Chapter One: Here We Go

"How did it get to this point again?" he asked himself for probably the hundredth time. Everything had been fine. He had been studying an exciting form of fae magecraft. When his mother had barged into his room and dragged him to his father's workshop. Surprisingly enough, His father was there, and that old crazy bastard Zelretch. This was weird since he couldn't study the second magic with his dad. Zelretch was only interested in instructing his father as he had won a grail war years before his birth. He knew immediately that something significant was happening, and it probably wasn't good.

He had tried to get answers but was told there wasn't time to explain adequately. He was given a mystic code in the form of a luggage bag filled with an assortment of his things and more. His father gave him a letter, and then his parents embraced him and wished him luck. His mother mentioned she would join him as soon as possible. Meanwhile, he was still perplexed about what the hell was happening.

Sadly, he couldn't get answers as he was suddenly and unexpectedly pulled into the second magic, with that old bastard Zelretch chuckling as it happened.

The trip felt weird but ended as quickly as it seemingly started, or maybe that had just been his perception of time being wholly screwed with by the process? Regardless, he crashed harshly on some floor as soon as he knew. After gaining his bearings, he noticed he was in arguably the most advanced room he had ever seen. Then he was surrounded by a guy in a lab coat, one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on, holding a staff. Then, another woman with silvery hair who looked incredibly annoyed.

He held out the letter his father had given him before they could speak. The silver-haired girl immediately snatched it, and upon reading it, her face went from annoyed to angry to surprised. She then introduced herself as Olga Marie Animusphere. The head of the place he was dropped into is named Chaldea. She then said he would help save humanity before turning on her heels and walking away.

The lab coat man introduced himself as Doctor Romani Archaman. The woman then introduced herself as a caster servant named Leonardo da Vinci. That threw him a slight loop, but it made a lot of sense when he took a closer look at her overall appearance. Though he could've sworn Leonardo was a man in life. However, he pushed those questions aside as he had many more important things to consider.

"What's your name?" Romani had asked him.

"Nathaniel Hawke." He had replied, though that had been a bit of a lie on his part. Since he had given his middle name as his surname, he didn't want to speak his actual surname just yet, as it would lead to far too many questions, and he wasn't ready to give them those answers, either. That was also why he had refused any medical examination from the good doctor. Any thorough examination of his body would reveal just how unique he was. He didn't feel like explaining that he was technically more non-human than human. Even if his appearance didn't reflect that.

That had been a month ago, and he had begun to settle into things at Chaldea. He had been given the rundown about what was happening, why Chaldea existed, and why he had been sent off as he had been. A great calamity would befall humanity's existence across time and space itself. It would be happening very soon. Chaldea, its masters (which now included him), and the servants they would summon were the ones who would do what had to be done to correct things.

That's why his parents had sent him off so unexpectedly. They wanted to save him and be a force to help put things right. He had spent an entire day in his room thinking about all that. Did he understand why his parents did what they did? Yes. Was he still annoyed and a little pissed about how it went down? Also yes. There was little he could do for now other than do what he could for the time being until everything was handled.

Nathaniel hauled himself out of bed to prepare for the day. At just over 17 years old, he was built well for his age. He stood at a solid 6ft tall with a strong muscular build due to his years of training with both body and blade. His green eyes shined in the light like emeralds. His golden blond hair was styled and undercut, long on top, slicked back, and shaved at the back and sides.

He wore black combat boots, urban camo cargo pants, a black canvas belt, and a Sabaton band t-shirt that was black in color and featured the cover art for Carolus Rex. However, the last two items were his most precious and potent. First, a mystic code that looked like a grey leather bomber jacket with green lines running along the sleeves and body. The jacket's trim was black. When he fed his power into it, it would transform, and his body would be fully covered in armor. His father's magecraft specialized in taking objects and being able to reshape and disguise items. Until they were called upon to take their proper form.

His next item was a necklace with a silver chain holding a pendant shaped like a sword. The pendant blade had a pearly silver complexion with little touches of emerald green. This, too, was an item disguised to be called into its proper form when needed—a sword of unique origins and creation that he had worked on along with his father.

His attention was drawn by a knock on his door.

"Nathaniel-senpai, are you awake?" A feminine voice called out.

"Be there in a second, Mash." He called out as he opened the door to his room, to be greeted by the lavender hair and lilac eyes of Mash Kyrielight.

