Archer smiled, feeling the last of his energies dissipate.

The first rays of the sun climbed over the edge of the horizon just in time to catch his former Master's tears as they fell, sparkling and glittering through the air, like liquid diamonds. With that, he was gone.

He hoped that this last moment had been enough. Enough to assuage Rin of her worries and sympathy towards him. Both of him: the no-good bastard who would betray and deceive her for his own selfish ends, and towards that man who hopefully never grew up to become him.

Emiya laughed, despite his incorporeal state.

Who was he kidding?

There was no doubt that Rin would succeed. She would make Emiya Shirou the happiest man on Earth, straightening him out without fail.

Not exactly how I had imagined preventing my own "existence" from being realized, but I'll take it.

Even if it would change nothing for him.

Heroic Spirit Emiya—No, Guardian Emiya, stripped of name and self—existed outside of time and space, in the Throne of Heroes. There was no way for that fact to be undone, he had known that. This had all been nothing more than a pipe dream by a man who could no longer keep going.

But.

I'll do my best, Tohsaka. After all—

He relaxed and let himself fall. Fall down, back into nothingness. That last smile she gave him imprinted into his mind as he filled his spirit with determination to never give up again.

—I have found my Answer.

—

He opened his eyes, realizing he was lying down on his back.

Emiya had returned to this place, Unlimited Blade Works, the reflection of his soul within the Throne of Heroes. The burning sky above; the thick smoke in the air; the sparks and rust flaking off the giant cogwheels in the heavens above; the cracked and barren earth beneath his back. Not even a hint of that ray of clear skies he had glimpsed while battling himself.

Nothing had changed, yet everything was different.

But for how long? Soon enough, he would be deployed once again, called forth to cull the very same people he only wanted to save. How long could his newfound faith withstand those faces? How long could his rekindled fire for saving survive when doused in the endless blood of those he would be forced to cut down?

He wished to offer a hand. To bring hope and salvation.

But those hands could only cut down those who had been pushed aside, those who had already been deemed lost causes, the collateral damage in the pursuit of Humanity's un-inconvenienced continuation.

Such was the lot of a Guardian.

It couldn't be helped. Perhaps he would once again fall into despair and forget this spark faith he had re-discovered. Perhaps. But until then, he would hold on to this singular feeling and soldier on.

He sat up.

"Hyaah—!"
"Kyaa~!"

Emiya blinked. The two, who had suddenly screamed out in surprise, blinked. They had been looking at him, but had been so surprised by his sudden movement in sitting up that they had fallen onto their butts.

"Eh...?" Emiya blinked again, nonplussed. "Who..."

"Umm... That is..."
"That is... Umm..."

The two stuttered, looking at each other as they struggled for words. They shrunk beneath his gaze, already much smaller than him despite their sitting positions.

Two girls; identical twins. One had hair the color of the purest white, the other had hair the color of the blackest night but for a single red fringe visible running through it. Short bob cuts, with long bangs and a small fringe hiding one of their eyes. The left eye peering up at him for the girl in black, and the right eye for the girl in white.

They wore identical robes that came just above knee. Archaic eastern clothes of black and white which Emiya had never before seen in his life, but still felt somehow familiar. They looked like ceremonial robes of some kind.

They couldn't have reached higher than his elbow, were they all standing up. Slight things—petite and svelte, like only young girls could look—looking so small and light that he could probably pick them up with one hand.

"Erhm...?" Emiya made an incomprehensible sound as he stared at the two, still seated on his legs and fidgeting beneath his gaze.

This was Unlimited Blade Works.

There shouldn't be anyone here. It was his world alone. His rusted kingdom of regrets. More to the point, he was a Heroic Spirit. In the Throne of Heroes. No one and nothing should be able to appear here.

"I... We—"
"We... I—"

The two tried to speak again, managing for a third time to interrupt each other and devolve into confused looks at each other. One and other tried to politely offer "you first", "no, you go ahead" for the second time as they whispered at each other.

They joined hands, nodding at each other before they inched a bit closer to Emiya again. He still sat on the cracked earth, blinking in utter confusion at the pair before him.

"Umm... umm...! I am Bakuya!" The girl in white said, gripping her tiny fists in determination as she looked Emiya in the eye. She looked like a determined tomboy, forging on ahead without hesitation despite her fears.

