Author Note

Hi there and welcome to another chapter. I thank everyone who has reviewed my work thus far. I guess it's time to answer some of your questions made thus far.

M1stymix - Well, he used alteration in his fight against Berserker, but against Archer it would not be effective. Also, about runes, Shirou had never learned to do that, according to the material and i don't see him using much because it's not practical in a fight. Although, I have been thinking of other abilities he could acquire in the future. However, it must be something to be used either in battle.

The-Killer40513 - Yes, I shall follow close to UBW until the end with a few twists, though.

Gan315 - Thank you for the praise.

Jose19 - I have watche the first two movies of Heaven's Feel and i feel that watching Part III will be a waste of time. Although if Shirou fights Saber Alter, that fight may be nice to watch, however the consequence will either be his death or her returning to the throne of heroes, so yeah, not something i will enjoy watching. Right now, i tend to enjoy a mix between Fate and UBW Good Ending.

0TakaT0 - If you haven't watched Fate, then i suggest you do. There are some explanations there that does not happen in UBW.

Now here comes the chapter.

Fate Stay Night: Sword and Arrow

Part I – Fifth Holy Grail War

Chapter 8 – Resolve

Breakfast went by uneventful as Saber, Shirou and Rin were busy discussing the final steps of the war. Well, at least Saber and Shirou were discussing while Rin would just look at them as if she were a third wheel in all of this. Of course, now that she no longer had her command seals, she was not a master anymore. Still, her desire for this war was not to have a wish granted, but only to prove to herself and to her dead family that she was the best. Now, she cursed Archer from backstabbing her like that, none the wiser that she was just following family tradition of master being betrayed by the archer class servant. Another thought that came to her head was the impending fight between the boy next to her and her backstabbing traitor of a servant.

By looking at the couple…yeah, the couple...Rin could be a lot of things…hotheaded, judgmental, self-involved, but she picked on things…the subtle things that lied in front of her like a clear canvas.

The Saber servant in front of her was nobility, the word that Shirou described yesterday. So, Rin could see how she carried herself in the conversation, calm and collected. Though, Rin could see how at ease the servant was in Shirou's presence. He, for instance, Rin could see that look in his eyes. He respected Saber a great deal and valued her presence. Although, if she were to stretch her imagination even further, she could see another quality in Shirou's eyes as he focused on Saber. Rin could not help but smile at the scene, even if such interaction would not last long. Still, the mere thought of a master having feelings for a servant was preposterous.

In Rin's calculative mind, the servant makes a contract with the master, with the sole purpose of getting to the end of the war alive.

Her relationship with Archer may have had constant teasing with each other, but none would dare to believe this relationship to be anything aside from pure business.

However, looking at the relationship with Saber and Shirou, she could see that it had that business-like approach, but also a lot more. While she could not read Saber's eyes like she did Shirou's, she could see that the blonde warrior had different eyes for Shirou than those of a mere master, a means to an end. Little did she know the truth, however. Switching her train of thought to the impeding fight, she saw that they were already finished talking about Shirou's fight against Lancer.

"Emiya, are you sure you are able to fight Archer?" They were now having some tea as Shirou smiled back at her.

"Against other servants, I would say I would merely be able to defend myself. But against Archer, I know his method of fighting. While, I cannot state that I would defeat him, I do like my odds." Saber transformed into teacher mode.

"Archer's style is more focused on agility and adaptability than strength like either me or Lancer. Focus should be with your eyes and legs and never lose sight of his arms. Keep on defending until you see an opening to exploit." Shirou could only smile at her, with that look in her eyes. He marveled at her professional aura, despite both knowing what happened yesterday. Still, he knew that now was not the time to focus on that and he accepted the tutorship. Despite Saber being Saber, she was still King Arthur and had plenty of experience in the battlefield and in fights.

Focusing on his eyes and legs meant that he would need to keep his reinforcement on those areas more.

But he had another subject to focus on as well.

"I understand Saber. Though I would also need to focus on my projections. If the weapons I project are lacking during the fight, he will capitalize on it. Certainly, he has more experience than me in using it." Saber concurred that and crossed her arms in thought. Rin was pretty much forgotten at this point in the conversation.

