Disclaimer: Two is actually Ten.
Chapter 2: And so, I do
Battling the undead was a far easier task than I initially thought it would be. For all the terror the sight of them could instill in a person, they were still nothing but a magical pile of bones that shambled about. Predictable and easy to dodge, they were dusted with just a swift strike to their heads.
It was almost comical, had this not all been in a desolate and burning city.
Watching Mash get used to crushing the skulls of her enemies with the oversized shield she wielded provided some amusement, at least.
Speaking of Servants... With a lull in the fighting, we continued our trek towards the Greater Grail's location, it was hard to not notice a certain Caster never showing up. Caster Cu had not made his grand appearance like I knew he would.
In fact, none of the corrupted Servants were showing up either. Not a single warning came from Roman and the others about Servant's converging on our location, and while our fights with the random groups of undead were brief, they had indeed made enough of a ruckus to draw their attention.
So where were they?
"What's on your mind?" I blinked as I felt a presence next to me. Glancing over, it was a much calmer Marie walking alongside me.
I need to stop getting lost in thought, it'll get me killed one day.
"Nothing that would concern the Director," Though dry, I did attempt to make it sound more playful than it seemed. The small scowl told me she was not amused, and yet, I caught the faintest twitch of her lip upwards. Had I blinked, I would have definitely missed it. "But, as the only acting Master at the moment, I'm worried."
"Share." Command or request, I did not bother to decide which she was making.
"Everything has been too, quiet." She tilted her head slightly at my words. "I was expecting, more, from this Singularity, yet all we've only encountered is what could be considered canon fodder."
"Maybe you aren't a third-rate Magus after all." Marie brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, crossing her arms as I ignored the small jab. "But you are correct, something is most definitely not right... outside of the destroyed city of course. Nothing here is as it should be." I spared her a glance.
"... How are you feeling?"
She blinked, finally turning her gaze fully toward me as we walked. Mash was still ahead, just out of hearing range. "I feel fine, why do you ask?"
"Just checking, wouldn't do if our only Director was hurt."
Is she dead or alive, I genuinely cannot tell.
Marie was another matter I could not decide what to do about. If there is anything I could do in the first place. Here she was, seemingly perfectly fine, walking, talking, bantering, berating as if nothing had happened to her. With how much had changed so far, I was not even sure if she was truly dead and I was talking with her spirit, or if she was truly alive and well.
I suppressed the frustrated groan welling up in my throat. As much as I hated it, it would do me no good to dwell on something I could have no real effect on down the line if it came to it.
All this knowledge, and even access to magic, and yet still...
"Relax yourself, you are making yourself bleed." I looked down at my hand, not noticing I had dug my nails in hard enough to draw blood. Old habits do die hard, huh?
"Right, sorry."
"Master! Director!" Mash called out from atop a destroyed skyscraper. She pointed at something in the distance we could not see. "There's a clear path ahead, it seems to lead directly to the Pillar!"
"Perfect, a direct route to figuring out what happened here." Marie huffed with a smile. "Come down, we will head there imme-"
"No."
Marie's head whipped to me so fast I'm surprised I didn't hear it crack.
"No? What do you mean no?" She questioned with narrowed eyes. Mash made her way down from the collapsed building, landing near and running over to us.
"Whatever is waiting for us there, we're not ready to fight it." I stated firmly. Even with all the changes that have taken place in this timeline, I was not letting us walk into a slaughter. Even if She was not there, I refuse to leave that to chance. Before Marie could speak, I continued. "While Mash might have the powers of a servant now, she does not know how to use her powers." I turned my gaze towards the pink-haired young woman who looked down at my words. If Caster Cu was not going to show up, I'd simply take his place and teach Mash. "It is no fault of your own Mash, you only just got your powers, no one expects you to be an expert in them right away."
Marie had stopped, having not considered the consequences of going into a much tougher battle with a Servant who could not use their full power. She had been watching as Mash and I dealt with the Skeletons with ease, lulling her into a false sense of safety and superiority that we could handle anything thrown our way. It was a miracle we had not encountered anything tougher yet.
I was done relying on luck I wasn't even sure we had.
"I was actually going to suggest that, you beat me to it Fujimaru-kun!"
The smiling visage of Roman appeared in his holographic projection.
I remained silent as Roman, in a pleasant twist, took over what I had planned to do.
I found a nice spot to sit down as he worked with Mash, I thought about helping for a moment, knowing my knowledge would help lead her down the path to learning her Noble Phantasm, hell, I could teach her the full name right now, and part of me was screaming I should.
And yet there's a piece of me saying I shouldn't. Normally I would ignore such a side, and do the optimal thing. The CORRECT thing to do right now would be able to spin it in a way that I just deduce what Mash's servant fusion was with and tell her it, or lead her down it so she makes the connection itself. It would ensure all of our survival if she knew the name of her Fusee and Noble Phantasm.
And yet it didn't feel Right.
Is it the remnants of Fujimaru in this vessel? I questioned myself, searching for a voice I could not hear, a feeling of someone else in this body with me, anything that would explain why I refused to do something I would have had no trouble doing in my past life.
Past life... I closed my eyes, clenching the rusted knife I had been messing with this whole time tightly. I could not remember everything fully.
Flashes came here and there of what I assumed led me to be in the situation I am now: a bright light, a loud sound, and the smell of burning flesh. I pushed harder, trying to make myself remember anything I could, anything that could help explain what was happening.
Was any of this even real?
Despite instinctively knowing the answer, I still could not help but question it.
Thwack!
"Ouch!" I glared up at my assailant, rubbing the top of my head as my eyes made contact with the Director who was looking down at me.
"You seriously lack situational awareness outside of battle." She scolded, lightly playing toss with the rock she smacked me with, throwing it up slightly and catching it over and over. "Are you some kind of battle freak? You completely zoned out while I was talking to you."
"Maybe I just wanted to escape your voice-"
Thwack!
I made no effort to dodge the smack of the rock coming my way again, just as I had made no effort to keep my mouth shut to antagonize her.
"Ow! Wow, a voice like yours and a temper to ma-" Her snow-white hair bristled and her eyes grew big in rage as she raised the rock again. This time I did make an effort to dodge, and ran away as she began chasing me with two rocks. Mash and Roman had stopped to witness as I continued to antagonize her.
"Get back here!"
"Why would I want to be around a gorilla wom- woah!"
A nearby building cracked as the Director had thrown one of the stones as hard as she could, infusing it with a bit of her power.
I let myself laugh internally. Even if I could not control what happened in the future, I could control what happened right now, and affect what little I knew.
And so, I do, give Marie Olga Animusphere fond memories, should these be her last...
Going back through the OG story for Fate/Grand Order for this, I forgot how much dialogue there is, and just how fun the interactions are. I hope to get good enough to write such lines of my own, it is why I do not directly copy from the source, despite how much easier it would make everything writing wise.
