FATE/CATBOX FICTION
Chapter 30: Writhing Consequences
In the center of Akakor's city level, where all of the Family Tree Mages lived and did their research, a small collective of the organization's senior Mages congregated for an emergency meeting. While some of them were descendants or relatives of the 1926 Grail War's participants, others were elected to fill in the ranks as the original family heads either died or had no successors remaining. Their age ranges varied wildly for this reason, with the oldest members being around in their 60s or 70s, while the younger members were still in their late 20s or 30s.
These were considered to be some of the world's most powerful Mages, in terms of wealth and social status at least. Some of their assets outranked even the total sum of what the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower amassed throughout their generations. At least two members actually purchased entire countries, particularly the oil-rich nations in the Middle East. Sometimes the younger Mages liked to brag and compete with each other over who owned the greatest amount of material wealth, as well as how many parallel worlds they 'owned' and how much profit their 'farms' brought them.
Yet for all of this incredible fortune backing them up, no one appeared confident as they stood in a circle around the central fountain depicting the Akakor Grail War's seven Servants. A heavy uneasiness fell upon them, and the younger Mages clearly had no interest in initiating this grim conversation. It would be the oldest Mage representing the Family Tree Heads that spoke first:
"It would seem that the Tradition Protection vanished for a few minutes."
His fellow Mages tensed up. After a moment of unsettling silence, a Mage in his 30s added, "I've also verified that all contact with PW #00162B has been lost. It will take a significant amount of time for the investigators to find that world and reconnect a Gate there."
"That's the parallel world with the night fruit, isn't it?" another young Mage wondered. "That's going to skyrocket the price of Sauvignon Nuit significantly. Are you sure you didn't sabotage the Gate yourself in order to manipulate the wine market?"
"Don't be absurd. I wouldn't throw away one of our Gates for such a petty reason. Not like you, who would assassinate his own sister to gain control of PW #FFFCC9's rhodium reserves."
"Where's your proof, huh? That's right, there isn't any. If you don't have anything, then quit flapping your gums, you lummox."
"Well, just so you know-"
"That's enough!" the eldest Mage barked at his juniors, and they immediately quieted down. "This is no time for our usual antics! The disabling of the Tradition Protection should be our utmost concern right now!"
"He's right," the only woman in attendance agreed with him. "The Preservatorium was exposed for just a few short minutes before the barrier was reactivated."
"What in the world are the Caretakers doing?" a fifth Mage wondered curiously. "Maintaining the anchors at the three shrines should be their jurisdiction. I cannot possibly imagine that they would fail to notice something so crucial happening."
"Unless they willingly lowered it themselves?"
"For what reason? Our predecessors explicitly ordered them to keep the barrier activated on a permanent basis. To keep the Terminal stable, they even mandated that we successors are forbidden from entering that restricted zone."
"I am genuinely puzzled as to what the Caretakers are doing. Perhaps we need to have a word with them."
The oldest Mage said, "I attempted to make contact with them via the computers in their respective shrines, but none of them answered my summons."
"This is bad…" the woman muttered worriedly. "If the Association gets word of what is happening, they might see this as an opportunity to infiltrate Akakor while our guard is down. We must resolve this issue as quickly and quietly as possible."
"Our only choice is to personally go to the shrines with our Servants and demand for an explanation straight from the Caretakers. You will come with me to Salazere. Two of you will go to Tiahuanaco, while the remaining three will investigate Manoa."
"Yes, sir."
The Mage in his 20s turned around and bitterly grumbled under his breath, "Goddamn old fart, always bossing us around…"
Regardless, he and the other Mages stood side-by-side and raised their arms simultaneously, showing the Command Spells etched on their right hands. Summoning circles formed in front of them, and magical energy condensed over them until they materialized into a variety of humanoid beings. These were the latest generation of Akakor's top Servants, each summoned in their own class container. The seven Servants kneeled before their Masters, then stood up in silence, ready to obey their commands. With the plan agreed upon, the Mages and their Servants formed three groups and went their separate ways.
Clock Tower, London
At the same time, Enforcer 2-F was in a meeting with the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower. For such a rare occasion, she did something remarkable – she brought the mysterious Enforcer 1-A out of hiding in the Preservatorium, and allowed the catatonic child to be present for this discussion. 2-F didn't just do it for show however; she was growing more and more worried about the strange group that had infiltrated Akakor and not only killed 15-M, 18-U and the Enforcers who accompanied them to Tiahuanaco, but the experienced and deadly 22-Q as well. After 22-Q's death, she transferred all of her data directly to 2-F's memory banks so that she could update her sister on the situation. This was the very same process that 15-N used to transmit her data into 22-S' mind after her death in the parallel Antwerp.
