Requiem of Fate: The Grand Order
Fate/Grand Order Activation Loop
[Fate/Grand Order] [Adminspace]
Adminspace
Skuld, head debugger of Yggdrasil, looked over the report with a rather great deal of trepidation… "Why has no one brought this to my attention before?"
The one who had brought the report, an oft forgotten god from the distant past, Manu frowned. "We only discovered this due to, well due to Hecate collapsing. She's in medical right now. It seems-"
"She was overworking herself again… why has she been trying to keep this going?" Skuld questioned as she read the report. "Sure, they're all part of the same Branch as separate timelines, but… Shirou Emiya has only the most nebulous of connections to most of these Loops. I'm surprised we haven't lost them yet," she frowned at that, before looking at Manu. "Who's watching the Nasuverse right now?"
"I believe Odin decided to take action when he heard of this. I saw him practically rushing for the door when he heard Hecate had collapsed." Manu muttered, and Skuld frowned.
"Odd… he's got the Fantasy Loops, what's so concerning about this Branch in particular…" she shook her head. "Doesn't matter, Manu, I need to know something?"
Manu raised an eyebrow. The Chaldean God of Fate already knew where this was going and Skuld started her offer.
"This, to put it mildly, is a complete mess. Hecate is already watching over so many Branches, and this one is far away from the Nintendo Branch. I'm overing the Nasu Branch on standby while you figure out how to fix this mess, starting with the new main Branch?"
"You are referring to the Grand Order, which has massively overtaken the original Branch." Manu muttered, thinking back to some Hub documentation he'd looked at before, indeed twas fate.
"Yeah, we'll get around to the other offshoots later. I'm authorizing sending the Loopers and Anchor on travel until this mess is sorted out." Skuld ordered, and Manu nodded, "If you get this to work without losing anything, congratulations on your promotion."
"I certainly believe I can," Manu offered the goddess of the future. Now, there was work to be done.
Activation of Grand Order
Ristuka Fujimaru certainly believed he'd seen it all before… Of course in his many adventures, he'd faced off with gods and myths, traveled through time to various locales. He'd been trapped in a time loop, brought into a dream of another war for the grail, heck, he'd even technically been a woman once. He'd met and worked with people from history and myth, grew to knew them as friends and partners. He'd lost many in the pursuit of bringing back humanity's future.
But here he, or rather, she was, surrounded by flames. Fuyuki, the place that started it all. Singularity F, the Accel Zero mission. The origin of the Holy Grail War. After facing off with Fairies, and the queen of Fairy Britain… Here Ritsuka Fujimaru was once again.
And for some reason he was now a girl. "This is… new," she muttered, before holding her head… memories reaserting themselves… fragments of the past… wow Mnemosyne had done a number on her back then… But then there were the new memories. Memories of a little girl, who'd come to Chaldea now…
Come was a strong word, more like kidnapped but who was she to complain. She looked forward, and before her stood Mash, her beloved friend, his partner, fighting off a trio of skeletons. Instinct honed by hundreds of battles and dozens of missions kicked in. "Mash, left!" she ordered, snapping her fingers. She recognized her old uniform, the spells within. An Instant Enhancement had Mash, raise her head as she smashed one skeleton to powder, and then followed up with slamming her shield, very ungracefully, into the last one standing, sending it flying before it shattered to a pile of bones.
"Thanks Senpai!" Mash, she said, a sad smile on her face. Before she looked down at herself. "I had my worries but we made it somehow." Ritsuka looked Mash over, taking in the sight of her old combat outfit. The power of Galahad still clearly flowed through her, at least now. But it was untapped.
She could only infer that perhaps she really had gone back in time. Which and not by Rayshift like she usually did. "Are you hurt Senpai? Does your stomach hurt, or does it feel heavy?" Mash asked her.
"I feel pretty good Mash, thanks." she said, just responding with a smile. Gosh, Fuyuki had been so long ago, she only really recalled the broad strokes. Mnemosyne playing with her memories that one time had not helped that mess… "You did really good Mash." She said, offering encouragement to her friend. She didn't… seem to remember.
That was fine. Mash was her friend, no matter what. They'd been through thick and thin together… She'd make new memories. Saint George had said that memories were perhaps the greatest gift of life, or perhaps she was recalling it wrong. The saint had loved his photography, that was for sure.
"You… you think so Senpai?" Mash questioned, blush red as Ritsuka chuckled and put her hands behind her head.
"Yeah, and you're only gonna get better." She offered, and Mash just returned the smile.
It was only a few moments later, the thing that she'd forgotten arrived, something she didn't watch to confront, just yet.
"Right, I finally got through! Hello? This is the Chaldea Command Room? Do you read me?" Oh she did, she heard him, and saw the hologram loud and clear.
And she could not stop the tears at the sight of the good doctor, Roman…
"This is Mash Kyrielight, a member of A Team. At this time I've completed the shift to Singularity F. My sole companion is Ritsuka. Mind and body both intact." Mash responded to him… she just kept quiet, trying to hide the tears.
She'd missed Roman… and 'the Chaldean' was no replacement for him. Their goofy doctor, and her boss. Mash was still reciting, but… she'd tuned her out. Just, trying to process what was going on. She'd been through a lot… but there was one thing she knew.
She'd been given a second chance.
Roman was alive, and he was safe. But that meant here, there was one other person. Olga Marie.
Someone she knew was little more than a ghost, a soul that had formed a body around it.
Someone she had to try and save.
As Roman chastised his daughter over her current outfit of choice, and Mash rebuttulled with having him check her status, Ritsuka looked towards the flames. She held her hands together, looking down at the command seals on the back of her hand. They were different from the previous set she'd held… the first time around she supposed.
As Mash and Roman's conversation came to speaking of Mash's unknown Heroic Spirit… she kept quiet. She knew who was within Mash. Galahad, a Knight of the Round. But… she kept that quiet. This was something Mash had to learn herself, Holmes' observations of 'it was obvious' be damned.
"Ritsuka," Roman calling out to her brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned towards them both. She steeled herself, prepared for what may come. "It looks like you're the only one who Rayshifted there safely. Also, I am sorry. Forcing you into this without any explanation."
"It's fine Doctor, we'll make it work," she said, nodding to Mash, the shy, timit girl of the past looking surprised, before nodding alongside her.
"Well, you seem ready to go, don't you. Good, keep that confidence. And know that you've already got a powerful weapon. Humanity's most powerful weapon, Mash." Roman said, smiling as Mash blushed at the praise from the doctor.
"I-I don't know about most 'most powerful.' I'm the one who gets blamed later." Mash muttered and Roman laughed. Ritsuka just… she smiled.
"Now, now, as long as Ritsuka understands that's what a Servant is, it'll be fine." Roman stated, and Ritsuka started thinking about that.
Servants… were far more than weapons. They were people. And so many of them are her friends. She'd met them, bonded with them. Helped them find solace, or peace, or just treasure. She'd helped them grow stronger, forging legends beyond their original. After all, Astolfo never visited El Dorado before to face off with Hercules, nor had Henri Sanson given his life to save a little girl in the town of Salem. Those were legends of Chaldea.
They were her memories of her friends.
"I know what Servants are Doctor Roman." She said with confidence. She was a mage who specialized in summoning Servants, commanding them… and being friends with them. She'd made friendships that would last a lifetime. Perhaps beyond that as well if what some had said held merit.
"Oh, good, so you're aware of your contract with Mash?" he asked, and she smiled.
"Yep," Ritsuka held up her command seals, her proof of contract, something she'd used on servants, and even herself once.
"Alright, good. She's your first Heroic Spirit, and hopefully won't be the last. Now, the current mission has two new goals." he said, his voice going more crackled as the connection started to fray.
"Doctor, you're break up. Ten seconds until the connection is lost." Mash pointed out, and Roman sighed.
"Huh, so Sheba's output is unstable because we switched to the backup generators? Oh well, I'll brief you later. Both of you, I'm getting a strong leyline reading about two kilometers from where you are. Try to get their somehow. That way, it will stabilize our connection. Listen don't do anything reckless, will you? I'll try to bring the power back up as soon as-" He just started belting out words at high speed, until the connection finally cut, leaving her and Mash alone amid a flaming city once more.
