Chapter 1 - ALTERnative Start

Abandoned Workshop of Caster Servant Gilles de Rais, Fuyuki City - Main Fate World - One Week Before Rin Tohsaka summons her servant

(General P.O.V)

It has been roughly 10 years since the Fourth Holy Grail War, 10 years since the Fuyuki fire that came from the aftermath of the same Grail War which caused countless fatalities and mass destruction. But even so, another Holy Grail war has already begun in the shadows just 10 years after the last one, this being 50 years earlier than anticipated by many but a sole few.

But the seeds of the Fifth Holy Grail War's events were planted as far back as the previous Holy Grail War, with many of the masters involved in the original events being related in some way to those who came before them, whether they knew it or not.

Seven servants shall be summoned to fight in the Holy Grail War, Berzerker, Lancer, Caster have been summoned already, leading the remaining Servant vessels of Saber, Archer, Rider, and Assassin left yet to be filled, as without them, the Fifth Holy Grail War cannot truly begin in earnest.

Almost every iteration of the Fifth Holy Grail War diverges around three set primary paths, one sees a sword fall in love with a king, another sees that same sword face its future incarnation and establish a bond with the Tohsaka master of the war, and the final one would see the sword abandon their ideals to save their loved one…

In every one of these iterations the abandoned workshop of Gilles de Rais, the Caster servant of the previous Holy Grail War who never actually wielded magecraft directly himself but through the use of his noble phantasm, Prelati's Spellbook, would never be found, and would become yet another forgotten and unknown remnant of the previous war that would almost certainly be lost to the annals of history forever.

Yet it is in this ruined and abandoned workshop that would become the place where an impossibility occurs for several factors that had lined up in unison on this very day, for this particular world has been selected by higher powers to be the destination of a newly reborn woman.

For two existences, one being the original contractor who yearns to etch out a place for themselves in the broader multiverse, and the other, a dark reflection of Jeanne d'Arc herself who desires an existence of her own and not merely be a reflection of her origin, merging into a singular soul as the result is a woman who is at her core, Jeanne d'Arc Alter that gains the memories, knowledge, and traits of the original contractor, this new existence set to become the second Avenger to enter the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars.

The abandoned workshop is soon flooded with a flash of bright light as a woman in black armor with a long flowing black cape, a thin black medieval saber tied to the left side of her waist as her left hand grasps at a flag tightly, short-cut pale-blonde hair against an incredibly pale complexion.

Moments later, a pair of yellow eyes open and our tale begins…

[P.O.V Shift]

(Jeanne D'arc Alter/SI P.O.V)

"For fuck's sake, why does it smell like shit in here?!" I exclaim in anger as my right hand immediately goes to cover my nose in an attempt to block the smell, the smell is so nauseating that I almost don't notice several things at once.

First is that I have been reincarnated, something that does admittedly surprise me as I never expected to be given a new life in the first place, me of all people being given a new life. I'm the fucking dragon witch so why the fuck is it me and not her?!

Secondly, it's the fact I have two sets of memories, ones that are mine and the others are very much belonging to the one who granted me this new life, which means that I'm not only an Avenger-class servant but a fully incarnated one thanks to this so-called company.

Truthfully I'm both glad and dissatisfied at the one being chosen for reincarnation, glad that I'm able to have a life that is mine and not the original Jeanne's, but at the same time part of me does feel bad for the fact my more purer self wasn't allowed to come along for the ride.

However, it's the final thing that catches my attention the most as my eyes widen as memories from my past self, the one that allowed me to become a contractor in the first place, immediately clue me in on the location that I've been dropped off in.

"...Putain de merde! Fils de pute! Pourquoi fallait il que j'aparaisse ici?! (...Holy fucking shit! Son of a bitch! Why did I have to appear here?!)" I scream out while slipping into speaking French instinctively out of shock, horror, and rage as I realize that I ended up in what looks to be Gilles de Rais' workshop…

The place looks like it's been trashed and ruined, likely from when it got hit by Rider back during the Fourth Holy Grail War if the memories of my other past self are anything to go by, although from what I can tell their memories aren't too clear on the events of Fate/Zero.

Either way, I need to get the fuck out of this shithole, especially when I have no fucking clue where or when I am specifically, although I know just by the fact I got summoned in Giles's old workshop, I'm in fucking Fuyuki at some point after the Fourth Holy Grail War.

I decided to put my flag in the Pocket space so that I'm not lugging the damn thing through the sewers and began making the trek to actually get out of this fucking shithole, trying to avoid getting dirty from anything as I know I'm already going to end up leading the damn place smelling just as bad as the literal shithole that I'm leaving.

