The Son of the Great

[gwonbush]

The awesome one.

[hanashinobi]

I will have to keep my eye on this

[Flere821]

"So, he's the only survivor?" Emiya Kiritsugu said, exhaling a cloud of smoke from his lungs. He and Waver Velvet, the last two surviving Masters of the War as far as he was concerned, as well as the Servant Rider, who somehow sustained a form following the Grail's destruction, were conversing just outside the hospital room reserved for the boy named Shirou, who was, for the moment, still sleeping.

He had sustained multiple burn injuries of varying degrees all over his body, as well as many cuts, scrapes, and bruises; though what had nearly killed him was asphyxiation via the massive amount of smoke and ash the boy had inevitably inhaled. The trauma induced by the fire which had most likely killed any family he had, coupled with the air he had inhaled being thick with smoke, had, as the doctor told the trio, caused him to lose more or less all of his memories.

A boy crippled in body, mind, and spirit. The three knew such a broken existence could hardly be called living at all.

"The rescue teams are still out there looking for more," Waver replied, gripping his hands together, "But, so far, no one besides him who was salvaged from the Shinto District was able to survive the injuries they had sustained." Waver gritted his teeth, clenching his hands into fists. "But, even if he does survive, how can he continue on?"

"True, it'd take some helluva lot of treatment to even give the lad a chance to recuperate physically." Rider said smoothly, scratching his beard. "And with no known living relatives, he doesn't have much of any one to lean on."

Kiritsugu sighed for the hundredth time that day, inhaling another whiff of his cigarette into his lungs. After a long moment of almost stagnant silence, he replied, "The least we owe him is a second chance. I'll implant Avalon inside his body--it's restorative properties should heal him."

"Avalon?" Waver started with a jolt, "The sheath of Excalibur?! How the hell did you--" But realization suddenly then hit Waver. "...Then, Saber was..."

"King Arther--or, Arthuria, as proper." Rider commented.

"He needs it more than we ever will." Kiritsugu continued, "And, as I said, this is the least we can do. We, as Masters of the Grail War, are at least partially responsible for that disaster."

"Even if we save the boy's life, we can't guarantee he'll have the will to continue living." Waver argued in turn. "Who could possibly be able to recover from loss like that?"

"If he does have the resolve, I'll be more than willing to raise the boy." Rider suddenly declared with mild enthusiasm. The two Masters stared at him with some bewilderment.

---------
*snip*

Hmm... from F/Z, doesn't everyone know Saber's King Arthur after that fight against Lancer and they found out what the sword was under Invisible Air?

The 10 year timeskip, IMO, isn't a good idea when there's so much that can happen here. It could just be me used to fics like Tainted Ideals or From Fake Dreams that go into this, but a sudden jump with not much info is jarring.

And where's Waver after 10 years? Back in London, and left Iskander to do whatever? That doesn't seem quite right to me... at least Kiritsugu is accounted for, he probably died due to Angra Mainyu =/

[Komrade Kwestions]

Yes, yes, and yes. This is awesome, and Taiga is the best comedy foil character in the Nasuverse. (And you may now have me shipping TaigaxIskander)

....But I ship Taiga with everyone.

[zhead]

This amuses me.

[Frantic Author]

Flere's got it. The timeskip came out of NOWHERE - i expected at least a venture into "Rider being an incompetent father"

also Shirou's last name is another "woah man". Did I miss something in F/Z, or did you just make it up?

[Mattias]

I like it. Maybe toss in some flashbacks to show Shirou growing with those two. Extra points for a scene with Rider choosing his new name and Waver keeps shooting down his choices, while little Shirou just watches and eats his Corn Flakes.

[one piece of infinity]

Also, are they living in the emiya household? Did kiritsugu just give it to them?

[Mike1984]

Yeah, the concept looks good here, but the time-skip was rather jarring, honestly. Although, it may be that you intend to go more into what happened in the intervening ten years at a later point, which seems fine to me.

[Basileus777]

How is Rider getting his prana? I doubt he has a church full of kids keeping him supplied.

[The Curious Fan]

How is Rider getting his prana? I doubt he has a church full of kids keeping him supplied.

Wasn't that to help fill his ridiculous prana storage capacity rather than being necessary?

