Chapter CX: Beyond the Sea
“Come on,” I said to everyone.
The battle might have been over, but there were still a few last things we needed to do before we could go home, so I turned around, away from the battlements, and made my way back down to the ground level. The others followed after me, falling in line with me and behind me as there was room, in no particular rush.
By the time we exited the fort and cautiously picked our way across the ruined landscape, the remnants of Forneus were almost entirely gone, and from out of the lump of dissolving meat, a more human head of blond hair slowly resolved, attached to a body that was half disintegrated itself, with limbs missing and horrific burns mottled across what flesh remained.
Jason.
The body took in a sudden gasp. “Medea,” he rasped weakly. “Medea, where are you? It hurts! Fix me!”
Medea sneered. “How pathetic. Even now, you cling to me, after you were so ready to discard me?”
From nearby, another body moved, and Medea the younger, charred, burned, and half-dead herself, tried to stand, faltered, and collapsed back to the ground, flopping onto her back. Her arms trembled with the effort, but she couldn’t even push herself up to kneel, that was how bad off she was. Her entire front was covered in blood from the arrow Arash had put in her chest, staining her pale, lavender gown.
“I’m sorry, Lord Jason,” she said, just as weak. “I’m afraid I can’t help you anymore.”
“Medea!” cried Jason, whose ears had been burned away, so he couldn’t hear her. “M-Medea, you useless witch! H-heal me! H-heal me! I-I don’t want to…!”
BANG
A bullet passed right through him, ineffectual. It bit into the ground beneath him without doing anything at all.
“Shit,” said Drake. “Forgot I need that fancy Grail to do that. Someone put that bastard out of his misery, would you?”
Arash reached for his bow, but Atalanta was faster on the draw, and with an anemic spurt of blood, she blew a hole straight through Jason’s heart. He gasped, sagged, and then disintegrated into sparkling dust. From his body dropped a golden chalice that clinked as it hit the ground, rolling to a lazy stop.
Drake shook her head. “All of this over that little trinket.”
“And the wish it promised,” said Arash.
“If it could even grant one,” Atalanta added bitterly.
“Personally, I’m just glad it’s over,” Orion said grumpily. “I’m ready to get out of this cute and cuddly body. It didn’t get me anywhere near as many hugs as I thought it would.”
“Oh, Darling!” gushed Artemis. “Our time together like this is almost over! And we didn’t even get to go out on a date!”
A complicated look crossed Atalanta’s face, but she didn’t comment on that nonsense at all.
With Jason taken care of, Medea meandered away from the group and over towards her younger self, and I followed cautiously behind, waiting to see what she was going to do. She stopped short, looming over the battered body of Medea the younger, and for a moment, didn’t seem to know what to do.
“Lord Jason,” I heard Medea the younger mumbling as I got closer, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Lord Jason, I had no choice. I couldn’t…”
“How pathetic,” Medea muttered scathingly. “Even now, you’re still fawning over him? Even after everything he did to us? How he treated us? How readily he cast us aside?”
Medea the younger looked up at her older self, and with a simple kind of innocence, she said, “Because I love him.”
Medea pointed one long finger down at her younger self, lips curling into a snarl, and pink light bloomed on her fingertip. An instant later, Medea the younger’s head vanished from her shoulders, and the body barely went limp before it started to disappear, flaking away into particles of light.
Medea hunched over herself, shoulders bent inwards. “Fool,” she whispered. “We of all people should have known better. The gods use us as playthings and nothing more. Our love for Jason was never anything more than a convenient fiction for their amusement.”
“Whoa!” cried Rika. “What was that all about?”
“Medea?” I tried.
She turned to look at me over her shoulder, but before she even got a word out, her body started disintegrating, too, turning fuzzy around the edges as she began to fade away.
“You’re disappearing!” said Ritsuka, alarmed.
Medea laughed bitterly. “Of course I am. I was only ever one half of a Saint Graph to begin with. Without that wretch to tether me in place, there isn’t enough left of me to hold onto.”
“You can’t stay?” I asked simply. I already knew the answer.
“I was barely here from the start,” she said. “Even just healing Asterios was nearly enough to make me unravel, and now…”
Now, just that single spell to kill her younger self was enough to do her in.
“I see.”
