Melancholy of One (A Grail Works. LTD. Story)

[2ndsly]

meh,
Like I said, I read one topic on Rushing it, then Shiki and the effects from running of on his own.

And, yep, initially without help.
I bet 20I$ that the memory lose was avoidable.

I doubt the others are going leave him to hang though.
Admittedly, I have no idea what they can do.

[burningclaw2]

Inexplicable sword rain on enemy Saber?

[2ndsly]

That would be amusing.
But no.

The whatyoumakalit that's runs the darn thing already knows Shiki isn't local.

[burningclaw2]

Doesn't mean it can interfere with a true Grail and not end up with its programming fired ^^

I mean if Ilya wanted she could probable get the Moon Cell to listen to her in some respects. The ability to rewrite reality on a whim is dangerous.

[pureauthor]

Chapter Two: Un/Worthy

*~*

Ahhhhhhhh why can’t I stop writing I have exams coming up I can’t afford to do this

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

*~*

Digital Tsukumihara Academy, First Floor

Nothing.

Quickly scouring the academy from the rooftop to the basement had resulted in Shiki turning up absolutely nothing that looked like it might potentially be a ‘gateway’ of any sort.

To be absolutely sure, he’d stepped through the doorway of every room available, wondering if perhaps one of them was a hidden portal that would activate as he passed through it, but no dice.

Well, there was that one doorway near the entrance of the school… wasn’t it supposed to be a supply room of some kind? Maybe that was it.

But as he’d approached, he’d seen that man in the priest’s cassock standing in front of the door, acting as a silent guardian. When he caught sight of Shiki approaching, a thin smile graced the man’s lips as he shook his head once.

“Not here, young one,” and that was the end of the matter, as far as the man was concerned.

Blowing out a breath of frustration, Shiki paused, leaning against the guardrail of the staircase as he watched the rest of the student population. A few were striding through the crowds, a sureness in their step and a purpose in their eyes – evidently they’d woken up to the reality of the world by now too. A few scurried through, confused looks on their face as they slowly but surely began to realize that the world around them was not what it seemed. But most… most of them simply wandered through the crowd in the middle of what they believed to be a perfectly ordinary day.

All right, think this through calmly, Shiki pursed his lips. Rin specifically called it a ‘gateway’, which means that it must be a doorway of some sort. Even if it’s an unorthodox sort. Briefly he considered the Doors that he’d been using more and more often after he’d joined up with Shirou’s little agency.

Probably not. Even if the SE.RA.PH knows about alternate universes, which it probably does given yesterday’s conversation, they were really insistent that the whole thing always takes place within the Moon Cell. And with nothing outside the school gates, there wasn’t going to be any point searching out there.

If the point is to search for a gateway, they won’t make it something that anyone can just stumble through by accident. That would defeat the entire purpose of having the fake memories they’d given us. He sighed. Which means that I should have realized trying the classroom doors was a waste of time.

Of course, that would mean that it couldn’t look like anything unusual either, or people who hadn’t the slightest inkling about anything would be drawn to it. Was he just supposed to go around feeling up the walls or something in the hopes of stumbling into the correct spot?

Well, logic dictated it would be in a relatively out of the way place, one that the ordinary students didn’t approach very often, if at all.

That narrowed things down somewhat.

The fact that the school building was actually rather small as far as schools went helped, too.

Nodding his head, Shiki headed off down the corridor again.

*~*

“Found you,” he muttered as he stared at the wall in front of him.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary wall. And indeed, Shiki had almost passed right by it without giving it a second glance.

But… as he’d begun to turn away, he’d seen, out of the corner of his eye, something that almost looked like a ripple passing through the wall that was supposedly supposed to be made of solid brick.

And the longer he looked at the wall, the more the outlines of a doorway appeared to shimmer and vibrate into view, so much so that one could wonder how they had managed to miss it in the first place.

“Ah, so you have found it too,” came a voice from behind him.

