Fate/False Order

Dispelling the golem, allowing it to crumble into chunks of clay, I severed the scrying, allowing the mist in my crystal ball to disperse.

Looking over at Alistair, I was happy to see that he looked pleased. "And like that, he is willingly walking to the gallows with a big smile on his face," I remarked, causing Alistair to give me a dubious smile.

"Uh-huh, sure," he said with a hint of exasperation. "I'm going to go off on a limb here, and guess that Gil will go kicking and screaming the second he gets a hint of what's about to happen," he deduced in a dry tone.

Scoffing, I flicked my wrist, causing the crystal ball to vanish. "Don't you have lessons with Artoria?" I questioned in a threatening manner.

The slight stiffening of Alistair's body was a bit amusing, but I didn't like seeing him in too much distress, but the training was for his own good.

I may not like her too much, but there is a reason that she still conducts some of the training for the members of the Round, despite being king and having more 'important' duties.

She was simply that good.

Honestly, I should have thrown him into Avalon the second I was summoned by him, as I am sure that a few months in such a mystery dense realm would have probably elevated his strength to somewhere approaching 'B' Rank in his physical parameters with a bit of training.

Alas, hindsight is 20-20, as the people of this era put it, and I was simply being too cautious and a bit paranoid.

His gaze quickly snapped towards the door leading out of our workshop. "I'm sure Artoria wouldn't mind me staying here for a bit…"

Rolling my eyes at his terrible attempt at slacking off, I willed my shadow to grow, allowing two large steel lances to float out of it.

They were two 'cheap' copies of Rhongomyniad. Naturally the only thing similar was the shape, as making something akin to a copy was currently beyond my abilities, but that was not the point.

He needed to learn how to wield it properly, naturally there was no better teacher than Artoria, and she would probably not be against it, as it is currently his own weapon. Plus, he didn't have a sword, so his training in swordsmanship, while useful, was currently far less useful when compared to learning how to wield Rhongomyniad skillfully.

The pair quickly flew in front of Alistair, who looked a bit miffed at the gesture. "Here, a gift for your training," I said with a pleased undertone, causing Alistair to sigh.

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" he said with a hint of hopelessness.

Smiling, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest, unbuttoning his top buttons. "Nope~," I said with a teasing undertone, just as I managed to place my hand on his bare chest, causing me to feel Avalon.

Swiftly strengthening my connection to it, his chest started to glow. Before he had a chance to protest, I pulled my hand away, causing Avalon to be pulled out of him.

"Uhg!" He groaned, probably finding it uncomfortable to lose the benefits Avalon gave so suddenly.

Before he could complain, I shoved Avalon into my own chest, causing me to let out a sigh of appreciation at the wonderful feeling it gave.

Alistair gave a slightly disappointed sigh at the sight of me reclaiming Avalon. "I was hoping you had forgotten," he mumbled in a slightly depressed tone.

I'm sure the Knights of the Round would have been sympathetic to Alistair's plight, after all, if one could get something that healed fatigue and wounds, then Artoria's training would be something approaching bearable. And losing such a thing would be outright depressing.

Raising an arm, I patted his shoulder. "There, there, at least you are fully healed, and ready to go and train," I encouraged him, but the only response I got was a slight twitch of his brow.

Silently, he picked up the two lances, one in each hand, before heading towards the door, looking as if he was walking to the gallows.

"Fine… just don't take too long… I don't know how long I'll survive in there," he said with mild reproach as he opened the door.

Just as it cracked open, I saw a hand latch itself onto Alistair's wrist.

Quickly, I applied an illusion on myself and my surroundings, making it look like 'Vivian' was kneeling over a large map, with some incense burning around.

Luckily, Artoria didn't enter the room, she only yanked Alistair out of the room, causing him to give a slight yelp of surprise, before the door gently shut closed.

Blinking in mild surprise, I dispelled the illusion.

Artoria was more eager than I had imagined… Maybe she enjoyed training Alistair.

