AN: This is it folks, the last of the snips I posted Pre-hiatus. Sorry it took so long to get this out to you all... but now we're back! And better than ever! Enjoy folks!
16.1
[Fate/Grand Order] [Cardfight! Vanguard]
Salem of Nightmareland - Part 2 (HelenTheMoon (Lermis))
Executioner of Nightmareland, Sanson. Grade 2. Power 6000 – absurdly low for a unit of his grade. Dark Irregulars clan. Race: Human.
And he could directly interact with the girl who just played him.
"Kamui-kun. I'm sorry, but I'm drawing you in."
Normally, Aichi did not do this sort of thing. He could draw other people in his own imagination, in Cray itself. Hold an entire conversation in front of a crowd that would be none the wiser. Ren was far more casual with it, throwing people in his world for its own sake.
However, those were shaping to be exceptional circumstances. And he could not have conversations about the loops out in the open.
Kamui's answer came in. "Alright."
Normally, this was the point where people would close their eyes. Aichi never needed to do so.
The girl – Abigail – was already there.
Kamui was looking around in the village stunned, the desolate, fairy tale-like shapes creating a bizarre sight. This entire place felt wrong, like candy and death and… something.
"Oh, hello!"
"Who are they!?"
The man who was supposed to be a card and Abigail were talking – or more accurately, the man was fussing over her. He looked far less intimidating now than he did when he was summoned.
Then again, he was carrying a huge sword, and Aichi knew from experience that even in his imagination those tended to hurt.
"Sendou Aichi… Hi?"
"Katsuragi Kamui. Now, what's going on!?"
Abigail was relentless. "We're crushing you! Let's go, Mr. Sanson!"
"I still don't know what's going on…"
Aichi, knowing that outsiders could not really hear them, decided to finally test his hypothesis. "Have you heard of the loops?"
"Loops? I'm uncertain…" That was an interesting reaction…
Abigail ignored them both. "I call Lavinia!"
She placed a copy of the card from before in the back row left to Sanson. However, this time it went a bit differently. "Abby! Mr. Sanson!"
"Lavinia!? You're here too!? What's happening?"
"You guys are loopers, is what's happening!"
The three of them stared at each other in wonder. Two little girls and a man, all paler than normal dressed in black. They looked like they had been through a lot.
"Like the branches from the tree of Cosmos… Like I saw while father and grandfather were fighting…"
The girls held hands. In the man's eyes, there was confusion and faint recognition – as if he was trying to recall a distant memory.
And then she smiled. "Lavinia's skill! When she's called, I counterblast 2" she flipped over two of her three cards "and search my deck for a copy of Silver Key of Nightmareland, Abigail!"
"WHAT!?"
(Abigail: Hand 8)
The art on the card – he barely caught a glimpse of it, but… "The same name?"
Kamui was worried about other things. "Hold up, won't you let us explain!?"
"Abigail, maybe we should listen to them?" the only adult – actual experience not withstanding – tried to reason.
"No wait, let her. This looks fun." Apparently Lavinia was the girl's enabler.
"Lavinia, why."
"Then, I call! Dum of Nightmareland, Dee of Nightmareland, and Gentleman Traveler of Nightmareland!"
Three new units appeared on the board. Of those, only two were familiar. Dum and Dee were in a row; a duo of near identical doll-like humans dressed like circus performers. Rumour had it they were siblings. The third was an… utterly unremarkable man with a black three piece suit. Somehow, that made him more worried.
(Dum of Nightmareland: Grade 2 – Power 9000)
(Dee of Nightmareland: Grade 0 – Power 4000)
(Gentleman Traveler of Nightmareland: Grade 2 – Power 7000)
(Abigail: Hand 5)
"With Lavinia's boost, Gentle Traveler attacks Bedivere!"
(Gentleman Traveler: 7000+5000 = 12000)
"Gallatin Intercepts!"
With a flash, the Grade 2 Gallatin was standing before the man in black, who had summoned a clutter of black cats out of nowhere. They were cut down in a flash by his shining sword. Neither the strange man nor Gallatin looked particularly happy about this. A moment later, Gallatin dissolved in sparkles of light.
Aichi moved the fallen unit to the drop zone. If Abigail had successfully taken out Bedivere, the row would have taken a serious hit in terms of attack power. In fact, that's probably why she did it.
"Next, Mr. Sanson! Attack his Vanguard!"
"Uh miss" said Kamui "not that you shouldn't attack, but that ain't going through unless you draw a trigger."
"I don't need a trigger! Mr. Sanson's Noble Phantasm deals extra damage against Human enemies!"
"His what!?"
That was when Aichi took a good look at the card.
[AUTO](VC)(RC): When this unit attacks a Human or Elf unit, this unit gains [Power]+2000 for every "Nightmareland" unit in your soul until the end of that battle.
"I have five cards in my soul! GO!"
(Sanson: 6000+10000 = 16000)
Yikes… most my units are humans or elves! Against a deck like Nova Grappler or Nubatama, this kind of effect would be useless, but here…
He could defend it. But.
"No guard."
Sanson seemed to take that as confirmation. He raised his sword. A guillotine manifested above Blaster Blade.
"Drive check! It's a green one!"
Kamui was floored. "A Heal Trigger!?"
"So I heal? Great! And the power goes to Dum!"
(Abigail: Hand 6)
"La Mort Espoir!"
The guillotine fell, crushing Blaster Blade beneath it. If this was real… If this was real…
"Blaster Blade!"
"I'm fine, my vanguard… Please don't worry about me…"
Aichi gulped. A guillotine… Where had those loopers come from? "Damage check. No trigger."
He placed the card in his damage zone.
Fortunately, while Kamui was also distressed, he still kept his head in the game. "By the way, missy. About that Heal trigger you just drew, those can only heal you if you have the same or more damage than the opponent. So don't forget that."
"Oh, alright! I understand."
