Right, i almost forgot about it. I certainly don't hold the rights for any characters that appear in Fate/ Stay Night. Also, a few spoilers will appear.

Ten Years Prior

As the Sacred Church's power in society at large waned, the Executors gained influence within the organization due to their ability of discreetly disposing of enemies without the need of even a kangaroo court. But before their rise, there was a group within the Church whose influence peaked during the inquisitions.

The Witnesses. Their name stems from their alleged ability of, through divine inspiration, witnessing someone's sins without a physical presence. Legends even tell of Witnesses with prophetic powers, sending guards to punish men as they prepared to commit their acts against God. During their height, a person from anywhere that the Sacred Church held influence could be thrown in a dungeon through a simple accusation.

Maybe they were punished for abusing their powers, or perhaps they simply lost their skill the moment that they stopped honing it. Little by little, their powers started to disappear. Yet, they tried their best to maintain themselves in a position of power, they started to train and search all over the world for knowledge and skills for the purpose of spying.

This enabled them to hold some kind of influence inside the Church even as its overt influence in the world waned, but as the focus of the Church seemed to shift to the conflict and coexistence with the Magus' Association, more and more the Witnesses lost ground to the Executors, who were much more skilled in combat and dealing with magic.

Losing ground as operatives to the Executors then, inevitably led to the general decline of the Witnesses. Nowhere else was this more visible than in a traditional Witness household in Spain.

"That bastard! How is it possible?" The patriarch of the house, obviously frustrated throws insults and curses around as he paces the living room. "That damned Kotomine. How come he gets chosen as the supervisor to the Holy Grail War?" That was the fifth time he made that rhetoric question that evening and his family just looks on nervously as before.

"Father, hasn't it been already abundantly clear that it was because of the Command Spell appearing in his son's hand?"

The man glared at his son and responded dryly. "You think I don't know that? And he's even gone as far as teaming up with that Tohsaka Tokiomi. His son is going to learn magic!" He snorted from derision. "What a joke, a priest that knows magic. The both of them should be burned, not given such an important position. Just because we're trying to limit that bloodbath's death count by cooperating with mages doesn't mean we should tolerate such a thing."

He carried on by talking about how they should be even rougher on the Mages to stop absurd things like the Holy Grail Wars. As much as they don't show it, his family feels the same as he did. What was needed was not a soft, but a hard touch to stop such nonsense. There was however, one exception, who didn't really care either way.

The youngest member of the house, eighteen years old, Carmen, was engrossed in her book. Perhaps engrossed would be an understatement. She was the house's hope for revival despite two older sisters and three older brothers, as she seemed to possess some of the abilities that the ancient Witnesses had. She was not reading the story so much as she was living it. She could perfectly visualize the author's vision of the story, no, more than that, it was as if she was ghost, just there beside her beloved characters. She could not help but smile as she read.

"What are you smiling for?" Her father started to shake Carmen. "Don't you realize that this is about you too? You! You would have been the best possible supervisor, none of the Masters would be able to hide a thing from you. At the very least, don't you think it would be more interesting than that stupid book of yours?" But he knew it was useless to say such a thing.

"I'm not interested in smelly magi fighting each other and acting arrogant." She replied in a murmur. To her all mages spent almost all of their time closeted inside their houses researching something and accumulating mold. Well her father didn't really disagree on that point.

Unfortunately, it seemed that for all of the time she spends deeply immersed in the fruit of other people's imagination, Carmen de Castro forgot to develop her own. She was completely unable to see how dangerous and strange magi could be.

"Father, I know it pains you, but leave it to the Kotomines, for all your critics of them, they do seem to have a plan. So please, just forget about it." She stood up from her chair and started to make her way to the bedroom for some privacy.

"Wait, at the very least have you decided to succeed the house and learn more about our craft?" He couldn't force it. He had to convince her.

But it was useless. "My answer hasn't changed." Her ability seemed as much a curse as a blessing. Being able to live almost anything through just reading, she became extremely uninterested in the real thing, but she was still intelligent, and able to learn almost anything that she put her mind to, that's why her father was patient. People can be motivated by the right thing, but they cannot be taught talent.

