"...So, you're not crazy?"

Herakles nods and says nothing. He looks straight at Ritsuka, unblinking amber eyes poised right at him. Ritsuka looks back with eyes wide open, waiting for something to happen. He blinks. Herakles blinks. Ritsuka waits a bit longer. Herakles blinks again. Ritsuka nods and drinks his morning coffee. "Cool, cool. Always had a feeling, y'know. How long until you start using your words?"

Herakles keeps looking at him. He does not blink. Ritsuka shrugs. "Alright, that's fair. I wish Kana'd shut up sometimes, too." He looks to the other person at the table and tries not to run up to the window and scream as Mashu delicately cuts little pieces off her sunny side ups. God she's so cute. He could watch her eat forever. But he won't, because that's super creepy, and rather than dwell on how she smells nice today too he's going to engage in conversation! Wow he's inexperienced. "How's the eggs, Mashu?"

She looks back at him, chewing on her eggs. She swallows and holds up a fork. "They're a little burnt, senpai, but still good! You're getting better at this!"

"...No I'm not. I'm still burning eggs." Ritsuka sighs and holds his hands to his head. "My parents were making full course meals at my age. Dad was feeding Aunt Taiga when he was ten. How am I burning eggs." He inhales sharply, shakes his head, and tries to move forward with his life. "Nevermind! I'll try again later."

Mashu pats him on the shoulder. "It's okay, senpai. I tried Kana-senpai's scrambled eggs yesterday. They're about the same." She looks about abruptly. "Speaking of, where is she? I haven't seen her since… Well, since breakfast yesterday."

"Oh, we had a freak micro-singularity crop up in… What, modern day Tokyo? Kana went with Cu and Robin to shoot some lizard people and then loot all the iPhones and frozen food she can carry." Ritsuka sips some more at his coffee. "Actually thinking about it, she's supposed to be back by now. Wonder what's going on."

"I'm a little worried now," Mashu frowns. "Aren't you worried?"

"...No, not really. I'm sure she's just goofing off again." Ritsuka sighs and holds his coffee to his mouth. Not least because Kana's got a good head on her shoulders, so anything that actually takes her down is a problem for everyone. And he really, really doesn't want to deal with that crisis right now.

Which is, naturally, when Kana cuts her way out of the space next to them with Asriel, looking beat up and panting like she's been through hell. And the moment she spots Ritsuka, she grabs him by the collar and starts screaming in his face.

"OH MY GOD I FINALLY REACHED THE EDGE OF THE SINGULARITY OH GOD WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT I CAN'T EVEN-"

Ritsuka, glibly, slaps her hands. Then, he adjusts his collar. Then, he slaps her upside the head. Kana squeaks, crumples to the ground, then bounces back up and grabs him by the collar again. "WHY'D YOU SLAP ME?!"

"You're screaming in my face," he replies grimly. "So either you're losing it or you're trying to murder me. So yeah, why wouldn't I slap you?"

"YOU-" She looks to Mashu with crazy eyes, then to Herakles, then back at him. She lifts him off the ground by the collar, looking him straight in the eye, badly violating his personal space. Normally, Ritsuka would start punching or freaking out at this point, but considering it's Kana and she's done it so many times before already, he's just bemused. "GUDA I AM GOING TO-" She catches herself. Kana drops him, shakes her clenched fists a few times, screams into her hands, then picks Asriel up again. "Okay. Okay okay okay. Ooookay." She inhales, then exhales. "Okay. So. That micro-singularity?"

Ritsuka nods. "The micro-singularity."

"It's Caster's."

Mashu blinks. Herakles blinks. Ritsuka does not. "Is it?"

Kana nods and looks at him like he's being daft. "Yeah. It is. I don't even know where Cu and Robin are right now. Probably being taken apart to turn into more Jasons!"

"...Medea made a micro-singularity filled with Jasons."

"Small chibi-Jasons, by the way," Kana points out.

"Small, deformed doll-shaped Jasons," Ritsuka reiterates. He inhales sharply. "Okay. Mashu, are you done with breakfast?"

His Shielder looks back at the half-eaten eggs on her plate. She considers for a moment. "I'm done."

