Archive of Our Own

###Jeanne Alter###

It had been hazy and painful. She could feel as if her body had been stretched and torn apart. She was all at once burning on that stake, and yet she could feel nothing at all. The screaming had made her throat hoarse. But even as she was conscious once again, she knew in her heart something was wrong. Sweat clung to her body.

Her body felt stuck to the bed. As she threw the last haze of the darkness away, she blinked, trying to see. Her face immediately twisted with anguish at the sheer brightness of the fluorescent lights.

What the hell?

Any attempt to glean anything from her surroundings had only resulted in pain shooting through her. Her head and everything else hurt. She tried to move and found her muscles didn’t respond.

Panic rose like bile in the back of her throat, but even her lips wouldn’t move or respond to the sudden demand to move. The panic in her mind only grew worse. Her heart and chest started to ache with it.

Gilles?

She wanted to shake her head of the thought. It was the only other time she had experienced something like this. This Gilles wasn’t hers, though, right? It was Chaldea. This Gilles wouldn’t dare.

No no! Come on!

With tremendous effort, she managed to strengthen her vision long enough to see Gilles. Though there were no obvious signs of him running any of his demonic experiments like hers had been. Then she caught a glimpse of him. One of Chaldea’s two masters.

Ritsuka, she knew it was him, by the details she could barely grasp. The shape of his hair and that mystic code uniform. It had to be him, and for just one fearful second, she even considered that he was somehow the one responsible.

Her rational mind, however, thankfully managed to catch up before real panic set it.

It’s not him either; he’s a worthless mage.

And then it hurt too much to keep up the strain of her energy, trying to peer at them. Her heart only hurt more. The panic only grew, and yet nothing in her body would respond to her calls. The only noise that travelled beyond her lips was a strained breath.

Something touched her hand.

Revulsion came over her.

Regardless of whether this Gilles was hers or not, she never wanted to be touched by him in any fashion ever again.

The grip on her fingers changed to one on her wrist, between the gaps of her armor. The warmth of a hand seeped through.

It felt strange. Familiar. She wanted to cry, to curse, to whimper, to scream, to shout. And still nothing came.

Then she had it.

It was the hand of that stupid idiot master. The one who’d held her hand back in France once Gilles left her to wreak havoc. The hand of that person who’d somehow gotten hold of her stupid curiosity. That somehow resulted in her existing beyond that stupid farce of a life. Beyond her desire for simple revenge.

Why is he holding my hand?

She tried to listen even as her senses failed her.

“Jeanne.” His voice was calm and resolute.

What the hell?! Why can’t I fucking talk or see?

“Can you hear me?”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck!

Nothing escaped her lips, nothing in her body responded to her. She couldn’t see him. She could barely hear him; as a result, she could say nothing to him. Jeanne Alter would’ve given anything to try to answer.

I am here!

She could only feel her brow glisten with sweat as she tried to open her heavy eyelids again. The sheer concentration of will felt like she would almost die from that alone.

I am here!

Useless.

Worthless.

Pathetic Dragon Wtich.

I am listening, Master!

“I’m going to help you, alright?” His voice came gently. Then something touched her forehead, and she wished she could shrink away. But that hand did nothing but gently roll over her skin. Wiping sweat away, an almost gentle caress. “Alright,” Ritsuka’s voice came gently beside her. “Gilles, go get the staff. My sister, too. I think the potion really did sever the connection. Bring me young Gil as well.”

“As you say, Master, anyone else?” That foul voice came.

“Roman and DaVinci, please.” Came the voice of her Master.

The hand left her forehead, and the hand on her wrist left too.

No! NO WAIT! I-

Useless.

Pathetic.

Worthless.

I…

Jeanne Alter could do nothing, as all her senses evaporated once more. The details she’d gotten were scant, but enough for her to formulate questions.

Potion?

From Gil?

Then, at last, she had that answer too. Her thoughts were slower to come now, it felt. Her plan was to steal Artoria Alter’s Santa sack. She wanted to get the kid servants to like her and get everyone to hate that vile woman once again.

She’d gone to consult Gilles.

She got a concealment potion from the young boy Gil…

And something…had gone terribly wrong.

Your fault.

Burden.

Can’t think of anything that works.

The potion?

She suspected she was onto it, right on the tip of her tongue, before she could feel the edges of her mind beginning to fog. It was like a deep tiredness that she only knew from one other experience.

Death.

No no no!

Please! Someone!

She would’ve shed bitter tears if she could.

Master!?

Anyone!?

And the world with her thoughts faded to black once more.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

“And Gilles…” Ritsuka trailed off for a second, taking a deep breath as he suddenly turned to look right at the caster. “Whatever you aren’t telling me, I expect you to be forthright when you come back.” He gave the caster his best strained patience look.

Gilles seemed delighted, and for reasons that he couldn’t gather as to why, clapped his hands together. “Indeed, that’s my master, ever the truest observer of human nature.” Then he turned and walked away.

Still having not told him everything, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes, a twinkle that probably would make normal people twitch in either irritation or with trepidation, whatever the caster might be planning.

Ritsuka forced himself to take a deep breath.

I give him until he comes back.

His eyes once more narrowed towards Jeanne Alter. Surely Gilles wasn’t responsible for doing this to her, right? He could recall that there was some hesitation on the two of them ever being paired together again after the Orleans.

However, Jeanne Alter sought out his company, and Ritsuka was content to let her. Jeanne Alter had made it clear with her contract about that space. He wasn’t quite sure why she hung around Gilles as often as she usually did, but he wasn’t going to press her reasons.

Whether it's seeking comfort in the familiar, or trying to make sure this Gilles was different from hers…

It wasn’t his business until it became his business.

Integrating Chaldea’s second avenger otherwise had gone fairly well. The counterfeit event, as Da Vinci had now taken to calling it, where Jeanne Alter was spreading various works of art that were fake, had shown Jeanne Alter to be far less ruthless than he expected, given their last encounter in the Orleans singularity.

Even then…

He frowned a little.

Ruthlessness isn’t the right word.

He could recall holding her hand in perfect clarity as she began to fade. He hadn’t known her very well then. However, he knew she didn’t want her to suffer. At least not in the way she’d intended to make him and all of France and the world suffer for the fate that had been bestowed upon her.

“NO ONE SAVED ME! After everything I did! AFTER EVERYTHING I GAVE- NO ONE SAVED ME!”

Ritsuka winced at that memory, the ears of sadness and wrath that had remained unshed as she berated him, Chaldea, and her saint counterpart.

And when the fight was over, even Gilles left her, promising to avenge her. But she hadn’t disappeared yet. She was alone. A fate that he wouldn’t wish on someone who was so robbed of anyone standing up for her or sticking by her.

The cynical part of him thought it was a fitting end for her. Poetic even. That she would die alone with no one at her side.

But it hurt him to watch. His heart had ached, and thus, he couldn’t bear to leave her to die alone. She had been trying to kill him only a few minutes earlier. She had very nearly succeeded in a particular bout of the fight when her lances and flames had separated him from Mash, from Gudako, from her saint counterpart, and the others that had been with them.

But the battle had been over…and they weren’t enemies. Everyone had verified she wasn’t long left for this world.

So he stepped forward to take her hand. An act of kindness, instinct, or selfishness to abate his own pain in his heart at the sight of it, he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was all three. But he did remember the dumb founded expression that crossed her lips as she finally began to disappear, and then the tiny hints of something more restful, something of relief. A peace had settled over her as she vanished for good.

Or at least, back then, he’d thought it had been for good.

Ritsuka could recall the strange way she looked at him across their interactions during that counterfeiting event. The whole event had seemed strange from the start.

He suspected she didn’t really have her heart in the fight this time. Something had changed, and he knew it had when she vowed that if she was summoned again, it would be under Chaldea’s banner, to fight for humanity.

And then, not two days later, she appeared with a physical contract in hand. More than that, she had said things, implied things, that spoke to her memory of both the Orleans singularity and the counterfeit event. Something that set her apart from many of the other servants that were present, except for maybe Edmond, who seemed to remember the Prison Tower. Archer EMIYA, who seemed to know a lot about the modern world, and a few others.

Not likely an avenger-specific trait…but it was one worth noting.

He forced himself to take a deep breath.

And now this…

He checked his watch, waiting at the edge of the doorway. The cool metal was pressing into his back. And he considered his next course of action. His eyes flicked back over to the Avenger servant lying on her bed. She was in her armor still; her spiritron dress remaining unshifted.

Normally, when someone is sick, they should be pulled out of their work clothes. But he didn’t want to be the one to undress her in that manner unless someone with a higher authority, or Jeanne Alter herself, permitted him, or asked him for help. Besides, leaving her in her armor, her spiritron dress was probably safer for a servant.

He wanted to leave to make sure help got there faster. But he could see the turmoil riddling that expression.

Never a dull moment with you, is there, Jeanne Alter?

As her face twisted again, he could see her shedding tears through her closed eyelids, and his whole mind and body winced.

Stop it, this is an emergency.

A bit belatedly, he realized the casualness with which he was beginning to treat the situation. He slapped his own cheeks and huffed at himself. The work on the singularities was already taking its toll, and he and his sister both had a taxing job with it.

He forced himself to take another deep breath.

Gilles had carried her back to her room, and he suspected she wasn’t going to be a fan when she learned that. Her room was plain, but it had accumulated a few things, now that she’d been there for more than six months.

Wouldn’t have made it through Camelot without her and Edmond.

There were a few scented candles, and she had two black towels and a red handwashing towel. There was a stand to store her armor and a rack for her clothes. She could just dispel her armor and weapons, but the fact that she’d chosen to have a place to hang them or store them all spoke a lot as to the kind of servant she was.

There were some nicks on the floor, likely from a sword. There were six books sitting beside the bed on the shelf. Not an extensive library, but enough to draw some eyes to it when one was looking about the room.

Ritsuka could see that those books were also children's books.

He tried not to look around her bedroom any more than he’d already had. Anything more, he would personally consider to be a breach of privacy. She probably would already berate him if she knew he was hanging out against the door to her room, with no supervision, while she tossed and turned on the bed.

I should probably figure out how I’m going to explain this.

And then, the whole of Chaldea shook, and he steadied himself with wide eyes.

What the hell?

A few servants came running down the hall.

With a sigh and silent apology, he went to the intercom device in the panel on Jeanne Alter’s wall. “Ritsuka. Sitrep, what was that?”

Roman’s voice came back, “Ritsuka! We don’t know! We think a servant just fired a small mana burst, but…” There was some shuffling, and Ritsuka could hear movement in the background, almost as if someone was grabbing the mike.

Da Vinci chimed in. “Gudako’s already up here on the bridge. Where are you calling in from? It’s not your room number?”

“Uh…something is wrong with Jeanne Alter; Gilles should probably be with you soon enough to report that very thing.” Ritsuka debated how best he should explain and how many details he should go into.

But evidently, that was enough for Da Vinci. “Right, Master, I’m getting some unusual readings from Jeanne Alter’s connection to the saint graph. I’ll be down there with equipment in a moment.”

There was a pause as Ritsuka straightened upright.

Her connection to Chaldea’s saint graph is damaged?

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, another layer was added on as he suddenly heard Gudako’s voice. Her voice was clipped. “I’m heading down now, brother. The disturbance is from somewhere near you. Looks like Artoria Alter’s room.” There was a short pause, and he could sense what she was about to ask.

He blinked.

That was only down the hall and a short flight of stairs.

Ritsuka hesitated.

“You’ll be there faster, brother,” Gudako stated.

It would be the smarter thing to do. The logical thing, he knew, but something stopped him as he peeked out into the hallway. Then back at the bed, with the French avenger still lying there. Her face twisted into something like agony. The way her fingers were shaking at her sides.

I can’t…

Since there were no follow-up explosions or bursts of mana that were shaking the building, the emergency was clearly not an emergency that could wait. Something twisted in his gut again.

She deserves not to be alone in times like these.

“No, someone needs to stay with her,” Ritsuka said. “I’m the only one here. I’m afraid I sent Gilles away…”

There was a short pause. Gudako knew him best. He could hear her take a breath, as if bracing herself. There were times when they would have to make hard decisions. If there had been a follow-up to that explosion that had shaken Chaldea, even he couldn’t have made the excuse to stay. But in this case...

It’s not what we do.

“Alright, I’ll be down there after we deal with this,” Gudako said calmly. “Take care of yourself, and figure out what’s going on with your end.” There was another small pause. “You aren’t in danger?”

“No.” He promised.

“Then good luck to us both.” She said, and the intercom clicked.

Da Vinci’s voice popped back in. “Gilles just arrived and filled me in, Master. I’m bringing some equipment with me. Shall I get Medea, too?”

It might be smart to have a caster specialist with us.

“Yes.” Ritsuka stepped away from the intercom and took a deep breath. “Ping me if you need me to come back to the com.”

“Understood, Master, I’ll be there soon.”

Then with another crackle, the intercom clicked off, and everything else seemed to fall by the wayside. The quiet silence of the inside of Jeanne Alter’s room filled the air. The metal door had hissed shut when he stopped leaning on the doorway, sealing him inside the room for the time being.

He turned around and looked at her.

Her hands were shaking as they gripped the sheets, her breathing was heavy and laboured, as if she’d run several miles without stopping.

After a moment of deciding where he would be standing, he walked over to the bedside again and this time pulled up a chair. He was slow about it this time; he felt awkward, uncomfortable, and wrong. Jeanne Alter had been loud and blunt about her space and privacy ever since she’d been summoned. She didn’t want him to use their master servant bond under any circumstances outside of emergencies. She wanted to keep her distance from everyone.

Except for this new version of Gilles.

His eyes narrowed a little at that fact, and everything else that was coming to supplement the thought. For him, it all added to that feeling that he was invading her space without consent.

The room was quiet, short of her breath, some coming out as near whimpers. His face hardened a little, and gently, he touched her hand again, feeling the gaps in her armored gauntlet, as he interwove their fingers. She didn’t respond, of course.

But it mattered to him.

The seconds turned to minutes as time ticked by. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to rack his brain. He was contractually her master, so he could try to reach out to her through their bond.

Would this qualify as an emergency? Surely it must, right?

She had specified an emergency for him, but not one for herself. There was also the chance that, without knowing what exactly the problem was, he could be dealt with something similar.

Gilles is maddeningly unhelpful.

Ritsuka took a deep breath for some reason; his mind was cast back to many years ago. Perhaps his first memory, or one of his earliest formative ones. A melody, a song with words he couldn’t remember.

Low lighting, something soft against the back of his head. Something had made him content.

It was his mother, he was pretty sure.

Ritsuka looked down at Jeanne Alter’s twisting expression, her whimpering as she suddenly twisted, like a spasm, before her breath started to smooth again. Her fingers weren’t even grabbing his hand back. He couldn’t ever really imagine her wanting to, but even she could it was as if they were unable to, or she didn’t perceive him at all enough to do so.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and as he gently held her hand. “Come on…” He whispered to her.

Being near Jeanne Alter and having it be nearly silent outside of her pained breathing was something new. It was like a palpable discomfort that he couldn’t fully sit with. Whenever they were on missions, she was arguably the loudest and most boisterous personality on the battlefield. It kinda reminded him of her senior, Edmond, who had been summoned a few months before her.

This was the opposite of what he’d begun to see her as.

It made him long for help to arrive that much faster.

And then finally the door opened.

He quickly got up, “Da Vinci, I…” He trailed off his words, choking and clogging in the back of his throat as his words suddenly turned into a sputter of unintelligible words. Whatever he’d been about to say had been made irrelevant.

Jeanne D’Arc was there, the self-proclaimed big sister of her avenger alter form. She had been the fastest to warm up to her counterpart being around Chaldea.

And Jeanne Alter seethed at it so much.

Her blue eyes flicked to Ritsuka. “Master? What are you doing here?!”

“I-” Ritsuka began.

Jeanne suddenly shook her head. “No, never mind.” She marched toward him. A bundle in her arm, with white hair, a familiar ahoge on her hair, draped in a white poncho, with red and green bows hanging from her hair. “We…have a problem.”

Before Ritsuka could even respond, the bundle in Ruler Jeanne d’Arc’s hands turned to look at Ritsuka, and for the second time in less than a minute, his words got caught in his throat, and suddenly, anything he was about to say was once again rendered completely irrelevant.

Staring back at him was a young girl with bright amber eyes to match the same appearance as Jeanne Alter. Her cheeks were a bit chubbier, and her body was obviously smaller. She hissed and curled herself away from him, away from Ritsuka as if clinging to Ruler a bit more.

Only instead, “Idiot! Put me down this instant. I don’t want to meet Reindeer like this!”

Rein…deer?

Ritsuka sighed, suspecting that just like last year, this Christmas was going to be a long one. Mentally, he braced himself for the conversation to come.

###

By the time Da Vinci had arrived with Gilles close behind, with a smirk Ritsuka had noted, Ritsuka now had something closer to a full picture, probably before even his sister did.

Jeanne Alter drank a potion, believing it would give her concealment. But it, in fact, had been a concoction of something akin to eternal youth. Only because she was a servant, it had manifested in a form, like that of a child suddenly appearing.

Lily, unexpectedly, and unlike the way Jeanne Alter typically was, …seemed nice. She was cooperative. “Older me planned to steal the sack from Santa Alter. Which is stupid! I still think it’s stupid even though I got thrown out of the room for it.”

And that was the explosion I heard, wasn’t it?

He frowned a little more.

Jeanne was a bit more gentle. “Santa Alter doesn’t like sharing, Lily…you have to be careful when you go talk to adults like her.”

Gilles seemed only to smile a bit more. “Isn’t it wonderful? Her initiative is wonderful!”

Jeanne’s blue eyes flicked to her. “I can’t believe she went to you. What was she thinking? You encouraged this, didn’t you?”

The caster shrugged. “I did no such thing; I only pointed out my concerns over it.”

“Which would only stoke her flames further!” Jeanne hissed out. “I should poke your eyesballs out, Gilles.” The normally composed ruler said, some rare malice coming from Jeanne in the face of that.

It seemed to only egg Gilles on further, and Ritsuka held up a hand to stop. “That's enough, that’s enough.” He turned to Gil, who was still standing in the room awkwardly. He had the confidence of his adult counterpart; however, it was clear he didn’t fully know what to do with that confidence.

“I’m sorry.” Gil offered his apology. “I can’t keep track of everything in my gate, Babylon, you know!”

Lily, it seemed, had no boundaries or fear of what Gil’s older Archer counterpart could apparently do. She poked the young king of kings in his arm. “That’s no excuse for not being attentive! Do better next time!”

He rubbed his face.

It really is like her, a bit more brash and confrontational if that was even possible.

“Lily,” Jeanne began to chide. “Don’t give him a hard time; he already said he was sorry. And he meant it.”

“It’s still not an excuse!” Lily stomped her feet. “People shouldn’t endanger people like that!”

“Lily!” Jeanne said a little more harshly.

Perhaps has that sense of righteousness in her like normal Jeanne…

Ritsuka tried to ignore the headache that was clearly coming on. Another Christmas was going to be turned into work; he could feel it. His lips started to twist, wondering how he was going to pitch all of this to his sister.

Then he remembered, he turned to look at the resident genius in the room. “Da Vinci?” He asked.

The caster in question merely hummed at him and slowly pushed up her glasses. “I think I understand now.” She turned to look at Ritsuka with a sorrowful look. “I think Jeanne Alter’s spirit origin point is damaged.”

He blinked and then looked at Lily. “I…see.”

It’s because of her, isn’t it?

Da Vinci’s brow furrowed a little. “Lily and Jeanne Alter can’t have the same anchor point and co-exist at the same time.” She gestured to Gil. “Gil has a different origin when compared to his archer counterpart…it’s…sort of like that.”

Ritsuka’s eyes narrowed.

“Santa Alter is a big meanie, I can be a far better Santa!” Lily explained to Jeanne.

However, Ritsuka moved once more to stand beside Da Vinci and look down at Jeanne Alter in her bed, that same twisted expression of discomfort on her face. Now she had equipment hooked up to her, mana-reading machines, and all sorts of devices and magic-related things that went far beyond his own understanding.

Things a real master could do.

He forced himself to take a breath.

Stop it.

Da Vinci had a grim expression. “There…is a real chance that Jeanne Alter will disappear.” She took a deep breath. “I’m compensating for now by hooking her directly up to our mana supply, but we can’t keep her on it for longer than a week, at which point…”

Ritsuka’s brow furrowed. “We run out?”

Da Vinci shrugged. “It will only slow the process. In a week, she’ll disappear.”

He felt his heart ache at the thought of that, and he remembered that look she gave him as she died in France. Look again at the counterfeit event when she finally realized she could be summoned by Chaldea.

And that look when she was finally summoned.

There was a look of peace there. Something that had clawed its way back above the anguish of everything that weighed down on her. All the things he could only guess at because she wouldn’t share.

It could all disappear.

“No.” Jeanne D’Arc said firmly. “Lily, you aren’t going to waltz back over to Santa Alter and demand her sack. She will just throw you out again.”

“She didn’t even hear me out the first time, stupid saint! It’s your fault for spoiling the adult version of me, too!” Lily stamped her feet again.

This time, Ruler Jeanne grew very stern, and even Ritsuka felt a cold chill run up his back at the sight. “Apologize at once, Lily. Or I’m going to ground you from doing any activities.”

And that in turn made the young girl stutter and straighten up. Ritsuka thought he could hear a real fear creep into her voice. “Y-you can’t do that!”

“I can, I’m the saint ruler Jeanne D’Arc.” The blue eyes were firm without being heavy-handed. She even leaned down to make Lily look her in the eye, so that she understood the seriousness of the situation.

Lily suddenly looked around, and her eyes flicked to Ritsuka. “Reindeer! S-she can’t do that! T-tell her that I’m going to be Santa this year!”

Ritsuka took a deep breath, but there was a look in Jeanne’s blue eyes, saying that if he answered this question wrong, there would be hell to pay.

Why is the friendliest saint somehow the scariest?!

He cleared his throat. “Lily, Jeanne is right, you need to apologize.”

Lily was clearly displeased, but she looked down, as if ashamed by the turn of events. She was looking for other ways, other excuses. Her eyes went to Gilles next.

Jeanne’s glare was enough to send even that caster into the same silence as Ritsuka.

Lily, it seemed, would get no allies from anyone unless she apologized. With that final page turned, she finally looked up to face her older counterpart. The words trembled on her lips as she spoke. “S-sorry…Jeanne…” She managed.

The Ruler’s harsh expression faded. “Good, I forgive you.”

Da Vinci cleared her throat. “Might I speak with you, Ruler, and you too, master?” She then pulled the two aside, all three of them now by Jeanne Alter’s bedside.

Ritsuka raised a brow.

The genius caster seemed to be slowly brightening up. “Actually, her wanting to be Santa might actually be exactly what we need.” She took a deep breath before she began. “If we can make her adventure of being Santa important enough for her, it might be enough to distinguish her spirit origin from Jeanne Alter.”

Ruler’s blue eyes went wide. “Meaning she won’t disappear?” Jeanne touched her chin, looking thoughtful. “I…can’t condone her doing it alone. Given Santa Alter’s reaction… in fact-”

Ritsuka spoke up before he realized he wanted to. Something had called to him, and he couldn’t quite place it. But he found he would feel wrong if he turned his back on this. Especially given that Jeanne Alter might disappear. He also wasn’t sure what Lily’s fate ultimately would be, either.

It’s for the best.

“I’ll go.” He said.

Both Da Vinci and Ruler Jeanne looked to him.

He nodded once, then twice. “She’s already called me reindeer,” he hedged a little, trying for a small smile. Then is smile faded as he grew serious once again. “And…further, I think I can get to Santa Alter… the both of us can.”

Da Vinci looked to Jeanne.

As did he.

The ruler’s brow furrowed for a moment, and then her expression smoothed. “Fine,” She agreed, a small smile coming to her lips. “I have one condition…”

And as Jeanne spoke, Ritsuka discovered there would in fact be one more complication. And one more surprise. He then decided it would be best to rope Santa Alter in completely, too.

As he spoke, a plan began to form in the back of his mind. He and Jeanne both went to see Santa Alter while Lily then underwent a check-up with Da Vinci. Gudako arrived just in time to take over supervising their newest arrival.

Gudako glanced at him.

He returned a look, promising he would explain everything.

It’s going to be a long holiday.

###Gudako Fujimaru###

She stared at Edmond. “Are you serious?”

“Completely.” He said. “Nightingale wants to run a holiday check-up scene after hearing about what happened last year, and she’s recruited me, of all people, to help her.” The avenger shook his head. “Lord knows fucking why she asked me.”

Gudako shrugged, “Because you’re a good person, keep down.”

Edmond clicked his teeth and sighed. “Whatever, I’m going to go blast stuff in the simulator, Master. The lack of a fight with Santa Alter now has me worked up.”

“As you wish Mr. Dantes.” She said.

He sighed again, “Good grief, just call me Edmond. Dantes is too…fucking formal.” Then, with that, the tall avenger strode off towards the simulator.

And Gudako let out an exhale.

Her brother coughed, “So, you two seemed to be getting along?”

She nodded once. “He’s integrating well. Learning to play with other servants, as it were. And…well, he’s stopped cursing at me, and has started cursing around me.” Gudkao shrugged. “Progress.” Then she flicked her golden eyes to Ritsuka.

Maybe I should start calling him Edmond?

“So, was all of it true?” She asked him.

Ritsuka’s shoulders slumped a little. “Every word of it.” He promised. “Jeanne Alter is going to disappear. The explosion from Santa Alter’s room was because of our new servant trying to reason her way past her, and Jeanne Alter’s original plan was to steal it, which is a plan that has magnificently backfired.”

Avengers.

Gudako shook her head once, twice. “They’re quite a handful, aren’t they?”

