FATE/PARALLEL COLORS

Chapter 11: Aibi's Connection

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for yet another delay. Aside from just enjoying the summer and opening as many boxes during the Grail Front event as possible (200+, BTW), I was busy working on recording and uploading the OSTs for both Grandia and Grandia II on YouTube, so those took up a lot of time. Grandia was especially annoying since it almost reached 160 tracks, whereas Grandia II only had around 70. Ugh... I had NO idea what I was getting myself into there. Now that it's done, I hope to get myself back into the writing groove and finish Parallel Colors before NaNo comes around so I can at least start the new story.

"Hah… hah… hah…"

In Chaldea's operating room, the comatose Connla sweated profusely and gasped for air multiple times, clearly under a tremendous amount of stress. Roman made the incision on her upper breast where her geas mark was, while Medea concentrated on finding where the alien fragment was. Nightingale and Irisviel monitored her rapidly deteriorating vitals and healed her when she needed it. Cuchulainn Caster and Sigurd remained seated around her head, using their Runecraft to observe her cranial Runes and ensure they didn't go out of control during the procedure. Cuchulainn Alter likewise kept a tight grip on Connla's hand and provided her with his magical energy so she wouldn't be drained to death instantly.

"Damn it… This thing really doesn't want to be extracted, does it?" Medea grumbled as she fiddled with whatever was inside Connla's body.

"Keep trying. We have to get it out for analysis," Roman implored.

"I know. I've almost got it."

"Please be careful," Irisviel moaned. "Her magical energy readings keep plummeting each time you touch it. It's taking everything Nightingale and I have just to keep her relatively stable."

"I'm almost there," Medea assured. "It's trying to plant new connections into her Spirit Origin every time I sever an existing one. I have to cut them just as quickly, or else it'll be futile."

Roman faced Sigurd and Cuchulainn Caster, then asked, "How are her cranial Runes doing?"

Sigurd wiped his brow with a cloth and reported, "No abnormalities detected. Her physical faculties are operative, but as to be expected, her mind is not currently in this dimension."

"Can she feel anything that we are doing right now? Or is she experiencing her counterpart's physical sensations?"

"It is difficult to discern without asking her directly. There is a possibility that both our Connla and the other one are experiencing traumatic incidents at the same time."

Cuchulainn Caster glanced at his Alter counterpart and asked, "How're you holding up?"

"Gh…" the Berserker grunted. Although he was steadfast in maintaining his connection with Connla, the amount of mana he needed to transfer was much greater than he anticipated. This was evidenced by the severe bags under his eyes, and how much trouble he had keeping his sitting posture upright.

"You want me to switch places with you?"

"No, I've got this. I'll be damned if I let a little fatigue get to me when this thing's been sucking the kid dry the whole time."

"Don't push yourself, man. We don't want you to become a patient as well."

Nightingale wrapped a cool cloth around Alter's neck and said, "At this rate, he might as well be admitted for mana exhaustion. Perhaps I should consider intense massage therapy or acupuncture as part of his recovery."

"'Intense' massage therapy? As in cracking his bones until he's rendered limp?" Caster winced. "And what would you use for acupuncture? Frickin' cactus needles?"

"That depends on what his treatment plan will be."

"This is the part where you're supposed to disagree with me, lady."

Alter was not in the mood to join in on their squabble. He made it clear to everyone by exhaling an audible and guttural growl, not much different than a sleeping monster letting out a disturbing snore. He ignored them and focused his gaze on Connla's strained face. He had never seen her in so much pain before, but he knew she was fighting to stay alive during this dangerous operation. Seeing her struggle so much kept inspiring him to remain vigilant and lend her his magical energy. He held her small hand between his large palms, as if lost in deep prayer.

Stay with us, kid. We're almost through this…

After what felt like an eternity of tension and anxiety, Medea cried out exuberantly, "Got it!"

She had the strange object encased in mana crystals so no one else in the room would be affected by it, and she gently extracted it out of Connla's body. Everyone turned their eyes toward it to see what had been causing them so much trouble. It was a tiny metallic-like object that resembled the gears of a complex orrery at first glance, but then became more bizarre as one looked at it more closely. The gears had mismatched teeth – some rounded, some triangular, some squared – and yet somehow managed to fit with each other like perfect pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Other strange shapes like cones, orbs and cubes were nestled within these gears. By human logic, they should have interfered with the gears' operation, yet somehow did not. It was like a small mechanical part to an impossible Rube Goldberg machine that defied all known explanation.

