Fate: Souls and Singularities

by Mundatorem

Singularities. Points in Human History which have become corrupted with the presence of a Holy Grail with the end result being the incineration of Humanity. However, it is not the Grails alone which are divergent. The Incineration comes about as one world in particular comes to an end. The two become linked as figures from a different Throne reach across the barriers between worlds

201. Almost Weekly Santa Alter: IX

Almost Weekly Santa Alter: IX

Even if he hadn't heard the explosions from a distance, he would have still been able to tell that something had happened. Especially as the moment he crested over the hill, he saw a flash of light before there was nothing. Sliding to a halt and staring down at the now burning field, where once had been snow it was now nothing more than a landscape of pure chaos.

The earth had been turned on its head, large craters and scorch marks littered the ground and if he looked up he could see burning embers raining down from the sky all around them. More to the point, it looked first and foremost as though a bomb had gone off, if he squinted his eyes he could see golden motes of light rising up from the ground, the telltale signs of a Servant in the midst of vanishing.

A battle had happened here and whomever had been here was now long gone.

And he had just sent Tamamo-cat back to where she had come from on the off chance that there was a danger, she would have been rather vulnerable as she was on account of him not having brought her here himself.

His features hardened as he started to move down, keeping his head on a swivel as he glanced around his environment and making sure to keep an eye out for any sign of movement and or evidence of what had happened here. From the looks of things, he would guess they arrived a bit late, mere seconds earlier and they would have probably caught sight of whomever was behind this.

A deep sniff of the air had him turn around and look of, stumbling for a moment as Midir sliding to a halt sent a small avalanche of snow down the hill and very nearly knocked him over, it was only Mash catching his shoulder that managed to stop that from happening, quietly thanking her as he kept his eyes on the dragon, now taking in a deep huff from the air before a low growl rumbled out from it.

"A stench. Old and foul…It reeks of the Abyss." The warning was met with suitable concern at this point, especially as all previous encounters with the Abyss had been far from casual. The head of the dragon turned, taking in another huff from the air before they paused, head tilting to the side. "And yet…another scent beneath the foul odour of Dark. There were many here, the scent of a God, undead…and another dragon."

"I would say so." The brunette woman, Akal, marched right past Midir and trenching her way down the hill without showing even an ounce of concern, walking right past himself and Mash as she moved towards the heart of the battle, casting short and almost casual looks towards the devastation before she waved her hand around. "Looks like there was a lot of fire being used here." then pointed down to the ground where one of the orange flames still lingered. "That right there. That's got a nasty scent of Light-kin attached to it. No dragon used that flame."

So that would be the fires used by the God, if what Midir and Akal was saying was right. He assumed dragons had some pretty good senses for this sort of thing and they were both saying more or less the same thing. Yet the prospect of a third dragon in the Singularity was a little troubling to consider, unless it was the Dragon that he thought it was. In which case it wasn't all that problematic at all.

"Some of these flames look different, Senpai." Mash spoke up as she released him and slowly made her way down the hill, approaching one of the smaller fires and stopping a distance from it, she turned back and gestured down with a touch of a frown on her face. "I can't explain it, but this one feels very familiar to me…I do not know if it's the Servant within me or-"

"It's because you're human." Akal answered the question with a wave of her hand, turning around and looking down at the flame only to pause as she stared at it, eyes narrowing just a touch, dropping down into a crouch and laying her arms atop her knees. Tilting her head and making a small noise as she examined the flickering black and mustard coloured fire. "Well…isn't that something else? Arty, come and take a look at this."

Clattering steel and heavy footfalls alerted him to the Lancer Artoria walking past him, she didn't even acknowledge he was there as she spoke in a cold and clipped tone of voice. "Never address me so casually again without my express permission. I am not one of your children and it is only the blood and past summon that binds us. Nothing more than that."

The Lancer stopped at the foot of the hill, turning her head down and staring at the fires in complete silence for a few seconds. With her back to him, he could not see the expression she was making but it must have been something judging by the way Akal suddenly grinned and pushed herself back up to her feet. A moment later, Lancer Artoria scoffed lightly and shook her head from side to side.

"So that is how it is." It was so quiet he scarcely heard it, but heard it he did. They both knew something about that flame. Perhaps they knew the owner of it or had encountered them before.

In fact, there were the reports he had seen which meant…

Ahhhhh, so that is what they were acting so familiar with it. Those were Kalameet's flames, which meant he was somewhere in the Singularity and had been here fighting with several other beings.

He paused, then turned around and looked up, his eyes landing on the Director and examined her. She didn't look any different and didn't appear concerned, which meant that her connection with Kalameet was probably still going strong, probably using his Independent Action to keep his presence here a secret so the Director didn't notice. That and her mind was probably on other things at the time. But if she wasn't concerned then Kalameet was still alive and well, which meant the Servant he had seen dying wasn't one of theirs.

"What? What are you looking at me like that for?"

The voice of the Director jerked him from his thoughts, blinking twice as he noticed her now staring back at him with an uneasy frown on her face, growing in annoyance the longer it went on. "Ah, nothing. Just thinking of something was all."

He turned his head to Midir. "Would it be rude if I asked if you could still smell them?"

The Dragon spared him only a short glance before they responded. "It is a mystery that would affect us all. My senses are open to questions, for yours. There are none that remain who would be…wait…" another deep sniff, the head of the dragon abruptly snapped towards the snow and dark smoke started to erupt from their nostrils, their lips curled back and revealed rows and rows of sharp fangs, taking a single step forwards and placing Filianore beneath them as they did so in a clearly protective gesture.

The reaction of the dragon set off a chain reaction, he quickly whirled around and found himself staring at the back of Mash's head, having moved to cover him with her shield brought up. Similarly Marie trotted past them on the horse, spear once more in her hand and pointed towards the snow.

Ledo stumbled to a halt next to him, shouldering a weapon that was absolutely absurd, a hammer that was almost comical in proportions, something that would look better in the hands of a Giant than of a regular person. Even with his impressive height, Ledo was dwarfed by his own weapon.

The ensemble group looked out across the snow, his own eyes darted around as he tried to track down whatever it was that had spooked Midir. Wetting his lips and adjusting himself, at first he could see nothing. In fact, it didn't appear as though there was anything out there in the first place. His brows started to furrow as he glanced to the back of Mash and spoke in a low tone of voice.