Turning, Shiki beheld a young boy in an orange jacket smiling gently at him. His green eyes twinkled with a gentle mirth, matched by the calm smile on his face.

“Well, you may go through first if you like,” the boy continued, the smile never leaving his face.

“First?”

“The gateway is programmed only to accept participants in two-minute intervals. Probably so the trial section won’t become too overcrowded with those seeking to be proven worthy. So, would like to go first, or shall I?”

Shiki turned to look back at the doorway and he drew in a deep breath. Well, there would be no point in delaying, would there?

“All right then, thanks for the offer… um…”

“Ah, I have forgotten to introduce myself. That was remiss of me,” the boy bowed slightly at the waist, every appearance of sincerity in his actions. “I am Leonard Bistoria Harway, scion of the Harway family. I hope you fare well in the trials to come.”

And with that, he stepped back and folded his arms, waiting patiently.

Turning to face the doorway, Shiki steeled himself, let out the breath he realized that he had been subconsciously holding, and stepped through.

*~*

A… supply room? Shiki wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected from entering the room, but it definitely wasn’t this. The entire room looked… well, disappointingly ordinary.

Except for the door at the far end, this shimmered and glowed, streams of what appeared to be computer data constantly flashing across the surface of the door for brief moments. He hesitated, took a step forward.

Hold, young one. No need to be hasty.

A voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Shiki paused, looked around him.

If you pass through this door, you will enter a fight for your own life, a fight that can only end when a single victor remains to claim the prize. Tell me, are you prepared?

Was that even a real question? For Arcueid, he had sworn to lay down his own life if necessary.

The voice seemed to sense his unspoken conviction, for a moment later it spoke up again.

That being the case, let this effigy serve as your shield and sword for the challenge to come. Let us see if you are truly worthy to command a hero of legend.

A clattering noise, and from the corner of the room what appeared to Shiki to be a crude mannequin straightened itself up, marching over to him with a somewhat jerky gait.

Shiki paused to look over the doll once. Its head was smooth and featureless, its limbs ending in rounded off points. As far as he could tell, the only thing holding the joints together was magic… or whatever it was that passed for magic in this virtual world.

So this is to serve as my equipment for whatever the preliminary round will be, Shiki thought as he stepped towards the door, the doll obediently clattering behind him as it kept up.

Well, it’s no Servant, but it’ll have to do for now, I guess.

*~*

The instant he stepped through the door, the world around him changed.

No longer was he within anything that remotely resembled the school grounds. Instead, a vast void of inky blackness stretched out in front of him as far as his eye could discern.

“I don’t suppose you know any more about all this than I do?” Shiki questioned the doll behind him. Unsurprisingly, it gave no response whatsoever.

“Well, I guess if there’s nothing else to do, the only way is forward,” speaking out loud, Shiki took a step forward into the darkness, not really surprised when his foot met something solid for him to step on.

As he progressed through the digital void at a steady jog, Shiki began to realize that the world around him was not quite so empty as he had first thought – every time his foot landed on the ground again there would be a brief distortion in the floor, panels of light flashing in response to the impact he made with each footstep.

And off in the distance, whirling streams of ones and zeros whirled, twisted, shattered and combined in an endless dance. Blocks of what appeared to be solid, compressed data zipped through the vastness of the realm, their contents disassembling as needed for whatever information it needed to provide and reassembling themselves once their purpose had been accomplished.

Bursts of light and sound erupted in the distance as progressed further, lines carving themselves in the air, pathways unlocking and sealing themselves as the digital representation of a computer’s inner processes.

Shiki Tohno was by no means an expert on even mundane computers, but even he had to wonder if so flashy a display was really the ordinary way that computers functioned or if it was intended mainly to serve as an impressive display for any of the humans participating in the war.

Abruptly he realized that the floor he was traversing was now visible, soft translucent panes of hard light that he walked across. On both sides, too, walls had risen up, making the path he had to take all the more obvious.

And then, in front of him, a sphere.

Do not be alarmed. This is merely a test. The voice again.