As I expected then. Even if we made a contract, there wasn’t enough of a stable Saint Graph to keep her manifested, so there wasn’t any point.
She turned to face me fully. “For whatever it might be worth…” She grimaced briefly, like it pained her to even say the words. “I’m sorry…that I deceived you for so long.”
“The important part is that you helped us, in the end,” said Ritsuka. “Even if it took you a while to trust us… Thank you, Medea, for being our ally.”
Medea blinked at him for a moment, surprised, and then laughed a little, wiping at one of her eyes. “Good grief,” she said. “That’s the second time in as many days. You people at Chaldea… Maybe you really can pull this off after all.”
And then, she was gone. Not a trace of her remained, not even the flutter of her cloak in the wind.
“HOY!” a voice cried, and when we all turned to look, the Golden Hind came sailing back around the island, undamaged and untouched by the fighting. Bombe waved from the wheel.
“The Golden Hind!” Rika cried. “They made it out okay!”
“Thank goodness,” Mash sighed.
“Haha!” Drake crowed, grinning from ear to ear. “Bombe, you wonderful, one-eyed bastard! I ain’t never been happier to see you in all my goddamn life!”
Beep-beep!
“Saint Graph confirmed eliminated!” Romani said proudly the instant I answered his call. “That’s Caenis, Herakles, Jason, and Medea! E-even that so-called Demon God is taken care of!”
“A-as expected!” Marie’s voice said from off camera. “That’s just the sort of problem a Master of Chaldea is expected to handle!”
Romani laughed awkwardly. “I-I think that’s a bit of a stretch, Director! I — ah.”
He cut off, eyes turned not towards me, but off to the side, towards the curious gaze of King David. Romani’s smile gained a nervous, forced edge.
“Da — King David,” Romani said respectfully. “H…How do you do? Is…is something wrong?”
“Oh, don’t mind me,” said King David. “You just remind me of someone I know, that’s all.”
Romani’s laugh was even more awkward now. “Y…You don’t say!”
“Doctor Roman,” said Mash. “Queen Aífe disappeared near the end. Is she…?”
“Her temporary form ran out of energy,” Romani answered, looking happy at the change of subject. “Queen Aífe herself suffered no damage. That’s why Jeanne Alter disappeared, too. Both of them are fine.”
Mash sighed. “I see. That’s a relief.”
“Sounds like everyone turned out okay then!” Drake said boisterously.
“Not everyone,” Euryale reminded her, and Drake’s cheer dimmed. Euryale sighed. “But let’s be real, he wouldn’t have known what to do with it if everyone suddenly started praising him for helping out, so maybe it’s better this way.”
“It’s not,” Ritsuka said firmly. “Even if it was awkward and strange at first, we would have offered him the chance to come back with us. To see Chaldea for himself, and make new friends there.”
Euryale blinked at him for a moment, bemused, and then shook her head ruefully. “I think he would have liked that.”
“Speaking of,” Romani began.
But that was the moment the Golden Hind pulled up at the ruined remnants of the docks, and Bombe leaned over the railing to shout, “Ahoy, Cap’n! That fight sure was something! Damn near wet meself when that giant sea monster showed up! We stuck around, we’d’ve been toast for sure!”
“Forget that!” Drake groused back at him playfully. “That damn thing would’ve taken out my ship!”
The crew aboard laughed.
“Too true, too true!” Bombe agreed. “So I’m guessing it’s a good thing we turned tail and ran when we did! And, hey, Cap’n, look here! You’ll never guess who it were we went and pulled out of the drink!”
He stepped back far enough to push someone forward, and a thoroughly soaked, battered, but very much alive Sam Bellamy smiled at us hesitantly and gave a little wave.
“Hey, everyone. Surprise?”
“Sam!” Ritsuka, Rika, Mash, and even Drake all cried out at once.
“You sonnuva bitch!” Drake added, laughing delightedly. “Scared the ever-loving shit outta me, you did!”
“Sorry, Cap’n!” Bellamy said. “Didn’t mean to!”
A gangplank was lowered, and the crew began to disembark, filing off the Hind to come and join our little group.
“We thought you were a goner!” Rika told Bellamy when he got close. “Your ship got blown up and everything!”
“So did I!” Bellamy said, grinning. “But I guess that thing’s eyes were just so huge, it couldn’t see me properly, so it missed and sent me into the sea!”