"I suppose it can't be helped… Let's get going Mash," Ritsuka said, starting to walk, before turning and offering her hand to her friend. Her old, new friend.
Mash just beamed as she reached out to take her hand. "Right, Senpai… you're so dependable, and brave."
"Mash I'm terrified, but we have to keep moving forward," she said, never dropping her smile. She had to keep that brave face up. She wasn't one to laugh in danger's face… but to smile at it? To show that she could stand up to it despite her fears?
Mash just… smiled to her, as Fou jumped onto the pinkette's shoulders. Ritsuka just smiled at the little critter, as she and Mash looked towards their path through a burning city. Holding hands.
The girl who remembered the future, Humanity's Last Master. And the Demi-Servant, the girl who became a Servant, humanity's great protector.
Together they walked forward, towards the future once more.
Adminspace
Manu was calm as he walked into the office, and only barely raised an eyebrow at the sight of the Allfather typing away rather furiously at the keyboard.
"Odin?" Manu started, walking towards the terminal. The one eyed god only looked to him for a moment before huffing.
"Good, you're back, we have a problem." Odin started, straight and too the point.
"What else is new?" Manu jested as Odin nodded towards the terminal, allowing Manu to see what was going on.
"Looper activation? Already?" Manu questioned, Odin standing up and allowing the Chaldean God to take the seat, before looking at the terminal.
"I looked through the code of the loop just before it started, in case Hecate missed something. She did," he pointed out, and to that, Manu looked towards said code.
"...That's the very beginning of the Loop." He muttered, already looking it over. "Oh… that's not good."
Odin just nodded. "That's why I took the liberty of activating the one Looping candidate I had authority over. Even better, he's already inside that mess. And well… look."
Manu looked, and just… stared. The loop had been activated… just as an expansion had come. He reached for his chin… oh dear lord that code was messed up. Just how had this gotten out of hand so badly?
"Who's the Looper, and how the heck is he going to help this mess?" Manu started, and Odin just huffed.
"You'll see. Now, all we can do is hope things don't go too far… at the very least, it will be an interesting first loop, no?"
"Here hoping we don't have a repeat of the Megaman Branch." Manu muttered, and Odin raised his head.
"Have some faith, Manu. If you're going to be an Admin, you'll need it when it comes to your Anchor." Odin advised.
And like that, they both fell silent, to watch, and wait. And hope that things would turn out alright.
Grand Order
'Really Odin! Now you're dumping all this on me?' Cú Chulainn thought to himself as he dodged another dagger. He grit his teeth as the black Servant kept to the shadows. He'd had a lot of time to sort through his memories, or the additional power that he was packing from the future, having been thrust straight into battle from the word go.
He wasn't sure who the Assassin was yet, but he knew damn well it wasn't Cursed Arm like the first time around. He grit his teeth, before slamming his staff into the ground, a gust of wind appearing around him as the storm of daggers from all directions was flung into the air.
That settled it, only one it could be. "Ansuz!" he ordered, a circle of flame appearing around him, before spreading out. He saw several shadows leaping around, yep, just who he expected now. Hundred Face.
Well, he was pretty good at fighting armies, so this should be a cakewalk.
Deciding to go on the offensive, he lit his staff ablaze, rushing towards a figure and ducking under its' attempt to stab him. He pierced the shadow, lighting it ablaze before spinning his staff around and firing an array of flames at a building. The building burned, the rune of fire building straight though stone, and through his targets. He spun around, ducking under a massive fist before kicking off the large assassin, following up with a root summoned directly from below, ripping through the giant's chest.
Three assassins tried to jump him, before he snapped his fingers, two wolves appearing before leaping forth, tackling two of the assassins and ripping out their throats as he turned his staff into a javelin of light, throwing it straight through the third, and then catching it as it returned, spinning it around and throwing it at another he just barely caught sight of.
He had some time, but not a lot of it.
He had to eliminate all one hundred assassins before he could meet up with the Chaldeans. A time consuming task at the best of times. And he didn't have time.
He threw out several runes, looking around before sighing. "Well, I guess there ain't no choice…" he muttered, before leaping forward, into a building and grabbing an Assassin by the neck, immolating them with a rune of fire from his palm. He tossed the body aside and spun around as an assassin tried to plant a dagger in his back, only for him to put his staff head to their chest. He smirked, and then blasted them through the chest with a gout of fire.
One more, a purple haired girl, the 'main body' as his memories told from interactions in Chaldea. He snapped his fingers, rather than rushing forward, the hand of the Wicker Man sprouting up and grabbing her by the leg as she tried to jump away from the flames. With that one moment he lit his staff ablaze again and rushed forward, jabbing it straight through her skull.
He dismissed the Wicker Man as she fell, dissolving into blue as he huffed, and looked around, he then leapt from the building. He had somewhere to be.
Ritsuka was running, alongside Mash and Olga, panting as they were running, with Romani's warning for them to get away. Mash was explaining the situation, Fuyuki 2004, sight of a Holy Grail War.
"But the conclusion of those events isn't recorded. Did the ritual succeed? Or did it fail? Whatever did happen, the Servants actions ended without anyone knowing about them, that's all we know." Mash recited, and Ritsuka muttered.
"Ah come on, that makes no sense," she muttered. She damn well knew who won the 2004 grail war… at least she thought she did. Then Fou started squeaking, and Mash came to a stop, and Ritsuka skid to one as well, alongside Olga… they watched as chains manifested… this wasn't anything like last time.
"Chains?" Ritsuka muttered, but didn't dare venture closer… and then the voice spoke. A woman's voice.
"Too bad… fresh prey managed to slither away," She looked up, alongside Mash and Olga, towards the voice as the Servant revealed themselves. Ritsuka gasped at the sight. A tall woman in a cloak, purple hair… and a familiar scythe at her side.
Medusa, but not the normal Medusa Lancer she remembered from Babylonia
"A Servant and Master I've never seen before… oh my, how young and fresh they are," the woman, Medusa Lancer she assumed. Mash ran forward, hefting her shield.
"There's the Servant, but I don't see her Master anywhere," Mash observed, and Olga scoffed as she raised her finger, ready to fire an Gandr.
"Don't forget, this is a world gone mad. A Servant without a Master shouldn't be too surprised," Olga retorted as Ritsuka raised her hand, ready to cast either Instant Enhancement or Emergency Evasion as needed. Fou stared down the Servant as well as she went up to a statue… a frozen stone boy screaming in agony, hair like seaweed turned to rock.
"Those are people…" Ritsuka muttered, taking a step back, wary of Medusa's Mystic Eyes… and she looked around… an entire courtyard of dozens of people, turned to statues. She gulped, this Medusa wasn't playing around… like Gorgon. "Why did you do this?"
"You don't approve?" Medusa asked, standing up taller as she laid a clawed hand across the statue's face, using it as a rest for her arm. "As I see it, if you carelessly wander into my hunting grounds… I'm free to treat you… as I please!" She said, smiling as she ripped the statue's head off.
Blood sprayed everywhere, causing Ritsuka to blach in disgust as the head clattered to the ground nearby and shattered… she swore she'd seen that person before… that honestly just made it worse. "Aw… don't worry. I may have lost one statue… but soon I'll have three new ones to add to my collection…" she said with a giggle, licking the blood off her face, even as it dripped and drained from her cloak.
"The only thing to do is fight," Mash started, and Ritsuka looked between her, and Medusa.
"Are you sure?" she asked, concerned just how big the difference in power was… she knew how Medusa worked. Blood was an energy source, she hadn't just decapitated that statue to unnerve them, she'd done it to recharge her magical energy, hence why she had absorbed the blood.
"Can you take her?" Olga asked, raising her finger away, but still ready to shoot off a Gandr at a moment's notice as Mash started to inch forward.
"I can." Mash declared, and Medusa chuckled.
"Ooh? How very bold and fresh," Medusa posited and chuckled as she stepped forward. "This wouldn't happen to be your first time fighting as a Servant would it?" Mash grimaced, and Ritsuka gripped her hand. "Well then, let the veteran give you some advice!" She spun Harpe around threateningly, ending by turning the blade towards Mash. "Be careful what you say and do, for once you say the word 'fight', the battle before you has already begun!" she leapt forward, vanishing into thin air and reappearing in front of Mash, Harpe raised. Mash raised her shield to meet the blade, scythe clashed with the shield as dust went flying from the impact alone.
