Fate/Grand Order story · Part 1.5: Epic of Remnant, Pseudo-Singularity I: Quarantined Territory of Malice, Shinjuku
Homesick
Pseudo-Singularity I: Quarantined Territory of Malice, Shinjuku. Route 20
2 scenes, 226 lines
1. Before the battle
146 linesAaaaaah! No, please! Don't eat me! Nooooo!
Wh-what's going on!? I can't even see what's eating me!
Ow, ow! I-it's coming off!? I'm being eaten!? Am I really being eaten!?
A-aaah! Aaaaaah!
The first time I ate a human felt absurdly good.
My pack is dead. All of them, dead.
They were poisoned, and died painfully. Their heads were blown off by those long sticks.
They were choked to death with rope. Dead, dead, dead. Each and every one of them, dead.
Blanca is dead too. So are my pups, no doubt.
...How methodical. Instead of instinct, they use their intelligence to kill efficiently.
A beast like me could never understand. Even if I were to be reborn, all I could do is use my jaws.
I didn't like the idea of someone riding me at first, but he doesn't say anything or get in my way.
All he does is kill people automatically as I run. I can live with that.
I've killed so many people. I thought I would kill as many of them as they did of us.
Males, females, small ones, big ones, fat ones, thin ones... It's okay to kill all of them!
Nobody can stop me. I won't let them stop me!
Every time I took revenge, I was sure that things would go back to the way they were. That someday, I would once again return to the land where my pack and I roamed.
I was so sure of it. And yet...
Ahh, more humans. I have to kill them. Once I do that, then...
Then... Huh? What was it I wanted again?
Here he comes, Master. Remember, hold on tight to me, and don't let go no matter what.
I know.
Good. Don't worry about getting too close. Just keep your arms around me.
No one could survive without injury after hitting asphalt at two hundred kilometers per hour.
Don't worry. I don't want to die.
A wise decision. Now wrap your arms around me and hold on tight.
Don't worry about how it may look. The important thing is to remain alive.
？！
Moriarty here. Everything's set on this end. How's the monitor situation shaping up, Da Vinci?
We're good to track any time. How about you, Holmes?
All set here. Good boy.
This had better work! ...Oh, and Mash?
You're absolutely certain that Cavall II agreed to this, right!?
Y-yes, ma'am! Um...at least, according to Fou!
You wish to use Cavall II as bait!? Are you out of your minds!?
...Hmm. I do feel like it would give us a very decent chance of winning.
Agreed. In my estimation...that Avenger can no longer properly remember who Blanca was.
Any white, wolflike creature would surely stop him in his tracks, if for only a moment.
Hold it. Dogs have some of the sharpest senses in the world. How do you plan on fooling his nose?
Simple, Ms. Altria. There's no need to.
No need to...?
Allow me to explain.
...Now I understand. But I still don't like it. I cannot put Cavall II in danger.
Just look at his floppy little body. How could you even think of putting a precious creature like this in front of that vicious wolf?
(Cavall was the name of King Arthur's favorite dog. There's a reason why she named this one "II.")
That's true.
Cavall II could even be run over before he knew what happened.
However, we still have yet to hear from Cavall II himself.
Fou!
Aah! F-Fou? What is it?
Fou... Fou, fou, fou!
Fou fou.
Fou fou fou...? Fou! Fou!
Wh-what is it, Fou? What's wrong?
Fou?
Cavall II?
Hmm, I see, I see...
He's agreed to help us! This is wonderful, Master!
Huh?
Are you certain he agreed? Really, truly, absolutely certain?
Haha, I'm surprised to see you've also mastered Animal Whispering.
Haha, I had to after I heard that you had.
...I'm just gonna go with it.
I can see you wish to know more, Master. Very well, let me tell you!
Huh? No need for that, you say? Well, all right.
What the heck is Animal Whispering?
Essentially, it's an application of Animal Communication.
For those of us who live in modern times, communicating with animals can be extremely difficult. Still, while we may not be able to communicate with them, we CAN read their own thoughts.
Though of course, it requires some training.
Training... So then, if I train, I can understand what Fou is saying.
Um, Mr. Holmes, could I ask you to teach me how to communicate with animals sometime?
Hey, why not ask me? I am a professor, after all.
？！
Fou!
...
...All right, Fou, I'll trust you! Timing will be everything, Master. Be ready for it.
...! Spirit Origin pattern confirmed!
It's definitely the Avenger of Shinjuku... Wolf King Lobo and the Hessian!
Here he comes, Master.
...Cavall II may be in danger, but I hope you are aware that your situation is even more precarious.
Of course, I will be certain to protect you, but...
That's why I'm not worried.
...
So I see. Very well, I suppose I had better make absolutely sure that your confidence is not misplaced, then.
Not that there was ever any doubt!
I trust you.
...Trust, huh?
That word never meant much to me as I am now, but...coming from you...
Very well then, I promise I shall do everything in my power to keep you safe!
？！
Here he comes! He's definitely following Fujimaru's scent!
He may be invisible, but now we can at least narrow down his coordinates!
Be careful, he's still as fast as before! Get ready! Three...two...one...go!
We're off!
There he is!
？！
Don't say a word, unless you want to see what wind pressure like this does to a person's head!
...!
？！
Hessian Lobo has passed the checkpoint! His speed remains the same!
Prepare the Point One trap!
All right, time to see how well Kaburagi's extra-large Demonic Beast trap works!
Now!
Did it work!?
