So, here we have it. As a Christmas present of sorts, I present to you the seven completed chapters of the sequel to Primordial Song, dubbed Melody of Unease.

So, why did I not end up writing more chapters and posting it as a standalone story? Well, a few factors got in the way. Firstly, the creative momentum petered out somewhat. Secondly, and as importantly, some lore was dropped later on in Fate/Grand Order, especially the truth about U-Olga Marie and Beast VII. It did clash somewhat with what I intended, and while I could have written Olga-Marie out, I didn't want to do that to her after all my writing of her in Primordial Song. She may be a bitch in canon, but she has potential that was wasted when Lev chucked her into CHALDEAS.

Thirdly, when I saw how Tiamat-Larva was characterised in the main game, I actually thought she was mishandled. Not that her personality is a bad thing, but it lacked the alien nature I had invested in Tiamat, having her be a snarky loli in her first couple of ascensions, and then regress to a more simple yet maternal mindset in her final ascensions. Her personality didn't quite feel right, and that sort of dismayed me.

And finally, I found that I didn't really want to write out the Pseudo-Singularities. While adapting the Babylonia Singularity was a delight, that was because it was the best Singularity in the game. And while Shimosa and Salem were pretty good, Shinjuku, while not bad, wasn't great either, and Agartha was a load of misandristic cringe, not helped by how Scheherazade was characterised. And the Lostbelts turned out to be ludicrously formulaic, with Avalon le Fae being the one that stands head and shoulders above all others.

In the end, I abandoned it in favour of doing a different Fate/Grand Order crossover, Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness, whose sequel (Unnatural History) is being published at the same time as this chapter. But I had an idea of completing the last chapter of those I had written, and posting them to show what I had intended. Some elements have made it or will make it into Unnatural History.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, regardless...

PRIMORDIAL SONG: MELODY OF UNEASE

CHAPTER 1:

A PRIMORDIAL MOTHER IN MODERN TIMES

Victory doesn't last. And happy endings never stay that way. It's a truth that few accept.

Years before, Harry Potter, obsessively seeking to save those he cared about who died due to Voldemort, got involved in an accident that sent him plunging backwards in time, and into another dimension, the Reverse Side of the World. There, he stumbled upon, quite by chance, a deity. Specifically, Tiamat, a Babylonian deity associated with life, and an Evil of Humanity, a Beast of Calamity.

Still, despite everything, the two lonely souls, the Boy Who Lived and Beast II, reached out to each other, and eventually became friends. Harry struggled to have Tiamat understand why her overweening love was rejected by her progeny…and succeeded. However, his efforts were nearly in vain.

A man claiming to be the Biblical king Solomon appeared to them with an offer for Tiamat. Harry eavesdropped on their conversation, and learned that 'Solomon' was in fact another Beast of Calamity, namely Beast I, Goetia, a gestalt of Demon Pillars who had served the real Solomon, who wished to use Tiamat in his vile plans. Harry and Tiamat opposed him, so Goetia bifurcated Tiamat, splitting her very essence, and granting the lion's share of her power to part of her that wished to wipe out humanity, and create new children in their place.

Landing in ancient Mesopotamia, Harry and Tiamat made a number of allies, including the Mesoamerican deity Quetzlcoatl, the Magus of Flowers Merlin, a young version of the Gorgon Medusa, and the reigning king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Through his actions, Harry paved the way for later allies, for Goetia had wiped out the history of humanity, burning it in a holocaust, and the only hope left was the Chaldea Security Organisation. Amongst their operatives included Harry's friend, Hermione Granger, along with novice Magus Ritsuka Fujimaru, and ancient vampire Hinako Akuta, known to history as Consort Yu, concubine of Xiang Yu.

After many hard-fought battles, Tiamat prevailed over her aggressive counterpart. Harry and Tiamat then arrived in Chaldea. But a new battle was soon on the horizon, against Goetia. It was hard-won, and required much sacrifice…but Goetia was vanquished, and his insane plan was halted.