"What in the world…" was all Irisviel could gasp in utter disbelief.

"This has been Daoloth's connection to Connla the entire time," Roman said, taking the crystallized object from Medea and placing it inside a safe container made out of a converted Holy Grail that Da Vinci had prepared for them. "Nightingale, how are her vitals?"

"Stress levels have significantly decreased," the nurse reported. "Her magical energy readings are still dangerously low, but are steadily improving. So long as Iri and I continue to heal her, she should be able to survive without life support from now on."

That was good news for Cuchulainn Alter. It meant he no longer needed to connect his Spirit Origin with Connla's, and he severed the link between them. Once he was separated from her, his vision became completely blurry. Without realizing it, he passed out, slumping his upper body over the bed.

SE. RA. PH, the City of Lost Destiny

Countless modern-era buildings lined the abandoned streets, towering so high that they practically touched the skies. Compared to the many other zones that SE. RA. PH conjured, this area was desolate and isolated, having been the site of a great battle that damaged the land long ago. If there was any benefit to be found in such an urban wasteland, it was that large-scale battles between Servants could be fought without any threat to the NPC populace. Even now, it was playing host to yet another fierce skirmish between Hakuno Kishinami's Servants and Rex Magnus' forces that had occupied the area.

The instant that Hakuno's group arrived in the city, Cuchulainn broke off from the team and began his hunt without so much as a word to his allies. Robin sighed and muttered, "Looks like he's not wasting any time."

"Can you blame him?" Nero replied. "His own family is in danger. Of course he would want to rescue her as quickly as possible."

Tamamo muttered, "Having such gusto is fine and all, but he does know where the furnace is, correct? He won't be of much use to us if he just runs around without a plan in mind."

"Don't worry," Hakuno told her. "I already transferred a map to him, and he's on his way to the furnace. Our job is to handle the rear so he doesn't get overwhelmed by the enemies he passed by."

"Understood, my Husband! As to be expected, you are always so thoughtful of your troops!"

Charlemagne brandished his sword and began running forward while calling out, "Let's not dawdle then! To arms, everyone!"

At the same time, Cuchulainn was already on his way to the target point indicated on Hakuno's map. Any Attack Programs foolish enough to interfere with his progress were met with swift deaths before they could even pick up their swords. The furious Lancer never even looked back at the robots falling all over him like rain. He wasn't interested in fighting everything he saw – just enough to clear a path for himself straight to the goal.

Cuchulainn soared from one sector to the next. He could finally see some sort of strange structure atop a skyscraper in the distance, which he assumed was the furnace he was searching for. It appeared to be exuding an azure mist that blanketed the sector. The sight of that fog only infuriated him further, knowing what the source of it was. Before he could reach the closest exit to that sector though, he came to a sudden stop and glared up at the night sky. Goosebumps prickled his skin as he realized he was in close proximity to an oncoming Facsimile Servant.

A winged creature burst through the mist and rushed straight for Cuchulainn's sector. Then a pink-haired androgynous teenager leapt off and landed gallantly atop a dilapidated water tower. The newcomer brushed his cape aside in a blatant display of self-confident heroism, then called out, "Listen, those who are far off! Watch, those who are nearby! My True Name is Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Pala-"

"HRAAA~AAA~AAAGH!"

Without warning, Cuchulainn suddenly slashed Gae Bolg through the water tower's metal supports, destroying them in one clean swipe. The structure crumpled under the weight, and Astolfo let out a panicked shriek before leaping off and whining, "HEY! At least let me finish! I haven't had an opportunity to make a big entrance like that in so long!"

Cuchulainn couldn't care less. He was blind to everything except reaching the furnace. Riastrad lines creased around his widened eyes as he glared at his boasting opponent. Astolfo cringed when he saw that frightening visage, and he stammered, "Y-You don't scare me! Fine! If that's how you're going to be, then I'll fight you fair and square!"