What 22-Q revealed to 2-F was most concerning – it had indeed been 22-S who struck 22-Q down at Salazere. If she hadn't been certain of the youngest Enforcer's betrayal before, it was a guarantee now. 2-F feared that 1-A would be caught up in whatever the hell was going on in Akakor, and so refused to leave the mentally detached child Enforcer out of her sight. That was why 1-A was not present in the Preservatorium when the Chaldeans and their allies breached the Tradition Protection and reached the innermost chamber.
Other than 1-A, the only remaining Enforcer that 2-F had as a close ally was 19-Y. The secretarial Enforcer remained stationed in London this entire time, carefully observing what was happening with the organization's top Mages and reporting to 2-F regularly. By now, the dwindling number of Enforcers was becoming all too apparent with the Twelve Lords, and they summoned 2-F and 19-Y to demand for an explanation. As the top Enforcers representing Akakor and London respectively, they had to answer truthfully and concisely.
1-A remained seated on 2-F's lap, quietly scribbling a picture as her sister spoke to the Mages:
"It has come to my attention that there is a group of rogue Servants infiltrating Akakor. No doubt, they are in pursuit of the Grail Terminal."
"Have you discerned their identities?" the Mage Lord known as Gaiuslink asked.
"They are a growing assembly of Servants from a parallel universe. A single Master brought at least three Servants of her own, and then forged alliances with others as they progressed. This Master even made contact with Archer and Saber of Akakor, and possesses their own copy of Lancer of Akakor in their ranks."
"A single Master with multiple Servants, and gaining more as they journey further into Akakor?" Rufleus Nuada-De Eulphyis murmured. As the head of the Spiritual Evocation department in the Clock Tower, no doubt this stroked his curiosity. The ancient-looking man ran his bony fingers through his long white beard as he said, "I must say, the multiverse is so vast with possibilities, it almost frightens me."
Inorai Valuleta Atroholm wasn't as impressed as her colleague. She frowned darkly and asked 2-F, "Are you suggesting that this rag-tag alliance is what silenced so many of the Enforcers in such a short time?"
"Remiss as I am to acknowledge such a ridiculous notion, it is the very truth," the Enforcer replied.
"What about the Tradition Protection? Are they aware of its existence?"
"Archer of Akakor would have told them about it. I have it on good faith that he does not affiliate with the Family Tree any longer, so him divulging such information would not be an issue."
"That makes sense. Wyatt Earp wasn't the type of Servant to agree with Joaquin Uruburu's extreme policies on law and order. In fact, I dare say that other than Assassin of Akakor, none of the surviving Akakor Servants maintain their relationships with their former Masters' families. Even in Assassin's case, she would only go along with it to suit her own brutal tendencies for abusing her slaves."
"That is correct, madam," 19-Y replied. "Archer would have suggested that they target the shrines. What this group is doing after they split up is not entirely known to us, but I am certain that the Caretakers failed and are either dead or willingly surrendered themselves."
"My god!" the head of the Meluastea family cringed. "The Terminal is literally exposed now! What are you Enforcers doing!? You should be defending it at all costs!"
19-Y faced the Mage, her vapid smile barely flinching as she delivered this bad news to them. As far as she was concerned, she no longer cared. While she was speaking, she, 2-F, 1-A, and every other Enforcer dispatched across the world received a mental command directly from the Grail Terminal:
"Preparations are complete. Eliminate all witnesses, then return home, my kittens."
1-A dropped her crayon and eerily stared out the southern window. 2-F and 19-Y likewise shifted their gaze over to the same window. Their lips thinned, and their irises momentarily flashed a multitude of random colors. Although the Terminal's command was quick and to the point, it was powerful enough to override any and all orders issued to them by the Mages up to this moment. All throughout the Clock Tower, within Akakor, and in other dispatched locations across Europe, Russia, China, Japan, and North America, hundreds of Enforcers reacted the same bizarre way.
"Did you hear what I just said, 19-Y!?" Meluastea demanded angrily.
The smiling young woman returned her empty gaze to the irate Mage, then replied flatly, "I did."
"Well? What are you going to do to stop these invaders from reaching the Terminal?"
"… Nothing."
"What?"
