Author Note

Hi there and welcome to another chapter.

I thank everyone who has reviewed my work thus far. To some of you who criticized my writing, I appreciate it. With that, I made some changes to the chapter dynamics.

Also, seeing as there were no questions in last chapter's reviews, I will get right on the next chapter.

Now here comes the chapter.

Fate Stay Night: Sword and Arrow

Part I – Fifth Holy Grail War

Chapter 6 – Possible future

Shiro had woken up abruptly as he saw himself getting hanged just like the dream he had of Archer's. He had even unconsciously massaged his neck a bit. Why he dreamed of this now, he didn't know. The images he saw in said dream were breath-taking. To believe that Archer's life was reduced to this in the end was nothing short of overwhelming. He could see the man going to war after war after all, taking care of 'enemies' sort of speak. People who would do everything in their power to cause pain and destruction to others. Eventually, he could see people turning on Archer himself, until it became too much and he was sentenced to death. They way Shirou saw it Archer had faced ever fight before him and emerged victorious. But after each fight Shirou could feel Archer's anger at the scenes he encountered.

Worst possible scenes he could find and all of them caused by humans, no less.

Surprise to say, that Shirou felt himself feeling the same way.

In his dream, he also saw the servant impaired by many swords walking towards the hill of swords, while placing some new ones om the ground.

Like each sword there was a sin that he encountered in his life.

"Are you awake, Shirou?" He turned to Saber and saw that she was deep in thought as well. Could she have...?

"Is our share strong enough that we are now having the same dream?" She got up from her futon and looked at him with pained eyes.

"So you saw it as well."

Shirou nodded, earning a sigh from Saber, who now was seating on her bed. "He is indeed from the future and now I'm almost certain that he isn't just related to you Shirou."

"He is me…or at least a possible future…should I somehow make the same decisions as he did."

Shirou released a sigh in worry and tried to close his eyes and sleep again, though it would be quite troublesome.

Saber, for her part, looked troubled. She felt for her master, she truly did. She respected his ideals as they were similar to her own. However, what she saw from Archer's dream, or rather Shirou's future, was a little close to home. When she was king, she had fought her hardest to maintain her ideals of what a king must uphold. As the years passed, however, she became a victim of those impossible standards. However, as a king, she just had to try her best to keep it, until it led to her inevitable perish. Archer, it seemed, or rather Shirou for that manner, kept his goal to become a hero of justice and faced on the world by himself, throwing caution to the wind in battle after battle, until it was almost automatic.

Archer then simply became a machine without worrying over his own well-being. It was at this moment that she saw the similarities between the servant and Shirou.

She did not like it one bit.

A part of her wished that her master would not follow this path. He needed someone at least to be there by his side. And right now, Saber had truly pondered.

My wish for the grail.

Her desire was for the sword to choose another suitable king that would make a better job in ruling her country than her. However, a part of her wished that she could be by Shirou's side hoping to dissuade him from going down that path. She now was sure that she had developed feelings for him as images of her date appeared in her mind. She could see his smile looking at her and a wonderful day that he provided for her. She even remembered how enamored he was upon looking at her when they were in the park.

Saber now was torn.

As king, she had never allowed herself to indulge in personal feelings.

When she took the sword, Arturia was no more and only King Arthur remained. Now, she found herself in uncharted territory. Hell, the perils she faced as king had prepared her for almost anything. However, what she now felt was something that never happened before. It didn't mean that she was ignorant of the possibility of someone having feelings for another. She knew a lot about family bonds. She knew about fraternal love she had with Sir Kay. She knew about father's love from Sir Ector. And she had even loved her own wife, Guinevere, albeit was more of an immense friendship at her sacrifice to keep appearances. At the time, having a female king was heavily frowned upon, after all. She had even allowed her wife's secret love affair with Lancelot as a form of retribution for her sacrifice. Right now, though, any form of emotional barrier was only necessary if she allowed it to be.

And she saw his sleeping form with a smile on her face.

