Mysterious Heroine X Alter

XXXX. Mysterious Heroines

Heroine XX: It's time...for the XXth Servantverse Servant Assembly!

X Alter: Yaaay. (Clap, clap, clap, clap)

X: What the hell are you talking about, you piece of junk?

Heroine XX: ...Hmph. I am not junk. I am a robot. A killer machine that neither bleeds nor cries.

Heroine XX: ...At least for today, if you all don't mind.

Narration:  (Cocks head to side)        (Nods falteringly)


Fujimaru 1: You got it.


Fujimaru 2: (Sounds like she's got her reasons.)


X: Huh???

X: Oh come on, you're obviously just disguising your voice! I can literally see you wobbling your throat with your hand to do it!

X: There's no way a weird robot like that would exist in the Servantverse!

X Alter: I don't have a problem with it. We already have Professor Babbagen and Evil Wind 2B.

X Alter: This is my room, by the way. It's got a kotatsu and everything. Hehehe. I've also got plenty of sweets to go with our tea.

Heroine XX: (...)

X: Oh please. As if a robot would ever want to go in a kotatsu.

X: You're weirdly nice to the walking scrap heap, Ex... I don't know why, but I don't like it!

X Alter: Oh... Really?

X Alter: She seems like a much better robot than my Black Knight Voloid. My Voloid can't even walk on two legs.

X: I swear, just how low IS your opinion of your Voloid?

X: And apparently, you're not even interested in trading that old bucket in for a newer model?

X Alter: What can I say? That Black Knight and I have been through a lot together.

Heroine XX: The Du Stallion II has seen better days, too...

X: What was that!?

X: Did you just throw shade at my beloved spaceship that's practically in factory new condition!?

Heroine XX: BEEEP. That was. A memory bug. Don't worry about it.

X: Grrr, oh forget it! I'm just gonna help myself to ALL the sweets on the kotatsu then!

X Alter: By all means. Go ahead, Robot, you can have some too.

X Alter: As a Servantverse robot, you should at least be able to digest sweet beans.

Heroine XX: ...(Eyes welling up with tears) Aw, Ex, you're the bes–(Cough, hack, cough)!

Heroine XX: Thank you. Alter.

X Alter: Hm? Sure, no problem.

X Alter: Everyone else, please feel free to help yourselves to the sweets, too.

X Alter: What would you like, Master? I also have some piping hot green tea.


Fujimaru 1: A chestnut cake and chestnut dumpling, please.

X Alter: You have excellent taste, Master. Chestnuts go great with all sorts of sweets.

X Alter: This chestnut cake not only has delicious chestnut adzuki beans, its crisp, crunchy shell is a work of art on its own.

Mash: This chestnut jelly is really soft and scrumptious too!

Mecha Eli-chan: ...I see. I now understand everything. Today is a day for evaluating different kinds of sweets.

Mash: (Munch, munch) That's, um, probably not quite right. At least, I don't think it is.


Fujimaru 2: Give me everything you've got, please.

X Alter: ...Oho... (Clatter)

Mash: W-wait! X Alter, please put away your twin blades!

Mash: I'm sure Senpai only meant [♂ he /♀️ she} wanted to have one of every TYPE of sweet. Right, Senpai?

Mash: ...Right?

X Alter: Hmm... All right, I suppose that is acceptable.

X Alter: And I do want you to have a firm grasp on the kinds of sweets I like.

Mecha Eli-chan: ... (Venting exhaust in lieu of sighing)


Mash: So, um... Now that we've all had some lovely tea and a chance to relax, maybe we should get down to business...?

Mecha Eli-chan: I agree. What is this all about?

Heroine XX: This is the XXth Servantverse Servant Assem–

Mecha Eli-chan: You have already said as much. What I want to know is, who chose these members?

Mecha Eli-chan: I can understand why my pilot candidate and Mash might be here...

Mecha Eli-chan: ...but why would you ask me to attend a “Servantverse Servant Assembly”?

Mecha Eli-chan: As you all surely know, I am the proud steel guardian of Castle Csejte!

Mecha Eli-chan: I want no part of any world as slapdash and ill-defined as this “Servantverse.”

X: Huh?

X: You come from a world with a Japanese castle stacked on a pyramid stacked on a European castle. You have a giant steel demoness robot, Elisa Particles... How is that different than the Servantverse?