"A servant has the advantage because he does not need to focus on reinforcing his body to fight. Your projections are already sturdy enough for that, remember that when we fight, you project a weapon for both of us and those weapons held up nicely. In my opinion, your projections are already second nature. So, no, you don't need to worry about it." Shirou looked at her and wondered about that. Yes, though, their fight was more like a heated spar than a fight to the death.

'You will defeat him, Shirou…and then we can resume where we left off yesterday'.

Shirou was surprised at the sudden internal link communication, before blushing a bit with a scratch in his head. Rin thought it was embarrassment for the praise, but only the couple knew better. Though, if Saber wanted to give him an extra incentive, she had succeeded a great deal. Indeed, the king of knights was having some thoughts now that she had opened more to the possibility of exploring her feelings, instead of focusing entirely on the war. It may have been an incentive on her part, but it also was something else.

After breakfast, Rin left the house, saying that she needed to check something in her house. She would come back when it was time to go.

Shirou went back to bed for a quick nap to conserve and recovery some energy while Saber joined him, though neither of them thought about doing anything aside from a good rest and recovery.

Though Saber would be remiss if she did not take the opportunity to enjoy Shirou's chest pillow as much as she could.

===Fuyuki Park===

When the sun settled down, Shirou, Saber and Rin stood outside his house, ready to leave and face fate, well Shirou's fate, but fate, nonetheless.

The man in question barely felt the time pass as he looked at the place where his life changed forever.

Their destination was the park where the fire happened ten years ago. While the city built a park there, rarely anyone would attend, as it was considered haunted. To the most sensitive, the amount of malice there was unbearable. Shirou went there quite frequently although he never figured out the reason why. The fire was all ever present in his dreams, so there was little need to remind himself of the past. Every time he stepped foot inside the park, he would remember himself a small boy treading on the devil's layer. His feet would hurt at each step on the burned grass; his ear would hurt at the screams of people burning alive. His nose hurt at the smell of burned flesh. Truly, he could describe it no better than hell on Earth.

Archer was taking a seat in the middle of a secluded part, while the sky turned dark with multiple stars.

He heard steps approaching and smirked. It was now time to fix everything.

"You really took your sweet time coming here, Emiya Shirou". Rin took a step forward and demanded answers.

"Archer, where is Sakura?" Archer snorted at his old master.

"Do not worry about her, Rin…as it was never my intention to harm her in anyway. As soon as this fight is over, you will find your dear sister. Now, Emiya Shirou, I trust that you have some lingering questions to me before we begin. I bet that you have seen many things already, so it is only natural for you to have doubts. Also, I gather that Saber is the one I will face, huh?" The woman in question placed a step forward and negated with her head, earning a look in surprise from Archer.

"You're wrong Archer, it's Shirou you will be facing. I'm only here to bear witness and shall not interfere…"

Of course, she wasn't about to tell him that she would meddle in case Shirou's life was in danger.

"Just to witness it, I see…interesting."

"Though in exchange, I want you to answer me something…why are you determined in killing Shirou?" He got up from the rock but kept his arms crossed.

"Why do you ask…just like he does not accept me, I do not accept him. That is all." Saber called that bullshit instantly.

"That can't be truth." She remembered the images of him becoming her master's fulfilled ideals in the future. "You would be the personification of Shirou's ideals in spirit form. Why would this ideal reject itself?"

Archer snorted at that...personification of his ideals…

"Like you Saber, I did not become a heroic spirit through my merits alone. I have become one when I sold my soul in exchange for becoming a guardian."

The term was not lost in Saber's mind.

"As far as I am concerned, a guardian is a force of balance that protects humanity. Even if your circumstance is different, you are still a heroic spirit."

"That is where you are wrong, Saber. The guardians do not protect humanity. Guardians are cleaners. Yes, I have become a hero. Just like the man Emiya Shirou always wished to be. I have become a true hero of justice." Shirou seriously doubted about that, but he simply kept hearing the conversation. Saber retold the phrase 'hero of justice', though believing that something was wrong with it. But Archer continued. "And that's exactly why I know that the reality of this is a mistake. I know that Shirou's life did not have anything of value." Saber did not agree of course. She could see that Shirou's ideals, while dangerous if left unchecked, could prove to be worthwhile and everlasting with a couple of changes.