"Good morning, Nathaniel-senpai; the doctor is asking for you again."

"As I've said before, the answer is no. Also, please just call me Nathaniel or Hawke. I'm pretty sure I've told you that before, too," the blond replied.

Mash sighed in exasperation. "Very well, Nathaniel se-, Nathaniel. Also, Director Olga's meeting will be starting soon. Please try not to be late for once, please."

Nathaniel chuckled a bit at that. "It's not happening. Anything she's going to be saying is undoubtedly something I've heard more or less before, so it's not like I need to be there every minute. However, you might want to ensure Ritsuka makes it there on time. I'm pretty sure she still hasn't managed to fully remember the layout of this place."

"I suppose I'll just have to settle for that," Mash replied in defeat.

"Don't be so down, Mash; it's not that big of a deal," the green-eyed teen replied with a smirk. "Catch you later," Nathaniel said as he turned on his heels and went to the cafeteria.

After eating breakfast, he finally went to the meeting to hear the last of Olga's words. "How much will she try to chew me out this time?" He mused as he walked down the corridor to the rayshift chamber.

Then everything went to shit.

There was a loud boom, and he was thrown harshly against the wall and crashing to the floor. He coughed as he lay on the ground, disoriented from the moment. He feels the heat from something intensely burning and the sirens with Chaldea wailing. He rolled over and looked at the wall the blast knocked him into. Noticing the indent in the wall, he was glad he wasn't entirely human. Had he been, he'd be dead for sure. He picked himself up with a slight groan and decided to address whatever was happening.

He noticed someone with shoulder-length red hair tied in a side-ponytail and light orange yes going running into the burning wreck that had been the rayshift chamber. Someone he recognized.

"Ritsuka!" Nathaniel yelled out as he ran after her. Admittedly, he didn't know Ritsuka Fujimaru that well. She had arrived only a few weeks after him. However, based on what time they had spent together, he was able to figure out. She was far more damn likable than 95% of other magi.

Following in after her, he caught her desperately trying to lift a piece of rubble—someone he also soon recognized. "Mash!" he yelled, quickly running beside Ritsuka and lifting the debris to free Mash. Ignorant to the automatic voices and the odd glow beginning to permeate the room, Ritsuka, and Mash stared at him in surprise at how easily he lifted the rubble. However, before anything else could be said or done. He felt an odd sensation, and everything suddenly went black.

He opened his eyes with a groan, the smell of things burning around him. He thought he was perhaps still in the rayshift chamber with Ritsuka and Mash. He quickly realized how wrong he was as he looked around and instead, a destroyed and burning room. He was greeted by the unpleasantness of an entire city that looked like it had been bombed to hell and back. His concern turned to slight panic as he realized his companions from the chamber were nowhere to be seen. He prioritized finding Ritsuka and Mash and then figuring out what was happening.

"AAAHHHH!" A shrill scream wailed not far from him. He bolted to the location of the scream. To see Olga being advanced upon by a small horde of skeletons.

"Time to get to work." The blond spoke to himself as he focused, and his pendant and jacket glowed. Then, in a brief burst of light, both items adorned him, having taken their actual forms.

No longer was he adorned in regular clothes, but now he was wearing full plate armor colored a silvery pearl and emerald green with a black piece of cloth tied around his waist like a sash. The excess cloth hung off his left side, nearly touching the ground. His helm covered his head entirely with the slots for eyes having a slant to them that gave an almost predatory visage to it. However, the most noticeable thing on the helm was a pair of obsidian black horns. Each one was just over a foot long and crossed the back of the helm with the pointed ends curving slightly upwards.

The pendant had transformed into a sizeable two-handed broadsword. The blade is adorned with emerald-green decoration and markings. In contrast, the actual metal of the blade was the most curious. The metal shined in a silvery pearl, creating a beautiful contrast with the emerald green on the weapon. The blade portion had a broad base that rested against the guard. The guard, slightly turned upwards at their pointed ends. The blade thinned up somewhat as it went up to its deadly point. In the hands of practically anyone else, the blade would be considered far too large and unwieldy for actual use.

In Nathaniel's hands, however, it was the perfect weapon.

