I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Final Night

Early morning light beat against the drawn curtains. Shirou moved sluggishly out of his room. He trudged on to the bathroom to prepare himself for the day. Having done so, he headed straight for the kitchen to make breakfast. He smiled when the wafting smells of a busy kitchen greeted him when he entered the living room.

"Good morning, Sakura," he greeted his junior.

"Good morning, Senpai," she replied respectfully with a smile.

He took a seat at the counter, silently observing her cooking. However, other things were on his mind as it went back to the previous night. The shocking turn that happened when Archer suddenly turned on them. His fists became clenched as he remembered their exchange, both with words and with their blades. In the end, he could only pity the Servant. Archer was full of regret, regretful of his decision to pursue his ideals. Their ideals. Their father's ideals. And... he forgot how beautiful that ideal meant to them. Shirou sighed. He wished that he could have gotten through. To actually convince the Servant to see it his way. To show that it the ideals were not wrong.

"Are you alright, Senpai?"

The question shook him out of his thoughts. "No, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about last night," he confessed to her. She kept quiet, moving away from the counter to set the table.

"I believe in you, Senpai," she finally said a few minutes later as she started moving the dishes, "You promised you won't end up like him. You aren't someone who would break their promise."

He stared at her for a moment before gaining a relieved smile, "Thank you."

She replied with her own smile with a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks. "Umm, I'll get Rin-senpai for breakfast," she said as she excused herself out of the room.

He stared at the doorway for a moment longer before getting off the chair and moved to seat himself at the table.

"Good morning, Shirou."

He blinked in surprise as Saber sat down. "Oh, good morning, Saber," he greeted in return.

They sat there in silence for a while. His mind spun, wondering if he should ask her about her wish right now. Sure, she did explain it briefly last night, but he wanted to know more. But, time was not on his side as Sakura arrived, ushering in her sister. Former, sister. It felt odd to him. How was it that they kept in touch all these years? How did they find out about each other in the first place?

These thoughts kept his mind preoccupied while Luvia came in and took her seat, followed by a very loud Taiga. Breakfast commenced like normal. As normal as it can get. Just as expected, Taiga asked the blonde magus about the ticket towards the end of the meal, to which she did as she planned. Plausible deniability. Of course, the teacher bought the excuse. It was quite convincing. After that, the Tiger of Fuyuki made a surprising announcement.

"Alright! I'll be visiting my grandfather today," she told them, "I haven't seen him in a while, with everything going on this week. So, don't wait up for me, alright? No worries, I'll let myself out." With that, she hurried out of the room. Soon after, they heard the door shut. A collective sigh ensued among the three girls.

"Before we start anything else," began Luvia as she addressed the others, "I want some answers."

"By 'answers', you mean us?" asked Rin as she glanced over to Sakura.

"Yes," the blonde confirmed, "If anything, I want to know why she is a Matou and you, a Tohsaka. I mean... was this some sort of plan your father made or something else entirely?"

"No... I was given away," the former sister replied softly, "Without a word, I was sent there to be adopted by the Matou. He never even told me why. It was only after Rin and I were older that she told me her suspicions."

"That you were given away to prevent any argument over the family crest?" asked Luvia, which sounded like a rhetorical question, "I would imagine so. Feuds have been fought over less."

"Our... well, my father never explained fully why he sent her to the Matou," added Rin, "I never got the full explanation since he died ten years ago."

"So we may never know, huh?" the former summed up thoughtfully. She sighed and said, "No further questions from me. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

"Saber, why did you say you were undeserving of being king?" he asked, finally breaking his silence, "I... I saw things in my dreams. You led your people to victory. Surely..."

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as he spoke. Releasing it, she replied, "True, I led them to victory... but my actions caused so much strife and resentment that it split my court. Things were steadily going downhill up til Camlann. With that... I could see how much destruction I have wrought. What are victories against my enemy when I could not reign in my own court."

