Author's Note: The only character that belongs to me is The Fixer, every other recognizable character and situation belongs to their respective owner. I'm doing this for practice not to make money.

Standing in an endless expanse of stars and faintly luminescent mist was a man. Dressed in a long dark hooded coat all that could be seen of him was a slight smile as he spoke to seeming nothingness.

"So, we are agreed?" asked the hooded and smirking man.

We are agreed. You may ask my guardian and make your offer. You may not tell him of what he will receive in the bargain unless he accepts. A feminine, yet slightly mechanical, voice responded

"You sure about that? He would be more likely to accept if he heard about the benefits before hand," said the man.

I lose nothing if he does not accept. Your theory is sound, but I would be….. wroth to lose my most effective weapon except for the fact that he could break our contract if he truly chose to, the voice responded.

"Fair enough, you will have to provide access though. Jumping through the multiverse i can do, but entry to a soul isn't something I can do on a whim," the smirking man said.

Go and make your offer Fixer, said the mechanical voice as the world faded and the mist expanded.

As the mist spread out giant gears appeared in the sky and a barren wasteland spread out before the Fixer. Sprouting from the ground as far as the eye could see were weapons: swords, spears, axes, and the occasional shield. One of the few changes to the landscape was a hill where a pair of glowing swords and an ornate scabbard rested at the peak. Next to these sat a log with a man sitting on it, golden eyes staring at the hooded man. He was obviously tall even while sitting with short hair more grey than would be expected from the younger looking face, and wore a skin tight outfit of black and a tan cloak wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

"How exactly did you get here, and who are you?" the man asked.

"You can call me Mr. Johnson, and your boss let in," the hooded man replied.

The golden eyed man smirked and replied sarcastically, "Oh it did, did it. Are you the job then, or am I being subcontracted?"

"Nope, got a job opportunity for you. Your boss okayed it, but it is up to you in the end," Mr. Johnson said.

"Sounds a bit different from my usual vacations out of here, and you came to me rather than summoned me out. I'm listening," the man said.

"Some background information for you. I get to jump around to the various multiversal timelines and find new an interesting ways to meddle and see what happens when things are changed. I get to make alterations or bargains, or make them between other people," the man explained.

The white haired man asked, "So are you here to make a bargain with me, because I am already stuck after the last one I made."

"Not quite," the Fixer answered, "I am here to play intermediary in a pact. Between you and someone outside of the timelines you can normally access."

The white haired man cocked his head and asked, "And how exactly does that work?"

"Something I picked up in another verse. An entity outside of the dimension can offer power to a person in exchange for something. The details are up to two making the pact," replied the fixer.

A white eyebrow lifted and the man asked, "You want me to give someone power. At what point did you make the mistake that I had power?"

The man in the hoods smirk intesnsified and he said, "Don't try and bullshit me. You have power, it may be specialized, but it is still power. What I want to do is see what someone else with that power would do in the situations they find themselves in."

"Some of these blades should not be used by anyone," the golden eyed man said with those eyes hardening.

The Fixer waved a hand and said, "You misunderstand. I don't want them to have access to the armory. I want them to have access to your skills, and maybe build their own armory. My thought was making a subsection of this place specifically for the person you form a pact with."

The hardness left the golden eyes to be replaced with thoughtfulness before the man said, "I'm not sure I know of anyone that I would trust with this ability."

"That's my point. I can go to places you can't and make the offer," Fixer responded.

"Am I to assume you have someone already picked out," was said with another raised white brow.

"I have a few ideas. Does that mean you are interested?" Fixer asked.

"I get to choose the terms?" he asked.

"To an extent. There will be a few requirements for me to be able to adjust it for the way other realities work, but other than that yes. I have a few suggestions, but in the end it is your decision," Fixer answered.

"Will I know what they do with this power?"

Fixer nodded, "Yes, similar to the dream cycle you are already familiar with, you will be able to see what they did. Also a standard clause in the contract is terms that allow you to terminate the contract."

"Then yes, I'm interested. It will relieve the boredom," he said.

Fixer's smirk became a grin as he said, "Then the bargain is made and now I get to explain the benefits to you. Sorry, but your boss didn't want me to influence the choice."

The golden eyes hardened again before Mr. Johnson waved him down and explained, "Part of the bargain is that you will get vacation time from your duties. You will be able to incarnate into a timeline outside of your boss's influence as you were before you died. Until you pass in that life you are free to live as you choose. Each 13 jobs and you get a vacation. You call on me and I'll give you your choice of timelines and provide a background so you don't have to deal with the legalities of dropping in out of nowhere."

Shock was the only thing that could describe the look on the tanned face as he said, "Vacation?"

"Yup, I pointed out to your boss that humans operate best when they have time off to decompress. Of course all you get to do here is brood and dwell on past choices," Fixer said with a smile.

"What does the boss get out of this?" the man asked.

"Some of the timelines my suggestions for pact holders have a number of situations that are at cross purposes with her mission. There is also a bit of multiversal bullshit where the destruction of a reality bleeds over and infects adjoining timelines," Fixer said.

"So you plan to empower people in those realities to prevent that destruction, and the boss allows it to keep it from affecting those she is responsible for," the gold eyed man said.

"That's the gist, granted you don't get to incarnate into the same exact timeline as someone you make a pact with. Can't have you stepping in on their challenges," Fixer said.

"But what about alternates to that timeline," was asked.

"You know, she didn't mention anything about that," Fixer said with another smirk.

"Will my magecraft work the same in those worlds?" the white haired man asked?

"Yes and no, how you use it won't change; but like those you make a pact with you will have a filter to convert the ambient energy to something your circuits can handle. Downside is you have to use your old name," Mr. Johnson said.

"Can't I pick a different name," the man asked.

"Sorry Shirou, but altering reality to accept a new existence requires a true name," Fixer replied.

"In here, call me Archer," Archer interjected.

"Well Archer, do you want to see a snapshot of your first candidate?" Fixer asked.

"What do you mean?" Archer asked.

Mr. Johnson reached into a pocket of his coat and pulled out a rune engraved stone bowl that grew to the size of a punch bowl as he laid it on the log next to Archer. Reaching his finger up to his temple he pulled strands of grey shimmering mist out and dropped it into the bowl as he explained, "This is an item, a Magic Code in your terminology, that allows one to view memories like a movie. Touch the liquid and tell me what you think."

Archer reached out and dipped a finger into the pensieve and witnessed much, when he exited the memories he asked, "After all this what more could my talents provide?"

Fixer shook his head, "No, that was to give you an insight into the person. My intention is to offer them the pact in the beginning of their journey."

"You care less about their fate, and more about their story?" Archer asked with a bit of heat.

"A bit of both actually. It's like that old saying: It's not the destination, it's the journey," Fixer said.

"Make the offer, if they go for it we can set the details," Archer said.

Fixer placed a set of memories into the pensieve and said, "Here are a few other potentials. I'll return soon."

As Archer placed his hand into the pensieve again, Fixer faded from view.