Author Note
Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond.
Now, it's time for us to reach the second singularity, Septem. Before, jumping right to the singularity, I have decided to add a couple of days in between singularities. I don't know if the game account for this or not, but this is a story. As such, there will be scenes of their life in Chaldea, now added with Jeanne D'Arc as Arturia's new friend and fellow heroic spirit. As such, this chapter will begin with some of Chaldea scenes and then start with the singularity.
Well, normally I would take some time to answer some of the reviews, but there are none to comment on.
I will say one thing, though. Like in Orleans, there is one servant who will come back with them to Chaldea and it's someone close to Arturia...well not close, since they never officially met before. But this servant has ties to Arturia still. I'm pretty sure that I have give enough tips for all of you to get it right, but I won't say his or her name right now. Please guess!
Okay, here is the chapter.
Avalon Bond
Part II – Fate Grand Order
Chapter 21 – Septem Part I
Beta: Axel Emiya
An entire week has passed since the end of the first singularity, Orleans.
Based on the mission's urgency, it would have been adamant for Chaldea to jump right through the singularities one by one, until they had managed to restore what Lev destroyed. However, Chaldea's system didn't quite work like that. Romani and Olga as well as Da Vinci and the technicians, after the singularity of Orleans, ran the system diagnostics as well as analyzed the contents of the Holy Grail that the team had acquired. That alone took time. Not to mention that the system of Chaldea needed time to cool-off out of fear of information overload.
Keeping the team inside the Singularity as well as the Servants took enough power from the system.
Not to mention that both Ritsuka and Mash needed time to heal, after the battle.
Mash, in particular, even if she is a demi-servant in the singularity.
The activation of her noble phantasm, even if incomplete, brings about high taxing in her magical circuits, so she needed some rest.
And Romani, being her personal physician, took great care of her through it all.
The week-off also helped Arturia and Shirou.
While the couple wanted nothing but to finish their mission as soon as possible to return home, pushing themselves hard like this was not the way to go. As such, they had enjoyed the nice reduction of pace to simply enjoy themselves as a couple, doing normal things like sleep, eat, hang out and even other bedroom activities from time to time. Arturia was in a daze every time her sheathe enveloped her in a hug while being on top of her. She would literally imagine herself in the leafy green field and bright blue skies, while she was absorbed in the feeling of Shirou's warmth.
It made sure to cleanse her body from the fatigue of facing the singularities.
As to Jeanne, she had found a bond of camaraderie with Arturia.
The holy maiden was quite surprised and slightly embarrassed when Arturia apologized on behalf of the country of England to their actions. Even if they were in war, the treatment that Jeanne received was inexcusable and Arturia would have never sanctioned such a behavior from her knights. Being King Arthur, Jeanne D'Arc became mesmerized at the gesture. It really spoke volumes of Arturia's regal posture, and it showed Jeanne the ease in which her new friend commanded respect. Aside from that, the two blonde servants hanged out quite a lot throughout the week off duty, talking about many different subjects, many of them regarding their lives.
Both the past and the present in the case of Arturia.
The King of Knights would talk about her life both before and during her reign as King. How she looked up to her father figure and wanted to become a knight just like him. She went into details about how her life shifted once she fulfilled the prophecy of removing Caliburn from the stone. Jeanne was absorbed into the story as Arturia explained about her grand dream of unifying Britania, at the time many small countries filled with nothing but war and grief. The story then shifted to her downfall as king. Arturia pretty much explained it all for the holy maiden. A story that began beautifully being able to become something for the people of her country then to be killed by her very own son brought to the World by the treacherous acts of Arturia's sister.
Jeanne couldn't help but feel for her newfound friend. Her own life had its own hardships.
While Jeanne was never sexually assaulted while in captivity, she was beaten up constantly and had been denied food and water. Arturia's respect for her French knight friend skyrocketed as Jeanne's will never faltered all throughout her time. Not even til she was burned alive, did she abandon her beliefs and that spoke volumes.
Arturia had confessed to Jeanne that when she was about to perish at the Battle of Camlann, she faltered.
