Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Different Fates

Chapter 24

"Go Berserker!"

"Shirou get back!" Saber shouted, raising her sword barely in time as Berserker charged in, her sword swinging down in a two-handed blow. The impact of the two swords displaced the surrounding air with enough force to knock Shirou back on his back a good distance, and to stagger Saber on her feet.

Unrelenting, Berserker hammered away at Saber who was forced back step after step with each blow. Illya laughed at the sight, and turned to her brother. "Don't get too close onii-chan." She said cheerfully. "If you get in the way you'll get hurt. Well I can repair you if you get too close but still."

"That's…!" Shirou began only to be cut off as Saber gave a cry as Berserker threw her back several steps. Snarling, Berserker moved in pursuit, her sword stabbing at Saber's chest. "Saber…!"

Saber parried the attack and riposted, swinging at Berserker's neck. Berserker dodged back, before counterattacking. Saber blocked, forced half a knee down by Berserker's strength. Grinding her teeth at the effort, Saber used prana burst to overpower and hurl the surprised Berserker back a good distance.

Reversing her sword, Saber closed and swung up, diagonally towards Berserker's chest. Sparks and displaced air blasted out as Berserker solidly parried, and then again as she parried another blow from Saber. Again and again she blocked solidly, the knight in silver and red holding firm with a smug expression on her face.

Angered, Saber snarled as she drew back before delivering a two-handed blow. And again, Berserker blocked, air blasting out from the force of the impact but barely staggering Berserker. "Is that the best you can do?" Berserker asked to her father's shocked face. And then her smile twisted into a sneer. "Stop holding back!"

With a snarl of rage Berserker ground her sword back before swinging twice. Saber parried the first but the second forced her guard open, allowing Berserker to backhand her. "Do you really think you can defeat me with your sword sheathed like that?" she spat as she lunged after Saber. Clarent flashed as she beat Saber back with a series of heavy blows that filled the night with the ring of steel against steel. "Mockery…mockery…mockery…! When will you ever stop?"

Saber narrowed her eyes at those words, giving way step by step before finally feinting and overextending Berserker. Saber counterattacked as Berserker faltered, driving her back a step before locking blades with her.

"I have never once mocked you." Saber said as their swords ground against each other, one pair of green eyes staring into another. "I have only ever treated you as you deserved, no more and no less."

"As I deserved…?" Berserker echoed, the questioning note masking the rage boiling beneath.

"That is so." Saber said coolly. "If you cannot see that much, I have nothing more to say."

Berserker faltered briefly, Clarent pushed back dangerously close. And then her eyes lit up with rage. "Don't give me that crap!" she screamed as her entire body flared with prana as she threw Saber away. "As I deserved…? I'll give you what you deserve you false king!"

Roaring with rage and anguish Berserker hurled herself at Saber, all trace of elegance and poise thrown into the void. "Saber…!" Shirou shouted in alarm at the sight of his Servant being beaten back. Berserker was giving her no opportunity to counterattack, simply raining down blow after blow, Saber barely able to defend herself and falling back step by step. "Trace on…!"

"Onii-chan, don't be stupid!" Illya shouted, but Shirou ignored her, tracing a bow and arrow and taking aim. "You stupid idiot…if you die I can't bring you back!"

She pointed her finger and charged and fired a blast. Shirou avoided it before glancing at her in shock and betrayal. "Illya, why?" he demanded.

"Don't interfere!" she shouted back. "If you do you'll die!"

"But…!"

"And besides…" Illya said, softly this time and turning her gaze to where Berserker grabbed Saber by the collar before throwing her through a wall, the blue and silver knight shouting in pain even as her opponent charged after her. "…children like us don't have the right to interfere. This battle between them has waited for over a thousand years to become reality."

"Over a thousand years…?" Shirou echoed, and Illya's crimson eyes narrowed at him.

"You don't know?" she said with a smile. "Your Servant's true identity…? That's surprising…well I don't really want to spoil things for you, but…I have nothing to hide. My Servant is none other than the Knight of Betrayal herself, who slew the King of Knights with her dying breath: Mordred Pendragon!"

Shirou's eyes went wide, turning to follow Saber as she used prana burst to power past Berserker who tore up the ground with a two-handed blow. The force of the impact was enough to rupture a gas line beneath, which belched fire around her before safeties kicked in and the flames died away. Wreathed with dying flame, Mordred Pendragon, the Servant of Madness turned her emerald-green eyes in her father's direction.

