A/N: This one is an experimental fic I'm starting. I haven't been doing much writing this past few months, so I'm going to need some time to get my bearings straight. I'll also need a beta reader to test-read any future chapters, so if you're interested, PM me.

I do not own the Zero no Tsukaima series.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Arrival

The sun shone bright and warm in the skies above , the capital of Brittania. The port city's inhabitants were busily going through the motions of their daily existence, opening and shops and restaurants, selling and buying products, providing and accepting services. Children would run and laugh, playing their many made-up games in the streets and back alleys of the enormous city as adults looked on, wistful and often times lost in the nostalgia of their own childhood. The harbors too were a nexus of activity as ships of all sizes sailed in and out, men and women of many different colors and flags strode back and forth, hefting heavy loads of supplies to waiting carriages and airships. Offshore, in and above the waters of the Nitz bay, massive battleships patrolled its boundaries as trading ships and pleasure cruisers sailed past. Anglers perched on strategic points along the water's edge would watch on in awe as the many activities that drive Brittania's economy forward took place.

Overlooking all of this from its vantage point atop a cliff face was Castle Nitz, formerly a fortress built to protect the city from attacks by sea and air. The compound was massive, with walls of five foot thick stone bound together by mortar and runes, encased with Dragonite infused steel, creating a glimmering surface of smooth silver that could be seen for miles.

Guards patrolled the top and outer area of these walls as dragons and griffins sailed through the air above. Canons, some big enough to fit three fully grown men, were positioned strategically around the castle itself, with highly trained musketeers and gunners manning them for maximum offensive and defensive capabilities.

The compound had eight towers arranged in an octagonal configuration, each tower standing at least seven floors above ground level. The castle itself was quite large, with three entrance gates and two airship docks, one for guests and one for the personal use of the royal family, a large garden with exotic flower plants and a large pond in the center of it all, a small building which was the servant's quarters, and a relatively small field with horse stables built and carriages parked nearby for easier access. Inside the castle was a well decorated interior, with gold and silver painted chandeliers, expensive ornaments and furniture, 35 bedroom suites, 25 bathrooms, a dining hall, ballroom, an extensive library and many other things that any other royal would be properly entitled to.

But our story does not focus on all those. No, our story revolves around the black haired young man laying atop the roof of the castle's highest tower.

Humming a cheerful melody and basking in the midday sun and summer breeze, Saito Hiraga would, at a glance of his current behavior, be considered a rather rude and impolite individual who cares little for the deigns of people in possession of greater power. Despite his current position in the government, which many others would kill to have, Saito Hiraga did not act the part.

"Saito!" A faint voice called.

The young man stirred and rose to a sitting position. He stretched and yawned loudly, before peering over the edge of the roof with an inquisitive gaze to find the source of the voice that called him.

"Get down here you idiot! The Queen wants to see you!" He scowled.

"So?! She sees me everyday! Give a hardworking soul some time off, would you?!"

"Hardworking?!" the voice shouted back in disbelief. "You slack off everyday! You haven't even touched the stack of papers from last Tuesday or submitted the work from last Friday!"

"Your point?!"

A pregnant silence. "Saito, I swear, if you don't come down right now, I'll shoot you with the Goliath!"

That got Saito's attention, whose eyes widened and he rushed over to the edge and yelled his response, paling as he did. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You want to find out?!"

Grumbling, Saito stood and dusted himself. Really, was it too much to be left alone for a while? Must there always be more work to do and deadlines to meet? Somehow, at some point on one of his many adventures, Saito suspected that he had, whether it was intentional or not, offended a god or two by doing the many things that made him into the person he was today.

With a resigned sigh, Saito walked to the edge… And stepped off.

He felt the wind's fierce howl in his ears, the world blur by and his body becoming weightless. The familiar sensation of adrenaline coursing through his veins filled his senses and, despite the animosity he felt for the person that awaited him on the ground, Saito smiled. Ah well, you take what you get.

