Fate/ Stone Ocean: A JJBA Part VI x post-UBW x Fate/Strange Fake Crossover

Fate/ Stone Ocean: A Fate/stay night x JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Crossover

Prologue 1: Merlin


It was a beautiful day in the Garden of Avalon, with clear skies, lush green trees, verdant grassy fields, and a lake that positively gleamed in the sunlight, all clearly visible from his tower abode. It would have been quite the sight for Merlin, if he hadn't seen the same unchanging tableau for 1,500 years, ever since that cold woman trapped him here. At first, he was devastated/frustrated by his fate, for it barred him from helping his king in her time of need, and later, he grew to miss the more creature comforts the world had to offer, especially those of the fairer sex. However, his isolation wasn't absolute. Even though he was doomed to live until the end of the World, and he could never ascend to the Throne despite mankind's reverence towards his legend, he was able to see what was going on from his prison using his Clairvoyance, and once the internet came to be, he was able to covertly buy a computer and to convert his Tower abode into a Wi-Fi router. Furthermore, he had until recently the company of his faithful familiar Cath Palug, and at present, his protege had finally come to rest with him.


His main focus no matter when he checked on the World was always Artoria, his King and the girl he manifestly failed. He knew she had made a foolish contract with the World to keep fighting until she could get her hands on the Holy Grail to redo her rule, and he knew the mindset that led her to this path of suffering was one he was responsible for. In any case, he initially didn't watch the World often because he saw neither hide nor hair of her for many centuries, nor any object that might have the power she sought. However, he did still observe some interesting events during this long waiting period, including the failed reign of Richard the Lionheart and his desperate attempts to reclaim Artoria's legend. It was almost sad how much the fool strove to emulate his idol, even as he became the antithesis of everything his protege believed in, and that odd time-traveler who functioned as a twisted parody of himself was certainly of interest.


About 6 centuries later, he finally got a lead as to where Artoria could be summoned when he managed to observe three mage families, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Makiri, come together in the Far Eastern nation of Japan in an attempt to recreate the Third Magic, or Heaven's Feel, to punch a hole to the Root. While magi attempting and failing to reach the Root was nothing new for Merlin, the presence of a Holy Grail to collect the copies of Heroic Spirits summoned to the World caught his attention. Artoria would no doubt answer the call, willing to fight for her perceived chance of salvation, even if it was simply as the pawn of these ambitious and desperate magi. In any case, the first ritual quickly turned out to be a failure, since the magi didn't have any means to control the Heroic Spirits they summoned nor did they have enough energy to complete the Heaven's Feel, even though the foundation for the Greater Grail was created by the sacrifice of the Einzbern representative. Most importantly, Artoria was nowhere to be found among the participating Servants. The Second Ritual is where the ritual became a Holy Grail War, and the competing magi, or Masters, now had the means to control their Servants, Command Seals. Still, it failed as all the Masters killed each other, and once again, there was no Artoria.


Because there were 60 years between each of these rituals, Merlin couldn't hyper-focus on the Grail Wars, and he idly looked around the World, but especially Britain, for interesting people to watch. It was in one of these sweeps of the country after the Second Grail War that he found the boys who would be entangled in a fated conflict that would last to this day, Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando. The moment they came into contact, when Lord Joestar so kindly adopted the latter from the slums of London, Merlin could tell they were destined to fight. Jonathan to him was an embodiment of light itself, a peerlessly kind and considerate gentleman who could match any of the Knights of the Round Table, but he reminded Merlin of Galahad the most. Dio, on the other hand, had the makings of a dark messiah. He was smart, talented, and charming, gathering followers like flies, but underneath his facade of a dutiful adopted son was an oppressive darkness that scared even Merlin. With a Stone Mask also present in Joestar manor, things were destined to get ugly, and they most certainly did.


Merlin definitely had to admit to enjoying the drama between brothers like some sort of soap at first as Dio tried to undermine Jonathan's standing in the community and at home in order to become "number one", stealing his friends, killing his dog, and finally forcing him apart from his lady love. After an epic beating delivered by young Jonathan, which Merlin watched with glee, there was no action for 7 years, but afterwards, things got interesting. Dio, as he had half-expected, became a vampire with the power of the Mask, and Jonathan barely escaped with his life in a battle that left Merlin on the edge of his seat. Soon afterwards, he met a Hamon warrior Merlin had sent to Britain named William Antonio Zeppeli, who taught him the ancient art to defeat Dio and the mask. After a quest that was equal in danger to those of Artoria's knights, accompanied by a band of loyal comrades, Jonathan defeated Dio in a climactic battle on the parapet of a castle, and he was prepared to go on honeymoon with his now grown-up first love. Alas, Merlin could only sigh in resignation as the brave and pure hero was struck down by his still alive and disembodied adopted brother, but not before saving his new wife and a random baby and destroying the boat they were on, sinking Dio under the ocean by then. As it turned out, Erina Joestar was in fact pregnant at the time, and this only promised more adventures from that bloodline clearly marked out by fate.


Fast-forward to the Third Holy Grail War, there were some interesting twists to the whole ritual. First, the Church at this point had decided to step in, sending a young, impressionable priest by the name of Risei Kotomine, and as part of his job, the suspiciously aged Zolgen Makiri relinquished the unused Command Seals of the previous war. Next were the numerous cheats by Masters. An enterprising Finnish magi family somehow summoned two copies of the same Saber using their Sorcery Trait, and the Einzberns...in their desperation, they summoned what seemed more like a mass of curses than a Heroic Spirit. Despite its intimidating mien, the latter had no combat capabilities or Noble Phantasms of its own, so it was taken out of the equation relatively quickly, though Merlin had the sinking feeling that wasn't the end of it. The war went on with surprisingly brutal tactics, and once again, it failed to complete, as the vessel for the Lesser Grail, a cup, was destroyed before the energy of defeated Servants could be channeled into the Greater Grail, and once again, Artoria was nowhere to be found.


Less than a year afterwards, his two favorite tales of the modern era collided in a sense when young Kotomine went on a pilgrimage to Italy and by chance ran into Jonathan's grandson Joseph, who was fighting the ancient super vampires known only as the Pillar Men. Merlin watched this all with great interest, since the Pillar Men were ancient beings as old as the Age of the Gods and possibly older, and they were either feared or revered in the Moonlit World. Joseph was far less knightly than his grandfather, being a trickster and conman-type character, but at his heart, he retained his family's decency and sense of justice. Also, Merlin totally watched a certain Hamon master bathe quite intently, and that may have been the inspiration for years of fantasies, though that is irrelevant.


