Fate/Broken Order

Chapter 12

-Singularity 1 – Orleans-

Part 1: A Rocky Start

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

Out of all possible things, Ritsuka would not have expected his first experience of dealing with a Singularity to be so...mundanely dull.

Well, okay, that was a bit of a misreading of the facts of the situation. Apparently all four field Teams had been forcefully separated by unknown means and Chaldea could not establish contact with Team Aldia and Team Olga-Marie. Which, yes, was genuinely distressing and the young man hoped his fellow Masters were alright.

It was just...for some reason it hadn't occurred to him that there'd be so much walking.

"Doctor, any updates?" Mash asked.

"I'm afraid not," Roman said through their bracelets. "We're at a bit of a loss here. We can detect interference, but can't actually locate or identify a source. I have no clue why it's only on those two Teams either, while all Gillian's working through is that we can't scan her surroundings."

"Keep at it, Doc!" Gillian's voice spoke up in high spirits over the shared channel. "It's Aldia, so she's good...to be honest, it's Olga I'm worried about." Her spirits seemed to lower considerably, sounding far more serious. "Unlike the rest of us, she's just got Irisviel with her, and even I know that most Casters aren't that great at head-on confrontations."

Ritsuka had to concur, even if he was still learning the ins-and-outs of the whole Master thing.

"The Director is a talented Mage in her own right, you know! Still, we can only hope," Roman said a bit solemnly, but quickly seemed to shake it off. "Speaking of, any updates on your end, Gillian?"

"Oh, fosho!" The young woman responded swiftly. "See, I got mad lucky and appeared near a town. Emiya even spotted a ruckus happening there with his Space Ripper Archer Eyes!"

"Don't call them that!" the self-same Archer yelled over the comms.

Ritsuka snorted at the reference while Mash just looked confused. The boy felt bad. What kind of a cruel life leads someone to not recognize a JoJo reference?

"Anyways," Gillian ignored him, "we actually got there real quick. I even got to piggyback on Emiya to feel the SPEED. It was rad. Anyway, the town is called Thiers and we found some Servants here."

There was a beat over the communications.

"YOU WHAT?!" Roman yelled loudly. Ritsuka and Mash flinched just hearing it over the slightly muddled quality of the comms. His panic was palpable, as was his volume. "What happened? Did you get into a fight? Are you okay?!"

"Dude. Chill," Gillian replied, sounding a bit annoyed. "It's good. They weren't hostile or anything, though they are currently stuck in a loud as fuck argument. Had to bail town for a bit just to make this call, or else you wouldn't be able to hear me at all!"

"The so called 'argument' comprised mostly of petty insults of a strange reptilian variety," Kriemhild of all people added her two cents into the conversation, seemingly in one of her calmer moods. "It was the most asinine contest of wills I've ever borne witness to. I don't even believe there is any actual point to it other than childish name calling."

"You gotta give them credit though," Emiya cut in. "The fact that they've been going on for what seems like a whole day with material like that? I'm honestly impressed by their resolve, if nothing else."

"Which is why we're going back right after this call!" Gillian stated cheerfully.

"Umm...why?" Ritsuka found himself asking, honestly not seeing the point of getting involved with what sounded like two girls bickering. That was a sure way to get into trouble with both of them.

"Come on, dude. Think about it!" Gillian sighed in apparent disappointment. "I'm networking here! These gals don't seem to be the cause of any disturbance other than noise pollution. Just, you know, something like Rogue Servants. So why would I not try to gain their allegiance for whatever we may face in this Singularity?"

Mash gasped with an expression of realization. "Wow! That's great thinking, Gillian-senpai!"

Ritsuka had to admit, that did make sense. Internally he was a bit ashamed he hadn't thought of that. But maybe that was just because he was so detached physically from the actual situation taking place. Something was a bit off though...

Roman, however, seemed to have another take from the entire thing.

"This is because they're both girls, isn't it?" He asked, clearly exasperated.

