Trepidation. Worry. Anxiety. Helplessness.
The Pendragon girls suffered through these emotions and more; the King of Knights had the worse of it. Artoria was used to her lack of power. She knew how to handle it.
But Arthur was a warrior. A king who led from the front, a weapon that protected its Master. Now that selfsame Master warred high above against an eldritch horror, a devilish bomb ticking down to annihilation.
And all she could do was watch.
"I... I cannot see them move," Artoria admitted.
Arthur scowled. "He is outmatched in sheer power... however..."
"However?"
Heavenly light deflected a crystal javelin away from Shirou's shoulder.
"His endurance lets him fight," Arthur explained. "As I suspected - between Britain's mana and having you as a Master, he is more than capable of contending with the creature. He is free to use his abilities as he pleases."
A golden beam rippled across the sky. Arthur paced to and fro, searching for any opening by which she might assist. Artoria chewed on her lower lip.
"If Saber has it under control, why do you worry so?"
"He is Shirou. I cannot help it."
"I am not sure I understand."
Arthur whirled on Artoria, face contorted with worry.
"He has a penchant for recklessness. He has no sense of self-preservation. Rin promised me she would look after him. She is not here. The duty falls to me. He is my Master, it is..."
She swallowed, suddenly unsure of herself.
"It is the one purpose I have left. I am his Saber."
Excalibur trembled in Vivian's grasp. With much difficulty, the Fae willed it back to its scabbard.
"Are you not contracted to another?" Artoria questioned. "Saber mentioned you came from that Chaldea place."
"Out of duty, not desire," Arthur clarified. She turned her gaze back to the conflict. "I have nothing against him, certainly, but Fujimaru is my Master by contract. Shirou is my Master by choice."
Golden light bled through Excalibur's form; it wrenched itself free of Vivian's startled grasp, but the surge in its magical signature alerted the Crystal. For the first time its attention diverted from the Grand Saber, and the three onlookers raised startled eyes to the crystalline volley descending upon them.
The javelins were fast.
"Avalon!"
Shirou was faster.
The relic blinked to their front. A low groan bled through its form; reality hissed and shivered.
Panic overtook Arthur. "Shirou! Wait!"
Necessity dictated otherwise. Burning energy spilled past the hilt of the sheathed sword; Excalibur mimicked the act. Overwhelmed by the sight, Lady Vivian pressed her hands together in a fervent prayer.
"Gaia! I beseech thee!"
The weight of the World pressed down on Avalon. The crystalline projectiles froze midair. Color bled from their vision; Artoria and Arthur fell to their hands and knees beneath the almighty presence drowning the grove.
"L-Lady... Vivian..." Arthur groaned. "What... is that... sword? Why... is the Counter Force...?"
In that moment Vivian looked less a Fae and more an epitome of desperation. She tugged at Excalibur, trying in vain to pull it away from Avalon and the mysterious blade within.
"It is the Grand Saber's awakened Origin!" the Lady of the Lake cried out. "Every Excalibur, every Caliburn... they all descend from that sword! They are linked! They are shards of the whole!"
Arthur froze. Having comprehended the truth, the King of Knights turned to Artoria, dilated eyes the size of dinner plates.
"It is not just Avalon," she breathed to herself. "The king draws him as a sword. The girl summons him as a man! The method differs, but the act is the same! Shirou...!"
Inch by inch, the sheathed sword separated from Avalon. The ground shook as if taken by a massive earthquake. Gaia fought it, but it would not be denied.
The sword knew its purpose. The sword knew its design.
Artoria began her crawl.
"Arthur! Help me! I shan't let it happen again! We must control it!"
The King of Knights turned again to Vivian, hoping beyond all else that she was incorrect.
"Milady - Shirou, is he...?"
Tears brimmed in the Fae's eyes. Her struggle continued against that world's Excalibur.
Against that world's shard.
"It is the truth!" she wailed. "It is the truth! The World fears the Angel's Notes! He is fated to come here, but... but this timeline is how it ends! The Spider's death unleashes the Grain! It poisons Gaia! So instead, it seals his memories and sends him back! And each time... each time, the sword breaks in a different way! It is a paradox, my king! That sword... that sword is...!"
...
"The timelines!" Arthur breathed. "Shirou... you...!"
Artoria found purchase on the hilt. The connection loosed a shockwave, a surge of blinding magical energy.
"It is the true Last Phantasm! It is the sword that killed Sefar!"
The world went white.
It has long been recorded that animals feel all sorts of emotions.
Love. Fear. Anger and anxiety and relief.
Man alone feels hope.
The belief, however impossible, that things will get better. That even when the world dies around you, when the rivers dry and the plants shrivel, that if you just hold out long enough, if you just try hard enough, something good will come your way.
That things will change for the better.
That you won't be as sad.
Or as hungry.
Or as scared.
That someone - anyone - is looking out for you.
That you have a friend in high places.
That someone cares, when everything else does not.
That you are protected.
That you are safe.
That you have a guardian angel.
A protector who counters the evil.
A Counter Guardian.
Even if his heart is a fake, the beauty of what he believed in is real.
That is something he cannot lie about.
And it is the origin of his powers.
Everything else may die, but hope?
Hope dies last.
Planet: Land of Steel (Earth, former)
Branch: 0-00
Twig: 00.00 [The Trunk]
Year: AD 2505 (88 AC - After Construction)
Location: The Great Rift (Site of the First Confrontation)
WITCH SWIFT UMBRELLA (Type:Mercury(?)'s corpse)
Whatever similarities Gawain shared with the fanatical Ether Liner stopped at the superficial level. The man fought like no warrior any of them had ever encountered. Not a knight nor spearman. Not a mage nor assassin. The Galatine copy swung in from the side, but the act left his torso exposed to counterattack. Gawain took the initiative and leveled a stab, so as to finish the battle before it began.
The Ether Liner spun around the intentional opening. His sword now went for Gawain's neck.
Merlin sighed. He grabbed Fujimaru's wrist. "Come along, young Master, we depart forthwith."
"Gawain!" Ritsuka called.
Galatine blocked the fake. Grain filled the air with the impact; the knights were left wheezing.