Damn, he jumped right over it!
Ugh. I know we expected as much, but I still can't believe it!
He's so huge, and he couldn't even have noticed it right up until the last moment! Even our camouflage spell was perfect!
It couldn't have taken more than a few microseconds to react. And he didn't even break his stride!
Stop praising him and focus on the task at hand!
Oh, right! Activating next trap in three, two, one...!
Second trap, activated! Not that I expect it will work any better!
He's evaded this one as well. He reacted even faster than the first time!
He's got us completely figured out! Is this plan really going to work!?
Why would you even ask that now, you fool!? ...Master, are you still all right!?
(Cling harder without saying a word)
？！
Good! All right, last one!
Holmes! It's all up to you now!
I am well aware of that.
Now listen up. No matter what happens, do not move. Doing so will only put you in danger.
Five seconds until he reaches the third trap! ...Four!
Three!
Two!
One...
Zero!
？！
Zero!
!!!
How's that!?
He's...
...Stopped!
...My apologies, Lobo. I'm afraid we must use your love to engineer your doom once more.
...We've got him!
Hessian Lobo has come to a stop! We also have visual confirmation!
...Here we go, Master. There's no telling how long that trap will be able to hold him here.
If he has to, I have no doubt he'll gnaw off his leg in order to escape. We cannot wait for backup.
We have to take him down, here and now. Any objections!?
Let's finish this.
...Indeed.
Now is the time to stop running, Wolf King.
Let's help him rest.
Agreed.
Jeanne was right. Avengers running wild must be cut down without mercy.
？！
...My sacred sword shall bring you that swift and merciless end!
Your days of vengeance are over, Wolf King...!
2. After the battle
80 linesHessian Lobo's magical energy is...declining rapidly.
Did you get them!? You did, didn't you!
You sound like an NPC in a video game.
I know, but trust me, it's really clear when you're monitoring the situation!
Not just yet!
Oh yes you did!
I can already see the Avenger retreating into the vanishing zone.
It won't be long before they disappear.
？！
Indeed. They have surely lost too much magical energy to be able to retreat effectively.
However...
It is either hatred or revenge that drives you. ...No one else can suffer in your place.
That suffering is your punishment, but it is also nothing less than your greatest joy.
But, it has gone on long enough. ...Farewell, Wolf King.
Huh!?
Stay out of this, Dullahan!
Huh?
Did he just...throw his weapon away?
？！
What are you playing at?
He's spreading his hands, and... No, it can't be.
He's protecting him?
Either move aside or take up your weapon. I will not hesitate to cut you down whether you resist or not.
Is he trying to protect Lobo?
Y-yes, I believe he is...
？！
What kind of Servant are you!? Move aside!
What was that sound...!?
？！
Uh oh! Lobo just bit off his own leg and made a break for it!
But don't worry! He's moving much slower now, so you can still catch up to him on foot!
Wait right
That's enough, Ms. Altria. It's over now.
Holmes? What is the meaning of this?
Let him go. We have our victory.
Both the Hessian and Lobo are as good as dead now. Let them spend their last moments as they see fit.
I understand your wish to see the deed through to the end, but it's all right.
He has finally regained his freedom. Your role is complete.
...
I see...
Exactly so, Mr. Fujimaru. The Wolf King is at long last nothing more than a mere beast again.
But...
...Your fears are correct, Mr. Fujimaru.
The Wolf King no longer has a home to return to.
？！
So...Lobo wants to go back home to the plains of Currumpaw, in America.
I see... It is a shame that he cannot do that.
...
The problem is not that he is too far from home. It's that he has been hell-bent on revenge.
He has forgotten his home, and the faces of his pack.
Even their scents have been blotted out by the stench of Shinjuku.
All he remembers now is that he once had a home to return to. Not how to get there.
There is nothing more we can do for him, Mr. Fujimaru.
I'm afraid his story has already come to an end.
...? What is it, Cavall II?
Something precious is leaving me. The sense of loss is greater than the simple pain.
I guess I must have lost again. It must have been that white dog.
Why did I stop when I saw it? It was only a stray dog, nothing more.
...And yet, when I think about it, it makes me strangely heartsick. I'd better stop thinking about it.
I can't even run now that I've chewed my leg off. That steel horse could catch up to me in no time.
And yet, it hasn't. Which must mean... Could that man who was riding on me be holding them back?
What am I saying? That's ridiculous. I never opened up to him even once.
I never treated him as anything more than a tool. There's no reason he would do something like that for me.
Anyway... Where should I go now?
I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to my homeland.
But I can't see it anywhere. I can't remember it. I don't even know its scent now.
Where in the world was it that I lived?
The ground was softer, I'm sure. I know I could smell the grass there.
There were countless glittering stars in the sky. The wind was gentle and refreshing.
But all I have now are images in my head. I can't remember what any of those felt like.
The soft ground, the smell of the grass, the glittering stars, the refreshing wind... None of them.
I'm sure I experienced them all. But I can't remember anything about them.
But, I still want to go home more than anything. It's over now. I've lost.
I want to go home. I want to go home! I want to go home...!
...Ahh.
After taking a deep breath, and exhaling what remains of my life, I finally understand.
I no longer have a home to go back to. No, that's not right... This is now the only home I have.
I was summoned of my own will, and slaughtered people here by choice. I made this my territory, and my howls let all the people here know they had reason to be afraid.
This filthy place where people live...is my true home now.
So I can no longer go back there. I threw it away, and I've been searching for it all this time.