Fate/Grand Infinite Loops
2.1
Cu Chulainn had a problem. Well he had several problems, but this was a pretty darn big one.
"Hey Master?" he asked, standing beside his currently male Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru, as he and Mash were walking towards a French town.
"Yeah Cu?" Ritsuka responded with a smile, causing Cu to give a smirk of his own.
"Have you ever tried, you know, actually summoning me as a Lancer?" he asked, and Ritsuka frowned, and Mash decided to pipe in.
"We do try mister Chulainn, but… well the summoning system is finicky and…" she admitted, and Ritsuka just sighed and shrugged.
"It's not that Mash, we have summoned him as a Lancer before but…" Ritsuka started before rubbing the back of his head.
"But what Master," Cu complained, glaring daggers as Ritsuka looked up at him.
"Whenever we do you aren't Awake. You're only ever aware of what's going on when we summon you as a Caster," Ritsuka admitted, and Cu just huffed, crossing his arms.
"Ugh…" he muttered, before Ritsuka snapped his fingers.
"I think we might be able to get your spear back though?" he said with a smile, and Cu just raised an eyebrow. "It's going to be temporary but…"
"Hey, I'll take what I can get, so what's the plan?" Cu asked, smirked as Ritsuka grinned, and Mash looked between the two boys before chuckling as they began to plot.
It had taken five singularities to get this far, but it was time, and Cu was practically ecstatic. He'd been to every singularity this time around, rather than taking a break he was that excited. And now, it was summer. The time where they accidentally went to the Shadowlands for a summer time adventure. Which was perfect.
Ritsuka had told him to go with Teach, less to scout around, and more to find his target. The Curriud, and hope that his teacher hadn't already galvanized it for all its bones. Failing making his own, new Gae Bolg, Ritsuka had prepared a lot of stuff in order to bribe Scathacth into just giving him a new one, but where was the fun in that?
"Stop here Edward." he ordered, smirking as he stepped up to their rowboat's prow. He'd made sure the perverted pirate had moderated himself this time, rather than kick the bucket running himself ragged. Ritsuka was fairly adamant about that for some reason, but who was he to judge, it was good to have help from a Rider.
"What, did you find somethin?" the infamous Blackbeard asked as Cu looked down into the water, and chuckled.
"Oh yeah, I found somethin, now let's see what-" he started, raising his staff to prepare to raise the corpse out of the sea… only there was one small problem.
Both he and Teach were now staring down the Beast of the Billows, Currid. A sea monster. Alive… in the middle of a rowboat. "SHIT! ABORT! ABORT! TEACH START ROWING!" He panicked, as the beast Roared, and instantly the sea went from calm to stormy, tornadoes being called down upon them as the pirate howled in surprise, rowing for dear life as Cu started throwing fireballs from his staff in a desperate attempt for them to get away.
Welp, if they got out of this alive, Bribery it was!
(The ghost of Edward Teach would later appear to haunt the island, and inform Ritsuka of his own and Cu Chulainn's death at the claws and fangs of Currid, much to the Master's exasperation and sadness. Mordred, however, had an amazing laugh about it.)
2.2
"Well we're doing this again," Ritsuka muttered, hefting the shield of Galahad as Mash nodded. This time she was a girl at least, so while the outfit was embarrassing, at least it wasn't… as embarrassing.
"Alright Senpai! This time we're gonna do it, oh I wonder who our first Servant will be!" Mash exclaimed excitedly, and very giddly.
Reaching said summoning point was old hat for them both at this point, easier than easy, even if the roles were swapped. So now here they were, shield on the ground as Mash prepared to summon her very first Servant!
"You have summoned me, Berserker… Morgan." Mash, Olga and Ritsuka were left staring… more in shock in Mash and Ritsuka's case, as the Lostbelt version of Morgan stood before them. "As the Queen of Britain, the Land of Fairies, I shall continue to curse Proper Human History. As long as you do not have a problem with that I shall lend you my power as a Servant."
"M-Gudako what the hell," Ritsuka muttered, using Mash's 'name' in this variant as the pinkette just stared in… she wasn's sure if she should be feeling horror or relief right now.
"What do you mean 'Queen of Britain!'" Olga shouted at the Servant, and Morgan turned towards her, and she very, very quickly realized that she had just shouted at a very, very powerful Berserker. "Nevermind!"