Ritsuka shrugged a little. “Mine’s…not exactly approachable. The closest I’ve been to her since summoning is when she’s almost comatose in her own bed with a bunch of mana electronic devices Da Vinci’s hooked up to her.” She watched her brother’s brow furrow with thought. Jeanne Alter had handed him the contract, so he was wrestling with all of that information and trying to reconcile it with what had been asked of him in their formal contract. She could see him working through the possibilities, coming to conclusions.

Jeanne Alter…

Gudako’s lip twitched, recalling something new that had occurred just recently. “I…had a dream last night. One of Mr. Dantes’s memories, I think.”

She felt her brother’s eyes widen a little. “Well, that’s good…it means that his bond with you as his primary Master is deepening.” He nodded a couple more times. “Interesting, it’s happened quite quickly with him compared to other servants, hasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Gudako said.

Could be a sign that we’re both getting used to the role of master finally…or…

Her thoughts trailed off for a moment, considering what other implications it might have. However, Ritsuka resumed walking, and it pulled her back to the present; she then fell into step beside him.

She nodded. “It is,” She agreed. “I take Jeanne Alter still hasn’t asked for anything but privacy?”

He nodded, “Until today, when she doesn’t really get much of a vote.” She watched her brother pause, and his brows furrowed. “Although…” He started.

“Although…what?” She asked.

He hummed. “Well, during battles, training simulators, I find her to be a very good listener. She takes criticism well…but I can see the way she looks at other servants sometimes, and then me.” Ritsuka hummed again, trying to find the right words to explain whatever was at the forefront of his mind. “It’s like she wants to do something…but hasn’t yet made the effort to do so.”

Gudako sighed, running the whole story back over in her mind once again. “We really need to figure out what we are going to do with her.”

Ritsuka nodded, and then he continued. “As it…was explained to me, Santa Lily…might be a good way to figure all this out. She’s a younger version of Jeanne Alter, more… free of burdens. She’s close enough to disrupt the mana flow of the original avenger form she arrived in…”

She knew almost immediately where her brother was going now and even started nodding before he finished.

“I think she could provide some valuable insight into making a connection with Jeanne Alter.” He said firmly.

It had a logic to it that she couldn’t deny. Plus, it was worth trying to save Jeanne Alter anyway, without the extra reasoning.

But someone is going to be reading our…reports one day. They need to sound as mage-like as possible.

Even if the reasoning was a sentimental one, even if it was a cover. She knew with certainty that the more reasons they could add onto their reports, the less likely a mage would breathe down her and her brother’s neck. They were acting Masters. Not official ones since the disaster struck that had hurled them onto this journey to begin with.

She nodded at him, “I take it you want to handle the going around with her and getting presents part then?”

He nodded. “Until we get a clearer picture. Once we know her wish, everything else will fall into place. Think you can handle the home front this time around?” His voice transitioned from serious to teasing in an instant.

Gudako huffed at him. “Just because we got into a bunch of fights last year, doesn’t mean we’ll get into any this year!” She poked his shoulder. “Come on, don’t jinx us like that! After last Christmas, I just want a normal time, stuffing stockings and wrapping up gifts.” She blew a few locks of her orange-red hair out of her eyes.

Ritsuka laughed, but was smart enough to go into her room and knock on the only wood piece available for superstition's sake.

Then she sighed. “But yes, the situation, the plan…I’m on board with it. I’ll see what I can do distract Mash.”

She watched her brother deflate.

“Ah, forgot about how our favorite shielder can’t possibly be trusted to tell a lie or keep a secret, did you?” She teased him gently.

“I did. Yes, someone will need to run a sort of interference with her.”

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

“Very well.” Santa Alter said, standing up straighter, her Excalibur Morgan hefted with ease within the grasp of her fingers. “I accept you are meant to be Santa this year.” As she finished speaking, the walls in the distant side of the room sparked and hissed with the signs of their battle.

The walls of the training simulator were damaged, panels were hanging, and fell off on the far side of the room.

Jeanne had been watching nervously from the side.

Lily stood triumphant with soot on her cheek.

The conversation with Santa Alter had been brief, but given that Santa Lily had returned, it was showing that this wasn’t some flight of fancy. The confident Santa believed she could give everyone better presents this year than Saber Alter did last year.

Whether it was curiosity or genuine belief, it had been one of the reasons the Santa Alter, not relinquished her Santa sack to Lily, fully bequeathing the title to her for this year.

If nothing else, Santa Lily’s conviction had been made clear.

Stubborn, just like her Ruler counterpart.

Jeanne smiled once it was over and went over to them. Santa Alter shooed them all away, and the only parting thing she left for Santa Lily was a small message that she do her best to spread joy and cheer to all, as that is what’s required most of Santa.

Lily had actually scoffed.

But the first objective had been achieved, even if a fight did break out. Thankfully, it had been in the training room as well, where everything was designed to be repaired and fixed more easily. So, at least for the moment, his sister wouldn’t come blaming him for the outcome.

Even if she doesn’t actually mean it.

Ritsuka sighed.

Jeanne D’Arc leaned down in front of Santa Lily.

“You shouldn’t come. I don’t want you to see the gift I bought for you.” She turned her nose up a little. “But…thank you for helping me talk to crazy Santa.”

Saber Alter hissed from across the room. “Watch it, kid, or I’ll go all out next time.” She then looked to Ritsuka.

He gave her a nod.

She nodded back.

And with that, it’s all set up.

Jeanne instead rubbed Santa Lily’s head gently. “I’ll keep an eye on your journey this year from afar, then. I’m flattered that you even got me a gift.”

Lily tried to push the ruler’s hands away to determine the availability. There was nothing that she could really do to stop her older counterpart. “O-of course I did, what kind of Santa would I be, I didn’t get gifts for the real-normal-older-version of me? Besides, even older me was going to get you a gift, though I’m convinced she was considering pranking you somehow.”

The blonde saint looked at her. “Jeanne Alter was planning to get me something.”

Lily seemed exasperated, “No, they were pranking you. I think. I don’t remember it all that well. Surely it wasn’t going to be lumps of coal or anything. But it’s your fault too for spoiling her constantly!”

Ritsuka suppressed a small laugh.

I guess they’ve been keeping that private?

He hadn’t known Jeanne was trying to spoil Jeanne Alter. He wondered if it was something that Jeanne Alter had insisted on keeping from him, or if it was something private that just the two of them had.

Jeanne, however, laughed out loud, her laughter gentle, like that of a sweet melody, compared to the boisterous laughter that often followed Jeanne Alter into combat. It was a peaceful giggle, amused by Santa Lily’s declarations of blame. “Yes, you may be right. She was probably planning to prank me in some fashion.”

She rubbed Santa Lily’s hair again, and the young girl hissed at her.

“But even Pranks bring a certain joy, Lily.” She tilted her head from side to side. “To know my alter wished to bring me even that, is surely a good sign.”

Lily seemed displeased with the answer and response, but the young girl kept it to herself.

It was another thing Ritsuka added to his learning. It was interesting to learn that Jeanne Alter, while she hadn’t talked much to him or his sister, had at least started forming a rapport with Jeanne D’Arc. However, given that he’d known nothing about it, he figured he probably should go on pretending that he didn’t know.

Would follow the contractual obligations better that way.

“Again, Lily, I wish you all the best on your journey, and as you run as Santa. May you bring joy to everyone as you go.” Then the ruler looked to him, her conversation with Lily apparently done.

My job is to look after her. We have to get this right.

He nodded at Jeanne D’Arc, conveying his understanding. “I’ll look out for her.”

I was planning to do that from the start anyway.

“Good, a Santa big or small, is nothing without her helpers and her reindeer.” Jeanne stood back up to her full height. “I await to hear what you’ve since learned, Jeanne.” She looked at Ritsuka and gave him a knowing nod, and once more, he recalled their private conversation over this manner and how best it should be adapted.

And with that, Santa Lily and Ritsuka finally departed

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

It wasn’t until after the first battle that he’d gotten a glimpse of Santa Alter Lily. Martha, Ushiwakamaru, Jing, Mata Hari, and a beast monster named Tarasque. He felt bad about ruining their fun, but it was all he could do once they riled up this year’s Santa for being drunk and forgetting their duties for the time being.

“W-we won!” Lily seemed as happy, but was still catching her breath.

Ritsuka tried to picture Jeanne Alter saying it. The girl who often kept her distance from him was working through turmoil and trouble in her own way. He couldn’t ever imagine that girl deliberately showing him any weakness or signs of fatigue willingly.

But he was trying to imagine her happy and chipper after winning a battle.

The words slipped off Ritsuka’s tongue before he could stop himself. “You’re cute.”

“Cu-..N-N-NO I’m not! You can praise me as much as you want, but for being the best Santa! No calling me cute! No, no, no! Boo…” Then she took a breath and averted her eyes.

“Thank you...” She admitted more quietly.

And that’s when the gifts were handed out. Detoxifiers.

“Oh my. I can’t use alcohol as an excuse to do things anymore.” Mata Hari said, looking right at him.

Ritsuka felt his face warm.

Thankfully, Lily was oblivious. And if that wasn’t enough, Mash was pointed and asking nagging questions.

“Um, Santa, you didn’t make this medicine…Did you?” Martha asked about the sobering drinks.

Lily tried to say nonchalantly, but in fact, she was still recovering from the ordeal of the battle. “No, I didn’t know how, so I had a caster make it. I don’t know who he was, but he wore white clothes.” Her brows knitted together for a moment. “I figured I would need some and asked for some, just in case.” Then she straightened up to her full height, which didn’t add much in the way of her authoritative appearance, but it allowed her to project her voice more clearly. “But this is no excuse to be drinking! You’re all servants.”

Jing Ke’s eyes narrowed. “Did he have long hair? IT was long hair, wasn’t it? Hahahahaha, let’s go stab him. Stabbity stab stab!”

Ushiwakamaru hissed. “I shall accompany you to the very gates of hell!” Her laughter ringing out to match that of her now sober companion.

Mata Hari, now straightened up and stretched her hands high above her head. “I think I’ll come along too. Martha, you handle the rest!”

Ritsuka mentally sighed.

Work for Gudako.

He knew he would get an earful of it later; all he had to do was minimize the number of servants that would be travelling back through this strange world’s simulacra’s ray shifts. Thankfully, no pseudo-singularity appeared, but something was wrong the moment they went to try and see the other servants.

It was like a mirror world existed for all the servants to be where they wanted in a disjointed manner.

Da Vinci and Dr Roman were pulling their hair out the moment Lily stepped into the command room.

Santa Lily seemed to approve in some form or fashion. “Well, he is kinda creepy, isn’t he?” She grinned up excitedly at Ritsuka. “Come, Reindeer, we should keep going to the next stop.” She tugged him by the hand.

Only Martha was there. “Okay, you. Wait juuust one second!” She came suddenly and picked Santa Lily up off the ground.

Their pause wasn’t long, but Ritsuka, in that moment, found himself wanting to know that too. It wasn’t the kind of gift he was expecting her to give. All of this, of course, had followed right after he’d been on the receiving end of a long-winded rant from Lily explaining that The Gift of the Magi’s moral lesson on how the couple’s gifts for one another were rendered useless by the end of the story.

“Wh-what is it?! I’m Santa! I’m busy! You already got your present. Lemme go!”

“I need to talk to you.” Martha pressed.

“Call me Santa!” Lily insisted.

Martha pouted, but she gave in quickly, realizing that wasn’t what was important. “Okay, okay. Santa. Santa! …Now. What were you thinking when you chose those presents?”

“What I was thinking…I wanted to pick something that would be good for them.”

Ritsuka listened intently. To further compound his confusion at the time, Lily had read a letter from Jing Ke, one of the people who was now running off to stab a caster, who had requested a sharp dagger, but had instead received an elegant older gentleman.

Lily had been so certain, despite the confusion that particular conversation had given him, that her gift was going to be superior.

So, he too listened carefully to what Lily had to say.

Martha continued to explain. “It’s not about having a good gift, but rather about making someone happy…don’t you think?”

“Nope. If Christmas is a day of blessing, then giving a useful gift is important!” Then she paused and looked a bit sad. “It’s…true, everyone might not be happy with my gift…but. If it ends up being useful, then their happiness really isn’t that important. That’s what I think.”

“…Hm, I see. I suppose that way of thinking is…It makes sense, but…” Then Martha turned to look at Ritsuka suddenly. Expectant, even hopeful. “Reindeer, can I leave the rest to you?”

Ritsuka could only smile at that, recalling his conversations with everyone so far. Now he could only hope the sudden faith that had been placed in him wasn’t misplaced. However, he was confident now, more so than he had been at the start of this new Christmas adventure, that he was making the right choice. “Oh, I got this.” He assured her.

“Understood. That’s all from me. I thank you for your present. Good luck, Santa.” Martha then bowed her head and allowed the two of them to leave.

Jeanne Alter Lily, on the way to deliver their next gifts, delivering more practical presents to the servants of Japan, focused on her next pair of letters and lists.

It left Ritsuka to ponder Lily’s answer.

And he wondered if that was how Jeanne Alter felt, too.

###Gudako Fujimaru###

It was hard to ignore the headache that was beginning, only to grow worse in the back of her skull. She hated it, despised it, and yet, there was nothing else to be done about it. A part of her wished she and her brother could go home for Christmas. It would certainly be quieter, and she could wake up in the morning within easy reach of hot chocolate and a candy cane.

This felt like work, despite the attempts of all the servants trying to remain merry.

After Artoria Alter’s Christmas, of being up to everyone as a means of both handing out presents and apologizing so everyone learns their lessons, Gudako didn’t have much hope that her Christmas would remain as quiet as it was.

In place of hot chocolate, she had a coffee as she strode back into Jeanne Alter’s bedroom. Da Vinci and Roman were bickering over some tech in the corner, one of her monitoring devices.

Her eyes flicked about the room, noting the details of all those books, children's books, alphabet game books. Kanji, Hiragana, English.

Their latest avenger had a collection of little hints and personal quirks gathered around her room. Gudako wasn’t about to start digging through her trash or anything, but it was interesting to guess and theorize about everything that had been laid out. Her brother, of course, had already seen most of this; he just hadn’t been given a moment to share his findings with her.

And yet, the room was still bare.

Gudako took another sip of her coffee.

I can only hope Lily does help us understand her a bit more.

And then she felt her eyes drawn to something a little out of place. A black hat and a large red tie were enough to be wrapped around their neck.

She blinked, wondering almost if her eyes were deceiving her. Gudako suddenly felt herself smile a bit more pleasantly at the surprise sight of him, Edmond Dantes. She glanced over at Da Vinci and Romani, but she walked over to him instead.

Roman sighed, “No, no connect the other cord!”

“I got it, I got it,” Edmond assured him with his best strained patience voice.

Da Vinci was running a diagnostic on the new device they were hooking up to scan Jeanne Alter, still laboring for breath in her solitary bed.

Edmond spotted her approach and blew out another annoyed breath. “Master.”

“Mr. Dantes.” She said, resting a hand on her hip. “I didn’t expect to find you here trying to help?” Then she peered at him with some teasing in her voice. “Or is this your excuse to get away from Nightingale’s little clinic idea for the time being?”

He snorted. “Half an excuse, Nightingale assigned me to look after my wonderful little sister, as she put it.” Edmond gave Gudako his best miserable look. “Seriously, if that ruler saint intends to lay a sisterly claim on her, then she is now related to me.” He shivered.

Gudako chuckled, “I see. Anything to get you away from Nightingale’s enforced servitude, then, is it?”

“The woman’s crazy.” Edmond huffed out of breath. “When she was trapped in the prison tower, she acted nothing like this!” He removed his hand and ran his fingernails through his white hair. “I know I’m not crazy. She wasn’t anywhere this…germaphobic, will strap you into place to give you a checkup, she was a kind and pleasant woman.”

At that, the orange-haired master couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, she did change quite drastically, didn’t she?”

Edmond looked at her pointedly, and suddenly. “This is somehow your fault. Yours, and your brothers.”

Gudako hummed at that, and then she blinked in realization of the accusation in his voice. While it wasn’t venomous, it was clearly stated as a fact, her eyes going wide. “What do you mean it’s my fault?”

He shrugged, “Well, the only thing that could’ve changed her so drastically, as far as I figure, is your summoning. Something happened when you guys summoned her that perpetrated the change. It’s growing weary and troublesome to deal with.”

Gudako frowned and then opened her mouth and then closed it again, wondering how to respond to that, considering the weight of the accusation too.

Could it really be our fault?

After a few seconds, she dismissed it. The nightingale they got was indeed different, but no summons had appeared so far otherwise; that appeared to be an exception to the rule. She smiled a little with a shrug. “Well, clearly something’s wrong with my brother then. We summoned you and your…” she chuckled a little. “Your little sister, your kohai.”

He groaned a little at that.

She smirked a little. “It’s hard to deny how well she takes after you, in what practice and training sessions I’ve completed with her. She laughs quite boisterously, like you, and has an affinity for fire…and well…is very good at whatever she puts her mind to.”

Edmond Dantes shook his head. “Touche mademoiselle, touché.”

Roman’s voice called out from nearby. “Okay, try it now, Da Vinci!”

The genius’s eyes narrowed, and Gudkao could see the lights of a screen reflecting off her glasses as she worked.

The machine turned on, and Da Vinci started to smile. “Excellent work, Romani, you too, Edmond. Be sure to give the nurse my thanks.”

Edmond averted his eyes and winced. “Anything else I can help with?”

Da Vinci gave him a somewhat knowing smirk. “I’m afraid not, you’ll have to go back to your volunteer work soon.”

“I didn’t volunteer; I got strong-armed.” Edmond heaved out a sigh, knowing his options were running particularly thin. “Well, guess I can’t keep them waiting.” He bowed his head towards them, and then lastly Gudako. “Master.”

“Mr. Dantes,” She said.

This time, he was content not to remind her that she could call him by his first name if she’d wanted. He hummed at her, then turned to leave, black cloak flowing behind him, his oversized tie wound around his neck like a scarf for the time being.

Roman sighed tiredly and then gave a thumbs-up.

Gudako turned and paced towards them,  “So, what does this latest contraption do?”

Da Vinci grinned. “This is a device that will allow us to hopefully keep Jeanne Alter’s spirit origin intact for longer. The issue is that Chaldea no longer recognizes her as a servant for us, and has cut off all of her mana supply.” She patted the device. “This thing will keep her going. Long enough for your brother to complete the mission.”

She peered at the device with her golden eyes, attached to Jeanne Alter, in what looked like an uncomfortable way. Patches over her biceps, her wrists, her thighs, and angles. Pads taped to her abdomen.

It wasn’t intrusive, but it didn’t look pleasant.

Jeanne Alter’s expression was still pained.

“She’ll be alright,” Roman said, somewhat breathless. “The genius here says so.” He started to smirk.

“Hush, you.” Da Vinci bickered back. “They are both genuinely worried.”

Gudako, like Mash, truly enjoyed listening and watching the two of them interact. They had a very good repartee.  Then her smile faded, and she, too, took a deep breath into that silence. She took a deep breath. “Well, is there anything more I can do to help? Not much I can do when half of our servants are trying to celebrate the holidays…”

Roman shrugged, “Honestly, go get some rest. Most of the action should be relegated to ray shifting this year.” He leaned a little on the monitor table beside Da Vinci, looking at Gudako with sincerity. “Take the time you can, you know?”

She looked down at the coffee mug in her hands and sighed.

However, before any of them could say anything, all of Chaldea shuttered once again and Gudako repressed a wince.

Roman winced too.

Da Vinci chuckled, “Need to keep your mouth shut, my dear Romani…”

Gudako was off as fast as she could go, her coffee forgotten, as she sprinted. Unlike the last time when the whole building had shaken, Roman, Da Vinci, and she were in the command room, able to take direct command of the situation.

And now, none of them were there.

Mash was already tuned into Ritsuka, in conversations with him regarding whatever was currently happening with this year’s Santa. No doubt her brother was keeping her busy with deflections, and whatever was going on now, most definitely had to keep Mash’s attention off of their scheme.

I’ll have to help with that soon enough.

She resisted the urge to rush over to an intercom, knowing that Mash could see where she was heading.

I’m not far in any case from the source of that explosion.

Gudako only hoped that she would not need a servant.

And that’s when she whipped around the corner and ran right into him.

Her golden eyes met his amber eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, suddenly, as they were sent tumbling. With intense combat training having been the hallmark of her new life here at Chaldea, she, in turn, had wrapped her arms around him, and they both curled into each other as a means of mostly shielding her, since she wasn’t the servant.

She blew loose locks of her hair out of her face and looked down at him.

Edmond looked as if he was about to ask if she was okay.

The suspicious look coming over her features seemed to make him think better of it.

Was he the cause of it?

She didn’t know.

Edmond Dantes picked up on the meaning of the questioning look as she quickly got off of him; however, even before he could speak, she had already asked the question.

“The explosion-” She began.

But already she could see him shaking his head. “N-no. No. I whirled back the second I heard it.” He quickly sat himself up and, in short order, picked himself back up to their feet. And after he straightened his hat, scarf, and dusted off his jacket, just as she was about to start down to her destination, he offered her his hand.

She could feel color coming to her cheeks. A feeling that unexpectedly shocked her, even as she was forced to push it away.

Gudako took his hand. “Then, Mr. Dantes…I would be glad of your service.”

The pair of them moved down the rest of the hall and found themselves entering a caster’s workshop. It was clear that a running battle had started from this spot; tables with translucent liquids had been overturned. Glass beakers had been broken. Burners had been shut off. And there were some signs of blood drops scattered among the mess that had been left over.

No one had died, that much was obvious. But it was clear by the trial of destruction that it had led them, right back outside, to where they were standing, into a pristine hallway. And with the simulators not too far away, it was easy to guess where they might’ve ended next.

“Mr. Dantes-” Gudako began.

“The simulator.” Edmond bit out before she went on, and then he took the lead the rest of the way. “At least they had the sense to move whatever the hell is going on.”

Gudako was a step behind, then two, then three, as she made sure she read the door and name for the caster living there. It would be faster than reaching for the intercom, she knew. With a twist in her lips.

Paracelsus.

Why is it that the holidays always seem to get servants riled up in some way?

With an effort, she tried to stem the tide of her cascading thoughts.

What servant looks for a fight as a means of Christmas fun?

Edmond seemed to have caught her thinking. “We’ll make short work of them,” he assured her. Then he started laughing, slamming his fists together as blue sparks flew off, as he began to prepare for the upcoming fight.

Gudako shook her head free of those thoughts. “Not until we know who, what, and why…” It was those questions that would determine how much she would need to bring the hammer down as a means of punishment.

Her next impulse was to, in turn, remind him to be careful, but she had observed Edmond long enough to know that he and Jeanne Alter were alike in how recklessly they fought. However, unlike Jeanne Alter, she suspected Edmond thought quite a lot about how he fought despite that seemingly reckless demeanor.

Though there was just one more realization that stuck out in her mind.

One that had been a delayed fuse in her head as soon as he’d assured her.

The fact that he had noticed, enough to assure her in the first place. Her brother was one she would expect to notice those things. Mash, too, given the amount of time the girl liked to spend observing them as a means of studying human nature and how humans tended to be, as a means of further exposing her to what the real world was like.

She eyed the back of his head as they ran for a long moment.

It means he has been observing me during our battles and training simulations more closely than I first thought.

It was something else she realized she needed to file away. It ran in parallel with her suspicion that Edmond observed and calculated far more than his demeanor in combat would often suggest.

And by the time she’d pushed that thought to the side, they came upon flabbergasted workers pointing to the training simulator room in full session.

From the outside, it looked as if they were fighting in a plane room with magical fields to protect the facility from the constant backlash of sweeping magic. Magic that several casters had reinforced at this point.

Therefore, structural integrity wasn’t the pressing issue.

Edmond, after a moment, began to march towards the doors.

Gudako stared.

Ushiwakamaru, Jing Ke, and Mata Hari seemed to be working their way through a series of spawned golems from the caster Paracelsus. And by all appearances, they had already given him a good thrashing within the halls of his workshop, and seemed further incensed to do more of just that.

She followed quickly after Edmond just to hear his laughter boom as they stepped into the simulator.

Paraclesus was the first to notice, dodging and weaving, he started coming towards them.

Edmond stepped in front of Gudako as a golem began to form in front of them.

Her eyes narrowed.

What the hell?

She clicked her teeth.

He can’t be serious about attacking us?!

Edmond glanced back at her and then at the attackers. Ushiwakamaru was the fastest, and it was clear she was going to get to them ahead of Paraclesus. Her grin widened as the distance closed to zero.

Gudako swallowed her eyes wide.

The avenger’s flaming fist caught Ushi’s blade.

The girl made no move for a follow-up attack, and Gudako watched Edmond refrain from throwing up his other fist in a counter punch.

Ushi then landed gracefully in front of them. “Master, brooding avenger, how pleasant to see you both.” Her voice filled with both humor and ice. From someone as usually easy-going and laid back as Ushi, it bugged her that the combination of their greeting came off as natural.

The forming golem, only a meter away, was smashed by Jing Ke.

“Paraclesus, will be punished a little bit more.” Mata Hari insisted.

Edmond shook his flaming fist away. And again, he looked back at Gudako.

Holding to my order of finding out the questions.

She approached and gently touched his shoulder, still keeping him between herself and their would-be attackers.

Another golem formed behind the trio, this one intent on attacking. Ushiwakamaru winked at them and whipped around to deal with it before Gudako could begin her dialogue with them. Jing Ke, too, quickly followed in her wake, leaving just Mata Hari with them. A servant that Edmond would have little trouble dealing with on his own.

“You’ve caused quite a commotion,” Gudako spoke, trying to filter the ice from her voice.

Mata Hari chuckled and rubbed her face. “Only a little master,” Her voice dripping with honey in a way that would make those in both sexes swoon with joy or devotion. It only had the effect of easing the tension around Gudako’s heart, but it had not, in fact, but her guard hadn’t lowered a single instance.

