Emiya Alter

Lost Bullet

Narration:
There is too much that he cannot remember.

Narration:
When did my bow change into guns?
...I can't remember.

Narration:
When did I change into this form?
...I can't remember.

Narration:
My memories are hazy, my Spirit Origin is nebulous,
and my soul is being shredded to the bone.

Narration:
But even so...there's something I just can't let go of.

Narration:
Of course, the real problem...

Narration:
...is that I can't even tell what that something is anymore.


Fujimaru 1:
What is this place...?


Emiya Alter:
You awake now, Master? You remember anything?

Emiya Alter:
No, huh.

Emiya Alter:
Looks like you and I are in the same boat then.

Emiya Alter:
The situation looks pretty grim.

Emiya Alter:
I think we're in Japan sometime in the 2000s,
but as you can see, there's been a huge disaster.

Emiya Alter:
And we can't seem to get in touch with Chaldea either.

Emiya Alter:
Looks like our only choice is to make our way through this burning city.

Emiya Alter:
I'm sure you're not thrilled about being stuck with me, but I'm sure we'll find a Servant who's a better fit for this sooner or later.

Emiya Alter:
In the meantime, I'll start by cleaning up the riffraff.

Emiya Alter:
Don't fall behind. Make sure you keep up.


Fujimaru 1:
W-will do!


--BATTLE--:

Emiya Alter:
Well that was a waste of time. Come on, let's hurry.


Fujimaru 1:
You know, I've been wondering for a while now–

Emiya Alter:
Whatever it is, I'm not interested unless it has to do with my capabilities.


Emiya Alter:
...
...

Emiya Alter:
That said, the fact that you still have energy for idle chatter is good.

Emiya Alter:
If there's something you wanna ask me on the way,
go ahead. If I feel like it, I'll answer.

Emiya Alter:
If you're wondering what I am, that's hard to explain.

Emiya Alter:
As a Master, you ought to know that every hero has another side to them.

Emiya Alter:
Some of them, they slaughter innocent people without so much as blinking. Others, they fight to protect their country like their lives depended on it.

Emiya Alter:
Most of those types that everyone looks up to have some sort of hidden cruel side.

Emiya Alter:
Then you have Servants, which reflect only one side of the hero they represent.

Emiya Alter:
Sometimes, a Servant'll reflect that hero's hidden side...

Emiya Alter:
...and sometimes, their Spirit Origin'll end up corrupted for one reason or another.

Emiya Alter:
Servants like that all get lumped into a different category.

Emiya Alter:
We're talking the possible destruction of all of humanity here. We need all the help we can get, and we can't be choosy about whether we get it from good or bad people.

Emiya Alter:
...But even there, I'm an unusual case.

Emiya Alter:
The other me was a nameless hero,
shaped by society at large.

Emiya Alter:
It might've been a one-of-a-kind event,
but it still happened naturally.

Emiya Alter:
But me, I'm not one of a kind. I'm just twisted.

Emiya Alter:
The past that made me a hero is gone, and I don't remember anything about who I used to be.

Emiya Alter:
All that's left now is my ability to kill my enemies.
That's the only reason I materialized.


Fujimaru 1:
Is that why you spend most of your time in your spirit form?

Emiya Alter:
Yeah.

Emiya Alter:
The others try to find meaning in existence, but since I'm just a weapon, I don't bother with anything outside of a fight.

Emiya Alter:
After all, no one should go waving weapons around when there's no battles to be fought, right?


Fujimaru 2:
Then, your memories

Emiya Alter:
I know in my head that the other guy is who I used to be.

Emiya Alter:
But it doesn't feel real. It's like we've been separated into two completely different people.


Emiya Alter:
Anyway, enough prattling. Come on, Master.

--ARROW--:

Narration:
He never remembers the intervening moments.
He simply wakes up, and there he is.

Narration:
Then he turns around...

Narration:
...and there is only hell as far as the eye can see.

Narration:
A place so awful it'd feel presumptuous to call it a battlefield that suits him.

Narration:
He figures out who he needs to kill, and quickly focuses his effort on doing so.

Narration:
He wastes not a moment,
even if he never knows why he does so.

Narration:
But the worst part is...he doesn't even care anymore.

Narration:
He leaps into the darkness,
and feels as though he's falling ever deeper into the abyss.

