Hello everybody, this is X the Reaper bringing you the second part of Fate: OSG's last chapter!
Warning, this is the second part, so please make sure you read the last chapter if you want to know what happened up to this point.
Okay, let's go! Endgame time!
"I'm surprised you're taking this rather well," Anderson told me as I prepared to enter the room that our 'guest' had just begun to wake up inside. "I thought you would have took the revelation that she's actually a walking corpse with more... interest."
"You're one to talk," I replied. "Aren't you the one who always says, 'The unlife must be purged! Burn the heretics!'"
He chuckled slightly. "Maybe, but I do have a soft spot when it comes to kids."
'Probably the only reason why, aside from the fact she's looks completely human, that you didn't try to kill her when you first saw her,' I thought, then pushed that accusatory line of thinking aside. "I'm going in," I told him, "you stay here in case I need you."
"As you wish."
I opened the door, walking in just as our patient opened her eyes. Her reaction to being in a completely unfamiliar place in a bed while a tall, white-haired man in a suit walked right on in right when she did so was completely justified I suppose: She immediately lifted her hand, probably to use her Soul Gem to transform and fight, her face twisted into the look of a cornered animal. Of course, the determination in her pose was immediately lost the moment she realized that she didn't have it, replaced with panic as she looked down, probably to figure out where it was.
"It's on the stand," I pointed out.
Her head snapped up at my voice, then she turned as she registered my words, seeing the Gem clear as day. Quickly grabbing it, she once again faced me, though now she had it clutched towards her chest as if protecting it. Couldn't blame her if that really did hold her soul, of course; I would have done the same.
"Who are you?" she demanded, attempting to sound strong, yet underneath the anger I could sense the fear. "Where am I?"
"Edgar Silverstein," I answered kindly. "And as of right now, you're currently in the infirmary of OSG, a secret organization dedicated to protecting this world from dangerous threats and saving innocent lives. We employ vampires,, werewolves, regenerating killer priests, spirits from the beyond, dragons, and even shapeshifters who feed on emotion, plus normal humans who have a habit of killing monsters and doing what's right."
She looked at me like I was crazy. "...Seriously?"
"You're the who's soul is contained within a piece of jewelry that could be destroyed or lost at any time and can use magic to turn into a some sort of... 'Magical Girl' or some such thing," I replied. "Where do you get off on thinking I'm crazy?"
The moment I said that, she clutched the gem in her hands closer to her chest, eyes wide in surprise and fear, her breathing faster. "How did you-"
"I have my ways," I told her. "And the fact that I left it there in arm's reach for you instead of taking it for myself to use as blackmail when you woke up should tell you at least something about myself."
Slowly, my words seemed to register within her skull, because her breathing slowed as her body relaxed. Her eyes were calmer, though she still had her guard up somewhat.
"...Where are my friends?" she asked me at last, her voice more level. "The last thing I remember is getting smashed into the ground, then trying to get up before being grabbed by some... priest with glasses and something shiny in his hands?"
"He wasn't giving your last rites if that's what you're wondering," I joked slightly, but stopped at the look on her face. "And he's here, by the way. Just outside at that."
Turning our heads, we saw Anderson by the window that showed the outside, who seemed to realize we were watching him as he turned around and gave us a wave, which Sayaka returned very slowly.
"As for your friends," I began when she focused her attention back on me, "well..."
So I told her everything that happened, everything which I've just written down earlier involving our encounter. Her face ran the gauntlet from shock, denial, anger, surprise, and finally an eerie calmness.
I found it worrisome that it was that last one that scared me the most.
"That's it," I finally finished. "Homura told me to take you away while she had something to do, some 'last promise' she made Madoka, then did something with her shield as we left. Exactly what, I don't know. All I can say is that we can't go back, even if we tried."
"...You said Madoka's Soul Gem was black?" she finally asked.
"What was left of it," I answered her. "Why?"
She didn't answer, but simply hung her head, then I noticed that her body was starting to shake. "Damn it, Homura..." she muttered, her voice beginning to be choked with sobs. "Now... I can't even... hate you for that..."
I'm not the best at comforting crying women, especially young/teenage girls. I normally get hit by them, even though it doesn't hurt. Still, I couldn't just leave her there, so I put my hand over hers, which were now lying in her lap. She flinched like I just shocked her, but she didn't slap it away, which I took as a good sign.
"I won't claim that I know what happened to you or your friends," I told her in a soothing voice, "and if you never tell me, then that's your choice and I'll respect that. However, if nothing else, know that this place could be your new haven... if you want to be."
"Trying to recruit me into your little band?" she asked me, the sobs dying off though her sad tone was still there. "That's a little sudden, don't you think?"
"You don't have to," I admitted. "You could leave this place right now and we wouldn't stop you... though considering what's out there, you might regret it."
She seemed to take offense to that accusation. "I'm not weak," she replied with some anger.
"I never said you were, but can you kill extremely powerful magic users and vampires strong enough to slaughter entire towns within minutes? Or defeat an organization dedicated to killing the undead and with members that could fight armies without breaking a sweat?"
She didn't answer that. I then stood up. "I'll leave you alone for now; let you gather your thoughts. Tell me what you think later."
I moved towards the door and was about to open it when something she said stopped me.
"Actually... could you stay just a little longer?"
