Fate/Spring Tonelico (Fate/Grand Order Redux)
- Thread starter BlackHadou
- Start date
- Location
- America
The Crown Saber, of course, can't be bothered to get off her ass to deal with a Beast Advent, so it's fallen to a misclassed Lancer. A basically decent person that's been straight with us at every turn, and will level London if it's the only way to resolve this in humanity's favor.
We're overdue to meet the Master of our only sure ally within the Singularity. I want to see ifHenry Jekyll is able to explain himself in his current state.
[x] Travel into the depths of the Association. (Holy Grail: ????, Saber: Mordred, Beast I: Babbage, Mordred Command Spells -1)
We're overdue to meet the Master of our only sure ally within the Singularity. I want to see if
[x] Travel into the depths of the Association. (Holy Grail: ????, Saber: Mordred, Beast I: Babbage, Mordred Command Spells -1)
[X] Retreat and regroup.
-[X] Ritsuka is spent. Find somewhere in this place to forge into a throne. At least then you can tend to her myriad woes. (Ristuka, Mash)
Ritsuka seems like she needed a breather two Singularities ago at least. And surely Mash isn't doing much better watching it even if she's so far managed to hide it better.
-[X] Ritsuka is spent. Find somewhere in this place to forge into a throne. At least then you can tend to her myriad woes. (Ristuka, Mash)
Ritsuka seems like she needed a breather two Singularities ago at least. And surely Mash isn't doing much better watching it even if she's so far managed to hide it better.
- Location
- Earth
[X] Retreat and regroup.
-[X] Ritsuka is spent. Find somewhere in this place to forge into a throne. At least then you can tend to her myriad woes. (Ristuka, Mash)
-[X] Ritsuka is spent. Find somewhere in this place to forge into a throne. At least then you can tend to her myriad woes. (Ristuka, Mash)
ApocalypticFish
Been reflecting lately.
Aww, that's touching.
Oho?
Ouch. Now I'm curious what exactly is up with Ritsuka. How would Aesc describe her current state of being? Homunculus by technicality, something else?
I feel like it's going to take a bit for Aesc to get there, but thank you Grimr.
Huh, that's unexpected. It's nice that we don't have to worry about Goetia getting information from this Barbatos though.
Dang, Ritsuka really has a grudge against Zolgen.
Oof.
Purest, huh?
See you later, Zolgen. We might have to kill you then though.
Oboi. Now here comes the question, does it replace one of the extant singularities, or is it an event? We'll probably need more information to determine that.
Ah, so when Aesc's existence was first observed, it meant that Singularity she made was also observed.
I might have to reread some things, but do we have any solid indication that this is really Goetia? Given that Babbage has shown up several times in the votes, I suspect it might actually be him. Well, with Goetia probably acting through him.
Spectral Waltz
Scatterbrained Writer
- Location
- Walking the Endless Corridors
I think it's still Goetia, if it weren't then I think several of the earlier statements that scanned as truths should have shown up as lies.
So I think we have all the pieces we need to disassemble the singularity now, we just need the strength to pull it off. Whether that comes from acquiring more allies or from taking a moment or two to recuperate.
So Kintoki, Jekyll, or just rest.
I'm thinking Jekyll, but that's my Mordred bias showing through.
[X] Retreat and regroup.
-[X] Ritsuka is spent. Find somewhere in this place to forge into a throne. At least then you can tend to her myriad woes. (Ristuka, Mash)
BlackHadou
Bunny-Sensei
Where does Goetia end and Solomon start? Where does Solomon start and Goetia end? Is there one? Two? Three? Four? Seventy-two?
Spectral Waltz
Scatterbrained Writer
- Location
- Walking the Endless Corridors
There's a 'possession is nine-tenths of the law' joke here somewhere that works on multiple levels but I'm not even nearly smart enough to think of it.
BlackHadou
Bunny-Sensei
Little shorter then I wanted. Please wait warmly.
8. Chaos and Paradise
BlackHadou
Bunny-Sensei
The Faerie of Paradise must know Spring.
For all their faults, I love the Rain Clan dearly. Those that raised me will always possess a special place in my heart. No matter how self-serving, how self-interested they were, they granted me many happy memories for my childhood.
Even if those memories turned to ash, being able to see the lies, I will always cherish them. Tamlin always treated me well. Their daughter fell trying to protect me. They…
The loss of the Rain Clan was something I never let go. Throughout the years, throughout the centuries. When I finally lost my hope, when I adopted the name of Morgan, even then I still clung to that grudge.
I wonder if that grudge prevented me from doing everything I could. Maybe there was some little bit more I could have put forward at Londinium to save everyone. Maybe there was some little bit more I could have done. Maybe, just maybe.
"We gave it our best shot."
I said it to Mash with a smile, her consciousness fading. Then I acted.
Mash's body wasn't even cool in its crystal when I began my reign of terror. Contrary to the lies I spread to solidify my rule, the faeries did not join my kingdom gently. The ire of the Northern Faeries for me was well and truly earned.
