Deviox's Orphanage of Snippets (Mostly Wrom Crossovers, now featuring Touhou!)

[Deviox]

2011/4/10​

Taylor grumbled as she woke up. She felt a drop of water land on her head, stirring her out of her daze. The wet pavement beneath her told her a storm had just passed. Another drop of water urges her to get up faster. With a groan, she pulled herself to her feet, looking around. Her most recent memory was defeating the Primordial Darkness, and having some kind of conversation with Xion, though she couldn't remember… any of it.

It took her a few moments to finally get her mind in a good enough place to start guessing where she was. The weathered brick walls of an alleyway gave Taylor a few guesses, most of them were good, though she had no idea how she could have ended up here.

Her thoughts were forced to a halt when she saw a snow-white figure lying down as well. "Matoi!" Taylor called out, hurrying over to her friend. The fresh, powered-up outfit the Technique-wielder had been wearing had returned to her regular uniform. Taylor quickly inspected her close friend, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that she was unharmed and was likely just knocked out.

With a bit of effort, Taylor rested Matoi against the wall before she tried using her communicator, trying to get into contact with Arks, only to be met with dead silence. Not unexpected. She knew most Arks stationed on Earth got recalled to Oracle to deal with Shiva, possibly all of them for the final push. Instead, she tried to radio the Mother Corps, only to get more silence. Taylor's brow tightened as she tried Earth Guide next, only to be met with more silence. Lastly, she tried to call Enga's personal phone, just to be met with nothing but radio silence.

Either her communicator was dead, Aether communicators were dead worldwide, or something else was at play. All three were distinct possibilities. While not entirely visible, she didn't come out of the fight with the Primordial Darkness entirely unharmed. While all of her systems appeared to be fully functional, she couldn't fully verify it until she got back into contact with the Arks fleet. The Luminmech rampage across Earth could have easily damaged or destroyed the Aether communication network, though given that the attack was more of a mindless rampage, she had her doubts about that as well.

Which left the unknown factor being the most likely one. The most she could do was activate her SOS Transponder and wait for rescue.

Taylor looked at Matoi, smiling at just how peaceful the albino looked before securing her onto her back, and walking out of the alleyway. As she exited, she saw an ocean, which greatly narrowed down just where she was. She took in the view for a few moments, only to notice something she thought she'd never see again.

The Rig.

---

Hitsugi grunted as she heaved the massive rifle. She's back in her school uniform now. "Mind telling me why you're a gun now?"

"It's rather complicated," the gun said, its center orb lighting in synch with its speech.

"Harriet, we've got time," Hitsugi replied. "Aether communications aren't working."

The gun sighed. "You remember meeting Lisa on the Arks ship, right?"

"The… creepy cast girl, right?" Hitsugi said in thought.

"That's… not wrong," Harriet said with a light sigh. "Just know that I was sealed inside her."

"That doesn't sound all that complicated," Hitsugi said.

"The full story isn't one to be shared on the streets. Or without my partner's consent." Harriet said.

"...and if you see any of those kids on the floor…"

"Hitsugi, hide!" Harriet said in a loud whisper. Hitsugi was quick to follow her companion's advice, diving behind a dumpster.

"Shoot them in the head. Twice." Hitsugi managed to catch a glimpse of a really big burly man wearing a dragon mask. Despite the cold weather, he was shirtless, showing off the tattoos that covered his body.

"Yakuza," Hitsugi whispered in disgust, her katana formed in her hand.

"While I would normally support your efforts to defend those kids…" Harriet whispered, "I doubt you're at your best right now. Are you sure your phone isn't working?"

"Definitely," Hitsugi replied, her school uniform disappearing, being replaced with her avatar form.

"Very well. Set me aside for now. While I'm dead weight to you, I'm still a Cosmogenic Arm. No regular user could hope to use me."

"That's a relief to hear," Hitsugi said as she rested the gun against a dumpster she was hiding behind.

Hitsugi then took a deep breath, stepping out from behind the dumpster and staring at Lung as she stepped into clear view, her katana resting on her shoulder.

---

Taylor wasn't too sure how long she stared at the Rig, but it was definitely until she felt Matoi stir on her back. Taylor secured her a bit more tightly as she slowly awoke.

"Mmm, Taylor?" Matoi said, looking around and rubbing her eyes a bit. "Where are we? Earth?"

"Yes and no," Taylor replied. "We're on my Earth."

"Your Earth?" Matoiasked, slowly piecing together what Taylor just said. "Wait, your Earth? Earth Bet?" She said with a bit of excitement. I had told her stories of my home in the past.

"You bet," Taylor said with a light smile. "See that building in the ocean? With the big shield? That's the Rig I've told you about."

"Oh! Didn't you say it had a light bridge?" Matoi asked.

"It's probably turned off right now. Light complaints I bet."

"I see." I kneeled to let Matoi off of my back. "Did you see Hitsugi or Harriet?"

"I didn't. Hitsugi isn't patched into our coms, and if you've returned to your normal form…" Taylor started.

"It's likely Harriet returned to being a gun," Matoi finished.

"Provided that-" I was cut off when I heard a loud draconic roar, a ball of fire suddenly visible in the night sky. "Dragon, dragon, dragon…" Taylor said, something tickling at the tip of her memory.

"Your home city had a dragon?" Matoi said in a bit of surprise. "Is it friendly?"

"No, he wasn't…" Taylor said, her eyes lighting up in a bit of worry. "Lung!"

"Lung? Like the organ?"

"No, I think it comes from his native language, but that's not important right now," I said. "We have to stop him," I said taking off in a run towards where I heard the fire.

"If Hitsugi is fighting Lung, do you think she'd win?"

I racked my head for a few long moments. "Probably? It's been over 10 years since I've been here, but I remember Lung being a big deal. However, Hitsugi did help against both Deus ESC-A and Primordial Darkness, so…"

"Let's hurry just to be safe. Even if she could handle him, she might still be exhausted from earlier." Matoi said, starting to move towards the action. It was at least a few blocks away, but at the very least, we'd run into familiar faces.

Perhaps this would be a good chance to battle-test that new class?"

---

Emergency Code: Duel!​

Hitsugi ducked under the swipe of a claw. "Tch, why can he turn into a dragon?" She said as she heard the man-turned-dragon roar. She's already incapacitated the mooks, keeping her katana in its sheath to avoid fatally harming them.

And for her troubles, the big beefy man with dragon tattoos was now a big growing dragon. She had originally considered hit-and-run tactics, however, when he showed not just the ability to regenerate but also the ability to spray fire at her, she quickly changed her mind and opted to just continuously pressure him, hoping to overwhelm his healing factor.

However, Harriet's warning was proving to have been worth listening to. She was getting exhausted, not just from fighting the Profound Darkness earlier, but the near-endless waves of Luminmechs from before that. Something the dragon seemed to notice as he pressured her more and more, forcing Hitsugi on the defensive.

She sucked on her teeth as she sidestepped the dragon man's downward swipe, trying to use the opening to slice his arm off, only to need to leap back to avoid a gust of flames.

