A/N: Hey there! I know what you all are probably thinking, "What? Another Fate fanfic where the all the servants are switched? How original..." But who can blame me for wanting to write this? A story where you can pit all your favorite characters into a battle royale to see who would win? Sign me the hell up!
Now, like everyone else, I have been inspired to write this because of The Infamous Man's "Fate: Zero Sense." But I also have been inspired by X-The-Reaper's "Fate: Zero Sanity" and "Infinite Paths" by Lord Mist. There is a whole lot more too, but these three were just the main ones.
Few little reminders before getting into the story:
1) Please understand that the most I know about the Fate franchise is through Fate:Zero and a bit of Fate:Apocrypha. I have never seen, nor will I plan to see Fate:UBW or any of the other Fate spinoffs.
2) The rest of what I know about the lore was either gathered through Wiki or through reading fanfics.
3) English is not my first language, so please feel free to correct me on any spelling or grammar mistakes. Also I might have switched tenses in the middle of the story *Bad habit* (Let me know about that too.) This is currently unbeta'ed.
4) It's my first time writing again after like, 2 years. So sorry if any of the characters here are OOC. I'm trying.
Disclaimer: I do not own either the Fate franchise or any of the other media that is shown here. I am simply writing for fun.
Without further ado, welcome to "Fate: Call of Elysium"
Enjoy this obligatory summoning sequence!
EDITED: January 7, 2018- Changed the fact that Saber would be the only servant that stays the same. All the servants will be different this time. This gives me bit more originality here. Also, changed a few lines with Kirei. Thanks to a helpful PM by Gashadoruko Amanojaku, I was able to (hopefully) fix the OOCness.
The Holy Grail War: A competition that decides the ownership of the Holy Grail through intense battle royale. While there have been many conflicts over supposed Holy Grails in the past, this term refers to those specifically based around Masters, usually proficient magi, summoning Servants, Heroic Spirits brought forth as familiars, and meeting in battle until only one pair is left to claim the Holy Grail. (Source: Type Moon Wiki)
There's no doubt that the current Fourth Holy Grail War was going to be something that no one would ever forget for years to come.
Because no Master, not even Kiritsugu Emiya, the one who would normally summon Arturia Pendragon herself, would be safe from the 'glitch' in the Grail. No Master would get the servants they wanted. Nor expected.
(Abandoned Building)
Kirei Kotomine had no real desire for the Holy Grail. So it came to a surprise to him when he woke up one morning to find the command seals imprinted on his hand. He honestly had no idea as to why the Grail had chosen him of all people. Currently, he's allied himself with Tokiomi Tohsaka, trying to work together in order to win the Holy Grail. Though...'Allied' isn't really the right term here. He had only agreed to help because Tokiomi's plans had aligned with the goals of the Church so he merely felt obligated to help out.
Their original plan was for him to summon Hassan-i-Sabbah, and use one of his multiple forms to be 'killed' by Gilgamesh, thus fooling the other Masters and have an advantage in the war.
But once the smoke from his summing circle cleared, Kirei realized that things would not be going according to plan
Just by looking, he could already tell that the person in front of him was not 'The Old Man of the Mountain.' As if a young female in a black skirt and had a sheathed katana by her waist wasn't obvious enough.
"Oh hello there~ I'm the Servant Assassin!" The girl beamed at him. She did a small childish skip around the empty room and Kirei took this time to fully examine his servant.
Her hair was short and black, styled into what looks like twintails. Assassin wore a black sailor uniform with a red cravat, a red belt that has a side skirt cover, and red gauntlets covering her forearms.
The girl then stopped to face Kirei, her face pulled to a pout.
"Are there any sweets around here? I'm kinda hungry." An innocent enough question, sure, excluding the fact that servants don't really need to eat in the first place. However…..
There was something about the girl that simply….Unnerved him. Her dark eyes seemed to stare right into him, and her smile has this murderous intent to it. Almost like she was contemplating on whether or not she should kill him right there and now. Kirei subconsciously readied his command seals. He needs to be careful with this one, it looks like.
(Tohsaka Manor)
To say that Tokiomi Tohsaka was confused was an understatement. He was so sure that he used the right catalyst. After Kirei had informed him about his botched summoning, Tokiomi took extra precautions to make sure that their plans would still work. All he had to do was get Gilgamesh and everything would be back on track. Tokiomi had one job.
...And apparently he can't even do that correctly.