"And Noel tried to dissuade you," interjected Rin, "What did she say?"

"She said that without me, my other Knights would not be able to exist," Saber continued, her looks becoming downcast for a moment before becoming resolute, "Lancelot, Gawain, Bedivere... they may not have had the fame my legend contributed to them, but I think they would have made their own path regardless of me being king. Therefore, I still believe my decision to be correct." After pausing for a breath, "I suppose this is why I can understand Archer's actions. He was steeped in regret while desperate to rectify his own mistake."

Silence followed. The Servant of the Sword got to her feet and declared, "If there are no questions, I shall wait in the training room. Prepare yourself, Shirou."

He watched as she left the room. He was taken aback by her admittance. Yet, he supposed he could understand. Both Servants wanted to undo what they saw as their greatest mistake. Even so, he felt that what they were doing was wrong. Their actions had already been cemented in their history, so...

He shook his head. He was taking too much time thinking about this. He had sword practice to go to and he'd rather not get his Servant annoyed with him. He had to get better and stronger, after all.

Noel groaned as she moved sluggishly towards the door. The insistent ringing of the bell pulled her away from dreamland, away from the sleep she craved so much. Much to her surprise, Bazett was the one disturbing her.

"Umm, why are you here?" she asked tiredly.

"Just a question about... certain topics that should remain secret," stated the Irishwoman.

The officer sighed and let her in. Closing the door, she queried, "So... what do you want to ask?"

"You are a formerly a Servant. Is it possible for you to be a Servant again?" was her question.

"Ah, I doubt I can become a Servant again," admitted Noel with a wince, "I think... Waver tried it one time? Nothing happened when I recited the correct reply."

"...Then, I suppose I am stranded here," confessed Bazett.

"What do you mean?" the former asked in muted surprise.

"I am a Master without a Servant. What should I be doing now?" the latter asked, staring at her, "If the War was not on hold, I would have been a target and forced to seek refuge at the church. Instead, I am stuck without anything to do and with the number of times I've fought, nothing came out of it. I do not dare return just in case I attract any attention to what is going on here. I am the Association's representative so questions will be asked. To top it off, the mediator is the one killing all the Servants."

"You have a sense of helplessness," she summed up and got a nod from the Fraga. After a moment of thought, she said, "I can't really think of anything right now. Maybe later? When I'm not so tired?"

"I suppose it would be asking too much from you right now. I apologize," said Bazett as she moved to the door, "I shall get my equipment prepared and see you in the evening."

"Yeah... you do that," Noel yawned as she watched the Enforcer let herself out. She sighed and slowly trudged back to her very welcome, comfy bed.

"Why did you call me here, Matou Shinji?"

Eddie and the boy stood on the shore of the large lake they stumbled upon previously. The person in question was positively beaming at him. Rather maliciously.

"It is time."

He stared at the Matou for a moment. "...Very well. On your mark, then," he finally said.

The grinning boy then had his clothes vanish and stepped into the lake stark naked. As he waded in further, his body started to bulge out of proportion and began to grow out of control. Soon, all that was there was a floating mass of flesh that continued to expand.

"There doesn't seem to be much of a change, Matou Shinji," the former Assassin called out. This was a very strange precedence and he did not understand what was happening.

He then heard a giggle. "As with all summonings, we need a suitable sacrifice. Thus, I am merely expanding and regurgitating what is left of my 'human' side," the boy informed him, "Not to worry, I intend to fashion something new for myself. And maybe, if the Grail is somehow being charitable, it may grant me something of my own to use."

"I see. Very well. We shall soon see if this 'sacrifice' is sufficient, Matou Shinji," said Eddie as he felt he had seen enough. It was fine if it was sufficient. If not, there are ways to make his prey come to him instead, where things are more beneficial to him.

