Fate/Alternative

11 - Wake Up

He stood alone atop a hill. His senses were jumbled and he couldn't quite tell what was what. But he knew one thing. He sat alone in this dark world with nothing but sand and rock and steel.

Surely a place like this is where a fake like him belonged. But how did he get here? How did it come to this?

Two.

Yes, he remembered now. He was hurt badly. He was dreaming, that's all. Yet he felt so empty here. This dream was strange. It wasn't the nightmare from his childhood, nor was it the dreams he had of a blonde haired girl.

Why was he weak? He trained and trained. He studied and studied. He had withstood so much to reach this point.

"So, why am I so weak!" He shouted to himself.

He couldn't complete his mission, nor could he ever properly keep a promise. He was weak. Perhaps this is why he was alone again.

He still couldn't make out his surroundings, his eyes refused to focus on anything.

"Aren't you tired of this?" Someone asked, "Isn't what you want out of your reach?"

He turned to the voice. It was a boy, maybe 13 years old. He had red hair and green eyes. One. Karma's first friend.

"I thought you wanted something else. You were so happy for a minute there, you know?" One had a childish smile on his face.

"You know what needs to happen." Karma sat against a large rock, "They have to die."

"Why is that?"

"I can't accept that they got away with it. Nothing happened to them, as if all our suffering was for nothing." Karma lacked emotion here. He began to feel more and more tired.

"Is that why? Or is it because you don't want it to happen again."

"Hehe..." karma chuckled dryly, "I'm not a hero. I'm in it for personal satisfaction. Nothing more than that."

One leaned forward, his right index finger resting on his chin thoughtfully.

"You tell yourself that a lot, you know. I wonder if you even really beleive it." One twirled and looked at the sky, "Look at this dull place! Don't you think you could brighten up a bit?"

Karma followed One's gaze and looked at the sky. It was dark. He could make out an orange ring the sky, as if the moon was blocking out the sun.

"How much more time will you waste here? It's been awhile, you know?" One swiveled on his heels to face Karma once more, "I want you to smile more, okay?"

I'm not sure that's possible, Seven thought.

The dream shifted around him. The hill became a flat plain of nothingness. Everything as far as the eye could see was white. One was no longer with him.

"Will you listen to him?"

A new voice called out to him. He turned towards it. It was a boy about the same age as One was. He had black hair and amber eyes. It was himself. Not the him now but the one from the past. The boy who forgot even his own name.

"He lived his life, didn't he?" The child said, "Revenge for what they did to us is what you truly want, isn't it?"

"...yes" He answered after a short silence, "I want them to die. To stop existing. For everything they've done to me."

"You want strength?" The boy said, "The strength to do it?"

"Yes."

"It's already here."