Mecha Eli-chan: Blasphemy! Now be quiet and let me speak. Hmph...

Mecha Eli-chan: I hope whoever invited me here didn't do so solely because I'm a robot...did they?

Heroine XX: (Hack, cough, cough)

Heroine XX: (There's no way I can say I just asked her to come so I'd have some extra camouflage for my cover story now!)

Heroine XX: Uh, beep boop, of course not.

Heroine XX: (Monotone) I invited you here as an...honorary Servantverse Servant.

Mecha Eli-chan: Oh...

X Alter: That's weird. I could have sworn you were a full-fledged member of the Servantverse, Mecha Eli-chan.

X Alter: I remember the demoness of the demon castle played a huge part in the CEO of Amazones' autobiographical movie.

X Alter: There was the scene where you went diving in the liquid hydrogen oceans on a gas giant planet... Your trip to the Bermuda Triangle...

X Alter: Your trip to that neutron star with the ultramagnetic field that's impossible to escape... And then there was–

Mecha Eli-chan: What... What are you talking about? I've never done anything like that in all my operational history.

X Alter: I was also told you're exceedingly knowledgeable when it comes to Western sweets.

X Alter: You can fight, you can sing, you can bake... You're the perfect robot come to life.

X Alter: They also said you make amazing Halloween-themed pies! I do know chestnuts and pumpkin are a sublime combination in sweets, so I can believe it.

Mecha Eli-chan: I-it's really just a hobby. Anyway, I still don't fully understand, but, all right.

Mecha Eli-chan: If this is basically just a tea party for proper ladies, then I have no objection.

Mecha Eli-chan: (Besides, I've been invited to oil parties courtesy of Danzo, but I've never been to a tea party before.)

Mecha Eli-chan: Very well. An opportunity like this doesn't come around every day.

Mecha Eli-chan: As the guardian of Csejte with an understanding of Halloween, it's my duty to allow for elegant, stylish times like–

Heroine XX: Do you have any curry cake? Or maybe cutlet cake?

Mecha Eli-chan: (Twitch)

Mecha Eli-chan: ...Anyway, this is essentially a meeting, yes? So what's our agenda for today's proceedings?

Mash: (Mecha Eli-chan's pretty much running the show now.)

X Alter: Hmm. I don't have any of the junky cake X likes...

X Alter: But since it's not every day that all of us Servantverse Servants are gathered together like this, we probably should do something special...

X: I know! We can have a one-on-one-on-one battle to see which of us is the strongest X of all!


Fujimaru 1: Well someone's a little too fired up for their own good.

X Alter: You said it. That is hardly the sort of thing to suit a meeting.

Heroine XX: (Nodding vigorously in assent)


Fujimaru 2: I'd rather hear more about the Servantverse.

Mecha Eli-chan: I completely agree with my pilot candidate.


Mecha Eli-chan: Wouldn't it be much more productive to acquire verifiable intel on any possible Servantverse threats, so we can come up with appropriate means to counter them before they pose a threat?

Mecha Eli-chan: Especially when it comes to Foreigner-class entities!

Heroine XX: I concur! (Venting exhaust)

Mash: Um... I don't think that's a threat we need to be overly concerned with...

Mash: That aside, I'd love to learn more about the world all you Xs come from!

Mash: I think you two said you were roommates there, right, X and Alter?

Heroine XX: That is right. It really takes me back.

X: Nobody asked you, you hunk of junk!

X: That said, it's true that we were forced to share a dorm room back at Cosmo-Chaldea High School.

X: Grrr, just thinking about it pisses me off all over again!

X Alter: I didn't mind sharing a room in theory, but X was the worst possible roommate I could have imagined.

X Alter: Now that I think about it...

X Alter: ...our teacher, Nameless Red, might have set that up to try and improve X's behavior, even just a little...

X: Trust me, it was no picnic for me either, sister!

X: We didn't just have to share our room. We were even forced to complete an assignment together...


Fujimaru 1: An assignment? You mean, at Cosmo-Chaldea High?


X: Yup. Killing villains, basically.

X: I'm sure it was supposed to be Nameless Red's mission, but he pawned it off on his students!

X Alter: I think it was on Planet Totooine. That was a seriously brutal case...

Heroine XX: This was back in the start of season one.

X Alter: That's right.