With that, the two warriors clashed their lances against each other numerous times. Although Astolfo was more clumsy with his fighting style compared to Cuchulainn's smooth and rapid movements, the Paladin's sheer luck allowed him to escape some potentially fatal blows with some random-looking tumbles and somersaults. However, that luck wasn't going to last very long when the Celtic Lancer's onslaught was unending and relentless. He leapt over the dumbstruck lad and smashed Gae Bolg into the ground just inches in front of him, causing him to soar backwards from the inertia. Cuchulainn then performed a rush attack, slicing and dicing the unfortunate Rider with reckless abandon before finishing with a potent stab to his chest.

"Uwah! What is this!? Time out, time out! You're way too strong!" Astolfo complained after falling onto his buttocks. "At this rate, you're going to reach the furnace! Not that it'll do you any good, since the Plant will get away with the particles in time!"

"A Plant?" Cuchulainn snarled. "You're protecting a Plant's getaway, aren't you?"

"Uh… Oh yeah, you weren't supposed to know that, weren't you? Oh well, it's not my fault I'm bad at keeping secrets."

As Astolfo chastised himself for his mistake, Cuchulainn saw this as an opportunity to run his spear through his fallen foe's cranium. As he got closer though, the pink-haired fellow unexpectedly grinned.

"Hee hee… Trap of Argalia!"

Astolfo rushed past Cuchulainn and swiped his lance at his legs. This was the special ability that his spear Argalia possessed – to cause any opponent struck by its golden tip to 'fall' in battle. Although it didn't have any impressive armor-piercing abilities nor any special properties like Gae Bolg's reversal of cause and effect, it was excellent for incapacitating an enemy by either paralyzing their legs or outright chopping them off, transforming the limb back into spiritual energy. Astolfo was counting on this as he bluffed defeat, expecting Cuchulainn to lose focus and expose himself to Argalia's trap.

However, things didn't turn out quite the way Astolfo expected. As the two warriors passed by each other, the Paladin felt his strength practically being sucked out of him. He didn't understand what was going on as he fell face-first onto the concrete, and was even more confused when he couldn't get back up. Incredible pain seared through his back, and blood gushed out of his burning hot wound like lava. When he saw Cuchulainn land several feet behind him, with his legs intact no less, that was when Astolfo realized what happened; Cuchulainn had seen through his ruse, hopped over the Trap of Argalia, and simultaneously slashed into Astolfo's back as deep as he could to incapacitate him.

"N-No… fair. You're the one… who's not… supposed to be… standing…" Astolfo whimpered.

To finish this fight as swiftly and conclusively as possible, Cuchulainn hunched down low in a sprinter's pose. Then he dashed forth with incredible speed and leapt over Astolfo and the oncoming Attack Programs. He raised his weapon in a throwing position and screamed, "Sharpen your teeth! GAE… BOLG!"

He hurled it downward with every fiber of his strength. The polearm's form mutated during its descent, growing into an exponential number of sharpened barbs until it was some indescribable and gigantic mass of jagged steel. Unlike the regular Gae Bolg which was an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, this version was designed to be Anti-Army, trading its deadly reversal of cause and effect in favor of raw destructive power. As the millions of barbs fell upon Astolfo, there was only one thing he could utter:

"Ah…"

Robin Hood fired a bevy of crossbow arrows at a concentrated horde of Attack Programs, scattering them in order to break their formation. He then used his May King cloak to temporarily make himself invisible and retreat before the enemy could regroup. As he ran to the sector's nearest exit, a potent gust of wind nearly made him lose his balance. He looked over at the sector Cuchulainn was at, and witnessed the gargantuan Gae Bolg smash onto the skyscraper's roof, decimating anything and anyone within immediate proximity with a fantastic crimson explosion.

"Damn," the Archer cursed under his breath. "I know we're in a hurry, but take it easy, man."

Without looking to see if Astolfo had survived his Noble Phantasm, Cuchulainn took the final exit towards the target sector. He was finally in front of the furnace, but the blue mist that had been surrounding the area was now gone. If Astolfo hadn't let slip what was actually going on, he would have wasted his time destroying the structure only to find out it was empty. Even so, his intel was showing him that he was on a strict time limit. If he didn't get rid of the guardian Aggressors, the Plant would escape the entire region with Connla's particles in tow. Cuchulainn was not going to let that happen. Even though the density of Attack Programs was much greater than ever before, he let his rage dominate his senses so he could mow through them like mere blades of grass.

