Chapter 93 - And So It Begins Again


When the girl came to, she was in a charred pit.

All around her, were smoldering ruins and smoke.

She didn't know where she was, but she could guess that there had been a fire.

No, in the distance, she could still see a glowing wall of orange light.

It didn't last long, though.

Eventually, by the time the sun rose, the blinding glow had died down, having consumed almost everything they could, leaving behind only a landscape of ash and ruin.

If she had to compare it to something, it would have been pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, after the bombs fell.

Her head was pounding, as she forced herself up.

All around her, was silence.

Nothing stirred.

Nothing moved.

She was alone.

It didn't take her long to realize she was the only living thing in her current hellscape.

She couldn't remember her name.

She couldn't remember why she'd been in a pit.

She couldn't remember anything.

All she knew, was that she was lucky to be alive.

Whether it was the pit that had been lucky, or her that was the lucky one, she didn't know.

But, since she was still alive...

Her natural instincts took over.

If she had survived, she should live on.

She began to walk aimlessly, reasoning that it was dangerous to remain where she was, and anywhere else would be better than staying there.

Her foot accidentally kicked a few crispy husks as she shambled along, but she paid them no heed.

She refused to acknowledge the figures on the floor.

All she did, was focus on walking out.

That was all that was on her mind.

There was no hope of being saved.

There was no curiosity over what had happened.

There was no thought about what came next.

All there was, in that moment, was the simple drive to survive.

And then the girl collapsed.

Was it a lack of oxygen in the air?

Was her body just exhausted?

Whatever it was, her survival instincts were no match for it.

She couldn't even muster up the energy to attempt to fight.

All she could do, was lay on her back, and stare at the darkening sky, as clouds blocked out the sun.

Idly, she wondered if it was going to rain.

If so, that was good.

Hopefully the rain would put out whatever fires were left.

In the end, she sighed deeply, as her eyes began to grow heavy.

...

It hurts...

...

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

An alarm tore through the air, causing the girl to shoot upwards in a panic.

Frantically taking a look around, she confirmed her surroundings, before finally relaxing and sighing in relief as she once again confirmed her surroundings.

She was in a simple bed, in her simple room, and things weren't on fire.

It had been just a dream.

... no, it had just been a memory.

The earliest memory she had, in fact.

Everything before that had been wiped out in the same disaster that she'd just dreamed about, apparently.

Forcing herself out of bed, she dragged herself to the mirror, and studied her reflection.

The pale face of an eighteen year old girl stared back at her, with pale blue eyes and white hair.

Gingerly, she ran a finger from her right hand down her left eye, tracing the slight scar that lay there.

She'd been told that, after she'd collapsed, some of the ruins around her had collapsed, burying her in rubble and giving her that scar.

She'd also been told that they'd pulled her out of the rubble, her hair had already been white, though they didn't know if it was genetic or simply from shock.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, reflecting back on that moment twelve years ago.

There had been a terrible fire that night, and she'd been the only survivor they'd found.

When she'd finally come to, she'd been in the hospital, with more bandages than a mummy, and no known living relations.

On the day she'd finally been able to take over her bandages, and she could finally eat without assistance (or a straw), a man came to visit her.

She still remembered a wrinkled coat and disheveled hair, which made the man seem unreliable in her eyes compared to the doctors and nurses who'd been attending to her.

The man then introduced himself as Kiritsugu Emiya.

Apparently, he'd been the one who'd pulled out her of the rubble.

Apparently, he'd also been the one who'd given the doctors a name for her, having used it because of her hair color.

She remembered being extremely unimpressed by the man upon hearing that.

After dumping all those revelations onto her, he'd then asked if she'd wanted to go with him (a man she'd just been introduced to), or if she'd wanted to go to an orphanage.

Although she hadn't known a thing about the man (besides the fact that he'd saved her, and was lazy with names), she didn't know (or remember) a thing about any orphanages either, and so she'd decided to go with him.

She remembered he'd been very pleased to hear that, and had promptly helped her pack the few belongings she'd had, saying that she should get used to her new home as fast as she could.

She also remembered being very unimpressed with his packing, even by the standards of her child self.

Then, after making a big mess...

"Oh, I forgot to mention something important. I have to tell you one thing before you come with me. Is that okay?" Kiritsugu had snapped his fingers, as if he'd remembered something, before light-heartedly turning to her.

Then, he'd dropped the biggest bombshell of them all.

"Yeah. To start off with, I'm a sorcerer."

She couldn't help the wry smile that graced her face, as she thought back to that day.

God, she'd really been a kid back then, hadn't she?

According to her (foster) father, her eyes had been shining with amazement, and there had been no doubt or skepticism in her voice when she'd told him: "Wow, really? You're so cool!"

Then again, she herself didn't remember how she'd replied back then; it had been her father who always talked about that day, constantly retelling that story to her again and again.

Whatever it was, since that day, she'd been his daughter, and she'd never deny the influence he'd had on her.

She let loose a small sigh once more, before saying a quick prayer for her dearly-departed father.

She'd have to remember to replace the incense sticks and offerings at the altar to him when she returned home later.

For now, though, she had a dream to pursue.

As she quickly tied her long hair into a simple ponytail, she moved away from her mirror, and opened the door.

The smell of cooking food immediately tickled her nose.

Her eye twitched, before she sighed in resignation.

As she immediately made her way to the kitchen, an athletic blonde foreigner enthusiastically greeted her: "Morning, Shiro!"

Shiro Emiya amicably returned the greeting: "Good morning, Arc."

Jaune nodded back at her in response, before turning his attention back to cooking breakfast.

Shiro, for her part, took a moment quietly study the older man, and comparing him to when they'd first met.

Their first meeting had been... weird, to put it bluntly.

She'd been on the way home, six weeks ago, when she'd found what she'd first assumed to be a homeless man who'd been mugged and robbed sleeping underneath a tree, at the outskirts of the forest on the edge of the city.

When she'd approached him, however, wanting to see if he'd needed help (as any good Hero of Justice was supposed to do), she'd soon noticed that something was... off.

Besides his blonde hair making him stand out, he'd been wearing a breastplate over some medieval-looking leather tunics, and he'd had a sheath holding an object with a wicked-looking hilt within it.

Immediately, she'd dialed up her guardian, who was the granddaughter of the local yakuza boss (which was a fact the wannabe Hero of Justice conveniently forgot most of the time), to ask if anything had happened recently.

Then the man had woken up, and asked her in perfect Japanese where he was and if there was a place he could get food and water.

Fujimura Taiga had arrived just as he'd clarified that yes, he did, in fact, have a sword with him, and no, he did not know where he was.

She didn't think she'd ever gotten a scolding from her guardian like that before, not even when she'd snuck out of the house in the middle of the night to take care of some stray puppies in the forest...

In the end, though, she'd managed to convince Taiga to let the man stay at their place for the night, reminding her that it was what Kiritsugu would have done.

And now...

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't need to come all the way here and cook breakfast for Fuji-nee and I every morning, Arc." Shiro reminded him sternly, glaring at him even as she approached him, prepared to take the spatula from his hand by force. "What time did you even get up today?"

"It's really no big deal." Jaune quickly reminded her, rubbing the back of his head bashfully even as he finished making the fried pork cutlets. "I can't ever thank you guys enough for helping me get back on my feet, after all."

"It's what anyone would have done, Arc." Shiro rolled her eyes, before peering closely at his face, and telling him: "I can see your eyebags, you know."

"You can?" Jaune asked in surprise, hand reaching to feel up his face.

It was a lie. As far as Shiro could tell, Jaune Arc could have probably found a career as a supermodel after spending a week in a jungle.

But she could read his tone, between knowing him for six weeks, and him being an absolutely terrible liar (most of the time).

To his credit, Jaune quickly realized he'd been tricked, and he pouted at the younger girl, who simply returned it with a glare as she repeated herself: "So, what time did you get up this time?"

"... about five in the morning." Jaune finally admitted, before quickly adding: "I always wake up at that time to do my morning jogs, anyway."

"And let me guess - you went to sleep at four in the morning?" Shiro pressed, knowing full well that her "friend" (for lack of a better word) had a tendency to lose track of time while doing stuff, especially stuff that caught his interest. "Were you studying all night again or something?"

"..." Jaune's sheepish silence was answer enough. Of course, it didn't last long, before he turned the tables. "Hey, you're one to talk! You fell asleep in your workshop again, you know!"