X Alter: This was when our ratings were in the gutter, when viewers thought we were just another weird series.

Mash: ...Season? Ratings?


Fujimaru 1: You've got to tell us more now!


X Alter: Sure, no problem. So, Planet Totooine is...

Narration:

– Planet Totooine –

X: Gaah! Ugh, blech! I'm gonna be washing sand out of everywhere for days!

X: How the hell does a planet RAIN sand!? Everywhere we go, it's just sand, sand, sand!

X: What's next? Maybe a sand squall followed by a sand rainbow!?

X Alter: A sand rainbow. What a lovely concept. How very unrealistic, yet sublime.

X Alter: But, unfortunately, this sandstorm is so cosmically big it's enveloping everything in Totooine's orbit.

X Alter: Dammit... We don't have time for this. We need to hurry!

X Alter: Getting Du Stallion II get shot down and having to make an emergency landing on this planet was not part of the plan.

X Alter: I guess those reports that this area was getting unruly were true.

X: Maybe we just should've waited for Black Bucket to finish repairing the ship!?

X Alter: First of all, he's not a black bucket. He's my Black Knight.

X Alter: Second, we can't wait that long. Not with...my precious...

X Alter: ...sweet bean buns at stake!

X Alter: I have to get to the Spacebucks that just opened on Totooine before they sell out of their special commemorative buns!

X: Huh? Commemorative buns? What about our mission to dispatch that villain?

X Alter: The special Spacebucks version of Totooine's famous Zero Buns comes first.

X: What!? You never said anything about some stupid mission like that before!

X: ...(Sigh) This explains why you were so excited about researching our destination...

X: If only you worked half as hard to preserve peace in the Servantverse as you did on acquiring sweets...

X: Huh!? Ex, get down!

X Alter: Yikes.

Narration: ...

X: Damn, I can't believe how accurate they are! Looks like we're up against more enemies than we thought!

X Alter: That shadow over there... Is that a sand raider? One of Totooine's mythical desert people?

X Alter: Now I see... So that's how it is.

X Alter: These sand raider extremists are trying to stop Spacebucks' galactic expansion by any means necessary!

X: Seriously!? Oh, hell no! I am NOT getting killed over freaking coffee milk!!!

X: Good thing we can totally take these guys if we can just get in close! Let's get 'em, Ex!

X Alter: Right. I won't let them stand in the way of peace...or of my sweet bean buns!

--BATTLE--:

???: ...

???: These two weren't part of the plan. Guess I've got no other choice...

X Alter: We didn't learn this until much later...

X Alter: ...but the incident on Totooine was just the opening act of a huge conspiracy.

X Alter: I still find it hard to believe that the legendary bounty hunter, Edgy Fett, was masterminding the whole thing...

X: Even in my wildest dreams, I never would've thought a guy that strong would be hiding out among the sand raiders...

X: So we ended up letting him get away, failing the assignment, and having to stay behind for special training, AGAIN!

Mash: The legendary bounty hunter...

Mecha Eli-chan: Edgy Fett...


Fujimaru 1: Short for Edgemiya Fett...


X Alter: That's right. They say he'll only work for enormous cash bounties, and that even the League of Villains fears him.

X Alter: There are also rumors that say he's the Alter of a certain hero, and that Edgy Fett is just a codename.

X: It still burns me that we let him get away. If only Mr. Dual Pistols had been a Saber...

X Alter: Anyway, our assignment might not have gone at all well...

X Alter: ...but the important thing is that I managed to get my hands on the sweet buns in the end.

Mecha Eli-chan: I see... At first, I thought this Cosmo-Chaldea High School was a place for raising defenders of justice...

Mecha Eli-chan: ...but it's actually a charity designed to try and give completely hopeless Servants a chance to be useful somehow.

X: Nrghhh...

X: Y-yes, I might not have had top grades, but so what!

X: Their methods were never a good fit for my learning style anyway!

X: Especially when it came to those smug-ass teachers!

Mecha Eli-chan: What a terrible tragedy for you.

Mecha Eli-chan: So with your combined 2.0 GPA and your complete inability to work as a team, you were dispatched to different planets around the universe?

X: That's right! Stupid Principal Lionhead made us go just to piss us off!


Fujimaru 1: What sort of planets were you two sent to?


X Alter: They were all very dangerous, but the one I'll never forget...

