June 18th
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Senpai, happy birthday to you," Mash sang as she entered Andy's room.
"Aww, thanks, Kouhai," Andy said, looking rather happy.
"You're welcome Senpai, here is your gift from me," She said as she handed over a box. Andy opened it up, and he saw that is was another necklace like she had given on Christmas, but this one was an elaborately designed cross.
"Wow. This is...this is beautiful." Andy said truthfully as he looked at the necklace. "Did you make this, Mash?"
"Well," She pressed her fingers together. "I got help from Da Vinci in making it, but I made the design," She stated.
"That's still incredible, Kouhai. Thank you." Andy said, giving Mash a hug. "Though I think I might have too many necklaces now."
"Ahh, sorry," She apologized.
"I'm just joking silly, no need to apologize," Andy said as he released her from the hug. "Unless you made it a necklace specifically so that I would have too many. Then I'll accept that apology." He continued joking.
And now Mash just looked like a tomato. "H-how about we go to the Dining Hall, everyone is probably waiting for you there."
"Just lemme put this on first," Andy said as he added the necklace to the many things around his neck. "Alright, now I'm good to go."
And so the two of them walked to the Dining Hall like they did most mornings, and as they entered the Dining Hall. Saw that it had been decorated to commend the celebration with a huge banner of the rather massive cake that Emiya had made.
The Servants standing over to the side with a smile of satisfaction upon his face at his work.
"Congratulations, Andy, you're now one step closer to death," Da Vinci commented. "So, how does it feel to be nineteen?"
"Basically, the same as when I was 18!" Andy said with a thumbs up and then shrugged. "Not much to gauge any real differences off of now anymore."
"True, you're not a Pokemon, so hitting a new level doesn't make you evolve, anyway time to blow out the candles."
Andy did precisely that after a 'stunning' rendition of Happy Birthday by the assembled servants (the music was good, since it was Mozart, but even he couldn't keep all of them in sync, or tune). "Y'know, this has gotta be the biggest cake I've ever seen at anything other than a wedding."
"Technically, it is one; I just made it more birthday like," Emiya responded from his position.
"I suggested one where I jump out naked, but it was denied," Astolfo said with a pout as he glomped Andy's side.
"Of course, it was!" Roman shouted. "I didn't want to traumatize the children, and you can save that stuff for the bedroom like adults, use cream if you have too."
"Oh my!" Came the response from Jeanne, who had been standing by the doctor's side.
"Boss… shut up." Andy said as he hugged Astolfo to his side, blushing intensely at the consecutive imagery and embarrassing comments.
"Well, it is my job, now let's just have fun for today cause in two days you'll be going to the sixth Singularity."
"Already?" Came the complaining tone from Ritsuka, who just looked dead tired. "But I just came back last night, also happy birthday dude."
"Ritsuka, how was your first mission? You look like shit." Andy asked and stated the obvious.
"I feel like it too, and it was a success if that was what you were asking, and I thought the stuff we used to was exhausting. Freaking Vampire Princess," He complained.
"That is why I am giving you two days to rest and recover, and besides you're a Stand User, you guys are made out of much sterner stuff than normal people with all the abuse you can take," Roman responded.
"I think I should report that comment to HR?"
"Sorry, we don't got one."
"Don't worry too much Ritsuka, once we fix all this, you can report to the new HR allll your misgivings about our Boss," Andy said with a wide grin. "You might even get to revoke his Magi Mari privileges."
"Hey, don't bring her into this!"
"Take it, easy, boys," Martha interjected as she stepped in between them.
"Hey, don't worry about it Marth, I know not to raise my hand against someone weaker than me." Andy 'assured,' grinning.
"You wanna catch these hands," Ritsuka taunted as he went into a stereotypical combat pose. "I show you that my Crush 40 is the best thing ever."
"I think he is talking about me, Fujimaru," Roman interjected.
"Yeah, I was, but now I do wanna fight. That can be your birthday present to me, Ritsu-chan." Andy taunted.
"Sure, 'cause I actually don't have anything for you, also don't call me that," Saying the last part with a deadpan expression.
"Good, good, but let's have some cake first, then fight," Andy said, motioning towards the cake, Emiya was cutting up and was making Andy very hungry.
Xxx
"Okay, you two, let's have a fair and clean match," Martha said, having been chosen as the judge.
Neither moved, both eyeing up the other, and then Andy spoke. "So, how we gonna do this? You wanna come at me, me come at you, or we both come together at the same time?" Andy asked.
