A/N: Welcome to the first official chapter of One Sunny Day! For those who want an update to Die Another Day, fear not! I shall start work on the next chapter once this is posted! But for now, enjoy this Fate/Stay Night x RWBY crossover! This time, starring your favorite (or not) Servant, Archer! This incarnation of him will be just after the events of Fate UBW, as you can probably guess from the first few paragraphs.

Editor/Creative Assistant: Paragon of Awesomeness


Chapter One:

Summons


A man garbed in red stood on a rocky ledge, his form surrounded by ethereal wisps of blue energy. He watched the beautiful sunrise, skirting the horizon, flooding the world with a myriad of warm oranges and yellows. Over the ledge was a beautiful and serene forest, kissed by the radiance of the sun before him, with hills rolling off into the horizon like waves in a never-ending ocean. The world was beautiful this way, and it reminded him of the ideals he tried so hard to uphold, once upon a time.

It was for this, the world, and all its people. Alas, years and years of killing and cleaning up after humanity had long since left him jaded and bitter, betrayed by the ideals he held so closely. Even so, deep inside him, he might have even believed that he should've kept trying.

"Archer!" A teenage girl ran up behind him, panting from exhaustion. "Archer..." Rin called out to her Servant in desperation.

The man put his hand on his hip, his eyes never leaving the horizon. "It's a shame, really, but it is what it is. Give up on the Grail Rin, at least for now."

Rin tried to speak out, but instead put her head down in resignation.

"... hehe." The Counter Guardian chuckled, the teasing part of his personality never leaving him, even when on the brink death. As grating as it was for Rin, it seemed like a breath of fresh air.

"Wha-What's with that!" she yelled, stepping forward and drawing her arms to the side, glaring at the back of his head. "Are you laughing at me right now, what's so funny!?"

Archer turned towards her, arms open wide as he gave her a shrug. "Yeah, sorry about that, but you just looked so pathetic I couldn't help myself." Rin put her arms down, dumbstruck at the Servant's behavior. "I was thinking, how the two of us make one sorry looking pair."

She pulled her arms closer to her chest. As much of a pain as he was, Rin knew that she truly wanted him to stay with her and be her Archer again. "Archer, I want you to pact with me again, okay?"

"I'm afraid I can't," he answered, turning away. Though he tried to hide it, there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. "I doubt it would be allowed. And besides, I no longer have a goal. Like it or not, my battle ends here." In the beginning of all this, he had been adamant on ending Shirou Emiya's life. He hoped that if he did so, his existence as a Counter Guardian would become void, as Shirou would never be able to make the pact with Alaya. He despised his younger self for his naïveté, holding onto the ideals that betrayed and damned his future self.

However, as the Holy Grail War continued, he could never seem to kill his past self, and in the end, he decided to save him from the clutches of the tainted Grail.

"But-but that means- that no matter how much time passes, you won't..." Rin put her head down, not needing to end her sentence. They both knew what was unsaid.

"Huh," he gasped, turning back towards her. He put his hand behind his ear sheepishly. "That was unexpected."

"Rin," he continued. The girl in question raised her head up and looked at her soon to be gone Servant. "Keep an eye on me. I'm helpless, but you already know that. So just... be there for me."

"...Archer. " The young magus had tears in the corners of her cerulean eyes. Archer knew that the young girl had captured the heart of his younger self. Looking at her, he knew why. The determination she had was extraordinary, and her genius was unrivaled. If there was anyone that could keep his younger self from turning into the jaded man he now was, it would be her.

'Yes, she'll definitely good for Shirou,' Archer mused. His form was already almost gone, vanishing into blue wisps of energy.

The young magus wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Okay... I got it. I promise I'll try. I'll do my best to make sure that he doesn't turn into a jerk like you," she joked, the smile returning to her face and tears gone. "And I promise that I'll do all I can to get him to learn to like himself. You do the same, okay?"

"That's good enough for me," the man responded with relief in his voice. "Don't worry Tohsaka, I'll be fine. I swear, I'll try my hardest from now on," he ended with a genuine smile adorning his usually harsh visage. He looked so much more like his younger self with the tension gone from his face, and just for a second Rin thought she was seeing Shirou fade away instead of the Heroic Spirit EMIYA. But by the time she had snapped out of her stupor, his form had finally vanished from the world, returning to the Throne of Heroes, awaiting once again to be called to serve as humanity's protector.

