Precursor Fate/Lunar

[Mike1984]

HF only nearly made Shirou cry? Hell, it makes me cry, and I don't know Sakura (and, what's more, know that she's fictional)....

[RanmaBushiko]

Let me explain things a bit easier for this, then, through an analogy.

One day, you're walking down the street, and on the way, you meet a beautiful woman, who you've never met before. You get to talking with her, and you learn that she's here on vacation. One thing leads to another, and you learn bits and pieces of her life story. The humorous parts, the silly parts, and other bits and pieces.

And then she disappears one day, just like she came, nothing left to show of her. And in honor of her, you decide to write a story based off what she told you, filling in with what you think would have happened, based on what you learned from her.

The story is wildly successful, and is mostly fiction, with all the crazy things that happen, that was added in to make it easier to understand. But at the core of it, a few things are truth.

The astral has people much like this. Some people on the physical see them in their dreams, and learn bits and pieces, and patch together the story that they saw, with everything that they didn't see being replaced by things they do understand. Or made up, or a friend reccomended to make the plot more interesting.

Does that make this easier to understand?

I'm not writing about Shirou Emiya, the Character. I'm writing about a man on the astral plane, who may or may not actually be named Shirou Emiya. The one who inspired Nasu's telling of Fate/stay Night, in the graphic novel.

But, I don't really expect anyone to believe this, either. For most, it'll just be an interesting story.

Others might be inclined to research, and study, and see for themselves if this is the truth or not.

It took me years before my study of the Astral Plane lead me to believe it was a lot more than just my mind using what I saw in books and the like as a method to show me it in ways that I could understand, and it involved a giant cat the size of an SUV eating my astral body alive, giving me a three hour migraine that nearly made me flunk a midterm from the killer headache I had.

But I don't expect you to see it from my perspective, and I understand that. Enjoy the story. And with that, I'm going to sleep.

[Mike1984]

Ah, I see. So, the Sakura in your story isn't really being abused, then?

[RanmaBushiko]

Ah, I see. So, the Sakura in your story isn't really being abused, then?

Took me a while to find the information in order to answer your question. And what I found makes up the first half of this chapter. But the firm answer is No. She isn't.

Also, written because Insomnia sucks. And I needed something to do while not being able to sleep at all.

Chapter 4: A Trio Seperated

-Sakura's Perspective-

It's been a week since I last saw Shirou.

"Sakura, why won't you use your chain worms to search for Shirou?! Can't they break the extended space between solid areas for the astral plane?"

And my older sister is driving me nuts.

"Rin, you know damned well that those won't stand up to the strain for long. And Shirou's so far away now, I can barely feel that he's alive now! Even with him being born slightly weaker than normal, his Chakras should still feel like a bonfire to us, not a tiny spark like they do now!"

Adopted from the family, to be apprenticed to Zouken Matou, or not... we haven't really drifted away that far... even if Zouken Matou is too busy browsing Succubus porn on the astral internet to be of much use as a teacher. Damned pervert.

I pause to wave at Tomara, the local clothing store owner, as she passes by to open her store for the day.

"Any lingerie for you girls, today?"

I pause again, turning to look at her, then shake my head.

"No, Miss Tomara, with Shirou missing and so far away that we can barely feel him..."

"You can't afford my wares for a while. I understand. Still, if you need a succubus like myself's help for finding him, I can for a fee!"

I can only shake my head. Tempting as it might be, I'm not in the mood to go through an all girl orgy to find Shirou.

Or tentacle rape. They're fond of that, after all.

"Thinking about going through with her offer, in order to find him, oh perverted younger sister of mine?"

I pause, once more, before smacking my sister over the head for being stupid.

"No, Rin. I'm just scared of what happened to him. You don't see green portals pop up out of nowhere leading to an entirely different part of the astral plane, like what happened to him. And since we can't get in contact with YOUR part time master, Zelretch, we can't possibly figure out how to find him BEFORE he visits in 6 months."

Something's approaching...?!

I create a worm made out of liquid metal, a chain worm, as Grandfather calls them, and use it to block the blow.

"Awww. And here I thought I'd punish you for not using your worms to save me that day, Sakura."

I know that voice. God, I know that voice... but that's impossible! Those chains pulled her back from our arms, screaming, into that pile of corrupted goop in that chamber!

"Ilya?!"

She's sitting on the shoulder of a man in golden armor, with red eyes... that utterly scare me. It's like seeing into my Grandfather's eyes, when he's serious.

And something's utterly wrong with her. Her clothes look like pitch black ribbons, and she has what looks like tattoos covering her entire body... that move as I watch her.

No, not tattoos... markings of some sort of corruption...? Shadows, maybe? I can't put it into words...

"Gilgamesh-san was the power source behind that unpleasant Grail that we found, that day. Apparently, he stole from a queen, a legendary blade of some sort, and he was imprisoned into it for his crime. It pulled me in, and I managed to save us both from it... but I would have been here a lot sooner if Shirou had pulled me out like he was supposed to. Now, where's my idiot brother when I need to beat the crap out of him for abandoning me?"

I'm so, SO screwed... unless I manage to fast talk my way out of this one.

"He's not here."

A blink.

"Not here? Where's my idiot brother, then, Sakura?"

Rin's shaking in fear, now that she's seen Ilya Emiya. She can see the wrongness as well as I can.

"He's been missing for a week... Taiga pulled him back from trying to save you, and he'd been so depressed as to be nearly suicidal... so she cheered him up by showing him Akira. You remember that movie, right?
The pride and joy of her collection of videos?"

Ilya's nodding. Thank god. Maybe we'll live through this.

"He asked her to help him build a motorcycle based on Kaneda's... I think he was planning on using it to seek out those legendary springs that are supposed to be nearby, to see if he could revive you there... but on the test drive..."

"On the test drive, Sakura? What happened to my idiot brother?"

