Fate/stay night scenarios

Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel are the three branching storylines found within the "TYPE-MOON" visual novel Fate/stay night. The decisions of the player during the game determine which of the three scenarios will be played out.

The plot of the Fate/stay night anime television series is an amalgamation of the three storylines and is discussed at the end of the page.

Fate

Shiro Emiya is attacked by Lancer in school after he witnesses Lancer and Archer (whose master is Rin Tohsaka) fight. Lancer attacks Shiro because it is the rule of the holy grail war that there should be no witnesses. Shiro, on the verge of death is revived by Rin who uses her strongest jewel( a momento given to her by her father) . Rin leaves before Shiro wakes up.Shiro reaches home and dicovers Lancer is there to kill him. Lancer discovers that Shiro has some magic in him and he could have been the 7th master.In the meantime Rin realizes that Lancer might have attacked Shiro since he was not killed.She and Archer rush to Shiro's home to save him.However Shiro has summoned Saber (although its an incomplete summoning) who quickly drives Lancer away. She then goes on to attack Archer and Rin who are outside Shiro's house. Archer is badly wounded from Saber's attack. It seems he could not defend against Saber( however Rin later thinks that he knows Saber from the past). Saber then starts to attack Rin however Shiro stillconfused about what is happening stops Saber before she kills Rin. Rin offers to take Shiro tothe church where he can learn about the holy grail war as he has saved her life. While returning they are attacked by Ilyasviel von Einzbern and her servant Beserker. Saber is wounded however Shiro saves her by taking a fatal blow from Beserker. Ilya then leaves. Shiro wakes up to find himself healed and Rin in his house who took care of him when he was wounded.
Shirō and Rin agree to an alliance in order to protect themselves from Berserker, an immediate threat to their lives. The reasoning behind this alliance is simple - each of their servants are operating at a sub-optimal capacity; as part of an incomplete summon, Saber cannot use her full power; likewise, Archer is still recovering from the wounds he received while clashing with Saber. During the course of this alliance, they discover a spell has been placed on the school, one that will drain the life force of anyone within the range of the spell.

While out investigating the spell and gathering information on other Masters and Servants, Shirō discovers that his old friend, Shinji Matō, is the master of Rider. Shinji's ancestors were sorcerers, and, despite the power of their bloodline having weakened over the ages, Shinji is still capable of summoning Rider. Shinji states that he has no desire to fight Shirō, and instead gives him the information that another Servant is residing in the Ryūdō Temple.

Although Shirō doesn't feel it necessary to fight the Servant at Ryūdō Temple, Saber disagrees and disobeys him, rushing out to confront the other Servant. At the front of the temple, she encounters the Servant Assassin and the two engage in combat. However, as both begin to execute their special attacks, Shirō arrives, preventing them from fighting any further. This conclusion is preferable to Assassin, who mentions that he sensed a third enemy hiding behind the nearby bushes, waiting to see Saber's Noble Phantasm, which would reveal not only her identity but also her weaknesses.

Soon, Shirō discovers, much to his dismay, that the Master who planted the life-draining spell at the school was Shinji. This revelation is enough to force a confrontation between the two. By this time, Shirō has begun to excel at enhancement magic and melee fighting, a fact which quickly becomes apparent, as Shinji's spells prove useless against his foe. However, as Shirō prepares to deliver the finishing blow, Rider intervenes by shoving Shirō out a nearby window. While falling, Shirō uses a command spell to summon Saber, who rescues him. Saber then goes after Rider, who is attempting to use her Noble Phantasm to retreat. After a chase, the two clash atop a skyscraper. Rider attacks Saber with her mount, Pegasus, forcing Saber to reveal her own Noble Phantasm, "Excalibur". With "Excalibur" revealed, Saber makes short work of Rider, defeating her with one blow.

After this event, Shirō begins having visions each morning; the first is of Saber in her past role as Arturia, a lonely monarch who devoted herself solely to fighting for her country. The second vision is of himself, being saved by his adoptive father Kiritsugu Emiya, in a fire. Shirō's memories of his father makes him determined to become a hero, someone who can save people just as his father did; thus, he finds that he and Saber have more in common than he thought.

A short time later, Shirou encounters Illyasviel von Einzbern, another master, and attempts to befriend her. Instead, he is kidnapped and taken to her castle; fortunately for Shirō, Saber, Rin, and Archer quickly come to his rescue. During the rescue, Berserker and Ilya confront them; Archer opts to fight the pair in order to allow the others to escape. Meanwhile, the trio manage to make it to a rundown shack, where (at Rin's urging) Shirō and Saber had sexual intercourse in order to replenish Saber's low mana. Rejuvenated somewhat, Saber then confronts and attacks Berserker on a more equal footing; despite this, she is not able to inflict much damage upon him. However, while Saber distracts him, Rin attacks Berserker with a surprise attack which decapitates him. Surprisingly, Berserker regenerates. It is then revealed that Berserker's own body is his Noble Phantasm, "God Hand", which grants him near-immortality and the capability to rise from death up to 11 times. Unfortunately for Berserker, it is at this time that Shirō's true magic skills awaken, allowing him to trace a copy of the "Caliburn", Saber's original sword from her past, the use of which ultimately leads to Berserker's demise. With Berserker gone, Ilya is now out of the War; feeling somewhat responsible, Shirō decides to let her stay at his home.