"Okay." Ritsuka clasps his hands behind his back and stands right in front of the rift Kana just cut into the cafeteria and peers inside. Through the wound in space, which is starting to mend already, he can see little blonde Greeks hop into ambush position roughly a kilometer away, like he wouldn't see. Which, naturally, means it's bait. How quaint.

"Shoebox it is."

Just another day in Chaldea.

In 2026, mankind was incinerated

The fire burned hot and quickly, as expected of time fire

But it missed a spot, which is only fair

Chaldea is a special kind of mess, you see

Nevertheless, it is the only hope for restoring human history

That is to say, when its last Masters aren't busy slapping bitches

Pray that time fire doesn't get its act together in time in…

FATE/SUNNY ORDER

"Altera! Alteraaaaa!" The Scourge of God looks up from where she's splashing her feet into the fish pond, still sipping from her sippy cup, as Marie Antoinette runs over. This, Altera thinks, is good civilisation. Perhaps the Queen has more orange juice. "Altera, have you seen Medea? We're supposed to be watching Schindler's List together but she never showed up!"

Altera looks at her, still sipping. Altera does not understand why Marie and Medea want to watch someone else's list together, but it is no matter. Perhaps it is a cute list. Yes. Altera will look into this list herself later. Removing her cup with a pop, Altera shakes her head. "Altera does not know. But Caster not herself since Okeanos." She tilts her head. "Maybe Caster is in her room?"

"That's the thing!" Marie raves. "I looked in her room, but Medea wasn't there! I stood on the beaches of Colchis for half an hour! I took a nap on a beach couch! It was nice!" She waves her arm, more animated than ever. "BUT WE WERE GOING TO BE SAD TOGETHER! I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW IT ENDS!"

Altera tilts her head slightly further. She does not want to look into this list anymore. Sad is bad civilisation. Marie is weird. "Maybe Caster made a room inside her room?"

"...I hope I find her before Master does," Marie says quietly. "I'm not much of a mage, but I remember her saying she can't make more space without breaking rules…"

"That bitch anchored a micro-singularity onto the extra-dimensional shadow of her Temple," Ritsuka says with the airs of a learned man. His fists, balled and clenched, tighten until his knuckles turn white. "Well, I wonder if we have anything smaller than a shoebox. Mashu?"

"D-Don't be too hard on her, senpai. Caster hasn't been herself since Okeanos."

"There's cutting some slack and there's cutting my fucking head off." He turns to Kana, who is supervising Herakles while his Berserker sweeps the concussed mini-Jasons into neat piles. She's uncharacteristically dour, and pulls the cloak on her shoulders tightly around her. "Kana, you okay? Where did you get that, anyways?"

"...Nothing." She looks up, takes a deep breath, then whirls about on her brother. She raises one hand, finger extended, and keeps the other firmly on her hip. "Anyways, here's what I know is going on. Caster is currently a rogue asset, but she's not far gone enough to waste Command Seals on. Cu and Robin are probably captured and facing indoctrination, but we can save them and deal with Caster if we act smart. Herakles will probably be enough, but there's a real chance that we're dealing with mindstomped Lancer and Archer here. They do have some pretty awful luck, and she has Rule Breaker."

"Fou, fou," the small furry creature that followed after them says from its place on Mashu's chest, held up by her arms. Mashu nods in agreement.

"Fou's right, didn't Caster prove that Rule Breaker would give us the contract instead?"

"We can't rule out the possibility that she's got multiple settings on that thing," Ritsuka muses. "In any case, considering that damage will be localised to this singularity, I think that Aunt Arturia would be a good choice of support."

"Can't we get Okita? She's more precise and less of a loose cannon."

"I need her watching Nobu. She's a no-go."

"Well how about-"

"Fou!" Fou hops onto his feet atop Mashu's forearms, hissing. They look up and spot Medea, floating high in the sky and backlit by the sun. Cunning. Now they're blind. Ritsuka shields his eyes, even as he makes ready to scold her.

"Medea! What are you doing?! You were the sensible one! You were supposed to keep the idiots in order, not join them!"

"Κιλιπλ Άστραπή."