"Doc. Roman. Dude,"Gillian droned on, dead serious. "You're asking me, Gillian Kelley, not to get involved when two cute girls must partake of my awesome social prowess? It's my responsibility, nay, my calling to answer their hour of need!"

"Don't flirt with the Servants, Gillian! Be serious!"

"I am serious," Gillian shot back. Ritsuka waited for it. "Serious about how much game I got!" There it was. Somewhere along the way he'd gotten to know the slightly older girl far better than he'd ever thought possible for such a short amount of time.

"Gillian!" Roman called out in tired desperation.

"Sorry, gotta go swoon some ladies~, bye!"

By Roman's frustrates, muffled screams into his hands it seemed like the ginger girl had actually cut the communications.

In the interim da Vinci took over.

"Putting that aside, how are things going with you, Ritsuka, Mash?"

"Well, we did run into some French soldiers a while back," Ritsuka relayed their brief experience. Then the nervousness creeped in. "Buuut..."

"We, um...got into a conflict and had to knock them out," Mash filled in.

"Not your finest hour, King of Knights," Sasaki commented, a gentle ribbing in there somewhere at the Saber's expense.

"I said I'm sorry!" Artoria exclaimed. "How was I supposed to know that they'd take a perfectly reasonable greeting as an attack?!"

"I think it might have actually been the fact that you spoke English?" Mash theorized. "They are at war with them at this time. Also... um, no offense, your highness, but you were pretty loud and aggressive about it."

"Of course," Artoria stated plainly. "How else are you supposed to greet a group of proud soldiers of a foreign nation? You need to assert authority and dominance to earn their respect!"

"As...suspect as that reasoning is," Sasaki interjected in thought, "it was a bit odd. They seemed like trained soldiers, but their bearing was unusually tense for this supposed time of peace. It might simply be that something had them on edge, and your...bold approach simply aggravated that existing worry to a boiling point."

"You think it might be related to the cause of the singularity, Sasaki-san?" Ritsuka asked.

"It is a reasonable conclusion to reach," the samurai state with a shallow nod. "Now the question is, what might it be?"

"To have soldiers this badly on edge..." Artoria thought things over. "The most logical suspect would be an enemy invasion. That, or...an uprising from within..."

It didn't take a lot to hear the melancholy when the King of Knights brought the possibility up. Ritsuka knew just enough of the legend of King Arthur that it must have came from deeply personal place.

"Master!" Ritsuka halted as Mash called his attention. The Shielder was pointing ahead. "Look! A village, just up ahead. We might be able to find some clues in there."

"Good idea," Ritsuka nodded in agreement, turning to his Saber. "Your highness, can you, maybe, turn things down a notch and let us do the talking?"

Artoria's face twisted a little. "Please, no needless pleasantries. I get that enough from Ser Gareth." Then she gave a resigned sigh. "And...to learn from experience, I suppose I can. But I refuse to stay behind when the enemy could strike out at any moment. Complacency is the enemy!"

Ritsuka nodded. That'd have to do, and Artoria had a good point.

He just hoped nothing too bad happened.

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

Hoping, as they soon realized, was a jinx in disguise.

The "town", if it could still be called such, was a sad sight. Buildings reduced to half-ruins, or just into plain rubble, with markings of what looked like remnants of a great amount of fire all around. The people that remained seemed downtrodden and scared, what guards were present appeared high-strung, all of which was not helped by a large gathering of what they realized to their horror were bodies covered by bundles of dirty cloth.

"This is...horrible," Mash whispered as the sight of families, children, fathers, and mothers mourning their deceased.

Artoria frowned as she looked at one of the destroyed buildings. "This is..." she walked closer, running her gauntlet-clad hand over some of the burn marks. "...No...not quite, but...it couldn't be..."

"Saber, do you know what did this?" Sasaki questioned.

"...Maybe," the Saber said. "But it should be impossible. But...then again, isn't that the whole point of a singularity?"

"Excuse me!" one of the soldiers approached their group, his voice sounding more level than most of the others who followed him looked. "You dress in strange garb. Are you travelers?"