A moment later, Blaster Blade managed to pull himself back to his feet. "What a heavy attack… Even if the attack power behind it was not that much, it was a special will in it, my Vanguard."
The man looked as grave as his job. "I execute evil to preserve good. That's what I always did."
Aichi could only nod. After all… weren't Ren's Shadow Paladins the same?
"And now, with Dee's boost Dum attacks Blaster Blade!"
(Dum: 9000+5000+4000 = 18000)
"I guard with Flogal!"
(Blaster Blade: 9000+10000 = 19000)
Even with the trigger, Dum was not enough. The performer withdrew his magical ice with disappointment.
"Alright, he blocked it!"
Abigail was pouting. "I end my turn."
(Turn 4 End: Aichi – Hand 5, Damage 4 / Abigail: Hand 6, Damage 2)
Aichi shook his head. Normally, he should be explaining to them how loops work, but they were in the middle of a fight, and Abigail was determined to finish it. And besides, nothing stops a fight.
"Stand and Draw!"
He picked the card from earlier. Now it was time to use it. "Rise once again! This is the proof of our growth! Blaster Blade Exceed!"
His avatar transformed. Not very much. His armour had the same shine as always, his sword buzzed with the same energy. Only the long blue cape showed the real change in his status. However, there was no mistaking his power and authority.
(Blaster Blade Exceed: Grade 3 – Power 11000)
"Exceed's skill! Counterblast!" He turned over one card.
"Again!?"
"I retire Gentleman Traveler!" Reluctantly, Abigail moved him to the dropzone.
Now with that unknown gone… No, it was not time to call another unit yet. Better play it safe for now. Besides, his paladins could not unleash their true power just yet.
"Here I come! With a boost from Barcgail, Blaster Blade Exceed, attack Sanson!"
(Exceed: 11000+5000 = 16000)
"No guard!" she replied with confidence. The heal trigger gave her ample room.
"Twin drive!"
"Twin Drive!?"
"Yes. Grade 3 units can drive check two times."
"That's unfair…"
"That's the tradeback for not having any shields. First check…" Nothing. "Second check." He flipped over the card and a green glow overtook it. "Heal Trigger!"
"Seriously!?"
"I recover one point of damage, and the power goes to Bedivere!"
(Aichi: Hand 7)
"Damage check…" She frowned. "No trigger."
"With Kay's boost, Bedivere attacks your vanguard! Their skills activate!"
(Bedivere: 25000)
That was way too much to defend with a 6000 power vanguard, and she knew it. "No guard. Damage check." Again, no trigger.
"I end my turn."
(Turn 5 End: Aichi – Hand 7, Damage 3 / Abigail: Hand 6, Damage 4)
Kamui cheered. "And the tables have turned! You better have something good, missy!"
"I do! You'll see it…"
Sanson and Lavinia were looking at her worried. Don't tell me… the card from earlier…
Kamui was unfazed. "This turn you'll be able to do some pretty cool stuff, so pay attention, OK?"
"Right. Stand and Draw!"
She threw a glance at her card before picking another. "Sorry Mr. Sanson, you'll have to go for now!"
"Excuse me?"
She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. The vanguard circle was glowing. "In my hand I hold the Silver Key that will open all the gates to all the worlds… Let's stand at the edge of the boundary! Ride! Silver Key of Nightmareland, Abigail!"
"Wait, Abi- AAAUGHGHGGH!"
From the circle emerged a …tentacle. Then a second. Then a third and then countless devouring the man where he stood as he vanished in a flash of light. The smell of seawater and …something else filled the air, cutting sharply through the thick sweetness of the plants. The vanguard circle shifted to one made of keys, a chalk white, skinny hand emerged through the hoop and grabbed the one made of silver, before the person crawled out of the hole.
It was Abigail. And she was wrong.
Hair and skin white as paper, eyes glowing a vicious red, in the place of her bandage was a keyhole with a third eye within. Her skinny frame was clad in nothing, her modesty only preserved with rows and rows of bowties having from her neck like some mix of a scarf and an avant-garde curtain, her hands and feet covered by some kind of gloves and stockings with so many carefully placed cuts they should be falling apart. An absolutely massive witch hat was in her head, decorated in even more bows, holding a massive black key with intricate thorny designs. The circle of keys and the tentacles twisted behind her like some kind of deranged throne, though why would one need to sit when they could float.
(Silver Key of Nightmareland, Abigail: Grade 3 – Power 11000)
All fell silent.
"I activate my skill. When I appear in the vanguard circle, all the rear guards are sent to the Soul."
The tentacles glitched, and all three of her rear guards vanished in particles of purple light.
(Abigail: Soul 9)
"Then, I can superior call one servant from my Soul. Return, Mr. Sanson."
The circle of key shone with light, and Sanson materialized besides her. "Are you alright?"
The man was panting. "I will be… It's not the worst I had… I think…"
(Abigail: Soul 8)
She frowned. It was not cute. "If I had absolved more servants, I'd be able to use my second skill… Never mind though. I guess it's this kind of game. Next…"
"Stride Generation…"
She looked at them straight in the eyes. It was not just two that were looking. "I already read the description of the cards. I know what to do."
She placed a single card to the drop zone. "I pay Queen of Nightmareland, Hartrud as the cost."
(Abigail: Hand 5)
She picked a card from her Generation Zone.
"My grandfather, my god. In my hand lies the silver key. Come from nothingness and open the lock. Moving beyond the sleep of roses, the realm of dreams, we arrive at the final gate! Stride Generation! False Administrator of Nightmareland, Yog-Sothoth!"
There was no glow this time. Just the tentacles shifting. Glitching. Turning transparent and losing their solidity, taking the shape of galaxies and the cosmos. Several iridescent globes emerged from the circle of keys before it vanished as well, rotating like planets, vanishing and reappearing in seemingly random positions like subatomic particles in quantum physics.
It was beautiful.
