Here it is. The final chapter on this gripping tale. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed this so much. I hope I do you all justice in the final act.

Chapter 16: The Aftermath

(8:35pm, Fuyuki Stage)

Avenger felt like crying. Not for her, but for Caster, Lancer and Archer. For their masters. For all the children murdered by Viggato. For everyone who had been hurt or killed during these damn wars. For she could tell that the Grail was pure evil. It was an evil greater than even Tirnoch. It must be destroyed. But how? Her attacks might not be strong enough, especially after the damage Berserker caused. She was still pondering when she heard footsteps running behind her. She turned to face the intruders, one hand holding onto a sceptre. It was one of the few weapons she could use. Even though she had used magic to heal, her side still ached too much. To her horror, Saber and the 'Magus Killer' ran into the room. She couldn't best him in a fight right now. But she had to stop him.

"Halt." She shouted. "This Grail is filled with pure evil. I will not allow you to doom us all for your petty wishes." Saber stopped, as though puzzled by her words.

"Damn." He said. "I had worked out this whole speech to convince you that it was evil, and you beat me to the punch. Still, at least I can save my mana for the Grail." Avenger blinked in surprise. They already knew? But how? It didn't matter. Saber could easily destroy the cursed artefact. She stepped aside, giving Saber a clear shot at it. He held his blade up high, the edge glowing green-and-blue. Ice formed around him as his mana charged. Saber looked resigned, as far as she could see through the helmet. He believed that this was the end for him. Most likely, he was using a suicide attack to deal the most damage.

"Wrath of the Lich King." He shouted, a beam of energy fired from the point of his blade. As it struck the Grail, all noise seemed to stop. Time slowed down. When the glow faded, the grail was gone. They all felt like celebrating.

Until mud dripped from above.

"That can't be." Emiya whispered in shock. Above them was the black moon from the Grail.

"By Mitharu." Avenger cried. It was horrible.

"Gods dammit." Saber whispered as he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. And then Black mud washed fell like a waterfall and flooded the two Servants. Emiya had been on higher ground to ensure that the Grail had really been destroyed, and so could only watch as the mud spread and burned all around.

"It's impossible." He kept saying over and over again. The mud escaped the stage, melting through the building like lava. Emiya found a safe way out and could only watch in horror as Angra Mainyu destroyed everything around him. He rushed through the town, through the fire. He looked everywhere, hoping to find survivors. But all he found were the dead and the dying. Children died in his arms the moment he got to them. Some even crumbled away in his arms. Tears flowed as he kept searching.

"Please. Please let there be a survivor. Anyone. Anyone. Please. Please. Please!"

"Please!" He shouted.

(9:00pm, Fuyuki Ruins)

Kirei Kotomine woke up. That was amazing to him, given that the last thing he remembered was pleading with Emiya to let the Grail be born. He got up slowly, amazed by the destruction around him. And as he watched, a wall was flung through the air like cardboard.

"Goddammit." Berserker grumbled as he got out of another ruined lab. Of all the places he had set up his new lab it just had to be at the site of a massive fire? Now he was gonna have to start again again. He was about to move off when he spotted a familiar face. "Hello Kotomine." He smiled, his hands turning into claws. "I was going to go hunting for you after I had gotten everything set-up."

"This destruction… It's amazing." Kirei said as he looked around, apparently not noticing the homicidal weapon walking towards him.

"Yeah. I'm sure it is. Anyway. Saber attacked my lab because someone had led him to think I kidnapped his Master. Now, who do we know who would enjoy causing pain at the expense of being stupidly evil?"

Kirei finally looked at him. "You're still alive, aren't you? And someone with your brain would obviously have all his notes in his head. Besides, it looks like you need a new lair. And as the only person left from the Church it is now officially my home."

Berserker stayed his claws, thinking things over. While he did want to kill Kirei for his actions, he was smart enough to recognise a good deal when he sees it. Besides, the fool had a point. He was still alive and he could easily start his research again.

And with the War over, no one would be looking for him.

His claws returned to hands as he pulled Kirei up. "One question. What the fuck happened here?"

"The Grail was filled with evil. It wanted to be given life. It wanted freedom. And Emiya stole all that from it. This was its revenge. And now I have a question. How am I alive?"

Mercer placed his hand over where Kirei's heart would be, and was surprised to hear nothing. It wasn't beating. For all intents and purposes Kirei was a walking corpse. "Don't know. I'll have to run some tests. Consider it another way to pay of the trouble you caused."

Kirei nodded, before spying something from the corner of his eyes. He turned and was relieved to see Emiya. He could finish their fight. But Emiya walked right past them, looking even more like a corpse than Kirei. He stumbled, and started digging through the rubble, before getting back up and trying elsewhere. He was a broken man, a shell of his former self. And it wasn't Kirei who made him like this. His mouth tasted sour. There was no joy to be gained beating him now. It would be a hollow victory.

