted through space as it hurtled towards Caster.

The projectile hit the barrier, the barrier broke.

Caster was struck and in the instant she was hit, a tremendous explosion was released, the servant seemed to be vaporised instantly.

Leaving only a slightly singed Class card in her place, fluttering slowly to the ground.

"Master, you should probably retrieve that." He spoke as he dismissed his bow and crossed his arms.

Illya flew up to the card and retrieved it while Miyu followed her.

Archer turned back to see a Rin and Luvia pointing at him, their faces full of shock.

"Yes?" Archer raised an eyebrow "Is there an issue?"

"I-is...there an issue." Rin said slowly "A-an….issue he says." she then started to give off a low chuckle while Luvia sputtered at his answer.

"You!" Luvia's face turned into one of rage "You projected a Noble Phantasm! With Gradiation Air!"

Archer looked back up and the sky and shrugged, "I suppose I did."

Rin made a strangled noise and Luvia's eyes went wide at his nonchalant reply.

"B-but...How can! What kind of first rate magus-" Rin began only to be cut off by Archer.

"Third Rate." He simply replied.

"Third. Rate." The pair of magi parroted back at him. Archer smirked as they made no noises after that, seemingly shutting down in shock.

He turned back to Illya and Miyu as they made their way back to them before he noticed something odd.

"Wait." He said, the seriousness of his tone broke Rin and Luvia out of their state of shock "Why hasn't this place begun to collapse yet?"

"What do you-?" Luvia titled her head only to look up and notice that the Mirror world was still intact.

Archer then sensed it, he had only been aware of Caster here so he had focused everything else out. Now that Caster was gone however, he could sense it clear as day.

The presence of another corrupted Servant.

"Excalibur" A voice sounded behind him, dread picked up at the first word.

He turned, a petite figure clad in black armour wielding a blackened holy sword was standing mere feet from their group, her sword already held aloft, charging with magical energy ready to be swung down. Archer was never going to stop her at this rate.

Rin and Luvia had only just begun turning to the figure virtually on top of them when Archer jumped in-between them, hand outstretched.

"Rho Aias!" The flower shield was erupted in-between them. It was a shoddy, patchwork, only having five of the seven petals available. Even then, a completed Aias would never hold against Excalibur, Archer's only hope was that the Class Card's version was weaker than the completed version.

"Morgan!" The figure brought the sword down. The energy was released and impacted the shield.

The first petal broke immediately, a rib cracked.

The second petal broke, another rib.

The third broke, damage to his organs.

The fourth, the skin on his arm began to split and his sleeve tore away.

The fifth petal broke, the shield collapsed. In the instant before the explosion reached them Archer turned and grabbed Rin and Luvia. Shielding them with his body as they were blasted away.

He blacked out.


Illya watched with horror as Archer was blasted through the air like a ragdoll, Rin and Luvia cupped under his arms were sent along with him.

"Archer!" She screamed as he skipped along the ground, Rin and Luvia falling out of his arms and rolling along the ground alongside him. Eventually they all came to a stop, Archer looked bloodied while Rin and Luvia only looked to have mild bruises.

She didn't care right now though.

Archer wasn't moving, she was immediately running to him when Miyu grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Wait, Illyasviel!" She gripped tight enough to stop her advance "You shouldn't charge in blindly."

"B-but! Archer, Rin-san and Luvia-san!" Illya shook off her arm and turned to Miyu with a desperate expression.

"Wait, Illya-chan!" Ruby turned herself to look at the trio lying on the ground "Vital signs for Rin and Luvia are present. Archer still appears to be alive, although he looks like he's in awful shape."

"All the more reason to-!" Illya turned again only to have Miyu shout her down "That's exactly why…" her voice got softer and more composed "...we must act calmly and surely right now."

Further arguments though were proven useless for Illya when she saw the Saber servant advance on Archer. Completely ignoring Rin and Luvia the corrupted Servant raised her sword, ready to finish off Archer.

Archer, her friend.