Focusing on the door, I locked it with a dozen privacy and safety spells, after all, Artoria had come dangerously close to accidentally discovering me.

Sighing, I decided to bring out my stress toy.

Slowly, a large shadow appeared on the floor. As the surface started to ripple, a body started to float out.

Sola-Ui's body's condition had only worsened, her arms skin had been peeled away, allowing the muscle underneath to start to rot. Her legs had been infused with maggots, courtesy of Zouken's insect 'farm', causing them to be closer to hollow skin bags.

Admittedly, her treatment was cruel, but Alistair had given me the green light to do whatever I wanted with her. And to be honest, I would have done much more, but her mind needs to be intact for her to be useful.

Kayneth had the excuse of ignorance, even though he wished to turn Alistair's family into a vassal one, it was still marginally better than killing Alistair, so he was naturally given a lesser punishment. Death after extreme torture and body modification, sweet and simple.

Sola-Ui on the other hand, was filth of the highest order, so I thought it prudent to have her body reflect her personality.

Rotten, mangled, disfigured and filled with maggots, was a perfect description for someone like her.

Moving up to her, I watched as the eyes in her mouth pupils shrink in fear, and her body trembled at the sight of me.

Fixing her eyes to work from her mouth was a pain, but it was exceptionally useful for my unconventional biological modification research, so she was proving to be quite the boon.

Walking up to her, I coiled shadows over my hand, like a makeshift glove, and trailed a finger down her sternum, which made her violently flinch.

As my finger moved down, a thin cut was formed at the spot my finger had trailed, causing Sola-Ui to thrash about violently. "GAAhhhh!" she garbled a loud irritating scream.

Rolling my eyes, I snapped my fingers on my freehand, causing her mouth to slam shut with an eerie squishing sound, causing her body to thrash even harder and her closed mouth to give muffled cries of pain.

It would seem I caused her to crush her own eyes… Whatever, she won't be needing them anyway.

Using my gloved hand, I shoved it into the open gash I had created, allowing me to puncture her chest with ease, without causing too much damage to her other organs.

Smoothly, I maneuvered around, until I found what I was looking for. In an instant, I gripped my fingers around her heart, and swiftly tore it out.

Blood started to pour out of her chest, but that wouldn't do. Frowning, I cast a reversal spell, causing the blood to flood back, returning to the moment it was about to spill out from her veins.

Tossing the heart aside, it fell into my shadow, allowing a large clump of writhing skin and muscle to float out in its place.

Plucking it out from the air, with my gloved hand, I gave it a quick checkup.

'Irisviel', or rather the Lesser Grail, seemed to be in tip-top condition, other than it lacking consciousness, since I had moved Irisviel into her new body. But that is what Sola-Ui was meant for.

Death was too good for garbage like her, so being forced to contain All the World's Evil, and being corrupted by them while turning insane would be the ideal use for her. I believe Alistair said that it is called 'recycling' when you repurpose trash into something more useful, so I should thank him for the idea.

Shoving the fleshy Lesser Grail into Sola-Ui's chest, I felt it react to her instantly.

Quickly removing my hand from her chest, I watched as Sola-Ui started to violently spasm, and her wound on her chest instantly healed up.

Taking a step back, I dismissed my shadow glove, and began to study the changes, while casting a few diagnostic spells.

Circling around her, I studied her from head to toe. Outwardly, there had been very few changes, she was still rotting, and the maggots were still eating her from the inside, but her organs had been strengthened.

The Lesser Grail, despite just being Irisviel's corpse condensed into the size of a ball, somehow worked like a heart. Its adaptability was praiseworthy, as it clearly was able to adjust itself to do whatever was needed to 'survive' and keep itself operational.

Checking a few extra spells, I felt that the Grail was close to fully manifesting, despite how few Servants had died.

If my calculations are to be trusted, only one more Servant needs to die for the Grail to physically manifest. So once Alistair kills 'Medea', the Grail should fully form as long as it is atop a leyline, not that it will be capable of fulfilling a wish while it is incomplete.

