When next Emiya opened his eyes he was inside of his world, the endless barrow of blades that was unlimited blade works greeted him, he had just returned from a version of the fifth holy grail war in which the saber servant of that war was corrupted.

He still hurt from having to look at that corrupted version of her it hurt his soul, to see her once blond hair, turn pale, to see her green emerald eyes become a dull gold, to see her skin turn pale, it hurt... it hurt to see her face one that could have once showed expression turn blank. And he could do nothing about it, he could do nothing to stop her from killing berserker and eventually try to take Ilya. If the shadow hadn't attacked him and force him to use rho ais to defend against its blast maybe he could have stopped her. But... deep down he knew he couldnt hurt her, he couldnt hurt his former servant even if she wasnt his and was corrupted, he couldnt bring himself to put his all in attacking her, to use every trick in the book to kill.

He wasnt even sure if he could do it if the world itself was at stake.

It hurt his heart to see her like that, he knew he couldnt save everyone much less her, he had failed to save her heart once, he would never be able to do it, it was that simple.

Stuck in his revelries heroic spirit emiya didnt notice that he was being sent out for another mission until he received the information from alaya.

"Another grail war..." He said his voice once so energetic and filled with hope when he was younger now gone as he became older and more jaded, "Will I have to face another variant of her alaya... knowing you yes... yes I will. You always did take pleasure in breaking my spirit first. You had me kill innocents who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, I managed to delude myself into believing it necessary for the survival of humanity, then you made me kill loved ones and familly who tried to defy the fate that was already set for them," and then once he had finally learned to accept his fate and to try his best after a grail war with rin it started to send him out on even more missions this time having him watch as his body became a mindless puppet for the world to puppeteer and commit acts of grand violence in the name of 'ensuring humanity's survival' he knew what it really wanted, it wanted a perfect counter guardian one who would kill and follow orders without hesitation a true 'cleaner'. No wonder why ever since that grail war his main targer has been variants of Artoria Pendragon, variants of his beloved, the one who's heart he could never save. The world wanted its killing machine and it wouldnt stop, not until he was as cold jaded and sinical as can be.

But this grail war he wouldnt be a servant no he would be a counter guardian, the reason for the improptu mission somebody who should never get their hands on the grail have gotten ahold of a version of it that wasnt corrupted. He could only assume the reason why he was actually being called forth was because whoever was making this wish would endanger the entirety of humanity. And so he was summoned into a grail war which has reached the end of its events.

When next the counter guardian opened his eyes he was infront of the cave that led to the grail, looking behind him he saw that fuyuki was completely fine, it confused him, that no grand amount of damage had been caused by the war but he didn't care he entered the cave and started to walk deeper into its depths. The more and more he walked he started to see a master who had barely survived the assault of the last servant, it was Rin. He kneeled next to her and observed her wounds she would die, and there was nothing he could do, her wounds to severe, her face was beaten and bloody and yet she somehow still saw him.

"Shirou?" She questioned in surprise, "I thought you had died, how? How are you back?"

Emiya stiffened, how did she? How did she know his true identity, he had never revealed it she had only found out in one timeline because shirou had her gem.

"Eh it doesnt matter... if you were still actually alive you probably would be overjoyed that Saber had returned, but you died and before that you made that contract... if I remember correctly that is why she actually came back she was shouting accusations of what alaya had done and said that she had to use the grail. I tried to stop telling her it was corrupted and destroyed, she merely told me that she somehow managed to bring it back..." She said those last lines as the life slowly faded from her eyes.

He stumbled back, he thought he wouldnt be affected by the loss of his friend and former master anymore, but here he was letting himself get affected, but still that raised questions in the back of his mind, how did she know him, and she said that he had died recently which meant...

He was back in his original timeline.

He was stunned, Saber had returned? How? No... Why? Why did she come back? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Not only that, by the time he had died the grail was destroyed so how was it back?

His body moved without him even realising it, after all he had made no conscious effort to move, which only left one person, no entity, to do that.

"Alaya..." He ground out, stopping his self moving boddy through will alone, "What are you hiding from me?" He was barely holding back his rage, he wanted to know what the hell was going on. Why was Artoria back? How did she come back? Those questions flowed through his mind but sadly even his will had to give out as the subconscious of manking forced him to move, and then he was in front of where the grail was held, and right there looking upon it was, her.

Her golden hair once held in a bun was let out letting her rather long hair slide out cascandingly from its point of origin, she was no longer wearing a battle dress but a white dress, that seemed to speak of her purity as if even after what she had done to Rin she was still pure of heart, she looked exactly like he remembered her. Not as the knight who had saved his life but as the girl who he had tried to save and failed, but did he? Was this appearance an act, it had to be, he had failed to save her, she would continue on her quest to find the grail and use it to save her kingdom.

"You have arrived counter guardian..." She spoke her voice smoother then a song played by a master of the violin, just like he had remembered it.

He wanted to speak to ask her if he was hers and she his.

That he hadn't failed after all.

No sound came out he couldnt open his mouth.

