The Grail Works Mission Dossier (Discussion & Ideas)

[RanmaBushiko]

Well, since I've managed to get Google Documents to work for some spellchecking and grammar checking. Let's hope that it worked well enough, shall we?

You know those plot bunnies you can't get out of your head? The ones that insist on you writing them, going "Write it! Write it now!" and won't let you sleep until you do so?

Yeah, this is one of them.

Chapter 1: Out of the Frying Pan and...



The Future
??? months after Fate/Anarchy
Location Unknown, Time Unknown




Erik's point of view



It's dark.

I'm pretty sure it's dark, anyways. I'm cold, tired, and ever since shit happened, with that Heart of Winter fiasco, I've been horribly weakened.

Faintly, though, I can hear the sound of a sword being polished.

Huh. Probably Mordred, sharpening Clarent. Though why, I wouldn't know.

"Can you hear me...?"

Hmm.

Thought I heard something.

Mmph.

Sleep is good.




It's still dark.

Annoying as hell, I suppose, but normal.

"Tch. Another day, with you asleep, I see."

Hmm? Someone saying something again? Kinda hard to make out, though...

Mmph.

Sleep is good.

I need more sleep.

"I swear to all that's holy, that if you don't wake up sometime soon, I'm going to do something stupid sooner or later."

Mmm.

Did someone say something important?

No matter.

More sleep!

Wait... I'm asleep?

Huh.




Mmmph.

I don't feel nearly so tired now.

Still cold as fuck, though.

"Damn it. Still not compatible enough?!"

Someone sounds cranky.

"Tch. If you don't wake up soon, unknown master..."

Really cranky.

Ah well.

Sleep is good.

Just a bit more, okay cranky one?




Still dark.

Finally not tired. Ugh.

Right. My eyes are shut. And there's a sewing machine near me...?

Something warm is on me.

Cloth, maybe?

Slowly, I open my eyes, ignoring how hard it is right now to do so.

A woman in the room is hard at work, nearly finishing sewing two long pairs of gloves, obviously not meant for her size.

Her skin is pale, as far as I can see... wait.

She's put me in...?!

"The fuck?!" I try to shout, only to find myself whispering instead.

Her eyes snap wide, and the sewing machine stops, before she turns to face me. Yellow eyes, pale skin. I think... I know who this is. But the lighting...

"Well. You wake up right before I take extreme measures in ensuring we're compatible enough for me to steal your body and make it my own. A pity you did so, to be fair." She says, with a smile.

Slowly, I look down at my body, then at her. I'm wearing her outfit, or most of it. Why the hell would she...?!

"Why were you putting me in a copy of your clothes?!" I snarl, doing my best to ignore how weak my voice is, half trying to pull myself up, then wince at the feeling of utter exhaustion leaving me barely moving. "Wait... how long have I been here? Last thing I remember was jumping to another universe, then... everything going dark."

"Well. If Galahad was able to become a demi-servant, someone more in tune with me like yourself would be even easier, if I did it right. It's a pity that you were born male however. Otherwise it would have been much easier to simply... claim your body as my own." She muses, trailing off, as she moves forwards, closer to the light from the windows. "As for how to fix that, well... I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of 'cutting off the bits that don't fit the female body', aren't you? Little stray Master, all alone, in this slowly dissolving Singularity?"


I can see two swords in her hands, one on each side, as she smiles at me, shadows and flickers of light half revealing, half showing her face. Then I breathe out. "No thanks to the sex change, I already had enough of that from marrying a Kitsune, and meeting the God/Goddess of all Kitsune. Damned Inari..."

An eyebrow raises, as she studies me carefully, before moving into the faintly flickering light enough for me to see her perfectly. My heart freezes in my chest.

"You'll have to tell me that story later, little stray Master. But for now... I think we have some interesting things to talk about." Arturia Pendragon Alter smiles down at me, the Sword of Atli in one hand, Excalibur Morgan in the other. "Such as how to guarantee we both survive this slowly collapsing world."

"Slowly collapsing...?" I murmur, as I slowly force myself up, and look at exactly what I'm wearing, to take it off. "Do you have something that fits and isn't meant for women...?"


"Oh, come now. Most men wore robes back in my time. Why complain when it's the only fabric that hasn't burned away, in this slowly rotting world?" Excalibur Morgan disappears from one gloved hand, leaving it free for her to pull me up.


This close, I can see her clearly. Her body's hurt, she's walking with a limp, and her body has obviously seen far better days.


Then I look outside, and my soul almost freezes in my chest. I didn't play much of Fate/Grand Order. But I had seen the anime for the Fuyuki section of it. And what I saw...


"Welcome to the remains of the Fuyuki Singularity, little stray Master. Where you and I are the only other living souls, aside from that Berserker who hunts me still, for what I did to his Master." I barely pay attention to her words, as I stare at a town ravaged by flames, but missing huge chunks of it, simply leaving the void between universes. A singularity barrier, obviously massively damaged.

Shattered islands, formerly representing whole sections of the city, slowly circling what looks suspiciously like a void in reality.


Then her words hit me, and I flinch.

"First. I'm changing the style of these clothes to be something comfortable for men. Perhaps you're comfortable with this style of dress, but I'm not." I admit, shakily. "Second off, where the hell are we in terms of actual location? Third, where's that Berserker? Finally, fourth... how can I help?"


Her eyes widen, before Saber Alter smiles at me. "Perhaps more useful than I thought..." she trails off for a moment, before she nods. "Very well, then. It's far better than being nude, however, lost Master. As for location, we're in my former Master's storehouse. Berserker should be at the Einzbern Castle, or what's left of it, tending to his master's grave for the day. As for helping me..."

She looks me up and down. "You showed up naked as the day you were born about 13 days ago. No tools or clothes, nothing but the markings on the back of your hand. It's been 6 days since I last ate, since Berserker destroyed the oil fryer at the local burger place, and I could really use prana right now, as well as a hot meal for us both."




Author's Note
Yeah, I'm pulling a Kieran here. But this has been haunting me for a while, and letting me have a break from the issues with the other writing chapters.

In Singularity F, you can outright save the fight against Shadow/Blackened Herakles for afterwards.

In Arturia's case, if she had access to the Sword of Atli, weakened as this one is, right before dying, she'd probably hide and do her best to recover using the power of the blade.

Even if it meant she'd be more like Arturia Pendragon Lancer Alter. A divine being.

So on one hand, we have a pseudo divine Saber Alter. On the other hand we have a pissed off, blackened Herakles hunting for her to carve her to pieces for what she did to the Masters in Singularity F.

Enter Erik. Exhausted, not sure how he's gotten here, and weakened to the point where Shirou at the beginning of Fate could give him a damned good fight.

Saber Alter needs a source of prana, bad. She knows something's going on with her, and there's something wrong about her living on the power from the Sword of Atli.

But Erik isn't exactly a compatible body for her as a man.

She's desperate enough to attempt to change that compatibility, by carving away what isn't, and using her own body to fill in the gaps. And if it failed to work, at least she could feed on his blood and soul as he died.

[Kieran]

. . . Well, that's one place to put the Sword.

[Arbitrarity]

only fabric that hasn't burned away, in this slowly rotting world?
...
I stare at a town ravaged by flames, but missing huge chunks of it, simply leaving the void between universes

For some reason this makes me think about Textures, particularly given Artoria's association with Rhongomyniad.

