This is going to be a Route 50 crossover with the Fate series. It is not part of RouteSaga and does not take place in the same continuity as RouteSaga. For those unfamilar with the Fate series, this should explain how the Holy Grail War works.
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Day 1 - Monday
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Ilex green and silver white, the signature colors of the Route. The magus donned her school uniform in the mirror. Still young and freckled, brown hair spilling over her shoulders. Perfect.
She checked her phone; just a few minutes until it was done charging. She could afford to wait a few minutes. Grabbing her mother's journal, she held the fire-pendant close to the pages.
A lightning rat and a leafy cat. Two heroes, but one Heroic Spirit. Joined in death as well as life. If she could summon this pair as her Servants, the war was as good as won...
Mae's phone rang. Getting off her bed, the magus answered. She heard heavy breathing, as if the person on the other side had just run a long distance. "Frosti?" No, not quite. "Who is this?"
"Just... think of me as a friend," said the caller heavily. "Maestra Flarrior, are you planning to fight?"
Her breath snagged in her throat. "Yes," she replied cautiously. "How do you know about me--"
Suddenly, a power surge flooded the charger cord, a sharp burst of static in the mage's ear. Cringing, she pulled the phone away from her ear--and the screen was dark.
Frowning, Mae pressed the power button, tapped the screen, shook the device. No good. Her phone had been inexplicably fried.
Downstairs, the landline rang. Hurrying down to the dining room, Mae answered the phone. Same caller. "That's no good," said the voice. "Maestra, you must not participate in the war."
She was stunned. "What? Why?"
The voice was deep and familiar. "Because you already know about the flaw in the template. You already know that no good can come from this Grail."
"You must be one of my opponents," snapped Mae, fingers curling into a fist. "Trying to knock out the competition before the game starts? Listen, you! I don't care what you say. I'm going to--"
Dial tone. Mae stared at the receiver in her hand. Her heart pounded. Was she being watched? Glancing around frantically, she hurried back upstairs.
Nothing. Her room looked just the way she'd left it. Quickly, she put away the fire-pendant and her mother's notes, resealing her drawer.
Glaring at her now-fried phone, Mae grabbed her bookbag and headed down the stairs, locking the door on her way out. She should have left three minutes ago, after all.
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The city of Shioko, a union of Hoenn and Johto values. That great destination of the Route, the fifty caravans who left the Hollow Quarry far behind. That's what the stories said, anyway.
Lunchtime. She hadn't touched her bento yet. From the rooftop, Maestra gazed over the city, her eyes drifting to the abandoned construction site. Cinder blocks, bags of cement, and slabs of glass littered the area.
The construction site was in the center of the city, a prime space. Surely, it would appeal to some business? But the lot had been abandoned for as long as Mae could rememeber.
"But sensei? The TA isn't answering any of my calls? So how do I get the study guide?" Blinking, Maestra peeked down the stairwell to see an underclassman pleading with Ms. Aurore, arms flapping like wings.
Aurore crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to prepare notes for all of my classes," she said crisply. "That's what the lectures are for. Both you and Twiggy have got to stop ditching class, Nep." Stunned, Nepeta stared as the teacher walked away.
Approaching from behind, Mae tapped Nep on the shoulder with a book, startling her. "Psst. It's for comp lit, right? Want me to lend you my notes from last year?"
Nepeta's eyes widened. "You'd do that for me, senpai?" she stammered, her face going red. "Thank you so much!"
"Yepyep. Gotta help my juniors and whatnot." Truthfully, Mae's face was hot too, not that she'd admit it. "Come by on..." Saturday should work, even if the war wasn't over by then. "I should be free Saturday morning. See you then."
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And so, classes came to an end. Alone, Maestra returned home. She wasn't there today, either. A book tucked under one arm, she entered her house, closing the front door behind her.
A red light on her answering machine was flashing: one new message. Frowning, Mae hit the play button. "Maestra?" said a cool, female voice. "As you know, the deadline is tomorrow."
The magus stood stiffly. "If you plan to take part in the Grail War, summon your Servant tonight. If not, let me know now, so I can arrange for a substitute magus to arrive."
As Kat's message ended, Mae scowled at the phone, her fingers glowing with a charging spell. No, calm down, she told herself. No need to blast the phone and set the house on fire... again.
It had been ten years since the previous Holy Grail War--the conflict that reshaped the face of the Route. A power struggle, not between regions, but between people.
She looked at the faint bruise-like mark that had formed on the back of her hand a few days ago. The candidtates were determined; the Grail had chosen her. There was no turning back now...
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"Urgh... almost there!" Gasping for breath, the boy with steel-blue eyes carried the massive shield down the sidewalk, drawing stares from passerby. He wore a safety helmet and a silver backpack that gave him the appearance of a large Aron. "Come on...!"
Reaching his truck, Toyguy heaved the great shield into the back before climbing into the cab. "What a stroke of luck!" he chirped, examining a diagram of a magic circle. "I can't believe I found such a perfect catalyst just lying around on the ground..."
Several blocks away, a man in Ylissean plate armor with gold stripes trudged down the street, clanking with each step. "How did they not notice my shield vanish?" grumbled Kellam, moving through the crowd that didn't notice him at all. "This is getting ridiculous. Who just randomly steals a shield from its owner's tent, anyway?"
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"You'd like to check this out, right?" said Gretel calmly, gesturing to the book on the counter. Nodding, Metatyph handed her his library card.
A new Holy Grail War was starting. Fiery images danced in his head as his fingers traced the symbols on the book's cover. He'd been waiting many years for this opportunity...
The Meowstic handed back his card. "All set! It's due back in one month."
Exiting the library, Typh trotted down the street eagerly, clutching the book close to his heart. It'd been almost a decade--but he would finish what his teacher had started.
"On loan from the Canalave Public Library, huh?" he muttered to himself, looking over the book as he approached his house. "Well, then. Let's get started..."
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Deep in the woods, another Master prepared her magic circle. Brushing dust off her pants, Twiggy placed a Pokemon Platinum cartridge in the middle of the clearing. Taking out her bo-staff, she began to draw a magic circle around the game card.
She glaned at the twisted runes that had appeared on the back of her hand a few days ago. The sign that things would begin to change, at long last.
Her eyes flickered with growing delight as she etched the runes in the soft, fertile soil. "Okay, I got this," she whispered, almost purring. "Everything's gonna be okay. Life sucks but we'll fix it. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. Okay, where are we...?"
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