Her master quickly became someone she cherished deeply. Even if they had met barely a week ago, Saber had already shared many wonderful moments with him.

A blush appeared as she remembered the time when they saw each other naked in the bathroom, even if by accident. Throughout their days in this war, she cared for his well-being as part of her oath as his servant, but she now realized that said desire was not because of some obligation or either an oath she had made to him. Rather the reason was that she…cared about him and wished to protect him. Even admitting to her feeling was jarring at first, but then once she did so, it felt like she had opened a locked cabinet and now could see inside the contents. Looking at him once more, Saber could see that he had managed to fall asleep once more. Quickly getting off her own futon, she slipped beneath his own and closed her eyes in pure bliss at the contact.

Her action had surprised even herself, but as her head rested on his chest, she realized that it was very comfortable.

"Oh…Saber, wha…" She looked at him and smiled at getting caught.

"Sorry to awake you Shirou…it's just that I found myself moving before I realized it." He was silently thanking the heavens for it, as Saber continued with a smile on her face. "I remembered when we cuddled at the bus and wished for that feeling once more. I can move though if you…"

He was at a loss first when he felt his body become warmer somehow and even when he felt a weight on his chest. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was her golden locks and her beautiful smile. When he heard her saying that she would move back to her bed if he wished, he smiled at her. In the beginning, he said that it would be uncomfortable for her to sleep by his side. Now, though, he silently thanked her presence in the room. The feelings he had for her were present, he just needed to understand them better. Still, he was enjoying every minute of them cuddling like this…

"Nonsense…it's quite nice having you close like this."

Saber nodded with a smile as her worry over her wish was deeply forgotten. Soon, both closed their eyes as they had fallen into a deep and peaceful slumber together. Yes, Saber knew that eventually, they would need to part ways. Whatever the outcome of this war, it would be inevitable that she would return to her timeline and Shirou would be following his life. But she just could not worry about that right now. All she wanted was to explore this feeling in her chest as she was never able to do so in the past. She always mused that before being a woman, she was a knight and a king. However, she is a woman and as such she had every right to feel like one. She trusted that this new relationship with her master would not get in between the pair's efforts to hunt the rest of the servants in order to win the war.

After all, Shirou has given her all the necessary signs for her to trust him.

With them lying like this together, soon, time passed rather quickly and neither bothered to move from their position even with the sun illuminating Shirou's room.

===Next morning===

When Shirou opened his eyes, he was surprised upon looking at the clock and saw that it was two hours pasted his usual waking-up hour.

His eyes then focused on the bundle of golden locks on his chest. He could see that she was snoring peacefully and seemed oblivious to also waking up later than usual. They used to wake up almost together and quite early in the morning. However, like him, Saber just simply didn't see the need to wake up and let go of the warmth that they both felt right now. School was still suspended, so they practically had the entire day to themselves. He figured that after a nice sleep, Shirou could then cook them a nice breakfast. He knew how much she enjoyed his cooking. It brought a smile upon his face when he concluded that he really wanted to pull all the stops in making her happy.

After all, just by seeing her like this, it brought meaning to his life.

He tried to slowly release her head from his chest but cursed when he saw her beginning to wake up. Saber, for her turn, slowly opened her eyes to the rays of sunlight. It's been a long time since she had enjoyed a nice sleep like this. The feeling of belonging here, just like her old house had felt before she became king. Her memories soon returned at her forwarding actions from last night, joining her master's bed and using his well-defined chest as a pillow. Her hands were briefly massaging his chest as she became lost at the feeling of touching a man like this. It was the first time she had freedom to do so and she just wanted to take her due time.

"Morning Saber…had a good night sleep?"

The servant in question turned to look at Shirou who was smiling at her, earning a blush at getting caught.

She thought he was still asleep. Still, she smiled as she got up from his chest.

"Sorry if it had awakened you Saber…I was just about to let you sleep while I prepared breakfast."

He could hear a slight complaint from her stomach at the mention of breakfast.

