.
.
1.
"Lancer!"
Saber ran toward him, breaking free from the shock of seeing him spear himself; she skidded on her kneecaps, breathing hard and hefting his body against her chest. He fell against her heavily. His blood was sticky and warm.
"Irisviel!" Saber said. "Irisviel, please-"
Behind them, Kiritsugu watched, silently, as Kayneth cradled Sola-Ui in his arms. "The geas binds you now, correct?" Kayneth asked. Kiritsugu nodded.
"Yes, it's in effect. I can't kill either of you."
Shots rang out, slamming into Sola-Ui and Kayneth, the force of the blows knocking their bodies onto the ground.
"Not myself, anyway," Kiritsugu said.
Lancer coughed. Saber ripped off her armored gloves and shoved a hand into the wound.
"Do you have Avalon?" Saber asked. Irisviel nodded, dumbly. "Give it here, Irisviel. Please."
"It won't work," Kiritsugu said. He walked toward them slowly, his footsteps echoing on the pavement. "He already damaged his core. All that will do is weaken Iri. The best thing to do would be to just put him out of his misery-"
"Not one more step," Saber said. "On my honor, if you touch him I shall skewer you readily and take your head as recompense!"
"Do you hear that, Iri?" Kiritsugu said. "Our noble Servant is threatening her Master."
"I no longer recognize you as my Master, fiend!"
"My, my," Kiritsugu said. "We have a mutiny, it seems."
Irisviel watched. Lancer winced, breathing heavily and hemorrhaging mana. Saber pulled out the spear with one harsh yank; blood gushed out, darkening his breastplate and saturating the front of Saber's dress with blood.
"Saber..." Blood dripped down the side of Lancer's face. She clasped his bloody hand in hers.
"Be still, my friend," Saber said. "You have fought admirably. Now is the time to take your rest."
He took a shaky breath, a bloody tear trailing down the side of his face. "They took it away from me," Lancer said. "My dream. The only wish I held in my heart. I only wanted to serve honorably..."
"And you have," Saber said. He coughed again, a trickle of blood dripping down the side of his mouth.
"Thank you, Saber," Lancer said. "Your words give me great comfort. I am glad to share my last moments with you."
Her grip on his hand tightened.
"The honor was always mine," Saber said.
Lancer coughed and smiled, closing his eyes.
xXx
.
2.
The scream shook her, ripping through her core.
She threw her arms around him as he struggled, all wrath and pain and inhuman rage, every muscle in his body twisting to try to shake her off.
"This is not you, Lancer!" Saber said. "Lancer! This is not you"
The sound he made was inhuman.
He managed to throw her off. She whacked her shoulder against the pavement, but she scrambled up again. He collapsed, blood streaming down both clenched-shut eyes.
Kiritsugu watched, silently. Watched as Saber pushed herself back on her knees and grabbed him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and forcing him into her embrace. Lancer howled. He violently struggled, trying to throw her off again. Saber just held him tighter.
"The geas binds you now, correct?" Kayneth asked. Kiritsugu nodded.
"Yes, it's in effect. I can't kill either of you."
Kayneth hoisted Sola-Ui closer. Kiritsugu exhaled, slowly.
(Saber held him. Her arms wrapped tight around his back, bright warm blood streaming through her fingers. She could feel the cracking of his ribcage, the agonized wheeze of his breath. Slowly the sclerae of his eyes turned from tar black back to white, and she realized he was crying softly against her shoulder.)
"I think," Kiritsugu said, and Kayneth looked up at him, slowly. "I think we may need to hasten things." And he nodded toward Maiya, who took aim with her gun.
The shots she fired were expertly aimed: one sliced through the socket of Lancer's shoulder; the other slammed through Lancer's chest. His body pitched sideways. Saber's eyes widened.
"Lancer!" Saber said, and her head snapped upwards when she heard two more gunshots fired behind her.
"It was taking too long," Kiritsugu said. He stepped over the bodies and walked toward Saber, whose hands were shaking. Lancer's body was already crumbling into dust.
xXx
.
