Chapter 4 - "Saber's Melody (Part 2)"
"..."
"Ah!" Saber seemed to suddenly have come up with an idea. "Say," Saber brought up, "You have some degree of resistance to the grail mud, don't you?"
Anti-Heroes and other Heroic Spirits of a not completely heroic or good nature had some degree of resistance to the cursed nature of the Fuyuki Grail's mud, because of their evils, burdens, or impurities. Or ego, in the case of Gilgamesh.
"...That's right." Archer answered, "...But why do you ask?"
Archer had an idea of where Saber was going with the suggestion. "Surely, you're not suggesting that I use that mud to incarnate myself, are you? That would be far too much, even for me to handle."
"No, that much I know." Saber said, "...But maybe..."
Saber stretched out his hand in front of him, and materialized a copy of Avalon in front of him.
Archer stared at the sight, almost lost in Avalon's radiance, which he hadn't seen again in so long. So, Saber still had the image of Avalon (the holy sheath) with him...? Did he not lose it like Archer had after returning it to Artoria and after Artoria had faded away?
...No, most likely, he had also lost it when Artoria had faded, but had regained it after reuniting with her in Avalon, the Garden Paradise.
"If you have this, too..." Saber continued, "Maybe you could make a wish on the grail."
"Me?" Archer scoffed, "I don't have any wishes worth making."
"No, you do." Saber said with certainty, looking Archer in the eye. "Even you don't want to act as a Counter-Guardian forever, do you?"
"..." Archer looked back into Saber's eyes, and contemplated Saber's words.
It felt a bit wrong to use a corrupted grail filled with curses to fulfill his desire.
But, it was true.
This was certainly his best shot so far to achieve his goal of no longer being a Counter-Guardian, and if the combination of Avalon and his own nature (mostly Avalon) could ward off the grail's evil nature long enough, then it might just actually work to cut off his connection and his contract.
The Grail, after all, was an interface which drew power from Gaia, of which Alaya, that had enslaved Archer, was only a small subsection.
So surely, it could work, right?
That what Saber seemed to be counting on, at least.
"Alright!" Saber suddenly declared, "Then if I and my younger self win the war, then we'll use the grail to set you free! How's that, Archer?"
"What?" Archer looked at Saber suspiciously. He didn't know where this was coming from, all of a sudden. "...What's your game here, Saber? I'm your enemy, you know."
"Yeah, that's technically true." Saber agreed. "But even so, I want to help you. After all, I've already reached my own utopia, so there's nothing I'd want to use the grail for, even if I could use it."
"Besides," Saber smiled at Archer, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to help someone who's suffering right in front of you, right? That's just how Emiya Shirou is."
Despite himself, Archer let out a wary chuckle. Certainly, that was exactly what Emiya Shirou would do, that itself was Emiya Shirou's exact nature. But he couldn't remember the last time he was the one being saved instead of the one doing the saving.
"Alright." Archer, for once, allowed the tension to leave him, letting out a small relieved sigh and allowing for his shoulders to droop a bit. "But I still won't hesitate to kill the boy if I get the chance too." He warned.
"You can try," Saber taunted, playfully "But I don't think you'll be able to get past me."
"Oh, we'll see about that." Archer shot back, also amused.
Saber just grinned and let out a small chuckle. "Well, seriously, you don't worry about that. I'll make sure to set him straight, so that he doesn't end up making the same insanely stupid choice that you did."
"Heh." It actually irritated Archer a little bit that that was coming from an Emiya Shirou that also followed Kiritsugu's ideals and still ended up looking far more heroic than Archer himself did. But he couldn't argue with that, and it was a good thing to hear.
Their conversation finished, they started heading back over to Shirou's large and comfortable living room, coincidentally right as Rin was was telepathically calling for Archer to come over, and right as Shirou was heading out to the yard to fetch Saber.
...
Rin looked exasperated.
No surprise, given that she had just learned about Shirou's general incompetence at everything magecraft-related.
"Ah, Saber!" Shirou said, "Good timing! We were just about to head to the church."
"I see."
"Actually, there are a few things I wanted to ask you as well, if you wouldn't mind...?"
"Well, I don't mind, but if you have questions about the war, then you should ask the the church priest first. And I'll answer any questions you still have after that."
Saber didn't remember exactly what Tohsaka had already told him at this point, since it had been so long ago at this point. And it's not exactly like he was eavesdropping either, since he and Archer were busy having a heartful exchange at the time.
Saber's own memories of this time were pretty hazy, and though it wouldn't be impossible to take a guess and maybe vaguely recall a few things, it would be better to not have to answer questions that Shirou would ask others or to accidentally lead Shirou off on the wrong path with poorly timed advice or future knowledge. It was better that Shirou learned the general knowledge required from Tohsaka and Kotomine first, to stabilize his foundation of knowledge first. Any other questions and answers could come after that.
It would be a good idea for Shirou to meet that priest, too, so he would know just exactly what he was up against in this war, and get his impression of the true eneny he would have to face off against in the end.
Well, there was one certain thing that Saber wanted to do first, though.
"Tohsaka," he addressed, "I'd like a moment, first."
"Sure, Emiya-kun." Tohsaka replied instinctively, before correcting herself, "No, I mean Arch, Saber."
Tohsaka flushed a bit, embarrassed to have gotten it wrong twice. Well, not that Saber could blame her, though. Archer also gave off a very faint snort of amusement in the background.
