I'm writing this while on the road so I hope I get a few good ideas in before I'm swarmed by too much vacation.

Last chapter did its job of jump starting ideas in this fic so now I'm doing all I can to bring this story to full circle.

PLEASE REVIEW, IT HELPS ME WRITE KNOWING WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OF IT!

With that said, on with the show…

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Panic was probably the most prevalent emotion running through Saber's mind at the moment. But true to her nature and emotional fortitude, the only outward signs of her inner conflict were the slight scowl on her face and the tiniest narrowing of the eyes. As she jumped across the rooftops of the neighborhood, Saber only half-heartily made sure that her greaves did not crush the roofing as she tried to vent the pent up emotions in her.

House owners would later ponder how giant dents in their roofs appeared.

In the back of her mind, Saber noted that Shirou, Rin, and Archer were just barely keeping up, the last only because he was guarding their Masters just in case. Shirou's voice echoed through her head through their bond, switching between telling her to stop and asking where they were going.

Saber didn't respond. The only thing running through her mind was where Sakura was at. She reached desperately for the bond that had awakened between them, but it was slippery, moving out of her grasp every time she tried to get a grip on it. But even though she couldn't grab hold, she could feel its nature and it sent a slight shiver up her spine.

She could feel the darkness emanating from Sakura's end. It beckoned to her, pulling her into the sweet, sweet silence, tempting her with false promises of peace and rest. Saber knew, deep in the bowls of her soul, that this wasn't right. That everything in the bond should have sent her spirit screaming at the Wrongness of it all. That everything that came from the Shadow, in all its forms, was Wrong.

It only made things worse that despite knowing that, Saber felt it was right.

This wasn't the first time that Saber questioned why she became a Servant. She knew, in the case of Rider and Caster, that there were Servants with histories of darkness. Up until now she just chalked it all up as the Grail's work. But now, as far as she knew, she was the only Servant with such a close affinity to the Grail, save for the original Avenger. For her to be summoned by the Grail…

The implications were ominous.

She brushed that train of thought aside. Right in the here and now, Saber had to find Sakura. And reaching into the depths of her memories, she changed directions, heading to the location of one of the most pivotal events in the 5th Holy Grail War.

Ryuudo Temple…the place where she was consumed by the Shadow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where…is…your…Servant…going?" Rin panted as she tried to keep up with Shirou. She cursed Archer, who was matching her pace, not even looking like he was breaking a sweat. As soon as Saber had made her announcement, she had shifted into her armor and ran out of the house at full speed. Shirou and Rin had scrambled to get their shoes on (and in Rin's case, some jewels) and had barely gotten out of the house when Saber had neared the edge of their magical senses. Thankfully, Archer's natural Servant skills allowed him to keep track of her, if only just barely.

"She's slowing down." Archer announced, not a single hint of exhaustion in his voice. Rin mustered the energy to glare at her Servant, who didn't give any indication that he was listening.

"Where is she?" Shirou got out, only slightly winded. Really, Rin thought, did he always have that much stamina?

"At the base of a hill…there seems to be a pathway up it to another area, but I can't seem to see it." Archer frowned. "Something's stopping me from seeing into it."

Rin gave Archer a disbelieving look. The Archer class was one blessed with eyes like a hawk. When they had first scouted the city, Archer had proven that his eyes were up to the standards (and probably went beyond) of his class by pointing out miniscule details to Rin about people that were far away in the city. For him to be unable to see something…this reeked too much like magic.

"It seems like she has found a Master's base." Rin said, her voice going cold at the implications. If Saber had tracked Sakura to a Master's base, then that meant that said Master must have known about Sakura's link to Shirou and Rin and was using her as bait to a trap.

When they finally reached the base of the path, they found a stoic Saber staring up the path, still in full armor.

"Saber, why did you bring us here?" Shirou asked, hands on knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sakura is up there somewhere…and there's a field around the hill that is inhibiting me." Saber responded, not even bothering to face them.

