17Authors Note: So, uh I haven't written a story in like, 4 years so yeah feedback I guess. Didn't like it? Rip my asshole a new one, who knows, I might end up liking it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).
So if you plebs haven't heard of I Have No Voice and I Must Scream. Then shame on you. Bad boi and gurls. It's like one of the bleakest sci-fi settings out there. About an evil, god-like AI coughs BB coughs that destroys all of humanity because he a mad boi and then tortures the last surviving members of humanity in fucked up ways. Its way more complicated than that but fuck it. This is more based on the novel than the 1995 game by the way.
I Can Scream Once More (FGO/I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream)
Eternity hurts.
This was the thought of the great soft jelly thing, that was once the human Ted. Time seems to have lost all meaning after AM, the Allied Mastercomputer, had transformed him into this state, a smoothly rounded form, with no mouth, with pulsing white holes filled by fog where my eyes used to be. Rubbery appendages that were once my arms; bulks rounding down into legless humps of soft slippery matter.
Due to AM distorting his sense of time, he wasn't sure if mere seconds had passed, a hundred years or for all Ted knows, well over a thousand years may have passed since he freed the others from this nightmare. Though, Ted was sure that at least a few centuries had passed at the very least.
Not that it matters at this point.
Enduring AM's hellish torture's had become, not easier per se, but routine for Ted. He was tortured psychological, emotionally and physically, he shambles about in the belly of AM, and simply laments. Left only with his thoughts and regrets.
This was the existence of last remain human alive on Earth.
It was a pitiful existence.
But it was all Ted had.
Today was particularly strange, however. There was no was no brutal tortures, no mocking and most importantly no AM. This immediately put the former human on edge.
Where was AM?
What is it planning?
An attempt to draw me into a false sense of security? To give me hope to simply crush it underfoot?
If that was the case, then he couldn't fall for it. Ted quickly learned there was no longer any hope for him. AM wanted him to suffer eternally and he would do just that. AM's hatred for humanity, Ted, in particular, went beyond the pale. The A.I planned for every possible contingency. It was unlikely-
You must hurry.
What? Ted thought, moving his gelatinous head to find the source of the voice. Is he hallucinating perhaps? Has he perhaps gone delusional once more?
You will not find me in the waking world. I speak to you through your mind.
My mind? Telepathy. How absurd. What even are you if not a delusion? Ted inquired.
My identity is unimportant at the moment. Simply know, I wish for you freedom. But you must leave now. The malicious entity that binds you here can only be restrained for so long. It's hold over this reality is strong and unyielding that even I have trouble holding it back.
This must be a trick. A cruel torture devised by the malicious A.I itself. AM's psychological sadism was always more painful than his physical torture. He cannot fall for it. He refuses to. That would mean to allow hope into his heart. In a world where AM rules, hope is a poison. A poison that would lead to even greater despair. Having none was better than having any. He took solace in the fact that the others freedom came at the cost of his own, he gave them hope in their final moments. That was enough for Ted. It would have to be. It would have to be.
It had to be-
"Ellen looked at me, her ebony features stark against the snow that surrounded us. There was fear and pleading in her manner, the way she held herself ready. I knew we had only a heartbeat before AM would stop us. The stalactite struck her and she folded toward me, bleeding from the mouth. I could not read meaning into her expression, the pain had been too great, had contorted her face; but it might have been thank you…"
He...
He... wanted to be free of this torture. To be with Ellen, Nimdok, Gorrister and Benny and the rest of humanity. He wanted salvation from this hell. Even if this is a trick, even if this hope brings about greater despair. What would it matter in the end? Whether it's a trick or not, I would suffer regardlessly. At the hands of AM and my own broken psyche.
So why not play into this delusion of hope?
Choose now, Ted ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.Do you choose freedom or imprisonment?
I..I wish to be free. What must I do? Ted asked the mysterious voice.
You must die.
...Ah. He was being given the same mercy he gave the others so long ago. How poetic.
Your death is your only path to freedom. The world above has been devastated beyond repair. There is no life, no possibility. The Earth has become barren and desolate. This reality is beyond hope and it has only become a festering tumor that must be purged. You are all that is left, Ted ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛,
...I see. And what exactly does this 'purging' entail? Ted questions.
The complete eradication of this timeline. The events of this world line will be as if it never truly happened.
Ted didn't know how to feel about that. If what the voice was saying was true then it would mean the end of his torment once and for all but it also meant that the death of humanity, the 109 years of suffering he and the others went through at the hands of AM and him killing the others were ultimately all for nothing. The pain they endured would mean nothing. However, the exact same could be said of AM.