And then 50 years later, DIO finally returned from his 100-year slumber at the bottom of the ocean, and he sought to remake the World in his own image using the power of his Stand, aptly named The World. The Joestars, along with an oddly assorted group of Stand users, had to go through DIO's minions, and Joseph's grandson Jotaro finally put down the vampire with his own Stand, Star Platinum: The World. The boy was stoic and abrasive to a fault, and he reminded Merlin of Sir Kay to some extent.


Then came the Fourth Grail War. Finally, Artoria answered the Grail's call as the Saber class Servant of the War. The Einzberns had somehow found the scabbard Avalon, the location of which even he didn't know, since he was trapped in the island not long before it was stolen, and they hired an outsider, Kiritsugu Emiya, to fight as their champion. Although Kiritsugu was a ruthless killer of magi and outwardly disdained Artoria's heroic ideals, Merlin knew the fool was of fundamentally the same nature as his protege, even if their methods were diametrically opposed. Naturally, the two simply could not get along, or more like Kiritsugu never tried, and all interactions were mediated by the vessel of the Lesser Grail, a delicious young woman by the name of Irisviel von Einzbern. Merlin realized something this time was utterly wrong with the ritual, since the Caster class Servant summoned was an aberration who could not be summoned in previous wars, especially no. Finally, Artoria's ideals and resolve were attacked on all fronts. The King of Conquerors dismissed them, Kiritsugu frequently flouted them, breaking her trust, and Lancelot...well the less said about him the better. All in all, the war ended with Artoria being utterly broken with a new desire to erase herself from existence, and at that Merlin could only despair. He truly had failed.


Then came the Fifth War. Artoria was summoned again, but completely on accident, by Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, Shirou, and she immediately had to save him from the Lancer class Servant of the War, the Hound of Ulster. Soon afterwards, they formed an alliance with a more experienced Master, Rin Tohsaka and her red-clad Archer Servant, who Merlin could immediately tell had some greater connection to Shirou Emiya. Shirou on the surface seemed much like Artoria, but Merlin came to see that the boy was defined by a fundamental emptiness, an emptiness that could only be filled by being useful to others. Artoria, even as she gave up her humanity to become the perfect king, did not have this problem. In any case, Artoria finally rejected the Grail of her own volition, finding the strength and courage to move on from her past and join him in Avalon. Well, technically, she came 1500 years ago, but in a place like this, who honestly cares about time?


The important part was that she came back noticeably freer and with something he hadn't seen from her since before she pulled the sword out of the stone, a true, genuine smile. Although he already knew what happened, he let Artoria tell him about her two best friends Rin and Shirou, the good times they had together, and how she finally could move on from her past. It was clear to Merlin that he owed those two a great debt for helping his king finally overcome her own doubts, and it was for this reason, and because Artoria begged him, that he frequently checked up on them as they lived out their lives.


In doing so, and in the course of his routine checking in on Jotaro Kujo and his daughter, he stumbled upon a potential disaster. Not only was the Fuyuki Grail, filled with the unused mana of defeated Servants, close to completion in only 7 years, but another Grail War ritual was being set up in parallel in the American state of Florida. Jotaro Kujo's family was there, and based on their cursed blood alone, he knew the Joestars and the Speedwagon Foundation would get involved. To make things worse, a few former followers of DIO, including an extremely devoted priest, were hanging around the area, and men that Merlin could identify as DIO's sons were also coming as if pulled by fate. The combination of a Grail War and a Joestar conflict only promised mass devastation, and for the first time in a while, he felt compelled to act in some way. At the very least, he'd allow Artoria to go and help her friends as she'd inevitably ask him permission for. Whatever the case, he needed to look into the situation further.


Sighing, he retreated from the window to his computer. Normally he'd be searching the web for adult content or trolling desperate manchildren as Magi Mari, but this time, he entered in Green Dolphin Street Prison, the seeming location of the imitation Grail War, into the search bar. As he looked at the information, he noticed a couple of pecular details. One, the prison was built over what he already knew to be strong spiritual land starting in 1937, the year the Third Grail War ended. He thus suspected that the prison from the beginning was meant to host a Grail War, and the people in charge had somehow stolen a fragment of the Fuyuki Grail around that time, meaning that whatever corruption infected it after the Third War likely would affect this ritual as well. Secondly, the prison burned down some 15 or so years ago prior to being rebuilt. While not the most unusual detail, since buildings always burned down, the involvement of magi from its inception suggested a deliberate blaze and a conscious remodeling afterwards to create a more ideal battleground. Finally, from what he was able to find on the web, it was a prison with an unusual set of rules regarding inmate conduct. As long as you had money, the guards would look the other way and allow you whatever freedoms you desired, and every prisoner was on his/her own. All this combined with its isolation made it the perfect place for magi to conduct a secret battle royale. However, his contemplation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps at his door.


"Merlin, what are you doing here?" asked Artoria, standing at the entrance to his room. "Normally I'd find you relaxing near the lake, but it seems you haven't left the tower all day? Is there something the matter?"


"Well, in checking on your little friends, I may have stumbled on some...disturbing news." he answered, trying to be as cryptic as possible.


"Disturbing...might this have to do with the Grail?" she asked him, and he noticed she looked somewhat hopeful at the prospect.


"You would like that, wouldn't you, Your Majesty?" he teased, and to that his liege blushed red like a tomato, a reaction he would never get tired of.


"N-n-no! Of course not how could I wish for such a horrible thing I just-" she blathered before Merlin gently cut her off.


"I'm not judging, and I understand you want to fight alongside your friends again." said Merlin, chuckling in amusement. "In any case, yes it is. The Fuyuki Grail is close to completion once again, and the Magus Association has already begun to mobilize in order to collect it. Of course, your friends will obviously be against this and will want to destroy it for good, so a new Grail War is going to happen in 6 months."


"I see. However, I'm not a true Heroic Spirit, and I renounced the Grail and my contract with the World. How could I possibly aid Rin and Shirou?" Artoria asked him morosely.


"Don't worry about the details, my King." reassured Merlin. "I can fix that. I have long ago devised a way for myself to manifest a projection of myself as a Servant in the World, and it is relatively self-sustaining. I can use a modified version of it to help you manifest as a Saber-class Servant. You will operate much like you're used to, the only difference being that you will be manifested by Avalon and me as opposed to the Grail. Of course, you'll still likely need a Master for an anchor to the World, but that's something that will already be arranged."


"For a Master, it'd probably best for Rin to take on that role." responded the King of Knights. "With her, I'll be at full power and can use my Excalibur to destroy the Greater Grail without risk of exhausting my mana reserves immediately."


"Indeed." agreed Merlin. "Emiya-kun has improved since you last saw him, but he still doesn't have the circuits and mana to support you and fight at his best. Tohsaka-chan will be our best bet."


