Nasuverse Fate/RE:Iteration

[Irksome Productions]

Blame Watashiwa. And the post icon represent's Shirou's skull.

________________

Through all the myriad worlds of the Kaleidoscope, much remains consistent between the incarnations of Shirou Emiya. The fire that burned his life away leaves behind an empty vessel that seeks to fill itself with a beautiful dream. That impossible dream draws him into the Fifth Fuyuki Grail War, and should that dream and the world survive the war intact, Shirou Emiya is doomed to have his wish granted.


The variances in his Kaleidoscopic lives start with a single inflection point. However, his nature is such that even small differences can have an outsize impact on his life leading up to, and past, the Fifth Holy Grail War.


This is not one of those worlds. This world has been changed in ways great and small. Superficial similarities remain, and the persons living these events bear familiar names and faces. The paths their lives, and the path that Shirou Emiya’s life, have taken to reach this point cannot simply be called “different”.

No, this iteration is far more warped than that.



_____________


The First Night- Saturday, 4/16


The shed crackled with light as lance and sword clashed, silver and crimson against the night sky.

The scene before me was baffling — a hooded man in crimson and a beautiful blonde woman in armor, locking blade against polearm and trading glares at one another.

"Saber, I presume?" The woman says, eying the red-clad man before her as she braces her spear against his sword. "You, boy, behind me. I am Lancer. I've a question for you, but it shall hold until I have dispatched this villain."

She pushes and there's a screech of metal. The man breaks off, leaping backwards and landing on my porch roof.

"Dammit. I told her I should have eliminated you sooner..." He spits, pointing his blade down. "But indeed, my lady! El Cid, at your service."

"You sought his life before he summoned me?" The woman says, stance shifting and guard rising, lance aimed to welcome any attack. "A craven tactic, unbefitting a knight."

"Do you know what that boy has done? He stole something precious to my Master." The red man — El Cid? — shakes his head. "She and I both wish for his head for his treachery."

Wait-

I stole something? What did I...?

"But enough talk. You can burn with him, Lancer." The man seems to have made up his mind.

"Tch." The blonde woman's stance changes again, not to guard, but to-

The night air turns hot and dry, and the crimson sword in the man's hand blazes alight.

"Shirou Emiya! By the fire of my Tizona, I judge you... Unworthy! Be seared from this earth!" The man calling himself El Cid yells, leaping into the sky.

And then the world turns to flames.


______________


My vision returns as the heat dissipates. My shed — my workshop — is gone, and I'm propped up against the walls of the estate. The wall is only slightly warm, but seems undamaged. I’m lucky the fire didn’t spread.

The crimson man is nowhere to be seen, but the blonde woman — whose plate armor does little to hide her ample... tracts of land — is standing in the yard and brandishing her spear at the sky.

"Craven! Blackguard!" Her voice is livid, and her head is futilely tracking back and forth.

"Um... Ma'am?" I ask, shaking my head and trying to sit up, "What just happened? Who are you? Who was he?"

She turns, and her ire melts away.

"Ah. To answer one of your questions, I am Servant Lancer. And as tradition dictates, I must ask you—" She steps forward, and her spear disappears as she stretches her right hand towards me. "Are you my Master?"


___________________________



WISE UP!

Servant Lancer
True Name: [UNKNOWN]
Master: Shirou Emiya
Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: C
Mana: C
Endurance: B
Luck: D
Agility: B
Noble Phantasm: A

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance- A
Riding- A
Battle Continuation- B-


Personal Skills:

Charisma- B
[UNKNOWN]- A
[UNKNOWN]- EX

Noble Phantasms:

[UNKNOWN]- A+ (Anti-Fortress)

[UNKNOWN]- C (Anti-Unit)

A busty blonde, summoned by yourself. Seems she's not quite used to her body, for some reason. Her true identity is unknown at the moment, but her status has been reduced due to your skill as a Magus being subpar.


_____________


Servant Saber
True Name: El Cid (?)
Master: [UNKNOWN]

Alignment: True Neutral

Strength: B
Mana: D
Endurance: B
Luck: E+
Agility: B
Noble Phantasm: B?


Class Skills:
Magic Resistance- ?
Riding- ?
[UNKNOWN]- UNDEF
[UNKNOWN]- E-A++

Personal Skills:

Eye of the Mind (True)- B+
[UNKNOWN]- ?
[UNKNOWN]- ?


