Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to their respective franchise.

In dedication to Toriyama Akira (1955 to 2024)

.

.

.

.

"A-Team," Gohan repeated to himself in a deep, thoughtful tone, reflecting on the events of the day as he sat in the dining room of the larger capsule house, he and the others indulging in a sort of celebratory feast to commemorate his affiliation with Chaldea becoming official. His demonstration and subsequent spar with Pepe, his induction into this "A-Team" and what that might mean for the future, as well as giving Chaldea carte blanche for the utilities he had brought. He sat next to Mash, the two of them sitting perpendicular to Kirchtaria. A feast had been prepared by the robot cooks who had been moved to the Resident's kitchen, and many of the talking staff who had chosen to join in were scattered about, cradling their own plates or drinking from wine glasses as piano music was played by one of the robots.

Earlier in the afternoon, Kirschtaria, Caster, and Romani had personally supervised the staff as they inspected the items that had been released from their capsules, and nearly all of Chaldea had gathered in the hangar after the announcement had been made throughout the facility.

Instead of engaging in her usual antics and theatrics, the Renaissance woman was nothing but professional as she worked. The houses, the vehicles, the storage container with the extra food, the Capsule Corp spaceship, all of them except the naval vessel, she inspected while directing the staff that was with her, with all the caution that was warranted to avoid any unwanted mishaps. Romani and his fellow medics were in the clinic, a modest building well equipped with the latest medical instruments in Gohan's world, which included instruction manuals that they were determined to study in order to use them properly. There were shelves filled with all kinds of medicines, ointments and supplements. Incredibly, after a bit of browsing, they came across a few that were treatments for diseases that were still incurable in their world.

Gohan had taken the liberty of giving a tour of the first house, which was more of an estate by his world's standards, a dome-shaped two-story structure that amazingly still fit the vast hangar of Chaldea. The overall design was typical of his world but unusual for the Earth he was on, more akin to what would be found in futuristic dioramas. Despite this, Kirschtaria and his companions found the structure to be more than solid, accommodating and "homey", with a kitchen, dining room, living room, five bedrooms, and an extra bathroom in the upstairs hallway. There was running water, which they were able to determine was stored in a compact tank that was constantly replenished by an elaborate condensation system that extracted moisture from the air while leaving out any contaminants. Sampling the water and using magecraft to determine its pH level revealed it to be safe to drink. The living room was comfortably furnished, with a wooden coffee table, a sofa, two couches, a modest bookshelf filled with materials native to Gohan's world, and a wide flat screen connected to a multimedia player. The stand had a cabinet with tapes and CDs for viewing. For security reasons, the compression button remained locked while the house was occupied, which Gohan explained was installed and made standard after frequent incidents led to some lawsuits for the company.

Around the corner, next to the bookcase, Kirschtaria found a wooden piano, polished to perfection. Curious to see if it worked, and because he had played as a child, he struck a few notes, which was the beginning of Mozart's Duty of the First Commandment. He had left his cane in his office before the tour, not wanting to sit idly by while the others worked.

Caster and a few others had moved on to testing the hovercar, which fortunately came with instructions, and after a bit of trial and error they got it to levitate off the ground, the Renaissance woman at the wheel marveling that the humanity of Gohan's world had reached such a level of technology and made it available for commercial use. At first, the motorcycle appeared to be a standard land vehicle with an equally futuristic design, with wheels unlike the hovercar, only to discover that it also had a hovering function. With a simple push of a button on the right handle, the wheels would flip over, giving way to an anti-gravity module after the hubcaps split open.

Rider Servants with at least B Rank should be able to drive them instinctively, and with her own engineering skills, she could very well integrate the technology into Chaldea's own vehicles after a thorough enough study of the accompanying manuals and internals. But it was the Capsule Corporation spaceship, with its admittedly peculiar design, that she and her share of staff were most excited about. Gohan had been the first to enter, having had the foresight to make sure everything was safe. He made it a priority to deactivate and lock the artificial gravity function, because if it was activated by mistake, anyone inside at that moment might find themselves little more than red smears on the floor.

When he told them exactly why, they incredulously asked how the artificial gravity could reach such a staggeringly insane 400 to 500 Gs, to which Gohan casually replied that he and his father would train under such conditions in their spare time, unnerving those with him, including Caster. Gohan carefully programmed the system to lock out some of the more dangerous equipment, and Caster watched, impressed that he seemed to know what he was doing at his young age, which he replied was because Bulma gave him pointers in case he was the only one in the ship and had to operate the controls, especially in an emergency.

"We had a really close call back when we were on planet Namek and it was about to explode," Gohan recalled, putting the finishing touches on the ship so that it wouldn't launch by accident. "After that, Bulma made it a point to teach me a thing or two about what to do in situations like that."

Caster exchanged a look with Sylvia and Cerejeira, who were with them. "Was…there nothing any of you could do?"

Gohan turned to them with a curious look. "You mean... save Namek?" As Caster nodded, he had to fight the urge to just burst out laughing, remembering all too well the hellish state they had left the old Namek in, and he locked eyes with the woman who now regretted her question, seeing how empty the boy's expression became. He wasn't angry, for he understood her curiosity. "It was hard enough just collecting the Dragon Balls and keeping them safe with Frieza around. Porunga, the Eternal Dragon of Namek, could only grant three wishes. It was more than what Shenron could do at the time, but we couldn't exactly wish for just anything. What we really needed was to resurrect Piccolo so that Kami would also come back. Then we had the second wish that Piccolo be transported to Namek, because when Porunga revives someone, they go back to where they died. The third wish was for all of us except my father and Frieza to be transported to Earth." Caster did not miss the boy's hands, now resting over the terminal - they were shaking. "We could have saved the planet. Hell, we could have done a lot more, but..." It was there that he broke eye contact with the woman, becoming contemplative before turning back to the terminal to continue.