"Is that all then?" asked Artoria, quite visibly excited to go back to the World, even as she tried to act all regal and hide it.


"There is an additional complication." said Merlin. "This isn't the only Grail War ritual taking place. Another one is taking place on the other side of the World, and let's just say things are infinitely more complicated there. The saga of the Grail Wars shall combine with the destiny written in blood of the Joestar family, and who knows what untold carnage shall be unleashed..."


"Joestar family? Who are they? What are you talking about?" asked Artoria.


"You'll figure it out soon enough." he answered. "Run along now, I've got more work to do." At that, she puffed up all cutely, but she left, knowing he wouldn't give any more answers.


"Now then, about this prison...A significant portion of inmates are Stand users, yet there have been no successful escape attempts. Mundane defenses such as swamps, alligators, and location don't mean as much depending on the ability, which means there must be something more, aside from Whitesnake. In addition, there appears to be someone using a spirit room hidden inside the prison, a boy. Is this his Stand ability? Interesting, must contact him. He no doubt will meet Jolyne Kujo in the future. Finally, don't forget to send a dream message to Tohsaka-chan about summoning Artoria, and possibly coordinate with El-Melloi II. Actually, let's send that dream message before I forget..."


As he got up to find Rin Tohsaka's dreamscape, the main thoughts swimming in his head were how interesting and how complicated things could get.

To be continued...

Hello people of BL. This is my first fic on the forum, and here is my first prologue for this fic. I plan a few more with the POV of Waver, Jotaro, Rin, and maybe Shirou or Saber. I know this was long, but no other prologue will be this long. Please give constructive criticism, and I will obviously make changes. Thank you!

Prologue 2: Jotaro

-Speedwagon Foundation Headquarters, Dallas, Texas-


Jotaro was tired, so very, very tired. Life just didn't seem to want to give him a damn break. Well, it's not like life had given him a break, at least not since he was 17. It came with being a Joestar, and although he may have resented it at first, now Jotaro just takes it as part of his duty to protect people from the terrifying forces out there. Didn't prevent it from wearing down on him, though. Just in the past few months, he had come back from a long vampire-extermination mission, and then he's had to contend with an imitation Grail War being set up in Florida, disturbingly close to where his ex-wife and daughter were.


At that thought, he felt a pang of guilt and shame. He was always gone, and he knew his family didn't appreciate it, especially not Jolyne. For so long, he's justified it as a means to protect them from well, everything, to not get caught up in his cursed bloodline or live his life of suffering. But now...the danger is coming to them, and even though Jotaro is certain his ex won't get too caught up in anything, the same could not be said for Jolyne. She was a Joestar, after all.


"Yare yare, I know I wasn't a very good dad, but to be rewarded by placing my daughter in greater danger than I ever could have imagined, what kind of sick joke is that? All I ever wanted to do was make sure she never had to go through what I did...Ah, no point crying over spilled milk. Let's just see it through to the end and hope for as few casualties as possible." Jotaro sighed.


Things were a fucking mess. First, he heard from SWF informants in and around the Fuyuki area that the Holy Grail would be ready this year in 2011, three years prior to what was expected, and that wasn't even the worst part. That would be the imitation Grail War in Florida. He knew the ones responsible were an organization of magi beholden to the US Department of Defense. He had in fact met the leader and likely organizer of this war, Faldeus Dioland, at the Pentagon once, and the one thing he could tell was that this guy would do anything for America's perceived benefit, no matter the consequences. This organization seemed to be working with the Scladio crime family, who already were enemies of the Foundation and all around shady guys with a huge base of magi followers, and the Harway Conglomerate, a group the Foundation was already investigating, was also seemingly involved.


Worse is that several known former followers of DIO were spotted in the area, moving with greater purpose than he had become accustomed to over the past 23 years. He was used to playing whack-a-mole with those guys over the years, and part of the reason he maintained his distance was so they wouldn't target his family, which he knew they were not above doing. That they seemed to be moving in a coordinated fashion towards some objective worried him. Could they perhaps be trying to...? No, only he read DIO's journal with that blond bastard's insane plan to achieve Heaven, and he burnt that fucking thing as soon as he read it. There's no way...unless DIO actually trusted someone. Could he have? In any case,the possibilities weren't great.


Sighing, he reclined against his chair and breathed deeply, producing some Hamon energy to work out the cricks in his muscles. After defeating DIO and learning how the fucker was only one of many vampires in the "Moonlit World", he decided maybe it would be beneficial to learn the vampire-slaying art, both to murder vampires and to keep his body in serviceable condition for as long as possible. Luckily for him, his great-grandmother Lisa Lisa was a former Hamon coach, so she was able to give him pointers on how to produce it, even if she was too old and infirm to actually train him, and one of her former disciples, a man named Messina, was somehow alive and well enough to actually physically train him a little. All that combined with practice with his gramps gave him a functional grasp of the art, if not outright mastery. It was enough to barely offset the strain Star Platinum: The World put on his heart, and he was able to keep chugging along on his demanding schedule meant for a man half his age. Still, it didn't help everything, and as Chef Tonio constantly nagged him about, nothing could substitute a healthy, balanced lifestyle, something he didn't have the luxury for.


"Heh, I'm getting too old for all this shit, but I gotta do what I gotta do..." he mused semi-bitterly. "Especially now. Vampires/Dead Apostles and Stand users are one thing, but now, I'm gonna have to go up against Heroic Spirits, or at least Servants, and that's new for me."


From his admittedly limited understanding of the Grail War and its particulars, he knew that the main components of the ritual were Heroic Spirits summoned from a metaphysical construct known as the Throne of Heroes trapped in specialized class containers. These copies, known as Servants, were past heroes recorded by humanity itself, and even the weakest was above the level of an ordinary human being. He had heard somewhere that the average Servant was at about the level of the average vampire, and since he could take on the average vampire quite easily with the power of Star Platinum, he was reasonably confidant in his chances against Heroic Spirits one on one.


However, there was the problem of their Noble Phantasms. The way he understood it, they were manifestations of an individual Heroic Spirit's legend gifted by the Grail, and several of them possessed incredible power that no Stand he had ever encountered possessed. Based on reports from previous Grail Wars as well as testimony from former Masters, Noble Phantasms could range from almost passive invisible effects to oppressively powerful energy blasts. The latter category was most concerning because the only ones who could survive direct hits from those were other Servants.


