Act II: The False-Stepped Coppélia (3/5)

We're almost at this area's final zonethe one assigned to the Sentinel...

Do you really plan on having that Servant join us? Killing her would be a lot less trouble.

Agreed. If you can't depend on someone to be reliable, you can't call them a true ally.

In my opinion, allies who don't work well with others, or who don't know how to read social cues, are a lot more trouble than tough opponents.

I heard you'd be going up against a Sentinel. I've been wanting to see how strong they are for myself.

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Be that as it may, the more options at our disposal, the better. I myself would be hard-pressed to fend off a cadre of enemy Archers on my own.

On a different note, milady: would you mind telling us exactly what a Sentinel is?

I was under the impression that every Sentinel was an Alter Ego, and vice versa...

It's true that we Alter Egos were originally salvaged in order to be made into Sentinels.

But a Sentinel doesn't have to be an Alter Ego. BB can turn anyone she likes into one.

It's more of a de facto class, really. All she needs is a Spirit Origin that can handle a Karmaphage.

Karmaphage... So the "phage" part refers to "bacteriophage"a virus.

I never would've guessed that kind of power was like an infectious disease. Suits you Alter Egos well.

What do you mean by that? What do you know about us, anyway?

You're avatars that BB made out of her emotions, right?

Basically, you're a patchwork of Spirit Origins made from multiple Servants... multiple goddess essences.

Inhuman murder dolls whose very existence cheats the system.

...

What, no comeback? And here I thought the patchwork remark would've offended your sense of aesthetics.

Not at all. I'm impressed by how well you understand us.

Yes, we Alter Egos are cheat Spirit Origins. We were monsters tied to five emotions that BB cut off from herself, deemed unnecessary for a perfect AI...

Love & hate, pleasure, innocence, yearning, benevolence.

That's right. That said, they're specifically emotions directed at a particular target.

As the Alter Ego of pleasure, I was created to ensure my target would enjoy the very finest pleasure.

Of course, now I can choose my own target. Once I do, they won't know what hit them.

Everything this smug Archer said is in the past now. We've grown and evolved since then.

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We used to hate being so beholden to our emotions, but not anymore. We've learned to face them head on.

We may not be able to become human, but we are trying to understand how they feel.

And we're happy remaining as Alter Egos.

As long as there's even one human out there who accepts us as we are, we don't mind being monsters.

Well isn't that a lovely story. And did you ever find such a fool?

Of course. They're everywhere. Humans turned out to be much more accepting than we thought.

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A human once told me: "No doll could cry when she was having fun, or smile even though she was sad."

"So if you can do that, that means you're well and truly alive."

I'm picking up some serious feels around here!

I mean, it makes sense that the tension would escalate in what's clearly a boss stage, but...

But my keen feline nose smells some drama going on around here without me!

Let me guess, Master. You're thinking bad things. Like how you don't need any more Servants.

Or how having more around would just be a big pain, so you may as well defeat this lost kitty and be done with it. Am I right?

Oh, okay. I get the context now! Can't say I'm happy about it! See? Tail's not wagging!

O-oh. I guess you like doing things the hard way, don't you.

I'm super happy to hear that, but I'll save the gratitude for later!

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Okay, let's get to fighting! BB may be pure evil, but she still took me in and fed me.

The head of the fish went to cut the grass. The obligation of this society went to wash clothes. The dog, the monkey, and the pheasant can all go straight to hell.

Yep! No doubt about it! Felines are a primate's best friend! Sentinel Cat, launching!

I'll tell you this right now, Saber and Archer! You're gonna have a rough time of it here on SE.RA.PH if you can't figure out how to read the room!

Yeow! Nice damage! Don't worry, I'm finally back to my old sel

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Hm? Why're you so shocked? Why wouldn't I kill an enemy Servant? In fact...

Here in SE.RA.PH, every Servant besides me is going to be an enemy by the end. Didn't BB explain that?

She was referring to Servants who were lured here by her sweet talk.

But Tamamo Cat is a member of Chaldea. She is not so rash as to...

...My apologies. Regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains that she is now on BB's side.

No I'm not! It's just that I was never going to woof it through SE.RA.PH all on my own, even though when it comes to survival, I am top cat!

I chose to go along with BB, so that she'd help me majorly power up by giving me a Karmaphage. After that, I was just waiting for a chance to rejoin you.

I never thought my own ally would end up shooting me. Don't you know that cat curses are permanent?

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Hm? That hurt like hell, but wasn't fatal. Why you do this, Edgemiya? Y'know, Edgemiya as in "Edgy Emiya"?

...

(Idiot! Here we've all been avoiding that subject, and she just came right out and said it!)

(Still, it's about time someone did! Honestly, I've been wanting to say something myself!)

Hmph. Trust me, I wasn't trying to be merciful. I know my way around magical circuits, and I saw your Spirit Origin was fuzzy in parts.

Those parts happened to look like another symptom I know about, so I assumed they were your Karmaphage and took my shot. That's all.

Crude, I know, but it was a matter of life and death.

And don't thank me. It's irritating.

Ooh, you're so hard-boiled, Edgemiya. You just gained some Cat Bond Points!

I said shut it. Or are you so used to flapping your lips you don't know how to turn them off anymore?

Heeey, don't be like that, Edgemiya. Anyway, sorry for all the trouble, Master!

Thanks to you, I am one hundred percent BB-free, so now I can help you out again!

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As they say, all's well that ends well. I believe this concludes our exploration of this area.

Why don't we return to the church now and let Lady FoxI mean, Lady Catheal up?

Well aren't you a considerate Saber! Let's go! You can fill me in on everything I missed on the way!