"ORA, ORA, ORA!" the maddened Celt howled a fierce battle cry as he destroyed the sword-wielding Aggressors with frightening ease. Next came some tougher axe-wielding enemies that he had to twirl and dance around to avoid being chopped. By the time they fell and a pair of giant Aggressors spawned, he was getting seriously pissed off with their tenacity. Luckily, he absorbed enough mana chips from the hundreds of drones he destroyed to activate his Moon Drive, and tearing apart the titans was incredibly easy. Just to make sure they were defeated, he used his deadly Drive Skill on them, slicing them apart with Gae Bolg's jagged length exploding all around him.

Now, all that remained was the Plant. Cuchulainn dashed through the sector at lightning speed in fierce pursuit. He found a high ledge and leapt off, sailing high over the flying capsule.

"GOT YOU!"

The Plant couldn't do anything as its enraged opponent leapt high over it and prepared to dive straight upon it.

"HEYAAA~AAA~AAAH!"

With a deafening shing sound, Gae Bolg pierced through its entire body and pinned it to the ground. Its core was damaged beyond repair, and it slumped and fizzled with electricity until it was fully deactivated.

What felt like a long time later, Cuchulainn extracted his weapon out of the robot. All other enemies still on the field ran away, knowing that the battle was lost. He didn't care about them anymore. He concentrated on pulling off the Plant's dome cover so he could get to the contents inside. It was jammed in rather tightly, but he kept trying. He was so absorbed in his efforts that he didn't even notice his comrades approaching.

"Everything's all clear on our end," Charlemagne reported. "What about you? Did you find the Servant?"

"Gh… Damn it… I've almost got this blasted thing… THERE!"

Cuchulainn finally pried off the cover and tossed it aside before ripping off another small lid that protected its prized contents. His eyes widened in sheer horror… He couldn't believe what he was looking at. Inside the Plant's main body was a capsule containing countless tiny azure blocks as fine as powder. He ran his trembling hand through the glittering sandy substance in total shock. All of his combat adrenaline was gone, replaced with a horrible fear he thought he would never experience again.

"C… Conn… la!"

Tamamo assured, "Don't worry. There is enough here for me to reconstitute her Spirit Core. Step back and let me handle this."

"Yeah… please help her…"

The fox maiden stood over the destroyed Plant and cupped her hands over the particles, concentrating a great deal of magical energy into her palms as she began the resurrection spell:

"This is my realm, the land of the gods. Water flows in the bountiful lands of Nakatsu. The land fills the void with water and flows to Takamagahara, flows to Yomi, as the sun shines through the watery heavens. I will light the Toyoashihara Mizuno no Kuni. I will spin the endless wheel. This is the nine-fold Amaterasu… Eightfold Blessings of Amaterasu on the Weighted Stone Under the Sunlit Watery Heavens!"

When Tamamo finished casting her spell, the blue particles shimmered like glitter and began reconstituting themselves into a humanoid figure. A bright flash of white light blinded everyone for a moment. Once it dissipated, they discovered a seven-year old girl standing limply before them, her eyes closed and her sleeping expression peaceful. However, her skin was deathly grey and thoroughly unpleasant to look at.

"Connla!" Cuchulainn cried out as she collapsed onto her knees, and he caught her in his embrace. "Oh god, Connla, it really is you! Come on, wake up! Say something to me!"

"Calm down, Lancer," Hakuno said. "Make sure she's okay first."

"Y-Yeah…" he uttered in a shaky voice as he listened to Connla's breathing. Although it was shallow and barely perceptible, he felt tiny breaths brushing his cheek. Overcome with relief, he smiled and said in a choking voice, "She's alive."

"But she's not waking up?"

"No. I've tried pinching her hand, but she's not responding."

Tamamo's expression became grave as she announced, "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news during such a happy moment, but I'm afraid the child isn't going to be waking up anytime soon."

"What do you mean?" Nero wondered.

"Although I was able to stabilize her Spirit Core, the Replication System drained so much of her energy while she was forced to generate Facsimile Servants that she will have to rest for a significant amount of time."

"How long are we talking about?" Cuchulainn asked.