I turned back around, noticing her expression. It was that of someone who was out of her depth and comfort zone, someone who needed someone else to talk to for reassurance. Someone who needed a friend.
What could I say? I was a sucker for such looks.
"Why not?" I answered, sitting back down. "How about we start with some backstory?"
And so it went. I gave her a brief history of this world, OSG and what we do, and I had to give it to here: Despite being skeptical at some parts ("There's no way you can make me believe that you went to a world filled with ponies."), she seemed to take it rather well, which made sense considering what she told me back. She didn't talk about her personal life much at first, save that she had some good friends, but she did give me some world lore.
Apparently, where she comes from, there are these monsters called Witches, who are mysterious magical beings who feed on the despair of humans like the one Starrk blew the sh*t out of. They employ minions known as familiars, who, if left unchecked, can grow into duplicates of the original witch. To combat these beings, girls like Sayaka become... magical girls, beings who are given magic to fight the Witches, limiting the damage they cause and preventing them from killing innocent people.
In order to become one of these protectors of mankind, an alien being called Kyubey (who Sayaka described as a weasel-cat that comes back no matter how many times it dies, even from the goriest death possible) makes a contract with the girl: In exchange for a single wish, she must pursue the rest of her life (or at least live a double life) slaying these Witches whenever they appear.
In addition to killing Witches, it is also a magical girl's duty to collect the Grief Seeds they drop. All witches reside in private pocket dimensions known as barriers which reflect their broken psyches, with the only exception to this rule to Sayaka's knowledge is the one we saw, Walpurgisnacht, who just imposes her barrier on reality.
The source of a magical girl's... well, magic is her 'Soul Gem', an artifact that is both the source and the container for her soul. The girl's body itself becomes nothing more than a glorified meat puppet that will die as long as the Gem isn't shattered and will even regenerate any damage caused if given enough time, even from fatal injuries like head-shots or losing a heart. However, if a Magical Girl overuses their magic or becomes to wracked with despair, the Soul Gem begins to become 'tainted', darkening more and more and more. The only way to remove the taint is to use a Witch's Grief Seed to absorb it, though there's only so many uses a single Seed has, so the Witch hunting is as much self-preservation as it is protecting others.
However, the true 'kicker', as Sayaka put it, the 'punchline' to this little quest is that... when a Soul Gem becomes too tainted and reaches the critical point, it transforms into a Grief Seed and create a new Witch.
That's right, Sayaka and her friends were literally slaughtering fellow Magical Girls, consumed by their own despair and turned into monsters. Witches (Majo) are Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo).
"...Yeah..." she muttered, "I didn't take it the whole 'inhuman-monster-in-training' very well, if what they told me means anything."
Apparently, the knowledge of this, coupled with a more... personal issue she had (I don't feel I should say it, for the sake of her privacy) was enough to force her to turn into a Witch herself and kill one of her friends, Kyoko Sakura. It was only by the sacrifice of one of her other friends, Mami Tomoe, that stopped her from killing everyone, and she only came back when Madoka became a Mahou Shoujo herself to wish for her back. She personally has no memory of the events.
"And that's the only reason I didn't try to kill myself when I learned what happened," she admitted guilty, looking like she was on the verge of tears again. "Plus that we wouldn't have stood a chance against Walpurgisnacht without at least another fighter."
For my part, I simply listened as she told me everything about all that, and continued to do so when she started getting into more personal matters, such as why she became a Mahou Shoujo in the first place (she wanted to heal a boy she had a crush on), her trials as she fought for what she believed was right, how she began to see herself as and tried to be a 'Knight of Justice', and how she took the truth behind everything. Her emotions ran the gauntlet from happiness, sadness, anger, passionate, nostalgia, guilt and the like, and her voice changed to emphasize that.
Most of all, she told me how her opinion of the black-haired girl, Homura Akemi: How she hated her attitude of cynicism, how she seemed to look down on Sayaka's dreams and ideals, and how much they clashed. However, one thing did make them share a common bond: They both cared about Madoka, and would do anything to see her happy or at least safe.
"That's why I can't hate her even now," she told me. "Because if she didn't pull that trigger, Madoka would have turned into something even worse than whatever I did. She spared her the pain of being a monster."
Her story was one filled with sorrow and pain. I won't distract you with the smaller details.
We were in that room for perhaps hours; I never bothered to check the clock. Finally though, she was done talking, leaving me to review all this information. I had to say I was shocked. This was one hell of an info-dump.
Still, I thanked her for her time and left the room. This time, she didn't stop me. I met up with Anderson outside, gave him the shortened version, and was on my merry way.
I think that's the reason Anderson likes to murder ugly cat plushies in private even to this day.
The next day, I went back in, and she seemed rather well rested. I suppose being a walking corpse does have perks. Once again, I popped the question: Will you join OSG?
Her response?
"You know, the last time I made a life-changing deal like this with something from another world, I got screwed over pretty badly," she told me. "...But I think I like you better than Kyubey. You at least give the truth all up front."
She grinned, and for a moment I saw the fire that had no doubt burned in her eyes when she first accepted her contract. "If I can get stronger out of it... I guess I can give it another shot. I'm in."
...
"What happened next?"
Edgar looked up from his brief pause, staring at the speaker, who was Lambda.
