CHAPTER 9:

POST-MORTEM: FRANCE

The last echoes of the dismayed scream lingered in the summoning chamber, disturbing the Masters and Servants present, mostly covering the noise of Leonardo da Vinci hurriedly typing in something into the console. Eventually, she finished with a satisfied hum. "Very well. We have added our first two Servants' Spirit Origins to the automatic un-summoning register for FATE. Caster: Gilles de Rais, and Berserker: Kiyohime."

"How the freaking fuck did that stalker bitch get here in the first place?!" Delphi complained, breathing heavily. "We tried to tell her that Ritsuka wasn't Anchin, but no, because Madness Enhancement is a bitch, and so was she, she decides we're lying even when we're telling the motherfucking truth! Fucking Madness Enhancement…no offence meant, Xiang Yu."

The Chinese warlord merely nodded serenely. "None taken, Delphini. I will agree, though, while irrationality is expected of a Berserker, her actions could have endangered our mission."

Mash was gently comforting Ritsuka, who was staring at the summoning platform in horror and fear, shivering. Olga-Marie, who had rushed into the summoning chamber with the Masters when she heard of an unaffiliated Servant invading, sighed. "Two Singularities, and we already have two Servants effectively blocked from summoning. I hope we do not need to block many more."

"Hopefully, not, but I doubt FATE will be so kind," Roman said, consulting an iPad. "Of the Servants encountered, only four are of serious concern, aside from the ones blocked. Pseudo-Ruler: Jeanne d'Arc Alter, Berserker: Lancelot, Assassin: Carmilla, aka an adult Elizabeth Bathory, and Assassin: Phantom of the Opera, aka Eric. Though I doubt we'll have to worry about Jeanne d'Arc Alter, as she was basically created through Gilles de Rais' wish on the Grail, to have a wrathful Jeanne to wreak havoc on France."

"What about the Lancer version of Elizabeth Bathory?" Olga asked.

"Annoying and belligerent, not to mention utterly tone-deaf, but she seemed relatively benign," Barghest said.

That was one way of putting it, Harry reflected, trying to calm himself down after they hurriedly unsummoned Kiyohime, banishing her back to whatever dark and mephitic corner of the Throne of Heroes she had slithered her way out of. The younger version of Elizabeth Bathory was rude, egotistical, and had delusions of grandeur regarding her singing ability. But she was not only far better compared to her older self, but she eclipsed Kiyohime by a long shot.

Not that Elizabeth Bathory's Lancer self was their only ally. They had not only Jeanne d'Arc herself as an ally, but a teenaged Marie Antoinette as a Rider, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a Caster. In addition, they recruited a wounded Siegfried. Both Jeanne and Siegfried remembered Mordred, helping smooth things over, Siegfried having had a link to Sieg through Siegfried's donated heart.

Unfortunately, Jeanne d'Arc Alter and Gilles de Rais had summoned a variety of Servants and twisted them into cruel monsters, those who weren't monsters already. Carmilla, the Phantom of the Opera, a Berserker version of Lancelot, Atalanta, Vlad the Impaler, even Saint Martha of Bethany, of all people. And that was without going into the small army of wyverns sent to lay waste to France.

Yet in some ways, this Singularity was easier than Fuyuki. The Masters and Servants worked well together, there was less of the sense of hitting the ground running, and Jeanne d'Arc Alter had no real tactical or strategic sense. They didn't find Lev or anyone else claiming to be a Demon Pillar, but Gilles and Jeanne d'Arc Alter had mentioned Lev in passing.

Of course, the Singularity was far from a walk in the park. Between maddened Servants, a reborn Fafnir, and a giant tentacle monster Gilles summoned, it was filled with all kinds of nasty surprises. Kiyohime's yandere tendencies was just the icing on the cake.

But there was one other nasty surprise in store when they were sent into the Singularity. A massive ring of light was hanging in the sky. Whatever it was, it was a safe bet that it was caused by whoever Lev's master was.

Eventually, Olga calmed herself down, enough to recover her equilibrium. "All that aside, well done, all of you. You handled that Singularity well. True, some Magi would believe it was done inelegantly, but we are not Edelfelts here. All of you are doing well. That goes especially for you, Fujimaru. You may be a novice Magus, but your diplomatic skills are quite good, and you were improving dramatically in other areas as the mission went on. Just try not to draw any more bunny boiler Servants to you, yes?"

"I'll try, Director," Ritsuka said diplomatically. "But FATE may not work like that."