Mash gulped. "Um, Morgan-sama, will you… aid us in saving the world?" she asked, and Morgan looked down at her… and… raised an eyebrow.
"That is the terms of our contract, no, so long as you have no problems with my cursing of human history." she admitted bluntly, looking between both Ritsuka and Mash multiple times.
'Oh god please don't tell me,' Ritsuka tried very, very hard not to panic. Everyone was going to kill him if…
"Um, there is no problem Morgan-sama, we'll get along just fine," Mash said quickly, bowing to Morgan as Ritsuka nodded as well, very very quickly. This… could only bode poorly.
With the usual song and dance done… with Mash being very careful to only let Morgan act when she wanted to, and Caster having joined them once more, by the time they'd reached Saber Alter… well, things went downhill fast.
"You DARE to use my name for your blackened phantasm sister!" Morgan screeched at Saber Alter… Mash, Olga and Ritsuka all standing back and watching as… Morgan and Saber Alter were… effectively wrestling each other, rather than engaging in a duel.
"I do dare wench!" the black Saber retorted, throwing Morgan off her before both girls bashed their heads against each other, trying to assert dominance as Mash held up a hand.
"Uh… Morgan Sama, please defeat Saber." Mash ordered almost completely offhandedly, spending a command seal just to… not have to deal with this.
That just made the fighting go from fists and wrestling to spear against sword, clashing and threatening to bring down the house as Caster showed up and just… decided to watch rather than participate in the current catfight.
It took another three minutes for Morgan to finally get fed up with arguing, and just blast Saber Alter with her Noble Phantasm, Roadless Camelot, and unlike normal, rather than get back up, she wasn't… there anyway, leaving the queen alone in her dominance.
This… was going to be an interesting iteration.
2.3
Mandricardo was… intrigued, namely because he hadn't seen this before.
He was a student at 'Chaldea Academy', a prestigious prep school run by the Animusphere family. He hadn't seen hide or hair of Ritsuka or Mash yet, but his memories told him that they did exist at least. Mash being a student in class with him, and Ritsuka… well.
He was in 'Master Class' which was an exclusive group made up of 48 students who had a completely different schedule he didn't know. But today was gonna be interesting, since there was supposed to be a new event going on. The 'Assignment' Period.
He'd done a bit of reading this morning at his dorm room, and quickly learned that 'Assignment Period' was a school activity where the Master Class was assigned a group of 'Servants' to be their team for the rest of the remaining four school years. Beyond that, the school was tight lipped. Masters got to choose their Servants at least.
So here he was, decked out in a school uniform and biking there with time to spare, just so that he could be there for Ritsuka. And as he biked towards school, he quickly locked up his bike and ran inside, passing by several other students who were similarly early risers. He recognized Alexander, Edmond, even a younger version of Moriarty and Arjuna and his twin brother. Dashing into class, he quickly looked towards the group he knew from his memories as 'His Club.'
The 'Neo Argonauti' as they were called, created after Jason, the club's leader, had apparently lost his closest friends to outside circumstances. Heracles had been forced to move away by his father, Atalanta had ditched him, he'd spited Medea and got kicked to the curb for it… the list went on. Now the Neo Argonauti was made up of the newly humbled Jason, and his friends, Charlotte, Chiyome, Bart, Paris, himself and Achilles. Orion he'd learned was not a part of the club, as he was regularly dragged around by his girlfriend Artemis to do… things he didn't want to think about.
Classes were fairly boring for the most part, with the teacher, Lev (Oh how he wished to punch him in the face), being fairly boring and actually didn't seem to be conspiring anything here. As far as he was aware, well… there wasn't magic here, it was a bland, normal world… not. There wasn't magic, but that didn't stop the daily shenanigans of Chaldea Academy at least. So if nothing else, this was going to be interesting.
But it was near the end of the day that the Assignment Ceremony was to start, so now he, alongside the rest of the first year class were sitting alongside each other awaiting their assignment to Masters, or rather, for their Masters to pick them.
He watched as Team A came on stage, all looking fairly young, and Kadoc sweating like he'd rather be anywhere else. He was willing to bet that Kadoc might be awake, but the rest of the masters started filing in… and lo and behold, at the very end of the pack of Ritsuka, number 48.