The sun rose brightly and shined upon the world Archer had once given up on. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for it to be saved. The lonely bowman would finally rest after his long battle. Soon, there will be another. But instead, he did not dread the day that battle would come. He'll go forth once again, and hopefully, in time, he will forgive himself. And maybe, even the world.

'Shirou, Rin, the fate of this world rests in your hands.'


Jaune was woken by the buzzing of his scroll. "Uhguhh wha?" he coughed out. He pulled the device up in front of his face and saw that Ruby was calling him.

"Uhhh... hello?" he answered groggily, still half-asleep. Instead of an audible reply, all that he heard was loud static and noise on the other end, startling him. "Agh!"

The knight looked at his scroll again, wondering why his fellow team leader would call him at such late of an hour. The sun hadn't even risen yet, meaning he should still be asleep. He couldn't help but feel concerned, however, as it was odd for her to call at this time. From what he could recall, Team RWBY was out on their own mission, which did nothing to quell his fears.

"Ghuh, Ruby." He needed to get back to sleep, having his own mission to carry out once the day began. He couldn't help but let a small frown mar his face, knowing deep down something was wrong. There was always the possibility that she butt dialed him, from the lack of a response, but the fact that she was on a mission made it less likely.

He clutched the device tightly in his hand, not able to shake of the fear that something bad was happening to them.

'I'll tell them in the morning, I hope it won't get in the way of our own mission,' he thought.

With that, he put his scroll down on his nightstand and drifted back off to a dreamless sleep.


"I'm sure they're fine!" Pyrrha claimed, no trace of doubt present in her voice.

"You think?" Jaune asked with uncertainty. Even though he knew team RWBY was very capable, he still had doubts as to their current conditions.

"Probably a butt dial~" Nora singsonged, skipping her way to the bullhead.

"Team RWBY has always performed exceptionally in the field," Ren voiced his opinion. "We should be focusing on our own mission."

"We're gonna be deputies!" Nora exclaimed, no doubt excited at the prospect of their own mission.

"I... just have this feeling... I don't know," he said, still concerned about team RWBY.

"Jaune-" Pyrrha started, before they all heard a loud siren coming from the main metropolis of Vale. Just behind them, Beacon let out its own alarm, making team JNPR all turn around at the sudden noise.

'Crap, I was right.' Jaune mentally cursed.

"We're changing our mission, everyone on board!" he ordered. He just hoped that they would arrive on time to actually help.

The blonde knight headed towards the bullhead first, the others following suit.

Before Ren could board, Jaune pulled him aside. "Ren. We'll make it out to the village another time." Ren just nodded at that, understanding his leader's change of plans. It seemed as if Jaune was right from the beginning.

"Take us to the city!"


Team RWBY looked around the the plaza, the horde of Grimm staring them down as if they were going to be lunch. There seemed to be no end to the Grimm pouring out of the blasted hole, essentially making it so that the plaza was just a sea of black and white.

Before the Grimm could get the drop on them, they leapt into action.

Ruby leapt towards a pack of Beowolves, slamming her scythe on the ground, lodging the blade in the concrete. She used it to rotate herself, kicking out at the circle of Grimm around her. Before she could finish her attack, however, an Ursa barreled through her enemies, charging into her and throwing her further down the street.

"Ahhh!" the rosette yelled out, striking her scythe towards the ground in order to stop her momentum. The Ursa immediately went out to tear her apart, but before it could attempt even one slash, Ruby fired a few rounds at it and used her semblance to reach its position and finish it off with a vertical slash upwards. However, four more Ursai converged around her position. Before they charged however, she saw a pink and white blur from the distance.

"Nora!" Ruby shouted in surprise. She had thought they had their own mission, but the backup was very much appreciated.

Once Nora reached close to the ground, she hammered one of the Ursai before hopping back down next to Ruby.

"Let's break their legs!" the Valkyrie exclaimed, leaping up into the air to deliver another bludgeon to the Ursai around them.

Ruby on the other hand lashed out at them with a generous number of large swipes and slashes with her scythe.

"Rahhh!" She shouted as she took down the Grimm around her.

While they were momentarily clear, Nora heard her team leader's orders. "Team JNPR! Here! We have to help any civilians that didn't manage to get out of here. Quickly!"