Halfway down his descent, Saito shifted his weight and turned, back to the ground and facing the sky. A moment later, he landed. A wagon of hay conveniently placed so that it would break his fall and cushion the impact.

Saito removed himself from the cushioning and dusted himself. A loud smack of wood hitting a head rang across the courtyard as Saito reeled from the throbbing pain on his noggin.

"Ow! Damn it, Lucius, I told you not to hit me with that thing again!"

To Saito's left stood a scowling young man about his age, Lucius Amhein, with brown hair and brilliant green eyes. He wore a set of formalwear that emphasized the red pseudo-cape that covered his left side but left the other uncovered, exposing a business vest over a long sleeved shirt with a gold chain hanging from the side pocket.

And three holstered pistols.

Well two, as Lucius was hold one as a makeshift club.

"I will, if you start taking your job seriously!"

"Says the man who knits behind stacks of paperwork…"

"Hypocrite! And I had just finished signing those papers when I found you lazing around in the garden!"

"I wasn't lazing around! I was procrastinating."

"That has same meaning, you dimwit!" the other boy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't get paid enough for this. Anyway, like I said, Her Majesty wants to see you. She said something about a joint military exercise with Emmeria and Amestris and that emissaries from both countries will be coming here to finalize the date and venue." Lucius narrowed his eyes. "And since you are Her Majesty's main adviser and Head of the Joint Military Council, your presence during that meeting is mandatory. Needed. Crucial. Important. If you are late by even one minute, then so help me Kaiser, I will shove my boot so far up your butt, you will taste the horse manure I stepped on this morning!"

Saito stared, eyes widening at the intensity of the emotions his friend put into the words.

Then they softened, and he rubbed Lucius' shoulder. "Amelia?"

Lucius slumped. "Amelia."

Saito nodded. He turned and walked, beckoning Lucius to follow him. "What'd she say this time?"


The morning was bright and cheerful as one strawberry blonde girl walked on through the halls of the Tristain Academy of Magic, books and rolls of parchment in hand. Her destination, the Familiar summoning grounds.

Today was meant to be a memorable day for the students of the Academy. The Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual, a rite of passage for young mages all across Helgakenia. For when a mage reaches a certain age, they are to summon a familiar, one that would faithfully serve their master until their dying breath. For many mages, the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual was a chance to discover the true limits of their potential, find a companion that could provide a source of friendship and love…

And to show off their summoned creature.

Many a mage, especially those of young adolescence and noble lineage, consider the summoning ritual as an event that could grant them either a great amount of respect and fame, or mockery and pity from their peers, for the familiar represents the mage that summons it. Those that summon great, majestic beasts told in stories and myth are respected for the power and potential the familiar represents. Those that summon lower, more commonplace creatures are regarded as average. And those that summon poor, pathetic creatures would be seen as something of a low level, even talentless, practitioner of magic.

And those that fail to summon anything are not considered mages.

The strawberry blonde girl halts her march and gazes out, into the academy grounds. Beautiful flowers and well kept plants of countless varieties dotted the courtyard and filled pots. Butterflies flew about and hung on flowers, drinking their sweet nectar, as birds flew in the sky and chirped their calls and songs from their perches and nests. The visage was beautiful.

God, she prayed. Please, let me cast this one spell right. Please, let summon something, anything.

She tore her eyes away from the sight and continued her march.

I beg you.


The meeting had proceeded smoothly as all three sides were satisfied with the rules and conditions set. The day had been average for Saito, who now sat in his plush chair in his office located in the western portion of Castle Nitz, the window behind him showing a brilliant view of the city below and the setting sun in the horizon.

One would think that Saito would've been enjoying the view his window provided. That he would've swiveled his chair around to properly take in the beauty of a city slowly winding down for the coming night with a setting sun painting the sky with orange, red and yellow as the small patches of blue that remained were slowly engulfed by the darkness. One would've thought that, being a man who had achieved a fairly high position in his nation's government, he would've ended the day with something simple and easily overlooked by many.

One would've been wrong.

