Author's Notes: Great to receive such positive feedback from you guys. I'm glad that you found the story to be entertaining and to hold your interest. Wondering if you're still going to love me after this chapter…
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(Present – Archer's POV)
I not long ago discovered Rin's mana compass in the pocket of my jacket. Its pulsating alerted me to its presence and my discovery only made me realize that Rin had always had this contingency plan.
Earlier
"Archer, if we are separated I want to be able to track one another."
I rest my eyes, reclining in the arm chair in the study, "I can always track you due to our bond."
Rin looks up from her book with an exasperated expression, "Fine, humor me…say that a Caster Class Servant has the ability to cloak their presence and that of their captive. How would you find me then?"
"Through telepathy," I calmly respond much to her disdain.
"I'm unconscious and my identity is being cloaked. Maybe I'm even brainwashed to cloak my own magical essence. Then what do you do?" She leans forward in her chair and fits me with a glare.
"I have a brilliant master such as you to come up with a contingency plan."
"Exactly!"
Rin cast a spell on her compass so that it would only register her mana should we become separated…
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(Present –The Church)
Souichirou deposits the girl's unconscious form onto the alter and proceeds to complain, "Honestly Caster, were these risks completely necessary?"
"I do apologize Souichirou-sama," Caster sincerely states and bows her head in respect, "I have now confirmed that there is an enemy that wishes to obtain his own vessel in order to summon the grail. In order to beat him, it was necessary to acquire Tohsaka Rin as quickly as possible."
Souichirou observes the unmoving girl and slides his glasses up the bridge of his nose in contemplation. "I don't understand why the Matou girl could not have been made use of."
Caster continues to bow as she explains her actions, "My master, that girl would have made a plausible puppet; however, the magical potential within the Tohsaka mage's body will allow us to gain better control over the grail. Once the grail manifests, it is possible that her unique circuits will cause it to stabilize."
"Stabilize?"
"How to word this…" She ponders for a moment and then a smirk appears on her features, "The grail may not cause a form of devastation in this city, and even if it should, our wishes shall be granted long before."
"Then all that's left to do is to prepare the body," announces Souichirou, the image of the still girl lying on the alter reflecting in his glasses.
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(Present)
"I'm sorry but I just cannot allow for you to assist Tohsaka Rin," states Illyasviel; however, her words do not ring true as there isn't any regret in her voice.
Shirou stands on the sidelines as Berserker and Saber continue their battle in the nearby cemetery.
"Illya? Why are you doing this?"
"Because if you save Rin then I will have to become the vessel," she readily informs, "And I would much rather that she die then myself."
Shirou's eyes widen, "You make it sound as though—
A childlike smile dons her face as she playfully responds, "As though Rin has already been sacrificed? No, I'm afraid not yet; but very soon."
"Then you," Shirou starts, dumbfounded by the turn of events, "you joined Caster?"
"I wouldn't necessarily say that joined is the proper word; however, an agreement was made. I'm not sure that I could say that it was mutual, but my Berserker shall defeat your Saber and in return I get rid of that nuisance of a mage and her Archer," she regards the situation similar to how one would deal with an insect, " I'm still angry with him for taking so many of my Berserker's lives."
Shirou stands in awe because he is unsure how anyone so innocent in appearance can harbor such atrocious thoughts.
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(Rin's Conscious)
I feel as though something is occurring that my mind is telling my body to awaken, yet it will not listen. Trapped; that's the word I'm seeking. Something, no someone, is keeping me from awakening for if I do I would have the ability to contact my servant.
Muffled voices are around me in these dark recesses of my mind. Will it matter if anyone were to find me if the grail were allowed to manifest? I will merely cease to exist…
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"What was that disturbance?"
Caster stands at the altar, a mass of evil energy flowing from a book in hand and leeching the life energy of the mage.
"Do not worry Souichirou-sama; I will make sure that we are not disturbed," Caster's gaze doesn't shift as her smirk deepens, "If that accursed servant does happen to reach us, it will be far too late for her conscious will have ceased to exist."
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(Archer's POV – Outside Church)
"Rho Aius!"
"There's no end to these things!" complains Lancer, running his lance through another one of Caster's clay puppets.
"No, not as long as Caster still has an abundance of mana," I respond, standing with my back against Lancer's, "It's no surprise that she would create replicas from her past in Greece."
"Do you sense the aura coming from the church?" Lancer's mood was serious, "Your master won't be around much longer if this keeps up."
"I won't allow for that to happen," I consider my alternatives, "You're the faster of our classes. If I were to create a reality marble, could you get inside the church?"
"And have me take all of the credit for saving her?" I could tell that he had a grin plastered on his face. "I wouldn't dream of allowing you to expose your noble phantasm or of depriving you of rescuing that wonderful woman."
"I'm serious, you bastard."
"And so am I, asshole," he informs me with a carefree tone, "Use that "swords raining from the heavens" technique that you Archers use and trust me to take care of the rest. Any being pierced by Gae Bolg is as good as dead."
"Understood," I concede and ready myself for an attack.
"You promise me that you're going to save her," his words catch me off guard, and I turn yet his face is shielded from view, "she's not a woman that should be lost in this war; she actually gives a damn about her servant, so you had better not take her for granted or," he turns with a deadly grin on his face, "I'll kill you and take her as my own."
