Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

If Gilgamesh had one regret in the 5th Holy Grail War, it was that he'd died several days too early.

As he stepped out of Tohsaka Tokiomi's summoning circle, the Golden King had made it apparent to everyone listening that he'd only come for amusement. It was something he got plenty of in the ensuing carnage of the 4th Holy Grail War, thanks to his Master's apprentice. Kirei Kotomine had a suppressed bloodlust and a knack for theatrics that left the Golden King well-entertained, and he'd made sure the Golden King enjoyed his show-a show featuring the ugly nature of humans as Servant and Master tore each other apart. So when Kirei Kotomine promised an encore for the 5th Holy Grail War, he expected a spectacular show. But he hadn't expected Kiritsugu's adopted son to participate with his King of Knights, he hadn't expected Shirou to become his competition. When he confronted Saber about both of these things, he hadn't expected the young upstart to destroy him as if he were nothing.

If the King of Heroes had stayed slightly longer, he may have found Shirou Emiya's plight amusing. He might've made a condescending comment on the irony as Shirou fought past a contaminated Saber Alter and dealt a fatal blow to Kirei Kotomine. He might've laughed at Shirou Emiya's destitute mind as he struggled to realize that Saber would disappear. He'd certainly be amused by the faker's "false" determination as, against the King of Knights' wishes, he'd traced Caliburn and destroyed the Holy Grail himself. Perhaps the exciting- if not entirely happy- life that Shirou and Saber would've lived out together would've made him puke, but he would've given anything to see Saber's expression when Shirou suddenly announced that he, against all social and romantic expectations of the Servant, would travel around the world to save people.

He would've gladly surrendered a vial of Immortality Elixir just to see Shirou disappear, even as the holy sword in his hands erased the existence of a Prime Evil within Egypt.

But this isn't a story about Gilgamesh's isn't a story about what the King of Heroes would've done if Shirou hadn't slain him on the bridge of Fuyuki. This is a story of magic and miracles, of intrigue and adventure, of comedies and tragedies. This is the tale of a man whose determination broke the boundaries of his mortality and put him among the ranks of Faeries.

This is the story of Emiya Shirou- the Mark of Heroes- and those with him.

"MEPHISTO!"

Shirou's mighty war cry commanded the attention of the Prime Evil. The Lord of Fear snarled and raised a paw to strike him down. His circuits sparked as they burned out, white-hot iron rods inserted themselves along his spine and his arms, but the young Hero-to-be stood his ground. Saber would not yield an inch to this monster, and neither would he. But the kind blonde girl back home reminded him of his promise, his affection, and his one regret.

"I'm sorry, Saber." A wistful smile danced across his lips as he thought of the young girl waiting for him at home. She was probably meditating, her righteous aura permeating through the dojo as the moon's clear light danced across her blonde hair. "We'll meet in Avalon."

"CALIBURN!"

The glowing sword in his raised hands swung down. Its righteous light tore through the desert air and painted the entire desert in its whitewash. When the strange desert light finally faded, neither demon nor hero remained; only the glowing-hot glass upon the bare sand dunes spoke of the Japanese boy's deed.

"WHOA!"

"What happened?"

"Who is this person?"

"Man, look at his burnt clothing! Did he get into a fight with a wizard?"

"Probably got beaten up by Salamander. Hey, are you alright?"

The light sensation of someone patting his cheek brought Shirou around, and he looked up, half expecting an Arabic man in cloth wrapppings. He certainly did not expect a swarm of townsmen in modern fashion staring down at him. Nor did he expect to find lumpy cobblestones digging into his back as he woke up. He blinked hard as the sun's glare struck his eyes, wrinkled his nose against the strong sea breeze. Was he in a port town? The last he remembered, he'd been trudging through a nigh impassable desert, hundreds of miles away from the closest oasis...

"I think he's fine."

"We should bring him to get help. Hey, boy, can you walk?"

Wait. He had been in a fight, hadn't he? He'd been hunting the demon lord Mephisto, and he'd burnt all his mana on his final strike. There was no way he could've survived the backlash of using Caliburn like that... right?

