number of events took place during the course of the following three months. One was the disappearance of the Irisviel decoy in the Clock Tower. As it became clear from the Einzbern's investigation the decoy was taken out of the frame for being too "nosy". Understandably this was planned by the Einzbern to prolong the Association from finding out Yggdmillennia's involvement of the theft of the Great Grail.
Shortly after that incident a number of agents of the Clock Tower was sent to the location the Association assumed to be the excavation sight of Pandoras Box. However even they never received word of what happened to them. The Ainsworth had always been ridiculed by the Magical Community, a mistake that they rectified by sending in an elite group but all they found, or rather didn't, was the entire Ainsworth family gone from the face of the Planet. It was assumed that they disappeared into Imaginary Number Space but nobody was sure about that.
Then just two months before the Holy Great Grail War was supposed to take place a group of fifty elite agents of the Association entered Romania under the order of reclaiming the Greater Grail. It was expected of them to become aware that the Grail was in Yggdmillennia's possession but what the Clock Tower wasn't aware of was that all the agents sent with the exception of one were eliminated. The last member of the Group was sent back to announce that the Yggdmillennia have decided to split from the Association and declared war against the Magical Community.
Now the stage was set for Yggdmillenia to summon their remaining Servants.
::: Part C End :::
The summoning was done. Before the throne were the last three remaining Servants of the Black Faction. On the throne was the father of Romania, the Lord Impaler himself, Vlad Tepes III sitting while his Master Darnic stood beside it and addressed his fellow members of the faction. To his right was the Caster of their faction, a Kabbalist by the name of Avicebron. A man shrouded in mystery, dressed in purple garbs and his face covered with a golden mask, yet an integral part of their factions strength. The Lancer Class Servant was about to stand up and address his comrades-to-be when Rider decided to shim in.
"Hey, hey! Can I have your attention please?" the pink haired Rider yelled smiling brightly at their fellow servants "I guess we should introduce ourself since we are all going to work together! I'm Astolfo one of Charlemagne's twelve paladins! It's nice to meet you!"
A moment of silence followed and Lancer sighed at the youths enthusiasm. The other Servants, namely Archer and Berserker looked at the Rider with raised eyebrows. Archer was a tall man wearing tunics and brown hair that flowed down his back while Berserker was a young lady dressed like a bride with red hair covering her eyes.
Astolfo of course invaded Archer's personal space, making the man sigh before giving his Master Fiore a glance. She nodded and he gave his short answer to Rider "My name is Chiron, my class is Archer." satisfied with his answer the youth then turned to Berserker who simply groaned at Rider's attempts to hold a conversation with her as well as her displeasure that the paladin asked her Master for her name. He caught off guard revealed her name to be Frankenstein's Monster but shut his mouth when the bride showed her teeth.
But seeing as the time for introductions has arrived the gates to the summoning chamber were pushed open by the combat maids of the Einzbern, followed by Irisviel von Einzbern who bowed and greeted everyone present before moving aside with a wide yet respectful smile on her lips as a figure dressed in blue and silver and a red cape draped around their shoulders entered the room. It was a combat dress in blue with silver armour covering their body and hands and a single sheathed sword at their side. The scabbard was of intricate design with blue and red patches with golden lines combining it into a work of art.
The Servant stood before all present, forest green eyes ,slightly covered by blond hair, looking over their comrades before falling onto the leader of the Black Faction. Lancer's eyes met the Servant's, both acknowledging one another with a single short nod.
"I am the Saber Class Servant in service of the Black Faction" the knight muttered taking the sword, pointing it downwards and taking its hilt with both hands, and thrusting it onto the ground with a resounding boom followed by a gust of wind that made the cape flutter "My true name is Arthur Pendragon."
Silence followed that reveal. That and the shocked expression that started to form on everyone presents faces. Lancer got up from his seat showing his own presence "Greetings Saber, no, King Arthur. My name is Vlad Tepes III, I am of the Lancer Class in this Great Grail War. As a fellow king I welcome you to our factions, the same can be said to the others who have joined us for the coming battle against the Red Faction."
The King of Knights nodded at the greetings, choosing this moment Astolfo addressed the king "Huh, I didn't know that the famed King of Knights was a woman." said King turned her eyes to the Rider, making the youth jump slightly. Archer sighed at the display and shook his head while a tired smile formed on his lips. Everyone wasn't really shocked at the summoning of the fabled King, that was a real possibility considering that this was indeed a War that famed heroes were summoned to fight into, the thing that shocked everyone at the King's arrival was her appearance. Probably an illusion that was done by the legendary Magician Merlin.
"I am surprised as well. I wasn't aware that one of Charlemagne's fames Paladins was one as well." the King answered but was met with a blank stare of the knight in front of her.
