Hello, beasts from the lair! I'm Kishou, whom you're probably familiar with for Fate/Reach Out back at Spacebattles, but I thought I give this forum an exclusive story I just wrote. This is more of a prequel/interest gauge of a story I'm considering writing in the future, but I originally wanted it to be a one-shot. It's instead a two shot because its a bit longer than I planned it to be, and I thought this would be a good cut off point. And no, the interest gauge for the future story isn't this one but one that stars Shirou and Oliver. You'll understand after reading.
Warning, contains spoilers for Fate/Zero (copyrighted to Type Moon's expansive verse world) and Ni no Kuni (copyrighted to Studio Ghibli as one helluva awesome video game). Enjoy.
Part 1: Take from Zero
When he was young, he wanted to be a hero for her.
His childhood was normal for the most part, growing up on Alimango Island. The beaches, the village, the forest, he loved it all. He also held two people closest to his heart at an early age; his father Norikata and his friend Shirley.
He had a dream, but was too embarrassed to tell Shirley at the time. He wanted nothing more than to be a superhero, always saving others and fighting for justice. He felt if she knew, she would never let him hear the end of it.
Then one day, Shirley changed. She drank something his father made, to try and prove to the village he could make great things to help them. Suddenly she was brutally eating live chickens, and getting worse by the minute. She wanted more blood and slowly lost her sanity in the bloodlust. In her fleeting moments of humanity, Shirley begged him to kill her before everyone else could die.
But he couldn’t. He loved her too much to hurt her, let alone kill her. He was also scared of her change and the idea of killing her, but deep down he wanted to save her. So he ran, trying to deny the very idea of her gone. He never saw her again.
He would come to regret his hesitation for years to come. By nightfall everyone in the village was killing and eating themselves, transformed by Shirley. To make amends, he performed his first act of justice and killed the man responsible; his father.
He had lost everything of his childhood, and there was nothing left for him in a burned-down village. But his dream to save everyone was never more pure or strong.
<><><>
When she was young, she was saved by a hero.
Even as a child everyone knew she had the potential to become a great wizard. They were happy for her and expected great things from her in the future.
Then an army marched to her town and burned it down, presumably looking for anything of worth; gold, weapons, women, and especially her as their new wizard. In an instant, she had lost everything she had ever known, and was moments away from also losing her life.
She tried to run away, hoping not to run into any armored knights as they killed everyone else. If she only knew magic, she could help them, but her parents had died just to make sure she would be able to escape. It might be for naught, as she neared the exit of her home and ran into a lone soldier.
She almost gave up, but he urged her, pleaded her to run and save herself. She didn’t know what to make of the man, and he sensed her hesitation. He gave her a beautiful pendant, something that she knew held sentimental value but was suggested to be used for money at her earliest convenience.
Though she never learned his name, the kindness of this man was just enough to strengthen her resolve and safely flee. The nightmares would haunt her over the years, but she would have a new family, a new start, and a determined goal inspired by her savior.
<><><>
At one point, he realized that all he could do was kill.
It was as Natalia told him once. He had a gift of shutting off his emotions the moment he had a gun in his hand. Aim and fire was his mantra. It came so easy to him, where it would take years for most killers to even begin to grasp it. He had potential, but he acted too much like machine and not a human.
He always tried to rationalize the best way to save everyone, but he learned the hard way that such thinking is impossible. People die all the time, all over the world. And there were people that would constantly cause harm to others if they were left alive. If he could kill those people, the world would be a little bit safer.
Natalia had given him so much after Alimango Island. She took him in. Raised him. Taught him how to handle a gun and gave him special ammunition to use, made from his own rib bones. In many ways, he saw her as the mother he never had.
Time passed, and an outbreak happened that neither of them could have predicted. In trying to assassinate a rogue magus on a plane, demon bees escaped from his corpse and infected everyone except Natalia. He rationalized every possibility to both save Natalia and take care of all the monsters onboard her plane, but the consequences outweighed his desires.
He had to save the many by sacrificing the few. He had to destroy the plane. He had to kill a loved one once more. He had to kill Natalia, who helped raised him after Alimango and had loved him like a mother would.
He killed his emotions long enough to fire the rocket launcher. Only when the plane exploded did he allow himself to cry.
<><><>
At one point, she realized she didn’t have the heart to fight.
Having escaped to Ding Dong Dell, she was found and adopted by a traveling couple on the way. The husband at the time was a Great Sage who had spent his time doing small quests for Swift Solutions, and teaching a new generation of students the art of magic. This man, Roan, took an instant liking to her, especially when he realized her gift.
