Fate/Kyon's Order: The Return
A Haruhi Suzumiya & Fate/Grand Order Crossover
by Derald Snyder
Part 18: Cage of the Fallen
I'm alone. All alone.
Completely cut off. No Kyon, no Yuki or Koizumi. No Chaldea. No Ritsuka. No Artesia. Completely, utterly alone...
"-GAH!" Haruhi smacked herself on on her cheeks. "Dammit, snap out of it! I am NOT a helpless little girl!" (That's right, I'm Haruhi Suzumiya! I have the power to remake the world if I so choose! This is nothing compared to Babylonia or the Temple of Time! Get a grip!)
"You may not be helpless, but you ARE an idiot for coming here!" a deep male voice called out.
(Wait, that voice...!) "Hans Christian Andersen? Is that you?!"
"Hmph. So you know my True Name. At least that saves some worthless pratter," the small Caster said as he emerged from the shadows. "But what are you thinking, coming here outside SERAPH's boundaries?!"
"Wait, what?! I thought we were supposed to go to SERAPH's back side!" Haruhi protested, looking around. "Dammit, BB! Is this another one of your tricks?!"
"I doubt it. BB would have nothing to do with this place anymore," Andersen rebuffed. "But now that you're here, the thing that she threw away here is beginning to stir! You must find a way to lure it back into slumber! If this thing awakens fully and enters SERAPH proper, the devastation will be unimaginable! And that's saying a lot from an author like myself!"
"...another Alter Ego, I'm guessing?" Haruhi responded. Heaving a resigned sigh, she groaned, "Oh, all right... but I'm gonna give that AI one hell of a spanking when I get back!"
"It was likely that godforsaken cow that threw you here," Andersen said. "But first, it looks like you'll have to deal with some garbage Servant data..." As he spoke, several dark outlines emerged from the whirlpool!
"Shadow servants. Wonderful," Haruhi sighed. (Ugh, Kyon's rubbing off on me too much these days...) Equipping her black keys, she asked, "Hey, are we being monitored here?"
"Of course not. Data thrown here, in the Cage of the Fallen, is meant to be forgotten, not monitored."
"Good. Then I don't have to hold back!" Closing her eyes, Haruhi swung one key in a horizontal slash, the shadow servants suddenly cut in half at the waist from an unseen force, fading away soon after!
"What the-?! You destroyed them all in a single blow?!" Andersen gaped in disbelief. "How did you...?! You're not even a Servant!"
"Let's just say I have extraordinary powers," Haruhi said as she opened her eyes again. "I don't usually unleash them unless the shit's really hit the fan, but from what you said..."
"Yes, this would indeed be one of those times!" the kid author finished. "Very well, let us proceed to the bottom! Perhaps my worries were unfounded for once."
"Lead the way, Hans," Haruhi nodded, following Andersen into the whirlpool...
*Meanwhile, with Ritsuka & co...*
"What do ya mean, withdraw?!" Suzuka shouted into her cell phone. "...Non-SERAPH servants don't count? Ugh, fine then..." Hanging up, she turned to address the party... "Looks like you're off the hook this time. Seriously, though, call before you visit next time, so I can get ready for ya! Bye for now!" She vanished in a flash step.
"Bleah, she still has that Karmaphage," Tamamo Cat sighed. "Good thing she ran away..."
"That was odd," Emiya Alter muttered.
"BB telling her to withdraw? No more odd than usual," Artesia countered.
"No, I mean what she said about her Master. Apparently she's never even seen him," the darkened archer pointed out. "If she doesn't know who summoned her, then what about the other Masters and servants?"
"That IS odd," Ritsuka agreed. "Do you know anything, Meltryllis?"
"...All I can say is that the Masters aren't summoning of their own accord," Melt averted her gaze. "You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."
"Well, before that, we must search the area for Master's whereabouts!" Artesia insisted.
"I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is," Ritsuka assured the saber. "On another note, I found a new item on the shop, it looks like the key to Passionlip's heart."
"Oh, sure, NOW she puts that on sale!" Tamamo Cat threw her paws in the air.
"Whatever," Emiya frowned, "we should be able to grind for Sakura Money while we're looking for the other Master..."
"But how will we get back?" Artesia asked, seeing that Ritsuka no longer held the tickle stick.
"Leave that to me." The group turned to see Robin Hood holding the tickle stick in question. "BB sent me over here. When you're ready, I'll send you guys back to the Ventral Plane..."
"Do you know where Master is?!" Artesia growled, pointing Excalibur Morgan at the archer's neck.
"No idea. ...Seriously, I don't know! You'd think I'd lie to someone who literally took my head off?! I don't feel like repeating that experience, thank you!"
"I think he's telling the truth, Artesia," Ritsuka stepped between the servants. "We'll just have to find her ourselves..."
"...Fine." The alter withdrew her blade. "Let's go then. The sooner we find Master, the sooner we can go back and help Sir Gawain!"
