Fate/Stay Night – Snow Princess Requiem
Chapter One – Fateful Night – The Knights and the Mad Warrior
For Emiya Shirou, time stopped. The beauty stood proudly, her head held high despite her small stature.
For the first few seconds, Shirou could grasp nothing but her beauty.
"I ask of you. Are you my Master?"
"Mas…ter?"
Shirou could only give the word back, stupefied by her beauty. Besides that, there was only one other thing that he could grasp about her. That is—
"I am Servant Saber. I have come in response to your summons."
—She was the same as the man outside.
Hearing the words Servant and Master, Shirou instinctively reached for his left hand. That seemed to be a sign, as the girl silently nodded.
"From now forth, my blade will be with you. From now forth, your fate shall be with me. Our contract is complete."
"Goddammit!"
The servant of the lance had a terrible day. Now, the night is proving itself even worse.
The bleeding servant somehow managed to get himself out of his previous situation – the blow from Saber hit him full force and he was launched towards Berserker's stone axe.
While he managed to put his lance in between the enemy's weapon and himself, it was still more punishment than he was comfortable taking in a single blow. Berserker's attack had him crashing on the wall of the boy's house, and if it were a bit stronger, he would have been launched inside it.
While the knight of the lance had the agility of a beast, each blow he dodged had the shockwave hitting him like a hammer, and that was enough to make the spearman tremble.
What could possibly be seen as Lancer's only advantage would be the lack of mind that the mad servant had. Nonetheless, this particular spirit had the instinct of a beast, and Lancer soon found himself without any options.
So soon in the war and he was already having to resort to his Noble Phantasm.
When the third servant left the shed, Lancer was reminded that his night was even worse. Even if he somehow managed to take down the giant before him, he had the so-called servant of the strongest class to deal with.
Damn boy. Why couldn't he just die like everyone else with a spear to the heart?
Seeing no other option, Lancer started to work towards using his technique. Evading one of Berserker's vertical slashes, he was forced to a crouch by the shockwave. When the mad servant launched a horizontal attack, he did his best to parry and used it to change his position.
Having successfully relocated, Lancer starting gathering mana to release his Noble Phantasm. But would Saber give him the time he needed?
When she heard the loud roar, Saber left the shed while Shirou was still confused. That sound, in her mind, meant one thing only: there was a Berserker nearby. The scenery she found when she stepped outside, though, was very different from the one she imagined.
Berserker was there, but he was attacking her enemy. Memories from the previous servant of the Berserker class made Saber even more wary of him than his size could ever have.
She just stood there dumbfounded while Berserker tried to crush the man she had repelled earlier with all his might. She wondered if Lancer was finished when she saw Berserker's attack hit, but, although the blue-clad spearman was sent flying and crashed painfully to the ground, he was very much alive, and on his feet in seconds.
Away from the giant, he went into a stance and started gathering mana. Not that Saber would let him. She might not have any reason to trust the mad warrior, but the servant of the lance was the one who almost killed her master.
Lancer cursed his luck for what felt like the hundredth time in the last second. As he had predicted from previously gauging Berserker's traits, this small space turned the battle completely in his favor.
And his situation made it worse, since, even if Lancer could get a comfortable distance to use his Noble Phantasm, he had a second servant, of the strongest class no less, to mess things up. Like she was doing right now.
The precious few seconds he had before Berserker covered the twenty yards with his charge were being wasted trading blows with the servant of the sword. And she had an invisible sword, no less.
The close distance was enough to make even Lancer uncomfortable with the invisible blade aiming for his life. And the giant was approaching.
No choice then. He had to kill her in order to get away.
Even as pain assaulted his body as soon as he thought that, the servant of the Lance didn't let it show nor affect any of his actions. Managing to get away for less than a second, it was enough for a serious Lancer.
"Gae—"
The fastest he had ever said the name, he chanted it in less than a half a second. Saber was already upon him when she noticed his movement and changed her posture a little. Berserker's close roar drowned the rest of his chant.
"— Bolg!"
The lance's trajectory was slightly off, with Saber actually managing to alter its course slightly. It still ran her through, however, and grab onto the spear shaft was all she could muster.
"You damn—"
Cursing yet again his luck, Master and abominations that refused to die with his sure-kill weapon, Lancer was hit without any kind of defense by Berserker's furious blow. He screamed as the blow forced him through the wall and he landed on the street outside.
