- Location
- Argentina
I made it up, is called a snip/omake.
Hereafter [Worm x Fate/Grand Order]
- Thread starter James D. Fawkes
- Start date
- Crossover
I made it up, is called a snip/omake.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
Mmm...
What if the dream Taylor had wasn't ordinary, but wasn't an attempt to trap her inside the prison, either?
What if it was a warning someone sent her to spook her off from trying to rescue Ritsuka herself?
Like, apparently Merlin can see inside Chaldea just fine, and Jeanne managed to summon herself inside another Servant's Saint Graph in a place existing outside conventional reality and communicate with Ritsuka in the dreams he has in this place.
There you go, a likely candidate.
What if the dream Taylor had wasn't ordinary, but wasn't an attempt to trap her inside the prison, either?
What if it was a warning someone sent her to spook her off from trying to rescue Ritsuka herself?
Like, apparently Merlin can see inside Chaldea just fine, and Jeanne managed to summon herself inside another Servant's Saint Graph in a place existing outside conventional reality and communicate with Ritsuka in the dreams he has in this place.
There you go, a likely candidate.
Prison Tower - Part Five
James D. Fawkes
Court Scribe
- Location
- Avalon (Isle of Mists)
Part Five
Bradamante was…not the hardest fight Ritsuka and Jeanne Alter had yet had in the prison tower. In fact, she was actually kind of clumsy and uncoordinated, completely different from the normal Bradamante Ritsuka was used to. She couldn't even seem to swing her lance properly, always overextending or missing, like she was expecting it to be longer and heavier than it actually was, and she dodged plenty of times where he would have expected her to use her shield to block.
Maybe it really was Jeanne in there.
The idea that it even could be spurred Jeanne Alter into even greater action. She was faster, stronger, more eager to fight than she had been in any of the other fights against any of the other Lords so far. He barely had to give her any orders at all, and she moved so quickly that he barely had any time to either.
Bradamante — or Jeanne, or Bradamante who thought she was Jeanne, whatever was going on there — put up a valiant effort, as expected of her, but Ritsuka expected she would have had a difficult time against two Servants at once even at her best, and she definitely wasn't at her best. It was inevitable that she would take one too many hard hits, one too many powerful blows, and eventually lose her grip on her form.
"I should have known better," she said as she started to fade away. "This form…it just wasn't a good fit for me. I guess just having the connection of being servants of France wasn't enough to make us truly compatible."
"No shit," Jeanne Alter said with a leer.
Bradamante sighed regretfully. "I wish there was enough time and more chances…but this was the only shot I had. Jeanne Alter, forgive me for asking this of you, but I have to leave this in your hands. Ritsuka's safety will be up to you."
"Sure it is." Jeanne Alter rolled her eyes. "But like fuck am I doing it because you asked me to, bitch. This loser is just my only ticket out of here."
"We'll be fine," Ritsuka promised.
Bradamante gave him a gentle, tender smile, and then vanished.
Avenger laughed cruelly. "She's gone! That putrid saint, offering her paltry salvation — with so tiny a fragment of your own soul? What did you expect to accomplish with that? Pathetic!"
"Wasn't it just?" Jeanne Alter agreed. "Now come on. There's just one more of these fuckers, right?"
"Indeed!" said Avenger. He spun around with a twirl of his cloak. "Come, Master! Your moment of freedom is almost at hand! Prepare yourself for the final challenge, and you may yet leave this wretched hell behind!"
Ritsuka nodded. "Right!"
And he could finally get back to Chaldea. Rika and the others were probably worried sick.
When they got back to his cell, however, Mercédès was nowhere to be found. She was not lost wandering the hallways, calling out for help again, and she was not sitting at his bedside, waiting for him to return. There was no note, no letter, nothing at all left behind to say where she might have gone, or even that she had ever been there in the first place.
"She disappeared," said Ritsuka. He looked about, but she didn't suddenly jump up from behind his bed and shout 'surprise!' either.
"So, she's gone," said Avenger. "Hmph. And you have no idea where she might have vanished off to, do you? That is fine. It's all the same, in the end. There is nowhere else to go in Château d'If."
Did that mean…
"She went to the Hall of Judgment ahead of us?" Ritsuka suggested.
"Perhaps," said Avenger. "Or perhaps she simply gave into despair and joined the howling ghosts wandering this place. It makes no difference in the end, Master. Wherever she might have gone, you cannot follow, so you may as well forget about her entirely."
"Hey," said Jeanne Alter, annoyed. "She's not going to suddenly show up and attack us on the way to the next Hall, is she?"
"Don't be ridiculous," said Avenger. "If she is gone, then she is gone. We won't see her again. There's nothing you can do about it, so there's no need to concern yourself with her fate. What is the modern expression again? No use crying over spilt milk?"
Ritsuka grimaced. Using that phrase when talking about a human being who may or may not have died — or worse — wasn't exactly the kindest way of putting it…but Avenger did have a bit of a point. It wasn't that he had to be more pragmatic, it was that he had to be keenly aware of his limitations if he wanted to make it through all of this.
In that sense, Ritsuka thought he finally understood what Senpai had been trying to explain to him and Rika back in Orléans, after they escaped La Charité. He hadn't really wanted to hear it at the time, but everything that had happened since then had put it all into perspective. It wasn't bad to want to save people and rescue those in need, but the one person that always had to survive no matter what was Ritsuka himself.
He couldn't save anyone if he was dead.
"Let's just get going," said Ritsuka. "This is the last Lord of Judgment, right? So after this, I can finally go back to Chaldea."
"Indeed!" Avenger grinned. "Let's go, Master. Now is not the time for hesitation or uncertainty. Kill the seventh Lord. Escape this hell. That is the only path forward for you."
"You could at least pretend that I'm here, you know," said Jeanne Alter.
Avenger looked at her, scoffed, and then turned away. Jeanne Alter made a rude gesture at his back.
