The Story of Illya Emiya

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Fate Stay franchise or the characters associated with them.

"talking"

Thoughts

Caster & Assassin II

Saber was stunned as she didn't know how to react. Her master was kind and innocent just like her mother, pure in every way. Something nearly impossible to find in anyone no matter what era you're in. But what stood in front of her now was a creature of madness consumed by insatiable blood lust. What made it worse was that she could only helplessly watch as she disgracefully couldn't do more as her servant.

Assassin on the other hand had never felt pressure as intense as this before. All the alarm bells in her head were ringing at just how dangerous her opponent was. However a gleeful smile couldn't help but stretch on her lips as she gripped her sword tightly. Whether it was hurting Arturia or proving her superiority she would never shy away from a challenge. Seeing Saber's face as she gouged her sword through Illya will be a memory she will truly savor.

However that was something much easier said than done.

Illya and Berserker had now become one as she was radiating his domineering power. However it came with a severe cost as the young homunculus was consumed by his madness. Though she retained parts of herself, any sense of sanity had been sealed off. As an animalistic grin stretched on her face, she wanted to taste the blood of the enemy that stood in front of her. Seeing the one she wanted, "You! I want to hear it from you!"

"What?" Assassin asked half annoyed.

"I want to hear the crunching of your bones! Enjoy the sound of your voice as you take your last breath!" Illya's expression then became more maniacal, "But most of all I really want to hear you squeal like a pig!"

"Such a vulgar being like you . . . ." but was interrupted as Assassin was cut short. Illya had closed the distance between them in a second. Grabbing her face, she flew off with her as the fallen knight was stunned and unable to move at the extreme force acting against her. "What freakish strength!"

"Illya!" Saber cried out as she attempted to chase only to be stopped by the knights of the round. Raising her sword, she readied herself to fight. With the power of the command seal her mentality was stable. However it didn't change the heart break she felt. These were her most trusted knights and closest friends. "But these aren't them . . . ." as Saber gathered her resolve. "Just faces within a reality marble created by Caster". Recalling Illya's words, this was something she had to see through to the end no matter what happened. "Come!" Saber shouted. "Let this be an honorable battle!"

On that call Saber raced in as her knights did the same.

~ Reality marble (Camelot) ~

"Ahh!" Shirou roared out swinging his swords as he cut down two knights that stood in his way.

As another enemy came in from behind them, a black bolt of energy shot past Shirou's shoulder striking the knight in the head. With that added time the mage smith adjusted his angle as he cut down the enemy before him.

Rin and Shirou team work were extremely compatible as they complimented each other perfectly. Whether combat or support, the pair was able to read each others moves and tactics without fail.

When Shirou pushed the front line Rin used her gandr to shoot anything he missed.

"Behind you!" Shirou shouted as Rin turned around reinforcing her arms as she parried a sword swinging it away from her.

Changing out his weapons, the mage smith recalled Archer's bow as he shot off a sword arrow taking out the knight.

Though their numbers were worrisome, Rin's confidence started to lift the longer they fought. There enemies may have been servants, but they were extremely low tier as they lacked any kind of fame during their time in life. Though she imagined Camelot gave them some sort of boost to their abilities. But with Shirou at her side, she felt like she could never lose.

A few more knights then showed up as they shifted strategies for a pincer attack. Spotting this Rin jumped back. "Emiya-kun! Back to back!"

Adjusting their tactics Shirou shifted back to Kansho and Bakuya as Rin maintained a rapid fire of her gandr. Based on the distance of the enemy forces the two would change their positions spinning around as they kept the knights at bay. As they fought they never left each others backs empty as they continued to knock down the enemy numbers.

Finally after the last one fell Shirou gave a deep exhale while trying to keep his back straight and breath.

"Are you OK Emiya-kun?"

"It's alright Tohsaka-san. I'm just a little winded is all" the mage smith gave a strained smile.

"Just don't push yourself too hard" Rin said in concern. "Tell me if you need a little break OK".

With a warm smile, "thank you for watching out for me".

Out of old habit Rin's face became slightly flushed looking away a bit embarrassed while crossing her arms. "I'm just concerned about the success of the mission and saving my sister! It's only natural I have to care if you're OK or not!"

Taken back at her outburst, Shirou took a calming breath. "Alright let's keep going then".

