Fate / Lost World

Prologue: Missing Assets

It was a quiet evening in the city of Neo Tokyo-3.

Usually, a city isn't supposed to be quiet. It is supposed to be a place where a lot of people come together and live their lives side by side. Many people living in a small space means that there is always something going on. Whether they go to work, come back home, go out to pursue their hobbies or just to meet up with friends; people are always busy with something or other.

So, it is not surprising that a lot of people wander about the streets to go from one place to another. Some walk, others use their cars and some use public transportation. Which means the sidewalks and streets are always full of people, full of life. There is rarely a time when no one's out and about in the streets of a big city. Even at night.

However, lately Tokyo-3 seemed to be an exception.

While it was full of buildings, either giant apartment complexes, offices or other buildings, it lacked residents. There were cars on the streets and passer-by on the sidewalks. But compared to how the city used to be just a few weeks ago, it felt empty.

Tokyo-3 had been a place packed to the brim with people. It didn't matter if it was morning, noon, evening or night, there would always be a lot of people out on the streets. During the day you could rarely make out gaps in the streams of passer-by on the sidewalks and the trains were packed so full there was rarely enough space for all the passengers that wanted to board them. During the night fewer people went outside but there were still enough that one could say this city never really slept.

Yet all that had changed when Tokyo-3 was attacked a few weeks prior. It wasn't the first time a battle had damaged the city. However, this time the power of the attacker was on a whole other scale. Almost half of the city was heavily damaged or destroyed. Countless buildings had collapsed and covered the streets in their remains; provided they weren't replaced with one of the many craters from the explosions that day.

Ordinarily when such an attack happened the residents would also have been evacuated already. But this time the enemy was far too fast and far too powerful it wasn't possible to evacuate everyone on time. Many lives were lost that day and many more people were grieving the loss of their loved ones.

Still, the deaths of some citizens were only part of the reason why Tokyo-3 felt now so empty compared to before. 'Only' a few hundred people died in this attack after all. In a city of millions such a small number shouldn't affect its daily life much; but it did.

Or rather what had caused the death of these people was what led to a further decline of residents.

After all, with what had happened to the city it just seemed too risky for most people to stay any longer. If an attack of that scale should happen again in the future who knew how many lives would be lost then. Not to mention that should something appear that was even stronger than the last enemy; well, who knew if the organisation that protected the city for all this time could even do anything against it.

They barely defeated the last one.

It was this anxiety of the people that led to the fast decline of residents in Tokyo-3. Even the fact that over half of the damaged areas had been rebuild within the last few weeks did nothing to ease it. Fact was this city had become a place that was just too dangerous for most people to comfortably live in.

This was the reason why Tokyo-3 was a lot quieter than before.

But only on the surface.


"Status report! Give me all the information we have!", ordered a female voice in a dimly lit room. While her tone was rather professional, one could hear that she was stressed. Since the last attack one thing after another just went horribly wrong and it seemed the streak would continue on this week too. While the surface was unusually quiet the people in the underground base beneath were in an uproar. The current situation was almost as bad as shortly before the last attack.

"Yes, ma'am!", answered a man in a black suit and opened a small file, "The target left their apartment at 0700 and walked to the Chikasa Station. They boarded the train at 0710 and left it at the Tsubame Station at 0745. At 0753 the target arrived at the school gate. There were no interactions with other people on the way and there was no change from their usual behaviour.

Nothing unusual happened during school. No interactions with classmates or teachers.

It is a Saturday, so school ended at 1300. The students cleaned the school afterwards, including the target. Last sighting of the target was at 1314 while leaving the classroom. They moved around indoors so we could not get a clear picture of their movements from outside. The clean-up took until 1350. The majority of students that are not part of a club left school grounds around this time.

When the target hadn't exited school grounds until 1416 beta team went to investigate. After interrogating their remaining classmates, they were told the target was assigned to clean the female students' restroom on the second floor. They searched the restroom while the other teams searched the rest of the school grounds for the target without success.

After looking through the records of the video surveillance there was still no trace of the target to be found."

"That's just as much as three hours ago! Did you seriously not find anything new?", was the irritated reaction of the woman the black suit reported to. His report wasn't even finished, she knew that. But she still interrupted him to ask the questions that bothered her to no end, "Could you not even find one person that saw her?"

"No, ma'am. We interrogated every person on school grounds and sent agents to search the vicinity for any traces. Agents were also sent to interrogate the targets classmates that had already left the school grounds on any possible leads. But without success. No one has seen the target after they left to clean the restroom. There were also no witnesses that saw them exit school grounds." The man stayed calm despite knowing that his words would only serve to further irritate the woman. He was a professional after all.

