(This was an off the cuff Choose Your Own Adventure style story done with Mike, as such it's fairly unedited, i just thought it would be neat to show off the prototype of a new CYOA I'd like to eventually try here on BL. Enjoy the story such as it turned out)
Journeys CL edition
Who I was does not matter. I am myself, who that will be when I answer the World’s call is in the lonely hallway leading out of the vast library in which I stand. A chime on the wind, an impossible sound in a closed place like this is my call to action. Striding down the stairs to the ground floor and off to the left and into the hallway I'm greeted by a pedestal, I wonder if other heroes are given the same test or if it's simply me.
Resting on the white pedestal I find a mirror, grasping it I find out it looks
Choice 1) A small hand mirror
Choice 2) a dirty silver hand mirror
Choice 3) a fancy gold hand mirror
Reflected in the mirror I see
Choice 1) a youthful face
Choice 2) a troubled but hopeful face
Choice 3) a tired face of an old man
Walking further down the corridor I find a set of three backpacks
Choice 1) take the small one, I don't need to carry much
Choice 2) take the medium one, just in case
Choice 3) take the hiking pack, it's not just me I have to worry about
Hanging from a clothes line further down is a shirt, upon further inspection
Choice 1) a white shirt with a blue collar and one black and one white sleeve
Choice 2) a black shirt with a silver shield emblazoned on it
Choice 3) a red shirt with band logo
Stuffing the items into my pack I continue and find a small model, I notice it's broken or incomplete
Choice 1) smash it
Choice 2) fix it
Choice 3) fix and paint it
Walking as my feet scrape the concrete floor I find something at my feet
Choice 1) a gold coin
Choice 2) a penny
Choice 3) a clover
Reaching a globe on yet another pedestal it reads “The world is”
Choice 1) a place I shall save
Choice 2) a place I shall protect
Choice 3) people
Next in my walk is a full length mirror inscribed on it in black paint is a message “humanity is”
Choice 1) Good
Choice 2) Evil
Choice 3) break the mirror
Continuing on the passage has a table, on it are three books and message “take one”
Choice 1) Trolling for dummies by Wiz Ard Marshall
Choice 2) My Sensei can't be this cute by Touko Aozaki
Choice 3) The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The next pedestal I come to has a scrap of paper on it, “Magic is”
Choice 1) A great responsibility
Choice 2) a grave power often misused
Choice 3) A thing of wonder and whimsies
Finding seven cards on a table a note reads “Choose the impossible”
Choice 1) Saber
Choice 2) Archer
Choice 3) Lancer
Choice 4) Rider
Choice 5) Berserker
Choice 6) Caster
Choice 7) Assassin
Drawing the card the rest disappear and the same seven cards appear, “Choose your favored”
Choice 1) Saber
Choice 2) Archer
Choice 3) Lancer
Choice 4) Rider
Choice 5) Berserker
Choice 6) Caster
Choice 7) Assassin
Drawing the second card they disappear and do not return, then a voice booms “A king is”
Choice 1) A conqueror
Choice 2) A ruler
Choice 3) A servant
Choice 4) a title
“Good is” the voice booms again
Choice 1) absolute
Choice 2) what my heart tells me
Choice 3) relative
“Evil is” it asks again
Choice 1) relative
Choice 2) part of humanity
Choice 3) irrelevant
Choice 4) that which I cannot abide
“Choose the phrase which embodies you”
Choice 1) Shut up Kirei
Choice 2) Shut up Archer
Choice 3) shut up Kiritsugu
Choice 4) Shut up Gilgamesh
Choice 5) God damn it Rin you had one job
Choice 6) God damn it Shirou
Choice 7) Justice burns, and now, CHANGE!
Leaving the hallway I am instant given form, or rather as I am the Third Magician I take a form. It is my form such as I was amidst my adventures in life, right down to the shirt, although since I am immortal age beyond physical adulthood is perhaps pointless. I am summoned this time as a hero for the world, I had once promised to defend the planet and the people in a far future, I do not regret it but it would be nice if I could be given information every once and awhile.Left in Fuyuki with naught but the idea of defend the world as my goal I'm left with scant few options on how to proceed.
