Bread and Bitter

by KlonoaDreams

You'd think that waking up hungover in some random facility—of which you have no memory of ever joining—would make you the least qualified to save the world. Too bad you're all that's left, assisted by a staff made up of mostly unpaid interns, a lovable kouhai, a doctor who goes on about his internet idols, and a local thot who demands money in exchange for Saint Quartz. SI

4. Comrades and Cadavers

A/N This chapter is dedicated to my maternal grandfather and Lyrecho's friend.

---

…

…

I wasn't sure for how long I was crying, but I eventually calmed down. My sobs have since turned into hiccups, which were somewhat muffled as my face was still being pressed into a woman's ample chest. I'm certainly feeling a lot better…if a bit awkward.

Soft…

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad position to be in, it's just…I don't know who this lady is. All I know is her name, which is Da Vinci, and that raises up so many questions if this lady is who I think she's supposed to be. Although, I'm probably just overthinking things, considering that anything is possible in a world where King Arthur is a woman.

Like dimension hopping.

Or whatever the fuck it was that put me in a completely different body—is there a term for that? I feel that there is, but nothing's coming to me.

"Fou!" And it seems that Fou is still alive! "Kyuu!"

The little ball of fluff forced his way between me and Da Vinci, putting some distance between the two of us.

"Ahh, are you hungry?" Da Vinci doesn't seem to mind the intrusion. "Sorry if it feels like I've been ignoring you."

Fou doesn't give Da Vinci much of a response and instead, just takes to tugging on my hair.

"Oww!" That really hurts, you little…rabbit thing—what even are you?!

"I'll let her go once I've gotten a good look at her." That's all I get as a warning before a gloved hand tilts my chin up. "Fufuuun…now that's how a main character should be!"

I blinked, my eyes still somewhat wet with tears. I felt my face heating up as I got a better look at Da Vinci. She was absolutely stunning, with long, dark brown hair and blue eyes framed by long lashes. She had fair skin and the most pleasant laugh that I have ever heard.

Ba-dump!

"Ahhh…" I had no idea what to say.

"Surprised that you were comforted by such a beauty?" Da Vinci smiled. "I understand, but I'm used to it. You aren't that bad yourself, although your attire could use some improvement…but we'll worry about that later! Right now, it seems that there's someone who's waiting for you!"

"Fou!" Fou cried out, almost as if he was agreeing with Da Vinci.

"If I recall correctly, they should be in the Command Room." Da Vinci gave my head a few gentle pats. "Try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

"Uhhh…" Unable to find my voice, I just nodded my head.

"In the meantime, it seems we have guests!" Da Vinci turned her attention to the man that had just entered the room. "Ahh, Corvin—it's good to see you!"

Corvin was an especially tall man, with tanned skin and short, black hair that's white at the tips. He appeared to be a few years older than me and, upon closer look, wasn't alone, for he was carrying a young man on his back.

"What…the fuck…is up?" he asked between pants, his legs growing more and more unstable with each passing second. "I'm gonna…uuugh…"

He passed out onto the floor after that, with the young man still on his back. The impact his body had against the floor was enough to wake the young man on his back.

"Where am I?" he asked, surprising me somewhat with how deep his voice was. He lifted his head, revealing a rather pretty face with dark blue eyes, brown skin, and long, pink hair.

"Oh my…" Da Vinci sighed. "One wakes up, while the other passes out…"

"Da Vinci, stop doing nothing and help me…" The pink-haired man groaned, his hand immediately going to his head.

"Well, I think that's a good sign as any to leave!" Da Vinci clapped her hands together with a smile on her face. "We'll talk more later, Noa!"

It doesn't really occur to me until after I had left that Da Vinci somehow knew my name…despite me never telling it to her.

Okay.

I guess I'll just ask her when I see her again. In the meantime, I needed to head towards the Command Room. Fou leads the way, waiting patiently for me to catch up as I struggled to move my legs.

"Oww…oww…" I really hate how sore I am, because this could go by a lot faster if I can just run. Instead, I'm just leaning against the wall for support, ignoring whatever urge I had to collapse. "Oww…"

"Fou!" Fou called out to me.

"I know, Fou—I just need a moment!" I can already tell that I'm going to be feeling this all week. It's sure gonna suck, but hey—at least I'm alive. "Pained, but alive…"

"You need some help, Missy?" I froze still, not knowing how else to react to that question.

It can't be…can it?

Slowly, I turned my head, nearly screaming at the sight of the last person I thought I'd ever see. "Caster!"

There he stood, still as tall as ever with that same, stupid smile on his face. "I thought I told you to summon me as a Lancer."

There was so much that I wanted to say to him. So, so much…but I didn't. Instead, I just ran to him, ignoring the intense pain in my legs as threw myself at him. My arms wrapped around his waist and I buried my face into his chest. I tried my hardest not to cry, but a few tears still slipped out anyways as he patted my head.

"Did you miss me?" There was something about the way he asked that question. It's not that he didn't know the answer already—it was that he was surprised.

"Why wouldn't I?" My voice was muffled by Caster's chest, but from the way his arms wrapped around me, I could tell that he heard me.

"Is that so?" Caster laughed, sounding genuinely touched. "C'mon, it hasn't been that long since we last seen each other… It's okay, Missy—I'm not goin' anywhere for a long, long time."

I cried again, not knowing how else to react. I was just so happy that at least one familiar face had returned.

So very, very happy.

"Good to see that you haven't changed much, Missy!" Caster laughed as he ruffled my hair. "Wouldn't have it any other way…"

I'm not sure if he's talking about my crybaby tendencies or the fact that I'm still dressed in nothing but my skivvies. You'd think that I'd start giving a damn, but nah…it's the least of my worries at this point.

"As much as I'd love to stay like this a little while longer, there's somethin' I have to do first." Without much warning, Caster hooked his hands under my arms and lifted me up into the air. "Hope you don't mind!"

Motherfucker!

"Ahh!" I stopped crying almost immediately out of shock. "Drop me and I'll slap you!"

"Have a little more faith in me, Missy!" Caster shook off my threat as he hoisted me onto his shoulders. "I'm your Servant now, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah…" Heat rushed to my cheeks when I felt Caster's hands touch my legs. "H-Hey!"

"You don't wanna fall, do you?" He only laughed when I smacked his head for messing around. "Jokes aside, you really shouldn't push yourself, Master."

There was something about the way he just called me 'Master' in place of 'Missy' that just rubbed me the wrong way. "Caster?"

Something was wrong, and I wanted to know why.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it," Caster told me, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "If you're hurt, say so. If you're sad, don't smile and just keep it in. Your problems are now my problems. I'm countin' on you to know your limits—you can at least do that, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah…" I nodded my head. "S-Sorry…"

"I don't expect you to know them now, of course," Caster quickly reassured me. "The way I see it, you're still learnin'. When was the last time you've used your magic circuits?"

"Uhhhh…" I'm drawing nothing but blanks.

"That's not a good sign." Caster sighed. "Though, it does explain a lot…"

"Is that bad?" I know next to nothing about the technicalities of how magic works in this world, especially in regards to this new body of mine.

"Well…you're not dyin'." That's comforting. "So I'd say a good meal and a few days of rest should fix you up."

Growl.

"Sh-Shup…" I averted my gaze, feeling far too embarrassed over how loud that was. Caster wasn't helping, with how loud he started laughing.

"We'll get you somethin' to eat afterwards." Caster started walking down the hallway in the direction where Fou was sitting, just patiently waiting for the two of us. "And you can call me Cú if you want to."

"Cú…" It's so weird, since the Cú I know is a Lancer. It's certainly going to take me some time getting used to it. But I suppose time is all I really have now…amongst other things.

…

…

The Central Command Room was still as much of a mess as ever, but not as much as it was when I was here previously. It helps that Mash was currently in the middle of cleaning up the debris. Siegfried was at her side, helping her out every so often when she came across debris that was too large to move by using his sword to break it up into more manageable sizes.

Roman was nearby, currently talking to Robin Hood before screaming when a few pieces of rubble landed in his direction. He turned towards Siegfried and yelled at him, saying, "A little warning next time, please?!"

"Sorry…" Siegfried said as he put away his sword.

They almost didn't notice us…almost.

"Yo!" If they weren't aware of us before, then they sure as hell were now, thanks to Cú calling out to them. "I brought Missy!"

"Senpai!" Mash reacted instantly to my presence, dropping everything she had in her arms to run over to Cú and I. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, I am!" I never realized how relieved I was to see Mash again. I could have lost her—just like Olga Marie. I could have lost everyone…but I didn't. I laughed, feeling somewhat lightheaded as I rested my arms on Cú's head. "Ahahaha…Mash?"

"Yes, Senpai?" She blinked.

"Thank you." For not leaving me alone.

For staying with me this entire time.

Mash smiled. "I should be the one thanking you. I was able to stay conscious, thanks to you. We both were."

She looked over her shoulder at Siegfried, who had taken over for Mash in her absence. He paused for a moment and then turned his head, having noticed her gaze. He just nodded his head and then continued with his task.

"He was really worried about you when you didn't wake up," Mash remarked. "Well…we both were."

"I had to convince the two of them to leave you alone in the infirmary." Cú patted my leg to get my attention. "Must feel nice to be so loved."

"Aww, I love you too!" I said before lightly jabbing my heel into Cú's stomach. "Watch the legs."

"Any time!" Cú laughed, not caring that his comment earned him another jab. If anything, that only seemed to encourage him.

Geez, guess I'll have to get used to that…

It's not bad or anything, it's just a little distracting at times.

"Not to cut the reunion short, but there's something important that I need to say." Roman walked over to us, his gaze currently focused on the clipboard he had in his hands. "Well…it can wait until later. For now, we need to focus on finding the rest of the surviving staff of Chaldea. Of the surviving staff, only Corvin and Lumaria have been accounted for as found and since you're here…maybe you can get Archer to be a bit more obedient?"

"Oh—right." I forgot that Robin Hood was only willing to help on his own terms. "Umm…Archer?"

Robin Hood didn't respond and instead, just lit the cigarette he had in his mouth.

"Hey—no smoking!" Roman rushed over to Robin Hood and tried to snatch the cigarette out of his mouth. "This is a smoke-free zone!"

Robin Hood responded by jumping out of his reach, taking a long drag of his cigarette afterwards before exhaling a long stream of smoke from his mouth. Roman stared at him with such an exasperated look, coughing a few times when the smell of tobacco suddenly wafted in his direction.

"Hey!" I called out to Robin Hood, feeling rather annoyed with his behavior. "Stop that!"

This time, he looked in my direction. "Ohh?"

"I'm your Master!" Somehow…I don't know why I have more than one Servant, but I guess whatever information I have regarding the Fate series doesn't apply here…for the most part. "And as your Master, I want you to at least behave!"

"Oh what?" Robin Hood placed his hand on his hip.

"Siegfried!" I shouted.

Without much warning, Siegfried appeared behind Robin Hood. There was a notable size difference between the two, which seemed to work in Siegfried's favor when he effortlessly pinned Robin Hood's arms to his sides in a grappling hold. Robin Hood didn't struggle, not even when Siegfried lifted him off the floor and carried him to us.

I had Cú set me down so that I could walk over to Siegfried and Robin Hood. I ignored the pain in my legs as I stared up at Robin Hood, trying my best to look him in the eye despite his hood obscuring the top half of his face.

"You see that?" I placed my hands on my hips. "That's what'll happen if you misbehave."

Don't think I won't use that Craft Essence I gave Siegfried to our complete advantage, because I will!

"Missy's not one to make threats so lightly." Cú rested his staff across his shoulders. "At least, not when it involves Siegfried."

"Damn straight!" I folded my arms across my chest, trying my best to come off as intimidating as I can. Kind of hard, when you're like super short and dressed in pastel yellow lingerie. Of course, that won't stop me from trying! "So are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way, because I rather not use a Command Seal!"

Robin Hood didn't respond at first, just staring down at me as his cigarette burning slowly in his mouth. As soon as he realized I was being serious, he burst into a loud fit of laughter. His cigarette fell to the floor as a result, which I quickly smashed under my boot.

"What's so funny?" I asked him, feeling rather annoyed by his laughter.

"It seems I have nothing to worry about, Master." A wide grin crossed his expression. "I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Good!" I nodded my head. "You can put him down, Siegfried."

Siegfried released Robin Hood, letting him drop to his feet. He kept a close eye on the Archer, wary that he might go back on his word now that he was free.

"I'll do what I can in my own way," Robin Hood said as he removed his cloak. "So long as it's fine with you, Master."

"It's Noa!" I corrected him, wanting him to at least know my name before he goes calling me Master.

"Okay, okay!" He caught me by surprise when he draped his cloak over my shoulders. "You must have been through a lot, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah…" I honestly had no idea how to react after that. I was prepared for mischief, not…whatever this is. "Ummm…!"

"Keep it—you might get hurt." It's a lot more awkward, now that I can see Robin Hood's face.

Why is everyone so fucking hot?!

Ba-dump!

"Haaa…" I swallowed hard as heat rushed to my cheeks.

"You sure are small, Master!" Robin Hood grinned as he ruffled my hair. "Let me know if you guys need anything, I'm about to go search for survivors."

"Okay." I nodded my head, thinking that was it…only for Robin Hood to lift me off the floor. "What the fuck?!"

"I'll be taking Master along!" Robin Hood said as he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Don't worry—I'll keep her safe."

"You don't do that!" I shrieked, pounding my fists on his back. "That's ruuuude!"

Robin Hood only laughed as he went on his way, not paying much attention to me as I continued hitting his back. Roman sighed and shook his head before saying something I couldn't quite catch. It must have been an order, because Mash went after us while Siegfried and Cú stayed behind with Roman.

…

Eventually, I just resigned myself to my current position, just watching Mash as she followed us.

"It should be around here…" Robin Hood murmured to himself.

"Umm, where are we going?" Mash finally spoke.

"The kitchen." Robin Hood looked over his shoulder at Mash. "Might be a good idea to get Master something to eat."

Growl.

"Don't say anything." Not a god damn word!

"If that's where you want to go, I can lead the way!" Mash suggested. "One of the survivors is currently in the kitchen. Since she hasn't shown up, I'm guessing that she's trapped."