"A portal to somewhere... else appeared. And he fell through it. I just managed to see a glimpse of a lake far below him, before it snapped shut, though Sakura didn't, as far as I know. I suspect he might be injured, or may well be dead."

Silence at Rin's words. And Ilya's wide eyed.

"So I need to check on my little brother...? Thank you, you've been a real big help, Rin, Sakura. I'll make sure to kill you both last after I return from finding my little brother. What with you being so nice as to point the way and all."

-Fade Out-

-Shirou's Perspective-

Gwyn's talking to me while we walk through this place, constantly being on guard.

"These are ruins now, but the Dragon Temple was one trial of two, for seekers to find information about the world ours orbits around. It used to be, young Shirou, that mages from the legendary floating island came here, and went through the trials to gain both eyes. If one was found worthy, then they'd gain one eye, and then be forced to find the other temple elsewhere... with the eyes teleporting back every twenty five years, give or take a few days, and how often the sites were visited. Of course, with the "

I pause to blink at him. But he's talking before I can open my mouth to ask for more information.

"See, there's two legendary places where one can find information about the family of dragons who keeps us safe. My home lives by the Spire of Blue... now known as the Blue Spire because the idiots have forgotten that it glows a brilliant blue when someone's inside. And ordered it to be called the "Blue Spire" on pain of death. The fools don't quite realize they might wind up with it being impossible to find for a few millenia if they don't use it's proper name. But, I digress. That one is the safer one. The other also has a very hungry, very old, and very pissed off dragon inside it, that likes to eat people whom climb up too high inside. They went through 15 generations of mages before realizing that the dragon was there, and another 80 before they realized that he was eating the bulk of the ones that were dumb enough to go upstairs, rather than them having accidents, like presumed."

I can only twitch. 95 generations of mages?!

"What can I say, boy? Being powerful makes people dumb if they're not careful. It's like they never realize that something has consequences. Even with the power they chuck around, they still don't act like they have common sense."

"What happened to them, Gwyn?"

"Oh? Most of them got wiped out after Ghaleon tried to seal off Althena, about a thousand years ago. Give or take a few centuries, that is. It's been rather rough since he snapped after failing to capture her properly, and make him into a god using her power. She's been missing since then, too. Not sure exactly what happened, but the most popular theory is that he accidentally made a pocket dimension of some sort, or a Reality Marble of some sort, by accident, and locked her in."

"Reality Marble? You mean like in that game, Gwyn?"

"Aye. Another name, often used by people on the astral that know such things, would be a Reality Egg, young Shirou."

"Why would it be called that?"

"A manifested one, from outside, looks much like a massive egg of flame. Or Ice, or whatever element is manipulated within. I dare say if you have one, it would be fire, what with the game's version of you being aligned to swords."

I...

"Yeah. I manifested something much like that, after... meeting a future me in a hellish nightmare... only a small period back. My sister, Ilya, died in there... in a way that we couldn't save her."

He's looking at me carefully.

"I'm sorry for your loss, boy. Have you had much time to grieve for her, yet? Or would you like me to leave you be for a while?"

He looks at me like he understands... and maybe he does.

"Not enough, yet. Nowhere near enough."

A slow nod from him.

Yeah. He definitely understands.

"And in the process, your machine somehow fell through a portal... and dropped you damned nearly right into my lap, and through my boat."

I nearly hit him? Damn... no wonder he found me before I drowned.

"It's a pity I lost that fish that day, but I'm glad I could save you, at least. I'd been fishing for that fish for 30 years straight, and it never took the bait once."

He's a fisherman? I can only blink before he shushes me, and pulls us to one side.

A giant ball of flame, with eyes looking around for a meal to eat, is passing by. I don't see any ear holes, but... the fact that it's a massive ball of flame the size of a small house... does not help.

And I can see what looks like teeth made out of flame, as it's licking what must pass for lips, with a tongue also made out of fire.

It must be some sort of fire elemental. And he wasn't joking about it reminding him of Pacman.

"They can't see or hear us, directly due to my spells, but they can feel vibrations in the air, and see cool spots in the air. Move slowly, and be very careful to whisper with your hand cupped, so they're less likely to notice and attack you. Understand?"

I can barely nod, and sneak behind him.

-Fade Out-

[Kieran]

"What can I say, boy? Being powerful makes people dumb if they're not careful. It's like they never realize that something has consequences. Even with the power they chuck around, they still don't act like they have common sense."

AMEN!

And Dark Ilya is a terrifying concept - looking forward to seeing what she can do.

[RanmaBushiko]

Ok. Now that I've gotten past writer's block on how to word what happened properly, here's the next chapter.

Note, the bulk of what happens here in this story is written using elements involving the astral plane. So if you ever wind up projecting there, you can use this as a fairly decent guideline on how life is for there.

And as for what is mentioned as a blue sphere that's flat like a mirror, that looks like it's made of water... I've actually known about this twice over, but I haven't heard any references since.

The first was when I was about 6 years old, I was playing, and met a young, blue haired, green eyed girl, that walked out, and played with me a lot. I can't remember everything about back then, but I've always had a pretty good memory, and I remember her showing me building blocks that could float by themselves, from the other side of what looked like a giant blue mirror.

The second reference actually was someone else who's always had weird incidents involving the astral plane, making one for a short period of time, while experimenting with seeing if he could make a portal to the astral plane as a conduit, using Ki.

Chapter 5: Of Catgirls and Monsters

It's been 5 minutes since we last saw that huge fire monster, and a pack of smaller ones following it.

And I can hear a faint mewing sound. As well as a faint voice saying "Where have all the fishies gone?!"

Gwyn's listing, almost like he can't believe what he's hearing.

The sounds are getting closer. And I can hear the voice, a bit better now, weeping over missing fishies.

As we turn a corner, I stare at a young girl, with cat ears, and a long tail, in an archeologist's uniform.

