Fifth Story: A Masterless House

Atalante awoke in the dark confines of the room that she shared with her goddess, Artemis. It had been a few days since her arrival at Chaldea, and she had taken the time to carefully analyze her new surroundings and what was expected of her new role. She was just one of many Servants that had answered the call of her new Master, who was determined to undo the Incineration of Humanity and restore order to the world.

Quietly, she thought that her Master was an absolute moron for attempting to take on such a massive burden. But she had no intention of saying that aloud, as he had yet to provide proof to her feeling. She stretched her long limbs until they were satisfactorily supple and primed for action. Glancing to her right, the bed that was normally occupied by the sleeping beauty that was Artemis, now lay open and empty. Even the plush bear that held the soul of her lover Orion was gone, not to be found even in her underwear drawer.

Atalante, like all Heroic Spirits, did not technically need to sleep. If she were to be literal, neither did she need to eat. So long as she received a steady supply of magical energy, she could continue to function. Though she initially insisted on maintaining such stringent limits, other Servants, especially Artemis, had convinced her to try things another way. In this way, or so she was told, it would help conserve the magical resources coming from Chaldea itself. Seeing the logic in the argument, Atalante had fallen into a routine, like most Servants at Chaldea. But as she emerged into the clean, austere hallway, her tail twitched involuntarily. She sniffed the air with her keen nose and smelled apprehension, and she knew exactly why.

Master wasn't in Chaldea right now; he had gone on a Rayshift to repair a broken aspect of human history. Atalante had been briefed on exactly what it meant to Rayshift, and the true danger that Master faced when out on these missions. A Rayshift was the closest thing to time travel that was possible through technology and magecraft, allowing choice individuals to literally step back in time and view events of the past as they happened. But due to the destruction of human history, small errors in the human timeline cropped up. The only way to undo the damage was to send a team into the Singularities and forcibly correct them on the ground. These Singularities were eminently dangerous, and death within them meant that humanity would remain ash for all eternity. Atalante, along with every Servant and staff member knew that each mission literally had the fate of the world riding on it. Everyone had to perform their best at all times, and a single mistake could lead to total disaster.

She made her way down the winding hallway, passing a few other Servants, all wearing visages of grim expectation. Despite her recent arrival, most still made an effort to greet her in their own ways, though none spoke more than a few words. It wasn't until the cafeteria doors that someone spoke a full sentence to her,

"Dine with us in hell, here upon the eve of battle."

"Leonidas, what is this about?"

Before her stood a tall figure in bronze armor, wielding a long spear and a heavy round shield upon his arm. A true monolith to behold, Leonidas stood sentinel at the cafeteria doors, glaring daggers at anyone who passed beneath his eternal gaze. Much to her chagrin, Leonidas didn't feel it was necessary to explain himself further. Atalante wanted to question him more, but she knew better than to challenge a Spartan on anything. Seeing as he wasn't moving to block her entry, she sidled past with a suspicious glance and entered the cafeteria proper.

Walking inside she spied nearly two dozen Servants scattered among the tables and benches, though it appeared very few were actually partaking of the meals prepared by the legendary Chaldea kitchen staff. What conversation she could pick up were either stiff and apprehensive or full of excitement and anticipation. Those that spoke with excitement simply reeked of battle-lust, Atalante wrinkled her nose at the stench and took the long way around to her usual seat.

There were two others waiting for her, three if one counted the stuffed bear that was pressed firmly between a pair of fine breasts. The embreasted toy called out,

"Lookie there, it would seem the huntress is finally awake. Did you have trouble picking out a pair of panties? I could loan you a pair if you need – OWOWOW!"

The small bear let out a cry of pain as he was firmly squeezed by a gorgeous woman with flowing hair the color of snow and eyes that captured the emptiness of space. Artemis gripped the bear tight around the neck,

"My, my, Darling. And where did you happen to get those panties? I will remind you that I do not wear any, so I am quite confused as to where they might have come from."

"Let…go! You're going to pop me!"

"Don't worry about that Darling, I can just stitch you back together so that you'll never die! Ah, my dear Atalante, how wonderful to see you up and about."

Atalante ignored the choking teddy bear and sat herself opposite of Artemis, "Good morning, Goddess. I see it is still business as usual for you."

Artemis blushed slightly, "Always so formal, I knew you were my second favorite disciple for a reason! Darling is always my number one, I hope you understand that." Atalante brushed the comment aside with a swish of her tail, she had quickly come to ignore the irrational acts of her Goddess and the toy that held the disembodied spirit of Orion, the greatest of the ancient Greek hunters. But whatever respect she held for the legendary hero were all but dashed when she experienced him for the first time. Especially seeing as he referred to her as, "Not another male hero! Aren't we a bit full up on them?" She took exception to that.