". . . . Alright" as Archimedes led the way with the pair following behind. Making their way to the throne room the brunette magus took some time to contemplate. It was certainly hard for her to imagine just how much progress Shirou had made from the start of the holy grail war. By normal standards he would be considered a hack of a mage because of his below then average magical abilities being only able to use projection and reinforce. But if there was anything he was known for it was his near bottomless perseverance. Practicing since the beginning, he had trained his magecraft which was considered useless by most to a level that no one could have ever imagined was possible. Implementing his style he was able to utilize ancient magical artifacts which were impossible to be used by their modern day standards.

But that wasn't what she really wanted to think about. For all her life and the many people she had met, Shirou was the only one to ever make her feel this way. To everyone else either normal or magical, she was a girl of high standing who presented herself with an air of dignity. But whenever it concerned him, she couldn't help but get flustered as she ended up showing him her true self as a more temperamental girl. Even after that the mage smith still treated her the same as he was patient with her no matter how aggressive or demanding she was. Even though she tried to deny it, she knew she was starting to develop certain feelings for him. Though what exactly she felt was still uncertain. However there were a couple of reasons she would never act on them.

Shirou was always nice to everyone. So she knew she was nothing special. Furthermore because of his attitude towards others he already had plenty of other girls that liked him like her sister Sakura. If anything she would have buried these troubling feelings a long time ago if not for her rivalry with Luvia who constantly goaded her on challenging her on almost every aspect of her life including the fight for Shirou's attention.

As her thoughts revolved round the blond magus, she was brought out of her daze as Shirou shouted.

"Luvia-san!"

"Huh?"

There standing in the center of the throne room was the blond magus herself with Caster standing by her side.

Before Rin could even articulate their next move, "why are you doing this Luvia-san?!" as Shirou stepped forward. "You have to stop this! What you're doing is wrong no matter what! So please stop this for everyone's sake!"

"I do as I please" Luvia simply responded. "I have no reason to care for what happens to a couple of lives".

"Well said master" Caster smiled callously. "One must be absolutely ruthless if they have any hope in winning the holy grail".

"I refuse to believe that!" Shirou exclaimed. "There is no way I would believe that Luvia-san would act like this!"

"I know you've been a lot of things before" said Rin stepping in. "You've certainly been a pain in my butt for all these years going to many lengths in order to win. But this is certainly a new low even for you".

"The time of talk is over" then said Caster impatiently. On that note their battle began as Luvia reinforced her body as Caster enhanced her even further. Blitzing off, she was instantly in front of the pair before they even had time to blink. Trying to step back in surprise, Shirou was the first target as Luvia had struck him with a full on lariat.

With that hit to the chest, it felt like he was hit by a hammer as he went flying back to the wall behind him. But before he had completely blacked out from that hit he had managed to reinforce his body just before he hit the wall. Taking that kind of impact head on would have been outright severe if not completely lethal as his body would've been smashed to bits. After falling out of the wall, Shirou could only hold his chest as he knew that his ribs must have been cracked after taking that kind of abuse. However he did not have time to recover as Rin was now under attack.

The moment Shirou was hit; Rin was instantly on the defensive as she activated her magic circuits to their max. She was well aware of Luvia's combat style. If this was a normal fight between them, she would be able to endure a few hits. But backed by Caster she couldn't afford to even take one as it would be over for her. Against Luvia's now immense strength, Rin had to be calm and level headed as she focused on technique to insure that Luvia couldn't throw or slam her.

But she wouldn't have to face her alone for any longer. Shirou had just the response for this as he projected nine lives, the noble phantasm of the Greek hero Heracles. Grasping the club axe in his hand, he also had his accumulated combat experience throughout his lifetime as a master of several martial arts facing off against other legends that were either stronger or faster than he was. Armed with that wisdom he reentered the battle. Getting in between the two girls he forced Luvia to step back only for her to reengage as she grabbed his arm. But before she could do anything Shirou had already adjusted his technique tossing her before she could toss him. "Go deal with Caster. I'll hold off Luvia-san for as long as I can".

Rin was hesitant in letting Shirou hold her off. Like when she fought him, he definitely held back out of concern for her as his compassion was both his greatest strength as well as debilitating weakness. But if her assumption was right concerning Caster then they might just be able to turn this entire thing around.

~ Reality marble (Camelot) ~

Emitting their golden aura Kuro and Miyu were barely holding back the darkness

The longer the connection was open the stronger 'it' became. Sakura was shriveling in pain as the putrid mud continued to leak out of her. It had now gotten so bad it had begun flowing against their containment. Whatever the mud touched it too started to undergo some form of corruption as the ground it touched seemed like it was dying.