"We don't need to do anything, because it doesn't matter any longer."
"I don't understand what you-"
SMASH!
The heavy wooden door was bashed open, startling the Mages in their seats. A crowd of over ten Enforcers, all possessing that same blank stare, marched in single file into the meeting room before surrounding the bewildered lords in a circle formation. The head of the Brishisan family shot to his feet and shouted, "What is the meaning of this!? All of you should be at your stations!"
2-F tilted her head and smirked condescendingly at the Mages. She set the mute 1-A on the chair she was seated on, then stood before the surprised lords. Then, she giggled and uttered the most sinister words imaginable:
"Didn't Atlas already tell you? The prophesized end of the world has finally arrived."
Without warning, she and every other Enforcer present besides 1-A and 19-Y summoned a variety of spears, lances and polearms, then glared at the Mages with intense and joyful malice in their eyes. While some of the attendees were appalled that their familiars who had served them so faithfully for so long were suddenly rebelling against their keepers, Inorai remained quiet and composed in her seat.
She turned her eyes toward 19-Y and demanded in a soft voice, "So this is your game?"
"Sorry, madam. It's nothing personal," the insincere Alter Ego replied with that empty smile of hers. "It's just that Mother dispatched us to fatten the pigs before sending them to slaughter."
"By 'pigs', she's referring to us Mages?"
"Of course. She hates you all so much that she doesn't even want to look at the piles of meat you will all become. As her kittens, we will subsist even on your bones, until there's naught but a scrap of you remaining to offend her senses. I will admit that it'll feel like eating raw sewage, but at least your Magic Circuits will give us enough energy to maintain our Spirit Origins."
"Hmph. We'll see about that," Inorai chuckled defiantly as she reached for the bag of sand hiding in her pocket.
"It's useless, madam. No matter how skilled of a Mage you may be, you cannot win against Servants in battle."
"I will be the one to decide that."
Inorai drew open the drawstring on the bag and proceeded to swallow the entire room in a torrent of sand that tore through the Enforcers' skin with concentrated gusts of wind!
… At least, that was what she expected to happen. Instead, the large mound of sand just dropped uselessly on the table. In a rare display of mortification, Inorai gasped and stared at the pile in shock. Why wasn't it doing anything? She was definitely using her Magic Circuits to activate her Sympathetic Magecraft! She had an extremely rare elemental affinity with Wind, Earth and Water, making her one of the strongest Mages in the world! And yet… nothing happened?
The other Mages weren't just sitting back either. They attempted to use their respective Magecraft to fight back. Some had Servants in their command, and so they tried to summon them into the meeting room. Alas, the results were all the same; nothing. Those who possessed Servants realized with horror that their Command Spells were completely absent!
"Well?" 19-Y asked calmly. "Have you decided that it's futile?"
"Gh…" Inorai gasped. "So, you intend to kill us when we are most vulnerable?"
"No, not yet. We're just here to make you watch the consequences of your actions unfold before you. Once you succumb to the despair that your mistakes have wrought upon this world, only then will we rip your beating hearts out of your bodies and feast upon them."
"What 'mistakes' are you referring to?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
2-F took 1-A's hand and told 19-Y, "You girls keep these rats locked in here. Mother wants me to bring our eldest sister to her promptly."
"Will do."
1-A's hand brushed against the picture she was drawing, and it fluttered to the ground. Inorai was able to get a good enough look at it, and she clenched her teeth in both fury and fright.
On one side of the paper was a doodle of a mischief of tiny mice colored in blue, with the word 'MAGES' written over it. On the opposite side was a gigantic cat scribbled with red crayon that took over three-quarters of the image, baring its massive fangs and claws at the small mice. What disturbed Inorai the most was the word written right next to the cat:
'MOMMY'
Preservatorium
None of the Chaldeans could fathom what they just heard Connla utter. Those who weren't with Chaldea didn't understand why the others looked so horrified just now.
Even Sade widened his eyes. After taking a moment to compose himself, he asked, "So you're familiar with us Denialists?"
"I knew it…" Connla seethed. "You're here because of Aisling, aren't you?"
"Hm. I take it you have been targeted by my benefactor as well?"
"They tried to cause an incident in a parallel version of Denmark."
"Hoh. So you're the Connla who stopped Agravain from causing an irregular Ragnarök to happen in that world."
"Aisling must have told you about it."
Sade nodded. "So they did. I suppose there's little point in hiding it any longer. Everything started when Aisling summoned me as one of their Denialists. For some reason, they absolutely wanted me to kill the Connla that had been summoned to Akakor."
