Perfect Imperfections (Christmas Ritsuka x Jalter)

by AGeekyWriter

It was a chaotic Christmas at Chaldea, as it seemed to be every year. But with heaters not working and other problems starting to arise, Jeanne Alter sets out on a quest to finally get Ritsuka a gift. All she has to do is avoid mistletoes and get a little bit of help from her friends. Shouldn't be that hard right? (Chapter 2 New Story) (Merry Christmas)

2. Holy Night

"A Wizard is never late Frodo Baggins...he arrives precisely when he means to."

So much for getting this done ahead of schedule lol. I of course planned something simple, what I ended up doing was re-writing and re-working a Christmas event. Yay! Unlike my last Christmas work which I did in the span of a few days, I've been working on this since the start of December realizing I didn't want to have to do any crunch edits. However, I was hit with a terrible lack of ideas of what to do. So while I was writing this, I was already brainstorming different stories and other parts, trying to figure out how to make ideas work. At the end of it, I ultimately sort of went with an idea continuing the main theme of the previous Christmas fic I wrote with only one small blueprint I desperately wanted to include.

This started from the idea of the "Holy Night" craft essence for Jeanne Alter. It was one of the first craft essences I ever got for her and I loved it tons. (much like I love Jalter herself the wonderful beautiful queen she is lol). I worked from there wanting to create that scene and give it tons and tons of context. The dialogue in a part is pretty much paraphrased directly from that craft essence...and...well. I ended up writing a whole adventure.

My editing was crammed over a single day because I'm terrible and even writing fifteen pages a day for the last three days I still didn't finish in time. So once again THIS BAD BOI CAN FIT SO MANY GRAMTICAL AND POSSIBLY CONTINUITY ERRORS IN IT. Feel free to spot them so I can edit them as I'm a one-man show. Otherwise, feel free to leave me comments of praise as they are the provide me the merriest feeling of all to know that you enjoyed my work.

And that's it from me my lovely readers. I hope you have a wonderful merry Christmas, and/or a wonderful holiday season with whatever you want to celebrate. Until next time! See you starside!

As always I'm AGeekyWriter on most social platforms, I run a weekly movie podcast with my friends over CheapSeatCritics.

ALSO: this Christmas story does take some dark turns so...

TRIGGER WARNING: Slight self-harm, some overdramatic excessive violence, and themes of depression.

(There is a happy ending tho I promise lol).

---

Perfect Imperfections 2

The streets outside in Shinjuku were emptied of the crowds that it had once been filled with. It was late into the night, so one might have assumed that all the people would have just gone home after dark.

Except Shinjuku was unlike that even during the night time. Jeanne Alter would like to say she remembered it well. But the truth was, she had only memory fragments of the whole affair. She wasn't sure if it had been this particular version of her who'd been here in order to help deal with the Pseudo Singularity…or if it had simply been another blank version of her from the throne. In either case, she'd gotten saddled with just enough hazy memory and instinct to know that the emptiness even at night was wrong.

It was probably gangs…or something else.

Her amber eyes scanned the surroundings as she at last arrived at her destination. The only place with its lights on to mean something in this now hollow singularity. Now hollow, emptied of all the fake people that occupied it. Only the buildings remained and the singularity, the place itself was all that remained.

Even the magic that had run through the city seemed to have vanished.

Jeanne Alter could see from where she was, that burger joint that Artoria Alter still raved about. Now emptied of the people who'd used to make her that food. With a heavy breath, she stepped into the doors.

It was a high-class bar, empty except for three figures.

Moriarty behind the bar, cleaning a glass.

Kintoki who was dead asleep in one of the chairs in the corner.

And Emiya Alter who was sitting by himself staring at a half-empty glass.

The room was dark like the rest of the city. The lights behind the glasses of the bar seemed to glow yellow giving a sort of old bar vibe to go with the rest of the joint. The bar was cupped on either side with bricks on either end that gave it an old speakeasy feel. There were bottles of alcohol that lined the end of the bar she wanted to sit at, from an empty shelf that was probably being cleaned. Some of them were open, others were not.

In a way, it reminded her of a newer version of what Emiya had in the Summer singularity as she recalled that too.

Those memories right now, just made her feel more bitter.

Slow Christmas music was playing from the loudspeakers, and her heels clicked against the floor. The TVs were on but were only showing static.

Jeanne Alter wondered if they had been playing at all when they'd first been here at the singularity. Wondering if there had been much detail. She also considered the effort it would take for Chaldea to broadcast old television saved from before the world had ended due to all the singularities.

Moriarty had some darkness in his eyes as he cleaned his glass. But he seemed to straighten up a bit at the sight of her in their purple dress. "Jeanne," He greeted.

She walked herself over to the bar thankful for the near emptiness of the place as she sat at the bar, "Your hardest hitting wine please." Jeanne Alter's voice was roughened and hoarse. It was, she thought, quite unpleasant to hear. "Fais vite s'il te plaît…" Her eyes narrowed a bit and she huffed at herself rubbing her forehead.

The consulting criminal raised a brow and nodded. He set his glass and towel down, straightened his tie, and started sifting through the wine bottles.

She watched him for a moment and then went back to brooding and seething in silence. As she rubbed her cheeks, meaning rub away from the eyes, she'd found her purple gloves stained with mascara.

Damn it.

Moriarty walked back and put the glass in front of her. He seemed to eye her, the obvious mascara running as an indication of what she'd been doing. "Far be it from me to ask~"

"Then don't." She huffed out. Jeanne's expression hardened toward him as he poured her wine glass as any professional would, just below half of the glass goblet filling.

Moirarity hesitated but eventually chose to say nothing. He turned away.

She inhaled, "Laisse la bouteille!" Jeanne Alter blinked and closed her eyes. Then she cursed herself for it. As Moriarty stared at her blankly. "The bottle, leave it." She blew out a breath. "I'm going to drink all of it…"

"It's Christmas eve~" He raised a brow. "I have to close up shop~"

"Just shut up and let me drink!" She shouted out, her cheeks turning red. She could feel her vision start to blur a bit. Her fingers curled against the goblet. Then she forced herself to breathe out more slowly.

I just don't want to think right now.

"I know…I just…let me stay here for a little while and I'll be out of your hair." She looked up at him and she tried to blink away the water in her eyes. She hated it like it was foreign. There was that way that a despicable consulting criminal looked at her. Derisive skepticism at her vague promise to be out of his hair in a short while.

Moriarty hummed, shaking his head. "All booze and glasses stay here in the bar." Then he turned away walking down the length of his bar to grab that glass, and swung the towel from off his shoulder. "Anyone else?"

The other alter shook his head, still looking at that half-empty glass. "No,"

He didn't bother to ask Kintoki, who was still snoring away.

And then it was just her and that sweet savory mind numbing drink she'd wanted from the start. She took a swig of the wine. It tasted sweet, which was just so deliciously threatening at its face value. She took another right afterward and smiled as it warmed her a bit from the cold air she'd experienced on her walk here.

Unlike Moriarty however, she didn't care much for the "correct" or "proper" amount of wine for a glass goblet. So she filled hers nearly up to the brim with a sadistic grin wondering how fast she could drink it.

It was an easier thing to focus on rather than…anything. Her face started to twist and her nose scrunched up all at once. Her vision started to blur and her glare into the wine glass intensified.

She managed to stifle a quiet sob even though her shoulders shook.

Had to ruin everything.

It had been the start to a wonderful Christmas week that she'd hoped it would be. There had been no immediate issues that had called for his attention. There was no big event some other servant was trying to force upon them. It was just the usual gathering meant to be had in the mess hall cleared away with all the tables for some easy festivities.

Altera was an archer with a mustache and a Santa bag for this year…which was weird…and the weirder part of it was that she was essentially in another bathing suit like her usual mystic code. Weird happenings had started happening, and Ritsuka and Gudako had set off to wrap it all up in short order like a present.

Jeanne Alter chugged her drink back again holding back once more those bitter tears, as she strained to keep them in.

###Jeanne Alter###

She was staring blankly at the present box sitting on their bed. There were greens, reds, and golden ribbons strewn about the room. She'd gotten away with it last year by the slimmest of margins. She'd gotten away with it on Ritsuka's birthday when they had both been far too busy to do much for one another. But staring at it now, she had no idea how to do it. She'd gone through nearly two rolls of wrapping paper and half a spool of ribbons.

The messes of her attempts also littered the room.

Stupid.

She gritted her teeth as her booted heels tangled through the piles of trash. She for a moment stomped away from the bed and kicked one of the boxes she managed to ruin. Her fingers wrapped around that purple and black metal worked bracelet around her wrist. There was always a calming warmth to it on her skin.

Her eyes went to their shelf on the wall, Ritsuka's Azoth dagger and her golden chalice sat there beautifully displayed.

"I'm such an idiot…" She seethed out between her teeth.

Then there was a knock at the door and she stiffened up right with a sudden reflexive worry. She sprinted towards the door.

"Alter?" Ritsuka said, the door sliding open with a small hiss. "I'm back~" His words were cut off as she pushed him, dragging his feet right back outside of the room. She'd only known a few things to keep him from peering into their room behind her. Things that would make it certain that he'd seen nothing.

She quickly pushed her lips against this mouth muffling whatever he was intending to say next. One hand pushed back, covering his eyes the other, his chest. His lips were a bit chapped, and his mouth had the distant flavor of coffee, something else bitter and sweet she couldn't quite place. In any case, it was intoxicating. Her fingers that she ran through his hair felt a bit odd.

Jeanne Alter smirked as she managed to close the door behind her with her other hand, now that she'd pushed him outside. Then she uncovered his eyes and stepped away, grabbing both sides of his face. Her cheeks were flushed. "T-thanks for knocking." She managed with an awkward smile.

Ritsuka was dumbstruck still and huffed out a chuckle. "Yeah…uh…happy I could…uh? Help?" He smiled at her and this time set the things in his arms down. A box of his own full of other small things. He wrapped his arms around Jeanne Alter's waist and pulled her close again without warning.

The funny thing about it was that she'd tried thinking of the best ways to stop him when attempt fortieth to wrap her present box neatly and properly had failed miserably. It was what she'd been staring at the box thinking so hard about for so long. She had no idea how much time she'd wasted trying to figure it out.

And she went with what she thought was the stupidest plan of it all. The sort of dumb plan she'd daydreamed up specifically because of its absurdity. Yet it was the one she'd gone with because her mind had blanked in the seconds she needed it most.

Because the damn sight of him made her heart dance in her chest.

So she still yelped when he pulled her right back into his arms. Her hands firmed their touch, as she cupped his face. Running a hand through his hair as his tongue pushed into her mouth, wiping the corner of her lips.

She was wearing lipstick that tasted of blackberries and sugar plums, coming out a little more violet in color than others that she started to keep lying around. It had been her favorite just as much as it had been his.

She closed her eyes, nearly wanting to give in to the sensation.

Only a cough brought her out of her stupor. Her eyes went wide like a deer in headlights.

Gudako was standing right behind him, her golden eyes fixated on her, with a singular brow raised

She'd frozen.

Ritsuka hadn't frozen but his hands were still wrapped around her as he gently pulled away from her lips, as they both gasped for air. He turned toward Gudako and offered a shit-eating grin to her. "What?"

Her lip twitched, "So that's what it felt like watching me and Ed snog in front of you…" Gudako cleared her throat. "I'm…not going to apologize but…"

"Sorry!" Jeanne Alter blurted out. "I didn't know you were there, and I didn't know you were coming by I just~"

"Alter," Ritsuka said gently.

"I wasn't thinking…it's probably awkward and I just can't let your brother back into the room right now~"

"Alter?"

Jeanne blew out a breath and she could feel her cheeks reddening all the more. "I really really…" She trailed off and her amber eyes went wide on Gudako again. "Wait how long were you standing there?"

"Alter," Ritsuka said more pressingly.

She felt his fingers under her chin as her lips were tilted upwards. This kiss was quick and chaste compared to the previous two. Those blue eyes were boring into hers with a certain degree of determination and it had sent her spike of anxiety and adrenaline crashing right back down. She was still tense, however.

"It's fine," He chuckled, "I didn't know you were wrapping today."

Damn it.

She wanted to kick herself. So she settled for gently hitting the base of her fist into Ritsuka's shoulder. And kicking the floor, "Y-yeah…sorry." She said a bit more timidly. Alter looked away from him with a still-bright blush and a deepening twist to her lips.

So my dumb daydreaming plan failed anyway. Any of the others would have worked!

Jeanne Alter groaned, "Ugh…" She shook her head from embarrassment and touched her forehead. "Anyway, why are you back so early?"

Ritsuka hummed, "Well Altera was trying to say that one of the ovens breaking down in the kitchen was a bad civilization…Emiya thought he could fix it…and things sort of spiraled out from there." He gave a sheepish grin.

Stupid idiodic smile.

Gudako was there shaking her head thinking of fond memories. It was only when Jeanne Alter realized that both siblings had their hair and clothes covered with flour for baking. She stepped back and looked down at her gloves.

The bitter-sweet taste on his lips.

"I…see," She said.

Now it was an impasse as he merely wanted to come in and rinse off. And She couldn't let him in. The awkward, obvious silence of it, was broken only a few seconds later.

Gudkao sighed, "You can come to wash up in my room brother." She raised a brow at him. "Mind getting him a fresh set of clothes Alter?"

She blinked, "Uh- Y-yeah…Just give me a second." She turned back to open the door, her hand almost on the scanner, only to give Ritsuka a feigned pout.

He chuckled, "Right right, I'll look the other way." She didn't open the door till he was all the way around.

The hand scanner lit up green and she marched inside, closing the door behind her. Gudako however, had plenty of time to scan the room too. She whistled in amazement and Alter had missed whatever comment she'd made when the door had slid closed. With a breath of relief, she slumped for a second against the door hitting the back of her head against the wall.

Stupid idiot.

Jeanne took another deep breath and straightened up and marched across the room. She came to their closet and peeled it open. There were lots of mystic codes hanging there, plus her purple dress, and her black cloak. Her swimsuits had been stored with his in one of the drawers of their dresser.

Ritsuka had thought it would be funny if he got her a red shirt that had the word "Buster" on it. She hadn't worn it in public, but she did wear it around their room and to sleep occasionally. It stood out among all the colors of the mystic codes.

Her lip twitched a little as she eyed the Chaldea Combat uniform mystic code up and down. It was probably the most skin-tight of all the outfits.

She could picture the way he filled it out so perfectly~

Jeanne Alter smacked her cheeks.

Come on now, don't be so stupid yet.

She grabbed the mystic code, a fresh black coat. It was difficult to think there was a time for her when going through their dresser and shared closet would have embarrassed her…but not anymore. She folded a fresh set of underwear beneath the mystic code and a fresh pair of socks balled together on top of the small pile she'd assembled for him. Next was a red scarf and a pair of gloves.

She knocked on the door when it was ready, hoping he took the hint to turn around or she would have to punt him down the hall.

She grinned sadistically a bit at the thought.

The door slid open and his back was to her.

Damn, perhaps next time?

The door hissed closed.

"Thanks for waiting." She said, "I promise it will be worth it." Jeanne Alter held the small pile of clothes out.

Ritsuka smiled a bit and turned back around now that he'd heard the door closed. "It's good to see you in either case." He dropped the clothes on top of the box he'd been carrying. And hefted it up back into his arms. "What time am I allowed to return?"

Jeanne Alter blushed a bit and folded her arms. "I-I don't know. However long it takes is how long you'll have to stay away."

He chuckled a bit, "It is my room love."

"Hmf." She made a show of rolling on her booted heels. "Our room darling." Jeanne Alter sighed deflating a bit. She really didn't know how long it would take for her either figure the damn wrapping thing out or how long it would take her to muster up the courage to ask someone else. "Look just…I'll send you a message…is that okay?"

He nodded with a small smile, "Yeah, that'll be fine." Ritsuka leaned over and stole a quick kiss on her lips, the most Chaste of them today yet.

Gudako went to pick up her box too. "Avoid the hallway to the sauna, too many missile toes to count. We both have already been victims…as has Atalante."

Jeanne raised a brow, though she tensed a little. "Oh?"

"Don't worry, both of us missed Kiyohime…" Ritsuka added. "Though Marie Antoinette got both of us." He offered Jeanne an apologetic smile. "It was only on the cheeks so…don't worry too much…"

"I…I wasn't worried." Jeanne Alter blurted out.

Gudako snorted, "It's alright Alter, Ed gets a little possessive too. He's going to have the same reaction as you." Then her smile widened a bit as she looked mischievous. "But, Achilles got Atalante, and he made it one they will both remember."

It was hard not to smirk at the thought. "I'm sorry I missed it, is the Chaste huntress still walking around touching her lips?"

"Yep, and she's gone to lock herself in a room for a while." Ritsuka adjusted his hold on the box. "Well…Alter, I'll see you later…don't get too caught up in your own thoughts alright?" He still smiled at her. "I know how you can get sometimes."

She huffed, "I'm not…as bad…"

"No, but I'm allowed to worry about you."

She feigned a pout and leaned against the doorway, "Go on, the sooner I get this done, the faster you can come back to our room."

He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah." Ritsuka waved over his shoulder at her, before getting a good hold on that box of things. It was full of trinkets and Christmas things. Filled with decorations that others might want or use.

Jeanne Alter lingered at the doorway to their room as she watched the two siblings march down the hall. She waited until they'd rounded the bend before stepping back inside to the room. With a sigh she looked around at the mess, her lips twisting a little. "I should…probably clean up at least a little…"

With a small sigh, and within the quiet of their room, she took five minutes to straighten it all out. Usually, she and Ritsuka tended to share such duties. But as it happened, this one was completely on her. Even still her boots tangled on ribbons, and wrapping paper crinkled with each step.

With those five minutes the room looked better, she could better see the white panel flooring. It wasn't a perfect cleanup, but at least she would be less embarrassed when she allowed Ritsuka back into their room.

Once more she approached the bed, the third roll of wrapping paper sitting there waiting for her. Alter put a hand on her hip, and her lips twisted a little looking at the pair of boxes. She hadn't even gotten the first one done, and she had no idea how she was going to get the second one completed.

She touched her forehead with a small frown. "Damn it, I'll give it another hour…and if not…I'll…" She blew out a breath and aired out an admission for just herself. "I'll get help…" Jeanne Alter frowned a little. "Fuck it…it'll be better than ruining a fourth roll of it…" She stepped forward and dragged the wrapping paper closer.

At least there haven't been many emergencies.

Her amber eyes flicked to the calendar.

Three days before Christmas.

Yet.

Shut up!

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel draped over his wet hair. Steam from the hot shower followed him starting to clear out. He was mostly dressed from the waist down, with thermals and socks on. The skin-tight combat mystic code uniform's upper half hung from the waist too. He paused at his sister's mirror and looked down at his chest. He was still leaned, with muscle, and hints of abs. He wasn't as toned as servants but still toned for a human.

But he had a new scar across his navel, that was an ugly mix of colors and purple.

Ritsuka stared at it for a moment.

Gudako was on the other side of the room in a similar state. She was opting for the combat uniform mystic code as well. The orange tint is a complete contrast to his own white and black suit. Her pants were on with thermals underneath, and her top was off, but she was just wrapping a bra strap around her chest, and clasping it together. Her back was to him, so he looked away.

She had a new scar of her own too, on her hip.

A few more years of this and there might not be any original bits of us left.

She looked over her shoulder at him and the movement had pulled his attention back to her. She gave him a nod as she reached over to a shirt lying on her bed.

Permission to be in her space without worry.

She tugged a plain black shirt on. "Did you see the paper moon at all today?"

He hummed, "I'm afraid not, I was too busy trying to make sure the kitchen staff didn't get into too much trouble."

"I think we might have a few missions before Christmas in four days…" She said, "Better make sure your gift wrapping is done ahead of time." Gudako offered him a smile.

He snorted a little, and grabbed his black tank top, throwing it over his shoulder. He dug both hands into the towel and gave his hair one last big run-through with it, squeezing any of the remaining excess water away as he did. Then he threw the towel over into the dirty laundry pile and slid his tank top over it.

Gudako started to strap up into the combat uniform's upper half, zipping and strapping. She gave a nod to him. "When did you get that?"

"During the unexpected Thanksgiving disaster…" He touched his chest where he'd gotten it, now tucked away. "Jeanne D'Arc was the one who pulled me out of danger. Alter was the one who destroyed the unlucky enemy who got a bit too close."

She was quiet for a few seconds longer. "Oh, yes I remember now." She tapped her hip, "Actually this one was after the battle. An unaccounted for…assassin shadow. They almost had me dead to rights…Ed got to them first." She straightened up in the uniform and tugged at the hem of it around her collar for a moment. Then she pulled her orange hair out, being sure to grab any loose strands before she started to organize as she walked past him towards the mirror.

Ritsuka did the same now strapping into his. "I see, was that when we were investigating separately?"

"Yes, around there," Gudako said. "I miss when Christmas and holidays were simple back home sometimes."

He nodded quietly at that, tugging at the hem of his collar when he was done. He eyed his gloves, scarf, and long coat that he'd been given from Jeanne Alter on the bed for a moment, before grabbing the gloves.

With her hair done, she opened her closet and pulled out a coat and scarf for herself.

Ritsuka grinned a little, "I remember…the year before we got here, do you remember what Ophelia got me? She was super embarrassed?"

Gudako's brows knitted together as she turned around lips twisting. "Oh…" She smiled and then laughed. "Yes, black socks! And you loved them."

He chuckled too and pointed at his sister, "That moment right there is when I knew I grew up. I never was excited to get clothes before…" Ritsuka shook his head and threw his gloves while flexing his fingers into the material. The scarf and coat followed as they shared another laugh between them.

"Gosh…" Gudako hummed, "I think it was that t-shirt. The plain one that I wanted because I needed something else to sleep." She chuckled. "I think that was it for me concerning the holiday." She snorted and shook her head at herself. "I knew I was grown up from that moment on too."

"It's always the clothes." He huffed.

"Always the damn clothes."

They both giggled as Gudako threw on her jacket.

Then the intercom buzzed, and a familiar voice came over the room's door speaker. Da Vinci's enthusiastic voice suddenly filled the room. "Gudako, Ritsuka, are you both there?"

They were still smiling, and Gudako walked over to the door's digital panel and pressed her finger up against it, clicking it on. "Yeah, we're here Da Vinci, what's up?"

There was a small sigh, "I think we might have a situation. One of our regularly scheduled Christmas mishaps it seems." There was a pause and for a moment that's all they thought they were getting.

Ritsuka and Gudako exchanged a look.

Edmond's voice came over the intercom. "Hey honey, bring a mystic code."

"We already geared up Ed." She said, She rolled up her coat's sleeves, "We'll meet you in the command room shortly." She clicked it off and sighed, the same expression that he had on his lips. She looked up at the ceiling and just shook her head a few times. That sinking feeling of inevitability. "Duty calls."

He snorted, "As it always seems to. Come on, let's stop by the power generators before we make our way up." Ritsuka shook his head a couple of times. "The last thing I want is a repeat of what happened last year."

"Agreed."

###Jeanne Alter###

She threw the third empty roll against the wall with a huff, "God damn it!" She bit down on her lip as soon as the curse had slipped out. "Pourquoi suis-je si inutile!" With a huff, Jeanne turned away from the bed kicking some of the ripped and shredded wrapping paper away. Settling her hands on her hips.

It's always the little things~

She breathed out and pinched her nose.

Worthless.

That's how it had been since the start of it. All the way back during that summer vacation when the two of them got stuck in a time loop together. She bit her lip and curled her fingers into her palms.

No.