It was becoming clear to Hitsugi that the dragon man wasn't just strong, but also experienced. Experienced enough that even if she wasn't as exhausted, she'd still likely be on the back foot. To add to her worries, the dragon still seemed to be getting bigger. Big enough that Hitsugi was realizing that she'd need to force the fight onto the streets soon.

Then, she saw a Falspawn Scorpion come out of nowhere and slam Lung in the face, with a swarm of Hornets following soon after. The next thing she felt was getting picked up by someone from behind and dropped on her back onto a nearby roof.

"Are you okay? Sorry if I was a bit rough there." the voice of a masked girl with gorgeous red hair said.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Yay, got something out again! This time, I went and gave that PSO2 Snip a follow-up. Not too sure I like the theme chosen for Hitsugi vs Lung, but it should be fine. That said, I do suppose I should explain that...

In PSO2 (Classic), Emergency Codes are events that can occur randomly while on a quest. These events can range from defeating a boss (Duel) to defeating a group of elite mobs (Attack), to collecting or mining resources (Collect), defending a point (Protect), and so on and so on. For those familiar with FFXIV, they're basically FATEs. I will likely be repurposing some Emergency Codes for something else (IE Disaster will become the Endbringer code). Sadly, New Genesis lacks any real variety with its Emergency Codes, but that's a discussion for another time.

As for the fic itself, I currently don't plan to give this its own thread for the time being unless it starts to get rather long. For now, I just plan to make this the first snip series on the thread and just see how it goes.

 

[Deviox]

"I'm sorry if the tea isn't up to your standards," Rin said to her guest. "Had I been expecting you, I'd have gone out of my way to get some higher-quality tea leaves."


Their guest simply chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm not even at your house," he said, taking a sip of his tea. "It is better than many who are aware of my arrival."


Rin blinked a few times. "I am… admittedly not sure if I should be humbled or not." It was a well-known fact that their guest had some enemies. Clocktower politics was an… interesting game to say the very least.


The guest simply chuckled. "Take it as a compliment," he said right before taking a sip. "Gather the rest of your friends. What I'm here to discuss involves them as much as it involves you."


Rin nodded, leaving the room to do as their guest asked. Said guest took another sip of his tea. "This is some good tea."


Less than five minutes later, Rin returned with her friends. "Shirou and Sakura; meet Kisschur Zelretch Schweinorg, Wizard Marshal and wielder of the 2nd Magic."


"Please, call me Zelretch." The Wizard Marshal stated, taking another sip of his tea. "Feel free to show yourself, Rider. What I'm here to discuss will greatly involve your Master. I'm sure your Master and her friends would appreciate your input."


There was a long pause of several long seconds before Rider revealed herself, materializing in a blue shine. "Your reputation proceeds you."


"It takes little thinking to figure out that you'd be here," he declared, "After all, I am from the Clock Tower. And naturally, many within the Clock Tower want your heads for how the Grail War ended." He stated with an exasperated sigh.


Everyone seemed to stiffen. "I take full responsibility for what happened," Rin declared.


Zelretch sighed at Rin's declaration. "A noble sacrifice, but a pointless one. We've already concluded that the corruption of the Grail predates yours and even your father's birth. The issue at hand isn't so much the destruction of the grail," Zelretch paused, taking a sip of his tea.


Rin took the hint. "It was that a path to the root was cut off."


"Indeed," Zelretch said, placing his now empty cup down. "Ultimately, I believe what you did was completely necessary given the situation at hand. However, many senior Clock Tower Magi simply do not care. What they see is a unique, once-in-a-millennium opportunity being completely and utterly disrespected and thrown in the garbage."


The locals all flinched at Zelretch's declaration. What they had just been told completely and utterly demolished them. They all looked at each other. Rider's stance tightens.


Suddenly, Zelretch took a sip of his tea, the cup now filled with the same black tea that had been in it earlier. "Under normal circumstances, I would be able to use Rin's capability to replicate, even in a temporary and limited capacity, my Jeweled Sword would be enough for me to take her on as my apprentice, ultimately leading to the charges being dropped." He glanced towards Sakura. "In such a situation, while there would be some Magi willing to learn more about the long-term effects of a Servant's existence, we both understand what might happen if such a situation would occur."


However, such a declaration made it clear that these weren't normal circumstances. "Shirou's the complication, isn't it?" Rin declared. Everyone's gaze fell upon the diminutive silver-haired girl, though said hair had been steadily turning from its almost perfect silver color to a more pinkish shade.


"Indeed. The Eizenbern's alone are more than enough to cause issues in this situation." Zelretch explained. "However, an almost perfect replication of the 3rd True Magic is almost enough to overshadow the forced closing of the Path to the Root."


"Thus, politics," Rin stated.


"Exactly." Zelretch nodded. "However, there is one method available to me," Zelretch took another sip of his tea.


"You use your second magic to send us another world." Rin quickly figured out. "However, I doubt I doubt you'd just send us to any world."


"More than that." Zelretch declared. "It's a world that's stuck with a ticking time bomb. One that could reach out across the Kaleidoscope."


That was… more than a worrying picture for everyone involved. "Wouldn't Alaya or Gaia deploy the Counter Force or even Counter Guardians in that case?" Shirou asked. He, no, she was still getting used to their new voice, made clear by the somewhat inconsistent pitch.


"It's being suppressed."


"Huh?" That was a surprise to everyone present.


"How is that possible?" Rin said, deep in thought.


"That's what I need you to figure out," Zelretch stated. "I've already discovered a means to neutralize the timebomb. It's simply a matter of waiting for the right opportunity to use it." Zelretch declared, finishing another cup of his tea. "However, discovering how the Counter Force of not just Gaia but Alaya too are being suppressed is equally as important. Doing so would allow us to develop countermeasures, and potentially allow us to better deal with Types in the future."


"That's… quite the important task. Are you sure that what we uncover won't also be used by other Magi?"


"I doubt that they would be capable of utilizing it. Aliens are involved in this situation."


"Aliens?" Shirou and Sakura asked in worry.


"Are they Types?" Rin followed up.


"Thankfully, no. However, there is the possibility that they could rival a Type." Zelretch said.


The silence was deafening but did better put into scope the task that they were being given. Go to another world to assist in developing a countermeasure to an alien race that could rival Types in terms of strength. More specifically, to develop a countermeasure to Counter Force Suppression.


"That's quite the task you're putting us up against," Rin stated.


"I am aware. As such, I've come prepared with additional compensation," Zelretch said, pulling out a pair of glasses, seemingly out of thin air. "First, for Rider. Mystic Eye Killers potent enough for your particular eyes." He set them down and slid it across the table. It rested for a few long seconds a Rider stared at it, before picking it up and inspecting it. Then, the blindfold hiding her eyes fell off, revealing her closed eyes as she placed the glasses on, opening them soon after.


"They work," Sakura said with a smile.


"For you, Shirou," He then pulled out the empty sword scabbard. "It was left behind in your previous body." Shirou held it, inspecting it.


"I…" Shirou looked at it and examined it closely. Only when she began to perform a Structural Grasp on the scabbard did his eyes shoot wide open. "I had Avalon inside my body?" There was a mass scramble as everyone but Zelretch tried to get a better look.


"That's…" Rin quickly took a thinking pose.