"Well, after she agreed to become a member, she spent about a year or so training under Anderson, as he was the only real swordfighter we had among our ranks at this point with a fighting style similar to hers, which consisted of creating swords and hurling them at her opponents while getting in close with a sword in her hands or occasionally dual-wielding... actually it was quite a bit like your fighting style, come to think of it."
"How good was she?" Shirou asked, his once curiosity obviously peaking as he glanced down at his sword. "And how did you figure out how to deal with the Gem corruption?"
"To answer the latter, we were able to figure out a way to deal with that by using specially modified crystals to serve somewhat as Grief Seeds. They weren't perfect, but they did cure her corruption. As for the former... eh, average at first," Edgar admitted. "She had the potential, but her ability to effectively use her swords in combat aside from slashing wildly was sadly lacking. She was a decent thrower though, able to score bullseyes with her thrown blades. She did get better, and even unlocked a new power..."
...
Sayaka swung her blade and made contact with Anderson's. The blue-haired girl immediately tried to press against it with both of her hands and all her strength, but she was no match even then for the strength of one of Anderson's arms and was forced back a few meters. The sword-wielding Mahou Shoujo wrapped her white cape around herself and summoned three blades, all of which she threw directly at Anderson. In retaliation, Anderson brought out three of his own with his free hand and hurled them at the swords, intercepting each of them and knocking them away.
I watched the fight with interest. Ever since she had become a member, Sayaka had been obsessed with getting stronger, no doubt because she didn't want anyone else to end up like her old friends on her watch. As such, she always had these daily sparrings with Anderson, who had originally been adverse to the idea before finally giving in and training her.
Most of them ended with Anderson pounding Sayaka and giving harsh lessons in combat, but they had stuck with her. When once she could only go maybe four minutes fighting Anderson, she was now able to spar for almost fifteen after a only a month of training. They were currently at the twelve-minute mark.
Finally though, Sayaka left an opening for exploitation. Her cutlass went flying out of hand while Anderson's bayonet laid at her throat.
"Yield?" he asked.
"No way," she panted, though I could hear the determination and anger in her tone, "I... can still... one cut... all I need..."
Suddenly, her cape seemed to move as if it was in the wind, but there was no breeze at all.
'What the-'
Faster than I could register, one of the forgotten blades that Anderson had knocked away shivered for a moment before jerking upwards like it was on strings and hurling towards Anderson's back.
"Anderson, watch out!" I called, but by the time Anderson registered my voice and turned, the blade had already impaled him through the chest.
Sayaka was as surprised as I was. "...Was that... me?"
"Looks like it," Anderson replied nonchalantly, as if being impaled was a daily thing around here. "Got me by surprise, I've got to say."
With a quick yank, he pulled the sword out by the handle, looking at for a moment before dropping it. "You should practice with that," he told her. "Could save your life someday."
Sayaka nodded, then refocused on the injury in his chest. "Alright, alright, just hold still for a second," she told him. "I'll clean this up."
"Just a scratch," he told her. "I'll heal fine in a second."
By that point though, she had already created the magic circle of musical notes underneath him. The air around us was filled with a slow and soothing melody as the chest wound glowed blue before sealing shut...
...
"Wait a minute, Sayaka could also use healing magic?" Shirou asked flabbergasted. "With the very same circle and melody as Lambda?"
"Identical," Edgar replied. "I never thought I would hear that music again, quite honestly."
Lambda looked down at her hand slowly, as if attempting to imagine another's in her place. "...But how do I...?"
"No idea," Edgar immediately stated. "Though I do have some speculations... but let's wait to the end before that, shall we?"
They nodded and Edgar sighed. "...Well, I know you'll enjoy this part, Shirou, because this is where Kiritsugu Emiya comes into the story."
...
I looked down at my wristwatch as I sat in my desk much like how I am currently, watching the second-hand go by in its constant rotation. In front of me, Sayaka fidgeted in her seat, glancing around like a schoolgirl about to be punished by the principal and was just waiting for the final verdict.
I suppose in her eyes, it wasn't that far off of a comparison.
"Relax," I told her, "Your official partner will be here soon. Just take it easy."
"Just might if I actually knew who the guy is," she replied. "I've been here for about a year now, and I've never seen or heard anything about this whole 'Kiritsugu Emiya' guy. Who is he?"
I sighed. "Look, Kiritsugu Emiya is a... special case. He and his mentor Natalia were more or less freelancers who sold their services to the Association and Church as hired guns, performing assassinations and the like." I noticed how she narrowed her eyes at that and sighed again. "Look, not everyone makes a clean living off of being a good citizen. Don't judge until you meet him yourself."
She calmed down somewhat, allowing me to continue. "Of course, such work means you're gonna make enemies on both sides too, so for the past two years OSG has been protecting them after an incident where they helped us out a little bit. However, Natalia recently died in a mission: She dropped her guard, shit happened, plane she was on got turned into a ghoul nightmare house, and Kiritsugu had to blow it up to prevent innocent people from being killed, at the cost of her life as well. She was like a mother figure to him."
Her expression had gradually changed to a more pitying one as I talked. "...Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that."
I tapped my desk. "Quite sad, yes. Anyways, I offered him a position in OSG to continue to follow the dream he had been fighting for when under Natalia, impressed with both his conviction and skill. And since you don't have a partner and are due for a mission in the field, I figured why not kill two birds with one stone and pair you up at least temporarily."