In the quiet of their room, she slumped onto the floor and hugged herself, her amber eyes barely above her arms as they started to glisten.

It had been before, hadn't it?

Jeanne Alter could recall with clarity that it was something she struggled with even before she'd properly started to fall for him. That timeline was a bit foggier to trace, and there were reasons that she often thought about their final meeting in the France singularity. But no, the small things, the normal things…she'd never been good at.

She couldn't cook, but she could wipe out his enemies. She could manage a waltz but wasn't coordinated enough to manage a tango. She couldn't talk to people easily, but she could burn them easily. And she couldn't wrap her damn presents for him so close to Christmas.

It was frustrating and infuriating that it was always these things.

Their room was a mess now as she looked around at it.

Ritsuka was the one who managed the cleaning too. She tried to keep things tidy, but inevitably it just gradually spilled out, unlike today when she'd made an even worse mess of it. He never did that.

It was something they'd talked about before, taking things like this one step at a time.

I have a workaround.

Her mouth twisted a little at the very thought of it. Suspecting that she would've had to do it from the start, but wanted to avoid it. She sucked the air and held back her tears, giving her biceps one last squeeze under her nails before standing back up. After a few careful breaths, she took one last look at those two boxes on their bed and closed them both up.

After grabbing the last of the wrapping paper rolls she bought, and the fresh spool of ribbons, she marched off leaving the mess to be cleaned up for later.

She navigated to her room easily enough. Jeanne D'Arc had a roommate in Marie Antoinette The latter of whom she was going to try and avoid this trip. The French Queen was pushy and somehow she always managed to get Alter to do what she wanted, by convincing her it was something she'd wanted to do all along.

As she stood in the hallway staring at the door, she found she was warmer than she thought. She rolled her shoulders a bit and shook the feeling off.

It was always cold in Chaldea around Christmas.

Unfortunately for her, Marie was the one to answer the door. Her eyes widened at the sight of Alter. "Oh, Jeanne, what are you doing here?" She looked at those two boxes in Alter's hands.

She could feel sweat almost form on her brow. "I'm looking for Joan, is she…?"

"She's not here." Marie smiled up at her. "Mon amour est éteint…" The French queen trailed off a bit and hesitated.

Jeanne's ears pricked a little. "Off where?"

Marie deflated a little. "She's visiting the French singularity right now. Wanted some time to think to herself…how badly do you want to speak to her?"

"I mean…it's not an emergency." Alter hedged.

Three days away.

"N-not yet I mean." Jeanne Alter straightened up a little, noting that the French queen was hesitant. "Is there any reason why she decided to go?" If anyone did know it would've been Joan's French queen.

Once more she shook her head, "She was…distant about it." She offered Jeanne a little small. "I'm worried." There was that way she smiled ever so sweetly. It was easy to see why she got along with her normal self so often. And how she often got away with it. "Your sister would probably like it if you visited?"

Jeanne Alter blew out a breath, amber eyes narrowing. Joan had never been so persistent on anything before then. Marie had always been happy to go along with it. She shook her head, "Ugh would you please stop calling me that? Even if it's just for the holidays I'd appreciate it. She doesn't need any more gratification beyond what Lily gives her."

Marie snorted, "Fine fine. If you check up on her, I'll keep my word."

It was only after that short exchange had finished, Alter realized she'd gotten swindled. And so quickly it had been too. She grit her teeth, "Damn it! Could you not do that, I genuinely want her help!"

The French queen tilted her head a little amused at her. "I know, but she also I think wants some company…and simply didn't want me to see." Her expression turned a bit more gentle. "I'm worried," She repeated..

This time it sunk in a little bit more and Alter looked away.

"Consider it a fair exchange then, I told you where it is, and you go help her…sort out whatever's bothering her." Marie bounced on her heels. "She does it for everyone, and I would be delighted to know that she has support from everyone including you."

Jeanne was quiet. "Okay…" She blew out a breath and straightened up. "Did Lily go with her?"

Marie shook her head, "No, Lily went off with Santa Alter and the other kids to get a head start on a few things."

She nodded quietly. "Then…leave Joan to me…Merry Christmas Marie."

Her blue eyes went wide and she seemed delighted, straightening up a bit. She nodded furiously and smiled brightly, despite it being a little off her at that moment. "Of course, Marie Christmas Alter…I'd have offered to help…but it seems like I wasn't your first choice…after all." She immediately started waving it off. "Wait, don't feel guilty, I think that's a good thing you know?"

Those blue eyes seemed to look right into her soul.

"It means you're growing better at knowing to ask for what you want. More assertive and sure of your boundaries and all that." The French queen's smile was nearly infectious. She tilted her head. "I'm proud of you…"

Jeanne still felt a small pang of guilt at that, she offered an awkward smile. "Thanks…I…am trying."

She snorted and touched Jeanne's arm and tentatively grabbed her wrist. Marie winked at her, "He always notices too you know, so there is no need to worry."

With her lips pressed together she pouted with only a small gruff of acknowledgment. She looked away, a small blush forming. Jeanne Alter decided not to grace that last sentence with a verbal response. Instead, she gave the queen one lost nod of her head and stepped away. The door closed between them.

"Merry Christmas," Was a muffled sentence, but she'd heard it all the same.

She huffed at herself and with both boxes under her arms, she went off to look for her sister.

As soon as the thought came, she smacked her forehead, a feat difficult to achieve given that her hands were full. She should know much better by now, but it was still depressingly annoying all the same.

She went towards the rayshift room and passed by the command staff room. Inside she caught the glimpses of a few familiar faces.

Ritsuka was there, and Gudako, both standing with Da Vinchi and Edmond around the paper moon device.

Her heart sank a little.

Busy before long.

She picked up her pace and headed for the rayshifting room. Servants came and went these days, but she still needed to tell someone she was leaving.

A woman with purple hair was there with a few books scribbling things down. "Oh, Jeanne Alter? What are you doing here?" It was a woman she didn't recognize all that well. It was another problem she had sometimes. Most of the staff at Chaldea blended together sometimes. They were always in the same uniforms and more often than not, there were just too many names to remember. The servants were difficult enough.

"Oh…yeah, Uh, I'm looking for…Joan…you know? Uh…normal me?"

The woman smiled pleasantly, "Yes, she came through about an hour ago. Are you planning to meet her?" She sat up, set the books down, and started tapping a few of the controls. Some of the lights came on. And in a single smooth noise, the room started to power up a little.

Jeanne Alter nodded, "Yes. Thank you…uh?"

"Cerejeira Elron." She said without looking over her shoulder. "Normally I'm a record keeper…but not today." There was a mug nearby with the string of a teabag sitting out. "Everyone's getting their share of time off for the holidays…I'm just…drawing the short straw I guess."

She nodded at that. "Well thanks, I…mean it."

"Any reason you're taking those with you?" She gestured at the boxes.

Jeanne Alter suddenly looked like a deer in headlights. "Y-yes. My boyfriend likes to come and go into our room as he pleases so…" She blushed and looked away. "You know…I can't have him see his presents."

There was a snort, and the purple-haired girl started laughing. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect that Alter." Her shoulders were hunched as she keeled over her desk. "I guess I never had any reason to be afraid." There was something about the hardness and distance of the woman's features that faded away. She smiled and gestured for Alter to head to the center of the room. "Bring your cloak, it's raining in France right now."

Alter blinked and with the rolling of her shoulders, her black cloak appeared over her usual Avenger set, armor and all, in a wave of blue particles.

The woman hummed once and gave her the usual countdown.

She blew out a breath and there was that feeling of electricity going up and through her skin, the surge of mana and electricity melding together.

And then she was there as she opened her eyes. Dark clouds loomed overhead and she could feel the patterning of light rain on her skin. It was raining, but it wasn't pouring. With a small glance around she tried to gauge where she'd ended up. It was the French countryside she realized and her lips twisted a little.

There were rolling green hills and a city in the far distance that she could scarcely see.

Much closer there was a single house on a farm that was two stories. And in comparison to all the other buildings that were around, this building had the lights on.

The house had a vague edge of familiarity to it that she couldn't immediately place. Like there was no specific memory of the building to recall. With a small frown and her boxes tucked safely under her cloak…she started walking forward. Her heeled boots quiet with the sound of the rain hitting the earth around her.

It was a short walk to the building. Only five minutes before she reached the small enclosure. Instead of just using her mana to jump the fence she walked the extra ten feet to the front opening where a path led directly into the house.

Her feet clicked against the gravel as she approached.

She shuffled a bit at the sound of some movement.

"Joan?" she tried. As she got closer.

When there was no response she kicked the door with a few light taps. "Joan!" She tried again. This time leaning away from the door angling through the window. It was unlike modern windows, the glass was older and more foggy. Though she could see a few different candlelights lining the inside next to a few counters.

Jeanne D'Arc opened the door, her blonde hair neatly ordered. Her blue eyes blinked in surprise. Her spirit-origin dress was dispelled unlike Alter's, and it was far closer to some simple peasantry garb.

It made her all the more confused.

"Oh, Alter…I…thought I was hearing things when you first called out." She chuckled a little and despite the rain, her smile seemed warm. "What are you doing here?"

Alter was quiet and noted how easy it was to resist the urge to do something awkward with her hands when her arms were full under her cloak. "I was going to ask you the same thing honestly." Her brows furrowed a bit and she peered into the humble-looking home out there behind her. "What…are you doing…here?"

She gave a sheepish smile. "I was…summoned here, and the farmer found me." Joan seemed to gather herself up a bit and stepped to the side, making room for her to come in. "I was underpowered at the time since we…were tied to one another at the time."

"Oh." Jeanne Alter said a bit awkwardly. Then her shoulders shrunk a bit, "Oh…I guess…I shouldn't be here then."

Joan was quick to hold up her hands. "No, no! It's okay. Just…I'm surprised is all. They were a kind family." She reached out and grabbed Alter's wrist and pulled her inside. There was a moment where Alter was standing close to the door as it was closed. Joan walked around her looking at the empty space. "They're gone now…obviously…like everyone else that made up the singularity."

Jeanne Alter was quiet. She had not once ever set foot back into the hollowed shell of the singularity. It was strange to think that she'd done it on something so seemingly trivial a matter. There was a reason she avoided a place such as this. It was a glaring reminder of all that was wrong about her. A glaring reminder of who she didn't want to be anymore.

The blonde seemed to spot her expression. She grinned a bit, "Oh, and now I've got you worrying over something. Please pay my nostalgia no mind-"

"Is it still there?" She asked, amber eyes narrowed.

There was a beat of quiet, just a breath too long for Alter to know that it was an aversion.

"Is what still there?"

Her amber eyes narrowed a bit as if it were obvious. "The pyre." This time she looked up to meet Joan's blue eyes with a different expression.

"If it is…I haven't visited it." Joan said as she walked back towards the table. There was a wash rag there, and she went about cleaning the tabletop. "Like you…I suppose I'm…inclined to dislike that place too…even if I hold no malice."

"I do," Jeanne said and she took a long breath. "Why are you here? Just nostalgia?"

Joan shrugged, "Not fully. I just…wanted some space to think I guess. And I realized, I hadn't offered prayers for them. All those lost and wandering souls that we had left in our wake."

"They were fictitious," Alter said pointedly, lips pressing into a line. "I mean…uh…you know…they are unlike real people from our…world. They were all copies and representations of the people."

"No more than you were?" She asked pointedly. The statement was not meant to be hostile. Her tone was almost playful.

Alter winced.

Lucky.

"Touche." She admitted and finally walked over to the table. "I suppose there are worse things that one could do aside from respecting the dead." She was half tempted to set her boxes on the table. But decided to set them on the chairs instead. The green and red wrapping paper roll was visible sticking out from a bag. As Jeanne stepped away and dispelled her cloak.

Joan had been quiet. "And…" She said as if intending to continue. This time looking Alter right in the eye.

It was enough to make her stiffen upright.

"I'm here because I had a dream that I should be here last night." Her lips twisted a little. "Could be coincidence…but…given how often we have shenanigans around Christmas to deal with." She chuckled. "I suppose…I didn't want to be too careful with it all." She shrugged and straightened up a bit. "Now…Alter…why are you here…and what did you bring with you?"

Jeanne was only just digesting all of that, thinking about some bad memories she had tied to this place. Her eyes went wide… "Oh…its…well…" She trailed off.

Worthless.

Slowly she gathered herself and blew out a breath. "I…uh…I've never been good at small things…as you know. I always find a way to screw something up." As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she saw something of that older sister flaring up in her counterpart. "B-But that's why I'm here…I wanted…to get your help…with…" She fell quiet and her voice trailed off. "...presents…"

Joan blinked, staring at her.

"You know…with…wrapping them."

The silence that had stretched seemed to have lasted a full ten seconds. It certainly felt like it had lasted that long even though she probably understood it to be shorter. Jeanne Alter was flushed with embarrassment, and defeat, as those blue eyes seemed to fix themselves to her. She tried to laugh it off.

It sounded lame even to her own ears as she'd spoken them.

"And you came to me?!" Joan's blue eyes suddenly came alight with excitement. "Oh, my baby sister finally asked me for something!" She blushed and instantly became bashful. "Oh…my gosh…Oh my gosh…" She then stiffened and cleared her throat. "I mean, that's wonderful…" Then she got confused. "Wait…what help do you need with presents?"

Jeanne Alter would have let out a breath of relief as her mind was dragged to a reflexive denial of them being sisters. And then it was dragged to her older sister's-

Damn it!

"I need help wrapping." She spat, her amber eyes narrowing a bit towards her. "Would you like to help me or not?"

Joan seemed to settle herself and cleared her throat. "Yes, I would love to help you, Jeanne." She threw the wash rag away. "Come come," She patted the table. "Put them up here so I can have a look."

With some slight hesitation…she set both boxes on the table and carefully pushed the one to her right forward towards Joan. "I need them both wrapped…but-" She huffed out feeling lame. "...-need someone to teach me."

"Oh…I see," Joan touched her chin a few times. "To be clear I…didn't know how to do it either."

Jeanne stared at her. "Really?"

"Really. Marie and Samson taught me. I wanted to give a gift to Edmond and our masters at the time. It…was…an anniversary of something I think…" She touched her chin and considered. Then she immediately waved it off. "But that's not important. Did you bring tape and ribbons? Or any bows?"

Alter held up the plastic bag and set it on the table. There was a buzz that seemed to come alright in the room. All the while Jeanne Alter was hoping that she wouldn't regret this choice. It seemed though, her worries were for not. However, she found Joan was quick to settle her in and start teaching her properly.

The annoying part of the whole affair was that Joan was referring to her constantly as a little sister in English, French, and Japanese.

It would be lucky if she didn't burn the whole damn place down right on top of them when they finish.

###Jeanne Alter###

They were done in less than half an hour, and Alter couldn't believe it as she stared at the two perfectly wrapped boxes on the table in front of her. Her mouth was nearly a gape. Joan ultimately had wrapped the first one. And then ripped it up, guiding Alter's hands the right way to do it.

It took several tries on both of them.

She'd nearly run out of wrapping paper again.

But we are done!

She grinned at it.

"See, I told you it wasn't difficult. Just need some extra practice." Joan said. She tilted her head up and looked outside at the pattering rain. "Hm, but I think we should be heading back though. The others are all going to start missing us soon." The blonde moved towards the window, cracking it open to have a better look.

Jeanne Alter could scarcely take her eyes off the boxes until there was a flash and a sort of brandish of metal. She tensed as the mana in the air shifted and she spun around to see.

Joan was standing there now standing in her gear that had marked her as a ruler. The golden particles that followed her wake flowed away from her; the end of her white flag with golden hues and embroidery took shape within the grasp of her hand. Those blue eyes sharpened and she looked back at Jeanne.

Alter felt herself stiffen.

"Trouble on the road," She said plainly.

How?

Jeanne Alter followed suit with her blackened red sword appearing in her hand, and in the other, her white and black flag of the dragon. Her shinjuku outfit disappeared, being replaced with a similar armor to Joan's, with red hues at the frayed ends. "What the hell, this place is empty isn't it?"

Joan nodded tensely. "Which is what concerns me…there are shapes on the road in the rain."

Jeanne Alter joined her to look down the very dirt road she'd walked to the house in. Her lips twisted as she saw them as described.

A few looked like beasts, others looked humanoid.

Her sister was quiet and her blue eyes narrowed. "Flank around them, go out the back. There are few small sheds and trees that could block them from seeing you." She took a deep breath and straightened up. "I'll pull their attention…and possibly try to talk them down to the best of my ability." Those blue eyes then fixed themselves to Alter. "We can make short work of them if a fight breaks…out except for that center one."

Alter's amber eyes narrowed towards it and she grit her teeth. "A Nue!" She would burn that damn thing to ash. She would, she swore she would. Her fingers curled around the handle of her sword.

Joan touched her shoulder. "Easy, sometimes they can understand…that might buy us a little time."

Alter forced herself to take a deep breath and nodded once. Then twice. "Okay, go…once you have their attention I'll make my way out of the door." She backed away and watched Joan calmly open the front door. The rain was coming down heavier now. There was a brief moment as Joan's flag unfurled itself, flapping in the wind and her braid bounced against the metal of her armor as she stepped away from the house.

The wind was blazing and Alter backed away from the door, her lips twisting a little as she angled to leave.

What the hell is going up there?

Chaldea wasn't the sky or heaven in this world, but she glared at the stormy clouds all the same, as the rain came down on her eyes. She took another deep breath and crouched low, dispelling her flag for the time being. It was a simple strategy that Joan had suggested, but it was her experience in fighting with Ritsuka that told her that taking out the fodder around the Nue would be the best solution.

She angled her eyes around the house and noticed that all those strange shapes and creatures had come to a stop on the road.

Joan was the only figure standing in the way, with her flag dancing in the wind. Her blue eyes were calm as she stared down the demonic horde before her.

There must've been twenty shapes in a total of scarcely different variants. There was one that had pulled her attention the most, which was a fleshy mass of monstrous tentacles, not unlike the ones Gilles had as familiars. But this one was different, it had mistletoes in place of barnacles. It had bells instead of suction cups that bounced with each step. Its rows of teeth were like sharpened candy canes.

She tensed.

It's shaping up to be just another Christmas at Chaldea, isn't it?

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

There was a sense of dizziness about him as he came too. Then once the pain had faded he sat up right with a sharp gasp. "Ah, what the hell." He blinked and found himself in the middle of snow, with decorated Christmas trees all about, and gingerbread houses and gingerbread men standing in the distance.

And it was sweltering hot like it was mid-summer.

What the hell was it this time?

The snow wasn't cold, it just felt like white powder in comparison to the sweltering heat. He pushed himself up and looked around.

He spotted his sister lying a few meters away in the snow. The orange of her suit was far more useful in spotting her than his own black and white one would be. Like Emiya often did, he wanted to curse his E-rank luck on how his day was starting to turn. There was a strain in his muscles as he found his feet. "Gudako?"

She stirred a little. "Mm, ow."

Ritsuka huffed, "Ed?"

There was a burst of snow nearby as a hand crawled up, hauling themselves up. "Present!" His hat tilted a little as he rested his head on the snow.

"Altera?"

She hummed standing a few meters away stoic, eyeing the gingerbread houses in the distance. "Here, Reindeers."

Ritsuka sighed.

That title will never go away, will it?

Gudako slowly sat up shaking off the white snow that lacked the cold. "What the hell? I feel like I should've brought my damn swimsuit?"

He nodded and rolled his shoulders.

Edmond Dantes needed a few more minutes before he eventually pulled himself right back out the rest of the way from the snow. "Could've picked a better spot Miss bad civilization!" He groaned and shook off the white powder.

Altera's eyes narrowed, but she didn't rise to the barb. Instead, she turned around and looked pointedly at Ritsuka. "There is an ailment preventing Christmas. The servants of Chaldea are getting sick. And as you can see, we are in the middle of a sweltering heat wave that is overrunning us."

Ritsuka started taking off his long coat and scarf, as he walked over to join her. "Was that what Da Vinci meant? When something was off about the servants at Chaldea?"

"Yes." The woman straightened up, "It's why I've been going around raising the alarm as it were." She flicked her hair out behind her. "As for what's causing it, they are here somewhere. And I propose we deal with them first." She pointed with the tip of her candy cane weapon and her floating golden lamb.

All things Ritsuka wasn't trying to register.

Though she was right, snow monsters were coming towards them looking like angry gingerbreads.

That too he filed away, and even though he could feel the more sane part of his mind crashing to a halt once again he just shook his head a few times. "Whatever…" He muttered under his breath and straightened. "I've seen weirder."

Edmond started coughing and keeled over again into the snow. "Damn," He hissed.

"Ed?" Gudako had managed to stand in the intervening time too and jogged over to him.

"Try your summer spirit origin." Altera flicked the strap off of her swimsuit bra. "It seems to have a delayed effect. I'm not sure you'll feel better though." She brandished her weapons and tucked a white plushie in her arms.

"Damn it, I didn't think to pack mine!" Ed huffed.

Well, Ritsuka hoped it was a plushie. He wasn't sure how he could take any more surprises today. He shook his head clear of them and touched his forehead. Trying to Channel his mana. He glanced behind them again at Gudako and Edmond.

"What class are you Santa Altera?" He asked.

She hummed, "An archer I think."

Ritsuka nodded, "Then we shall take care of this first battle. Head for the smallest ones on either side of the middle monster first. Use your ranged attacks to pin the largest one for now."

"Understood master." With that, she dashed off leaving a trail of rainbows in her wake and the white powder exploding as it tore away from her due to the wind shear. Whatever accounted for her arrows rained down on the largest monster at Ritsuka's request.

He closed his eyes and focused his energy again.

It would be difficult since they were technically nowhere near one another at that moment. But he figured he'd have to try at least once. He blew out a breath and touched a finger to his temple, his blue eyes coming alight with a slight glow. "Jeanne?" He felt his lip twitch and tried again their servant bond.

It was strained given the distance, but not impassable.

"Jeanne?"

There was a sort of weight that seemed to come onto his shoulders almost in an instant. It was thrashing and crushing all at once. He could feel a palpable emotion coming through to their bond even if words didn't come through. Perhaps two palpable emotions that seemed to swell up in him as an effect.

There was the obvious anger that he'd come to expect whenever she was stuck in a fight of some kind. The rage of adrenaline that she had explained to him on how Avengers functioned in a drawn-out fight siking themselves up.

The other was worry. Either for him or something else."

"Master?!" There was a pause. "We are under attack from Christmas monsters!"

He sighed and nodded once to himself. They were already in Chaldea then, or wherever Jeanne was. "Yeah, Altera pulled us into a singularity. As far as I can understand it there was a disease starting to spread around. If you aren't quarantined…"

"I'm in France with Joan…"

He tensed a little at the thought wondering what she could possibly be doing there given the last time he'd seen her. Jeanne had of course told him how much she would refuse to ever return to certain parts of that singularity. Places, things, and a version of herself that she had long wanted to forget.

But Joan is there.

Ritsuka took a couple of steps back as Altera continued to make short work of their enemies. "Okay." He tried to focus on his own emotions, trying to remain calm, with just a hint of worry. Their bond was deep enough now that she should be able to discern both of them. "Servants are getting sick in Chaldea. There is a chance you are both infected. Finish your fight quickly and quarantine yourselves. If…you return to Chaldea…take extra care. Summer spirit origins might be useful."

There was a second of silence. "Understood master, be safe…"

Then the bond contact was cut from Jeanne Alter's side. Ritsuka took it to mean she wanted to focus on her own battle. He breathed out slowly.

She is okay.