"Well, now you have given me much to ponder…" His questioning look made her smile. "I'm at loss between keeping you here with me or having your delicious breakfast."

"I'm at your service…whatever you wish of me, I shall provide." In the end, her stomach made her choice for her.

"Well, breakfast sounds nice…"

Shirou nodded with a smile as Saber lifted her hands from his chest as her eyes followed him walking towards the kitchen. Saber soon found herself alone in his bed as she heard the noises coming from Shirou's cooking. She was not in a hurry to get out of his futon and lose his scent and his presence with her. This nice feeling in her chest was something entirely new and she liked to bathe in this feeling for as long as possible. She would enjoy this feeling until the very last possible minute of her contract as his servant. After all, there were many things they could be doing from now on, right…

In the kitchen, Shirou had placed breakfast on the table just as she appeared with her sleeping clothes slightly wrinkled.

"Please sit, breakfast is almost finished." The servant nodded with a smile as she indulged in her stomach's deepest desires…Shirou's cooking.

They ate breakfast in a comfortable silence.

Soon they would have to stop being like this and get back to focusing on the war, but right now both were simply enjoying each other's presence as if they were an old couple.

Shirou had cooked enough to allow Saber to repeat three times. He could see after she finished how satisfied she was. He quickly washed the dishes as Saber was enjoying a nice cup of tea. Such a simple way of life, she mused. In her life as king, she had an entire castle at her disposal and a hundred staff members to add to her every whim. But there was no doubt in her mind that she much preferred being served by Shirou instead of the best cooks in all of Britannia. Eventually, the couple started focusing on the war as Shirou joined her after doing the dishes.

"How are you feeling Shirou?" Her tone was professional and Shirou immediately followed through. He would look forward to their next night together.

"I believe I am one hundred percent, far more used to the new feeling. How is the supply of mana?"

Saber did check that Shirou was supplying her with even more than then enough.

"Steady and strong…now…tonight marks the first night of our scout for enemies. So far, we have yet to meet Caster and Assassin, though I believe that Rin and Archer are already in Caster's pursuit." At Archer's mention, Shirou frowned as he remembered his dream about the man. Saber frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Shirou, we need to focus right now. I know you're worried about becoming him in the future and I share your concern, but I have faith that your path will not be the same as his." She wanted to say that she would be there by his side, but that would be…impossible. She convinced herself to step away from that dangerous thought. They had a war to win, after all.

"Thank you, I shall treasure your vote of confidence in me, Saber. Now, I do wonder about whom we will encounter tonight. I gather that everyone will be on edge now. But if I could say something, Saber, I wish that we avoid taking a fight against Rin and Archer right now." To her question, he explained. "I gather you would have no trouble against him in a fight, it's just that the dream from last night made me ponder about him. What I'm saying is that I wanted to process some things first, if that makes sense."

"It's understandable. After all, you saw one future path with him, and no doubt want to step away from said path as fast as possible."

Saber already figured that they could leave Archer for later, but she knew that Shirou wanted time.

"Thank you. Now, as Rin would take Caster on, that leaves Berserker, Lancer and Assassin to worry about. I gather that Lancer is a straight shooter, so one could expect no surprise fighting him."

"True, the only threat is his noble phantasm and I would have…"

"we…"

"Yeah, we would have to keep him from preparing it…" Shirou had corrected her when she was about to exclude him from the fighting once more.

Saber still considered that a master's duty is to supply her with mana and heal her injuries.

But Shirou was truly adept at fighting, so he was considered an asset in their fight.

"Berserker will truly be a challenge. I know we were able to kill him once, but his noble phantasm forces us to kill him at least twelve times. What do you think about it?"