"Can you sense anything, Mash?"

"No, Senpai." She replied after a moment, still on alert. "But if it is an Assassin Servant, then they might have presence concealment…It could be that they are disguised from my senses but I can't see anything that would be-"

His eyes swung down as the snow burst upwards, a little bit of a gasp escaped his lips - that was most definitely not a scream, no matter what anyone said - and jumped up and back away from the sudden shape emerging from the snow, dropping back down and staring with wide eyes as a pair of pointed ears burst out of the snow, accompanied by a tiny face and violet coloured orbs staring right towards him.

It was difficult to make out the body, on account of it matching the snow, it was only the faint highlights of light purple which set it out across the snow and that was more than enough to get him to double take and squint down after a second to collect himself. It was a shape he knew well enough, the panic started to fade from him as he dropped down, placing his hands on his knees and releasing an explosion of a sigh as he closed his eyes, moving his left hand up and pressing it flat against his heart.

"For goodness sake, Fou!"

"Fou!" The little menace clambered it's way out of the snow, shaking its body from side to side and dismissing the remains of the ice still clinging to their body. Tilting their head to one side and staring at him as though they had not done anything at all. "Kyu!"

Fou turned and looked to the side as a shadow fell over them, Ritsuka similarly turned to see that Ledo was now looming over them and staring down at the small animal, helmet hiding his expression entirely. Then they dismissed the hammer and pointed down towards the little cat squirrel, speaking bluntly after a moment. "That is adorable."

He rolled his eyes at the comment and squatted down towards the ground, reaching out towards Fou and extending his arms towards them expectantly.

All he got was a look as though he was an idiot.

Fou turned on their heel and jumped upwards, landing against the front of Mash's outfit as she turned to see what was going on, making a small noise of surprise as she did so, and then started to clamber up the front until they came to a stop on her shoulder, swinging their body around and then plopping themselves down, wriggling for a moment to get comfortable and then closing their eyes with a content look upon their face.

Naturally, he just remained crouching on the floor with his arms outstretched for a good couple seconds, looking like the world's biggest idiot.

"Have you ever tried saying 'pspspspsp'?" The comment from Ledo was the final straw, his shoulders slumped and his head dropped down. "I'm just saying, those sorts of things are sort of made for this. I hear it's very popular with some cats…but that's like no cat I've ever seen. Actually, I have never in my life seen something that looked quite so adorable in my life. What even are they anyway?"

Pushing off the ground, he shrugged his shoulders to the question. "Fou is Fou. They're some sort of magic squirrel or something."

"Magic squirrel?" Ledo grunted, he turned to the knight and then blinked twice as they now held some sort of old looking leather book in their hand, a rough cut pencil in the other and flipping the book open. Humming to themselves as they put pencil to paper and intermittently glanced between the animal on Mash's shoulder and their book.

Stepping forwards, he leaned over and then raised his brows as he watched that Ledo was sketching out the animal with actually quite a bit of skill for something they were doing on the fly.

"That's actually pretty good."

Ledo paused for only a moment and then glanced at him. "Thank you, I've practised for quite a few centuries to draw all of this stuff very quickly. When you find yourself staring at wild animals, there's never any guarantee they'll stick around for long so I learned to draw everything very quickly…though some of my earlier drawings aren't all that…well…good."

The knight flipped back through the book with their free hand, moving right the way until they stopped at an earlier page and revealed it to him. Ritsuka pointedly kept his expression blank as he stared at the rather simple shape, looking like some sort of stick figure with twin lines rising up from what he assumed was a head. It took him a couple of seconds to realise he was staring at some sort of deer. Glancing from the page and to the knight before back to the page. "You've definitely gotten better."

"Practice makes perfect and all of that." Ledo responded with a carefree shrug, flipping back through and then continuing his sketch of Fou. "So is Fou the name of the species or is it just the name of the animal that you've adopted into your ranks? Also how intelligent are they? Are they male or female and can you tell the difference between them?"

Ritsuka found himself furrowing his brows at the rapid fire questions he was receiving from the knight, speeding up and with each question coming without him getting the chance to understand the last.

"Ah, I'm speaking too quickly, aren't I?" His reprieve came when Ledo realised how fast he was speaking, the knight lowered the book for a moment and then made a small noise. "Apologies for that, I just get a little excited when it comes to the many different cultures of the world and their unique traits. Plants, animals, people, buildings…that sort of thing. You can answer the questions in whatever order you would like to."

"...Yeah, I don't actually know all that much about Fou aside from they're smart and they look like a mix between a cat, a fox and a squirrel." He hoped that Ledo wouldn't be too disappointed with the answer, fortunately the Servant just nodded their head up and down in understanding, waving a hand as they did so.

"Not to worry about that, I'm sure there are some others who would be-" Ledo cut himself off, then looked over Ritsuka's shoulder and towards something, tilting their head to the side before they made a small noise. "That is strange though, why would the Dragon Midir treat the appearance of the small animal as such a danger as to put us all on alert? That does seem to be rather peculiar, doesn't it?"

Actually, now that they mentioned it, that was a little weird and slightly comical. Then again, it wasn't the first time something like this had happened. He briefly recalled the Servant Lucien reacting with similar alarm the first time they saw Fou, almost as though he'd come face to face with a lion or something. Turning around, he glanced towards the Dragon and saw that they were still staring towards them - or more specifically, towards Mash and Fou - with clear unease in their posture.

Did Fou just smell really bad or something? Maybe they were like the equivalent of a poison dart frog. That would explain so much.

"You know what…" He turned back to Ledo and cupped his chin. "We have these little frogs that are like the size of my thumb and they have really bright patterns on them to act as a warning. Basically anything that tries to eat it gets a lethal dose of poison so they make a habit of avoiding the brightly coloured little dart frogs."

Nodding along with his explanation, Ledo made a small noise of understanding. "Yes, I can see the comparison now. Perhaps this 'Fou' species has a similar trait which repels larger predators from trying to eat them. I've met other such species before which made themselves appear more threatening and for a creature like Fou, it would be paramount to keep themselves safe from the more dangerous hunters in the wild." he returned to writing in his notebook rather furiously. "This is incredible."

Yeah, this guy was absolutely nothing like Arkon.