She's turning towards me, and pouncing, while screaming about "Fishies coming to save me!". And, all my mind can think of at the immenent death by large cleavage to the face, is "What's a cat girl doing here?".

-Fade Out-

Turns out the poor girl was hungry. She pulled out the fish we had planned to eat over the course of the week, if we got lost, and ate it in minutes.

Gwyn seems a bit irritated, but also curious.

"Sorry, I was just so hungry... I haven't had anything to eat for three days. And the people that went with me in here were supposed to go fishing, instead. They said something about needing to go to someplace called Meribia for to get fishies big enough to satisfy my daily appetite... and I told them they could."

Gwyn's twitching rather hard right now.

"You do know, miss, that Meribia's damn near on the other side of the world? It's a good 2 months travel, at least."

"Mew...? Oh, so I shouldn't have sent them? Wait... they were going to leave me to starve?!"

I can only nod, weakly.

I wonder, is she a clutz, or something?

"So, miss, why are you here... and who are you, anyways?"

Blinking off her. And now her ears and tail have perked up.

"Mew! I'm Sarai Erla... and I'm an archeologist. Did you ever hear of the Millenium Fair Archeology Expo that was supposed to be hosted by Althena here?"

Gwyn's looking like he'd sweat drop, if he was a character in a video game, or something.

"Erm... that was supposed to happen 1500 years ago, miss. And they all died rather painfully when a freak asteroid hit the expo's ruins."

A blink off her. And she's looking blank eyed.

"And, you were reported to have been there, and died... is there a reason why you're alive, miss?"

Wait... is this a zombie?!

"Erm... that's... a long story, actually. Please don't kill me or anything while I say it?"

Me and Gwyn glance at each other, then sigh. I can barely resist calling out "Jinx, you owe me a drink!". He wouldn't get it, anyways.

"Fine, then, miss. Please, tell us your story."

Her ears have perked up.

"Nyan! Thank you, so much! I'll tell you my story.

See, I was born a loooong time ago, on the physical plane. When I was young, I chased after some really pretty lights, with my kitty following me, in a weird swamp. Then I found this really pretty, wide blue sphere that looked like water standing straight up... but flat, like a mirror. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Anyways... I played around it for a bit, then tried jumping in, to see if it would get me wet. It really, really hurt... but then I found myself able to understand my kitty after I went through, and found myself with these kitty ears and tail. They're really pretty, you know!

But... where was I? Mew... oh! Kitty knows. I went exploring, and found some people that would feed me fishies in return for me helping them with archeology.

Then after a while, they took me to a place... that was REALLY big! Really, REALLY big! Bigger then the planet we're on! That was just for studying things! And I got to learn lots and lots about Archeology, and found out lots of cool stuff that I could help others with!

Then I went traveling to the expo, my first one ever, to be a guest speaker, using a weird... starship thingey that was supposed to be really good for traveling. They called it the "Great Whale" of all things. It didn't look like a fishy at all, though. Aren't whales supposed to be big fishies?

Where was kitty again? Hmmm... Oh! The starship hit a big rock, and everyone screamed about evacuating to cryo... chambers? Cryo tubes? Something like that.

I was the only one that got to one in time, and then it got really cold... and the last thing I could remember was thinking about my friends that went with.

Then I woke up, somehow, in a new body, at the expo, right before it happened. Kitty didn't feel right, but didn't want to worry anyone, and didn't say anything... so kitty kept on going.

Then kitty died, yet didn't die. Nyan... it hurt.

Kitty woke up, and saw the astroid impact, after it happened, somehow. And this pretty lady with long blue hair said that I was... manifesting an astral body while on the astral plane.

Then this giant zombie dragon shot out of the asteroid, and ate me.

I couldn't wake up anymore, and... slept for a long time.

Recently the asteroid hit, and someone named... Leo found me, and asked me to help him find some gems to access something called the Blue Spire. He promised me lots of fishies if I could get him some sort of eye from here for him, and laughed a lot when I asked him about if he could feed me.

Then kitty came here, and found these really big and shiny, hot balls wandering around. I've had a hard time not pouncing them from seeing them, because they're so shiny and big and stuff! But they like to chase kitty around lots and lots, while trying to eat my tail... I don't want them to eat my tail. Can you keep it from happening?"

-Fade Out-

Silence prevails through the ancient ruins we're in.

A girl from the physical, stuck on the astral.

That's rather rough. Damned rough, I have to say.

"Perhaps we've misjudged you. I'm Gwyn, young Sarai."

I step forwards, and offer her my hand.

"And my name is Shirou. Gwyn's an archeologist here to retrieve a gem in order to study the Blue Spire, as well. Maybe if you stick with us, we can work together better? And survive the nasty crap wandering around? Those balls of flame seem like they're happy to eat us if we're not careful. And there's one huge one the size of a house. So if you're not careful, you might well get eaten without a chance of survival."

She's staring at me wide eyed, and blushing. Why the hell is she blushing?

"Nyan... Sarai has new friends, then?"

I nod, slowly.

She just pounced me, and is mewing... as far as I can tell, happily.

And now she's perking up.

"SHINY!"

And pouncing...that huge ball of flame. Oh god, we're fucked.

Soundtrack: "Fierce Battle ~ Lunar 2 Eternal Blue OST (Not Eternal Blue Complete)" Song's mislabeled, as an fyi.

With a call of "Stop, drop, and roll, to get the fire out on you, you idiot!", we rush headlong into battle.

-Fade Out-

My mind is cold. I conjure swords constantly, mixing my Hara's energies with my Kundalini's raw power, in order to form my blades.

But...

Attacking the giant ball of flame isn't easy.

How do you beat fire? Not as hard as it seems, but still rather painfully.

It's a massive ball of slow burning gel, in essence. So I can cut it.

But it's still fire, and it still burns.