The blow also forced Saber to let go of the lance with a scream as the tip opened her wound further, reaching her shoulder. Berserker then turned to her.
Saber was short even by normal heights. The giant towered over her fallen form by almost two meters. She wondered if he was going to turn on her now.
He might have had his sanity and though capacity taken away, but those eyes seemed to care too much for one belonging to the Berserker class. She did not forget the previous Berserker's actions, knowing this one could on her at any time, but injured as she was, if that was the case, this would be one short war for her.
The Servant seemed eager to continue beating something, and Saber was actually afraid when his grip on his weapon tightened.
"Berserker!" Came another voice.
When she turned, all she could see was the back of a short person clad in purple with long white hair.
"We're leaving."
With this, the servant dematerialized and she soon could not see who could only be his master.
During the fight, that did not last longer than a couple of minutes, Shirou could not move an inch from the door of the shed.
He had just witnessed something that was simply not of this world. A giant that seemed to stand at three meter tall facing his attacker was too much for Shirou to just accept.
And when the girl added her graceful movements to the battle, fighting alongside the giant twice her size, it had just become something unimaginable. As incredible as it was, it had happened. By his house.
He was terrified when the spear managed to hit her, and even more when it was forced out by the giant's attack. But the worst part must have been when the girl, on her knees, was towered by the giant.
When he was staring down at her, Shirou felt as if his very soul was being gauged. He trembled yet again when the giant's grip on his weapon tightened.
"Berserker!"
At that moment only he realized that his house had yet another invader. When he turned in the direction of the voice, he recognized the unmistakable back of the girl he had met two days prior.
"We're leaving."
He hear a grunt of acknowledgement from the opposite side and turned just in time to see the giant vanish from sight. When he turned again, the girl was already gone.
"Kh!"
The wounded girl could not even rise to her feet apparently. Worried, Shirou ran over to her, stopping close by before being able to properly say anything.
Her beauty once again paralyzed him. Her heavy armor had smooth old-fashioned cloth in vivid blue underneath.
Her golden hair lit by the moonlight seemed finely textured, as if someone sprinkled gold dust over it.
Her face stays elegant with a sign of naivety and her skin looks soft.
All the while, the girl had a hand to her chest, and Shirou was, for some reason, mad.
"Why."
He couldn't stand the thought of someone getting hurt protecting him. He though it was wrong for a girl to be forced to fight, no matter how strong or armored.
Before he could say anything more, she removed the hand from her chest and stood up. Shirou was understandably surprised.
"The wound is… gone?"
She had been stabbed in the chest. That was all he could firmly grasp in the heated battle. She was stabbed in the chest less than two minutes ago and the wound was already gone.
In that moment, Shirou's brain switched gears. She saved him, that was true enough. But he could not let his guard down while not knowing what she was. That fast healing reminded him that it was not the time to be mesmerized by her beauty.
"Who… Are you?"
He took half a step a back while asking her.
"…? What do you mean? I am the Servant Saber. You summoned me, so I do not think you should need to confirm it."
"Servant… Saber?"
"Yes. Please call me Saber."
Her polite yet gentle tone makes his head go blank. Chastising himself mentally, he cover his burning face.
"I-I see. That's a strange name."
He chastised himself again for such a stupid answer.
"I'm Shirou, Emiya Shirou, and I live in this house."
He couldn't help but wonder if his answers were getting even more stupid.
She just stared blankly at him. It took him a few seconds to get his thoughts in order.
"No, wait, I take that back. That's not what I wanted to ask you. Actually…"
"I understand. You're not a formal Master, correct?"
"Eh?"
"But you are still my Master. As long as we have made the contract, I will not betray you. There is no need to be so cautious."
Shirou couldn't grasp anything. He understood her words, but could not make any sense of it, only that she was calling him "Master" over and over again.
"That's wrong. My name isn't 'Master'."
"Then I shall call you Shirou. Yes, I like the sound of that better anyway."
His face lit upon hearing her saying his first name. That thought quickly died as he felt a burning pain on his left hand. There, a strange mark was found.
"What the…?"
"That's the Command Spell, Shirou. Three claims on the Servant's obedience and the life of a Master."
"Who…"
She interrupts him while the air around her changes.
"Shirou, heal me."
Her cold voice struck him, and she seemed focused on something far away rather than him.