"I guess that means we gotta break down a door." Robin Hood sighed. "It's never easy, is it?"

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it was." That's just how it is on this bitch of an Earth. "So are you gonna put me down or no?"

"Let me think about that—no." Robin Hood didn't even hesitate.

"It's for the best, Senpai, since you're likely still exhausted." Not helping, Mash!

"Uuurgh, could you at least not carry me like a sack of potatoes?" It's not comfortable, especially with how sore and exhausted I still am…

"If that's what you want." I should've specified, because the next thing I knew, Robin Hood was carrying me in his arms, with one arm under my legs and the other supporting my back. "You can wrap your arms around my neck if you want."

What the fuck is this shoujo bullshit?!

An incoherent string of words left my mouth, earning a few laughs from Robin Hood.

"Please don't tease Senpai!" Mash piped up. "She's had enough for one day."

I've had enough for this lifetime…

…

As it turned out, Robin Hood did have to break down a door. And when he did, what we found inside was a young woman with a dark brown hair in a messy bun and a peach-toned complexion. She was sitting in the corner of the kitchen with a bunch of snack foods on the floor around her, currently eating churros. She stared at us with hazel eyes behind a pair of big, square framed glasses, her mouth currently full of food.

In a way, it reminded me of when I first met Roman. Except, I don't think any of us were supposed to see this, from the way she just said, with her mouth full of churros, "Please don't tell anyone."

So that was how we met Navi Flores, one of Chaldea's cooks…probably one of the only cooks left, as everyone else seems to be missing or dead.

"I'm pretty sure they're dead," she said before offering us a churro. "Just made these, by the way. So they're fresh."

"You're oddly calm," I said as I took the churro.

"Oh, I'm not calm." Navi laughed. "You see this? This is stress and I'm eating because of it."

"That explains the snack food on the floor." Robin Hood ran his fingers through his hair. "You have any real food on you?"

"I can make it if you want, you just gotta give me some time." Navi stood up, taking a moment to brush off the sugar and crumbs on her clothes. "Food should still be good, despite what happened."

"We should consider ourselves lucky." Mash sighed. "I'll report this to the Doctor."

"Just don't mention my stress-eating—not everyone needs to know!" Navi opened the fridge and started looking through it, ignoring Mash as she walked up behind her.

"Isn't that the staff refrigerator?" Mash asked.

"The dead can't be mad if we eat their food." Navi looked over her shoulder at Mash. "It'll be fiiine."

"So much for respect for the dead." Robin Hood huffed a laugh.

"They died and left me here alone. What part of that deserves respect?" Navi made her point as she dropped an armload of food onto the table. "Alright, the microwave is over there, just grab whatever and eat—except for that, because that's mine!"

She snatched a Tupperware container out of Robin Hood's hands and made her way over to the microwave.

Fast-forward to like ten minutes later, Robin Hood was eating a sandwich, I was halfway through a container full of fried rice, Navi was stuffing her mouth full of pasta, and Mash was calmly eating what seemed to be a well-made hamburger steak. Things could be worse, but I was at least feeling a lot more energized once I had finished eating.

Navi went on her way afterwards, taking an armload of snack food with her as she left the kitchen for the infirmary. "Corvin might appreciate it, because I don't think he's eaten all week."

"How the fuck is he still alive?" I'm pretty that people need to eat in order to live.

"I honestly don't know." Navi was at a loss for words. "You think a necromancer can revive his will to live?"

"Maybe you oughta ask him that," Robin Hood said.

"I should!" Navi nodded her head. "Welp…see ya around! Good luck finding everyone else!"

…

…

"I am concerned about the well-being of your employees." I turned to Mash, who seemed just as concerned as I am.

"The feeling is mutual, Senpai…" Mash sighed before suddenly freezing. "…!"

"Uhh, Mash?" I frowned, wondering if something was wrong.

"There's something…" She looked around the area, scanning the kitchen for any abnormalities. "Off."

"Yeah, I was wondering if that was just me," Robin Hood admitted. "Apparently not…"

I don't like the sound of that.

Things only proceeded to get worse when an unhinged masculine voice whispered into my ear, hot air tickling my ear. "It looks like you've hit the jackpot, Master~."

It was so sudden, so…uncomfortable. I opened my mouth to say something, only for my voice to die completely in my throat when a long, wet appendage licked the outer shell of my ear.

"AAaahh…!" A squeak leaves my mouth, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes as I watched a pair of arms appear around my neck.

What the actual fuck?!

Slowly, I turned my head, wondering who the fuck was invading my personal bubble. I wish I hadn't, because I soon found myself staring into a pair of mauve-colored eyes belonging to some motherfucker with a freakishly long tongue. He had lavender-colored hair that curled up at the tips and lips painted a pale shade of cyan. There were light purple markings under his eyes, the color standing out far too noticeably on his unnaturally pale skin. He wore a hat on his head that decorated with a small clock at the center, with a pair of horns curving outwards from it.

"I am the devil, Mephistopheles," he spoke, his tongue still out of his mouth in a manner that reminded me eerily of Genocider Syo. "And I have been called upon to serve you, my tiny Master."

I have never been so glad to hear Mash scream. It took her a minute, but she finally noticed that something was clearly wrong with me and my silence.

"Get away from Senpai!" Mash lashed out at the self-proclaimed devil, doing whatever she can to get me as far as way as possible from him. She had no such luck, as Mephistopheles didn't seem so keen on releasing me just yet from the way he effortlessly blocked her hand.

"Too slow!" he laughed, sounding far too amused for my own comfort. "Master's been with you long enough, so it's only fair for me to have a turn!"

I'd rather get a lobotomy, thank you very much!

"Ohh, that can easily be arranged!" Fuck—I forgot that Servants can read minds! "Only if we want too~!"

Get out of my head!

A shriek left my mouth when Mephistopheles suddenly jumped into the air, taking me with him. He landed halfway across the kitchen, laughing manically at the arrow that had almost struck him.

"The next one is going through your head if you don't release Master." Robin Hood aimed the crossbow on his arm at Mephistopheles.

"You certainly drive a hard bargain." Regardless of the severity of Robin Hood's threat, Mephistopheles still treated it as though it were a mere joke. "Consider yourself fortunate, Master—it seems our meeting will have to be rescheduled."

He dropped me carelessly onto the floor without saying another word. He laughed loudly as his body vanished into thin air, barely avoiding an arrow that would have gone right through his left eye.

"Do try to keep me entertained, Master!" his voice echoed in my head. "Lest you meet the same fate as Faust…"

I swallowed audibly, tears soon rolling down my cheeks. My body wouldn't stop shaking and my heart was pounding so hard within my chest that it felt like it was going to explode. It was hard to stay calm and I almost cried when Mash's arms wrapped around my body in an embrace.

"I'm sorry, Senpai!" she told me in such an apologetic tone. "I should've been more careful! If not, he could've…"

She had no idea what Mephistopheles could have done, and neither did I. All we knew is that he could've done something and just that thought alone was far scarier than if we had known. I wasn't even sure if he was being serious, or just fucking around…

I don't think I want to know…

"I…should tell the Doctor." Mash exhaled shakily as she held up her wrist.

"Y-Yeah…" Jesus fuck, why me?!

"I'll keep an eye out for the bastard." Robin Hood loaded another arrow into his crossbow. "I don't sense his presence, but you can never be too sure."

"How the fuck did he even get the drop on us?!" Aren't you guys supposed to sense each other?!

"From the looks of it, he's been here for quite some time—long enough to not exactly mask his presence, but rather…blend in," Robin Hood explained. "It's a lot more noticeable now, since he's gone."

"So…what you're saying is that he's been here this entire time." Meaning he watched us raid the fridge…meaning Navi had been alone with this motherfucker for god knows how long. "We should keep this from Navi."

"I agree." Mash nodded her head.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Robin Hood was on the same page as us. "Hopefully, she didn't hear anything, or else we have a lot of explaining to do."

"We should leave—like right now." I don't know about you guys, but I rather not stick around in case Mephistopheles feels like coming back for round two.

I can still feel his tongue on my ear…

We boarded the elevator and headed downwards to the floor below us. We decided to work our way down before going up now that there was nothing left for us to investigate on this floor. A lot happened while I was unconscious, which involved cleaning up debris and moving around a lot of dead bodies.

"Yikes." I am pretty glad I wasn't awake for that.

"I think Navi is the only one who made it out alive at the time of the fire," Mash said, pausing for a moment to think. "On that floor, I mean, since everyone else…"

"I get the picture." Lev knew what he was doing, though Navi was certainly lucky that the kitchen had been the least of his priorities when he set this place on fire. I mean, I assumed it was since it came out completely unscathed, unlike the Command Room…

"So what's on this floor?" Robin Hood asked as we exited the elevator, having reached our stop.

"This is supposed to be research and development," Mash replied. "There are quite a number of laboratories here, although…there might not be much use for them. Not anymore, at least."

I can see why, considering the amount of debris covering the floors and the smell of smoke lingering in the air… No dead bodies, so far.

So far…

It took less than five minutes for me to come across my first dead body. Let me tell you how that went, considering it wasn't even on the floor. It was fucking floating in midair!

"Holy shit, what the fuck?!" I screamed as I hid behind Mash. "Bodies don't float!"

"They're not supposed to…" Mash was just as freaked out as I was.

Robin Hood, on the other hand, was as calm as can be. He picked up a small piece of rubble on the floor and then threw it at the body. The rubble bounced off the corpse and instead of falling to the floor, it just stayed in midair.

"Ahh, so it is magic." Robin Hood nodded his head. "Seems we have a mage on this floor who's still alive."

"Yeah, that would be Lilith," a voice spoke up.

"Who the fuck?!" It came seemingly out of nowhere…at least until I looked up and saw fair-skinned young man with blue eyes and wavy, ash-blonde hair. He was just floating alongside a massive amount of debris.

"Glad you could make it. Sorry about the mess, things are a bit…floaty at the moment." He forced a smile, sarcasm thinly-veiled in his tone. "Name's Grim, by the way. I wouldn't recommend taking another step closer—not unless you like defying gravity."

Yeah, I rather not. "So…who's Lilith?"

"Give me a second—yeah, he's right over there." Grim pointed at the young man with black hair and steel blue eyes that had hovered into view. "Say hi, Lilith."

Lilith just waved his hand, looking far too focused to do anything else.

"Yeah, he doesn't talk much…well, he does—but his interpreter's kinda…dead." Grim laughed nervously as he watched a bloodied corpse float by him. "I think that's them…whatever's left of them."

Oh god, I didn't need to see that… "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"You and me, Master." Robin Hood's face contorted in disgust. "This floor got hit pretty hard…"

"That's quite the understatement…then again, you weren't the one who had to see a bunch of his coworkers get eaten alive by worms." Grim was being far too casual for someone who saw something so horrific.

"What the fuck?!" Do I even want to know?

"Well, a while back, we got a weird-looking artifact sent to us," Grim began. "Turns out that it was actually a nest of man-eating mage worms with one hell of a rage boner. Course, no one would've known that until after the tremors from the explosion cracked it open, and said worms decided to eat half of the science team's intestines."

"How are you not dead?" First Navi, now Grim?

"I picked the shortest straw and went out for coffee." Grim laughed halfheartedly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Imagine the shock I got when I came back…"

"So what did you do after that?" Mash asked.

"I followed standard procedure in the event of a possible outbreak and violently decontaminated the lab in question," Grim answered as though it was obvious.

It apparently wasn't, considering the looks of confusion on our faces. A minute passed before Grim sighed and decided to clarify.

"I pressed the big red button next to the door and torched their asses." It sounded a lot less cool than what he previously said, though now we had better context. "So any chance you can help us get down? I'm sure that helpful lad down the hall might appreciate the assistance."

"Lad?" I furrowed my brow. "Who else is here?"

"That'd be a Servant." Robin Hood squinted his eyes as he looked down the hallway. "I think he's headed this way."

"Oh god, please don't let it be Mephistopheles…" I'd rather not see him again.

"I don't think Mephistopheles was wearing red." Mash never fails to disappoint. "Why is there a small puddle of water floating?"

"That would be the tears." Grim sighed. "Part of those are mine—most of them are Lilith's."

"Most of them are especially Lilith's." A very familiar face decided to show himself, making every fucking alarm in my head go off as I hid behind Mash.

"Oh god, it's you again!" I was not prepared to see EMIYA so fucking soon, after all that had happened in Singularity F.

"I'm guessing you're my Master." Emiya was as calm as ever as he picked out the pieces of debris in the air. "I suppose things could be worse, having such a novice mage as a Master."

"What do you mean novice?" I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near experienced enough to be a novice.

As far as I know.

"You are extremely out of your element," Emiya stated. "Not yet capable of using your circuits to their full capacity. And yet…you were somehow able to summon me as your Servant, amongst many others."

"Yo!" Robin Hood waved his hand at Emiya when his gaze fell on him.

"As I was saying…" Emiya turned his attention back on me. "You are quite the anomaly in this predicament."

"You try anything funny and I won't hesitate, bitch!" I held up my right hand, showing my Command Seals to Emiya. At least now, I have the upper hand!

Emiya huffed out a laugh. "No need to be so on edge, Master. I won't turn on you, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'd be more worried about stressing out Lilith…" A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Grim's face. "He's literally one breakdown away from crushing us…"

Lilith nodded his head frantically, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I've been doing as best as I can to minimize the amount of debris in the air," Emiya explained. "I would appreciate it if you would be so kind to help out, as it would speed things up a little."

"I'll help." Mash stepped forward, somehow managing to stay on the floor and not float into the air like Lilith and Grim. "My magic resistance should be useful for this situation."

"You do that," Robin Hood said, taking a few steps back. "My resistance isn't as good as yours, so I'll just keep an eye on Master."

"And I'll just…report to Roman, I guess." It's all I can really do, since I'm effectively useless here.

It takes more than an hour for Emiya and Mash to minimize the amount of debris in the air. During that time, Robin Hood and I were just exploring the other half of the floor that wasn't off-limits because of Lilith's magic. We ended up coming back the instant we caught sight of still-burning corpses when we peered into a laboratory out of curiosity. Gotta say, the smell of charred human flesh is something that will never sit well in my stomach and I really could have gone my entire life without ever being able to recognize the smell in the first place.