(False Administrator of Nightmareland, Yog-Sothoth: Grade 4 – Power 15000)
Kamui was breathless… "No way… Is that a Mythos Hacker…?"
False Administrator, Yog-Sothoth… There was definitely a story there. Since when did Mythos Hackers activate loopers? However… Right now, it's just a card.
"Do you know what to do next?" Despite her being able to figure out Striding by herself, it was still her first cardfight.
"The Heart is me, right?"
"Y-yeah…" Did she loop in as a Difrider? We'll have to check up on Chrono later…
"Alright. As a G unit, Yog-Sothoth gains my name and attack power. In addition, Yog-Sothoth's skill. When I stride, I soulcharge by three."
(Yog-Sothoth: Power 24000)
(Abigail: Soul 11)
"Yog-Sothoth gains 2000 power for every Nightmareland unit in my soul."
"What!?"
"AAAAAGHGH THAT'S WHY I HATE DARK IRREGULARS!"
(Yog-Sothoth: 24000+2000x11 = 46000)
"I call Gentleman Traveler!" The strangely ordinary man from before was back.
(Abigail: Hand 4)
"Oh man, and just as Aichi-nisan gotten rid of him!"
"I activate his skill! When he's called, if the Vanguard is "Silver Key of Nightmareland, Abigail" is the vanguard, I draw a card."
"For no cost!?"
(Abigail: Hand 5)
"I call Village Mob!"
(Abigail: Hand 4)
"Here I come! With Village Mob's boost, Gentleman Traveler attacks your vanguard!"
Just like before, a clutter of black cats manifested around the man, and with their hairs raised they rushed towards Blaster Blade.
(Gentleman Traveler: 7000+6000 = 13000)
Aichi took a long and hard look at his cards. This one, he could guard easily. But the next ones… Village Mob's skill means it'll be sent to the soul. So next, Yog-Sothoth will have 48000 power, and Sanson will have 30000. And that's without triggers… I can block one of those without losing too many cards, but if I try to guard all of them my hand will be devastated… And if I take the attack now, and she draws a critical next, it's over… So the only choice is…!
"I guard with Margal!"
(Blaster Blade Exceed: 11000+5000 = 16000)
(Aichi: Hand 6)
Abigail was unfazed. "Village Mob moves to the Soul."
(Abigail: Soul 12)
(Yog-Sothoth: Power 48000)
"Yog-Sothoth attacks."
He dropped a card. "Perfect Guard! Bringer of Divine Grace, Epona! Your attack is nullified!"
"Wh-what…?"
(Aichi: Hand 4)
"Nulified…? What does that…"
"You can do a Drive Check, but this attack won't go through."
"Al-alright… Twin Drive."
"It's triple."
"Huh?"
Kamui looked pained as he explained. "G Units have triple drive."
"Oh. Nice." She sounded so disheartened…
"Triple Drive. First check… Critical trigger. Both effects to Mr. Sanson."
Unbelievable. Her deck was incredibly responsive to her. If she draws another one here, I'll lose…
"Second check. No trigger."
He could not relax yet.
"Third check."
She took a look at the card before showing it. "No trigger."
"YEAH! Ni-san's safe!"
(Abigail: Hand 7)
No. He wasn't. Not yet.
The being continued its assault. The galaxies within the being's limbs expanded. The orbs flashed and reappeared around Exceed, charging up before exploding like supernovas, the space around them distorting. Epona arrived just in time, kicking him out of the way and taking the attack herself.
"I can't give up yet… Mr. Sanson, attack his vanguard! La Mort Espoir!"
(Sanson: 6000+2000x12+5000 = 35000)
Kamui's jaw dropped. "That skill's way too broken!"
"No guard!"
Once again, the guillotine fell, delivering a devastating blow. Aichi could practically feel the force behind it.
"Damage check. First check…" No trigger. "Second check."
He checked the card. Kamui swore under his breath. "Critical trigger." Normally, he would give the effects to the vanguard. However, this turn was already over.
"I end my turn."
Aichi inhaled. Held it for a moment. Exhaled. "When the turn is over, the G unit returns to the G Zone face up, and the Heart becomes the vanguard again."
"I see…"
She removed the card – now that he looked at it, its artwork was some kind of psychedelic galaxy with lots of numbers – and placed it back to the G Zone. The twisted Abigail was back.
"Abigail's Generation Break 1."
Huh?
"There's more!?"
"All units on my side get power plus 2000 for every revealed card in my G Zone."
"The hell!?"
(Abigail: 13000)
(Gentleman Traveler: 9000)
(Sanson: 8000)
"Your turn."
(Turn 6 End: Aichi – Hand 4, Damage 5 / Abigail: Hand 7, Damage 4)
Yog-Sothoth has excellent offense, and Abigail has good defensive skills… The longer the fight drags on, the more their power increases.
Distantly, a part of his mind reminded him he was fighting a total beginner. However, she made no beginner mistakes. And the power she brought on the table… winner or loser was irrelevant, but in this fight, he had to give all the power this deck had!
"Stand and Draw!"
(Aichi: Hand 5)
It was time.
"I pay Palamedes as the cost!"
(Aichi: Hand 4)
"Manifest before us now, my future! Stride Generation!"
A pillar of golden light overtook Blaster Blade and split the heavens. The light became a pair of angelic wings, and the roar of a dragon echoed across the skies. Its armour-like body reflected the light like the purest of ice, its lines glowing like the blue sky on a bright day. The God of the Royal Paladins has descended.
"Holy Dragon, Myriad Soul Saver!"
(Holy Dragon, Myriad Soul Saver: Grade 4 – Power 15000+11000 = 26000)
"I call! Star Hope Trumpeter!"
(Aichi: Hand 3)
With a delighted laugh, an angel girl with red pigtails and a trumpet leaped to the scene.
(Star Hope Trumpeter: Grade 2 – Power 9000)
"Star Hope's Generation Break! When my vanguard is "Alfred" or "Blaster", I pay the cost" he counterblasted one card "and superior call! Wingal Youth!"
