Author's Note: I'm going through the required storyline here (and retracing steps if you were with from my old fic). Hopefully, you'll enjoy some of the alterations I've made to the F/SN plot. If you like the story, the forum Beast's Lair will have my most current work. As usual, comments and reviews welcome.

- Threads of Fate -
- Chapter 1 -

Day 3: February 2nd
- Deviation -

Shirou flew through the tiny shed's open doorway before landing on his back.

"Checkmate, kid. I guess this is how it ends," said the man in blue, his crimson spear pointed in front of Shirou's heart. Shirou lay on the cold wooden floor, his heart beating frantically in front of the spear's deadly tip.

"It's unlikely, but maybe you were the seventh Master. Well, this is it for you even if that's true. Goodbye, kid." said Lancer as he adjusted his grip. He lifted the spear back, readying the weapon to thrust forward.

They say time is relative. As he stared at the tip of the crimson spear, Shirou lived a lifetime in that single moment.

Images of the inferno 10 years ago seeped into his mind. The sky was painted bright orange and red from the flames that had engulfed the entire block. A fire so hot that each breath felt like you were skinning your own throat. He vividly remembered people walking down the streets with their heads in their hands. He wasn't aware at the time, but it had been to ease the pain upon their burnt faces. To him it had made them seem like the souls of the damned as they walked to the underworld. It was an image straight from Dante's Inferno. A catastrophe that took thousands of people's lives and yet he had been the only one saved.

So he had to live. He had to live so that those lives meant something.

Memories of his father came to him. On that final night on the porch, he promised Kiritsugu he would carry his ideal for him. He still remembered the sigh of relief Kiritsugu made before finally passing; he had seemed... happy. He still had a promise to keep.

His thoughts shifted back to the school this night. He had died this night and yet... he was given a second chance when he awoke alone in the dark school hallway. So why was this happening? So much had been sacrificed so he could live... so why was he going to die once again?

"This is bullshit! I reject this. I can't die like this," he thought. Anger bubbled and then exploded in him as he cried out.

"Damn it! I won't die here!" he screamed.

Blinding light filled the room. The radiant light blinded his sight even past his arm and shut eyes. A sudden roar of wind reached Shirou's ears and the lance that had been at his chest was battered aside with a sudden blow. The sound of metal on metal rang again in Shirou's ears and he heard Lancer gasp in surprise. Faced with a real threat, he heard Lancer leap back to gain space.

"So you're the seventh Servant?" Lancer asked.

When Shirou's eyes adjusted, he saw Lancer with doubt and uncertainty on his face. Between them was a girl dressed in regal blue wearing brilliant plate armor. With one quick motion, Lancer fled back outside.

Making sure to keep her guard towards the door, she looked at Shirou with her jewel-like eyes. At that moment, the clouds drifted past and pure white moonlight shone through the open door, highlighting her shining blond hair as if it were made of gold. The light reflecting off her pale skin and further heightened her elegant features.

He was speechless. The way she was dressed placed her as a warrior; yet he couldn't stop thinking of her as an angel. Such was her overwhelming beauty that his mind temporarily forgot the man still outside; about how close he had been to death mere moments ago. From the depths of his memories, an image of a woman in white glimpsed into his mind before disappearing.

She spoke, her voice soft yet stern, "Servant Saber, answering your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Caught by surprise at her question, he could only mutter, "huh... Mas... ter?"

Cocking an eyebrow in amusement, she smiled in amusement before giving a sigh.

"Truly, the world must have an odd sense of humor."

"Aack!" cried Shirou. An intense pain flared in his left hand as if it had been branded. As the pain slowly faded he could see an odd marking where it had hurt. He looked at the marking: two ornate blades, both pointed away from one another. Saber observed from her position across from him.

"It appears our contract is complete then. Wait here, Master, I shall deal with the enemy Servant outside," she said. Without another word she gracefully leaped out of the shed out towards the waiting enemy outside.

"Wait!" he shouted but she was already gone.

Shirou ran outside. In the yard sparks lit up the yard as the two servants met in battle. The man in blue, so confident and arrogant previously, was battling simply to maintain his ground, each attack of his met easily with the invisible weapon in her hands. Despite her petite frame, Saber was easily driving him back. After every parry, she advanced with a counterattack which pushed Lancer closer to the yard's walls. Lancer had lost the initiative; it was Saber now that was controlling the pace of the battle.