I guess the best term you could call it would be "A giant ball of napalm that won't go out".

It's going after Gwyn first. I'm guessing it sees him as the greatest threat.

But my swords are irritating it. And carving small bits of the burning gel off the damned thing.

Still, though...

Oh, god, ow.

It just slammed into me, backwards, sending me flying.

I hurt everywhere from that.

Gwyn's shouting at me to stay strong... and using his power to heal my injuries?

I can only weakly shake my head. God, I hurt.

Every inch of me still hurts, but it's faded somewhat.

"Kitty scratch attack!"

Eh? Sarai's attacking it with claws?

"Shiny's going to die for burning kitty!"

...And now it's trying to bite her. I can only breathe out, and rush back in, conjuring two more blades to replace the ones I've lost so far against the damned thing.

God, I didn't notice it has such huge teeth.

"Dodge it, Sarai! It's trying to eat you!"

It's slamming into her, now, just as hard as it did me.

I can't catch her in time to break her fall, either.

Shit.

Her slamming into the wall like that, is horrifying.

I slam my swords into it harder, trying to cut through and find a weak spot.

It's blowing a stream of fire, at Gwyn?! Oh, fuck, no! Not another...

Silence. He's alive. But he's not moving. And I think it's not paying attention to me.

No... Gwyn said the spells kept it from seeing me directly. But it can feel air movement.

What can I do to win?

What can I possibly do to win against this monster?

Wait...

My mind flashes back.

To the monstrous man that Ilya summoned during those horrifying hours of trying to figure out what was going on, before everything went to hell.

To that sword he wielded. Similar to the blade from that game I played.

Not quite the same, no. But perhaps...

I shut my eyes tight, and visualize as hard as I can, my mindscape. My inner perception of myself.

Soundtrack: "Emiya ~ Fate/Stay Night"

I look, amongst the countless blades. Blades I've seen before, and countless more that I've never seen in my life. Not once. And yet... somehow, I know them all. Perhaps that game hit close to the truth...? Still...

I find the blade, easily, and grasp it with my mind.

The bulk is heavy. But my mind can understand it, anyways.

And as I grasp it, I can instinctively see the difference.

That game's technique from Heaven's Feel... that won't work for this. No, it won't do much except for to cut weakly.

But with this blade's technique, I can still win this.

I open my eyes, and readjust them. Gwyn's staring at me now. In confusion.

With eyes that are asking why haven't I done anything yet.

I have no regrets.

I raise up my left arm, and brace it with my right.

The weight is too heavy for me to stand up to. But I still will utterly crush this thing.

My mind flashes to the blade, and summons it.

It's aware of me, now, and turning.

It felt me conjure the blade... tch.

Even still, I can win this.

My mind's slipping into the blade. Letting me understand it. Become one with it. Understanding how to wield it properly.

There is no "Nine Lives Blade Works" to save me here.

But there is...

"Nine Song Shattering Cut Blade Works"

And the blade sings with me as I cut through the monstrous beast, 9 different times, the blade singing as it goes through it like a hot knife through butter, each time.

-Fade Out-

-Gwyn's Perspective-

Shirou's knocked out from what he just used.

I can't say I'm surprised. Whatever he just wielded... was far beyond his scope of abilities as of yet.

And I can hear footsteps... and clapping?

"It's been a while, Gwyn. Finally done with your exploring, and here to settle down with me? Jezebel, the queen of the fire elementals?"

I turn. And I can't help but smile weakly. Playful banter from her?

"You know well that I can't do that until my last entrance into the Blue Spire, Samantha. And seriously, why DID you change your name to be Jezebel?"

"Oh, you'll find out once you marry me, Gwyn. Now, is there any reason why you beat the living hell out of my oldest child?"

-Fade Out-

[Kieran]

. . . And now, I am thoroughly lost.

[RanmaBushiko]

Which part are you confused by? The mechanics of it? The people? You have to remember that monsters have to come from SOMEWHERE. Why not adventurers turned half monsters from traps? Especially since, if you think about it, there's no way in hell Gwyn survived on his own. Do you really think there's no casualties on the astral? As for the Cat Girl, there's old legends of children being abducted by fairies, ect throughout history. Think of her as being a victim of something similar.

[Kieran]

That helps.

[RanmaBushiko]

Writer's block took me a long time to try and get this written out as I saw it. However, when I was listening to the song, it hit me that the song sounded like the haunting, etherial tone I was looking for for the background music for this chapter. So, enjoy, and tell me if it makes sense.


Chapter 6: Of Old Flames, and Idiotic Descendants

-Gwyn's Perspective-

I'm watching the wind and snow come down, out of nowhere, from one of the few balconies for the old Dragon Temple. Or the ruins of it, anyways.

Still, it's warm enough. We'll have to stay a few hours, to prevent Shirou and Sarai from dying with the sudden snowstorm's cold.

I wonder, what's caused this, anyways?

Breathing out, I have to sigh. It's time to face the music with my old love. I should have married her long before I had children with her, but... it's not like it matters much now. The past is the past. Still, hopefully she'll be understanding for why we fought like that, soon enough.

Soundtrack: "Mikrofoner i Träden - 2011 ~ Myskox"

I turn, and walk through the snow. Going in, through the door, I continue walking, and listen to one of Samantha's more human children play music.

A song for our reunion, perhaps?

I can hear the wind howling in the background, as I sit beside her.

-Fade Out-

"It's been a long time, since we adventured together, Gwyn."

The sight is a strange one. A woman, seemingly half made of fire, sitting beside an old, frail man, while watching a cat girl, and young Shirou Emiya rest.

"Indeed it has been, Samantha. And ever since you were turned half into a monster by the traps here..."

A slow nod from her. A silent, saddened nod.

"I couldn't even see Leo and Mauri be raised. We had to give our grandchildren away so they'd get a good home. And now, you come with tales of what should have been my adoptive grandson, going off to learn from Leo. Rather than be an Archeologist like yourself..."

