Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Fate: Sword and Arrow.

Since there are no questions in the reviews, I will get right on the chapter.

Some scenes will be skipped because it will be like the anime, mainly Shirou Kotomine's conversation with Jeanne D'Arc. And yes, the changes will begin in this chapter.

Fate: Sword and Arrow

Part II – Fate Aprocrypha

Chapter 16 – Vampire

Once they stepped foot in Semiramis's platform, Shirou and company found a doorway inside the massive compound.

Ruler was nowhere in sight, hence Shirou and Arturia found their own paths. Both of them could feel Semiramis's mana echoing through the hallways, meaning that in this plane, fighting her would be quite problematic. They could also feel tremors, which meant that some of the servants must be fighting as well. It didn't take long for Shirou and Arturia to round a corner and see many of the servants looking at what appeared to be Lancer of Red on top of a ledge. Though the couple flinched upon seeing Vlad III the Impaler's skin turning dark and his teeth elongating like that of a vampire. They could also see a man using the same clothes as the Yggdmillenia family with long black hair. Shirou recognized him as the head of the family, Darnic.

Though, the man was being bitten by his own servant.

Arturia was about to intervene when Shirou ushered her to stop. Lancelot materialized behind them.

"Shirou…" She could see her husband's hesitation. Though unlike before, she did not pressure him…whatever is going on here, must be observed.

"Saber, what can you tell us is going on here?" Before Lancelot could even begin to explain, they saw Darnic using command seals, before vanishing completely.

Vlad the Impaler now became even madder, threatening to murder everyone on sight.

"It appears that the master is trying to possess Lancer…using the power of the command seals."

Shirou and Arturia looked at their partner in surprise at such a mad plan. To sacrifice himself for that purpose…such madness. True to Lancelot's report, the vampire now appeared to talk to himself as if two separate entities were having a heated discussion. Vlad III for sure was not happy with what his master had done. When the arguments stopped, the vampire then turned his attention to the other servants, until Lancer of Red came and attacked with his holy lance. Vampire, however, turned his body into ash and attacked the other servants. Rider of Red smirked and attacked as well, but Vampire held the man's lance using his bare hand and flipped Rider towards the ground, causing a deep enough impact. He was about to bite Rider when Archer of Black kicked Rider of Red on the ground, saving him.

Vampire, though, was not deterred and turned his attention to the homunculus from the Yggdmillenia.

Shirou and Arturia watched in horror as the homunculus were turned into zombies from the bite.

Then each zombie turned on the rest, until all of them became zombies. Still, the fight progressed with neither servant managing to even hurt the vampire. Lancer of Red tried using his molting fire attacks, but the vampire would simply brush it off. Even Rider of Red was having difficulty. He had superior speed, but the vampire had more strength. Shirou knew that Lancelot would not make a difference in this fight. As such, he was considering a strategic retreat when Ruler appeared and faced the Vampire.

"I order you with my command seal…" Ruler screamed as a red ring emerged on Vampire's neck, in an attempt to bind him to her will.

Though the vampire managed to free himself from the restraint.

"So it failed…" Ruler then turned to all servants present, even Lancelot. "I would like to ask you all to cooperate for the time being…we cannot allow the vampire to get to the holy grail. Thus, in the name of Ruler, I Jeanne D'Arc, order every servant here with my command spell…defeat the vampire." With that, she used another of her command spells and every servant in the room including Lancelot glowed in yellow receiving a power-up." Lancelot turned to his master with the order and Shirou nodded at him to assist, thus leaving Arturia and Shirou alone.

"Shirou, I will go as well…" the archer master could see the look on his wife's eyes. When she was like that, he could not stop her.

"Understood. I will be providing cover". Arturia nodded as she saw Shirou project his black longbow. She had Rhongomyniad in her hand, still obscured by the wind.

Arturia focused on her mana burst and vanished from their location as Shirou jumped towards high ground to be of better service to his wife and his servant.

The vampire had already begun his attack, but Lancer of Red managed to parry with his lance, while Rider of Red came in for the attack. Vampire, though, with his claws, stopped Rider dead on his track. The gigantic claw marks on the wall indicated that Rider would have been sliced cleanly if he was unable to dodge in time. The Vampire was about to keep the attack on Rider, but Lancelot appeared with Arondight and managed to hit the vampire dead on, drawing blood. The enemy snarled, kicking Lancelot far away. Archer of Black and Archer of Red both fired arrows non-stop, keeping the vampire on the run as Lancer of Red kept attacking.