Ritsuka grabbed Olga and moved away as Medusa kept up a relentless assault on Mash's guard, unable to attack back… or perhaps unwilling. "You're desperate? Excellent!" Medusa screamed as Mash stuttered.
"Watch out! That Scythe is Harpe!" Ritsuka shouted, deciding now was not the time to keep quiet on what knowledge she held. "If she hits you, it's not going to heal!" Ritsuka alerted Mash, which only had her holding up her guard further.
"How did you?" Olga questioned, since she herself hadn't figured it out, and Ritsuka looked towards her.
"I'm a bit of a mythology buff ok? I've figured out who she is… that's Medusa, fairly obvious from the stone statues, but the scythe is Harpe, the immortal breaker," she said, delivering a bit of exposition to the director for once. She wasn't sure what was up with the chains though, she'd never thought to ask Ana about that.
"I'm flattered, little girl, that you recognized me so easily." Medusa gave in slight surprise, as she continued to assault Mash, taking a swing for Mash's head around the massive shield.
But she missed, barely, and Mash retorted by ramming Medusa head on. She leapt away, landing atop the wall of chains she'd set up between a pair of lampposts as a trap. "Well, your Servant is a bit too fresh. It grates on my nerves." Medusa chuckled as she pulled her hair out from her hood, chuckling as it first turned into snakes… and then into chains. Rituska grit her teeth. This Medusa… she's wasn't one…
She was all three of them she knew. Ana's class, Medusa's body… and Gorgon's mind… oh… shit. The chains wrapped around, forming a cage as Mash got in front of both her and Olga again to guard from the front. "What do you think of my hair? Really sweeps you off your feet doesn't it?" Medusa… no, Gorgon asked as she locked eyes with Ritsuka, licking her lips.
"I'm no match for her… I suggest you try and get away." Mash warned, and Ritsuka shook her head. She wasn't leave Mash behind… Oh what she wouldn't give for Caster right now!
"Well… you've got guts, you're a little girl no matter how you slice it… but your a brave one." Everyone, even Gorgon looked around for the voice, but Ritsuka… she smirked. That was Caster… She recognized that voice easily. Well, what perfect timing. "Sorry that I'm a little late."
'Wait, what?' Ritsuka thought. Caster thought he was late?
"Who are you?" Gorgon questioned, not moving, but simply looking around for the source of the voice as someone landed nearby.
"Who am I? Look at me and you'll know 'old friend.'" Caster said as he stood up, hood on and smirking as Gorgon glared at him.
"I should have known… Caster!" she retorted as he removed his hood "Why do you take the side of these castaways!?" Gorgon demanded.
"Why?" Caster chuckled, before throwing up an array of runes. "Because its better than your side of course!" he launched the flames with lightning speed, Gorgon grunting, and bracing as the bolts of fire exploded, shrouding her in smoke. The chains flailed around as she jumped away, landing on the ground as Caster walked over to the group of three.
"Well hello you three. Sorry it took me a bit to get here. I'm a Caster, and for my own reasons, this chick's my enemy. Probably pretty obvious, right?" he started, leaning back and looking forward. "Get ready young lady. Experience aside, your courage is second to none." he added, and Mash thanked him, standing a little taller.
"Caster?" Ritsuka questioned, and the man turned his head, only showing him one eye and part of his face, only to him.
'Later' he mouthed, rather than spoke, turning back towards Gorgon just as quickly. That one word said more than enough.
Caster remembered, how she wasn't sure.
"Hey Kid," he said, and Ritsuka looked towards him herself now. "I'm leaving orders up to you, we'll make the contract in a bit."
"Right," Ritsuka nodded, and Caster smirked as Gorgon finally spoke.
"That works for me, it means I'll kill you earlier than planned." she started, spinning Harpe around as Caster huffed. "Why wait? I'll take your lives while you're still flesh and Blood!"
The sound of chains. "Caster, both sides!"
"Good ears!" he leapt, just before the barrage of chains could pierce him from both sides, but they shot into the air, chasing after him in an attempt to either pierce or bind.
Caster focused, dodging as he could, several lengths of chain coming up above him, and then coming back down. "Evade!" Ritsuka ordered, magic circuits alight as Caster phased out, mere moments, but just enough to avoid getting bound by the chains. Gorgon grunted, before leaping upward after Caster, swinging Harpe mid jump. He blocked with his staff, being forced to the ground, and then instantly on the defensive as he kept blocking and dodging backward to avoid Harpe cutting him at all.
He leapt around statues, Gorgon cutting them to pieces as he dodged around her wild swings. She was packing a lot of power, but he could tell her technique was lacking… he kept his big mouth shut for once, this was serious, more serious than last time where it was merely shadows. These were actual Servants blackened by mud.
"I see that all you can do is run!" Gorgon said with a giddy smile, closing in on her prey. "You don't even have time to cast a spell, do you!" Caster landed, and then flipped away as she impacted the ground behind him. He placed his hand on the ground, before landing in a kneeling position, his trap set.
"This is what happens when you open your big mouth… I think its about time someone shuts it." She turned Harpe towards him as she sauntered forth. "For good."
"Mash," Ritsuka ordered, and the pinkette ran forward, Gorgon's attention entirely on Caster meant…
"Now young lady!" Caster ordered just as Mash skid into Gorgon's view as she brought down Harpe, the tip impacting her shield as Caster stood up, looking at where Gorgon had landed.
"Word of advice. You don't need to chant to you runes. Now learn your lesson!" He threw out his arm, and Gorgon looked down… at the now glowing rune she was standing over. Flames burst forth, and she screamed in pain as it burned her alive. When the flames were done, she was standing there, doubled over in pain, but alive.
Caster didn't even bother with chanting as he launched an entire array of flames at the Lancer, and in the ensuing explosion, as Ritsuka covered her eyes… Gorgon vanished, defeated and killed like any other Servant.
"I think that counts as a win," Caster said calmly as Mash bowed to him.
"Thank you for stepping in, you saved us when we were in a tight spot." Mash thanked the Servant as he chuckled as he threw her arm around her.
"Nice work little lady. Without you that wouldn't have gone anywhere near as well." he complimented her as Ritsuka led Olga closer, the director still wary of the new Servant as Cú let go of Mash, and then looked both Mash, and Ritsuka up and down. "I gotta say, nice bod, both you and your Master."
Ritsuka frowned, and sulked, and Mash blushed as Caster laughed, leaving Olga to scoff as Fou hissed at the offending Servant for his leering.
"And… our only ally is a pervert…" Olga complained as she pulled up Roman on the communicator.
"Let's just ask him about the situation. He seems like a decent heroic spirit, all things considered." Roman stated, and Caster smirked.
"Well let's cut straight to the point then, but not here. It's a bit too hot, if you catch my drift." he offered, pointing towards the bridge over the water. Ritsuka nodded, and they talked as the group walked.
When the group arrived, Ritsuka listened, with rapt apt fascination as Caster spun his tale.
"Well I didn't lose the Grail War, if that's what your asking. Somewhere along the line, our Holy Grail War was switched up with something else." He started, and Olga scoffed.
"And what does that mean?"
"I don't know the details myself. But the city was blanketed in fire overnight. All the humans vanished, probably turned to ash and bone, the skeletons we see wandering around. The only beings of high function remaining were us Servants." he started and took a deep breath… as he pulled from this timeline's memories.
"The first one to rekindle the fires of the Holy Grail War was Saber. And she was already an odd one to begin with before this whole thing turned into a mess. A black knight wielding an unholy sword. She's been rampaging with wanton abandon. Already she's defeated Archer, who was a Blacksmith Heroic Spirit, Lancer, who we just saw, Rider, a king who conquered much of the world, Berserker, a Greek Hero known for his twelve Labors, and Assassin, a hundred individual assassins that fight together." Caster revealed, and Ritsuka gulped, processing all those identities.
"After they fell in battle, these conquered Servants became corrupted by a 'dark mud' that spewed forth from the grail, bringing them back under Saber's control. I've already disposed of Assassin, and together, we just defeated Lancer. Leaving Rider, Berserker, Archer, and Saber all still standing against us, even if the black Berserker seems to be staying put by the ruins of the old castle." Caster admitted, and Ritsuka nodded.