The sky lights up with ten thousand suns as lightning turns the forest into ash. The bounded fields holding the breach open are shattered and the gateway closes. Every small Jason that Herakles carefully defeated without death is vaporised without a second thought. Of her Masters and fellow Servants (and their little dog-ferret, too), there is no sign.

Until Herakles teleports right behind her and tries to cleave her from shoulder to hip. Caster dodges and rotages in the air, taking advantage of true three-dimensional movement, but Herakles is used to her tricks and a Hero besides. He cuts her head off with a single stroke before hitting the charred ground with a crunch, hard enough to cast aside the sizzling smoke of a burnt forest and reveal Mashu Kyrielight, still maintaining her Noble Phantasm in defense of her Masters and friends.

Caster does not hit the ground. She catches her own head and sticks it back on. This is only to be expected; in her Temple, with enough mana, even things like instant regeneration or the replication of feats like Battle Continuation of the highest rank is possible. The ponytail that spills out of her robes is not, however, expected at all.

And then expertly shot arrows pin them down to the ground by their clothes, Ritsuka by his sleeves and trousers, Kana by the cloak she wears - who squeaks as it opens enough to reveal that the first three buttons of her shirt and the black belts on her uniform have been snapped off, revealing the generous bounty she inherited from her mother's generation. Other Argonauts - Pollux, Castor, even Herakles himself - step from the un-burnt trees and surround them entirely. Their Masters pinned, themselves surrounded, Herakles and Mashu lower their weapons. Surrender is the only option.

"What have you done to Medea," Ritsuka hisses, while the Princess of Colchis descends from the skies and lands daintily on her feet, a girly spring in her step as she approaches, supported by another Atalanta.

"Welcome to Jasonland," the younger Medea says with a demure smile, "We hope you enjoy your stay."

"...Wait hold on, what do you mean there's a singularity currently welded onto Chaldea?" Roman sips at his coffee and drums his fingers on the commander's console in the CIC while analysts continue their work below him. Honestly nowadays he doesn't even really do anything. He just sits here and tells people to do work. Automation has cut his work by ninety percent and Ritsuka insists on doing the last ten. And it's great! He's caught up on so much anime!

And then he's informed about important things and is reminded that he's still the big boss and still takes the big shots. But oh well. He can't keep hiding from the burning elephant scattered across the timestream. He's no Leonardo Da Vinci - who, it should be noted, titters with melodic laughter at his expression. She really needs to find a better hobby than riling other people up and watching them. That is actually creepy. And a little desperate. "Aye aye, doctor! It seems that Medea's been naughty recently, and that won't do~"

Roman grunts. Medea of Colchis, historically a villainess with no loyalty but to herself (and that's questionable) is, in reality, quite a tragic and down to earth person. Who plays with divine magic and has serious relationship troubles, which means when she snaps she does this shit. This could be trouble. "Do you think she might be dangerous," he asks uncertainly. Ever since… ever since, he has not been certain about anything. A second opinion will always be welcome for him. "Should we tear it down, before it becomes an invasion vector?"

Leonardo laughs and claps him on the back of his hands like he was caught stealing cookies. "No no no, Romani, that would ruin the surprise! No, I think we should—" She looks up suddenly, so Roman raises an eyebrow. This is a rare sight, a Leonardo who needs to react to unforeseen circumstances. She snaps her fingers to summon a transparent screen and swipes until she reaches the right camera, then pinches the air and rewinds the capture. Then, she gasps. Not in shock, but in glee. "Oh my. This is better than I thought!"

"What now?" Roman sighs. "Did she get hit by the stone sentinel maze? Excalibur? An irate Spartan?"

"Kana - who got thrown into that singularity instead of the modern day Japan one we were planning to raid, I was about to mention - managed to reach the edge of the singularity and unknowingly engaged one of the incomplete functions of her Mystic Code!" She smirks and taps on her chin. "Normally that would just spill open the Kaleidoscope and invite all kinds of horrors, but luckily the dimensional coordinates overlap with Chaldea somewhat, so she just cut into the cafeteria instead. And then brought Ritsuka and Mashu in with Herakles!" Leonardo snaps her fingers again with a flourish and twirls back to face Roman with her hands on her hips. "No trouble now, we'll have resolved this by today! And cleaner than I hoped, too!"

