Hello, Fate fandom! How are thee in their quest to live thy life? Good, I hope. This is the first time I purely dabble in Fate fanfiction. I hesitate to even publish this since my knowledge on the Nasuverse is fairly limited. Thus if I have any mistakes do excuse it, and if you want it to be fixed then do so with a friendly and critical attitude! XD

Anyway, here ya go!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

WARNING! GRAMMAR ALERT!

EDIT 1: Edited for grammar purposes.

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Untold Story: Fake/Apocrypha

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What is a hero?

A hero is someone who is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. A hero is an individual who found the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacle. A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just gives back as much as possible and help people, someone who saves them and really actually care. A hero is someone who can hang on just one minute longer, to know that hope is a strength that can overcome hardship.

A least that's what Shirou Emiya believed.

He held on to this ideal, an ideal molded by the broken dream of his late father. He withstood doom and survived against ordeals that no mere mortal should be able to. Against all odds, he survived a war of magic and blood. Him, a third class magus that can barely even be called one, survived and won the Holy Grail War.

But not without a price.

Shirou Emiya sacrificed and dedicated his life to end the world evil known as Angra Mainyu to protect the people he loves and cares about. To him, it is the perfect trade, his life for the life of his loved ones. It is a selfish thing and something that a real hero would never do, for he sacrificed his life, not for the greater good of the world or the people of earth, but to protect what he deems precious enough. It is egoistic and self-centered, putting his personal feeling that the overall justice all hero strife for.

But he did not care. For as long as they live, he will accept 'all the evil that come with such action' and every struggle and suffering that he may encounter.

He struggles for so many years, his body almost broken to the point of no repair. His hair turned white and skin tans like his counterpart, EMIYA, from the constant use of his magecraft and the left hand of Archer taking its toll. He went on so many battlefields, killing so many people, civilians and magus alike that seek to bring destruction or revenge to his precious, to protect his loved ones.

Sakura, Rin, Illya, Fuji-nee…

He fought, again and again, chanting their names as a mantra of power. So many blades he created to kill, not for justice or the betterment of mankind, but for his family. Perhaps calling him a 'Villain' or 'Anti-Hero' is more fitting than anything else, for he will kill anyone regardless of their role that threatened the safety of his loved ones. It was when he fought a creature, a True Ancestor, which he knew he won't walk away from there alive. He will have to use every point of his life, of his prana to end this threat once and for all.

His final Unlimited Blade Work.

Sakura, Rin, Illya, Fuji-nee.

It was the last mantra he chanted, before his Reality Marble with his life force to cut the ancient creature from The World connection, albeit temporary, and end their life among the countless blades he and EMIYA had collected.

Then he felt nothing.

He can't feel any part of his body. He can't see. He can't even hear anything outside of his mind. But he does not feel fear or anguish, no, all he feels is… floating, light, empty? He can't put it into words. He doesn't know how long he's been in this place of nothingness. A day? Year? Decade? He can't tell nor does he want to know.

But then he felt it. A pull, something is pulling him. It's… A call, a call to something… A summons? Is something summoning him? Should he accept it? No—yes, yes perhaps he should. Then he slowly let himself be pulled by the call. He doesn't know why but he wants to accept this, to allow himself to be summoned by whatever it is calling him.

It was at that instant that he felt a stream of data pour into his mind, giving him information about things he knows and he doesn't. Information about what, where, who is he, and how he gets here. He doesn't really have any emotional reaction as if such logic were but common knowledge. Perhaps it is, considering where he is at the moment.

And then a bright light envelope everything as he felt made whole again.

XXX

A bright light filled the church as it envelops everything, and then from a large red circle of red drawn in the middle of the building, a figure slowly emerges. As the light dims the figure can be seen standing around 177cm, wearing a black tight and sleeveless shirt with silver accents which outlined his muscles and a metal plate on his collar, and black pants that had two black straps on his thighs, and another two strapped around his shins separate from each other. On top of the shirt is an open long red coat that seems to be cut on the right side and show his tan and muscular arm. On his head is a red cloth that is tied around his head like a headband, covering his forehead but still showing his red hair with white patches.

