... I'm not sure if you can. I don't know if your world has anything like the Moon Cell, after all. If this world has one, I have yet to find it.
You send your soul into the Moon Cell computer, and undergo the preliminaries, where those who fail are deleted. Those who succeed fight in a seven-week tournament, where the losers are deleted. You understand this, don't you? You will have to kill seven people, or be killed yourself.
...I know. But they all enter voluntarily, don't they? If we're all aware of the risks, then we have our own reasons for fighting.
[His voice is soft, lacking inflection, but there's a surge of emotion as he stands up to give himself some space.]
You don't get it. What happened that night could have been avoided, it shouldn't have happened. But it did. And then we ended up here, where things are safer and where we don't have to live in fear. I won't waste this chance, even if I have to be the enemy, even if Weiss ends up hating me and Pyrrha doesn't like it. We're finally together. Someone has to make sure it stays that way.
So she just lightly hops up so she's standing on the bench, and chops him right on the head. It's not enough to injure, but it should definitely get his attention.]
You don't like the ending written for her, so you seek to change it with the Holy Grail. There were many wishes like that.
But if you do that, what is the point? Can you say you'll be happy with that kind of conclusion? Your friends hating you, Pyrrha not liking it- Perhaps she would rather have been dead than to see you have blood on your hands like that? Will you not consider her feelings about this at all?
Yeah, I will be happy! I'll be happier than I've been in months, because Pyrrha will be alive and safe, just like my other friends, and that's all that matters. When I--
[Found out she died. He still can't say that word...]
When she didn't come back, a part of me died. It's gone. I didn't get a choice. Pyrrha didn't give me one, when she shoved me into that locker. [His expression twists into an angry grimace, his words getting faster and more heated as he speaks.] I don't blame her for what she did anymore, but it's not fair or right to expect me to just stand back and do nothing now that you're telling me there might be a way to fix it when I didn't get to before.
I already have blood on my hands. I can't go through that again.
Then what does it matter who it is that you kill? Why is it better to kill seven in a war in another world for a slight chance, than to kill one here for a guarantee?
My own Master didn't know how she ended up in the War. The first enemy we killed was an eight-year-old boy who believed the War was just a game, and didn't understand he would truly be killed when he lost. But we could not hold back, as losing would have been the end for us. Our second was an old man whose only wish was to see his wife once more. Then the ghost of a child who didn't understand the War, who had died long ago but wished to play longer. Those who genuinely believed their wishes would save the world, those who wished to change the past, those who fought for love, those who fought with no intention to win, but to clear out enemies- To clear a path for another victor, and obediently kill themselves when the time came.
[She sounds actually rather mad about this.]
Could you do that? Could you kill them, as sure as if it was with your own sword?
[He looks increasingly more horrified as she goes on. His hands are shaking and even though they're in an open space, everything feels too small.]
I don't...
[His throat tightens. His limbs feel numb. He manages to answer, but it's more of a scream.]
I don't know!
I don't know if I could kill seven innocent people. Is that what you want me to say? That I'd rather let Pyrrha stay--
[Violently, he presses his palm to his eye, turning away from Caster. It should have been him. None of the choices Caster gave him were really options and he feels like he's losing Pyrrha all over again.]
What good are those options if you're just going to argue about them and tell me I'm wrong?
[She takes a sharp breath, realizing what she'd just admitted to.]
... I should not have said that. But please don't think ill of her. That was the Holy Grail War, and it was that boy at fault for believing he was above the rules. As soon as he entered the Moon Cell, it was an inescapable fate.
Rather than seeking quests that you cannot ever be happy with, cherish the time you have with her here. Pursue her, if you wish. Make her happy. If a bad ending can't be avoided, then simply live as happily as you can until then.
[At the mention of the person she loves being alive, she bristles, glaring murderously at him for just one second before catching and restraining herself.]
It would behoove you to not talk about things you don't know about.
I have been doing my best to give you advice. Real advice, that could help, because you seem a kind boy, and I do wish things were better for you. If you scorn that by talking like this now, then... Well, I won't kill you.
[her tone does not make that last line sound comforting.]
What advice have you given me other than I'd have to wait ten thousand years, kill her and have Weiss summon her which might not even work, or that everything is bad and I shouldn't do it?
[He finally walks up to her. He knows he's tall and that can be intimidating, but he knows Caster is much more powerful than him and probably won't find it very alarming. He still tries anyway.]
