Chapter 1: To the Orient!

"On such a grand stage, they're all like backdrops to me."

My friend answered me. It was a horrid answer, an unacceptable one. In spite of my hopes, I knew already that this would be his response. Before I could speak my own conclusion, another beat me to it. A young woman with messy orange hair and amber eyes filled with determination. "Then that settles it! We're going with you!" Words taken straight out of my mouth; I nodded my head in agreement.

"You truly are despicable, Ernest. Those magi in England have no bearing on you here, no in fact, they never held any sway with you to begin with, so why do you still share their mindset?" A blonde man in a crisp white suit, he looked the handsome hero ladies would swoon, but his mind would make them hurl. Ernest, my friend, looked towards me, a dead look in his eyes and lacking any remorse, stated his answer.

"I have seen what the other magi are capable of. I have heard of the terrors the apostles wrought. My own magic allows me to puppet the dead and do with them as I please. In this world, there is no hope for plebians without the power or pedigree needed to do so much as conjure a simple ember." Ernest turned and stared off to the rising sun. In the town of Salem, Massachusetts, on that morning, Ernest declared his resolve to the rising dawn.

"Only those that are special deserve to live."

…

"Only those that are loved, those that are chosen, those that are strong, they are the only ones who deserve to be saved."

…

And so, with a mournful blast of ocean wind, the trio set off for their journey.

"Sh*t F*ck! Just take it down already!"

At the same time, across the pond, A man with long black hair in a black suit and a hooded hooded with gray locks sat in front of a flat screen tv and black box lined with slowly shifting rainbow lights. With the fury of clicking and typing matched only by some enraged god of war, the man created account after account, wrote complaint after complaint, made claim after claim and did everything in his sleep deprived mind he could do to get it removed.

A calamity that was waiting to happen. Something so dangerous that it could upend the world's order and devolve everything into chaos. A tragedy only HE could fix because HE was the ONLY magus of power that kept up with THEM.

THE YOUTUBERS

It is the year 2013, November 1st to be precise.

The update designated as 1.7.2 for Minecraft, a popular game that features the mining and crafting of materials and resources, had been released, and somehow people had already begun making mods for it. It didn't make sense. It should have taken at least a month for them to make the next version of the mod management system, Forge, but it had been only a little over a week and not only had it been released, but mods by the dozen were being released and developed. All made by one account, one alone was the source of the calamity.

"Kool Zany Sorceries v2.13 beta"

A mod that was the end all be all magic mod for Minecraft. It mimicked the style and format of the other magic mods, but the knowledge within was akin to an instruction guide to the inner workings of magecraft, starting with elements and od, and then working up to more complex topics like projection, and even branching out to the various foundations. The information in it was detailed and only locked away by the progression the player made in completing tasks.

By pulling strings, the man had the mod excised from the forums, and he had now gone through the laborious process of claiming copyright infringement on every channel that uploaded videos covering the mod. Truly, the man's only saving grace is that the mod was glitchy and often would get corrupted seemingly at random. It was for that reason that the man had hope. So long as he could remove all video and publicly posted content of the mod, the bouts of corruption would be enough to die down any lingering knowledge while it was still new and fresh.

There still existed though a mounting dread. The man's name was El-Melloi the Second, formerly known as Waver Velvet, and as the head and current "biggest earner" of his house, he was responsible for making sure the books stayed in the green. Said method of income, however, had been shifted away from typical investments and deals, and wandered into the territory of online sponsors.

Simply put…

Lord El-Melloi II and his gray-haired assistant were YOUTUBERS and already their subscribers were clamoring for him to get his hands on and showcase the mod. As the current number one "Showcase, Explanation, and Guide" channel on YouTube (and not just for Minecraft!) the recent controversy fueled interest and endless comments flooded his channel every day following its release. Through sponsorship deals and annual income, El-Melloi II made several millions each year and rivaled even the most popular of Youtubers. Their channel, "Case Files" had started out originally as posts on a website known for "Lets Plays" and later shifted to video format on YouTube as it became more popular.

The gray-haired woman next to him, while concerned about the exposure of magecraft, had another pressing concern in mind. "Sir, shouldn't you be worried about being chosen for the upcoming Holy Grail War?" It was a valid question. El-Melloi was a well-renowned teacher at the Clocktower, and with his moonlighting as a youtuber, had the capital to back it up, even if he himself was only average at magecraft. For that reason, in addition to having previously participated, made it so that his choice was not unlikely.

"Bah, participating in that bloodbath would give me a heart attack. Some other foolish lord can get himself killed." Even as he said that, a certain red cloth weighed upon him in his mind. The gray woman responded. "I'll go check our mail…"

Now, for somewhere completely different!

A woman with long hair white as snow and eyes as crimson as jewels, sat down comfortably into her first-class seat. Beside her sat small child with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cute teddy bear. "This is all so amazing big sis! We're like a bird in the sky!" The girl was one who had never seen the wonders of the modern day. Having lived a simple life in a simple town in America, it was only thanks to her new big sister that she was able to witness such amazing things.

"Hmph, it's not that big of a deal."

Is what the woman said outwardly, but in truth she was excited about the trip as her new-found little sister. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll even get to meet your big brother!" The younger girl turned to the snow woman, stars in her eyes. "Really!?" With a nod the snow woman grew a blood thirsty grin. "Yep! And do you remember what we'll do to him?" The girl in turn nodded as well. "Cut off his hands for theft! And if he lies about it, cut off his tongue for lying about it! And if he looks at you funny, tear his eyes out to save his heart!" If the two had been paying attention, they would have noticed the concerned onlookers staring at them, wondering whatever the poor man had done to have deserved such treatment from his sisters.

About forty feet back, behind a door, a man in red sitting next to a woman in red, sneezed.

The woman grumbled out a "bless you" before going back to longingly staring to the side seats, where a row of people sat, the last one himself staring out the window. Due to most of her budget going towards expensive jewels for her and her companion's upcoming trip, she had decided to skimp on the airfare. Having to do a layover in Germany and have less than pleasant seating was necessary sacrifice. Sitting in the middle column in third class wasn't the best feeling, but one she was willing to put up with, and at the very least she got an edge seat unlike her companion. "Rin, I think someone on board here wants to kill me." She shot him a look. "Are you serious, Shirou?" He shook his head. "I guess not, maybe it was Taiga cursing me out for not cooking for her for so long." Rin grimaced. "Jeez, that lady was always a walking disaster. Heh, I wonder how she'll did your new look, Mr. Hero?"

Shirou frowned. From pushing his body to its limits and running his magical circuits ragged, his once red hair had turned white, and after his trip to the middle east, his skin had a healthy tan to it. Whenever his yakuza sister finally saw him, she would probably scream "Shirou! What happened to you!? Did Rin finally turn you into a hoodlum and start a gang in London!?" Now that he thought about it, what would Sakura think? What would Shinji think? What Ayaka and Issei and all the others think when they saw him, or rather, IF they saw him?

"Well, Taiga will definitely know something's up if she sees me snooping around my dad's old house. She promised me she wouldn't let anyone touch it while I was gone. With any luck she'll just think some kids stole some stuff." Rin narrowed her eyes. "You can go there once to get whatever you need, after that we're holing up in my mansion until we get everything 'settled'." Shirou sighed. "Yes, yes, I know Rin. Fixing up your old, haunted house is priority number one." Rin blushed. "It's not a haunted house and you know it!" Shirou laughed. "Hah, tell that one to Issei."