…
There is a reason the Bells of Pilgrimage believe they are over two thousand years old. I made them that way. The Calamity did not kill Faerie Britain, but it certainly helped.
Maybe my plan was really just madness in disguise. Thinking back on it, it was cruel in the extreme.
I crushed them all underfoot. Every single one. The real murderer of Faerie Britain was I, Morgan le Fae. The new queen.
I crushed them all. Every single one. I couldn't help the overflow of my grief. In doing so, I myself joined the ranks of the Calamities of Britain.
I am not free of sin.
I chose to kill them all.
Yet… I can't remember why.
I should have been above it all. I shouldn't have cared about the Rain Clan at that point. I'd had four thousand years to get over it.
I can't remember why.
But…
I can't save you.
No. I remember why.
I can never save you.
Baobahn Sith. Dear Baobahn Sith. Broken, ruined, destroyed. Her flesh had been torn into strips. She was barely recogniseable.
I want to save you.
That was why. I chose to destroy Britain because of you. I chose to remake Britain because of you.
The world we lived in was one where you had to die. I couldn't bear that cruelty any longer.
Aesc the Saviour was really just Aesc the Witch.
I slaughtered them like cattle.
The binding ritual for a Servant was queer. Tesla seemed to already know it, and Ritsuka was more then willing to perform it. In an instant, our fighting power had been magnified again. Yet it did not solve the most current problem, one that became far more pronounced as Ritsuka's command spell burned.
Human beings had limits. I never really had to consider that before. None of my retinue had ever really been human. Mash was a Tam Lin and thus was more capable then any single human alive, and when I took to the field, everyone turned and ran. It was something I hadn't really thought of, and something that had become painfully obvious now.
Ritsuka's shoulders sagged. Her chest heaved. The burn of her patterns was entirely too slow to still. She was well past the limits of a human body.
Well past them.
"... This place is the Association." I noted. "If anywhere is safe, it is here, correct?"
"Master and I made it quite safe, yes." Tesla confirmed. "Or… Zolgen and I. Sorry, that will take some time to get used to. I can form a few coils if you need insurance. Why?"
"Good. We go up." I answered. "This place will make a good temporary base."
"Base? Wait, we need to keep-" Ritsuka's voice was trying to be insistent. Mash winced. My hand reached out, seized the little lump on her back, and forced her to turn.
"We aren't blind, Ritsuka." Grimr was entirely too kind. "I agree. Geri!" His wolf shifted, going from white furred to black furred. I nodded at his voice.
"Up. Somewhere I can see the area." I muttered. "Maybe that clock tower we saw?"
"Big Ben?" Mash asked. I nodded.
"That one. It's not far."
"But… the grail-" Ritsuka's voice was lame. We all just glared at her, and she fell silent.
"Is it wise to leave the Grail?" Romani asked. I just shrugged.
"Paracelsus and Zolgen have told us something important." I muttered, my brain racing. There was so much information, and so little time. "The holy grail is safe here if the museum is collapsed. I'll release the spell when we leave and it'll crumble away."
"You can open it back up?" This time it was Da Vinci. I nodded, glancing at Tesla, but he just smiled.
"There isn't another way. The Grail is trapped in a sort of mystic furnace we created under the Association. Servants can't enter in spirit form. So long as the Association isn't intact, no one can get in. Not Paracelsus, not Babbage, and not Jack the Ripper."
"Babbage?" Ritsuka's squeak brought my attention back to her, her face slightly flushed. "The steam man?"
"One and the same. You may have seen some of his creations in town. He's been trying to forge an army of machines. It wasn't the most successful with that Berserker running around." Tesla paused, crossing his arms. Ritsuka took a step, and was already faltering. "Allow me."
I felt better after he scooped Ritsuka up in his arms.
"O-oi!"
"No complaining, Senpai." Mash's voice was firm. "Da Vinci, father, are there any other life signs?"
"Just once." Romani answered. "About one hundred and forty meters beneath you. Not near where the Spirit Tomb is. That must be our forge."
"It is." Tesla nodded. "You cannot pierce the tomb either?"
"It's impossible." Da Vinci explained. "The Spirit Tomb exists at all times and at no time at all. From our perspective, it exists in real space and we are isolated from it entirely in Zero Time."
"Zero time?"
"Interesting." Tesla and I had different reactions. My lip curled slightly from the side. "I never found Zero Time useful. Is that how you maintained Ritsuka's life?"
"... Yes. Technically, we all died in the attack on Antarctica. Until we undo Human Incineration, everyone in Chaldea except Ritsuka is dead." Romani answered. Our legs started to move. That didn't surprise me at all. Chaldea had to also bear my karma. Yet-
"I'm sorry. That is my fault."
"It's no one in particulars fault, Aesc."
"No. This one is my fault." And I would make it right. "Once we're done here, I'll fix it."
Zero Time. It was another name for the imaginary timeline. Some used the imaginary number space to compress distance and enter locations that should be impossible. Zero Time was similar, but from the perspective of the tree of time. It was like the air surrounding the branches. With enough manoeuvring, you could get to anywhen.
