You know that one more miracle will occur.
With a gentle voice, you predict a twisted future
- To The Beginning by Kalafina
I do not own Fate/Zero or any of the characters used here.
"What could you have learned about me…" Saber thought as her face shifted into quiet acceptance. "By issuing just two measly orders?" Her eyes then closed as the blast of gold headed towards her. Most likely the backlash of energy produced by the Grail after destroying it. Lancer's screams, his Master's sobs, and Assassin's humming faded from her hearing. She then saw herself on a hill covered in the bodies of both her soldiers and Mordred's. She was kneeling at the top, a hopeless expression on her face and using Excalibur as support. Mordred's body was right next to her, and she could see that he spent his final moment crying. "After all…" Saber then saw the Knights of the Round Table when they were fully formed. She saw Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Kay, and the others being happy while she just looked coldly on. She remembered Rider's words during their drink together, him looking at her with accusing eyes. "…I never even knew my own comrades…" Saber felt the heat from the energy. "Perhaps all of this was my punishment for being the King who could not understand others…" The energy then hit her, disintegrating her instantaneously.
Saber, once known through life as Arturia Pendragon and titled King Arthur, died in a flash of light.
"GAH!" Lancer shouted in pain as the section he and Sola-Ui were on collapsed into the basement. Sola-Ui cried out in surprise as she fell with him onto the floor below hard. She coughed out dust in pain while more and more of the section that was formerly where Saber stood fell.
"WOOH! BEST RIDE EVER!" Assassin yelled as he fell head-first into the basement, and a sickening crack rang out as his neck snapped. "Man, now this is a real way to get your body to relax!" Assassin then snapped his neck into placed and rolled in around in order to make it move right.
Kiritsugu looked down and clicked in tongue in aggravation. It seemed like Lancer and Assassin were still in this world despite the destruction of the Grail. Now it looked like he had to kill Lancer's Master before he made his escape…
Suddenly, a feeling of utter dread shook through Kiritsugu's body. And what made it worse was that the feeling was hauntingly familiar. Slowly, Kiritsugu looked up and gasped at what he saw. In the sky overhead was what looked like the moon, except pitch black and letting off red steam. "I-impossible…!" Kiritsugu muttered in shock as he looked at the massive 'heavenly' body. "S-saber destroyed the Grail, so how can you still exist Angra Mainyu!"
"W-What is that!" Sola-Ui shouted in freight as she looked at the black 'moon'. She expected a huge backlash of Mana from the destruction of the Grail, potentially leveling all of Fuyuki City, but nothing like this! She then felt Lancer shivering and looked to see him having an utterly horrified expression on his face. "Shinji?"
"N-No.. It can't be…" Lancer whispered as his pupils dilated. Through his mind, he could see the giant white and naked parody of the albino girl he once had feelings for carrying the ball in her hands. "Not again… I don't want it to happen again… Please Rei…" Lancer then began to sob while Sola-Ui looked at him worryingly. "Please… don't make me see this again…"
"Man, can't blame you if you're hallucinating End of Evangelion. I mean what happened in that movie was fucked up, even for me." Assassin mentioned while reclining himself on the ground. "I wonder if Nasu was inspired by that movie when making that thing…"
Suddenly, the black 'moon' erupted. Making black and red mud rain down onto the Civic Center. Lancer pushed Sola-Ui onto a huge block of rubble as the mud landed on him.
"It's raining men! Halelu-" Assassin sung out before the mud landed on him too, completely covering him and making him disappear from view.
"SHINJI!" Sola-Ui shouted while reaching out her right arm towards him as Lancer was enveloped. She almost reached Lancer's hand as the mud slowly enveloped him, only to miss and dunk her arm accidentally into the mud. "GAH!" She then took her hand out of the mud and her eyes widened in horror. Her sleeve had burned away up to her elbow, and her skin had turned charcoal black. "N-no…" Sola-Ui muttered as she looked back to where Lancer was before, only to see him now completely enveloped by the mud which circled around her piece of rubble. "M-my hand…" She then slowly touched the black arm, only for it to collapse and scatter in the wind like ash. "I-It had my Command Seals with Shinji, and without it I don't have my connection to him! I can't feel him!" She then looked around wildly with her left hand clutching her stump. "Where are you Shinji? Please, say something! Come out of there Shinji! SHINJI!"
