An idea that sparked into my head after reading such titles as Just an Unorthodox Thief and Fate Zero Sense. This one works on a similar premise, but as you'll see, it will go even further off the rails in some interesting ways (and without being cliche). To avoid spoilers, I won't include disclaimers for anything that has not been revealed. Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Zero.

Chapter 1: Assassin

Sixty years. That's how long the Holy Grail had to endure the corruption thrust upon it by the defeat of Avenger, really Angra Mainyu. To clarify, this wasn't the cup used by Jesus during the Last Supper. That cup was made from wood, to signify Jesus' humble nature as a carpenter. This version, however, was more a gateway between the physical plain and the spiritual Root that lay beyond, a plain many magi wished to reach for various reasons. The Grail was crafted to help with that, using a system that involved sacrificing the energy of seven spiritual servants.

To facilitate this, the Grail accesses the Throne of Heroes, a dimensional plain where mighty legends are given a final rest. Whether from Heaven, Earth, Human, Star, or Beast, these were beings truly worthy of the title for one reason or another. And the Throne had no concept of time or even space, so it even included heroes from the future or even other timelines. Though previous heroes summoned for the Holy Grail War system had been historical heroes.

Yes, the war. It was meant to facilitate the process of sacrificing the servants. Heroes deserved a better sacrifice than simply telling them to off themselves, though this would have to be done for at least one hero, hence the Command seals that were made after the war. Unfortunately, during the first war no one knew the final hero also had to be sacrificed, and the miracle of the Grail was wasted to understand the system. The second time, none of the three magi families that knew the secret won the war.

The third time, that was the real disaster. Some one else did figure out the system, but thought they could work around it by creating an eight class, so all seven sacrifices could be casualties of the war, thus allowing the Heroic Spirits a heroic end. This idea appealed to the Grail, but unfortunately the spirit chosen for the new Avenger class couldn't have been a worse pick. When Angra was defeated, his essence infused with the Holy Grail, corrupting it.

Worse, he realized what his newfound corruption could allow him to do. In another world, this would set off terrible consequences. But not here. Here the spirit of the Grail decided to do something that would allow her to reclaim the war. So she granted Angra's desire. Despite his name, Angra wasn't the actual God of Evil, just a simple village boy used as a scapegoat for the world's grievances. And what he wanted from the Grail was a chance to find real love again. So, the spirit of the Grail fulfilled that role.

Oh, Angra would still try to manipulate the Fourth Grail War to be reborn and destroy the world, but the Grail wouldn't let that happen. Of course, that desire to see humanity killed off was the only thing she didn't like about him. Other than that, he was an excellent partner. But right now, she was able to influence his choices thanks to their union. She watched as the various magi were selected, but Angra was having a hard time finding a seventh magi. In the meantime, the former Executioner and current magi Kirei Kotomine was making his summon. It was meant to be Hassan-i-Sabbah. But the Grail had someone else in mind.


Kirei wasn't sure what to make of the young man that appeared in Hassan-i-Sabbah's place. The man was wearing a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold trimmings, black jogger-style pants, and brown-black winklepickers. He adjusted a pair of red gloves and a black and white, bird-like domino mask. His hair was short, black, and unkempt, and behind the mask Kirei could see dark gray eyes. 'This was unexpected,' Kirei noted.

He wasn't sure how this would affect his alliance with Tokiomi Tohsaka. The idea was for Kirei to summon Hassan-i-Sabbah, send him against Tokiomi's planned summon of Gilgamesh and lose on purpose, thus sacrificing one of Hassan-i-Sabbah's lives and tricking the other Servants into thinking an early loss had occurred, then use the rest to perform reconnoissance against the rest of the Servants and Masters to make it easier for Tokiomi to win the Grail War.

This was the thinking of Kirei's father, Risei, who believed that Tokiomi was most worthy of laying hands on the Grail since his goal was purely access to the Root. But there was no telling if this new face was a match for Gilgamesh, and if he wasn't, he might only have a single life to spare. The young man finally noticed Kirei. "So, are you my Master?" Kirei decided there was nothing for it. If the Grail chose this Heroic Spirit, then it was better to bite the bitter apple. "I am." The man smirked. "Then our contract is sealed. I am Ren Amamiya, but you can call me Joker. Or Assassin, since that is my class."

That was not a name Kirei had ever heard of. This young man clearly styled himself as a phantom thief in the same vein as Arsene Lupin, but with a more modern adaptation. "I should mention," Assassin said, "Even though I was given the class of Assassin, I've never actually killed before. In fact, the only reason I was given this class is because I embody the stealth expected of such Servants. However, that doesn't mean I cannot fight." "That's good to hear," Kirei said, "Because we need to start making plans right away. It won't be long before the other Servants are summoned." He wasn't sure what to make of this development, but he at least hoped Tokiomi's side of things were going smoothly.

To be continued...

Class: Assassin

Real Name: Ren Amamiya "Joker"

Noble Phantasms:

Paradise Lost: Assassin's strongest blade, short but quick and capable of devastating damage in a short amount of time, and will always find its mark unless said mark decides to get out of the way.

God of a Thousand Demons: Assassin's trusty semi-auto handgun. It never misses unless an opponent is able to dodge.

Satanael: Assassin's ultimate Persona. When summoned it launches a devastating attack called Sinful Shell, which is powerful enough to kill a god. There's no escaping this attack, but it does require a lot of mana from Assassin's Master to pull off.

Phantom Thieves of Heart: Assassin's Phantom Thief gang with which he pulled off plenty of heists and can summon at will. Each has their own unique skill set and each can revive Assassin once per day should he get killed, giving him eight extra lives per day.

Velvet Room: A place that exists between dreams and reality. Assassin can open the door of this room to call forth any Persona he has awakened. With enough mana, he can unleash them all at once.

Mementos: The shared Palace of humanity, Assassin can enter this Palace and change the hearts of whoever he feels he has to. This Noble Phantasm is tied to Assassin specifically, and thus requires no mana from his Master.

I often find it difficult to quantify stats with certain characters, so I won't bother. But I will explain what their Noble Phantasms can do. And yes, the fact that Assassin gets eight extra lives instead of seven means Crow is included as part of his Phantom Thieves of Heart Noble Phantasm. The first seven chapters of this fic will be introducing the new Servants. And with that in mind... Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.