He stared at the summoning circle before him, still retaining it's dim glow. The figure that stood before him was most definitely not Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes and the Fifth King of Uruk, but rather a female with bright red hair. The person in question was young, appearing to be on the cusp of womanhood. Her wavy, crimson hair was cut short and her amethyst eyes were kind but had this fierceness to it. The servant's outfit is made up of a white gown under a red vest with burgundy trim. A long wooden bow and a quiver of arrows were strapped on her back, the only indication as to what class she was.
"I am the servant Archer." She announced to him, her voice loud and confident. "I ask of you...Are you my Master?"
Tokiomi answered the only way he knew how. "Uh...Yes. Yes I am." The girl nodded in understanding. Even though she wasn't Gilgamesh, the girl has this regal air around her. He could tell that she was not one to be taken lightly, but just who did he summon?
He barely heard the girl's response because in his mind, Tokiomi sighed. This is going to be a long war isn't it?
(Middle of the Woods)
Waver Velvet, a third generation magnus, took a cautious step back as smoke erupted from his summoning circle. He almost can't believe what he was doing, getting involved in some magical war. Waver took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
This is necessary. He told himself. He was going to win the Holy Grail, and show those people at the Clock Tower just how wrong they were about him. Waver had put so much effort that that thesis of his, trying to show that bloodlines did not really matter into becoming a good mage. But instead it was mocked, and Waver was embarrassed in front of his whole class. He honestly had no regrets in stealing Kayneth's artifact. The old bastard had it coming anyways.
"Hey there! You're supposed to be my Master, right?" A young, prepubescent voice interrupted Waver from his thoughts. The young man's head snapped up, seeing his servant for the first time. And what he saw, surprised him.
It was a child. A pre-teen boy to be exact. He looked at Waver, his large, grey eyes filled with innocence and curiosity.
The boy wore something akin to what Waver recognized as Tibetan monk apparel. A long sleeved yellow shirt, a loose orange shawl draped over the shoulders, a red sash wrapped around the waist, and brown pants tucked into knee high boots. He also held a long wooden staff in his hands. Did he summon a Lancer?
"Y-Yes, I am." Waver managed to stammer out his answer. If it was possible, the boy smiled even wider.
"Great!" With a large sweeping gesture with the staff that he was summoned with, a gust of wind blew the remaining smoke out of Waver's face.
"I'm Servant Rider! Nice to meet you!" Rider held his hand out. Waver shook it tentatively, still in minor shock at what he was seeing.
"I…" Waver didn't know what else to say. He slapped his hands on his cheeks, clearing any unnecessary thoughts. He had to stay focused. "C-Come on then, let's go inside so we can discuss our plans."
"Sounds great!"
Rider sounded way to chipper for this. And Waver feels the need to get himself some aspirin.
(Matou House Basement)
"Hmph, I should have known." Zouken said smugly. "You can't even summon the right servant, despite the right catalyst." The old man leaned forward, and gave a mocking laugh. "Even so, you are not a complete failure. But to think that you-"
Meanwhile, Kariya ignored his 'father's' snide remarks through gritted teeth. He didn't care whether it was the right servant or not. He just needed one in order to participate (and win) the Holy Grail War. He had to win, or else, Sakura…
Sakura…
The thought of the little girl being defiled by those godforsaken worms for the rest of her life made the younger Matou more determined to win. The worms in his own body could kill him afterwards for all he cared, saving Sakura is what mattered most. It was too bad that he only got one wish, otherwise he would have made that sorry excuse of a guardian pay for he's done.
He grunted in pain as the worms slithered inside him, biting into muscle. Curse these worms. Curse Zouken.
All the pain, all the suffering he had to endure, it was all for her. He will save Sakura from this hell, and he will be able to see her smile again. They'll play in the park like before, and he would buy her ice cream and he would never abandon her…He had to win. Not only for Sakura's sake, but also for Rin. And for Aoi.
Even if he did have a month left, it was more than enough time to save Sakura and he will make sure that the rest of his time with her would be worth it.
The sound of a clearing throat snapped Kariya out of his stressed mind.
"Umm...Excuse me."
Kariya turned to his servant who was eyeing him with a mixture of confusion and worry. "Are the one who summoned me?"
His servant turned out to be a young man, one who was well into his late teens. He was of average height, and had a slim but muscular body. His hair was stark white, much like Kariya's own, and chocolate brown eyes that held a sense of melancholy to them. His outfit was simple, if not a little underwhelming. A black bodysuit and something (A mask?) that's currently hanging around the neck. With how calm his servant is, Kariya wondered if he even summoned the right class at all.
Kariya opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when a hacking cough overcame him. His servant was by his side in a second. "Are you feeling alright?" The concern in the teen's voice was genuine...And quite touching actually.
