108Chapter Three: Nothing as Expected
The Heroic Spirit, EMIYA, had come to the correct conclusion that this timeline was completely FUBAR.
To start off, he was summoned as a Saber… a Saber!
In his own version of the Fifth Grail War, back when he was Shirou Emiya, his future self was an Archer. Hell, in every version of the Fifth War he was summoned, he was an Archer. And any other crazy Grail War he was summoned in, EMIYA was an Archer.
Doesn't help that he wasn't even a heroic spirit but instead a counter guardian who was summoned thanks to a loophole and Rin's one of a kind Jewel acting as his catalyst
...Or that he lied through his teeth that he had amnesia.
Though the boosts to his base stats were very much appreciated, he kept all of his personal skills. And while losing Independent Action was disheartening, the boost to his Magic Resistance would come in handy. And don't even get him started on the conditional + modifier to his Eye of the Mind (True) that went into effect whenever he engaged in melee.
He damn near started dancing in pure joy that his luck wasn't E-Rank anymore.
Thankfully, the class switch didn't affect his ability to Trace in the slightest, in fact, the switch made Tracing even easier for him.
This also meant he could still Trace his bow, turn Noble Phantasms into arrows, and go full Archer whenever damn well pleased.
All this would make killing his past self all too easy.
Right now, it was good to be EMIYA...
[-]
Right now, it was not good to be EMIYA!
Almost immediately, things had gone to shit.
This timeline's version of himself obviously wouldn't turn into a Counter Guardian. Hell, he seemed more like a laidback delinquent, even had a habit of punching Shinji in the face.
That was fine.
Sakura was dating this timeline's Shirou.
That was great, she deserves some happiness after what he's seen in other timelines.
Artoria Pendragon -or at least someone that looked exactly like her, and had a magic core- was a Master in the Grail War.
What in the Nine Hells!?
She even went by the alias Artoria Griffiths…
There was no way she could be a Servant either, EMIYA would be able to tell at a glance if she was.
...He didn't even want to think which Servant she'd summon.
Knowing his luck… his new and oh so shiny D-Rank Luck, she'd probably summon Triston as Archer, or Mordred as Berserker.
Now, if he had his old E-Rank Luck, she'd have summoned Lancelot as Berserker, and everything would've gone to shit!
But that begged the question… Who was Archer?
What about the other Servants…?
He was Saber, hell knows who Archer is, and Artoria was alive so she sure wasn't getting summoned… unless it was some alternate version of her.
As his mind kept wandering his thoughts became more and more ridiculous. Just by him becoming Saber, everyone else's classes got switched around.
What was Gilgamesh a Caster now!?
EMIYA sighed, he'd cross that bridge when he got there…
[-]
He had reached the bridge, and god dammit he wished that he could burn the damn thing.
Cú Chulainn… was a Berserker!
One of the Masters of the Grail War was one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors! Which made even less sense since Nrvnqsr Chaos should've been the Tenth Ancestor, or at the very least Louvre… who should've died like a bitch a few hours after being appointed the Tenth.
And on the subject of this new version of the Tenth…
What the hell!?
Just what kind of monstrosity was that!?
EMIYA had seen some shit in his time as a Counter Guardian, but this…
It'd take Excalibur to bring that monster of twisted steel and flame down.
Mortal wounds meant nothing to it.
It had the strength to trade blows with Cú Chulainn's Warp Spasm.
It was an expert in pyromancy.
Interestingly enough it seemed rather attuned to the current era if that Resident Evil 2 reference was anything to go by. Which was his one -and probably only- hint that this Ancestor might bring in modern tech into the mix.
...Rin would have a god damned stroke.
And that trick he pulled with Gáe Bulg…
That wasn't Tracing.
EMIYA knew what Tracing was, he invented it!
That was not the act of copying a blade from Unlimited Blade Works using Projection.
No, EMIYA had Traced the Tenth's spear.
This… flaming blender on legs… he could recreate Noble Phantasms using his own body, and they were equal in Rank to the originals they were based on. It wasn't even a copy like his were, it was a completely new weapon made from the exact same materials, with the exact same purpose.
How utterly ridiculous.
