1

Shirou Emiya was having a very bad day. One of his worst actually, if he was being honest with himself. Being seemingly killed and then resurrected would have been enough alone to qualify for the worst day of his life, but then he'd been attacked again, only to be saved and drawn into a secret war between magi. So, in all, a very bad day.

He studied the back of Rin Tohsaka's head as she lead him up the steps to Ryuudou Temple. It was hard to imagine this side to her after only knowing the facade she put up at school at every day. Knowing that she was a magus, a part of his father's world, made him slightly wary of her, despite her beautiful appearance. But also a little jealous, if he was being honest. He'd had to beg Kiritsugu for even the smallest scraps of knowledge, and years later he still hadn't even mastered a single thing he'd been taught. But here was an accomplished mage, who had access to an untold number of spells. As if she'd need them though.

His breath caught in his throat as he thought of Rin's Servant. Though he had only seen him fight once, he terrified him. This entire Grail War terrified him, and he had absolutely no idea what he'd been drawn into. Even though Rin had given him a brief explanation on the way here, he was still in way over his head. He couldn't stop himself from shuddering in fear as he tried to process the past few hours.

A gentle hand on his shoulder and soft voice brought him back to the present, "Shirou? Do your wounds still ail you?"

Shirou looked into the concerned eyes of Saber, his Servant. He'd nearly forgotten, he wasn't alone in this. She'd already saved his life once tonight, and he didn't want to burden her anymore than he had to.

He gave her a weak smile, "No, Saber, I'm fine really. Just trying to wrap my head around all this."

"There is no shame in admitting injury, Shirou. Although I do understand that it might be difficult for you to process the concept and implications of the Holy Grail War."

Shirou returned his gaze to the back of Rin's head as they continued up the steps to the temple. He could feel her listening in on their conversation, silently judging him, "I think I get the basics. But I understand why you wouldn't want a newcomer like me on your team."

There was a small silence, and soon the conversation fell apart until the only noise was that of their steady footsteps. He felt Saber pause after a time, and he also froze at the sight of the man with the long katana guarding the gate to the temple. The cold aura around him undeniably marked him as a Servant, and Shirou felt his heartbeat begin to race at the possibility of danger.

Saber began to cautiously place herself between Shirou and the man, but Rin turned around to face them, "Relax. Assassin won't harm anyone on our team. He's only guarding the gate."

"So this is our Seventh Master?" the Servant called out, staring Shirou down.

"Yes," Rin affirmed, "I've started filling him in, but I need to talk to the rest of the Masters."

Assassin nodded and waved his arm as he stood aside, "You may pass, of course. I look forward to fighting alongside you, Servant Saber. You must surely be a master of the blade."

Saber cautiously nodded, "And I as well am honored to fight alongside another Heroic Spirit such as yourself."

Assassin smiled, "Sasaki Kojiro. I'm not really one for all of this secrecy. Should we ever get the chance to duel, maybe you'll drop the secrecy too, eh?"

Saber nodded once more, and followed Rin inside. Shirou walked hesitantly past Assassin and into the Temple's courtyard.

"Where are Issei and all the monks?" He questioned Rin as she paused outside the door to the lodge.

"Relocated," she answered briefly, and then turned to the invisible Servant beside her, "Archer, watch out for the enemy with Assassin while we're inside."

The Servant immediately materialized, and Shirou forced himself not to flinch as his cold gaze swept over him and Saber before he jumped to the roof of the building silently. Shirou stared after him for a moment, before Rin motioned him inside. She lead them into a small lounge area filled with chairs and couches. As soon as Shirou entered the room, his ears were assaulted with very familiar laughter. He looked around to find Shinji Matou holding his sides while he laughed hysterically.

"Shinji? You're a Master?"

"Oh God," Shinji laughed as he tried to wipe his eyes, "You? You're our Seventh Master? What a joke this is!"

"You know this man, Shinji?" intoned a woman with long purple hair, dressed in flowing robes, who lounged in a chair nearby.

"He goes to our school," Rin spoke as she threw herself down on another chair with a huff, "But he's even more worthless as a Master than Shinji."