It also allowed one to put off their death. However, that came at a cost. When Chaldea finally returned to the timeline, Chaldea would collectively expire. They were already dead, after all.
But on this matter, I could intercede.
"Aesc-"
"No, Mash. There is a limit to my burdens that I will let you bear. This one should be reserved for me." Our eyes met for a long moment. Her eyes burned with fire. Her desire was clear on every front.
She wished to save me.
I'd seen that fire once before. After all, I was not a convincing liar.
As we left the museum, I allowed it to crumble to dust. Arriving at the Big Ben was a short walk for us. Since Tesla carried Ritsuka, our movement was far faster then before. Mash's speed was incredible, something that only Grimr could match.
The top of the Big Ben was a sort of storeroom. It was a little dusty, but with the clock tower permanently silenced, it was more then sufficient. Grimr's runes burned the walls, and my enchantments joined them a few moments later. A spark of competition flickered, but with a look, we both agreed. If we competed, there was a risk we'd break the clock tower.
I wasn't willing to do that.
"Shirt off." My voice was more like a bark. Ritsuka winced.
"I'm fine."
"You can lie to me as much as you want. I see lies." Her eyes widened as I put my hands on my hips. "They call me Aesc the Saviour, Ritsuka. Let me do what my instincts scream."
… That was the truth, wasn't it? The Faerie of Paradise had an instinct to save people. I couldn't remember the last time I'd truly felt it, but for Ritsuka, damned little Ritsuka, I wished to save her. It was a sincere desire from the depths of my heart.
Ritsuka looked like she wanted to fight it. She really did. However, Mash had already unclasped her belt and start to pull open her jacket and shirt before she could actually protest.
"Oi! Mash!"
"You are pushing too hard." Mash's words were all that were needed. Ritsuka's fire died on the spot, and she let her Servant pull her jacket and shirt free. Her flesh was not pleasant to look at. Most would find the idea of a shirtless girl titillating. They were the ones who weren't unfortunate enough to see one in the middle of decomposing.
I winced. The harm Ritsuka had undergone was not some small thing. She was truly miraculous. I knew faeries who had less will to live. Her flesh had great pallor grey strips along her stomach and sides. I suspected there would be more splotches under the arm that she'd covered her chest with. Her patterns were woefully insufficient for the job, and her body had used its own vitality to compensate.
It was disgusting.
"Romani." My voice was dangerous. The doctor did not meet my gaze.
"Only the living can rayshift." He answered. "And only the living can contract with a Servant." His meaning was quite clear. Ritsuka was the only one who could actually bear this burden.
"Is her actual body like this?"
"Unfortunately. Mash needs an anchor." And with those words, I understood. Mash had not been lucky enough to escape my karma.
Human beings were meant to experience death only once. They were all technically dead, but until the world resumed, it wouldn't catch up with them.
I simply had to set them alive. But to do that, I had to be where they were.
"I will fix this." I declared. Grimr's lips twisted sadly.
"Can you?"
"I can."
I am the Faerie of Paradise.
My hands are clean of sin.
So forgive me my sins and allow me to grant salvation.
Ritsuka's back was the thing I was actually curious about. A mess of patterns and blood vessels that did not exist in human beings. As I caught sight of the twisted thing on her back, I choked, my throat refusing to cooperate.
"Wings?" Well, they weren't really wings. It was a twisted mess of feathers, lumps and clotted blood, wrapped into her spiritual organs in a tangle so messy that trying to remove it would spiritually disembowel her. Yet at the same time, I couldn't help but whistle in wonder. For a moment, I felt young again, my fingers tracing feathers as I ripped it apart in my mind.
"Stop that." Ritsuka's muscles tensed.
"Touching them, or-"
"You're deconstructing me. Stop it." I was almost surprised that she could tell I was doing it. Touching them, well, that probably wouldn't bother her. There were no actual nerves inside them, so she probably couldn't actually feel it. They were, however, a intensely powerful spiritual organ.
"This is what you consider a failure?"
"It's meant to enhance magic. It didn't." Ritsuka's voice was bitter. "It just made what little I could do worse." Of course it did. It was made out of birds. The theory was sound, but a few pigeons and crows were woefully inadequate for the task.
"You've seen this done right." I realised. Mash nodded.
"Circe."
"A Greek Goddess of Magic and Love." Grimr spoke up. "One of the descendants of the visitors."
"Visitors?"
"You'd know them as the Olympians." Grimr mused. Da Vinci's attention fell on him with renewed interest.
"The Olympians aren't of Earth?"
"Its common enough. Most deities from the eldest days were not natives." Grimr answered. "But you'd know better then me, wouldn't you, Aesc?"
"... He isn't wrong." I nodded softly. "In the days before the forging, before the Bells of Pilgrimage, our Great Mother to Us All decided to loan her functions to visiting stars." My fingers started tracing lines around Ritsuka's back, several ideas ripping through my head. Then I settled on one. "Our mother is different to most worlds, you see. She wished for her children to flourish without guidance. So she did not create a guiding principle to direct the living. Rather, she created a guardian for you and left you in the playground of her flesh."