"You can figure out the rest on your own, can't you?" Illya asked.

"No way…" Shirou whispered. "…that's…"

Berserker charged in, swinging her sword down. Saber parried, but Berserker moved faster, forcing her guard open once again with a horizontal swing. A shout of pain echoed through the air as Berserker punched Saber in the face, sending her across the battlefield through a tree as thick as a man was a tall. As the tree toppled with a resounding crash she charged in, prana burst lighting the battlefield in red.

Shirou made to move forward but was intercepted by Illya, who flickered between him and the fighting Servants. "Illya get out of the way." He shouted, but she shook her head.

"No."

"Illya…!"

"If you want me to get out of the way then shoot me." She said while holding her arms wide. She smiled. "If you can that is."

Shirou ground his teeth, briefly raising his bow and then lowering it with veiled shame and unease. Killing criminals was one thing…but children…and family no less…

"Why?" he asked instead.

"They want to fight." She said simply. "Berserker wants something that Saber cannot or will not give either in life or…well now, and she'll take it by force since she can't get it otherwise. Saber cannot or will not give it, and so she'll defend it, and put her 'son' in her place."

"That's not right! Mother and…no…parents and children shouldn't fight!"

"No, it's not right." Illya agreed, watching as a near miss tore Saber's chest armour to pieces. A moment of jubilation cost Berserker the initiative, as Saber took advantage of it to use prana burst herself to simultaneously throw Berserker back a few steps, in which time she counterattacked.

"Release the Wind King!" she shouted, gold lighting the battlefield. Illya's eyes went wide with surprise as Berserker fell back in the aftermath, blood dripping from a shallow cut on her cheek.

"Father…" she whispered, the fight seemingly gone from her at the sight of the flawless, golden sword in Saber's hand. Saber charged in, sword held high.

"Berserker…!" Illya shouted as her command spells flashed in warning. "What are you doing?"

Berserker blinked once, narrowly avoiding a lethal blow that sent steel fragments flying as her chest armour flew apart. Eyes narrowed, and then Clarent rose to block Excalibur with a shower of sparks. "You've gotten serious then." She said with a smile. Saber ignored her, preferring to press the assault with a series of blows which Berserker blocked with ease.

"Nostalgic isn't it?" Berserker hissed as she locked blades with Saber. "It's just like back then, on that bloody hill…"

"You and I both know how that battle ended." Saber answered coolly. "And that is how this battle will end as well."

Berserker narrowed her eyes, crimson prana erupting around her. "We'll see about that!" she roared, throwing Saber back and charging in. Saber gave way, calmly parrying Berserker's heavy blows or deflecting them to the side to disperse the force behind them. Again a quick slash followed by another one in quick succession opened Saber's guard but this time she was ready.

As Berserker's blow swung towards her face, Saber twisted out of the way, an armoured foot rising and smashing Berserker in the chin. The other woman gave a grunt of surprise as she flew back…and an armoured boot of her own slammed into Saber's chest and sent her flying. Both Servants flipped over through the air, landing on their feet before charging, swords held low and ablaze with prana.

Clarent and Excalibur met with explosive force, Shirou and Illya shielding their eyes and faces. Through his fingers Shirou barely registered two armoured forms being thrown away from each other. "Saber…!" he shouted, taking a step forward as smoke and dust littered the battlefield. He then looked up in shock as Berserker jumped up over the clouds of smoke with her sword held high, her laughter echoing over the battlefield.

Stone and earth blew outward with displaced air as Berserker landed, Clarent coming down on bare ground and tearing it apart. Berserker's eyes widened in surprise, and then stone crunched underfoot as Saber attacked from the side, Excalibur flashing towards Berserker's side.

Displaced air exploded thunderously outwards as Berserker parried Saber's stroke, and then ground Clarent free, the silver and red blade moving in a circle towards a high guard before coming down in a downward slash. Excalibur met Clarent, blocking its descent on Saber's head, and then Saber was shoved back by Berserker.

"This is insane." Shirou muttered.

"Oh I agree." Illya said again, serenity returning as Berserker once again regained her will to fight.

How strange that she lost it when she saw Excalibur…

"War is insane, onii-chan." She continued without missing a beat, smiling at him when he looked at her. "People say they fight for good and noble causes, but in the end they fail to protect friends and families and all they can do is kill their enemies."

"You don't have the right to say that." Shirou snapped. "Some things are worth fighting for."

"Really…?" Illya replied disbelievingly. "Onii-chan, there was a man once."

