Chapter One: Anomalous Summonings

Kairi Sisigou groaned as he walked through the bright halls of London's Clock Tower. He had been summoned, for god knows what, by Rocco Belfeban, head of the Department of Summoning. That wouldn't have been so bad if he knew where the damn room was in the first place. He had been roaming the building for ten minutes, and everytime he stopped to ask someone, they cowered in fear before saying they didn't know where the Department was. It wouldn't have been so bad either if he at least could've had a single smoke, but the people here would get on his case if he did.

For what felt like the sixteenth time, three girls immediately stopped talking amongst themselves as soon as they saw him approaching. He sighed as he walked past them, ignoring their whimpering. As he turned a corner, he unexpectedly knocked someone down. The loud thud knocked him from his thoughts, and he looked down to see a blond haired kid surrounded by lots of books.

Hopefully, this one knows where the room is, Kairi thought.

"I'm sorry-" The kid began to speak, but Sisigou interrupted him immediately.

"Hey, kid, you ok? I'm Kairi Sisigou, and I'm looking for the room of Rocco Belfeban, you know where he is?" he asked, extending a hand to him. The kid grabbed it, and Kairi helped him up.

"The Head of the Department of Summoning? Yea, I know where it is, and yea I'm fine. Follow me and we'll get there in no time!"

After a while of walking, the two of them finally came to their destination.

"Anyway, this is Mr. Rocco's room. Nice seein ya, Mr. Scary Man!"

Kairi watched as he jogged away, trying not to drop the crate yet again.

"Apprentice Mages are so cheerful nowadays, can't say that's a bad thing I guess," he mused to himself. Kairi turned to the door, and knocked on it twice, then immediatly hearing a voice telling him to come in. When he opened the door, he was met with a smell that reminded him of sulfur. Sitting at a desk, and surrounded with books, was the man known as Rocco Belfeban. His grey hair and yellow eyes were of a somewhat familiar sight to Kairi. He had seen him before when he was doing jobs for the Association, but they didn't talk all that much.

"I'm glad you're finally here, Necromancer." Rocco said. Kairi could hear the slight irritation behind his old voice, and decided to ignore it. He went inside, eyeing the specimens on the shelves. Taking a seat on a couch in front of Rocco's desk, Kairi sighed and crossed his legs.

"Would you mind some tea, I have some ready if you'd like." Rocco asked.

"Yea, sure."

As Kairi grabbed his cup, Rocco began to talk.

"You know, I've heard about you and your deeds, Mr. Sisigou. I'd say, you've been an absolute help to us here at the Clocktower."

"That's good and all, but what did you want me here for in the first place, is it another assignment?"

"Of sorts, yes. Now tell me, are you familiar with the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki?"

Kairi raised his eye at the old man's question. Every mage worth their salt should know about that ritual.

"Of course," he replied. "They summon heroes from the past and fight to the death for the Holy Grail to get a wish granted, everyone knows that."

"Indeed."

"And why are you bringing it up, didn't that system collapse a while ago?"

"Indeed, During the Third Holy Grail War, a master had some help from the German army. They stole the greater grail, and the ritual had ended. The Nazis were hunting for other artifacts, wishing to win the war with magecraft."

"Well that sounds pretty bold of them," Kairi commented.

"Indeed. The Germans believed themselves to be close to something, but the master they had aligned themselves with had betrayed them, and stolen the Greater Grail for themselves. It's current location is unknown, or at least it had been."

"Excuse me?" Kairi asked. He was suddenly leaning forward, eager to hear what Rocco had to say next.

"The Yggdmillennia Clan has claimed that they are in sole possession of the Greater Grail. One of the masters in the Third Holy Grail war was their leader, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. He's been hiding it for the past sixty years."

Rocco pulled out a paper from his desk, and handed it to Kairi. It detailed information about the Yggdmillennia's succession from the Mages Association, and a picture of a blue haired man was clipped to the front.

"This is Darnic?" he asked, and Rocco nodded. "I already knew what he looked like, but...how hasn't he aged in sixty years?"

"He's been researching eternal youth, apparently fusion with an infant's soul, or something of the sort."

"Is he insane? Even if it did work, you wouldn't retain your original identity!"

"As long as he can be the leader of the Yggdmillennia, I don't think he cares about identities. He's a damn fool is what he is. If claiming ownership of the greater grail wasn't enough, he made a preposterous declaration, the paper in your hand is what he sent us. He split from the Mages Association and formed his own faction in the Yggdmillennia family. They deal with Kabbalah, alchemy, and witchcraft. Most of them are second rate Magi, but Darnic...his talent and skill is with few equals. This situation is dire, and if I may be so bold as to say, I believe there are those who might side with them, even here in the Clocktower."

