Fragments of the Lost [Fate/Grand Order] [Abandoned]

Chapter 32

Wut?! Double upload?? Someone finally appears after a long time.

-~-

"Ah, so you've finally arrived again I see."

"... So what if I am?"

"Nothing, nothing... Just... Good luck with your stay here."

"Good luck?" Emiya Alter stared at his counterpart in question, confused at what the non-Alter is wishing him luck for.

"Oi Archer, take out the pizza before it burns—" Senji looked at the two Servants as he stopped walking. "Alright what the hell is this?"

"What is he doing here?" Archer (Alter) stared at Senji blankly. "What happened while I was gone?"

"A lot... Trust me." Archer sighs. "You must know already what is going on."

"The current situation having to do with traveling through seven different periods of history that are not part of Pan Human History."

"This loser right here was one of the Foreign God's Disciples."

"You serious..." Archer (Alter) closed his eyes.

"I can hear you both you know?" Senji frowned. "Besides, I'm Senji, Senji Muramasa."

"Muramasa...?"

"Pseudo-Servant." Archer told his alter counterpart. That was all the info the Alter needed to know. "Well... That's enough for now, I better hurry back. Don't forget, good luck." Archer said with a smirk.

"What is that fool on about?" Archer (Alter) sneered at the man. Seriously, has his counterpart ever looked that happy? Then again, who knows... Maybe he did once. But he could not remember.

"So what's your deal?" Senji stared at Archer (Alter). "I know the other one is the way he is after a certain contract. So what about you kid?"

"... Kid?" Archer (Alter) twitched his eye at Senji. "You're younger than me."

"Nope. I'm an old man trapped in a young lad's body. So technically speaking, I'm older than ya."

"... This is confusing..." Archer (Alter) said. Pulling out a notebook and starts writing.

"You write stuff? A poet? Novelist? I don't see you doing any of those things."

"It's so I won't forget the events of today or tomorrow... Or any other day."

"Why do you need a notebook?"

"Because my memory is fragile and messed up. I cannot recall events since I forget a lot of things easily." Archer (Alter) grumbled.

"It's that bad huh?" Senji looked on. Turning around. "By the way, good luck lad. You'll need it." Senji went back to work.

"That guy to huh? What's their deal anyway?" Archer (Alter) stared at the two Servants who were working in the kitchen. Sighing at the cryptic good lucks he's received.

-~-

"... Why am I part of this?"

"He's you, isn't he?"

"Um... Even so, isn't this, wrong?"

"Shouldn't it just be better to go and talk to him?"

Archer looked at Ishtar, Parvati, and Artoria as the four of them hid.

"If you wanna go talk to him, just walk up to him." Archer bluntly stated.

"You think it's that easy? The two of you are the same person no? But he's even worse than you..." Ishtar frowned. "Didn't I tell you...? That if you force yourself to always clean up after others, you will surely burn yourself at the end?" Ishtar but looked at the Alter Servant in pity.

"He's had it worse between the two of us, if anything else, he's more twisted than I am." Archer replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Artoria looked at Archer. Her face grew concerned at the man's words. "More twisted...?"

"He's burnt himself out from the inside out. To say that he feels anything is an understatement. If anything, he struggles to remember things clearly. Even his missions... He has to write down things that happen in a notebook so he can remember his duties and so forth."

"It's that bad huh?" Parvati said. "Senpai, you won't turn out like him... Will you?" Parvati looked at Archer. But at the same time, she also worries for his Alter self. In the end, both of them are the same person, aren't they? Just different people.

"Rest assured, I won't." Archer said.

"I don't get it. Besides the way, you got burnt out by wanting to help others. Why didn't you turn out like him? How are the both of you different?"

"Let's just say he's had an encounter with a certain Beast..." Archer frowned, thinking of the Alter Ego he has in mind. "Seems like that encounter messed him up the most that caused him to turn this way. One small change in one's history can truly change the output. The both of us are the same I assure you, but at the same time, we like to think of ourselves different from what people claim us to be, Emiya Shirou. And yet consider ourselves different from one another." Archer said.

"..."

-~-

"Hey." Archer called out to the alter.

"You again?" Archer (Alter) frowned at the man. "What do you want?"

"It's not what I want, I just need to confirm something from you." Archer said.

"... Confirm? What's there to confirm about?"

"Well... Given that we're both the same. Just different outcomes."

"... On with it already."

"You remember her still, don't you?" Archer asked with a low voice.

"..." Archer (Alter) remained silent as he closed his eyes. "The memory is distant, almost as if it's ready to crumble any day... Any time. The figure of hers on that day remains, but how long until the memory eventually dissolves and crumbles like the rest?" Archer (Alter) asked dully at the man.

"You can always meet her again you know?"

"We both know that's impossible... And we both know we can't look her in the eye if we were to ever meet."

"Because of what we consider our failure."

"..."

"You can come in now." Archer stepped to the side, the sound of footsteps was heard as the Alter can only open his eyes and narrow in question on who's arrived.

A crown, the presence of a King. Artoria looked at Archer (Alter) as she smiled a bit solemnly.

"Shirou."

"...!" Archer (Alter) widened his eyes at Artoria's presence. A hazy memory appeared as he tried to remember. "Sa...ber?" His eyes but stared at the King of Knights.

"Although both our paths diverged at one point in our journey. We had the same fateful encounter many many years ago." Archer said. "Chaldea is a magical place, you'll encounter many more familiar faces like this one." Archer said with a smirk.

"Must you grab my shoulder like this, Shirou?" Artoria looked at Archer as the man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Archer said. "I'll head on my way now... Do keep him company, he needs it. More than he'll ever admit." Archer told Artoria as he then looked at his alter self.

"Good luck."

-~-

Word Count: 1,121