Olga nodded, before returning her gaze to the rest of them. "While resolving this Singularity and retrieving its Holy Grail has sped up the process of pinpointing the next ones, we still have at least two weeks before we can pinpoint the next one. We now know it is set during the reign of the Emperor Nero, but beyond that, we cannot refine it. We cannot summon any further Servants through FATE yet, we lack the capacity for now. In other words…the Masters and Servants should rest up, and train within reason. Also, I want the Masters to see Dr Roman and Da Vinci for counselling over the next little while. Even if you think you're fine, you just went through a warzone…"

"How are you feeling, Arturia?"

Arturia Pendragon frowned at Harry's question, sitting in Harry's room afterwards, Medusa having asked to go into the Expanded Trunk for his library. "About Lancelot?" On his nod, she sighed. "As well as I can be, under the circumstances. As you know, that wasn't my first time confronting him in that class, so it was less of a shock. The first time I realised it was him, it shook me to my very core. I was still surprised to see him, but the shock…" Arturia Pendragon shook her head. "I am fine, for now. And I am no stranger to war, either, or its atrocities. If anything, the worst part was seeing Gilles de Rais and the monster he summoned. How many people did he sacrifice to summon that thing?"

"Too many," Harry said grimly. "And before you ask, that's not my first time through a warzone. My first time was…well, I don't think being swarmed by Dementors counts, and that graveyard battle was more of a duel between me and Voldemort…it was the Department of Mysteries. It wasn't the first time I saw someone die, but Sirius, my godfather, was more dear to me than Cedric Diggory. And then there was next year, when Hogwarts became a battlefield when a group of Death Eaters snuck in thanks to that prick Draco, and then…Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. I spent most of the following year on the run, until the final battle. That was the biggest battle I was in, Arturia. It was then I truly learned the cost of war."

Arturia Pendragon nodded sagely. "As much as I and my knights followed tenets of chivalry, not all of them could be followed in times of war. And my first Master, Kiritsugu Emiya…he derided chivalry having any place in war, or indeed in the world in general. As far as he was concerned, we heroes were guilty of preventing humanity from rising above its savage nature, that we made the Hell of the battlefield glorious and desirable, and inspiring more war. His words cut me to the quick, and yet…I realised that his words were those of one who once aspired to be a hero himself, yet was broken by what was done to him. In some ways, he was right, and I did learn that his ordering me to destroy the Grail was done to save the world…but he was a cruel, callous, and ruthless man with no empathy for anyone, save for himself and his wife and child. Then again, the way he raised Shirou, perhaps destroying the Grail changed him for the better."

Harry chuckled. "Well, your Kiritsugu was an arsehole. And wrong. Don't get me wrong, the one I knew was a bit of an arse himself, but adopting Shirou Muramasa mellowed him. And saying that, I think he was jealous. I mean, what about the good heroes inspired? Look at you. Now, I'm not exactly a follower of chivalry, I can't afford it as an Enforcer, but I adhere to some parts of it, like protecting the innocent, and I can still admire it. And Barghest, as Morgan's enforcer, had to violate chivalry to obey her orders, but she'd rather not hurt the innocent if given the choice, and is otherwise a little more chivalrous than I am. But…well, my point is, heroes have inspired so much good as well. They've inspired people to do better, or to simply enjoy their stories. I mean, you have so many films and TV shows inspired by you, Arturia."

"I am well aware," Arturia Pendragon said with a wry smile. "I should tell you about the time I first saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I had…mixed feelings upon seeing it for the first time, to say the least. But I've grown to enjoy it." Her smile became melancholy. "During my time with Rin and Shirou…I came to accept that Camelot was fated to fall, that my reign would not last forever. But as you said, my story came to inspire others in times to come, for better or for worse. I still have regrets, so many regrets…but I have either come to terms with them, or else will come to terms with them."

"You and Mordred still worked fairly well for the most part, her argumentative streak aside," Harry said. "Same with Gareth. If we somehow summon Lancelot when he was sane, would you be able to work with him?"

"Of course," Arturia Pendragon said firmly. "We would have to talk things out, and I would have him reconcile with Gareth. But he would be a doddle compared to my mending bridges with Mordred."