"Dude, you're weird," Ritsuka responded as darkness surged around his body and formed into a black coat with a large zipper on it. "But I say we go until first blood," He said as he fell over backward into his own shadow and sunk into the ground disappearing from view.
"First blood sounds good," Andy said as his left arm turned into cannon mode as he made sure it was slotted with fire rune-bullets. "Its a reference, I'll see if we have the series in the archive." He added, before firing a shot at the largest shadow in the room, causing the flames to blossom out and fuck with all the shadows in the room for a bit.
"Argh fuck you're a dick for doing that, you made the place like fifty degrees hotter," Ritsuka shouted as he popped up from behind Andy, exiting from his shadow and delivering a hard blow to his back.
Andy let himself tumble forward with the blow, and jumped back to his feet to see Ritsuka had already vanished. "Hmm. Fuck that noise." Andy said, running enough off a current through his legs to diminish his shadow as much as possible. "So, Ritsu-chan, I'm pretty sure you can hear me right now, what was it like to smash an invisible puss?" He said, trying to draw Ritsuka out of the shadows by aggravating him.
"Honestly, you have to better than that; I've heard worse trash talk," Ritsuka responded, his voice exiting from the various shadows still present. "And that was the first thing she said."
Andy grunted a little as Ritsuka's fist collided with a certain part of his anatomy. "Note for the future, one of the mods I got means I can turn off my pain receptors down there." He then stomped heavily on the ground with his right foot, which had been sparking, even more, electrocuting the floor.
"Bzzt!" Ritsuka cried out as he launched himself out of the shadow. "I think you won this time," He said as his body twitched on the floor.
"Yeah, sorry. That's what happens when you go up against an opponent whose full capabilities you don't know who does know yours, and isn't stupid enough to tell them to you mid-battle." Andy said as he helped Ritsuka to his feet, turning himself into a grounding rod for a moment during their contact to reduce the charge in Ritsuka, which didn't kill Ritsuka because magic lightning was thankfully bullshit. "That's something you'll have to get used to, not knowing how your opponent fights or what with. That's why I keep suggesting 'brute force,' but as you can feel, thinking is still good."
"I said this time, cause next time I will win, but your right brute force is sometimes the best solution. But sadly, I don't really have that, kinda, sure Crush 40 can allow me to hit a hell of a lot harder than normal, but it only works while I am in a shadow or in a shadow," He stated. "So, what I did with you is my normal tactic."
"Yeah, I'll admit, I really had to think outside the box with this, so it's a pretty good tactic," Andy admitted. "Though, I gotta ask, why does it make you look like a part of Organization XIII? Please tell me that's just because your a nerd and not because that's real too."
"I don't think they are, but if you exist in this universe, they probably do in some variant, but yes, it's because I am a nerd. Shadows are malleable; they can take any form of something 'wearable,' so I just shaped it to look like this," He explained.
"You two can discuss powers later now, go and continue the party you've still got presents Andy," Martha said, and at that Nightingale ran in, grabbed Ritsuka, and carried him out.
"Presents?" Andy said excitedly, ignoring Ritsuka's confused cry for help, knowing Nightingale would take good care of him.
"Did that hit too your nads affect your other head? You've still got birthday presents that need to be opened, you moron," She said as she threw a package into his face. "From me to you, it's a bottle of seriously enhanced holy water use it when encountering powerful undead."
"I knew you could make holy water!" Andy exclaimed, as his early assumptions were finally proven correct.
"I can, it is just difficult as a Rider despite being the Saint of Water, if I were a Ruler… Well, not that it matters," She responded as she walked away from him.
"Neat," Andy said as he stored the holy water away for later before practically sprinting back to the dining hall as he realized/remembered it was an actual birthday party. He arrived back at the hall in a matter of minutes and, after taking a moment to calm his breathing, so he didn't look desperate, re-entered the dining hall.
"So, old Master, did you and new Master have fun beating your bodies against each other getting all hot and sweaty?" Drake asked as just chugged a jug. "Where is he, by the way?"
"I didn't even break a sweat, and Nightingale took him to deal with his injuries. Turns out humans being electrocuted, even if its a controlled shock, can be dangerous." Andy said with a shrug. "Who knew?"
"Everyone not you apparently," Came the comment from Medb.
"Well, hey, if it isn't my new favorite queen. Did you have any cake?" Andy asked.
"I did thankfully it is not cheesecake."
"So, all cheese is a no-no with you?" Andy asked, a bit confused about the boundaries of the issue.
"Yes, getting killed by an old piece of cheese soured me to most dairy products, all cheeses included," She said with a grimace as she ate her cake with dignified grace.
"That doesn't include ice cream, does it?" Andy said, a look of mounting horror on his face at the idea of no dairy like that.