Time seemed to pass quickly. The whole day was spent in training both physically and mentally. Swordsmanship with Saber and Assassin before lunch, followed by magus practice after. That left very little time for a break, but Shirou didn't mind. All that time was spent improving his abilities and himself. It helped him get stronger. Maybe strong enough to save people. He didn't want to lose anyone again. Not after losing Illya. He never even had the chance to get to know her better.

Surprisingly, Taiga didn't return for dinner. That left mealtime in a rather somber mood. Luvia and Rin said nothing, opting to seat as far away from each other as possible. Sakura tried to make small talk but eventually fell back into silence too.

After dinner, Luvia announced, "We should be out searching for them. Perhaps we should..."

"We do not have enough Servants to cover us," disagreed Rin, "We don't even know where to start searching. I think we should stay here and wait for the fake priest to strike again. At least we know his targets." Turning to her former sister, she asked, "What do you think, Sakura?"

Strangely enough, said girl didn't seem to be paying attention to the growing argument. Instead, she was looking outside. Everyone else followed suit and caught sight of her Servant staring at the sky. Suddenly, the Matou Master said, "We have to go outside. Assassin says something strange is going on."

Curiosity overtook everyone as they left their seats and stepped out into the yard to look at the sky.

"Hmm? Flares?" Sakura muttered as they watched eleven colored lights fall from their apex. Four were of a similar hue to each other, with the other seven sharing their own same color as well.

"That... that fake priest!" snarled Rin, her teeth and fists clenched.

"I agree. He is actually declaring his win?" Luvia summed up, her eyes narrowed in annoyance, "Plus, it looks like the flares came from the temple."

A sudden chill went down his spine. "Wait! But... that's where... Issei!" he exclaimed before turning around to run inside.

Before he could do so, Saber grabbed him by the arm and said sternly, "Shirou, be calm. We should move together as a group. Kotomine intends to lure us out and separate us. Let us not give him the satisfaction of that."

"Sakura, be ready to take us," the Tohsaka quickly planned out as she and the Edelfelt headed inside, "We go after we get our jewels."

"Alright, Rin-senpai," nodded her former sister.

He felt like he wanted to ignore it all and just run ahead to save his friend. But... Saber's words made him stop and think. Going alone and unprepared would get him killed. Doing that would not save anyone. So, he had to calm down. And then, steel himself for the coming battle. He will save his friend. He won't lose anyone he cared about ever again.

The night air was cold, but not until she could see her breath. Noel continued on her patrol route after checking in at the kōban. She was also informed that the monks from the temple were moved to a safer location as the supposed 'terrorist' bombers were probably targeting places of worship. Out of earshot of her fellow officers, she sighed. The excuses and explanations that somehow given were outrageous, but at least that stops outsiders from finding out of the War.

"Why did you ask me to accompany you, Noel?" Bazett asked as she walked alongside her.

A moment of silence before she replied with, "The War is normally fought during the night. It stands that there might be things that I will overlook. I was hoping that you could be an extra pair of eyes and ears for me."

"I suppose that is a good plan," agreed the Enforcer.

They continued on their patrol, going through the south-western area of Miyama. Nothing stood out of the ordinary after an hour of patrol. Then, they saw eleven flares being launched from the temple area.

"Noel. Look," said Bazett, catching sight of the colorful sign.

"...While it is strange that someone is firing flares tonight, I doubt there is anything connected to magecraft with it," replied the former Servant after some thought.

"Perhaps... but the grouping, color, and pattern of the flares tell a different story," explained the former, "They speak of victory and accomplishment. Someone is saying that they have won the War."

"...Not a 'they', but a 'he', isn't it?" queried the latter seriously, "You think Kotomine sent up those flares?"

"A very high possibility. We should investigate," answered the Enforcer as the flares fell down.

"Right," the officer agreed with a nod, followed by a question, "Do you know how to ride a bicycle?"

"I do. Why?" the Irishwoman asked.

"Because I have a bad feeling about this," Noel muttered as she unfolded the bike stand, "After listening to your explanation, I think it wouldn't hurt to be a little prepared. Bolverk." Her guns materialized in her hands. "Mind if I went ahead?" she asked.