"Don't worry a-about me." Kariya tried to reassure him. He could tell that other didn't believe him but backed away regardless. "And to answer your *cough* question. Yes. I'm the one to summoned you here. My name is Kariya Matou and I am your Master."
The servant slowly nodded. "Very well, then."
There's another matter at hand. "May I ask, w-what class are you?"
"Oh? It's Berserker." The answer sent the two Matou's minds reeling. Did they hear that correctly?
A lucid Berserker? Kariya thought, wildly confused. Is that even possible?
Zouken then spoke up after being silent for so long. "Well, you certainly summoned an...Interesting servant. Even though it's not the I would have wanted. Do try to remember your promise, however. It'd be a shame you died before winning the Holy Grail for me, and little Sakura would be left all alone. But perhaps I expected to much from you."
Berserker watched in silence as Zouken hobbled out of the room, detest evident on his face. "I don't like him, Master." He immediately said once the older man was out of earshot.
Kariya let out a wheezing chuckle despite the pain it caused him. "I can see we'll get along just fine, Berserker."
He slowly stood up, wincing as the worms moved inside him again. "Come." But Berserker made no attempt to move. Instead, he looked at Kariya with an unreadable expression on his face. Kariya noticed this uneasiness his servant was demonstrating.
"Is everything alright?" He asked him.
"It's just…" Berserker bit his lower lip, trying to find words. "I can smell things in you, Master. You and that other man. Something alive. But for you...It's killing you."
Kariya sighed, he knew that he was going to have this conversation eventually. "Come." He repeated. "We'll talk once were out of this house."
(In a Random Residence)
A young man hummed contently to himself as he continued on his current project. The symbol that he painted on the floor with the blood of the people he just murdered was looking good so far. He dipped his hand in the bucket of blood beside his feet. There's just a few more additions he had to put on his masterpiece...
"Fill. Fill'er up. Fill. Fill...Do I repeat four times?" The man, named Ryuunosuke, asked himself in confusion. He took a glance at his ancestors notes, and began to count his fingers. "Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Oh, so it was five times! Yay!"
The t.v in the background was still turned on, with a news channel reporting on a serial murderer that already killed three other families and was leaving satanic symbols on the floor.
"Whoops. I probably went a little overboard there." Ryuunosuke said to no one, and reached out to shut the t.v off. His work might have been messy, but that's what makes it cool! Besides, he always makes sure to clean up his 'messes'. Can't have the police end his fun now, right?
Though, the killer can't help that he was forgetting something...Oh, right! Turning around, Ryuunosuke was pleased to see that the youngest son he had left tied up in the corner was still there. The child was struggling against his binds, tears streaming down his face. It was a nice sight to look at.
"Yo kid, do you believe in demons?" He smiled as he saw the child's terrified expression. "Like, the news calls me a demon but I think that's pretty offensive if demons really did exist y'know?" He walked closer to boy, whose struggles became more erratic the closer he got.
"How am I supposed to introduce myself anyway?" He then randomly shouted, "Yo! My name's Ryuunosuke Uryuu and I'm a demon!...Nah, that doesn't sound right." The man then waved the leather bound book in front of the kid's face. "This is really the only way for me to know if demons exist or not, but it'd be boring if it just pops in here, says a few words, then goes back where it came from."
He knelt down and patted the boy's head. "Plus it would be rude if I have nothing to offer it…" Ryuunosuke trailed off before his face lighted up again.
"So what I'm trying to ask is," Ryuunosuke clasped his hands together in a mock begging position. "If a demon does come, would you mind letting it eat you?"
He laughed and jumped up and down in excitement, relishing the kid's desperate thrashes to get free.
A pain on the hand later, his circle started to glow and crackle with blue electric sparks. The man whooped with excitement. All that work finally paid off!
Little did Ryuunosuke know, unlike all the other timelines of the Holy Grail War, he finally got what he was hoping for.
Something stepped out of the circle of blood.
Ryuunosuke deduced that it was a male, despite the short stature and lithe build. His face had a youthful complexion and his eyes were bright violet with the pupils were slitted like a cat. Dark purple hair reached just past the person's shoulder, with the bangs partially covering his right eye. The figure wore a long dark coat with silver buckles, black pants and black boots made for combat. But that was not the most eye catching feature of the person.
Wings. It was the wings that were folded neatly on the male's back.
It's feathers were blacker than coal, and it ruffled slightly as the demon (?) shifted his position to try and be more comfortable in the low-ceilinged room. No doubt that it they were opened all the way, the wingspan would roughly match the length of a school bus.