He paused when he felt a presence fall over him, quickly turning and finding himself face to face with Santoria, the pale yellow eyes bore directly into his own before she made a light grunt and walked past him. "This distraction has proved pointless and debating the nature of the animal will gain you nothing…though I shall offer my own thoughts that if even a dragon is wary of it, then perhaps there is more than mere bluff's at play."

Ritsuka squinted just a bit at the Santa Servant, the way she spoke was almost as though she was teasing them with knowledge she knew they didn't know. Which meant she might know a lot more about Fou than she was letting on.

…Well, it wasn't a pressing mystery and maybe she just had experience with the species, from what he knew about Arthurian myth - which was admittedly less than Mash - Britain was chock full of this sort of weird and out of world stuff, including fae and a bunch of weird lion monsters. He could have sworn there was some sort of cat-fish thing that ate people or something.

"If you are all finished distracting yourselves with the remnants of a battle, we can resume once more."

"What?" The Director moved past him and came to a halt, waving her hand towards the destruction and speaking in a rather incredulous tone. "We stumble upon the site of a battle between Servants just as one dies with the victor nowhere to be seen and you decide that the best option is to walk past and act as though nothing happened?!"

Santoria turned around and raised an eyebrow. "And you have something you expect done? What can you hope to glean from this field of fire and ash? A battle took place here and whomever was the victor, they departed before our arrival and with great haste." she paused for a moment then waved her hand towards them. "Given what stands before me now, it is not something I could hold against them."

Well, she had a point there.

"The pretender Santa speaks the truth." Lancer Artoria added into the conversation, Santoria twitched at the name. "We have more important matters to concern ourselves with, especially since the conflict has since abated and there is nothing more we can do."

Even if she said that, there was something that he was a little puzzled by. Turning his eyes towards Fou as he realised that the little animal certainly hadn't come down with them during the trip. Which meant they had come down with someone else instead, but there were precious few people that Fou would accompany. Bringing up his arm, he pressed his hand down on the communicator and turned his eyes towards Romani as the screen flashed up.

Opening his mouth, he made to speak only to cut himself short as he actually caught a glimpse of the dazed and almost drunken look that the doctor was sporting. Furrowing his brows at the screen, he leaned back a little and stared at the silent doctor, the man gazing off into the distance and slumped in his chair without even saying a single word.

A shape moved around behind the man, Ritsuka turned his eyes onto that and noticed that it was Kerry walking around behind him. The woman paused the moment she glanced in their direction, raising a cup almost as though she was trying to toast him and then stepping towards the screen. "S'up. Merry Christmas, little dude. Heard you're all down in Lapland or something. When you find Santa, make sure you give him a punch from me."

There were no words he could give, so he settled for coughing at her.

Mash wasn't quite the same, a rather horrified look washing over her face as she stared at the screen. "Huh?! Why would you want to punch Santa, Kerry-san!?"

"Seven year old me wanted a pony. I never got that pony." And like that, her short and tragic story ended with a blunt tone of voice. Ritsuka stared at her for a couple of seconds to make sure that she was actually being serious or telling a joke, the twitch of her lip informed him that it was the latter of the two. Supported when she promptly laughed and leaned back away from the screen. "I'm joking, I'm joking…also I heard that King Arthur is posing as Santa and I'd like to continue living."

"Then I would advise you reconsider your attempts at humour, a poor court jester you would have made with such flat jokes."

The dry comment from Santoria had Kerry's expression sour almost immediately, a wince later and she was looking anywhere else except for the screen. Awkwardly bringing the cup to her lips and taking a long slurp from it. Her eyes darted to Romani before her brow furrowed, she leaned around his side and stared at the side of the doctor's head for a couple of seconds before she turned her head towards him.

"Nice work, kid. You broke him."

"He was like that when I called him." He shot back at the brunette, shaking his head from side to side as he realised what he was arguing over. "Right, since you're there can you have a look around this location? We had a fight between Servants and I'm trying to figure out if anyone we know was involved in it."

Kerry sniffed, taking another sip and then turned towards the monitors. "Yeah, looks like R-man was keeping an eye on whatever was going on. Not sure if he was going to tell you before or after you turned him into a mannequin but…yeah, looks like there was a fight between more than a couple of Servants and-oh, wow."

The woman blinked, then leaned back with raised brows, whistling under her breath as she did so.

"What is it?"

He started a little when the Director spoke over his shoulder, the woman leaning past him and staring at the screen with furrowed brows. It was a second later that he realised what one of the problems was, that being that no one else had seen what she was wearing except for him.

"What is the situation in regards to the readings that Romani neglected to mention?"

"Well, whatever it was, it is dead now. R-man had it listed down as 'Krampus' and I'd actually believe him looking at the mess that was its Spirit Origin readings. Saint Graph looked more like a patchwork of a dozen different elements and none of them fit together." Kerry turned to face them once more. "There were-"

And promptly cut herself off the second she caught sight of the Director, brows shooting up her forehead and her eyes bulging into saucers. Ritsuka pursed his lips and looked down, soon rolling them to fight off the smile on his face and glancing off into the distance, though he could still see Kerry out of the corner of his eye, just staring straight towards the Director with a deer in the headlights look.

"Well? What are you waiting-" And the penny dropped for the Director, he heard a noise coming from her and then she cleared her throat. "...Forget about my attire for a moment and just tell me what I need to know."

Kerry coughed. "R-right, yes…of-of course ma'am. Right. Yep. Didn't…didn't see a snrk!"

"..."

"Ab-absolutely on it. Yes. That's…it was a bunch of different Servants engaged in the fight and it ended a couple of seconds before the readings recorded that you arrived. Looks like there was some sort of teleportation spell that went off, carrying all the Servants away from you…I'd say they probably bolted the second they…"

For the second time, Kerry trailed off but this time he did turn his head as the woman scrunched her face up, staring at him with a bemused look.

"Hey, kid? You know there are like…a bunch of really strong Divine Spirit strength Servants around you right now, right?"

Olga sighed. "We are familiar with the situation, unless you mean to imply that I could somehow overlook the presence of the previously hostile Servants from the Scandinavian Singularity and the large dragon that is standing not even twenty feet from me!" she gestured in the vague direction of Midir, then opened her mouth to speak again.

"Hey." They both turned as Akal loomed over the pair of them, staring through the gap between their heads and looking right towards the screen. Sniffing a couple of times before she spoke again. "Are you that Vinci woman?"

