Servants of Remnant

A hero… what a wonderful fairy tale. Sometimes… I still wish for a hero. My husband… he is a monster… I can't stop him. I'd never be able to… Winter… Weiss… Whitley… I wish that I could help you all… but I'd never be able to on my own. I… I need someone, anyone… who could help me!

Karna

Karna opened his eyes slowly, looking up from his kneeling position. The room around him was partially wrecked, bits of wood scorched from flame. It seemed his summoning had been a particularly violent one this time. He looked directly towards the woman who was providing him his mana, however little of a trickle there was. She was scared, near her was an overturned chair and at least six different bottles that all smelled of strong alcohol. Standing up slowly, he listened as she started breathing heavily, trying to push herself further into the wall in fear. Fear of him.

"Pardon me, but I must ask," Karna started, his eyes falling on the red seals that lay on the back of the woman's hand, forming the simple shape of an arrow. He closed his eyes, and held one hand to his chest, and then the other out towards the woman. "Are you my Master? Have you called for my aid?"

Her breathing seemed to slow down at his proclamation, but as she lowered her head, he could tell that she was still within the confines of her own mind, likely in contemplation of his question. Slowly, Karna turned his head, examining the room. Despite the moments he'd been here, he could already feel it. The dark air over this room, this entire manor. It was like a cage, wrapped in gold, slowly ripping away at those who lived inside.

"What- what are you talking about?" the white haired woman asked, drawing Karna's attention back towards her. He walked towards her, before bending down, offering his hand to her, even as she tried to keep her distance from him.

"I came, a hero, in response to your cry for aid. Is that not why you called for me?" he said calmly, trying to remember what Edison and Helena had said about comforting others.

"My lady!" Karna slowly turned his head as the door was slammed open, revealing a rather portly fellow carrying a tray, breathing heavily as if he'd just ran a hundred meter dash. Dressed in the garb of a Butler, Karna knew this man's intention, fear and concern over the lady of the house's safety, and now, the fear of him.

"Klein!" the woman called out, and Karna gently grabbed her hand. She flinched away from his touch, and a frown graced his face. This adversity… it seemed she needed help so badly that she knew not how to respond to it coming.

"Please, stand up Master," he said calmly, Klein walking into the room, brandishing the tray in his hands like a blunt instrument. Slowly, she started to calm, even his his hand on hers. Gently, he pulled as she started to try and stand, allowing her to stand up as Klein got behind him, still holding up the tray as if to threaten him. "I am sorry about the room."

"Who… are you?" she asked, pulling her hand away from his gentle grasp, before looking down at it… and her eyes went wide at the sight of the three seals on the back of her hand. This time, he bent down, like a servant before their lord, and she looked down at him as Klein quickly got by her side.

"I am Karna, the hero who has responded to your cry for aid Master. To serve as your guardian in your time of need… that is what you wished for, is it not?" he asked back to her, looking up at her with a neutral expression. He wasn't sure if he should smile, maybe, maybe not.

"A… hero?" she slowly found her want into the chair that Klein brought back to its legs, collapsing in it and holding her head within her hands, but slowly, she raised her head as Klein looked at him with curiosity, beneath his eyes, he sensed many judging gazes… ah, a man with many natures, but all shared the same concern. "How… how did you?"

"You brought me forth Master," Karna got up before slowly grabbing her hand, and turning it over to reveal the command seals to her. "Your wish for a hero to fight a monster, to save your children. That is why I am here," he stated simply and plainly and this time, he smiled at her.

"I find that hard to believe… and yet…" Klein was looking around the room, no windows and only one door. He couldn't have gotten in easily, or else there would have been a hole within the walls or roof. Klein did not know where he had come from. It was fine if he didn't, he himself was surprised.

After all, he'd been called forth on literally nothing but a prayer of desperation from a drunken woman. One of his more peculiar summonings in his opinion.

"My… wish?" she held her hand to her chest, closing her eyes. The alcohol within her system was still affecting her mind from what he could tell. While she remained silent, he took note of his current situation. His summoning to this world. The throne had provided him no information, yet it had provided him the memories of the past. And yet his existence was not being fought against. This world accepted that he existed… odd, but useful. It meant even the tiny amount of mana his master could provide was more than enough to keep him here… in fact, he would be able to store mana from her over time if it came to that. Fighting would still be quite difficult. His flames, his wings, his noble phantasms… all he could rely on for right now was his spear and armor. But that would be more than enough to answer whatever challenge she wanted of him.