A long pause.

"Ah, was he the one that stopped by here, recently?"

"Yes, he was. Hiro said he passed the tests. Did he do well?"

"...You're going to hate me for this Gwyn."

"What do you mean? It's not like he went and skipped the tests, and just stole a jewel, right?"

"..."

"Right, Samantha? It's not like... oh god, he didn't..."

"He snuck in, from the ceiling. The first sign we had of him was when he and that baby cat dragon or whatever the hell it is of his, fell screaming right into the nursery."

"Oh god, no."

"And, worse yet, they woke up every one of the children, and were chased out. The children hadn't been fed yet, and so... thus the excitability of my eldest. He's rather irritated about missing those two..."

"And so he went for us thinking we were those two. Damn that adoptive grandson of mine! He skipped your tests to be considered an ally?!"

"Yes, Gwyn."

A long silence, only interrupted by the long haunting song from the organ.

"So. Who's the redhead boy?"

"A young man named Shirou Emiya. A decent mage, if you can imagine it. And one with a following on the physical, to boot."

"Oh? What type? A minor character? Perhaps a sidekick, if he's lucky?"

A shake of the head from Gwyn.

"No. A main character. He'll be lucky if his abilities haven't been warped by the physical's thoughts of how he should act. As well as what his capabilities are."

"Mmm. A pity, that. Are you planning on making him take your path?"

"...now that you say it... that could be useful. It's a pity I don't have Hiro to teach him. But maybe an investigation to the Spire of Blue..."

"With that cat girl as his healer? It could work. And that would prove his worth as an adventurer, more than facing off with one of my youngest, more easily."

"Plus, with whatever he used on your eldest elemental child, it was mighty impressive. You don't see that from Adventurers without a lot of power backing them up."

A slow nod.

"And since I'm still a part of the Adventurer's League, I can state that he passed the test of bravery, and is suitable to be an adventurer. He just needs to navigate an ancient ruin solo, with an older one backing him up..."

"And since it's been 60 long years since I proposed, right before you were turned into a half monster, I can finally retire, and marry you properly."

"Indeed, Gwyn. Indeed."

A longer pause. One filled with companionship.

"And the other, Gwyn? Who is she?"

A long sigh.

"A cat girl archeologist named Sarai Erla. She appears to be one of the few victims of the races that wander the physical plane, usually unseen by mortal eyes, except for chidlren. Or, more specifically, one of their portals. She wandered through it unknowingly. It appears she also was a victim of one of the star liner accidents towards the core stability of the astral plane, as well. She spoke of the Great Whale accident... and as you recall, that was pretty well destroyed back then. Much like the accidents for the... Titanic. Or the Hindenburg on the physical plane, from what little we've heard of their history.

She was enroute to the Millenium Fair Archeology Expo. And, somehow, managed to project an astral body to there while in cryo sleep. Somehow, her physical body made the transition from the physical plane to the astral, without dying instantly, like is normal."

"And the cost of that, being... she has to eat 20 times more than most people. Reminds you of our team mates, when we were adventuring through the ruins, doesn't it, Gwyn?"

A slow nod, and smile is shared.

"Indeed. I remember how fun Grywyl was. That monster of a man... he was always fun to be around."

"And Corelitha's games of "Chase my tails!" were always amusing to watch. That poor kitsune never did catch them, though. Or else she'd have realized they were attached."

"Mmm. Indeed, Samantha. It was always fun to watch our old friends. And weren't you surprised when they married?"

Giggling, now erupts from Samantha's throat.

"Oh, yes. Considering Corelitha's status of being a midget, and Grywyl's 8 feet in height..."

"...You couldn't have found an odder pair!"

Long happy laughter erupts from them both.

"Gwyn, whatever happened to our kids?"

"...Jessie and Kirl... desired to be trained by Grywyl and Corelitha. After a while, they went off. The last thing I heard of Kirl, she became a priestess of Althena. One of the highest in rank. As for Jessie, he... gave birth to Leo and Mauri. Two adorable grandchildren, that have your horn, still. But, after a while, he stopped coming by. And later... so did they. I don't know if they even remember their Grandfather, anymore, Samantha. Much less that their Grandmother was a victim of a monster transformation trap."

"...I see. When did you last hear of them?"

Silence.

"...Leo visited, and took Hiro away. He's become the captain of a new regiment of Althena's guard. The group that protects our world from invaders, threats, and insane mages. You remember them? It looks like he's brought them into a new age of strength. But... he took my only Heir to my skills with Archeology away from me."

Long, drawn out silence.

"Indeed. What will you do now, Gwyn?"

Gwyn turns towards Samantha, now.

"I'll take them through the Spire of Blue. I'll help them learn how to be proper adventurers in this day and age, and that cat girl can teach Shirou how to be a proper archeologist for anything I miss. And then, once that's done, I'll settle down and marry you. I'll let the trap take me, like I should have that day, so long ago... so I can marry you. It's been too long, since I was with you last. Too long since I felt you in my arms. And I want that, now, more than ever."

-Fade Out-

[Kieran]

Interesting take on Hiro's introduction.

[RanmaBushiko]

Interesting take on Hiro's introduction.

Glad you like it. And here's another chapter, too. Finally details what exactly HAPPENED to Shirou and Ilya. Also, yes. The astral is completely different for what was summoned, except for his accounting of Saber. That's because the astral plane's working on heroes from it's past, not from our history.

Easiest way to put what the astral plane is, would be an AU of our planet, here... if our planet had people that could teleport on it with ease, like people can on the astral plane. Ki manipulation, psionics, even Magick of all kinds, all types of things where you affect reality with your mind and body's own power is about 22 times easier on the astral plane. than it is here, on the physical plane(As it's called by the communities that studied this stuff, that I visited years ago.), where we live. If that makes sense at all. But if you ever take up learning how to project to the astral plane, you'd see this is hitting pretty damned close to the mark of what's happening on it. Thus me taking a while for everything but fight scenes, unfortunately.