Aichi quickly shuffled hid deck and a moment later the little blue animal from before reappeared. "With Star Hope's skill, he gets power plus 3000!"
(Wingal Youth: 7000+3000 = 10000)
"This is the power of my Royal Paladins. Our bonds give us power! Here I come, Miss Abigail! With Barcgal's boost, Myriad Soul Saver attacks! Soul Blast!"
He snatched the bottom three cards from his soul and sent them to the dropzone.
(Aichi: Soul 1)
"All my rear guards get power plus 5000!"
"All of them!?"
(Bedivere: 9000+5000 = 14000)
(Kay: 7000+5000 = 12000)
(Barcgal: 5000+5000 = 10000)
(Star Hope: 9000+5000 = 14000)
(Wingal Youth: 10000+5000 = 15000)
(Myriad Soul Saver: 26000+10000 = 36000)
Abigail looked at his cards and her hand in mild panic, trying to figure out if she could block all this. She could take one more point of damage, but no more. And Aichi had Triple Drive.
"I'll guard! All of it! Generation Guard! False Dark Wings, Angrat Bat Mahlat!"
She dropped the Heal Trigger from a few turns earlier, and the first non-Nightmareland unit made its appearance; a pink-haired succubus with draconic wings and a greatsword.
(Abigail: Hand 6 – Power 13000+15000 = 28000)
"That's not enough!"
"Angra Bat Mahlat's skill! Soulcharge! And because I have six or more cards in my soul, the Shield gets power plus 5000! And my skill gives me another 2000 from the Generation Break!"
(Abigail: Soul 14 – Power 28000+5000+2000 = 35000)
"That's still not enough!"
"And I guard! Dark Knight of Nightmareland! And Gentleman Traveler Intercepts! Now it IS enough!"
(Abigail: Hand 5 – Power 50000)
She has enough to handle two Triggers…
If he REALLY wanted, he could simply get the three triggers needed to break through just because he wanted to. He could just ask and his deck would give it to him. Heck, even if he did not ask, there was a good chance his deck would give it to him anyway. As lucky as she was with her draws, no cardfighter could compete with somebody using PSYQuolia.
But this was not that kind of fight.
An orb of holy light and lightning formed in the dragon's hands. "Triple Drive! First check! Critical Trigger!"
He was quiet for a moment. Before… "Power and Critical goes to Bedivere!" He would play like normal.
"Second check. …Critical Trigger! Power and Critical to Star Hope! Third check…"
If there was a third… He had just wasted his last few moves. He picked the card and revealed it.
"No trigger."
(Aichi: Hand 6)
His heart was crushed by a wave of relief. Thank you. For letting me fight the way I want.
The holy light collided with the succubus' greatsword, the knight's cape and the traveler's books. All three of them vanished in particles of green light, but their mission had been accomplished. Their vanguard was intact.
"Barcgal's Generation Break! Counterblast, and Barcgal moves to the soul! I search my deck for a card with "Alfred" or "Blaster" in its name and add it to my hand!"
Aichi revealed another copy of Blaster Blade Exceed.
(Aichi: Hand 7 – Soul 2)
Even as he was saying this, another thought was in his mind. In a way, the massive damage Abigail dealt to him last turn was a blessing, but… I'm out of counterblasts.
"With Wingal's boost, Star Hope attacks your vanguard!"
(Star Hope: 14000+15000+5000 = 34000)
The difference was now 19000. She had five cards in her hand and Sanson was still in the field, so she should be easily able to guard this…
The young angel prepared her trumpet.
Abigail was looking at her cards, whispering under her breath.
"…no guard."
Aichi and Kamui startled in surprise. Star Hope blew her trumpet, blowing the monstrous Abigail back.
"Damage check… The first…"
A copy of March Rabbit.
"The second…"
She picked the card and revealed it.
Draw trigger.
Damage six.
"I used too many cards…"
Her hand revealed a Perfect guard, another Gentleman Traveler, Dum, and two Grade 3s. She could block one of the following attacks with the Perfect guard, but that would only leave her with 15000 Shield including Sanson.
"I should have used the Perfect guard when you attacked with Soul Saver…" She started sniffling.
Aichi let his imaginary space gently vanish, returning the three of them to the real world. Out of the three young loopers, only Abigail was left. He reached across her table and held her hand.
"You're right. But it was your first fight. I never expected you'd be able to push me this far! You did a great job."
A moment later, she nodded.
"And besides…"
He picked a card from her G-Zone. False Administrator, Yog-Sothoth. "You have someone powerful looking after you, right?"
"Y-Yes…" A hesitant, then a dazzling smile. "We do."
"WOW, THAT WAS SO COOL!"
"That card was awesome!"
"That was so scary…"
"You have a unit with the same name as you? Man, I wish I did…"
"What was that monster? Can I see it? Please!"
"You're so strong!"
"I never heard of these cards before! Where did you get them?"
A wave of children rushed towards Abigail, bombarding her with questions.
Aichi laughed. "Even if they couldn't hear the real conversation, they could still watch the fight…"
Kamui face-palmed. "Man, I'll never get used to this." He turned to the gaggle of children. "Hey, missy! Do you have anywhere to go after this?"
She nodded. "Yes! My friends and I have the whole cosmos to travel!"
The two vanguard loopers blinked in surprise. Before they could say anything, Kamui's phone rang.
"Oh, hey Shin-san! … At Capital 1… Wait, NOW? … Oh man, Misaki is there? … Yeah, he's with me … 'Kay, we're coming. See ya."
He hung the phone with a heavy sigh. "Misaki is yelling again… Something about loading crates." He turned to stare at Abigail, who was now explaining all the skills she did not get to use to her awed audience. "Should we really leave them alone? We didn't get to explain anything… And that thing was a Mythos Hacker, right? Since when do they activate loopers?"
"That's why I think they'll be fine."
"Well, if you think so… Let's get going, Ni-san."