Narration:
“Hey, it's not all bad,” he sneers to himself,
“at least I've still got something to lose.”

Emiya Alter:
...It's faint, but there are traces of magecraft being used up ahead.

Emiya Alter:
And since I don't see any other obvious leads,
I guess we'll just have to head there next.

Emiya Alter:
Come on. It'll be a walk.

Emiya Alter:
...What? You still want to talk?

Emiya Alter:
I can tell you're the inquisitive type,
but you're better off forgetting about it.

Emiya Alter:
Other Servants have pasts and presents.

Emiya Alter:
They've got honor, goals, purpose, glory, desires,
dreams, feelings... All that stuff.

Emiya Alter:
I don't have any of that.
I have nothing to give, and nothing to offer.

Emiya Alter:
...That's the main thing I've got going for me. The cradle of my origin.

Emiya Alter:
So there's no point in learning about me.

Emiya Alter:
All you need to know is what I'm capable of.

Emiya Alter:
...


Fujimaru 1:
A Shadow Servant...


Emiya Alter:
Is this guy why we're stuck wandering around here...?
Well, I guess it doesn't matter.

Emiya Alter:
Fire up your magical energy, Master.
We're taking him down!

--BATTLE--:

Emiya Alter:
...
...Guess he wasn't the one.

Emiya Alter:
But at least I found some new traces of magecraft.
Come on, let's keep moving.


Fujimaru 1:
R-right!


Emiya Alter:
Why don't I ever talk to my other self?

Emiya Alter:
Why would I? There's no point.

Emiya Alter:
If he's all that's left of the man he used to be,
I barely qualify as whatever's left over from that...

Emiya Alter:
No, even that's giving me too much credit. If that were the case, I'd still have some reason to exist.

Emiya Alter:
But I'm just a thing, without any purpose.
It wouldn't make any difference if I was gone.

Emiya Alter:
As far as the other guy's concerned, he could kill me a thousand times and it still wouldn't be enough.

Emiya Alter:
...These traces lead into that cave. Let's hurry.

Emiya Alter:
...Don't you think it's strange?


Fujimaru 1:
Don't I think what's strange?

Emiya Alter:
...
...


Fujimaru 2:
I do, but what other choice do we have?

Emiya Alter:
Gotcha.

Emiya Alter:
At least you're not as dense as I thought.


Emiya Alter:
I'm guessing this is a dreamworld.
An artificial hell. The end of nothingness.

Emiya Alter:
A place that makes you confront your sins and demands you pay for them.

Emiya Alter:
...I've seen it before.

Emiya Alter:
But I don't know why we're here.

Emiya Alter:
I'm not looking for anything from you,
and you're not looking for anything from me.

Emiya Alter:
We're just helping each other out. That's all there is to it.

Emiya Alter:
So then, why am I–why are we here?

Emiya Alter:
Anyway, let's keep moving. Whatever's going on here,
we'll have to take care of it before we can go home.

Narration:
I might not remember them myself,
but I do have records of my past deeds.

Narration:
I know exactly how many people I killed,
and how many mages.

Narration:
I don't feel any guilt over their deaths,
and I've never been punished for them either.

Narration:
Every bullet I fire hits its mark,
making the world safer.

Narration:
...But the path I've walked isn't mine alone.

Narration:
When did my path split from his?

Narration:
I'm not jealous. I don't envy him.
I just find myself wondering from time to time.

Narration:
It feels like a monster with its jaws open wide is slowly making its way toward me.

Narration:
I'd probably feel a lot better if I just let it swallow me up.

Narration:
But I'm not that far gone.

Narration:
...Not yet, anyway.

--ARROW--:


Fujimaru 1:
There's nothing here...

Emiya Alter:
You're right.
But I'm pretty sure this is our last stop.


Fujimaru 2:
I kind of thought we'd find the shadowy guy with the foul mouth here.

Emiya Alter:
Who're you talking about?

Emiya Alter:
...Ah, whatever. Just hang on.


???:
If you're here, then I doubt anybody summoned me.

Emiya Alter:
That's right.

Emiya Alter:
You're like a tumor that snuck its way into my dreams, aren't you? I'm taking you out and getting Master home.

Emiya Alter:
Hope you enjoyed your life, because it ends here.