X Alter: ...is Planet Guntama... I could never forget it after what happened there.

Mash: Guntama? That name sounds familiar. Isn't that your home planet, X?

X: Hehehe. You got it, Mash!

X Alter: That's right. I latched on to X to mooch off her when she went back there during spring break.

X: Not that I wanted to go back to my home planet or anything. Or for Ex to come with me in the first place.

X: I would've muuuch rather hung out at a different planet.

X Alter: But Guntama was the only place we were allowed to go after all the detentions we'd incurred at school.

X: Can you believe that!? Just thinking about it still makes me sooo angry!

Heroine XX: Ha ha ha ha. At least you still got to go on break.

Heroine XX: I'd say that's better than nothing.

X: It's not funny!

X: Because of all that, I had to bring Ex along on a trip back home I never wanted to take to begin with.

--ARROW--:

	– Planet Guntama –

X Alter: Oogh... What is this strange sensation...?

X Alter: Is this Planet Guntama undulating? Is it some kind of curse?

X Alter: I can't even think straight with all this watery stuff running down my skin. I feel gross.

X: Pretty sure that's just sweat.

X: That's the thing about Guntama: it's goddamn hot here! We're talking Red Ring of Death hot!

X: The humidity in this season averages five thousand percent, and that's on a good day!

X: This is exactly why I didn't want to come home!

X Alter: I don't think I'm going to make it, X. It was a good life...while it lasted...

X: Ex! Wake up! Argh, now I have even MORE crap to carry!

X: Why don't you just take off some clothes if you're that hot!?

X: It's not like swimsuit Servants ever go out of style, after all!

X: Not that you'd ever catch ME dead in a swimsuit, though! No way, no how!

X: All that aside...

X: Guntama was never the most happening place, but I don't remember there being absolutely no trace of civilization here...

X: Last I checked, it at least had a breezy summer resort area going for it...

X: What happened here while I was gone... Huh!?

Narration:

Mewhehehehe...

Narration:

Your food, or your life...

X: Wake up already, Ex! We've got savages popping up every which way!

X Alter: I'm never taking these off... I don't want to freeze to death...

--BATTLE--:

X Alter: Everything happened very quickly...

X Alter: ...but once we got the attackers to stop hunting our Spirit Origins, we somehow managed to reconcile with them.

X Alter: The leopard-tiger-jaguar-panther lady would go on to become a surprisingly popular Servant later.

Heroine XX: That was the midseason episode that was absurdly popular among children.

Heroine XX: It led to all sorts of spin-off series that took place on the mysterious planet of Guntama.

X: Yup! I even became pretty popular myself... Hey! What's with all the spoilers!?

Heroine XX: Oops.

Heroine XX: Uh, no, it is nothing. I am just a devout fan. I cannot help but share my wealth of trivia.

X Alter: Makes sense.

X Alter: You must be a huge fan of X's then.

X Alter: Is that why you dress kind of like her?

Heroine XX: (...Ugh. I know she's just from season one, but I still can't believe how clueless she is about a fellow X...)

Heroine XX: Uh, yes, I think that might be the case now. Beep boop.

X Alter: I couldn't remember much about my past before I came to the academy.

X Alter: It wasn't until I came to Guntama that I learned these glasses were the secret key to restoring my memories.

X Alter: It also lead directly into “The Final Battle! Destroy the Bridge on Twin Planet Esaba”...

X Alter: ...the climactic episode of our first season.

Heroine XX: ...Huh? Esaba? Climactic episode?

Heroine XX: (Esaba... I've never even heard of that planet before.)

Mash: Is this Esaba another world you and X infiltrated?

X Alter: Do sweet beans go well with buns?

X Alter: Right around the time that episode aired, X and I were known as agents capable of single-handedly destroying entire planets in the course of our missions.

X Alter: So when the two of us worked together, we could limit the collateral damage to a single planet.

X: Oogh.

Mecha Eli-chan: (Giggle) Do sweet beans go well with buns... I never would have thought to phrase a rhetorical question like that...

Mecha Eli-chan: ...Uh, a-ahem. In the future, try not to go around casually destroying planets.

Mecha Eli-chan: Now, what happened next? I thought I heard you mention a final battle earlier?

X Alter: Oh yes. It was a huge ordeal. That's why it wasn't just X and me there.

