Having written a good chunk of the second chapter of Light the Blue Touch Paper and Run Like Hell, I decided to finish it and post it here. Sadly, it has less of the humour of the first chapter, not to mention being pretty weak, story-wise. The resulting story would be Harry acting as a rather unrealistic fix-it character, which was what I was hoping to avoid, and I handled the reveal of Medea pretty badly.

This means that Light the Blue Touch Paper and Run Like Hell will NOT see the light of day beyond these first two chapters. But I do intend, as mentioned before, to do a Fate/Stay Night fic in the near future, preferably a crossover with Harry Potter. I have the notion of a story similar to Truth and Consequences and Yin and Yang, with Harry and Luna, now a married couple, ending up embroiled in the events of Fate/Stay Night, but that's just a notion ATM. Whatever my first foray into Fate/Stay Night fanfic is, I don't know. But keep an eye out for opening chapters when I do start another one.

EDIT: BTW, I've just had an idea for an interesting Fate/Stay Night crossover, albeit a one-shot. It WON'T be with Harry Potter, though that sort of crossover is still on the cards. Keep an eye on my profile. It's going to be a humorous one involving Zelretch, a DVD of a certain film, and Saber...


LIGHT THE BLUE TOUCH PAPER AND RUN LIKE HELL

CHAPTER 2:

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Harry was beginning to wonder what the hell he had gotten himself into. Well, what Zelretch had gotten Harry into. And the sad truth was, he was more disturbed by what he found in the building that he had ended up in than his rather messy death and rebirth. So too was the robed and hooded woman who called herself Caster, who agreed to help tell him what was going on, once they left.

They soon found, though, that whoever this man Harry had inadvertently killed was, he was not a nice person to say the very least. Harry soon had a name to go with the wobbling pile of meat: Atrum Galliasta, an alchemist working with the Magus Association. He found out because he had rather glamorous-looking assistants that Caster identified as homunculi. And with their master gone, they seemed to have latched onto Harry as a new master.

And what Harry learned from them made him feel sick. He learned of the laboratory, the Workshop, where Atrum turned so many kidnapped people into…well, he hated learning. Even Caster, who seemed to have this dark air about her, seemed disgusted, though her remarks that Atrum had wasted resources on what seemed like petty research to her made Harry look askance at her. But she was perfectly willing to release the people kept here, and after that, she led Harry out (after getting him some decent clothes from Atrum's wardrobe), and then destroyed the facility, albeit after robbing what she could of value. Harry didn't object at all.

They were on the outskirts of a Japanese town. Harry knew it was Japanese because of a road sign they saw when they reached a road. "Dammit, I don't speak Japanese," Harry muttered.

"I can, and I can prepare a translation spell for you if you need it," Caster said. "You are an odd Magus, though."

"I'm not a Magus, I'm a wizard," Harry said. "I dunno what the difference is, but…I come from another world. An alternate world. That damned vampire dumped me here with little to no explanation."

"A Dead Apostle dumped you here…from another world…I believe that is the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope," Caster said. She looked at him speculatively. "And you don't actually have Magic Circuits, but something else. It's certainly allowing me to manifest physically with little trouble to you, it seems. I'll have to astralise, though. I may attract too much attention."

"What, you can't change your clothes or something?" Harry asked.

"…I can, and, if need be, I can alter other aspects of my appearance," Caster said. "But most Masters prefer to have their Servants astralise."

After a moment, Harry said, "Could you do the whole changing appearance thing instead? Please? I mean, I've just gotten out of prison after…I dunno how many years. I was in solitary aside from the soul-sucking monsters that make you perpetually depressed, at best. I haven't spoken to anyone sane in years, especially myself."

After a moment, Caster nodded, before removing her hood. Harry was literally struck dumb by what was revealed. While he could tell she had a beautiful face, despite the hood concealing part of it, he had expected, from the smirk she often wore, something a bit more cruelly beautiful. Instead, he got regal, lugubrious features framed by blue hair. Her eyes, too, were blue, and oddly enough, her ears were pointed, making her seem like an Elf who had stepped out of the pages of Tolkien. She was a picture of utterly serene, aristocratic beauty, marred by an air of sadness.

Then, she intoned a word in another language. Her form rippled and shimmered, and she was soon wearing modern clothes, her pointed ears now more human-looking. She still had blue hair, though. She then spoke another word in that language, and Harry suddenly realised he could understand the Japanese on the road sign.

"We'll try and find somewhere to eat or something, and then I'd really like you to tell me what the hell is going on," Harry said.