"Ah, umm... K-Kanshou." The girl in black said, hesitating for a moment and flinching the moment her eyes met with Emiya's. She made a sound of panic, turning her head away. Poking her index fingers together in a nervous gesture, she continued to studiously avoiding looking at Emiya.

"...Kanshou and Bakuya...?" Emiya blinked, taking in their words with a frown. No, that wasn't possible. What a ludicrous dream, to meet a pair of twins who bore the same names as his favored swords.

Emiya shook his head.

"What are children doing..." Emiya hesitated, not sure how to formulate the rest of his sentence. 'Here?', 'In my Reality Marble?', 'In the Throne of Heroes?'.

"Nn, like I said, I'm Bakuya! Don't you recognize me, Master?" The tomboy asked, jumping closer as her small fist balled up grabbing at the hem of his crimson shroud.

"...What?"

"Bakuya, Master!" The girl crawled right up to him, grabbing his right hand with both of her own, holding his fingers tightly as she peered up at him. "Don't you remember me? What we've been through, Master?"

"No, I mean, I do. But..."

He hesitated, still reeling at the sheer bizarreness of this event.

Hearing his words, the white-haired girl's expression lit up at his words and she jumped forward to wrap her arms around his neck. "Master!"

Slightly jostled by the surprise jumping hug, Emiya blinked. He was completely lost, looking awkwardly at the black-haired girl who seemed to still be hesitating at his feet. No, rather than say hesitating, it seemed she was trying to work up her courage.

"M-Master!" Her weak voice held nothing to the sheer energy that... that Bakuya's voice held, barely a third in volume of the white girl's shout. "I-I, I'm not a girl! Kanshou is a boy!"

"...What?" Emiya said in a flat voice. Bakuya let go of his neck as she sat down on his lap, looking bewildered at his reaction.

"Master? Are you alright? Do you have a fever?" The white-haired girl placed a hand on his forehead, trying to measure his temperature. She closed her eyes, frowning as she concentrated. It did not seem to work, as after a second she opened her eyes and lowered her hand. She moved up to place her own forehead against his, to compare directly.

"Okay, that's enough of that..." Emiya said, grabbing her under her armpits with both hands. She blinked owlishly at him as he effortlessly lifted her, standing up and setting her down onto her feet. He cleared his throat, more in an effort to buy himself a few seconds to collect himself than due to anything other.

The two gir—the twins, one boy and one girl, peered up at him as he looked down at them.

"Kanshou and Bakuya... Okay, I get it." he said, nodding at the two in turn, their expressions lighting up at his acknowledgment. They both launched at him, wrapping their arms around his waist gleefully.

"Master!"
"Master!"

Emiya raised his hands, looking down helplessly at the pair now squeezing him with all that they had, happily laughing as they held onto him.

"Eh...?"

He was so completely and utterly lost that there was no limit to confusion right now.

"Now, now. Give Father some space, let him get his bearings." A new voice spoke up behind him, joining the conversation. Emiya hastily turned his head around to look at the newcomer. Who had managed to sneak up on him inside his own damn world? Again?

There stood a tall statuesque woman.

Wide of hips and with considerable breasts, though neither of obscene proportions. Rather, there was an elegant ratio to her body which made it all fall into balance, the curves just right for his sense of aesthetics, the halves matching. Now, if only she wasn't wearing little more than a string bikini. The black metal pieces did little to cover her body, merely placed in strategic locations to cover that absolute necessity and nothing more.

Her unnaturally dark skin glistening with a light layer of perspiration, an ebony of such rich darkness that he had never seen its like before. Her every breath was a work of sheer eroticism.

"Urk?!" Emiya wheeled around, taking a step back in his surprise. The twins, holding onto him swung in the air around him as they held on.

Bakuya made a whooping sound, as if on a joyride, while Kanshou closed he—his eyes while holding onto Emiya's waist tighter.

"Who...?" Emiya stuttered, looking at the new arrival. His eyes were drawn to the flawless cacao-dark skin, bare for all to see. To the long dark hair that ran all the way to the back of her knees, like a waterfall of silk. As he tore his eyes away from her body and up to her face, he was enraptured by the sultry smile she wore as she sashayed up to him with slow, measured steps.