With that, Ruby found herself alone again while Nora went to follow the rest of her team. A large Boarbatusk was her next opponent.

The beast let out a bloodcurtling scream before bunching up into its ball form and rolling out at Ruby. Instead of trying to meet it head on, however, she simply dove to the side and let it smash into an empty building behind her. While it tried to regain its senses after crashing into the windows, Ruby was able to lay down a couple of powerful strikes at its underbelly, felling the Grimm before it could do any more damage.

There was no reprieve, however, as she found herself surrounded by even more Grimm, a King Taijitu being among them. Yang managed to land right next to her after shooting out at the sky.

"How ya doing, sis? You Yanging in there?" Yang punned as they both held off the various Grimm before them.

"Ya~aang, this isn't the time for puns!" Ruby groaned as she killed a few more Beowolves around her. Even if she was able to eliminate them all, even more seemed to take their place.

Atlas military droids leapt out from the airships, finally giving the huntresses-in-training some much appreciated reprieve. However, as they went to eliminate some of the Grimm, there weren't enough of them to properly manage the monsters, many of them already getting torn apart by the beasts.

Yang heard the noise of an engine and saw a bullhead converging on their position, four figures jumping out of the cargo hold into the center of the plaza. Immediate, dozens upon dozens of Grimm began to surround them.

"Is that Team CFVY? The second year team?" Yang asked, relieved at their seniors' appearance. However, it seemed like they were already having a lot of trouble, the sheer amount of Grimm giving them little space to maneuver and barely any room for error.

Even as they killed hundreds of Grimm, more poured out of the godforsaken hole. They seemed to replace their downed comrades twofold, and as the battle went on, the Grimm only seemed to get bigger, meaner, and even scarier. Ruby and Yang were beginning to have some trouble real trouble fighting the Grimm, already having expended a good chunk of their Aura during this fight, which had seemingly no end in sight.

"Damnit! There's just too many of them!" Yang screamed as she took down another Ursa Major, expending a great chunk of her ammo to take out even a small portion of the horde of Grimm pouring from the hole.

"I know Yang, but we just can't give up on this! Vale's counting on us!" Ruby yelled back, taking out a pack of Beowolves with a spin of her scythe, Crescent Rose.

Even as she took them out, even more burst from the hole in the ground to replace them. Ursai and their larger counterparts, Ursa Majors, poured out in droves. King Taijitus slithered out while Deathstalkers creeped towards their prospective prey.

Ruby looked around. The amount of Grimm was astounding, it scared her to even think about it. There were already the bodies of civilians that were caught up in the breach littering the streets. Team CFVY's and the mechs' assistance certainly helped, but the latter was already reduced to scraps and the former was surrounded by at least a few hundred large Grimm; Coco's weapon being the only thing keeping them at bay, with the rest of her team trying to fend of the smaller creeps and occasional pest that got past Coco's fire. However, with more and more Grimm coming to support their brethren, they too would be overwhelmed.

Team JNPR went out to try and keep the Grimm away from the civilian population. Even so, she could still hear the screams of people being preyed on by the monsters. It made her want to hurl. It was all so disgusting. She wanted to help save people, but how could she if against an enemy this overwhelming?

"Ruby, look out!" she heard Blake scream, as a large Beowolf tried to sneak up behind her. Blake shot out a few rounds from Gambol Shroud to distract it for a bit, and it managed to work temporarily, making the Beowolf roar at her instead of continuing its assault on Ruby.

"Take this you freak!" Ruby yelled as she repeatedly shot at it while managing to avoid its claws. "HIIIIYAAAAHH!" With one final war cry, she shot out a round, letting the recoil carry her around, taking out a few more creeps around her, and felling the Beowolf that had been so close to taking her life.

Weiss on the other hand was a bit closer to Yang now, taking on what seemed like a dozen different types of Grimm with a Deathstalker not far off. She managed to dance around her opponents with grace, twisting and turning through the air with the elegance of a seasoned ice skater, but lashed out and attacked with the ferocity of a trained warrior. Even with her skill, her downed opponents were quickly replaced with more and more Grimm. Even if she could take them all on, soon she would run out of stamina and aura. Her glyphs were a boon, but without any kind of reprieve from the assault, it was only a matter of time and luck before she lost.