"Oh dear," the woman sighed as sipped from her glass of wine, "that is unfortunate. Regardless, you do bring us the Saber class, so I suppose you aren't completely worthless."

Shirou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Right, well, uh, thanks. I'm Shirou Emiya by the way."

As soon as he said his name there was a small grunt and a little girl shot up from where she had been lounging on a couch before, out of view. She hung on the side of the couch, staring at him intently. He saw Saber stiffen immediately beside him. He was shocked too that she must be a Master, at such an age. She narrowed her blood red eyes at him, and he soon began to feel a certain air of curiosity from her, much like that of a cat as it plays with a captured mouse. It made him quite uncomfortable, and he immediately returned his attention to Rin and the others, although he could still feel her gaze boring into him relentlessly.

Rin sighed, "Yes, well if you must know, this is Caster, Master of Assassin."

"Caster?" Shirou turned to her, shocked, "You're a Master and a Servant?"

"Oh yes." She purred as she continued to survey him.

"That is against the rules." Saber said tersely as she narrowed her eyes at Caster.

The servant laughed, giggling into her wine, "Rules were made to be broken, Servant of the Sword."

Saber stiffened angrily, and Rin quickly continued, "Yes, yes, let's try not to fight one another already. And to wrap up introductions, that little brat over there is Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master of Berserker."

Shirou turned to the girl again, who was sure enough, still staring him down. Uncomfortable, he managed an awkward wave, but she only narrowed her eyes even further.

Rin sighed again, "Oh sit down already, you dolt. You're making me uncomfortable, just standing there in the middle of the room."

"Right." Shirou said, and hesitantly made his way to the only remaining chair in the room, the one right next to Illyasviel's couch. The uncomfortable feeling only intensified as he sat down, and the girl scooted closer on her couch as she propped up her head with her hands to stare at him even more intently. He was incredibly grateful when Saber moved to stand behind him protectively, lessening the hostile atmosphere. He settled himself as he looked around, until a thought struck him.

"Wait," he said, "Aren't there supposed to be seven Masters?"

"Six actually," Rin responded, "since Caster counts as one. Then there's the other four of us here. Lancer's Master has never actually shown up here, although we all agreed on this place as our base for the Grail War. His Servant shows up though, so I guess that's all we really need to coordinate a strategy together."

Shirou quietly ran through all the Servant classes Rin had explained to him on their walk from his house to the Temple, and then turned to Shinji, "So you're Rider's Master?"

Shinji grinned at him mockingly as he lounged back in his chair, "At least you can count."

Shirou ignored him and turned back to Rin, "You said this is our base for the Grail War. Does that mean you're expecting me to stay here?"

"Of course," Rin replied, "All the Red Masters are gathered here together, and we have Assassin permanently guarding the only way in, thanks to one of Caster's bounded fields around the Temple."

"It was nothing, really," Caster purred.

"But what about my stuff?" Shirou ventured, really wondering what to do about Sakura and Taiga. The Tiger of Fuyuki certainly wouldn't be happy to hear about this, more so because she was losing free food more than her ward was staying with a bunch of strangers for a secret war.

"We can go back for them tomorrow. There's a truce during the day, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Shirou nodded slowly, "Ah. Ok. You said the Red Masters?"

Rin held out her hand, emblazoned with her Command Seals, "Look at your hand. Our Command Seals are red, theirs are blue. It's an easy way to tell the teams apart. The Servant that attacked you tonight was the enemy's Lancer, not ours."

Illyasviel broke off her gaze from Shirou for the first time and addressed Rin, "You encountered an enemy Servant?"

"Yes, I'll tell you all about once we've filled Emiya in. For now just let me finish."

Shirou resisted the urge to look over as he felt Illyasviel's gaze on him once again, and instead faced Rin, "And the enemy? They also have seven Servants and Masters of their own?"

"Of course," Shinji scoffed, "It wouldn't be an Apocrypha otherwise."

"In an Apocrypha," Rin lectured, "a total of fifteen Servants are summoned. In order to obtain the Grail, we have to completely eliminate the other side before the remaining Servants of the winning team turn on each other in the second phase of the War."