"So it's not just me they've targeting. They're actually trying to kill anyone summoned with the Spirit Origin of Cuchulainn's 'son'. Do you know why Aisling wants to assassinate us?"
"I'm afraid not. All I was told was that I had to kill that particular Servant, in exchange for being given the tools and knowledge necessary to change the course of this world's future. How I went about accomplishing those tasks was entirely up to me. Otherwise, Aisling's motives remain elusive to me even to this day."
Connla frowned hard. "So with Aisling's knowledge at your disposal, you were summoned into the Akakor Grail War and started your plot by enticing Luise Brugger, Alfred Rojas, and the other Extremist Mages. But while you had Cliste successfully executed, your plan actually involved keeping her alive inside the Terminal, creating the Gates from the Runes on her brain in order to strip the Mages of their moral values. In a way, you failed to uphold your part of the deal with Aisling."
"I wonder about that," Sade murmured curiously. "Aisling was rather vague by what they meant about wanting this world's Connla 'dead'. Did it mean just her physical form? Could I keep her mind alive so that she could embrace the true freedom I sought for her? Tell me, alternate Justine. What does Aisling mean by wanting the Heroic Spirit Connla 'dead'?"
"Huh!? What else could it possibly mean!? Dead means dead! The body can no longer sustain the soul, so it returns to Akasha where it rightfully belongs!"
"I see. The other Servants who challenged you must have sought to destroy both your body and soul. So keeping Justine's mind intact was my own flight of fancy."
"Intact!? Don't joke with me! Cliste's soul has been rotting this whole time!"
Now the Pseudo-Servant appeared rather agitated. "Rotting? What nonsense is this?"
Sanson stepped forth and asked, "You don't know? Lancer of Akakor only has 10% of her sanity remaining."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"She's transforming into something entirely abnormal inside the Terminal. If we don't do something about it, she will wake up and bring calamity to this world."
"That can't be right! Aisling told me about the Runes on Justine's brain, and how they can be used to tempt the Mages! They said that if I transferred her brain into the Holy Grail, I would finally create the world I've always wanted!"
Da Vinci narrowed her eyes and smiled lightly. "Ahhh, I see what's going on here!"
"What is it?" Mash asked.
"Aisling deceived Sade! They didn't tell him about how the soul will rot when it is removed from its original body!"
Sade grew incredulous. "No! Aisling didn't trick me! They said that everything will work out if I followed their advice!"
"Sorry to say this, handsome, but you've been played for a fool. Think about it – have you really achieved everything you want thus far? Are you enjoying the spoils that the Akakor Grail War brought for you? Or are you always on the run, cursing the Mages who stole your prized technology and plotting to overthrow them someday? There's no other reason you'd be here, trying to claim the Grail Terminal before we can."
"I… I…"
"This is your last-ditch effort to create the utopia you want. But it was all pointless anyway. We stopped Agravain and his group because we knew that their interfering with history wouldn't just erase their own histories – it would destroy, or at least irrevocably alter each and every person's history. That's the equivalent of saying they were going to end the world. So if Agravain is what happens when a Denialist fails, you must be the result of one being successful. Because you followed Aisling's instructions without questioning the consequences, and no one was around to make you see the error of your ways, you wound up plotting the Akakor world's future towards certain doom."
"A… Are you saying… my ideal world… doesn't exist?"
"Yep. Sad, isn't it? Even though we've fingered you as the real mastermind behind Akakor's inevitable demise, you wound up only being a patsy for someone else's much larger game. Then again, I guess it's your naivete and inability to connect with others that made you such an attractive pawn for Aisling to use."
Sade refused to believe it. He single-handedly led this world to ruin? Did it mean that the Atlas Institute's Mages predicted the world would die in 1976… because of him!? He practically lost his mind as he rambled, "That isn't right! Aisling said that the Akakor world would prosper under my guidance! I was going to save humankind from the suffering caused by the restraints of morals and laws! This wasn't what I wanted! I didn't want to be the instigator of its demise! No, more than that… I wanted to save Justine from her life of constant sorrow and suffering! I wanted to set her free!"
Connla audibly sighed in annoyance, then muttered, "I don't buy that for a second."
"Eh?"