I'm not sure I've heard an example of body-snatching via becoming a demi or psuedo servant as a viable method for restoring prana, particularly not while already incarnated. Typically, I thought both were summoned "into" a body. If they're already incarnated, that seems weird. I'm not sure I understand Artoria's goals, even more so than in normal Singularity F. What would she accomplish, killing blackened Heracles? It's not going to reverse the destruction of the Singularity, and it's not likely to give her any ability to get out. She seems already doomed, and having a stable prana source won't help with that. This looks like Chaldea already took the Grail, so she seemed fairly resigned to disappearing at that point. I suppose the Sword of Atli could be influencing her thinking somewhat, but then I don't understand its goals either.
Also, it feels weird that Erik would be a viable Master, thinking about it in retrospect, since half of the role of master is "anchoring" the servant to the world. Considering Gaia already doesn't want him on the planet, this amuses me. I guess he does have a physical body, which is good enough for that purpose. Seems less necessary in a Singularity, where everyone seems to be capable of maintaining existence without anchors, but prana supply can be useful for empowering Servants at least, though I don't see him helping much more than the Sword as he is.

[RanmaBushiko]

For some reason this makes me think about Textures, particularly given Artoria's association with Rhongomyniad.

I'm not sure I've heard an example of body-snatching via becoming a demi or psuedo servant as a viable method for restoring prana, particularly not while already incarnated. Typically, I thought both were summoned "into" a body. If they're already incarnated, that seems weird. I'm not sure I understand Artoria's goals, even more so than in normal Singularity F. What would she accomplish, killing blackened Heracles? It's not going to reverse the destruction of the Singularity, and it's not likely to give her any ability to get out. She seems already doomed, and having a stable prana source won't help with that. This looks like Chaldea already took the Grail, so she seemed fairly resigned to disappearing at that point. I suppose the Sword of Atli could be influencing her thinking somewhat, but then I don't understand its goals either.
Also, it feels weird that Erik would be a viable Master, thinking about it in retrospect, since half of the role of master is "anchoring" the servant to the world. Considering Gaia already doesn't want him on the planet, this amuses me. I guess he does have a physical body, which is good enough for that purpose. Seems less necessary in a Singularity, where everyone seems to be capable of maintaining existence without anchors, but prana supply can be useful for empowering Servants at least, though I don't see him helping much more than the Sword as he is.

Yay! Finally some input!

Let's see now... in order?

Yeah, Arturia's a mess here. She's effectively doomed, and knows it. She's also desperate enough that having seen Mash, she's got ideas on how to not be doomed, and is desperate enough to try anything... up to and including stuffing herself into someone else's body by force.

Imagine Herakles hunting you like the Tyrant does in Resident Evil 3's remake every time you go out for food and supplies, and you'll get the idea of how desperate she is. 13 days of being hunted, except when he's watching over Ilya's grave? Desperate, exhausted, sleep deprived Arturia is grasping for straws, and had one stumble into her lap, almost literally. Complete with Command Spells, even! As well as a near compatibility that just isn't quite enough for it to work... yet.

Because even if she'd like to figure out how to not be doomed, Heracles hasn't stopped wanting her dead.

She knows she's already got a body of her own. She's just desperate enough to think that even boneheaded ideas might work at this point.

Yeah, the Grail's gone. The Sword of Atli's effectively become the power source for the singularity, and already weakened to the point where the singularity's falling apart further.

As for Erik... he's one of the ones that traveled with it. It's low on power, and it's legend knows that he's the only sword smith left that might be able to repair it...


I've got more written, if you want me to post it, by the way.

[Arbitrarity]

It's more like... I don't usually think of Alter as having that much self-preservation instinct. Heck, I don't think of MOST SERVANTS as having that much self-preservation instinct under those circumstances. Desperation seems unnecessary, and fearing death in a doomed world moreso. She seems more likely to just go fight Heracles and live or die. At least, I read Sparks Liner High, and it sure felt like she was indifferent to death. Her motives might be different there than when her opponent is mindless Heracles, but still. If the Sword effectively replaces the Grail in terms of preventing her fading at the end of the Singularity, and she was severely weakened before it arrived, so she's aware that she can't fight Heracles... maybe.
I still feel like she'd still prefer to fade out, since her purpose in the singularity is gone. If the Sword of Atli makes that impossible without her actively destroying herself, I suppose she might revert to trying to find something comfortable to do, which does make Heracles an impediment, and certainly you might as well take advantage of a master popping up fortuitously... sure. It just doesn't feel like a very compelling hook to me, though I'm having difficulty articulating why, since there's not a ton to go on. You could have something non-obvious planned, of course.

[RanmaBushiko]

It's more like... I don't usually think of Alter as having that much self-preservation instinct. Heck, I don't think of MOST SERVANTS as having that much self-preservation instinct under those circumstances. Desperation seems unnecessary, and fearing death in a doomed world moreso. She seems more likely to just go fight Heracles and live or die. At least, I read Sparks Liner High, and it sure felt like she was indifferent to death. Her motives might be different there than when her opponent is mindless Heracles, but still. If the Sword effectively replaces the Grail in terms of preventing her fading at the end of the Singularity, and she was severely weakened before it arrived, so she's aware that she can't fight Heracles... maybe.
I still feel like she'd still prefer to fade out, since her purpose in the singularity is gone. If the Sword of Atli makes that impossible without her actively destroying herself, I suppose she might revert to trying to find something comfortable to do, which does make Heracles an impediment, and certainly you might as well take advantage of a master popping up fortuitously... sure. It just doesn't feel like a very compelling hook to me, though I'm having difficulty articulating why, since there's not a ton to go on. You could have something non-obvious planned, of course.

Yeah, there's some non-obvious stuff going on in the background, here. Like exactly how she has the Sword of Atli, and how it's influencing the situation.

As for self preservation instinct... it's hard to nail down for her in canon, considering how different she is in each iteration. As a maid, she desires to have a master to show she can be a good maid for. As a Santa, she desires a reindeer to take her around, so she can deliver presents. As a Lancer, she barely knows what she wants anymore, barring leading the Wild Hunt. In Carnival Phantasm, she's able to go Alter at will, if she rips off her Ahoge, resulting in her being angry and willing to show it. It also makes people want to follow her, and respect her ranting.

But as a Saber Alter in canon, as well as Unlimited Codes, she does show some kindness and caring, under all the rage, and tyranny. When she's not hungry, at least. She also does show some honor, even as a blackened knight. You see it in Sparks Liner High, but you also can see flashes of it in her dialogue in Fate Grand Order. Refusing to attack those that don't attack her. She may be a tyrant now, but she still has the same goals.

I do see your point about how compelling it is. At the same time, keep in mind that her goals haven't changed, just how she goes about completing them. And if she has a damned good reason to wish to deal with Berserker before fading out...?

Well, you'll see, if you want me to continue posting after this next bit, where the plot starts to thicken...

Chapter 2: Into the Fire



The Ruins of Singularity F
Shirou's workshop



I rub my forehead, slowly, before I sigh. Arturia Pendragon Alter smiles at me, and my irritated look. “Are you sure that I can't sell you on moving into your body?”


I give her a glare back, then rub my forehead again. “No. Now... hunger, I can fix. Prana might be more difficult considering how little I generate... but considering what you've got with you, I suspect you've been draining it for power?” My eyes glance over the Sword of Atli in her one hand.


She frowns at it, then at me. “Stupid woman shouted that I'd need it more than her, and flung it at me while I was half dead and fading away. Everyone else's attention was on that fellow that gave me the Holy Grail when it happened. Come to think of it...” She frowns, rubbing her chin. “She looked much like me, if far more... busty.”


“Hmm. Shit.” I mutter under my breath, and continue altering the cloth. “How'd you get this, anyways?”