"...Come again?" Roman stands up, leaving his coffee on the console. "Don't you remember when Ritsuka caught her stealing Arturia? That was before she grafted another singularity onto us without authorisation! He's going to claw her head so hard her next summoning will have claw marks!"

Leonardo tut-tuts, as she does when her audience has no imagination. "Boo! Wrong conclusion, Romani! As Chaldea's Administrator, I have the responsibility to respond to hostile intrusions too! And if I engaged, I would have to attack a fortified region likely filled with her familiars and automatons! Maybe even a local administrator made to stabilise the region too, since that is what I would do. The fallout would be explosive and the cost in resummons and repairs would be higher." She snaps her fingers again and summons four profiles with several swipes; Ritsuka, Kana, Mashu, and Herakles. "The four of them, intruding with the element of surprise? It won't be easy, naturally, but that's about the minimum force you need to win - actually no, just Ritsuka and Herakles would suffice, provided Ritsuka doesn't lose his cool. Hmm…"

Roman frowns. She's going on and on again. She must really like the sound of her own voice - which to be fair isn't hard, she sounds like an idol singer and he's down for that. Wonder if she'd sing… Anyways. "The point, Leo?"

Leonardo claps and sends the profiles away. "Yes, the point! Point is, this way the only damage to the theme park is Medea's pride - which needed some anyway, or she'd never find help!"

Roman frowns. This plan is too detailed and too perfect. "You just want to be amused and do less work, don't you?"

"Whaaaat Romani how cruel!" Despite that, Leonardo giggles and holds a hand to her mouth. "Now why would you say that? Did I slip up somewhere in my deductions?"

"The singularity is shielded," Roman says as he gestures to his own console screen. "We lost contact with Kana after she got there. I expected she would resolve it and get home - who could lose with Cu Chulainn and Robin Hood? - but it also means our scans barely give any data, just lifesigns and general topological data. And yet as part of your hypothesis, you know it is a theme park." To cap it off, Roman folds his arms and leans back in his hair. Check and mate. "You had a spy inside already, waiting to be activated." He blinks slowly as his face goes slack. Roman looks at Leonardo. "Did she tell you about it?"

Leonardo Da Vinci, the renaissance man who mastered the arts and the sciences, giggles. "She calls it Jasonland. It is a theme park, but the park attractions try to kill you!"

That is horrible and unethical and probably going to get whitewashed when this is all over and done. Roman sets his brow. "Who is your spy?"

"Hello Master! You found the park too?! That's great!" Jeanne D'Arc, wearing a blazer over her blouse-and-skirt combo, hops over to them with a wave, seemingly ignorant of all the fake Argonauts standing menacingly around them. She turns to face the false Medea, who smiles cheerfully at her. "Give Medea my thanks for the invitation, Lily! I'm going to have so much fun today - especially now that I'm not here alone!"

Ritsuka can't even pretend to care anymore, today just keeps happening and happening. Whatever happens next will receive his total not-reaction. See if he cares.

The young Medea smiles. It is disarming and adorable and Ritsuka wishes to protect it. This is a dangerous sentiment, for the Witch of Betrayal is a scary woman and is already spoken for. By a dead man, yes, but still. "That is my wish today, Miss Jeanne. Please, enjoy today to your heart's content together with your Masters." She looks back, still frustratingly cheerful. "Failure to comply will result in death. Do take care to enjoy your stay."

Kana whimpers a little. Mashu shivers as she tries to put herself between Ritsuka and all the fake argonauts. Herakles, as with all things, seems not to care but is actually plotting the swift and violent demise of everyone present. "Where are Cu and Robin?" Ritsuka asks.

"They failed to enjoy today to their hearts content and will be punished, just like the Manager." There is a sinister twinkle in the Lily's eye as she speaks and raises a hand up to about her collarbone. "You must be this happy in Jasonland. Failure to comply will be met with punishment."

Ah, so Medea made a younger version of herself to manage this stupid theme park and accidentally plotted her own doom. Excellent. She already punished herself for her stupidity. "Fine. What's first up?"

"The Adventure at Cyzicus," Medea Lily says brightly. She claps her hands together as she continues. "It is such a remarkable story! But I shan't spoil it, you will have to experience it together!