Unlike Jeanne, who will remain strong up until the end, Arturia made a pledge to the world to rewrite her history and let someone else take the sword from the stone. Arturia was surprised at the conversation how she teared up in Jeanne's presence at telling her story. Jeanne's presence was so soothing that Arturia had only remembered feeling like this relaxed around Shirou. Not even with Rin. Of course, as much as Rin became a valued friend in Arturia's new life, the King of Knights felt like she was speaking to a deity. To this day, Arturia had never really focused much on religion, but she could feel it in Jeanne's words and mannerisms.
Soon, the two bonded as friends. When the time came for Arturia to tell her future, they were already at a table at the cafeteria, surrounded by the female technician crew in Chaldea, followed by Da Vinci and Mash.
Olga never really cared to bond much with anyone as she considered her position of leadership. So, never once did she approach any of the staff, hoping to maintain her aura or the unapproachable boss, just like she learned from the Magus Society she grew up in. Though, Olga Marie Animusphere had never had a time to simply be a girl, much less a woman. She had no concept of the word 'friend' and the most she ever considered looking at the opposite sex was when her father explained just how the Moonlit world worked in that regard. As such, as she looked at the group of women chatting amicably, Olga became conflicted about what to do.
"Here you go!"
The gray-haired director had awakened from her conundrum as one Emiya Shirou approached her and placed a plate of lava cake on her lap for her.
"What is this?" Shirou had simply smiled and turned to head back to the kitchen.
"It's just something I will be serving them, and you looked like you could eat some. I'm not one to brag, but everyone has said wonders about my chocolate lava cake."
Olga looked at the piece of cake sitting on her lap, before she observed the redhead servant bring up a bigger sized cake to serve the table she was eyeing for the past thirty minutes. Olga could see the look of pure glee from the King of Knights upon seeing the dessert being served. The others were thrilled as well as the man in Arturia's life served everyone. Shirou would then leave the girls be as he went back to the kitchen and take another cake for the rest of the male staff, including Ritsuka and Dr. Romani.
Olga was simply observing Shirou's back, before looking at the table.
Deciding to go on a whim, the director used her arms to take the wheelchair towards the table.
As soon as she did approach, the conversation stopped as everyone looked at her.
"Ah Director, is there something you need?"
Mash, being the respectful one, got up and approached the silver-haired boss. The woman was slightly blushing at their eyes looking straight at her.
"Well, nothing of the sort, I…I just wondered if I could join you all, that's all."
The silence that met was insufferable, until the King of Knights gave her a brief nod in acceptance. Olga always wondered about the legendary woman, well, man according to the legend. In their interactions, despite being courteous, Arturia had never openly engaged in any conversation with Olga, opting to remain either by Shirou's side or chat with the rest of the staff. Her shoulders relaxed somewhat when Arturia's focus returned to the table and Olga settled to position her wheelchair by Olga's side.
"Okay, so where was I?" Arturia asked everyone, before Da Vinci lifted her finger.
"You were describing how Shirou managed to defeat Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, in your war…"
Olga's eyes were widened to impossible proportions at the mention. Mash and Da Vinci was hooked.
Of course, Arturia wouldn't dare explain about Shirou's reality marble, but she could very well walk past that, focusing on his structural analysis skill aided by Avalon inside of him and Rin's magical circuits.
"Oh, yes, by that time, Shirou had requested to fight Gilgamesh by himself while I aided the other master Rin in destroying the Grail. I was strongly against it, but Shirou was always stubborn and tended to place his life in jeopardy to help others, just like he put himself in harm's way when we faced the almighty Berserker servant Heracles." The memory to this day irked Arturia as she remembered how unbelievably stubborn Shirou was at the time. So much so, that said feeling was pretty evident as she told the story about them.
Jeanne had smiled at the way that Arturia explained the story of the couple's adventures together. While they were eating Shirou's lava cake with some late-night coffee, the girls of Chaldea were just happy to hear the almost folk-tale story of Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights and one Emiya Shirou, particularly the point when Arturia described their most intimate moments, of course without many details.
Still:
Da Vinci smiled broadly like a Cheshire cat…eagerly fishing for more details.
Mash blushed like a red tomato…while subconsciously turning her eyes at Ritsuka
Olga attempted to look the other way…picturing it.
Jeanne…well…there wasn't much in her life for these types of experiences, but she sure enjoyed the hearing the parts that lead to it.
The female staff were like Da Vinci.
===Next day===
The next day, after breakfast, one Mash considered getting some training done.