He looked around absently as a doughty Merchant helped him to his feet. His eyes flickered from side to side, jumped from store sign to store sign... and stopped.

Magic.

This shop was selling magic. This shop was selling magic tomes and magic wands and magic supplies in the open. They were selling magic to the public and no one bothered to say anything about it.

Just where was he!?

"So, this kingdom is called Fiore."

"Yup, it is."

"People here learn magic just by reading tomes?"

"Yeah. As I said, I have this Colours magic. It's popular among girls, but I figure a man like you might-"

"And you just sell magic like this?"

"Look." The shopkeeper patted his balding head and glared at the orange-haired adolescent. "I've told you three times already. Magic in this Kingdom is a big part of people's lives. There's nothing strange with using magic at all- especially if you're a wizard. Now are you going to buy something, or do I have to chase you out of the store- Welcome!"

Shirou blinked at the storekeeper's jovial smile. What a fast change in attitude!

"Hey, I was just wondering."

Shirou cast a glance at her. The blonde woman stepped past him and put her hands on the counter.

"Do you know how many magic shops are here?"

Shirou cast a sidelong glance at the woman and saw her eyes- sapphire blue, just like the colours of Saber's dress. If only she had her hair tied up like a bun, or the chaste teal gems of his lover... Suddenly it was too much for Shirou to keep looking at, and he had to turn away. He found himself frozen upon the counter, his mind flooded with all his memories of Saber; Saber lying bloody upon the floor, Saber fighting on even after being cut by Berserker, Saber enjoying her noodles during their date in Shinto. That Saber would now wait at home, for an eternity, for a husband who'd never return.

"Nope, we're the only shop in Hargeon."

And yet, here she was. A girl who looked like Saber, but wasn't quite Saber.

"And I thought this was a big town! What a waste of time."

"Well, Hargeon is better known for its fishing industry than its magic," the shopkeeper explained, oblivious to Shirou's distress. "Only ten percent of the entire town uses magic, so this shop caters more to travellers like you. Might I suggest this colours magic? It's very popular with girls because it lets you change the colours of your hair and your clothes. Purple~" The shopkeeper twirled a finger over his head, and Shirou found himself treated to a purple-haired clown in purple garments. He chuckled, and the shopkeeper gave him a dirty look.

"Actually, I'm here for powerful Celestial Gate Keys," the blonde added helpfully.

"Gate keys, huh?"

Shirou's ears perked up. Gate Keys? This conversation just got more interesting.

"Wow!"

The newcomer's pale hand reached past Shirou and hovered over a silver key on display. The key had an emblem of a snowman's head, Shirou noted, and it could open a gate for a spirit to be summoned. As to where the spirit came from... his Structural Grasp continued to pour knowledge of the key into him, but suddenly the tracer found himself unable to understand any of it. It was as if a stone-age person had run into binary code- most of it was just too complex for his brain to understand.

"Ah, that is the Canis Minor key. It's not very powerful, though."

"Whatever," the girl pouted. "I want it anyway. How much for it?"

"Twenty thousand jewels."

Shirou's jaw nearly dropped. Twenty thousand jewels? Not even Tohsaka, whose entire branch of magic was based off of gems, could boast of having a thousand! Just what did Fiore's economy run off of?

"How much?" The blonde woman asked menacingly, only to receive the same reply.

It was clear that the shopkeeper wasn't about to lower his price any day, Shirou realized, and the customer seemed too eager to let it go just like this. Well, he supposed, it was up to him to do something about it.

Trace, on!

"Say, Shopkeeper-san." Shirou flashed the shopkeeper a shady look. "How about I even the price a little?" He raised his other hand, which was now clutching a very jagged dagger. The shopkeeper's eyes popped out of their slits as he placed the amethyst weapon onto the table. "The dagger is called Rule Breaker," he offered. "It breaks any and all magic upon contact. Why don't you cut the deal a bit?"

"Shirou… Emiya, is it? What a strange name."

"Yes, that's my name." Shirou shrugged. "Yours is Lucy Heartfilia, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde girl shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "Thanks for helping with the key back there, I guess. That dagger must have meant a lot to you."