Shirou blinked, "So I'm going to have to fight you all at some point?"

Shinji laughed again, "Assuming you make it that far."

"The enemy is very strong," Rin explained, "They're a coalition put together by the Ainsworth and Harway families sent to obtain the Grail. They've always been rivals of the Three Founding Families, and they've always been excluded from the Grail Wars before. But for some reason, the Grail triggered an Apocrypha this time, and they've been allowed to summon all of their Servants despite our efforts. And now that you've summoned Saber and completed our team, they won't be holding back anymore."

Shirou placed a hand over where he'd been impaled. Though he'd changed the shirt, he could still imagine the crusted blood, "Earlier tonight was holding back?"

"Oh yes." Caster smiled, "While I've had limited success viewing them from afar, I can confirm they're all very strong."

"We've also been sending Lancer and Rider out on scouting missions," Rin added, "But they were only ever able to engage their Lancer before their Archer drove them off. Tonight was probably the first real battle of this Holy Grail War."

Shirou shifted uneasily in his chair, and then voiced another question that had been bothering him, "You said fifteen Servants were summoned? By my count we're missing one."

Rin sighed and raised a hand to her forehead, "Yes. You're right. But this is where it gets complicated…"

Luviagelita Edefelt walked down the streets of Fuyuki uneasily. Night was a dangerous time in Fuyuki, and she again cursed her flight for being late. She'd meant to arrive at noon and rendezvous with the Harways during the day, but she was now at risk of being attacked with only a single Servant to defend her. She walked swiftly down the sidewalk, convincing herself it was only because it wasn't proper for a lady to arrive late, and that it had nothing to do with the chill that ran down her back. She wished that perhaps there were a few other night owls out here with her, but it seemed that the city had largely gone to sleep, leaving her alone. Regardless, she allowed herself a sigh of relief when she reached the park and the other two Masters came into view.

A tall young man in a school uniform with wavy blond hair and emerald eyes smiled at her, causing quite an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She'd always been admired by members of the opposite sex, but she'd never really partaken in such activities, devoting herself to the studies of the Edefelt family. But she couldn't deny as he knelt down and took her hand to kiss it lightly that she was attracted to him in a way, perhaps not because of his looks but because of a simple charisma that emanated from him.

He rose, gracing her with his smile once again, "Welcome, fellow Master. We have been waiting for you. I'm terribly sorry to be so rude, but might we see proof of your status?"

"Of course." Luvia replied, holding out her right hand to allow them to see the blue Command Seals inscribed upon its back.

The man smiled warmly as he showed her his own Command Seals, "Excellent. I take it you must be the Master of Rider, then?"

"Oh yes." Luvia smiled, struggling not to smirk. She was incredibly pleased with herself for not only summoning such a strong Servant, but also managing to summon him with the Dual Summon aspect of an Archer as well. She'd debated over informing her teammates of this development, but had decided against it, instead opting to use it as her ace once they entered the second phase of the War. Much better for now to let them think he was a simple Rider, albeit a rare and difficult one to control with his Independent Action skill.

"I am honored to fight alongside such a renowned and skilled beauty such as yourself, Miss Edefelt," the man continued, "I am Leonardo B. Harway, Master of Saber."

"A pleasure," Luvia smiled, "Truly, I am the one honored and grateful to fight alongside the Harway and Ainsworth families." She could have sworn she saw his face twitch at the mention of the Ainsworths, and made note that the rumors of conflict between the two families must be true.

Leo's smile returned immediately, however, "Of course. And this man here is my brother, Julius Harway, Master of Archer and Assassin."

Luvia studied the man, who gazed back at her with black eyes. His flowing black hair and dark coat, along with the menacing way he held himself, made her very glad that this man was on her side for the time being. Hopefully, he would be killed off by one of the Red Masters before the War truly started.

Despite being intimidated inside, she offered a smile, "You must be a magnificent magus, to maintain two Servants with so little strain."

He nodded slowly, "Something like that."

Leo gave her a small smile, "Julius's talents lie more in the physical realm than the magical. We've had to employ a small tool for it to happen this way. But no matter. Might I inquire the identity of your Heroic Spirit?"