"So, she's not at school but no one saw her leave either… was there no one else assigned to the girls' restroom on the second floor?"

"No, there was not. After so many students transferred the remaining ones had to cover more places for the weekly clean-up."

"Anything else?"

"No ma'am. That is all the information we have right now." Hours of investigation and the amount of information they had had barely changed since the disappearance had been discovered. She didn't like it but she also knew yelling wouldn't get her any new leads, so she ordered:

"Look again through the surveillance records. I want you to watch each and every person that leaves the school ground for anything that seems out of the ordinary. Even if it's just a little detail! Also search all of the school ground for any kind of way to leave without being spotted by the surveillance cameras. Dismissed." After an affirmative nod and a "Yes, ma'am." the black suited man left the room.

They were in a small office that was located directly beneath Neo Tokyo-3. A meeting table stood in the middle of the room with dozens of paper sheets lying on top. On three of the four walls hung multiple monitors which displayed many different places around the city of Tokyo-3 and a map that showed the route their target had taken this morning. They were the only thing that illuminated the small room.

The office was part of the giant underground base of NERV, an organisation whose sole purpose was to bring down the 'Angels', a thread that could bring about the end of humanity. The woman who had listened to the report was the major in charge of the soldiers which fought on the frontline of this war. Her name was Misato Katsuragi.

"You should calm down, Misato. Getting worked up like this won't help." The advice came from the only other occupant in the room. Just like Misato she was a woman in her late twenties. She wore a white lab coat making it obvious that she was part of the technical side of NERV.

Though Misato knew that her words were well-intended, they didn't calm her down at all.

"Calm down? How can you even say that? Do you even realize what a situation we are in right now? If an Angel decides to show up, there's only one operational Evangelion. And if the enemy is even remotely as strong as the last one, it means the end of humanity!" The blonde scientist couldn't refute any of those livid words. It was fact that should an Angel attack right at that moment they would barely stand a chance. Still…

"I do know the situation, Major Katsuragi. But Section 2 is looking through every trash can in a five-kilometre radius from the school to find some kind of hint and the Magi are searching the whole city while running the best face-recognition software we have. Moreover, per your orders, all the video footage from the school will be manually reviewed as well. Right now, there is nothing else we could do to raise our chances of finding her." Contrary to the kind of sympathetic words from before those facts delivered in an almost cold voice did indeed calm the major down, at least a little.

"Damn it…", mumbled Misato while leaning on the table, "How could this happen? Someone kidnapped one of our pilots and didn't even leave a single trace. No evidence, no witnesses, nothing."

"Assuming it was the work of a third party, I have to admit this was incredibly well executed. It's been almost five hours and our usual methods didn't yield a single lead", agreed the blonde head scientist of NERV.

"What do you mean 'assuming it was a third party?'", asked the violet haired woman bewildered.

"There's also the possibility that someone from NERV did it, or that she just ran away on her own."

"I admit an inside job could be possible. We should check that. But running away? That doesn't make any sense. She's more loyal to NERV than anyone I know. There's no way she would do something like that", was the major's response, before she mumbled as an afterthought, "Not that she could even if she tried, as a pilot she's monitored 24/7 after all."

"I agree, and I doubt this is what actually happened. But we can't dismiss any possibilities, however unlikely they may seem", said the blonde. She took out a cigarette and lit it. "I'll have a team search her apartment, just in case."

No words were needed. Misato's facial expression already said loud and clear that she didn't believe in this suspicion at all. Yet, at the same time, she knew that she could not rule it out just because. There was no trace of the girl whatsoever which was even more reason to be as thorough as they could.

"Let's just hope that we find her fast. We can't afford to lose another pilot", muttered Misato as her eyes found a photo of the missing girl on the table. It was taken from one of the cameras on the way to school that day. As always, she was clad in her school uniform wearing a neutral expression on her face, "Just where are you, Rei…"


Later that evening a certain train reached its final stop.

As one would expect only a few dozen people got out when the doors opened for the last time that day. Most of the passengers already left at one of the earlier stations, glad that they could finally go home to rest. It took them a bit longer, but these last passengers could now also do the same. Though among those tired people which had mostly worked for the whole day there was a single exception.

It was mostly just middle-aged men and women in suits or other formal clothes, so this young teenage girl stuck out like a sore thumb. She had black hair done in a short-boys cut and wore a beige jacket over a simple white blouse and a pair of dark blue jeans. On her nose rested the white frame of a pair of glasses. However, what let her stick out the most was the big travel backpack on her shoulders. It made her look as if she was travelling the country. While this earned her a few curious glances from the other passengers the girl didn't pay them any attention. Most of her fellow passengers were too tired to give it more thought anyway so all of them just went their own ways.