"That sounds wonderful!" Jeanne says as she claps her hands together. "I do so love surprises!"

"Great," Ritsuka sighs wearily, while Kana continues to be useless. He jabs a thumb at her general direction. "Could we get her a new shirt? My sister's boobs are too big so she broke her buttons."

"Rits I will murder you!"

Immediately, Jeanne grabs a hold of both of them and drags them into a tight hug, pressing both of their heads into her chest. "Now now, Masters, siblings shouldn't fight! Come, breathe in, then out!" Ritsuka sputters while Kana starts vibrating from suffocating before Jeanne lets them go. While Ritsuka tries to make sense of what just happened, Jeanne plants her hands on her hips with a big grin. "Now, let's do something about that shirt, you silly girl! For now, just wear this!" Jeanne takes out her blazer promptly, and only then does Ritsuka realise she's wearing the sleeveless blouse today. Oh no. God have mercy.

Kana looks at the blouse, then at Jeanne, and even she is having trouble making out the words. "Jeanne, blazers don't cover up much more than-"

"Please, Master, I insist!" Jeanne says brightly, yet there is pressure abound. "These should fit you juuuuuust fine!"

Kana wears it obediently, also stunned by Jeanne's well-fitting blouse, and buttons up in a daze as they are brought to the first ride.

"...It's showing."

"Too. Big."

"Alright asshole c'mer-MMF!"

"No fighting! Only hugs~"

The battle against King Cyzicus proved to be more problematic than expected. For starters, he had literal infinite legions of hoplites, represented by the various chibi-Jasons. For extras, the King himself had ten meter tall stone giants as bodyguards. Now, Kana knows that history gets a lot of details wrong especially when it comes to the Classical Era, and she's not a nerd like Ritsuka so she knows even fewer obscure details, but she's pretty sure that King Cyzicus did not have Spriggan bodyguards.

But then what does she know?! Apparently King Cyzicus was actually a brainwashed Cu Chulainn!

But then her stupid brother fixates on the dumbest shit anyways so he probably wouldn't even know now would he?!

"DUDE!"

"I know, I know! It's still really messing me up, alright?!"

"She's right there."

"I KNOW! I Know she is!"

"Alright alright you don't have to shout." Nevertheless, Kana grabs her brother by the cheeks and shakes him violently. "But you gotta get your head in the game you big dummy we die in the game and we die in real life!"

Ritsuka, nonplussed, lets her shake him a bit longer. Then he slaps her hands away and rubs his cheeks. "How was I supposed to know you could roll reinforcements on the penalty gacha?"

"Well maybe you should have guessed from the fact that I'm impossibly amazing and should be praised more often." Kana twitches. "And that we're still losing because you can't dodge. BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL THINKING!"

"Castor and Pollux are supposed to be twin brothers!"

"They're twin brother and sister and they're right there!"

"BUT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TWIN BROTHERS!"

Inhaling sharply, Kana holds her breath for fifteen seconds before letting it out as a shuddering sigh. Meanwhile, not fifty meters away, Mashu continues to get hammered into the ground by 'King Cyzicus' and his two giant stone bodyguards. She's already up to the knees. Soon she'll be up to the waist. "You know, for a nerd, you're really dumb!"

"And for a girl who's afraid of lewd things you've been checking out Pollux really hard!"

Kana pauses. She staunchly ignores how her cheeks feel warm. She also ignores how her heart is pounding in her chest. That's normal. That's what happens when your chest is mostly exposed against your will. "N-No I'm not!"

"Hey!" Beside them, doing absolutely nothing, Castor of the fake magic robot Dioscuri fixes each of them with a hard glare. "Enough gazing! Your eyes had best wander away from my sister, lest you lose them!"

"...Elder brother, you don't have to-"

"Of course I do! Only I have the right to gaze upon you, for my love for you burns hotter than their basic lust!"

"Elder brother, please consider your words more carefully."

"Aren't you two supposed to be helping us with this fight?!" Ritsuka shrieks at them.

"Hmph!" Castor scoffs and turns his back to them. "And why should I help a mere human?!"

"It's part of the rules!" Ritsuka waves at the Manager. "Oi! These allies are defective! Go do your job!"

