I have some good news and some bad news. Dum Vivimus, Vivamus will not see the light of day. I got six chapters in (including a lovely POV chapter involving Jackie), before I realised the story was flawed, and not in a way that I thought I could salvage with little effort. Part of the problem was a lack of character conflict, with Harry and Charles being perhaps too nice towards what they thought of each other. And with all due respect to Eve (and I actually mean that), she wasn't quite developing in a way I wanted her to, though she has a nice scene in the incomplete seventh chapter, where she quotes Hamlet (specifically, the Yorick speech), and reveals details about her life and death. Fans of Eve, though, shouldn't despair, as that frees her up as a possible pairing in a later fanfic.
The good news is, I've re-used elements of that story (including a modified version of the same backstory, as well as Servants from the original Fate/Stay Night being summoned on Yggdmillennia's side) to create a revamped version. This version has one particularly noteworthy change: Lily's a main character...and she's going to be the Master of Jackie instead of Lupin. Her relationship with Harry will be a bit rocky at times, as the first two chapters show, but she also cares about her son, even if he's a Homunculus clone of her real son...who all but disowned her.
I chose the title deliberately. Not only because it's part of the famous phrase 'all's fair in love and war', but also because it's the title of one of the best Doctor Who novels ever written...and, like many things in the Nasuverse, one of the darkest and most heartbreaking. Seriously, was Gen Urobuchi or Kinoku Nasu writing under Paul Cornell's name at the time?
LOVE AND WAR
CHAPTER 1:
SUMMONING
Harry Evans looked at the gathered Magi. He was, admittedly, taking something of a risk doing this. He was, after all, going behind his superior's back while she dealt with Hyouma Sagara…but frankly, he was sick and tired of being sidelined on missions, or else being given babysitters. Yes, he understood why from an intellectual level: given his nature, there would be Magi and wizards drooling at a chance to vivisect him. But it also felt like coddling.
She was his mother after all, even if she had been absent for much of his life. That was part of what grated on him. Then again, at least she loved him, despite the fact that he was but a copy of her biological child, one who was currently holed up in Romania, along with her ex-husband. The man who had screwed over his life. Who'd left him with a mark when Harry refused to bow down after learning the truth. Subconsciously, he touched the burn scars marring much of the right hand side of his face.
That was the day he learned who his friends truly were, when most of Hogwarts turned on him, and lauded the true saviour. Sheep. Even Ron had turned on him, albeit out of anger for the trap that was the Department of Mysteries, and even then, it wasn't out of malice but stupidity. By the time Ron realised the truth about the matter, Harry wanted nothing to do with him. Or Neville. Hermione, Luna, Remus and Sirius…they didn't turn on him. They didn't discard him like the trash everyone else made him feel like when it was revealed he wasn't the Boy Who Lived, not even a natural born child of James and Lily Potter…just a Homunculus clone of the real one, Charles Potter. A copy. An imitation. A fake. Used to distract Voldemort while Charles got trained.
Lily, meanwhile, had been in a coma. The short version of what had been a very long story was that James had Homunculus copies of his family created to act as decoys while they went further into hiding. Lily didn't know about this until later, and had managed to purge herself of being dosed on Amortentia. She went to save the Homunculi, only to be tortured by Cruciatus into a coma by a confused Voldemort. She'd been kept in the Department of Mysteries ever since…until Harry stumbled across her during that mess.
Lily, after taking some time to recover, was Not Happy. After Voldemort was finally put paid to, she confronted her husband and child, along with Dumbledore, the latter dying of a curse put on one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. She made the good sense to make sure that she had the magical equivalent of a bug on her, broadcasting to everywhere she could. James and Dumbledore made the mistake of elucidating about their plans…and they were exposed. And the Potters disappeared…only to resurface recently in Romania, being the only wizards of note in the Magus clan known as Yggdmillennia.
Seven decades ago, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia had joined the Third Holy Grail War (of the ones held in Fuyuki, before the Grail War spread across the world) as a Master. He'd actually collaborated with the Nazis, particularly with their occult branch known as the Thule Society, to wipe out the other Masters and steal the Greater Grail, taking it to Romania after betraying the Nazis. There were rumours about that for decades, but it was only confirmed recently. Now, Darnic and his clan, which was now made up of rogue Magi (for the most part), had made a declaration of secession from Clock Tower, and with the Greater Grail behind them, they certainly had the power to back that up.
