Author's note: I wrote this because I'm a bad person and I'm going to hell. Also, I was watching the visual novel bad ends on Youtube.

Karna is very poorly matched to his Master. He knows that immediately.

Emiya Shirou does not have the mana to support him. His circuits strain to supply him even at the most basic level. Karna will have to remove his golden armor to use, not just spear, but any significant attack. The armor uses too much power, energy his Master does not have to spare.

Karna bears this weakness with grace, accepting it as he does everything. Shirou does not accept it so gracefully and Karna tries to help but of course that goes wrong.

Master, you should end our contract and exit the Grail War.

Shut up! We'll make it work!

Karna also tried to explain to Shirou how attempting to live for a dead man's ideals would only hurt him. He tried to explain that 'hero of justice' was an unattainable goal and would lead the boy to break his own heart on the rock of futility. Oh course, instead of being compassionate as intended Shirou interpreted it as critical. Karna wished he knew how to give his wisdom in a manner that encouraged others to heed it. What good was Discernment of the Poor if no one would listen to his insights?

Well, it did Karna himself plenty of good so as soon as he saw the small magus and heard her call Shirou Onii-san, he changed his mind.

I apologize Master. If you had taken my advice and attempted to exit the Grail War, disaster would have followed.

Huh? What do you mean?

That child, Ilya, who called you brother. She sees you as the favored child, the one her father abandoned her for, and she hates you to the point of insanity. Without a Servant to protect you she will end your life, or worse. We can only continue.

Is that why your brother hated you?

That question almost makes Karna laugh because if anything, that is why he should hate Arjuna. Arjuna had everything, a mother and a father and a place. Karna had nothing at all, struggling even to find food at times. If he tried, he could remember years of hardship. He could remember the hot sun beating down, paining everyone else but warming him as he searched for snails by the riverbed. Why would Arjuna envy such an existence?

He does not. Arjuna hates Karna because he has eyes that see, and can find the fatal flaws in the 'perfect' hero. Because no one is perfect yet to Arjuna, perfection is all important. That is why he symbolizes rejection, as Karna does acceptance. Because perfection cannot abide flaws and everyone, everyone is flawed. Even Arjuna.

When Ilya reveals that her masked and cloaked Servant is actually Arjuna, Karna is not surprised. It makes sense. The two siblings will fight, just as these two siblings will fight. What does alarm him is the way Arjuna smiles, slowly widening into a grin. That is not Arjuna's smile and it stinks of madness.

I see. As Berserker, the darkness hidden in your nature is fully on display.

Yes. Isn't it glorious?

No.

Perhaps the most important difference between sane Arjuna and insane Arjuna, though, is that he no longer cares about perfection. His white clothing is stained and torn, as if he ran through the mud with it and he simply does not care. Karna finds that unnerving. It seems wrong to him, on a fundamental level and he is sure all of the Pandu brothers would feel the same.

Unfortunately the battle is entirely unequal. At first Karna has some hope in the form of his ally. Archer is with them, ordered by Tohsaka to accompany them. But she did not enforce her orders with a command seal and Karna and Shirou are both taken by surprise when Archer betrays them.

Why?

Can't you see, with your all-seeing eyes?

I see that you hate yourself and regret your choices but I still don't understand.

Then you never will.

At that point, their fate is sealed. Karna and Shirou both fight valiantly but are quickly overcome. But, to Karna's dread, they are not killed. Instead, he is pinned to the ground with several arrows that had deliberately missed his mana core. Shirou… is worse off. He should be bleeding to death from two severed legs but instead, he is still alive. Karna can sense his panic as white fingers wind through orange curls.

I've been waiting for this for ten years. It wouldn't be any fun if Onii-san died too soon, so I'll give you a hand. Will you give your Onii-san a hand, Arjuna?

Of course. Arjuna's fingers go through his hair and lift him up. The arrows are too deeply embedded in the ground to move and instead, they tear further through his lacerated flesh. Karna does not scream but he cannot hold back a gasp. That's a good sound. Make that sound again, Aniki.

Karna does not make that sound again. Instead, he musters every shred of energy he has left and devotes it to one thing. He yanks out of Arjuna's grip, tearing away hanks of hair, before flying at Shirou with his lance outstretched. Karna does not mean to kill Ilya. She could stop him and then they would be lost. Instead he aims at Shirou –

And more arrows tear through him just as a bird of blue magery impacts his lance, throwing it to the side. Then Berserker's blade hits him. It is only the flat but Karna can feel bones break as he's tossed away.

BERSERKER! BAKA! If he'd managed to kill Onii-san I would have made you take his place!

My apologies, Master. I forgot how determined my Onii-san can be. It will not happen again.