Aside from the challenge of fighting legendary heroes, Jotaro was concerned about the Grail itself. Based on reports from the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars submitted by agents on the field, the Grail itself had something fundamentally wrong with it. In the Fourth War, the Greater Grail apparently nearly reached completion, but for some reason, a black and red muck poured from the Lesser Grail, and somehow it caused a fire in the Shinto district of Fuyuki City that claimed the lives of 500 people. The agent who submitted that report slowly degenerated and died with symptoms similar to that of radiation poisoning, and the conclusion of the Supernatural Research Division was that the muck from the Grail was responsible. In the Fifth War, the Grail nearly reached completion due to the efforts of the Archer-class Servant of the Fourth War, who somehow stayed alive for 10 years in a human body, and the Grail mutated into some sort of monster that was quickly destroyed by the Noble Phantasm of the Saber-class Servant of that war before it could cause any damage. What made the muck notable was that according to his gramps, who knew the moderator of the Third and Fourth Wars, Risei Kotomine, as well as two of the surviving Third War masters, the mana that poured from the completed Greater Grail wasn't supposed to be that way. The Grail was supposed to be simply a huge concentration of mana, which isn't inherently cursed.

In any case, this was beyond his expertise, so he decided to contact the Speedwagon Foundation's main ally in the Magus Association, Lord El-Melloi II, also known as Waver Velvet, the only remaining Master of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Jotaro had met the younger man several times, and found that despite his grouchy,put upon demeanor, he wasn't so bad a guy. Jotaro chuckled a bit at that, since he knew several of his friends and acquaintances said the same about him sometimes. As he reached over to his desk phone and punched in the Lord's cell phone number, he couldn't help but be grateful for the fact the man didn't run for the hills at the mere mention of technology like most mages did and actually had a cellphone to call. Then again, it likely was because the other man wasn't that great a mage in the first place.


BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP...


After a minute of the phone beeping in his ear, Jotaro heard a gruff, utterly exhausted voice on the other end.


"Hello, you've reached Lord El-Melloi II, please-"


"Oi, El-Melloi. Don't pretend this is a voicemail message. I know you're there." interjected Jotaro.


"Ah, Kujo-san. It's you. I didn't initially recognize the number, but now I know it's you, I assume you're calling from the SWF headquarters in Dallas?" responded the lord, who seemed to have audibly perked up. "Also, as I seem to have to remind you every time we speak, it's El-Melloi II. Without it, the title's just annoying."


"Yeah, I'm in my office there, and I'm calling you because I need your help." responded Jotaro. "As for your title, adding the Second is too much of a mouthful."


"Well, you caught me at a good time. All my lectures for the day are over, I'll be up for several more hours, and none of my students appear to have caused any major incidents thus far." said the lord. "In any case, you're calling about the imitation Grail War, correct?"


"Yeah." answered Jotaro. "I assume it or the Fuyuki War are keeping you busy as well, correct? This whole thing is a huge dumpster fire waiting to happen, and it's outside my area of expertise."


"Yeah, the whole thing is a pain in the ass, and two Grail Wars at the same time have caught everyone off-guard, myself included." El-Melloi responded with a bitter laugh. "The Association is sending a team to try and collect the Fuyuki Grail because it is a powerful clump of mana, but I have publicly and privately opposed this. The battle lines have been quickly drawn, and when the Association received word from Fuyuki that the Grail was close to overflowing and that a Grail vessel was prepared, this immediately turned into a Grail War."


"Do you know who's in the team the MA is sending?" inquired Jotaro. "And who do you, no we, have as allies in this?"


"The extraction team is being led by Bram Nauda-Re Sophia-Ri, a very important figure in the Department of Spiritual Evocation. He's been particularly vocal in his support for recovering the Grail for the Association. For his team members, rumor has it that he's hired the mercenary Kairi Shishigou to be part of his team. In addition, I know he's been in talks with the Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie Animusphere, and I have reason to believe Hishiri Adashino, a senior member of the Faculty of Law, will be accompanying them in order to ostensibly monitor the conflict as a whole, but in reality, she's likely doing this in order to keep watch over me and hinder me as necessary. We do have a history."


"Yare yare. If Animusphere is on the retrieval team, we'll have to cancel our information-sharing agreement with Chaldea." Jotaro sighed. "That kinda sucks because their ideals as an organization match to ours quite well, and several of their ideas are quite interesting. In any case, Chaldea probably desires the Grail for its own ends as opposed to the Association's, so who knows what will happen?"


"Interesting indeed. As for our allies, we have the guaranteed support of the El-Melloi faction and maybe some allies across other factions, but that's in the air. As for potential Masters, I personally plan to participate and summon Servant Rider for the Fuyuki Grail War, and I know Tohsaka will likely join me as soon as I can contact her, and with her Emiya will also join our faction. In addition, I have already been talking to one of my other students about joining, and I believe we can count on her to summon a Servant for our cause."


"That adds up to 7 Masters and 7 Servants exactly, but considering how there's no room for error, you need to act quickly." remarked Jotaro.


"Indeed. However, I don't plan to have all of my allies summon for the Fuyuki Grail War. My tentative ally will summon for the imitation Grail War in the United States, and myself and Tohsaka will participate in the Fuyuki War. Also, I know for a fact that Zouken Matou has already summoned the Assassin class Servant." responded Waver.


"So that makes it a 4 vs 2 vs 1, huh?" mused Jotaro. "Also, Zouken Matou is that old bug man who helped found the ritual alongside the Einzbern and Tohsaka families, correct?"

"He is, and his rumored methods of obtaining immortality are...disturbing, to say the least. If they are even remotely true, that places Zouken as a blood-sucking species as opposed to a human, and he will be a nightmare to deal with. In addition, he's the one who informed the Association of the readiness of the Grail, and he has prepared this war's vessel, since the Einzberns gave up after the last war. In any case, since I'm sending one of my students to participate in the imitation Grail War, I must ask if you have any information about it because the Americans right and pulled one over us, and as a result, the whole thing is a black box."


"You're in luck. The Speedwagon Foundation does in fact have some information. From what we can tell, the ritual is in fact real, though we also have a few months before it can begin. The organizers are a group of magi lead by Faldeus Dioland tied to the Pentagon, but the Scladio mafia family and the Harway Conglomerate appear to be important collaborators, and we can probably expect Masters from both organizations. Furthermore, the venue, Green Dolphin Street Prison, has a high population of Stand-using inmates, and several of DIO's former followers have been sighted in connection to the ritual."


"DIO Brando, huh? If that's the case, then this is..." pondered El-Melloi.


"Yes, a battle between Stand users as well." finished Jotaro. "A Grail War's bad enough, but Stand users could dissolve the whole thing into sheer anarchy."


"Yeah, Stand users will definitely complicate the picture quite a bit." sighed the lord. "You all do have a tendency to add an element of chaos to things. Also, have you manifested Command Seals, and if you have, do you have a catalyst and Servant in mind?"


"I got them last night." answered Jotaro, looking down at the two concentric circles with a star inside them on the back of his left hand. "As for the catalyst, there's only one Servant I could trust with this, and his catalyst is at headquarters."