"It's no problem, Lucy." Shirou grimaced at the idea. The dagger had nearly stolen Saber from him, and he certainly didn't miss it- even if this one was a projection. The pair walked over the battlements of Hargeon, Lucy savouring the beautiful sea before her, Shirou struggling to keep his feelings buried. "You're a magician, right? What are magicians like in this world?"

"That's a pretty hard question." Lucy's thoughts drifted guitily to Mirajane, but there was no way she'd tell a stranger any of that! "There are magicians of all sorts, and really… the one thing they have in common is that it's their job to use magic. You see, most Magicians belong to a guild."

"Guild?" Shirou raised an eyebrow. "An organization that helps their research into magic?"

"Well, not really. Guilds are organizations, but most of them have their own small purposes. More importantly, though, Guilds offer quests for wizards, and wizards gain an income for quests. There's much more to a guild than that, but that's generally what most guilds do." She blushed a little. "I've always wanted to join Fairy Tail. They're really strong and famous. What about you, though? You look like a Magician yourself."

"Me?" Shirou asked with feigned surprise. "What makes you think I'm more than just a commoner?"

Lucy flashed him a dark look. "We met inside a magic shop, remember?"

Shirou opened his mouth to reply, but he never got the chance. Just then, a bunch of girls charged past Shirou and threw him onto the floor.

"Did you hear, Salamander's in town!" one screeched excitingly.

"You mean that Fairy Tail Mage? He must be so cool!"said another.

"Wait," Lucy thought aloud. "Salamander's in town?" She turned to Shirou and flashed an apologetic smile. "Sorry there, Shirou, but it seems I've gotta go!"

Shirou had never seen another person run quite so fast.

"Salamander, huh…"

Shirou glanced over the town, pensieve. He'd heard that name before, something about him having gotten into a fight with that Fairy Tail mage when he was helped off the streets. From the looks of it, Salamander was probably a powerful wizard, and a wizard who used fire at that. He was probably rich, too, if he could throw a party on a big ship like the one across Hargeon's port right now.

He looked down at his hands and cursed. Saber was still at home, waiting worriedly for him to return from his hopeless quest. And here he was, stuck in a world that wasn't his own. With not a penny- jewel, he correted himself- there was nowhere he could go. He could probably use magic to do something, but without a guild…

Wait.

Magic.

This was a world of magic. Magic was an integral part of peoples' everyday lives, like how it'd been in the age of the Gods in his own world. Did that mean, perhaps, that magic was much stronger here? Well, nothing quite like a test to find out.

"Trace, on."

Judge the concept of creation.

Hypothesise the basic structure.

Duplicate the material composition.

Imitate the skill of its forging.

Sympathise with the process of its growth.

Reproduce the effects of time upon the concept.

Supersede every step of the process!

Shirou panted heavily as Caliburn materialized in his hands. The bejeweled sword, his only memento of Saber now, gleamed in his hands. And yet, even as he felt the power of the King of Knights flowing through his body, he could feel that Caliburn was somewhat… different, now, that it felt far more like the real object than just a projection of his imagination. What was more, though, was that while the projection took a lot out of him, it hadn't cost quite as much as it should've had.

The mage looked down wistfully at Caliburn in his hands. Saber was probably still at home, waiting for a husband who would never return from his hopeless quest, and he would be stuck in this world, unable to to meet her until death finally united them.

"My sword will henceforth be by your side, and your fate will henceforth be my fate."

Shirou smiled, a small, wistful smile. Even when they were worlds apart, Saber still reminded him of their contract, their pact. And since he'd promised to meet her in Avalon, he had to uphold his end of the pact.

Shirou had to become a hero.

I'll join a guild, then. I'll follow in the steps of my ideal and save everyone. Then, Saber, we'll finally meet in Avalon.

He glanced at the giant ship on the horizon. The Fairy Tail mage was probably having the time of his life, enjoying his party among his numerous guests, and Shirou didn't really want to pull him out of his enjoyment. But if Shirou wanted to join Fairy Tail, he had to start somewhere.

Salamander wouldn't mind a visitor, would he?