Fate/Clusterfuck (Fate/Stay Night)

View: https://youtu.be/bMb_sBG-gFE?si=jgVyzE8hgd1IvcVi

[Mordred]

This is non-canon, but in another time, it could be.

—

"Ar…thur." Mordred says quietly, staring at you. She tilts her head one way, then the other, green eyes staring… not so much at you, as around you. Like an unfocused camera, she was taking everything in, but not really 'seeing' it. She was in a borrowed outfit, a red t-shirt to hide the bloodstains and a pair of pants from your younger years that managed to fit her. The woman was fit, but was far from weighty.

"Good timing," You say with a smile. "Mordred, can you get that spatula sitting there by the oven?"

Mordred blinks, one eye, then the other. Then she slowly turned her head to look at the oven, her movements were sluggish, very tired. She tilts her head, then slowly walks over to it, bare feet slapping against the tile floor of the kitchen before she comes to a stop before the oven. She reaches a hand and grab-

"No, the thing just to the left."

She grabbed the spatula. "Arthur."

"Thanks, bring it here?"

Mordred stared at the spatula for a few moments, then slowly made her way over to you. She then gently placed it down onto the counter.

You smile again. "Thank you Mordred." Then you pick it up and begin to place the eggs onto the plate. One… two… eight… twelve… and lightly more yet still will be needed. It promises to be a big breakfast, and to think, there was time when you thought feeding Taiga alone was enou-

"Ar…thur?"

"Yes?" you ask, turning to look at your servant.

Mordred was staring at the display of fruit in a basket nearby, her hand reaching for, but stopping just short of an apple there. She slowly turned her head towards you, "Arthur?"

You smile a touch wider. "Go ahead."

As Mordred removed the fruit you watched her, her movements were… unreal. She moved like she was trapped in a thick syrup. Medea had stated more than once that there wasn't anyone 'there' not truly. A ghost of a person that had once existed. Her attitude in battle was that ghost just taking over temporarily.

"Want some juice to go with it?"

Mordred did nothing for several movements, then nodded with two minute jerks of the head like a piece of unoiled machinery. You turned towards the fridge, then paused as you felt someone press against your back. It was her head, unmoving, she was simply standing behind you and pressing her forehead against your back.

"Shi…r…o…u"

You closed your eyes, and let her stay there as long as she needed to. "Always." You say quietly. "Thank you for all your help so far."

"Shi…rou."

"You're welcome."

—

It's funny to me, honestly. I don't particularly care about Mordred. Her being in this story was simply the point of divergence, the original one. I had simply planned on Shirou being delayed in the park, and Rin fixing her clock. But things quickly grew out of control from there.

Mordred is an interesting character to be certain, one nearly as tragic to me as Artoria is. In another time, things could have gone differently were it not for the actions of Morgan. But a lot of Arthurian legend is tragedy. Both in the Fate verse, and ours. Mordred hasn't had much of a role to play in this story, she can't, really. When I made her a berserker I deliberately wanted it to be an oldschool style. Berserkers being just regular servants with odd quirks (ie, FGO) annoys me. So she will remain broken, you can't remove madness enhancement forever. But that doesn't mean she isn't an interesting character, and won't have her own story to tell.

Because, hoo boy, there's spicy stuff coming for her to deal with specifically.

So please look forward to that, and have a Merry Christmas.

View: https://youtu.be/50Jovdxu-kg?si=XSGibEDxdJB_I9X_

[Family is more important]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

You stare at your sister for a few moments, saying nothing. Such a thing was still… very strange to you. Having a family you knew nothing about, a sister, a… well. You weren't sure what her mother would be to you. The closest thing you had to family was Taiga, and you just lost her. Your 'father' was dead, your grandfather now wanted nothing to do with you. Where did that leave you? Homeless, and without family. You had nothing for yourself but the kindness of others, a little girl who turned out to be your sister. You couldn't help but wonder if Kiritsugu would be proud of you…

No, you were a practicing Magus now. Of course he wouldn't be.

You shake your head. "I'm not… I've just been busy, sorry Illya."