"I did?" Shiro blinked, surprised by the information. Hadn't she woken up in her bed?

"Yep." Jaune nodded. "Taiga had to ask me to carry you back up to your bed, you know!"

Shiro spent a moment processing that information, before groaning at the antics of her child-like guardian.

"So..." Jaune continued, seizing the opportunity. "What were you working on in your workshop this time?"

"Nothing in particular." Shiro replied easily. "Just... tinkering with the engine on the bike."

Jaune took a second to study Shiro, even as Shiro maintained her calm composure.

Then he remembered something, and asked: "By the way... did you know you apparently hurt your hand last night?"

"I did?" Shiro raised an eyebrow, knowing very well that she hadn't.

"Yeah, you've got a big red mark running down the length of your left arm." Jaune pointed out with a frown. "I tried treating it, but it wouldn't go away..."

Shiro took a second to look at her left arm.

Indeed, there was a red mark running down from her shoulder to the back of her hand.

Shiro cocked her head quizzically, lightly flexing her arm.

Feeling no pain, she then prodded at it.

"Does it hurt?" Jaune asked, concern coloring his tone.

"Not really..." Shiro murmured, continuing to poke it. "It just... feels like a welt, that's all... maybe I cut myself while fixing something last night?"

"I didn't see any blood in the workshop, though." Jaune recalled, looking at her face for any sign of pain. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, see?" Shiro rotated her arm for his benefit. "I'm sure it's nothing..."

"Well, if you say so..." Jaune reluctantly conceded, as he moved to begin transferring the food to serving plates.

"I'll get the plates and utensils." Shiro said firmly, grabbing the plates from his hands. "You should sit down and take a break... I know your jogs are practically marathons..."

Jaune sighed, but before he could retort Shiro added: "Alternatively, if you still have energy... I'm sure Fuji-nee is always up for kendo practice."

Jaune just rolled his eyes, but backed down at the implied threat.

It was fortunate for him, as just then, Fujimura Taiga entered the room, yawning widely as the lethargic English teacher followed her nose and her instincts, and she sat herself down at the table first, followed by a reluctant Jaune as Shiro glared at him while setting the table.

Breakfast that morning was a more quiet affair than it usually was.

Shiro Emiya wasn't the most outspoken of people, but Jaune usually tried to make small talk, and with the boisterousness of Fujimura Taiga, there would usually be some conversation going on.

This morning, however, Jaune couldn't help but quizzically raise an eyebrow, when he saw the way Taiga was peering at them silently and suspiciously from over the top of her newspaper, before looking at Shiro for an explanation.

"She was watching a spy movie last night." Shiro whispered to him, voice full of resigned amusement, as she recalled what Fuji-nee had been doing when she'd withdrawn to her workshop.

Jaune almost choked, but managed to quickly conceal his laugh with a cough, causing Shiro to grin, both at her friend's reaction, and the fact that she could tell his laughter had been genuine.

Jaune, for his part, couldn't help but smile back at Shiro, before leaning forward exaggeratedly, peering at the newspaper Taiga had propped up.

"Let's see..." Jaune began loudly, pointedly unable to see Taiga's alarmed reaction as he began reading out: "Local vigilante apprehends criminals... mysterious foreigner wins Shogakakan's Newcomer Of The Year Award... English museum to loan artifacts to Fuyuki University..."

"That's right... you were pretty excited about that, weren't you, Arc?" Taiga asked with a sigh, rolling up her newspaper as it became clear that her scheme wasn't going to work that morning.

"... did you tell her, Shiro?" Jaune turned to pout at Shiro.

Shiro, for her part, ignored him as she instead asked her guardian: "So... what did you do this time, Fuji-nee?"

"..." Taiga looked away, and began whistling innocently.

"Fuji-nee..." Shiro's voice became a growl.

"Oh, look at the time, I need to go mark some papers!" Fujimura Taiga all but leapt out of her seat. "Thank you for the meal gotta go bye!"

""..."" Jaune and Shiro both took a moment to stare at her empty seat.

Finally, Jaune spoke up: "So, do you think she swapped the labels on the sugar and the salt again?"

"I doubt it; the food tasted just fine." Shiro shook her head, frowning. Then she groaned: "I'll have to check all the sauces and their labels later..."

"Good luck with that." Jaune cheered, even as he continued eating his breakfast, steadfastly ignoring any of the sauces as he did so.

Shiro just sighed at his words, before haughtily sniffing: "There is something very wrong with a world in which that thing is a teacher..."

"You said it." Jaune raised his bowl in agreement.

-FUYUKI UNIVERSITY, THREE HOURS LATER-

As Jaune sat in the comfortable chair in the air-conditioned lecture theatre, a yawn threatened to escape from his lips.

He quickly fought to stifle it, disguising it with a sip of bitter coffee as Shiro's suspicious gaze immediately fell upon him, knowing full well that the kind girl would use it as an excuse to stop him from coming over so early, and making breakfast for her and her... eccentric guardian.

Well, eccentric was putting it lightly.

Honestly, Fujimura Taiga reminded him of Nora Valkyrie (and wasn't that a scary thought, putting Nora Valkyrie in charge of teaching impressionable young teenagers?).

He couldn't help the dull throb of pain in his heart, as he remembered his first team, and idly wondered if Nora and Ren had finally gotten together-together.

Before his feelings could leak out onto his face, however, he took another sip of the bitter coffee, and he pulled his face in reaction.

Honestly, it really wasn't like he was tired because of how early he'd woken up (or how late he'd slept)!

The shoplifters from last night had been disarmed and neutralized within seconds, after all!

It was just that his surroundings were too comfortable, and his body was still getting used to not being active all the time!

A sigh escaped his lips this time.

It had been two months since he'd come to this world, and his body was still struggling to adjust, after the past two or three years of Huntsman training and dimension jumping and world-saving.

Well, at least he'd made a clear improvement, compared to how he'd been, when he'd come to this world.

He'd woken up in the middle of a forest, with no signs of human life in sight, and all he remembered was the English trying to stop it.

Even now, he still wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

Had he triggered some automated defense?

Had someone tried to assassinate him?

Either way, all he knew, was that he was in an unfamiliar place, with nobody around him.

He hadn't been able to help it.

He'd broken down, bawled, wept, and cried for hours, as he'd finally allowed the realization of everything he'd lost, to sink in.

Even now, that period was still a hazy blur.

His next clear memory was three days later, when he'd pulled himself back together, and begun exploring the woods he'd been in.

One week or so after he'd begun exploring, he'd finally reached the edge of the woods, when he'd spotted something that had taken his breath away.

Lights in the distance shone and sparked, illuminating a bustling city.

The world he was in was inhabited!

He immediately made his way towards it, before he paused, and slowed down.

He still remembered the various bandits and raiders he'd encountered.

Strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet, sure... unless they attacked you or tried to rob you first.

For all he knew, he could have come across a massive bandit kingdom.

The next few days had been spent cautiously growing closer, trying to study the people.

Then, he'd made a mistake, and had fallen asleep too close to the edge of the forest.

The next thing he knew, some girl was approaching him, and not trying to attack him or rob him.

Then again, given the state he was in, he doubted anybody would have actually bothered to rob him.

And so, he'd decided to take a chance, and ask the girl for some help with getting food, water, and shelter.

... and then he'd been attacked by Fujimura Taiga, who'd immediately begun swinging at him with her shinai.

Only the absurdity of the fact that he was being attacked by a blunt wooden stick, and the younger girl's hasty intervention and cries for "Fuji-nee" to stop, had stopped him from immediately pulling out his own blade and swiftly counter-attacking.

After that, he'd quickly picked up on a few things.

Firstly, owning (actual) swords or other (lethal) weapons was generally frowned upon in this world's society (or at least, the part of the world he was in).

And secondly, the woman who attacked him had apparently been the guardian of the girl who'd approached him.

From there, he could understand why he'd been attacked; his sisters would have definitely freaked out as well if he'd snuck out in the middle of the night and met a suspicious-looking man with contraband in the forest outside Ansel.

Still, though, she'd only been trying to help, and so he'd eventually intervened (despite all of his instincts telling him that getting between an angry older sibling and a mortified younger sibling was a horrible idea), and explained that he had no idea where he was, or how he'd gotten there, and he just needed some directions and he'd be out of their hair.