"That must have been the catalyst to summon Saber," Sakura put together.


"Clearly," Rin said, spending a few more moments thinking as Zelretch smiled. Just as Shirou was pressing Avalon against her body, Rin grabbed her arm. "Wait. Avalon must have been what saved your life during the Fire. A fire that no doubt burned away your Element and Origin." Rin hummed for a few more seconds. "And your father likely decided to hide it within you to hide it, right?"


"The Eizenbern clan hired Shirou's father to serve as their representative in the 4th Grail War," Zelretch stated, helping to confirm Rin's theory.


"Then that's likely the case. And when he saved you, since you lacked an element or origin at the time, your soul instinctively reached out for something new to grasp onto," Rin continued.


Sakura's face lit up in realization. "Turning his Element and Origin into Sword."


"I don't recommend putting it back in your body just yet," Rin stated. "We still haven't determined if what Illya did to you had an effect on your Element or Origin, and with your soul likely still settling into its new vessel, it's likely that Avalon could have a similar effect again."


Shirou looked at Avalon a bit, before nodding, putting it on her lap. "Probably a good call."


Zelretch let out a hum. "You know, I had glossed over that little detail myself. If you want, I could take it back and return it to where Excalibur rests."


"Are the Fae impatient to get Avalon back?" Shirou asked.


"No. If anything, they seem… happy that Avalon is still out there." Zelretch said, stroking his beard. "A curious thing to say the least. I have some ideas as to why, but that's not for this discussion."


"Then I'll remain its… keeper for now." Shirou decided.


"Very well. For you, Rin, I have two gifts." Zelretch then pulled out a heavy-looking cloth bag. "First, a surplus of gemstones, many are already charged." He stated. Rin's eyes lit up as she eagerly grabbed the bag, and opened it up. Within were a wide range of gemstones. "Second, however, is my offer of mentorship."


"Wait, really?" Rin said in shock. "I mean, uh,"


Zelretch chuckled. "It would be a waste to see such talent go to waste," he declared with a smile.


"I am honored to be your student then." Rin finally declared.


"Good. I'll get started on your lesson plan then," Zelretch stated. "Lastly, for you Sakura." He revealed a thick book, on top was a replication of Sakura's own Command Seal. "A method to restore Command Seals. It can only store 3 Command Seals, and takes about a month to restore one when placed in ideal conditions."


"Like on top of a major Layline?" Sakura said, pulling the book towards herself, and looking at it.


"Indeed. However, do not expect the process of transferring a seal from the book to yourself to be painless." The Wizard forewarned.


"I will keep it in mind," Sakura stated.


"I will give you a week to decide on my offer," Zelretch said, standing up. "Afterwards, I'll give you one more week to get your affairs in order. Should you accept, I will have one more gift prepared before I transfer Rin's mansion, not your home Shirou, to a location I have prepared. Any longer than that and even I will be powerless to stop the wheel of politics."


"I see, thank you, Wizard Marshal," Rin said.


"Think little of it, Rin." The wizard said before leaving.


The next week, Zelretch returned, and the girls accepted his offer.

---

On the day of the transfer, Zelretch appeared in the living room of Rin's mansion with his final gift in hand. On the table was a kettle filled with tea. "I would thank you for the hospitality, but today is pure business," he said, politely declining what he knew would be some really good tea. "First, my last bit of assistance." He said, setting a stack of large cards down. On top was a painting-style picture of a knight with a sword. Under it, written in stylized but very clear English was the word 'Saber.'


The group stared down at them, closely inspecting them. Shirou picked up the top card, revealing the second card in the same art style as the Saber card, but with a bowman aiming towards the sky instead and labeled Archer.


"They're named after the Classes of the Holy Grail War," Sakura said, picking up the Archer card to reveal the Rider card.


"Naturally," Zelretch said with a grin. "These are the Class Cards and were used as an alternative to the Servant system in an alternative timeline." He bent over, fanning out the remaining cards, showing off the rest of the classes from the Grail War. "They come in two use cases. Include and Install. Include grants you limited access to the Servant's Capabilities, typically just their weapon of choice. Install grants you full access to a Servant's capabilities, but is extremely strenuous on your body. Without the use of a capable Mystic Code, it can easily be lethal." Zelretch then took the two class cards from Sakura and Shirou and restacked the cards, turning his attention to Rin. "Ruby in particular is highly capable of utilizing them."


Rin's face paled at that declaration. "I see." She said, dread apparent in her voice. "I'll have to keep that in mind, but it's… good to know we already have a capable Mystic Code."


Sakura took a few steps closer to her sister before whispering in her ear. "What's Ruby?"


"I'll explain later," Rin whispered back.


"However, as they are now, they're blank. Any use of a Blank Class Card is often lethal." Zelretch warned. "They won't start seeking a Servant until they arrive. If Alaya or Gaia have any capability to act, they will likely attempt to interact with the Class Cards in some way, either speeding up the seeking process or ensuring a particular Servant ends up on the card."


"Or both," Rin said with a nod. "Assuming no Counter Force interference, how long do you expect the cards to be ready?"


"I can't say," Zelretch said. "There's plenty of unique circumstances that are all occurring at the same time that makes it difficult to give a proper estimate."


"So simply look for anything suspicious in the cards?"


"Correct." Zelretch placed the deck of cards on the table. "Lastly, upon arrival, there will be plenty of files explaining your new identities in that world. As you already know, that world does have programs in place to support the dimensionally displaced, however, they are meant to tie you down to the government."


"Something we don't want," Shirou stated, folding her arms.


"Exactly," Rin stated.


"I wasn't able to perfectly replicate the history for all of you. You were particularly difficult, Shirou, so be sure to carefully read your new profile."


"Gotcha," Shirou said.


"Any final questions?" Zelretch stated, looking around. After a lack of a response, Zelretch let out a hum, summoning the real Jeweled Sword Zelretch. "Let's begin then." He said, pointing the tip of it into the floor, thrusting it down. Then, in a singular instant, the windows outside changed from being the dead of night to a bright morning. "Welcome to Brockton Bay of the planet Earth Bet."

---

Rin finished reading her profile. It was a simple one, but one easy to work with. Ultimately, she had been a rich family from Japan living in relative isolation until the endbringer Leviathan sank Kyushu, and in turn Fuyuki. Ultimately, she was the last surviving member of her family.


Sakura had a similar story, though less rich and more well-off. Dead family, the works.


Shirou, on the other hand… "Emilya von Einzbern," she stated, not sure what she should even think about it. She was from Germany but spent much of her life in Japan after the murder of her family, then further sought refuge in the States following Kyushu's sinking.


Elsewhere, a young Taylor Hebert was still sleeping off a slumber party with her bestest friend ever. As she slept, she dreamt of cards.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

It's been a, uh, little while since I last posted anything. While my muse hadn't entirely been on vacation this last... *looks down* 4 months, what it has been working on is, once again, not fit for Spacebattles.

I still have ideas on what I want to do for a part 2 for the PSO2 snip, but I can't really seem to get it off the ground in a way I like, so it's effectivly been shelfed. I do have plot points in mind for the a part 2 of this, but if that'll get off the ground is another matter entirely. That said, I feel like I should explain where this little snip came from.

