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

Purified by Fire, Dancing with Fairies

Chapter 6

Archer grit his teeth as Saber pressed the advantage, powerful two-handed blows raining down after another from overhead and the sides, before a final, horizontal swing shattered both Kansho and Bakuya. Archer had been expecting this however, and he jumped back, hands held out to either side to trace another pair.

To his surprise though, Saber didn't continue the offensive. He just stood there, pointing his sword at Archer. "It's over." He said.

"What?" Archer asked in surprise.

"Your Master is defeated." Saber said. "And my Master had decided to withdraw for the night. I think we too should. While I think I can defeat you, it would require me to exert more effort than what is appropriate for this stage of the war. I imagine the same goes for you, would it not?"

Archer narrowed his eyes, but relaxed after a moment. Saber smiled, and slightly lowered his sword. "And besides," he said. "As I said, my Master has left the battlefield. I don't want to leave her alone for too long. And I would say the same for you as well."

Archer said nothing, and after a moment Saber lowered his sword completely and vanished into astral form. Archer snorted as the other Servant's presence vanished, and then he too rushed off, to find Rin. Leaping over the walls and roofs in the way, he found his Master, lying out cold on the ground, her face a bloody mess.

"Fucking hell," he muttered as he knelt down beside the young woman, and began checking her out. "Broken nose, split lips and gums, bruising all over her face, and…a lump on the head."

Worried, Archer peeled back Rin's eyelids, and sighed. The girl was mildly concussed, no doubt from the blow to the top of her head. "What could…" Archer began to wonder, only for the thought to trail off as his eyes fell on a shovel nearby. "You've got to be kidding me…"

If the situation weren't so serious, Archer would have laughed. Rin Tohsaka, Sixth Tohsaka Magus, a born prodigy and an Average One, Second Owner of Fuyuki City and one day to become one of the hundred greatest magi of the age…left out cold by a shovel. And if the enemy Master hadn't been so…merciful, or something of the sort, it'd be the end of the Tohsaka lineage.

Scratch that; Archer walked over, and picked up the shovel. Chuckling to himself and shaking his head, he tossed the shovel back on the ground before returning to his Master. Kneeling down, he picked her up bridal style, and leaping over the skyline once more, carried her away to safety.

"Now then," he thought. "The concussion is easy enough to treat, some bed rest and painkillers would do the job, plus ice for the lump. I can set the broken nose easily enough…the problem is her split lips and gums."

Archer briefly closed his eyes. "Well," he thought. "I'll just do what I can. I'm sure she can fix what I can't once she wakes up."

Looking down at his unconscious Master, Archer smiled slightly to himself. "Honestly," he thought. "What a Master I really have, to get beaten by a shovel to the face and head of all things. Well, it's a good lesson for her, on not underestimating an enemy, and on how even the most ordinary objects can be useful or even deadly in the right hands. Though…"

Archer sighed and shook his head. "Knowing her," he thought. "She's going to get a grudge from this embarrassing defeat. I just hope she doesn't let it get to her, though I get the feeling I'm just going to get disappointed."

Elsewhere, at the same time, a place that was normally silent with grim oppression despite its rich furnishings, was host to a most unusual sound: laughter. True, and joyful laughter…or perhaps not, as the laughter was in amusement to the suffering of another, something which had not uncommonly graced this place in the past.

That place was the Matou mansion, and the laughter belonged to those who called it home. One was a Shinji Matou, a frail young man with white hair, struggling to keep from falling off his chair while laughing raucously. Another was his grandfather, Zouken Matou, though much more subdued than his grandson was still chuckling very appreciatively to himself on the couch.

There was a third person in the living room, Shinji's Servant, Rider. The Servant leaned against a wall, wearing an amused smile on his face. He'd chuckled himself, earlier, at the images sent by his Master's familiars, at how so easily a great and powerful magus was laid low by such a simple tool as a shovel, and one of the oldest tricks in the book: an ambush from the shadows.

Shinji blew out a breath, and with a cough pulled himself back into his seat properly. "Damn," he said with a grin, and wiping at a trickle of blood that had leaked out of his mouth. "Emiya did well against Tohsaka, didn't she?"

"Yes, she did." Zouken agreed with a nod. "Though, I see Kiritsugu Emiya's influence there."

"Agreed," Shinji said. "No proper and self-respecting magus would use such crude methods. Then again, she did admit to be a spell-caster early on."