The pair had ended up letting him stay in their home for the next few days, while helping him find some pawn shops to sell whatever coins he'd still had (caps weren't legal tender here, naturally, but at least the multitude of coins he'd gotten from Skyrim, Camelot, and the French at least had value from their gold content), as well as hooking him up with a housing rental agency that asked little questions, and some form of identification.

It was the last one, more than anything, that tipped him off that Fujimura Taiga and/or Emiya Shiro may not have been completely on the right side of the law.

Then again, it wasn't like it was the first time he'd dabbled with forgeries. Hell, it wasn't even the second.

And he wasn't that familiar with this world's laws anyway, nor was he going to snitch on people who'd helped him when he needed it.

And speaking of the world's laws...

That was another thing about this world that he was really struggling to adjust to.

This world... was lawful.

Peaceful.

Quiet.

Sure, some people did occasionally need help, but that was more along the lines of "help old ladies cross the street" and "give tourists directions" than "fight hordes of Grimm" and "get stuck in wars against foreign oppressors".

At first, he'd relished in the peace, the lack of stressful responsibility, but he'd realized it a week after he'd found his own place, and settled down.

He'd gotten so used to conflict, to fighting for his life, to always working towards some greater goal, that now... without any of that...

He had nothing to stimulate himself and occupy his time.

Or, to put it bluntly... he was bored.

Oh, sure, he could enjoy just sitting back and relaxing with a bottle of cola in one hand and one of the local comics ("manga", he believed they called it) in another...

But gone were the days where he could just do nothing but that for dozens of hours at a time.

When he read some comic about a guy fighting demons and dragons, all he could think now was "been there, done that".

It had gotten so bad that he'd tried losing himself running (he'd ended up three prefectures away after losing track of time), and had even asked Fujimura Taiga for some swordsmanship practice.

That... had been a bad idea.

Oh, she was a good training partner; hell, she may have been able to give Sir Kay a run for his money.

But, like Nora Valkyrie, she could also be surprisingly sharp.

That match had resulted in her asking a lot of uncomfortable questions he hadn't been prepared to answer, as she'd failed to land a single hit on him (and he couldn't simply throw the match and take a blow either, not unless he wanted to reveal that he had Aura on top of that)...

In the end, at Fujimura's recommendation (and with her assistance), he'd transferred into Shiro's university, and between that and finding a few hobbies, he was finally, slowly, adjusting back to a more quiet life.

A sudden and loud movement caught his attention, and he turned to see a black-haired figure taking a seat next to Shiro.

"Oh, good morning, Tohsaka-senpai." Shiro politely greeted the newcomer.

"Good morning, Emiya." Tohsaka Rin amicably returned the greeting with a nod, before giving the blonde foreigner next to her a dirty look. "Arc."

"Hey, Tohsaka." Jaune waved back, uncaring about the girl's frosty tone. After all, Weiss had been worse, when they'd first met.

"Aren't you going to be sitting with your usual posse today, Tohsaka-senpai?" Shiro asked curiously, as Rin simply ignored Jaune.

"I would, but they're busy talking about our local vigilante again, so I decided to spare my brain cells." Rin sniffed haughtily.

"Oh, you mean that guy with the shield?" Shiro asked, turning to Rin (and missing Jaune's wince).

"Yes, the Captain America wannabe." Rin replied dismissively. "Apparently, he stopped another shoplifting again..."

"Actually, I think he calls himself the "Huntsman"..." Jaune couldn't help but interject, before his voice trailed away as he realized just what he'd said.

Rin and Shiro immediately turned to him.

"And how do you know that, Arc?" Rin asked, voice full of suspicion.

"I'm pretty sure it was in one of the articles about him..." Jaune replied quickly.

Shiro, for her part, knew that Jaune was lying, having read most of the articles about the vigilante in question (being a wannabe Hero of Justice and all).

But she also knew that Jaune definitely wasn't the man the lazy media had dubbed "Shielder", if only because she'd seen everything he'd owned, when she'd picked him up and had him stay with her.

Jaune hadn't had a shield, only a sword in an odd scabbard.

And just to be sure, she'd also taken a look around when she'd dropped by Jaune's place last time, as well as asked Fuji-nee to check with her grandfather.

Nobody had bought a shield in the city in the past two months, especially not any blonde foreigners (and that was the kind of thing people tended to notice).

Even though the timeline fit, there was no conceivably way Jaune could have acquired a shield that could shatter knives and katanas, or block homemade incendiaries and bullets.

She could guess he probably knew the Huntsman, but she'd decided not to pry too much.

After all, it wasn't like she wasn't keeping secrets herself.

Since Jaune respected her privacy, she'd respect his.

"Oh, right, that article from last week?" Shiro spoke up, a bit louder than normal. "I think I saw it too..."

"Is that so..." Rin wondered out loud, visibly relaxing. "I guess I must have missed it."

Shiro could feel Jaune letting out a sigh of relief.

Then Rin noticed something, and pointed at the bandages on Shiro's left hand as she asked: "By the way... did something happen to your arm?"

"Oh... that..." Shiro waved her bandaged hand nonchalantly. "I cut myself on the hand last night while working on Fuji-nee's bike, that's all..."

Jaune couldn't help but look at the bandages, as a mixture of both guilt and curiosity welled up within him.

He'd been alarmed when he'd seen it last night, and poured Aura into it, but it hadn't changed at all.

It had been the first time his Aura hadn't healed a wound, or some symptom, but he couldn't just outright tell the person who'd helped him about why he knew it wasn't just a cut...

Well, at least it didn't seem to be anything too dangerous, and didn't seem to be causing her any discomfort.

Hopefully.

He probably had time to figure out what it was before he had to actually warn her about it, if it didn't go away by itself.

Right now, though... since she'd spoken up for him...

"Yep, she did." Jaune vouched for her, returning the favor. "I saw it when I took her to bed last night."

For some reason, Rin suddenly started choking.

As Shiro quickly made sure she was okay, she cleared her throat, and her eyes narrowed dangerously at Jaune.

Fortunately for Jaune, before she could actually say anything, the lecturer came in, and announced the start of the lesson.

That still didn't stop Rin from glaring at Jaune, though he ignored it this time with practiced ease (he'd stared down the World-Eater, punched the White Dragon in the eye, and gone toe-to-toe with demons and Grimm, after all), choosing to instead focus on World History lecture.

Oum, Dr. Oobleck would have been so proud, to see how passionate he'd become about history.

(Pyrrha and Ren, for their part, would've probably just been happy to see him actually studying, and Ruby and Nora would have been shocked, if not outright horrified.)

He felt another dull pang in his heart, which he easily dismissed.

He'd never stop missing them, any of them... but he'd already learned to accept that he'd never see them again.

All he could do, was move on, and keep helping people, living his life according to his beliefs.

"Alright, class." The lecturer began. "As I'm sure you all know, today we'll be talking about the English. This lecture, however, is a bit special, because the Tower of London has generously volunteered to donate some of their most valuable relics to us..."

Jaune tuned out the lecturer's voice, as she continued giving some background information about their donors, in favor of mentally going over what he'd known about the English.

In truth, his current fascination with history, had much to do with seeing how much this world differed from the one he'd previously been in (and, by extension, the other worlds he'd been in).

It had all started when he'd been going through the papers to look for a job, and came across a listing that had asked for candidates who were proficient in English.

The same language Blake had said he'd been writing in.

The same name as the people that had suddenly interfered, in the latter stages of the war in France.

As far as Jaune had been able to find out, the English, who hailed from England (and that name seemed familiar to him for some reason, but he couldn't quite place it), were also a group of people in this world.

That had started his descent into medieval history.

Unfortunately, unlike Remnant, this world's version of the CCT Network (the Internet) didn't have quite as advanced of a search engine as he'd have liked.

What it did have, however, that set it apart from Skyrim, the Wastelands, Camelot, and France (he wasn't counting Hell or Hueco Mundo for obvious reasons) was actual libraries.

All he'd needed to do, was go to a library, and ask the librarian for books on wars between France and England.

And then he'd had to specify wars between France, England, Normandy, and Burgundy, and it had to involve Orleans, after she'd pointed him to an entire shelf.

As far as he could tell, from his weeks of research, this world seemed... remarkably similar to the one he'd just been in.

There had been a Siege of Orleans (during a war known as the Hundred Years' War), broken by the timely intervention of a Maiden.