"Oh my, Father...? Have you forgotten who I am, as well?" She mock-pouted, looking up at him with large, up-turned doe eyes. "I understand, of course. I'm sad to say I have no name as you've never seen fit to bestow me with one, see?"

Emiya blinked, almost taking another step back but calming himself as he frowned.

That bikini—no, those armor pieces that barely covered her nether regions and her breasts... Those wore modified versions of the handguard he had on his great black longbow! And that string! It was his bow string! He'd recognize those from anywhere!

"My bow...?" He muttered, looking down at her body as she stood still.

"Pin, pon! Correct! As expected of Father. Mmm... But that's fine. I don't need a name." Her smile turned into something even sultrier, as her eyes turned heedy. She stared up at him with half-lidded dark eyes,. "All... I... Need..."

"Is..." She emphasized each word with a slow motion of her body, as she twirled on her bare feet towards him. One, two, three pirouettes she spun around gracefully on her bare toes. Resting her back against his chest, she came to a halt. She leaned against him, resting her head onto his shoulder as she looked up at him.

"For... Father's..."She purred out the words, the sound barely above a whisper, a sound only for him and her, for no one else in the world. He breathed in, shuddering as he inhaled the scent of her hair. Taking in the sensations of her warm body, leaning into him as her hot breath tickled his face.

"Tough... Rough..." She grabbed one of his hands, lightly guiding it to her hips and placing it there without hesitation. Her skin felt smooth under his fingers. His left hand coming naturally to rest at the swell of her hips as she shuddered at the contact, almost moaning.

"Large... Hands..."

Her every word was a sin, his mind growing intoxicated as she continued to drown herself in his eyes with her own.

"On.. Me..." Her back arched, as she used her hand on his on her hips to push her forwards as she leaned into him. "Mmm... Father, pull my hair. Please. I need you..."

"I..." Emiya swallowed.

"Grab my hair and pull, make my back bend and push me down with your entire body! Father...!" She shuddered again, as if her entire body had been jolted with electricity. A hot breath came out of her mouth, as she gyrated her hips against his hand.

"Pull me, until I can't take it anymore, make me as tight as I can be and then... Let me loose, loosen me so hard that I go limp under you... Father...!"

"I... I..." Emiya's mind was white, his body burning up as her every touch was fire under his skin. He swallowed again, blinking once as he exhaled. His breath came out so hot it almost steamed, the scalding heat only making the woman leaning against him shudder again.

"H-how inappropriate! T-too lewd!" A new voice shouted, again.

Emiya snapped out of his trance, blinking. A fourth?

"What the hell is going on...?" He shook his head, ignoring the woman still rubbing herself against him as he looked to the side.

His breath hitched.

"Sa—ber?"

The blonde girl blinked. She was wearing riding clothes, durable pants with high boots and a simple long-sleeved tunic. Her golden hair held up in a bun and with blue eyes, like sapphires, staring back at him.

He shook his head. No, that was wrong. Artoria had green eyes.

But this person was a mirror image of a young Artoria. Of the girl he had once, long ago seen in her dreams. The name came to him immediately.

"Caliburn."

"Oh... Umm..." The young girl seemed taken aback at being recognized instantly, but also exceedingly pleased. She blinked and then shook her head vigorously. She pointed at him with an accusative finger. "That's not the point! Stop that, right now! It's dis-dis-disgraceful!"

No, not at him. At his... Bow.

Emiya coughed. Swallowing to calm himself again as he looked down at the woman leaning against him. But she merely pouted at him, urging him to ignore everyone else with her deep pools of chocolate staring right up at him.

"Not while there are children present." Emiya said, placatingly, as he nodded at Kanshou and Bakuya who still hung at his waist and were utterly confused as to what was going on.

Bow sighed, disentangling herself from him, with obvious and great reluctance.

"Well, if we must. But as soon as the child is gone let us continue, Father." she replied, looking sideways at Caliburn before placing a single finger onto his chest with a smile full of promise.

Emiya had to swallow again.

"H-how improper!" Caliburn exclaimed, bristling at being singled out.

"Ara ara, it's natural for a man and a woman to do such things. Caliburn-chan must still be too young to have experienced the natural relationship between a man and woman." Another woman, maturer and fuller of figure appeared.

She appeared quite similar Caliburn, discounting the age difference. But there were notable differences nonetheless. Her platinum blonde hair, almost silver, for one was completely different. For another her attire, while nowhere near as revealing as Bow's, was far more feminine than the simple riding outfit Caliburn wore.