Keep telling yourself that. If you threaten anyone who mentions Hakuno at all, maybe you don't deserve the power you were given.
It's not like you used it to help people who needed it...
To accept the time you are given here. Did you learn nothing from my story? If it's doomed to end badly, then at least enjoy the time you have rather than wasting it looking for an alternative that won't help.
[She stares up at him. She doesn't flinch.]
I don't threaten anyone who mentions Hakuno. I threaten a brat who doesn't know what he's talking about, who has made his friend's death all about him and his feelings, and who complains about how hard his fate is, not even knowing the circumstances of the one he's talking to. You're making a lot of assumptions, for someone who hasn't heard a word of what happened after the legend ended.
Your story? What. Do you want me to be grateful you took time out of your precious immortality to tell me to give up? When you have everything you want? When humans die, we don't get to choose to become a heroic spirit, or whatever. There is no afterlife or second chances for us. We just stop existing, and then the survivors are left to pick up the pieces and remember them. I don't want to remember Pyrrha. I want to be with her.
So go ahead and threaten me! For someone so old, you act more like a brat than I ever have. It's not my fault you chose to change the subject and you don't get to make pretty speeches about how even fate won't stop you and then turn around and tell me to just cherish what I have.
Do you think I had a choice, either?! To become a Heroic Spirit, or to return to my source and cease to be, reincarnation never was an option to me no matter how much I wished for it!
[She can feel her temper boiling, perhaps assisted by the wine. Or perhaps it's simply anger she's been repressing for a thousand years finally reaching a breaking point. She knows, on some level, she shouldn't say anything. It's a pointless argument, just comparing their misery. But the way Jaune accuses her bites deep, and she spits her fury out at him like a weapon.]
Do you think I have everything I want?! The Hakuno here isn't mine, you brat, she's one from an alternate timeline! She only ever knew me as an enemy, the loyal Servant of a deranged madman, and certainly didn't share my feelings! I have everything I want?! This Hakuno has another Servant, a better one, who was able to save her, when in the end, I couldn't save mine- I couldn't even die with her, no matter how much I wanted to, because I got taken here instead! The King of Heroes saved this one, but I, the Heroic Spirit of a traitor, could do nothing but unwittingly lead her towards her death! So tell me, Jaune, exactly how is it that I have everything I want?! At least Pyrrha knows who you are!
[Her voice is cracked with bitterness, rage, resentment... But for all of her angry, biting words, most of it is directed at herself. She couldn't save Hakuno. She couldn't even die with her. And then the one here only recognized her as an enemy, and had a different Servant, who could save her... Tamamo has always hated herself, but this is a new level of it.]
You still get to exist! You can exist, and think for yourself. You have more of a chance than any of us, than Pyrrha ever did.
[The unshed tears in his eyes seem to make them brighten. He has some idea of what he's doing right now. Caster doesn't deserve to deal with his anger, or to hear such cruel words. He's scared, lost, and the only answer that doesn't end in more tragedy and lost lives would entail him having to accept what happened. He feels trapped. It's harder to formulate the right words, and he just stares at Caster, but not really at her so much as through her, finally snapping when she mentions Pyrrha again.]
I'm a failure! [His throat feels raw, his voice higher as he gestures to himself.]
Pyrrha knows that I'm just a failure. All I ever did was rely on her, hoping it would pay off and I could be the person I thought she believed in. But she didn't. She chose to push me away. I didn't get the chance to protect her and fight by her side.
[He glances up at the sky, screwing his eyes shut. His emotions are a storm, threatening to overwhelm him one moment and then fading into nothing. He just sounds tired.] This is all I have. I didn't earn my way to Beacon. If someone else had been her partner, things probably would have turned out differently. It's all my fault-- I have to fix it.
[At the admission of failure, her shoulders slump, like the cord holding her anger together just snapped. Her anger dissipates, replaced with... Not despair, exactly. Lamentation, sympathy, regret.]
Then as one failure to another, will you not heed my advice? I have led everyone I have loved to their deaths, but yours wished to save you. That is something to honor.
... And if all it is is amends, then you should be asking her what she wants. If nothing else, you have been given this time to do whatever you wish with. If you wish to woo her, that is your right. If you wish to ignore her to seek other paths, then I won't help you, but you are allowed.