"Dream?" she asked me. "What sort of dream would a guy like that have?"
"...Something very similar to you, Sayaka Miki," I replied with a smirk. "To be a hero who saves others."
A knock at the door disrupted us. "Come in!" I called out, and in walked young Kiritsugu Emiya. He was dressed in a mostly all black: Black jacket, pants, boots, the works. The only things that weren't black were his white shirt and his brown belt. In terms of appearance, he was his adult self with no beard stubble and less spiky hair.
"Thank you for coming, Emiya," I told him kindly. "Allow me to say I am dearly sorry for your loss. I knew Natalia for some time, and she was a very decent person. My deepest condolences."
"...Thank you, sir." he replied. "Could you please tell me why I'm here?"
"Simple: You need a partner and Sayaka's been waiting for one. Killing two birds with one stone right now."
He glanced to the side and seemed to acknowledge Sayaka for the first time.
"...Uh, hi." she told him.
"Hello..." he replied.
Awkward silence insured.
...
"I won't go over the exact details of their partnership," Edgar told Shirou suddenly, "but to sum it up: They had a love-hate relationship."
He held up one hand. "For Sayaka, Kiritsugu reminded her so very much about Homura Akemi: He was cynical, cold and calculating, willing to sacrifice others if he had to even if he didn't want to. He had time-manipulation magic, though she only realized Homura had this also after observing Kiritsugu in action and comparing the two. Both used firearms as their main weapons, and both suffered through the loss of killing someone they love with their bare hands. And much like how Homura had clashed with her in their world, Kiritsugu clashed with her in this one."
He held up the other hand. "Kiritsugu, on the other hand, didn't like Sayaka's attitude very much. The idealism she held on to, even despite being tempered by her experiences in her world, clashed too much with his mindset. He saw her ideals as foolish children talk, that of a wannabe hero who knew nothing of how the world really works. Her claim of becoming a 'Knight of Justice' struck too closely to the dreams of a 'Hero of Justice' that saves everyone, the dream Kiritsugu threw away. Too much was he reminded of those shining heroes who blinded humanity to the true horrors of war with their brilliance. As such, he often ignored her when they weren't working together."
"How long were they partners?" Lambda asked.
"Three years."
Shirou made a snort of disbelief. "I'm surprised they didn't just kill each other after three weeks with what you've said."
Edgar smiled. "Like I said, it was a love-hate relationship. While their personalities clashed, they were devils on the battlefield. Sayaka's swordsmanship and healing abilities made her the perfect frontline fighter, while Kiritsugu used his firearms and time magic to watch her back, like her guardian angel. And since Sayaka was the more durable of the two thanks to her Soul Gem, she could take a hell of a lot of punishment, and she wouldn't hesitate to use herself as a meatshield for innocents."
Edgar leaned back. "Though I wouldn't say that they did get better at interacting. In fact, I'd actually say that Sayaka was Kiritsugu's best friend in OSG and vice-versa. If nothing else, they sounded like a old married couple sometimes. I remember one time that she told me about..."
...
Sayaka cut down the last ghoul in front of her, turning just in time to watch the other two behind her get their heads blown off. She watched as Kiritsugu got closer to her, rifle smoking from his last shots.
"Clear?" she asked him.
He nodded. "That should have been all of them."
She sighed, flicking some blood off her sword. "Survivors?"
He shook his head. Sayaka sighed in frustration, turning her gaze to the field around them. Twenty ghouls laid about the field, at least eleven bearing death marks from her blades. However, that still left at least a dozen or so remaining, along with the Dead Apostle that turned them.
"Well, we'd better go..." she trailed off when she saw that Kiritsugu's left arm was bleeding. "What happened to you?" she asked, worry creeping into her tone. "If you were bitten-"
"Just a scrape," Kiritsugu answered, though he seemed to be trying to avoid putting the gun's weight on it. "One of them cut me. Got careless."
She huffed. "And you're the one saying I'm reckless," she said as she cast the healing circle under him, watching as his injury healed. "And yet you're the one who got injured."
He didn't bother to answer. Probably would have said, "Well I'm not the superhuman one," if he had. Instead, he stiffened, lifted his rifle and fired another shot, killing one of the remaining ghouls that had just rushed out of the forest.
Sayaka's eyes widened as she summoned four swords and hurled them, all striking their targets, but still leaving seven to attack. She rushed forward, cutting one down with her sword while just barely avoiding getting bitten by another. A quick strike spilled the ghoul's guts, then a jab straight through the eye finished the second one. The sound of gunfire from Kiritsugu's direction meant he was still alive, so she pushed her worry for him aside for now.
She let go of the sword as another came upon her. Unable to summon a blade in time, she instead punched it as hard as she could, her enhanced strength as a Mahou Shoujo coming in handy as she managed to stagger the creature. Summoning another sword, she stabbed the creature in the heart before finishing it with a decapitation.
That was something Anderson drilled into her head, pun not intended. Most things living and undead, no matter how powerful, usually die after losing their heads.
She turned towards Kiritsugu, seeing him finish off the last one by smashing its face in with the butt of his rifle before shooting it down. He looked up towards her, his face twisting into one of alarm.