As soon as we came back, Grim collapsed onto the floor alongside the rest of the debris in the air while Emiya held out his arms and caught Lilith as he fell.

Thud!

"That could have gone better…" Grim groaned. "Feels good to let gravity do its work."

Lilith didn't say anything and instead, just wrapped his arms around Emiya's neck and kissed his cheek before hopping down onto the floor to help Grim up.

"Thanks, Lilith…wish I understood sign language." Grim sighed when Lilith signed him a response. "I think there might be a couple of books on it in the library…oh crap—the library."

"I think we should head there next," Mash suggested. "I don't sense any other Servants on this floor, and Archer has confirmed that Grim and Lilith are the only survivors."

"Unfortunately." Emiya shook his head, sounding rather disappointed.

"How's that for bad luck…" Grim ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'll just head to the infirmary—might've bumped my head too hard during the quake, I honestly don't know."

Lilith grabbed Grim by the hand and started dragging him towards the elevator.

"I'm fine now," Grim reassured him, though Lilith wasn't at all convinced.

…

"So…" I said a few minutes after Lilith and Grim had left. "We're currently on a mission to look for survivors and I think it'd be nice if you could help out."

It feels awkward asking Emiya for help, but he doesn't seem to be anything like the asshole that tried to kill me in Fuyuki City. So I guess I can trust him…but I still won't hesitate if he tries anything funny.

"Just so you know, I've already checked the floor below us." That's not what I asked, but thanks for letting us know. "As for your offer…I might as well. I don't exactly trust you to stay out of harm's way."

"That's fair." But at the same time… "Fuck you."

Emiya barked out a laugh, obviously finding my response amusing. He took his leave, his hand reaching out to ruffle my hair as he walked by me. Then, without even giving me a chance to react, he said, "You wish."

I choked on my own spit.

…

…

After miraculously surviving an attempt on my life…

"It was just a joke." Emiya only laughed as he watched me struggle to break out of Mash's hold.

"Senpai, please calm down!" Mash had her arms wrapped around my waist, doing her absolute best to keep me from mauling Emiya.

"Might want to at least wait until we've reached B1," Robin Hood said as he leaned against the wall, his gaze focused on the floor indicator's LED screen. "Wouldn't recommend getting into any fights on this thing."

I know he has a point, but my anger says otherwise as Emiya continued to laugh at me. He sure is a lot more mellow without the Ghost of Christmas Past around to taunt him for what he considers his past mistakes. Of course, that's not stopping me from getting back at him for that completely unnecessary comment.

I will get my revenge for that fucking mental image that I so did not need!

I really regret every looking up any doujins for this series. Aside from the typical cursed content, it's fucking awkward having somewhat of an idea of how Emiya looks without a shirt. As if his fucking outfit didn't already accentuate those eye-catching muscles of his…

Stupid, sexy Emiya…

The next floor was in comparatively better shape than research and development. Comparatively, as in it was devoid of debris clogging up the halls and hiding any cadavers. The downside was that sections of the floor had caved in, leaving gaps in our path and making it otherwise difficult to get by without any issues.

C-CCRAAAASH!

I should also mention that flooring was unstable in places, caving in almost seconds after I had taken a single step. I stared down at the floor beneath us as Emiya held me by the back of the cloak that Robin Hood had lent me.

"Motherfucker…" I exhaled loudly in annoyance.

"You havin' fun, Missy?" Hello, Cú—when did you get here? "I was in the middle of fixin' things when you dropped in to say hello."

"Shouldn't you be a Lancer?" I heard Emiya ask Cú.

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about." Cú averted his gaze, deliberately playing dumb. "You better keep an eye on Missy, or else…"

"Just focus on patching these gaps." Emiya pulled me upwards after that. He set me down by Mash, who checked me for any injuries.

"You can never be too sure, Senpai." Mash certainly had a point.

"Just come to me if ya need any healin'!" Cú called out seconds before closing up the hole in the floor, using what I can only assume was magic.

"I want that." I know I'll never be able to get on Cú's level, but still…I want that.

"Do you really?" Emiya asked, his question proving to be somewhat of a mood killer.

"Nope." I'm not taking any chances if Emiya acts like he knows better than me, because nine times out of ten, he does know better. That one out of ten probability that he doesn't know any better is exclusively reserved for the time he tried to kill his past self, regardless of the possible consequences that could have ensued.

…

So apart from some gaps in the floor and the possibility that it could likely cave in under our weight, the floors were also wet. How did I find out?

"Waaugh!"

Thud!

I slipped and crashed into some blond guy as he walked out of a room. His chest muffled whatever sound came out of my mouth after our collision, his arms instinctively wrapping around me as he staggered back a few steps.

Thud!

Of course, like me, the poor dude also slipped on the water, causing him to lose his footing. He landed roughly against the floor, my weight doing nothing but contributing to his discomfort. I'd apologize for the inconvenience…

"Uuuugh…" But I don't think I'm in any state to talk right now.

"Senpai!" Mash called out to me.

I don't remember much after that, since I was pretty out of it for like the next six minutes or so. When I had come to, no longer dazed and muttering incomprehensible gibberish, I found myself still wrapped in someone's arms.

"Are you unharmed, Master?" I'm asked by the last guy who should be asking anyone that after I had crashed into him.

"You…" I said, still needing a moment to collect my thoughts. "Worry about yourself."

Because I'm pretty sure that hurt you more than it hurt me.

"Oh, I'm completely fine!" That's good to hear…whoever you are. "I'm more concerned about your wellbeing, since it seems you're suffering from a concussion."

When did that—oh, that explosion…right.

"You shouldn't be out and about, Master!" he scolded me, his expression somewhat stern.

Master?

Oh god, not another one… "Who are you?"

How many of you guys did I even summon?!

"Pardon me—my name is Henry Jekyll." Why…does that sound familiar. "If you'd like, you can just call me Jekyll."

"Noa…" I told him, taking a moment to get a good look at him. He's got such a handsome face, with green eyes and neatly-styled blond hair. His skin is pale, and he's dressed rather formally, which is fitting for someone who acts like such a gentleman.

Acts…

…

…

"Hyde!" I suddenly blurted out, causing Jekyll to cringe.

"Hyde's…someone else." He averted his gaze, looking somewhat ashamed. He's likely not proud of his other self…

Isn't he like his exact opposite?

I don't fucking know, I spent most of my high school years just reading manga and whatever books I could get my hands on. I went through some pretty weird binges, like the time my AP English Literature teacher had us read Brave New World. I ended up reading through a good chunk of the books she had on her shelf, of which included Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. I would have read Fahrenheit 451, but she didn't have it and I just never got around to checking it out from the library.

Kinda regret not doing that while I was on a roll.

I kind of regret a lot of things, actually, but I guess there are more important things at stake, since I'm not exactly the same person I used to be.

Both literally and figuratively…

"Umm…" Jekyll suddenly coughed, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I blinked.

Jekyll kept his eyes closed as he gently pushed me away from himself, putting some distance between us. He started unbuttoning his vest, which my brain took as an immediate sign to go straight into the gutter…only to crash and burn into the nearest ditch upon seeing what Jekyll's vest had hidden. My eyes widened at the alarming sight of blood covering his dress shirt, the white fabric stained a deep shade of red.

"Y-You're hurt!" Oh god, I probably reopened his wounds or something!

"Oh, I assure you—this isn't my blood." Jekyll's tone was disturbingly calm. "Hold still for a moment, please."

I did as I was told, allowing Jekyll to dress me in his vest without any resistance. He adjusted the cloak I wore, ensuring that everything was in place before patting me on the shoulder.

"It's not much, but it should do you better to wear more than just a simple cloak," he tells me with a smile on his face.

Ba-dump!

I pulled the cloak's hood over my head and tried my hardest to ignore how fast my heart was beating.

"Master?"

"Don't look at me…"

…

On Jekyll's orders, I was being carried on Robin Hood's back to avoid overexerting myself anymore than I already had. Emiya would've done it himself, but something went wrong when he tried lifting me up. Apparently, the Emiya in Singularity F left a long-lasting impression on me in the form of panic-inducing trauma. How I only found out just now is just as much of a surprise to me as it is to Emiya.

"Could be the lack of agency paired up with direct physical contact," Jekyll suggested.

That would explain why nothing happened when Emiya ruffled my hair or when he grabbed me by the back of this cloak. Kind of sucks, because I wanted to mess with his hair.

I wonder what kind of products he uses to style his hair…

Well, I won't be able to find that out any time soon, because something about Emiya raises too many fucking red flags for me, despite knowing very well that he and that asshole in Singularity F are two completely different beings.

"Stupid bone of my sword…" I muttered under my breath, earning a strange look from Emiya, who had heard me.

"What exactly happened?" Emiya turned to Mash.

"The Archer who appeared in Singularity F was, how should I say?" Mash was having issues explaining it clearly to Emiya. "He was you, but…not you, since he was tainted by Saber."

"He tried to kill me!" I blurted out, startling Robin Hood with my outburst.

"You're right next to my ear, Master." Robin Hood winced.

"Sorry…" I patted him on the head.

"Of course, it was more that Archer sent Berserker to kill Senpai," Mash clarified. "Berserker is the reason why Senpai suffered a concussion…though, we only now know that, thanks to Jekyll."

"So…you find anything worth mentioning?" I decided to change the subject. "We were on the look for survivors before…that happened."

"Now that you mention it…" Jekyll began. "I found one in the library, but there wasn't much I could do to pull them out from the bookshelf they were trapped underneath."

"Oh my god, are they okay?!" I'm not even going bother asking how big that bookshelf is, because as far as I know, whatever the size, that has got to be pretty uncomfortable.

"Well, they're actually fine." Jekyll ran his fingers through his hair. "If anything, they feel a lot safer—though, they would prefer it if someone could help them out eventually."

"So were you in the library just now or…" I'm not even sure what Jekyll was doing before I crashed into him.

Jekyll paused for a moment to think. "Yes and no…it seemed more like an archive than a main part of the library."

"This is the floor where information is archived," Mash chimed in with her extremely useful knowledge of this place. "A number of rooms are connected to the library, though they are closed off to anyone without special access…"

"How did you get in?" Emiya looked questioningly at Jekyll.

Jekyll coughed nervously into his hand. "My apologies, but…I may have had to break a few panels. The main entrance is blocked off, as is the emergency exit, so I didn't have much choice but to find alternative means of escape."

"Sounds reasonable." I ain't gonna blame him for breaking a few things to get out. "But I gotta say, it's pretty inconvenient for a place to not have some sort of override in case of emergencies."

"There is an override…" Mash remarked, frowning afterwards. "But it was likely disabled, considering our current circumstances."

My eyes narrowed. I knew exactly what she was talking about. "HIM."

"I don't appreciate sabotage if it's not done by me." Robin Hood's face contorted into a scowl. "Didn't think that he went beyond planting bombs…seems too much work for a guy like him."

"If it's any consolation, we pretty much ruined everything by surviving." I'm pretty proud of that, now that I actually think about it. I still wish Olga Marie was here, though… "Me, especially, since he underestimated me and look how that went…"

Emiya laughed at my comment. "How do I always end up with the most troublesome Masters?"

"Hey, fuck you!" I'm normally a lot less hostile than this, but a part of me still thinks that Emiya is going to send Heracles after me again and it's seriously not doing my anxiety any favors. I know he won't do that, especially since I didn't summon Heracles…at least, I think I didn't?

Oh god, I didn't need that mental image…

Regardless, the trauma is there and it's going to take a while to convince my brain to get over it.

"Do you really think that I'll hurt you?" I don't know what I was expecting when I turned to Emiya—I really don't know. I guess I had grown so used to the idea of Emiya, as Archer, being someone who was not so easily perturbed. Because something about the way he looked so shocked just…broke something inside of me.

I don't like that look.

Whatever image I had built up around him over the years had just shattered, reminding that despite how much he had changed, deep down, he was still Emiya Shirou. The same Emiya Shirou who wanted to save everyone.

It's still him.

"I'm sorry…" It only just dawned on me that this isn't just affecting me… "I'm so, so sorry that you had to ask such a question."

It's affecting him, too.

"It's okay, Senpai—it's okay." It's not okay, Mash…it's not. "Please don't cry…"

…

The library was a lot bigger than I was expecting and I'm not just saying that because I'm short. The library was divided into a main level and an upper floor. Currently, we were on the main level, where the front desk was located. I sat on the counter, watching as Mash, Emiya, and Robin Hood helped Jekyll lift up a massive bookshelf. The place was a freaking mess, with a massive number of books covering the floor alongside shards of glass.

Where did the glass come from, you might ask? It apparently came from the elevators at the center of the room, which were located right in between the two sets of stairs leading to the second floor. The elevators, by the way, are completely out of order and kinda bloody…

"Just what I needed—more trauma." I let out an aggravated sigh. This place was an absolute death trap to anyone who was here during the explosion. At least the books are fine…

"Anyone fuckin' helpin' me?" a voice full of rage suddenly spoke out, sounding somewhat muffled, but still loud enough for me to hear. "I can hear you fuckers."

I looked over my shoulder. I could see that there was a door across from me, likely leading to some backroom…which is probably where the voice was coming from. Guess I'll get that, since everyone else is busy with the bookshelf.

Thud!

You know, I'm starting to absolutely hate feeling so useless. Like, the least I can do is just hop off a freaking counter, but I guess that's asking for too much! The floor is at least pretty soft, thanks to the carpeting, but I still landed on a few hardcover books.

"Thank you padded bra…" I wheezed out, feeling quite fortunate that the padding cushioned the impact around my chest. Can't say the same for my stomach, but I'll live… "Work through the pain, power through it…!"

When this is all over, I am throwing that book across the room.

I don't know what good that'll do, but I rather do something instead of nothing. I wanted to scream so badly as I crawled towards the door. The pain still lingered, as did my rage…

"Motherfucker…" I swore under my breath. I'd yell, but I don't want to scare anyone while they're lifting a heavy bookshelf. Don't want to accidentally kill or hurt someone…yeah. "Oh god, why…"

It only occurred to me, as I reached up for the doorknob, that there was a reason that person hadn't come out from the backroom. I don't know why it took me until I tried turning the doorknob to realize that they're trapped.