"You certainly understand Saber…you who wants to change the past…wants to change your decision in the past."

Shirou and Saber both wondered how the hell the man knew about that, but then both remembered that Archer was once Shirou in the past and as such, this war could have already happened in another time dimension. While it was still true, to some extent, she was now having doubts about that, based on her conversation with Shirou. Archer, however, continued, clueless of this specific change to his timeline.

"Just like you do want to change your decisions in the past, I wonder why you of all people would judge me for trying the same thing…"

"Do not compare yourself to me, Archer…I wonder…were you not the ideals of Emiya Shirou's completely fulfilled?" At this, the man closed his fists in anger.

"Fulfilled ideals?" Two words that made him want to kill himself…

"I admit that I have become my ideal of a hero of justice. But what I had gained as a result was nothing more than regret." There it was…that word once more. 'Regret' just was not in Shirou's dictionary. But he would thank Saber for directing the talk towards Archer's next line as it gave him tips as to what exactly happened to Archer that would steer him to his path. "While alive, I have made a pact with the equilibrium force. Once in death, becoming a guardian, I have fought with humanity's equilibrium force, against those who dared to go against the world equilibrium. Following orders, I killed…and killed…I killed until there was no one left…I killed so many that I had stopped caring. For each life I took, I saved thousands. I fought again and again, every time I was needed. Again and again…. but there was simply no end. It never ended. A world free of war was never my dream, I just did not want to see someone in pain…there when I realized that Emiya Shirou's ideal was only superficial idealism."

"Why do you say that?"

"It is impossible to save everyone…to save the majority means leaving the minority to die. You should know that, Saber. As such, despite wishing that no one died, I have let one perish in order to save many. Even saying that I could not allow leaving anyone in pain, I had driven some people mad in desperation as a result. As such, I appear before you two as the Heroic Spirit Emiya Shirou. Don't you think that this man should be killed before it is too late." Archer projected a simple dagger and Saber unconsciously prepared for battle. Archer then threw the dagger to Shirou's feet instead.

The young version simply looked at it for a while as Archer narrowed his eyes.

He showed Shirou everything he needed to, so that being who he is and who he will be, Shirou would make the sensitive decision.

"Kill yourself, Emiya Shirou…"

For a while, Shirou simply stopped as he looked at the blade near to his feet.

"What is the matter? Why do you hesitate now that you know what you are?" Saber, for her turn, asked all these questions for one reason only. She wished to help Shirou as much as she could for the path that he would choose in the future. He needed every possible information possible, so that when he reaches that bifurcation, he would be able to make the best possible choice. Right now, her wish to be by his side superseded her wish to change her own past. She could see from Archer's words how the man was betrayed by his own ideals and she wished…she wished to stop them from happening. She wished to be by her master's side if only to push him away from becoming the one known as Emiya Heroic Spirit.

"Archer, you were not against your ideals. Did you not lose your mind when you were betrayed by the ideals you protected? If that was the case, then, you would not consider taking your own life to pay for your sins?"

It started small, but then the man simply let loose and laughed out loud at that.

"This is great. Pay for my sins…don't be a fool, Saber. You were right, I was betrayed and fooled many times. You simply cannot expect that someone will comprehend a man who would give up his own life for others. In the end, I was set up as the conspirator and was sentenced to death." Saber took a step back at that as the image of the rope appeared and Archer…no Shirou being hanged. Archer only smirked. "If I had any sin, I certainly paid for in that instant. It's not like I expected gratitude from them. I never wanted to be seen as a hero. I just wanted an ending where everyone was happy. But that was never granted to me…not during life…and even not in death. I knew that guardians were self-defensive mechanisms. But I accepted it because I would be able to save someone at least. But it does not work like that…"

"Saving as many lives as possible…are you saying you were incapable of doing it."

"Yes, I've withdrawn from those I wished to save…it is the result of trying to reach the ideal of becoming a hero of justice. I became fed up with cleaning humanity's dirty work. But, as a heroic spirit, I am doomed to repeat this for all eternity. If I have never existed, then, if I disappeared, then I could avoid all this from happening." Shirou was simply busy staring at the dagger on the ground as he heard it all. It was then that Archer turned from Saber to him and asked once more.

