Fate Grand Apocrypha - Standard Bearers
Chapter 11 : What You Left Behind
Author's Note : Ah, the annual FGO Anniversary, it's either a fun time where you celebrate your good rolls, or wallow in despair cursing your bad luck. How was it for you guys? I did pretty fine myself, salt-free as they'd say. Hope you get good results as well.
Disclaimer : I don't own Fate, Type-Moon does.
"...You've got something to say? Get on with it then." Jeanne Alter tiredly spoke, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
"I was sent here as a scout to gauge your strength and perhaps extend an invitation to join us." The Archer of Red Faction, Atalanta replied, getting to the point immediately.
Alter raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Oh? What's your assessment of me then?"
Atalanta shook her head. "It is unfortunate. But I've only arrived here recently. Meaning I haven't been able to witness your display of strength yet. I would be grateful if you could divulge of any recent happenings around here."
'That's good. I'll just have to avoid mentioning that Jack the Ripper was a little girl to her then.' Alter thought to herself. "I was sent here by Ruler to take care of a rogue Servant, the Assassin of the Black Faction."
"I see, and what about the little one? Is she hurt?" Atalanta said, referring to Lily, who is still fast asleep on Alter's back.
"No need to worry about her." Alter stated, glancing at the sleeping Santa. "Well, regarding that invitation, I'm gonna have to pass on that one, I'm not interested in hanging out with either factions." Alter started walking away from Atalanta.
"Wait! Perhaps you could rethink about the offer? We could provide medical care for the little one!" Atalanta insisted, following Alter.
"No thanks. She's not hurt, just exhausted." Alter said without looking back. 'She's not hurt physically at least, mentally though...'
"It won't take up much of your time, I promise! Please trust me, I just want to help that little one!"
"You're a persistent one, huh? Look, I'm not sure if I can trust your faction yet. I can't just waltz into your base, surrounded by a bunch of potentially hostile Servants. Ruler were attacked by Lancer of Red recently, and Saber of Red doesn't exactly has the best impression of me right now."
"Saber of Red? You've met her?"
"I did actually, she was fighting the Assassin of the Black Faction before I took over her fight. She wasn't pleased about it too, tried attacking me several times actually."
"And you were unhurt after fighting both the Saber of Red and the Assassin of Black?"
"See for yourself. What do you think happened?" Alter gestured to herself.
'There is no sign of damage being inflicted on her. This girl could fight someone under a powerful class such as a Saber completely unharmed, and then went on to fight another Servant. Did she truly did all of that? Who even is she?' Atalanta thought, analyzing Alter's current state. "If you're the one fighting, what happened to the little one then?"
"I'm sick of you calling her that. The brat's name is Lily, Call her with that." Alter stated, feeling a little annoyed.
"Lily... understood." Atalanta gave a small nod.
"...I feel like you're more interested in learning about her than anything else that I could say." Alter deadpanned.
"I apologize. I assure you, I'm just worried about her. You see, I'm quite fond of children due to... personal reason regarding my past."
'Heh, tell me something that I didn't know.' Alter thought inside her head. "Ah whatever. If you must know, she fought the Assassin for quite some time while I deal with Saber."
"You let a little girl fight a dangerous Assassin?! That's irresponsible!" Atalanta reprimanded.
"She's not a mere little girl, she's a Servant like you and me. She knows what she signed up for."
Atalanta was about to retort, before Alter interrupted her. "Besides, she insisted for me to let her handle the Assassin. I guess she got something to prove." Alter explained, but on the inside, she were thinking about something else. 'That, and because it's a personal matter for her...'
"Even so, that is not the best course of action!"
"Look, I'm not here to debate you on how to raise a brat. If you got nothing else to say, then scram!" Alter continued her walk, her patience nearing its limits.
"I was tasked to bring you over to our base! Our leader said that he has a proposal for you and Ruler."
"Leader? Who the hell is your leader? And why should I care?"
"A priest of the Church by the name of Kotomine Shirou."
'A priest with that name... could it be...?' Alter recognized that fishy name. "Hey, give me a description of that man."
"...Why do you need that?"
"Just answer it!"
"White spiky hair, dark skin tone, wears a red vestment over a black clothes..."
"What about his personality? Is he someone who would gives off an eerie smile most of the time?"
"Yes, but how did you...?"