Deciding to move on, Atalante swept her hawkish gaze throughout the cafeteria, "I have never seen things so tense here. It is…very strange to not have Master around."

Artemis had gone from squeezing the stuffing out of Orion to lovingly petting him as she nestled between her breasts. A gentle sigh escaped her lips, "It is certainly odd, especially for your first time. Without Master there is a hole in your heart, like a longing lover yearning for her sweetheart."

Her tail bristled, "That is most certainly not true! It's just weird, that's all…" The goddess of the hunt simply smiled knowingly but did not push the issue any further. Instead she inclined her head towards those around them,

"Look around, you aren't alone in your feeling. Everyone is tense with Master and Mash gone, but it's not simply because they are missed. Everyone is waiting for the call to arms."

Atalante's ears twitched to show her understanding, "That is true, an Emergency Summoning is always possible."

It was common knowledge that Master never entered a Singularity alone, he always brought Mash and a small entourage of Servants from Chaldea. For major operations, it was typical for him to bring up to six, though he tended to pick up stray Servants that he then managed to bring back to Chaldea. However, for minor operations he only brought a few as a way of conserving resources. In cases like these, emergencies could always arise that stretch the boundaries of the few Servants that Master brought along, and Master had developed a reputation for getting in over his head.

This possibility required a quick solution, and so the Emergency Summoning Process, or ESP, was created. It allowed Master to automatically summon backup from Chaldea directly, without having to go through the lengthy Rayshift process to collect the required Servant. While it increased Master's survivability dramatically, it had the side effect of placing every single Heroic Spirit in Chaldea on constant high alert. Until Master returned safely to Chaldea, the entire staff was in battle-ready mode.

Atalante drummed her fingers on the table, "Who did Master bring with him? I do not recall being informed of such."

A second voice from behind answered her, "Siegfried and Georgios. Master was expecting a lot of dragons, and those two are among the best dragon slayers we have."

Both of the table's occupants turned to face the new arrival, and Artemis' face blossomed into a dazzling smile, "Parvati, darling! You look positively radiant today! How are you?"

The incarnation of the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and marriage raised her hand in greeting, "I'm doing well, thank you for asking! Apologies for butting into your conversation like that." She inclined her head towards Atalante, "I hope this day finds you well, huntress."

Atalante mirrored her movement, "You honor me with your words, goddess." A stifled laugh from Artemis broke the serious tone that she was hoping to set when interacting with a foreign Divine Spirit.

"You're still so serious, even after all this time. You really should try to lighten up a bit! Maybe spend some time with Parvati and her companions? She and I are besties, you know!"

Artemis had floated up from her seat and hovered behind Parvati, wrapping her arms around her neck as she pressed their cheeks together. Parvati accepted the show of affection with good humor, though Atalante wasn't sure if the reddening in her cheeks was because she was a bit embarrassed or if Artemis was squeezing a bit too tight. Orion's voice piped up from Artemis' shoulder,

"Now this is some quality girl-on-girl action! But it could be better. Hey, Parvati, mind losing some of the fabric? I bet you got a great rack under – AGHHH"

Artemis wrenched the bear from her shoulder, "Darling! Don't you remember that my chest is the only one you need!? Here! I'll remind you!" Without a second thought she pressed Orion in between her breasts and began to squeeze tight. Orion's voice, as muffled as it was, protested the rough treatment,

"This isn't as good as it looks! But it's still pretty great!"

Parvati took the opportunity to gently extricate herself from Artemis' grip and left her fellow goddess to wrangle with the bear. Rearranging parts of her elaborate dress, she smiled warmly at Atalante,

"You are certainly blessed with colorful companions. It must have made every day quite the adventure."

"That is truer than you might realize," Atalante smirked despite herself as she recalled the many escapades that she and her contemporaries endured. Some she could recall with fondness, though there were just as many that were better left buried. She sighed gently,

"Though I will admit, I sometimes miss the quiet solitude of my forests. At least then I had a chance of hiding from those that sought me out. But I could never hide from my goddess, she was very, very persistent at times."

"Truly?" Parvati giggled, "I never would have guessed. But I can see where she was coming from, it is always better to spend time with the ones you love. Even more so when times are uncertain. It is always important to remind those close to you that you love them, and to do whatever it takes to ensure that your message of love reaches them!"