The key difference, however, was that this world's Maiden was a girl named "Jeanne d'Arc", and not "Blake d'Arc"... who had also ran away from home when she was seventeen to fight the war.

Jaune had promptly shut that book with a groan, figuring that that had to be, without a doubt, this world's version of him.

When he'd picked up where he'd left of, however, he soon found that, for some reason, nobody could agree on what had happened to Jeanne d'Arc.

Some said she was burned at the stake for witchcraft, some said she had been about to be burned at the stake for witchcraft before suddenly being taken to Heaven, some said she was burned but her soul possessed a different girl, and some said she led the French to victory for that phase of the war before retiring to her home village and/or disappearing.

(On a side note, he'd also found out that the Mojave Desert and D.C. existed in this world as well, though they weren't wastelands...)

Well, that was why he was excited for today's lesson.

Hopefully, learning more about the English would help him learn about what had definitively happened to this world's version of him, along with illuminating more of the differences (or similarities) between this world and the ones he'd visited.

"And of course, we can't talk about English history, without going back to where a unified and independent England all began - with the Drawing of the Sword in the Stone, and the Founding of Camelot."

Jaune almost spat out his coffee.

"Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise King of all England," the teacher quoted. "That is the phrase which is said to have been inscribed on the Sword in the Stone, Caliburn."

England... Caliburn... Camelot...

Could... could it really be...?

"In the years after Uther Pendragon's death at the hands of his brother, Vortigern, Britonnic records state that it is only this promise, guaranteed by Merlin himself, and the continued threat of the Saxons, that stopped the various kings of Britain from descending into civil war, vying for control of the land..."

Jaune began impatiently tapping his finger against the table, as he waited to hear just who had drawn the Sword from the Stone.

"... until it was finally drawn by the boy who would become King Arthur, and used to slay what records only call the "One-Armed Giant"..."

Jaune's fist clenched.

Had... had he really made it back to that world?

Or was this like France, where it was just very similar but slightly different (and not one he'd been to)?

Jaune's focus was solely on the lecturer, as she began to recount the recorded adventures of a young Arthur, on his quest to gather allies and defeat his usurper uncle.

... yup, he recognized most of them.

Not all, though.

If it was his Camelot, he would have been around for all of those adventures, right?

Or were some of the tales just distorted from 1500 years of being retold (just like when the librarian had warned him about trusting some of the sources from books, when he'd asked about the fate of Jeanne d'Arc)?

His head was starting to hurt, as he tried to think it through.

And then the teacher had a glass case wheeled in, holding one of the objects on loan from the English museum.

It was a simple book, yellowed with age, with a skull on the cover, and four simple words serving as its title.

Jaune would have recognized it anywhere.

"As we can see, from "The Wasteland Survival Guide", the Britons seemed to possess some extremely advanced knowledge, by the standards of their day, which lends credence to the existence of the figure known as "Merlin"..."

Jaune was too busy trying not to slump over in shock to protest about that womanizing bastard being given credit for what Ruby Ironwood had written.

That was his book!

The Wasteland Survival Guide!

It was here!

Which meant...

Oh, Oum, he'd somehow made it back, hadn't he?

"Are you okay, Arc?" Shiro's voice broke him out of his stupor, and he turned to see his friend giving him a concerned look.

"I'm fine, Shiro..." Jaune quick waved it off, pushing himself back upright as he turned his attention back to the lecture even as his mind raced, and curiosity burned.

Had Rowena and Kay finally gotten hitched?

How many kids had Arthur and Guinevere had?

Did Merlin ever finally settle down with a single woman?

He needed to know more.

He needed to know everything.

"Now, it is unclear as to what the region known as the "Wasteland" is referring to, though considering the fact that the manuscript is in English, it is safe to assume that it was also located somewhere in England, or at least nearby. Suggestions by contemporary scholars and historians include Ireland (possibly the same region that is called the Land of Shadows in Irish myth), the region of England that was constantly beset by Pictish and Scottish raids, beyond Hadrian's Wall, or even the lands of Logres itself, after Arthur's death and the fall of Camelot, though the last one is heavily controversial, seeing as how this manuscript was supposedly used as a blueprint to build Camelot."

Jaune blinked, wanting to make sure he'd heard that right.

Arthur had died?

Camelot had fallen?!

How?!

"Yes, Mr. Arc?"

Before Jaune knew it, his hand was in the air.

"Sorry, but could you tell me how Arthur died and Camelot fell?" Jaune ignored the looks he was receiving, as he fought to keep the desperation from his voice.

"I would have expected a student as passionate as you to know the basics, Mr. Arc." The lecturer sounded surprised by his lack of knowledge.

Jaune ignored her words, as it took all of his patience to simply wait for the answer.

"It is common knowledge that the Fall of Camelot, and Arthur's death, occurred at the Battle of Camlann, and while exact details aren't clear..." The lecturer continued, before humming, as if taking a moment to recall the facts.

"What we do know is that, eight years into King Arthur's reign, Sir Velvet of Caerbannog rebelled against King Arthur, after disagreements related to the disappearance of the mysterious and possibly apocryphal Knight of Compassion.

"The two confronted each other at Camlann, with King Arthur leading a small retinue of elite Knights to bring Velvet in.

"There, while Velvet hotly argued with Arthur about matters surrounding the Knight of Compassion, Agravain and Horsa the Saxon arrived, leading a massive army of Saxons, along with Frankish, Geat, and Germanic mercenaries, to protect his sister.

"The records of the battle show that Agravain, Horsa, and King Arthur's retinue slaughtered each other, while Velvet herself, apparently having a change of heart, was slain by the Geat King Beowulf, who then used her blade to stab King Arthur, before he was in turn killed by King Arthur's lance. Does that answer your question, Mr. Arc?"

Unable to speak, Jaune nodded wordlessly.

"Very good. Now, speaking of Beowulf, it is often said that he was actually present at the Reclamation of Londinium, and was, in fact, inspired to hunt down Grendel by watching the battle between the Usurper King and Arthur and the Knight of Compassion..."

-EMIYA RESIDENCE, SEVEN HOURS LATER-

"I'm back!" Fujimura Taiga called out, as she slammed the front door open.

"Welcome home, Fuji-nee." Shiro's bored voice called out from around the hallway, as Taiga sniffed the air hungrily.

As Taiga entered the living room, she found her ward casually munching on some rice crackers as she did some homework, while the television played some news program in the background.

"Oh?" Taiga noted, looking around the room. "Is Arc not with you today?"

"No..." Shiro shook her head, her tone full of concern. "He said he wasn't feeling well, after morning classes..."

"Is he okay?" Taiga asked, thinking back to when she'd seen him this morning.

"He looked pretty pale and ill, when he excused himself." Shiro shrugged, keeping her composure as nonchalant as possible. "I offered to take him back home, but he said he could get back on his own, so..."

"Is that so..." Taiga murmured, once again wishing she had someone to contact, regarding the young boy her ward had ended up basically adopting (not that she'd ever admit it, of course).

"Don't worry, Fuji-nee." Shiro couldn't help but force a smile on her face. "I already cooked dinner for you."

"That wasn't what I was worried about!" Taiga snapped, rolling her eyes even as she approached her ward.

"Or are you worried that he may have gotten sick after you switched the labels on all the sauce bottles again, Fuji-nee?" Shiro suggested innocently.

"..." Taiga paled immediately. "... you knew?"

"I found out while cooking dinner just now, Fuji-nee." Shiro explained, voice as sweet and silky as deep-fried sandpaper.

"... I exercise my right to remain silent." Taiga replied.

"Well, if it's him, I'm sure he could probably make something good even with the mixed up sauces." Shiro finally conceded. "His cooking's definitely become a lot better, in the past six weeks."

"You mean, he's become a lot better at cooking Japanese food, in the past six weeks." Taiga rolled her eyes, knowing that Shiro had a preference for Japanese meals. "Honestly, it's amazing how he went from cooking mostly Western-style dishes to being able to handle full Japanese meals in just six weeks... are you sure you don't want to open a cooking school?"

"Har har." Shiro enunciated each syllable drily. "I didn't teach him much; even the first few meals he made were already pretty good."

"Yeah, I remember that..." Taiga recalled, resting her cheek on her hand as she did so. "And he didn't even touch the spice cabinet..."