'No way! It's that back-stabbing bastard! He tried betraying Master for the stupid Grail, and he's not even ashamed about it! Saying that he'd do it again if the chance present itself!' Alter ranted inside her head. From the description, she concluded the identity of the mysterious leader of the Red Faction. "Forget it! There is absolutely no way I would ever set foot inside your base under your term! Go back to your boss and tell him I said hell the fuck no!"
Atalanta ran in front of Alter, blocking her path. "Please do not resist, for the sake of the little one! I do not believe that I can leave her to you!" She aimed her bow at the Avenger.
"Shut your damn mouth..." Alter's voice were devoid of emotions.
"Huh?"
'"If the brat woke up because of your incessant yelling... I'll beat the shit out of you." Alter said the words calmly, but for a moment her bloodlust could be felt. Atalanta could tell that the girl in front of her meant every word.
'She's more worried about me waking up the little one...? Does she not feel threatened at all?' A cold sweat trailed Atalanta's cheeks. The sudden bloodlust made her freeze for a moment. She never felt something like this, not even from the time when she hunted the infamous Calydonian Boar.
Alter casually walked past the huntress who is now frozen in place. "Don't you dare talk as if you know about the brat more than me..." She spoke, her voice barely a whisper.
Atalanta lowered her bow, yet she still stood in place. "Can I... at least know your name?" She spoke the word without turning back to look at the fallen saint.
Alter stopped for a moment. "...Avenger." With that said, she then simply resumed her walk.
The Alter duo left the area, only the echoes of distant footsteps could be heard. Leaving the huntress there alone, contemplating about what she just learned. 'A mysterious newcomer with an unusual class... Tell me, Avenger. Are you my enemy... or not?' Atalanta thought about the brief moment when the Avenger went hostile. 'The mission to bring her back to our base is a failure, and she didn't divulge too much information either, but perhaps I can ask Saber to shed more light about that Avenger and her small companion...' Atalanta's eyes looked more determined than ever. With that in her mind, she would search for the Saber of Red later.
A few hours later, with the Forvedge siblings.
The group that was sent to Sighisoara is now on the way home, although they didn't get to do anything, they have no other choice but to retreat due to the dangerous mist getting thicker around them.
"Nee-san, can we really be sure that Jack the Ripper would be eliminated?" Caules asked his older-sister.
"We couldn't see the result of the fight between Avenger and Saber of Red due to the obstructive mist, but it's quite clear that the Avenger wasn't going down anytime soon. I believe that she managed to defeat Saber of Red, and then quickly went to assist her little companion." Fiore explained her thoughts. "What do you think, Archer?"
Chiron nodded. "Indeed, Master. It is quite likely that was exactly what had occurred after we left. The Avenger claimed that the little Lancer is as strong, if not stronger than Berserker here..." As Chiron talked, Fran lets out a small growl at the mention of her strength. "So it is a fair assumption that the combined strength of the two Servants would able to defeat Assassin of Black."
"A Saber is supposed to be one of the strongest class of Servant that you could summon during a Holy Grail War and yet that Avenger handled the situation like it was nothing. I wonder if it was because of Saber of Red's exhaustion from her previous clash with Assassin of Black, or was it purely because of Avenger's own strength?" Caules wondered aloud.
"Whichever it is, it would be wise for us to avoid antagonizing them any further. They, alongside Ruler, is a neutral party. They are not the one that we must defeat to ensure our victory over this Holy Grail War."
"I guess her boast in the forest back then had some merits..." Caules muttered, remembering about their first encounter with the Avenger.
"Do you have any idea on the identities of those two, Archer?" Fiore asked her Servant.
"The both of them bears an uncanny resemblance to Ruler, so I assume that they are connected somehow. Ruler's identity is the Holy Maiden, Jeanne D'Arc, I heard that she had a few siblings of her own when she were alive, yet I do not believe that her siblings have left any significant mark on history to allow them to exist on the Throne of Heroes..." Chiron stated, explaining his deduction.
"So what you're saying is, their identities are still unclear?" Fiore asked once more to confirm.
"Yes, I'm afraid that I currently cannot ascertain their true identities, Master." Chiron said with a simple nod.
"I see, they are quite the anomalies..."
"Whoever they are, it doesn't really matter right now, because we doesn't have to engage them in combat at all, right?" Caules remarked, trying not to worry about it too much.
"That is true, Caules. For now, let's head back and report our findings."
The Saint, Jeanne D'arc trekked down the path of a certain dirt road. Heading towards the nearby town. She sighed for the umpteenth time tonight. A mix of worry and loneliness on her face.