"Go!" the man snarled. "All of you, go! This is my busi—"
Galat's greave left Gawain's groin. He rolled over the knight's back and charged for Ritsuka. Lancelot intercepted.
"Vile charlatan! You dishonor thy station!"
"Dishonor can be washed away with success!" roared Galat.
At his words, five more ashen-clad warriors bled through the crystalline walls. They charged without delay.
"An ambush," Tristan hissed. He leveled Failnaught at the nearest Ether Liner. The void arrow impacted center mass; the unfortunate fellow slammed back into the wall, fell to his hands and knees. He coughed. Blood spewed from his helmet's breaths.
And then he balled his fists, and stood right back up. Muffled, crazed chanting came with each exhale.
"Ex...tract it...! Deeper! Wider! Closer... to the limit...!"
Galat swerved around Lancelot's imperious strike. Mordred sneered, deflected an enemy's blow and kicked a different attacker away, just in time to meet the Ether Liner sword to sword.
"Oi, wizard! The hell's wrong with these creeps?"
All of them: like machines.
Like men and women possessed they threw themselves at the entourage. Each one fought with strangely focused passion, the kind that brought concerned looks and recommendations to well-paid therapists.
Merlin just grinned.
"I see the lot of you have never paid attention to how the red archer fights!"
"Eh? The hell's that supposed to mean? We never deploy with him!"
Mash groaned under the weight of three different strikes. "Guys! Later pl—"
"There you are, you fucking traitor!"
A woman's screech cut the conversation short. A blur crashed into Lancelot; Arondight sparked against a malformed replica.
"This one's mine, Galat!" the newcomer hissed. "You can have the others, I don't give a fuck!"
Like Galat with Gawain, this Ether Liner's armor copied Lancelot's.
Galat continued his chaotic exchange with Mordred. "You should be helping the evacuation!"
"The rest of the Fourth is still on station! If you wanted me there, you shouldn't have mentioned the otherworlders' identities!"
That confirmed Lancelot's suspicions. He shoved the woman back.
"State thy name, churl!"
She recovered in a flash. Her posture was closer to a rabid beast's than any sort of swordsman's.
"Dight Aron, First Knight of the Fourth Seat! I've dreamed of this day, you heretical filth! With your death I'll finally prove my Seat's loyalty!"
Dight Aron - Arondight. The naming convention wasn't lost on Fujimaru.
"Are they names or titles?" he muttered.
"My Seat serves the king! We all do!" Lancelot snarled. "You are the traitorous ones here! We know of no such... 'High Spark'! Explain yourselves, all of you! Who are you people?! What has become of the Round Table?!"
"Like you don't already know! Feign ignorance all you want, heretic, it doesn't much matter to me! Our ancestors killed you once before!"
Aron rushed him low and fast. Grain flowed like water along her copied blade.
"And we can do it again!"
Lancelot fell into a well-practiced stance. The Ether Liner tore into him like a living tsunami. Her blows came quick and fast, coiling and retreating like the ocean's tides.
Her movements reminded Lancelot of himself.
A moment later, Gawain barreled around the corner, weapon at the ready.
"Never have I met such a heinous jester!"
Galat kicked Mordred away, twisted to his original. He deflected the blow into the floor, half-sworded his weapon, and went for Gawain's neck. The knight spun on his heel and delivered a powerful kick to Galat's gut. The Ether Liner slid across the floor, growling.
"So says one of King Arthur's oh-so chivalrous knights! Your time has come and gone, vermin! Take a look outside! The prophecies were right!"
He spat out the name like it was poison. Gawain simmered.
"You speak nonsensical slander!"
"Call it what you wish! We've survived this long because we acted! Had we followed your pathetic king, we'd all be long buried!"
Merlin took advantage of the distraction, and dragged Fujimaru down the hallway. Mash took their front while Tristan and Mordred fought off their nameless pursuers. The clangs and clashes of armored combat echoed off the walls.
"Will they be alright?" Ritsuka asked.
"They are confronting their history," Merlin explained. "They can handle themselves."
Mash's brow furrowed. "Their history?"
Tristan launched yet another Ether Liner away. The pause in the action gave him time to grab Mordred's shoulder.
"Guard them. I shall handle the lackeys."
She shot him a disbelieving look. "You sure you can take 'em all?"
"My duty is sorrowful and droll. Ah..."
"...Tch. Yeah, whatever. Good luck, sleepy bastard."
Merlin led them through the ever-twisting hallways. The alarms continued up above; the war outside intensified. Again the castle shook. The thud of siege weaponry bled through the ceiling.
The longer they traveled, the more impatient Mordred got. "The hell're you takin' us, wizard?"
The magus flashed her a toothy smile. "To your heir."
...
"My... my what?"
As if on cue, a section of the wall fell away. An armored gauntlet reached out, tugged Fujimaru inside.
"S-Senpai?!"
Mash ran inside. Merlin shoved Mordred through the secret door, then entered himself. The entrance hissed shut.
...
A fairly spacious room. A study or library, perhaps, for texts and scrolls lined the walls, ceiling to floor. The warrior craned his head from wall to wall. Satisfied with whatever it was he sought, he turned to the entourage.
"...Sorry about that."
Fujimaru took a step back - because he recognized the suit this man wore. Dirtied, dented, the crimson long faded to simple gray and black.
But the Grand Saber's armor, nonetheless.
Mash placed herself between Fujimaru and the stranger.
"W-Who...?"
"I apologize for the poor first impression. The thirteenth prophecy has long fancied my compatriots, and the Fourth and Fifth especially have always dreamed of one day confronting the original knights. The Grain's corruption has not done them any favors, either."
Fujimaru put his hand on Mash's shoulder. Some of her tension drained away.
"Are you Ado Edem?" he asked.
"That is my title, yes," the man confirmed. "Judging from your appearance, you must be the one Saber mentioned in his notes. Ritsuka Fujimaru, I believe?"
"Y-Yes. You seem... ah..."
"Saner?"
Fujimaru nodded, sheepish. Edem grunted.
"That depends on your definition of 'sane'. I have managed to keep the Grain out of my mind. A small miracle, with how bad things have gotten."