Caster's gaze softened in remorse. "I apologize, ragazzi," she said quietly with her head bowed. She then clapped her hands and resumed her professional demeanor. "Come, come! Back to business."

"Right," Gohan replied, finally finished. He didn't fail to notice that Cerejeira had been watching him the whole time he was typing in the keys, as well as the commands and protocols shown on the screen he was programming to put the ship into safe mode.

Back in the clinic, Romani flipped through a manual on how to operate a machine called the Healing Tank while Mash scanned the shelves, Fou still held gingerly in her arms. Romani couldn't help but be amazed, the technology of the Healing Tank was already a step beyond what the Coffins were capable of by simply preserving the occupant in stasis. Caster would want to take a crack at the design, if only to further improve the Coffins and implement a rejuvenating effect. In addition, he and his people found tanks filled with a strange light-green liquid, which, according to the instructions on the containers and the manual, was a solution to be used in conjunction with the tank. While the main cask was good on its own, its full potential could only be realized when it was pumped full of the liquid, which was a chemical compound that would stabilize and restore even a mortally wounded occupant in a given amount of time. Once the machine reached an adequate state of health, it would automatically dispose of the liquid and begin resuscitating the subject, which also had a built-in terminal to help monitor their vitals. The liquid itself was completely non-toxic and would degrade over time.

Astonished, Romani realized that even if the cultivation of the Senzu bean did not work out, integrating the design of this healing tank would prove to be an equally invaluable alternative for the future, one that did not overlap with the fact that Wùfàn's Earth had advanced so rapidly next to their own. Even now, he was still reeling. That there was a universe that might or might not be under the influence of the Counterforce. It went against everything he had known since he was still living as Solomon. "The Quantum Time Lock…"

There were some secrets that only a few were privy to. A tiny handful, and even then, less than that. Different worlds, different timelines. A single choice, a divergence in history. Those what-ifs, no matter how insignificant they may be to the average individual, or perhaps they refuse to dwell on such a thought lest they find themselves just... waking up one day. It had been proven with the Returners, and even before that with the Kaleidoscope. The one thing most people missed when considering all of these timelines was a simple but unforgiving truth.

Worlds that "did not belong" or did not fit into the proper human history were to be purged when the time came. The Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon, a way for the multiverse to "correct itself" when a timeline diverged too far. That didn't mean that every single universe or timeline had to be exactly the same to be disqualified. Different hair color, different gender, different people to fill certain roles, a few events playing out differently but almost always leading to the intended outcome, as long as these "constants" remained fundamentally intact, then that universe was safe. To say nothing of other timelines where the future couldn't be defined on an absolute basis. The chances of a timeline being spared from pruning could not be clearly quantified, for the multiverse, no matter how finite, was still quite vast.

"Doctor...?"

Romani fluidly looked over to where Mash was standing and smiled at her as he asked, "Yes, Mash. What is it?"

"Well," Mash began, as if struggling with what she wanted to say, "it's... still a little... hard to believe."

"Hm?"

"Uh, this... all this, I mean," she continued, probably referring to their surroundings. "That all of this is from Sūn-kun's world."

Romani closed the manual and placed it on the desk next to him, intending to read it later or whenever he had time. He stood up from the swivel chair that came with the building, and even now, standing within its confines, his eyes sweeping over every corner, every shelf, and every instrument present, he still found it hard to believe that all of it would be compressed into a tiny capsule that he could carry in his pocket, a capsule that Gohan had determined to bestow upon him on merit of being Chaldea's head physician.

It almost made him feel like he could use magecraft again.

"Well," Romani began as he approached his surrogate daughter, "that's to be expected from a world so different from our own. From all the stories he's told so far, even I find myself curious."

Mash nodded. "I'm curious too." She had asked the boy for details before, whenever they were together or checking on him in the library, and he had told her that their Earths were little different once one got past the geography, history, and culture. "Maybe…"

Romani looked at her knowingly, his smile never leaving. "You wish to visit his Earth?"

A silent nod was her reply after a short pause. "I think you should ask Sūn-kun about that, Mash."

Mash seemed unsure. "I... wouldn't want to impose."

"I'm sure he wouldn't see it that way," Romani suggested, gently patting Fou on the head, who seemed to appreciate it. "Let's wrap this up with the others so we can break for lunch."

"Right," Mash said with a nod.

After leaving Caster and her group with the ship, Gohan wandered through the hangar to see if anyone else needed help. So far, the personnel seemed to know what they were doing. There were a few who asked him questions, but otherwise handled almost everything quite well, except for a few initial hiccups here and there. Considering how state-of-the-art almost everything was in Chaldea, he probably shouldn't have been worried too much barring the ship. Before this little expo, Pepe had confided to him how infamously inept magi were when it came to technology, and only in recent decades has such a mindset been challenged by more and more modern mages like him and Kirschtaria.

He glanced at the hovercar, which was the latest model in the Silverstar line, a much sleeker and sturdier version for off-road travel, capable of seating five, and with some additional modifications by Bulma, swarmed by a handful of the staff who examined every contour. The trunk, the hood, and the...

"Hey!" One of the staffers who was now at the wheel exclaimed. "This thing's got a cup holder!"

"Ooooohhh!"

Gohan wondered how important such a feature was before he shrugged, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he walked ahead, only to have a hand grab his shoulder. Looking over to see who it was, his eyes met Pepe's, which were bright with a smile. "Come," the man waved. Curious, Gohan followed the effeminate mage, passing a few others.

From his peripheral vision, he spotted Mash among the medical team heading for the door, he waved at her, which she returned. "Can I help you, Pepe?"

Pepe looked over his shoulder at the question. "The storage unit where all the food is."

"Hm?" Gohan blinked in confusion. "Is it password locked?"

"No," Pepe replied. "But I still need you to see it because, well, it is all for you."

Gohan shook his head slightly. "I say it's for all of us, Pepe. Even with my appetite, it wouldn't be right to hoard it all for myself."

