Saber observed the pair until they were no longer visible before turning back to Rin, her expression serious. "Was allowing them to retreat wise, Rin?"

"My familiar is watching them, and we can take a half-rate magus like her down anytime. What I'm curious about," Rin bent forward with a devious grin and brows raised high. "Is why Lancer has you so fired up, huh?"

With her nose turned up, Arturia's reply was curt, "It is not as you think, Rin. I simply remember him from the 4th Holy Grail War."

"Oh oh oh, that's what that was. Looks like he remembers you, too. Strange, isn't it? Wonder why that could be?"

"Not sure, but after what we'd seen…" Unshakeable unease flooded Saber's from the atrocities presented to them by the Clock Tower.

Rin shrugged, "It could mean anything. Still, I'm surprised that Haley became a Master with her history. What can you tell me about her Servant, Saber?"

Saber's sigh was heavy, the history between her and Diarmuid Ua Duibhne complicated along with the 4th war. She would rather forget it and was grateful to have the likes of Rin and Shirou by her side. Disclosing the details was imperative for their future discourse, but still left a nasty taste in her mouth.

Rin's pacing reflected that brilliant mind of hers running a mile a minute. She sputtered random nonsense only she would understand. "I think we can use that history in our favor, Saber if you're okay with it."

"What would you suggest we do?"

Rin's smile was mischievous, as she pats the Heroic Spirit on the shoulder.

—

Diarmuid's memory after being defeated was hazy. He began with his knowledge of the 3 great families, and his drifting through the vast emptiness of the Grail. There was a ring of light above him, out of reach while his heart was overwhelmed with grief and anger, strongly resisting returning to the Throne. Or maybe he had, and what he remembered was the bitterness he held there.

It was not until he'd heard Haley's desperate pleas followed by a hauntingly familiar woman's voice, that he attempted to allocate his contempt and respond to the current era's call. Yet his memories remained, and the indignation towards those who betrayed him never subsided. His failures trailed him like a duckling to his mother, leaving it difficult to focus.

Relenting all Diarmuid kept to himself left him feeling refreshed. Where he could not confidently speak of the ill that vexed him in the past; it was clear with how his Master bobbed her head thoughtfully, that presently, his sensibilities mattered.

"Strange voices in the grail…memories that should have been wiped…I hope this isn't a repeat of the corrupted Grail from Fuyuki. But maybe that is why Tohsaka is involved."

At that moment, Lancer heeded how Haley's shoulders sagged as she sighed. The droop of her eyelids when she angled her stare out the frost-bitten window. He became aware of the darkness underneath her lashes, the way her tangled hair hugged her sunken cheeks, and the aftermath of the battle with Caster's Master revealed ridges bumping her skin.

She…was more than slender, but also weightless. He recalled how feather-light she felt in his hold as they plugged through the trees and what she'd said at the water stream. Eight years of wandering the streets and forests savaged her. The woman had no one to accompany her besides the voice of her one friend when innocuous.

Diarmuid couldn't shake the abject guise reflecting in her ice-blue eyes from his memory, and the need to reach out and ease her loneliness. Guilt clung to him like a bad odor. Night terrors, the Grail war—she'd spent a precarious amount of energy concerned for him, but had done nothing that benefitted her since his summoning.

"Master, I know the importance of our conversation, but, might it wait until later so you may rest?"

His Master nibbled her lower lip, a motion he collected she did often when overthinking, or uncertain. "I know we need…to figure everything out with Tohsaka and rearrange our plans but, is…is it okay to sleep with so much coming our way?"

She lifted her chin with a troubled gaze that left Lancer's chest tight.

"Of course it is, a warrior cannot be victorious should he be nodding off on the battlefield."

Giggling, Haley climbed onto the bed and cocooned herself in the red blankets, leaving her face visible. "I'm not a warrior, but…thanks for looking out for me, Diarmuid. I feel so much safer having you here."

Heat burned Diarmuid's cheeks, as he closed his right eye. Her sincerity and faith was this strange spell that left him speechless whenever she offered it. It was an adjustment but steeled his ambition. His wish to devote his loyalty and fulfill his honor as a Knight was within reach and would not be thwarted.

—

The hotel room was dark, the air filled with intense beckoning. Haley sat up, the blankets rolling off her, and clumped at her side.

"Master," Diarmuid materialized in haste, alarming Haley to his urgency. "Saber is making her presence known. I believe her to be calling us to do battle."

Cornered in a rabbit hole, Haley pinched her lower lip between her teeth. "She's not going to let us go," her eyes closed, while she tried to formulate a plan, "And we keep being dragged back into this war…"

Diarmuid's head dipped in a despondent gesture. "Indeed. But should we defeat them, the opportunity to avoid it as you wish shall arise."

