Jump 009: Fate/Zero

Jump 009: Fate/Zero

Location: Clocktower, London, 1993
Age: 20
Identity: [-500] Family Head, Demi-Servant
Drawbacks: [+900] Keeping Continuity, Those Barbaric Easterners, A Contradictory Life, You Judas, Knightly Manner, Return Of The Kings

[Free]      Magic Circuits (20)
[Free]      Basic Training
[Free]      Magical Legacy
[200/1400]  Mind Of Steel, Heart Of Gold
[Free]      For The Sake Of My Family
[Free]      The Gentleman Magician
[500/1400]  Old Dog, Strange Tricks
[800/1400]  For The Family
[850/1400]  Like A King
[1050/1400] Know Your Place, Mongrel
[1350/1400] King Of Jumpers
[Free]      Infinite Wine

The first indication that something had gone horribly wrong was when it stopped being the 1950's and started being the 1990's. Also, when it stopped being my bedroom in a cozy little (not so little) house in the midwest and started being a ritual circle in the Clocktower in London.

"Question. What the FUCK?" I politely inquired of the trio of gathered magi. Who abruptly looked rather nervous considering I'd just opened the Gate behind me and had a large number of swords poking out.

"Servant, we have summoned you to participate in the Holy Grail War. What is your class?"

I cut them off, holding up a finger. "A-bup-bup-bup, hold on now. I know I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto, but one, I am no man's servant. Second, the regal authority of Gilgamesh can only be fully expressed by saying that my class is, in fact, Gilgamesh rather than a normal one." The foremost magus opened his mouth, but I just kept going, "And thirdly, I'm not exactly sure how you summoned me when I never actually died as I've got a half dozen ways to live forever, but way to go on apparently yanking me forward into time and did something just shove the knowledge of the last forty years of culture into my brain?"

They looked at each other, rather a bit lost, before the lead magus nodded. At least they seemed a bit more nervous, with the swords retreating back into the Gate.

"Right, whatever, this seems very much like a situation I can't get out of until it's resolved, right? Even if I try to sit it out, everyone else will be gunning for me?" A reluctant nod from them, as I parsed the information the Grail was putting in my head. "Joy. Well, at least there's... what, some sort of wish? Really? What what would the man who has everything want with a wish? I'll simply put this Grail in my treasury where it belongs." I exhaled a sigh, glancing around at the relatively bare room, aside from the summoning circle. "Well, kids, you blew your chance at a wish, but let it not be said that Gilgamesh is not a generous king. Here's to your good health." I reached into the Gate and plucked out three golden apples, tossing one to each magus, who looked at them in brief confusion before it turned to avarice and they dug in, oblivious to the world around them.

And while they were distracted, I made myself intangible and ghosted away. Being able to dematerialize sure is handy.

---

On the plus side, back in America, it turned out that my family had moved on when I'd disappeared in the middle of the night, but the familial line of magi had continued to advance. I reconnected with them, explained that it was some idiocy from the Clocktower causing it, but told them I'd be taking a far less active role in the family... only partially in order to keep them from flipping out over losing their positions of authority within the family. It seemed they took it rather well, considering that I was gone for forty years.

---

And then it was time for the joys of Japan. After brushing up on actual history, as opposed to the incomplete data the Grail put into my head. And it seems I got there just in time to meet the Servants involved in the conflict. Thanks to the Clocktower screwing up the summon that displaced me forward in time and screwed up my class listing (and yes it is literally GILGAMESH), there were seven Servants of the usual classes. And so I found myself sitting down to parley with the others at an impromptu banquet with King Arthur (or Arturia rather), Alexander the Great (turns out the Clocktower managed a summoning gone right the second time), Nero, Cleopetra, the Queen of Sheba, Caligua, and of all things, another version of me.

This summit of kings went about as well as one could expect. The other Gilgamesh, a mere shadow of my living self, was of course incensed at my very existence, and refused to accept that he didn't take the correct course of action by choosing to lay down and die at the end of his lifespan instead of exercising his right as king to extend his life indefinitely and see what ages would come. The Queen of Sheba was offended because .. well, we knew each other in passing and didn't get along (which was an enmity that of course did not affect the Gilgamesh-shade). The rest... well, we had a disagreement in philosophy, despite that I was able to clearly articulate why I did what I did, they all had various disagreements of 'this is not how a ruler behaves'.

At the conclusion of the banquet, I offended most of their masters as well, by giving a blunt assessment of Japan's society, concluded the local magi were mostly weeaboos though not in such words, and told them, 'two nukes were not enough'. Apparently adding that it was common knowledge that India was throwing around magical nukes thousands of years ago was not enough to justify proper punishment for their dishonorable behavior leading to and during the conflict - and if you thought the civilian government behaved badly, well, Unit 731 wasn't the worst that happened, just the worst that wasn't hidden because there was a magus or three involved.

And so at the conclusion of the banquet everyone declared they were out for my head instead, prior to engaging each other.

---

It would have been a lot easier had the acting head of my family not tried to almost immediately stab me in the back. Really, one should expect that, when there's the slightest possibility that trust might backfire, but... family is supposed to be family. And instead, what did I get? My grand-niece arranging a meeting, before Cleopatra used the opportunity to to play assassin and try to end me. Not even having the stones to come out and face me in honorable single combat, she engaged me, then several other Servants popped out and tried to engage me as well, both in direct combat and trading words between blows. Honestly, had I not been as certain of myself and my presence in the world, some of what was said might have shaken me.

And after that occurrance... things continued to be a pain in the ass when it came to such conflicts with other servants, and quite frankly had I not a great deal of experience from my times working as a Counter Guardian, I probably would not have prevailed even if I was the equal of Gilgamesh-the-lesser-Servant.

They should have considered themselves fortunate that dishonorable conduct like ending their Masters in order to break their contracts is beneath me, even if it would have been fair to retaliate in such a way, but the whole state of affairs was rather ugly.

And in the end, after all was said and done and most of the Servants ended, I still didn't get the win anyway - it was a mess all around, but Lancer's master used command seals to ensure she destroyed the Grail. If you wanted a surefire way to get on Arturia's short list, it's destroying the one thing that she wants above all others for personal redemption, and using a command seal to ensure that she can use a non-class weapon to do it with. Excalibur. (And really, that shouldn't have worked. Not at all. How did that work?!)

What a pain in the neck. So much for putting the Grail in my gate - and now I knew my family was out for my head. Perhaps not all of them, but perhaps all of them. And being family, I couldn't reply in kind, even if they deserved it. So the only remaining thing to do was to make myself scarce for the next decade or so. The best way to do that, I judged, was to hide in plain sight as I'd done many times over the centuries - no one expects Gilgamesh to revert to being a kid and go to the local school. And isn't it convenient that there just so happened to be an event that I could claim to be an orphan from?

---

Nine years later:

A magus looks up as an enraged teenage Gilgamesh appears out of thin air, a copy of Wall Street on VHS in one hand, the trio of actors on the cover of the movie absolutely radiating smugness.

"YOU BASTARDS! IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO DEPRIVE ME OF LED ZEPPELIN, YOU STOLE THE ENTIRE EIGHTIES FROM ME! HOW COULD YOU!?"

...and so he earned a sealing designation and was forcibly shipped back off to Japan, as that was the worst punishment anyone could think of.