Soon afterward, the Emiya residence is attacked by Caster. Both Shirō and Saber go outside to fight her, but Caster is killed by someone wearing golden armor before a battle can begin. Saber identifies the killer as an Archer-class Servant. She remembers him as an individual from the previous Grail War, which was ended before its completion because the Holy Grail had been destroyed. Shirō learns that Saber was a combatant in the previous war as well; furthermore, she had been the Servant of his adoptive father and had, under his father's orders, destroyed the Grail. It is also revealed that she became a Servant shortly before her death and that her greatest desire remains to return to her life and relive it. These revelations bother Shirō, as he doesn't like the idea of her dying and redoing her life.

Shirō decides to ask Kirei Kotomine, the priest in charge of the Grail War, if a way exists to allow Saber a normal life. Kotomine explains that there is no such way, and sarcastically implies that not even the "mighty" Grail could do such a thing, depicting it as less than omnipotent, as the stories state. Dejected by this information, Shirō decides to take Saber out on a date in order to try to cheer her up. During the date, however, the two are attacked by the Archer in golden armor. Saber and Shirō soon find out he is the legendary Gilgamesh, the "king of heroes." Shirō shields Saber from Gilgamesh's initial attack, barely surviving the blow. After escaping, the desperate Saber and Shirō head to Kotomine's church to ask for advice, only to discover Kotomine's betrayal; despite his supposedly "neutral" status as the Judge of the War, he is the Master of both Lancer "and" Gilgamesh. In the resulting battle, however, Lancer opts to aid Shirō and Saber in escaping, resulting in his death by Gilgamesh's hands.

After this event, Kotomine decides to go into action; he kidnaps Ilya, initiating a final confrontation. Shirō and his allies discover that Ilya was kidnapped because she is the vessel of the Grail - the embodiment of its power. Soon, Rin is heavily wounded by Kotomine, rendering her unable to fight alongside Saber and Shirō. Shirō decides to return "Avalon", Saber's final Noble Phantasm, which had been inside of Shirō's body up to this point, to Saber. After this, Saber confronts Gilgamesh, while Kotomine and Shirō face off. Both Shirō and Saber use "Avalon" simultaneously, nullifying their enemies' attacks, and then proceed to defeat them. With no opposition remaining, the pair destroy the contents of the Grail, ensuring the evil within it will never be used again.

As a result, Saber vanishes to her original time. She returns as Arturia, and accepts her past without the wish to change it. At the end of this route, she weakly smiles and tells Sir Bedivere (who is attending her), "I think I will sleep much longer this time...."

Unlimited Blade Works

Shortly after repelling Lancer, Saber prepared to attack Archer that approaches. However, Shiro used his Command Spell to negate that action and ended up conversing with Rin. However, no alliance was made at that time. After introducing Shiro to the Holy Grail War rules from Kirei, on the way home, Ilyasviel von Einzbern attacked them with her Servant Berserker. Unlike in the Fate route, Archer briefly participated in the battle and his help proved to be vital in driving Berserker away. In the next day, Shiro went to school with Saber, introducing her to Taiga and Sakura.

In the next day, when all other students and teachers left the school, Rin started her assault towards Shiro, relentlessly pursuing her with intent to kill him unless he surrendered Saber's Command Spell. Her act was interrupted in the last moments when Rider suddenly appeared and attacked one stray student. Shiro and Rin promptly teamed up to drive Rider away, though Shiro caught a small glimpse on Shinji.

Shiro and Rin then set up a truce and began searching for the possible candidate of Rider's master. In the night, however, Shiro was taken by magic to the Ryūdō Temple, by Caster, who wished to take away his Command Spell. Archer interrupted and saved Shiro while Saber confronted Assassin. It is at this moment that Shiro started to get even more irritated by Archer, who has since looked down on his ideals.

In the next day, in every morning, Shiro would receive dreams about a hero who was betrayed by his ideals. Rin apologized to Shiro about Archer's actions. During a strategic planning, Rider activated Blood Fort Andromeda. However, when Shiro and Rin approached her, she was already killed. In horror, Shinji ran off to the Kotomine Church, whereupon Kirei granted him Gilgamesh in place of Rider. In the meantime, Archer and Saber debate on how Rider was killed, the first claimed she was a weakling, while Saber claimed she died in honor protecting her Master, once again creating a rift between Archer and the rest.

