Fate/Zero Hope
Meanwhile, in the Dark Place
There is a place that is not a real place. Though no light reaches it, it is not truly dark. It cannot be found, felt, understood or even properly described. It is beyond such concepts. However, for convenience sake, I shall be calling it the Dark Place as I tell you these tales. The name is, as they say, close enough.
The Dark Place is home to two denizens. Their job is to tend to the multiverse. To do so they have been granted unimaginable power. You see, each universe must reach certain requirements otherwise it shall be destroyed. Once there were no rules for the multiverse and so it was filled with worlds that where almost identical to others or where intelligent life never evolved, or where the rules of physics where broken and nothing made the slightest bit of sense. Basically, a lot of useless clutter. And, so rules were created to ensure that each universe was useful, or at least interesting. Any universe that didn't fit the requirements was destroyed.
Now for any other uninhabited worlds this wasn't a problem. But for the worlds where intelligent life lived destroying their universe meant millions, billions, or even trillions of lives lost. This was generally thought of as a bad thing. Which is where the denizens of the dark place come in.
Their job was to make changes to universes so that they fit the requirements. They could do anything; change events, flip personalities of people, even move things between universes. There was nothing beyond their power. As a result, they produced some very interesting stories, one of which I will be sharing with you right now.
Our tale begins when one of denizens had left the Dark Place to take a break. Caring for the multiverse is tiring work and everyone is entitled to a break sometimes. The one on break was the more conservative of the two, preferring subtle changes and to keep things as orderly as possible. His partner, on the other hand, preferred to make things as interesting as possible, even if it didn't always make sense.
"All right! With him out of the way, maybe I can finally have some fun! Let's see, what's next? Another one based on the Holy Grail War, huh? Well there's an easy way to liven up that party. He, won't even be able to get made at me. We'll just make a few replacement's and…Done! Now all that's left is too sit back, relax and enjoy the show."
***
Fuyuki City, Kotomine Church. One year ago.
Kirei Kotomine, former Executioner of the Church and one of the Seven Masters in the fourth Holy Grail War, was not a man prone to introspection. However, as he stood in front of the summoning circle in the basement of his father's church, he found himself thinking back on his life, and towards the future.
Kirei thought back on how he had worked in many different fields and succeeded in all of them. He thought of how he had earned praise when he followed in his father's footsteps to become an Executioner and surpassed all expectations. He thought of his wife, who had died young, and his daughter, who he had entrusted to his in-laws soon after.
He thought of three years ago, when the command seals that marked him as a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War had appeared on the back of his hand. It was then that his father, Risei Kotomine, had introduced him to Tokiomi Tohsaka and together they had explained what the Holy Grail War was.
Despite the name, the Holy Grail was not the Cup of Christ, but rather a wish-granting artifact of immense power. However, because it was called the Holy Grail the Church had to become involved and so was allowed to send an overseer. Their job was to provide safe haven for any of the defeated masters and to ensure that the war remained a secret from the general public. Risei had been the Overseer in the last war and would be reprising the role for the Fourth.
Tokiomi, on the other hand, would be actively participating in the war as one of the Masters. His family, the Tohsakas, had been one of the three founding families that had started the Holy Grail Wars. The Tohsakas also donated heavily to the Church and were personal friends with Risei ever since the last war. This was why Tokiomi and Risei had decided to enter an alliance to ensure that the Grail did not fall into the wrong hands. Kirei was to be apprenticed to Tokiomi for the next three years so that his grasp of mage craft could be improved enough so he could summon a Servant for the Grail War.
For each Holy Grail War the Grail would chose seven Master to participate. They, in turn, would summon a Heroic Spirit to be their Servant and fight for them in the War. Heroic Spirits were the souls of great heroes of the past such as King Arthur or Alexander the Great, who, in life, had done such incredible deeds that their legends would endure far after their deaths. This would earn them a spot on the Throne of Heroes, a sort of afterlife. Each of the seven Servants would be of a different class: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, or Assassin.
Kirei thought about all of this, and of how it was all utterly meaningless to him.
Since the day he was born Kirei Kotomine had felt empty. Nothing could fill the void in his heart. He did not feel pride in his accomplishments or love for his family. Neither the birth of his daughter or the death of his wife brought him any emotion. He did not feel joy, love, fear, anger or sadness. He did, however, feel confusion at why he had been chosen as a Master. Each Master was supposed to have a wish that they wanted fulfilled. That's why they were chosen.
Kirei didn't. And that confused the hell out of him.
In the end he decided that it didn't matter and that he had wasted enough time. He placed the relic he would be using to summon his servant, a fragment of an ancient mask, in the middle of the summoning circle. He then stepped back, raised his hand and began to speak the incantation that would bring his Servant to life. Soon the air was filled with light and magic.
When the light faded an imposing figure stood in the middle of the circle. The servant was dressed in a black and gold outfit that reminded Kirei of ninja he had once scene in a Hollywood movie. His forearms were covered in spiked bracers that matched the gold and black color scheme while his biceps were uncovered, showing of his obvious muscles. Poking over each shoulder was the handle of a katana, also gold. A black hood covered his head. However, what drew Kirei's attention was his face, or rather, what covered it.
