Ever since I discovered Fanfiction I've wanted to write a story. One day I went out and gave it my best shot…. I don't like talking about it. But now I'm back, a little older and a little wiser and I would like to think a better writer. This story would just not leave my head so I decided to actually write it for once, mainly due to me actually finally decided to play grand order, and not just watch cu only runs. But yeah, first ever story, so if you see a novice mistake, its because I am one, and please, don't be afraid tell me how to improve, I can take it(At least I hope I can) Hope you all like this.

First up:

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/stay Night, Fate Grand Order or High School DxD, Just the Original concepts and plot in this story.

This Crossover is a completely AU.

The Cover Picture is done by DarkHunter8506 from deviantart who has kindly allowed me to use this as my cover.

This is my first fic, so please tell what you think.

A Winning Hand: Busted

I once heard someone said, "Only the young die good.". To whoever said that, I'm going to have to disagree. I don't think anything about dying from a knife wound to the chest, as my I feel my blood and guts leak onto the ground and vomit as the fear of death overcame me can be classified as "good". The closest thing to anything being "Good" about how I went was making sure I was the one that got the sharp end of the blade as opposed to my friend. I don't think I would have been able to deal with myself I had to watch him die… Damn, I hope seeing me take the knife didn't fuck him up too badly. Well, as I'm here in this weird white void of nothingness, I guess what I'm trying to say one way or another, "Death Fucking sucks!" i grumble into the void.

"I take offense to that remark.", a monotone voice remarks unexpectedly.

I flip around and immediately begin to shake in unabashed terror.

This... this... THING!, is something that is making every part of my body begin to feel pain and sickness even worse than when I was dying, like my mind and soul were curling into themselves at the sheer WRONG that IT was. It didn't have a shape, it didn't have anything. IT simply WAS.

"Oh, pardon me, is so rare that I ever speak to clients that I forgot to be formally dress. I hope that didn't hurt too much." And suddenly the voice has a body. Where IT once was, is now a 8 ft skeleton dressed in fine and proper dark dress suit.

"It's a Bespoke actually, you humans are certainly creative with what to do with fabrics," the voice says from the skeleton, though the undead does not move its mouth, merely tightening it's tie as if he were to have a meeting.

"I am in a meeting, and you are my client." the voice replies again, the skull's non-exist eyes boring into my twitching fleshy one.

"Now young man, as you know by now, you are dead, and as per my job it my duty to aid you to your final rest. However, oh don't worry it isn't something that bad, merely a new opportunity. As your final decision in life was to prevent another's from being taken, you have done a truly heroic act, and for that you should be proud of your moral integrity, even if you should have been more focused on personal safety rather than martyring yourself for such a pointless action." The Voice continues to talk, addressing me like some sort of teacher would a student that had done done more than I was supposed to and had caused him unnecessary work and a headache.

"What?" it was all I could say, and honestly, what do you say when the very personification of humanity's greatest fear is telling me that my last act on earth, saving my friend, was pointless.

"You see, that's the problem there. You saved your friend from being stabbed, that is true, but that boy was not to die this night. Your killer's strike would have merely landed a relatively shallow stab to the boys sternum and the blade would have have not gotten more than 4 millimeters in before before the man would try to run, only to be tackled by you and restrained until the some good Samaritans nearby would call the authorities. Your friend would have a scar requiring 5 stitches and you would have a shallow scar above your eye from a punch but be none the worse for the most part." The voice stops and begins to rub the point between its eye sockets, like it was dealing with a painful headache."Your instantaneous decision to take the wound for friend was, while good at heart, hasty and ultimately fatal. Because of this, the scales of life and death are at an imbalance, a life was taken before it's time and so that must be corrected. However," and suddenly a more ominous power begins to grow in the voice's tone, "I personally feel that if we gave life back to fools who have made an imbalance then we are merely rejecting our miscalculations. But do not worry, for I am not cruel, I will merely ask one question and if you are right then you will be granted life once again. Fail..." the voice doesn't bother to elaborate, not that it needs to given what it is.

If I was alive my heart would be pounding, my skin would be sweating and I may have even thrown up just from the shear stress I'm feeling. It's all down to this. one question. One question. One Question. If I was more calm I would have probably tried to calm myself down a sharp wit and sarcasm, 'is it multiple choice?' but as it is, all I can do now is shudder in fear as my potential executioner(?) gazes expectantly at me.

"Now" the being takes a dramatic pause as if we were performing a play. Then again I guess for him this is entertainment "In what movie do I play chess with a Knight for his Li-"

"Seventh Seal." I shout out without a second to even question myself.

Suddenly all of the tension that was building is gone, a void of awkwardness where it once was, "That was a quick response. Are you sure you want that to be your answer" the voice asks, a faint amount of disbelief present in its normally monotone voice.

I take a few seconds to think this time before finally opening my mouth, "I know the movie, I saw in the last Action Hero"

Even though this being's only face was that of a bleached skeleton, I could not stop the feeling that it was trying to raise its non-existent eyebrows at my explanation. After an uncomfortably long silence, the voice finally spoke, with what I would think would be a trace of bafflement in it's dull monotone.