"It fucking would be…" I resisted the urge I had to slam my forehead into the door. That didn't stop me from pounding my fist into the door.

"Oh yeah—I'm locked from the inside." Would've appreciated the heads-up, buddy! "Haha, fuck me…"

"Is there something in the way?" I asked, trying my hardest to gather up enough energy to get up.

"It's more like…the door got crushed?" They sounded uncertain, which was never a good thing. "I don't know, I just remembered movin' a few cabinets out of the way before passin' the fuck out for like a good hour. Got a little banged up by a cabinet durin' the quake—came out okay, compared to what happened to…uh, to…some…hmmm."

"Oh god, you're in a room with a dead body." That's baaaaad.

"Don't remind me—just get me out." The person pounded on the door a few times. "All I have in here is shitty coffee and blood. Honestly, I'm pretty tired of the smell, so I'm currently considerin' the pros and cons of using a plastic spoon to get rid of my nose."

I don't think a plastic spoon is strong enough to do that without breaking. "I'm on it!"

I'm gonna regret this, buuuut…fuck it!

SLAM!

"Oww…" Okay…okay—I probably shouldn't have slammed my body into the door. I'm not as heavy as I used to be…kinda forgot about that.

"That sounded like it hurt…are you okay?" Oh, I'm fine…just reconsidering my life choices.

Thud!

I collapsed onto the floor, feeling far too exhausted and pained to do anything else. I underestimated my current condition and I can already predict the lecture that Jekyll is going to give me…

Hooraaay…

"Are you sure you don't want to head to the infirmary?" Robin Hood leaned on the counter, his gaze focused on me. "You're not looking so good."

"Why are you here?" Don't you have a survivor to help?

"We just finished helping Lash out—that's his name, by the way." He moved aside as a fairly tall young man with tan skin, shaggy brown hair, and olive-green eyes walked up to the counter. "Speaking of him…say hello to my Master, Lash."

"Hello." Lash waved his hand, a smile soon crossing his freckle-covered face. "Don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

"Noa…one of the Master Candidates?" If I sound uncertain, that's because I am.

Lash furrowed his brow. "Hmm…I think I've seen that name before—right! Fujimaru Noa! You're the last one on the list!"

"So I've heard…" I laughed nervously.

Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it…

"Almost didn't recognize you with all that hair…how you've been?" Lash laughed.

"Do I know you?" Because I don't…and I want answers.

"Oh, you don't—and neither do I," Lash replied. "I just recognized you because I remember coming across your file when I helped Kade out the other day."

"Weren't they one of the shortest Master Candidates?" the person behind the door, Kade, asked. "Lash—can you confirm?"

Lash shook his head. "Not at the moment…"

"You guys suck, you know that?" I really don't appreciate the direction this conversation is heading.

I didn't get much of a response after that, because Emiya showed up and hopped over the counter. He moved me out of the way, lifting me up by the back of the cloak I wore and setting me down to the side. He looked at the door, studying it for a brief moment before promptly kicking down the door. It crashed onto the floor with a heavy "Thud!", right at the feet of a very enraged person with lightly tanned skin, brown eyes, and short black hair.

"What the fuck, dude?!" they screamed at Emiya. "Where's my warning?!"

"I…didn't think you needed one." A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Emiya's face. "My bad."

"You need to be a little more considerate, Emiya." It'd help in the long run.

"How…did you know my name?" OH, fuck me—he didn't tell us anything about his name!

"I…don't have an answer to that." Please don't get mad… "I just…know it?"

Don't think this is the right time to confess I'm not the original owner of this body…

"It might just be your contract with Senpai." Beautiful, lovely Mash stepped in to save my ass. "It could have given her access to some information about you that would have otherwise been private."

Emiya was not at all pleased to hear this. "I would have preferred to have revealed it on my own terms."

"It's kinda rude to not give people your name if you're gonna stick around this long." Kade walked past Emiya, giving him a light jab in his side with their elbow. "That's for being a dick."

"That's fair." Emiya didn't even try to protest.

"Are you harmed, young…person?" Jekyll seemed a bit confused with what to make of Kade. They're pretty androgynous, so I can understand his confusion and his hesitance to make any assumptions.

"It's all good." Kade gave Jekyll a thumbs-up. "A little banged up, but I'll live."

That's when they crashed onto the floor in such an ungraceful manner. They landed right beside me, looking absolutely done with the world.

"Nobody say a fuckin' thing." Kade sounded like they were ready to stab the nearest person who dared to say anything.

Fortunately, Kade didn't have to stab anyone. Lash helped them out, having the advantage of being really tall and strong enough to just lift Kade off the floor.

"We're heading off to the infirmary," Lash said, carefully maneuvering Kade so that they were comfortable in his arms. "I rather deal with the current issue at hand after getting a reasonable enough break from seeing the corpses of my coworkers."

"Mood," Kade deadpanned.

We all left the library at the same time, neither of us that comfortable with being around the crushed dead bodies of the Chaldea library staff…well, Emiya seemed like he was used to the sight, but that doesn't mean he was comfortable with it. Anyways, Lash and Kade went their separate ways, leaving us as they made their way to the infirmary. We still weren't ready to leave, as there were still a few places on this floor that we haven't checked yet.

By now, most of the gaps in the floor had been fixed. Though, that wasn't enough to convince my anxiety otherwise as I kept trying to ignore the thought that the floor would collapsed under us. It didn't help that my nerves were on the fritz from seeing so much blood in the library. It's not fun—nope.

Gonna be seeing that in my nightmares.

It didn't take us long to find our next survivor, which certainly said a lot considering how fucking huge this place is. Then again, it helped that Jekyll and Mash went in one direction while Robin Hood, Emiya, and I went in the opposite direction. It made it easier to cover a lot more ground…even though all I did was just hang around on Robin's back.

"Can I call you Robin?" Robin Hood is a bit of a mouthful, now that I actually think about it…

"I don't mind," he said, giving my head a few pats. "Call me whatever you like, Master."

"Robin it is!" I grinned widely as I reached out to ruffle Robin's hair. It's just as fluffy like I was expecting it to be… "Just like a bird!"

"Oh, you like birds, huh?" Robin was intrigued.

"They're fluffy and soft and they make cute noises." I just love birds.

"That's adorable." You're adorable.

"You two look like you're having fun." Emiya walks out of the room he had broken into like it's nothing.

"Jealous?" I wrapped my arms around Robin's neck.

"Not really." Emiya huffed out a laugh, his gray eyes trailing downwards at the chubby young woman he carried in his arms. The young woman had hazel eyes, brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and very pale skin—it stood out a lot next to Emiya's tanned skin.

"Listen—I love you," she said as she patted one of Emiya's biceps. "You and your big, strong arms…"

"Do you guys need a moment?" Robin had a wide grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye. "We can leave."

"Shut it." Emiya narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, hey—I don't know you." The young woman turned her attention to me and Robin. "Well…I recognize you from the camera feeds and the calls, but that's about it. Name's Echo and I watch everyone through the security cameras. Please don't think I'm creepy, it's just my job…"

"It seems she got locked in during the explosion," Emiya explained. "Apparently, the control panel short-circuited and caused a fire."

"Oh my god—are you okay?!" Holy fuck, this place is a freaking death trap!"

"I had a fire extinguisher, so it's allll good!" Echo forced a smile. "Ignoring the fact that I burned my legs…"

"I'll be taking her to the infirmary, so if you'll excuse me…" Emiya started making his way past us when I reached out and grabbed him by the sleeve.

"What about the other survivors?!" You're usually on this shit, buddy!

"I'm sorry to say, but…Kade, Lash, and I are the only ones who made it out." Echo frowned. "If they weren't in the library, then they were in the hallways and with the floor collapsing…"

"I…get the picture." I grimaced.

"There are a few other survivors in the floors above us, but they're not in any danger," Echo continued. "The explosion mostly targeted the lower floors…you can probably guess why, since it happened during work hours."

Have I mentioned how much I hate Lev? Because I haaaaate him.

Fucking hate.

"Looking back at it, I should have known something was up when I saw him hanging around the backup generators on the first floor." Echo bit her lip. "People don't just go there without a reason…but because it was him, I just—I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault!" I quickly reassured Echo. "He knew how much trust you guys had in him and took advantage of that. How could you predict something like that?"

"She's right," Emiya agreed. "He betrayed all of you, so the blame is entirely on him."

"What pisses me off is that he planned all of this…" Echo scowled. "He didn't even hesitate."

"He didn't." I almost wanted to cry when I remembered Olga Marie's final moments. I wanted to scream and hit something…but then Emiya patted me on the shoulder.

"There was nothing you could have done," he told me. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

I released his sleeve, not knowing how else to react to that. I watched as he made his way down the hallway, still carrying Echo in his arms. A minute passed before he disappeared from my view. At that moment, Robin started walking in that same direction. He didn't say anything to me at first, but then…

"I'm quite fond of colorful birds," he said. "Bright reds and yellows…I especially like blue-colored birds."

"…Blue is a pretty color," I murmured out.

"Yeah, it is…" his tone was soft as he reached up to ruffle my hair.

…

…

We regrouped with Jekyll and Mash first before boarding the elevator. Our next stop was the first floor, which had come out relatively unscathed. Like, everything was still intact and seemingly functional…

Thud!

Seemingly…Mash had to break down a door after hearing a few knocks coming from behind it.

"Freedom!" A tall young man with pale skin and unkempt hair ran out of the room, sounding absolutely elated to be free of his supply-filled prison. He hugged the wall…literally, appearing to be on the verge of tears as he enjoyed his freedom. The young man had dark brown hair that curled up at the ends and sharp, green eyes. He didn't seem that much older than me and was likely in his mid-twenties. "I thought I'd never escape that supply closet…"

So this was the guy who was stuck in the supply closet…yeah. "Don't mean to be rude, but how did you get stuck?"

"I don't know!" the young man replied unabashedly. "I was just doing my business, cleaning up some floors. I was putting stuff away when I just…fell in and the door locked behind me."

"Where were you cleaning?" I feel that there might be a connection…

"The room where the backup generators are—why?" he asked.

And there it fucking is!

"Dude…I don't know how to tell you this, but you're lucky you're alive." Lev could've killed him…but he didn't. "Holy shit, did you see anyone there?"

"I saw Lev, if that's what you're asking…oh, motherfucker." The man slapped his forehead. "I was a witness!"

"That does match up with what Echo said about him…" Jekyll mused. "Guess she didn't mention you, since it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see janitorial staff in such a place."

"By that basis alone, everyone should know you on some level," Robin said.

"Yeah, everyone knows me…the name's Zangor," the man introduced himself. "As you can tell, I am part of the janitorial staff…though not by choice, but that's a long story. Anyways, hey Ty."

Zangor waved at someone who seemed to be standing behind us. We turned and saw that it was a tall man with somewhat dark skin. He had dark brown hair in a buzz cut with a close-cut beard and dark brown eyes. In his hands, he held a blowtorch, which he just dropped as he exclaimed, "Well, fuck this shit! Don't know why I needed it."

"You tried," Zangor said with a smile on his face.

"Not hard enough…" Ty muttered under his breath. "So…I'm Ty and I'm also part of the janitorial staff. Nice to meet you, strangers…and good to see you, Mash."

"Good to see you too, Senpai." Mash bowed her head. "Is there anyone else on this floor?"

"If you count the dead bodies, then yeah." Ty scratched the back of his head. "Otherwise, no—not really. By the by, I wouldn't go into the mailroom, since some of the machinery from shipping malfunctioned and broke through, so there's mail everywhere. Gonna be a bitch to clean up, with the dead bodies and whatnot…"

"I hate my job…" Zangor sighed. "Where the fuck were you, man? I thought you were dead!"

"It's gonna take a lot more to kill me." Ty crossed his arms over his chest. "That, and I was just messing around in the rec room. Got locked in for some reason, but some guy in a blue bodysuit broke us out not that long ago. I think he should still be there with Ali…can't say the same about Gwen, since she headed straight for the second floor after getting out."

"Blue…bodysuit?" That…sounded familiar.

"He was pretty good-looking, I'll tell you that," Ty remarked. "So what now?"

"You should probably regroup with the others at the infirmary," Mash replied. "That's where everyone else is at."

"Sounds like a plan." Ty started making his way towards the elevator. "Come on, Zan—it might be a good idea to get checked out while we're at it. Getting locked in a room for more than ten hours doesn't sound so healthy."

"What's the difference here compared to my life back home?" Zangor asked as he followed after Ty.

"The difference is that you do that willingly…and also because you were in a supply closet," Ty explained. "Don't think that shit's good for you, since that's where we keep the cleaning supplies. Those things can kill if you're not too careful."

"But everything was closed—I made sure of that!" Zangor complained.

"Zangor, I saw dead people while getting that blowtorch—I'm not taking any chances." Ty gave Zangor a serious look before continuing on his way. "See ya guys around!"

He waved at us just moments before disappearing from our sight. Zangor followed in suit, leaving the rest of us alone to process the new information we had received.

"Looks like Master summoned another Servant." Robin grinned widely. "Not including Caster, that's five already!"

"What can I say?" I smiled wearily. "I'm just full of surprises."

Can't say I'm happy with this, because none of this matches up with the information I have regarding the Fate series. Like…I'm not Medea, with her Rule Breaker, so how the fuck can one Master summon so many Servants?

Best not to think about that right now.

It might just make my head hurt… "Let's just get going, since this floor is a lost cause."

Kinda sucks, but what can you do? Lev was pretty thorough with his job…well, thorough enough, since he deliberately missed a few spots.

I'm going to enjoy making him regret everything he's ever done.

Of course, that's assuming I'll ever get a chance to see him again. You honestly never know, considering the weird shit that has already happened to me so far. This time, I'll make sure I'm ready for anything…

"Senpai, are you okay?" Mash asked me as we boarded the elevator. "You've been quiet."

"Oh, it's nothing." I forced a smile. "Just lost in thought…so what's on the second floor?"