"Coward, show your weapon!" yelled Lancer as he thrust once more. More sparks showered the ground as she easily deflected his spear.

Blade met blade as their two weapons clashed at dazzling speeds. In the time it took for Shirou's brain to register even one of Lancer's attacks, Saber would have already deflected the crimson spear and lunged forward with an attack of her own.

Jumping back he swung his lance outward in a wide arc in the hopes of creating some breathing space. It didn't work. With a lightning dash Saber closed the distance and met Lancer's swing with a powerful slash that destroyed his guard. She brought her weapon down hard in the hopes of finishing this fight.

Twisting his body with inhuman speed, Lancer tossed himself to the side and cleared the blade's edge by a mere inch; her invisible blade impacting into the soft grass with enough force to embed itself deep within the ground.. Despite his great maneuver, the force of the swing was strong enough to tilt Lancers jump and disrupt the grace within his usual movement.

Unsure of this new enemy, Lancer withdrew rather than take advantage of the slight opening provided by her heavy swing. He widened the distance between the two of them and she withdrew her embedded weapon from the earth. Silence descended upon the yard as they stared at one another with their respective armaments at the ready. Her olive green eyes squinted and met Lancer's own as they waited patiently for the others movements. Both heroes breathed calmly despite the fierce skirmish mere moments ago. Time passed in uncomfortable silence as they watched one another. Only the sound of the soft wind could be heard tossing the bushes in the yard. With the moon out from the clouds, it was truly a cinematic scene.

"Are we to stare at one another until one of us dies of boredom?" said Saber, finally breaking the silence.

"I'll come for you yet," replied Lancer, "but let me ask you this first. Your Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?"

Saber chuckled softly, a grin on her face. "Surely the Servant of the lance would know a bow when he saw one?"

Lancer would have immediately brushed off this comment, however, he had just fought an Archer that had been wielding swords tonight. His face turned pale for a mere moment as he contemplated her words before breaking out in laughter.

"I like you, Servant Saber," he said with a wide grin, "which is why I'll ask you this before going on. Do you want to call it even?"

He motioned to Shirou near the house, "That Master of yours is an inexperienced fool and my Master just so happens to be a coward. Wouldn't you say it's in the best of our interests to hold off until we're both better prepared?" At the mention of her Master, Saber automatically took two steps to cover Shirou.

Lancer lowered his lance as if to indicate he didn't want to fight anymore. His body relaxed and the grip on the lance slacked.

Shirou's eyes, however, grew wide at that particular stance. It was the same one Lancer had before at the school. The finishing move. He had no idea what it may be but he had to warn Saber. He opened his mouth to shout a warning.

"I accept," she said.

Lowering her weapon she placed one of her hands on her hips and relaxed her stance.

"Hmph, I didn't think you'd actually take up my offer," said Lancer. "Perhaps you were truly afraid of being pierced by my lance?"

"Your agility with your weapon is indeed great, Lancer," she replied plainly, "but I knew a warrior that could wield two spear with better finesse and technique. You are a fine warrior, Lancer, but I have seen stronger and quicker men."

Lancer clucked his tongue. "Geh, I've never had the best of luck with women," he said with chagrin before leaping back on top of the wall and retreating back to the night.

Saber continued to look in the direction that Lancer had fled, as if in thought. Shirou slowly walked towards Saber and she softly turned her head towards him. Moments of silence passed by as Shirou tried to collect the swarm of thoughts and emotions that flew through his mind.

"Thank you..." said Shirou finally.

"It is a Servant's duty to protect their Master. There is no reason to thank me for what I have done, Shirou" replied Saber.

He recoiled slightly in surprise, "Wait, you know my name?"

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before shrinking down. "Servants are given all the knowledge they require about this age before they are summoned. It is the reason I am able to converse with you during this Holy Grail War. Do you understand, Emiya Shirou?"

"I guess... But there's still so much I don't. You keep on talking about Servants, Masters and a war but this if the first time of heard of all of this," he said frankly.