TLDR; I want to see more Heaven's Failure Shirou/Emilya. However, I havn't seen too many fics involving the idea. As I let the idea brew some more, I ended up giving Queen of the Cards a reread made me want to have a Magus!Taylor.

On a seperate note, you'll notice that Zelretch isn't (too much of) a troll here. While it's ultimetly come to my attention that he isn't offically a much of a troll, he will enjoy a good gag. He know's of Rin's problem's with Ruby, and while his decision with the Class Cards wasn't particularly fueled by that, he dose get a bit of a laugh out of it..

As for the Class Cards themselfs, I do have some idea on who I want in them, but I've also got some rules I'd want to follow. Having a Japanese and a Germanic represenative are both musts. I'd like to have a PArahuman, but that would likely limit me to just Hero and Khipri. I'd also like a Counter Guardian that's not an Emiya but that's a tall task. And naturally, we need a Knight of the Round in there somewhere. Avoiding any 5th War Servants would be nice but not needed. More importantly however, I'd want minimial overlap with the Prisma Taylor fic.

Not too sure why I'm revealing my Class Card rules, just something I want to get off my chest since I'll probably never get this out. I do have the thought of having Musashi in Saber, but eh...

Lastly, my full sized fics. I do have something in the works for Old World Collapse, but getting things to flow toghether nicely is a pain in the ass. Blazing Phoenix is, in all likelyhood, offically dead. Twilight of the Abyss is something I want to work on, but my muse is having fun with other ideas.

Now then, to finish this boring ass double shift locked away just making sure there's no god damn fire.

Edit: Forgot to shill my Discord Server.

 

[Deviox]

And that's the last of the fics from the Spacebattles form. Going forward, I plan to cross post my snips both here and on Space Battles. I'll likely start crossposting my other fics tomorrow.

 

[Deviox]

Taylor tossed and turned in her bed. "I know you're awake," she heard her mom. Taylor only let out a moan. "You know you start boot camp today, right?" The 12-year-old only let out another moan from under her blankets. "Remember, we agreed that it was this instead of summer camp," One more moan was heard under the blankets. "Okay, that's it. If you're not out of your bead in 10 seconds, I'm resealing-"

Taylor was bolting out of bed before her mom had finished that sentence. Only then did she get a look at the clock. 6 in the morning. "Ugh, mooooom, doesn't it start at 8?" Taylor bemoaned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, no longer acting as tired as she was just a few moments ago.

"Rin agreed to give you breakfast if you came early. And you agreed to that, remember?"

Taylor thought on that for a few moments, before her eyes lit up! "Wait, you hypnotized me into-"

"That means you need to work on your resistance to it," Annette said with a kind yet cruel smile. "Now get dressed. You remembered to pack your things, right?"

"Yes Mom," Taylor groaned, finally willing to admit she'd lost.

"Good. Remember that you're staying the week at Rin's place."

"I know Mom," Taylor droned on.

"And that Dad thinks you're still going to summer camp."

"I know."

"Just wanted to make sure." Her mom teased with a grin on her face. "Be down quickly or I'm really going to reseal-"

"I will, I will!" Taylor almost shouted, throwing a pillow at her mom. The throw landed straight at the body as the mother retreated. Taylor sighed a bit as she put on her Mystic Eye Killers. She didn't exactly need them anymore, but she kept a habit of leaving them on anyway. They didn't quite have the money for surgery, so suddenly appearing without them could cause more questions than she knew she could answer.

That, and she hated hypnotizing people. Especially Emma.

10 minutes later, Taylor stepped out of her room in a simple short-sleeved shirt and a large bag filled with clothes and other travel supplies rested on her shoulder. "I'm ready."

---

"Annette, I've been tutoring Taylor for over a year now. I know you don't like the idea of the examination, but if I'm going to put together a proper lesson, I need to see it for myself. It's long overdue."

Taylor peeked around a corner as she heard her mom and Rin get into a minor argument.

"I know, it's just…"

"Look, she'll be fine. I've had to do the process several times over the past year. She won't even feel it after a full day, I promise."

The mother sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "You asking me is more of a courtesy, isn't it?"

Taylor could hear Rin smile. "Yep."

Taylor saw her mom look at her, causing the young Magus to flee. "Fine. Like you said, it's long overdue. Just make sure you do not tell anyone about her Origin. Not even Taylor."

"Okay," Rin said, shrugging off the comment about Taylor's Origin. It wasn't uncommon for a magus to keep an Origin from themselves under the right circumstances. "And just to make sure, you don't have a family crest, right?"

"None," Annette said. "I had fallen out with my family long before the Clocktower Bombing."

"And had no way to recover the crest." Rin followed up.

"You know Crest Extraction from a corpse requires specialized skills. And after the Bombing," Annette started.

"Any surviving Magi with the skill was in high demand," Rin finished with a sigh. A loud growl then echoed in the room, causing Annette to blush. "Come, you can join us for breakfast. Emilya should be done soon."

"Thank you."

The two left for the dining room, finding Taylor seated, humming a tune as she waited. "Oh, now that I think about it, neither of you have been here for a meal yet, have you?" Rin then realized.

"Nope," Taylor said, popping the P.

"You're going to love it then," Rin said with a smile. Then a short pink-haired lady walked in, carrying a massive stack of pancakes. Taylor's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as Sakura followed behind Emilya carrying enough plates for everyone; including Rider who turned a corner and took a seat at the table.

Breakfast began surprisingly quietly. "So, Taylor," Rin eventually said between bites, causing the youngest girl to look up, cheeks stuffed with delicious pancakes. "I'm going to be performing a thorough soul examination. After we do some physical training." Taylor blinked, looking at her mother.

"Yes, I've given Rin permission to look at your soul." The mother said, drawing the child's attention for a moment.

"You're going to be here for a month, Taylor. I need to know what exactly I'm looking at." Rin explained, getting Taylor's attention again. "But we won't start right away. We'll start with some physical training with Emilya's help. Afterward, just before lunch, we'll conduct the examination. Depending on how your soul reacts to the examination, we'll either end for the day there or conduct a lecture. Later tonight, we'll go through what chores you'll be expected to do while you're here."

"Chores?" Taylor bemoaned.

"You're going to be living under their roof." Annette followed up, taking a bite of her pancake. "Oh, this is really good."

"I know!" Taylor managed to say right after swallowing a big bite.

"Emilya is a monster when it comes to Western food," Rin explained with a smile. "But yes, you're going to learn how to help out around here, much like you do at your own house." Rin took a bite of her pancakes. "However, because everyone here knows about Magecraft, you get to use it to help you with your chores."

Taylor's eyes seemed to light up at that idea. She had to be very stringent with using her magecraft whenever she was home. In short, absolutely no magecraft was to be done when Dad was around. Ultimately, she's never been given a good opportunity to do magecraft for chores since he could walk in.

Annette finished her pancakes first. "Just remember to keep it discrete when we get home," she warned as she stood up. "I need to get going. I need to be at the university soon."

Everyone nodded. "Bye, mom!" Taylor said, everyone else sharing their farewells.