By the time she put the book down it was past midnight. "Hmm, so interesting, I wonder how can my father be so obsessed with supervising that Holy Grail War thing. I am sure it cannot be any more interesting than this." As she put the book on the bed table she felt a pang on her head. The pain quickly grew from a headache to a migraine. "What is…" She had never felt something like it. Sure, she could remember the discomfort of visualizing events from afar, a sort of clairvoyance. But this was different, she felt much worse. It could only be one thing: The divine foresight that was the most powerful ability a Witness could have.

And so, she started to see many things. Hopes and dreams, drama and tears. People betrayed by their choices and other people. A cruel man whose wish was fulfilled despite losing the war. A knight whose redemption was denied. A man who goes back to his twisted family to save a little girl but fails. Betrayal all around. She saw everything. In the end, there was just a sea of fire.

She changed her mind. Oh yes, the Holy Grail War was so very interesting. There was not much time, so she would just ask for as much training as she could endure and then book a flight to japan. Just to observe it, for now. Just to witness.

Five years prior

It was not too long after Kiritsugu had died. The mysterious woman called Carmen came looking for him.

"I'm sorry, but he's no longer among us." What else could Shirou say? Somehow she didn't seem all that bothered by it.

"I see." After that she stopped to think for a few moments. "You do know magic, don't you boy?" That took Shirou completely by surprise. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship she with his father, but if she knew about him being a Magus then perhaps it was okay to talk to her about magic.

He told her about how the only thing that he could do was strengthening magic, so he wasn't really much of a Magus. Before he realized it she was laughing. "Hey, why are you laughing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that I've never seen such an honest magus before." She smiled at that, as if she found something interesting. "I'm really tempted to say that you really aren't a magus at all."

"My bad if I'm not really a magus. Hey, is it really that bad?"

The conversation went on in that tone. Shirou even caught himself almost talking about becoming a superhero. The time passed and when he realized it, it was night already. The woman looked outside and looked surprised.

"Oh my, it's already this late. I had planned for a quick conversation with Kiritsugu and then look for somewhere to stay, what shall I do now? My flight is only tomorrow." She didn't suggest it, but Shirou knew what the right thing to do was.

"Well, there are guest rooms in this house; you could stay here for the night." The woman tried to act shocked and refused a few times, but at Shirou's insistence, she acquiesced. He could not simply leave be an acquaintance of Kiritsugu's, no; actually, he couldn't just leave someone like that, even if for something as simple as a one night shelter.

"Well, if you insist, then I can only accept such a favor. I am grateful"

That night Shirou had a dream. It started as his dreams did most of the time, with a great fire, but this time there was something different about it. The fire was gone, in its place a pile of ashes as far as the eye could see, Shirou couldn't understand its meaning.

A shrouded figure appeared. "Emiya Shirou, do you care for other people?" The figure's voice was strange; he couldn't discern whether he was talking with a man or a woman. That didn't matter.

"Of course! I'm going to be just like Kiritsugu and save people." This was a dream, there is no reason to be embarrassed.

"And yet, you lack the power to do such a thing." The voice replies emotionlessly, less as a judgment, more as a fact.

"It doesn't matter, within my power I'll do anything to make the people around me smile. That is all that matters."

"Would you then give up some of your power that you are unable to properly utilize so somebody else can save others?" That was a more complicated question.

Shirou actually never thought about it that way, even though his desire to help others sprang from Kiritsugu he never thought about other people besides him saving people.

"I…" He tried to say something, but he couldn't think of a proper reply, he wasn't sure of what to say.

"Perhaps this question is too much for a boy like you. How about we put it this way: Is humanity so untrustworthy that you can't relinquish part of your power to someone who would use it more efficiently? If that is so, then why save people at all?" The figure just let the question hang.

Touché. The boy felt compelled to answer. "I'll do anything to save people." He gritted his teeth. "If I give up some of my power, I'll just look for more so I can keep saving people." That was his answer.

He couldn't see its face, but the figure seemed to smile, at least it felt like it had. "I see, that's certainly an interesting answer, but now that I have your permission, if you would excuse me…" The figure raised its hand in Shirou's direction.