“I guess Forneus forgot to wear his glasses today,” said Ritsuka with a little smile.
His sister socked him in the arm and gave him a pouty glare, as though reproaching him for telling a joke.
“So that’s it, then?” asked Bombe, looking about at the devastation left behind from the battle. “Is this here the end of this little tale? This screwy place about to flip back to normal?”
“Not quite,” Marie said sternly. “Mash, there’s still one more thing for you to do.”
“Oh,” said Mash. “Yes, of course, Director.”
Dutifully, she walked over a few steps, bent down, and picked up the Grail. “Holy Grail recovered, Director.”
There was a beep from the other side of the line, and Romani looked over at it. “Confirmed. It looks like… Yes, the era is beginning to correct itself now. The Okeanos Singularity has officially been resolved.”
King David suddenly began to glow around the edges, and Bombe leapt back.
“Whoa! What in the seven hells…?”
“Ah.” King David smiled. “It looks like that’s our cue, then. It’s time for us Servants to leave as well.”
“That fast?” said Drake.
“Yes!” said Romani hurriedly. “So if anyone there wants to make a contract and return to Chaldea with the team, they should do it now, while there’s still time!”
King David shook his head. “No offense, but I just don’t think it’s a good idea. Maybe some other time, but for now, there’s no opportunity for me there.”
Atalanta snorted.
“I’ll go on ahead,” said King David. “In fact, it’s probably for the best. The Ark is too dangerous to leave sitting around, you know?”
“It was irresponsible bringing that thing into this Singularity in the first place,” Romani grumbled under his breath.
And then, King David vanished.
“Well, don’t look at me,” said Orion, folding his arms. “Frankly, I’m just glad I won’t be stuck like this anymore.”
“And we can go on a whole new adventure together!” Artemis said cheerily.
“H…have fun!” Ritsuka said politely.
“Next time we meet, hopefully I’ll be in a lot cooler form than this,” said Orion. He sighed. “Then maybe Mash will give me a kiss? Or a hug? Or — ack!”
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“Darling,” Artemis said dangerously, squeezing him tight against her chest, “I’d be happy to give you any of those things, no matter what you look like!”
“Can’t breathe!” Orion squeaked, even though he didn’t actually have lungs. “Can’t breathe! A-Artemis, you’re holding too tight!”
They, too, glowed, fading away at the edges, and then vanished.
Atalanta shook her head. “Somehow… Somehow, I have to pretend that didn’t happen.”
“Do you want to come with us?” asked Ritsuka.
She looked our group over, then shook her head again. “Another time, perhaps,” she said. “If you summon me properly, or if we encounter another again, I should like to get to know you all better before making a commitment like that.” She smiled, a small, understated little thing. “For what it’s worth, however…I think I wouldn’t mind if you summoned me as a Servant.”
“Shame,” said Rika brightly. “I’ve had, like, a whole day to think up a bunch of cat puns!”
Atalanta’s smile twitched. “On the other hand, maybe not.”
A moment later, she, too, disappeared.
“Oh,” said Arash suddenly. “Right, Captain Drake, I almost forgot.” He reached towards his chest, golden light glittering around his fingertips, and after a second or two, the Grail he’d borrowed formed there. He offered it back to her. “I believe this one belongs to you.”
“Heh.” Drake accepted it, grinning ruefully down into the cup. “You know, I almost forgot all about it, what with all that happened and all.”
“That woulda been terrible, Cap’n!” said Bombe. “There goes all our free food!”
Morgan barked out a laugh. “The greatest treasure in all the world, and Francis Drake almost forgot to take it back!”
“Whaddya talking about, greatest treasure?” Drake said. “Gold, silver, money, that shit comes and goes like the wind! Won’t turn any of it down, of course, but my treasure…” She grinned and looked over her crew, then towards the Golden Hind. “Well, I already got plenty of that! Friends and family and crew, now that’s what’s real important! None of them are replaceable! Priceless!”
Mash giggled. “Somehow, Captain Drake, that sounds just like you! It makes sense that your wish on the Grail would be enough food and drink to satisfy your crew.”
“Oh.” Drake turned to Mash. “Come to think of it, I never got to ask any of you. You been chasing that trinket around ‘cause it’s your job and you need to save the world and what-not, but what would you have wished for, if you had the chance?”