Her eyes narrowed towards Gudako a bit further. “Stay out of it. He ruined our fun.

The avenger in front of Gudako bristled but said nothing.

She carefully formed her next question. “And…what, prey tell, did he ruin?”

Mata Hari glanced at Edmond. “Weren’t you going to be off playing nurse?”

“I was in the area.” He said cooly.

Mata Hari considered that, but slowly, she nodded. “The three of us were enjoying revelry, under the supervision of Martha, even the saint wanted to make sure we wouldn’t get into any trouble.”

Martha was supervising them?

“When along comes a little Jeanne Alter, handing out drinks that make us sober.” Mata Hari wasn’t nearly as angry as she was pretending, Gudako realized.

She also realized, her brother was going to be sending back trouble, wasn’t he? For the sake of this mission, in trying to understand Jeanne Alter a little more, in hopes of trying to figure out what makes her tick. How the two of them could be better masters? And eventually, perhaps, how best to integrate Jeanne Alter into their lives here at Chaldea, while causing as few problems as possible.

The assassin blew out a breath and shook her head. “We knew the Santa Claus wouldn’t be capable of making the sobering potions herself…” Mata Hari trailed off her eyes, coming to a glow for a second.

And Gudako felt her throat tighten.

Instinct screamed at her.

The assassin in front of her flickered.

Edmond caught her hand inches from Gudako’s face, the fingers twisted in a flicking motion, cocked to release her finger if it had reached the female master. It wouldn’t have killed Gudako, but it certainly would’ve left her with a bruised face.

But again, it appeared Mata Hari was content that Edmond was interfering. His eyes bounced between Gudako and Mata. His grin grew wider, energy sparking off his fingertips, smoking, veins bulging out slightly from his neck as his mana and aura expanded outward with intent. But his eyes were still focused on Gudako mostly.

Waiting for my order.

Edmond’s glowing amber eyes were fixed on Gudako, waiting for her orders.

Mata Hari’s eyes narrowed suddenly towards her. “Master, did you order that caster to prepare such concoctions for Lily?”

Gudako stared. “No, neither me nor my brother would ever.” Her mouth twisted a little.

Matar Hari smiled again, innocently. “Good.” She let her hand go slack in Edmond’s grip, and then wiggled her brows at him, shaking her hips gently. “And you could be a bit rougher, you know, count brooding.”

With a small groaning sigh, Edmond released his hold on her arm.

Gudako felt her face warming again. “H-hey! We aren’t finished talking, Mata!” Her words came out more clipped and an octave higher than she expected.

Calm down, Gudako…sure, he’s handsome, but…

She blinked.

Wait…when did I think he was handsome?

Mata peered at her. “Then the little Santa asked him, and he agreed to make drugs for the little one.” She took a deep breath and smiled with a grin, as another two golems were smashed, with Ushi slamming her feet again into Paracelsus, sending them across the room.

Gudako forced her mind back to the present.

Mata Hari’s eyes didn’t leave her for an instant. “Further, the potion will keep us sober for the rest of the holiday.” She blew some of the loose brown hair that had fallen over her eye. “That means he deserves some punishment.”

Edmond looked a bit more relaxed now that he too understood the full scope of what was going on.

She looked between Mati Hari and the fight happening behind them. It was how servants liked to settle things at this point, she knew. With an effort, Gudako forced the rest of the tension away, allowing the understanding to seep in. “Can you at least promise me you three won’t kill Paracelsus, and second, make sure he is taken to Nightingale?”

Mata Hari looked chipper. “Of course, Master.” She shrugged from side to side. “We just need to blow off some extra steam.”

Gudako frowned a little. “Did my brother send you back?”

“No, he’s with Lily.” Mata Hari licked her lips. “Though I did consider seducing him for revenge if it turned out you were both in part responsible for the sober catastrophe.” Then she leaned away. “Go on, Master, worry no further.”

Well, I guess not expecting fallout from a newly minted Santa is to be expected.

She nodded once, “Good, and next time you decide to make a mess. Warn me first. And my brother. And anyone in the command center.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the intercom blinking, but muted.

No doubt, Mash’s frantic worrying and calling.

Mata Hari nodded.

Edmond took a deep breath, “Master, can I remain here? I can help with the…Nightingale…related delivery.”

Gudako smirked a little at him, her features turning a bit gentle. “Dodging work, Mr. Dantes?”

He smiled just a little. “Not at all, Master, I think I’m right where I need to be. Conveniently away, and conveniently here when there is going to need to be someone to be transported to the Iron Nurse.”

She nodded, “Suit yourself Mr. Dantes.”

The Avenger hummed, and Gudako showed herself out, heading towards the intercom outside, where she could see Chaldea staff already talking into it.

Now, to calm my Kohai back down, and see if I can spin a tail or two, to keep her distracted.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

It was much like the first encounter. It had dissolved into an argument where Jeanne D’Arc Santa Lily, after managing to refuse candy from both the Eastern servants and from him, pushed her present onto Fumma Kotarou. It wasn’t the new knife he’d wished for, but instead a book to help him change his noble phantasam to something in English. Or a language their master could understand.

Then an argument broke out about the necessity of it. The gifts need to be useful.

Santa Lily held firm. “Otherwise, giving a present is just about making yourself feel good! The giver just wants to take joy in giving something! That’s no good. That doesn’t make the world any better.”

Strangely, the longer he listened, the more he found himself sympathizing with her plight.

Jeanne Alter must have strong moral convictions that she keeps under wraps.

The root of the problem was beginning to show.

“That’s what it means to be Santa.” The young girl puffed herself up.

“No, it isn’t.” Fumma shot back.

“Yes, it is!”

“NO, IT ISN’T,” Fumma said again.

“YES, IT IS!”

And then the expected battle broke out.

Lily was determined to make them short on her own. The nearby Saint, Shirou Amakusa, was watching with growing concern. He, too, had heard Lily’s convictions and began to suspect that it was important.

And Ritsuka saw an opportunity, since Amakusa wasn’t interested in taking part in the fight that was breaking out. He slid over to talk to him. He edged his way closer slowly while he helped Santa Lily perform combat as her master. Much like her counterpart, she was pretty powerful, but he also wanted to help her as much as possible.

It had taken him nearly to the end of the fight, and Ritsuka suspected that of the two of them, only Fumma was trying to go after her really hard over their disagreement. Tawara, meanwhile, was more lax about the fight.

Still, it took a large portion of it to sneak halfway over to Shirou Amakusa.

The saint thankfully figured out what was going on, and eventually did the same with a small, sly smile coming over his face as he realized they were going to have a conspiratorial talk.

“I see you’re concerned about her.” The saintly priest said, once they were standing side by side.

Ritsuka nodded and shouted an order at Lily. “Her…and her counterpart.”

“Yes,” He smiled a bit. “The avenger, servant, I figure, isn’t doing well since someone has essentially stolen her spirit origin.” Then his smile faded. “I share the concern as well.” His eyes narrowed a little. “I don’t judge children for the sins of their family members…but…” His mouth twisted.

Ritsuka nodded.

“She needs guidance.” The Saint pointed out.

He felt himself nod, and dared a small smile as well, since Lily wasn’t looking. “There are a few of us who agree with that sentiment.” Then his eyes narrowed a little. “She’s got enough of her older counterpart’s personality in her that she won’t take the advice easily from her saintly older sister…”

And I’m meant only to be her ever-supportive reindeer.

Amakusa nodded. “I can help with that.”

Ritsuka blew out a breath of relief. “Why do you think I am so eager to meet?”

The saint smiled. “Understood, leave it to me.” Then he sprinted away.

It was another small weight off his shoulders. It was probably the one change that they’d needed.

By then, the fight was over, and Lily was panting with exhaustion again. Ritsuka edged himself back towards the group. Both Tawara and Fumma were quick to accept it.

And then, that is when Ritsuka saw the first crack in the front Lily was putting up. As Fumma explained the reason he was using the language, even after accepting the English dictionary as a gift.

That he had no intention of changing his noble Phantasm name.

It was the first drop of discomfort in Lily. Ritsuka himself hadn’t heard why Fumma had chosen or kept the name of his noble phantasm. For Ritsuka, it was a new story too. Most of the servants under his command had noble phantasma tied to their legend; few had thus far chosen the names of their Phantasm.

The name was in a language that descended from their founders. He didn’t understand the words, but for them, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they held onto the words and sounds, even if they held no meaning.

“So the least we can do is use a few cool-sounding words of that language to bring them peace…” Fumma looked as if he was remembering something from his life, a distant pain and respect etched onto his features. “Such sentiment is embedded in my Noble Phantasm. So I can’t change it.”

Lily looked down, perhaps Ritsuka thought, she was feeling ashamed, or guilty. “I-I didn’t know that…And to think I tried to give you a dictionary.”

Fumma comforted her.

Ritsuka felt his heart ache; the rest of the conversation faded as he considered the exchanges thus far. It was all he could do was think, figure out how to help Lily, and hopefully understand Jeanne Alter a bit better because of all of this.

Jeanne Alter was particular about certain things he’d observed, but he wasn’t sure how far that would go.

Useful presents…

He mulled the thought over again.

“…Okay. Let’s go, Reindeer.” Lily’s hurt expression shifted back into that determined one. She grabbed him by the hand, and then, they were off again once more into the night. Even as he settled back in for the flight.

The view was once again breathtaking.

“…Reindeer…” Her voice was quiet.

Ritsuka pulled himself once more from his thoughts.

Just be there for her.

“What is it?” He asked. “You look…down.” Ritsuka tried to be gentle about it. But he realized that Jeanne Alter would always prefer a certain directness. Kids prefer that too, he found. Thought he winced when he saw her twitch.

Gentler.

“…Maybe my present for Fumma Kotarou wasn’t so useful after all…” She took a deep breath. “It’s hard being Santa. I thought it would be real easy when I started…”

Ritsuka was about to speak when suddenly a familiar voice carried along the wind. Ritsuka could recognize it instantly, of course, but he bit down on his lip to prevent spoiling whatever he might’ve said.

“Oh? Don’t tell me you’re giving up on being Santa!”

Both Mash, through the holocall, and Lily reacted.

“Who’s there?!” Lily huffed out.

“I’m detecting a servant,” Mash called.

Ritsuka had to repress a grin.

Good she didn’t notice.

“Hehehe. Only a fool would reveal his identity when asked. But I suppose there is no harm in it.” And just then, Amakusa appeared. “I am Santa Island Mask, the mysterious Servant who lives on Santa Island.”

Lily Sputtered. “Santa Island Mask…! He’s boarding Llamrei Mark II!” She exclaimed.

Ritsuka more calmly turned to him as if this wasn’t the most natural thing in the world. “Wait, when did you Santas get an island, Lily? Why haven’t you taken your Reindeer to see it?” It was all he could do to distract Lily from Mash and Amakusa’s conversation, as she nearly gave away his identity in an instant.

Seriously, Mash, not in front of the kids.

He sighed.

Santa Island Mask cleared his throat. “By the way, just because I’m wearing red doesn’t mean I am in any way related to any ‘Emiya’ or ‘Shirou’.”

And he’s already getting defensive. Ritsuka tried to hide his simultaneous smile and wince.

Lord help of us if Archer Emiya finds us.

“Of course not.” Ritsuka tried to layer out some of the sarcasm. He was hoping that Amakusa would have shown up in something other than a tiny mask over his eyes. “Truly…your…identity…is shrouded…in mystery.”

“Yes, yes, it is.” Santa Island Mask stated.

Lily was beginning to pout. “Okay! Now I know who you are! But how come you’re bothering me!”

Ritsuka thought that the young girl felt a little in over her head. She was pretending to understand who this masked Santa was, just as she was pretending that she understood that there was an island now full of Santas.

Santa Claus, however, would know all these things, and it would be embarrassing if they didn’t know.

It was either that, or Lily was telling the truth…Ritsuka’s gut, however, told him it was the latter. And he wondered if that was something Jeanne Alter herself liked to do. Though in this case, it didn’t take him long to consider the fact that Jeanne Alter herself was very prideful. She had several degrees of difficulty owning up to her mistakes, even if she felt guilty.

Her way of apologizing for France after all, thus far, had been to simply be the best fighter and avenger we could possibly summon.

Santa Island masked cleared his throat. “Ahem…Jeanne…oh Jeanne. You mustn’t let Fumma's not liking your present get you down. It is Santa’s job to always get back up and always deliver smiles.”

Lily once again seemed more sad than anything. “Always…smiles…”

Ritsuka could feel his heart melt a little more.

I may have accepted the Reindeer role…but I feel like I should be the one doing this.

He took a deep breath.

No. I’m her master and Reindeer. She wouldn’t accept anything else. She’s got that stubbornness in her as Jeanne Alter does…

He twitched a little.

Even if I can’t be the right thing for Lily…I’ll have to be for her…

Santa Island Mask straightened up and smiled gently. “Stand and present. You must stand up…and give presents.” He chuckled a little. “Even Scrooge made it in time. There’s no way YOU can fail, right?”

He then got onto a knee to meet Lily at her height. “Whenever you’re lost or in trouble, I shall appear.”

Yes, know you aren’t alone. Know you have support.

Ritsuka nodded imperceptibly.

“Santa Island Mask…!” Lily suddenly started to brighten up. “Does this make you, my mentor?”

Island Mask seemed to consider that for a moment, as if not expecting her to come to that conclusion. “Um…Sure…I guess.”

Lily then beamed brightly. “Okay!”

Island Mask laughed. “Then it shall be my honor to guide you on the path to becoming a true Santa.” He bowed low, his priestly robes billowing out in the wind behind him as he did.

With the two of us looking after her, it should make things a bit easier.

###

Ritsuka waited until Lily was once more in deep discussion with Santa Island Mask. And he waited to be sure her spirits were lifted, ready to step in, too, a bit more should the need arise. He gave Lily’s hand one more squeeze before letting go.

She gave a nod to him, as if granting him permission to go and do whatever he needed. Moreover, for him, it was her way of communicating that she would be alright, at least for the time being.

It allowed him a brief look at the net on their list of visits. Nursery Rhyme and Jack The Ripper. Other kids who were around Lily’s age.

His brow creased with worry as he read through their wish list. Jack wanted an action figure of herself, and Nursery Rhyme, being the avid reader she was, wanted another book to add to her ever-growing collection.

And Lily no doubt plans to give them useful gifts in place of what they want.

He tried to think about who was babysitting this year. Archer Emiya had run off to a labyrinth to avoid being dragged into Christmas festivities, a…sentiment Ritsuka and his sister could understand.

Means the kids are with Atalante or someone else.

“Mash…” He said quietly.

In less than a second, she appeared. “Senpai?” Her hologram flickers with its connection to his mystic code.

“Who’s babysitting Nursery and Jack tonight?” He tilted his head a little, looking at her. “Atalante was given the night off…and I’m sure someone else came to grab her…” He shifted in his seat a little.

Mash was quiet a moment, her eyes flicking to somewhere at her table. “I think… It's Asterios, Senpai.” Her eyes narrowed a little. “It says here that the two of them were dragging him along to go decorate an old labyrinth or something.” Then, once she was done, she looked back up at him. “Are they next on the list?”

“They are.” He confirmed.

What are the chances that they ended up in the same place as Emiya?

Ritsuka frowned a little more.

Given his E-Rank luck, probably not as low as I’d imagine.

“Mash, pass, along Archer Emiya’s contact info to me…” He cut himself off and caught the conversation from the Santa Island Mask and Lily coming back down to the situation at hand, a conversation that would once more pull him back in.

Mash eyed him.

He shook his head, “I need you to go speak to my sister. I have a message for her too.”

His Kohai looked confused, but she nodded, accepting the assigned task. And with that, Ritsuka delegated another simple task to someone he could trust to understand the importance and delicacy of the situation.

###

The problem, of course, with Archer Emiya having chosen a Labrynth, and Asterios taking the other kids out on adventure, was getting lost.

“…We’re lost, aren’t we?” Santa Lily’s voice echoed a little off the walls.

“Absatively,” Ritsuka commented with a small sigh.

“Yeah….Maybe I was wrong to think I could just figure out the labyrinth…” Lily mumbled.

Ritsuka blinked and turned his head to look at her.

She knew they were in the Labrynth from the start? And she didn’t pre-plan anything else?

Ritsuka suppressed a sigh. The young girl really was in over her head, and it was one of the many things she was desperately trying to hide about herself. He gently squeezed her hand. “It’s alright, you know…a lot of people try to do things…well…like this.”

She pouted out a hum.

Then a noise came from around the corner.

Lily suddenly straightened up. “Ah! It must be someone. Hello! I’m Jeanne D’Arc Alter Santa Lily, Now, your present is-”

Ritsuka winced as a monster made of candy canes and sweets came around the corner. “I’m gonna EAT YOU UP!”

The little girl Lily suddenly screamed as she realized she’d been walking nonchalantly towards one of the monsters, and even Santa Island Mask stiffened.

More crawled out from around the corner, seeming to angle them inwards.

Ritsuka groaned to himself.

At this rate, adjusting to a normal Christmas is going to be a fucking adjustment period.

Then Lily jumped behind him. Ritsuka’s eyes went wide. “I…guess I’m the present, huh?”

She pinched him. “I don’t have any er…ro…arrow presents like that! That kind of stuff is, um, will have to wait until you grow up!” She tugged him back as if trying to hide from the monster.

Ritsuka realized she was planning to use him as a shield. He wanted to be mad or disappointed about it, but he couldn’t. The girl had a fright, and he could remember what had happened when he had frights.

“It’s alright.” He gently brushed the top of her head. “They're just monsters, see?” He gave her some space to look.

With his encouragement, she did peer again at them, her fingers shaking as they dug into her Reindeer outfit.

He chuckled.

This girl can beat up servants already, and yet she’s terrified of monsters?

He rubbed the back of her head.

I wonder how much of this is her?

Santa Island Mask stepped forward. “Well, I can deal with them if you-“

“No-!” Lily cut in sharply. “I’m the Santa…I-I’ll deal with them…er…” She paused, biting her lip and looking up at Ritsuka. “R-Reindeer, will you support me?”

He nodded firmly. “It would be my honor, Santa Lily.”

The first monster began to rush towards them, and thus Lily got to work. He looked over at Amakusa, who peered back at him, uncertain.

“Support her,” Ritsuka commanded.

Amakusa nodded and flexed out his fingers. Like his Ruler counterpart in Lily’s older sister, Jeanne, he had some support magic.

Lily was small and used it to her advantage; she ducked and weaved through the first few hits, and then, with her spear tipped in Christmas bells, decapitated the monster, spilling candies and chocolates everywhere.

Ritsuka closed his eyes and sighed.

This isn’t my new normal. It’s not my new normal.

Then, with the grace and agility befitting the young girl’s lancer class, she planted the butt of her spear and used it to leap up, kneeing the next monster in the face.

And she is just as vicious a fighter as both of them, good lord.

Then, after attacking the first three, she stood back and huffed out a breath, looking at the remaining four. This time, instead, she extended her hand. Ritsuka half expected to see their fire or stakes, but instead, came crisp white cold that jingled again with Christmas cheer. It reminded him of snowballs filled with rocks that slammed into the other four.

And littered their candy-sweet bodies crushed against the labyrinth stone.

He couldn’t do anything else but suppress another sigh.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to linger long enough in the aftermath of the battle. The fighting had attracted attention, and suddenly they could hear the distant voices.

“Santa Santa!”

“Where are you?”

“WHEEERE AAARE YOOOOU!?” They both alternated saying it, as if they were singing.

Ritsuka blew out a small breath of relief, recognizing the voices of both Jack and Nursery Rhyme. It would be Lily’s first time interacting with people around her age, so he hoped it would go well.

“Those voices!” Santa Lily began to grow excited. Children were, after all, Santa’s target audience. “The sweet voices of innocent children calling for Santa!” In an instant, all of her anxiety seemed to fade. Lily beamed up at Ritsuka excitedly. “Come, let’s shout back, Reindeer!”

Hopefully, we might avoid getting lost again.

He squeezed Lily’s hand gently and let her lead the way.

“We’re here! Where are yooou!?” Lily sang back.

Nursery Rhyme poked her head around a corner, shortly skipping towards them. “Oh, good. We finally found you!”

Jack had apparently been looking a different way, running in behind her, and skidding to a stop. “Are you okay? We heard a big scream.”

Lily coughed and quickly tried to move past the question. It was her scream after all that they seemed to have heard.

Ritsuka suppressed a small grin of amusement.

“W-we’re fine. Everything’s fine. Anyway, were you the one who asked Santa for presents?”

The other two kids peered at Santa Lily more closely. Ritsuka could easily understand their slight suspicion and perhaps growing confusion.

“Yep…but …are you really Santa?” Jack tilted her head, brow furrowing with more confusion.

Nursery Rhyme hummed, “Where’s last year’s Santa?”

Lily seemed to fumble a little, having not really expected the question. “…Oh! Er, this year, I am the one true Santa: Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily!”

Jack huffed. “Too loooong!”

It is a mouthful of a name and title.

Nursery Rhyme seemed the more amenable, which, given her proclivity towards reading constantly. “It’s a fun name, like spam!”

That comment still made Ritsuka tilt his head. It shocked Lily too, apparently.

“Spam?!” She looked as if she’d been told something horrific.

“But that’s too bad.” Nursery Rhyme went one. “I wanted to thank last year’s Santa.”

“Yeah, she gave us tons of presents.” Jack nodded.

Ritsuka could remember well how spoiled the two of them had been. Artoria Alter had a far colder front than most other servants, but there were times when she would smile more freely.

That Christmas had been such an occasion.

Even as he threw his mind back a bit at the memory, his mind brought him squarely back to the present. Artoria Alter had made her motives clear. She’d made her relationship with him and his sister even clearer.

Strangely, the only thing clear about Jeanne Alter’s relationship with himself and Gudako was everything that had involved the contract she’d given them upon first being summoned to Chaldea proper. Everything else wasn’t a hard and fast rule. The contract had defined her boundaries and how she wished to be integrated into Chaldea.

Jeanne Alter had wanted her space; therefore, he had given her as much of it as was possible, letting her work out the terms and details of spending time together with them, if she even wanted to.

His brows furrowed a little.

Which she clearly doesn’t…right?

Lily grew perhaps just a little bit pensive. “Artoria Alter Santa, did you give lots of presents?”

Nursery Rhyme nodded a ton. “Yup, it was me, Jack’s first Christmas, so she gave us lots of presents!”

Jack nodded. “We got to be friends with Reindeer, too!”

And just like that, his mind had brought him back to the conversations at hand. His eyes widened a little, and once more, he ground himself into the conversation.

“The last Santa did that?” Jeanne Alter asked, as if still in disbelief.

Nursery Rhyme grinned. “Now, are you ready?” Suddenly, he could feel mana leaking out from her form.

Santa Lily then looked sharply at Ritsuka, then back at the two of them. “Huh? R-ready? Ready for what?”

“Aw, don’t try to fool us! We know” Jack glinted with glee, her knives appearing in her hands.

Ritsuka winced.

No, no, no. I knew Artoria Alter would have a lasting influence as Santa…why didn’t I anticipate-

Jack grinned confidently, ready in a combat stance. “You only get presents after you beat Santa in a fight!”

No, no, I can’t blame Artoria Alter for this. Every fucking servant we come across seems to immediately angle into trying to start a fight.

Lily looked confused and almost exasperated, like she couldn’t believe it. “F-fight?” Then she looked away. “Well, I guess being Santa this year has been looots of fighting…” It was another brief glimpse that Ritsuka got. There was something about the way she said that, which gave him pause.

Was that a deviation from her Avenger counterpart? Or the true feelings of how she felt sometimes?

Quickly, he filed that information away.

Lilly sputtered. “Butbutbut! Santa spreads love, not battles!” Her eyes squinted shut for a moment, and she kicked her foot in the ground. “It’s what the Adult-Me stopped spreading!” She ground her teeth almost out of irritation. “Stupid Adult-Me!”

He considered that for a moment, too.

Was spreading…Christmas cheer, something, Jeanne Alter…wanted to do?

Ritsuka chuckled, and he stepped forward to stand beside her. He didn’t want her building up resentment towards her older Avenger counterpart. Chances are that both of them would have to learn to coexist. “Calm down, little Alter.”

“Hr-Hey! Don’t call me ‘Little’!” She smacked his knee, gently, thankfully, with the butt of her Christmas spear and tried shoving him away.

Nursery Rhyme huffed. “She’s flirting with Master. Bad Santa!”

It made his blood run cold. The thought actually horrified and repulsed him, and he took a long, extra step away from Lily.

Nope. No, she isn’t. She’s being a little brat.

“I am not flirting!” Lily Protested.

Santa Island Mask, who was hidden away in one of the halls, was snickering.

Careful, priest, I’ll find you when this is over.

Nursery Rhyme’s anger continued to swell. “Christmas is a time for children like us! I won’t let couples steal it!”

Where is this even coming from?

“Lets get lots of presents, Nursery!”

“Let’s do it, Jack!”

“Now, let’s all gather round for story time! If you’re naughty on Christmas, Krampus will come for you!” Her eyes narrowed a bit further. “Let’s treat our weird Santa Claus guest to our best hospitality!”

Why does she think we’re flirting?

The rest of the conversation fell on deaf ears for him as he was reeling with panic. The first layer was the obvious one. He wasn’t interested in children. The fact that he had to rationalize that first and foremost in his mind was as comical as it was horrifying that it needed to be rationalized at all.

Not even a Loli-con.

Though he doubted it would spare him the embarrassment from Gudako if his sister ever got wind of the sudden accusation.

The second layer, perhaps the more intriguing one, was Nursery Rhyme’s observation of their behavior. The girl was really well-read and loved to observe people. She’d taken note of Mash’s sort of constant admiration of the Detectives, perhaps faster than anyone, and began to loan her detective books from her collection.