"Hm!"
16.2
[Fate/Grand Order]
Shooting First
The summoning chamber was stained red with blood. Sirens were blaring, and the glass had been broken. Ritsuka slowly raised his head, still shaking a bit from how violent the latest summoning had been.
Kiritsugu, EMIYA, Rin, Artoria… and Medea, who had been in the summoning control center with him and Mash today, had all whipped out various weapons and opened fire the moment the light had died down. The window was utterly busted, the bounded fields broken… and as he looked over, he saw the rapidly dissipating corpse… of someone.
About the only identifiable thing was the blasted apart cross, and the boots.
"Uh… okay…?" Ritsuka asked, still shaking as Mash was still huddled in a corner, petting Fou due to just how sudden and violent the explosions and bullets had been. "Anyone want to explain? I didn't even see who it was."
"The Fake Priest," Rin scoffed, lowering the mini-Hakkero she'd used to blast the hole in the other side of the summoning chamber.
"To be more specific, it was Kirei," Kiritsugu supplied. "We sensed him, we killed him, simple as that." he lowered the M2 Browning machine gun… which chambered Origin rounds.
"Who shot him first?" EMIYA asked, lowering the pistol he'd stolen off of his Alter version, Ritsuka idly noting that there was a point in the wall sprouting swords.
"Clearly not you," Artoria commented, also noting the swords poking out of the walls as she lowered her melta-gun.
"I'm uncertain who actually killed him. Or who blew up most of him," Medea mused, lowering her staff.
Ritsuka took stock of the damage. "...You all do realize you might have just taken the Summoning Chamber offline for like a week right?"
"Da Vinci will fix it," Rin commented, Ritsuka frowning before looking towards the unAwake Mash. "Oh… right." Da Vinci wasn't Awake this Loop.
"Front lines, all of you. We actually could have used him." Ritsuka declared, as was his right as Master.
"Wait…" Rin started, before realizing just what time of year it was. "Uh! No, anything but that!"
"You all are coming with me to visit Liz."
About two seconds later, Rin burst out of the summoning chamber, Kiritsugu vanished, Medea teleported, and Artoria just threw herself through another wall. EMIYA on the other hand just groaned, shaking his head and accepting his fate as Ritsuka grabbed his sleeve. "If you all hadn't shot him, I would have dragged him along."
"Hindsight, even after only a few moments, is a cruel thing," EMIYA complained, it actually would have been really amusing to see Kirei put through halloween shenanigans. Then killing him.
16.3
[Fate Grand Order], [Persona 2]
Eldritch Metropolis of Rumours: Sumaru - Part 1 (Helen the Moon(Lermis))
"A new Singularity?"
The sentence by itself was not odd. Ritsuka was pretty used to getting dragged through a bunch of random minor Singularities before solving all the main ones. However, Dr. Roman looking so… so was not usual. It was a mix of troubled and bewildered that Ritsuka did not like at all.
The acting director of Chaldea frowned as he proceeded to explain. "Yes. Sumaru City, Japan, towards the end of 1999 A.D. I did not even know that anything important ever happened there in the first place… I never even heard of this place before now."
Ritsuka blinked. She had never heard of any place called "Sumaru City" either. This was probably a fused loop then. Or a variant. However, she did not summon any visiting loopers… Interesting.
"What happened in this place?"
"We're not really sure. Our staff is on it… But from what we gathered, there was a serial killer on the loose, and at the same time there was a political scandal and a major earthquake that cut off the city's access to the mainland. Those are the major events we were able to find."
That was weird. A single serial killer and a corrupt politician in the modern day were not enough to alter the course of history – the fact that this happened in 1999, yet outside was technically 2018 with no changes in the baseline to speak of was proof of that.
She had to get more information.
"So it Sumaru City is an island?"
"Not at first. It was originally a port city. The earthquake was so strong that the seawater surrounded it, turning it into an island."
Mash was astonished. "Are there earthquakes really this powerful?"
Roman rubbed his head again, thinking it over. It was not his field of specialty, after all. "Well, the 2011 earthquake in Japan is said to have moved the entire country by five meters, as well as causing numerous other disasters. However, aside from Sumaru City no tectonic activity in recent years has been recorded to cause such drastic changes to the landscape. The closest I can think of is the Minoan eruption."
It was Ritsuka's term to be confused. The term was vaguely familiar, but… "Minoan?"
As usual, Mash clearly knew what Dr. Roman was referring to. "The term "Minoan eruption" refers to the eruption of the sea volcano Thera – most commonly known as the island of Santorini – that destroyed the Minoan civilization. While there are no written records of the time, it is believed that the eruption caused major changes to the morphology of the island."
"But there was no volcanic eruption in Sumaru."
"No, there wasn't. Just a very odd series of events."
Ritsuka now was troubled. "The only other singularity in the modern day was Fuyuki city, in which a Holy Grail War was completely derailed… Were there any major magic events or rituals here? That weird earthquake could have been caused by one."
"It's a possibility" agreed Dr. Roman. "Leonardo is investigating the city's history as we speak. However, there are some oddities we have picked up."
Ritsuka and Mash perked up. Dr. Roman took this as his cue to continue.
"First of all, detecting this Singularity was very difficult. Much like the Jerusalem Singularity, our instruments somehow do not function properly."
"Much like Jerusalem… Does this mean that this Singularity is trying to escape the course of Proper Human History?"
"It could. However, the situation is not exactly identical – or so the staff is telling me… Another possibility is that something is actively blocking detection, which has many troubling implications by itself. So far, the King of Mages has made no effort to stop us from detecting Singularities – our difficulties in Camelot were entirely due to the interference of the Lion King and Pharaoh Ozymandias."
"So the other possibility is that there's another extremely powerful entity in this city." Ritsuka did not like the sound of that at all.
"Fortunately, getting readings from this Singularity is much easier than it was in Camelot. Not bizarre time pockets, at the very least."
