Fate/Blackened Sugar

[] An arrogant Captain and his band of Heroes took on the might of a roaring Army. He was a smug bastard but he was your best friend in the end.

You dreamed of the past.

You fell down your knees at the brink of defeat as you held your shoulder. You looked ahead to see a familiar professor adjust his glasses with his hand in his pocket. His long hair swayed with the hot wind while he glanced at his clock.

"It's about time, Mr. Derrinsmith," the Professor noted as he looked at you with his perpetual frown, "You did well considering your pawns. Manipulating Berserker and Archer to fight this battle for you was commendable but that doesn't get you full points."

"You wound my pride, London Big Star," you chuckled as you tried to stop the bleeding of your shoulder.

How many times do I tell you not to call me that," The man said with a growl.

"BWAHAHAHA! You underestimate the whelp, Waver boy! I'd say give him a few years and he might just surpass you! This boy has promise, just look at his eyes," Rider said as he clapped the Professor's back, "You're not giving him credit... To push me into unleashing my Reality Marble is no small feat!"

"I'm honoured, Lord Iskander," you said as you endured the pain of your broken leg and grabbed the spear lodged into your thigh, "It's high praise."

"Such spirit. You are worthy of being trampled by my grand Army!" Rider said with a respectful look in his eyes.

"This War, Hans, it's not something you can do forever. I've seen your grit and your courage but there's only so much you could do. With a problematic Servant as your Saber, no wonder he abandoned you," the Professor said.

"I have to try. No matter the odds, I have to try. Because if... There's one thing that I know..." You grit your teeth and pulled the bloody spear from your leg and stabbed it into the ground, "Is that I have a wish I'm willing to bet my life on. You want the Grail? You'll have to go through me first, Lord El-Melloi II."

"Not bad an ambition for someone like you," a voice said behind you as you turned.

A man walked by. He was a man that wasn't as glorious as Rider. He was average and carried with him an air of arrogance and false bravado. He held his blade in hand and you noticed that it was shaking.

He was a cowardly man, one of great frustration to you as you fought through this war. He was demanding, prideful and most of all just an asshole. But that was only on the surface, a facade he carried himself with. He was afraid and among all the Heroic Spirits you fought alongside with, he was the most human of them all.

A terrible Hero for sure... But regardless, still a Hero.

"Look at you, forcing someone like me to draw his sword," Saber said as he glanced at you.

You gave him a bloody smile and said, "I knew you'd come... Buddy."

"Your faith is stupid, thinking that I can do anything about that muscle head's army by myself," Saber growled as he faced you.

"But you're not exactly alone, aren't you?" You said as you fell forward. Saber moved and caught you with his arm. Your leg finally gave out, huh?

"Medea, I'll leave him to you," Saber said as he stepped forward.

A pair of gentle hands grabbed on to your shoulders as you noticed a beautiful girl with lavender colored hair smile at you. You raised your head to see that Heroes began to manifest behind Saber while you watched their numbers grow.

Saber looked at Rider in the eye as their armies matched. For Saber, behind him were the Heroes he met and followed his charisma through the seas while Rider, behind him were his mighty Army clutching on to his Dream.

"Jason!" You barked as you were being healed.

Saber held up his hand and gave you a thumbs up, "I'll show you the power of the Argo. COME! FOLLOW MY VOICE!"

Heroes of Legend matching the King of Conqueror's Army appeared. A Huntress stepped forth with her bow in hand while a hooded Mage appeared nearby too. A man donning black armor stepped forth and cracked his fists while a towering giant appeared dragging his stone sword behind him.

"ARGONAUTS! ASSEMBLE!" Saber roared as he held his sword up, "The dazzling ship that Splits the Heavens(Astrapte Argo)."

"A worthy Army! We will answer in turn!" Rider laughed as he raised his own sword, "Charge these Shining Souls! Grant them the highest Honour! Charge and fight till he end! Army of the King!(Ionioi Hetaroi)".

The two sides charged, Rider leading his Army with his gargantuan steed while Saber rode on the back of the Giant. You got up and held Medea's shoulder.

"He's an idiot. Help him," you told her with a nod.

Medea bowed towards you and took the skies, magic circles lighting up around her as she rained hell upon he approaching armies. Noble Phantasms were let loose as the Argonauts clashed with their foes.

Rider smashed aside several Heroes with his horse right until his steed was stopped by the Giant Jason rode.

"Such strength!" Rider laughed.

"Don't you know?! Heracles is the strongest in the world! He won't lose to a fucking horse!" Saber roared as he clashed with the enemy Servant.

What a miracle. A coward like him... Crossing blades with Alexander the Great.