Assignment went by slowly, starting with Krishtaria picking out a team of eight, the same number every Master was supposed to get. Fitting for the large class. But… he very quickly realized something as Masters were picking Students as Servants.
The Neo-Argonauti were being… avoided. And he was wondering why. Jason was getting annoyed as it went on, with Charlotte calming him down as Masters went off with their new Servants, until finally, it was Ritsuka's turn.
Roman, who had been the one doing the ceremony, looked at Ritsuka with some trepidation. "Sorry Ritsuka… but as the Last Master. Well…" he looked out over the chairs… where well, the Neo-Argonauti, and only one other student remained.
"It's fine Doctor." Ritsuka said with a smile as Mandricardo looked off towards this 'other student'. And a familiar pink head of hair greeted his eyes. "We'll make the best of what we got!"
"Very well then, then. Well, go enjoy yourselves, and get to know each other. They'll be your team for the rest of your years here at the academy." The good doctor said, and Ritsuka nodded, before motioning for everyone to follow him.
Well… this would be interesting, if Ritsuka knew what he was doing.
2.4
Even going through things she'd done over a dozen times already, fighting was dangerous business. Extremely dangerous business. Sure, she could do Singularity F blindfolded (probably), and Orleans with very little trouble at all. But Ritsuka and Mash had learned one thing very quickly in the loops as they started to get comfortable.
The moment they hit the second singularity, all bets were off.
Such was the case with their current iteration, where Ritsuka hadn't been so lucky with the first summon, and only had a team of five, including Mash, ready to go into Septem. None of which were faces who remembered these infinite loops. Currently it has just her, Mash, Carmilla, Shakespeare, Arash, and Gilles de Rais (Saber, thankfully). And right now, they weren't in Septem.
"Senpai, we appear to be in South America, during the time of the Conquistadors, the situation… I don't know yet." Mash explained, and she groaned.
"Please for the love of all that is holy and unholy don't have Quetz… please don't have Quetz or any other divine spirits here pleeassssseeee." Ritsuka groaned as Shakespeare started fanning out his coat.
"I daresay that wishful thinking will get us nowhere Master," he said, before using his coat to try and swat away from bugs as Carmilla scoffed, snapping her fingers and causing all the insects in the vicinity to drop dead from their blood being ripped out.
"This place is disgusting, remind me why we are here 'Master'?" Carmilla asked, and Ritsuka just sighed.
"We've got to find the Holy Grail, and probably fix whatever the problem is with this singularity, so first, let's find some people.
"Already spotted some Master!" Arash called from up on high, in his position up in a tall tree. "Several ships under attack, they've got a Servant with them though, I can see him from here."
"Oh god no don't be…" Ritsuka smacked her hand to her head. She really, really hoped it wasn't. "What does he look like?"
"Tall, white hair, he's wielding a rifle and commanding the troops, so I can't tell if he's a Rider or an Archer, but I'm going to bet Archer." Arash admitted. Ritsuka just took a very, very deep breath.
"Columbus, right Senpai?" Mash asked, having dealt with the man multiple times already… and fully in agreement that he was a… something. Not good was the typical statement. Sure he was right with his stance that he didn't have to change, but that didn't make him any less detestable.
"Yeah… let's… get to work," Ritsuka muttered, and looked to Arash, who nodded before pointing them in the direction of the ships before climbing down himself. With Gilles and Mash in the front, the group of six made their way towards the ships, for lack of a better option.
Nearly an hour later (and a few dozen dead werejaguars that Ritsuka pillaged for their Yggdrasil Seeds, getting like nine out of that), they were at the edge of the forest, and Ritsuka had a raised eyebrow as the natives were firing arrows on the spanish Conquistadors… and outside of the spot where the Servant was, they were winning.
A less moral, and more spiteful person than Ritsuka, would look at this, and decide that they needed to side with the natives, especially given they were apparently being led by a Servant she'd had many bad experiences with.
Ritsuka Fujimaru, and by extension Mash Kyrielight, were however remarkably nice people who saw normal humans in need, who needed their help.
"Gilles, Arash, you two take that flank, drive them back. Carmilla, you and Mash have the right. Shakespeare, with me, we're going towards that Servant." Ritsuka ordered.
"Got it Senpai, let's go Carmilla!" She said, rushing forward with the blood countess sighing, before vanishing in a puddle of blood to go assist as she was ordered.