Something started to glow in his chest and he felt something strange. A strange heat. An intense pain followed, as if something was being ripped from him, he tried to shout, but he couldn't. It was just a dram, just a dream.

As fast as it came, the pain was gone. "There we go." Something was in the figure's hands, a sheath, maybe the most beautiful he had ever seen.

"What is…?" The figure stopped him by putting its hands on his lips and shushing.

"Don't worry boy, and just go to sleep now." There the dream ended and he forgot about it in the morning.

The woman was leaving right after breakfast. She kept thanking him for the hospitality, saying that she as not sure how she could repay it.

"Wait, I think I know. Wait a moment." She murmured something and a light appeared in her chest. From an elaborate and probably quite old saddle emerged. "Here, a good luck charm." She handed him the saddle.

Shirou heard from his father about Mystic codes, when mages kept some of their most precious belonging as a concept inside of themselves. If she kept it in such a way, then that saddle was likely extremely valuable. "No, I couldn't accept such a thing from so little."

"No, I insist!" She approached her face to him and he blushed, averting his gaze. "I think I received more than enough compensation for it." Was she talking about him telling her his magic? Sure that should usually be a big deal, but he knew so little. "Also, when you forced on me the hospitality of your home, wouldn't it be rude not to accept my gift even if you think it's not equal in value?" She got him.

"I… Fine, but I don't know if I'll know how to take care of or use it."

"Don't worry; it will take care of you. Farewell, until we meet again."

Shirou wasn't sure of the meaning behind it all, but he was sure that visit was not a bad thing.

A few months prior

In a small house in London, not too far from the Clock Tower, a single man sat alone in his workshop feverishly researching something in the afternoon.

Why did his family start the pursuit of something like that? Perhaps it started as mere curiosity, maybe the experiment for a more important research needed more magical energy than usual. Whatever was the motive, there is only one research that dominated the Feuerbach family for the last hundred years or so: The creation of an artificial Magic Circuit to generate magical energy outside of a person.

"Come on you bastard, work this time!" He looked at the mass of cables made of different materials in front of him. Usually they either did nothing or exploded in his face. He wasn't sure which result he preferred, as the first represented an absolute failure and the latter wasn't much better while also being much more dangerous and a problem to clean up afterwards.

The vanadium steel alloy cable started to glow. "Oh no, you won't you bastard, I had too much work to make you." Frederick scrambled to the switch to stop the flow of magic in the cable but he was too late. He had seen that glow so many times, yet he could never stop the subsequent fire.

"Maybe I just shouldn't try so many different kinds of alloys at the same time… No, if I don't test at least at this rhythm, my grandson will be doing the exact same kind of experiments." The most vexing part of his family's pursuit was that: Ever since they started it they were never able to find something that could sustain a constant flow of magical energy for extended amounts of time.

"Perhaps I should try different kinds of gems…" No, despite their usefulness as a method of storing magical energy, gems rarely resist a constant flow, not to speak of their prices. As much as he feels like he is burning money with his different alloys, he would be broke within months if he started including gems in his research.

While he thought about what he could change in his experiments another cable started to glow, but this it exploded with a big bang.

"God damn it! You fucking bastards!" Thus he started his almost daily ritual of hitting the main switch, cutting the flow to all cables, and spending a good few minutes cursing. "Why can't a single freaking one of you support magic flow without a soul to regulate it, huh?" He flipped one of the few tables set for that exact purpose. He stared at it for a good few seconds still.

"Chaos without order." He felt the magic rush in as he turned on his magic circuits. "Scatter." The table seemed to explode, with splinters of wood flying everywhere. There was something relaxing about intentional explosions, which made him not mind the unintentional ones too much. Not that what he had just done was really an explosion.

It wasn't until a few moments after he took a deep breath that he realized something: Someone was ringing the bell.

"Ugh, what is it now? I hope it's not students again looking for stupid tips. Damn, I should have never given those few lectures."

As he approaches the door a powerful smell of rotten meat assails his nostrils. "Holy… Who the hell died in front of my house?" He mutters under his breath.

Frederick unlocks the door while leaving it chained and opens it up a little. "Who are you and do you have any business with me?" In front of him is a bald old man and a boy. Oh no, don't tell me he's going to ask me to make his grandson my apprentice or something.

