Blades struck one another and sparked high above Fuyuki City as two combatants clashed among the skyscrapers, leaping from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of one another. A woman in blue and silver swung an invisible blade, parrying the paired attacks of Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe and answering in kind when the knight in green and black made his own offensive.

Waver tightly gripped the railing surrounding the rooftop upon which he stood a distance away; just a spectator. What else could he be? Someone as weak as him held no right or ability to stand with Lancer. A simple, foolish, self-centered and arrogant child was nothing but a hindrance to him. That was right...because now, in the brief glimpses the magus caught as Lancer began to gain the upper hand by inches, his Servant held an expression of carefree excitement as he clashed against Saber and her unseen weapon.

Waver had given him only one order when they left the home he had selfishly commandeered for himself. As he had felt a Command Spell burn off and seen Lancer's astonishment lit in the brief scarlet glow, the magus knew that was the only way. This whole endeavor, this Holy Grail War...it was <i>wrong.</i> So many people had died, from civilian to masters to Servants, and for what? One wish? One single miracle was meant to be worth so many lives? It was only now that Waver refused to accept it, and with it refused to accept Lancer's devotion. Who was Waver Velvet that any knight or hero should defer to him? No one.

Lancer...Diarmuid, this entire time had more at stake than Waver had ever known. For the magus, entry into this war had been a childish shout for attention; a desperate plea of <i>respect me</i> when he knew now he had done nothing truly worth respect. Yet for the knight that now fought wholeheartedly before him, entering this was his only chance to gain some measure of peace--to redeem honor he refused to accept as anything but tarnished.

Enough was enough. Waver was not, could <i>never</i> be the lord or Master to absolve the knight of Fianna of all he felt he'd done wrong. All he would order of his Servant was simple.

<i>Pursue only that which you yourself desire.</i>

Neither of them desired a wish from the Grail. But after all that had happened and how Diarmuid had risked his life to protect Waver's own...if he were to get nothing of it but a worthless Master, that wouldn't be even. To one who dealt in equivalent exchange, that was simply incorrect.

'I don't care what it is,' he'd told the knight once his command had been issued. 'But don't spare a thought for my opinion about what you want. There has to be something, so please...before this ends, just <i>once</i>, do one single thing for yourself.'

And what he had wanted was this; a fight against a worthy adversary that they had found in the Saber-class Servant with an unknown Master. A reckless decision had been made, and yet Waver couldn't object even if he wanted to. Diarmuid had earned a wish of his own, and Waver couldn't bring himself to justify any more of it. One way or another, this war had to end before it took all of Fuyuki with it.

Gae Buidhe struck like golden lightning, tearing through blue and white fabric and cutting a deep gash in Saber's left leg and bringing the woman to one knee. The motion snapped Waver out of his thoughts; if they could beat Saber, said to be the strongest class...was it really hopeless? Could they win the war outright and stop any further catastrophe? Lancer had changed his stance, Gae Dearg pointed forward as he prepared to cut through Saber's armor for a killing strike. But in that moment, something changed. A great wind rose up and rushed outward from Saber's invisible Noble Phantasm, forcing Lancer back and even threatening to put Waver off balance at his vantage point. A brilliant light began to emanate from the now-visible golden sword, and in a second Waver realized Saber had been forced into a corner.

Not everyone was like them. The others all had wishes and dreams that rode on them winning the Holy Grail. And they would surely throw caution to the wind and lay all their cards upon the table rather than fall without having those dreams realized.

"Ex-..."

Saber's voice rang out, the light from her sword becoming a beautiful and terrible beacon against the night sky. Even from her kneeling position, the knight raised the blade above her head and prepared to unleash what was sure to be her Noble Phantasm. In response Lancer moved as fast as Waver had ever seen him move, thrusting the crimson lance forward and--

"...-<i>CALIBUR!</i>"

The light burned to even look at, illuminating the are as though afternoon light had momentarily broken all at once. Waver raised an arm to shade his eyes and stumbled back, aware of a searing pain in the back of his right hand...then the wave of light ebbed and silence fell. Lowering his arm, Waver was confronted with a sight he didn't immediately comprehend.

Standing--<i>standing!</i>--atop a skyscraper some hundred feet away from him was Saber, golden sword in hand very much visible. Her leg had been made unusable by Gae Buidhe's unhealing wound, so if that was no longer a factor, then the spear must have been broken. Lancer was down to one Noble Phant-...

"Lancer?" Waver looked around quickly before his gaze fell to the back of his right hand where that pain had been only seconds ago; his Command Spells had turned to faded scarlet remnants of the vivid pattern they had been. Waver Velvet's right as a Master had faded and his Servant was gone.

As he slowly began to comprehend the fact, Waver lowered his shaking hand and looked back to Saber. Green eyes were now locked on him, cool and distant. Was she evaluating him as a threat? Masters without a Servant were essentially helpless, an easy target killed to ensure they didn't contract another. Was he...going to die? They stood for what felt like days on end, staring at each other as Waver knew there would be no point in running even if he did have anywhere left to go. Rather than set that blade--Excalibur--on him, the woman in blue and silver turned away and sprang off the building with an inhuman leap in the other direction.

It was over. Waver stepped back tot he railing and looked around, still failing to fully comprehend matters.

"...Lancer?" he called out again, voice shaking as badly as his hands. "L--Diarmuid...damn it, answer me." His words fell flat on the cold night air, and Waver's trembling legs gave out beneath him. It was his fault. He'd been a pale excuse for a Master, and this was the result. Diarmuid had been kind to him--no one else ever, <i>ever</i> listened when Waver spoke. No one bothered to acknowledge him, or praise the few times he got something right, or even attempt to reassure him when things became too much to bear. Now...now there was no one left who thought Waver was anything more than worthless, and it was all because of the magus' own weakness.

Grinding his teeth together and pulling his knees to his chest, Waver gave out a desperate cry that ended in choked, shaking sobs.

"<i>LANCER--!</i>"

There was no way to tell how long Waver stayed there, lost in thoughts of self-loathing and despair. What was certain was that he was still atop that building to witness something terrible and unholy erupt from Fuyuki's city hall, bringing with it fire and destruction that tore through the city itself; with it, the idea that perhaps this had all been worthless and their struggles for nothing planted itself within Waver's mind, and did not leave for many years afterwards.