He was always teasing her or making a joke at someone's expense, but she could see it in his eyes. He cared. He was doing everything he could to make sure she wasn't as directly involved or, at the very least, prepared for fighting the cards.

And he was about to die.

Ignoring Miyu's cries of protest Illya rushed forwards, she released a small beam of mana from Ruby.

A dark cloud picked up around Saber and the beam didn't even scratch the Servant. It did, however, get Saber's attention away from Archer and on to her.

Illya was fine with that, it meant Archer wasn't in danger anymore.

Saber swung her sword, a dark red wave of energy was released, Illya jumped to one side to avoid it. The wave crashing into the ground next to her and releasing an explosion powerful enough to blast Illya away slightly.

She shook her head and looked up to see the Servant prepare herself to release another wave. Illya immediately took to the air, avoiding another of the blasts launched by Saber.

"Illyasviel!" Miyu began jumping up using her transparent plates to get to higher ground, she launched beam of mana at Saber, the cloud reappeared and the beam was deflected.

"Ruby, what is that black stuff?" Illya asked as she darted through the air.

"It's hard to believe…" Ruby's voice didn't have it's usual cheer to it "That stuff is an incredibly dense cloud of Magical energy."

"A magical barrier we can't nullify…" Miyu looked wide eyed as Sapphire explained the same thing to her.

Illya let loose another beam of energy, at this point she just wanted to draw Saber away from Archer. The cloud reappeared, the attack was blocked.

Saber began walking away from Archer, Illya continued to fire and draw her away. Saber stopped and let loose another wave, this time it impacted Illya. Ruby could only mitigate so much damage as she was blasted out of the sky and towards the ground.

"Illya-chan!" Ruby cried out as Illya hit the ground and rolled for a few metres, she was heavily bruised from the impact, small cuts on her body.

The cloud picked up again as Miyu continued to fire on Saber, the servant paid no mind as she continued to walk towards the downed child.


Archer blinked a few times as he regained consciousness, he looked around to see Rin and Luvia unconscious near him. He could tell they were still alive though.

It seems he wasn't quite past his phase of saving someone, even now.

As his hearing returned he could make out the sounds of battle, turning his head he watched as Illya was blasted out of the sky and crashed into the ground. The was bad, what was worse was it looked like whatever magical attacks Miyu was attempting were being deflected by a cloud of mana Saber could generate on a whim.

That didn't matter though, His Master was in trouble.

He projected Kanshou and sped towards Illya as fast as he could, he was able to slide in front of her before Saber brought her sword down.

He reinforced Kanshou as much as he dared and held the flat of the sword in front of him to block the blow, his right hand supporting the blade.

The blow came down, Archer's knee's buckled slightly. The projection was beginning to crack, Archer titled the sword to knock Excalibur to the side and lashed out with a kick to Saber's stomach. The kick landed and she was blasted back slightly.

He turned back to his master, she was still alive however was clearly dazed. He dismissed his cracked sword and brought the pair back.

Miyu landed down next to Illya, a worried expression on her face.

"How is-?" She began only for Archer to cut her off.

"Alive. A little injured, but alive."

"Illya-chan!" Ruby panicked over the little girl who was gradually coming to.

"W-what?" She blinked a few times before her vision settled on Archer "A-Archer!? Y-you're alive!"

"Of course." Archer smirked "What type of Servant would I be if I was defeated by some cheap knockoff Heroic Spirit?"

He turned back to Saber "However, I'm sure you've realised by now how dangerous she is. Their true identity is King Arthur, if she uses her Noble Phantasm again I won't be able to block it." he winced "In my current state, I doubt I'll be able to match her sword skills."

Miyu widened her eyes and went to a pouch strapped to her legs "I still have the Lancer card!" she pulled it out "Lancer: Include" and tapped it on Sapphire, the Mystic code quickly becoming the blood red spear.

Archer nodded at her "I'll provide a suitable distraction. You finish her off."

Miyu nodded in agreement and Archer sped off at Saber.