"That's good news…"
"The second point is that there is strangely high mana density in the area. Or at the very least, our readings detect something very close to it. It's not enough to destabilize our detectors any further or cause discomfort once you Rayshift, but the readings are well above average. Yet despite that, there's no recorded magus-related activity in the area. Then again, the entire orient is considered backwater by the Mages' Association, so that may explain it…"
She and Mash took careful note of this.
"So, blocked readings, high mana density. What else, Doctor?"
"The third point is related to the second, and possibly the first. There's an absurdly high number of magic signatures in the city."
"So Servants have already been summoned in this Singularity" deducted Mash.
"No… we think. Some of them could belong to Servants… But the striking majority of those signatures appear to be similar to those of demonic beasts."
He let that sink in.
Mash was astonished. "Demonic beasts… in the modern day!?"
"Granted, they're all pretty weak. At least those we detect. However, as their presence is most likely caused by the Singularity, their presence is to be expected. There are still hordes of Dragon Tooth Soldiers in the Fuyuki Singularity after all."
Ritsuka did not voice this, but in this loop she Awakened in her Kouhime identity. She did not think anything weird of this at first, but now that there were demonic beasts in the modern day… It could be connected.
"There's more, isn't there." It was more of a statement than a question.
"You're right about that Ritsuka. I have no good way to put this, but… we can't tell what's supposed to be wrong in this singularity."
Now Mash was confused. "What do you mean?"
"In all other Singularities, there's always something that's clearly wrong. Dragons attacking civilians in a place where there shouldn't be any. Magical poisonous mists killing people. An empire being taken over. And so on and forth. However, so far we have detected no major changes from how history should be. From what little we can see, everyone is living their normal everyday lives, no deviations to speak of."
Mash was now clearly distressed. "If everything's normal, why is Sumaru City a Singularity!?"
"We have no idea."
Roman looked at them dead in the eye. "We don't know what caused this Singularity, what is supposed to make this city so important, why it is so hard to detect, nothing. The only way we found out is if we Rayshift there."
Well, this loop was proving to be interesting already.
"Now, since this Singularity is unique, there are a few special preparations we need to take into account."
"Special preparations?"
"You are going to Rayshift to Japan in the year 1999. You cannot be seen using modern technology like smartphones or wearing armour. You'll have to get there in ordinary clothes and find some way to conceal Mash's shield. You'll look too suspicious otherwise – not to mention possessing arms is illegal. Since nothing is obviously wrong with the city yet, you can't really explain a shield."
"What if we say it's cosplay?"
Mash and Dr. Roman both stared at Ritsuka. "Cosplay?"
"Yeah. Anime and manga are all the rage. And Sumaru's pretty big, right? Port city and all. They'll know what a cosplayer is."
"That sounds perfect!"
"Senpai! Dr. Roman! I'm going to pretend to be in costume the whole time!?"
"If we want you to carry your Noble Phantasm everywhere, yes. But you should bring some casual clothes with you anyway. The other issue is finding a leyline. I mean, there's definitely one, but you can't count on running in someone like Dr. Jekyll again."
"That's true… So setting up a base will be pretty hard…"
"Third, there's the matter of the serial killer and the politician. With those elements in the city, you can expect heavy police presence. These are not desperate soldiers you'll be dealing with. Try avoiding a confrontation with the law as much as possible."
The two girls nodded as one. "Understood."
"Guess Fou will have to stay hidden too, right?" said Ritsuka, petting the strange but overly fluffy creature between the ears. Fou whined in response, followed by a displeased pout. "At least when we're in public." He cheered up a little.
"That's all for now. You can take your time with your preparations, but no more than two days. Think carefully about which servants you'll take with you."
"Will do. Mash, let's go."
"Yes, Senpai!"
Truth be told, for once Ritsuka had no idea who to bring along. Obviously Mash and Dantes – Mash was always coming along and Dantes was living in her mind and shadow. But besides them, at this point in the loop there were not many servants – if any at all – who was good at blending in the modern day. She had not summoned Emiya or any of the others from the Stay Night branch, which was an issue. Her being the only awake one right now was not helping matters. She had pinged when the loop started but received no response back.
She was so deep in thought that she almost did not notice when she ran into someone.
"Oh, sorry!"
"No, the fault is mine Master. Please excuse me."
She blinked. "Bedivere."
The "modest, silver knight", as the Lion King once called him. They just returned from the Camelot Singularity and Bedivere was still trying to acclimate to well… not being alive – or "alive" – anymore. Not that Ritsuka could ever blame him. He spent over fifteen hundred years hanging on to life by raw willpower just to see Artoria again. It was nowhere near as long as a looper's life, but at least Ritsuka and most other loopers had company and energy instead of being lonely half-way corpses. Seriously, fifteen hundred years… How much did he even recall from them?
Wait…
"Hey Bedivere, may I ask you something?"
He blinked in surprise before smiling warmly. "Of course. Feel free to ask me anything you want; I'll do my best to answer you."
"When you reached Avalon, what year was it for you?"
"E-Excuse me?"
Mash was over the moon. "Sir Bedivere! I am so glad you will be accompanying us!"
"The pleasure is all mine, Sir Kyrielight. Admittedly, I was surprised when Master asked for my aid, but I'm glad to be useful to you. I hope that once again we'll all work well together." Ah, Bedivere smiling. Always made your day.
"Bedi here is the only servant we have with experience in the modern day. So I figured he'd be the best man for the job!"
"Truly!? Well, I guess you did travel for fifteen hundred years… Considering when Camelot fell, you've spent some time in the 20th century, right."
"Indeed I have" confirmed the knight. "I was mostly in Europe at the time due to circumstances, but I do have some modern day experience. I know how to handle firearms and some basic technology at the very least. And I'm experienced in both laying low and dealing with demonic beasts. Do not worry about my arm either – truthfully, I did not have to cover it up before since I did not have it, but I was successful in hiding Excalibur. Airgetlám will be much easier to conceal."