"Mother?" A little girl poked her head through the doorway, and Karna slowly turned towards her. She was twelve, maybe eleven, dressed in white, and her hair was white and skin was pale. She possessed barely a modicum of mana… yet perhaps slightly more than her mother. It was easy to see the resemblance… and then he saw the curiosity and fear in her eyes. "Who is this man?"

"Weiss," her mother started, and Karna walked forward, Weiss shrinking away, holding the door for protection as Karna bent down, before holding out his hand to her.

"Lady Weiss, I am Karna, and I am here to protect you and family," he stated… and slowly the little girl reached out to put her hand in his. He smiled as best he could for her, behind him, her mother and Klein were watching as the scene occurred.

But good things had to come to an end, as an explosion rocked the building. Klein stumbled, Weiss screamed, leaping into his arms as Karna raised his head, glaring out the door before looking towards his Master. "Master, I require your presence,"

"What!?" she shouted, as Karna hear the sounds of footsteps, people invading the building.

"There is little time to explain, I require your power, and I cannot go far from you. If I am to defend you, I need you behind me," Karna proclaimed, before slowly holding up Weiss with one arm… and summoning his spear into his other hand. He heard both his Master and Klein gasp at his display, before he set down Weiss.

With no time to contemplate, his Master got up, and Karna walked out the door, and started towards the invaders. Klein and Weiss were close behind for some reason… perhaps it was for the best. He could better defend them if they were directly behind him. "Weiss where is your brother?" his Master asked her daughter.

"Whitley's in his room," Weiss muttered. So only two of the children were here today… As Karna rounded a corner he turned into a group of five individuals wearing the masks of monsters and holding guns.

"Invaders. I shall give you one chance to flee," Karna raised his spear, pointing towards the five men, each had some sort of animal feature they were hiding or displaying. One had the tail of a crocodile, another the ears of jackalope… interesting, but for the moment, they were foes.

When they opened fire on him, he stood there and took it, behind him Weiss screamed as Karna started walking forward, the bullets plinking off his armor as he rapidly spun his spear to deflect a few that might bounce off the wall behind him to hit his Master, Weiss or Klein. Nearing the end of his teether, just a meter before the men, he looked back down the hallway, where his Master was glancing from behind the corner.

One of the men raised his gun and fired towards her, and Karna moved, flashing from one foot to the left to directly in front of the bullets. They all plinked off his armor, and behind him, his Master seethed from the drain. "I need you closer Master," Karna said, not caring if these individuals heard. Discernment of the Poor would protect him from that.

It seems she'd realized it as well, slowly moving out from behind the corridor, and all five men just raised her guns again after loading new magazines. Karna stood quite directly between them and his master as they started shooting again. She flinched behind him… but as she got closer, Karna moved up, inch by inch. The men backed up slowly… and then for a moment, his master broke into a run behind him as he deflected another barrage of bullets by spinning his spear. His range reached the men… and he ran forward.

Another flash forward, and his master seethed as he burned through the mana, but the speed was needed as he stabbed the man in the lead with his spear, shattering some sort of defensive field and throwing him down the hallway, breaking his gun. He quickly shifted his spear to hold it with just one hand at the very end, and swiped it across the hallway, knocking the remaining four men back with screams. He shattered two more of those shields over them before quickly jumping back towards his Master and standing in front of her.

"I am sorry I take so much… and that you are in such danger," he apologized to her, but she stood up.

"We… we need to get to Whitley," she muttered, Klein carrying Weiss as they brought up the rear. Karna walked over to the two he hadn't managed to knock out in one blow, quickly smacking them both with the butt of his spear, shattering their shields and knocking him unconscious.

"Then what is the direction Master?" Karna asked, looking down the hallway. He could still hear some gunfire… were there other household servants fighting? Or were the assailants shooting whoever got in their way?

"Keep going down the hallway, and then we have to head up the stairs, the hallway on the left from when we enter has Whitley's room," Klein provided, and Karna nodded, and started walking, his Master staying very close behind him… so he took the moment they had to say something.