"Yes," Mash offered. It wasn't even a lie. "We've traveled far to reach France."

Artoria shook her head and turned around to face the soldiers. Only to immediately halt as they all raised their spears on the ready, pointed at their group, much to the shock of Ritsuka and Mash. Even the man in charge flinched and took a step back.

Sasaki slowly readied his hand to fly to his sword if necessary. As for Saber...

"Oh, for heavens sake," Artoria cursed, more annoyed than anything. "I didn't even speak this time!"

The man in charge shook whatever took him over faster than the rest and held up his hand. "Arms down, men!" The soldiers slowly followed, hesitantly. The apparent leader focused to the group again. "My apologies, travelers. Our men are understandably on edge, and your...companion reminded them of the disaster that plagues our lands." He lowered his head in apology. "Even I mistook you for that Witch on first glance, but now see I was mistaken. I beg your pardon, milady."

The group shared a troubled look. It was crystal clear something was deeply wrong. Artoria turned to address the man.

"It's fine. I can sense you have your reasons."

"What happened here?" Ritsuka asked. "You look like you've been attacked."

"Was it the English?" Mash asked, even as Artoria's sword arm twitched in agitation at the possibility. "Shouldn't King Charles be in midst of peace talks in these times?"

The captain's features furrowed in a grim countenance. "The news haven't reached that far yet?" As their head shaking in response, he sighed deeply. "Makes sense, I suppose. No, the English-folk didn't do this. France has been terrorized by those winged beasts of that damnable Dragon Witch. People slaughtered and villages burned with no rhyme or reason. King Charles VII and the were capital reduced to naught but cinders and ash."

Mash and Ritsuka looked horrified at such destruction, while Sasaki and Artoria simply showed determined resolve.

"Winged beasts?" the samurai asked.

"Things of legend, my good man," the captain stated gravely. "Dragons."

"Wyverns," Artoria corrected, getting the captain's attention. "Two legged and with wings in place of fore-legs. Smaller and weaker than True Dragons, but no less formidable for the common man to face." She nodded in respect at the man and his soldiers. "I'm impressed you're still standing at all."

"It's been...rough going," the captain admitted with a grim smile. "But thank you. God knows we need some praise in these trying times. Good for morale."

"But," Mash cut in with a frown, "who exactly is this 'Dragon Witch'?"

Immediately the smile dropped. "That...is another thing hard to believe if not for...all this." Her gestured at the destruction. "Truth is, much as it pains us all, that the person ravaging our land is none other than our revered Jeanne d'Arc herself, back from the grave."

That sent a shock even to the two Servants.

"That's how we all reacted, at first" the Captain affirmed solemnly. "Some of us saw this as only right. We left her, the woman who fought hardest for us all, to be burned at the stake, and now her wrath incarnate has descended upon us. Hit morale hard, but those of us that remain had to cast that aside once it came clear we could not let sentiment get in the way of protecting the people of France. Now she's no saint of ours, but something vile. The Dragon Witch who spreads fear and death with her winged hordes."

"That...that can't be..." Mash in particular looked shook by the information. Ritsuka laid a hand on her shoulder to steady the girl.

Artoria contemplated. Something about this...it stirred something in her. Something about this situation sounded familiar somehow.

But her line of thought was cut short as a scream cut through the air. Immediately on alert, Team Ritsuka and the guard turned to see a woman cry out as one of the previously deceased corpses had grabbed her and viscerally tore at her throat. And more begun to stir, sending the people into a panic.

"Master, undead!" Artoria yelled out, brandishing Excalibur. Unlike a normal Grail War, there was no need for subtlety, so the holy blade was for all to witness.

"Hells!" the captain of the guard cursed. "Men, go protect-"

"Sir!" a distressed shout from the walls cut the man off. "They're here again, in the distance! Dragons coming this way!"

The Captain looked stricken. "Dammit! Of all times?!"