"I ask once more...if I am unacceptable to you as I know I am, kill yourself right now and put an ending to this." After that, a heavy silence ensued as Saber and Rin looked at him. Rin, for her part, just kept quiet throughout the entire ordeal, wondering what could have happened to Shirou to make him become like that. She could feel great suffering coming from Archer's words. Saber kept asking questions, but Rin turned to Shirou to read his thoughts right now. Seeing your future in front of you like this…seeing the mistakes…the betrayals…everything was too much for her to handle. She could not imagine how her classmate was processing it all.

Both she and Saber were surprised when Shirou kneeled on the ground and grabbed the dagger, seemingly to do just what Archer wanted him to.

"Shirou!" Saber was scared that this was too much for her master to handle. Even their link was blank and she could not read his thoughts.

The boy in question was simply inspecting the dagger.

"Archer…" His voice was a surprise but at least a positive one…as it had resolve. "do you have any regrets?"

"Of course, I do..." At that, Shirou released a sigh in relief. Saber could not help but smile at that, seeing her master's eyes and expression.

She should have known that her master was fixating on that alone.

"Then I guess that we are indeed two different people." He dropped the dagger on the ground. "I don't care what happens, I will never regret a thing. And for that reason alone, I shall never accept you. If you are my ideal, then I must face and eliminate the wrong ones. I will not become like you." Archer saw that his resolve was firm and understood that words alone would not be enough to break his spirit. His wasn't that easily broken either. Archer took some steps forward and Saber appeared in front of Shirou in a protective manner.

"It is alright, Saber. Thank you for everything…" Saber saw Shirou's hands on his shoulder before he started walking.

"Please step aside. You said it yourself…this is a fight that I must have…"

As both Emiyas walked towards one another, both mumbled the same spell.

Trace… Shirou started.

On…Archer finished.

Kanshou and Bakuya appeared on Archer's side while Shirou manifested a katana.

"Are you able to follow my moves? One wrong move and your life is forfeit." Shirou dashed forward with his sword drawn as Archer swung both his swords in a vertical slash. The result of the parry released an air blast that sent Rin on the ground and Saber's hair to lift. This moment was the truth for her master, but she felt that it was something that she also had interest in, aside from wishing that Shirou walked out alive from this. Archer was right…in a way, she was doing the exact same thing. The image of herself staring at Caliburn from the stone appeared in her mind as she pictured her older version grabbing her younger self's wrist and dissuading Arturia Pendragron from becoming King Arthur.

Back to the fight, Shirou and Archer were having a dance of sparks as it appeared to be equally matched.

Archer with his two-sword style and Shirou with his katana…both striking and defending. Shirou's eyes were busy defending and following Archer's movements. The servant would vanish and appear before the human, but Shirou would shift his body and parry Kanshou, before attacking and being stopped by Bakuya. Archer then attempted to kick Shirou, but hit only air, as he took some distance, before attacking once more. Archer could see that Shirou was trained…more trained than he was in his timeline. Plus, the weapon he was fighting with was odd in Archer's opinion. He could see that the boy favored the duo-sword style like he did but was instead fighting with a single katana.

Probably, it was Saber's doing…

True to his train of thought, he could see the blonde girl smirking at him as if reading his mind.

Archer then stepped back to assess the fight; just as blue dolts of energy showed leaving the servant's body.

"His mana is reduced right now." Saber commented as Archer snorted.

"Do not get your hopes up. Even if my ability as archer is drawing its limit, that does not mean that we are on equal ground. I admit that you are more skilled than I first thought…but it matters not as you shall die here." Archer then dashed towards Shirou and slammed both Kanshou and Bakuya on Shirou's katana, shattering it instantly. Though Shirou could see his circuits awakening when his sword touched Archer's.

"You really believe your projections to be on par with mine? You may be preserving the external characteristics, but that does not mean anything if the swords lack structure."

