CHAPTER 18:

TENSIONS

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Delphi, it's not funny!"

"Of course it's funny, Dad! You're now the adoptive father of me, the child of two of your worst enemies, an embodiment of Albion, the child of you and a Beast of Calamity from another timeline, and now one of the most infamous serial killers in human history! BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Harry could only facepalm. The Masters and Servants were now in the main lecture theatre to discuss not only the upcoming Singularity in earnest, but to work out any grievances, Olga and Roman having been summoned here by Da Vinci. The main problems were Medea and EMIYA, but the fact that Harry had summoned one of history's most notorious serial killers caused concern and amusement.

Kukulkan held up a hand. "Umm…if it helps, I could reveal who, or rather, what, I really am? I promise you I'm not gonna hurt you guys, far from it! But…well, if nothing else, it prevents this secret from getting to be too much."

Kadoc, after a moment, sighed in resignation. "…Go ahead, Kukulkan."

"Right, so…I'm basically the heart, for want of a better term, of an entity that dwelled in my Lostbelt," Kukulkan said. "It's an entity you Magi fear, along with anyone who knows of its existence."

For many of those present, they began to realise who she was soon. There were many feared entities in the Moonlit World, but when you thought about South America, one stood above all others. It was Hermione, however, who gave voice to the thought many of them were thinking. "ORT…you're an embodiment of ORT!" she hissed.

Kukulkan waved cheerfully. "¡Hola, Earthlings! I come in peace?"

"…Eheh…heheheheheh…heeeehhhhh…" Hinako's stunned soft chuckles drew out into a drawling sigh as she collapsed in a dead faint, her eyes rolling up in their sockets, soon followed by Ophelia, Kadoc and Olga.

"…What is ORT?" Ritsuka asked in bemusement, even as Da Vinci and Xu Fu tended to the fainted members of Team A. "I mean, aside from being some powerful alien?"

"Senpai…ORT is one of THE most powerful beings on this world," Mash explained, even though she was clearly anxious. "And unlike, say, the True Ancestors and other A-Rays, ORT comes from space. We're not sure where. Once, it was thought to be TYPE Mercury, but it's thought now that it came from further afield, possibly the Oort Cloud, or even beyond that."

Roman nodded, even as he helped Olga to her feet. "In the Moonlit World, we have a saying: Don't Wake the Spider. The few glimpses people have had of ORT in our timeline are of a massive spider-like creature sitting in the middle of a crystalline valley in South America. If it ever woke up, then the world is probably doomed. It's pretty much as simple as that. Except…how did a Mayan deity become linked to one of the Moonlit World's boogymen?"

"Ah, well, it's a long story," Kukulkan said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "A long and complicated one. The short version is, I'm sort of a hybrid between a couple of alien entities, including ORT, along with Kukulkan thrown in for good measure. Anyway, I thought I'd…oh, what's the human term? Rip off that bandage. Did it work?"

Everyone in the room levelled incredulous or unimpressed stares at her, before Harry sighed, stepping forward. "Well, Kadoc is your Master, or at least the one who summoned you, but…as long as you're not out to kill us…welcome to Earth?"

He held out a hand that was promptly and very rapidly and strongly shaken, enough to leave a sensation pins and needles when she let go, while Kukulkan grinned happily…while showing rather shark-like teeth as she did so. It wasn't malicious, the smile, but the sharp teeth made it disturbing. "¡Gracias!" she cheered.

"This is my life now," Waver muttered in exasperated tones, rubbing his forehead, while Grey rubbed his back gently. "I knew getting involved with Chaldea meant interacting with all kinds of infamous figures from myth and history, but this? I am sharing a room with one of the most feared beings in the Moonlit World, and I can't even blame Flat for it." Then, he looked to Jeanne, the French saint having changed her outfit into something that looked like a school uniform, oddly enough. "Back on topic…you encountered Jack the Ripper before in your timeline prior to being summoned to France. What is she? You said something about a gestalt?"