From there, it was off to the next Hall of Judgment. Ritsuka didn't bother to ask for a break or a chance to sleep again, because he didn't really feel like he needed it. The last two fights had been much easier than the two before them, so he still felt like he could keep going for a while. The faster he went through all of this, the faster he could get home, and if he had felt a little tired, that thought would have energized him for what awaited ahead.
"You are lucky," Avenger said as they walked. The path looked the same as it always had. "You have seen so very little of what lurks in these halls, Master. You have not had to hear the cries of the damned with every step, nor smelt the stench of death that pervades this entire prison. The tortures of this hell shy away from your sight." He glanced back over his shoulder at Ritsuka. "No human being can possibly be so innocent, so perhaps the weight of your sins is being shared with another. Or perhaps that senior of yours carries it on her own shoulders instead. How fortunate of you."
Ritsuka scrutinized the back of Avenger's head. "…Is that what you see when we walk these hallways?"
"Ha!" Avenger laughed. "Yes, you and I do indeed walk very different paths, Master! Perhaps I should… No, no, you have already heard it, have you not? That damned saint has already revealed it, hasn't she? Don't bother trying to hide it. I don't need to see your face to know that you've already heard enough to determine the shape of things, so. Let me tell you an old story, Master…"
And he explained. The story of Edmond Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo, who had been betrayed, suffered for fourteen long years, and returned later to achieve his revenge.
By the time he finished, they had reached the next Hall.
"Some say he abandoned his wicked ways," Avenger said, "that, at the very end of it all, he regained the goodness he had lost… That he found love. Love, in the arms of that foreign princess. That they left all of it behind together and disappeared from the pages of history."
"Damn," drawled Jeanne Alter. "Way to ruin a perfectly good ending."
"I've heard that story before," Ritsuka said. The original Jeanne had told it to him in his sleep not that long ago.
"Of course you have," said Avenger. "That man's life was recorded by a certain novelist, who embellished certain details and released it as a book to much acclaim. It transcended its original roots and became an archetypal myth of revenge, and the man himself transcended humanity to become a Heroic Spirit."
The door's lock clicked with a heavy, weighty sound, but as the door swung open, Avenger turned back to Ritsuka instead.
"A Heroic Spirit of revenge, who existed in the popular consciousness of mankind solely in that form," he said. "Then, when the plan to incinerate all of human history was set into motion —"
"He became a rare Extra Class Servant," a voice from inside the room said. "An Avenger."
And there, waiting for them, poised against them like every other Lord so far…
Ritsuka's stomach dropped. "Mercédès?"
…was the same woman who had cared for him in between battles in the Halls since they had rescued her.
"Hello, Ritsuka," she replied.
"Fuck me," said Jeanne Alter, chuckling lowly. "She's number seven, isn't she?"
It was exactly the same conclusion Ritsuka had come to, and he hadn't wanted to hear it a second time.
"Are you…?"
"I'm sorry," said Mercédès. "I never did remember my name. I still don't know who I am. But, Avenger…I do know you."
"Move," said Avenger, humorless. "I prefer not to kill women."
Ritsuka goggled at him. Jeanne Alter cackled outright. "The hell, you say! What the fuck did we just get done with?"
"That was not a woman," Avenger said with a completely straight face. "The form she was wearing was unusual, but that was a Ruler. A human fortress. She was far too sturdy to be called a mere woman."
"And Aífe?" Ritsuka asked next.
Avenger gave him a queer look. "What reason would I have to flinch at putting down a rabid dog?"
Ouch. Jeanne Alter just laughed harder. Ritsuka made a mental note to never let Aífe hear that such a thing had been said.
"Perhaps I am the same," said Mercédès. "Maybe…the reason I can't remember who I am is because this body doesn't belong to me. Maybe…I am the lingering regrets of the woman who loved you, manifesting in the body of a Heroic Spirit willing to help me bring you peace. Maybe the name you gave me was more appropriate than you ever could have realized."
"Shut up!" Avenger snapped. "Don't you dare say something so ludicrous!"
"This tower is wicked, Edmond," Mercédès said with resigned purpose.
"Shut up!" Avenger snarled again. "That's not my name, stop calling me that!"
"And it has made you wicked, as well," she went on, ignoring him. "Not only for the sake of Ritsuka and the world itself, but also for your own sake, the only thing I can do is rescue you from your wickedness."
"Yet another," seethed Avenger. "Yet another! Another who claims she will save me from my fury and hatred! Have I not already said? I am not Edmond Dantès! I am the Count of Monte Cristo! I have no want nor any need of your salvation! And you, who cannot even remember your own name, have no place trying to offer it to me!"
"It's true. Without this Heroic Spirit's true name and Noble Phantasm, I wouldn't be able to do anything at all on my own," Mercédès agreed. "And that is why…my only other option is to call upon the others of this Hall who never received salvation to come to my aid and fight beside me."
She lifted her arms — and from all around the room, the shadows rose.
Bradamante was…not the hardest fight Ritsuka and Jeanne Alter had yet had in the prison tower. In fact, she was actually kind of clumsy and uncoordinated, completely different from the normal Bradamante Ritsuka was used to. She couldn't even seem to swing her lance properly, always overextending or missing, like she was expecting it to be longer and heavier than it actually was, and she dodged plenty of times where he would have expected her to use her shield to block.
Maybe it really was Jeanne in there.
The idea that it even could be spurred Jeanne Alter into even greater action. She was faster, stronger, more eager to fight than she had been in any of the other fights against any of the other Lords so far. He barely had to give her any orders at all, and she moved so quickly that he barely had any time to either.
Bradamante — or Jeanne, or Bradamante who thought she was Jeanne, whatever was going on there — put up a valiant effort, as expected of her, but Ritsuka expected she would have had a difficult time against two Servants at once even at her best, and she definitely wasn't at her best. It was inevitable that she would take one too many hard hits, one too many powerful blows, and eventually lose her grip on her form.