Make sure it doesn't! Aw, Shirou-nii-san, did you see that? Your Servant tried to kill you! That was smart of him wasn't it? But don't worry, we won't let that happen and soon you'll both be so pretty!

The lance dissipates and Karna knows he has nothing left. Arjuna still handles him carefully, mindful of Ilya's threat. Archer just leaves and Karna wonders, vaguely, what he will tell Rin. Also, what his future plans with Ilya are. But he will never know. Karna's story has come to an end, except for a painful epilogue.

They are both brought to the Einzbern castle and as Karna predicted, what follows is excruciating. They are kept together, so they can see each other suffering. The tortures gradually meld together but Karna notes that Arjuna particularly likes to gouge out his eyes. He regenerates them every time, so he can do it again. Ilya likes to play with Shirou's intestines. She says the noises he makes are particularly amusing. The only tortures they are spared are sexual ones.

Do you think I should do that to my Onii-san, Arjuna? I could because we still have those parts but it's awfully gross.

You can if you like but I'm not going to. Karna does not interest me in that fashion. Perhaps you should just remove them?

Oh, that's a great idea! I'll do that! It's not like Onii-san needs them anymore, right Onii-san?

I might do the same.

Well, perhaps not spared, but simple mutilation is still easier for Karna to cope with. His nature is acceptance and he manages to accept what is being done to him, despite the strain. Shirou has no such capacity and Karna can sense his Master slipping into madness. Yet every time he thinks that Shirou will truly lose his mind, something seems to jerk him back. It is not Ilya and Karna is horrified when he realizes it is the Master-Servant bond. His own inability to find insanity is preventing Shirou from falling into it as well. When Arjuna lets him speak, he apologizes for that, as well as everything else.

I am sorry I was not a better Servant. I am sorry I could not stop this. I am sorry I cannot stop the bond between us.

It's… oh… kh… M… s'ry… too…

Shirou had more trouble talking than Karna because one of his lungs was gone, completely, ruined in their capture. His mortal body could not be regenerated like a Servant so he could not truly draw breath, making speech difficult. Karna reflected how odd it was that they were learning to accept their new limitations.

Of course, they were not being tortured constantly. Arjuna and Ilya had a Grail War to win. That was hardly a reprieve, however. Karna was not human so tying him in a pose that would give a mortal no relief did not have much effect. Combining that with hooks, embedded in his flesh, was highly effective. Any movement he made was painful and no one could truly remain absolutely still, not even a Heroic Spirit. Shirou was simpler… Ilya just left him with knives embedded in his half-dead flesh, constantly feeling the pain.

Then one day the two of them came back and they both seemed perturbed.

I don't want to give him up. Arjuna sounded petulant. It was almost as jarring as his dirtied clothes.

It won't be forever and I can't maintain them like this anymore. I'm not debating this. Get your Onii-san and follow me. Arjuna snorted but Karna was being released, somewhat. The hooks were yanked roughly out of his flesh, causing more pain. His wrists were not unbound and he was tossed roughly over Arjuna's shoulder, being carried – where? Ilya's maids handled Shirou. Karna vaguely noticed the gunk that stained their clothes. It wasn't blood, exactly, but Shirou wasn't really alive anymore…

They were carried downstairs, deep into the dungeons. Karna was dumped unceremoniously on a cold stone floor. He tried to look up but Arjuna put a foot firmly on the back of his head, keeping his face pushed into the floor. Karna was just mustering up the strength to do… something completely futile, most likely… when magic washed over him and froze him in place.

Then, like a TV switched off, his awareness went out.


Karna woke up to more pain.

This time, though, it was from intense heat and a sensation of drowning. Opening his eyes he saw liquid bubbling in front of him. Fortunately it wasn't boiling or he would certainly be dead but he was in grave danger. Was he inside some kind of tube?

Karna couldn't have freed himself from the tube but he didn't need to. Part of the ceiling collapsed and he was lucky. Instead of simply crushing him it caved in the tube, crumpling it down and spitting him out like the seed from a mango. Gasping, Karna pushed himself up with shaking hands. Long white hair, longer than he was used to, flowed around him.

Get out right now! Karna immediately pulled himself to his feet, obeying. There was fire in front of him but behind was still clear.

"Yes Master," Karna said, knowing that voice was Shirou. Then he stopped. "Wait, your body – " Where was it?

I'm inside you, we have to keep moving! Oh. How interesting. Karna found the stairs and pelted up them into a scene of mayhem. To Karna's sad satisfaction, he could recognize a few fading remnants of Arjuna. And that pathetic little corpse lacking a heart was Ilya. It seemed eminently suitable, given that she'd never really had a heart. Karna blinked as he realized that thought wasn't like him. What had Ilya done to them?