The original Holy Grail War was a tournament of sorts. Seven Magi would summon Heroic Spirits to act as familiars. These familiars, once heroes from myth or history, were known as Servants, and they would fight to the end, until only one Master and Servant was left standing, and they would then grasp the Holy Grail, an artifact created by the von Einzbern family of Germany. It had a number of functions once fully charged. It could grant a wish to the Master and Servant left at the end of the Grail War, or it could, theoretically, access the Root, Akasha, the noosphere that lay at the centre of all, where all knowledge and power resided.
However, if what he heard was true, this Grail War, due to a mechanism built into the Grail to prevent collusion between the seven Masters, would be different: two teams of seven Masters and their respective Servants would be pitted against each other. Clock Tower's representatives would be the Red Faction, and Yggdmillennia the Black Faction.
After the war against Voldemort ended, and James and Charles fucked off to Romania, Lily brought Harry into not the Ministry of Magic, but rather, the Magus' Association. He'd trained and risen to become an Enforcer. He'd sweated and bled and wept under the tutelage of the likes of the infamous Kiritsugu Emiya, and the acerbic Executor Kirei Kotomine, who had come to Clock Tower on liaison from the Church. Hermione had become an assistant to Waver Velvet, a winner of one of the auxiliary Grail Wars who became Lord El-Melloi II, while Luna was Zelretch's assistant…well, enabler and sounding board.
And yet, his mother still thought he wasn't ready to do solo missions. In fact, they'd had the latest (and most loud) in a series of rows about that very subject shortly before she headed off to deal with Sagara. However, he happened to see an email from Waver about some Yggdmillennia goons coming to the city of Ise, to its famous Grand Shrine, possibly to steal some of the artifacts there, including the famous Yata no Kagami. That mirror was said to have belonged to Amaterasu herself, the Japanese sun goddess, and was one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, the Imperial Regalia.
And yet, these bastards were going to steal it, and use it for their own ends.
He heard one intoning something as he drew out a ritual circle in the woods near the shrine. "For the origin, silver and steel. For the cornerstone, gem and the Archduke of Contracts. For the ancestor, my great master Schweinorg. The colour I pay homage to is Black. The alighted wind becomes a wall. Close the gates in the four directions. From the crown, come forth. Trace the three-forked road leading to the kingdom. Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat fivefold, and when each is filled, destroy it."
Harry snarled quietly from where he was watching. A Servant. They intended to summon a damned Servant. And on the altar was the Yata no Kagami.
"Hey, is it really okay if we do this?" one of the Magi asked. "Don't they have two Servants summoned already?"
"Silence!" snapped one of them, an obese man with blonde hair and a toothbrush moustache that made him look either like a belligerent, obese Charlie Chaplin, or else an obese Hitler. "Lord Darnic made a mistake in passing me over for that fool Potter and his brat! I intend to come back with a first-rate Servant. Besides, Tamamo-no-Mae can be manifested in multiple classes, including Caster and Berserker. And as our research have shown us that Tamamo-no-Mae was once an aspect of none other than Amaterasu, then this relic should do the trick."
Harry knew him from the files Clock Tower compiled on known members of Yggdmillennia. Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia, a half-decent alchemist specialising in Homunculi, and probably one of the better creators of Homunculi outside of the von Einzberns. However, he was also a pompous, egotistical sack of shit, who was basically an amalgamation of the worst qualities of James Potter, Snape, Vernon Dursley, and Lockhart, with an inferiority complex the size of a small planet.
As Gordes prepared to do the summoning, however, Harry had a notion cross his mind, and his expression became set in one of grim determination. He would force those fossils in Clock Tower, and his mother, to have him go to Romania. He was 24 now, he was an adult, not a kid, and he deserved to be able to make a decision on his own.
So, he held out his hand towards the ritual circle, remembering the words from something Waver showed him once, and hissing them under his breath. "The colour I pay tribute to is Red. Heed my words. My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny. If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning! I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world! Seventh Heaven clad, and the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of the Scales!"