His backing-up steps carried him into a sprint as a gingerbread monster leapt into the air. They looked like giant bears with carrots and candy cane noses. Even as Ritsuka dodged out of the way Altera had already re-appeared behind him scattering the oversized lump into pieces into the coldless snow.

Ritsuka skidded to a stop, sparing his sister and Edmond a glance.

Edmond had gotten to his feet, his arm over Gudako. She had them backing up farther and farther away.

He nodded to himself.

No need to worry about them yet.

He glanced at his command seal, as it warmed. Then he smiled a little, "Mash?"

"Here Senpai!" The shielder came catapulting through the air, the edge of her shield slamming down into the next monster and kicking it up with particles of snow.

Altera saw the opening and moved to finish the last of them.

Ritsuka blew out a breath of relief, "Had me worried there Mash." He raised a brow at her.

She grinned and brushed the warm white snow off her shoulders. A small giggle escaped her lips. "Well, I did manage to get to the rayshift room, but it still took an extra minute to warm them up since half the staff is getting sick too." Her lips twisted a little. "I think I still have some resistance to such ailments."

He nodded, "Good to have you."

Mash nodded and then straightened up, planting the edge of her shield into the snow again. "Demi Servant Mash, reporting for duty master! Requesting orders."

He nodded once, "Help Altera clear out the last of this batch of Christmas monsters."

Mash nodded and rounded to join the fight properly. The order was simple and Ritsuka would make adjustments as needed if something needed to be corrected. Usually though when it came to such small fry, servants rarely needed orders any longer.

It had come with the territory, the sheer weight of experience even those in the Chaldea nursery could bring to bear.

The rest of the fight ended only thirty seconds later and they were gathered in the center of the broken cookies and candy canes. The air still smelled of cinnamon and pine. It was a sweet smell that carried the weight of the holiday, even if it lacked all the cool air that they'd come to expect.

Ritsuka and Gudako had tucked away their big jackets, and scarves, and had shoved their gloves away into pockets.

"I can try extending my poison resistance to Edmond?" Mash suggested, her brows knitting together. "But, I'm not sure how effective that might be. And it might take away enough of my own power that I would be useless in combat."

"Save it…" Edmond huffed out between strained breaths. Then he offered a small smile, "I appreciate the offer shielder…but even if you did, there was also no guarantee that I would retain strength enough to fight."

Gudako grabbed Edmond's arm. "The mystic code's load of healing spells hasn't done much." She cursed between her breaths.

A better pair of mages might've been able to accomplish something.

Ed smiled, "You did all you could."

Ritsuka nodded slowly, "Best to continue as we are then. Mash Altera and I can do most of the fighting. Gudako can handle a stray…and since Edmond is stuck here with us for the time being, the best thing we can do is have you watch our backs."

The avenger servant nodded. "I can do that…"

Slowly he turned to see Altera standing a few meters away. Her red eyes observed the group closely, but she remained patient while they sorted out the business of how they were going to best help her save Christmas.

Ritsuka blew out a breath, "So, you said you thought we were the only ones that could help?"

"I do," Altera said with a nod. There was a smirk that touched her lips as her fake mustache bounced with the twitch of her smile. There was that little plush in her arms that had for the moment remained unmoving. "Come, let us get going."

###Jeanne Alter###

The rain hadn't stopped as she felt the presence of her master disappear. She buried it as she could see the biggest one of the group, the Nue had figured out all the steps to their plan. She'd only been out of the fight a few moments to talk with her master, and that was enough.

Please be safe.

Joan was swatted down the road. She'd rolled to get back upright, but she still winced as two smaller monsters closed in around her. She ducked the first, and grabbed the second by the claw, throwing them into the muddy road and slamming the bottom end of her flag pole into the ground.

Jeanne didn't have the time to react much as she dodged the wide sweep of Nue's arms. With her sword, she carved away at one of their smaller attackers. And with a distinct purpose, her eyes narrowed. She outstretched her fingers and her own white and black flag, and several of those darkened purple lances sprung from the ground.

The Nue jumped into the air.

Right toward her.

Her eyes widened and she rolled away.

It was like fighting a giant oversized bear in a way. One that had demonic powers of its own. The ground shook in a way that she nearly stumbled. Her amber eyes whipped around as she saw its mouth open, energy and electricity crackling with that dark red ichor dripping out between its teeth.

Joan slammed her flag into the side of its head, and the blast from its lips whiffed away from her.

Jeanne Alter didn't have time to feel relieved that it had missed.

The Nue whipped around, throwing Joan off and slamming its hind legs into the ground at her, and then it was airborne again.

Joan caught herself upright in a better place this time, as she skidded to a stop. Thunder boomed overhead as golden particles unfurled from the white flag.

Alter could feel the mana shift in the air as she scrambled again to get out of the way of its jump attack. She'd avoided the kill shot, but the large claw swatted at her and she could hear the tears in her cloak.

And felt a searing pain in her skin.

Jeanne used a prana jump and skidded to a halt just behind Joan. In an instant that searing pain had vanished and she breathed out in relief.

"Luminosité Éternelle!"

The relief was instant, and whatever vague or distant sores she might've felt from the short fight thus far had vanished.

There were holes in her cloak. She could feel the rain seeping into her clothes and armor underneath. Further, there was a spot where the claw had punctured her skin at least a little, but now it was healed.

It fired that blast from its mouth again.

And Joan's defensive noble phantasm brushed it off like it was nothing.

Jeanne smiled a little at that, recalling just how much of that absurd punishment that her particular noble phantasm could take. She stood back up ready to continue the fight. "Tough bastard." She muttered and grinned and with a flourish, pointing her sword in the direction of the Nue. The ground seemed to set alight with fire between them and the demonic creature, as blackened spikes rose from the ground.

The Nue broke out into a sprint towards them.

Joan blew out a breath and readied herself.

The rain was making her fire less useful, she noticed. It wasn't outright putting them out, but the scorch marks the lances left on the Nue seemed less than what she'd preferred. But the damage was obvious, her fingers twitched around a purple and black ball that formed in her hand, and its electricity buzzed in the air around her fingers.

Her laughter filled the air as the mana contorted itself into her next attack. It was that avenger hatred skill kicking in. The damn Nue was in the way and there were bigger problems apparently to deal with.

In contrast to her, Joan of Arc was silent. The ruler took a step forward into the mud, her blonde braid swaying in the wind behind her. Those piercing blue eyes looked back at Alter first. Then she focused on the Nue that had rapidly closed the distance. With fingers curled around her flag, she met the charge head-on, as she amplified her strength to the fullest.

The beast slammed into her, claws outstretched, mouth open.

Joan's flag slammed down into the beast, stopping it dead in its tracks as the wind crashed around them from the force of the blow.

The beast was halted into place.

Alter, saw her chance.

As if knowing, Ruler dodged away.

And lances sprung forth from the ground licking the air with hot flames, impaling the beast in a dozen different places, sticking it into the air. Its large arms were impaled upwards suspended in the air.

Jeanne Alter's laughter continued to fill the air, as whatever accounted for the demon's beast's blood burst into the air and sizzled against the ground. She twirled her sword and she leapt into the air, sword in one hand, flag in the other, and slammed into the shoulder blade of the Nue.

Joan did the same with the sharp end of her flag.

Only while it was dying, it wasn't out. Jeanne Alter stopped laughing; she felt the mana surge once more gathering near its mouth. Her lips twisted as both she and Joan leaped away from it again as it thrashed against the lances that had impaled it. That white-hot demonic blast sizzled the rain around its mouth.

It fired off into the distance missing them both completely.

Jeanne Alter blew out a breath. "Seriously? Just die already." She was bored with it for an instant. Her fingers wrapped around the magic lances still impaling them, as more started to form in the air around its head.

Only there was a stricken voice of Ruler that caught her attention. "Alter," she said, her voice hesitant.

There was something in that voice that had caused her to fill with worry. Jeanne Alter didn't take her eyes off it for a second longer, feeling the lances in the corner of her mind attached to her servant skill.

She saw Joan first, those blue eyes were wide with worry. Worse though, she wasn't looking at the Nue they'd just subdued. Meaning that whatever the Nue had been doing wasn't the cause for her concern.

There was that fear that crept into her heart from suspicion as she followed those blue eyes. Her amber eyes went wide the moment she knew with certainty. Behind them, the farming fields and buildings that had made the landscape were marred with scorch marks across the landscape that still glowed with heat.

Only one of them had led into the house, half destroyed, and burning despite the rain. The only house to her that would have mattered. The one with those wrapped boxes sitting on the counter of the house.

The demonic fire seemed to grow almost unimpeded by the steady downpour of rain.

"Alter~"

She didn't hear it as her weapons vanished in particles and she jumped from where they'd been standing to the edge of the property in an instant. A splash of mud and gravel rose from the impact as she pushed down the edge of the wooden white fence that cracked and bent as if it had been paper.

The fire in those seconds had now covered most of the second floor, and part of the porch.

The door was yet untouched.

Only a firm grip had tugged at her arm as two hands wrapped around her wrist. "Hold on Alter!"

"No, they're still in there. On the counter." She dragged Joan several more feet before once again she was halted by something nearly as strong as her own. "Let me go, I can get them!"

"That's a demonic fire!" Joan said. "I've seen what it does to servants and so have you!" She grit her teeth and those blue eyes narrowed towards her. "It's too late!"

"Shut up! You damn Saint! Who cares what happens to me, I need to get them or~" Alter bit her lip as she struggled out of Joan's grip. Ripping free due to the wet rain on her armor. She didn't hesitate as she took two steps towards the door. Her mana surging, she would burst right through the wall and get to the kitchen.

She could feel Ruler behind her too trying to reach out and grab her.

Too slow.

She grit her teeth as the door exploded away from the house, its hinges blasted away.

Amber eyes went wide as she saw the fire bluming outwards from the house casting the door in a strange silhouette.

She'd barely gotten her arm up to cover her face. The wood cracked against the metal gauntlet on her arm. And three wooden spikes of various sizes splintered into the skin of her shoulder. It knocked the wind out of her, as the door broke against her. She fell to a knee in a huff. Eyes wide as the whole house continued to burn.

Even as she tried to rise to her feet again, this time Joan wrapped her arms around her fully. Careful to miss the wood protruding from her arm.

"Get off me you damn Saint!' She thrashed.

Joan tightened her grip. "It'll be okay Alter." She said soothingly.

"No, fuck off!" She hissed as she fell sideways. "Get off!" With her other arm and hand, she tried to peel Joan's grip off of her. It didn't work. She could scarcely get a finger underneath her wrists. Her vision started to blur. "You moron! Stupid saint! Va te faire foutre putain!" She thrashed. Her fingers grew sore, with her arms as she tried to break free. And squeezed her eyes shut.

She could feel Joan holding her and burying her face into her hair. "That's enough Alter."

"Shut up!" She hissed. "Shut up shut up shut up!" Alter tried to push up, to stand. Only Joan had taken her off her feet and pulled her back just before she could manage to get proper footing on the ground. Her hands were on the ground and she whirled her glowing amber eyes onto Joan, unable to see her head.

She could feel Joan's face against her back.

Even through her vision when it had cleared for brief intermittent moments she knew it was pointless now. There was no way the kitchen had survived it. She bit on her tongue until she tasted blood. She continued to thrash until the both of them were damned exhausted. Her mouth was open and her lips twisted against the turn of her skin.

And there was only the sound of rain.

###

There was only a pile of ash at the end of it. With very burnt wood and stone chunks of what remained of the building's supports. She stood stock still staring at where the kitchen used to be. The only things that were seemingly undamaged was the tilted stone oven and a single old pot that had one probably sat on a shelf.

She was standing right at the spot where the head of the table used to be.

Alter didn't know how long she'd stared at it with those glowing amber eyes. Her fingers balled into a fist at her side. Rain was still pattering into her ashen white hair and water running over her eyes.

It hid her feelings just as well.

She wiped the underside of her nose.

Damn it all I'm so fucking stupid.

Her mouth twisted. "If I could've just figured it out…"

I wouldn't have had to be here in the first place.

Her arm started to go numb due to the coldness of the rain. The only warmth of it was that red blood still dripping down from the wooden spikes that had impaled her shoulder. Her amber eyes narrowed at them as she reached over to the smallest one and pulled it out, dropping it to the floor.

The wound finally started to seal up and heal due to that good old well-supplied mana healing factor.

She reached for the second, and her fingers froze on top of it. There were just the barest flashes of how much better she might feel if she decided to shove it further inside her skin for the moment. Her fingers wrapped around it and her mouth twisted further.

Alter turned away and walked back towards where the front of the house was. Some of the foundational debris was still in place and it had blocked Joan from view.

The good saint was waiting several meters away, her flag once more had been drawn. She was standing a few meters away from where the front door was, and away from where the front porch had once angled downward.

Alter dropped the second wooden spike in her arm. Her amber eyes narrowed towards Joan.

"Yes, we dealt with it," Joan said.

"Good," There was also a hologram that was fuzzed and faded. But it got clearer as Alter came into view. It was Da Vinci, and she wasn't in great shape. It was obvious something was wrong. Dark circles were forming under her eyes. "Our masters are making short work of the problem with Altera in tow, at the head of the company."

Jeanne reached for that third and final spike in her arm, the largest of the three, sitting at the center of her bicep. Her mouth twisted as she once more felt the urge to drive it deeper into her skin.

Joan's blue eyes locked with hers.

She huffed out a breath and slowly pulled out the last spike in her shoulder. The warm blood that had been trickling down her arm and clothes was contrasted with the cold rain that was pouring over them. It clattered against the gravel and Jeanne dug her metal fingers into the skin around the wound and squeezed.

The ruler watched silently.

Jeanne gritted her teeth and grunted. Her eyes flicked to the spikes she'd left on the road from her blackened ichor lances. The Nue was gone. Her amber eyes narrowed with twisting anger. She hadn't delivered the killing blow yet. She was meaning to do so now with great prejudice. She spat as she spoke. "Where is that thing?"

Joan shook her head, "It got away during the other commotion."

With a wave of her hand, Jeanne dispelled all the black lances that disappeared into small purple particles of light. She huffed to herself and grabbed the skin around her wound again. "Argh!" Enjoying the brief spike of pain as the wound healed itself closed. The pain gradually reduced as the wound closed.

As she'd done so those blue eyes seemed to roam her with some small uncertainty. Then she'd turned to Da Vinci. "Is Mash with them?"

She nodded, "Yes. Mash was the only one we could dispatch for the moment."

Alter interrupted moving to stand nearer to Joan. "Is there a Nue nearby where we are?"

"Not that we could tell." Da Vinci looked at Joan with a raised eyebrow.

"There was one, it disappeared some time ago…" Her blue eyes flicked to Alter. Then back to Da Vinci. "In any case, we are ready to be returned to Chaldea." Her lips twitched and she looked back at Alter. "There isn't much for us left here at the moment."

Jeanne tried not to flinch with the reminder and folded her arms. Her black cloak once more reappeared over her shoulders as she stood in the rain glancing up at the sky.

So, I lost my revenge too…

Her lips twisted a little.

"Stay strong little sister, the Nue will rear its ugly head for you soon." Her voice was soothing against the rain.

Her amber eyes narrowed a little. "You shouldn't have held me down."

The sigh was audible, but Joan said nothing more. She folded her arms after dispelling her flagstaff. Then she clasped her arms behind her back. Those blue eyes scanned the landscape around them. Her lips twisted a little, "I think I'll come back to the house and rebuild it."

"What a waste," Alter said.

"To you maybe." She smiled a little. "I think I wanted to take Marie with me next time." Those blue eyes fixed themselves on her. "At least one of my little sisters got to see. I suppose that's all that matters to me in the end."

"I know what you're doing." Jeanne's eyes narrowed accusingly. "Just stop already, please. Christmas is fucking ruined for me." Her fingers curled a little. "I'm already so terrible with everything…I'm abrasive. Not fond of others. I can't even get little things right for him. So just stop!" She turned on her heel and glared at Joan. "I had to go get help to wrap presents because I was just stupid enough to not get it done on my own!"

She threw an arm out towards the house. "And of course, I can't even do that right."

Joan's expression softened, "Ritsuka would understand."

"It doesn't matter if he understands!" She kicked a stone with the metal tip of her boot and hissed with a curse. "I know he does!" Her lips twisted. "He is kind, understanding, and patient with me. When we argue it's usually for a good reason…and I can't even get this one stupid thing right."

Thunder boomed.

Alter huffed out a breath. "I'm the problem!"

Joan was quiet. "You can't blame yourself for the Nue."

"Yes, I can! If I wasn't so incompetent at the small stuff I wouldn't have brought my presents for him to begin with!" She smacked herself in the forehead. "God damn it, I wish I can make you understand."

"Who, me?" Joan seemed to straighten herself up. "A country bumpkin who shares her room with the queen of France?" Her blue eyes narrowed just a little, and it was enough to make Alter feel like she had crossed a line. "Don't pass judgment onto one of the only people who doesn't shy away from conversing with you."

Alter stared, "I never said that."

"No one ever has to!" Joan pointed out.

"Stupid saint," Jeanne muttered. "I didn't want to have this conversation to begin with! But your constant nagging to check and see if I'm okay is driving me up the wall." She took a breath and turned to face Joan again looking straight at her. "I'm not okay. I've never been fully okay! I'm a fucking mess." She made a wild gesture towards the house. "This is just some poetic bullshit cherry that rests on top of that damn pile of issues."

There was a beat and Joan grabbed Jeanne's fingers. "And I'm telling you, it won't matter to him. And yes, you can let it bother you. But don't let it ruin the holiday for you."

Jeanne was quiet and then ripped her arm away. "Too late for that."

There was a crackle that filled the air, and Da Vinci reappeared with a flicker amongst the rain just a little off to the side from them.

They both turned to face her.

She smiled, "Alright, we are ready for you over here!" There were a couple of coughs off to the side. "Our master reported in and it's clocking in over a hundred degrees here, and there is nothing wrong with the temperature controls." She touched a few things on her keypad. "According to Altera, whatever problem is causing it can also be reduced by switching over to your summer spirit origins."

Alter huffed, recalling Ritsuka had mentioned the same thing. "Great, the last thing I want is to become a summer Berserker." She paced away from Joan as they exchanged another look between one another. It was a simple acknowledgment that the stupid saint wasn't done with that conversation.

She grit her teeth.

Nor am I. What the hell does she think she is going to accomplish?

She still has hope for you to disappoint her with.

Shut up! Damn you.

Jeanne Alter touched her forehead and her mouth twisted a little. She was angry and frustrated about all of it now. With a twitch of her fingers, she checked her mana power. Everything was still running properly. She rolled her shoulder a few times now that the wounds had healed trying to shake away the remaining sores of that feeling in her arm.

"Oh, and some good news for you Alter." Da Vinci said.

Her ears twitched and she looked back at the holo.

"I think your Nue came here to Chaldea. A few Christmas monsters are roaming around and…we are ordering human staff into shelters." She was quiet for a few seconds. "Alrighty ray shift commencing in five~"

Alter blinked digesting that information. There was a litany of questions running through her mind as she wondered how it was possible. Chaldea was protected by several magic barriers, her fire could reach there when she was the dragon witch of Orleans, but she doubted she could now. It had since been reinforced with all the casters at their disposal. But she had no means of transporting to Chaldea without the rayshift.

But a Nue can?

"Four."

She looked at Joan and saw those blue eyes narrow a little with focus. She too had several emotions playing across her expression. Perhaps she also had the same question regarding both the truth of that report and how it was possible.

Another grail?

"Three."

However, at the end of it, there was only one conclusion in simplicity that she'd found. Jeanne Alter couldn't help that her grin started to widen.

"Two."

The fact that the Nue was still reachable to her. Her fingers curled into a fist.

That thing wasn't going to survive the day.

"One."

The world around her warped and turned blue before churning along into a bright white light as she could feel herself pulled away.

Your sister was right about the Nue.

Shut up!

When her eyes opened she was on the rayshifting floor where she'd left. The humans in the immediate vicinity were gone. They marched to the control room where the humans were starting to be corralled away.

Designated safe rooms.

The breach alarm was echoing off the halls. Ushiwakamaru was there in the control room. She had dark circles under her eyes, meaning that she had been affected by the curse. But she looked better than Da Vinci who looked nearly dead on her feet.

More importantly, Ushi had switched from her rider class to her summer assassin class. She was guiding people into a safe room.

The room was sweltering hot and so was the short walk.

Alter frowned and held up a hand as the heat started to fully hit her. She brushed her glove up against the edge of her hairline. She glanced down at the metal and saw that there were signs of perspiration. Her lip twitched and she forced herself to breathe out slowly as her fingers curled. Her eyes narrowed, and she twisted her lips.

She'd never done well in heat.

In contrast to that, there was Ushi. The summer assassin smiled a bit wider upon seeing her and bounced despite whatever was afflicting them. Her eyes scanned over to Jeanne for a moment and then to humans who were being guided into a safe room by Da Vinci. There was only a brief pause at their arrival.

Damn, they weren't kidding.

Ushi came over to them. "Glad ya both made it out of there alright. Whatever is making servants sick is fast acting so the sooner you switch out the better." Her mouth started to twist a little. "As for where the Nue is…it was last near the left wing entrance. Emiya and Artoria had been sent to stop it…but they were limited in what they could do without having to blow out the side of the building." Her twisted up a little. "They are the ones that spotted it."

Alter was quiet for a moment before looking at Joan. "How long since we wounded it?"

Ruler's eyes narrowed with thought. "Half an hour…probably more. She nodded at Ushi. Your report?"

She hummed, "Maybe ten minutes ago. It was wounded when they fought it, but it still retained a fair degree of excellent speed."

Then Da Vinci made her way over leaning on her casting staff. She didn't look as prepared as Ushi was for a fight. But she was still upright and her cheeks were read. Alter got the impression she must've been running a fever equal to the sweltering heat inside Chaldea. "I'm worried it will start spawning Christmas specters."

Ruler looked up. "Like when Artoria Alter was Santa?" She nodded with a hum. "Yes, that could very well be a problem."

Jeanne Alter started. "Is it possible for a Nue to bring such things forth? I thought shadows and specters were more difficult to summon?"

Da Vinci nodded, "Well Nues…exudes a sort of miasma." She closed her eyes and drifted away for a second. She reached up and touched her brow with a wince. "Actually, Ruler you explain. You've had to deal with them before."

"You should lie down," Ushiwakamaru said.

The infamous helpful caster nodded once. "Mmm…lying down in my workshop too would be nice." She slumped into a chair and blew out a long breath.

Alter tried to blink away the thought of either her or Ritsuka looking like that.

Ruler cleared her throat, "A Nue exudes Miasma, in a way it creates a demonic aura. That aura can infect the leylines of magic running through a particular location." She grimaced a little. "Think of it as a facsimile to Mash's shield, that can serve as a palatable source to summon heroic spirits from." Then she looked back over at her Da Vinci. "Does that cover it?"

"Mmm." The caster responded.

Ushi nodded, "Now hurry and get changed over. The rest of us were already afflicted…but if you hurry enough…you might stop it before it gets too terrible." Ushiwakamaru seemed to nod towards the other humans. "I can hold up here for the time being…make sure none of them get in danger."

Jeanne reached up and once more wiped at her brow and breathed out. She flicked the sweat away with her gauntlet. "Right, let's go." There was an edge and eagerness in her voice that was obvious. "Keep us apprised Da Vinci!"

The caster just gave a thumbs-up.

Ushi snorted, "Don't worry. I'll make sure she's able. If not, she can tell me some of this stuff works and I'll contact you directly.