"Earlier, you said that you laughed at Cliste during her execution. Now you're saying you want to save her? Quit dreaming, Sade. You're a destructive sociopath who cannot hope to relate with others, no matter how hard you try. You're the worst kind of human being, but not because you commit all sorts of atrocities. All humans are born to commit some kind of sin. It's taken me a long time to realize this, but I've decided that it's fine to do something wrong, so long as it contributes to the greater good, and that one acknowledges their misdeed as a necessary evil. Even I am guilty of murdering Lady Atalante in order to save Izo's life.
"The trouble is that when certain people commit crimes, they have the gall to turn around and frame others for their actions. Real sadists aren't necessarily those that cause physical and mental harm – it's when they destroy other people's dignity, and shove all of the pain and consequences onto their shoulders while they run off into the night like cowards. Having to live with one's own sins is hard enough, but to be accused of someone else's wrongdoings is doubly disgraceful. Someone like you will never have the heart to apologize for ruining others' lives, and will happily continue causing trouble if it means having fun at everyone else's expense."
The entire crowd fell silent as they listened to Connla's speech. Roman and Da Vinci seemed especially moved by her words, and they thought about something important that had happened back during Chaldea's initial days of operation. Off to the side from the Terminal, Salieri's chest grew heavy. As someone who lived the later part of his life being accused of murdering Mozart, the pain of so many ignorant fools pointing their fingers at him and treating him as a convenient scapegoat tore his soul to shreds. Maybe those accusers weren't sadists in their own right, but their biting words and subtle gestures of disgust might as well have been the actions of a singular sadist ruining his reputation just to provide the world with a convenient villain who stole everyone's beloved Mozart from them.
As Connla spoke, Salieri's eyes became transfixed on her. All of his pain, suffering, and loneliness finally started to make sense as he listened to her, and he came to realize why he was so attracted to Cliste. He wasn't the victim of a single maniac – it was society that manifested as a conceptual sadist that laughed at him the more he agonized and cried for mercy. It was an invisible, horrifying enemy that he could never defeat, no matter how much he tried to turn that despair into armor and hide himself away in it. It deeply sickened him that someone as vile as Sade was able to escape even the death penalty and lived into his elderly years despite how notorious his crimes were, even going so far as to have a teenaged mistress while he was in his 70s.
The world was just so unfair, wasn't it?
Connla's expression turned icy as she declared to Sade, "I'll never forgive you for soiling Cliste's reputation. But at the same time, I really don't care about you any longer. Do your worst. Yell whatever you want. You can't hurt us any more."
Sade stared at Connla with defeat in his eyes. It was as if she had become a snake and bit down hard on him, then injected all of her venom into his system. Listening to his victims' screams and pleas for mercy were the driving forces behind his entire being. Hearing such cries made him feel alive, knowing he was getting away with inhumane acts that would offend the world. On top of Aisling's deception, for Connla to say that she didn't care about any of that was a serious stab to his heart. It meant that he was some insignificant bug that could be ignored in favor of something much more important. Sadism was what made him shout to the world, "Notice me!"
If he was reminded of how truly useless and unimportant he was to society, he wouldn't know what to do…
"Ah… ah ha ha ha ha…"
A feeble chuckle escaped from his throat. As Sade lost his composure, his control over the blade-winged insects waned. The dense swaths of bugs cleared enough for the others to lower their barriers or come out of hiding.
Sade's crazed eyes met Connla's chilly glare as he uttered, "Fine… If that's how it's going to be… then I can still fix this… There's still a chance for me…"
He ambled clumsily toward the Terminal. He didn't care that Connla and Cuchulainn blocked his way while wielding their spears.
"If I can join Justine inside the Terminal… I could… No, we could… escape this world… and try again…"
"As if we'd let you do that!" Connla barked and started conjuring an Ansuz Rune. The crazed Sade snarled at her and raised his arm forth, silently commanding the horde of insects to overwhelm the Celts.
Before either of them could engage in battle though, a thin lance shot from the ceiling and punctured the ground between the combatants, throwing them off of the Terminal's platform. Sade hopped off on one side, while Cuchulainn and Connla landed on the opposite side. They glanced up and found a white-haired woman they had never seen before descending upon the altar. She carried a catatonic little girl on one arm, then set her down and left the child to stand there in a blank daze while she retrieved her spear and glared at the crowd.
Lexy recognized her, and she murmured, "2-F…"
"Is that another one of the Enforcers?" Ritsuka asked her.
"She's the second-oldest among all of us, and our superior officer."
"Who's the other one?"
