[X] Simply stand aside, providing Prana for Saber.
-[X] Prepare Rho Aias, just in case.
Saber and Mordred charged at each other, clashing blades. Excalibur and Clarent locked into each other, and Mordred moved to stab Clarent into Saber's stomach.
Her attempt was stopped by Saber unleashing Invisible Air. At such a close range, Mordred was sent flying back, and Saber charged after her, aiming to stab through Mordred's armour as she fell.
Mordred dodged the blow by using Prana Burst to increase her altitude, before flipping over Saber, landing behind her. The Knight of Betrayal continued to move for a moment, letting the distance between herself and her 'Father' grow, before turning around and throwing Clarent.
Saber easily parried the blade, but Mordred came charging right after it, not giving Saber enough time to block. The petite warrior ducked, barely avoiding Caliburn's edge, before using a Prana Burst infused kick to knock Mordred away.
A few metres away, Shirou watched the battle, conserving his Prana, in order to properly provide upkeep for Saber. Of course, that was not to say that he was not idle- He was prepared to trace Rho Aias at a moment's notice. On top of that, he was attempting to dismiss his Projected Caliburn, though something seemed to stop him.
Was it Mordred's similarity to Saber, allowing her to use Prana to keep the Traced blade in existence? Or was Angra Mainyu interfering with his spell?
Either way, Shirou kept on it. If it was draining Mordred's Prana, then she would be forced to use quite a bit to maintain it, while he dismissed it.
Saber and Mordred's clash continued, as the two natural foes fought each other once more. The last time they had fought, at Camlann, both had been exhausted from fighting an army before getting to each other, and the battle had ended in a mutual kill.
Here, the two were in peak condition. Though there were other differences in the battle. Saber had wielded her spear at Camlann, in addition to Excalibur, and Mordred had only one weapon at the time, not the two that she switched between whenever she could, keeping Saber on her toes.
Saber sheathed Excalibur in Invisible Air once again, as Mordred threw Caliburn into the air, pulling Clarent out of the ground as she did so.
Two simultaneous Prana Burst's sounded out, and the two were once more clashing blades. Clarent and Excalibur clashed, and for a moment, Excalibur overpowered the other blade. But of course, that was obvious- Saber had focused her Prana Burst on the blade, while Mordred's had been reinforcing her the fist that struck into her father's side a moment later.
Saber winced in pain. A momentary distraction, short enough that even the quickest of humans wouldn't have noticed, and even most Servants would have trouble taking advantage of it. But Mordred had already begun to take advantage of it before it had appeared, her Instinct informing her that Saber wouldn't be able to defend from the next strike.
Spinning around, Mordred lifted a leg, unleashing another Prana Burst. The strike hit Saber in the head, and sent her flying.
The entire clash, from when Mordred had thrown Caliburn into the air, to when she had kicked her, had lasted less then a second. The ground beneath them was once large crater, with slightly smaller crater's inside and around it. Calibutn had yet to fall.
Mordred's next move should have been to charge after the King of Knights, and attack her before she was able to stand. And yet, the Knight of Betrayal hesitated. For a moment, she held a hand on her side, before lifting it away.
Even from where he stood, Shirou could see blood.
It took him a second to realize what had happened. When they had clashed, Saber's sword had overpowered Clarent. Obviously, while Mordred's fist was busy introducing itself to Saber's spleen, Excalibur had managed to cut into her side.
Saber landed from the blow Mordred dealt to her, and was already starting to stand. Growling, Mordred leapt back, catching Caliburn as it fell. Due to how it had fallen, she was forced to catch it by the blade, and a precious second was spent switching hands, while allowing Clarent to fall to the side. Enough that Saber was able to stand fully, and begin to charge back into combat.
For the briefest second, Caliburn glew gold. Then, Shirou finally overcame the magic maintaining the blade, and it faded away, even as Mordred swung it down.
Mordred's empty hand swung right in front of Saber, and the Knight of Betrayal realized too late that Saber hadn't been struck.
For a second that seemed to last forever, Excalibur touched Mordred's armour, beginning to pierce it.
But then, as the blade began to penetrate flesh, Mordred leapt to the side, her movement boosted with Prana Burst. A second Prana Burst was focused on her hand, punching Excalibur away, even as her dodge lead to it cutting her stomach open. A third Prana Burst kicked Clarent away from Saber, and another two were used to dodge around, and catch the blade.
Mordred stood in place for a moment, as the use of so much Prana so quickly took it's toll. Already, she was running low, while Saber still had plenty left. With that manoeuvre, even if the battle wasn't over, Mordred had lost.
And then the air bled red, and both Shirou and Saber realized what stance Mordred was in.
"Clarent..." Invoked Mordred. Saber prepared her own blade, unleashing Invisible Air to get some dodging distance, as well as preparing the use of Excalibur.
"Blood..." Continued Mordred, and as Shirou watched, she turned, changing target from Saber to him.
Raising in hand, Shirou began his own incantation. "Rho..."
"
ARTHUR!" Declared Mordred, swinging down her blade. A bolt of crimson lightening tore through the air, flying towards Shirou. Saber screamed his name, but Shirou tuned her out, tuned it all out, as he Traced his most powerful defensive Noble Phantasm.
"Aias!" He finished, and the multi-layered shield formed before him.
All Shirou saw was the colour red. The red that bled into the sky when Mordred prepared her Noble Phantasm, the red of the attack itself, and the red of Rho Aias, all of it consumed his view.
And as he watched, two of the seven layers broke in an instant. A moment later, a third crumbled away.
Then, as the fourth began to crack, the red faded.
Shirou panted for a moment, before quickly using Structural Analysis to detect what injuries he had taken when Rho Aias began to crack.
...Oh, it wasn't much. He'd just broken a few bones in his arm.
He looked up, and saw a cloud of dust concealing where Mordred had been.
He looked to the side, and saw Saber, looking worried.
He looked back to the dust cloud, and saw it begin to fade.
In the centre, having consumed all of her Prana, stood the younger Mordred. The child form.
The battle was over. Mordred may still be angry, but she could be reasoned with now. Maybe.
Shirou looked over at Saber, and the two nodded at each other. And then...
[X] Shirou went to comfort Mordred.
-[X] "...Okay, that was pretty stupid of me."
-[X] "Wanna see a magic trick? Again?"
-[X] Write-in.
[X] Saber went to comfort Mordred.
-[X] Shirou stayed where he was, watching.
-[X] Shirou called Illya, to tell her that the incident had been resolved.
-[X] Shirou went to go get ice cream for Mordred.
[X] Write-in.