Lily was perhaps a bit more open than her older Avenger counterpart. But really, nothing of what had been done could be considered flirting.

It was a more exaggerated version of the sorts of interactions Jeanne Alter and he occasionally had. They would crack a joke, get awkward, and then press onward. He would try to calm her, she would get either angry or pretend to be angry, using it as an excuse to bicker with him. Only on rare occasions did she ever listen.

If that’s flirting in Nursery Rhymes' eyes…then what were my interactions with her avenger counterpart?

The fight began in earnest as both servants rushed Lily.

Nursery fired spells.

Jack got in for hand-to-hand combat.

Santa Lily used her lance to her advantage, keeping Jack’s slashes at a distance, but also ducking and weaving from spells. Her amber eyes glowed with that familiar focus. That familiar determination that was present in any Jeanne was locked in combat.

Ritsuka slowly pushed the trail of thoughts away. Nursery Rhyme’s observations, while often insightful, were clouded by the fact that she also loved to imagine things and exaggerate what she saw. She was, after all, still just a kid. Rationalize that it was easier than just buying into the fact that he and Jeanne Alter had flirted with each other.

He couldn’t picture it. He couldn’t rationalize it.

Jeanne Alter wouldn’t like me.

His brows furrowed as he focused more and more on the battle at hand, then the cascade of feelings that were coursing through him.

Jeanne Alter was many things, but they weren’t close. They didn’t talk beyond their duties either in the field or the training sim. They didn’t eat together. They didn’t walk together. Hang out. Nothing.

They were respectable towards each other, certainly, but that was where it ended. However, as the fight continued, he left it on the back of his mind for a little while longer. It was something he would have to consider when they were done.

First save her, idiot.

He took a breath and watched the fight unfold.

It was obvious Lily was getting the hang of it. She was still a bit uneasy with her lance, the weight and length of it, but Ritsuka suspected that if she kept using it for every present that she needed to deliver and settle each meeting with a fight, then she would be an expert with it by the end of Christmas.

Nursery and Jack had clearly complemented each other’s skills well, which made it more difficult than Lily’s previous fights, where often there was only one real participant, and a few others that had been properly dragged.

Or they were drunk.

He reminded himself mildly.

Jeanne D’Arc Alter Santa Lilly wasn’t relying on his command as much as she had in the first couple of fights. Now it seemed she was following her instinct.

Nursery kept her distance, using ranged attacking spells, nothing lethal, but something that would dirty Lily’s brow.

Jack did her best to intervene every time Lily tried to approach, to prevent the spell casts.

Artoria Alter, of course, had wiped the floor with them because even as a rider, her skills as a servant had hardly diminished. So she, after clearly winning the fight, pretended to lose to appease them.

It had been, probably, Ritsuka’s top pick for most adorable moment from last year’s Christmas event.

Lily wasn’t breezing through each fight like that. However, to him, it was becoming clear that Lily also wasn’t going to simply surrender like Artoria Alter and pretend to lose once the fight was over.

It simply wasn’t her style.

Jack twisted and stabbed, their knives bouncing off a spinning Lance as Lily slammed her palm into Jack’s stomach, hard enough to send her skidding away.

Ritsuka swallowed.

This was still the hard part of the job to him sometimes. He could forget that Nursery and Jack weren’t actually kids, but instead powerful servants who…were kids. So when it came to watching them come to blows like this, it had been a long adjustment period.

In fact, he still felt awkward about it and turned away for a moment.

Jack growled, knives dragging in the ground to slow down. She threw one knife as Lily went towards the Nursery, spells glancing off the lance.

Then Jack threw a second.

Lily blocked both, deflecting them away.

Jack appeared in the air, twisting herself, to catch both, and then resumed her attempt to try and stop Lily.

But she was now a step too late, and Nursery began to move away.

Lily had gotten to Nursery and slammed the blunt end of her lance into Nursery’s legs. Sending the girl toppling, more spells were fired widely, but none could stop the clear momentum shift swinging in Lily’s direction.

A few minutes later, it was all over.

Nursery began shaking, and she looked well, painfully sad, and it tugged at his heart. “We…lost?”

Jack was far more dramatic and began to openly start bawling. “WAAAAAAAH!”

Lily, who, for only a second, was flush with victory, for a second before confusion and worry replaced it. She blinked and quickly looked over at Ritsuka. “Huh? Wh-what happens if you lose!?”

Nursery began to choke up. “If you lose, you don’t get presents! Christmas rules!”

Jack huffed out between sobs. “The rules…”

“B-but I do have presents for you…” Lily said more forlornly.

And then, out of the corner of his eyes, something slammed into the ground nearby. Ritsuka felt his instincts scream at him. It interrupted whatever he was going to say to Lily, reminding her that she was the Santa and could make new rules for herself as needed.

“This…is…A rose Black Key!” Lily suddenly exclaimed at the new blade that had stabbed into the ground.

Ritsuka stared, trying to avoid twisting his neck to glare in the direction Santa Island Mask had been hiding. However, his voice was still filled with a layer of sudden interest, sarcasm, and anger all in one. “A what now?”

“When he hears both the sobbing and cheering of little girls, he comes running…!” Amakusa said, as if he were having the time of his life.

I want to regret this choice, but this over-dramatic stuff is probably the best possible outcome to defuse situations like this.

Still, Ritsuka repressed a groan.

And Santa Island Mask sent him a sharp look as if sensing it.

Ritsuka glared right back.

HELP HER, GOD DAMN IT.

His heart skipped a beat.

Literally, someone’s life is on the line.

“I am…Santa Island Mask!”

Ritsuka sighed, shaking his head. “And then Christmas was saved…”

“I’m here!” Amakusa said pointedly.

“My mentooor…!” Lily said almost gleefully.

It was the only reason Ritsuka was accepting the situation as it was. As long as Lily continued to accept him as mentor, he had no reason to try to buck his role as Reindeer.

“It would be rude to tell them they're wrong about Christmas.” Santa Island Mask explained, and he sauntered over to Lily, his red priestly robes billowing out behind him as he went. “Don’t worry. Here’s what you do.” Then he leaned down towards her and began to whisper to her.

Ritsuka couldn’t listen in.

Petty revenge?

It really didn’t matter, so long as it was nothing important beyond the goal of trying to keep them both summoned to Chaldea, and trying to learn about that avenger a little more. However, his ears prickled a little at what Santa Lily said, a little too loudly.

“Um…But isn’t lying bad…?”

Suddenly Ritsuka’s glare towards Santa Island Mask.

Just what was she teaching her?

“Christmas is a day where lies are okay! April Fools? What’s that?” Santa Mask stood a bit taller.

The Lily suddenly nodded, growing determined. “I-I understand.”

Then, after a few more seconds, suddenly, Lily yelped. “G-gwah! I. Have. Been. Defeated!” The words were barely out of his mouth before Ritsuka saw perhaps what would go down as the most adorable moment to him ever to take place on Christmas. Jeanne Alter Santa Lily flopped to the ground, falling back with a loud smack.

Adorable. That was…fucking adorable.

Ritsuka looked away, trying desperately to hide his smile.

Alright, Santa Island Mask, you win this round.

Both Jack and Nursery practically snapped out their growing despair with surprise. “Hwah?!”

“Huh?!”

Lily was pretending to weakly stand back up. “Yes, um…It seems like…um…you used”

Ritsuka took a moment to whisper this time. “Damage over time.”

“DAMAGE OVER TIME! Yes…” Lily huffed out her chest. “I’m so weak…I can’t move another step…” She then began to smile. “I have no choice but to give you these presents, I guess…”

With that, Ritsuka felt some relief. The first hurdle had been crossed; the second was now the pattern of these presents.

Jack and Nursery were kids…unfiltered…and that worried him.

However, he still had a role to play as Reindeer. “You won!” He cheered for Jack and Nursery, helping to raise their spirits just a little more, and it was a joy to see their confusion disappear completely.

“Yay!” They both suddenly exclaimed.

Nursery hopped in place, sticking her fists in the air. “We won! We won! I’m so happy! I’m so super-duper happy!”

Jack’s eyes glinted with a smile. “Okay! Now it's time to dismember you!”

Lily stiffened upright. “Please don’t!”

“Oh, you’re alive.” Jack went on.

Santa Island Mask patted Lily. “See? It worked, right?”

“R-right,” Lily said, suddenly feeling a tiny bit more relaxed. This time, though, her concern was a bit more palpable. “But…somehow…it just doesn’t feel right.” Lily seemed to look away, and what Ritsuka could only describe as complicated emotions crossed her face.

Ritsuka considered that too, adding it to the long list of what it could mean for both Lily and her avenger counterpart. He wondered if it was a clear sense of right and wrong, and if Jeanne Alter had a distaste for lying, even a lie for a good cause.

Might be related to Gilles?

He conceded that it was certainly possible.

“Is that masked person mommy?”

Smartly, Santa Island Mask shook their head. “No, unfortunately, I am not your mother.” But then immediately followed it up with. “But in a way, Christmas is a day when everyone is your mother. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Ritsuka wanted to reach over and smack the foolish saint.

Jack’s eyes seem to glitter. “Lots of mommies, on Christmas? Really?”

No, NO!

The words came out. “NO! That will end badly! Santa Mask…what have you done!” He couldn’t resist the urge any longer and smacked the priest on the back of their head.

“Hey, don’t shout, Reindeer Master!” Lily separated them.

“Heheh, now that I’ve ticked Master off, I shall bid you adieu!” The priest turned and ran.

Why that little unseemly brat!

“My mentooor…!” Lily was just delighted to have gotten the help she needed.

And Ritsuka couldn’t be angry at her for that.

Nursery smiled gleefully. “Okay, new Santa! It’s time…”

It was as if they rehearsed this, too, Jack finished the sentence. “…to invite you to our tea party!”

Lily nodded firmly. “Th-thank you very much. I’ll give you your presents there!”

The pair of them led the way through the labyrinth as if they knew the place like the back of their hand.

Archer Emiya was there to greet them. “It took you a while. I assume you had to fight some weird Christmas battles?”

At least someone else thinks it’s as weird as I do, sheesh.

Emiya blinked upon seeing him. “Oh, Master…And you’re the new Santa?”

Nursery nodded. “That’s right. This is the new Santa! She’s going to give us presents!” Then she looked at Lily. “Her name’s um…Um…” He could see her squeezing her eyes as if trying to remember the long name.

Jack cleared her throat and puffed out her chest. “Jeanne Spam d’Arc Spam Alter Spam Santa Spam Lily Spam! Right?”

Cute.

Ritsuka snorted.

Archer Emiya looked dumbstruck, a sight he rarely ever gave off to anyone. “What…That’s…what?”

“Take the spam part out, please!” Lily requested, her nose wrinkling.

“Oh, so it’s like a code name…but it’s still long.” Archer Emiya sighed as he looked off to the side.

A swing and a miss, Archer Emiya.

Ritsuka still couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the predicament of it all.

Lily, then, peered up at him. “Emiya…You didn’t request a Christmas present, did you?”

He hummed and nodded. “Unfortunately, I’m too old for that.” Then he took a breath. “And in my homeland, the parents and guardians are the ones to give the presents.” He tilted his head from side to side. “I’ll be alright, Ms Santa Lily.”

“Asterios didn’t make any requests, either. Don’t you have anything you want?” She then turned to the big, hulking berserker.

“I do…But it’s okay.” Asterios said.

Lily peered up at him, eyes narrowing. “Hmph, you might think I’m not real Santa ‘cause I’m young.” Then she puffed out her chest. “I may not look it, but I’m a full-fledged Santa Claus!” She gestured towards him. “Now tell me what you want!”

Asterios hummed and looked away. The giant rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I…want days like this…to last, as long as possible.”

Lily blinked all the bluster falling away in almost an instant. “Huh…? O-oh…I…” She looked over at Reindeer for a moment.

“Getting summoned…like this…Going lots of places…Fighting----”

Please leave the fighting part out on Christmas…

Ritsuka had to repress another wince.

This will not be my new normal. It won’t be my new normal.

Asterios hummed. “Someday…will…end…Sometimes…hard, but…” Then he smiled a bit. “It’s fun…right now…even…labyrinth…is fun.” He hummed, and nodded. “Like…a dream…”

Lily seemed to shrink, not due to fear, but rather sadness. “Um…that wish…I’m sorry I can’t grant it.”

The giant nodded. “Yeah…So, it’s okay…” Then he blinked and seemed to remember all the food on the table behind him and offered her a plate. “Want…some food?”

The young woman forced herself to take a deep breath. “No…I’m Santa. No food for me.”

“Too bad…It’s good.” Asterios hummed.

Ritsuka quietly began to pack containers for them anyways.

Emiya glanced at Ritsuka and then back to Lily. “How long have you been Santa?”

“Th-this is my first year.” She said, looking up at him.

Archer Emiya tried to keep his voice gentle. “Hmm. So your Spirit Origin base was Jeanne d’Arc?” He glanced over at Ritsuka, and he could see in those steely grey eyes that he was figuring out there were problems on the Chaldea front because of it.

Smarter than he lets on.

Ritsuka did his best to nod imperceptibly, trying to confirm his suspicions without drawing too much attention.

Thankfully, Lily wanted nothing to do with her older counterpart. “E-enough talk about me, now let’s give these two their presents.”

Archer Emiya nodded back to Ritsuka, this time indicating the phone on the table.

Perfect, so he did get my message.

“What kind of present is it? I can’t wait! I just can’t wait!” The nursery started bouncing up and down. The sheer unbridled happiness and enthusiasm that only a child could have.

Jack bounced in place too, her voice more monotone, but still equally excited. “A dolly! A dolly!”

This time, though, Lily was more struck and nervous. The others had been adults, more easily accepting of her choices as gifts. It took effort for her to form the words, and Ritsuka watched Lily avert her eyes. “…It’ll be fine. I’m sure this…will…be useful…” She forced herself to take a deep breath. “…for you two.”

She rifled around in her bag and pulled out a pair of passes for the two of them. Passes and school supplies.

“That’s…” Emiya’s eyes narrowed in question now, perhaps understanding the important message he’d gotten.

Asterios looked confused. “Huh?”

Jack tilted her head. “What’s…this?”

Nursery hummed, getting closer to look too. “What is it?”

Lily started, again, having trouble speaking. “A-b-a A hermitage is a quiet place where monks do …special spiritual training…” She seemed to choke on her own words. “It’s…so you can go someplace quiet…and study…instead of…just playing all the time…”

The conviction she’d had…seemed to have faded greatly.

Ritsuka felt his heart leap into his throat as he watched Lily’s eyes begin to water. Her hand started shaking around the hilt of her lance.

Guilt?

Lily started to back away. “I…just thought…studying…would help Jack and Nursery Rhyme.” She sniffed and looked at the eyes of Emiya and Asterios. The confusion on their faces added to the growing panic, he could see.

Ritsuka stepped a bit closer to her, ready to support her.

“Um…Well…” Lily looked as if she were trying to brace herself in a way. But whatever she was trying to do wasn’t working as well as she’d hoped. “It…would be good for you…” She swallowed a sob. “No, it wouldn’t. I-I’m sorry!” She blurted her out before turning and sprinting away.

With an effort, Ritsuka took a deep breath and looked over at Nursery and Jack, who seemed more confused than anything else. Then last at Archer Emiya.

After sharing a look with Emiya, Ritsuka left, running after her.

###Archer EMIYA###

Jack frowned. “Sh-She…ran away?”

Nursery Ryhme stifled another emotion. “What do we do? Santa got sad! On Christmas!”

Jack started shaking too. “Is it…our fault?”

Just my luck.

The Archer shook his head slowly, reminding himself to be patient for another long moment. “No, it’s not your fault. Have some food before it gets cold.”

“Okay…” Both of them went.

“What do we do we do? This…bad.” Asterios put in.

Archer huffed and then turned to the corner. “Right, then…you, shady-looking guy in the mask who’s been creeping in the corner this whole time…”

Santa Island Mask was still hiding.

Archer Emiya pressed. “I assume you got a solution? Or Ritsuka would’ve done something about you?”

“Let’s see…before we start thinking about a solution, shouldn’t we begin by identifying the problem?”

Archer Emiya sighed and nodded, “That’s fair enough.” He sighed, taking a seat. “Jeanne d’Arc is one thing, but Jeanne Alter…especially now in a child’s body, with a child’s behavior is…”

“Complicated?” Santa Island Mask offered.

“Headache would be my word of choice.” Archer Emiya offered a small smirk.

“I think I know the cause. It’s obvious that she’s missing something.” Amakusa said. He turned to look down the hallway that Lily had retreated into with Ritsuka close behind her. “Something I think our Master understands intrinsically, even if he hasn’t quite put it all together yet.

His phone-like device buzzed again, and this time his eyes narrowed a little. A message from Artoria Alter, in a growing group chat with him and his masters.

###Jeanne‘d Arc Alter Santa Lily###

No matter what they say…I just don’t have it.

Practicality is all I am.

Every part of my being is about what’s useful…

And it’s all her fault, isn’t it? That stupid, useless older version of me…

I have no wish. We have no wish anymore, do we?

I could die at any time…and no one would miss me. I have no legend. Nothing to ground me here.

Does she even know why she’s here?

I have no hope…

I could vanish at any moment.

In the silent rustling of cold winter air that billowed around her, it was as if the very world had turned silent.

Older me knows this feeling…

She hides it better…but she knows it even better than I do…doesn’t she?

E-even my existence was impossible from the moment it began. Whether it was older me’s foolish desires that created me…or that cursed wish that brought her into this world, leading to the events that make me…

Something like me…an impossible being, an impossible concept…could have no wish.

However…there was one thing I thought I could do. There was one thing I believed I could do-

Useless.

-To be useful…

I could be someone who grants other people’s wishes, instead of my own…I could be Santa Claus.

I thought I could be Santa…

But I was wrong.

I borrowed the sack and got Reindeer Master to come with me…

But I….don’t know what makes people happy…

I don’t know…

I don’t know.

I don’t-

So I keep failing and failing and failing-

So I am running away. I am just running away.

I can’t do anything right as Santa.

Worthless.

Both of us are…aren’t we?

The cold snow settled around her as the wind continued to pick up. She wrapped herself more deeply into her white poncho cloak, trying to hold back the growing winter cold. Her shoulders were shaking, but not from the cold.

Her sobs were silent.

Her shoulders were shaking with each one that wracked through her, like a wracking sob that was trying to escape, that was muffled and repressed.

She settled into her chosen spot, nestled in the snow and trees. Jeanne D’Arc Santa Lily wished she could shrink and disappear even more.

That was, until she could hear voices on the wind. The sounds of sweet, innocent children calling for Santa Claus. The calls that brought joy to adults despite themselves. The calls that asked for joy to be brought upon them simply because it was that time of year.

The calls of the familiar two that she’d run from.

Jack was in her black cloak to help with the cold. She rounded from behind the tree, snow sticking comically from her nose. “Oh, there you are!”

Nursery Rhyme walked over to her, her face one of admiration. “Wow, you’re so fast! Were you going to leave your Reindeer!?”

Lily tried to stand up, make herself more presentable, and stuck her chin up like a child defending their actions as if it were obvious. “I-I was not!”

But you did.

She sniffed. “I…just don’t have anything else to say to you once I’ve given you your presents.” She then looked down.  “I…have to go give the rest out.” She was trying to explain away a little of what had happened.

Jack stomped her foot. “We don’t need that present!”

“Uguh!” She swallowed another sob that had threatened to spill from her throat at that. Her vision was still blurry, and she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hands. But after trying to fight it, she sank back into the snow with a crunch. “Y-you’re right….Y-you don’t need it, do you?”

It was hard not to feel the despair closing in around her heart like a vice grip.

Nursery Rhyme hummed. “Yeah. Studying in a quiet place wouldn’t be enough for us.”

Jack bounced closer. “So we’re giving it back!”

A hiccup escaped Lily as she sank lower and lower. “O-oh…I…” She couldn’t see anymore. She could hardly breathe. The kind of despair no child should feel, the kind that, yet oftentimes, makes children one day grow up.

Nursery Rhyme bounced closer until she was right next to her, and then she plopped into the snow onto her knees. She grabbed Lily’s hands and gently squeezed. “Instead! Instead, we want you to grant our wish!”

“You…had a wish?” Lily’s eyes narrowed. “Um, wasn’t it a doll, and—”

Nursery shook her head vigorously. “Nope! NOPE! We don’t need that!” She took a deep breath. “We don’t need a doll, or a stuffed animal, or cake, or a tree, or a star, or a party, or anything!”

It made her heart sink even lower, even as she gently returned the squeeze that Nursery was giving her hand. “Huh? Th-then what do you want? There’s nothing else I can give you--?”

Jack got in close now, and she did the same as Nursery, plopping onto her knees and grabbing Lily’s other hand. “There is! There is something, Santa! We want—”

Nursery giggled. “We want to see the sea!”

Jack nodded a bunch. “We wanna go see the beach!”

Lily felt confusion replace all that despair. She was grateful for the reprieve from it, her eyes widening a little as she peered up at them. “Th-the sea when you say the sea…You mean the ocean?”

There was a pause as Lily wiped at her face again. “Um…I’ve only heard of it…But is it…the place where it blows and roars, and is totally different from the land…”

Jack shrugs. “We don’t know the complicated stuff…We don’t know, but Asterios brags about it!”

Nursery. “I’ve read some stuff about it in books. But Asterios says it’s big! Suuuper-big!” She stuck her arms out wide as if stretching for emphasis while gesturing at the world around them. “Ultra-big!” She laughed. “He says we’re like pebbles next to it! Even himself.”

Lily’s eyes bounced between the two of them, trying to organize her thoughts.

Nursery then touched her chin with a finger. “If we’re pebbles, and Asterios is a big rock…but even he says he’s small…” Her brows knit together as if trying to form a connection. “It must be even bigger than our imagination…”

Jack squeezed Lily’s hand again. “We’ve never left London, and never seen the sea!” She tilted her head to the side. “We died before we could.”

It brought Nursery back on track, and she shouted, almost startling, into the cold winter winds blowing about them. “Me too! I’ve never seen the sea!” She smiled then, almost excitedly. “Asterios went with Reindeer, and I hear they all rode on a boat and had a big adventure on the sea a while back!” Then her lips formed into a pout. “I’m jealous. I’m really, really jealous.”

Lily still looked down sadly. “Sea…Boat…Big adventure…That’s…”

Useless.

Then Lily blinked, suddenly looking at them, shocked. “Wait a minute, are you saying that going to the sea—”

Jack nodded. “Yup! That’s our request!”

Nursery, of course, coaberated. “You took back our present, so Santa will have to grant us our wish!”

“Of course she will! She’s Santa!” Jack chuckled.

Impossible for you.

“B-but—But that’s…” She swallowed.

And that is, of course, when Lily heard a familiar crack in the air ripping through the wind. Her servant's combat instincts flashed her a warning, but she could sense there was no real danger. Something slammed into the snow just beside her with a gentle elegance, glinting against the pale white of the snow and moonlight.

Nursery peered at it with surprise and curiosity. “Oh? A rose Black Key.”

Lily swallowed, and before she could say anything more. Her mentor appeared as if he were equipped with a stealth skill from the area around her.

“Santa Island Mask, at your service!” And he bowed his head dramatically, as if an actor would for some reason introduce themselves on stage.

Santa Lily suddenly sputtered, looking right at him. “My mentor! Please, tell me!” Then, with a bit more confidence, now that he was there, she found her voice once again. She straightened upright. “What should I do?!”

He smiled a little. “Well, you should grant their request.” He chuckled, nodding to her. “You’ve taken back their gift.” He knelt low once again, and Lily could feel some intensity behind the mask as he looked down at her.  He was serious now as he spoke. “Which means, you have to grant them another wish.”

Then he lifted a warning finger. “But, children are selfish. So if you don’t grant their request, they’ll keep throwing anything you give them right back in your face!” Then he bellowed out with laughter. “They’re such returnaholics!”

R-returnaholics?

She tried not to focus on the word.

Her mentor smiled, his priestly garb billowing in the wind. “…That’s how it goes with kids. So that’s why you should at least start by granting their wish.” Then he leaned, almost conspiratorially. “I promise you that if you do, you can be a real Santa Claus.”

Lily straightened up. “I-I understand!” She turned to the other two children. “Jack. Nursery Rhyme. I’ll use the Llamrei Mark II to carry you to the sea!” She announced boldly, still in the middle of settling on the idea as she spoke.

The kids hopped up and down. “Yay!”

Lily smiled; it had been enough for her to push all those doubts and questions aside for now. Maybe this would help her figure out later on how to deal with it.”

A man’s voice cleared their throat. It startled her just a little, and she spun around to see. Standing by the trees was her Reindeer Master, a few meters away. “You know I’m still here, right?”

“OH!” At that, Lily felt a sudden urge of guilt, but she hid it well beneath her newfound determination.

How long had he been standing there?

She swallowed. “It’s okay. I didn’t forget you. I would never leave you, Reindeer Master…”

Nursery giggled. “She totally forgot.”

Jack was equally blunt. “It completely slipped her mind.”

Lily twitched and threw her cloak out behind her as she stomped into the ground. “B-be quiet!”

He’s right there! Surely they know some manners.

“Then she quickly coughed and gestured to their choice of transportation. “Okay, everyone, hop on the sleigh!” She gave everyone a moment to get strapped in. This time, however, she saw Reindeer Maste purposefully sit in the back.

She made sure the other two kids were strapped in safely, giving a nod once it was done properly. “The Llamrei Mark II is taking off!” Then she blinked. “Oh my mentor!”

“Yes?” Santa Island Mask to step back to give the slay a small birth for safety.

Lily smiled. “Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

And then she sped off from the ground, heading towards their next destination. She wasn’t fully confident in herself again, but she was enough to get through at least this next part.