His eyes open, showing the golden brown eyes held within filled with uncertain emotion. "Tell me," His voice is kind, there's no hint of any dark emotions within. "Are you my master?" He knew of course that the person standing in front of him is his master, but it was a question all of his kind must say during the time they're summoned. It is a pact or a necessary formality that the Moon Cell hammered into their head.

The person standing in front of him answer, "Yes, I am indeed your master." Her voice is beautiful, melodious even. There's also kindness in her voice but also slight confusion and hesitation. "I am Servant Ruler, Jeanne D' Arc, the overseer and mediator of the Holy Grail War."

Ruler is a non-standard class under the Holy Grail War system, a self-defense program summoned by the Grail when it senses there are actions that are encroaching upon its authority. The main duty of the class is, by the end of the day, to make sure the concept of the Holy Grail War stays true to its original system. At least that's what the information system told Shirou about the class.

Ruler herself is a beautiful blond hair girl with a pair of amethyst eyes that possess purity that Shirou never thought someone is capable of having, wearing what he concluded to be a school uniform. She didn't have the precise and molded beauty or the kind of cuteness that made one's heart flutter just by being nearby, but she possessed a wondrous beauty that scarcely felt real as if he's looking at a creation of a dream.

Putting aside that thought, for now, Shirou bows his head in respected manners, something his Counter Guardian self would never do sincerely. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master. I am Servant Assassin, my real name is Shirou Emiya and I swear upon you that I will protect you until death does us part." Hmm, is his introduction a bit too overboard? It's much cooler in his mind than it is in practice, that's for sure.

Ruler seems surprised at the introduction but her kind smile overwrites it quickly. "Of course Assassin—Ah, I mean Shirou. Or do you prefer to be called Assassin?"

"Whatever suit you best, Master."

"Shirou it is then." Ruler seems to nod her head. "You can also call me Jeanne if you wish it, Shirou."

Assassin seems to contemplate whether or not he should call her name, but since she's asking… "Of course, Jeanne."

She nods again with a pure smile on her face. "Then Shirou I'm sure you know of the situation of the Grail War?"

Shirou nods his head in confirmation, "The Grail System has given me enough information, Master." About the war of the two factions that are about to happen, 7 servants against 7 servants, all for the sole purpose of the Greater Grail. It'll be chaotic, and the chance of civilians caught in the war is greater than a normal system.

"Good. Then we should move, Shirou, we don't have much time before the war started." Ruler grabs a briefcase that sits on nearby dingy church chair and begins walking toward the broken door. "If we hurry we can still catch the night train to Germany."

The redhead servant blink, his eyes move around the dingy and abandoned looking church. "… And where are we, Master?"

"We're in the French outskirt, and I told you to call me Jeanne."

"… So be it, Jeanne." He's wondering why his master don't just sprint toward their destination, considering they're both servants. But he's not one to judge his master decision and so the servant begins following his departing master while his mind is pondering about the situation he's in. Mainly, the question of how he became a Heroic Spirit. He, who abandoned his justice to protect the people he loves, is recorded in the Throne of Heroes.

Well, actually the Throne of Heroes already gave him the reason. How his act of selfishness save the life of thousands and even millions of people, how that act alone is enough to consider him as a 'Hero'. It also told him how the descendants of his loved ones, the Tohsaka especially, recorded his action and worship him as a 'hero' that saved the world and it spread among several circles. Those facts alone seem to be enough to have the Throne registered him as a 'Hero', or an 'Anti-Hero' is more précised.

He who acted in selfishness but are considers a hero. What a joke.

It is also ironic that someone like him, an Anti-Hero Assassin, was called upon by the Holy Maiden herself to help her in her task.

"Jeanne, please let me carry the briefcase for you."

"Ah, no it's okay. It's not that heavy."

"Please, let me do it. It's not right for me to let you carry it."

XXX

After much prodding and insistent, Jeanne finally lets her newly summoned servant carry the briefcase for her. The station isn't really that far from the abandoned church Ruler used to summon Assassin, and thus they (although barely) managed to arrive safely to the station and catch the last train to Berlin. They're sitting opposite of each other on one of the almost empty rows of seats in the train. She's not surprised, considering it's the last train for the day.