"That guardian was Albion, wasn't it?" Romani's voice was curious. "But Albion is a dragon."
"We call her the Prime One. I believe you humans call them Ultimate Ones." I answered. "The strongest living being. The proof of a planet's existence. But Albion isn't a real Ultimate One, since she isn't the proof our mother exists." My fingers pulled back, as my magic twisted and I forged a pair of scissors on the spot. "Her job was to safeguard the event horizon. She was meant to be the safe keeper, but she wasn't able to fulfil that function. About fifteen thousand years ago they arrived."
"We call them Olympians, but they are visitors from another star. Their arrival birthed an entire alternate history in which they were always here." Grimr noted. "There are a few others. The Aztec gods are another such history, as is that snake that inhabited the far south. The world accepts they are here and leaves them be."
"Shouldn't they be pruned, then?" Da Vinci did not bother elaborating. I understood what she meant. I shook my head.
"They bring the possibility, the energy to form that history with them. So long as the history unites with that of our Great Mother at the year of their arrival, she tolerates them bringing their beliefs and culture with them." I answered. "Usually."
"Then the Olympians did not arrive peacefully?"
"I believe you call him Chaos. Albion assisted the visitors in felling him, but in the process she was badly injured and had to sleep." I answered. "The world was defenceless, then, when the Umbral Star descended."
"You refer to the Singularity in 12,000 BC."
"I believe so, yes. A titan fell and brought about the end of the world. In your history, the six Bones of Pilgrimage rang, and… your time's version of us wielded the sacred weapon and banished it." I answered. The scissors snipped twice. Once for each of the tails of my hair.
"Rhongomyniad." I blinked. Just once. That wasn't a word I expected to hear. I expected to hear little Artoria's true name, not…
"Excuse me?"
"The weapon you refer to isRhongomyniad ." Romani repeated. "… Then the job of the Faerie of Paradise is… oh…" His face twisted in sympathy. He clearly had put the dots together.
Ritsuka's friends were smart. I appreciated that.
"You are the sacred spear. Or rather, it's immature form." I blinked as Tesla spoke up.
"You knew?"
"I suspected. The spear that saves has the systems my mystery is based on." Tesla answered. "Lightning, thunder that might exceed the gods. These things are only possible with the wishes of man. My Noble Phantasm is powered by the same thing you would have come to embody."
"... I ran away. I failed as the Faerie of Paradise." I muttered, gently tying a lock in with each of the diseased little wing lumps on Ritsuka's back. Ritsuka flinched, as if I was pressing ice to her back.
"Wait, what are yo-"
"Shush you." I probably didn't have to mix a silencing spell in with my words. I didn't want to give Ritsuka a chance to refuse. "The Faerie of Paradise is a redundant system. In the true history of the world, I would be unnecessary."
"Because the spear would be forged without a vessel." Da Vinci's eyes widened in realisation. "Then you are the backup plan."
"Yes. In the place I come from, the Bones of Pilgrimage did not ring." I bit my lip. "No. That's not true. They were worse then Grimr and played hookie on the most important day of the world."
Grimr just snickered at that.
"I'm not that bad, then, am I?"
"... That's where that Britain diverged." I glanced at Mash and nodded.
"It is." There was more to it then that, but it would be pointless to explain. Even what I'd said thus far, I wasn't sure how much would stick. My patterns lit up for a brief moment, and I patted the immature black wings on Ritsuka's back. "You'll feel better after a sleep. I promise."
One day, maybe even better then okay. Ritsuka flinched as the little things flapped impotently.
"What did you do?"
"Fix your botched experiment. Its nothing." The theory really was quite sound. However, the practice had been haphazard. Ritsuka had never been meant to be more then a proof that it could be done at all, a recreation of something long dead. If she suffered, then no one would care.
I cared.
"Thank you." It was Mash who actually said the words. I just smiled.
It felt nice. That was why I did it.
Night fell. Ritsuka slept. The rest of us, though, did not need to sleep. I was a faerie. Sleeping wasn't something I normally did anyway. Mash, though, probably should sleep.
"You are awake."
It was blunt. It was obvious. But Mash glanced over at me, and nodded. In her hands was a small wood carving. I recognised the shape.
"I couldn't sleep."
"You mean you can't sleep." I corrected. "How long?"
"... Weeks, I think? Ignoring the time in Chaldea?" Mash bit her lip, and a small drop of blood escaped her mouth. "It was after we fought Heracles that I noticed."
"Where was that?"
"In Rome. It was some time ago."
I nodded, sitting beside my knight. Her hands had a small knife in them, and while she was an amateur, watching her whittle the carving was soothing.
"You miss her."
"Of course I do? Don't you?"
"We promised to meet again. I trust Totorot." I answered. "… Are you okay with this? What I did? What I-"
"It's fine, Tonelico." I winced. My true name was something I did not hear often. But Mash's gaze lifted, full of kindness, the very thing that drew me to her when she'd first awoken. That kindness had taken a spirit on the verge of snapping in despair and given me the strength to push one last time. "It's different, but…"
"But?"