It was rudimentary for all wizards to learn to empty their mind and clear their hearts of any emotion, including those close to evil. It was a skill most wizards didn’t develop until they were well on their way as adults. And yet she was the first child her age to learn this skill and perfectly draw the rune for Form Familiar.
Though as she played with her new Bubbud, Roan saw fit to warn her that wizards must keep themselves balanced in regards to their emotions at all times. Having too much or too little of any virtue was dangerous to everyone, and wizards were no exception. This was most important because Give Heart and Take Heart were two vital spells needed to keep the people emotionally balanced. This was one of the many duties as a wizard that she quickly learned to do.
Years later, she and Roan had left together to claim a bounty on a rogue monster. They were instead ambushed by a swarm of them, acting oddly coordinated in their actions. Roan did most of the fighting with his Overripe Buncher familiar while she stayed close to him and drew runes for Healing Touch.
Things took a turn for the worst when another wizard appeared before them and started conjuring large flames. Fire especially scared her since her village was burned, and only the pendant she wore on her at all times calmed her down.
She blanked out when Roan tried to fend out the evil wizard with an explosion. When she came to, the monsters and evil wizard were gone. Roan had survived the encounter, but he had lost all confidence in himself. Since that day, he secluded himself in his house and refused to teach any more students in magic. He died a year later as a broken-hearted man, but he was only the first of many.
Since then, she strove to learn as much as she could to be a strong Sage so no one would end up like Roan ever again.
<><><>
He continued on his blood-stained path, eventually earning the title of “Magus Killer”. Kill one to save ten. Kill ten to save a hundred. Kill a hundred to save a thousand. Even if people died as collateral damage, those that lived on would be safe for another day. But he knew his efforts would never be enough to truly save the world, to truly grant the world peace.
He finally found hope in the form of a wish.
He was contacted by the Einzbern family to be their representative in the Holy Grail War. In a nutshell, he would contract a Heroic Spirit as his summoned familiar that would battle other Magi-Servant teams and use his skills to fight to the last man. In return, should he win, he could have any wish of his desire granted; including world peace.
He hadn’t expected to fall in love with the white haired homunculus, Irisviel Einzbern, and have a daughter with her. If he hadn’t, it might make his goal and job all the more bearable.
“She’s so cute,” she had said when Illya was born. “So small, so delicate. Her eyes are just like yours.” He said nothing, staring past the window by her bed. A harsh snowstorm brewed outside of the castle they resided in, cut off from life and civilization for miles.
“Iri,” he said finally. “You’re going to die by my hand.”
It was her fate to be destroyed and used as the Holy Grail in the end. She would be the container, the one to grant wishes, at the cost of her life. As a Master, he’d be directly responsible in ensuring that.
Irisviel only smiled. “I know. This has been the Einzbern’s wish for generations. It’s the very reason I exist. But you’ve given me a life beyond that of a simple homunculus. You’ve given me hope, love, and now little Illya. For you, I’ll carry on your will, your ideals-“
“I don’t deserve that child,” he cut in. “I have no right to hold her.”
What father should, anyway? He would be the one that would take her mother away. Even for a noble cause, she would never be happy.
“You do have the right,” she said. “You’re striving for a world where no one needs to cry. Your ideal is a beautiful goal. I know the Holy Grail can grant your wish and save you. So take your daughter and hold her. Be proud like any father should.”
He stared between his wife and daughter; both equally beautiful from their white hair and soft features. Awkwardly, he took Illya in his hands and gently caressed her. He never felt something anything so light in his hands before. So light, yet full of life…
He would win the Holy Grail War, for his family. Iri would be the last innocent victim slain by his hand, and his dream would finally come true. It would all be worth it.
<><><>
The Dark Djinn. The Executioner. Shadar. The evil wizard had many names, and each one struck terror and fear into the people of the world. He was as wise as he was old, and looked every bit terrifying; from his black robes with glowing runes to his long red locks obscuring his hunched, hooded face. No one dared stand up against him now, for he effortlessly stripped their hearts of their virtues and left them as empty husks until the day they died, or when a Nightmare found a new host. No matter which came first, it was still a horrible fate to see happen to wizards of any caliber.
Shadar enforced a ban against all magic spells and wands. He burned down an entire city with the only military force large enough to fight him. He even destroyed the legendary wand Mornstar to prevent any wizard from opposing him. Regardless, she would fight him, and possibly save him. If Shadar could break the hearts of fellow wizards and would go such lengths to do so, he must have suffered tremendously in the past.