He heard Medea sigh wearily. She knew as much as he did that it was going to be a long night…


As it turned out, they did find one small café that was open to obscene hours at night, and after getting a rather basic meal and some crappy coffee, Caster erected what Harry assumed to be some sort of soundproofing spell. "Normally, I would look askance at any Master who did not know of the Grail War, but your magic feels different, and I am too well-versed with deceit in myself and others to know whether you lie or not," Caster said. "In general terms, the Grail War is a contest whereby a septet of magical entities, known as Heroic Spirits, are summoned as Servants to Magi."

"Heroic Spirits?"

"Famous people from myth and history," Caster said. "Because of our impact on history and the story of humanity, we reside in a place beyond comprehension known as the Throne of Heroes. When we are summoned, it is as one of seven classes, depending on our skills in our lives as mortals: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Assassin, and Caster. Sabers are spirits who use swords, and have generally excellent attributes, especially in melee combat. Lancers use lances, and are better at hit and run tactics. Archers use bows, or else some means of hurling weapons from afar. Those three generally have resistance to magic. Riders are those who are known for…riding, anything from a steed to a ship. They are agile fighters even without their mounts. Berserkers are extremely powerful, but at the cost of their sanity. Assassins rely on stealth, and generally target Masters rather than Servants, as Servants cannot exist for long without their Masters. Finally, there are Casters, who rely on magic."

"Which is what you are," Harry mused. "Okay, but what's the point of this Grail War thing? Are they fighting for fun?"

"Hardly," Caster said. "Once six Servants are slain out of the seven, the Holy Grail is able to grant a wish to the remaining Master and Servant. For once a Servant is slain, their essence is returned to the Grail. Once the wish is made, then the essences of the Servants return to the Throne of Heroes."

"Okay, sounds screwed up," Harry said. "Not only that, but too good to be true."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, back on my world, when I discovered I had magic…it felt like all my dreams came true. But then, I soon began to realise that the world I had stepped into wasn't even remotely perfect. And that would have been fine, but…well, I was made out to be a hero all for something that happened when I was one, something that took my parents away from me. I wasn't a hero. The problem was, if I wasn't a hero to people, then I was a villain. There was no middle ground, no room for me to be just…me. Worse, I had this psycho coming after me, the same one who murdered my parents and tried to kill me when I was one. We won, but at such a cost: I was the only one left standing amongst my friends. I went after my enemies even more than before, and so, got sent to prison for my troubles, all before I turned eighteen. I don't even know how old I am now."

After intoning yet another strange word, Caster said, "You are exactly twenty-three now. Happy birthday. And if it is any consolation, I too know what it is like to have a reputation that dogs you, even after all the good you did. I don't like speaking about my life, though."

"Were you famous?" Harry asked.

"Infamous, but yes. Fame is part of a requirement to ascend to the Throne of Heroes," Caster said.

A dark chuckle sounded, before the form of Zelretch appeared nearby. "She is very like you, Harry Potter. Her myth spans many worlds. You'll forgive me for spoiling the surprise, my dear, but I think Harry prefers disclosure. Harry Potter, allow me to introduce you to Medea of Colchis."

Harry blinked. After that whole business with the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione had suggested that he read up on Greek mythology. They had, after all, encountered a Cerberus, and shortly after their exams, she had remembered the link between a Cerberus falling asleep due to music, and the myth of Orpheus.

One of the myths he read about was, of course, Jason and the Argonauts. Discussing it with Hermione during their second year, he found himself agreeing with her when she pointed out how misogynistic the ancient Greeks were, hence portraying Medea as a villain. They did that a lot, like with Medusa. After all, in many versions, Medea was made to fall in love with Jason by the Greek gods.

And given that Medea had gone to all the trouble of freeing all those people Atrum had kidnapped for use in his experiments before she destroyed his workshop (Medea's words and those of the homunculi, not his), he couldn't make a snap judgement on what she was like.

Medea, however, looked mortified, her expression becoming sorrowful, her eyes glistening. And Harry snapped at Zelretch, "Look at what you did! You made her cry!"

"And? Medea is infamous as the Witch of Betrayal. Deceit and lying are as natural to her as breathing," Zelretch said with a shrug. "How do you know she's not faking her tears to get her own way?"

"I don't know. But frankly, I'm not sure I care. If she betrays me, then it's my fault for trusting her. But you threw me in front of her for a reason."

After meeting Harry's glare for a few seconds, Zelretch nodded. "True. I was just warning you. The problem is, many judge their Servants based on their pasts, for good or for ill. That you defend her readily, despite knowing something of who she was, bodes well. I know I made the right choice." Zelretch sat down at the table with them. "You've already told Harry the basics of the Grail War, Medea, but you do not know some of the dangerous undercurrents involved, undercurrents you need to be aware of."

"And why should I listen to a Dead Apostle?" Medea asked, glaring at Zelretch.