He brought Bakuya down and she brought Excalibur up to block, Archer winced. If he wasn't injured he would at least be able to match her strength if not slightly exceed it, however as he was Saber had a strength advantage. Saber pushed back and moved to slash at Kanshou, Excalibur shattered the sword and threw Archer off balance.

Saber swung back at Archer's side, Bakuya was brought up to block the strike. It shattered and Archer jumped back to avoid being cut in half, he couldn't quite avoid the blow however, Saber still catching his chest as he jumped back and creating a rather sizeable gash through his body.

It wasn't enough to completely put Archer down, but it was certainly going to hamper his movement. He projected the twin swords back into his hands.

"Archer-san, move!" Sapphire's voice called out from behind him. He jumped to the side as Miyu rushed past him.

"Gae…" She drew the Lance back "Bolg!" and thrust it forward towards Saber's chest, Saber brought up her sword, the spear impacted the flat of the blade and was blocked.

That was wrong.

Miyu thrust the Lance forwards, Saber brought up her sword, the spear sailed past the flat of her blade and went for her chest.

Saber however, tilted her body a the last moment. The spear went high, or rather Saber went low enough that the spear missed it's target.

Both Archer and Miyu widened their eyes as they realised what happened. Miyu pulled the Lance out and jumped back just before Saber could strike back. She was, at the very least, injured now.

"B-but…" Miyu stared in shock at the Lance, the card unincluded and Sapphire returned to her original form.

"Natural instincts." Archer scowled, Miyu turned to him "Even in that state...she could still see through the curse of reversal of cause and effect."

Saber swung her sword and sent a beam of energy their way.

Archer and Miyu jumped away to avoid being caught in the explosion, they landed back next to Illya who had just picked herself up.

"Master." Archer turned to Illya "You should take Miyu and take yourself, Rin and Luvia and flee. I shall try and stall Saber."

"No." Illya answered immediately.

"Master. This isn't the time fo-"

"No. I won't leave you here Archer." She frowned at him "You're my friend. I won't leave you behind."

They maintained eye contact for a few moments before Archer sighed "What an unreasonable Master I have."

They turned back to Saber as she prepared to launch another wave of magical energy at them.

A red jewel flew in and detonated as soon as it hit the cloud of dark mana Saber activated.

"Rin-san!" Ruby called out, the group turned to see Rin on her feet, Luvia shakily standing up just behind her.

"Oh?" Rin smirked at Luvia "I didn't think you'd be able to fall asleep in anything other than a canopy bed."

Luvia scoffed "You've got it wrong, uncouth commoner. I was merely taking a small break."

The two stared at eachother before turning back to Saber, the cloud kicked up by their gems dissipated to reveal the Servant, undamaged.

"Tch." Rin clicked her tongue "Not even a scratch, huh?"

"Honestly." Luvia sighed "Such a pain."

The pair pulled out more gems and began bombarding Saber with them.

"They won't be able to keep this up for long." Archer winced as he stood up straight "You two figure out a plan, I'll aid Rin and Luvia however I can." He charged Saber, ignoring Illya's cries of protest.

"Don't attack recklessly!" Miyu called out as Archer would perform hit and run attacks after a barrage of gems would strike Saber.

"Wh-what now, Ruby!?" Illya turned to her Mystic code before turning to Miyu "What should we do now?"

"Calm down, Illyasviel." Miyu turned to her, a serious expression on her face "I'll harass and hinder the opponent, It will divide their attention between myself, Archer, Rin and Luvia. Use that opportunity to-"

"N-no!" Illya cut her off "It'd just be like last time! Archer is too injured to keep fighting!"

"I can hold her for ten seconds with my physical protection maximised."

"I said no." Illya shook her head "That puts you in too much danger."

"Who cares!? Just do what I say!"