"Those three seals on your hand are powerful commands. They are short, but using one will allow me to perform beyond what you have just seen here… all you must do is give me the order Master. But save them," he wasn't such if they were normal, or like those of Chaldea, that recharged every at one per day but were much weaker than normal Command Seals. But until he knew, he would assume that they were like the normal.

"A-alright," she said uncertainty as they reached the large foyer… Three more animal men were lined up on the floor above, near the hallway that Klein had stated was where Whitley's room belonged. The men opened fire, and he spun his spear to deflect the bullets away from those behind him, allowing a few to ping off his armor. Raising his hand, he conjured a small flame, his Master seething as she leaned against his back. He blew, three small flames flying out from the one above his palm, one each hitting a target… his mana and his master's were dangerously low at this point. The three men had all collapsed at least, their shields broken as Klein reached for his Master.

"Are you alright Willow?" he asked, his tone having changed, signalling one of the other personalities inside having taken over.

"I'll… be fine," she muttered back, and Karna closed his eyes, letting her take the moment she needed to recover before they continued, his Master, Weiss and Klein running up the stairs alongside him. And when they reached the hallway, an entire firing line of men and women opened up as Karna rounded the corner. Wiess and his Master screamed as bullets shot past him, pinged off his armor and simply tore at the walls.

The level of gunfire was so much, that given his Master's weak supply of mana, and the range of his tether to her, he wouldn't be able to reach them. He looked back. "Master… give me an order," he asked, and Willow raised her head as the gunfire continued to rain down open Karna.

She raised her hand, staring at the arrow on the back of it, before clutching it into a fist. She stood up, and when the bullets stopped flying, she got behind Karna… and raised her fist. "Save my son, save Whitley!" she ordered, the line that crossed the arrow on her hand flashing, before fading as mana flooded Karna's system… a level more comparable to a Chaldean command seal than a normal one… but it was more than enough for the moment.

"I shall," he proclaimed… before launching himself down the hallway. The people screamed at his speed as Willow watched from behind him as he kicked one man and slashed a woman with his spear. Someone pulled out a sword and screamed, trying to slash at his chest and only bouncing off his armor. He headbutt the man for his troubles before igniting the tip of his spear… and spinning it.

Screams ensued as the entire group was knocked into the wall, embers of flame licking at their clothing as Karna quickly passed over each one… unconcious to a man. He rocketed down the hallway.

"Let go of me!" a young boy screamed, the command in his mind kicking in. He smashed through the wall, blasting directly into a room and in a split second, was looking at a group of three men, one weilding a strange weapon over the boy's head, the other hand on Whitley's neck as he struggled against the large man's grip. He needed to act fast.

Red lightning cackled around him for a moment, before he flashed, in an instant he was in front of all three men, Whitely in one arm and his speed held in his other hand… as a dozen slashes crossed over all three of them, their shields shattering as they fell unconcious, bleeding from multiple places as Whitely looked up at him in surprise and shock.

"Hey put me down!" Whitley complained, and Karna just turned back towards the hole he made before speaking.

"Your mother ordered me to save you, I will return you to her," he proclaimed, and Whitley didn't even have time to complain as he ran back through the hole and back down the hallway as fast as he could without burning through the new tank of mana granted to him. Willow, his Master, was still there, staring, perhaps in shock, at the devestation he'd caused in under thirty seconds. But the moment she saw Whitley in his arm, she ran forward, Klein and Weiss coming out into the hallway as Karna set down Whitley, Willow falling to her knees and hugging her son as he tried to ask what was going on.

Karna turned his attention back to the hallway, and the men and women he'd left laying on the ground. He wasn't sure how many more there were, but it couldn't be too many, he assumed.

"Sir Klein, where is somewhere safe to hide," he asked, Klein holding onto Weiss' shoulders as he spoke up.

"There's the cellar at least, it should be safe until the military arrive," he responded, and Karna nodded, Willow and Whitley looking up at him as he nodded.

Klein led the way this time, while Karna guarded the rear, just in case. He led the them down the stairs, and through a door underneath the stairwell into the cellar. Once Karna was through, he pulled out a key and locked the door behind them, the group reaching the bottom of the stairs into a room filled with casks of wine and boxes of filled with powder and crystals.