"We would need to use strategy in fighting him and I could use his own sword against him. I could even provide you with enough time to use your own noble phantasm, though I question if you'd feel comfortable taking the risk?" Saber turned to ponder about that. Indeed, her Excalibur could turn the tides of the fight. Her revealing her identity right now wasn't as threatening, considering that they already knew most of the servants in this war, aside from Caster and Assassin. However, against Caster, she had mage resistance and Assassin class servant's only true ability is striking from the shadow. Truly, the biggest threats right now were Lancer and Berserker. Another point was that her master supplied her with enough mana for her to use her noble phantasm and not risk exhausting her supply too much.

"I think that at this point in the war, revealing my identity is not a concern. Now, what about Ilya, Shirou? Will you be able to face her next time, considering…"

Considering that she is my sister…

"Like I said before, I will face her to the point of incapacitation, Saber. I just could not bring myself to kill her…" Saber knew that, though.

"I would not expect any different from you. Though, I don't think that she will try anything. I gather that she will trust in Berserker to face the both of us."

Shirou nodded, already thinking of possible strategies to use. One, in specific, bought about his archer skills. In the Archer's dream, Shirou saw the man projecting a sword named Caladbolg II. It was a spiral sword with the handle being similar to Saber's Caliburn. Archer would first summon the sword and then use it as an arrow. In the dream, he used to explode an armored tank that was threatening a small village in Africa. He used his ability to scan the weapon after witnessing it being used. Though he would need to reinforce the bow as well to handle the powerful weapon, he figured that it would be a powerful asset.

After finishing their strategy meeting, Shirou and Saber settled for a quick spar with wooden swords at the dojo.

===Nighttime===

When night came, Shirou had approached the fully dressed Saber with a firm nod.

They soon left the Emiya residence towards no specific location, rather they walked around town, focusing on the possible servants' location through Saber. Eventually, their stroll led them to the park built at the place where the fire from ten years ago occurred and both Saber and Shirou saw Rin and Archer standing there. It looked like they were waiting for them to appear. Shirou could only look at the man and frowned at his possible future staring at him.

He could feel that Archer was specially interested in his demise. He could feel it.

"Emiya…"

"Tohsaka, were you expecting to meet me here?" Rin snorted as she closed her arms.

"Archer here saw you two a mile away and I decided to have a quick word before me and him marched for Ryuudou Temple."

Shirou had no problem with that, seeing as he did not want to fight the archer servant right now.

"So, you're facing Caster tonight. The news no longer reported anything disturbing in the city, which means that whatever Caster was doing, it was finalized."

"Archer here can keep up with Caster, though I wonder about Fuguki-sensei. He is Caster's master."

Shirou frowned at the mention of their teacher.

"Yesterday, I followed him towards the Ryuudou Temple where Issei said he lives nowadays. I had my suspicions about him, so I used a Gandr shot to test him. Caster appeared to protect him and then left together, but not before giving Archer here a good close-range fight. Surprised the hell out of me, considering that he is not a magus." Archer, for his part, just snorted when all eyes fell on him.

"While he was a decent fighter, I was merely defending you Master. My focus was on Caster the entire time." Rin decided to ignore with a smile on her face.

Shirou for his turn faced him instead of her.

"Say Archer, what is it that you intend in this war? While I do have my suspicions about your identity, I do wonder what is that someone like you would want from the Grail?"

Rin turned to Shirou in susprise. While she also had a daring suspicion about her servant's identity, she also frowned at her schoolmate. Saber just stood by as she watched the interaction. Her master's question may have appeared generic for them to solve the mystery of Archer, but any response would give them further hints to confirm their suspicions.

"What business do you have with my servant, Emiya? That's information for me and his ears only."

"I can tell that whatever your intentions are Rin, it isn't misguided. Though, if his reasons are, then I must treat him as an enemy to avoid you and him the chance of winning this." After this, a heavy silence remained at the implication of a silent threat coming from Shirou no less. His reasons for fighting this war was not only to allow Saber to have her wish but also to keep others with ill-intent from having the opportunity. Rin, for her chance, tensed slightly. She could see by the look on his eyes that Shirou's resolve was absolute in this manner. If he truly wished, he could order Saber to attack Archer right away. Not to mention that Rin was truly helpless in this scenario. Saber would mop the floor with Archer and Shirou could deal with Rin without breaking a sweat.