I must grant others' wishes.

She took a long breath.

I can be useful.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

He looked back at the place they’d just left, and he saw Santa Island Mask talking with Archer Emiya. A pair he knew would normally never see eye to eye on any matter. Yet, they were both practical problem solvers in their own way. Though even as they sped off into the distance, he could see them chatting if it were some big conspiracy.

Ritsuka settled into his seat.

If the two of them were ever more villainous, they would cause problems.

However, what none of them knew, even Lily, was that he’d been there even before Jack and Nursery arrived, having followed her out.

He’d felt horrible for hesitating on comforting her.

But that hesitation hadn’t been his intention. He’d fully expected to go to her because he couldn’t just leave her wallowing in her own despair.

However, something in their master servant bond had cracked.

So Ritsuka heard every word of her thoughts. It had all streamed in like a tidal wave of emotion, and he’d nearly collapsed from the weight of it. Even now, his heart ached, and his chest had hurt, as if it had been her own heart that was feeling squeezed in him.

I am a fool.

He swallowed.

I am an idiot.

Ritsuka was her master. Ritsuka was her older version’s master.

Was that how she felt?

That aching pain was still present. Gently, almost reverently, he wanted to touch his bond with Jeanne Alter again. The one lying in her bedroom waiting for help…waiting to disappear. Waiting for Lily to distinguish herself enough from her older counterpart so that her spirit origin might be saved.

The thoughts that had escaped her into their bond had paralyzed him.

Is that how she always felt beneath everything?

He ran a gentle hand through his hair and looked back at the command spells on the back of his hand. His brow furrowing towards them. The mark of responsibility. The mark of a master. The mark of the weight he needed to carry.

It was his failure that he hadn’t noticed before.

He wouldn’t fail again.

Ritsuka forced himself to take a deep breath, sank into a deep focus, touching his bond with Lily’s older version. It was harder than it should have been because of her weak link. Now, as he touched, he felt a deep abiding nothingness.

It felt similar to numbness, and that terrified him more than anything.

Rationally, he understood that it was because Jeanne Alter was in a weakened state that he could feel nothing. But he’d felt that feeling before, a numbness settling in, curled around the heart of another.

And it was far too easy to picture her with distant eyes and a numb calmness.

Ritsuka took a deep breath, all the same. “I know you can’t hear me.” He said into their bond. The first time he’d ever spoken into it that wasn’t in combat, again violating her contract. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff, chatting with nothing.

There was nothing but muted silence that greeted him.

His brow furrowed a little, trying to force the feelings of his worry and anxiety away.

The image of her lying bloodied on the ground in Franc, waiting to die alone, passing over him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force that image away, too. His heart began to ache the more he waited in the silence of their bond. “I…wanted to say that I…will do my best to help you more directly from now on.”

It sounded lame to his ears.

So he tried again.

“I know we’ve kept our distance from one another since you were summoned. I know that you tolerate me because I offered you a chance to make something of yourself. That is…” Ritsuka’s brow furrowed a little. “Trying to make something of yourself is…always difficult, especially when you feel your path was set in stone.”

“But it’s different for you…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see it before.”

“I’ve let you be like I’ve done with the others, because they are already heroes with lush histories, accomplishments, regrets.”

“But you…And I are alike…you don’t have a path set in stone. Like me, you have only one calling to purpose…and yet are uncertain about it.”

“If you wake-a” He forced himself to take a deep breath, and corrected his thought line. “When you wake up, I want to talk to you.”

It was the least he could do if Lily’s feelings were truly shared by her older counterpart. Even if it wasn’t the exact same form, those feelings persisted.

Ritsuka’s eyes opened once more and allowed his senses to come back to him.

Cold, brisk air was blowing against his face.

Over the sound of the wind, he could hear Christmas bells and the sounds of children laughing.

It made him smile.

###

“We’re flying!” Jack exclaimed.

Nursery laughed. “It’s like the Wizard of Oz!”

“Are there three Oz’s?” Ritsuka gently mused.

Jack only turned to him, looking confused. “We’re Jack!”

“I’m Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily!”

“I…erm… never mind.” Ritsuka chuckled a little, feeling just the slightest bit out of touch with what was going on because of that exchange.

Nursery blinked. “I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about.” She said almost in Ritsuka’s defence.

He appreciated that the bookworm worm of course got the hint.

And then, the sleigh sputtered and began shaking as an alarm sounded, as if suddenly they had run into some of the worst turbulence in his life.

He heaved forward, eyes wide, looking at the world far below.

Lily seemed just as shocked by it. “Wah?! Llamrei Mark II, what’s wrong!?” The ground was pulling them closer. Like something was tugging at the very sleigh itself. “S-something’s pulling us…down?!”

Mash’s hologram appeared. “There is a servant below us! Some sort of power is pulling us down.”

Ritsuka tried to control his growing fear and tension. “Yeah, I think we noticed Mash!” If it were Gudako, he would’ve probably said something a bit more biting for saying words like ‘us’ when Mash clearly wasn’t in danger with them. However, he had long since learned that it was simply Mash’s way of speaking.

Nursery Rhyme was yelling.

Jack was surprisingly calm. “Um, this is what’s called…oh right, A ‘crash’!”

Ritsuka huffed, “I personally prefer landing with style, but-“

Jack suddenly looked happy and thrilled, her fingers tightening on the edge of her slay.

“SENPAI!” Mash scolded.

Nope nope! She’s right! This isn’t normal! Stop it. Stop getting used to your holidays being insane! This is just the second Christmas at Chaldea. This will not be my new normal! I just want a happy, simple holiday!

“Right. Right, strapped in, Mash!” Rtisuka said.

Nursery Rhyme sputtered. “D-don’t look so excited about it, Jack!”

Lily’s voice carried over the wind. “Everyone, grab onto something! W-we’re falling for sure!”

A few seconds later, Ritsuka squeezed his eyes shut just in case that would’ve been his end. He thought about his sister, wanting not to leave her to face the grand order alone. Thinking about how anyone would even be told about his death. And…strangely, he thought about how foolish it was to make a promise to Jeanne Alter, who couldn’t even hear him.

What idiot makes a promise they can’t keep?

Then they crashed.

And he still felt cold.

Lily grabbed him by the sleeve, almost yanking him out of the dizziness and the feelings that coiled in his stomach.

“Reindeer, are you okay?”

He huffed. “Ow…ow…I think…I’m gonna throw up…but I don’t think anything’s broken.” He could feel himself wretch, and he swung himself to the edge of the sleigh.

“Gah! A-are you throwing up! P-please don’t throw up!” Lily spun around to try to help him. He could feel her gloves digging into his seat belt and unstrapping him so that he could move more easily.

She really is nice at heart.

Ritsuka missed the next few moments of conversation. Thought he could vaguely make out Jack and Nursery talking about their predicament. His ears and head were ringing.

Concussion?

Then laughter cut into the air.

“I won’t let you take another step! You shall not pass!” The voice was loud, clear, and.

Gandalf?

Ritsuka groaned and took a breath.

Shut up, brain!

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and his mind, and tried to place the voice as he angled to see.

“Wh-Who’s there?!” Lily demanded.

Mash took a shocked breath. “I-it can’t be…! You’re..!”

“I am Leonidas! Santa, I cannot let you grant their wish of seeing the ocean!” He stood up tall, broad-shouldered, the infamous Spartan standing ready for combat.

Ritsuka blinked.

Oh, come on.

I want to save her…I want to save her.

Lily was just as shocked as he apparently was. “H-huh? Why!? WHY?!”

There was a moment of silence as his mind raced.

Wait, did someone set this up behind my back? I swear, Santa Island Mask, I’ll be sure to give you a real punch to the gut.

Ritsuka huffed.

Did Gudako set this up?

His eyes narrowed, realizing that the last step seemed the most likely possibility. She was probably bored with making the rounds by now. Getting me back for letting Lily sober up servants and going back to beat up on the caster responsible, probably.

Asshole.

He forced himself to breathe out slowly.

Warn me next time when you recruit a goddamn legend to stop a child from being Santa Claus.

He noted Mash had fallen silent and caught the edge of her hologram; her mouth had fallen agape.

Gudako’s looking over her shoulder with a smirk. I just know it.

The Spartan shifted a little from side to side. “That’s…uhhhh…Well…You see…” Leonidas suddenly grew sheepish and lost all of his confidence, and Ritsuka tried not to bare his teeth.

“It’s a conspiracy!” Ritsuka shouted into the air.

Conspiracy to get back at me, helping you, while getting back at me. Making sure we save both of you. Getting back at me. Teaching you something important about being Santa. Getting back at me! Trying to make your legend real. GETTING BACK AT ME-

“Yes, exactly! We have been ordered not to let you show them the sea!”

So you have to fight for your wish.

Leonidas nodded a few more times. “By a mastermind. Yes, something like that!” He grew more confident again and slammed his fist against his chest. “So…yes! You shall not pass! Not another step! Definitely not!”

Jack spat out her tongue and blew a raspberry. “You’re so mean! We don’t like you, mister!”

Nursery Rhyme nodded firmly. “That’s right! Only meanies, devils, and the Queen of Hearts bully children!”

Leonidas seemed to come back to himself. “HEY, I DON’T LIKE IT EITHER!”

Even though everything hurt, Ritsuka couldn’t help but stifle the laughter that he felt bubbling up the back of his throat. He was too much of a good man for this, it seemed. It made the whole near-death experience just a little bit more endearing.

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, IDIOT!

He smacked himself.

This isn’t my new normal! It isn’t!

Lily flailed her arms, waving her lance around wildly. “Why would you be upset about this!?”

Leonidas coughed. “Ah…ahem! Yes, I am the meanest burly muscle-enemy! What of it?”

Jack made a noise. “Hmph! Way too muscly! He’s not mommy!” She brandished her knives.

Then both of them looked to Santa, Nursery Rhyme said it with both passion and vigor that Ritsuka almost felt bad. “Santa! Should we get him?”

Lily was still confused. “I….guess?” Then she cleared her throat. “Outta the way, Leonidas, this Santa is taking them to see the sea! Granting wishes is Santa’s job!” She jumped from the sleigh into the snow, pointing her lance. “And I’ll beat up anyone who stands in the way!”

Leonidas nodded. “Very well, Santa! You shall do so over my dead body!”

The great Spartan then burst forward. Ritsuka could still taste both throw up and froth in his mouth over what happened.

I know I shouldn’t be bitter around Christmas, but…

“Nursery, keep him off balance with your spell attacks, don’t let him close, and don’t let him retreat. Jack, Lily, attack together, coordinate as best as you can.” He rolled up his sleeve, letting the cold work him up a bit to help him snap out of it.

He wanted to laugh at the irony of it.

Jeanne Alter might’ve laughed, too.

His eyes narrowed a bit.

Sorry Leonidas.

The clash was momentous. Jack hurled herself feet first right at the Spartan’s shield, the insanity of the maneuver, the fierce, determined grin on Jack’s face, all hints of the insanity that was about to follow.

Even Leonidas, the Spartan, was shocked by the maneuver, his eyes going wide.

Before he could recover, as Jack kicked off his shield, spinning and twisting into the air, her foot slammed into his helmet.

The Spartan twisted his spear over his back, spinning it like a bowstave, blocking the follow-up knives.

Jack leapt away.

Nursery’s spell slammed into the shield, and frost from Lily’s newfound Santa powers crashed over him.

The Spartan was sent reeling back, a few feet.

His eyes darted between all three of them with the eyes of a seasoned warrior.

Ritsuka kept his eyes firmly planted on him.

I really hope my sister warned you.

He sprinted to the right, the cold having settled over him, making him shiver. It woke him up, it jarred his focus. He wondered if that was why Edmond asked other servants to flick or punch him on the shoulder to work himself up before fights.

Or why Jeanne Alter always tries to start a fight with someone before battles begin.

Perhaps this is what they normally felt. The need to work themselves up?

He curled his arms around his bicep and aimed his fingers, feeling his arm muscles and magic circuits burn…and fired a small spell towards the Spartan’s spear.

I might be feeling vengeful, but I have no intention of killing him.

He forced himself to calm down as he watched the experienced lancer servant spin his spear with that same flare of expertise that repelled Jack’s initial attack, cutting through the red sizzling bolt with ease.

Ritsuka took a deep breath.

It’s not my fight to win.

His eyes flicked over to Santa Lily.

She seemed to just be getting over the intimidation factor that was being put on. Watching Jack get in close again, almost instantly to slam into the Spartan’s shield again, this time making pointed attempts with her knives to get in and around the edges.

It’s her legend that needs to be distinguished.

Lily came to a decision, and Ritsuka watched her shake her thoughts, holding her back free if only for a moment. She sprinted forward, stabbing first for their head.

There was no question Leonidas was the better spearman, even without a phalanx to back them up. They also had far better reach.

However, Lily could almost sense that she had the advantage in the fight. She fought as aggressively as her counterpart. Her amber eyes were glowing with anticipation as she blocked a thrust of Leonidas’s spear and ducked under it.

She swept out toward him with their lance.

And like her counterpart, the more aggressively she began to fight, the more likely she was to win.

Even the sturdy Leonidas began to struggle.

Or he was putting on a convincing show.

While Ritsuka was sure he could win a one-on-one fight easily, Jack and Nursery were pitching in far more than enough to flip the fight into Santa Lily’s favor.

Slowly but surely, like all the fights so far, and all the fights that were to come, as the fight drifted away from him, Lily taking the lead of the fight, he surreptitiously contacted Mash, his sister, Roman, and Da Vinci to all get back on the same page.

I might not be able to get her back, but we really need to start working together now.

He took a deep breath.

No more surprises.

With one last look at the fight, he sent off a few messages to his sister. It took an equally short time to get them sent back, and he took a closer look at the Llmarei Mark II. He needed to be quick if he was going to get this right.

###

“We’ve defeated Leonidas…!” Mash said.

Ritsuka’s brow furrowed a little.

We?

The Spartan laughed, “Ha! Ha! Ha! It seems I have lost, Master!” Then she turned to Ritsuka, and he thought he could make out a wink beneath the helmet.

He blew out a relaxed breath. “Well, we won, so we’ll be stepping over you.”

Then the Spartan grew serious. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you all.” His eyes peered right at Lily. Santa, there is a group of servants waiting ahead, called the Fabulous Five, or the Magificent Seven, or the Dirty Dozen, or something like that!”

Mash sputtered. “Th-that many?!”

I need to check with my sister and get up to speed.

If Ritsuka could see, somewhere in the corner of the hologram, he thought he could see Gudako with her head in her hands.

Leonidas coughed. “What? There aren’t that many? I must’ve miscounted then…Pardon me. There may be less than that.”

Ritsuka blinked.

Wait, is my sister live-feeding him this bull shit?

The Spartan then straightened up. “Anyhow, your journey to the sea will not be an easy one!”

Lily was still shocked. “Wh-why are you getting in the way of Santa trying to fulfill a wish?!”

Jack looked equally mortified. “We just wanna see the sea!”

Nursery Rhyme was shaking her head from side to side, squeezing her eyes shut. “Meaniehead!”

Leonidas shrugged. “You’ll have to ask our evil mastermind!” Then he looked away. “I…uh…don’t really, uh…know all the details either…” Then he coughed. “I am a man of logic, so I am not very good at psychology and things like that. So please ask the next villainous servant to come along!”

Then the Spartan began to disappear. “Farewell, everyone, I shall see you all back in Chaldea.”

Mash made a hmph sound. “Well, he should be back any minute. I’ll go have some choice words with him, Senpai.”

“Well, is everyone alright?” Lily asked.

Everyone nodded.

Nursery Rhyme hummed. “Are you all right, Santa?”

Lily smirked a little. “Yes! That was a cakewalk!”

And then just as Ritsuka was starting to relax, a black key flew and slammed into the snow in front of him.

“Now what do you want, Santa Island Mask?”

Amakusa ignored him. “So, how about it, Jeanne d’Arc Santa Lily? It looks like there are a number of enemy Servants awaiting you in your journey. Neither their identities nor goals are known, but they will try to put a stop to your grand Christmas quest.” He grew serious, and Ritsuka almost forgave him for how well he was playing his role. “Granting wishes is a hopelessly difficult journey. But even if you manage that, expect no reward.”

Because that’s what real heroes from legend do. And Santa Claus.

The priest continued. “Because you are Santa Claus. There is no such thing as a reward for completing your task.”

And yet if what Jeanne said was true…

Ritsuka smiled tightly.

We’ll give them both something they want.

Lily, however, looked a bit sad.

“Will you continue?” Santa Island Mask, asked.

Ritsuka took a deep breath as the kids looked at Lily. “That’s something only Santa Claus can decide.”

Lily seemed to gather herself, taking a deep breath. “I…” She shuddered but nodded again. “I want to grant their wish, instead of forcing a present they don’t want on them.” Then she seemed to gather herself fully. “I want to give them both exactly what they wished for!” Lily turned to Nursery and Jack. “If the two of you don’t mind, I would still like to grant your wish. So let’s go see…the ocean!”

They both went. “Okay!”

Amakusa nodded sagely. “I see. Then, proceed with caution, Santa.” He stepped closer and touched her shoulder. “Fulfilling a wish is intrinsically an unequal thing. Unequal…That is, a problem of desire. Be it a simple, casual wish or a desperate need with life hanging in the balance, it is Santa Claus who decides whether or not to grant it.”

Such is the spirit and joy of Christmas.

“The one who prays and pleads has their wish granted, while those who don’t are so fulfilled.” Amakusa smiled.

Fight for your wish. Fight for your belief. Call at your wish until it is a tangible and living thing.

Amakusa chuckled. “When you think about it, Santa may not be a saint at all.”

Ritsuka lingered on the others, making their way back to the sleigh. He glanced back once more and saw the priest smirking up at them before disappearing into the snow-covered woods. The wind began to pick up again.

Ritsuka felt himself sigh.

He’s doing a better job than I could’ve hoped.

His eyes flicked ahead, the three young girls climbing into the front of the sleigh, Jack trying to listen to Lily as she explained how the contraption worked.

He hasn’t relaxed yet. The journey was still going to be a long one. But he could not fully trust that they were nudging Santa Lily in the correct direction. The direction of forming her own legend, and the realization of what makes a servant memorable in the first place.

They must have a wish.

Ritsuka’s brows furrowed in thought.

I wonder if I’ll ever know her wish?

###Jeanne d’Arc Santa Lily###

Santa may not be a saint at all---

That’s what Santa Island Mask said.

I…wanted to argue and say it wasn’t true.

I wanted to say Santa Claus is a noble saint who grants everyone’s wishes, and that’s why I chose to become Santa.

Older me at least felt that in part, too, I think.

But I can’t shake the feeling that what he said might really be true.

…When I think about what happens after Christmas, I start trembling with fear.

Will I still be…here?

Will she still be here?

Reindeer Master, Reindeer Master, Reindeer Master. Am I okay? Will I be okay?

…Will I still be allowed to exist?

The cold wind blew about her face, and Lily faced forward away from the kids as she tried to take in the cold white world around them. Her amber eyes landed casually on her master, for the moment, climbing into the back of the sleigh.

I need to be useful at the end of the day.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

A certain silence had settled over his mind. The same that had probably settled over Gudako’s when he sent a script message back to Chaldea.

She wants me to comfort her?

Ritsuka’s mouth twisted a little, trying to focus on the game plan.

I will.

Both of them.

His mouth twisted a little more with thought.

I’ll have to make up for not doing it now.

He could feel the ache in his chest, denying himself the desire to help her further, to comfort her. It wasn’t in his nature to stand idly by.

But at the same time, it had to be her own resolve. Her will, her determination that would forge the new connection to Chaldea. If he stepped in now to say anything and everything she needed to hear… wouldn’t that undercut it?

It irked him.

But he would rather her be okay as she pleaded. He would rather have her see what comes after Christmas.

Both of them.

###

Jack peered over the sleigh. “Huh? It’s no use, it won’t move.”

Ritsuka could feel the cold wind once more swirling around him, and he could feel his boots once more permanently planted on the ground. Lily, despite her best efforts, with Jack Nursery climbing around with her in the front of the sleigh, hadn’t gotten the contraption to move since they’d climbed in. Instead, it had felt like a malfunction-induced descent, rather than something ripping them towards the ground.

He tried to sound cheery and surprised. “Huh, even Santa’s sleigh can break down.”

This one, at least, is obvious about its connection.

Cold breath escaped his lips.

We have to make it difficult for her to become a hero in her own right.

He still felt guilty. Like he was stomping on her dreams of wanting to be Santa Claus.

Lily seemed to take it better than expected. “I see…. Well, we’d be in trouble if we got dragged down to the ground anyway. “After planting the butt of her lance into the snow, she took a breath as she gathered her courage to make the decision. “Let’s leave the sleigh here.”

Mash helpfully took some worry off her mind. “Don’t worry, we’ll retrieve the sleigh later.” She hummed to herself thoughtfully, perhaps helpfully. Ritsuka could picture all too easily. He knew his sister was planning some excuses to shove Mash off into the wilderness.

Those holographic eyes seemed to peer at him before she shook her head.

“It…may be a little taxing for Master thought…”

And Ritsuka could swear he heard Gudako snort in the background, commenting about how good he was at trying to keep his load light, and how much he hiked.

“I’m okay.” He gestured for Lily, seeing the worry on her face.

Once more, it made his heart ache that he couldn’t comfort her directly yet.

“We can all walk.” He assured them, and to Mash.

Lily smiled a bit more. “Alright, I agree. Jack, Nursery, are you two okay with that too?”

Jack’s nose scrunched up. “Ummm, then we have a favor to ask Reindeer.”

Nursery Rhyme nodded twice. “Yes. Yes. I have something to ask of Reindeer, too.”

Ritsuka swallowed hard and tried not to wince in front of the children. He had a sudden, horrid image of having to give them all piggybacks. Maybe not all at once, but in a cycle, like they would switch off every twenty minutes.

However, thankfully, they both grabbed each one of his hands and turned to head off.

“Ready…and…Let’s all hold hands and walk!!!”

Because they were quick, Lily was left without one of his hands. “H-hey!” Her face started to warm. “No fair!” She jogged after them. She tried to grab one of them. “No, I mean,...er…I mean, you’re making it difficult for Reindeer Master to walk! Stop it!”

Ritsuka chuckled a couple of times to himself. “I really don’t mind.”

“Uh…well…P-please mind!” She stuck her nose up defiantly. “A Reindeer should not walk hand-in-hand with small children! Santa rules!”

That is actually solid advice.

Mash coughed. “Senpai! Um, when you return, would you please give me…No, a piggyback ride is too embarrassing.”

He felt his face warm.

This time, Gudako’s laughter was obvious.

Then Roman’s voice came over the speaker. “It would be nice for me to get in on an event one of these days…Maaash?”

The chaos that followed stretched on as they made their walk towards the sea. Eventually, a compromise was struck, so Lily didn’t have to fight for a spot to hold the Reindeer master’s hand.

For once, he thought dryly, his sister wasn’t being a complete dick. She began to read stories of old Christmas tales to them through the hologram. The kind that Ritsuka was sorely missing from his own holiday cheer, back like their old lives before Chaldea. The kinds that read with mulled warm ciders, by fireside.

It was the only real sense of warmth he could get from the cold. Though he caught her glance, which was enough for him to know that she’d already helped organize their next encounters.

###

It wasn’t until much later, hours later, when they had made their campsite for the night, that Ritsuka found himself feeling a bit more festive spirit.

Lily was being needlessly stubborn about not needing to eat food, even though she was watching the others eat.

Ritsuka somehow got the impression that this very problem would be repeated in the future with her older counterpart.

Just as unexpectedly, given the context of the situation, Lily folded almost immediately after getting to try some food.

“Piece of cake,” Jack said, nodding.

Lily sputtered. “Did I just hear slander and a label that I should definitely respond to!?” She tried to sound intimidating with a mouth full of Archer Emiya’s food he’d given to them. She swallowed and folded her arms, sticking her nose up. ‘Being faithful to one’s principles’ and ‘clarity of purpose’ are my two mottos. Hmph!”

It went over even Nursery’s head.

Ritsuka, meanwhile, took another mental note.

Perhaps she is more principled than she likes to appear… the question is, what are those principles and rules?

He touched his chin with careful thought. And then he reminded them that they should all thank Mister Emiya when they meet him again. Though the idea of a little girl scolding him for being able to steal noble phantasms, did muse him.

Ritsuka could see even Emiya tolerating it while patiently trying to explain why it was his ability.

He slowly settled in for a night to catch some rest. Trusting his sister to wake him up when needed, enjoying his satisfying meal, and listening to the sounds of the kids he was watching play for a little while longer.

###Gudako Fujimaru###

The command-and-control room was cold. She turned to look at Mash. “Is the heating broken?”

Mash breathed out over her fingertips as if to admire the fog of her breath. “I would say so, Senpai.”

Gudako took a breath and forced back a sigh.

Another day, another crisis.

She pinched her nose and nodded.

Gudako, of course, had planned some mechanical failures to take Mash’s attention away. However, now that a real one had cropped up, she was perfectly happy to let it distract the shielder for a bit longer. “Let me know how it goes on the repairs go.”

Mash nodded and sighed. She gathered a couple of other staff members and made her way back out of the command room.

The hologram flickered as Archer Emiya made a noise of dismay. “Where did you hear that I stole things? I’m merely copying for eternity.”

Hassan of the cursed arm glanced sideways at him. “What are you yelling about now?”

Another string of small curses slipped from Emiya out of his breath.

And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Saint Jeanne d’Arc arrive in the command room, her eyes finding Gudako’s almost immediately, and she strode over to her. The saint’s blonde braid swishes behind her. “Master,” She greeted with that pleasant smile. “Is everything going well?”

She nodded. “Mostly.”

The cold, however, is starting to get more aggravating than I’d like.