Lancer was about to keep on the attack, when he suddenly faltered in his step, just like Archer of Red and Rider of Red as well, leaving only Archer of Black and Lancelot to deal with the vampire.

The vampire was about to pound on Archer of Black when a black sized arrow like projectile hit the vampire dead on. Everyone was surprised and turned to the source only to see Shirou there with his longbow. They were even more surprised when a blonde woman came out of nowhere and charged straight at the downed vampire. She appeared to be enveloped by white energy as she dashed. Her holy lance took shape and glowed yellow as she thrust the weapon straight to Vlad's chest. Ruler was deeply surprised as she was the only one who recognized the woman now attacking. Arturia's holy lance pierced Vlad's chest, earning a scream from the man as the lance glowed even brighter, cleansing the corrupt soul of the vampire.

It was not enough, however, as the vampire tried to kick Arturia, forcing her to abandon her attack.

Still, her weapon was strong enough for her to parry all of the vampire's attacks.

Archer of Black fired another barrage of arrows at the enemy, while Lancelot attacked from the flank.

Ruler then approached Shirou who kept his focus on assisting his wife. Ruler was focused on the servants of Red who were unmoving.

"Shirou, why are the servants of Red not assisting? And why is Arturia fighting, she is not a master of this war?"

Ruler saw in surprise the look of pure focus from Shirou as he unleashed arrow after arrow in quick succession.

Archer of Black was doing the same and Vampire had no option but to evade while at the same time defend himself against Lancelot and Arturia.

"I do not know about the first question. So far, the only master of Red I encountered was the priest. He may have the answer." Shirou unleashed an arrow that hit Vampire on the chest. "As to my wife, when she has that look, you better get out of the way." Ruler then turned to see Arturia and Saber of Red fighting the vampire in enough synchronization that baffled her. When they first meet, Ruler could feel that Arturia's mana capacity was high. Now, though, it was simply off the charts. Arturia, for her part, realized that her lance would do no good and turned to her favorite weapon. As soon as Vlad attempted to attack her with his claws, she parried it and then made a horizontal slash, drawing blood. Flipping her body, Arturia then turned on the offensive.

Eventually, though, she overreached her attack and Vlad managed to draw blood. His claws made a deep gash on her arm, forcing her to back away as Lancelot took her spot.

"Arturia…" Ruler shouted in concern.

'Shirou…'

'Hold still…I will heal you in a second. Though afterward, please step aside.' Arturia knew what her husband was planning and nodded. She could still fight, but this man was a servant and appeared to have a high degree of regeneration just like her. Only a noble phantasm would defeat him and her own as well as Lancelot's would destroy this place with everyone in it. Shirou closed his eyes as he focused on their link and used healing magecraft. Ruler looked at him and she could feel the same energy he used to heal Sieg. Her servant eyes could see Shirou's energy reaching Arturia. Her wound closed in no time as she watched Lancelot's fight against the Vampire. The holy knight was keeping his distance while at the same time attacking. His sword allowed that stance, keeping Vampire from harming him.

'Lancelot, keep him occupied for five seconds and then create some distance'.

'Understood…'

"Ruler, please step aside…" Jeanne D'Arc looked at Shirou as he stretched his hand before a strange looking sword materialized from within his mana. Cadalbolg II appeared in all its glory, before Shirou placed it on his longbow. As he pulled the string, the sword stretched thin turning into an arrow. The others present could feel a large amount of mana exuding from this master as Shirou focused on his target. Giving the signal for Lancelot to clear, Shirou unleashed Cadalbolg and everyone could see a blue comet travelling fast towards the Vampire, hitting him dead on. An explosion of blue fire soon erupted on his body and the vampire screamed in bloody murder at the pain. Still, even that was not enough as the vampire once more turned into crimson ash and dashed away from there. Ruler soon followed together with Archer of Black, leaving behind Shirou, Arturia and the servants of Red, who at this time had already recovered from their apparent conundrum.

Atalanta, Archer of Red.

Achilles, Rider of Red.