Breakfast ended soon after, with Sakura taking most of the dishes away for washing as Rin and Shirou led Taylor to the dojo to begin her training for the day.

---

Taylor rushed down Emilya with a barrage of jabs and hooks. Her body was reinforced to make her faster and stronger. However, despite the raw barrage of blows she Taylor pushed out, it was rarely both fists. The barrage would be oppressive to many Magi, yet Emilya managed to comfortably weather the storm, a pair of gloves granting him the knowledge needed to handle it.

It had surprised Rin when she realized that Emilya hadn't been given full knowledge of Archer's fighting style. There were too many variables at play to rule out what it could be, but she did know one thing: Emilya did gain all of Archer's traceable weapons. Enough for the former male to forge her own path in combat, rather than just borrow from Archer. However, if anything, Emilya was more willing to borrow more from others, focusing on borrowing skills from everyone rather than just mastering a single set with a single set of skills. It was an interesting arrangement, though Rin noticed Emilya had settled into a few favorites.

Rin's attention then focused on Taylor. If Rin had to describe the 12-year-old's combat style, it was similar to a boxer. Going in and hitting as hard as she could while trying to use her overwhelming offense to let her stay in. Of course, that was rarely ever the full story when it came to one's magecraft. If anything, Rin almost applauded the 12-year-old's little bit of sleight of hand. Right as Emilya was about to leap away, a stone wall ripped up from the ground, cutting off Emilya's escape, letting Taylor finally land a single solid hit straight into Emilya's gut.

Rin then let out a clap. "And that's the round." She said, declaring the round of combat over. Taylor returned the wall of rock to the earth and Rin returned the dojo to its original condition. "Okay you little rascal, I've been meaning to ask. Where'd you get the idea to do magecraft like that?"

"Oh, I got the idea from a TV Show called Avatar," Taylor stated. "See, in it, there's these people that can bend the elements using martial arts, and-"

"Okay, I think I get the idea," Rin said, not wanting to get Taylor's blabbermouth going.

"We could watch some later," Taylor offered.

"That'll depend," Rin said, not wanting to watch it, but also willing to admit that it would give her some idea of where Taylor wanted to push her combat magecraft. "Emilya, you didn't need to throw the round like that."

Emilya rubbed the back of her head slightly. "I know, but I wanted to try this out," Emilya raised the gloved fist.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Rin sighed massaging her forehead. She then looked at the clock on the wall. "I'd say use a real weapon next round, but it's time for Taylor's examination. Rin then walked away from the arena, pulling out a towel and tossing it to Taylor. "Towel yourself off then meet me in my workshop."

A few minutes later, Taylor was knocking on Rin's door. "Come in," Rin said. Taylor let herself in, finding that Rin's typical work table had been cleared off, and on it was a series of removable chair cushions. "Strip then sit on the table."

"I know," Taylor said with a light sigh. "I get to keep my underwear on at least, right?'

"You can," Rin said getting something out of her drawer and beginning to prepare it. Taylor simply stripped her clothes off, leaving her undergarments on as she sat on the table. Rin then presented Taylor with a small gem. "Swallow then lay face down."

Taylor grabbed the small gem, swallowing it down like a pill before laying down like asked. She felt her body start to feel an intense burn start to build up soon after. Taylor winced a bit, but it wasn't anything Taylor hadn't dealt with before.

"Okay, let's see what we've got here." Rin pressed her fingers against Taylor's back. "50 Circuits total, most of good quality. No Crest. Earth element. Wait, is that…" There was a long pause as Rin ran her fingers up and down it. "That doesn't…"

"Is something wrong?" Taylor managed to ask.

"I'm not too sure," Rin asked as she stared intently at Taylor's back. Suddenly, Rin had a sudden epiphany. "Have you been having any strange… visions or dreams or anything in that nature?"

"Uh, I guess I've been having weird dreams. I remember seeing…" Taylor tried to think through the pain she felt.

"Tell me after I'm done examining you," Rin said, examining more of Taylor's soul. The examination lasted several more minutes as notes started to get written down. Eventually, Rin finished, snapping her fingers. The intensity of Taylor's pain started to faid, leaving behind aches all across her body. Taylor let out a groan as she started to roll onto her back, letting out an aching moan. "So, those dreams?" Rin then asked.

"Right." Taylor moaned out, trying to compose herself as she stood back up. "Well, in one dream I remember a girl dressed in black using a bunch of floating guns. Another one had a pink-haired boy dressed as a girl on a griffon. One more had had this man turn into a dragon surrounded in flames…"

"Is there anything linking these dreams together?" Rin interrupted.

"Yeah," Taylor said, sitting up with a groan. "They all had a weird focus on a singular card."

Spoiler: Author's Notes

So, this chapter ended up going a good bit longer than I expected it to do. It doesn't help that I ended up dumping the original version of this chapter as well. I'll probably upload that to Scraps at some point this week. Not too sure I like how I characterized Rin here. Sakura was a good bit too quiet too, but she wasn't meant to be a focus in any regard either, so I'd like to think that gets a pass.

But yeah, there are more than a few things likely to get changed should I change this into a full-sized fic. Taylor's having Mystic Eyes is the first thing likely to get axed. It just seemed like a fun idea to have Taylor's glasses be Mystic Eye Killers instead of actual eyeglasses. Another is both Taylor's element and pre-Ruby fighting style. Might just be me wanting to do a bit of merging of a Melee fighting style and Cagliostro (from GBF) to make something work. The Avatar stuff was mostly just an excuse for something Taylor could have seen.

In other news, I might have slightly lied about saying I've finalized my cast of characters. In short, I had realized I might be leaning in too heavily from a single Fate Entry, so I'm still floating a few ideas around there, but it largely just boils down to Saber and Lancer getting changed around.

Anyway, discussion makes OP happy and all that jazz. Chapter 3 will either take place between 1 and 2, or touch upon other plot ideas I might want to tackle in the full fic. Not 100% sure yet.

 

[Deviox]

"Okay, let's review what we know and our immediate goals." Rin declared, unfolding a map on the table, Sakura, Rider, and the newly christened Emilya (formally known as Shirou), circled it. "Our first goal will be to settle in. Brockton Bay doesn't have a Second Owner. After the British Museum Bombings, the number of Magi have plummeted."

"Sounds like any practicing Magus could be targeted," Emilya pondered.

"That's possible. However, Zelretch found out that the Mages Association in this world went by the Sorcerer's Federation." Rin said, tapping her fingers on the map in irritation. "What the hell kinda name is that? Sorcerer's Federation? Why the hell Federation?"

"We'd probably need to find a Magus from this world and interrogate them," Rider suggested.

"We're going to question them, not interrogate them, Rider." Sakura chided

"Good news on that front at least," Rin said, scratching her head as she tried to burn out the irritation she felt. "Zelretch inspection of the city indicated that there's a Magus population of some sort."

"But no Second Owner?" Sakura followed up.

"Could be that they simply don't have the tools to operate, don't want the responsibility, don't want to deal with the PRT Presence, or the British Museum Bombings were more of a decapitation strike than I currently suspect," Rin suggested.