"... Romani." I blinked. Then I realised he could hear us.
"So long as it isn't a burden."
"It isn't. I am happy to bear it until you can hold it again." Mash answered. "And if you can't, well, I'll keep it off your shoulders forever." I just groaned.
"You're worse then Totorot."
"I try."
Yet I did, truly, feel better. After all…
The Faerie of Paradise must know Spring.
In the morning…
[ ] Alpha strike Odysseus. No more stuffing around. You can see him clearly from here. (Rhongobongo Maximus, Decisive Battle: The Trojan Horse, Odysseus -3 Command Spells)
[ ] Seek out the Holy Grail. There were a few last questions to be answered. (Saber: Mordred, Master: The Holy Grail, Mordred -1 Command Spell)
[ ] Hunt down Jack the Ripper. There was one exceptionally easy way to draw him out. (Decisive Battle: Jack the Ripper/Jack the Ripper/Mordred, Knight of Londinium, Mordred -1 Command Spell)
[ ] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean)
-[ ] Go together. (Ritsuka, Mash, Pretender: Morgan le Fae)
-[ ] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
For all their faults, I love the Rain Clan dearly. Those that raised me will always possess a special place in my heart. No matter how self-serving, how self-interested they were, they granted me many happy memories for my childhood.
Even if those memories turned to ash, being able to see the lies, I will always cherish them. Tamlin always treated me well. Their daughter fell trying to protect me. They…
The loss of the Rain Clan was something I never let go. Throughout the years, throughout the centuries. When I finally lost my hope, when I adopted the name of Morgan, even then I still clung to that grudge.
I wonder if that grudge prevented me from doing everything I could. Maybe there was some little bit more I could have put forward at Londinium to save everyone. Maybe there was some little bit more I could have done. Maybe, just maybe.
"We gave it our best shot."
I said it to Mash with a smile, her consciousness fading. Then I acted.
Mash's body wasn't even cool in its crystal when I began my reign of terror. Contrary to the lies I spread to solidify my rule, the faeries did not join my kingdom gently. The ire of the Northern Faeries for me was well and truly earned.
…
There is a reason the Bells of Pilgrimage believe they are over two thousand years old. I made them that way. The Calamity did not kill Faerie Britain, but it certainly helped.
Maybe my plan was really just madness in disguise. Thinking back on it, it was cruel in the extreme.
I crushed them all underfoot. Every single one. The real murderer of Faerie Britain was I, Morgan le Fae. The new queen.
I crushed them all. Every single one. I couldn't help the overflow of my grief. In doing so, I myself joined the ranks of the Calamities of Britain.
I am not free of sin.
I chose to kill them all.
Yet… I can't remember why.
I should have been above it all. I shouldn't have cared about the Rain Clan at that point. I'd had four thousand years to get over it.
I can't remember why.
But…
I can't save you.
No. I remember why.
I can never save you.
Baobahn Sith. Dear Baobahn Sith. Broken, ruined, destroyed. Her flesh had been torn into strips. She was barely recogniseable.
I want to save you.
That was why. I chose to destroy Britain because of you. I chose to remake Britain because of you.
The world we lived in was one where you had to die. I couldn't bear that cruelty any longer.
Aesc the Saviour was really just Aesc the Witch.
I slaughtered them like cattle.
<-->
"I, seven heavens descended, so declare. I am the sword that shall slay all that is evil. I am the shield that shall protect all that is good. Garbed in three heavens, I swear, I shall keep the balance."
The binding ritual for a Servant was queer. Tesla seemed to already know it, and Ritsuka was more then willing to perform it. In an instant, our fighting power had been magnified again. Yet it did not solve the most current problem, one that became far more pronounced as Ritsuka's command spell burned.
Human beings had limits. I never really had to consider that before. None of my retinue had ever really been human. Mash was a Tam Lin and thus was more capable then any single human alive, and when I took to the field, everyone turned and ran. It was something I hadn't really thought of, and something that had become painfully obvious now.
Ritsuka's shoulders sagged. Her chest heaved. The burn of her patterns was entirely too slow to still. She was well past the limits of a human body.
Well past them.
"... This place is the Association." I noted. "If anywhere is safe, it is here, correct?"
"Master and I made it quite safe, yes." Tesla confirmed. "Or… Zolgen and I. Sorry, that will take some time to get used to. I can form a few coils if you need insurance. Why?"
"Good. We go up." I answered. "This place will make a good temporary base."
"Base? Wait, we need to keep-" Ritsuka's voice was trying to be insistent. Mash winced. My hand reached out, seized the little lump on her back, and forced her to turn.
"We aren't blind, Ritsuka." Grimr was entirely too kind. "I agree. Geri!" His wolf shifted, going from white furred to black furred. I nodded at his voice.
"Up. Somewhere I can see the area." I muttered. "Maybe that clock tower we saw?"
"Big Ben?" Mash asked. I nodded.
"That one. It's not far."