"T-this cannot be happening!" Kiritsugu shouted to himself as he raced out of the Civic Center. The mud was slowly leaking out of the building and spilling into the woods surrounding the Civic Center. He was able to get out of the building while the mud was still restricted to the basement. However it increased in volume, bursting out of doors and crashing through the windows through its weight. And it was spreading at a frightening rate, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "All this fighting… it all lead to this?" Kiritsugu thought to himself as he ran up a hill to get a better view of the damage caused by the Grail's contents…
…and saw Fuyuki in flames with smoke rising into the air.
Kiritsugu felt tears form in the corners of his eyes before he ran down the hill towards the city. He had to save someone, anyone from this.
If he didn't, then Kiritsugu had no idea what would happen to his soul.
Elsewhere (Matou Manor):
Sakura shuffled into the emptied out bug room where she performed her 'training'. She had been standing outside of the door the entire day while the other members of her 'new' family discussed how soon her Kariya-Ojisan would die. She was worried about him, for he was the only one who seemed to care for her.
Her father threw her away to this horrible family without a care.
Her mother did not raise a single word in protest to the decision.
Rin, despite being her sister, did not even come to save her from this horrible life she now lived.
Kariya-Ojisan was the only one who cared, he promised her that he would save her from the Matous and bring her back to the park and play with her like they used to. She did not care for seeing either her mother or sister, she would prefer to stay with Kariya-Ojisan more. To live with him and see him smile knowing that she was okay, However, each scream of pain she heard from behind the door lowered her spirits. The screams became louder and louder before going silent. Her new grandfather, Zouken, had ordered her to go and check on Kariya to see if 'his useless son died yet or not' while he and the rest of the Matou family went outside to check on something. She complied, because she knew what would happen if she did not and to see if Kariya-Ojisan was alright.
As she walked forward, she heard footsteps echo up the stairs before she saw Kariya-Ojisan with a tired smile on his face. He looked so weak, and so tired to her. "Sakura-chan…" Kariya-Ojisan muttered as he limped forward before placing his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, I'm taking you out of here."
"Kariya-Ojisan…" Sakura muttered as she followed alongside him before he stopped, his eyes widening in horror. He then fell to his knees while his right hand clutched where his heart was.
"Sakura…" Kariya muttered as he looked at the girl who still had that sad, dead look in her eyes and the emotionless expression on her face. He was going to die here, he now knew that. Hell, it was a miracle that he got back up after Berserker died. And if he was going to die here, he would tell Sakura to not give up. With all his remaining strength, he turned around and pulled the girl in a tight hug. He could feel her stiffen as he told her, "Stay strong Sakura, you will be happy someday. And I am sorry that I could not be the one to bring that happiness to you…"
Sakura's eyes widened a bit at this. What was he saying?
"Please, do not hate Rin. She does not know about this. Try to still see her as your sister, no matter what…" Kariya's voice started to get weaker as he said, "And if you ever see Aoi-san again, tell her your Kariya-Ojisan loved her very much…" He then released the hug and smiled at her. "And I loved you, like the daughter I never had…" Kariya's eyes then closed and he fell to the floor beside Sakura, who looked at his body.
Matou Kariya, the former Master of the Servant Berserker, was dead.
Sakura felt something wet run down her cheek and touched it with her right hand. She then looked at her hand and muttered, "Tears…?"
She didn't know she could still make those anymore…
Elsewhere:
"What is this?" Waver thought as he looked in horror towards the burning buildings. He had topped to rest for a moment after running for several towards the Civic Center (Damn his body for not being used to exercise) before he was blinded by a flash of golden light. Then, when his vision cleared, he saw a black moon in the sky before it let down some type of liquid. The next thing Waver knew, Fuyuki was on fire. He could hear the distant sounds of ambulances and fire trucks coming, but Waver could tell the fire would be hard to combat due to the destruction of the bridge. Waver gulped, unsure as to what he should do. He wanted to help out, but he was scared. What if he died in that fire trying to save someone?
"You're a good kid Waver."