"I should have known better," she said as she started to fade away. "This form…it just wasn't a good fit for me. I guess just having the connection of being servants of France wasn't enough to make us truly compatible."
"No shit," Jeanne Alter said with a leer.
Bradamante sighed regretfully. "I wish there was enough time and more chances…but this was the only shot I had. Jeanne Alter, forgive me for asking this of you, but I have to leave this in your hands. Ritsuka's safety will be up to you."
"Sure it is." Jeanne Alter rolled her eyes. "But like fuck am I doing it because you asked me to, bitch. This loser is just my only ticket out of here."
"We'll be fine," Ritsuka promised.
Bradamante gave him a gentle, tender smile, and then vanished.
Avenger laughed cruelly. "She's gone! That putrid saint, offering her paltry salvation — with so tiny a fragment of your own soul? What did you expect to accomplish with that? Pathetic!"
"Wasn't it just?" Jeanne Alter agreed. "Now come on. There's just one more of these fuckers, right?"
"Indeed!" said Avenger. He spun around with a twirl of his cloak. "Come, Master! Your moment of freedom is almost at hand! Prepare yourself for the final challenge, and you may yet leave this wretched hell behind!"
Ritsuka nodded. "Right!"
And he could finally get back to Chaldea. Rika and the others were probably worried sick.
When they got back to his cell, however, Mercédès was nowhere to be found. She was not lost wandering the hallways, calling out for help again, and she was not sitting at his bedside, waiting for him to return. There was no note, no letter, nothing at all left behind to say where she might have gone, or even that she had ever been there in the first place.
"She disappeared," said Ritsuka. He looked about, but she didn't suddenly jump up from behind his bed and shout 'surprise!' either.
"So, she's gone," said Avenger. "Hmph. And you have no idea where she might have vanished off to, do you? That is fine. It's all the same, in the end. There is nowhere else to go in Château d'If."
Did that mean…
"She went to the Hall of Judgment ahead of us?" Ritsuka suggested.
"Perhaps," said Avenger. "Or perhaps she simply gave into despair and joined the howling ghosts wandering this place. It makes no difference in the end, Master. Wherever she might have gone, you cannot follow, so you may as well forget about her entirely."
"Hey," said Jeanne Alter, annoyed. "She's not going to suddenly show up and attack us on the way to the next Hall, is she?"
"Don't be ridiculous," said Avenger. "If she is gone, then she is gone. We won't see her again. There's nothing you can do about it, so there's no need to concern yourself with her fate. What is the modern expression again? No use crying over spilt milk?"
Ritsuka grimaced. Using that phrase when talking about a human being who may or may not have died — or worse — wasn't exactly the kindest way of putting it…but Avenger did have a bit of a point. It wasn't that he had to be more pragmatic, it was that he had to be keenly aware of his limitations if he wanted to make it through all of this.
In that sense, Ritsuka thought he finally understood what Senpai had been trying to explain to him and Rika back in Orléans, after they escaped La Charité. He hadn't really wanted to hear it at the time, but everything that had happened since then had put it all into perspective. It wasn't bad to want to save people and rescue those in need, but the one person that always had to survive no matter what was Ritsuka himself.
He couldn't save anyone if he was dead.
"Let's just get going," said Ritsuka. "This is the last Lord of Judgment, right? So after this, I can finally go back to Chaldea."
"Indeed!" Avenger grinned. "Let's go, Master. Now is not the time for hesitation or uncertainty. Kill the seventh Lord. Escape this hell. That is the only path forward for you."
"You could at least pretend that I'm here, you know," said Jeanne Alter.
Avenger looked at her, scoffed, and then turned away. Jeanne Alter made a rude gesture at his back.
From there, it was off to the next Hall of Judgment. Ritsuka didn't bother to ask for a break or a chance to sleep again, because he didn't really feel like he needed it. The last two fights had been much easier than the two before them, so he still felt like he could keep going for a while. The faster he went through all of this, the faster he could get home, and if he had felt a little tired, that thought would have energized him for what awaited ahead.
"You are lucky," Avenger said as they walked. The path looked the same as it always had. "You have seen so very little of what lurks in these halls, Master. You have not had to hear the cries of the damned with every step, nor smelt the stench of death that pervades this entire prison. The tortures of this hell shy away from your sight." He glanced back over his shoulder at Ritsuka. "No human being can possibly be so innocent, so perhaps the weight of your sins is being shared with another. Or perhaps that senior of yours carries it on her own shoulders instead. How fortunate of you."
Ritsuka scrutinized the back of Avenger's head. "…Is that what you see when we walk these hallways?"
"Ha!" Avenger laughed. "Yes, you and I do indeed walk very different paths, Master! Perhaps I should… No, no, you have already heard it, have you not? That damned saint has already revealed it, hasn't she? Don't bother trying to hide it. I don't need to see your face to know that you've already heard enough to determine the shape of things, so. Let me tell you an old story, Master…"
And he explained. The story of Edmond Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo, who had been betrayed, suffered for fourteen long years, and returned later to achieve his revenge.
By the time he finished, they had reached the next Hall.
"Some say he abandoned his wicked ways," Avenger said, "that, at the very end of it all, he regained the goodness he had lost… That he found love. Love, in the arms of that foreign princess. That they left all of it behind together and disappeared from the pages of history."
"Damn," drawled Jeanne Alter. "Way to ruin a perfectly good ending."
"I've heard that story before," Ritsuka said. The original Jeanne had told it to him in his sleep not that long ago.
"Of course you have," said Avenger. "That man's life was recorded by a certain novelist, who embellished certain details and released it as a book to much acclaim. It transcended its original roots and became an archetypal myth of revenge, and the man himself transcended humanity to become a Heroic Spirit."
The door's lock clicked with a heavy, weighty sound, but as the door swung open, Avenger turned back to Ritsuka instead.
"A Heroic Spirit of revenge, who existed in the popular consciousness of mankind solely in that form," he said. "Then, when the plan to incinerate all of human history was set into motion —"
"He became a rare Extra Class Servant," a voice from inside the room said. "An Avenger."
