Shirou slowly opened his eyes and saw himself on a white stretcher with Unohana looking over him and smiling warmly.

"He is finally awake" She then glanced to Artoria, Rin, and Illyasveil "But do keep in mind that he has yet to fully recover" she advised.

The three headed the woman's advice and slowly and gently approached Emyia who smiled at them.

"Rin, Illyasveil, Saber…I am glad to see you are all alright" Shirou said in a hoarse voice.

The Tohsaka Magus then sighed in irritation. "You should be more worried about yourself Shirou…" She then looked to the medical captain. "Captain Retsu said your entire Spiritual energy and mana were drain-dried" She then let out a deep breath of relief. "Honestly I am glad your luck is still holding up"

Shirou then cast an adown expression. "Oh I…am sorry Tohsaka, I mean…I never intend to needlessly endanger myself I just…"

Illyasveil then grabbed his right hand. "Emyia we are not blaming you for fighting, we just want you to focus on recovering now" she explained while Shirou looked up at her in thought.

"Precisely…" Artoria add-in. "Getting injured in the line of duty is not the same as recklessly endangering your life. Especially in situations where the enemy is unpredictable and their abilities are unknown"

Unohana then gazes towards Shirou. 'I suppose he was fortunate to recover from having his entire life force complety drained' She then turned her attention to Artoria. 'However, his condition improved significantly when she came by his side' She then closed her eyes in contemplation. 'Perhaps it is the strong bond two had that made such a recovery possible...'

The soundtrack of Choice Bleach 5th Anniversary Box (OST)-Bl_13 by Shiro Sagisu

Shirou then thought back to his fight with Shinji and that unnerving eye on his right hand. "Yeah…he used some sort of weird ability that completely drained me and in terms of strength…With his mana and physical strength he was on the level of a servant" he then rubbed his head. "Just…what exactly did he do to himself to get so powerful?"

Rin then breathe inwardly. "I honestly don't have an answer to that Shirou. It is rare even for powerful Magi to reach the level of a Servant and Shinji was well below average"

Sado then stepped in. "Did you notice anything unusual about him?" he asked and Shirou held his chin in thought.

"Well...he got this high-speed technique in which his feet flash green each time he moves"

"Hmm…" Sado pondered as he folded his arms. "If that is the case he could have become a Fullbringer" he concluded which made Rin and Shirou look at him in confusion.

"What is a Fullbringer?" Shirou asked.

Sado then shifted his attention to the young Magus. "They are humans like me in which their mothers after surviving a Hollow attack get infected with the spirit's Spiritual energy which flows into their womb and then passes down to their child. Which in turn gives them the power to manipulate the souls of inanimated objects" He then raised his left arm. "Or in my case parts of one's body"

Rin then raised a puzzled eyebrow. "Wait, so you are saying that Shinji has the same powers as you!?" Her brow then furrowed and held her chin in thought. "Well, that explains how he became so strong then…" She then however narrowed her eyes in doubt "However that still doesn't explain how he has such a high level of Mana given that this Fullbring thing is purely spiritual "

Orhime then chimed in. "Well maybe that could be part of his Fullbring?" she offered. After all so long as he carries a particular affinity towards an object " She then glances at Sado. "Or even a part of one's body. Shinji would able to pull that soul from it, boost his own, and gain all sorts of unique abilities"

Artoria then listened to the explanation for a few moments and then let out a breath. "Well, whatever the case may be, we should all continue to focus on recovering our strength and make preparations for the next battle" She then turns towards Emyia. "And Shirou the moment you fully recover Archer wants to speak to you"

Later on in the central room of Mayrui's hideout.

Ichigo then blinked upon hearing the explanation.

"So wait..." he stuttered as looked over to Shirou and his...future self "You and Archer are going to duke it out so that the former becomes as strong as you?" He questioned.

Archer then folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Correct"

Ichigo then rubbed the back of his head. "Well I guess it's not like I haven't done something similar" he looked over to the Servant "But don't you already have a noble phantasm to take out that Golden bastard?"

Archer then sighed. "I do...but in case you have forgotten our enemies are far more powerful than we initially thought..." his expression then soured. "Especially that false priest" He then opened his eyes and stared at Shirou. "And given all that, we need another counter to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon if we are going to beat him"

Soundtrack of Choice: Fate/zero-The Gilgamesh

Ichigo then raised an eyebrow. "I mean I faced that guy before when I was injured and he was pretty strong on top of having a few tricks with that noble phantasm of his...but is he that dangerous?"