With Rider's death, Shiro suspects that there is another Master from the school other than Shinji. At first, he suspected his friend Issei. However, it turned out that the Master is the teacher Soichiro Kuzuki, Master of Caster. When Shiro and Rin attacked them in an ambush, Kuzuki surprised them with his innate fighting abilities that was able to cripple Saber, enhanced with Caster's enchantment spells. In order to be able to discuss about strategies more often, Rin opted to stay at Shiro's house.

In the next day, Rin took Shiro to a date, taking Saber along. But when they got home, they found Caster holding Taiga Fujimura hostage. When Shiro tried to follow her demand, Caster released Taiga and struck Saber with the Rule Breaker, transferring Shiro's Command Spells to her. On Saber's urging, Shiro and Rin left. With his Command Spells gone, Rin declared that she will fight Kuzuki and Caster only with Archer. However, Shiro insisted that he has to help and followed them, despite Rin's rejects. In the meantime, Saber was tortured with a spell from Caster, one that could make her completely submit to her. However, Saber's magic resistance proved to be an obstacle for Caster's spell.

Shiro followed and witnessed Rin confronting Kuzuki and Caster in the Kotomine Church, their new base of operation. To her shock, Archer suddenly betrayed Rin and attacked her. Shiro saved her, and although she was reluctant, she eventually thanked him and accepted his help again. With Archer gone, both decided to inquire the help of Ilya and Berserker. Unfortunately, they arrived too late as Shinji and Gilgamesh were there first. Gilgamesh made a short work on Berserker, and ripped Ilya's heart. Both of them went away, leaving Shiro and Rin in despair that their only hope left was crushed, until Lancer suddenly emerged and offered his help, which they agreed.

They went back to the Kotomine Church and Lancer fought against Archer, in which Archer later admits defeat and retreated back to the interior of the church. Meanwhile, Shiro and Rin teamed up against Kuzuki and Caster, in which it ended with quite a stalemate. Caster tried to turn the table and use the spell to completely dominate Saber and use her against Shiro and Rin. Before she could do that, Archer arrived and attacked Kuzuki, in which Caster protected him and was slain. Archer later proceeded to slay Kuzuki afterwards. In the wake of this, Rin made a new contract with Saber, thereby making her Saber's master. In return, however, Archer kidnapped Rin and took her hostage to the Einzbern Castle.In which Shinji attempted to violate Rin.

In the next day, Shiro, Saber and Lancer heads off to the Einzbern Castle, whereupon Archer reveals that he is the future Shiro Emiya, the hero who is betrayed by the ideals he fought for, and now he sought to create a time paradox by killing his past self, also in an act of mercy so Shiro does not need to see his ideals betray him and crush him like how it crushed Archer. While Shiro fought, Lancer goes to rescue Rin. Kirei suddenly appears and ordered Lancer to kill her. However, Lancer demanded that Kirei use his Command Spell for such order, and Kirei did so, ordering Lancer to kill himself. Rin was about to submit to her fate as Kirei approached to kill her, when suddenly Lancer stabbed Kirei from the back using Gae Bolg. When Shinji thought he's free to do whatever he likes to Rin, Lancer got up one more time and scared him away. After setting Rin free, Lancer activates his Ansuz Rune, burning the room as he perishes.

In the meantime, Shiro fought off with Archer, finally convincing Archer that he did not take the wrong path, as he has no regrets about his decision, no matter how it would bite him later. With that, Archer is defeated. Gilgamesh soon after appeared, but he retreated with the arrival of Rin and when the fire caused by Lancer caught up to the whole castle, crumbling it. Gilgamesh caught up with Shinji and plugged Ilya's heart to him, making him the incarnation of the Holy Grail.

Shiro, Rin and Saber caught up to Gilgamesh's new hideout, Ryūdō Temple. Rin tried to pull Shinji out of the Holy Grail's embodiment, while Shiro fought against Gilgamesh, and Saber was blocked by Assassin. Shiro was able to take out Gilgamesh by using his own version of Unlimited Blade Works. However, Gilgamesh came one last time to drag Shiro to Hell with him. Fortunately, Archer, who also appeared to help Rin in the same time, helped Shiro. Rin bid her Servant good bye, as Archer told her to take care of his young self, finally showing a genuine smile that Shiro also possessed.

It is noted that in this route, Shiro and Rin developed feelings to each other, and this route displays Rin's Tsundere qualities more openly.

Resolutions:Two endings are available for this scenario.

*The "Good" ending depicts an epilogue in which Rin keeps Saber as her Servant, and the group all live normal, happy lives.
*The "True" ending shows Rin heading off to the Mage Association after her schooling ends, with Shirō joining her as her apprentice. In the True Ending, Saber used Excalibur to vanquish the Holy Grail, and vanishes as a result, but she departed in a good note.