A lot of it's difficult to get their mindsets down to write how they would be thinking. Best I can do is guess, or wait until someone mentions it offhand, and take it from there. Thus the sporadic nature of the chapters, unfortunately.

Chapter 7: Memories of a Lost Sister

Soundtrack: "In the End ~ Linkin Park"

-Shirou's Perspective-

I'm remembering again. And this time, I'm fairly sure I'm not strong enough to wake up from it.

I can see all my friends again, the ones that went with us, hiking. Exploring. Spelunking through a section of the area that had gone through a massive earthquake.

Shinji. Rin. Sakura. Taiga. That creepy priest, who wasn't too bad a guy once you got to know him well enough... Kotomine. Creepy as hell, but he fought well enough.

That Bazette girl that was invited to come along, for the ride. And Kuzuki, our old teacher in fighting.

And the artifacts that we found inside. Surrounding a massive black pillar.

We were fools to touch them. To activate them. Thinking we could use them to protect our friends.

God, we were fools.

We were such damned fools.

But, we went in, and not knowing better...

I remember.

A woman appearing before me. Asking me if I was her master.

Arturia Pendragon, daughter of Arthur Pendragon. A legendary king. Born on the astral plane, rather on the physical, and given her father's armor and weapons when he died.

I fell for her the moment I laid my eyes upon her.

A man, a massive beast of a man, who called himself "Lucan", being summoned by my sister. With a huge, massive black blade. Twisted, and gnarled. And with a sadness in his eyes, that made him seem older than anyone else...

Hell if I know who he was, but the moment I looked at him, I about shat myself.

He was in search of his soulmate. A soulmate found within the red haired, blue eyed mage, summoned by Kuzuki. For the short time they had, anyways.

That pale faced woman Sakura summoned, with snakes hidden in her dreadlocks... I never got her name. But she scared the hell out of me. And her EYES... something about them said that she wouldn't mind eating me alive. Piece by piece. The fact that she had chains, knives, and sharp spikes, as well... brr.

That weird creepy man in black that Kotomine summoned, by accident... I'm still not sure how he summoned the man. But he scared the hell out of me. Especially with his glowing red eyes, and the pitch black armor he wore.

The girl in black and purple, that Bazette summoned... she had some sort of massive polearm. It made things atomize if it's blade touched something.

She scared me shitless, honestly. I can still see how cold, and uncaring she was of if we all lived or died.

And that future me that Rin summoned... that scared me most of all. To see there was a possibility of me going utterly INSANE... god, that scared me most of all.

I remember the pillar glowing. Words flashing in front of it. Telling us we were locked in the room until a victor was found.

And the fateful words that the ones summoned had to fight to the death. God, I remember that.

Worse... I remember Arturia dying in my arms. Giving me her sheath, and sword.

I remember the blood. The blood coating the walls as Lucan decimated everything after his soulmate's second death.

God, he utterly scared me.

I remember... fighting that future me. My memories mingling with his, until we could barely tell whom was whom...

And using Unlimited Blade Works for the first time. Using my father's memories, and the knowledge that I had Ilyasviel, Rin, Sakura, and even Taiga backing me up. Caring for me.

Then... when it was over, Lucan was the victor.

And then things went to hell.

The pillar erupted with power, and black tentacles.

Pitch black ones, like out of some sort of tentacle hentai on the physical.

Only these were very much real.

They dragged Lucan in, and ripped him to shreds. His monstrous blade torn to pieces.

And then they went for Ilya. My sister.

I remember... I was able to stop them at first. And we were nearly out... then they grabbed her. And I couldn't stop her from being sucked in! Dragged in!

I can see it now... her begging me to get it off her. To save her. And Taiga smacking me over the head with a tree branch.

When I was able to see clearly again, the entrance to that hellish place was closing. I was too late to save my sister. I screamed and screamed, and screamed yet more. And right as it closed... my sister screamed my name. Begging me to save her from what was about to eat her.

Ilya! I still scream her name. I still scream her name...!

"ILYA!"

I bolt awake, screaming her name even still.

-Fade Out-

I can't help but sob. Sob from loss. Sob from everything that's happened.

My strength to keep myself from crying over everything that's happened has finally broken down.

Flashes of what happened, pound through my brain, non-stop, as I just cry.

I can't stop. My body's exhausted from me being so numb until now.

The tear come down harder, when I feel a woman's arms around me, rocking me and humming a song.

It reminds me of the one I sang to Ilya when we curled up together, to sleep after dad's death.

-Fade Out-

I'm finally cried out. It hurts still, but... it feels lighter, as well.

The woman who's holding me just giggled. Crap, I said that out loud, didn't I?

"Will you tell us what happened, child? It may do you some good."

I turn. A massive woman, that looks to be half made out of that gel that flame monster I fought with is holding me.

"She's an old friend, Shirou. Relax."

My mind comes to terms with what he's saying RIGHT when I realize she's a monster, or at least part, and freeze.

She's an old friend of Gwyn's, meaning... she's friendly. But... she's been a victim of something horrible here, too.

"Please, tell me what ails you, child. Perhaps I can help?"

I can't help but think furiously. Can I trust her? Will she use it against me?

Gwyn's nodding at me. And Sarai's waking up.

Can I really hold this from them? No. Not really. Not if I want to find a way to the ones I love again.

I sigh, slowly, and tell them the story. Of everything I remember.

It hurts to say these things. Horribly.

But at the same time... they seem to understand.

"Do you want to learn Archeology from me, Shirou? I won't be able to teach you as much, but... it might lead you a way to bring back your sister from that thing. I know that a few Chaos Mages in the history of our world have encountered things like that. Perhaps if you researched enough..."