Luvia considered quietly, glancing at Julius, and Leo seemed to understand. With a wave he turned to him, "Julius, would you please give us space?"

The man nodded and melted away like a shadow into the dead trees of the park, and Leo turned toward her expectantly. She paused, but realized she would have to offer up some information to gain her teammates' trust. She still had her ace concealed, after all.

"He is Lü Bu Fèngxiān, the General of Repetition."

Leo smiled at her thankfully, "Excellent, we can sure make use of such a warrior. I can now assure that all of the Blue Masters, even the Ainsworths, have summoned incredible Heroic Spirits."

"You are confident in our chances of success then?" She questioned him.

"Extremely. We must win. If you would, please, would you accompany me for a moment?"

Luvia nodded and follow him as he led her along the park's trail. Soon the dead trees cleared away, and they emerged onto a wide open field. Luvia grit her teeth distastefully as an overwhelmingly evil aura began to emanate from the ground. Leo looked on sadly beside her, gazing at the moon while he questioned her.

"You know where we are, then?"

"Of course," Luvia replied, "this is the site of the Great Fuyuki Fire."

"Yes," Leo sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as his voice trembled with great sorrow, "The conclusion of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Millions gone, after having perished in unimaginable agony and fire, leaving behind only this desolate wasteland and immeasurable sorrow. All from the result of one evil man's wish. Can you imagine what would happen if such a man were allowed to obtain the Grail? This catastrophe might spread to the very end of the earth. That is why this is a war for no less than to save or destroy the world. And we must save it, Luviagelita Edefelt. Man cannot be trusted with the power of the Grail, so I must take it to wish for Man's salvation."

Luvia studied him silently, slightly moved by his passion. Though she would not abandon her own wish so easily, she would readily admit that it paled in comparison to the blazing hopes of the man beside her.

"And what of the Ainsworths?"

Leo gave a sad smile, "They too desire the salvation of the world, although I fear they are misguided by what they hope mankind will achieve as a result. I hold no such predestinations about our future," He paused, and then opened his eyes and turned to her intently, "The Holy Grail is an omnipotent cup, did you know? It has a will of its own, or so they say. Have you ever wondered why now, after hundreds of years, the Grail has triggered an Apocrypha, and allowed us access?"

When Luvia shook her head slightly, he continued earnestly, "It is because the Grail is pure, Luvia, and it has sensed the purity of our wishes. It is dissatisfied with the wicked Masters of the past war, so it has chosen us as its champions of light. But it cannot truly free it itself from its shackles, and is forced to draw forth Servants for the evil of this world as well. For the first time since the First Holy Grail War, an Apocrypha has been triggered, because this is the first time we were worthy."

Luvia was slightly taken aback by his passion as he grabbed her hands, "But how can you be sure?"

He smiled at her warmly, "I know it. It must be true. The Grail is pure, Luvia. And it has chosen you, like a radiant angel, out of everyone in the entire world to be a champion of its light. So, please. Please. Please help me save this world."

Luvia felt her heart begin to race as he leaned in closely, and she found herself caught up in his eyes and the glorious air about him. What was her wish against the salvation of the world? Could he be right? Had she truly been chosen out of everyone by the Grail? She looked down to where he gripped her hands tenderly, and studied the pair of blue Command Seals blazoned there. She had been chosen, hadn't she? There could be no other explanation. She had been chosen to save the world.

"Brother!"

The shout made Luvia jump back with a small squeak, her heart beating erratically. She felt a blush rise to her face at the unladylike action, but Leo simply smiled and turned calmly to Julius, who was striding out to them hurriedly.

"Assassin has informed me of a situation."

"Yes?" Leo frowned, "Did something go wrong with his task?"

"In a way," Julius spoke heavily, and at his next words Luvia felt a thrill of excitement, "He claims to have discovered Ruler's Master."

Hakuno Kishinami walked down the streets of Fuyuki City, his arms heavy with numerous grocery bags. He grunted as a small pack of bean sprouts fell out and he awkwardly had to bend down to pick it up before he continued walking. Soon after he had left the Shinto shopping district, and the streets become empty, he addressed the empty space beside him.