What is surprising to her is her servant, currently sitting calmly with a smile on his face as he observes the environment outside the window. His servant outfit is now changed into a simple long sleeve blue and white shirt with a pair of blue jeans. He looks totally casual and plain in it that he doesn't stand out much.

Perhaps it is his passive skill as an Assassin?

But nevertheless, there are several things that Ruler is still confused about. For one, the fact she summoned an Assassin class for protection aside, she can't clearly identify the identity of the servant she'd summoned. Well, she technically can, with her 'True Name Discernment' and her privilege as a Master she can see his stats and class clear as a day, well most of them. His Noble Phantasm stats is written as '?', or unknown. Meaning he has a status parameter that her passive skill can't see. Could it be he has high-level concealment ability? But that means he'll need to have a high level of luck to block her vision, and it said in his stats that his Luck level is 'D' against her 'C'. So it's impossible, even if he's an Assassin class, to block her vision like this.

Then there's the second confusion, his skills, and Noble Phantasm. In his stats information, there's several '?' skills that she can't for the life of her understand why it's unknown to her vision. His visible skills are general enough. Nothing really special that can block her True Name Discernment, yet there are several skills not visible to her. While his Noble Phantasm there's only two she can see: Transient Shroud of Humanity and Shirou's Bow.

It made her slightly worried and a tad curious.

And then there's the problem of his name. He claimed to be 'Shirou Emiya', yet the name in his stats stated that it is 'Nameless'. Is he perhaps a—

"Is something the matter, Jeanne?"

Jeanne flinches at the sudden question of her servant. "Ah, it's nothing to worry about, Shirou."

Shirou stares at his Master with his golden-brown eyes. He seems to be pondering something in his head if his silence is any indication. A few seconds later his lips turn upward into an honest smile, "Are you perhaps wondering how you summon an Assassin?" He asked curiously.

"What? Oh, no, no! That's not it!" Jeanne quickly shot down the idea, "I will not ask any question regarding the class summoned by the ritual. After all, any Heroic Spirit summoned by a Ruler must be a noble and just hero."

Assassin blinks, "Really? Why?"

Jeanne smiles at her servant confusion. "For one, a Ruler is a class that upholds neutrality in the Holy Grail War. Meaning the chance of I to win the war and have my wish granted by the Grail is none, and thus Heroic Spirit of my class are usually spirits that have no wishes at all." She pauses a bit to let Shirou process the information, "And any servants summon by Ruler as their helper is, without a doubt, Heroic Spirit that possess no desire to win the war or make any wish upon the Grail. The System makes sure of it."

It is simple logic. To make sure that Ruler doesn't have a problem or any conflict with any servants they summoned the System make sure that the Heroic Spirit that appeared would be someone who doesn't have any desire to win the Grail War, to help maintain neutrality. It'll be problematic if the servant's Ruler summoned betray them, after all.

"Ah, so I see." Shirou offers his Master another smile, this one apologetic. "Then perhaps something else is on your mind?"

"Ah, well…" Should she tell him about her confusion? They'll be a team, after all, so having trust in each other is preferable. "I'm… Just a bit confused about your skills and Noble Phantasm."

"My skills and Noble Phantasm?"

"There are some skills that I cannot see, they're written with question marks on them. As a Ruler class and a Master, I should be able to see your stats, but this is very odd for me."

Shirou blinks once before he chuckles in amusement, "I see. So that's what got you worried. Well, Master, let me satisfy your curiosity before you kill yourself because of it."

"Wha-I wouldn't do that!"

He raises his left hand and slowly pulls the sleeve back, revealing a red bandage covering his arm. "This is my Mystic Code, or I guess I should say my lesser Noble Phantasm, Transient Shroud of Humanity, made by combining two Shrouds of Saints. Its job is to hide and sealed away the power of my left hand so that it won't pour out constant prana. I think this is the reason why you can't identify some of my more combat oriented skills and Noble Phantasm." The shroud itself sealed the larger portion of Shirou's power that he gained from EMIYA's Arm, meaning that he can only use at best half of his combat power. But his Present Concealment skill would be heavily downgraded to almost none if he unleashes his full power because of a large amount of prana it'll pour out. And as an Assassin, decisive first strike from the shadow is a critical action.