"I see. Should have expected that answer. In any case, I think it'd be best if we could meet in London next week to go over any additional details to the plan and summon our Servants. All of my allies I wish to recruit are most reachable in London, and there are plenty of workshops in which we can summon in relative secrecy."


"Sounds good to me. I'll get a SWF-chartered flight to London at the time." said Jotaro. "One last question. Do we know who or what Zouken has prepared as the Grail Vessel/Lesser Grail?"


"My information network has told me that the vessel is a woman named Sakura Matou." responded El-Melloi, clearly quite upset for some reason. "She is his adopted "granddaughter" and supposed heir in the eyes of the Association, since the only other blood Matou is incapable of producing mana."


"Yare yare...his own granddaughter? What a sicko, though perhaps that was to be expected." exhaled Jotaro. "We are going to try and save her, right?"


"Of course we will." answered El-Melloi. "Not doing so would leave a bad taste in my mouth, and Tohsaka and Emiya would kill me if I didn't."


"What...oh. I remember." responded Jotaro, a cold feeling settling in his gut. "She was formerly Sakura Tohsaka, correct, but was adopted by the Matou family around 17 years ago? I remember Kariya Matou returned back to his family to participate as a Master soon after. It can't be a coincidence. Christ, what has been happening to her...?"


"I guess we'll find out when I get to Fuyuki." said El-Melloi. "We can discuss more when you get here."


"Yeah, I have to make some preparations before we next meet." agreed Jotaro. "Well, later."


"See you, and good luck." said El-Melloi. "We're all going to need it."


With that, Jotaro hung up, and he sighed. He may have said this numerous times before, but things really were getting out of hand. He then dialed the director.


"Ah, Jotaro, is there anything you need?" asked the voice on the other end.


"Hello, sir. I'd like the you-know-what hidden amongst Mister Speedwagon's things." said Jotaro.


"You mean...Luck and Pluck?"


"Yeah, I'm going to need it real soon." responded Jotaro.


"Understood. I'll have it delivered to your office in a jiffy. Is there anything else?"


"Yeah, I'd appreciate if you could arrange a private flight to London for me next week."


"Don't sweat it. I'll arrange for it." reassured the Director.


"Thank you, that will be all." finished Jotaro, hanging up the call. Now, he was somewhat ready.


To be continued...

Here's the second prologue from Jotaro's point of view. These prologues will roughly be in chronological order, with Merlin's being roughly first, and the last one being a week to 5 days after the others. In any case, tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is appreciated!

You have played or watched the UBW route in the VN/watched the UBW anime, right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warellis

You have played or watched the UBW route in the VN/watched the UBW anime, right?

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I have watched the anime...why do you ask? Is it the dates? I changed those on purpose to conform with Stone Ocean. Was it something else? I'm all ears. Admittedly, it has been a few months since I last watched the UBW anime, so my memory may be a bit fuzzy.

I just wondered if you had because from what you had mentioned before in other threads, it sounded like you had only watched Zero so it made me wonder if you had read or watched the other stuff as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by warellis

I just wondered if you had because from what you had mentioned before in other threads, it sounded like you had only watched Zero so it made me wonder if you had read or watched the other stuff as well.

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I see. Zero was my first, but I did watch UBW as well, and I liked it, hence why I even want to write a post-UBW work.

Hey guys, to whoever's read what I posted, I did make some changes to Prologue 2 which will greatly affect the plot, so please read again if you can.

Prologue 3: Lord El-Melloi II

-Faculty of Modern Magecraft, Clocktower, London -


"See you, and good luck." Waver said. "We're all going to need it.", and with that, he hung up on Jotaro Kujo.


Immediately, he collapsed onto his chair, exhausted beyond belief. It had already been a long day, what with managing his class of problem children (even if he still cared about them), maneuvering through the political mess caused by these new Grail Wars, and dealing with the visits of his lovely adopted sister in relation to the Grail Wars. However, this phone call with Kujo alarmed him, for it made clear to him the American ritual was going to be at least as big as the Fuyuki Grail War, if not bigger, and the heavy involvement of Stand users was concerning to say the least. Before he could ponder the issue too much, however, he heard a few gentle, insistent knocks on his door.


"Come in." he said, knowing the identity of the guest, or rather guests on the other side of the door. He had summoned them here, after all.


The door of his office opened to reveal two women. The first, who knocked on the door, was his trusted assistant Gray. She was a petite woman clothed in a school-uniform like outfit and a hood that obscured her face at his own insistence for reasons. She could be considered to have beautiful features, and indeed, many have commented on this fact, but her bright green eyes, pale skin and chin-length blonde hair came across as vaguely unsettling to him. The second was a taller woman clothed in an ornate blue dress and with hair done up in a frankly ridiculous set of drill-like double ringlets that he wouldn't dare ridicule now after one offhand remark years ago. This was Luviagelita, more often known as Luvia, Edelfelt, the head of the powerful, influential Edelfelt family of magi, and she possessed the magical power and bearing fit for her title. That, and she was a former student of his, one of the few he could somewhat trust aside from his main classroom.


"Now that you're both here, let's get right to business." said El-Melloi II, not wasting any time on pleasantries. "The Grail Wars, both of them. As you already know, myself and Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri have...differences of opinion regarding the fate of the so-called Holy Grail in Fuyuki City, and Bram has been hard at work assembling a team of Masters to retrieve the Grail for the Association. As I have made clear, I intend to destroy the Grail, and I need a team of my own. Gray, I know, has long committed to fighting with me in any potential Grail War, and Edelfelt, hate as I do to admit this out loud, you are one of my best students and one of the very few I can trust with something of this magnitude. Of course, I am not forcing you to do anything, and you may decline, but if you have come with hostile intent, I will have Gray kick you out of my office with as much force as is necessary."


With that statement, Gray tensed, covertly reaching towards the cage he knew was up her sleeve.


"That won't be necessary, Lord El-Melloi II." responded Luvia rather quickly, her apprehension apparent. "I have no intention of hindering you or joining the Sophia-Ri faction, and in any case, count me as interested."


Lord El-Melloi II both raised an eyebrow and inwardly sighed in relief at that statement. He had hoped their former student-teacher relationship would have some pull and he really didn't want to hurt her, but he was well-aware of the decent possibility she'd turn down his offer. There was next to nothing in it for her, after all, not like there was for himself, Tohsaka, Emiya, or Kujo.


"Hm? I certainly am relieved we don't have to come to blows, but if I may ask, why? I can't see much in it for you."