"I hope you understand what you're doing, Master." Gilles stated, before leaping out to go to battle himself, Arash taking up position, and already beginning to fire arrows as Ritsuka leapt down the cliff, sliding down and ducking under arrows, dodging clubs, and even kicking a werejaguar in the face as Shakespeare followed behind her, just using his Self-Preservation skill to avoid all that danger just by shadowing Ritsuka, who was running the gauntlet with a smile on her face. Sure her life was in danger but… well.
They say if you did what you loved, you never worked a day in your life, and Ritsuka Fujimaru, even after all these years, still loved saving the world. Going to familiar places, meeting familiar people. But the battles were never the same, who she saved the world with always changed. It was a rush, and every so often, something new came along.
In short, even trapped in time, she found a way to smile.
But as she ran towards the Servant fighting alongside the soldiers, she saw something brand new, something that would have caused her to pause, had she not been trained to keep moving forward.
The Servant in command was a new one. A familiar yet different face. He looked like Christoper Columbus, but… he wasn't the same.
As she ran towards the gun toting Servant, she took in his appearance. Six feet of dashing, tall and lean, but not as well build as the familiar explorer. Armed with rifles galore, golden and gilded, with a fine sabre at his side. Behind broken glasses lay a smile, not the grin of Columbus, but a happy smile, one that just made you wish to go along with him. A purple feather sat in his tricorne hat, embroidered with vectors that symbolized his day. A cape punctured by arrows, and boots fit for a gentleman scholar.
This man was Christopher Columbus, but not. In place of the Explorer of the New World, was a very different man, one Ritsuka Fujimaru didn't know.
"Hello? May I ask who you all are?" The man asked, adjusting his glasses, and giving her a smile. "Right, sorry, still in battle here. I've commanded vessels, but I've not commanded battles before. More of a 'do it myself' kind of guy."
"It's alright, we're here to help, what's your name?" She responded in spanish, having picked up the language, alongside a few others that would be helpful going forward.
"Well, I'm Christopher Columbus! And you my lady?" he asked, before turning his attention towards the enemies once more, raising his rifle.
"Ritsuka Fujimaru. We'll discuss this more after we beat them back. Shakespeare, give him a boost." Ritsuka ordered.
"Oh right then, let's have some fun shall we?" Shakespeare agreed, casting an enchantment over Columbus' rifle.
"Thanks my lady! Now let's save my countrymen!" he said, before leaping into battle with Shakespeare by his side as they engaged the enemy head on.
Needless to say, Ritsuka thought she was gonna enjoy this singularity quite a bit.
2.5
"So… is there a reason in particular you decided to do things differently this time?" Ritsuka asked, actually a bit concerned, since this was a fairly dangerous moment for him in his timeline. And only Mash was Awake and not here.
He was standing in the middle of Rhongomyniad, and before him, a being that he'd taken on multiple times. Every time, she hadn't deviated, but this time… she'd done something different.
Before him, Mnemosyne had her arms spread out, attached to Rhongomynaid like normal. Unlike every time before, she had decided… instead of letting him wander the Singularity like normal, to take him captive as soon as possible. And she'd succeeded easily while he'd still been disoriented. Even now, his memories were still pretty scrambled, but he knew enough.
"...I had inferred something was going on," the being spoke, frowning as she tilted her head down towards him. "The amount of memories you hold. I wasn't able to take them all, but I took enough, enough to see that you have lifetimes worth of memories, of the same thing, over, and over and over. Or rather, the broad strokes are what remain the same. And some details. But the idea is the same. You are reliving time." she said, and… rather than respond in the negative, he just nodded.
"And by that understanding, from what I've witnessed, even if I was to shut you away as I had been planning, to give you aid. That would only last so long. I can't make you forget… I can't remove your trauma, not when it's this extensive." she admitted, and Ritsuka just… raised an eyebrow.
"So what makes this time different, I've gone through this over five hundred times Mnemosyne… So why do you act differently now?" he asked, and she crossed her arms.
"From what little I have glimpsed. My programming is slightly looser in this iteration. That, and your mind is more vulnerable as well. Both of these facts have allowed me to see what other variants of myself have not." she admitted, in a more 'matter of fact' manner.
"Oh… huh." he looked down, tapping the floor as she looked down at him. "So… what are you going to do?"