An unsettling gleam entered Parvati's eyes as she lapsed into a trance-like state, murmuring gleefully as she envisioned a sight reserved only for her eyes. Atalante regarded the pair of loony love goddesses with a resigned look; it was no wonder that they got along so well, seeing as they were practically the same at times. Quietly leaving the goddesses to their reverie, she got up from her seat and exited the cafeteria, she wasn't in the mood to eat anyways. Waving a goodbye as she passed Leonidas, Atalante wandered with no particular destination in mind. She ruminated on what Parvati had said, about spending time with those close to oneself in uncertain times. A part of her wondered if she truly had people like that.

Her feet carried her through the gentle, winding corridors, passing by human and Servant alike. Most offered some kind of greeting, but none stopped to chat, not that she was particularly interested in conversation anyways. While she could recognize and name every Servant that passed, she realized that she could not name much of anything about them, save for the most basic of facts.

Atalante had never been one for working with others, always preferring to operate alone or at most in a small, elite team. She expected to be fine with ignoring those outside her immediate surroundings and being left alone to her own devices, but the reality was showing to be different than expected. The mere fact that she was wondering why she had no ability to strike up a conversation irritated her to no end. By the time her feet decided to stop moving, Atalante was in a considerably grouchy mood.

Her eyes focused on the door by which she had come to a halt, and upon realizing where she was a small smile came to her otherwise stony expression. Chaldea was home to many kinds of Servants of varying personalities, traits and even age. Like attracts like, as it always was with humanity. This room was specially designed to offer a home for those Servants who retained more child-like aspects. It was generally referred to as the "Chaldea Daycare," though the occupants simply called it "The Playroom."

Raising a fist, she rapped her knuckles quietly on the closed door. A moment later, a sing-song voice called out, "Who is it? Who comes a-knocking, a knocking upon our door?"

"It is I, Atalante. Might I come in for a bit?"

Another voice, this one higher in pitch and full of excitement shouted, "Auntylante! Yes, yes of course you can come in!"

A warm smile pulled at the corners of her lips as the door slid open, and she was immediately tackled by two small figures. Stumbling slightly, she regained her footing and gazed down at the Servants that were now wrapped around her waist,

"Good morning Jack, hello Lily. Energetic as always I see."

Placing each hand atop their small heads, she ruffled their white hair, eliciting a chorus of delighted squeals from the girl as her slender fingers embraced their small heads. The two Servants that hung on Atalante's hips were none other than Jack the Ripper and Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, or Jalter Lily for short. The third girl in the trio hung back a little bit, silently chiding her companions for their forwardness with a gentle shake of her head. That was Nursery Rhyme, a small girl who dressed in dark purples and pinks, with twin braids on either side of her body. All three of them were born of strange circumstances, and Nursery technically wasn't even human at all. But all three encapsulated a concept of childhood, and so they stuck together.

Nursery puffed out her chest, "Now now you two, don't you know that it's important for a lady to be more reserved in how she shows her feelings? Being too forward is improper!"

Lily stuck out her tongue at Nursery, "You're just jealous because Jack and I are faster. You can't make it to the door in that big, poofy dress of yours."

"Nursery is very fluffy." Jack murmured as she buried her face into the folds of Atalante's skirt, as if she were attempting to absorb her scent. Atalante gave Jack's hair an extra tender stroke; Jack may be an Assassin, and a terrifying one at that, but in spite of it all Atalante felt a special attraction to the child. It was the closest feeling to a maternal drive to protect that Atalante could ever recall herself having. Even so, she could smell Jack's murderous intent upon her. One wrong move and her small hands could easily rend flesh from bone, even that of a Heroic Spirit.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she slowly waddled inside along with the extra weight that giggled with every step. Once over the threshold, they let go and bounced back into the room. Atalante gave a polite curtsy to Nursery, "And how are you upon this fine day?"

Nursery beamed and curtsied back, "It is always wonderful when such kind faces make themselves known. Have you come for tea? I always make extra just in case."

Accepting the invitation, Atalante examined the place that these three called home. Divided into two sections, one for playing and the other for sleeping, it was a fair size larger than the dormitories that Atalante had seen so far. There were only three beds, but with room enough for more it was obvious that Chaldea was planning on others like these three arriving later down the line. The rest of the space was dedicated to playing; the floor was covered with various toys, dolls and coloring supplies. There was also a sizeable bookcase against the wall, all the books were all placed neatly and dusted properly. As Atalante sat down cross-legged at the low table at the center of the room, which was adorned with all the trappings of a tea party, her foot brushed against something metallic.

"Oh? What's this?" Reaching underneath the cloth, her fingers gingerly wrapped around something heavy and she pulled out a long knife with a wickedly jagged edge. She frowned at Jack,

"What have I told you about leaving these lying around?"

