(Back in Chaldea)
"Sorry to take you away from your chat with the Doctor," Siegfried said in a perfunctory manner. Doru just shrugged it off - the human really couldn't diagnose Matthew's particular problems, if they were indeed problems. "I heard the news; pretty much everyone has by now. So what's got your attention?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're one of the younger members of Chaldea. I happen to remember that we had a Crest Worm specialist at the Einzbern Estate, but for some reason Matou and the Founder wanted you transferred from Fuyuki here instead of your, closer, presumptive senior."
"Hm, that's true isn't it?" Doru remarked blandly, almost automatically. At the time, Siegfried was only Illyasviel's heir, and in any case was not slated to be part of Chaldea, which along with Millia remained technically true.
"Were you sworn to secrecy?" Siegfried raised an eyebrow as if already thinking about what that would imply. And the likely conditions.
"Yes. Since you've succeeded your mother as head of Einzbern, I can disclose it to you since this was at Four Houses level, not Chaldea." Doru paused to collect his thoughts. "It's related to why a number of others from the earlier experiments with Matou were selectively picked - specifically, to add an Order to Chaldea's Grand Aria."
"I can guess what, now, but go on."
"Only theoretical really, and we chose against pulling the trigger on it, but the Binding Order needed a number of us with Matou training to connect something on the level of a Servant to the Grand Aria System without the special efficiency with which the Grail System creates links. After all," Doru grinned wrly at this point, "There were reasons why the humans wanted our Command Spells to be that much weaker than the previous War, and the Four Houses had reasons to want a backup option. Or rather, the option to have the option. The help from El Melloi's House and presumably Kelretch meant this wasn't necessary."
"I'm assuming the reason this didn't come up during the debate regarding the Butcher of Septem is because there is no such Order in place?"
A nod in reply. "That's correct. Even if we put in the work to develop and insert it into the Grand Aria, it'll be totally untested anyway."
Siegfried thought about this for a moment. "I assume that Sakura passed down the necessary techniques to you personally, since you seemed to be her last headline student."
"Correct again. I should add that we don't really know if it would work or we'd all end up being the ones absorbed instead. Her 'expert estimate' was that a few hundred of us would probably suffice. Of course I don't really have a clue if that means she never actually used it at that scale since you'd imagine we can outweigh a single human. But, ah, Matou is quite the human. Was."
"I see."
l
(An alleyway in London, Industrial Revolution Singularity)
"That's kind of awkward." Gudao's understatement as Scathach tried to use some runes on their fallen Ruler largely went unheard.
"I thought we had gotten out of that encounter far too easily," Mordred frowned. Though Gudako had immediately thought of Magic Resistance which classes like her own Saber and the Rulers generally had, such Skills were not particularly proof against anything at the Noble Phantasm level, which she suspected had been what did in their companion.
After being prompted by Scathach, Ruby obligingly dropped Sasaku's transformation so the Caster could use some analysis runes. However, this ended up bringing back Sasaku's Magic Resistance and other Skills which in turn frustrated the rune master's efforts anew. Because it was a delicate operation, she couldn't just force her way though with more magical energy.
"I might have a pretty good idea of what's going on," Shirou spoke up after watching this unfold with a complicated expression.
"So is she going to be fine or not?" Gudako asked immediately, having gotten over the shock of suddenly being delivered this crisis right as they had apparently negotiated a dangerous situation with the application of magical girl.
"They must have done something to her mind. Subtle enough we couldn't tell or would assume the attempt had failed. When they ended it, or more probably when she left the area of influence I'd say, she immediately dropped because the process left behind some massive inconsistency."
"She's not going to wake up missing her memory and start trying to skewer us, I hope." Georgios sounded very serious, probably because he remembered being shot at with spears in the previous Singularity.
"Don't think she generally attacks neutrals, but anyway I assume she'll regain consciousness only once the error correction processes have worked through the issue enough."
"I think I'll still keep an eye on her," Kojirou said firmly.
"Please do. I think we might as well just take the road straight on since apparently those two were waiting for us to, precisely, not take it." Gudao frowned, wondering how Spartacus had encountered the pair if the Berserker had gone barreling down said main road.
"I'll take the front then," Mordred quickly volunteered, looking at Georgios as if daring him to try for the role. "Oh, who will carry the girl?"
"Bayard can carry her and the Masters," Georgios said evenly. "We can make good speed if they hold on to her."
"Decent plan," Gudako agreed quickly. "Hopefully she recovers before we end up in a serious combat situation."