"You could help you know, instead of just sitting there judging me."

The air shimmered, and the Servant Assassin appeared, walking with his arms crossed. The legendary Heroic Spirit, Li Shuwen, was not his own, but rather his Uncle Julius's. The servant glared at him while Hakuno huffed as he readjusted his load to save another pack of beef from falling out.

"You aren't supposed to be out after dark."

Hakuno scoffed, "I'm not a part of your Holy Grail War."

"You are a valuable asset to my Master, who has tasked me to guard you for the night. You are therefore a part of this War."

"Valuable asset, huh?" Hakuno muttered. Julius Harway was not truly his uncle, only a man who had taken him in after he realized the great potential of Hakuno's Magic Circuits when he found him begging on the streets. He claimed Hakuno had the greatest potential of any mage he'd ever found, but he never actually taught him anything. He only had him pour his prana into various rings and jewels so that Julius could leech off his power, allowing him to achieve incredible magical feats like sustaining two Servants. A part of Hakuno resented the man, but anything was better than the streets. Life had certainly taught him that. He often wished he knew where to find his real family, but he had simply woken up one day beaten and bloodied on a curb, with no memory beside his name. Kishinami wasn't even his real surname, he just hated the reputation that came with the Harway name, a family that controlled nearly all of the Earth's oil. He hated the way they meddled in human lives for the sake of "progress", but he hadn't complained when Julius had told him a month ago that they would be moving to Fuyuki for his Holy Grail War.

He'd initially been excited, and had spent several days researching the Apocrypha system in hopes that he would be allowed to summon his own Servant, but the excitement soon faded after his uncle shot down that ludicrous idea. Three Servants for the Harways, three for the Ainsworths, and one outsider. That was the deal they'd agreed on. There was no room for an extra Harway Master, let alone an untrained mage, and the family only trusted his uncle and Leo enough to control any Servants. So he'd resigned himself to his position as a power battery.

"You're an Assassin servant, right?" Hakuno spoke aloud, "So as long as you're careful, no other Servants should be able to sense you. And as long as I don't pour prana into anything they won't be able to sense I'm a magus."

Assassin chuckled softly as the passed under a flickering streetlight, "I would hardly call you a magus."

Hakuno growled at the insult. It wasn't his fault Julius hadn't ever taught him anything, "Look, you can't just keep me locked up in the house all day. And you have to let me go to the market every now and then. I can't keep living off microwaveable meals. I need real food."

"It's for your protection." Assassin retorted.

Hakuno sighed, and kept walking as Assassin moved along silently beside him, "So how long is this Grail War thing gonna take? Cause we've already been hear a month and the only action happened when Archer drove off their two Red Servants. Are we any closer to finding their base?"

"You are not to be informed of the progress of the Grail War."

Hakuno grunted, "Sheesh, at least throw me a bone, I'm technically the one who's supplying you with all this prana, so the least you could do is give me an update every once and while."

Assassin eyed him narrowly, before grunting, "Red Saber was apparently summoned only a few hours ago, and we have engaged the enemy's Archer. The war should now begin in earnest."

"Finally," Hakuno muttered, "About time someone got this thing moving."

"I couldn't agree more!" A joyful voice cried out, and Hakuno gasped as Assassin shoved him forward, sending the bags flying as he skidded several feet.

"What the hell!" Hakuno growled, sitting up only to freeze before he caught sight of the situation before him. Assassin stood ready before an Irish man in a blue jumpsuit with a wicked red spear, who Hakuno could only assume was the enemy's Lancer. The Servant gave him a malicious grin as he perched atop the wall from where he had tried to strike at Hakuno before, even going so far as to tilt his head with a wink before jumping down to face off against Assassin.

"That's just what I was thinking, kid," Lancer smiled, "So imagine my joy when Caster informed me that she detected a Servant in my area, only for me to find a Master and Servant stupid enough to be walking out in the open. Must be my lucky day."

Assassin growled as he shifted his stance, "The boy is not my Master."