"Hmm. Anyway, while we all need to talk about what we went through, I reckon it's Delphi and Ritsuka, along with Mash, who need it most," Harry said. "I went through a lot of shit, true, but I had people to talk to. I didn't go to a counsellor, but my friends helped. Same with Hermione. Barghest and Melusine…well, they've spoken with me about the stuff they've done over the years, and hopefully, I've helped them. As for Hinako, she's been on more than a few battlefields. She may still be carrying mental scars, but she's probably learned how to deal with them. But Ritsuka, Mash, Delphi…they're kids. Yeah, I know so were Mordred and Gareth, and you became a squire young, but…"

"No, I understand what you mean," Arturia Pendragon said. "And even then…what we witnessed in France…that wasn't even war. Just sheer senseless slaughter, genocide for its own sake. I have done some appalling things in wartime, though I ensured it would benefit the majority in the end, but…that had no purpose, save to slake a sick desire for death on a grand scale. I had already thought Gilles de Rais to be a monster when I encountered him in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but…I am glad he won't be summoned. It took everything I could not to do or say something to the living Gilles we encountered."

"That's why we decided not to try and block Jeanne's Alter from being summoned, at least for now," Harry said. "While what she did in France cannot be forgiven, she was basically Gilles' puppet. If we're lucky, she might just be amenable to helping us out. Of course, should she prove a liability, we send her back to the Throne, assuming a Servant created by another's wishes can end up there. The same applies for most antagonistic Servants, or those who will be a liability. Hence Kiyohime. A delusional, stalker yandere bitch? Her help in the Singularity was barely enough, she spent so much time freaking Ritsuka out with her 'Anchin' crap or arguing with Bathory, and given her legend…banishing her was to prevent Ritsuka and the rest of us from being barbecued."

"A prudent decision," Arturia Pendragon declared. "Her behaviour reminded me too much of how not only Gilles de Rais acted in the Fourth Grail War, but also Gilgamesh of Uruk. Though Gilgamesh can be reasoned with, if you can make it past his ego. In any case, I believe I should talk to my sister. Gareth and Mordred are no strangers to the battlefield, nor are Barghest or Melusine, but my Fae counterpart…it has shaken her…"

Her petite body not bothered by the cold or howling wind of the blizzard, Melusine stood in a snowbank just outside of Chaldea, staring into the distance, thinking about the Singularity. She may look humanoid, but it was no great secret in Chaldea by now that she was effectively Albion reborn. And that meant she had something of an affinity with other dragons and draconic beasts.

That included the Wyverns Jeanne Alter had leashed to her will, along with Fafnir. That white-haired bitch even called herself the Dragon Witch, and tried to bring Melusine under her control. The look of shock as Jeanne Alter realised it hadn't worked was a memory Melusine would treasure for a long time, and she had Deastralized hurriedly.

But there was more than that that disturbed her. The slaughter did so, slaughter that reminded her of very unpleasant memories of her time as Tam Lin Lancelot. And not just her times as Morgan's enforcer: she could bear the shame of that with some difficulty.

No, it was what Aurora had her do. The Mirror Clan genocide in particular weighed down on Melusine. She did so on Aurora's orders, and yet…she remembered overhearing Aurora dismissing her as a monster to her vacuous guests. Aurora played the part of a vacuous beauty herself, but it was at that point that Melusine knew that Aurora did not value Melusine's love or loyalty. In fact, she was a cunning and treacherous cow who nonetheless lacked the foresight to understand the consequences of her actions. As long as she could be loved, she didn't care about anything else, but she didn't seem to know or care that her actions would lead to nobody loving her, especially if she made it into Proper History.

It was the advent of Gareth, a hybrid of her original self and her Lostbelt self, that brought that guilt back to the fore. If Gareth really was the last of the Mirror Clan, then she had every right to despise her. Yet she remained loyal.

As if bidden by thinking about her, Gareth came out of the airlock leading into Chaldea, shivering a little. "Yikes. I mean, Servants aren't normally affected by cold, but still…yikes."

"…Why are you here, Gareth?" Melusine asked with a sigh.

"I just wanted to talk. You know, clear the air."

"What's there to talk about?" Melusine asked. "If you really are the Gareth from the Lostbelt, then you know what I did to you, to your clan. What I did to it, willingly."

"Yeah…FATE showed me," Gareth said. "Don't get me wrong, part of me despises you for it, and for attacking us at Londinium. But if it would have hampered our ability to work together, you may not have summoned me in the first place. And honestly, after seeing what Aurora did to you…I pity you."

Melusine chuckled bitterly. "Pity…yes. She took pity on me too. Fished me from a great cesspool of carrion, shaped me into a being like her. If only I remained there, your clan would still live."

"You know very well that Aurora would still have attacked, using some other patsy, or Morgan may have done so. You know how she felt about prophecies, especially about her successor as Avalon le Fae. And besides…you didn't actually take pleasure in slaying the Mirror Clan, right?"