A loud roar tore through the plaza. It made both human and Grimm stand at attention. The roar caused every human and faunus that heard it instinctively shudder in terror. It was so utterly primal, yet it seemed to call out to all the Grimm around them. Even Team CFVY stood stock-still, too stunned to take advantage of the temporarily frozen Grimm surrounding them.

"W-What was that," Weiss heard Yang ask shakily. They have never heard such a noise from a Grimm. The roar was so powerful and commanding, it was as if it was an absolute command to run and hide, or be consumed.

Weiss didn't grace her teammate with an answer. Instead, she shook the brawler's shoulder and pointed towards the hole in the ground where they had come from. Yang's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when she saw the source of the disturbance.

An enourmous Grimm, larger than any of the Majors that crawled out of the hole stood, poised on top of all the rubble. It looked nothing like any of the Grimm they had previously faced. It had bat-like wings the color of a raven's, extending out further than even that of a Nevermore. Multiple bone protrusions sprouted from the edge of its wings, and Weiss didn't need a demonstration to know that they were razor sharp.

Its body was that of a lion, an extremely large one at that. Its fur was as black as the night. A large intricate mask adorned its face, and towards the top large horns stuck out, shaped much like the crown of a twisted, cruel monarch. Its mane made it seem as if it was shrouded by darkness itself. The tail of the unholy beast was covered with large plates all the way down to the tip, where a large golden stinger lay, much like a Deathstalker's . Bile colored venom oozed from the tip, and occasionally dropped onto the cement where it sizzled and left holes large enough for a grown man to fit into.

"I-Is that..." Weiss started, not able to conjure up the words to finish her sentence.

The creature was a Manticore, the stuff of Vacuoan legend, millennia old with a primal intelligence lying beneath its blood red eyes.

The unholy creature bared its teeth, multiple rows of jagged canines taking residence in its mouth. Weiss didn't notice it at first but the other Grimm around them began to howl and roar at the sky, as if their victory was assured and their king has come to lead them to victory. And much like any king, this one had come with its royal guard.

Smaller Grimm emerged from the hole to stand beside the Manticore, numbering about a dozen. They were like mountain lions, except their fur was black and their masks were oddly a shade of gray with yellow lines ornamenting them. There was no trace of red. They surrounded their leader; prowling around low to the ground, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"GROAARGGG!" it trumpeted, leaping into the sky. Its wings blotted out the sun and the lion-Grimm sprung into action. Four of them targeted Yang and Weiss, four more taking on Ruby and Blake, while the final four went to assault Team CFVY.

"Get ready, Ice Queen!" Weiss heard Yang getting her gauntlets ready for another round. She shot out a few shells at the advancing Grimm, but they proved to be too fast and agile, leaping from side to side, scrambling their positions to confuse the pair of huntresses-in-training, all the while avoiding anything Weiss of Yang shot out at them.

Two of them pounced at the pair of huntresses, claws ready to strike. Weiss was barely able to get under it, flipping into a handstand to kick the underside of the Grimm. She was successful, but the it was more agile than a normal Grimm so it just rolled into the ground then went back to face off against her a second time. Yang on the other hand was able to get above hers and shot out a few rounds at its back, but the creature twisted out of the way and landed right next to the one that had assaulted Weiss.

The other two were on the other side of the girls, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

"What are these things?" Yang asked Weiss, her hands poised to strike if any of them dared to approach. Instead, the lion-Grimm just decided to circle the girls.

"My sister had told me about these things. I believe she had called them Sabrefangs. They're extremely fast and agile and are much more intelligent than the typical Grimm," Weiss answered her team member, her eyes never leaving the Sabrefang.

The first pair of them finally resumed their assault, but Weiss was ready this time. She fired a few rounds of ice Dust at the ground around the beasts, creating a wall of jagged ice that trapped two of the Sabrefangs inside of it. However, it was just a distraction, as while Yang was busy with another Sabrefang, one managed to get past her and swipe out at Weiss, taking out a huge chunk of her Aura and smashing her through her own ice wall, sending her rolling across the street.

"Weiss!" Yang turned to face towards her friend, but that was a grave mistake. One of the Sabrefangs took the opening and slashed out at Yang, throwing her into a brick building just behind Weiss.

"Oh no! Yang, are you alright?" Weiss asked, running towards the downed form of the resident brawler. Slowly but surely Yang was able to get up, using a ledge behind her as support.