"We were told you were imprisoned."
"House arrest, you might call it. The knights and I have our many disagreements. I am not as..." He waved a hand through the air, as if to gesture to their surroundings. "...religious."
"Why're you wearing that dude's armor?" Mordred blurted. "And why're your goons trying to kill the other knights?"
"Your questions have the same answer. I'll start from the beginning, if you don't mind."
Edem loosened the straps securing his helmet.
"Firstly: I am the sixty-sixth 'Ado Edem', which in the common tongue translates roughly to 'Heir of Emiya'."
He pulled it from his head. Mash gasped, Fujimaru blinked, Mordred's jaw dropped.
Merlin internally celebrated.
Golden hair. Amber eyes.
"My name is Kiritsugu Pendragon. I trace my lineage directly to the first Ether Liner, Sir Mordred himself, and to his parents, Shirou Emiya and Artoria Pendragon. Saber's armor has been passed down in my family for two thousand years."
How many worlds would you burn, if it meant a second chance?
Who would you sacrifice?
Your children?
Your children's children?
Confronted with that reality, with that knowledge of a tragedy yet to unfold, do they not deserve a chance?
Is it not wrong to undo the mistakes of the past to change a tragic future?
Is their struggle not beautiful?
Does it not mean something?
The ocean churned. Gaia's waters crested over the city ruins, dragged buildings and roads down into the murky depths. Mechanized corpses littered the shattered stone, their vacant interiors a harbinger of the continuous destruction yet to come.
The Age of Gods - this battle began its decline.
"Where are we?" Artoria hissed.
Arthur's fist clenched at her side. "Atlantis."
"Atlantis?! Why, 'tis naught but a rumor!"
Whatever response the King of Knights prepared died in her throat, interrupted by the groaning shriek of an alien god. The Pendragons turned with the noise.
There it was.
The Aias.
Its purple glow beautified the wretched landscape. The seven petals stretched from end to end; the diameter matched the city's.
A white fist slammed against it. The shield did not budge.
Velber 02 blotted out the stormy black skies, almighty in its ways, its destructive mission halted by one single man.
The knight stood on a partially collapsed pillar, high above the sinking cityscape. Tattered red surcoat billowing in the wind, he held a black bow in his left hand and the godslaying sword in his right.
Down below lay the bodies of the Grand-class Servants, the compatriots sent to aid him.
Orion, the Archer.
Romulus, the Lancer.
Noah, the Rider.
Artoria grabbed Arthur's shoulder.
"Look."
The King of Knights followed her finger, to two bloodied men still alive. Blonde and white. A king and a mage.
"Merlin..."
"Who is the other one?" Artoria asked.
"King Gilgamesh. Sumerian ruler of ancient Uruk."
Golden flames curled up the Grand Saber's sword. The ether blade fractured, overloaded by a torrential amount of magical energy. He notched it as one would an arrow.
Artoria broke into a sprint. "Saber! Saber, wait!"
Arthur gave chase. Together they raced across shattered Atlantis, ducking under collapsed home and leaping over decrepit rubble.
But this place was the past, and the past cannot be changed. The Grand Saber took aim. The bowstring pulled taut. Raw power spilled forth from the Broken Phantasm.
Arthur grabbed Artoria's wrist. "'Tis a vision! We cannot—"
"He is a man, not a weapon!"
...
"How many times has he done this?" the girl ranted. "How many times has he returned to this place to create yet another King Arthur? Merlin has always known, has he not? That is why he came to us!"
"Merlin... created Caliburn," Arthur replied. "I suppose he combined the pieces with Merodach and Gram. He would have knowledge, aye."
Artoria wrenched her wrist free.
"I will not stand for it! I will not allow him to be some eldritch god's monster! He cares for you, Arthur! He cares for us! 'Tis a blessing he cannot remember this! I dare not imagine his reaction!"
...
"Then form a contract with me."
Artoria stopped, swallowed her words, paused.
"We have our differences," Arthur elaborated. "There are things we cannot agree on. We both understand that. But this—"
She leveled a finger at the Grand Saber.
"—is unacceptable. He shall be Alaya's dog no longer. In that, we agree. All of us. You, me, the one he seeks. Perhaps even Alter. It is the single thing we have in common, Artoria. We have never saved our Master."
...
"What do I do?" the girl muttered.
Arthur took her hand. A bolt of lightning ascended Artoria's arm.
"You already know the words."
...
...
...
"...I announce. Thy body shall be under my command. My fate shall be determined by thy sword. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason—"
In the distance, a lone man spoke the weapon's name.
"—Obey me! Then I shall entrust my fate to thy sword...!"
The arrow parted the skies.
"I will accept your oath under the name of Saber. I shall accept you as my Master, Artoria."
And the white titan disintegrated.
Everything has an origin story. Everything has a legend... including the legends themselves.
And King Arthur is no exception.
The name of Arthur's holy sword is, ultimately, a translation. It is taken from Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, arguably the most famous of the Arthurian tales, in which the sword is proclaimed as Excalibur, meaning "cut steel".
That is not what the sword's name means.
It is incorrect.
And so, to find out where this all originates, we must travel back in time, to the first myth.
Fate/ess
Geoffrey of Monmouth, author of the fanciful Historia Regum Britanniae - itself the ancestor of Le Morte d'Arthur - translates Arthur's sword as Caliburnus.
But Caliburnus is not Excalibur's true name.
Neither is Calesvol, the Middle Cornish translation, or Caliburc, of French origin.
All of these names trace their beginnings to a single fable surviving in only two ancient manuscripts:
Culhwch ac Olwen
It is the story of the young man Culhwch, cursed to love none but the beautiful Olwen, whom he has never met and cannot find.
His father tells him he will never reach the girl.
Not without the help of his famous cousin, King Arthur.
He sets off to find the king, and does so in the province of Cornwall.
Arthur promises to lend Culhwch whatever aid he desires, save the lending of his sword.
And together, they set off on an adventure filled with labors and mirth.
The name of the king's sword, when directly translated to the modern tongue, is revealed to be a compound of two words: "hard" and "breach".