Focusing his power on his legs, he shot forward with dazzling speed. The first skeleton had no idea what hit it as Nathaniel's blade came down and reduced it to non-existent. He swung his blade up and to the left, rendering another skeleton into useless pieces. He could hear Olga squeak in surprise and mild fear at his sudden appearance; he ignored this and focused on his enemies.

Two skeletons ran at him, brandishing their weapons. The first closed in on his right and swung in a wide arc. Nathaniel sidestepped it and brought back an armored fist before swinging forward with thunderous force, causing it to scatter into various pieces. He quickly ducked from a strike by the other skeletal warrior. Then, he turned his blade upward at an angle, effortlessly slicing through the bone. As the reanimated corpse fell, lifeless once more. He never gave the final skeleton a real chance to do anything. As he raised a hand and pointed, a gandr spell formed at his fingertips. It blasted off and hit its target directly, blowing it into pieces.

Olga wasn't sure what exactly had happened. She had just ordered Mash to remove Fujimaru from the chamber for sleeping during the meeting. She had been mentally grumbling about Hawke being his usual annoying self by refusing to show up on time. Then everything suddenly went to hell with explosions and fire. Then she suddenly found herself ray-shifted to a destroyed city all by herself. Then, a group of murderous skeletons showed up, and she had no way of defending herself. She wailed in terror in a desperate attempt to perhaps signal any form of help to her. The undead came closer, and she thought she was sure to meet her end.

Then, a blur of silver and green crashed into the nearest skeleton, destroying it to nothing. Olga looked on in total surprise at her would-be savior. He was tall and clad in brilliant and intimidating silver and green armor, armed with a blade that was equally beautiful as it was no doubt deadly. Looking like a knight out of some tale of old. She watched in awe and mild terror as the apparent saber servant dispatched the remaining skeletons.

It was powerful and almost instinctually raw if she had to describe how they fought. Yet, it still had a certain sense of refinement that kept it from being genuinely wild. A vicious brutality that managed to hold a sense of proper temperance to a degree, one could say. Then her eyes widened when she saw them dispatch the final servant with magecraft. None of her studies about servants had ever indicated any sabers capable of utilizing caster abilities. Then they turned to her, and she couldn't help but stiffen up on instinct.

"Calm down, Olga, I ain't gonna hurt you."

Her draw dropped and hung loosely like some gaping fish for a moment before she finally gathered her bearings.

"Hawke!? Is that you!?"

The helm split into two before sliding down the front and back of the armor, sectioning off into smaller pieces as it did. Revealing blond hair and a set of green eyes, she was familiar with.

"It's me, alright, Olga," Nathaniel smirked. Her reaction to realizing it was him was golden. He heard the movement of heavy footsteps closing in. He immediately whipped around and held his blade in a defensive posture. His helm snapped back up into place. "Someone's coming, be ready to run if needed." The blond spoke with a tone that left no room for argument.

Olga merely nodded her head. She still had a lot of questions, so it was best to wait until things were safe enough to allow. Then, two figures came in. Both appeared to be women, one with red hair and the other lavender. He relaxed, knowing just who they were.

"Director Olga!" Risuka called out in releif.

"It's Good to see you're okay, director," Mash added. We heard the scream and rushed over as fast as we could."

"Who's this?" Ritsuka questioned, looking towards Nathaniel.

"Geez, Fujimaru, that hurts my feelings." He snarked as his helm split in two and revealed his face again.

"What!?"

"Nathaniel, what exactly happened to you?" Mash inquired, looking him over.

"Not so much what happened to me, Mash, but rather what I've always been and have kept secret, as it were." He explained. "I'm more interested in what exactly has happened to you?" Nathaniel inquired towards the Mash.

No longer was she wearing her usual attire. Now she wore skin-tight black and purple armor that resembled an extremely short mini-dress that exposed her butt, emphasized her breasts, and revealed her panties. There is a hole that exposes her stomach area. She wore black gauntlets and boots, a garter on her right thigh, and a sizeable cross-shaped shield. That was bigger than she was.

Nathaniel stared at the shield closely for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. While he had never seen the shield before, he had heard its description enough to figure out just who it was supposed to belong to.

"A Demi-Servant!" Olga barked out suddenly. You've clearly fused with a servant! Why is it just now being successful? No matter," she spoke as she moved her attention onto Ritsuka. How in the world did you form a contract with Mash? Only top-tier Mages can do such a thing."

