Series Placement: The following Shard takes place between fragments 106 and 107.
With a squeak, two doors swung open. "Um, Jackie? I don't think we should go in if she's not here..."
"Iz ohh-kaaaay~!" the assassin's sing song cheer echoed through Da Vinci's workshop. "We're playing hide and seek! And if she gets upset I'll just give her my biggest pupper eyes and she won't resist~! Right, Kirby?"
"Poyo~!"
Nursery Rhyme withheld a sigh, no matter how much she really wanted to; Her little sister was so shameless about weaponizing her cuteness. But to sigh would blow her cover. Literally. Books usually don't make noises after all. That included a 'fake' book that was trying to hide among the many manuscripts and albums on the bookshelves.
Except her sister knew Nursery Rhyme's usual tricks far too well. "I know you're in here, Alice~!"
If the caster was going to win hide and seek, she needed to execute her escape flawlessly. 'Only five more minutes!'
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Shard 50: A Little Discovery
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While their other caught friends waited by the door, Jack skipped carefully between the director's messy tables to the bookshelves. Kirby rode happily atop her school backpack, then cheered as she began running two fingers atop the spines of various books. She purposefully skipped over manuscripts, assorted prototype models, and all the other trinkets that stuffed Da Vinci's shelves.
Nursery Rhyme waited carefully for Jack to pass the central bookshelf. She'd have three more passes before the assassin reached her row, which was just out of reach for her height. Nursery Rhyme wasn't going to wait until that moment though. The second her sister reached the far corner of the workshop, Nursery Rhyme would shift to her childish form and make a break for- "P-Poyo!"
"Uwah!" A large leather-bound book toppled over as Jack ran her fingers over it. Jack quickly doubled back to try and catch it before it knocked over a framed photo of Chaldea's servant geniuses. Instead, it stopped perfectly at a forty-five-degree angle and clicked audibly. Jack and Kirby stared at it, blinked, then gasped as the bookshelf started vibrating. Now panicking, Jack took a step back in surprise as Nursery Rhyme gawked.
Winning was now a distant priority as the caster flew off the shelves and transformed into her childish self. "Jackie! What'd you do!?"
"I-I didn't mean to!" Jack panicked as the rest of their friends stared nervously from the doorway. "Why is it vibrating!?"
"It's not vibrating. It's moving," Miyu stated matter of factly with a gentle point.
Indeed it was. Nursery Rhyme, now nervously playing with the hem of her school uniform's skirt, glanced to her sister, then the bookshelf. Like one of those modern superhero comics, the shelf shifted back and slid out of view. A tiny room awaited them, complete with a very intricate series of bounded fields to prevent entry. Like a deterrent, one aurora-like field blinked into sight every so often.
Yet it meant little to the two sisters compared to the hidden closet's lone treasure. Among the stainless-steel walls, a high-tech pod, similar to the old Leyshift coffins, stood at its center within a nest of wires and tubes. Its front was replaced with a giant glass pane, showcasing the blue liquid-filled contents and endless streams of tiny bubbles.
"…What is it?" Yedda asked meekly as she walked up to her best friend. By now, the other curious school children had gathered to stare through the small doorway. The question was almost rhetorical, from what Nursery Rhyme could see. It was like a giant test tube, and floating gently within was a smiling, child-like version of-
"It's what I get for trusting only one lock, it seems…" A resounding squeak echoed from all the girls as Da Vinci quickly appeared from spirit form. The battle clad caster's usual smile wasn't present, but she didn't look angry at least. Disappointed maybe? …Troubled even? "I guess I should be glad it's only you girls who stumbled on this little secret."
"…But I thought no more secrets…?" Jack dared to question, then flinched as Da Vinci's flat gaze turned to her. Without hesitation, the assassin quickly executed her new natural instincts: Immediate puppy dog eyes. "I'm sowwy…"
It worked… somewhat. Da Vinci sighed, then offered a melancholy smile as she waved her staff to the workshop's exit. With an unseen breeze, they locked, and the caster strolled to her hidden room's entrance. "…I suppose it's fine. You weren't exactly looking for this, hm?"
"I was looking for Alice…"
"Thought so. You girls have been playing hide and seek ever since class was dismissed," Da Vinci stated as she moved her gauntleted hand across the first bounded fields. She sighed, "The one time I put only one lock… I shouldn't have rushed out. David could've waited a few more minutes."
As the children's collective eyes took one last glance to the lone occupant of the massive container, Lily found her voice. "Does anyone else know about…?"