Yes, Waver was usually morally obligated to do the right thing but… "No." Waver thought with a shake of his head and the determined look returning to his eyes. "I have to try and help someone. It's what Rider would have done…" Waver then ran into the burning street, instantly feeling the heat. His nose crinkled at the stench of burning flesh as he neared the first building. Waver then rammed himself into the door, only for the thing not to budge. "Come on…" Waver muttered as he continued to ram into the door until it broke. His eyes instantly widened at the sight of multiple corpses, their bodies blackened by the flames and their bodies twisted into unrecognizable shapes. Waver covered his mouth in horror as the scent of their burned flesh hit him head on before he ran out and barfed onto the street. "Oh God…" Waver wiped him mouth and continued running, exploring the many burning houses trying to find someone alive. However, each house he entered in was only full of dead people. Men, women, and even children were nothing more than burned corpses now. And sometimes houses collapsed before Waver could even enter them.
"I-If Rider was still around…" Waver thought as he looked through the wreckage with Rider's Nodachi still clutched in his left hand. "We could have stopped this… No one would have died…"
"Uh…" A weak voice called out, making Waver look at a small hand sticking out of the wreckage. He instantly ran towards it and dug out the rubble in a hurried pace. He saw a young girl with short brown hair wearing a small red dress. She had a nasty burn on her right shoulder that traveled to both her back and her chest. But despite that and a couple of scrapes, bruises, and being dirty all over she was fine.
"Thank goodness…" Waver muttered before looking at the girl. "Please, just hang on!" He then ran out of the area towards the place where he spotted an emergency squad.
"W-where is Oji-san?" The girl muttered weakly, making Waver gulp in freight. "K-Kaa-san told me to stay with him for the night…"
"I do not know." Waver lied, after all he saw the crushed corpse of a man underneath a slab on concrete that looked relatively like the girl. "My name is Waver, Waver Velvet. What is yours?"
"I-I'm Mitsuduri Ayako Waver-san." She told him, making Waver smile.
"Do not worry, I'm going to get you to help." He told her before spotting the emergency squad that was just zipping up morgue bags. Seems like they were not able to save anyone. "Please!" Waver shouted, grabbing their attention. "Save her!"
"Holy shit, a live one!" One shouted, making the others gasp in surprise.
"Stop gawking like fucking idiots! Help her!" The 'leader' of the group shouted, making the others snap into attention and rush to Waver before taking the girl away and bringing her to a stretcher that looked like it had not been used yet. The leader then turned to Waver before saying, "You come with us too kid. You probably ingested way too much smoke."
Waver shook his head before running back towards the burning city, ignoring the shouts of the emergency crew. He was close to the Civic Center, and he had to find out what was the cause of all this chaos and death.
Elsewhere:
"Oh man, feels like a bullet went through my brain… again…" A man muttered as he sat up from a pile of rubble. The man was completely naked and stood at a height of five foot ten. He was muscular, but not overly muscular and instead had a body of a man who worked out regularly. He had a six-pack, a lean handsome face, green eyes, and short brown hair. The man looked his state of dress over before saying, "I know it is not Friday night. I mean, where is Banshee and her hot naked ass next to me?" He then took another look-over and muttered, "No way…" He then grabbed a dirty and burned mirror right next to him and wiped it clean with his hand before looking at his face.
"I look like Ryan Reynolds…" The man formerly known as Assassin muttered before throwing his hands over his head. "WOOOHOO!" He then quickly got onto his feet, ignoring the carnage around him and ran shouting out, "I'M SEXY AND I KNOW IT!"" He then felt something grab onto his ankle and looked down to see a hand. "Now what do we have here?" Assassin asked himself as he dug up the ruble…
…To reveal a surprisingly still breathing Kotomine Kirei.
"So, you aren't dead yet? Well, guess it is to be expected. I mean the sequel needs its villain…" Assassin then looked to his side to reveal burnt but not utterly destroyed draped before picking them up and wrapping them around his waist.
Kirei then chose this moment to stir. "W-where…?" Kirei began as he sat himself up. He didn't feel any pain from the wounds he knew he suffered from the battle with Kiritsugu. He looked around to see rubble everywhere, and the glow of numerous fires provide light to the otherwise dark night. "Am I…?"