"Saber, go!" Sasaki told the King, and the King waited no further, dashing to deal with the Undead with efficiency only a holy weapon could provide. The samurai walked the opposite way with calm purpose. "Master, Mash, Guardsmen, defend this village."

"Wait, by yourself?!" Ritsuka exclaimed in shock at the Assassin's intentions.

"But we can-" Mash tried to plead, but...

"'Tis fine," the Samurai said as he brandished his Monohoshizao in its ludicrous length, looking back to the Master and Shielder with a serene grin. "They flit their wings and fly about. Sound like mere swallows to me."

And then he ran outside the city gates.

Ritsuka shook himself out of it. "Mash, protect the people! Artoria can handle these on her own!" He hoped so.

"Yes, Master!" Mash manifested her massive shield. "Mash Kyrielight, engaging!"

In a fast dash Mash had already reached the scene, interposing herself between a woman about to be swarmed and knocking the undead back with a mighty push of her shield. This allowed enough time for the woman to gather herself and flee. Mash was already moving on to the next person who needed help.

"What are you gawking at, you sorry lot!" the captain's shout broke through to his awed soldiers. "Don't waste this boon granted to us by a stranger's grace! Go! Protect your countrymen with your lives!" And with that declaration he led the charge as the soldier, emboldened, joined in to protect their people.

Ritsuka, feeling more than a bit helpless, just moved a bit behind them to gain a better view of the situation. Eventually he saw a way in which he could climb on to one of the roofs and climbed with all the athleticism he had to gain a good vantage point. And when he did...

It did not look good.

The soldiers had moved to try to cordon off the area with all the resurrected bodies, but their lack of numbers hindered their progress. He could spot Artoria in the thick of the horde, her holy sword cutting through the undead with unmatched efficacy. She was a human blender in the midst the horde, showcasing her inhuman levels of swordsmanship. And in the fringes where the soldiers could not cover, Mash did her best to hold back the horde.

Despite being Servants, there were just the two of them. They couldn't be everywhere at once, and the only reason the soldiers weren't overrun was because Artoria was drawing a large number of the hordes attention. Maybe they were drawn to Excalibur?

In the distance, distressingly close to the city, Ritsuka could hear the roars of what must have been Wyverns. He couldn't do much about that. Only trust in the skills of the legendary swordsman whose only defeat was brought on by trickery, real or not.

Still, his own inaction still galled him a bit.

Olga-Marie and Gillian would doubtlessly have some fancy Magecraft to help their servants in situations like this. Aldia...she could probably take on the horde by herself if pushed. All Ritsuka had was the uniform that served as a Mystic Code he still barely knew to use.

All Ritsuka Fujimaru could do was watch...

So the best thing he could do was watch very intently. He'd had to come to terms with his situation really fast. And Aldia's comment about one of the A-Team, Kadoc Zemlupus, had resonated with him. He'd taken the intended warning.

He could not, would not hold himself to the unreachable standards of his much more talented and powerful peers. He instead focused on what he could do.

And his choice of a higher vantage point was already paying dividends.

In the horde, there was an anomaly. A string of undead not kept busy by the guards, or attracted to Artoria's murder blender, making way into a gap in their defenses. If let through they could get around, or worse, flank the soldiers.

Ritsuka quickly noted Mash and Artoria's positions, and while he was no strategist he concluded that moving either would pose problems for other parts of the "quarantine zone", opening other weak points elsewhere.

The solution came to him, even if he had to be quick on his decisions to make it work.

'Mash, Artoria, a segment of the horde is about to escape! Move in these positions and then...'

The most obvious, if a little inelegant and bothersome plan was to keep both of them moving, so no gap remained open for too long. So Ritsuka had to keep his eyes peeled and the orders coming.

This, unfortunately, left him a bit unobservant to the soldiers side of things, whom were beginning to buckle under the pressure.

"Hold fast, men!" the captain tried to hold onto the waning morale as some of the soldiers had to cut down familiar faces. His words were becoming less effective by the second.