Lexy squinted to get a better look at the child Enforcer, then said, "I've never met her before, but I think that's the oldest Enforcer, 1-A."
"She's the oldest!? But she looks like a toddler!"
"I don't know much about her, or what her role is in Alter's plan. I've heard that if any of us Enforcers try to look into 1-A's mind, they will turn mad from the visions they witness."
2-F shifted her eyes toward Lexy, repressing all of the hatred and frustration she harbored toward her wayward sister. She pointed her weapon at her and yelled, "So this is your doing, backstabber. I should have guessed that you had a hand in leading these rats all the way to the cheese."
"That's not entirely true, but I'm not going to deny it either. And I'm not backstabbing anyone. I'm following Mother's orders just as much as you are. It's that my commands come from the 'right' side, not the 'left' like the rest of you."
"No need to explain yourself. 22-Q already showed me everything. If you really were programmed from Mother's weak, cowardly persona, then you are useless to us."
"If she's so weak and cowardly, why do you think Geal and her friends from Chaldea are here to stop her? It's because of that weakness that she asked for their help. Not like the 'left' side, who thinks she can handle everything by herself."
2-F clenched her teeth angrily, offended that Lexy would insult their creator like that. She took some deep, seething breaths to control her anger, then retorted, "Say whatever you want! Even if you brought a million Servants here, it won't do you any good! Mother has unlocked a tremendous power that will render all of your efforts completely and utterly futile!"
"What are you talking ab-?"
Suddenly, a peculiar throbbing sensation overwhelmed everyone's senses, instantly silencing Lexy before she could finish her question. Gigantic echo waves blasted from the Grail Terminal like a massive heartbeat. It wasn't loud enough to deafen everyone's ears, but each pulse rippled through everyone's bodies like smacked gelatin.
"Ungh! W-What's going on, Sanson!?" Leonidas wondered.
"Something's seriously wrong with the Terminal!" the executioner exclaimed with a strained face.
"Is it something you can repair!?"
"I doubt it! There's so much magical energy emanating from it that it must have reached capacity!"
2-F understood what was happening. She stared up at the female effigy and gasped elatedly. Soon, a much stronger psychic wave burst from the Terminal. The world seemed to stretch abnormally in Connla's vision. She could literally feel her soul being sucked out of her body. The last thing she could remember was Cliste's voice murmuring in the encroaching darkness:
"Geal… Please… come see me…"
She instantly lost consciousness, and her knees buckled as she started collapsing to the ground. Cuchulainn caught her and tried to hold her upright while shouting, "What's the matter!? Hey, wake up!"
She didn't reply. She was as limp as a rag doll, and no amount of shaking or shouting on his part would rouse her awake. He had to give up trying, so he scooped her in his arms. That was when he heard a distinct cracking sound from above, and he glared at the feminine effigy.
The gently smiling statue cracked like a broken egg. Jagged lines ran along the stone, growing more and more pronounced. A red glow emanated from the cracks, becoming brighter as the figurine lost its structure and started crumbling. Not only was the statue being destroyed, the cracks traveled through into the capsule containing Cliste's head. The fluid contained within seeped and pooled on the altar.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Sade shouted furiously. Horrified that the Grail Terminal he so badly wanted to take possession of was shattering before his eyes, he ran past the other Servants and attempted to scramble onto the platform. However, an invisible force knocked him onto the ground so violently that his body cratered the dirt all around him. He tried to get back up, but his body was too battered for him to move about.
All this while, Earp had remained silent while listening to Sade's self-indulgent bantering and Connla's dismissal of his sadistic ways. Now he no longer had the patience to entertain his most hated enemy's wild fantasies. Earp drew his revolver out and rushed toward the bewildered Sade while screaming, "RIII~IIIDEEE~EEERRR~RRR~RRR!"
"No, you idiot! Get back!" Machiavelli tried to stop him, but was too late.
2-F faced Salieri and quickly warned him, "You must retreat. If you do not make enough distance, you will be swallowed."
"Swallowed by what?" the musician wondered.
"The embodiment of human desire."
Before anyone knew what was happening, the Grail Terminal exploded into tiny fragments of stone and glass. All of the wires and brain tissue attached to the device went flying off like whips, smacking against the Preservatorium's highest walls. Shockingly, some kind of dark mud gushed out of the destroyed Terminal. Salieri was absolutely horrified by what he was witnessing, making him unable to follow the Enforcer's suggestion. 2-F used a quick Rune to propel Salieri away from the mud before it engulfed her. Everyone else reacted promptly, some carrying each other out of the path of the ichor. Cuchulainn avoided being caught in the deluge by inches, rushing away from the Terminal with the comatose Connla in his arms.