The effigy you have with you is to fight for you. A brief, weak replication of how it will be if you succeed in claiming a Servant. Consider this… a warmup.

The data sphere in front of you will not retaliate. Order your effigy to fight, and see how it does so.

Shiki glanced at the doll, standing silently at his side, before nodding. “All right, take it down!” he pointed at the sphere, and the doll took a jerky step forward.

With a flash of movement, it swung one of its legs around in a sweeping move, an audible thump! sounding as the attack sent the sphere flying.

Still, the sphere was far from destroyed, and as Shiki watched, the doll followed its initial attack with a forward jab that punctured the frame of the sphere. A barrage of further attacks followed, until the final strike and the orb faded away into nothingness.

The effigy – and whatever Servant you may claim – draw their strength from you. Your quality as a Magus will influence how effective they are in battle. Did the fight take longer than you believe it should have? And with that the voice faded away again.

Sparing a moment to glance at the spot where the sphere had been floating a moment prior, Shiki Tohno headed further in towards the darkness.

*~*

Finally, he came onto a large, wide open circle, a place that was unambiguously the final stop of his journey through this place. As he neared, Shiki’s eyes widened in shock and horror.

Strewn all around the arena were dozens of bodies. Most of them appeared to be students, but one or two here and there appeared to have their own customized appearances, for all the good that it had done them. A few of them still stirred feebly on the floor of the chamber, but most were still and silent. As he watched, two of the students simply faded from view, with nothing remaining to show that they had ever been there at all.

So many… sacrificed already?

He could remember Ilya’s words, her statement that from the hundreds who sought the Grail, only 128 would be given the chance to really compete. But to actually see it here, see so many who had failed and had paid for it with their lives…

A clattering sound drew his attention and he lifted his gaze to see a doll identical to his own standing up from the mass of bodies. It stood still for a brief second before turning to face Shiki.

And now, young one. Let us see the strength of your convictions. Let us see if you are worthy.

And the enemy doll lunged at him.

In an instant, his own doll had moved to protect him, limbs rising up to block the blow from his enemy. As Shiki watched, it swung its arm out to batter its opponent – only for that limb to be batted aside.

The enemy ducked low under a punch, and swept its arm out, staggering Shiki’s guardian. Capitalizing on its disorientation, it stepped forward again, bringing both arms up to hammer them down on the doll’s head.

Bursting into action, Shiki leapt forward, throwing his body down low as he swept his leg to strike his enemy in the joint of its knee. Taken by surprise at this unexpected attack, the enemy doll hesitated, giving time for Shiki’s own effigy to slam into it with brute force.

That thing’s faster than me, stronger than me… Shiki thought as he continued moving forward. Without my knife, there’s no way I can hurt it. Briefly his hands strayed towards his glasses, but then he shook his head. If I really, truly need to. But that’s a trump card for later…

Because. I may not be able to hurt it.

But I can distract it.

The enemy twisted to face Shiki, twin arms striking out faster than Shiki could have anticipating. Twisting his own body in turn, Shiki was barely able to avoid the full force of the blow, but one of the doll’s arms grazed his own, sending a jangling shock through that limb.

But it was worth it. That exchange had given Shiki’s own doll the time it needed to kick at the enemy from the back, and his opponent – their opponent – staggered again.

I can give my own doll time to attack.

Taking the time to duck behind his own doll, Shiki leapt straight up, placing both hands on the shoulders of his guardian. Using the momentum of his jump and the strength of his arms, Shiki somersaulted over his doll’s head, sweeping one leg down in an overhead kick that caught his opponent by surprise, throwing its head forwards and downwards.

And then, with a savage roundhose kick, Shiki’s doll knocked the opponent’s head clean off, sending it skittering off onto the ground, and leaving the rest of the body to collapse in a formless heap.

As he stood, drawing in deep breaths of air, Shiki realized suddenly that all the corpses strewn about the arena had vanished, and that the only entities left were himself and the doll.