She didn't even have time to react before something literally tore through her chest. It took her an extra second to realize that what had gone through her chest was an arm, which was currently holding something red in its grip.
'Huh,' she thought. 'So that's what my heart looks like.'
Something then whizzed by her head, striking something behind her that apparently exploded, because she suddenly felt something wet paint the back and side of her head red.
She must have blacked out after that, because when she came to, she realized that she looking up at Kiritsugu, who was currently facing away from her and holding one of her swords and a severed limb that she was certain didn't belong to her, because it had a black sleeve on it and was too long.
"Damn it..." she heard him mutter. "not another one."
'Is he talking about me or the corpse?' she wondered briefly.
"Just another person I couldn't protect..." he continued, and she swore she could almost hear a sob in his voice. "I'm so sorry Sayaka."
'Okay, definitely me.' she decided.
She tried moving, and it was slow-going. Despite her body no doubt already healing, she could still feel the hole in her chest, finding it pretty hard to breath (though really it was more a reflex now) and she was certain that there was blood in her throat choking her. She could have used her magic to heal herself faster, but she had used quite a bit of it in the fights earlier as well as healing Kiritsugu's arm, and she didn't want to risk tainting her Gem any further without cleansing it.
Some morbid part of her suddenly had the urge to see if she could stick her hand inside her chest and grab her internal organs, but she ignored it. She had to get his attention.
'What can I say that that'll definitely get his attention?' she thought quickly, knowing that it had to be something that would get some sort of reaction out of him. Then she got an idea.
"K...Ker...Kerry..." she managed to get out, using a shorten version of his name she had called him in the early days, but he always hated hearing her use it. Apparently, someone from his childhood called him that before, and he didn't like anyone else using it.
Despite her voice coming out like a hiss of air, it was apparently enough, as his head snapped around and saw her lift her hand to wave at him weakly. He looked like he was about to try and cut her down, but apparently saw that her eyes were still fine, because he instead rushed to her side and knelt down beside her.
"Y-You're alive," he muttered in shock. It was logical, he had never seen her take such a deadly injury before, so maybe he didn't think she could recover from something of that magnitude.
"Heh... you sound... almost surprised," she muttered back, then gestured towards her bag at her hip, which had blood on it. "Grab... crystal."
He quickly did just that, pulling out one of the special crystals that Edgar had made for her, a blacken color rather than the normal red. Placing it next to her Soul Gem, he watched as the 'Grief Crystal' absorb the taint in her Soul Gem, leaving it shining brightly once again.
Sayaka then cast the healing circle under herself and Kiritsugu, watching as their injuries healed up.
"Worry about yourself..." Kiritsugu tried to say, but Sayaka cut him off.
"Shut up..." she muttered, feeling better as the whole in her chest sealed, voice getting stronger, "You need it... just as much."
Kiritsugu just sighed. "That selfless attitude will get you killed someday," he told her as he looked away. "Can't be a hero all the time."
Sayaka could've retorted with something witty, but then she remembered what Kiritsugu had been saying but moments before when he thought she was dead. He had sounded truly heartbroken.
"...Thanks for saving me," she finally said. "And sorry for making you worry."
He was silent for the longest time. Then, he finally replied. "Anytime Sayaka. No problem at all."
...
Edgar stretched as he finished that tale. "Yeah, their relationship was complicated, but it eventually grew into that of an older brother and younger sister, which was funny considering that Sayaka never got any older physically due to her condition. For three years they were partners. Sayaka was liked among our members, especially Lyn, as they liked to pull pranks together. And while she never 'hit it big-time' to reach infamy among the other groups like the Association, she was still respected as a fighter."
Shirou and Lambda listened with rapt attention. For the former, he was just... amazed. He was learning about the person who had used the sword he did now, and had been his father's partner. He liked what he heard, and dearly wished he could have spoken to her personally. For the later, it was... more confusing. The more she heard about Sayaka, the more that she felt... something, kind of like something scratching on the back of her mind that was trying to come to the fore.
The memory she had almost a year ago came to mind. She had little doubt now that the person Kiritsugu had been talking to had indeed been Sayaka. But again, why did she have that memory? And what was the connection between their similar powers?
Edgar's face then grew serious. "However, that all changed 23 years ago..."
...
I was walking down the halls of the building, carrying something important under my arm that I had to deliver to someone very quickly-
"Sir!"
'Speak of the devil,' I thought to myself at that question. Turning around, I saw Kiritsugu Emiya coming up behind me, clad in his normal clothing and looking at me calmly.
"Hey there, Kiritsugu," I greeted him. "You're the very man I wanted to see just now."
"I actually have something ask you sir," he told me.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what a lovely coincidence. What is it?"
"Do you know where Sayaka is? I can't find her around the building and she wanted to see me about something today."
I blinked. "Oh dear, so that's what this was about."
"Beg pardon?"
I lifted up the long package in my hands towards his face. "Apparently, she wanted to give you this, but because I sent her on an errand, she asked me to give it to you instead. Didn't know it was your birthday, by the way. I would have baked a cake."
He took the package slowly. "Thank you sir," he replied. "What errand did you send her on?"
"Oh, just to deal with something in Fuyuki City, Japan."
He looked confused. "Japan? Isn't that a little far for an errand?"
"Nothing major," I promised him. "There were just some rumors of disappearances and I thought I'd send Sayaka to check them out. Should be back within a few days, a week tops if she decides to sightsee."