Bedivere's expression, posture and voice were full of confidence. Despite all his self-worth issues, he was a damn good traveler and he knew it.
"The perfect man for the job!"
"Thank you for your kind words, Master. I'm looking forward to this."
Dr. Roman was rather stunned. "Wow, you guys sure seem confident… But will Bedivere be enough?"
"I also have Mash and Dantes, Doctor. And you and Da Vinci-chan will be looking out for me!"
"If you say so…"
Mash looked around. "By the way, where is Da Vinci? It's odd she's not here."
"Here I am! Da Vinci the wonderful genius, arriving fashionably late!"
Speak of the "devil". "What are you carrying there, Da Vinci?"
"New Mystic Codes, of course! For you, Mash, and Sir Bedivere!"
"F-For me?"
"Lady Da Vinci, you really didn't have to-"
"Oh, but I did. Like we already said, the two of you can't run around in armour all the time, can you? But you do need protection. So I prepared those Mystic Codes for you~!"
Hesitantly, the two knights opened the packages. The two codes looked like late Autumn outfits. Mash's was a grey windproof jacket over a pink turtleneck sweater and black jeans with matching boots, while Bedivere had a white leather jacket with a green dress shirt, a black vest and black jeans, again with matching boots – though those could be worn under the jeans.
"They're not too pretty I'm afraid – but they're fitting for the weather, easy to clean and fight in, and I put all sorts of enhancements on them! Shielding, healing, protection from status effects, and you can even conceal your Noble Phantasms! Airgetlám will look normal, and Mash's shield will be invisible. You better appreciate them!"
"Thank you, Lady Da Vinci" replied Bedivere with a bow.
"Thank you, Da Vinci! We'll be sure to treasure them!"
The genius looked as smug a cat eating cream. "You better do! Now, put them on! We can't have you accidently running into someone while clad in armour first thing! Oh, and Ritsuka. Here are some yen circa 1999. Around 100.000. Forging money is easy!"
After a few minutes, an awkward looking Mash and Bedivere emerged from separate rooms in their brand new mystic codes.
"You look good, Mash!"
She blushed. She was adorable. "Th-thank you Senpai."
Bedivere was shifting around a bit. "I guess I should be thankful that men's basic apparel has remained unchanged… These are quite comfortable. Shall we proceed with the Rayshift, Master?"
"Yep! Let's go!"
Singularity S
Eldritch Metropolis of Rumours: Sumaru A.D. 1999
The Sinner from Beyond
16.4
[Fate/Grand Order]
The Battleship Skybreaker (Zodiac4927)
"Oh"
"My"
"God"
These were the words of Mash, Altria, and Ritsuka as they the three stared at what should be a relatively large hanger with the Shadow Border.
Instead they see a massive hanger with many robots and in the center was this massive battleship loaded with all kinds of guns. It was black with gold lines, had five engines in the rear, five huge guns on the deck, two in the back three in front, multiple smaller guns on the side, and the Chaldea emblem on both sides. It was twice the size of the Storm Breaker.
"Da Vinci, how the hell did you make this?" Asked Mash.
"It was easy! I went to Star Wars and Starblazers and got the tech from them! I enlisted the help of Tesla and Edison along with Nobunaga! And behold, I introduce to you Battleship Skybreaker! This baby take hits from anti-fortress noble phantasm with ease and can blast out massive lasers that can damage the Olympians! This is possibly one of my greatest works yet!" Said Da Vinci.
"Oh this is gonna be so much fun!" said Ritsuka
And thus, Chaldea began flying through Lostbelts with their new warship, blasting Ivan the Terrible and Sutr away, laying waste to SIN armies, and going toe to toe with the mecha gods.
16.5
[F/GO] [The Nightmare before Christmas]
The Santa Wars: Christmas Strikes Back
Part 1 (Conceptualist)
It had started out normal. Chaldea blew up, Ritsuka ended up in the burning Fuyuki singularity, and things stuck to the rails from there. Fight through the shadow servants, help Olga Marrie summon some back up, and lead whoever shows up to destroy the Fuyuki singularity and claim it's Holy Grail. Lev was a dick about it, as almost always.
Orleans was about as normal as it could have been. It wasn't until what should have been the Nero Singularity that things went… different. As usual these days.
Arriving after the Rayshift, Mash was unable to pinpoint where in the timeline they had arrived. It was cold and snowing inexplicably, as there wasn't a cloud in the moon-lit sky. Exploring the forest they found themselves in didn't lead to much.
Until they were ambushed by Snowmen.
"Yes, we're connected! The picture is a little snowy, but… Uh... am I seeing this right?"
"Seeing what right Doctor?" Mash asked, smashing the head off of another Snowman.
"I..." Dr. Roman pauses, scratching chin on the hologram. "I guess let's call it a sleigh of Snowmen? Walking snowmen golems!"
Ritsuka, ducking his head under a thrown snow-boulder, piped up. "How about a flurry of Snowmen?"
"A hail of Snowmen!"
"A blizzard of Snowmen!"
"Unleash the Noble Phantasm! 『Lord Chaldeas』!" Mash screamed, throwing back the collective noun of Snowmen into the snow banks they were assembling themselves out of. "Stop pontificating and help me!"
"Sorry," the two chastised people muttered. Dr. Roman disconnected as to not distract anybody.
Ristuka took the brief moment of respite to plan. Nodding confidently, he rejoined Mash and then the flight was back on. It wasn't long before the Snowmen had been plowed and done for.
After the fight, Dr. Roman called back. "Don't rest yet! I'm picking up two massive energy signatures. Whatever is going on, it's close by and it's getting dangerous."
"Senpai..." Mash turned worriedly to Ritsuka . She always did start out a little overprotective at the beginning of a Loop when Unawake. "Should we leave and find out when we are first?"
Ritsuka shook his head. "This might be our only lead."
"RIDER!"