"I'm okay, Weiss-Cream. It's gonna take more than that to take me dow-owwww damnit," Yang cursed, clutching the side where the Sabrefang swiped at her.

"You're not okay! I know you're strong Yang but let me handle this for a bit," the girl in white ordered her.

"You won't be able to take them down on your own," Yang pointed out. "They're just as fast as we are and they've already gotten the drop on us. We need to stay together."

"...You're right," Weiss admitted. She hated when she was wrong but Yang had a point: she was toast if she tried to take on four Sabrefangs alone. "Once we kill these ones, we can go over and back up Ruby and Blake."

Weiss glanced over at her other two teammates and saw that the former White Fang member and her team leader were slowly getting overpowered by the combination attacks of their own Sabrefangs.

"Let's go!" Yang hollered, rushing towards the Grimm with her arms cocked back to strike. Weiss followed suit, charging into the fray alongside her friend. Instead of punching towards the four powerful Grimm, Yang turned back around, halting her assault, arms down and hands joined, awaiting Weiss. The heiress reached her and with a great surge of energy, Yang thrusted her arms up and over her head, propelling the petite girl up and over the Grimm.

Weiss twisted her body and pointed Myrtenaster downwards, a round of Dust already primed to fire. A glyph appeared above her, propelling her straight down. She shot her round down at the ground and then surged towards the four Sabrefangs. Yang was already able to leave the vicinity while the four Sabrefangs just stared up at their impending defeat. Once Weiss reached the ground, it cracked and shattered, and a cone of ice formed around her, trapping the Sabrefangs in its cold embrace.

Weiss meanwhile simply hopped out of her construct and Yang ran up to her, pumping her fists at their minor yet awesome victory.

"Awww yeah Weiss! We totally showed them who's boss!" Yang cheered. However, their victory was short lived as a large shadow was cast over the two girls.

"Move!" Weiss ordered, pushing Yang out of the way and hopping out of the way.

The Manticore crashed through Weiss's ice like a hammer through glass, shattering its servants trapped inside the structure. Like all Grimm, they began to fade away into nothingness upon their death.

"GRAWWWWW!" the creature roared, a shockwave extending out from its mouth, forcing Yang and Weiss to hold their ground at the incoming barrage of air.

"Shit!" Yang cursed, holding her hands in front of her, eyes narrowing at the onslaught of air. Her hair thrashed chaotically behind her, undoing the hours of work she put into styling it in the morning. After the shockwave passed, Weiss and Yang stared at the single lock of hair floating in front of them.

"Y-You... YOU BASTARD!" Yang cried out, charging her opponent without abandon.

"Yang no!" Weiss shouted at the girl turned war machine, but it was to no avail. Yang continued her charge, but what happened when she reached the beast was what surprised Weiss the most. Or more specifically, how it happened.

With a show of incredible agility, the massive Grimm twisted itself around Yang's fist, avoiding the shotgun rounds that she shot out at it. Once she was past its front half, it opened its wings while it was still twisting like a bullet out of a barrel and it hammered the buxom blonde into the nearest building at an what would've been literal breakneck speed were it not for the brawler's Aura. While Yang thankfully wasn't hurt, she didn't get back up either.

"What on Remant is this thing?" Weiss asked herself without thinking. As if the beast understood her, it let out a rumbling snarl and began to stalk towards her. The snow angel was briefly stupefied by the fact that this giant monster was taking the time to focus on her, and was barely able to react as she tried to protect herself from all of its swift strikes with her defensive glyphs. However, with a show of agility not befitting a beast of such size, it was able to bypass her defenses and land a singular jab at her stomach, which drained out the rest of her Aura and rocketed her down the street.

She was still able to retain her grace and instead of crashing into the asphalt, she flipped a few times into a low crouch. However without her Aura, she wouldn't be able to withstand another attack lest she suffer real harm.

"Weiss!" she heard her team leader and partner yell out towards her. She looked to her right and saw Ruby and Blake sprinting towards her.

"Ruby! Go get your sister! She was thrown into the that building over there by this thing. Go before it collapses on top of her!" Weiss pled her partner.

"Yang's hurt! Oh nononono, I'm gonna get you Yangggg!" Ruby shouted, already heading towards the almost collapsed building, rose petals trailing her retreating form.

