A change of plans, unfortunately. I had originally thought to write this in first-person, but after some elements of the story changed, and hitting blocks on how to write such a story in first person perspective, I changed it to third person. I feel much more in my element while writing third person, unless writing comedy. Sorry about that!

Also, PAY ATTENTION TO ARCHER.

-::fate/INVERSION::-

-:Chapter II – Let the games begin:-

Rin made a face at the display before her.

She didn't like making a habit of watching the archery club, yet she couldn't help it sometimes. What's even funnier is that she originally had no intention of visiting the archery club this morning, due to her stupid alarm clock waking her so goddamn early.

Sighing, she turned away as Shinji was being dragged away kicking and screaming. Needless to say, at least she got a good laugh out of watching that idiot being humiliated. It certainly made up for his creepy advances earlier today.

Rin had some time to kill before home room for once, and she intended on using that time wisely. Perhaps going over her mental check list of everything she had to do before tonight? She was about to make her way up the stairs when she heard a familiar voice talking. Glancing back, she saw Sakura speaking with the vice-captain Shirou. She bit her lower lip, shaking away the frustration that was beginning to bubble to the surface.

What on earth did Sakura see in Shirou anyways? That guy was nothing but an arrogant, pretentious know-it-all. Sure, he helped people a lot, but not before giving them an hour long speech on what they did wrong and such. And the worse yet he just kept rubbing in this "I know better than you so you better listen to me" attitude in people's faces.

Maybe it was because Shirou actually stood up for Sakura several times, privately and publicly, that enchanted Sakura into having this so-obvious crush on him. Of course Shirou never acknowledged it, the dick.

Clicking her tongue impatiently, she grumbled, "I have better things to focus on than some jerkface."

The sun was beginning to set when she finally arrived home.

Rin was used to arriving at an empty house a long time ago. She had ten years to get used to it, so the echoing silence no longer bothered her.

What did bother Rin was the blinking yellow light on the answering machine. She had no idea why that stupid priest insisted on her having such a device, considering she hardly used it except to contact him, which honestly gave her all the more reason to hate the wretched device.

"Rin, I am calling to remind you the deadline of entry is tomorrow. Should you wish to participate in the Holy Grail, you must establish your rank as master and secure a servant in that time—" She cut off the message before it even finished, groaning loudly as the preachy priest's words repeated what he had been telling her for ages now.

Of course she knew she had to summon a servant. She wasn't stupid. It wasn't like she was diddy-daddling along like some carefree school girl. She was using as much time as she needed in order to secure the most powerful servant—the Saber class.

Out of all the servant classes in the Holy Grail War, the Saber class was by far the strongest. High in magic resistance and overall balanced in stats, along with having a riding ability, made the Saber class a surefire leap over the other servants. Rin had every intention of summoning the Saber class as her servant, not wanting victory to escape her grasp as it did her father's.

Thinking of her father made her reach instinctively for the pendant around her neck. Her father left her this as a sign. He, too, wished for her to summon the most powerful servant. Surely he did. And she wouldn't let her late father's wish go unheeded, marching briskly to the basement of the house.

The basement was rather cramped, all things considered, but it served her purposes just fine. Among all the books and manuscripts were the instructions on how to summon a servant for the next Holy Grail War, along with a connection to the magical lines that flowed across the planet's crust.

Checking the clock, Rin tsked and got to work. She had several hours before 2 a.m., but she had to make sure everything was perfect before that time. If not… well, she didn't want to think what consequences would result from a botched summoning.

"Energy at a suffice level. Circle prepared. Gems for the summoning, check." Rin went through the entire list as 2 a.m. approached. "Spell begins at exactly 2 a.m., where my magic will be at its zenith."

As she said this, she watched the clock on the table very closely, watching the hour hand slowly creep towards the second tic. Five… four… three… two… one…

The moment the little hand hit the 12 mark, she began to chant the ancient inchanation required for the summoning. She felt the magic rumble as she spoke those words, the jewels in her hands melting under the extreme force carried out by the spell they were attempting to supply.

And just like that, it was all over.

The wind died down, and the mist cleared. Rin breathed in a sigh of relief, sinking down to her knees. From her position, she caught the glimpse of three distinct, red markings on her right hand.

"I… I did it," she spoke through a weak grin. "I actually did it… Surely, I summoned a Saber…"

Regaining composure, she let out a laugh in relief. Saber was finally hers, she could feel it. The most powerful servant…

Was not in front of her, as she noticed upon looking up and around. Her brow furrowed in confusion. That made no sense. Surely a servant was summoned; she called upon one after all, and her command seals had appeared. So then where—

A sudden crash shook the ceiling above her. She gasped in realization.

"Oh no…! Please don't tell me I botched the summoning…!"

Not waiting for a response of any sort, she rushed out of the basement and up the stairs, her eyes falling upon the door to the living area, where she was certain the noise had come from. Her hand grasped the knob, but it refused to budge. Grunting, she slammed her shoulder against the door while twisting the knob as hard as she could.

When that didn't work, she lost her temper, slamming her foot repetitively against the door under, finally, it crashed down to reveal a caved-in living room. For once, Rin was glad she didn't live with anyone. At least no one would witness her utter screw-up—

Save for the servant she managed to summon, it seems. Or she hoped it was her servant. Why else would there be a complete stranger in such strange attire in the middle of the destruction. Slouched against the rubble with a leg crossed over his lap, sat a man, platinum hair slicked back. His well-defined chest was bare, gold-colored metal guards encasing his black-clothed arms and hands. Armor covered below the waist, golden plates gleaming in the light. A red cape was draped off his broad shoulders, the hood of the cape pulled back to reveal tacky (in her opinion, at least) golden earrings.

One eye opened upon her entrance. A single, piercing red eye glowered back at her, freezing her momentarily in place the moment they met. She couldn't resist the chill that ran down her spine when he scoffed and smirked.

"Ah, so you must be my master. I was wondering what sort of naïve had thought to summon me in such a condition, and it appears that I have my answer."

Rin, fear washed by anger, gawked at him. Before she could even utter a reply back at him, he chuckled and shook his head. "At a loss for words, my dear? It is very common for those who gaze upon my splendor that stare back agape. Understandable, really. I am unlike any being you have come across!"

He gave a hearty laugh, and she found herself internally sighing.

She was in for a bad time, it seems, summoning such a boorish servant.