Karna, Lancer of Red.

All three looked at Shirou, Arturia and Lancelot. Lancelot could observe a shift in their contract. While he never saw the masters', Lancelot could feel the connection between servant and master. And right now, it showed that somehow these three had changed masters. Still, neither servant appeared to be threatening his master and his king, so Lancelot allowed his master to deal with this mess. Shirou, for his turn, frowned as the servants were looking at him and his wife with scrutiny.

"Is there something you three wishes to discuss with me or shall we pursue the vampire?" Atalanta looked at Shirou's longbow and at Arturia's weapons, hidden by air.

Achilles looked at Arturia's form and smirked…he was impressed by her abilities.

Karna looked disinterested, but Shirou could tell the heroic spirit was sizing him up.

"It looks like you are the only master of Red now aside from the priest who is now our master." Shirou and Arturia were on edge immediately. They had never met the other masters, but what Karna had just said implied that Shirou Kotomine had killed the masters of the Association and took their command seals for himself. Still, they were under the command seals from Jeanne D'Arc, meaning that their goal right now was to strike down the vampire. That would give them time to adjust.

"We have received new orders from our master to attack you." Shirou took a step back at the declaration from Archer of Red. For that priest to overrule Ruler's order.

===With Ruler===

When Ruler reached the room where she knew the vampire was, the only thing she saw was blue fire and a pile of ash in the middle of the holy room, which appeared to be the inside of a church.

"You are here. Nice to meet you. Ruler Jeanne D'Arc…I am the master of Red you've been looking for, Shirou Kotomine." At Jeanne's astonished look, Shirou elaborated. "It's slightly embarrassing that you would be this surprised."

Jeanne D'Arc had a look of surprise not because she was seeing a master, but rather that she was looking at a servant…Amakusa Shirou Tokisada.

===With Shirou===

No sooner had Atalanta announced Shirou Kotomine's orders, Achilles showed his toothy smirk at them. The man always fished for a good battle. He then attacked Shirou, forcing the rogue faction to make evasive maneuver and separate from each other. Achilles kept on the attack and met Arturia's hidden sword. Karna had chosen the servant from the now rogue faction and swung his lance, forcing Lancelot to parry. Shirou had jumped back from Achilles' attack and thus he had to parry Atalanta's arrows aimed for his head.

===Karna x Lancelot===

Like Saber of Black, Karna quickly understood similar if not better skill from Saber of Red.

Both had the eyes of a true fighter and he always worshiped the possibility of facing strong opponents in battle. Karna had the agility in spades, but Lancelot compensated with strength and awareness. As they traded blows, it became apparent that neither would win this fight without giving them all and certainly not in this platform. Karna did not care for the holy grail, but he still served a master who wished for it. And inside these walls, his strongest attacks would destroy Semiramis' platform. If they were to fight on top, then the matter would be different. For now, Karna would simply bask in the opportunity to fight like the old days…using mere weapons and gauge the foe's strength.

"It is most impressive to fight such a worthy opponent. It is only noble of us heroic spirits to introduce ourselves. Though I take it you already know who I am…" Lancelot parried his lance and then backed away.

Shirou was against him introducing himself early on the fight, but Lancelot figured that now the point was moot as their own faction was fighting between each other.

"My name is Sir Lancelot, the knight of the lake and member of the Round Table." Karna nodded at the proud words of his opponent.

"A pleasure indeed to meet such an opponent in battle, Lancelot." Sir Lancelot found chivalry in Karna's words and he straightened his blade.

Once more, their weapons clashed.

====Achilles x Arturia===

Achilles and Arturia had clashed weapons in the middle, each showing different expressions. Achilles was showing a full-out smile while Arturia displayed extreme focus in her opponent.

"I would not have dared to raise my lance against a woman, but you miss, certainly is strong enough." Arturia snorted at the sexism, though Achilles came from a time when women did not belong to the front lines. Hell, even she came from a time when women did not belong to the front lines. So much so that she needed to hide her true gender

"I don't have the time to waste by talking…" Achilles was still smiling as he parried her sword and created some distance. This woman was agile and strong with her sword, meaning he could take it up a notch. As he swung his lance, Arturia could see yellow lights of crosses coming towards her position. Her eyes were able to trace each one of the man's movements and parried it all with her hidden sword, much to Achille's delight. Arturia followed with a strike air that Achilles dodged slightly. She pressed on the attack, keeping Achilles on the defensive. She had enough experience in fighting lancer servants in both the fourth and fifth wars. That being said, all of them had a pattern. Their prowess was limited by the reach of the spear. A sword was more agile and Arturia had more agility than Achilles. Quickly using her mana burst, she entered his guard and Achilles had to remain defensive.