Kerry shook her head from side to side.

"Tch. Shame. I have a bone to pick with her for stealing away all the lessons I was going to teach Kalameet." Akal grumbled and leaned back, folding her arms over her chest. Ritsuka glanced at them and found himself staring at her tensed muscles for a couple seconds longer than he really should have, though it was hard not to when she was practically showing them off without even trying. To say nothing of the abs she sported.

Glancing back to the screen and freezing as Kerry was giving him a wry look.

"Riiight…" Replying slowly, the woman returned her focus towards the Director. "All of that aside, there are a bunch of readings going on around here and some stuff that the doctor was working on, I could give it all a look over if you want but-"

Romani sprung to life with a gasp, whipping towards her and making a slashing motion across his neck rather rapidly. Kerry jumped, giving him a raised eyebrow before she continued on. "...Or then again, I could just turn around and leave before I spill any of my drink on the monitors and stuff. That's probably better. Oh yeah, kid. We're all having a little get together later tonight, you're welcome to join us for the holidays if you want."

Was he being invited to a party? Sounded like it.

"Yeah, I'll stop by later if the Singularity is over and done with before then." He nodded back to her, then glanced at the Director. "You going to go as well?"

She visibly started at being asked, whipping her head towards him and blinking twice before her brows furrowed. For a moment he assumed she would have said no, then she paused and rolled her lips inwards, slowly closing her eyes and then exhaling. "...I could set aside an hour or two to attend, I suppose. If only to ensure the staff behave themselves accordingly."

With a smile, he turned back to Kerry, she looked just as surprised as he was expecting her to be. Eyes wide and blinking several times before catching herself, coughing a couple of times to clear her throat and then looking away. "Right, well. I'll let everyone know to expect some guests later. Hope it works out well for all of you guys-"

"Wait a moment, why is it only Romani in the control room? Why are the rest of you drinking?" The Director questioned. "And where is Da Vinci?"

"I think Da Vinci is still in her…nope, looks like she and Pharros commandeered one of the Simulators and have been in there for the last hour or so. Seems like they're just competing with one another over something and…" Kerry trailed off as she stared at the screen to her right, Romani similarly looked over and then sported the same puzzled expression as the woman, the pair now squinting. A second or so later, they were facing himself and the Director once more.

Romani being the first to speak. "They're doing something…I'm not sure what it is but it looked like some sort of rapid firing tennis ball machine…well, I thought they were tennis balls at least."

"Hey, R-man. I think that was reinforced steel they just shot one through."

"...I did say I thought they were tennis balls…I could have sworn I also saw a fan with the blades replaced with swords."

He blanched just a bit at the image, then spoke slowly. "That sounds a little crazy to me…but as long as she's having fun, I guess?" he chanced a look at the Director and promptly figured that it probably wasn't the best thing he was supposed to say, especially given she was now glaring at him like he was an idiot.

"We're in a Singularity and the only assistance we are being rendered comes from the chief medical officer." Olga flatly remarked, then stepped back and brought her hands up to cover her face. Groaning into them with a muffled echo, dragging them down and shaking her head from side to side. "I am utterly convinced this is now nothing more than one of those inane ploys…at the very least we can confirm that the architect of it is not Nero."

No, this didn't feel like Nero's style. For one thing, they hadn't stumbled across a giant ice statue of her.

"You mean to assume that I would place myself at the mercy of that Emperor of Jesters?" Santoria scoffed loudly, shaking her head from side to side as though the mere suggestion was somehow a joke unto itself. The Servant looked the director up and down before turning from her and gazing off into the distance. "That is a poor attempt at a joke. Though this plan was not mine alone, I shall admit. The Emperor played little role in its conception, if she is here it is as a guest, not as a host."

He nodded his head along with the words of Santa. "But she is probably here…I'm also going to assume that a bunch of other Servants from Chaldea are here as well."

Santoria remained silent, tellingly so. That was probably the answer unto itself.

"Does it really matter though?" Marie posed the question with a tilt of the head, a hand placed on her chin as she glanced around to everyone present. "Doesn't that just make everything better if everyone is getting around for Christmas? Besides, they're probably making it a surprise and it would be a little bit rude if we asked someone to spoil it, right?"

Mash rapidly nodded her head along with the Queen. "She is right, Senpai. If everyone has been working to keep this a secret, then it would be wrong if we tried to force the information out of them…although…" she trailed off, glancing her head towards the direction of the still burning flames, a look of concern now washing over her face. "...The idea that they were attacked by something while trying to set all of this up is a little concerning to me. Especially if they were attacked without you present. It means they would have needed to be extra careful."

That was mainly why he was worried-

"Have you so little faith in your Servants?" He turned to the voice, Lancer Artoria stood with her arms folded over her chest, eyes gazing out over the horizon. "They assembled in this Singularity and were driven to this goal. Would you so readily insult their ability to defend themselves? Either they are weaklings or they do not inspire faith. Whichever you choose, the end result is the same."

"I didn't say that." He answered quickly, frowning as he did so. "Just that I'm naturally worried about them. Especially since they were so committed to this that they didn't even try and call me for help when they could have done. I appreciate a surprise as much as the next guy but no party is worth dying over."

Lancer Artoria turned her head and stared at him. "To you, perhaps. Though to preserve the spirit of Christmas is something that any Servant who would celebrate the holiday would gladly shed blood over." pale yellow eyes flickered to her counterpart and then over his head to the Servants around him. "Any who would wish merry days onto another in this period would corroborate my words. Especially one who thought to claim the title of Santa."

"Hmph. So you can speak more than poor jokes." Santoria remarked with a grunt aimed towards her other self. "Though she speaks the truth. If I am to claim the mantle of Santa, then it should be expected that I should defend the holiday with all my power. Just as those who would celebrate it would keep the spirit alive. They would not toss aside their lives so willingly either."

This was getting out of hand.

Bringing his palms up, he waved the group down. "This isn't what I meant. What I was more concerned with was the fact that everyone was getting in fights and I - as a Master - was completely ignorant to all of it and have literally been sledding down hill or throwing snowballs. I just want to know when people are in mortal danger. Even if the risk isn't as bad, a little heads up would have gone a long way."

He turned his eyes onto Romani and frowned, the doctor winced a little and glanced to the side to avoid his stare. "And that includes you. Now then, what on earth happened around here and without naming names, for the sake of privacy, I would appreciate it if you could inform me of it."