As I am wandering through the sewers in search of an exit, I pull out my company phone in order to actually check what I'm working with as memories are one thing, actual tangible information that is easily verifiable is much better if I'm gonna survive what I suspect I am being thrown into.

"...One credit, all I have to work with is one fucking credit and a basic stamp?!" I say with rage filling me instantly, oh sure my past self basically gave me Body defense which will help against poisons, diseases, and targeted radiation, as well as Stress defense which is probably meant to help ensure I'm the one in control of my hatred and not the other way around.

Looks like they gave me Paper Trail too, so that should help with maintaining a facade for those not in the know of the moonlit world although I don't think I have any actual money to work with just yet as company salary takes a week or so to start rolling in if my past life's memories are anything to go by at all.

Here is the thing though, my past self seems to have actually had a plan in mind with the whole low credit issue, which is quite frankly something that while smart, does involve doing something that they absolutely never wanted to do unless they truly had no choice.

Which is taking out a loan…

"Fine, I'll take the damn loan to get a much better, combat-effective binding tool" I growl out as I know that a stamp ain't gonna do me any favors in Japan where certain societal norms would probably have me unable to really convince any of the potential masters of taking the stamp, even if I had the patience to try and use diplomacy to try that shit.

Taking a loan for 100 credits, I immediately go to replace my stamp with a shroud, a basic red shroud appearing over my armor in a flash of red light as it immediately merges with my armor before I have it switch my clothes out for my Shinjuku Singularity outfit which is thankfully stored in my pocket space, although that's the only outfit stored in my pocket space unfortunately.

"Much better, now I won't have to astralize the moment I leave the sewers~!" I say with a smug grin, knowing that as part of the benefits of being tied to the company, not only am I fully incarnated but also able to astralize in this state as well, although truthfully I'd rather not bother when I can just burn my foes to ashes.

With the remaining 41 credits, I decided to get one level in Mind Defence so I'm not potentially gonna be controlled by any roaming magus who may or may not detect that I'm an incarnated servant and instead believe I'm just a random bystander.

After that, I immediately got two more perks, Mapper and the DLC Time-savers, bringing my total down to 4 credits. The first of the two is mostly so I'm not walking around aimlessly around Fuyuki like a lost puppy and the second is to ensure I don't leave the sewers smelling like I've been there in the first place.

The moment the purchase goes through, I start using the new Mapper app to finally get out of the damn sewer with the app's help and it's thanks to said app, I am able to find a suitable exit out into what I hope is an empty alleyway if the Mapper app is to be trusted, grasping on the ladder just below the manhole and began to climb up.

The moment I reach the manhole cover, my shroud immediately reveals itself again in order to gently move the manhole cover out of my way and allow me to exit without having to try and move it myself, the daylight sky above shining the moment the manhole cover is removed and momentarily blinding me as my eyes adjust to the sudden natural light source.

Once my eyes are adjusted though, I finally exit the sewers and hopefully for good…

Fuyuki City, Streets near Homurahara High School - Moments later

(Jeanne D'arc Alter/SI's P.O.V)

After putting the manhole cover back where it belongs, I decide to check the time with my company phone in order to get an idea of what I could potentially do if the timing is right, and I learn that it's roughly around midday right now.

But the phone doesn't just show the time though, as it ever so helpfully shows the year of the current world as well which turns out to be 2004, the year of the Fifth Holy Grail War which means I'm in the same time period as Shirou Emiya or Emiya Shirou as it would be here in Japan.

However, that is also the same time period that a certain goldie bastard who could probably turn me into mince meat if he decided to bombard me with that gate of his, meaning there is no fucking way I am going anywhere near that fucking church if I can help it.

Besides, I'd rather burn the fucking place down once I get those fucking orphans that the bastard priest Kirei is hiding in the basement. After all, it's not like I didn't have enough hatred for the church and priests in general anyway.

I wonder if the bastard priest burns well in hellfire just like he did…

Unfortunately my trail of thought after that is interrupted by a wolf whistle from behind me, a scowl crossing my face as I turn to see two guys leering at me as they swagger toward me, I think these chumps really want to get their fucking asses beat.

"Hey there miss, whatcha doing in our turf looking like that, hoping to flash your big round goods for some cash ya foreign whore?" says one of the two thugs while openly staring at my bust, the other guy chuckling as he sizes me up like I'm a piece of meat on display.