It took her a train ride of seven hours, but she had finally arrived in Fuyuki City.

After leaving the train the black-haired girl took out a folded map and confirmed the way she had to go from here on. The last few weeks she had put the plan together and constantly revised it. What should she do first after arriving? Where should she stay? How much time did she have to become a participant? How long until her pursuers would find a trace that would lead them to her? What would she do if they finally found her? How long would it take to acquire what she was looking for?

She was an amateur and the information and resources available to her were limited. A lot of things she had to rely on second-hand knowledge and for others she could do nothing but hope for the best. There was no way for her to know how many participants already entered or if there even was an open spot left. The only thing she had was the estimation that the event would begin in a week from now at the latest. Meaning she shouldn't waste any time right now or it might be too late.

After confirming the way, she packed away the map and exited the Fuyuki Station.

Outside the building the girl felt the cold night-time air touching her skin and began walking to her first destination. It was already rather dark, but the streetlights illuminated her way through the streets just fine. One light after another guided her through the shadows of the night This was quite the unusual sight for the girl who had lived in a large city since she could first remember.

While Fuyuki was by no means a rural town it felt more at ease than a large city like Tokyo-3.

It was night-time so obviously there were very few people on the streets. On the other side of the street the girl could make out three people that had left the station a bit earlier than her. But no one else in the vicinity. Night was the time for humans to rest and the black-haired girl felt like in this place everyone did indeed rest.

Not like in Tokyo-3 where even at night dozens of cars and people were on their ways.

The lighting was also very different. While following the sidewalk there were only every few metres streetlights that illuminated the spot right under it. It was like following the little lights to guide her to her destination. In Tokyo-3 every street and every corner were illuminated by one light or another. All that were just minor details she shouldn't even bother to acknowledge; but she did anyway.

It didn't matter how her way was lighted she would just follow the route on the map regardless. Yet, the girl could not resist to be captivated by those small differences.

Maybe it was the fact that this was the first time she visited another town which caused those reactions. Somehow, she had the feeling to have discovered something special. But why? She didn't really understand what made her feel this way.

"Perhaps I should ask…", were the words that escaped her whispering mouth. But she stopped herself. There was no time for thoughts like these. They were completely useless anyway. She was here to do something, and she shouldn't let herself be distracted from it by wishful thinking.

Only after this was done, she could indulge in those thoughts.

Shaking her head to clear it from these thoughts, she started walking again. But just as the girl was about to turn the street corner something, or rather someone, crashed into her, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to run you over like that." It was the voice of a child. Looking up the black-haired girl found a young boy, maybe 10 years old, standing over her reaching already reaching out his small hand to help her up.

For normal standards his appearance was a bit unusual. The boy had long, snow-white hair which he wore in one long braid down his back. His eyes had the colour of shining rubies while his clothes consisted of a white shirt with white trousers and a violet coat that almost reached down to his ankles. While she would never speak it out loud, looking up to him, he looked somewhat like a ghost. The white clothes and hair as well as his pale complexion and ruby eyes seemed to almost glow amidst the darkness surrounding them.

From his face she could also tell that he was not from Asian descent. Maybe European, but she wasn't completely sure.

Not paying any more mind to his appearance she took his hand and stood up.

"You're not hurt, are you?", he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"I am fine." She intercepted the fall with her gloved right hand, so she wasn't injured. After all it was just a small child bumping into her so the force behind it wasn't that strong to begin with.

"That's good. I- oh…" The boy's eyes caught sight of something on the street.

"Crap. This is yours, isn't it?" Kneeling down, he picked up the glasses. The white frame was still intact but one of the lenses was cracked.

"Yes." She had just bought it a few days ago.

"And the crack is from the fall just now?"

"Yes." It wasn't there when she wore it a few seconds ago. Though she had to admit that she didn't even notice that the glasses had fallen off before the boy had pointed it out.

"I knew it… then I should pay for them. It was my fault that they broke after all.

Ah, but I don't have any money and I heard glasses are expensive… I could ask- no. I don't want to depend on them. It was my fault so I should do something to make it up to her on my own. Maybe I could- no. That's out of the question. That could cause even more trouble. For me and her. But-" Five simple words interrupted the rambling of the young boy.

"I do not need them."

"Huh?" Maybe he didn't hear her correctly.

"I do not need them. My eyesight is fine."

