AN: Enjoy the Chapter

Ch 41 Meeting the Family

Marinette and Tikki followed the Future Emilie through Prometheus Base. The elderly Woman wanted to show them, more on Marinette to cheer her up.

"This way, we're almost there." Emilie motions to the Hallway, walking a bit further into the Hallway.

The three approached a door, letting Marinette and Tikki assume they had arrived where Emilie wanted to take them. "We're here you two." The elderly blonde Woman showed the place to the two.

Marinette looks at the door, curious about what was behind the door. "Um, what are we doing here, Mrs-I mean Emilie?" The bluenette asked,

"I figured that you might need something to cheer you up after a major loss." The elderly Woman explains why she brought them here. "Someone might be able to lighten your mood."

Emilie opens the door, revealing a white room filled with many things that Children would love. Inside the room was an abundance of Children, toys, drawings, and many cribs were inside.

Children were also running around while the Adults were tending to the orphaned Infants victims of the Eternal Empire. "There are so many Children here," Tikki spoke, amazed by the many Kids around.

"Yes, this room is where we have the Children stay. Away from the grim atmosphere of the main Base." Emilie explains to the two, leading them inside the room. "It's sad, many of the Adults here were informed that this World as it is, was not supposed to be like this."

"I believe Ritsuka called this a Lostbelt. A Timeline that was erased by the World because it's not supposed to be like this." Marinette said, feeling terrible that they need to destroy their World to save their own.

Emilie looked at the bluenette, seeing that she had made her a bit conflicted about their reason for being here. "Oh no, don't be like that, Marinette. We all decided for this World to be destroyed and let your History replace ours." She stated.

"But isn't it unfair to you all?" Marinette asked, looking at the Children in the room. She felt like these Children should have a chance to have a Future.

"I understand where you're going but trust me when I say there's nothing for us after the Empire's defeated." The elderly Woman explains to the young and kind Hero. "Caster of the Sakura Labyrinth told us that the World outside of Patricus is no more. The only living Humans were the ones in the Empire and nothing more."

Emilie cleared her throat, moving forward from the current conversation. "Anyways, my Son is already where I wanted to show you." The elderly Woman continued to lead the two into the room.

Both Tikki and Marinette looked at each other, wondering why Adrien was there. They proceed to follow Emilie inside the room, leading to where Adrien was.

In another room, Adrien smiles, holding onto an Infant with blonde hair and green eyes. She coos, looking up at the strange yet familiar face. The young Model chuckles, seeing the Infant coos as she reaches out for him.

"I can't believe this is my Daughter…two Sons and a Baby Daughter." Adrien gave a light chuckle, never thought that he would meet his Children.

Plagg floated next to Adrien, seeing the Child in his arms. "Man, she looks like you, Kid." The Kwami commented, playing with her with his tail.

Adrien looks at his Partner, raising an eyebrow at his Kwami. "Really? You're going to treat my Future Daughter like a small kitten?" The blonde asked the Nature Spirit.

"Hey, don't only blame it on me. You share the blame too, Kid." Plagg quickly retorted, glaring at Adrien.

"What does that supposed to mean?" Adrien asked, carefully bouncing Emma in his arms.

Plagg grins at his Owner, having some dirt on him. "Where do you think her Cat-like tendency came from?" He points to the blonde Model, "You, Adrien."

"Since when I acted like a Cat, Plagg?" Adrien asked his closest Friend, curious when he acted like a feline.

"There were a few times you acted like a Cat, Chaton. When you were under Princess Fragrance's control and when Malediktor took also control of you." Adrien and Plagg turn to the side, hearing a familiar voice speak to them.

Marinette and Tikki were standing near the entrance of the room with Emilie. The blonde Boy blushed in embarrassment from both hearings that he acted like a feline and didn't have any recollection.

Adrien shook his head, now realizing that his Girlfriend was in the room hearing their conversation. "M-Marinette! W-When did you get here!?" He asked, raising his voice a bit loudly.

Emma was startled by her Father's frantic voice, causing her to cry.

"OH!" Adrien quickly return her attention back to his Infant Daughter, soothing her cries. "Shhh, it's all right, there's nothing to fear." She hushed the small blonde Baby. "I'm sorry that I scared you."

