Thanks to @GilliamYaeger, @XenaC, @Atrum-Persavor, @ckk185, @Yezar, @Nottheunmaker, @AWACS Sky Eye, @BlackHadou, and everyone else who helped me with this but who I either can't recall at the moment or don't know the SV usernames of.
And also damn you all for helping me bring this thing to life. I am now forever lost.
----
The incarnation of legends is a process that must be conducted carefully, precisely, and with the utmost respect for every step in the process. Though the foundations and the scale of the ritual conducted by Chaldea are different from the Holy Grail, the process is the same. As such the chamber is dark by necessity, as every inch of its interior has been wholly dedicated to the ritual. The only light comes from the dull glow of the ritual circle carved into the basalt floor beneath them, painstakingly hewn by hand and then filled with alchemical silver.
But besides the thaumaturgical investment necessary, the one conducting the ritual must also be a worthy summoner. Magical capability is not the only criterion; one must also be able to conduct leyshifts without issue, and most importantly of all one must have the affinity of a summoner. Even at Chaldea's peak, only a select few of its staff fulfilled every requirement. Now, after the disaster, there are only two.
One of them steps forward towards the center of the circle, one clenched fist held out. His arm is perfectly still, his breathing even and composed. He does not fear. He does not anticipate. He conducts himself with perfect elegance and poise, a keen and precise instrument dedicated to one purpose only.
"Don't spook me," he mutters, a prayer on his lips. He opens his hand, and four prismatic crystals tumble out, liquefying on contact with the circle. Their light permeates the circle immediately, filling it with an aurora of colour that shines in every direction. The ritual has begun.
There is a bright flash of light, a pillar piercing the sky from the center of the ring. It is over before he sees it, his ears popping from the pressure change, his hair tingling from the ionised air. The Master opens his eyes and sees what his offering has granted him.
A pile of strange blue-tinged swords greet him in the center, a trio of Black Keys favored by the Executors of the Church as both close combat weapons and as thrown projectiles. They glisten in the ambience of the ritual circle's light, the spell awaiting the next summoning. The Master lets his outstretched arm fall back to his side. Now, he starts trembling. A hot flash shoots up his spine. He clenches his fists.
"GOD DAMMIT!" He screams skyward. "GOD
FUCKING DAMMIT I GOT KEYS
AGAIN!"
The Master falls to his knees, cursing the world he lost, while his counterpart walks up behind him, laughing her head off.
----
When the world of 2026 burned, Chaldea alone survived
Charged with the Grand Order, it now sails through the kaleidoscope, searching for the seven singularities
Hoping that their efforts will earn the salvation they hoped for
And that their quartz will hold out long enough to summon the Heroes that will save them
This is....
FATE/SUNNY ORDER
----
Thirty minutes and a lot of weeping later, Ritsuka Tohsaka, the 47th Master of Chaldea, emerges from the summoning chamber carrying an armload of Black Keys and Azoth Daggers. His fellow Master continues laughing uproariously behind him, flanked by a quartet of Servants, heroes summoned from myth and history into bodies capable of sustaining their essence in the modern era, giving them form and strength once more. She skips ahead and pats him on both shoulders, still grinning brightly.
"Oi, cheer up Guda! I'm sure you'll get a Servant eventually!" She snerks involuntarily and ruffles his hair. "
Eventually!"
Ritsuka coolly looks over his shoulder, a polite smile on his face but not quite reaching his eyes. "You're right. And it doesn't matter anyways, we share contracts. Your Servants are my Servants."
"Well yeah, but are they
really your Servants if you didn't actually summon them?" She looks over behind her, at the four heroes she just summoned. "What do you guys think?"
"I taught you better than this," Waver Velvet – or Lord El Melloi II, as he is known now – says dryly as he adjusts his glasses.
"I-I'm not sure it works that way..." Le Chevalier d'Eon mumbles, drumming their fingers on the handle of their rapier.
"I am contracted to both of you," says Atalanta the Huntress, one of her feline ears twitching. "I don't see the difference. Do you, Herakles?"
The obsidian-skinned giant beside her grunts in agreement, holding his gigantic axe-sword like a cane.
"I agree with all of them," Ritsuka says blandly back. "
Especially Lord El Melloi II, though Herakles makes a good point. Stop being childish, Kana. You're eighteen."
Kana Tohsaka just snickers and sticks her tongue out at him. "You
say all this, but we both know that it's actually eating away at you on the inside."
Curse that woman she's entirely correct. "You couldn't be more wrong," Ritsuka says with a dead smile. He looks over at the four Servants they've summoned, this time smiling more genuinely. "Anyways, how about we show you around Chaldea?"
----
"...Nobu, what are you doing?"
"Making bombs."
"Ah, I see."
"Mmhm."
"...Wait
what?!"