Artoria then let out a deep breath. "He is..." She then turns her head to face Ichigo. "While you were able to put up a remarkable fight against him Kurosaki, it doesn't change the fact that Gilgamesh is by far the most powerful Heroic Spirt in this entire war, due to the sheer amount of mystery he gained as one of the oldest recorded heroes in history which are reflected in his Gate of Babylon"

She then directs her attention to the entire group. "A near limitless vault that contains virtually every single noble phantasm had ever existed"

Most of the people in the group including Ichigo gasped and bulged their eyes in shock.

"Every noble single phantasm!?" He stuttered. "But...how is that even possible!?"

Rin then sighed. "Because Gilgamesh is not just a king but a collector" She explained. "During his rule he scoured the whole world to collect every known treasure there was. Though not so much because of a personal desire but, rather because it was natural to him as breathing" She went on and then folded her arms. "And when he died many of them were scattered across the globe to the point that nearly all of them became wielded or were the inspirations of the very noble phantasms that many of the Heroic Spirits of legend wield"

Ichigo then looked on in dread as the full realization of the full scope of the golden king's power hit him. "So you're saying that Gilgamesh has practically every single weapon wielded by a heroic spirit, like Gae Bulg or even Excalibur!?"

Archer then chuckled. "In the latter case no as Excalibur is a divine instrument forged from within the core of the planet by six great fairies, thousands of years before Gilgamesh was ever born. "He then frowns. "But in the former, that is an unfortunate yes"

Rin then stepped, in. "Basically, given the vast arsenal of his treasures, Gilgamesh can pretty much counter and exploit the weaknesses of every heroic spirit that he faces making him essentially the equivalent of a Servent Killer"

Archer nodded in argument. "And since Gilgamesh technically owns the original version of those weapons. Each of their level of mystery would be vastly superior to even the Noble Phantasms wielded by said Heroic spirit"

Ichigo then frowned in concern, While Shunsei whistled both in awe and uneasiness.

"Super prototypes of Noble Phantasms…well damn" The straw hat captain commented "If this Gate of Babylon is truly that dangerous then it is also possible for Gilgamesh potentially counter the abilities of even our Zanpakuto"

Ichigo then held his chin. "You're right…and the main reason I was able to counter that guy was because I moved faster than he could launch those weapons" He then looked at Archer and Shirou "And you two can do something similar?"

Rukia then glances back at Ichigo. "If you have seen his Noble Phantasm…in which he projected his inner world onto reality itself…it leaves little room for doubt"

Ichigo gasped as then looked back at Archer "He.. can project his inner world into a reality!?" he stuttered.

"You damn right he did..." Renji confirmed as walked into the room his body now heavily covered in bandages "And it was unlike anything I've seen" he then narrowed his gaze on Ichigo. "However as Archer said, there is no guarantee that just one of them will face Gilgamesh and that is assuming his highness is willing to fight alone." He then looked back at Shirou. "By having another one with that ability that will only increase your chances of success and if I were you I take it"

Ichigo then saw everyone else's determination. "Alright so…how we are going to settle this training thing?"

Later on Shirou and Archer were at the bottom of a huge cavern with built-in artificial light and a huge scenery consisting of a rocky landscape.

"So…" Ichigo mumbled. "Urahara managed to build a huge ass underground room under one of the buildings in this city too for training…" he sighed. "Of course he did…"

Soundtrack of Choice: Me, My Dream, My Ideal by Hideyuki Fukaswa

Archer then walked to the other side of the field, turned around to face Shirou, and stared at him directly into his eyes. "So tell me Eymia…do you want to know how I became a Heroic spirit?" Archer asked Shirou whose brow tightened, closed both of his hands into fists while a few drops of cold sweat dripped down the right side of his face.

"In a way…did it have something to do with you following your ideals?"

Archer then became silent closed his eyes and turned his back to Shirou before letting out a deep sigh. "It did… throughout my life, I tried to save as many people as could, without asking gratitude, or even explaining my actions…all for the sake of following my…our dream of becoming a hero of justice"

He then turns his head around to face Shirou with a blank stare. "However because I never made my intentions known I was eventually framed for a crime I never committed and not long afterward I was executed as a criminal…" He then fully turned his body around to face Emyia "But even then I had no regrets…"

Ichigo's gaze then lowered his gaze upon hearing the story. While Shirou stood silent before speaking up.

"Then what cause you to regret your actions?" Shirou asked and then Archer closed his eyes, let out a deep inward breath, before opening them again.