“Cutting the fabric off my own clothes, and sewing it into new garb for you.” She smirks at me, leaving me nodding. “Thanks for that, at least.”


Her eyes widen at that, before she smiles. Then a growling from her stomach leaves me staring at her for a moment.


“Hunger is the enemy!” She snaps at me with a frown, and a hint of a blush.

“Not going to disagree... let's see now... are there any grocery stores still undamaged?” I mutter, as I work with the sewing machine.

“A few...” She murmurs, thinking.

I nod, and sigh as I finish turning the skirt into a pair of shorts with some work. “Good enough. Still, thanks for at least clothing me, even if our taste differs. Now...”

I pause, then frown at my feet. More specifically, the lack of shoes.

“Damn, that's going to make running around a pain.” I admit.

She looks down, then smirks at me. “Sure I can't convince you to be my body? You'll get shoes out of the deal! Otherwise, there's pretty much only one pair of shoes in the city right now. I'm wearing them.”

“I'd rather not wear high heels, thank you. That incident with Inari was enough, as it was.” I crack a bit of a joke, then sigh. “Okay... give me a moment.”

I look around the room, then pick up a piece of paper, and a nearby pencil. Then I write, quickly.

“This stuff is the bare minimum. Keep in mind that Butane is flammable, but it's one of our best options for a cooking fire that won't leave scent markers for Berserker to find.” I admit. “If you can raid the burger joint you were getting food at, and get the oil and food from it, we're likely in business for cooking fries and grilling meat. If there's any defrosted burger buns, get those as well.”


Her eyes light up with a beautiful smile. And in that moment, I can see why Mordred loved her so damned much, even as she narrows her eyes in thought.


“Glad to hear that. By the way... your Servant. You have one, somehow. Can you communicate with them in any way?” She asks, speculatively.


For a moment, I focus. With all my might, I focus.


“Mordred, are you there?” I send, hoping this will work.


“Erik?! Oh, thank god. You're able to talk... wait. Your body's not awake. How...?” Her voice quizzically returns. “You've been under for a few hours, now.”


“My mind's stuck in some sort of Singularity, if you remember Mash's information on it. Stuck with a tainted version of your father, and Herakles on a rampage, out to kill your father and anyone else in here that moves or breathes.”


“Oh. Fuck. Which... wait. Fuyuki one, right? Shit, shit shit. I'll tell your wife and Scylla, they might be able to do something about it.” She sounds worried, if nothing else.


“Tell them that I care, and I'm working on a solution in here. Also let them know that your father has the Sword of Atli, and I think that's why I'm in this shit.”

“It never rains, just pours for you, huh?” Mordred sounds irritated, but relieved.

“Considering your father was tempted to castrate me, in order to make me a host body for herself, in an attempt to replicate Mash's status as a demi-servant? And I'm wearing a hastily modified version of her clothes right now? I came damned close to needing my wife to fix my gender, and having your father riding in the back of my head.” I admit to her, as I look over the tools in the building.


“Got it, Erik. Just be careful, alright?” Mordred's voice echoes in my head.


“Yeah. No problem. Keep them safe for me, will you? I may also have to bargain with this version of your father, and things could get...” I trail off for a moment, thinking. “Either messy, or she might contract with me like you have.”


“Shit. I'll keep quiet if that happens, then. At least until we have leads... Be safe, Erik. Don't let yourself be turned female just for father, either.”


I open my eyes, looking around the now empty room. Then sigh, and start working on separating the tools.


Soon enough, Arturia Pendragon is back, several bags of goods slung over her shoulders.


I move, helping with my weakened body for a bit, as she unpacks what she can. “We were in luck, little Master.” I glance over at her. “Call me Erik.”


“Erik, then.” Her smile grows a bit, before her eyes wander the room, studying the changes. “A craftsman, then?”


I nod, and start cooking, listening to a faint roar of rage in the far distance.




After the food is devoured by us both (And I will never, ever, be irritated by Mordred's hunger when she needs to eat again. I swear.), I settle back to study her.


“Bit better, prana-wise?” I ask, quietly.


She studies me, and nods. “Much. As for what I found? One pair of boots left. Plenty of heels, though...” My glare leaves her frowning, and sighing. “Would it be so bad, truly? You need to live, and I need to live.”


I sigh, shaking my head. “I don't think you'd enjoy trying to take me over, especially with the news my Servant gave me.”


She stills, carefully studying me as I continue. “Looks like this is some sort of copy of my body, or just my mind, or something. I'm still asleep, in a coma, on my ship.”


Saber Alter winces, at that. “Ah. And if I possessed this one, when it's so tenuously linked...” she sighs, and rubs her forehead. “Damnation. I'll have to make a temporary contract with you, then.”


A loud roar echoes in the far distance, and I can hear the sound of a building being torn to shreds, leaving me wincing. “I presume that's Berserker, then...”


She nods, folding her arms, as we carefully listen to his roars in the distance, slowly fading away.


After a long while, we both sigh in relief. I catch her blinking at me quizzically for a moment, before she frowns slightly.


Then I reach forwards, offering my hand. “Erik Ulfrsonr. Former Norse God of Mecha.” The look of stunned astonishment on her face is utterly priceless.

[Arbitrarity]

Lancer Artoria or Alter thereof (probably Alter) having the Sword and passing it to Alter here is certainly interesting. I'm not sure why it would have ended up with the Wild Hunt or the Lion King, but presumably there's some reason. Odin is said to lead the Wild Hunt in Norse-ish myth, which is somewhat relevant to Erik, I guess.

I do like this concept a lot more with this chapter added. When writing feedback yesterday I was feeling like I was being overly harsh, because I was pretty sure you were going to add some more elements and explanations in future, and were just setting the stage and tone initially.
I was specifically tempted to write something like "if you introduced some of the rest of Erik's supporting characters, I would feel more invested" and then realized I would almost certainly eat those words afterwards. I did, so I'm happy. Also the mini-singularity dream is a good choice of setup for this. Makes things considerably less bleak-feeling, which lends itself well to having a more lighthearted take on Saber Alter (more Shinjuku than Singularity F)
The idea of the Grail giving knowledge specifically of the term "mecha" amuses me greatly, particularly in the context of "Norse God". Paranoia? Lots of gods have that. Giant piloted robots? Less so.

[Kieran]

Lancer Artoria or Alter thereof (probably Alter) having the Sword and passing it to Alter here is certainly interesting. I'm not sure why it would have ended up with the Wild Hunt or the Lion King, but presumably there's some reason. Odin is said to lead the Wild Hunt in Norse-ish myth, which is somewhat relevant to Erik, I guess.

Actually, that is probably my fault - the Sword originally belonged to Krampus, whose ultimate role was leading the Hunt in the game's setting as it developed in our chronicle. And the one thing that Fate (and Legend) loves, in Scion, is weaving familiar patterns . . .

[RanmaBushiko]

Lancer Artoria or Alter thereof (probably Alter) having the Sword and passing it to Alter here is certainly interesting. I'm not sure why it would have ended up with the Wild Hunt or the Lion King, but presumably there's some reason. Odin is said to lead the Wild Hunt in Norse-ish myth, which is somewhat relevant to Erik, I guess.

I do like this concept a lot more with this chapter added. When writing feedback yesterday I was feeling like I was being overly harsh, because I was pretty sure you were going to add some more elements and explanations in future, and were just setting the stage and tone initially.
I was specifically tempted to write something like "if you introduced some of the rest of Erik's supporting characters, I would feel more invested" and then realized I would almost certainly eat those words afterwards. I did, so I'm happy. Also the mini-singularity dream is a good choice of setup for this. Makes things considerably less bleak-feeling, which lends itself well to having a more lighthearted take on Saber Alter (more Shinjuku than Singularity F)
The idea of the Grail giving knowledge specifically of the term "mecha" amuses me greatly, particularly in the context of "Norse God". Paranoia? Lots of gods have that. Giant piloted robots? Less so.