Mash blinked. “If we had the chance?”
“Yeah.” Drake nodded. “You must’ve had something you want, right? I seen enough to know you folk aren’t all business all the time. Somewhere deep inside, you must’ve had some kind of wish you would’ve made!”
“An endless supply of strawberries!” Rika announced. Her brother elbowed her in the ribs. “Oof!”
“For me and Rika,” Ritsuka began, “the only wish we have right now… Well, the only way to make it come true is to finish fixing these Singularities. That’s the only way we can save anyone.”
Rika sobered immediately. “Yeah. Mom and Dad and all our friends… Sorry, Captain Pillows, one measly Grail won’t be enough to make that one come true.”
“I guess…I’m the same,” Mash said hesitantly. “A-a wish on the Holy Grail… Bringing back everyone we lost is the only thing I can think of.”
Drake shook her head ruefully. “Man, you guys don’t make it easy, do you? You’re all a bunch of goody two-shoes! Not a selfish bone in your bodies!” She glanced at me. “And I suppose you’re much the same, right? All about bringing back the folk you lost? Saving the world and everything?”
I thought, for a moment, about Lisa. About Dad and Mom and our family home, filled with memories of happier times. About Brian and Alec and everyone else. The world I’d given everything for, and the world I’d had to give up when everything was said and done. If I could have the miracle of seeing them all again…
“Something like that.”
Drake chuckled. “Of course.”
“I hate to interrupt this bonding moment,” Romani began, “but time’s running out. We only have a few more minutes before this era gets corrected, so if anyone is making a contract and coming along, it has to be now!”
Drake looked over at Morgan. “Hear that? You planning on joining up with this lot? They may not look like much, but they’re a dependable bunch.”
Morgan laughed. “Sorry, but I don’t think there’s much place for an old drunkard like me! I figure I’ll stick around and see to it that this place goes back to rights.” He gestured around at the archipelago, as though to encompass it in its entirety. “Least I can do, after stamping my bootprint on it the way I did.”
“It’s not really my sort of thing either,” Euryale said lazily. “A place where a bunch of heroes gather to fight for the future… Ugh, just imagining it makes me feel out of place. I’m not going there without a friendly face to tag along.”
“I guess we don’t count as friendly,” Rika said dryly.
Euryale smiled. “Not even a little.”
With everyone else accounted for, that just left two. I turned to the first. “Hippolyta?”
She sighed, but she was smiling slightly. “Somehow, it doesn’t feel like I managed to accomplish much of anything. I had to spend most of the battle biding my time to gather my strength.”
“You have nothing to apologize for!” Bradamante insisted. “Queen Hippolyta, I, too, was unable to do much against that Demon God! You accomplished more than I did!”
“That may be so,” Hippolyta allowed, “however, the truth is, if you contributed to even one other battle during your stay inside this Singularity, then you will already have done more than I have. Outside of this one battle, the only thing I was good for was scaring away those who thought they might find the Grail in this archipelago.” She nodded towards Morgan. “And even there, truthfully, I was eventually replaced.”
“A fleet of warships is more intimidating than a single woman on a horse,” Morgan added wryly.
“Just so,” Hippolyta agreed. “Therefore, if you members of Chaldea are expecting to face further battles in the future where someone like me might be of use…then I believe I would like to be of use to you for them.”
“That sounds like a yes,” said Rika. “Is that a yes?”
Hippolyta smiled. “That’s a yes.”
“Yes!” Rika pumped her fist.
With that decided, I turned next to Bellamy. “And you? Are you coming along?”
He laughed. “Ah, geez, I’m sorry, guys! I would, I think I really would, but…” He looked over at Drake and smiled broadly. “I’ve already got a Captain to follow, you know? To the ends of the Earth, if she’ll have me! Can’t split my allegiances like that.”
“Fuck that!” Drake said immediately, and Bellamy staggered, gaping at her openly. “Hey, Sam, don’t you go using me like some kind of anchor! You’re a damn good kid, and a great pirate besides! No matter what anyone says, you’ll always have a place on this crew! Right, boys?”
“AYE!” her crew roared back at her.