Earp, Sade, and Enforcer 1-A were not so lucky. All of them disappeared beneath the waves of evil miasma along with 2-F. Worse still, more mud dripped from the ceiling like heavy rain due to the many brain vessels hiding within the Preservatorium's walls rupturing erratically. Severed wires crackled and spewed sparks, adding to the chaos.
"ARCHER!" Maupin shrieked in despair. Quintrala and Machiavelli had to hold her back from diving into the mud.
The others managed to make it to safety around the Preservatorium's perimeter, where there was the least concentration of wires and brain matter. As Lexy set Waver down, the former student shuddered in fright and asked between clattering teeth, "Wh-Wh-What is… h-h-happening?"
No one answered him. Although everyone else was stunned by the sight of this foul liquid, no one seemed to be as mortified as Kiritsugu. His entire body shivered. Even the tiniest molecules inside him shook with terror. Why was he so frightened? The answer was pretty simple.
In the course of his summoning as a Servant of Chaldea, the only Holy Grails he helped the organization recover were genuine chalices full of magical energy. However, there had been a certain time, at a certain place, where he emerged victorious from a bloody contest with a Grail as the prize. Although the 'memory' was not present, the 'emotions' were. He knew he met something that should not exist in this world. It was something that could challenge, confirm, and contort his wish of 'saving the world' into the method of 'destroying the world to save it'. His Spirit Origin could not forget the first words spoken during that fateful dialogue:
"Three hundred people on one ship. Two hundred on another. Five hundred total passengers and crew, plus Emiya Kiritsugu. Let's assume that these five hundred and one people are humanity's last survivors."
Kiritsugu grabbed his hair and snapped at himself, "Shut up… Shut up, shut up, shut up…"
"Giant holes have opened up on the bottoms of both ships. Kiritsugu is the only person capable of performing ship repairs. Which ship should he repair first?"
"I don't want to remember… Stop forcing me to remember!"
"Kiritsugu!?" Irisviel blurted, helping the stricken Assassin stand upright.
At the same time, Cuchulainn glared at the mud with wide eyes and clenched teeth. Panic likewise gripped his sanity as his Spirit Origin recalled the terror of when the Fifth Singularity's version of Medb corrupted him with a Holy Grail. While in her possession, her desires turned the Grail into a vessel overflowing with a similar type of mud that she drenched Cuchulainn with. The ichor was the manifestation of Medb's desire to turn him into her 'ideal lover', corrupting him into an Alter who sought nothing but strength and carnage. Now a similar type of mud was gushing out everywhere before him, with Connla Cliste caught in the epicenter. Although his own experience with a tainted Grail was harrowing enough, he couldn't imagine what had happened to his daughter.
Has she been inside that mud… this whole time?
Mash noticed her allies' distress and murmured to Ritsuka, "This is bad. Even just seeing this stuff is enough to affect some of us. We need to retreat and regroup."
"I don't think we can," the Master replied grimly.
Sadly, Mash already knew this. The moment they entered the Preservatorium, they had irrevocably committed themselves to completing this mission. To make things worse, Ritsuka refused to leave Earp behind. She was the type of person who would do anything she could to save her Servants from danger. The trouble was, what could they do? If anyone attempted to step into this swamp of cursed fluid, they would either die or be warped into an evil Servant. If they tried to run outside, they would be overwhelmed by the Mages' oncoming Servants.
Luckily though, they didn't need to worry for very long. It took around a minute, but the dirt and trees rapidly sucked up the ichor. The lush green leaves immediately changed into autumn colors, and the tree bark darkened to black. Any apples growing on the trees rotted and plopped to the ground as inedible mush. The grass turned grey, and the earth became dried and cracked. Any flowers that had been present no longer existed. A strange breeze blew around everyone, rustling the dying leaves and inducing a bizarre sense of calm to the frightened crowd.
Kiritsugu and Cuchulainn's panic attacks subsided once the mud disappeared. They grew perplexed when the evil substance turned the lush scenery around them into what ordinarily would have been a beautiful late autumn afternoon. Kiritsugu panned his eyes around, then whispered, "What happened?"
"It appears the immediate threat has resolved itself," Iskandar said, then narrowed his eyes. "But…"
"Look at where the Terminal was," Izo pointed to the center of the clearing.