With his back against the beautiful visage, Saito's eyes narrowed as he took in information from a thick tome, 'the Way to Victory' it was titled. On the table before him were maps, open books and tomes, their contents were strategies, tactics, methodologies and descriptions of terrain, weather, plant life and even the composition of the soil of certain areas. A half empty cup of warm choco and a plate of biscuits lay unattended on one side, a stack of books on advanced spell casting and spells on the other.

Saito sighed and closed the tome, rubbing his temples as he did. Another joint exercise that needed planning. Great. Brilliant.

That was all he did now. Plan and strategize. Think and theorise. Never participating in anything remotely related to a battle or fight. Sure, there had been the occasional rogue who threatened peace between the Alliance and her allies, but those were rare. Not many could easily match his skill with pure power. No, all the strong ones had long since given up fighting him and decided to go into hiding or flee to other realms. They were cowards, yes, but cowards often do live longer that most.

Saito sighed. He wasn't meant to be put behind a desk to do paperwork, he was a soldier. He found meaning in the fires of battle, not signing papers.

"Saito?"

The young man shifted his gaze towards the source of the voice. In the doorway, with half her body leaning through, a beautiful blonde with eyes like rubies locked gazes with Saito. She smiled softly.

"My, you're still here? I thought you would've gone to your quarters by now."

Saito smiled briefly before clearing the work from his desk. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Your Highness?"

The young woman giggled and strode in, wearing a blue dress with white floral lacing on the hem and sides. The young Queen of Brittania and current leader of the Alliance of Sovereign Nations. The person who had the resources, man power and trust of five nations that spanned across continents. She was beautiful, a fair ruler, held the love and favour of the people, didn't flaunt her wealth in front of others and didn't hesitate to correct any wrongs done by evil people.

She also bakes the meanest breads in the whole five realms. That alone was enough to sway Saito to her side of any argument.

The woman perched herself on the edge of Saito's desk, smiling softly. "You too hard, you know that?"

"Eh," Saito shrugged. "It can't be helped. You're still young and inexperienced. You need people like me and Lucius to help you manage everything."

"I know." She sighed "But it feels so wrong, delegating so much to you guys after everything you've done for everyone. For once, I want to take responsibility for everything."

"You will in time, Your Highness. You just need to be patient."

"…Like Lucius?"

Saito chuckled. "Yes, exactly like Lucius, Your Highness."

She pouted. "Hey, none of that 'Your Highness' stuff. I told you to call me by my first name, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I don't feel like it."

The woman sighed and leapt off Saito's desk. "Alright then." She turned to face him. "But would you at least accompany me on a stroll out in the gardens? It's such a beautiful night and I really wouldn't want to let it go unnoticed."

Saito chuckled. "Sure. Anything for Her Highness. Just give me a few minutes to stretch and make myself a bit more comfortable."

The Brittanian ruler smiled and exited the office, giving the young man a moment to prepare.

Saito stood and stretched his limbs a bit, before walking over to an unassuming closet and opening its doors. Inside was an arsenal of weapons and tools, from swords to pistols, hand grenades to garrote strings, field medicine to poison tipped crossbolts, every conceivable weapon a single man could carry was stored away in that very closet, awaiting a time it would find use.

Methodically, Saito armed himself with the standard weapons load out he normally carried when he was assigned on a mission. Throwing daggers, hunting knives, flash and explosive bombs, a set of utility tools and devices, and last but not least, his favorite sword, Masamune.

With everything set, Saito pulled on his coat and turned to leave… And stopped

The young man didn't know why, but something felt… Lacking. He walked over to his desk and pulled open a drawer. From it, he pulled out a tough wooden box. He ran his coarse fingers over the smooth surface and opened it. Inside, countless pieces of paper and parchment, deeds to lands and homes he didn't even know he had, were scattered all around the interior. From that box, he removed a worn leather bound booklet, a handful of glistening gems, each tied to a length of string long enough to be placed around his neck and worn letter. One he had read and reread countless times in many restless nights.

With everything in place, Saito nodded and left his office to join his liege for another stroll in the gardens.