Marinette and Tikki giggled at Adrien trying to calm their Daughter.

Adrien panicked, unsure how to calm his Daughter from crying. "I-I…um, Emma please don't cry. I'm not angry with you… shhh." The young Model hushed the young Child in his hand.

Plagg covered his ears, not appreciating that Emma was screaming at the top of her lunges. "Can you get your Kid to pipe down? Her wails are hurting my ears." The Nature Spirit complains, covering his ears.

"I-I'm trying!"

Marinette couldn't help but giggle at Adrien struggling with calming their Daughter. She turns to Tikki, feeling her little arms patting her shoulders. "Marinette, I believe you should be the one to calm little Emma." The Nature Spirit urges her Owner to assist him.

The bluenette smiles, walking over to her Boyfriend and taking their Future Daughter from his hands. "Mari?" Adrien looks up at Marinette, gently soothing her.

"Shh, there, there," Marinette gently pats Emma's back, causing her to stop crying. Soon Emma was giggling at the touch of her Mother.

Adrien smiles, seeing Marinette was natural with Infants. "You're a natural at this, Marinette." He commented, holding his hand to Emma,

Emma saw her Father's hand, grabbing his finger in response. She coos at him and smiles at him. Both her Parents were present with her after so long,

"Well, I did have experience in Babysitting back in the Present with Manon," Marinette commented, looking at her Boyfriend while their Kawmis sat on the crib.

"Oh yeah, I wonder what happened to her in this Timeline," Adrien said, wondering about Manon.

Emilie smiles, turning around to head out. "Seems like they have the time to talk." The elderly Woman said before noticing her Grandson standing outside, seemingly waiting for her. "Hugo?"

"Grandma, Grandfather is looking for you." The Midnight blue-haired Boy informed his Grandmother, "He wants to talk about something with the new arrangement for the squads?" Hugo explains to the elderly Woman.

The blonde Woman smiled, walked to her Grandson, and petted his head. "Alright, let's see what Grandpa has to say, Hugo."

Hugo looks at his Parents, feeling left out but he has to get his Grandmother to his Grandfather. "Come on, Grandma!" The young Boy smiles, leading the blonde Woman to Gabriel.

Back with Adrien and Marinette, they were still tending to Emma.

Adrien smiles at Marinette, only to lower his smile feeling like the right time to ask her. "Marinette," He called to her.

"Hmm?" Marinette looks at her Boyfriend, still cradling Emma in her arms.

"About Alter Ego of White-er, the other me back there." That sentence caused Marinette's smile to drop, "H-How do you know him?" Adrien asked, looking at the bluenette, curious about the relationship between the two.

Both Tikki and Plagg turn their heads to the Hero of Creation, waiting for her to tell her Story.

Marinette sighs, hoping that she would never tell Adrien about Chat Blanc. But she knew that he had the right to know after meeting him. "It wasn't too long ago that I mean you, Chat Blanc. Bunnyx came to me after I dropped off a gift for you at your home."

"Gift? I don-ah, the beret." The blonde Boy remembers the black beret with the yellow, green, and beret. "What about it?" Adrien asked the bluenette.

"Well, at first after I put my name on the gift, you might tell Nino then Alya, and eventually make it to Chat Noir," Marinette explains before flinching at the name since Adrien and Chat Noir are the same. "Uh, that was before I knew you were Chat Noir, Adrien."

Adrien gave a heartfelt chuckle, smiling at his Girlfriend. "You know very well that I won't reveal our Identities to anyone," The blonde stated, knowing full well that revealing their Identities would jeopardize the ones closest to them. "It would place them in danger,"

Marinette smiles, feeling that Emma was going limp. This prompted her to place the blonde Infant back into the crib. "I know that you do, Adrien. That's why I trust you to do the right thing, despite the situation." She said, stepping back from the crib. "Both you and Chat Blanc are the same. But different at the same time."

"How so?" Adrien asked, curious about his Alter Ego (pun not intended).

"Both of you have a sense of justice," Marinette smiles before continuing to talk. She looks at Adrien, "You are kind and respectful, but…Chat Blanc is your opposite."