Noble Phantasms:
Tizona, The Firebrand- B (Anti-Unit)
A crimson sword said to burn with the power of the sun. By activating it, El Cid can unleash a powerful blast of flame, capable of striking fear into the hearts of the unworthy and then incinerating them.

Standard of Black, The Hidden Knight- C (Barrier)
While not a true Noble Phantasm, the Standard of Black is an enchantment used by many a knight over the years when their identity would prove troublesome. This prevents their skills and true strength of their Noble Phantasms from being identified, as well as guarding their appearance from view. If one knows the True Name of the user, they will be able to pierce the barrier.

[UNKNOWN]- ?-?

An asshole dressed in crimson. You first met him when he was trying to gouge your heart out with a flaming sword. Despite looking him straight in eye, you find yourself unable to remember anything about his appearance, save his color and that he repeatedly referred to himself as "El Cid" the whole time he was pursuing you.

 

[Irksome Productions]

The First Night— Saturday, 4/16


I stare dumbly, too filled with thoughts to stand all the way, much less respond. My eyes drift down before I can stop myself.

She stands before me. "I ask again. Are you my Master?" She says, gesturing with her outstretched hand.

The slight edge in the question restarts my brain. "Ma'am. I don't even know what just happened." I say, reaching for her hand.

Her gaze sharpens, and she roughly turns my hand over. I wince, and look at my right hand again. That's right. The mark that appeared earlier this week...

"...Your Command Seals are proof. You are my Master, and I am Servant Lancer, kin- Knight of the Spear." She nods after a moment, helping me to my feet.

There is a pattern on the back of my hand, and this time I can see it is made of three pieces. A broad winglike shape, colored black. That part I was almost used to. The lightly glowing red spikes that jutted into either side as though piercing the great wing, were new.

"These?" I ask, showing the woman before me.

She nods. "These are the proof of a Master," She traces a finger along the wing. I shudder and hope she doesn’t notice. "But my understanding was that they were all to be of a single color, and fade only when used. How odd."

"Ma'am... Lancer... This whole thing is odd." I manage after a few moments of silence. “I have no idea what is going on." She grimaces, but I continue. "But... if that El Cid guy ran because you came, then I owe you my life. How can I repay you for that?"

Lancer's expression softens, and takes my hands in both of hers, leaning forward as the start of what I know must be the most beautiful smile in the world starts to form, and she says—

"Blast. Another Servant!" She drops my hands and steps back, the spear coming to hand like magic. “Can you run? You were able to evade Saber well enough. I shall hold them off, and let you escape."

She crouches to leap over the estate wall and all at once it strikes me that this innocuous moment could completely change my fate.

...If that Saber really is after me, he could just be waiting for his moment to strike. Plus we have no idea if the new Servant is our enemy, or the enemy of our enemy.

"Lancer, hold on." I say, shaking my head. "El Cid... He could just be waiting for this. We don't know who that Servant is. Hell, I still don't know what's going on.

"So, let’s try and get answers. Maybe they're enemies, but maybe we can do something with them, strike a bargain or something." I continue, tightening my fist at my side. "Either way, we're talking before we fight."

"Master, you..." Lancer seems taken aback, but her expression firms quickly. "So be it. I shall be your shield and spear in this War. I will not fail you."

I feel as though something’s been left unsaid, but... This takes priority. We head to the gate, quickly.


_______________


"Emiya?!" The voice that greets as I step outside the gates of my house is familiar. It also belongs to one of the people I'd least like to see at a time like this: the magus in charge of watching over the city and surrounding lands, dressed in her usual red sweater and miniskirt. The heart-shaped gemstone pendant, however, is new. It does look good on her, though.

"Tohsaka! Are you involved in this mess, too?" I blurt out, shaking my head. Lancer steps out behind me and I can see Rin Tohsaka’s double take at the glowing spear. "Can you explain what's going on?"

She sighs, and begins to rub her nose as she looks to the side.

"Praetor, we are in luck! The boy is as ignorant as you hoped!"

The girl who materializes from empty space makes ME jump and Lancer’s spear comes up to defend us against the new Servant.

Hm. She's a bit shorter than Tohsaka. Blonde hair of a color similar to Lancer's, though one look at her green eyes is enough to set them apart, dressed in an ornate red dress that—

I avert my eyes hastily. Who on Earth could be that shameless?