Further arguments were halted when Ruby smacked the top of both of their heads "The two of you shouldn't be arguing." She then sighed "Honestly, it will prevent you two from becoming better Magical Girls. More importantly." She turned back to the fight as Archer redirected Saber's sword again and landed a kick before jumping away "Archer doesn't have that kind of time, he's too injured right now to deal with the Card by himself." She shook her body "At this rate we can't win."

"T-then what-?" Illya began but Ruby cut her off.

"Therefore…" She turned to Sapphire "You fine with it, Sapphire-chan?"

"Yes, Nee-san." Sapphire nodded.

"This is the last resort. Illya let Archer know our plan."


Archer avoided another strike to the head and jumped back as more jewels hit Saber's cloud of mana.

"This isn't working." Archer shouted to the pair "How many gems do you have left?"

"Not many!" Rin shouted back, he could hear her click her tongue from over here "This opponent is really getting on my nerves."

"What about you Archer?" Luvia shouted over, she jumped to avoid another wave of energy "You seem to be seriously injured!"

"I can keep up with her, however getting past her right now is impossible." He threw the swords at Saber and projected another pair in his hands. Saber turned and batted them out of the air before charging Archer again.

"Archer!" Illya's voice came in his head as he held up his blades to block another strike "We have a plan! We need to get Ruby and Sapphire to Rin-san and Luvia-san!"

"Understood Master." He pushed back and jumped away again "I shall keep Saber's attention on myself for now."

He retreated rapidly, Saber following him. Even in his injured state, he was still strong enough to block or parry her however, he was too slow to take advantage. 'It seems that natural instinct of yours is troublesome, Saber' He smirked as they clashed swords again 'As expected though.'

He saw Illya and Miyu throw Ruby and Sapphire over to Rin and Luvia, the pair transformed and Archer found he was having a very hard time not bursting out in a fit of laughter at how ridiculous Rin looked.

'Cat ears.' He thought before shaking his head, he pushed Saber's sword away and jumped over her head before running back to Illya and Miyu. His master was more vulnerable now and he had done his part.

"Are you alright, Master?" He asked as he came to a stop in front of them, he realised the irony of him asking that when he was covered in wounds from his bout with the Servant. Evidently Illya realised it too, given how she looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"A-am I? Archer! You're hurt!" She gestured to him with wide eyes "Why are you so reckless!"

Archer shrugged "I had an opponent to defeat."

"Archer!" He would have smirked if he wasn't in so much pain, it was going to take a while to heal this.

He turned his attention back to Rin and Luvia, the difference in experience between them and the little girls was like night and day.

Luvia kicked up a smokescreen with her attacks to allow Rin to get in close to attack.

Saber brought her blade up to block Rin's strike, Illya's eyes went wide when she saw Ruby "A...Blade?" She virtually gasped.

Rin jumped away and put on a false smile "She's certainly a tough cookie." she narrowed her eyes "I need more physical strength, Ruby." she sprinted at the Servant "Allocate 70% to physical strength and 30% to physical protection."

"You're quite the slave driver." Ruby sighed.

Rin proceeded to duel Saber, a blade sticking out of the top of the Kaleidostick. Archer had to give Rin credit, she was certainly more skilled in swordsmanship than he was expecting her to be. It was obvious that Saber was better, yet Rin had enough of an edge to keep herself from being taken out immediately.

Luvia alerted Rin to a magical trap she had set. Rin navigated Saber onto it, the slight blast the was triggered when Saber stepped on it was enough to throw them off balance and for Rin to take advantage and strike the Servant in the chest with enough force to drive them back.

Luvia was still amidst the smokescreen, setting up what Archer presumed was more traps. He would remain back for now, evidently Rin and Luvia were enacting a plan between the two of them, besides he would need to be in a position to protect his master if it failed.

Saber charged Rin again, this time it was clear the Servant was now taking her more seriously. She was fighting her in the same way she had fought Archer. Mercilessly and without the ability to take a break. Saber struck upwards, Rin was left exposed.

Archer was preparing to rush in when he saw it, Rin's smirk.