Jeanne nodded solemnly. "There are other Jack the Rippers on the Throne, the killer's identity was never definitively proven, but this is a possible one. This Jack is a gestalt of wraiths of the too-young dead. Some were the barely-formed souls of foetuses aborted by the back-alley doctors of Victorian London. But the majority were children who lived long enough to die from the conditions of Victorian London. Hunger. Disease. Abuse. All dying before they had a true chance to live. Jackie's desire in carrying out her killings against those unfortunate women was simple: to return to the primal warmth of the womb. She just had no idea how, hence what happened. In my timeline, her Master was intended to be one of Yggdmillennia's lackeys, but Jackie instead chose a non-Magus as her Master, a prostitute called Reika Rikudou, whom said lackey was going to murder to strengthen the summoning. After all, Jack the Ripper's victims were prostitutes working in Victorian London. Unfortunately, while loving towards Jackie, Reika was a twisted woman who wreaked havoc in Romania, having Jackie murder and consume the hearts not only of Yggdmillennia-aligned Magi, but of other Magi, and even innocent civilians. I exorcised Jackie's spirit to grant her rest, but it seems I could not remove her from the Throne of Heroes. Yet that may not be a bad thing."

Mordred wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah? I remember this munchkin's attacks and abilities, at least now. She's dangerous."

"Believe me, I know. I felt the bite of her Noble Phantasm, Maria the Ripper, and only survived thanks to my Magic Resistance," Jeanne said, grimacing as she subconsciously touched the side of her abdomen. "And yet, Harry summoned a version familiar with him. And who holds you and your sire in high regard for that matter, Mordred. And I saw enough of Jackie's past to know that…there was still a possibility for her to be more than the killer she was. Not the version we fought in Trifas, despite Atalanta's claims, but…she had the potential. Besides…my faith decrees that sinners be given chances to be better, Mordred, especially those who do not understand their sin."

"Oh, we understand, Miss Jeanne," Jackie said, perched on Tiamat-Larva's shoulders, the Beast offspring hoisting her pseudo-sister onto her. "We only kill what we have to kill. No more trying to go back where it's warm. It's warmest in a family!"

After a moment's shock, Jeanne smiled at the serial killer. "Yes, that's right. A good sentiment to have, Jackie. But…" Her expression fell, and she looked to EMIYA and Medea. "We still have other issues to address."

"There's nothing to address where I'm concerned," EMIYA retorted, shrugging. "This is, at best, a working holiday for me."

"Oh? I am considered the Witch of Betrayal," Medea said, glaring at him, "and yet, you betrayed more people than I did in our Holy Grail War. I don't know what your end goal was, and yet, how many times did you stab your original Master in the back?"

"Hate to say it, bozo, but Caster has a point," Cú Chulainn said. "You left the Tohsaka girl with that creepy priest and a boy who just screamed rapist arsehole to me. And don't try to make excuses for that, you faker. Saber showed me her memories, as well as what came after. Your stupid suicide scheme wouldn't have worked, and honestly, you deserve being Alaya's bitch for eternity for that alone."

"This coming from the Hound of Chulainn?" EMIYA retorted.

"Enough!" Arturia Pendragon snapped as the Irish Lancer bristled. "The depressing thing is, as much as I detest the humiliations Medea put me through, she has a point, EMIYA, as does Cú Chulainn. You betrayed all and sundry when it served your purposes, and while you did assist Shirou in the end, that was after you failed to achieve what you intended to. You are very much your father's son, more so than my Shirou was."

"And you're a model parent?"

"At least Father's trying to be better, and so am I, Fake-Tan," Mordred counter-retorted. "Jesus Christ, are all Counter-Guardians such whiny, selfish bitches?"

"Mordred," Arturia Pendragon said sharply, before returning her gaze to EMIYA. "Medea, for all her many faults, had a wish I could respect. As unforgivable as too many of her actions were, she desired a second chance for happiness and love."

"And my wanting to stop myself from existing is unforgivable?" EMIYA snarled.