Everyone did so. The first thing they saw was 2-F… or rather, the former Alter Ego Servant. She was no longer a humanoid figure. Instead, she had transformed into a man-sized demonic black cat with two jagged tails. Her amber-colored eyes shone in the darkness that surrounded the Preservatorium, and drool dribbled out of her disjointed jaw through rows of massive sharp teeth. If the Chaldeans didn't know better, they would have thought it was some formless silhouette taking on a monster's form.
"What in the world?" Machiavelli wondered. "Why did Enforcer 2-F turn into a cat?"
Lexy murmured, "That is our true form. It's due to Mother absorbing Nekomata's Spirit Origin that we were able to shapeshift into humans. From there, we could easily deceive the Mages, much like what an actual Nekomata would have done. The Grail Terminal's mud must have destroyed those guises just now, not just for 2-F, but for all of the other Enforcers."
"Are you the same?"
"Yes. My real form is that of a white cat with brown eyes. However, as I was programmed from Cliste, I was able to rebel against that system."
"Cursed vermin," Quintrala scowled as she thought about 15-M. "To think I was being strung along by such detestable beasts…"
Maupin didn't care about any of that. She could only stare in abject horror at where Earp and Sade had been engulfed by the mud. Lexy was equally frightened as she shivered uncontrollably and fixed her eyes on 1-A as the child's form emerged from the mud. She almost lost her footing and stumbled, but Waver caught her. He then asked, "Do you know what's going on?"
Enforcer 1-A's eyes opened.
"Ah… It's too late…" Lexy squealed.
The transformed child now possessed a radically different cadence that made her appear uncharacteristically sinister. As she slowly floated over the mud, her features became easier to see. Her hair had turned chalk white and was cut at neck length. Her deep red eyes were devoid of life, further emphasized by the distinct bags beneath them. She wore a set of black-and-red tights and a large poncho that wrapped around her upper torso, only allowing for her legs to be seen. A bulky black hood with Celtic patterns running along the hem cloaked her face. She also possessed the familiar torture scars that used to cover Connla's body. Everyone from Chaldea was used to seeing them by now, although Waver appeared somewhat bothered by their presence
There was one thing that spooked everyone present though. Running horizontally along the girl's neck was a long scar line, indicating where she had been beheaded. The short length of her hair also matched where the guillotine marks were. Cuchulainn thought he was going to be sick. Sanson choked up, unable to comprehend that he was seeing his former ally like this. Leonidas and Spartacus sported equally disturbed expressions.
The mystery girl's boots clicked on the Terminal's marble altar. She didn't regard anyone present. She just slowly panned her eyes across the chamber at all of the people standing before her. The entire crowd of stunned spectators practically didn't exist to her. The huge chamber fell into ambient silence, as if they were standing within an endless void of hatred and death.
2-F approached the newcomer. She lowered her feline head reverently and murmured, "So it is the promised time."
The transformed 1-A gently petted her monstrous subordinate and whispered in a dull voice, "Forgive me for making you wait so long. It must have been so hard, having to pretend to be subservient to the Mages."
"Please, think nothing of it," 2-F purred and rubbed her cheek against 1-A's chest. "We are all here to execute your will. Even if it were to take hundreds of years, we knew our patience would be rewarded eventually. I am rather astounded that it only took 50 years to gather the necessary magical energy though."
"Why do you act so surprised? It was already prophesized that this world would end in 1976. You know how greedy the Mages are. They would stop at nothing to flood this world with mana from parallel worlds, all in the vain hope of saving this one from the destined Pruning. All you girls did was stroke their flatulent egos and make them fully reliant on my gifts and your services. Along with Rider, they had no clue that they were actually instigating a self-fulfilling prophecy of total destruction."
"But if that's the case, does this mean we will also succumb to the Pruning? How will you be able to do anything if you are erased from Proper Human History as well?"
"Fear not," the black-caped girl stared at the concerned Enforcer with total indifference. "I have already prepared a countermeasure for that."
2-F smiled. "As to be expected. No detail ever escapes your notice, Mother."
In the back of the crowd of Servants, Waver whispered to Lexy, "Is that the real Lancer of Akakor?"
Lexy bit her lip. She was too afraid to say it. She struggled to keep the tears from rolling down her face, but failed miserably. Sanson stared at her and demanded, "Is this Lancer's Alter that you were talking about earlier?"
The frightened Enforcer swallowed hard, then nodded.
"Yes… Alter has fully awakened…"