"I see …" It's pretty obvious now that she thinks about it, "But why do you not want your left arm to constantly pour you prana?"

"Well, it's actually pretty bad for an Assassin class to have something that constantly pours out prana. It'll give away your position and other servants can and probably will sense them from miles away before the said Assassin can do… Assassin-y things."

Jeanne giggles at his words, "Assassin-y things? Really?"

"What? It's the best I can come up with!"

They continue to converse, the conversation deviating from the serious tone of the original.

They're so lost in their conversation that they didn't realize they'd arrived at their destination.

XXX

Unfortunately for the pair, the journey to Romania isn't exactly smooth sailing.

"We… We ran out of money…"

Shirou sweatdrop at the depress form of his Master as she counts what little money they had left in her wallet. He knew the main reason, of course. "Jeanne, next time please refrain from giving away our money to donations." While he never condemned an act of charity, the fact that they are low on money in the first place made the servant hesitate (since they're on an important mission and all) to give away any at all. But then his Master just willingly with a beautiful smile give their precious currency to almost every donation request they found in Germany.

It's a miracle they manage to arrive at the border of Romania at all. They're currently on the side of a road in the middle of the grassland of Romania, miles away from the remote town of their destination, Trifas. They're stuck there because they don't have enough money to even pay for a bus.

"But… But they need it…"

"We also need the money if we want to get to our destination without revealing ourselves too much."

Jeanne sighs, her face looks conflicted. Shirou wouldn't be surprised if she's currently fighting an inner turmoil. The servant could, of course, steal money from people with his Present Concealment skill, but he doubts the holy maiden would approve of such action. His old self wouldn't too, but he's changed since then.

"Then do you want to run there, Master?"

That's a viable option, of course. As servants, they both can cover distant at high speed without collapsing, but considering the distant, their body, especially Ruler who borrowed a human body, would take a toll.

"Well—" Her word died in her mouth when a pickup car suddenly stops next to them. The window of the driver slowly slides down revealing a large man with a big grin on his face.

"Ahoy there!" The man greeted, "You folks are going to Trifas? Need a lift?"

Both Shirou and Jeanne look at each other before the later break a smile on her face, "Yes, if you would be so kind sir."

"Of course, of course! Ride up in the back of my truck." He points it with his thump, "Or if the lass wants to ride shotgun in the front is okay too."

"Ah, no it's alright." With a nod to Assassin, the servant quickly vault the large baggage he's been carrying around, hop on and offer a hand to Jeanne who gracefully took it. "Thank you for allowing us to hitch a ride, sir."

The man barks out a loud laugh, "Don't worry about it lass. What kind of person would just leave another when they're in need? Besides I'm heading there myself so it's a win-win situation for me."

Shirou Emiya watch as Jeanne and he kind man converse with each other. The arrival of the man is not impossible, but a bit abrupt. Breaking away from the two, the servant decides to scan the area around them for any potential danger to his master wellbeing. While he doubts a servant would be stupid enough to attack a Ruler class, the possibility of it happening is still there. If there's anything he learns in his life as the second 'Magus Killer', is that if there's a small chance of it happening then it may happen.

He will not lower his guard down unless he is certain they are absolutely safe.

"-say, lass, why are you going to Trifas anyway? It's a small and sleepy town so it's rare for people wanting to go there." Jeanne would've answered the question with some kind of made up a story (which Shirou is sure going to work with her high charisma and all) if not for the man to continue on, "Or are you eloping with that young man over there?" He asked with teasing and knowing grin.

Jeanne was taken off guard, "Eh—"

Shirou, either from the influence of a certain Archer or a personality manifest in his time, take this chance to tease his master. "Now let's not tease her like that, Mister. Jeanne is a bit shy in regarding our relationship."

Now Jeanne looked at her servant in surprised, "Huh?!"

"She's always been a shy one when it comes to romantic relationship." Shirou continues on with a small smile, "It's part of her quirks, but I still care for her still."

"Shirou what are you—"

"I see. You're a good man, lad." The driver nods his head in understanding. "Accepting someone for all they are is part of life bound by marriage. You'll be a good partner for the lass." Then he looks at Jeanne from the rear mirror, "And you lass better don't make 'im sad, you hear? Love him as much as your heart can."