"Just hang in there Weiss!" Blake said while getting Gambol Shroud ready. However, the Manticore was intelligent enough not to let them combine forces, so without warning it shot towards the faunus girl, grabbed her with its tail, and threw her a few buildings blocks away from the current battlefield.

"Blake, no!" Weiss cried out in desperation. That hit might not have been enough to take out her aura, but the landing would surely be debilitating.

The Manticore stared down at Weiss and that was when she knew she was going to die. It charged towards her, one of its forelegs ready to strike and she was barely able to block it with her rapier before it caused her to barrel into a shop window of a building.

Her head was spinning and she could see stars. Weiss could barely make out a few patches of light around her, and the blood pouring down her forehead obscured almost everything else. With a shaking hand she took a red jeweled pendant off from around her neck, one that she hadn't taken off once in ten long years, but knowing full well that it was her and her team's last shot at surviving this ordeal.


A small, pale girl sat in the middle of a large interior garden. She was absolutely fascinated with all of the beautiful flowers and the serene atmosphere made in an ideal place to wander and observe during her free time. Her family was extremely strict, always expecting the best of her and scolding her harshly if she ever did anything even remotely deviant or rebellious. And it certainly didn't help that the White Fang always seemed too cause her father to become bitter and frustrated, placing even more stress on the already very busy man, often leaving him overflowing with frustrations that he was all to happy to take out on his youngest child.

This garden was a place where she was able to get away from all of that, at least for a little while. Her own little sanctuary where she could forget about all the bad things in the world.

She heard someone stepping into the area, tensing up, hoping that this intruder wasn't one of the more stuck-up maids, which was to say almost all of them, or heavens forbid her father.

The girl with the snow white hair turned around and instantly loosened her muscles. Instead, it was her big sister, Winter, who had come into the garden. She was dressed in a crisp white uniform, consisting of a long sleeved collared blouse with a dark grey tie with an equally immaculate set of white slacks. It was the uniform of Schwarz academy, Atlas' primary combat school for huntsmen and huntresses, completion of which was required in all but name for anyone who wanted to be accepted into Atlas Academy. Winter was eight years older than her little sister Weiss, already on her way to becoming one of the most prestigious huntresses in Atlas. Her admission to Atlas Academy was all but certain at this point, and General Ironwood himself has already set his sights on making her part of the Atlas Military's special forces once she graduated from Atlas Academy.

"I knew I could find you here, Weiss. You seem to be a bit upset. May I ask what the problem is?" the older girl asked. She could see the pent up anger in Weiss' visage, and a few of her hairs were out of place, most likely from running.

"It's Daddy, he's always mad and stuff, and I just want to help but he always scolds me and tells me to go away and not…" she struggled to remember that word her father seemed to like using "interfere. But I just want to help him so he isn't so mad all the time..." Weiss complained, tears starting to leak out from her eyes. She couldn't fully comprehend the situation with the White Fang at such a young age. All she could see is that whenever something happened involving them and her father, it made him extremely upset and irritable. It's been a more usual occurrence as of late, and little Weiss was frustrated herself. She couldn't do anything for the her Father and it made her upset that he only seemed to treat her as an annoyance.

"Weiss," the girl looked up as she felt her sister's hand rest on her cheek. Our father can be… you know how he is. Just don't worry about him be for now, and try to understand that he's not truly angry with you. It's a difficult time for everyone in the company, him more than anyone. The Schnee Dust Company has been accused of labor abuse, specifically against our faunus workers, and the White Fang has become far more radical and violent in recent times. No one can handle all of that pressure, at least not without difficulty. That's what's making him mad, Weiss, not you."

The younger sister's lip slowly stopped quivering, but the sad look in her face remained. "I just… I just want to help Daddy." she sniffed.

Winters's expression softened as she beheld her little sister. Weiss was far too young to even understand, let alone help with a situation such as this. She needed something to take her mind off of it. But it couldn't just be something simple like going out for ice cream. 'What could… wait… that could work.' "Weiss," the elder sibling spoke, reaching to remove something from around her neck she kept tucked under her clothes. "I have something here for you."

"A present?" Weiss asked, excitement now shining in her eyes.

"Yes," Winter confirmed, "a very special one." And she revealed a pendant with a brilliant red gem dangling on the end of it to her little sister.

"It's so pretty…" the younger Schnee breathed in wonder as her eyes reflected the red stone before her.