"What a Hero," you said as you held up your hand, "I hope you can tough this out, Buddy! By my Command Seal, Saber, break Rider's weapon!"

Saber roared and did just that, shattering the King's blade.

"Let's go, Heracles!" Jason yelled as he and Heracles fought the King of Conquerors together.

.....
....
...

The Reality Marble's sun burned hot above you as Jason pulled his sword out of Iskander. The great King seemed satisfied before closing his eyes and fading away.

Lord El-Melloi II watched the battle and closed his eyes in understanding. You passed by your professor to see your Servant standing there as his companions vanished one by one.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" You asked.

"For trusting me," Jason chuckled as he gave you a smirk, "You reminder me of myself. It's because of that trust that I got my crew back. If you're gonna keep fighting, Hans, don't lose faith on your Servants. Same as you did with me."

.....
....
...

You opened your eyes and looked at your Command Seals. You clenched your fist and slowly got up. You blinked and saw the window open. Assassin stepped in and turned to meet your gaze.

A soft smile filled her lips as she asked, "Did I worry you, Hans?"

[] "Nope. I knew you'd be back. Welcome back, Chiyome."
[] "I'm... About last night. I'm sorry. I didn't get the signals. I didn't particularly mind it."
[] "Yes. I was a little worried. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't have had the chance to say goodbye."
[] Write in...

[] "Nope. I knew you'd be back. Welcome back, Chiyome."

You gave her a smile and replied, "Nope. I knew you'd be back. Welcome back, Chiyome."

"You had that much faith in me, hm?" Chiyome said as she crossed her arms where she stood.

"Well, for one, I would be a bad Master," you frankly said with a shrug, "Besides, you're not made of glass."

"That is true. Shinobi are hardened by the training they undergo to complete missions and come back with favourable news," Chiyome said as she walked towards you before sitting beside you on your bedside, "But there are times when we would like to indulge ourselves too."

"I... I see..." You replied as you scratched your cheek with an awkward laugh.

"You're not really perceptive, aren't you?" Assassin said as she met your gaze.

You winced and looked to the side, "Sorry. Though, did the others make it out okay?"

"Indeed. Miyu is safe outside your door. We told her that you needed your rest and that she can talk to you in the morning. It went okay, there were no casualties on our side," Chiyome said as she looked out the window.

"And who came in to take her?" You asked. Thinking back, you and Minerva tried to kill one another as best you could. She wouldn't be making big moves at the moment but Archer was still a wild card...

If anything, Ophelia would want to hunt you down after you escaped.

"No one. Not one of the Masters or Servants fought us... At least not the one we expected," Assassin explained as she looked down on the ground.

"And that is?" You frowned.

"A Blackened Servant. One of Manaka's," Chiyome replied as she met your gaze.

You blinked before you recalled that Berserker had perished... Which meant that there was energy to be siphoned to call that Blackened. But Manaka wasn't here and Ayumi should be in her room. You didn't detect the presence of magecraft or movement from the mirrors.

Manaka wasn't going to let you dawdle, wasn't she? When a Servant dies, a Blackened will take its place. So even if you beat all the Servants present in the war, so long that the Blackened remained you're going to end up fighting for longer.

Beowulf took down two of them already. It would be bad news if this one went on a rampage.

"What was it like? Can you discern the Servant type?" You asked with a curious look.

"Another Assassin. She had presence concealment at the time and nearly killed Lady Matou. The Servant was strong enough to hold both me and Lancer back..." Chiyome continued as she shook her head, "Though the problem is only exacerbated by Lancer's grudge against me."

"I'm surprised she didn't jump you," you said as you gave her a strange look.

"She tried but Miyu was there. She would not want to look bad before the girl. In any case, the Assassin seemed to be adept with poison. She's more aggressive than our current style of play," Chiyome said as she looked at her hands, "Because of her poison, we weren't able to fight her properly. You need to be careful from now on."

"As long as you and Miyu are fine, that's enough for me," you said as you smiled her way.

"I'm serious, Hans. This is an unprecedented Enemy to be added to the ones we already have. You should be careful," Assassin said as she crossed her arms.

You chuckled lightly and said, "Well now, do I worry you that much?"

"Yes," Chiyome replied as she clenched her fists.

"Okay then. I understand," you said as you raised your hand, "No need for that."

"You're sometimes difficult to read. But I realize that you're simple minded most of the time," Assassin said as she shook her head.

She then leaned to the right and rested on your shoulder.

"Um, are you okay?" You asked her with a confused tone.

"Yes. I'm merely indulging myself," Chiyome said as she leaned against you. She opened her eyes and glanced up at you, "A good General takes care of the morale of their soldiers."