Shirou dashed around the clearing and summoned his bow, forcing Archer to evade them. The servant cursed the sudden move as he thought it would be a straight fight. It mattered not as Archer did the same, parrying Shirou's arrows with his own, shorting the distance once more. Shirou saw Archer coming and focused his mind on summoning a sturdier weapon against him. Within seconds, Kojirou's nodashi appeared on his hand, as Shirou attacked the already moving Archer, forcing him on the defensive. Shirou's sword was much stronger and managed to break Kanshou and Bakuya, much to Archer's chagrin. So, his skill in projection is better than in my timeline. No, this was not mere projection.

"Are you using reinforcement?"

Shirou answered nothing and attacked. Every time he parried his sword with Archer, Shirou could feel his circuits getting stronger, thicker. His agility has increased and even his strength. A single swing of the long sword was enough to send Archer back a step, surprising Archer and even Saber. She could feel the strength behind that swing and Shirou had never attacked her like this. Archer then stood there analyzing his opponent.

"Now I understand…that explains how you're getting better. Your abilities are increased each time we cross swords."

Archer looked on in surprise when many swords hovered around Shirou and attacked Archer, forcing him even more on the defensive. Still, another thing happened when Shirou clashed sword with Archer. Images of the man's life flashed in his mind as Shirou saw the man's end. It showed a life that he believed in and still believe in. It showed a man impaled by swords filling the hills with swords from his enemies. It showed more of Archer's path and how Shirou envisioned himself walking towards that path. The path where Archer fought to his death to save everyone…only to be betrayed in the end and then sentenced to death.

"You saw it didn't you? Well, that simplifies everything…everything you saw is true, Emiya Shirou. That what will happen once you reach where I am. You shall see once more with your own eyes." Archer then summoned enough mana to illuminate the dark park, surprising Saber and Shirou. "You will see the world where I went." The park was burning in blue fire around them.

I am the bone of my sword…

Unknown to Death…not known to life

Unlimited Blade Works

Where once they stood inside the park, now all four of them were transferred to Archer's own world…the hill of swords.

This time, Archer's strength doubled as Shirou had trouble parrying his blows, until his own nodashi shattered.

"How foolish of you to come here even knowing that you are no match to me. A fake who has never had an objective of your own, obsessed with a stupid ideal during your whole life. Saving people just because you want to is wrong. A defective human like you it is a farse that should never have existed. It's just no reason for such a person to live. I am your ideal. It should be clear that you're no match for me, Emiya Shirou." Shirou would just look at his old self.

"You know that you talk too much."

Now it was time to fight fire with fire as Shirou summoned his own Kanshou and Bakuya and attacked Archer. They both parried each other with strength.

"I see. It is natural for you not to accept me."

Right now, both remembered the fire as they kept fighting despite the scenery changing to the event ten years ago. Infinite flames, the penetrating smell of death.

"Asking for help that day when no hope was left…what I felt when my wish was granted. Emiya Kiritsugu's look of relief when he rescued me…there is where you started, right." Archer managed to hurt Shirou and sent him flying a couple meters, before Shirou backflipped and skidded on the ground. His injuries healed immediately, something that Archer did notice as he did not have that skill back then. It also mattered little in the end. While this Emiya Shirou wasn't exactly the same as he was, the principles were the same.

"Your gratitude for being saved didn't happen until some time after. You follow Emiya Kiritsugu…seeing how happy he was at rescuing you, then you placed in your head that you wanted the same thing." Shirou did not need to contradict Archer's words, as he agreed. Though it was true that Shirou's ideals were in fact Kiritsugu's, he did not care. Archer's strikes were more ferocious right now, but Shirou just kept on defending as he kept on coming. "That's right…you admired his wish to help others because it was nice. Because of this you do not have your own passions. If that's not hypocrisy than what is it." Shirou kept defending and even receiving a couple of deadly wounds, as Saber's lesson appeared in his mind. "You were motivated by the obsession of having to give everything to appease others." Saber could only gawk in fright as she saw how deranged Archer was becoming and just could not imagine 'her' Shirou becoming like this.

A hand rested on her heart as she felt right now. Considering him 'her' Shirou was quite right as she had developed more than mere feelings for him.