"I'm sorry, but I know no complicated magic such as healing. Besides, it's already healed."
She frowns.
"Only the outside was healed. But I shall face them as I am, then. I can feel enemies outside, but it should take only a few seconds. One more shouldn't matter."
"What?"
She goes through the hole Lancer made on the wall.
"… Enemies outside?"
Realizing what that means, Shirou started moving.
"She's going to fight again?!"
He ran full speed through the hole as well.
Even Archer was completely taken by surprise.
His master, Tohsaka Rin, was even more. When they reached Shirou's house, Lancer's body landing on the street was what greeted them.
The servant rolled and came to a stop at the other end of the street, his body clearly battered and bleeding.
"Damn luck and Master…"
Lancer was very much alive, and conscious. With the aid of his spear, he stood up, holding his free hand to his stomach.
"Damn. Maybe I'll take up a stone-axe as a weapon next life…"
With mocking words, he dematerialized and went away.
During the whole process, Rin could not react in the slightest. Somewhere in her mind, she knew they had just let an already beaten enemy escape, but the majority of her thoughts were focused on how this whole situation came to be.
"Rin!"
She could feel the presence, but couldn't move by herself. Archer pulled her just in time to avoid what was probably a sword, but the invisibility made it difficult to be sure of any thing more than that it was a weapon.
Archer threw Rin back and materialized his twin swords.
Rin recovered in time to see her servant's weapons be destroyed with a single blow of the invisible weapon, and the girl holding it made it clear his neck was the next target.
"Archer, disappear…!"
Just as the enemy servant was about to cut his head off, Rin removed him.
The burning in her right hand told her that her second Command Spell was gone.
Not caring for Archer's disappearance, the servant advances on her.
"Don't underestimate me!"
She takes a topaz with a wind spell from her pocket and throws it at the enemy Servant.
But the bundle of wind spell that could possibly destroy a house cannot even slow her down.
The Servant quickly cut through the spell and reach her. Rin barely manage to avoid the first blow, falling miserably to the ground, and feels the wind colder than normal touch her neck.
"That magic was splendid, magus. But this is your end, Master of Archer."
"STOP, SABER!"
Shirou finally managed to let out after witnessing the few seconds long spectacle.
Saber's arm stops, and Shirou thanks the heavens he can't see her sword. It means it is not wet with blood.
"Please don't do it, Saber."
He glares at her, seeming ready to try anything to stop her.
"Why do you stop me, Shirou? This is Master of Archer. She must be dealt with here."
"I'm telling to you wait. You've been calling me Master, or something, but I think you should explain things to me first!"
"…"
"You're doing this in the wrong order. If you talk to me, I'll listen, but please don't do it."
"Are you demanding ideals like not hurting anyone unnecessarily?"
"What…?"
"You're telling me not to take lives even if they are enemies? I'll not follow such an order. An enemy is someone you must defeat. If you are to stop me, you'll need a Command Spell."
"…? I'm talking about you. A girl shouldn't be swinging a sword around, even more so if she's hurt. Wait, I don't even know if that is a sword… Anyway, you shouldn't be doing it!"
Saber seems taken aback and Shirou stops talking as well. How long must they have stayed that way?
"So? When will Saber-san lower her sword?"
Saber attention shifts.
"Give up. I have no sword to lower in front of an enemy."
"Eh, going as far as disobeying your Master's order? So even Sabers betray their Masters, huh."
Saber grits her teeth, but the hostility disappear as she put her sword away.
"So, can I get up?"
The one on the ground get up, shamelessly brushing her rear.
"You… You're Tohsaka?!"
"Yes. Good evening, Emiya-kun."
She returns the greeting normally with a smile.
"Um, no, well… You were using magic just now, so, uh…"
"I'm a magus. Well, we're the same. I have no reason to hide it. Let's talk inside, shall we, Emiya-kun?"
She moves towards the gate, as if there wasn't a hole big enough to pass through in the wall.
"Wait, what are you thinking?!"
And she turns. The smile on her face is different than the one before.
"Are you stupid? I'm thinking about a lot of things, that's why I want to talk to you. Emiya-kun, there's nothing wrong with being surprised by a sudden turn of events, but it could very well cost your life sometimes. Do you realize now is one of those times?"
She glares at him. Shirou freezes.
"It's fine if you understand. So let's go to your place."