Saber struck Rin in the side, yet the girl wasn't cut in half, a layer of mana protected the girl. She gripped Saber's sword handle to prevent her from retreating.

"I've got you now." She sneered at the Servant and pointed Ruby at her chest. At point blank range she let loose a blast of magical energy at the Servant.

Saber was blasted backwards before skidding to a halt.

Archer looked up, Illya and Miyu looked up. There in the sky were at least half a dozen high level offensive magical circles which Luvia had set up.

"Magic...circles…" Miyu breathed out, eyes wide. Illya remained in a shocked silence.

"Charging of all circles complete." Sapphire informed Luvia.

"This is like our previous fight, but our positions are reversed." Luvia's confident smile seemed to grow as she teased Rin.

Rin said nothing as she smirked at Saber "Mist of mana or whatever that is…"

She and Luvia drew their Mystic Codes back "We'll blast it all away!" the pair shouted at the same time as the Magical circles activated at let loose a massive blast of energy directly at Saber.

The Servant made no move to dodge as she was hit and blasted into the river with tremendous force. The impact of the explosion kicked up a small shockwave and created a miniature tsunami which flooded over onto the path.

The celebration seemed to be short lived as Rin and Luvia were quick to exchange insults again.

"Those two...are on another level." Illya whispered behind the servant, who turned to see her still staring slackjawed at the damage.

"Don't worry, Master." Archer patted her head, she fidgeted slightly under the contact "You're a lost easier to manage than that pair."

"Thanks Archer." She nodded before turning back to him "Wait...what's that supposed to mean?"

Archer said nothing. He turned towards the water.

"Get back!" he shouted at Rin and Luvia "I can still sense-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when the river split down the middle to reveal Saber, her armour had been broken and she was left only with her dress. That wasn't what concerned Archer though.

The activation of her Noble Phantasm, was.

"Excalibur Morgan." There was no build up this time. No point at which Archer could have prevented it.

Saber pointed her sword and simply released her Noble Phantasm at the group, Archer turned gripped Illya and Miyu and leapt into the sky as high as he could and away from the Servant. The beam ripped straight through the river, blasting a crevasse through the ground and shattering parts of the Mirror dimension.

The blastwave knocked Archer off course, he turned his body as he raced towards the ground so that he would take the brunt of the impact rather than the children. He hit the ground with painful thud, creating a small indentation in the dirt.

Archer released the girls, the shakily fell out of hit grasp as he staggered to his feet to survey the damage. The blast had completely annihilated everything that was directly in front of it. Archer stared at the wasteland that was once a riverbank.

It wasn't raining, it was simply water kicked up from Saber's noble Phantasm falling back to earth. The area where Rin and Luvia had been standing no longer existed, Archer couldn't see them and he very much doubted they survived. Even with the Mystic codes, a direct hit from an Anti-fortress Noble Phantasm wasn't something one could survive.

Archer could take some small solace in the fact that the Noble Phantasm was evidently weaker. Considering the fact they were still alive.

"R-Ruby!" he heard Illya shout out behind him "Sapphire! Where are you?!" her voice sounded desperate. "S-say something!" he could hear the tears start to build up in her eyes.

He turned his head to see Miyu, staring lifelessly at the remains of the blast.

"Rin-san!" Illya's cries to the air continued "Luvia-san! Where are you!? Say something!" the girl dropped to her knees and began wailing "Please!" she turned to Archer, the tears already streaming down her face "Archer...bring them back. Please!" she slowly got to her feet and staggered towards him "Please, Archer…" she gripped him and cried into his leg "P-please Archer...bring them back…"

Archer turned his head away and back to the lake, Saber was walking towards them.

"Miyu." The girl turned to him "Take Illya and flee." he unattached the crying girl from his leg and handed her to Miyu.

"A-Archer?" Illya looked at him, then looked where he was staring. Her eye's began darting between the two in realisation. Horror gripped her face "Archer! No! Don't!"


Archer said nothing as he approached Saber, the wailing and begging of Illya getting quieter with each step he took towards the Servant.