Hardbreach - 4
Everything descends from that prototypical legend of a boy searching for a girl.
That is how it begins.
The first of all that followed.
In that story, Excalibur and Caliburn are the same.
And that sword's name...
THE SWORD IN THE SCROLL
...is Caledfwlch.
Artoria and Arthur returned to the present day to find half the grove destroyed, and their hands wrapped around the godslayer's hilt. Gaia's infinite pressure added to their own. Together, the three forces kept the sword from exiting Avalon.
Dozens upon dozens of the Crystal's projectile's deflected away from the scabbard's brilliance. They carved poisonous trails through the dirt. Overhead the Grand Saber bounded through trees, bow in hand, loosing his Broken Phantasms in sequence. Caladbolg and Hrunting sliced through the air. Disembodied weapons slammed against the scout's crystalline armada. Swords and polearms, axes and warhammers and maces - they blotted the chilly clouds as a cavalry charge tramples the earth.
A one man army.
The Master's arms shook, she winced against the Counter Force's weight, but nevertheless she summoned the strength to turn to her newest Servant.
"I shall handle Caledfwlch, Arthur! Go to him!"
Sky silver armor shimmered about Arthur's form. A flowing blue dress fell to her ankles. She took a breath and squared her shoulders, then stood with a nod. Her eyes flashed.
"Shirou! Give me my sword!"
Her words took hold of Avalon and the blade sheathed within. An eldritch shockwave nearly knocked Artoria away. Before her very eyes, Caledfwlch drew an inch from the scabbard; the True Ether blade cracked, and from the fracture gusted a searing, howling wind.
Eleven Caliburns and eleven Excaliburs embedded themselves in pairs point first in a circle around Arthur.
They were not projections.
Confused, Arthur placed her hands on the first pair—
"Wh—ngh—!"
—and bowled over, gasping for breath.
...
He followed Rin's advice, and left her to fight Berserker.
She lost.
And he died.
BAD END 15: THIRD DEATH
...
Sweat dripped from her chin. Her mouth hung agape.
"A-Arthur?!" Artoria called.
Ten pairs remained. Her heart skipped a beat.
"I am fine," she whispered.
"A tree doth not grow without its branches and leaves."
Arthur turned to Vivian. The Fae clutched the male Arthur's Excalibur. She would not meet her eye.
"What is this place, Milady? Where are we, truly?"
"The trunk, thy majesty. Sefar's original death, the self with which you have contracted, the coming apocalypse - they are the same timeline. This timeline. He creates and follows a new branch each time he destroys the white titan. But a branch cannot grow past its trunk. 'Tis all interconnected, 'tis all in parallel."
Her mind raced. She knew of two endings: the one where she left, and the one where she stayed.
These swords were identical. Their signatures matched exactly - all of them, hers. Her Caliburn. Her Excalibur.
By process of elimination, that left...
"...Artoria, do you have Alter's memories?"
...
The girl's jaw clenched. A lump formed in Arthur's throat.
"How... how many—"
"More."
Artoria silently counted. She looked away. "He... dies more."
...
More than nine times.
She took a calming breath, relinquished her hold on the first pair. The two swords began to levitate, as if freed of their troubles.
Very well. She would bear this weight. She would learn how to save Shirou Emiya.
Arthur grabbed the next set.
...
He jumps for the stairs, not the hallway.
Rin follows through. She hits him with Gandr.
Is it to protect him? To remove him before he gets in over his head?
It does not matter. Her motives do not matter.
His memories of the Grail War are wiped either way.
And the first person he forgets is—
BAD END 16: TEXTURE
...
She was not prepared for the immediacy, the intimacy. Death she knew how to handle. War? Of course. 'Twas in the name: the Holy Grail War. But their connection, his knowledge of her - removed? By a third party? By Rin?
Something dripped down her nose. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and moved on with haste. She wished not to linger.
...
"PLEASE COME, SABER—!"
Everything below his left elbow, gone.
Left at Rider's whims. Unprotected. His Saber not by his side.
"To make you use your Command Spell—I have fulfilled the condition I set for myself.
And the other thing would be to gouge your eyes out... But I shall spare you from that. You have fulfilled me enough with your voice of anguish. I will orgasm if I gouge your eyes out as well."
BAD END 17: SPIDER'S CAPTIVE
...
Shirou continued his fight against the alien menace. Arthur watched as, seemingly on accident, he dropped his bow whilst midair. His left hand was left empty; the Crystal sensed an opening. An emerald whip lashed at the exposed limb.
Caladbolg - to a reverse grip.
Its explosive might - triggered.
He spun with the momentum, deflected the whip into a tree. His motion continued.
The bow - grabbed.
Caladbolg - nocked.
Broken Phantasm - loosed.
Another trembling, calming breath. Her poise returned.
"For your sake, do not venture here, Rider."
...
"...? What's wrong, Issei? Is it anemia or something?"
"—No, it's not that I feel bad."
Shirou laughs, thinking his classmate is acting like a coiled doll.
His stomach is slashed down to the organs.
"—Issei?"
"YOU fell for my trap. The order I implanted into THIS HUMAN functions only when HE meets SOMEONE who INQUIRES about ME."
Caster's voice speaks through the boy, Issei.
"I DO NOT need this DOLL ANYMORE."
A knife to his own neck.
Issei dies, as well.
BAD END 18: HYPNOS
...
An assassination. An oft-used tactic, in war and out. She would need to speak to Shirou about—
Nay. He wore armor, now.
Good.
She ventured to the next pair.
...
He runs to her instead of Rin. He has faith in Rin's ability to protect herself.
For his efforts, Kuzuki removes his left foot.
Then the man crushes Rin's skull.
Then he returns to crater in Shirou's chest.
BAD END 19: KILLER
...
Was he not doing the same thing now? Risking his own well-being to...
...Tch.
She would never admit it, but Shirou, perhaps, was the exception. Experience was the best teacher, and no situation instructed better than one of life and death.
Except death.
A mortal unbound by mortality. Untethered by the two absolutes: time, and the grave. Not chained to the Throne like the heroes, his supposed betters, but instead unknowingly cast off into the vast depths to fend for himself, using nothing but his experience, his creativity, and whatever slivers of power the Counter Force so graciously bequeathed him.