"You gonna stare at your boyfriend all night, or are you coming?" Mercer shouted back at him. Seeing a broken man in a broken city, Kirei followed Mercer back to the church.

There was nothing fun to do here.

(9:05pm, Fuyuki Ruins)

Arthas groaned again as he got up. This was the second time he woke up with an aching skull. Granted, this was probably from all the rubble around him, but it was still tiring. His limbs felt heavier than before and a breeze blew over his chest. Looking down, he saw that he was naked. Perplexed, he looked at his hand as something about it felt strange. It took a while before he realised that it was real flesh-and-blood, not that fake mana stuff he had been composed of before.

"So the mud gave me a real body." He thought to himself. "But why? Did it still think it can use me? Or was this just a complete accident?" his musing was interrupted by Avenger getting up. She kept yelping as pointy rubble jabbed her in sensitive areas. Saber noticed a few scraps of fabric, big enough to cover himself, lying on the ground nearby. He grabbed one and tied it around his waist before picking up the other one for what was coming next.

True to his predictions, Avenger was also completely naked. He was glad that he had covered his privates as she was a very beautiful woman. Her skin was now brown, with long blond hair and she had yellow tattoos decorating her face. Strangely, she didn't seemed too concerned by her lack of clothing.

"I found you something to cover yourself with." He said, handing it over while averting his eyes. It was the noble thing to do.

"Thanks Saber. Does it sound weird that this is the second time I've been reborn?"

"I think weird jumped out the window when we started fighting an alien and Berserker." He smirked. When he looked back, she was well covered and they could turn their attention to the devastation around them. "I guess Angra Mainyu had to have the final words." He said as they started walking.

"This…this is horrible." Avenger shuddered. "All these people. These innocents. Dead or ruined because everything was in the wrong place. Maybe it's my fault. What would've happened if I hadn't been here?"

"My guess is that Viggato would have the Grail and this would be how the whole world would look like. You can't change the past. If you made a mistake, then you can merely atone for it. The Light knows I've made plenty of mistakes."

Avenger nodded, before tugging on his shoulder frantically. He turned to see Emiya crouched down, holding a boy in his arms. As they got closer, they saw that the boy was still alive, and that Emiya was crying. The boy's chest started glowing as they got closer. And Emiya kept muttering 'He's alive' over and over.

"Thank you." He finally whispered to the boy. "Thank you."

(2 weeks later, Emiya Residence)

Arthas smiled as he watched the workers fix up the place. What had originally been a temporary base during the war, had finally become a real home. The boy, Shirou was helping out by carrying small items. He would've helped too, but he had just helped with assembling the fence. And reroofing the house. And fixing up the shed. He deserved a rest for a moment.

Avenger, now Bethany Seelie, had gone her own way, helping out those with terrible fates or had suffered from the Great Fuyuki Fire. Last he heard she had help set up an orphanage for all the lost children. They kept in contact though. It was better to be paranoid about Angra's return. While his attack was powerful, there was always a chance it could return.

The one person he worried about most though was Emiya. He had been getting weaker because of Angra's curse, and not even Bethany or him could fix the damage. Add in the fact that something broke on that night and the Einzberns refused to give Illya, and Beth was worried that he might kill himself. But Arthas knew that Shirou's presence banished that away. In fact, the other day Emiya had adopted Shirou, making him truly part of the family.

Kirei Kotomine was still alive somehow. He was the local priest at the church. To everyone, he painted a picture of a devout Christian, sworn to obey God and His teachings. But the three of them knew better. They couldn't do anything to him though, but they still kept one eye on him in case.

But still he smiled. On such a world, perhaps he can finally start atoning for being the Lich King. He knew he could never return to The Light after such atrocities.

But it was a start.

(Matou Residence)

Sakura was getting very worried. It had been 2 weeks since she had seen Uncle Kariya. That night he had promised to play with her in the morning, but she waited all day before realising he wasn't coming. The police would've looked for him, she was sure. But they were so busy dealing with that big fire that happened.

"Typical." Uncle Byakuya scoffed. "Kariya was so pathetic that he got himself and his freak killed, leaving me with nothing but some stupid little girl to look after for him. As if Shinji wasn't enough for me. Still, at least he proved everyone right. He was a piss-poor Magus."

Don't speak about uncle Kariya like that!" Sakura shouted, having enough of Uncle Byakuya. "He was a great Magus!. And Mr Mercer was nice to me. He even got rid of all those nasty bugs inside me." She couldn't remember how they got there - she was determined to blot it out - She knew it was nasty. And Mr Mercer got rid of them. She yelped as Byakuya slapped her off her feet.