"How sweet of you," Pepe cooed flippantly, as if that didn't bother him in the slightest. "But I still need your help to sort everything out. Is there by any chance...?"

Gohan shortly caught on to what the man might be concerned about. "Are you perhaps worried that the food from my world might not be fit for those living here?"

"There's that," Pepe pointed. "But also because I was wondering-"

"If there was some dinosaur meat?" At Pepe's nod, a small grin tugged at the boy's lips. "I see. Well, I should be able to tell them apart."

"Is dinosaur meat distinct, or…?"

"You'll be able to tell dinosaur meat apart from beef and pork easily once you become accustomed," Gohan explained. "Hopefully, we'll find some that are already packaged and labeled. Maybe even processed."

"Processed?" Pepe enquired. Gohan nodded.

"Dinosaur meat gets processed just like any other meat there is. Sausages, steaks, ground. Mostly the herbivorous kind, since carnivores tend to be too gamey. Triceratops dumplings are really popular, but so are brontosaurus burger patties."

Pepe clapped in delight. "Ooh! It's like something out of the Flintstones."

Gohan's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "The…Flintstones?"

"An American cartoon sitcom from the 1960s," Pepe explained, remembering that the boy wasn't native to their Earth. "The story follows the life of a typical nuclear family consisting of the main character, Fred Flintstone, his wife Wilma, and later their daughter Pebbles. Next to them are their neighbors, the Rubbles. Barney, his wife Betty and their adopted son Bamm-Bamm. The twist is that it's set in a modern-style Stone Age world where almost everything, from appliances like televisions to radios, is carved out of rock, yet they still function as they would in real life."

"I…see?" Gohan replied. "And they have dinosaurs?"

"More of an intrinsic part of their lifestyle," Pepe answered. "They put dinosaurs to work, domesticate them as pets, and of course, raise them for food. It was all the rage for kids back in the States."

"Hm," Gohan hummed to himself. "We never had anything like that where I come from. All we had was Dr. Slump."

"Dr. Slump?"

Gohan nodded. "It was originally a gag manga, and after a successful serialization, it was made into an anime. It's about a scientist and his family who get into all kinds of adventures. They live in a place called Penguin Village. The main character, however, is a young female android named Arale that the scientist creates and adopts as his daughter. It's quite popular at home."

Well, the Shugendō practitioner could take solace that manga could still exist in such a world. "Anything else?" Pepe asked.

"Hm..." Gohan closed one eye in thought before his face lit up with a smile from remembering just one thing. "Sand Land!"

"Sand...Land?" Pepe asked, pausing in his walk. Gohan looked up at him and nodded.

"That's right!" Gohan exclaimed. "The most popular manga in my world. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where water has become scarce. Much of the planet is now a desert. The inhabitants are forced to adapt to the arid conditions while scrounging for what little water there is, with the supply controlled by a greedy human king. In this setting, humans and demons coexist, with the main character, Beelzebub, helping a group of humans in their search for a lake with all the water they could ever need."

Pepe stared at the boy in confusion. "The main character's name is Beelzebub? As in the demon prince of hell in the Old Testament?"

"Eh?" Gohan blinked, remembering that he had also found the name in his study of the Christian scriptures. "Yes. He's also the Prince of Demons in the manga, with his father being Satan."

Pepe shook his head with a small smile on his lips, becoming more and more amused at how much overlap there was between such two wildly different Earths. If he didn't know better, he would have had the good sense to consider the child's world a Lostbelt. "Sounds fun," Pepe remarked. "Any other good titles?"

The conversation resumed as they walked until they arrived at the storage unit that resembled an intermodal container. A handful of employees were waiting for them, including...

A recently released Goredolf Musik sighed, now dressed in the same green and white uniform as the rest of the male personnel. He would have preferred access to his wardrobe in the duffel bag he had brought with him, but until their inspection was complete, he would be denied any contact with his belongings as an expected security measure. Kirschtaria himself had personally arranged for his release from the holding cell, providing him with his own quarters, but placing him on an equal footing with the staff rather than in any administrative or high position. Starting from the bottom, so to speak. As much as he was still mistrusted, it was a relief to be out in the open again. The rest of his now colleagues were quite wary of his presence, but those who recognized him from their respective timelines weren't nearly as distant, especially his ever-reliable assistant Manuel.

"It's Meuniere, Director Musik," Jingle Abel Meuniere corrected him as he had done dozens of times in the past, standing next to the man and answering as if he had read his mind. "Uh, I guess it's just Mr. Musik now, huh?"

Goredolf let out another sigh, his shoulders drooping to convey that he didn't like his current lot in life, but otherwise not lacking the strength to see it through. "We're about the same age, Minnuel. So there's really no need for such formality."

"Right," Meuniere said dryly, losing the will to correct the man any further. "So what's this I hear about you being assigned to cook duty?"

"I'm being assigned to the cafeteria, yes," Goredolf confirmed. "Kirschtaria insisted, when anyone else with more sense wouldn't dare let a potential security risk anywhere near their food."

"Well, I suppose he's just going on experience," Meuniere suggested. "Some of the other Returners... didn't make the final roster."

Goredolf got the hint, swallowing a lump at the thought of being the closest to death that day when he was caught by Hinako and...

"Hey, guys," Pepe greeted as he arrived, and Goredolf's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw none other than the boy who had caught him in a chokehold. "Are we ready to begin?"

"Yes," Meuniere nodded, then turned to Goredolf, who to his confusion was frozen stiff and shaking like a leaf. "Goff?"

Some time later, after opening the container, they discovered that it doubled as a refrigerator, as well as being airtight for maximum protection against spoilage. Gohan took the lead in helping them identify what was what, with Pepe quickly becoming interested in the various cuts of dinosaur meat. Goredolf was similarly intrigued and fascinated, having memories of his time in the Lostbelts cooking all sorts of exotic meats for Novum Chaldea from some of the Lostbelts.

"Hm," Pepe hummed to himself, stroking the bottom of his chin with the back of his index finger, "this should do."