X Alter: There were also other students from the academy, and even some teachers who were also active hero Servants.

X Alter: By that point, it was no longer just a school assignment, but an important military operation.

X: Esaba...

X: For some reason, just hearing that name makes my chest go tight...

X Alter: ...

Heroine XX: ...? (What's going on?)

Heroine XX: I have no record of any such episode... In fact, I do not even remember seeing it.

X Alter: Oh? I guess even robots can overlook things then.

X Alter: ...Esaba is an artificial planet that is in reality two planets connected by an interstellar bridge.

X Alter: It's home to an enormous factory that was targeted and occupied by the League of Villains.

X Alter: The villains repurposed the factory's incredible technology to create a huge army of military robots.

X Alter: While the individual units were no match for a Servant, the danger they posed came from their sheer, overwhelming numbers.

X Alter: Our mission was to recover the manufacturing base in order to break the deadlock.

--ARROW--:

	– Artificial Planet Esaba –



	– Underpole Base Occupied by League of Villains –

– Heated Defensive Line Battle Underway –

X: ...

X Alter: X? X? Are you alive? Can you hear me?

X: (Huff...huff...) This is nothing... It's just a flesh wound...

X: It'll take more than just a little battle to the death against the Savage Queen...

X: ...and a brawl with the squid legions of Tentacle General Sanity Gilles to take me down...

X Alter: Don't forget Herc The Superhuman's baryon ax that Nameless Red deflected, causing it to pierce straight through your side.

X: Oooh, right. Seriously, who IS that guy? Ow ow ow...

X: If not for my Saber Ninja Art where I make afterimages with Spirit Origins, this could've been real bad for me.

X Alter: ...You almost certainly would have died instantly. Because even for a Servant, those were severe wounds.

X Alter: But at least your questionable Saber Ninja Arts came in handy for once.

X: Huh!? What do you mean, “questionable”!? ...Ow, ow...

X Alter: Our comms are being jammed...

X Alter: Deep in the heart of enemy territory as we are, I guess it's no surprise. Plus, we got separated from our team.

X Alter: Your injuries are very serious too. We need to hurry and find you somewhere safe to recover.

X Alter: There's no telling when more battle Voloids might show up.

X: What!? There's no way I'm taking a break in the middle of this final batt–Guh.

X Alter: There, you see?

X Alter: I'll stand watch and see if I can find anything useful. Black Knight, help me carry X somewhere safe.

X Alter: Who else would I be talking to, Voloid K6-X4? Don't space out on me now.


Fujimaru 1: ...!?


Fujimaru 2: Uh, g-got it!


--BATTLE--:

X Alter: ...There. We got past the enemy's automated defenses and made it inside their base.

X Alter: Though I'm afraid X isn't going to have any opportunities to recover in here.

X Alter: Huh? What is it, Black Knight? ...There's still a hostile here!?

X Alter: ...! Who are you?

???: Looks like your friend's out of commission. Good. That'll make this easier.

X Alter: No way...! Edgy Fett...!!!

Edgy Fett: Whoa, easy there. I'm not about to waste any bullets in here.

Edgy Fett: Killing your friend while she's already got one foot in the grave won't earn me a single credit.

Edgy Fett: The League of Villains has much bigger fish to fry.

Edgy Fett: No, I'm more interested in you...Heroine X Alter.

X Alter: X...Alter...!? What are you... S-stop that... Please, stop.

X Alter: M-my name is...Ex... I don't...go by that... Ngh...


Fujimaru 1: Ex? Are you okay?

Edgy Fett: I see. Looks like the brainwashing's stronger than I thought.

Edgy Fett: But you still must have noticed how unstable you've been since you came to this planet.

Edgy Fett: That vision correction device you're wearing was made here on Esaba. I'm sure you've already figured that out.

Edgy Fett: But it was also illegally modified to maintain and reinforce your brainwashing.

Edgy Fett: Since you got here, an identical frequency emitted from the planet's automated factory has been canceling out their modifications.

X Alter: Huh!? Reinforced brainwashing...? How do you know about this?

Edgy Fett: My last client told me to be careful around you.


Fujimaru 2: X Alter? Did you just remember something?

X Alter: That's right... I... I wandered around space...before I came to Cosmo-Chaldea High School... Ngh...

X Alter: Black Knight...some of your memories have been encrypted, right?