Rin had asked him if he could win against such a monster…
He didn't want to be anywhere near it.
Not to mention the eerie feeling he got from just looking at it.
It was a feeling of familiarity, a strong one, like the answer was on the tip of his tongue but it just wouldn't come out.
That familiarity terrified him for some reason…
It was like a ghost from his past that came back just to haunt him.
So, here he was, with Rin, right in front of the door to the Emiya estate.
Predictably, he wasn't attacked by Saber... Artoria… whatever.
He felt the sensation of the old Bounded Field Kiritsugu set up...
Rin ringed the doorbell, and it opened soon after.
"Goddammit, Tiga, I swear if you-!" The person who answered the door cut himself off the moment he noticed who was at the door. "Oh, uhhh, my bad Tohsaka-san."
Rin stopped and stared, so did EMIYA in his spiritualized state.
Shirou… looked different than before.
All he wore was a pair of black sweatpants, and had a towel over his shoulders. The dampness of his hair made it obvious that he just got out of the bath.
But that wasn't what made them stare, and in Rin's case, white as a ghost.
He had a long scar going from the left side of his face to the right side of his hip, but that was just the most notable one. There were a few small scars around his chest and abdomen, even his arms weren't unscathed. His red hair had a few streaks of white in it.
His burning hazel eyes seemed to almost glow in the darkness of the night as they regarded Rin with a look of slight irritation.
He raised an eyebrow at Rin's silent staring. "Oi, something funny on my face?"
Rin let out a shaky breath. "Jesus… Shirou, what happened to you?"
Yes, EMIYA would've also liked to know the answer to that question!
This was not the look of a high school student, it was instead that of a battle-hardened warrior.
Not only that but he seemed to actually have a bit of white hair… was he dabbling in Projection!? Proper Projection!?
"Eh, what happened to me…?" He glanced at his scarred arms. "Ah… shit. Whatever, I'll… I'll explain this later. You're here about what happened at the school, right?"
"...Y-Yes."
"Alright, come on in, I was just about to start making dinner," Shirou as he walked back inside. "Leave your shoes by the door. Swear to God, if you track dirt in my house..."
"H-Hey!" Rin yelled, hurriedly taking off her shoes.
EMIYA stood there as a flustered Rin followed Shirou inside. With his back facing towards him, he could see the myriad of scars on the boy's back…
What kind of life was this Shirou living? Did he have a part-time job as a freelancer helping the Church hunting Dead Apostles or something?
The Servant sighed as he quickly materialized himself, closed and locked the door, then spiritualized himself once again just as quickly, and followed his Master into the house.
...This would be interesting.
[-]
The living room was quiet except for the sizzling of food being cooked, and the clanking of kitchen utensils.
EMIYA took notice of the few game consoles hooked up to the TV.
"So," Shirou broke the silence. "What version of the sob story did that Kotomine-san tell you."
"Sob story?" EMIYA asked Rin through their connection.
His Master remained silent for a few seconds. "He didn't me much. Only that the Church and the Magus Association had to get involved, you were let go with your memories of the event erased."
"My, oh my, you're really out of loop, aren't you?" He mocked.
"Then would you like to… correct my ignorance, Shirou Kusanagi?" Rin stressed his family name with a certain sharpness to her voice.
Kusanagi…? EMIYA hadn't heard that name in… well, he didn't even know how long.
Shirou let out a laugh. "Well, at least you know that much. What about my adopted father?"
"Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer, and the victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War."
Oh… she knew. How peculiar.
"O lala, you did your research, I'm flattered, Tohsaka-san," Shirou said in a condescending tone. "And for the record, yes, I'm a magus."
A third-rate failure of a magus, yes...
"Tell me Shirou, how involved are you in the Holy Grail War?" Rin asked.
That was a good question, Lanc- Berserker didn't kill Shirou, meaning Rin never healed him with her pendant. Berserker was sent back to his Master in a highly injured state, and probably too busy licking his wounds to try and kill him, meaning that he wasn't forced into the shed to summon his Servant.
Then that means…
"Oh, I'm a Master." He said bluntly.
Wait What!?
Rin did a spit-take. "What!?"