"Hm?" Gohan was in the produce section with Meuniere, who was more busy inspecting some really juicy tomatoes he had taken a bite out of. "What, Pepe?"

Pepe eyed him mysteriously from the corner. "You'll see.~"

In Goredolf's corner, he examined a few airtight containers that doubled as dispensers, their length reaching the ceiling and neatly pressed together in a row. The containers were in a separate section of the freezer, which was at room temperature but still dry and airtight. A dispenser was filled with what he identified as flour. Good quality from the look and feel, ideal for making bread. There were three more, each filled with a different kind of rice. White, red and brown. Already he was formulating what dishes he could make with the bevy of ingredients present. Especially with the dinosaur meat, which came in large cuts hanging by hooks.

"Hey, Gohan," Pepe called to the boy, who was munching on a pear he picked out from the assortment of fruits.

"Hm?" Gohan mumbled through a mouthful.

"When you hunt down dinosaurs, what do you do with the leftover parts?"

Gohan swallowed what he was chewing. "You mean like the bones?" Pepe nodded. "I break them down for fertilizer. We manage a farm back home. Me and my mom sell some of the produce for extra money."

"You crush the bones with your bare hands?"

"Sometimes," Gohan shrugged, then took another bite out of the pear. "It makes for good grip exercise and to toughen my palms. Otherwise, I just disintegrate them with a good Ki blast."

"Really?" Pepe said in a sharply impressed tone, making sure that he was within earshot of Goredolf, who, to his own chagrin, was listening. "You sure are responsible."

"Yeah, well, before I came here it was just me, my mom, and my little brother," Gohan explained.

"Oh, right," Pepe said in a neutral tone of voice, remembering what the young man had related to them. "How exactly did he die again?"

Gohan turned to the Magus and told him how the Bio-Android, after forcibly returning Cell to his 2nd form; painfully at that, simply chose to overload himself with more than enough energy to completely level the planet. "That's... crazy!" Meuniere stammered in shock, a sentiment shared by the others present. Goredolf, who had just learned the details, listened to the conversation with curiosity.

"Yeah," Gohan said in a flat tone, twirling the half-eaten pear in his hand. "Just so the world wouldn't have to for my screw-up, my father decided to teleport himself and Cell to the Other World, right to North King Kai's planet."

"...Wait," Pepe began, "your father…teleported to the Other World?"

"Yes," Gohan nodded. "It's a technique he learned from a race of aliens after his battle with Frieza. He managed to find a spare ship and escape before Namek finally exploded. After that, the ship flew through space with no real direction because he didn't know how to set the coordinates for Earth. To make a long story short, he managed to land on a planet called Yardrat by chance. The people there nursed him back to health and then taught him a special technique called "Instant Translocation". Basically, teleportation."

"...And he…used that to…teleport to what's the equivalent of the Reverse Side of the World?" Pepe needled, drawing shock from all of the mages present, especially Goredolf.

"Yes," Gohan nodded, not understanding the significance of such a feat. "I guess as long as he focuses on the right Ki signature, the technique allows him to cross dimensions." He was jolted from his reverie by a few loud thumps, then looked up to see that several of the mages, including Meuniere and Goredolf, had fallen on their backs or knocked over some of the food on display. "Hm? What's wrong?"

Pepe had the good sense to be the one to answer, but was quickly overtaken by the incomprehensible ramblings of a very disturbed Goredolf. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What is this brat talking about?!"

A heavy sigh slipped out of the effeminate magus. "You really should put out a notice for things like this, boya."

"Uh..." Still unable to read the room, Gohan just scratched his head in confusion and embarrassment. "S-Sorry. Did... did I say something wrong?"

"Only that you may have just revealed to a group of mages a one-way ticket to the Reverse Side of the World," Pepe told the young Half-Saiyan. "Which, in case you need reminding, just so happens to be where much of the supernatural that once dominated the Earth now resides, and for any modern mage, reaching such a place is like stepping foot on the fast lane to the Swirl of the Root. Mages today would kill for such a technique."

Gohan stared blankly at Pepe for a moment, taking in the man's words, before he looked at each of the others, some of whom recoiled in fear of being silenced. "Well, that's assuming they could even master such a technique at all."

Pepe's chest deflated as he let out the breath he had been holding in. "Makes sense. A technique that allows for dimensional travel can't really be as easy as learning how to ride a bike."

"Yes," Gohan agreed, "because according to my father, your level of concentration must be above even the most advanced threshold of Ki control. On the other hand, he also mentioned that for the Yardrat race, Instant Translocation is just a basic skill to be learned by beginners."

"B-Basic?!"

"Beginner?!"

Just what in Brishisan's name were these Yardrats that they would consider trans-dimensional travel "basic"?!

"I think that's enough for now, boya," Pepe said with another sigh, all the while casting meaningful glances at some of the mages who might be getting a few unwanted ideas. "Let's just clean up and get ready."

"Get ready?" Gohan repeated inquisitively. "For what?"

Pepe brought a finger up to pursed lips, flashing the young man a wink as he answered, "Again, you'll see.~"

Goredolf, on the other hand, was at an absolute loss. "Wait! What?! C-Can someone-someone please explain to me just what in the everloving hell is anybody here even talking about?!"

Much later, after Gohan had dismissed everything but the estate, Kirschtaria ordered the release of the 7th capsule. To do so, a small contingent of Chaldea's top brass gathered outside by cruiser to the nearest body of water. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as the blizzard tapered off for the day. While Da Vinci had no real need for winter clothing due to her Servant physiology, she donned one more out of practicality, the color a uniform white.

Gohan flew high above the water so that the ship would be able to dock properly. When he was high enough, he brought up his band, which then broadcasted a holographic screen showing Kirshctaria and the others. "Ready?"