Marinette quickly turns to Adrien, "But I know you won't be like him. Though I do pity him, I still want to help him despite being a Servant now." She said, still wanting to help the Chat from the Lostbelt. "I know we can bring the good back from within him."

The blonde Hero blinks, a bit taken aback by how much trust she has in him. Adrien chuckles, scratching the side of his cheeks. "Heh, hearing that was kinda both expected and unexpected," Adrien answers before getting serious. "So how do we do it? Bringing Chat Blanc to our side?" He asked.

"I do have a few ideas, but I want to talk to Ritsuka about it first," Marinette stated, wanting the Magus's help for this situation.

Adrien nodded, agreeing with his Lady. "Sounds about right, okay let's find him." He looks at the Kwamis, sitting on the crib. "Tikki, Plagg, do you mind keeping an eye on Emma?"

Tikki nodded, accepting the task Adrien placed on them. "Yep, you can count on me, Adrien."

"Whatever you say, Kid," Plagg waved his paw at his Owner. "I'm going to take a cat nap next to her anyway."

The Kwami of Creation sighs, looking at her Partner. "Plagg…" She turns back to the two, answering them. "I'll keep an eye on them, don't worry."

"Thanks, Tikki," Both Marinette and Adrien left to find Ritsuka within Prometheus Base.

In another part of the Base, Ritsuka visited Charlie at the Medical Bey as both Xu Fu and Ruler of Paris finished their check-up on Charlie. "Charlie, how are you doing now?"' Ritsuka asked his Grandfather,

Charlie grins, flexing his arm and patting it with his hand. "Like a million bucks!" The Saber Servant stated, feeling like his normal self again. "Gotta admit, it was relieving that Lancer or Lugh agreed for Alter Ego and Ruler to take a look at his Lance."

Xu Fu nodded, turning to their master. "Thanks to the Divine Spirit Lugh, we can reverse the effects of the curse in Charlie's Spirit Origins." She then frowns and still has an issue with that. "However,"

"He may perform as a Servant again, but his level is on par with a lower-rank Heroic Spirit." Ruler stated both tried their best to recover what Charlie had lost. "The only way to fully restore it is to-"

"Go and confront Karl der Grobe." Ritsuka answers, having a feeling this was the case.

Moriarty chuckles, seeing there's no problem with this task. "We are to face the Karl der Grobe sooner or later. It's about a matter of time," The Ruler said, hearing the doors open behind them.

Turning around, they saw Marinette and Adrien walking in. "Marinette, Adrien, I see you're looking well." Ritsuka greeted the two.

They looked at Charlie, giving them his usual smile like when they met before. "Yo, kiddos, I heard you two were awesome out there." The King of the Franks stated, giving them a thumbs up.

"Charlie!" The two greeted the former King of their Country. They approach the Chaldeans, standing before him.

"How are you doing? Is your um, Spirit Origin, okay?" Marinette asked, worried about the Saber Servant.

Charlie laughs, seeing the two young Heroes are genuinely worried about him. "Don't worry about me, I'm in working order and ready to fight my other self!" He grins at the two.

Adrien blinks, hearing that Charlie was ready to fight his other self. "So you knew who we're going against?" The blonde asked, curious how he knew.

The former King nodded, turning to his Grandson. "Ritsuka here told me when he came to visit me," Charlie said before waving his hand at them. "To be frank here, I sorta knew that the Anomaly Emperor is another version of me from the moment we enter the Lostbelt," Charlie admits,

"Really?" Marinette asked, surprised that Charlie has knowledge of who the Anomaly Emperor really was. "So that means you knew all along who Ruler really is then,"

"It's just a hunch, but I wasn't sure until my Paladins revealed who he was," Charlie spoke before frowning at the thought of his Paladins. "Man, to think it would be cool if they were still alive we could knock some sense into Karl's stubborn head of his," He crosses his arms,

'Even though Charlie and Karl der Grobe are the same People, they're completely different.' Adrien thought, taking note of how Karl introduced himself and the Charlie they knew. "So, how do we defeat him?" He asked,

Charlie chuckles, looking at the blonde Hero. "Leave that part to me,"

Ritsuka smiles before turning his attention to the two Heroes from the Present. "So what do you want to talk about? Checking up on Charlie isn't the reason you came by." The master of Chaldea said, looking at the two.