And there, waiting for them, poised against them like every other Lord so far…
Ritsuka's stomach dropped. "Mercédès?"
…was the same woman who had cared for him in between battles in the Halls since they had rescued her.
"Hello, Ritsuka," she replied.
"Fuck me," said Jeanne Alter, chuckling lowly. "She's number seven, isn't she?"
It was exactly the same conclusion Ritsuka had come to, and he hadn't wanted to hear it a second time.
"Are you…?"
"I'm sorry," said Mercédès. "I never did remember my name. I still don't know who I am. But, Avenger…I do know you."
"Move," said Avenger, humorless. "I prefer not to kill women."
Ritsuka goggled at him. Jeanne Alter cackled outright. "The hell, you say! What the fuck did we just get done with?"
"That was not a woman," Avenger said with a completely straight face. "The form she was wearing was unusual, but that was a Ruler. A human fortress. She was far too sturdy to be called a mere woman."
"And Aífe?" Ritsuka asked next.
Avenger gave him a queer look. "What reason would I have to flinch at putting down a rabid dog?"
Ouch. Jeanne Alter just laughed harder. Ritsuka made a mental note to never let Aífe hear that such a thing had been said.
"Perhaps I am the same," said Mercédès. "Maybe…the reason I can't remember who I am is because this body doesn't belong to me. Maybe…I am the lingering regrets of the woman who loved you, manifesting in the body of a Heroic Spirit willing to help me bring you peace. Maybe the name you gave me was more appropriate than you ever could have realized."
"Shut up!" Avenger snapped. "Don't you dare say something so ludicrous!"
"This tower is wicked, Edmond," Mercédès said with resigned purpose.
"Shut up!" Avenger snarled again. "That's not my name, stop calling me that!"
"And it has made you wicked, as well," she went on, ignoring him. "Not only for the sake of Ritsuka and the world itself, but also for your own sake, the only thing I can do is rescue you from your wickedness."
"Yet another," seethed Avenger. "Yet another! Another who claims she will save me from my fury and hatred! Have I not already said? I am not Edmond Dantès! I am the Count of Monte Cristo! I have no want nor any need of your salvation! And you, who cannot even remember your own name, have no place trying to offer it to me!"
"It's true. Without this Heroic Spirit's true name and Noble Phantasm, I wouldn't be able to do anything at all on my own," Mercédès agreed. "And that is why…my only other option is to call upon the others of this Hall who never received salvation to come to my aid and fight beside me."
She lifted her arms — and from all around the room, the shadows rose.
- Location
- Philippines
To be fair, it's literally coded into him as a Class. Oblivion Correction is, in some ways, worse than Madness Enhancement. Heck, Jalter actually became saner as a Berserker Servant because her Madness Enhancement EX was something she directed to creative goals and the lack of Oblivion Correction meant that she wasn't confronted with the truth of her origin all the time. Add to that Dantes' Steel Determination and he's literally a mass of vengeance in human form.
Plus, it's also kinda what makes him such a good mind guard. Dantes would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and if that means repeatedly bashing through dimensional barriers, illusions, and even Divine Authorities to protect Ritsuka, he just won't give in. Frankly, it's not sane but he's literally so effective because he's insane.
James D. Fawkes
Court Scribe
- Location
- Avalon (Isle of Mists)
So perhaps I should have been a bit more clear and obvious than just putting it into the notes, but yes. I'm taking off for Christmas and New Year's, because I've been working on this story almost nonstop for two and a half years.
The problem with collapsed ANs is that you can't be sure people will read them all the time.
Danteh…. stop being an edgelord Danteh…..
Prison Tower - Part Six
James D. Fawkes
Court Scribe
- Location
- Avalon (Isle of Mists)
Prison Tower - Part Six
It was a hard fight. Not because Mercédès or any of the phantoms she summoned to her side were all that strong, but because there were just so many of them that Avenger and Jeanne Alter were vastly outnumbered. Ten, twenty, thirty…no, there must have been close to a hundred of them, and by sheer numbers, they posed a threat.
Avenger had to use his Noble Phantasm more than once. Jeanne Alter had originally started the fight with precise bladework that Ritsuka hadn't known she was capable of, but as the fight wore on, she switched to wide, sweeping swings that seared the incoming enemies with tongues of flame.
By the end of it, both Avenger and Jeanne Alter were tired and wounded, but alive, and both the phantoms and Mercédès had been defeated.
"Perhaps…I was never the real Mercédès, after all," she said mournfully. "Even so… Avenger…no, Edmond Dantès…I pray for your salvation."
And then, she vanished, just like any other Servant. Just…dissolved into golden dust.
"She's gone," Ritsuka announced unnecessarily. The feeling in his gut was a sour mix of sadness and victory.
"Heh," Avenger huffed tiredly. It soon morphed into full laughter. "Hehe…haha…hahahahaha!"
"Calm your tits," Jeanne Alter snapped at him. "It was one nameless Servant and a bunch of ghosts. Losing to that would've been fucking embarrassing."
"She wasted her last words on that nonsense?" Avenger grinned broadly. It wasn't a nice expression. He ignored Jeanne Alter entirely. "What hilarity! What a poor jest! Again and again, both with that noxious saint and now with her! I am not Edmond Dantès! I cannot be! It goes against my very nature as a Servant, a Heroic Spirit! The story of Edmond Dantès is over — the story of an innocent man who suffered, achieved his revenge, and was saved in the end! Salvation? What use have I for that!"
"They're right, though, aren't they?" Ritsuka asked. "Even if you don't have any use for it…Edmond Dantès is the name of the man who became the Heroic Spirit you are, isn't he?"
Avenger's grin vanished. "We're done talking. The end is upon us — as you must know, now that the seven judgments have been vanquished. This putrid hell will soon have served its purpose. All that is left is to leave this place and step out into the sunlight of freedom. However…"
Jeanne Alter sneered. "Yeah. Figured it was gonna come down to this."