Tohsaka goes through to the gate. Ignoring the fact that there is a whole in the wall, as well as the fact that the gate should be locked, Shirou follows soon after.
Sasaki Kojirou, Servant Assassin, felt like crying.
The witch that summoned him probably knew what his reaction would be. That was surely the reason she had him observe the fight through her leylines throughout the city. Like she cared if he was prepared or not to repel whatever climbed those stairs.
It was after the giant mad servant, Berserker, had attempted to raid the temple that she started to have him know what was going on in the city below through some kind of surveillance.
It was like that that Assassin had witnessed the furious battle between two Servants he had already fended off: Lancer and Berserker.
Lancer had the agility of a beast, and Assassin could barely keep him on the stairs. By the time Lancer retreaded, he had already advanced three of the stone steps towards Assassin.
Assassin though he had lucked out: he was going to have a good fight, and maybe he could get away from this meaningless war by dying in it.
Alas, it was not to pass, as Lancer retreated as soon as he got the advantage.
That was half a month ago. During all the time since he had been summoned, Assassin had absolutely nothing to do. Lancer was clearly in reconnaissance mission, so he couldn't even count that as a fight.
He wondered if he could create a second ultimate technique. After all, his first was created exactly because he had nothing to do. Who knows, he might even come up with an ultimate witch-killing technique.
Since he already had Tsubame Gaeshi, maybe he could do something similar with the range. His sword was 90 centimeters long, a size that most would already consider unusable, but maybe he could project his sword a long distance in front of him? Hit that witch before she can cast any spell?
He chuckled at the though. Big dream for a simple man, he mused.
When he faced Berserker, however, it was more a battle of desperation.
Assassin felt no shame in admitting that he wasn't likely to survive the clash without the witch's help, but that was probably because of one of his skills, that kept his mind in good shape always.
Assassin's advantage in the stairs was another advantage he couldn't have pulled through without. It was all a game of dodging and trying to push the goliath back. The first few seconds of that fight were downright terrifying as Berserker charged without a care in the world while roaring.
His link to the witch saved him as she joined him in the fight. Besides reinforcing his sword, she shot Berserker's weapon every time it tried to claim Assassin's life. The shots altered the weapons course enough, but Assassin always stepped to the side as well, aiming to escape the shockwave. Why the witch refused to shoot the giant himself to death was beyond him.
From there, he simply tried to hit the giant every place that seemed slightly weaker than the rest, and was successful in making Berserker retreat down the steps.
Another skill made his survival possible. Against the mad servant sharp instinct, only Assassin's special class skill could keep the monster from deducing his attacks. That way, Assassin's blows were somewhat effective.
The eyes, the fingers, the toes. Assassin hit him relentlessly where he thought that hurt more. It took him a few minutes to successfully hit both of Berserker's eyes, effectively blinding him.
In Assassin's perspective, that made no difference at all. Every attack continued to come as accurately as the last, and the witch's shots saved him again and again.
"Berserker!"
In the end, that, most likely was the reason he left the battlefield alive.
"We're leaving."
Berserker's small master.
The white girl acted like the battle was a chore to watch. With a completely uninterested tone, she ordered her Servant to retreat. Just like a little girl that simply got bored doing what she was ordered to and gave up on it.
Maybe Assassin shouldn't have left her retreat. But at the moment he could do nothing but bask in the afterglow of the epic battle he had just fought.
Taking a look at his sword, he noticed it was bent. A frown found itself in his face. It would take forever to straighten it up again. Against Berserker himself, it made little difference. If Assassin tried to use Tsubame Gaeshi against the mad servant, his sword would most likely not bend, but shatter entirely.
The fight against Berserker had taken place less than a week ago. Still, Assassin had enough time to fix his blade and was actually in time to be frustrated by the fact that he had yet to get the fight he yearned for so much for. Preferably one in which his opponent did not retreat when things started heating up.
Maybe the idea to practice something besides Tsubame Gaeshi was a good one? The technique itself consisted of three separate slashes on three different angles executed at roughly the same time, so, if Assassin pulled that off, even if took him years, nothing would be impossible for him.
But for now, Assassin couldn't even bother to move. He laid down yet again to appreciate the beauty of the moon.
"Tch. Damn clouds."
Tohsaka Rin liked to think of herself as a person prepared for everything.
