Dystopia

Summary: AU Shirou's worst nightmares have come true, but he is powerless to do anything about this. Implied ShirouXSaber, GilgameshXSaber and slight LancerXRin.

A/N: Gilgamesh did not kill Lancer in this fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own FSN

It was hell on earth. That was the only way to describe the scene in front of him. Fuyuki city had been almost completely leveled and fires were running rampant, trying to consume anything and everything in its path. But no one was trying to put them out, of course not, because how could they when almost everyone was dead? Three fifths of the townspeople had already died instantly during the initial explosion caused by the Holy Grail, but another one fifth had been lost in the aftermath.

It was just like what happened ten years ago, but only much worse. Unlike then, there was no hero to save him this time. There was no one who would rebuild his world and no one who would comfort him. He was absolutely alone now. But why did things have turn out this way? He remembers that just a few days ago, he was out on a date with the woman who meant everything to him and more, and now this...

He just wanted to blame that arrogant bastard who calls himself king for all of this, but knows he can't. For the sole reason that he knows that he is to blame for all of this. If he had just been stronger, then maybe things would have ended differently. If he had only listened to what Saber had said, but he didn't. He was arrogant, believing that he was invincible since he had justice on his side. But who was he kidding, he was no hero. He was just a kid who put his injured pride before everything else.

The plan was that he was supposed to fight against the fake priest while Saber goes up against Gilgamesh. But their plans were derailed when the King of Heroes suddenly appeared in front of them. But instead of leaving him to her like they originally agreed on, he told her to go ahead. Naturally, she didn't agree with him at first. But he reasoned with her and told her that things would be faster this way. That he would distract the man while she goes to where the fake priest was.

He even reminded her that Illya's life hung on the balance, which had caused her to leave, albeit reluctantly. Looking back now, he was so disgusted with himself. To think that he had used Illya like that to get what he wanted. The truth of the matter was that when he saw the servant appear with his ever present arrogant smirk, he lost it. The only thing in his mind was the memory of how their last encounter with him left both of them half dead.

He had momentarily forgotten about everything and everyone else, his thoughts were completely filled with the image of Saber lying down on the ground, pleading to the golden king to at least spare his life. Remembering how useless he had been and how she still put him first when she was just as injured, if not even more injured than him, was what really set him off. He wanted to wipe that smirk out of his face, and he thirsted for a chance at revenge, not just for his sake, but for her as well.

But he wasn't completely consumed by his anger and hatred to the extent that he had any delusions of being able to beat him. He wasn't that stupid. He knew that it was impossible. But he thought that since he had the Azoth from Rin, he would at least be able to get one hit in. That was all he wanted, and he did get it. But it was at the expense of Illya, along with Issei, Sakura, and even his Taiga-nee. Not just them, but almost all of Fuyuki had to pay for what he had done.

During their battle, the Servant just toyed with him and that made him even angrier. So while he could have just kept going along with his little game and try to stall a bit longer like he should have done, he went and used his ace in the hole. The Azoth took the other male by surprise, and it was actually able to injure him. But it was a short lived victory for him because immediately after, the King of Heroes decided to put an end to the charade and pulled out his noble phantasm, Enkidu.

The chains had bound him instantly and he could do nothing but watch in horror as another sword appeared from the king's collection before it flew through the air and impaled him. The chains then disappeared and he fell to the ground as his blood spilled out from his body. As his body begun to grow cold, he saw that the other male didn't even give him a glance and just left him to die a dog's death. The last thing he remembers was thinking about Saber one last time before everything went dark.

When he first awakened, he found himself alive and still at the place where he and Gilgamesh had fought. He had foolishly thought that it was because Saber had managed to defeat the golden haired king and came back for him. But all his hopes were dashed immediately once he saw the state of the city. The Fuyuki city he knows and loves, no longer exists. In its place are burning ruins, giant walls erected on the outer borders of the city and in the very heart was a great palace that looked to be full of splendor.

But around the palace, in a place that the fire doesn't touch, was a small area that resembled a town. It was in that place where all of the remaining survivors lived. He didn't know for how long he was out, and what had happened so he did the only logical thing to do in that situation, he headed for the town to get some information. It wasn't that hard to get the info he wanted, apparently there had been an explosion that wiped most of the town's population out and the survivors were given a choice.