The mask fragment Kirei had used for the summoning had been white and reminiscent of a skull. While the man standing in front of Kirei did sport a mask, it was made of gold and only covered the lower half of his face leaving his eyes exposed. His eyes that, for some reason, were pure white.
Suddenly the figure spoke. "I am the Servant Assassin. I ask of you, are you my Master."
Kirei nodded. "Yes, I am." To remove all doubt, Kirei raised his hand and showed his command seal.
"Then the contract is complete. If you have no orders for me, I will retreat into my astral form." Assassin said in a serious voice.
"No orders, but I do have one question." Kirei decided to put his suspicions to the test. "What is your name?"
"You may call me Scorpion."
***
Fuyuki City, Tohsaka Manor. Three Months Ago.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was not happy. Nine months ago his apprentice, Kirei Kotomine, had performed the ritual that had summoned the servant Assassin. However, the Servant was not who they were expecting, Hassan-i-Sabbah. Instead they had a Servant that they knew nothing about and refused to tell them his real name. Tokiomi could find no mention of this "Scorpion" in the history books.
Further souring Tokiomi's mode was the fact that he had no idea why this had happened. Kirei had performed the ritual perfectly. The relic he had used was the genuine article. Even after nine months of research Tokiomi had no idea why the ritual had produced a result other than what was expected. This worried Tokiomi to no end.
Still, the plan was still salvageable. Assassin appeared to be extremely skilled. He also had the ability to fit into the original plan. All that was left was for Tokiomi to summon his intended Servant and his victory was assured.
As he approached the summoning circle Tokiomi went over the actions and incantations once more in his head.
Now so long as what happens to Kirei doesn't happen to me…No. This is no time for doubt. This will be perfect. And so he began the ritual.
Upon completion, however, his spirits fell. Standing before him was not Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, but a young, smiling, blond woman dressed in what appeared to be a brown military uniform. However, Tokiomi had a hard time believing that any military would issue skirts that short. The skirt, and her ample "assets", would have had Tokiomi believe that he had some had summoned some sort of callgirl, or cosplayer if it weren't for the absolutely massive, and very, very real, rifle she held. In truth the gun was more of a cannon then a rifle. It was taller then he was and she was leaning it against her shoulder like was nothing!
When she spoke, it was with a British accent. "Hello! I'm Archer. Are you the one who summoned me?" she asked cheerfully.
Overcoming his shock, Tokiomi managed a reply. "Yes, I am your Master."
"Sorry, but I already have a Master. But don't worry; I'll still follow your orders. Oh, I'm supposed to say that the contract is complete now aren't I?" The girl tilted her head to the side and placed a finger on her chin.
Tokiomi Tohsaka, powerful Magus and head of the Tohsaka family, felt, for the first time in his life, the desire to smack him self in the face.
***
Fuyuki city, Roof of the Hyatt Hotel. One Month Ago.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald had to struggle against the urge to pull his hair out in frustration as he tried to figure out at what point the world had decided to conspire against him. The answer was obvious though. As soon as the command seal had appeared on the back of his hand nothing had gone right. His student, Weaver Something, had stolen his original relic. His relationship with his fiancé, Sola-Ui, was steadily deteriorating. And now, despite obtaining a back-up relic and performing the ritual perfectly, the Servant standing before him was not Diarmuld Ua Duibhne. At least the class was right.
The servant held in his hand a long spear with golden head and a shaft wrapped in blue cloth. He the armor he wore was dark purple and had apparently been inspired by a dragon. Spikes jutted out from the knees and elbows, and a small set of decorative wings was attached at the shoulders. Completing the image was his helmet, which looked like a dragons head and covered his eyes and the top of his head but allowed his long silver hair to flow in wind.
"I am Lancer." The Servant spoke with a deep voice. "I ask of you, are you my Master?"
Not trusting himself to speak, lest his anger get the better of him, Kayneth merely nodded.
"Then the contract is complete." Lancer continued in his serious tone.
Kayneth took several deep breaths to calm himself. After all, loosing one's temper would be unbecoming for an elite mage such as him. Finally feeling in control again Kayneth decided to interrogate his new Servant. "I have a few questions for you Lancer. Who are you? Why did you get summoned instead of Diarmuld? And how good are you with that lance?"
"I have no idea why I was summoned and not this 'Diarmuld'. However I assure you my skills will be more then enough to win you the grail. I defeated more men and monsters then I could count in my own world. My companions and I even killed what some would consider gods." Lancer said in the same even tone he had used so far.
Kayneth examined Lancer closely, looking for any hint of embellishment, but was unable to find any.
He doesn't seem to be bragging but such a statement is rather unbelievable. Fighting gods and monster and winning? But then again he must have done something to be placed on the Throne of Heroes. Kayneth decided to give Lancer a chance to prove himself and live up to his claims. But something was still bothering Kayneth.
"What do you mean 'your own world'?"
***
Fuyuki City Outskirts. One week ago.
Weaver Velvet could barely contain his excitement. Here he was about to summon a Servant in the Holy Grail War! Sure, having to use fresh chicken blood for the summoning circle might have been gross. Very gross. And slightly traumatic.