"Unhelpful allies are part of the authentic experience," the younger Princess Medea says all-too-cheerfully. "Here at Jasonland, we believe in providing the most authentic experience possible, as we believe that obsessive focus on details provides the most fun!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW GAME DESIGN WORKS!"

Kana feels several pricks on her ass. She turns around and sees some twenty small Jasons in a phalanx, looking up at her from behind their little corinthian helmets. They poke her again, just to be sure. She blinks. She looks at Ritsuka. "Yeah, I think I died. Good luck, bro."

"Hm?" Ritsuka looks back at her, in much the same situation. "I died already."

"Oh come on!"

"Yeah," Ritsuka sighs. "I suck." He looks up at the Manager, grimly defiant but defeated. "You win, Manager. But at least I had fun."

The Manager looks at him, but says nothing. In a lesser story, Kana thinks, the programming of the Manager would be broken, or some loophole would be found, or whatever, and they'll be allowed to go home having grown from the experience. But instead the Manager continues to be psychotically cheerful as runic circles spin to life around her. Unfortunately, her life is not a lesser story. It would be way easier if it were. She'd get away with so much more.

The Manager smirks, so like the Caster they know, yet so lacking in any sort of restraint. "We hope you enjoyed your stay at Jasonland."

And then she gets shot full of arrows.

Kana tilts her head. "Wait, what?"

"Robo-Berserker's on his way," Robin says laconically, with a slim archer on his shoulders.

Atalanta grunts noncommittally as she keeps her eye on the Manager's body, just in case it gets up like it did in the Singularity. One second, two seconds, three seconds, and then the ground starts giving way when the copy of Herakles smashes through the tree trunk fifty meters below them.

So as she tumbles towards the ground beside Robin of Sherwood, who is doing his best not to hyperventilate or end up as paste with splinters up his butt, Atalanta the Huntress can only grumble about the things she does for Medea. Curse that Italian for convincing her to infiltrate this territory for her, and curse herself for going through with it for something as basic as friendship.

Tumbling through the air, without a care in the world or a single fuck to give, Atalanta lazily fires off two arrows, one after another. The first buries itself all the way down the shaft through the head of a chibi-Jason harassing Kana, which gives her enough breathing room to hack her way out of the phalanx. The second bounces off the rock solid abdomen of one 'King Cyzicus', which draws his attention long enough for Jeanne D'Arc to smash his head into the ground with a thrown flagpole. One thrown hard enough that, it should be noted, the ground splits open like a massive maw and consumes the Spriggans beside him.

Absolutely crude. She probably thinks this is still some sort of game, too.

Airheaded French girls aside, Atalanta notes that she's about to hit the ground in about two heartbeats. That won't do. She can't possibly outrun Herakles like that.

Grabbing Robin by the neck, she tosses the Englishman upwards and lands on her feet hard enough to get swallowed up to mid-calf. But it proves just fast enough to stay out of Herakles' range, his passing shockwave only bruising her ears. She pulls herself out, watching as Herakles crashes through two more trees, recoils off the third, and gets ready to smash through her like a missile.

Robin had better be in position before she gets hit, Atalanta thinks, or she's going to get mad at him.

The brit comes through. A dozen arrows, a hundred arrows, a storm of bramble and thorn lash out like many arms and strike at the pale imitation from every direction. They are shrugged off, one after another, and do nothing to arrest his charge.

But then his flesh begins to sizzle and steam, his skin pallid and grey. The false golem, built in the image of Herakles, begins to melt, for it could never command the same strength as the true Hero. But it inherits all the same weaknesses.

Most relevant of all, a weakness to poisons.

When he collides against Atalanta, he feels more like a puddle than a mountain. Confused, unable to think beyond his meagre programming, the false Herakles struggles to grab her face.

Atalanta blows its head off without a second thought. This battle is only a sideshow. She dusts herself off and begins walking to the edge of the woods, aware but apathetic that Robin scampers up beside her with a sigh on his lips.

"You know, you could have warned me before throwing me higher…"

"No."

"Could've at least given me the kill."

"No."

"How about thanks?"

Atalanta keeps walking.

For a long time, Medea of Colchis wanted to prove herself.