For the time being the girls were able to keep themselves protected. However it was now becoming something that they couldn't handle alone as they felt like they were suffocating from the dense miasma of this evil.

"If there was any time for a miracle now would be it" Kuro prayed.

"Please hurry Illya" as Miyu tried to keep her focus. If they wanted to have a chance in winning against this abomination then they were going to need her help as she and Kuro had done all they could.

While they were busy holding back the end of the world Archer was having his own difficulties. The knights were of little issue as he wiped them out with relative ease. But Caster was an entirely different entity of himself. Most Caster's would never engage in close combat with how disadvantageous it was. However the flower magus had a few tricks up his sleeve. One of which was his mystic eyes that gave him future sight. No matter what he did he couldn't catch the flower magus by surprise as he repeatedly missed or was countered.

Then there was the other thing which was too funny that he couldn't even laugh. Drawing Kansho and Bakuya, Caster had summoned his own sword as they fought each other.

Exchanging swing for swing neither Caster nor Archer were able to gain any significant ground as the metal of their blades clashed against each other.

"Hmph, I guess it wasn't just a story that you were also the one who taught Saber the sword" said Archer.

"If anything I've always been more for swords" as Caster could only give an indifferent shrug. "But it just goes to show how much of a genius I am in anything I do" he said almost braggingly.

"Truly an odd one you are".

"You're one to talk. If there is anyone odd here it's you with how many noble phantasms you have. But I guess it's understandable with how complicated your life is".

Narrowing his eyes, the red servant could only scoff while shrugging his shoulders a bit. "You've already seen how this all ends didn't you?"

"Well yes and no" the flower magus shook his head whimsically. "Nothing is ever truly set in stone. But I do generally get the picture of where everything is going".

"You must have a pretty dull life if nothing surprises you anymore". Scoffing for a second time as Archer got back into his stance, "I'll try not to make this boring for you".

~ Reality marble (Camelot) ~

After some distance away Illya had thrown Assassin quite far on the opposite side of the castle away from any interference that might interrupt them.

Being thrown, the fallen knight hit the ground creating an impact crater as she continued to rag doll on the ground for some distance. Shakenly getting herself back to her feet she was pretty rattled. Yet in the face of an opponent she would never show weakness.

With Illya landing on the ground, she tapped her hammer against her shoulder as she was ready to get some smashing done.

At how great her pride was, Assassin's face contorted in rage. "How dare you treat me with such disrespect you lowly peasant! I shall savor the moment as I cut off your limbs while saving your head for last!"

"Is that so?" as Illya expression became more twisted losing herself to bloodlust. "I hope you can satisfy me with that large sword of yours. But I'm going to enjoy hearing you scream as I'm pounding you!"

Screaming in war cry, Assassin charged straight ahead fighting like a Berserker herself. Fueled by her anger, her sword glowed red increasing her overall attack power. But against a true Berserker in front of her it was a petty trick at best as Illya lazily defended with her hammer.

"You're boring me Assassin. If this is all you can do then let me show you what real power looks like!" as storm clouds started appearing overhead as the sound of cackling could he heard in the air.

~ Reality marble (Camelot) ~

Regardless of their physical abilities, Saber still had her hands full dealing with the knights of the round.

Say what you will about them being imitations right down to their personalities as they were capable of speech. But the troublesome part was that their abilities and noble phantasms were fully intact.

Of the thirteen who comprised the knights of the round, she faced off against seven of them. Tristan, Kay, Gawain, Bedivere, Galahad, Agravain, and Gareth.

Their team work was impeccable as ever as she was forced to fight them all at the same. Her senses and skills were pushed to the limit as she wasn't given any time to breath against their endless onslaught.

Out in the open she couldn't face them like this. Especially when she needed to defend against Tristan sound arrows. So if she wanted to have any chance at winning she needed to take this fight inside. Fending them off creating an opening she generated a mana burst making a tactical retreat into the castle. Now taking this fight into the hallway things were more manageable as they could only come at her in one direction.

It wasn't ideal with how limited her range of motion was. But this way they too had to face her one on one as not to impede each other.

Parrying each of their sword strikes one would step forward to strike again as Saber stepped back to gain distance.

"I don't have time for this! I need to get to Illya!"

~ Reality marbel (Camelot) ~

Rin and Caster were having a shoot out with each other. Though the later was more playing then fighting. In comparison to the modern age, magic has become rather weak. But to be fair the craft has been on the decline since the age of gods ended.