"But then, why…", the white-haired boy started to ask while looking through the glasses in his hands. He could see the world behind them just fine. No distortion at all. Meaning there were no special lenses in the frame just normal glass. Turning to the black-haired girl and locking his ruby eyes with her coppery ones, still while looking through the fake glasses he asked, "Do you wear them for aesthetic reasons? I think Onee-san looks prettier without them though."

"I did. But I do not need them anymore." Ignoring the obvious compliment, she answered in a quiet, neutral voice and then simply started to walk away. These glasses were just part of one of her disguises after all.

She needed to change her appearance a few times when leaving the city to make it harder for her pursuers to trace her. Right now, her disguise consisted of just brown contact lenses to hide her red eyes, black hair dye to change its original azure colour and those white glasses as a little accessory.

Here in Fuyuki they weren't exactly necessary anymore.

Now that she was outside of Neo Tokyo-3 and at her destination her black dyed hair should suffice to keep a low profile. The girl also thought about forgoing the coloured contacts for the battles to come. She didn't want to take the risk of them potentially hindering her vision in a crucial moment.

"Huh? Are you sure you don't want them? You bought them after all…"

"They served their purpose", the girl answered without slowing down, "You can throw them away, or you can keep them. Do what you want."

"Really? Thank you, Onee-san! I don't exactly need them either, but I'll try to come up with something. It would be a waste to just throw them away when the frame is still fine", running up to her again, the boy thanked her enthusiastically with a big smile while shaking her hands out of gratitude, "By the way, what's your name Onee-san?"

"Rei." Better to not give her full name when there were people after her. She shouldn't even have given him her first name but the girl somehow had a feeling he wouldn't let her go if she didn't answer his questions.

"Rei? Like in 'zero' or 'ghost'? It could also use the kanji for 'bell'. Or 'lovely'. I really like Japanese names. They can have so many meanings and most of them sound very pretty. Ah, by the way, my name is Mark.

I came to Fuyuki because of my family. It's all business to them so it's mostly really boring but visiting a new town is really exciting! We're probably going to stay for a few weeks. I hope we can meet again if you aren't too busy. I want to make it up to you, you know, for running into you. And, also for the glasses."

"There is no need for-"

"I insist!" Rei's refusal was blown away with those words combined with a million-watt smile. Surprise made its way to the girls face but disappeared just as quickly. With her face back to neutral she nodded once. "When I have time." Again, she turned around to leave.

"Great! I'm looking forward to it! See you around, Rei-neesan!"

"Goodbye." And with that the girl called Rei finally went her way.

They probably wouldn't meet again. Fuyuki City was decently big and the chances to meet this boy without any means to contact him was extremely low. Not to mention that she would be too busy to meet up with him regardless. For her it was the same as the boy's family. She came here because there was something she had to do. There would be no time to play around with a child.


The white-haired boy just stood there, waving goodbye to the black-haired teen until she was completely out of sight. Then, once again, he looked at the glasses in his hand and put them on. He could wear them, but the frame was a bit too big for him. No surprise there. After all the girl seemed to be around 15 years old. If a ten-year-old child would try to wear them, of course they wouldn't fit. But given time he would grow and at some point, he could wear them like she did.

"Given time, huh…", muttered the boy to himself. His previous smile had vanished, replaced with a frown. "It's kind of sad. I guess this is my first gift, yet I can't even use it." And with that the young boy still wearing the cracked oversized glasses turned the corner where he had collided with the teenage girl just a few minutes earlier.

He had procrastinated it as long as he could. But having met this girl, Mark thought he should probably get ready before dawn. Otherwise, all the seats might be taken.

Finally, the boy went his way. But not before his ruby eyes found something not far from where the girl had fallen to the ground. It looked like she hadn't just lost her glasses during their run-in.


Author's note:

To everyone that kept reading to the end, thank you!

All of this started more or less with the idea of "what would happen if the pilots got involved in a holy grail war" and some inspiration from the fanfics Solenoid Flux by fallacies and Solenoid Flux: Rebuild by SoapHeller. Btw, both are great EVAxFate/Zero crossover I recommend if you want to read about a setting that combines both worlds during the 4th Fuyuki grail war.

The story takes place in 2015 during the 5th Fuyuki grail war with Rei as the main lead, though I want of course to try flashing out the rest of the cast too. I'm pretty comfortable using English but it isn't my native language, so there may slip in some mistakes. Sorry about that! And that's about all I have to say for the prologue.

Why does the grail war happen 11 years later than in FSN? Who are the other masters? Which servants will be summoned? What about the Angels? I hope you stay and find out!

-LuckySeven