"Shorty after my death I was approached by the counterforce to continue my actions as a counter-guardian and I thought...that I would continue to follow my dream forever" Both of his hands then began to shake. "But in the end, it was all a lie…"

Ichigo then glances over over to Saber. "Is that like one of the forces that turn souls into Heroic Spirits?"

"It is…" Saber confirmed. "With Gaia representing the will of the earth and Alyala representing the will of humanity", she explains. "As the two counter forces of the planet to protect it from extinction", she looks over to her right hand. "In most cases, the two often use indirect means to influence individuals to prevent such destruction..." She turns her head over to Archer. "But in cases in which that is not enough, they send in counter guardians to deal with the threats directly"

Ichigo then frowns perplexed. "But isn't that essentially what Archer wanted?" he questioned while furrowing his brow. "To protect people?"

Shunsei then lowered his straw hate and averted the young man's gaze. "I am afraid it is not that simple Kurosaki..." The captain spoke grimly while both Ichigo and Saber looked at him in confusion and then Shirou spoke up.

"And tell me, Archer..." Shirou asked as he stepped forward while still bracing himself. "How was it a lie?"

Archer then focuses his gaze on his younger self and takes another deep breath. "Because Shirou...counter guardians don't save anyone…but rather clean up what disasters could bring humanity to its destruction and murder all those responsible for it"

Ichigo, Shirou, and Saber winded their eyes upon hearing what the Heroic spirits said.

While Shunsei let out a bitter sigh. "Pretty much..." he conceded. "For Alaya is more concerned with the survival of humanity as a whole than who they are as individuals and is willing to go to any lengths to preserve that survival...even at the cost of massacring parts of humanity itself"

Saber then looked at Shunsei in an eerie realization. "And the Gotei 13...had to deal with these massacres?"

The veteran captain then let out a tired breath. "Given the fact that Alaya's entire goal pretty much goes hand in hand with maintaining the balance of the three worlds. Most of the time the only thing we Shinigami could do is perform soul burials on those slain by the counter guardians and be on our way" He then looked over to Archer. "And this older Emyia could have been responsible for countless massacres during his time as one"

Saber then looked over to Emyia in sorrow, While Ichigo gazed at him with a bit more understanding of the burden that man had to carry.

Shirou then lowered his head as grave knowledge fully sank into him. "I see now...you wanted to protect people more than anything...but it came at the cost of murdering so many more in the process"

Archer closed his eyes and let out a deep breath before continuing. "Good or evil, guilty or innocent it did not matter...for if they threatened humanity's survival they were eliminated and I continue to do so again and again...to the point the very ideals I cherished...became, hollow, foolish, hypocritical...and disgusting " He then opens his eyes up. "It was then I decided...that the very moment a chance was presented to me in which I was summoned to past and meet myself before I set out my journey to become a hero...I would use it to find and eliminate them to undo my existence...or at least rid of one world where the Heroic Spirit Emyia would get the chance to exist"

Mayuri huffed as if reacting to a joke. "Perhaps eliminating a version of Shirou Emyia in this reality sure, put to undo his existence?" he slowly shook his head with a condescending smile laced with contempt and pity. "Such a thing would be impossible from the very start due to him existing outside of time and space" He then snorted and chuckled. While Saber gave the shinigami a look of disgust while Ichigo and Shunsei merely frowned at him.

"However,..." Archer stated as looked directly at Shriou's eyes and his expression softened. "I realized...that instead of undoing my mistakes...I was running away from them...and all lashing out against you...Because I refuse to confront them...Or even acknowledge that despite our ideals being hypocritical and borrowed...they were still worth following regardless" he then looked up to Ichigo who stared back at him with a shared expression. "All because I lacked the resolve to do so..." He then turns his gaze back towards Shirou. "And so, I now know...that If I want to prevent at least one version of me from repeating the same mistakes and walk a better path than mine it must not be answered with death...but with courage and understanding" He then narrowed his eyes at his younger counterpart. "So, tell me Emyia...are you willing to avoid the mistakes I made, and prevent yourself from becoming me?"

Shirou then stood silent for a moment...and then smirked. "If someone like you...who was once filled with so much regret...is willing to change to the point of giving yourself another chance through me" he then raised his fist. "Then how can I refuse?"

Archer remains quiet for a moment and then returns the smirk. "Very well..." he then reached out his hand "Then let this be our final spare!"

Shirou expression then became focused and got into a fighting stance and raised both of his arms and hands to the side while Archer did the same.