Jeanne glares at a shrugging Shirou. Eventually, she relents and sighs, "I'll keep it in mind, sir."

"Good! There's a good church near the town if you want to have a marriage ceremony. I'm sure the priest can—"

As the driver continues on his rambling Shirou, who still maintains his guard, flinch as his senses tingle. His eyes glow green as he looks forward to down the road. There, sitting above a large road sign is a person with looks that scream out servant no matter where you look. He's long and white unkempt hair that almost appear transparent and an outfit that Shirou would normally found weird; a black skin-tight suit with armors covering almost all but his chest area.

"Jeanne, a servant," Shirou warned and his Master quickly looks toward the front, her eyes glows the same as his. "Your order?" His voice is calm and faint, loud enough only for Jeanne to hear.

Ruler eyes narrowed. "… We will confront him for now. If he has any hostile intention then we shall engage him."

Shirou reluctantly nod. As the servant of the Assassin class, he would rather go and take a vantage point somewhere around the area where he can snipe from afar, using his Present Concealment and archery to great use. He knew his Master is a capable fighter and will be able to hold her own against other servants, and with his supporting fire, he has no doubt she'll emerge victoriously. But if his Master wants them to confront the servant with unknown intention then he will relent. He's no slouch in close quarter combat after all.

As they get closer Jeanne quickly lean toward the driver window and gained the attention of the driver. "You need to leave here quickly. It's really dangerous." Her eyes glow again, this time clearly she's using her natural charisma.

The driver only nods his head, clearly charmed by Ruler high stats.

They both jump off the truck (with Shirou still carrying the luggage) and watch as the vehicle turn around and drive away back where it came from. Now that the civilian is out of harm's way…

"You are Ruler, correct?"

Shirou and Jeanne look up toward the sign where the servant casually sitting at. He hops off the sign and landed gracefully, his fierce eyes stare at the two before him. It didn't take a competent Magus to know how much power the being before them is. Even Shirou knew in his very being that the servant before him is dangerous. He can't let his guard down, or he will die.

"I am, and you must be Lancer of Red." Jeanne kept a neutral face as she said it, fulfilling her role as the mediator.

Red Lancer smiles faintly, "So you can identify my class without seeing my lance. Impressive, but expected of someone from your class." But then he looks toward Shirou, his eyes held curiosity. "But I admit I never knew a Ruler can own pet."

If he was his old self he would've become aggravated and angry by the jab. But he's not himself, he had cast away his old self and his doomed ideas.

"What is it do you want, Lancer of Red, the Hero-God Karna, son of the Sun God Surya?"

Assassin twitched at the mention of the identity of the monster before him. A divine hero is not something to laugh at or should fight head on without a plan. To make it worse he is perhaps one of the scarier of the Hero-God servant one can face. Really, he almost laughs as his luck once again landed him facing off against a mighty hero.

Red Lancer shook his head, his slightly amused expression now replaced with a neutral one, "You know why I am here, Servant Ruler." Then he stares at them, his eyes glow with emotions. "… En garde."

?!

Lancer immediately summoned his lance in a flash of light and charged forward at a blinding speed. In response and proof of her status as a servant, Jeanne change her attire into that of her battle armor made from pure prana and called forth her weapon to create a makeshift shield.

Shirou, on the other hand, was ready.

The explosion of the impact of Lancer strike echoes through the open ground of Romania. A large column of dust that's created by the impact slowly dissipating, revealing in itself a sight no normal human being would believe.

"… Impressive." Karna looks at the bright, flower petal shield in front of him that blocked his golden spear right in its track.

Shirou Emiya, on the other hand, is not amused at how a single attack manages to break a petal from his Rho Aias. Instead of replying to a witty comment like a certain Archer would do Shirou decides to quickly counter-attack by summoning Kanshou & Bakuya, the black and white married blade, one of his and Archer prized possession. He quickly went into melee with the divine servant, his blades clash with Karna clearly far superior weapon.