"Yes. Medea could have found other ways to achieve her wish, but you…Shirou could have moved off the path leading to him becoming you with help from his friends and loved ones, even the ones you targeted for death. I did my best to ensure that, as did Rin and Sakura, and I strive to learn from my prior mistakes. But you are just a suicidal fool who did not care how many people you hurt, betrayed, or killed in the process of achieving a goal that was impossible and futile, something the real Shirou would never have let happen. Rin may have forgiven you…but for now, I will not. It says something when I find James Moriarty to be a more trusted ally, if only because he has proven himself in the field. I trust you only far enough to fight for humanity as an ally…Counter-Guardian."

EMIYA gritted his teeth, his hand balling into a tight fist briefly, before he sighed, his expression bitter and morose. "In all honesty, I was expecting worse, Saber. I certainly burned more than enough bridges during that Grail War."

"If I may?" Medusa said, speaking up. "In my timeline, EMIYA did something altruistic. He was dying after a rather massive magical explosion, as was Shirou. Shirou had lost an arm, and as his future alternate was dying, he severed his arm and directed it to be grafted to Shirou's own. A risky and insane procedure, but he did wish to help his prior self, if only because he had moved off his original path. I daresay it was because Shirou had fallen for Sakura, and was trying to save her."

Mordred scoffed. "So Fake-Tan actually has a heart? Though wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"Shirou was forced to use the dormant power within EMIYA's arm to save us. It nearly killed him, but…thanks to Touko Aozaki, we got him a new puppet body," Medusa said. "In any case, for now, I believe we can trust both Medea and EMIYA to not betray us when the entire world is at stake. Medea would want a second chance at meeting her beloved, of course, and EMIYA, as Alaya's dog, is obligated to save human history." A vaguely cruel smirk touched her lips. "And isn't that what a Hero of Justice would do?"

"Ooh, gonna need burn ointment for that one," Oda Nobunaga remarked with a theatrical wince.

"I can provide ice if need be," Anastasia said with an impish smile.

"…You've got me there," EMIYA muttered, before his features softened. "…Was Sakura happy, in the end? With him?"

"It took them a long and hard road, but they got their happy ending," Medusa said. "So too did Rin and myself. We at least survived, along with their friends and that mooch of a teacher, and Sakura and Rin reconciled." On EMIYA's confused look, she clarified, "They were sisters by blood, though Sakura was adopted to the Matous. And if you knew a fraction of what treatment she truly went through, you would have thought twice about your plan, if only because of what it would have done to Sakura. Or does the Counter-Guardian not know about Crest Worms?"

EMIYA paled. "Ohhh…oh, that explains way too much. About Zouken AND Sakura. Fuck."

"Oh, and I should have mentioned," Melusine piped up. "Your past self? He can become a Pseudo-Servant…of his ancestor, Senji Muramasa. I fought him."

At the draconic being's smug expression, EMIYA groaned, while Medea actually chuckled. "My, my, so the boy could become a Heroic Spirit without becoming a Counter-Guardian. I knew he was interesting, so it seems a shame that we were enemies. Your former Master was a boy of many talents, Saber."

Arturia Pendragon sighed. "Including getting himself into mortal peril, but enough of such things. At least we do not have to deal with Gilgamesh. Medea, can Rule Breaker sever connections between Stray Servants and the Grail that summoned them in a Singularity?"

The Greek witch frowned. "That is a good question, Saber. If it's a magical contract, perhaps, but a simple connection may be another matter entirely."

On everyone's curious looks, Arturia Pendragon explained, "Medea's Noble Phantasm is Rule Breaker, the dagger with which she slew her brother Absyrtus, albeit while brainwashed by Aphrodite. She can use it to reduce magical things like Mystic Codes or potions to their component parts…or sever the contract between Master and Servant. She used it on myself to remove me from Shirou, and on EMIYA to take him from Rin."

"I also used it on myself to free myself from my original Master, Saber," Medea said archly. "And if you met Atrum Galliasta, you'd understand why. The man was a misogynistic egotist and coward who had a harem of Homunculi because he couldn't actually woo a woman if his life depended on it, and who had a very wasteful means of harvesting mana by melting down kidnapping victims. And when I demonstrated that I could do much better with ambient mana in the room…he didn't take it well. As in he used his Command Seal to order me not to stab him with Rule Breaker, and then punched me in the face. And yes, I am well aware of the hypocrisy now of harvesting mana from the populace the way I did, but I was in a very bad way after I burned bridges with Galliasta."