"Saber, please don't." Rin says, seemingly exasperated with her Servant's flip attitude. "Now, Emiya, I should be asking you that question. I had no idea you were a magus yourself."

"Ah, nothing like that, Tohsaka. I know how to use some magecraft, but nothing special." I say, waving it off and hoping that nothing shows in my expression. "Lancer appeared and—"

"Master, one moment." Lancer interrupts, eyes narrowing. "Girl, you claim your Servant is the Saber in this war?"

Rin looks a bit surprised at the question, but nods.

"Of course! One of my bloodline obviously must summon the most prestigious of Servants, in the strongest class!"

"Indeed! My Praetor is blessed to have my blade working for her!" The red Saber says, crossing her arms and smiling like a child whose teacher had just given them a gold star. "For I stand at the apex of all arts, including those of war!"

Lancer and I share a look, hers far more concerned than mine.

I allow the two of them to bask in their smug superiority for a moment. "...That's well and good, but... explanations please?" I say. "Like, ten minutes ago there was this lunatic in red who kept trying to kill me, and I’m only alive now because Lancer saved me.”

"...Perhaps we should go inside so I can explain things to you." Rin says, eyes widening a bit as she realizes the depths of my ignorance.


________________


The explanation takes thirty minutes. Only Saber drank the tea I set out, knocking back her own cup and Tohsaka’s before getting bored and leaving to explore the house. Lancer stood by the door, one eye on Tohsaka and one ear listening to Saber’s wandering. Tohsaka looks at me expectantly.

"So," I start, rubbing my temples, not for the first time in this conversation. "Lancer, Saber, and that 'El Cid' are all legendary heroes summoned by a magic ritual."

"That's correct." Rin nods, taking the nearest teacup and drinking. I decide not to mention it was mine.

"And we're fighting for the sake of a Holy Grail that grants the winner a wish." I continue, glancing behind Rin, to where Saber was investigating the contents of my bookcase. "And no matter what there can be only one survivor?"

Rin hesitates. "Well. One Servant. Masters don't need to die, but they're easier to kill than Servants, and killing them tends to kill the Servant." She says that with a sad look on her face. Hm.

"So, if I get killed, Lancer dies with me." I say, and she nods. "But if Lancer dies I could keep going. I'm guessing that, if I still have Command Seals—" I raise my right hand to indicate the marks there, "— I can form a contract with another Servant. Is that right?"

There's a crash from my DVD shelf. I glance over and see Saber looking innocent next to a pile of plastic cases on the floor.

"Pretty much." Rin sighs. I notice she doesn’t bother turning. "Now that you have the gist of it you should decide for yourself whether you're going to participate or not. I know you were kind of forced into this by that fake Saber."

I stare blankly, then nod.

"Unfortunately, I don't think I can withdraw, even if I wanted to." I say, shaking my head. "'El Cid', whoever he really is, only ran because I summoned Lancer. I'm going to participate — not for the Grail, and not for just for my own safety, but..."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Lancer’s approving nod.

"Well, what kind of superhero would I be if I let some villain get their wish when I could stop them?" I ask. Tohsaka seems taken aback, and I realize I’ve cross a line. "I'm not saying you’re... I mean, I want to… I can’t just—"

"No, Emiya, I think I understand. You can't give up Lancer, and you don't want the wish to be used for something evil, right?" Tohsaka stands, and I can’t see her face. Is she... Angry? Or something? "Fine. A truce until dawn, then? And I'll pass word to the Overseer that you've summoned and are participating."

"Tohsaka..." I start to stand, but she glares back at me.

"No, no. I get it. You just want to keep the scary magi from getting the Grail, and be a stupid hero, don't you?" She says.

Yep. Definitely angry.

"Saber. We're leaving." With that Tohsaka’s Servant is at her side, and both move towards the door. "Emiya, consider that information my thanks for your hospitality."

The door rattles as she slams it behind her and I hear footsteps stomping away. Lancer lets out a chuckle.

"I suggest you at least see her to the gate." She says, pointing to the door. "I'll clean the mess her Saber made."

I nod and rush for the door, but by the time I get outside Rin and her Servant are midway down the street. The end of their discussion comes back to me across the evening.

"But Praetor, I know of a sure way to secure his aid!" Saber says excitedly.

"Oh?" I can still hear the angry edge in her voice, gentled by a note of curiosity.