"That jackass priest talked me into it, and I saw it as an opportunity," Shirou admitted casually.
Rin looked at him as if he was an idiot… which he was. "So you let someone you know is a Master get close to you when I could've killed you!?"
Shirou leaned out of the kitchen. "Well, did you?"
Rin opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out…
Shit, he had a point.
Wait… did Shirou Emiya just win an argument with Rin… and with only three words.
...What kind of twisted, horrible reality had EMIYA entered?
"Anyway," He clapped his hands loudly. "Dinner's ready!"
Snap!
The sound of fingers snapping, it echoed throughout the entire house…
There was a sudden shift in the air.
Wait, no! That was the mana in it!
EMIYA felt his spiritualized body shift, and in an instant, he was forcefully materialized.
"H-Huh!?" He yelled in surprise.
His stats took a massive debuff; his Magic Resistance did absolutely nothing. The mana in the room wouldn't respond to him, it refused to be used by him.
Most of the Od in his body had been sucked out!
Hell, his connection to Rin was tampered with!
What was once a strong rope that bound them together was now a fragile string barely providing him with just enough Od to keep existing.
Now he was only a few times stronger than a regular human being.
How!?
EMIYA looked at Rin, she was breathing heavily, as if she ran an entire marathon. She stared wide-eyed at Shirou, who was still in the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to their predicament.
The sound of a door sliding open could be heard, followed by footsteps echoed throughout the hallway leading up to the living room.
The hallway was unnaturally dark, almost pitch black, but EMIYA could still make out a figure moving in the darkness.
The air grew tense as he, and his Master, began to quickly piece together what just happened.
The irony of Rin lecturing Shirou had not been lost on him. She all but straight up called him an idiot for letting an enemy Master into his house.
But in the end, they were the ones that walked right into a trap.
"Now, let me explain how you fell for this trick." Shirou began as he started setting up the table, putting a plate of… gratin down for both of them. "You know how Bounded Fields work, right?"
"Yes..." Rin answered, a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face, she was no doubt trying to figure out a way out of this predicament.
Shirou set two more plates down. "It involves one of the side-effects of creating one. Caster, if you would kindly."
The Servant in the hallway finally stepped into the room.
EMIYA's eyes widened, he knew very well who this was…
The black and blue dress she wore exposed her navel and abdomen, and the red tattoos along her body, including the one just below her collar bone. It trailed behind her as did her long, pale blonde hair. The dark veil covering her face, and the twisted, blue-tipped crown she wore only seemed to add to her mystique. She was quite a mature woman too considering the fullness of her assets, and her curvy figure.
She was like a beautiful flower wrapped in shadows.
Too bad he knew what was on the inside of the mask of otherworldly beauty. Hell, he might've given her some of his cooking if not for how evil she was.
This woman… this Servant…
Morgan le Fay, the older sister of Artoria Pendragon.
They were dealing, not only with a magus on par with Merlin himself, but the fae as well.
...Suddenly, the thought of fighting Medea again sounded a lot more preferable.
"My beloved little apprentice is rather adept at thinking… outside of the box." Her voice was melodious, and had the sharpness of a blade; yet still carried a hint of fondness.
Beloved!?
Wait, he was her what!?
"A simple trick on the senses, a gamble more than anything." She smirked in a way similar to the Caster that EMIYA knew. "The mark of a truly masterful Bounded Field is being completely undetectable, but even so, with logical deduction..."
She motioned towards Shirou.
"What absolute moron wouldn't have a Bounded Field set up?" Shirou said on cue.
"So, in order to… ease doubts, a secondary Bounded Field was set up just outside the real one." She continued.
Wait... then that means the one he felt as he entered the grounds was…
That clever little…!
And he wouldn't even have suspected another field after the first one either. Multi-layered Bounded Fields were incredibly complicated, time-consuming, and inefficient.
...But disguise a masterpiece with the work of a third-rate, and you wouldn't even question it. Hell, the concentration of mana in the area wouldn't be questioned either since mana takes time to dissipate.
"...So, we lose." Rin's voice seemed almost despondent.