Abruptly his doll collapsed too, vanishing into the darkness as if it had never been.

Interesting. The voice held a contemplative tone to it now. Most interesting. A Master who would fight as an equal alongside those who are supposed to fight for it.

There didn’t seem to be any need for a reply, and so Shiki offered none.

After a moment, the voice continued. Regardless, you have proven yourself worthy.

Let a Servant be summoned, one that shall be your guardian and your weapon to wield in the battles to come.

*~*

In the formless darkness, she was.

Some might have said that she was waiting.

But to wait implied that the being should have some idea of what it was waiting for.

She didn’t know anything that it could look forward to, anything that could change, anything to wait for.

And so she wasn’t waiting.

She wasn’t hoping.

She simply was.

And perhaps she was not, either.

And then.

A distant tugging at the corner of her mind – at her soul? – and she stirred, blinked.

Was there-?

Was someone… calling her?

Impossible.

No one would call her.

No one could call her.

And yet, impossibly, the tugging refused to cease. A persistent, nagging question at the back of her mind.

Will you answer?

No, no, no, nononononononono

She thrashed and writhed in the darkness.

She couldn’t be called.

She wasn’t worthy to be called.

There had – there had to be a mistake somewhere. A glitch in SE.RA.PH’s databanks that had resulted in this.

Better to ignore it.

Better to return to silence.

Better to…

To…

What would that person be like?


The person who had called her?

Would he be kind and smile at her?

Would he simply see her as a tool for the War?

Would he be disappointe – of course he would be.

The tugging continued.

She drew in a deep breath, although that was meaningless in the realm of data and information.

I’m sorry.

I know I shouldn’t, but…

I’m just… so selfish…

(X)

Shiki glanced around the arena. It had been several minutes since the voice had last spoken up, and he was beginning to wonder if anything had gone wrong.

It appears the Servant that I called for you is not responding. The voice said again. That is… most odd.

Shiki didn’t reply, merely pushed his glasses up his nose.

It is theoretically possible, of course, that the Servant would still deem you unworthy even after your victory, and refuse to aid you. But that is an extreme rarity.

A pause.

In any case, without a Servant, you cannot compete in the Holy Grail War. In that instance, disqualification is the only acceptable result.

Shiki’s heart lurched to his throat. To have come so far, and now this-!

“HOLD!” a commanding, imperious voice rang out across the arena. “As always, you are too hasty, Mediator.”

I merely seek efficiency.

“Regardless, you need not have been so quick to pass judgment. I was merely preparing for my entrance with the one who is to command me.”

At the opposite end of the arena, a crimson light flared, a shining pillar that rose high to the void above. From within the blinding glare, a humanoid figure could be seen standing.

Abruptly the light died away, and in its place was –

“Saber?“ the word was out of Shiki’s mouth before he could stop himself.

There were differences, of course, most prominently that she was dressed in a rich red instead of the blue and white (and recently, bronze) that he was more familiar with. But the same, delicate features, the same neatly arranged hair, the same piercing green eyes…

“Sabe-“ the servant blinked before she collected herself and smiled. “Indeed I am of the Saber class. How skilful! A Master who can discern my abilities with but a glance! It appears I was right to accept the summons, after all.”

Er… once again, not the Saber I know.

“If you are determined to compete in the war,” Saber continued. “Then I shall be your blade that will cut you a path to victory.”

“That sounds nice,” Shiki chuckled, the tension suddenly draining from his body.

“Ah, but I forget myself. Such a ritual demands the proper formalities, after all,” and saying so, Saber went down onto one knee, a hand reaching up to cover her heart.

“Ahem… I ask of you,” she continued. “Are you my master?”

There was a brief, eternal moment of silence.

Then Shiki Tohno nodded.

“I am,” and as he spoke he could feel a burning sensation on his right arm.

Eh? Ah, right. Those ‘Command Seals’ that Emiya told me about…

“And you, Saber, are you willing to be my Servant?”