"Indeed! He was bereft of the reading materials typical for boys of his age, and none of the 'discs' he owned were any form of entertainment at all! Surely, he must be aching!"

"...Saber, what do you mean?"

"Your womanly charms, supplemented greatly by mine own of course, can win us an unbreakable alliance! No man could resist we two, especially if we both—"

I hear Rin squeal indignantly and Saber’s laughter before they get too far away for me to properly eavesdrop. I wonder what all that was about.


______________


Once inside, I find myself sitting across the table from Lancer. She’s holding last cup of tea but has yet to drink.

"So, Master. You intend to compete in this war to deprive those who would abuse the power their chance?" She sips the tea and waits for my response.

"Yes. Of course, I'm more than willing to give you the wish. I can’t imagine you’d do anything awful with it."

The room is quiet while Lancer decides how to respond. "I wish to correct the mistakes of my life and bring peace to those I wronged." She sighs. "Many people suffered for my failings."

I can feel the smile on my face. "Fixing your mistakes is more than noble. That's a wish I'm proud to help you reach, Lancer." Her expression becomes relieved. "By the way, I have to ask. Is something making you uncomfortable? When you were fighting El Cid you seemed off balance and..."

She smiles prettily and looks down at her teacup before looking back at me. She opens her mouth to speak... and then looks down again at her teacup.

Or. Well. She tries.

"I. What. This. Huh? What? Eh? Ehhhh?” She hesitates for a long moment and finally reaches up to poke her armor.

She's on her feet faster than I can blink, and before I can speak she's rushed from the room. I’m in pursuit immediately. Whatever she found obviously shocked her greatly. Ahead of me I can hear doors sliding open and footsteps charging up and down the halls, as she hurriedly searches my house for… something. I hope she's okay.

I catch up to her nearly a whole minute after she stops moving. She’s found one of the guest bedrooms, a ways away from the places my visitors usually go. The door is open and I step inside. There I see her staring intently at herself in the mirror, poking and prodding at her… at her...

I hastily look away.

She’s muttering. "This.... This was not part of the deal..."

I turn my head back to ask what's the matter, and stop dead as I see her chest armor fall and disappear, baring what are possibly the greatest tracts of land the world has ever seen. Wars have been fought for less. Poets have tortured themselves trying to describe mountains half as majestic. I can only stare open mouthed. And then her hands...

I’m backing out of the room so fast I only notice when my right hand cracks against the doorframe and barely strangle the scream. I’m certain Lancer would kill me if she knew I’d seen this. I’m equally certain my face is redder than Tohsaka’s sweater. I hurry through my bedtime preparations, hoping that they’ll calm my mind, and settle myself to sleep.


It works: my dreams that night are once again filled with dragons and knights.




_______________


WISE UP!


Servant Saber (True)
True Name: [UNKNOWN]
Master: Rin Tohsaka
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: C
Mana: B
Endurance: C
Luck: A+
Agility: A+
Noble Phantasm: B+

Class Skills:
Magic Resistance- C+
Riding- B

Personal Skills:
Migraine- B-
Chronic headaches. Reduces the success rate of mental skills. Due to the proficiency of her Master, Saber's rank in this skill is reduced, relieving the pain somewhat.
[UNKNOWN]- EX

Noble Phantasms:
[UNKNOWN]- B (Anti-Team)
[UNKNOWN]- B+ (Anti-Team)
The Saber summoned by Rin Tohsaka. Flamboyant, red, and most distinctly without an ounce of shame. Somehow, you think she was looking for something in your house, given how she rummaged through your books and movies, but you can't place what...

 

[linkhyrule5]

Pfft. Oh, Nero. Never change.

Spoiler

Dunno if this is really a spoiler but /Grand Order has had less time to spread spoilers around than /Extra has, so -- but Rhongomyniad is one of the big planetary-scale defense artifacts like unleashed Excalibur, and its rank under normal circumstances is EX. It's entirely possible you've changed that, either at its base by ignoring the more navel-gaze-y Nasu mechanics or farther up the chain by assuming that she can't access the full power of the Tower that Defines the End of the World, but just in case you weren't already aware I thought I'd point it out.

Other than that, good start. I'm curious to see where this goes. I wonder what he stole of El Cid's Master? ... Also, for him to run off so easily without pressing his luck after an NP reveal, there's no way he's actually El Cid, there's got to be more to him.