Chapter 7
A Fox's Love
A/N: So…I read a little of the manga, "Fate/Extra CCC: Fox Tail", which kinda tells me that it focuses solely on Tamamo. Thought I'd give Tamamo all the love here. Well…sorta. You'll see what I mean. The drama starts here.
Enjoy.
The three of them are half-way toward the dark castle. The sky starts to get gloomy and all the plants have wilted and the animals are nowhere to be found. Hakuno-chan can tell that they are getting closer to BB. She has to end this once and for all. She and her servants have conquered more enemies along the way, no tests involved and ate at the next cottage before heading toward the dark castle. It's the last one so they have to make the best of it before going into battle. Hakuno-chan can tell that it'll be a lot more tougher trying to reach BB. But even she cannot give up. Not when they have made it this far.
Tamamo no Mae has been casting glances at her Master ever since they got out of the last cottage. She feels that this mission is getting a bit more risky as they go further and further. Though there is nothing to worry about, the fox girl feels that she should be. Because considering that she wants to be a good wife to Hakuno-chan, she wants to spend time with her until the very end, even if it means she'll die for her. Nero and Hakuno-chan are engaged, yes, but even so, she can't help but feel desperate.
"My husband!" Tamamo calls, making the brunette turn toward the fox girl.
"Yes, Caster?" she asks with a small smile.
"Would you mind if I linked arms with you before we get to the castle?" she offers as she trots closer to her Master.
"What!?" Nero exclaims.
"Hey, hear me out, okay?" the fox girl puts up her hand to silence her. "I feel that this journey is getting a bit more dangerous the further we go. I want to be with my darling husband for once so that she won't feel so alone."
"Umu…." Nero mutters, crossing her arms under her humble bosom and tapping her foot.
But already, Tamamo links arms with Hakuno-chan. "Too late~! I've already made my decision~!"
"H-hey!" Nero says.
"Don't worry, don't worry~!" the fox girl says. "I'll be my husband's bodyguard, okay~?"
Nero jumps in and links arms with the brunette as well. "Then, I'll take this side! We can both do it, right?"
"Uhhhhh…g-girls?" the brunette sweat drops.
"Can we just go…?" Altera sighs.
"Right!" Tamamo says. "Come on, my husband! Lead the way~!"
"What she said!" Nero agrees.
"Mind letting me go then…?" Hakuno-chan deadpans.
The Caster and Saber servants giggle as the brunette takes a few steps forward and everyone starts to walk with her. That is until the golden path disappears and becomes nothing but rock. They are getting closer for sure. The sky is getting darker and darker the further they go. But they shouldn't be afraid. Their main focus is to reach BB. They fast walk further down until they come across a long bridge above hot molting lava.
"Ugh…it's just like some medieval times tales," Nero says.
"Or a princess tale," Tamamo says. "Where a prince gets to rescue the princess from the tower."
"But in this tale," Altera says as she steps forward. "The princess is….inside a dark witch."
"All we have to do is cross that bridge," Hakuno-chan says. "That brings us one step closer to save Sakura."
"O-okay…!" Nero says as she lets go of the brunette's arm. "I'll go first! If the three of us go at the same time, the bridge might collapse."
"You're right," Tamamo says. "It doesn't seem strong enough to hold heavy stuff."
"Go ahead," Hakuno-chan says. "Be careful."
"Umu~!" Nero puffs out her chest and puts her fist on it while her other hand is on her hip. "You can count on me~!"
Everyone goes silent, except hearing the lava. Nero swallows hard as she turns toward the long bridge. She takes a few steps toward the bridge and holds onto the ropes for balance. It creaks every step she takes, making her fear that one of the wood might break. But she has to focus and look straight. No looking down. Tamamo wraps her arms around Hakuno-chan as she watches the Saber class servant make her way through the bridge. She's half-way there now. No problem. Hakuno-chan hopes that her number one servant can make it. And thankfully, Nero does make it.
"Umu! Umu~!" the Emperor cheers. "I did it!"
"Yes! I knew you could do it~!" Hakuno-chan says.
"I'll go next." Altera takes a step forward. "Wish me luck."