Okita Souji leaps off the common room couch once the statement finally sinks in and draws her katana, flailing the blade wildly at the errant Archer. "N-N-Nobu why are you making a bomb?!
How are you making a bomb?! Master was very clear: NO BOMBS!"
The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga herself, just shrugs as she gently sticks both halves of the orange back together. "Psh, Master's only salty that it worked."
The Captain of the Shinsengumi's First Division turns red with frustration. "I'm pretty sure it revealed our position and
also failed to get us into Orleans!"
"Psh, details." Nobunaga holds it up in the palm of her hand, displaying it to the heavens themselves. "Behold! The Nobu-Bombu v2.0! Smaller, stronger, and eco-friendly too!"
"Why eco-friendly?! That's random! And surprisingly considerate of you!"
"Well obviously it's because Master wouldn't let me into the actual bomb materials pile so I worked with other stuff and now it probably smells nice too! If anything I'm doing good work! Master should be appreciative! Appreciative enough to let me back into the bomb room!" The orange in her hand falls into a dozen paper-thin slices and starts floating out of her hand. She turns to Okita. "You just destroyed mankind."
"Excuse me, remember when you made the Grail a bomb?
You lost a star!"
"Yeah but it's okay because Archers beat Sabers anyways!"
"Yeah okay
I'm not taking that lying down IT'S NOT EVEN CANON HERE!"
Nobunaga starts laughing. She summons a musket and twirls it idly. "What you gonna do about it?"
Okita dashes towards her at godspeed. "MUMYOU--" Nobu yelps and twists
just enough to get out of the path of the blade. "--SANDANZUK-
BWAH!"
Okita hits the wall sword-first, and the collapse in casuality brings the whole structure down. Then her head mashes straight into some debris right as her tubercolosis starts acting up again and she knocks herself out. When the dust settles, the Saber is barely visible except for the single tuft of pink hair peeking through the pile of rubble.
"...Hah!" Nobu points and laughs. "It's not Okita-san's great victory!"
The dust settles further, revealing a pack of six people right behind the wall. One mountain of a man, two cute girls, some uncle, a girl with orange hair tied into a sidetail and a black-haired boy with –
oh crap.
Nobunaga finds herself locked in a gaze with her Master, his dead eyes glaring through her soul. Somehow, despite being, well, Oda fucking Nobunaga, she feels real fear creep up her spine, like a really bad massage Nobukatsu tried to give her once. It wasn't painful or anything, it was just really weird and scary. Kind of like now.
Whilst Kana Tohsaka skips forward and starts lifting concrete blocks off the comatose Okita, Ritsuka Tohsaka holds up a clenched fist, red command seals tattooed on the back glowing brightly. He nods at the Archer.
Fix it, he says without words. The threat that follows is implied and
oh-so-heavy.
Nobu nods. There was no exchange of words but she hears it out and clear. She pulls out a broom and dustpan and starts working.
----
"Oh my
god Okita are you okay?!" Kana exclaims.
"Muhhhhh…." The Saber comatosely mumbles.
"Yeah I have a headache," Ritsuka sighs. "Sorry everyone, tour's cancelled. You guys know where the important places are anyways so I'll just take you to your quarters and we'll do this again tomorrow."
The Servants nod. Herakles points at the pile of debris, now with the peach-haired saber's head exposed.
"Yes please, Herakles. Thank you."
The Berserker nods and starts casually shifting the debris to one side before pulling the Saber out with a loud pop. Okita whimpers like a cold puppy, mouth dripping blood. Kana rushes to her and hugs her tight, cooing comforting nothings into her ear. Ritsuka sighs. She's going to be useless for the rest of the day. He already knows.
"This way, everyone," he says glumly, still carrying black keys and azoth daggers. He is going to melt all these down into mana
maliciously today. "You're free for the rest of the day, do... whatever you want I guess."
----
"When I said whatever I want I didn't mean go to lunch with me."
"Nonsense. You look like you need a talk." Waver Velvet, Lord El Melloi II, and occasional collaborator of his parents, takes a sip of tea before savoring the smell. He grunts pleasantly. "I see Chaldea didn't skip out on the creature comforts."
Ritsuka looks at him with a frown. The magus sets down his cup with a solid 'clink' and clasps his hands. "You may ask the obvious question," he nods.
"How are you here?" The Master asks. "Last I checked
you told me modern humans can't qualify as Heroic Spirits."
"I'm a Pseudo-Servant," El Melloi II responds evenly. He takes out a cigar from his coat pocket and chews on it, doesn't even bother with a lighter. He snaps his fingers and fire comes out the tip of his thumb, which he uses instead. "The one I'm bonded with is Zhuge Liang."
"Ah." Ritsuka nods. He shakes his head. "Okay why and why."