Yup. Lancer Alter, and as Kieran said, it was involved in the Wild Hunt in the Scion game, so she's playing shenanigans with a nigh destroyed singularity no one else would care about.

As for being Harsh? That's fine. No worries, to be honest. I was worried I hadn't posted enough in the first place, to be fair.

It's why I tend to bulk out my chapters as much as they normally are.

As for lighthearted take... she loves Junk Food in everything but Heaven's Feel. Outright adores the stuff.

As for Paranoia... considering Erik successfully hid from everyone that he had a colony drop ready to hit Asgard in case he couldn't convince Fenris to not eat Odin and fuck with the Gods, as part of his "take Fenris and run anyways" plan? Half a mile space station as a colony drop is nothing to snort at, and the fact that no one saw it coming? Or realized it existed?

It might be overkill, but he still has better paranoia, and measures to counter it, than most of the rest of Asgard. Barring Loki, at least...

Actually, that is probably my fault - the Sword originally belonged to Krampus, whose ultimate role was leading the Hunt in the game's setting as it developed in our chronicle. And the one thing that Fate (and Legend) loves, in Scion, is weaving familiar patterns . . .

And as Lancer Arturia Alter gained the Sword of Atli, after Erik borrowed it to study how the upgrades he added were influencing the original blade, so to does Lancer Arturia Alter give away the Sword of Atli, to someone who needs it... with a side effect of a possible new leader of the Wild Hunt to partner with in the bargain.

As for chapters... have the third chapter for this snippet. Where things start falling into place, slowly but surely.

Chapter 3: The Blunt Method


“So.” I look at a still stunned Arturia Alter, staring at me in stunned astonishment. “I could screw around, pretend I don't know who the hell you are, and the bulk of the shitty situation we're in. Or we can cut the crap, I can tell you what we know, and we can survive the raging Berserker out there.”

Arturia's mouth slowly shuts, as one eyebrow raises. “Oh?”

I nod, at her query, and sigh. “I met an alternate version of your former Master. Learned a few interesting things, as well.”

She winces, slightly. “Well. That explains a lot, I suppose. If you're traveling between universes...”

“Then I know all sorts of tricks and secrets that don't normally get brought up?” I nod, and sigh. “I will require a Geas contract from you, to not harm my Servant or people on my ship, until they can have a serious chat with you, however. If we make it out of this alive, I'm sure you'll want the contract long term...” I trail off meaningfully.

The other eyebrow raises, before she smiles, a grim, almost cold smile. “To think I was trying to possess a God... fine. I'll sign your contract. Trying to keep the peace between Servants?”

“That and you're both Sabers.” I nod. “And I'd rather not piss you off, or my Servant on my ship off, by seeming to favor one over the other.”

She sighs, slowly. “Fair, I suppose. Even if I'm backed into a corner with these wounds...”

“Considering what Shirou had as a summoning catalyst, if you can retrieve his body...” I trail off, as her head jerks up to look at me.

“He had one?! I thought...” For a moment, she frowns. “Tch. Now that's going to bother me.”

“His adoptive father used it to save him, in the Fuyuki Fire caused by the corrupted grail going 'boom' after he realized it was fucked with.” My words lead to Arturia Alter going very still indeed, one hand clenching tight enough around the Sword of Atli to make her bones creak.

“...The Fire he suffered from, was caused by Kiritsugu's orders to destroy the Grail?” Her words come out, with a metaphysical weight that I can literally feel from near her.

“And he didn't care enough about you to warn you what was going on, or why he was doing it? Yup.” I admit, finishing off writing on another paper.

“What was that catalyst he used?” She turns to look at me, carefully. I nudge over the contract, gently. “Sign, and I'll tell you.”

“Erik Ulfrsonr, and Arturia Pendragon will agree to a truce, doing their best to support each other through life and death in the current singularity, with an agreement to continue things afterwards if both parties survive. If both survive until afterwards, then Arturia Pendragon will agree to hearing out Erik's previously mentioned servant...” Arturia frowns, looking closer as she finishes reading silently, before nodding. “No treachery, I see.”

“Nothing except basic protections for myself, and those on my ship if we both make it out of here alive, as well as basic protections for you. I'm not one to sacrifice someone working with me, and if you're going to stick with me for any length of time...” I trail off, meaningfully, as she nods.

Then she signs, and with her signing, I can feel a slight feeling of Fate linking us together. After a moment, she looks up quizzically at me, eyes alight showing hints of confusion.

“Fate ensures the contract won't be broken now.” I admit. “As for Shirou's little accidental catalyst? Avalon is inside his body. If you can retrieve it...”

Arturia's face shows that same expression of shock from before, as I nod. “If you're going to be out picking stuff up, however, you'll also want to hit up the Tohsaka place. There's a tool in a locked chest, top floor, that you'll need, to guarantee a steady supply of Prana.”

At that, her eyes narrow a bit. “You don't generate much, then?”

“It's mostly from a prototype reactor, one that tends to be a little finicky. The less backup or equipment I have, the stronger the power it generates...” for a moment, I pause, focusing. Then a thrum of power from my chest leaves me sighing in slight relief... before I glance up, at a distant shattering sound, far in the distance.

“Well, I'm linked to it enough for it to still work, and it's putting out power...” I admit, ruefully, while glancing out a crack in the door frame. Then I pause, at the sight of the singularity's barriers cracking inwards a bit.

“Damn. We just lost some of this place again, didn't we?” I mutter to her. She looks out, then winces as well. “That's another one of the furthest... islands this place has become, gone. As for the box... what's in it?”

“If we're lucky? One of Zelretch's creations. A ruby staff that can talk. He hired me to look over his stuff, and upgrade it, so I'm fairly sure I can do something with it to help you. Also likely some gemstones filled with prana...” I trail off, thinking. “If we can get the right parts, from the local high school's lab, I can probably build a laser rifle to let me help you fight off Berserker with those gemstones. If their lab facilities are intact, at least.”

She frowns, thinking. “It's likely they were. The fires didn't really hit that area too hard, with the sprinklers still working in it. There’s some burned out sections, however, so I’m not sure how much is intact. As for the gemstones and staff, it would make sense, I suppose. You’re hoping for me to gain power through them?”


I nod, sighing. “Yeah. I don’t generate much prana, myself. I’ve got machines back on my current ship instead that help handle it for me. And since I’m not sure how much power I’m producing right now, with my true body being stuck in a coma while I’m here…?” I trail off, meaningfully, as she nods.

It’s a moment of trying on, and testing the boots she brought, before I stretch and work out the kinks. “Thanks for the boots, by the way.” For a moment, she smiles, before she folds her arms, speaking up.

“Very well then. Shall we make a contract between us?” She raises an eyebrow at me. I nod, and focus, brushing things away from the ritual circle I know is hidden in the storage shed we’re in.

“Heed my words.” I intone loudly, as I focus, traces of power flowing through me as I do so, if slight.

“My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny.” A ripple of power flows through us both, as I focus.

“If you heed my call, and obey My Will and Reason as a Master, and former Norse God!” The sigil lights up, glowing a bright red as Arturia Alter’s eyes widen with surprise.

“Then answer me! Do so, and I shall entrust my destiny to your sword!”

