Disclaimer: I don't own the Fate series or the Highlander franchise. They belong to their respective owners, not me.
Centuries ago, Britain...
Arturia Pendragon, King of Britain, strode through the gore of the battlefield. As she walked, blood trickled down the edge of her sword and onto the corpses at her feet. A gentle breeze fell over Arturia's face as she gazed at the battle fought on the plains of Britain.
What she saw was a horrid sight. The bodies of soldiers littered the fields, their faces filled with many emotions: bloodlust, anger, and despair. Bloodied spears and swords stood in the air like and the flags of banner men moved ever so slightly against the wind. And Arturia, the king of these men, stood in the center of it all.
Her kingdom was falling apart. Arturia could no longer deny that. She faced invasions from the outside, but now, she was fighting a rebellion led by her own heir, Mordred. The people of Britain, her people, were slaughtering one another with no end in sight. All Arturia could do was just let her tears run from her eyes, silently mourning the destruction around her.
"Do not despair, King Arthur," a voice called out.
Quickly wiping away her tears, Arturia turned around to the one who spoke. It was a man, who did not wear any armor, but the robes of a monk. The man did not carry any banner of either herself or Mordred. His brown hair was messy and he stared at Arturia with blue eyes.
Anger rose inside Arturia at his words. "How can I not? This battle, this war, is destroying the kingdom I worked so hard to build." She turned to the destruction before her. "And I can't stop it."
The monk remained silent as he walked besides her. Then, he finally spoke, "Perhaps, but kingdoms can be rebuilt, and time heals all wounds. It will be long, but this war will be nothing more than a legend, if not a memory."
Arturia, surprised at the words, gazed at the monk standing next to her with curiosity. His youthful bright blue eyes now seemed to be dull from years and years of experience, perhaps even centuries. But there was no way possible... was it?
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man just smiled. "Just a traveling monk, my king."
With that, the man walked away from the ruined battlefield with Arturia watching him. As the man left, the King of Britain could only wonder just who he was.
Fourth Holy Grail War, Fuyuki...
Saber walked through the forests outside of the Einzbern castle set within the boundaries of Fuyuki City. It had been mere hours ago when Rider and his Master, the young magus Waver Velvet, arrived at the castle to have their dialogue and it was not long until Archer appeared. The exchange of wine was fine, but the ideals of kingship and goals for the Grail surprised Saber. The words of Rider rang in her mind, troubling her to no end:
"You may have saved them, but you never led them. You never showed them what a king should really be."
The words Rider spoke shook Saber. The slightest of truth in them reminded her of a time long ago. It was when one loyal knight left her kingdom because he believed the great King Arthur did not know how others felt.
'Lancelot,' she whispered in her mind.
The snapping of a twig made Saber whirl around, summoning her sword as she did. The invisible blade of Excalibur crossed another sword with a loud clang. It was a broadsword with its hilt completed grasped by a hand. Saber's gaze trailed from the hand to the face of the sword's wielders and her eyes widen.
Staring back at Saber was the face of the same man she met all those centuries ago. He wore a traveler's outfit instead of a monk's robe, but everythin else was the same. He had the same messy brown hair, same face and those ancient blue eyes. And he did not age even the slightest over the centuries.
"It's you," was all Saber could say.
Her distraction gave the man time to smack away the invisible blade with his own, and he quickly backed away to gain some space. Saber gripped her sword hilt with both hands, and readied her weapon.
"Well, I see you haven't forgotten about me," the man spoke before his eyes stared at the whips of air hiding Saber's sword. "Interesting blade you have there."
Saber's surprise wore off and she narrowed her eyes with suspicion. The man still carried much wisdom, but she noticed there was also a quick wit to him. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I heard about another Holy Grail War, so I thought I might drop by to see it was true." The man smirked. "Guess I was right."
Again, Saber was surprised. Tightening the grip on her sword, she demanded "Who are you? And how do you know about the Holy Grail War?!"
The man answered her first question. "My name's Adam Pierson."
An alias, Saber assumed, but she continued. "And my second question?"
The man readied his own weapon and answered, "I can't answer that."
The answer aggravated Saber to end. She had no time to waste with frivolous banter, especially what she went through with Rider and Archer. "You will answer or I will run you through!" she commanded.
"Sure, why don't you do that? It won't really give you answers," the man taunted before muttering, "Besides it wouldn't do anything."
Saber's battle readiness sparked when she saw the man thrust his broadsword at her. She parried the blow and struck back at the man, who blocked the attack. Realized her opponent was skilled with a sword, Saber knew she had to end this quickly.
The man lung again and this time, Saber sent the metal blade arcing upwards, leaving the man wide open. The invisible blade of Excalibur sliced across the man's abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain.
After staggering back a few feet, the man felt on his knees and grasped the bleeding cut with a free hand. Saber pointed her invisible sword at the kneeling man and told him, "I suggest you stand down."
Saber heard a groan from the man and was soon shocked to see him standing up. She gravely wounded this man, but he was still breathing and standing like he was never injured. "I see that hasn't changed your mind," the man said.
Saber opened her mouth, but the man ran off into the dense forest before she could say anything. She immediately followed pursuit only to find no sign of anyone within minutes. The man was gone without a trace.
"Saber, are you there?"
She turned and found Irisveil, Kiritsugu's wife, standing at a nearby tree. "Irisveil, I apologize. I thought there was an intruder." Saber stared off into the forest. "It seems I was just seeing old ghosts."
"Perhaps, we should return to the castle," the silver hair homunculi spoke. "You will need your rest after tonight's events."
"Very well," Saber complied.
Dispersing her weapon, Saber walked back to the Einzbern castle with Irisveil, sure she saw nothing. Yet, if she stayed a bit longer, Saber would have noticed a figure climbing down a tree and making his escape.
AN: Not much to see. Just an incomplete one-shot I started writing about 10 or 11 years ago. I thought it was just interesting to see Saber (aka fem King Arthur) from Fate meet Methos from Highlander (an Immortal whose 5000+ years old). Never really finished past what you see here, but I thought to put it up anyway.