"Speaking of the PRT," Emilya spoke up. She had mixed feelings about them at the moment. Hell, on the whole, she had very mixed feelings about the super-powered nature of this world. Generally, Emilya was in support of the PRT. "We're likely going to have a run-in with them at some point," however, she knew her stance on Heros as a whole had been broken, and this world very much needed more than one. "What's going to be our stance with them?"

"As of now, bare minimum cooperation," Rin stated. "The US's handling of law enforcement is dramatically different compared to Japan's. I'll need to put something comprehensive together in the future, but just know that our rights when facing or under arrest are dramatically different. Just Plead the 5th and shut up where appropriate."

"The 5th?" Sakura asked.

"The right to prevent self-incrimination." Rin clarified. "It's part of their constitution. As I said, I'll need to come up with something more comprehensive in the future. That said, our stance will likely change as we get more settled in." She then straightened up. "Back to the matter of the local Magi, Our first few weeks will be doing a few things, in particular building wards, surveying the land, and finding the local Magi. I do not want another Shiou situation."

"You want to become Brockton Bay's Second Owner?" Sakura asked, ignoring her sister's brief glare at Emilya.

"In practice even if not in name," Rin declared, leaning back on the table. "This is our home now. We'll need to properly set ourselves up. Being Second Owner could give us plenty of connections."

"And plenty of responsibilities." Emilya followed up. "I still want to help as many people as I can, but we need to be certain what we're committing to before we pull the trigger."

"I would advise caution before committing to becoming the Second Owner as well," Rider warned. "Like you said before, there's been a rapid decline in the number of Magi. They could be targeted. Becoming Second Owner could put a target on our backs."

Rin straightened up, tilted her head down, and closed her eyes. She then folded her arms and repeatedly tapped her finger on her arm in thought. "Fine, we'll decide on that after we have a better grip on the Magi situation. The initial plan still stands though."

"Setup wards, survey the lands, find a local magus," Sakura repeated.

"And hopefully they'll have contact with the remains of, ugh, the Federation," Rin followed up, "I plan to mimic the layout of the wards of my mansion, removing some of the redundancies that built up over the generations. Thankfully, plenty of the wards carried over during the transfer, so we'll mostly just need to set up the ones outside."

"In short, the least powerful ones," Sakura figured.

"Exactly. I want you and Emilya to join me for it. Consider figuring out where you stand with your Magecraft training Sakura, and a general lesson for you Emilya."

The two other girls nodded in confirmation

"Onto the matter of surveying the city," Rin then said, pointing at the map. On it were various blue lines, with a few blue dots, both differing thicknesses. "Zelretch already mapped out the layout of the Ley lines. However, he didn't conduct a full survey of them. Unless Emilya has something that can do a ley line survey," Emilya shook her head, "I'll put together a mystic code for ley line surveying. Thankfully, Zelretch seems to have put us on top of a good ley line access point, though we won't know how good until we do that survey."

"He didn't conduct a full survey?" Emilya asked out of curiosity.

"It's not as uncommon as you'd think," Rin explained. "Oftentimes, different families have different ways of categorizing the info about a city's ley lines. So if a new Second Owner moves in…"

"It's common for them to conduct their surveys."

"Exactly." Rin then pulled out the Class Cards. None of them have had a Heroic Spirit tied to them yet. "While I'm building the Mystic Codes, I want you two to do some local research. It's still too early to tell if the Counter Force can interact with the cards yet, but if they can, I'd be willing to bet that they might tie a Heroic Spirit unique to this world onto one."

"Feels like a good expectation," Emilya said, rubbing her arm. The same arm Archer's had occupied on her old body.

"I see," Rin said, rubbing her chin a bit as she saw Emilya's tell. "I'll handle the situation when we discover a local Magus. Neither of you trained in Magus politics." Rin then looked around. "That should be everything for this meeting, any questions?"

Emilya raised her hand. "Money."

 

[Deviox]

Preface: This takes place long before Chapter 2 would. And would be a few days or weeks after the Scrapped chapter.


Rin stuck the probe into the dirt, pressing further and further down until only the gemstone on top was sticking out of the ground. Rin soon let out a sigh of disappointment when she didn't get the result she wanted out of it. With a bit of a grunt, she started to pull the probe out of the ground, before turning her attention to the location of her current ire. Brockton Bay University.

It was rested on top of a minor, but important, Ley Line. One important enough to be worth surveying. However, two things stopped her from going in for the survey. The first was that it was in the middle of the day, and given the distance between her and her mansion, it wasn't remotely feasible to come here in the middle of the night. Not that she even had a driver's license. And given she was trying to maintain as low of a profile as possible right now, doing as much as she could by the book was important. And with most of the buses not running after midnight, it made any late-night trips difficult.

However, that issue only just exacerbated the real problem: The University had a Bounded Field protecting it. She could tell it was a low-powered one, so it likely operated more like an alarm system alerting its owner to any intruder, but it wasn't any kind of risk she wanted to take. She was already closer to the field than she'd like.

"And what do you think you're doing here?" A firm voice warned her from behind. Rin could sense a spell being built up behind her, no doubt a warning not to move.

This is the part where Rin wishes she brought Emilya or Rider along.

Rin held her hands up, making sure the staff-like probe was on full display. "Just doing a little survey of the Ley Line." She said, giving the staff a light shake. "My apologies if you're the Second Owner. It was hard to find if there was one here."

The woman scoffed, snatching the Mystic Code straight from Rin's hands. There was a brief inspection when the woman let the spell fizzle out. "If you keep your human experimentation to just the gang's, you're free to take it."

Rin released her breath, dropping her hands and turning around. "Rin Toshaka. A Magus from Japan."

"Annette Hebert," she said, holding out her hand. Rin looked at it for a moment before shaking. The foreign magus could tell that Annette was carefully analyzing her. Eventually, Annette released Rin's hand. She then pulled out her phone and pressed a speed dial number. "Hey, Taylor. Yes, it's safe to bring down the wards. I'll be there soon. Love you too." Annette then snapped her phone closed. "We should talk in my office."

Rin sighed, collapsing the Mystic Code to an even smaller size before stuffing it into her pocket. "We should."

---

"Most Magi would look at you like an alien if they saw you using modern technology like this," Rin said as she sat down, watching Annette place down a recording device and start up her computer. Little Taylor had already left the room, directed to go to the library. Rin could only guess what the child was going to do there, but it was ultimately unimportant compared to the situation in front of her.

"Good," Annette said. "Now then, what's a Magus like you doing here in Brockton Bay?"

"That's rather complicated, but are you familiar with the 2nd Magic?" Rin followed up. She figured any play at deception right now would do more harm than good.

"The operation of parallel worlds? I know of it, but it's been long lost." Annette said.

"Lost? That would explain a few things." Rin said, stroking her chin.

"I do get what you're coming from. You had some incident experimenting with the 2nd in some capacity and ended up here." Annette then started logging into her computer.

"No," Rin said. "On my world, Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg, the founder of the Second Magic and Master of the Kaleidoscope, still lives."

"Still lives? What year was it for you?"

"2004."

"2004? He should have been long dead, but…"

"He found a way to extend his life."

Annette sighed. "True Magic is bullshit." She typed a bit more on her computer.