Not since she was betrayed by Jason and subsequently crippled him, gods no. She has nothing to prove to that simpering coward, or to anyone who cares what Jason has to say. Considering she set his wedding on fire, killed the homewrecker and crippled him for life, she'd say she came out ahead.

She does want to prove herself a capable magus, however. And by any metric, she is. She has proven it. It was on her back that France was won. Her Masters respect her as a capable magus, whatever Ritsuka feels about her perfectly understandable hobbies, hobbies that Kana has always supported her in.

She has proven it. Many times. She is respected, but not feared. Not hated. And, for once, she feels… Safe.

And then Jason came back into her life. And now nothing is certain anymore. She's alone. Uncertain. Desperate for affection. It's like he abandoned her all over again.

And in trying to forget that, all she manages is to usurp herself with a younger, cuter version of herself. Medea still does not know how the Manager usurped her authority over Jasonland, but that is a matter for empirical study later on. Right now she needs to take back control and figure out a story before Kana and Ritsuka lose all their respect for her-

"FBI OPEN UP!"

When the ceiling falls open and floods her hideout with light and dust, Medea the Witch of Betrayal does not shriek like a little girl.

That's for when Ritsuka shows up on Herakles, howling for blood.

"...How did you get usurped in the first place? You made this territory! It's yours! You're supposed to be inviolate in your territory! THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!"

"Alright alright alright Rits couldja turn it down you're like an eight right now and five would be more productive for-"

"AND IS THAT AUNT SABER?! COME ON, CASTER, YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS!"

Medea says nothing. She keeps her gaze on the ground, avoiding all eye contact. It's just about the only place she can look; to her sides are Jeanne and Atalanta, behind her are Robin and a still-in-a-daze Cu, and over her is Herakles.

"They do look really nice," Mashu comments, a finger on her lips as she looks at each of the Caster's handcrafted warriors, watching with equal parts amazement and glee at recognising each feature. "They look like they have Saber's grace and gentleness!"

"Yeah, I'm sure Aunt Saber will be really happy about how Caster's still playing dress up with her!"

"I'm still looking for a shirt, by the way!" Kana yells from deeper into the cave. "Seriously! The abode of an otaku, and not a single t-shirt! Caster, you can do better!"

Caster continues to say nothing. She just keeps looking at the ground while being perfectly still. Yes, this too will pass. All of this will pass, sooner or later.

"Honestly," Ritsuka huffs and puffs, running out of breath from the sheer amount of shouting he's done, "This is unacceptable, Caster. If you've been having problems since Okeanos, you could've, you know, told us about it. I'm not just here to scream at you, y'know? And if you're not up for talking to either of us, there's always Mashu, or Leo, or..." He ponders the notion briefly. "...There's always Mashu. You know we'll always help. And if you ask before hostile singularities start kidnapping my sister, I might even do it without yelling at you."

"...This is my problem," Medea responds curtly. "My responsibility. My burden to solve."

Ritsuka looks at her with anger born of worry, eyebrows tightly knit on his forehead. "And that makes me sad, Caster. I thought we'd moved beyond the point of trying to solve our own problems in our relationship."

Only then does Medea, trapped in her own self-loathing, realise that her fellow Servants are not angry, but worried for her. Even Jeanne, who didn't realise that this territory had turned into disneyland with the death penalty. It is compassion she has little experience with, the kind that is given freely and without hesitation.

"I'm supposed to be someone respectable!" Caster blurts out. She holds her hands out in a flourish, one on her chest and the other above her head. "Someone you turn to for advice, in life or in magecraft! Not… Not some troublemaker you need to periodically discipline!"

"I tossed you into a shoebox for kidnapping Aunt Saber a few months ago," Ritsuka notes with a raised eyebrow.

"And I've caused no problems since," Caster responds firmly, voice only slightly flagging.

"You did turn Mister Archer into a teenager," Mashu says as a reminder.

"...One problem. And it was… Not meant to escalate that poorly."

"Also I think we overreacted on that," Kana calls out from deep in the cave. "Caster! Where are the shirts?! These shelves are filled with figurines and props, but no clothes!"

"The yellow shelves, dear."

"Oh. Okay, thanks Caster!"