Hakuno-chan nods as well as Tamamo. The hun takes small steps toward the edge of the bridge and uses the ropes for support. It creaks at every steps she takes like before. The tanned servant keeps a straight face as she walks at a normal pace like there's nothing to worry about. Pretty soon, she makes it through without any trouble.
"Now it's your turn!" Nero calls from the other side.
"My husband…you ready?" Tamamo says.
"Mmhmm." Hakuno-chan nods. "Are you sure it'll support the two of us?"
"Three of us can't, but I'm sure two people won't cause it to collapse," the fox girl assures her. "We can't take too long, okay?"
"S-sure…"
The two of them walk toward the bridge and slowly make their way through. It creaks louder this time, making Hakuno-chan jump. But Tamamo hugs her Master tightly to comfort her and urge her to keep going. Nero and Altera watch as they pray for their safety. They are half-way there now, thanks to Tamamo's encouragement. And pretty soon, they are almost at the other side. Nero jumps up and down, waving her hands up and down.
"Yes! You can do it!" the little Emperor says. "You're gonna be fine!"
"That's it," Altera says. "Keep going."
Hakuno-chan smiles a little. However, for some reason, the ropes behind them breaks off and causes the bridge to fall down. Hakuno-chan screams as she falls and tries to hang on to the wood on the bridge. Tamamo does the same and climbs up to reach her.
"Praetor!" Nero cries as she kneels on the edge, looking down at the two helpless girls holding on to the bridge for dear life.
"Hang on!" Altera shouts. "We're coming!"
Tamamo looks over at her master. She grabs Hakuno's waist and tosses her up in the air, hopefully far enough for Nero and Altera to grab her and pull her in. Nero catches her Master and hugs her tightly…just for a moment of comfort before Hakuno-chan pulls away and rushes toward the edge to reach out her hand.
"Caster!" she cries. "Caster! Grab my hand!"
"I'm…trying…!" Tamamo climbs on the wood to get closer to her Master. The ropes are nearly breaking from the weight of the fox girl, plus the heat of the lava. The Caster Class servant grabs a few more planks and when she gets close enough, she strains to reach out her hand to grab Hakuno-chan's.
The bridge is breaking.
"Caster, come on!" Nero shouts.
Tamamo strains a bit more as she climbs up a few more planks to get a better reach. She finally grabs Hakuno-chan's hand and with the help of Nero and Altera, everyone pulls the fox girl up as the bridge breaks and falls into the lava. Tamamo falls on top of Hakuno-chan, plus everyone else topples to the ground. As they sit up, the first thing Hakuno-chan does is plunge herself on Tamamo's chest, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Caster!" she cries. "I'm so glad…! I'm so glad you're safe…!"
Tamamo gives a soft smile as she returns the embrace. "I'm alright…my husband. Don't worry. Everything's okay now."
Hakuno-chan rubs her face against the fox girl's chest. Nero and Altera exchange looks and give a nod and smile. At least everyone made it across the bridge. They stand up and help dust each other off before deciding to move forward. They finally see the entrance toward the dark castle. Hakuno-chan walks toward two large double doors and surprisingly, they are not locked. The large doors creak as they open all the way, revealing a very, very large empty throne room. There is nothing but skeletons, knight armor and some debris. Hakuno-chan and her servants enter the castle and the double doors close by themselves. Lightning strikes, startling everyone. They decide to take a look around for a moment. Nero links arms with Hakuno-chan as they slowly take a few steps forward.
"So…where do we go now?" Nero asks. "We made it into the castle."
"Maybe we should follow the tales," Altera replies. "A princess is usually locked away in a tall tower."
"You mean like that tower up there?" Tamamo points straight ahead and sure enough, there is a very tall tower with a window facing them.
"Umu~! That's it!" Nero cheers. "We're almost there, Praetor! We can beat BB's little game and get out of here!"
"Let's move!" Altera says.
But as they start walking, they hear some wailing. Cute, high pitched wails echoing.
"Wh-what was that!?" Nero jumps.
"Somebody's crying," Tamamo says. "But where?"
All of them turn around to see a shadowy figure behind them. A figure that might resemble somebody familiar.