"Huh?" Astolfo looked at her with a confused expression, tugging at the skirt of his outfit.
"Hm?" The King of Knights stared at Rider.
"I'm a man though."
"…" Arthur looked at the Paladin with a confused look "Pardon my bluntness but you are dressed like a woman…so I assumed…"
"Nah, well, uhm…I, actually I just like to wear cute clothes…" the pink haired youth admitted while the entire audience was silent. In fact everyone but Rider's Master and Archer looked as if something hit their face with a wet towel. Breaking that silence however was a chuckle that seethed into the room before becoming an outright bowl of laughter.
"Irisviel" Saber voiced with a strained voice while she turned around to her Master who was slowly falling over from laughter. The knight quickly rushed to her side to catch her before she hit the ground. The Einzbern was laughing in such a way that was actually rather infectious, prompting some of the people -Lancer and Darnic would obviously deny it- to join in.
"Oh geez!" Astolfo complained raising both arms and nearly throwing a tantrum while Saber and Archer shared a look, the knight silently asking the sage to making the paladin stop before the damage was irreparable. Archer answered the plea and put his hand on Rider's shoulder.
"Please calm down Rider, its not like Saber or her Master wanted to insult you." the pinkette seemed to accept that yet he still puffed his cheeks when Lady Irisviel didn't seem to stop her giggling. When the woman finally calmed down she gave Rider an apology and a bright smile that was as innocent as a child's and the pinkette accepted it with a slight groan.
"I was just surprised by your bluntness Saber. I seem to remember you saying something similar earlier so it caught me by surprise." at those words the Knight seemed to redden slightly before she helped her Master stand more comfortably and join the others in the round circle of the summoning chamber.
Puzzled by that action Caules looked at his Uncle Gordes who stood to the offside of the room as if he was in the lookout for something or another. Instead of sitting around and not understand the others plans, since they never shared them with him in the fullest detail, he voiced his concerns "What exactly are we still doing down here? I thought that now that the Servants are summoned we are going to regroup and wait for the Red Servants to show up."
His question was met with tense silence from his grandfather, something that rarely happened and it was surprising to see the man changing his mood so suddenly. Darnic addressed the other Masters and Servants, clearly looking at Rider with a look that didn't leave room for disrespectful behaviour, to which the youth shuddered visibly.
"To answer your question Caules, we are waiting for the Ainsworth. Julian has informed me that he was to bring forth his Servant within the Box before he wanted to join with us. Since Irisviel has joined us it is safe to assume that he succeeded and that the Assassin he wanted to summon has answered his call." he looked at the Einzbern who smiled warily and nodded.
"Indeed. The summoning was a success but the Heroic Spirit in question is-" she wasn't about to finish her sentence as an aura of utter dread and terror seethed through every corner of the room. It was such an oppressively large presence that only the Servants were able to move to their Masters side to help them stay on their feet -or n Fiore's case stop her from falling from her chair-. But as quickly as the presence came it disappeared just as abruptly.
"Wha-" Caules started before the voice of Rider overshadowed his.
"What the hecky was that?!"
Silence
And the paladin shut his mouth. A dark presence has appeared in the room, a cloak figure accompanied by Julian Ainswroth standing beside it. It was large, a large cloaked figure with a white skull covering its face and blue flames escaping out of the sacks of the skull. In its hands was a sword so large yet not even neared the size of the figure.
"Rider of Black, Astolfo, I can forgive your rudeness since your sanity is only lost until the New Moon. Should you remain impolite during that time I am Inclined to perform disciplinary actions on you, understood." the figure said, not with a threatening tone but also no kindness. The Rider of course nodded his head in quick succession before it hid behind Archer. Caster meanwhile, in the back of the room, seemed to fidget under the blue flamed gaze of the skull bearer.Inclined to perform disciplinary actions on you, understood." the figure said, not with a threatening tone but also no kindness. The Rider of course nodded his head in quick succession before it hid behind Archer. Caster meanwhile, in the back of the room, seemed to fidget under the blue flamed gaze of the skull bearer.
"If I may?" Julian addressed his Servant, who neither looked at him nor acknowledged the question. Taking that as a good sign the boy proceeded to introduce the figure "May I present to you Hassan-i-Sabbah, the first old man of the Mountain. Out of respect for the Grimm Reaper of the Hassasin I wish everyone to either Adress him as King Hassan or Grand Assassin."
"Julian" the Servant spoke making the boy nearly wince until he felt the Assassin's hand, a very large hand, pat his head "Fear not child. For your Sacrifice I will follow you onto the battlefield." The skull lit up once again and an armoured hand reached out of the robe and around the blade "I shall join you for this War."
"I see" Julian muttered while the other Masters met his eyes. His eyes met his sisters who had entered through the gates unlike Julian and her eyes reflected his resolution. He turned to Darnic and Lancer who summoned his spear and pierced the ground right in the middle of the chamber. The boys eyed the action in confusion until he realized that Vlad held a warm smile on his lips.