"I have no wish for the Grail to grant. I had many regrets in my life, but this war had provided me with the means to fix it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Archer just snorted at Shirou's question while crossing his arms.

"You seem under the impression that I owe you any explanation. You may be somewhat skilled, but I can see that you're even more of a fool than I believed you to be." Shirou narrowed his eyes at the accusation, but Archer continued. "You said that depending on what my desire would be, then you'd treat me as the enemy. News flash, in this war, everyone is an enemy. No matter the reasons we all fight, the grail has pitted seven masters against each other to fight to the death. Tell me, Emiya Shirou, could you do what this war requires of you? Could you fight to kill? There is no need to answer the question for as I can see that you cannot. You may have the skills to do so, but you hold back in the end, for reasons I am yet unaware of."

To this, everyone had mixed impressions. Rin was surprised that this was the first time that Archer had said so much.

Shirou and Saber, for their part, could feel the man's aggression in each and every word.

Above all else, said aggression was directed at him, no less, which meant that Archer had previous knowledge of him.

"You're correct…when I fight, I fight to incapacitate, despite being the enemy."

This time, they all saw the man grind his teeth in anger.

"Once more, foolish words you'll live to regret in the future. We're done here, Rin." Rin was surprised when Archer turned into spiritual form, before turning to Shirou.

"We'll be leaving now."

Rin then showed her back and walked away, leaving master and servant alone.

Saber and Shirou both reached the same conclusion about Archer, though Shirou wondered about what the man said. He never believed much in having 'regrets'. All his life, he trained and learned his mage craft for a specific purpose…to be able to help as many people as possible. However, based on the dream he had about Archer, he could see how much the man suffered. At times, Archer had to kill some to save many. Shirou just could not figure out what caused his ideals to shift that badly. Even if his father had explained that he would not be able to save everyone, it didn't mean that Shirou would have to choose like this. Where lies his limit, then? How many people he would be comfortable in killing? Thinking of an ideal number here was the same as foregoing humanity, he reasoned.

Saber, for her part, looked at Rin's back with a sense of dread. Her mind was more focused on Archer's threat to her master than the man's tainted ideals.

Master and servant turned to scout the area once more, until they were in a secluded street. There was no one nearby and the furthest sign of life were simply the heavy flora to their left. Still, Saber could see mana towards the woods' direction. As they passed the heavy vegetation, both could spot a tall and imposing castle in the far horizon. As they walked, Shirou could feel the heavy bounded field around the premises. Looking back, he could no longer see the path towards the road.

"Shirou, the more we walk towards the castle, the more I feel it."

He nodded, wondering about the presence of the bounded field.

"Whoever it is, had allowed us to pass through the bounded field. This may be a trap, Saber."

Certainly, the blue bird familiars illuminating their path was a dead giveaway. And he recognized to whom it belonged. So, their second round with Berserker would begin right away, only this time they did not have the element of surprise. Despite Heracles being a Berserker, Saber would need to fight this battle without holding anything back. The mana she used to take one of the man's lives would be an indication of how much she needed right now to surpass such a hero. Shirou, for his turn, wondered if his sister will have any inclination towards a conversation or would simply order her servant to kill them.

He did not feel that he had anything worthy to speak to her, nor he believed that any word needed to be said. Their goal was to take care of Berserker, not the master.

Still, Shirou would have to keep Ilya from attacking Saber. She needed to keep her focus on the monster, so Shirou would have to both assist and keep her protected.

"Are you ready Shirou?"

He turned to her and both shared a brief look. One that symbolized their partnership. Saber was not expecting an answer, but rather his commitment to this fight.

Soon, they reached a clearing and saw the blue birds now circulating around the small homunculus who was smiling innocently at the approaching duo.

