Fate/Kyon's Order: The Return
A Haruhi Suzumiya & Fate/Grand Order Crossover
by Derald Snyder
Part 25: Countdown to Showdown
"Damn you, BB!" Tamamo Cat screamed. "Don't think we'll keep falling through these pits forever!"
"W-watch out down there! No one's going to be laughing if I end up squishing you all!" Passionlip yelled.
"I won't let that happen!" Haruhi cried, closing her eyes... Soon, the party hit bottom, Lip landing a safe distance away from the rest of the group!
"Ouch..." Ritsuka groaned as he picked himself up.
"Oi, Melt! Why me?!" Suzuka groaned as she pushed the Alter Ego off her. "You're too heavy!"
"Just be glad it was my body and not my legs," Meltryllis deadpanned. "Looks like we're all here. That seems oddly convenient, which worries me, but I'm sure she had a reason for it."
"Where are we, though?" Artesia asked fairly, looking about.
"This is the Cruel Thenar, the area that was assigned to me. On Seraphix, this is where they excavated oil, but they were actually looking into leylines on the ocean floor," Meltryllis explained. "Anyway, let's get this over with. Ritsuka, I want you to enter me."
"Uh, what." Haruhi hoped she was misinterpreting that statement... Artesia frowned, while Gawain blushed and looked away.
"Um, th-that's really forward of you, Melt," Passionlip stammered, "b-but don't you think you should be a little more... ladylike?"
"...I wondered why this item was on sale," Ritsuka said, pulling out a code cast.
"Ohhh, you meant enter your heart!" Haruhi realized, her face reddening in embarrassment.
"What exactly is the point of this?" Artesia inquired.
"Don't interfere. Ritsuka didn't understand at all. Not one bit." Melt rebuffed her. "But he has total faith in me. That's why I don't have to explain anything to him." Facing Ritsuka again, she then said, "Well, let's get on with it. Just be careful, okay? My body is in rough shape, but in my heart I'll be in top form!"
"I get it now," Lip nodded. "If we beat Melt inside her heart, her Karmaphage will disappear and this area will be unlocked. That's the final key. So, please, take care of her."
"Of course," Ritsuka concurred, walking up to Meltryllis and placing the code cast on her chest...
*One instantaneous mental battle later...*
"Whoa," the young Master said as he came back to reality. "Alter Egos can be... really dangerous."
"Oh, how satisfying," Melt sighed. "It's been ages since I danced like that. Sorry if I made it rough on you... but considering the enemies you have yet to face, that's probably for the best."
"It seems to have done the trick," Gawain noted, the area around the party having brightened a bit. "It no longer feels as if something is trying to chain me down..."
"I felt the same way," Artesia nodded. "...Metryllis, why are you sitting down? We have little time left."
"Yeah, we gotta find a way to the surface and then get to the planetarium," Haruhi added.
"...Where exactly do you think you guys are, anyway?" Melt smirked. "We're on the underside of the Protopia Thigh. This is my domain. Here, let me show you." With that, she pulled at something on the ground, the others crying out as their surroundings went topsy-turvy...
*Portopia Thigh*
"What?! We're back on the front side?!" Tamamo Cat gasped.
"Oh, of course! We got to SERAPH's lower level by flipping it over!" Haruhi smacked her forehead. "You can only go so far down on one side before hitting the other side! Why didn't I think of that?!"
"The church is right over there," Meltryllis pointed. "Rest up a bit before you head to the planetarium. I'll stay here. I can't move anymore. I don't want to be a burden. Just leave me. My usefulness pretty much ended when we unlocked the Core anyway."
"...In that case, you leave me with no choice," Ritsuka said, before suddenly picking Melt up in a bridal carry!
"HEY! Have you lost your mind?! My legs might tear you up!" the Alter Ego protested, turning red as a tomato.
"Stop complaining," Ritsuka rebuffed her as he began walking back to the church, Haruhi tittering a bit.