"...What did you two dickheads just call me…?" I ask as my body begins to shake with rage as the one who spoke up just smirks arrogantly as he gets closer and closer toward me, his friend flanking him as he's now trying to get a better look at my breasts.

"A whore, a foreign whore at that since ya don't look like you're from around here, probably hoping to get money from us Hard-working Japanese," The first thug says as he gets close enough that he is about to try and grab at my breasts, a constant and arrogant leer on his face the entire time.

He doesn't even get a chance to touch me as I immediately grab his wrist and grip hard enough that all three of us hear bones breaking, the asshole screams in pain as his buddy pulls out a knife and tries to stab my arm in an attempt to release my grip.

I just give a smug, sinister grin as I pull the first thug forward and use the arm I am currently gripping to take the stabbing in my place, eliciting another scream of pain before I ball my left hand into a fist and deck him across the face, knocking the guy out and leaving his flunkie alone to deal with me.

"You bitch!" He screams as he charges at me like a bull in a fucking china shop, allowing me to grab his face and slam him against the wall hard, the thug ultimately getting a concussion from hitting his head against the wall~!

"Well then, I was strapped for cash but you assholes decided to show that you're just walking sacks of shit and now I won't have that problem anymore, be grateful it's only your money that I'm taking and not something more precious," I say with a dark, smug grin that promises pain should he fucking say anything on the contrary.

With fear in his eyes, he shakily takes out his wallet and hands it to me, allowing me to see how much money is in his wallet, seems that there is a surprisingly decent amount of Yen in here, roughly about 24,000 yen should I decide to ignore the coins which I will be, taking the bills and leaving the coins so that the dumbass ain't completely robbed.

"Now then, I best not see or hear anything from either of you during my stay here in Fuyuki, or else I break the other one," I say as I throw the thug's wallet to the ground, watching the confusion bloom on the guys face as he pops the inevitable question…

"Other on–AGH!?" The thug begins to say right as I suddenly grab the guy's left arm and through the very faintest application of my strength as a servant, I twist it hard enough that I hear a loud, audible crack and the guy screams in pain as he falls to his knees cradling the arm, allowing me to walk out of the alleyway with a smirk on my face.

"Putains d'idiots qui abordent une femme en plein jour, j'espère qu'ils apprendront une foutue leçon(Fucking idiots accosting a woman in broad daylight, hope they learn a damn lesson)" I say, slipping into French again while trying to calm down from dealing with the two assholes, they're lucky I didn't burn them to ashes as I was admittedly tempted to do so.

The only reason I didn't is that I didn't wanna deal with the hassle of trying to take care of burning corpses in the middle of Fuyuki in broad daylight, especially when it would attract unwanted attention to myself in doing so.

Either way, I'm done thinking about those idiots, and while I could have probably taken from the other guy's wallet as well if I felt inclined to actually spend more time around them, I really didn't want to at that point, not to mention that stab wound in his arm ain't exactly going to be free to get fixed up.

Still, I think I need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do for food and shelter as while I have money now for the moment, I need to find a place to stay while I figure out how long until the grail war starts.

It's then an idea comes to mind, a bold yet very interesting idea as I might as well see if I can try bullshitting a certain redhead into allowing me to stay with them for the time being, maybe see if I can try to fix some issues with that particular bonehead while I'm at it.

Plus considering I was gifted a set of command seals by the company, I think I might as well play a part in this game if only to not only have a potential new retinue member but to also have a front-row seat to the events unfolding as no matter what timeline I'm in, Shirou Emiya will be Shirou Emiya.

Of course, I am going to make damn sure that this isn't going to be a Shirou Emiya that decides he won't participate and become a Shirou pancake by a certain Greek berzerker as a consequence, among other potential bad ends that my contractor self remembers.

Admittedly the number of bad ends that they know are just the more famous ones, so I'll have to keep a firm eye on him lest my plans go up in smoke and I want to have a reliable ally in Shirou Emiya and not a dead redhead that just becomes another casualty of the grail wars.

With that in mind, I discreetly pulled out my company phone and got directions to Shirou Emiya's house through the mapper app, memorizing them before putting the company phone away as I began making my way towards his house.

Although as I walk there I do notice that my looks are drawing a fair amount of attention, some curious, some just taking one look at me before going back to whatever it is they're doing, and some appreciating the sight of me perhaps a bit too much before they end up losing sight of me.

Well, that's probably better than the looks of alarm I would have gotten if I decided to try walking there in my armor and sword, potentially ending up in a jail cell rather than a nice cozy house for the night for such lack of forethought.