"Trace On!" Both shouted out at the same time as their voices echoed throughout the chamber as one and nigh indistinguishable and within a split second the two engaged a rapid sword clash between blades, their strikes clashing against each other in a shower of sparks and fury.

Shunsei then winded his eyes in awe. "Amazing..." The Captain committed as saw the two warriors dashing across the field "The two are so evenly matched and alike in fighting style that it is like looking at a mirror or one another"

Ichigo looked on with the same expression as the battle between the two became more intense. "Yeah...sort of remains of...my battle with Zangestsu...both of them"

Saber then raised her eyebrows at what the younger Shinigami said and then glanced back at the fight between Archer and Shirou with the two making a final clash between their two swords before backing off With being breathing heavily after the fierce exchange.

"You have fully grasped my fighting style Shirou..." The older Emyia complimented while dispersing his dual blades "And now there is only one technique left to show you" A massive amount of magical energy began to radiate out of Archer.

"I am the bone of the sword," he spoke out.

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood"

"I have created over a thousand blades"

"Unknown to death"

"Nor unknown to life"

"Have withstood pain to create many weapons"

"But yet those hands will never hold any"

"So, as I, pray Unlimited Blade Works"

A circle of fire then consumed the entire desert followed by a huge flash of light and in its place was a huge seemingly endless field covered in hundreds of swords, shrouded in embers and smoke while huge turning gears dominated the sky above. With Saber, Ichigo, Shunsei, and Mayuri looking on in amazement.

"Whoa..." Ichigo gasped. "So this...is a reality marble?" he spoke out while looking over the landscape. "Unreal..."

Shunsei gazed over at the skyline. "A literal projection of one's inner world over reality itself...heh definitely beyond most Bankai"

Mayuri then laughed in excitement. "Fascinating!" he hollered in joy. "If more Magecraft is capable of accomplishing something like this, then perhaps that dull art may not be such a dead end after all!" His laugh then became more morbid "At least when it comes to these heroic spirits!"

"Now Shirou..." Archer says as he then called upon Durandal to his hand while Shirou readies himself. "You must be able to project your Unlimited Blade works...one that does not reflect me but that of yourself!" he then swiped his blade. "Or you will die trying...are you ready!?"

Shirou nodded as he and Archer then clashed with each other once more and Ichigo looked on, he couldn't help but smile at the two.

"Does it bring you back...Ichigo?" a familiar voice echoed beside him and Ichigo smirked.

"Yeah, it does...Old Man Zangestsu" Ichigo responded and the figure then stepped forward to reveal himself as a middle-aged man in a long black cloak with long wavy hair and his red eyes covered with orange shades.

The old man then looked over to the two Emyia. "Yet both seek not to fight for dominance but for enlightenment and strength"

A light echoing chuckle then came from Ichigo's right. "Sort of like a King training a prince to take his place and to ride off into battle" Ichigo then turned to his right and saw the other part of his spirit that looked like a dark reflection of himself, with bleach-white skin and hair while possessing the eyes of that of a Hollow...Yet instead of looking at his doubleganger in fear Ichigo just smiled back at him in acceptance.

"Pretty much...but I find it hard to believe that little prep talk I had with that kid would motivate or change him that much" Ichigo contemplated.

Old man Zangestsu then darted his eyes over to Kurosaki. "Remember what I have told you about the meaning of names Ichigo...in regards to the Getsuga Tensho?" he asked as he looked to Archer shattering one of Shirou's dual blades but the latter kept on fighting while projecting another pair. "For knowing a name is not just learning the word but also understanding it and through your understanding of your own words, your convictions in turn resonated with others" Zangestsu explained as he then looked over to the clouded gear-like sky. "If not for you then judging by that man's inner world he would have allowed his disillusionment and self-hatred to set him off a different path that could have led him to his destruction..."

The other Zangestsu then snickered. "While the other guy would just keep ignoring his problems and never found an answer to them" He then saw Shirou kicked to the ground by Archer and struggled to get up from the field of blades. While Ichigo looked on in concern. Yet his inner self just grins.

"But because of you...he managed to face his doubts..."

Then before Ichigo's eyes, Shirou rosed back up from the ground. Then when he projects both of his dual-wielding swords again the soul reaper eyes than winded when the other half of Unlimited Blade Works transforms from an overcast twilight to a clear blue horizon.

"And found his answer"

Ichigo then watched as Shirou crashed against Archer one last time...

And disarmed him.