"I-I see," you choked as you looked to the side.

"Mhmm, because when they don't... A revolt in the ranks could occur," Assassin said before she vanished from your side.

You blinked and found her standing before you. She pressed a finger on your forehead and smiled.

"Good night, My Lord," Assassin said as she turned away and jumped out the window.

You were left to rub your forehead as you watched her go. She's becoming more cheeky with you. You couldn't help but smile. It's an improvement from the day you met her.

.....
....
...

Morning came and you woke up at what seemed to be at the crack of dawn. Your body just woke you for some reason and you couldn't go back to sleep. You rose out of your bed and felt for your wounds. They weren't as bad as before, you could even numb the pain with a rune now.

You went to the bathroom to freshen yourself up. You then grabbed your coat and wore it as you stepped into your shoes. Stepping out of your room, you were greeted by the quiet suite devoid of light and activity.

You could distinctly sense people nearby in the other rooms. Luvia seemed to be awake already while Miyu was asleep with Ayumi in a separate room. You decided to walk through the suite and exit to the hall outside.

Looking down the hall, you find that it was empty before going down it. You needed some air... You decided to take the elevator and ascend to the top floor.

You stepped out to a quaint rooftop with a few benches and a vending machine. Walking by the vending machine, you noted that you didn't have any money for it so you just went to the rails and looked down the city. The wind was cool as the snow covered cityscape greeted your eyes.

The sun was just rising on the east now.

Time wasn't going to wait for you. You need to take out Archer if you were ever going to get a Seal from Caren. That would put you one Seal above everyone else again. Looking down your hand, you grimaced before you clenched your fist.

The elevator doors opened and you turned to see a purple haired woman in a lavender blouse and long skirt.

"Well, I didn't expect someone to be up here," you said as you faced her.

Sakura Matou blinked before instinctively holding her neck.

You raised your hand and stepped back, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna try anything. Lancer will chop my head off before I do."

"Forgive me, just a bad habit," Sakura said as she lowered her hands.

"No harm done. I should be the one apologizing... But you did attack first," you said before holding out your hand to stop her, "Now, now... It's water under the bridge. At least for now."

"Thank you... For cooperating with us," she said with a polite bow.

You shook your head, "Oh please, none of that. If I didn't cooperate I would be dead."

"But we wouldn't come out unscathed," Sakura pointed out as she gave you a sharp look.

You blinked before smiling coldly at her, "You're right. You definitely wouldn't have."

The woman gathered her courage and walked towards you. She eventually stopped to look down the city beside you, leading you to glance down as well.

Silence filled the air between you two before Sakura broke it.

"I have many questions to ask you, Hans Derrinsmith," Sakura said as she spoke in a measured tone.

"Well, this is surprising to say the least," you replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Last year, there was also a Holy Grail War waged in Canada, wasn't there?" Sakura asked as she turned to you, "You were a part of it."

You blinked. No one should know that.

From what you gathered, Brie made a wish that caused the entire world to forget the events of that war. You felt the phantom pain of your missing arm just at the thought of it.

"Oh? Who knows. Was I truly?" You asked as you met her gaze.

"Does the name Shirou Emiya mean anything to you?" Sakura said as she frowned.

Now that caught you off guard. You vaguely remembered getting beaten up and down the subway by that man. A man with red hair and an annoying reputation to booth.

You didn't talk but Sakura noticed recognition in your eyes. She stepped towards you and held on to the rail, "Please, you have to tell me anything you know. I... Do you know where he is?"

The man was missing? That man?

You didn't know much but...

"It's true that there was a war and that man was there. But we only fought as enemies. I don't know much beyond his bad reputation of getting involved with people," you replied as you shook your head, "Did something happen?"

"Senpai... Emiya-san, returned last year from a trip no one remembers him going. Well, except one of our friends that was with him, but he vanished one day three months after his daughter was born. I'm trying to look for him now... And all I have was his journal. A war that never happened... Your name was there too among other participants," Sakura said with a pained look.

"So that's how you knew who I was. I see. Sorry, I don't have anything on him. Do you have any other leads?" You asked her with a frown.

"Well... He mentioned that he was called to meet someone. A girl in black and white," Sakura explained to you, "Aside from that... Nothing."

"If you're looking for the man, why are you in this War?" You questioned her with a sharp tone.

"If... If we can convince Lady Miyu, then maybe she can help us find him," Sakura said as she met your gaze.

[] "I see. Good luck then."
[] "Not according to my agreement with Luvia you're not."
[] "A noble cause. One that you're willing to fight for, I expect?"
[] Write in...