Illya tilts her head, her silverine hair shifting behind her to drape across the bed in entrancing patterns. There was a fairytale-like quality about the girl, something otherworldly and fae, perhaps it was her eyes, perhaps it was her hair. Or perhaps it was the faint scent of flowers that seemingly followed her around like a shadow. She smiles, then pats the spot on the bed next to her. You stare at her for a few moments confused, then, as her pats increase in both speed and loudness and her cheeks begin to puff out, you get the idea and sit down beside her.

Illya kicks her legs in the air happily as you do so, ghostly pale flesh flashing in the warm light cast by the electrics above. "You're too busy, I don't like it very much."

"If it helps," you reply with a small smile. "I don't either."

"I could kill them all?" Illya offers. "It'd be really easy."

"I would rather you didn't," you reply quickly.

Illya hums, casting her gaze towards the ceiling as she does so. "Kiritsugu was always busy too, until he left anyway. Running all over, never had time for me or mom."

You close your eyes, letting out a long and slow breath. "I never knew him that well. He never talked about… much of anything really. He was always very distant, secretive." You wonder if Caster would have liked him. Probably. "And tired. Always… tired." You finish, opening your eyes again. "He only died a short few years ago, and I'm already starting to forget him."

You feel a tap against your leg, and you look down to see Illya staring at you curiously. "How can you forget him?"

You shrug your shoulders. "He raised me, but he died when I was young. Some days I find it hard to recall his face, some days I find it hard to recall what he sounded like. But I always remember the lessons he tried to teach me."

"Tried?"

You frown, and look away from Illya toward the floor. "He always said magic couldn't help people. He didn't want me to learn it to begin with."

"That's stupid."

You shrug your shoulders again. "Maybe, but I haven't had much luck with it lately. Too many people are dying, too many innocent people."

Illya says nothing for a short while, still staring at you. "You look like… you're about to cry Shirou."

You blink, and move a hand to your face, there was a hint of moisture there, something you hadn't even noticed. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Momma always said to never apologize for crying. Only bad people never cry."

"I'm fin-"

Illya places her hand on your shoulder, and you turn to find yourself face to face with her red eyes. "Shirou? What's wrong?"

…

"I wish I could actually help people," you say quietly. "People are dying in this war for no reason, and I've…" What are you even doing right now? Illya was twelv-

The hand on your shoulder squeezed, and as you stared at Illya, something was different about her. She seemed… older than you had ever noticed, though her shape hadn't changed. Her face was more serious, any childlike quality to it gone as she begged you to continue with her expression.

"I've been unable to help them." You say quietly. "I'm worried about you, about Ayako, about Sakura and everyone else. If I can't help the people out there… how can I protect the people in here? I couldn't protect Taiga, I couldn't save Rin, and Raiga has abandoned me."

"I'm killing Raiga."

Your head snaps to Illya so fast it threatens to break, only to find that your sister was sticking her tongue out. She draws it back in, then smiles impishly. "What? He's part of the reason you're upset right. He was funny, but nothing special for a human."

"Please… don't kill Raiga."

"I'll think about it." Illya says with a giggle that is far from innocent or comforting. "And worrying well, what's the point of that anyway? I can take care of myself, and my servant is the strongest in this war." Her smile then changes to something… far more like what you had gotten used to. Innocent. "So… let's get this sorted so that we can focus on what's important!"

"And… that would be?"

Illya reaches a hand forward, then slaps you on the chest with enough force to send you back onto the bed. "Tag! You're it!"

Then she runs off, laughing like a very tiny maniac. No, she was a little tiny maniac. Of that you were absolutely certain. You hadn't had very many conversations with the girl, but of one thing you were certain. She wasn't particularly right in the head. And as you got off the bed to chase after her.

Well.

You knew you weren't right in the head either.

—

By the time you reentered your room it was ten in the evening, a good two hours later. You were now… extremely tired, sweaty, and past that period of exhaustion where your body even knew it was tired. It simply was. Ayako had done a good job of… draining you, likely the stick helping her out in some way. Then Illya took care of the rest leading you in a merry chase across the castle. The… entire castle.