"Wait….Sakura…?" Hakuno-chan says. "Is that you?"
The crying continues.
"Or is it BB trying to trick us?" Altera says. "Do not come any closer, Master."
"H-hey…" a soft voice says. "Are you….that person?"
"Y-yes…" Hakuno-chan says as she gestures toward herself. "It's me. Hakuno Kishinami. Did you finally get out of BB's body? No matter. Come with me and let's find a way out of here."
"I will….if you want to love me a bit more…" the girl says. "Will you love me forever?"
"Y-yes…I will. I'm so sorry that these terrible things are happening to you," Hakuno-chan says. "So please. Can we just…"
"Master!" Nero cries as she draws out her sword.
Hakuno-chan turns toward Nero, but before she says anything, a large metal hand grabs her.
"Ah!" she gasps.
Torches light up around them, revealing the shadowy figure to be a Sakura-like person. With very large breasts and metal claws for hands.
"You're not Sakura!" Nero shouts. "Who are you!?"
"I am the one you call…an Alter Ego. Love and Hate," the girl says softly. "M-My name…is Passionlip."
"Passionlip…" Hakuno-chan is shaking in fear. She has never seen a servant like this. "D-d-do you know who BB is then? Will you take us to her?"
"BB….is m-my Mother…" Passionlip says. "She brought me…and my older sister to this world…"
"Sister?" everyone says in unison.
"F-for now…it's just you and me…" Passionlip says. "I want to hug you….I want to hold you…I want to tell you how much I love you…"
"Keep your hands off her!" Nero charges at the big breasted Sakura-face, but gets hit by a large metal fist, sending her flying into a pile of rocks.
"Saber!" Hakuno-chan cries and then turns to the timid Alter Ego. "Why did you do that!? You hurt my servant!"
"Th-that's right…" Passionlip says as she sets down the brunette. "I cannot forget Mother's orders. To destroy all servants…!"
Nero struggles to her feet after getting out of the pile. "S-sure. You wanna dance? We'll dance!"
"No," Tamamo holds out her arm. "I think you've done enough."
"What are you saying, Caster!? You think you can take this thing on all by yourself!?" Nero shouts.
"You should save your energy to defeat BB-san," the fox girl says. "I will do my part in protecting my darling husband."
"Caster…!" Hakuno-chan puts both fists on her chest, taking a step forward. Suddenly, she sees some flashing beside her. A holo screen. She steps toward it to expand it and BB's face appears on the screen.
"Hello, Sempai~" she says. "Looks like you've reached your destination. Now the REAL test will begin. To see if you have what it takes to beat MY servants. My ultimate obstacles before you can reach me."
"BB, this is insane!" Hakuno-chan says. "I don't think my servants are strong enough!"
"Then, it's your loss," BB says. "And by the way, that fox girl seems pretty confident. I'll give her a chance to prove herself. As for the others….~" She waves her wand and chains appear to catch Nero and Altera and pull them toward the wall. "They can stay here and watch. They must NEVER interfere whatsoever."
"That's not fair!" Hakuno-chan shouts.
"Exactly fair. Have fun fighting. Hahahaha~!" BB disappears along with the holo screen.
Hakuno-chan grits her teeth and turns to the fox girl. "Caster! Listen carefully! Don't let Passionlip get the better of you! You know you are stronger than that! Try to find openings so that she doesn't shield herself with her claws!"
"Yes, Master!" Tamamo summons her magic mirror that floats around her for a bit.
Passionlip grits her teeth. "Y-you're making me angry now. You want to take this girl away from me…? I will DESTROY you then!"
Tamamo charges at the Alter Ego. Passionlip raises her fist and tries to smash the fox girl, but the Caster servant evades that attack. Since Tamamo has no weaponry to weigh her down, she's more nimble than Passionlip, so she can easily evade her punches. One punch after another, the fox girl evades until she manages to get behind Lip to kick her back. The Alter Ego stumbles forward as the fox girl leaps far away to create distance just in case Lip retaliates. She thrusts her hand forward to have her mirror hit the big breasted Sakura face 4 times and then she jumps in the air to shoot out flamethrowers. Lip shields herself with her claws, however the metal starts to get hot so, she jumps out of the way.
