2026 (Almost Certainly)
Chaldea (Very Definitely)
The halls of Chaldea twist and churn. Shockwaves split reinforced concrete with ease, drawing massive jagged lines across the walls and floors and the ceiling. At ground zero, nothing remains but a mess of grey stone and powderised porcelain. Dusting his hands off, the golden man lets out a laugh and offers a glance back; the highest compliment he has offered in centuries. "And that shall be that for today, Master! Prepare yourself, the true test is yet to come!"
Groaning, coughing grey smoke, and bruised from head to toe, Ritsuka Tohsaka crawls out of a crater of his own making and glares halfheartedly at the King of Heroes. "Was that really necessary? Look deep into your heart, really really look, and I know you can do it because you have Clarivoyance, and tell me that all this," Ritsuka says, gesturing wide around him at all the annihilation, "Was strictly necessary."
"Hmph! Rise and shine, Master! I did you a courtesy! It does the body no good to wake up too late! You will be too slovenly for a girl to love!"
"It's six in the fucking morning, Gilgamesh! I WAS STILL SLEEPING!"
"Sleep is for the weak, Master! You are better than that! SURPASS YOUR CORPUS AND DEFY THE TYRANNY OF THE GOD OF DREAMS!" Throwing his head back and skywards, Gilgamesh dramatically looks at his wristwatch. "ALSO! It is actually eleven ante meridian right now."
"...We use a.m. in this era, Gilgamesh."
"Evidence of the degeneracy of your people. Just like your sleeping cycle." Gilgamesh abruptly turns about on his heel, hands on his hips. "Just when have you been sleeping, Master? Do you realise just what you're doing to your circadian rhythm? How do you expect to restore the Human Order if you cannot even wake up on time?"
Ritsuka narrows his eyes. He stands up, hands clasped behind his back. "Gilgamesh, I went to bed at five. I was going to go to bed at ten last night, but then someone told a certain green Archer that another certain green Archer's Goddess was actually a massive thot, and that for the good of everyone especially that certain other green Archer, he should tell that to her face. Despite knowing full well that the CERTAIN OTHER GREEN ARCHER is a FERVENTLY DEVOUT FOLLOWER of said GODDESS." Exhaling and inhaling sharply, Ritsuka pinches his nose. "And subsequently, by total coincidence, something happened because of some certain green Archers - who I shall not name because I am a professional and they've already been disciplined - which lead to, amongst other acts of wanton destruction, twenty three of twenty four of Chaldea's load bearing pillars, which keep Chaldea from collapsing into the active volcano we use for power and heating, getting pulverised. Thereby nearly killing us all."
Gilgamesh blinks at him. He folds his arms. "I don't see how I could be responsible for that. I was making conversation with the Faker and he happened to eavesdrop. Which, I might add, is extremely rude and punishable by death."
"...I proceeded to spend the next several hours working with Da Vinci to put the twenty three pillars back before the weight of Chaldea crushes the last one and we die anyways. I then had to file the report about what happened, because I need to make sure that shit never happens again. Then I went to sleep." He spreads his palms wide. "Then someone blockbusters me and calls it a wake up call."
"And you woke up. Really, more people should do it as a wake up call."
Ritsuka pinches his nose again. "Gilgamesh, could I please ask that you never wake me up for anything less than an emergency again? And only if Mashu considers it an emergency," he adds the instant Gilgamesh raises his hand. "I've slept maybe twenty hours this week and you're the first, second, and third reason why."
Gilgamesh looks flatly at him. He holds up three fingers. "Name them."
Ritsuka raises three fingers. "You bait Servants into shitfights with each other purely for your own amusement, which leads to damage I have to fix." He closes his index finger. "Your regularly scheduled 'wrestlemanias' with Herakles, Cu, and Leonidas frequently wreck the place and give me plenty of noise complaints, which leads to damage I have to fix and people I have to apologise to." He closes his ring finger. "And you keep. Fucking. Throwing Kana into the Gate of Babylon. So I can't even fucking delegate to her." He closes his middle finger. Thinking further, he raises it again. "Named."
Gilgamesh holds his chin briefly. "In my defense, I've only done it twice. And she always comes back. Eventually." On cue, a golden portal opens and Kana Tohsaka, wearing one of her shirt sleeves around her head like a bandana, falls out. "Like so."
Kana stands up, dusting the gold off of her clothes. "Finally!" She looks over at Ritsuka. "Hey, bro. You look pretty messed up. Something happen this week?"
"Oh I assure you, this week has HAPPENED."
She frowns at him. She turns that frown to Gilgamesh. She then turns that frown upside down. "Ah well, all in the past now, right? It's almost time for lunch!"
"Indeed!" Gilgamesh turns to leave. "I shall leave you both to it, Masters! You've earned it!"
"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY MISTER!"