Ritsuka had done his very best not to think about it…but deep down, he'd had his own suspicions, too.
"Yes," said Avenger. "No human has ever escaped Chateau d'If, with the exception of a single man. That this is merely a curse taking the form of that prison does not change that fact. Only one person may leave this hell. You or me, my temporary Master."
"What the fuck am I, chopped liver?" Jeanne Alter demanded.
"You are a mere shadow," Avenger told her dismissively. "An instrument of Master's will — a particularly mouthy familiar, if you'll mind the comparison. You have not lived, so you cannot die, and therefore you cannot be imprisoned in this place."
"Fuck you, too!" And then she blinked, face screwed up. "Wait. Are you saying I could have left this shithole anytime I wanted to?"
Avenger's grin seemed to be the only answer she needed.
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that earlier?" she snarled at him.
"I'm glad you were here with me, Jeanne Alter," Ritsuka told her earnestly, and the honest gratitude in his voice seemed to throw her for a loop.
"Well…yeah. Of course you are," she blustered. "I'm a badass. There's no way you would've made it through this without me."
Ritsuka gave her a brief smile, then turned back to Avenger. "And what happens to whoever gets left behind? Do they just die?"
"The one who remains shall become the next Abbé Faria," said Avenger. "A pitiful soul whose life and death become a beacon of hope amidst the despair. A ray of light in this hell. A meaningful way to die, don't you think? There are certainly worse fates that may await you in the outside world."
Maybe there were, but Ritsuka had no intention of dying yet. Senpai, Rika, and Mash were still waiting for him back in Chaldea.
"Then I'll be sure to tell them all about how you helped me when I get back," said Ritsuka confidently.
Avenger grinned. "Indeed. Indeed! However, I have no intention of dying either, Master! Not now that I have this second chance, not now that I may at last do as I please! I shall make you the new Abbé Faria and leave this place, and you shall remain behind and die!"
Black flames erupted on his body, coating his limbs and wafting off of him in hazy waves.
"But if you truly intend to continue!" Avenger went on. "If you have not yet lost hope! Then slay me, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Slay me and continue on! To me belongeth Vengeance! I am the avatar of Pride, the Lord of the seventh Hall of Judgment! Fight me, and save the world! Hold nothing back! Fight me — and live!"
"With fucking pleasure!" Jeanne Alter howled.
And the fight began. Avenger versus Jeanne Alter, both of them wielding fire — one bright red and orange, one black and smoldering, both of them born of hatred and vengeance. Ritsuka stepped back and into the spot that seemed safest, watching and waiting, observing everything as he looked for an opening for Jeanne Alter to exploit.
It wasn't easy. The Hall of Judgment wasn't really small, but it wasn't large either. Ritsuka had been to a baseball game when he was younger, and saying the Hall was a quarter the size of that stadium would probably have been way too generous. It was still enough room that he didn't ever feel like he was in all that much danger of the fight spilling over into his little corner of safety.
The fight moved very fast, which made it all the harder to keep track of everything, but it was nowhere near as fast as Aífe and Scáthach had been and Ritsuka had watched Avenger fight six battles now. Not only had he gotten a solid grasp of how Avenger fought, he also knew him enough to tell that Avenger was slowing down.
And they could take advantage of that.
It didn't make things easy by any stretch of the imagination. Even with Ritsuka pointing out moments for Jeanne Alter to take advantage of, even with the two of them working together and putting everything they had into it, Avenger was still a powerful enemy and was still incredibly fast and hard-hitting. The battle wound up much closer than Ritsuka would have liked it to be.
But he had already overcome four Singularities. He had already faced down many enemies that felt insurmountable, up until the moment where they weren't. Even if Senpai had been leading the charge, Ritsuka had learned enough at her metaphorical hip to put it to good use and overcome Avenger, too.
It required having Jeanne Alter use her Noble Phantasm as a feint, but their time here together had smoothed out their rocky relationship, and she didn't even hesitate. Avenger escaped with his own Noble Phantasm, putting on a burst of speed — and running straight into Jeanne Alter's sword.
"Got you," Jeanne Alter breathed. Victory crowned the words.
"Heh." Avenger's head dipped, and he put a hand on the blade of her sword as the flames coating his body faded. "Amazing. Your time as my temporary Master served you well, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Haha! Yes, this is incredible! Truly, truly incredible! Just this once, even one as wretched as I…was capable of guiding someone to victory. Just this once, I could be a tiny ray of hope to an innocent person trapped in hell. Abbé Faria…was this how he felt that day?"
"Huh?" Jeanne Alter drawled. "What are you yapping about?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
Avenger stepped back, pulling himself free of her sword with a meaty squelch, and as it came out of his body, his form flickered with static. When he pressed his hand against the wound, it came away red and slick with blood.
Ritsuka took a bracing breath and cautiously went over to join them.
"Avenger."
Avenger grinned. "Yes! You understand, don't you, Master? That's right! I am Avenger! The Count of Monte Cristo!" Despite his wound, his grin only grew broader as his body started to flake away. "And I guided you to victory, just as you guided me to victory! I, who was born of Edmond Dantès, I, who never had the chance to know the victory he tasted or the peace he found! Together, you and I found victory in this place! This hell, crafted for you specifically by the King of Mages!"
King of Mages? Wait, wasn't that…
"King Solomon?"
Avenger hissed as though he had just said something terribly offensive. "Fool. Don't allow your victory to addle your senses. Speak of him if you like, but do not use his True Name so carelessly, lest you bring his attention down upon you. This one taste was more than enough, don't you think? The next time, perhaps you may not be so fortunate to have someone like me there to save you."
Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. Although it seemed a lot more literal and a lot less funny now.
"He was the one behind this, then?" asked Ritsuka.
