PRIMORDIAL SONG: MELODY OF UNEASE

CHAPTER 3:

MEETINGS

Harry knew, once he had met Grey, that her meeting her ancestor could go badly. And yet, when the two met, Arturia, thankfully, just gave her a hug, with the doppelganger accepting it. After some words were exchanged, Grey was taken with Arturia and Mordred to a corner of the meeting room.

Other Servants were chatting to the other members of the investigation team, while Harry and Tiamat looked on, along with Waver and Reines. "So, what actually happened to Grey?" Harry asked.

"It's a long story. The short version was that a certain village began shaping her into a vessel for Arturia's soul. An abortive attempt caused her face to change. I found her and rescued her, and made her my ward and apprentice."

"And that thing in the cage? That cube thing calling itself Add?"

Reines chuckled. "Believe it or not, that's Arturia's spear, Rhongomyniad. But because its Mystery was eroding, it was encased in Add, a Mystic Code with a most gauche personality modelled on Sir Kay of the Round Table."

"Yeesh. Must be powerful. I wasn't there for that Singularity, but Hermione and Ritsuka told me horror stories about how an alternate version of Arturia used Rhongomyniad to attack her opponents in the Singularity she ruled, laying waste to entire settlements."

"Rhongomyniad is a powerful artifact that pins the world as we know it over the Reverse Side of the World," Waver said. "I have seen it in action, and I can believe that. Incidentally, where is Miss Granger? I have worked with her before."

"She's currently working on some Mystic Code with Da Vinci. Mash is getting a check-up with Dr Roman, while Ritsuka and Hinako…well, they'll probably be here soon."

Reines looked over the room. "Strange to see that Tohsaka has two Pseudo-Servants, both Babylonian deities."

"Hmm. Ishtar's not my particular favourite, but Ereshkigal, once you get past her edgelord act, is a real sweetheart. Becoming a Servant has been most agreeable to her."

"Indeed," Tiamat said. "Anu's Dutiful Daughter hides a lot of pain in her song from not being able to move beyond Kur. What this is is akin to a pleasant dream, albeit a more real experience than a mere dream. And to me, this new life feels like a dream to my song. If so, then I do not wish to wake."

"Well, that's good to hear, Tiamat," Waver said. "However, while I do not intend to stir up unnecessary trouble, my students and I have jobs to do. I'm afraid some considerable questioning will be involved. Honestly, I don't want to be here, at least not for this reason. Given the reports, Chaldea has done fine work. But…"

"There's blood in the water, and the sharks are circling," Reines said cheerfully, and with enough teeth to suggest she was a shark herself.

"Because gratitude has a half-life comparable to some artificial elements," Harry snarked. "Still, better you, Professor Velvet, than a group of idiots who wouldn't know how to talk to Servants properly. Treating them like familiars, especially if you don't have Command Seals, is a sure way to annoy many of them. But as friends, family or comrades is another matter."

"A prudent decision," Waver said. "But, you have a copy of myself, merged with Zhuge Liang. May I meet him later?"

"Certainly. He's currently revising our deployment plan. You are aware of what happened in the final Singularity?"

"That at least two if not more Demon Pillars may have escaped? Correct."

"We're revising our deployment plan in light of the fact that we have oversight. Mostly refining it. Your counterpart is a good Magus and a good strategist."

"I'd be interested in meeting him," Reines said with a smirk.

"You'd probably also be interested in meeting Iskandar too. In his timeline, Iskandar was his Rider Servant during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Iskandar is what they call Alexander the Great in the East if you don't know. I'm honestly glad Grey is getting along well with Arturia. Out of the Servants here, she's one of the closest to me as a friend. Same with Medusa…both of them." He indicated the Rider and Lancer forms of the infamous Gorgon, speaking with Sakura Edelfelt. He was glad the Lancer form, named 'Ana' after her alias in the Babylonia Singularity, had been summoned with her memories intact here. Ana, Quetzlcoatl, Ishtar, Ereshkigal…even Merlin and Jaguar Warrior.

He'd bonded with Ana during their time together in the Babylonia Singularity, and the misanthropic child form of Medusa became a good friend. He was saddened to have to say farewell to her once Tiamat's other fragment had been defeated. He'd never had a little sister figure, but Ana counted, and his friendship to her applied to her more mature Rider form. In fact, when he met Stheno and Euryale, he got into a confrontation after seeing how they treated both Medusas until Jeanne, more familiar with them, gently intervened.