Haley studied the point of her boots, lost in thought. "...Yeah. But first, maybe we can reason with Tohsaka but if not…defeating Saber is the most logical thing to do so we can get as far from her as possible."

Determined, she looked up at Lancer, "Should I go with you to face them? Or do you want me to stay here?"

"Saber's previous Master had no qualms eradicating an entire building and taking Kayneth's wife hostage when she was left alone to enact his lust for victory. Though it will be difficult fighting and keeping you safe; I'd rather you remain close."

Saber's old Master—whoever he was, she assumed him a terrible person for the horrid acts Diarmuid mentioned. The cruelty people justified hadn't surprised the Psychic. What father forced her to endure revealed the evils people could commit for their desires. She wouldn't resort to the same tactics, but how long would that last?

With everything falling apart at the seams—no longer being absent from the world and finding a way to fit in felt farther than the glistening stars above. Try as she may, Haley feared that though the chains around her wrists had long been severed—her future was still locked away in her father's dungeon.

Still, she would try to avoid it. If she didn't, the Heroic Spirit who escaped a timeless existence in suffering would be dragged down with her. "Okay, we'll face them together, then."

Diarmuid nodded, "I swear to you, this time, I will bring you Saber's head and we'll be done with it."

The serious atmosphere in the room shifted, Haley's eyes widening in horror, "...Huh? What? Her head?!"

"Well, yes. Certainly, the best way to ensure her death would be to retrieve her head."

Haley stared. It was common in Diarmuid's time, she supposed, but still! Servants…didn't their bodies evaporate into dust when defeated?

"Is…is that even possible? For her head to be brought to me once she's killed?"

Diarmuid's expression was puckish, "I would not know, but I'd assume it would be as it took me a time before I disappeared."

"Really?! Ah, that's—" Her hands waved frantically about her, her head shaking hysterically. "No, no no! No thanks! Don't bring me Saber's, or any of our enemies' heads, please! You'd give me a heart attack!"

"Oh?"

Seeing her Heroic Spirit's teasing smirk, Haley snatched and threw her pillow at him. His supernatural reflexes caught it, resulting in jovial laughter that triggered her own, even if she wore a childish pout. "You're so mean."

Lancer recovered quickly and winked, "Forgive me, my Lady, but you were so aghast that I could not resist."

"Terrible," she wagged her index finger at him, yet her tone was buoyant, "So terrible. But seriously, no heads please."

Lancer's smile was undeterred but light and mirthful as he chuckled. "Understood."

Haley had to admit, her Servant's pleasant, but impish disposition oddly captivated her. With everything being so serious, these moments, however short, were beautiful. She longed to have more of them.

Her world was too dark, the Grail War cruel and filled with heavy burdens. If she and Diarmuid could remain in this way, there was hope. And with whatever calamity that was sure to follow, Haley needed a little hope.

—

The air was sharp from the cold, and the strain that seized Diarmuid's heart. The wind rustled the colorful leaves, and Saber's lemon-colored bun, the taste souring his tongue. Her pose was gallant, the Holy blade's tip that should have pierced his heart instead of his crimson spear pointing at him.

"You will fall by my spears here tonight, Saber," he said, brandishing his demonic weapons, "I will make sure of it."

Arturia scoffed, a proud grin taking shape, "Bold of you to assume, Lancer," wearily, her eyes locked onto him, "Though our paths aligned again through fate or misfortune, I shall be the one leaving victorious."

That fighting spirit engulfed the King of Knights in a flashy breeze as if showing off the power that pumped her veins. It was no longer a secret; she indeed remembered him. Her Master stepped out from behind her, gems of different hues in between her fingers. As they anticipated, she planned to challenge Haley.

Lancer looked at her then, his Master's swallow audible, her arms crossed beneath the breast, shaking with worry.

"Before we do this," Haley started, exhaling through her nose and nibbling her lip in that nervous tell, "I have to ask. All I want is to survive this Grail War," Her head lowered before she looked at Diarmuid, "With Lancer, fulfilling his wish for loyalty."

"Hmm?" Rin's eyebrows rose.

"You, you really won't let us go? I promise that bounty is nonsense! I'd never—"

"Nope, sorry, I can't. What you do in the Grail War honestly doesn't matter, there is truth in that bounty of what you can do. Because of that, you're dangerous, and as a Mage, I need to stop you here. Saber!"

Negotiations over, Saber jerked her sword behind her, "Strike, air!"

A hurricane-like blast missed its target but succeeded in separating Diarmuid from Haley. She staggered to her feet, focusing her attention on the enemy Master.