She flexed her fingers. “I’ll need to run and grab my gloves at this rate.”

The ruler smiled and giggled, and it was as if any dark thought that might’ve been clouding her heart lifted with ease.

It’s definitely one of her effects on people.

Archer Emiya hissed again, the hologram flickering. “I just felt like I had to clear some things up right here, right now.” He took another long, deep breath, and his eyes flicked between Gudako and the newly arrived saint. “Anyways, the preparations are complete.”

Hassan of the cursed arm still seemed a bit perturbed. “But…This seems kind of ridiculous, doesn't it? Why do we need to interfere?”

Archer sighed. “Well….simply put, if her heart can’t change, there’s nothing we can do for her.” His eyes once again flicked to Gudako. “For a wish-granter to try so desperately to avoid admitting her own wish…That’s something of a paradox.” This time, it felt as if Emiya was speaking directly to her, too. “She’s deliberately blinding herself to what it really means to grant wishes.”

Gudako nodded, but still felt a small pang of frustration, her eyes flicking over to Doctor Roman and Davi Vinci, the bridge monitoring device for all the things that were hooked up to Jeanne Alter in her room below. It wasn’t going to be easy to get through to her. Just as it wasn’t with her adult counterpart.

Emiya turned to look at Hassan. “To even BE Santa Claus is to have the wish granted of being able to grant others’ wishes. Unless you’re pure evil, the feeling of performing so many good deeds fills the heart.” He chuckled a bit and seemed to consider something. “In a way, Santa Claus epitomizes that concept.”

Guadako’s mind flashed to Ritsuka’s quick text report.

She wants to be useful.

Gudkao hummed.

And granting others' wishes…is that means of being useful.

Archer Emiya chuckled. “A nice child receives a gift. A naughty child receives a scolding.”

Hassan’s brow seemed to furrow. “I see, but Jeanne she---” His eyes flicked to the ruler saint.

Jeanne could only smile a bit sadly at him.

Archer Emiya nodded. “Right. She lacks that. And that’s the problem. Left alone, she will lose sight of her reason to live, and maybe even lose her own identity.”

Gudako nodded, “All this on top of the issue that we already face the issue of losing them both, if we don’t give her this.”

He sighed. “It would be fine for a Heroic Spirit whose name is engraved in history. If someone has faith and calls your name in awe, it doesn’t matter if you have a wish at heart or not.”

Hassan nodded. “But that isn’t the case here, is it?”

Gudako nodded. “It isn’t. It isn’t for any heroic spirits that are fictional, and hail from the legend of our story being told here during the grand order. Saber Alter, Jeanne Alter, Lancer Alter…fictional heroic spirits who aren’t the essence of their counterparts.”

Jeanne’s bright blue eyes looked down a little. “Even if my core existence is in part what creates Alter, and the now Lily, because they cannot exist without me…they will not be remembered in songs or annals of any parts of history because they have no fiction being told about them. Nobody thinks someone like her existed behind the scenes.”

Hassan’s shoulders sagged, and Gudkao thought he looked more like an old man for a moment than the renowned legendary assassin. “Nobody believes in her. The world doesn’t know of her at all.”

And neither does it know her counterpart either.

Her lip twitched.

Just my brother and I.

“A servant born within Orleans. A fake given temporary life by the Holy Grail.” Archer put in harshly. He snorted. “She barely managed to materialize as a Servant after slipping past several trials and causing a nightmarish commotion.”

Gudako’s brow furrowed, knowing that it wasn’t about Lily anymore. That was referring to her counterpart in the coma.

Lily is even less than that…

Gudako hummed. “The materialization is uncertain in Lily’s state.”

Archer nodded, and he looked to ruler Jeanne d’Arc. “And that is why Artoria Alter passed her the role of Santa.”

She’s giving us a shot at saving both of them.

“However, even given the old of Santa, she still carries a burden within her.” Archer shook his head, looking solemn. “Hopefully she’ll come to understand it in the short journey to the sea.”

Then Archer reached down and put a mask over his eyes.

And everyone stared blankly.

Jeanne snorted first, giggling.

Hassan stared. “What…is THAT supposed to be?!”

“I need to at least hide my face. I have a role to play now, too.” He smiled a little.

Hassan sighed. “Alright, bowman, that is the most pathetic disguise I’ve ever seen. I’ll give you some tips when this whole ordeal is over.”

Gudako finally felt laughter bubble up in her, providing her with some minuscule sense of relief that she needed to feel despite everything else that was going on.

Then something caught her nose, a smell of something warm and sweet. Her eyes went wide as she saw someone handing out warm drinks to all the staff. Even dropping off fresh mugs of coffee for Roman and Da Vinci.

His black hat adorning his head, his long black coat flowing out behind him.

He came to a stop beside her, looking at Archer and Hassan bickering. “Drink master?”

Gudako snorted, “Are you avoiding the Iron Nurse again, Mr. Dantes?”

His amber eyes flicked to her. “Actually, no, she sent me to the kitchen to get me roped in to dropping off some warm drinks for everyone.” Edmond’s lip twisted a little. “Honestly, I think she detected the temperature drop, so she sees this as preventing disease by making sure everyone remains warm.”

“How…thoughtful,” She settled.

Edmond smiled just a little, “Your poison of choice, Master?”

She peered at the mugs. Hot chocolate, coffee, and some tea of a kind. “I’ll take some Hot Chocolate for once. I will deal with the nurse's scolding later.  As will you, I suspect.”

Edmond shrugged. “She should stop putting me on random tasks.”

He gently lifted a mug with bobbing whipped cream and cinnamon flakes on top, and deftly handed it to her. Her fingers brushed his as she took the mug.

He’s warm.

Her cheeks started to warm.

Edmond tilted his head at her. “Master, want me to get you your gloves?”

She breathed out a small sigh of relief. “Yes, that would be…wonderful.” She took another sip of the hot chocolate and felt whipped cream get on her nose. She turned away quickly so that Edmond wouldn’t notice.

The quick movement, of course, naturally drew attention.

She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “C-can I get a spoon too?”

Idiot.

As if sensing she would ask the question, or that someone else might ask him for one, he plucked one up from the drink tray and offered it to her. He snorted a little and stood for a moment longer. “Anything else, master?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No, not I’m alright, thank you.”

Edmond Dantes politely bowed his head towards her and began to retrace his steps to the doorway, stopping only to offer Jeanne a drink too. She elected for coffee. And then, he was gone, heading back down the hall towards the cafeteria, or back to Nightingale’s side to continue his show of support.

Gudako closed her eyes and stretched for a moment on her toes, and then, plopping back down on her heels, her fingers gripping the mug of hot chocolate tightly, as if trying to sap the warmth from the mug in her hands.

The conversation between Hassan and Archer EMIYA seemed to have come to an end. They both gave their Master a goodbye, and then their communication holo feed through Chaldea shut down.

Gudako stood motionless for a moment and sipped the hot chocolate one more time. “Roman? What is my brother’s progress?

The Doctor was doing his best to remain cheerful, but Gudako could see some of that strained patience reflecting back at her with how this Christmas was slowly turning out. He leaned over a console before projecting the rolling map onto the holo table. With a hum, he then transferred the data point, making it glow bright green on the blue map. “They’ve stopped for the night, Gudako.”

She nodded. “Good, keep me updated.” Gudako, as she finished speaking, felt a yawn tug at her throat. “I think…I’m going to catch some sleep as well.” She took a deep breath. “You should too, Doctor. And if we can have, send Mash to bed too.”

Roman nodded. “I will. But in another hour. Da Vinci wants to gauge Mash’s connection to Chaldea as a demi-servant to see if there is anything about my connection that might help extend Jeanne Alter’s ties a bit longer, if we run into other issues.”

Gudako nodded. “Alright.” Then she backed away from the communications system and headed for the door. Gudako left, sipping her hot chocolate, with fewer distractions now present around her, and she realized how well the drink had been made.

I wonder if Edmond made it himself or if he had help?

She decided she would snoop around about it later. As she balanced a mug in one hand, her device in the other, she began to shoot off another message for her brother to update him on what was going on her end of this Christmas fiasco.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

“Reindeer Master, can’t you sleep?” Lily asked tentatively. “Jack and Nursey Rhymes both crawled into sleeping bags.”

“Rhyme.” He said under his breath, where Lily might not be able to hear him. That causal correction. It was a correction that Nursery herself had been giving to others for quite a while.

“Aren’t those two Servants? It shouldn’t be necessary to sleep when they’re materialized.” She pointed out. “They are wasting needless magical energy. Aren’t they bothering you, Master Reindeer?”

He smiled a little, leaning back against a tree; he could feel some tiredness in his eyes. “No, not really. I prefer this way.” His blue eyes flicked to her.

She’s new, she might not fully understand everything we do here at Chaldea.

“Y-you prefer it that way? But…isn’t it pointless?” Her eyes narrowed a little. “I feel it’s more proper for a Servant to stay in spirit form at times like this…So that’s what I’ll be doing!” She declared it even before he had a chance to get in a word about why.

He debated on whether he should tell her anyway or leave her discover it on her own. Servants slept all the time in Chaldea. Ritsuka and Gudako believed it was one of the ways to make their stay at Chaldea a bit more pleasant.

Perhaps next time.

“…But before that, I have a question. Have you…ever seen the sea, Reindeer Master?” Lily looked at him quizzically, again in a way that made him unsure what to make of the expression.

“I have,” Ritsuka said. “Many times, actually. Less so since I’ve been made to come to Chaldea, but…” He nodded again, “I went on a grand adventure half a year ago now, on a singularity in the ocean with Francis Drake.”

“I see…You have.” She said thoughtfully, but Ritsuka detected a hint of sadness. “There was also some nervousness and trepidation that touched her voice. “Is it really so great for the two of them to get all worked up over it?”

He felt his stomach knot a little.

“…To be honest, I have never seen the sea. My grown self, I mean the other…” She tripped up on her words for a second. “I mean the original Jeanne d’Arc should have seen the sea in her lifetime…” Jeanne Alter Santa Lily sat down a couple of feet away. “But me, I have no memory of the sea.”

Does that mean Jeanne Alter has no memory of it either? Maybe…that will be the last catalyst we need to cap of this journey, to make her, her own spirit origin…

Ritsuka made a mental note to get in touch with Ruler Jeanne d’Arc as soon as possible.

Her nose wrinkled a little. “Besides…If what I know is right, don’t people usually go to the sea in summer?”

“Usually.” Ritsuka agreed.

She hummed. “Winter seas are just for looking and not swimming…so, um, what’s the point in going?”

Ritsuka took a deep breath, considering how he should respond. He didn’t want to explain to her the purpose of this journey. She would have to find that purpose on her own; otherwise, it might all be pointless. So he settled on the simplest, most truthful answer he could think of. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Jeanne Alter Santa Lily made a face that sometimes reminded him of her older counterpart hearing something they didn’t like. “You think so? I can’t imagine that.” She spoke with confidence, and she seemed to straighten up. “After all, unlike those two, I am an adult! Hee hee!”

It took everything for him not to snort, but with a grim expression, Ritsuka leaned forward and pinched her cheeks.

She yelped. “Waaah! Don’t pinch my cheeks! Hey, stoppit!”

Just like her older counterpart, she can be quite cute when she is pouting.

He blinked.

Cute?

Lily started pinching his cheeks back. “Hey, you big meanie. How does it feel, hmm?”

However, Ritsuka made himself stop.

Lily stood triumphant as if she’d just won whatever strange contest that it might’ve been. Then she did as she said she would, muttering something about continuing the journey for the sake of their wishes, regardless of what she thought. Then she vanished into her spirit form for the night.

He didn’t hear much of any of what she’d been saying, now. His confused brain was trying to decipher his own stream of thoughts, wondering how, when, and why he ever thought Jeanne Alter was cute. It had come out so naturally as if it were a simple, implicit fact.

Really, she is quite beautiful most days.

Then he smacked himself.

Stop it.

He took a breath.

I’m just tired.

He decided to follow suit on the example of Jack and Nursery, curling himself up into a bedroll and letting sleep take him.

###

Morning came, filled with some quick conversations with Gudako as she took to handling things on her end. It wasn’t long, however, before they got underway that snow started falling once again.

“Good morning, Senpai!” Mash said. She peered out at the world around him in the holo and hummed to herself. “It’s snowing again today. Are you alright in the cold?”

Ritsuka nodded, smiling.

The usual morning check-up to make sure a master of Chaldea was in good health while they were off, shifted somewhere.

Mash hummed at him. “Physical and mental parameters are all normal, it seems.” She spoke as if giving her approval for the situation at hand. She was still completely unaware of everything else he could tell.

He appreciated her usual check-in.

Jack was jumping up and down. “To the sea!”

Nursery nodded. “We’ll reach the sea for sure today. Yay!!!”

Mash pretended to give some directions for a moment. Then she paused. “Wait, master- Servants detected. There are two!”

“You’re more pleasant to talk to than Roman without his coffee.”

As if summoned by his insult, or perhaps the good doctor was also up on time for his shift, came into view. “Hahahaha, you’re dissatisfied with an old man’s voice?”

Ritsuka sighed. “You’re not old, Roman. Stop acting like an old man.”

He heard Gudako snort, but she never came on screen to see him. But he smiled a little, knowing he was there listening in and monitoring his progress, and their safety.

He’d been given an update from Gudkao on Jeanne Alter’s condition. For the time being, she wasn’t growing worse. But her condition was still grave. It had put his heart at ease a little. They needed to rush, but not as much as they were expecting too.

Da Vinci’s and Roman’s inventions seemed to be doing the trick for the time being.

Nursery Rhyme’s brow furrowed. “Mister Roman’s voice sounds somewhat silly. It warbles like a dying cat!” She continued thoughtfully. “He sounds like a really sad person who gave up on everything and can’t do anything but laugh!”

Ritsuka couldn’t contain his laughter as much as he tried. Gudako too. He was also pretty sure he could hear Da Vinci giggling somewhere behind them.

Roman chuckled too. “Really, is that what you think? I think that might be a bit much…”

One of the servants was waiting patiently for them to finish. One that was clearly one of their opponents, they were supposed to be gearing up to fight. They politely intruded on the conversation. Hassan of the cursed arm was there, and it was as if Ritsuka could feel the smile behind that mask.

“Is it time for me to make my appearance?”

Lily stiffened. “Wh-ho’s that?”

“Ahem. Hem-hem!” Hassan straightened up, chuckling to himself. “I am the cruel contortionist, Hassan of the cursed arm. I will not allow you to reach the sea...”

A part of Ritsuka couldn’t believe they’d roped Hassan into this. The old man probably wanted to be anywhere else. Yet there he was, standing proudly and happily, willing to play his part in the journey of Santa Lily to the sea.

Perhaps he understood once we explained it all to him.

Lily, unsurprisingly, was growing indignant with these constant barriers. “Why not!?”

“Why, you ask!?” Then he fell silent, and Ritsuka got the impression that he was looking right at him.

Seriously, do my sister and I have to write lines for all of you in a script?

He coughed, “Could there be other Santas!?” Trying to sound accusing, questioning, and worrying all at once. Mostly, he was just trying to jog the memory of the story that they’d begun to weave.

He could imagine Gudako laughing.

She’s doing this on purpose, isn’t she?

“Ah ha! Yes, that!” He laughed and spread his arms wide. “Because the real Santa is right here.”

Even Lily looked skeptical. “Um, that sounded kinda like you just thought of it when Master Reindeer said it.”

Strangely, Hassan twisted from side to side, as if he could physically dodge the accusation with his bodily contortions that allowed him to ride the wind. Then he gestured out to the right. “Time to make your appearance! The true Santa…Lord Santam!” He bellowed out a cockle loud enough to intimidate.

Then, as if appearing from the mists of the falling snow around them, a new figure approached. He seemed to be remembering something as he spoke, in a deep monotone he was known for. “Heh…I ask of you: What is Santa?”

“Wh-whose that!” Lily said, and then belatedly she realized she had been asked a question. “A-and Santa is the granter of wishes! Someone who brings happiness by bringing gifts!” Then she shrank just a fraction. “I…um, well, I may not be the best at that yet, though…”

He stepped forward. “Then, I shall answer you.” He seemed to flex his empty bow string. “Santas are faceless watchmen who wander from shadow to shadow, hidden from the world!” And as he stepped beyond the snow mist towards them, he spoke grandly. “Take a look, this is the proper form of a Santa!”

Archer Emiya was there. “I am Santam. We are Santam.”

Well, at least we gave our cult a fucking name, sis.

He peered to his right at Jack and the Nursery.

Jack was confused. “…Huh?”

Nursery looked surprised, but less confused. “Oh?”

Lily, however, was definitely both surprised and confused. “E-Emiya…What are you doing there-here Emiya!?”

Archer Emiya looked equally surprised. “What?”

Jack squinted. “What are you doing? Are you playing dress-up? Should we join? CAN WE JOIN?!”

Nursery hummed. “Oh, Mister Emiya. Playing make-believe masked heroes is embarrassing for adults, you know?”

Guess it depends on the adult.

He wondered as well if this was the time he explained what cosplayers and conventions were sometimes about.

Probably not.

“How…did they figure it out…!?” He looked to Hassan, who was just smirking at him, and shrugged. “They couldn’t figure out Santa Island Mask…”

Hassan shook his head. “I tried to tell you.”

Even Ritsuka had to admit it was a head scratcher. Maybe they just recognized one of their regular caretakers more easily. They had all spent a considerable amount of time with him. At least that’s how he would’ve justified it, if not for Lily, having really only just met him today.

Ritsuka looked pointedly at Emiya. “Anyway…Santam…”

Come on.

Archer Emiya coughed. “I-I know. Hey, Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily!” He straightened up and ignored the questions. “I, Santam, was summoned to correct your mistaken view of Santa.”

Lily suddenly shrank a little. “Mistaken…view of…Santa?”

Jack and Nursery whispered to each other, probably either making fun of Emiya, or debating what to do. Thankfully, Hassan noticed and casually made his way over to them, with a bag of goodies, no doubt made by Emiya, to distract them with the small food snacks.

Emiya faced Lily. “If you hesitate or run from him, then you are no true Santa.” He declared it with such conviction that even Ritsuka felt a shiver run up his back. He straightened himself and projected those twin swords, his bow disappearing. “Come at me, Lily. But only if you truly believe you are worthy to be Santa Claus!

“I-I am…” She said, sounding uncertain.

Ritsuka tried to suppress that sinking feeling.

I can’t hold her hand. I can’t hold her hand. She needs to make a legend of her own to stay. She must have a wish of her own.

“Are you not Santa?” He asked gently.

She shuddered. “I…don’t know.” Her lips began to tremble.

Ritsuka felt his heart twisting.

“Perhaps Emi…I mean, Santam may be a better Santa than me…” She gave a bitter laugh. “I mean…he can copy anything and everything.”

Hassan laughed. “The nerve! First, he copies Noble Phantasms, now presents!? He’s the counterfeit King!”

Both Ritsuka and Archer gave Hassan a sideways look.

Emiya seemed to sigh. “Forget about that! This way I don’t need to buy anything at least.”

Lily seemed to gather herself. “But…But! Since Artoria Alter Santa has entrusted me with the bag, I am Santa!”

Ritsuka felt some relief spread into his limbs.

Lily’s face hardened. “Please step aside. Mr. Santam…!”

Archer, too, seemed to look at her with some pride in his eyes.

He really is just a big softie.

“All right. Come at me, young lady!” Archer brandished his swords, letting them spark off one another.

###

The battle that had taken place was like many that had come before it. Ritsuka wasn’t that worried, considering this was a particular fight he’d at least set up, and he trusted Archer not to actually hurt anyone.

He took half an hour again to touch base with his sister and give orders to Lily when needed. With Hassan occupying the other kids, it was really just a one-on-one.

It came across more like a training duel. Though Ritsuka was pretty sure, she could tell. Archer Emiya probably had more skill fighting faster and stronger Lancer opponents.

He recalled how he and CuCulainne could get really vicious towards each other in the simulator sometimes.

And like other battles before, Lily had come out on top.

“Victory!” Ritsuka said, high-fiving Lily, who was still coming down from the high of their fight.

“And defeat for me.” Archer Emiya said, sounding pleased. Then he collapsed onto the snow, perhaps a bit too dramatically.

Lily glared. “I…it felt like you were taking it super easy on me! But we won! And that’s what matters!”

Archer Emiya bowed his head after rising from the snow, a nod. “Then move forward, Santa Lily. Never forget that you are a true Santa.” Then he held up a hand. “And no matter who the enemy is…Do not forget your duties as Santa.”

Nursery swallowed her candy and nodded. “Don’t worry, Jeanne is a great Santa!”

He nodded, and Archer Emiya gave a satisfied smile. “Then we shall disappear as the defeated should.” He took one last look at Lily and Ritsuka before vanishing away.

Santa Lily once again looked down. Her fingers were trembling around her lance, and she was biting her lip.

Ritsuka took a deep breath.

I can’t help her fully, but I have to do something…

“Lily? What’s wrong…You don’t look well?” His boots crunched in the snow as he approached.

She, meanwhile, hid her face. “It’s nothing! I’m fine, yes…I’ll be…” Lily seemed to shake and shudder for a moment. “I’ll be fine…”

Ritsuka felt an ache around his heart, thinking about the thoughts that she’d had swirling around her head that he’d listen to. Her fear of disappearing. Her fears of not being useful. Her fears of being unwanted.

Come on, you’re almost there.

He took a breath and offered his hand.

We’ll save both of you.

###Gudako Fujimaru###

Her eyes hardened a little as she looked down at the report. “I…thought you said Jeanne Alter was stable.”

Da Vinci looked worried. “She was this morning. Something made the machine or spirit origin crash.”

She frowned, looking at the mana levels again. She felt concern bubble up inside of her. Her mouth twisting.

“I can…message your brother, if you like?” Da Vinci offered.

Gudako shook her head. “No, Jeanne Alter is…his…our responsibility.” She straightened a little. “I’ll do that…but, why is her spirit origin crashing? She was just stable enough only hours ago.”

The Genius inventor shrugged. “It could be any number of things. However, I think it mostly has to do with the Lily’s legend overriding hers, to be the true origin wielder of Jeanne Alter. It’s the only logic I have for you in the face of absent evidence.

She nodded.

It’s becoming a mess.

Gudako flipped through a few more pages skimming the rest of the mana report. “If Lily’s taking her place, we need to work harder to distinguish their too legends a bit more.” She reached over and offered Da Vinic the report back.

The caster nodded. “The machine is still doing it’s job. However, it won’t last forever, not with these kinds of numbers.”

Lily, just needs to reach the sea.

Chaldea’s on staff master took a long breath as she considered. “Keep me updated. Any other surprise drops in stability.” She handed the papers back to the caster servant. “Is there any chance a mana transfer ritual might work?”

Da Vinci blushed a litte. “It’s not an impossibility, master?”

Gudako shook her head. “Not me, my brother.”

The caster smirked a little, growing more teasing. “I know.” Then her smirk faded, “It’s possible that it could delay it, but given the present circumstances, I don’t think it would gain us much. The fundamental thing is that Lily needs to achieve her goal.”

She didn’t think Jeanne Alter would particularly enjoy it anyway. Neither Jeanne Alter nor Ritsuka would do so in such a situation. She nodded once, accepting that answer, with some relief in her voice, too. “I assume other casters agree?”

Da Vinci nodded. “Medea will do some bounded field work. She can try to prevent the mana from leaking out, and lower Jeanne Alter’s usage…she thinks she can work with that at least, so long as the machine keeps working as intended.” Her expression hardened. “However, as I keep saying…”

Gudako nodded, “The effect is only temporary.”

All our hopes rest with you, Ritsuka.

After a moment, sparing a glance towards Jeanne Alter’s comatose form. She turned away and headed back for the command room. Her hands stuffed in her pockets while she considered their remaining options.

It was time, she realized, to play the last card they had. From the report Ritsuka last gave her, Lily was close, and she needed just one final push.

###

Santa Island Mask chuckled. “Let us hurry ahead to play the role of the final blockade!” The sea was churning and billowing out behind him, expanding through sunny clouds all the way to the horizon.

Roman snorted, “You look like you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Amakusa nodded. “Well, it’s been a while since I had a chance to play the villain.” He actually sounded giddy. “And with this impending betrayal, I’m getting all fired up.”

Gudako sighed. “Of course you’d say something like that. Though, to be fair, that sounds more like something an avenger would say.” Her eyes drifted pointedly to Edmond Dantes, who had come back to deliver coffee, just for her. And had been there to get the report of the only other avenger keeping him company.

Edmond frowned. “This is why I hate priests most of all. Twisted vile. Even worse that he’s a ruler.”

Jeanne d’Arc peered at him, “Behave.

“Screw off ruler, you’re not my Master.”

Gudako chuckled. He was still bitter about Jeanne d’Arc and Amakusa being in his prison castle. “Easy. Mr. Dantes…we are still working together, remember?”

Edmond looked at her pointedly. “How many times must I say it? Just call me Edmond. I’m getting sick of Mr. It makes me feel old.”

She couldn’t help but snort at that. “Only if you call me by name when we aren’t working.”

Edmond gave her his best strained patience look.

Gudako gave one right back at him, and she thought she could see that a small smile was forming on his expression.

“So noted…Master.” He said.

Gudako hummed her acceptance.

Roman. “Are we sure he’s a Ruler?”

Jeanne d’Arc hummed, “A strange one at the very least.”

Amakusa laughed. “Whatever do you mean? Right now, I am just the mysterious Santa Island Mask.” He seemed to peer at them through the hologram. “A masked man can only be a traitor, a villain, or a hero that cannot show his face.”

Roman stared at him. “So you’re not a hero?”