"I'm curious," Reines said. "How does it feel to be with so many famous people? I heard you despise your own fame, especially as it was for something your mother did, in all likelihood."

"…You'd be surprised. Many Servants are very approachable. As long as you don't fanboy or fangirl over them, they're generally decent. It helps that a few of them remember Grail Wars they were in in different timelines. Apparently, they were worried when Arturia and Mordred met. They thought it'd come to blows, but initially, it was just them being huffy around each other. But now, they're on better terms than they ever were. They had a harder time with Arjuna and Karna."

"Arjuna and Karna?" Reines asked. "You brought them up before, but while the names ring a bell, I don't really know them."

"They come from the Indian epic known as the Mahabharata," Waver said. "Half-brothers from the Pandava family of royals, but Karna was the eldest and was abandoned by his mother soon after his birth, as he was born out of wedlock. He joined the side of the Pandavas' bitter foe, Duryodhana. Despite some rather nasty moments and working for the wrong side, Karna was a good and charitable man who died to Arjuna. Both were demigods too. Their rivalry was legendary."

"And keeping them on civil terms was apparently a task and a half. They're still rivals, but they won't fight each other to the death," Harry said.

He liked them both, though he preferred Karna. The pale-skinned demigod, while blunt and a bit socially clueless, was also strangely more friendly than his half-brother, and he knew what it was like to be scorned for one's supposed station. Arjuna, meanwhile, was close to a humble Malfoy, even if that sounded oxymoronic. He'd lived a privileged life for much of his own, and while calm and collected, also had a vague air of superiority. But he was nothing but courteous and polite, and indeed, Harry and Tiamat had often spoken with him and Karna about the lives they led, as he'd only heard of parts of their myth, mostly their names. That, and the Bhagavad Gita, the poem Oppenheimer was said to quote when he saw the atomic bomb go off in Nevada, was actually a part of the Mahabharata.

At that point, another pair of people came in. One was a lavender-haired teenaged girl with similarly-coloured eyes and pale skin. The other was a young man with a messy mass of orange hair tied back in a ponytail, his easy-going air a mask, Harry knew.

The former was Mash Kyrielight, a girl who was engineered partly through science and magecraft, somewhere between Homunculus and bioroid. Her purpose, as designated by Marisbury Animusphere, was to act as a vessel for a Servant, to become a Demi-Servant. She was the only success story of that highly-unethical project, becoming the vessel for what turned out to be Sir Galahad, though Galahad refused to manifest himself in Mash out of disgust towards Marisbury's experiments. He only gave Mash his powers when Goetia's plans went into play, and Mash, whose lifespan was already set at a short eighteen years, was struggling to reach her seventeenth birthday.

It culminated in Goetia's desperate attack on them during the final Singularity. Although her Noble Phantasm, Lord Camelot, protected them, the sheer heat vapourised her body. However, Fou, who had taken a shine to her, was prepared to donate his own immense power to revive her. Tiamat helped, and while they had lost much of their power, neither former Beast of Calamity regretted their choice. Mash was unable to manifest Galahad's abilities, save for with a supreme effort. More happily, her lifespan was now that of a normal human's.

The latter person was known as Dr Romani Archiman, or 'Dr Roman' for short, though his real name was actually Solomon, the biblical King of Israel. He was the Grand Caster Servant that Marisbury Animusphere used to win the only Holy Grail War held in this timeline, and was allowed a wish by his Master. Roman wanted a normal life, but unfortunately, even as he became a human, free of the hollow existence he had as Solomon, he received a premonition of Goetia's plan, and knew that he would have to fight it when it came along.

As Dr Roman, Solomon became rather frivolous and careless, but he was still compassionate and intelligent, becoming a de facto father to Mash, even being the one to give her a name, after a great-grandson of Noah. When most of Chaldea's leadership was wiped out by Lev's sabotage, Roman stepped up to becoming Olga-Marie's second in command. It didn't help that Goetia was the gestalt of Demon Pillars Solomon had created to oversee humanity, only for Goetia to rebel out of disgust towards Solomon's apparent apathy towards humanity and its suffering.