Romani remained silent for a couple of seconds, then brought his hands up and ran his fingers through his hair. "A couple of stray Servants got into a fight with someone claiming to be Krampus. Another Servant from Chaldea intervened, then another couple joined the fight and they were able to win…they then left shortly before you arrived."

He blinked at the information he received. "...Krampus."

"Wait, Krampus?!" Mash jolted up with wide eyes, then stalked towards the screen rapidly and stared the doctor down. "Krampus was in the Singularity and has been defeated? I mean, that is definitely good news Senpai but it was exceedingly dangerous to fight them at Christmas. Especially with the fame bonus they would have received at this time of year in this location." she frowned and paused for a moment, then glanced at him. "Ah, yes. Krampus is-"

He smiled at her and nodded his head. "I know a little about Krampus, some German goat man who scares kids around Christmas or something."

Mash beamed at him, almost like she was proud of his knowledge, and nodded her head up and down. "That's very accurate, Senpai. Though the word Krampus is thought to have origins from the German word for Krampen, which means claw. It was said they would arrive before Saint Nicholas and deliver birch rod punishments to children who misbehaved during the year, while good children would be given oranges." another pause. "Ah…Birch rod punishment involved being hit on the behind with a thin wooden rod."

His smile vanished immediately.

That was way worse than he was expecting.

"This is unacceptable." He jumped at the words of Filianore, turning as the Goddess stood not far from them with her hands on her hips. "Completely and utterly unacceptable. You mean to suggest that such a being was here and his judgement was handed down to him by someone other than myself? This is a travesty. To think that I - as the one who could be named Santa - would miss out on battling such a clear threat to Christmas, that it fell into the hands of mere bystanders."

The Goddess made a rather aggrieved expression and whirled around, pointing to Midir. "And why is it you could not sense them?"

Midir, for his part, remained stone faced. Or as much as they could manage without an expressional face. "There are many scents in this land, all I gather from this is bones and dust, trace light and the touch of Abyss. There was battle here, between God, undead and Abyss."

The dragon turned their head to the sky, taking a single huff of the air. "I could tell you of the dozens that already walk this Singularity, including those of your own family…more than one. Scents so similar to your own and yet so different and one that…that I do not recall ever encountering before and yet it is so much like yours…and King Gwyn's."

It took him all of a second to realise what Midir meant.

His eyes widened a touch and snapped onto the Goddess, her face frozen and her arms now by her side. Her brows were furrowed, a mixture of confusion and bewilderment on her face. It lasted all of a second before golden orbs widened, her arms dropped down to her side and her posture went loose.

"Take me there." She demanded of the dragon before he could even get a word out. "Take me there now. Right now." she virtually threw herself at the dragon, even catching them by surprise with how quickly she rushed to climb up them, almost as though the floor had turned to lava. The dragon lowered itself as she clambered atop the back of its head, adjusting herself and then staring down at him for all of a second, only to dismiss him. "Now."

She snapped again.

Midir took several steps forwards, four wings raising themselves upwards and then pushing down, a crack of wind and he was very nearly knocked down into the ground by the force of the dragon going airborne. Stumbling backwards and once more owing Mash for catching him, that and Akal who placed her hand on his back to keep him upright.

By the time he brought his hands down from his face, having covered himself from the snow and stopped his scarf from being blown away in the wind, the dragon was already nothing more than a retreating dot in the sky, only visible through the blob in front of the Northern lights. His eyes lingered on it before they snapped towards Santoria and he blurted out the first thing he could think of. "If you know where everyone is, we best head there now."

Santoria stared for a moment before she let out a faint grunt. "Perhaps that would be prudent. Besides, it would suit my purpose to journey there. We have spent enough time bringing joy to those around. The final stop of the night awaits."

Her total lack of urgency was a little troubling for him, then he noticed the look on the face of Mash and the Director. The unease to his current predicament. "They talked about someone who feels like Gwyn but isn't and is related to Filianore. That's definitely going to be Faraam they're talking about. Given the last time he met all his siblings and how they have been less than hospitable to one another…"

That was all he needed to say if the sudden looks of concern were any indication.

"Wait…Faraam?" The voice of Ledo reminded him that the knight was still present, he whipped his head to the Servant to see them stood there with the book still in their hands, head tilted to one side and turning between each of the Servants. "But that is…huh. He was removed from the annals so how would he even be a Servant in the first place. Don't people have to remember you for that sort of thing…unless…Ah, I see. Forossa, right? That would be it."

"In that case." Once more, his head was turning to a new voice,Lancer Artoria having stepped closer to them, a touch of smugness in her expression if the ghost of a smile was any indication. She turned and glanced to the direction of the hill, extended her hands out and gave a single metallic clap.

Silence, then he heard the faint rumbling.

"If you wish for urgency, then perhaps I shall offer you why it is that I am the most worthy Santa." She continued onwards, lowering her arms and sending an almost smirk in the direction of Santoria. "Given that I have the transport that befits such a being."

The sleigh crested over the ridge, dragged by the wyverns and single black horse at the head of the pack. Moving down the hill with impressive speeds before sliding right past the group and falling into a perfect halt, the sled right before them. Lancer Artoria remained unmoved, still staring at Santoria with the same challenging look.

Santoria didn't respond for a couple of seconds, then snapped her fingers.

Her crimson sleigh shimmered into existence behind her.

Twin looking animals, low to the ground and with the general heads of a moose but with bodies like dumpy looking pigs. Coats of light brown fur, he stared at them with raised brows, then glanced at Santoria with the same bemused expression, one that she either ignored or didn't notice on account of staring at her counterpart.

"...Hmph. As if Llamrei would be bested by such things." Was all the Lancer had to say as she turned around, clambering into the sled and adjusting herself within it. Offering no further commentary as she grasped the reins tight in her gauntlets. "Though it seems as though there is only one method of demonstrating my superiority."

"One sure method of showing you the height of your hubris, yes." Santoria retorted as she clambered into her own sleigh, gripping the reins for her own mount and narrowing her pale yellow eyes. "If this shall show you why you are unfit to call yourself Santa, then I can resort to such simple tactics."

All he could do was look between the two of them with incredulity. "Seriously? You pick now?"