"My old Master used to be a real beast when it came to his lust, but oh my, oh my. That was such a long time ago. My new Master has already made me completely forget about that musclehead." The woman purred, her soft voice capturing the attention of everyone present with ease.

Emiya blinked, once again utterly confused as he stared at the new arrival. Just when he thought he had a handle on the situation, more appeared to unbalance him.

"Erm... Caladbolg...?" He realized, dreading the answer.

The older woman smiled at him, saying nothing as a light blush rose to her cheeks. "Indeed, Master. I can never forget how you twisted me so. How your hot hands so roughly treated me and made me your own without a care for my weak protests. Your fire filled me, changing me from the inside out as you did with me as you pleased. I may be an older lady already, but you've certainly made me feel wanted again, after such a long time. Ufufu..."

The woman raised a hand to her face in a demure gesture to hide her blushing face as she turned to look away. Emiya blinked, his mouth agape. He licked his lips, having no idea what to say or where to start with his retort to her words.

"Oh my, I may have said a little much. Forgive me, won't you... Master?" She smiled at him teasingly as only an experienced woman could, leaving Emiya's mind completely blank as he nodded.

What.

"Umm..." Another new voice.

This time Emiya had noticed the new arrival before they could surprise him. Kanshou and Bakuya were still holding onto him, while Bow continued to hover next to him while staring at him. It was with such intensity that Emiya didn't know what to do but completely and utterly ignore her, hoping that she would not jump him.

"My old master, he was a good man... But he was so rough... that... He broke me... and he..." She sobbed once, her eyes watering as her gaze went to the ground. "And he...he threw me away... Uwaaahh—" The newest addition to the discussion was an adult woman, with dark brown hair and reddish eyes that teared up as she began to sob.

She wearing a strange leather outfit. A bondage outfit. With spikes. Emiya blinked. Hrunting. It had to be.

"There, there, child. You may have been roughly treated and remembered as a failure of a sword..." Caladbolg walked up to the brown-haired woman, placing a comforting hand around her shoulders as she spoke softly. "But Master knows your worth, doesn't he? You're in good hands now."

The sobbing slowly stopped as she sniffled once, twice. She looked up, with round eyes at Emiya whose mind completely blanked for a second.

But he got himself under control. That look, she was looking for reassurance from him.

"Yeah. Hrunting, you have never failed me. Please continue to faithfully answer my call."

She sniffled again, but she was smiling at him through the tears which remained on her face. "Mm, p-please... please take care of me. You can break me as many times as you want, Master." She hiccuped as she wiped away her tears. "As long as you never abandon me, I will always come for you."

She smiled at him, a luminescent blush on her face.

Literally, her blush was so strong that it shone just like the red hunting hound as it was loosed into the night skies as an arrow.

"Yeah." Emiya simply said, taking it all in.

He shook his head, smiling without realizing it as he palmed his face, his shoulders slumping as he tried to sort this situation out in his head.

"Umm! Bakuya, too!"
"K-Kanshou won't fail, either!"

The two at his waist re-assured him, looking up at him with large and hopeful eyes. He smiled at them, acknowledging their words and they beamed up at him.

"Mm... Well, I have always and shall always continue to do as Father wishes. That has never and will never change." Bow smiled at him, though the undercurrent of eroticism from before hadn't dissipated in the least from how she behaved. He raised an eyebrow at her, making her smile back more widely.

"Though you may not rely on me anymore, Shirou..." Caliburn spoke, making Emiya flinch at the name. But Caliburn forged onward, placing a hand at her chest as if she were a knight making a vow. "I shall always remain by your side, should you ever need me. Though you have strayed from the just path at times, your spirit has never been sullied."

Emiya blinked, his eyes watering for some reason. His words got caught in his throat as he tried to say something.

Maybe it was the fact that she looked liked Saber. Perhaps it was the Grail War and the lessons he had learned and the memories he had reacquired. Maybe he had simply wanted for someone to acknowledge him and his pain. He didn't know, but those words he received from her were heavy as they settled into his chest.

Caliburn merely smiled at him warmly and acknowledged his feelings with a nod.

"Ara ara. I am yours." Caladbolg said simply with a twinkle in her eye, showing the elegance of a mature woman who knew when nothing more was needed.