She was about to call Arturia-taichou for some help, but the King of Knights apologized, saying that some of the female staff members invited her and Jeanne for some board games to pass the time. That left Mash with her second choice as she reached to Emiya Shirou for his help. Luckily, Shirou had said yes to her request and then the two went to the training area where they could fight like servants. Though, seeing that Mash was Chaldea's test subject for many years, she had a staff that accompanied her to monitor her growth. Specially to see if she is able to fully assimilate the heroic spirit that bonded with her. As such, when they joined in the training room, Shirou noticed Mash turning into the demi-servant, just as Olga and Romani appeared behind the glass where the staff was located.
Shirou noticed, though, that the girl was looking down at something.
"Are you okay, Mash?" The demi-servant turned to see her senior servant and nodded, slightly feeling better that at least she was not alone in this room.
"Yes, Shirou, thank you." Then, Mash summoned her shield relic and walked away a bit, before standing in front of her opponent.
"So, do you have any drills in mind or a plain old spar would do like Arturia and I do?"
"Well, when I'm here, Chaldea has a few attacking drills for me to perform, but I guess we can spar, if that's okay with you."
Shirou nodded as Mash positioned her shield in front of her, just as Shirou traced his demonic katana.
Shirou then began the attack using Arturia's mana burst surprising Mash as she positioned the shield to her right just as Shirou's demonic katana slammed into it. Mash's arms trembled at the sudden increase in strength and she skidded back a couple meters. Shirou, though, didn't relent and charged once more, keeping Mash on her toes the entire time. The Demi-servant couldn't keep up with the speed and strength of the other Pseudo-servant in front of her. Still, Shirou kept on it for a good while, but stopped once Mash kneeled on the ground, panting.
"Just a heads-up if you wish to spar with Arturia…she actually hits harder than this." Mash looked up at the smiling face as Shirou continued.
"It appears that you're focusing prana only at the shield, though."
"What do you mean?" Shirou then released his katana and crossed his arms.
"Do you know how to use reinforcement on your limbs? You have a heavy weapon, and you need to strengthen your limbs as well. Try passing prana through the magical circuits on your arms and keep it up while fighting." Shirou then traced two katanas, one in each arm, and charged once more. Mash did as Shirou instructed. The magic circuits on her arms hummed to life just as Shirou slammed both kanatas on her shield. Mash snarled at the impact, but she was surprised when she held it much better than before.
"Good, now keep it like this!" Mash's eyes widened as Shirou would vanish using mana burst and brutally attack Mash.
The staff that kept the data collecting system activated were monitoring Mash's neural activities and prana expenditure. With Shirou's tip to her, Mash managed to hold her own better, increasing the capabilities of her shield ability. However, so far, she was unable to even shift from defensive to offensive. And Shirou was relentless in his assault. This was the scene that Arturia and Jeanne arrived to see, gathering the attention of Olga and Romani. Arturia had simply smiled upon seeing them spar.
"So, he's still holding back." The staff looked at the King of Knights surprised at her comment. It was Jeanne, however, who decided to ask.
"What do you mean, Arturia, Mash is an experienced fighter and can barely protect herself."
Arturia for her part was mentally picturing the beginning of their sessions in Shirou's dojo.
"It's how it goes when he and I spar. We begin slowly like this and then increase the pace as the training progresses. Though, he only increases the pace when I push him to."
Arturia knows what Shirou is doing. By pushing Mash this hard, he is forcing her to assimilate the spirit of Galahad faster. It was clear to Arturia that Shirou's attempt was successful as she looked at Mash's shield glowing in white energy. Normally, that would only occur once she used the incomplete noble phantasm, but this way, Shirou's attacks were being blocked much better than before.
Inside the training facility, Mash began to notice that indeed she was having less trouble blocking Shirou's attacks.
"Nicely done, Mash. You managed to keep up reinforcing your limbs. Now, try attacking me. I will only defend."
True to that nature, Shirou then traced the two demonic katanas once more as Mash advanced on him.
When she swung her shield at him, Shirou parried with it his swords and then used brute force to send her backwards.
"You can't allow me to break your defense even when attacking, Mash. You have to overpower me." The lilac servant nodded and tried again, this time attacking Shirou with everything she got. Shirou either blocked or evaded as Mash pretty much trashed the entire training sight with holes from her shield. Still, she was nowhere near close enough to even become a threat and she kneeled on the ground, panting once more. Shirou released a sigh and released his swords once more.