Then from seemingly out of nowhere a cloaked figure dashed between the thin line between the soldiers and the undead, and with a mighty swing of a tied-up war standard the horde was forcibly repelled, giving the men valuable breathing room.

"Brave men of France, do not yield!" The voice of a woman called out as with a twist the flag on the standard billowed free. It was the flag of France, a symbol of their pride as a country. "This fight will not be your last. With me!"

The woman rushed into the hordes, and like the female knight from before and the girl with the oversized shield, her efforts bordered belief.

Still, in his heart, for some reason he could not define, the captain felt a fire roar, which he let out as a battle cry to his men, who followed his lead to engage the undead with renewed vigor.

With the new addition of what was obviously an unknown servant, the tides changed quickly, and it did not take but a minute longer for the undead threat to be quelled.

As the last undead was felled, Mash let loose a sigh of relief, finally allowing herself to relax. She glanced up to a nearby roof, where she saw Ritsuka give one last glance at the area, before smiling at Mash and giving a thumbs up. The girl smiled back and returned the gesture, before Ritsuka scampered down from his watch post.

As for Artoria...the King of Knights stood stoically, surrounded by dismantled corpses and covered head to toe in her undead foes' blood and gore, looking as composed and regal as her position would suggest.

On the inside, despite the many battles she'd fought under her rule, Artoria had almost never felt more gross in her life.

To any layman, the sight was just plain terrifying, only blunted by the fact that the woman had saved them.

Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief now that everything was over.

Then he shot ramrod straight as he remembered.

"Oh crap! Sakaki-san!" At that reminder the Master rushed off, Mash at the heels.

Artoria took a little longer, not caring an ounce for subtlety at this point and letting loose a small Mana Burst that either expelled or burned off the viscera on her person. Then she moved.

She soon joined her Master and Mash outside the town. The two of them just...stood there. Staring with wide eyes. Artoria looked to see what had shocked them so. She then chuckled and let a small grin form on her lips.

A distance away, Sasaki was seated serenely with his blade resting over his shoulder atop a small hill of wyvern carcasses. The bodies were assembled just a bit too cleanly to be simply coincidental. As if they had specifically been slain for the express purposes of making it. The legendary samurai gave the faintest cocky smirk at his captive audience.

There wasn't as much as a drop of blood on him. Internally this infuriated Artoria, but even so couldn't help but be impressed regardless. What a show off.

"You helped this village despite gaining nothing out of it." The group's attention shifted to the woman in a concealing brown robe walking to them. She laid an armored hand on top of her chest and bowed, her voice filled with palpable sincerity. "You have my most heartfelt thanks for such a kindness."

When she rose she...seemed to stare at Artoria for a long while. It was a bit hard to tell, with the hood covering her face, but the Saber could feel it.

"Yeah, I think I saw you come in and help in town at the end there," Ritsuka recalled. He bowed back politely. "Thanks. Your help made things go as smoothly as they did."

This seemed to fluster the cloaked woman. "O-oh, please, it was nothing! Really. I was just doing my part."

"Just who are you?" Artoria asked the obvious question as Sasaki finally meandered his way over. "You're obviously a Servant."

The woman started to answer...then halted and turned to look at the soldiers, now coming out and seeing Sasaki's wondrous pile of wyverns. She shook her head. "Not here. Come, we can go to a secluded spot in the nearby woods."

She started walking off, and with the knowledge that the village was safe for now, Ritsuka and his team followed.

The captain of the soldiers watched their saviors leave. Most especially the cloaked woman who rejuvenated their will to do their duty. Maybe by gut feeling, or intuition, the hardened man briefly smiled as her turned to yell at his men to dispose of the remains, undead and wyvern both.

Maybe, just maybe, the Maid of Orleans hadn't quite abandoned them just yet.

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

"This is insane, this is insane-GYAH!" Olga-Marie fired a Gandr straight at the skull of a skeleton that got too close, blasting it to bits. Unfortunately the rest of the body did not care until Marie Reinforced a leg and broke it apart with a kick. "Why did we move?!"