"And burned him, if I recall," Cú Chulainn said. "I was there just after you killed him."

"It was waste disposal, Lancer, albeit after trapping him within a mental labyrinth," Medea retorted. "And don't think I haven't forgotten how you nearly stuck me like a pig with that gauche spear. Your teacher pulls it off better than you do."

"…That's fair," the Irish Lancer conceded, even as his teacher chuckled.

"It's something to consider if we can counter enemy Servants," Arturia Pendragon said. "In addition, EMIYA has a Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works, which can copy most Noble Phantasms that are weapons, particularly bladed ones. While he confessed he cannot copy Excalibur without killing him, he can still copy and Project a wide variety of Noble Phantasms, even fire them as makeshift arrows."

Harry nodded. "Still, being able to copy Noble Phantasms must be a handy skill, as much as I hated being on the receiving end of them."

"Sorry, what?" EMIYA asked.

"We encountered a corrupted version of you in the initial Singularity in Fuyuki," Melusine said. "I sent him flying with a punch." She then smirked. "The sound of his ribcage caving in was most satisfying."

"…I'll take your word for it," EMIYA said, showing the barest flinch of horror.

"Between yourself and Iskandar, this is probably the best chance we have of studying Reality Marbles, even if only on the quiet," Ophelia remarked. "Still, to be a Counter-Guardian…what a horrific existence to endure. You called this a working holiday. Maybe it will give you some respite, time to reflect on what you truly want, should you be summoned to a Grail War again."

"I agree," Jeanne said. "As much as I did not want the arguments to escalate as they have, it did not come to blows, at least. However, the concerns of betrayal are still real." Her amethyst eyes bore into those of Medea and EMIYA. "We are fighting for the survival of all life on this world, something greater than the Human Order, and certainly of much greater importance than a Holy Grail War. However, I am still a Ruler Servant, a mediator and arbitrator, and I will ensure disputes are settled." Her eyes flickered over the various Servants, her eyes settling on a few. Moriarty. Oda Nobunaga. Xiang Yu, much to Hinako's annoyance. She even looked at Tiamat-Larva, the draconic being pouting at the attention, even though she wasn't a Servant. "We need to fight together, alongside one another, not against one another. Otherwise, our shared history will be burned away forever. The past, present, and future of every living being on this world will be ashes, blown away on deathly winds. That includes our stories, our histories. No matter what our faith or politics, I doubt that anyone in this room truly desires the destruction of the world. It's telling that a number of our allies are Fae and Elementals. It shows what the stakes are. Even if you cannot forgive those you have problems with, then at least tolerate them as long as they show their willingness to cooperate, to fight for the world. Otherwise…we're doomed. It's truly as simple as that."

Harry noted that, despite being in a school uniform rather than her battle armour, Jeanne spoke with as much authority. While he could believe it not long after they met in the France Singularity, he believed it more than ever, the Maid of Orleans, the leader of the resistance against English troops. A leader on a par with Arturia Pendragon or Barghest, despite not being royalty or nobility. Then again, blood did not make a good leader, or else the Purebloods would be proven right a hundredfold.

Still, Jeanne's words eased the tension a little, and more tellingly, seemed to clear the air somewhat. Or at least they managed to get some people to swallow their pride. Harry hoped things wouldn't go south, though. Not with so much at stake…

CHAPTER 18 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. A big reveal or two, grievances have been aired, and a tenuous understanding has been reached. I've been sitting on it for a while for various reasons.

Now, I hope none of you think I'm being too hard on EMIYA. Keep in mind, while I think he, as with Kiritsugu, are very much cool and awesome characters, they're also both evil and selfish SOBs, singularly obsessed with their goals, and having little heed to whatever pain and misery they cause along the way, especially to their own allies. Don't get me wrong, I actually have way more sympathy for EMIYA than I do for Kiritsugu (whose heel-face turn came too little, too late, IMO), as EMIYA went through a LOT more than Kiritsugu ever did, but I used Arturia, Cú Chulainn, and Medea to air some not-unreasonable grievances against him. And that sort of thing has to be said before they move on to any kind of tentative trust.