Choice 1) Become King and create a world in harmony with the people and the planet
Choice 2) investigate the area
Choice 3) kill everything in the city
Choice 4) Summon a servant or steal one
Choice one: Save the world through unification, it's simple if difficult to realize, to do so I'll need strong generals and soldiers to watch my back. With that in mind I pull my senses outward and cast a location spell, the Fifth War in Fuyuki, well at least it's familiar territory. I search around in my pockets and find a mirror, checking I find my hair blond and my eyes green, I was worried I might have been an an Altered state. Straightening up my hair and clothes I sigh, “My name is Satoshi Alexander, Emiya, Pendragon. I shall save this world even fighting friends or loved ones” I say aloud to make my choice real. With that out of the way I'm left to choose what I do from here.
Choice 1) Go after Saber
Choice 2) Go after Archer
Choice 3) Go After Lancer
Choice 4) Go after Rider
Choice 5) Go after Berserker
Choice 6) Go after Caster
Choice 7) Go After Assassin
Choice 8) Go after Avenger
Choice 9) Go After Kirei and Gilgamesh
Choice 10) Kill Zouken
Choice 11) Go after Shinji
Choice 12) build a base
Choice four: The easiest to defeat would be Rider and Shinji, I even know exactly where they'll be. Bounding across the rooftop of Fuyuki I eventually arrive at the school and find them setting up the blood fort on the roof, “Hello Medusa, Shinji Matou” I say landing on the fence surrounding the rooftop. Startled Shinji looks at me suspiciously, wasting no time I continue talking, I have a challenge, I am a conquering King, I shall be the Master of this world, I need Generals and Soldiers as well as servants. To this end I challenge you, should I defeat the two of you I will have you Medusa as my prize to assist me in my endeavors.” I tell them, of course blathers on about how no one can defeat a Servant and orders Rider to kill me, in that instant I close the distance stepping between Rider and her Master and without pause strike Rider between the shoulder blades, sweep her legs and place my hand on the back of her head ready to unleash the Dragon’s fire from both hands and pointing the other at Shinji, “The book please, you know the one, if you don't give it to me you won't leave alive” I ask him, Shinji, in a selfish, almost heroic way, keeps hold of the book until repenting as the ground cracks from a surge in mana. With the book in my hands the first step is complete.
Choice 1) Get Rider up to speed
Choice 2) build a base
Choice 3) Empower Rider with Mana
Choice 4) Go after another target
Choice 5) kill Shinji
Choice two: Construction of a base would seem to be the best option at hand, that said ultimately I'm left to ponder exactly where I should build it.
Choice 1) At the Emiya household
Choice 2) the newer half of the city past the bridge
Choice 3) the Einzbern Castle
Choice 4) Ryudou Temple
Choice 5) the Greater Grail cavern
Choice 6) the school
Choice 7) the Tohsaka’s Manor
Choice 8) The Matou house
Choice 9) the church
Choice 10) underneath the city
Choice 11) the park where the Grail previously erupted
Choice eight: Setting up shop at the Matou house is a fair enough idea, it doesn't cause problems temporally speaking and I'd have to kill Zouken eventually, with Rider’s help I kill Zouken easily enough and begin reformatting the house into my workshop. After three days it's finished, as expected, since Zouken is not actually dead, Sakura did not return, such things are to be expected when entering any instance of the Holy Grail War. It is strange that the book of false attendant is not ash however, this at least implies Zouken is plotting. With my workshop complete I do have options
choice 1) Set about creating command seals
Choice 2) spy on the other masters
Choice 3) reinforce the workshop to be at an immaculate standard
Choice 4) build soldiers and weapons
Choice 5) summon another Servant
Choice 6) set out to fix the Grail problem in the Cavern
Choice five: Summoning another servant is the best immediate idea in theory, there is of course the chance of some backlash since there are already seven summoned but that's neither here nor there. Without my own items I'm left to root through Zouken’s trash heap. After about an hour or so I find three objects. A shield, a mirror and a broken bloody blade. The shield and blade are things I'm absolutely certain belong to Lancelot and Mordred, the mirror is presumably Medusa’.