"Consider it advice, well-intentioned, warnings that you can verify for yourself. Like you, I became a monster against my will, with my being turned into a Dead Apostle by the infamous Crimson Moon Brunestud," Zelretch said. "You can obtain a second chance at life, Medea, but only through hardship, and certainly not through the Grail. The Grail, if you forgive the pun, is very much a poisoned chalice."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"A history lesson is required on the history of the Grail War," Zelretch said. "Three great Magus families, the Tohsakas, the Makiris, and the von Einzberns all collaborated to create the Grail Wars as a means to reach Akasha, the Root of All Things. Akasha is, effectively, the Noosphere of the universe, a record of everything that is, was, and will be. The Grail was meant to open up to Akasha once all seven Servants were sacrificed to it, with the whole wish thing being a sideshow. During the third such war, the von Einzberns, in their desperation to win, summoned a very different Servant to what the rules normally allowed: Avenger. Avenger was defeated, but its core essence tainted the Grail, and given its true nature, that's hardly surprising. Avenger was once an ordinary man, turned into a scapegoat for all the evils of the world, tortured for the rest of his life, becoming known as Angra Mainyu, the evil god of Zoroastrianism. You have considerable experience with being a scapegoat, Harry, but what you went through compared to Angra Mainyu is a pittance by comparison."

"Does Angra Mainyu still reside in the Grail?" Medea asked.

"Indeed. During the Fourth Grail War, Kiritsugu Emiya, the infamous Magus Killer, was about to claim the Grail when he learned of its contamination. The experience traumatised him, as did the loss of his wife, who was a homunculus designed to become the Grail. Determined to prevent Angra Mainyu from destroying humanity, he ordered his Servant, Saber, to destroy the Grail. In fact, he forced her to, much to her distress, as she was unaware of the taint. In the resulting blast, Saber disappeared, Kiritsugu was cursed by Angra Mainyu, and hundreds of people died in the fires. Kiritsugu searched for survivors, and stumbled across one, a boy whose memory had been wiped clean by Angra Mainyu's curse. Kiritsugu adopted the boy, Shirou, as his own. Indeed, Shirou will be one of the key players in the upcoming Grail War. He is rather like you, Harry, only he is completely and utterly selfless, even more than you are, to his detriment. Emiya's biological daughter, Illyasviel von Einzbern, will also be a Master. Indeed, in this upcoming Grail War, many of the Masters are younger than twenty."

"That's horrible," Harry muttered.

"Indeed. Illyasviel and another would-be Master, Rin Tohsaka, fight to reclaim the prestige of their respective families, though Illyasviel also wants revenge on Shirou. Her mind was poisoned by her family. They claimed Kiritsugu abandoned her, when in reality, he made every effort to reclaim her, and they barred her at every turn. She is nineteen years old, but thanks to her heritage as a part-homunculus and partly due to the von Einzberns' meddling, she looks little older than nine. She is a potential vessel for the Grail, but she is far from the only one. The other is a girl named Sakura, who was adopted into the Matou family, the family the Makiri became when their bloodline began to thin out. Born a Tohsaka, she was given to the Matous as a young child…and forced by their patriarch Zouken to undergo a truly disgusting ritual to make her a Matou, having creatures known as Crest Worms invade her body. They give her the ability to use the Matou magic, but these vile parasitic creatures cause her much distress and pain. And she is abused by her family, what little there is left of it. In fact, I was thinking you could go rescue her, Ginny Weasley-style, soon. I'll give you some help in removing the Crest Worms from her body: there is a ritual that Medea, given that her power is at high levels thanks to you, can use. Normally, it can't be used by any barring the most powerful of Magi. Medea, luckily, qualifies."

"What do we get out of healing this girl?" Medea asked.

"Eternal gratitude, and she will be the Master of Rider, if this Grail War ends up like the others," Zelretch said. "Your task is to try and unite the other Masters against the biggest threat aside from the Grail. There are two significant forces that want to see Angra Mainyu unleashed on the world. There is a priest known as Kirei Kotomine, supposedly meant to be the Church's impartial observer, a referee if you will, during the Grail War. In fact, he is a former Master, and has a Servant with him. Said Servant was the Archer of the previous conflict, but you would know him as Gilgamesh. A supremely arrogant warrior king. Imagine someone, Harry, with the arrogance and superiority of a Malfoy…but with the actual power to back it up. Heroic Spirits have been mistaken for deities before, and many have divine heritage, but Gilgamesh…he is one of the strongest Servants who could exist. Those are the two you must, ultimately, overcome."

"No pressure, huh?" Harry asked.

"To the contrary, you're under a lot of pressure. That's what makes it so fun," Zelretch said with a grin. It was a grin that didn't bode well for the near future, for either Harry or Medea…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry knows who Caster is, and Zelretch actually does some exposition.

No numbered annotations this time.