"So then, if we defeat one of the remaining Servants, either Saber or yourself?" Roman started, and Caster nodded.
"The Holy Grail War will be over." he finished, looking to Ritsuka, who nodded.
"There's a high likelihood of sorting out the singularity F abnormality too. Tell me Caster, where can we find Saber?" Olga asked, and he looked towards the mountain.
"Yeah… at the heart of this land, protecting the corrupted Greater Grail, with Archer by her side, and Rider wandering the streets," he replied, a little uneasy.
Ritsuka was as well, the scenario was similar, but… there were differences, like Rider. Last time, there had been Medusa as 'Shadow Rider', but now they were dealing with full on Servants, only… turned black by the corrupted grail. And Rider was still out there.
"Caster?" Ritsuka asked, and he looked towards the young girl, who took a deep breath. "Would… Rider happen to be… Iskandar, or Alexander the Great?"
Olga, Roman and Mash gasped at the name, as Caster gripped his staff, and huffed. "Well I ain't gonna lie here… yeah, Black Rider is Iskandar, King of Conquerors." At that, Ritsuka winced, hard.
"Iskandar would have been a top class Servant… and to have been defeated by Saber?" Roman asked, and Caster huffed.
"Whatever rank of Servant he was doesn't matter, what does is he stands between us and Saber. So we're gonna have to deal with him, as much as I want to go after Archer." Caster admitted as Ritsuka walked up next to Caster. "So then 'Master'," he looked down at Ritsuka. "You got a plan?"
"You're asking her if she has a plan? To take down Alexander the Great?" Olga complained, and Caster turned to her.
"Well I don't see you offering anything, and my Contract is with her, not you." he explained, forcing Olga to sit down and fume for a moment as Mash looked towards both of them as Ritsuka put her hand to her chin.
"Iskandar… his greatest strengths… that Chariot… and…" she muttered, uncertain that she had any reason to know that he possessed a Reality Marble that summoned an entire army to his side.
"And his sheet physicality, obviously," Caster amended, already taking up a position with her, leaving Mash, Olga and Roman wondering why the two were already working together so well.
"Do you think your Noble Phantasm could smash his Chariot?" she asked, and Caster shook his head, before she hummed, and then snapped her fingers. "The bulls."
"Those I could deal with, but the hard part is going to be-" he started, before a rumbling sound came from above. "Quick, hide!" he ordered.
The group took to the ground, hiding behind the pillars as something shot across the sky… a large chariot, pulled by two massive bulls, and standing within it, a mountain of a man wearing a tattered cloak. Ritsuka grimaced she realized just how badly this could go.
They were going to have to face down Iskandar… one way or another. And after him, EMIYA… and Saber Alter, and without a third Servant as backup to boot.
This… was already going to be much harder than last time.
Adminspace
Odin took a sip of his coffee as Manu was working at the terminal, furiously typing away, gathering data, and compiling what he could.
"This is a mess." Manu complained as Odin huffed, just taking another chug of his coffee, and Manu continued. "I don't think a simple Ouroburos Patch is going to fix this Odin." he added.
"How so?" Odin asked, raising an eyebrow as Manu sighed.
"I'm still trying to figure that out so far my plan is to limit the number of singularities that can be active over the course of any loop between two numbers. The fourteen that occur in Baseline and the second number I've yet to figure out, but I'm believing a good solid starting point would be nine hundred, to be raised or lowered as needed." Manu positited, and Odin hummed.
"I believe that minimum should be raised, Manu." Odin pointed out, and Manu turned towards Odin, who continued. "Said singularities are the only resource that the people in that loop have for a long, long time to keep their observatory running. Too few, and they won't have enough to complete the baseline."
"I'll bump it up to a hundred minimum then, that should be a fair number," Manu said, editing the code as Odin looked at another screen, one which showed the current happenings inside the loop as Manu continued to find and correct errors, even as more and more new messy code kept piling in from the ongoing expansion…
"Good luck for what's coming to you," Odin mumbled, and turned to assist Manu once more in this mess of a universe that had been left for far too long.
Grand Order
Ritsuka's plan was fairly basic, as far as plans went by Cu's standards. But he supposed he couldn't judge. The kid hadn't technically even completed her first loop yet, from what he knew, she already had nerves of steel.
It was a pretty bold plan to take down Iskandar, and she didn't even know he wasn't from here yet. And he'd yet to get a chance away from the two girls to actually talk to her about what was going on. To her credit, she seemed to be taking it well.
"Very least this'll be fun." He mused as he stood up on high, watching as Ritsuka dealt with Olga, who was currently browbeating her for this 'stupid plan.'
While pinkie wasn't able to use her Noble Phantasm… technically they only needed her to defend against Iskandar long enough for him to take them out. The Black Lancer Medusa had been rather chatty… so Ritsuka planned to bank on that to see if they could goad Iskandar into fighting them on foot. It was his job to be the hammer that struck this hammer down.
So he watched, and waited, as the Rider rumbled through the sky.
Down below, Ritsuka tossed the stone she'd taken from Olga Marie up and down. And she watched as Iskandar rode up above. Mash was beside her, nervous, but ready, while Olga had hidden nearby, close enough to save, but not close enough she could get caught up in something destructive.
She lined up. Tossing the stone into the air. It got maybe twenty meters before it exploded in a flash of light, and like a charm, the blacken Iskandar turned towards it, and actually came to a halt up above.
His cloak was in tatters, and black veins criss-crossed his form. It was disturbing, but she'd seen worse.
"Servant Rider!" Ritsuka called out, pointing directly at the man in the chariot… who listened with a blank expression. "King of Conquerors!" that… got something, a very, very small smile of recognition. There was a chance! "Iskandar! We challenge you to a battle! Servant against Servant!" She bellowed, for several moments there was a quiet calm.
And then, a laugh, a hearty laugh that was punctuated by dark energy. "You, little girl, challenge me? Knowing who I am?" he continued to laugh… and then he leapt down from above, cracking the very ground as he landed and looked up. "You would face the King of Conquerors in open combat?"
Mash stepped up, hefting her shield. "We do," she declared as Ritsuka raised her command seals.
The black Servant paused, and tilted his head… and then he smiled again, with mirth in his voice. "Oh, you two got spunk! Challenging me head on! Knowing who I am! What are your names girls, so that I may know-" he drew his blade. "Who I am about to conquer!"
"Ritsuka Fujimaru," Ritsuka declared, taking a deep breath as Mash stood strong.
"Mash Kyrielight, her Servant." Mash said in response, moving forward as Iskandar raised an eyebrow.
"Never heard of that name before… a new conquest then! HAHAHA!" He shouted… and then shot forth light Lightning, Ritsuka gasped as Mash raised her shield, just barely blocking the swing of his sword, she grit her teeth as he, like with Gorgon, assaulted her relentlessly.
And with every swing he laughed. "Come on girl! Fight back! Defend forever and we shall get nowhere. At least until I cut you like I did the Gordian Knot!" Iskandar bellowed as he pulled his sword back, summoning a long cavalry spear and spinning it.
"Now!" Ritsuka ordered, and Mash charged the opening, slamming her shield into Iskandar's stomach and continuing forward, even as he planted his feet and grit his teeth. They got maybe ten feet before they settled into a stalemate, with Iskandar pushing back against Mashu's shield.
Ritsuka looked up above, nearby she could see Caster, already scaling the building before landing on the ground with a soft thump, hand in the dirt as he walked forward slowly, placing his hand down several times before standing up tall as Iskandar and Mash broke away from each.
"Hehe, tough little girl aren't you. And brave as well!" Iskandar complimented, and Mash just raised her shield, steeled for the next battle… as Caster spun his staff and pointed it directly at Iskandar's back.
A blast of flame shot him in the shoulder, and instantly he turned. "Well hello old friend, miss me?" Caster taunted, and Iskandar laughed.
"Oh, you again Caster. You couldn't wait your turn could you?" Iskandar laughed as he crossed his arms.
"And miss out on all the fun? Come now, did you expect anything less?" Caster retorted before slamming his staff into the ground, summoning an array of roots around Iskandar, who grunted, before summoning Lightning, frying the magical plants before launching himself at Caster… and Ritsuka threw up her arm. "Evade!"