Heaven's Feel

A completely new character, Zōken Matō, appears in this scenario. Initially uninterested in the Grail War, he summons the servant True Assassin upon seeing Rider's loss to Saber. He directs a mysterious shadowy entity after summoning True Assassin. During this time, Saber defeats Caster while the shadow assists True Assassin in defeating Lancer, and soon after, Saber herself.

Upon Saber's loss, Shirō continues to fight in the War, determined to stop the killing. He decides to join forces with Rin, but, much to his surprise, discovers that Rider has allied herself with him. She has survived because her true Master, Sakura Matō, still lives. Unfortunately, Sakura's life is in danger, as a parasite exists within her, spreading pain throughout her nervous system like a circuit; if this parasite is left unchecked, Sakura will die. In order to assure her survival, Sakura is forced to draw the life out of others. Rin is determined to save Sakura before she becomes a mass murderer, and intends to kill her. This decision is motivated by the revelation that Sakura is Rin's sister. In addition, Shirō is forced to make a critical decision - fight for justice, which would end in Sakura's death, or save someone dear to him. He sharply disagrees with Rin, and decides to save Sakura's life.

Shirō and Rin decide to ask Ilya to see if she can help fight Zōken. Upon arriving at Ilya's castle, they find Berserker on the losing side of a battle against True Assassin, the shadow, and Saber, who has been corrupted by the shadow. Unable to defeat his opponents, Berserker is quickly devoured by the shadow, who then turns its attention to the three Masters and Archer. Archer becomes critically wounded protecting Rin; Shirō manages to save Ilya, but does so at the cost of losing his left arm. The three are ultimately rescued by the timely intervention of Rider.

When Shirō returns to consciousness, he finds that Archer's arm has been grafted to his body; the Servant gave his arm to him before he had died. Since Shirō has abandoned his ideals in "Heaven's Feel", Archer decided to help him instead of kill him. Thus, he protected Shirō and donated his arm, which Shirō is able to use because Archer and Shirō are the same person. Meanwhile, having lost their Servants, Rin and Ilya move in with Shirō. The three concoct a plan to trace the "Jeweled Sword Zelretch", but doing so causes increasingly extreme pain for Shirō, to the point that Ilya warns him that continual usage of Archer's arm will ultimately kill him.

It is soon revealed that the murderous shadow is none other than Sakura herself, who has been completely consumed by the parasite. Gilgamesh confronts Sakura and impales her body with countless Noble Phantasms from his "Gate of Babylon". However, with her new powers, Sakura regenerates at an alarmingly fast rate and kills Gilgamesh. Shirō confronts Zōken, discovering that he had implanted the Vessel of the Holy Grail from the previous war into Sakura as a worm, and that her current form is the result of this. Worse, she is out of control, and killing Zouken will solve nothing, as the shadow cannot be killed and will continue to feed upon people, Servants, and Masters. The only way to stop the shadow is to kill its host, Sakura. Upon hearing this, Shirō is again forced to consider his choice, feeling that if he continues to choose to save Sakura, he will betray the sense of justice that he has always believed in.

Meanwhile, Sakura, unwilling to see Shirō in so much pain, confronts her grandfather, Zōken, herself. Unfortunately, she has completely given in to her dark side when she killed her brother Shinji as he tried to rape her like before. This made her realize nothing can stop her. Instead of dealing with Zōken, she decides to kidnap Ilya in order to complete the Holy Grail.

With Kotomine's help, Shirō heads off to save Ilya, taking on Dark Berserker, while Kotomine fights True Assassin. Kotomine stalemates Assassin and is able to defeat Zōken by purifying his soul; however, Kotomine becomes mortally wounded by Sakura, and dies shortly after rescuing Ilya. Shirō is able to release the power within his grafted arm to defeat Dark Berserker nine times by imaging Berserker's special technique: "Nine Lives: The Shooting Hundred Heads", but doing so causes intense damage to his own body, which slowly begins to kill him.

Upon her rescue, Ilya informs them of what is transpiring: since the third war, the contents of the Grail have been tainted by Angra Mainyu, and the completion of the Grail will cause immense, world-wide pain and suffering. Upon this revelation, it is decided Sakura must be killed before the Grail is completed. Shirō remains set on saving her, and Rider, upon hearing this, offers her services. In the interim, Sakura has turned on and killed True Assassin and destroyed Zōken's mother worm inside of her body.

