50: We all saw this coming.

Desperately bandaging our wounds, carriage threatening to shake itself apart, with absolutely no idea of where we can possibly find a safe haven, we hurtle down the road. Close behind, the rapid "bububububump" of six claws against the earth clearly demonstrate the pursuit of the Tarrasque.

"God, it really is just one thing after another, huh?" I glance behind us at the column of dust. "Anyone know anything we can use from the Tarrasque's legend?"

"In his legend he was tamed by prayer, but if he's got Saint Martha with him, I doubt my Prayers will get through to him." Jeanne says, frowning. "Our only option is to hope she runs out of mana to manifest him before Queen Marie runs out of mana for [Guillotine Breaker]."

"You can just call me Marie, Jeanne!" The French Queen interjects.

"R-right…"

"Well, it's a Dragon, so it's gotta burn a lot of mana to keep manifested, right?" I say. So long as nothing shows up on the road ahead of us, we'll probably be fine. Idly, I take a peek through the carriage's front door, but I can't see anything through the fog-

Wait a minute.

I glance out the broken rear of the carriage, seeing only thick white mist there as well. "It was getting close to midday, right? So what's up with this?" I ask, even as my pounding heart crawls up my throat.

"No, Senpai, inland France doesn't get much fog at all... Did we enter a bounded field?" Mash says, anxiety building in her voice.

Despite myself, I remember the sailor we met in the first loop. White whale. He was certain that there would be a white whale in this singularity.

"Wait, wait, wait. There's no way, right? There's no possible way, right?" I mutter half deliriously. For a second, I think I hear the mind-melting cry of the monster we faced in Lugnica. A shadow passes over us.

-And then, the fog breaks, and the carriage is suddenly tearing through a flower field, kicking up showers of petals in its wake. A sigh of relief escapes my lips, because whatever this is, it's not the whale, and that's enough for a ton of the tension to leave my shoulders.

"Oh dear." Marie mutters, and the carriage rapidly draws to a stop. "It seems there's another lone Servant in our path."

"Hey, boss, any clue what this is?" I mutter into my communicator. I receive no response - I guess that confirms it, then? Stepping forward, I open the carriage door, revealing a picnic blanket spread out at the center of the meadow. There's a few plates spread out, and a basket that looks to be full of sandwiches, but they're not what I'm looking at.

Sitting directly on the opposite side of the picnic spread, a wide grin on his face. It's him. There he is. The scumbag.

"How do you do, fellow defenders of humanity?" says Francois Prelati.

"...Somehow, I knew you'd be wrapped up in all of this, Francois." Jeanne sighs. "What's your game now, then?"

"Just the same as always, Jeanne!~ I'm here to help you out. Because I'm your ally." The boy says, a smile on his face. "Oh, but I haven't met the rest of you guys yet. Francois Prelati- alchemist, illusionist, and ally of humanity. Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, hello Francois! Vive la France!" Marie waves to him, and he gives a happy wave in response.

Mozart, on the other hand, gives him a suspicious look. "-Maria, Jeanne, you're both aware of this person's history, right? Even if this is the Prelati that existed prior to committing that string of murders, he's still certainly an anti-hero."

"It's fine, Amadeus. I've known Francois for some time now. We can trust-" Jeanne says, and then pauses. "No, it's more accurate to say, we can use him."

"Oh? To think you'd fallen so far as to think about using people, Jeanne." The Caster in question chuckles.

"If he says he's our ally, then that means he'll be our ally through thick and thin. No matter how wrong-headed we are, no matter how stupid our plans are, he'll cheer us on and lend as much aid as he can. He's that kind of person." Jeanne continues, as if he hadn't spoken. "Even when I stopped hearing the voices of the saints, even when I was acting against the king's will - he stayed by my side, pushing me along with words of encouragement. Even though that path was certain to end in my death."

"I did do that." Prelati nods with a dumb smile.

"Just like how you encouraged Gilles, right, Francois? Even when he lost faith and turned to the worship of demons, even when he began sacrificing children, you cheered him on and assisted to the very best of your ability." Jeanne muttered, eyes shadowed. "That's what happened, isn't it? He suggested that path on his own, and only then did you begin guiding him down it."

Well, he already explained this last time, so I guess he'll-

"Haha! It's only natural that I'd help him out. He's my dear friend after all." - he doesn't deny it. In stark contrast to last time, he doesn't even attempt to deny it.

"H-hang on. I heard that you guys were exonerated posthumously. Wasn't that whole child murdering thing made up?" I ask.

"Pfffthahaha! Who the heck told you that? That's hilarious!" Prelati laughs. "I mean, the trial was definitely a total sham - they just wanted Gilles' money. But somehow, despite being an absolute perversion of the justice process, they somehow got the right people! Hahahaha! Life is just too funny sometimes!~"

"This guy-!" I start to unwind [Heaven's Lash] from around my arm, as Mozart, Mash, and Mordred start to ready their weapons.