"Ready when you are, Wùfàn," Kirschtaria replied, him and his entourage standing at a safe distance on a hill overlooking the sea. Gohan nodded to his superior and dismissed the transmission. He inhaled sharply in preparation, then exhaled a foggy breath. He raised the capsule to eye level, pressed the trigger, and would have tossed it quickly had it not been for a jingle followed by a voice. "Voice verification required. Repeat: Open."

Gohan had expected such, especially when it came to capsules holding dangerous items. Certain measures had to be taken to ensure that it wouldn't go off at random to the inconvenience and safety of everyone. Not since another series of lawsuits that Capsule Corp. had to deal with.

"Open," Gohan echoed, then threw the capsule into the water, taking care to aim it where it wouldn't dig into the shore. Sure enough, a much larger explosion resounded, taking into account the sheer size of the ship, which was also much louder. The release itself carried little to no actual force, but what followed was the ground suddenly shaking as the water soon took in an unexpected surge of weight, causing waves to brush against the beach. The Chaldeans braced themselves as the smoke cleared, Kirchstaria at the front lowering an arm to shield himself from any debris. When he did, he and the group looked down to see not just any kind of ship, but a battleship. Armed to the gills with turrets and heavily fortified, the vessel wouldn't look too out of place among Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

"Good...Lord..." Kirschtaria exhaled in awe, a feeling shared by the others as they also turned their gaze to the ship now floating on the water. As soon as everything calmed, Gohan offered to just fly everyone onto the deck, when Kirschtaria suggested that someone who could operate the vessel be brought in to properly dock and lower a ramp.

That someone would be none other than Goredolf Musik, who Kirschtaria was aware to be licensed and certified. "Try not to squirm too much, Goff,~" Pepe, who was present among them, teased as Gohan was preparing to lift the man by the armpits. The Musik Head swallowed much louder than he had in the hangar, trembling at the thought of falling into the icy water from such a height. He might have had scuba training, but he wasn't about to risk his chances.

"Don't worry, Mr. Musik," Gohan assured the portly man, who may as well be light as a feather compared to the most he's lifted. "Just…try not to panic."

Whether the boy was in on the teasing or not wasn't nearly at the forefront of Goff's mind at that moment. "R...Right..." he managed to choke out. A shrill gasp escaped him as soon as his feet were off the ground, and he had to close his eyes tightly as soon as the freezing wind whipped at his face, the hairs of his moustache taking up some frost. When he felt that he was on solid ground again and the boy released his grip, he opened one eye, the view of the deck coming in a blur before it cleared. Blinking both eyes open, he took in more of the ship's landing before being jolted out of it by Gohan himself, who touched down next to him.

"Come on," Gohan beckoned, motioning with an arm. "I'll take you to the bridge."

Goredolf seemed to stare at nothing before he shook himself out of a stupor, still trying to fathom where he was now and how he got here, his gaze landing on the boy and still reeling in disbelief.

It hadn't been any easier when he first learned of Fujimaru's death. Granted, the Fujimaru of this timeline had yet to know of their role before such a tragedy, but from all the adventures he had shared with the one in his timeline, seeing her again would have offered some semblance of comfort.

"Mr. Musik?" Gohan nudged, beginning to worry that his flight might have rattled the man in some way.

"...Uh, l-lead the way," Goredfolf permitted, his words coming out more hollow than he intended.

Gohan didn't seem convinced. "Are you alright?"

Goredolf could not meet the young man's gaze, his eyes becoming fixed to the floor as his thoughts swirled. "Yes. I-I'm fine. I was..." He seemed to be struggling with the words for a moment. "Nothing. Er, the bridge?"

Without another word, Gohan nodded and walked on, the man following behind. After docking, the ramp allowed the rest of the group to climb aboard, and still, Da Vinci maintained an air of professionalism throughout the inspection. Romani made his way to the ship's infirmary and was pleased to find it fully stocked as the clinic had been.

"Everything seems to be in order," Caster voiced out to Kirschtaria. "There appears to be some variations here and there, but all-in-all, the ship is up to par, Director Wodime."

The director of Chaldea nodded. "Excellent. This vessel will undoubtedly prove a vital asset in the Okeanos Singularity for any Rider Servant that allies with us."

"Hm, it would make for a formidable trump card, I'm sure," Pepe concurred. "But wouldn't it just be overkill?"

"You do remember just who was at that very Singularity, don't you?" Kirschtaria reminded him, much to Pepe's chagrin.

"Oh."

Besides, having a battleship was just too good to pass up. "Now," Kirschtaria commanded everyone's attention, "time to go back." He did not make such a call lightly, for the blizzard outside was beginning to act up again. "Wùfàn."

Gohan nodded and walked over to the controls, his eyes fixed on a separate terminal with a tiny screen. He opened the clear polycarbonate cover that shielded a red button that was embedded about two inches deep. With his thumb, he pressed said button, causing the screen to light up with numbers.

2:00

He turned back to the others. "We have two minutes. If anyone is still on the ship when the timer expires, the collapse will be aborted. Let's move.

None of them wasted any time, leaving the bridge and heading for the ramp. Neither were they careless enough to have brought any else with them that would be left behind, which Gohan had deemed safe, since any foreign object caught would still be included in the compression. Once they were all back on shore, the timer finally sounded, causing the ship to return to its capsule, which Gohan caught with ease.

"You know, I still can hardly believe it," Pepe mused. "It almost makes you think it is magic."

"It does seem that way," Gohan agreed as he returned the capsule in the case with the others. "The first time my father saw Bulma use a capsule, he thought it was magic too."

"Well, you said he lived alone when he was a kid," Pepe remembered. "What happened to the one who took care of him, by the way. The one you were named after."

Gohan kept his features neutral, making sure to mask his emotions from Pepe's version of the Ki sense. "He... died."

"From old age?" Pepe did not miss that the boy seemed to hide his emotions, his aura a blank white. The boy's tone did not escape Kirschtaria, but he did not push. He knew better than to play games with someone's trust, but he also commended the boy for still having secrets he was not willing to reveal.