After the Goetia Singularity was resolved, Roman did confess that, if King Hassan hadn't sacrificed his Grand Assassin status to inflict the concept of death onto Goetia, he could use one last Noble Phantasm. Ars Nova would remove Solomon's works from existence…but at the cost of taking Solomon with them. In other words, not only would he have to sacrifice himself, but it would mean being erased, even from the Throne of Heroes.

Harry was glad that didn't happen. While more than a little flaky, when it counted, Roman was a decent person and one who could do well even under pressure. Harry and Tiamat had had long conversations with the former Solomon. Like Harry, Solomon had his life stage-managed, albeit by God, or at least an entity that claimed to be God. Solomon had been little more than God's sockpuppet, despite all his wisdom. It was why he wanted to live life as a normal human, not even a Magus or a wizard.

Still, recognition flashed between Roman and Waver, and the former said, "Professor Velvet…good to meet you again, even if it's under these circumstances."

"Indeed. This must be Mash Kyrielight."

"Yes, I am," Mash said, bowing. "Good morning, Professor Velvet, and Lady Archisorte."

"My, bowing like a Japanese, even if you don't look it," Reines said. "Don't stand on ceremony, call me Reines. Respect is fine, just don't be all sycophantic…unless I want you to be. Besides, technically, I'm not a lady yet. I am Kayneth's heir, true, but he is still the holder of the El-Melloi lordship. So, you're the Demi-Servant. Rather cute, too."

Mash blushed, before Roman chuckled. "She is, but she's also attached to Fujimaru."

"My interest was not romantic," Reines sniffed, albeit without losing her feline smirk. "Still…hard to tell that you fought in so many of the Singularities. Then again, many Servants look rather weak, and yet shouldn't be underestimated."

"Correct," Waver said. "And you have been her primary physician, Dr Roman?"

"And legal guardian after Marisbury died," Roman said.

"Given her circumstances, it was probably an improvement," Waver said. "Still, unfortunately, my students and I have work to do, work that will probably inconvenience Chaldea. Hopefully, it will do little more than that. But Clock Tower wants an accounting, and given that Atlas contributed to Chaldea's technology and was accessed during the Camelot Singularity, according to reports, they will want details too. And despite how reclusive they are, I wouldn't be surprised if Baldanders decides they want information. Chaldea has drawn attention to themselves, and not all of it is good, even if the Moonlit World remains a secret from the populace at large."

"What's the latest word from the British wizards?" Harry asked.

"News of your survival has proved ambivalent in its reception, of course. Many are trumpeting your survival, but others are suspicious," Waver said. "I was asked to bring a message from Saul Croaker, actually. A rather laconic one."

"I think I can guess. You're fired?"

"Correct," Waver said with a faint smirk. "And you have been blacklisted from working in the Department of Mysteries ever again. That being said, I believe he will be sending a representative to debrief you personally on what happened. Given your work for Chaldea, it will be relatively amicable, despite the circumstances around your disappearance. Croaker valued your drive and creativity, just not the ends you applied them to. He did warn me, though, that your prototypes have been disposed of. Other notes and materials will be delivered to you or kept within the Department of Mysteries at their discretion. There is a small but vocal minority of the ICW, particularly amongst those of Blood Purist extraction, who want their own investigative team sent here. After all, you and Miss Granger were two of the Masters here, and the pair of you have been known for your…iconoclastic attitude."

"And given that you effectively command a small army," Reines remarked, "they're worried you'd shake things up. A Servant can be an effective soldier, after all. Of course, most of them know better than to tickle that particular sleeping dragon. But they may have an alliance with certain elements within the Magus Association. And, of course, there's Tiamat. Even without going into her being a former Beast of Calamity, you hold the leash, so to speak, of a deity. That has people nervous. Can't imagine why, she seems quite sweet."

"Laaaa," Tiamat sang in response, preening with the praise.

"We owe both Harry and Tiamat a lot," Roman said. "Without them, the Babylonia Singularity would not have gone so smoothly. There were still casualties and complications…but it went better than many other Singularities. Still, everyone here pulled their weight, humans and Servants alike. We're not expecting medals, but we don't expect to be treated like criminals either."

"Correct…but jealousy, spite and greed are powerful motivators, Dr Archiman," Waver said. "And Chaldea has many enemies, even if said enemies are not out to destroy the world…"

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

After all, humanity is its own worst enemy.

No numbered annotations this time.