???:
Oh, I'm pretty used to that sort of thing by now.
That said...

???:
...I'm not just going to abandon my survival instinct and let you chop my head off.

Emiya Alter:
...The hell?

???:
What's there to be upset about?
Isn't that why you need a Master?

Emiya Alter:
No...you're right.

Emiya Alter:
Come on, Master. This is the last battle we've got to fight to get home.

Emiya Alter:
Let's go.

???:
I see. Well, for your sake,
I certainly hope you can return home.

--BATTLE--:

???:
...!

A:Emiya Alter:
...Something's not right.


Fujimaru 1:
What is it?


A:Emiya Alter:
...I know my swords and bullets tore through you.

A:Emiya Alter:
So how are you still alive?

C:???:
Why wouldn't I be?
A Servant can't go down without a fight.

A:Emiya Alter:
...Huh!?


Fujimaru 1:
Th-there's two of him!?


D:Emiya Alter?:
...There you have it.

D:Emiya Alter?:
I'm sure you can understand,
since we are the same person.

A:Emiya Alter:
...
...

A:Emiya Alter:
...Yeah, I get it now.
I was the tumor.

D:Emiya Alter:
Sure looks that way.

D:Emiya Alter:
There really isn't much difference between us, though.

D:Emiya Alter:
Our rote, mechanical way of life is just so simple that even the concept of who we are starts to get hazy.

D:Emiya Alter:
That's the long and short of it, Master.
Now stand back a bit.

B:???:
...You came here to save Fujimaru?

D:Emiya Alter:
Of course. Despite everything, I'm still [♂ his /♀️ her} Servant.

B:???:
Hmph.

B:???:
I might be the cancer here, but you're not far off from being just like me.

B:???:
Whatever fate's got in store for us can't be that different.

D:Emiya Alter:
...You might be right.

B:???:
That said, it does look like I'm getting in the way.

B:???:
So then, there's only one way to end this.

D:Emiya Alter:
Don't look at him, Fujimaru.

B:???:
Screw that. You should see this through to the end.

B:???:
You should see what happens when a man who's lost sight of everything is as far gone as he can be.

B:???:
I'd say it's a fitting end for me, don't you think?


Fujimaru 1:
He...turned his gun...on himself...

D:Emiya Alter:
I told you not to look.


Fujimaru 2:
No...

D:Emiya Alter:
Don't worry about it. It's what had to be done to resolve this.


D:Emiya Alter:
I don't blame you for not realizing he was an imposter. He wasn't.

D:Emiya Alter:
This dream–if that's even what it really is–will be over soon.

D:Emiya Alter:
Once you're awake, you should forget this ever happened.

D:Emiya Alter:
It's all been just a nightmare. That's all.

D:Emiya Alter:
Once you forget it, I will too. After all...

Narration:
"Even things that happened five minutes ago feel like a dream from long ago."

Emiya Alter:
You up now, Master?

Emiya Alter:
There was something strange happening with my Spirit Origin. It happened right around the time your vitals started going haywire.

Emiya Alter:
Guess you and I were sharing one of those Servant dream things.

Emiya Alter:
You look like you're all right now, but make sure you get yourself a mental health checkup too.

Emiya Alter:
So? What'd you see in there?


Fujimaru 1:
I don't remember a thing.

Emiya Alter:
Good. It's better that way.

Emiya Alter:
Don't worry about it.

Emiya Alter:
Whatever you saw wasn't worth remembering.
It was just one possible end to one man's life.

Emiya Alter:
It was a glimpse of a future that has to come, sooner or later...

Emiya Alter:
Hmph. But I digress.


Fujimaru 2:
All I remember is that it made me really sad...

Emiya Alter:
...I see.

Emiya Alter:
Well, whatever you're sad about, I'm sure you don't have to be. When you get right down to it, I'm just a bullet.

Emiya Alter:
I don't have any thoughts or ideals. Once you fire me, I'm gone. Out of sight, out of mind.


Emiya Alter:
Anyway, what do you say we get going?

Emiya Alter:
You're on another mission to save the world,
just like always, right?

Emiya Alter:
Like I said, I'm a bullet, so lock and load. I'll keep on flying at my targets until the day I fall apart.

Narration:
"A hero of justice isn't so bad. But for some reason, it makes me sad."