The young man was off to a good start already.

"You could say that." He felt terrible for lying, but he had a feeling that revealing that part about the Saiyans would only hinder the progress they were making until the first singularity, which he had a feeling would be coming soon.

Kirschtaria turned on his heel. "Everyone to the cruiser. We still have much to do. To prepare."

Everyone responded with a resounding, "Yes, sir."

When they returned to the facility, Gohan did not miss how quiet the trip had been, as he rode with the others when he could have flown, but decided against it in case he looked like he was just showing off. The others still expressed surprise when he entered the cruiser with them, but refrained from commenting. Even Pepe, who only shot him a grin, scooted over to give him some space to sit.

They rendezvoused back at the hangar, where the estate was still standing, having been ordered by Kirschtaria to leave it for further inspection and perhaps some last-minute refurbishing. What Gohan didn't expect was that the hangar was now shrouded in darkness. The house, however, was like a fresh oil lamp, illuminating a bright spot in the center that only added to the already pervasive shadows.

"What's going on?" Gohan thought, subtly measuring everyone else's reaction. His and Kirschtaria's eyes met when he did, and he could find a hint under the man's silent gaze, for him to enter through the door and see for himself what it was that was awaiting them.

"They're here!" He heard a voice from inside. The door opened and there to greet them were Sylvia and Dustin. Behind them, Gohan could see the rest of the staff spread out in the living room, which was now bathed in a warm light, the once homey ambiance replaced by a more sophisticated one. Beautiful piano music was playing in the living room, which was shining in a way Gohan had never seen before. He would have commented on what the staff had been up to when he was suddenly hit by a delicious aroma that could only have come from the kitchen. Immediately, his stomach could be heard growling, drawing the attention of those nearby. Gohan recoiled in embarrassment and smiled weakly at the group. "Sorry." Squaring his shoulders, he continued, "What exactly is all this? What's the occasion?"

"You are the occasion." He heard Kirschtaria answer from behind, the blonde taking off his parka and hanging it on a coat rack in the corner of the lobby. "Consider this a celebration of you becoming officially a part of Chaldea." Then he stepped beside the boy, his hands clasped behind him. "Including your placement on the A-Team."

Hinako, who could be seen leaning back on a sofa, blew woodenly on a party horn she managed to find. "Hooray," she said in a sarcastically flat tone.

And so, we go back to the beginning of this chapter where Gohan was once again stewing in his own thoughts. "A-Team…"

"Also known as Crypters," Kirschtaria supplied, sipping from a wine glass as he dined on a brontosaurus steak, the feast having been prepared from the food stored in the house's refrigerator. More like a commercial freezer, loaded wall-to-wall with food, and even then the robot cooks hadn't been able to make a dent in the sheer volume of it all, which was enough to rival Chaldea's stockpile. "Chaldea's elite team of specialists, all hand-picked by Marisbury Animusphere to lead the correction of the human order."

"An elite team?" Gohan repeated, intrigued. "How... many are there?"

"Seven," Kirschtaria replied almost reflexively. "Or, that was supposed to be the number of members, but as we've alluded to in the past, certain factors beyond our control decimated us to a mere handful before your arrival."

"That still puts us down to six, Kirscht," Pepe reminded the blonde, swirling his glass of wine as he sat across from Gohan. Kirschtaria's lips became set into a frown.

"Yes, Pepe," the blonde groused, "I am aware of that." This drew a chuckle out of his friend, who himself was partaking in a plate of tagliata made with Triceratops meat courtesy of Goredolf, who found himself experimenting with a few recipes for tonight's feast.

"Well, without Daybit, we still can't be considered a full team," Pepe pointed out with a sigh. "Lord knows where he is now."

Gohan blinked. "Who's Daybit?"

Kirschtaria exchanged a quick glance with Pepe. "Daybit Sem Void. A magus and one of the original members of Team A in our previous timelines. We tried to recruit the version of him here, but for some reason he's been MIA. No trace of him has been found no matter how much we did our best to search for him."

"And…I'm his replacement?" Gohan posited.

"In a manner of speaking," Kirschtaria admitted. "That's not to say that his absence was the sole reason for your inclusion."

"Oh~, definitely not," Pepe quipped sarcastically to himself, causing Kirschtaria to roll his eyes. "Daybit was also one of our best fighters in the team. Next to Kirschtaria and yours truly, of course."

"So in a way, I am still his replacement," Gohan guessed without an inch of offense. "I don't really mind. If Mr. Void had been here, I'm sure we'd have had an even better chance in the singularities."

Both men fell silent again. "You mentioned seven. Who was the other one?" Both remained silent, but this time, Gohan could sense a change in the duo's demeanor, getting the hint that neither wanted to talk about this mysterious last member. He resumed with his meal, which was a much larger cut of brontosaurus, the robot cooks now used to calculating his portions.

As he was about to finish, he heard a strange noise coming from the living room. He rose from his seat to investigate, and from the corner he could make out Meuniere and another man kneeling beside him in front of the flat-screen TV, the two of them fiddling with the video player. After putting his now-empty plate in the dishwasher, which made short work of cleaning it, he made his way to the living room, where several of the staff were sitting by the couches and sofas, waiting for something to come on, while Meuniere and the other man, Soria if he remembered correctly, were sifting through the collection of tapes and disks.

"My, some of these are pretty retro," Soria commented with interest, never having seen or held a physical VHS tape before, twirling it between his hands.

"Vintage tapes can go for a lot these days, Soria," Meuniere remarked as he went through the collection.

"Really?"

Muniere looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Really. Ever heard of Jaws, man?" Soria nodded.

"Who hasn't?" Muniere's fellow bespectacled mage then tilted his head up. "Don't answer that."

"Well," Muniere continued in a proud tone, "if it's still factory sealed, you can get a cool thirty grand."