But his goal is not to best him in direct melee combat, but getting him away from his Master. His aggressive stance pushes Karna back several feet as the spearman is forced to gain some distance to effectively use his spear, but the Assassin did not relent. Even when Kanshou & Bakuya would break he just traced another pair in a matter of a second, a skill he's been honing since the end of the war.

Yet even then Karna skill in melee's clearly superior to Shirou's. The Lancer, seemingly having enough, bashed the Assassin blades with his spear and the direct impact destroyed Kanshou & Bakuya and hurled Shirou away, the later quickly recovered midflight and take the position back in front of Jeanne as her shield.

"Shirou, are you alright?"

The sound of his Master echoing in his head remind him that they can talk via telepathy through their bond and magic. "I've been better." He sends his thought to his Master.

The Master looks at Shirou as if confirming his condition herself, and then she glares at the attacking Servant. "Do you know the meaning of attacking us, Lancer of Red?" Jeanne questioned, her hand tightened its grip on her spear.

Karna snorts, "A foolish question when you already know the answer." He raised his golden lance in front of his face. "It is by the order of my Master that I must eliminate you, Ruler. Thus as a Servant, I shall obey." Then crimson prana burst out of the Lance and envelope it like a blanket. It light shines through the dark night of Romania. "Prepare yourself, Ruler. I do not intend to neither consider your position nor hold back."

Jeanne hardened her gaze, "Lancer…" She whispers as she takes a defensive stance, her servant the following suit to prepare whatever Noble Phantasm he's about to unleash.

The Lancer of Red aims his spear at his enemies, "I shall end this in one strike and no more."

Shirou girth his teeth as he prepares to open his shroud and trace all of the strongest shields available in his Reality Marble.

"Go, Saber!"

A blur of black leaped from behind Karna and strike him with full force, but the Lancer quickly block the strike. The new servant quickly leaped away again and stood in front of Shirou and Jeanne as he unleashes an Air Slash which was blocked easily by Karna, however, a large amount of red prana on his spear disperse at the interruption.

"Saber of Black…" Jeanne mutters as she stares at the new servant in front of her.

That night marked the first servant contact of the two factions.

And as the hero clashed, so does the two wheels of fate.

And so it began…

To be continued?

I know it's not that good, but I tried alright?! I tried! I probably bastardize some of the rules of the Nasuverse here but eh. We can call this fanfic gradation, lol.

Servant Stat:

Name: Nameless (Shirou Emiya), the Forger Iron Sentinel

Class: Assassin (Can also go toward Archer and/or Caster)

Master: Jeanne D' Arc (Ruler)

Alignment: True Neutral

Attribute: Demi-Servant

Traits: Male, Servant, Weak to Enuma Elish

STR: D

END: C

AGI: C

MAN: B

LCK: D

N.P: ? (E-A++)

Class Skills:

-Independent Action: B

-Magic Resistance: D

-Present Concealment: B

Personal Skills:

-Clairvoyance: D

-Eye of the Mind (True): B+

-Magecraft: C+

-Projection Magic: A-

-Hawkeye: A

Noble Phantasm:

-Transient Shroud of Humanity: Made by combining two Saints shrouds, it is an item made with the goal of sealing and closing. Shirou used it to seal his Archer's Hand.

-Shirou's Bow: A Japanese Yumi (Bow) that Shirou favored as his main bow. Its height is 233cm and its arrow length is around 100-105cm. The bow is made with the sole intention of 'to be used by Shirou Emiya'. He used this bow almost all the time in his life as a Magus Killer, and his proficiency with it and its weapon reputation made it his Noble Phantasm.

-Archer's Hand: A final gift from Shirou Counter Guardian self. It altered everything Shirou knew about himself, and it made him into a demi-human (half servant and half human). Such fusion would usually kill a normal human being. It gives Shirou almost everything that EMIYA has, including his experience, armory, and memory. Although he is considered to be strong enough to wield the Hand properly, his choice of combat made him seal it away unless it is necessary. If released, the hand will boost Shirou stats as a servant and it'll increase the speed of his projection.

-Unlimited Blade Work: The reality marble and noble phantasm of Shirou Emiya. It's his greatest achievement and symbol of power, the most powerful Noble Phantasm of Shirou and his token of being a Heroic Spirit.