"You're right, Ritsuka. We didn't check on Charlie, but it's nice to see him doing better." Marinette said before getting to the point. "We came to talk about taking down Chat Blanc," She stated as Adrien nodded in agreement.

Ritsuka looks at the others, noting Ruler of Paris before speaking. "It's best to talk about Chat Blanc when the Resistance Leaders are in one place." He stated as the doors opened to a Resistance Soldier.

"Mr. Fujimaru, everyone. Gabriel and the others asked for your presence in a meeting." The Soldier relays the message to the Chaldeans and Heroes of Paris.

"Huh, speak of the devil and he shall appear." Xu Fu commented on the message they were given. "Talk about a coincidence,"

"You're right, Alter Ego," Ritsuka said, placing his hand on his chin. "Considering that the Eternal Empire's Forces are next to none at this point and the one Servant that's still in their ranks. It's the perfect opportunity to strike." The Magus said,

Marinette's eyes widen, realizing what this means. "You're right, now that there's no Servants left to worry about it's time to act,"

Ritsuka smiles, walking towards the exit of the Medical Bey. "We better not have them waiting on us, let's go."

"Right,"

In the meeting room, the Leaders of the Resistance and the Chaldeans along with the Heroes of Paris gathered. The occupants were Gabriel, Emilie, Machiavelli, Ryuko, Bunnyx, Assassin of the Resistance, Prometheus, Marinette, Adrien, Moriarty, Ruler of Paris, Koyanskaya, Nero, and Ritsuka.

Ritsuka looks around, noticing that Louis isn't present in the meeting. "Eh? Where's Louis?" He asked the Lostbelt residents.

"Now that you mentioned it, Ritsuka. I didn't see him since we returned to Prometheus Base." Adrien commented,

"Louis is currently in his room," Ryuko informed the two, "After the loss of Viperion, the Resistance is taking the loss rather hard. Especially for Louis who was close to my Husband after your older selves have died." The Hero of Perfection informed them.

Gabriel closes his eyes, "Louis has been through enough, he doesn't need any more losses to weigh down on him." The Leader of the Resistance stated, "Now that we obtain the Lancer of the Eternal Empire on our side, we have the numbers in our fighting force."

Moriarty nodded, seeing that they have higher numbers. "Numbers are good and all, but remember that the Enemy is an Anomaly Emperor, the strongest out of the Empire's Servant and a Ruler no less." He commented, reminding them of their Enemy is a Servant too.

"Not to mention that Chat Blanc is still on their side and Foreigner hasn't made an appearance for a while," Emilie spoke up, adding to the conversation.

"Then let's shift our focus to the Enemies at hand," Ritsuka stated, seeing that they're the most dangerous to deal with. "Servants are Summoned for a purpose, we just need to right Servant to deal with those Enemy Servants."

Marinette looks at Ritsuka, "What about Felix? Isn't he still a threat?" Her eyes shift to Adrien who still frowns at the mention of the Anomaly master.

Everyone thought for a moment before Machiavelli spoke up. "Felix Graham de Vanily is most likely to be with Foreigner; they should at least be together since D'Artagnan disappeared and me defecting to the Resistance." The Caster said, giving them an idea of where the Anomaly master is. "The main issue is no matter how much we eliminate the Attack Programs the Olympian God; Hephaestus will create more to replace the fallen."

Prometheus interjects himself to the meeting, "If I may, I'll be able to do something about Hephaestus. Though I do need a little help, a hacker to say."

"Hacker? Then BB and Violet should be able to help." Koyanskaya said, looking at her master with his approval.

"BB is one of the best hackers I know, and Violet can assist considering they are some aspect of her," Ritsuka commented, talking about Violet with BB after telling her. Although BB was skeptical that another Alter Ego of herself would appear in the Lostbelt.

"Violet? Yes, I know Violet back on the Moon Cell, though being here…tch, never mind. Just be careful around her, Senpai." BB said to him a while ago. "Now where is she? I have to talk to her."