But… you can't say you regretted it either. The sheer joy on your face made you honestly forget what had briefly made you upset. And now, now you were well ready to shower, rest, sleep… and hope Sakura is better come the mornin-

"Shirou." Says a curt voice, a familiar curt voice. A familiar, angry, curt voice.

You stand there, the door open, staring at the window at the far end of the bedroom. The voice came from your left, just out of sight, and you wonder, briefly, if you purposely ignore it Medea will go away like a particularly bad figment of your imaginatio-

"Look at me."

Yes ma'am.

You turn your head left to see… Medea, standing just by your bed. Her hood was drawn down over her eyes so that you could only see her perfect flat, expressionless mouth. Yet somehow she had an air of 'furious' about her. Separate from her voice, the woman seemed to exude it like a palpable aura. It was a small wonder she wasn't levitating at the moment, as she seemed to be doing a rather good job of being menacing otherwise. Even the lights in the room were faintly dimmer than you recall them being just a few hours ago.

"Explain yourself." Medea demands.

"How's Sakura?" you ask instead.

The lights get slightly brighter, the mood shifts slightly, but noticeably. "Alive." Medea says after a few moments, apparently rather caught off guard by the question. "The corruption has been removed, but she has yet to wake up. We have yet to discern why. But she is alive."

You let out a slow breath. "Thank you."

"Her servant also gave us rather… interesting information."

"Interesting how?"

"That is not for you to know." Caster responds.

"Then why bring it up at all?"

Medea says nothing for a few moments. Then. "Why are you late?"

"I was playing with my little sister."

"You believe that to be more important than training?"

"No." You reply.

"Then why would you do it?"

"I believe they are equally important, especially when she is the one giving us shelter. I'm sorry for being late, it wasn't in my control. But I don't regret it either."

Medea stares at you, it was a patented look at this point, and you didn't particularly care either way. Finally however she turns her body and points to the bed. "Sit."

"Can I take a shower first?"

"Sit."

You sit on your bed again, denied from taking that damn shower, again. And you turn to look at your servant with some annoyance. Only to come face to face with her gloved hand placing itself over your face. You barely have time to let out a noise of surprise before it shoves you back, and you fall into, then through the bed. The feeling of warm water envelops you, but your eyes see nothing, you have no sense of direction, but you feel everything. Hands pulling at you, clawing and tugging, tugging you further down, or up, into an abyss of nothing.

Then you were sitting on the beach of Circe's island like nothing had ever happened. The witch in question was standing just by the water, the waves coming inches away from her bare feet before receding back to the wider ocean… sea… whatever it was. You had never asked 'where' this was, if it even was somewhere at all. Her wings were drawn about her like a protective coat, and… there was a reason for that. It was cold here, far colder than you had ever felt it before. Gone was the golden light of summer or the orange hues of fall that had previously. Now it was a dark, dreary gray. Both the sky… and most of the landscape. The cliffs that surrounded the beach were eroded and vine covered. The trees were missing or dead, and what had once been fields leading away from it were now all barren and empty, reclaimed by nature. All that remained of what this place once was was Circe, who stood at the water's edge like a sentry. And as you returned your gaze to her, she turned around.

"So, fashionably late?" Circe asks, a teasing smile on her face.

"Sorry…" You reply, standing up.

"Don't apologize, you were performing a service for another… multiple anothers actually, though one needed it more than the other."

You walk over to her, looking out over the waters in silence for several seconds, before. "Is this a dream… or am I somewhere else?"

Circe smiles. "Why don't you become a better Magus and find out?"

"What do you have in mind?"

Circe smiles. Her smile rather reminds you of Illya's when she was suggesting murdering Raiga.

… You weren't sure which was more terrifying to be honest.

—

[] [You'll be battling Medea, repeatedly.]
"Do you truly not care about my past, Shirou?"

"Do you care about mine, Medea?"

[] [Lessons with Circe, extensive lessons.]
"Magic? What are you talking about?"

"No Shirou, not magic, not the kind that Magus practice. Magic."