Here he stood, fighting to a standstill the fragment of a walking apocalypse. Without the heart of a dragon. Without any sort of godly parentage. With his one ability, the manifestation of his Reality Marble, banned from being used.
A man.
Arthur huffed.
"Unbelievable. You are lucky I am here, Shirou."
...
He gives himself up to protect Taiga's life.
He gives himself up to give her a chance at receiving the Holy Grail.
He gives himself up so Rin is no longer in danger.
He sacrifices himself, as he is wont to do.
It is a hero's choice.
And as thanks for his payment, Caster turns him into a—
"—I'll laugh it off.
The bad dream ends here, Shirou."
BAD END 20: HAZY
...
Bile stained the frost.
"Haa... haa..."
Breathe in through the nose. Exhale from the mouth. Again.
"He remembers them as a series of long, vivid dreams. That is what Saber told me."
A tone of voice neither warm nor cold walked her through the memories. Arthur gathered herself quickly, as expected of the king. Her periphery found Artoria. Golden eyes stared back. Sweat dampened the girl's pale brow; in her struggle to contain Caledfwlch, she'd tapped into the power of another.
Arthur wiped her mouth and straightened. If that girl, inexperienced as she was, could handle it...
Aye.
After all - they were the same person.
...
Caster has taken his Saber. He cannot find Rin.
He goes to the church. To find the priest.
"—Oh. I thought I'd see you again, but I didn't think it would be this soon."
A witch awaits him instead.
To run. To fight. To find some way to survive.
In the end, nothing he does matters.
His innards twist into a new, foreign shape.
"...I'm surprised. Your body has not given up yet even though I have your mind.
...Fufu, I like you all the more now. Saber will soon be mine, so I will treat you gently like I will her."
BAD END 21: ARTIFICIAL NOBLE PHANTASM
...
They worsened.
"If what Saber says is true, and they are dreams, then in truth they are nightmares."
'Twas an odd thing, the girl's voice. She could not identify the owner. Artoria's words. Alter's tone. A fusion of their looks. Was Artoria possessed? Was Alter?
Who was in control? Had they fused into a single person? Did they control in tandem? If such happened to her, would she cease to be? In this place made whole, this conglomeration of all the possibilities won and lost?
Alter Artoria's guidance punctuated each step to the next pair. Five sets remained.
"He learns from his experiences. From his deaths, most of all. I struggled to rid him of the armor in the early days, even in private. He is a paranoid, desperate man. And though I despise it above all else, I know - from his words, and in my gut - that what I have lived? What you are living in this moment?"
Arthur laid her hands on the next swords. She shut her eyes, and swallowed her fears.
"They are but a dozen bodies upon a mountain of corpses."
...
He watches from above, hidden - or so he thinks - from all parties.
Archer will handle Caster. He and Rin together can match Kuzuki.
The logic is sound. It follows warfare's oldest rule: supremacy in numbers.
He runs down the stairs.
"Shirou...?! Are you out of your mind...?! Why are you here...?!"
"What are you saying? You're the one who told me to go to the church. I didn't think I'd run into such a situation here either."
Rin gasps. Shirou is pleased that she now understands his intentions.
"I'm going to help you. I should be of use in this situation, right? ...Complain to me after we defeat Caster."
But a soldier's logic is not a mage's logic.
"...You idiot. You and Rin would have survived if you had not come out."
He is told the correct answer. The choice he should have made.
The admonishment comes from Archer.
From Shirou Emiya.
From the Grand Saber's core, to one of his many shards.
"Caster. This makes three against three. You should have no complaints. Get Saber."
Kuzuki uses his Command Spell to order Caster.
Her bindings are released.
The golden-haired girl falls powerlessly to the ground and—
...She gets up.
Her body is covered with her silver armor, and in her hands is a golden sword Shirou HaS nEveR sEeN bEfOrE—
"...You got me, boy. I only have one Command Spell remaining now. This is for my protection, so I cannot order Saber by force anymore.
...My plan to make the Holy Grail eternal has been foiled. I can only make one wish come true now, but—
I shall have fun before that.
Saber. Show them your true powers, as they have spoiled my wish."
She readies her golden sword and steps towards them.
Archer is silent.
Instead of telling Rin to run, he stands in front of Sab—"Get out get out get out!"
BAD END 22: SWORD AND MAGIC
Arthur shrieked, stumbled back, fell to the ground. She pulled herself away from the two levitating swords. Trembling gauntlets wrenched and pulled at the frozen earth.
Shirou's armored form dropped like an anvil. He landed in a crouch, helmet on a swivel, Kanshou and Bakuya in hand.
"What is it? What's wrong, Saber?"
Goosebumps rose across her arms and neck. Arthur's whole body felt clammy. His voice kept her from hyperventilating.
"Have I... ever tried... to kill you, Shirou...?"
"Never."
His reply's speed shocked her. Such assurance, such resolute tenacity.
"Everything that happened in those fifteen days—"
"—was a result of necessity and circumstance."
They turned to Alter Artoria. Golden irises narrowed, pale hands pressed harder against the sheathed sword's guard.
"It was never his choice, nor was it mine. I was weak. I was reckless. Had I not separated from my scabbard, we would have walked away unscathed."
Crystal javelins fell from the sky by the hundreds. Avalon rumbled. Kanshou and Bakuya evaporated. The Aias's seven petals bloomed across Shirou's back and shoulders. His helmet's visor never shifted from her eyes.
Against the backdrop of madness wrought by the TYPE, Shirou Emiya offered Arthur Emiya his hand.
...
"'Tis made of poison, Shirou," she rasped. "The Counter Force fears its destruction. Even if it is the Aristotele's scout, if you kill it... if you lay it low..."
He took the grim news as only Shirou could. "Then we'll figure something out, Saber. We've done it before."
She nodded, then took his hand. He pulled her to her feet.
"Wait for me," she breathed. "I shall join you shortly."
"Of course." The helmet shifted to his Altered Master. "Are you doing that, Artoria?"