"Alright, now we have an idea where Felix is, now who should be able to take the rest," Bunnyx said, moving to the crucial parts of the final operation.

After the meeting, everyone left for the main lobby, where they were about to tell everyone about their final stages for taking down the Eternal Empire.

Gabriel and Assassin of the Resistance took the stage, "If I could have everyone's attention." Nathalie spoke, addressing the Leaders of the Resistance.

Many of the Resistance were down in spirits, however, they gave their attention to Gabriel and Assassin.

Ritsuka stood behind them as they addressed the Resistance. The Servants were present, watching the Leaders speak. "Oh no, I don't like how they look," Charlie spoke,

"Hmm? What do you mean, Charlie?" Ritsuka asked his Grandfather, wanting his insights.

The Military Servants understood what Charlie was seeing, the Saber spoke explaining what they had seen. "It's written all over their faces, their moral isn't there. I don't think Gabriel and Assassin will be able to convince them to rise up."

"Umu, I've seen this too well," Nero said before looking at her master. "Preator, if things don't go as planned, do you mind if I could-"

Ritsuka nodded, understanding what the Roman Emperor was suggesting. "Right, you can-"

Nero shook her head, patting her master on the back. "No, it must be you, Preator. A Human should be the one who rallies the Resistance, to them, we Servants are the one who seems we're better than them."

Constantine agreed with what Nero said, "Hearing you speak, it might give a little push for them to continue fighting." The Emperor said,

The Magus looks back at Gabriel and the Assassin of the Resistance, ready to add some backup.

"I know that we faced a difficult challenge, reunited with captured allies only to have them stripped away from us," Gabriel spoke, looking at the Resistance Soldiers.

"But we won't give in, we will defeat the Emperor and restore Paris to how it should be." The white-haired Servant announced, "Despite our losses, we've gained an advantage. The Emperor's Servants no longer serve him, only two remain."

Gabriel nodded, raising his hand in a fist. "With this opportunity, we can defeat the Eternal Empire and win back our Future!" The retired Fashion Designer announced, punching the air. "Now, who's with us? Who is ready to take back our City!?"

The Soldiers looked at each other, many did not feel motivated knowing full well the remainder of the Empire's Servants were the strongest. Even if they have the numbers in Servant power, they can't possibly go against the Chat Blanc or Foreigner of London, especially when there's the Emperor himself and his Mech.

"How can we win?" A Soldier asked,

"Yeah, how can we win when the Empire still has Attack Programs at his disposal?" Another spoke up, making his point across.

Many Soldiers agreed with the notion, at first, they thought they have a winning chance. But after seeing Viperion die and how powerful Alter Ego of White is in person, they started to believe they can't stand up against them. "At this point, even if we were able to get rid of the Attack Programs, the Eternal Empire is still strong even without an army."

Everyone saw the Soldiers doubting what the two said, "Oh no, they're still not motivated." Marinette said, seeing every face.

"Damnit, here we thought they were ready to take up arms and rise up," Adrien said, worried about what goes on next.

"It's not over yet," Ruler spoke, looking at Ritsuka as he walks up the stage.

Assassin looks at Gabriel, seeing their pitch didn't work as they hoped it would. "Gabriel, they're not motivated enough," He said,

"I know, we tried our best but…it's not enough." Gabriel frowns, gripping his fist. "Facing the Eternal Empire, they believe they can't win." He said,

"An Eternal Empire continues to exist," Ritsuka spoke, walking up the stand, addressing the Resistance. "Even though Emperors change, Countries change, and names change, that is the law of Human prosperity,"

Ritsuka looks up at the Resistance, "That is the Family Tree of lives call Humanity,"

The Soldiers looked at each other, confused by what the Magus said. "What?"

"Aw, he quoted me." Nero smiles, hearing the advice she gave to Mashu and Ritsuka.

"Mr. Fujimaru?" Gabriel looks at his Ally as he spoke.

"The Eternal Empire is indeed strong despite now having their Servants turn to our side," Ritsuka said, looking at the People of Paris. "But we too are an Eternal Empire. We banded together and created a force equal to the Empire's forces."