Rin frowned, brought her hand up, and muttered a few words, causing her hands to glow slightly. Her frowned only deepened as she cancelled it and let her hands drop to her side.

"She's right. There is a field around the hill. One that specifically targets spiritual beings." Rin said, before her frown turned into a scowl. "The only safe way up that doesn't hinder us is the passage right here. This reeks too much like a trap."

"It's the fastest way up." Saber snapped, causing Rin and Shirou to flinch and Archer to frown.

"Be that as it may, we need to proceed cautiously. We can't be running in not knowing anything." Archer said the last one with a lighter tone and resisted the urge to smirk.

Saber had enough self-control to not show that the irony of the statement had struck a nerve. What was worse was that it might not be true anymore. Saber bit her lip at the thought. Her presence here might have already shifted the past…she may not be able to predict what came next.

Saber resisted the urge to shake her head. No, she couldn't afford to think like this. She knew enough of the past to know where certain events needed to take place…and who needed to die. Even if some events may have changed, Saber knew her goals and if she needed to adjust to the changes, she will.

Without acknowledging Archer's statement, Saber made the slow trek up to the temple, Rin and Shirou at her heels while Archer carried the rear. Halfway up, they crossed the line into the Bounded field. Almost immediately, Saber and Archer felt their bodies being repelled by the field, trying to push them out. Archer didn't let it show, but the strain of crossing the field lowered his powers and slowed him down. Since Saber was leading them, the others didn't see her scowl as she crossed the field, but they noticed her pace slowed to a walk. They made the trip in silence, though the tension in the air was palpable. Saber with her restrained anger and, though the others didn't know it, worry, Rin and Shirou with nervousness, and Archer, who seemed to give off a sense of calmness, despite the other Servant's rage.

Their nerves were frayed even more when they reached the top.

"Is that…blood?" Shirou got out as he and the rest of the party stared at the same spot. They were standing near the archway at the top of the path when they had come across the spot. A rather large spot of blood (and to Saber's and Archer's eyes, still a bit fresh) had been splashed on the stones, though there didn't seem to have been a struggle.

"I believe it is…" Saber said, her anger forgotten as she looked at the blood. She searched her memories but for the life of her she had a hard time figuring out whose blood this was. Caster and her Master were inside, supposed to be attacked by True Assassin. ..wait.

It all started to come back to her. Saber recalled True Assassin and his Master…Zouken. Sometime in her future, Sakura had informed her of all the details of Zouken's involvement in the War…including his summoning of True Assassin by using the remains of the fake!

Saber stepped closer to Shirou and kept her eyes peeled. She knew she couldn't sense True Assassin, thanks to the power of his Presence Concealment skill. The only thing she could do now was wait for True Assassin to make his move.

A pained yell echoed across the area. A woman's scream. Shirou and Rin tensed again, forgetting about the blood stain and trying to find the source of the noise. Archer's twin swords appeared in his hand and he stepped closer to Rin, while Rin pulled a shining jewel from…well her skirt. Shirou…

"Someone's in trouble!" Shirou yelled and took off towards the noise. Rin and Saber stood there, stupefied by the action for a second before Saber took off after him, cursing under her breath.

Archer poked his Master in the face. "Shouldn't we help him?" He asked.

A tick mark appeared on Rin's head as she swiped at Archer. He dodged, a smirk tugging at his lips. Huffing, Rin ran after Shirou and Saber with a still smirking Archer by her side.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as Saber crossed the archway, she felt the pressure on her body ease up. The sudden ease she found in moving almost made it feel like she was weightless. With just a few strides, she caught up to her Master and pulled him to a stop.

"Shirou, what do you think you're doing?" She asked, her gauntlet firmly taking hold of his shoulder. She ignored the wince that crossed his face but eased her grip.