"But… the grail-" Ritsuka's voice was lame. We all just glared at her, and she fell silent.
"Is it wise to leave the Grail?" Romani asked. I just shrugged.
"Paracelsus and Zolgen have told us something important." I muttered, my brain racing. There was so much information, and so little time. "The holy grail is safe here if the museum is collapsed. I'll release the spell when we leave and it'll crumble away."
"You can open it back up?" This time it was Da Vinci. I nodded, glancing at Tesla, but he just smiled.
"There isn't another way. The Grail is trapped in a sort of mystic furnace we created under the Association. Servants can't enter in spirit form. So long as the Association isn't intact, no one can get in. Not Paracelsus, not Babbage, and not Jack the Ripper."
"Babbage?" Ritsuka's squeak brought my attention back to her, her face slightly flushed. "The steam man?"
"One and the same. You may have seen some of his creations in town. He's been trying to forge an army of machines. It wasn't the most successful with that Berserker running around." Tesla paused, crossing his arms. Ritsuka took a step, and was already faltering. "Allow me."
I felt better after he scooped Ritsuka up in his arms.
"O-oi!"
"No complaining, Senpai." Mash's voice was firm. "Da Vinci, father, are there any other life signs?"
"Just once." Romani answered. "About one hundred and forty meters beneath you. Not near where the Spirit Tomb is. That must be our forge."
"It is." Tesla nodded. "You cannot pierce the tomb either?"
"It's impossible." Da Vinci explained. "The Spirit Tomb exists at all times and at no time at all. From our perspective, it exists in real space and we are isolated from it entirely in Zero Time."
"Zero time?"
"Interesting." Tesla and I had different reactions. My lip curled slightly from the side. "I never found Zero Time useful. Is that how you maintained Ritsuka's life?"
"... Yes. Technically, we all died in the attack on Antarctica. Until we undo Human Incineration, everyone in Chaldea except Ritsuka is dead." Romani answered. Our legs started to move. That didn't surprise me at all. Chaldea had to also bear my karma. Yet-
"I'm sorry. That is my fault."
"It's no one in particulars fault, Aesc."
"No. This one is my fault." And I would make it right. "Once we're done here, I'll fix it."
Zero Time. It was another name for the imaginary timeline. Some used the imaginary number space to compress distance and enter locations that should be impossible. Zero Time was similar, but from the perspective of the tree of time. It was like the air surrounding the branches. With enough manoeuvring, you could get to anywhen.
It also allowed one to put off their death. However, that came at a cost. When Chaldea finally returned to the timeline, Chaldea would collectively expire. They were already dead, after all.
But on this matter, I could intercede.
"Aesc-"
"No, Mash. There is a limit to my burdens that I will let you bear. This one should be reserved for me." Our eyes met for a long moment. Her eyes burned with fire. Her desire was clear on every front.
She wished to save me.
I'd seen that fire once before. After all, I was not a convincing liar.
As we left the museum, I allowed it to crumble to dust. Arriving at the Big Ben was a short walk for us. Since Tesla carried Ritsuka, our movement was far faster then before. Mash's speed was incredible, something that only Grimr could match.
The top of the Big Ben was a sort of storeroom. It was a little dusty, but with the clock tower permanently silenced, it was more then sufficient. Grimr's runes burned the walls, and my enchantments joined them a few moments later. A spark of competition flickered, but with a look, we both agreed. If we competed, there was a risk we'd break the clock tower.
I wasn't willing to do that.
"Shirt off." My voice was more like a bark. Ritsuka winced.
"I'm fine."
"You can lie to me as much as you want. I see lies." Her eyes widened as I put my hands on my hips. "They call me Aesc the Saviour, Ritsuka. Let me do what my instincts scream."
… That was the truth, wasn't it? The Faerie of Paradise had an instinct to save people. I couldn't remember the last time I'd truly felt it, but for Ritsuka, damned little Ritsuka, I wished to save her. It was a sincere desire from the depths of my heart.
Ritsuka looked like she wanted to fight it. She really did. However, Mash had already unclasped her belt and start to pull open her jacket and shirt before she could actually protest.
"Oi! Mash!"
"You are pushing too hard." Mash's words were all that were needed. Ritsuka's fire died on the spot, and she let her Servant pull her jacket and shirt free. Her flesh was not pleasant to look at. Most would find the idea of a shirtless girl titillating. They were the ones who weren't unfortunate enough to see one in the middle of decomposing.
I winced. The harm Ritsuka had undergone was not some small thing. She was truly miraculous. I knew faeries who had less will to live. Her flesh had great pallor grey strips along her stomach and sides. I suspected there would be more splotches under the arm that she'd covered her chest with. Her patterns were woefully insufficient for the job, and her body had used its own vitality to compensate.
It was disgusting.
"Romani." My voice was dangerous. The doctor did not meet my gaze.
"Only the living can rayshift." He answered. "And only the living can contract with a Servant." His meaning was quite clear. Ritsuka was the only one who could actually bear this burden.
"Is her actual body like this?"