The Resistance Soldiers looked at each other, listening to the Chaldean master. "We have faced many challenges that the Eternal Empire has thrown at us. But we prevailed through them all!" Ritsuka said, "So what if Viperion has died at the hands of the Enemy? He would want us to continue our resistance against the Eternal Empire."

"The reason why he dies is for us to pick up after what he has left behind." The Magus continued, lifting the spirits of the Parisian. "So, as his final wish, we, as Humans must do what he trusts us to do. We, Humans, must defeat the Eternal Empire, not just for Viperion but for the People they have taken away from us."

"For we, are our own Eternal Empire!"

The Soldiers cheered, motivated not just to defeat the Empire for themselves. They're motivated to continue where others have sacrificed for the sake of a Future.

Ritsuka looks at Gabriel and Assassin, smiling at his help to rally everyone.

At the back, the Servants smile at where their master shines the best. "That's our master for you." Rama chuckles, having experience with this. He then turns to his Wife, smiling at her. "This is your first time hearing this, right Urmila?"

Sita nodded, "Indeed, master has really matured since I've seen him."

"Hmm? What did you say-"

Archer of Kosala chuckles, patting Rama on the back. "Now, now, Brother. Don't you worry about that," He said, saving Sita from being found out. "We have a Battle to prepare."

Moriarty looks at Tlaloc, wanting to ask her something. "Are you ready, Tlaloc?" The Ruler asked, "You have the most important role here,"

The Pretender nodded, already prepared for what was to be expected. "Yes, I'm ready to deploy my Noble Phantasm at any moment," Tlaloc stated.

Adrien and Marinette saw how easily Ritsuka was able to rally everyone to rise. "Seems like we don't have to worry about anything." The blonde stated before seeing Marinette's face. "My Lady? What's wrong?"

"O-Oh, it's nothing," Marinette said, holding her Command Seals. "It's just…what will happen if we fail-"

"Hey, don't say things like that. We will win, we got to." Adrien said, holding his Girlfriend before smiling at her. "How else are we going to save Paris."

Marinette blinks, hearing what her Boyfriend said. She nodded, remembering her duty as Ladybug and duty as protector of Paris. "Right, Paris. After all, we've seen here and the losses we've experienced, it only made us stronger and give us more morals to protect Paris."

"That's right let's protect Paris…together," Adrien said, not noticing the glow on Marinette's Command Seal.

At the other Base, the Summoning Circle started to glow in response to someone's resolve. "Ah, now she has found her resolve," Caster of the Sakura Labyrinth spoke, guarding the Summoning Circle via Familiar. "Now the only question is…will it be enough to stop the White Titian from awakening."

After the meeting, Ritsuka walks down the Halls, having plenty of time before heading out. He paused, hearing chatter just ahead of him. Following where those voices came from, he saw Nero and BB talking with Johnn,

"No wonder I felt something when I met you two and the others," Johnn said, looking at the two Servants. "With everything going on, I wasn't sure if it's the right time to ask." The Archer stated,

"Umu, the Body that you inhabit is someone very special and dear to us," Nero explains to the Pesudo-Servant. "In fact, in Chaldea, there's a Version of yourself that isn't a Pseudo-Servant." The Roman Emperor stated,

BB sighs, crossing her arms. "Well, considering that we're from a different Dimension, it's bound to happen that we might meet another Version of ourselves. Even him to some degree." The AI explains to the brunette Archer. "I mean Rani VIII or rather Kali is somewhat a mystery since Kali is logged into our Data Base and our Rani is running Seraphix while I'm gone."

Johann nodded, understanding that much from the Moon Cancer. "Yes, that I can understand. Sometimes, Rani VIII can be difficult to understand, considering she's a Berserker." The Archer stated, "Regardless, I really do hope that I could meet your Version of this Body so I can live up to his Name if you don't mind. May I have his Name?" He asked.

"His Name is Hakuno Kishinami," BB responded before turning around. "You better promise that, Archer."

"I will," Johann said, happy to receive the Name of his Host.

Ritsuka chuckles, seeing the two Servants blush. "Well, despite being a different Person. He's still the same Hakuno." He commented, turning around to give them some space.

AN: Please leave a comment or review.