"I do not. Perhaps I might take him by surprise if I showed up later," mused Bazett aloud.

"Alright. I'll see you there," nodded the former Servant as she sprinted ahead.

She jumped to the roof of the house that was in the way and pushed herself off with her legs. Soaring through the air for a few seconds, she landed smoothly on her feet and continued on her way. She leap-frogged the houses twice more and then she was met with grassy fields. It didn't take too long for her to reach the road that led up to the winding path to the temple. Neatly hurdling over the police barricade at the entrance, she ran all the way down the road to the temple steps. Her ascent took little to no time at all and she reached the top. Much to her shock, she was met with an emerging black dome near the stairs.

"Kirei!" she shouted angrily while pointing her revolvers at it, "I got you... now... Huh?"

Anger gave way to astonishment when the dome peeled back, revealing Saber and the four younger Masters.

"Noel? How did you... nevermind. You saw the flares too?" stammered the confused Tohsaka the moment she caught sight of the former Servant.

"I did... oh, sorry," the police officer replied as she lowered her revolvers.

"That... it's fine. You don't have to apologize," assured the former as she looked around. A bright red glow began rising up behind the temple, slowly getting brighter and brighter.

"Looks like we didn't have to look very far," commented Luvia, catching sight of it too.

"We should hurry up and stop them from whatever they are doing," declared Shirou as he turned to go.

Before anyone could react, a voice said, "Oh, no. I'm afraid not all of you will be allowed to run off like that."

This drew everyone's attention to the main temple's steps. Kotomine Kirei stood there, looking calm and collected, sporting an eerie smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Luvia tensely. Everyone else had a similar reaction. Assassin materialized behind his Master, folded sword ready to strike.

"Hmm, do any of you perhaps know what this is?" he asked as he reached into his robes and pulled out a ceremonial looking dagger.

"That's..."

"It is. An Azoth Dagger. The very same one your father gave to me," the fake priest announced, "The same one he gave to me before he died."

"Why you..." growled out Rin as she ground her teeth.

"As to why you... or perhaps I should say, the Masters, cannot leave... it because of this," he continued as something seemed to fall on the whole courtyard.

"What... you activated a bounded field?" questioned the blonde warily.

"Correct. I learned many things besides what I was taught, this included," he explained, "I have keyed in the condition 'to not let any Master exit this place'. Ordinarily, Rin or Luvia should be able enough to remove this field. However, since I linked it to the dagger, I have made it a bit more difficult for them to do so." The darkness slowly crept up and enveloped his body as he spoke, "You will have to destroy it for you to pass." As the shadow completely covered him, he placed the ceremonial weapon to his chest, the inky blackness swallowing it whole.

"If that is the case, then Assassin, Noel and I shall defeat you," declared Saber as she raised her weapon. Her fellow Servant walked forward to her right and readied up as well. Noel then moved up to cover her left flank. The Servant of the Sword nodded gratefully and then stared steely at the priest.

"Ah, Archer. Interesting," replied Kirei with a smirk, "Then, it's a pity. If you spend time trying to defeat me, then you may not have enough time to stop him."

"What are you talking about?" fired back the former Archer class Servant.

The fake priest lifted his hands and proclaimed, "The Grail has come forth. Even now, its body is now being made behind this very temple... tended by the giving hands of one... Matou Shinji."

"What? No..." gasped Sakura, covering her mouth with both hands.

"Now that you know, Servants, please choose wisely," he said with a smile, moving his hands behind his back.

Silence stilled the air as the remaining Servants contemplated his words. However, it was Shirou that broke it, "Saber, Assassin. Leave him to us Masters. Go and stop Shinji."

"What? Are you sure Shirou?" asked his Servant while keeping her attention on the fake priest.