Willow almost went for one of the casks, but both Weiss and Whitley were clinging to her as Karna kept his attention on the stairs, Klein still had that tray from before. Time passed, Karna wasn't sure how long, until more footsteps rang out from above.

Willow looked up, having managed to avoid trying to grab any of the bottles for the brief period of time, and Karna looked to her and Klein. Klein nodded, and the group started moving back up the stairs once more, Klein unlocking the door as Willow and the children remained behind Karna. The moment he opened the door, Karna poked his spear out, before stepping out himself.

"Stay where you are, don't move!" he turned towards the voice, seeing a pair of uniformed men as Klein and Willow came out behind him. "Lady Schnee," they said, and Willow looked up, almost in surprise as Karna continued to stay defensively in front of his charges.

Klein took over talking after that, and the intruders were being rounded up by the military police. Karna remained by Willow and her children's side the entire time, both of them staring at him in almost awe as Willow just looked at the faded seal on her hand. Slowly, mana from the air was seeping back into it, restoring it. It wouldn't be quick, but the seal would return from what he could tell.

About halfway through the proceedings, a man in white with white hair walked into the building alongside a young girl, and another officer. Karna glared, instantly feeling the… disappointment from him, and the greed behind his uncaring gaze. This man… was the one Willow wished to be saved from.

"I told you to tighten your security general! Now the White Fang were brazen enough to attack my manor!" the man rounded off on the officer, the girl running away from him and towards Willow, Weiss and Whitley, the four staying close together as Karna looked at the officer next to him. A man who seemed utterly confused about his presence, but Klein had called him a helpful hunter and bodyguard that Willow had asked for.

But then came the moment, when the man rounded on him. "And you! Who are you, Willow, what is this… man doing in our home!" he barked out, Willow almost shirking away… until Karna got between her and him.

"I am here at her request," he proclaimed, staring down the man. To his credit, the snake returned his stare just as hard as the other officer sighed.

"Can you please explain better?" he asked, seeming a bit too… tired with the situation already. And Karna looked towards his Master, before looking back at the man before him.

"Lady Willow and I have a contract. I shall defend her to the best of my ability… from anyone who tries to bring her harm, these men invaded the grounds, and I did exactly what she wanted of me," Karna stated, and he watched as the man in front of him had his mouth twist into a grin.

"Name your price," he started, and Karna simply stared.

"None that you would ever be able to match," putting the butt of his spear on the ground in front of him, careful not to crack the tile of the foyer as the man gawked at his rapid response. "I am her defender, and until my dying breath, I have pledged myself to her defense, and will follow her orders, as is my duty."

Both the man in front of her and the concerned officer just stared at him in shock and surprise. And Karna just looked at Willow, before turning away from the man and walking over towards her, carefully bending down and looking between all the children. Aside from the mark on Whitley's neck, they were all unharmed.

"Just who do you think you are!" the man started, and Karna was about to respond… but this time, Willow spoke up.

"He's my friend Jaques, and he's staying," she said, standing up firm. For a moment she and Jaques met their stares, their glares… before turning away from each other, Jaques huffing as Willow bent down and just hugged all three of her children, before the officer coughed.

"That's… fine and all, but we still have to question him," he said, and Karna just nodded.

"Then ask and I shall answer," he responded

The ensuing conversation, and his refusal to leave Willow's side, were a strange affair. One that left Jaques quite annoyed, and one where Willow had fought tooth and nail to make sure he hadn't been dragged away to a police station or something. But when it ended, he was sitting alongside the family and Klein inside a limo, heading towards another house, silence reigning as Karna looked out the tinted window.

This story was one that was just beginning… he hoped that he would be up to the challenge of defending his Master, and her children, from the man right beside them.

AN: Thank you to Frostlash for providing the idea. And to those who ask 'how does one differentiate timelines' I ask that you pay attention to the very top of a chapter, to the opening blurb in italics. Chapters that are within the same 'timeline' will typically have the same opening blurb past the first chapter. Thanks for your support and if anyone has any other ideas, be sure to leave them in a review or a PM, and I'll see if they can come true. Also I get that people really like Archer EMIYA, I do too, but I'm trying to avoid the super common and super popular types. Maybe someday, but cheers to everyone!