Or you could train with her, instead. Perhaps if she becomes stronger here, she can overcome whatever killed her. Perhaps if you tell her her fate, she can avoid it. Perhaps if you become stronger here, you can go back with her and do something.
[His voice is small, all the frustration he's felt directed inward. He just sounds defeated. He can't meet her eyes, focusing on the ground and hugging his arm again.]
Weiss said the same thing. It's not... She deserves better. What I want doesn't matter.
[He's silent for a moment. It still takes a lot of effort to talk about what happened.] I think part of her already figured it out. We're almost from the same time. [Finally he does meet her eyes, hesitant and scared asking will lead to the same answers.] Would that work if we asked Crepe to help?
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You send your soul into the Moon Cell computer, and undergo the preliminaries, where those who fail are deleted. Those who succeed fight in a seven-week tournament, where the losers are deleted. You understand this, don't you? You will have to kill seven people, or be killed yourself.
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[His voice is soft, lacking inflection, but there's a surge of emotion as he stands up to give himself some space.]
You don't get it. What happened that night could have been avoided, it shouldn't have happened. But it did. And then we ended up here, where things are safer and where we don't have to live in fear. I won't waste this chance, even if I have to be the enemy, even if Weiss ends up hating me and Pyrrha doesn't like it. We're finally together. Someone has to make sure it stays that way.
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Jaune, please come here for a moment?
[She stands up as well.]
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[Eyeing her cautiously, he approaches her.]
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So she just lightly hops up so she's standing on the bench, and chops him right on the head. It's not enough to injure, but it should definitely get his attention.]
Don't be an idiot.
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What--? Why did you do that!?
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But if you do that, what is the point? Can you say you'll be happy with that kind of conclusion? Your friends hating you, Pyrrha not liking it- Perhaps she would rather have been dead than to see you have blood on your hands like that? Will you not consider her feelings about this at all?
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[Found out she died. He still can't say that word...]
When she didn't come back, a part of me died. It's gone. I didn't get a choice. Pyrrha didn't give me one, when she shoved me into that locker. [His expression twists into an angry grimace, his words getting faster and more heated as he speaks.] I don't blame her for what she did anymore, but it's not fair or right to expect me to just stand back and do nothing now that you're telling me there might be a way to fix it when I didn't get to before.
I already have blood on my hands. I can't go through that again.
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My own Master didn't know how she ended up in the War. The first enemy we killed was an eight-year-old boy who believed the War was just a game, and didn't understand he would truly be killed when he lost. But we could not hold back, as losing would have been the end for us. Our second was an old man whose only wish was to see his wife once more. Then the ghost of a child who didn't understand the War, who had died long ago but wished to play longer. Those who genuinely believed their wishes would save the world, those who wished to change the past, those who fought for love, those who fought with no intention to win, but to clear out enemies- To clear a path for another victor, and obediently kill themselves when the time came.
[She sounds actually rather mad about this.]
Could you do that? Could you kill them, as sure as if it was with your own sword?
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[He looks increasingly more horrified as she goes on. His hands are shaking and even though they're in an open space, everything feels too small.]
I don't...
[His throat tightens. His limbs feel numb. He manages to answer, but it's more of a scream.]
I don't know!
I don't know if I could kill seven innocent people. Is that what you want me to say? That I'd rather let Pyrrha stay--
[Violently, he presses his palm to his eye, turning away from Caster. It should have been him. None of the choices Caster gave him were really options and he feels like he's losing Pyrrha all over again.]
What good are those options if you're just going to argue about them and tell me I'm wrong?
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... I should not have said that. But please don't think ill of her. That was the Holy Grail War, and it was that boy at fault for believing he was above the rules. As soon as he entered the Moon Cell, it was an inescapable fate.
Rather than seeking quests that you cannot ever be happy with, cherish the time you have with her here. Pursue her, if you wish. Make her happy. If a bad ending can't be avoided, then simply live as happily as you can until then.
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If you won't help me, I'll find a way on my own. I shouldn't have asked you in the first place.
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It would behoove you to not talk about things you don't know about.
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Why? Do you not like it when I talk about the person you love like that? Did I hit a nerve?
What are you going to do about it? Kill me?
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[her tone does not make that last line sound comforting.]
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[He finally walks up to her. He knows he's tall and that can be intimidating, but he knows Caster is much more powerful than him and probably won't find it very alarming. He still tries anyway.]
