Thank you for your reviews! I shall respond to them here.
Guest: Tiamat isn't a Beast in this fic. She became the Beast of Regression due to the singularity. She later admits she didn't want to do what she did in Babylonia.
Touhoufanatic: I thought about what you said a lot. You're completely right. The pacing has definitely been wacky and a bit fast. I was so excited to introduce characters that I had forgone it. Although I do plan on having more children in this fic, I will definitely keep what you said in mind and make sure everything is paced a lot better. Thank you for your input.
Chapter 11: Aftermath
Illya was ecstatic. She didn't know what was going on, but this was the first time she has ever been outside the Einzbern estate. Everything was so… warm. Despite the fact that it was nighttime, it was way warmer than it was. She looked outside the window and there was no snow.
She had become fast friends with the boy named Shirou. She would demand he follow her around and do anything he told her to, which he did with a smile. For some reason, it bothered Sella, but Illya didn't mind.
The other girl was different, though. She never wanted to talk. Shirou said that the girl, Sakura, was recovering from something really bad. Giving Sakura space was the only thing Shirou asked of her, so Illya reluctantly complied.
It didn't take long for the woman that took her here to return. Shirou said her name was Tiamat, but everyone called her "Mama." Illya decided to call her Tiamat. Irisviel was her Mama, and nothing could change that.
"Welcome back, Mama!" Shirou instantly ran towards Tiamat and wrapped his arms around her legs.
"I'm home," Tiamat replied with a smile. Illya noted that she was still using telepathy even here. "I missed you, my child."
"Mama's home?" Sakura poked her head from the wall. Tiamat wordlessly smiled as she extended an arm towards Sakura. The girl reluctantly shimmied her way from her hiding spot into Tiamat's arms. Illya saw Sakura physically relax as Tiamat wrapped her arm around the child.
"I missed you too, Sakura," Tiamat smiled down at the girl. She rubbed the girl's head, causing Sakura to close her eyes and smile. Illya felt a pang of jealousy. It wasn't fair. These two had their mother to dote over them, but Irisviel was dead. She was gone.
"She was a great mother," Illya flinched when she heard Tiamat's voice. "I can see it. I know she's proud of you."
"What do you know?" Illya scoffed.
"As you get older, you will learn that mothers know things," Tiamat floated over and put a hand on Illya's head. The warmth of Tiamat's love enveloped Illya once more and even she couldn't resist the urge to smile again.
"F-fine…" Illya didn't believe Tiamat, but she couldn't deny that Tiamat was different. She probably knew things she didn't.
"Sella, Leysritt," Tiamat looked up at the two maids. "The Einzbern estate needs to be managed after Jubstacheit's death. Is it possible to relocate the children here?"
"There's a mansion owned by the Einzberns here in Fuyuki," Sella nodded her head. "If Acht is really dead, then the homunculi should follow the new family head, which is currently Lady Illyasviel."
"An important task for such a young child," Tiamat smiled down at Illya. Illya looked up. She expected her to offer to take the task for her. Papa always said that bad people would want to take power from those with it. "I'm happy that you have two wonderful siblings to help you out."
"S-siblings?" Illya saw Leysritt's face heat up and instantly decided she liked the thought.
"Yeah!" Illya agreed with a bright smile. "We're siblings, right?"
"Of course, Lady Illyasviel," Sella managed to keep a straight face, but her eye was twitching.
"Now, now, siblings don't address each other so formally," Tiamat gently chided. Sella pointedly looked away. "Now try that again."
"Of course, Illyasviel," Sella muttered.
"Illya!" The young girl insisted. "My family calls me Illya."
"Of course… Illya," Sella's cheeks tinted red.
"That's a good child," Tiamat smiled. "Now, Shirou. Sakura. Would you like to stay with RIn while I help these three sort out their family situation?"
"Do we have to?" Shirou whined.
"Now now, you should take the time to get to know your new sister," Tiamat replied with a patient tone. "I have a feeling we will all be living together soon, after all."
"Fine," Shirou pouted.