This new revelation made Ryuunosuke even more excited. This was almost exactly how he envisioned a demon would look like!
"Wow! You look awesome dude! Can't believe this summoning thingy worked!" He decide to introduce himself to the demon and make a good first impression. "My name is Ryuunosuke Uryuu. I am currently unemployed, but my hobby is killing things! Especially young women and children!"
The 'demon' frowned at him, before taking a look around the room. He was greeted with the sight of blood on the walls, the headless corpses on the couch, and the gagged child in the corner of the room. His gaze stayed on the boy, who was still paralyzed from fear.
"...This is your doing?"
"Uh...yeah." The orange haired man responded, unsure what was going on.
"Well, that explains the fear I felt..." Ryuunosuke wasn't what the other was going on about but he continued talking.
"I left him for you. It was supposed to be your snack, but you can do whatever you want with it. Drop bricks on him, burn him up, turn him inside out! Just show me what you can do, demon dude!" This made the other male to raise an eyebrow.
"Demon?" The male repeated slowly, as if it was the first time he'd heard of the word.
"Well, you are one, right?" Ryuunosuke asked him excitedly. "I mean, you got those wicked wings right there! You look like those fallen angels I've seen on TV!"
"Hmm...You are not wrong on that front." Wordlessly, he strode over to the struggling, gagged child and crouched down, meeting the boy's tear filled eyes with his own calm ones.
"I have been called a demon many times before." He spoke to himself, so quietly that Ryuunosuke almost didn't hear him. "However..."
At first nothing happened, but Ryuunosuke noticed that Caster's fingers emitted a faint purple light before he placed his hand on the child's head. The young boy then closed his eyes, his face making a serene and peaceful expression. And upon realizing that the boy was still breathing, the serial murderer frowned in disappointment.
"Well that wasn't very cool. Where's the blood? The screaming? The intestines?" The person stood up, and faced Ryuunosuke with an expression he didn't recognize.
"I have put him to sleep. Also I hope to have calmed down his distressed mind. He will wake soon, when the authorities arrive." The person raised his arm...
And before Ryuunosuke could say anything else, a flash of light blinded him, then he felt a sharp, white-hot pain in his chest. Dazed and confused, he looked down, seeing a big gaping hole right where his heart should have been. Another split-second later, his dismembered right hand with the tattoos found itself being held by the other teen.
"While I might be a demon, I am not above killing children. You, on the other hand, are scum. " The person said, his voice laced with disgust. "Even Satan has better morals than you."
As Ryuunosuke felt his life slip away, he could only think of one thought in his depraved mind.
"That...was so...cool…!"
The Servant, one that identified as Caster, watched coldly as his 'Master's' body gave one last jerk before lying still. He gave the corpse a small kick, checking to make sure it stayed dead.
"Man, what a pain…" He mused to himself. "Using my magic this early on." The highly concentrated fear he fed off on from the child should be enough to last him a few more days. Now that boy is asleep (And soon to be in police custody), he is going to have to find a more sustainable source of negative emotion if he is ever going to survive the war without a Master.
He suddenly remembered the severed hand he was holding on to. There is still a chance for him to get a different Master, but that's a thought for another day.
Because right now, there is an important phone call he needs to make to the police.
(Yeah I killed off Ryuunosuke already. I'm too much of a wuss to actually write about him killing more children beyond this scene.)
So now that the servant summons out of the way, can you fellow readers tell me what you think? Were you able to guess anyone here? To be honest, I think I chose some tough ones because the animes some of these characters are in are kinda niche. There's the exception of one who comes from the mainstream and another technically isn't really from an anime...(But I'm not having that debate.)
-Virtual cookies for those who guessed right.
For those wondering where Lancer is, don't worry, they'll appear next chapter. I'm not too satisfied with their part yet. Also, there is going to be an extra servant coming up. Who? You'll see~ (Hint: It's not an Avenger)
Saber will appear too but due to the changes, I haven't really managed to write out their part yet soooo...yeah.
Please don't forget to rate and review! Constructive criticism is highly appreciated! They fuel my passion for this story and help me on how to become a better writer!
*Also, I know this doesn't seem much but I swear I am going to derail from canon soon. I have a lot plans for this so please stay tuned~*
*Stat sheets won't be up until the 4th chapter or so. (Assuming I get that far)*
*If you have any questions about this fanfic, don't be afraid to ask me through review or PM, I'll happily answer back. I don't bite!*
Thanks for reading, and I'll see ya next time!
-SynPyre
Next Chapter:
"Fit to Rule"