"David and El-Melloi. But they've promised to keep her secret," Da Vinci noted as the bookshelf closed. "I'm going to insist you girls do too. I'd rather not have anyone knowing about this."
"…But why?"
Da Vinci turned back to stare at Illya blankly, but the pseudo-servant pressed on. "What's so bad about everyone knowing about a child you? Is it a noble phantasm?"
"In a sense… It's more of a precaution should something ever happen to me," Da Vinci smiled with a hint of embarrassment, but it turned terrible solemn. "I wouldn't want to cause so much distress if I were to disappear."
"Then this was inspired by Touko's duplicate bodies," Miyu instantly concluded as Kuro nodded beside her. "Should you meet your end, you could transfer your consciousness to this body in some way? Or it will activate? But that concern is irrational and confusing. Chaldea's strength is difficult to overcome. Assassination possibilities are near impossible."
Nursery Rhyme placed a finger to her lips in thought as Da Vinci stepped back to tinker with a newly appear side console. As the inventor typed, she let out a small giggle. "Very accurate… I guess it is a bit silly of me, isn't it? But it's natural to worry, even for a genius like me. Then I suppose this was just a proof of concept, and a failsafe for the worst."
"So she's just going to sit there forever? That's so lonely…" Janna commented sadly, earning Nursery Rhyme's quick glance as Jack and Yedda nodded instantly. "Can she wake up?"
"She could, but that's not her purpose," Da Vinci answered calmly as the bookshelf slid back into place and clicked several times with re-activated locks; It wasn't supposed to be that one book after all.
"But it could be," Nursery Rhyme finally pointed out with a small smile, earning Da Vinci's stare. "She exists so you can live on if something bad were to happen. Because you don't want many to feel sad if we lost another who means the world to Chaldea…"
Nursery Rhyme trailed off a bit, but many in the room understood: They missed him. Before the air could turn more dreadful, Nursery Rhyme smiled and clasped her hands together. "But if that little you were to wake up now, you'd still live on forever."
The little caster withheld a giggle as confusion was swiftly hidden in Da Vinic's eyes like another skeleton for the closet. The older caster did everything she could never to show she could fail to connect some dots every now and then. Nursery Rhyme wasn't about to prod her for that. No, there was a much brighter idea to put on the table.
"Maybe your consciousness wouldn't transfer or whatever you planned, but isn't it a daughter's purpose to live a happy, meaningful life thanks to their parents? A life she gets to choose how to live! Your memory would live forever through her, just as any parent lives through the growth and success of their child!" the young caster beamed like a rainbow. "At least, I think your daughter would be happier with some friends! It's lonely in there, isn't it?"
"Loneliness is awful…" Yedda agreed quietly as Da Vinci stared at Nursery Rhyme with a growing, amused smile.
"Daughter…? What made you think of that? She's more like a little twin or sister if you were to think like that."
"But I'm the embodiment of happy fairy tales!" Nursery Rhyme chipperly giggled. "Can you not see it too? How she's so young, and how she looks so much like you? I'll bet when Roman comes back, he'd have a really funny expression when you introduce her as your daughter! He'd start stuttering and everything!"
"Make a fool of himself on arrival? That's proof enough we got the real deal," Kuro chuckled.
"Awww~! They'd be like a family!" Janna cheered in agreement as the childish conversation between the kids grew rampant. All the while, Da Vinci glanced to all of them, but mostly to Nursery Rhyme. The gears in the genius' eyes were certainly turning, and the tiny caster couldn't help but pump an unseen fist in clear success: A tiny beansprout had been planted.
"Alright, girls~… That's enough chatting about this. You promise to keep her a secret, okay~?" Da Vinci began, earning a quick moan of disappointment from many. Nursery Rhyme's hopes were quickly dashed, only to reignite when Da Vinci put a finger to her lips and wink. "You promise to keep her a secret… and I promise I'll give some thought to what Alice just hypothesized."
"Ohhhhhh~!" "A new friend~!?" "A secret friend! We can't tell anyone!" "Kuro won't last a day before trying to use it as leverage."
As giggles erupted at that last comment, heralding a small squabble between the archer and her sister's spunky wand, Nursery Rhyme gazed back at Da Vinci. The genius stared back, offered one last pleasant smile, then began ushering them towards the workshop door. Well, it might not have worked immediately, but it was the thought that counts. A thought could go a long way on a small tank of gas.
And with luck and time, Da Vinci's concerned paranoia may birth a new playmate for Chaldea's growing cluster.