"Yes," said Avenger. His body flickered again. "When you killed that second Demon God, he peered through its eyes like a lens and cast his gaze upon you. You, who was responsible for its death. You, on whose orders the final blow was given. He decided on a whim to punish you for your insolence and cast you into this pit — heh! Hahahaha! Too bad, King of Mages, for this was the result! Your callous plot was foiled, because you chose poorly! You chose me to be your instrument! Fool!"
Avenger's grin showed all his teeth. "And now, you are free, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Free of this prison, free of this hell! Free to go forth and save the world!"
"Finally," said Jeanne Alter. "I'm ready to get out of this shithole."
So was Ritsuka. This whole thing had been rough, and it felt like he had barely finished with the last Singularity before being thrown into this place to fight for his life. He was ready to get back to Chaldea and have a chance to properly relax.
There was just one thing he needed answered before they went back.
"What about you?" Ritsuka asked Avenger. "Are you just going to disappear?"
"Do you mourn me?" Avenger asked. "Me, an Avenger? Me, a spirit of vengeance? Hehe…hahahaha! Then if you wish to see me again, Master, there is only one thing you must do. 'Attendre et espérer.' Wait and hope!"
And as Avenger himself faded away, so too did the walls and the torches and the prison around them. Chateau d'If vanished, and Ritsuka found himself staring up at the ceiling of his room in Chaldea, blinking against the sterile fluorescent lights.
"Senpai!" Mash cried suddenly, and the whole room — Fou, Rika, Da Vinci, and Doctor Roman — all whirled about to look.
Shakespeare grinned down at him from the foot of his bed. "Welcome back, Master!"
It was a hard fight. Not because Mercédès or any of the phantoms she summoned to her side were all that strong, but because there were just so many of them that Avenger and Jeanne Alter were vastly outnumbered. Ten, twenty, thirty…no, there must have been close to a hundred of them, and by sheer numbers, they posed a threat.
Avenger had to use his Noble Phantasm more than once. Jeanne Alter had originally started the fight with precise bladework that Ritsuka hadn't known she was capable of, but as the fight wore on, she switched to wide, sweeping swings that seared the incoming enemies with tongues of flame.
By the end of it, both Avenger and Jeanne Alter were tired and wounded, but alive, and both the phantoms and Mercédès had been defeated.
"Perhaps…I was never the real Mercédès, after all," she said mournfully. "Even so… Avenger…no, Edmond Dantès…I pray for your salvation."
And then, she vanished, just like any other Servant. Just…dissolved into golden dust.
"She's gone," Ritsuka announced unnecessarily. The feeling in his gut was a sour mix of sadness and victory.
"Heh," Avenger huffed tiredly. It soon morphed into full laughter. "Hehe…haha…hahahahaha!"
"Calm your tits," Jeanne Alter snapped at him. "It was one nameless Servant and a bunch of ghosts. Losing to that would've been fucking embarrassing."
"She wasted her last words on that nonsense?" Avenger grinned broadly. It wasn't a nice expression. He ignored Jeanne Alter entirely. "What hilarity! What a poor jest! Again and again, both with that noxious saint and now with her! I am not Edmond Dantès! I cannot be! It goes against my very nature as a Servant, a Heroic Spirit! The story of Edmond Dantès is over — the story of an innocent man who suffered, achieved his revenge, and was saved in the end! Salvation? What use have I for that!"
"They're right, though, aren't they?" Ritsuka asked. "Even if you don't have any use for it…Edmond Dantès is the name of the man who became the Heroic Spirit you are, isn't he?"
Avenger's grin vanished. "We're done talking. The end is upon us — as you must know, now that the seven judgments have been vanquished. This putrid hell will soon have served its purpose. All that is left is to leave this place and step out into the sunlight of freedom. However…"
Jeanne Alter sneered. "Yeah. Figured it was gonna come down to this."
Ritsuka had done his very best not to think about it…but deep down, he'd had his own suspicions, too.
"Yes," said Avenger. "No human has ever escaped Chateau d'If, with the exception of a single man. That this is merely a curse taking the form of that prison does not change that fact. Only one person may leave this hell. You or me, my temporary Master."
"What the fuck am I, chopped liver?" Jeanne Alter demanded.
"You are a mere shadow," Avenger told her dismissively. "An instrument of Master's will — a particularly mouthy familiar, if you'll mind the comparison. You have not lived, so you cannot die, and therefore you cannot be imprisoned in this place."
"Fuck you, too!" And then she blinked, face screwed up. "Wait. Are you saying I could have left this shithole anytime I wanted to?"
Avenger's grin seemed to be the only answer she needed.
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that earlier?" she snarled at him.
"I'm glad you were here with me, Jeanne Alter," Ritsuka told her earnestly, and the honest gratitude in his voice seemed to throw her for a loop.
"Well…yeah. Of course you are," she blustered. "I'm a badass. There's no way you would've made it through this without me."
Ritsuka gave her a brief smile, then turned back to Avenger. "And what happens to whoever gets left behind? Do they just die?"
"The one who remains shall become the next Abbé Faria," said Avenger. "A pitiful soul whose life and death become a beacon of hope amidst the despair. A ray of light in this hell. A meaningful way to die, don't you think? There are certainly worse fates that may await you in the outside world."
Maybe there were, but Ritsuka had no intention of dying yet. Senpai, Rika, and Mash were still waiting for him back in Chaldea.
"Then I'll be sure to tell them all about how you helped me when I get back," said Ritsuka confidently.
Avenger grinned. "Indeed. Indeed! However, I have no intention of dying either, Master! Not now that I have this second chance, not now that I may at last do as I please! I shall make you the new Abbé Faria and leave this place, and you shall remain behind and die!"
Black flames erupted on his body, coating his limbs and wafting off of him in hazy waves.
"But if you truly intend to continue!" Avenger went on. "If you have not yet lost hope! Then slay me, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Slay me and continue on! To me belongeth Vengeance! I am the avatar of Pride, the Lord of the seventh Hall of Judgment! Fight me, and save the world! Hold nothing back! Fight me — and live!"
"With fucking pleasure!" Jeanne Alter howled.