At that time, I should be able to tinker with it properly, and ideally, I'll be able to interact with the 'stored' Saint Graphs in the Grail.

Smiling happily, I gave a clap, allowing Sola— I mean the Lesser Grail, to sink into the shadow.

There was no point in watching it suffer, I am more than content to know that it is suffering through something even worse than anything I could currently inflict.

Feeling good, I pulled out a blueprint for another suit of armor.

I refused to allow Rosalind to get anywhere near any Servants without proper protection. Be it for her own sake, Alistair's sake, or my own.

Plus, I needed something to do for the next…. Five, no six hours. The more time I use, the better the armor, and the more time Alistair gets to train.

… Naturally, depending on the design and the outcome of the armor's strength, I'll hopefully get some bonus points with my future Mother-in-law…

So it's for the best that I work hard…

God knows I'll need all those points when 'Vivian' accidentally falls into the Grail Mud, causing the Grail to enact one of its safety protocols, summoning a Ruler Class Servant to assist… only for it to fail, and 'mix' with 'Vivian', creating the first known case of a Pseudo-Servant.

I highly doubt that she'll be very pleased when it turns out that the one most compatible with 'Vivian' turns out to be me, and the fact that she'll change her name to my own, as calling herself Vivian is traumatic due to the shared memories…

…

Knowing Rosalind, she'll get over it, but I'd still rather be on the safe side, and not give her any reasons to be, or feel unsafe around me.

Placing the blueprint on my desk, I released a heavy sigh, while pulling out the needed tools and materials for her Mystic Code.

Here's to hoping…

~~Fate/False Order~~

Checking the time, I gave out a tired sigh. It was 6 O'clock on the dot.

From my somewhat inconsistent checkups on Alistair's training, I saw that he was hanging on a thread an hour ago, so I'm fairly sure that he is dead on his feet right now.

Opening my shadow, I pulled out 'Vivian'. Laying her down, I started to add a few details to make it look like it was a struggle for me to scry for the information.

Slowly, blood seeped out from the homunculus's eyes, ears, and a small trail fell from her mouth. Her skin became slightly paler, and her eyes looked a bit sunken, as if she had overworked herself to the bone.

Smiling at a job well done, I quietly sat down, and connected our consciousness.

Snapping open my eyes, I slowly pushed myself up from the floor.

Trailing a hand through my hair, I let out a tired huff, before moving towards the shelf. Pulling out a map, I walked over to the desk before spreading it out.

Picking up a pen, I circled around the church, since Gilgamesh technically had a Grail as well, and then I circled the center of the Shinto district, specifically the Fuyuki Civic Center.

Thinking over, I quickly allowed a few drops of blood onto the map, to add a bit of detail.

Twirling the pen, I placed it back on the table, before rolling the map up.

Moving away from the table, I gave myself a once over. I didn't look disheveled enough.

Ruffling my clothes, and crumpling the map, I felt a bit more 'presentable'. Donning an expression of tiredness, I gave myself a slight limp, and staggered over to the door, deactivating the locks on it, and slammed it open.

The sound was loud, and I am sure that it echoed throughout the house.

I continued forwards, with shaky and heavy steps towards the dojo.

Not caring for any formality, I flung open the door.

Inside, I saw an exhausted Alistair, who was barely gripping onto his lance through sheer grit, as it seemed to be more of an instinctive action, rather than a continuous one with the state that he was currently in. Though he somehow kept up a decent stance, despite his clear exhaustion.

Artoria stood in a similar, but far more polished stance, only for it to falter as she caught sight of me.

Almost instantly, she let go of her weapon, and dashed over to me, and gently supported my body. I was barely able to stop the instinctive flinch that came from coming in contact with her like this.

She fixed me with a serious look, while her eyes glossed over me. "Are you alright?"

Honestly, it was really weird, and felt incredibly wrong to get any type of care shown to me by Artoria.

Skeptically nodding my head, I gave a verbal response. "Yes, I'm fine, nothing that I haven't experienced before," I said dismissively, before shoving the map into her hands.