Soria whistled in amazement, but supposed that VHS tapes and other old-time physical media could be considered valuable antiques in this day and age. "Let's see...huh?" Out of the collection, some of which were unlabeled, Soria could make out one that seemed to stand out from the rest, taped with the writing: 23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai. Adjusting his glasses, he handed the tape to Meuniere, who read the label aloud.

"23rd Tenka'ichi Budōkai?" He interpreted the characters slowly and audibly, for every single employee was required to learn foreign languages before being granted full entry into Chaldea, if they weren't already polyglot.

"The Number One Under Heaven Martial Arts Gathering." Gohan could be heard saying from a corner he snuck in. "It's the premier martial arts tournament back in my world." He walked up to the pair and motioned for the tape from Muniere, who handed it to him without issue. "It's the one my father and Mr. Piccolo first fought in years back."

"Wait," Muniere said as he and Soria got back on their feet. "Piccolo? You mean they allowed a non-human to participate?"

"The tournament never had a problem with that," Gohan replied. "Even when it was just a festival, anyone, human or beastman, could just raise their hand and get in the ring." He looked at the tape in his hand, waving it idly before holding it up for the others to see. "You guys wanna watch?" Some looked a little unsure, while others were undeniably curious. Well, it would make for one hell of a movie night.

Later…

Gohan was awakened by a sharp ringing that assaulted his ears. Lying on his side, he jumped to his feet in a flash, the covers not even landing before he slipped into his uniform, the room blinking a deep crimson as the alarm continued to blare loudly before stopping. Knowing what it could only be, he left the room, letting the Ki in his body flare, and raced to the control room, completely unseen by the staff scurrying about.

As soon as he arrived, the interior was abuzz with activity, Sylvia and the others already at the newly repaired terminals, calculating the detected singularity. Above them, CHALDEAS glowed in blue light, its maps dotted with pockmarks that shone like stars. One by one, the stars seemed to fade, the blue glow of the globe buffeting like a weakened heartbeat. Gohan said nothing as he found Kirschtaria in the center of it all, flanked by Romani and Da Vinci. He found Mash standing at the corner, who waved him over to watch what was going on.

Hinako and Pepe were there as well, both of them keeping a close eye on the information being streamed across the monitors. "It's Fuyuki, alright," the effeminate magus concluded, a curled finger on his chin, one arm cradling the other. "It was supposed to be the First Holy Grail War, but due to a temporal glitch, it got mixed up with the Fifth Holy Grail War of an alternate timeline."

"Fifth…Holy Grail War?" Gohan asked, looking towards Mash, who nodded in affirmation.

"According to the data we received, and going back to what we discussed when you first arrived here, Sūn-kun, there were never supposed to be any Grail Wars before or after the year 2004," Mash explained, dressed in her usual attire. "Only the one won by Chaldea's founder, Marisbury Animusphere. Due to a temporal anomaly, a Fuyuki where the Grail Wars began much earlier, culminating in the Fifth Iteration that also occurred in 2004, has merged with our own timeline, creating the singularity we must now correct."

Gohan understood quickly. "So we have to go to this altered Fuyuki and find out what is causing this anomaly?" Mash nodded. "Do... we have any idea what it is?"

"The Grail itself," Kirschtaria explained. "This timeline could only have been partially caused by a corrupted Lesser Grail implanted by Goetia. No, it would be more accurate to think of it as the lynchpin that holds this amalgamation together. We must secure the Lesser Grail if we are to undo the merger."

Deciding to ask later who or what this "Goetia" was, Gohan said instead, "Then, this is it." And so soon after his welcome party, too. He exchanged a look with Mash, who nodded. "So... who's it going to be?"

"Who else, boya~?" Pepe replied. "You didn't really expect any of us to get our hands dirty, did you? I'm afraid this is where you have to step in. The true test of your worth as a Master." Hinako elbowed him with a roll of her eyes.

"He's only joking, ragazzi," Da Vinci chimed in, the woman giving the boy a convincing smile. "First, you must report to the summoning room. There you will be granted a Servant to accompany you for this mission."

"A Servant..." Gohan muttered to himself. Since he had learned about such beings, his curiosity about them had never diminished and only increased after he had studied their stories and legends with Hinako. They wasted no time in being led by Mash, Pepe and Hinako to a large chamber. It had little in the way of amenities, other than the walls where he could see numerous circuits running that were supposed to help facilitate some much needed mana. Unless the Master had enough Od to make such measures unnecessary, no one needed to worry as long as they stayed within the confines of the facility.

"Nervous?" Pepe spoke into a microphone, the group stationed within a room overlooking the chamber.

Gohan, who was now standing within said chamber, remained calm as Kirschtaria shoved Pepe out of the way for him to be the one to communicate with the boy. "Now then," the blonde started with a sharp clearing of his throat, "before we begin, Wùfàn, allow me to direct you to the podium at the center."

Gohan turned to where Kirschtaria was pointing and saw a raised platform with a strangely shaped bowl on top of it. Only when he stepped closer did he see that it was circular, with four gaps around its circumference, making it resemble a round cross and wide enough to dwarf him by several inches. Upon closer inspection, he ran a finger over the surface, but even from a distance, it was obvious that the mysterious platform was made of metal and inscribed with what he could only assume to be runes, based on Hinako's recent lessons in magecraft.

"What you see before you, as you may have already been told, is the acting catalyst that Chaldea has used to facilitate the summoning of the servants," Kirschtaria explained. "You see, Wùfàn, the FATE system was originally modeled after the method perfected by Marisbury in the First Holy Grail War, which resulted in the summoning of his own Servant. However, when it was first built, there was no longer a Grail to act as a power source. Therefore, a mana engine was installed to serve as an adequate substitute." Gohan looked under the shell and found a number of circuits connected to the dais. "The real challenge, however, was to be able to perform a series of consecutive evocations. Enter this shield. Originally an artifact unearthed from the ruins of Cornwall, it was found to be closely associated with the Round Table, where King Arthur's knights would gather, thus embedding in it a foundation, "the place where heroes gather," making it an all-purpose conduit that would meet all requirements in a more streamlined fashion. Depending on who from the Throne would be willing to answer the call, the resulting Servant would now have to be random. At the moment, we can only allow two to be summoned, since much of the power of the grid is still attuned to the medical bay. In your case, you can only contract with one."

