That vampire said he had the perfect relic to summon, in his words, 'one of the greatest heroes in the world's history'. As rule, Kariya would not trust Zouken to give them the time of day.

But…

His eyes warily turned to the small girl as she was subjugated to more 'training'. Her face completely emotionless. That broken look on those purple eyes, which were supposed to be aqua, the hopeless acceptance of her fate as she submerged into a pit of those disgusting parasites.

This was his only chance, his only chance at freeing her.

He had no skill in magic, never pursued the craft due to the hate he felt for his father, a fact he lamented had he known it'd be useful for his current predicament. So his only chance was to, as much as it pained him, play along with his father's scheme.

The worms wiggled under his skin and buried in the muscle, the pain was excruciating, but he'd endure, all to see Sakura smile again.

The summoning array was set, the catalyst laid out right in the middle, an arrow so ancient it was a miracle it hadn't crumbled away with time.

This is it.

He held his right hand forward, ignoring the satisfied smirk on Zouken's face, and chanted

Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let red be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

He poured every drop of his energy into the aria, every bit of will into calling forth a mighty hero.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.

Let it be filled. Again. Again. Again. Again.

My will creates your body, and your Swords create my destiny

If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me.

Kariya's prayer was one for salvation, not his own, but for a girl who had been abandoned by her family and whose fate was now one of pain and grief.

Hereby I swear

That I shall be all the good in the world

That I shall defeat all the evil in the world

So please, he begged to the powers that be, please save her.

You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding

O Guardian of the Balance!

The room flooded with light.

The summoning circle shined with power and prana wildly flowed through the room, Zouken's parasite squirmed excitedly at the delicious energy now feeding the chamber.

Sakura in her agony barely paid attention to it, she merely turned one eye to the light.

Then, he emerged.

A legend from the past, sang and praised by humanity.

A Heroic Spirit.

Kariya's Servant in this war.

He was a bit shorter than the average height, yet he casted a presence so great as though he were a giant. Bright red hair from the top of his head which gradually darkened to a still fiery shade. Gauntlets of gold and red adorned his slim yet toned arms, a gaudy waistband held in place his red garments and a white and red cape that went around his dark red stripped leggings and boots.

Kariya's breath was caught in his throat as ruby eyes stared at him, there was such power to the.

"Servant Lancer has answered your call, I ask of you" His voice was very youthful, and only now did the rogue Matou realize his Servant looked to be a teenager, if only a bit older. "Are you my Master?"

He swallowed the lump on his throat and nodded. "I am"

Then he made a gesture Kariya did not expect, he smiled so widely he showed all his teeth, the closing of his eyes went along with the friendly gesture. "Then the contract is complete, let's do our best, Master!" His words were filled with optimism.

Before Kariya could reply, a tap of a cane made a demand for attention. "Finally you prove yourself useful, Kariya" Zouken spoke with greed in his voice. "Win the war for me, and I shall fulfill my end of the bargain"

Kariya clenched his teeth, not even done with the summoning and he was already being ordered around. His Servant stared confusedly and suspiciously at the ancient mage, before his gaze wondered around the room he had been summoned in.

His red eyes stopped at the sight of the worm pool, and the little girl trapped in it.

He moved so fast he was a blur, Kariya and Zouken stared in surprise as the Servant knelt before the pool of wriggling worms, face horrified and mouth open in shock and disgust.

Fingers clad in a pointy glove tried to reach for her, but hesitated and slowly pulled back.

The room suddenly became much colder.

A murderous aura seemed to form around the Servant. Slowly, his crimson haired head turned to the other two occupants. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, Lancer's voice was cold and full of rage.

"That is no concern of yours, Servant" Though Zouken's words held strong, one could feel a tinge of fears coming from them. There was something about this Servant… he knew who he was, he had adquired the catalyst meant to summon this specific hero, but he was here as a familiar, nothing more.

Why did the Servant, someone meant to obey, unerve him like this.

"She is why I'm fighting" Kariya explained himself quickly, least the Servant choose to do something rash. "I… We will fight for her freedom"

Lancer once more turned his sights on the girl. "She is a prisoner?" He scoffed. "What am I saying, of course she is" He stood up and faced the old man. "What is the purpose behind this… torture?" There was no other word he could use.

The head of the Matou 'hmphed' impatiently. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the meaning behind her training. She has taken the honor of inheriting my clan's legacy"

"…Training?" His voice once more became filled with cold fury. Zouken involuntarily took a step back, suddenly overcome with fear. "You call the defilement of this poor child… TRAINING?!"