I can only stare at him in shock.

"You're not joking, are you?"

He's shaking his head and smiling.

"After my trip to the Spire of Blue, or as most people will call it, the Blue Spire, though... I'm going to retire and marry Samantha here. Oh, but... ah.... call her Jezebel if you leave, ok? True names are dangerous, even if she was only a quarter affected by the trap that turned her into part fire elemental. She'd have problems if people realized that she was my old adventuring partner. BAD problems. Ok?"

I slowly nod. Makes a bit of sense. Past history coming back to bite you in the ass would hurt.

-Fade Out-

[Kieran]

Sailor Saturn I recognise, not so many of the others - though I am curious.

Incidentally, I have to check - should Arturia's father be Uther Pendragon, as in the legend, or is she really meant to be King Arthur's daughter (in which case, this Saber is our usual Saber's daughter)?

[RanmaBushiko]

Sailor Saturn I recognise, not so many of the others - though I am curious.

Due to the unpleasantness of insomnia, I can answer your questions. I'm actually not sure who the girl was. She could well be the astral's Precursor for whatever Sailor Saturn was based off of, or it could've been girl that just had a badass glaive that could make things desintegrate with a touch.

Lucan's actually a guy that I met through a medium about... 8, 9 years ago, who somehow half reincarnated his mind at the time of his death in search of his soulmate. And ocasionally complained about getting summoned by a white haired, red eyed loli for some fight that gave him a migraine for a year afterwards. Didn't quite connect it together until I wrote this in reply to you, though.

I could honestly write a story about him, if you wanted. But it's a bit long and drawn out for that. But yeah, that's where that 9 song shattering cut technique came from. One of his techniques he described to me, and I reverse engineered later, revised for his sword.

Incidentally, I have to check - should Arturia's father be Uther Pendragon, as in the legend, or is she really meant to be King Arthur's daughter (in which case, this Saber is our usual Saber's daughter)?

Daughter of King Arthur. All I got off what was said on the astral is she was the daughter of Arthur Pendragon, aka the legend, born after he was taken to Avalon. Not sure how that worked, but the areas that far out on the astral plane can twist things, sometimes.

*shrugs* The astral can be rather weird when it comes to getting information. Why do you think I got that guy to watch over everything and take good notes?

[RanmaBushiko]

Got some free time, so I wrote up the next chapter. For all of those who've been enjoying this writing of how the astral plane works, ect. enjoy! And if you have questions, ask.

Chapter 8: A Remnant

-Shirou's Perspective-

It's been half a day, and the snow's finally stopped.

My mind wanders to what they said.

Gwyn's going to teach me Archeology, then leave me with Sarai to learn more off her. I suspect it's more her massive appetite that's making him choose that.

But... then again, I have to wonder.

Jezebel's waving to us as we leave. And she seems rather happy.

"She would've been my wife, if things had gone differently for another week, Shirou."

I turn towards Gwyn. He must see the look of surprise on my face, because he's elaborating.

"One more week, and we would've been on our honeymoon. But, alas, we went for a giant diamond rumored to be in those caves... for a present for her... and instead of making for a perfect engagement ring, it made her into that. If I had been married to her, it wouldn't have affected her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I am. You two looked happy together."

Silence reigns supreme, while we all get into the boat, even a rather quiet Sarai.

"We had several children, in fact. But we sent them to friends after... what happened to her, happened."

I pause, and look at him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

A studying look.

"You'll need to know a little bit, at least. The two Grandchildren that may or may not remember me, are Leo and Mauri. They serve the only oracle that's been able to talk with Althena, our missing Goddess, in the last 1000 years. And she somehow passed the test. Otherwise, they wouldn't have become warriors like they did..."

I pause, while thinking about this. Perhaps he's not well liked? Or maybe they've forgotten they had a grandfather? I wouldn't be surprised, if something like that was true.

"Enough of an old man rambling about the past. For the next phase of your learning how to be an Archeologist, we're going to need to climb to the top floor of the Spire of Blue. If you can keep, in your mind, the true name of it, the strongest monsters won't attack. As soon as you let that name go, and call it the "Blue Spire" however... you'll have every monster in the tower fighting you. Like that physical term... white on rice? So if you have any supplies off that motorcycle of yours, you'd better get them. It could take a long while."

I pause in my mind, as my memories of Arturia, the woman I summoned flash into my mind. Yes, I do have one thing.

"I have something I need to retrieve from my motorcycle. Will that be ok?"

A pause.

"Something? Were your supplies damaged, then?"

"Some were, but if we're going there, I'll most likely need a weapon, if we run into another strong monster like that one massive fire elemental. And I have the perfect one there."

As we reach the shoreline, I walk towards my mostly repaired motorcycle.

Gwyn and Sarai can handle the boat.

I reach over it, feeling the edges of the seat, and as I hit the trigger to open up the case, I can only smile. From the looks of it, they weren't damaged after all.

And as I slide the swords from my future self on my waist, and Arturia's Excalibur on my back, I can only grin.

I won't go in unprepared again, not after earlier.

-Fade Out-

-Lucia's Perspective-

Well, there's the reason why I couldn't access the computer's main systems.

A meteor hit the side of my tower. It hasn't knocked it out of alignment, but with damage this bad... I can only wince. I have no clue how to deal with panels this badly damaged. A third of the tower's been blown off, and the rest has been frozen in layers until nearly nothing can be seen.

A flash of light in the distance, catches my eye.

That gamer. I wonder...

I sneak up on him. He doesn't notice that I'm coming, at all.

One step, then another, and another.

He's using what looks like a damaged part of the solar arrays, for power. Meaning... they still work?

Hmm...

I can only smirk, then shift into my dragon form. He's stealing power, so he's stealing from me. Therefore, I can treat him like a thief.