She also wanted to get their hunt started. Ruler led the way down the hall, her flagstaff appearing in golden particles in the grasp of her fingers as she turned down the hall with a sprint. Her blonde braid boucning behind her.

Alter followed closely drawing her sword. Her and Ritsuka's room was two floors away. Jeanne's was closer. Her lips twisted into a grimace at the thought of Joan getting lucky and being able to stave it off for longer.

But it was more practical to get hers first.

Useless.

The halls that were supposed to be filled with preparations for festivities had gone eerily quiet. There were half-decorated halls where things had stopped in progress. Decorations that had lined the floor. Glitter at the edge of her heels as she pushed through the hall behind the saint of France. There were gingerbread toppings and paper wrappings.

There were no signs of a fight. No scratch marks or messes on the halls except for the abandoned Christmas festivities. Outside of Ruler's footsteps, she could only hear the low rumble of that blizzard blowing just outside the facility.

She wondered if that snow had lost its cold too.

Alter felt a trickle of sweat trickle down her brow and she brushed it away again. There was something she could do to abate the heat at least a little. Her cloak vanished in an instant disappearing into particles. Next was what she was directly wearing. Some of her ascension gear was easily changeable without having to switch over spirit origins yet. Her third ascension armor focused more on freedom of movement and excessive mana use, and as a result, it ended up being closer to her purple dress than it did her normal outfit.

With a bit of concentration, she channeled just a bit of mana to switch over configurations.

Ruler did the same, switching over to her white more saintly uniform.

Jeanne Alter looked down over herself, feeling a sheen of sweat start to gather more directly on her skin. She wasn't winded or out of breath, but she could feel the weight of that heat starting to intrude more directly.

"I wish you were here." She thought.

There was a pause.

His voice was calm as it always was, and she could tell that it was winded in its own way. Altera was probably dragging him around or making him run after her. The thought of it made her smile just a little. She also was grateful just to know that he was always listening no matter where he was.

"Whatever it is, I know you got this."

She wanted to smile and looked down, remembering what had happened to the gifts.

"Alter?" He asked, probably getting some of that feeling in their bond. Those feelings of pained regret.

Her amber eyes tracked the saint ahead of her, waving her up to join just behind her again. Jeanne Alter didn't linger and followed her up to the corner to join her in peering down the hall.

"Idiot. Just make sure you come back." She tried to clear her mind of those darker thoughts as she thought of him. The last thing she wanted was to make him worry with those feelings muddled in their bond. "Sorry…I didn't mean to worry you. We are back at Chaldea now…going for our swimsuit summer origins."

"Right, stay safe Alter…" There was a feeling of what she could describe as pure affection that was translated through their feelings which muddled together there in that bond. She smiled a little at it, touching her heart. In contrast to the heat making her uncomfortable, the warmth of that lingered more positively.

The saint rounded the corner first jogging down two doors till at last she was at her room. Her mouth twisted as first tried the panel, and then with a grimace, she looked up. "The power isn't cut, that's odd." She tried the panel again and still the door wouldn't open. With a sigh, she dug her hands into the metal and the handle.

A loud crank echoed through the hall as the metal bent from the force of her servant strength, and she pried the door open peering inside.

It was even worse in the room. It was like a sauna as if it had been far above the normal heat at Chaldea. It was like steam that poured away and out into the main hall. It made Alter wince as she stepped back.

"Marie?!" Joan asked worriedly, her head spun around their room quickly as she jumped in. Only she found it to be empty. The worry hadn't left her expression but it was obvious she was somewhat relieved.

Alter stood at the doorway. "Maybe she made it to the infirmary?"

There was a pause, and the saint nodded. "I hope…" She blew out a breath and Alter saw her draw herself up and muttered a quiet prayer into the air. Then she wiped the sweat from her brow and made for the closet digging out her spirit origin for summer. She grabbed a few of the mana prisms too that were meant to help her with that.

It wasn't an instant change without Skadi, Merlin, or any of the high-level casters around. But it was a change. With three mana prisms stacked into one hand, and in the other the small hula hoop item that was the "key" to the change.

There was a flash as the prims disappeared, and Joan's swimsuit appeared. Black, with a thin blue sweater over her shoulders. There was a look of slight relief that touched her. Meaning that the affliction in the air of their environment was now significantly reduced. She looked down at herself making sure it had all gone accordingly. "Okay, okay. I'm all good." She straightened up. "Come we should hurry, your room isn't that far."

Jeanne coughed a bit. "Actually we should go to Ritsuka's room…" She scratched the back of her head as a bead of sweat trickled down her cheek. "I've…got more of my stuff in there these days…"

There was a pause as Joan stared at her with wide blue eyes. "Oh…" She then grew perhaps a bit mischievous. That, Alter knew, was part of the spirit origin change. Ruler Joan would've probably been more embarrassed or blushy at that. However, the Archer version of her spirit origin added a bit of mischievousness to her personality. Or it let the formality or duty-first aspect of her personality slip away just enough. "I see, to our master's room then."

Joan of course had known about the two of them since the start. Though despite her prying often for details because she wanted to be there for her "little sister", Alter hadn't budged on their relationship…much. There was some excitement in the blonde's deep blue eyes, as Alter had offered up those details freely.

"And you worry because the presents were lost?" Those blue eyes narrowed.

"Shove it up your ass!" Alter huffed. "I'm not repeating that conversation." She grit her teeth. "Fucking where is this Nue so I can murder it already!" She stomped off taking the lead down the hall not caring if it was sneaking or if it was running. Jeanne Alter could feel a flush of heat rising to her cheeks and she wiped the bead of sweat away. Her lips pressed into a line and her brow creased.

"Stupid saint." She muttered.

Joan forced the door closed behind them, the metal grinding into the air.

Alter paused where the hallway split off and stood there waiting for Joan. Once she was sure that the summer archer was following her, she turned to make her way to Ritsuka's room on a long-since memorized path. The walk was shorter than it was from the command room to Joan's room. It was smooth going until she heard something scrape against metal. And she stuck her fist into the air to call for a halt to movement. She looked over her shoulder quickly to make sure Joan got the message.

She did and was quiet, kneeling for a moment.

This hallway was long as it followed the long curving glass window to the outside. A sign that they were close to the side of the facility where Ritsuka slept. There was another tearing shring of metal and this time Alter drew her sword. She sent another meaningful glance back to Joan.

They were both substantially weaker as their summer spirit origins in comparison to their ruler and avenger versions. Joan by means of attack, and Alter by means of defense. Both had ways to compensate for it. Alter's attack was still blisteringly strong when she was operating at full power. Something she couldn't do easily around Chaldea's halls unless she were in the specific training rooms with magic-infused barriers.

Joan was similar to her ruler counterpart in terms of her ability to take damage. And some skills gave her a decreased limiter on her noble phantasm. Their roles as such would be the same when Alter switched over herself.

But for now, Alter stepped a few paces more ahead leaning her back against the wall, stretching a finger out, and latching onto one of her simple fire abilities. She would have to lead the way in the meantime. She wiped sweat away from her brow once again and blew out a breath. Then it was like a mechanism had given way, and there was more grinding metal.

A door hatch hissed with the opening. There were voices now that filled the air. Casual.

Artoria Pendragon's voice was as formal as ever, balanced and even. "Do not jest with me Archer, we don't have much time to sort this out." There was a grunt as the sliding metal door continued. "Doors can be replaced…lives cannot." Then the grinding metal came to a stop with a huff.

The other voice was deep and easily identifiable as Emiya's. "We only scratched it, Saber, it would be best not to draw further attention.

Over her shoulder, Alter saw Joan relax visibly. The pair of them were allies after all. She took a few quick steps to catch up to Alter. "King of Knights?" She asked around the corner.

There was a pause in their conversation. "Is that you Joan?" Artoria eventually asked.

"Yes, me and Alter are around the bend," She touched Alter's wrist. "We are coming around."

Emiya hummed, "Smart…I've dispelled my bow."

Alter huffed, "As if that would slow down you and your lady king's reflexes even slightly." Jeanne Alter pushed off the wall and led the way again. She wanted to smirk but found that her vision blurred for a second.

Shit. I need to get a move on.

Both Artoria Pendragon and Emiya Archer were in their summer outfits respectively. Artoria had her gun saber resting now over her shoulder. Emiya was down to a white tank top, with his hair normal compared to being combed back. His glasses were on as he examined the respective state of the two different parties. "It's good to see both of you are still alive. How did you manage to escape the initial sweep?"

Joan huffed a smile, "I was in France…I got stuck with a bit of holiday blues I guess."

Alter was familiar with the conversation patterns enough to know where it would lead. She also didn't want to think about France at all for the time being. So she spoke to steer the conversation back. She also made no move to stop her pace towards Ritsuka's room. "Save it, I don't have long…my vision is already starting to blur a bit, and I've got a forming headache." She looked at Emiya as the two moved out of her way. "Any enemies Archer?"

He raised a brow, "Between you and Ritsuka's room? No." He looked at Joan who took a few quick steps to catch up with Alter. "We just swept through that wing. We found Medea trapped in a small barrier of her protective spell. Medusa is out cold."

Joan's eyes widened, "Is she okay?"

"I just spoke with Ushi, Robin and Mordred will pick them up."

Alter nodded to herself.

Good, they both have summer spirit origins as well.

Jeanne Alter gave a wave over her shoulder, doing the exchange. She picked up her walking space again just short of a jog. She was infusing mana into her defense hoping that it might help stave off the blight that was going around.

"Alter!" Emiya called as they continued to round the corner out of sight. "The Nue was heading to the cafeteria. It spawned a shadow…that's who we are hunting."

She didn't stop but she gave them a nod that she understood.

Joan followed with a long, "Please stay safe you two!"

It was another ten rooms and another broken door away, that they finally reached Ritsuka's room. Joan left her a few rooms back, meaning to guard Medea and Medusa until the help Emiya had said was on the way arrived.

Jeanne stared at the door and touched the scanning pad. It didn't didn't respond. Her lips curled a little.

It's turning into another damn mess.

She curled her fingers in their metal gauntlet and punched through the panel, reaching out and touching the wire with the small fire she extended. It was a small thing she'd taught herself when last year all the doors had shut down and they were having power supply problems. Replacing the metal and the doors took longer to replace than the glass panels and wires.

The door gave a jerk, but it was unlocked.

She wrapped her hand around the handle and slid it open.

Alter gave a look around the room still covered in the mess she'd left with that extra fresh wave of heat washed over. She winced and wiped the glisten of her brow away as she marched inside. It had become a sort of standard protocol to have three or four mana prisms per given servant in a room so the mana wouldn't be as much of a problem.

She snagged four mana prisms and slid open the closet all the way. That one singular sword of the three that she could summon was in there. The other two were hanging on the wall because Ritsuka had encouraged her to do so.

She grimaced a little as her heeled boots crushed over the crinkled wrapping papers and ripped-up ribbons. Her fingers curled into her palms trying to ignore the sting in her heart at the reminder as to what she couldn't do, and now what she'd lacked because of it,

It's not important.

Liar.

She breathed out slowly.

Jeanne settled the sword on their bed with the mana prisms. Next, she retrieved her clothes. It reminded her of when she'd changed into her summer origin for the first time. She was thankfully alone with Da Vinci at the time because it would have been embarrassing otherwise. Her clothes were real after all. So they didn't just appear on her like they did for other servants. But the origin changed regardless.

She had, of course since that particular screw-up, made changes to better perfect that binding to her spirit origin's clothes. But it still wasn't perfect. That red stocking and her shoes would appear. The straps around the navel and hips would appear. As would the collar and the rings for straps. Her right glove would appear, but her left glove would not.

All of which had taken irritatingly a lot of time. It had been months of practicing the transition that allowed her to better manifest those clothing articles. But it had stalled, and for several months no new development had come along. And perhaps in both irritating and ironic fashion neither the bra nor panties would still appear.

Alter blushed a little at the thought of exposure. Then she shook the thought away as quickly as it had come. As well, the warmth of the room closed in around her as she wiped her brow once more with a huff.

"Tch. What chance if I can't even figure that out?" No one was there to dispute the claim. She balled her fingers into a fist and tapped her thigh with her knuckles. No other servant as well seemed to struggle with it as much as she. Her mouth twisted as she stared at the clothes, the sword, and the mana prism all lying beside one another on their bed.

"Are you still trying to fix that?" He peered over her shoulder, and it had startled her.

"G-Hey! Don't do that!" Her nose brushed his cheek as she jumped a little.

"It's my room." He chuckled a bit.

"Our room dumbass! What if I punt you through the wall?!"

"I trust you."

Alter felt herself grind her teeth as she whipped her head away blushing and pouting.

"You didn't answer my question?"

"I am…okay! I am…" She deflated a little and touched her palm to her forehead. "All the other servants can do it…it should be manageable for a special fake like me. It was my own stupid fault to begin with for trying to edit the appearance too much."

His fingers wrapped around her hand. "It worked though didn't it." Then he pressed up behind her wrapping his arms around her.

She breathed out a frustrated sigh, relaxing into his arms. That was something she was sure she would never quite get used to. "Yes…but even still I need to figure this out."

Alter dug her fingers into her shoulder. Where those spikes had wounded her and started squeezing hard enough that it might've left a mark, or would have broken a normal human's bones.

Always supportive.

She shrunk into her shoulders as her hair fell over her eyes standing over their bed. It was so damn quiet and all she could hear was the unevenness of her breath.

Maybe this time?

Worthless.

Jeanne Alter nodded once quietly to herself, allowing the comment for once to help her put a more realistic chain of events in her mind. Nothing probably would change. And that she was merely wasting her time further. Her fingers twitched digging harder into her shoulder for a second more, before slowly loosening.

Even if I'm infected, it will slow it down or lessen symptoms.

She snatched up the mana prisms again and closed her eyes to channel the mana. Jeanne Alter took three long calming breaths. It was easy to do. Even if she was in a mess of her apparent failures at wrapping presents, she was still in her room. She was home, and the twist of her expression started to smooth. Her fingers curled into the mana prisms ready to let the power wash over to make the change.

I can fuss over my inability to do things right later.

The mana prisms vanished with a crack that pierced the quiet air.

Her third ascension configuration vanished with all the armaments including her purple jeweled hilted sword. She could sense her affinity with fire weakening slightly. She also noted her lack of ability to summon forth her white and black flag. Both were the first and immediate signs that the change had taken place. As the change went over quickly, much to her relief it seemed the weight hanging over her had finally vanished.

The headache started to evaporate.

Most of the clothes she had laid out on the bed had vanished. The stocking, the straps, the shoes. She was able to see that it was as well as she could expect. Looking down at herself she felt only further ashamed as to what still wasn't working whenever she shifted over. Slowly she raised a hand to cover her breasts, and with the other, she snagged the last three pieces that made up her outfit and stepped out of sight from the open metal doorway.

Even if no one was walking about, it made her feel less exposed.

A minute later with the lower half of her two-piece on, and running the straps of her top through those ringlets...she was sitting on the bathroom floor when she was done staring at the wall. Her reflection in the glass wasn't clear, but she could see herself well enough. She rolled the last into place and looked at herself.

The cause of all your problems.

There she sat for a moment in the lingering quiet just…staring at herself in that blurry reflection off the shower glass door. She stared and stared, and then she smacked her forehead with her fist gritting her teeth. "Come on stupid dragon witch." She breathed out. "Be useful. Do your job." With a hiss, she tried to get herself back up. She snatched up that last glove and lexed her fingers into the material stretching it over her skin.

Useless.

Her mouth twitched as she picked herself back up. Jeanne was sliding up against the wall until she was upright. Her sword was in her hand, fingers curled around the hilt. Her amber eyes once more stared down at herself. But her ears twitched as if feeling a strange shift in the air of the room around her.

She picked her head up, angling her ear.

There was some wrinkling of wrapping paper as a breeze moved through their room.

It was enough to drive her senses into overdrive. Her eyes went wide and she made sure to step away from the bathroom door. As neither was possible. The air was ventilated through specific parts of the room and bases.

What the hell?

She tensed, her eyes wide, and shrunk herself back as much as she could. There were footsteps too. Heavier than what Joan's would have been. But still quiet. If she hadn't been mostly quiet herself, she was certain she would've missed them. There was something in the room. That was the only certainty now.

Alter heard the shifting of wrapping paper and ribbons again.

She strained her senses. Ritsuka had taught her a little about the protective spells around their room. While basic, they were both good enough to at least pinpoint the location of something that shouldn't be there. Ritsuka had been insistent on her learning the very basics as much as he'd known.

Neither of them possessed a talent for a good mage, despite Alter's raw power, given her birth almost directly from the grail as Gilles had wished.

But they both knew it was a useful skill.

Jeanne Alter bit her lips and sniffed the air.

Gingerbread.

Through the magical threads making up the room's protective barriers, like a spider feeling something land in their web as it twitched with vibrations. Alter could sense that they were dangerously near the closet.

Noiseless still.

Her fingers twitched around the hilt of her sword, and her amber eyes narrowed. The other two were still hanging along the wall. But she only needed the important one. It took Alter a moment to realize she was now eye level with the bathroom mirror. It didn't help her get an angle on the doorway in any form lest she was in a particular spot in the shower's corner.

Alter shook her head, talking herself out of it.

She sniffed the air again.

Gingerbread, sugar, and… magic.

Jeanne Alter's mouth twisted into a more dark expression.

The damned Nue is having the run of the place.

She breathed out slow calm, all of her apprehension and fear gone. It was their room after all, in their damn home. It would never know the place as well as she, Ritsuka, or any of the others. Her plan formed in her mind.

The sweltering hot Christmas crisis was in full swing. Servants were adjusting, Ritsuka and Gudako were off with a team solving a core aspect of the crisis. The Nue was locked in Chaldea with her.

She smiled wryly.

The Christmas hunt could now begin in earnest.

Their room was filled with the scent of gingerbread and Alter quietly counted the seconds down in her head. If Robin and Mordred were near the control room, then they would be making their way to get Medusa and Medea from the same way they'd come. The commotion of all of them over there, plus Joan should be enough to pull the attention of the monster in their room.

So she waited and bid her time.

Then there was a noise from the hall and it started to lumber away. The footsteps now lacking any of the stealth they had moments ago. Stomping on those town wrapping papers. It stomped loud enough that she didn't need their room's magical barrier to track it.

Alter was then time, and quickly she sprung from the corner, prana filling her legs and a grin as her amber eyes narrowed on the back of its form. It was one of those tall gingerbread cookie monsters. Akin to those walking snowmen, only this was made of hardened bread dough. She could see many things lying embedded in its skin as if it were cherry toppings.

But as she got closer, she could smell iron.

It spun to face its sharpened teeth like claws unto themselves. But it was too late.

The air contorted around the blast, as its top half was sent sprawling into the hall leaving trails of crumbs and that cherry-like blood behind. The legs of it are still standing just short of the doorway into their room.

She blew out a breath and followed it up, flourishing her sword, and running it down. She'd appeared again as the torso bounced against the white tile, its candy-like eyes wide with realization, shock, and perhaps dread.

Alter drove her sword down and through the head of the beast even as it fell with one last crash into the white tile floor.

The storm billowed outside, and once more all was quiet. Mostly. At that commotion Alter could hear rapid footsteps from approaching around the curved bend. She pulled her sword free and debated about returning to hide in their room for a moment longer.

"Atler!?" Joan's voice filled the air, and it was then she could hear the distinguished footsteps rapidly approaching where she was standing in the long curved hall.

"Here!" She called back, wanting to allay any fears. "I'm alright…" She stabbed her sword down again when it twitched and this time ripped it free a different direction. She stepped away and started sniffing the air. Then her lips curled a bit, realizing that all she could smell was that cherry syrup having overtaken that faint iron smell.

She looked down at the "blood" that covered her gloved fingers. Her mouth twisted at the sight of it. It still gave the impression of blood upon looking at it. Those footsteps came to a stop and Alter straightened up a little rubbing her fingers together. "They safe?"

"Yes, Robin and Mordred had only just arrived when I left and heard commotion." Joan's brow furrowed a little. "You were taking too long and I was starting to get worried." Her blue eyes fell to the beast at Alter's feet. "Another Christmas nightmare…I don't like the look of this, we should find that Nue before its miasma starts bringing trees or other decorations to bring things to life."

Jeanne flicked her sword freeing it of blood. "Agreed," She stepped back into the room and grabbed her other two swords hanging on the wall. She walked back out strapping them around her waist. There was a look in Joan's eye however, that seemed to peer right through her as she looked her over.

Alter avoided that look.

I don't want to talk about it.

"To the kitchen then?" She asked.

"Yes." Joan agreed.

It was then there was a crackle in the PA system of their room. Alter blinked and leaned back into the doorway. She touched her palm to the black screen. "Da Vinci?"

"Nope!" Ushiwakamaru said the girl's bubbly cheer came through even with that simple word as she exaggerated the letters. "I am currently in her place. Da Vinci's asleep on her chair…and I'm…un-inclined to wake her. It's taking its toll on her…I just thought I should give you the report that Master says he and Altera are getting close to the source. Edmond is infected but they are making due."

Alter nodded, having hoped as much. There was the faintest mana that she sent through their bond. It was akin to just verifying that her master was still there. She waited and then there was a pulse sent her way. It was a feeling of happiness. The feeling he'd always liked to send her way when she was checking in on him.

She felt relief all the same.

Ushi was quiet for a moment.

Joan had noticed her piercing blue eyes narrowing towards the panel that linked them to the summer assassin. "And?"

This time there was a stretch of silence much longer. "…and…there was a commotion near the medical bay." It was such a simple statement, but it carried with it all the weight of worry in her own voice. There was only so much others could do. "The Nue attacked the place because it was full of servants and mana…"

Joan leaned in towards the panel. "Was anyone hurt!"

Jeanne Alter felt her mouth twist.

A suicidal choice normally. Does it not care for preserving its own life I wonder?

You also should have killed it when you had the chance.

If it even is the same one.

"Yeah…" Ushi fell quiet for a moment. "Marie's wounded…and so is Atalante…the Nue took Jack and Lily. The others managed to wound it again before it left. It's heading back towards the kitchen. Carmilla managed to trap it there so it can't leave without alerting anyone. She is hesitant to go in alone, however. She swears she can hear movement on the other side of the door."

Alter blinked tensing up all at once, she'd waited until Ushi was finished, focusing on the smallest piece of information that worried her. She tried to filter the shock from her voice."What?"

There was a beat of quiet. "Some of the humans were injured in the affair…too."

Why does it have hostages?

Joan's fingers curled.

But it was Alter who asked the question. The one she hadn't quite gotten out before Ushi added more information about the Chaldea staff. Her amber eyes were narrowed towards the panel. Had Ushi been there in person she would have grabbed ahold of the summer assassin and probably lifted her off the ground shaking her with the question. She settled with her fist against the wall, applying pressure. She spoke through gritted teeth. "What do you mean the Nue took Jack and Lily?" Her mouth twisted.

"I mean it the way I said it Alter." Ushiwakamaru took a deep breath. "Get down there, and kill it. But be aware that it has hostages."

Jeanne Alter didn't have to be told twice, as she left the room in a sprint. She could hear Joan say something to Ushi, probably a goodbye as she could hear those footsteps pick it up behind her.

Her foot slid along the white tile floor to the wall as the curve sharpened toward the hallway she knew would take her to the cafeteria. She slammed her heeled sandal against the wall and pushed off not caring much anymore for damages that could be repaired after the holidays. She glanced over her shoulder.

Joan followed her example, blasting off the wall.

Alter jumped down the full flight of steps and turned the last hole and corner to see the cafeteria door.