"There's a woman being attacked! What do you expect me to do, just let it happen?" He said, his voice raised a little.

"I expect you to let me do my duty." Saber replied, a little cold and Shirou couldn't help his irritation fade a bit. "If I let you run off on your own, not even knowing if you're walking straight into an ambush, what kind of Servant would I be? You need to let me be what I am meant to be: your shield." She said the last one softly, letting her hand fall from his shoulder.

Shirou looked away and was about to say something when another yell filled the air. He looked at Saber and though her gold eyes betrayed little, if no emotion, an understanding passed through them. He let himself smile a little and nodded to Saber, whose face had set itself to its usual blank stare. She took off toward the sound, this time with Shirou right beside her.

Saber ran through the courtyard and had made her way halfway around the temple when she started to hear the noises. At first, she couldn't tell what it was, but as she got closer she was able to determine that it was the sound of multiple chimes. As she got around the corner, she slowed down to take in the scene before her.

Caster was in the middle of the back courtyard, standing over the body of a person protectively, a hand above her head while the other hovered over the person on the floor. Saber only vaguely recognized the body, but couldn't place who it was. Whoever it was, he was bleeding heavily from his chest.

A small, black blur flashed toward Caster from the edges of Saber's vision. It would have been a lethal blow, but at the last second it hit a shimmer of color that seemed to surround Caster, the chime echoing across the backyard again before Saber saw the dark object clatter onto the stone pavement. Although it didn't hit, Saber noticed that Caster seemed to flinch a little with each attack on her shields. To Saber's trained eyes, it appears that Caster had some wounds of her own and was using the last of her mana to try to protect the collapsed man, who Saber could only guess was her Master.

Another flash of dark metal clanged against the shield and Saber tracked the origins. Although a long time had passed since Saber had seen her one time "ally", it was easy enough to recognize him. Limbs, long and lanky, but toned with lean muscles on an almost skeletal frame. His own skin was covered from head to toe in a black garb that faded in and out with the surrounding shadows he jumped through. The part that stuck out the most though was his face, or to be precise, what was on his face. Coving most of his face was a bone white skull mask, set forever in an almost mocking facial expression.

True Assassin darted across the roof top, throwing his Darts at Caster, hitting her shield at many angles. From where Saber was standing, it didn't seem like he had noticed their presence yet.

"Who is that?" Shirou whispered, his eyes trying to follow Assassin's movements.

"From what I can tell, that is the Servant Assassin." Saber replied, her own eyes easily following the movements.

"What should we do?" Shirou asked, looking back and forth between Caster and Assassin.

"I say we attack them both." Rin said, suddenly appearing beside them. Archer was right behind her, his eyes calmly taking in the situation. "I believe that one in the courtyard is Caster. She looks weakened at the moment and is forcing all her mana to defending herself. Her shield won't last. If we act fast, we can take out two Servants at the same time." Rin planned out, hiding the glee at the prospect of taking out two of the competition so soon.

"I can take care of Caster." Archer said, his first time coming into the battle planning. "Shirou and Rin stay back, with Rin providing some cover. Shirou can't do anything other than charge in and draw attention to himself and we don't need a distraction right now." At this, Shirou blushed and glared at Archer while Saber just stared at Archer. "If Saber could get the drop on Assassin, she could end this in an instant."

The two Masters nodded at this, one smiling while the other still had a glare on his face. They looked at Saber, who was still keeping track of the battle. Her eyes looked at the other three before she looked back at the battle, their only sign that she was still listening.

"Your plan is sound." She said flatly.

Archer let himself smirk. "Well then, ladies first." He said before tracing his black and white blades.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Assassin's only warning was the shift in the wind and the shadow that came from above. Without even thinking about it, he dove out of the way, tucking into a roll before skidding onto the roof.

Or at least that was what he was planning, but instead the sheer force of the attack sent him flying, despite not being hit by it. Even though he managed to dodge, he still felt debris hit him as he twisted in midair to land on his feet.