Lancer grunted, "Whatever, Blue. I guess I'll just have to kill him for being a witness anyway. Either way, I've been itching for a good fight. What Servant class are you? You don't seem to have any weapons. Don't tell me you're a puny Assassin or Caster or something."

When Assassin said nothing, Lancer groaned, "Ah, come on! I was really hoping to actually get some action tonight. Ah well. I guess I might as well get this over with."

As soon as the words left his mouth and before Hakuno could even blink, the Servant darted forward, extending his lance to spear Assassin right through. There was a loud thunderclap, and Hakuno stared wide-eyed as Assassin caught the flat of the spear between his hands, halting it only inches from his chest. Lancer grinned and jabbed it backwards, putting distance again between him and his opponent.

He gave a feral smile and tilted his head in amusement, "Oh? Maybe I'll actually get some fun tonight?"

Assassin smirked back as he readied himself once again, "You are fast, spearman. Perhaps you will be enough to give me a challenge."

Lancer let out a bout of loud laughter, "All right! This is what I'm talking about! I like you, bud! Let's kill each other!"

With his final cry, he darted forward again, Assassin twisting his body to avoid the blade. When Lancer twisted the spear to swipe through Assassin's midsection, the Servant simply dropped to the ground and somersaulted himself away out of the spearman's reach. Lancer pursued him with a wide grin, chasing him as they continued their deadly dance. Assassin seemed to always just manage to avoid the spear, but instead of growing infuriated, Lancer only seemed to be having even more fun. But at Lancer's next thrust, Assassin instead darted forward, putting himself too far inside Lancer's reach for his spear to be of any use. He planted his feet firmly and pushed forward a fist glowing with emerald fire, and Lancer only just managed to swing around the back end of the shaft as he backpedaled to block it, although the blow still sent him sliding several feet.

He glanced down at his spear to ensure it wasn't harmed before pushing back at Assassin again, albeit more carefully this time. Hakuno was captivated by their pattern as he watched them duel, eyes wide as he observed the exchange of blows. This was what he had wanted. He had dreamed of participating in the Holy Grail War, of fighting like this with a Servant by his side, struggling to attain his most fervent dream. If only there had been a Servant for him to summon. He slowly struggled to his feet, never taking his eyes off the glorious battle before him, and therefore never noticing the blood dribbling down his right hand.

Assassin attempted to get past Lancer's guard each exchange, but after the first time, Lancer was being much more cautious with each of his attacks, ensuring that even if he did leave an opening, it was one he could easily escape from. It was a surprise then, when for the first time Assassin jumped back instead of darting forward. Lancer prepared to follow after him, but Assassin quickly knelt and pounded his fists together in a flash of green fire, disappearing from sight. When the smoke cleared, revealing only Lancer, he tightened his guard and looked around cautiously. Eyes flickering back in forth, he felt the lightest of breezes from his left, and barely managed to raise his spear in time to partially deflect the blow, diverting it from his heart to his ribs. He grinned wildly as he felt the nerves and bones inside pulverize, before he was sent flying into the street wall, cracking it with the force of his landing. He rose unsteadily before popping his neck and grinning even wider, his eyes lighting up.

"Now that's a cool trick," he bellowed to the empty air, "And invisibility! I want that! That blow probably would have put any other Servant out of action for a pretty long time, put unluckily for you, I love a fight too much to ever just sit down after a single wound."

He eyed the air as he moved forward, expertly swinging his spear in a defensive circle around himself as he moved into the middle of the empty street, "Now let's see how lucky I'm feeling today."

He closed his eyes, letting his instincts take control as kept up his defensive barrier. He felt the lightest of breezes towards the front, a feint, before he spun and swung his spear behind him viciously as he backed away. He heard a low hiss, and he smiled to himself.

"Gotcha that time," When another minute had passed with no second blow, he shrugged, "All right. If you don't want to play, I know how to draw you out."

Hakuno gasped as Lancer suddenly sprung forward, darting right towards him with his spear extended. He flinched and closed his eyes, his thoughts processing at a million times a minute. He didn't want to die. There was so much he wanted to do, so many questions he wanted answered. And most of all, he wanted the chance to change the world for the better, a chance he would never get if Lancer's blow struck home.