"How should I know? Even at full strength, my magic was just enough to reconstitute her back into a Servant. Unlike with Jeanne, who is a much stronger Servant and had not been turned into blue particles for very long, the child Lancer's Spirit Core spent too much time being consumed by the system. She doesn't even have the rank of a regular Servant, does she?"

"I'm afraid not. She was training under Scathach."

"Then her Spirit Core was very much on the verge of collapse before I restored her. I wouldn't be surprised if she needed at least a year's worth of sleep just to regain the energy to walk."

"A year…"

Charlemagne clenched his teeth and snarled, "Damn it, Rex Magnus. Brainwashing everyone around him… Grinding Servants into powder… Throwing all of the Moon Cell into this chaos… I don't care what his end goal is anymore. I absolutely won't forgive him for this."

Cuchulainn carried Connla in his arms and asked Charlemagne, "Sorry to impose on you, but do you think you could spare a room for the kid? She's not going to be of any help to us during this war, but she needs somewhere safe to rest until we sort this mess out."

"Of course you can impose on me! I'd be happy to let such a hero stay in my castle!"

That night, back in the safety of the flying fortress Charles Patricius, Connla was assigned the same room as Cuchulainn's. He gave her a bath, then tucked her into bed and sat by her side to monitor her breathing. Although Connla was still alive, Tamamo warned Cuchulainn that the first 24 hours of her recovery were going to be crucial due to how severely weakened she was. The fox maiden even made some porridge for him to feed her, which would help her regain some strength.

As she handed him the bowl, Cuchulainn whispered, "Sorry for the trouble. I promise I'll make it up to you later. I just want to make sure the kid is okay before doing any huge favors for you."

"I know," Tamamo murmured. "I might be considered an Anti-Heroic Spirit, but I'm not so heartless as to interfere with a father caring for his child. Besides, this is good practice for me when my Husband and I eventually have children of our own. Mmmm, my tail fur is prickling with excitement just at the thought of chasing after little mini versions of my Husband!"

"Right, whatever. Save your fantasizing for another time and leave us in peace, would you?"

"All right, all right. I'll be praying for her recovery as well. Nero and Robin extend their well wishes too."

Tamamo left Cuchulainn be, and he returned his attention to feeding Connla as best as he could. It was a bit difficult since she was fast asleep, but she soon consumed all of the porridge. For the next few hours, he maintained a vigilant watch over her while doing other chores like cleaning and sharpening his spear, or cutting some meat for later. About halfway through the night, he heard someone knocking on his door from the outside, and he opened it to discover Charlemagne.

"Hey there," the King of Franks whispered. "Sorry for bugging you. I just wanted to know if everything's okay here."

"She's hanging in there," Cuchulainn assured. "She might be small, but she's a real trooper."

"Can I visit for a bit? I think I'll go crazy if I don't see her for myself."

"Fine, but keep the fanboying to a minimum. The kid's not out of the woods yet, and she needs every minute of sleep she can get."

"Roger."

Cuchulainn allowed Charlemagne to enter, and the black-haired knight observed Connla as she slept quietly. After a long stretch of silence between the two men, Charlemagne finally asked, "I don't mean to pry into your past life so rudely, but did she really fight you so hard that you had to use Gae Bolg to stop her?"

"What, you don't believe me? It's that kind of tenacity and skill that's allowed her to be summoned as a Servant in the first place."

"But she looks so tiny! How is it possible for someone so young to push Ireland's most famous hero into such a corner?"

"You haven't seen her in battle, have you? Trust me – when she gets mad, she can be just as scary as me. Add those three geasa she's cursed with, and you have one hell of a pint-sized ankle-biter on your hands."

"Her geasa? Do they have some sort of unique properties?"

"Something like that," Cuchulainn said as he pulled a chair up next to Charlemagne. For the next two hours, he regaled the Frenchman with Connla's entire tale, from the circumstances surrounding her birth, up to the moment of her death and how it severely affected him for the rest of his life. He even explained why he had the druids and storytellers lie about certain aspects of Connla's story in order to protect her and her mother's dignity, since the whole tragedy really was Cuchulainn's fault to begin with.