As Assassin regained his footing, he heard a battle cry from where the attack took place. Looking up, he saw a woman, clad in armor just as black as his, race towards him, holding a pitch black blade that glowed eerily under the moonlight.

If Assassin felt any fear, he couldn't (nor would he) show it, as he flung his darts at the Servant. She weaved through the darts' paths, her charge only slightly slowing. That was all Assassin needed. As Saber finally reached him, Assassin was more than ready to dodge the overhead strike, despite the fact that it only looked like a blur of black light.

Saber pressed her attack against Assassin, but Assassin kept dodging her strikes. No matter where she struck, he seemed to pull away at the last second, forcing Saber to waste time righting herself before she overextended. Saber knew without a doubt that it would only take one decisive blow from her sword to end Assassin, whose class was not meant for direct combat with any of the other classes. What he lacked in endurance and strength, he made up with his ability to kill swiftly if a Master (or on the off chance, a Servant) let down their guard. Against the best of the classes, Assassin would only fall to Saber's blade.

But that didn't matter if he kept. On. DODGING!

Saber's strikes managed to push Assassin to the edge of the roof he was on but as she swung at him again, he back flipped off the roof, into the air.

Into the path of two spinning swords.

But before they could converge on him, Assassin tucked himself into a ball in midair, save for his right arm, which was as stiff as a tree. This show of acrobatics allowed the two swords to just miss hitting him, though one nicked the bundle that was Assassin's right arm. Instead, the two swords hit each other, right in front of Assassin's face.

Then they exploded.

The force of the Broken Phantasms slammed Assassin into the ground, giving Saber the opportunity she needed. She jumped from the roof top and landed straight on top of Assassin before he had a chance to get up. A cough escaped from Assassin as the air was forced out of his body. Saber brought her leg up and stomped down on Assassin again, grinding the heel of her greave into his ribcage. This time, Assassin only grunted, but Saber heard the barest hint of his ribs cracking. She made sure that Assassin was pinned down, before bringing up her glowing sword, ready to take off his head.

Wait…glowing?

Saber took a moment to study Excalibur. At the moment, she wasn't actively channeling her prana into the sword. And yet it was glowing, the dark light pulsing brighter and brighter with each passing second. But for the life of her, Saber couldn't tell why.

"What are you waiting for, kill him!" Rin's voice shook her out of her train of thought. Shaking her head, Saber turned her attention back to Assassin, whose breathing was getting heavier. She positioned her blade and brought it down on his head-

Only to stop as something pierced through the darkness.

It was quiet yet loud at the same time. It came from far away, yet Saber could hear it whispering seductively in her ear. It sent shivers to the very core of her soul, its echoes reverberating through her bones. The very force of its presence seemed to root her in the spot she was, her muscles tensing unconsciously. And with dawning horror, she knew what it was.

But the worst part…the worst part was the fact that she could understand it.

So cold…So alone…So…hungry. I must feed. I. !

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Tohsaka, I know I'm new to this, but could you stop yelling at Saber?" Shirou said, only to get a glare in response.

"It's the third day of the War and we have the greatest opportunity to take out TWO Servants! One is down for the count and the other, the one known as the "Bane of all Masters" is under your Servant's heel. So why is she frozen?" Rin ranted, yelling the last part at Saber.

It was all going so well too. At first, Assassin's dexterity worried Rin, especially when he kept on doing such high level acrobatics to evade Saber's blade, which Rin had a hard time keeping track of. Shirou had only stood by and watched as Saber pressed Assassin. With Caster more or less out of the fight (Rin was gonna ask Archer later why he just knocked her out rather than kill her), Archer's timely intervention had let Rin start to get her hopes up, which turned into full elation when Saber had pinned Assassin down.

But now, with victory in their grasp, Saber suddenly froze. Although Assassin hadn't done anything yet to get out from underneath Saber, as seconds passed Rin couldn't help but feel anxiety start to take hold.

