ETHAN THORNTON'S PSEUDO-TRANSPORT TO THE WORLD OF FATE(fan-fiction piece written by Doctor Elliot)

CHAPTER NINE

Quickly finishing his dinner, Ethan grabbed Doctor Elliot's orange folder. His hands trembled slightly with excitement. He was puzzled by his own reaction. Why would Doc's fantasies or even his speculations about his behavior in an unfamiliar fantasy world interest him so much? He asked himself this question but couldn't answer it or suppress his excitement. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the other kids curiously eyeing his orange folder. Ignoring them, he immersed himself in reading the more than forty pages. It all began with a foreword where Doc El explained the motives for writing the text, proper disclaimer and his perspective on the situation...

"Foreword"

Dear Ethan,

As a meticulous "mind doctor" using my own method to treat psychoses like yours, I've thoroughly studied the object of your... fascination. The Nasuverse turned out to be an unexpectedly interesting world, even for someone like me, accustomed to all sorts of fantasy things. I didn't know about its existence before. It's not the classic medieval setting typically found in fantasy novels, which I usually tear apart, highlighting all its flaws. Of course, it's easy to dissuade someone trying to escape to the past or a world similar to our past where there's no magic. But things aren't quite the same with magic. The plague, lack of dentists, famine, malnutrition, filth, and other companions of the Middle Ages don't apply to worlds where magic exists. Magic heals, sometimes even better than modern medicine. So, when a patient wants to escape to a "fairy tale" medieval world, I can't use the same arguments. Especially with an anime world. Or rather, I can, but not all of them. In your case, I can't even do that. You have a modern setting with technological progress similar to ours, but with magic. A harsh world judging by "Zero" and "Heaven's Feel." Omnipotent inquisitors. The Magical Association. Struggles and conflicts between these forces. Evil lurking beyond dimensions. It somewhat reminds me of "Fullmetal Alchemist." We had one guy with a psychosis trying to get there..."I explained to him how terrifying that world is and how miserable he might be there. Similarly, you will be very uncomfortable in a world where there are ghosts, souls, and deadly magic that might easily kill you. Why will it be uncomfortable? The answer is obvious - because you are nobody there! You need to understand this, Ethan. You are not accustomed to a world of magic. You are a 'rejecter' of magic. And you at risk becoming the first victim upon arrival. Any resident of that world has some basic understanding and instinctive notions about magic — again, a dangerous thing we don't have here — you, however, are completely defenseless. You lack these basic understandings. You are an outsider. Can you imagine how humiliating it would be to die from someone's magical attack right after arriving? Or the heroes might consider you an idiot, getting in their way, for example. Not to mention your 'mega love.' That's just childishness. They might simply 'f... off,' excuse my language. Of course, if you were to arrive there with some abilities, that would be a different matter, but only one wish gets fulfilled, and abilities would be a second wish. The Controller does not grant two wishes. Alas..."

At this point, Ethan paused his reading. He was struck by a sudden realization. The thought now made Doc's words about a single wish clear. If the CONTROLLER really existed, then Doc had wasted his one wish on ten million useless dollars instead of... Ethan remembered that Doc had said he got into this because he wanted to go to another world himself. Had he missed the chance of a lifetime? The sadness in Doc's voice was now understandable.

Shaking his head, he resumed reading:

"You probably already guessed it. Although I don't believe this 'scammer' — I should write that in quotes — there are no scammers who give away ten million just like that, but still. I should have tried to ask for something truly impossible, like your wish. As a child, I always wanted to go to the fictional worlds of C. S. Lewis. Narnia, the Lion, and such stuff... you've probably heard of it, if not read it. I should have put this guy in an impossible position, but like a fool, I asked for money, thinking it was the weakest point of scammers. I might have missed a one-in-a-billion chance that it could be true. "Well, alas again. Nothing can be done now. In any case, read on. These are your adventures in the Nasuverse. Sorry for taking such liberties with your image. Maybe I should have become a children's writer instead of a doctor. I might be wrong in many places and may not predict your reactions correctly, but I believe I've captured your character quite accurately. Enjoy yourself. You're an "interesting character," as video game enthusiasts say. Damn them. I've caught that from them. x). I've taken away part of your memory of our world; I assume it's a condition set by the Controller. It would be strange if you arrived knowing what's going to happen. It would break the cause-and-effect chain. I'm almost certain, if such a transfer were real, that the Controller of the Fate universe would impose such a condition to prevent you from causing chaos in his domain. He must take away that advantage. What you might gain in return (if such an option existed at all) is beyond me, but I've come up with some speculations throughout the story. I hope they amuse you.

So, let's begin, my friend:

PART ONE

A MILLION DETAILS OF ANOTHER WORLD

I came to my senses in a forest. In other words, I woke up from some kind of sleep or blackout. Maybe I was hit? I had no idea. My mind was blank. It felt as if something had been taken from it. Something important. Like a piece of information that anchors you to reality. And now that anchor was gone, and my ship was adrift on the waves, carried by currents and winds to an unknown destination. Where to?

It took agonizing minutes to try to remember — to find the anchor and latch onto something. How did I end up in the forest? No idea. How did I black out? No idea. Where am I?Where am I? No idea. What day is it? No idea.

After ten minutes, I had accumulated so many "no ideas" that I could open a "Museum of Uncertainty." There would be more than enough exhibits.

Damn it! I clenched my fists in frustration. Clenched?

My right fist had been clenched from the very beginning. From the very beginning! I had been desperately holding onto something before I fell into the darkness. Something important. Something that could not be lost at any cost. I brought my fist to my eyes and tried to open it. It didn't open immediately. My hand was almost stiff and slowly unclenched. My fingers splayed out, and I inadvertently gasped as a crumpled piece of paper, previously clenched in my fist, fell to the grass.

Ah, there it is! I hurriedly unfolded the paper. A note! But a strange one. A meaningless jumble of words:

SABER, Emiya Shirou, Fuyuki, Grail

What is this? Damn it! What am I doing? Why is Saber listed first? Why did I write it in all caps? Did I have a limited number of words I could write, and I had to arrange them like this to show the importance of the first word? And did I even write this? No idea. Another exhibit for the museum.

Damn! Damn! Damn! Okay, let's try to think this through. Let's focus on what I know. I am Ethan Thornton. This I know. I am 15 years old. Great. I have an aunt. I lived with her. No parents. My father died, my mother abandoned me. Great... no, that's not great. That's awful — abandoning children. But that's how I lived. At least, I think so. Then... what happened then? I remember nothing! How did I end up in this forest? What am I doing here, anyway? What are these strange names on the note?

A new round of questions sent my mind wandering down another path. I desperately wanted to understand what had happened to me, but my memory was locked with a thousand locks...

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