Saber left her Master's side, giving her a warm look and a smile, joining the defacto leader of their group. King Arthur lifted his scabbard before unsheathing Caliburn and pierced the sword not directly in front of Lancer's Spear but slightly to the side into the pavement. A gentle smile ghosted on her lips.
Grand Assassin lifted his sword and let the robes around his body burn in a brilliant blue flame showing the black armour beneath. He turned to Julian with a nod that the boy returned -and a smile on his lips at the acknowledgement of his Servant- then joined the Kings in the middle of the chambers where King Hassan mirrored Saber and thrust it into the ground.
Understanding this action Archer summoned his bow and arrow and shot the place beside the holy Sword before joining the Kings. Chiron smiled at his Master who also seemed to understand what was going on.
Not wanting to be left out Rider cheerfully joined the circle, while also completely ignoring his gaffing Master. Astolfo then summoned his lance and pointed the tip right next to Vlad's spear and Chiron's arrow.
On the other side of the gathering Berserker strode forward, huffing at her Master before throwing her mace in full swing right next to King Hassan's sword, not accidentally breaking the ground beneath it.
And Caster, who to this point remained quiet watched the spectacle. He understood what was expected of him and the eager glances of his young Master and student egged him forward to join the Servants, the heroes, in their little circle. Avicebron took his place beside Vlad holding out a shard of his Magecraft which glowed violet.
"From this point forth" Vlad began is voice booming throughout the chambers, so loud and clear as if it could reach the heavens itself "We are the united front of the Black Faction. We are the heroes who will deliver glory to our names and defeat the Servants of Red!"
"Let them come." Arthur joined, her voice just as powerful as the Vlad's "And let them fail! Defeat will be delivered by our swords. Let their spirits be broken by our spears and Let us fight together in this Great Grail War to fulfill the desires in our hearts and souls!"
"Thus our union shall triumph!" King Hassan announced, his voice the heaviest and yet the gentlest. Each Servant carried a smile, grin or a visage that reflected their resolve. From this point forth the dice was cast to a war unlike any other.
::: Prologue End :::
Now hands of the Black Union joined together, lead by the trinity of Kings. The Lord Impaler, the King of Knights and the King of Hassassin. Joining them are the great sage of the centaurs, the scholar of life and the charitable youth. Now, what destiny might await the girl who ought to be a bride?
::: Alliances are forged by those who knew only hardships :::
"I became too greedy."
"What do you mean?"
"I wanted to create a situation that could give all the parties a happy end but I overdid it."
"Meaning? It's not like you changed the rules of the Grail, right?"
"No, but I know that changing just a single variable can throw everything off. I should have only attempted to change variable "x" instead of changing "n" you know?"
"…You're talking about Sieg…"
"Siegfried wasn't summoned in this War. The Homunculus wasn't found yet. He exists but his name will not be Sieg. What will become of him is the biggest mystery of them all."
"So no looking into the future then. Sure the boy won't have the same fate as before but him being the "x" in this equation sounds a little contrived doesn't it?"
"I know what I did. I made the Einzbern aware of the Yggdmillennia, and I brought the Ainswoth over from a completely different possibility…and now look at it. Its like the Lord of Logic is spiting on my very head just to mock me."
"That many uncertainties?"
"If it was only that. You know that if you create a ripple, that it will eventually stop but I created too many, and each one will become a wave that stirs the possibilities into the same direction as before the change."
"You mean, some things won't change and everyone will meet the same fates as before."
"Of course not. But some of them will go through similar as before the change and I pray to god that it can at least become bittersweet instead of a nightmare."
"Well, as you used to say: It's in their hands now. Nothing we can do about it but watch and enjoy."
"Hmpf. I hate you."
"You're welcome."
:: To be continued ::
A/N so the reason why I did this story is simple. Fate Apocrypha is currently my favorite Fate series and the only one I watched after Fate/Zero burned me, because I knew of it beforehand (with with Strange/Fake and both works are written by guys I kinda like too which makes this doubly hurtful to me) and because I liked the characters in this show the most.
I admit that this story might be a little strange since there will not be a Kiritsugu or Ilya. This story takes place in a timeline in which Kerry became Heroic Spirit Emiya, so no Kerry and no Ilya, sorry.
Besides that I want to give the Black Faction at least a fighting chance since they are the team of Royal power and Team Red the rebels...or something similar but anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this little side project of mine and that you will leave a review to tell me what could be better aór what you enjoyed the most.
Heck I'm even encouraging you to come up with neat ideas yourself aka give you the right to leave speculations behind.
Well then, please R&R and see you next time!
Yours dear,
Sha Yurigami