"Keep calm, Master!" Irisviel implored as she used her Magecraft to conjure blades made of Strands of Prana, attacking multiple the undead at once remotely. But alas, she was only a lone Caster against a village's worth of zombies and skeletons. "Stick closer to me!"

"We can't!" Marie used a Reinforced hand to chop another skeleton to bits. "Then we'll just be swarmed from all directions!" She rapid fired Gandr spells at a grouping of Zombies, aiming at their legs to make them fall and slow them down.

Even in the heat of the moment, and panicking just a tiny bit, Marie still had enough clarity of mind to realize that the spells she was casting packed more of a punch than normal, not to mention she barely felt strained after a while of continuous casting. She could only theorize she was using the Grail implanted into her Spiritual Body as a sort of Mana Battery.

Convenient...if it actually helped them out of this!

Irisviel floated off of the ground and with a powerful glow unleashed a pillar of light that opened a gap in the undead horde. "Master, quick!"

The two women advanced as far as they could get, before inevitably ending up in another grouping of foes. But they still had gained some breathing room, so it wasn't totally nothing.

"Dammit, we can't keep doing this," Marie mumbled, her breathing barely even. Things were growing desperate. The undead closed in as Marie decided to try the limits of what her Grail was capable of. 'Irisviel, cover me!'

The Einzbern Caster sent her blade-constructs to hover around Marie as she concentrated. The Magic Crest on her forehead lit up as she prepared for a spell that would usually be out of her league. The Animusphere family Magecraft was focused on Astromancy, which wasn't really combat focused in its function. But this time she attempted to borrow from some of its concepts for an offensive spell.

"Earth borne, stone and dust,"

She pulled out a stone she'd picked up earlier and in her hand crushed it to many small pieces. Next she infused the small pebbles and granules in her fist with Prana, intermingling them with her Magecraft. The blades held the undead at bay.

"Pieces of cosmos, streak across the void,"

When her chant came to its second verse she threw the material into the air, where it hung as every particle started to shimmer brightly. Irisviel started to look strained.

"Brightness of starlit skies, crashing through the barrier of the world,"

The constructs wavered and broke as Irisviel gasped from effort. But Marie was calm now. She'd got enough time. So without further ado she unleashed her spell.

"Starlight Waves!"

The many small granules of infused stone shone brightly and like a shower of flying stars scattered into the surrounding undead hordes. And then each small fragment exploded on impact.

That, Marie thought as her body lost all almost feeling and was rag-dolled and thrown by the relatively large explosions, was not supposed to be as powerful as it was. Nor was it meant to shock her Magic Circuits to the extent that she couldn't feel anything!

So, some more panic.

"Olga!" Irisviel cried out as she rushed over to Marie and cradled her. As she was touched Marie could only grit her teeth at the paradox of not feeling anything and having metaphorical needless squirming inside her skin.

Somehow, she forced her mouth to form words. "Ca...n't...fe-el..."

Irisviel looked very distressed, and the look only intensified as the surviving zombies and skeletons started moving towards them. The Caster thought frantically. If she tried to fight it out, she'd be at a disadvantage trying to safeguard both Marie and herself. If she picked up Marie and fled, then she would be vulnerable and nothing would really change.

The stress of the situation was getting to the normally non-confrontational woman who didn't like fighting that much.

She couldn't think of what to do!

Then both Irisviel and Marie became aware of a radiant brightness radiating from an unknown source. And was that...a fluttering of wings?

Two voices rang clear through the air of desperation.

"Let's go, my paladin!"

"Yesiree, my gallant liege! Hippogriff!"

A potent gust, as if something had just moved at incredibly high speeds, slammed into the undead hordes, not destroying them outright but knocking all of them into the air from the sheer strength of the wind left behind.

And then the radiant glow exploded into a rainbow of color.

"Joyeuse Ordre!"

Beams or myriad colors, thirteen in all shot through the air as they tore every single undead apart by sheer proximity. And once they vanished, only dust lie in the air above. All the undead were taken out in a single move.