But winning the peace didn't necessarily mean a happily ever after…

Professor Waver Velvet, often derogatorily nicknamed 'Lord El-Melloi II' for his following in his former teacher's footsteps, grimaced as he and his party stepped out of the plane, and into the cold. Well, technically, it was his former teacher's party, but Kayneth Archibald was mostly here for the political clout. Waver, along with his students (well, former students for the most part, but they remained close to him by association, for protection in the case of one, and simply because nobody wanted them near their classes for another), had the onus of doing the actual investigation.

This wasn't to say that Kayneth Archibald was stupid. Arrogant and blinkered, yes, but Waver knew that his former teacher was also intelligent enough that getting an acclaimed teaching role was nowhere near due to nepotism. In fact, Waver had taken up teaching himself partly in an effort to prove his former teacher wrong. He never managed to, but he got acknowledgement from Kayneth that Waver was at least an adequate teacher, high praise from the snobbish Magus.

Kayneth, despite the cold and the parka he was forced to wear, retained something of a dignity, his aquiline features framed by short blonde hair. His arrogance had lessened lately, though the haughty look on his features was familiar as he peered at the ring-shaped building in the distance, half-obscured by the Antarctic blizzard. "Rather utilitarian," he sniffed. "I suppose that's to be expected when you build in the middle of a bleak place like this, but…it lacks elegance, save in the geometrical. It looks like a facility NASA dreamed up."

"I believe a few NASA engineers that Marisbury had connections to helped construct it," Waver said. "And considering they were tasked with safeguarding history…"

Kayneth waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, Velvet, I am well aware. I'm just…a little disappointed. As solemn as such a mission should rightly be, this exterior shows little of the grandeur. Within these walls are Heroic Spirits, Servants. Scores of them, if the reports are true."

A young woman with blonde hair snorted. "My dear cousin, I'm sure the late Marsibury Animusphere was not that concerned with aesthetics as much as ensuring Chaldea worked as advertised. At least your wife is looking after your children. With all due respect to Sola-Ui, I don't think she'd enjoy the cold that much. Considering how frigid she can be to our side of the family, I find that surprising."

Waver kept a smirk off his face as Kayneth spluttered. While Reines Archisorte's sharp tongue was usually reserved for Waver, she did occasionally snark at her older cousin. Another young woman with blonde hair, albeit with many silver streaks, looked to Waver. "Professor…will…will she be there?"

"I warned you, Grey, that she was there. After-action reports by Olga-Marie Animusphere stated that your ancestors did play a major part in resolving the Grand Order."

A young man with light brown hair and glasses looked at the facility. "Hard to believe that they stopped the end of the world."

"Indeed," Kayneth said. "Keep this in mind: while we have no doubt that Olga-Marie Animusphere had been telling us the truth in broad terms at the least, many within the Magus Association are dissatisfied. They cannot believe that Lev Lainor, a beloved academic of Clock Tower, could turn traitor, or that he managed to remove so many key personnel in a single stroke. They believe that the Animusphere scion has used him as a scapegoat for her own incompetence or malice. In truth, the girl has been a target of petty little minds within the Magus Association for some time. And, of course, there is the complicating factor of two of the British wizards' most infamous figures being Masters here. Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter."

Waver nodded absently. Harry Potter himself had vanished, supposedly during work within the secretive Department of Mysteries within the Ministry of Magic. One of his friends, Hermione, had come to work here, and just as well. Reports claimed that she was one of the few surviving Masters when Lev Lainor's sabotage eventuated. Three Masters, out of nearly four dozen, and they managed to resolve Singularities put into place by a deranged gestalt of Demon Pillars, Goetia, who wished to burn humanity's history to ashes, and write his own design in its place.

In one of the last Singularities, they found Harry Potter, who had been flung back in time and into the Reverse Side of the World, impossible by most accounts, and yet, not only had it happened, according to reports, but he emerged into the Singularity accompanied by another. Namely, a Babylonian deity that was meant to become another Beast of Calamity, Tiamat. However, Tiamat, or at least part of her, allied with humanity thanks to Harry's influence, and the two became a great asset during the final battle against Goetia.