"No, no, just pure vanilla, of both kinds."
Andy was confused for a moment before his face lit up as he remembered the experimentation they'd done for her soldiers. "Gotcha." He said simply, brain stalling and unable to think of anything else in response.
"Hmm, now excuse me… Cu dear, could you feed me?" She said as she went over to the group of dogs who startled to scramble.
"Well, this place never gets boring," Drake chuckled.
"Ain't that the truth," Andy said, shaking his head.
Xxx
June 20th
"I hope you two have refreshed yourself enough?" Roman asked Andy, and Ritsuka entered the Command Room.
"Ask me tomorrow morning, maybe?" Ritsuka responded as he drowned himself in an espresso.
"Tip-top shape as always, boss," Andy said, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to go. "I feel like I could take down a Demon Pillar myself right now." He exaggerated.
"You probably could with that Persona of yours," Roman responded.
"Maybe." Andy half-agreed, not really wanting to test it. "So, where and when is it this time, Boss?"
"I'll get to that, but first, there are going to be some differences this time around due to the inclusion of Ritsuka," He stated.
"Why is that?" Mash asked as she stood by Andy's side.
"It involves the distribution of energy really, we can only send so much to the Singularity," Da Vinci explained. "So now you two have to share it. While you can still take six Servants with you, three of them have to stay astralized, so now you have to switch out with your 'back row party members' if you want a comparison."
"So I get two of my choice and Mash then. A fair trade-off for not having to do it all myself." Andy said with a shrug. "Is that all?"
"In regards to combat going forward, yes it, however, this concerns the Singularity itself, I actually discovered its coordinates before I found America's," Roman stated. "But when I observed it, it quite simply disappeared before reappearing, and disappearing again, and it did that a few times. And now it has been not going since the beginning of June, so I think it is safe to enter right now."
"That is why we have given this Singularity the rating of EX simply for its uniqueness, and that is why I will be joining you and this expedition," Da Vinci stated.
"Ayy, having a genius on board with us means we won't have to worry about when our comms inevitably fail or are blocked like every other mission," Andy said.
"Yes, that does have a tendency to happen," Roman admitted.
"Well, I will be glad to have you onboard Da Vinci-chan," Ritsuka stated.
"My what a charmer, and thank you for what you got for me. Now, as for where we are going, Romani?"
"Right, hmm, hmm. Today our local will be Jerusalem, 1273 A.D." He answered.
"Oh, the crusades?" Andy asked, before it clicked what that meant. "Oh god, the crusades."
"Kinda, this should be after the ninth's crusade was over, but that probably makes it easy to guess what the thing that is causing the damage is that the crusade didn't stop," Da Vinci said.
"Hmm. Well, I'm gonna guess that literal crusaders won't like me very much. Ritsuka, you'll probably have to be the face of the operations this time, if they have any actual holy types on their side that can sense demons." Andy pondered. "Ritsuka, pick your team. I've already got one in mind."
"Already decided on who yesterday and went over it with everyone," He responded.
"Then, if you're both ready, let's go," Da Vinci said with a cheer, the living folk going on the mission joining her.
Xxx
"Argh, what the hell is this! Where the hell did you land us, Romani!" Da Vinci cursed as they had all been Rayshifted into the middle of a freaking sandstorm.
"Argh, fuck my eyes, Crush 40, everyone turn into spirit form for now," Ritsuka ordered his Servants as he called upon his Stand. "Also, is just me, or do you too have trouble breathing Andy?"
"Not breathing much right now, thank you!" Andy said from where he was holding Mash to his chest to protect her face, while his own was covered by the partially deployed Tenfold Shield's helmet. "We need to get the hell out of this storm!"
"It's not the storm that is making it hard to breathe for Ritsuka but is certainly a problem, but the mana concentration in the air is close to the Age of Gods, it should not be trouble right now, but I can help you later. Also, no communication with Chaldea, and I have to ask if this even Jerusalem for there should be no dessert like this nearby the city," Da Vinci stated.
"Let's worry about that when we aren't in a fucking sandstorm!" Andy said, mad not for his own sake but for everyone else, since Tenfold Shields could more than hold up to the storm. "Any ideas on which way to go to get out, or something to stop it, or whatever would be appreciated!"
"I say just walk, direction does not matter," Da Vinci responded.
"Hey, guys, is it me, or do you see something in the distance?" Ritsuka asked.
And he was right while visibility was remarkably lowered due to the flying grains of sand he could see something approaching them. And it was something big.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding how is there something like that here?" Da Vinci asked the empty air as the creature got closer and now Andy could see the truck-sized creature clearly.