"Well," she began, "I have been preparing for the War since I heard rumors of its start, but I wasn't sure which side I wanted to join until recently. Let's just say I like you more than I like Bram, and being called your best student certainly helps. Also, the Edelfelt family does have a history with the Grail. My grandmother was a Master in the Third War, and based on how that war transpired, I've concluded the Grail is more trouble than it's worth. Finally, I don't think I could fight dear Shero, even if he is married to Miss Gorilla. Of course, there's no way she won't mess up, so it's up to yours truly to show her how it's done.", and she ended her declaration with a haughty huff.


"You really are a reliable person, even if you can never say what you really feel. Typically, that's rather annoying, but this time, I am quite grateful." responded El-Melloi.


"What's that supposed to mean?! Annoying?! The nerve of you!" blustered Luvia. "I am a proper lady and magus, and I make my feelings clear!"


El-Melloi II could only chuckle at this display. He knew that underneath her cold, magus-like exterior, she really wasn't that bad a person. She definitely cared for her family more than she cared to admit, and underneath the very public vitriol with Tohsaka, it was obvious there was a mutual respect and dare he say it, friendship. In any case, the two had quite a lot in common, especially the whole tsundere thing, but that only made sense. They were cousins, after all.


"If you're done spontaneously combusting, Luvia, I think we can move onto the purpose of this meeting." deadpanned El-Melloi, quickly putting an end to her extremely entertaining outburst. "We need to talk some strategy, and now is the best time to do so, since we have new information about the American imitation War."


"Ah, yes. You were just on a phone call with the Jotaro Kujo, weren't you?" asked Edelfelt, immediately regaining her composure, her voice gaining a somewhat predatory edge. "What information did he have?"


"Why am I not surprised you eavesdropped?" sighed El-Melloi II. "Well, he told me the imitation Grail War has been organized by an organization of magi affiliated with the US government, that it's location is Green Dolphin Street Prison, a maximum security facility in the Florida Everglades, and that there are many Stand users involved, in particular, many former followers of DIO Brando. Oh, and we believe at least two of the Masters will come from the Scladio mafia family and the Harway Conglomerate."


"That's...more than I was able to get independently, and the presence of Stand users is concerning. They are admittedly outside my experience and are quite mystifying to normal magi." answered Edelfelt, a serious expression replacing her typically haughty mien.


"Um, excuse me, but who exactly is Jotaro Kujo, and what are Stands?" asked Gray timidly.


"Ah, my apologies Gray." said Lord El-Melloi. "In all the cases we've solved together, it never came up, so I never explained Stands to you. In any case, it might be a good idea to review what we know about them. First, Stands. Stands are, in the words of their own users, supernatural projections of a user's fighting spirit/potential that fight as an extension of the user. What that translates to is that Stands are a fusion of Magic Circuits and the soul, and that fusion manifests as a supernatural construct with usually a very specific, highly specialized power, though there are exceptions. On the flipside, many users are VERY creative in the usage of their Stand powers, and many of these powers approach the level of True Magic, probably because the Stand is also the power of one's Origin manifested by virtue of being composed of the soul."


"Seriously?!" butted in Edelfelt, who was listening just as intently as Gray was. "That's...I knew they weren't to be trifled with, but to think they could approach True Magic..."


"There is a catch to this, and that is they cannot use any other form of magecraft aside from their Stand, though they can gather mana like mages can, and thus they can act as suitable Masters for Servants. Furthermore, because their Origins are awakened when the Stands are manifested, Stand users are people driven by fate. You both are well aware of the general rule that supernatural people and phenomena will invariably find each other, I assume? Well, this phenomena exerts itself quite strongly on Stand users much like a sort of 'gravity' of fate." continued El-Melloi II.


"Woah...they sound really cool, and kind of scary, but how do you get one, and why haven't we met any in our investigations?" inquired Gray.


"Very good questions, Gray." said El-Melloi II, having fully slipped into lecturing mode. "There is no set way to get a Stand, though I am aware of a few major ones. First, some people are just born with their Stands, though that is quite rare. Secondly, some obsessively polish a single skill for many years prior to awakening a Stand that can be thought of as the supernatural manifestation and the culmination of the user's proficiency in that skill. I'm sure you see the similarities between this method and the awakening of a Reality Marble, and the types of people who do either are quite similar. Third, some awaken a Stand during moments of deep emotional trauma and/or upheaval, and the Stand typically expresses the psyche of the user at the time. Finally, we have the most studied method on account of it being the most controllable, the use of a special bow and arrow. When a person is hit by the arrow, the arrowhead reacts with the person's body, extracting the Stand. Typically, the arrow is attracted to people of superior spiritual strength, automatically trying to hit them, but if it so much as scratches someone who doesn't have the appropriate strength, that person's od will be consumed by trying and failing to produce a Stand, and he/she will die, no exceptions. There is also the rare case that one person being hit by the arrow will cause a simultaneous awakening of Stands in people with souls related to the original soul hit, i.e. family members, but we only have one documented example of this, and the circumstances were exceptional." He then proceeded to take a deep breath. "Any questions about that?"


Neither Gray nor Edelfelt said anything, so he took it as license to continue.


"As for why we never saw Stand users in the course of our investigations, Gray, there are a couple of reasons." he said. "First, Stand users are a vanishingly small proportion of the population scattered across all walks of life, and for non-Stand users, finding them is difficult. For comparison, magi may be quite a small proportion of the human population and are quite elusive, but Stand users are maybe a tenth of that, and even that is a very rough estimate since counting them is almost impossible. In addition, no matter what station they are born into, Stand users tend to become outcasts and pariahs the same way magi are fundamentally heretics. To make matters more difficult, most Stands cannot be seen by those without sensitivity to the supernatural of some sort. Finally, Stand cases are simply not our purview. Stands are viewed as ESP powers, and like with other ESP powers, those cases are left to organizations and individuals who specialize in these powers. In the case of Stands, the Association and its members tacitly leave such problems for the Speedwagon Foundation and sometimes Passione to deal with, for both organizations have much more experience and resources to deal with Stand incidents."


"I see. Stands certainly seem complicated, so it makes sense to leave them to the experts. Also, the Speedwagon Foundation? I thought it was simply a philanthropic organization that supported scientific research and aid work around the world. And what is Passione?" asked Gray.


"That's only one of its faces." cut in Edelfelt. "They also have heavy involvement in the supernatural, trying to combine science and magic, and I know they're involved in Dead Apostle Hunting as well."