[Ruu-tan]

And Rider still has Waver. He would be willing to give him the necessary prana, tantric rituals or not.

Regarding the latest chapter, I'm with everyone on the time-skip. It just appears out of nowhere... Do include flashbacks on Shirou's childhood, I want to see Papa Rider's parenting skills lol. Also, everyone knows about Saber's identity quite early in the Fourth War. Just telling. On the Emiya mansion, Kiritsugu might have decided to lend it to Rider and Waver for raising little Shirou.

[Imaginary]

This certainly is interesting. Although I still have a few questions as to how Rider is able to exist at all right now. As I understand it, the Corrupt Grail was capable of providing Servants with a new body, but they still required a constant prana intake. Since I doubt Waver has stockpiled a bunch of orphans under the *cough* "Emiya" residence, then I'm assuming that either Waver or Kiritsugu is nearby to act as a battery. At least I hope they are. Having "Uncle Waver" would certainly be an interesting addition to the cast.

Also, what is Shirou's position of magecraft. Rider being a figure straight out of the history books means that Shirou must have recognized that having Alexander the Great as your adopted father is somewhat...strange. I would assume that Shirou would have been informed of the true nature of his "father" as well as the existence of magecraft, correct?

[Agailius]

To answer all your questions:
1. I suppose the Time Skip was... rushed. It was kinda late when I wrote it. No worries--Shirou will have flashbacks.

2. "Shourisha" is a surname name I came up with. Since it'd be strange for Rider to be walking around as simply "Rider" or "Iskander," Waver came up with the name, "Raida Shourisha". And, yes, they had an argument on the surname. I, or the Rider in my fic, chose the name because it can be translated as "Victor," or "Conqueror," which, when Rider has recharged enough of his prana--'cause he hasn't been going around fighting these last ten years; he's been binge drinking and playing video games--finds can double as a title.

3. Yes, they live at the Emiya household. Kiritsugu lent it to them. Waver himself, being Lord El-Melloi II, has to go on extended trips to the Clock Tower, but he's moved his base of operations into Fuyuki. Whereas Rider fills in the role of a laid-back father, Waver fills the role of the high-strung, serious uncle.

4. And, yes, Waver is the one teaching him magecraft. Shirou, his origin still being Sword, is still more or less the same in his capabilities as a magus. What HAS changed is the fact that Rider is training him every day in swordsmanship and exercise, so when Lancer comes around, Shirou will be able to put up more of a fight.

5. Though he is by all means an unorthodox father, Rider has been a good one. In this fic, Shirou no longer has his martyr ideology. He's still a nice guy, a good cook, and likes to help people, but instead of following a "For Great Justice" ideology, he's more along the lines of a "For Great Happiness" here.

[Lycodrake]

4. And, yes, Waver is the one teaching him magecraft. Shirou, his origin still being Sword, is still more or less the same in his capabilities as a magus.

Pretty sure that that would mean Shirou would be a much better magus. ^^;;;

[The Curious Fan]

Pretty sure that that would mean Shirou would be a much better magus. ^^;;;

Especially considering Waver would probably notice and correct the screwup Shirou made with his circuits...

[Agailius]

Pretty sure that that would mean Shirou would be a much better magus. ^^;;;

Thank you for pointing it out. Sword-projection unlocked!

[Imaginary]

To answer all your questions:
5. Though he is by all means an unorthodox father, Rider has been a good one. In this fic, Shirou no longer has his martyr ideology. He's still a nice guy, a good cook, and likes to help people, but instead of following a "For Great Justice" ideology, he's more along the lines of a "For Great Happiness" here.

This doesn't really make any sense to me. In canon, Shirou's personality can largely be attributed to his survivor's guilt meshing well with Kiritsugu's ideals. Rider's philosophy of "living large" doesn't really sound like something that would easily be adopted by someone who had his entire world torn down and burned to ashes before their very eyes. I honestly have difficulty seeing Shirou dedicating himself to any other ideal so vehemently.

[nitewind]

You could potentially write it as something like "as the only survivor it is your duty to live for those that didn't, so you need to live more than anyone not just for yourself but for those that didn't survive" or something like that.

[EnigmaticFellow]

This fic is relevant to my interests. Continue on with this please.