"Hmm, I think I agree with him," added Rin, much to everyone's surprise, "After all, I want to take what I am due from him." She seemed to be sporting a small smile but gave off a rather dangerous vibe fully directed at the fake priest.

"Don't worry, Saber. I'll be helping..."

"No. You follow them too, Noel," the Tohsaka interrupted the former Servant, "With your help, they should be able to quickly finish him off and return."

"If you're sure..." the former muttered uncertainly. She turned to the other two and said, "Alright. Looks like I'll be joining you."

"Saber," Shirou called out, "If you can... please save him."

"If there is any possibility, I will," the Servant of the Sword replied before going with the other two.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Rin?" asked Luvia as they watched the three fighters head off to the back of the temple.

"Yes. The fake priest wronged my family. It is up to me to get recompense for them," Rin told them, determination lacing her voice, "Of course, I welcome everyone's help as well."

This got a chuckle out of the priest, who hadn't said a word during the exchange. "Very well, Tohsaka Rin," he announced as the shadows around him seemed the bubble and rise behind him, "It is time to show you... that you have chosen poorly."

The Servants and Noel hurried to their next location. However, what they found astounded and shocked them. From what formerly looked like a lake that had crystal clear water, was now filled with a viscous, oily liquid. A huge mass of pulsating flesh quivered and squirmed in the middle, encompassing most of the lake of inky blackness. Above, the sky seemed to have been punctured and a black moon seemed to be leaking through. The reddish-black liquid seemed to be pouring through the hole in the sky, falling with a sickening sound.

"What... this is..." the former Servant muttered in shock.

"The Grail?" said Saber, her eyes narrowed in concentration as the winds around her sword dispersed, "Is this the height of Caster's corruption?"

"It seems there is no redemption to be had for the boy," stated Assassin as he looked around for the boy.

"Oh? It seems we have three pests," said a voice far off, coming from the top of the mountain of flesh, "Have you come to destroy the Grail?"

"Matou Shinji," commanded Saber, "Come down and face judgment."

"Oh, what a scary voice," he said condescendingly, "But, it is getting boring up here. So..."

Something fell from the top and made a splash as it fell into the lake. Then, slowly, a shape emerged as it walked up to them.

"Well, what judgment do you have for me?" the shadowy mass asked the three before him, the oily liquid flowing and dripping off him.

"Why have you brought the Grail forth?" asked Noel, "For all the power you're supposed to have, surely you could tell that it's cursed?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't really care," he replied, much to the discomfort of the audience present, "Right now, I only care to witness its power and maybe, just maybe, get some of it for myself. I will do this, and bring up the name of my family to the greatest of heights. Not even the Clocktower would even dare to compete with me once I am done!"

"He has lost his mind, Saber," mused Assassin, "All reasoning has been abandoned for power. I doubt there is anything left to save."

"Save? Me? Was it Emiya that put you up to this?" the boy asked as he chuckled darkly, "Perhaps you should look to your own wellbeing before trying to save me."

Suddenly, the Servant of Murder was thrown to the ground and dragged towards the ooze. He hit it with a splash and was dragged under.

"Assassin!" yelled the other two.

"Ah, you won't have time to worry about him," said Shinji as enough of the ooze came off his body, revealing clothes, a black suit with a white undershirt.

"In fact, you will see him soon enough, once this black stuff is done with him," he continued to explain. A pair of black trousers held up with two belts were then revealed as well as brown fingerless gloves.

"Which is actually, now."

A loud roar resounded in the area as Assassin burst through the oily blackness. His attire had no change, but his hands were pale with black veins highlighting them. His mask seemed to have darkened and his eyes were sporting a faint red glow.

Saber and Noel tensed up, but it was the former Archer who had a shiver run through her spine when she saw Shinji's transformation, now complete with a black fedora on his head.

"Now that we have all the players here," he announced with a very, familiar smile, "Let us play a game, little doll."

Commentary:-

The final night is upon us.

Let the games begin.

The horror shall now commence.

Please read and review.