Day ?: ?:? ? - ?
Blackness. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but blackness. A vast abyss extended into infinity and Shirou found himself floating helplessly through it. For what felt like hours he drifted through the nothingness. Eventually his drifting ceased and a glint in the distance caught his attention. He struggled to right himself so as to get a better view. Underneath what looked like a spotlight was a slender figure. Slumped over, the shape was being suspended in the air with numerous chains. Shiro, even from a distance, recognized the battered armor and torn dress. It was Saber.

Shirou immediately began fighting against the weightlessness trying to close the distance. He opened his mouth the call out to her, but no words escaped his lips. His struggling, however, seemed to capture her focus. Saber groggily raised her head. Blood caked the side of her face and her eyes were glossed over. The amount of energy she had to be using to keep conscious was obviously a lot.

Seeing her buffeted face incited a stronger effort from Shirou to get to her. He attempted to vent his frustration with a roar, but, again, no sound left his mouth. He ceased his movement as her heard her voice. It was just loud enough to barely make it to his ears, but he registered it nonetheless, "Shi...ro...help...me"

Reaching out in vain, Shirou tried to touch her. As he did so, the darkness pulsated and quickly began to swallow Saber's form, ceasing any chance he had of achieving his goal. Finally his will and rage overtook the silence and he bellowed, "SABER!"

Shirou was suddenly in freefall. The already fading light that was situated on Saber quickly grew distant as he plummeted below. His rapid descent didn't last long. The unseeable ground rushed up to meet him. Shirou felt, briefly, the shock of his body impacting the surface.

Day 1: 8:53 PM - Fuyuki City: Emiya Residence
Shirou sat bolt up and immediately regretted it. His entire body throbbed with pain. As he took a moment to steady his breathing, he heard the familiar call calm of Saber's voice next to him, "Shirou. Are you alright?"

He sorely turned his head and found himself virtually face to face with the knight. Shirou gasped, not expecting to find her so close, and scooted back...right into someone else. Shirou heard someone fall on the ground followed by Rin's voice shouting, "Ow! You dolt!"

Turning his attention to Rin, he saw that she had landed hard on her behind. She growled at him, but was unable to say anything before Saber cut in, "Rin, do you know what happened?"

Maintaining her glare at Shirou, Rin stood up and brushed herself off. As Shirou followed suit Rin explained, "Based on where I think it was, I believe the Einzbern ley line exploded."

"What?" Shirou exclaimed, "I thought we fixed that!"

"Obviously not," Rin snapped, venom lacing her voice.

She felt the anger bubbling inside her. She grit her teeth and tried to calm down. Rin wasn't angry with Shirou and, from the expression of concern on his face in response to her bark, she could tell he knew that. Her fury was directed at herself; she'd failed her mission, she'd been sloppy in her excitement to be home and that had resulted in this disaster. Shirou seemed to read her mind as he started plainly, "This isn't your fault."

Rin let out a sarcastic laugh, "Oh it isn't? I should have double and triple and quadruple checked the ley line. If I had done that-"

"You wouldn't have found anything," Shirou interjected, "I may not be able to sense magic as well as you can, but I touched the ley line and it was fixed. There was nothing you could do because we did everything in our power."

Rin frowned. Shirou's words were kind and he was probably right, but her disposition only minutely improved. Saber once again interjected into their conversation, "If you are both well, I suggest we make our way to the epicenter of the explosion to see if there is evidence behind its origins."

Nodding, Rin suppressed any self loathing she had and said, "I agree. Walking, however, would take too long. Stand back."

Saber and Shirou both did as she asked and Rin began chanting. In seconds a large crystalline disk materialized between the group. Rin stepped on and ushered the other two to follow suit. The did so and Rin said, "Hold on."

The disk shuttered before rapidly rising into the air. Finally the group was able to survey the damage. What they saw drew a collective gasp from all of them; the carnage was incomprehensible. Far in the distance almost nothing remained of the forest that belonged to the Einzberns. Trees within the inner third of the total forest (easily 10 kilometers of greenery) had been vaporized. In their place was an expansive crater that was full of black smoke and molten slag. Trees beyond that initial area had been torn from the ground and cast away or flattened. Not a single one stood erect.

Rin slowly began moving the disk forward which brought their attention to the city. The half of Fuyuki that was closest to the blast was unrecognizable. Few buildings were still standing and fires were abundant and running wild. No skyscraper had survived the shock wave on that side of the city. Emergency vehicles were zooming through the rubbled streets trying to give aid to any survivors they could find and prevent any further damage. Shirou looked to Rin, horrified by the amount of damage, and asked, "Were the other ones as bad as this one?"