"Looks like TIM brought you back." A voice carelessly mentioned, making Kirei turn to see…
"Ryan Reynolds?" Kirei asked before his eyes narrowed. "No, you are… Assassin?"
"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" Assassin laughed while clapping his hands.
"Why, why did you betray me in the final battle? I was so close…" Kirei began, only for Assassin to shake his head.
"You can't fight against the author Kirei, no matter how much you try." Assassin told Kirei, whose eyes just widened at that piece of information. "The only reason you got this far is because he needed a villain to progress the story, and you snapping like that fit the bill perfectly."
"Then, if I am alive…" Kirei muttered to himself as he placed a hand over his chest, right where his heart should be.
There was no heartbeat. The Grail had given him a heart forged from its contents. Just like in canon…
"That's right, and since I am your Gilgamesh in this fic I've been given life too." Assassin told him while looking around. "And I've got to say, the author pegged you down perfectly. You wished for people to suffer in canon, and thus the Grail started this thing. And even now, you just want people to die and suffer…"
"I'm nothing more than a villain for the heroes…" Kirei muttered to himself while chuckling. "Gehehehehe…" Assassin then looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "GAHAHAAHAHAAHHA!" Kirei then placed a hand over his face as he chuckled out, "What a fool I was, thinking I could go against 'God'. Thinking that it was my destiny to defy his word in this fic…" He then turned to Assassin with a maniacal smile on his face. "It was not my destiny to begin with! I, even though they are fake, I utterly love their despair! It is like a drug to me! So what if I cannot go against TIM? I can still make the readers and the main characters despair as I pick them off one by one!" Kirei laughed some more while Assassin just sketched out 'screw' and 'ball' in some ashes to the 'screen'. "Now Assassin, will you join me?" Kirei looked straight at Assassin as he stopped laughing and settled for a disturbing grin. "The sequel needs its villains, and we are perfect candidates for the job."
"Eh, why not?" Assassin asked as he walked besides Kirei. "You give me a free place to stay in, free food, and a TV. Who am I to refuse?"
"Excellent." Kirei muttered as the two started to walk away, only for him to stop and look when he heard the shifting of rubble. "Emiya Kiritsugu…" Kirei thought as he watched the man slowly walk through all the destruction with an utterly dead expression on his face. It was understandable, after all the man had not been able to save a single life throughout the wreckage. Only finding burnt corpses and people who just died in his arms. Worst of all, this entire fire might as well have been his fault. It would be a major blow to everyone who knew this fact. That by stopping the Source of all Evil, he only caused more suffering and did not save a single life. Kiritsugu's eyes met Kirei's for a second, and the priest grinned before giving him the middle finger and mouthing 'alive bitch'. Kiritsugu didn't even seem to register him, and just shuffled away digging through wreckage, hoping to find at least one person alive. "How… pathetic…" Kirei thought to himself before turning to Assassin and saying, "Let's go. I heard that a Twilight Zone marathon is on right now."
The two then walked away towards the direction of the church, leaving the broken man known as Emiya Kiritsugu behind.
Elsewhere:
Waver did not really know what he expected to see when he reached to what was left of the Civic Center. Perhaps a lone Master and Servant laughing maniacally at the carnage they unleashed? The last remaining Masters without their Servants looking around in a confused and horrified manner? Waver did not truly know. What he did want to find out was the origin of the fire. And hopefully whoever was there would give him the answers he desired.
What he did not expect was to see a lone woman, having a stump replace her right arm, digging through the ashes and rubble of the building.
Waver gulped as he instantly recognized her. It was Kayneth's fiancé Sola-Ui. He slowly approached her while beginning to unsheathe Rider's Nodachi, just in case he had to protect himself, before saying, "Sola-Ui?"
"He has to be here, I know he is…" Sola-Ui mumbled to herself, making Waver stop in order to get a good look at her. Her formerly white shirt was now dirty from dirt and ash. Her paints were torn in several places. She had apparently discarded her shoes, showing her now bare feet being dirty, having several bleeding cuts in them and some sharp pieces of rubble sticking in them. But her eyes truly frightened Waver. They were dull and yet filled with the emotions of despair and desperation.