She broke off as Berserker grabbed Saber by the wrist as they locked blades overhead, and knocked each other's swords free. As Clarent and Excalibur fell, she lunged with a smile, head-butting Saber who staggered back.

"The man fought in a war." Illya continued as she watched the battle degenerate into a brawl. "His fought to bring lasting peace to the world, which you could say is worth fighting for. He killed all his enemies, all the way to the end, until finally he was the last man standing."

Berserker threw a punch, and knocked Saber back again. Again…and again…until Saber managed to sidestep Berserker, tripping her before running for and picking her sword up. She turned only to get kicked away by an angry Berserker who picked Clarent up and resumed the fight, both knights now covered in scrapes and bruises and with bloody noises and lips.

"Tell me onii-chan…" Illya said coldly, her eyes narrowed at her brother. "…is the world peaceful? Is my mama still alive? Why didn't we grow up together even though we're family?"

"T-t-that's…" Shirou stammered out before drawing himself up. "…if you know that, why do you sound like you enjoy this…?"

Illya smirked at him. "Just because war is insane it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it." She said to Shirou's horror. "I fight to win the Holy Grail, and to kill everyone in my way. But I won't lie and say I fight for something that doesn't mean anything."

Shirou clenched his fists, glaring at his sister with all his being. How…who…he couldn't…there was no way someone like her…this wasn't how his father would have wanted her to be.

No…she knew dad…dad raised her at first…there's no way he'd approve of the way she thinks…someone made her like this! Who would be so monstrous as to manipulate and corrupt a child like this?

"That's a nice face, onii-chan." Illya said with a giggle. "Well you're free to prove me wrong, but…"

She broke off as Saber and Berserker alike froze, glancing as one in the distance. Their eyes widened before they turned and ran at their Masters.

"Berserker…! What are you…?"

"Saber, what's…?"

"Get down!" they shouted, grabbing their Masters before jumping away with enough force to crack the ground beneath their feet. As they tore through the air, Shirou saw a star spinning rapidly as it flew through the air, striking the middle of the ruined park that had been the battlefield…

…the whole world went white with heat and light.

Archer walked through the corridors of the Tohsaka mansion, heading towards his Master's workshop. So far his experience of this iteration of the Fifth Holy Grail War was a mixed one.

On one hand, he was glad to have a Master that for once, would not protest his ultimate – though unstated – goal of mercy-killing an idiot boy before he could throw everything away for absolutely nothing. In fact Sakura wanted to kill Shirou Emiya herself, as vengeance for her father who'd apparently been killed by Shirou's father, Kiritsugu Emiya.

Though that could be problematic if she finds out who I was…did Kiritsugu even kill Tokiomi Tohsaka?

Honestly though, Archer wasn't sure what to make of Sakura's beef against his younger self. Vengeance was…well vengeance was a tricky thing, and more often than not turned the avenger into something just like or even worse than their victim. Images of a girl in black with white hair and red marks on her skin flashed through his mind, and he shuddered at the example of the depths an avenger could sink into.

She destroyed everything she was, just to get revenge on a world that hated her.

Which led to the other hand: he couldn't really feel comfortable with his Master. Oh, he was glad to see Sakura free – and more to the point untouched – of those disgusting parasites (to say nothing of her worthless 'brother'), but it only meant that Rin was now in her place. Granted she didn't seem like the type to just let Shinji have his way with her (if that happened he'd eat his own sword first), but she was still host to those parasites.

If she decides to avenge herself on the world…well hopefully that won't happen. That still leaves Sakura though…hopefully that German girl can keep her balanced, they seem to know each other quite well.

I don't know what to think of that…do I even want to?

Shaking his head at the thought, he opened the door and entered, the bounded fields recognizing him and relaxing around him. Sakura was in casual attire, a long-sleeved dress of white and red over black knee socks, a complicated – and clunky-looking – device strapped over her eyes as she fussed over a skeletal orb of steel and gold with what looked like half a skeletal telescope poking out of one side and a skeletal cylinder on the other.

Right now Sakura was working on fitting diamonds into sockets across the mystic code's skeleton, linked together by a fine, circuit-like, pattern of electrum that ran across the skeleton like nerves – or magic circuits – ran through a person's body. "How'd it go?" she asked.

Archer smiled. "You already know don't you?" he asked.

Sakura didn't answer at once, finishing moving a diamond in place before straightening, placed her tools down, and removed her magnifiers. "Not really…" she said. "…I cut off the shared perception once I gave the order."