Shinji paused and snorted. "In that case though," he continued. "Tohsaka has no one to blame but herself and her overoptimistic expectations that a spell-caster would fight her like a true and proper magus."

"A lesson for you to keep in mind." Zouken added.

"Yes, I know." Shinji said with a nod, but to his surprise, Zouken shook his head.

"No, I don't think you do." He said. "At least not completely; you understand the lesson of not underestimating your opponents like Tohsaka did, but I doubt if you understand the value in Emiya's methods and mentality, as inherited from her father."

Shinji's amusement vanished, evaporating like mist in the Sun. "You expect me to fight like a spell-caster?" he asked. "Whatever happened to our pride and dignity as magi? The honor of centuries of achievement and nobility?"

"I expect you to fight and win, and most importantly to survive." Zouken said coldly. "Do not forget that our family stands on the edge of extinction. There are too many things left to be done for us all to end here and now, in ignominy. Compared to the necessity of surviving, and our – your – obligation to continue our heritage, then such pride, dignity, honor, and nobility as you mention, is worthless."

Shinji stared at his grandfather coldly, but Zouken stared back just as coldly. "Do I make myself clear?" the old man asked, and after a moment Shinji closed his eyes, and nodded.

"You do." He said. "I understand, and I will do what I must."

Zouken nodded slowly. "Then I will have expectations of you." He said. "Don't disappoint me…like your sister did."

Shinji narrowed his eyes, but eventually nodded.

"I won't."

Elsewhere, in a castle in the middle of dark and foggy forest under the Moon, silvery, childish peals of laughter filled a sitting room and echoed out of an open window. A little girl in purple and white lay on the ground, having literally fallen out of her chair in laughter. Every so often, she'd pound the floor with a fist, but continued to laugh regardless.

Along one wall a pair of white-haired and red-eyed homunculi stood at attention, awaiting their mistress' convenience.

"Oh…oh…oh…" Illyasviel 'Illya' von Einzern gasped out as she struggled to breath, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She let out a long breath, and grinned. "That was good. I haven't laughed so hard…ever!"

With a childish heave, Illya forced herself to a sitting position. "Onee-chan is very interesting, isn't she?" she asked.

"As you say, my lady." One of the homunculi – Sella – said with a bow.

"She's very merciful too…stupidly too." Illya murmured. "If it was me, I'd have killed Tohsaka then and there. Come to think of it…any proper magus would, though they'd probably have stolen Tohsaka's crest too."

"As you say, my lady."

"Then again, onee-chan isn't a magus. She did say she was a spell-caster."

"As you say, my lady."

Illya frowned peevishly, and glanced in Sella's direction, but the homunculus didn't seem affected at all. Illya sighed, and lay back down on the floor. "Ah," she said with another sigh. "I wanted to see onee-chan tonight, but she's probably celebrating bashing Tohsaka's face in. I don't want to be a party pooper."

"Then, what shall you do tonight, my lady?"

Illya hummed to herself for a few moments, and then she glanced at Sella. "Bring me something sweet to eat." She said. "I'll think of something while eating."

"Very good, my lady."

Sella and Leysritt – the other homunculus – both bowed and then left. Illya followed them with her eyes as they left, and then rolling over, clambered back up into the chair she'd fallen off of. She snickered a few more times as she remembered why she'd fallen out of the chair in the first place, and shook her head.

"I'm still going to kill you, Tohsaka." She thought. "But first, I'm going to have fun with you. Getting beaten by a shovel…you'll never live it down."

Still snickering to herself, Illya rested her head back, and closed her eyes.

Saber laughed with amusement and shook his head as he sat down at Ayame's dining room table. "You hit Tohsaka in the face and then on top of the head with a shovel?" he asked. "Truly?"

"Yeah, I did." Ayame said with a small, hesitant laugh. "Do you…do you think…"

"Hmm?"

Ayame hesitated for a few moments, Saber just smiling earnestly at her. "Come on," he urged her. "Just ask or say what you want to say. I won't get angry."

"Do you think it was…dirty? Unfair or something?"

"Hmm," Saber hummed for a moment, and then with a shrug, he smiled. "Objectively-speaking, since it was also an ambush, then yes, it was."

Ayame's shoulders seemed to slump, but then she blinked as Saber leaned forward across the table, and poked her on the forehead. "Don't let it get to you." He said. "I've told you before, didn't I? We're at war, and I know war. Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do in order to win."