Getting to his lair was easy enough, but Shadar proved too much of a skilled wizard for her to overpower on her own. When she wasn’t warding off his attempts of Take Heart, she was trading spell for spell in his domain at the end of the Miasma Marshes. As much as she hated to admit it, Shadar had the makings of being a Great Sage himself; possibly even the greatest sage since Wizard King Horace. His Black Briar barrier didn’t make things easier on her end, though.
So despite her years of training, her prestige and title as a Great Sage and thus, carrying the mantle for only the strongest of wizards, she couldn’t hope to defeat the Dark Djinn.
“It’s over, Sage,” said Shadar. “Like all wizards before, you too shall fall, where death is your only comfort.”
But she refused to accept defeat. “You’re wrong Shadar, I know of another way to win!”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“I’ll find your soul mate!” Every person in this world was connected to someone from another world, and they shared a spiritual link that affected both ways. So whatever Shadar was experiencing was felt by his soul mate as well. If she could save his soul, then he too could be saved.
But then Shadar laughed at her. “So this is your plan? Your grand design?” he taunted in slow deliberateness. “It is a daring plan, I must admit. But I’m afraid I must disappoint you. You see… I have no soul mate.”
“N-no,” she gasped. “No! That’s not possible! Without a soul mate, how could you exist?”
“I took precautions to sever all ties with he who shared my soul, so that this weakness could not be used against me. With no anchor tied to my life, I can now rule indefinitely for all time!”
It was worse than she feared. With no soul mate, Shadar had condemned a soul to wander aimlessly outside of reincarnation. He would kill his own shared life just to better his own ends. But there was still a way. The lost soul would one day be reborn.
There was still a way to find and save that soul, in the form of a spell.
She hastily drew the runes with her wand, energy building in a blue hue. Breach Time, a spell that could allow any wizard to travel to their designated point of time.
Shadar recognized them immediately, torn between dismay and surprise. “Surely not? You know you will never return! Not to this time!”
It was true; the spell could only be used once in a wizard’s lifetime. No matter what time she would appear in, she would be lost to her world and those that she had vowed to protect. Just to save Shadar and his lost soul that will one day be reborn, she was about to throw it all away for them. Regardless-
“I’m well aware of that,” she said. “And I am willing to pay the price.”
“Damn you!” cursed the Dark Djinn, raising his own staff to stop her. Too late.
“Today, tomorrow, yesterday! Show me the future; lead the way!” And in a flash, she was gone into the future.
<><><>
Two lives. Two magicians. Two futures that would be directly influenced by their actions. It would have made no difference on their actions if the two had never crossed paths.
But they did. And the change came.
<><><>
He was forced to see hell twice in succession.
The first time was from the mud of the Grail, spilt out sometime during his fight with Kirei Kotomine. Though the scenery around him changed constantly, he didn’t question it. No, he was more disturbed by how the Grail interpreted his wish into killing people, and had done so with questions.
When offering the lives of two different bodies of people, he always chose to sacrifice the smallest group of people in favor of the larger group. He thought little of it initially until he saw the gore and death in horrendous detail. And it didn’t stop. The numbers kept dwindling. They kept dividing, and the Grail kept forcing him into killing for his hypothetical wish.
The only true peace that the Grail could grant was with his wife and daughter, both alive… and the rest of the world dead.
He would never force the world into the pointless bloodshed he tried so hard to prevent, even if it meant turning away from his family. So he rejected the Grail, and ordered his Servant Saber (blissfully unaware of its true nature) to destroy it.
No sooner was that accomplished did the remains of the Grail erupt and plunged the city into hellfire and blackness. It destroyed half the city, and so many people died.
All because of him.
He desperately searched the city, crying and calling out for someone.
<><><>
As she expected, the soul mate of Shadar was eventually reincarnated. Finding it was the hard part; it required divination on a lock of hair or something else defining of a soul mate pair. She used a piece of cloth from Shadar’s robes that one of her spells managed to tear off through the Black Briar, and was fortunate enough to get a reading.
A Gateway spell later, and on the back of her flying broom, she found herself in the night skies of a city. Upon first arrival, she was taken aback; she had never seen so many tall buildings before, be it brick or metal. And the many lights that illuminated the area were just breathtaking.
The moment abruptly ended when an explosion took place in the western half of the city.
She panicked and hurried down. If she lost the missing soul mate, everything would be all for naught.
Whatever illusion of beauty she had for the city died as she landed. Fire and napalm burned down everything in sight. People screamed in primal terror. So many dead bodies… It was like the day her home village had been burned down. Even so, she wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. Even in a new world, she was a wizard. And wizards always helped people.
She hurried forward, quickly drawing the runes for Spirit Medium just in case. If the new soul died here, it would be lost to her forever, as would saving Shadar. The further she searched, the more discouraged she felt that she was too late to help anyone. The damage was too severe, and required the miraculous powers of Healing Hand to make a difference. She barely had enough power left to cast that spell, let alone enough times to save an entire city of dying civilians.