"Sola-Ui, I'm bringing you to get help." Waver declared while moving closer towards the woman. "Where is Kayneth?"
"Kayneth…" Sola-Ui muttered as she stood up and began to walk away to a random location. Apparently, she had lost four nails in total while digging. "He's dead… killed… gone… best for Shinji…" She then fell to her knees and began digging again.
Waver was now truly nervous. The woman had obviously just suffered from a mental breakdown. How was he supposed to convince her to follow him? "I-Is Shinji Lanc…"
"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!" Sola-Ui shouted, making Waver jump back in surprise. "Lancer… not real name… Shinji Ikari" She then began to tremble before placing her face in her dirty left hand and started crying. "O-oh why God? Why would you take him from me?"
The shifting of rubble then made Sola-Ui's head snap to her right. She then scampered over to the area where she heard the sound and began digging with her remaining hand. Waver moved beside her to see a naked, barely conscious, but very much alive Lancer.
"S-Shinji…?" Sola-Ui sobbed as she softly placed her hand on his cheek, as if to be sure he was really there.
"Sola-san?" Lancer rasped out before his eyes closed again. Sola-Ui smiled as she collapsed on Lancer, her face now having an utterly peaceful expression on it.
"…Great…" Waver muttered to himself as he took off his green sweatshirt. He was about to carry two people down several blocks to an emergency crew that he hoped was still there.
But there was no way in Hell that he was carrying Lancer over there naked.
Elsewhere:
Emiya Kiritsugu felt the rain go down on him, but ignored it as he continued to dig through the rubble of an apartment complex. He had been unsuccessful in saving a single life today, and that fact was breaking both his heart and his soul. The Holy Grail, the thing he had been hoping to end all the suffering in the world, was a lie. The war was a fool's errand for a worthless prize. All of those who had been killed throughout the war died for nothing. It brought tears to his eyes as he thought of Iri, the Holy Grail's vessel. How she had been more than willing to die for his dream, only in the end to die for nothing.
The rain got harder as more tears fell from his cheeks. To save the world from Angra Mainyu, he forced Saber to destroy the Grail. And that decision has now lead to a loss of life that Kiritsugu was unwilling to give. It would also bar him from ever seeing Illyasviel again. His life was now ov…
A sharp cough reached Kiritsugu's ears, and he turned to the side to see a small red-haired boy covered in burn and cut marks. He quickly ran over and checked him over. The boy was about to die. He should move on and… No, he had lost too many already to let this boy die. He quickly willed out Avalon from within him and watched the scabbard of Excalibur exit his body. He then grabbed it and slowly made the thing enter the boy. It would make the curse Angra Mainyu placed on him act quicker, but if it meant rescuing this boy it would be worth it.
Avalon then disappeared into the boy's body, and Kiritsugu watched with anticipation as the boy twitched a bit before opening his eyes. Kiritsugu then grabbed the boys hand and felt tears of joy well up in his eyes. "Your alive…" He muttered as he cried. "You're alive!" The boy looked at him in confusion as Kiritsugu closed his eyes. "Thank you…" He muttered, now feeling joy that he had been able to save a single life today.
It was at this point that the boy, who could only remember his name as Shirou, fell unconscious once more.
To Be Continued…
Omake- It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!
"And thus, only one chapter remains!" Taiga yelled out with Illyasviel beside her. "Why do all good fics have to come to an end?"
"So that's how Kiritsugu met Onii-chan…" Illyasviel muttered in wonder, only to get bonked on the head by Taiga's Bouken. "Ow!"
"Tell the readers the title of the final chapter my student." Taiga instructed while her eyes watered up.
Illyasviel nodded understandingly before saying, "Stay tuned for the next chapter, 'To The New Beginning'!"
"Check it out!" Taiga sobbed out while Illyasviel just sighed in exasperation.
Note- Yo! I hope you liked this latest chapter of Fate:Zero Sense! Another chapter in just one day, I am on a roll! But I guess that this chapter just kind of flowed to me. And now, we are heading to the ending of this fic, but remember. An ending can be interpreted as just a new beginning….
Also, my fanart challenge is still open! PM me if you are interested!
And review! The more reviews I get, the more my muse increases? So please, make your fingers work and get reviewing!
…Please?