---

She didn't know what the problem was or why most of the Servants that had been summoned were staring at her. Nor did she understand why Nobunaga had just been poking her chest for the last couple of seconds without saying a single word, not that she cared all that much beyond finding it a little strange.

Another poke. "...Magic is weird, let me tell you."

"Stop touching him-her, for starters." Boudica warded away the Archer with a swat of the hand, they retreated from the attack with a frown on their face which only prompted the Rider to glare a little harder at them. Satisfied, Boudica turned on her and tilted her head to the side. "That being said…what is this?"

"I didn't want to chance being discovered." Ash gestured to herself. "Therefore I decided that it would be better if I disguised myself completely. The Ring of Reversal offered the greatest disguise I could think of. Ritsuka would not have suspected it was me at a distance…" she shrugged after a moment, then glanced down at the slowly advancing finger of the Archer once more. "Though is there something I am missing?"

Boudica grabbed the arm of the Archer without even looking and moved it away, all while keeping her eyes on them. "Not as such, probably just a little bit of a surprise was all. Though it might have been a little bit overshadowed on account of you all coming back and the…company you're keeping."

Ash blinked, then turned to her left and locked eyes with Jeanne Alter as the Servant stood right next to her, hands on her hips and an indiscernible expression on her face. Pale orbs moved from him towards the Rider and narrowed just a touch, an irritated scowl coming across her features as she looked the Rider up and down, then made a face and turned to the side once more.

"Yeah, because I'm definitely the problem around here, aren't I?" With a scoff, the blonde waved a hand to her. "I've spotted kids and you're walking around in the freezing cold in your damn pants. He said you were holding a Christmas party but I was expecting something a little less…painted lady."

Boudica froze up for all of a second, then her arms dropped down to her side as she stared blankly at the blonde for a couple of seconds. Her eyes gradually narrowing and lips pulling themselves downwards until she was all but scowling at the Servant, something Jeanne Alter matched with a sneer and a carefree shrug.

"She's here because she happened to be nearby at the time." Ash explained, cutting through the tension as easily as she could. "Much like with Gael and Flann. Though the fire God seems to have become much more ingratiated in the festivities than I would have expected."

She spied the redhead God a short distance from them, currently looming over a rather panicked looking Edward Teach, with Havel and the Angel standing nearby. All while Caffrey was in between the two of them and pointing between her father and the pirate captain. Though she was more puzzled as to when the man had even shown up in the first place, she could not recall encountering Teach during the Singularity, nor did she direct them here.

"And I am not the only one with dubious characters." This time, she caught the finger of Nobunaga before it made contact with her chest, then turned her eyes towards the Archer and furrowed her brows at them. Releasing the finger. "They are real, if that is what you have intended to find out. The magic of the Ring converts my gender totally into that of a woman."

Nobunaga shook her hand and raised her brows. "Right, right…so if you took it off you'd go back to being a man?"

"No."

"...No?"

"No. The ring allows me to transition between genders at will." She paused, then brought it up and glanced down at it. "The effect becomes permanent if I were to remove the ring. Not an original purpose but it has been elevated to a Noble Phantasm, its effects have been exemplified on account of its reported effects."

Nobunaga grunted. "Well…It can't be helped."

Keeping her eyes on her for a moment, she dismissed the Archer and brought her focus back onto Boudica. "Returning to my original point, I would assume that you have garnered more visitors into this camp than I had been expecting, far more than I was made aware of."

Boudica shrugged her shoulders "We've had more than a few show up, yeah. They've all pitched in to help though so I would say they're earning their keep." glancing to the side, the redhead brought up a single brow and chuckled quietly under her breath as she nodded her head off to the side. "Some have taken to the holiday more than others have, that being said."

Ash turned, seeing what Boudica meant immediately.

A woman in white, long braided black hair and waving her hands before her, ice carving away as she continued to hum a gentle tune, all while her powers formed the statue of a knight from the frozen water, a proud looking figure with a full covering helmet, a face carved into the front and with a long billowing cape behind them, hand resting on the pommel of a long greatsword stabbed into the earth.

Her mind gleamed through, searching for the figure that looked so familiar to her. Someone knew of them or perhaps she had met them in life. No, that wasn't right. She had never met them before but there was something about them that resonated within her soul, it was a feeling as though they were linked by something. They had something in common that she couldn't quite place.

Whatever it was, it didn't weigh too heavily upon his mind when he felt the aura of the woman. The Darkness that surrounded her was thick, like a miasma and yet it was pure. There was nothing about it that screamed of the Abyss, as though it was how the Dark was meant to be. Such as with those born in the light. A curious situation, yet she did not seem to be a pygmy.

Another knight walked past her, adorned in the armour of Forossa and with a lingering trace of divinity about them. Briefly stopping to speak with the woman for a moment, then bowing their head in a clear show of respect before they continued on. She watched them move, yet another she felt some connection with despite the divinity about them being so foreign to her.

"Something the matter?"

Her eyes turned briefly in the direction of Boudica, the Rider's concern rather apparent.

Ash thinned her lips and shook her head from side to side, "Nothing that needs to be worried about at the moment. So long as those present do not cause misery to those invested then I have little cause to be worried. Besides, I believe that you would be better served aiding the others. It is my understanding that Tamamo-Cat has returned back from Ritsuka and the others."

She did not wait for the reply from Boudica before she was turning away and walking off, a few steps later she heard the sound of pursuit and paused, turning around and raising an eyebrow at Jeanne Alter who similarly stopped walking, the false saint frowned at her and raised her own brows in puzzlement. "What?"

"I'm surprised you are still around." Ash confessed immediately, because she was surprised. It was her belief that Jeanne Alter would have demanded to be returned to her proper place once the conflict was resolved, yet she had just remained mostly silent with only an odd comment offered at every other moment. Nothing else. "Do you wish for me to return you back to your cottage?"

The blonde sniffed, then made a noise. "Tch. Head back out there, now? You've killed my enjoyment of the game anyway. Besides…it at least looks like part of a Christmas party and I'm not gonna be the idiot who's flung out into the cold with no one around." folding her arms under her chest, her head turned to the side with a deep frown, pale eyes roaming over the land. "...Besides, I want to give queen bitch a piece of my mind if she thinks she can run around as Santa when there is some old guy with a long white beard and wearing red."

Ash frowned. "You mean Gael?"