"Let's see if you like some of this!" Tamamo thrusts her hand forward, shooting out ice shards from her palm.
However, Lip opens up her huge metal palm to catch them and crush them, making Tamamo gasp. But she can't let this girl beat her. She charges forward and when she gets close enough, she spins around, creating a tornado out of thin air to try and blow Passionlip away. The big breasted Sakura-face digs her claws on the ground to keep herself there. Her hair sways wildly from the intense wind until it stops. Tamamo gasps again and gets grabbed by the giant claw hand.
"Enough…" Passionlip says coldly and tosses her to the wall hard.
"No!" Hakuno-chan cries.
The Alter Ego jumps to the Caster servant and walks toward her as the fox girl struggles to her feet. Lip punches her hard to send her flying toward another wall. The Alter Ego leaps toward Tamamo once again, giving her a cold stare. The fox girl struggles to her feet again and holds out her hand to shoot out a fireball, only to get grabbed by the metal hand and squishes it like it is nothing. She raises her metal palm to smash Tamamo with it. Then, again….and again…and again. Tamamo cries out in pain with each hit.
"Caster…!" Nero and Altera cry out.
Hakuno-chan cannot stand this anymore. She rushes in and stands in front of the Caster Class servant, arms spread wide with angry tears falling from her face.
"Out of the way…" Passionlip says.
"NO!" Hakuno-chan says. "This is too much! Caster doesn't deserve this!"
"Doesn't matter…" Lip says. "It's the rules…"
"Master, get out of there!" Nero shouts as she struggles against the chains that bind her.
Just then, the brunette feels a hand on Hakuno-chan's shoulder. A beaten fox girl stands up with a weak smile on her face.
"Don't worry about me, Master," she says. "Remember what I said? I will protect you just as much as Saber-san does."
"B-but…" Hakuno-chan says.
"I'll take this thing on until my last breath," the fox girl says. "Let's go, sister!"
Passionlip raises her claws as if to squish her with them. Tamamo doesn't give her a chance. She tackles her to the ground and they wrestle for a bit with Hakuno-chan watching with both fists on her chest. Lip doesn't stand a chance while she's on the ground with her claws, but the big breasted girl knows that she's not that stupid. While Tamamo is busy hitting her, Lip grabs her with her claws and throws her to the ground on her back, making a small crater. Lip jumps to her feet to give the fox girl a beating. But the Caster servant jumps to her feet as well and delivers several kicks and fire balls to the chest and then ice shards for good measure. But Lip punches her hard downward and then delivers an uppercut, sending Tamamo flying until she hits the ceiling and then falls back down again with a thud.
"No!" Nero cries.
"Grrrr…this is crazy!" Altera says. "She cannot take this servant on by herself yet BB wants us to stay put! Why!?"
Lip throws Tamamo against a pillar and it collapses. The big breasted girl then picks it up and swings it like a club to hit the fox girl once again to send her flying into another pillar, which collapses. The Alter Ego tosses the broken pillar aside, steps toward the Caster servant and then grabs her. She begins to squeeze her tightly. Tamamo's eyes widen and lets out a scream of agony.
"Die….die…die…" Lip mutters as she squeezes harder.
"Stop this!" Hakuno-chan cries. "Don't hurt Caster, please! Stop it right now!"
"This servant needs to die…" the Alter Ego says. "And then, you and I will be together forever…"
"Then, I'll love you….Passionlip!" Hakuno-chan says, gesturing toward herself. "I'll love you more than Caster! Just PLEASE let her go!"
"M-Master….what are you doing….?" Tamamo says weakly.
"Y-you really mean that….?" Passionlip's cold eyes turn into big innocent ones. "You're not lying….?"
"Y-yes…" Hakuno-chan walks over toward the big breasted girl and hugs her. "I will love you. I'll give you all the love. Love and care. You don't have to follow BB's orders. You can be yourself…okay…?" She reaches over where she finds two keys to the chains that bind Nero and Altera and quietly takes them away to put it in her skirt pocket.