"I see…" Charlemagne whispered in awe. "So you went as far as to paint yourself as an idiot who didn't recognize the geasa he put on his own child, only a mere seven years after it happened. You wanted to hide the truth of them being placed on her by her cruel mother, who only cared about avenging her sullied dignity."

"Yeah," Cuchulainn sighed. "Even so, it looks like some people in the modern world are noticing the flaws in my story and realizing the truth. Still, it doesn't look like they've figured out what Connla's actual gender is, despite the overwhelming evidence of how powerful Scotland's warrior women really are."

"Is that something you're fine with?"

"What can I do about it? It happened 2000 years ago. How future generations interpret it is up to them. All I care about is making sure the kid has a happier life as a Servant than she did when she was alive."

"Yeah, you're right. If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word. I swear on my honor as a king and warrior that I'll be her friend and ally. It's the least I can do for allowing my deranged other self to mistreat her so horribly."

"Well, you don't really need to do that far for the kid. I guess it would ease her mind to know she has at least one friend out there though. Since she lived so far away from civilization her whole life, her social interactions might come off as a bit awkward. If you can just be patient with her, I think it'll work out great."

Charlemagne nodded. "Now that I have a better understanding of her history, I can fight my other self with no restraint. I'm not going to let him take away her chance at happiness again, nor anyone else's for that matter. He can spout all the excuses he wants – none of it will ever sway me."

Cuchulainn narrowed his eyes and frowned hard. "Are you sure about that? My understanding is that you and that Karl guy are inexorably linked, like you're one Servant existing as two at the same time. If we really do manage to take that bastard down, what's going to happen to you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to fight, regardless of what the future holds. That's what my conviction is telling me to do."

"…"

Noticing where the conversation was heading, Charlemagne quickly stood up and said, "Well, I think I'll join Master and the others in their next strategy meeting. It won't be long before we have to think about destroying the St. Metropolita's cannons and top defenses. It's imperative that we first reclaim all of the territories that fell under Rex Magnus' control and recruit more allies in the meantime though."

"Yeah…" Cuchulainn mumbled, then watched the knight brusquely leave him alone in the darkness. He wasn't convinced of Charlemagne's attempt at deflecting the conversation, but figured that arguing with him would be pointless.

Chaldea timeline

In the dreamscape that Gilgamesh intentionally dove into, he finished listening to what Connla Aibi had to say. It had taken them a considerable amount of time to go through all of the knowledge she possessed, but now he understood the full story and could ponder what to do next.

Aibi fell onto one knee and said, "That is everything I know. I swear that on my honor as your future retainer."

"Hm…" he mused to himself. "Very well. I hereby rescind my threat of death. You may rise."

She stood back up, then clasped her hands and asked, "So what do you plan on doing now?"

"Although your information will take some time to parse through, I should first ensure that the runt's operation proceeded smoothly. If they manage to extract the fragment of that Outer God out of her, I would be most eager to take the lead in examining its properties. If Daoloth truly is the one who attacked me during our previous meeting, it would behoove me to discern any sort of weakness that I can exploit for our inevitable assault against it."

"Do you think you'll find anything?"

"That is hard to say. I guarantee you this though – no one, and I mean no one, insults the King of Heroes and gets away with it unscathed. Once I figure something out, the Outer God will be living on a time limit. That much is certain."

A slight shiver ran up Aibi's spine. She repressed it, then wondered, "How are you going to approach Geal about this? She must be in tremendous shock, learning that a piece of an alien god was inside her. Carelessly indulging her with all of this information might wind up rendering her catatonic, or even worse."

"Don't take me for a fool, woman," Gilgamesh chided her. "I would never be so impudent as to deliberately traumatize the runt any further than she already has been. I will think of an appropriate course of action."

"All right."

"What about yourself? Do you intend to stay here and continue observing Aisling?"

"Naturally. It's what I promised Cliste. One of us counterparts needs to make sure Aisling doesn't retreat into some obscure realm where no one can find her. Cliste must have been preparing for when Geal was ready to confront Aisling herself, but knew Geal would have no idea where Aisling was. You could say that I'm acting as the link between them."

"How do you intend to keep track of Aisling should she try to escape your notice?"

"I have my methods."

The Sumerian king wasn't impressed with the young woman's attempt at being coy. He boldly folded his arms and declared, "You're still hiding something from me."