"No..." Rin answered, shaking her head, "The largest explosion before this one destroyed a small fishing village in the Amazon. It was a couple football fields of destruction. This...this is on an entirely different level."

The rest of the short trip went on in silence; there was no conversation any of them could think of that would be appropriate in lieu of the present situation. The approach of the center of the crater saw a rapid rise in temperature. The ground was charred and not completely solid and plumes of searing hot smoke billowed into the air around them. Between the breaks in the smoke and fire, something shimmered and caught Rin's attention. She tried to get a better look, but the environment prevented her from doing so. Turning to Saber, Rin said, "I think I see something down there. Saber, is there anything you can do about the heat?"

Saber nodded and held out her arm. A bright light flashed briefly. When it subsided, a swirling mass of wind was being held firmly in her hand like a sword. Without hesitating, Saber lept into the air. She flipped mid-air to better orient herself for a landing. Saber touched down on an intact piece of rubble. Raising the wind above her head. She gathered a great amount of magical energy and the winds became more turbulent. Then Saber made her move. The knight brought her arms down swiftly and a massive whirlwind erupted forward. The red hot rock near instantly turned black and most of the smoke was blown away.

Rin took this opportunity to land the disk. The moment it touched ground, Rin and Shirou disembarked. The stone was warm beneath their feet, but it was far from inconvenient. Looking out into the center it was obvious that Rin had been right. Floating about four feet off the ground was a black sphere; it looked to be roughly twenty feet in diameter. Swirling streams of what looked like gray mist seemed to flow along the surface, but none was emitted into the air.

Shirou found that the longer he stared at it, the more familiar it started to become. Something about the orb kept his attention focused on it; a subconscious tugging pulled at the back of his mind. Almost entranced, the young man began inching toward it. He made it about five feet before Saber's voice jostled him from his daze, "Shirou, wait. I'm sensing a powerful magical presence within that sphere. We should prepare ourselves in case it's-"

The orb cracked, making Saber end her sentence prematurely. Shirou quickly moved back to Rin and Saber and positioned himself defensively in front of them. Magical energy pooled inside him and a green, grid-like shape materialized near his hands. Shirou gripped the pattern and it took solid form. One in each hand, Shirou was now wielding two short swords. Both were identical save for their coloration; the left one had a fat, curved blade that was white, the right was black in hue and had a hexagonal pattern etched into it. Where the blade connected to the handle there was a yin-yang symbol embedded in. The swords were around three feet long.

"You've really improved," Rin commented, "When I left that magic of yours took a lot out of you. Now it's barely drawing on your magic circuits."

Shiro saw Saber express her agreement with Rin's observation with a nod. Before he could reply the ball cracked again. And then again and again and again. With barely any warning, the entire sphere exploded into a cloud of dust. Shirou had to avert his eyes to keep from being blinded. A man's voice quickly followed the dust cloud, "So you're copying my blades, eh Shirou?"

All three knew the voice immediately. As the dust settled, a tall man became visible. Piercing black eyes set into a bronze colored face bore down at them. A small smile was etched into his countenance and white hair covered his head. A red overcoat covered a skin tight piece of body armor. The malleable armor was tucked into his trousers and metal plated boots covered his feet. Rin was the first to speak, "Archer?!"

Shirou was pretty sure from the shock in her voice that Rin was more surprised to see Archer, her previous Servant in the last Holy Grail War, than he was to see Saber when she reappeared. Archer nodded and looked around. As he did so he said, "Yeah, it's me. And that must have been some explosion. It was much greater than I had expected."

Shirou frowned, "Does that mean you caused all this?"

Archer chuckled, apparently amused by Shirou's accusation, "I'm flattered that you think I could produce such carnage with my power, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to have to disappoint you. I was summoned just seconds before whatever exploded blew up. My attempt to avoid the burst was so hasty I didn't even summon my reality marble correctly. The damn thing manifested physically and I got to feel most of the blast..."

Archer grumbled incoherently, obviously somewhat embarrassed, and Shirou went to say something, but Rin cut him off, "Archer, you said someone summoned you. Who performed the ritual?"

"No idea," Archer shrugged, "Wasn't exactly in a position to investigate. I suspect it doesn't matter though as not even an experienced magus could have survived this explosion."