It was a Sphinx.
"Gareth, Yan Qing, Drac deploy!" Ritsuka shouted as the three Servants manifested and took up a combat stance in front of the Egyptian monster.
"I'll let you try this one yourself, Ritsuka!" Andy said as he and Mash began running to get out of the sandstorm. "Good luck, I'll be right on the edge of the storm!"
"You fucking asshole! Fine, I do it myself!" He shouted back. "Da Vinci, some backup!"
Andy and Mash tried to run through the sandstorm, but not even a minute later, they were stopped in their tracks by a dirk flying by his head.
In front of them was a familiar woman wearing a white-skull mask. Andy recognized it as one of the Hundred Persona's bodies. Who, of course, was backed up by a dozen bodies.
"Shit." Andy cursed under his breath at seeing them. "Hey, we don't actually want to fight, and I'm pretty sure we aren't enemies in the first place! Any chance we could resolve this peacefully? Or at least outside the storm?"
"Why should trust the words of one who is accompanied by one who is dressed like a knight of the Lion King," She stated.
"Me?" Mash asked pointing a finger at herself.
"Who else, has the Lion King made an alliance with the Sun King? Did he send you to retrieve his attendant?" She asked and Andy noticed that one of the more muscular male bodies was carrying a very chocolate-colored woman on his shoulder.
"Listen, lady, I have literally no idea who any of those people are! We literally just showed up in this place in the middle of this thrice-damned sandstorm, and would very much like to get out, and there's a sphinx attacking some of our comrades back there that I really should have helped with, but I hate this fucking sand." Andy said, as said sand managed to get in his mouth from the gap in his helmet, and he internally cursed that he hadn't deployed the full suit in order to not press Mash's face against the hard plates.
"The guardian beasts are already on the prowl, damn!" The Assassin cursed.
"Okay, what is going on here, Andy, and thank you for leaving us," Ritsuka said, now wearing a scarf and a pair of goggles. Da Vinci worked fast. The hood of his cloak down.
"Still working that out, and I told you you could do it," Andy replied.
"Just beat it up a little, and it ran away, couldn't kill because Divine Beast of the gods," He responded.
"Hey, you guys put that woman down," Gareth ordered, and all of the Assassin's eyes were on her and then proceeded to curse.
"Mission abandoned drop the target we're leaving now," The female body shouted, the body that was carrying the woman dropped her. And within seconds, the Hassan was gone. Which made sense as, from an explanation he had gotten from Cursed Arm, all Hassans had charms that allowed them to 'swim' through the wind.
"Huh, am I that intimidating?" Gareth asked.
"They said something about knights of someone called the 'Lion King', which given our time period I'd think is probably Richard the Lionhearted off his rocker or something. But that lady is with someone called the 'Sun King.' so we should probably take her with us and find shelter like, now," Andy said as he put together the pieces they had.
"I scanned the area, and I located a rock formation that can protect us from the storm," Da Vinci said as she pointed towards the direction.
"Great work Lady Da Vinci, Master I shall carry you, I can waste the energy," Drac said, and Ritsuka gave a nod in response.
"Fuma, sorry about this, please grab the advisor," Andy ordered as they made their way over to the formation Da Vinci had mentioned.
Thankfully it didn't take long for them to get there, and rocks were able to provide suitable cover at least they weren't being pelted in the face by sand.
"So, Master any idea who this chick is?" Yan Qing asked the only one of Ritsuka's Servants now out.
"No idea, but she is most definitely a beauty," He said as he looked at the woman propped up against the rock now untied.
"Keep it in your pants unless your gonna seduce info out of her," Andy said a bit harsher than he'd intended as he shook the sand out of his helmet.
"Well, let's wake her up and find out," Da Vinci said as she began to poke her with her staff.
"Hmm, Lord Ozymandias not so rough, they are not bunny ears but an artifact to communicate with the sky god," She moaned.
"Excuse me, miss," Andy said as he knelt down next to her to gently rouse her. "Are you alright? There is no 'Ozymandias' here."
"Huh?" She said as her eyes opened up and landed on Andy, her face immediately going red. "Wahh!" She screamed as she back away from Andy. "Who are you? Where am I, why am I not his Pharaoh's grace, you, you kidnapped me, didn't you?" She shouted and asked as she stood up.
"No, no, we ran into your actual kidnappers, and they dropped you and ran when they saw us," Andy said, hands up placatingly. "We're in the middle of a sandstorm, so we took you with us to this little refuge. We aren't holding you here."