Keep telling yourself that. If you threaten anyone who mentions Hakuno at all, maybe you don't deserve the power you were given.
It's not like you used it to help people who needed it...
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[She stares up at him. She doesn't flinch.]
I don't threaten anyone who mentions Hakuno. I threaten a brat who doesn't know what he's talking about, who has made his friend's death all about him and his feelings, and who complains about how hard his fate is, not even knowing the circumstances of the one he's talking to. You're making a lot of assumptions, for someone who hasn't heard a word of what happened after the legend ended.
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So go ahead and threaten me! For someone so old, you act more like a brat than I ever have. It's not my fault you chose to change the subject and you don't get to make pretty speeches about how even fate won't stop you and then turn around and tell me to just cherish what I have.
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[She can feel her temper boiling, perhaps assisted by the wine. Or perhaps it's simply anger she's been repressing for a thousand years finally reaching a breaking point. She knows, on some level, she shouldn't say anything. It's a pointless argument, just comparing their misery. But the way Jaune accuses her bites deep, and she spits her fury out at him like a weapon.]
Do you think I have everything I want?! The Hakuno here isn't mine, you brat, she's one from an alternate timeline! She only ever knew me as an enemy, the loyal Servant of a deranged madman, and certainly didn't share my feelings! I have everything I want?! This Hakuno has another Servant, a better one, who was able to save her, when in the end, I couldn't save mine- I couldn't even die with her, no matter how much I wanted to, because I got taken here instead! The King of Heroes saved this one, but I, the Heroic Spirit of a traitor, could do nothing but unwittingly lead her towards her death! So tell me, Jaune, exactly how is it that I have everything I want?! At least Pyrrha knows who you are!
[Her voice is cracked with bitterness, rage, resentment... But for all of her angry, biting words, most of it is directed at herself. She couldn't save Hakuno. She couldn't even die with her. And then the one here only recognized her as an enemy, and had a different Servant, who could save her... Tamamo has always hated herself, but this is a new level of it.]
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[The unshed tears in his eyes seem to make them brighten. He has some idea of what he's doing right now. Caster doesn't deserve to deal with his anger, or to hear such cruel words. He's scared, lost, and the only answer that doesn't end in more tragedy and lost lives would entail him having to accept what happened. He feels trapped. It's harder to formulate the right words, and he just stares at Caster, but not really at her so much as through her, finally snapping when she mentions Pyrrha again.]
I'm a failure! [His throat feels raw, his voice higher as he gestures to himself.]
Pyrrha knows that I'm just a failure. All I ever did was rely on her, hoping it would pay off and I could be the person I thought she believed in. But she didn't. She chose to push me away. I didn't get the chance to protect her and fight by her side.
[He glances up at the sky, screwing his eyes shut. His emotions are a storm, threatening to overwhelm him one moment and then fading into nothing. He just sounds tired.] This is all I have. I didn't earn my way to Beacon. If someone else had been her partner, things probably would have turned out differently. It's all my fault-- I have to fix it.
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Then as one failure to another, will you not heed my advice? I have led everyone I have loved to their deaths, but yours wished to save you. That is something to honor.
... And if all it is is amends, then you should be asking her what she wants. If nothing else, you have been given this time to do whatever you wish with. If you wish to woo her, that is your right. If you wish to ignore her to seek other paths, then I won't help you, but you are allowed.
Or you could train with her, instead. Perhaps if she becomes stronger here, she can overcome whatever killed her. Perhaps if you tell her her fate, she can avoid it. Perhaps if you become stronger here, you can go back with her and do something.
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[His voice is small, all the frustration he's felt directed inward. He just sounds defeated. He can't meet her eyes, focusing on the ground and hugging his arm again.]
Weiss said the same thing. It's not... She deserves better. What I want doesn't matter.
[He's silent for a moment. It still takes a lot of effort to talk about what happened.] I think part of her already figured it out. We're almost from the same time. [Finally he does meet her eyes, hesitant and scared asking will lead to the same answers.] Would that work if we asked Crepe to help?
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[Caster doesn't believe a fucking word of it, though.]
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Why can't she control them? Maybe if they would stop treating us like we're less important, we could help her train to control them.
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[She's about to comment on how the books said dangerous, out of control powers usually got their owners executed, but probably a bad idea.]
Crepe's library has more information.
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