"Because Zhuge Liang possesses a sufficiently inhuman mindset that he cannot be summoned without a vessel to inhabit. Or so he told me," the Clocktower lecturer says with a shrug. "As for your second question, it seems that the options for vessels are limited only to the humans involved in any given Holy Grail War. I participated in the Fourth, and I seemed the most appropriate fit for him, so here we are." He folds his fingers together and awaits the next batch of questions.
Ritsuka can't help but be amazed that he knew exactly what kind of 'why' questions he was asking. The boy was hoping that Waver would ask to clarify so he could vent more, but the grizzled Grail War veteran doesn't seem to care for teenagerisms. Such is the mettle of a top tier teacher of the magical arts. He thinks about more questions.
"What can you do?" Ritsuka asks, one eyebrow raised quizzically. As a Master, he needs to know what his Servants can do. Even if they look like senior figures from his life. Even if they
are said figures from his life.
Waver exhales a plume of grey cigar smoke out of his mouth, away from Ritsuka's direction, before responding. "I have all of Zhuge Liang's tactical and strategic genius, but in terms of combat I'm more suited as an advisor. If necessary I am more than capable of taking the field… but I'd rather not sit before an open gate playing a
guqin."
Ritsuka just stares blankly at the Clock Tower lord.
"...Nevermind," Waver sighs, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Regardless, as I am still El Melloi II, you can consult me about magical matters as well. If you wish, I can continue your tutoring."
Ritsuka considers the option. It would be a bargain; if this were anywhere but Chaldea, his lessons would be
incredibly expensive. Such was a Clocktower education. But he has other responsibilities. "If we have time," Ritsuka nods. "Thank you, Lord El Melloi II. I'm glad
you are here."
"Mm. Any other questions, Master?"
Ritsuka thinks for a moment. "What are the odds that one of my parents is summoned as a Pseudo-Servant?"
"Inordinately high. They were central to the course of the Fifth War, their importance in events second to none."
Ritsuka considers the implications of having the power to compel his parents to do anything. They trouble him greatly. He then considers the implications of his sister having the power to compel his parents to do anything. They make him shudder. "Caster, please keep quiet about this. If Kana asks, tell her you are a unique circumstance."
The magus raises his eye at the mention of his Class but nods stoically. "I don't see the concern, Master, but I will oblige. Any other questions?"
"Well, actually--" Out the corner of his eye Ritsuka spots a blur of purple and white across the sea of identical Chaldean uniforms, headed out of the cafeteria. "--Nothing for now, Lord El Melloi II. Welcome to Chaldea and enjoy the tea!"
Waver nods and continues smoking his cigar. Ritsuka climbs out of the bench and does his most dignified walk-run out of the cafeteria.
----
He finds her in one of Chaldea's gardens, sitting on a bench surrounded by greenery, reading from a small book with her legs neatly tucked. The image she strikes is one of a demure lady, someone to be protected. That couldn't be further from the truth, but he still wanted to try. Even if it was sheer folly to try and protect someone whose role was
to protect, he wanted to try.
She spots him as he ducks under a tree branch, the leaves rustling in the wind. Brushing a lock of violet hair aside, she smiles politely at Ritsuka and makes space on the bench for him. "Good afternoon, Ritsuka-senpai! How is your day?"
He smiles back at her. "Today has been fine, Mashu. We summoned a few more Servants today." He slides on his reading glasses before looking at her again, her violet eyes shyly avoiding eye contact. "How is yours?"
"It's been great! I finished up some combat sparring in the morning and got some instruction from Leonidas. I'll be sure to put it to good use in the next Singularity!"
Ritsuka nods appreciatively. Though Mashu Kyrielight possesses the power of a Servant – more specifically of a Shielder-class Servant, a class dedicated to protecting others – she lacks the experiences and instincts of a true hero. But her dilligence and stubborn determination to do all she can has made her every bit as reliable as any other hero in Chaldea. "Alright. I'll be counting on you, Mashu."
"Yes, senpai!"
They sit together in the garden under the shade of a tall tree, enjoying the breeze in the artificial sunlight. Ritsuka intellectually knows that none of this is real. The breeze is generated by fans and the sun is really just a large lamp. But here and now, beside Mashu, it feels like he's back at home, spending a lazy afternoon with his sister, his father or mother due to arrive with snacks at any moment. Its peaceful and nostalgic... A welcome change from everything.
He looks at Mashu beside him out the corner of his eye, keenly aware of every detail about the girl. Whenever she gently breathes, the way her lavender hair billows in the wind, how the pages ruffle as she turns them gently with her finger and thumb... Ritsuka feels a hot flush in his cheeks. He's known it since the day they met in Chaldea, in the hallway when she came to them with a little furry animal, a guiding angel in a snowy mountain fortress, after Kana had passed out on the floor from the simulation test.