"I just need to keep her distracted long enough till I figure out the trick" as Rin continued to fight. This was only an assumption on her part. But if she was right they would be able to deal a crippling blow to Caster and claim victory in one swoop. So for the time being she just needed some time and keep the witch queen entertained till she found what she needed.

Meanwhile Shirou was keeping Luvia busy. Shrinking nine lives down and reformatting it into a bracer he needed both his hands against the blond magus. Heracles wealth of skills and experience was helpful as he was able to wrestle against his opponent on equal grounds. Luvia was obviously stronger from her enhancements. But backed by the Greek hero he was able to maintain a stalemate.

Circling each other while crouched Shirou made the preemptive move going for a grab missing as Luvia swung around to his back as she wrapped her arms around his stomach.

Feeling himself falling backwards about to be slammed the mage smith with what leverage he had left pushed off against the ground offsetting Luvia's balance as he slipped right out of her grasp.

But before he could escape she managed to grab his left arm. Jumping up, she wrapped her body into an arm bar as she started to arc back as she attempted to break his limb. Seeing this Shirou was quick to latch his hands together because if Luvia got him on the ground she would probably do worse then break his arm. Given her strength she would tear it completely off.

"I'm not going to like this one bit". It was as Rin had anticipated of Shirou. He was too kind hearted especially against a girl as he found himself hesitant to hurt her. But in a life or death struggles, senses of morality were dulled in favor of survival. So raising his body, he slammed Luiva against the ground forcing her to release him.

However she was from out as the blond magus was on her feet ready to go again.

"Rin, please hurry" Shirou muttered under his breath.

~ Reality marble (Camelot) ~

Archer was in quite a bit of trouble.

At his back was the literal end of the world. If Kuro and Miyu was not able to contain the root of all evil then Earth would experience a disaster akin to an extinction level event. As a counter guardian, he might be able to do something about it.

But to his front Caster was not going to make it easy for him. Clashing blades against him and avoiding the occasional energy blasts the red servant had accumulated some injuries while his opponent was relatively unscathed. It was impossible to catch him off guard with the power of his mystic eyes.

As things stood he only had one last option left to take. Against another servant there was no telling what may happen. But more then that what he was about to do was unprecedented as no one throughout history has ever attempted it or rather there has never been a moment where it could happen.

However this was his last card to play as everything was gambling on this now.

"Well this is certainly going to be interesting" said Caster. He has done everything in his power to slow himself down to give the opposition some chance to counter. But for what was about to unfold, well even he was little surprised about what was about to happen.

Gathering his resolve Archer started his chant. "I am the bone of my sword".

To be continued . . . .

Authors notes: Hope this chapter was OK and now onto some commentary notes.

It was just revealed that installed Berserker cards do have an effect on their users in which ten minutes is the time limit before mad enchantment starts affecting it's user. However it seems of all the class cards Berserker is special as it can alter the class of other servants by swaping them out such in the case of Rider as it reverted her back to her monster form. It seems to only work for Berserker. But with the Illya of this world I had a few interesting ways Illya could play around with Servants and their classes.

Rin will always be a first class tsundere. Thus she'll never be honest with her feelings. Frankly I'm still trying to understand how she and Shirou got together in Unlimited Blade Works route.

I've been doing my reading into Merlin as it was noted he had supposedly taught Arturia swordsmanship. No one knows if it is true or not, but I just went with it. Thus Merlin could share traits with the Saber class. Furthermore it was also noted his use of magic is odd. But according to him he is supposedly a magician who stands above all others claiming to be a grand order type while also claiming himself to be greater then Soloman the king of magic. Once again no one knows if that is true or just Merlin liking to exaggerate how great he is.

The knights that Arturia is facing are all Saber class except for Tristan who is a Archer. Each of her knights have a certain specialty to them which is making it difficult for Arturia to handle this by herself. But we'll see how she deals with them.

It just came to me that Shirou would be the ultimate archeologist. With his trace ability he would know everything in the world worth knowing based on the history of who it belonged too and where it came from. I wonder why no one even Shirou ever thought to use his abilities like this considering how much lost history he would be able to uncover. Of course there are exceptions as he can't analyze things not of this world (Ea) or things that are beyond his comprehension (the crystal sword).

Discounting the fighting games no one knows what will happen when two reality marbles interact with each other. Will it be a contest of ideals? will one overwrite the other? Will they smash together into a strange mod podge? No one knows. So we'll see what happens next chapter.

If there are any questions or concerns feel free to ask to which I'll do my best to answer.

Thank you for reading as I further extend my gratitude if you can review as well.