"Wo~w..." Irisviel vocalized her sheer awe while Marie could only gawk at the sheer power and splendor they'd just borne witness to.

And then from the sky, a noble beast descended before them. Part-hawk, part-horse, a Mythical Beast by all approximation. Atop it sat a feminine-seeming figure, who winked down at the two ladies with a toothy, confident smile.

And in front of the Master and Servant landed a man in a perfect three-point landing, barely even unsettling the dust on the road with how smooth it was. The man, the knight, young in appearance but still gallant in bearing stood tall.

"Pardon for my lateness, my fair ladies," the man, a Servant spoke with smooth confidence. "No doubt the situation in this land was dire, but have fear no more!" With a hand motion he fluttered his short cape as he offered the two ladies on the ground his hand with a charming smile. Marie could swear his teeth twinkled. "I, Charlemagne, and my loyal Paladin are here to keep you safe!"

He shot them a wink.

Wait, whoa, hold on, was...did she just imagine this man she just met surrounded by rose petals? Marie flushed a bit despite herself. Did...did her heart just skip a beat? What?! Why?!

Wait, WHO?!

Irisviel just smiled radiantly. "Oh, sorry, I'm spoken for."

"Eh?!" In the brief shock of the unexpectedly blunt response, the man slipped on a pebble under his foot and face planted onto the ground. Behind him the very obvious pink-haired Rider started to laugh merrily.

"Wow, she got you good, my liege! Haha!"

Marie blinked, and it was like she'd broken out of a spell. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden the man didn't seem as...charismatic as before.

"Ow. My pride," the man muttered morosely. "Welp, there goes the epic save and cool entrance, I guess!" He easily enough got up and dusted himself, glaring at the pink-haired Rider. "Really? So quickly you make light of my failing, Astolfo?"

"Ah, relax Charlie!" The Rider hopped off their mount and strongly patted the man on the shoulder. "I think it was still pretty epic!"

"Your tastes are so blatantly biased that is barely a compliment." The man cleared his throat, once more offering his hand, this time more naturally. "Now, seriously. Let me help you up. You were stuck in bit of a bind just now, so we were glad to be of assistance."

Marie blinked, as feeling her extremities somewhat again gladly took the offered hand. The man gently pulled her on her feet while Irisviel kept her steady.

Then her brain started working again.

"Wait a minute," the realization hit finally. "You're Charlemagne?!"

The young man who was supposedly Charlemagne chuckled lightly as her scratched his cheek. "Err...for the most part, yes. Charlemagne, Saber Class, pleased to meet you!" Then he smiled brightly. "Oh, but you can just call me Charlie, if you want! No need to sing my praises with that ostentatious name if you don't feel like it!"

...Marie felt light-headed. This was Charles the Great? The Holy Roman Emperor. The King of the Franks. The Leader of his own order of Paladins, the Twelve Peers. The Founder of Western Europe. No, not just that, but the so so titled Father of Europe. The Original King that the mythos of the Knights of the Round Table was based on? A collection of lofty accolades and titles of, no joke, one of the most prosperous and successful rulers of all time!

This was Charlemagne?!

"A pleasure to meet you, Charlie!" Irisviel, ever the friendly sort, immediately took the offer while Marie's mind was spinning. "I'm Irisviel, Servant Caster through some strange circumstances. And this is Olga-Marie Animusphere, my Master!"

"Pleasure to meet you, Olga, Iri!" the pink-haired person greeted them with gusto. "I'm Astolfo, Servant Rider, of the Twelve Paladins of my liege here!"

"Stop," Charlemagne scolded not too seriously as he jabbed his Paladin in the ribs to little actual effect. "You know I don't like that 'stuffy' stuff."

"Hahaha!" the Rider just laughed it off with no care in the world.

Meanwhile, Marie tried to desperately get out of her own head, to stop it from spinning around her disbelief that this person was the great Charlemagne! She just needed something else to cling to and- wait.

Wait, did he-What, hey, wait a minute!