"That's my child," Tiamat grabbed the hands of Shirou and Sakura before vanishing. A couple seconds later, she reappeared. She gently grabbed Illya's hand. She reached her hand to Sella and Leysritt. The two, almost in sync, grabbed Tiamat's hand. With a flash of light, the four were gone.
The four appeared in front of the Einzbern Mansion. Gevryn had long since returned to Tiamat's Primordial Sea. Even though he was gone, the remains of the battle still remain. Several golems were shattered and homunculi lay dead.
"If you desire to move any of the children, I will be more than happy to assist you," Tiamat offered.
"Thank you," Sella bowed. Illya looked up at Sella and mimicked her gesture.
"I shall wait for you here," Tiamat said. The three nodded before going into the mansion. Tiamat closed her eyes and an image appeared. An image of the mansion where the three had just walked in. Illya was in the middle with Sella and Leysritt about a foot behind her. A man with snow white hair and crimson eyes walked up to the three before getting down on one knee and putting his hand over his chest.
"We await your command, Lady Illyasviel," The man said. Illya turned to look up at Sella. The maid nodded and Illya nodded back.
"We're moving to the Einzbern Mansion in Fuyuki," Illya said. The man's eyes widened, but Illya continued. "We have someone to transport us. Gather all of the homunculi and meet us back here."
"I-if that's your wish, Lady Illyasviel," The man stood up and bowed before walking away. As soon as he was gone, Illya turned to Sella.
"Did I do good?" Illya asked.
"Yes, La— Illya," Sella looked behind her. Tiamat cracked a smile at that. "You did well."
"Thank you, big sis!" Illya said with a glowing smile.
"Now, let's get your things, Illya," Leysritt seemed a lot more laid back than she did a few minutes ago. She had a soft smile on her face as she addressed the young girl. "Will you allow your big sister to take you to your room?"
"Yes please!" Illya said. As the three made their way out of Tiamat's field of view, Illya looked like the happiest girl in the world.
Rin was irritated, but she knew her mother wouldn't let her express it to her two guests. She was happy to see Sakura again, but Tiamat could have given them a heads up. Teleporting inside the mansion with the kids before leaving was really room.
Great, now I'm stuck with a literal child with a reality marble, Rin conveniently left out the fact that she was a child in her thought process. She only knew enough about reality marbles were very dangerous, and Rin didn't want to be anywhere near someone who had one.
"Hi Rin," The boy in question walked up to her with a smile. "Do you want to play?"
"I'm busy studying," Rin huffed and looked away.
"Oh, are you learning magecraft too?" Shirou asked, tilting his head. "Mama is teaching me a bit too."
"I…" Rin heaved a sigh. As much as she didn't want to… she never had a study partner whenever working on her magecraft, and it was lonely. She'd rather have some company and no company. "Follow me."
"Yay!" Shirou's smile was enough to melt Rin's cold demeanor. She let a small smile escape her lips as she turned and led Shirou to the library.
"Sakura," Aoi addressed the girl who was resting on her lap. The two had spent the past couple hours enjoying each other's company. Even though Aoi had some of her memories missing, she still dearly missed her daughter. Sakura, on the other hand, hadn't seen her mother in months and had clung to her for the first fifteen minutes.
"Yes, Mama?" Sakura looked up at her with big eyes. The first time Aoi saw Sakura, she almost cried. The light that was in everyone's eyes had faded away in the young girl's. Luckily, the light in her eyes was slowly returning and Aoi was eternally grateful to Tiamat for helping her daughter.
"How is it like living with Tiamat?" Aoi asked. "Is she nice to you?"
"Mhmm," Sakura nodded, her eyes not leaving Aoi's. "The food Shirou makes is really yummy and Ma— Tiamat is very nice to me. She makes me feel safe."
"If you want to call Tiamat "Mama," then you can," Aoi reassured her child. "I know I was gone for a while. Just know that no matter who you see as your mother, I will always love you."
"Thank you, Mama," Sakura nuzzled into her mother before closing her eyes. Aoi put her hand on Sakura's head and looked out the window. Despite the death of her husband, she was truly lucky.