Another puff of smoke and another student received his or her familiar. It had been nothing but common creatures now, cats, dogs and even a frog in Montmorency's case.

Tabitha had, amazingly, managed to summon a dragon. A Founder-be-damned dragon. The tiny, quiet girl had summon a beast that represented power and mastery over one's element. The excited murmurs that assaulted her ears grew louder when Zerbst summoned a flame salamander. She may had been a Fire mages, but was she really that powerful to warrant a salamander as a familiar?

Then that blasted skirt-chaser, Guiche, him and his damned rose wand. Doing so many unnecessary movements that she was certain the ritual wouldn't work. But it did and he got himself a familiar.

She consoled herself that his familiar was a useless, giant mole.

As everyone got about and chatted excitedly about their new familiars, the teacher in charge of the ceremony, Professor Jean Colbert, spoke.

"Alright, has everyone summoned their familiars?"

What? He hadn't been keeping count? Maybe she could slip out of this without having to suffer another explosion…

"Louise the Zero hasn't, Professor!"

The strawberry blonde, known now as Louise, shot a murderous glare in the general direction of where she heard the voice. Those in its way fidgeted in place.

"Oh yes, it would seem as though miss Valliere has yet to attempt the ritual. Come now, miss Valliere, it won't take too long."

"Yeah!" a fat boy from her class called. "It'll just explode, like always!"

The entire crowd burst into laughs and giggles, with the balding teacher attempting (and failing) to restore order. Louise ignore the jab like the many others that were sent her way. She was Louise de Blanc la Valliere, third daughter of Karin of the Heavy Wind, and childhood playmate of Henrietta of Tristain. Mere words would not dent her resolve or her determination. None could.

With her back straight and head held high, Louise strode in the centre of the field and began writing down the necessary runes required to successfully summon the most compatible familiar that matched her. One that perfectly matched her abilities and showed her just how much potential power or latent talent she really has. Personally though, Louise was hoping for a powerful familiar. A dragon, a griffin or a manticore like her mother, Karin. Something that would prove to her peers that she was a mage. That she was of noble descent and stood equally with them. That she was something of a mage in their eyes and her own.

As she finished inscribing the last of the runes onto the circle, Louise stood back and double checked everything. This was the critical part, as with even a single crooked line or misdrawn circle could lead to a disastrous rebound of willpower and could potentially kill the summoner.

Once she was absolutely certain that everything was perfect, that every rune and word was drawn exactly as the book showed, Louise took a deep breath and began her aria.

And prayed to the Founder Brimir to grant her success.


I beg of you…

Saito stopped mid stride and sentence. His body tensed and he crouched low, knees bent and ready to evade at a moment's notice. Faster than the human eye could blink, he drew Masamune, the sword's sharpened steel glistening in the dark like a string of ethereal silver.

"Did you hear that?" he hissed.

Beside him, his liege had also gotten into a battle stance. She was crouched low like him, daggerwand drawn and the aria for a Fireball spell teetering on her lips, held back only by the training she received from Amelia. She nodded and their eyes scanned the area around them, bodies tensing for an attack or a sudden spell.

My slave who lives somewhere in the Universe!

Before the two, a set of runes drawn in a circular pattern appeared as an ethereal portal of the same color materialized, beckoning them to enter.

"Guards!" Saito yelled. "There's an intruder!"

A chorus of armored boots greeted their ears as heavily armed men rushed to their sides, surrounding the mysterious object, weapons drawn. Above them, three griffins descended while two dragons circled high, their riders weapons pointed directly at the green object.

Oh sacred, beautiful and strong familiar spirit!

Saito grit his teeth as his grip on Masamune grew tighter. Whoever did this wasn't any ordinary mage. There was no sign of any elemental energies that usually accompanied spells when they are cast. Even high leveled sorcerers had trouble cast spells with pure magic that did not use any elemental energy. Even gravity modifying spells had a distinctive 'feel' to them, if Saito had to say. But the green thing in front of him and two dozen others wasn't a gravity modifying spell. Even if it was pulling him towards-

Oh, crap.