Lancer struck for Saber, their weapons ringing against each other. The shock associated with her arrival now gone, Lancer concentrated on her defeat, leaving his Master to handle the Master and trusted that if she needed his assistance—she would call telepathically or utilize a Command Spell.

He feared for her but had to believe in her as well.

Rapid-fire collisions of sword and spears rang across the forest, the killing intent strong enough to send the fiercest of warriors to their graves. It was an elaborate display of power and skill between two legendary Knights. Her blade kept Diarmuid on the defensive. With force greater than he experienced before, Saber parried all of his strikes.

Arturia Pendragon no longer tucked her thumb into her palm, that act of chivalry lost to the past. This action exhibited her eagerness to end this match with haste and unhinged him in a way he had not expected. Had this woman—someone he once greatly admired for her nobility—truly lost all that made her so brilliant in his eyes?

No, these circumstances were different. Even Lancer utilized both weapons at his disposal, instead of Gae Dearg alone. With no reason to uphold those declarations any longer, both approached this skirmish as a new slate. Even so…

…Diarmuid couldn't stop fretting over it.

Had the King of Knights truly felt no remorse over how shameful the 4th Holy Grail War ended between them? That despair increased the ferocity in which he slammed his two lances her way, yet no matter which blade he brought down upon her, she countered it. The pride behind his attacks became covered with the same thick glaze that coated his fighting spirit.

His technique lacked dignity, colliding chaotically against Saber's gallant attacks. Why did this one woman still have a choking hold that sullied his spears? If things continued in this way, their duel could be endless or bear fruit to shameful results.

"What is the matter, Lancer? Your spears are duller than I remember." Saber taunted, an edge to her voice that Diarmuid couldn't shake.

If that were her attempt to jest—His hands coiled around the hilt of his spears. There was no joy on this battlefield, only agony, and resentment atypical to his usual demeanor.

"Say what you will, Saber, but it shall still be you who falls tonight!"

Ejecting from their trade of blows, Diarmuid swiped his longer crimson spear against the trunk of a tree. As it fell, he unleashed Gae Buidhe for Saber's exposed throat. Although he would not present her head to his Master, severing it was his best option, his yellow spear's curse ensuring recovery was impossible.

Timberland cracked and shredded in all directions. Arturia swung her sword, cutting through the tree as a razor would through paper and meeting his weapons in one fluid motion. "It shall take more than that to slow me down, Spearman!"

Lancer side-stepped, springing away from their close encounter before Excalibur could meet his neck. A line of red proof he escaped a severe wound. There was no escaping the pitiful feeling in his gut as every blow sang a glum tune, striking red lining his build, his mind crying out to focus. To think of the oath he'd sworn to his Master, who was desperately rebelling against a future she'd obtain if he'd failed her.

Arturia navigated the felled trees effortlessly, Excalibur's sharp edge exposing his chest to the crisp night air, which he traded for an abyssal knick in her armor with force powerful enough they both flew in opposite directions. Explosions sounded like trumpets signaling the cry of war in his eardrums, halting Diarmuid and Saber from coming to blows as debris and smoke clouded his vision.

—

Haley thought she knew Tohsaka Rin's power, but the newer jewels and spells she accessed were beyond her. She'd refused to practice magic outside healing arts and enhancement magic and had minimal knowledge about runes given it was her father's forte. She hadn't read enough about the different styles to combat them.

There was no time to let regret distract her since it wasn't her intention to win. She just needed to distract Rin long enough for her Heroic Spirit to end hers. It…felt wrong somehow. Haley respected the brief lives the Epic Heroes lived. However—despite how difficult—resolved it was vital to negate those emotions if she wanted to survive.

Those thoughts aside, Haley sucked in a breath and observed her surroundings. Enhancement magic granted her a quick escape into the tree-line, but Tohsaka followed closely on her tail.

"Don't you think it's a bit cowardly to be hiding in the trees?"

Rin's attempt to incite her ire failed, Haley was never the type to be provoked. Briscella helped instill confidence to remain firm in what she believed in. Running away may be wimpish for most, but if it kept her from dirtying her hands and deter Rin with illusions long enough then—

Red and black swirls of magic power singed her skin and sawed away the tree limbs that crumbled beneath her feet. Scaling and dodging the Gandr Shots, a curse that slowed her down and felt like magical bullets searing her body where they did strike, wouldn't slow her down.

Prana gathered as Haley halted Rin where she stood with Psychic power. She willed her enemy to see—

"Huh, you do have magical skill, after all, I'm surprised! But if you think that half-baked illusion work would confuse me, you're wrong!"

Haley's reaction time was too slow for Rin's candid moves. She uttered a spell in German, her legs glowing a bright blue while simultaneously springing towards her, knocking strengthened fits into Haley's gut with enough force to shatter her ribcage.