Shirou, for his part, was just as confused and worried as Rin, but with different reasons. Although this was the third time he had seen Saber fought, her power and grace still left him awed. Though he was reluctant to kill, he knew that he should be glad that it was a Servant, especially one that, according to Rin, killed Masters. But ever since Saber froze, a sense of unease had fallen on Shirou. He couldn't tell what was causing it, but something just didn't seem…right.

Archer, with his ability to enhance the vision on his eyes, was privy to more info than the two Masters. For one, he noticed that Saber's muscles were tense, even through the armor. Second, she seemed to have an ironclad grip on her sword. Third…her eyes were wide, the pupils small, and it almost seemed like she was shaking.

As Archer kept searching for hints to Saber's sudden change in behavior, he noticed her sword for the first time. Had it always glowed like that?

Saber suddenly snapped her head up and looked at the direction Rin and Shirou were in, her eyes wide and fearful. Archer, catching the movement, followed her line of sight to where they were. But when his eyes found them, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Confused, he tried to look closer.

Then the shadow of the tree behind them stood up.

"LOOK OUT!" He yelled, tracing a bow and Caladbolg II in an instant, knowing that it wouldn't be fast enough.

Rin's eyes widened and she tried to turn around. 'Stupid, don't turn around, just RUN!' Archer thought as he pulled the bowstring back. But it might as well have been at a snail's pace. Archer cursed himself in the back of his mind, the world going in slow motion as Rin and Shirou both turned around, while the shadow itself lunged closer to them. The shadow itself looked like a mass of pure darkness. It had no definite shape, looking more like a blob with a few tendrils sticking out of it. It lunged, tendrils stretched out, reaching for both Shirou and Rin.

Archer felt it before he saw it. A pulse of prana and long line of darkness, oddly matching that of the shadow, wrapped itself around the shadow, pulling it off its trajectory. It landed on the ground, and Archer could have sworn he heard screeching coming from it, as steam started to erupt from it. Rin and Shirou backpedalled away, putting as much distance between them and the unknown creature as possible. Archer followed the line to the source and almost gasped.

Saber stood, her feet grounded into the ground, holding Excalibur like a fishing pole. Only then did Archer notice that Excalibur's blade had broken into fragments, exactly like a snake sword, and that was what was wrapped around the shadow. Saber looked like she was struggling to hold her blade, and Archer could see that her feet seemed to be slipping from the surface it was on. The blade itself pulsed in the moonlight, sending a steady flow of prana into the part that was wrapped around the shadow, which seemed to harm it if the screeches Archer was hearing was any indication.

"Well…that's new." Archer mused out loud, slightly taken aback by Excalibur's strange new feature.

Seeing his chance, Archer nocked Caladbolg II into his bow and Broke it. As the prana levels in the sword-arrow grew, he took aim, and released.

The sword-arrow shined through the night as it flew towards the mass of shadows. Held down, the shadow could do nothing as it was hit. The explosion that followed made Archer shield his eyes, but he took satisfaction when he heard an even larger screech come from it.

As the dust cleared, Archer spotted Saber's sword reel in on itself before reforming into its regular blade. But as he searched, Archer couldn't find any other sign of the shadow.

"What the hell was that?" Rin screeched as Shirou pulled her up from where she had fallen. The force of the blast had thrown the two away, but other than some debris, it didn't seem like they were hit. Of the two, Shirou seemed worse for the wear, probably because he shielded Rin from the blast.

"Master, are you alright?" Saber asked, running up to the two Masters, only to pull back when Rin glared at her.

"Something just tried to kill us, we get tossed around like dolls, and you JUST LOST ASSASSIN! WHAT DO YOU THINK?" Rin yelled, her voice raising with each word. Shirou, still trying to adjust to this new image of the school idol, backed away, fearing for his life.