With his left arm, Saito pushed his liege aside and into the sides of several guards. Just in time too, as he suddenly felt weightless and the ground beneath his feet disappear.

I desire and here I plead from my heart!

"Saito, NO!"

Immediately, five armored men lunged forward to stop their superior from plowing into the green thing. Three missed and fell face first to the ground. One tripped over the bodies of the first three. The last guard managed to leap over his four downed comrades and grabbed Saito's left hand, the other gripping Masamune with a white knuckled grip.

At this, another three guards grabbed hold of the guard and Saito and heaved. The downed four righted themselves and added their weight and strength to stop Saito's flight towards the green unknown.

Eight trained soldiers, fully grown men with above average strength engaged in a tug of war between them and a green thing, with Saito as the unwilling rope. Two forces heaved and pulled hard, the men to the point of them yelling in exertion and ejecting spittle. Their armored boots dug into the ground as the green thing's pull increased in power. Soon, more people joined in and added their weight and strength to the tug of war.

It wasn't enough.

The green thing jerked once, twice, and pulled without moving. The force was so great, that the men and women that tried to hold Saito were sent flying. Saito screamed, in pain and anguish as his vision turned green. The last thing he heard, was his liege screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

Answer to my guidance!


The summoning circle shone an eerie green light as Louise poured her willpower into the spall. The book did say that the more willpower a mage poured into the spell, the higher the chances of them summoning a powerful familiar. And Louise definitely wanted a powerful familiar.

Just then, the predictable happened.

The summoning circle exploded.

The shockwave was strong enough to send Louise sprawling on her back and the other students falling to their bums. Smoke and dust sprung upwards, into many eyes and throats. Familiars panicked and some hid behind their masters or, in some cases, stood before their masters protectively like Tabitha's wind dragon or Zerbst's salamander, both of which hissed at the sudden violent disturbance in their vicinity.

Louise, disorientated and confused, coughed and rubbed her eyes. The ringing in her ears was painful and annoying, but unfortunately, she had gone through worse. Like that time when she tried to levitate a brick, or that time when she attempted to conjure a pool of water. Nonetheless, Louise rubbed the last of the dust and tears out of her eyes and stood. Over the ringing of her ears, she could vaguely make out someone yelling something. Her name maybe? A warning or curses? She could hear well enough to understand.

But all that could wait until later, when she could hear again and when the damn ringing in her ears stopped.

Louise shook her head to rid herself of the remaining discomfort on her person and turned to face her familiar, waiting for the smoke and dust to settle down enough so that she…could…

Oh.

Oh.

The smoke did clear and the dust did settle mere moments later, revealing a… surprising sight.

A man. She had summoned a man. A human. Dressed in what she presumed to be an armored, sleeveless great coat covered in small, overlapping metal plates that seemed to imitate a dragon's scaled hide, and an elaborate shoulder plate on his left shoulder. The man standing in the circle was crouched low, his sword, resembling a rapier but broader and curved, held reverse grip in a stance Louise had never seen or heard of. He wore shin and knee guards, fingerless leather gloves and iron gauntlets that held three sheathed knives each.

His arms were well defined, as though carved from stone, his hair was as black as the night, his face held no trace of baby fat of unwanted blemishes save for a few scars, his eyes were a lighter shade of blue, cold and focused like the steel of a frozen sword.

For one long moment, no one spoke, breathed or twitched. For one long moment, no one dared to break the silence that fell upon them like a lead weight. Then, the man moved, lowering his sword slightly, a gesture that lacked malice or ill intent, but wary and capable of untold things. He swept his gaze across the assembled students slowly, like a predator examining a live prey item, until they settled on Louise. And he spoke.

"Alright, where am I?"

Chapter One, End.

A/N: And that ends chapter one. How was it? Tell me what you think via review!

Next time:

A strange man in a strange world, in a strange situation, with countless questions flooding his mind and a strange weapon in his hands. Who is he? Where did he come from? And why does he seem vehement in trying to find a way back?