It was to either live as King Gilgamesh's subjects or to be thrown out of the Kingdom of Uruk. No one dared to refuse the man, not because they wanted to live under his rule, but simply because it was the only way to survive. Life in the Kingdom of Uruk came with the promise of food, shelter and protection. There was absolutely nothing for them outside the walls. Beyond those concrete marvels was a fathomless chasm that awaited those who resisted the king's rule.

But that still didn't answer his questions of how did things turn out this way, or where Saber was now. Surely, she was also alive somewhere in this dystopia. But he got the answers to his questions from an unexpected source. It was by pure chance that he met Lancer while he was out on his patrol of the city and after deciding that the blue haired male was his best bet at getting answers any time soon, he pulled the older man into an alleyway and begged him for answers.

Out of pity, the man told him of how things had come to be. He told him that the events that followed immediately after his battle with Gilgamesh was that the golden haired man headed to where Saber was and found her just as she gave the finishing blow to the fake priest. They then proceeded to fight for the Grail and she ended up losing to him because she had already used up a substantial amount of mana on her previous fight. The man then made his wish to the Grail after his victory and that had been the start of the end.

The Grail had isolated the entirety of the city and sent it in the middle of a bottomless abyss to let it exist there. It was so ironic that Shirou could have almost laughed, this place was supposed to be the omnipotent Grail's attempt at recreating Uruk. A kingdom as desolate as this was the Grail's interpretation of the Uruk that the King of Heroes was so proud of.

But it was fitting somehow, a kingdom as lifeless as this suited a King like him. But the Celtic demigod didn't just stop there; he told him that it has already been a month since they've started living in this place and told them of the fate of the two people who meant everything to him, and whom he let down the most. The first person was the red magus whom he had called his friend. She was now the court magician, and lived inside the palace.

She had apparently tried to resist the King's rule, and it was only through Lancer, Saber, and the King's right hand man, Enkidu's intercession that her life was spared. Gilgamesh had then decided to keep her around, only to have someone to fill the role of his court magician. But the girl would rather end her own life before doing such a thing, and it was only because of Gilgamesh's all too plausible threat of killing a hundred survivors should she refuse, made her swallow her pride and accept the position.

Lancer himself served as the Kingdom's head general, not because he wanted the position or power, but merely to keep Rin safe. While there was no love lost between the two Heroic Spirits, Gilgamesh knew that Lancer was way stronger than any other human so he gave him the position. But when Lancer refused to accept it even when Gilgamesh threatened to kill him, the other man decided to change tactics. He then placed Rin's life on the table; and with that, was able to effectively chain him down.

But out of everyone living in this kingdom, no one had it as bad as Saber. She had been forced to wed the King, and was now officially the queen of Uruk. When Lancer had said that, Shirou had to lean on a nearby alley wall for support because he couldn't believe, no, didn't want to believe it. Lancer had paused and regarded him for a few seconds before continuing his tale. Not to torture him, but merely because the boy had a right to know what happened to Saber.

So he told him of how Gilgamesh kept her at the foot of his throne, of how her she was dressed in finery, yet her hands and legs were bound by gold chains. As soon as the words left the man's lips, Shirou wanted to do nothing more than to go to where she was and free her from those shackles, and to beat the King with his fists for what he did to her. But Lancer held out a hand and stopped him, and he didn't let go of him until he calmed down.

He thrashed, kicked and punched, but it was to no avail. The man wouldn't let go of him and hitting him was like hitting a brick wall, and Shirou was pretty sure that he was the one who was feeling more pain with what he was doing. So after exhausting himself, he stopped and tried to calm himself down a bit. It had been hard, but he managed to do it, and as if to reward him Lancer told him the rest of what he knew of Saber.

He said that he and Rin only saw Saber once or twice in a day. She was free to roam around the palace sometimes, but only when the King was preoccupied with something else. Though it seemed that there was some kind of force that kept her from actually leaving the palace. But the King would sometimes keep her locked up in his, no, their bedroom chambers and would have guards stationed outside the doors. As a last note to his tale, the blue haired man told him that this has been occurring more and more recently.

As soon as he heard that, it was as if the floor gave way and he found himself slumping down the wall he had been leaning on. Lancer gave him a look of pity, but said nothing more to him other than a curt farewell since he had to go back to his patrol, and warning him to be careful and not to do anything too stupid or reckless before he went back into the open streets of Uruk. Shirou didn't move from his spot for a long time and just stayed like that, staring blankly at a wall.