A golden and red aura emanated from the Servant, prana so dense and heavy that it literally weighed down on them filled the room. Killing intent poured forth from every pour of his being, his ruby eyes seemed to shine in outrage.

The worms closest to him burst at the sheer pressure of magical energy. The Servant turned to face the girl and joined his hands together. "Om!" He chanted, the magic gathered and flowed at his command.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" The ancient mage called out alarmed, Kariya could only stare shocked at his Servant's actions.

Golden light gathered in his hands, he lowered them until they were atop of the girl. Sakura was briefly aware of what was going on before a sudden flash of warmth filled her. Where there was once pain, there was now comfort.

The light expanded, and the worms were incinerated.

"Stop it!" Zouken's demand fell on deaf ears.

One by one the worms were being purified from the girl's body, cleansed by holy light.

The light died down, revealing the pool, once filled to the brim with those horribly parasites, was now nearly empty except for the naked child that laid inside.

Kariya could barely understand what was going on. Had his Servant… freed Sakura? This feeling of hope was so comforting and enticing he feared it was all just an hallucination.

"What have you done?!" Zouken cried out in outrage. His legacy, his plans, Kariya's Servant had ruined them. He was meant to win him the Grail… and he ruined everything. He screamed as the worms that formed his body tried to attack the Servant… only to suddenly find him standing right in front of him, red eyes glaring with burning hate as the Servant's hand was buried deep inside his chest.

The same golden light that had saved Sakura now spelled Zouken's doom, as the same holy power felt the sheer evil and inherent darkness coming from this abomination, this mockery of a person… and so it destroyed him utterly.

Zouken barely had time to scream as he was burned away by righteous golden flames. Leaving no trace of him, no worm, no single parasite that would bring him back.

Matou Zouken was dead, this time for good.

Lancer stared for a moment at the place where that… monster had stood just a second ago, and finally let out a sigh. "Sorry if my actions were rushed, Master" He said to the shell shocked man, "But I could not allow evil like that to exist"

Kariya finally found his voice again. "S-Sorry? You shouldn't be sorry!" He could scarcely believe it, Zouken was… Zouken was… "He's dead!" He cried out with joy.

"Oh, then I believe my actions were the correct ones then" The Servant merely replied with a tilt of his head.

Kariya's cheer was soon replaced with worry, "Wait, Sakura, is she-?"

"The child? She's fine, I purged the evil from her with my mantra" Lancer walked back to the pool and looked at the child with concern, he took out his waist cape and carefully wrapped it around her naked form. Gently, he took her in his arms and carried her. "She needs rest now" He said to his Master. "We must leave, this place reeks of sin…" He said in disgust for this… place. He wouldn't call it neither a house nor a home, this place was anything but.

"I-I have an apartment in the city" He said, walking closer to them. He look at the girl, still dazed, with overwhelming relief in his eyes. He let the tears fall down his cheeks as he touched her cheek and moved a few strands of purple hair away from her face. "Saving her… this was my only goal in this war. Nothing else mattered" He looked at him with unending gratitude in his eyes. "And you… you saved her before this war even began, you fulfilled my wish. I…" He sobbed openly, for the nightmare was at last over. "Thank you. I just… thank you"

He smiled at him the same way as before, "Hey, it's what heroes do"

They left the house, Kariya only took the smallest of times to inform his brother and nephew that the Zouken, and by extension their clan's horrible future was dead, there was nothing left here. He didn't know what would become of them, but he at least hoped Shinji would have a brighter future than he would have had under Zouken's heel.

Sakura, tired and confused by the sudden ordeal, vaguely aware of what was going on, could only stare at the stranger who held her in his

He smiled at her with so much kindness, the kind of smile only a loving parent can do, and lost herself in those eyes that were like red lotus. "You're safe now, it's all going to be okay" His words were like audible gold to her, for she believed him. "Rama's got you"

She closed her eyes and let sleep claim her. For the first time since the nightmare started, Sakura would dream with happier things. She dreamt of herself being taken to her family, saved by a lotus-eyed hero.

XxX ~ Author's Note ~ XxX

So, here we are. Just a fic I'm doing to have a bit of fun. Rama is one of my favorite characters of legends, and I wanted to explore him more and show off what he can do, considering he didn't have much of a chance to show what he can do in FGO. Figured putting a hero like him saving a tragic figure like Sakura would be fun, along with their interactions.

Don't really have an 'end game' with this story, this is just me making it up as I go along and have fun, hopefully it entertains you guys as well. Fun trivia, Rama's red eyes is more than just the usual divinity trait in the nasuverse, in legends he is said to have 'lotus red eyes'. Anyway, thanks for reading!