"Eh? No, that'd just be pathetic." Shirou said, as he placed a plate down for Caster and himself. "The Einzberns achieved the record time for losing in the third war, getting dropped in just four days."
Well, at least he did more research into the Grail Wars than Rin ever did...
"I mean, sure, I'm kind of a sadist, but I'm nowhere near Kotomine-san's level of absolute emotional destruction," Shirou assured.
Alright, buddy, bring it back a bit…
"Anyway," Shirou turned to him. "Red, you sitting down and eating, or what?"
"Servants don't require food to sustain themselves," EMIYA stated.
"So what? I slaved over a hot stove to make this meal after nearly getting myself killed, you better well clean your plate."
Ah, culinary pride. Acceptable.
EMIYA sat down, and used the fork provided to take a bite, it met his standards. "Not bad. The food is fine Rin, it's not poisoned."
EMIYA could see the tic mark of irritation on Shirou's head. "Hmph, like I'd poison the food I serve, I have my pride, dammit!"
Pride…?
He really was different.
"Oi, Caster, you can free them from the field's effects, they won't try anything," Shirou commanded.
Caster absentmindedly waved her hand, almost immediately, EMIYA felt much stronger, and the bond between him and Rin returned to its former strength.
"How optimistic of you..." EMIYA chided.
"Eh, the moment you try something, Caster can reactivate the field."
"She still needs to activate it, meaning I'll still have time to do something to disrupt her from putting us back under its effects."
"Worst comes to worst, I can handle both of you just fine."
"Arrogance."
"Just confidence."
Their words weren't heated, there wasn't even much tension between them. They were gauging each other.
EMIYA looked into his eyes and saw fire, an absolute inferno on par with the one that Kiritsugu found him in.
...What did the boy see in his?
"A-Anyway," Rin finally interjected. "Why do you look normal when at school, Shirou?"
"The glove I wear on my left hand is an illusionary Mystic Code." He explained as he retrieved the baking dish used to make the gratin and placed it in the middle of the table. "I used to use makeup, but that was way too time-consuming."
A Mystic Code?
Caster must have made it for him, but that begs the question… how long did he have that glove?
"And… you're just letting us go?" Rin inquired.
"Yeah, another Master in this war has beef with the Tohsaka family, and I want no part of that business."
What? A Master that has a grudge against the Tohsakas? This was new.
So, not only had the Servants changed, but even the Masters too.
"...Another Master?" Rin whispered.
EMIYA didn't pay attention, his focus was on Caster.
...How the actual hell did he summon her!?
Sure, Avalon was practically the symbol of Arthurian legend barring Excalibur itself, and even the Round Table… but to summon the mastermind behind Camelot's destruction.
Unlike many, this version of Shirou Emiya already seemed to have a comprehensible education when it came to magecraft and actually had a proper understanding of the supernatural in general.
Not only that but seem to have gotten himself a suitable catalyst for the summoning.
Meaning he knowingly summoned Morgan.
While Artoria was here.
"So, did you figure out who Caster is, Saber?" Shirou asked him as he sat down next to his Servant, and began eating. "By all means, go on, share with the rest of the classroom."
EMIYA and Rin sheared a look, Caster perked up a bit.
The Counter Guardian sighed. "...Morgan le Fay, daughter of Uther Pendragon, sister to King Arthur. A magus so skilled and powerful that she's said to be Merlin's equal. A fairy of the lake, the evil polar opposite of Vivian, the Lady of the Lake."
Rin paled so hard, she invented a new shade of white.
Shirou stopped eating for a second.
Morgan's smirk fell, and her lips pursed into a thin line.
"Well, shit..." Shirou sat up straighter. "I didn't actually expect you to know, Superhero."
EMIYA felt a burning rage at the nickname. His eye twitched, but that was the only reaction he allowed himself.
Shirou smirked.
He noticed, damn…
"So, Morgan, you know him?" The scar-riddled teen asked his Servant.
"No..." Her voice held a coldness that wasn't there before. "I've never met such a man before."
Shirou shrugged. "Ah, he could be from an alternate reality then."
"An alternate reality?" Rin got her wits back. "That… that makes sense, the Wizard Marshall did help create the Grail."