His grin widened just a bit. “I certainly will not call a man who gets in the way of a girl’s dream a hero. Now strap in, my friends and fellow conspirators…” He bared his teeth, and his black keys glistened in the ocean breeze. “Santa Island Mask…is coming to town.”

###Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily###

We’re getting closer to the sea. Our short but difficult journey will end soon.

Will I still be able to be Santa? Will I still get to be the one who delivers gifts and hope?

Or…Will I disappear like a dream in the morning?

Useless. Worthless.

…That would’ve been fine.

At least, that’s what I thought to start with.

I am not real after all. I’m a fake alteration.

Worse…I’m an alteration of an already existing alteration.

I should have been able to accept.

I was willing to accept it.

So why can’t I feel that way now?

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

He took a deep breath, pausing from his trek through the snow. He felt like he was overheating and, for a moment, removed his beanie. Ritsuka tried not to listen to the inner monologue anymore. He had gathered enough, he thought. He knew all of that he needed to now, with utter certainty.

This will save Lily.

After…

We can save her older counterpart, too.

I can save her…

As he gathered his thoughts for the final leg in the journey, he heard something snap in the distance, the twig of a fallen tree perhaps. It jerked him out of his thoughts, and he peered around, honing his senses in the way he’d been drilled to. His eyes skimming the rim of his vision as best as he could through the forest.

Then he heard the shuffling of snow. A lot of it, like dozens of boots and clicks and clanks, crunching the powder. His heart swelled with warning, and he took a couple of quick steps towards the kids.

His gut twisted, still peering around.

Through the coms, he heard Gudako swear. “Another day-”

“Another crisis.” He stuffed his beanie into his jacket as the others around him suddenly tensed, looking at him. “Run.” He said simply, then a bit more loudly, no longer making it a suggestion. “Ruunn!”

A moment later, he could see them coming through the forest. Mechanical dolls of clockwork.

Nursery yelped. “Dolls are coming after us! It’s scary.”

Jack looked at Ritsuka. “You should just dismember them!”

Jeanne Alter Sant Lily squealed. “I-I-I-I can’t stand those creepy inorganic types!” She ran ahead. “If they’re living creatures, I’m okay, but those things, no! NO!”

Ritsuka grabbed Santa Lily and swung her onto his back. She buried her face against his back, one hand clinging to him, the other holding onto the Santa sack and the lance. Jack and Nursery were in both of his arms.

“Just because you’re brave, Jack, doesn’t mean we are.” He breathed out, wishing he could go a little faster.

“Mmm…okay.”

Mash’s voice came back over the holo. “A-are you okay, Master!? I noticed you’re carrying all three of them now!”

Jack stuck her fists into the air. “Wheee!”

Nursery giggled. “Master’s roaring along! Zoooooom! Fast like a hippogriff!”

Can’t skip leg days…or any workout day really with a job like this.

He huffed out a small laugh. Realizing he was actually enjoying this thrill in some crazy way. The kids were praising him as if he were some noble steed in a fantasy children's book. It made him feel pretty good to know that he could be helpful in times like this, too. “They’re light on their own, but I admit this is getting heavy!”

Nursery pinched him. “Hey! That’s a rude thing to say to a lady!”

Jack’s eyes narrowed towards him, growling a little.

Jeanne Alter Santa Lily sputtered, her head butting his back. “B-bring me a scale later! I’ll show you I’m really light!”

“Not the point!” Ritsuka bit out.

“It’s rude to say to a lady!” Nursery insisted.

“You’re all children!” Ritsuka and Gudako both pointed out at the same time, her voice connecting over the holo.

Mash didn’t get a word of response.

Jack suddenly pointed at something in the ground. “Look out!”

Ritsuka couldn’t move or step around it in time. Ice. His boot caught it, and he slid down, and he huffed, tucking the kids in as much as possible as they fell into the snow. He fell face-first, but at least the kids would be okay.

“Senpai! Senpai! You fell flat on your face! Are you all right!?” Mash asked.

Ritsuka growled. “Next time, Gudako is getting the fun mission.”

“I am having fun.” She pointed out with a snort.

“Shut up!”

“Reindeer Master…You made sure to protect us even when you fell…” Lily looked at him with surprise. It was the look her older self gave him whenever he did something to help or try to protect a Servant.

Yeah, yeah, I am an idiot, I know.

He nodded once.

Of course, I tried to protect you.

Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, looked to be so mystified by it. Then he remembered the first time her older counterpart had given him that look. It was back in the Orleans singularity. “That…was such a nice thing to do, Reindeer Master! Aww! You!”

The look Jeanne Alter had given him when he decided to hold her hand, to be with her at the end.

Emotion suddenly swirled about his heart.

Focus.

Jack grabbed him by the shoulder. “You okay? It hurts? Dismember?”

That did the trick, pulling him back to reality. No dismembering Master on Christmas, Jack!”

She pouted. “Too bad.”

Nursery yelped again. “Look, they’ve caught up to us while we were messing around!”

Ritsuka groaned as he got to his feet. “We’re not messing around, we’re doing really important stuff.” He tried to say it in a manner to lighten the mood. Then he rolled up his sleeves, flooding his circuits with what mana he could.”

I might be weak, but I can manage a good few blasts.

“They’re ready for battle! Please ready your weapons.” Mash warned.

“I’m counting fifteen, brother,” Gudako said. Her voice clipped, any hints of teasing gone as she fell into being Chaldea’s other master. “Nursery, cast some protection spells now, while you have the chance.”

Santa Lilly took shaky breaths. “O-okay…err, I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid, I’m not afraaaaid! WAAAGH!”

Jack looked at him. “Can I dismember them now?”

“Yeah, weapons free, Jack!” Ritsuka hissed as his arm heated up, coiling around the Nordic curse spell and firing, watching the bolt slam into one of the dolls, sending its gears and clockwork parts splattering across the snow.

The first eleven went down with varying degrees of ease.

Jack dove in and accounted for nearly six of their number. She bounced deftly, using mana to jump from target to target, her blades dancing and slashing across them in unorganized, chaotic motions.

Ritsuka accounted for two, who got close; Nursery accounted for four, standing beside.

Lily accounted for the remaining three; it was easy to tell she wasn’t having her usual good time of it. He wondered if her older counterpart also found these clockwork dolls particularly creepy. She kept them at the best distance she could while fighting them with her lance.

But after a few minutes, it was over.

Only it wasn’t.

“It’s still coming after us even after it split in two, eww!!” Santa Lily yelped as she backed away from one of the bigger parts.

Nursery shivered. “Creaky mannequin dolls chasing us is definitely not a good fairy tale!” She pouted a bit more.

Jack kept dancing between them, the only one of the three without reservations. “I’ll dismember them all!”

Mash seemed disappointed. “Jack’s…really excited about this…”

“It’s a target-rich environment, of course, they're excited.” Ritsuka shook his arm as he fired off another spell.

Lily kicked an arm away. “EWW EWW!”

Then a black key seemed to strike the big one.

Ritsuka felt both a touch of relief and a touch of dread. He’d gotten the message from Gudako, and so he knew what this one had meant. A part of him wished that it could wait a little longer, letting Lily bask in her small victory.

The mage part of him understood better.

Santa Lily looked relieved. “A rose, Black Key! That means---”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re getting tired of my entrance speech. I know I am…” This time, his aura had shifted a little. And Ritsuka felt the priest seeming to look at him, as if weighing up a tempting target.

Ritsuka could give as good as he got. “Yep, yes, whatever. Mask Mask.” He smirked just a little, playing a little into the feeling of what was about to happen. His voice filled with an edge that Lily didn’t detect, but would be there whenever she needed to reflect on such a moment. “Away for the action, here for the finishing blow to be the hero.”

Lily smiled up at him. “Thank you. My mentor…!”

“There is no need for you to thank me, Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily.” His aura seemed to change a little more. His pleasant smile turned evil.

Lily stared at him. “Huh?”

It was a look that suited him a little too well, Ritsuka thought. Santa Mask’s smile was enough to send even a shiver down his own spine.

The priest ruler brandishes his black keys. “Why…? Because I’ve led you into my dastardly, evil, villainous, wicked trap!” His laughter wasn’t comically evil; it actually felt sinister. “The hope of every Santa, the sack that contains every gift of the universe, shall be mine!” He took a menacing step towards her.

Lily backed up a step as the surprise and horror came over her expression.

Nursery and Jack were both confused by what was taking place. The looks in their eyes were those of the children who didn’t understand what was happening.

Amakusa laid it a little thicker. “Get it? I’m your enemy.” He bared his teeth and dragged his black keys together, sending sparks as he drew near. Ritsuka felt a little relief, as this time his laughter seemed more comically evil.

He really is the perfect villain

Ritsuka huffed out of breath, still tired from all the running. “Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal!”

And then lightning struck behind him.

Mash was just confused now. “Where in the…”

“Don’t think about it too hard.” The priest said.

Lily, meanwhile, seemed to be reeling. “I-it can’t be…” She whispered above her breath. Her voice cracked.

Ritsuka once more felt his heart ache.

“The first rule of Santaing is that every Santa must be aloof but fair. They grant wishes and must give presents fairly, without bias.” He seemed to draw back just a little. “Self-interest is unnecessary. All that is required is to embody the ideal that sustains the mechanism that is Santa Claus.”

He snorted at her and pointed his blade at her. “You are lost, perplexed, and anguished…yet you still continued.”

Jeanne Alter, Santa Lily’s eyes narrowed towards him. “I-is it bad to be lost and perplexed?”

“So naïve. It is. If you’re Santa, then you must be rational.” He said as it were obvious.

“Self-interest is unnecessary?” She huffed out. And Ritsuka thought he could see something in her crack a little more. “E-even the desire to grant wishes?”

“No.” Santa Island said, remaining firm. “It is absolutely not needed for Santa.”

The question for me is…where does her motivation end…and those of her counterpart begin?

Jack hummed. “Um, um, Master? What is… self-interest?”

Ritsuka glanced at her. “Simply, it is the desire to do something for yourself.”

Jack’s brows furrowed. “So, the fact that we want to go to the sea! Is that self-interest?”

Santa Mask nodded. “That is correct.”

Then Jack seemed to understand, worry suddenly etched into her voice. “Jeanne, don’t you want to come with us and Nursery to the sea? W-we want you to come with us.”

Nursery touched her lip thoughtfully. “I agree, I want to go to the sea with Jack and Jeanne too! Of course, Master is coming too. Going together is what makes it fun!”

As a child, she should have wishes, and desires…and yet…

As a heroic spirit, she should have something that tethers her existence to the world.

And yet…

“Oh…” Jeanne managed her voice quietly.

Santa Island Mask sighed. “I cannot be lending my ears to every bit of nonsense children say.” Then he lowered his blade and held out his hand. “Now…kindly hand over the sack.”

Lily seemed to shake herself.

Come on, kid, you’re almost there.

“I…I w-will not!” Jeanne Alter Santa Lily managed.

“Oh-ho?” Santa Island Mask said, his mouth twisting a little.

Her fingers dug firmly onto her lance, and dug equally firmly onto the Santa sack she’d been walking around with.  “I DON’T WANT TO. I’ll never give it up!” She bared her teeth at him. “I cannot- I will NOT give this sack to someone who insults children!”

Santa Mask’s black key blades twitched. “And so, what will you do now?”

“I…will fight!” Then she turned to him, her Master Ritsuka Fujimaru. Her eyes filled with conviction. “Please, Reindeer Master! Lead me to victory!”

He uncurled his arms.

“I want to win against this man!” She said, her voice almost a plea. Then she shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I cannot lose. I will not lose to this man! I just can’t-“ She bit out, some bitterness coming into her voice.

Find your own path.

“Roger that, Santa Claus,” Ritsuka said evenly, trying to sound as cool as he suddenly felt. “Let’s grant your wish.”

She seemed surprised that he called her Santa Claus, and perhaps since the first moment in which they started their journey, she saw a genuine smile come across Lily’s lips. “Yes! Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily.” She then spun to face her old master, eyes narrowing even further with conviction. “As the real Santa Claus, I’m gonna knock the Santa Island mask out!”

“Then you'd better do it now.” Santa Island Mask waited no longer, throwing black keys at her. Even daring to throw one in Ritsuka’s direction.

He hissed out a curse and heaved himself to the side, feeling mana once more pulsating through his mystic code as he landed in the snow, aiming his arm right back at the priest, and squeezed a gundo shot from his arm, flexing his muscles like a trigger.

The ruler priest cut through the shot of course and sprinted toward Lily.

Lily deflected the first two black keys as Santa Island Mask drew his sword. Sword in one hand, he spawned black keys in the other.

He won’t make it easy.

He stopped at Lily, at her head, at her chest, at her head, her legs, at her head.

Lily had gotten used to using her lance now. Through all the battles that had finally led up to this, she was more than used to wielding it. However, this time, even with all that comfort and skill, she was being pushed back.

She ducked, weaved, and blocked every strike, but Santa Island Mask had driven her nearly ten feet back.

She nearly backed into a tree when she rolled out of the way.

The priest cut through the trunk like it was butter.

Ritsuka watched, latching onto his bond with Lily.

Focus on his sword arm, you have range, stay away from his black keys.

Lily feinted left, then went right at his sword arm, thrusting her spear out.

Her attacks were blocked, of course, but she kept moving around him in a circle, keeping his sword arm the one that was facing her.

Every time Santa Island mask tried to bring his black keys to bear, she seemed to just go out of easy reach for their use.

It had to be a challenge for her to overcome. And it was. She was still losing as the ruler had far too many advantages over her.

However, just as Lily finally knocked over, a hit colliding with her lance hard enough to send her stumbling into the snow.

Jack crossed their knives and cut the sword between them with a growl and then slid towards the priest with a smile.

Nursery had run to Lily.

Ritsuka let out a breath he’d been holding.

“You should leave this fight to me,” Lily said, her face twisting with bitterness.

“Nonsense!” Nursery Rhyme, mused. “We need to work together. He’s trying to stop us from getting our wish! We deserve to help.” She grabbed Lily and helped her back to her feet. “We’re friends now, Santa, which means you get our help whether you want it or not.”

Lily’s cheeks turned red, a pout.

But she wasn’t given much time to deny it.

Sparks exchanged between Jack and Amakusa’s blows. Black eyes flew and contorted as Jack deflected them. The priest was just about to gain an advantage in that fight, too.

Only Lily then attacked him, too.

And like the other fights before them, they slowly began to turn the tide. The ruler was no doubt their strongest foe they’d faced. Santa Island Mask was deeply skilled with their black keys and their sword.

“You must use all your skills together!” Ritsuka shouted.

When Jack got in close to attack, again Lily backed off only for a second, summoning with her newfound powers of Christmas, a rock-filled snowball, shooting out like a spell from her palm.

The priest cut through it, but missed Nursery’s attack spell.

Jack was kicked away, skidding across the surface of the snow, still upright, having blocked the main force of the blow with her knives.

Lily attacked.

Jack used their presence concealment and disappeared into the haze of snow.

Ruler tried to keep track of them, but Lily and Nursery were proving too much of a distraction.

Ritsuka added to it, feeling another simple spell. And he could feel his arm starting to burn from even a small and simple spell.

Jack reappeared, the snow blasting out around her from where she jumped right at and landed blows. The priest deftly avoided the sharp ends of their knives, but Jack was quick, the blunt ends slamming into his chest, his arm, and the back of his head.

Amaksua growled and swung a bit more wildly.

Lily deftly avoided and blocked the blow using her lance to push herself up into the air, and slamming the butt end of it into his face, cracking the Santa Island Mask. Pushing him, stumbling a few feet.

As he spun around, to try and attack again. Nursery’s spells slammed him square in the chest and sent him skidding through the snow.

And as he stood up, he staggered, falling to a knee.

Ritsuka once again breathed out a slow, calming breath.       

Santa Island Mask stayed down on his knee and chuckled. “That’s how…it should be…”

Lily pointed her lance right at him; it remained only a few inches away from him. “Now, stand aside!” She demanded.

“Please.” Santa Island Mask frowned at her.

She pouted a little. “Please, stand aside!”

He tried not to laugh at the reprimand for her lack of manners. It was everything that Amakusa had been trying to embody for this role as both mentor and now antagonist. It was exactly as Ritsuka had hoped when he first asked him to take on the role.

The priest hummed. “Not that I’ve seen your resolve as Santa Claus, I have no right to say anything more.”

But even as he continued to talk, Ritsuka was watching Jeanne speed off. He made a move to follow.

Santa Island Masked hummed and nodded to himself, now talking to neither Jeanne nor him. “Go ahead. Go, and see for yourself…”

Jack walked up to him, tugging on his sleeve. “Jeanne’s already gone.”

Ritsuka tried not to laugh, watching Santa Island Mask deflate a little. He realized that he must have been excited to cap off his villain role with a planned monologue. Ritsuka paused just at the edge of hearing their conversation.

Jeanne still went on ahead.

“Then, Jack, I’ll trust you with her.” The priest said with some warmth in his voice as he at last laid down his role.

Ritsuka watched Jack and tilted his head.

“Yeah, leave it to us!” She said.

Kids are always smarter than they look.

Jack’s eyes narrowed towards Santa Island Mask again. “…Should we dismember you?”

Amakusa snorted. “Thanks, but no thanks~” He sang at her.

Then Jack ran to catch up to him. Nursery was running ahead to catch up with Jeanne, and a few moments later, the four of them were walking to the sea together.

###Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily###

She was quiet for a long while, even after the group had all gotten together again. They were walking away from her old mentor and towards the sea.

Her heart danced in her chest.

Coward.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Reindeer Master talking to that hologram.

The snow around them seemed to be fading away as they drew closer to the sea. Soon, what stretched before them was rolling green hills instead of snow-covered forests. The ocean breeze came as a cool wind blowing towards them. Her poncho cloak billowed out behind her as she forced herself to look down at the grass beneath her feet.

Coward.

Shut up.

Mash’s voice hummed with surprise. “Oh, there isn’t any snow around here. You’re almost to the sea!” Her eyes narrowed a little. “But if you want to see the sea, please hurry. It’s almost dusk. It will soon be night.”

Lily glanced up at the sky.

Mash was right, of course.

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling and she looked down.

Nursery Rhyme grabbed Jack and hopped. “So exciting, Jack!”

Jack nodded. “We wonder what it’s like.”

Nursery hummed again, touching her lip thoughtfully as she always did while she was thinking. “I wonder if you can swim? Maybe not, since it’s winter…” She trailed off again, a moment later still wondering if that was something that they could get away with.

Lily heard Reindeer Master politely try to decline the idea.

Jeanne fell into her own thoughts, her mouth twisting a little further.

“Jeanne?” Nursery said.

What am I doing?

“Hey Jeanne?!” She said again.

This time it worked. “Oh-” She swallowed. “S-sorry. What is it?”

Jack walked up and paused in front of her. Jeanne blinked with some surprise, coming to a sudden stop in their pace.

Jack looked at her sideways in a way that reminded her of a cat. “Umm, you want to hold hands?”

Her heart clenched up at the thought. “Oh, no. I’m fine…”

Nursery snatched her other hand, and Jeanne could feel the warmth in them before she could do anything to refuse. “You’re trembling.” She pointed out and firmly squeezed her fingers. “Then I’ll hold your hand, too.”

They were both holding onto her now.

As if I’ll run away…

Coward.

They both giggled, hugging her close.

It’s…nice…

She found herself fighting the urge to smile. “G-geeze. Um, Reindeer Master…” She looked at her Reindeer Master for help. Or something.

She felt her heart dancing again in her chest.

Ritsuka sighed with a small smile. It was pleasant, patient, and understanding. “You three go ahead…I’ll catch up later.”

Is that why old me trusts him?

Is that why she was okay with being summoned here?

Lily smiled back. “Then…Then we are on our way.”

And all three of them set off in a steady, quickening pace. The ocean breeze drew closer as Reindeer Master drew further and further back.

…Right. That was my dream when I was young.

Her dream.

The vast sea spreading across the horizon was a tale I had only heard about. Even though I pretended a wheat field was the sea, I could not hear the sound of the waves.

My dream came true after everything was over.

Yes, it was the winter of 1430. When I passed through Le Crotoy, I indeed saw the sea, even if everything was over. Even if I understood the destiny that awaited me…

Hers…

That beauty. That sense of awe that made me tremble…

It was unforgettable. It was a scene beyond comparison to anything---

Was that…why…I?

Jeanne Alter Santa Lilly was wheezing for breath as she drew closer and closer now. The hands holding her had nearly been forgotten as their pace began to turn into a sprint. Over the silence rolling green heels.

Nursery huffed out a breath. “This is really hard on a book, sheesh…!”

Jack giggled, also gasping for breath.

And then they could hear it over the silent hills. Over the labored breathing.

She could hear it.

She could smell it…

The crashing and rolling of the waves against the sandy shore, as the grass beneath their feet turned to sand.

The salt of the air, as it took on a new sort of freshness.

And then, she was there.

Right at sunset, the endless horizon held infinite promise. The orb of the sun had nearly a third vanished behind it. The glow of the ocean water reflected the light of the evening right back at them.

The waves crashed and roared as the violent sea winds howled.

The sea may not be alive, but for all of its ferocity and presence, it may as well have been. It was as frightening as the beginning of the world, but as beautiful as the end of all things.

A gift that, supposedly, was never meant to be now stood open before me.

In the end, I was probably a failure as Santa…

But…

Jack’s eyes were wide. “Wow, this is the sea?” She smiled a bit wider, too. “Amazing! It’s really amazing!”

Nursery agreed. “It’s amazing, it’s scary, but it’s so pretty!” She pointed it out, as if that would emphasize her next point. “And the sunset is beautiful!”

Jeanne felt herself take a long, shaky breath as she looked down away from it.

I…it hurts to look upon.

Jack grabbed Nursery’s shoulder. “Can’t we go swimming?” She jumped up and down. “It should be all right, we’re Servants!”

Nursery huffed. “Maybe. It’s disgraceful. Oooo, water is bad for paper!” She suddenly shuddered at the idea.

I am not supposed to feel that.

Is it…joy that aches?

Jeanne could feel her vision blurring, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Why?

Jack looked disappointed. “Aww. Then what about you, Jeanne? Jeanne, you don’t mind, right?”

They both were probably looking at her, Jeanne Alter Santa Lily knew this. However, she couldn’t hear or see them anymore.

“Ah, aah… aaah!” The hoarse sob tore itself from her throat.

This. Right, this. I was wrong from the beginning. I was wrong-

I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrongIwaswrong-!

Lily felt the seat hug her knees, but she didn’t know when she’d fallen onto them. “Tears fell in rivulets from her eyes as she squeezed them shut. Her body wracked, shaking tears from her face into the sand beneath her.

Her palms dug into the sand, squeezing.

This. Is. My. Dream…!!

“I hhurk- wanted to see the gggha, the sea…!!” She managed.

Whether it was her or me-

“I wanted to see this. I wanted to see this! For the longest, longest time, I wanted to see the sea…”

The tears didn’t stop her sobs grew more violent, and the words she wanted to say had died in the back of her throat. Or came out as only babble for a long moment.

She was only scarcely aware of the other two. Arms wrapped around her firmly. Jack, she realized after a moment, as the other girl ran her fingers over Jeanne’s hair.

“I’m sorry!... I’m sorry!” Jeanne managed again. “We didn’t come here to grant your wishes. This is-” Her words clipped and clogged in her throat again.

Nursery Rhyme grabbed onto her firmly. “It’s fine. It’s fine.” She said, speaking soothingly. She, too, like Jack, wrapped her arms around her.

And Lily couldn’t bear to look either of them in the eye.

Jack nodded against her. “Yeah, it’s fine. We don’t mind. You really did your best. You did the best any Santa could.”

Nursery smiled. Jeanne Alter could hear it. “Let’s listen to the churning waves. Let’s watch the waves break against the shore.” She giggled. “A primordial display, as fierce as the end of the world, wouldn’t you agree? And yet, it’s such a beautiful scene---” She rubbed Lily’s head tenderly.

Her body wracked with sobs still, but as each second passed, the more firmly she clung to them.

My friends…

The grip on her heart slowly began to ease.

###Ritsuka Fujimaru###

“You didn’t have to come all this way.” He pointed out gently.

Ruler, Jeanne d’Arc snorted. “Perhaps not, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She grabbed his shoulder excitedly. “A new servant is born, without weight, or baggage that either me, or Jeanne Alter could incidentally make her bear.” She smiled even more pleasantly. “Someone who will have the gift of being a child raised by all of us…as she lays down her burdens at the foot of her…our…long lost dream.

Gudako snorted, “I forget how poetic you can be sometimes.”

Ritsuka eyed her too.

She waved him off. “It’s Christmas, little brother, I want to be with my family…and it's another day’s good work being capped off.”

At last, the three of them reached the crest of the hill, with others lagging behind. They could hear the cries and sobbing.

He felt his heart twist.

Jeanne sighed at the sound of it, and she inhaled deeply, the smell she had long forgotten.

The three of them stood and watched. Ritsuka heard another's footsteps approaching from behind, too. Santa Alter, Artoria Alter was approaching and came to see, looking down at the display with a stoic expression.

Wants to make sure her gamble with her Santa sack worked?

“I’m so glad she realized…” Jeanne said.

Mash suddenly called, frantic. “Ritsuka Gudako, Jeanne are-”

There was just a beat of silence.

“Eh? Jeanne? Gudako? What in the world is going on here…!?”

Jeanne folded her arms and smiled again. “Wanting to see the sea…was my wish, my desire. It was a silly dream I had in my childhood. So much so that when I departed at age 17, I had left it behind.” She took a deep breath and then looked at her two masters.

Ritsuka nodded.

“…That girl is not a saint.” She nodded and then continued to explain. “That said, she is not an Avenger, either.”

To understand how they differ even more strongly now.

“My young self was simply a child who enjoyed everyday life.” She nodded out towards the trio still hugging at the shore. “So, in order to maintain her body as a Servant, there was a need to become something.” Then she giggled. “May my old wish be the origin of her.”