Saber only glared. "It was either kill Assassin and let you two die, or save you. I made the best choice." She grounded out, her voice going cold. "If I could have done both, I would have, but I had to use all my power to just hold that thing."

The implications of that statement hit Shirou before the others could pick up on it. "Saber, are you alright?" He asked, his voice laced with worry, and with good reason. Saber looked like she was about to collapse. Her sword was dangling loosely in her hand and her eyes seemed to have trouble focusing on them. Add to the fact that now that he was looking for the signs, Saber seemed to be swaying, if only a little.

Saber only furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know what you…what you mean." She got out, before collapsing forward, only to be caught by Shirou. She brought one arm around him, trying to hold herself up, but it seemed like a futile effort on her part. Without meaning to, her armor disappeared, replaced by her gothic dress.

"We need to get her back." Archer said, his weapons disappearing. He still kept his eyes peeled, just in case Assassin or that shadow came back while Saber was weak.

"But what about Sakura?" Shirou asked, bringing up the reason why they were out in the middle of the night. The other two cursed, having forgotten about the girl. But with Saber weakened, they would be a vulnerable target, having to rely only on Archer to protect two Masters.

"She's hurt…" A voice softly said.

Archer, Rin, and Shirou looked down at Saber, who was still leaning into Shirou. Her eyes were half-lidded and it seemed like she wasn't really there at the moment. Shirou picked her up bridal style and tried to shake her awake a little.

"Saber, what do you mean?" Shirou asked, concerned from her statement.

Saber's eyes kept trying to focus but she couldn't. Instead, she weakly lifted her arm and pointed into the forest.

"There…" She got out before her arm dropped.

Shirou and Rin shared a look, before Rin went off into the direction Saber had pointed, Archer following her. Things were silent for a few seconds before Rin came running back, her eyes wide.

"We found her." Was all she said before Archer emerged from the forest with a sleeping Sakura in his arms. She was still in the night gear that Saber had her in, if only a little dirty. "I don't know how she ended up here, but her fever is all but gone. She's still very weak though. We need to get her to your house quick."

"Alright." Shirou said and was about to walk off when Saber stirred in his arms. "Saber?"

"I can…walk." Saber got out, trying to let herself down from where Shirou was holding her. She found it difficult though, as Shirou kept her from escaping.

"No, you're really weak right now. Whatever you did to stop that thing drained you of your prana." Shirou said.

"But…what about…Caster?" Saber mumbled.

The two Masters looked back where Caster was, still lying on the ground.

"I'll take care of her." Rin volunteered. "Now that she's down, it should be easy to just kill her."

"No, I'll do it."

Both Shirou and Rin snapped their heads towards Archer. The tanned Servant had been silent up until this point.

"There's a difference between killing an opponent in battle and killing one that's helpless." Archer pointed out. "And I don't think you're heartless enough to slit a helpless woman's throat."

The last statement got a flinch out of Rin and she looked down. Archer sighed, before going over to Rin and pushed Sakura onto her back, earning a yelp from his Master.

"A-Archer! What-"

"Just give her a piggyback back to Emiya's place. I'll take care of Caster." He paused. "Oh, and you shouldn't be here when I do it, don't want you traumatized. Don't worry, I'll join you shortly."

Rin and Shirou blushed a little, before Shirou started to make his way to the path they had taken. Rin only brought Sakura up more, before following. She glanced back at Archer, her nervousness barely concealed.

When the four were out of sight, Archer approached Caster and shook her. Groggily, she woke up.

"Now then, you and I are going to have a little talk…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trip back home was relatively peaceful, with Archer joining them when they had reached the bottom of the hill. They walked in silence, only once talking when Rin asked if Caster was really dead.

"Ahhh, come on Master, have a little faith in me." He smirked, earning a glare from Rin.