X Alter: Maybe my memories have something to do with... (Gasp...gasp...)

X Alter: Ahh... I'm glad X isn't awake...to see me like this...


Edgy Fett: I'm afraid I don't have time for idle chatter.

Edgy Fett: The League of Villains might have Lionhead's heroes in a tight spot right now...

Edgy Fett: ...but it won't be long before the busybodies at the Galactic Police catch wind of this and stick their noses in.

Edgy Fett: Sooner or later, Esaba's going down. I was just planning my escape route when you showed up.

Edgy Fett: So, I've got a proposal for you.

Edgy Fett: Come with me, and I'll take you to see the League of Villains' higher-ups.

X Alter: N-no...I won't! I'm a student at...Cosmo-Chaldea High School...!

X: ...

X: (Ex's been acting weird ever since we landed on this planet. Going off on her own, being weirdly belligerent...)

X: (At first I thought she just got up on the wrong side of the bed. But this explains what's been happening with her...)

X: (...I don't get it one bit.)


Fujimaru 1: (Heroine X...?)


Fujimaru 2: (When did you wake up?)


X: (Whoa there. Keep it cool, Black Bucket, or you're gonna set off my ninja arts.)

X: (I noticed someone was following us, so I was getting ready to fight back the moment they dropped their guard...)

X: (But now, I don't know what's going on.)

X: (I was all set to punch Chief Red's fast and furious looking relative here in the face if he laid a hand on Ex...)

X: (...but as much as it sucks, I'm gonna have to wait and see how this plays out, thanks to these injuries.)

Edgy Fett: ...Suit yourself. I've done what I need to, so I'm getting out of here.

Edgy Fett: I just thought I might be able to cash in on a League of Villains reward. That's all.

X Alter: ...That's enough, bounty hunter. Please leave. Before X wakes up.

Edgy Fett: ...Heh. Just don't go dying on me. Be a waste of a good bounty.

Edgy Fett: ...Oh, I almost forgot.

Edgy Fett: Since I lost my shot at an easy payday, I guess I might as well drop a little tidbit here...

Edgy Fett: ...I wouldn't count on a wound from a Savage Queen's heavy spear getting better anytime soon.

Edgy Fett: Not unless you've got a way of undoing an anti-healing curse.

X Alter: What...? That can't be right!

Edgy Fett: This passage leads to the center of the factory. Maybe it'll have something that can help a Servant heal faster.

Edgy Fett: Assuming the defender Voloids don't get you first, of course.

X Alter: ...You're quite the busybody yourself, Edgy Fett.

X:

(I'll say!)

X Alter: That's it...!

X Alter: I can use this device to heal X.

X Alter: ...Huh? No, wait. This is...

X Alter: ...

X:

(What? What is it? Now I really wanna know!)


Fujimaru 1: Maybe it's about time you woke up?


X Alter: Dammit. They did see us coming in...!

???: Who dares disturb my factory's harmony?

X: Damn, doesn't look like we'll be able to talk our way out of this one!

X: But that's fine with me! If they want to fight, I'll take them all on!

X Alter: X...!

X Alter: You don't have to do this. That guy is probably this factory planet's manager, and he's really strong.

X Alter: Besides...I can't let your injuries get any worse.

X: Don't be ridiculous, Ex! That's all the more reason to fight back!

X: If I can beat this guy, I'll have academy credits for daaays! Then I'll be able to live it up and pig out every night until I graduate!

X Alter: (Sigh)... I swear, you never change...

X Alter: You might not have a lot going for you, X, but if nothing else, you don't want for bluster.

X: Now you're talking trash about me!?

X: I see. So you're planning to turn traitor! Well not on my watch, you aren't!

???: If you wish to plead for your lives, intruders, you may do so in the depths of hell!

X Alter: We weren't talking to you! Just shut up and give us a moment!

???: You underestimate me at your own... Hm? Is that...?

X Alter: Thank you, X.

X Alter: You once shared a freshly baked red bean bun with me.

X Alter: Now that I think of it, you've always been giving me things, and you never once asked for anything in return.

X Alter: I've always wanted to pay you back somehow.

X: Huh? I forgot all about that, but...okay?

X: H-hey, why so close? This...uh...this isn't really the time to hug it out, I don't think...

X Alter: Got you.

X Alter: Black Knight, would you might dunking her, please?