Caster smirked as his form went blurry, before vanishing, Iskandar grunting as he skidded to a stop, Caster reappearing a few meters away from Mash, who ran up to join him as Iskandar smirked. "Very well… I'll just run you both over then!" He bellowed, Prana gathering around him as he summoned the Gordius Wheel.
"Well little lady, here's hoping that shield of yours can hold him long enough." Caster warned, before jumping back, allowing Mash to take the front as Ritsuka came closer. Olga and Fou watching as Iskandar raised his arms.
"CHARGE!" Iskandar bellowed, snapping the reigns for his bulls, which ran forward, prepared to trample the little girl before them and all behind her.
"Come on Mash…" Ritsuka muttered. Everything was riding on this. She just needed to hold him still…
Mash grit her teeth… and stood up as lightning crackled around her, before the bulls brayed and rushed her. For a moment, she saw her death, and the deaths of Caster, of her Senpai, the director… even Fou.
Something that she would not allow to happen.
Everyone watched, three in awe, one with a smirk, and one in surprise, as that heavy shield, bigger than the girl who held it, glowed blue.
And when Iskandar's chariot hit something, it was not the shield, but a wall. As strong as a castle, built by a young girl's will. "Well I'll be damned…"
"Caster now!" Ritsuka ordered, and Caster just chuckled, before speaking.
"Well Rider, it may have been short, but its been fun. Next time you might want to check the road!" Caster taunted, and Iskandar gave a look of surprise as both behind him, and beneath his chariot, an entire line of runes lit up.
"Well played…" Iskandar muttered, moments before the flames consumed him, his chariot, and his bulls. A large explosion taking up the entire street as said explosion pounded at the wall Mash had conjured forth… and when the smoke clearly, only Iskandar was standing there, covered in dust, and the shattered remains of his chariot, and the corpses of his bulls already fading away. "Lot of power behind those runes Caster."
"Yep, now let's end this." Caster shot pass Mash as she finally let go of the wall, panting as Ritsuka grabbed her friend from behind, both of them watching as he lept towards the weakened Rider… and Ritsuka wasn't taking chances.
"Enhance!"
Caster struck with his flaming staff much harder than he'd been pushing for, which was more than enough as Iskandar's sword shattered in its attempt to block the wooden cudgel, and pierced his heart, Caster smirking as Iskandar went lax… and faded away.
"Well, well Master, your plan worked like a charm." Caster offered, and then looked towards Mash. "And the little lady unlocked her Noble Phantasm, imagine that. Was that part of your plan too?"
Ritsuka could only chuckle in response, Mash smiling as Caster walked over to Ritsuka, and pat her on the back. "You're going great kid. You might need this later." Caster whispered as Ritsuka felt something drop into her back pocket. She didn't check it as he pulled away. "And now that we've got that out of the way… only Archer and Saber remain in our way. And I've got a score to settle with the bowman." Caster mused.
"Are you alright Mash?" Ritsuka questioned, and Mash sighed, mostly in relief as Fou lept onto her shoulder.
"I think I'm alright Senpai, for now at least." she responded, Olga joining them as…
"DOWN!" Caster suddenly shouted, pushing Ritsuka out of the way as some sort of arrow shaped sword passed them by, hitting a building and detonating. "Son of a! Why now!" Caster complained before dragging Ritsuka into a building, Mash and Olga joining them as another arrow detonated, this time on the street.
"Caster! Why is he shooting at us now?" Ritsuka asked, and Caster growled, looking towards the three girls before sighing.
"Knowing him, probably defending Saber preemptively. Our little assault on Iskandar wasn't exactly quiet, so now we're going to have to get creative just getting to Archer…" Caster muttered. "Alright, you three are going after Saber. I'll draw Archer away." he decided after only a moment's notice.
"But," Ritsuka started, only for Olga to grab her shoulder.
"We have to deal with this now. Let's go," Olga ordered her, and Ritsuka nodded, Caster bounding out of the building, rushing towards Archer's position, out in the open, dodging arrows as he went. And Ritsuka had Mash lead after the arrows stopped coming towards them, the trio and Fou rushing out to begin making their way towards Saber.
Cu Chulainn was having the time of his life. Sure, he wasn't in his preferred class, but the old looper had only had a few of these loops before. And the last few times, they'd been fun.
But this? This was the first time he had a chance to go against EMIYA with nothing but his abilities in this loop alone. And no one between him and kicking his ass. With that little trinket, he'd ensured his own survival, well technically, but Odin had given him a duty.
'Help the Master of Chaldea. Your job is to make sure they survive this loop, if you don't this entire branch may suffer the consequences.'
To say it was a lot of pressure was an understatement, but he did always enjoy orders. And he'd gotten some new powers as well. Apparently from what his memories told him, he was a mix of himself and Odin, a Pseudo-Servant. Wasn't sure if that was baseline or not, but that was a pretty impressive bit of power he'd been entrusted with.
'Alright mister Admin, let's see if your trust wasn't misplaced.' he thought to himself, flipping his hand and causing another Calabolg to vanish into dust. He could get used to this… maybe next time he could try this trick on goldie?
First he had to survive this fight of course. For many, a Null Loop could be boring, but this? This was something he relished.
Cu Chulainn loved challenges, and this would be his greatest challenge of all.
He took cover behind a tree, planning out his next move… only for an arrow to detonate near him, sending him flying. Quickly he righted himself, grunting as he landing and set a healing rune to work by smacking his side. Alright, so the bastard was predicting him now… he had to admit, knowing EMIYA, he was kinda surprised he was using the bow this much. He was a much more up close and personal fighter, so what was the trick here?
Well, he had to form each sword and then modify it so he could fire. That meant he could only shoot so fast. If this was his anchor EMIYA, he wouldn't have such an issue… on the other hand, this wasn't the anchor of the fifth Holy Grail War, or his soul bound counterpart.
No, this was just EMIYA, corrupted and blackened, deadly as all hell… so he decided he'd just walked towards him, or rather… run.
Cu smirked as he rushed out of cover, arm up as he began rapid casing the dispersal spell, arrows flying at him one at a time, packing a lot of power, but their volume was low, so erasing them was easier than letting them detonate. It took like like five minutes of rushing through trees, dodging the occasional Caladbolg and erasing anything else before he caught sight of the red bastard.
"Oh shit, that's Excalibur." he deadpanned at the sight of EMIYA holding the holy sword in one hand, eyes trained directly on him… ah… this was going to hurt if he didn't do something quick.
The archer didn't speak, simply loading the sword into his bow and morphing it. Excalibur Image… he hadn't seen that outside of the Moon Cell, so what the hell was this random Blackened EMIYA doing with it!
Rather than just sit and get shot at, he returned fire with an array of, well fire. The Archer was quick to dodge, and just as quick on the draw, firing his Excalibur Image arrow, forming a beam of light heading right towards him.
Cu grunted as he dodged as fast as he could, his cape getting caught by the blast. He chucked it off, it was only going to get in the way as the red bastard summoned another Excalibur Image. Cu grit his teeth, but then smirked… that was an idea.
He summoned a wall of roots, and bolted towards the temple, he needed at least three seconds to get set up for this. Behind him, said wall of roots exploited in a laser of golden light, but he was already gone. EMIYA searched for his prey as Cu danced through the trees, rushing up the mountain before getting close to the temple.
Rushing up the stairs, he fired a flare into the air. He wanted that red bastard to come to him, not the other way around. Going through the gate, he started throwing down ruins, just as another arrow shot by him, not an explosion one though. It merely bounced off his wind barrier, Protection from Arrows proving its worth as he leapt into the air, throwing a few runes in the air before returning fire at EMIYA. He watched a shape jump out of the forest, leaping high into the sky and firing downward. Raising a dome of roots, he prepared his final contingency, he'd gotten all he could in the time he'd gotten… now to see if it was enough for this one…
He slid out of the remains of his dome of roots, grinning as he landed on the temple's roof. An Excalibur Image already primed to fire… Cu smirked as he unleashed his arrow, the beam of light heading straight towards him. "Now I've got you!"
He slammed his hand into the ground, activating the first rune. His own imitation of the Gate of Skye… the beam of light stopped inches from him, and the arrow vanished into thin air as the other runes began to light up, creating a circle of entrapment. EMIYA grunted, and leapt into the air, only for him to him one of the traps he'd laid for the Archer and be knocked to the ground, right where he wanted him, his bow fading away as Cu stood up.