"ahhh…." Lip looses her grip and Tamamo drops to the floor, coughing.
Hakuno-chan lets go of Lip and rushes toward the Caster servant, picking her up tenderly.
"Caster…Caster…!" the brunette cries.
"My…darling husband….?" Tamamo's eyes flutter open to see the teary eyed Master looking down at her.
"Caster…oh, my God…" Hakuno-chan sobs, putting a hand to her mouth. "You've been beaten so badly…"
"It's okay…at least I…gave it my all, right?" the fox girl says. "After all, I protected you…like the good wife I am. Teehee~"
"Caster…" Hakuno-chan hugs the fox girl tightly, just for a bit before pulling away and gazes into the fox girl's eyes. She then leans in and gives her a passionate kiss.
Bliss. Just…full of bliss. That's what Tamamo is feeling right now. And she loves it. However, Passionlip sees this and gets angry again.
"No…you told me you would love me…" she says. "It was a lie after all…all a lie…"
Hakuno-chan pulls away to turn to the Alter Ego, but the big breasted Sakura face is already losing it.
"WHYYYYYY!?" Passionlip shoots out her fist like a rocket to punch another pillar and the ceiling. "WHYYYYYY!?" She shoots out her other fist to knock down another pillar and the room begins to collapse. Her hands go back to where they belong. "WHY WON'T YOU LOVE ME!? WHYYYYYY!?" She smashes both fists on the ground, making it shake and the whole room starts to crumble.
"We have to get out of here! NOW!" Altera says.
Hakuno-chan rushes in to insert the keys into the locks and frees both Nero and Altera. They then make a run for it out the door toward another bridge. Hakuno-chan carries Tamamo bridal style and makes a run for it also. However, a clawed hand grabs the brunette's leg and trips her, making her drop the fox girl.
"Love me….love me, please…!" Lip cries.
Tamamo rises to her feet and then rushes in to tackle the Alter Ego, making the grip loosen. Hakuno-chan turns her head with her hair whipping her face as she sees the fox girl wrestle with the Alter Ego while debris starts to fall.
"Caster!" she cries.
"Go!" the fox girl says. "I'll hold her off!"
"But…but…!" Hakuno-chan shakes her head, sobbing. "I don't want to leave you…! We can make it out!"
"No! Passionlip wants you here and I'm not going to let her kill you!" Tamamo shouts. "Just go!"
Nero grabs her arm and tugs on it. "Praetor, let's just go. We can't save her."
Hakuno-chan looks back with tears falling from her face. Tamamo smiles at her while still holding down Passionlip.
"I'll always love you…my darling husband…~"
More and more debris fall down. Hakuno-chan shakes her head roughly and turns around to follow Nero. Debris start piling up more and more, burying the fox girl and the Alter Ego. Hakuno-chan and Nero make it out of there safely by the time the whole room gets broken down. Hakuno-chan looks over at the debris where Tamamo and Passionlip have fallen. More tears fall from her face and then hugs Nero for comfort.
"We must continue," Nero says. "We're nearly there, so please hang on a bit longer, Praetor."
Hakuno-chan pulls away, sniffling and nods. The battle is not over yet. They have a little more ways to go before they can reach BB. After regaining her composure, Hakuno-chan leads the way with her two remaining servants following.
**Meanwhile**
"Silly fox girl~" BB chuckles. "Oh, well. At least my plan is working, now that Sempai is learning what it feels like to lose someone she loves. Or part of it that is." She spins her chair to the side, chuckling and tapping the tip of her wand on her palm. "This….Altera is a tough one. Maaaaaybe I'll save Saber for last. Yeah, that's what I'll do. That'll show her how losing your loved ones feel like for sure. Hahahahahaha~!"
A/N: Please don't give up on this story! Please! I know…I know this was rather…unpleasant. But hear me out okay? Fate isn't…well…Fate without death and full of drama. And I intended to put that there for a good reason. I still have plans on where this is going to go. Please don't leave because of this! You'll get a wonderful surprise at the end here! Trust me on this!
Okay, enough rambling. Hope you enjoyed this.
H-Have a nice day…