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"Hey, Isaac?"
 Author
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Pennsylvania. It's sort of like a real state.
Age: 39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RadiantBeam
So, after playing up to a certain section of HF last night (and after reading this piece I think you'll all know which section I refer to), I sat down and typed up this short bit mainly by emotion. I admit it's pretty much my own wish for how things had gone instead of what really happened. 
Spoiler for A Change in Fate:
It hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt.
It was Saber’s only conscious thought as she struggled with the shadow at her feet. Assassin had disappeared, no doubt to heed the call of his Master; there was no need for him to stay and watch when he knew without a doubt that his prey was helplessly ensnared in his trap. Nothing was left but for Saber to die quietly, having used the last of her magical energy to fight off the hand that would have claimed her heart.
It’s painful.
It’s painful.
Why is it so painful?
But she was still alive, if a small thread of weak awareness could count as living. The shadow was certainly slow, she thought dully. Was it a living thing as well? Did it take pleasure out of her exhaustion, her weakness, her pain? Was in enjoying the fact that she had no way of fighting back, and as a result taking its time in finishing her off?
She still had enough awareness in her to know Assassin was gone. No doubt he had been called by his Master and saw no reason to stay when the end was inevitable.
Die.
Die.
I’m going to die.
Saber wondered. She certainly hadn’t sensed Assassin’s presence until the very last moment; was his Master the same? If that was true, and Assassin’s Master was nearby—indeed, in the very same temple—then his objective seemed clear enough. It had been a trap; certainly, the only target left to finish off now was Shirou. Her own Master.
She knew he would be killed. Shirou was stubborn to a fault; even if she was lost to him, he would still fight to discover the shadow and why it did what it did, because that was simply who he was. So long as he saw a threat to the lives of others, he would do everything in his power to try and save them. Anyone who even had an inkling of the boy’s personality would know this.
And if Assassin’s Master was smart, he (or she) would kill Shirou while he was defenseless. In the long run, he or she would save themselves a lot of trouble.
The corruption reached its target and seized her heart. With a gasped exclamation of pain, Saber blacked out.
“Shi… rou…”
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“Saber-chan! I give! I give! Please stop!!”
Sighing, the blonde pulled back and lightly rested her shinai against her shoulder, watching as Fujimura Taiga—Fuji-nee, as she was more affectionately known to Shirou—collapsed into a crumbled heap on the floor of the dojo, panting and twitching. “I give,” the older woman whimpered again. “You win, Saber-chan.”
Saber shook her head. “For the record, I warned you.” It didn’t escape her notice that Taiga’s Japanese had changed; she had dropped the original, more formal ‘-san’ in favor of the more intimate, friendly ‘-chan’. Dismissing it, the blonde also sat down, folding her legs gracefully. “Would you like some water, Taiga?”
A weak hand waved back and forth. “Nah, just give me a minute. I haven’t sparred like that in ages.” Taiga laughed shakily. “Man, Saber-chan. You hide a lot of power in that tiny body.”
“I trained for many years to get this far.” The last part of Taiga’s sentence sank in, and Saber frowned. “And I’m not that tiny.”
Taiga laughed softly and closed her eyes; to herself, she admitted satisfaction. She had been wary of Saber at first, unable to truly judge her intentions, but sparring was as good a way as any to learn about someone. Saber was cool and calm under fire, methodical and sure of what she needed to do. A fitting personality, the English teacher mused, for someone so determined to protect Shirou.
“Ne, Saber-chan.”
Saber blinked and was immediately at attention. “Yes?”
“You be good to Shirou, you hear?” Getting some of her energy back, Taiga sat up and gently flicked the blonde on the nose. “He’s a stubborn fool who will insist otherwise, but he needs protection when he decides to play superhero. You said you’ll protect him, so I’m leaving him in your hands from now on, okay?” She grinned.
Saber blinked again, stunned into silence. This wasn’t a game. There was nothing but pure, honest trust in Taiga’s words. “Taiga…”
“Give it your best shot, okay? I’m really counting on you.”