"True…" Archer said with a nod. "…they got away."

Sakura made a sound of disappointment and then she shrugged. "Oh well…" she said. "…I wanted to kill him myself anyway. It would have been nice if we managed to take Berserker's Master out – that Servant is going to be a pain even more so given who she is – but I can be satisfied with ending the battle before Emiya gets killed. From the look of things, he didn't like what Einzbern was telling him."

"And in any case…" Archer pointed out. "…Berserker and Saber's magic resistances ensure that anything short of a direct hit wouldn't be enough to kill them…"

There's also the rank of the Broken Phantasm to consider.

"True, true…" Sakura said, nodding as she walked around her mystic code. She made one full circle around it before smiling and gesturing at it. "…aren't you curious?"

"Even if I were, would you even tell me?"

"My ancestor Nagato Tohsaka believed that enlightenment, or nirvana, or something like it could open a path to the Root." She said without preamble. "He sought to attain it through perfect mastery of martial arts. However I am not a martial artist. A swordswoman yes, but a martial artist…? Root no. However that does not mean that my ancestor's theory is inapplicable for me. On the contrary…"

Archer stared as Sakura launched into a short lecture on the meaning of the words 'enlightenment' and 'nirvana'. "Make her hair longer…tie it up into pigtails…" he thought in amazement. "…give her a pair of glasses, a mini-skirt, and a red shirt and she'd look just like Rin. Gods…they really are sisters!"

"…the concept behind nirvana can thus be summarized as harmony with creation." She said with a flourish of a finger. "Therefore, by achieving perfect synchronization with the quantum vibrations of the quantum super-string, that is the Root itself or the Origin of all Things it is possible to open a path to the Root. No, synchronization is the path to the Root. Unlike the Second, Third, and Fourth Sorceries which were gained as means to reach the Root, once synchronization is achieved, then the Root will be right there, much like with the First and Fifth Sorceries!"

Sakura blinked, looking at Archer as though only remembering he was there. "Sorry about that…" she said with a slight blush. "…I rambled on and on. Anyway that's just the theory, and I doubt that I'd ever completely apply it in my lifetime. Like most magi I'll probably just pass it on to my children, who'll then pass it on to their children, and so on."

"And this…thing…is to help achieve that?"

"Oh this…?" Sakura said while gesturing to the mystic code she was working on. "Of course not…"

Archer was stumped, and it showed. "But…" he fumbled. "…I thought…earlier before you started lecturing…you asked if I was curious…"

"Oh I see…well…" Sakura said before fondly draping herself over the orb like a cat. "…actually this is for my certification for a Colour Designation. And more than that, I'm hoping it's enough to get me promoted to the Fifth Rank, yes I do."

"You're really ambitious aren't you?" Archer observed, and Sakura perked up.

"Of course I am!" she said. "I stole my s…well never mind that…"

"You stole what from whom…?"

"None of your business…" she said with a glare, and he fell quiet. She sighed and then she tapped the cylinder behind the orb. "…this mystic code is meant to compartmentalize High Thaumaturgy and allow it to be actualized with a single-count aria as opposed to the Lesser and Grand Rituals usually necessary for High Thaumaturgy."

"A beam cannon of some sort…?" Archer asked, remembering the High Thaumaturgy-derived beams of Medea.

"No, it's a teleportation device." Sakura said. Again she tapped the cylinder. "And this is what connects it to my Root Synchronization Theory: the quantum oscillator, which is meant to make sure that whatever or whoever gets teleported doesn't get…scrambled for lack of a better word, by the teleportation process. We're not just talking about folding space here we're talking about collapsing space and then reconstituting it and whatever and whoever is in the collapsed area of space in the target area."

"In other words…" Archer said. "…you need to keep the…victim…"

"Very funny…"

Archer grinned. "…the victim…" he repeated to her exasperated and irritated glare. "…and his quantum vibrations normal is that it…?"

"Pretty much…" Sakura said with a shrug. "…once I achieve that, then I've got basic quantum vibrations pretty much in the bag."

"If you say so…" Archer said with a smile. "…although there's just one problem if you or your descendants reach the Root: the Counter Force."

"True…" Sakura said with a nod, walking over to a desk. "…but then again the risk is factored in. Magi walk with death after all and…"

"And…?"

"I…or at least I intend to inform my descendants…plan to just blow the Counter Force back or blind it with their newly-achieved True Magic."