"Imagine my surprise, brother, when I was about to go out hunting for you and you just happened to be outside my family's lands. Now that you entered my bounded field, there is simply no escape, not unless I allow you to. Now, I can have you all for myself. First, though, I will kill your servant and then I can keep you all to myself…" No sooner had she finished the sentence, Saber and Shirou could see Heracles materialize behind her. Soon, the beast took the offensive and Saber readied her sword.

Shirou summoned his longbow while making some distance.

He sent a horde of ten reinforced arrows towards the Heracles, who used his axe-sword to get rid of the projectiles. Saber took the opening and attacked at the same time. She was able to send him flying a couple of meters and pressed on the attack. She used the inertia of her charging from the air and smashed her invisible sword forcing Heracles to be on the defensive even more.

She kept the attack for a while, until Heracles used brute force to send her away.

He attempted to turn the tables around, but a bunch of swords came flying at him with high speeds. While none of the swords were strong enough to make a dent on his muscles, it did manage to keep him occupied while Saber charged mana into her sword, making it visible with a bright yellow glow. She got inside his guard and released the energy in one strike, effectively taking all of Heracles's upper body in the process.

…1

She then took a step back to conserve mana while Heracles's body reformed. So far, her strength allowed her to cope with the Greek hero, but they needed to shift strategies, because she just could not keep this pace eleven more kills. Still, this was a marathon, not a short sprint. Saber had the ability to store mana without needing to take it from Shirou the entire time. Hence why they followed a specific strategy right now, one that she wasn't too thrilled with, but complied with her master nonetheless. As soon as Heracles reformed and was about to attack her once more, Heracles was caught by surprise when a similar sword to his own came flying at him in high speeds.

Saber took that chance to take some distance and allow Shirou to attack him from long distance.

This hit-and-run tactic was only obligatory because of Heracle's noble phantasm. Shirou needed to keep the beast occupied for a while, while she recuperated.

Shirou's projected weapon danced with Heracles as if the menace was fighting against another Heracles. Soon, a dance of sparks followed as Axe-sword battled against axe-sword for supremacy.

Ilya saw all this and attempted to use her birds to strike Shirou, but the distance that he had allowed him to release a couple of arrows to meet her familiars halfway, causing minor explosions. Still, it was enough for Berserker to smash the projected sword into pieces and charged Shirou. It took a couple of seconds for him to project two new Axe-swords, which now posed a problem to the big ass servant. One he could parry against, but two it was not possible. Also, the weapon was strong enough to injure Heracles, even if the wounds instantly closed thanks to Ilya supplying the necessary healing spells. Still said strategy was suicidal in her mind. The only chance they had was with Saber doing the battle, not him.

Heracles did manage to break both projected swords, but not before Shirou managed to cause a deep gash on Heracles' sword holding arm, causing a splash of blood on the ground. He then sent a powerful arrow aimed at the rest of the arm that was still bleeding and slashed the entire limb off. Heracles screamed in madness and surged towards the position where Shirou was, but Saber came flying with her sword, once more glowing in yellow light, and made a powerful thrust at Heracles' heart region.

…2

Saber looked at Shirou and he nodded. It was time for him to create more distance. He needed to now supply her with mana and he could not use it himself, except with some projections. Still, this strategy would only take them halfway through. They needed to shorten the distance towards the main prize, the 12th kill. Hence why Shirou allowed Saber to fight by herself while he supported her with mana alone and healing spells. She parried Heracles's blow with her sword as they danced once more. This time, she could feel that the strength of his swings had increased, which forced her on the defensive. Right now, focusing on strategy, Saber used the trees in the area to outmaneuver the big sword. Thanks to this, Heracles did slice a couple of trees, while Saber would approach and strike with her invisible sword. He would parry the strike, but she had the advantage in speed.

Because of this, she kept him on his toes, while dodging and striking.

Even so, Heracle's strike was too strong and although she parried it, a part of his sword slashed her chest armor, drawing some blood.

She backed away and looked down to see the wound closing instantly.