“I accept this oath in the name of Saber. Let our enemies be destroyed together, my new Master.” She smiles, then winces. “You weren’t kidding about being weak when it comes to prana…”

I flinch, as a bone deep ache hits me, before the Prototype Cosmoreactor slowly floods my body with power in an attempt to help. Then I pause, as an odd sound reaches my ears...


“OH SHIT, GET DOWN!” I reach out, grabbing her hand, and drop to the floor in an attempt to pull her with me, as I hear a sound of crinkling metal, as a massive stone blade carves into the space where our heads were moments before.

Then it slides, carving through a good part of the wall, leaving Herakles glaring through.

A loud, deep growl reaches us, before he eyes the Sword of Atli with a menacing grin.


Edit: Why, oh why did this not post when I first hit Post quick reply, 6 hours ago?!

[Arbitrarity]

Oh, Erik is NOT messing around with choices of artifacts to go after. I was thinking Avalon might solve most of the prana problem on its own, given that after Artoria has it, she uses Excalibur consecutively a few times at the end of Fate. But Ruby will definitely solve other issues, even if Artoria Alter REALLY isn't her preferred sort of wielder. Plus, since it's a Zelretch creation, it will likely recognize Erik, or be capable of doing so, and can probably do something with regard to the degradation of the Singularity, whether it's escaping, powering up Erik, or stabilizing the area.

Not explicitly mentioning Mordred is probably a good choice as well. Don't know what the reaction would be, but have magically binding contracts first.

It's unclear whether using the Cosmoreactor is affecting the stability of the area, but that does seem like a possible longer-term concern. The shorter term concern is being smashed by Heracles, of course. Alter usually has enough Strength to cut Heracles through God Hand, but it's still a mess, particularly with the "previous attack negation", though that particular effect is usually downplayed a lot. Also, is he still blinded similar to how he is in Heaven's Feel? I'd assume so, otherwise it would be very difficult to get away from him in any engagement. Erik likely has nothing approaching an A rank attack given how weakened he is.

[RanmaBushiko]

Oh, Erik is NOT messing around with choices of artifacts to go after. I was thinking Avalon might solve most of the prana problem on its own, given that after Artoria has it, she uses Excalibur consecutively a few times at the end of Fate. But Ruby will definitely solve other issues, even if Artoria Alter REALLY isn't her preferred sort of wielder. Plus, since it's a Zelretch creation, it will likely recognize Erik, or be capable of doing so, and can probably do something with regard to the degradation of the Singularity, whether it's escaping, powering up Erik, or stabilizing the area.

Not explicitly mentioning Mordred is probably a good choice as well. Don't know what the reaction would be, but have magically binding contracts first.

It's unclear whether using the Cosmoreactor is affecting the stability of the area, but that does seem like a possible longer-term concern. The shorter term concern is being smashed by Heracles, of course. Alter usually has enough Strength to cut Heracles through God Hand, but it's still a mess, particularly with the "previous attack negation", though that particular effect is usually downplayed a lot. Also, is he still blinded similar to how he is in Heaven's Feel? I'd assume so, otherwise it would be very difficult to get away from him in any engagement. Erik likely has nothing approaching an A rank attack given how weakened he is.

Yeah. Situation FUBAR, grab all the neat shit that might help ASAP. Avalon might or might not help with prana, it's not really explained if it's giving her prana, or lessening prana usage with Excalibur, or just something else entirely.

Ruby, on the other hand, would make things entertaining, even if Arturia Alter is exactly that, not a preferred sort of user/wielder. Erik *could* work with the wand that way, but after saying no to Arturia repeatedly so far, he's not going to worry about possibly sacrificing his gender to get it to help him, though.

Mordred's likely a big no-no, thus Erik going for the Geas contract.

As for the Cosmoreactor, it's basically putting a bunch of power into this new body, because it's effective reserves are nearly 0. Thus him taking so long to wake up. There's good reasons for it, though.

As for Herakles... he's gotten even more dangerous, and for good reason... Admittedly, I'm not quite finished with the next chapter yet, but a good chunk is written. And boy, if you thought him scary in canon...

[Kieran]

Unknown place
Unknown time









In the world of Exalted, the culture and nature of Lunar Exalts was focussed around a single concept: survival.

In the setting of the game’s “present” age, that cast them as nomadic barbarians on the absolute edges of Creation, where the primordial and alien Wyld—the literal chaos from which the world had been brought forth—forever prowled, seeking a way in. In the setting’s past, it cast them in the role of guardian and helpmeet of the Solar Exalted. Whether as muscle for the less combat-inclined Twilight and Eclipse Caste, courtiers and spies smoothing the path of the martially-adept Dawns and Dusks, or sages to temper the zeal of the priestly Zenith Caste, and similarly zealous personalities, with wisdom and knowledge; they adapted as necessary, to endure whatever was thrown their way.

The Lunars were the Stewards of Creation; administrators and protectors of the frontiers the Solars conquered, implementers of the policies the chosen god-kings of Creation devised—but above all else, they were survivors. And more than that, the Exaltations themselves were designed to move from host to host, seeking those empower those worthy, who reflected their natures.

As such, the man most recently known as “Godafrid Úa Súilleabháin” really shouldn’t have been surprised at waking up—though he might be forgiven for his reaction to how he woke up . . .








The beeping was what woke him; the incessant, high-pitched tone that managed to hit just the right pitch to drive a stiletto into his brain—or so it felt like, anyway. It was only after he was somewhat awake, and glancing around at the obvious hospital room surroundings, that he realised it was a heart monitor, or an EKG reader, or some obvious medical gizmo that was designed to make enough noise to alert passing staff when something was critically wrong.

Given that he could count on one hand the number of times he’d actually been hospitalised—and all of them for surgeries—this was more than a little concerning . . . And it made him wonder about the things he’d experienced (or thought he’d experienced) in recent times. Was it possible that the whole “Grail Works” thing had been a dream brought on by injury and/or anaesthesia? It would certainly explain what, on the surface of it, was a genuinely ridiculous set of concepts . . .

. . . Except that as he closed his eyes and attempted to gather his thoughts, he knew his Charms were still working; he could feel the Essence expenditure concealing his tattoos—which, by nature, were meant to contain and protect his nature as an Exalt. So if that was real, that meant that everything else must have been, by default. Which, ultimately, meant—

“. . . Ow,” Frid groaned. It was inadequate to the situation, much less how much pain he was in, but it was all he was actually capable of, at the moment.

Please, please tell me that the damned predestination loop is closed, now—I DO NOT want to go back.

Seriously—and he’d thought dealing with Erik was bad in the Fate/apocrypha universe; the Servant Universe was a whole new level of overblown insanity.

And Ereshkigal is Best Goddess, without exception, confirmed—any flavour of Ishtar is just plain nuts . . .

One off-colour joke, after all, had apparently been enough to land him here; and doctors and hospitals were places he avoided like the proverbial plague. Not simply because he hated them (which he did), but because he didn’t want to be forced to have to try and explain why he was healing four times faster than an un-Exalted mortal—much less deal with the likely consequences of that fact being found out.

It just wouldn’t end well.

Gathering his thoughts, the Exalt realised that no nurse or doctor had popped in as a response to the machine that had woken him—whose changing pattern as he regained consciousness should have alerted the hospital staff—and so he went searching for a call button. It was only then that the incongruity of his surroundings struck him: this place much more closely resembled a 21st-century hospital than the sort of thing he’d have expected from the “space opera” design motif of the Servant Universe. In that case, he’d have half-expected to awaken in an ersatz “bacta tank” straight out of The Empire Strikes Back—instead, the hospital looked, to his eyes and experiences, normal.