Unlike the rest of the place, it no longer had that sterilized future feel to the building. The wall panels had been smashed. There was a strange assortment of broken mistle toes as had been a tradition that had once been on the ceiling of the hall now scattered along the ground. The Christmas tree that had been decorated was smashed along with all the decorations.

Alter felt her mouth start to twist.

Carmilla was up against the door. She was bleeding from the hip and looked up, at their arrival. "Good…good, Ushi mentioned you would be coming." There was a crack at the door that nearly pushed her over.

Joan ran ahead to join Carmilla. "Where are they?"

She shook her head, "Don't know." Carmilla's voice was strained. "But it's akin to a wounded animal and other beasts are walking about. If they are in there with it…they are probably at a place we cannot easily get to." Carmilla's wound slowly started to close, and she groaned, hunching over.

Alter looked at the battered door, the thing had seen better days too. She drew her sword and her mouth twisted into a grin. Jack and Lily were smarter than they looked. They were probably conspiring together to escape. Or had a plan in mind when the expected help arrived for them. Atalante was certain to teach them things like that too.

Jeanne Alter took a deep breath and strode forward. One of the few things that had been intact was one of the panels in the hallway. She extended a finger. The screen was busted, but the keys were intact. She didn't need the screen to give an ID on this one. "Ushi?"

"Good, you're there. I'm sending Robin and Mordred to the other Cafeteria entrance right now so it can't escape." Ushiwakamaru. "I'm not sure what the plan is, to be honest with you beyond that. We can wait for our masters to return…"

"No," Jeanne said, her mouth twisting. Those amber eyes narrowed with fury towards the panel. "We can clean this up before the master's get back." Her eyes flicked to Joan and Carmila daring them to say otherwise. "One servant in each doorway should be sufficient. From there, we go in and wreck the place."

Ushi was quiet, and so were the other two.

Alter took a long breath, "Come on, it's a Nue we kill one of these in every field mission it seems like."

Carmilla huffed, "But it's stronger than that now. It's infused with a holiday and somehow it's stronger."

"So what? We need to kill it. The more we wait the harder it will be. It's already gathering other things to itself." She straightened up and blew out a breath, her amber eyes glowing. "We will never have a better chance than right now." Her fingers twitched, noting that hatred was still a strong source of power for her. Yes, she thought, she needed only to land a few blows on it again and not get distracted, and this time she would finish the job.

Joan took a breath, there was a way those blue eyes looked at her knowingly and pointedly. She was the doting older sister after all. So it was obvious that she'd picked up on something. Alter was already annoyed even before she started speaking.

With a twist of that archer's hula hoop and beach ball that served as ranged noble phantasms, she stepped closer to Alter. "Fine. But we wait until the others are ready, and-" Those blue eyes took on a glow of their own as they narrowed towards her. "The whole place was set for the party like it was last year Alter." Those blue eyes seemed to stare right through her. "That means no power abilities that could risk everything that's in there."

Alter huffed, her lips twisting with anger. She whirled on her with a fury, barely restraining herself from lashing out. "What?! You don't get to play that game with me! I was trying to save them! I wanted to save them! And you stopped me!" She reached out and grabbed Joan's collar. "I'm not a grinch that's setting out to ruin everything!"

Those blue eyes looked right into her unintimidated by the threat. "I know that," She smiled a little at her with the tilt of her head. "I just wanted to make sure that you understood that too."

There was a pause as Alter blinked at her. Then she let Joan go, realizing what she'd just done. She'd been baited into admitting her feelings and god damn it that woman infuriated her to no end. "Stupid saint."

Joan stared, "Is that how you see it?"

"Shut up!" She pointed at her. "I vote for you to guard the door."

Carmilla shook her head, "I'm already at my limit. It sent a few monsters to shake off my pursuit."

Jeanne Alter clicked her teeth and she could hear that saint claiming to be her older sister chuckling at her.

"Stuck with me Alter. I've got your back until the very end." She said, the archer smiled with the tilt of her head. Her touch was more gentle than Alter's had been, touching her shoulders. "You go for the Nue, I'll keep the stragglers off of you. I'll also try to look for the hostages." Then she backed away, taking a deep breath.

Alter noted all of that was gift-wrapped for her. It was that older sister vibe thing again. Because Joan knew exactly what Alter wanted, and what she was after. So she was going to help her get it by doing all the other small things.

All those small things I'm well known to be terrible at doing.

Her fingers curled, and she said nothing. She merely pouted and looked away not wanting to grace the saint with a response that would delight her. The last thing she wanted right now was for any day to be held over her.

Joan chuckled a bit at her antics. Then she nodded at her, once again getting in a combat-ready stance. "Come on, chin up, we got to save Lily."

She was quiet at that and chose not to say anything. Instead Alter had tried peering through the cracks in the door during the meantime. It served as a good distraction from the situation. Once again she was thankful for her Berserker spirit origin, and the madness enhancement that moved her opinion. "Who was blocking the other door?"

"Ibaraki," Carmilla said.

Alter nodded.

Then the panel crackled again. "Robin and Mordred have arrived, they'll go at the first sign of commotion," Ushiwakamaru spoke a bit more nervously than before. Alter strained her ears for a possible explanation.

Then it was Da Vinci's voice, strained, coming through the system. "Just a heads up, the magical energy in there is giving us strange readings up here." There was a pair of coughs that broke up the sentences. "The Nue is getting stronger, and there is probably a shadow servant in there by now."

There was a third voice. Emiya, "Artoria and I found the other one. We eliminated it near the generators. We managed to get the drop on it."

Jeanne Alter felt her lips twist a little. "How many others can you see Da Vinci?"

There was a pause, Da Vinci was the one that answered again. Her breaths came in heavier. "Not clear enough to give you locations on Lily and Jack. Or the shadow's servant class. But enough to tell you that there are probably more gingerbread and candy monsters that fill the cafeteria. And whatever they have done is messing with our system's ability to scan." There was a pause and a fit of coughing. "They might've gotten their hands on some crystallized lore…or tons of mana prisms."There was a crackle as she paused. "In any event, I think a coordinated attack should suffice."

And we can wrap this up before our Masters return.

She approached the smashed-up door bent and broken in several places, the white metal peeling away from the edges. She stood up on the tips of her toes and angled her eyes through. Just as she did something slammed into the doorway.

Carmilla braced against the door keeping it up by its thin frame.

The metal however still knocked the wind out of Alter. She hissed and gritted her teeth. Alter took two steps away as the metal was slammed again. Without a word, she started drawing a second sword from the others hung around her hip. Her mouth twisted as she looked over at the others. She touched the cool hilt of her sword's pommel against her stomach.

It seemed a brief respite from the heat that didn't last.

Joan seemed to understand first. "If there is nothing else Da Vinci we are signing off!".

Alter didn't wait she gave Carmilla a nod waving her bracing of the door off. She crouched low, planking her heeled sandals into the ground feeling the metal bend with the prana-filled step that would launch her forward.

The hallway was tight, and none would slip past her that would directly get in her way.

Carmilla did as she was signaled and jumped to the side just as a third hit to the metal door finally seemed to snap the loose metal holding it upright and blocking the hallway. One of those gingerbread monsters was there bashing the doorway. Its arms were thick of dough and its fingers dripped of cherry syrup.

White panels scattered around and it bent further still as Jeanne shot forward slamming both swords right up into the stomach of the beast. The wind arched around her as she glared hefting beast overhead on her two swords like it was an impaled skewer of food.

Giving her a brief, free view of the cafeteria room. There were trees and presents in every corner. Decorations mangled and destroyed tables.

She hauled the gingerbread beast up, standing to her full height, nearly a third of the monster's size, as she ripped her swords apart in opposite directions, splitting the gingerbread monster in two, showering herself in that cherry syrup.

There were eight others she could see all now staring at the intruder wide-eyed. Candy canes that had come to life responded first, coming forward on the ground.

For just a second Alter stood in the doorway, and then with a flourish of her primary sword she dashed forward. She kicked the head of the dead gingerbread at her feet clean off and sent it slamming into a candy cane.

Her sword caught the edge of one of those attacking red and white spirals and crushed it in half against the ground.

She huffed, eyes narrowing towards the next gingerbread. "Yep, the strangest thing I've ever done…" With two fingers she spent a spiraling purple and black ball of energy the size of her hand right into the beast's chest.

There was a shrink behind her, as a hula hoop shot forward and knocked enemies prone arching back like a boomerang to Joan now in the doorway behind her.

Carmilla's voice was muttered, but clear. "Just another day in the illustrious short-lived history of the Chaldea security organization." Blood spikes formed in the closest candy canes to the door so that they couldn't flee. She was wounded, but she didn't have to move much.

Further behind the gingerbread beasts, were the reindeer men, gathered around the Nue which seemed closer to the kitchen and the largest tree in the room.

There too was a servant drenched in shadow. That black ichor seemed to drip from the surface of its skin only for nothing to hit the ground as it was seemingly endless like a formless ink always moving and rippling. But while those movements didn't stop, the ripplings of that black ichor began to take shape as it turned to face the intrusion.

A black flag pole started to form, a familiar hair and head shape started to carve away in the air. It had no eyes, yet Alter could still feel its gaze sweep to her.

Amber eyes widened as a wreath of blackened flame seemed to form in the air between them, and rapidly moved towards her.

What?

"Alter move!"

But why did it?-

The warmth of that summer heat around her started to intensify greatly and her eyes narrowed dangerously. She curved her sword upwards, carving through the blast. It had force behind it enough to knock her off balance.

And she'd missed the other one that the shadow had sent hurtling her way right behind it.

Joan slammed her shoulder into her, sending them both toppling over to the side. "Come on! Ignore it!"

Jeanne slammed her knee onto the ground and rolled herself right, carving through two candy canes as she did. No respite was given as another wave of fire was sent charging right at her. Even as she moved to dodge, one of the big bear gingerbreads slammed the floor metal infront of her.

With one sword she leaned into the fire blast dispelling it and danced away from the following strike of the gingerbread beast.

The beach ball from Joan slammed it upright in the head, sending a few cracks down the layer of its cookie-like skin, that cherry syrup spurting forth in a few spots.

It was all the time Alter needed as she twisted around running both swords through the gingerbread, the first removing the head, the second the upper torso, sending it away in pieces flying across the room.

And finally, just as others began to converge towards them, the commotion had now become obvious enough that there would be no confusion. Green arrows arched through the air. Slamming into the others that had been lining up in her way.

Robin was there, dressed in his summer trunks with a green cloak to cover his bare chest. He gave them a wide grin. "Lady Arcs." Then he jumped forward over the head of the next gingerbread beast pulling the strings of his wrist bow at point-blank range and blasting through the layered cookie with ease. He landed on the body, sending it toppling over.

From behind him, there was a slash of air cutting through a few of the nearest candy canes.

Ibaraki dashed forward over the green archer's head. She was grinning wildly to match that blend of berserker lancer she'd become. She sent Alter a look as she pressed forward dodging between two more lashes of fire coming from the shadow. Over one and under the next, in a smooth motion.

Both the beach ball and arrows littered the next gingerbread beast in front of her.

And with that, half of the larger monsters in the room were gone. The small fodder of candy canes were still hurling themselves at their larger opponents to no effect. They were kicked, slashed, and bounced away as if they were nothing, doing little to stem the advance of the servants into the center of the cafeteria.

Jeanne watched those lances of fire catch tree decorations and other things. She clicked her teeth and charged just after Ibaraki. Her amber eyes flicked to the other door that the others had come from.

Mordred guarded the door using a wide sweeping action to defeat the enemies closest to her. She didn't look pleased about being left behind, but she was taking out anything that was getting close.

Worse for Chaldea's Christmas invaders, there were other servants that could make their way freely down to the Cafeteria. There were plenty of them that had summer spirtron dresses or outfits befitting the occasion. Jeanne would've smirked with delight at the thought if she wasn't so focused.

But it was exhilarating to know that they'd cornered their enemy.

Ibaraki danced through a few enemies, putting two off their balance.

Alter saw the openings for what they were and took advantage. Cutting through the legs of one and spinning upright to jump up. She came at the second gingerbread sideways. Slamming her knee into the next big gingerbread cracking its skull in an instant

She could feel its arms and claws rumble as she held her knee against its cracked head as it toppled to the floor beneath her. Alter spun upright and stabbed it again in the chest for good measure.

With her other sword, she cut through the next variable wave of fire that was sent lashing out towards her.

Alter grit her teeth and her eyes narrowed in anger.

At least it hasn't gotten my other abilities.

Their next opponents were the reindeer men that had gathered around closer to the shadow; three of them went forward to meet Ibaraki. The others didn't seem as eager to join in the fight. Perhaps expecting others to join in, and the need to have spares to occupy them.

Good. We can defeat them in detail then.

Ibaraki could probably have taken all three by herself. But with Alter coming up quickly behind her, she opted to do wide-sweeping attacks with all the strength she could muster. It forced them back a few paces. It wasn't a killing attack but it bought her time against multiple opponents, giving the more agile servant better room to work with.

One of the reindeer men responded by flipping up one of those long white cafeteria tables, hurling it with all the Christmas goodies that had lined the table at them. Ibaraki cut the table in two.

Alter punched the large side of it that was still angling to hit her. The wood cracked as her hit sent it further out of the way. Her mouth twisted a little, as she angled for the far left one, the one that was the closest.

The head of Ibaraki's spear slid their candy cane weapon away from Alter. There were sparks to mark the force of the blow. There was a glint in the blonde oni's eyes as her grin widened.

It was an opening Jeanne wouldn't waste.

The Reindeer creature didn't get the chance to react to Alter's swords as she cleaved the demonic creature apart cleanly into three pieces. With her second sword, she adjusted quickly jumping towards the next.

It raised its weapon to block Alter's, but then Ibaraki's spear reached its left leg.

It crumpled, and the force of the blow sent it flying across the room.

The last of the first three had stopped short, realizing the intensified danger it was in without allies.

Jeanne Alter had picked herself up again leaving the next one to Ibaraki. She sprinted towards the shadow, and the new behind it.

Two reindeer men sprinted past on either side of her intent on getting to Ibaraki. The two more awaited her on either side of the shadow. Its short sculpted hair and its black burrowed flag pointed right at her.

She mouthed a silent curse as she then jumped five feet to the side, and five feet back, not losing her momentum forward.

The fire missed both times.

The reindeer men weren't going to linger and wait for her to get closer. They both attacked, one from above and the other from below.

Alter twisted her swords, blocking both, then jumping in the air pushing the one that went high further back.

Can't lose a step.

Her amber eyes were focused on the shadow. So close was it now that she could feel the mana rippling in the air as it prepared to attack.

She didn't have long she knew, her amber eyes narrowed as she parried and danced two blows away from the reindeer men. Before she got low, kicking the legs out from under the closest one. The crack was sharp.

The other reindeer man swung down, its blade caught between both of Alter's swords.

Alter twisted upright and kicked the reindeer man who was falling prone with broken leg joints, into the shadow.

The shadow made an inhuman hiss as it then planted the flag through the reindeer man skidding towards them. Drawing their sword.

Alter ran right at them, leaving the other reindeer man behind her, both her swords on her first attack were blocked. Unlike other monsters that lacked the strength of a servant, this one did not, even as the ground cracked beneath their feet from Alter's blows, it remained unmoved by her first sword swings.

There was a beat as it seemed to gather itself, and swung out with the sword first. Alter dodged it, twisting in the air, like she'd seen that purple-haired rider due to Artoria Alter in spars before.

They swung up to where she'd been.

Alter planted her heel into the metal plates beneath her, and it ground and bent under the force of her weight, swinging right for their torso.

The shadow moved, pushing off the ground and sliding out of the strike. The retaliation came quickly as the flagpole thrust out toward her.

Amber eyes went wide as she felt the spike of pain from her shoulder as the sharpened tip caught her skin. Blood dripped and the follow-up was a thrust at her head.

Jeanne brought her sword up, side-faced, catching the point of the flagpole. Given no chance for respite, it came at her head, torso, and head again.

Sparks flew off as the side face of her sword caught each one of the powerful strikes, sending her back a few feet.

Finally, the shadow stepped forward, putting real strength into the attack, retracting the flagpole a little for a wide swing.

Alter hissed but took the chance and dashed forward, catching the side of the flagpole with both her swords grinding down the length of the weapon with sparks flying as she closed the gap between them.

The shadow still pushed her, even as she slid down the flagpole with its sheer strength.

Amber eyes widened when the shadow brought its sword to bear, catching the edge of her blades as they nearly collided at the end of the flagpole's length. Sparks were all that hit the shadow from their weapons grinding together.

With a huff, she meant to jump away, but the force and momentum of her attack had been stopped altogether. But something more unexpected happened. Rapid movement closed in quickly on her right.

Had she not been a servant, it would have meant her death.

The reindeer man had cut her cheek with its candy cane weapon. And it nearly collided with her knocking her off balance. It had closed the distance rapidly and its snout opened to bite her shoulder.

Alter wrenched herself free of the locked weapons with the shadow, pushing off against the ground just for a foot of distance.

The bite chomped the air, where her head and neck had been.

"Guh!" The noise slipped from her lips in frustration and anger. It was all she could do as the flurry of counterattacks from the shadow came. It snagged the same shoulder but in a different spot. Another jolt of pain went through her.

The reindeer man jumped in the air swinging down.

Alter dodged away from the flagpole and out of the way of the reindeer's attack. She planted her heel again, and the air cracked around her as she used mana to amplify her jump attack back at the shadow.

Keep the momentum.

There was a twinge in the movement of her right arm now. She could feel that those two attacks on her opening were taking its toll. She angled to keep that shoulder away and got in close with the shadow again.

This time, however, she had no intent to lock weapons. Both her swords were blocked as she slid by. And her back slid into the cafeteria wall now on the other side of the shadow. She winced a little.

She looked left, at the Nuw still waiting in the back. Those demonic eyes looking right at her, not moving a muscle of their body.

It's not joining the fight even to save its own skin?

Alter huffed out a breath.

Be grateful stupid dragon witch.

Her amber eyes narrowed towards the reindeer man now standing at the shadow's side.

Don't turn your back on either of them.

From where she was now she'd got a good view of the rest of the room. Alter could feel a trickle of blood dripping from her shoulder as she pressed herself back upright. Sweat glistened into a droplet from her temple and slid down her cheek. The warmth was palpable, and she could feel her own heart thudding in her chest.

Ibaraki had been slowed up by the two reindeer men and a gingerbread beast was attacking her. The reindeer are rather smartly covered for the gingerbread beast's openings. And the beast in turn made up for their typical lack of servant strength.

The others in the room were still dealing with the crowds of fodder that seemed to spawn endlessly towards the doors.

Even as Alter caught her breath one of the small candy cane critters jumped up at her. She cut through it with a flick of her sword now standing fully upright again.

The other servants, Robin and Joan were winning their battles against the horde. Once they'd completed that, they'd get to Ibaraki. Once that was done, they would swarm to where she was.

Her brief respite was over, she could feel the wound slowly closing on her shoulder. But the shadow seemed to understand that its advantage wouldn't be permanent. The shadow sprinted directly at her.

The reindeer man sprinted wide to her right.

Alter pressed a boot against the wall, and made for another prana jump.

Can't let them take control of the fight.

Or you'll die.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

The winter wonderland was fast growing to be unbearable. He'd practically stripped the top half of his Chaldea combat uniform off and he was sweating bullets. His face was red probably from heat exhaustion. His mouth twisted as rolled forward from one of the slow gingerbread beasts slamming the ground beside him.

"Senpai!" Mash hurled her shield into the beast forcing them to back away.

Ritsuka groaned as something snagged his hip, ripping the skin as he scrambled to get up and further away. It tore a small hole into his tank top too.

He looked back to see Mash's shield snap the gingerbread beast in two. There were snowflakes in his hair and across his chest. But they provided no comfort to the sweltering summer heat of this winter landscape.

Altera's arrows pierced the air, and her sheep steeply attacked the next dozen small candy canes.

How can it even be winter this far underground?

He looked down at himself wishing he had a tank top at least. Finally, he rested against the stone edge of their cave.

Snow still pelted the ground. All between them decorations went up and around nearly all the gates that had led them down this far to the next gate. His blue eyes scanned the opening ahead, knowing it to be another large chasm that stretched out to the next big gate that would take them to Kur's next level.

"All this to make sure she doesn't feel left out." Ritsuka chuckled and brushed his hair back with his fingers. He could feel the dampness from sweat in his hair. "Could've just asked Eresh…" He sighed a little and looked back.

Edmond was almost dead on his feet.

Gudako was still dragging him along, with twisted lips, she'd been hauling him over her shoulders and tried to stand with a strained groan. "Come on, I got you~" Her breath hitched and huffed. Like her brother, she'd discarded the top half of her combat uniform. She was wearing a sports bra underneath. Those golden eyes flicked to him. "I don't think Ed can go much further."

Edmond huffed a laugh. "What…useless old me. This Sumerian fever is a bitch and a half."

Altera and Mash had wrapped the fight up.

Their Santa Claus that year seemed to give a gruff hum. "Indeed, we should almost be at the last gate soon." She tilted her head towards Mash, putting a hand on her hip. "Do you want to try contacting Chaldea again? And see if they can rayshift Edmond back?"

Both Ritsuka and Gudako nodded.

Mash nodded back and set her shield down on the ground again. The ritual was well practiced enough now that both Ritsuka and Gudako could do it in their sleep.

With a wince, he picked himself up touching tenderly around his new wound on his hip. But he made his way over to Mash's shield. She was already in the process of drawing up that ever-so-important sigil. He applied himself to help.

The wound was no more than a gash after all.

He tugged at the collar of his tank top. "Mash, level with me, can we make it to Kur without any other backup?"

The pink-haired shielder stiffened a little. "I…think so, Senpai. Ishtar might be kind enough to follow us." Her mouth twisted a little. "Though, I'm not sure I can take fighting any more realm-specific guardians like Medusa again." She held up her hand.

He could see stains of blood in the purple and black.

"Don't worry…I'm fine…it's just…" She blew out a breath. "I can feel that even with my summer uniform on…the sickness is still slowly starting to get to me." Mash smiled at him and wiped her brow standing up and dusting off her knees. "I'd say our time limit is based on how long I can hold out."

Ritsuka hummed and looked at Altera who was looking at them. "You agree?"

Altera was quiet as she looked away. "While I'm getting used to being a strange hybrid archer…I do." She nodded towards Mash. "Without her, we won't have much of a frontline say for you and me Master."

He blew out a breath and his blue eyes went to the cave floor. With a flick of his wrist, he started carving the smaller shapes into the circle. Mash would take care of the large version of it around her shield. "A terrifying thought."

"Couldn't hit the broadside of a ship, master," Edmond said teasingly.

Ritsuka smiled, "Shit I didn't get a chance to wrap my presents this year…" He stiffened upright and then shook his head.

"Guess that means I get to say told you so?" Gudako grinned. "I wrapped'em for ya don't worry. Ed and I had some spare time…"

He smiled a little at that. "That's why you were goading me and reminding me. You wanted to surprise me."

"A little." Gudako shrugged, "We don't wrap our presents together anymore. I kinda miss doing that little brother."

"Yeah…sorry." He huffed. He straightened up standing over the shield now walking along the edge of it. He could feel the mana slowly starting to gather around the shield like a very slow suction in the air. Ritsuka then finally looked at his sister cradling Edmond in her lap. "You could ask, you know?"

Gudako snorted, "I know…" She tilted her head from side to side. "I guess I just didn't want to burden you, or Jeanne. I know the both of you are still in everything together…" She blew out a breath. Then she laughed, "I mean it would've just been another thing upended by our regular scheduled Christmas disaster wouldn't it?"