Drake nodded. “Damn straight! But, Sam, you’re still one of them Servants, ain’tcha? Means when this place goes, you’re going along with it, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Now, if that’s the way you wanna go out, ain’t no one here who can argue against that. It’s your right as a sailor and as a man.” She jabbed a finger his way. “But you don’t owe me that! You don’t owe anyone that!”
She gestured first at her crew. “Us lot? We’re simple pirates. This here’ll probably be the most meaningful thing we ever do, and there ain’t no shame in that. Even if no one remembers it, we helped save the goddamn world!”
“AYE!” her crew roared again. Bombe added, “You’re goddamn right, we did! Big damn heroes, we were!”
Then, she gestured at us. “But these folk have a higher calling. They’re not a bunch of scallywags chasing the next favorable wind, hoping it might find them an adventure. They’re offering you an adventure me and my crew can only dream about, fighting for a cause ain’t none of us can follow them on, and don’t you dare turn that chance down outta some kinda obligation you think you have to me!”
“Captain,” Bellamy began thickly.
Drake grinned. “This future of theirs, it sounds like a helluva place, don’t it? So as your captain, I’m counting on you…to go and see what it’s like, so that when we meet up on that Throne of Heroes place, you can buy this sea dog a drink and tell her all about it!”
Bellamy’s face spread into a watery smile, and teary-eyed, he gave her a salute. “Aye, aye, Captain!”
“Alright!” Rika cheered. She thrust her hand out, Command Spells bright against her skin, one missing. “Sam’s joining the team! Officially!”
Smiling, Ritsuka held his hand out next to hers, his Command Spells a contrast to Rika’s. “It’s good to have you aboard, Sam. And you, too, Queen Hippolyta.”
Hippolyta smiled and reached out to put her own hand over theirs. “No need to stand on ceremony, Ritsuka. After all, very soon, you’ll be my Masters, won’t you?”
“Glad to have you, Hippo!” said Rika.
Hippolyta gave an awkward little laugh. “Maybe a little bit of ceremony, then.”
“Don’t mind her.” I put my own hand in with theirs, the one with my Command Spells, like the twins had. “She’ll shop around for a little while before settling on a nickname she likes.”
“Like Captain Pillows,” Arash added.
Hippolyta slid a glance at Drake’s chest. “I suppose so.”
Bellamy set his hand down atop hers, grinning. “Guess I should be happy I’m just Sam, then!”
“Captain Moneybags just didn’t fit!” Rika complained.
“Now,” said Romani, “Queen Hippolyta, Captain Bellamy, if you’ll repeat after me…”
“Our bodies shall rest under thy dominion,” Bellamy and Hippolyta intoned.
“And our fate shall rest in thy sword,” us Masters finished.
A brief jolt of electricity shot up my arm, and a second later, there was a beep-beep from Romani’s end.
“Contracts established,” Romani reported. “Welcome to Chaldea!”
“They can get the orientation package later,” Marie cut in. “Hurry up and recalibrate the Rayshift parameters!”
“On it!”
He mumbled something about Da Vinci being able to do it faster, but nonetheless went to work.
“Whoa!” one of Drake’s crew exclaimed suddenly, his body aglow. “H-hey, what’s happening? Captain!”
“Calm down!” Drake ordered. “We just saw this, remember? This place is gonna disappear soon, so we all have to get sent back to where we’re supposed to be first! You ain’t gonna explode or nothing, so just calm your sorry ass down!”
“What she said!” Marie said. “There’s nothing unusual about it, so stop worrying! You won’t even remember it happening when you get back!”
“The Director is comforting the pirates, Senpai,” Mash muttered to the twins.
“I wonder if that’s technically against the law?” Ritsuka whispered back.
The glowing pirate vanished. The other members of the crew shifted uneasily, looking at the spot he’d just occupied. I supposed I couldn’t blame them. Teleportation of any kind tended to be a little disorienting. I wondered if he really wouldn’t feel anything when he arrived back where he was supposed to be in proper history.
“Ah, quit your worrying!” Bombe scolded them all. “You heard the captain, and the mysterious future lady! It’s just that we’re being sent back home, is all!”
“Sorry, Boss Bombe!” one of the other crew members said. “It’s just spooky! Seen some crazy shit the last couple weeks, but that don’t make this crazy shit less crazy!”