She blinked. "E-Eh?"
"It feels like my whole body's being squeezed."
"I see. U-Um... sh-should I stop, Saber?"
More weapons came to his hands. He turned to face the Crystal.
"On the contrary, it feels good. Nice and warm, like that heated kotatsu Fuji-nee brought over back then. Keep it up!"
He launched himself back into the fray. The two Pendragons were left with their own thoughts. They shared a look.
"Did Taiga ever...?"
"Nay."
...
Even between the two - the three? - of them, 'twas not enough. Arthur clenched a fist. Still it quivered.
"When we charge into the fray to face the enemy alone, we fail. When we deny him his place at our side, we fail."
Artoria's words stilled her.
Aye. 'Twas just like before. "Because he is Avalon."
"Sword and scabbard. Scabbard and sword. Our weapon, our protection. Merlin told us to value the sheathe before the blade, did he not? Though we soon forgot, foolish as we are."
Arthur walked to the next pair. "Is that why you cling to it now so desperately?"
The girl huffed. "Have you learned nothing, Artoria?"
She squared her shoulders against the slander. Alter Artoria continued, relentless.
"You made the same vows as I. Saber said as such. 'My sword shall be with you.' Not away from you, you stupid girl, with you! A sword is not a spear! 'Tis a weapon of self-defense, to be drawn when the enemy closes the distance!"
Arthur grit her teeth, and pressed on regardless.
...
He does not know who Lancer's Master is, and so refuses the Servant's help.
"I refuse. I can't trust you."
Lancer seems to sigh and shrug.
"I see. Your partner is saying so, but what about you, young lady? You said you'd go along with his choice."
"—I won't take back my words. It's meaningless to cooperate with you if Emiya-kun can't trust you."
"I see, you're right... This is disappointing, you really were my type."
Lancer turns.
He vanished without another word.
And so, the two Masters without Servants are left to confront Archer, Caster and Kuzuki by themselves.
Because she was not there to aid them.
BAD END 23: REFUSE
...
"Helloooo, Arthur, guess whaaaaat?"
Do not respond. Do not respond. Do not respond.
"Wouldst thou like to knoweth something humorous?"
Do. Not. Respond. Walk to the next pair.
"If thou wouldst divert thine eyes to the treeline—"
Do.
"—thou wouldst see over yonder—"
Not.
"—that dearest Saber is holding his position—"
Respond.
"—and is waiting for the Crystal to come to him!"
She touched the next pair. Artoria's golden eyes pleaded with her as she faded.
"His mistakes are our mistakes! We are weak when separated and strong when together! If I can learn from my past lives, so can you! We are the same person, Arthur!"
...
"No way—"
He wraps the chain further around his arm.
"—Don't come out into this world again...!"
Shirou does not resist the pull and falls into the void.
"Fool—are you insane...!?"
...
...
—You...
!
SMACK
THWACK
KERPOW
...IDIOOOOOT!?
What a shock! I did not think someone would see this Tiger Doj—
STUPID END 24: HEAVEN'S FALL
...
...
"...SHIROOOOOOU?!"
Calm and poised. Calm and poised. Calm and poised calm and poised calmandpoi—
He knocked away another crystalline tendril, and looked over his shoulder.
"Y-Yes?"
"DIDST THOU THROW THYSELF INTO THE GRAIL?!"
...
"It was a momentary lapse in judgment!"
"Wh—Saber, thou what?!"
"I am figuring out how to safely defeat a terrifying, super-powerful alien invader! Can we discuss this later?!"
"Do you see now, Arthur?!" Artoria wailed. "We get overly eager, something happens to us, and 'tis like all his common sense flies out the window! Now get over there before he does something silly, like... like grafting his arm onto his younger self!"
More Broken Phantasm explosions punctuated his rebuttal.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures!"
Arthur stomped her way to the last two pairs, infuriated.
"I shall show you 'desperate'! Which of these is the threesome, Shirou?! I must channel Rin's fury!"
"I would rather you didn't!"
Her counterpart blushed. "The w-what-some?"
...
His appetite has vanished. He removes his apron and departs for the dojo.
Breakfast is left on the table.
He enters the place expecting it to be empty.
...But there she sits, meditating.
He has lost his voice.
"—Shirou? Are you awake?"
The girl stands.
"It seems you are fine.
I knew you would wake up soon since your wounds were small."
"Shirou? What is wrong? Your mouth is open.
Do you have a wound that is not apparent?"
"Eh—oh, no, but..."
His confusion is great, and it takes him a long time to recover.
"S-Saber."
"Yes? What is it, Shirou?"
"Um... You're Saber, right?"
"I am Saber. Or do I look like Archer or Lancer to you?"
"—Of course not. You don't look like anyone else at all."
"Exactly. You are covered with wounds, but you are Shirou like always."
He finally calms down.
"Saber. You're really Saber?"
"That is what I am telling you. ...Hm. Is something wrong with your eyes?"
She reaches for him, and Shirou sighs, relieved, at the solidity of her person.
"—Good morning, Saber. I'm glad to be able to see you again."
"Good morning, Shirou. I am glad as well to be able to greet you again."
"Yeah. But how can you remain in this world? Um, the Holy Grail doesn't exist anymore, right? Then—"
He stops. She knows better than anyone that Servants cannot stay in their world without the Grail. He notices her look.
"Saber...?"
"Shirou, please ask Rin about this matter. She is waiting for you to realize that she is there."
"Huh?"
He turns around.
"Oh."
END: SUNNY DAY
...
Better.
Aye, quite better. 'Twas good the lives she best knew came last. Though she had not personally experienced them during her status as a living Servant, she truthfully preferred the silly journeys of Shirou, Rin and 'Elise' to her own reality.
And for that, Fujimaru and the Chaldean denizens earned her thanks and genuine cooperation. Before her summoning, she could only read of the adventures in the Throne - and that book was well-read, indeed. But Chaldea's unique system brought with it the consolidation of those memories into a unified whole, and during her downtime in those first weeks she did naught but relive their adventures.
Archer asked many questions. She pointedly ignored every single one. Hmph!
...
"...?"