"He seemed so surprised to learn it even existed." Shiro murmured, face surprisingly serious. "... has your grandfather found out anything about why he was there?"

"So far, no." Taiga shook her head. "As far as they can tell, he just appeared there one day."

That was technically true; while her grandfather had uncovered something concerning about abductions and trafficking (and he was absolutely furious that it was happening on his territory), none of the people they'd questioned knew anything about an athletic blonde foreigner being brought in.

Shiro couldn't help but sigh, as she put her pencil down.

Taiga embraced her from behind, reassuring her: "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll hit a lead soon, Shiro."

"Who's worried, Fuji-nee?" Shiro scoffed, refusing to turn around. "I just want to help him, that's all."

"And you have, Shiro." Taiga stroked her hair lightly. "I know you get that from Kiritsugu-san, but just remember; you did help him. And I'm sure Arc would agree if you asked him, too."

"Fuji-nee..."

"..."

"..."

"Anyway, how was your day, Shiro? How was the history class you and Arc were looking forward to?"

"Oh, right! Did you know that the dragon Beowulf fought was apparently King Arthur Pendragon..."

-TOHSAKA RESIDENCE, LATER THAT NIGHT-

Tohsaka Rin looked at the ornate case in her hand, and took a deep breath.

Even now, she didn't know who in the Clock Tower had managed to convince the English to send an ancient relic to Fuyuki for the upcoming Grail War (let alone how), but Kotomine Kirei had made one thing perfectly clear.

The relic was on loan.

If it was not returned in exactly the condition it had been when the Crown had lent it, the Crown would not be happy.

And the Church and the Clock Tower, by association, would not be happy if they had to entertain the Crown's inquiries.

Sure, the disappearance shouldn't be noticed for a while (she'd prepared a convincing replica to swap it with as soon as she'd gotten the news), but it was probably better if she used it for the summoning and returned it as soon as she could.

Rin let loose a sigh.

Even now, she couldn't understand why this Grail War seemed so weird.

For starters, why was it starting a mere twelve years after the previous one?

And why was the Crown actually providing a catalyst to the Clock Tower for the war?

Well, there was no point in thinking about it now.

Kotomine Kirei had already left her a message telling her that tomorrow was the deadline.

If she didn't want to do it, she was supposed to have told him by that day.

Rin spared a moment to look at the pendant her father had left her, before sighing.

Well, there was no way she could back out now.

After all, her late father's will had made it clear that it was her duty, as a daughter, a Tohsaka, and a Magus, to win the Holy Grail War.

She'd made her decision when she'd taken the book in its glass case that evening.

Even as she placed her hand on the glass, though, she couldn't help but wonder who the catalyst was likely to summon.

She'd gingerly gone through the book, but had no idea who "Moira Brown" or "Ruby Ironwood" were.

There had been a third name in the book, that the book had been dedicated to, but the ink on that part of the page was illegible.

If she had to guess, it had taken water damage, smudged, and faded as time had passed.

Maybe Moira Brown was a pseudonym of Merlin's?

Well, as long as it was a Saber, she'd be fine.

Rin couldn't help but smirk, as she imagined a Saber that was a Knight of the Round Table.

Then she looked up at the clock, and her face fell.

The clock was about to strike two.

The peak of her magical energy was at two in the morning.

In other words, it was the best timeframe for her to carry out the summoning.

She began engraving the magic circle passed down through the Tohsaka family with her melted gems even as she began reciting the incantation.

She only had one shot at this, both in regards to time constraints and financial issues (that was half of the gems she'd saved up).

Her magical circuits began to glow and burn, as prana began to run through it.

Sweat began to soak her dress, and she fought to keep her face straight, as pain began to erupt throughout her body.

She grit her teeth and bore it, determined to see it through.

And then, as she poured out the prana she'd accumulated into the summoning circle, and spoke the final Word...

A bright light filled the room, momentarily blinding her.

And then, as the light finally dissipated, and her sight returned to her...

Standing in front of her, was a young woman in a full set of radiant plate armor.

The gilded accents seemed to produce their own light, shining against the white metal.

Dark brown eyes carefully and emotionlessly studied her, even as her attention was drawn to a head of sandy-colored short hair, with two longer and darker brown bangs at the side of her head.

More importantly, though, Rin could feel the obscene amounts of magical energy the figure possessed.

Grinning, she asked: "Are you my Servant?"

The figure took a second longer to study her.

Finally, she answered: "Yes. I, Servant Saber, have come forth in response to your summons. It is a pleasure to meet you, Master."

-EMIYA RESIDENCE, THE NEXT MORNING-

The alarm once again startled Shiro, causing her to shoot out of bed.

Once again, she'd been dreaming about the fire.

Groaning, she turned her alarm off, and stretched her arms and back with a yawn even as she got out of bed, and headed to the mirror to remind herself of where she was and who she was.

At the same time, she also smoothed out her bedhead, and examined the mark on her arm with a frown.

Nope, it was still there, and didn't look like it had diminished in the least.

She couldn't help but sigh.

Arc was totally going to bug her about it, wasn't he?

Well, if he wanted to ask about it, she'd be sure to ask about whether he was feeling better after yesterday.

Smiling to herself, she took a moment to quickly tie her hair into a simple ponytail, before double-checking her reflection in the mirror.

Then she nodded to herself, and moved to open the door.

Immediately, she noticed that something was off.

Sniffing the air, she found that there was no mouth-watering aroma tickling her nose that morning.

Carefully making her way down, she snuck a peek into the kitchen.

Nope, it was empty.

Had Arc's condition been more serious than she'd thought?

Was he okay?

Should she check up on him?

Shiro spared a moment to check the clock.

... not if she wanted to keep the Tiger fed and happy.

Even so, as Shiro opened the fridge and look through whatever ingredients they had in stock, she couldn't help but glance at the phone.

Eventually, she came to a compromise.

If she didn't see him at school, she'd just drop him a call after school.

-JAUNE'S APARTMENT, LATER THAT AFTERNOON-

"Hey, Arc, just wanted to check in on you and see if you were okay. Fuji-nee's been especially worried... I think she's just used to getting fed by both of us. Anyway, feel free to call back or just drop by when you're better, alright?"

Jaune lay on his bed wordlessly, staring blankly at the ceiling as he listened to the message from Shiro on his answering machine.

Then he sighed, and closed his eyes, as he wondered what he was even doing.

Not only had he apparently screwed everything up, now he was even making his friends worry about him!

Still, though...

Jaune recalled the class yesterday.

His disappearance had led to the fall of Camelot and the deaths of Agravain, Velvet, and Arthur?

Oum, just how badly had he messed up?

He'd been summoned to help Arthur's kingship, not cause his downfall!

Useless.

His eyes weren't even wet.

Rather than grief, he just felt hollow, empty, and disbelieving.

He didn't even have the energy to get out of bed that morning, as his mind had continued going around in circles.

Why had he done taken the witch's offer?

Why had those thoughts suddenly been drawn to the forefront of his mind?

More importantly... had his absence messed up other dimensions as well?

... no, he couldn't believe that.

Liar.

He had to have faith in his other friends.

It had worked out for Ruby Ironwood after all, right?

If only he could see them again...

You think you deserve to face them?

Hypocrite.

... no, there had been a way back.

You miss them, don't you?

He'd just refused to take it.

As he was, he already didn't deserve to face them.

The price that had been asked, would have meant he'd have never been able to face them.

The face of a burned man, wrapped in bandages, flashed through his mind once more.

You may never be able to repay the debt that you owe them...

But I must try.

The face morphed into a praying ravenette with purple eyes and a homemade flag.

To surrender who you are and to live without belief is more terrible than dying, isn't it?

I don't know... I've never done the former before.

Finally, it morphed into visions of his friends and family.

Instead of condemning however, they asked one simple question.

So will you quit now?

Never.

Then get up, Vomit Boy; we've still got a job to do.

His eyes burst open, and he gasped.

What was he doing, worrying the people who'd helped him by skipping class?

It was already bad enough he couldn't repay them with money or his usual services, and now he was skiving off cooking duty and leaving Shiro to feed the ravenous Tiger by herself?!

He'd have to apologize to Shiro and Taiga tomorrow.

Right now, though...

He wasn't going to run away from his mistake.

He wasn't going to lie in bed, and ignore the world.

Jaune clenched his fist, before he punched the bed frame as he forced himself up.

