An Ancient Past Chapter 2

A Highschool DxD x Fate Stay Night Fic

"Get up."
Shirou sturred out of his slumber by harsh words spat from his left. There was a sense of bodily disconnect as he struggled to orient himself conscious.
The ground was, damp? The wind ruffled ruined clothes as Shiro started to realize that he was outside.
There was a vague throbbing feeling in his body as he started to piece things together. His memories started prowling upon him; circling but still out of reach.
Where was he?
What happened to Tosaka? With each question, clarity drifted closer and closer as realizations started to form.
"Do not lay there and ignore me, Mongrel! We need to speak and will do so now!"
Snapping his eyes fully alert, Shiro sprung up aggravating his abused body.
Red eyes met Gold as Shirou took in the King's appearance.
Gilgamesh wasn't looking too well.
A layer of dirt and blood caked his entire body. Shirou likened his appearance to tarnished gold but it was more than that. Gilgamesh was different. His eyes, once crimson pits or rage, now held an older more ancient look about them. His posture, while tired and hurt held a more scholarly quality to it.
What happened to him in the Grail's void?
"We need to go." The king stated.
"We?" Shirou questioned wondering where this sudden comradery was coming from his recently sworn nemesis.
"Yes, we. Listen closely Mongrel. I am only stating this once."
Shirou silently marveled at how insulting The King could say that while so tired and hurt.
"To keep this brief, our situation is currently quite a bit dire. My connection to the Grail and Throne of Heroes has been ruptured. I have no information on where we currently are at the moment and our arrival at this place came with a severe temporal disturbance similar to the use of True Magics. I have no intention of treating with some nosey Magus, human, or Phantasmal Beast that decides to come investigating around our point of arrival; nor are we in any real position to defend ourselves." Gilgamesh held a distinct look of absolute disgust as he paused a second before stating, "Much as it pains me to grace your meager lower existence with such a gift," Truly a delightful person Thought Shirou.
"I am proposing a temporary truce so that we may collect our bearings and properly assess the situation."
Shirou fought the urge to snark a sarcastic remark as he took a moment to digest the King's words.
He truly did not recognize the cratered field that they were in and, annoyed as he was to admit it, Gilgamesh held a few fair points.
A snooping clock tower with unanswerable questions or a "clean up" squad from the church were some of the last things that Shirou wanted to run into.
Another moment passed as Shirou considered the King's "gracious" offer.
Swallowing hard Shirou stated "fine. I'll accept your truce for now until we get a better handle on what's exactly happened."
Another upset look flashed on the king's face before stating "Unfortunately, I require your help getting up."
Shirou couldn't help a look of pure mirth and amusement that flashed across his face as he silently sniggered at the lamenting king.
Gilgamesh did not appreciate Shirou's amusement as a small gate flashed into existence daring Shirou to continue his amusement.