It had been about six hours of rigorous teleporting before Tiamat finally made her way back to the Tohsaka mansion. Illya had been exhausted, so Tiamat took her back to the Tiamat estate where Sella and Leysritt promised to tuck her into bed.
"Welcome back," Tiamat smiled as she saw Aoi. Sakura was soundly asleep in her arms.
"Thank you, my child," Tiamat said. "Have you considered my offer?"
"I have," Aoi nodded her head, blinking slowly. "I think I want to live with you."
"That's wonderful," Tiamat's smile widened. "Where are the others?"
"I think they went to the library," Aoi said as she stood up. She gently positioned Sakura in a way where she wouldn't move much when she walked. Tiamat started to float a few centimeters off the ground as she found Aoi to the library. When she made her way in, she couldn't help but smile.
Shirou and RIn were sitting on the wall, asleep as a book was left open in between them. Rin's head rested on Shirou's shoulder while Shirou's head rested on hers.
"On second thought, maybe we should let the children rest a little more," Aoi had a soft smile on her face.
"What a smart child I have," Tiamat agreed with a smile of her own. Tiamat held out her hand and a blanket appeared to drape over the two children. The two made their way out of the room with Tiamat closing the door behind her. Today was a good day.
Omake: The Dark King
"Hey sis, you have any more of those crystals?" Shirou addressed Ritsuka.
"Yeah, why?" Ritsuka said. She and Olga had spent the better part of fifteen minutes explaining the situation to Shirou.
"You might want to try to summon someone else," Shirou replied.
"Why? You're already really strong. Not to mention we have Cu here," Ritsuka tilted her head.
"Well, we're going to be going up against King Arthur," Shirou shrugged. Everyone froze. Even Cu stopped walking.
"Why are you so casual about it?!" Olga shouted. "Better yet, how do you even know?!"
"I actually fought in this grail war back home," Shirou said casually, as if it was just some daily activity. "Well, it was much less of a fight. Mom just went around and adopted all the servants."
"This mother of yours really seems like a piece of work," Olga muttered under her breath.
"Don't forget she adopted you too," Shirou said before turning to Ritsuka. "Now…"
The spear in Shirou's hands faded into motes of light and was replaced by two swords with red hilts.
"You have swords too?" Olga raised an eyebrow. "No… I've seen those before. What are you doing with those?"
"Oh, my sister gave them to me," Shirou looked at the blades. "She usually uses six, though. I haven't learned how to use them like that."
"Just how many siblings do you have?" Olga grumbled.
"That's not important," Shirou turned to look at Ritsuka. "So, can you summon someone else?"
"Sure!" Ritsuka turned to Mashu. "If you will."
"Of course, Senpai," Mashu placed the shield down and Ritsuka placed the quartz on top of the shield before she started to chant. With a flash of light, a silver card shot up from the shield. Shirou had just enough time to see the sword on the card before it slowly shifted into a gold color. The card started to glow until a person replaced the card. When the light faded, Shirou's eyes almost widened. Instead, he decided to let a smirk creep up his lips.
"Servant: Saber. The name's Mordred," The knight's hand clenched around Clarent. "Is my father here?"
"It's nice to finally meet you, nephew," Shirou stepped forward. "We're about to fight your father. Are you with us?"
"N-nephew?!" Mordred took a step back. "I've never met you in my life!"
"Well, mom adopted Artoria as soon as she was summoned in my world. Something about being part dragon," Shirou rubbed the back of his head. "I guess that makes you my nephew?"
"Wonderful," Mordred grumbled. "Let's just get this over with."
"We're here," Olga said as she looked up.
"Well no shit," Mordred grumbled as she looked where Olga had her eyes locked on.
"Ugh! Couldn't you have summoned someone with more manners?" Olga heaved a dramatic sigh as she turned to Ritsuka.
"Don't put this on Master," Mordred scoffed. "Maybe if you weren't such an uptight bitch I wouldn't act like this."
"Why you—"
"Now, now," Shirou stepped in between the two of them. "We'll save the fighting for the actual enemies."
"Shirou…" Everyone turned at the new voice. Artoria was looking down on them, but there was something different about her. She had golden eyes, pale skin, and back armor. There was no small amount of shock in her voice. "I thought you were— no… you're different, aren't you?"