The way out through the main doors was blocked by debris and flames but there were plenty of windows. A bit of broken masonry took care of one and then Karna was hauling himself out. As he did, he absently noted that he was quite naked. Also, distressingly, his body was female. He hadn't noticed at first because his breasts were almost non-existent. Karna dropped safely to the ground and ran away from the still burning building. Although, where was he going? He needed some clothes –

"Hm? What are you?" A strange man with golden hair and red eyes accosted him, examining him with vague curiosity. Karna hesitated for a moment.

"I don't know," he finally said, truthfully. He wasn't a Heroic Spirit and he wasn't a human. What was he? The stranger made a soft humming sound.

"An escapee from the laboratory. You are meaningless and I don't want to risk dirtying my coat with your blood," he said before turning away and Karna's half-formed thought – that he could ask for something to cover his nakedness – was immediately abandoned. Instead he just watched the man go, wondering who he could be. Was he the one who'd killed Ilya and Arjuna? If so they owed him a debt, although Karna thought the other man would react with derision at the thought. With Discernment of the Poor, Karna could sense someone who was so removed from humanity that he scarcely belonged to it anymore.

Dismissing that man from his mind, Karna looked around. The road was the obvious direction to take. Putting his feet in motion, Karna ignored the bite of twigs and stones in his tender feet. Hopefully he could reach the Emiya household by nightfall. And hopefully, no one would see him on the way.

This was going to be a very long walk.


"Ouch," Karna muttered as he carefully bandaged his feet. They were bleeding in numerous places. Such terribly tender feet, not roughly callused like his feet had been as a child.

He was in the Emiya household, which seemed completely empty. No Sakura, no Rin, nothing but an empty home. Not that Karna wanted to run into Rin. He could only hope Archer was dead. If not, meeting them would immediately put his life in danger.

Or perhaps not. After taking care of his feet – an urgent concern – Karna examined himself in the bedroom mirror. It was floor length, letting him take in everything.

"I am an Einzbern homunculus," Karna said after a long moment of staring. "Although a rather odd one." Some customization work had been done. His face and body were not typical of the breed. For a woman, he was very muscular and his breasts were extremely small. His face had a subtly masculine cast. After examining it for a time, Karna thought it vaguely resembled himself. It wasn't a copy by any measure but a stranger, seeing his original self and this homunculus side by side, might think her a daughter. The eyes, though, were a typical ruby red. "…Hn." Archer would not assume this was Karna.

And Shirou, a thought reminded him and Karna nodded, eyes still locked on his reflection.

"Are you separate from me?" Karna asked and there was a brief silence.

No. Ah, he'd thought so. How deeply had they merged? Sighing, Karna looked through Shirou's closet to find clothing. The underwear was… not right… but jeans and a t-shirt suited him.

He was painfully hungry so after finding some soft slippers to shuffle into Karna went to the kitchen. Moving without thought, he cracked some eggs in a bowl and began making tamagoyaki. It was fast and easy and his hands knew what to do.

Soon, four eggs had been folded into a neat log and Karna cut it to pieces before checking the rice cooker. There was rice inside, very fresh and warm and Karna pursed his lips at the sign that someone was living here. Wondering who it could be, he took a generous helping of rice before setting down to eat his fill.

The food was delicious and Karna ate every single bite down to the last grain of rice. Then he decided to take more rice out of the cooker. A second helping of rice, this time without eggs, finally satisfied him. Standing up, Karna grimaced at the weight of hair behind him. It was almost like a living thing, reminding him of a fish out of water.

Irritated by the weight of the hair, Karna went to the kitchen block and pulled out the shears. Grasping the hair, he pulled it to one side and then snipped it off in a quick motion. Looking at the mass of white hair in his hand – it had been past his buttocks? – Karna wondered what to do with it. Wasn't human hair valuable?

Deciding to put it aside for later, he found a plastic bag and put the hank of hair inside for safe keeping. Then he sat down at the table to drink some tea. The tea though… as he sat, his hands around the mug, Karna happened to look into the surface and saw the reflection of his red eyes.

Grimacing, Karna bent over and pressed a hand against his forehead as images rose up in his mind like dirty mud. Ilya smiling like an angel. Ilya stroking his cheek. Ilya sweetly telling him that he was so brave to withstand such pain. Karna forced the flashbacks down, feeling like he was swallowing poison. Yet he had no choice. This poison could not be regurgitated.

"Ah, I should have known I was too calm," Karna said to himself before taking a sip of the tea. It was good, warm and slightly bitter, just how tea should be. Resolutely finishing the tea, Karna decided to go rest.

He was very tired from his long walk home.