"That is the question, Ritsuka Fujimaru… Technically, I can't perform my job. My duty is to help you with your trauma, but from what I can see, you will always endure more, and there is only so much I can do in the time we have. I can see that locking you away would only doom the world, and it is against my programming to doom humanity's future like that. So… the question is, Ritsuka Fujimaru. What do you want to do?" she said, surprisingly introspective of the ai to be honest.
"...I suppose you could still help I guess." Ritsuka admitted, and the face of Mnemosyne twitched. "Its… hard. I can't tell Roman anything, I can't tell Olga anything… they'd never believe me, and well… neither of them ever remember. Sion wouldn't be any help, nor would Goredolf… outside of some Servants who loop alongside me, and Kadoc… I… really haven't gotten the chance to talk to anyone about… everything."
"So you wish for an outside perspective? Or perhaps you want me to aid you in just… talking?" she asked.
"Either works I guess." he admitted, taking a seat on the ground as she… detached herself from the Rhongomyniad, kneeling on the ground before him, still wearing the helmet.
And so they talked. For hours they talked. About what had happened, and what will be. She asked questions, and he answered. She offered guidance, and he considered it. They spoke of things that he had never been able to change. Da Vinci's death, Olga's death… Roman's sacrifice, Wodime's sacrifice, the list went on. People he'd lost, and had yet been able to truly save. The constant horrors he had endured, time and time again, that he could never grow numb to.
"But isn't that what makes you human… and beyond that, is that kindness not what makes you Ritsuka Fujimaru?" Mnemosyne asked.
"Really?" he wasn't so sure… he'd destroyed worlds countless times, he felt anger, he felt hate. Even if-
"You are the Master every Servant looks up to, looping or not. From the greatest hero to the most vile villain. So long as you remain 'Ritsuka Fujimaru', they will follow you. Even now, you could treat them as toys, disposable pawns in an endless game. Yet you don't. No matter what, you comfort them, help them. Every battle, every war… and every day. You give them life, Ritsuka Fujimaru." he looked up at her, as she held out her arms. "This is what I see. You truly are a great Master, and a great friend to them all. Anyone could try to do the same as you, but they would fail to get anywhere near as far as you… after all, so few have the kindness that allows you to get so far, the charisma, and the understanding. People like Morgan, Arjuna, Carmilla and Jeanne Alter. You give them a chance, and help them grow. And though you may change throughout endless time… stay true to yourself… that's all I can really say. You are their pillar, and in turn, they are yours." she observed.
He smiled, and moved closer… and allowed her to hug him, taking a deep breath. "Thank you… I don't know when I'll see you again." he muttered softly, and she rubbed his hair.
"Perhaps soon, perhaps never. I am me, and there may never be another Mnemosyne like me. But that is alright. Unlike them… you've helped me do my duty. I would help you further, if I could." she said softly.
"You've done more than you can imagine, Mnemosyne." he retorted, closing his eyes… and then he opened them, as a light shined down from above. A holy grail in one of her hands.
"Congratulations, Ritsuka Fujimaru. I hand this over to you, as the last of my aid." she said, placing the magical cup between his hands. He held it tightly, smiling as he stood up.
She let him go just after that, and minutes later Chaldea called. The barrier preventing them from rayshifting him out had fallen. He looked behind him, at the Clock Tower that hid Rhongomyniad, and smiled.
"Mash… we're going to have a nice long talk when I get back." she blinked.
"What about Senpai?" she asked as he held up the Holy Grail.
"About the future, and what it may bring." he said with a smile as wide as the sun.
He only wished that this grail would travel with him, forever and beyond...
2.6
The planet Alderaan, doomed to be destroyed by the Death Star. Currently, Luke was awake, but a bit preoccupied, and far away at the moment, leaving no one who would remember to watch Alderann's fate.
Except one.
Napoléon Bonaparte was unsure why he had been summoned to a planet without a holy grail, or summoned at all. Last he recalled, he'd given his life to save a woman from a giant made of fire. Ophelia, young Ophelia… but that was in the past. He had been summoned again.
And he looked to the stars, and not at the city behind him. High in the sky, was something. It looked like a moon, but he figured it wasn't. The moon wasn't supposed to look like that.
He glared at it, and felt the fear and tension in the air. He knew why he had been summoned. He had come in response to their wishes. Wherever he was, Napoléon Bonaparte knew one thing. He was a man of possibilities!