"Well, I believe it's enough for today." Mash, though, looked painfully down. "We will begin the second singularity soon, so let us rest."
"Oh, I guess you're right." The redhead servant noticed the downed demeanor and he took a seat next to his fellow servant.
"You made some improvement today Mash, those strikes were pretty strong. Though, just like the arms, you need to reinforce your legs, you still lack agility." Mash then went back to her homunculus outfit as the training facility was deactivated. Then, the two left towards the hallways as Mash looked up to the redhead servant. Despite the heavy (in her mind) workout, he looked quite normal. It was like they hadn't been training at all for two straight hours. It amazed her that actually as a thought intrigued her.
"Shirou, do you fight like this occasionally against Arturia-taichou?"
The redhead servant looked down at Mash and nodded with a smile just as Arturia in her full armored clothing appeared next to Jeanne.
"We used to spar like this almost every day, Mash. In the beginning, she would wipe the floor with me. Today, she still wins, but I do make her work for it."
Mash looked at him and then at smirking Arturia.
"Oh, how humble is my fiancée. Seeing you two fight, made me eager to do some sparring, care to join me Shirou?"
"Sure, though I don't believe miss Olga will appreciate us levelling the place even more."
Mash giggled at that as she remembered hearing their story from Arturia yesterday. Two people from thousands of years apart and still were able to find each other. For a great while, all that Mash was able to do was read through Chaldea's entire database material about mankind. She had become a bookworm of knowledge, though sometimes she also indulged in fictional books about romance as well. Above all else, she always wondered what it was like to be human. Unfortunately, her life didn't allow her to have these kinds of experiences. However, as she eyed her senior servants, Mash was content to simply observe them.
"Don't worry Shirou…this training facility was devised by Da Vinci. After is used, the system works fast in repairing the damage, using Chaldea's nuclear reactor battery."
"Oh, that's neat, technology at its best. Back home, I would protect the walls and floor with runes to protect from damage. Well, shall we Arturia..."
The king of knights' response was to simply unleash her Excalibur and follow Shirou back to the training facility while Mash ran towards the control room to activate the room, together with the smiling Jeanne.
Needless to say, the training facility would be out of order for quite a while as the couple trashed the place.
===Septem Briefing===
When the date of the second singularity came, everyone was present in the Chaldea system room as Romani began the presentation.
It was the same scene that happened at Orleans Singularity, now with a new addition of Jeanne D'Arc, fully dressed in her purple dress added by the many pieces of armor as well as the flag and the sword strapped on her waist.
"Okay, then, let us proceed." The many different screens hummed to life. "The second singularity takes place in 1st century Europe, more especially Ancient Rome, the great empire that grew from Italy to control the Mediterranean Sea…" Romani stopped talking once he heard a visibly complaint mumbling from Arturia. "Sorry, Arturia, is anything wrong?" The King of Knights was slightly embarrassed over losing her cool just now, but the mere mention of the Roman Empire made her blood boil.
"Sorry about interrupting your presentation Dr. Romani, it's just that my country was torn apart because of the Roman Empire." Everyone soon stopped to hear the history lesson and Arturia remembered hearing this from her father Sir Ector. "Back then, the Barbarians were breathing down the border of the already fragmented Roman Empire. By the time I was born, it was no longer as strong as it used to be. As such, it became weak…weak enough to be taken. Because of the lack of manpower available, they had taken away the military force that kept my country Britannia protected from the very same Barbarians. The time of the Barbarian invasions and self-destructive strife between the clans started a long series of wars and many people died because of it."
Arturia paused as she remembered the look in Sir Ector's eyes as he told her the story.
She was but a small child back then with dreams of becoming like him one day.
"Uniting the countries back into one was actually my main drive as King."
After the history lesson, it soon became quiet for a while, as Romani then placed a hand on his chin in a thinking pose.
"Well, that must have happened around the 6th century, I take it." Arturia nodded, so Romani continued while Shirou approached Arturia with a comforting hug. "Indeed, by Arturia's time, the Roman empire was already weakened, probably as a result of the kings' decisions, but in the 1st century, it pretty much ruled the entire Continent, under the rule of Emperor Nero Claudius, fifth emperor of Rome. Well, the teleport point will be the very capital of Rome. Just like in Orleans, the exact location of the supposedly existing Holy Grail is unknown and there may be historical changes as well at the singularity."