"Unfortunately. Mash needs an anchor." And with those words, I understood. Mash had not been lucky enough to escape my karma.
Human beings were meant to experience death only once. They were all technically dead, but until the world resumed, it wouldn't catch up with them.
I simply had to set them alive. But to do that, I had to be where they were.
"I will fix this." I declared. Grimr's lips twisted sadly.
"Can you?"
"I can."
I am the Faerie of Paradise.
My hands are clean of sin.
So forgive me my sins and allow me to grant salvation.
Ritsuka's back was the thing I was actually curious about. A mess of patterns and blood vessels that did not exist in human beings. As I caught sight of the twisted thing on her back, I choked, my throat refusing to cooperate.
"Wings?" Well, they weren't really wings. It was a twisted mess of feathers, lumps and clotted blood, wrapped into her spiritual organs in a tangle so messy that trying to remove it would spiritually disembowel her. Yet at the same time, I couldn't help but whistle in wonder. For a moment, I felt young again, my fingers tracing feathers as I ripped it apart in my mind.
"Stop that." Ritsuka's muscles tensed.
"Touching them, or-"
"You're deconstructing me. Stop it." I was almost surprised that she could tell I was doing it. Touching them, well, that probably wouldn't bother her. There were no actual nerves inside them, so she probably couldn't actually feel it. They were, however, a intensely powerful spiritual organ.
"This is what you consider a failure?"
"It's meant to enhance magic. It didn't." Ritsuka's voice was bitter. "It just made what little I could do worse." Of course it did. It was made out of birds. The theory was sound, but a few pigeons and crows were woefully inadequate for the task.
"You've seen this done right." I realised. Mash nodded.
"Circe."
"A Greek Goddess of Magic and Love." Grimr spoke up. "One of the descendants of the visitors."
"Visitors?"
"You'd know them as the Olympians." Grimr mused. Da Vinci's attention fell on him with renewed interest.
"The Olympians aren't of Earth?"
"Its common enough. Most deities from the eldest days were not natives." Grimr answered. "But you'd know better then me, wouldn't you, Aesc?"
"... He isn't wrong." I nodded softly. "In the days before the forging, before the Bells of Pilgrimage, our Great Mother to Us All decided to loan her functions to visiting stars." My fingers started tracing lines around Ritsuka's back, several ideas ripping through my head. Then I settled on one. "Our mother is different to most worlds, you see. She wished for her children to flourish without guidance. So she did not create a guiding principle to direct the living. Rather, she created a guardian for you and left you in the playground of her flesh."
"That guardian was Albion, wasn't it?" Romani's voice was curious. "But Albion is a dragon."
"We call her the Prime One. I believe you humans call them Ultimate Ones." I answered. "The strongest living being. The proof of a planet's existence. But Albion isn't a real Ultimate One, since she isn't the proof our mother exists." My fingers pulled back, as my magic twisted and I forged a pair of scissors on the spot. "Her job was to safeguard the event horizon. She was meant to be the safe keeper, but she wasn't able to fulfil that function. About fifteen thousand years ago they arrived."
"We call them Olympians, but they are visitors from another star. Their arrival birthed an entire alternate history in which they were always here." Grimr noted. "There are a few others. The Aztec gods are another such history, as is that snake that inhabited the far south. The world accepts they are here and leaves them be."
"Shouldn't they be pruned, then?" Da Vinci did not bother elaborating. I understood what she meant. I shook my head.
"They bring the possibility, the energy to form that history with them. So long as the history unites with that of our Great Mother at the year of their arrival, she tolerates them bringing their beliefs and culture with them." I answered. "Usually."
"Then the Olympians did not arrive peacefully?"
"I believe you call him Chaos. Albion assisted the visitors in felling him, but in the process she was badly injured and had to sleep." I answered. "The world was defenceless, then, when the Umbral Star descended."
"You refer to the Singularity in 12,000 BC."
"I believe so, yes. A titan fell and brought about the end of the world. In your history, the six Bones of Pilgrimage rang, and… your time's version of us wielded the sacred weapon and banished it." I answered. The scissors snipped twice. Once for each of the tails of my hair.
"Rhongomyniad." I blinked. Just once. That wasn't a word I expected to hear. I expected to hear little Artoria's true name, not…
"Excuse me?"
"The weapon you refer to is
Ritsuka's friends were smart. I appreciated that.
"You are the sacred spear. Or rather, it's immature form." I blinked as Tesla spoke up.
"You knew?"
"I suspected. The spear that saves has the systems my mystery is based on." Tesla answered. "Lightning, thunder that might exceed the gods. These things are only possible with the wishes of man. My Noble Phantasm is powered by the same thing you would have come to embody."
"... I ran away. I failed as the Faerie of Paradise." I muttered, gently tying a lock in with each of the diseased little wing lumps on Ritsuka's back. Ritsuka flinched, as if I was pressing ice to her back.
"Wait, what are yo-"
"Shush you." I probably didn't have to mix a silencing spell in with my words. I didn't want to give Ritsuka a chance to refuse. "The Faerie of Paradise is a redundant system. In the true history of the world, I would be unnecessary."