"No, but it does not excuse what I have done. At best, all I can do is atone with my actions and deeds, but can I ever atone?"

"Maybe. You at least had a moral compass, unlike so many other Fae," Gareth said. "And to tell the truth…it felt better fighting to defend Londinium than it did for my self in Proper History. In protest of what the King was doing to Guinevere, I guarded her without arms or armour. And for that, when Lancelot came to rescue her, maddened, rabid…I gave myself up to him, I think. A good chunk of my Proper History self gave into despair. I remember feeling my skull burst as he crushed it. It's not a pleasant way to go if it's not quick enough."

Melusine nodded morosely. "I did hear of an execution method used in the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, where an elephant could be trained to crush a man's skull gradually(1). It was in a book on capital punishment in Waver Velvet's library I read through when I was bored. He had such a book because more than a few executions were used to fuel magical rituals in the past. Sorry, that was morbid of me."

"It's fine. My point is…while I did linger, it wasn't because you were sadistic or anything. I won't lie and say I'm completely happy to be your Servant, but…you're not a monster, Melusine. You just let yourself be used by one," Gareth said. "Besides, I got to fight alongside my king once more, and Mordred! And I get to fight by Arturia Fae's side again! Just the fact that I…that both of us get another chance is miraculous enough! No, not just both of my selves…you, Barghest…so many of the Servants you guys summoned…even though our task is grim, we are here. We've answered the call of FATE, of the world. Besides, if my king and Mordred can talk things out, maybe we can too."

"…Maybe," Melusine said noncommittally.

Of course, she didn't know whether talking it out would work out. She'd committed genocide, not unlike Jeanne Alter. On orders, true, and from a backstabbing psychopath of a Fae, but the blood stained her hands more than anyone else's.

She would probably never be able to wash them clean. But she intended to atone as best as she could. It was all she could do…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, the Orleans Singularity is done, and the fallout is settling. And now for some rants and ramblings.

Firstly, Kiyohime. I hate her character in the game (ironically, I have both of her versions released to date), I hate how she was treated with kid gloves in Fragments of Chaldea when she should have been booted back to the Throne of Heroes the moment she arrived, and her actions in causing a rather brutal fight only magnified my hate of her. A yandere like her is a liability when the fate of history is at stake. True, one could argue that of the other evil Servants or even the yandere ones, but a lot of those are manageable. Once you strip away the jokes, Raikou and Serenity are certainly manageable, as is Brynhild. So she's been nixed, now and forever, from this fic, along with Caster Gilles.

Secondly, I do want to show the Singularities taking their tolls on the Masters and Mash, especially Delphi and Ritsuka. They're not exactly going to have major breakdowns for the most part, but I think at one point, Ritsuka's going to have a major depressive episode, and then, those from the Lostbelt will reveal that they knew him in their timeline.

Thirdly, I haven't focused on Melusine, and having gotten her at NP2 in her recent gacha (two copies gained through F2P means, I should add: I'm delighted, but shocked), I felt it was time to change that. In many ways, she's between Barghest and Baobhan Sith in terms of morality, though leaning more towards Barghest's end, as Lancelot does have some chivalric sense to a degree. But she's also beholden to Aurora, and while she's been coping with the guilt of committing genocide for Aurora, it's come back to the fore now that she's summoned Gareth and witnessed Jalter doing something not dissimilar.

By the way, I received word from The Disquieting One that Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness and this fic now have a tropes page on TV Tropes! Check it out. And thank you to The Disquieting One for this!

Review-answering time! Have a Little Feith: Beryl didn't actually try to gut Mash, at least prior to the Grand Order. What he did was break her fingers to elicit a reaction from her, even if it was just her screaming in pain. He did attack her in earnest in the British Lostbelt, but it was his way of expressing his twisted love for her.

The Disquieting One: Look, I won't have them as Servants or anything, but if it helps you, PHH versions of them are amongst Chaldea's surviving staff. Gerda's in catering, while Asha is a technician.

'Rokka' Fujimaru? Is that the one from Learning with Manga? Because I have no intention of bringing her in.

As for Jalter, well, you just saw their reaction to her. While they may be willing to give her just enough benefit of the doubt, what with being the rabid attack dog of Gilles, if she crosses the line while working with them, she gets unsummoned pronto. In other words, it'd be the same with dealing with Morgan or Baobhan Sith.

Thunder Reborn: I do not take unsolicited suggestions.

1. Yes, this used to be an actual execution method once. I first read about it in the Time Life book Crimes and Punishments. It's also called 'Gunga Rao'.