"Still," Kayneth said, looking around. "Where is the reception committee? I am not expecting the red carpet in a bleak and desolate place such as this, but I had hoped for someone. I don't need a fanfare, just…"

"LAAAAAA!"

The single note was sung, and the motley group were startled by how piercing it was. Then, a spell was removed, and now, there were a pair of figures standing nearby. One was a man apparently in his twenties (though he was actually in his thirties), with a messy mop of black hair and emerald eyes, a faded scar like a lightning bolt barely visible beneath his fringe.

The other was perhaps more bizarre. While dressed in a cloak, it was clear that the tall woman was not human, with long light blue hair framing delicately beautiful features. Pink eyes had slitted pupils and cross-shaped lights shining in them, while a pair of massive horns curled from her head. A tail poked out from beneath the cloak.

"…Sorry about that, we just wanted to make sure you were who you said you were, and Tia wanted to play a prank on you, and, well, you can't say no to a goddess, really," the man said apologetically. "I'm Harry Potter, and this is Tiamat. You must be Lord El-Melloi, Professor Velvet, and your entourage."

Kayneth regained his equilibrium quickly, and nodded. "Indeed, I am. It seems rumours of your death were grossly exaggerated, Mr Potter. I would thank your associate to avoid doing such a thing in future."

"Consort," Tiamat said, her voice melodious and musical. "I am more than a mere associate, Lord El-Melloi. Our songs are bound together too much for it to be otherwise."

"Oh cool!" said a young man with dirty blonde hair and a wide-eyed expression. "You sing a lot?"

Before Tiamat could reply, Waver interjected, "Don't mind Flat. He has a very unique way of seeing the world. I believe you know a Luna Scamander, Mr Potter?"

"You mean Luna Lovegood, and yes. Like that, is he? My sympathies, Professor. Sorry about the lack of red carpet, but the director had to deal with a minor emergency involving one of the more unruly Servants. Oda Nobunaga was going to prank you all considerably heavily, and there was an incident."

"You cannot control your Servants?" Kayneth asked, looking both annoyed and concerned.

"It's less serious than you think. She's just got a serious impulse control problem. Most Servants toe the line anyway," Harry said, rubbing the back of his head.

Waver grimaced. "In any case, these are my students: Caules and Fiore Forvedge, Flat Escardos, Svin Glascheit, Luvia and Sakura Edelfelt, Rin Tohsaka, and Grey. This young lady is Reines Archisorte, the cousin of Lord El-Melloi, and with her is the El-Melloi maid golem, Trimmau."

"…I've met Rin before…well, someone looking like her," Harry said. "As for Grey…well, can I guess that she's a descendent of a prominent line?"

"You could say that," Kayneth said. "Grey was rescued by Velvet. While on paper, they are master and apprentice, they are as close as siblings. However, I would like to be out of this damned cold before long, Mr Potter. Even with Mystic Codes, Antarctica is not a place I wish to linger outdoors for long."

"Got it. This way, please…"

Harry Potter's impressions of the investigation team was mixed, to say the least. Kayneth Archibald seemed like a successful Malfoy, with a veneer of civility over his haughtiness, while Reines' eyes twinkled with mischief, and Luvia didn't look much better in the haughtiness stakes. He'd met both Waver and Rin in Pseudo-Servant forms, as the Chinese politician and strategist Zhuge Liang for Waver, and the Babylonian deities Ishtar and Ereshkigal for Rin, though Rin was an adult compared to her forms as the deities. They still seemed fine in person, so to speak. The others, though, seemed okay, though he worried about Grey's understandable nervousness.