"Yeah, him." Jeanne Alter rolled her eyes, making it apparent that she didn't care that much for the name of the man. "Least he isn't a Berserker this time around, he'd make for a terrible Santa if he was…" a moment of silence, then the eyes of the Servant danced with malicious intent as the smile on her face started to grow. "Then again, that would be rather-"

"Grizzly, one would think." Both she and Jeanne Alter turned to the voice, Gael being stood not far from them with his hands now bereft of a weapon, though there was a clear edge to his words as he stared at the Alter. "And it is not a state I am proud of, though that is nothing we can help. I know little of the land of Santa beyond I bare a passing resemblance to some modern icon…not what I had imagined but I have little reason to step back."

The old man turned, staring off and humming in a low tone of voice. "...I can play the part of gift giver, should they wish. So long as children still have a passing interest in carved wood, then I have something to provide." the red hood turned back, facing Ash as the old man stepped closer. "...And what of you? Such coldness in your eyes, matched only by the land itself. What will you do now that you are here?"

Ash remained silent.

"...I can remain for as long as I am needed." She replied after a moment of silence, flickering her eyes to the side and glancing to the expanse which was now filled with a great many Servants, either from Chaldea's own ranks or summoned as strays to the land. All of whom were in the midst of their own little acts, some she knew and some she did not. "...If I am needed here, then so be it…I do not know if I want to be here, but I would like to see if it works out as intended."

Gael watched her in silence, then nodded his head up and down. "That is the best many of us can do. I shall find some old wood then, see if these children cannot be granted something of value…I know that young Sulyvahn will become interested once I begin." the old man chuckled to himself and started to wander off, giving her a wave of the hand as he departed. "Merry Christmas, Ashen One."

She opened her mouth to reply, then caught herself at the last second and closed it again.

Jeanne Alter leaned in from the side. "You not going to wish it back?" there was no accusation, merely curiosity.

"...I wouldn't mean it." Ash replied quietly, shrugging her shoulders as she did. "When I am to wish someone a good day…I would like for it to come from a place of genuine feeling, rather than just parroting the words to them. Even then…" her eyes lingered on Gael as they continued, soon becoming the centre of attention for the children Servants. "...I believe he would deserve more than hollow platitudes."

"Eugh…" Making a sound of disgust, Jeanne Alter rolled her eyes and turned her head. "Whatever. Just because-"

She abruptly cut herself off.

Ash frowned and then turned to see why she had fallen silent, something she realised within seconds from the shadow being cast over them, golden eyes burning a hole first into her and then finally moving away onto her companion, where they lingered for longer and the stare became much more intense, the folded arms of the shadow tightened into fists.

Faraam remained tellingly silent as he and Jeanne stared at one another, when the God did speak, it was in a tone bereft of emotion. "I am surprised to find you here and without a burning torch in your hand. I would assume that the only reason you would have come to this venue would have been to set it alight."

Jeanne Alter sneered back. "Then I guess you don't know all that much about me. I'm a little bit more than just some savage." she waved a hand around. "Good thing I'm not here to burn it down, knowing your competency you'd slip and fall on your own spear before you came within a metre of trying to stop me."

A hum from the God. "If that is a thought that brings you comfort, then I can offer some token mercy to you…keep your hands bereft of flame and you can keep your head attached to your shoulders." uncrossing his arms, the God turned his eyes onto Ash and then narrowed, confusion seeping into them as he looked her up and down. "...I am unsure if this is yet another attempt to avoid me, Ashen One. If it is…I must grant you points for creativity but such alterations of the flesh do not change the person beneath."

Ash looked away. "Avoiding you was…not my intention. Not for the reason you would think at least it is…difficult to be near you."

"I had thought we settled this matter." Faraam grumbled, bringing a hand up and rubbing his temples. "I bear you no ill will for what became of me in life, I am satisfied with the outcome of our battle. You rang the bell of challenge, I met you in combat and you were the victor. A grudge over something like that would be pointless."

She fought back the grimace, turning her eyes down and staring at her feet. They had put that matter to rest, but that was not the reason she had been avoiding encountering Faraam. It was burning inside her chest, hatred directed towards her mother and the family, but it was more than that. She could not refine it. Her feelings were as mixed as they were ugly and she did not wish for that to bleed over. She hated and loved her mother.

It was irrational.

And she would irrationally hate her uncle as well. Much as she had with Filianore.

Besides…it was a point of something else.

"I…I am not like the others of the sunlight covenant." She replied quietly, shaking her head from side to side. "And to be near you is…difficult for me. Especially now…"

"...I see." Faraam replied after a moment of silence, taking in a deep breath before he exhaled. "If it is a matter of your own soul then I shall leave you to it. Just know that even if you are different from others, I would honour you as a member of my own covenant just the same as any other. That is the duty of the patron, just as you honour me…I must honour you." turning, the God took a couple of steps away before they stopped and glanced back. "Keep your heart strong, Ashen One. It would be a shame for the one who slew me to lose their fire."

He walked off a moment later.

Ash glanced at his back for only a second and then looked away once more, pausing and bringing her hand up to press against her forehead. "...He's my uncle."

Jeanne Alter made a small noise. "Your family sucks, I hate them all."

"I didn't ask for your opinion on my family."

"I didn't ask if you were related to the guy either." The woman retorted with a grunt. "Besides, what the hell are you even doing worshipping the Gods in the first place?"

Ash frowned. "It's not worship, it was just…I entered into a contract with the Warriors of Sunlight because I found their duty acceptable and it agreed with me. I did not realise he was the patron of the covenant until long after I had since killed him."

Jeanne Alter stared at her with raised brows, then snorted. Quickly covering her mouth and staring at her with clear amusement, pulling her hand away only to get a couple of words out between her chuckles. "Y-you're like a roller coaster, you know that? Just goes up and down with you. I've never heard of someone killing their own God by accident! Pfffthahahaha! How did you even manage to do something like that? He makes it sound like you just walked up to them one day and challenged them to a duel!"

She didn't dignify that with an answer, folding her arms and turning her head away. Though it might have been the wrong move if the sudden bout of laughter was any indication.

Whether she would have responded to the clear mockery went unknown, her senses spiked and her head snapped to the sky. A frown played on her lips instantly and her body tensed, adjusting herself ever so slightly and narrowing her eyes on the horizon. Flickering them around to try and catch sight of what was approaching, she could feel it getting closer and closer to them. The burn of magical energy which could mean only one thing, Midir was approaching them.