The final confrontation occurs in a cave beneath Ryūdō Temple; this site was the place where the original ritual of the Holy Grail took place. Together, Shirō and Rider defeat Dark Saber, while Rin uses the Zelretch to fight Sakura. Rider was able to fully nullify Saber's Noble Phantasm with the help of Shirō imaging the shield of Rho Aias. This gave Shirō a chance to remove Saber from her misery. Shirō is initially hesitant to land the killing blow, but he pulls down the dagger onto Saber's heart. Shirō's path is decided, he will kill to save the one he loves. Rin continues to fight Sakura, but at the last second decides to not kill her and instead suffers a near-fatal blow. Sakura, realizing that she is still loved and thus seeing the mistakes she has made, surrenders. Shirō, barely alive at this point, joins them and uses his diminishing power to trace the "Rule Breaker" in order to separate Sakura and Angra Mainyu. During this, the Grail becomes complete, forming the Grand Holy Grail, which is on the verge of releasing Angra Mainyu. Shirō moves to destroy it, but the corpse of Kotomine intervenes. The two fight, hand to hand, ending with Kotomine defeated and Shirō on the verge of death. Shirō, knowing he is about to die, begins to trace Excalibur in order to destroy the Grail once and for all.

Resolutions:"Heaven's Feel" has two endings.

*The "Normal" version depicts an epilogue with Shirō sacrificing himself so that he can destroy the Grand Holy Grail. Sakura vows to wait for him to return, because they promised to view cherry blossoms in the spring. However, years pass while Sakura ages and waits faithfully for his return. In the end, it becomes clear that Shirō never returns.

*The "True" ending depicts an epilogue where Ilya sacrifices herself, the embodiment of the Holy Grail, in order to save Shirō and close the gate. Shirō is able to get a new body from a puppet master (this is a reference to Aozaki Tōko in TYPE-MOON's earlier work Kara no Kyoukai, and later has importance to Battle Moon Wars, in which Rin and the others go to Misaki City to search for the puppet master.) and live a normal life with Sakura and Rider. Rin becomes a sorcerer at the Association.

*There is also a "simple" ending that occurs when Shirō is unable to form a pact with Rider. In the "simple" ending, Shirō unleashes the true power of Kanshō and Bakuya and wins the one-to-one duel with Dark Saber, but this causes him to have a mental breakdown.

Last Episode

The last episode can be acquired through earning all of the Tiger Stamps throughout the whole game. This can only be achieved by completing all three scenarios

The last episode starts with a grassy field in where Shirou (most likely deceased) finds himself in what seemed to be Avalon. As he is wondering where he had landed, he was soon greeted by Saber who takes him onto the heavenly field of Avalon. The two are assumed to have taken the rest of eternity with each other. The symbolism of the last episode is very open as it was brief and had no back story to it. Though generally believed to be the ending of the Fate scenario, it can also act as the true ending for any scenario as Saber returns in all scenarios. It is only available in Realta-Nua.

Reception

To the Japanese public, Fate/Stay Night was hugely appraised as the "best visual novel ever made". Fate/Stay Night ranked second in 2007 for most copies sold. The endings for the scenarios were also appraised, though Heaven's Feel was ranked lowest while the Fate scenario was marked as the "true" and most liked ending.

Anime plotline

The plot of "Fate/stay night" anime television series has generally followed the "Fate" storyline, with some minor variations due to amalgamating parts of the "Unlimited Blade Works" and "Heaven's Feel" scenarios. The series has been divided into arcs based on the various enemies seen at different points in the story.

Also, while the Fate/stay night PC game has hentai scenes, the anime does not. The anime has some sexually suggestive scenes, but nothing as explicit as the hentai scenes in the PC game.

Introduction

(eps. 1-6)

These episodes introduce the story, world, and characters of "Fate/stay night". Most of the major Masters and Servants are introduced, although a few appear later. Shirō Emiya and his servant Saber are introduced as the main characters, with Rin Tohsaka and her servant Archer as important supporting characters. Also introduced are Ilya von Einzbern, Sakura Matō, Lancer, Kirei Kotomine, and Taiga Fujimura. Taiga and Sakura visit Shirō's home nearly daily to make food for Shirō. When Saber makes her appearance, Shirō pretends that Saber is a distant relative of his, much to the dismay of Taiga.

Rider Arc

(eps. 7 - 12)

The servant Rider is introduced in this arc as the primary villain, along with her master, Shinji Matō, Sakura's brother. Caster and Assassin also briefly appear, but do not play an important role until a later arc. The final battle with Rider closely follows the one seen in the "Fate" scenario. Rider, who uses her powerful Noble Phantasm to summon Pegasus, puts Saber at a severe disadvantage. The battle ends with Saber using her own Noble Phantasm, "Excalibur", which soundly defeats Rider but drains her mana to the point of endangering her life. Shinji attempts to escape, but is killed by Ilya and Berserker, who were observing the battle and felt he was unworthy to continue living. Meanwhile, Sakura witnesses a bright flash of light from the end of the battle, implying she has sensed the death of Rider (her servant, according to "Heaven's Feel").