He heard a grunt as Assassin tackled Lancer in mid-air, revealing himself once again, before the two continued their duel. But Hakuno wasn't watching them anymore. His eyes were focused solely on his hands in front of him, set out to prop him up when he fell to his knees in shock of still being alive. Shaking, he lifted his right hand out before him. Dripping with blood, the golden symbols of Command Seals were blazoned against the back of his palm. He was a Master.

The thought kept running through his head as he slowly stood up in a trance, but he wasn't sure if his knees were shaking from remnants of fear or his newfound excitement. He was a Master. His Command Seals were gold, neither red or blue, so he could only assume he was destined to summon the only remaining Servant: Ruler. And that, he realized suddenly with a chill of fear, planted a very, very, very large target on his back.

Lancer grinned wildly as he swung his spear once more at his now visible opponent. Assassin jumped to the right, and Lancer's eyes fell on the young boy in front of him before he froze.

"Hold up," he intoned to Assassin, who paused quizzically as Lancer held up a hand in front of his face.

"Oi, Kid!" Lancer called out, causing Hakuno to look up shakily.

Lancer sighed as he made out the golden Command Seals on the boy's hand, "Ah, shit. Now I gotta cut off your arm before I kill you so I can give those Command Seals to my Master. I mean, you were dead anyway, but now it's gotta be painful."

Assassin froze as he too recognized the Command Seals on Hakuno's hand, "Not if I kill him first." He growled, darting towards Hakuno.

"Oh, no you don't!" Lancer roared as he too darted forward, just managing to tackle Assassin out of the way with his superior speed, "Whoever controls those Command Seals will control the War!"

Assassin growled, and delivered a vicious elbow to Lancer's face, causing his nose to gush blood, as the two Servants battled each other to both be the first to reach Hakuno and keep the other away from him, "And that is why I must obtain them for my Master!"

"Fat chance," Lancer yelled, "Those are gonna be mine!"

Hakuno stumbled backward, now realizing that he was in a very dangerous situation where two Servants were trying to kill him. Assassin would no longer protect him, but instead kill him to bring Ruler's Command Seals to Julius. He immediately turned and began to run back to the house, leaving the noise of the two Servants battling behind. Soon his lungs began to gasp for breath and his legs ached every time he pounded them against the unforgiving pavement. While he was fit, he couldn't help but curse the grocery store for being so far away from home. The sounds of battle followed him as the Servants drew closer. Hakuno risked looking back over his shoulder and yelped as he saw Lancer lunging for him. He threw himself to the side, but he couldn't completely evade the blow as the tip of the spear sliced a thin line along his left shoulder, releasing a fountain of blood. Lancer turned and prepared to finish him off, but was instead hauled to the ground by Assassin. Assassin reached for Hakuno but was yanked back by the foot by Lancer, who drew him back to resume their brawl.

Gasping, Hakuno got up and ran, even faster than before. He didn't dare risk and turn around, instead focusing solely on his speed. He could soon no longer hear the sounds of battle as he ran up the steps to the door of his house at last, but he knew they could catch up any second. Assassin knew where he lived, and Lancer was surely following him. Struggling to pull out the key with shaking fingers, he hurriedly let himself inside, not even bothering to lock the door again. A wooden door wouldn't do anything against two Heroic Spirits from a bygone age. Shaking, he ran downstairs to the basement of the house, one of Julius's many self-proclaimed workshops he'd never been allowed to enter. If Julius had summoned a Servant here in the house, the summoning circle would be in this room, and would hopefully still remain so he could use it for his own purposes. It had to be here. God knows he didn't have time to draw up an entirely new one.