"If that's the case, then everything going on is being leaked to them, right? Assassinating the master before summoning their servant could stop a Grail War in its tracks. Is that what I'm here for?"

"No. We already tried that, sending fifty elites to hunt them down. Only one came back. The rest were killed by a Servant. The last survivor described them as a woman clad in armor that reminded him of a lion."

"Weird. A lion Servant...Anyway, I'm guessing you want me to be one of the seven masters, right?"

"Not quite, I'd like for you to participate in the War, but as a Master of Red, and fight alongside us against the Masters of Yggdmillennia."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"This Grail War is different from the others. Seven allies will be fighting against seven foes in a battle for the grail. The Yggdmillennia Clan has fashioned themselves as Masters of Black, and we at the Mages Association have taken the color red to symbolize our opposition to them. They will fight us with their seven servants, as will we. Because of this, the Yggdmillenia has called it the 'Great Holy Grail War.'"

Kairi took a long sigh, reached for his cigarette box, and put it away when Rocco groaned in annoyance.

"Guess they mean business after all. So, if this Great Holy Grail War ends up with Yggdmillennia defeated, what happens then?" Kairi asked.

"What happens in every natural holy grail war. When one side is defeated, the remaining Masters will fight each other for the chance to make a wish from the grail. With all of that said-"

Rocco leaned forward in his desk, looking at Kairi with anticipation.

"-Are you in?"

Kairi shuffled in his seat before answering.

"I have a few questions first. To summon a servant, you need a relic, right? Unless you have one for me, I don't think I'll be able to fight in the war."

"You don't need to worry," Rocco said as he pulled another object from his desk. What he placed on the table piqued Kairi's interest. It was a piece of stone with some strange writing on it.

"And that would be?"

A piece of the Round Table from the Tales of King Arthur. With this, you're bound to summon one of the Knights of the Round, or maybe the king himself. With a relic such as that, a high tier servant is bound to be summoned."

Kairi smiled as he picked it up. It was dry, without a speck of dirt or dust on it at all, and it felt somewhat heavy in his hand.

"I see. And for my second question, what can you tell me about the other Masters of Red?"

Rocco chuckled, "I can assure you they are all incredibly skilled. Feend vor Sembren, Rottweil Berzinsky, the Pentel Brothers, Jean Rum, and a representative from the church are on our side. So, Kairi, have you decided yet? If not, I can just hire someone else."

Kairi turned toward the jars filled with specimens behind him, pointing at the one with a miniature Hydra in it. "Can I have that as advanced payment?"

Rocco's eyes widened at the question.

"No no no. That is far too expensive to just give to someone!"

Kairi turned toward Rocco, a smile on his lips. "I don't know. Going in a Holy Grail War is dangerous stuff. Just guess at how many masters might die in it. I don't even know what might happen to me tomorrow. If I do die, shouldn't I at least get something out of it?"

"Even then, I don-"

"-And If I do win, that might be enough for you to move out of this dingy, smelly room. So, what do you say?"

Rocco placed his hands in his palms, took them out, looked around the room, and sighed.

"Just take the damn jar."

Kairi leapt out of his seat, a smile on his face.

"Thanks for doing business!"

Rocco sighed once more, and watched as Kairi placed them in a briefcase. "I'll speak with the other masters and the director about your involvement."

"What is the director's name anyway?" Kairi asked.

"Shirou. That's all I know about him. Does the name sound familiar?"

"Nope," Kairi responded. "Not at all."

Halfway across the world, In a city that had all but fallen asleep, two people were playing chess. Inside the massive halls of the Yggdmillennia castle roamed Homunculi servants, and the masters of Yggdmillennia were making the final preparations for the summonings.

Two people, a man and a woman, sat across from each other.

"Everything leading up to now was all for this moment," the man said, observing the chessboard and raising his hand to move a piece. "Have you ever felt that way?"

The woman had a smile on her red lips as she looked at the board. Her legs were crossed, and she laid slumped to the side of the chair. She was wearing a red tunic,and a black stola.

"I can't say that I have. I lived my life without much planning, leaving it all to my advisors. I merely enjoyed the finer things in life. Wine, men, women, whatever I wanted."

She moved a piece as well, squinting her eyes in reaction to her opponent's previous move.

"It seems unreal, remembering how long ago the decline of my clan was foretold. I was on my way to glory, and yet because of that foolish claim I was tossed from Mage society like some unwanted child. Despite their doubts of my talent, I fought in the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki and plundered the Greater Grail. For sixty years, I have been preparing for this moment, All of this is what sets me apart from the Masters of Wars long passed."