"Alter, I hope you and Lily are okay right now..." She muttered to herself.
Her other selves left to take care of a certain rogue Servant, the dangerous Jack the Ripper.
That name unnerved Jeanne a bit. Based on the memories given to her by the Grail, she knew that this Jack the Ripper was an infamous serial killer, known for being the one responsible for causing the death of several women. To this day, the true perpetrator were never caught, adding to the infamous nature of that unsolved case.
And apparently, Chaldea managed to summon Jack the Ripper to bolster their rank, and even Jack was far from the biggest troublemaker summoned in there. Jeanne were having a hard time believing what she heard, even though Alter had already told her about this before.
"Their Master..." Jeanne muttered, remembering why no problem arose from such circumstance.
Due to the unknown identity of the one known as Jack the Ripper, there are several different candidates that could be summoned under that name. The one summoned on Chaldea took the form of an adorable little girl, who craves for the love of a mother. Based on what Alter and Lily said, Jack imprinted on their Master as soon as she were summoned, declaring him as her mother.
Being called a mother even though you're not a woman might weird some people out, fortunately, their Master didn't feel that way. He accepted the role without so much of a fuss. With his guidance and patience, he managed to help the little girl live a somewhat normal life, playing with friends around her age, which includes Lily.
Hearing about that information, Jeanne understood why Lily was so insistent about checking Sighisoara alone. She wanted to find Jack, she wanted to see her friend.
The Jack that Lily befriended is a relatively friendly girl, though she tends to made comments about dismembering things, Lily simply saw that as an amusing little quirk.
Jeanne tried to stop her of course, not wanting to see Lily endanger herself. Their Master was an exceptionally kind person, able to slowly guide a lost little girl like Jack into the right path. But on this Great Holy Grail War, the chance of this Jack the Ripper having a kind Master like that is almost zero. She will almost certainly turns out to be a vicious girl, willing to kill anyone for the sake of her 'mother'. Jeanne did not want Lily to face such as awful truth.
But alas, much like Jeanne herself, Lily is a very stubborn girl, not budging one bit on her decision. Alter decided to intervene, assuring Jeanne that Lily would be fine as long as Alter went with her.
In the end, it was decided that the Alter duo would go to Sighisoara to take care of the rogue Servant, while Jeanne would continue her journey to Trifas.
While Jeanne did continue her journey, she intentionally walked at a slower pace, to ensure that her two companions could catch up, and just in case if she saw a Revelation vision where Alter and Lily were in danger, she could then quickly change her destination to Sighisoara to assist them.
Walking alongside Alter and Lily were far from quiet, with the constant chatter between the three of them. Even so, Jeanne had learned to relish those moments. Now without the two of them around, Jeanne could truly feels how lonely it is, she did not enjoy this at all, it reminded her of her time as a soldier, where she had to face every obstacle alone.
"Occasionally, huh ? This coming from someone whose happy moments in life came strictly from her childhood."
Alter's comment about Jeanne's life from back then echoed in her mind. Jeanne didn't like to admit it, but she had to agree that Alter's word had some semblance of truth in it.
When she was a little girl, life was so simple. All she had to worry about was choosing which game to play with her friends. Jeanne was somewhat of a tomboy during that time, playing with the boys from her village all the time.
Everything changed when she heard 'that voice', who told her to fight for her country and end the turmoil that's threatening to consume the land. To do that, she had to leave everything behind. Her village, her friends, and even her beloved family.
A woman who fought on the battlefield wasn't a common sight during that time, but Jeanne marched on, firmly fighting for her beliefs to finally put an end to the endless bloodshed.
Her life ended when she was about 19 years old. A life that was tragically cut short. She never knew the joy of finding someone that she could truly love with all of her heart, and she even started to slowly forget what it feels like to have a family, to have a place where she belongs.
But then the two Alters suddenly came barging into her life. The two of them helped her remember what it feels like to have loved ones once more. The warmth, the joy, the sense of fulfillment, everything came back to her. They didn't just literally saved her life, they also saved her deteriorating soul.
Jeanne doesn't have any way to confirm whether Alter possessed Jeanne's entire life memories or not. But the way Alter spoke... It was as if a part of Jeanne that she had once sealed for the sake of her beliefs had confronted her about her own decisions.
It was something that she had once abandoned. Once she took the first step to become a soldier, not once had she ever looked back at what she had sacrificed. But now, for the first time ever, that iron resolve might finally be shaken.
The truth is... she miss her family.