"Hmm... I understand" she says in a polite tone. "You are not a formal Master, therefore it is obvious there would be gaps in your knowledge. I would suggest..."

Suddenly, her elegant demeanor changed. Focusing on a section of the yard's wall, she stopped talking and materialized her invisible weapon in her hand. Around her was an air of hostility. Before Shirou could ask what was wrong, Saber puts her hand up to quiet him.

"There are two enemies behind that wall. Judging by their aura, it shouldn't take more than several moments for me to defeat them. Please wait here, Shirou," she said. With that, Saber jumped high into the air, landed lightly on the yard wall and jumped behind it onto the streets.

"Enemies?" he thought. So enemies like that Servant Lancer... Which meant she would be fighting again. With that realization, Shirou bolted at full speed towards the front door. Having just enough presence of mind not to collide into the main door in haste, he unlocked the sliding door and looked outside.

The road was covered in darkness once again as the moon returned to its place behind the clouds. Looking around, he couldn't see Saber on the darkened streets anywhere. A sound of steel against steel caught his attention and he ran for its source. Rounding the corner, he saw Saber swing down towards a man in red.

For humans, a fight between Servants could be considered an act of beauty. Lancer's speed could dodge a storm of bullets. A Berserk could rampage through a city and tear it apart building by building with his bare hands. Such was the power of beings beyond the material plane of existence.

Which was why when Saber swung her invisible sword downward, only Archer noticed her odd behaviour. Saber was a determined and driven warrior. Her first attack had shattered Kanshou and Bakuya with one deft stroke. By the time he had recovered, the invisible sword was already pointed at his neck. To a normal human observer it would have appeared that Shirou's command spell had stopped her swing. But to a Servant, her attack was slow. Her attack had already begun to falter before Shirou cried for her to stop.

Invisible Air was held unwavering directly at his throat. The sword's fickle sheath wavered to and fro like an unending layer of ice over water. Diverting his gaze from the death that was so close to his neck, he looked at Saber.

She was smiling.

It wasn't the face of a Servant ready to defeat her opponent. Rather, it looked more like she was seeing an old friend; friendly and warm.

All at once, a memory came to the forefront of his mind. He was on his back just like now in the Dojo. They had been training hard all morning. He had tried to take advantage of an opening left by Saber and swung his Shinai. Of course, she was quicker and had swiftly knocked him onto his back on the wooden floor. Saber, with her shinai pointed at his throat, looked down at him. In the soft sunlight of the afternoon, Saber made a smile and offering her hand to him. He remembered the soft touch of the . After this, he would decide to make a simple western meal for lunch.

"Shirou, it is noon. Should we not have lunch?" asked the Saber in the Dojo. "Hunger is the enemy, after all, Shirou."

He remembered this image from long ago; when he'd still held his ideal dear. These were memories he'd thought faded and vanished with the naive boy he'd once been. The memory disappeared from his mind, but Saber remained; still smiling towards him.

"What..?" said Archer in a daze confusion. For the first time in his recent memory, he was speechless.

Seemingly satisfied with Archer's confused reaction, she turned her attention back to Shirou.

"Are you daft, Shirou? We could have defeated Archer and his Master here if you hadn't stopped me. Retract your order." said Saber. The earlier warm feeling Archer had felt from Saber was gone; hidden under her iron mask.

"Just what was going on here," thought Archer. Something was definitely wrong with the war this time. Inching himself back, he returned to Rin's side.

"Are you alright, Archer?" Rin whispered. He responded with a curt nod. As he and Rin watched, Saber and Shirou argued back and forth. The pair fought like an angry couple while he and Rin watched awkwardly on the sidelines; apparently forgotten in the heat of argument. Just when it looked like they would both come to a head...

"Perhaps I can help, Emiya-kun" said Rin. The Master and Servant both turned simultaneously to look at her.

"Tohsaka... Rin?" he said, stepping closer to get a better look. Rin stepped forward into the light of a streetlamp.

"That's right, Emiya-kun," Rin said with a grin, "You mentioned you're an amateur Magus, right? Since you spared my Servant and my life, I'll help explain everything about the Holy Grail War to you. After all, it's the least I can do. We'll see where we go from there. Does that sound fine to the both of you?"