Saber's use of her Noble Phantasm causes Shirō to see Saber's past as Arturia through his dreams; he learns of the difficult decisions she made as King of Britain. Meanwhile, her failing health forces Shirō to consider the possibility of her disappearance; eventually, he turns to Rin for help, since he is unwilling to sacrifice human souls to replenish Saber's mana as Rider and Shinji were doing. However, he is stopped from taking any further action by Ilya's sudden appearance and her capture of Shirō by paralyzing him with a spell.

Berserker Arc

(eps. 13 - 16)

Shirō has been kidnapped by Illyasviel von Einzbern and taken back to her manor; she intends to use him as bait so that she can destroy Rin and Saber. Shirō, attempting to use his newly developing imaging powers, tries to escape while Rin, Saber, and a contemptuous Archer stage a rescue attempt. They reunite with Shirō and try to escape. Ilya's servant, Berserker, appears to stop them. Archer stays behind to fight him, giving the others time to escape. In the ensuing battle Archer uses his Reality Marble, "Unlimited Blade Works", and heavily damages Berserker, killing him five times; this is not enough to defeat Berserker, as he possesses the ability to revive himself twelve times. As Archer fades away, he refers to Illyasviel as "Ilya", a name used only by her close friends; all that remains of the Servant after he fades away is the red jewel pendant Rin once used to save Shirō. It should also be noted that Archer did indeed have the opportunity to kill Ilya, as he threw his blade to smash a light though it missed Ilya by only a foot. This shows that he cares about Ilya still, like Shirō, and would rather die than kill her. These facts imply Archer's identity as the future Shirō, as stated in "Unlimited Blade Works".

Shirō, Rin, and Saber escape through the forest and rest in a small hut that Archer had found earlier. Rin reveals that Shirō's magical circuit must be sacrificed in order to restore Saber's mana. Saber refuses, but Shirō does not care. Rin prepares the ritual by kissing Saber and Shirō, and then has the duo lie together in bed, Shirō kneeling over Saber. Shirō finds himself plunging into Saber's consciousness, where he encounters a giant dragon, which seemingly represents Saber's inner self. The dragon ruthlessly tears off Shirō's arm, and as the blood pours out, Shirō's circuit pours out as well. The procedure puts them both to sleep, and Shirō and Saber wake up embarrassed as Shirou's arm is over Saber. Saber now not only has her mana restored, but has gained an ability to regenerate it. The three then formulate a battle plan against Ilya and Berserker. Rin proposes that she uses her jewels as an ultimate attack on Berserker, taking him out and then going for Ilya afterwards.

Saber and Berserker face off while Rin hides and waits for the right moment. Shirō, because of his desire to help Saber, tries to help her by using his tracing ability to create a bow and arrow, but finds it does little damage. When Rin finally finds an opening, she attacks with her jewels and manages to kill him once. However, Shirō, Saber, and Rin had not known of Berserker's Noble Phantasm, "God Hand", which allows him to regenerate his body eleven times, thus granting him an effective twelve lives. After previously being defeated five times by Archer, and another one time by Rin blowing away his head, Berserker would still need to be struck down a total of seven more times. Rin, caught in Berserker's grasp, is about to be crushed to death.

Out of desperation, Saber attempts to use her own Noble Phantasm, "Excalibur". Shirō stops her with one of his command spells, knowing that it would not help in this situation and would only drain her. Shirō focuses on the picture of a sword in his mind and images "Caliburn", which he uses to slice off Berserker's arm and save Rin. However, in doing this, the imaged "Caliburn" is shattered. Shirō images a stronger "Caliburn" and wields it alongside Saber. Together, they manage to deal a blow to Berserker that is so powerful that it kills him seven times, thus depleting the rest of his lives. Berserker regains his sanity and reveals that he is only an illusion of his former self. He fades away and Ilya is defeated.

Note: It is Shirō's intention to image a sword "supreme" to Berserker. Though he succeeds in creating such a sword, he is unable to use it until Saber adds her strength to his, because he lacks fighting skill at this time. The first imaged sword moved automatically with its own will, but the second sword was created completely and the sword had no will of its own. As this sword was "supreme" to Berserker, an alternate possibility for Berserker's defeat with one blow is that the power to do so came not from Shirō and Saber together, but rather from the sword itself. In the PC game, it is stated that the strike from "Caliburn" killed Berserker seven times, which is two more times than what was needed.

Caster Arc

(eps. 17 - 19)

After returning home, Shirō makes the decision to take Ilya in rather than eliminate her as she expects him to. Rin tricks Sakura and Taiga (again) by claiming Ilya is her cousin from overseas and they allow her to stay in the house without question. Meanwhile, Caster has decided that it is time to make her move.