"Just one?" Gohan echoed in question.

"Any more would likely risk damaging your already weathered circuits from the overload alone," Kirschtaria said bluntly. "While you may have an enormous reserve of Od at your disposal, it is your circuits that convert that Od into the magical energy that sustains and empowers your Servant. A Senzu should be able to repair any damage it suffers, but once ruined, it can diminish any compatibility you have with Rayshifting. Understand this, Wùfàn. If by chance your circuits are damaged while you are still in the singularity, you may not be able to return to Chaldea."

Gohan reeled back in shock, only now the sheer magnitude of what he was undertaking and the risks involved bombarding him all at once.

"You will be stranded," Kirschtaria added to make his point. "Therefore, you may bring as many Senzu as you wish, but you must practice proper execution in the use of your circuits. Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Gohan straightened, rivulets of sweat beginning to form on his brow. "Oh man!"

Pepe choked back a gag, needing nothing more to see the anxiety radiating from the boy, earning him another elbow from Hinako.

Without further delay, Kirschtaria called for the ritual to begin. Gohan gathered himself with a deep breath and ran through the aria that Caster had made him memorize for the summoning. He took several steps back from the catalyst until he was about two meters from the podium. "Here goes," he muttered, gathering some of his courage to continue as he looked up again at the window above him to see Mash standing behind the glass, an equally curious Fou clasped between her arms.

Raising his right hand as if to fire a Ki blast, he assumed the position Caster had instructed him to emulate, his left hand gripping to stabilize his wrist.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill. Repeat five times, but destroy each one when filled."

The words of the Fate Summoning Ritual, an incantation to bring forth a servant and bind them to the world. The exact wording would vary from magus to magus, but Chaldea had settled on the standardized version set forth by Marisbury, and most importantly, the self-hypnosis to activate the thaumaturgical process within one's body. Gohan may have been just beginning his training in magecraft, but even a layman could summon a Servant under ideal conditions.

"A foundation of silver and steel.

A foundation of stone and the archduke of contracts.

And my ancestor, my great master, Schweinorg."

Faint lines, patterns, began to draw themselves on the floor, slowly coming to life around the dais, forming a magical circle inscribed with arcane runes, the edge of which almost reached the boy's feet. Romani and Caster couldn't hold back their nostalgia, almost imagining Gohan's silhouette for Fujimaru instead.

"A wall to block the falling wind, the gates of all four directions close.

From the crown, come out and follow the forked road to the kingdom."

The air in the room thickened, the floodgates opened as the ritual spread a seemingly endless sea of prana that Gohan could almost taste. The audience watched with bated breath as Mash tightened her grip on Fou, his eyes still glued to the platform, the very phenomena a familiar sight he had seen countless times before.

"I hereby propose.

My will shall create your body, and your sword shall create my fate.

If you obey the call of the Holy Grail, if you follow this will and reason, answer me!"

The glow intensified with each spoken word, the magical energy nearing the zenith where a path would open for the servant to pass through. At the epicenter of the room, halos of prana began to form from the shield, slowly rising and expanding to Gohan's astonishment, but he dared not waver in his focus, hell-bent on bringing forth a miracle.

"You, clothed in the Great Trinity, emerge from the Circle of Restraint.

Guardian of the Heavenly Scales!"

As soon as those words left Gohan's mouth, the rings all merged into a single, brilliant pillar of light, causing some in the audience to squint or put their hand over their eyes. Gohan himself had to squeeze his own eyes shut, the brilliant flash perhaps rivaling that of the Solar Fist. When he finally opened them, everything around him had gone dark, but sparks of remaining prana continued to thunder around the room, most of it concentrated around the shield, which was now obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.

Gohan knew, however, that he was no longer alone inside the room. With his keen eyesight, he could make out a figure veiled beneath the mist, and he unfolded his senses to better judge if it was friend or foe. The shadow moved forward, and with that first step, there was silence as the young master braced himself for the worst. Romani and the others couldn't help but worry that the summoning might have gone awry, that the Servant might be more than they could handle at their current state.

"Servant...wait a minute," he could hear a woman's voice clearing her throat as if to repeat her introduction, "Servant Travel-Foreigner! Is that right? Right." She cleared her throat a second time, training her sights at the figure in front of her. "Are you the one who summoned me?"

When the smoke was finally beginning to properly clear, the first thing Gohan noticed was her brown hair, long and falling behind her. She wore mostly a white T-shirt, once the rest of her was revealed, and blue jeans with holes torn at the knees. She appeared to be in her mid to late teens. Bright blue eyes met his own black, shining with a curiosity and excitement that could have been contagious.

Kirschtaria and the others could only stare. "She's..." Romani began, with Caster sharing his recognition of who it could only be.

Gohan just stood frozen before he recovered from the initial shock and bowed to the woman as she approached. "H-Hello. Uh..." truly at a loss for words, he hadn't really thought about how to greet whoever he was summoning in the time leading up to this point, but he assumed that basic politeness would be sufficient. "Y-yes, ma'am, I'm the one who summoned you."

The woman tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed. "Ma'am? Come on, kid, I'm not that old. Maybe if my sister was here, heh. Now, she's a ma'am." She looked at her summoner from head to toe, noting how young he was. "So, what's your name?"

"Uh, So-Sūn Wùfàn, ma'am," Gohan introduced himself before wincing. The woman just smiled, not seeming to mind.

"Aozaki," the young woman began with her own introduction, "Aozaki Aoko. Nice to meet you."

AN: Ignore the bot reviews giving their contact details. They are scammers. Other than that, thank your for your continued feedback. Please enjoy and wait for more.