And the fight began. Avenger versus Jeanne Alter, both of them wielding fire — one bright red and orange, one black and smoldering, both of them born of hatred and vengeance. Ritsuka stepped back and into the spot that seemed safest, watching and waiting, observing everything as he looked for an opening for Jeanne Alter to exploit.
It wasn't easy. The Hall of Judgment wasn't really small, but it wasn't large either. Ritsuka had been to a baseball game when he was younger, and saying the Hall was a quarter the size of that stadium would probably have been way too generous. It was still enough room that he didn't ever feel like he was in all that much danger of the fight spilling over into his little corner of safety.
The fight moved very fast, which made it all the harder to keep track of everything, but it was nowhere near as fast as Aífe and Scáthach had been and Ritsuka had watched Avenger fight six battles now. Not only had he gotten a solid grasp of how Avenger fought, he also knew him enough to tell that Avenger was slowing down.
And they could take advantage of that.
It didn't make things easy by any stretch of the imagination. Even with Ritsuka pointing out moments for Jeanne Alter to take advantage of, even with the two of them working together and putting everything they had into it, Avenger was still a powerful enemy and was still incredibly fast and hard-hitting. The battle wound up much closer than Ritsuka would have liked it to be.
But he had already overcome four Singularities. He had already faced down many enemies that felt insurmountable, up until the moment where they weren't. Even if Senpai had been leading the charge, Ritsuka had learned enough at her metaphorical hip to put it to good use and overcome Avenger, too.
It required having Jeanne Alter use her Noble Phantasm as a feint, but their time here together had smoothed out their rocky relationship, and she didn't even hesitate. Avenger escaped with his own Noble Phantasm, putting on a burst of speed — and running straight into Jeanne Alter's sword.
"Got you," Jeanne Alter breathed. Victory crowned the words.
"Heh." Avenger's head dipped, and he put a hand on the blade of her sword as the flames coating his body faded. "Amazing. Your time as my temporary Master served you well, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Haha! Yes, this is incredible! Truly, truly incredible! Just this once, even one as wretched as I…was capable of guiding someone to victory. Just this once, I could be a tiny ray of hope to an innocent person trapped in hell. Abbé Faria…was this how he felt that day?"
"Huh?" Jeanne Alter drawled. "What are you yapping about?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
Avenger stepped back, pulling himself free of her sword with a meaty squelch, and as it came out of his body, his form flickered with static. When he pressed his hand against the wound, it came away red and slick with blood.
Ritsuka took a bracing breath and cautiously went over to join them.
"Avenger."
Avenger grinned. "Yes! You understand, don't you, Master? That's right! I am Avenger! The Count of Monte Cristo!" Despite his wound, his grin only grew broader as his body started to flake away. "And I guided you to victory, just as you guided me to victory! I, who was born of Edmond Dantès, I, who never had the chance to know the victory he tasted or the peace he found! Together, you and I found victory in this place! This hell, crafted for you specifically by the King of Mages!"
King of Mages? Wait, wasn't that…
"King Solomon?"
Avenger hissed as though he had just said something terribly offensive. "Fool. Don't allow your victory to addle your senses. Speak of him if you like, but do not use his True Name so carelessly, lest you bring his attention down upon you. This one taste was more than enough, don't you think? The next time, perhaps you may not be so fortunate to have someone like me there to save you."
Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. Although it seemed a lot more literal and a lot less funny now.
"He was the one behind this, then?" asked Ritsuka.
"Yes," said Avenger. His body flickered again. "When you killed that second Demon God, he peered through its eyes like a lens and cast his gaze upon you. You, who was responsible for its death. You, on whose orders the final blow was given. He decided on a whim to punish you for your insolence and cast you into this pit — heh! Hahahaha! Too bad, King of Mages, for this was the result! Your callous plot was foiled, because you chose poorly! You chose me to be your instrument! Fool!"
Avenger's grin showed all his teeth. "And now, you are free, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Free of this prison, free of this hell! Free to go forth and save the world!"
"Finally," said Jeanne Alter. "I'm ready to get out of this shithole."
So was Ritsuka. This whole thing had been rough, and it felt like he had barely finished with the last Singularity before being thrown into this place to fight for his life. He was ready to get back to Chaldea and have a chance to properly relax.
There was just one thing he needed answered before they went back.
"What about you?" Ritsuka asked Avenger. "Are you just going to disappear?"
"Do you mourn me?" Avenger asked. "Me, an Avenger? Me, a spirit of vengeance? Hehe…hahahaha! Then if you wish to see me again, Master, there is only one thing you must do. 'Attendre et espérer.' Wait and hope!"
And as Avenger himself faded away, so too did the walls and the torches and the prison around them. Chateau d'If vanished, and Ritsuka found himself staring up at the ceiling of his room in Chaldea, blinking against the sterile fluorescent lights.
"Senpai!" Mash cried suddenly, and the whole room — Fou, Rika, Da Vinci, and Doctor Roman — all whirled about to look.
Shakespeare grinned down at him from the foot of his bed. "Welcome back, Master!"
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I see that Dantés didn't mention something rather important about the "King of Mages"…
"—Shut up. He has no hatred in him. I've no interest in a being that exists outside of love and hatred."
"—Shut up. He has no hatred in him. I've no interest in a being that exists outside of love and hatred."
Unfortunately, we know that this is false. He loves humanity so much that he pities it, so much that he will end it to save it from suffering. For that is what it means to be a Beast.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
I'm kinda unclear on the chain of events here. Did the Count summon himself to counteract the curse by supplanting it with his own and then guiding Ritsuka out of the prison, or did the Demon King decide to use him specifically, and Ritsuka's just lucky Monte-Cristo took an objection? Or was it planned from the start and he's just one of those fair villains who always leaves a way to defeat his plans if the heroes try hard enough?
Would explain a lot about the plot, I suppose.