Gordes and his lackeys only noticed something was going on when the circle began to glow. Just before the ritual ended, he saw Harry, despite Harry being hidden behind a thicket. Gordes' yell of anger was stillborn as the circle belched a column of crimson light into the sky. Harry knew he had succeeded when he felt the sting in his right hand.
"You…you interfering bastard!" Gordes roared. "But it will be for naught! This is my Servant! Servant! Kill that interloper!"
The voice from the still-clearing dust cloud was playful and vaguely sultry. "…Heavens me, this won't do at all. Anyway, you're not my husband, and I'm not sure I want you to be, Fatso."
Gordes wheeled on the Servant as they strode from the dust cloud. "What do you mean?! You are a Servant, a familiar, and I am the one who summoned you!" Then, he was staring when the Servant emerged.
It was a beautiful young woman with pink hair, dressed in a rather revealing deep blue kimono, strutting along like a model on the catwalk. But her eyes were golden, dancing with mischief. A pair of animal ears protruded from her head. And a big, bushy tail protruded from her rear. She looked nothing less than a fox in humanoid form, an impression helped by her smile.
She strutted up to Gordes, who was struck dumb by her beauty, before he was struck by her foot, right between his legs. As his eyes crossed, and an ultrasonic whine of pain emitted from his lips, she said, "Ippu-tasai Kyosei-ken. Or, the Polygamist Castration Fist, if you can't speak the local language."
"…That was a kick," one of the Yggdmillennia goons pointed out.
"Heavens me, we have someone trying to be smart," the woman said, smiling as Gordes collapsed to the ground. "Trying being the operative word. As in, you're trying my patience. Skedaddle, peons."
"No!" Harry yelled. "Servant…capture them, please."
The Servant looked at him as he stood, and smiled. "Ah, yes, much more to my liking, scars aside. Your wish is my command, Husband."
Husband?
What happened next was, well, spectacular. She danced around the minions, albeit only half a dozen (and amongst Yggdmillennia's less competent Magi, at least in terms of combat: Gordes must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel, and while they must have been competent enough to steal the famous mirror, fighting wasn't their strong suit…though it WAS a Servant they were facing), flinging the paper talismans favoured by Japanese mystics at them, causing them to become partially encased in ice. She made swift work of them, and then turned to Harry, bowing not in subservience, but as if to say, How did I do?
He was sure that the fact he got a grand view down her cleavage was wholly deliberate on her part.
She then snapped her fingers, and he noted that the Yggdmillennia Magi went to sleep. "So…let's get the formalities out of the way. Caster of Red has answered your summons. I ask of you…are you my Master?" Then, after a moment, she whispered, in a stage whisper, "This is the part where you say yes, Husband."
"And this is the part where I have to ask…Husband?" Harry asked, looking down at his hand, and noting the Command Seals there. He was trying hard to not let his gaze stray to her very beautiful body.
"Yes, and let me tell you, I'm glad it was you and not Fatso over there," she said with a pout, jabbing her thumb back over her shoulder at Gordes. "When I made my entrance, I could feel him undressing me with his eyes, and while I admittedly live for that sort of thing, he's not my type."
"He said he was trying to summon Tamamo-no-Mae…whoever that is. My knowledge of Japanese myths and legends is admittedly hazy," Harry admitted.
Her pout intensified. "Well, that won't do at all! I can't abide by many things, and ignorance, particularly about myself, is one of them! For I am, indeed, Tamamo-no-Mae, former consort to Emperor Toba. So, Husband, what do we do about the trash? I presume you wanted them captured instead of killed or on the run for a reason?"
"First of all, my name is Harry. I'd prefer that to Master…or Husband," Harry said. "Second, the Grail should give you information upon materialising, so you should know I'm an Enforcer from Clock Tower. I was trying to stop these idiots from stealing the Yata no Kagami. They used it as a catalyst to summon you, claiming you were an aspect of Amaterasu."
"Oh, I am. It's a long story. The Yata no Kagami, hmm? Well, we'd best put it back whence these fools pilfered it from. Ugh, the thought of Fatso's greasy fingers touching my sacred mirror gives me all kinds of bad vibes," she said with a shiver.