The Greek hero was considering his options here.

This woman, whoever she was, was fighting him on equal grounds and that was only possible if he was facing a servant. However, she was not a servant in this war, that much he knew. Arturia, for her chance, kept her focus on Achilles, though her mind wandered to her husband's fight. She knew Shirou was able to hold his own against any magus out there and even was able to keep up with some servants. But, the worry was still there. Against Achilles, Shirou would not last long and she had to keep the man occupied at least until Shirou dealt with the Archer of Red.

===Shirou x Atalanta===

No matter how much distance Shirou had from his enemy Archer, his reinforced eyes saw Atalanta's arrows on him.

He used his own set of arrows and reinforced them as much as possible in order to at least hope to parry his enemy's. Being a servant, meant that he was at a severe disadvantage here. Atalanta had way more experience and skill than him in terms of archery. He knew, then, that against this foe, facing her long-range was ill advised. He needed to shorten the distance between them, but each step he made forward was met with a bombardment of arrows. And unlike him, she had all the energy necessary to keep firing them.

"I have heard of a master that used arrows just as I. Though so far, call me unimpressed, magus."

Atalanta had fired another horde of arrows and Shirou choose the corridors for protection.

Shirou cursed himself at being separated from his wife and Lancelot. Ever since the fifth grail war, Shirou had always fought alongside his wife. Achilles was a very powerful foe, although appeared to be cocky with his moves. Arturia was experienced in battle, but right now, he could not afford to take his eyes away from Atalanta's arrows. He may have healing mage craft and Avalon to help him, but depending on where the arrows hit, he would be dead regardless. He needed to shorten the distance and he needed it fast. His eyes quickly looked at the lights that illuminated the corridor until he saw Atalanta's bow aimed at his position. The woman was fast, so any arrow he would try to aim at her would be parried.

He needed to be invisible.

He fired ten arrows in quick succession towards the corridor's lights, confident that they would hit the target. Shirou immediately ran, focusing as much mana as possible copying his wife's mana burst. Still, he cursed when all of his arrows were stopped by Atalanta's. Still, despite that, Shirou had managed to shorten the distance and summoned Kanshou and Bakuya. Shirou then threw them in opposite arks as he took evasive actions at Atalanta's weapons. The woman servant clicked her tongue as she saw the different swords progressing in a parabola like trajectory and she knew that both would reach her in seconds. She unleashed arrows at the sword, but cursed when Shirou unleashed his own arrows at her, keeping her occupied. Atalanta had easily evaded Shirou's swords with a simple jump.

Then, the battle magus grabbed his one flying swords and charged at Atalanta, now pressing on the offensive.

Atalanta, though, skillfully blocked Shirou's attacks with her bow, before both stood in front of each other, analyzing each other.

"Huh, I don't know if you're smart or suicidal. Fighting me in long-range truly was foolish, but what do you hope by facing a servant in close-range."

Shirou truly believed that against other class, he would be toast.

"I happen to not enjoy being called one, so you know…I see my chances better battling in close-range. Truth be told, archery is not my only skill, Archer of Red."

"Call me Atalanta Magus, I have no need to hide my identity. I don't have to worry about facing someone without a noble phantasm…" Shirou smirked at that.

"Pleasure to meet you Atalanta, truly a respected hero in the Greek mythology. I happen to have met quite a few servants in the past that must be from your era…Heracles, Lady Medea and Lady Medusa were the last war's servants."

Atalanta was surprised at the magus's revelation.

Though Atalanta never had much respect for Lady Medea and Lady Medusa, Heracles was a legend even amongst legends.

"So, you were a master in the last war as well…and you fought Heracles!"

"Well, fought him would be wrong…I fought his master. My servant was the one who beat him. Though summoned in a Berserker class, he was truly a man worthy of his legend." Atalanta nodded, thinking just as highly.