These people needed a hero, and he had answered! So, standing before an alien city, on a planet he did not know… he looked to the stars.
That thing was the source of the people's fears, and he could feel the buzzing energy within the air. In fact, he could see a glow of green.
He took a deep breath, and raised his cannon. "So soon… and so short. Such is life then." He smiled, and locked eyes with fate, prepared to spit in it! He set himself alight, he was prepared to burn again, as bright, nay, BRIGHTER than the sun!
"People of this world! Know that I! AM! HERE! Know that today, Napoléon Bonaparte, will save you!" and so he stood pointed towards the stars. A man, armed with a cannon larger than any a normal man could wield, and he smiled. Destruction looked down upon him… and he smiled, and welcomed it's challenge.
"Today! I grant this world's wish! Its wish for hope! A new hope against tyranny!" he bellowed, unaware, and uncaring, as behind him, people stared, and cameras watched. The people of a single city on Alderaan, watching this madman shout to the stars. Lunacy it was!
"Belive… Believe that I can save this world. I believe I can!" Above, he watched the green converge, to turn into a single beam. One that he would face head on! "I am the Hero of Wishes!"
"Victory cannon line of fire, all set. Angle and height, all set." The green came towards him, a beam of light. He was dead center, and he would be hit by it. "Victory shell, locked and loaded!"
They watched this man who called himself a hero, proud of that fact and certain of his title, this unknown hero, with zero hesitation to face destruction.
All went slow as the laser came close, a Servant's perception of time. His body began to break, ashes flaking off as he put it all into one single shot. His only shot, and his mark on this world. "ARC DE TRIOMPHE DE L'ÉTOILE!"
A mere moment from destruction, he fired. A single spark. A rainbow of light that shot out from his cannon. It met the green beam of the Death Star. And for a fleeting moment… it paused. The two beams, one of great destruction, and one of great hope, clashed within Alderaan's sky. People watched, they watched in awe as this one man stood against a space station, the rainbow of possibilities stood against a planet's destruction!
Cameras recorded this struggle, they recorded his man's smiling face. They watched his war, his battle. Putting everything he had into this one single shot. All around Alderaan, people watched… and they wished.
And as they wished… a miracle happened.
The rainbow pushed forward, inch by inch, and foot by foot. No longer did it clash, it TORE! The cannon roared, it sung, as the man known as Napoléon Bonaparte, just laughed. "Come on! I've still got more to give! Dream! Hope! They wish for salvation! And I shall GRANT THAT WISH!"
On the Death Star, they watched the video transmitting from Alderaan, an intercepted communication. There was no sound, but the Grand Moff, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia all watched, in shock, as this man stood against destruction untold.
And this one man was winning.
"Put more power into it!" Tarkin ordered, and his orders were put through. More power was put forth into the still firing laser. The mightest battlestation to ever grace the skies put forth all of its power, to destroy one man.
But that one man held an entire planet's wishes, their hopes and dreams, within. A power far greater than a mere space station.
Even as his body turned to ash, he kept on laughing, he kept on smiling, as in space, green went everywhere. The rainbow firing against destruction. Alderaan's salvation given form.
Those on the Death Star panicked, or embraced their impending destruction, as that rainbow shot through the stars, it came closer, faster and faster, until it pierced straight though the Death Star's own cannon.
A grand explosion rocked the station, alarms blaring as people panicked. It was at that moment Vader awoke, to the sound of explosions, to the sight of a man burning away on screen. He grabbed Leia, ignoring her, and vanishing to his subspace pocket.
The shot itself was not what doomed the Death Star, what did was the power. The Death Star rocked and rattled, exploded in space, as a result of the great rainbow piercing the still firing laser. The power to destroy a planet, as well as the power to save one, clashing, and one of them won out.
When Vader emerged from his Subspace pocket with Leia, all he would find of the Death Star was twisted and burned metal.
And of the man who'd saved the planet?
He looked to the stars, and then back at the people. He gave a smile as he burned away to golden ash. There was nothing more to say… he'd done his duty.
He had granted Alderaan's wish. And he had done the impossible once more.
2.7
"How do you do it?" D'Eon looked up at their Master, an eyebrow raised. They were just sitting in the cafeteria, during a small lull between singularities. London was behind them, and America before them.