3.
Kayneth stared at the geas, his hands trembling as he held the paper.
The curse of a geas theoretically cannot be removed by any means. Even if you forfeit your life, as long as your magic crest exists, it will bind your soul even in death. And yet...
He thought of the Grail. The pride of the Archibald family. He wants me to throw all of that away. His grip on the paper tightened.
Kiritsugu stared blankly at him, aiming at Sola-Ui, before cocking his gun.
Saber's sword slammed through Lancer's chest. Kayneth startled. His eyes widened as one hard strike pierced through Lancer's armor, going straight through his heart.
"That useless Servant!" Kayneth said. The geas fluttered. Kiritsugu watched as Lancer staggered forward, blood and mana pouring out from his wound.
"S-Saber," Lancer said. Blood gushed from his chest as Saber yanked out her sword. He stumbled, but Saber caught him, leaning him against her arm. "It seems you got the best of me, my friend."
"Indeed," Saber said. The idiot was smiling. He sagged against Saber's chest, smiling as Saber took on his weight.
"Thank you," Lancer said. He pressed his cheek against her shoulder. "Fighting you has made this war worthwhile." Her arms around him tightened.
"The honor was always mine," Saber said.
He smiled as he began to fade, closing his eyes.
Kiritsugu frowned, tucking the geas in his coat. How stupid was this, their code of chivalry, myopic killers glorifying death and extoling the virtues of honorable combat. Well, Kiritsugu thought, wryly. At least I didn't have to waste a geas.
He lifted his eyes and dropped the signal to Maiya.
Shots fired before Kayneth could say anything, one bullet ripping through Sola-Ui and slicing straight through him. The wheelchair tipped. Another bullet slammed through the side of Kayneth's skull.
"Well, Saber?" Kiritsugu walked over to where Saber was standing. "Do you have anything you want to say to me?"
Saber looked at him silently. There were motes of sparkling light where Lancer's body had been, traces of mana not yet dissipated.
"No," Saber said.
xXx
.
4.
Kiritsugu stared blankly at Kayneth, aiming at Sola-Ui, before cocking his gun.
Something is wrong. Saber saw it in the slight tightening of Lancer's wrist, the sudden change of the trajectory of his spear.
Saber blocked the blow before he could stab himself. She knocked the spear back, but the command spell took over him; he tried throwing himself on her blade.
"Lancer!"
She pulled back her sword, not realizing he was still running toward her with his spear.
Oh my God, Kiritsugu thought. She won't be able to block!
Gae Dearg slipped through her armor, slamming through her chest and ribs and tearing through the muscle of her heart.
"Maiya!" Kiritsugu said. "Shoot them! Shoot them now!"
Lancer's spear caught the bullets before they could penetrate. The bullets ricocheted back, sparks flying from where metal clashed against metal. Slowly, Lancer rose to his full height, standing in front of his lord and gripping his spear.
Kiritsugu glanced back. The geas was in effect, he couldn't kill Kayneth, and Maiya couldn't snipe them with Lancer protecting them. He thought of the Grail and tightened his grip on his gun.
"Look at yourself!" Kayneth said. "You thought you could take away the pride of the Archibald family, but behold! My Servant has easily dispatched of yours!"
Saber was lying face-down on the pavement. Blood was beginning to pool around her chest as Irisviel knelt beside her, trying desperately to heal her. I could incapacitate them. Kiritsugu's finger itched on the trigger. If we can somehow distract Lancer, there is still a chance...
"Lancer," Kayneth said. The grin on his face widened. "Kill Saber's Master."
Kiritsugu took a step back. Lancer looked back at Saber, agonized.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Kayneth raged. "Why are you just standing there! I told you already! Kill Saber's Master!"
"Forgive me, my lord," Lancer said, quietly. "But you are no longer my Master."
And Lancer quietly walked past him: Kayneth no longer had any command spells.
Lancer knelt down by Saber. She was breathing hard, taking unsteady, shallow breaths.