"This pendant is an heirloom for our family, a gemstone comprised of the highest quality of Dust known throughout Remnant, passed down through the Schnee bloodline ever since the dawn of the kingdoms. Some say it was one of the first pieces of Dust to ever be found by man on Remnant, there is no other like it in the world." Winter said with a smile.

The gem itself was triangular, the color that of blood. It wasn't extravagant but it was absolutely beautiful. The clasp that linked it and the chain was marked with a tiny cross one could barely make out, with the chain itself being pure silver. Despite the care that had been shown to it over the centuries, it was still very old and rather worn in some places, but it was still unquestionably beautiful.

"Weiss, I'm giving this to you not just as a gift but as a tool. While it is a family heirloom, it is still comprised of Dust, and that means it can be used as such. If you decide to become a huntress like I have, keep this with you at all times. And you're ever in an extremely pressing situation that means your life or death, flood the stone with Aura and shatter it. It holds a great amount of power. What that power does I can't say, I doubt even Father knows. But this gem is made of the highest quality dust known to the Kingdoms. I'm sure it will be useful should you ever need it. But only if you absolutely need it, understood?" Winter explained to her little sister.

"I understand Winter! Thank you so much! I'll be sure to get so good and strong that I won't ever need to use it, then once I'm as amazing as you, I can give it back!" Weiss exclaimed, puffing her chest out with confidence.

"I'm sure you'll make a fine huntress one day, dear little sister." Winter reassured her, clasping the pendant around her around her adorable sister's neck.

Once Weiss' skin touched the jewel though, she had to clutch her head in pain, dropping down to her knees with a cry of pain.

"Weiss? Weiss! What's wrong?!" Weiss barely heard her sister over the influx of energy and information pouring out from the jewel. She saw brief flashes of barren battlefields littered with swords and bladed weapons of every make. She saw a man with hair as white as the first snow of winter garbed in tight fitting black armor, bleeding all over, smiling bitterly as he alone looked over the battlefield. She saw a girl in a red sweater, yelling out a name in utter desperation that was so foreign to her ears. The last thing she saw was the same man in a torn red cloak and the same black armor smiling serenely, the sun rising behind him.

Young Weiss Schnee fell into her sister's arms, her head spinning and vision fading to black. She could barely make out the outline of her sister's head right in front of her, barely even aware as Winter cried out to her in desperation.

"Call a doctor, William, now! I don't know what's happened to Weiss. It seems as if..." She couldn't hear her sister finish her statement. The world faded to black as she began to dream of swords, battles, and a man with snow kissed hair and sun-kissed skin.


"I promised myself that I would never need to use this..." Weiss complained to herself, setting the pendant on the ground in front of her. Beyond the shop window, the Manticore stood, about to pounce on top of her.

"I'm sorry Winter, I won't be able to give this back to you after all. But right now it's not just my life on the line."

She used her rapier to draw a glyph, with the center of it being the triangular jewel that Winter had entrusted on her a long ten years ago. The Manticore saw her actions and roared in fury at the puny human's defiance, abandoning the nimble approach in its rage as it simply crashed into the building, causing it to collapse around the girl. It bared its teeth, ready to rend Weiss limb from limb if the stone did not crush her, but before the rubble could reach her, she smashed the tip of her rapier into the jewel, shattering it and releasing a wave of incredible energy around her.

With that, all she saw was a flash of white.


The Heroic Spirit EMIYA did not know how long it has been since he had parted with his master of the fifth Holy Grail War. Time in the Throne of Heroes did not exist in the same manner as it did in the physical world. He could see flashes of a few battles here and there, but oddly enough, he hadn't been summoned by the Counter Force since the War and was more than content to let that be.

He reflected on the happenings of the most recent version of the fifth Grail War, clinging onto the memories of before he faded away. EMIYA had finally acknowledged the existence of the boy, Shirou Emiya. After a battle of wills and spirits, swords and bows, Archer found himself defeated at the hands of the boy, having been unable to break his spirit. Despite everything, despite knowing the truth, the boy still held onto his dreams. The boy had even discovered his own inner world, brighter and more beautiful than his own had ever been.