As they walked through the corridors, Harry said, "Fair warning, if you don't know already. Both Professor Velvet and Rin Tohsaka have Pseudo-Servants running around. Professor Velvet has been merged with Zhuge Liang, while Tohsaka has the deities Ishtar and Ereshkigal. Ishtar in particular is easy to offend, but Ereshkigal, once you get past her haughtiness, is quite mellow."

"Sounds a lot like you, Big Sister," Sakura Edelfelt said to Rin.

This brought up Harry and Tiamat short, and they turned to face them. Seeing their puzzled looks, Luvia said, "Rin and Sakura were born to the same family. However, well, you do know about Magic Crests, don't you?" On Harry's nod, the haughty Finnish woman said, "In order to prevent a dispute about inheritance, their father intended to adopt her out. Thankfully, we offered to take her in first, as the Tohsakas are distantly related to us, thanks to an elopement some decades ago. That fool Tokiomi originally considered sending her to the Matous, and Marisbury Animusphere exposed that worm-riddled cesspit during the Holy Grail War. Since reuniting and reconciling, they address each other as siblings."

Tiamat smiled. "Ah, so your songs are sung in harmony once more? That is heartening."

"…Songs?" the young woman known as Fiore asked, using a walking stick.

"It's how she visualises souls and relationships and the like," Harry said. "When we first met…Tia was…well, she had an alien mindset. Still does a little, but she's just a bit overly affectionate and sometimes doesn't quite understand the notion of personal space."

Tiamat pouted. "What is wrong with showing love to my children?"

"And she doesn't take rejection well, though it's better than before." Harry gently took her hand in his own. "But at the end of the day, she's a good person. Now, hopefully, Olga's finished dealing with the paperwork Nobunaga's no doubt caused."

Oddly enough, Kayneth chuckled. "Ah, the love you two share. I must admit to being a little envious. I adore my wife Sola-Ui, but alas, she took time to warm to me."

Before they could comment any further, down the corridor came a familiar form, to Harry and Tiamat at least. A young woman who looked like an anime version of the Mona Lisa strode down the corridor. "Oh? So our guests have arrived?"

"Da Vinci, I thought you were in your Workshop," Harry said.

"Most of the process I'm using is automated," the woman said. She was actually Leonardo da Vinci, the famous artist and engineer. Unlike a number of Servants here, though, Leonardo da Vinci was actually originally male in history. But when summoned, Da Vinci, in order to sustain his unstable summoning, created a female body to inhabit and act as his contracted Master, so to speak. Harry didn't quite understand it, though Da Vinci did explain that she wanted to embody the concept of beauty, and to her, nothing was more beautiful than a more refined version of La Gioconda, the painting better known as the Mona Lisa.

Harry had gotten used to her. She was a warm-hearted woman, albeit with a strong impish streak that put him in mind of the Weasley Twins. She also had a tendency to brag, though unlike, say, Lockhart, she could back it up.

Waver, meanwhile, was staring at her flatly, as were the others. "Da Vinci. As in Leonardo da Vinci," Waver said. "What."

"It's a long story, and she's far from the only mythical or historical figure who's female despite being considered male in the history books here," Harry said. "Pretty much the only one who's a woman by choice, though. Just be warned, you're going to see a lot of weird shit here, even by Magi standards."

"I can hardly wait," Waver said dryly…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. The investigative team has arrived, and it's filled with familiar faces…

Now, I wanted to bring in some familiar faces, but needed a rationale for Waver to be similar to how he is in canon. While not Lord El-Melloi II (there was only one Grail War in Fate/Grand Order continuity, taking the place of the events of Fate/Stay Night), Waver has achieved remarkable things even without Iskandar inspiring him. Basically, Kayneth tearing up his manuscript had Waver knuckling down to prove him wrong out of spite. Eventually, he became teacher for Modern Magecraft as in mainstream Nasuverse canon.

Now, Waver and Kayneth have a somewhat cordial relationship. They don't like each other, but Kayneth has come to grudgingly respect Waver's intellectual abilities and creativity, and less grudgingly his abilities as a student. Kayneth is on far better terms with Grey.

No numbered annotations this time.