Archer right now lacked any surroundings as he kept attacking. Shirou summoned Heracles's sword from some distance, surprising both Saber and Rin upon seeing this. Archer was about to pound some more, until he saw the threat and summoned a couple of gigantic weapons of his own to parry them. However, all of Archer's was shattered by Shirou's projection.

"Archer, almost everything you said is right."

He may have no passion of his own, but that was before he had met Saber. She gave him the strength to step up and fight. "But I feel as if you're forgetting something. I have already seen hell up close." Saber and Rin tensed at that phrase, but Archer merely snorted. "I have seen the hell I would reach one day…and there was a reason that we had survived that hell from ten years ago. I admit that in the beginning, as I looked at our father, it was only admiration. But that admiration started from a desire…a desire to stop this hell from happening to others. No matter what happens, no matter what hardships I face…I will always battle to become someone who will save people." Once more, the image of a smiling Saber looking at him filled his heart with the necessary resolve to fate his obstacles.

Archer, for his part, saw the boy's eyes and cursed that his plan was not working.

He saw that look too many times to count…it was how he was able to move forward where others would have committed suicide.

"I just cannot be defeated by you here, Archer." Heracles's sword had vanished as Archer threw both Kanshou and Bakuya towards Shirou. But the boy had different plans.

I am the bone of my sword…

When an energy that almost exuded his body, Shirou then did something that surprised everyone, even Saber who looked at her own sword once more, this time surrounded by his own energy.

Saber, I know you're here with me…

Rin could look at Saber from the corner of her eye as she recognized the sword immediately…recognizing her identity just was not what surprised her, however.

It was the look in Saber's eyes as she was looking at her master right now. She now saw the same look that Shirou had for her…

Summoning Caliburn, he slashed and broke Kanshou and Bakuya like they were nothing, before charging at Archer with speed and strength that surprised everyone. Archer summoned Kanshou and Bakuya once more, efficiently parrying Shirou's sword, but still skidding a couple of meters. Archer, though, stopped as he looked at his younger and pathetic self.

"Pathetic…pathetic…pathetic…I cannot stand to look at you anymore. Why can't you see that you are wrong? The harder you battle for a salvation, the faster you will be consumed by this contradiction of trying to save everyone and failing. You will end up being nothing more than an assassin." The fight right now became one of attrition as Shirou and Archer began a dance of their own, without any worry for outside interference or even the possibility of either Archer or Shirou losing steam. Saber stood there watching the scene as if she were fighting as well. She was not even aware that she was speaking out loud this time and Rin was looking at her right now, instead of the fight.

"What Shirou is trying to kill it is this ego that is standing in front of him…keeping faith to what he believes in, what he will keep believing in. Archer for his part is trying to destroy the ego that motivated him in the past. To erase the mistakes Shirou is doomed to commit in the future." Above all, though, she was looking at the face of her master and she could very well see how the man she respected was facing such impossible odds, not only in battling a servant but also in battling someone to whom he could very well become in the future.

Once more, the image of herself in front of the sword in the stone appeared.

'Once I had a dream…both paths would have been correct…however the result was not what I had wished for.' Saber looked at an image of herself dressed like a regular girl, leaving a regular life as well as the image of a hardened warrior king, bloodied in the middle of the war... 'Now, even if there was only regret, if I was able to reach many of my ideals in the end, maybe it was worth it…Shirou…you taught that to me…and for that I thank you from the bottle of my heart.'

Back to the fight, the two Shirous met in the middle and battled for supremacy.

Archer just could not stop himself right now, he had come here to fulfil an important mission…Shirou, for his part, could not stop as he needed to show to himself in the future that he was better than this. Archer summoned Kanshou and Bakuya once more, but this time, they looked different, longer than before. Shirou could trace these new swords and saw how dangerous they were, but he knew Caliburn to be stronger. As they met halfway and parried their swords together, time stopped. Archer looked at his younger self and wondered at the cruelty of looking at an old mirror. He could feel Shirou's resolve through the man's circuits as it resonated with Archer's. In the end, his mission failed as even the reinforced versions of his favorite swords shattered at the Noble Phantasm Caliburn's strength.

'So, perhaps it was her being here, after all, that gave him this strength…'

When Archer's reality marble was gone, Saber and Rin saw Caliburn piercing Archer's stomach, thus emerging victorious.

