Disclaimer

I own nothing but what I write. All intellectual properties belong to their respective owners, that is Oomori Fujino owns Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou and Fate Grand Order is owned by Type-Moon, Delightworks and Sony.

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AN: Sorry about the forced Hiatus. I was going through some serious medical problems. I finally got my hip surgery done but while there I was found to have a lump growing in my throat Years of smoking finally caught up to me and so after a dozen rounds of chemotherapy it has gone away. I'm lucky I didn't need to go into surgery for that so I apologize for the late update.

I've been rereading my old work to catch myself up to speed but I hope you all understand if I can't update like I used to. I'm behind on bills now as well because of the lack of work but at least I'm alive. Yes… you guessed it, I'm an old codger.

So anyways, I hope you are all doing well. I just thought I'd clarify a few points, Arturio was Saber's name in the first FSN fansub I watched so that stuck. I changed it to Artoria to fit most net searches and fandom for her name but in reality the official FGO name or her is Altria but I'm going to stick with Artoria.

Syr is unimportant to my story other than comic relief so I'm not playing up her connection to Freya even though it's still possible because they are still two personalities within that one body with Freya having dibs on control when she wants it.

A lot of my NP and abilities come from FGO direct to keep it simpler but on occasion I will utilise them from their lore or FSN abilities. As it is they are at max level from their cards at level 1 in Danmachi (ie. 3 Star= lvl 70, 4 Star=lvl 80, 5 Star=lvl90). This becomes an important point for later.

I know that monsters don't disappear until their cores are dug out in Danmachi LN but I'm going by the anime simplified version purely because it becomes a point later in regards to ecology and world dynamics. It actually makes more sense disappearing otherwise something bad will happen.

I hope you all continue with the story and keep supporting me as I still have my rough outline I'm working with. Cheers and thanks for all the love and reviews. They were a great read while I was sick. I hope to update weekly or fortnightly now so keep on reading.

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Please read & review as I appreciate any comments made

Fate Grand Disorder

Chapter 55 – Conspiracy

Saber Astolfo sat in the corner of the Hostess of Fertility. He had booked out the whole bar for the night and had found that the owner had been happy to allow him to do so. He did pay a fair bit for it though but it was covered by Chaldea so he lost little out of it. Besides, he had an explicit mission from Da Vinci he had to fulfill tonight. Still, it hurt him a little that there was one person who would be here tonight that had a resentment against him. Even though she was the one who had originally enthusiastically agreed to this plan in the first place.

Ryuuu Lion was fuming as she entered the Hostess of Fertility late at night. She hadn't heard from her goddess in years and the first time she receives correspondence from her she was ordered to attend this meeting even though she had decided not to attend because she did not want to bump into that woman, Astolfo again. But her goddesses instructions were explicit, she was to attend and to investigate and then to have a clandestine rendezvous afterward outside the city of Orario.

"I didn't think you would come." A soft demure voice spoke up beside Ryuuu as Astolfo sat down beside her.

"Hmmph," Ryuu grunted as she turned away from him and showed him a good portion of her back.

"Look… I'm sorry about that night. I didn't know there were reporters around. I didn't think it would turn out like this." Astolfo apologized.

Ryuu turned a cold eye towards him and poked him in the chest with her finger. "You shamelessly fondled me in public and k..k..kissed me! You took advantage of a pure maiden when she was vulnerable and depressed. You are no gentlemen!" she cursed.

"I did not!" Astolfo vehemently denied, "I tried to push you away and protect your innocence. It was you who forced yourself upon me and kissed me. Y..You even grabbed my hand and forced me to g..grab your b..b..breasts!"

"As if I would!" Ryuu roared as a few people around them turned to stare at the arguing couple. A few smirked with raised eyebrows as they recognized the pair. "Why would I do such a vulgar thing!"

"As if I would know." Alstolfo calmly defended. "How am I to know how repressed you are or what you've been through. I was merely trying to help out a lady in distress."

"REPRESSED!" Ryuu hissed out, "why you…."