"That sounds like some kind of a joke," Rin admitted.

"It's related to the Parahuman culture here," Annette explained. "Am I right to assume there were no Parahumans on your Earth?"

"Correct."

Annette let out a hum in acknowledgment as she typed away on her computer. "Back to the main question: Why are you here? You're not here by some kind of accident."

Rin mulled over how to answer that question. Eventually, she decided to take a gamble. "My group is tasked with uncovering the reason behind the suppression of the local Counter Force."

The typing stopped as Annette processed what she was told. "Would you be restoring the Counter Force?"

"It's something I'd consider doing if possible. However, me and my group are still settling in. Any leads you have would give us somewhere to start, however." Rin offered, finding an opportunity.

Annette glanced towards the clock. "I don't know much more than what the average Magi knows, as few of us as there are now."

Rin wasn't surprised by Annette's choice of words. While Magecraft was a dying art in her world, there was still plenty of life in it. Here tough? There was no Clocktower to provide some form of unity anymore.

"Was the British Museum Bombing really that bad?"

"It was brutal," Annette said, leaning back in her chair in thought, looking at the ceiling. Rin kept quiet as she let the woman in front of her gather her thoughts. "Brutal enough to effectively be a decapitation strike."

"Decapitation? Really?" Rin was skeptical but deferred to the local magus.

"That's right, you probably don't know," Annette said, leaning forward, arms now resting on the desk. "I probably need to paint a timeline for you. First, I know that some Magi had taken notice of the influence of the Counter Force weakening before I was born. It was a topic of discussion, but ultimately it went nowhere."

"That far back? Do you know how they discovered it?" Rin said, mentally running through some testing methods.

"No idea. Ultimately, the Association decided not to act on it. Especially since no Divine Spirits returned."

"That sounds…" Rin wasn't sure what to think of it.

"As far as I know, the issue kept getting thrown around as being someone else's problem," Annette explained.

"But why would-" Rin's eyes shot wide open. "Without someone like Zelretch to force the issue, they decided to just ignore the issue since it ultimately had no impact on their studies."

"I'll assume you're correct," Annette stated, shrugging. "It was before I was born anyway. What I do know is that the issue got brought up again once the Golden Man, Scion, appeared. However, he proved to be much too… public to deal with through normal means."

"And when Parahumans started appearing shortly after, you started using them as a proxy?" Rin figured.

"Not me specifically, but the other Magi did. However, I don't know anything about their findings."

Rin hummed in thought. "But what does all that have to do with the British Museum Bombing?"

"Likely everything," Annette explained. "See, the bombings happened a month after Parahumans went public. Even back in 1987, there were simply too many for the Clocktower and Church to keep them under wraps."

Rin's eyes widened. "Going public must have sent the Clocktower into a panic."

"Exactly. I had already fallen out with my family back then, but the entire magecraft world lit up. They set up a massive meeting on how to address the situation."

"All of their years of inaction caught up with them," Rin muttered.

Annette nodded. "And with the promise of so many families sharing all of their research on Parahumans…"

"Everyone ran to the meeting like moths to a lamp."

Annette nodded. "I don't know what happened at the meeting beyond the massive explosion that vaporized both the museum and the surrounding buildings."

Rin leaned back in her chair as she digested what she had just been told. A decapitation strike was definitely the right word to describe what happened. There was no way the Magic Association could survive such a strike. "How many?"

Annette shook her head. "I don't know, but chances are, if they had a Crest, they were there."

Rin stayed silent for several long minutes. "I see." She eventually said. "I… I suppose I owe you a favor."

"Then I have something I'd want in return. Knowledge of knowledge" Annette said.

Rin's eyes narrowed. "What would you want?"

"Can your group mentor my daughter in Magecraft? I'll even sweeten the deal and put you into contact with the few people that could help."

Rin saw this request in several different ways. The most obvious was to use her daughter to keep an eye on her. However…. "Before I accept that, I'd need to talk that over with my group."

Annette relaxed slightly. "Very well."

"However," Rin saw an opportunity to press into something that had been nagging at her in the back of her mind. "You seem to trust me far too much."

Annette blinked a few times, before chastising herself with a shake of her head. She then pulled up the same hand she used to shake Rin's hand. On it was a marriage ring. "This mystic code lets me know a lot about a person. Like their moral compass."

Rin stared at it, quickly figuring out what had happened before letting out a light chuckle. "Of course."

"Now then," Annette grabbed a piece of scrap paper and started writing on it before handing it to Rin. "That's my personal number. Contact me when you've made your decision."

"Uh, right," Rin said, taking the phone number before pocketing it.

"For now, I'll take you to the best place to get your Ley Line readings then show you out."

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Nice to finally have this out. I wanted to get something out last week, but the muse decided to take a surprise trip to NSFW land. Ultimately, I ended up typing most of the 2nd half of this snip on my phone bored at work. Overall, I've got 2 more little bits for this I want to do before I either call it quits with this little series or convert the idea into a fic that'll die an ignorant death after a few months. That said, I'm not too sure I can make them a good length, but we'll see when it happens. That said, if anyone has a good Servant sheet for Caster Morgan le Fay, do let me know.

On a separate note, I was playing some Fate CCC (before hitting the Passionlip wall with Caster) and Extilla and it kinda wants me to do something with the Mooncell. Not too sure what exactly. My first thought goes to a global Grail War on Earth Bet for the Regalia, but I'm more than open to thoughts.

Also, have a link to my Discord.

 

[Deviox]

Taylor fiddled with the lockbox that Rin had given her. Her Magecraft teacher was out of the country working on a long-term project, leaving Taylor both the mansion to house-sit and the lockbox in her hand as a form of homework.

Overall, the assignment was simple. Open up the lockbox with as little prana as possible. Once opened, any of the goodies inside were Taylor's to keep. However, apply too much Prana, and the box was set to destroy what was inside.

The difficulty was in execution. Taylor was accustomed to brute forcing her way through most of her Mysteries. Be it her Rock Armor, the walls she throws up to separate or entrap her opponents, or even dealing with Hypnosis. Her 50 circuits were often more than enough to help her overcome most of her shortcomings in finesse.

Taylor squinted her eyebrows as she poured a bit more Prana into the lockbox, carefully manipulating the lock. She could feel the amount of prana starting to brush against a limit, but she could also feel herself getting closer and closer to getting something to give way.

And right as she was about to pull back her prana, her phone started ringing! The surprise noise from such an intense degree of focus caused Taylor to dump Prana directly into the lockbox! However, instead of destroying its contents, the box swung wide open! Out flew 7 golden cards. Taylor could hardly make out any of their details as they all scattered about, catching a glimpse of one or two of them phasing through a wall.

By the time all the action stopped, all that was left in the box was a pink and gold wand with a wand in the center and unease in her heart. Taylor's phone rang again, distracting Taylor again as looked at it before answering. "Hey, Emilya."

"Hello, Taylor. Just checking in before we get on our flight. We didn't forget to tell you anything, right? I know this is your first time housesitting for us," the pink-haired girl said over the phone.

"Uh, doesn't look like it," Taylor said, gently closing the lockbox. It didn't seem to lock back up thankfully.