Saber smiled reassuringly at her, and after a moment, Ayame smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Saber." She said, her cheeks slightly pink. "I…I needed that."

Saber laughed and nodded. "Besides," he said. "It's not much different from back during the days of Camelot, way back when."

"Huh?"

Saber smiled. "One point I always made clear to my knights, especially the younger and more reckless ones," he said. "Was that just because they were in heavy armor and mounted on horses it didn't mean they were invincible. An infantryman with a good eye, a strong arm, a stout heart, and a sturdy spear could easily unhorse or even kill an overconfident knight. Or for that matter, a page with an axe to grind and a sharp mind put to that purpose."

"Wait, what?"

"The page you mean?" Saber asked, and Ayame nodded. "For all the stories and legends about us, we weren't perfect Ayame. Not me, not Merlin, and not my knights or followers, greater and lesser alike. We all had our flaws, some not too bad, but others…"

Saber trailed off and sighed. "I did my best to ensure my knights and lords would follow the standards expected of their station," he said. "But as often happens, I couldn't completely succeed. Nor could I be everywhere at once. So sometimes, you can't prevent abuses from taking place, only correct and punish them after the fact."

"I…see…"

"Sometimes," Saber continued. "A page overly abused by their liege would take things up with someone of higher rank, even up to me at times. When that happened…well, more often than not the issue would be decided through…trial by combat."

"I think I get the reasoning why the accused would demand that."

"You do?"

"Yes," Ayame said with a nod. "It gives them an excuse to bash the head in of someone they see as overstepping their place."

Saber nodded as well. "Sadly, that is so." He said. "I did what I could to ensure the rule of law, but things like that…were sadly part of the law. Unfortunately, at the time we just didn't have plenty of alternatives."

"I see."

"And also unfortunately," Saber said with a sigh. "Most such trials by combat between an abusive lord and a wronged page or some other retainer or peasant ended as you said, with the former 'bashing the head in' of their wronged subject."

"…you couldn't do anything about that."

"My own laws upheld the existence and form of trial by combat." Saber said. "Nor could I undermine the authority of my vassals. I cannot change the laws without a better alternative, as doing so would set a bad example, and any of those could have negative consequences for the realm."

Saber sighed and shook his head. "I was the King of Britain." He said. "I had to place my kingdom's wellbeing above everything else. Otherwise, it would all have been for nothing."

Ayame nodded in understanding, Master and Servant sitting in silence for several long moments. At length, however, Saber turned back to Ayame with a smile. "At times though," he said. "And more to the point, the wronged party would get frightfully creative, and against all the odds emerge victorious in trial by combat. Just like you did against Tohsaka."

Saber winked at Ayame who chuckled and shrugged. "Though," she began. "Won't other lords or the relatives of the abusive lord who probably got killed get angry or something at the outcome?"

"They would." Saber agreed. "That said, they rarely if ever acted on it. Some did, at first…but I made examples of them soon enough. The law is the law. You may take advantage of its letter at times, but break it because you were angry that it served its purpose…"

Saber trailed off, giving a knowing smile at Ayame, who smiled back. And then her stomach growled, and Saber laughed at the mortified girl. "Hungry, are you?" he asked.

"Looks like it," Ayame said with a sigh, and getting up from the table. "Not to mention Fuji-nee got tired of waiting and went home before we arrived. Ah…I'm so getting an earful tomorrow morning."

Saber hummed and smiled sympathetically. "Anyway," Ayame said. "I'll just order takeout…Chinese, do you want anything?"

Saber blinked, thinking on what the information about the modern world that the Grail gave him on his summoning said about what Ayame was talking about. It was just a general idea, but he could understand it well enough. "I'll leave it to you, Ayame." He said.

"Okay then," she said, leaving the dining room, heading for the phone to make an order.

"…no, I can wait…" Ayame said into the phone handset after she finished giving her home address. "…thirty minutes is fine...yes…yes…no thank you…two orders of pork fried rice, with fried spring roll toppings…two orders of steamed pork dumplings…no drinks…okay…yes…exact amount…alright, I understand. Yes, thank you!"

Ayame put the handset back into its cradle, and returned to the dining room. She found Saber still sitting there, at her table, patiently waiting for her return. "Is it done?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's done." Ayame said. "It'll take about thirty minutes to get here though."

"I can wait." Saber said.