…

It amazes me that so much thought and careful planning had gone into this floor's creation. There were training and simulation rooms that would have benefited so many inexperienced Master Candidates. There was a gym full of a wide array of exercise equipment, open to everyone within the facility. There was even a tactics classroom, dedicated to helping people learn from their mistakes and improve.

At the same time, it also pisses me off. Because all it took was one person to ruin it all—just one, single person… And Lev knew exactly what his betrayal would do—he had to, since Olga Marie trusted him so much. He knew, and he still went ahead and betrayed us all.

He didn't even hesitate.

I think that's what pissed me off the most.

Hate hate hate hate hate.

I had to take a deep breath to compose myself and ignore the urge I had to break something. Robin patted my arms a few times, as though to reassure me in some way. It wasn't much, but it did bring me back to my senses.

God, I'm such a mess…

I wasn't that talkative when we came across Gwen, who was in the midst of tampering the machines in one of the simulation rooms. She was a slender, young woman with blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes. Her hair was cropped short and her eyes were obscured behind a pair of large, thick-rimmed glasses with black frames. She was also rather short, though, not enough that I surpassed her in height. After all, she still had a few centimeters to spare, if Jekyll had anything to say about it.

"My apologies, Master." Jekyll frowned, feeling somewhat bad about the comment he had made.

"It's fiiine." It's annoying, but it could be worse. "And just so you know, everyone seems to be heading towards the infirmary to regroup."

"Then I'll be heading there as soon as I'm finished with this room," Gwen said in a clear and concise tone. "It's nothing major, but the power outage disconnected all machinery and the like from the main power source. So I've been having to reconnect everything manually from scratch…it's a pain in the ass, but nothing I can't handle."

"On your own?" Mash furrowed her brow.

"Like I said, it's nothing I can't handle." Gwen adjusted her glasses and then promptly returned to work. "Talk to you guys later."

…

"Not a woman of many words, is she?" Robin turned to Mash.

"That's just the type of person she is." Mash sighed. "But it's good to see that she survived. The Doctor would appreciate having her around to help him in the Command Room."

"That's good to hear." Poor Roman already looked so overworked from having to do everything on his own while we were in Singularity F. "Speaking of which, how did it go while you were with Roman?"

"Could have gone worse," Robin admitted. "For some reason, I got summoned while I was buzzed, so my senses were all over the place. I'm doing better now, though I still don't understand why that even happened in the first place."

"Ehehehehe, that sure is strange…" I laughed nervously as I averted my gaze. It seems that Robin was affected by my hangover when I had summoned him. That would explain why he seemed a lot more docile then…

Note to self: Avoid summoning Servants while drunk or hungover.

I have a feeling that these guys won't be the last of the Servants I'll be summoning…

Better get used to it.

There's at least one Servant I haven't met yet and there's something about him that reminds me of something. While I'm at it, something about Gwen also seemed familiar, but I don't even know where to begin with that.

I might just be seeing things…

I am pretty exhausted, so I'm not in any state to make any clear observations.

…

From the third floor, up to the sixth floor, was where were the dorms were located. Everyone working at Chaldea had a room of their own…keyword: had. Robin didn't waste any time in reminding us that there was now a sudden influx of unoccupied rooms. He did so by peering into every room we passed. That's how we ended up coming across Alicia, who had been sleeping this entire time.

Alicia was a young woman with lightly tanned skin and long, messy black hair. She had two differently-colored eyes, one blue and one green. She wore nothing but an oversized shirt and had a pair of headphones around her neck. She was still half-asleep when she walked over to the doorway to greet us.

"Buddy, you've slept through a fucking explosion." What the fuck?! How?!

"I diiiiid?" Alicia yawned, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Sorry, I was just listening to some music to help me sleep…guess it blocked out the sound."

That explains a lot…

"Consider yourself lucky." Robin was absolutely baffled. "In any other situation, you would have been dead…but you're not."

"Hooray…" Alicia murmured sleepily. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"You need to head to the infirmary!" Mash told her. "You have to regroup with the others. It's an emergency!"

"Ohh…okay." Alicia walked back into her room to get her shoes. As she was coming back, her eyes suddenly snapped open wide. "Wait, what?!"

It finally sank in for her.

"Oh my god—how many people are dead?!" Her fingers tangled themselves in her hair as she clutched her head. "Crap, crap, crap…I didn't think I would actually sleep through a disaster…"

"You slept through the end of the world, actually…" I'm pretty sure that's not helping her in any way, but I'm still fucking amazed that she slept through everything, while the rest of us were going through hell.

"The world ended?!" Alicia looked like she was ready to cry. "Dammit—Splatoon 2 was supposed to come out next month! I even bought a Switch for it! Whyyyyyyyy?!"

"You can blame Lev for that." It helps to focus your anger all on one person…trust me.

"I'm gonna fucking strangle him with an extension cord!" Alicia scowled. "He's going to rue the day he messed with me…"

"Join the club—we've all been wronged by that asshole." As I said before, I'm going to make Lev regret everything he's done.

Everything.

Alicia looked down at herself, shrugging afterwards. "I guess there's no point in getting changed anymore, so I'll be going now. See you around, Mash…strangers—we'll introduce ourselves later, yeah?"

"I'm fine with that," Jekyll replied.

"Do as you wish." Robin didn't care.

"Just be careful on your way to the infirmary!" I'm not sure how much progress that Cú has made, so it's better to be safe than sorry. "Tell Emiya that I said hi!"

"I'll do that…whoever the hell Emiya is." Alicia covered her mouth as she yawned again. She made her way down the hallway, still dressed in her sleeping attire. I can't help but respect her for making the most of her situation, as bad as it has been…

"Since that room is occupied…" Robin moved on to the next room and peered inside.

"What are you even doing?" Jekyll asked him.

"Picking out my room—might as well, ya know." Robin flashed Jekyll a grin. "You should be doing the same."

"I…guess you're right." A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Jekyll's face.

"Just so you know, my room is on the fifth floor," Mash remarked. "There's a theater there if you're interested."

"Why is there a theater?" Dude, that sounds so out of place here.

"Mostly for entertainment, since the Director wasn't sure what the Master Candidates would do in their spare time," she explained. "That's why there's a recreation room on this floor."

"That…makes sense." I guess it's not that out of the ordinary to provide your applicants with enough resources to pass the time during their stay at a research facility… Thinking of it now, it also makes sense, since it's not just for them, but also the Servants they could summon.

"I like pretending that I'm the Little Mermaid when there's no one around in the theater…" Mash confessed, her face red from embarrassment.

…

"That's adorable!" Oh my gosh, I wanted to hug her so badly! "Ahhhh, Mash you're so cuuuute!"

"Someone's happy!" Robin laughed at how my body started shaking so much. "Having fun?"

"Yesss!" I just learned something so cute about Mash and it's making me feel so giddy!

I'm so, so happy!

Happy happy happy!

"Th-Thank you." Mash tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She looked so nervous, but I can tell that she appreciated my compliment. "I-I think Senpai is also cu-cute…"

"Aww, shucks!" You're gonna make me blush!

I really needed this…

Half an hour passed before we finally reached the recreation room. The door laid flat on the floor, having been torn off its hinges. Inside was a massive room full of things that you'd likely see in a typical recreation room. There were sofas for people to sit in and relax. There were televisions hooked up the walls, some of which had gaming consoles connected to them. There were a couple of ping pong tables as well as a pool table. That was where we encountered our next survivor, who playing a game of pool with an extremely familiar young man with blue hair. He was clad in a blue body suit and using the blunt end of his red spear to play the game.

"Oh, hey, Master!" the young man flashed me a smile as he waved at me before going back to his game of pool. "Was wondering when you were gonna show up…"

"You're a Lancer!" I blurted out.

"Why wouldn't he be a Lancer?" The woman playing pool with him was fairly tall, with blue eyes and brown hair pulled into a ponytail. "He's fucking Cú Chulainn—of course he'd be a Lancer! What else would you expect from Irish Hercules?"

"Fucking magic—I don't know!" The last I saw of Cú, he was a Caster and not the Lancer he's supposed to be… "Mash, can you please contact Roman before I lose my fucking mind…"

…

It turned out that I actually did summon Cú Chulainn as a Lancer…but I also summoned him as the Caster who helped us out in Singularity F. Basically, I summoned two versions of the same man.

"God, it's like I bought Sun and Moon all over again…" It's the same Pokémon game overall, differing only in the content that's exclusive to which one you're playing.

Gotta catch 'em all, Pocúmon!

"Please tell me there aren't any more of you…" I don't know how the fuck I'm going to be telling you guys apart if this keeps up… And by telling you guys apart, I mean what the fuck am I gonna call you guys?! "You can't just expect me to call you Cú, can you?!"

Caster Cú from the projection and Lancer Cú both turned to attention to me. I resisted the urge I had to scream.

"This one better not use the lance of sure kill to cheat at pool," Ali, the woman who had been playing pool with Lancer Cú, complained. "I'm expecting a fair game of pool from the both of ya…okay, I'm starting to see the problem here."

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was expecting this to happen. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon…Noa, just how? How did you manage to summon two versions of the same exact person within the span of forty-eight hours?!"

"I don't fucking know!" I'm just as lost as you are. "I still don't know how many Servants I even summoned in the first place!"

"Good god, they're multiplying…" Emiya picked the best time to walk in on Roman and Caster Cú's conversation with us.

"Oh, it's you again." Lancer Cú grinned widely at Emiya. "Looks like we're working together, huh?"

Emiya looked like he wanted to scream. And in that moment, both he and I were in sync with our frustrations towards the current predicament involving Caster Cú and Lancer Cú. Grant it, Emiya had different reasons for feeling frustrated, but that didn't matter much. At the end of the day, we were still reacting to the same scene before us.

"Why don't we call one by CasCú and the other by just Cú?" Mash suggested after much thinking.

"CasCú?" Roman furrowed his brow.

"It's short for Caster Cú," Mash explained. "I'm assuming that Lancer would be the original, or at least the one who is most well-known."

"I'd have to agree," Ali piped up. "I recognize the Cú who wields Gáe Bolg more over the Cú who uses runes."

Caster Cú seemed almost envious of Lancer Cú at that moment. I don't exactly blame him, but at the same time…why the fuck are there two of you?! And how many Servants did I summon?!

"Ahh, it seems Master is in quite a bind!" Oh fucking hell, not him!

"Leave me alone, you fucking hellspawn!" I crawled over Robin's shoulders and fell into his arms. "Run the fuck away now!"

"Is this a game we're playing?!" Mephistopheles showed himself at that moment, looking absolutely giddy with how things were escalating.

"Ruuun!" I shrieked, jabbing my elbow into Robin's stomach to get him going.

Robin narrowly avoided Mephistopheles as he lunged at us. "What the hell?!"

"Don't ask—just keep running!" I'm starting to regret ever complaining about summoning two versions of the same man, when I summoned a fucking devil who adores chaos.

We ended up taking the stairs instead of the elevator, for the sheer fact that in the few seconds we were waiting for the doors to open, Mephistopheles went and said, "Every second you're not running, I'm only getting closer!"

"Fuck the elevator, fuck the elevator!" I held tightly onto Robin as he kicked open the door to the stairs.

Beads of sweat rolled down Robin's face as he ascended up the stairs. He was just as freaked out as I was, which is fair, because we have a motherfucking devil chasing after us.

"Why did you summon him?!" Robin asked me. "Why?!"

"I don't know!" I regret everything. "I was hungover when I summoned you guys, okay?!"

"So that's why I was buzzed!" I am so sorry for what my hangover did to you, Robin… "Look, I don't mind—I just wanted answers. I got them…while we're being chased by a devil."

"Run, run, run!" Mephistopheles's voice was enough to startle the two of us silent. "Slowly but surely, I'll catch uuuup!"

Robin and I screamed when Mephistopheles suddenly appeared in front of us. There was only so much that Robin could take, which is why he just fucking jumped down the square-shaped opening that was at center of the staircase.

"Robiiiiin, what the fuuuuucckkkkk?!" My voice just about cracked from how hard I was screaming as Robin and I fell.

Have I ever mentioned that I have a massive phobia of falling?

Because I do, and this is definitely setting off my phobia.

"Hold on tight!" That's all I got as a warning before Robin reached out and grabbed onto a handrail. He grunted at the strain our combined weight likely put on his arm as his hand grasped the railing tightly. We dangled in the air for almost a minute, a relieved sigh soon escaping Robin's mouth. "Sorry about that, Master—it was the first thing that popped into my head."

"Just don't let go…" I really wish I hadn't looked down…

"I'm going to throw you up right now…brace yourself!" as he said this, Robin launched me into the air, throwing me over the railing.

"Aaaugh!" A pained yelp left my mouth as I landed roughly on the steps. Could be worse…but at least I'm safe.

Somewhat.

Mephistopheles had gotten rather quiet all of a sudden. I don't like that…I really don't like that at all.

"Robin, we need to leave," I told him as he pulled himself up.

"I'm…on it!" He landed next to me, taking a moment to catch his breath before picking me up. "We'll take the elevator down to the lower floors."

"Don't say it out loud!" I resisted the urge I had to smack him.

What Robin didn't tell me until after we had boarded the elevator on the first floor was that he had deliberately said that out loud.

"Had to throw him off somehow," he explained. "We're actually heading to the topmost floor."

"That's…smart." I want to believe, Robin—I want to fucking believe.

"I want to believe, too…" Robin ran his hand through his hair. "Wasn't expecting him to be so aggressive."

"It's not the thought that he might hurt us that scares me the most…" I swallowed hard. "Rather, it's the thought of what else he could do to us."

"Wh-What is he going to do to us?" Robin looked down at me.

"I don't know." That's what's freaking me out.

Robin and I shuddered.

…

…

As soon as the doors opened up, Robin peered out into the eighth floor. He scanned the hallways for any sign of that chaotic devil. Once he was certain that the coast was clear, he exited the elevator…and fucking bolted to the closest door he could find. That was how we found the garden.

"Holy shit." My eyes went wide at the sight of so much greenery.

"Impressive…" Robin whistled. "Think there are any yew trees in this garden?"