'Thank you Shirou…'

'Saber, I will use something to keep him occupied. When I do, start charging your Noble Phantasm…' Saber wondered what her master was about to do, but he had her trust.

Shirou was a couple of kilometers away from their fight as he opened his right palm and used a good amount of mana. A red energy surged just as a spiral sword appeared hovering above his hand. Instead of a straight metal, the sword consisted of a spiral like metal shaped like a drill. The handle being similar to Caliburn. Shirou then projected a black metal bow that was as tall as him. Such a strong sword needed an even stronger bow to sustain its power. His eyes rested on his target who was far away and facing Saber. A wave of blue energy surged where he stood as he took aim. Placing the sword in his bow, Shirou pulled as strong as he could, while changing the sword shape into a long black arrow. The arrow began to glow in a blue energy as Shirou released the projectile.

Once it left the bow, it was like a blue comet as it travelled towards its intended target, Heracles's head.

'Saber, take some distance and prepare.'

The king of knights parried a strike and jumped back as far as she could, just as a bright blue light charged straight at Heracles.

She recognized this arrow as it appeared on their Archer's dream.

So, Shirou managed to scan Archer's weapons just like did with Caliburn.

Ilya immediately shielded her eyes at the explosion that blasted the area. Still, this was not a servant's attack, surprising as it was, but the masters.

Hence why it lacked the necessary punch to take a life.

Still, it was enough to allow Saber to gather energy for her own noble phantasm as she lifted her sword above her shoulders. Gathering as much mana as possible, little by little, small sparks of light surged from the ground, as Saber closed her eyes in concentration. Her sword now clear as day illuminated the area as if the sun had risen. Shirou could see the bright energy while he could feel Saber taking his mana to sustain her attack. It was important for him to sustain her as much as possible. When Shirou's attack revealed Heracles once more, they saw that there was no damage, but their objective was never to kill, but to stall allowing Saber to deliver the killing blow.

Ilya saw the excessive energy and now looked frightened.

Saber then opened her arms and released it.

EX-

-CALIBURRRRRRRR

She swung her now revealed noble phantasm as a bright yellow wave of energy charged at Heracles, enveloping him whole.

3…

4…

5…

6..

7...

8…

Ilya could feel her mana being sucked dry as that attack alone took six more lives of Berserker. For the life of her, she could not believe that her brother's servant was King Arthur. Still, as Ilya could see, that attack took a lot from the Saber servant as she kneeled and breathed hard. Ilya had to take this opportunity right away and ordered the now reformed Berserker to decapitate her immediately. Saber, for her turn, flinched at the notion that her attack was not able to take him down. Her mana supply was low and there was no way that she could deal with him now.

She cursed at her inability to be of help once more.

She deeply wished that this time would be different…that this time she should emerge victorious and have a chance to make her wish.

Above all, she wished to feel him once more. She did not want to leave him…

'Shirou…'

Heracles charged her with a battle scream and aimed for her head with his axe-sword. In a few seconds, it would be over and Ilya would be victorious.

"Saber…!"

No one believed that Shirou would come and attack Berserker with a sword of his own, though. She only managed to look up and saw that Shirou had made a clean cut on Berserk's sword holding arm. A single look at what sword could do so much damage, before Saber let her mouth open at the sight before her.

Caliburn…

"Saber, please grab the sword with me." The fierce look he gave her made her heart stop. He came to her rescue, after all and this was the first time that she thanked the heavens for being rescued. A smile appeared as she joined his position and used both her hands to fill Caliburn's handle close to her master. Doing so and focusing the rest of her mana, they watched as the sword glowed just like Excalibur had moments ago. Heracles was without his sword to parry it and thus had to face them head on.

Master and servant screamed as they moved in perfect synchronization with a powerful thrust of Caliburn aimed straight at Berserker's exposed chest

They pierced his hardened body all the way until it emerged from his back.

A bright yellow light lifted towards the heavens at the power of the attack.

9…

10…

11..