As they entered the house, Saber finally managed to convince Shirou to let her down. Reluctantly, he did, but not before fussing over her. He tried to fight the urge to blush, having held Saber for the past hour. If the smirk from Archer was any indication, it seemed like he failed.

They put Sakura back to bed, only leaving after Rin put some more monitoring spells on the room. Afterwards, they gathered at the table, with Shirou in the kitchen to make some tea.

Saber slowly sat down, still feeling the drain on whatever she did back at the Temple. When it had happened, she didn't even think. All she did was react to and instinct that just popped in her mind. The next thing she knew, Excalibur had broken into a weird new form, wrapped around the shadow, and harmed it. Saber felt as if she had just used Excalibur herself, with all the prana that had suddenly gone into the attack.

Saber was so lost in her thoughts that she had missed the conversation about the battle that the Masters were having. Only when Shirou started calling her name did she snap out of it.

"You say something Master?" Saber asked, earning a sigh from Shirou. Looks like it was back to being called Master…

"Do you want to rest Saber? Whatever had happened took a lot of prana out of you." Shirou offered, showing his concern.

"That reminds me." Rin jumped in, looking back between Shirou and Saber. "I know Shirou doesn't have a lot of magical circuits, but you shouldn't be this low on energy. Did you have to pour everything you had into holding that shadow still?" Rin asked.

"Yes. As soon as I caught it, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it without giving my all." Saber said, only saying half the truth. She did give her all in holding it, but the pull on her prana happened on its own. It was as if Excalibur automatically took from her when she was facing it…

Rin sighed. "We can't have you running near on empty. As much as I hate to admit it, you're a powerful ally. If you don't have enough to fight effectively, then we need to do all we can to help you."

"What do you have in mind?" Shirou asked, curious as to how Rin wanted to help.

"Well…normally Servants would go out and hunt for energy, usually taking prana from other human beings. The downside is that that's how the other Servants are fueling themselves and causing all these "gas leaks" we've been hearing about. Knowing you Shirou, we're throwing this option out." Rin started explaining. "The best option we have is a transfer ritual, which would allow for a more concrete bond between Saber and Shirou."

"That sounds perfect." Shirou said, excited at the prospect of helping Saber. "What does this ritual need?"

"Well…" Rin paused, before going on to explain it to Shirou and Saber.

By the end of it, Shirou was blushing like crazy, Archer was nonchalantly sipping his tea, and Saber was staring off into space, a blank look on her face.

"W-w-WHAT?" Shirou managed to get out, his whole entire body red from blushing.

"You heard me correctly. You and Saber need to have…relations." Rin got out, slightly blushing herself.

The table was silent for a few moments as everyone tried to get over the awkwardness of the situation.

"Can we do it now?" Saber asked, speaking for the first time since Rin got done.

"WHAT?" Shirou yelled and whipped his head at Saber, Rin doing the same.

A bit of color came to Saber's face, making her look less washed out. "This ritual is our best bet of making sure I can serve you Shirou. If we don't, I might not be able to protect you in this War." She said, keeping her voice steady and reasonable.

Which, contrary to what the others may have thought, was very difficult at the moment.

"Well…it doesn't really take any preparation." Rin slowly said, her face coloring even more.

Saber was silent for a few moments, looking down at her lap. Then, looking up, the others saw a look of determination in her eyes. She got up and, with an unnatural strength that shouldn't be there, grabbed Shirou's hand and brought him up, before dragging him out of the room, despite his stuttering protests.

Rin just stared at the open door, Shirou's voice fading in the distance. She would have stayed there, if Archer hadn't poked her in the face.

"You know, without you there to do the ritual, they're just having sex." Archer pointed out, Rin blushing at the bluntness of his statement. She got up, stuttering a good night, before leaving.

Archer sighed while sipping his tea. Despite Saber being tainted by the Shadow, Archer really envied Shirou right now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And done!

I hope you guys like this one, I think it's the longest chapter I've done so far.

Remember, reviews make me happy!