He blamed himself.

He'd gotten distracted, he'd underestimated his enemies. Too focused with getting this mess done quickly instead of properly. Rin and Luvia were seemingly dead, his master was a wailing mess and without Ruby and Sapphire the girls would be trapped here when the dimension collapsed.

More people EMIYA had failed to save, this time though...

This failure hurt more.

Archer stopped as Saber still approached him.

"I Am The Bone Of My Sword"

More failures for EMIYA to regret.

"Steel Is My Body, And Fire Is My Blood"

What a joke, summoned to this place.

"I Have Created Over A Thousand Blades"

Forced to see what his life could have been.

"Unknown To Death,"

Forced to see his younger self with a smile on his face.

"Nor Known To Life."

Failed to save anyone yet again.

"I have to save him! I have to save him for that old man's dream!"

Archer froze. The words behind him felt like the sliced right through him.


Illya watched as Archer walked over to Saber, she kept begging him but he wasn't listening to her. He wasn't even responding to his mental link anymore.

She kept struggling as Miyu was dragging her away "Let go! I have to save Archer!" she begged but Miyu wouldn't let go.

"No, Illyasviel! Archer told us to flee!" She kept pulling Illya away.

"No!" She struggled in Miyu's grip even more "I have to save him!"

"I have to save him!" she thrashed harder, the dream she had before coming here flooding her mind.


A boy sat under the moon with his father.

"When I was little, I wanted to be a Hero of Justice." The old man said, a sad smile on his face.

The boy turned to him "What?" he frowned slightly "You wanted to be one? Did you give up?"

The old man smile got sadder, a smile full of regrets "Yeah." he sighed "Unfortunately becoming a Hero has an expiration date. When you grow up, its hard to call yourself one." he let out a laugh, full of anguish "I wish I had realised that sooner."

"I see." The boy turned away "Then I guess you'll never be one, huh?"

The old man stared up at the moon "No...No I never will be."

He released a breath, it felt like one he had held in all his life "It really is a nice moon tonight."

"Fine." The boy nodded "Since you can't do it…" he turned to the old man "I'll become one for you."

"Hmm?" The old man turned back to the boy.

The boy had a small smile on his face "You're an adult now, so you can't do it anymore." he looked back at the moon "But I still can.

"Just leave it to me…" Emiya Shirou turned back to the old man, his amber eyes full of determination "...Your dream."

"All right." Emiya Kiritsugu closed his eyes one final time, a small smile on his face. One without regret "Ah…I can rest easy now."


"I have to save him! I have to save him for that old man's dream!" Illya screamed out loud, she didn't know why but she felt that if she didn't then she'd regret it.

Being a Hero of Justice, saving people.

That's what Archer needed right now. A Hero to save him.

How?

A voice in her asked. Something began to crack deep inside her.

"I have to save him!"

How?

The voice asked again, louder than before.

"Archer…" she whispered to herself. She blacked out.


Archer turned almost robotically to where the shout had come from. Saber seemed to ignore him as well and focus on what was behind him. Illya had shaken out of Miyu's grasp and held the Archer card out in front of her.

Her eyes, they were no longer red. They were a more golden colour. It wasn't the colour of her eyes which had Archer frozen. It was the lack of warmth in them. Those were not the eyes of Illyasviel Von Einzbern, the little ten year of magical girl.

Those were the eyes of Counter Guardian EMIYA, simply completing an objective and nothing more.

A red circle manifested itself beneath Illya, she placed the card down and simply uttered a single word.

"Install" Her tone of emotionless, machine like.

She was immediately engulfed in a bright flash of light.

Archers heart almost froze when her clothes changes, they shifted from her pyjamas into a copy of his own garments. They weren't identical, Illya had her midriff exposed but that was it. She held out her had and Archer's black bow manifested itself.

There was a tense silence where everyone's attention was fixed entirely on Illya.

Miyu in shocked silence, Saber in quite calculation.

Archer in sheer unrestricted horror.

