I do not own Fate: Zero or any of the fandoms from which the characters in the story come from. This story was largely inspired by Fate: Zero Sense, which you should read. Now.
Kotomine Kirei was a strange man.
At this moment, he stood hesitantly before a summoning circle, one hand extended. A curved design was on this hand, one that marked him as a master for the fourth holy grail war. There was nothing to think about- he could not refuse to summon a servant, but something held him back.
This thing was the question that had been plaguing him for a while. Why would the Grail choose one such as him to participate in a war for a wish-granting device?
What a foolish question, he mentally chided himself. My purpose is not to have my wish granted, but merely for the Tosaka family to reach the Root.
Though he was still apprehensive, Kirei began to chant:
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.)
Repeat every five times.
Simply, shatter once filled.
-I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate (doom) is in your sword.
In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead. I am the one who becomes all of the evils of the world."
The moment the ritual was finished, Kirei threw his hands over his face as a blast of light appeared. It slowly cleared, revealing a dark figure.
"I ask of you…" The figure raised her head proudly. "Are you my master?"
"...yes. Yes, I am." So this was not the desired servant. This girl was young, though not very short. Her eyes were a light yellow, which contrasted with her long black hair. She wore a smoky black cloak over a revealing dress. The stomach was slit open, and the top had coattails that hung over her black pleated skirt. Her upper thighs were bare, but she had long black boots that covered a lot of skin. She had arm warmers beginning soon after her dresses' sleeves ended. In her hands were silver daggers.
Yes. Definitely not who we wanted. Kirei smiled and said:
"My name is Kotomine Kirei. Are you Assassin?" The girl nodded silently, apparently not willing to disclose any more information. Well, at least he got a servant. And, after all, nothing else could go wrong. This was just a minor mishap.
Fate really likes to screw with people, doesn't it.
(One week later, in the Tosaka mansion…)
Tokomi Tosaka was having a bad day.
Actually, he was having a bad week. Kotomine, his accomplice in the grail war, had somehow managed to summon the wrong servant. Besides that, his new servant was from another dimension.
At least she would be able to perform the function planned out for her.
Desperate to not have the same mistake happen to him, Tokomi double-checked the summoning circle and artifact. He would let nothing- nothing!- go wrong.
Yet, despite that, the servant standing before him was most certainly not Gilgamesh.
Staring at the servant's silhouette as she emerged before him, Tokomi wondered what he could have ever done to deserve this.
First of all, the girl was young. Very young, even younger than Kotomine's servant. Her hair was red and frizzy, causing it to stick up all over the place. She wore simple white clothes, with the cuffs rolled up and the collar straight. Her biggest distinguishing feature was the hole where her left ear was.
Even if this is not Gilgamesh, realized Tokomi, this girl is still a heroic spirit, and as such, worthy of the highest praise. He performed a bow.
"Are you Archer?" He raised his eyes to see the girl grin.
"Yeah! I guess you're my master then." Archer seemed overly friendly, which could be dangerous. At least she had not immediately given away her name.
Tokomi stood up and raised his hand. Archer took note of the command seals and nodded. The two were silent for a moment, as Tokomi had no idea what to say.
"I'm looking forward to a successful collaboration!…" The girl extended her hand, and Tokomi followed suit. "...master."
(At the same time, in a hotel room...)
Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi stood in front of the summoning circle drawn on the ground, fiercely scowling. Nobody could blame him, really. His original relic had been stolen, and now his new relic had summoned the wrong hero.
"Are you my master?" The boy in the circle seemed to be around seventeen years old. He had glasses that obscured his eyes and an odd haircut. Two pillars of dark hair stuck up while the rest of the hair was shaved off. In his hands was a golden spear with a lightning bolt at the end.
"..." Kayneth chose to show his command seals instead, rather than talk. After all, this boy was only a tool, a means to an end. However, he did have one question. Trying to gain back his pride, he swallowed some self-pity. "Answer me, Lancer, where is Diarmiud?"
"I guess I'm not who you expected," said Lancer, chuckling while Kayneth fumed.
"Of course you're not!" Kayneth glared at the servant. "I hope for your sake that you have some power, Lancer." He spun and walked off, anger burning in his eyes. How could everything have gone so wrong? He had messed up his one chance for the Holy Grail!
Lancer watched his Master stomp off.
"...well," he said mournfully, "that went badly."
(In the Mato lair…)
"What a disappointment." Kariya gritted his teeth as the head of the Mato family loomed over him. "I suppose I couldn't really have expected anything from you, of all people. Is this really the servant you managed to summon?" As the old man cackled, Kariya turned back to his servant.
To be fair, she did not seem very powerful. She even had crutches which she seemed to heavily rely on. Also, she seemed very young, only about fourteen years old.
She had long black hair and wore a simple school uniform. Her eyes were a turquoise color which Kariya thought went quite nicely with her outfit.
"Are you my master?" Kariya answered with the whole of his being. This girl was his only chance to save Sakura. No matter what Berserker looked like, she should be a valuable asset.
"Yes. The contract is sealed." The girl nodded, the expression on her face deadly serious. This was their only shot to have a wish granted, one that they truly believed in with all their hearts. This is a hero and a savior- two souls united by a desire.
(Somewhere else within Fuyuki city…)
Strangely enough, things had only gone well for Waver Velvet. Currently, he stood before Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia.
The man was a lumbering giant, with a mass of red hair and a large cape. He grinned cheerfully at his master.
"So, master, take me to our strategy room!"
"We don't have a strategy room!"
"Do you have maps, by any chance!"
"Why are you yelling!"
Things might have gone his way, but Waver was in anything but a good mood.
"Excuse me?" A troubled young woman with brown hair looked up from reading her book. She was sitting on a bench facing the two. "I'm into couple therapy, and you two seem like you need help." The woman brought a hand to her chest and said in a determined manner:
"Give me a call, and I can help you!" The woman ran away, dropping a business card.
"...wow." Waver turned back to his servant, frowning. "I didn't think we were that bad."
(In the Eizbern mansion…)
Kitsuguru Emiya, Magus Killer, Master in the Holy Grail War, and representative for the Eizberns, stood tall before a summoning circle. The sense of prana was circulating in the air, a side effect of the summoning about to happen.
"Iri." Irisviel snapped to attention. "Give me Avalon." The woman wordlessly placed the relic within the circle. Preparations ready, Kiritsugu began his chant.
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.) Shut (fill.)
Repeat every five times.
Simply, shatter once filled.
-I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate (doom) is in your sword.
In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead. I am the one who becomes all of the evils of the world."
A boy walked slowly out of the circle. He had his black hair in a ponytail and wore a yellow jacket over his baggy white pants.
"Are you my master?" Kiritsugu knew this was not Arthur Pendragon. Actually, he didn't know, but he really hoped this wasn't King Arthur. The only thing historians could have gotten as wrong would be King Arthur really being a woman!
Somewhere far, far away, in another time…
A blonde woman sneezed onto her royal banquet.
"Are you okay, King?" asked the woman's right-hand knight.
"Yes. How odd…"
(Back with Kiritsugu and Irisviel…)
"Yes." Despite this boy not being the intended servant, it was quite obvious that he was Saber.
"Good!" The boy's expression became ravenous. "Now, do you have any food?"
"Um…" said Irisviel nervously. "Come he-" Saber bounded after the homunculus enthusiastically, leaving Kiritsugu shaking his head worriedly.
"Just what is going on with this war?"
And there you have it! The first chapter of Fate: Battle Royale. Props to anyone who guesses the true identities of the servants. Here's a hint for Assassin:
Spin-offs are the best.
Hopefully, see you next time… if anyone is reading this.