But eventually he did get up, with only one thought in mind. He was going to infiltrate the palace and sneak Saber and Rin out, and then they could just run away from here to somewhere. Even if they were in the middle of an abyss, he believed that Rin would be able to find a way out for them. So with only this thought in mind, he starts to put his plans to action. He goes out of the town and instead lives among the ruins of Fuyuki city to better avoid detection.

He then spends most of his time observing the palace, collecting information, and looking for a way to get in without being detected by the guards. Finally he finds what he's been looking for in the form of an underground water way right under the palace, and one night he puts his plan into motion. He uses the water way to arrive at the palace gardens and from there, he relies on the darkness to cover him as he makes his way to the King and Queen's bedchambers.

Unlike before, he had actually spent a great deal of time and effort to ensure that this plan went off without a hitch. He's talked to the palace servants, so he knows that on this day the King will be out on business like every night of the new moon and goes to who knows where in this abyss. Not just that, but with a bit of effort and bribing, he managed to get them to tell him where both the Royal bedchambers and Rin's chambers were.

In his carefully laid out plans, the ending to this story was a happy one. He would find Saber, Rin and maybe even Lancer, and after escaping from the palace they could hide out while they tried to find a way out of here. Then they would return to their world and he would hold Saber close and never let her go again. He imagined starting over with her, Rin and Lancer in another town, and he and Saber would be together forever.

He most certainly did not expect a wrench to be thrown at his plans in the form of an androgynous child standing outside the Royal bedchambers. He had expected large men in suits of armor to act as guards, not a fragile looking child. But he only hesitated for seconds before projecting two swords into his hands and charging at the child. The child didn't as much as blink when the swords made contact with his skin before shattering into a million pieces.

Then the next thing he could register was the feeling of immense pain as the child merely shoved him back, which sent him flying to a stone column. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was him outstretching his hand to the doors that separated him and Saber.

He later woke and found himself in an empty alley way in the town and came to the conclusion that the child had let him go. He then went into hiding for a while, expecting soldiers, the child or even the King, himself to come for him.

But even after a week, no one came looking for him. It makes him wonder if the child had even mentioned what had happened on the night of the new moon to the King. But then again even if he did, the King of Heroes probably wouldn't bother with him. To him, he was a mere powerless mongrel who did not have the strength to defeat him or his armies. But he does not give up, and has no intention to. Instead he bides his time for another chance and hones his skills with the sword and projection as he waits.

But as the days pass, the people begin to really accept both reality and their role as subjects of Uruk. Lancer even tells him of how Rin becomes more resigned to her fate each day, and he starts to lose hope that he can get her on his side when the time comes. But even worse was Saber, whom he hasn't seen even once since awakening in this kingdom. His only solace is in his dreams where there are happier times for him and the only thing that keeps him going are his hopes to be reunited with his beloved Saber again.

But all of the waiting stops at the night of a festival and he once again uses the underground water way to get inside the palace. But what awaited him when he reached the gardens made his blood freeze. Standing there in his complete gold armor was the King with the child in the tunic. For all the training he has done, the battle, if it could even be called that, lasted only for a minute before once again he was caught in the King of Heroes' Noble Phantasm.

But as the chains held him still once more for the killing blow, the King took this time to pull something out from his treasury. Just like before it was another sword, but unlike before, the King actually held it in his hands before pointing it towards the sky. As if it had received a command from the Golden haired King, the sky split open and what seemed like a hurricane descended to the earth. But both the king and the child didn't look the slightest bit fazed at the roaring winds all around them.

He merely gave Shirou a victorious smirk before snapping his fingers and the chains suddenly vanished. Without them holding him in place, he was carried off by the winds higher and higher until he was sucked into the hole in the sky.

Later on he woke up feeling very sore and once he glanced around his surroundings, he noticed that he was no longer in Uruk. No, he was in the middle of a giant crater. While he had no idea where he was at first, he was able to climb out and find civilization after a very long walk. He arrived in a town and as soon as people saw the minor injuries that were caused by Gilgamesh, they had him rushed to the hospital. There, a kind nurse told him about what that place was and had been.

He had returned to his world and the crater was the site where Fuyuki city had just abruptly disappeared months ago. Weeks later when Shirou was finally discharged, he returned to the site once more. It was there that he realized why the other man had not killed him when he had the chance, it was not because of pity and neither was it out of mercy. Shirou knows better, it was just to prolong his suffering. There is nothing and no one here for him; his last remaining friend and his love were both still in Uruk. So as he finally accepts that he will never see them again, the bitter tears don't stop falling from his eyes.

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