And don't think I was being too soft on Medea. Arturia has made it clear that she's going to be very wary of the Witch of Betrayal from now on. But on the other hand, she does admire Medea's wish, even if she despised the lengths she was going to to get it. Medea at least was loyal to Kuzuki, but for all the claims that EMIYA was still loyal to Rin, he still left her in a room with Kirei Kotomine and Shinji Matou. At the bare minimum, that was utterly callous, leaving her with her father's killer (and a sadist besides) and an unrepentant rapist. So no, I'm not willing to cut EMIYA much slack at all. I pity him, I have some sympathy for his situation, but he deserves a good tongue-lashing at the bare minimum, especially from Arturia, the woman he once held a torch for.

I did have Medusa speak up for EMIYA and discuss his actions in the Heaven's Feel route, though I'm not sure whether EMIYA did so to help Shirou after seeing that Shirou abandoned his ideals to save Sakura, or else did so to kill Shirou via his transplanted arm. Honestly, I've no idea which is canon, and it could go either way, AFAIK. After all, EMIYA is a spiteful bastard, to the point where I consider him an anti-villain of Fate/Stay Night.

Incidentally, while I'm not sure where to fit them in, I've tentatively decided to make two events canon to this fic (aside from the ones actually added to the Main Interlude section of the game, of course). Namely, the Dantes-centric Prison Tower one, and the Fate/Apocrypha tie-in one, or at least in broad strokes. Those actually feel like they could fit in with the story without it being goofball antics of dubious canonicity. The Enma-Tei event was another, but I found a way to bring in Beni-Enma anyway.

I should also point out that my first attempt at a Harry/Morgan fic has tanked. Unfortunately, my fairly good idea for a plot, inspired by my own crossover You're the King of My Heart (and thus Da Salvatore's Rebirth of the Founders), has tanked, so no reincarnation fic. However, I have another possible plot in mind. Whether it even gets far enough to be put into my compilations, let alone, I don't know.

I'm also not sure when the next chapter will be out, though it could be soon, as it is mostly-written.

Review-answering time! The Disquieting One: Possibly after London. I've been trying to find the right place to put in Patxi, but he would inevitably expose Ritsuka and Kadoc's involvement in the Lostbelts. That's going to be a clusterfuck, and I intend to resurrect Team A shortly before London, and have the truth of the Lostbelts discussed afterwards.

ZLC genesmith: Yes, Blackbeard not only got involved, but won the cooking contest in Fragments of Chaldea, to say nothing of giving part of the prize (a dessert coupon) to Illya. It was one of his best moments in that fic. That, and befriending fellow otaku Osakabehime. However, Ritsuka is going to be the one to summon Serenity, as I think that fanon about the Phoenix Tears and Basilisk venom is utter bullshit, and one piece of fanon I'll never touch.

Dragon Man 180: Aside from those already summoned, there's two versions of Lancelot, as well as Tristain, Gawain, and Bedivere. Agravain also appears in the Camelot Singularity, but he hasn't been officially released in the game. I'm not bringing Agravain into it, though, the guy's a misogynistic prick.

Skull Flame: The Spanish phrases were courtesy of Wiktionary, which I find more reliable than Google Translate. And for the sake of this fic, Mysterious Heroine X and her Alter are both Foreigners. Given how alien their universe is to our own, it's not unreasonable.

johnberger51: You're very welcome. Honestly, that Lostbelt was filled with cheap fucking gimmicks to artificially inflate the difficulty, and that last battle was aggravating. It says a lot when the ORT raids, while tense and difficult, are the right kind of difficult, and actually brings across the feeling that you're desperately trying to take down ORT…

TheManiacalMadman: Yep, that it is…

kcole6754: Back in the first part, Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness, yes, yes I did. Vritra's a possibility, but she works better as an antagonist, not as a Servant. I'm not saying she won't turn up, only that it's not on the cards for now…

No numbered annotations this time.