"I'm telling you that they approve of me as a proper magus. So it's not unusual for me to have an apprentice or two, right?
There are factional disputes there, so I'm allowed to take at least one of my apprentices."
"—Um, that's..."
"Yup. I can unconditionally take one follower as an assistant. You won't have to take the test that way, and you'll be exempt from tuition fees.
...Well, but you'll be in a disadvantageous position because you'll be a student at the Magic Association without being part of it."
His face scrunches up in thought.
Rin giggles.
"W-What? I'm not considering going there because you talked me into it, okay?"
"Is that all you want to tell me? Well, I'm going to London."
Her smile turns mischievous.
"So, what will you do, Shirou?"
"..."
His face turns red.
"Oh, why go silent now? I haven't heard your answer yet."
She knows what his answer is, but presses on, merciless.
"Uh... I, um..."
London is too far away for him. But he wants to be taught by her.
He wants to be with her.
"Be clear, this is important.
Will you still come with me, even if it's as my assistant?"
She looks so attractive that he feels like his heart will pop out of his mouth.
"S-Shut up, you idiot...! You idiot, idiot, idiot! I-I-If it's so important, tell me about it in a more appropriate place! I can't answer you when it's so sudden...!"
She's enjoying every moment.
"Hey, Shirou. What's your answer?"
"...You idiot. Don't ask me such an obvious question."
Rin's smile is radiant.
"—Okay, then please give me your best regards from now on, Emiya-kun.
I'm going to train you until you become a proper magus, so prepare yourself."
"...Same to you. I took that seriously. I'm going to get taught by you until I become a proper magus."
"Of course. I'm going to make you an honest man and have you lead a happy life. I won't allow you to give up just by getting taken to London."
Her previous prettiness vanishes.
She says so with a daring smile and jumps off the desk.
...
...
...
...
He recalls that red figure one more time.
Neither this classroom nor that fight will cHaNgE.
EVERYTHING IS THE SAME.
EVERYTHING is an ILLUSION like a MIRAGE that DISAPPEARS when ONE TURNS AROUND.
But he can get there if he aims HIGH.
He will surely be able to catch up to his back with Rin's help.
So he'll come up with an answer at that time.
...THE SWORDS—
"HIGH SPARK! HIGH SPARK!"
—THAT ECHO—
"Let his teachings guide you!
Use the Grain!
We shall fight fire with fire, and death with death!"
—FAR AWAY.
"Operation Bird Drop is now commencing!
In Saber's name: destroy TYPE:Venus!"
By relying on those sounds, he shall eventually REACH—
"I ask of you."
—THAT—
"Are you my Master?"
—PLACE.
Walking with the wind blowing on your face.
Emerald eyes snapped open.
She held a single hilt.
Those twigs of a branch.
Those branches of a limb.
Those limbs of a tree so vast.
Walking towards the future.
Failures and successes melded into one.
Her Caliburns and her Excaliburs.
The choices they both made.
The twists and the turns.
One blade to recount it all.
Busy days with no compass to guide you.
The King of Knights held it aloft.
That sliver of the godslayer's power.
To change their fates.
To serve him well.
To gallop hard unto the breach.
After traveling to distant exotic countries...
"Thy chance is one, King Arthur Pendragon!"
spoke Vivian the Fae.
"Purify this Tree of Life
And mend it of its ails!
Save us from that Grain most foul!"
You will return to where you belong, one sunny day.
"And sheathe the Saber in Avalon!"
Her tasks set.
Her resolve steeled.
It began again once more.
The inferno blazed!
Its light most grand!
The knight did thus declare!
"Heed me now, Sword of Pride!
I name you: CALIBURNUS!"
Confusion Corner
you named him WHAT
Ado's name is "Kiritsugu" in the same way Oberon's name is Oberon.
That is to say: his name isn't actually Kiritsugu. It's complicated and heavily tied into his personal lore - dude's got a bad case of hero worship, among other things. Stay tuned.
The first myth
Alright, so a metric fuckload of stuff happened this chapter. To keep from overwhelming you guys with all of the fanon all at once, we're going to set aside the Arthurian part of this for a later chapter's Confusion Corner (chapter 26 specifically). In this one, we'll instead talk about one of Fateless' core objectives:
Fusing the entire Nasuverse into a single, all-encompassing story.
Things Notes' canon covers:
- The events that happen, though they're mostly paraphrased - the Great War between the A-Rays and Liners, which TYPEs are defeated, etc.
- The various deeds accomplished by select individuals - this is mostly Gun God, though Ado's feats are noted in the side materials.
Things Notes' canon does not cover:
- Who the Liners and Ether Liners are - their names, their personalities, their motivations. There are seventy-eight of these guys, and we have one name. Just a name.
- How the world becomes the Land of Steel - the direct sequence of events that causes Notes.
The first list is maintained and respected; none of that changes. The canon events and deeds are still canon, and will be referenced within the story. What Fateless does is expand upon the second list, the unknowns, in a way that respects the first list. To use Ado Edem as an example: Ado still kills both Jupiter and Saturn in Fateless, as he does in canon, but now he has a reason to do so. There is fanon context supplementing canon action.
We've talked about canon!Notes; now, we're going to pry apart those entries and connect them back into Fate. We'll do that by taking advantage of aesthetic and thematic similarities shared between the two universes.
Are ya ready, kids?
okay let's fuckin go
*cracks knuckles*
First thing's first: the when. Notes - that is, canon!Notes - takes place in the indeterminate, far flung future. We don't know if it's 3000 AD, 5000 AD, whatever. We need something a bit more solid if we're gonna make this work. Luckily, one of the side material entries gives us something usable:
Land of Steel
[ over count 1999. ]
A planet that died. A globe that reached its end. A world where living things can't live.
The name of the world in the present time. It's not its official name, but a nick name passed down between the people who live in the corrupted land. Like the name Land of Steel indicates, a large part of the continent are now wild lands that are torn apart, covered by a tainted gray colored cloud.
Food can't be grown, and the atmosphere is no longer suited for the animals.
To put it in a human species way, a drastic end of a century. But even after the mother planet died, the humans were able to live on with its developed civil technology.