The woman grew slightly irritated. It seemed that Darnic's chess playing skill had somehow increased during monologuing, and he was in the advantage.

"I see. So summoning a servant in advance was another way to prepare, although it is quite unfortunate that it was a Rider and not a Caster that answered your calls."

"I had wanted to summon the Great Golem Master, Aviceberon. However, your skills are far unlike what I had originally thought you would have, Nero."

Nero smiled, and moved another piece. She looked up toward Darnic, her gaze studying him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Darnic, however you may continue talking if you wish. I do have to admit though, my skills wouldn't work nearly as well if you didn't have Homunculi on hand. Despite the gruesome sights, I'd say everything is coming along magnificently."

"In a normal Holy Grail War, it would be next to impossible to use your power to its utmost, however with the situation now, it seems like you have a stage for your talent to shine. I however have one question, how did you gain the ability to create Beasts, if you don't mind my asking."

Nero pondered for a moment, half not wanting to tell him the reason, and another part of her wanted to lie.

"I don't know." she said. "Most of my reputation has been tarnished after my death, so that ability must simply be another perversion of fact. One of my other Noble Phantasms re-creates the Burning of Rome, so I wouldn't be all that surprised." Nero found that lying would be a decent enough move so far. She didn't need anyone knowing the truth behind her form, not yet at least.

"I also have to say, using the Homunculi as batteries for us to use our Noble Phantasms repeatedly is quite ingenious. If I may be as bold as to say, I believe we have already won this Greater Grail War," Nero commented.

"I have no intention of claiming victory just yet of course, however I believe we are fully prepared. I want what all Mages want, to reach the Root and the True Magic one can attain from it."

Darnic's expression remained stoic as he moved a piece, trapping Nero's king. The Rider Servant smiled. Darnic was most certainly an interesting man, although if a bit dull according to her standards. As she was about to say something, the door behind her opened, and in stepped her master, the young Roche Frain Yggdmillenia. When she was first summoned, Nero was quite annoyed with the fact that her master was so young, and so naive. That Celenike woman seemed much more interesting, and she might be able to have a little bit of fun with her as well.

"Darnic, Nero, the ritual preparations are done," he said. Nero noticed a smile form on Darnic's lips as he rose from his seat, and she did the same.

As the three walked down the hall, Roche was drowning on about how the Beasts were being produced at rapid rates, and how he didn't expect her to have that power. Roche was frankly an annoyance to Nero. She didn't care for children, but his boundless energy was at least of some amusement, at least compared to Darnic's constant seriousness and the Lancer who refuses to show themselves. She would just have to wait until any advancements were to show themselves. Nero was quite curious as to who the other summoned servants would be, and hoped that they would at least be somewhat interesting to her.

Kairi lit his cigarette, and looked around the empty graveyard. He had always had a strange sense of calm in them, most likely because he specialized in dead things. The seals on his hand and the piece of stone residing in the middle of a red summoning circle were clear enough signs of what he was about to do. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, and squeezed it in his hand as he stepped toward the circle.

"I got this," he told himself. His heart was beating in his chest. He had never done anything like this before, and yet he had to be calm and confident. He was going to summon a legendary Knight of the Round Table, and he didn't need to look like a wuss when they were summoned.

"For the elements of silver and iron," he began, pointing his arm toward the circle. "Foundation of stone, and the Archduke of Pacts. The color I bestow upon thee is Red."

The circle lit up, the glow dimly illuminating the graveyard.

"Raise a wall for the wind that shall fall, close the gates of the four directions, come forth from the crown, and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom."

The circle began to emit a strong energy, causing the area around it to become even more brighter, and gusts of wind to appear.

"Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny! If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!"

The stone in the circle began to glow red, at first dimly but then intently, nearly causing Kairi to have to avert his eyes.

"I hereby swear, that I shall be all the good in the world. And that I shall defeat all the Evil in the world! Thou Seventh Heaven, clad in three great words of power, come forth from the circle of binding, Guardian of the Scales!"

The bright red light became a pillar that engulfed both Kairi and the area surrounding him. His vision was overtaken for a brief moment, and when the light vanished, his servant stood in front of him.

As Nero looked at the Servants of Black kneeling before their masters, a thought crossed her mind. They looked nothing like the servants she thought would be summoned. Instead of famous heroes from the past, what she saw were a bunch of women, and one white haired man. What shocked her the most, when they looked up to see their masters, was that the women all had the same face as she did.