His body was drenched in a cold sweat, and he hadn't showered since he'd gotten home the previous afternoon.

He stretched his body lightly, as he prepared to take a quick shower.

What he needed to do, was figure out how badly he'd messed up.

Just what had gone wrong, and how much of it could be directly attributed to him

He doubted he could ever fix it...

But at the very least, he'd acknowledge what he'd done, and honor those that he'd failed.

And what better place to start, than to check his own book, and see if Velvet, Agravain, or Arthur had made any notes in it?

... did it count as stealing if it was his?

-FUYUKI UNIVERSITY, LATER THAT EVENING-

It was half past eight in the evening.

Most people should have been out of the school.

... well, even if they weren't, he didn't mind.

In this day and age, most people here had grown up only knowing peaceful and quiet lives.

Generally speaking, most people made lots of noise when they moved, especially when they were in groups.

He, on the other hand, had been forced to fight Grimm and vampires.

Personally, he was more worried about the security systems.

He'd seen the Courier pick a few locks, sure, but he doubted he could do the same with electronically-locked doors linked to burglar alarms (especially when he didn't know the code to disarm them).

And sure, he could easily brute force his way through (like the Dragonborn and the Doom Slayer did everything), but he didn't want to leave behind any evidence he was there.

His ears open, he quietly approached the room where he knew the relics were stored.

Naturally, the door was closed.

He wasn't even going to bother checking if it was locked.

Then one of the upper windows caught his eye.

For some reason, unlike the rest, one of the upper windows had been opened.

It was too high up for a normal person to reach just by jumping, of course, but Jaune's eyes still narrowed in suspicion.

Was this a trap?

... didn't matter.

He needed to know.

Mentally, he apologized to the English Crown, both for what he had done, and for what he was about to do.

Channeling a bit of Aura, he easily leapt the distance, and pulled himself up through the open window, before carefully dropping down.

The Wasteland Survival Guide sat in its glass case.

Jaune slowly approached it, examining it even as he remembered simpler times.

Just him and Ruby Ironwood, wandering the Wasteland.

He'd really never expected to see it published, let alone see it treated like some sort of holy relic by an ancient civilization.

Idly, he wondered how Ruby Ironwood and Moira Brown would react, if they ever found out.

Then he wondered how anyone from Beacon would react, if they found out he'd actually helped write a best-selling book that became a holy relic.

... probably about the same as if they'd found out he'd helped fight a dragon and stop the end of a world, or got into a few wars, or went to Hell and fought demons, or helped build a Kingdom and became a Steward...

A dull ache throbbed in his chest at the thought, which he easily ignored.

Putting on some gloves, he easily removed the glass case, and picked up the Wasteland Survival Guide, before opening it.

... indeed, it was his.

For some reason, though, it looked like someone had spilled water over his name in the Foreword.

Had his disappearance really angered them that badly?

As he began to carefully flip through it, looking for any additions, any clues, his Aura-enhanced instincts suddenly screamed at him.

And then he heard a scream, and footsteps pounding through the hallway...

-TEN MINUTES EARLIER-

Tohsaka Rin panted, and her chest burned, as she stared down the mysterious Servant that had suddenly attacked her, and wondered just why this always seemed to happen to her.

The night had started off so well, too.

She and Saber had snuck back to the school after it had closed without being detected.

And with Saber's spirit form she'd been able to simply phase through the wall, before opening an upper window for Rin to get in.

And Rin had easily swapped the real book with the fake without getting any backtalk from a clearly critical Saber (while Saber clearly disapproved of stealing the book to use as a summoning catalyst, it seemed that she would be mollified if Rin returned the book (which had apparently been passed down from her mentor) back to where it was supposed to be safely).

Before she could get out and close the window, however, Saber had suddenly tensed, before warning her that she sensed another Servant.

"Oh, not bad."

A voice rang out mockingly and condescendingly, echoing through the deserted corridor.

By the time Rin realized it, Saber had drawn her sword, and had already moved to cover her.

And in front of her, at the end of the hallway...

A man with blue hair and a dark blue bodysuit stood, grinning at the pair.

His grin was feral, though, and for some reason Rin could've sworn she smelt a bestial wind.

The man raised his empty arm.

The next thing she knew, it held a red spear, easily two meters long.

Rin and Saber shared a look, and quickly came to the same conclusion.

They didn't know if he could throw it, but a confined space with no room to maneuver was not a good place to see if he could.

Before he could act, Saber grabbed Rin and jumped out of the window, before throwing her forward as the blue Servant leapt after them.

As soon as she'd landed, Rin had immediately run as fast as she could, trying to find some open ground to regroup and plan a counter-attack.

Once she'd reached the school track, she'd taken a second to catch her breath, before Saber had suddenly appeared in front of her, having been knocked in that direction by the other Servant...

"Servant; Lancer." Saber spat, tightening her grip on her blade as she did so.

"That's right." Lancer nodded, crooking his mouth, his demeanor still as relaxed as if he was talking to an old friend. "And I guess you must be the Saber Servant."

"..." Saber simply eyed him warily, not bothering to answer.

"Not very talkative, are you?" Lancer sighed, twirling his red spear around easily before planting it firmly on the ground.

"..." Saber didn't bother answering, and instead charged forward with her sword, knowing full well how unwieldy a spear could be in close-quarters.

To her surprise, however, the Lancer easily blocked her simple overhead blow, before once again trying to smash her away with a strong swing.

Lancer, by all accounts, had the larger build, and his strength had proven apparent when he'd knocked Saber all the way from the building to the field.

But strength wasn't everything.

Saber assumed a seemingly-basic defensive position, before easily parrying the blow away with minimal effort, and stepping forward to launch her own counter-attack.

She was more than used to fighting opponents who'd outclassed her in raw strength, after all.

Of course, Lancer was also an experienced warrior (or had been), and danced back with a gleeful laugh.

Then he began launching multiple blindingly-fast thrusts at her.

Head.

Neck.

Chest.

Abdomen.

Shoulders.

As long as he landed even a single blow, she'd be crippled or killed.

A small smile grew on Saber's on face, however, as a shield suddenly appeared over her arm, and she began blocking or deflecting all of his thrusts, making sure to never absorb the full force of one head-on.

She was also more than used to fighting opponents who'd outclassed her in raw agility, after all.

And after all of her training, the blue Lancer didn't outclass her in terms of agility.

And most of all, she too knew how to use a lance.

Rin could only stand there on watch, captivated, as the Servants battled each other, unable to even consider interfering with her own magecraft.

Even as the lance flew faster, the shield and sword moved faster.

Finally, after countless attacks, Lancer suddenly jumped back, creating distance between the two.

"I'll give you this..." Lancer acknowledged, breathing heavily. "You're not bad."

Saber, too, was breathing heavily, but her back was straight and her stance was firm, as she finally spoke: "You're not bad too. But I shouldn't expect any less, Hound of Ireland."

"And who are you supposed to be?" Lancer challenged. "I recognize that golden gladius, but Julius Caesar was supposed to be a man!"

"..." Saber chose not to answer, instead wondering if her mentor had felt the same awkwardness, whenever he'd been mistaken as various other heroes.

"Well, it matters not." Lancer shook his head, before he lowered his body, and moved his arm, changing his stance. "I will let you taste my finishing move, Saber."

Saber immediately tensed up, as the spear began to glow demonically.

Her instincts screamed at her, and the air grew heavy.

For some reason, it reminded her of when she'd faced Aelle of Sussex, or stared down her furious King, or been in the presence of the activated Nameless Blade.

Her own sword began to glow, as she poured prana into it.

The atmosphere was tense and heavy, as the two figures glared at each other, both holding glowing magical weapons.

""...-!"

Suddenly, they felt something.

It was like a light had flickered on for a moment, before being extinguished.

But even so, they'd both felt it.

The magical presence of another Servant.

Saber and Lancer immediately turned to back to the building they'd just came from, lowering their weapons as they did so.

Instead of finding another Servant spying on them, however, they spotted someone hiding behind a tree, who immediately ran for it, sprinting back to the building as fast as she could once she realized she'd been spotted.

"... huh?" Lancer couldn't help but ask in confusion, as the ghastly air around him suddenly died away.

Rin followed their gazes, just in time to see a figure round the corner, and run back into the school.

"A student?!" Rin herself exclaimed.

This was bad.

Really bad.