"Good. Remember that there are some leftovers in the fridge. It won't stay good the entire time we're gone, but it'll be good in a pinch."

"I know," Taylor said.

"Any luck with the lockbox yet?" Emilya said, causing Taylor to straighten up.

"Uh, a bit of luck I think. I'm still working on it" Taylor lied through her teeth.

"Good, I'd hate to see you miss out on what's inside. We all worked hard on it." Taylor heard some background noise on Emilya's end. "Okay, that's our flight, I've gotta go."

"Have a good trip!" Taylor said with a smile.

"And have fun sitting the house, bye." Emilya hung up moments before a loud digital-sounding yawn echoed out as the lockbox was suddenly swung open. The wand from before started to float out.

"Mmm, Sorry master. I know I shouldn't be asleep when you open up the box, but there's nothing to do in there." The wand somehow made an expression akin to wiping the sleep out of its eyes. It didn't even appear to be as remotely bendable as it was making itself move!

"Uh, you are…?" Taylor asked, carefully approaching the wand.

"Hmm, Oh! That's right, you're my new master! Rin hadn't told you about me, did she?" The wand seemed to puff up. "I am the great and powerful Kalidostick Ruby! Created by the master of the 2nd True Magic, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg! Guardian and wielder of the 7 Class Cards!" Ruby then looked around, before seeming to take a peak into the lockbox it had come out of. "Uh, speaking of, where are the Class Cards?"

"The, uh, Class cards?" Taylor said, having a sneaking suspicion, dread slowly filling her form.

"Yes, the 7 Class cards. Golden Cards holding the Heroic Spirit of 7 legends throughout history. Those 7 Class Cards."

"Uh, yeah… About that…" Taylor glanced sideways, trying not to look at Ruby.

"...You don't have them, do you?" Ruby deadpanned.

"I mean, uh, they kinda just… flew out when I opened the box," Taylor explained.

"They… fley out? Wait, so we have an actual Magical Girl arc ready to go?" Ruby said almost excited.

"Huh?"

"Simple! We form a Contract and we hunt down the cards!"

"Wait wait wait, didn't you already call me your Master? Why would-"

"Minor details!" Ruby said, interrupting Taylor. "You're unofficially my Master until we make that Contract and you officially become my Master!"

"Hold up! Shouldn't you be worried about-"

"I am as worried as I need to be! I just need to guilt trip you into finishing the contract." Ruby said.

"Wait, guilt trip?"

"Yep! You're the one who opened up the box and let the cards fly out! It's your responsibility to get them!" Ruby said. Taylor groaned. She already knew she couldn't let the PRT chase after them. And letting just random Mystic Codes float about can easily spell disaster, especially if the PRT's advice on random Tinkertech was to be believed.

"You know, you typically don't need to say that part out loud," Taylor muttered. Still, it was her fault that the cards broke out like they did. And she didn't want to let Rin know this happened either. She took several more seconds to try to convince herself against agreeing but only came up with more reasons to agree. "Okay, what exactly does this Contract entail?"

"Simple! You become a magical girl and fight in the name of justice!" Taylor stared at the wand some more.

"...Contracts are never that simple." She said, starting to glare more and more at the wand.

"Ehh, it's all semantics. Do you want to get those cards or let poor, innocent people get hurt!" Ruby said, holding out its stick part for Taylor to grab.

Taylor felt one of her eyes twitch, her hand gripping and unwrapping itself. Now it was going through with its plan to guilt trip her, and Taylor knew she didn't have a good counter for it. "Fine, by the moment we get the cards, we're going over that damn contract again," Taylor said, grabbing the stick.

"Fine fine, now I'll just need a little bit of blood."

"Wait bloo- oww!" Taylor said, feeling a prick through her hand.

"Contract established! Beginning transformation sequence!"

"Wait wait wait!" Taylor's pleas went unanswered as her clothes dematerialized around her and her body was enveloped in a bright light. Then, one by one, new pieces of clothing started appearing, starting with a series of Maroon-colored sleeves, then a similarly colored dress. An array of white and light green frills soon followed, ending with Taylor's hair getting put into a high ponytail.

All told the entire sequence played out in about 30 seconds.

"Gah! Did we need to do that right away?" Taylor said, having only briefly looked at herself before turning her attention to the wand in her hand.

"Yep! I needed to get a good look at your outfit!" Ruby said, "Hmm, Could have done with a gem in the chest now that I think about it. Eh, we'll fix it later."

"Shouldn't we focus on function over form?" Taylor quickly tried to argue. "I mean, I don't have any protection!"

"That's what the barriers are for. All magical girls have barriers to protect them."

Taylor wasn't so easily convinced, but at this point was figuring it was easier to just go with the flow. "Okay, can we at least start hunting down the Class Cards then?"

"You bet! I think there's one in… That way!" Ruby said, practically dragging Taylor away.

---

"Have a good trip!" Taylor said over the phone

"And have fun sitting the house, bye." Emilya followed up, closing the phone with a sigh. "You know how much I don't like this." She then said, glancing towards Rin as she turned off the phone to begin boarding.

"I know," Rin said with a sigh, stepping on the boarding path. "I don't particularly like it either, but it was the best plan Zelretch and I came up with. And with everything lining up how it is…"

Emilya echoed Rin's sigh. "I know," the pinkhead said with a light groan. Important windows for their investigation were opening as quickly as they were closing. An investigation that's been hammered with delay after delay. Not just from setting into a new world, but from simply finding any sort of credible lead. Annette, rest her soul, had helped them get their feet steady on the ground and reach out to her old contacts, but didn't want to get involved beyond that.

And given what Rin found out about anyone who dug deep enough, she didn't blame the college professor.

"That makes it all the more important that Taylor's capable of defending herself. So many points of no return are approaching. Not just for us, but for the world as a whole." Rin reminded Emilya.

And Emilya knew why. She knew that they were going to be poking the boogyman soon. And Taylor was someone liable to get caught in the crossfire. "I just hope our training holds up." Emilya eventually said as they boarded the plane.

Rin smiled. "It should. Come, Sakura should have saved our seats."

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Not too sure how much I like this little chapter. Overall, it's fine. Ruby was a treat to write, even if I don't think I particularly nailed her personality. That said, I haven't read or watched Prisma and Chloe makes it a slippery slope I'm weary to go down.

But yes, a chapter akin to this would likely be one of a few options for an opening chapter to a proper version of this fic. I do have one more idea for a scene in this series, but I do have other ideas I want to write, and said scene likely wouldn't be too long anyway. If I do write it, I might put it into side stories.

As for the chapter itself, we have a Magical Girl plot underway! 7 Dangerous Card MacGuffin's have been scattered across the Bay! And Taylor is the only one remotely qualified to retrieve them. I did want to try to have Taylor put herself on a 1-month long time limit since that's how long the Stay Night crew would be away for, but couldn't get it to play out. Also wanted to do a bit where Taylor panics more heavily, but Ruby just ended up being her own little storm.

In other news, I did some more research into some servants and realized that Nobu is far more bullshit than I initially gave her credit for, but that's for another time. For now, I'ma go to sleep.