Romani pressed a few buttons on his tablet and the screens shifted, showing the map of the empire back in the 1st century.
"Okay, similar to the last mission, you'll reach and correct the singularity. Also, find the Grail and bring it back to us. With Jeanne now with us, our field team is right now gaining more muscle."
Everyone nodded at the situation, before Romani turned to Mash.
"As soon as you find a suitable leyline, prepare the summon so that the servant team can join you two." Mash acquiesced with it, before following Ritsuka to put on the suit to facilitate the ray shift process. In no time, everything was set to go. Jeanne quietly observes the entire procedure. She stood by Shirou and Arturia while Mash and Ritsuka, now suited up and ready to go, got inside the coffin and closed their eyes as the liquid filled up inside.
Romani, Olga and Da Vinci went back to the control room as Romani initiated the sequence.
Ray shift preparations complete
Destiny – Rome, 60 AD
Initiate Unsummon protocol
Spiritron Conversion Start
Ritsuka Fujimaru…Mash Kyrielight…all stages of the rayshift free to begin.
Ray shift beginning in 3…2…1
===Somewhere===
As soon as Ritsuka and Mash opened their eyes, they realized that something was amiss. Even if they were in the past, both knew how vast and enormous the great capital of the Roman Empire was, which was…well should have been their dropping site. Right now, all they could see were green fields and tall hills. Mash found herself taking into the sights…feeling the pure wind cleansing her face. Above all else, the deep blue sky was quite mesmerizing in her mind.
"Well, it appears that the ring of light in the sky is also in this singularity, huh."
Mash turned to Ritsuka about his comment. This time, Romani's voice surged through the intercom.
"Ring of light…as usual, I can't get a good look at it from here, but it is an intriguing phenomenon. I will continue the investigation. Now, another problem is that clearly you are not in Rome right now." Mash and Ritsuka sweat dropped at Olga's voice screaming bloody murder at Romani for him to fix this mess once and for all.
"Easy there, Director…the system is still one hundred percent, because of Lev's actions."
It now came up in their minds about the elusive magus. He was not in Orleans, but very well could be here in Rome.
"Now, Mash, luckily so, it appears that you are standing close to a suitable leyline, so it's prudent to bring in the servants before investigating the singularity."
"A good idea, Dr. Romani…Mash."
The servant nodded at Ritsuka as she placed the shield relic on the ground, before focusing prana through it.
Establishing the connection to Chaldea, Romani's voice appeared so clear through the intercom, it was like he was there next to them.
"Connection established. Sending servants Shirou Emiya, Arturia Pendragon and Jeanne D'Arc to your location."
In little to no time, all three servants appeared around the shield relic as they looked around as Dr. Romani kept on talking.
"It's strange, though, why are you so far from the capital…despite the poisoning of Empress Aggripina last year, Nero isn't in his dangerous declining years yet. An era where the emperor is loved, and the city of Rome is prosperous…that's what should have been waiting fpr you. There must be some reason for being so far…do any of you see anything unusual in the surroundings?" So far, neither of the five in the team saw anything but tall trees and greenery all over the place. It was like this place was still untouched by civilization.
It all shifted when the servants heard the distinguished sounds of a sword fight and screams of anger and it seemed to be happening over the hill they were currently on.
For Romani it was an historical anomaly because in this era, there were no full-scale wars.
As soon as they reached to investigate, they were surprised to see that indeed a full-scale battle between two battalions, however both were wearing similar roman style armor in crimson and gold color. Arturia was paying special attention to the blond woman that looked a lot like she used to look, wearing a long quite revealing red and white dress and handling the opposing army with a blood red sword taking on the enemy with enough grace and posture that she couldn't help but admire.
Author Note
Ok, that is about it for now. Kind of a short chapter, I know. I just wanted to finish the small scenes in Chaldea and give the introduction to Septem Singularity right now. Just like in Orleans, I won't be playing the history just like it happened in the game. Some of the servants will be, but others will not.
Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who added this story to his/her follow/favorite.
Please tell me your thoughts.
Next update: Nidaime no Sairin