Anyway, it shouldn't take me too long to reach the house, although I think I'll need to check the mapper app occasionally to make sure I'm staying on the right track for the moment at least, trying to stay far away from the local church in the process as I really don't want to draw attention from either Kirei or Gilgamesh yet.

Even if I have to resist the urge to run towards it and just burn the fucking church down with a mad grin on my face…

Just outside the gate to the Emiya Residence - 1 Hour later

(Jeanne D'arc Alter/SI P.O.V)

I stand in front of the wooden gateway that leads toward the house of Shirou Emiya, still thinking about what I'm actually going to say to him as just showing up to his house without a valid reason is not exactly going to fly.

I think what I'll do is I'll tell Shirou that my family was once saved by his adopted dad and so I traveled to Fuyuki in order to protect his son as a means to pay Kiritsugu back, conveniently forgetting to find my own place in the process.

Potentially sketchy yes but I'm too young to be a friend of Kiritsugu and I don't think my paper trail perk has enough leeway to try and become some foreign friend of Taiga so this is the best I could come up with that won't sound too suspicious.

With that, I ultimately decide to finally knock on the gate making sure to do so as loud as I can before sensing movement from within the house as someone comes toward the gate to answer the knocking on the gate.

The moment the gate opens, I freeze as I stare at what I believe is my old master, the one that I thought I wouldn't see again in this new life of mine for a very long time. The woman before me looks almost just like her, like Gudako Fujimaru…

"Hello there, can I help you Ma'am?" The young redheaded teenager says with a calm, curious smile on her face before I realize that I'm not looking at my old master at all, I'm actually looking at what appears to be a female Shirou.

Wait I think it is Shirou as a girl…

"H-hey there, my name is Jeanne R-romee and to tell you the truth I'm here because your father, Kiritsugu Emiya saved mine years ago a-and I wanted to repay the debt my family owes by helping you out here in Fuyuki," I say, trying to regain my composure even as my heart aches at the memory of my old master, the woman I believe is Shirou looks at me with wide eyes.

"Oh s-so you're here because of my old man, w-well you don't have to do that for me–" Shirou says looking flustered at the sudden situation I just dropped on them as she seems to be about to send me off when I decide to drop an ace up my sleeve…

"Even if I also came here with information surrounding the Fuyuki fire?" I ask, watching as almost immediately Shirou stops mid-sentence as she bites her lip, torn between sending me away or allowing me in for the information but eventually the desire for closure regarding the Fuyuki Fire wins over.

"Alright, come inside Romee-san but take your shoes off before coming inside please," Shirou says as am allowed onto the property, I take off my shoes near the front of the house, soon being led to the living room/kitchen space and many people who've seen Shirou's home will be intimately familiar with how it looks as Shirou has me sit on one of the cushions by the table before taking another spot herself.

"So you said you know something about the fire that happened ten years ago…?" Shirou asks, getting right to the point as I nod my head, taking a moment to recall the information that my contractor self has regarding that whole incident.

"That is correct, before I continue though are you a Magus by any chance Emiya-san?" I ask, mostly to make sure that we're on the same page here regarding the moonlit world, something that has Shirou tense as she looks at me with a careful expression.

"I suppose you could say that, dad always told me that I shouldn't become a magus though, didn't want to become like them I think," Shirou says, getting another nod from me as at least now Shirou will probably understand that what we're about to discuss will involve magecraft.

"Tell me Emiya-san, did you know that there is a sort of traditional event for magus here in Fuyuki called the Holy Grail War?" I ask, trying to get a feel for how much different this female version of Shirou is apart from being a fairly beautiful redhead that looks so painfully like my old master at times.

"The Holy Grail War huh, dad never told me about that at all," Shirou said with a shake of her head, allowing me to see that I am dealing with a typical Shirou Emiya who just so happens to be a woman rather than a man, likely a consequence of my contractor self…

"I see, then allow me to explain, the Holy Grail War is an event where seven people, who become what are known as Masters, summon seven entities that are called Servants in order to fight for an omnipotent artifact known as the Holy Grail," I say as Shirou's eyes bear a curious but also confused glint to her eyes, taking in the information given so far.

"What's so special about this Holy Grail, and why is it relevant to the fire from ten years ago?" Shirou asks as I know that what I am about to say next will probably cement Shirou's placement in the Holy Grail War…

"To answer your questions in order, the Holy Grail is supposedly capable of granting any wish that the winner of the Holy Grail War desires, and as for how relevant the Holy Grail War is to the fire, it is the direct result of the Holy Grail's corruption due to tampering by one of the factions involved in a previous war spilling out into Fuyuki," I say as Shirou's eyes widen dramatically, going pale as her hands tighten into fists as she is shaking from the knowledge I've just dropped on her.