His luck was in. "Let's see, is it here where the specialist in Magic Circuits live?" That was a good sign, people who inquired about his Magic Circuit research rarely wanted any sort of instruction on it.

"I'm asking again, who are you and, wait, it seems you do have business with me, but still. What business do you have with me?" He still talks surly. It is his home after all; visitors should state their names and intentions first.

"Fine. I am Matou Zouken, this is my grandson, Matou Shinji. We are here because we heard about your technique of inserting an artificial Magic Circuit in a person." That's what he wanted, would it have been so hard to answer so the first time he asked?

Still, Frederick raised his eyebrows, that was strange, he could not remember telling anyone about his experiments of putting some of his failed artificial circuits in people to see what would happen, especially since most of them were not willing.

"Well, now that's a business I did not expect. Come on in, let us talk about this inside." He unchained the door and let the visitors in, the smell got worse.

While his visitors sat in the living room, Frederick quickly filled three cups with the coffee he always left handy. He drank his coffee in one gulp and left the others in from of his visitors.

"Matou, huh, I'm pretty sure I've heard that name somewhere, but it doesn't matter now." The old man seemed about to speak when Frederick gestured that an explanation was unnecessary. "I won't ask you where or from whom you heard about this, but yes, I have dabbled in implanting artificial Magic Circuits in people."

He sighed, trying to recollect the details. "However, there were a slew of reasons why I stopped it. First: It was not my main focus of research. Second: Its success rate is quite low. Third: The pain it causes seems to drive crazy even those cases of success. So, the first question is: Are you prepared to go ahead while knowing of the second and third reasons?"

The old man and boy whispered for a bit. The boy seemed clearly afraid and didn't seem really willing to ahead with it, but the old man said something that disturbed him and in the end the old man answered. "Yes."

"Okay, good. Now, the second and most important question to me: Why? Sure, I might need more money for my research, but nothing is more valuable than information."

The old man chuckled. "Hehe, you're a cunning man, aren't you. But too bad, there isn't an ulterior motive, I just wish to be able to pass magic to my grandson, who unfortunately was born without Magic Circuits."

"Bullshit." He did not let the man reply. "Look at how old he is, if you had the intention of teaching him anything from the start you would have appeared before me earlier." He stood up. "Well, if you're not going to talk to me honestly…"

For a moment, the boy's face showed relief mixed with disappointment, but it quickly changed. "Fine, let us talk, I will be frank with you."

"I'm listening."

Frederick couldn't help but feel good about his day when it was all said and done. In the end, it was just useless to compare Magi to people in the streets, that boy was more resilient than he seemed and despite leaving Frederick's house in a wheelchair, which he would probably need for a while, he took in three artificial circuits. On top of that, he even stopped screaming after a few hours.

"Anyway, Holy Grail War, huh." He was sure he heard someone talking about it before, but quite honestly he had no need for an omnipotent device that can grant any wish. "Then there's no meaning to it."

Still, there was one aspect of it that interested him. "Summoning heroic spirits… I wonder if I would be able to summon that guy. My grandfather always used to tell about how if he could have worked alongside that guy, he would have found the answer."

He couldn't help but smile. "Well, at the very least it would be a great break from just exploding cables. How much is an air ticket to Japan again?"

Prologue

It is almost time. Tohsaka Rin looks at the clock once more, only ten more minutes until her power peaks, then she will summon the strongest Servant. She closes her eye and takes a deep breath, when her concentration is broken.

Someone is ringing the bell, repeatedly. What is she going to do? She can't let the time of the summoning pass like this, but then again, she can't concentrate on it if the bell keeps ringing. She decides to just send away as quickly as possible whoever it is.

She tries to keep as much composure as possible as she opens the door. "Yes? Do you have any business with me?" As she sees who is standing in front of her, her efforts to keep calm redouble.

The man was wearing a quite out of fashion suit, probably from around the end of the 19th century. His size was slightly less than average, he was holding a pocket watch held by a chain. If it was all, she could have just dismissed him as a lunatic, but there was something dangerous about him, some kind of power. That man was a Servant.