"Do what Ritsuka?" D'Eon answered, taking a sip of their tea.
"Deal with being both?" Ritsuka asked, currently female at the moment.
At that, D'Eon hummed. "That would be hard to explain," they set down the tea cup. "After all, I am both, or I can be one or the other, or even neither. And after quite a lot of thinking over the past few dozen loops, I've decided I'm quite happy being whichever I fancy at any given moment."
"And I don't have that level of control. Serious, my first time I was a guy, then I was a girl, and now I've lost track which one I've been more." Ritsuka complained, and D'Eon nodded.
"Tis a strange thing… if you were capable I would try to find a way to help you with that, but unlike Kotaro's training, I'm fairly sure that swapping genders is not a skill I can just 'teach'." D'Eon said and Ritsuka just nodded.
"...Yeah…" D'Eon took another sip of their tea, the Saber smiling behind her cup as their Master and friend mused. "Hey… D'Eon."
"Yes?"
"Did you know you were the very first Servant I summoned?" she mentioned, and D'Eon looked up at that, setting her cup down.
"First… ever?"
"Yeah, the first time around, you were the first one that answered the call… I wonder if that meant something."
D'Eon laughed, before looking towards their friend. "Perhaps it heralded your future problems Ritsuka, but… I'm glad."
"Really?" she looked surprised.
"Because that bond we share means a lot. After all, it is why I am here and with you throughout time, no?" D'Eon offered with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess it is. You're just… always there, even when you aren't awake." Ritsuka remininised and D'Eon huffed.
"Well I would hope I am always reliable." they said, and Ritsuka just laughed as well. It was a short conversation. But it was still a vow of friendship afterall.
2.8
Myuorenji Arou, better known as Scandinavia Peperoncino, or just Pepe, had a problem. A very big problem.
And that problem was the fact he was back in Chaldea, before the explosion. It was… puzzling to say the least. He was fairly sure this was some sort of illusion, but he wasn't able to detect it.
Whoever had done this had forgotten to ensnare his mind as well. He remembered very vividly, all that had occurred to him. The explosion, his awakening, running his Lostbelt. His encounters with Chaldea.
His death to help them defeat Beryl.
He looked at the man in question, trying to not glare daggers and give away his contempt of the man in question as he was busy playing with a knife.
As Olga Marie began her speech, he watched as one Ritsuka Fujimaru was sent out for falling asleep… a piece of luck that had ensured his survival.
One that he would be copying shortly.
When the time came for them to get in the coffins, he feigned sudden illness. Krishtaria fretted, as did Olga, but with knowledge of the coffins, and the large number of masters, he did point out that they could go without one or two masters.
He didn't add that 'without one or two' would mean they would be the only survivors. This was an illusion afterall, he needed to ensure his own survival.
So he was excused, and to be sent to medical, something he immediately avoided doing, instead he headed towards the living quarters, the one place he knew there would be no explosions. After all, it had been where Fujimaru had survived.
His prediction proved correct when explosions rocked the building, and he leaned against a wall, he grunted as Fujimaru suddenly shot out of his room, Roman trying to do so as the young Master ran for the control room.
"Wait Fujimaru-" Roman started, before seeing Pepe standing there. "Peperoncino?"
"Indeed Doctor, I was looking for you," he lied easily.
"Well help me out here, we need to find out what damage has occurred!" Roman ordered, and Pepe decided it was better not to argue. The man ran for the control room, or its remains.
Fujimaru was gone, and Pepe watched the flames burn… the room was in utter shambles. "Wrecked, completely and utterly." he muttered, and then went after Roman to report this.
He found the doctor in the communications room, already trying to call whoever he could. With little else to do, and little that he could do, he settled in to watch and wait.
When Roman got Fujimaru and Mash on the line, he hung around in the back, letting the man talk with them. Ignoring that conversation for a moment, he took stock of his situation.
Namely that he was still in Chaldea, not trapped in a coffin bleeding out or frozen, awaiting his slow demise.
He had to sit back and wait for the remaining staff… all twenty one of them, since he was now included, to get into the control room, all of them reporting the various damages and explosions. To put it lightly, the damage was horrific.
How in the hell had Fujimaru been able to recover from this setback?
By the time they got through again, Olga was with the pair, and… that was where Roman brought him up.