But she was interrupted by Asfi Al Andromeda, Captain of the Hermes familia as she tapped on Astolfo's shoulder and promptly told him to start the meeting in time. Astolfo turned one more time to Ryuu and half guiltily apologized one last time. Accident or not, it had affected the poor barmaid. "I'm sorry. But I hope at least tonight helps."

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The meeting began normally with Astolfo introducing the aim of the group of people gathered here this night, to find out what happened to them for the three days that they had all gone missing. Many people had turned up to tonight's meeting and even some famous faces were present. Among those were Bete Loga, Ais Wallenstein and even the up and coming, Bell Cranel.

Everyone shared their experience which generally consisted of just blanking out and being told later by family or loved ones that they had disappeared for three days. No one really had a clue about what had happened. However a startling fact was soon discovered as the few elves among the group, Ryuu included, stated that they had started to get flashbacks and random bits of memory seemed to be recovering in them.

There were others in the room who were here merely as witnesses, all proclaiming to see flying lights and the occasional 'beaming' away of cattle or people. The only person with a complete memory of what happened was Ais, as she explained everything that she recalled to the group in that monotone of hers.

The room became silent as everyone took in the news of their abduction with a grain of salt. It was finally Astolfo, the chairperson who broke the silence with a question, "What are everyone's thoughts on the situation and what do we and can we do about it?"

Everyone looked to their neighbour for an answer. No one really had any idea but at least one brave soul put his hand up and exclaimed, "Like all things in Orario… It's probably dungeon-related!"

"Then why do the gods not know anything about it?" an unknown voice in the back shouted out.

"My goddess has no clue about anything either!" a farmer at the front nodded to himself.

"Surely someone knows something?" a young female implored.

"I wonder what Ouranus has to say about this?" another female adventurer asked out loud.

"Do you think Evilus is back and they are behind all this?" The statement came from none other than the serious Ryuu.

Everyone in the room became silent as they pondered the thought. Then the voice of Asfi with hands raised as if she was a journalist in an interview room asked a sincere question. "Isn't this something like what happens in the light novel 'Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou'… Evilus coming back? Does this mean that goddess Hestia and Hestia familia know something about this?"

Bell Cranel shot up out of his seat and answered her heatedly, "My goddess knows nothing about this and my familia has nothing to do with this. Even I am a victim here!"

There was murmuring around the room as people began discussing among themselves. Regardless, everyone would soon be rereading their copies of the manga or light novel soon, as they try to piece together the mystery. "Maybe it's a conspiracy?" A lone voice called out.

More murmurings and discussions took place amongst the crowd. The sound was definitely getting louder so Astolfo stepped in to placate the crowd. "I assure you goddess Hestia knows nothing about the abductions. As a Hestia familia member I can assure you of that or else she would have mentioned it to us a long time ago."

With that Bell sat back down still seething as Ais put a calming hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile to reassure him she believed him. Asfi nodded to this and added another suggestion to the crowd. "What we need now is more information."

Astolfo nodded his head in agreement. "I propose we put out a new publication detailing our experiences and our thoughts. Hopefully, more people and thus more information will come forth from it and we can get a better idea of what is happening to us. We could fund it solely on sales and donations from within our group. What does everyone think?"

"I think Lord Hermes would be more than happy to fund such a publication," Asfi added to the surprise of everyone.

"You know," Alstolfo leaned over to Asfias he spoke directly to her, "this will probably get on the wrong side of a lot of people and step on toes of gods and men alike. Especially being just our thoughts and ideas…."

"…theories." Asfi interjected, "call them theories. They're neither right nor wrong just theories. After all we have our freedom to publish what we want as long as it's properly represented as such."

"What are you proposing?" Astolfo was curious.

"We'll call our publication 'Conspiracy Theories' and hopefully in that way we could get more information from the general public without stepping on too many toes."

Astolfo laughed internally. It went all as planned. Conspiracy theory and conspiracy theorists had finally come to Orario. The first conspiracy they needed to uncover for the public was Evilus.