"Of course, that means nearly anything being summoned is possible," Shirou added. "Hell, I'll take a shot in the dark and say that it's very likely that most Servants summoned in nearly every Grail haven't even been our reality's versions of those historical figures."
Both EMIYA and Rin paused at the information.
"But there's also the fact that the legend of the Servant is very integral to their existence when summoned, meaning things can get a little… messy on the way here due to fact and fiction, resulting in, quite frankly, absurdly powerful Servants."
"Well, that's certainly one explanation for how powerful Berserker was," Rin muttered under her breath. "Then what about the Tenth Ancestor?"
Shirou's eyes sharpened. "What about the Tenth?"
Oh… that was an interesting reaction. Did he have some history with it? It would certainly explain the scars.
EMIYA cleared his throat. "It seems that the Tenth is a Master in the Grail War, with Assassin as his Servant."
Shirou paused, he and Morgan shared a look (He still couldn't see her eyes from under that veil). The redhead smirked, his eyes gleaming with thinly veiled amusement.
"So, old Rust Bucket's back?" He snorted. "That explains the explosions while I ran like hell."
EMIYA's eyes narrowed. "You two know each other?"
"Something like that…"
He was hiding something…
"The priest would be able to give you the juicy details about him," Definitely hiding something. "Though, he's not the first of the Twenty-Seven to pay a visit to Fuyuki in the recent months."
EMIYA blinked. "There are more Ancestors in the city?"
"Gransurg Blackmore, number Sixteen, was the first of these visits," He informed. "The next was Altrouge Brunestud, number Nine, and her pet, Primate Murder, number One."
EMIYA's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Primate Murder was in the city!?"
He shrugged. "No one died."
"I find that extremely unlikely."
EMIYA glanced at Rin, who began to pale as the conversation went on.
"They're still here too."
"What…?" Everyone turned to Rin, she wore that smile she always had when she was absolutely furious… but she was shaking as if absolutely terrified.
"You'll be fine, just stay clear of the gothic lolita black hair, red eyes, and probably a monstrous wolf-like creature with antler-like horns following her. She's only here to watch the Grail War for entertainment."
Rin took a deep breath. "I… need to have a talk with that fake priest."
Her tone promised anything but a civil conversation.
"I'll drive you to the Church, I gotta drop off something there too," Shirou said absentmindedly.
Rin gave Shirou a deadpan look. "Drive? In what, some cheap bicycle?"
[-]
Shirou gave Rin a rather smug look as he slowly rode out of the shed in his backyard on a motorcycle. The near deafening roaring of the engine was the only thing that made a sound as everyone stared at him.
Rin gave Shirou a look. "Emiya-san, where did you get that?"
"My legal guardian is the granddaughter of a yakuza boss who's bike I do repairs and tune-ups for," Shirou said as he looked at the motorcycle with pride. "He imported it from America and gave it to me as a gift when I came back, it's a Harley Davidson."
EMIYA took one look at it. "You turned it into a Mystic Code."
Shirou laughed. "Morgan and I gave this baby so many enhancements, it might as well be a Mystic Code."
Rin looked at the bike apprehensively. "Uhhhh… I'm not too sure about this Shirou."
"Tohsaka-san, the church is an hour walk away from here, I ain't got time for that." He slipped on a black leather jacket that he brought out of the shed. "Now, you can accept my generous offer, or I can leave your pretty little ass here."
Rin's face turned red from anger and a bit of embarrassment. "I- you… Gah! Fine!"
She hopped onto the bike, sitting behind him with her arms crossed.
Shirou looked over his shoulder, giving her an annoyed stare, "You going to grab onto something, or do you think you can fly?"
Rin, still with her arms crossed, gave him an equally annoyed stare and replied, "I'll be fine, just don't crash this thing and kill us both."
The smug look he gave her was all the warning she got before Shirou floored it.
"Eep!" Rin let out a surprised (and girlish) yelp, grabbing onto Shirou and instantly closing the gap between them as they rode off to crush a sadistic priest.
EMIYA stared where his Master and alternate version of himself once were.
"...What the hell kind of Grail War did I get myself into?"
Chapter End.