Magic instantly healed Haley's battered body as she crashed with a loud thud onto the dirt. Retching ensued as she attempted to regain control of the situation. Jewels of abstract colors surrounded her with magic so forceful it brought Haley to her knees. "What…is…this…" It was difficult to speak, to breathe!

Their very plan to divert her attention turned against them. With Diarmuid away, and the threat Rin imposed to steal away her command seals, and whisk her to the Association induced Panic strangled her tighter than the magical binds keeping her in place. She glared at the seals on her left hand.

Should she use them? They were invaluable. Wasting them on something like this before trying to find a way out herself—while Diarmuid was still valiantly fighting to obtain victory—Haley didn't want to be that useless. The pressure was overwhelming, it was hard to think of a plan. She could feel Rin approaching from behind, ready to send her to her father.

Never again, she would never go back!

Haley channeled her terror and psychic energy to the landscape and launched herself with a pillar of dirt and grass, collapsing mere feet away from the magical prison. She spits dirt, rolled onto her back, and sat up with insistent coughing.

Cheeks red and fists curled at her side, Rin shouted. "Ahh, just stay down, will you?!"

"If I do, everything I've done to protect myself would be for nothing! I don't get why you can't just…leave me be! I haven't hurt anyone, I haven't done anything! So why…" Wanting to scream in frustration, Haley pushed herself off from the ground gripped the top of her shirt, "I won't let him torture me again! I won't go back!"

Rin only cocked her head and smirked. "Ohh, so you're going to fight back instead of run, then?"

Why couldn't Rin understand her suffering, instead of pushing her to these limits? Fighting was the last resort, as defending herself could be misconstrued and twisted to fit the perverse bounty that made her a monster. Her eyes shot to the opposite ends of the forest, sparks flying where Diarmuid and Saber lashed it out.

If he was struggling to defeat her, and Tohsaka's strength pressured her this much…

"Dammit…I—!"

An explosion blasted Haley forward, muffling her scream as debris fulminated and pain burned her back. A strangled wailing shook her entire body; her hands slapping her ears to shield them from the sound. Diarmuid shifted into his physical form beside her, dragging her to her feet.

"Master! Are you harmed?!"

Haley steadied herself on Diarmuid's taught chest, his voice muffled by the ringing in her ears while she pried her eyes open. The obliterated field blurred into view and Rin's unmoving body was plastered across the earth. "Oh god, oh god," her feet moved before she knew it, but Saber had already managed to cross the field to her Master's side.

Even so, Haley closed the short distance between them and instinctively raised her hands, palms up, halting the creature responsible for that revolting cry.

"Rin, get up! We must defeat that!"

Saber's voice sounded small compared to the thundering in Haley's eardrums as she tried to keep that beast in place. This mangled monstrosity was beyond her understanding and resembled something she'd read in a horror book.

There was no accurate description of the collective reptilian legs attached to the canine-like body. At the center of its deformed body was a human face with sunken eyes and a hole where its mouth had been. And it stunk. The air reeked of rot, like the creature itself was a living corpse .

Haley didn't dare remove her stare from the beast that pushed against the limits of her power. Tohsaka groaned behind her. Each second that ticked by the creature inched closer along with a disturbing dread in her gut. Something was off about that thing aside from its grotesque shape. Thankfully Diarmuid had taken action, although his movement was sluggish as his blood-red spear, Gae Dearg, hacked away at its revolting body.

Its cries were of anguish before it crumbled to the ground, the tension releasing in her temples. Diarmuid turned towards her, pain contouring the beautiful man's countenance. A gash across his chest smirked, blood emptying from the mouth of the wound.

"Lancer!" Haley gathered prana to heal her Servant even from afar. Another earthquake of power offset her footing, and more tormented yowling filled the atmosphere before she could.

Magical energy stole the life out the skies, round rings unzipping the heavens and emptying its contents. More disfigured combinations of various animal and human parts came through the portals, and prayed they wouldn't devour them all.

oooooooo

Would one call this a turning point? Maybe. With Rin's relentless persistence, Haley and Diarmuid are forced to involve themselves in the Grail War. But something unexpected drives their attention elsewhere...

I know this took forever but alas, we're getting to the big ole plot. I'm a little iffy how I handled Diarmuid and Saber's fight. I can't imagine him just...being ablet o put aside everything that happened in the 4th grail war. The way he reacted to being betrayed and thinking saber had something to do with it; makes me thing hed be apprehensive and confused.

As for Haley and Tohsaka, that was a bitch to write. I want more info on how Rin uses magic after the Clock Tower. And I had a liiiiitle bit of difficulty finding a good spot to end this. but i tried.

That said, it will be handled soon, and im hopeful it fits within his character. Thanks to all reading the story!