-Chaldea Security Organization Records: Data log entry, July 30, 2015-
Program running: Introductory combat simulation for incoming Masters.
Subject: Ritsuka Fujimaru
Master Candidate #48
Servants selected: Saber, Lancer, Archer
Life support status:
Magical circuit condition: normal, activation within safe limits
Heart rate: 72 bps, stable
Blood pressure-
ALERT.
Life support anomaly detected.
Neurological readings indicate-
ERROR
Program running: 0xFFFFFFF NULL
MN0X000084342309184
######ERROR#####ERRORERROR60302147OVERRUN214701
5468697320697320746865207761792074686520776F726C6420656E6473
If anyone else had been present in Chaldea's simulation system at that time, they might have seen two figures standing together upon what had been a mock battlefield mere moments ago.
The first was an entity as airy and ephemeral as the wind, less of a physical being and more of a presence in the mind. The second was a young man with black hair and fair skin clad in a white uniform that contrasted with his black formal pants and shoes, his blue eyes staring with some confusion at the there/not there presence that had manifested in front of him.
"You are here to restore order to my world." Its voice was not something heard so much as felt, the "sound" resembling some kind of celestial instrument unlike anything mankind had ever produced.
The man's confusion only deepened further. "Restore order how? What is this? Who are you, anyway?" This was supposed to be a simple battle simulation, meant to show the prospective Master the basics of how to handle Servants in combat as a Master. He thought he had been doing a good job too, but before he could receive his evaluation this…being appeared before him.
"My name is of no importance. You need only know that there will be great hardship on the road ahead. But do not fear. The world will guide you in ways you cannot imagine."
"What does that even mean? What are you even talking about?" The man had so many questions he didn't even know where to start.
"You shall learn when the time is right. For now, you must awaken. Your destiny awaits."
And then everything around them dissolved into light.
Author's notes: First, thank you for taking the time to look at my particular spin on the story of Fate/Grand Order. My writing is nowhere near Nasu's level and probably never will be, but at the bare minimum I hope this can be something that will be able to stand at least among the other prominent works of FGO fanfic…or at least avoid being an object of derisive laughter. Perhaps a total rewrite/reimagining of the entire plot of FGO is biting off more than I can chew, but let nobody say I did not try.
Second, it should be noted that while for the most part this story will adhere relatively closely to the canon sequence of events at first, there will be multiple divergences from canon starting from after the events of Fuyuki onward. You'll know what they are when I get to them, I'm not quite stupid enough to spoil my own story before it's even properly begun (not to mention that it may end up diverging further by accident depending on how the main canon story ends up developing- while irritating, it is an acceptable risk).
Anyway, this work assumes you've played through the main story of FGO up to its most recently released chapters (Ordeal Call 1 in Japan, as of this writing), so if you haven't done that you should probably read it now or parts of this story won't make much sense. It'll be focused primarily on Gudao/Ritsuka's viewpoint for the most part, so in general if he doesn't have a way of knowing about it in-universe I won't say it here- of course, exceptions will apply for the more significant story events as well as those events that are likely to be affected by my divergences.
But for clarity's sake, I'll list a few of the alterations that might not be readily apparent in the plot, would not be spoilers to explain, or are not quite as likely to be revealed directly:
The Servants' appearances seem random in-universe, but in reality there is a discrete order to their summoning. As a rule, a Servant must have been met either as an ally or an enemy before it can be summoned. While Alters and some Spirit Origins (e.g. Cu and Caster Cu) are able to exist independently from one another, some of them (such as the majority of Swimsuit Servants) are simply their original versions in alternate forms. Changing between them is akin to a human changing their clothes.
Servants' memories are preserved to varying degrees. As is the case with canon, events that occur in Singularities, or which have had a significant emotional/psychological impact on the Servant, are far more easily remembered. However, their other memories, while not always accessible or available only as records, are never truly lost and can be recalled more vividly with the correct stimuli.
Third, there will be some more racy stuff farther in because even if Nasu would like to deny that Fate started off as an eroge, I am under no obligation to follow his lead. That being said, I will mark the chapters where sex is involved with "Eclipse" (like in Hollow Ataraxia) and provide the relevant tags for them within their prefaces. Additionally, the sex scenes themselves will be preceded and followed by a line of hash signs should you wish to read the chapter while skipping the sex scenes. As I plan to work elements of character development into said chapters, I would advise doing that rather than skipping them outright.
That's all I have to say for now, so relax and enjoy the story. Oh, and do pardon the erratic update schedule. I'll try to make each entry good enough to justify the wait.
As for this particular entry...well, did you ever stop to think why exactly Ritsuka just so happened to fall asleep at the exact time and place needed for him to meet Mash?