"Illya…" Archer called out, there was no reply from her.

He felt a build-up of magic behind him and leapt away as Saber let loose a wave mana at Illya.

The girl simply held out her hand. Rho Aias formed in front of her, the wave hit and was blocked. A cloud of dust was kicked up, instantly three arrows were launched from out of it.

Saber blocked all three of them, she looked up as Illya leapt out of the cloud. Kanshou and Bakuya forming in her hands, she brought them together and slashed down at Saber. The servant screamed in pain as the blades cut from her shoulder to her chest. Saber swiped at Illya who back flipped away.

Illya projected the twin swords again.

Archer watched as the two clashed again. Illya wasn't just using his powers. She was using his moves. They were basic, unrefined but they were his. That improvisational fighting style made for battling stronger opponents.

The fighting style he spent years creating.

Illya was using it.

It wasn't just that. What she had said before, she had to save Archer for that old mans dream.

'N-no...s-she couldn't mean…' Dread was growing within Archer, the dream cycle. Illya saw that smile, heard that dream.

"Trace: Overedge" The robot called out again, Kanshou and Bakuya were reinforced past their safety limits and Illya attacked Saber with a renewed offensive.

Saber would slash at a presumed opening and Illya would parry her away instantly.

Saber charged up her sword to release another wave of mana, Illya threw the twin blades at her as the wave was released. The attack detonated as the twin swords hit it, momentarily blinding Saber.

Illya landed and instantly projected a bow and a familiar looking drill sword. She nocked the sword into the bow and pulled, the sword began to extend as it was drawn back. Illya released it as soon as Saber was visible.

The sword rocketed past Saber, shattering a part of her visor.

Archer turned his attention away from Illya as the ground near Miyu began to crack, he saw Sapphire burst from the underneath the ground.

"Are you alright, Miyu-sama!?" her voice sounded more panicked than usual.

"S-sapphire?" Miyu stared in shock at the Mystic code "You're okay?"

"Yes, we barely managed to burrow underground to escape in time."

"How are Rin and Luvia?" Archer questioned her, Sapphire turned to him "They are only slightly injured but beyond that they are fine."

Archer felt a build-up of mana and turned again, Saber was about to release her Noble Phantasm.

"Trace On" Illya's hands already began forming around a sword that didn't exist.

Archer stared in disbelief as a projected copy of Excalibur manifested itself in Illya's hands, she raised the sword above her head and the blade began to glow a brilliant golden shine.

"Excalibur…" Saber began to bring the sword down.

"EX-" Illya did the same.

"...Morgan!" A jet of black energy was released from the Saber servant.

"-CALIBUR!" Illya's projection released a beam of bright golden light.

The two hit, they stalemated for a moment.

Then Archer watched what he believed impossible, the projection overpowered the Noble Phantasm of the class card and vaporised Saber.

Archer stared wide eyed at the crater where Saber had been before turning his attention back to Illya. She stood there for a moment as her sword vanished into motes of light before she turned and looked Archer right in the eye.

Then she smiled.

The same smile that haunted him all his life. The smile that told him that if he could save just one person, then it would all be worth it.

She smiled Kiritsugu's smile.

Then she collapsed. The card was ejected from her and she returned to her normal appearance.

Miyu and Sapphire instantly rushed over to Illya's side to check her over as Rin and Luvia crawled out of a hole in the ground.

Rin looked around in confusion "W-what hap-"

"Collect the Card." Archer simply said. His face emotionless as he stared at Illya.

"W-what?" Rin looked at him in surprise "S-sure…" she walked over to where the card was.

Archer dragged his feet over to Illya's unconscious body. He stared down at her, his expression deceptively blank.

"Illya-chan!" Ruby floated over to her "What happened Arch-?"

"Sapphire." Archer's tone was emotionless "Get us out of here once Rin returns with the Card."

"Y-yes, Archer-san." Sapphire agreed and they waited as Rin and Luvia walked over with the class card.