Rin furrowed her brow, pondering what was going on. Two Servants had been summoned within minutes of each other; that was not a coincidence. There might be a connection with the ley lines, but no other Servants had been found at or near any other sites. This situation seemed to be unique. As her thoughts deepened, she failed to see a small object floating down from the sky. Shirou on the other hand did not and shouted, "Rin! Above you!"

Rin's head snapped up and she prepared to cast a spell, but her body relaxed as she recognized what it was. She held out her hand and the object drifted into her palm. Turning to Shirou she explained, "This is a Global Messaging Familiar. The Mage's Association uses these to communicate with members in the field. I was expecting one, but didn't think they send one so fast. Hold on. I'll play the recording."

The familiar was shaped like an eyeball and had two bat-like wings for flight. Rin tapped the iris and there was a brief pause before a man's voice stated, "Ms. Tohsaka, return to London immediately. Bring Shirou Emiya and whatever Servants you two now have in your possession. Do not delay."

Shirou blinked at Rin, confused, "Who was that? How does he know about me and Saber and Archer?"

"That was my teacher, Lord El-Melloi II. As for how he knew about you and the others, I don't know, but we'll find out when we get to London. My jet is stationed in the next town over. We can use that to get back to England."

"What? We can't leave yet! Fuyuki is in ruins! We need to help!"

Rin sighed, frowning, "I want to help too, Shirou, that's my home city that's on fire too, you know. But there's nothing significant we can add to the emergency crews and their efforts. We need to figure out why our Servants were summoned and why the ley lines are loosing magic and exploding. I have a feeling those answers are awaiting us in London. Besides, the Mage's Association will be sending relief aid like they have with every other place that's needed it because of these explosions. Fuyuki will be fine without us."

Shirou grit his teeth. He knew she was right, but he still felt terrible for not at least trying to help. A hand fell on his shoulder. Shirou turned to see Saber looking at him reassuringly. She gently squeezed his shoulder and said, "It will be alright Shirou. Rin's correct. We need to work to prevent this from happening again rather than wasting our time only to have another ley line go off and hurt or kill more people."

Shirou exhaled sharply, obviously still conflicted, but nodded, "Fine...then let's hurry to London. Every second counts."

Day 1: 11:19 PM, London, England - Mage's Association: The Clocktower
Waver Velvet walked through the narrow hallways of the institution absent mindedly. A quick glance at his watch told him he still had ten minutes before his class began. He debated sneaking a cigarette, but decided against it because if he was going to kill his lungs, he'd rather enjoy it than rush through the process. Someone moved into his vision and caught his attention.

"Lord El-Melloi, sir?"

He was a younger man, a couple years junior to Waver. He was dressed in the generic student uniform which consisted of a black blazer, black slacks, and a white undershirt. Waver recognized him right off; it was Lawrence Goldtrim, one of his apprentices. The senior took a deep breath trying not to bite the young man's head off.

Years ago, Waver had taken it upon himself to gather and log the collective works and lore of Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi following the man's demise in the Fourth Holy Grail War (the Grail War preceding the most recent). His efforts saved the integrity of the El-Melloi household and the heir at the time, Rieves El-Melloi Archisorte, relinquished the heirship to Waver and granted him the title of Lord El-Melloi II. Most people knew and addressed him by the name now-a-days. Unfortunately they more often than not left off the "II" when speaking with him. While seemingly a minor mistake, Waver hated the absence of the moniker. He could never explain why beyond the fact that it simply grated in his ears without it. He pointed out the error to his student, "The second."

"Sir?" Lawrence inquired, not immediately comprehending what Waver was saying.

"It is Lord El-Melloi II. If you are going to call me by that name I will ask that you call me it in its entirety lest I impart some less than savorable punishment."

Lawrence understood that. He snapped to attention, an act that drew an exasperated sigh from Waver, and half shouted, "A thousand apologies m'lord! It won't happen again!"

Waver pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Fine. Now what do you want?"

"Want?" Lawrence seemed to have momentarily lost his train of thought. He quickly recovered it, however, and elaborated, "Oh! I have a message from the Council. They need to speak with you regarding something important. I wasn't given specifics."

Waver rolled his eyes, clearly dissatisfied, "I have a class starting in less than five minutes. Tell them they can wait until it's over."

As he turned to walk away, Lawrence quickly stammered, "But sir! They were very insistent you come now."