Ritsuka smiled and nodded a few more times. "It can be hard to be so carefree about it huh?" He wrapped his hand around his wrist. He thumbed one of the faded scars there. The one where he'd been bleeding for a certain jeweled and a golden chalice.

"Yeah."

Mash finished her outer circle. "I still think it's wonderful every year. No matter how bad or busy things get. That we still find a way to celebrate." She closed her hands into fists. "So…I think we should go back to the kitchens first thing and whip up a batch of pies!"

Ritsuka snorted. "Pies?"

"Yes." Mash nodded firmly, "After we shower and…well…dust this whole business off of us of course." She coughed and their young Kohai had a bit of a red tint to her cheeks closing her eyes with thoughtful and imaginative delight. "Actually, maybe we can do a movie again like last year…"

Gudako cackled. "Because you slept through it?"

That blush worsened. "Y-yes! I would be…" She scratched the back of her head. "...delighted."

"Of course Mash," Ritsuka said. "Though the Misses might have something to say about it depending on the timing." He leaned back a little as he finished drawing the smaller shapes into a circle. "That could be fun, but it also depends on how many of us get caught up with the Sumerian fever."

"We can have a big sick slumber party since everyone is sick!" Mash insisted.

Altera hummed, and then she nodded. "I suppose that would be sufficient. I can whip up a big batch of soups."

Gudako grinned. "We can help with that…that's if my dear poor boyfriend can bear to part with me for a few hours."

Edmond coughed, "I don't know honey. I'm on death's door and any moment could be my last." He grinned at her with that playful smirk. "I don't know if I could bear it. Perhaps your presence is the only thing keeping me going?"

His sister snorted. "You being clingy, feigned or not is a rare occasion…" She hummed. "Perhaps it would indeed be difficult to part with you."

"Mash and I can help." Ritsuka shrugged. "Between the pie baking and soup cooking the three of us could manage it if we planned accordingly in a few hours." He nodded a couple of times leaning onto the palms of his hands. He offered Altera a lopsided smile. "I think everyone would appreciate a couple days off from the fever."

Alter…I'm not sure how she would feel about it.

There was a beat of quiet that passed between them.

Edmond cleared his throat, "As much as I appreciate all this holiday buzz…I believe we agreed that I should be transported if we can reach Chaldea at all?" He asked, "Not that I don't appreciate being so wonderfully looked after…" Even as he finished he coughed a bit and nearly fell over from Gudako's lap. "Ack, it really does feel like my body is giving out on me…"

His sister's laughter was quiet as it pierced the air and she kissed him on his brow. "Such a drama queen."

Ritsuka smiled as he turned to the shield and held his hand over it concentrating. He, with some considerable effort, started to feel the mana flow he was intent on connecting with. "Mash?" He asked tentatively.

"Done." She said, folding her arms. Mash was quiet for a moment and her lips twisted. "And now, we wait."

As it had been explained to him before, the shield was amplifying the outgoing signal using the leyline. It was the same thing they used when trying to summon servants. It worked in place of normal communications going out.

Ritsuka knew losing comms with Chaldea was a fairly rare occurrence in the field since it was a combination of technology and magecraft. Holograms appeared like projections without projectors like it was a sci-fi story he used to grow up reading. He scratched his chin and paced away from the shield.

What was happening right now, was one of the rare occurrences where they were the ones trying to contact Chaldea in an environment deep in Kur which seemed to only muddle the communication bands even further.

This time though there was an audible crackle. And it wasn't Da Vinci's voice, nor any of the other usual staff.

"Hello? Testing…I've not used this thing to a great extent before ya know?"

He knew that bubbly voice anywhere. It was a voice he'd heard coming to his aid during singularities and it was a friend he cherished deeply. Despite himself and their situation, Ritsuka smiled with relief angling his face up. "Ushi, it's good to hear your voice." He chuckled a couple of times.

"Oh! Master good, we hadn't heard from you in a while, we were getting worried." There was a pause and the sound of muffled movement. It was a few seconds longer, but a hazy blue image of the summer assassin appeared. She tilted her head a little, her hair bouncing. "There, that's better, where are you?"

At that, Ritsuka shrugged. "Hell, somewhere in the middle of Kur."

Gudako snorted.

He smiled.

Ushiwakamaru grinned. "Is that what's making the signal so weak?"

"I'd guess so. Altera? Mash?" Ritsuka turned the conversation over to them. Altera was the most familiar with the singularity. And as much as Mash insisted on the pair of siblings being her Senpai's, that was only on the matters of living in the outside world. When it came to magecraft, Mash was probably far past anything of what either of them could do.

Altera gave the summation of events that had brought them this far. Some duplicate servants had to be dealt with at each of Kur's gates thus far. And that they should be approaching the final one.

Mash likewise explained the strange curses and magic that were afflicting the place. Things that he'd missed due to being an obvious novice. She also explained that the fighters were getting tougher as they got deeper into Kur.

"Why, Eresh has servants guarding her gates…" Mash shrugged. "I'm not sure. Another grail may have appeared. That seems to be the trend when it comes to such odd similarities forming." Those purple eyes flicked to Ritsuka.

He nodded grimly, agreeing with her assessment. "There is also another matter, Ushi, we need to transport Edmond back via rayshift. He needs a hospital bed and a healer if you can manage it. But I get that the rooms are probably full."

"He's got a summer spiritron dress doesn't he?" Ushi's eyes narrowed a bit. "Yes, that should help alleviate some of it." She waved to someone off-screen.

"Da Vinci?" Ritsuka asked a bit more quietly, knowing the famous inventor artist sometimes took great offense at others caring after her because it was her job to monitor and look after everyone else.

"Barely holding on by a thread," Ushi stated flatly. "There's a Nue and Carmilla cornered in the Cafeteria. And Emiya and Artoria are hunting a shadow servant running about Chaldea." Her mouth twisted a little. "Your girl has a grudge with the Nue, and she's leading the charge down there…" Ushi blew out a breath. "They'll manage, I think. Joan's with her."

That was the sort of thing Ushi didn't have to do for him. There was a way the summer assassin looked at him knowingly. As if she'd anticipated one of his worries and would be unasked questions.

Ritsuka swallowed and nodded a few times. "Thanks," he said.

Her grin widened, and she bowed her head. "Ed, can you hear me ya old farce?"

"Oi! Shove it assassin!" There was another fit of coughing that came from the other side of their small cave. In the meanwhile, Gudako had once more helped Edmond Dantes to his feet. She puffed out her cheeks and she was sweating from her brow. While his right foot dragged, he managed to step in time with her with his left.

Ushi smiled, "Ah, there you are. We need you to touch the shield. It will help us muddle through the interference." She then turned and bowed her head towards Gudako. "Master," She greeted.

His sister smiled, "You're a sight for sore eyes lady Tengu." She huffed a few laughs.

The assassin rolled her shoulders. "Oh, you know me, can't resist getting fully involved because the world so desperately needs it." Her grin widened. "Will the four of you be able to manage?" She tilted her head a bit.

Gudako gently set Edmond up against the edge of Mash's shield.

Ed gave her a dorky thumbs up with a smile.

It was near enough to make Rituska laugh, but he managed to smile a bit at it.

Then the pair of siblings looked at one another. Ritsuka sighed, "It would be helpful if you sent someone down with our swimsuit mystic codes." He rolled his shoulders. "And we could use a servant if you can spare it. We got an archer and a shielder…so a saber or assassin might be good."

Ushiwakamaru was quiet for a moment as he looked off to the side. "Wait a few…" She looked somewhere off-screen. "I've got a couple of calls coming in from the med bay and cafeteria." Ushi blew out a breath and seemed to shake her head a few times. "Ed, start counting backward from sixty."

"Ugh seriously?"

"Start the clock, in…five." Ushi's eyes weren't looking at them, they were probably on a clock off to the side. "Four, three, two…"

Even as she neared it, Edmond's more joking expression faded into the serious brooding one he'd always had.

"One."

"Sixty…" Edmond started quietly. He smacked his thigh a couple times as he pushed himself upright sitting on the shield now. "Fifty-nine…"

The hologram flickered away as Ushi went to take the other calls. Gudkao and Ritsuka exchanged another look.

Mash paced about the shield.

Altera was quiet with a hand on her hip, but eventually, she turned and walked towards the front cave entrance, deciding to quietly scout ahead. She made eye contact with her masters first.

They both nodded at her.

With a grin and twitch of that fake mustache just above her lips, their Santa Claus archer straightened up, and turned back to the cave entrance. The sheep appeared beside her again out of dozens of golden lights. Her noble steed to ride into battle with it.

Gudako huffed, "Still weird right?"

"Yep, definitely weird."

Then they quietly shared a laugh.

Edmond was counting silently now moving his mouth. Those amber eyes looked up at the two of them.

His sister stepped closer and brushed his white hair away from his forehead, the sweat sticking it in unruly clumps both to her fingers and to his head.

Edmond smiled at her gentle touch.

Gudako kissed him on the nose. "Don't do anything stupid when you get back. Get to the med bay, put your head down, and rest." There was no verbal response for a few seconds as Edmond was focusing on counting.

Then he nodded once, a smile forming again. "As you wish." He then nodded to her that she should back up.

She did.

A few short seconds later it seemed the mana started to shift in the air as the rayshift came through and powered up. Edmond relaxed back on the shield, reclining as if it were suddenly a soft bed. More Likely the metal was just cool on his fever-ridden body. He grinned at them as he reached the end of his count and a blue light engulfed him.

"Stay safe you two!"

And then he was gone in a blink.

Gudako grabbed her shoulder and rolled it. "I don't think we are getting our summer mystic codes to be level with you."

Ritsuka tilted his head, "Probably not."

"Jeanne okay?" She asked.

"I didn't ask, but Ushi told me." Ritsuka smiled, "She's up and about. Meaning she probably got into her swim gear before the worst of the Sumerian fever could take hold." He tilted his head from side to side. "Probably."

Gudako nodded a few times eyeing her brother. "Worried?"

"When am I not?" He nodded once.

Before it could continue that blue crackle appeared once more Ushiwakamaru was there, her face more hard reset than before looking directly at Gudako. "We got him master."

She nodded.

Then the summer assassin took a deep breath, that serious expression remaining. "We are limited on servants, so the only people I can grab are myself, and a saber. We can't go back to get your mystics codes, but we can come down to help." Her mouth started to twist, and Ritsuka could sense a catch coming.

He raised a brow.

"We won't be able to rayshift back until the twenty-fourth…" She explained a voice coming in from offscreen. She then sighed and added on more. "If we are lucky…" Ushiwakamru peered into the space between them. "The generators and mana being pulled for this are starting to get overstressed. The heat in what should be a winter environment has also stressed the AC. It should be a hundred and twenty degrees here to complement the Sumerian fever. But the environmental controls are also draining that power, keeping it to about a hundred and five." Ushi's mouth twisted. "So if I go, that is the risk."

Gudako's lips formed a frown.

Mash was silent, her own lips twisting. Her fingers balled into a fist at her side. She looked away and with a frown. It had been her enthusiasm for the Christmas bash after all.

Ritsuka dreaded what Alter would think when she heard of it.

It was Altera who spoke first. "I think you should come Ushiwakamaru. We would be glad to help you." She turned to look at her masters, and then Mash. That fake mustache seemed to twitch and she wiggled her eyebrows. "Come now, being stuck with Santa Claus until Christmas eve can't be so bad?"

Mash looked at her.

Altera was certain to smile, "Besides, we'll be among friends and family. What more is there to ask for during the holiday season?"

Ritsuka found he couldn't speak at first. But it was Mash who had the most notable and audible response.

The shielder had been standing and staring wide-eyed at those words for nearly a few seconds in silence before the laughter burst from her like a stream. She'd nearly keeled over. She looked over at the siblings. "It can't be so bad if that's the worst of it."

He smiled a bit at that and looked at Gudako.

She shrugged, looking at him. "Ed would understand."

Ritsuka nodded and looked forward to the hologram. "Alter will need a bit of time…but…I think she will too." Then he spoke a bit louder, "Just bring a few bags of emergency rations, camping gear, and water. Those should all be close by no?"

Ushiwakamru grinned, "All on hand master." She winked and bounced in place. "Alright, count backward from sixty. And we'll be there as soon as I can!" The hologram clipped off and there was a beat of quiet around the shield. As the four of them stood waiting for the arrival of the summer assassin.

Ritsuka blinked, realizing he'd forgotten to ask for which saber she might be bringing. He spared another glance at Mash and Altera.

Mash was tugging on Altera's hand. "I never knew you had such a strong sense of it-"

"Tch, of course, I do, I'm Santa Claus."

It made him smile and exchange another glance with his sister. "I guess we are gonna be out in the field after all."

She shrugged, "Can't be helped. We tried."

Another beat of quiet passed between them as they stepped away from the shield on the ground, and the mana shifted in the air. They were bringing a ton of gear over, so it would be worth their while to be a little more out of the way.

The minute was over fast, and Ushi appeared along with one of their oldest enemies and friends.

Her pink hair flowed out behind her bathing suit the most revealing of all present. Her grin was cracked near as wide as Ushi's, and her red saber sword was planted into the ground. Medb smiled at them. "Greetings Masters, my loyal subjects. I hear you require some help from the queen?"

Ushi scratched the back of her head a bit sheepishly. "Our Lady Queen of Connacht is one of the few servants we had leftover to be used. And she's agreed to keep her antics to a minimum."

"Sheesh, you make it sound like all I do is cause trouble." Medb flung her hair out with her hand.

Ritsuka tried to not look so dumbfounded.

I'd nearly forgotten she'd had bathing suit spirit origin.

His lip twitched.

Medb looked at him, "It will take effort, but I can weaken my charm if you're willing to be resistant?"

Ritsuka blew out a breath, knowing that charmspell's history with men. It had been used on him before. He'd been under the full influence of it, and he could do nothing to stop it since he was a male. All he could do was accept that proposition.

Gudako nodded, "My brother would appreciate that Medb," She turned those golden eyes to him. "If you need me to hit you, give me a holler."

He snorted and laughed only just a little nervously. "Think you can keep it under wraps Medb?"

The queen turned serious. "Yes, I've had to before. And it is not my intent to unleash it upon my allies." She bowed her head politely, the closest she often did as a gesture of respect. "We packed away our supplies into my carriage, believing it to be the most suitable place." She outstretched her hands.

And with a brilliant light in the darkened caverns of Kur, the carriage appeared.

Medb grinned, "And if we wish, we can ride atop, and make our journey here a bit more comfortable." She turned to Altera.

"We can, the treks between gates can be long. But we will certainly start garnering more attention. And given that we might be stuck here, I suppose we no longer need to rush, other than to alleviate our allies of their heatwave, and rid them of the Sumerian fever." She put her hands on her hip. "Masters?"

Gudako stretched. "Carriage it is. I'm sweating bullets while hiking. Plus lugging my boyfriend around has made me sore." Those golden eyes flicked to him.

"Carriage." He agreed.

It was all near enough for him to forget that he would have to tell her. Mentally he touched their bond. It wasn't meant to be an interaction but he wanted to gauge what state she was in. Sometimes it was palpable enough for him to get a sense of that. It was like a cold sharp spike that went up his spine. His eyes went wide, and he suddenly found it hard to breathe.

She was there alright.

"Ritsuka?" Gudako asked.

He shook his head, "Nothing I'm fine." Those blue eyes flicked towards her. "I was just checking on her."

She raised a brow, "Well?"

"She's in the thick of it, as per usual."

###Jeanne Alter###

The heat of the fire that had nearly licked her skin was so close, that she could still feel first-degree burns as it narrowly missed her arm. Her amber eyes were narrowed. "Kuh!" She bit her lip and skidded feeling the pressure of that blackened purple ball of energy forming at her fingertips. The mana was more potent than her fire, or the shadow's fire.

But clearly, it takes too damn long to summon it.

Blisters had formed along her already wounded shoulder. The stab wounds that were far lessened. The first had completely healed over, the second was nearly closed. But still, the blood dripped as she dragged herself through the air, aiming that finger towards the Shadow. "Agh, just die bastard!"

The ball's diameter nearly the size of her height lurched forth, slashing through the waves of fire that were sent upwards toward the ceiling at her.

The shadow raised its flag staff and sword.

Alter grinned and used prana to switch her direction, arching downward, her swords cutting through two more bursts of fire that flew at her.

At the last possible moment, her blackened ball of anger twisted mana was dispelled and swept to the side.

The white tile floor cracked under Alter's blow. The nearest table was ripped into chunks as the force of the winds that whipped about her twisted it.

It would have been a fatal blow to the shadow, say for the Reindeer man that caught the follow-up stroke of her second sword, crashing hard against their candy cane weapon with another resounding crack.

Jeanne Alter pushed off from the ground again with an upward strike knocking the candy cane weapon away. She grinned sadistically, as the opening was ripped open for her. And this time she wouldn't miss. It had been a plan to get one of them killed, to get herself down to one opponent. But she had long learned to take what was given to her.

The reindeer man was swiftly carved in two, and the taste of raspberry syrup, different from the gingerbreads, touched her lips.

It was then the shadow was on her, the flag pole went for her chest, head, and shoulder again.

Her amber eyes went wide as she blocked all three.

The shadow had gotten in far too close, less than a foot away. Sparks were shared between them as it brought its sword to bear.

She hissed.

The sword thrust toward her hip, and she barely managed to catch it with the flat end of her sword, the other being bent back from another blow from the flagpole.

The shadow saw an opening too, slashing slightly from the flat edge of her sword above her belly button drawing a thin red line. It came back for her left hip away from her sword.

Alter rolled forward to avoid it, the flagpole still locking her weapon, over her shoulder, and with her second sword, she slammed the pommel of the weapon into the shadow's chest.

It responded, by trapping both sword arms to one side of her body and slamming the edge of its metal gauntlet into her chin.

Damn it!

She tasted iron with that raspberry syrup in her mouth as she danced angled to get out from under the flagpole, the weight of it still pressing on her. With a huff, she kicked off the shadow's shins to get distance.

She huffed.

Then her amber eyes went wide as she realized the shadow was on her again.

This time its quick blows from the sharpened spear tip of the flag were more widespread. Alternating between blunt attacks from the pole, and stab attacks at her head neck, and shoulders.

It's good at close-quarters fighting.

Her mouth twisted that taste of iron growing stronger when she'd avoided a fatal blow, but the handle of their sword slammed her hard in the face. The hilt, hitting her cheek, the end of the pommel above her brow.

Her sword ground against the shadow's armor.

And they thrust their sword down, slashing her right hip, and then pushed outwards, stripping her of her second sword.

Again Alter blocked the inevitable fatal follow-up attack but felt a metal boot slam into her stomach.

She coughed spittle and blood, amber eyes singularly narrowed towards the shadow. Even as she felt the table she'd been slammed into crack from the force of the attack she'd been sent back with.

Her second sword clattered into the white tile.

Jeanne Alter huffed out a breath, her wounded shoulder and arm shaky as she reached for the third sword sheathed on her.

Just a little longer.

With a wince and a groan, she picked herself up glaring at the silhouette of her. Her breaths were coming heavier. And she felt warm liquid rolling over her brow, so she closed her left eye. No blows had been fatal, but it was clear she was coming the worst off from their close-quarters exchanges.

The Reindeer man had done a good job of keeping her off balance. And it had created an opening for the shadow enough to apply consistent pressure to get through her defenses.

The shadow aimed the flagpole at her and she could once more see the gathering heat.

Alter blew out another breath, and with her index and thumb tentatively tested the damage to her hip and her lower back. There was blood, bruises, and more. She could feel the skin's tenderness. And the wound at her hip was worse than both her shoulder wounds. Then her focus turned right back to the shadow.

It was more difficult as her berserker spirit origin, but it didn't mean she'd lost her affinity for fire in its entirety. It just took more mana out of her. Right now it was her only option as she realized one of her legs was stinging.

An attack I missed?

Her mouth twisted as the fire gathered and spewed forth at her.

Alter closed her fingers around the hilts of her swords and aimed them sideways towards the ball of the fire. In her sense, she could latch onto the opposing magic coming at her. It was like making multiple holes in a ship to sink it simultaneously as she pricked the incoming fire with her own magic, sapping it of its strength so it was not but a gust of warm smoke that flew over her and singeing her skin.

The shadow seemed to pause with surprise.

Alter smirked despite herself, taking it as the only emotion she would read from the shadow. Surprise.

Then at last a hail of arrows arched through the room slamming into tables and tiles around the shadow.

It spun its flagpole with ease catching others and deflecting more, looking decidedly unimpressed.

Alter heard a voice just from beside her. "You did wonderful, we'll take over." The blue eyes of the saint came into view and she grinned. She had a bloodied lip herself but launched that weaponized beach ball at their enemy with all the same vigor as before. Robin had appeared far further to the right.

Ibaraki jumped over cracked and broken tables licked with fire swinging her spear at the shadow.

Alter's fingers closed around her sword and she took half a step.

"Go Alter. We can handle it." Joan said.

Those amber eyes flicked to her, there was a hard glare in them. And for a moment, Alter herself thought she was going to scream some retort. But she found that the Nue was still looking right at her.

She smiled a bit. "Took you all long enough."

Joan smiled back, "It did. But all the stragglers and gingerbread beasts are gone. Emiya and Artoria are at the doors."

Alter nodded and quietly sidestepped the fight, walking around it in a long semi-circle watching in case any of the fight might make its way to her. Her body felt sore as the adrenaline started to fade. And all those small pains came to her with each closer step she made. Past torn decorations and over broken tables along the wall. Tucked away against the kitchen's bar counter and in front of the largest tree in the hall, where everyone had stacked their presents, along the wall and underneath the tree. It was pressed up against those boxes.

There the Nue waited, lingering, its inhuman eyes following her every step. It made no moves to flee, run, or noise to discern as she approached.

Jeanne stood over the Nue, looking over the demonic thing more closely since the fight was taking place behind her. She could hear Joan and Robin coordinating on that shadow. Her mouth twisted as she wiped the blood from under her chin. The sweat dripped from her brow as the concentrated heat seemed to only intensify. There was a warm trickle, almost ticklish that dripped down from her hip to thigh.

The damage she'd done was the most noticeable. But it was clear the other battles had taken its toll. There were gaping wounds up and all along it's under the torso where she'd impaled it upon her states. She'd noted the arrow wounds that it had incurred from Atalante and the slash marks it had gained from Marie Antionette.

It was missing most of one of its hind legs, but not enough that it detracted either from its absurd height or its balanced weight. The magic energy spewing off it rolled like a smell away from the body. Something intense was at work.

Its eyes seemed to roll onto her, stretching its ripples of blackened and red skin as it seemed to sneer in greeting at her. It moved slowly and labored. There were candies infused into its skin. Pieces of Christmas trees, ornaments, and glitters.

Alter raised her sword at it, eyes narrowing, and counting the seconds in her head before she meant to cut its head clean off and be done with it.

Then she caught her breath and froze, her other sword resting outstretched at her hip now unmoving. Her eyes went wide.

Lily and Jack were caught in between the curls of its pawed fingers. Both were unconscious and from where she was standing, Alter couldn't tell if that was blood that was dripping from their heads or that cherry syrup.

A dark weight crept up onto her shoulders as she stilled.

The Nue didn't laugh or chortle but that sneer grew wider.

So it understands enough of us now to know how to gloat?

Her amber eyes narrowed with a daring challenge. It would do her no good to try and talk to the beast. The beasts never talked. They only screamed with high-pitched inhuman sounds, or they were deathly silent as they moved from one kill to the next kill.