"Master, should we not pursue?" Saber asked pointedly, her sword remaining drawn.

"What about Lancer?" Rin asked, assuming she was talking about the witness.

"I am talking about Lancer." Saber clarified, her tone clipped. "He has gone to pursue the innocent witness, most likely to eliminate her."

"...!" Rin's thoughts froze for an instant.

Had she really been that shaken by watching two Heroic Spirits fight, and participating in the Grail War, that she'd forgotten the goddamn basics?

"After him, Saber!" Rin finally snapped, knowing how fast her Servant was. "I'll catch up!"

Saber nodded curtly, before immediately leaping away, having only remained in the first place in case her Master had some sort of plan or contingency.

Rin, however, stayed where she was for a moment, cursing her carelessness and stupidity.

Why?

Why had she screwed up and made a mistake that day of all days?

The moment passed.

She began running.

To her surprise, however, when she finally reached the second floor, she found Saber simply standing still there, looking out of the window.

"Where's Lancer?" Rin asked.

"He has gotten into a fight with another Servant." Saber replied, continuing to look out of the window. "The two have taken their battle into the woods. Without knowing the location of their Masters, I felt it best to remain here."

"... there was another Servant?" Rin blinked.

"Yes." Saber confirmed. "It was brief, but both Lancer and I felt it. Seeing as how the presence suddenly concealed itself soon after... I believe that may have been the Assassin of this war."

Rin took a moment to process the information, before nodding.

"And the student?" Rin then inquired.

"She's still unharmed." Saber pointed out of the window, where she'd been watching the girl flee the whole time.

Rin followed Saber's finger, and spotted a familiar flash of white hair disappear into the distance.

Her eyes widened in horror.

No.

Please, God, no.

Not her.

Intellectually, she knew that there was no way Shiro Emiya could be Sakura, since the Matous had all been killed in the Fuyuki Fire...

But emotionally...

Shiro just reminded her so much of her dead sister, that she couldn't help her instincts.

Especially when that suspicious blonde foreigner had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and befriended her...

Rin shook her head.

Now wasn't the time.

"We're going after her." Rin choked out, fists clenched.

"Master?" Saber questioned her cautiously.

"We just need to wipe her memories, that's all, and make sure the other Masters don't try to eliminate her." Rin reassured the Knight of the Round Table.

The fact that she was more concerned about the latter, was something she chose not to mention.

-ROAD TO EMIYA RESIDENCE, FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER-

A panting and sweat-drenched Shiro gingerly walked up the hill leading to her home, fighting to catch her breath and stretch out her aching legs with every step even as her ears remained alert, wary of even the slightest sound, and her mind wondered just why that day was shaping up to be one of those days.

Firstly, for some reason, Fuji-nee hadn't been happy to hear that Arc wasn't here this morning, and had been even less happy to hear that her plan of action.

Then, after she'd gotten home and began making dinner, the archery club at the university had suddenly asked her to come back, and help out some of the newer and less experienced club members.

And then, when she'd finally finished helping at archery practice, she'd been halfway home, when she realized she'd left her keys back in the university.

And when she'd gone back, gotten her keys, and began to leave the school...

A knight in medieval plate armor and a sword and shield was fighting against some spearman in a blue bodysuit, while Tohsaka had been watching.

Even now, she could still remember their impossible movements, the amount of magical energy radiating from each blow, and the oppressive, murderous atmosphere.

It had been like watching two trains colliding.

She knew she should have run, but all she managed to do, was hide and watch, unable to take her eyes away from the battle, her heart racing the whole time.

Even from that distance, even from the bits of the battle she could observe, she understood that the two beings fighting weren't human.

They were things that looked like humans, perhaps, but humans couldn't move like that!

And then their weapons started glowing, and the energy and atmosphere the battle exuded tripled in intensity.

Even breathing was a challenge.

And then, as soon as it had all begun...

It suddenly ended.

Suddenly, the pair were looking in her direction.

A chill ran up her spine, and she immediately ran, as her survival kicked in once again, like it had twelve years ago.

It was dangerous to remain where she was.

Anywhere else would be better than staying there.

She ran.

Ran into a building.

Ran up the stairs.

Ran through any door she could.

And at the end...

The blue spearman had been waiting for her.

Before he'd been able to do anything, however, he'd suddenly turned around, face full of surprise, and raised his spear up.

Then a blur smashed into him from the side.

Shiro had only been able to catch a glimpse of a brown cloak, and a white shield colliding with the red spear, before the spearman and her mysterious savior had disappeared through the window.

She'd ignored all of her instincts then, and poked her head out of the window, just in time to see a cloaked figure sprint towards the woods, with the blue spearman chasing him.

She hadn't stuck around much longer; there was still the armored swordsman, after all.

Instead, as soon as the two had disappeared from view, she'd immediately run in the other direction, before running home.

Shiro took a deep breath, feeling thankful for her usual morning exercise.

If she hadn't, she'd have probably never been able to make it that far.

Hell, even with it, she almost hadn't made it!

If not for the shield-using figure, she'd have probably been skewered by the blue spearman...

Shiro's eyes widened in realization.

Had she really just been saved by the Huntsman?

What had he even been doing in school?

And, if he could do that to the blue spearman...

Was the Huntsman just a human vigilante, or was he one of those... beings?

Before she could ponder it any longer, however, she suddenly heard a rustling sound behind her.

Immediately, she turned around.

A white-haired girl was standing behind her, smiling at her.

"Oh, did you finally notice me, Onee-chan?" The girl asked, sounding bored.

Shiro's eyes widened, though this time it was in surprise.

Was this girl related to her somehow?

Did she have some living family from before the Fuyuki Fire?

Before she could ask any questions, the girl lifted the sides of her skirt, and curtsied as she introduced herself: "It's nice to finally meet you, Onee-chan. My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern.

"Now, please die." Illya concluded, cocking her head cutely as she made an innocent request.

Behind her, a giant of a man suddenly materialized out of thin air.

If watching the armored swordsman and the blue spearman fighting had been like watching two trains colliding...

This was like watching a battleship heading straight at her.

And what was that about "please die"?

Even as her mind began to connect the dots between the giant's appearance and the girl's command, her body was already reacting.

Before she knew it, she was already running home.

Behind her, the ground shook, and she could hear a small girl's mocking laughter echo throughout the air.

As soon as she crested the hill, she spotted her home.

Good.

The lights were dark.

Fuji-nee and Arc weren't in her house.

She didn't know much magecraft (Kiritsugu hadn't been that good of a teacher when it came to non-practical applications, unfortunately), but even a little bit of magic was better than no magic, right?

She didn't have to worry about witnesses or hostages.

Then a rock sailed past her, landing just in front of the outer wall, followed by a grunt and approving laughter.

... okay, a little bit of magic probably wouldn't make a difference here.

And even if she wasn't exhausted, she doubted that she could outrun a giant madman, or the projectiles he was throwing.

She had to get to her workshop, or inside the house, and look for something, anything!

Without any hesitation, she pushed herself forward, sprinting into her house, the adrenaline helping her ignore the burning sensation in her legs and chest.

As soon as she reached the door, she fumbled for her keys with shaky hands, before unlocking the thing and going inside.

The last thing she saw, before she closed the door behind her, was the little girl sitting on the giant's shoulder, as it slowly, casually, strolled up to her house.

That, more than anything, pissed her off.

The goddamn tiny murder machine was toying with her!

"Where are you, Onee-chan?" A sickeningly sweet and innocent voice called out, as the ground shook from heavy footfalls. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Naturally, Shiro didn't answer Illya, choosing instead to desperately try and think of a way out.

"Maybe... you're over here?"

A giant hand punched through the window next to her, and she had just enough time to roll out of the way before it grabbed her.

Another hand reached for her, and she quickly grabbed the closest thing she could, before casting Reinforcement on it, and trying to smack it away desperately.

The reinforced ladle simply snapped against his skin harmlessly, as his hand closed in around her, and he tossed her out of the house, while an amused Illya laughed sadistically.

"If you give up now... I may not kill you, you know?" Illya offered, as Shiro picked herself up defiantly, and ran for her workshop, an old shed on the estate grounds.

The giant casually walked up to the shed, knowing there was nowhere else to run, even as Shiro began looking for any objects more sturdy than a ladle, any objects that might have actually been able to harm the damned thing.