"I see…It was a nice chat, magus. Though I still have my orders." Shirou nodded.

"Yes, though remembering my fight with Heracles, it would be nice to show you the weapon he used." Atalanta was surprised when four axe swords were projected on top of Shirou's head and surged towards her in a menacing manner, spinning like a mad and uncontrolled helicopter. Her arrows were fast and precise, but neither of them managed to so much as dent any of the axe swords that the magus summoned. She remembered the monstrous of a man who last carried this weapon and he was unstoppable. Shirou kept her on her toes as he inspected her next possible positions. He needed to time his next attack and go for the kill. However, he was surprised when the woman dodged one of his axe swords and unleashed a shining arrow towards the sky.

Phoebus Catastrophe

Shirou's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the arrows multiple by the hundreds as all of them hurled towards his location. He would be skewered by them. Quickly releasing the axe swords, Shirou focused on his own defensive noble phantasm. He kneeled on the ground and lifted his hand upwards. By the sheer number of arrows coming at him, he needed to shield himself completely. He thus focused enough mana to summon Rho Aias. Atalanta looked at the sudden purple petals opening and protecting the magus. Each one of her arrows slammed against Shirou's defense and was ricocheted. She was surprised to see the amount of mana being used in that defense and wondered how a magus could be able to use it.

The battle magus took advantage of the smoke debris and charged once more.

He could not maintain this distance against her, and he was already treading thin on mana supply with fighting like this and providing for Lancelot.

Focusing more on his magic crest to conserve his own supply, Shirou focused more on mana burst and surprised Atalanta appearing right next to her. Fighting close-range like this was not her forte, but her guard would be up if she was facing a servant. Because it was a magus, she did not believe she would have to face it seriously. When Shirou first slammed his reinforced nodashi at her bow, Atalanta's body stammered backwards, giving Shirou the opening he needed for the final blow. He could not afford to prolong this battle and thus summoned a stronger weapon to truly deal with this servant as opposed to simply harming her. The Greek bow woman had barely felt the slice of the weapon, before a deep gash of blood erupted from her chest.

Shirou followed and stabbed the woman with a frontal assault through her chest area.

Atalanta's eyes were widened at the look on the magus's eyes as he killed her.

It was this scene that stopped all of other fights instantly. Arturia saw her beloved prevailing in battle and smirked, both in admiration and in relief. Achilles and Karna looked at the master of Red in a new light. Both servants of Red looked at each other and nodded, receiving the order from the priest and dematerialized out of there. Arturia and Lancelot was by Shirou's side. He was on the ground painting for breath, slowly recovering his energy. Avalon was already working its magic in replenishing his reserves and the damage to his muscles and joints. Using that much reinforcement would have severely damaged his body, but with Avalon, he was able to use it without much worry.

"How are you feeling, Shirou?" Arturia helped him stand as he relied on her to stand.

"Sore in multiple places, but it will pass. I am glad you were not too injured Turia. Do you need me to heal you?"

The woman snorted at the stubbornness of her man. He was the one who faced a servant and won but was still worried about her instead. True, Achilles had given her a good fight and even landed a few bruises and cuts, but nothing life-threatening. Lancelot was busy focusing on the servants who were on their way here.

"Shirou, I sense Ruler and Archer of Black coming." True to Lancelot's words, the two servants appeared and looked at the destruction in the hallways after the three fights.

"I truly wondered why the servants of Red did not follow me…so Shirou Kotomine truly overruled my order."

By this time, Shirou had enough stamina to at least stand on his own, though he was having quite the headache.

"So, it was him after all who ordered the Servants of Red to attack us…though Achilles and Karna left, I managed to deal with Atalanta." Chiron and Jeanne looked startled at the proclamation before Chiron closed his eyes with a knowing smile on his visage. He knew that this master was strong, not only in skill but in character, but to actually beat a servant was truly mind-boggling. Well, Chiron needed to return to his master's side, so he also dematerialized, leaving Ruler alone with Shirou, Lancelot and Arturia.

"Shirou, there is been a change in this war, and I need to tell you about. Being one of the masters, you need to hear this, but we need to leave immediately. I will explain everything once we reach land once more." Shirou looked in surprise at the Ruler, wondering what happened that would have such a change of heart. Usually, Jeanne D'Arc would simply step aside and observe. Now, she wanted to relay information to them. Still, he wanted a cozy bed next to his wife and some food, so he did not complain.