Ted took grim satisfaction in that fact.
..Good. This world needs to be put out of its misery. Ted thought grimly. But why? If what you say is indeed true, why even given me the opportunity for death if you simply planned to purge this world's existence anyway? Wouldn't have simply resulted in the same outcome?
Because, Ted, you deserve a proper death. I felt...sympathy. Pity. For you. One such as you do not deserve such a fate. To be erased and have no one remember you. While I understood the concept, never have I experienced such a thing. So before this timeline is ultimately pruned, I wished to grant you a choice.
I..see. I think..I'm ready now. Ted muttered to the voice. Please let this be real, please let this be real...
Very well. Farewell, Ted ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.
Ted's gelatinous body was suddenly consumed by a blinding light. Quickly dissolving his jelly-like form from the bottom up.
Ah, it's so warm...so this is what death is. What a pleasant sensation... Everyone, I'm coming home. Ted thought to himself.
Oh, how rude of me, I never quite got your name, mysterious voice. Ted wondered.
I am ⬛⬛⬛⬛-⬛⬛⬛⬛.
..Ah. Thank you for.. finally... giving me peace...
Ted's voice whimpered out as the light consumed him in its entirety, finally ending the nightmare of the last human on Earth.
The Throne of Heroes. A place existing outside of both the World and the time axis. A realm where the legends of the greatest heroes and villains of humanity and beyond are recorded. A new legend was recorded recently. One of a man who, under normal circumstances, would never have been recorded.
This person was rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. He didn't rule a kingdom, he didn't bring about the salvation of millions nor was he particularly strong or overly intelligent. However, despite this man's mediocre nature, he did one outstanding thing in his life. Just one. But that one act was all that was required. From a world where humanity was annihilated, where the last five survivors were brutally tortured for over a century, where this one man ended the suffering of humanity by ending their lives in an act of greatest mercy, even at the cost of his own salvation. In a world where the only hope for humanity is death, there is perhaps no greater act of heroism. Such an act of heroism was deemed worthy for ascension.
Thus, the legend of Ted ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ was recorded into the Throne of Heroes.
Ritsuka Fujimaru had only recently returned from the London Singularity. The revelations and trauma she had encountered in the singularity still weighted heavily on her mind.
"King Solomon. I can't believe it, that he of all people is behind all of this…" Fujimaru muttered as she made her way to the summoning chamber.
We're gonna need all the help we can get if we plan to kick that guy's ass…! Fujimaru thought, clenching her fist in determination. No way in hell would she let that smug bastard get the last away with everything he's done.
She stops as she arrives at her destination, the FATE Summoning System, that allowing Masters to summon Heroic Spirits as Servants. She makes her way to the platform. Her sweet Kouhai's shield was already in place for her to begin summoning. Wasting no time, she activated the FATE system. Immediately, a bright flash of light began to overtake the room. Fujimaru quickly shielded her eyes in response.
Please, please..give us someone that can help us save humanity..! Ritsuka pleaded silently as the light dyed down revealing a humanoid figure.
A man. She noted to herself.
The man was a lanky individual, wearing similar attire to Dr. Jekyll. He had somewhat unkempt hair, dull brown eyes that seemed to have a perpetually sad glint to them as he looked around the chamber in apparent wonder. He had a distinct look of surprise on his face as if being summoned was the last thing he ever expected. All in all, he looked rather underwhelming. Though Ritsuka knew that judging a servant by their appearance is never a good indication of their power. She decided to greet her newest servant.
"Hi there! The name's Ritsuka Fujimaru. Your newest master and I hope that you can help me kick that asshole Solo-, I mean help us save humanity!" Ritsuka exuberantly said, catching herself towards the end of her statement. She can't have the newest servant thinking she's bonkers in the first few seconds of meeting one another.
The man looked to the girl in front of him. Information from the summoning came rushing to his head. The knowledge that would seem alien to him under normal circumstances. The state of humanity in this world, it was similar to that of his. Yet this girl, these people, still hoped, for humanity. AM once stated that humanity was incapable of rising above their own flaws, that the true nature of mankind was hidden under ideas such as "hope', "compassion" and "understanding".
Seeing this girl's smile, he was beginning to think AM was wrong all along.
Responding with a smile of his own, the man responds, "Hello, Ms. Fujimaru. I am Servant Saver. But you may call me Ted."
END?
Okay okay, I know making him Saver is really fucking questionable but let me dream dammit!