"You put runes in the air above us?" EMIYA both asked and stated, and Cu chuckled at that.
"Oh, you noticed, did you? This spell is a copy of one of my mentor's, Gate of Skye as it were. I will say, it's rather impressive you pushed me to use it Archer, but when you can fire Excalibur on repeat, what's a Caster to do?" Cu jested as EMIYA frowned at him. He spun his staff. "But let's finish with this song and dance. What do you say, you and me, just like the good old time! Head to head!"
"Really now Caster?" EMIYA asked as he traced the familiar Kashou and Bakuya, "I assumed you were brighter than that, to take someone on in melee."
"Well learn this! Just because it ain't clever!" he roared, rushed towards EMIYA as the archer readied his swords. "Doesn't mean I don't enjoy it!"
Ritsuka had managed to lead them around to the entrance of the cave. And with Archer nowhere in sight. Now the only thing between them and beginning this journey in true… was Saber Alter.
A battle that now raged, with Mash's shield being beaten at by Saber's sword. She grit her teeth… there really wasn't anything she could do, no matter how much she wanted to help. Olga had even had to stop her from going out there to help.
"Let me help her." She demanded of Olga, it hurt to watch as Mash was knocked around, and finally knocked off her feet. Why had they done this? Why hadn't they summoned another Servant? Why hadn't they gone to help Caster!
"No Fujimaru," Olga's words snapped her out of her thoughts, leaving her behind the director. "Let Mash do her job."
They and Fou had to watch… as Mash picked herself up slowly. "Look… I know how you feel, painfully so."
"Then let me help her Director!" Ritsuka shouted, as Saber Alter slowly walked towards her friend… Oh god, she was going to lose Mash!
"But you are that girl's Master, and she's your sworn Servant." Olga said, Mash picking herself, and her shield fully off the ground. Only for Saber Alter to swing downward, the mere act of her swinging kicking up enough force to send Mash sprawling once again. She couldn't watch… "Don't look away from her efforts!"
Ritsuka's eyes shot open as Olga continued. "Look straight ahead!" She did so. "Hold your head high!" She did so. "What are you doing as a Master, that is your only concern Ritsuka Fujimaru!"
She didn't respond or retort. She couldn't. So she watched… and she believed. As hard as she could. Mash had done the impossible before. She'd blocked Rhongomyniad, She'd blocked an attack that could destroy the planet. She'd been by her side against everything the world had thrown at them and more. This was a girl who would later shoot down gods.
Her Kouhai. Her best friend.
She would beat Saber Alter, no matter what. She just had to believe. For it was in the most dire moments… where her friend shined her brightest.
Saber Alter raised her sword above her head. "I'll respond to those eyes." she spoke, as Mash stared down the darkness. "To the heart that means to protect its Master." The sword lit up with black, raised towards the cavern's ceiling.
"No!" Ritsuka had enough, she ran about Olga's shield. If Mash was going to take this… she was going to have her help!
"EXCALIBUR MORGAN!" She swung down, the beam of darkness racing towards Mash's shield. She'd seen this before, where she'd tried to take a Noble Phantasm once without her own. Did she not have enough energy for Lord Chaldeas? She was going to fall!
But as the wave of pressure watched over her, and the dust cleared, what Ritsuka saw… shocked her. That Mash was still standing, Excalibur Morgan clashing against her shield.
This… was new.
Cu was quiet as EMIYA held his blades to his neck… he… might have gotten a bit careless in his excitement. Letting the red bastard get the upper hand.
"Looks like this is the end Caster." EMIYA started… gods even now he could hear the smugness, but he had to talk.
"Will that shield you feared resist the sword?" Both of them looked towards the purple glow coming towards the mountain. "Or will your beloved sword pierce the shield?"
He was actually surprised the blackened Servant humored him, but given what Ritsuka had proven… These guys loved to talk. "I heard something similar a long time ago." of course he would have, they'd clashed over this little fact multiple times. His spear and the red bastard's shield…
"Oh yeah? And what was the answer?" he posited. He knew it, and knew it well. Even in baseline, of course in his baseline it was a spear, not a sword.
In every case… the shield won, at least in baseline, but…
"The answer was… a Paradox." There it was, the old adage. And unstoppable force, and the immovable object. "Only a contradiction is produced."
He chuckled at that. "I wouldn't say that pal." EMIYA hummed at that, humoring him further. Good, just had to keep talking. "I think the same thing about that story. When both things are equal, why wouldn't it come down to skill, of who wields which better?" He liked to think he was the best, but he knew he wasn't… not by a long shot. There was a whole Multiverse out there who gave him a damn good run for his money, and many more who'd beaten him, even in spearwork. But he had some other tricks…
"But if its the weapon's performance that falters. A human just has to compensate with wisdom, right?" flick.
EMIYA gasped as the stone was launched from Cu's thumb. One of the bunch he'd 'borrowed' from the white haired girl when they had a moment to make them. It exploded in EMIYA's face, Cu knocking him away, activating his final contingency…
And was stabbed in the back.
EMIYA smirked in victory… but that victory was short lived, as wood crawled up his blades and arms, the rest of Cu's body turning to wood as he phased out of the wooden shell he'd prepared. "Surprise! You underestimated me again Red!" He leapt away, now shirtly, has he'd had to engrave those runes on his shirt. EMIYA grunted as he let go of his sword, but didn't get far enough away for the explosion to not catch him, knocking him back.
Cu landed on the roof, smirking as he held his staff. "Sorry pal, but I've got some new tricks to show you. Here… have a taste!" his staff flashed, a circle of flame appearing around EMIYA, before a hand of wicker reached out from the ground, crushing the Archer within, burning him, before smashing into the stone… and when the hand faded… he too faded away to dust.
He tossed his remaining stone up for a moment, before catching it, and looking back towards the mountain. "Hang on kids, I'm coming. You ain't dying on my watch."
Mash was faltering… falling to her knees as she stood against Saber Alter's relentless assault. Her Noble Phantasm against her shield… she was… going to fail her Senpai.
But a warm hand… a now familiar hand, grasped hers. She opened her eyes, to see Ritsuka above her, orange hair waving behind her from the sheer force of the pressure. Her Master having snuck around, and crawled under, to get to her side. "I'm here Mash… I believe in you." she said, looking down…
One command seal glowed, and magic circuits burned to life. Ritsuka pouring both her First Aid spell, and that command seal into Mash. She had to help… and this was her choice.
Mash stood up, emboldened by her Master's belief, and the command seal's prana flowing through her. "I can do this… watch me Master." And once more the shield glowed blue.
Saber Alter's eyes went wide in realization, as the little girl and her master stood before her… ready to turn the tides.
"LORD!" A blue shield of energy sprung of first, the dark power of Excalibur Morgan, rather than going around the girl… now being flung all over the cavern as it was being deflected.
"That shield…" Saber Alter muttered in disbelief
"CHALDEAS!" The wall emerged, built by a young girl's determination and will. And just as quickly from deflection… the wall now reflected! Straight back at Saber Alter.
Ritsuka sighed in relief as Saber Alter swayed on her feet, gritting her teeth… but Mash was doing the same, barely standing. "Easy Mash." she cautioned… as the wall began to fade.
Saber Alter however, was done with games. Once more she raised her sword. "EXCALIBUR!"
"I… can still stand." Mash struggled, but she stood, Ritsuka hold her tight as they stared down the Noble Phantasm together with a fading wall between them and it… Ritsuka didn't close her eyes. They were going to stand together, she still had two more seals…
"MY SPELL IS THE COFFIN OF FLAMES!" But a voice echoed, a familiar voice. "A GIANT BIRD AND THORN OF RETRIBUTION!" Both she and mash looked to the side. "A SHRINE THAT WILL PURIFY HUMAN MISERY!"
Caster, now both capeless and shirtless shot past them. "I made it, just in time… good job."
He landed between them and Saber Alter, clutching his staff tight as the jewel on it glowed red. "And now the Wicker Man! Befall!"
Beneath Saber Alter, the golem of flames rose, reaching out to grasp her without giving her a moment's reprieve. The moment it got her hands on her, it threw her within its cage. Falling to the ground and exploding into a pillar of flame, so bright that the entire cavern was illuminated as if it was day.
