Chapter Text
Prelude
Enter: NARRATOR
Shall we make sense, of this tale thus far? What lesson may be taken? What greater purpose might one read into this story?
What can we say of Natsuki Subaru, of the deeper themes of his life? His journey to another world and return - we cannot here observe, and so we must analyze the story of this world alone. By some means, the boy who knows more than he should, and never as much as he must - met with the Wizard Marshal, and made his way to Chaldea, to save the world.
But, that is not the truth. Because the Wizard Marshal did not tell him he was coming here to save the world. Because Chaldea's own records, those not corrupted - detected his alignment upon arrival.
Chaotic Evil.
Natsuki Subaru arrived in Chaldea as the most wicked human of all! A man who, knowing the fate of humanity, fully intended to leave it to that fate! Already, he had given into despair, and sought a way to flee! FROM THE VERY START, NATSUKI SUBARU HAS BEEN A TRAITOR TO HUMANITY!
And yet, he stumbled his way through Singularity F, in fantastic form. And, like a hero, once he was upon his journey, he began to learn things. In France, ham-fistedly, the theme of forgiveness was shoved down his gullet. In Okeanos, facing the Beast of Heroes, he confirmed the right of humans to leave things unfixed.
But these are an exoteric reading. The obvious themes. What of the motif, the continuous unresolved accusation that has been there from the very start?
A stolen scabbard. A crafter of fakes, stitched together with fool's gold. An illusionist that deceives the world. A knight who wields what he steals. A knight who changes her face. An authority to change his own name. A child who devours the lives of others. A False Grand Servant who steals the weapons of others! A Beast who steals the weapons of others! A man who steals the form of what he eats! LIAR, THIEF, LIAR, THIEF, LIAR, THIEF! THE FACT REMAINS THAT NATSUKI SUBARU IS NOT FUJIMARU RITSUKA!
Were Fujimaru Ritsuka here, this tragedy would not unfold properly. When Othello takes Hamlet's role, or Hamlet Othello's, tragedy is averted. But what we have on this stage is Othello in the role of Othello. A man too hasty by half.
NARRATOR, aside: "-But, my dear audience, let me take an aside. This is but the mere gripe of an inferior playwright, but I believe that tragedy has been much devalued in the modern world. Tragedies are not understood, either by readers or those who profess to write them."
"For something bad to happen, to hero or innocent, is not the essence of tragedy. A mere random failure brought about by bad luck brings no catharsis. Tragedy can only function if it has been earned - if the hero's demise is indeed his own fault, in a way the audience can understand and empathize with. The Pruning of a Timeline is not tragic; it is a cheat, the fiat of a higher power that has arbitrarily decided that utopias must fall, even if not under their own weight. So too, if the curtain merely rose on the whole of Chaldea painted red with blood."
The end must come by the hero's own action. That is what has been arranged. This shall be the final proof - Natsuki Subaru lacks prudence. He failed to think it through. He did not consider the consequences of action or inaction, and merely went with his gut. The most important thing to say, will be left unsaid! The most important thing to hide, will be revealed!
LET THE CURTAIN RISE, ON THIS BLOOD-STAINED NIGHTMARE STAGE!
Act 1: Scene 1
Enter: NATSUKI SUBARU
The debriefing at Chaldea is a fairly short, congratulatory affair. Maybe my sense of fear has been completely blown out by Hercules and Ahriman or something, but it barely even registers that the whole Okeanos crew -including me - has been brought up in front of the entire Chaldea staff until they start applauding.
"R-really, why am I getting applause!? I didn't even do anything! It was pretty much all Da Vinci!" I protest, pointing at the bowing genius.
"Senpai, we really couldn't have done it without your help in the planning, so don't sell yourself short," Mash says.
"No, again, I feel like I really didn't do that much…" That was mostly Jason, right?
"Eheheh… for that matter, our part of the fight was mostly Master…" Mutters- wait, who even is that girl? Why is she standing with us? Why is she wearing pants up to her armpits?
"Ahem!" The Director says. "Like I was saying, congratulations to the entire team, bla bla bla…"
She's obviously a Servant, judging by the slowly regenerating arm… she had to be part of the fighting, too, because she lost the arm in the first place. But I feel like I'd remember someone dressed so… strangely. I mean, what's with her feet? Is she standing on… wait, her socks are… okay, I parsed it, she's standing on tiny sunflowers, which are poking through the end of her socks, leaving a part of the sock dangling from the front - no, how does balancing like that-?
No, no, focus, the director is giving a speech. "And without the monitoring staff -" Oh, she's naming every last staff member by name. I can at least think about the mysterious redhead-
Oh, Beryl just patted her head! Okay, that solves a bit of it, she's Beryl's servant, but seriously, what's with those weird feet-
"Gandr!" Director Olga Marie shouts.
"I'm sorry, sensei!" I shout as I dodge. "I was distracted by Beryl's Servant!"
"Eh!? I'm sorry…" The girl says, looking downwards in shame. "I'm a bit happy to be distracting, but I'm sorry-"
"Subaru, Van Gogh was paying perfect attention to my speech," The director says, crossing her arms.
"No, it was…" I mutter.
"It's her weird feet, right?" Nobunaga asks.
"Yeah, that - ow, ow!" I admit, and Mash begins to pull my ear and Nobunaga's.
"Oh thank God, someone finally said it," Romani says, only for Da Vinci to turn and begin pulling his ear.
"Ah… I'm very sorry… I know, someone like me doesn't deserve an outfit this flashy…" The girl (Van Gogh?) starts to wilt.
"No, Goghie, your outfit is super cute!" Beryl Gut says, ruffling her hair. "They're just confused about how you're standing on those flowers like that."
"Oh! Actually-" She starts to explain.
"Would you all shut up!" The Director roars, and the room goes silent. Then, giving a small cough, she continues. "-Well, it seems my remarks were getting a little long. I'll close with the following - due to the readings the global monitoring team and I discussed yesterday, we're going to be delaying our London deployment past the planned two week wait. In hindsight, we were a little rash charging into this one like we did, so I think taking some extra time to prepare would be wise no matter what.
Natsuki, Kyrielight, Gut - you can all consider yourselves to be on standby until October, pending further notice. Servants are going to be a more case-by-case basis - at the very least, our Casters shouldn't be expecting any kind of break until Aesclepius's Noble Phantasm is complete."
Said Caster is conspicuously absent, but Jason did say he was a workaholic, so it's not that surprising.
A momentary pause follows, as she tries to recall something else she had to say - until finally, Doctor Romani gives a cough.
"-Right. Gut, this is just a reminder, but your usual access restrictions still remain in effect. And, on a similar note… your servant is the first Foreigner summoned by Chaldea," Olga Marie's eyes narrow as she gives him a warning look. "She'll be receiving regular check-ups from Doctor Romani and Da Vinci, understood?"
"Sure!" The man replies with an easygoing grin, prompting the director's eyes to narrow a bit more.
"-On the note of unusual Spirit Origins, Miss Rem, can you come with me to my workshop after this?" Da Vinci says somewhat quietly to the little blue doll sitting on my shoulder.
"Subaru-kun, do you mind?" Rem asks me, and I give a small shake of my head.
"-Alright, that's all of our announcements." The Director says - and then her eyes flare with hostility. "Natsuki, I'll see you in my office."
…There's gonna be a scene of bloodshed soon.