“Would it help if I sang you a song?” Bombe asked mockingly.
The crew, contrary to his intentions, took his suggestions seriously, murmuring amongst themselves. Bombe’s expression dropped. “You’re not serious.”
“Ah, why not?” said Drake. She walked over and plopped a hand on Bombe’s shoulder. “This here’s the end of this wild adventure, ain’t it? We all managed to come out of it alive and well, and there ain’t no time for a proper celebration, is there?”
“It’s a crying shame!” one of the crew added. “We ain’t never gonna get to taste that Emiya guy’s food ever again!”
The rest of the crew roared their agreement.
“So if we can’t throw our friends here a proper party,” said Drake, gesturing back our way, “seems to me there aren’t too many ways we can give ‘em a right and good send off, yeah?” She grinned at her crew. “Whaddya say, boys? One more song to see these kind folk from Chaldea on their way home?”
“AYE!” the crew thundered.
“Well, hell,” Bombe said with an air of resignation. “Guess I can’t go and complain about that, can I? Wouldn’t be proper and gentlemanly to say goodbye without even saying a goodbye!”
“If you were ever a gentleman, then me ma’s a fish!” a voice called, to uproarious laughter from the crew.
“With how you swim, Kenway, she must’ve had a gimpy fin!” Bombe retorted, to more laughter. He sighed. “Well, let’s see. What’s a right and proper song for a send off like this? And who’s gonna start us off?”
“Should probably leave it up to them,” said Drake, looking our way. “Anything you guys want to hear? Not so sure most of our usual songs are fit for something like this, but if there’s one in particular you’ll be wanting to say goodbye on…”
Ritsuka shook his head. “I’m not picky. Whatever you guys want to sing is fine with me.”
“Ooh!” Rika’s hand went up. “Can I volunteer someone?”
“Why not?” said Drake.
A block of foreboding dropped into my stomach before Rika even started to turn my way, a big, broad grin on her face.
“Senpai,” she said, “we never got to hear you sing! You said your dad was a dockworker, right? So there’s gotta be a few you know!”
Murmurs of agreement started amongst the crew. Almost unnoticed, another one of them glowed briefly, and then vanished.
“Rika,” her brother began.
“Please, Senpai?” Rika pleaded. “Just the one song? You promised earlier that you’d do one later, and this is our last chance! These guys won’t even remember hearing it, if it’s really that bad!”
“I promise I won’t judge you, Master!” Bradamante added. “It could never be any worse than mine! My brother once told me I have the singing voice of a dying cat!”
My lips thinned. I was ready to just say no, because I’d promised no such thing, only given a vague, noncommittal maybe to get her off my back about it, but a gentle nudge from Arash, as though to tell me I should go for it, stopped me.
“Fujima — Rika,” said Marie sternly, “Taylor is the team leader. She doesn’t have to —”
“Director,” I cut her off, “it’s fine.”
Do you want to hear me sing that badly? I asked Arash.
Not me, he replied, but Rika does. Why not indulge her just a little? What does it cost you?
A bit of reputation, I thought, but then, no more than I might already have lost when I comforted her last night or when I hugged her on the beach. I couldn’t be the perfect, unflappable leader after that no matter what, and maybe, to the twins, I never really had been.
A look around showed the expectant gazes of the crew and the rest of the group, plus Arash’s small, encouraging smile. They were so caught up in the idea of me singing that they hadn’t noticed another two of their number disappearing.
“You really want to hear me sing that badly?” I asked. “What about Ritsuka?”
“I’ve lived with Onii-chan for my entire life,” Rika said. “I already know how tone deaf he is.”
“Hey!” her brother said indignantly.
“Plus, he joined in a few times during the partying,” she went one as though he hadn’t spoken. “So did Tii-chan, once or twice, and…and E-Emiya isn’t here right now, or else I’d make him sing, too, but Senpai… This is my only chance, isn’t it? Drake and Bombe and all the rest of the crew, they’re not going to be around for us to sing with after this. There isn’t a later anymore.”
And even if — by some miracle — she managed to drag me into karaoke night or something in the future, that missing element wouldn’t be there. Drake might be there, if we summoned her as a Servant at some point, but no crew, and it wouldn’t quite be this Drake besides.
I wasn’t sure if Rika realized that would carry over to Nero, as well.