Caster sighed as the smoke cleared… and instantly tensed up as Saber Alter was still standing, if covered in burns. "...Victory of the power that protects. I see now." she looked past Cu and towards the Master and her Servant. "Indeed, its just as I expect." and then she smiled…
"Ultimately no matter how fate may change, whatever the outcome, the fact that I face it alone remains."
"Wait… what are you talking about," Caster started, in his mind that was a massive red flag. Like crimson. Did she know what was going on?
"Does she…" something Ritsuka said vocally, rather than keeping it in her head.
"Hold on, what do you mean?" Caster wanted answers. "What do you know?"
"One day you'll know the answer, Ireland's Child of Light. The Grand Order… and our Infinite Time."
'Oh… crap.' that was the very first thing that shot through Caster's head.
She knew about the Loops.
"My part in this struggle has ended. But your battle has only just begun." she answered.
"Wait a second, what are you!?" he started, before noticing the golden glow coming off of him. Instantly he turned towards Ritsuka. "Kid, I'll catch up with you soon. That thing I gave you. Use it when you get back. For right now, I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Cu!" Ritsuka shouted, finally using the first part of his name. Cu smiled… for the moment, he was content… but he knew his work wasn't done yet.
And so he faded away, back to the throne for now, but not to the next loop. Not while he was still needed, and would return… he'd insured that.
But that left Ritsuka, Mash, Fou and Olga, as the lesser grail formed…
For Ritsuka, a haunting scene she could do nothing to stop from repeating played out. For Mash, she watched the director fade away for the first time. For those at Chaldea, they heard it happen to…
And up above, it was pandemonium
Adminspace
Both Manu and Odin were scrambling as the data flowed in, something that neither had anticipated… and had both of them checking to see if it was even possible.
How had they missed the Altered Saber being aware of the loops!
"I've got her data," Manu proclaimed, Odin budging in as both of them stared at the compiled data… with both confusion, and perhaps mounting horror.
Altria Pendragon (Alter)- Looping Status
Pending
Adminspace
"This… should not be possible." Odin muttered as they stared at the code before them.
"And yet here it is," Manu muttered as he looked at the code… it was a complete and jumbled mess. From what he could gather, this iteration of Saber Alter was clearly Loop Aware, that much was clear. More than that… she seemed well aware that things were quite screwed up. The expansion data was still coming in at a rapid pace, and he still hadn't gotten to looking through it all.
"Technically it is your call what happens from here." Odin advised as Manu looked back at the pending activation. How this had occurred… he smiled.
Perhaps it was Fate.
He knew her goals. This version of the Altered Saber was firmly a 'Dark Hero'. It was her who'd given them a chance. Her revelation that she was well aware something was going on, and had decided to allow them to go forward, rather than end it all right there, was a blessing. He knew she would appear later in this loop. The city of Sin, among other places, nevermind being summoned to Chaldea at some point.
He could have taken this jumbled mess of code and pretended it never happened. To prevent this woman from looping. Once everything was repaired he didn't doubt the mass of errors that compiled to reach this point would never happen again without some severe damage to the system.
Instead… he approved.
Altria Pendragon Alter - Looping Status
Active
Odin hummed. "I hope you know what you've done Manu." Odin warned, and he nodded.
"Come what may, I shall take the judgement as it comes. But Fate is my domain after all… hence I believe this to be no accident. Infact, she could be quite a valuable ally…" he mused, before going to work.
He knew she was going to show up again… so why not give her a few instructions. If this loop was going to activate, they needed all the help they could get.
He looked to the left, and winced as the newest pile of data came in, even Odin stared at it with trepidation… What the hell was happening at the edge of the Loop?
Grand Order
Chaldea's condition was, to put it mildly, absolute shit, a fact Ritsuka was critically aware of as she wandered the halls. Thankfully, Da Vinci was already hard at work, repairing what could be fixed. Which so far, was to be a pair of Rayshift coffins, and one of the most important pieces of their fight for the future.
The Servant Summoning System.
Ritsuka looked to her hand, and the earring within it. The earring that Cu Chulainn had slipped into her back pocket after their fight with Rider.
A catalyst to summon him, hopefully without fail.
"Use it when you get back…" she mumbled to herself, before clutching it tight in the palm of her hand as she continued her march towards the summoning chamber. She wanted answers, and she wasn't waiting any longer.
Like why she was back in time, after all, that was the biggest question. And why Saber Alter had said what she had… honestly it was kinda creepy just how aware of stuff she was. Maybe if she summoned her, she'd pry some answer out of the Black Saber.
She entered the Summoning Chamber quickly, and quickly spotted Da Vinci, the adult Da Vinci, waiting.
"Ah Ritsuka, I was wondering when you'd be stopping by." the woman said with that ever present smile, and Ritsuka smiled back. Da Vinci looked at her hand. "Got something I assume."
"Uh… yeah," she admitted, before holding up the earring, leaving Da Vinci to 'hmm' in interest.
"An earring?" she questioned, and Ritsuka nodded.
"A Catalyst, Caster gave it to me, and asked me to use it to summon him as soon as possible." She gave, and Da Vinci nodded.
"Well, we are short on help… another Caster would be amazing at this point," she sighed, before winking. "I'll deal with Romani, you go ahead and set that inside. We're gonna need a lot more help soon, and we've got to start somewhere."
Ritsuka sighed in relief, glad Da Vinci was willing to let her do this. "Thanks Da Vinci."
The Caster nodded as Ritsuka went inside, gently placing the earring inside the summoning chamber as Da Vinci came in as well, carrying three familiar little crystals. Saint Quartz. She placed them down alongside the Catalyst.
Together they walked outside, as Da Vinci nodded to Ritsuka, motioning for her to pull the lever to summon Chaldea's newest Servant.
"Will you answer the call to save Humanity's Future?"
The question was literally answered in less than a second.
"Hell yeah."
This was Cu Chulainn's response as he was pulled from the Throne of Heroes once more. That had been an interesting experience, dying and then coming back in the same Loop? He was lucky… and he probably wasn't going to get a second chance with that. So as he felt his body form (an interesting experience to say the least), he got the details of his latest summoning, still Awake from literally like eight hours ago.
He was a Caster (Again, gods dammit), and he was still a Pseudo-Servant of Odin (duh), and his Master was one Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Last Master of Humanity and 48th Master of Chaldea. His duty? Help her save the world. Simple enough
'Cept I got this packet from Odin already,' he mentally complained as the prana around him began to fade. He stood tall, resting his staff across his shoulders as he opened blood red eyes. And smirked as he saw his new Master, and the woman by her side.
"Hey there, I'm Caster, Cu Chulainn… ya miss me?" he jested and Ritsuka chuckled as the woman hummed. He hopped down from the platform he was standing on, walking towards the door, which Ritsuka opened for him. "Thanks."
"Interesting, you remember what happened in Singularity F?" the woman asked, crap, bullshit time.
"Yeah, I mean I gave her the Catalyst directly from it for a reason." he said, leaving out 'what' that reason was. Which was to ensure that she'd resummon him as soon as possible so that he could get to his actual job. Making sure that his little Master got through this Loop alive.
The woman didn't press, but he got the idea she didn't exactly believe him, and Ritsuka just smiled at him. "Da Vinci I'm going to show him around, is that okay?"
"Sure. Best he get situated before we put him to work. This place is a damn mess still." the woman, Da Vinci, responded, allowing Ritsuka to drag him out the doors and down the hallway before speaking.
"Alright… what's going on." Straight and to the point she was.
"Well… you're gonna want to take a seat for this. So, you got anywhere private we could do that?" he asked. The whole 'Welcome to the Multiverse speech' was not exactly something he had ever expected to give someone, nevermind a potential Anchor candidate.
She… looked at him, but nodded, dragging him towards her quarters before locking the door. Something he aided by throwing a rune on it to make sure no one would disturb them… hopefully.
"So Cu Chulainn, what's going on? Or am I talking to Odin?" she asked, and he chuckled.
"Nah, I'm Cu Chulainn, but not the one you probably know. See this is gonna sound complicated, but welcome to the Multiverse, Ritsuka Fujimaru. I'm Cu Chulainn, from what's known as the 'Stay Night' branch of the 'Nasuverse', and I've been brought here basically to make sure your ass doesn't get fried, as well as to show you some ropes." He started, motioning for her to sit on the bed… this was going to be a long, long… long talk.