Granted, she wasn't perfect. She had an uncanny ability to forget the most crucial things at the most important of times, but her skill to deal with adversity should be where she shined through.
It was that damn February that insisted in throwing ridiculous things at her one after another.
Rin had a kind of list of things she expected from the Grail War, and a relatively small list of things she would rather avoid.
Summon an Archer who battle with swords, be attacked by Saber after she drove out Lancer, to be spared by Saber's Master, ending up guiding said Master to the church and for said Master to be one Emiya Shirou.
This War seemed to simply want to mess with her more and more.
As for Emiya Shirou, things went a similar way.
That day marked the beginning of his journey into the magus' world, as well as the official beginning of a war he was forced to take part on, even if he had knowledge of it existing before in the first place. That not being enough, the school idol turned out to be a magus as well, one that was taking part in said war. Not to mention, of course, that it was the first time he died. To be able to have that thought was quite the sinister idea.
After approximately one hour of walking, the two Masters and Servants reached the neighboring town of Shinto. That was where the church Rin was taking Shirou to was located.
"The church is up that hill. Have you ever gone there before?"
"No. All I know is that it used to be an orphanage."
"I see. This your first time going there. You should prepare yourself. The priest there is a difficult man to deal with."
They go up the hill silently.
"Wow— this really is awesome."
Shirou broke the silence in amazement of the church.
An impressive church atop the hill. And to think his first time going to God's house would be because of a secret war.
Even though the church is not that big, it still is compelling, towering over its visitors.
"Shirou, I will remain here."
"Eh? Why? I can't simply leave you outside when we came all this way together."
"I did not come for the church. My only goal was to protect you. Since we have already reached your destination, you should not go any farther, so I shall wait here for your return."
Albeit conflicted, Shirou decides to respect her decision. Saber didn't look like she would move an inch anyway.
"Okay then. I'll be going."
"Yes. Please don't let your guard down whomever you're facing, Master."
And with that, Shirou strolled towards the church along with Rin.
Why didn't she kill Saber? Why didn't she confirm Lancer's death? Why didn't she continue to protect Shirou?
Doubts gnawed at her. Lancer's couldn't possibly be dead, that much she was certain soon after Berserker clashed with him. Saber? Saber triggered many good memories that culminated in one tragic one that resulted in her father abandoning her and her mother dying.
And Shirou…
Shirou still had to have his worth gauged out. His participation in the Holy Grail War came as a blessing. It was only natural for enemies to hunt one another.
In short, she was just desperate to get away from there, and fast. She, of course, noticed the presence outside his home. How could she not notice a Servant that was not an Assassin?
At the time, she thought it was safe to leave. That girl had probably spent a huge deal of prana in order to heal Shirou. She would not have bothered if she were just going to go and kill him less than an hour after that.
What had not occurred to the little girl was that Shirou was not a Master at the time.
Having this thought for the first time, her feet stopped. She was halfway from Shirou's house to the forest that encircled her mansion.
Shirou was not a Master at the time. That other girl was.
Now they were both Masters. Now they were enemies.
Magi were known to be ruthless and coldblooded. That was just how their world worked. There was no space for any unnecessary feeling.
That girl was going to kill him.
Illya swallowed hard.
That girl was going to kill Shirou as soon as she realized he was a Master. If she had not by now.
She turned around.
Maybe he was still resisting. Saber should be strong enough to deal with Archer and protect Shirou by herself.
She shook her head. She couldn't get rid of those thoughts.
Tohsaka Rin was going to kill Emiya Shirou that night.
She knew it was futile to return. If the girl was going to kill Shirou, he was most likely dead now. If Shirou somehow managed to survive, he had probably already defeated her. Still, she could not simply do nothing.
That was not something that amused her. She immediately bolted in the opposite direction, determined to keep an eye on Shirou and get rid of a competitor in the war at the same time. All in all, maybe this would be a productive night.
Berserker, roaring in her head, seemed to agree.
So, everyone got the slight deviation in the story? Hope this one wasn't too boring, seeing as half of it was cannon for all routes. And how horribly boring was that little fight scene? I'm quite apprehensive about it. Anyway, I'm posting two chapter at the same time, but I would dare say that the next chapter is not all that necessary— it's just our dear church scene, that we all love soooo much! And a Beta would be REALLY appreciated. I'm ready to edit that fight scene to utopian values in order to do well in the future ones, so be specific about the issue.