Archer fought fairly with the boy, letting the sentimentality override the rationality that would have allowed him just kill his younger self instantly. Instead, he first toyed with him, giving him the time that he needed to bridge the gap in between their abilities. Archer couldn't understand at first why the boy still strove to go on, still fought against him even if both knew that the older one was right, that the younger was weaker even if he drew on his older self's skills. He saw the hell he was put through as they crossed blades, but instead of being scared or even disgusted, he wished to go into that Hell.

"Hey, you know that's Hell you're walking into."

But the boy didn't care. He didn't care at all. Not for the fact that the Guardian was right, not for the fact that his dream was hypocritical, foolish and borrowed, not for the fact that he would have to face that Hell if he continued to fight and trudge his way through the same path that the Guardian once had.

"If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong."

It did not matter if it was hypocrisy. It did not matter that the Guardian was right and the boy was wrong. In the end, it only matters whether or not the boy believed his path to be right, and when Archer believed it to be wrong, he became wrong.

Still, the boy fought on. It shouldn't have surprised him. After all, they were two sides of the same coin. He knew his own stubbornness, his own will to keep moving forward. In a way, he could understand. In fact he understood better than anyone. That's why he had accepted his own defeat at the hands of the boy, and even saved him from the King of Heroes.

He reflected constantly on all of this. On his promise to Rin. He understood why his younger self ended up falling for her. In the end, she would be the one to keep Shirou true to his ideals. In his own path, he walked alone. However, Shirou won't have to go through his path alone. There would be a friend, a woman that loved him dearly, that she would push Shirou to keep going even when he lost the will to do so.

Maybe the difference between him and Shirou had been just that. During his own life, he'd been alone, even if physically he was not. His shoulders bore the weight of the world, and not once did he think that he could let someone else share even the smallest part of the burden with him. That's what broke him in the end.

No one should be forced to bear that alone, whether it's by their own choice or not. Sacrificing one's own happiness for the good of humanity is a beautiful goal indeed, but if one were to keep that dream to oneself, the burden of the dream would indeed crush them in the end.

Alas, his Luck rating never did him any favors, and he found himself to be pulled towards another world, assuming that he was to do the cruel yet ultimately necessary bidding of Alaya once again. He hoped that it was not for another Grail War as the Grail was tainted beyond belief and he would rather not be caught up in the pointless bloodshed that would always ensue. He would find that his wish was granted, but soon, EMIYA would realize the fatal error in his desires and would know that wherever he was sent to, would be much more trouble than any Grail War or evil Zoroastrian Deity could possibly be.

In a flash of light, he left the Throne of Heroes to once again, be the deterrent to the destruction of mankind. However, the threat would lie not just in humanity, but in another, far more monstrous existence, in the world he was sent to.


When the light died down, she saw that her glyph was not the normal snowflake pattern but a much more intricate one, with a six pointed star replacing it, and a wide variety of runes and symbol of unknown origin contained within it. The glyph was glowing red, her rapier still lodged in the center.

The Manticore halted its charge momentarily, stunned by the flash, but then letting out what seemed like a dark chuckle as the walls around her crumbled and fell. She could see its disgusting mask reaching out to kill her as the walls closed in and formed her coffin and resting place.

She crumpled down, accepting her death, closing her eyes and awaiting the worst. She let out a chuckle of her own, morbidly amused at the fact that she was going to die in such a manner.

Before death's cold embrace could reach her, however, she heard a deep, masculine voice roar out in defiance.

"RHO AIAS!"


A/N: Hello and welcome to v2 of Chapter 1 of OSD. Fear not! I have not just thrown out the other happenings, and they should be in chapter two, which I should have posted with this. Thank you all very much for the reviews as they were absolutely needed as my pacing was incredibly bad and the usage of almost all the aria lines for Trace Bullet obviously too much. It'll be different, trust me.

S/O to Paragon of Awesomeness for the review which led to the string of PMs that allowed me to make this story better, being extremely helpful and the scene with Winter wouldn't have been as good without the edits and changes. Like, wow, my original and my edited version (which trust me, was quite a bit longer than the first one) were just not the same. Paragon edited both of the new chapters and helped me greatly with a few plot points that needed to be thought out for the future of this story.

On another note, wow. I believe there were about 20 reviews and almost 2000 views and just under 100 favs and follows within a few days of release. Like, wow! That's insane! Like my other story already had 4 chapters out and I consider it of better quality than my first version of OSD's first chapter, but it still has about half the likes and follows of OSD. I'll be updating that story before September ends. Trust me.

Peace out!