They returned over and instantly Archer and Miyu were bombarded with questions.

"What happened Archer? Why is Illya unconscious?"

"She used the Archer Class Card." He simply replied.

Luvia went wide eyed "Without Ruby!?"

"She used them how they were originally intended to be used." His eyes never left Illya "To steal a portion of the power of a Heroic Spirit."

"S-so she used...your power?" Rin inquired, Archer nodded.

He leant down and placed a hand on the girls forehead 'Trace On'

After a brief moment he took his hand off her "She's just unconscious, it appears that using the class card opened up some of her Circuits. She'll be out for a while but will wake up fine."

Ruby sighed "Oh, thank goodness!"

Rin shook her head "In any case, all we can do now is get her back home." she shrugged and rolled up her sleeves "Guess I'll have to carry h-"

"I'll carry her home." Miyu interrupted and leant down to put the girl on her back.

"I'll walk with you." Archer replied, the pair walked away with the unconscious Illya and Ruby and Sapphire in tow.


The walk back to the Einzbern residence was mostly silent.

Archer didn't reply to Ruby's jabs about how Illya was probably cooler than Archer at using his power than he was, eventually the Kaleidostick stopped talking.

They got to the front door when Archer spoke up again "I'll take her inside." Miyu nodded and Archer picked up the sleeping girl.

"That card..." Miyu spoke, a hushed tone in her voice "It's...your power?"

"Yes. It is." Archer replied, taking Illya into a bridal carry.

"Do you...know your true name?" She looked up at him. Archer didn't like that look of familiarity she had in her eyes. It was there again, she was looking at someone who wasn't there.

He could lie. He could say he didn't know, but something told him the girl would see through the lie.

"...Yes." He replied. Miyu never took her eyes off him as he turned away from her.

He walked round to where her room was and jumped up to the window, he opened it up and climbed through. Sitting the girl on her bed and tucking her in.

He stared at her for a few more moments.

She spoke about an old man's dream. She meant Kiritsugu's dream. Archer was worried about the wrong person. Illya was a young child, being told she was a magical girl.

Of course she'd look at being a Hero of Justice as a cool thing.

The seed was planted from the moment the dream cycle began, Archer was too worried about this version of his past self to see the danger.

'No…' He told himself 'Our circumstances are different, she was never hollow like Emiya Shirou was, she'd never take the ideal to it's extreme...could she?'

He'd need to watch her.

He prepared to return to Spirit form when Illya's bedroom door opened "At first I wasn't sure what it was..." a whispered voice sounded out behind him "...however myself and Leysritt have been detecting a magical disturbance for the past week."

He turned to see Sella staring at him, her eyes dangerously narrowed "Who are you and what are your intentions with Illya-san."

"Just a simple Servant concerned about his Master." He replied, Sella's eyes narrowed further.

"Master? What do you…" Then her eyes widened in realisation "Y-you're a…"

"I've not been summoned for a Grail War if that's what concerns you." He pointed to Illya "She has no command seals and I have no link to the Grail."

"T-then what are you doing here?" Sella shifted slightly, getting into a combat stance.

Archer looked over at Illya's sleeping face then back to Sella "Making sure she doesn't die." he returned to Spirit form before Sella could quiz him further.

He didn't care anymore. Things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Minutes later and thousands of miles away in Europe…

Irisviel and Emiya Kiritsugu got a phone call.


AN: Oh...well...damn…

Poor Archer…

The OG Seigi no Mikata is coming home.

Yep...big change from canon now, was inevitable I suppose. How long can Emiya really keep his identity a secret now?

Saber fight. For those wondering, yes. Archer would have probably won the fight if he wasn't taken off guard by Saber, despite the cards only being a fraction of a Heroic Spirits power it's still taking an a weakened anti-fortress Noble Phantasm to the face. Also, needed a way for Illya to use the Archer card didn't we?

As far as the future fights with Assassin and Berserker? Pffft. Yeah like a weak hundred faces is a challenge to an actual servant.