"Nice to see you too, sis," Shirou held up one of the two swords he was holding. "You should know that mother wouldn't approve of what you've done here."
"I do not know what you speak of," Artoria then turned to look at Mordred. "Ah, Mordred. Have you come to kill me once more, my son?"
"You're not my father!" Sheer rage gripped Mordred. Shirou could see her shake with rage underneath her armor. "Maybe you'll reveal your true self when I carve your face in!"
"Always one for vulgarity. It seems like some things don't change," Artoria then turned to Mashu. "That shield… how peculiar."
Mashu stayed silent as Artoria raised her sword.
"Prepare yourself, strange girl… let this sword test the truth of your shield," Artoria said as she closed her eyes.
"Senpai, she's approaching!" Mashu held up her shield.
"Don't worry," Ritsuka had a small smile on her face. "We can do this together."
"Vortigan, Hammer of the Vile King… reverse the rising sun," Artoria chanted as black power swirled around the blade. "Swallow the light…! Excalibur Morgan!"
"Deploying Noble Phantasm," Several barriers appeared in front of Mashu as she held her shield up. "Lord Chaldeas!"
As soon as the beam of dark light made contact with the shield, Shirou sprinted forward. "Mordred!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Mordred shouted. Shirou flanked Artoria's right while Mordred flanked Artoria's left. As the beam subsided, Mashu was still standing, but she was visibly drained.
"Mashu!" Ritsuka shouted as she ran to her side. Shirou focused his attention back to Artoria as he swung both swords downwards. Artoria blocked the blows easily. She shoved her blade upwards, throwing Shirou off before turning to block a blow from Mordred.
"Tch," Shirou scoffed. The three then entered a heated battle. Both Shirou and Mordred were angled at 180 degrees so Artoria would have to move more to block their attacks, but she did so with little difficulty.
"Alright," Shirou said to himself. He looked at Mordred and nodded as he jumped back. He threw one of the black keys and it sunk into Artoria's shadow. Mordred then prepared a powerful strike.
"Damn it!" Artora grunted as she was momentarily stuck in place. Unfortunately, her magic resistance was high enough to quickly break from the spell and parry Mordred's attack before kicking her away. "Looks like I can't hold back anymore."
Black power started to swirl around Artoria as her head snapped at Ritsuka's direction. "So you're the master…"
"No!" Mashu stepped in front of Ritsuka and held her shield up.
"You cannot block a second one! Excalibur Morgan!" Artoria shouted as she unleashed her noble phantasm. Shirou abandoned his other sword and dashed towards Mashu as gold motes of light formed in front of him.
"Still works," Shirou muttered to himself as the light started to take form. "I hope you still find this recognizable, sister."
Just when the beam was going to collide with Shirou, the light solidified into a sheath of blue and gold. A barrier appeared in front of Shirou that blocked the attack with ease.
"Avalon!" Artoria audibly gasped. "That's impossible! How can you even use it?"
"It was my first gift from mother," Shirou said as he grabbed hold of the legendary sheath. "It took a long time to get it to work with me, but I can now use it when I'm in your proximity."
"You…" Artoria's gaze narrowed. "I do not know who you are, but you are not Shirou."
"Mordred!" Instead of responding, Shirou called for his ally. Mordred rushed forward and clashed with Artoria. Shirou then dashed, ducking under Clarent and Excalibur Morgan.
"Please work…" Shirou begged as he shoved the sheath into Artoria's stomach. Instead of coming into contact with the armor, it vanished in a flash of golden light. Artoria took a step back.
"You…" Artoria fell to her knees as the curses started to fade from her body and her armor. Her eyes returned to normal. The curses peeled off her armor until it was its original silver color. Excalibur Morgan started to crack and fall apart, revealing Excalibur in its wake. "Thank you…"
Shirou couldn't help but crack a smile. They had won.
Whew! Chapter 11's finally out! This was the hardest chapter for me to write, in all honesty. I've never been good with technical stuff. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the Omake with it! We're almost done with Singularity F, so get ready for that cursed servant sheet! With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.