She straightened herself up and angled her fingers. She had those black magic bolts attached to her berserker spirit origin. And despite the intense heat blurring the Nue's mouth, and the problems, that Chaldea mana system was working like a charm.

Alter felt no weight of mana loss on her at all. Even now all those small pains and wounds were being soothed.

It was the only comforting thought as her eyes bounced between Jack and Lily, both unconscious.

Behind her, the battle raged. To more surprise, another horde of candy canes lunged out from near the Nue, as if freshly birthed or created. Charging away from them towards the others that were strung out behind her.

Its paw moved.

And Alter twitched that bead of sweat trickling further down the side of her cheek.

Its sneer grew wider.

"What's with that?" She straightened a little. "You have…" Alter bit her lip catching herself from stumbling over words.. "You haven't won…" Her eyes were sharpened like swords, hoping to convey a threat. "Does it amuse you perhaps?"

Then to her surprise, it made a sound. It was unnerving, both simultaneously grating yet melodiously harmonizing, a sound rumbling from its mouth.

Laughter.

Her eyes narrowed a bit towards the beast, a twitch from her lips. She made a deliberate show of slowly looking behind her, scared that any quick movement she made, would lead to harm for either of the child servants in his arms.

They were winning their fight of course. The shadow was on the back foot, and they would be there soon enough.

But what would they do?

She took a breath, her sword firmly pointed still at the beast. Alter couldn't use that mana-blasting ball that she'd perfected. It took too long, too easily interrupted, too easy to be killed, and far too easy for the beast to simply kill one of its hostages.

Joan's weapons were singular, and despite the archer class, the range was telegraphed. She would be of no help to her, other than perhaps healing and protecting the children.

Robin was similar, he could shoot stun arrows. Things that could paralyze the beast. But those would take time. And once more, they'd be telegraphed.

Alter flinched.

As that grating chortle grew into barks.

Ibaraki could telegraph her fire with the edge of her spear.

She exhaled, her breaths coming in quicker.

Fire.

The one thing she considered herself the greatest expert in. The skill so masterfully conducted that it even transferred forms with her, just taking greater effort. She could project a lance of fire much like the shadow.

Her lips started to twist with anguish.

But like the others, it would be telegraphed.

She had a skill, however, to manifest her fire in locations beyond her reach. She'd burned Chaldea's computers from France. It was a skill that was burgeoning and useful as it could match fire to nearly anything. It was the only thing she could use that wouldn't telegraph anything for the beast to use against.

Alter cursed the beast in silence. Her eyes started to sting as she felt at last edges of that fever that had swept through servants slowly starting to edge its way to affect her. She could still stand upright, but it swayed.

Its pawed hands seemed to tuck Lily closer.

She flinched her sword hand starting to shake with her breaths.

Those damn flames that would follow me everywhere.

Her mouth twisted, knowing that her fires wouldn't appear from within any living thing, human, beast, or demonic. Air wouldn't sustain it either, it would vanish as soon she'd made it. It needed to linger in order to pull attention.

Her grasp on the hilt of her sword was shaking as she angled a finger over the hilt of her sword, subtle that it couldn't be seen, and her amber eyes flicked to all those presents it was pressed up against. The tree that stood with all those decorations was scarcely touched by the chaos in the cafeteria behind her. Then back to the beast.

And with the heat…

She breathed out a shaky breath.

No stopping it.

Jeanne Alter's glare turned to ice.

Weak.

But I can save them.

At what cost?

Her mouth twisted as her expression started to even. The dampness on her eyes streamed downward over her cheeks as her glare turned stoic and cold. She could feel the hardening of her heart as it turned to ice. The choice was made.

The beast's laughter stopped.

Alter's fingers twitched as she felt the mana swirl against the wrapping paper. Her amber eyes remained steady on the Nue even with tears trailing down her face. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke, filled with cracks and pain. "I see why you picked your shadow to mimic me. Tu étais condamné dès le début."

The Nue tilted its head, now growling and baring teeth as if sensing something amiss.

But it was too late.

Monster.

Jeanne Alter smiled, "But I'm the evil dragon witch that burned France, and I've never backed down from a dare, from neither man nor fucking beast."

Witch.

So I shall be.

The fire caught, and like a demon's fire, it spread in an instant, along the ribbons and boxes, jumping from paper to paper. From box to box as they were all tucked together.

The Nue reacted, typically. Startled by the sudden inflammation of heat that scorched its skin. Its eyes looked back.

And they were off Alter, whose sandal heel cracked against the tile one last time.

The Nue looked back to her quickly sensing error, hearing and sensing the movement. Its paw twitched around the tiny servants in its grasp.

And then it was over.

With purple mana flowing off from behind her sword, the Nue's head was severed cleanly and quickly. Its blackened blood smelled of further and even different syrup. It splattered over the presents and the tiles behind it, sizzling with its unearthly properties. There was a final mana surge coming from within the corpse.

Alter had snagged Lily as she fell, throwing her over her arm. Her sword dispelled, as she reached down and silently grabbed Jack, hauling them over her shoulder. And jumped away, as the corner burned, and burst with the dead Nue lying in her wake.

The shadow was dead.

And all the others had stopped.

Joan was looking at her with wide blue eyes, blood along her lips. "Alter? What-"

"Sorry." She whispered. Alter didn't look at them. Her eyes were on the tile floor. The exhaustion of the Sumerian fever and the battle, all seemed to hit her at once. She fell to her knees, still clingy to the two servants she'd saved. "I'm sorry…" She said again, squeezing her eyes shut. The rest had all happened in silence.

Artoria had that water gun noble phantasm as she'd rushed in with the danger of enemies escaping having passed.

Useless.

Our fire.

Alter didn't feel Joan's hands touching her wounds looking her over. She didn't feel her hug either as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Anywhere but here.

Silence paved out as she fell over blowing out her breath with a huff. Alter was exhausted again she knew. The summer heat was still swelling around her. She could hardly see beyond the foot in front of her through the blur. The dizziness made her sick to her stomach. The blinding white of the cafeteria seemed to fade into a dark blur.

"Sorry, Ritsuka…seems I couldn't do anything right this year."

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

It had been that sentence carried with all the musings of pain. The bond had been riddled with strife and numerous other negative feelings that he hadn't felt in nearly half a year since their first fight. It was all he could think about being stuck there at the end of Kur where Ereshkigal sat kicking her legs.

Two long days.

Ushiwakamaru had collapsed too, after her task was complete. Medb was barely upright against Mash's shield.

Mash was sleeping against Gudako.

And his sister was nodding off.

It was the twenty-fourth of December, late in the afternoon, angling now towards evening for what would have been standard Chaldea time. And with every second that slipped away, Ritsuka felt his chances of being with Jeanne Alter on a holiday were slowly slipping away. And what was far worse…he didn't know how to be there for her.

Ereshkigal's cheeks were red. "Sorry…for all of this. The fever should be clearing away in a few hours."

Ritsuka nodded quietly and closed his eyes to focus. "Alter?" It had been all he could do was reach out to her and he hit his head back against the stone. "Come on answer me…" He whispered. It was a careful line between trying to nag her and wanting to be there for her. So he'd restricted himself to trying it at intervals.

If not words asking after her, just touching the bond trying to gleam whether the mood had improved.

It hadn't.

For him, that meant something had happened.

Ritsuka looked over at Ereshkigal.

The blonde was fiddling with some of their camping gear, and peeling off the wrapping to some of the rations. She licked it and then bit into it. Then she started coughing, "Ugh, you actually eat this stuff?"

His blue eyes softened and he released his hold against his temple. His body was slowly reaching a limit on mana use for the day. Ritsuka managed a small smile for her despite the worry, "Not voluntarily. But it's good in a pinch."

"There are no flavors or anything?"

"No, but one bar gives us humans all the nutrients one could need." He nodded to her. "Pass me a water bottle would you?"

Ereshkigal blinked, fumbled for one, and then tossed it to him.

He snagged it out of the air.

One thing they'd become accustomed to, on their two days of being stranded in Kur thus far, was that the Ereshkigal was not one to enjoy the quiet easily. She was easy to fidget and liked to strike up conversation. And in a few moments, he watched the blonde get up from where she was sitting and sit a bit closer to him with a couple of feet between them. She hugged her knees, resting her chin on them.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could watch her fidget and time how long it would be until she asked the question. She blew out a hot breath and sighed. "What's got you so worried, master of Chaldea?"

Ritsuka smiled a little, "Too many things. I'm happy you accepted the invitation to join us for Christmas. The more the merrier is what Lily always says."

"Lily?" She tilted her head.

"Uh, kinda like a really little sister to me…I guess." He scratched the back of his neck.

She hummed and nodded. "Sorry, I must've caused you a great deal of trouble. I…didn't realize…how bad it was going to get or be."

He shrugged a bit, "No more than we are used to Ereshkigal." Then he smiled just a little, a gentle teasing humor that helped him get his mind off of things. Just don't be in line to use it again."

She pouted a little and turned away. It was a look that reminded him of the way Ishtar liked to pout. "Yeah…I won't. But…what is bothering you?"

Rituska snorted. "Something is bothering my girlfriend…and I don't know what it is…I expect I won't find out at this rate until I get back." He shook his head a couple times and nodded to her. "Like you, she can be a hard woman to reach sometimes." He grinned a little, offering a light teasing.

The blonde blushed a bit harder. "Oi, that's not fair!"

Another beat of quiet passed between them and Ritsuka felt a cold shake up his spine. He shivered for a moment. His eyes went wide and then he looked at Ereshkigal.

Her eyes widened, "I…what don't look at me like that. What is it?"

For the first time in days, relief touched his blue eyes as he hit his head gently back against the rock he'd been laying against, and started laughing. "I feel cold."

Ereshkigal stared at him like he was mad, and for that, he couldn't blame her.

Then, at last, the shield around the circle in the center seemed to vibrate with a hum. Rituksa sat up almost instantly. He turned to the others, "Mash?" She was the one who usually was responsible for getting this sort of thing to work.

Mash's peaceful expression twitched.

He felt horrible about it.

Gudako however was awake before she was, her golden eyes wide. "Ritsu?"

He hummed, moving to stand by the shield. "I think-"

It was just as he'd started speaking there was an almost static sound that started to fill the air. A familiar voice sounded in the air. And with that cold air, he felt nothing but relief sweep over him at last. "Hello, everyone's favorite painter and inventor! Is anyone reading me?" In contrast to what her voice had sounded like days prior, she'd at last sounded better and a better facsimile of her usual upbeat self.

At the sound of her voice, everyone started to rouse themselves up.

Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief, "Da Vinci, and here I was starting to finally get worried."

The infamous painter inventor snorted, and at last that fuzzy blue hologram appeared before them. As others began to gather around the shield. All of them lined up behind Ritsuka with similar sentiments. Altera stared hard at their servant coordinator.

Da Vinci grinned, "Well, it certainly took a lot out of us, but we finally managed to get enough juice in this thing to work properly. It's a damn Christmas miracle!" She chuckled a few times and scratched her cheek. "Things are a bit of a mess over here, but I'm pleased to announce you can all finally come home!"

Gudako groaned, "Thank goodness, Edmond's going to have his work cut out for him working out all the kinks in my back. Sleeping on a stone isn't good for the soul."

"Nor the carriage," Altera added.

"Yes," Medb agreed. "Perhaps I really should look into upgrading the seating after this experience. I'll consider a holiday treat for myself!"

Mash rubbed the sleep from her eyes and moved to stand between both Ritsuka and Gudako. "It's good to see you, Da Vinci!"

"You too Mashu!" Then she cleared her throat, and bowed her head, "Alright everyone, line up for rayshifts and start counting back from sixty!" Da Vinci then turned to Ushiwakamaru. "And you did great Lady Tengu, I'm pleased to see my workspace all in one piece. And I've heard nothing but praise from everyone else."

"Awe shucks, it was nothing much ya know? Another day in the life for us here at Chaldea." The summer assassin bounced sniffing loudly, indicating she was still partly afflicted. "Glad I can help. And glad you're looking well."

"The casters here should be able to fix you right up."

Ritsuka blew out a breath and closed his eyes. Counting and tuning out the rest. He instead wanted to focus on his bond. There was something this time. Just a little. The kind of prodding to check that he was still there, that he'd started to interpret as Jeanne just wanting to tell him that she was still there because she knew she wasn't answering him.

Her mana sort of flowed over him for just a fraction of a second, and then it was gone.

He sighed and whispered to himself. "Just a little longer love…"

Even as the clock wound down, and the world around him started to crackle with mana, the signs of a rayshift forming. He nodded once looking at the others.

Just a little longer.

###

Joan was the first person waiting for him, standing in her ruler gear. That blue saintly cloak over her shoulders. She had a hard look to her expression but there was some relief in those sharp blue eyes of hers.

Ritsuka kept his conversations polite but short. Jack and Nursery rhyme were demanding hugs. Edmond and Gudako shared a kiss and were walking back arm and arm.

"Good to see you, Joan," Ritsuka said.

She nodded, "You too Master." The saint smiled and opened her arms.

They embraced.

Joan held him in her arms for a moment longer. "She's distraught…and I haven't seen her." She huffed, "Actually, Alter refuses to see me or speak to me." She released him after a moment looking up at him.

"I know something happened, but she refused to speak to me too." His mouth twisted and he tapped the side of his face gently with his own knuckles. "The most I've gotten were checks to make sure I was alive…but beyond that, nothing." Ritsuka raised a brow at her with a questioning glance.

The saint sighed, "Come, we should walk and talk." She led the way down the hall. "I'm going to get punished for it at some point down the line, but…I'll start from the beginning, which was for me when Jeanne Alter came to visit me in France a few days ago. Just before you were about to set off with Altera."

And by the time they were about to reach his room, Joan had reached the crux of the story. The fact that Alter had destroyed all the Christmas presents that year under the tree. At face value, the Nue had destroyed hers for him.

He could recall at certain times when their bond had been in pain from her that day when the loss of her gifts for him might've bothered her. "She saved Lily and Jack though, right?"

Joan nodded, "Yes, that's what I've been trying to tell her." She came to a stop with him at the door to his room. "I never even asked why she did it. Nor did I ever make any attempt to pass judgment…" She looked down for a moment. "I tried…at least a little to cheer her up. Artoria Alter managed to drag her out shopping, but from what I hear that experience was…rather one-sided."

Ritsuka went for the door.

"She won't be in there…" Joan said and she looked away. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more…"

He shook his head, "No, you tried, I…appreciate it. And so does she, even if she will never admit it to you."

Joan smiled, "I…suppose that's good to know." She looked down the hall. Robin and Ibaraki greeted them as they walked past them. Then she looked at him again, "We'll handle everything as best we can. Samson wanted me to say the prayer this year before the late-night feast." She scratched her cheek. "I better get started on that…hehe."

And then before either of them could touch the door. The door slid open.

Alter Lily was there with bells bouncing on her ears as he looked up. Her expression suddenly glowed, and she gasped in surprise. "Reindeer!" She bounced and jumped up at him.

Ritsuka caught her, "Oh-ow." He grinned and laughed. "Ha, it's good to see you too Lily." He spun the girl around and set her down again between him and Joan.

The saint looked surprised. "Oh, Lily." She clicked her teeth, "Oh where does Marie think she can get off letting you go around unsupervised."

Lily bounced over to her older sister and stuck her arms up. "I was making gifts."

Joan raised a brow. "Oh? Gifts?" She reached down and picked Lily up, setting her against her hip.

The small alter Santa nodded, "Mhm." She reached under her white cloak and offered a small poorly woven, but no less lovingly crafted yarn bracelet. "There's a box in there…I need Reindeer's help to distribute them!"

Ritsuka peered inside the room. It was a mess, and there were still tons of wrapping paper everywhere and not tons of yarn threads pulled without spools. He raised a brow and chuckled a bit. He saw what Lily was referring to and went inside to grab it. "Not right now, okay Lily? Maybe a little later?"

She pouted, "No we have to now because if we don't Artoria Alter is gonna get mad that we are intervening during Altera's gift-giving this year." Then her face fell suddenly. "Well…what little gifts we have this year."

Joan hummed, picking up the bracelet. In the yarn, one could see the rough makings of Chaldea's emblem that was etched into the yarn. Her eyes went wide and she reached for Lily's hand.

The young Santa flinched. "Ow!" She yanked her arm away.

"Oh, Lily…you didn't need to." Joan gently touched Lily's hand and unfurled it for her to take a look. There were blood stains on it, where she'd pricked her hands with some of the sewing needles.

"S'okay. I'm a servant. I heal fast." Lily smiled, "Besides if older me can do something difficult to save someone. Why can't I do this small thing for everyone." She flexed her fingers for Ritsuka to see. The wounds were already nearly closed.

His blue eyes softened, "Lily, don't make a habit of it. Ever, if you need help, please ask anyone. Emiya, Joan, Marie, Boudica, Medea, Raiku…anyone would've loved to help you."

"Oh, my sweet baby sister." Joan pulled Lily closer suddenly and started kissing her head. "My sweet baby sister is so nice! I love you little one."

"Ack!" Lilly started trying to push her away. "Ah, Reindeer! Help me!"

Ritsuka couldn't restrain his laughter.

It took a full minute for it to stop. Lily had lipstick marks on her forehead and her white hair was ruffled. She was annoyed but was at least pleased that it had stopped.

By then Ritsuka managed to get his stern look back. "So, do you promise not to do something like that without supervision again?"

"I…promise," Lily said lamely. She was like a young child who'd been coerced into promising something they absolutely didn't want to keep at all.

"So will you help me Reindeer?"

He was still at the door to their room. He saw that Lily's sign was there like always. "Reindeer" with the first E backward. But underneath that now, was a plus sign and then it read in Japanese "Kūru nao nēsan". He chuckled a little at the newest addition to the door sign, knowing that Alter had insisted it be taken down not too long ago.

But since Alter wasn't there to stop Lily from hanging it back up, it seemed the little girl had finally done their little spat over it.

Joan spoke up, "Tell you what, Lily, why don't I help you distribute them this year." She grinned as she set the girl down, and knelt to look her younger sister in the face. "Reindeer is busy. He needs to go make sure the older you is okay. And he wants to make sure she won't miss the party later tonight.

Lily pouted and looked over at Ritsuka.

He sighed and nodded, "I'd love Lily, but you should go with Joan this year. You know your older sister's always wanted to help you anyway."

There was a pout on the young Santa's lips and a small blush. "Mmm, fine!" She looked at Joan. "But you will have to do things I say! Is that okay?"

Joan chuckled, "Of course, so long as they aren't too unreasonable…"

Then the sternness seemed to vanish from Lily, "I…would also be delighted if Marie could come?" She asked.

The saint snorted. "Yes, I'm sure Marie would love to come. And I still have to chew her out for letting you go around unsupervised." Once more Joan picked Lily up, taking the box from Ritsuka's hands with the other, and then took a few steps away. "Last I heard from Artoria Alter she was staying in Shinjuku since yesterday…too many disturbances here."

He winced but nodded.

From there he had a few vague ideas about where she might be staying. A hotel, the place where she and Artoria had originally had their hideout…after that he might have to start getting creative. Moriarty ran a bar there that hosted gatherings on occasion. He pressed his mouth into a line and nodded. "Merry Christmas and happy holidays Joan, Lily. And thanks for the help." He made a quick shower of it before he set off, and made a plan to be in Shinjuku at the end of the hour to start looking for her.

###Jeanne Alter###

She coughed a few times, feeling the tinge of red on her cheeks as snow was falling beyond the glass windows of her bar. She swirled the glass of wine in her fancy glass and then leaned back taking the whole of it all in one go. Her cheeks were red and her vision was blurry. And whether it was tears or the alcohol, she didn't care.

Moriarty was looking pointedly at her.

"What are ya lookin' at you stu-" She hiccuped. "Bartender…my glass is empty again!" She started to shout as she stretched and leaned over the counter. "I…" She paused and tilted her head. "Need…another bottle~!" She sang the last words.

Useless.

Shush stop being so loud wait wait!

Jeanne Alter grinned sadistically, biting her thumb and pushing a few of the bottles she'd already gone through to the side. "Ya know, big genius criminal man! Ya missed quite the party at Chaldea."

Moriarty uncorked the fourth wine bottle, those sharp blue eyes fixing themselves to her. "Oh really?" The drawl was meant to be sarcastic. "I don't suppose you want to return to the after-party there."

"Shush shush, hold on, you're missing the sarcasm!" Alter reached over and gently tugged Moriarty by the collar.

His brow twitched annoyed, but he said nothing.

"The party was this big demon, and this bis fever that made everyone comatose, even me for a day!"

Moriarty blinked and seemed to glare at her. "Really?"

"It's true!" Alter giggled and looked at the empty wine glass like a lost puppy almost before she managed to shake herself back. "And I did something that you would be so proud of!"

Moriarty's mouth twitched, "I'm all ears then." He huffed out a breath. "What could you have done to make me proud?"

"I saved the kids and killed the Nue, by ruining Christmas!" She bounced in her chair. "Isn't that exciting!" Alter started cackling back with laughter. It was so obviously heinous and heroic at the same time. Surly Moriarty would be the one greatly amused by it. "And all the others are so damn happy about the whole stupid affair! They were all doing stupid things like "Great job Alter, or Good job Jeanne!" She slammed her fist against the bar countertop. "Morons, the lot of them. Realizing I didn't just swindle the holiday for them." Alter snorted. "Grinch should have taken notes from me! Not even he could burn all the presents down. The stupid green moron saved them."

It was then a feeling washed over her. No voice came like it had with others. The tentative touch that came through their bond to check on her.

Her laughter stopped.

The consulting criminal was standing across from her pouring her next drink, "Last bottle."

"Awe come on! I'm still upright! I've clearly not had enough! I deserve it for being the greatest evil dragon witch to have ever walked the Earth!" She dragged the bottle away from Moriarty as if he might take it from her.

He coughed, "And as to your…story. It sounds like you did a good job." He brushed off his shoulders and walked away from her.

Leaving Alter in silence.

Pathetic.

Her lips twisted and she took a long swig from that wine glass. "Moron, what does he know?"

That feeling was still there in their bond she realized. Persistent as she knew her master to be. She'd only just done it to him a few hours ago to make sure he was alright. Absent-mindedly she wondered what was so important about him on the twenty-fourth.

Aside from the obvious gifts she couldn't give him anymore.

Another swig.

Jeanne Alter started to chuckle and decided to look around the bar. There were a few last-minute servants who had arrived to get quick drinks before Moriarty closed down. Anderson was there now. Emiya Alter had been joined by Kirtsugu Emiya assassin. The pair had shifted off to the corner sipping hard liquor from their glasses.

Moriarty was on the phone near the end of the bar.

Jeanne took another swig, smiling into the glass.

The best way to spend this damned holiday!

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

Ritsuka had spent an hour in the lobby of the hotel. Waiting just in case she might've walked through the doors. It was more easily accessible than the hideout both Alters had used when staying in Shinjuku.

But eventually, when the hour came to an end, he'd snooped around upstairs enough through the levels from room to room. He decided at last to go to the hideout. On his way, he winded through old roads and back alleys that she'd taken him to. Drinking spots and eating spots that she'd stopped to have a burger at. Sometimes an ice cream shake. The hideout looked empty and undisturbed he did a quick walk about and then left.

He didn't know how long he'd been wandering about it before he found himself winding back to the hideout. This time, however, he found the phone ringing almost as soon as he'd entered the building.

"I'm glad you called. What gave you the hunch?"

Moriarty sighed. "To be frank, Master, I've been trying every fifteen minutes since her second bottle of wine."