"Only one way to find out…" I'm willing to explore this place if that's what you're asking.

There was something especially calming about being surrounded by nothing but plants and flowers. The garden was meticulously cared for, thriving at its absolute best in the artificial sunlight that shone from above. There were fruits and vegetables being grown alongside the plants and flowers. It's just as we approached a field of herbs that we came across a young woman with blonde hair styled into a braid. She had pale skin and blue-green eyes with prominent eyebags. She paid us no particular attention as she continued with her task.

"Master—you might want to look over there." Robin directed my attention to the woman dressed in a hooded bluish-purple robe, who was not that far away from the blonde-haired woman.

"Oh, what the fuck…" Not only was I aware that she was a Servant, but I knew who she was. "Medea?"

She looked up, the top half of her face completely hidden by her hood. Blue lips formed into a smile when she realized who she was staring at. "Oh my…you are a rather cute Master!"

"Uhh…" My face heated up with a blush.

"Well, at least she likes you." Robin huffed out a laugh. "Don't mind us—we're just passing through."

"By the way, if some purple-haired clown comes by and asks for us, you didn't see us." In fact, we don't even exist. What you're seeing is just an illusion, oooooohh~…

"Pfft…ahahaha!" Medea laughed, likely having read my thoughts…that's a fucking thing. Whoops. "So long as you don't betray me, let's make the most of our partnership, yes?"

"I just got screwed over by the biggest asshole around. The last thing I wanna do is do the same to someone else." It's far too soon to be pulling such dick moves, if ever.

I'm saving that shit for people who deserve it.

"Ahh, I guess that makes two of us." Medea reached out to pick an herb. "Such a vengeful, little Master…so cute and full of anger…"

"She's full of anger, that's for sure." Robin prodded my cheek with his index finger. "I guess that's what makes her so adorable."

"You guys are making me blush!" Fucking hell, leave me alone!

"Who the fuck?!" The blonde-haired woman just noticed we were here, taking a moment to pull out her earbuds from her ears. She was rather surprised to see us. "When did you guys get here?!"

"They've been here for a few minutes now," Medea answered. "My, you noticed I was here, but not them?"

"I wasn't in the middle of reviving some herbs when you passed by!" the blonde-haired woman pointed out. "I just acknowledged you and that's that!"

"Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Robin decided to change the subject.

"The name's May—and everything in this room is allll mine," she proudly proclaimed. "If you need anything, just ask."

"Ahh, but I didn't ask you." Medea smiled.

"You didn't bother me, so you get a pass," May explained. "Also, rule number one: Don't fucking bother me. Rule number two: Don't annoy me. Rule number three: Don't fucking touch me. Follow these rules and you'll avoid an early death. Trust me—I won't hesitate to turn you into fertilizer if you provoke me."

…

"So speaking of death!" I think it's best to change the subject, because holy shit, May is scary… "You survived!"

"I wha?" May made a face.

"Everyone's dead, May…" Holy shit, I don't think this chick knows what happened. "You might want to head to the infirmary for more information."

May stared at me as though I had grown a second head. Then she stood up and started making her way out of the garden, leaving me alone with Robin and Medea. As soon as I was sure she was out of earshot, I spoke.

"That went better than expected." I was expecting a lot of yelling, like with Alicia.

"I give her an hour at most," Medea remarked. "Of course, that depends on how she copes."

"It's been pretty hectic," Robin said. "So would you prefer to stay here or follow us out?"

"Hmm…I think I'll stay here just a bit longer." Medea picked another herb. "It's nice to have such a vast array of ingredients for my potions… Speaking of which, I think a revitalizing potion would be of immense help for such a cute Master."

"I don't think I should be ingesting any weird stuff without knowing how it'll affect me." It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust this body.

"That is understandable." Medea nodded her head. "But do know that I'm always open to help you out, since you seemed to have expended quite a lot of prana."

"I'll keep that in mind." It's only a matter of time before I pass the fuck out. "Maybe I should take a nap to be safe…"

"Sleep would certainly help…have some lavender in the meantime." Medea handed Robin a small sachet of lavender. "Just put it in your pillow case before you sleep."

"Sounds good." Robin pocketed the sachet. "Let's get going, Master."

Hopefully, we won't run into Mephistopheles on the way to my room.

…

We didn't. However, that did not mean we didn't run into anyone…because when we entered my room, Robin and I spotted a fair-skinned young woman sleeping in my bed. She was curled in a ball, hugging my pillow closely to her chest. She had light, green hair and was dressed in a modified green kimono with white thigh highs. Yellow ribbons were tied underneath the horns that were growing out from the sides of her head, matching the ribbon that was tied at the back of her black obi.

"What the fuck?" I said a little too loudly.

That was enough to wake the young woman up. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a vibrant pair of yellow eyes. She sat up, her gaze falling on me. She blinked a few times, her eyes slowly widening when she realized that she was no longer alone. I was expecting her to scream…

She didn't—instead, she just jumped up and wrapped her arms around me, loudly exclaiming in a surprisingly deep voice, "Master-sama!"

Oh no…

Alarms are blaring through my head for reasons I cannot even fathom. I…don't know this person. Yet, my brain seems to recognize them. It's enough for me to notice that something isn't adding up.

"Servant, Kiyohime—I'll be in your care, Master-sama!" It hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Oh my fucking god…" I remember now.

Ohhhhh nooooo…

Fate/Grand Order—that's the name of the game. That's the name of the game I'm stuck in…

I don't remember anything…

Which is weird, because I know I've been playing the game for months. I spent money on it, goddammit—why can't I remember shit past the fucking prologue?! Why now? Whyyy?

What use is there in having knowledge of events that already happened?!

"Master-sama…are you okay?" Ohhhh noo…then there's Kiyohime.

I don't remember much about her, but I do vaguely remember referring to her as my stalker… "Aren't…Aren't you supposed to be female?"

None of this matches up with what I remember.

What the fuck happened?!

"I was summoned in this form—isn't it to your liking?" Kiyohime frowned. "Would you prefer it if I grew out my hair?"

"I would like to know your pronouns." One thing at a time, Noa—one thing at a fucking time…

"I'm perfectly fine if you refer to me as how I am in this form, if that is what you mean." Kiyohime smiled. "If it helps, you may even call me Kiyo—I don't mind."

"Okay…Kiyo." That's gonna take some getting used to, but I'll live. "I'm Noa and I…seem to be your Master."

"You are indeed!" Kiyo ran his fingers through my hair. "When was the last time you combed your hair?"

"I don't know." I don't know anything. "Can you please let me go?"

My heart won't stop pounding and there's an intense fear I have of being burned, for some reason…

"I guess it is improper for a young man and woman to be so intimate…" Kiyo's cheeks heated up with a blush.

"I was going to ask if you guys needed a moment," Robin said, reminding us that he was also in the room. "I was just here to drop off Master for a nap."

"I don't think I need that nap anymore." I'm wide-awake for all the wrong reasons. "Let's just…join the others, now."

"May I come along?" Kiyo asked.

"Just ask before you touch next time…" I don't mind being hugged, but coming from you…I think I'd prefer it if you ask first.

"Up you go, Master." Robin lifted me off the floor. "Sorry, Kiyo—but Master isn't in any shape to walk."

"That's…fine." Kiyo forced a smile, his voice sounding somewhat strained. "Just don't do anything inappropriate."

Robin snorted. "I think you should tell that to Master—have you seen what she's wearing?"

"Hey—no shame!" I'm not in any mood to be judged like this!

"Relax." Robin ruffled my hair. "I'm just teasing you."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Kiyo piped up, hopping out of bed. "I'm sure the others are waiting for us."

"You're not wrong." At this point, they probably are waiting for us.

…

And it turns out—they were. The infirmary was pretty crowded when we arrived. Emiya looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here, with the way CasCú and Cú hung around him.

"Is this what it's like to be around me?" he asked me.

"More or less…except I'm more scared than annoyed." I'm seriously sorry about that…

"Understandable." Emiya sighed. "I hear you and Archer got chased around by a devil."

"We did." Robin made a face. "Don't…talk about it."

"Please don't." I don't want to remember.

"Shall I end him for you, Master-sama?" Kiyo offered.

"Nonono—I don't want him dead." I just want him to stop tormenting me. I might have to use a Command Seal for this, but again…I don't want him dead. "He might have his uses."

"Unfortunately…" Robin sighed.

"I know." I'm just as disappointed as you. "That makes…eight Servants, now?"

"Are you sure you're okay, Senpai?" Mash had such a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine." I'm not hungry, though I am exhausted…but I don't feel like sleeping just yet.

"That's good to hear, because we're going to have a rather long evening." Roman stepped in. "By now, we've collected all the dead so far…"

"Ahhh yes—the corpses." Corvin sat up in his bed. "We got crests and circuits to salvage."

"Is there any point?" Lumaria asked. "The world's been fucked over—what use do we even have for that?"

"Well…I should mention that there's a chance we could fix all of that." Roman cleared his throat. "Since we're all here, I think now is a good time as any to explain the situation."

"But first—a moment of silence for the fallen." Da Vinci clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention.

…

…

Well…this is sobering.

I couldn't even force myself to laugh it off. It's just…damn.

"As you already know, we're…all that's left." Roman ran his fingers through his hair. "And aside from sheer luck, the only reason we survived is because Chaldea seems to be the only place outside of the normal timeline. It's likely following the timeline right before the collapse."

Roman took a moment to collect his thoughts. He seemed to be having some difficulty maintaining his calm composure. I don't blame him…

"Think of this place as a colony floating in space," he continued. "And until we do something about this situation, the outside world is dead."

…

…

"So what can we do?" I have a vague idea of what needs to be done, but a part of me is still in denial.

"I don't mean to push a lot of pressure on you, Noa, but…you're our last hope." It pained Roman to admit that, likely because that's an overwhelming amount of pressure he just put on me!

"No pressure, ahahaha…" I sounded like I was one verge of a breakdown…probably because I was.

Keep it together, Noa.

Just…keep it together.

It was a lot to take in, being reminded that there were seven singularities that I was going to have to fix in order to get history back on track. It seemed so simple, back when this was just a fucking gacha game. Now that fiction became reality—it's starting to sink in with how stressful this is for the player character.

Who I seemed to have replaced…

Yeah, that's a thing that happened. It's not as fun as it sounds, since I'm going to be risking my life for the sake of saving humanity from destruction. Now it might just sound like I'm being overdramatic and maybe even selfish, but I almost died three times already within the span of forty-eight hours. I don't feel like having any more near-death experiences, but I guess we can't all get what we want.

"Master Candidate #48, Fujimaru Noa." Roman's expression turned serious. "If you wish to save humanity… If you wish to have a future beyond 2018. Then you alone must go and face these seven singularities in human history. Are you prepared to do this? Can you shoulder the burden of Chaldea and humanity's future?"

"Of course." I want to live, dammit. This is my life now—I have to get used to it. There's no point in bitching and moaning about how unfair life is.

Not that that'll stop me from doing so…

"Thank you." Roman smiled in relief. "With those words, our fate has been decided. We will now carry out the Preservation of Humanity as laid out by Olga Marie Animusphere, the former director of Chaldea. This is where the rest of you will come in, since there's only so much that Noa can do on her own."

"Missy's already expended a lot of prana to summon us," CasCú spoke up. "She can't be the only one helping out."

"Speaking of which, how are you still conscious?" Corvin asked as he looked at me with weary eyes. "As soon as I get my hands on your medical chart, I'm going to examine you. The last thing we need is you dying because of negligence."

"That might have to wait after we bury the dead," Da Vinci said. "I'm sure this is the last thing any of you would have been expected to do after all that has happened. However, it will not do us any good in the long-run to leave these corpses be."

"I don't think it's sanitary, either," Grim pointed out. "Bodies do decompose."

"Can we stop talking so casually about dead bodies?" Kade pinched the bridge of their nose. "At least until we get there…"

"I have the list of every staff member in Chaldea." Roman looked through his clipboard. "I've already checked us off, so now it's just a matter of confirming the dead."

"And salvaging the circuits and crests!" Corvin added. "And before you ask, Lumaria…it's for their families, you inhuman monster."

Lumaria stuck his tongue out at Corvin.

"We should add 'find Lilith an interpreter' to the list of things we should do later," Echo said as she watched Lilith sign at a fast-pace. "Otherwise, we're just going to be leaving him out these conversations and that's pretty rude."

"I'm pretty sure that's also breaking a few laws," Navi pointed out. "Then again, we're on Antarctica, so what laws even apply?"

"Being a decent human being?" Alicia offered.

"That sounds about right." Navi nodded her head.

"We do have a few books on sign language in the library," Lash brought up. "Though, the question is which one is he using?"

…

"Let's save that for later—you okay with that, Lilith?" Roman turned to Lilith.

Lilith just nodded his head.

"So…the bodies?" May pulled out her earbuds.

"Just follow me," Roman said with a sigh. "Brace yourselves—you might see people you recognize."

"Joke's on you—I barely know you people." Ali had a weird sense of humor…then again, that could just be a coping mechanism.

"Dude, I saw a bunch of guys getting their intestines eaten out by angry worm things," Grim said. "At this point, nothing fazes me anymore."

There was a chorus of "Mood." spoken simultaneously in a deadpan tone by a number of people within the room. Roman looked so fucking done and Da Vinci just laughed, while everyone else was just confused, concerned, or both.

Our heroes, everyone!

We are such a fucking mess…

…

…

"You are the dancing queen,

Young and sweet,

Only seventeen…"

The past half hour that we've been going through these dead bodies has been a lot less dreary and depressing than it should have been, thanks to May's singing as she searched dead bodies and checked names off the list. It's kind of a mood whiplash, but one that was especially needed to keep the rest of us going. And honestly, I gotta say—I'm feeling mighty envious that May can shrug it off just like that.

"It's not going to last." Shush, Medea—let me have this. "Just prepare yourself."

Less than five minutes later, a horrified expression crossed May's face as she suddenly blurted out, "Imagine all the plants that went extinct!"

And just like that, it all came crashing down as May started to cry. That was enough to get Echo to start crying and soon, so was everyone else who wasn't a Servant.