"Upbupbup! If I was you, I wouldn't make me my enemy. Assuming, of course, that I, speaking as you, value my life." The alchemist spews out a nonsensical tongue twister of a threat. "After all, you only stopped being 'lost' because I let you. As long as I will it, you won't reach your destination - whether it's me, or the outside of this fake Reality Marble. So if you want to avoid being lost out in the fog with the Tarrasque and the Black Knight and a few other things, you can go ahead and attack me. But really, I think you ought to form a contract with me instead!"

I blink, and my eyes narrow. Why does he want a contract? Just for magical energy? Is that really worth putting himself at the mercy of my Command Spells? I glance at the open space on the back of my hand, where a new mark will be regenerating some twelve hours from now- oh, I get it now. Carefully, I school my expression, suppressing a grin.

"...Why on earth would I do that?" I ask.

- Prelati doesn't know. He has no idea that I get a new Command Spell every day. As far as he knows, I'd just be giving him magical energy for free, with no way to reign him in.

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

"Heh. Do you really think you have a choice here?" Fog begins to spill into the meadow, and the other people start to drift away from us as space itself distorts.

"Senpai!" Mash tries to leap to my side, only to end up even further away.

"You've already stumbled into my world, fake though it might be. I could easily tear you to pieces and use your body as a mindless battery. And yet, because I'm your ally, I'm offering you a partnership! Really, you ought to be jumping at the chance." The boy says, shaking his head. "Here, let me show you more clearly what the balance of power is like."

Suddenly, I'm up to my chest in flower petals. Beneath them, I feel hands grasping me, dragging me down.

"You're drowning. You're going to drown, Natsuki Subaru - so take my hand. I'll save you. I'll cheer for you. I'll be the one who watches you from behind, as you chase your goals. So take my hand, and let's begin. I'll be your ally… from step one." He extends his hand, and something in my gut clenches. "Go on, take it." How dare he. "Take it." How dare this person try to take that role. "Take it." ...Something else comes to mind. "Take it."

"I never told you my name." Heis grin grows wider. "Just how long were you watching… waiting for me to use all of my command spells?"

"Ha ha! Does it really matter?"

Behind him, where he can't see, Mozart locks eyes with me and gives a vicious smirk, raising a finger to his lips, as magical energy begins to swirl around him - I don't really want to get hit by his Noble Phantasm, though, so I'll go ahead and tighten the noose now.

"...Fine." I grab Prelati's outstretched hand. Mozart mimes 'what the hell!?' at me. "It's a deal. Now cut that spatial warping crap out, it's making me queasy."

Space warps again - I'm standing again, rather than sinking into the meadow, and the others snap back to their starting positions before the ground started to warp.

"Then our contract is sealed! I, Francois Prelati, shall be there to guide and and encourage you all the way up the mountain-" He claps his hands together, and the blanket of flowers surrounding us unfurl into the severed hands of children, applauding, as the sky oozes blood. "-and to kick you screaming into the abyss!"

"...That's neat and all, but there's something you should know before you get too excited." I deadpan, and the Alchemist almost falls on his face as a burst his bubble.

"H-hey! That was my special introduction! Don't just ignore it! Where did all your fear from before go!?" He yells. "I'm still holding all the cards here!"

"-No, you've actually placed yourself in checkmate. Chaldea's master system involves some fancy magical generators, so…" I glance at my watch/communicator. "Yeaah, in about ten hours, I'll have another command spell."

"Oh. Wow, you played me like a fiddle, huh?" He gives a giddy chuckle that breaks down into full blown laughter. "That's amazing! I knew from your eyes that you'd be a good master for me, but you already blew my expectations out of the water!"

The more he laughs, the more pissed off I get, so- "Hey, grit your teeth."

"Haha-gwah!"

-The crunch of his teeth as my boot connects with his jaw makes me feel a bit better.

A/N:

Hey look at that we actually made it to the 50th chapter. Sorry for the delays, real life is a bitch and my muse is an even bigger one.

Prelati is, unsurprisingly, a piece of shit. I've taken some slight liberties with his backstory, leaning into his whole Ate connection and his NP chant for Grand Illusion to sort of interpret him as "the Imp who pushes you along to your chosen destruction" rather than "the Imp who drags you along to your destruction", since I feel like that might be his intended role in Strange Fake.

So yeah, to be clear, his relationship with Jeanne, and the idea that Gilles was the one to suggest demon summoning, are both my own ideas and probably not canon, though I personally think it'd be cooler if they were. It sort of characterizes him as the type of ultra shitty friend who only ever tells you what you want to hear and encourages every bad habit you have. He has [The Power of Friendship (Evil)].