Aibi glanced away shamefully and admitted, "I am. However, it has absolutely nothing to do with our current situation. It is related to my past as a Servant. If it is irrelevant to Aisling and Daoloth, then I'm not going to divulge it. I cannot risk having all of my secrets exposed, lest I come under threat myself."

He fell into an uncomfortable and lengthy silence. Although offended about being left ignorant like this, he eventually replied, "You said you would explain everything about yourself once you became my personal servant."

"That's correct. The method I'm using to observe Aisling is part of it. It's an ability that only I possess among all of us counterparts, and I cannot risk having it taken away from me. Forgive me for withholding it from you, but I'm sure you understand the circumstances."

"Well, so long as you are not intentionally toying with me for your own amusement, then I will let it pass. Whatever this top-secret tool is that you possess, no doubt we at Chaldea will find it handy in the future."

"…"

Gilgamesh turned to walk away as he said, "My time here is up. I must return to my physical vessel posthaste."

"Please make sure Geal is okay," Aibi implored. "I've been trying to have an Imbas Forosnai dream through her, but it's getting harder and harder to do so lately. Daoloth's influence must be affecting her too much for me to connect with her."

"Perhaps with the fragment extracted, it might become easier for you."

"I sure hope so…"

Back at Chaldea, Gilgamesh's mind returned to his body, and he woke up in his chambers. He glanced over at his golden clock, realizing that the entire night passed. He rolled out of his velvet-covered bed and stretched. The scent of a freshly-cooked breakfast wafted his nostrils, and he looked over to discover a service cart with plates of eggs benedict topped with the perfect Hollandaise sauce, yogurt covered in fresh fruit and oatmeal, waffles sprinkled with icing sugar, coffee and bread. A placard containing a note and a doodle of Boudica's smiling face accompanied the food, indicating that she was the chef responsible for this hearty meal.

"Hmph. A little rustic for my liking, but at least the timing is sufficient," he grumbled to himself and sat down to eat. He left a generous tip once he finished, and got dressed in a casual black biker jacket and pants ensemble before departing.

In Chaldea's medical ward, Connla gradually came to, and her eyes fluttered open. Although she was obviously lying in bed tucked beneath several layers of blankets, for some weird reason she kept hearing water gurgling nearby. Her throat felt terribly dry, and she coughed several times before guzzling down a glass of water that was already prepared for her. In fact, her upper chest felt incredibly painful, and she glanced down to discover a bunch of gauze and bandages covering what was apparently a suture wound.

Oh, right… Dr. Roman and the others were operating on me. It must be over now.

She was astonished by how quickly everything had proceeded. Then again, maybe she was so absorbed into her Moon Cell counterpart's life that her sense of time was warped, and she needed to get back to living her own life in Chaldea. The first thing she focused on was finding the source of the gently flowing water. She turned her eyes over to the wall next to her, and saw a small standing fountain made out of rocks resting atop another table, operated with a pump that constantly flowed water to provide her with a calming sound as she slept.

Connla then looked the other direction and saw another occupied bed. It wasn't a hospital gurney like hers was, but just a regular bed for guests to sleep in. Although she couldn't see his face very well, the long spiked tail draped over the side of the bed plus his audible snoring made it abundantly clear who it was. She wasn't surprised to see him there whatsoever. What did surprise her was the presence of someone else who had fallen asleep while sitting next to her bed. His head, shoulders, arms, and upper body were draped over her as he slept quietly. The room was a bit dark, so she needed time to adjust her eyes before she could make out who the third person was.

Once she did, she widened her eyes a little and realized, Lord… Lucius?

Indeed, it was Lucius Tiberius who was slumped over her. He didn't wear any upper clothing, so she could see the many bandages covering his arms, chest, and back. Even his cheek was covered in layers of thick gauze. It took a moment for Connla to recall why he would be in such a terrible state… but the training session she had with him in the simulator finally came back to her. Shock overcame her, and she covered her mouth in horror. She remembered how bizarrely she acted then, and that it took Cuchulainn Lancer's efforts to stop her. Since then, she had no idea how Lucius was doing. Seeing him like this brought her a sense of relief, knowing she didn't actually kill him. This was compounded with guilt for causing so many ghastly wounds on him though, and she was almost on the verge of crying. However, her own suture wound made it too agonizing for her to get stressed out, so all she could do was sit there and stare at Lucius in silence.