"How is she?" Lancer said to Irisviel. Irisviel shook her head.
"Her core is damaged," Irisviel said. "Even the grace of Avalon cannot save her."
Lancer squeezed his eyes. Gingerly, he slid his arms around her upper body and hefted her across his chest.
"L-Lancer," Saber said.
"Saber," Lancer said. "Forgive me."
The rims of his eyes were dark and shining.
"There is nothing to forgive," Saber said. She offered him a smile, curved like the edge of a scythe. "You were about to kill yourself. A pity our duel was interrupted."
"You were supposed to die by my spear, but not like this," Lancer said, agonized.
Saber chuckled and coughed, gripping his hand.
"I do not mind, Lancer," Saber said, and a thin trickle of blood dripped down the side of her mouth. "In truth, I am glad that it was you."
There was an awful minute where Kayneth and Kiritsugu stared, dumbstruck, watching as one Servant tenderly cradled the other. Lancer squeezed his eyes and bowed his head, embracing Saber's body tight against his.
The strike was sudden, Kayneth's last command spell still in effect: Kayneth's eyes widened as the spear tore through Lancer's chest, Lancer's body collapsing on top of Saber's.
"What the-" Kayneth lurched forward in his wheelchair. "Did he-? Did he seriously-?"
Shots rang out. Kayneth and Sola-Ui fell, perfectly mirroring Lancer and Saber.
xXx
.
5.
Kayneth stared at the geas, his hands trembling as he held the paper.
He thought of the Grail. The pride of the Archibald family. His grip on the paper tightened.
"Lancer," Kayneth said, and he held up his hand. "By my Command Spell, I order you..."
Kiritsugu lowered his gun.
"...to kill Emiya Kiritsugu."
Kiritsugu's eyes widened.
There was a flash, a sudden spark of metal slamming against metal, as Lancer moved, impossibly fast, his spear raised and aimed at Kiritsugu.
"Saber! By my Command Spell I order you to kill Lancer! Now!"
The sword sliced into the meat of Lancer's back, catching him between the shoulderblades, the edge of Lancer's spear mere centimeters away from piercing Kiritsugu.
Kiritsugu breathed. Lancer stumbled forward.
"What?!" Kayneth sat forward in his chair. "Your Servant beat mine? How is that possible?"
Kiritsugu breathed. "Blame his low-luck status," Kiritsugu said. In front of them, Lancer howled.
xXx
.
6.
"Saber..." Blood dripped down the side of Lancer's face. She clasped his bloody hand in hers.
"Be still, my friend," Saber said. "You have fought admirably. Now is the time to take your rest."
He took a shaky breath, a bloody tear trailing down the side of his face. "They took it away from me," Lancer said. "My dream. The only wish I held in my heart. I only wanted to serve honorably..."
"And you have," Saber said. He coughed again, a trickle of blood dripping down the side of his mouth.
"Thank you, Saber," Lancer said. "Your words give me great comfort. I am glad to share my last moments with you."
Her grip on his hand tightened.
"The honor was always mine," Saber said, softly. Lancer coughed and smiled, closing his eyes.
Irisviel clutched her hand to her chest. She looked at Saber and Lancer, then back at Kiritsugu; she looked at Kayneth and Sola-Ui lying dead on the ground.
"I announce," Irisviel said, and Kiritsugu and Saber looked up. A thin line of mana swirled around Lancer's body, blue light rising, licking the air like flames. "Let thy body rest under my dominion, and let my fate rest in thy blade..."
Kiritsugu started. "Iri, what are you-"
"I am that person who is to become the virtue of all Heaven," Irisviel said. "I am that person who is covered with the evil of all Hades. Thou seven heavens, clad in a trinity of words, come past thy restraining rings and be thou the hands that protect the balance."
A gust of wind, a growing light. Avalon rising, healing him.
"I'm sorry, my love," Irisviel said, and the command spells burned into the dorsum of her hand.
.
.
end.