"Why did you have to be riiiight?" I wiped the tears out of my eyes as I looked at Medea. "Ahhhhh…"

"Because you all survived such a tragedy," Medea replied. "It's best to be prepared so that it's easier to come to terms with the weight of such a burden."

She had a point…I just wish it was under better circumstances. This is a fucking joke, just crying over people we barely even knew, if at all.

This really sucks.

It takes six hours—six fucking hours to identify a total of one-hundred and sixty-nine bodies (of which many of us had said, "Nice." when Roman confirmed the number). It took a lot longer because every hour or so, we'd start crying again. While this went on, Zangor and Ty were cleaning up body parts and organs, since not all the bodies were in one piece and a good chunk of them were already burnt and charred.

"This is gonna be a pain in the ass to get through once the paperwork comes in…" Corvin let out an aggravated sigh.

"You're the one who wanted to salvage the circuits and crests," Lumaria pointed out. "This took a lot longer because of that, when we could've just burned the bodies after we were done."

"It's called respect for the dead, boy!" Corvin lightly swatted Lumaria on the head. "Anyways, since we agreed on cremation…where exactly are we going to do this?"

…

"The labs do have an area dedicated to incinerating waste," Grim brought up. "Although, I would prefer to sit this one out—I'm not comfortable going back there."

"That's valid," Echo remarked.

"Uugh, I wanna take a shower or something." I feel all gross and icky after handling all of those dead bodies.

I'll be seeing them in my nightmares tonight…

"A bath sounds absolutely lovely…" Roman sighed. "It might be a good idea to head to the seventh floor after this."

"Shouldn't take long with CasCú's magic." That shit is fucking potent.

"You flatter me, Missy." CasCú grinned.

Cú narrowed his eyes, looking somewhat peeved. He reminded me of a dog who was jealous of the attention that another dog was getting.

Speaking of dogs, doesn't the name Cú Chulainn have something to do with them?

If I recall Sétanta's Persona 5 entry correctly, it was something along the lines of "Hound of Culann."

…

It's a sad, sad day when all I remember the most about Cú Chulainn is his childhood name, due to my obsession with his design in the Persona series… I mean, he had a great design, it's just…I wish I knew more than just that and whatever I managed to retain from when I skimmed through Cú Chulainn's Wikipedia entry.

Welp…it's never too late to pay the library a visit.

I'll just ask Lash about it once we're through with this. I just want to get this over with so I can get some sleep. I don't think it's healthy to stay awake this long when exhausted…

…

Neither of us stuck around to see the bodies burn. The fire was in a contained space and there wasn't much left for us to do, so we just left for the seventh floor. Apparently, we all had the same idea of taking a bath. I didn't really think much about it—neither of us did, until…

"Hold on a second!" Roman was the first to realize that something was wrong just moments after we had entered the changing room. "We're not getting in together, are we?"

A few seconds passed, then Da Vinci spoke. "Oh right—the baths worked on a schedule since we don't have separate bathing facilities."

"Do schedules even matter when everyone's fucking dead?" Zangor asked.

"Just means we have the whole place to ourselves!" CasCú seemed perfectly fine with that.

"Mixed bathing has never been my thing," Emiya said. "But do we even have a choice?"

Roman looked at Emiya in disbelief. "Y-Yes?!"

"I honestly don't care." Corvin was already in the middle of pulling his shirt off, not really giving a damn that he was changing in front of people.

"Move the fuck over—I got blood and organs to wash off!" Ty pushed us all aside as he started stripping and throwing his clothes into an open locker.

Cú laughed. "Reminds me of my younger days."

"Move." May gave zero fucks as she walked past us without her shirt and bra on.

Roman stammered and sputtered, his face about as red as a tomato. "M-May?!"

"I'm not waiting." May gave Roman a harsh glare, stunning him into silence.

"I don't feel like waiting either…" I'm not comfortable with the idea of bathing with people, but at this point—fuck it. I just wanna get clean and sleep… "Thanks, Siegfried…"

I appreciate the head pats…

"Hmm." Siegfried just nodded his head.

"Look, if anyone is uncomfortable with mixed bathing, you can just wait it out," Alicia suggested.

"Normally, I'd wait, but considering our current circumstances…" Jekyll cleared his throat. "I'll make an exception."

"Oh please—there are only like twenty of us still alive, not including the Servants that were summoned." Lash huffed. "Who gives a shit about mixed bathing?"

Lilith raised his hand at that moment.

"See?!" Roman pointed at Lilith. "Lilith agrees with me!"

That was the last thing Roman should have said, because that only spurred Lilith to strip down in front of everyone. He walked off as naked as the day he was born, with his chest puffed out in pride.

"You shouldn't have provoked him." Medea laughed behind her hand as she watched Roman squirm uncomfortably.

"You should just give up, Roman." Da Vinci patted Roman on the shoulder. "You're fighting a losing battle. Just relax."

"Easy for you to say…" Roman exhaled wearily. "I guess…I'll also make an exception. Just don't make a habit out of it."

"No promises, Romani!" Gwen unabashedly exclaimed.

"What she said," Kade said as they walked past Roman.

"At least now I'll be able to get my cloak back." Well, you shouldn't have lent me your cloak in the first place, Robin. "Not that I mind sharing, but I still don't feel comfortable being so out in the open."

"Ohh…" Well, if that's the case, then you should have said so! I pulled off the cloak and handed it back to Robin. "Let me know if there's anything else that's bothering you. The same goes to the rest of you. As your Master, I'm all ears, yeah?"

"My, aren't we considerate?" Robin chuckled as he accepted his cloak.

"That's Senpai—always worrying about others." Mash sounded especially proud. It's honestly making me blush…

…

The bathing area was enormous—rightfully so, since there were at least two-hundred people working at Chaldea…originally, at least. The place was divided into two parts, with one half of the room consisting of washing stations and the other half consisting of the baths. The baths were extravagantly designed, separated into multiple tubs of differing sizes. It's like the sort of thing that you'd see rich people having at their places, but at least there was a point to this, since it wasn't just meant for a few people to use.

The room was full of steam, but not enough that it made the entire place into a steam room. I would know, since I've been into a steam room myself. The difference is that it doesn't feel weird when you breath out, nor does it hurt to move so much… I mean, it still hurts, but that's only because I'm so fucking sore.

"Thank you so much, Mash…" She is such a sweetie, helping me wash my back and hair. I almost wanted to pass out from how gentle she was and how nice the hot water felt on my aching body…

"It's nothing, Senpai!" Mash chirped. "You've been through so much, that it's only fair!"

"She is correct." It took every fiber of my being to keep me from turning my head, because Siegfried decided to sit at the washing station right next to ours. The last thing I want to do is make this any more awkward than it already is…

Do I even care?

I'm honestly too exhausted to give a damn… At most, it'll just be a mild inconvenience that will haunt my memories at the worst possible moment. It's best that I don't think too much about it. That seemed to work for everyone else.

"Man, does anyone have a pair of scissors?" I asked out loud after Mash had spent more than ten minutes washing my hair. "I'm thinking of cutting my hair…"

"You will not, Senpai!" Mash was rather adamant about convincing me otherwise. "It's proof of our bond!"

Oh shit, it is… "Uuuuugh, fiiiine! But you're gonna have to take care of it!"

If we're gonna make this work, then you're in charge of caring for it, because I honestly can't be bothered to do so…

"Thank you, Senpai!" Mash sounded so happy, it was pretty cute… "Close your eyes."

God, I hate this part… I held my breath as Mash dumped a bucket of water over my head. "Hwah!"

That is a lot of shampoo that needs to get washed out…

"I don't envy you one bit." Oh, who asked you, May?!

"Make sure to braid that thing or something once its dry," Navi suggested before going off towards the baths.

Mash had to help me put my hair up in a bun after she had finally finished rinsing it out. So much shampoo and conditioner were used…so, fucking much.

This is my life now.

"Oh god, this really is my life now," I said moments after submerging my body in the fragrant steaming bathwater.

"Are you okay, Senpai?" Mash asked as she soon joined me in the main bath, which is where mostly everyone was (mostly, not all). She sat right next to me, looking at me with such concern.

"I'm fine, just…a bit overwhelmed." That's a huge understatement. "What is this smell, anyways?"

"It's mint and chamomile," Medea answered, her head mostly covered by the towel she had wrapped around her hair. She was in the smaller tub nearby, just sitting on her own. "I thought it would help ease everyone's nerves."

"Is this just tea?" May swirled her hand around in the water in tub just across from ours.

"Herb mixes are quite versatile," Medea explained with a smile on her face.

"Does that mean I can drink this or—" Echo was cut off as Medea curtly said, "Do not."

"Don't drink the bathwater, Echo." Roman pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's the least sanitary thing you can do."

"Less unsanitary than handling dead bodies?" Corvin asked.

"You know what I mean…" Roman sighed. "Kiyo—please don't get so close to your Master."

"Kiyo, what were you doing?" I should mention that Kiyo has been surprisingly distant up until this point. I assume he is right behind me, from the way Roman is looking in my direction.

"I was going to massage your shoulders," Kiyo explained himself.

"I'd suggest saving that for later." CasCú had a sly smile on his face. "You never know what sort of sounds that Missy might make."

…

"Hey!" I almost stood up at that moment, but then I realized everyone was looking at me, so I just sank lower into the bathwater. I scowled when I heard CasCú and Cú high-five each other.

Well, they're getting along…

Emiya, on the other hand, still would prefer to be anywhere else but here. It helps that CasCú and Cú refused to leave him alone, as the two were trying to strike up a conversation with the Archer. Robin was not at all envious as he stared at Emiya from the tub at the far end of the room.

"Please put on a towel…" I heard Jekyll tell Kiyo. "For the sake of our Master."

Yeah, for my sake…

Splash!

"Whoa!" I was almost swept away by the large wave of water that Siegfried had created when he entered the bath.

"Senpai!" Mash reached out and grabbed my hand, keeping me anchored to her side.

It took a few minutes for the bathwater to still. Everyone's gaze was now on Siegfried, who seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Sorry…" he apologized as usual.

"Try to be more careful next time." Da Vinci just laughed it off.

"Dude, how much do you weigh?" Zangor asked, baffled at how Siegfried could easily cause such a disturbance.

"I think there's a scale in the relaxation room?" Ty sounded uncertain.

"Yeah, it's by the massage chairs," Alicia confirmed. "That's where I'll be when I leave, in case anyone needs me."

"Mind if I join you?" Gwen asked Alicia.

"Nah…just don't wake me if I fall asleep in a massage chair." Alicia yawned loudly. "Gotta catch up on sleep."

"How much sleep do you even need?" Lumaria was baffled. "Are you a koala?"

"Koalas were cute…" Alicia smiled.

"Holy shit—does this mean that koalas are dead?!" Echo suddenly yelled as though it only just occurred to her.

"Not like they weren't already dead." There are so many things that are wrong with koalas. I don't even know where to begin… "Koalas are so fucking stupid."

I noticed that Lilith was signing something at me. I don't know what exactly he was saying, but from the looks of it, he seemed to be agreeing with me.

"Hey, fuck you—koalas are doing their best!" Echo retorted.

"Were," Ali corrected her.

"Fuck you!" Echo snapped.

"They suck so badly at being alive," Lash said. "Their teeth are useless for the food they eat."

"They eat only one type of eucalyptus," May contributed to the conversation that was focused on shit-talking koalas as a whole. "One type that slowly poisons them."

"Koalas in the rain, koalas in the rain~." Corvin started singing. "No fucks given, koala koala…"

"Do you even know what a koala is?" Lumaria asked Corvin.

"Nope!" Corvin wasn't even ashamed to admit that. "At least, I don't know what it looks like…"

Echo stared at Corvin in disbelief. "Corvin…I'm gonna give you a crash course of the animals that are native to my country."

"We have a few photography books in the library that can help," Kade suggested. "Speaking of koalas, did you know that they have a higher than average quantity of cerebrospinal fluid in their brains? It's to protect their brains from any injuries…should they fall from a fucking tree. Their brains are so fucked up from all the eucalyptus leaves they eat."

"Koalas just starve to death when their teeth finally give out from eating all of those leaves." I know so much useless shit about koalas because it just appalls me that such a creature can even exist. Everything they do is a fucking mistake that just contributes to their eventual downfall. "The leaves they eat don't even have any nutritional benefits for them!"

Echo looked like she wanted to say something, but then she stopped. After a few seconds of thing, she sighed and said, "Dumbass drop bears…"

We spent at least ten minutes talking shit about koalas, while Mash and the rest of my Servants just listened intently on our conversation. It was entertaining to them that we could all just talk so much trash about one particular animal. In defense of Echo and Grim, they were from Australia. Lilith, while unable to contribute verbally to the conversation, was also from Australia. Everyone else came from different parts of the world and really didn't have much of an excuse of why they would know so much about koalas…except Lash and Kade. They spent enough time in the library to learn a lot of random facts out of boredom.

Moving on, Ali was from Ireland, Navi was from America, Corvin and Lumaria were from France, and that's about as much as I could remember in one sitting before I decided that I've stayed in the bath long enough.

"Hey Fou." I have no idea where Fou has been these past few hours, but I wasn't that surprised to see him just showing up in the bath as I was leaving. "You need a bath?"

Mash reached out and caught Fou before he could flee. "It's been a while since your last bath."

"Fou!" Fou hissed as he struggled to break free from Mash's hold.

"I won't take that long—just behave!" Mash sighed.

"Well, I'll leave you to that." It's been nice knowing you, Fou, but I feel like changing and getting some sleep…

"Do you need any help getting dressed?" Kiyo was quick to ask.

"I'm fine!" I'm not that helpless and frankly, I don't trust you…

…

I was meaning to leave on my own, but Siegfried followed me out—likely to keep an eye on me, since Mephistopheles was still on the loose. He was at least wearing a towel, so it wasn't that bad. It was still awkward, but I'll live…

Thud!

"Uhhh…" Now for current matters, I somehow didn't see the pink-haired girl that was standing by the locker I had used and ended up bumping into her. "Hello?"

She was taller than me, with pale skin and purple-colored eyes. She had a rather androgynous look to her, making me wonder if she was really just a flat-chested girl or an incredibly effeminate boy. I was tempted to ask so as to avoid any misconceptions, but I didn't have to.