"Your 'precious' Mr Mercer was nothing more than a dead freak of nature. Now at least I don't have to wake up to that shithead and his pranks." That was too much for Sakura. Mercer was a good man. He may have been strange, but Byakuya didn't have any right to insult him. She jumped to her feet and got ready to kick him in the shin. A little girl like her wasn't going to be able to do much, but it would make her feel better.

So imagine her surprise when his leg shattered under her blow and he flipped head over heels into the far wall. He screamed in pain while bone fragments stuck out through his skin, staring at her in pure horror. Sakura then knew that Mr Mercer gave her a great power. And she was going to use it to defend herself.

God have mercy on anyone that hurt her friends.

(1 year later, The Clock Tower)

Waver Velvet was amazed at the amount of progress he made in the Clock Tower. To think that doubt had been holding him back so much. Even if he hadn't won, meeting Rider and Archer had been the best thing to happen to him. True, his magic still wasn't that much better, but there were many students whose abilities were growing in leaps and bounds thanks to his tutoring. He was still amazed that they even let him tutor at all. Perhaps his confidence was impressing the higher-ups.

"Lord El-Melloi." A student called out, rushing towards him. "Lord El-Melloi, wait up."

Of course, the fact that he had replaced Kayneth as Lord EL-Melloi probably had a part in it. He had gotten the position when he returned Kayneth's Mystic Crest to the Archibald Family. And Sola helped him out too. But both groups made it clear that he was to help make up Kayneth's loss, even if he had to die to do so.

"Yes, Ms Straussman?" He said politely. He was shocked when she gave him a big wet kiss on the mouth.

"I managed to get full marks on my papers thanks to you." She squealed. "I was complete garbage before you helped out, and now? Eeeeh! Thank you!" She kept saying thank you as she ran back down the hallway. Waver sighed in exhaustion. That had been the forth girl this week to kiss him in thanks. Before, he would've done nearly anything for a kiss. Now he'd do anything to avoid them. Life was funny that way.

Still, he made it back to his rooms without being accosted, though there had been some thanks from other students he help in the past year. He sighed as he closed the door.

"Good afternoon Master." Volumen said, now in the form of a silvery maid. Waver shrieked in surprise. He still got nervous after the 'T-1000' incident. How was he supposed to know that 'Terminator 2' was playing on TV the night he reprogrammed Volumen? How was he to know that it was going to affect her? How was he meant to know that she would start running around screaming about how she was a killer robot from the future? Still, he got blamed for it. And now he was worried that every day she might go haywire again.

"Yes Volumen? Any news?"

"Yes Master. You have received a letter from that Game Company." Waver felt like dancing, especially after he read the letter. He decided to help Rider achieve his goal by making him well-known on this world. To that end, he had contacted writers and game companies and described the events of his past. He hoped that it would be done right, but honestly it would probably be forgotten.

He would just have to cross his fingers and hope that this 'Bungie' could do Rider justice.

(4 years later, Emiya Residence)

"Saber, come to me." Arthas woke up with a start. Emiya hadn't contacted him like that ever since the War ended. This had to be important. And it was. Just getting near his room Arthas could sense the aura of death around Emiya. He didn't have much longer.

"Saber…" Emiya wheezed. "I need to make sure…that Shirou will be taken care of. To that end…I…I…" He started coughing. Arthas helped him with a glass of water. He knew what was coming. And he had expected it.

"By the power…of my Command Seal…I command you…to protect Shirou. To raise him…as your own blood. To help him…until you return to The Throne of Heroes." The second mark vanished, and Arthas felt the commands bind him.

"I will do as you ask." He replied.

"Next…I command…you…to…save…" He stopped, his hand dropping. The final seal vanished, leaving his hand bare. But Arthas did not feel the command take effect. He closed Emiya's eyes and gave a small prayer to The Light.

Then he rose, ready to organise Shirou's future.

And…Finished. Whew. That was a workout.

Just letting all of you fans know that while I will be writing a sequel, I'm going to have a break from it for a bit. You see, I only got this out per week because I had already finished it back in February. I decided to post it on this site and see how people thought of it. Glad you guys liked it. I have written a few chapters for the sequel 'Fate of the Wicked', but I want to fix them up a bit. I actually skipped the whole meeting with Shinji because at the time I didn't feel like watching the scene over and over again to get close to the right words. And I want to watch Fate Stay/Night until the end to get an idea on how to progress. Plus, the chapters I have written are a bit on the short side. I want to make them a bit longer and do the best I think they get.

So once again, I hoped you enjoyed this story. Glad to have heard from so many fans.