Choice 1) use the shield
Choice 2) use the Sword
Choice 3) use the mirror
Choice three: The Matou house bathed in negative emotions of course caused a backlash, a Servant summoned but by one means the one I intended. Rather than an aspect of Medusa or one of her sisters the Servant was a Saber, Perseus, upon seeing Rider he attacks her and my command spells activate forcing him to kill himself. With time wasted there are few options left in the day.
Choice 1) Try again using another relic
Choice 2) clean up and turn in
Choice 3) empower the workshop
Choice one: There's no point in just giving up, the question is which of the other relics to use, the Sword or the shield?
Choice 1) sword
Choice 2) shield
Choice one: Once again an irregular event occurs, rather than summoning Mordred as I would have hoped a black robed Caster with gold eyes and pale skin stands before me, this is certainly Arturia Pendragon but one I am quite disturbed to have summoned, at least it's not Morgan le fey herself. This Servant is more trouble than she's worth I think.
Choice 1) introduce yourself
Choice 2) kill her
Choice 3) explain your goals
Choice three: In opening my mouth I am immediately interrupted, “You would not have summoned me unless doing something highly irregular, combined with the fact that you've summoned me in this stench pit of a home I can only assume you're attempting to conquer the world. First Shirou, then food, then we summon your sister and have a family hug, after that you can take the Snake’s pig slut of a Master and fuck in the shed or the guest house if you insist on civilizing a pig” Alter Caster says. Rider looks ready for a fight but restrains herself just barely. As expected of Mogan’s teachings Arturia was that odd reality awareness Merlin possesses.
Choice 1) Ask if she has a plan for dealing with her Knightly self
Choice 2) reject her priorities and tell her the given options
Choice 3) Ask why she wants to summon Mordred, family hugs aren't usually made with a sword to the gut.
Choice one: “As my Master battle plans are your department” Alter Caster replies to my obvious inquiry. Translation being no. The question now being do I have a plan?
Choice 1) sure diplomacy is the best policy
Choice 2) Conquer
Choice 3) fuck it take over the Einzbern castle
Choice two: I decide to stick with the plan such as it is, with Alter Caster and Rider in tow we head off to Shirou’s place, the distinct smell of steel and ash is present and turning the corner onto the street I see why, the Emiya household is a smoking crater, search the rubble I find no one dead, no serious traces of blood or spiritual residue. Shinji obviously got Gilgamesh, way before he should have because I interfered prior to the summoning of Saber and stole Rider. Archer might be completely dead this time and Saber will definitely be wounded. I have to think of where they would retreat or what would have happened.
Choice 1) go to Rin’s they might they retreated there
Choice 2) go to the Einzbern castle, they would have asked for asylum from illya
Choice 3) go to the church, it's likely where Shirou and Rin were taken
Choice three: The church are indeed where the Saber, Shirou and Rin are. Kirei a long time ago would have posed a threat to me but now it's easy to beat him, or it would be if Alter Caster hadn't teleported and stabbed him in the back. Gilgamesh and Shinji are nowhere in sight, the absence of Archer is also odd, since, even wounded by Saber, Archer can hold on for a long time and Rin’s mana should have been enough to have him defeat Kirei. Releasing the three is the obvious thing to do, after that my options are opened to a few possibilities.
Choice 1) challenge Saber to a dual as a conquering King
Choice 2) Search out Sakura as Zouken could be a problem
Choice 3) workout where Gilgamesh and Shinji are
Choice two: Defeating Zouken seems important, finding Sakura was easy enough with Rider’s help, in that time however a mana flare occurred and after killing Zouken and healing Sakura I realized what it was. The grail, without a doubt Illya is dead, Archer, Berserker are also gone and Saber is dead or Altered by the Grail curse. My conquest is a failure, now the only thing I have left is to clean up the mess I've made.
End