Waver didn't break stride as he responded, "Don't care. Classes come first. And I expect to see you at my five o'clock class. Don't be late."

Finding the door to his lecture just a little ways down the hall, Waver walked into the room leaving a very distressed Lawrence fumbling about. Not looking at his class he bee lined for his podium on the raised stage in the front and said, "Notebooks out, distractions away, sit up straight."

He heard a great deal of shuffling and looked up in time to see his students finalizing their orders. The lecture hall was fairly large; a semicircle of multiple rows of desks took up a majority of the space and every chair was filled bringing the the room's occupancy to 101 (Waver included). Waver turned to the large chalkboard behind him and began drawing a massive and intricate circle. Above it he wrote: "To Summon A Familiar: The Proper Runes, The Proper Circle, The Proper Form." Waver repositioned himself to face the class and promptly began his lesson.

For the next forty five minutes Waver, in detail, explained the value of utilizing the correct symbols in conjunction with the right summoning pattern to achieve the desired result. He moved around the stage in between drawing a number of different summoning circle patterns and corresponding rune combinations. Throughout the course, Waver emphasized caution in mixing and matching summoning runes haphazardly. As he began to wind down his lecture he moved back to his podium, "In conclusion, I'd like to stress the importance of-"

Someone interrupted him mid sentence by calling out, "Um...sir...?"

A vein popped on Waver's forehead. He hated being cut off. He opened his mouth to berate the student, but opted to take a deep breath and hold back on chewing him out. As he exhaled, Waver said through gritted teeth, "Yes?"

"Is that circle supposed to be glowing like that sir?"

Waver raised and eyebrow and noticed most of the class was now looking wide eyed past him. He turned on a dime and saw that the first summoning circle he'd drawn was glowing brightly. Somehow magical energy was getting funneled into it. As it flared red, Waver realized it was reaching a critical point. He turn to his students and yelled, "Everyone down!"

The class immediately ducked behind their desks and Waver threw his hand in a sweeping motion over the front of the classroom. A crystalline paneled barrier quickly took form reaching from the ceiling to the floor. Using his other hand, Waver made a similar barrier in a spherical shape around the circle. It was just in time. The circle exploded mere seconds after he formed both barriers and Waver felt a tremendous force slam into the shield. The screen lasted for a moment, but the blast was significantly more powerful than anything Waver could manage on such short notice. The protective sphere shattered and the ensuing force threw Waver backwards and he was smashed into the barrier protecting the students; fortunately that shield held.

The explosion washed over the paneled wall, but failed to reach the class. As it died down, Waver managed to look up to what was left of the stage. A figure moved through the smoke toward him. As the teacher's blurred vision refocused, Waver's eyes widened. A gigantic man standing over two meters in height was soon upon him. He had a large musculature and sternly chiseled features with eyes that gave off a dazzling glow. Burning red hair and a beard covered his head. He was dressed in bronze armor with cuffs and greaves with fringes that left his arms and thighs unprotected. In addition he wore a thick mantle, with fringes like his cuffs, dyed in a similar red to his hair. The man bent down next to him and said in a gruff voice, "Sorry Waver. It would seem that the circle used to summon me was inadequate. Are you alright?"

Waver sat up and winced as a slight pain ran up his spine; it was nothing serious as far as he could tell. Looking up at the man, Waver managed, "But...how?"

The man stood erect and bellowed proudly, "I am Iskander, King of Conquerors! If I am summoned, I will answer the call!"

Waver let out an exasperated sigh. The man before him was the Rider-class Servant Alexander the Great, known also as Iskander. During the Fourth Holy Grail War the Servant had been partnered with none other than Waver himself. During the war the two had formed a very close bond and Rider had taught Waver a great deal about one's attitude toward life in addition to numerous other other lessons. Most of the things Rider imparted on Waver were translated into the teacher's lessons in the classroom.

Waver shook his head, "No you dolt. I mean how were you summoned? I didn't initiate it. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Only the Holy-"

Rider cut him off, his slightly cheerful demeanor quickly switching to one much more serious, "Exactly. Waver Velvet I come with an important message. An unspeakable evil is brewing in the shadows. A group of Servants is being called forth to combat this presence and we have been summoned by what I can only assume are the fragments of the Greater Grail. There is more, but I can only reveal the rest when the other masters and Servants are present. Time is of the essence, we must be swift!"

Waver had heard plenty. He nodded and stood to his feet. He turned to his awestruck class and said succinctly, "Class dismissed."