As selfish as it was, she had one person she had to save above all others, for the sake of her world.
Through her tracking and calling with spirits, her search was finally rewarded. In the middle of a street was a red-haired boy, not even ten. His clothes were unusual to her, both in color and design, but she had no time to dwell on it. Shadar’s lost soul mate was dying, despite his struggles to live.
She had been too late. Even if she were to cure his wounds, she couldn’t do the same for the soul. It would require the forbidden Ashes of Resurrection to save him, but at a great risk for the caster. Even if she was successful, it would require something of hers to be offered in trade. She recalled a different world having an important rule for their alchemy that applied to the spell: the Equivalent Exchange.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to save you now,” she whispered. “But I promise you, your next life will be better.”
Yes, there was one thing she could at least do. Reaching over the boy’s body, she lightly grasped the essence of his soul. With a delicate plop, she managed to sever the soul from the body, giving the boy a gentle, if abrupt death.
She then guided the soul through her lower body and abdomen, feeding it mana through her fingertips to make the soul bond to her easier. Several minutes of panting and grunting later, she succeeded. The process was painful, to say the least. But she supposed that conception and sexual intercourse was no different.
Paying one last look of respect, she caressed the boy’s hair before leaving. She still had some magic in her to save one more person.
<><><>
He had almost given up hope.
His cries met no response. The people he found were already dead. His search was one of desperation, and it grew with each passing minute.
It was cruel irony at its finest. The people he had tried so hard to save were the ones that died, and Kotomine, the man he had just killed, was somehow standing before him with Archer.
He didn’t care anymore. He just knew growing despair, questioning if everything he had done was actually worth all the death he caused.
And so, just when he was ready to put a bullet into his head, he heard it.
“Is there anyone there? Please help this boy!”
Someone… was still alive?
Renewed with adrenaline, he dashed ahead to the voice; a lone woman kneeling next to a boy in the middle of the destroyed city, a light blue glow emitting from her hands. Was she a magus? A spellcaster? He didn’t care to know, only that the boy in her arms wasn’t moving.
As he ran closer, she looked up to him. For some reason, she looked like a classical storybook wizard. Her long green dress and white shoulder cape were blackened by the ash, as was her pale face and auburn hair. In her hands was a crystal blue staff, twirled just below the hooked tip that bathed the boy in light.
“You there!” she cried, sounding relieved at his arrival. “This boy needs help!”
He knelt to the boy’s side, opposite to her. Whatever magic this was, it was not powerful enough to cleanse the Grail’s curse completely. “Don’t you have spells stronger than this?”
She looked surprised for a moment. “You can-?” Whatever she meant to say, she stopped herself. “No, this is the best I can offer. But his soul is almost gone.”
No, he couldn’t let this one slip. If he couldn’t save just one person in this tragedy he caused, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Everyone he loved, and everyone he had sacrificed would have died for nothing. But for the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything to do. The only magecraft he knew was his Time spell, and Iri was the only one versed in healing.
Wait. There was one thing. And frankly, the more he thought about it, he wasn’t going to need it anymore.
Without warning, he dug both of his hands into his chest. A golden light opened from within, and nearly blinded both adults. The light gradually faded, and in his hands was a beautifully crafted sheath of the most brilliant gold and blue colors. Even now it still glowed and emitted its own warm radiance.
Then, as if casually disregarding the majestic gift, he placed it over the boy’s body, merging it inside him. A similar light shined from the insertion, until no trace of it remained. The entire time the woman stared at him, baffled and mystified.
The boy suddenly coughed. He was suddenly stirring with new life, provided by the sheath’s healing properties.
“Thank goodness,” the woman sighed in relief.
“He’s alive,” he smiled, eyes glistening. He hugged the boy tightly, relief washing over him. Thank god, he was alive!
<><><>
Several days passed since the fire. There were no other reported survivors, and the boy, Shirou, had no living relatives. She only knew this because she stayed at the same hospital to report herself for pregnancy. The nurses told her she was fortunate that her baby was safe, and gave her all the information she needed to know for the following trimesters of childbirth.
She had already decided on a name for the child, thanks to the nurses; she expected a boy, as he would be Shadar’s soul mate, so he would be named Oliver. He will be a beautiful, young boy to make her new life fruitful, and bring peace to everyone around him. And whether should they meet or not, he would save Shadar. She knew that for a fact. She would make it fact.
