3 Prologue Part 3
"Master do you have a plan?" Rider asked. She had woken up form his shoulder, they were currently a few thousand feet above the ground on their way to Japan.
"You should have a general idea of how the war is going to go right?" He asked. She had seen most of his memories at this point, even the ones where he was watching the show originally.
"Yes, but I don't know how you want to intervene." She responded.
"I want to try and steer the plot in the same general direction without revealing ourselves too much" Arthur explained.
"Think you can fill the 'role' as you did before?" He asked with a smirk.
"I could probably take berserker with the amount of prana you're supplying me" She said with a smile.
They were waiting a few more days after they landed as the plot finally started.
They could feel the aura of other servants battling. Arthur was oddly calm. He felt familiar on a 'battlefield' due to his past experiences.
He watched on as familiar events took place, only a bit deviated due to his earlier intervention.
He had rider play a similar role in the original, showing up at the school and attacking Shirou, fighting with the other servants. He made sure she knew to avoid the situation in which she died the first time around.
They continued to watch as Rider's part came to an end. She avoided the situation in which she supposedly died. And Caster had stolen saber from Shirou.
He watched on as Shirou, Rin, and Illya joined forces. He knew what was coming next. He knew she would die. That poor girl who had been forced to bear such a burden.
Rider watched her master tense up. His expression was darkened.
"Rider…..would you blame me if I let that girl die so we could have an advantage later on?" Arthur asked.
"I would follow you no matter what decision you make." She responded emotionlessly.
"I want to save her Rider…." He said.
A smile crept onto her face. " As you wish master." She said happily. She knew she had picked a good man.
The situation played out almost exactly how it did before. Gilgamesh had replaced Shinji with someone else he did not recognize. He would assume the king would have a back up plan.
As he ripped the heart from the girl, he was forced to retreat when Rin threatened to kill his 'master'. He watched as Gilgamesh finally left and made his move.
It had been only a minute or so since Illya had died.
As they were mourning her death, Rider made her move.
She quickly used her chain weapon to tie the both of them up.
Arthur appeared as well, quickly moving towards the girl.
"Don't speak, don't' do anything. I can save her" Arthur said to the duo who were about to open their mouths.
"Do not repeat what your about to see to anyone, including your servants" He said again.
Arthur had his hood up to hide most of his features, he didn't want them to come to any conclusions too quickly.
He spent the last of his points to purchase an item he didn't think he would ever need. A magical artificial heart. All it would require was being placed in the vessel and it would analyze how to connect itself to the rest of the body in place of the missing heart.
He took it out and place it inside the girl, it quickly started to adapt to her unique body and formed up around the spot where her heart had been missing previously. If this was all Arthur was going to do it would not be enough.
'I reiterate, do not speak about what I'm about to do" He said to the duo.
He walked over to Shirou and pushed his hand into his chest. To their surprise he pulled something out from inside him.
It was Avalon. Saber's Avalon. It was responding to Arthur's aura. He quickly placed it into the body of the girl who had 'died' a couple minutes ago. It was the reason Shirou was able to summon saber as his servant. When he was pulled from the fire by his adopted father, he put it inside Shirou to save his life and it had been with him since.
The bright light shined all around her body, Arthur was supplying it with mana and it accepted him as it would saber. Her heart started to beat and the everlasting utopia began to shine, the miracle of the sheath was working at best as it could. A slight breath returned to her body. It was similar to when Shirou 'died'.
Arthur looked towards the duo again.
"We are not enemies, but I need you to keep quiet about this. This girl died and you buried her here. I will take her somewhere safe until the war is over" He said as he grabbed the unconscious but living girl before him and departed. Rider joined him as well as the two kids were left wondering what the hell just happened. Even previously when Rider attacked them, she didn't have any killing intent. They started to realize that something odd was going on as they left.
The two didn't have time to start worrying about it though, they also had to make plans to deal with caster. Those two could have easily killed them yet they not only saved the girl but let them walk free. A small amount of trust wasn't hard to give at this point.
They disengaged from the war again at this point, they became observers once more. Arthur couldn't let this poor girl die. He would let her have a life like he had been given. For now though, he was using some slight magecraft to keep her asleep.
His heart was heavy as he watched Lancer pass, he was a true hero until the end. He watched from a distance how Archer and Shirou battled, it was interesting to see a reality marble deployed from the outside.
It was finally time for the conclusion to the story. He saw as Rin dragged the body of the replacement from the grail, its corruption was seeping into the world.
"It's time" Arthur said with a smile as he and Rider finally moved towards saber and Rin.
Just was just as Rin was about to use the command seal to empower Saber's blow, Rider's chain flung around the girl and sealed her mouth shut.