If I were a man who still had an ounce of honor, that would have hit a note; however, since I am a man who lost his sense of pride a long time ago, I am not offended. I am more intrigued that Rin has managed to obtain yet another admirer.
"I give you my word."
"The word of a nameless, Archer; how reassuring," his taunts are the last thing I hear.
"I am the bone of my sword…"
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"Why is it taking so long?" questions Souichirou, apparently never having been a patient man or giving much consideration to the laws of magic.
"Patience my master. Her body has almost lapsed into the darkness; soon she will fade and the grail will be accepted into its' vessel."
And then Souichirou-sama…my wish shall be granted and I will be able to forever stay by yourself. You who was the first man to show me kindness; I shall repay you for that act by summoning the grail.
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The old stone doorway crumbles under the force of the barrage of blades alerting the servant and her master of an intruder.
Archer's form appears as the dust begins to settle. His eyes move past his opponent to the lifeless girl with her hands at her sides bound to the alter; Caster's tastes evident for Rin now wears a black sleeveless dress which flows down to her ankles, the bows from her hair having been removed with the dark miasma surrounding her, crackling with energy and about to give way with the final words from the caster of the spell.
"There is another way to obtain the grail," informs Rin thumbing through an old book in her hand, "Here." She lays the book on the coffee table and point to the image. "You use a magus as the vessel. However, the body will not be strong enough to control the grail and ultimately they will die."
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(Archer's POV)
Rin?
There's no response in those lifeless eyes; the miasma is draining her of her life energy all for the sake of summoning the grail for…
My aura surrounds me as another round of blades appear and shoot in the direction of Caster. She parries them with her magic. She doesn't require a spell to use her form of fast acting magic. Yet that's merely a diversion for simultaneously as she defends herself I watch as her master is sword ridden from behind.
It's too late when Caster figures out what I have done. She gasps in anguish, falling to her knees to assist her master as I summon my twin blades and walk toward the alter.
Rin?
The air is thick, the miasma having built is now out of control; Caster is too distraught to finish the summoning and without the final steps the area is at risk of being destroyed. The energy lashes out, cutting the side of my face in the process.
Rin?
I continue to reach out to her to no avail; if it weren't for the mana compass in my pocket reacting, I would think that upon first glance she were dead as I push onward. My feet slide backward from the massive force before me, trying to close the gap between herself and my own.
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(Rin's POV)
I gaze out at the unclear figure before me; it's as if a dark haze has appeared to mar my view and I am left with a familiar voice in my mind.
Somewhere…this man is calling out to me.
Why to me?
Can't he tell that I am lost?
A girl who is nearly dead, whose body is nearly depleted of mana isn't worth saving.
Yet something about that voice reaches me and my mind starts to grow clearer.
Archer? What are you doing?
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(Archer's POV)
Stay back, you idiot.
Her voice returns my appeal and my eyes meet hers and somewhere within their depths I can see her; in my mind she is reprimanding me for my actions. I never was good at listening to her before.
I'm going to save you, my master; I'll accept any form of punishment for my actions.
The miasma is growing more out of control with every passing moment and the winds that move past me leave more open wounds; yet I press onward for she is my goal.
Archer, you have to dissipate the miasma. Don't think about me, think of how many lives will—
Be quiet. For once, just let me be able to prove to you that I can save you.
Archer…
"I am the bone of my sword. Unknown to death, nor known to life. Unlimited Blade Works."
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(Rin's POV)
A reality marble? Archer has the ability to create a landscape of his choosing; however, the marble is really a curse that eats away at the real world.
I sigh, for its perfect. If Archer can destroy the miasma while in another reality then the hope of the grail being summoned will die with me.
"I told you I was going to save you, didn't I?"
I blink as his words reach me.
"This world is all I have left; yet in it, I am at my strongest," I watch as he raises his arm toward the sky and blades position themselves in waiting. "Trust me, Rin."
And I do…
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I feel a tugging at my wrists and open my eyes to find my servant cutting through the restraints. The miasma has dissipated and when his eyes meet mine I see an emotion that I cannot place.
"Archer…"
And for a moment, I'm truly happy.
But it wasn't meant to last.
My eyes widen in alarm as his back arches as if in pain, he catches himself leaning over me in the process.
"Archer," my voice is hoarse, "What's wrong?"
And then I see it, the handle of the blade from where it had come to rest in his back. I try to push myself up, only managing to be in a sitting position, as my hands shake and try to make sense of the situation. To my alarm, I needn't have bothered to try and pull the blade out for I watch as it disperses in my hand. Archer steadies himself, his hands resting on one side of the alter and my worst fears come to pass.
"Rule Breaker," Caster's voice resounds in my mind; she stands, where the lifeless form of her master rests.
"No…" I murmur in disbelief as I watch my command seals disappear from the back of my hand.
"Archer," Caster calls out to him, "as your master," her tone of voice sounds deadly, "I order you to kill your former master, just as you killed mine." Her laugh echoes throughout the chamber. "Won't it be poetic for you to kill the one thing that you have sworn to protect?"
I inhale sharply for when his gaze meets mine it's as if I were looking into the eyes of a stranger and his twin blades appear.
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