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Ryuu Lion made her way to the appointed rendezvous point after the meeting and it was there she finally saw her goddess again after so many years. In a fit of emotion, tears threatened to spill over her eyes as she knelt down on one knee before her. "Goddess Astraea. It has been too long."

"Please stand," Astraea quickly embraced Ryuu as the two shared a moment together.

When they finally separated they filled each other in on what had happened in their lives and what they were doing after the fateful loss to Evilus so many years ago. After they had caught each other up to what they were both up to Astraea asked what happened at the meeting to which Ryuu filled her in on the details.

Astraea pondered on the information she was given before she smiled at Ryuu. "Ryuu, I'm putting the familia back together and I want you to be a part of he new familia."

"As you wish." Ryuu was quick to respond.

"We'll be working to uncover corruption in the city and bring justice to the people. We will be the police behind the police." The smile Astraea gave her was deep and full of hidden secrets. "For that I want you to join the CIA with me."

Ryuu cocked her head in question, "The CIA?"

"The Chaldean Intelligence Agency."

"Hestia familia again!" Ryuu was half shocked and half suspicious. "Can you trust them?"

"I don't know, but even if I don't I'm authorized to investigate even them."

"You are?"

"Hestia allowed it personally. To ensure there is no corruption even within their ranks."

Astraea further explained their role and their relationship with Hestia familia and told her where the funding was coming from. She could not go into further details about the resources available to her until Ryuu officially joined but she did leave her with a cryptic thought. "You know, if we had the resources and the information Hestia familia is giving me all those years ago, maybe our familia wouldn't have…."

The pain of those memories were still fresh in Ryuu memories. The pain of having to watch her familia die, of having survived and of having to bury them all on the eighteenth floor of the dungeon. Yet here goddess Astraea was saying that that could've been all different if Hestia familia of today could've been involved all those years ago. There was only one problem with Ryuu agreeing to join on the spot… Astolfo.

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When Ryuu Lion finally got home from the first-ever Orarian conspiracy theorist meeting she was tired. But not so tired that she did not notice a bouquet of flowers sitting on her study table or the note attached to it. She quickly read the apology note from Astolfo and flung it into her wastepaper basket along with the bouquet before heavily crashing onto her bed.

Try as she might, however, she could not get rid of the snatches of memory resurfacing in her mind of a particular Thank Hestia It's Friday bar in Orario or the way she brazenly grabbed a beautiful young maiden as she was trying to escape, or the way she smashed her lips onto the others or the way she forced the girl to grab a hold of her own breasts. She was sure this memory was only happening because this was influenced by what Astolfo had said. In no way possible was this her real memory. Or so she hoped.

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Children are the future of the world. Da Vinci knew this. What they thought and what they brought with them to the future determined the outcome of the society they would live in and create. With this in mind, she began her next venture and had actively started recruiting for the new firm.

The man had gone through countless interviews and screening processes for the job. It was for the Editor-In-Chief role for a new publication division that Hestia familia was opening. It paid well and would help set him up for a comfortable life in Orario. He was neither an adventurer or one with falna and was immensely afraid of danger. But that did not stop him from dreaming and if anything this enrichened his imaginations even more.

This was how he finally found himself, sitting in the Hestia mansion, sitting across from one of the most famous faces in all of Orario, Captain of the Hestia familia, Caster Leonardo Da Vinci herself as he endured one last round of interviews with her. Finally, with a smile on her face, she stood and smiled as she spoke to him. "I think you would make a perfect fit for this role. Welcome aboard and congratulations! You got the job." She lifted her hand to shake his. "You are now officially the new Editor-In-Chief of the new publishing firm 'Shounen Marvel'."

Stan Lee was ecstatic as he stood up and shook her hand fighting back tears of joy. Little did he know that in the future he would go on to create such legendary works such as 'The Amazing Spider Dwarf' or 'Iron Elf' or classic mangas such as 'Two Piece' or 'Dragon Ball H' that would forever mould the dreams and minds of the youths to come.

'Nuff said'.

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Now please review or make any comments or even ideas on more craziness that I could add. I'd appreciate it.