Saber and Rin were both stunned at what just happened.
"Don't do that, let me handle this. I woudn't want my cute little sister to disappear on me." He said with a smile to which saber looked on even more confused at being called his 'sister'. Arthur decided earlier, that Saber would be his little sister to make this whole situation a little less confusing.
"What are you doing?" Saber asked aggressively.
"You're starting to fade" Arthur stated.
Saber didn't respond, she knew her mana was running dry and she was starting to fade. Rin needed to use the final command seal so Saber could put forth enough power to destroy the corrupted grail, otherwise it wouldn't have been enough.
"Here" He said, bringing forth Avalon to her amazement. He had charged it full of mana as he was bidding his time. The sheath practically screamed in joy as it started to push mana into Saber.
"What….?" Saber asked in shock as he basically just pushed one of the strongest noble phantasms into her hand and was preventing her from fading.
He smiled at the cute petite knight. "Let me handle this" He said with a smile as he brought his hood town to reveal his features.
He looked shockingly similar to saber. Rin who had been freed at this point had run over to saber who were both staring at the anomaly.
He pulled out his invisible air and saber's eyes widened in realization.
Arthur's smile grew wider as the invisible air was removed from around his blade to reveal its true form.
He held his blade infront of him.
"Seal 13 Decision start, I ask thee of my knights, is my cause righteous?" He declared to the world.
The world became silent, the monster that had emerged from the corrupted grail was stopped in its tracks. The world was solely focused on his blade.
He didn't need to go for the full seals, 7 would do.
Echoes of certain knights began to appear behind Arthur.
"I Mordred declare this battle to be one against Evil and release my seal."
"I Agravain declare this battle to be one for truth and release my seal"
"I Lancelot declare this battle to not be one against an Elemental and thus release my seal"
"I Bedivere declare this battle to be one against a more powerful foe, I release my seal"
"I Galahad declare this battle to not be one for personal gain, I release my seal."
"I Kay declare this battle to be one for survival, and release my seal."
Saber looked on at the familiar visages. They were almost exactly like her knights of old. Tears ran down her face and she realized who the man that stood before her was.
Arthur's blade started to glow bright with each release. It's power multiplied several folds each time, yet there was still one more seal.
"I Arthur Pendragon hereby declare, This is a battle to save the world"
The light suddenly erupted in a massive torrent. At this point, it eclipsed the power of Saber's Excalibur who's was resonating with the light.
The giant of the corrupted grail looked on towards the light that was pushing back its corruption.
"EX…CALIBUR" He roared as he unleashed the beam of light that shot towards the filth that was staining the world.
The giant that comprised of Angra Mainyu was consumed by the cleansing light. It's corruption was eviscerated from the planet as the light finally faded.
Arthur turned around to look at the images of his knights that looked back at him.
They only lasted for a couple moments before they finally faded.
"Well, I believe its time to move onto the other issue at hand" Arthur declared happily.
"Wait, your just going to leave after that?" Saber said in exasperation.
Arthur walked up to her and held his hand up to her face, she was confused at his action.
He moved it closer and pinched her cheek. "Seriously, you are really adorable" He said to sabers shock.
"wh….WHAT?" She said in utter confusion.
"Call me Nii-san" He said to the flustered girl.
"I REFUSE" She said outright.
"Say it!" He said as he pinched both her cheeks.
"Whats going on…." Rin said in shock and confusion.
"Long or short version?" Rider said as she appeared next to the girl.
"Short version please." Rin replied.
"He is an alternate version of Saber that had come to this world for certain reasons and decided that she is his 'little sister'" Rider explained.
'OW' Arthur yelled. Both Rider and Rin looked at what just happened.
'YOU BIT ME!?" Arthur reeled back in shock.
Rin and Rider were just looking on at the two's antics.
"Arthur, we need to get going." Rider called out to her lover.
Arthur finally released the poor girl.
"Yeah, we should probably go now, don't want that kid to die after all" Arthur said.
"Who's going to die?" Saber said, recovering from the pain in her cheeks.
"Your little lover" Arthur said teasingly.
"By the way, your big brother approves" Arthur said, giving her a thumbs up.
Saber had a blush overcome her face. It was strange how well they were getting along after knowing each other for minutes. There was a resonance between them that was hard to describe, they were essentially the same person.
"Oh and before I forget, rider would you please take Rin and go retrieve Illya" Arthur said.
"Very well master" Rider said, grabbing the magus and disappearing, only a squeal being heard in the distance.
"I feel as though I should have some say in where my master goes….." Saber said in a bit of annoyance. As she followed her 'big brother'.
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Arthur and Saber came to the scene of Gilgamesh holding a sword up to Shirou. His reality marble had faded a few moments before Gilgamesh was forced to pull out EA.