Jack leaned over the table with a grasping hand, "We were looking for that! Give it back!"

Nursery adopted a similar face in imitation of Atalante's disapproval, "Jack you have to be careful with those! I could get a papercut, and that would be no good at all!"

Atalante shushed Nursery with a glance and held the knife firmly by the blade, "That isn't good manners, Jack. How do we ask nicely?"

Jack's small face scrunched up in a pout most furious, her cheeks turning red as she held her breath, an obvious attempt to force Atalante to relent. But relent she would not, and soon it was Jack who cracked first. She let out a long breath, then affixed her most doe-eyed gaze up at Atalante, complete with hands grasped in prayer,

"Can we have it back? Pweeassee?"

Atalante caved and handed the knife over.

Jack snatched the knife with a flick of her wrist, gleefully snuggling with the blade as if it were a teddy bear. Lily dropped down adjacent to Atalante and presented a platter covered in variously shaped cookies and tarts to her,

"Would you like to try one? I'm trying to get better at baking, so that one day I can make Master the perfect Valentine's chocolate! What happened last year won't happen again, this I swear on the name of Santa!"

Atalante picked one up between two fingers, assuming it was some kind of lemon tart, judging from the appearance and smell of it. Gingerly taking a bite, her mouth was flooded with an overwhelming sour taste so strong that she could not prevent her lips from puckering. After wiping her watering eyes, Atalante struggled to find the right words to respond to the eager young Santa Alter.

"So, so? How was it? It was good, yes? Really, really good?"

"Uhm, well it was certainly…flavorful. Say, did you add sugar to the mix? At all?"

Santa Lily's smile crumbled, "Oh. Well, I just thought that…you know…Nursery likes to make really sweet tea that…it would kind of…even it out?"

Lily hung her head in shame as the weight of her failure threatened to push her to tears, though she tried mightily to not let her emotions show just like Nursery had told her. The other two girls looked on with gentle concern, it was clear that they understood just how hard Santa Lily was trying to get her sweets down right. Atalante sighed, sometimes it wasn't easy to be an adult.

Popping the entire treat into her mouth, she chewed it quickly while making exaggerated noises that designated one's enjoyment of something. Ignoring the burning in her throat, she exclaimed,

"I think you're on the right track, Lily. A few tweaks here and there and you'll have a treat that Master is guaranteed to enjoy!"

Lily sniffed loudly, but a bit of hope began to return to her eyes, "You…you really think so?"

"I know so. The next time you want to make something, don't be afraid to ask for help. I'm sure Miss Boudica or Miss Cat would love to help you out."

Though she continued to snuffle, Lily appeared to accept her advice. The four settled into comfortable conversation, though Atalante herself was not a major contributor. She was content to remain on the sidelines and observe the trio as they talked, joked and laughed over the tea spread. In moments like these, she could hardly resist the desire to relax and drink in the oddly calm atmosphere. Though she shared a table with a murderer, a sentient book and a creature born of nothing more than happenstance, she was still content. This sweet vision of innocence and joy entrenched her resolve to repair the world; for if these tender smiles required her to give all she had so that they might remain, she would gladly pay that price as many times as necessary.

With a soft smile meant only for herself, Atalante laid a hand on Jack's soft head, which had found its way onto her lap. Nursery giggled softly, catching Atalante with a gaze much older than her body suggested. Lily was too busy munching on sweets to notice much of anything, she certainly got her greedy side from Jeanne Alter.

Everything was going well until an alarm sounded in the silence, followed immediately by an announcement,

"Archer Atalante, prepare for Emergency Summon at once! T-minus eight seconds to summon!"

Every fiber in her being was instantly electrified as she felt an invisible hook yank on her Spirit Core. The latent bond with Master strengthened and her extremities began to dissolve into golden sparks. Jack leapt away with astounding agility, landing next to Nursery with a very un-childlike gleam in her eyes. With bodies poised to act and eyes filled with determination, all three girls cried out at once,

"Go!"

At the risk of looking uncool, Atalante smoothly rose to a kneel, summoning her bow into her hands as she did so. The tether grew stronger until she felt herself being sucked out of this existence and into another, to where she belonged at her Master's side.

Giving a wink as she vanished, she gave a word of encouragement to the spectators, "Be back soon." The next second, she vanished from their presence and into another. Though her new environment was fraught with danger and uncertainty, she never once panicked or questioned. So long as there were smiles awaiting her, nothing could stop her from repairing this fractured world.

Master! Here, try these! I baked them just for you! So? What do you think?