"But what for?" She asked.
"I'm just going to open his magic circuits properly." Saber replied casually.
"What?" Tohsaka's eyes widened slightly, sounding surprised.
"What?" Shirou was confused, since he didn't understand why that was necessary, "But why? I don't think I need to be doing any magecraft right now, and I'd rather not... it's kind of painful."
Tohsaka looked at Shirou like he was an idiot (which he was, magically-speaking).
"No," Saber explained, "That's because you're doing it the wrong way."
Saber motioned for Shirou to come closer to him. "Here," he said, "Sit down, with your back to me, and take off your shirt. I'll start up your magic circuits for you. I kind of need to, in fact, in order to stabilize my connection to the World."
Shirou grunted his acknowledgement, and complied.
"Wow, Emiya-kun," Tohsaka teased, "I knew you were an amateur, but to think that you haven't even properly opened your switch yet - just how incompetent are you?"
Saber let out a light laugh at that, and even Archer (in the background) let out a suppressed, wary chuckle, as if the Servants were sharing some in-joke that only they were privy to.
"Alright," Saber said, "Shirou-kun, form an image or think of some sort of motion to associate with the sensation that's about to overwhelm you. That'll act as your "mental trigger" for activating your magical circuits for the future."
It was kind of strange, Saber noted, to refer to his younger self as "Shirou". That was probably at least part of the reason why Archer called their younger self "boy" instead (the other part, out of spite for his younger self's idealism, naturally).
"...Okay." From the word "trigger", Shirou was already thinking of something, an image was already forming. Specifically, the impact of the firing of a gun's hammer.
"Oh, and this'll feel really numbing the first time, so brace yourself. Well, I'll try to be gentle, though."
"Wha-?"
But Saber had already started sending magical energy through Shirou's circuits, causing Shirou to suddenly stiffen from a bit of pain, and a lot of numbness.
Shirou let out a shocked cry of pain, even though the sensation really was more numbing than it was actually painful. Still, though, it was quite the shock to his system.
Shirou ended up half on the floor, his body twitching around nervously at random, much to everybody else's amusement.
'Well, he should be fine though.' Saber thought, 'After all, with Avalon in him, and with our connection established, activating it and allowing him to use it, he should be able to recover pretty quickly.'
And Shirou did manage to recover pretty quickly. Within just about half a minute or so, Shirou was completely back to normal.
"Wow, that's some pretty quick recovery." Tohsaka commented, genuinely a bit impressed. She expected to writh around for a little while longer.
Saber nodded, though he kept what he knew about Avalon's influence in the recovery process to himself.
"Wait, that's what it's supposed to feel like?" Shirou asked, "So I've been doing it wrong this whole time?"
"Yeah," Saber said, "But now, at last, you'll be able to practice magecraft without the intense pain and almost killing yourself every time."
Saber said it completely seriously, but he clapped sarcastically. "Congratulations."
Tohsaka giggled. Normally, she would've been more concerned by what Saber had just said, but the way he had phrased it was somehow incredibly hilarious to her. "Yeah," She teased, "Congratulations, Emiya-kun."
Even Archer cracked a small grin at that, and lightly clapped a few times.
"Gee, thanks..."
[]
And so, they headed out for the church.
As for the advice and wisdom that Saber had picked up over the years, he was tempted to share it with Shirou, but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea at the moment.
Saber knew his advice could be misconstrued or misinterpreted if given at the wrong time, so it would best only to give Shirou advice as necessary, when Saber would know that Shirou is worthy of it, or when Shirou himself would actually appear to be in need of it (e.g. when he would actually be willing to accept it, or when he had gained enough experience to fully understand the advice. Or, even when Shirou would be so depressed and at a loss that he would need the advice.)
...But there was one piece of advice that Saber knew would do Shirou some good to have. The best piece of advice he had ever received during the course of his own Holy Grail War, in fact. And it would be good for Shirou to keep this peice of advice in mind, before he ever ran intoi any serious threats, so he had at least some means of fighting back and protecting himself.
So, right before they set out, Saber stopped Shirou, putting his shoulder on Shirou's shoulder, and drew him close.
"Listen, Shirou-kun." Saber said, "If you ever find yourself in a pinch, and in front of an enemy you can't defeat, then don't try to take them head on. Instead, try to imagine and create something that can. Emiya Shirou isn't someone that defeats the enemy in front of him. He's someone that creates something that can."
Shirou looked a bit confused at that, but nodded. If it was advice, from Saber, it was probably good advice. Shirou didn't know why, but for some reason he really liked and implicitly trusted Saber. Maybe it was because Saber matched so much the ideal image of what a hero should be in Shirou's mind that Shirou couldn't but naturally trust Saber.
And so, their preparations ready, they set out for the church.
Chapter 4 - "Saber's Melody (Part 2)"
Author's notes:
Keep in mind that some of the monologue is from the character's own perspectives, and that from Saber's (and even Archer's) perspective, Kotomine Kirei is essentially the hidden last boss of the war. As to whether either of them know about Zouken, who can say? But if they did find out about him later, it would certainly be after their own war, and he wouldn't be associated with their memories of the war, both of them having come from a similar but ultimately Fate-based route.
Well, that isn't necessarily to say whether that Kotomine will or won't be the final boss here, but whether he will be or not, that'll be revealed as the story progresses (lol).