"Fair enough," He walked towards the window watching the snowfall in the streets of Shinjuku. "Your bar is about fifteen minutes away from this place, I…don't have a car, so I'll be walking. And from there, I'll probably head to the nearest leyline so we might be rayshifted back." Ritsuka sighed. "How long till you're supposed to close?"

"Last call is going out in five minutes. So…half an hour."

Ritsuka blew out a breath. "Okay, see you soon." He hung up the phone and wound his way upstairs to the room that Alter had liked to stay in during the pseudo-singularity. There had been some debate about whether they were the same or not. But he suspected instinct would have drawn her up there anyhow.

He found her jacket and cloak and wrapped them both over his shoulder.

The cold air was biting and he shivered as he stepped out into the cold. Wearing all those warm clothes she'd initially picked out for him before the whole excursion had started. The scarf around his neck, the gloves over his hands, the long coat, buttoned over a different mystic code since his combat mystic code was in desperate need of a wash.

He could see his breath as indications of the cold air and turned to walk up the street in the snow winding his way towards the bar.

When he got there, he could see her sitting at the bar. The dress was new, and that was quite possibly due to the recent shopping she'd been dragged along to. She was facing away from him and drinking from a goblet.

Ritsuka watched her from outside the bar for a moment longer. The way, even in despair, how her beauty never left her. To know she was upright, and further to know that at least physically nothing unbearable had befallen her. Relief swelled in his heart near enough to move him to tears in that quiet snowfall around him.

He smiled.

The music was slow and gentle to match the theme of the place, with lyrics from the radio playing in slow verse. It was just a woman's voice and a piano. "Silent night, holy night."

Ritsuka exhaled slowly as he closed the door behind him, blue eyes scarcely leaving Jeanne Alter's form at the bar.

Moriarty gave him a nod.

He returned the greeting with a single wave and slowly crossed the room to where Alter was sitting. His eyes went to the clock, and he realized he had missed the feast of food while waiting and looking for her. He'd missed Mash's promise of pies, and Altera's promise of hearty soups. He'd missed whatever Emiya had probably whipped up. He missed whatever games the Santa's would put on.

Doesn't matter, does it?

Jeanne Alter cursed quietly, her voice growing louder as he approached. "It disgusts me they are still all so damn excited and happy." Her voice was clipped and edged towards anger. She scratched her head and groaned. "Maybe I don't understand that stupid Grinch's tale after all. The damn fool."

Ritsuka snorted, as he took her in. The dress had black lace trimmings when compared to the other one she normally wore. It hung just perhaps too low to make him blush on her backside. Though he had to admit, it made her look really damn good. Thoughts he shook free from his head deciding on an easy icebreaker. His blue eyes tracked that wine glass being emptied into her lips, and watched her pour herself another. "It can't be so bad." He offered in response to her current statement.

She snorted with derision. "It is, that stupid story made no sense. And it's disgusting to see people happy for no reason! It's like watching a movie or reading a story where nothing happens at all!" Alter turned to face him, recognition wasn't quite there he realized. But there was something in her eyes.

Ritsuka nodded at her. "By the way, where'd you get the dress? It looks quite lovely on you."

"Shut up. You know that black King of Knights? That awful woman dragged me shopping with her, and I got it as a bonus item. Thanks to that, I'm all out of QP!" Alter scoffed. "Thought it would cheer me up damn her." She looked down at herself. "Look at it! My boyfriend will probably think it makes me look like a whore. It was a stupid decision." She groaned and took another swig and pointed out her glass towards him. "And another thing, that idiot got himself stuck saving people again."

He raised his brows a bit at that, with a small smile. "Missed the whole party too."

"Can't believe they were still throwing one. Morons all of them." She sighed and hunched over the table with a sniff.

Ritsuka sighed a little. "Heard you made a rough call too,"

"I just finished telling the story, mock me about it later would you?" Jeanne Alter huffed.

He shook his head for a few seconds and stepped a bit closer now. It had given him a big clue into her mental state if he hadn't guessed. And she'd drank enough for it to affect her vision. He removed one of his gloves and stuffed it away into his pocket. He started unwinding his scarf and waved Moriarty over. Then Ritsuka dragged a chair a bit closer and threw her jacket and clock onto the counter.

"Yes?" Moriarty raised a brow.

"Any chance you've got coffee lying around?"

"I've…just put on a fresh pot…last one."

Ritsuka took a breath and nodded. "Good, yes, I'll take two, one for me and one for Jeanne."

Moriarty gave a gruff nod.

Alter coughed, "Hey, I'm taken. My boyfriend wouldn't…" She trailed off and realized how close he was sitting and more than that her breath hitched for a second. She squinted her eyes trying to concentrate on him. It was as if she was slowly peering behind the vale. Her amber eyes went wider still when her cloak and jacket were pushed into her free hand on the counter.

"For when we leave," Ritsuka explained. "Moriarty is going to kick us both out. And we should both know him to be a man of his word by now." He smiled at her nonchalantly as if it was nothing, the fact he was now here on Christmas Eve. The chair was pulled to be right beside hers as if to leave no room between them.

She caught her breath staring at him. "R-Ritsuka?" Her voice grew quiet and vulnerable. The very opposite of how he'd grown accustomed to it. It was tender too and filled with a longing that he'd missed.

He climbed up into his chair, and sat beside her, almost shoulder to shoulder. Ritsuka kept his movement slow, wrapping his ungloved hand over her knuckles on the counter. He inhaled sharply and smiled. It smelled of faint smoke, ash, and hints of mint and fresh berries. And of sweet wines. He leaned in a bit closer, touching her shoulder with his other hand, gentle and inviting.

"Yes," He answered, "I am here, Love."

Her breath hitched as it finally seemed to sink in again. "Ritsuka?"

"Mmm." He hummed, "Exhausted like everyone else. But I'm here."

Her fingers interlaced with his over-the-counter. "I fucked it up again." She whispered. "I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked and her eyes welled with tears as she peered behind him as if others in the bar were listening in. "I made a choice and it-"

"Alter," He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "Leave it, as all others already have." He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She was stunned, "You…really are here…" Those amber eyes tried to blink tears away. "When did you get back? No how, did you hear about it!" She cursed. "Those bastards, they were saying things about me again weren't they!" Jeanne Alter choked on a sob. "I should've known they would tell you because damn me I couldn't work up the courage to say…"

Ritsuka tugged at her shoulder gently, firming his grip on her hand. "Leave it, Jeanne-"

"It was all my fault!" She started, her nails dug into his clothes. "I couldn't think I was forced to make a choice and I ended up burning it all to the ground. Again!" She shook her head from side to side. "I can't do anything right. If I just had figured the stupid stuff out on my own it would've been fine-"

With the arm wrapped over her shoulders, he tried again pulling her closer. "Jeanne-"

She shook her head at him. "But I can't! I'm too stupid with this. With holidays, with passing small things. I can barely help you clean our room. More often than not I'm put in positions where I can't help you fight." Alter freed her hand from his fingers and pushed against his chest, the space between them growing ever smaller. "You should be with someone who can avoid-Mm"

Her amber eyes had been welled with tears that streamed from her cheeks at an emotional release. Ritsuka could feel them on his cheek dripping onto his clothes as he hugged her closer, her chest pressing against his.

Jeanne Alter squeezed her eyes shut, her features twisted in anguish, slowly starting to soothe. "Ritsuka-" She breathed out again, quiet and vulnerable. "Ritsuka…" She managed between the taste of his lips against hers. Sweat, some sweet spice, a hint of his lip balm.

She likewise mostly tasted berries and wine. It threatened to make a drunk out of him if the wine had ever tasted so sweet.

"Alter, I'm here to take you home."

"Home." She whispered nuzzling into his shirt. "Home…" Alter cried into his shirt, squeezing her eyes shut. Her warm breath on his clavicle whenever she looked up at him. And whenever she did, she cried just a little bit more.

"But I'm in no rush." Ritsuka said, "Nothing else about Christmas matters. All that matters is I'm here with you." He blew out a breath relaxing as the warmth of her seeped into his clothes, as his warmth overcame her.

He nodded, resting his chin down on her head, that single strand of hair sticking upright against his nose, tickling him as it always did. "Together again as the eve draws along to its end." He couldn't resist smiling into her hair knowing she could feel it whenever he did that.

Ritsuka took a moment to focus on the bond between them. Pouring all the feelings mustered into him, pent-up worry, to every ounce of relief that had filled him to be overflown, all right at her through that bond. It was like spreading a blanket over her, relaxing her mental state.

She caught her breath sharply holding onto him as if it would prevent her from being washed away. Jeanne Alter kissed his neck and shook her head against him. Still clinging now onto him and for the first time that night, despair seemed to leave her voice as she relaxed into his hold around her. "How did you even find me an idiot?"

"I was looking." He said quietly. "Joan said you would be in Shinjuku. Might've wandered the streets more than necessary. But…I got a lead eventually."

Moriarty stiffened as he poured the coffee.

"It was lucky," Ritsuka said with a smile winking at him.

The older man's mouth twitched into a smile as he stepped away.

"Or a Christmas miracle if you like?"

Alter snorted, still not letting go of him. "You're a cheesy bastard…and I missed you, darling."

###Jeanne Alter###

Her eyes were red as she looked into the mirror, caked with cracks. Her makeup lay in ruin, as she brushed the edge away from the corner of her mouth. Her hair was frizzled and messy now. So she combed it just a bit. Alter looked down at her dress and recalled he'd already called her lovely in it.

Stop despairing.

She breathed out slowly.

At last, she moved to straighten her dress, adjusting its top. And winced when she took a look at the skin exposed on her backside. Not something she would ever wear to a more crowded place than this. She rubbed her lower back and sighed.

Nothing I can do about that now. It would be a foolish waste of mana anyway.

Alter finished combing some mess out of her hair, and then pushed open the door to leave the restroom. The Emiyas were making to leave and hollering their polite goodbyes at the bartender.

Ritsuka remained waiting in their conjoined chairs at the bar, the steaming aroma of coffee, fresh in the air. He smiled at her, "Better?"

"I'm even sobering." She grinned, and then of course slid a few inches and she righted herself by going rigid. "Well…not entirely."

He'd stiffened as well.

The daft idiot was probably going to try and catch me if I fell again.

She took her seat again, noting it was now just the two of them alone in the bar. Moriarity was going about putting up chairs and cleaning tables. Alter reached out for the mug of coffee and brought it to her lips. "How long were you looking?"

"A few hours…I think." Ritsuka said, sipping at his own mug.

"Sorry."

He shook his head, "Worth every second of it."

She huffed and shook his head. "I've cried enough, you need to stop being too damn nice for just a minute alright." She leaned against him and enjoyed the feeling of his arm wrapping around her shoulder.

"Nope," He whispered into her ear.

"Asshole." She muttered, still smiling.

They sat in silence for a moment longer. She could feel his chest tighten as he tensed up. It was the sort of thing she'd gotten used to when he was wanting to broach a topic of conversation that might be uncomfortable. She waited for him to bring it up, suspecting with near certainty what it would be about.

"Jeanne?" He asked.

She hummed. "Yes?"

"I need you to understand it wasn't your fault."

Her eyes flicked open and she leaned just a bit away, being sure not to pull far. "It has to be. I made the choice. Of course, it was my fault." Jeanne Alter's lips twisted a little. "I saw it…and I knew what I could do. I knew I didn't have long…but-"

"Alter," Ritsuka spoke softly. "Jeanne, look at me?"

She did. There was a warmth to his expression she couldn't describe. There was a sense of safety she could feel overcoming her like the onrush of relaxing emotions from before. More than that, there was a hard experience in his eyes.

"I won't say you had an easy choice. It wasn't. But as someone who's been forced to make those decisions before…you chose correctly." He took a deep breath. "As much as I would have loved your gifts, or would have been excited for you to have mine…Lily and Jack might not be here." He firmed his hand on her waist.

"It still hurts." She whispered. "It doesn't feel like I made a good choice. I feel like I ruined what little chance there was for a good holiday." Jeanne Alter shrugged and laughed. "Gods it hurts Ritsuka."

Ritsuka nodded, "I know."

Jeanne Alter blinked and looked up at him.

"I know." He repeated. "But that's what comes of all of this that I need you to understand. I'm about the business of saving as many lives as possible." His mouth twisted a little. "I…for me…there would never be a choice between those two things." Suddenly a smile appeared, "Lily was making bracelets in our room you know? Waiting for you. She was making gifts for everyone…and I think she wanted you to help…or at least offer you the chance…" He smiled a bit at her.

Alter looked away, "It's a waste-"

"No, it isn't. She wouldn't have been able to make that choice without you." He leaned over and kissed her temple.

She took a shaky breath, and her amber eyes flicked to him. "Sorry…" Alter shook her head. "It just fucking hurts…" There was a beat as she leaned against him again. "I hate feeling like a villain after everything I've done to make up for it."

"But my point is you aren't. You saved them and that in the end is the only thing that matters. Presents, decorations, the tables of the cafeteria, the wrapping paper, the food. All of it could be replaced." Ritsuka set his mug down and wrapped both arms around her, tugging her even closer than before.

His nose brushed against the temple as she turned a little to see him.

"But you, nor the others, can ever be replaced."

Jeanne was quiet and closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms. She sniffed, still feeling the drunkenness at the edge of her mind. "What matters is being with people we care about. Whether they be family or friends." She huffed a laugh that nearly turned into a cough as she leaned up.

There was a beat of quiet, and Jeanne could see confusion in his expression. "Did you…just come up with that?"

She snorted, "N-no. I didn't…Joan said it to me last Christmas. Stupid saint…but I guess he had a point."

Ritsuka snorted, "My you're stubborn. And I love you."

###

Moriarty kicked them out. It was inevitable and she knew it. But it didn't stop her from seething about it because she was damn comfortable pressed up against him in their conjoined chairs. There was nothing else for it. Ritsuka had the QP to cover her tab and the coffee for the end. Not that Moriarty would have forced one of his master's to pay.

It wasn't snowing when she'd arrived and she hissed at the touch of snow on her toes as she stepped out into the cold. She was in heels after all that did little to keep her warm from the cold. "Should've damn well known better to grab my stupid boots." The empty silent singularity around filled with only the sounds of powered neon lights, and cool wind.

Ritsuka's footsteps were close behind.

Alter had thrown on her jacket, and over that, she'd thrown her black cloak. "Damn, finally it feels good to be out of that damn heatwave." She waited for him as he was busy adjusting his scarf back over his jacket. "I recall vaguely-" She hiccuped and covered her mouth.

He stared at her, "You're still drunk aren't you?"

"Tipsy. I'm tipsy damn it all!" She let out a string of curses.

He chuckled at her expense as he wrapped an arm around her. Then they started walking under the dark sky, with neon lights and snow falling around them.

She shivered for a moment, "Damn."

"What?"

"Nothing." she hissed back. Kicking her heels through the snow. "You said you missed a party to look for me?"

"I did," Ritsuka said. "And don't you dare start blaming yourself over it."

Her lips twitched, and she puffed her cheeks out with a pout. She got out from under his arm and turned to face him, still matching his pace. "Okay, okay, but this one, this one actually can be blamed on me!"

"You love to shoulder responsibility.-" His voice part teasing.

"Look, even I concede that it wasn't a mistake in my choice. And I do…it still hurts. It is my fault that you weren't there having fun!" Her lips twisted, and she could see her breath as she spoke to him. "I could've told you myself, but you showed up like you always do. Having found out from everyone else."

"Even if you had told me yourself, you would've been the first person I would look for."

"And missed the party?! A part of the holiday is having fun, remember?" She kicked the snow with her heels. "Look at how much fun I am, this sobbing mess of a servant you were stupid enough to fall for." Her mouth twisted a little around the words. "It all still makes me feel so-" Her heel caught, and the words were caught in her throat. Her amber eyes went wide as her balance left her.

But the hard impact never came.

His hand had wrapped back around hers, those blue eyes stared at her.

Slowly he lowered himself down, placing his other arm beneath her to steady her. "And what makes you think I'm not enjoying myself with you?"

Moron. Stupid.

Wipe that stupid smile off your face!

Jeanne Alter blushed and blinked those feelings away. "Idiot," She breathed out. Lightly punching her shoulder. "All this just makes me feel like I'm not worth it." Her cold feet shivered in the powdery snow. "There is no way I can be-" Her amber eyes widened, "How could I ever compare-"

"It's not about that. Alter…it never was." He glanced down and saw her heeled feet in the snow. "We have to be there for each other. It's supposed to be that way." Ritsuka grunted and hefted her up in a bridal carry.

She yelped. "Hey, idiot, I'm fine!"

"You're cold, tipsy, falling into misery, and questioning why I and everyone else love you." He chuckled a bit at her. "And you think you're fine?"

Her lips parted and only a quiet silence came out in response. Her fingers were only protected by thin gloves, and she curled against the warmth that radiated from him as he carried her along through the snow. Her dress fell over her feet providing just a twinge of relief against the stinging pain that worked their way up from her toes.

Jeanne Alter wanted to protest further but found that all of it was hitting rather hard. Her lips were twisting. He was comfortable after all. He was warm in a way that comforted her. Kind in a way that soothed her. And really, his arms holding her a loft, tucking her into his chest, made her feel special. Her voice cracked again, and while no tears came, her voice came out as a whisper, as if an admission. "I can't help it…"

"I know…at least for now."

He kissed her again, and she slowly hooked her hands over him, digging them into the back of his scarf to keep them warm, hooking herself around him. "I…still need to apologize to everyone about their presents…"

"You don't, but if it will help you, I'm sure it can be arranged first thing tomorrow. Everyone is probably already gone to sleep from the party." Ritsuka smiled a little at her. "And if you are in pain over your choice, just remember, share it with me. After all, there isn't anyone I would go to before you."

She blew out a breath and nodded a few times. "Thanks…I love you."

Ritsuka grinned. "I know, and it's Christmas Eve Jeanne. I'm exactly where I want to be, next to you."

###

Jeanne Alter found that he was content to carry her even when they completed the rayshift back. Naught but a skeleton crew was working in the command room. She was just looking forward to their bed in their room when one of the staff opened their mouths and once again through her night ajar.

"Ritsuka, you're needed in the kitchen. The generator's not feeding the place down there."

He sighed and turned with her in his arms. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"Fraid not, your sister is already down there. She said if you made it back in time, she would need to see ya as soon as possible."

He sighed and looked down at Alter. Then he gave a nod of acceptance. "You've had a long day," They turned the corner quietly and he looked down at her. "Want me to drop you off first?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm…" she blushed a little. "I'm not going to bed without you." She closed an eye as she continued to look at him. "It's not home without you, and you promised to bring me home." Her amber eyes hardened on him as if daring him to say anything to the contrary.

He snorted, "Alright. Let's go see what our oh-so-wonderful workspace has decided to throw at us tonight."

He set her down when they reached a flight of stairs and they turned towards the door. They intertwined their fingers and arms as they walked slowly toward the cafeteria. The door was still broken off its hinges like Alter remembered. The ground around it was scared, marred, and broken.

"Shit, that's gonna be a problem for us." The inside of the cafeteria was nearly pitch black, but they could vaguely make out the ruins of one of the tables just off to their right. "How much of a wreck was the place?"

Alter squinted. "The Nue and its minions had the run of the place for a fair while. I thought the kitchens had been saved though…" Her mouth started to twist. Her eyes were looking for the obvious work lights that should have been in the back of the kitchen where Gudako was waiting for them.

Only a single candle came on, illuminating bright in the darkened space of the cafeteria.

Joan was standing there at the head of the table, a long singular candle grasped between her fingers. Her smile was wide despite those tired blue eyes.

Then another came alight, just beside her. Gudako, illuminating herself and her orange hair. She smiled, "Sorry, the only way to keep us work-oriented folk out of bed."

Ritsuka huffed, "You lying crook. That should put you on Santa's Naughty list."

Alter caught a whiff of food and her eyes went wide even before it had happened. The table was slowly illuminated with all the candles. Her fingers around Ritsuka's knuckles started to tighten. Her breath was stricken.

"About that," a voice came.

The next candle came alight with Artoria Alter grinning stuffed in her black Santa hat with a bag over her shoulder. Beside her was Lily standing on a small box to look taller, trying to stretch herself upwards. On the other side stood Altera with Ereshkigal who hadn't left her side since they'd returned

Artoria Alter's expression turned smug. "We encouraged it. Just this once of course."

Ritsuka snorted.

Jeanne Alter followed the candle lights as they went around, and they were gently set upon the table. Finally Emiya, after showing himself went over and tugged at the edge of a cord. And a myriad of Christmas lights came up above. Showing bright enough, the only intact long table left in the large ruined cafeteria. On it was food, and only a short assembly of guests.

"Most of the others are already asleep." Mash said, "But couldn't finish Christmas Eve without having you Jeanne."

Ushiwakamaru, "Look at that, I really think she thought she was going to slink away and be depressed all on her own."

Alter could feel that confused jumble of emotions but this was a good time she realized. She squeezed her eyes shut and looked down. "I'm…sorry everyone. I-"

"For what?" Lily Alter leaned a little off her box and looked at her.

There was a beat of quiet, and Jeanne Alter felt Ritsuka tug at her hand.

"For what indeed." He raised a brow at her.

She sniffed, "Nothing…Nothing." She repeated and waved it off.

Lily smiled and bounced off the box grabbing Alter by the hand. "Come come, I want you to sit over here."

Chatter started to overtake the table. Lily strung Alter out behind her, and Alter refused to let Ritsuka go. So the train at last ended up with two open seats in the center of the table. As soon as she was seated, and still in shock, Lily took the time to wrap her up in a hug.

Alter blinked. "Lily?"

"Thanks for saving me and Jack. She was ecstatic to hear about it…and wanted to be here. But Auntie Atalante was insistent she should go to bed." Then she shoved a box into Alter's hands and hopped off.

"This is…" Jeanne trailed off. "A present?"

Ritsuka hummed, "So it appears." He waved his own at her, showing that Lily had gifted him one too.

Edmond sighed, "I would've cut the chicken but-"

"Not in your life." Emiya the red archer said. He took up the space opposite to them. Where Jeanne Alter noted, Artoria Pendragon sat, a light blush on her blonde cheeks, staring at the chicken like it was all hers.

Emiya cracked a smile and stood waiting for five seconds frozen over the meat. And then at last the clock's bell chimed. Evidently, something else had survived the cafeteria fiasco. The new day had started. His smile widened, "Let's eat."

There was upstart and commotion. And there was a pause only for Jeanne to get out her second prayer of the night.

Alter tucked her present box against her lap, and looked at Ritsuka.

He was smiling at her.

She huffed out a breath and smiled back. "Merry Christmas…Love."

"Merry Christmas Jeanne." He leaned over and gave her another quick kiss on the lips. Then he blinked and grew sheepish. "Actually, there is something I should warn you about. Lily finally took the opportunity to hang that new sign up on our door in your absence."

Her amber eyes narrowed playfully. "That little brat, I'll have to chew her out." Ritsuka was still close and she grabbed his color.

Ritsuka's blue eyes went wide.

Then she sighed, "But it's Christmas, perhaps I'll let my little sister off the hook for a day. Just this once." She relaxed back into the chair and pulled him in for another kiss. Jeanne Alter straightened up and waited for it to be her turn to be served food. For drinks, she just went with water.

Ritsuka snorted, "You admitted."

"Shut up. Just this once." Alter retorted.

The pair ate a late dinner with their friends early into Christmas morning, and by the time they reached their bed at last to rest, they both had a pair of new Yarn woven bracelets to match, soft enough that they wore them to bed.