Shirou and Saber gave their assent by nodding. However, Saber's invisible weapon was still raised in the air pointing at Archer. Her eyes were cold steel as she looked at him.

"Very well," said Rin, "Archer could you turn yourself into spirit form for a while? Saber won't lower her guard while you're still here."

He complied and disappeared. Floating to the top of the Emiya household, he reappeared and took up a familiar spot from long ago; one that gave the best view of the surrounding neighborhood. He took up his overwatch position on the tip of the roof and looked out at the twinkling of home lights in Miyama. As the group walked in to the Emiya residence, Saber glanced upwards. At the edge of her mouth, the slightest of muscle twitches gave away her well concealed grin right before she disappeared into the building.

Watching the house perimeter, he mulled over the events of tonight. There was definitely a difference in this war. Of course, there would always be unknown variables in war... Each a calculated risk. However, in every calculation Servant Saber had been a constant. This definetly through his plans out the window.

"This war is off to a very interesting start," he thought.

Their walk to the church had been eventless minus bypassing a drunk couple on the way to towards the bridge. When Archer thought about it, it was odd how the sloshed blonde had been wearing or how her tall partner had been wearing sunglasses at night... However, he pushed those thoughts aside. There was a certain small warrior that was giving him a larger headache.

Archer waited in spirit form as Rin and Shirou headed off towards the church on the hill. After Rin had explained the initial rules, they had headed to meet Kotomine and explain the rest of the Holy Grail War to Shirou. Now, all there was left to do was wait until the two Masters returned.

Saber, ever the patient guardian, stood like a stone statue looking in the direction of the church. Moments passed as the only sound of gently rustling leaves in the wind. He looked over at the Knight of the Sword on his right. She was different from the Saber he knew. His Saber would have given no quarter nor spared an enemy such as him nor shown any emotion other than her intent to kill. She certainly wouldn't have spared him voluntarily like she had.

Yet... he couldn't ignore the facts right in front of him. Staring at her with his reinforced eyes, he could see every one of her beautiful features. Her golden hair shining in the moonlight, not a single strand out of place from what he remembered. Her olive green eyes. Her soft pale skin. The way she held herself in that dignified pose even with the ridiculous banana yellow raincoat over her petite form. This was definitely his Saber.

"Enjoying what you are seeing, Archer?" said Saber as she grinned mischievously in his direction.

He materialized with his arms crossed in annoyance; exhaling a sigh of annoyance. This Saber truly was an odd one.

"Just who exactly are you?" he said. Like seeing Rin turning into a shy computer nerd or Shirou... not acting like some selfless idiot, this different Saber irked him; if only because he was used to being the one holding all the cards.

"Hmm?" said Saber. She turned her head towards him, a devious smile on her face. Archer knew that look on Saber's face; it reminded him of a lion looking at a wounded gazelle. He recognized another predator on the hunt when he saw one.

"My identity is between me and my Master to keep. Surely it is the same between you and Rin, Archer," replied Saber as she widened her grin into a smile.

"How did she...? No... Just no. That was impossible. His paranoia was getting the better of him. The only person that had heard that conversation was himself and Rin. It's probably just a coincidence she was saying that," he thought, trying and failing to convince himself. He sighed again.

Akasha help him, she was driving him insane.

"You are a very peculiar Servant, Saber," replied Archer. His face remained emotionless and concealed the surprise from her previous comment.

"Oh?" said Saber, "In comparison to what, Servant Archer? Is there another Saber you've met to compare? Perhaps in a previous war? Perhaps you fought in the last war?" she said. Her voice stayed stern but the smile she had been sporting had turned into a smirk. "If our Masters ally together, Archer, I expect you to share that information with us. It could be important."

She was teasing him... Watching just how far she could push him. Archer's face twitched. Veins bulged in his forehead. He was going to die. His attempts at restraining himself from strangling Saber would cause him to have a brain aneurysm. He would be the very first Servant to die from annoyance. His once chance at peace ruined because of this Saber!

Calming himself down, the one single burning question returned to his mind.

"Who was she!?"

To preserve his own sanity, he returned to spirit form. Saber returned her attention to the Church and both Servants remained silent. Saber maintained her watch over the church as Archer mulled over the events of the evening.