He pounded against the wooden door, but it was locked as always. Gasping and shaking for breath he looked around wildly for something to beat down the door until he had an idea. He ran back to the top of the stairs, and then turned and launched himself down at the door, busting it open with the force of his weight. His body stung as it hit the cold hard floor of the basement, and he shakily pushed himself up to glance around wildly. He nearly wept with relief as his gaze was immediately drawn to the summoning circle still present in the center of the room. He hurried to his feet and immediately began the verses to the ritual as he held out his hand with the golden Command Seals glowing violently. He'd spent countless hours studying the Grail War in hopes of being chosen as a Master, and the words to the summoning ritual were permanently burned into his mind with the hopes of one day being able to achieve his dream. He spoke them now, hurried but careful not to make a mistake that would require him to restart.

He gasped as he heard the door crash above, as the two Servants entered the house, still brawling. He lost precious seconds in that moment of shock, and he hurriedly continued the incantation, abandoning all caution as he spoke faster and faster with more feeling than ever before as tears of desperation began to leak from his eyes. The circle began to glow with a golden light, but it didn't seem fast enough to Hakuno, as heard the shattering noise of furniture and glass above while the two Servants fought, both looking for him. He heard one of the two above roar, probably Lancer, and then with a final surge of desperation he completed the last verse, praying fervently to God for salvation. A blast of golden light shook the room and Hakuno was thrown back by a shockwave from the circle. Above him, the ceiling buckled and then collapsed, raining down dust and earth onto the floor along with the two struggling Servants.

Lancer was the first to react, and with his superior speed, he lunged for Hakuno. But he was suddenly knocked aside as a beautiful girl raced from the summoning circle in silver armor to shoulder him into the wall, then standing before Hakuno to unsheathe her sword. Lancer growled and darted forward, Assassin just behind him. The girl frowned distastefully and swung her sword, Lancer rearing up his spear to block it but still being thrown back to the opposite end of the room by the force of the blow, where he waited cautiously. Assassin continued to race forward, but the girl with the blonde hair rushed to meet him, forcing him back with her blows. Assassin consumed his fists in green flame, preparing for another strike like before, but Hakuno's Servant's next strike forced him to bring them up protectively, shielding his neck, and he was launched by the force of the blow into the living room above, creating a new hole in the ceiling.

Hakuno's Servant allowed herself a small smile, checking to make sure Lancer was still watching cautiously at the far end of the room before turning to face Hakuno over her shoulder with a warm smile, "God answers every prayer, and I was moved by yours. I am the Servant Ruler. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

A/N: So first off, and this goes for the entire story, I obviously don't own the Fate franchise. That'd be nice though. Anyways after I really got into this show, I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, so I finally decided to sit down and try it out. If you're curious about how Shirou got where he was in this first chapter, I was basically too lazy to write out my own version of the prologue, but it was basically the same as Unlimited Blade Works, where Shirou uses a Command Seal to stop Saber from slashing Archer. The only differences are that Lancer was Blue Lancer, and Rin took him to Ryuudou Temple to meet the rest of the Red Masters and explain the war. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this Holy Grail War is similar to the one from Fate/Apocrypha, with each side having seven servants, although I added a twist that will become obvious soon when it comes to Ruler, aside from the fact that she's been summoned by a human master. None of the servants in this story are OC's (except for one who won't show up for a very long time), and the same goes with the Masters. They're all from somewhere, whether it's Fate/Exta/Kaleid Liner/Apocrypha, etc. So you'll be able to look them up if you're really curious about them. The Red Faction is just the normal stay night group, but I'll try to list the Blue Faction as they show up. Anyways, I really have no idea when I'll be posting another chapter. It could be before Monday while I'm still on break, or it could be later. I'm still trying to decide if I want to stick with the long chapters though. Anyway, please leave a review, it's a really great way to motivate me and makes this all worth it. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated too. Until next time.

New Characters List

Master: Hakuno Kishinami (Fate/Extra character)

Servant: Ruler (Joan of Arc) (Fate/Apocrypha character)

Blue Faction:

Master: Leonardo B. Harway (Fate/Extra character)

Servant: Saber (?)

Master: Julius Harway (Fate/Extra character)

Servant: Assassin (Li Shuwen) (Fate/Extra character)

Servant: Archer (?)

Master: Luviagelita Edefelt (Fate/Kaleid Liner Character)

Servant: Rider (Lü Bu Fèngxiān) (Fate/Extra Berserker)