"Okay! I'll come with you!" Tamamo Cat exclaimed. "Better you than Edgemiya over here!"
"...What?!" Emiya Alter grunted in mild surprise and confusion.
"She's not exactly wrong, you know," Meltryllis taunted.
"Ugh, I don't need this. I'll just go search on my own," Emiya sighed, going off in the opposite direction from cat and Artesia.
"Shirou..." Artesia sighed after he left, shaking her head. "Let's go, Cat. And try not to babble too much, or I'll do to you what I did to Robin Hood." The feline berserker squeaked at this, very quietly following after her partner.
"I guess it's just you and me now, Master," Meltryllis smiled. "Let's head this way, there should be servants that I can handle even in my weakened state..."
"Alright, but don't push yourself too hard," Ritsuka said as they went off together...
*Cage of the Fallen*
"You've been doing remarkably well, I have to admit," Andersen said as he and Haruhi descended a set of stairs. "I haven't even had to get my hands dirty, though I have little combat ability to speak of anyway..."
"You were more of a support mage back in Chaldea," Haruhi recalled. "Although I don't remember your tongue being quite so sharp, but that's probably just because you live in relative comfort over there."
"This 'Chaldea' does seem like an intriguing place," the caster admitted. "Still, having so many Heroic Spirits gathered in one place could potentially spell disaster if old rivals decide to settle grudges..."
"That's what we have the Peacekeepers for," Haruhi nodded. She then stopped upon sensing another presence. "Uh-oh, we've got more company..."
"Oh no..." Hans tensed up, upon seeing a female shadow. "We had to run into HER of all people..."
"Who is she?"
"We don't know her name, but she's known for killing servants left and right," Andersen elaborated. "One swipe of her knife, and they're dead. Only Tamamo-no-mae has survived an encounter with her. That's why we have named her... MONSTER."
(Only Tamamo survived? Too bad we couldn't ask her...) Haruhi mused, even as she took a ready stance, the female shadow coming closer...
But unlike the previous servants, her details became visible upon approaching the duo... short black hair and matching eyes, wearing a red jacket over a blue kimono...
"No way..." Haruhi's eyes went wide in recognition... "R... Ryougi Shiki?!"
The woman looked up in shock at this. "You... you know my name?!"
"What?! ...Oh, don't tell me you've summoned HER to your Chaldea as well," Andersen groaned through gritted teeth.
"I dunno the exact circumstances, but yeah," Haruhi nodded. "Hell, I summoned her rival Asagami Fujino just recently..."
"Asagami Fujino?! You're with her?!" Shiki took a step back in shock. "Then... that makes you my enemy! DIE!" She charged at Haruhi, the brunette barely deflecting her knife with her black keys!
"Whoa, stop! I don't want to fight you!" Haruhi yelled... but then she saw Shiki's eyes glow blue (Uh-oh, her Mystic Eyes...) Closing her eyes, she concentrated...
"What the..." Shiki gasped, as Haruhi's outline became glitched and distorted. (I... can't perceive her death lines?!) She grunted as her head started to ache, her brain unable to process what her eyes were seeing...
(Now!) Haruhi rushed at Shiki, wrestling her to the ground and twisting her knife arm behind her back! "Stop it, Shiki! We don't have to kill each other!"
"Argh!" the assassin grunted in pain. "I can't forgive you... if you work with Asagami...!"
"She's not like that anymore!" Haruhi insisted. "Here, I'll show you!" Immediately their surroundings faded into the appearance of Chaldea's cafeteria...
"What's this?!" Andersen gasped.
"One of my recent memories, that's all," Haruhi said as she lifted Shiki up so she could see what happened...
Shiki's eyes went wide at seeing herself escaping from Fujino trying to twist her, wrecking the tables and chairs in the cafeteria... then she saw Haruhi grabbing the esper from behind, invoking a command seal to make her stop... "It can't be... that's me!"
"That's right. I stopped Asagami from trying to kill you," Haruhi said. "Afterwards, we had a discussion and came to an understanding. Now will you stop trying to kill us?"
"...Oh, fine." Truth be told, seeing that vivid memory had sapped her will to fight for some reason. "I obviously don't stand a chance against you anyway, if I can't see your lines of death..." Haruhi promptly released her, Shiki rubbing her arm to relieve her lingering discomfort.
"I don't believe it. You actually managed to talk her down," Hans shook his head incredulously. "You are just full of surprises, young lady..."
"You haven't seen anything yet, Andersen," Haruhi smirked. "So, anyway, Shiki, how about you help us deal with the Alter Ego sealed at the bottom of this cage? Put that knife of yours to good use for once."
"Yare, yare... fine, it's not like I have anything better to do," Shiki acquiesced. "Could you maybe tell me more about the me from your memories?"
"I don't know that much, but I'll tell you what I can," Haruhi agreed. "Onward we go, Andersen."
"Fine, follow me. But you stay between me and the monster, Master," the author requested.
"Whatever," Shiki shrugged, staying behind Haruhi as they continued on...
*To be continued...*
