?: "So... this allows you to see other realities?" asked a white-haired man with violet eyes, addressing an elderly man.
?: "Yes, now get lost, Merlin, I'm busy," ordered the old man to the white-haired man, who had a smile on his face.
Merlin: "Oh, don't get all puffy, Zelretch, you're only going to get older that way," Merlin's smile stayed in place, even while he teased the user of the Second Magic.
Zelretch: "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, you half-incubus immortal stuck in Avalon," he opened a portal beneath the flower mage, sending him somewhere else.
Merlin: "Son of a-" He didn't finish cursing the Kaleidoscope mage as the portal closed, sending him back where he belonged.
Zelretch: "This is going to go badly... for him." He opened another portal, this time making a bucket of popcorn fall into his hands as he prepared to watch his usual program.
In Chaldea.
Chaldea, the security organization responsible for maintaining human order, was the last line of defense humanity had to prevent its complete extinction. This was thanks to the last Master of humanity, Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Master of the Grand Order tasked with this mission.
She had carried the heavy burden of clearing the seven Singularities assigned to her, preserving history, and saving humanity by dealing with subsequent Lostbelts along with the approaching Pseudo-Singularities.
(Me after finishing the second pseudo: "Damn you, Li Shuwen!" I could only knock down one of his bars... even with a double-class advantage!)
Now, the savior was-
Gudako: "EMIYA, I'M HUNGRY!" yelled the redhead, demanding that her Servant chef feed her.
The white-haired man sighed from the kitchen of the Chaldea cafeteria, unsurprised by the Master's lack of respect.
EMIYA: "It's at times like this I wonder if I'd be better off with Rin or Hakuno," he thought, recalling his previous Masters from earlier summonings.
Benni: "Don't worry, EMIYA, I'll handle the lions-dechi," the little girl informed her companion, who nodded in acknowledgment as he began preparing food for the redheaded Master.
When it came to cooking, Benni-emma was one of the few Servants who could rival EMIYA's skills. As a Servant whose culinary abilities matched his, she was the only one he trusted to feed the lion kings who devoured everything in their path.
Angra: "Hahaha, what a sad life you have, kid," Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all the world's evils, chuckled with a grin from the cafeteria counter as the white-haired man prepared lunch for their Master.
EMIYA: "Shut up, sour mango. Go hang out with the nun you're so fond of," he retorted, recalling a certain situation involving Angra.
Angra's smile quickly disappeared, replaced by an annoyed expression, fully aware of what EMIYA was referring to.
Angra: "You're such a bas-" He didn't finish his insult as Love (Caren) hit him from a distance, silencing him with a smack to the head.
This brought a smile to the red-clad Archer as he cooked, entertained by the fact that the brat got hit.
Castoria: "Grandpa, what are you doing?" asked the blonde girl, watching the old blacksmith (in a teenager's body) sketching something on a piece of paper.
Senji: "Nothing that concerns you, brat. Go play somewhere else; I'm busy," he dismissed her, not wanting the girl or her sheathed version to ruin his plan to obtain the Kusanagi sword, either from Ibuki or Yamato.
Castoria: "B-Brat?!" She leaped at him, starting to bite his head in fury, her face red with anger at the blacksmith's comment.
Senji: "Damn it-!? Ouch, brat!" he yelped, thrashing around in a desperate attempt to get the blonde off his head.
Bang!
DEMIYA: "Behave yourselves, please," requested the black-clad gunslinger in his typical apathetic tone.
The blonde girl immediately stopped what she was doing, her face going pale, while the blacksmith adjusted his hair.
Why didn't anyone intervene?
It was a regular occurrence, so no one found it strange how these situations ended up.
Gudako: "EMIYA BRING-" She didn't finish her shout as a spoonful of food was shoved into her mouth.
EMIYA: "I can hear you perfectly fine, Master, no need to yell. Now finish your food. And you better not leave anything on the plate," he placed the dish in front of her, warning in a stern tone. The Master, chewing what was in her mouth and swallowing, nodded.
Gudako: "Oki doki, mom," she replied, smiling as she started eating.
In the kitchen, Raikou, Boudica, and Tiamat felt a sharp pain, as though an arrow had pierced their hearts.
Cu Lancer: "Hahaha, nice one, Mom," Cu teased the Archer.
Do I need to say what happened next?
Once the mutt was taken to the infirmary, everyone went back to their business.
Elsewhere...
Da Vinci: "Alright, Merlin, I hope this really works, or else I'll be very angry about building this room for something that doesn't even work," Da Vinci glared at the ever-smiling Caster.
Merlin: "Don't worry, everything is under control... more or less," he muttered the last part under his breath, not entirely confident that this would work.
The brunette sighed and took a remote, pressing the "on" button.
Both watched as the machine Merlin had tinkered with started to work.
Da Vinci: "It seems to be working...," she said, somewhat unsure, not entirely sure what this thing was supposed to do.
Merlin: "Good, it worked..." he sighed in relief, thankful that Zelretch hadn't deceived him.
Da Vinci: "Wait! You didn't even know if this was going to work?!" she asked, glaring at the Grand Caster in anger.
Merlin: "...Nooo?" He wasn't even convincing himself.
Fou: "Fou fou," (Do I even need to say what happened next?)
Da Vinci: "You know what? Never mind, I'll call everyone over." She left the small creature, Fou, to deliver the punishment to the Grand Caster for this.
Merlin: "No, wait!" He couldn't do anything as the brunette abandoned him to face the Beast-
Suddenly, Fou grabbed Merlin and began to slam him against the wall.
Time skip no jutsu.
The scene shifted to show many Servants gathered in the newly created room.
Mash: "I... I didn't expect Da Vinci to show us a movie theater," she said, unsure of how to react to this unexpected revelation.