Her hand moved up, then stopped just shy of touching the handle. Her fingers just gracing the surface of it before they fell back to her side, reactions of an approaching threat were buried. Filianore had not proven hostile yet, she might not prove aggressive now. Besides, if there was a concern then she was certain that Romani would have alerted her. A quick glance to the side at the sudden silence, many others were now turning their heads to the sky and rushing past.

Soon enough, there was a small assembly of Archer Servants staring to the sky protectively in front of the others.

She turned towards them, bringing her arm up to signal them as she approached. Waving them down as she did so. "I have encountered this Servant in the Singularity, she posed no threat at the time. Her mount will not respond."

And this was after Midir came face to face with her.

"Inquiry." Tametomo's voice echoed, their head turned on them and their eyes burned blue. "Are you certain of the alignment of the approaching Servant?"

"...As of our last encounter a little over an hour ago, I am." She turned and looked about the crowd, eyes searching out the specific target. "Tamamo-Cat. What is the current situation with Ritsuka and others who claimed to be Santa? Are they hostile or friendly?"

The ginger Servant looked thoughtful for only a moment, then she responded. "That little Goddess was way too handsy with my tail-wan! But she didn't show any aggression to Goshujin-sama!"

That mollified some of the Servants, a few of them relaxing their posture.

"Another Goddess? Are we collecting divines as though they were curses now?" Sulyvahn called out from his spot by the…what was he doing over there? Who thought it was a wise idea to let a confirmed poisoner anywhere near the food preparation areas?

Ash turned in the direction with furrowed brows, her eyes remained on the Caster for a few moments before she swung her attention onto Archer, the tanned man remained stone faced, catching her glance and raising an eyebrow at her as though there was no problem. She waved a hand in the direction of the false Pontiff silently, gesturing to his presence and questioning whether he was truly aware of what was going on. Archer turned to the Caster, stared at them for a moment, then turned back to her and shrugged his shoulders.

Ash stared at them bewildered, so much so that she didn't hear the whistle of Midir passing overhead until the dragon was right on top of them, shadow blotting out the light of the moon above. Her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed, the dragon circled around above them with the faintly visible shape of Filianore poking down over the side, the dragon then dived right towards the edge of the forest.

Backing up, the dragon shrunk smaller and smaller until it was the size of a horse instead of a house, kicking up only a faint thud in the snow rather than an explosion of ice. The Goddess remained utterly frozen on the back of the dragon, staring across the distance with wide golden eyes fixed only upon a single person.

"...Faraam?" Her voice was barely a whisper, echoing out as loud as any shout. The tremble in her words was apparent, her lip quivering. "I-is that…are you…you're…you're here."

Ash turned her eyes to Faraam.

Stood stock still and off balance, taking a half step backwards and bringing up their own arms. "...Filianore…I…I understand that you would not wish to speak with me or would hate me, but I-"

Filianore threw herself from the dragon, trenching her way through the snow all without making a single noise. Though Ash assumed her intentions to be less than hostile, especially if the tears streaming down her cheeks and the cracked smile were any indication, she stepped backwards and let her pass by without saying a single word, neither did Jeanne Alter but she just wore an expression of disgust.

The Goddess, once within a couple feet of Faraam, kicked off the ground with a single powerful leap which brought her to eye level with her older brother, swinging her arms around his neck and pulling herself against him, burying her head into his shoulder as though he would vanish at any moment.

Faraam just stood there, motionless as the younger Goddess just cried into him, eventually he brought his own arms up and circled them around his younger sister, holding her against him and reciprocating the hug.

That wasn't the only thing she sensed though, the reunion of his aunt and uncle fell to the wayside as she sensed the approaching magical energy of Ritsuka. The link growing stronger and stronger, they would soon realise that the others were here and there was little she could do about it. Her eyes turned from the display, sweeping over the assembled location and keeping her arms folded over her chest.

"Ritsuka is approaching. Get ready."

Her voice echoed across the silent camp, it was as though an alarm went off and all of a sudden life was breathed back into it, the many Servants charging away into their positions.

"What are you gonna do then?"

Ash remained silent at the question of Jeanne Alter for a couple of seconds, she had fulfilled her role here to the best of her abilities. The enemy that would threaten the Singularity was dead and gone, the location of the Christmas gathering was as good as it was going to get and all they really needed now were the main guests for it. Everything else was nothing more than passing words for her.

What did she intend to do now?

"...I don't know." She replied with a shrug, turning to face the blonde. "It all seems so pointless, even now. I can remain if I am welcome but forcing the issue would be pointless. Though if you can remain here, then it is expected that I would be capable of just as much."

Jeanne Alter raised an eyebrow. "Is that what it's come to now? Anything you can do, I can do better?"

Ash exhaled. "I don't care about doing it better…I would be content with doing it in the first place. If it can be done, then I need to be here."

"...That sounds sappy as all hell, you know that, right?"

"No. Not really."

"...Whatever." With an annoyed roll of the eyes, she turned from her and looked around. "Maybe I can get lucky and watch that Saint accidentally choke on a bit of turkey bone or something. Actually, I'm gonna see if I can dump a tin of custard on her head."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Are you truly going to advertise your intentions in front of me like that?" it went without saying that she would stop her, but it was more on account of the sheer incredulity that she would actually voice out her actions in the first place.

Wearing her frown openly as she stared at the Altered Servant, Jeanne spared him only a glance before she scowled and clicked her tongue. "Tch. Of course you care that much, don't you?"

"I am not allowing you to remain just so you may start a brawl with the others." She remarked with a dry tone. "Do not pretend to care but do not start a fight you have no chance of winning. Unlike me, you cannot so easily raise yourself from the dead…And dying after you declared to create your own existence would be…unfortunate."

"Ew."

"What?"

"You said something so disgusting that I just had to react to it." Jeanne Alter visibly gagged at her. "Some real grade A trash, if this is the sort of life that you're striving for then I'm genuinely wondering whether it's a life worth living in the first place…whatever though, not my problem at all so you can just…Hell, donate oranges to kids or something for all I care." waving her hands in front of herself, the Alter Servant turned her head away with a huff. "Just leave me out of it."

Ash had no intention to include her in the first place, she very much doubted that the woman would be amenable to anything of that nature.