"Ha, you should be flattered that you have such a loyal Master!" Gawain laughed. "Besides, staying at the church would help you to heal, right?"
"I-I suppose..." Melt averted her gaze, still blushing furiously. "J-just be careful, Fujimaru..."
*Inside the sanctuary...*
"Where is Sir Tristan?" Artesia inquired.
"I smell blood," Shiki realized, tensing up... her gaze then went to a prone body lying on the ground. "Beckman!" She ran up and knelt beside the man... "Dead. One shot to the forehead."
"Damn you, Emiya Alter," Artesia gritted her teeth, one hand subconsciously gripping Excalibur Morgan's hilt. "Wait, what about the other woman?"
"I don't see or smell her anywhere," Tamamo Cat said. "I do sense some residual mana, though... I think it's Tristan's!"
"I see what happened here," Gawain nodded grimly. "That Archer shot Beckman dead, then killed Sir Tristan when he tried to intervene, likely giving Mable a chance to escape..."
"Wait, seriously?!" Suzuka Gozen spoke up. "But, he was, like, the last SERAPH servant other than me! Does that mean I win by default? So not cool! I wanted an awesome final battle, not having all the others get killed by rogues! I'm totes filing a complaint with the superintendent here!"
Just then, the PA system clicked on. "Attention, attention. This announcement is for everyone still alive on SERAPH," BB's voice announced. "Thank you all for killing, hating, and encouraging one another. But it seems we're all out of time. Seraphix is about to reach its final destination at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Which means... Game Over! This Holy Grail War has ended! Thanks for playing! Unfortunately, we have no winners this time. Only four survivors makes the game null and void. Final result: humans defeated. Winner: Demon God Zepar. So that's that's that! Before long, SERAPH will emerge, and you all will be consumed. But making the game impossible was pretty unfair, Don't you think? That's why I'm here with a special offer!" BB said with an upbeat voice. "Available for a limited time only! The chance to fight yours truly... BB! Any comments, questions, protests, complaints or requests should be brought to the attention of the sponsor who awaits at the Core~! As the game master that has carried you this far, I decided to make the ending especially fun for you!" The PA then clicked off.
"Four servants... Me, that dumb cat, the blonde knight, and the evil queen," Suzuka deduced.
"King," Artesia corrected.
"Whatevs, same difference."
"Right, Melt and the other Alter Egos don't count," Haruhi nodded.
"What about Robin Hood?" Ritsuka pointed out.
"Nope. He works directly for BB, so he doesn't count, either," Meltryllis replied. "Same with that blackened archer, if Mother was telling the truth."
"He's always giving me a hard time!" Passionlip complained. "I'd love to give him a taste of his own medicine!"
"Guess I don't count either, seeing as I'm garbage," Shiki muttered.
"No one is garbage here," Haruhi asserted. "This has gone on long enough. It's time to take the fight to Black Blossom herself!"
"I agree," Ritsuka nodded with a frown.
"We will have to leave you behind, however, Meltryllis," Gawain pointed out. "Are you alright with that?"
"Yeah. I'll stay here and try to heal my Spirit Origin," Melt agreed. "Besides, we can't fight BB anyway, so there's not much purpose to Lip accompanying you, either." See her sister start to tear up, she quickly continued, "But, well... I'm counting on you, Lip. Our fate is in your hands."
"Yes! This is a once-in-a-lifetime mission! I won't let you down, Melt!" Passionlip exclaimed in jubilance.
"All right, let's go!" Ritsuka ordered, exiting the church with Haruhi and the servants in tow.
Once they had left, Meltryllis muttered to herself, "...We've exhausted all our options. Lip and I were the only ones left last time. Even that alien couldn't do anything... But now it's not just us. There has to be a way out. Artesia, Suzuka, Tamamo, Gawain, I implore you: Give Ritsuka a chance to fight back. And Haruhi... I hope her putting faith in you this time was the right decision..."
*To be continued...*