"Then what you're saying is that that whole incident, was because of this Holy Grail War?" Shirou asks as she struggles to keep her emotions from spilling out in front of me, all I can really do is answer that question with a nod while she takes her time to calm down.

"Normally the Holy Grail War happens once every sixty years, but with what happened at the end of the last Holy Grail War, that time frame went from sixty to ten years, meaning the next Holy Grail War will be coming up shortly," I say firmly, causing Shirou to freeze as worry about the events of what ten years ago potentially repeating themselves, the redhead soon looking at me firmly shortly afterward.

"How do we prevent what happened ten years ago Romee-san?" Shirou asks, which makes me smirk and point to my right hand which bears my command seals on the back of my hand in red, already having a plan on what we're going to do now that Shirou is more or less on board.

"Simple, we become masters ourselves and prevent the deaths of other servants, which would fuel the Holy Grail and make it become tangible, which is what resulted in the Fuyuki Fire in the first place," I say although I decide not to comment on the whole thing with Saber, Kiritsugu and the final moments of the last grail war yet, mostly because it bears no immediate relevance and it would be kind of hard to explain how I know that.

Had I tried to tell anyone else who would be a master this, I'd either not get believed, gutted to prevent secrets from being spilled, or just potentially be seen as a hostile servant with the intent of deception and just lose my chance anyway.

But Shirou Emiya, who had no real idea of the Holy Grail Wars before all of this, has no idea that the information that I know is something I should not have been able to know unless I had some sort of insider sources or something of similar nature.

"So the only way to stop it, is to participate huh?" Shirou says to herself before sighing and looking at me with clear determination on her face, making me resist the urge to make a smug grin as I have Shirou Emiya on my side hook, line, and sinker now~!

"Romee-san, can you help me prevent another Fuyuki fire?" Shirou asks me, now I'm not able to stop myself from having that smug grin on my face as I nod my head and hold out a hand for Shirou to take.

"Emiya-san, it would be my pleasure to do just that~!" I say as Shirou looks at me with a grateful smile on her face, relief showing as her shoulders become a lot less tense than it was a few seconds prior.

"So Romee-san, where are you staying exactly?" Shirou asks, which is where I suddenly freeze as throughout all of this, I forgot to ask Shirou if I could stay here for the time being. Thankfully Shirou takes my silence in an entirely different way as she sighs before looking at me dead in the eyes.

"You never planned out where you were staying while you were coming here to protect me did you?" Shirou asks with a blank tone of voice, making my eyebrows twitch but say nothing contrary to the sort which makes Shirou sigh before she gets up.

"Since we're in this together, I suppose you could take the spare bedroom then," Shirou says as she gestures for me to come with her to the spare bedroom, I just barely resist grinning like a mad woman and follow her.

As we are walking to the spare bedroom, Shirou stops and turns to me with a frown on her face as she looks to be wondering how to explain something before finally, her shoulders sag, looking slightly defeated in a way.

"Oh yeah, my landlord's daughter will be coming over tomorrow morning so I hope you can help me figure out how to explain your stay here with her," Shirou says nonchalantly which makes me freeze momentarily as I mentally groan.

Something tells me that tomorrow morning is going to be an interesting affair indeed…

Author's Notes

Welcome to the first chapter of Fate Saint Alter, my newest Fate Fanfic involving the Waifu Catalog!

I hope that you all will enjoy Jalter's journey as she gets involved in the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War because I will most definitely enjoy writing her from here on out.

Now then, normally I would leave out the plot point discussion for another chapter since this is the first chapter of a brand new fanfiction but I think it's best if I clarify a few things.

Genderbending Shirou

This is mostly down to preference but also due to the fact that female Shirou fanfics and I hope for this one to become one of the good ones (Fingers crossed). Plus from the female Shirou pics I've been exposed to, they look very hot so if it's not already apparent, I do have plans for Shirou…

Do I plan to gender-bend others?

Yes

Taking a loan

To be honest I didn't want to take a loan in order to give Jalter a leg up, as I absolutely HATE taking loans as I am averse to having monetary debts to others as it causes me stress.

However, I recently figured out how the Waifu Catalog's Loan system works and after verifying on test builds, I figured that it would be at least try it for one story and see how it goes.

Now then, next time on Fate Saint Alter!: The next morning's antics, preparations for the grail war, and double servant summoning

See you all sometime next month!