"And you sent her alone."
"She's a fighter and eighteen years old mentally Kiritsugu," I reminded him. "I think she can handle herself. Have a little faith."
He didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but he nodded. "Fine."
He turned around and left, still holding the package. I called out after him, "Hope you enjoy your gift!"
...
Sayaka had one of those newly-made mobile phones on her that I told her to use once she was done or if she needed something. It was large, clunky and not very aesthetically pleasing, but it had a talk time of 30 minutes, though it needed ten hours to charge. Yet despite that, I received no call from her over the next five days, save once when she told me her plane had landed safely. It was by the third I was getting a little concerned, as I suspected that even if she was having the time of her life, she would have called at least once more to tell us about it.
However, it was as if she had dropped off the face of the Earth. Even when I called her phone personally, I got nothing.
By the sixth day, I was fast running out of patience and becoming more worried. I was just about ready to call Anderson and Kiritsugu into my office tell them to go to Fuyuki and see what was up when the phone in my office rang.
"Yes?" I answered.
"S-Sir?" came a familiar, pain-filled voice over the other end.
I sat up straight. "Sayaka," I said quickly. "What happened? Are you alright? Why haven't you been answering me recently?"
"S-Sorry sir," she muttered over the line, then I realized something was wrong with her voice, and not just because it was in pain. It almost sounded like it was... echoing, as if another voice was speaking alongside it. "I-I screwed up... found what was... causing the disappearances and took care of it but... I may have used a little too much... magic."
"Don't you have a crystal?" I asked her. She always carried a crystal on her, no matter where she went.
"Got into... another fight before I could use it..." she gasped. "Got cocky... old geezer... damn worms... so many teeth... killed him... but... too late... lost crystal... three days ago..."
I could feel my gut twist, my mind slowing down as it processed what was being said, but I couldn't say anything.
"Three... days... all I could hold out..." she continued, her voice getting quieter more and more. "I... can't... hold it back any longer... took everything I had... to even find this thing and... dial this number right... can't even bring myself... to break it... what a coward... it's so black..."
"Sayaka, stay with me," I ordered her over the phone, already standing up. "I'll be there as soon as I can with Kiritsugu and some others. Just hold on."
"...Kiritsugu..." her voice suddenly seemed to gain strength. "Oh yeah... did Kerry... get my present?"
"...Yeah," I told her, already summoning my armor and getting my sword ready. "And he really did appreciate it."
"Heh... I'm glad... thanks, Ed..."
The line went dead.
...
That night, myself, Kiritsugu, Anderson, and Starrk (who had gone on Lyn's demand, as she and Sayaka had a bit of a 'friendship-through-pranking' thing going on) arrived in Fuyuki City, ready for anything. However, of the four of us, only I knew for certain what had happened to her, while Anderson had the biggest inkling.
Starrk and I used our abilities to try and find Sayaka's spiritual pressure, and we finally got lucky when we were pointed towards the harbor. However, her spiritual pressure was different, almost... corrupted, for lack of a better term.
We also sensed another one there too, unfamiliar to all but myself.
When we arrived, at first we were greeted to the sight of an empty dock with shipping containers everywhere and calm water. Then that peace was shattered by a voice.
"Well, this is an interesting development."
We turned as one towards the shadow of a container, where we watched as an old man walked towards us, not a hair on his head and covered in wrinkles. However, his eyes simply burned with malevolence.
"It appears as if I wasn't the only one drawn here by this strange happening," he continued, sizing each of us up in turn. "Though I doubt any of you are here to simply observe."
"What are you doing here, Zouken Matou?" I asked without preamble, for I knew who this man was and what he could do. "Don't you have other things that capture your attention?"
"I suppose so, but things have been rather boring around here for the past 51 years," he replied with a smirk. "A change of pace does an old man good sometimes."
"Starrk, watch him," I commanded. "If he tries to interfere, blow him up."
"Don't trust me, warrior?" he sounded almost hurt. "Your words pierce my heart like an icicle."
'Didn't even know you had one, but it would be blacker than night if you did,' I thought, but ignored him as Starrk took a position opposite of Zouken, ready to carry out my command as needed.
Anderson and Kiritsugu gave him a wary glance, but followed my lead until we reached the end of the docks. There, we found something huddled in some sort of cloak on the stone near the water's edge.
I removed the cloak slowly, and the three of us gasped slightly at the sight.
"Sayaka," I heard Kiritsugu muttered. Laying there, the blue-haired girl, in her school uniform, had a small smile on her face as her left hand clutched the phone from earlier, her eyes shut as if in a peaceful sleep.
For a moment, I allowed myself the foolish hope that she had sacrificed herself to ensure no one would have to suffer.
That hope died when I was aware of something coming up from the water.
"Get back!" I yelled, drawing my sword as I grabbed Sayaka's body before it could be caught up in whatever happened next.
The water in front of us exploded as something came out of the deep.
Suddenly, I think I knew why Sayaka had come here. Perhaps she thought if she get the Soul Gem as far away as possible from land, the Witch wouldn't come after the innocent people here, and as such would die off in the water. So she hurled it into the sea after she made her call, which broke its connection to her body and why she looked so peaceful now.
Unfortunately, it looks like it didn't quite work.