Even the planet's end where people once imagined, couldn't bring an end to mankind.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
We'll be using this entry for much of our worldbuilding (world-linking?), but for now, let's focus on that subtitle: "over count 1999". I'm fairly certain it doesn't actually mean anything - that it's just a textbook example of Nasu's chuuni bullshit, a play on Notes' IRL publishing date of 1999. I've tried and failed to find a canon in-universe meaning, so we'll create one ourselves. "Over count" here can be read literally: it's 1999 counted *over* some point. We can easily established that point as something significant - like, say, an apocalypse?
In Fateless, then, "over count 1999" means "1999 years after the apocalypse". Next up, some simple math: Fateless takes place in 506 AD, 506 + 1999 is 2505 AD. Boom, done. We have the year Notes happens. Far flung future? Check.
Moving on to the world itself, our cornerstone here is this line in the above entry: "Like the name Land of Steel indicates, a large part of the continent are now wild lands that are torn apart, covered by a tainted gray colored cloud." Taken alone, however, this isn't enough to give us a picture of the setting. Let's bring in some more entries:
Dark Sky
[ cloud sky ]
Sky covered by clouds. The thick layers of cloud hides the sky since the great war. It doesn't mean the sky is gray; they just can't see the sky.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
and
Red Sky
[ blood sky ]
The Sky in this world. Above the gray sea of clouds, there is not a blue, but a red sky.
It's not because of a pollution, but from the blood of one of the Aristoteles that appeared near the end of the Great War, Type-Pluto.
In order to not let Pluto enter the planet's atmosphere, the Six Sisters fought it and killed each other at the same time, and its blood covered the whole planet as a result. The gray cloud is said to be a shield that the Six Sisters placed.
Within this red sky, the two Aristoteles that are prevented from entering the planet is floating like fishes that swim in the sea.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
Taken together, we now have a working visualization of the Land of Steel: a desolate wasteland devoid of life, covered by a cloudy, red sky.
Is there anything in Fate aesthetically similar to this environment? Is there anything we can link the Land of Steel to? How about…
Unlimited Blade Works
[ noble phantasm ]
How many times have I've gone over this, Nausicaa?
This is Archer's Noble Phantasm. It's a barren wasteland with a thousand swords scattered about.
A great ritual deployed using eight lines of projection.
It's a kind of old world magecraft known as a Reality Marble. A Reality Marble materializes the user's inner world and overwrites the real world with it for a short period of time.
All the weapons that Archer can project are present in this space, and there is no need for him to project anything from scratch. He can immediately use any weapon that's sticking in the ground.
[…]
[ Fate/EXTRA Material: Encyclopedia of Fate/EXTRA ]
Visually similar, perhaps, but a tenuous connection at best. It's not enough, it's a reach. Is there anything else we can use? Archer copies Noble Phantasms, and as we discussed in the previous chapter's Confusion Corner, the Knight Arms used by the Ether Liners are thematically similar. Let's take a look at the entry:
Magic Sword
[ knight arms ]
The name of the weapon that Knights carry.
All human species born in this world are effected by Gin. Babies born with a large amount of Gin in them shape it as if it's their bones during their lives, and when they reach adulthood, it is laid outside their body. Because it is created with the unanalyzed entity Gin, it is able to cause various effects and its power is strong enough to be considered a weapon.
Only few humans can shape the Demonic Swords, and those who carry a Demonic Sword powerful enough to be used for war are considered as Knights. Only one Demonic Sword exists per Knight.
[ Angel Voice: Notes. ]
"Shape it as if it's their bones"? "Laid outside their body"? "Magic swords"?
"I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, fire is my blood."
…
Oh.
Archer
[ servant ]
[…]
Having been introduced in Type-Moon works countless times, he is a very familiar Servant.
He is a cool-headed cynic, but he is also helpful and caring. Due to his character he is said to be a Servant who is also suitable to serve as a butler. Archer's origin differs from that of other Heroic Spirits, and he cannot be considered a legitimate Heroic Spirit.
Archer is a guardian. He was born into the world as a kind of defense mechanism which arose from the collective unconscious desire of mankind for continued existence.
He was essentially unconsciously elected by the masses to be their faceless representative.
He carries out his mission as a guardian following a simple rule, "If some evil appears that threatens to speed up the collapse of mankind, I will eliminate it and all accessories."
He crushes threats to mankind that the masses don't even know or realize exist. He is, so to speak, a repairman of the ages. If there were ever a time without Archer's deterrent power at work, destruction would rapidly spread and mankind would soon find itself facing an inevitable "END."
[…]
[ Fate/EXTRA Material: Encyclopedia of Fate/EXTRA ]
…
Fate: "He was born into the world as a kind of defense mechanism which arose from the collective unconscious desire of mankind for continued existence."
Notes: "Even the planet's end where people once imagined, couldn't bring an end to mankind."
Now, uh, let me just check that Notes synopsis again—
« A story that describes the extermination of humanity, and the war between the new humans and the planets. Its genre is science fiction.
It recounts fairy tales of the war between the new humans, who adapted to the environment, and the A-Rays, who came from the artificially created next-generation ecosystems.
On the planet that was doomed to death, political strife developed between the two races, to the point where the mysterious beings, the Aristoteles, rushed over from the universe with the intent of completely wiping out all life-
In any case, ultimately it is a hopeless story. »
…
Fate: "If there were ever a time without Archer's deterrent power at work, destruction would rapidly spread and mankind would soon find itself facing an inevitable "END.""
…
Isn't Archer a hero from the future? A hero with no legend?
…What if that legend wasn't meant to be remembered?
In a nutshell: tentative thematic similarities provide openings for narrative exposition. We can take advantage of unintentional coincidences. Would it not be delicious irony for the Nasuverse's most utopian ending to be intricately linked to its most dystopian ending?
Remember the fifth chapter of Notes? "How A Star is Born"?
If Shirou is to be made his strongest, then likewise, he must suffer his worst. He's a hero of the future, right? It's only appropriate that we take that to the logical extreme.
tl;dr: i used vaguely similar canon side materials entries to make notes a last episode bad end haha yes