She showed them the way, introduced them to Chaldea, and watched out for them. When Ritsuka found her crushed under fallen debris after the explosion, he had felt more lost than ever. No amount of magecraft could have saved her, not in the state he found her, not as he was. When he awoke in Fuyuki and saw her... Frankly the first thing he felt was relief.
And then she proved herself throughout the singularity, and then again in France. She wasn't just kind and helpful, but fierce and driven. She wanted to be more, to protect others with her newfound power, to be worthy of her new strength. He wanted to help her. He wanted to
be with her. And Kana could mock him all she wants, he'll do it anyways.
Ritsuka takes a deep breath as he closes his book with a small 'clap'. Mashu looks up at him with surprise. "Senpai?" she asks.
"This might be a bit sudden, Mashu, but... I like you."
"Huh? I like you too, senpai." Her expression turns to horror. "D-Did you not like me before?"
"What?! No no, I always liked you!" He puts his hands together, trying not to twiddle his thumbs. Dammit man, grow a backbone and be like dad. Just
say it, nevermind the embarrassment! "I mean I... I
love you, Mashu. I want to be with you forever. That kind of like." He maintains eye contact, no matter how awkward it feels. Dear god please be merciful.
Mashu looks back at him with a blank expression. Then her cheeks turn red, then her whole face. "...Eh? E-EH?! S-Senpai thinks of me t-t-that way?!"
"Y-Yes," Ritsuka says, looking away and scratching the itch that suddenly appears on his cheek. He's not shy, no, not at all. Tohsakas are always elegant, there's no time to be shy. "W-Well? H-H-How about y-you?"
Mashu takes a deep breath, hands on her lap. "Ritsuka-senpai, I..."
His hands ball into fists. This is it, Ritsuka Tohsaka. Be a man. Be
the man. Protect her. Become the shielder's shield.
"I... I-I'm sorry
I-I-I CAN'T!"
His heart stops. Ritsuka feels like he just died. Like the girl just put a hand grenade in his cold clammy hands and pulled the pin. "...Eh?"
"I'm sorry, senpai! I-I... I need to think about this!" Mashu stands up abruptly in a swirl of mana, instantly clad in her servant armor. She bows quickly to him. "H-Have a good day, Ritsuka-senpai! I ne-need to go somewhere! E-E-ENJOY YOUR BOOK!"
"M-Mashu wai--"
She disappears in a gust of wind, sprinting out of the garden. Ritsuka continues sitting on the bench, all colour gone from their existence.
Everything is black and white and grey and dead now. Its sad. He tried and he failed. Is this hell? Did he die and go back to the Root? Funny, he thought it would be a lot less comprehensible.
Ritsuka Tohsaka stays there for a very, very long time, unmoving.
----
"Yoooo, Maaaaaaster.... I cleaned up the room... Where are yoooooou..." Nobunaga ducks under a tree branch before finding Cu Chulainn sitting next to their male Master on the bench, his eyes closed and his hands clapped together. "Hey, dog! What happened to him?"
"I'm not a dog. Don't call me dog," Cu responds firmly. He opens his eyes as Nobu approaches, holding the broom over her shoulders. "Master here got involved in some lady troubles. He's been in hell ever since."
"Mm. I see, I see." Nobu nods sagely. "Well, can't be helped! Dog, we'll just have to break him out of hell!"
Lancer rolls his eyes. "Right, and how are you--" He narrows his eyes when the Archer produces an orange in her palm. "Now what is
that supposed to be?"
"Behold, dog, the Nobu-Bombu v2.0! Just press the button and--"
Lancer stabs it with the tip of his red spear. There is an ominous ticking sound.
The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven looks down at the impaled bomb-fruit in her hand, before making eye contact with the spearman. "Why this?" Nobu asks, whimpering.
"Because I'm not a dog," Cu whispers back.
The orange bulges dangerously and explodes in the palm of her hand. The Archer screams and throws the orange at the Lancer. He bats it back into her face with ease. There is a loud flash as Nobunaga is flung away by the shockwave, while Cu handily escapes the blast radius with his Master in hand.
When the dust settles, Nobunaga weakly looks up and sees Lancer looking down at her, smug as can be. "H-How..." she rasps. "How the hell did you dodge THAT?!"
"You threw it. So I dodged it." He shrugs and smirks maliciously. "Protection from Arrows. It is a dog thing."
"...That's not an arrow!"
"Girl you'd be surprised what does and doesn't count as an arrow." He holds Ritsuka out like a kitten and starts shaking him. "Hey, Master! Time to wake up! Nobu made another bomb!"
"...Muuuh?" The Master groans as his eyes open. He sobers up immediately. "She did
WHAT?!"
----
It is said that Nobunaga's screams could be heard into the dead of the night.
- End Chapter One -