"That reminds me," Shirou added, "Based on my analysis, those creatures use that Eternal Gear System to convert magical energy to mechanical movement. Apparently they can switch to a high-performance state in combat by using their magical energy reserves. Though I'd say they are loaded with 'regular' bullets, it's analogous to a Servant summoning minions which can use whatever but still be able to harm another Servant."
"They didn't shoot at us earlier, though?" Scathach frowned. "Even though we were attacking them."
"Likely because that Assassin was nearby. Unless I miss my estimation of events, she wasn't 'on their side' so they likely had orders to avoid attacking her even by mistake," was Gudao's guess.
"You know," Jeanne realized suddenly. "How come she looked different? Sure, you can change clothes but she was definitely taller than Sasaku, so... (Shapeshifting)?"
"Nah, she was a different one. The man, Jack, is the Assassin." Holding her head, Sasaku spoke up slowly from her position in between her two Masters. "Ah, let me think... that older girl was Nursery Rhyme. The man and the schoolgirl are both Jack the Ripper, going off the Grail records attached to that True Name."
"So what was their objective?" Kojirou remarked, a bit more at ease since nothing seemed to be immediately wrong with their comrade.
"I think... somewhere by the end of that Rhyme decided she rather try and make a link with Chaldea than consume us. Of course while she was good enough to attempt to undo some of the damage her Noble Phantasm did to me, she also tried to burn said link into my Spirit Origin which turned out terribly."
"What does her Noble Phantasm do exactly?" Gudako asked for future reference.
"It breaks down one's cognition piece by piece. Once you reach the point of forgetting your own name... pretty much done for."
"Ah, so making up a different one for you helped?" Ruby asked cheerfully.
"If only. I'm pretty sure my True Name doesn't actually change when transformed, and at that moment, I knew pretty clearly that she had me but good. Her reminding me of my name herself is what undid the effect. Of course, etching records of yourself into someone else isn't the most friendly means of introduction but meh..."
"Is any of that going to be a problem?" Shirou queried his previous War's Servant.
"Oh, I've already purged all the remaining effects. Granted, it wouldn't have saved me in that moment since she could obviously do more to me than I could repair passively."
"Sorry to interrupt, but I think that group of enemies will realize we're at their ass if we keep moving forward into them?" Mordred interrupted.
"Shall we get in and cut them up?" Kojirou asked, weapon already at the ready.
"I'd rather try to be a bit less obvious than that," Gudao muttered. "Shirou, you mentioned they use a special Eternal Gear, where would it be located generally?"
"Center mass, like where the heart would be if you anthropomorphize them."
"Excellent. Sasaku, please open up from max range and take out as many as you can with spears. You heard where to aim this time."
...
*Snap*
*Crack*
Each time a black iron spear came up against one of the machines' more Mystery-laden components and solidified, appearing while intersecting the more mundane exterior shells caused the latter to break apart with loud creaks and squeals.
Forewarned by their comrades' very loud demises, the mechanical enemies tried to close in, magical energy signatures spiking in their great number as they switched to what Shirou had described as their 'high-performance state' while spraying down the Chaldean formation with their bullets.
"Thought you could do more than that," Gudako said softly while Scathach started engaging the approaching line as it entered her range. "And switch to your other form."
"The fog is making it a bit harder to really identify targets," Gudao shrugged as Mordred started feeding energy into her sword.
"It couldn't be that the Singularity's ruler, the Queens that Servant spoke of, are actually inside the Clock Tower, right? This isn't just a few patrols trying to catch a Berserker running amok," Jeanne observed.
"Hmph. If that's the case, then let me show you what this blade, that will destroy any version of my father, can do." Removing her helmet, Mordred took a deep breath as her weapon burst forth with destructive radiance. "(Clarent Blood Arthur) !"
All the way down the length of the road, the cobblestones were baked in a melting heat that caused them to first crack then even turn color as the Saber's attack coursed above them, disintegrating all the mechanical targets. In moments, the feet of the robots, the main parts that escaped being vaporized, turned into molten slag that flowed over and into the roadtop.
"A wonderful shot," Jeanne remarked approvingly. "What one would expect from a Holy Sword wielder."
"Hah... hah... of course I can do it too." Mordred held a strong stance but the breakthrough attack had clearly cost her somewhat. Noticing this, Gudako recalled just how useful Command Spells came in a pinch when it was necessary to use high-powered Noble Phantasms. Though Chaldea didn't have too many of those, come to think of it.
"Hate to be a downer, but I think there's at least a second wave inbound to deal with," Shirou warned everyone while looking down the suddenly mist-free street. "They seem to be coming from all the intersecting alleyways. Not just stragglers."