"I win, Archer…" Shirou said, but mostly to himself rather than the opponent. Saber could not be prouder of him for it.

"So you did…" Archer then turned to Rin. "Sakura is unconscious tied to a tree two miles west from here." Rin narrowed her eyes at the man and ran to rescue her little sister, leaving two servants alone with Shirou. "Emiya Shirou, even though you won our battle here, does not mean that you will not become me in the future. I can see it in your eyes that you still have the same goals. Mere words will not reach you I know that." Archer was already vanishing due to losing the battle, but he had to give his last words. "no matter what you do, do it with your strength, do not make a pact with anyone, do not sell your soul. Otherwise, you would just keep repeating this cycle over and over again."

Shirou saw Saber approach him and he could see the smile she was showing him.

"I have all the strength I need right now…" Archer looked at Saber as well and closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

Perhaps my mission was accomplished, even if not by my hands, but by hers.

Saber was about to say something when she sensed a sudden threat and so did Archer, when he pushed Shirou out of the way just as many golden spears pierced his body. Archer looked back at the foe who attacked him and then turned to Shirou with final words that only Shirou could hear…'It will be up to you to finish him…even if you can't, imagine something that can be used to beat him…' With those words, Archer parted from this world as Saber positioned herself in front of Shirou. This stranger had blond straight hair and used black wardrobe with his hands inside his pocket.

"You…what are you doing here Archer?" Shirou looked at his servant and wondered why she called him like that.

"Oh Saber, ten years it has been huh. As to why I am here, isn't it obvious? After the last war, I was stuck in this world instead of disappearing."

"That's impossible…" the servant Archer kept smiling at her though. Shirou looked at it and frowned. How was possible that a servant from last war appeared here like this.

"I was the only servant who bathed in the Grail's mud. I have taken a physical form ten years ago. I know the truth behind the grail better than everyone and I made a decision back then to be the only one to use the Grail."

"What do you mean, you using the grail…"

"But of course, the ritual to summon the grail is nothing but a bad joke. A battle of life and death between seven masters? A ritual where only the last master and servant wins the Grail? That's just a cover story. The Grail has been here the entire time. The seven servants are summoned every time the Grail is ready. Do you understand King of Knights? What everyone desires it's not the Grail itself, but what is in it. What fills the Grail it's the death of the servants…the more servants who die in this war, the better. If the souls of the six dead servants feeds the grail, then it would be almost omnipotent. For a magus, it would be a source of inexhaustible mana. " Both Shirou and Saber flinched at that, and Saber was in denial, though by the look on her face, she was truly speechless. This man's presence here was enough evidence that he was speaking the truth after all.

Shirou could feel Saber trembling despite her sword posed to strike.

"If what you say is true, then the grail is a source of pure mana, then only a magus could use it."

Shirou found this conclusion to be strange, considering that the man in front of them was a servant and used it.

"But I don't have any interest in it, Saber. I am just interested in seeing the grail as a hole. Ten years ago, you remembered what happened. When you struck the Grail with your sword, what leaked from the grail has become a gigantic flame that burned the city." Shirou looked at Saber in surprise, seeing as she had never said that to him. He could see that she was looking at him with nothing but sorrow. Shirou knew better than to question her right away because she was indeed suffering from this. After all, her wish…everything that she sacrificed for was for nothing. Archer continued his explanation, not knowing that the couple in front of him were having difficulties coping with the revelations.

"I was directly below the grail; hence I was taken by the current. It was that moment that I had discovered the true nature of the Grail. The only usage for it is to kill…to kill more than any weapon I own ever could. The grail is the gateway to hell. Once open, billions of curses are out in the open. After all, is humanity's biggest curse, with the sole purpose of curse and kill humans. That is what I am after…Saber." Shirou cursed this man for such threat upon the citizens. "Yes, that is my goal…the eradication of every human being of this era. This world is pleasant, but there is no redemption. To a king such as myself, seeing commoners enjoying their lives is an outrage. Those who die will die because their lives have no value. Those who lives will be a part of my kingdom…those who lives will have survived hell."