"I know of your mission, you intend to stop me from freeing my beloved, he believed he failed to save my heart yet he did not, he saved me, but in believing that he had failed I couldnt save him, Merlin told me of what happened to him, he shouldnt have gone through those tragedies, he shouldnt have been forced to kill indiscriminately, his heart did not derserve that. I know my words will not convince you, whoever you are just know, I will not hold back," she turned around and that is when he saw her eyes once more, her eyes which were more beautiful and pure than the purest of emeralds and deeper than the deepest of oceans, he could lose himself inside those eyes and their magnificent luster, yet he saw something else in them something which he hadnt seen since his grail war, a cold determination and a fiery rage, she had only ever held one or the other in their skirmishes with Gilgamesh. To see those eyes now focuse on him... it hurt, it hurt more than seing her corrupted by the grail completely obedient to its calls and wishes, "I will save him."

His body now no longer his own to control, readied itself for this bout, once he realised what it was doing it was too late. Alaya had already entreched itself deeply enough to stop him from fighting back and getting controle. It was then that archer finally realized the beings angle, and he despised it.

His body rocketed forward to meet the grieving king of knights head on as they started a dance of parries, dodges and ripostes, however no matter how skilled Emiya's body was at the art of the sword Artoria Pendragon was just better, and so some slices and cuts started to cover his form. However that was bound to happen and those couldnt be stopped, if even a single major mistake were made the other would die, Emiya's eye of the mind was completely available to alaya and it utilized it effectively, it started to do the preparation's for his servant sure kill technique, the triple-linked crain wings, however it forgot to account for one think, Artoria's instinct.

She had realized what the counter guardian was planning to do and she countered it, perfectly.

She shattered the first two copies of Kanshou and Bakuya with the sword of promised victory, that action alone managed to surprise the subconscious will of mankind to survive enough for her to explode forward and stab him. The overwhelming pain was enough for Emiya to finally regain his mind, and he spoke.

"Saber..." he said his hand pushing aside stray locks of her free falling hair as he looked at her lovingly.

Artoria paused as she looked up at the counter guardien his hair had fallen, now and she could realize who it was, "No... No, no, no, no..." She started to say as she finally realized what she had done, she had attacked him, her beloved, the love of her life, her sheath, Shirou.

"No this cant be happening," She said tears threatening to fall.

"Saber, no, Artoria I... Love.. you," he said his voice growing weaker and weaker as time continuously went bye, and so the servant of the sword did the only thing she could.

She wished on the grail.

When next, Emiya opened his eyes, he found himself in... bed?

"What?" He questioned as he opened his eyes, and saw a familiar ceiling, "What?" He questioned once more this time he looked back at his hands they were white once more, his skin no longer tanned to such a point where he looked like he was from the middle east. He pulled down his hair, red, it was red, what happened? The last thing he remembered he was forced to watch as his body fought Artoria and alaya forgot she had instinct and was thus able to predict his ultimate attack.

He went to get up only to notice that there was body drapped over his own, looking down he saw her once more, her hair now longer straight but drapped over his chest, I am shirtless, he noted to himself, she had an expression of peace and happiness on her face looking down he realized that she too was shirltless.

His face heated up unconsciously.

Before he realized what he was doing and berated himself mentally at his unconscious reaction.

His mouvement's however seemed to stir the, probably naked, love of his life awake.

She looked around the room tiredly before looking around the room her features scrunching like that of a cat, before she saw him and smiled the brightest smile he has ever seen, brighter than the one kiritsugu had done when he had saved him from that fire all those years ago, he knew inside his heart that even if he were to go to hell again he would remember her smile just like he remembers their meeting in that shed in the moonlight all that time ago.

"Good morning, my sheath," she said while hugging him.

He hesitated for a moment before reciprocating the action and asking a question, "This... This isn't a dream is it?" He asked his voice tantalizingly raw.

"No... No my sheath it is not," She said her voice calming the parts of his mind which were a moment away from crying in agony if this wasnt real.

"Then... then I wont be going back?"

"No, you will not"

He smiled after all this time he smiled in pure joy and happiness his own personal hell was finally over.

"And Shirou," Artoria started looking lovingly at her now freed partner, "Aishitemasu. (I love you.)"

Their lips met in a kiss, at last sword and sheath were reunited.

Authors note

hello!!

This is my second story, I hope y'all enjoy it this one has archer meet his saber once more and djuke it out in the first part because she is trying to free him from the counter force and he controlled by alaya couldnt stop himself from attacking her, but he was still restricting his power if only minutetly which allowed artoria to stab him right through the heart in which he finally gains control of his body, and tells him that he loves her it is at that moment that she realizes she was fighting the person she was trying to save and that she uses the grail.

I will be completely honest, with you all I leave this staying as a one shot or beign a story to you guys, you decide if I do it or not I actually do have some ideas as well on how to continue this and btw it will mostly be fluff.

And that is all! A chapter which is probably bigger than the first chapter of my first story, one last dance, and one that while it has an opened ending can be left where it is and somebody can still get enjoyment from it. And on my use of 'aishitemasu' in japanese that is what somebody says when they truly love somebody with all their heart. It is what artoria said in the end of fate route btw.

And that is all for this chapter, happy shirou day and please review if you want this to not just be a one shot.

have a good day/evening/night

GreekAntrielos out.