Her mother's warm cooking, it may not be the most extravagant kind of meals, but she enjoyed it all the same.
Her brothers and sister... sometimes Jeanne felt exasperated from dealing with their antics, but she loved them all the same.
Her family was just a simple peasant family. Her life was far from being a luxurious one, but it was a fulfilling one. She could spend everyday with her beloved family, and that was enough to make her happy.
Jeanne doesn't even know what happened to them ever since she left. Did they know about her eventual fate? If they did, how did they react to that news? Would they wept for a girl who suddenly decided to disappear from their life? Would they condemn her like the rest? Or would they stand with her until her final moment?
Jeanne had no answer to any of those questions. Just that simple fact alone showed how much she sacrificed for her beliefs.
Did she regret leaving them behind? Honestly, she couldn't tell anymore. Even if she did, it was far too late for regrets... 600 years too late for any tears to be shed now.
The family she once had is no more, she could never meet them ever again. A fact that she thought that she had managed to accept, she thought it was something that she had made peace with.
Gone was their smile, their laughter, and the warmth that she could feel just by spending time with them. Her family is now gone from her life, and she was the one who discarded them from her life, there's no other way to describe it.
And if she's just gonna stand idle like this, then her other-selves... her new family would be gone as well. Sharing the same fate as her previous one.
"As I thought, I couldn't let them handle it alone!" Jeanne turned back and dashed straight towards the direction of Sighisoara.
Her legs didn't have to carry her far, she stopped when she saw a familiar silhouette on the horizon.
Her worried features now replaced with relief, Jeanne ran in and tackle hugged the new arrival. "Alter!" She yelled the name with joy.
Alter stood her ground against the impact of the hug, being very careful not to wake the sleeping little girl on her back. "What the hell are you doing here, you stupid Saint? I thought we were supposed to meet at the next town over?"
"I-I'm sorry... I just... I got worried!" Jeanne admitted, a little embarrassed with her outburst just now.
"What, you think I'm gonna fail this little task and die like a chump or something? Just because we share the same face doesn't means I'll be as weak as you!"
Jeanne ignored those harsh words. In fact, she's actually glad to hear them. Being able to hear them like this means that she's not alone anymore, and she'd rather hear Alter's various complaints than travel by her lonesome.
"Huh? Why are you smiling creepily like that? Are you actually happy to hear my insults? When did you became a masochist?"
Jeanne finally let Alter go from her embrace, her smile never leaving her lips.
"...Okay, I'll just pretend this never happened then." Alter shrugged, not really feeling the need to hear an explanation right now.
"What happened to Lily? Is she okay? Were she hurt? Who did this to her?!" Jeanne finally noticed the state of the Little Santa, who is still fast asleep on Alter's back.
"Quiet down, will you? You'll wake her up if you keep screaming like that." Alter said, a little annoyed with the bombardment of questions.
"R-Right... I apologize." Jeanne sheepishly covered her mouth with her hand.
Alter briefly sighed. "...She almost killed that little serial killer by her own hand. I had to step in and finish the job myself. I don't have to explain why I needed to do that, right?"
Jeanne solemnly nodded, she understand what this means. Lily wasn't able to convince Jack to stop her killing spree, meaning she had to be put down permanently to prevent any more casualties. "Do you think she'll be fine when she woke up?"
"Who knows? She doesn't have her beloved reindeer by her side this time, he's not here to comfort her..."
"But her big sister were there to help her. Surely that will help to alleviate the pain a bit." Jeanne stated, trying to reassure her.
"Heh, as if the words of a brute like me would ever help her..." Alter gave out a wry smile, she tried to deflect the statement, but... "Thanks, I guess."
Jeanne smiled warmly at her altered-self, happy that she could be of help. "Welcome back, Alter. I'm glad you're both safe."
Jeanne lost her family once, and she's determined to not let that happen a second time. This time, she not going to abandon them, she'll be there for them, through thick and thin.
"Yeah, I'm back... And don't call me as the brat's big sister ever again!" Alter suddenly yelled, pointing at Jeanne.
Jeanne only responded with a small chuckle. God, she really missed this kind of atmosphere.
A calm chapter this time, it's been a while since the last one. It's not time for Atalanta to take the center stage yet, gotta build up towards that first, you know?
While I like Jeanne, I think her character in Apocrypha lacked some kind of direction or real motivation, so I tried giving her one. It's nothing big or special, but it could at least ties in with her sibling obsession in FGO... somewhat.
I'll see you next time.