===xxxx===

To get down from the platform, Lancelot carried Shirou and Jeanne carried Arturia until they reached the land where the fight began.

Lancelot had dematerialized in order to reduce the mana he needed from his master.

In no time, they reached the location where Shirou's rental car was as Jeanne told him about what happened. Apparently, the vampire was killed by the priest. And the priest also happened to be a Ruler servant or perhaps the first ruler servant and Jeanne was the second, that part was confusing. The priest's real name Shirou Tokisada Amakusa was actually from the third grail war in Fuyuki sixty years ago and somehow was still alive. He needed the Grail to, in Jeanne D'Arc's words, 'save humanity'. Emiya Shirou truly wondered about said dream, but he was simply too drenched to care. Jeanne then explained that the rules of the war are still valid and only until the last servant wins, will the Grail be accessible to the winner. Though she ushered everyone to join forces for the moment and together deal with the priest and the servants from the red faction. The fact that the priest ordered his servants to attack Shirou showed her that he was now running independent.

"So, let me get this straight…you want me to join the Yggdmillenia family and deal with the fake priest first, putting a hold on the grail war until that happens."

"Yes, there is going to be a meeting in the castle to discuss this more in depth."

Shirou looked pensive at that. He did not talk to his wife to know her opinion about it. Arturia had snorted at the woman for even daring such an alliance though she would follow whatever her husband decided in the end. Since the start of this war, Shirou had chosen not to trust any magus even from the red faction and so far, it was a wise decision. She knew, though, that his decision would remain the same. Jeanne was already under the assumption that the master of Red would accept her request and turned her back, expecting him to follow. She would need his strength, after all, to deal with the rest of Red Faction and Shirou Amakusa.

"Sorry, but I will not go to this meeting." Ruler turned abruptly in surprise. "I don't have anything against you Jeanne, but rather with magus in general. So, joining the Yggdmillenia is out of the question."

Jeanne was truly taken aback. Arturia was silent, but silently praising her husband for sticking to his beliefs.

"Why…are you going to oppose me as well and side with the priest?" Shirou Amakusa already tempering with the war was bad enough, but now another…

"No, you said it before that the rules are still in place and I also do not fancy Shirou Kotomine's dream of 'saving humanity'. From what I have read in history, many historical figures would use such an excuse to perform dark deeds. In the end, it all goes to one simple truth…the end must never justify the means. If he truly wishes to save humanity, there are other ways…and certainly not using the Grail. That being said, I will not ally myself with Yggdmillenia. They have started this mess in the first place. If they had not tampered with the Greater Grail, then I would be happy at home with my wife, instead of being here and facing this mess. Right now, all I want is a good dinner and a nice rest."

"I see…" Jeanne spent some time observing the magus, but sighed in resignation. She really wanted them on her side, but at least he was playing by the rules.

"Good rest of the day for you Jeanne…I guess we shall meet again in a couple days." Shirou then gave Arturia the Keys to the car and laughed as he saw her giddy eyes in driving the car.

===At their Apartment===

The ride back to their apartment was uneventful as her husband closed his eyes briefly after a couple of minutes on the road. Arturia smiled as she heard the gentle snoring on the passanger seat. She was glad that this war was approaching its inevitable end and if they played their cards right, then they would be able to safely return home to their regular lives. Dinner went by uneventful. Arturia did not want her husband to overexert himself, so she picked up some food from a local diner close to their apartment.

After that, she helped him get to bed and then soon joined her husband.

As she closed her eyes however, Arturia began to have visions of a knight draped in silver armor from head to toe and a battle that long since scarred her for life.

Author Note

For those who wondered how Shirou was able to beat Atalanta, I figured that she would be of similar level to Archer, opting to fight better at a distance. Also, her other noble phantasm did not manifest, because in this story, she was not angered by Ruler's decision to kill Assassin from Black. In this story, the rule of the Grail still applies, so the only one able to get access to the Grail will be the war's victor.

As to Arturia's dream, I guess it's fairly evident. The reason for the dreams will be revealed shortly.

Please review and tell me your thoughts.

See ya.