Ayame nodded, and then falling silent, not knowing what else to say, found herself staring at Saber's face. The Servant stared back curiously at her, green eyes staring into her blue ones earnestly and honestly. After a few moments, Saber tilted his head. "Is something the matter?" he asked.

Ayame blinked and looked away, her cheeks pink. "No, it's nothing." She said before coughing. "Anyway, to pass the time, would you like to watch a movie or something?"

"A movie?"

"Yes," Ayame said, stopping in front of the TV and kneeling down to turn the DVD player on before opening the CD cabinet. "You know what that is, right?"

"I know the general idea," Saber said. "Based on information provided by the Grail on the modern age. Recorded, moving images with sound, by means of modern technology, shown on machines called 'televisions', for entertainment and other purposes, yes?"

Ayame laughed. "That's right." She said. "So, how about we entertain ourselves for tonight?"

"I'll leave it to you."

Ayame nodded, opening the CD case, removing the disk inside, and popping it into the DVD player. Turning on the TV, she set the input to the DVD, and then pressing play, went back to the table to sit next to Saber, who was staring curiously at the TV. "What are we watching?" he asked.

"You'll see."

Saber raised an eyebrow, but then smiling nodded. "Very well," he said. "I wouldn't want to spoil the entertainment value."

Ayame grinned, and then turned back to the TV which was now showing the usual copyright script followed by the logos of the producers. And then the screen went dark, deep and low music coming from the speakers. And then a solemn voice began to speak.

"Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis," the voices proclaimed. "And the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamt of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!"

Molten metal flowed ablaze across the screen, followed by the words 'Conan the Barbarian'. Saber looked intrigued, and then nodded slowly as a blacksmith was shown hard at work forging a sword, a woman and boy who were probably his wife and son appearing briefly during the forging. The woman would reappear though, as the sword was finished, carving its guard and binding the hilt with leather, and sharpening and polishing the blade. And all the while triumphant music punctuated by proud drumming played…

…only to abruptly shift to a more…solemn, tune, as ice and snow-covered mountains were shown on the screen. "Fire and wind come from the sky, from the gods of the sky," the blacksmith told his son, as they looked out over the mountains. "But Crom is your god. Crom, and he lives in the earth. Once giants lived in the earth, Conan, and in the darkness of chaos they fooled Crom, and they took from him the enigma of steel. Crom was angered, and the earth shook, and fire and wind struck these giants, and threw their bodies into the waters. But in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel, and left it on the battlefield. We, who found it, are just men: not gods, not giants, just men. And the secret of steel has carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan, you must learn its discipline. For no one, no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts…"

The man trailed off, and pointed at his sword before handing it to his son. "This you can trust." He said.

"Wow," Saber said. "He talks like a druid."

"Really?" Ayame asked in surprise.

"Yes," Saber said with a nod, and then he smiled and sat back. "But enough about that…this is proving more…intriguing, than I expected."

Ayame chuckled, and also sitting back, turned back to watching the movie.

"I'm going to kill that girl."

Rin lay in bed, a bag of ice sitting on top of her head, her face mottled blue and purple, while her lips were dark and swollen. Her nose had been straightened out though…but was still swollen for all that. Archer looked at her sympathetically, from where he was sitting by the window.

"Only after you recover." He said. "Though, that could also go quicker if…"

"I told you already," Rin snarled. "When it comes to head injuries, it's best to refrain from using magic to heal it yourself, and to have someone else do it for you instead, except in absolute emergencies. And while I could heal my facial injuries, until this headache of mine goes away, it's best not to push!"

"Alright, alright," Archer said with a sigh. "Are you sure you don't know anyone who can…"

"No!"

Archer sighed. Kirei Kotomine could no doubt patch Rin up quickly enough…except his Masters's pride was keeping her from crawling over to the church for his help. Typical Rin…

"Anything else I can do?"

"Get me something to eat." Rin said. "Something light, though bring lots of that good tea of yours."

"…okay for the first, but it's probably for the best if I don't obey the second."

"And why not?"

"Tea has caffeine." Archer replied. "And caffeine is a nerve stimulant. You understand, don't you?"

"Alright, alright," Rin snarled. "Just get me something to eat! And orange juice, orange juice is fine isn't it?"

Archer smiled and bowed. "It is." He said. "I'll be going then."