Emiya laughed.

Though he still didn't fully understand what was going on, he accepted their words and felt something inside of him loosen. He felt better. Not so utterly alone as before, perhaps.

—DOOOONGGG—

A great sound echoed throughout his world, as if a gong the size of an ocean had been rung. The sound reached every corner of this place and reverberated through his bones. He sighed, adopting a serious mien as he looked up into the sky.

There, just below the clouds and the cogs, hung that great shining orb again. Alaya, as he had first seen it when he had made his contract with the World. The rings that spiraled around it, the overwhelming power it exuded and the great presence that could not be denied.

Emiya knew it was time to go again.

For that was the call of the Deterrent Force bidding him to go forth and once again destroy humanity to protect humanity. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. He was being deployed again into hell. He feared that whatever this change was, that it would disappear when he returned. Perhaps this was a mere fever dream of some sort.

But he would not forget. He would hold onto these feelings, however long he could.

Emiya looked up, dismissing his red shroud with an effort of will. He did not want to stain those with such a worthless cause such as this. The white cloak settled onto his shoulders as a full quiver settled onto his hip.

His working clothes. Gear he did not mind sullying with his worthless self.

The women—and boy—around him looked at him with concern, but he smiled at them. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry for leaving before we could really talk, but... Thank you, everyone."

Their shoulders sagged as the mood plummeted at his words. But they understood.

"Bow, may I trouble you..."

"Of course, Father." She was utterly serious as she took his extended left hand. All the playfulness of before was gone, as she accepted the seriousness of the situation. "I will always be there for you."

He nodded, accepting those words.

Emiya felt himself dissipating once again. He would walk again into hell, to kill and exterminate. Such was his fate, now.

He closed his eyes, accepting the deployment, when—

—PINGGG!—

The entirety of Unlimited Blade Works echoed and shook, as if a great force had been struck back. Emiya blinked, realizing the deployment had been canceled somehow.

"What—" He stopped, staring at the thing before him.

A young girl, wearing a sleeveless blue summer dress that matched her royal blue hair, hovered in the air with arms outstretched and her back to Emiya. As if standing to protect him from something, she stood steadfast. Unyielding.

—PINGGG!—

It repeated, and she huffed as she repulsed it again with ease. The distant force—Alaya, probably—seemed confused, backing off silently.

The tiny girl who was barely to Emiya's waist, wearing nothing on her feet and with sun-kissed skin, turned around with a wide grin to everyone. She had golden glowing eyes and a happy-go-lucky spirit that would not be defeated by anything in the world.

"A... Avalon?" Emiya stuttered, blinking at his tiny protector.

She puffed up, placing her hands on her hips as she looked proud at her accomplishment just now.

"No bully!"

Everyone blinked at that.

In the not-quite-distance but outside of everyone's true perception beyond this world, Alaya blinked as its facet was denied. A Guardian was being held back and there was nothing it could do. Where the hell had that pipsqueak come from?

It tried again and was repulsed just as easily a third time.

—PINGGG!—

…

Fine, you win.

Alaya sulked away, leaving nothing behind of its presence.

Down below, Emiya blinked in total and complete confusion as he lowered his gaze from the sky.

"What just happened?"

"No bully!" Avalon repeated, crossing her arms with conviction.

—

Appearance List:

Kanshou & Bakuya: Male and Female twins, look very much alike. Trap and tomboy respectively, running off of the theme with the Yang blade being the unusual black and the Yin blade being the unusual white.

Bow: Looks like somewhat like Scheherazade(FGO Caster from One Thousand and One Nights), but with darker skin and longer hair and wearing just an armor bikini. Papacon and pervert.

Caliburn: Saber Lily with blue eyes, wearing the clothes Saber had when she drew Caliburn. Upright and proper.

Caladbolg: MILF, looks like Akiko Minase but with platinum blonde hair. (Look up "Akiko-san to Issho" for my mental image. Warning, vanilla hentai.)

Hrunting: Dark brown hair, slightly spiky. Red eyes, glow when excited. Wearing a spiky bondage gear, based on Hrunting's unnecessary spikyness overall. Masochist.

Avalon: Google "tan Cirno", without the wings and with golden eyes. Color set from Avalon's golden and blue. Slightly tanned from always being under the sun. Fairy of Protect Oniisan.