"That is somewhat correct, Edelfelt, but there is more to them than that." added El-Melloi. "Both faces of the organization are equally important, even if most of its operating budget goes to its Supernatural Research Division and Special Forces. When Robert E.O. Speedwagon founded his organization, his one motivation was to uphold the legacy of his by then decades-dead friend, Jonathan Joestar. He fostered scientific research and helped those in need to honor Jonathan's spirit, and he focused on researching vampires, Hamon, and the supernatural in general so he could help Jonathan's descendants in the event of additional supernatural events, particularly the rise of anyone of the caliber of Dio Brando. To this day, the Foundation reveres the Joestar family, helping them at every turn, and the latter is its main source of funds by a huge margin, with the second biggest being the remaining share of Speedwagon's fortune, which he poured into the foundation."


"Starting a foundation out of undying loyalty to an old friend...it's quite sweet." chimed in Gray, seemingly awed. "It's like..."


"I know." cut in El-Melloi before she could finish the statement. "I can certainly relate to Speedwagon, trying to live up to the legacy of someone who was with him for such a short time, yet who changed his life for the better...", and he sighed, thinking back to the Fourth Grail War. He snapped himself out of his funk by reminding himself that soon, he would be able to reunite with Rider, albeit with the latter not remembering him at all.


"Lord El-Melloi II," asked Edelfelt, with an uncharacteristically concerned look on her face. "are you okay? You look quite out of sorts."


"I'm fine, Edelfelt." he responded quickly, waving away her concern. "It's nothing to concern yourself over." She seemed satisfied with the answer and her face quickly became neutral once more. Gray, on the other hand, remained concerned, knowing what he was suddenly melancholy about. "In any case, the Speedwagon Foundation, although it was only founded in 1918, has grown quite rapidly due to its easy access to cash, which it has used to hire some of the most distinguished scientists and doctors, purchase the most state of the art medical technology, and subsidize and thus absorb numerous Demon Hunter organizations around the world. It also has government connections around the world, and its message has proven attractive to many Executors and Enforcers to the point where the Association and Church are somewhat concerned."


"How do you know so much about the Speedwagon Foundation?" asked Edelfelt. "They typically do not interact with the Association, and most magi return the favor. After all, they are a group of upstarts founded by a former street thug."


"I happen to be one of the SWF's few contact points inside the Association, and quite frankly, they are far less elitist than the Association and much easier to work with." responded El-Melloi. "They take anyone as long as they are useful and are capable of doing good, regardless of past or status. In that regard, they are the antithesis of the Association, and thus there exists a relationship of mutual disdain. However, they mostly interact with, and have a fierce rivalry with, the Holy Church since there is significant overlap in their operations and missions, though there are significant differences that cause antagonism."


"Are they also how you know so much about Stands?" asked Edelfelt, clearly miffed about his rebuke of the Association.


"They are. The Speedwagon Foundation is the primary authority on all things Stand-related, and through my association with them, I have come to learn quite a lot about this mysterious power. It certainly helps that I am one of the few magi who could be bolloxed to study them." answered El-Melloi.


"As for Passione, they're an Italian mafia group, correct?" asked Edelfelt.


"Basically yes, but they also only allow in Stand users as made men, they have considerable political clout in the Mediterranean, and they have a shaky alliance with the SWF to deal with issues of mutual concern." answered El-Melloi. "They're actually less shady than the MA or the Holy Church, believe it or not. Now, what you two should know about Stands for the sake of strategy is that they can be roughly divided into categories based on range, manifestation, and autonomy. First, the most clear-cut category of Stands are the close-range power types. They typically manifest as humanoid constructs of a variety of types, and they are extremely fast and strong, potentially at the level of Servants. The drawback is that their effective range from the user is quite low, even if their individual abilities don't have low range. In addition, and this is true for most Stands, if the Stand is damaged, said damage reflects back to the user. There are also long-range types, which are weaker in a straight fight, but can compensate by using their greater range and precision to set up ambushes. Both the close range power types and the long ranged types are directly controlled by the user. Conversely, automatic Stands typically have unlimited range and don't reflect damage back to the user, but they can only follow a simple command and are set to repeat that command no matter what. Swarm types are another type of Stand where the Stand manifests as a group of tiny units as opposed to a single entity, and damage to any one of them doesn't affect the user. However, the user must still control the swarm. As for looks, Stands can take a variety of forms, such as the aforementioned humanoid figures, non-humanoid figures, object-like figures, and in some cases, they can be bound to objects non-magical humans can see."


"I've definitely encountered the last category of Stands in my years of treasure-hunting." interjected Luvia. "My family is in possession of a few of these objects, but typically we either leave them be, or we let the Speedwagon Foundation requisition them. But wait. You said some power-type Stands could actually take on Heroic Spirits?! That's..."


"Yeah. I'm pretty sure Stands like Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum could do battle with a relatively strong Heroic Spirit and come out on top. In addition, I would hazard a guess that most Stand abilities would likely be able to harm Servants, though it obviously depends on the individual Servant. However, no Stand has an ability as destructive as Anti-Army or Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms tend to be, though their abilites can certainly be powerful." answered El-Melloi.


"Um, Master, I still don't have a clue who Jotaro Kujo is. Sorry." said Gray, half mumbling.


"Gray, there's no need to feel ashamed for not knowing things and asking for help from your teacher. In any case, I was getting to him. Jotaro Kujo is the ace of the Speedwagon Foundation and possibly one of the strongest Stand users in the world, if not the strongest. His Stand, Star Platinum: The World, has unparalleled speed and strength, and it can stop time for a few seconds, which considering its combat parameters, is extremely powerful. He also is a member of the Joestar family, a line of essentially modern-day heroes which has a penchant for combat and a tendency to attract danger once a generation. Nearly all of them since Jonathan Joestar have fought through some fated conflict or another, and usually they've managed to win." said Lord El-Melloi II.


"They are quite the bloodline. Their exploits over the past century have captured even the attention of the Association Director, apparently, and if the rumors are correct, they possess a powerful sorcery trait that both gets them in trouble and allows them to see things through to the end." said Luvia. "Shame they aren't magi, otherwise...."


"And that is true for most Stand users." said El-Melloi II. "They may not be normal humans, so to speak, but they are NOT magi, and they do not think or act like magi, so you should beware." he continued, very pointedly staring at Edelfelt.


"Why are you specifically warning me about this?" asked Luvia, eyes narrowed in suspicion.


"Because as part of our team strategy, I'm sending you to compete in the imitation Grail War, assisting Jotaro Kujo, who will be the Speedwagon Foundation's Master in this conflict."


"What?" asked Luvia, extremely non-plussed. "If I may ask, what for?"


"The imitation Grail War is a shared concern for both myself and the SWF, since it possesses all the hallmarks of a huge disaster, and we would like to put an end to the Grail War system before it can spawn a calamity unstoppable by any faction. That, and if it reaches its conclusion, countless lives will likely be lost." answered El-Melloi II matter-of-factly. "You are perhaps our best choice to participate in this since you have the most resources out of all of us, comparable to the Harway Conglomerate at least. I may be a Lord, but my position is tenuous, since Reines is of age and I could lose it at any time. Moreover, I am not a very good magus and would likely die within seconds there. You would not. You are a skilled magus, and as one of my best students, I trust you are intelligent enough to deal with whatever comes your way." and he could not help but feel a spark of pride as he said so.