The Servant then vanished into astral form, and leaving Rin all alone by herself. And alone, Rin went over the events of the previous night. "Damn that bitch." She thought angrily, remembering Emiya ambushing her and using something so crude and…mundane, like a shovel to defeat her. It was a complete and utter humiliation, not just for Rin, but for her enemy as well.

Then again, Emiya probably didn't see it that way, given she'd freely and openly admitted to being a spell-caster. A spell-caster…! A spell-caster of all people getting involved in the Holy Grail War? A noble contest of magecraft between seven magi and seven Heroic Spirits for the one and only Holy Grail? It was an insult!

Rin sighed, and reaching up massaged her temples, trying to be rational about things. That was the ideal of course but reality as usual, was far from the ideal. Greedy, uncivilized magi and spell-casters were only to be expected to be drawn to the Holy Grail War, and its promise to have any of their desires be granted.

No doubt, Emiya's wish would run along such selfish and unscrupulous lines, such as wealth, success, power or even love that she had done nothing to earn. Compared to Rin and other, proper magi's desire of simply proving the glory and achievement of their lineages…no, there was no comparison at all.

Again, Rin sighed, and massaging her temples tried to be rational. Easier said than done…particularly galling was how Emiya, a second, no, third-rate spell-caster had somehow managed to summon a Saber, the most outstanding of the Servant classes.

Ah…but is she really so third-rate? Or second-rate, even? She tore through our bounded fields so easily didn't she? With those glowing familiar things of hers.

Rin growled at her subconscious' taunting, but had to admit it was the truth. As a spell-caster, Emiya seemed to be…capable, enough, to tear through Tohsaka bounded fields with seeming ease.

What were those familiars of hers? Spirits of some kind?

Probably…but if so, what?

…nature spirits, maybe, or animal or guardian spirits…fairies?

The thought made Rin laugh…and then writhe in agony as the act of laughing set off her headache. "Gods damn it…" she growled, clutching her head. "I'm going to kill that bitch…I swear I'm going to kill her…"

Taking a deep breath as the pain spiked and then ebbed, Rin massaged her temples again. "Not fairies," she thought. "Fairies are powerful beings, not to mention are Phantasmal Beings that no longer exist in the World, and whose appearance would be comparable to True Magic…Ayame Emiya…"

Rin remembered her schoolmate and enemy, with three glowing spirits orbiting her like moons around a planet or electrons around a nucleus. "I'll admit that she's good." Rin finally thought. "I'll admit that I underestimated her, allowed my…bias, against spell-casters become an advantage she used against me. I'll also admit that maybe the Emiya family had developed…respectable, mysteries, that could match my family's. But…to control fairies…laughable…"

Blue eyes narrowed. "Whatever it is she knows," Rin thought. "I'll figure it out, and defeat her. I'll take her seriously, and show her and the other Masters how true magi live and fight. And then…"

Rin's thoughts trailed off, and she clutched her head as the pain spiked. "Damn it," she began, and raising her voice. "My head hurts!"

"Congratulations, Emiya."

Ayame turned her head, and regarded Shinji approaching her on the school quadrangle. "What?" she asked.

"You know what I'm talking about." Shinji said.

"Okay…thanks, I guess."

Shinji chuckled. "Don't be too defensive now." He said. "I'm just passing on my compliments, on your…admittedly-impressive performance. Tohsaka was and is a genius, whether it's you or me, a battle against her will have her at an unfair advantage. To have won with such a simple trick…"

Shinji paused and shrugged. "Okay, I'll admit my grandfather had to talk to me to accept it." He said. "Still, as he pointed out, surviving and being able to keep moving forward is worth using such…questionable, methods as you used, when the alternative is a complete end to…well, everything."

"…is that so?"

"Yes."

Ayame sighed. "Okay, what do you want?" she asked.

Shinji chuckled again. "As I said, I'm just passing on my compliments." He said. "And of course, my thanks."

"Huh?"

Shinji smiled, and saluting Ayame informally moved to leave. "After thinking on it a bit, thanks for showing that ordinary people like you and me can defeat geniuses whose only merit is circumstance of birth." He said. "Bye, now. And if or when we fight, good luck."

At that, Shinji moved on, leaving Ayame standing in the middle of quadrangle in a state of confusion.

"What just happened?"

A/N

Additional disclaimer: the character of Conan the Barbarian is owned by the late Robert E. Howard, with the film quotes being owned by 20th Century Fox.

Welp, Rin's now the laughingstock of the founding families. What did you expect?