Altria's sword clashed with a strange green substance the opposing servant was using as a whip. Waking Up in the middle of a fight was always a little disorienting, and she had barely begun to parse her Loop Memories before getting thrown back by an explosion.
"We can't do this, Rider! It's not right. Please, snap out of this madness," the servant who had just exploded her begged. He was dressed all in red, thin as a reed and white as a bone. Actually that was bone. Across from Altria was a skeleton in a Santa Suit, with Santa Hat held forlornly in one hand and the goopy whip thing wrapped around the other.
Then the Loop Memories finished kicking in, and Altria (Santa) Pendragon realized what the hell was going on. Santa Ruler over there had just finished kicking her out of… Thanksgiving Town? And why was she her Santa-alt? 'Okay, maybe I still don't know what's going on.'
Going with the flow for a moment, Altira dramatically pointed Excalibur Morgan at the Ruler and let her Loop Memories guide her. "You think you can stop Christmas, Ruler? When you yourself are one of its patrons?"
She knew Ritsuka's crazy 'Let's invade a Lostbelt with Christmas' plans were going to bite them in the ass someday. Hopefully this Loop was just going to be a one-off and not a trend.
Ruler gripped his Santa Hat tightly. "You don't know the havoc this will cause. Turning other holidays into Christmas…" He threw the hat down on the snow between them. "Not only will you remove every other holiday from the timeline for the sake of this Eternal X-Mass Plan, depriving everyone of the joys each separate holiday brings children around the world, it goes against the True Meaning of Christmas!"
'Wait, is that what we were doing?' Altria realized. 'My Unawake self just wanted some turkey and didn't pay attention to the evil plan at all.'
Well, no time like the present to flip the script. "You speak the truth, Ruler." He actually seemed surprised at that one. "There is more than merely Christmas, and there is more than just holidays. If you shall stand and fight against Christmas Tyranny, then I, the Christmas Tyrant, will aid you."
"Wait, that worked?" Ruler asked, dumbfounded. He hesitated, and broke out in a happy smile that stretched much too far across his skull. "Then I'm glad to have you on board with the War on Christmas."
Ritsuka and Mash had obviously tried not to interrupt, but Altria spotted them lurking behind a tree, just outside the blast radius of Ruler's present-bombs. "Be you friend or foe?" she yelled out to them. 'Rits is obviously Awake, as he looks like he's more surprised to see me as a Rider than to see me at all. And Mash probably isn't, judging from her unpolished guard stance, so I'd better keep up the act.'
"Friend, hopefully," Ritsuka replied. "I hope at least one of you knows what's going on around here, I'm a little out of the loop."
Altira froze. Ritsuka froze.
Absolutely nothing happened because of Ritsuka's unintentional choice of words, which definitely weren't intended to be part of some sort of poorly designed code words with deep cosmological implications. Mash and Ruler didn't even notice Altria's and Risukka's bout of internal fear and panic.
With a grandiose bow, Ruler introduced himself. "Jack Skellington, Ruler Class servant, at your service. Pleased to meet you."
"Mash Kyrielight, Shielder," she stated, lowering her namesake shield from it's guard position. "This is my Senpai, Ritsuka."
Altria mentally shook off her surprise at still being alive. "Altria Pendragon, Rider."
"So," Ritsuka began. "What was that about an Eternal X-Mass Plan?"
The Eternal X-Mass Plan was as simple as it was diabolical. In this world between worlds, there were six doors to each of the Seven Foundational Holidays. Created out of human faith and belief, they personified the very spirit of their respective Holidays. And as a representation, what happened here could affect all of human existence if improperly handled.
Somehow, a Santa Servant from Christmas Town got their hands on a Holy Grail and began summoning other Santa Servants to invade the other six Holidays. Today was supposed to be Christmas Eve, but if Christmas Day came and the other holidays were still under the control of Santas, Christmas would never end ever again.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a convention leyline laying around and there wasn't time to find an inconvenient one. And so, the four were forced to split up. At first Mash refused to let her Senpai go off on his own, but when she heard what servant Jack wanted him to confront…
Jeanne Alter Santa Lily just doesn't sound intimidating when Jack describes her. She's just a little kid, after all. Even if she still is a servant. Ritsuka was just glad she was going into Valentine's Town alone. With how his love life tended to get, going there Stag was for the best.
And there Jeanne was, running around, terrorizing all of those… 'Are those supposed to be cherubs?' Considering it was Valentine's Day turned into a town, little mostly nude winged baby people flying around were probably a given. The architecture was nice, at least. A huge hedge maze surrounding the place, fountains and marble pillars everywhere, and a cute little town that looked like it consisted of almost nothing but hole-in-the-wall cafes, bars, and various fancy restaurants.
The place looked like a warzone. Strings of lights were thrown over buildings haphazardly. Tinsles was everywhere. The left side of the hedge wall surrounding the town was decorated like it was a Christmas Tree, and the right like a Christmas Wreath.
Jeanne wasn't having much luck convincing the cherubs to come down and stop flying away every time she got close. Ritsuka could tell Jeanne had been crying recently, from the tear stains upon her face. But that all stopped when Ritsuka approached and stepped on an errant Christmas Cracker, which exploded with a loud attention grabbing POP!
"REINDEER!" Jeanne shouted, tackle-glomping Ritsuka off his feet. "They- They said- I-" she sobbed. "THEY DON'T WANT CHRISTMAS!"
And thus was Ritsuka occupied for a long while, calming and reassuring an upset and emotional Jeanne Alter Santa Lily. The glares from the cherubs in the distance didn't exactly help with that job.
16.1: Card Games get werid
16.2: Let's face it, we'd all have shot him.
16.3: A land where rumor becomes reality... well shit.
16.4: Pew-Pew Ship side!
16.5: 'Spoopy month getting a Christmas episode.' - Conceptualist
That's all for today everyone. It's been a while, but I hope you wait warmly. There's gonna be more to come!