She was so focused on the red-haired Roman that she actually didn't hear the door to her room crack open. She heard someone's metallic boots clicking on the tiled floor, but she couldn't see them very well. Soon though, a dim lamp flicked on, illuminating only Connla's half of the room so that Cuchulainn would not be disturbed. Not only did she get a better look at Lucius now, but the person who entered the room was none other than Gilgamesh, which astonished her.

"You're up," he whispered.

"L-Lord…" she tried to utter, but wound up coughing again due to her dry throat.

"Don't get too excited, runt, lest you wind up awakening the Mad Mongrel," he said as he gave her another glass of water. "I know you are in no condition to speak. I merely have some simple yes or no questions that I want you to answer."

After finishing her drink, she nodded, indicating that she was willing to indulge him.

"Good. First off, were the doctors able to remove the fragment from you?"

She shrugged, unsure of how to answer since she only just woke up.

"Well, judging by how you are in the recovery room, I assume it was a success. Did the Da Vinci woman say she would analyze it in her workshop?"

She nodded.

"I'm not surprised. That mongrel would probably love to glean any sort of inventions she can get out of it. Once I'm finished here, I will make my way there immediately. I have my own reasons for wanting to see that fragment with my own eyes."

She tilted her head, curious about what his reasons were. However, he dismissed her by asking, "I'll ask you something else, and I want you to be absolutely truthful with me. Have you ever witnessed any visions of a counterpart going by the nickname Aibi?"

She raised an eyebrow, then shook her head.

"Did Cliste ever tell you of a counterpart with that nickname?"

She shook her head again.

"Have you ever witnessed Aisling's past through one of your visions?"

To his surprise, she gazed down with a forlorn expression and nodded reluctantly.

"Was there ever any sighting or mention of a counterpart named Aibi in that dream?"

She shook her head for a third time.

"Hmph… Figured it wouldn't be so easy," Gilgamesh grumbled in annoyance. "Trying to find a specific counterpart's history would be an unfathomably difficult task, I suppose. Still, better to humor my curiosity than to let it gnaw at me. At least I have a better understanding of one thing; Aibi and Aisling lived separately, but Cliste dragged Aibi into this as a preparatory measure."

Connla had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He noticed her confused expression, then said, "Think nothing of it. Just a small matter on my end that I needed clarification for. I have no more questions for you."

Although curious, she was simply too tired to even think about asking him why he was talking about a counterpart she never heard of before. She kept her head lowered and stared at Lucius' sleeping form in concern. Gilgamesh noticed this and asked, "Do you worry that he may be upset with you?"

"…"

Maybe there was the fear of the Roman being angry with her for injuring him so horrifically. Perhaps he was just waiting for his chance to punish her, since he was a man of royalty who thought of himself as a living god, while she was a mere commoner.

"Feh he he he he," Gilgamesh chuckled as quietly as he could. His mirth was definitely something she didn't expect. "Don't be so quick to assume the worst, runt. If a king can sleep at his retainer's side like so, it is an indication of both his concern and forgiveness. I should know – if any of my citizens suffered like so, I would be by their side in an instant."

Connla's fears quickly subsided when she heard that. She had to remember that Lucius was strangely smitten with her due to her connection with Lugh, whom he was named after. Not only that, neither of them would ever have expected her to be possessed by an alien god during their training session. Maybe Lucius came to and learned everything that had happened to her while she was asleep during her operation, and paid a visit once she was in recovery. Still, she found it quite odd that Gilgamesh was the one trying to console her during such a difficult and confusing time. From what she understood of him, he would have tried to find some sort of entertainment from her numerous plights.

The King of Heroes turned off the lamp, then approached the door and murmured, "My business here is done. Get your rest, and we will continue this conversation at a later time. There is much that you and I need to discuss, and we cannot do so unless you are at full health."

He shut the door, and the room was engulfed in total darkness, accompanied by the sounds of gently gurgling water and Cuchulainn Alter's deep snoring. Too tired to even think about staying awake, Connla closed her eyes again and let her mind drift back into her Moon Cell counterpart's subconsciousness.