"There are two locations on the map," I instructed, earning a slight frown from Artoria. "One is at the Church, and I suspect that it is a signature from Archer, since I assume he has a copy, or rather the original, as his treasury has every treasure imaginable, so why not the Grail?"

Closing my eyes, I gave out a shaky breath before opening them once more and continuing. "It's in the Shinto district," I explained tiredly.

Artoria nodded gratefully before sighing. "I am sorry for the inconvenience," she apologized softly. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked earnestly, causing me to internally cringe.

Artoria offering me aid in any way, shape or form was… wrong, disgusting even. I know that she was offering it to 'Vivian', but it still felt off.

Nodding my head, I fixed her with a tired look. "Make sure that you inform Rosalind, and later Rider and his Master, after speaking with your own Master," I said, before 'suddenly' bursting into a bout of coughs.

Covering my mouth with a hand, Artoria could only look on with apprehension at the blood that was slipping through my fingers. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I took in a shaky breath.

"And most importantly, Alistair and I need to rest for a few hours," I demanded, causing her to nod.

"I'll give the two of you eigh—" "Ten," I cut in, causing her to nod, not bothering to disagree. "Ten hours of rest, after that, I shall personally bring the two of you back," she explained.

Nodding, I slowly separated myself from her, causing Artoria to give me a hesitant look, probably expecting me to fall without her assistance. "Good, I'll take care of Al, you should go and inform your Master, or Rosalind, as I'm assuming that she's awake," I replied neutrality.

Artoria gave me a hesitant look, before nodding. "I shall see the two of you in the afternoon then," she said while glancing over at the practically knocked out Alistair, before turning away.

"Have a pleasant rest," she said as she passed me, gently closing the door behind her.

Sighing, I waited a moment, until I felt her trip the bounded field meant for notifying me of someone leaving the ground.

The moment I felt her leave, I closed my eyes, and disconnected myself from Vivian.

Regaining consciousness inside the workshop, I teleported into the dojo, just as Vivian was about to fall onto the floor.

Before she made contact, she fell into my shadow, allowing her to slowly sink into it instead.

Walking up to Alistair, I crossed my arms and looked at him. "What to do with you…" I said fondly, while looking at the panting Alistair.

Somehow, he was unconscious, or at least his brain was practically turned off, which was doubly impressive, as he was basically out like a light while on his feet.

Alistair was caked in sweat, his clothes were drenched, and stuck to him like a second skin.

Not an unpleasant sight, admittedly, but I could do without the smell.

Waving a hand over him, I expelled the sweat on his body. But the smell was still there, causing me to frown slightly.

Casting a few other spells meant for disinfecting things, Alistair finally didn't reek like some unwashed peasant.

I would have tried to push him into a shower if things were different, but with his level of exhaustion, I highly doubt that it would have been worth it. He's too tired to be seduced, and too tired to engage in any other type of… 'exercise'.

Walking over to him, I raised the arm he was using to grip the lance, and gently opened his grip, allowing the lance to fall out of his grasp. 

Now that his hand was free, I pulled him over to me, and he all but crumbled, falling heavily onto my shoulder.

Raising my other arm, I used it to steady him, shifting his weight to make it a bit more comfortable.

Slowly, I moved towards the door, not bothering to teleport, so as to not wake him at the uncomfortable feeling of folding in on oneself.

Reaching our room, I quietly opened the door, and gently laid Alistair on the bed. Giving him a once over, I looked at his outfit.

That wouldn't do.

Snapping my fingers, a set of pyjama trousers flew out from the closet, just as Alistair was instantly stripped of all his clothing, allowing the pyjama bottom to smoothly cloth itself onto Alistair.

Giving him a once over, I gave a satisfied nod. Much better.

Seating myself on the bed, I leaned onto the headboard of the bed, and pulled Alistair a bit closer, placing his head onto my lap.

Threading a few fingers through his hair, I felt a deep calm wash over me as I leaned my head backwards, gently bumping it against the headboard.