Marie slapped herself. "WHAT?" She blurted out before she could help it as she pointed straight at the young king's face, finger inches from his nose. "Why do you look like Fujimaru?!"

Charlie's eyes shot wide and blinked, confused at the off-the-wall, zero-context question. "Who?"

Astolfo just looked eternally amused and giggled at the impromptu comedy act.

Irisviel squinted her eyes in deep thought. "...Oh, yeah! I do see it, kinda!"

Charlie was puzzled. All he'd wanted to do was swoop in and help some fair maidens in need of saving. What was this now?!

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

Artoria stared.

The now uncloaked woman stared back.

Ritsuka, Mash, and Sasaki kept switching between them, all various levels of surprised and waiting for something to happen.

For the two female Servants, it was an eerie experience both ways and took a bit to process.

Finally, it was the King of Knights who broke the silence.

"Fair heavenly virgin..." she mumbled as if recalling a purposefully distant memory.

Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans, winced reflexively at the parroted words. She knew what had happened immediately. "Ah. So you..."

"Yup," Artoria confirmed with a perfectly neutral look.

Jeanne walked over and placed a hand on the Saber's shoulder, offering her a look of sincere sympathy. "I'm so, so sorry..."

"He killed a child to get my attention," Artoria spoke in a dead tone, her equally dead looking eyes gazing into the far distance. "Multiple, really. Right in front of me. One was in my arms...I was covered in them..."

Jeanne cringed really hard. "...Do you...?"

"I could use a moment, yes."

Jeanne, forevermore a compassionate soul, followed her instincts and embraced the Saber in comforting a hug. Artoria, while not returning the gesture neither rejected, letting out a shuddering breath as some pretty buried but relatively recent mental scars were ripped wide open.

It was a miserable time for the King of Knights.

But holy hell if this didn't explain so much.

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

Somewhere in the France countryside, some patrolling soldiers were given a fright as some monstrous metal beast roared past them at speeds that put most horses to shame. After the dust was cleared, they were thankful no one was harmed, but it sure wasn't a pleasant experience.

Whatever that monster was, be it the Dragon Witch's or some other beast, they were just glad it had passed without incident. But it seemed to be heading somewhere. Thiers was in that direction, wasn't it? Well regardless, the leader of the patrol noted it down for posterity.

Furthering away, a most peculiar man hummed a jaunty tune to himself, wishing he had a working radio to make the trip less tedious. He instead amused himself by musing about how funny it was that those men he passed had no idea what the devil had just almost run them over.

They didn't have the concept of an automobile, after all. Hilarious!

The man certainly hoped his passengers-to-be appreciated how far he went for them.

Chaldea owed him for his benevolence, really. It wasn't every day he went out of his way to be helpful, after all. No fun in that usually. But the situation being what it was, well...exception could be made.

The man smiled like a fox as he continued steering his vehicle towards his destination.

He was dying to see just how far off the mark this Singularity could go...

~ʘ~Ω~Ʊ~Ӝ~Ʊ~Ω~ʘ~

Author's Notes: The Orleans Singularity Starts! And already, some changes. Some small, some HUGE! And there's more where that's coming from!

Ritsuka Group has to rough times, but our boy gets to settle into the strategist role he'll surely grow into. Meanwhile, Sasaki Kojirou, Savior of France, does not care for your narrow type-casting. If it flies, IT'S A SWALLOW! And Artoria gets to recall some fun memories as things finally click into place.

Seriously, our Saber needs therapy. STAT.

Olga-Marie and Irisviel meet best boy Charlemagne and bestest G.I.R.L(Guy In Real Life), Astolfo! This can only end well.

Meanwhile, Gillian is about to interact with some folk you may just know if you recall your location specific events. For the most wholesome of reasons, obviously. This can only end well.

And who the heck is this jerk going around driving a car in medieval France? Who does that? Just polluting all this nature? A certified scoundrel, that's who! (Not saying who it is quite yet, but he is a Canon Fate character)

Meanwhile, Team Aldia's whereabouts and status remains unknown. Always a good sign.