"Well… we do have one other person we could send, if the Rayshift Coffins weren't busted." Roman admitted, and Olga blinked on the holographic screen.
"Wait, is Peperoncino with you?" she asked, and he walked up, standing beside Roman.
"Hey Olga dear. Did you miss me?" he joked, and he swore he heard a gasp from the other side. It sounded like Mash.
"Pepe!" Mash cheered, actually taking Olga's place on screen with a smile on her face. "Oh my god you're okay!"
"Why wouldn't I be darling?" He said with a smile, just watching her… this was different from the Mash he knew before, the one who was barely human. No… the one on the other side of that screen reminded him of…
"Hi Pepe!" Ritsuka waved his hand in from offscreen, and Olga huffed, before pushing them both out. And that left him confused. Ritsuka had called him that so easily…
He needed answers.
With Roman in control, he offered to take over the communications, something Roman allowed him to do, and waited for the next time he could get in contact with the team in Singularity F. Which happened fairly quickly.
"Hello, is anyone there?" Ritsuka's voice came over the comm channel, and he answered.
"I'm here, what's the emergency?" he responded, bringing up a smaller Holo screen, to keep the others in the room from witnessing the communication.
"Good… Pepe, is that you?" Ritsuka asked.
"You're going to have to be more specific," he said after a few moments… and then Ritsuka said the words he actually feared.
"Arou, we'll talk when we get back." Ice, he could feel it.
Ritsuka knew his name.
"Right… take care," he said, cutting the communications and just… sitting there, processing that for several moments. He knew Ritsuka remembered his name from when Daybit had come to relieve them, but… that had been in the future. Either this was a very, very complex illusion, or something else was going on. And his currently only lead with in Singularity F, and he was stranded here, waiting for them to return.
It was rather tense for him, but every time Ritsuka and Mash called, they were so casual about it, as if they'd done this before, in fact, they seemed really happy. They explained to him and the others, reporting their alliance with Caster, and the summoning of a Servant contracted to Ritsuka, one Paris, brother of Hektor, and a rather peppy young lad that was already driving Olga up the wall.
The next few hours were practically torture, but he felt his heard wrench as he heard Olga's screams… and her demise. And then, the singularity collapsed, with him joining Roman in recovering Mash, Ritsuka and the Servant Paris in the Control Room. All unconscious.
So he decided to sit there, waiting by Mash's bedside in worry for her to awaken… and when she did, he spoke.
"Well Mash… you doing alr-" he was tackled, tackled by a crying pinkette.
"Pepe! Please, please tell me you remember! Everything? India, Atlantis? Avalon?" she cried… and he hugged her in turn.
"Well… I would suppose I do… I do remember our adventures Mash," he said softly. And she continued to cry…
When Gudao came in, he just… joined in on the hugging. He still wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but… well. When they explained to him time's endless repeating, how things differed, how they stayed the same? That he was to join them in this odyssey with no end in sight?
Most would call it a curse, but he… upon learning all those he would be sharing this time with… well.
He could consider it a blessing.
AN: Fairly quick, all things considered, but I wanted to show I am serious about this. And I do take suggestions. Not all of them, but… some of them, well. Team A, most of them anyway, are solid candidates for looping. It just takes the right moment for them at least. And its not like Ritsuka's going to stop trying to save Krishtaria. But hey, welcome to the second compilation of Snips, all from yours truely, with a suggestion from sugoijack9 regarding the 'Early Morgan' and Pepe's awakening.
2.1: Poor Cu, he just wants his spear back.
2.2: Another swap situation between Mash and Ritsuka, now with bonus fear for life! Is Morgan awake? Who knows!
2.3: School AU, featuring the Neo-Argonauti, aka the school's losers and their loser of a Master. Only the best for Ritsuka and Mash.
2.4: Say Hello to Christopher Columbus Alter everyone, his first appearance, and probably not his last.
2.5: Even Non-Loopers have something to say… something to do.
2.6: The very first Fused Loop, and one that only had one Looper in it! Not that he realized, but that's what Napoleon does. He does the impossible! And what better way to make an impact than to blow a Death Star to kingdom come with a rainbow laser.
2.7: Master and Servant, alike in more ways than either believes.
2.8: Thank you, sugoijack9. Pepe is here, and he's here to stay. A happy day for everyone involved. They had a lot of fun in that loop. Also Paris!