"...You are going to base your eternal afterlife on the Last Action Hero?"

"I'm currently dead and somehow talking with the personification of the greatest fear of all sentient beings about old movie references, is placing my faith in the Arnold any less crazy?" I state, a tired resignation mixed in with nihilistic comedy as I start to chuckle at the absurdity of everything began to really hit me.

The voice takes only a few seconds before it says, in an oddly jovial manner, "Congratulations, despite the..." it seems to be trying to conjure up the proper word, "Unusuality, of your source, you have answered my question correctly. As per the deal, I will allow you to return to the mortal coil."

"YES" I scream, tears leaking from my eyes in pure joy. I was going to live. I would get apologize to my friend for scaring him like that, I would be able to call up my mom and tell her i'm okay, i would be able to show up back up in classes and retake the tests I would miss in the hospitals, I would be able visit my grandma and help her with her cookies, I would be able to tell my dad-.

"Unfortunately, I cannot resurrect your corpse, for to return life to you would break the natural balance of the the world. Your death has already been recorded in the great book of the dead, and that can never be crossed out." The voice cuts through my wishful thinking as a scalpel would at infect flesh, a faint amount of what could potentially be pity laced into it's cold reality.

With that said my feet give out from under me, the despair overwhelming me in the instant I realized that my old life truly was gone, only to faint memories. Before I can collapse to the ground the skeleton grabs me by the armpits, lifting me like you would a baby before speaking again, "But do not despair young one, for while this world has become lost to you, that does not mean the worlds beyond ours are locked away from you." as he quickly sets me down in a chair that has suddenly come into being.

I have a," Death begins to rub its head like a human would when trying to mitigate a headache, "'Friend', that had recently given me an item which grants access to the realms between realms for when I would 'finally take a vacation and visit his workshop'. Since I hope to not see that wrinkled troglodyte for as long as possible, I will grant you the use of this 'gift', and take you to a new world." The voice speaks as the Skeleton pulls out a strange and out of place looking wand from his suit, the whole thing painted in a rainbow design with pretty flower ornaments with a large heart at the top and the whole item emitting a bright sparkling effect as if it had come straight out of a magical girl anime, and if I didn't already have it, I would have said just looking at the thing was giving me type 2 diabetes. Whatever creature made such a creation is a monster I hope to never meet, for my strained sanity's sake at the least, and mercy to any poor sap that has to handle anything made by the mind that could even make such an atrocity. (Somewhere in the multiverse a vampiric troglodyte felt a tickling under his nose, while in another world a elementary age girl who moonlights as a magical girl feels a shudder down her back)

As the skeleton begins to fiddle with the Rod, the voice says, "Before you go, that mad fool had also granted me these" he hands over a pack of cards, with a strange emblem on the cover that seems so familiar, , "I do not have the qualities to use these, but I believe the insufferable magi gave this to me hoping I would find someone to give them to, someone I would believe was either worthy of this gift, or would desperately need it. He is known for doing things like this for his own amusement and studies, but then I suppose he is a scientist of a sorts, and I too am curious about how one such as you will handle what you have been given." the skeleton's mouth somehow distorting it's shape to appear as if it were grinning.

As the weird rainbow stick begins to beep and glow, spouting off stuff about a kaleidoscope and 'unmarked examination grounds', behind me I feel a force pushing me back and find myself being slowly pulled away. I quickly turn my head but after but a second I return my gaze back to the Skeleton.

Behind me is what I can only assume to be a portal between space and time, and since humans were probably never meant to see what the outside of reality looks like, just a second of looking at it makes my soul want to barf, for all the lack of sense that makes.

"A few parting words perhaps are in order to my client" The Skeleton looks me in the eye as the voice tells me, "Do not falter on the path you will soon undertake. You have been given something many would sell the lives of millions for, a second chance. I suggest you not waste it."

And as I feel body begins to be fully consumed by the tear, the last thing I hear is. "Good luck to you Robert Caito, you will need it"

And WOW I finally did it, I'm writing a story. First ever project on this sight(well there was that first time, but it's gone now so I doubt anyone knows about let alone remembers that piece of shit). This was merely the prologue to the rest of the story and the introduction of the main character.

As you could probably tell by the cards and the allusions to a certain Kaleidoscope the cards that appeared are the Servant Cards from Fate/Kaleid, but they are different in certain ways, mostly because of certain story elements I want to highlight and my lacking knowledge in how exactly how everything in the Nasuverse works, so please don't murder me in the comments. Next chapter will be a clue into the Card's Identities and an introduction into the new world.

I hope you all enjoyed this, and who knows, if enough of you seem to like it, I'll probably do more. Though with exams right around the corner… don't expect an update too soon.

If you liked this piece, please read Drow79's "Holding all of the Cards", it's a wonderful FatexDXD crossover that really gave me the inspiration for this story. Made me really think this was possible. Also, if you're also into WARHAMMER 40k, you might like his story "Pandora's Box", it's a fun story that despite only being 6 chapters, is probably one of the best 40k crossover fics I've read.

Hope you liked this, bye.