"I can't allow that to happen…" Saber looked back to Shirou who was looking at the new villain in anger.

She could not help but flinch wondering if that anger was directed at her as well.

"Huh, faker…it does not matter. I'm done here. If you truly wish to face me, then I will reveal to you where I intend on releasing the Grail…Ryuudou Temple. I look forward to seeing you there Saber…Faker." Archer vanished right after saying his last words, leaving Saber and Shirou alone.

Saber kneeled on the ground in anger…she was angry at Archer…she was angry at the World for cheating on her like this…she was angry at herself for being so stupid. And now that the truth was out there…the truth to Shirou that she was the one responsible for his suffering, she felt something even worse. Before she had given Shirou her heart, she had already felt responsibility for ruining his life. But now, it was an unbearable pain in her chest and she truly wished to see rage in his eyes. She wanted to see him blame her for ruining his life…she deserved it after all. However, she should have known that her master had the ability to surprise her every time as he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Saber…please get up, kneeling like that in defeat it doesn't suit you."

She looked at his face, expecting anger and instead found that smile that she…had fallen for. How could he…how could he…

"Shirou…why are you not angry at me…I was the one that ruined your life. I was the one who killed your family. I was the one who turned you into who you are!"

Shirou could see tears falling from her eyes. He knew that Saber had too much in her mind right now.

Yes, somehow and for some reason, Saber stroke the Grail in the last war and because of this, the Grail itself caused that fire. However…

"Saber, I don't know what happened with you in the last war, but I can listen if you want to tell me. However, please do not say that you were responsible for the fire. I know how badly you wanted to achieve the Grail and you did not know about the truth back then, there was simply no way you could have attacked the grail intentionally and even then, you would have no way of knowing what would happen. Because of the fire, yes, I have lost my previous family and have lost my life before it happened. But for all it has happened, I had a wonderful life with my adopted father and because of this, I had the opportunity to fall in love with a wonderful and fierce warrior that loves taking responsibility for way more than she should have…"

At his proclamation, Saber looked at him in surprise.

"You…love me…" The tears were free-falling at this point as Shirou managed to quell the pain in her chest. She was so engrossed in her actions from the previous war. Shirou was right…back then, her old master forced her to strike the Grail. But then again, if Kiritsugu knew about the grail's true nature, then it made sense now that she thought about it. Now, she was in front of the man she also loved, and he just said that he loved her as well. Saber wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled back at him. Today was simply too overwhelming for both of them, not only Saber. Shirou had managed to face his heroic spirit and came out victorious. After that, they learned the true nature of the grail and found out about a new enemy and now they had to take care of. Not to mention destroying the Grail for good this time!

"Let us go home, Saber. After all this I bet we could use a nice dinner and a bath afterward."

Shirou got up and offered his hand to the servant who nodded and got up with his help.

"Shirou…" Both master and servant…no…they were not that anymore…for no matter how long they had together in this world, they would savor each and every minute of their relationship.

Author Note: Yeah, well, I know that I said that it would take some time to write this chapter.

But, hey, sue me...I just could not rest...i could not do my job properly, thinking about it.

Well, i guess that everyone is wondering that the story is about to finish, so I will explain a bit of my plans, trying not to release what i have planned. No, only Part 1 is almost done. The Holy Grail war is almost finished. I already have a second arc in the works right after Part I, which will be revealed shortly. However, as I explained before, after I finish part 1, I will write a time-skip chapter that will serve as a bridge between the arcs. After the time-skip, I will focus some of my time to resume my other stories. For those who are wondering which one, plese check my profile for more explanation.

Now, about the fight with Shirou and Archer, I tried to stick to what happeend in UBW added by the Emiya Shirou in this story. In UBW, Shirou had won because of his link with Archer as well as Avalon's protection. In my story, however, Shirou is better prepared and more adept at his skills, hence it was more a fight of ideals then actually see who came out as the victor in the end. Archer wanted to kill Shirou's spirit, not Shirou. He was hoping that by doing that, then Shirou would stop his mentality and focus on something else instead.

I won't say more, from fear of showing what i have planned beforehand.

So, please tell me what your thoughts and I will explain more as Part I finishes.

See ya.