"Because the spear would be forged without a vessel." Da Vinci's eyes widened in realisation. "Then you are the backup plan."
"Yes. In the place I come from, the Bones of Pilgrimage did not ring." I bit my lip. "No. That's not true. They were worse then Grimr and played hookie on the most important day of the world."
Grimr just snickered at that.
"I'm not that bad, then, am I?"
"... That's where that Britain diverged." I glanced at Mash and nodded.
"It is." There was more to it then that, but it would be pointless to explain. Even what I'd said thus far, I wasn't sure how much would stick. My patterns lit up for a brief moment, and I patted the immature black wings on Ritsuka's back. "You'll feel better after a sleep. I promise."
One day, maybe even better then okay. Ritsuka flinched as the little things flapped impotently.
"What did you do?"
"Fix your botched experiment. Its nothing." The theory really was quite sound. However, the practice had been haphazard. Ritsuka had never been meant to be more then a proof that it could be done at all, a recreation of something long dead. If she suffered, then no one would care.
I cared.
"Thank you." It was Mash who actually said the words. I just smiled.
It felt nice. That was why I did it.
<-->
Night fell. Ritsuka slept. The rest of us, though, did not need to sleep. I was a faerie. Sleeping wasn't something I normally did anyway. Mash, though, probably should sleep.
"You are awake."
It was blunt. It was obvious. But Mash glanced over at me, and nodded. In her hands was a small wood carving. I recognised the shape.
"I couldn't sleep."
"You mean you can't sleep." I corrected. "How long?"
"... Weeks, I think? Ignoring the time in Chaldea?" Mash bit her lip, and a small drop of blood escaped her mouth. "It was after we fought Heracles that I noticed."
"Where was that?"
"In Rome. It was some time ago."
I nodded, sitting beside my knight. Her hands had a small knife in them, and while she was an amateur, watching her whittle the carving was soothing.
"You miss her."
"Of course I do? Don't you?"
"We promised to meet again. I trust Totorot." I answered. "… Are you okay with this? What I did? What I-"
"It's fine, Tonelico." I winced. My true name was something I did not hear often. But Mash's gaze lifted, full of kindness, the very thing that drew me to her when she'd first awoken. That kindness had taken a spirit on the verge of snapping in despair and given me the strength to push one last time. "It's different, but…"
"But?"
"... Romani." I blinked. Then I realised he could hear us.
"So long as it isn't a burden."
"It isn't. I am happy to bear it until you can hold it again." Mash answered. "And if you can't, well, I'll keep it off your shoulders forever." I just groaned.
"You're worse then Totorot."
"I try."
Yet I did, truly, feel better. After all…
The Faerie of Paradise must know Spring.
In the morning…
[ ] Alpha strike Odysseus. No more stuffing around. You can see him clearly from here. (Rhongobongo Maximus, Decisive Battle: The Trojan Horse, Odysseus -3 Command Spells)
[ ] Seek out the Holy Grail. There were a few last questions to be answered. (Saber: Mordred, Master: The Holy Grail, Mordred -1 Command Spell)
[ ] Hunt down Jack the Ripper. There was one exceptionally easy way to draw him out. (Decisive Battle: Jack the Ripper/Jack the Ripper/Mordred, Knight of Londinium, Mordred -1 Command Spell)
[ ] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean)
-[ ] Go together. (Ritsuka, Mash, Pretender: Morgan le Fae)
-[ ] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
some interesting divergencs. Circe appearing (probably in Okeanos), Hercules in Rome.
….so that's a thing.
That certainly would be interesting.
I'm not sure what I actually want to vote here so I'll hold off on it for a bit.
….so that's a thing.
That certainly would be interesting.
I'm not sure what I actually want to vote here so I'll hold off on it for a bit.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
[X] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
In the game, the Chaldean is believed to be Ars Goetia wearing the corpse of Romani, from memory. No clue what's the situation here, but I'm mighty interested in finding out. Alone, as that's got the gold Spring text colour.
But eesh, Ritsuka has a nasty situation. Used as a lab rat to recreate Circe's bird wings, but the attempt failed and left her worse off. As did maintaining multiple servants without the help of the Chaldean nuclear reactors, evidently.
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
In the game, the Chaldean is believed to be Ars Goetia wearing the corpse of Romani, from memory. No clue what's the situation here, but I'm mighty interested in finding out. Alone, as that's got the gold Spring text colour.
But eesh, Ritsuka has a nasty situation. Used as a lab rat to recreate Circe's bird wings, but the attempt failed and left her worse off. As did maintaining multiple servants without the help of the Chaldean nuclear reactors, evidently.
[X] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean)
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
DrZero7114
Everything shall be blue!
- Location
- Baron of Sealand
[X] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
Theaxofwar
Definitely not a Bunny Cat in disguise.
- Location
- Standing right behind you
[X] The interloper. You can feel him. You knew that presence. (????: The Chaldean
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
-[X] Go alone. (Aesc the Saviour)
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
I think Mash is no exception here.