And didn’t that set off alarm bells in the back of his head . . .?

“Ilya . . .?” he tried experimentally, following it up almost immediately with “Ow.”

His throat began searing as air passed through it—and the croak that had emerged from his mouth indicated either illness or injury. More alarmingly, his voice was off by more than that; it was too high a pitch compared to his normal tone, even with the deepening effect caused by the croak itself. Something was seriously wrong . . .

Frid was disappointed but unsurprised when there was no response to his call, even as it all-but-confirmed one theory as to his present circumstances. Historically, the Grail spirit had trouble locating him when he was forcibly ejected from a universe, and it was looking more and more likely that this was the case once more. So, he didn’t know where he was, he was either injured, ill, or both; and he was presently stuck here—wherever “here” happened to be—until he could at least try summoning a Servant, as that had proven a reliable method of sending up a metaphorical flare to get Ilya’s attention.

Always assuming, of course, that magic actually worked here in a manner sufficiently similar to allow such a thing; or existed at all—after all, his magic might be working, but he had a fragment of a deity grafted to his soul. It made powering such things (and powering through restrictions that might otherwise inhibit him) much easier.

To that end, he began looking around the room for signs that magic might be commonly in use or even present here, subtly using Charms to enhance his perceptive abilities to that end. All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight was the obvious one, of course, but even his mundane senses, properly enhanced, might detect the scent of alchemical reagents, hear the sound of arcane syllables, or see things like—

Like his reflection in the glass observation window of the hospital room’s door staring back at him; more accurately, the reflection of a young Japanese boy.

“WHAT THE HELL . . .?”








Of all the possible places I could’ve ended up, I’m in the world of “Shuffle!” he thought wearily. And as the main character, no less . . .!

The Exalt formerly known as “Godafrid Úa Súilleabháin,” now “Rin Tsuchimi” (age nine!), sighed exasperatedly.

In the world of “Shuffle!”, an archaeological expedition opened a “Gate” to the “World of Gods” (who resembled humans with pointed ears) and the “World of Devils” (who resembled humans with longer pointy ears), allowing the three races to intermingle. Fast forward ten years, and a 17-year-old Rin Tsuchimi found himself subject to the amorous attentions of both worlds’ princesses, along with a number of other suitors . . .

He supposed it made a (very twisted) sort of sense, if you squinted really hard—and happened to be exceptionally drunk, deranged, or concussed (or possibly all three) at the time. He was already associated with a “Rin” from an H-game visual novel that took place in 2004 (two, if you counted Space Ishtar, who had apparently killed him), and the sort of entity that was meant to fill the hollow shell that a visual novel protagonist was—to wit, a player. Add in the potential karmic associations of Ishtar’s traditional domains (most importantly, sex), and Rin Tohsaka’s twisted and often petty sense of humour, with both entities’ legendary vindictiveness . . .

Really, it was a wonder he hadn’t woken up as Shirou, in an “Unlimited Blade Works” timeline—or that asshole protagonist from School Days.

That he was the core “past life” of the Lunar Exaltation made a certain kind of sense; it had been created ex nihilo, so whom else’s memories and skills would it pass along? That he was the personality in charge, however, was a bit more surprising. While Exaltation usually occurred in near-death situations—hence its being termed “the Second Breath” (as in “breath of life”)—it typically worked as reincarnation was said to (outside of manga storylines, anyway), with the new host acquiring fragments of previous hosts’ lives and memories along with their powers; but they were still unequivocally themselves.

But then again, his “Exaltation” was a recreation of the concept by an entirely different pantheon, who operated under a totally different metaphysical paradigm and history—why would he expect it to conform completely to Exalted’s rules and design? And it would, he supposed, fit more in line with Sehanine Moonbow’s stance on death being meant to be final . . .

But that still didn’t quite line up, to his mind, though he was at a loss for any other explanation. Because try though he might, he didn’t feel the presence of any other personality or memories, much less the ones he might’ve expected from Rin Tsuchimi—perhaps whatever had landed him in the hospital in the first place actually had killed the boy?

. . . And while he had no idea what might have done it, the “who” of it was pretty easy to guess, given “his” current age: Kaede Fuyou.

While she was a love interest later, at this point in time, she blamed Rin for her mother’s death in the car accident which had also taken his parents. Deliberately so, on Rin’s part—he’d set himself up as a target so that Kaede would have someone to blame, lying to her so that she’d at least have hate driving her to live, rather than the catatonia her mother’s death had pushed her into. It was noble of Rin, if not especially bright—particularly since it had seemingly gotten him killed.

And since I don’t want to know how she’d escalate from murder, I’m not willing to wait the four years it’ll apparently take for her to discover the truth—if I remember correctly, the Exalt decided. Either I need to engineer something to let it slip earlier, or I need to get her father to pay attention to her—Kaede needs therapy.

It might be tricky to arrange; he had no idea how Japan actually regarded or practiced that sort of thing, after all. Still, it had to be done. Even if he wasn’t in the anime’s version of the timeline (where Kaede switched from murderous towards Rin to full-on yandere, albeit well-hidden), her mental state was not healthy, and wouldn’t be for most of a decade if he let it sit. Nice as it might be to get a cute live-in maid of a housemate willing to attend to his every need, it wasn’t worth the damage to her—not to mention him, since she was apparently more successfully murderous in this version of the world.

And which version was it, he wondered? The original visual novel had several routes, of course—and a number of spinoff games extended several of them, as well as introducing new potential love interests along the way. The anime had taken one route as canon, and the manga another—it wasn’t until Episode 2, over fifteen years later, that the “official” route had been declared; and even then, the existence of alternate timelines had been noted as being present . . .

The poor schmuck finding himself stuck with Rin Tsuchimi’s life (for now, at least) rubbed his temples. This was going to require careful handling. Kaede was the most immediate problem, but not the only one; some of the other girls wound up at risk of dying, and possibly taking others with them—and there was no reason to assume that the same circumstances wouldn’t arise, just because he was avoiding them as potential romances.

I can’t do anything about Sia or Nerine until I meet them as teenagers—and have I even met them as children, yet? It is about the right time . . . Primula won’t arrive before then, either. Kaede I can help now, and need to, for my own health and safety; and Asa—

Asa Shigure was in danger of losing her life to a unique medical condition that human medicine couldn’t treat—or even diagnose—and it was tied up in a top-secret joint project between the Gods and Devils. It was best handled by discreetly passing information to the two monarchs, the Exalt had always thought; they had the resources and the authority to help her, and if done correctly, he wouldn’t have to explain how he knew details about one of their blackest of research projects.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, they weren’t living next door with their daughters so that the girls could pursue him romantically; ergo, it wasn’t as easy as dropping carefully-phrased statements in their hearing. Come to that, he didn’t think that he even knew Asa yet, which made it more complicated still.

Playing amnesiac is going to help cover so many holes in my knowledge—and maybe I can leverage the potential guilt over it to get Kaede’s father to act . . .

Was he being ridiculous, trying to plot out strategies that wouldn’t even come into play for nearly a decade? Possibly—this world did have magic, after all (or at least, certain inhabitants of it did), and the “Gate” was, according to what little he’d gleaned from Episode 2, actually some kind of space-time rift; between that and the “alternate worlds” mention, getting into contact with the Works ought to be relatively easy. On the other hand, his current appearance was that of a nine-year-old, and an injured one, at that; he was liable to be under fairly heavy scrutiny and no small amount of restrictions for a while. And he’d need to do some research to see how easy the Gate was to access anyways, before ever trying anything with it.