"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" Arthur said, walking between Shirou and Gilgamesh.
Saber also appeared, moving towards her injured lover.
Gilgamesh looked at the new arrival and then at Saber behind him.
"Oh?" Gilgamesh said in a bit of surprise.
"Wow, it seems you figured it out pretty quickly coming from that look on your face." Arthur said in surprise.
"I guess I should introduce myself then, I am Arthur Pendragon. It's a pleasure to meet the King of Heroes." Arthur said with elegance.
Shirou who heard his declaration looked at Saber in shock who didn't seem too surprised.
"Well this is interesting" Gilgamesh stated.
"You seem to be a heroic spirit but slightly weaker than most servants" Gilgamesh mused.
"I cannot deny that, certain circumstances have led my stats to become deteriorated" Arthur replied.
Gilgamesh was amused by this person who stood before him, he radiated a kingly Aura not unlike saber. He easily figured out his identity, an alternate version of his beloved.
"Do you wish to fight me?" Gilgamesh asked in amusement.
"Yes, As one King to another, I believe it would be appropriate." Arthur replied.
"Oh?" Gilgamesh became more amused at his statement.
"Very well, I shall do you the honor and face you as another king" Gilgamesh replied. Saber was one of the very few king's he had some amount of respect for, it wasn't hard to transfer than much to this alternate version.
He shot several nameless noble phantasms at Arthur to which he easily deflected with his exposed blade. He was steady in his footing and adopted a defensive stance the entire time. He just need to survival through several waves of the strongest weapons in the world…..no big deal.
This continued for several moments. He was trying to use the least amount of strength possible, he didn't want to waste mana for what he was planning.
"I asked for a battle between Kings, and you pity my decreased strength?" Arthur said in 'anger'.
Saber was confused at his sudden change in attitude, His carefree persona was gone and he started to act arrogantly like Gilgamesh. She was truly starting to wonder how far of an alternate world he truly came from.
Gilgamesh was a bit taken back by his declaration. It was true, he was looking down on his opponent for his lack of strength and his statement implied that Gilgamesh was stooping to a level below that of a standing.
Gilgamesh picked up the pace as his smile turned into a frown, dozens of blades started to shoot at him now, Arthur was barely keeping up at this point. Again, this continued for several more minutes.
"Was I wrong to ask for a battle between kings? A king does not have mercy in their dictionary. Am I truly facing the King of Heroes?" Arthur goaded.
Gilgamesh finally got angry at his statement. How dare this mongrel lecture him on what it means to be a king.
He activated his gate of Babylon to its fullest extent. Thousands of golden ripples appeared behind him as blades poked out.
Arthur had a smirk come on his face which caused Gilgamesh to hesitate for a moment, and then he heard something that truly confused him.
"GATE OF BABYLON" Arthur called out and the golden ripples in the air were overlaid with his own. A phenomena occurred that Gilgamesh did not understand. He was shocked as ANOTHER gate of Babylon suddenly started to merge into his. His Noble Phantasm started to become unstable, he was about to close it until he felt an explosion of mana from his opponent and a spell word that he had cast.
Arthur was going big for this move, it would probably take all of his mana to work.
"TRANSFER" He roared as all the items in Gilgamesh's gate were transferred to his. He quickly called off his gate before they could fully merge, ending the paradox. He had used up almost all of his mana to transfer the absurd amount of items over to his gate.
Transfer was a spell he found in the shop, it wasn't meant for battle at all. It was a convenience spell, you used it to transfer items from one place near you to another.One of the stipulations was that it couldn't be used to steal. It was only because Gaia recognized a paradox and tried to fix it by merging the two items into one. At that point, both Gate's were recognized as being the same, since he owned one of the gates, it wasn't considered as stealing. It was basically like owning a joint bank account. He merely transferred the funds out and left.
Gilgamesh was shaking, he was confused, angry, shocked. He didn't know how….but he had just been robbed.
Arthur erupted in laughter. He could feel all the items inside the gate. Since he didn't technically steal them, they recognized him as the rightful owner. This trick would have never worked on another heroic spirit. Gilgamesh was too easy to goad into acting out, any real warrior would have easily seen through any deception like the one Arthur was performing.
"Come king of Heroes, lets continue our battle" Arthur said, still laughing in between the words.
"YOU MONGREL, YOU DARE STEAL FROM ME? I'LL DESTROY YOUR SOUL, THERE WILL BE NO THRONE OF HEROES FOR YOU AFTER I'M DONE" He raged and threw a tantrum like a child. He had just been completely neutered.
"Hey archer, would you like a turn?" Arthur called out into the distance.
The familiar red cloaked figure appeared.