12…

Afterward, as both master and servant stood holding the sword together, they looked at Heracles.

Its eyes now lacked the usual red glow that signified that he was no longer a threat.

Despite it all, the legend of Heracles remained, and it gave him functional conscience even if for a brief period. The twelve chores signified that he had then ascended to god like status. Caliburn glistened reflecting the moon light.

(OST Fate Stay Night Kishi Ou no Hokori)

"Is that your sword…Saber?"

Such a deep and powerful voice that she could not help but feel immense power and respect. This was Heracles himself speaking to her…truly an honor of a lifetime.

"This is Caliburn…the sword in the stone which chooses the king…the sword lost to all eternity."

"However, it's nothing more than an illusion created by that man…a sword that will never exist again…but…even an illusion of it is formidable. Who would have thought that a single blow could have defeated me four times…" Shirou and Saber looked at Caliburn before it shattered just as Berserker's servant energy left his body. Ilya could only look in disbelief as her Berserker was defeated. She kneeled on the ground, still with the failed attempt of even feeling his presence. Saber and Shirou just stood there while Shirou supplied Saber with enough mana to at least sustain her properly.

He still had some to spare, though they needed to rest and recuperate immediately. Still, what they managed to overcome as a team was nothing short of amazing.

"Shirou…" The man in question looked at her and could see a relieved smile on her face. He also smiled back, as they were almost separated from one another prematurely.

"You did good Saber…please rest here while I tend to Ilya."

The servant then turned to the other master who appeared catatonic. Saber could see that Irisviel's daughter was dry of energy. Sustaining a monster like Berserker required a lot from her. She nodded at Shirou while kneeling on the ground as she could feel her master's supply of mana replenish her own. Ever since Shirou's first encounter with Archer, Shirou needed less mana to use his projections. Therefore, he had more to supply for her, despite performing such high energy projections. Still, her heart was still beating fast from fear of almost leaving him. She was surprised in realizing that the fear of losing him was stronger than losing the chance to have her wish realized.

Her hand unconsciously rested on her heart region as she tried to ease its heartbeat, but to no avail.

`Just what is this feeling…could it be stronger than my desire to the Grail?`

Shirou used a quick hypnosis spell on Ilya, sending her to dream land. He needed to supply her with at least the minimal amount so that she could wake up and get back to her castle, hopefully to be safe. He could feel the bounded field around the forest getting weaker. Normally, a bounded field of this caliber was linked to the magu's supply. He then turned and walked back to Saber and offered his hand for her. Saber looked up at Shirou's smiling face. Whereas before, she would have been insulted at the gesture, now she smiled and took it as Shirou helped her get up.

Suddenly, her master surprised her once more when he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Her mough slightly open in surprise, but it lasted only a second…

All she could do was to melt in his arms as she closed her eyes with a meaningful smile on her face.

Author Note

And that is a wrap for now.

Putting the name of the song only adds to the experience. This scene where Heracles recognizes Saber's sword was one of my favorites.

I am quite beat up for writing this chapter throughout the weekend, but as I started writing, I could myself enjoying every written line, hence why I could not stop until I finished. And Bersker's fight is probably my favorite one from the entire Fate series, mainly because of Heracles's talk with Saber after the fight. Please tell me your thoughts on this chapter. Lastly, about Archer...for those who are wondering...Shirou had the same dream that Rin had in UBW where she called Archer stupid for the choices he made. As to why Shirou had dreamed it, well, in UBW, as the anime progressed, Shirou would become proficient with his projection after facing Archer. As such, this is my theory for him having some of Archer's skills without ever facing him.

in UBW, Shirou would use Rho Arias without ever knowing he could. At least, this way, it was more believable i think.

Finally, I ask that if possible, please review my work.

I enjoy reading your comments as it helps me understand that you enjoyed it (or not). It also allows me to learn if I made a mistake and could thus fix it. So, please review, even if only to express that you liked the chapter or not.

Next chapter should be up in about 3-4 days.