Gudako: "I hope the ticket price was worth it," she remarked with a pile of popcorn beside her.
Mash: "Sempai, you didn't pay anything..." Mash said, sweatdropping at the thought.
Gudako: "What do you mean, I didn't pay?! Then why did Teach charge me?!" Gudako exclaimed indignantly, while in another corner, Blackbeard was quietly counting money with a subtle grin on his face.
Gawain: "I hope what Miss Da Vinci is showing us is serious," remarked the Knight of the Sun, seated alongside the other Knights of the Round Table.
Lancelot: "Where is the king?" he asked, not seeing their king or the other knights around.
Bedivere: "Uh... Lancelot?" the purple-haired knight pointed to the side, where their king sat next to a red-clad archer, who seemed visibly uncomfortable having Saber Artoria beside him.
Gareth: "Actually..." she gestured toward Senji, Angra, and DEMIYA, each accompanied by different versions of King Artoria.
Senji was joined by Castoria, Avalon, and Bakastoria; DEMIYA by MHX Alter and Salter; and Angra Mainyu by Bunnytoria.
Lancelot: "Oh... that... makes sense." He was at a loss for words, realizing it was better not to comment. Otherwise, he risked receiving a more brutal Excalibur slash than usual.
Da Vinci: "Alright... is everyone here?" She looked around the room, estimating there were around 50 to 70 Servants, maybe more, but she didn't have time to count them all.
Nero: "I believe so!" Roma announced cheerfully as usual.
Tamamo no Mae: "Calm down, you might fall, silly," Tamamo tried to get her to sit down again since Nero had stood up so abruptly, and the seat wasn't always sturdy enough to handle such a quick shift.
Nero: "Roma never falls!" she declared joyfully, only to immediately break the seat and fall flat on her backside. "Itai!" (It hurt!)
Florence made a move to stand up, but Edmond quickly stopped her. No need for another casualty... besides the Cu clones.
Cu Faces: shiver - they all felt an ominous chill run down their spines.
Boudica: "So... Da Vinci-chan, what are we here for?" the redhead asked, still unsure about the purpose of their gathering.
Da Vinci: "Well, Boudica... we're here to watch another universe," she explained while preparing to start the machine.
This left everyone confused. They could observe timelines, but to watch alternate universes? That should only be possible with the use of the Second True Magic to make such a thing happen.
EMIYA: "As far as my knowledge of magic goes, of which I have quite a bit of what's specifically needed for something like this, it should only be possible with the use of an object or user of one of the True Magics. And the only known user, who I unfortunately know all too well, is that damn vampire in the Clock Tower, the user of the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope... for some reason, he and Alaya seem to have an obsession with watching my life," EMIYA explained, feeling an instinctual urge to leave the room for his own safety.
Baobhan Sith: "Who would have thought even a weak and clumsy human could know at least a bit of that," the red-haired fairy commented with her characteristic haughty tone at EMIYA's explanation.
EMIYA: "When you have a vampire and a conniving bitch like Alaya after you, learning these things is... just a regular Friday afternoon..." he said calmly, unaffected by the fairy's mockery.
Angra: "And also because you slept with his student," Angra Mainyu couldn't resist taking the jab.
Sound like a record scratch.
Artoria: "Shirou..." Artoria Saber's voice was sweet—too sweet—smiling at the red-clad Archer.
EMIYA: "Wait, when did that happen?" His mind was a mess, unable to recall certain events, especially this particular one.
He didn't even notice the tone Artoria was using.
(Lancer Artoria = Lanturia. Lancer Alter = Lalter. Saber Artoria = Artoria. Archer Artoria = Squirturia.)
DEMIYA: "Probably when you argued with Rin," his alter version cut straight to the memory.
EMIYA: "Ah, right, that," he nodded, accepting DEMIYA's reasoning.
Angra: "Look down," Angra suggested. When EMIYA did, he paled, seeing the Saber version of Artoria staring at him with an unnervingly cold and vacant smile.
Da Vinci: "Before a massacre occurs here, this machine," she gestured to the device Merlin had her install, "is one that will allow us to watch alternate universes. So, no need to worry about that," she answered, addressing everyone's earlier confusion. Several of them nodded in understanding.
Gilgamesh: "Well, what are you waiting for, mongrel? Turn on that garbage before your king gets too bored," Archer Gilgamesh barked, while both Caster Gil and Kid Gil simply sighed at his behavior.
OzymanDIO: (I couldn't resist, XD) "For once, I agree with the golden one," the Pharaoh nodded in agreement with the Sumerian king, as he too was growing bored.
Da Vinci: "I'm going, I'm going. Don't rush me. We all need to see this," she requested, starting the machine.
For some reason, a red-haired knight, a mage, and both the original and alternate versions of the Red Archer felt a terrible and unsettling chill run down their spines.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and the machine began to project the universe they were about to watch.
Fate/Black Dawn.
The title immediately caught the attention of several onlookers.
The homunculus Sieg was confused, trying to make sense of the name. What could this alternate universe, titled Black Dawn, be about? He pondered over the meaning, unsure of what lay ahead.
Sieg: "Black Dawn? Black Dawn?... does that mean a dark beginning or an ominous future?" he muttered to himself, still uncertain but intrigued by what they were about to witness.
The rest of the gathered Servants waited in anticipation, some still questioning the nature of this new universe they were about to see. Would it be something grim, something hopeful, or something beyond their expectations?
Gudako: "Whatever it is, I feel like it's going to be legendary." Her instincts rarely led her astray, and this time, her excitement was building.
Fergus: "I hope there's something good at least..." For some reason, Edmond felt that Fergus' comment was foreshadowing something.
As the screen flickered with the title Black Dawn, all eyes were glued to the projection, ready to witness the unfolding of a story from another reality, one that none of them could have predicted.