Gilgamesh looks back at him. He shrugs. A golden portal appears at his feet and the King of Heroes falls through it. It closes again before Ritsuka can toss a gemstone through. It won't do anything except make him feel better, but he could really feel better right now.
Kana, reading the mood at a glance - not a complex mood, just her brother about to melt down again in her absence - walks over and pats him on the back. "There there, Rits. Lunch will make it aaaaall better. We can eat in my bunk. Sound good?"
Ritsuka nods. "Thanks, Guda." He frowns. "God dammit I had chicken rice in my room."
"What?! We should totally eat that. Where's your room?"
Ritsuka, flatly, gesticulates around him. Kana nods with sympathy. "I'm sorry for your loss," she whispers.
He pinches his nose and sighs. "No, it's fine. It's just food. I'm just annoyed about wasting it."
"Don't worry, I made extra." "Good that you know. Here."
At two similar, yet discordant voices, Ritsuka and Kana look up to find two bento boxes held to them. They look up, and find two identical men but for their complexion and their hair colour looking at each other, one more shocked than the other.
"Archer," one says calmly, "What are you doing, trying to feed my children?"
"Shirou Emiya," the other says flatly, "You're dead."
"So are you."
Archer narrows his eyes. "Touche."
Kana just kind of lets her jaw hit the ground. Ritsuka instead massages his temples. What a day. "Dad, I'm on Archer's side on this one. You're dead. So how the fuck are you here?"
Without skipping a beat, Shirou lightly bops his son on the head with his bento box. "Language, young man. I didn't teach you to swear. Also, to you, I'm dad."
Off by the side, Kana does not groan. But only because she's still too stunned to do anything.
"BUT--"
Another bop on the head. "No buts!" He shakes his head and hands the lunchbox to his son. "I came and brought you lunch, that's all." Task done, Shirou looks around with his arms folded. "Now, why are you two part of Chaldea? Your mother and I explicitly said to never come here." He glances at their hands. "Especially not as Masters."
"...Uh?"
"I asked you a question, Ritsuka. Don't answer with another question. It's never-ending."
"Uh..."
Shirou closes his eyes. He smiles and ruffles Ritsuka's hair. "It's fine, I can guess. I won't tell your mother, don't worry." He looks up, arms crossed again, glaring at Archer. "I still don't like you."
"It's mutual," Archer replies bitterly.
"...But you're the one I can trust to protect them the most." Shirou sighs and bows his head. "I'm sorry for imposing."
Archer shakes his head and turns his back on him. "Hurry up and go back to dying already."
"Fine, fine." He turns around and hugs his daughter first, and gently kisses her on the forehead before letting go. "You're strong, Kana. Don't ever forget that."
Kana, still stunned into silence, just nods. She's definitely not crying. Her eyes are definitely not wet. "I... I'll see you at home?" She not-blubbers.
Shirou smiles. "It's a promise."
She rubs her eyes. And then he's gone. But the lunchbox he brought is still in Ritsuka's hands, still pleasantly warm.
Still made just the way he always made it. With a budget, with care, and with love.
"...What the fuck just happened?" Ritsuka asks.
"Never underestimate a mother's love," Archer nods sagely.
"...Archer, you just called yourself a mother."
"Indeed. It is why I'm here for you all the time, while he only visited the one time." Shaking his head, Archer opens his bento box. "Now now, let's eat before it gets cold."
Suddenly, Saber slides into the hallway. "I heard Shirou's voice--oh. It's just Archer." Her ahoge wilts and she slowly sulks over in full armour. "...May I join you for lunch?"
"Sure." "Of course, Aunt Saber." "Yay, lunch party!"
Suddenly, Gilgamesh slides into the hallway, his face covered in bruises. "Master, I've decided that I should apologise of my own volition and not because Saber said so--wait." He sniffs the air. "It smells of Fakers in here."
"I do not smell," Archer scowls.
"Shut up Faker there was another!" He turns about and storms off, shaking one fist. "THERE WAS ANOTHER!"
Gilgamesh storms off, still raving. Ritsuka blinks, shrugs, and opens his lunchbox. Kana does the same, and abruptly falls through a golden portal, screaming "DAMMIT NOT NOW" as she does so. Saber excuses herself immediately after to visit the ladies room and definitely not to, in her own words, 'make a golden pancake'. The only one left is Archer EMIYA, who continues standing without his own food. With nothing else to do, Ritsuka samples the lunch Archer made, then the one his father made.
"...How is it?" Archer asks.
Ritsuka swallows. He hems. He haws. He looks up and then down. He looks off to the side, down the hallway Gilgamesh and then Saber disappeared into. "Dad did it better," He says finally.
Archer nods. "I see." Mentally, he dwells bitterly on the sudden, inexplicable visit, and he vows revenge.
Some people should just die when they've been killed.