"Fatso, as you call him, is Gordes Musik Yggdmillennia," Harry said, muttering briefly under his breath, "Fuck that name(1)." Louder, he said, "Yggdmillennia is both a Magus clan and an organisation looking to secede from Clock Tower, using the Greater Grail."
"Oh, I got that bit down. Darnic was naughty, stealing the Greater Grail, and in trying to rig the odds in his favour, ended up causing a Great Holy Grail War, with two teams of seven Servants. Now, it seems I am the Caster of Red. So, I presume you wanted these wastes of space kept alive for interrogation?"
"Yes. Thank you for listening, Caster. We'd better get the Yata no Kagami back to where it's supposed to be." Suddenly, a trill of a ringtone came from his pocket, and he plucked out his mobile, groaning as he saw the number.
"What's the matter, Husband?" Tamamo asked.
"I'm in trouble. My mother must've found out about my little mission. And she's not happy…"
OPENING
SONG: I Want to Live by John and Korey Cooper of Skillet (opening to Fate/Apocrabridged)
As the opening chords begin, we travel through clouds, until we come to Trifas. As the rock chords start up, we go through the streets of Trifas, finding, walking along it, and lingering on each pair in turn, Kairi, Mordred, Lily, Jackie (dressed in normal clothes, as are the other Servants), Jeanne, the boy who, in canon, would be called Sieg, and finally, Harry and Tamamo. They then zoom out, showing the moonlit sky, with the title.
In a grave of roses, while the night is closing in,
My soul is so cold, but I want to live again.
We see Kairi and Mordred walking through a graveyard. In the polished obsidian of one of the newer, snazzier gravestones, we see, instead of Mordred and Kairi reflected, we see Arturia and a pensive Charles Potter reflected briefly. We then see Lily giving Jackie a piggy-back ride down a Romanian town's street, Jackie looking overjoyed, while Lily has a rueful smile on her face. As they pass by a shop window, we see Shirou Kotomine and Semiramis reflected briefly in their stead.
I know you'll come to me, I wait in misery,
I want to fight for this, save me from this darkness,
I reach for the light…
We see Harry looking into a mirror, seeing his younger self, so naïve…and behind him, the shadowy figure of James Potter, gripping his face, burning it, while behind James is the even shadowier figure of Heracles. A hand lands on Harry's shoulder, and he starts, only to find a concerned Tamamo looking at him. He turns to her, and they share a rueful smile. Then, we see Sieg reaching up towards a light…which vaguely looks like Avalon.
I want to live my life!
The choice is mine, I've made up my mind
Now I'm free to start again!
Tamamo and Mordred charge side by side at a couple of Servants of the Black Faction, with Mordred crossing swords with her father, warring emotions on both their faces, while Tamamo clashes with one of Avicebron's golems. Jackie rides on top of a car driven by Kairi and Lily as if it was the most metal pony in the world…and thankfully, she's not wearing the same outfit from canon. She leaps off it towards Astolfo, who blocks the attack with a comical look on his face.
The way I want to live, (To live)
And breathe (And breathe)
The way I want that's right for me…
Jeanne and the Homunculus canonically known as Sieg dodge Heracles' attacks, who himself is attacked by Atalanta and Achilles, only for them to have to dodge Vlad III's Kazikli Bey stake attacks, as Darnic and Vlad stand side by side.
I may not know nothing else,
But I know this, I want to live!
I know this, I want to live!
We see Mordred and Arturia supporting each other, badly injured, as they look up into the night sky. So too does James and Charles Potter, and Heracles. In the night sky are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and we zoom in on Tamamo and Harry alongside 'Sieg' and Jeanne confronting Shirou Kotomine and Semiramis, the former changing into his regalia as Ruler. As the song ends, Tamamo, Harry, Jeanne and 'Sieg' charge…
CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:
So, there you have it, a WBWL fic mixed in with a Fate/Apocrypha crossover. The lyrics are for I Want to Live by Skillet, which I don't own, obviously. It's going to be one of many Fate/Apocrabridged references in this fic…
Those of you who read the original iteration of this fic, Dum Vivimus, Vivamus, will notice both a lot of differences, and a lot of similarities.
1. The constant complaint about the hard-to-pronounce Yggdmillennia name in Fate/Apocrabridged's first episode.