Had to say, why on Earth the Witch hadn't died off in the water made some sense, if its appearance meant anything. The top half was a medieval suit of armor carrying a giant version of Sayaka's normal sword. It wore a cape with a tall, heart-shaped collar that was tied with a red ribbon around its neck. The helmet was skull-like and disturbing, with several miniature swords fused together into a metallic representation of a high hairdo. The lower half was that of a large fish's tail, covered in scales of blue, black, and maroon and two fins that flared in a rainbow of the colors of fire. Basically, a giant mermaid knight.
A part of me was wondering why on Earth the Witch was here in the physical plane when it should have erected a barrier, but I didn't really care. Perhaps her arrival to this world had changed something, or maybe the first crystal her Soul Gem absorbed actually affected her in more ways than one, I'm not certain.
There was no time for wondering though, nor was the time for regrets. The thing before us that was once Sayaka Miki lifted its blade and roared out a challenge. Above its head, what appeared to be spiked wheels with swords sticking out of them came raining down on us, and two giant swords identical to the one in its grip swung down alongside it, one for each of us.
I was vaguely aware of some sort of haunting orchestral playing a disturbing melody somewhere in the background, but I didn't pay attention as we met the titan's charge.
...
"...I won't say how that battle went," Edgar told his listeners, who visibly deflated at that. "out of respect for Kiritsugu, who no doubt suffered more in it than either myself or Anderson did. Suffice to say, we won... though even to this day I wonder if victory was worth it."
"What about Zouken?" Shirou asked.
"He was riddled with Balas before being finished with a Cero from Starrk," Edgar replied briskly, "Apparently, turns out that it was Zouken that indirectly led to Sayaka's transformation into a Witch. But even then, that didn't kill him." He held up a hand. "And before you say anything, let it be known that we eventually did kill him for real; Starrk and Anderson made sure of it."
"...What happened to Kiritsugu?" Lambda asked.
Edgar sighed, his tone filled with regret. "When we got back... words were exchanged, insults thrown, punches delivered, and it ended with Kiritsugu turning in his resignation. He and I would never speak again for the next 15 years, not until right at the end of the Great Fire of Fuyuki when Shirou was adopted. He also left Sayaka's last gift behind. I guess he couldn't bear to keep a reminder of a friend whom he killed with his bare hands personally."
Shirou looked down at his cutlass. "And that means..."
"What you hold is Kiritsugu's sword, given to him by Sayaka. Your inheritance, if you'd like to call it that."
The room was very quiet, then Edgar stood up. "This is a bit of a bombshell, I know, but let me show you something Shirou, before you go. Lambda, you can leave if you want to."
"...Very well," she replied, nodding to him once more before giving Shirou a glance and leaving, her mind filled with different thoughts and half-baked theories. She thought back to several things that seemed strangely familiar to her: The blade that Shirou carried around, the fact she had skill in using a sword with her own two hands, the healing magic, and then thought about the flash she had about Kiritsugu. She then thought about the flashes with Kokonoe, Terumi, Tager, and Hakumen.
'...Who am I really?' she wondered briefly to herself, then shook her head after a few seconds. 'No, it doesn't matter. Who I was or even were doesn't matter. I am not Sayaka Miki nor the Murakumo Unit No. 11, no matter what others might say. I am my own person.'
'...I am Lambda-11, Noel Valenzuela. That will not change, no matter what.'
...
The walk through the building was very quiet. Shirou and Edgar were silent throughout it all, only speaking to greet those they passed on their journey, each wrapped in their own thoughts.
Finally though, they made it to the basement. Edgar walked right up to the wall in front of them and put his hand upon it. To the surprise of Shirou, the wall glowed a bright blue before suddenly winking out of existence, revealing a passageway.
"Follow me," was all Edgar said.
And so he did. It took about a minute or so, but they finally came to a stop in front of another door. Edgar turned to look at Shirou. "What you are about to see in here is kind of secret. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about it."
He nodded, and Edgar opened the door. What they saw actually made them blink for a few seconds, dumbfounded.
The entire room looked like it was completely carved out of crystal, light reflecting off all of it to create a sort of glare that made it somewhat hard to see, though their eyes managed to adjust rather quickly. Images seemed to flicker on the crystals at random intervals, always different or repeating at weird times. However, what got his attention was what was in the center.
There, trapped in crystal like a fly in amber, was the form of Sayaka Miki, seemingly sleeping within with a smile upon her face. In front of her in the crystal's surface was a black jewel surrounded by a silver-gray casing, with a crescent moon on the front of it.
"Surprising?"
He turned to look at Edgar, who was staring at the entombed girl with a melancholy face. "Within that crystal, her body remains preserved as I try to figure out a way to bring her back. The crystal you see there is her Grief Seed, which is what was left of her Witch after we defeated her. I've been trying to figure out a way to turn her Seed back into Soul Gem and reconnect it with her body."
"But I thought she was dead..." Shirou said confusedly as he glanced between them.
"Normally I would say yes, but I can't help but feel as if a part of her is still here with us, watching over us," Edgar replied. "This place seems to change everytime I come in, as if it was controlled by her thoughts. Sometimes I hear violin music being played, other times guitar. I sometimes see images of her fighting alongside her old friends, and other times with Kiritsugu. Time also flows differently here, making days on the outside seem like mere minutes on the inside."