Fujimaru 1: Did you say dunk!? W-well, okay.


Fujimaru 2: (Stuff Heroine X into the machine)


X: Huh? What're you–Ow! Hey, quit shoving me... Gaaah!

X: What's the big idea!? What's all this freezing cold slimy stuff!? Aah, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!!!

X: Ex, you traitor! You too, you overgrown bucket!

H:X (Frozen): ...

X Alter: I can tell you're upset about this. I'm sorry, X.

X Alter: I wish I'd found something that could have healed you, but I couldn't.

X Alter: This is a flash-freezing device. It's called a Carbon Coffin.

X Alter: Even if I don't make it, I'm sure someone from the school will find you, thaw you, and heal you.

X Alter: Even if the whole planet blows up, you should still be fine...I think.

X Alter: ...Okay, Black Knight. Send me my battle suit.


Fujimaru 1: On it!


Fujimaru 2: Don't you need to take off your glasses?


???: These undulations... I knew it! It's Alternium!

???: So you're the lost Dark R.O.U.N.D.S. successor.

X Alter: I might be destined to join the League of Villains one day.

X Alter: But that day...is not today.

???: ...How dull. To think the Black Knight of the Round Table would be reduced to this.

???: Any pride you had in infiltrating the enemy side is gone. Now you are ruled entirely by fleeting emotion.

???: You are a traitor to our cause.

???: Not even the notorious League of Villains would take someone who threw everything into such disorder back.

???: You must be returned to them so that they can remind you of your place and put you back in it!

???: You can start by becoming one of the parts that makes up the mechanisms of my factory, like a drive shaft, or a heat source, or a distributor.

???: If you can't even do that...then die!

--BATTLE--:

Mecha Eli-chan: (Sniffle)... I see.

Mecha Eli-chan: So the hero Servants were successful at bringing down Esaba and dealing a critical blow to the League of Villains.

Mecha Eli-chan: There are few things worse than a factory that makes evil robots. You did the right thing. The heroic thing.

Mash: So Planet Esaba was destroyed in an explosion caused by the gravity fields colliding.

Mash: And X and Ex were saved by freezing themselves in a Carbon Coffin.

Mash: Phew... Talk about a close call!

X Alter: Yes, it was. Oh, but we still wouldn't have made it back without Black Knight.

X Alter: If it wasn't for his distress beacon, we would have been forever lost in the vacuum of space like so much debris.

X: I guess the reason I can't remember all that must be a side effect of the Coffin's freezing process...

Heroine XX: Beep boop... (I'm pretty sure that's not how it works...)


Fujimaru 1: Hmm... Hm?


Mash: What is it, Senpai? Is there something strange about what she said?


Fujimaru 1: It almost feels like my own memories don't quite match what we just heard...

Mash: Really? That must be a very odd sensation. Maybe it's a kind of déjà vu?


Fujimaru 2: What makes you say that?

Mash: I, um, I guess it's just my Shielder Sense...?


X Alter: (Staaare)


Fujimaru 1: (...Ex is looking at me veeery intently.)


Mash: Are you sure everything is okay, Senpai?

Mecha Eli-chan: Perhaps all this Servantverse information is memetically corrupting [♂ his /♀️ her} mind...?

X: You were definitely nodding off a bit there, Master. Get it together, will you?

Heroine XX: Yeah, for real, Mas– I mean, yes, you must do better.

X: I knew there was something suspicious about her!

X Alter: Heh heh. ...Shh. Let's just keep it our little secret.

--FLASHBACK--:

X Alter: This place won't hold much longer.

X Alter: But the battle seems to be going well. I guess the principal's team must have handled it.

X Alter: Huh? You found another Carbon Coffin? Great job, Black Knight.

X Alter: Although... The thing is, that device needs a lot of careful adjustments.

X Alter: There wasn't any time for this with X, but someone's usually supposed to stay behind and operate it from the outside.

X Alter: If it's not handled properly, it can also lead to issues with memory retention....

X Alter: Huh? You can handle those adjustments no problem? And you can even do it from inside the Coffin?

X Alter: ...Hmm, I see. That would be perfect.

X Alter: ...Yeah, you're right.

X Alter: I'm sure we don't have much time left...

X Alter: ...but I hope fate allows me just a little more.

X Alter: May the Alternium be with you...