"More evidence that the enemy awaits us in the Clock Tower," Kojirou frowned. Not because they would have to fight through enemies, but rather it was obvious that the information they sought was in danger.
"Didn't that, uh, Nursery Rhyme say that the enemy leaders were trying to make their own world? Presumably she meant this Singularity," Gudao suggested. "They would want the same information we do, just for the opposite reason."
"Mordred, I'd suggest you let the other Sabers hold the front for now," Gudako said quietly. "Clearly the enemy are desperate to take you out so since you threaten their Artoria trump card." She had no real evidence for this 'observation', but either way, encouraging the non-Chaldean Saber to pull back and recover her strength was the optimal play for the moment.
"Marie's (Guillotine Breaker) would have been quite a good match, I must admit," Kojirou was struck by the irony of the switch-out.
"Perhaps, but I'm detecting even more, different, energy signatures also emerging from the alleyways," Scathach said, though she sounded uncertain rather than directly negative about the implications of this. Indeed, far from advancing confidently, the machines seemed to be distracted by these newcomers. Shirou saw a couple of those closest to the Chaldeans, noting that they looked like odd fairy-tale monsters.
"Excuse me, everyone. If you could?"
There was a brief pause as half of the group turned towards the speaker. Georgios was immediately on guard since they not only lacked an obvious magical energy signature, but his (True Name Discernment) did not respond even though this time he had clear and full sight. Almost instinctively, Sasaku ducked meekly behind the armored Ruler, recognizing the two knives held in the surprise visitor's hands not by sight, but the much less pleasant experience of having had one in her flesh.
"We're not here to fight," the girl said, her armed status notwithstanding. Her elegant black dress moved slowly in the breeze as the mist from behind her seemed to creep up as though it wanted to block her from sight.
"I'd like to believe that, Jack the Ripper," Gudao replied coolly. "But speak your piece, if that's what you're here for."
"My sister decided she doesn't like this gloomy world," Jack announced. "And you have future possibilities, unlike it."
Sasaku huffed in exasperation, though Gudako noted she didn't move an inch from the safety of Georgios' shadow.
"What, you want to be friends now?" Mordred scoffed. "I'd rather trust that Berserker, at least he couldn't try to stab me by stealth."
"He's dead." Jack didn't care to explain how she knew this. "My sister's summons won't fight you unless you start it. But at their best, they still clear your way fully since Charles Babbage and Paracelsus are outside the Clock Tower waiting in ambush."
"Well, thanks for that." Kojirou could tell that it was a classic sort of strategic dilemma. Obviously they could try, and with a high chance burn out on all the mechanical reinforcements and Nursery Rhyme's summons, or take the probably lower chance of being betrayed by them, though there was not much reason for the pair to do so.
l
"For goodness sakes," Lev Lainur cursed. "Now those third-party Servants are attacking us. Enabled by all the mana still floating about. This is clearly your failure !"
The alchemist Servant appeared unmoved by this outburst. "This Singularity is constantly breaking down," he replied in the tone of an academic analyzing a research report. "We've successfully captured and condensed a lot of ambient magical energy, but it keeps appearing."
"It should be getting stronger," the magus frowned. "Perhaps I mis-estimated this one's prospects..." With those negative thoughts, he walked away into the underground section of the Clock Tower.
"They're coming right for us," Babbage commented to Paracelsus, dismissing the human from mind. "I wouldn't count on Mordred running out of energy if the Masters have decided they can start using her Sword to break through."
Taking out an unmistakable crystalline sword, the Servant tapped it lightly against several jeweled rings that gleamed gently on his fingers. As though eager to prove their loyalty, the many small clumps of magical energy distributed in all the structures around them lit up briefly. In contrast to Lainur's disappointment, Babbage and Paracelsus had found improving their harvesting setup to be surprisingly fruitful.
"I take it you're ready to fight?" a confident and chillingly casual voice spoke from the direction that Lainur had left. The two turned around to see Artoria approaching them.
"I hope you weren't taking us for mere scholars," Babbage retorted in his usual understated manner. The Saber turned to ponder him.
"Pull back into the Clock Tower complex. The queen will allow you to pass safely if you avoid touching anything."
"What?" For a moment, Paracelsus' surprise overtook everything else. "But this Workshop is..."
"It isn't going to hold up that well if the likes of Mordred and Nursery Rhyme start blasting it. Pack up all your gems and move inwards; I'll tell you more once you're inside."
"I take it the queen doesn't trust us," Babbage observed.
"If that was the case, she'd have let you make your stand here and die," Artoria shrugged. "You can still make that choice, but trust me: the queen's setup is worth being behind instead of in front of."