Looking down at the sleeping Alistair, I felt a small smile find its way onto my lips.

It was nice.

Closing my eyes, I felt the nice feelings of comfort and relief get washed away when I recalled what happened earlier.

In the span of two days, I had blackmailed Artoria, treated her poorly, yet at the mere sight of myself, her kind-of tormentor, she reflexively helped me, and didn't even think twice about giving more if I asked.

It just irked me.

She was meant to lash out at some point, or simply not care, and act cold and unfeeling as she usually did during our time.

It wasn't fair.

I had set this all up for her to fail to meet my expectations, allowing me to tell Alistair that I had tried, and that I simply couldn't find a reason to 'forgive' her.

Yet she simply passed all my trials with ease, and it just left me feeling bitter.

I had known her for years, a millennium even, yet in all that time, I never imagined that I'd see her act with genuine kindness, and show worry towards someone who had spurned her. Maybe that was due to my colored view of her, but I had never seen Artoria so emotional, at least when it wasn't rage or anger, other than her final battle.

She was meant to be as cold as stone, unfeeling, uncaring… She was meant to be like Uther, no, she was meant to be Uther.

… And just seeing the opposite… confirming first hand, not seeing through Alistair's shotty memories of Fate, but having it shoved in my face… It just left me bitter.

Alistair's theory about Merlin being the driving force behind our hatred never felt so true, as I think that I would have at the very least not been too against getting to know the person who had been eating with us every day, and training Alistair in her freetime.

That's not to say that all the blame is on Merlin, as I have clearly been projecting a lot onto her… hell, even now, I still can't stop comparing her to Uther, despite their clear differences.

I was clearly in the wrong, not that I was in a position to think clearly, due to my 'condition', but I had obviously been the root cause of most of her misery.

And seeing how she is now, how she acts around me without knowing my identity, it almost makes me regret that I didn't know her properly.

Not that I think we could have ever worked out, not with Uther separating her from me from birth, my own insanity working against us, and Merlin fanning the flames of our hatred.

With all that, I could have never fulfilled my mothers wish of becoming a good elder sibling, not when the deck was stacked so heavily against us, and that just made me feel bitter.

Though… it does make one wonder…

I had always wanted a younger sibling, and that feeling only intensified when I found out Uther had abducted my sibling. If only I hadn't met her when she pulled out the sword, then maybe things could have turned out differently…

Sighing heavily, I opened my eyes and looked down at Alistair.

Pouting slightly, I messed up his hair.

Why did he have to make things so difficult for me? Life was so much easier when I could just hate Artoria, instead of looking back, and judging our positions from a third party's point of view.

'Character development', as Altrouge would put it, was overrated, I'd rather return things to how they were a week ago, as then I'd be able to kill Artoria without a care.

But simultaneously…

Moving my hand, I fixed up his hair a bit, trying to give it a nice shape.

It was rather nice to get to know my sister.

And for that, I would profusely thank Alistair for introducing her to me.

Smiling, I removed my hand, and gently moved Alistair's head off my lap.

Standing up, I changed my clothes with a thought, unequipping my dress, and replacing it with my nightgown.

Moving around the bed, I sat down on my side.

Glancing over at Alistair, I hesitated slightly, before removing my crowned veil, placing it on my nightstand.

Lying down, I snuggled up next to Alistair, easily pulling him in closer.

I don't think Artoria would ever forgive me… but maybe, maybe when I pulled her out of Avalon, she could get along with Vivian, the Pseudo-Servant of Morgan Le Fay.

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23 Hours, 48 Minutes And 22 Seconds Until Zero 

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A/N

Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and reviews, as it would be much appreciated.

There is officially less than a day left until Zero.

Any whishes or ideas? This might be your last chance...

What did you all think of the chapter? Any thoughts about Morgan? I need details!

Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me!

https://discord.gg/Rn6Zrw8N

Now I'm tired as it is 12PM! So have a nice day, or at least one better than mine, and send me some stones or some shit (Not literal shit), as I need motivation!