"Whenever a member of OSG that came from another world dies, their soul will return to the afterlife of their world, due to the link that kept them to this one being severed and Akasha won't accept them due to being foreign existences. However, I do know for a fact that as long as her Grief Seed, being nothing but a transformed Soul Gem, remains, there's still a chance she can be brought back to life as a Witch; I'm simply trying to find a way to turn back to normal, or at least a sane individual. I owe her at least that much."
"...Why did you want to show me all of this and not Lambda?" Shirou asked at last.
Edgar turned to them both. "Because I wanted you to understand what could very well happen to you on your quest to become a Hero of Justice by showing you what did happen to one that followed a similar path. And I'm not just talking about Sayaka. Kiritsugu once believed in these ideals as well, and while he had more or less discarded them by the time he joined OSG, Sayaka's death destroyed any hope of him ever truly believing that true heroes exist and made him adopt an even colder attitude that prevented him from ever truly getting close to anyone ever again." He then shrugged. "Lambda I only wanted to tell the story about because she reminds me way too much of Sayaka for it to be coincidence, but not enough that I'd want her to see the body."
"You think there's a connection."
"Maybe I'm just paranoid," Edgar replied. "But maybe there's more to it than meets the eye. She has the same powers and a similar fighting style, which I could chalk up to coincidence, but not having the same healing magic, circle, and melody. For all I know, perhaps she inherited Sayaka's spirit, still wandering around and eventually merged with her comatose form that first night we found her. But more to the point of why we're down here, Shirou... I have something to ask you."
Edgar turned to face Shirou. "Now that you know about the previous holder of that blade and what ultimately happened to her, are you still willing to follow the dream of being a hero who saves everyone? Any second thoughts? She thought of something similar, after all."
Shirou was silent, then glanced down at the sword he carried. The one that had belonged to his foster father before he left it behind, a gift from the girl in the crystal. Once again, the words of that night came to him.
"You can only be a hero for so long, and when you become an adult, you start to realize that it becomes harder to call yourself one..."
Was that why he hadn't taken it with him? Because it held too many painful memories of a more innocent time when he believed in heroes? The sacrifices one must make to save others and the pain of being unable to protect those closest to you to defend those nameless innocents? The pain of killing a friend to save the many?
"There are many types of heroes," Edgar reminded him. "Some help others simply because they can; others made it their duty to save as many as possible, or allowing the few to die to save the many. Others seek redemption by saving lives despite calling themselves evil due to past deeds; and some heroes put themselves in life-or-death situations for the sake of their loved ones. Sometimes saving the few may result in saving everyone's lives; one person can make a bigger difference than an entire army. Not everyone weighs life the same after all."
'...If I had to choose between sacrificing Lambda, Maka, Soul, Taiga, Maiya, Rin, or Sakura or that of a few hundred people I didn't know...' Shirou thought to himself after hearing that, 'could I choose the many over my friend? Could I be my father?'
And with that question, the iron-clad resolve he had held on to for some long cracked slightly.
"...I don't know," he finally said. "I wanted to be a hero my whole life, to be someone who will try and help everyone in need and save others... but after everything you've told me... I'm not completely certain anymore."
"So you're giving up on that dream?"
"No," Shirou replied resolutely. "To give it up would mean betraying everything I've learned and been taught, an insult to the person whose blade I now hold. I'll still save anyone who needs help if I meet them... but I probably won't be traveling around the world looking for trouble and helping everyone in need that I'll come across."
"So instead of going out looking for trouble, you'll wait until it comes to you, huh?" Edgar asked, then nodded. "...That's not a half-bad idea, but what'll do in the meantime? Saving others doesn't put food on the table."
Shirou paused for a moment as he thought about it. "...Maybe I'll open a restaurant? I do love cooking after all."
Edgar blinked, then started chuckling. "Did you hear that, Sayaka?" he asked the crystal, "We have ourselves a culinary genius right here: Shirou Emiya, the Hero Chef! The terror of the battlefield and kitchen, he'll kick your ass while serving up a side of stew!"
Shirou just stared at him for a long moment, then started to grin as the mental image presented itself (though his version had himself kicking Edgar's ass).
Soon, the room was filled with the laughter of two guys.
Had they been listening very closely though, they might have caught wind of another voice laughing alongside them. A young girl's voice, to be exact.
And so my readers, ends the last chapter of Fate: OSG. From this point onwards, the remaining time between here and the Fifth Holy Grail War can be summed up as Shirou training and getting more badass alongside Lambda-11, becoming prepared (if unknowingly) for the war around the corner, and Maka and Soul getting married (Don't worry, that will eventually be referenced. After all, everyone will want to see a certain Servant's reaction to this...).
I know this might seem kind of sudden, but I've hit all the points I've wanted to hit in the story, and as of the time I write this, my summer's about over. I want at least a few days to rest without working after all. And as of the point I publish this, I'm going back to school tomorrow, so I suppose this is the perfect way to end my summer.
And speaking of the Fifth War, guess what's coming next? That's right, finally, we get to see action and Servants fighting to the death once again. Even now, I'm putting the finishing touches on my Servant line-up, I'm writing the prologue chapters, and I think you guys are gonna like what you see next.
Until next time, my readers! On to the Fifth War!