"It's useless, you know." Illya told her in a sing-song voice. "You don't have anything that can even pierce Berserker's skin-"

"Stop screwing with me, you damn dolt!" Shiro roared, wheeling around, broken ladle in hand. "I know I can't beat that damn thing! But even so... even so..."

"Oh?" Illya leaned forward, curious as to what the person her father had abandoned her for was going to say.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to lie down and take it!" Shiro snarled defiantly, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. "My life was saved by Kiritsugu! Out of all the people who died in the Fuyuki Fire, I'm the only one who was saved! I owe it to them, and to Kiritsugu, to live on, to fulfil the dreams passed on to me!"

"... you amuse me, Onee-chan. I've decided!" Illya finally said, after a long pause.

Shiro found herself scarcely daring to hope.

Had the tiny murder machine really been swayed so easily?

"Only rip her limbs off, Berserker." Illya instructed the giant. "But keep her alive. Onee-chan will take Kiritsugu's place from now on."

The giant reached his hand towards her.

Shiro ground her teeth furiously, and immediately took up the kendo stance she'd seen Fuji-nee often use, holding the broken ladle like a tiny shinai.

It didn't matter if it was futile.

"LIKE HELL I'M GOING TO LET MYSELF DIE HERE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"

And unnoticed to everyone, a long-forgotten magical circle in the corner of the room glowed a faint blue.

Unnoticed to everyone, underneath her bandages, the red mark on her left arm began twisting and morphing, before forming itself into a Crest.

And the Holy Grail War System began to summon the Seventh Servant.

The girl was scanned, for any symbols, any catalysts, any objects that had a strong connection to a particular Servant.

And running within her magical circuits was the faint traces of a foreign spiritual energy, that had been poured into the red mark that would form her Command Seals.

The summons were made.

The summons were heeded.

A blinding blue light suddenly filled the room, much to the surprise of Illya, Berserker, and Shiro.

And then Berserker's hand was suddenly smacked away.

As Shiro's sight returned to her, she found a figure standing unyieldingly, between her and the giant.

The figure seemed to be in a blue dress, covered in immaculate and polished metal armor, holding a beautiful, almost ethereal-looking silver lance.

A helmet with a lion's face covered the figure's head, concealing her identity.

As the wind blew, a regal furred blue cloak stirred with it.

Shiro breathlessly tried to figure out what was going on once more, as a tense silence hung in the air.

Then the figure turned slightly to her, stance never relaxing, and a warm and deep feminine voice asked: "I ask of you, are you my Master?"


Author's Note: And here we go... to cap off me posting whatever chapters I've been able to write in this time, and as the official apology for me taking so long, have the entire first part of the fourth act of the FATE arc in one shot.

Yeah, I don't think anybody's surprised by this ending on a Grail War.

And on that note... finally, I no longer have to do history research! Instead, I have to do proper research on a Grail War...

God help me...

So... remember how I said, back in Chapter 78 and 79, that Velvet being the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog wasn't the worst one yet, and making a recurring character based solely on a pun was a horrible idea?

Yeah... no. This is the worst thing I've ever done in this story. And in case you somehow still don't get it... translate Shiro (白) from Japanese to German, and then feel free to leave reviews threatening my hamster for the sacrilege.

Before anybody asks, though... Shiro Emiya isn't Shirou Emiya. The boy who would have become Shirou Emiya never lost his family in the Fuyuki Fire, because in this world the Fuyuki Fire destroyed the Matous instead (except for the girl who formerly was Sakura Matou). Why? Because I really have no idea how to deal with the Matou family, and I have no idea how to work with Zouken or Shinji, because holy fuck, how do I deal with penis worms eating people and daily rape?

And I mean, it's not like the Matous getting wiped out doesn't have precedence... Fate/Apocrypha apparently had Zouken become crippled during the Third Grail War, and PRISMA ILLYA had him die in the Fourth Grail war along with the rest of the Matous except Sakura.

Seriously, please don't make me deal with penis worms eating people and daily rape...

Anyway, in this world, Shiro Emiya is a Weiss/Sakura Matou in a world where the Matous were wiped out before they could actually do... well... anything, to her, and was thusly raised by Kiritsugu Emiya... who honestly can't be any worst than Jacques or Willow Schnee...

God, now I have to write a Weiss who was not raised to be Schnee, has no memories of anything before she was 6, and thusly trades in all of the entitlement Weiss Schnee had for the dream to be a Hero of Justice. At least she's not nearly as broken as Shirou Emiya would be, and a lot more assertive (or stubborn and haughty) than Sakura Matou would have been after being raised by the Matous...

Also, I guess Tohsaka Rin would be the Winter of this world, Illyasviel is Whitley, and Jaune would be the Shirou Emiya of the Holy Grail War.

Regarding Rin... she doesn't actually know that Shiro is her younger sister, Sakura. All she knows is that her sister was given over to the Matous by her father, and her father died in the Fourth Holy Grail War, which resulted in the Fuyuki Fire that wiped out the Matou family. She certainly has her suspicions regarding Shiro, who reminds her a lot of her dead younger sister, but she is hesitant to act on them, scared that she's wrong, and all of her hopes are shattered. But still, that's probably why 19 year old Rin stayed in Fuyuki, rather than going to the Clock Tower to continue her training after she graduated from Homurahara Academy. And when there's a suspicious guy suddenly hanging around the girl who totally isn't her younger sister...

For his part, Jaune Arc was summoned by the Grail at the same time Heracles was summoned by the Einzberns, thanks to the strength of a certain somebody's last thoughts at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War imprinting itself onto the Grail after she destroyed it (which is also why this War starts a bit later than it did in canon; the Grail needed a bit more time to build up the energy to pluck him out of the timestream, too). So he technically counts as a Servant, though he has no Master (okay, he does, but she wasn't around when he was summoned).

The question, though, is whether he is the Archer of this war (because we all know the Archer-class is really made up of Archers, right? Throwing hands counts, and if it doesn't he has gun(s)), a Shielder-class (he is, quite literally, a one-of-a-kind warrior boasting near impregnable defense, and simultaneously an unexplainable existence that is both a Servant and a human), or if he is of the Foreigner-class (since he wields power drawn from outside human boundaries, is an entity from a different dimension, and does actually have spiritual connections to two god-like entities from other dimensions, excluding Aura).

As for Beowulf... I did actually mention that Geat mercenaries were present in Chapter 77, supporting Hengist and Horsa. I didn't actually know what I wanted to do with Beowulf back then, admittedly...

And the year is 2006; Google hasn't really become a thing yet...

Another reminder is that, in this world... they freely accept that Camelot and King Arthur did, in fact, exist. What they doubt, however, are the specifics of the deeds.

Was the Questing Beast a monster, or was it just a particularly aggressive and/or feral giraffe? Did Merlin really have magic, or did he just get the title "Magus of Flowers" because he wrote the Wasteland Survival Guide under the pseudonym "Moria Brown", and thusly revolutionized agriculture in medieval Britain and prevent a famine (among other things)? Was Vortigern really a dragon, or was he just called a dragon to describe his strength, or his cunning, or his greed, or even his utter lack of humanity?

Hell, at this point, some scholars are probably debating that the "Knight of Compassion" may have just been a metaphor, a figure of speech to show that King Arthur was becoming colder and less humane in the eyes of her subjects, and Sir Velvet's rebellion may have thusly been a protest against an increasingly-unjust King. Of course, that is a very controversial theory that the English, and especially the English Crown, strongly deny.

Also, before anyone asks about Velvet using Crocea Mors as her Noble Phantasm... in the end, she both obtained it in the same way Julius Caesar lost it, and it was granted to her by the owner of the Crocea Mors, which is why it accepts her as its current owner. She wouldn't be able to draw out its full strength like Julius Caesar or Jaune would, of course, though...

On a side note... god, I have just gone absolutely insane and off the rails ever since I started experimenting, haven't I? When I did the first world jump, from Skyrim to Fallout, I distinctly remember saying that time that one of the challenges I was facing was that I had to keep tossing pre-existing characters and settings in favor of introducing new ones, while trying not to alienate my older readers who were drawn in by the older settings and characters.

And now?

...

Man, how things have changed...

Why do I do this to myself...

And do not expect another chapter for a long while, as usual... and especially not one as long as this...

Sure, I could have added in the scenes where Jaune broke down... but a) that would have been too depressing, even for me, and b) how long do you want this chapter to be?