More to the point, if he was Rin Tsuchimi, then that meant that whenever he left, there wouldn’t be one here, and people could die as a result. Not just the romance options that he had no interest in, either; Episode 2’s backstory had something about a “Great Collapse,” forty years after the first game and sixty years before the second, and it implied that Rin had died saving the worlds from it.

Shirou would want the Works to save those people, even if his harem wouldn’t want him anywhere near this particular role. And forty-eight years was a long time to complete a mission; even if Ilya could, say, open Doors directly to the important points in space-time and accomplish each objective more or less immediately, who knew what details they might miss in the skipped-over interim?

Celestial Exalts, on the other hand, lived for thousands of years, and aged very slowly throughout that span—he could afford to spare the time to do things the slow way, and make sure that they got done right.

He just had to make sure he got every possible advantage set up along the way ahead of time, and this wouldn’t be all that hard at all—

. . . Was that thunder, just now?

[Xamusel]

In broad daylight, Rin? Are you out of your mind, man?

[RanmaBushiko]

Have that other snippet chapter, since I just finished. And glad to see you're reading in here, Xamusel!

Also, for the record. I used multiple maps to help me figure out exactly how Fuyuki is set up, so I could set up this next snippet. One of Singularity F, and another of Fuyuki as it is normally.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20190107155622 for Singularity F's map, without markers, compared to
https://cdnen.samurai-gamers.com/wp-...16342125_o.png with markers.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20111010011339 This shows all of Fuyuki, as of Hollow Ateraxia, apparently. Quite useful for comparisons, though it took a while to find out that the Einzbern Castle is on the Outskirts in the lower left hand corner

Little things like the Outskirts literally being on fire from huge massive fires, and what looks like massive craters from Excalibur. A massive crater right around the area of the Matou Mansion. A huge line through the city of fire where Saber had to have set off Excalibur once. There's a lot of interesting visual details, ones that I took time to mesh into the whole. For what's left of it, that is. And you might start putting together what that Void in Reality in the center of the Fuyuki Singularity might be...


Chapter 4: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

You know? Staring at Herakles like this, I have to admit, if only to myself… type moon’s animation did not do the walking massive man made out of sheer muscles, credit. Close, but whatever the hell he’s been taking since this singularity started, it’s made him even beefier than the pictures.

Then again, I’m a fucking former Norse God, and look how legends portrayed them…

I snap out of my thoughts, as I force myself to roll backwards, as Herakles hacks into the wall again, carving effortlessly through the wall like a hot knife through butter with his massive stone blade.

To my side, I can see Arturia Alter forming armor around herself, heavy plate armor, before she stands at the ready.


“Can you run?” Her voice reaches my mind, as I stare at the walking massive monster in front of us.

“Maybe, but I don’t fucking know the layout of the city well enough to get to anywhere…” I shoot back, watching Herakles slowly carve into the wall, stabbing at us and just barely missing.

I pause at the look at his face, and tilt my head, looking at the sword barely missing me, and at him grinning at us. “You know, if you’re going to act like a movie villain like Pyramid Head, you’re not doing a good job at the ‘barely missing with each slash before getting bored and leaving part’, son of Zeus.”

Herakles stills, his eyes widening, before he stops and stares at me. Then his grins widens. “Well. A Norse Godling, here?”

Arturia outright flinches, at his words. “Herakles, sane?!”


“Eh. Former God, truth be told. And if you’re looking down at me, I’d like to see if you’d do half as well as I am, if your father was erased from history completely in the universe you came from, in such a way that temporally, you’re not supposed to exist either…” I trail off, studying him, even as the blackening slowly crawls away from his face, showing his grin fading.

For a moment, I risk exhausting myself. Ever since my goggles fused with my eyes, I’ve had the ability to see weaknesses. But with how weak I am, it’s not really worth it to do it for a long time.

Then I stare at him, and a steady stream of power being drawn from the Sword of Atli to him, before I turn the skill back off.

“Are you seriously using my friend’s blade to restore yourself, as a battery?! I haven’t even finished fixing it! And if he’s somehow survived that mess, what the hell do you think he’ll do to me if he found you draining it like this?!” I glare at him, backing up and reaching for Raika… only to wince at the realization that Raika’s not with me, or anything else.

Herakles smirk widens. “And so the cornered rats realize how easy it is for me to win. Run, little rats. Run in your cage. Run around in this little hell, as I enjoy the chase thoroughly. For I will run you to exhaustion, before I murder the one you’ve teamed up with for this, little former Norse God. And then I’m going to take my time and enjoy using you as target practice. For what your new Servant did to my Master…”

With those words, he walks back with a smirk. “After all, letting you get a head start will let me make you suffer all the longer!”

I stare at the walking mass of muscle before me, quietly thinking. “How long will you give us?”

“Until I get bored of counting, perhaps?” He smirks.

“How about until you’ve gone back to your Master’s grave and here, so we have some time to run?” Arturia asks, carefully staying out of range of his massive stone sword.


Herakles smirks. “I suppose that’s fair enough. Run little lambs, run. For when you’re done, I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

He walks off, laughing, and for a moment, I’m just left breathing out. Arturia moves to face me, studying me. “Are you alright?”


“Terrified, but only because I’m still exhausted. Supplying two Servants isn’t exactly helping, either. Still, I think I can remedy some of the issues for you, for the moment.” I focus, thinking. “Saber. By the power of this Command Spell… Draw as much power as you can from the Sword of Atli, and use it to restore yourself as well as you can, be it healing, or power reserves!”

She flinches, and I can visibly see the Sword of Atli growing some rust on it in spots, as massive amounts of power from it replenish her reserves… but her injuries don’t heal.

“No healing, it seems, but that worked well. Still, to waste a Command Spell like that?” She frowns at me.

“They grow back every day or so, due to a machine I helped develop. It tends to hurt like hell when the Spell is regenerated, thou-” And suddenly, I can’t speak as my right hand burns like fire, as the Command Spell regenerates.

She stares wide eyed at me, as I wince, clutching my hand.

“A day?! It seems far faster than that, Erik.” She smirks a bit, before I shake my head.

“It’s supposed to be a day since it was last used!NOT THIS FAST!” At my words, she frowns.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, then? Is time not working right, here?” She folds her arms.

“Figure it out later, get to Tohsaka’s place now, please.” At my words, she nods, before leading me out to the street.



20 minutes later



Erik pants, holding onto his knees as he just breathes in and out rapidly. “Fuck. What the hell even happened in this place, anyways?” He manages to gasp out, as he pulls himself up to look at the ruins of the Tohsaka Mansion, still standing due to it

Nearby is a massive crater, one stretching for several city blocks, small chunks piercing through the island we’re on, and showing the void between universes below. Off to my left, somewhere near what looks to be the bridge, is the massive sphere of void at the center of the Singularity’s ruins. Carefully, I glance around. In the far distance, I can see Herakles walking off towards the woods on the outskirts in town. Woods with massive pillars of flame darting through them that burn, even now.

“From what little I could gather from Rin, after Shirou’s…” Arturia pauses, frowning as she does so, before she sighs, and continues. “After her kidnapping by Illyasviel von Einzbern, before things went further to hell, an unknown Servant in Gold picked a fight with Sakura Matou, over being an abomination while Archer was busy trying to find Assassin or Herakles on the other side of town.”


“Gilgamesh. You’re thinking of Gilgamesh, Archer of the Fourth War.” I admit out, as I pull myself up, and stretch while taking in a deep breath.

Saber stills, flinching. “That monster was still alive?!”

“Let’s just say that the local priest was a monster, and leave it at that, for now.” I admit, approaching the house.