“But of course,” she looked up into his face as she stood, and Shiki could see joy shining in her eyes. “I will serve as your blade until the curtain falls.”

“Good,” Shiki smiled at her and held out a hand. “All right then, Saber, let’s work together.”

Saber blinked, staring at the hand as if she didn’t know quite what to make of it. Then suddenly a smile split her features and she grabbed ahold of the hand enthusiastically.

“Yes, let us do so!”

With this, I formally recognize the contract formed between the Master Shiki Tohno and the Servant Saber. The voice spoke again in calm tones.

Welcome to the Holy Grail War.

*~*

Home Base, Avalon

Ilya shook her head and folded her arms. In front of her, the TV screen displayed Shiki and some red-clad girl – she couldn’t get a good look from here – shaking hands. She blew out a long sigh, half of relief, half of frustration.

“Found you.” She muttered to the silent office.

*~*

Chapter End

*~*

Thanks for reading. I would appreciate reviews.

[2ndsly]

Now, he might start getting some suport.
If they can figure out how to.

A nice update.

[burningclaw2]

Saber!Nero yay ^^ I actually love how Nero's NP looks.

Hey Pure will this mean we can use Nero for events after the Moon Cell arc.

[ItsaRandomUsername]

And it's a goal!

Not much to say other than "W00T~! Fate/EXTRA fanficcery!"

...yeah.

[burningclaw2]

We need more Nero and Tamamo type-moon fan fiction.

[Alulim]

And it's a goal!

Not much to say other than "W00T~! Fate/EXTRA fanficcery!"

...yeah.

I second this.

[pureauthor]

I think you fleshed it out more then Fate/Extra's opening did. Also does Shiki still have access to Mystic Eye's of Deaths Perception and will he be able to get a knife?

Don't worry, Shiki will be taking those glasses off when he feels the situation calls for it. Thus far though...

Saber!Nero yay ^^ I actually love how Nero's NP looks.

Hey Pure will this mean we can use Nero for events after the Moon Cell arc.

Um.

The only advice I can give you here is to reread the prologue. Very carefully.

We need more Nero and Tamamo type-moon fan fiction.

Now that I can agree with.

[Fafnir]

Saber!Nero yay ^^ I actually love how Nero's NP looks.

Hey Pure will this mean we can use Nero for events after the Moon Cell arc.

Nero? I see no Nero here. >:3

[Kieran]

Nice - Shiki's approach to the problem is logical, his reasoning sound, and his skill level competent enough that this will be an interesting series of fights. And Nero Saber (Saber Nero?) seems like an interesting character - she ought to be fun to get to know.

Doesn't mean it can interfere with a true Grail and not end up with its programming fired ^^

I mean if Ilya wanted she could probable get the Moon Cell to listen to her in some respects. The ability to rewrite reality on a whim is dangerous.

Unless the Grail is charged up, Ilya's abilities are fairly limited. She can open Doors to where (and to a limited extent, when) she wants. She can monitor everyone connected to the Works, and through them, have a limited sense of their location in time-space (for example, she might able to detect enemies approaching Shiki's location, or the time of an upcoming battle), and the potential effects of their actions. Her primary function is to shield and sustain their natures while in alternate realities. For example, Shiki should be able to use his Mystic Eyes here, despite the fact that it's a digital world, and the ability shouldn't strictly function unless it's programmed to. Given how long he was outside her supervision, however, there might have been a few changes to Shiki - and depending on the severity, it might require the Grail to undo it.

Of course, fully charged, Ilya's got pretty much all the power and potential of the Holy Grail - it's just that the energy requirements for it are so massive (and hard to come by), they try to avoid using that option unless they have to.

[Larekko12]

So in his act of stupid he could have gotten himself killed and permanately crippled in a way that could actually keep him from saving Arcuied the easy way by severing her from the system by having his daya corrupted and his eys lost, Keiran?

Has someone considered the Grail Works going into the recruitoing business for heroes from 'finished' realms or even in their own. Like people who really have life in them left to fight with but lack a fight or hav esome duty they(grail) can deal with like Kratos ToS?