Would explain a lot about the plot, I suppose.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
One of the Demon God Pillars, Andromalius, chose Dantés specifically, as noted in Dantés' first interlude and his appearance in the Temple of Time. As noted above, Dantés took exception to following the plans of a being with no hatred in their heart... though if the theory that Dantés is really the Disciple of the Foreign God referred to as "the Count" is correct, he had an ulterior motive for helping Ritsuka to break free of Goetia's curse.
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Of course, it was all the machinations of the most dangerous Foreign God of all.
Nitramy
Love! Snow! Really Magic
- Location
- Home of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Of course, it was all the machinations of the most dangerous Foreign God of all.
"Where is my Saint Quartz? You've been late four times, I've been counting! How many times must I use my Noble Phantasm on you until you act right?"
Ariesthegolden
He who knows not how to ADHD, but is learning
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This last scene is exactly what I wanted from these side stories. Seeing Ritsuka grow from Taylor's shadow and become a competent and thoughtful master in his own right. I look forward to seeing how this might affect the narrative and learning what his deeper bond with Jalter will mean for the future.
Again, thank you for this. It really does fill in the gaps and gives both Jeanne Alter and Ritsuka some much needed face time when he's been very much a generic character thus far. It's also funny that this is the first sign of his servant catnip personality appearing.
"Perhaps I should count your fingers instead. Ten," *Snap!* "nine..."
- Location
- England
So, I'm just chiming in from "Chapter CII". But this singularity broke me.
I'm not going to dance around the issue, the story arc is bad. I don't care if it's canon that the opposition got constant bullshit victories out of nowhere, this isn't canon. You rewrote the first two singularities, why didn't you decide to salvage this atrocity? Honestly, the worst offender is the fact that to give the enemies the victories they have, you've made the protagonists less intelligent.
As of this very chapter, they all decide to pull back because they can't beat Caenis. But they are doing this while Aife has her completely occupied, and neither of the twins have used their shadow servant summons, nor have any of them bothered to call home and ask for help. They could have summoned two additional servants along with Aife and just... won. Right then, right there. Caenis is occupied, Herkales was occupied. Even if they summoned them after he got back, Siegfried would be more than capable of holding him up while another servant went after Jason.
Why did you introduce this new ability for this arc and completely fail to use it. Not just fail to use it, when it is used it's done in the most brain-dead manner that it's like you suddenly remembered that you added it and had to justify why you weren't using it because if used properly it would derail the tracks you were following.
This entire plot has been filled with gaping holes in it that are completely insulting to the performance the characters have pulled off before. For god's sake Taylor is looking at the small boat with no hiding spots Hektor was on and forgot he was there??? For like the third time?
The way you've forced the protagonists to be incredibly passive because otherwise this would have ended several chapters ago is especially aggravating, literally the entire team was present during Blackbeard's death and every single one of them failed to stop Hektor from yoinking the grail and running. I don't care if F/GO's "narrative conventions" allow for this kind of thing, or if it's "fitting to how it happened in canon", it's an absolute disgrace of writing.
I'm well aware that I'm half a year late to the posting, and probably 2-3 months later than that compared to when you wrote this, but I can't stomach reading more of this without saying how incredibly disappointed I am with the whole thing. This is an enormous drop off in quality right after the last Singularity, and as far as I can gather it's because you didn't want to rewrite this singularity, so you just forced the skin of your characters over the original shit story that F/GO had for it? I don't know what reason you might have had for doing this, but it did not come out well at all.
I'm not going to dance around the issue, the story arc is bad. I don't care if it's canon that the opposition got constant bullshit victories out of nowhere, this isn't canon. You rewrote the first two singularities, why didn't you decide to salvage this atrocity? Honestly, the worst offender is the fact that to give the enemies the victories they have, you've made the protagonists less intelligent.
As of this very chapter, they all decide to pull back because they can't beat Caenis. But they are doing this while Aife has her completely occupied, and neither of the twins have used their shadow servant summons, nor have any of them bothered to call home and ask for help. They could have summoned two additional servants along with Aife and just... won. Right then, right there. Caenis is occupied, Herkales was occupied. Even if they summoned them after he got back, Siegfried would be more than capable of holding him up while another servant went after Jason.
Why did you introduce this new ability for this arc and completely fail to use it. Not just fail to use it, when it is used it's done in the most brain-dead manner that it's like you suddenly remembered that you added it and had to justify why you weren't using it because if used properly it would derail the tracks you were following.
This entire plot has been filled with gaping holes in it that are completely insulting to the performance the characters have pulled off before. For god's sake Taylor is looking at the small boat with no hiding spots Hektor was on and forgot he was there??? For like the third time?
The way you've forced the protagonists to be incredibly passive because otherwise this would have ended several chapters ago is especially aggravating, literally the entire team was present during Blackbeard's death and every single one of them failed to stop Hektor from yoinking the grail and running. I don't care if F/GO's "narrative conventions" allow for this kind of thing, or if it's "fitting to how it happened in canon", it's an absolute disgrace of writing.
I'm well aware that I'm half a year late to the posting, and probably 2-3 months later than that compared to when you wrote this, but I can't stomach reading more of this without saying how incredibly disappointed I am with the whole thing. This is an enormous drop off in quality right after the last Singularity, and as far as I can gather it's because you didn't want to rewrite this singularity, so you just forced the skin of your characters over the original shit story that F/GO had for it? I don't know what reason you might have had for doing this, but it did not come out well at all.
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- Location
- Oregon, USA
@Rukia in the author's defense, Hektor DOES have disengage, which is one of if not the most underrated-but-utterly-bullshit skills in the series.
The rest of your comment was unfortunately on-point though. Between this and how Aife's power and utility completely eclipsed the other characters in Septem leading to chronic sandbagging that retroactively worsened the previous fights when it was revealed, the story's had its fair share of problems.
The rest of your comment was unfortunately on-point though. Between this and how Aife's power and utility completely eclipsed the other characters in Septem leading to chronic sandbagging that retroactively worsened the previous fights when it was revealed, the story's had its fair share of problems.