After a series of strange incidents in town, Shirō, Saber, and Rin find themselves fighting one of the teachers from school, Sōichirō Kuzuki, who happened to be a former professional assassin before becoming a teacher. As Rin tries to launch a surprise attack on Kuzuki, Caster intervenes. Even though he's fighting for Caster, rather than the other way around (he states that he does not care about the Holy Grail), Caster acts as his Servant. Caster stops the battle and offers Shirō, Rin, and Saber a chance at the Holy Grail, in return for sacrificing Rin as part of the ritual to complete the Grail. After they reject Caster's offer, Caster and Kuzuki disappear, saying that there was another magician strong enough to be used. Shirō orders Saber to protect Ilya, whom everyone believes to be Caster's target.

Saber arrives at the Emiya house, only to find that Ilya is not the target, but Sakura. Sakura, under Caster's control, stabs Saber with Caster's Noble Phantasm, "Rule Breaker". Due to this, Saber is rendered unable to use "Excalibur". Shirō and Rin arrive as Caster takes Sakura away, intending to sacrifice the girl to summon the Holy Grail. Shirō, Saber, and Rin go to the Ryūdō Temple to rescue Sakura. Shirō fights Kuzuki and Saber takes on Assassin, while Rin goes to free Sakura from Caster. Using Sakura's suppressed memories (which heavily imply Sakura and Rin are sisters, as revealed in "Heaven's Feel") to manipulate her, Caster has Sakura use her formerly dormant powers to fight Rin. Rin is stabbed, but manages to destroy Sakura's magic circuit in order to prevent Caster from draining the rest of Sakura's magic. Caster finds that it is only a minor setback; Rin's magic circuit will do since Sakura's has been destroyed - had Rin not been so tomboyish, Caster would have chosen her in the first place.

Saber defeats Assassin, but Rin and Shirō are at the mercy of Caster and Kuzuki. Suddenly, a golden Servant appears and fatally injures Caster and Kuzuki. Shirō, Rin, and Saber escape with Sakura.

Gilgamesh Arc

(eps. 19 - 21)

The golden Servant, because he is the eighth Servant to appear, is quickly deduced to be a Servant who remained behind from the previous Grail War. He and Saber happen to be mutual acquaintances; the golden Servant is revealed to be Gilgamesh, who had wished to marry Saber.

Shirō, who finds that he is in love with Saber, tries to convince her to give up her wish to obtain the Holy Grail, but she adamantly refuses. He does manage to take her out on a date, which ends sourly when they start arguing over their goals. Shirō admits his love to Saber and wants her to forget trying to relive her past, but Saber refuses. Eventually, Shirō gets frustrated and goes home. However, by evening, Saber fails to come home. Shirō becomes worried and goes into the city to look for her. Shirō finds her and they reconcile, only to be interrupted by a jealous Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh easily outclasses both Master and Servant and leaves them both injured. Through Shirō's sheer determination and love for Saber, he manages to image a sword scabbard for Saber's sword. Saber immediately recognizes the scabbard. She rushes to Shirō's side, and they put Saber's Excalibur into the sheath, just as Gilgamesh launches a powerful energy attack on them. The combined Excalibur and sheath reflect Gilgamesh's attack back at him. Gilgamesh is injured by his own attack and flees. Saber realizes that Shirō is the vessel of "Avalon", her sheath and the most powerful Noble Phantasm.

After experiencing another one of Saber's past memories where she has just killed a young man who resembles her and dies calling Saber "Father," (who is actually Mordred, a clone of Arturia in Fate/Stay Night storyline) Shirō tries to dissuade Saber from her wish again, but is met with another refusal. She is determined to fulfill her responsibility and refuses to stay with him unless she can achieve this. As she cries, he kisses her. The next day, Shirō goes to the church to meet with Kirei Kotomine again, but instead finds himself at the receiving end of Lancer's weapon.

Through investigation, Rin reveals to Saber that Lancer's Master is dead and that someone stole her command seal. The fact that Lancer is still involved means that the person who stole the command seal is acting as Lancer's new master. Saber, from Rin, discovers that Shirō is at Kotomine's church and goes after him. She finds him injured in the church's basement along with Lancer attempting to stop her.

Kotomine Arc

(eps. 21 - 24)

Kotomine reveals himself to be the one who stole the servant's command seal from Lancer's master, as well as the master of Gilgamesh. He offers Shirō and Saber the Holy Grail, in return for their succumbing to their wishes. Shirō refuses it, though it would prevent the massive fire of his youth that killed his family, as it would not change who he was and cheapen what everyone went through. Saber, on hearing this, realizes the error of her wish and decides that all she wants is Shirō. Disgusted with their reactions, Kotomine reveals the Holy Grail is actually a corrupt weapon that only grants wishes through destruction (based on the "Heaven's Feel" scenario). He orders his Servants to kill Shirō and Saber. Lancer, at the last moment, defies Kotomine and steps between Gilgamesh and the duo. He has chosen to fight for his own beliefs now and urges the pair to make their escape.