"Why should I believe you, this is just a trick to get me to do make sandstorm go away, now you shall face the wrath of the incarnation of Horus the Pharaoh Nitocris shall-augh!" She shouted as Yan Qing bonked her on the head.
"Yesh, calm down, miss-over-dramatic," He said as the now named Nitocris rolled around on the sand in pain.
"Oh this is so humiliating I have truly failed his majesty I might as well just end my own life, so he doesn't have to waste energy doing it himself,"
"Okay, that went way to fast!" Ritsuka shouted. As he went over to her. "We didn't kidnap you; we aren't with the Lion King or the Hassans; we're from Chaldea," He explained.
That caused her to stop acting like a ball. "Chaldea, that means you must be the Masters that Lord Ozymandias mentioned? You fool, why did you not just say so?" She asked her personality, doing a one-eighty.
"Well, I didn't mention it because I thought you were a regular living person. And therefore would have no idea what it means, if I'm being honest," Andy said. Not mentioning that he usually didn't talk about Chaldea often anyway. "But your Lord, he knows of us?"
"Yes, he mentioned once a group of human Masters that were working to undo what has happened to Human History, and since you're a human accompanied by Servants, that must mean you. And I am Servant of the Caster Class such a thing should be obvious to even a peasant."
"She is a Servant Senpai, Nitocris was a Pharaoh in the 22nd century BC, famous for drowning all those that killed her brother within a sealed tomb." Mash exposited.
"I was rather proud of that plan,"
"And then committed suicide right after."
"Way to bring down the mood shieldy," Yan Qing quipped.
"Point is," Andy interjected in an attempt to steer the conversation back in the right direction. "If you know about us, does that mean you are trying to save or destroy human history?" He asked Nitocris.
"I follow the orders of the great Pharaoh," She simply responded. "And he does not care."
"Hmm, I think we should talk to Lord Ozymandias, he seems like a neutral man and might be able to give information about what is happening here in Jerusalem," Da Vinci suggested.
"Yeah, it looks like that's the best plan for now." Andy agreed.
"So Pharaoh Nitocris, might we seek an audience with his Majesty?" Da Vinci asked.
"Oh, and what makes you think you are worthy to stand before him, if you wish to have an audience with his greatness, you must face a test," She stated.
"And what that might that be oh, great and powerful Nitocris?" Ritsuka asked, which caused her to become as red as a tomato.
"Do not think such tricks will work on me," She sputtered. "Oh, great desert quell thy wind and now come forth great guardian Sphinx!" She chanted, and the sandstorm died on the spot, and from the sand came out another Sphinx this one looking more like the statue. "Your test is quite simple; you must kill this Sphinx."
"How!" Da Vinci shouted. "It is an Immortal Divine Beast!"
"I didn't say it was a fair one."
At that, Ritsuka summoned back Gareth and Vlad. "Plan?"
"Yeah, of course, I have a plan," Andy said immediately, before turning to the sphinx. "Oh, Mighty Sphinx, I beseech thee to make a concession! Combat shall prove nothing, but what greater test is there but a riddle?"
There was silence for a few seconds before the Sphinx responded by bitch, slapping him into the rock.
"Sorry, that only works on the original these are just manifestations of the God-King's power," Nitcocris informed him.
"That means its killable!" Andy said as he bounced back to his feet. "I knew my plan would work one way or the other! Joan, Jeanne, you're up!" He ordered.
"Kitty is going to get burnt!" The Alter shouted as she unleashed a firestorm that glassed the sand. But the Sphinx was unharmed. "Well, shit!"
"Didn't you hear the smart one? They might be less powerful, but they still possess the same abilities as the original; they are unable to be killed by mortal weapons."
"Then a divine arm should do the trick," A new male voice spoke. "Switch-on, shine my Silver Arm Airgetlam!" There was a flash of light, and the Sphinx vanished.
And in its place stood a knight with a silver arm.
Which was followed by a shout from Gareth. "Sir Bedivere, you're here!" She shouted in joy.
"How, how did you do that?" Nitocris shouted in shock.
"A gift from the court mage," He responded.
"I have. So many questions." Andy said as his brain short-circuited trying to put together all this new information with what he'd already gathered.
"Me too, buddy," Ritsuka said just as confused.
"But let's start with the simple one. Whose side are you on?"
"Chaldea, Lord Merlin sent me to assist you," He responded. "Sir Gareth, it pleases me to see your happy face," Said with a smiling face.
While ignoring the still dumbfounded Nitocris who just looked at the place where her Sphinx had been.
Xxx
A/N: And the best parts of this fic continues to mind fucking Passive.