A few minutes, an amused Shirou, and a disgruntled King later, the duo found themselves venturing out of the Cratered field. They headed west toward a forested area.
While a bit slower to travel, the two agreed on the idea of cover to hide and the possibility of forest resources to use.
The journey was quiet for the most part.
While Shirou did have questions, he figured that they could wait until they found themselves in a better circumstance. He also couldn't imagine the king had much to say to the "Mongrel whose very existence is a personal insult toward his Majesty" aside from the bare necessities let alone traveling small talk.
The quiet was also a welcome chance to think for Shirou.
Things didn't seem right.
the incident with the Grail and King notwithstanding, the very world around stuck out as different to Shirou.
While not the most worldly sensitive or studied individual, Gaia felt off.
Due to the nature of his Magecraft Shirou had a more sensitive relationship with the worldly presence of Gaia.
Regularly, he would feel a sense of "Pressure" from the world. Ultimate Blade Works' unique ability to hold blueprints or copies if you would and its existence as a Reality Marble was a concept that the World's collective did not enjoy.
In less positive terms, the world would exude minute amounts of pressure on his very existence in a passive attempt to snuff his life out.
The issue Shirou found wasn't the lack of pressure, but its difference from the "norm".
Normally the pressure was a distinct feeling of passive compression as if the world was trying to squeeze his life and Magecraft into nothingness. What he was feeling was more of a pull if you would; specifically toward his reality marble. It was befuddling to him.
Shirou's thought process was halted as he and Gilgamesh happened upon a small river.
The river turned out to be a small godsend as Shirou and Gilgamesh were able to drink deeply, fish for food, and wash some of the days grind off.
"We should stop for now?" Shirou stated.
Gilgamesh shot a glance with Shirou before stating "Annoyed as I am to agree with you, the days light is fading. Very well, let us find a suitable place to rest."
'He makes it sound like his idea.' Shirou silently deadpanned at the long-winded acceptance from the king.
A few minutes north of the river the duo found a nice covered area where they decided to settle.
The king opened by stating "I suppose this is an appropriate time to hold our conversation if any Mongrel."
"You do know that I have a name right?" Shirou replied quite annoyed.
"Hush Mongrel, your King is speaking."
Shirou wasn't quite sure if Gilgamesh was having a go at him or not.
"Cutting to the gist of our arduous situation, I believe that have both established that we are no longer in Fuyuki City correct?"
"Was it the field, forest, or black hole we traveled through that clued you in on that?" Shirou snarked.
Gilgamesh gave a tight smile "Were the situation different, I would have had your tongue cut out and you whipped in the streets for such a brazen comment."
Shirou couldn't help a cold sweat from the King's statement.
"Regardless, you need to be aware that we likely are no longer inhabiting the same world."
"What?" Shirou exclaimed shocked and confused.
"Through our journey through the forest, I used several of my treasures to run test surveying our surrounding location. Several tests brought the same conclusive result that we are no longer of the same world."
"And what exactly were these conclusive tests that you ran?" Shirou questioned.
Adopting the Patented Tosaka lecture pose number 2, Gilgamesh stated "I suppose for the sake of our frail partnership, I could grace you with answers. I hold the ability to construct devices that can hold magical power, being od or prana otherwise. I took several test samples of the ambient magical energy around from different states of reality. Using my pre-existing knowledge of the worlds state before our trip, and simple comparisons, I was able to conclude that the world around us is fundamentally different than before leaving two possible situations. Either we fundamentally changed the world by our journey through that infernal Grail, or we have been transported somehow through reality into another dimension and or time, likely both by the temporal disturbances initially present on our arrival."
Shirou Graced Gilgamesh's lecture with a blank face.
"To put it in a comprehensible form for your rudimentary thought process, we are most likely not in the same world."
Shirou glared "Alright I get it! No need to be rude about it."
"Moving forward, I suppose you have noticed differences in myself?"
"One or two things." Shirou wisely decided not to snark the volatile king this time after the last comment.
Gilgamesh graced Shirou with a ghost of a smirk.
"It seems mongrels can learn."
Shirou once again glared but remained silent.
"Something happened to me in that accursed Grail. I believe that I am a whole once more."
The King's statement left Shirou confused. "What do you mean whole."
"Earlier today, when I commented on my connection to the grail, I do not believe that I was entirely clear. My connection to the Throne of heroes through the Grail has been completely severed. I suppose it is through good fortune that I already held a functioning body by the time of the Grail's blasted intervention, but I am no longer simply "Archer" Gilgamesh."
A perplexed look from Shirou prompted the king forward.
"As you may be aware, Servants are brought back through the Grail in a certain format or class."
A nod from The Faker continued the lecture.
What you may not know is that only a portion of the greater legend becomes manifest to fill the roles of the class that they have been summoned into. When I say that I am whole, I mean that I am not simply a portion of Gilgamesh, I am the Gilgamesh King of Uruk."
Shirou silently wondered if that meant that Gilgamesh would have an even larger ego from now on.
"It seems that my former Archer class locked away my skill and experience from beyond my Journey." Gilgamesh mused.
"Regardless, dislike you as I do, I believe that it is prudent for us to currently stick together, at least for now."
Shirou mulled over the king's words before replying "I suppose it can't be helped. I'll stick with you until we get our bearings. After that…" Shirou trailed off giving the King a searching look.
"Fear not Mongrel, while your existence is a stain upon my treasure," Shirou shot a glare at the comment. "I have no interest in continuing our past conflict for now."
Shirou felt conflicted at Gilgamesh's sudden proclamation.
"Do you not understand what a golden opportunity this is? I am reborn anew! I would not squander my new life with squabbles and grudges against lower beings. I will create a new Uruk, grander than the last!"
Shirou couldn't quite agree with the King's positivity about their situation. While Gilgamesh was enjoyed by the chance of a new life, Shirou's thoughts were filled by the friends he left behind on his journey.
This whole situation was turning out to be far more than Shirou bargained for.
He could only lament on how his luck was so fickle.

Grey Book