But that was fine, all part of what had to be done. After all, wasn't that what he believed in, that hard work paid off. Finally those bastards back at the Clock Tower wouldn't be able to look down their noses at him, simply because he couldn't say his great-great-grandfather invented a silver-polishing spell or something. Weaver couldn't wait to see the look on Archibald's face when he realized the very same student he had belittled in front of class would be beating him with his own Servant.
Weaver double-checked that everything was perfect.
Let's see…summoning circle? Check! Relic in the middle of the summoning circle? Check! Summoning incantation memorized? Check! Command Seals? He looked down at the back of his hand at the red markings. Part of him still couldn't believe the Grail had actually chosen him"Check! All right! Let's get started!" He practically cheered. Then he began the summoning incantation.
As he chanted light began to flow from the summoning circle, filling his heart with pride. The sound of electricity crackling filled his ears as well as…a dog growling? Before Weaver could wonder what this meant the spell finished, light exploding outwards, causing Weaver to fall over backwards. When his vision cleared and his ears stopped ringing, Weaver found himself sitting on the ground looking up at the Servant he had summoned. His jaw dropped.
Standing there was not some mystic hero of legend but a young American, probably in his early twenties. He had brown hair and wore a leather jacket with orange accents and a flaming eight ball on the shoulders. Other then that his cloths were pretty plain, just a white shirt, brown pants and black boots.
"Hi there!" the man in the circle said with a small wave. "I'm Rider. Are you my Master?"
"Y... Yeah?" Weaver stuttered.
"Cool, then the contract's complete. You wanna go grab something to eat?"
***
Fuyuki City, Matou Manor Basement. Four Days Ago.
Kariya Matou and his father Zouken Matou had very little in common. Originally the only thing they shared was a family name. One year ago a second similarity had formed when Kariya agreed to have Crest worms implanted in him so he could become a mage. He did this so that he could win the grail and save Sakura Tohsaka, daughter of the woman he loved but could never have, from having to learn his family's corrupting magic. Now the father and son had a third thing in common: complete and utter bafflement.
"I'M THE CONDUCTOR OF THE MEAT SYMPHONY! ARE YOU THE BOSSY-PANTS MAN?"
Standing in front of the Master and the Vampire was a man. Maybe. It was hard to tell. He was over six feet tall and heavily muscled. It was easy to tell because he wasn't wearing shirt. He was wear pants, thank god, as well as boots and bracers that looked like they where made from scrap metal and a gas mask. In his hand was some sort of strange mix between a battle-axe and a buzzsaw. It was also made of scrap metal.
Zouken was the first to recover. "Well your certainly has the crazy part of Berserker down. If he's as powerful as he is insane then you might just have a chance. Not that I don't have complete faith in you." The old man's voice dripped with sarcasm, causing Kariya to flinch. "Now if you and your 'Servant' will get out of here, I need to start preparing Sakura for the next Grail War."
Kariya scowled at his old man, but turned to leave anyway. There was no point in fighting him. He was too powerful. Kariya needed to save his strength for the war if he was to have any chance at winning before the Crest worms killed him. And he had to win, for Sakura's sake.
He was halfway up the stairs out of the dungeon when Zouken called out to him. "Kariya! Aren't you forgetting something? It's like you're not even trying to win the Grail." Zouken cackled.
Kariya turned and saw that Berserker was still standing in the summoning circle, sniffing his armpit. Which was strange because he was still wearing his gasmask.
"Berserker! I am your Master! You will follow my commands! Now turn into your astral form and follow me." With that done Kariya turned to leave once more.
"THIS MEAT BICYCLE HAS TWO SEATS!"
***
Einzbern Castle, Germany. Two days ago.
Irisviel von Einzbern looked at the two men staring at each other from across the church sanctuary. She would be entrusting these men with not only her life but also her hopes and dreams starting from this point on and she hoped they would get along, but the way they stared at each other was worrying.
The first man was Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer. Nine years ago this magical assassin had been hired by the Einzbern clan of mages to win the Holy Grail war for them. He had been invited to their castle and there he had met Irisviel. They had fallen in love, married, and had a child. Now he was going to fight for the wish they shared: World Peace. He had been expecting to summon King Arthur Pendragon, King of Knights. What he got was someone entirely different.
The other to speak was the servant Kiritsugu had just summoned. He was tall, over six feet, with grey eyes, silver hair, and tan skin. He wore black armor and an unusual red coat. This was Counter Guardian EMIYA, the Wrought Iron Hero, Archer of the Fifth Holy Grail War, and now, Saber of the Fourth. He had just been summoned by his own dead father.
When they spoke it was the same word, at the same time. This one word rang out against the silence of the sanctuary. "Impossible."
Here's the first thing for you guys to look at. It was written over a year ago now and I'm quite embarrassed about it. It has quite a few problems and I consider it a rough draft at best. One of the reasons why I haven't worked on it for over a year is because I've decided to change my choices for Lancer and Rider and I haven't come up with any new ideas to fill the roles so feel free to suggest some Lancers and Riders from other franchises.