Nathaniel snorted at that last comment. Mage society and its ego-fueled, arrogant standards—how he loathed it.

"Truth be told, director, I forced the contract," Mash spoke up in defense of Ritsuka.

"Fair enough, for now, I suppose." Olga mused before turning to Nathaniel. "What's the deal with you, Hawke? Have you been a demi-servant secretly all this time?"

"Nope, I'm not a demi-servant, and before you ask, I'm not a pseudo-servant either. I'm what you call a Quasi-Servant." He answered in total honesty.

"I've never heard of such a term before?" Mash mused.

"I'd be amazed if you did, as I'm likely the first and only of my type. Essentially, I'm a living person with servant powers, like demi and pseudo-servants. What makes me different is that my powers stem from one of my parents being a servant."

"Such a thing isn't possible, now way that could be true!" Olga replied incredulously.

"Actually, it is, and I can give you a simple explanation for it." Nathaniel retorted. "Holy grail, shenanigans."

Olga opened her mouth to reply but then paused, suddenly giving it thought before sighing in exasperation. "Of course, upon winning a grail, the master of the servant or the servant itself could have made a wish of incarnation. Thus, a servant could become a proper living person while retaining all its powers, which in turn would allow them to be capable of having offspring at that point."

"Correct, Olga," the blond replied. Dad used his wish to incarnate Mom, and Mom used her own wish that wound up affecting me in ways, suffice to say, for the time being. While I'm sure everyone still has plenty of questions to ask, it may be best to save them until after figuring things out and safely back to Chaldea?

"You're correct, but don't think you'll get out of being questioned further about this." Olga stated, "We need to try and get back into contact with HQ."

Then, as if some higher force was listening, a fuzzy screen popped up with Romani appearing on it. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? Anyone at all? Dang it all...there! Connection established and in good order."

"Romani!? Where's Lev? Actually, never mind that; for now, I need a full status report about Chaldea." Olga began ranting as she walked off with her doctor's discussion.

Nathaniel turned his head a bit and noticed a look of trepidation on the redhead's face. "Are you holding up okay there, Fujimaru?"

She seemingly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "As well as I can be considering the situation. This day has been as hectic as one could imagine and then some. I'd say it's probably not going to get any easier before it's over with."

"Not wrong about that, I'll admit. I'm far from thrilled about everything happening. That said, we'll make it through as long as we keep strong and push forward. It'll be tough at times, certainly, but we'll make it happen regardless."

Ritsuka smiled slightly at the words of encouragement. Then Olga walked back, looking paler than usual and with a grim expression. Mumbling to the others as she did.

"Only 20 remaining staff, 80% percent of the facility is damaged. Repair work is being done on the rayshift machines while the rest of Chaldea and Sheba are being stabilized. Continue fixing what you can. We must repair enough functionality to transport us out of Singularity F. The worst part is that all 47 other master candidates are in critical condition, and we're low on medical supplies. Orders were given to cryopreserve them until later to hopefully save them." Olga said with the tone of a person feeling perhaps a tad overwhelmed by everything. Not that anyone could blame her.

Ritsuka and Mash looked understandably saddened by the news. As for Nathaniel...

"Fucking Hell, I knew it was bad, but that's even worse than I had thought things might be." He barked out before taking a deep breath. "Regardless, even with Chaldea being in the state that it's in. That doesn't change the fact we have to address things in this singularity and resolve them."

A look of determination made its way onto Olga's face as she found her resolve. "You're right, Hawke; hence, as director, here are my orders. Romani informed me of a leyline nearby where you can summon your own servant. Despite your unique status, you also qualify as a potential master. We need another master alongside Fujimaru, if anything, to make resolving the current problems easier. Chaldea, at the moment, is not in a position to be too picky about things."

The green-eyed teen nodded his head in understanding. "Sounds like a plan to me. However, now that you know my unique status, I should go about reintroducing myself with my true name."

"How so?" Ritsuka wondered out loud.

"Hawke is my middle name, not my surname." Nathaniel looked at the others with a smirk.

"My true identity is Nathaniel Hawke Pendragon, son of Mordred."

AN: This idea was a brain worm that entered my head and refused to leave until I wrote something down about it. Honestly, the more I wrote this out, the more I loved this whole concept. Let's see where it goes.