When she finally gained enough strength to walk, she decided to see Shirou and wish him well. To her surprise, the man was also there waiting to see him. He wore the same dark trench coat over an equally dark suit and pants. Everything about him was dark, from the hair to the clothes and even the blank stare in his eyes. He had the look of a trained killer, but his spirit was gone. He was brokenhearted, but Shadar couldn’t have had a hand in this, could he?
She sat in the spare seat next to the man. He didn’t react at all to her, so she was surprised when he suddenly said, “I thought he was yours.”
“I’m sorry?” she asked him.
“The boy. Shirou. I believed him to be your son.”
Her son? It must have been convincing since they shared a similar hair color. It was by luck that she found him in time and healed him enough for the man to use some magical artefact to save his life.
“No, he’s not,” she told him honestly. “I don’t think anyone else survived that fire.”
The man’s brow furrowed slightly. “I see.”
Another silence passed between them. He seemed to be a man that barely spoke his mind and it did little to ease her slight anxiety. She couldn’t even think of how to ask him how she saw her magic the night of the fire. Wasn’t magic from her world invisible to non-wizards in other worlds? Then again, could he be a wizard himself?
It must have been the fact they were completely alone in the hallway, but he saw fit to ask her first; “Are you a magus?”
The terminology was different, but she supposed he knew well enough. “In my world, we prefer wizard, or sage.”
He turned to her, showing slight surprise. “Your world?”
She hesitated. He showed a bit of apprehension of her being from a different world, and may not take well to where she’d come from. Still, wizards always tell the truth, and he already knew she was a wizard. What difference did it matter to reveal this to him?
“My world,” she answered. “I came here from another world.”
He blinked. “You expect me to believe you can easily cast the Second Magic and travel between worlds?”
It was her turn to be blink, but her confusion clearly showed at her head tilting to the side. “Of course. Even a child with magical potential could cast Gateway." Surely if he knew that Gateway was the second spell of the Wizard's Companion, it shouldn't be this surprising, right?
His expression didn’t change, but she could sense his incredulous disbelief in her words. Then he sighed and looked away. “The Wizard Marshall would get a kick out of this.”
Before she could ask what he meant, a nurse walked up to them. “Emiya-san? Sage-san? You can visit Shirou-chan now.”
The nurse quickly led them to the boy’s room. He was still bandaged up and bedridden, only one of his eyes and a portion of his brick red hair were visible. The standard hospital gown had replaced his burnt clothes. His gloomy expression instantly brightened upon seeing his visitors.
“Good to see you’re doing well,” she smiled, to which Shirou nodded.
“I’ll ask you directly,” the man started, stepping forward. “Which would you prefer? To go to an orphanage, or to be adopted by someone you never met before?”
He received surprised stares from both listeners, surprised at the offer he had made. “Are… you a relative?” the child asked.
He shook his head. “Just a stranger, like this woman.”
“I have a name, you know,” she told him, but only in teasing. She could understand now why he asked if the two were related, but could he really take care of him on his own? Perhaps she could raise him instead? She knew that her own child was due within the year, but she couldn’t imagine this boy on his own.
Shirou didn’t need much time to think of his answer. “I wish to be adopted.”
The man nodded, satisfied, and started packing what was left of his things from the fire. After a minute of watching him carelessly throw things in the spare duffel bag, she scolded him of doing a poor job before snatching the bag and taking over.
“Honestly,” she sighed as she folded clothes as neatly as possible. “Are all wizards in this world so careless?”
The boy caught wind of the word of mouth, somewhat mystified. “Wizards?”
She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He hadn’t expected to have the reveal happen at all. The tense moment continued, until the man regarded the boy seriously. “I forgot to mention something important. If you want to live with me, there’s something you should know.”
At the boy’s hesitant nod, he continued. “My name is Kiritsugu Emiya, and I’m a sorcerer.” His real title was the Magus Killer, but that was a life he would never follow again. He had never been a true magus, but someone who used magic as a tool to further his goals.
Again he had surprised his audience; the boy was filled with child-like wonder from the serious tone he carried, and she was suddenly glad to have met a fellow wizard in a new world. It made sense, considering what he did to save the boy’s life.
“I knew it!” she exclaimed, to his slight annoyance. Well, as long as he was being honest… “Oh, and I’m the great wizard Alicia Sage.” She had originally just went by the title of “Alicia the Sage”, but between her delirious state of low magic and this world’s custom of having a given name and a family name, it sort of stuck to the nurses that misheard her. She honestly liked the new name, all things considered.
Shirou, who stared blankly between both acclaimed magicians, could only think of one thing to say: “Wow, you’re awesome.”
It was the terrific start to the peaceful new days for Kiritsugu and Alicia.
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Originally Posted by Thedoctor