"That's impossible. The Counter Force isn't just…"

"Technically True Magic is impossible." Sakura interrupted, turning to face Archer with a serious expression on her face. "That's the whole point behind True Magic."

Archer stayed silent, and after a moment Sakura hopped childlike back on her desk. She looked up and smiled. "Hmm…" she mused aloud. "…assuming I pull it off though…I wonder, will I gain the First Magic: the Denial of Nothingness? Or will it be the Third Magic: the Heaven's Feel? Or the Fourth: that which conceals itself? Or will I gain a mysterious new Sixth Magic? You know sorcerers and sorceresses affiliated with the Association – though there's only one right now – are entitled to the position of Wizard Marshall…Wizard Marshall Tohsaka…it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

She grinned at Archer, looking so very much like Rin that he couldn't trust himself to speak right then and there lest he accidentally address her as 'Rin' by mistake. And then the moment passed, and with a laugh Sakura hopped off of her desk. "Well enough of that…" she said. "…if wishing was enough, then people wouldn't have to work hard. That's not the case unfortunately."

Sighing she made a dismissing gesture at Archer. "Well I've got work to do." She said, picking up her magnifiers again. "And I suppose you've things of your own to do, don't you?"

"You shouldn't stay up so late."

Sakura smiled gratefully. "Thanks for your concern." She said before turning to look at a clock. "I'll give it another hour, and then I'll turn in for the night."

Archer nodded and made to leave. Before he could open the door though, Sakura spoke up again. "There's just one more thing though." She said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You never sought the Root in life did you?"

Archer blinked and looked over his shoulder. "No…" he answered, more than a little confused. "…I knew about magic, but what I could use I used for more…mundane goals."

"A pity…" Sakura said. "…seeing as you could replicate Noble Phantasms nearly-perfectly, I'm sure you might have had a better chance of reaching it than I have right now."

Archer was silent, and Sakura laughed before running prana through her command spells once. "Can I trust you Archer?" she asked. He stayed silent for a few moments and then he nodded.

"Unlimited Blade Works…" he said. "…that's the one true Noble Phantasm I have. It's a support-type, but EX-ranked. As it should be, it's a reality marble after all."

Sakura blinked, and then gave a short laugh. She ran a hand through her hair, and looked at him with a small but genuine smile. "Thank you." She said simply, and Archer smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Archer launched that attack from hiding!" Saber hissed in anger. "Coward…!"

"Oh shut up." Berserker said, looking up from where she was wrapping a bandage around her Master's forehead, the four of them sitting around Shirou's dining table. Shirou arrived soon enough, wrapped up in bandages as well and holding an icepack to an arm. "Archer fought smart, so what? He's an Archer, father he's supposed to fight from a distance."

"She's got a point there Saber." Shirou said, and then froze as Berserker turned flintily on him.

"Boy…" she said. "…who are you addressing as a 'she'?"

Shirou didn't trust himself to speak. Unfortunately, his eyes weren't as loyal as his mouth, and with Berserker's armour still wrecked from the battle and Archer's attack having done a number on her clothes…

An armoured fist closed on his collar, a sweating Shirou not daring to meet the outraged girl's eyes. "And pray tell…" Berserker began, a vein throbbing on her forehead. "…where are you looking, foul knave?"

"Berserker, that's enough." Illya moaned, grabbing her brother's icepack and putting it on her head instead. "Onii-chan's a growing boy, it's only normal that he be interested in that kind of thing."

"Hey…!" Shirou protested with flaming cheeks.

"That's not the point!" Berserker protested at the same time.

"Please…be quiet…" Illya said. "…my head hurts…please…"

Berserker and Shirou traded glances, and after a moment the former let the latter go, giving a shrug of dismissal. Saber – typical in Berserker's mind – sat cool and composed on her side of the table.

"I don't think we've settled whether or not we can be allies, onii-chan…" Illya moaned. "…but can I at least stay the night? I'm not feeling good."

"I don't feel well either." Shirou said, before rising with a groan. "Yeah, you can stay the night. I'll go fix the guestroom. Don't fight while I'm gone, alright?"

Illya gave a weak wave, and Shirou stumbled away. Uncomfortable silence filled the dining room, Saber sitting calm and serene, Illya slumped on the table, Berserker tapping the table with a finger, and the wall clock steadily tick-tacking away.

Something had to give.

"I'm going to get some air." Berserker said, getting up and heading for the veranda. As she turned and walked away, Saber stayed silent.

And then, slowly, she smiled.

A/N

King Keith: I already wrote and posted it. Check my profile page.