"Ahhh, so you're my Master!" They smiled at me, revealing a rather adorable fang that protruded from the top half of their mouth. "Hmmm…"

They stared intently at me, not giving a damn that they were invading my personal bubble. A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face as my eyes stared into theirs. I tensed still when their fingers brushed against my ear. "Hwah?!"

"Ehehehe." My reaction was amusing enough to make them laugh. "You pass!"

"Pass what?" I was about to ask before a pair of soft lips pressed against my own. "Mmmmph?!"

What the fuck?!

CRASH!

That seemed to be the last straw for the next person who happened to enter the changing room at this very moment—which just so happened to be Kiyo. He punched a massive hole through the wall, allowing everyone within the bathing area to see the scene that had set off Kiyo.

"Astolfo?" I heard Siegfried say, memories of a certain Rider then popping into my head.

I know that name…

"Heya!" Astolfo waved at Siegfried after pulling away from me. "Good to see you!"

I don't know much about Fate/Apocrypha, but I know just enough to recognize who the hell Astolfo was… The first thing that came into mind was that this was not a flat-chested girl. This was an androgynous-looking boy whose towel had suddenly dropped onto the floor.

Holy shit.

I have no words for what I had just seen. All I can say is that I am very thankful for Siegfried covering my eyes to keep me from staring any longer. I am also thankful that Medea was keeping Kiyo from absolutely murdering Astolfo. And what of Astolfo? He only laughed at the chaos he had created, showing little to no shame towards his shenanigans.

"See ya around, Master~!" Astolfo was going to be the death of me, I swear.

"Are you okay, Master?" Siegfried asked me after a minute.

"I have no idea…" I feel especially flustered and I'm not sure if it was because of the kiss or because I had stayed too long in the bath.

…

There was something awkward about being carried by Siegfried to my room, dressed only in a robe because there was no way in hell I was putting on that filthy set of lingerie. I'd been in that thing for almost forty-eight hours—no thank you. I stumbled around the room, not yet used to my surroundings. I took a few minutes to familiarize myself with everything that was inside my room, which wasn't much, since up until recently, Roman was just using it to slack off.

And yet, it's thanks to Roman that I had a clean set of clothes to change into—be it, it was just a plain black t-shirt that fit me almost like a dress, but it meant a lot to me. All I had so far was a pair of panties, because that's all that Da Vinci had been able to give me on such a short notice. Gotta say, that was actually embarrassing—how the fuck did she know my measurements?!

Don't think about it, Noa—just don't think about it.

I crashed onto the bed, groaning when my head hit the pillow. I was so exhausted…

"Master?" And Siegfried was still here.

"You dun' halfta stay if you dun' wanna…" I slurred out. All too suddenly, I was finding it difficult to talk at all. My eyes struggled to stay open and slowly, my consciousness started to fade. The last thing I remember was seeing Siegfried sit down in the chair across from my bed, his gaze just focused on me.

"Goodnight, Master," he told me before I finally drifted off.

…

…

I'm not sure how long I stayed asleep, but when I woke up, I found myself pressed against Siegfried's body. I don't know when he got in my bed, but I scrambled off the bed the instant I realized how close we were.

Thud!

That was enough to wake him up, although…I don't think he was even asleep in the first place.

"Wh-Why?!" was all I could say as Siegfried sat up in my bed.

"You were shivering in your sleep," he replied. "Sorry…"

"D-Don't apologize!" I just wanted an explanation… "Next time, ask—okay?"

"Understood." Siegfried nodded his head. "Do you need help getting up?"

"Maybe?" For some reason, I was having issues standing up.

…

Apparently, I had been out for a few days, which would explain why I was having so many issues just moving around. My body was still sore, but I was no longer exhausted and holy crap, that actually made a difference.

Growl.

"I'm hungry…" Being asleep for a few days means that I haven't eaten at all during that span of time. "Let's go to the kitchen, Siegfried."

Not much had changed during the time I had knocked out, with the exception that there had been a few other survivors that had hidden themselves in the theater room. Most things were now up and running, with the Command Room almost at one-hundred percent, which meant that it was almost time for me to enter a singularity.

Fun times.

When Medea offered me a revitalizing potion, I actually took it this time. I didn't even care for the side-effects, because I just wanted to stop feeling so sluggish.

It ended up having quite the opposite effect on me. While I wasn't exactly sleepy, I was just…very quiet. Like, everything was so fucking clear and I just wanted to get so much done at once!

"I apologize—I didn't think you were that sensitive to stimulants." Medea found me just going through so many books in the library.

"I'm…used to them." Although, I think I'm more used to them at a lower dosage… Or maybe this body isn't used to them at all? I do recall reacting similarly when I was in the fourth grade after I had gotten a new prescription of ADHD medication that actually worked for me. "It could be worse."

"Senpai—you haven't eaten in six hours." Mash forcefully closed the book that I was reading. "Please get something to eat…"

"Uhhhh…" Do I need food?

Growl.

I guess I do. "Okay, I'll eat."

"Kyuu!" Fou jumped out of my lap, the noise having scared him awake. He had been asleep for the past hour, deciding that my lap would make an especially comfortable bed. That was probably why I hadn't moved at all to get a new book and decided to instead reread the book I had just finished…

"You should also focus on brushing your hair and getting dressed," Medea said as she got a good look at my attire. "You're still wearing such drab clothing."

"It feels comfortable…" Although, I did scare the crap out of Roman when he realized I was wearing his shirt. He had almost forgotten that he left that in what was now my room.

"Da Vinci said she's ready to make you a replacement outfit at any time," Mash told me. "She just needs your input on what you would like to wear."

"Is that so?" In that case, I have an idea of what I want to wear…

C-CRAAASH!

BAM!

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

But before that, it seems someone had an accident in this library.

"What happened?!" Kade shouted, not happy with the mess they were likely going to clean.

The noise came from the upper floor, where the lounge room was at. We went up the stairs to investigate, as the elevator was still out of order. Medea had her dagger out in the case it was someone who was here to cause us harm—one can never be too sure. We lost a lot of people because of Lev, so there wasn't much room to give anyone or anything the benefit of the doubt.

Everything was still in one piece, although as shelf had collapsed, alongside a multitude of books. Though, a closer look revealed that there was someone underneath the pile of books that had fallen onto the floor.

"Whomst the fuck?!" Kade asked, pointing their finger at the person sitting within the pile of fallen books.

A fairly tall man with long, black hair stared back at us with dark eyes. His expression was quite sour, as though things had not gone in his favor. He wore a red coat over a black suit and had a long, yellow scarf draped around his neck. A cigar stuck out of his mouth, which fortunately unlit, though it still earned him a warning from Kade that went something like, "If you light that thing while you're here, I'm gonna punt you into the fucking sun."

"Is there even a sun anymore?" Mash asked.

"I don't care—I just don't want him smoking here. We just cleaned this place, dammit!" Kade huffed.

"There's something about you…" Medea looked closely at the strange man. "Something…special."

"Now that you mention it…" He does look kind of familiar, but where…?

At that moment, I received a call on my wristband. I answered it, the projection immediately showing that it was Roman, as usual. He seemed rather frantic, as though something had suddenly popped up.

"Chaldea just summoned a Heroic Spirit!" he blurted out, his eyes widening when he caught sight of the strange man within the library. "What is Lord El-Melloi doing here?!"

"The second," the man instantly corrected him, his expression growing even sourer.

"Hold the fuck up!" I know this man—Waver Velvet, Rider's Master during the Fourth Holy Grail War! "What are you doing here?!"

You're not supposed to be a Heroic Spirit—what the hell?!

At least…I don't think so.

"Who are you supposed to be, Lord El-Melloi II?" Roman asked Waver.

Waver removed the cigar out of his mouth. "Servant Zhuge Liang—I succeeded his power, so don't worry."

That…raises so many fucking questions. I don't even know where to begin…

"So…you're a Master." It seems Waver noticed the Command Seals on my…wait a second!

"They're all here?!" Instead of there being two Command Seal and a faded marking, there were three covering the back of my hand. "How the fuck?!"

Aren't I supposed to get only three seals?!

"Weren't you informed?" Roman furrowed his brow. "These Command Seals are supposed to restore themselves after twenty-four hours. Though, it likely took longer for you, since you expended so much prana and overloaded your circuits."

"Circuits…" Waver repeated, his eyes slowly widening the longer he stared at me. "Fuck—it's you."

"Me?" I pointed at myself.

"You're the reason I'm here." He seemed so displeased. "Such an inexperienced mage, and yet—your magic circuits…"

"What about them?" All I know is that I have them and this body is so not used to using them…yet.

Maybe one day, but certainly not now.

"We need to get you examined." Waver stood up, taking a moment to adjust his clothes as he kicked aside the books at his feet. He ignored Kade when they scolded him and instead, walked over to me.

"Wh-Whoa…" It honestly baffled me with how tall Waver had gotten over the years, since I barely came up to his chest. God, I'm still so used to his younger form, when he was so small and frail…

And cute.

Shut up, brain—don't make this awkward for me.

"You're much smaller…" Waver's comment snapped me out of my thoughts. I barely had much time to react before he grabbed me roughly by the hand. He started dragging me towards the stairs, ignoring my complaints as he asked, "Where's the infirmary?"

"B2—hey, get back here!" Kade shouted at Waver. "You need to clean up after yourself, fucker!"

"Later," he merely told her before going down the stairs.

"H-Hey!" You don't have to drag me, dammit!

"I don't exactly trust you to do as you're told." What do you mean by that?! "You remind me of a certain…someone."

Should I feel offended by that statement?

"Thanks?" I found myself saying.

My response only earned me a couple of sardonic laughs from Waver.

"Wait—who are you talking about?!" I need answers, dammit! "Tell me!"

"Just as loud, too…" I heard Waver mutter under his breath.

"Now you're just being mean!" I'm starting to regret ever liking you!

…

…

I sat in a chair, with Waver standing behind me as Corvin looked through my file. We were at the infirmary, with Mash currently waiting outside with Fou at her side. I still had no idea what was up, but based on the looks that Corvin was making as he read through my file…something was wrong.

"How old did you say you were?" Corvin asked me, as though I hadn't already told him.

"Twenty-three." This better not be your way of making a joke, because I'm ready to slap the next person who calls me a child…

"Yeah, I'm calling bullshit." Corvin's comment caught me by surprise. "I don't know what happened to you during the Spiritron Dive, but unlike you, these documents don't lie. You're nineteen, which makes you three years older than Lumaria."

"He's sixteen?!" What the fuck—I thought he was older?! "Wait a second!"

I'm nineteen?!

"Same exact age, too." Seriously, Waver—what the fuck are you on?! "Do you have any information regarding her magic circuits?"

"I was getting to that." Corvin flipped through a few papers. "I'm comparing and contrasting the medical examination chart I have on her before and after the incident and…"

Corvin trailed off, his gaze just focused on the papers. He blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes before looking back at the papers. After two minutes, he closed the file and handed it over to Waver. He then walked over to one of the empty beds and just passed out after saying, "Fuck this."

"What the hell was that about?" I looked at Waver for some answers, since he now seemed to have them.

"Fujimaru Noa, age nineteen, female, third-generation, possessing a magic circuit count that is just below average…" Waver read the information out loud. "Just a typical low-level mage who cannot even be compared to her much more talented cousin."

"I have a cousin?" A part of me wants to feel insulted over the unnecessary comments that Waver was making, but I was genuinely surprised about that revelation.

"That's what surprises you the most?" Waver clicked his tongue. "I'd be more surprised about the change in soul you seemed to have had."

What?

…

…

…

---

A/N Hello, have a massive chapter! Didn't mean to take so long, but shit happened! I apparently have a Vitamin D deficiency (so let the jokes commence!), just recently recovered from an infection, only to find out that my maternal grandfather was suddenly rushed into the hospital, so my mom and dad had to leave for Mexico. I had to stay behind because my sister needed someone to watch her kid, so I've been home alone these past few weeks and will be until September 9th. I find out that following Sunday that my grandfather died that Friday. I haven't seen him since I was like eleven, which was the last time I've been to Mexico and…it's been pretty rough, being on my own and just dealing with that loss.

He wasn't the best grandfather around, but…I still had some good memories. I'm doing a lot better, though being on my own has been time consuming since I have to do chores on my own, which has been taking up whatever free time I've had. As of today, I'm back to school, so depending on how things go, my productivity might take a dive. At the very least, I don't have to worry about money, since I got a refund back from financial aid and also got approved for a work study, so things are gonna be a LOT easier!

It helps that I haven't been to work at my usual job since the start of this month, so I've had enough time to recover from all the shit that I've had to go through with boss lady.

Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, because a lot happened. A lot went down in the Gacha Meme Hell discord, which is how shit like Kiyohime being male became a thing (there's more to it than meets the eye, so don't jump to conclusions just yet) and Chaldea got mapped out after much discussion. This is pretty much the turning point to not expect things to go exactly as how they were in the game. Like…at the very base, it's still the same, but how we get there is something that we'll just have to wait and see.

The OC Inquisition made its appearance, so you guys might as well get used to them. They won't always have the focus on them, but just be aware that they exist. This is pretty much their introductory chapter for future references. So many thanks to the Gacha Meme Hell discord for their contributions to this chapter, Lyrecho especially.

Anyways, time for some shout-outs!

Reviewer #20: xenocanaan

Reviewer #22: Bulldan

Reviewer #30: giant salamander

Honorable mentions: CaedmonCousland, xCanaan, Undying Soul98 (we may have started on the wrong foot, but I'm glad we cleared things up on good terms), Anonymous Reviewer kyo, Touhou is Life (greetings from spacebattles!), Snickering Fox, joshiro99, Meno Melissa, Belphy

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to review! It really has been helping me stay productive and also helping me through these difficult times! Don't ever feel afraid to leave a review, just so long as you're not pessimistic about it, yeah? And do think twice about how you might come off as, because there's a difference between giving criticism and being an ass.

So long as you understand that, then it's all good! I'll be willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but don't push your luck as some people have with my other fics. That's about it for now, so until next time, everyone! KD out! XD