The Heroic Spirit wavered only an instant before she smiled and nodded. “I shall. I can assure you, I will do the very best I can to keep Shirou safe.”
Chuckling, Taiga fell onto her back and closed her eyes.
“That’s all I ask for, Saber-chan.”
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“Give it your best shot, okay?”
Her eyes snapped open. The shadow was pulling her in; it would only take a few more seconds and she would be absorbed completely.
“I’m really counting on you.”
“Let me out.” It rumbled from her throat like a growl, and Saber felt her scant magical energy gathering within her, nothing but sheer willpower keeping her aware and willing to fight. She knew what she was about to do was suicidal.
She didn’t care. She had done crazier things when she had lived.
“I will do the very best I can to keep Shirou safe.”
“Let. Me. OUT!!”
The cry escaped her as a roar of fury and determination; the surge of magical power that coursed through her body was painful and nearly enough to make Saber black out as brilliant colors and bright flashes of white light blinded her. In her hand, her sword flashed gold, rays of light chasing away the darkness of the hallway.
Let me out. Let me out let me out let me out I promised let me out I don’t want to die like this let me out let me out she said protect him let me out let me out out let me I promised out out me let me out I can still save him let me out—
I promised.
Beneath her feet, the gathering shadow shrieked in agony at the attack of wind and light; even its wish to devour was unable to match her will. With the last of her strength and a burst of speed, Saber jumped away from the shadow, stumbled, lost her footing, and collapsed in the hallway, trembling and panting. Her sword clattered to the ground and skidded only a few inches beyond her fingertips.
The shadow didn’t pursue her. Instinctively, she knew; it was gone. With the last of her power, she had managed to escape and scare it off.
Her muscles trembled and she tried to rise; but she was too weak. She had done something nearly impossible, even for one of her class; it was only natural that she felt completely sapped of strength after accomplishing such a feat.
“I have… to…. Shirou…” The words escaped her softly, weakly, but she knew it was a lost cause as her vision once more began to dim. She would survive this, but she wouldn’t have the strength to save her Master. “Somebody…. Please….” And so, her last words were a request, a plea to anyone who was listening.
“Please…. Save…. My Master…”
She passed out. Bathed in moonlight, the Servant known as Saber finally lost consciousness, and slept. Her aching body would let her do nothing else.
Outside the temple, a shadow twitched, then leaped down from the trees and shot towards the main room where Shirou was. It was only by chance that she had heard the weak request; it was Saber’s luck that her Master’s orders perfectly matched that same request.
And deep within her heart, as she slept, the corruption of the shadow painlessly made its nest and began its work.
So, yeah, "Saber lives" situation here. I have to admit I don't know if she could have escaped the shadow even if she wanted to, but it was something I felt like writing.
I'm debating on doing further parts; mainly to show Shirou's reaction and possibly Sakura's. I can't see this being very long, considering that I haven't played far enough into HF to accurately retell the story from the "What if" of Saber surviving.
Spoiler for Author's Notes:
1. One of the small changes here being that Assassin leaves. If I remember right, I believe in the game he stays until the very last minute, but I'm not sure. I could see him leaving after Saber protects her heart; after all, by that point all of her mana would be spent, and thus she would have no way of escaping. Obviously, in this scenario, that would come back to bite him in the ass.
2. The flashback sequence with Taiga was partially inspired/based on a similar sequence in a side story of the manga, in which Taiga asked Saber to look after Shirou. Considering how seriously Saber takes her "protect Shirou" duties in Heaven's Feel, if Taiga requested it of her, I think it would only make her more determined.
3. Foreshadowing in the last few lines that even if Saber survived, she isn't out of the clear just yet. I think it's logical to assume that even if she had escaped the shadow, Saber would have still been even slightly corrupted; hence, the last few lines of this short.
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Spoilers for both the above story and HF, so...
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