"Hm, if you put it that way, I'm quite willing to throw my hat into the ring, so to speak." announced Luvia with a casual flip of one of her drills.


"Good. Now that we have your participation locked down, I must ask, do you have a catalyst, and if not, can you get one within the week?" asked El-Melloi II. "I plan for everyone within our faction to summon a Servant by the end of the week, and Jotaro Kujo is coming to London this Sunday for that purpose. In addition, we will have a more comprehensive strategy meeting during that time."


"As I said earlier, Professor, I have been looking into the conflict for quite some time, even if I didn't necessarily plan to commit to any one side, so I already have a catalyst prepared." answered Luvia confidently as she drew from her purse a worn pair of earrings. "I found these in the basement of Kotomine Church a few years ago, before repairs were finished and the Holy Church reestablished its presence there."


Waver's eyes lit up in recognition, having seen these earrings during his one and only conversation with...


"Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Those earrings were the catalyst she used to summon the legendary Irish hero Cu Chullain for the Fifth Grail War."


"They were, but how did you know that?" asked Edelfelt, once again caught off-guard by something he said. Seriously, if it was this easy to catch her off-guard, then he should endeavor to do it more often. "As far as I knew, you hadn't seen them or anything..."


"I had exactly one conversation with Ms. McRemitz prior to her passing, and she asked me about my experiences with the Grail War and what it was like fighting alongside a great hero. She had her heart set on summoning the great hero Cu Chullain, and she showed me the catalyst she had prepared." El-Melloi responded. "I must ask though, what possessed you to root around Kotomine Church of all places for that catalyst of all possible catalysts?"


"I reasoned that there would be some spare catalysts lying around Fuyuki in the aftermath of the last war, and I heard the Fraga woman had summoned Cu Chullain. Since in his legends, he was known to have never disobeyed a direct order from his king and was known to be weak to any pretty face, I thought he would be easy to work with as a Servant."


"Someone thinks quite highly of themselves, don't they? Calling yourself a pretty face." ribbed El-Melloi, holding back a slight chuckle. "Well, based on conversations myself and Tohsaka have had about the Fifth Grail War, you probably would be very compatible with Ireland's child of light, and he would no doubt be amenable to our alliance."


"I'm just going to ignore that first part and cut to the chase." said Luvia. "How are you planning to participate in the Holy Grail War? You are still a third-rate magus, so any Servant you summon would be hindered by your low mana reserves, and you are no match for the other Masters."


"All of that is true, but I have Gray with me. As a magus, her mana reserves far exceed mine, and as you very well know, she can hold her own in a fight. Our plan is to utilize the same workaround in the summoning ritual my predecessor used in the Fourth War. That is, I will hold the Command Seals, but Gray will be a secondary Master, providing most of Rider's mana. In addition, I know my Servant's habits quite well, so compatibility isn't an issue." responded Waver calmly.


"You talk as if you already know exactly who you're going to summon as well. Could it be the same Servant you summoned last time?" asked Luvia.


"Hm." he grunted in affirmation, "I never let go of his catalyst, and though this might be embarassing to say...I have been waiting for this day for over 17 years." he trailed off with a whisper as he felt himself blush from the vulnerable admission. The embarassment only intensified as he felt Gray's hand on his shoulder in an obviously sympathetic gesture.


"Oh ho ho ho ho ho." laughed Edelfelt. "I see the gruff El-Melloi has a cute side as well."


"Wh-whatever." sputtered Waver. "As for our allies, both Kujo and Tohsaka also have their Servants long accounted for, and both will likely be fully on board with our team goals. We all summon this weekend, we prepare our moves, and then myself, Gray, Tohsaka, and probably Emiya will go to Fuyuki, while you go to Green Dolphin Street Prison, separately from Kujo. We've agreed it's probably best for you to masquerade as a prisoner." he blurted out, eager to focus attention away from himself.


At the mention of Tohsaka's Servant, he noticed Gray grimace underneath her hood. He couldn't blame her, considering her history with that figure, and he too had unpleasant memories of that person.


"In any case, I think we can consider this strategy meeting over." El-Melloi finished.


"Alright, see you this weekend, and tell Miss Gorilla that she won't stand a chance without me carrying her." said Luvia, and she gracefully sauntered out of his office.


"Yare yare." El-Melloi sighed as Edelfelt dropped out of earshot. "Tiring woman isn't she? Coarse girls like that...well, there's no way I'd like someone like that." he spat.


"Master, we all know you care about all your students, no matter how annoying." responded Gray lightly, chuckling a bit. "You may act tough, but you are a huge softy, and that's why I stick around."


"Perhaps. In any case, Gray, I want to ask you before you go, how do you feel about you-know-who being summoned as Saber? Knowing Tohsaka and Emiya, they won't hesitate to go for her."


"I...don't t know. For so long, I've hated and feared my own face because it looks like...her, and I was raised to become her, but now that she may actually be coming, my feelings are complicated." said Gray, her inner turmoil quite evident.


"I understand, considering everything. I too am not sure how I will react to seeing her again, and considering she remembers the events of the Grail Wars she participated in, according to Tohsaka and Emiya, there will be some awkwardness. My major memories of the King of Knights are traumatic in nature, and I know she is the one who killed Kayneth in the Fourth War. It's all quite complicated." responded Waver.


"Add, what do you think?" asked Gray. "You were oddly silent the entire meeting, but considering we may meet her..."


"It appears we all have mixed feelings about meeting the King of Knights, if not fighting alongside her." said Add with none of his usual snark or humor. "It'd be nice to see my little sis again, but there's just so many regrets. As for strategy, it's not like I have much to say, ihihihihi." immediately cheering up as he moved on from the topic.


"I see. Gray, you can go home for tonight. I plan to first call Tohsaka, get her up to speed, and then just crash on the sofa here." and he noticed Gray's frown upon that last statement. "Don't get upset at me for this, you know I prefer sofas to beds anyway."


With that, Gray and Add left with a simple goodnight, leaving him alone in his broom closet as the day waned. He then picked up the phone and dialed Tohsaka's landline, heart heavy with foreboding.

To be continued....
Whoever's still interested, thank you, and here is an update that should have come 2 months ago, but didn't. In any case, hope my explanations for Stands in the Nasuverse are good and that I didn't get Waver, Luvia, or Gray OOC.

Boy, I'm excited to see how this continues. Keep it coming!

Thank you so much! A positive comment!