“Now I’m curious,” said Euryale. “She obviously won’t be as good as I am, but I do believe she’s the only person here whose voice I have yet to hear.”
“Miss Taylor,” said Mash earnestly, “i-it’s not necessary if you really don’t want to, but…I-I want to hear you sing, too.”
There was no sign of guile on her face, no deception, no treachery, nothing like that at all. Mash said she wanted to hear me sing, and she meant it completely. No tricks, no ulterior motives, no judgment. If I said no, she would be disappointed, but she wouldn’t moan or complain and she wouldn’t try to guilt me into it.
Ironically, that did the job better than she ever could if she’d tried.
Mash, I thought, if you could weaponize that look, I’m not sure there’s anyone who could say no to you.
“Fine,” I said aloud, trying to hold onto whatever scraps of dignity I could. “Something I learned from my dad, right?”
Rika grinned broadly, nodding so fast that it wouldn’t have surprised me if her head flew right off. “A dockworker’s song! Something a pirate can appreciate!”
“AYE!” the crew agreed. What was left of it at least.
A dockworker’s song… Not that I knew that many of them. There were a few I’d picked up, but they were mostly drinking songs, which meant they had gradually started to make less sense the further into them the dockworkers got. None of them were appropriate for goodbyes, either.
Ah. Except that one. And it was old enough that these pirates might even recognize it.
I took a deep breath to steady myself as much to get the wind I needed, and as I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine the dingy little bar Dad had taken Mom and me to several times back when I was younger, before the first time my world ended. I remembered the lyrics to the song they’d sung the last time I’d been there.
“Of all the money that e’er I’ve had,” I began lowly, quietly, and a hush silenced the whole group as they waited with baited breath, “I spent it in good company.”
“Oh geez,” Ritsuka whispered. “This one always makes me cry.”
“And all the harm that e’er I’ve done, alas it was to none but me.”
The irony made me want to laugh.
“And all I’ve done for want of wit, to memory now I can’t recall… So fill to me the parting glass. Goodnight and joy be with you all.”
“So fill to me the parting glass,” Arash picked up, joining me so that I didn’t feel quite so ridiculous, “and drink a health whate’er befalls. Then gently rise and softly call, ‘Goodnight and joy be with you all.’”
“Of all the comrades that e’er I had,” Bellamy joined in, “they’re sorry for my going away.”
“And all the sweethearts that e’er I’ve loved,” sang Bombe, “would wish me one more day to stay.”
One by one, several more of the crew disappeared. I think I was the only one who noticed.
Ritsuka, off key and worse than I ever feared I could be, chimed in with, “But since it fell into my lot that I should rise and you should not…”
“I’ll gently rise,” Drake sang in a husky alto, lifting her Grail in toast, “and softly call —”
And louder than anyone else, Rika joined in with an exuberant, “Goodnight and joy be with you all!”
“So fill to me the parting glass,” the crew chorused with us, even as several more of them vanished, “and drink a health whate’er befalls. Then gently rise and softly call, ‘Goodnight and joy be with you all!’”
“Rayshift parameters set!” Romani’s voice called over the comms, but no one paid him any attention. “We’ve added Samuel Bellamy and Queen Hippolyta to the roster and accounted for their presence!”
“Oh, a man may drink and not be drunk,” sang Captain Morgan, lifting a tankard cheekily. I wasn’t sure where he’d gotten it and right then, didn’t particularly care.
“A man may fight and not be slain,” Arash countered, grinning back at him.
“A man may court a pretty girl,” Bombe contributed.
“And perhaps be welcomed back again!” sang Drake.
“But since it has so ought to be,” I went, “by a time to rise and a time to fall…”
For a second, if I closed my eyes, I felt like I could almost see…
But it didn’t matter what I could almost see, because it wasn’t there. There was no one else with us, just us, the crew, and our Servants.
“Rayshifting in three…”
“Come fill to me the parting glass —”
“Two…”
“Goodnight and joy be with you all!”
“One!”
The world opened up beneath my feet, giving way to a canal of stars, and as I fell into it, being pulled along the path out of that Singularity and back towards the future, towards Chaldea, I heard it one more time, like a farewell, like a goodbye, the entire crew and everyone else left singing:
“Goodnight and joy be with you all!”