"You knew I was there?" He asked. He thought he hid his presence.
Arthur just smiled. Shirou and Saber looked at the man with a bit of anger.
"Would you like a rematch against someone who shot you in the back like a little bitch?" Arthur said, purposely saying the last few words.
"Your being awfully generous." Archer said to the knight next to him. He was able to figure out the mans identity after he watch him destroy the grail.
"I'm in a pretty good mood, its not every day someone just hands you a vault of every weapon in the world" Arthur chuckled.
Archer couldn't help but laugh at his comment.
Gilgamesh had become so angry, he had gone full circle. He calmed down finally.
Before Gilgamesh could speak, Arthur shot hundreds of swords at him. The man was a king, not a warrior. Without his gate of Babylon, he was nothing. His death was anti-climatic. Archer wouldn't play around with his opponent, you don't give someone like Gilgamesh time to formulate a plan in desperation.
"Well, that was something." Archer said.
Rider had just returned with a conscious Illya and Rin. Both were looking confused at the situation.
"You should probably renew your contract before you disappear" Arthur said.
"Oh, me me me!" Illya shouted as she ran to archer. She had been informed on his true identity.
"Big bro, form a contract with me" She said, activating her mystic eyes of adorable.
Arthur watched in amusement as Archer 'begrudgingly' bound himself to Illya.
Now that everyone was reunited, they all stared at the man who had popped out of nowhere and pretty much solved all their problems.
Arthur was oblivious to the stares as he was playing around with his new toy. He was shifting through everything to make a mental note of what he had acquired.
Rider casually nudged him so he would return to reality.
"Oh, hey whats up?" Arthur said to the group.
"So you're an alternate version of Saber?" Archer asked, trying to clarify the situation.
"Yup" Arthur answered.
"That's weird" Archer replied.
"Hello pot, this is kettle." Arthur retorted
Archer laughed at his response. "I like you already" He said.
"You're personality is vastly different than sabers….." Shirou commented.
"That's what happens when you live multiple lives and suddenly regain all your memories" Arthur said nonchalantly.
"By the way, how's Sakura doing?" Arthur asked.
"THAT WAS YOU?" Rin yelled in surprise.
"Yeah, I felt bad for the girl and I wanted to summon Rider as my servant when she was supposed to, so I thought I should make it up to her" Arthur explained.
"I knew this battle deviated somewhere, but I couldn't figure out what happened without blowing my cover...what did you do?" Archer asked.
"I burned the Matou estate to the ground and killed all the monsters inside. I also removed the….things from inside Sakura" Arthur explained.
"Yeah, that would do it. By the way where is Sakura?" Archer asked. He did care for the girl, he was Shirou after all.
"I sent her away for a few weeks so she wouldn't get swept up in this mess" Rin explained.
"Well, she'll probably be glad to have two Shirou's to fantasize about." Arthur said with a chuckle.
"What do you mean by that?" Shirou asked densely.
"Oh yeah, I forgot you're super dense when it comes to girls. Let me explain it in simple terms, besides rider here, all the girls present including Sakura want to get inside your pants" Arthur explained.
It took Shirou several moments before he finally understood and looked around at the girls present. They didn't dare to meet his gaze and could only blush as they turned away.
"I don't care how many girls you get, but you better take care of my little sister" Arthur said threateningly as several blades poked out of some golden ripples.
"I'M NOT YOUR LITTLE SISTER" Saber yelled, a bit flustered still.
"You are seriously different than her…." Archer said in surprise.
"Haha, how about I tell my story over dinner?" Arthur said to the exhausted group.
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"So this Percy is your Nephew now?" Saber asked in surprise. She had basically heard his entire story, minus the parts he said he had to forgo due to restrictions.
It was honestly no surprise why he acted in such a way. He had moved on from his time as King Arthur, whereas she was still clutching onto it.
"So, when you were battling Gilgamesh, you intentionally riled him up so you could steal all his stuff?" Saber asked, remembering the way he started to act at the point.
"Nailed it" Arthur said, taking another bite of food.
"You said that you were completing a job and I understand that….but you took some major risks that you didn't have to-to save us in certain circumstances, why?" Archer asked.
"Well, mostly because I wanted to. But there was a selfish motivation behind it…." Arthur responded.
"I don't know if I can take Rider with me right away….it may take a while before we're reunited, and I wanted some people I could trust to help her if she's in trouble." Arthur replied.
He had mentioned that him and Rider had traveled the world for several months before the war started, but now they realized it was more than that. The way he looked at her and she him.
As he finished, he felt the familiar sensation take hold of him. He was being recalled.
His eyes radiated sadness as he stared at his lover.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of her...Nii-san" Saber said with embarrassment as Arthur dissipated.