[Kieran]

That's how they got Shiki and the Tohnos - and the option's open. The whole idea of Grail Works is to give everybody a mutual setting they can play with. You want to see Shirou or Shiki go up against a particular threat or problem, here's your chance. You want a character from another setting to interact with the Type-Moon ones - ditto. Write whatever you please, and the rest of us will go along for the ride.

[pureauthor]

So in his act of stupid he could have gotten himself killed and permanately crippled in a way that could actually keep him from saving Arcuied the easy way by severing her from the system by having his daya corrupted and his eys lost, Keiran?

Well, the question wasn't directed at me, but I'll try my best to answer anyway (in some ways I believe I'm more suited to answer this rather than Kieran, since he has yet to play Fate/Extra):

Firstly, if not for 'his act of stupid' he wouldn't be able to do it 'the easy way' either, because Shirou would have gone instead, and Shiki would be back at Home Base demanding updates on Arcueid's location every fifteen minutes.

Secondly, the 'easy' way here is anything but. Barring the initial four days memory loss trial, he's now amongst 127 other Masters, any one of whom could be Arcueid's current Master, and the situation being what it is, almost all the Masters keep the information on their Servant very close to their chest. MEoDP is hardly a universal panacea for this situation, and Shiki knows it too, which is why he hasn't taken his glasses off yet.

[RadiantBeam]

Huh, didn't expect Saber to have that kind of reaction to being summoned; seems Ilya knows her, too.

Interesting, most interesting indeed!

[pureauthor]

Um, I should point out that Ilya's 'found you' was in reference to Shiki, not Saber.

[Larekko12]

Well, the question wasn't directed at me, but I'll try my best to answer anyway (in some ways I believe I'm more suited to answer this rather than Kieran, since he has yet to play Fate/Extra):

Firstly, if not for 'his act of stupid' he wouldn't be able to do it 'the easy way' either, because Shirou would have gone instead, and Shiki would be back at Home Base demanding updates on Arcueid's location every fifteen minutes.

Secondly, the 'easy' way here is anything but. Barring the initial four days memory loss trial, he's now amongst 127 other Masters, any one of whom could be Arcueid's current Master, and the situation being what it is, almost all the Masters keep the information on their Servant very close to their chest. MEoDP is hardly a universal panacea for this situation, and Shiki knows it too, which is why he hasn't taken his glasses off yet.

I call it an act of stupid cause comparatively I believe he has grounds to argue he can be the best for the job not by experience but by the fact that, as far as I know, while Illya can preserve there natures she can't impose them on other worlds.

So while Shirou has war experience and improved general combat ability he doesn't have an all purpose severing tool that would work on moon cell's tech unless sufficiently advanced tech counts for rule breaker. I beleive he could argue on the basis of using his eyes he could purge cut the connections binding Arc to the system be they magical or technological. MEoDP is not a mystical solve everything tool but it is a very good an discriminate hammer that does what it does very well on damn near anything.

Though i may be underestimating Illya's ability to simply pull Arc out of the game upon finding her which would completely undermine that portion of my beliefs. Still there was the option jumping the gun and setting off oversight as you do so purposefully so you don't get lost. Illya actually sleep right? Set an alarm for as you plan to go through for trace may work.

Does the analogy of it feels like 'A shirou going in HF aware of HF knowing RB and its use in freeing Sakura but doing so in such that it might damage his ability to make RB in the first place' work?.

Taking off his glasses at this moment is unwise I agree. Letting the sentient computer program get some live analysis of that ability before you are ready to nuke it or bounce is unwise.

[pureauthor]

Shiki tried to argue just that in the Prologue - he was shot down because, as Ilya pointed out, they don't know enough, like who Arcueid's master is (the sort of secret that's not going to come out easily), which means that whoever is going in has to assume s/he will be sticking around to participate for at least a significant chunk of the war, and Shirou was decided to be better at that.

Edit: Yay, got the Tags sorted out.