Gudako frowned. “Even though she had wished to become Santa?” Her voice was clipped, almost painful.

“No child should become Santa Claus,” Ritsuka said firmly.

“Children shouldn’t become Santa Claus?” Mash asked, confused again, still trying to make sense of it. Trying to learn to be human still.

Jeanne nodded. “A proper Santa, is what Amakusa-“ She had half a chuckle. “-no, is exactly what Santa Island Mask said.” She turned to the holo projection of Mash. “The idea Santa must be impartial in delivering presents.”

Santa Alter snorted. “I didn’t mind that when I delivered.”

The ruler chuckled. “Oh, please. But, for children, that is impossible.” Then she spoke simply and plainly. “Because children should be the ones receiving presents. Not the ones giving them out. Of course, it’s different if they’re giving something to someone specific. That’s a gift given out of a personal desire.” She nodded once. “But Santa Claus isn’t like that, can never be like that. Santa’s purpose is to deliver love and presents impartially to all.”

There was a beat of quiet that passed between the group.

“But children desire presents more than anyone else. All the more so if they haven’t even wished for anything yet.” Jeanne continued.

Especially those who haven’t found a wish for themselves. Or understand a wish for themselves.

Then Jeanne hummed. “That’s what I…hoped her time as Santa Claus would teach her, somehow.” She then smiled. “I wanted her, Jeanne, to harbor a desire. Lily needed it…or…”

Ritsuka nodded. “It is important for the origin of a heroic spirit of legend.”

Jeanne snorted a little, her face growing pensive. “However, the story definitely went…a little astray.”

Santa Alter sighed, her hard stoic expression softening and filling with worry too. “I never imagined she would be so stubborn. I thought that after passing out two or three presents, she would realize she harbored her own desires.” She suddenly smirked a little. “Just how selfless are you?”

Which means her counterpart is bound to be just as stubborn, isn’t she?

But as Ritsuka replayed the memories of those powerful emotions and thoughts stemming from their master and servant bond, he realized that still wasn’t the full picture in its entirety.

Wants to be meaningful, useful...her counterpart’s dream, perhaps?

Jeanne snorted. “It’s just that my everyday life was fulfilling…I’m sure I wasn’t that charming of a child.”

Gudako hummed, “Without Santa Alter’s insight, we would’ve been dead in the water, I think.” She took a deep breath and tried to relax the tension in her shoulders. Relief tugged at her now that the work for the moment was over. “We really can save both.”

Jeanne peered at Santa Alter.

Ritsuka smirked just a little, but she let Santa Alter smile the widest.

“I managed to figure out Jeanne’s wish and Lily’s, and asked Jack and Nursery.” She gestured to the display. “When you all ran off from EMIYA’s place…I asked them to grant her wish. The poor archer had quite the fright…or was too glad to see me.” She looked away for a moment.

Mash stared. “S-so this journey was…”

“It was never about her becoming Santa Claus,” Jeanne stated firmly. “It was the chance for her to not only become a real heroic spirit in her own right, but also…a chance to, at the end of the day, be the child she so deserves and wants to be.”

Mash looked at Gudako and Ritsuka. “And…everyone along the way?”

Ritsuka tilted his head from side to side. “A call here, a chat there, an update here and there. But if she were to give up after one or two obstacles…”

Gudako nodded. “We would’ve been forced to take a different approach.”

Santa Alter nodded. “But she trudged forward, so it must truly have been her dream to see the sea.”

Jeanne chuckled, “And of course, there is one more important thing. It wasn’t merely going to see the sea.”

They all looked at the display again.

The tears had at last stopped, and against the thunderous crash of the sea, the sound of children’s laughter filled the air.

“Even after all her struggles, she was able to go see the sea with her dear friends. And as long as she can hold onto this memory tightly, she will continue to exist as a Servant.”

Gudako nodded. “And who's to say we need to stop at one?”

Then a sixth voice joined the four of them, and Mash’s holo. “Oh, so the cat’s out of the bag. Can I revive myself now?”

Ritsuka looked back at the priest. “Nope, stay dead.”

He sputtered. “Ehhh? Aren’t we done? All three of them reached the sea.”

Mash looked more stunned than all of them did.

Amakusa sighed. “My gosh, well, we kind of railroaded the plot, but we managed to finish it successfully.”

Ritsuka sighed, “I need to make everyone endure lessons under Shakespeare after some of the more pitiful displays that nearly blew the whole thing up.”

Gudako huffed. “And for making us work so damn hard on days when we don’t want to.”

Ruler smiled. “Thank you very much.  All of you.” Then she looked to Amakusa. “I never imagined you would go out on a limb to help me.”

Amakusa bowed his head a little and laughed. “To have more Jeanne Alters you don’t get along with! What could be better?”

“Fucker, and there it is,” Ritsuka muttered. “Always a damn catch with you.”

Jeanne pouted. “So that was your ulterior motive. Geeze! But…I am happy with how this worked out.” She winked at him. “And who knows, I’m stubborn too, and I might work at it every day to make your plan backfire.” Then she nodded. “She may not be me, but she has untapped potential that even I don’t…” Her blue eyes peered right at Ritsuka.

It was enough to unnerve him.

“They both do.” She said.

Slowly, again, he forced himself to nod.

“Honestly, I’m happy.” Jeanne straightened up, feeling a little smug. “It feels like I gained another little sister.”

Santa Alter snorted. “You should say that to the original Jeanne Alter. That will really upset her.”

“I know. That’s why I won’t tell her…yet.” The ruler promised.

Mash rubbed her face. “Guh- So, everything was a scheme everyone cooked up. I was completely fooled. I thought it was just about justifying her as Santa Claus.”

Amakusa shook his head. “It wasn’t me.”

Jeanne shook her head. “Nor was it me. I could never have gotten this far…”

Santa Alter humed. “And while I was the one who mentioned Jeanne Alter, Santa Lily would disappear as she was…the plan itself, of course, wasn’t actually mine.”

Mash looked only more confused. “Then who was it? Santam?”

EMIYA coughed. “What? No! Heh mash, you really haven’t figured it out?”

Gudkao sighed. “Good grief.”

Ritsuka shrugged. “Well, considering how our best laid plans for Christmas were torn asunder again, I don’t blame her.”

“The one who planned this is the one who understands Servants the most,” Emiya explained patiently.

“The one who understands who is best for which role.” Gudako smiled.

“And who should guide her along the way?” Ritsuka grinned.

Jeanne nodded, “And it must be someone that Jeanne Alter, the real Jeanne Alter, could trust from the bottom of her heart, even when it was split at her spirit origin core.” And Ritsuka got the feeling he was the one being stared at.

“Really, Mash.” Gudako gently chided. “There can only be one answer as to who the masterminds of this whole affair are.

Gudako stepped close to him and wrapped an arm over his shoulder; he wrapped one in turn around her waist. The two siblings hugged each other and peered at the holo, and after a second, they spoke in unison.

“IT'S US SILLY KOHAI!”

“MASTERS?!”

“Guilty as charged.” Ritsuka and Gudako both took a graceful bow towards the holo.

Jeanne hummed. “Yes, the way you improvised your way through situations, and the way the Servants were appropriately placed was remarkable.”

Gudako huffed, “I’m with my brother, though. Seriously, everyone is getting punishment time under Shakespeare.”

Santa Alter hummed. “It was also our master’s idea to make it look like the Llmarei Mark II engine was broken after the crash.”

Mash suddenly coughed, “W-wait, HOLD ON A SECOND? Why wouldn’t anyone tell me?”

Jeanne looked away. “Well…th-that’s because…”

Santa Alter smirked again.

Between the bus and pavement it is then…

“Master told us to stay quiet. We were told that Mash could not tell a lie, and telling her would ruin the plan.” Santa Alter spoke bluntly.

“SEEENNNPAAAAAIII!?”

“Sorry, Mash.” Gudako grinned.

“Really, we are,” Ritsuka added.

She inhaled sharply. “So when the doctor said there was emergency maintenance…and when Gudako said it-!”

Santa Alter smiled. “OF course, he was playing along.”

Mash appeared again in a flickering of blinding light that overloaded the holo for just a second. When Mash reappeared, she was in her shield spiritron dress. “I’m going to the Doctor to protest right this instant!”

“Try to go easy on him. Mash.” Ritsuka said.

“Yes, of course. I have to save some energy for you, Masters.”

Gudako sighed. “Good grief. Another day…”

“Another crisis.” Ritsuka exhaled.

Emiya was amused. “Heh. She’s pouting.” Then he looked at the two of them. “Girls of that type hold grudges for a long time. You should make it up to her soon.”

Gudako huffed. “Yeah, yeah. We know.”

Jeanne whispered to Santa Alter. “He seems quite used to this.”

Santa Alter smiled. “He does indeed.” She took a step forward. “Speaking from experience, Archer?” Her voice was both sultry and teasing.

The archer groaned.

“We’ll give her some good presents and cook a few nice meals for her,” Ritsuka said. “It’ll go a long way.”

Hassan of the cursed arm and Leonidas arrived shortly after, with Asterios in tow. Glad to see the fruits of their labor having flourished. Jeanne once more thanked them all for their hard work and again apologized to Asterios for being roped in.

Archer Emiya sighed. “It’ll be quite the party when we all get back to Chaldea.”

Santa Alter latched onto his arm. “Yes, and I believe you will be desperately needed in the kitchens.”

And at last, the crowd began to disperse as everyone began to return to Chaldea.

Ritsuka waited, lingering and watching the three of them by the sea.

“Little brother?” Gudako asked, brows raised.

“I got this, go. Give me a report on Jeanne Alter’s condition before the party starts, though.” He smiled a little. “My work as Reindeer isn’t finished yet.” He then winked at her.

She snorted. “Alright, don’t wait too long…maybe I’ll see if Mr. Dantes and Nightginale are done with their volunteer stuff for the day.” Gudako took a deep breath, reached out, and squeezed her brother’s hand, and they backed away.

With one final nod, he gave her, and a few moments later, he was alone on the hillside, walking slowly towards Santa Lily and her friends.

He paused as his boots crunched into the sand and came to a stop once more. Ritsuka closed his eyes, taking in the sights and sounds too. He would find out soon enough if all of this had worked. However, he wouldn’t know for certain until he got back. Until then, he would have to simply believe it worked.

Ritsuka, too, waited for Lily and the others to notice him. He didn’t want to interrupt them. But, he didn’t have to wait for too much longer.

“Reindeer Master Reindeer Master, Reindeer Master!”

He opened his eyes and smiled.

She skidded to a stop, kicking up sand as she reached him. “Reindeer Master! I figured it out now that I reached the sea!”

Ritsuka’s expression softened.

All she wants to have is someone to bask in understanding with her. Someone to know the revelation she has come to. To know that she can and will improve.

“I’m Santa, but I’m still young. I’m immature, selfish, and helpless---” Then she shook her off, a look of determination came over her. “But I’m still here, right now. I want to do my best to help you, Reindeer Master.”

He nodded at her.

She smiled and, for a second, grew sheepish, but she barreled forward with that strength of will. That stubbornness. That brashness. “So, um, even when Christmas is over. Even if spring, summer, and autumn come…! Can I stay by your side? By Gudako’s, too? And everyone else’s?”

Ritsuka reached out and rubbed his hand on her head. “Of course you can. I’ve been dying to hear you ask.”

She looked so happy that her face grew red, her eyes filled with tears. There was so much in that expression. Relief, joy, and all the things a child should feel on holidays such as these. “Thank you sooo much! You are the bestest…I love you, Reindeer Master!” She then jumped up and hugged him.

And he let out a sigh of relief. “And I promise, for as long as you are at my side, my sister and I will love you, as if you were always supposed to be here at our side.”

###

Ritsuka waited with her at the beach for several hours more. She and the others played in the sand and built big sand castles. And when it had finally come to an end, he was carrying all three of them back through the ray shift.

Jack, Nursery, and Santa Lily had played themselves out with exhaustion.

Gudako, Da Vinci, and Jeanne d’Arc were the only ones to greet him. The rest of the command room had emptied out. The saint quietly bounced at the adorable sight of all the children fast asleep, clinging to him. His sister looked mischievous, but only for a second.

“Everyone down at the party, I take it?” Ritsuka asked.

“Most of them.” Da Vinci chuckled. “Doctor Roman is currently wrangling them all. I’m trying to codify all of my equipment sensor readings before I go to join them.” She turned to the other, letting them speak for themselves.

Jeanne approached and carefully pried Lily off his back, and then Nursery, leaving him just with Jack. “I came to help. I arranged rooms for all three of them to be together. Atalante agreed to have their room nearby.”

Gudako snorted. “It’s high time we have some organization with our young servants, don’t you agree?”

Ritsuka nodded. “Let them get a couple hours' rest, but don’t let them miss the best part of the party.” Then he took a deep breath and meant to take another step forward, but paused as he peered at Gudako again. “And Jeanne Alter?”

“Stable…but…” Gudako’s brow furrowed. “She doesn’t want to see anyone right now…I think she saw things while she was under...or…something’s bothering her.” She tried to smile apologetically. “I’ll take Jack…but I think you should go see her.”

He frowned a little at that. “Think I can manage something where you can’t?”

She shrugged. “It’s either that…or we let her wallow alone. It’s the holidays, so I admit that idea doesn’t sit quite right with me.” She took a deep breath. “Plus…certainly you understand more about her now, after spending a few days with a much more…open, childish version of her.”

Ritsuka nodded slowly. “Some…but I admit, probably not as much as I’d hoped. I think they are going to be very different now.” He gestured to Da Vinci. “Two distinct spirit origin patterns were the fix, right?”

The resident genius nodded. “And so they are.”

Gudako nodded. “Even so…it should be you.”

###Jeanne Alter###

It had been a colossal screw-up of nightmarish proportions. Gilles was happy and delighted enough, of course, to catch her up on everything that had taken place. Then she promptly kicked him out of her room, with a reminder that he was never allowed to set foot in it.

Roman and Da Vinci had come by offering more to the story. Gudako too came shortly after, followed by that stupid saint.

It was bad enough, whatever the hell her experience had been. She could only remember some singular moment of comfort in a sea of swirling black void. As if Gilles’s grail mud was swallowing her, eating her. Touching her everywhere all at once.

There had been only a single lifeline in all of that.

Chaldea would save her.

They had to save her.

Right?

It had been a relief that they had done so.

Pathetic.

But now, she was left indebted to them even more so.

Her choice to go and rob the Santa sack of Artoria Alter had resulted in her drink, taken from young kid gil, not concealing her, but somehow screwed her up so much that she fucked up her own spirit origin, that turned into a childish version of her, with a desire to be Santa Claus, going around talking about how much she loved Christmas and wanted to be the perfect Santa.

All the desires and nightmares that she didn’t want to broadcast.

She could’ve impressed her master’s with her simple and efficient Christmas plan.

Useless.

Worthless.

She slapped both of her hands on her head and wanted to shrink, digging her nails into her skin.

Instead, her masters were forced to babysit. Forced to come up with plans to rescue her spirit origin, and of course, they wanted to save the newest servant, too. So they worked to do that. Gilles, her master, Edmond, Da Vinci, Roman, Lily, that stupid Saint, all of them had been in her room at one point or another.

Things had been moved. She could see the equipment cables that had been left. The mess on her desk.

All of it was making her skin crawl. People had to be in her space because she had screwed up. But they had been in her space nonetheless. She bit her lip, her nails digging roughly into her skin.

Fuck the party.

She took a deep, shaky breath.

No one would want to see you anyway.

She tried time and again to get herself to stand up, but even with her mana returning, she found that it was easier to simply remain where she was, scratching her head and squeezing her skin.

So stupid.

I’m so fucking stupid.

Jeanne Alter didn’t bother to keep track of the time that went by, just to simply grab the will to stand. Then she kicked over her nightstand, threw the small collections of books away from her inlet shelf above her bed, and threw off the mattress to look at how the bed was supported on the metal jutting out from the wall.

What little items she had, she threw away or made a mess of them on the floor.

She wanted to look at her table and started to push it to the far end of the wall, not caring that it was circular.

Jeanne Alter wiped at her eyes as her breath grew shaky, trying to keep her expression clear. She did it again and again until her sleeve was soaked.

Her room was a complete catastrophe.

That’s when the knock at the door came.

Her throat felt raw and hoarse. Her amber eyes narrowed towards the door, trying to stifle the anger that was rising up like bile in her throat.

You’re hopeless.

“Go away.” She mumbled quietly under her breath. Then she raised her voice, realizing they probably couldn’t hear her. “Go away!” She spat out. “I don’t want to see anyone else! Just fucking go have a happy, merry Christmas or whatever!”

There was a beat of silence.

She was just about to turn back to destroying and rearranging her room when the knock came again.

Jeanne Alter forced herself to take a deep breath.

What idiot wouldn’t-

She cut her own train of thought off. Realizing perhaps only just fractions of a second before she could hear his voice.

“It’s me,” Ritsuka said, his voice soft.

She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. “M-master, I…really don’t want to see anyone right now.” Jeanne Alter managed a breath.

“I…promise. I’ll be brief...” And she could hear a gentle sincerity in his voice.

Her mouth twisted, but she found her anger abating somewhat. A master she could tolerate. They were on their own. Her fingers were still shaking, balled into their fists at her sides as she looked at the metal door separating them.

“Can…I come in?” He asked.

She wanted to say no. She should’ve said now. But instead, she found herself by the door, barely snatching herself out of it, and slammed her fist into the wall beside the door. Not with any servant strength to fuel it, but hard enough to feel the pain in her knuckles. “Master…” Her voice was barely audible.

His voice grew tense. Probably from the hard impact against the wall. “Jeanne, please. I…am not here to drag you to the party.” His voice held promise that he wasn’t there to coerce her or make her do anything of the sort. “I want to talk to you. Just that.”

A memory of a single thread that she clung to came to her mind while she’d been under, in that horrible twisting void that she’d been under. A promise of a voice that she couldn’t quite place in her memory, and yet.

It sounds like this idiot.

She wiped at her eyes and dared a glance into a mirror. She looked terrible, but at least she didn’t look like the stupid, worthless avenger she’d been for the past few days. Or the past few minutes. She quickly combed her hair too, with her fingers, to make it look less frizzled.

“Jeanne?” Ritsuka’s voice came again, this time even softer and gentler than before.

The door slid open after a moment, just before he had the idea that she probably should have tried to tidy up too.

She winced when she saw his blue eyes look past her into the room.

I have to redecorate anyway.

Ritsuka smiled with some relief at seeing her.

That stupid, idiotic smile.

“Redecorating, already?” He asked.

She stared at him for a moment longer before she backed up a step to make room for him. “Y-yeah, it was high past time anyway, right?” Jeanne Alter tried to laugh, but it came out as an awkward series of noises that felt too forced. She watched him walk past to stand over her mattress. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do with her hands before she settled on folding them over her chest.

Need to feel some semblance of control again.

Ritsuka hummed, still smiling. “I know you’ve been wanting a desk. I’ll put in a good word for you.”

She blinked, looking at him, surprised. “Oh…uh…thanks…master.”

He gestured to the mattress on the floor, instead of the two chairs awkwardly placed in the center of her room, now without a table around them, as the table had been pushed all the way into the corner. “May I sit?”

She forced herself to take a breath and nod, her fingernails still digging into her elbows. But she walked over, and eventually settled on the mattress's opposite side.

The space and silence now hung between them.

“I-” He began.

“Before-” She began.

She then clamped her lips shut, biting down on her lip hard, and swallowed.

You have no right.

He chuckled a little and nodded to her. “After you,” He invited.

He is the same as he was back in Orleans…

“I…er…” She hugged herself a bit tighter. “I…wanted to apologize for all the trouble I caused you.” Jeanne Alter averted her eyes.

For what time are you apologizing? France? Counterfits? Ruining his holiday?

She pressed her lips into a line, and then she blew out a breath. “For fuck’s sake, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Jeanne Alter straightened up a little. “I just wanted a little fun this year, but instead I screwed up so bad, and ended up causing a whole myriad of problems for myself, and by spawning another version of me.” When she was done, she looked at him.

He nodded once, and she could tell he was thinking about everything that had happened. She could see that he wasn’t quite used to seeing her in the barely stable light she was in. “It wasn’t so bad, I promise. Though I did get a couple of good scares.”

She peered at him. “You aren’t mad?” She tried not to sound like she was filtering the hesitation from her voice.

There was a pause.

She felt her heart clench.

“I’m not…I was never mad at you, but I was frustrated by all the circumstances at once.” He shook his head. “Even then…I think I was…too worried. Too worried to be mad, I mean.” She watched him rub his hands together for a moment before leaning back on them, stretching his legs out a little on the floor.

She bit her lip harder to hide her surprise at his admission of being worried. It also made her feel worse as she added considerably to his burdens once again.

There was nothing else to be done for it.

“I want to say I’m sorry too,” Ritsuka said.

She blinked, and her brows furrowed with confusion.

“I know how much you value your privacy. Even if it was for a short while, I was in your room without your permission. So were many others…” She watched his eyes flick to the mess of books, the table that had been pushed into the corner. The pure mess.

And to her surprise, she thought she could see understanding in his eyes.

Jeanne Alter nodded once, then twice. “Thank you.” She squeezed her biceps again, pulling her knees in a bit closer, hugging them to her chest. “I…” She wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure quite what she was supposed to say. “Thank you.” She said again, feeling lame that it was all she could come up with to say.

“Not just for that…but because of Lily, your younger counterpart.”

Her eyes narrowed a little towards him.

“I learned a little more about you, I think.” He smiled at her and then looked thoughtfully up at her ceiling. “She’s bold, brash, and a hell of a fighter, quite like you.” Ritsuka tilted his head a little. “But she…walks around with this weight on her shoulders. Like she had something to prove.” He then peered at her again. “I realized that it reminded me of you, even if I didn’t fully understand it at the time.”

Jeanne Alter bit her lip.

No, no, no. Lily wouldn’t have opened up her servant bond so quickly.

Ritsuka held his gaze on her. “She was…dealing with a lot very quickly, and some of her feelings leaked out into the bond. She didn’t even notice, I think.” His sincerity was almost overwhelming by itself.

She couldn’t hold his gaze any longer and forced herself to look down, hugging her knees a bit tighter.

Useless.

Her master’s voice filled the air, gently. Not forcing upon her what he was trying to tell her. “Her desire to be Santa Claus…your desire to be Santa Claus, it stems from wanting to be useful. She was afraid of causing only problems before Christmas was over, thinking that it would be her only legacy should she have vanished right after the holiday.”

Jeanne Alter dug her nails more firmly into her skin. “M-master…I…” She tried to form the words she wanted to say. She wanted to deny it. She wanted to thank him. She wanted to ask him…something. But none of it could quite form in the way she wanted.

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

Then Ritsuka gently held up his hand. “You don’t have to say anything…Jeanne…I…” He smiled and nodded. “I just wanted to come by and say, my sister and I have never seen you as useless.” He slowly stood back up and offered a hand to help her get back to her feet, too.

She looked at his hand and then back to him before slowly accepting it, and he pulled her back to his feet. She could still feel the shock coiled in her at all of this suddenness.

How much did he see?

She bit her lip a bit harder.

“I…just wanted to say that you can talk to me about anything, too.” Ritsuka took a step back, giving her more space.

Jeanne Alter nodded, feeling both stupid that it was all she could seem to muster.

Ritsuka turned to leave, heading for her door. “Want me to bring you anything from the party?”

She didn’t answer that question; all of her might was forced on just tugging loose some of the words in her throat. And she managed to do that instead of answering his questions. “It’s why I wanted to be Santa!” She managed, breathing out harshly.

He blinked, and she watched his eyes go wide a little, as if he wasn’t expecting her to admit it, or be open about it.

Screw it, if he already knows anyway.

She huffed out a breath and deflated a little as some of that weight left her shoulders. “It was a selfish desire from the beginning.”

To be Santa. To be useful. To make up for…

She swallowed hard.

Everything.

“Even if what everyone had told me was true, it seems I would’ve failed miserably at it anyway.” She took a step towards Ritsuka and ran her fingers nervously back through her hair, trying to straighten it. “I…And somehow…Lily managed to turn around and do things I’m not sure I could’ve easily accepted.”

She was capable of change. She was capable of finding something she wanted to do…

Her mouth twisted.

Something I can never do.

Ritsuka smiled a little. “You are already one of the most useful servants we have.” He stopped heading for the door and turned to face her. “But whether or not you think so, I feel that you would’ve been a great Santa Claus.”

Liar.

But there was something about the way he was looking at her with that ever-present sincerity that gave her pause.

When has he ever lied to you?

“It won’t be easy for her,” Ritsuka said. “Christmas doesn’t last forever, and Lily will need support as she tries to find who she is.”

Jeanne Alter forced herself again to swallow.

He said. “I want to be there for her. It’s not easy trying to find out who you are, what you want to do, all while trying to be useful.”

She could feel his blue eyes burrowing deep into her.

Her heart stopped.

“Just as I want to be there for you,” Ritsuka affirmed for her.

She stared in silence.

He huffed a small chuckle. “Want me to bring anything from the party?”

Jeanne Alter felt her cheeks warm, but she shook her head firmly. “I’m a servant, I don’t need to eat. But…thank you for offering.”

Ritsuka nodded, “I’ll save you something anyway, in case you change your mind. And at my table too…” He tapped the door panel, watching it hiss open. Then he looked back at her and then around the room. “I won’t forget about that desk. Enjoy your redecorating.”

She smiled a little. “Good…er…I mean…” She scratched her bicep. “I…thank you, again.”

He stepped through the door and leaned back.

She straightened up.

Ritsuka smiled a bit wider. “Merry Christmas, Jeanne Alter.”

Jeanne nodded, “Merry Christmas, Master.”

###END###