"Tohsaka Rin, yes? I have quite a good offer for you." He was smiling like a salesman about to make a killer-deal.

This was bad, she still didn't have her Servant so she couldn't make a wrong move. "So, already starting to eliminate the possible competition, huh? I'm not retiring even before the fight begins." At least she was in her own home, in this condition she might be able to trap him long enough to run away. The problem was, to where?

"Heavens, no!" The Servant put his hands in the air as if protecting himself from an accusation. "I have been called heartless plenty of times, but it was not because I killed anyone who couldn't defend himself."

"What are you here for, then?" Rin still wasn't convinced and was still looking around for the best way to flee if he attacked.

"I've already told you, it's about a very good offer, in fact, it's almost highway robbery I daresay! And the one being robbed here isn't you." After saying that, the Servant fetches a suitcase that was next to him and opens it in front of Rin.

Rin mentally prepares a defensive spell, but all that happens is that she can see what is inside the suitcase. Her jaw drops. "What is it that you're, no, your Master is planning?"

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Inside is a sheath, mostly blue, with many details in gold. Neither of them knows exactly which, but both know that it is an extremely powerful artifact, which will probably bring forth the strongest Servant in this war.

"Why are you showing me this?"

The Servant merely smiles and holds up an open hand. "Five of your most powerful jewels." It's all he says.

Rin is dumfounded. He was going to sell her such a priceless thing? Even if it is for such… expensive, jewels, to sell something like that was almost insane. She replies without thinking. "Three."

The Servant smiles, it looks like he enjoys haggling prices.

As they finish and the Servant is ready to leave Rin realizes something. "What are you going to do with those jewels?" It's not like he would be able to absorb their energy.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot disclose this information." He looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time, half past one in the morning, I must be going."

Half past one, how can it be… Then she remembered that all clocks in her house were one hour early. If she had gone ahead with the summoning, a disaster could have happened. Wait, could he have… No, it was not possible.

She still had her doubts, but she was sure that the sheath was not counterfeit. What was that Servant doing, giving her the key to summon the most powerful Servant, Saber?

It was a greenish dark place, the same place where Servants were summoned by the Matou family and the successor's throat got hoarse from screaming.

Matou Shinji was vomiting blood, but it had nothing to do with where he was. The implantation was a success, but the burden put on his body by the artificial circuits was too great, yet it did not matter, he had succeeded in summoning a Servant and the Command Spell was in his hand.

"Haha, I've…" He tried to speak but vomited some more blood.

"Ha! What a pathetic sight. You remind me of your uncle Kariya, but at least he ended up the way he did for the benefit of others." Matou Zouken looked uninterestedly at the suffering of his grandson. "And this Servant, I should have known something like that would happen. Just try not to lose too pathetically, Shinji."

As he turned his back, a click could be heard. The Servant was holding an old pistol in its hand. "I don't care about your relationship, but don't think you can just insult my Master like this."

Matou Zouken laughed. "Oh my, you seem lively for a Fictional Hero; it seems those implants weren't a complete failure." He continued to leave the room.

At the very least, the artificial circuits were enough to draw the Command Spell away from the piece that he did not want to use in this war. And who knows what might happen? Kariya lasted much longer than Zouken thought he would, perhaps his nephew would should as much endurance, if nothing else.

Shinji was finally recovering. "What? What was that about my uncle?" The Servant helped him get on his feet. "Well, it doesn't matter for now."

"Master, I am the Servant Assassin. My weapons are at your disposal." Shinji smiled satisfied, yes, this was his servant, moo me else's.

"Yes, let's see how good we are. We are going to win this war."

The Fuyuki city electric substation seemed like an abandoned building, as if something was wrong. "Is this place okay, Caster?" Two men walked inside it unconcerned, as if the ambient was of their making.

"Yes, this place is fine. We should be able to finish our research here without any problems."

"But, this really isn't near any ley-line or anything, how are we going to gather Magical Energy here?"

Caster put a finger on his lips, as if shushing his Master. "Frederick, ley-lines aren't the only thing that can transfer power. All you need is an appropriate structure. Don't worry about it."

Both men set about building the workshop inside the substation.