And as I pin him down, with one foot, I whisper into his ear "You owe me rent for stealing my building's power. IF you don't fix up the systems so they draw electricity, I'll eat you alive, little man."

The screaming and crapping of pants from him is priceless.

Oh, what fun it can be, to be a dragon. Times like this makes the painful as hell shift into a human-ish form all the more worthwhile.

There we go. Now that I've supplied that for the computer to repair... I pause in my thinking, at a glance. There's pictures of me on his computer.

And when I scroll through them... it references a game on the physical. Lunar 2, huh?

Hmmm... Maybe this worm could be more useful than I know.

"And get me the game, and whatever I need to see it through."

He's nodding, and shivering in fear.

Now to shift back to my human-ish form and get dressed. I'm cold as hell, and this barren planet's not going to warm up anytime soon. Unlucky me.

-Fade Out-

-Leo's Perspective-

"Lord Leo! A messanger has come, from the Oracle of Althena!"

I pause in my sparring with my young apprentice, Hiro, and look at the messenger.

"Speak up. What does she have to say?"

"She says for you, Lady Mauri, and Lord Ronfar, need to come at once! She has an urgent vision, and needs to share it before she loses her memory of what was shown!"

I freeze.

"Can my young apprentice come with?"

"Of course, but we must make haste, my lord!"

With those words, we run.

-Fade Out-

When we arrive, I can see my sister, and brother in law, also arriving.

"Hail, Ronfar, Mauri. You got the message, as well?"

"Yeah, Leo. I did. And me and Mauri ran as quick as we could. I'm a priest, not a warrior. And ever since I married Mauri, I've been getting fattened up more and more."

"Yeah, I have been getting you a bit overweight, haven't I, dear? We should fix that, soon."

We're walking in, towards the oracle's chamber. And I can tell my apprentice is rather awed.

"It's so impressive, isn't it Ruby?"

"We've seen pretty impressive stuff with Grandpa Gwyn, Hiro."

I pause, at the comment.

"Gwyn, Hiro? You never told me who your family was."

He's turning to look at me, and is looking sheepish.

"I was originally going to be an Archeologist, like my adoptive Grandfather, Gwyn. He's rather famous as one, but... even though I love it, it's... not right for me, the way most do it. Relying on others to do the fighting while I study things doesn't feel right. I'd rather learn to fight and be strong first, so then I wouldn't need others to fight for me, like most do. I want to be as good a fighter as I am in Archeology. Does that make sense?"

So Grandfather adopted him, huh? I can't help but nod.

"We'll visit after talking with the Oracle. I suspect me and Mauri need to see him as well. It's been too long since we've seen him. And that makes us grandchildren of his together, I suppose."

I enjoy watching him freeze up in surprise.

"You mean you and Lady Mauri are the other grandkids he always said he missed? That... heh... he misses you both a lot you know."

I nod, then shush him, as we walk into the deepest part of Althena's tower.

"Lady Oracle, we have come with my apprentice, as well. Please, grant us thy vision."

She turns towards us. Her long black hair, swaying in the air as she moves. I still wonder how she can move like she does, wearing a blindfold like that.

"The three guardians that keep this world safe. I'm glad you have come... for I have seen our world in terrible, terrible danger. Zophar has found a way to come back. And... two even more dangerous people come from beyond the stars, hunting a red haired boy."

I know the others have gone dead white in horror, much like I must have.

"How do we stop this from happening?"

She's turning towards us.

"Althena's daughter may or may not have survived her mother's disappearance. Althena does not show me more than the basics of what might be, after all. Find a way to find our Goddess' daughter. And... kill the red haired boy. If they have no quarry, the two I fear most won't be a threat."

I can't accept that.

"Is there a way to save the boy? Perhaps some spell that might hide him?"

She's shaking her head, silently.

"No. As far as I can see... if that boy meets the two hunting him, within the year, we're doomed. And there's no way to hide him for a year. The planet's too small for that. Again, find Althena's daughter. An Archeologist named Gwyn may be the key for that."

I must kill to save us all. Damn it.

"Perhaps, my lady, he could be trained to be a greater threat to them?"

She pauses at Ronfar's voice.

"...perhaps. But his life spells many deaths. Is one life worth the deaths of more?"

Ronfar has no answer, like I thought would be the case.

Damn it.

-Fade Out-

[Kieran]

Hmm . . . Things are getting interesting. And Lucia's certainly more - um, let's call it free-spirited - than usual.

[Ergast]

Sure you mean in the chinese aception of the word, aren't you, Kieran? But I agree, things are beggining to move, and that's always good. Keep going like this, I'm enyoying it, RanmaBushiko.

[RanmaBushiko]

Glad you both like how it's coming. Writing to show how things are on the astral plane, and getting it as true to what happened as you can, is rather hard.

You'll find a lot of things if you search hard enough, though. And I hope I'm making this understandable without enough jargon that you can sit back and enjoy rather than ignoring it. This is pretty much my project of "Why not show people on the physical, like myself, how the astral plane works?", by using people games on the physical were based off of.

Also, Kieran, Lucia's nothing like the game version of her. Quite literally. One of the few things they got right, is that she doesn't know why a baby would cry. It's more along the lines of "Dragon babies nuzzle, or bite, to get their mommy's attention, not cry". She might look human, but it's a transformation to her.

Easiest way to explain her current mindset?

"Do not interfere with the affairs of dragons, for you are tasty and exceptionally delicious if you're wearing armor and riding a horse. Just like a baked potato, except a bit more like a late night snack."

And there was no "Cult of a false Althena" like there was in game. Instead, they've got an Oracle who may or may not be telling everything. And yes, I'm behind for about... a good 14 days now, in how much I need to write. 4 days on the astral plane to 1 day on the physical means time goes by faster there. So about two months astral time has passed since I wrote up stuff.

Soon as I'm done helping a friend with a yurt paper, I'll get back to the grind stone and write the chapters I've been slacking off on.