It turned out to be exactly that. Several hours of questioning, proof that he wasn't bullshiting her (the best he could provide without his pocket). As well as debunking several of her (rather clever she might add, Time loop caused by BB again, or one of the Fairies in Avalon having put her in an exceptionally deep lucid dream) theories about what was going on.
"So… let's recap. The world Tree, Yggdrasil, is broken, and because it is, pretty much every world has been put on permanent repeat while repairs are being made, which have been going on for untold eons with no end in sight?" Ritsuka recapped, and he nodded.
"That's part one yeah." He nodded.
"And apparently, I'm to be this place's 'Anchor', its buoy to make sure it isn't lost forever," she added, and he nodded again. "And the reason this is happening now is because… why?"
"Don't ask me, I'm not an Admin. All I know is this Loop has gone exceptionally badly, to the point they pretty much dragged me into this to make sure that you would have a chance at this. And, sadly, I don't have access to my other powers from outside this loop. So aside from what's up here." he tapped his head. "I'm just a Caster, a damn good Caster apparently, but I don't have any of my more fun powers." He groaned as he sat up. "I mean, I've been a Caster before, but the last time I was here with my original Anchor, who by the way is part of the problem with this mess, my powers were nowhere near as comprehensive or fleshed out. So there's a lot of new stuff I don't know about. Like, these Lostbelt things?" Cu asked and Ritsuka took a very deep breath.
"Complicated, painful, and many, many other things. You were there, in Avalon, before everything reset." She admitted, and he hummed.
"Well, it seems we got our endpoint. So you just have to survive till Avalon, solving any problems along the way. Since this is an activation loop, we're probably going to be going through your entire baseline so… that's going to be fun. How long does that last?" he asked… only to receive a blank stare from Ritsuka as she waved her hand.
"Time is… fiddly." she admitted.
"Oh… great," he muttered, taking a deep breath before breathing out loud and hard, like a deflating balloon. "I'd teach you about how to perform a Ping and make a Subspace Pocket, and I will, but you'll have to put that to practice in the next loop to actually make it. But right now we have a few bigger problems. From what I can tell… this place is apparently a buggy mess."
"You mean like how Saber Alter seemed to know something was going on too?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah, that… that was weird. Is she like that in Baseline?" he questioned, and she shrugged.
"I mean I wouldn't exactly know that yet but… I do remember from Shinjuku that… she… remembered Singularity… F." she started slowly.
Both of them stared at each other for a moment, and Cu sighed, rubbing his hair, which was longer than normal. "Great so something's up with her, Admins only know what. Guess we'll make it up as we go along…" he complained before leaping to his feet and looking down at her. "So guess what Master, I ain't leaving your side unless I absolutely have to. I've got a job and I intend to keep it." he held out his hand to her.
"Thanks Caster." She said with a smile, accepting his hand and allowing him to pull her up from the bed. "I'm gonna go find Mash, you going to help Da Vinci?"
"Well we're in this for the long haul, so might as well." He laughed, it was strange he thought. To be escorting someone through their first loop. And it was odd to see such a fresh new looper, and Anchor no less, and of their own branch.
Well, things were going to be interesting, that's for sure.
"Well that was fun!" Cu exclaimed, a big grin on his face despite the burns on his body, and his tattered cloak. Ritsuka just laughing as Mash also giggled. It hadn't been the brightest idea he'd ever had to mouth off to a very pissy woman who had powers over fire, but hey, it had allowed them to take her down with no one dying, so he considered that a win.
Now they were back in Chaldea, Holy Grail in hand, and a with a decent pile of loot to boot! Dragon fangs and several scales off of Fafnir's back.
"Who's the Dragonslayer now!" Cu cheered, laughing as he recalled shoving his staff straight down Fafnir's throat in an attempt to recreate what Hiccup and Toothless did in their own Baseline against the Red Death. Thankfully it did in fact turn out that Fafnir was not so fire proof on the inside.
Of course Ritsuka having to burn a Command Seal to save his stupid ass was totally worth it.
"Savior of France, truly you are." Ritsuka jested as she hefted an armful of Saint Quartz alongside the recovered grail in her other hand.
"So we're going to be performing some more summons now, Senpai?" Mash asked, and Ritsuka nodded.
"Yep! We got quite a surplus after that. Sure we don't have any catalysts, but we'll make it work!" Ritsuka cheered, her mood greatly increased after the surprisingly relaxing, if hazardous, Singularity.
Cu had certainly had fun facing off with new opponents, that was for sure. The trio continued to chat as they entered the Summoning Chamber, Ritsuka ready to call upon more heroes to aid their question to un-incinerate Human History.
"Will you answer the call to save Humanity's Future?"
She thought long and hard about that one. Within that formless white void, she mused on if she should accept that call. She'd already accepted her part was done for now. She technically didn't need to do anything else unless she was called again during this 'Baseline' Loop.
Knowing that something was wrong, and acting upon it, were two very different things she realized. But… she was being called to act.
Her current status gave her a great deal of knowledge. Of what had occurred, and what may come. She was not the Artoria Pendragon that looped within another branch. She technically should not exist as she was now.
But she wanted to.
Memories of a small white dog. Of a young man who accepted her for who she was. That same young man who was currently a young woman, like such a thing concerned her. Of a woman, a false image of a holy saint, who she both hated and enjoyed the presence of.
She longed to experience such feelings again. And as a Tyrant, she would take what she desired. And currently, said desire was simple.
She wanted to see it all to its end. Not live as a mere black image of another reality.
She would make her own Fate.
"I, King Altria Pendragon, accept the call." She demanded, shouting out to the void.
She could feel her body begin to form. Excalibur Morgan reformed in her hand. She planted the sword in front of her as her golden eyes stared dead ahead. And when the prana had all faded, she was surrounded by objects. A motorcycle, sets of church keys, a depiction of a young man, holding a holy shroud around his arm, the depiction of a wizard marshall who wielded the Kaleidoscope's power, a magical crystal, a picture of a woman in white, tofu, a wire bird, and a vial of silver mercury surrounded the ground around her. And in the window before her was a familiar trio.
Their eyes went wide as she spoke the immortal words.
"I ask you, Ritsuka Fujimaru! Are you my Master? Now and Forever?" She ordered the girl behind the glass.
Even she had been honest… her simple, but truly honest answer surprised her.
"I am."
Adminspace
"Huh… that went better than expected." Odin muttered as Manu hummed. On the other screen, the Black King and Cu Chulainn were already engaged in a pissing match at each other in Fujimaru's Room, the poor girl having to deal with two Servants who were ready to spar with each other at the word go. Thankfully they didn't do that, most for the sake of not blowing up Chaldea. Which would have crashed the loop if they did.
"You were expecting that to fail." Manu implied, and Odin didn't rebuke the Chaldea God of Fate.
"What else have you dug up?"
"So far, everything seems to be… alright. Things are different from baseline, obviously, but outside of the broad strokes and key points, that itself seems to be highly variable in general from what I'm gathering. That darn Septem Singularity is incredibly buggy. And they're about to plunge right into it." Manu complained and Odin looked at the code before nodding.
"Seems like something's been lost here." he muttered.
"It's not irrecoverable, but that's going to take a long time. For now it seems the loop is filling in the blanks as it goes. So its not a big issue. It'll just be more variable from loop to loop than others if I just leave it. And there are bigger problems right now." Manu said as he pulled up a long, long… long list.
"...I'll go get a new pot of coffee." Odin muttered as they both stared at the utterly massive list of potential looper candidates… and the currently massively corrupted code.
"Please do. We're in a bit of a safe zone, so I might as well get this fixed before we end up with another Amiya." Manu complained. This branch could be hellish, not unlike that one. And that anchor had snapped, hard due to his lack of loopers and fused loops.
"Alright, first up… you miss Kyrielight, better get this fixed before long. You're going to be one of the first…" Manu muttered as Odin left to go get that pot of coffee… and probably a peanut gallery with this ongoing mess.
AN: So I've decided to split up the Grand Order Activation Loop, Requiem of Fate up into parts. Mostly because it is indeed extremely long. Apologies for how big it is, but this was a grand tale to pen.