Ritsuka blinks. He blinks twice, then thrice. She had a point. Caster has been reliable and helpful ever since, and has done an admirable job in maintaining her neuroses and obsessions. You know, like an adult. And how sad is it that being a mature adult is something he's still surprised by in this place? "You're still getting punished for this, Caster."

"...Yes, Master. I'll find the shoebox for you."

He waves his hands at that. "No, just some community service probably. We'll hash it out later. Let's get out of here."

They run into The Manager on the way out. The spitting image of a younger Princess, wielding unimaginable powers beyond reckoning, she would prove to be a worthy foe. For literally anyone else.

Unfortunately for her, even immortal wizard-goddesses die to thrown flagpoles. Especially when they are thrown at roughly five times the speed of sound. From three kilometers away.

It appears that Jeanne D'Arc has acquired a terrifying new ability.

"...So in conclusion you knew this was going on and not only didn't tell us, before or after Kana went missing upon leyshifting, you deployed one of our Servants on a clandestine mission without telling me, and proceeded to act on your own."

"Yep!" Da Vinci says cheerfully. Seated properly, legs crossed, cup of coffee in hand, Leonardo is the very image of smug satisfaction. "As Chaldea's Administrator, I am empowered to do so where necessary. And Romani was on board, so why not? You needed a break after Okeanos after all!"

Ritsuka continues frowning. "My sister could have been in danger, Leo."

"I nearly got molested by small greek perverts!" Kana huffs. "They tore my shirt open!"

"And that was my mistake, Ritsuka, so for that I'll apologise," she adds with a hum, "Truthfully, I didn't realise she was there until after you'd both gone back in. Something of a security loophole, I'll have to look into it… Oh, maybe you'd want to be part of it!"

Memories touch briefly on the forefront of Ritsuka's consciousness. Memories of being put into dresses and given inane reasons for why. He quickly shakes his head. "No, I'm good, I'm going to bed. You have fun now. Kana, got anything?"

His sister stops tapping her foot, still wearing an altered version of Arturia's blue dress, minus the greaves and the cuirass. It looks surprisingly good on her. Very wholesome. Very modest. Which works against her at the moment, but she doesn't need to know that. "Yeah, how long until we get more durable uniforms?"

Leo looks thoughtfully then for a moment, then smiles brightly. "As it turns out, Kana, we're just about finished with your battlesuit!"

"...Battlesuit, eh?" Kana preens and holds out her hands. "Lemme at em!"

This, Ritsuka thinks,will go very well for her, or very poorly.

- Chapter Fifteen End -

"...So what's it like being mind controlled?"

At the bar, after finishing his fifth bottle of vodka, the blue Lancer turns to Robin with a raised eyebrow. "What's there to know? I wasn't there for it."

"The Manager made you her literal attack dog," Robin says blandly. "King something or other."

"Oh, that thing?" Cu scoffs. "Ew. Witch knows a thing or two about magecraft, but if you're telling me that was mind control, then I gotta ask where you're hiding your booze, because I wanna get smashed too!"

"You sound bitter," Archer EMIYA says blandly, polishing yet more beer glasses.

"No shit I'm bitter! You wanna properly do mind control, you gotta play with basic priorities! Make them believe that you gotta kill ya friends! That you gotta fight them more than you gotta fight your enemy! What that 'Manager' did to me?" Cu scoffs. "That's an artificial personality, and it wasn't a good one, either! Thing was just using my body on autopilot, didn't even tap on my skills!"

Both Archers blink. Both hold their look at the Lancer for a good long while. Cu continues drinking. "Don't do that," Cu mutters, "I've got Caster qualifications too, y'know. I know what kinda bull proper runecraft can do. That witch's got lasers on the brains, is all I'm saying."

"...Fair enough," Robin mutters.

"You've had enough," Red Archer says firmly. "Now stop drinking or I'll get Jeanne to nag at you."

"Hah! Don't threaten me with a good time!"

Slowly, Archer traces a peculiar kitchen knife and stabs it into the bar counter. It even still has a message in red marker from when Ritsuka wrote on it.

"...Point taken, but I'm still down." To prove it, he takes another swig of vodka. "Do your worst, Red Man."