Lancer is quickly killed by Gilgamesh. As they flee, Saber reveals to Shirō that he carries "Avalon", the sheath of "Excalibur", within him. When they arrive home, they find a badly injured Rin, who had been attacked by Kotomine. She apologizes for being unable to protect Ilya, who has been taken by Kotomine, and for not realizing that Kotomine was the seventh Master. She gives Shirō some final pieces of advice: Kotomine intends to use Ilya as the vessel of the Holy Grail; he has likely gone to the Ryūdō Temple, where the Holy Grail was first summoned; and, most importantly, Shirō is no match for Kotomine. Seeing that Shirō intends to fight Kotomine all the same, Rin gives him her "Azoth", a dagger she received when she became a mage, and instructs him on how to use it. She had known that she would not win the war and hid the weapon until the end for Shirō to use; soon after, Rin falls asleep from exhaustion.

Saber reluctantly asks to remove "Avalon" from Shirō, but is hesitant, as, even with the sheath, she may not be able to defeat Gilgamesh and Shirō will lose his healing ability. Shirō tells her to remove it anyway, saying that people should die when killed and that he has become too dependent on it. At Ryūdō Temple, Shirō leaves Saber to fight Gilgamesh while he goes after Kotomine, both knowing that as long as either the Servant or Master is defeated, neither will be able to obtain the Grail.

He finds Ilya, set up to become a vessel for the Grail, and Kotomine below her, surrounded by an overflowing black sludge that represents the cursed power of the Holy Grail itself. The summoning system created by the Einzberns has made the Holy Grail very difficult to summon and the complete Grail has never been seen, due to either failed summons or the Grail's destruction, like Kiritsugu Emiya had done in the previous war. Kotomine believes that summoning the Grail to bring disaster is the true desire of humanity itself, and that the destruction resulting from this is a beautiful expression of this desire. Kotomine attacks Shirō using the sludge, reveals his hatred of Kiritsugu and the fact that he killed the latter, and calls for Angra Mainyu to destroy Shirō as the sludge surrounds him.

Gilgamesh gains the upper hand in his fight with Saber, revealing that he has no wish for the Grail and only desires Saber. Saber refuses to give up and is able to fight him on an even level with "Excalibur" until Gilgamesh unleashes his "Enûma Elish". He tries to tempt her with the Grail's cursed power to become the same as him and enjoy a second life, this time married to him. Gilgamesh acknowledges their differing ideologies, especially considering that Gilgamesh destroyed his country while Saber's country destroyed her. Gilgamesh picks Saber up by her right leg, and she angrily retaliates by delivering a kick to his face; enraged, he decides to stop holding back. He fires his "Enûma Elish" as Saber uses "Excalibur" again, and a bright light surrounds both of them. Saber is overpowered, but fights back against "Enûma Elish" using "Avalon", along with "Excalibur" and defeats Gilgamesh before he can unleash "Enûma Elish" again.

At the same time, Shirō breaks free of the sludge by tracing Avalon and stabs Kotomine with "Azoth", killing him. Kotomine recalls how he had ironically given Rin "Azoth" all those years ago as he dies. Shirō saves Ilya and Saber arrives and is prepared to destroy the Holy Grail. After some deliberation, he orders Saber to carry out her final duty using his last command seal - to destroy the Grail once again. With the Grail destroyed, Saber disappears with the sunrise on her back and returns to her own time. Before she disappears, Saber confesses her love for Shirō.

Conclusion

Life goes on. Ilya stays with the Emiya household. Rin and Sakura have recovered and returned to their daily lives. Shirō also knows that life goes on, but he'll cherish the time he spent with Saber, even if they become distant memories as he gets older. He continues to view the world optimistically.

Meanwhile, Saber has returned to her past, as Arturia. She is brought to the time shortly after she has been mortally wounded from battling Mordred. Found sitting against the foot of a tree by Sir Bedivere, Arturia tells Bedivere about a wonderful dream she has had. Bedivere tells Arturia to rest while he sends for reinforcements to save Arturia. However, Arturia tells Bedivere to give Excalibur back to Vivian in the lake. In the following scenes, Bedivere is shown riding his horse to the lake and giving Excalibur back to Vivian, while leaves fall in the forest. Arturia is shown slowly falling asleep, but she no longer regrets the life she has chosen and is thankful for the memories she had with Shirō. Bedivere completes his task and returns to Arturia, who reveals her sleep will be a little long. As Arturia closes her eyes, Bedivere says the final line of the show, "Do you behold... King Arthur... the continuation to your dream?"

External links

* [http://www.staynight.com Official Website for the "Fate/stay night" Anime Series]
* [http://www.typemoon.com TYPE-MOON's Official Homepage for the "Fate/stay night" Game]
* [http://www.interq.or.jp/hot/mu-mu/Fate.htm "Fate/stay night" Walkthrough]
* [http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~typemoon/index.htm The Moonlit World]