“Erik, be careful of fire!” She yelps, before frowning as I nod. “Not so much worried about fire, as I am about smoke, to be fair.” I shoot back, before frowning. “Kick the door down for me?”

For a moment, she frowns, then smiles as she carves through the wooden front door with ease. “Not a problem.”

I nod, and walk through. “Check the upstairs, but stay within earshot. You can tell me more while we search, but you’re likely to see and feel prana better than I can.”

She nods, as we start searching through the house together, even as she talks. “After Archer’s attack, something went… wrong, and Sakura turned into some sort of mass of… ribbon like strands, black and red, that oozed this horrible muck everywhere. At that point, Lancer showed up, screamed Sakura’s name, and took on Gilgamesh with a passion I’d never seen from her before, while Assassin ambushed Rin’s Archer.”

“Damn.” I admit, searching through every room rapidly, while staying in earshot. “It’s one thing to have the possibility described to you, but…”

“Eventually, Gilgamesh and Sakura killed each other, in a frenzy of power and pain, but as she died, something within her detonated, leaving a massive hole in the city.” Arturia admits. “Aha, found some gems!” She shouts, sounding a bit more happy than before.


“Glad to hear it! If you need extra prana, eat one!” I shout back.

“Got it!” She shouts, and I can hear thumping as she repeatedly moves objects. “As I was saying, however, with Sakura’s death, and the mud still in the crater, Rin and I went to find Shirou and Illya, searching all over the city as I could. But one man in a green suit interrupted us, offering us help. Rin accepted, and that was the last thing she ever did. Whatever he did after that, the prana levels in Fuyuki skyrocketed at the cost of that mud spraying out of the crater, and starting to cover large parts of the city. The last sight of Rin I saw was her staring in horror as a wave of that mud fell down onto her…”

“Damn. I’m guessing… that’s when you got altered?” I ask, as I start searching the first floor, being wary of smoke and fire as I do so.

“No, not then I wasn’t. I raced for the Einzbern mansion at that point, to see Berserker facing off with a wave of unknown creatures that had emerged from the mud, the corpse of Shirou, and Illyasviel pouting that he hadn’t suffered longer. At that moment, I killed her, and made her suffer for it. But soon after, the flood of that black mud hit us both, overwhelming us, and turning me into this, while I fought against Berserker there.” She sounds sad, at that.


Her words leave me wincing, as I start checking the downstairs. “I’m going to check the basement, okay?”

“Got it, Erik. But after that, that man in green, Lev Lainer Flouros approached me with the Holy Grail. Offered to help me save Rin, and Shirou, and everyone else that had died, if I simply guarded the Grail for him as part of a Grand Order of his.” Her words echo as she starts heading downstairs to the first floor.

“It’s a pity, what happened between Shirou and Illyasviel, much less how they both died..” I admit, speaking up.

“Oh? Why would you pity her?” Arturia Alter speaks up, approaching.


“She didn’t know that her family was keeping her dad from coming back to get her, before he died. Irisviel Einzbern’s daughter, dying thinking that she’d killed the one that stole her father from her…” I trail off even as Arturia pales, going white with horror.


“She was… she couldn’t have been! She was far too young!” Arturia all but shouts, as she stares at me in horror.


“They made her young. They lied to her about what happened with her father, all to watch her and him suffer, so they could laugh as they both would die hating each other.” I admit, quietly.

“And so Shirou died, by the hands of his own adoptive sister…” Arturia punches the wall, hard, rage on her face.


I nod, starting to search every chest in the basement workshop. “Exactly. All because they didn’t care if the grail was tainted, or cursed. By Kiritsugu Emiya destroying the Lesser Grail, they failed to gain the Third Magic, regardless of it being tainted. And in their eyes, that was betrayal. No matter how the Greater Grail had become a Monkey’s Paw style wish granting machine. It didn’t care.”

Arturia closes her eyes, looking down for one long moment. “I hate this. All of it…”


“You’ll be happy to know that Mash Kyrielight managed to pull off a win, then.” I admit. “Saw her as a Servant after her victory, when someone summoned her for a Grail War I got caught up in.”

Arturia blinks, looking up. “And, though people died, history was repaired. This… version, this iteration of it, doesn’t exactly exist anymore, except in these ruins.”


At those words, Arturia smiles, then pauses as her eyes catch a chest. “Strange, that one doesn’t emit prana at all…”


“Could be the one we’re looking for, then.” I grab the handle, and start pulling it out, Arturia rapidly helping me.


Slowly, we pull open the trunk, and I smile at the sight of Kaleidostick Ruby within. Then I pause, poking it. “Hey. Wake up.”

It doesn’t move when I poke it.


I pause, then pull it out, before inspecting it carefully. Then I hit a button on the back, to force it on emergency power.


“Kaleidostick Ruby, powering up. Warning, 2% of normal Kaleidoscope energies can be accessed at current time. Main power cells depleted of prana. Warning, day and night speeds are going at a highly accelerated rate, steadily accelerating. Cannot counteract, or tell why. Most functions disabled due to lack of power. Booting in low power mode. Backup prana battery at 83%. Please be advised that Unit Kaleidostick Ruby 30892 has 3 hours of functionality remaining, before full power loss and permanent functionality loss.”


After a moment of that, the wand bends, tilting the head of it’s staff to look at me. “Eh? I’ve got a free checkup?! YAY! I could really use some power right now, so that’ll be of great help!”

“Not so much a checkup, as a FUBAR emergency. Can you use jewels from the building, full of prana, to counter the low power mode situation?” I ask.

“Maybe? For some reason, my main prana battery has no energy in it at all, though!” Ruby replies.

I nod, thinking. “No talking about my other Servant while we’re in this clusterfuck of a ruined Singularity. Can you open yourself up, to see if I can’t put in some of the gemstones to replace your battery, maybe? Or can you drain some to ensure we can charge you?”

“I’ll try to drain it. There’s a cache of gems under that loose stone tile over there in the far corner behind your Saber, as well.” Arturia rushes over to where Ruby mentioned, as I breathe out.

[Kieran]

In broad daylight, Rin? Are you out of your mind, man?

Clearly - after all, even aside from that, for ominous thunder to be rolling at that moment, the universe itself would have to be conspiring against him, or something . . .

*Chuckles* You know, I half-expected to see a vote for School Days immediately after posting that snippet, just to watch my SI suffer . . . But I suppose I'm the only sadist in this bunch.

Still, much like the Ninja High School stuff, I am tempted to let this one play out - though it's a fair bit harder, in this case, to think of who from the Works would join in . . .

Snippet.

Well, that certainly goes interesting places past the point I read - though I found Arturia a bit too verbose (and non-hostile) to be quite believable.

[Xamusel]

I volunteer some of my time to help with writing that one out... the Shuffle story, I mean, to be fair.

...wait, what am I saying​?! I have to make sure I actually have something to share with the community, first!

[Kieran]

I volunteer some of my time to help with writing that one out... the Shuffle story, I mean, to be fair.

...wait, what am I saying​?! I have to make sure I actually have something to share with the community, first!

I thank you for the thought, nonetheless.

. . . Still, if you'd like to help, suggestions or requests on what you'd actually like to see happen would be appreciated.

[Xamusel]

Hmm... maybe Mysterious Heroine XX finds him again at some point, but decides to stick around and act as a surrogate mother?

[Kieran]

*(Coughs)* So that's what a spit-take feels like - owwww . . .

That's actually more than a little disturbing to contemplate, on a few levels - though I'll give it points for creativity.

[Xamusel]

Oops... sorry about that...