fate/first order derivative

Part I.13

> restart: friday, early night

... is that it? Am I out? Guess that must've been the attack Lancer used at the church. That was nice of him. Killing me with that quick explosion, I mean, rather than stabbing me or whatever. I don't remember feeling a thing.

So... now what. I guess I just have to wait and see?

***

> skip forward

I run off a quick note for Emiya, signed anonymously, with the highlights of the next few days -- don't trust Kotomine, watch out for hypnosis on Monday night, etc. I wait until they've left for the church, then slip it under his door. After some internal debate, I ride my bike across town to Rin's place and leave a copy in her mailbox.

And that's it. I just go home.

> so what's the plan

The plan is I'm taking Rin's advice. I'm staying out of it from here on. Out of everything.

> and you're okay with that

Well... she's right, isn't she? I don't have a stake in any of this Grail crap. I'm not a Master. I don't care about who wins the Totally Holy Triwizard Murder Cup. The only reason I got involved in this mess in the first place was the time loop. If I'm finally in the clear, why stick my nose into things that don't concern me? I mean, I feel bad for Shirou and all -- that's why I left the note -- but if anyone is strong enough to tank all of this, it's him. I'd just as likely get in his way.

> are you afraid you'll die

Sure, of course, especially since it might be for keeps this time. But it's more than that. Rin was right about another thing, too... this really isn't anything like Harry Potter. At all.

> meaning

As far as I can tell, aside from maybe Shirou, there are no good guys here. If it all just comes down to a bunch of power-crazed psychopathic Voldemort wannabes running around trying to see which of them can murder their way to the top... yeah, no thanks. I'm out.

It's kinda funny in a way... they get all these legendary heroes from the past involved, but then they hand control over to people who are the exact opposite of heroic. Amazing, isn't it?

> harsh
> but not inaccurate

Then again, maybe heroes fighting for the interests of ambitious sociopaths is as close to the true nature of war as things get. Either way, I want no part of it. You gonna call me on that?

> no
> it makes sense you'd feel this way

Yeah. Suppose it does, doesn't it. So... back to normal life, I guess? At least until something goes wrong.

***

> skip to: week 2, friday, afternoon

Faked being sick on Tuesday so I could skip the whole bounded field incident. Even though I knew that was a bad move -- if Shirou or Rin check the absent list for that day, they might be able to link me to the warning letter I left them. Turns out that I didn't need to worry, though. Whatever's going on with the Grail War seems to be keeping them busy. I've seen them every now and again out of the corner of my eye, scurrying around, doing who knows what. It's none of my business.

Just passed the previous reset point without any sign of problems. It's funny, though, right? All that time and effort spent getting out of the loop, just to do nothing. But isn't that how it's supposed to work? You go to the other world, you have your big adventure, maybe throw a ring or two into a volcano -- and then you go home. I didn't exactly have much of a hero's journey... but then again, I'm not much of a hero, am I.

***

> skip to: week 3, thursday, late night

Coming up on the end of day 13. I'm close to two weeks with no reset. I'm sitting at my desk, playing another game of Civ 2. Mana detector's gone. I took it down and threw it in my closet, along with Shin's notebooks. Didn't get rid of them, just in case of... whatever. But here's hoping I never have to see them again.

So here's a thought... what if I live out the rest of my life and die of old age or a heart attack or whatever -- and then reset to the Friday before last? I can't decide if that would be awesome or horrible.

> i wouldn't worry about that right now
> look outside

I take a glance through the window. Huh. What's that weird glow on the horizon?

> investigate

I grab my jacket and head outside. I walk down the street to the point where I can get a clear view from the hill, and...

... um.

> what is it

Everything's on fire.

> what do you mean everything

I mean everything. The town, the city in the distance -- even the freaking river is in flames. I can hear sirens screaming in the distance. The smell of smoke and ash in the air is so thick I nearly choke on it.

I just... what.

> are you in danger

No. Not for the moment, anyway. My house is on the side of a hill overlooking the town proper. It doesn't look like the fire's made it up here yet.

The ground below the hill -- it's coated with some kind of thick black sludge that's burning. Like magma, or maybe crude oil. Whatever it is, it seems to be flowing down from the temple mountain, which is itself entirely in flames. The school -- fuck. I can hear voices. People. Yelling. Screaming. Crying. It's just...

This is real. Holy shit. This is really happening.

> keep calm
> what can you do

Yeah, I'd -- I should go wake up Mom and Dad. In case we need to move. It's just... fuck. It's like watching Pompeii burn. Except it's my town. My city. My...

... wait. What the fuck was that?

> what

I saw this... I guess you could call it a flash? Or maybe like the opposite of one -- a flicker of the absence of light, somehow...

There. There it is again. There's this... sort of blackish-indigo beam lancing across the town. It seems to be coming from the top of the mountain. It traces over a block or two, then vanishes.

> does anything explode

No, not that I can see. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to damage any of the buildings... well, doesn't do any additional damage. They're still on fire and all.

Okay, here it comes again. Kinda tough to spot -- you have to remember to look for where there isn't light, not for --

Shit. It's coming this way.

> run

I turn and rush back towards the house. Can I take cover? Would that even matter? What the fuck is going on? Is this magic? Is it --

fuck oh god it hurts it hurts it hurts like the circle make it stop make it