Krafting a Solution
The forests of Jura were very different from what Trent had come to view as forested. The thickness of the foliage, how densely the trees grew, and the very small amount of light that managed to pierce the canopy. It reminded him more of the almost jungle-like forests he had seen and travelled through when visiting Chiangmai.
The earthy smell of loam filled the air, but there was almost no birdsong, no sounds from wildlife that might call the wooded area home. The blond was almost tempted to wonder as to why, but the distant shriek of a wyvern answered the unthought question.
A buzzing filled Trent's ears, and after a moment, Roman's voice cut through and cleared the static. "-ackmore? Blackmore, I repeat, this is the Command Centre, are we coming through?"
"You're live, Doctor," the Canuck replied, slowing and looking around, causing the rest of the group to do the same. While Mash perked up slightly, Medb started to study her nails as Scheherazade peered into the darkness, and Jeanne looked at Trent curiously.
"I-" The Doctor cut himself off from replying to that statement, and instead took a deep breath. "We're currently piggybacking off the nearby leyline, but if you can establish a proper tap from it, we should be able to keep up communications regardless of distance."
"Roger roger," Trent answered. "Anything else we need to know?"
"We're currently picking up two Servant signatures deeper in the forest, so keep alert," Roman advised. "They're basically on top of the leyline, so it might become a battle."
Before Trent could complain that he had the chops not to escalate things, Olga's voice came over the line. "And Blackmore, if you antagonise them, goad them, or turn it into a needless battle, so help me, I don't know what I'll do, but you won't like it."
The blond would normally just accept such an order; he knew his mouth could get him in trouble. But there was a far greater threat to them finding peace or even having any form of negotiation. Lifting his fist to his mouth, he coughed, "Listen, Director, I had no plans to cause any trouble, I assure you. But you've forgotten a single, crucial detail: Medb is far more likely to cause problems than I am."
"Hey!" the Rider exclaimed, turning to look at him with an expression of pure shock on her face.
Before Trent could get another dig in, Olga interrupted, "Be that as it may, you are her Master. If she steps out of line, it's your job to reprimand her and deal with the consequences. I don't care if you have to put her over your knee and spank her, do what needs to be done."
"Medb," Trent started, his head whipping around to the already grinning pinkette. "Only good girls get spankings."
Medb clicked her tongue, and after a moment's thought, asked, "What do bad girls get?"
"Bad girls get to experience the hell that is a constant barrage of American cheese-equivalent and Cheez Whiz," Trent replied immediately, meeting the queen's gaze unflinchingly.
"Can you two stop being like this?!" Olga sputtered over the comms, sounding rightfully flustered and annoyed.
Rider ignored the director completely as her face twisted in horror and disgust. After a moment, she managed to exclaim, "Those aren't even cheese! That's- I- It'd be a mercy if I conquered America to save them from those!"
Trent tried to keep his face straight, but he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from twitching. A part of him lamented his decision not to share too much information about the Singularities with the others, but another simply felt that there was no need to tempt Medb into desertion.
"Moving on," Da Vinci cut in, her tone amused as she took control of Chaldea's comms. "If you can establish contact with the leyline, we'll be able to provide reinforcements and create a proper beachhead in the Singularity."
"What, not going to warn us about the Servants?" Trent asked, not really surprised by the fact that the whimsical inventor hadn't bothered to mention them.
There was a scrabbling sound from the other end, and Olga's muffled voice could be heard, even as Da Vinci chortled, "Why bother? They're already on top of you."
Slowly, Trent crouched down as he put his head in his hands, and ground out, "Gee, thanks for that heads-up, Da Vinci."
"You should've realized they wouldn't sit still, Blackmore," the brunette chuckled, and he swore he could hear Olga demanding the microphone back. "Well, you have your orders and we need to conserve energy. Ciao, you four."
"Well, aren't you all a colourful cast?" A man's lilting voice echoed from the canopy, and Trent heard Mash step forward with her shield at the ready. "Four lovely ladies, one very sad young man, and an army of bearded barbarians."
Inhaling deeply, the Canuck slowly craned his head upward to look at the duo the rest of his group was clearly braced to deal with.
The speaker was, as expected, a man clad in a voluminous cloak, his black clothing embellished with gold and what looked to be emerald. His blond hair was nearly white, and was pulled back out of his face although a few strands were stuck up in cowlicks or seemingly floating around him wildly. He looked like the cat that had caught the canary, his mouth pulled into a wide smile as his eyes darted between the women. "A lovely blonde lass with a nice rustic charm, a shield-maiden with beauty befitting any valkyrie, an enchantress from the middle-east if I'm not misjudging, and a petite redhead whose clothing is blaring virginal imagery to the world. Ah, how wonderful, tell me, would any of you ladies be willing to spare some time to get better acquainted?"
Medb laughed, a hand coming down to slap her stomach as she called back, "I would annihilate you, stick man."
Even as the unknown man chortled in amusement, his companion shook her head and interrupted, "Oh, do forgive Amadeus, he tends to think overly much with his lower half. From what I've found, he's either got his head full of music or dirty jokes."
The new Servant was slight and short, a good chunk of her height the ridiculously large red hat set upon her platinum twintails. Her brief dress was as red as her hair, embellished with what looked to be metallic lilies. Still, she beamed down at them with a welcoming grin before throwing up a peace sign.
"Whassup, my homies?"
Staring up at her, Trent grunted, "You and Maestro Mozart, Queen Marie Antoinette."
"Oh, you know us? How interesting, right Amadeus?" Marie asked, turning to shoot the composer a grin.
The Caster hummed, his eyes narrowed as he studied the young man. "It is quite interesting that he was able to identify us based on sight alone. There are very few Heroic Spirits I can think of who would be identifiable by sight, and Maria and I do not count within their number. Perhaps he has encountered us before?"
"Don't worry about it too much," Trent replied unfolding to his full height. "Just consider me something of an expert on Heroic Spirits and their identities."
The pair of heroes shared a look, and after a moment, Marie's expression shifted. Despite her stance seeming largely unchanged, her expression had lost its playfulness as she asked, "Then what is your purpose here? Are you scouts of the Dragon Witch?"
"No, not in the least," Trent replied, shaking his head. He gestured to Mash, Scheherazade, and Medb as he explained, "These three are Servants accompanying me to fulfil our duties from the Chaldea Security Organisation. Our goal is to see this Singularity resolved, in order to undo the Incineration of Human History." The blond nodded to Jeanne, and said, "This is Jeanne d'Arc. She's helping us."
Marie had a hand up, another resting daintily against her forehead. "You really escalated quickly. There's a lot there I need to unpack." After a moment of massaging her forehead, she spoke, "Your group is here to resolve this Singularity, correct?"
"Yes'm," the Master confirmed, even as Mash nodded emphatically beside him.
"Which means saving France?" She asked, taking a deep breath.
"Yup/Affirmative/Yes," Trent, Mash, and Jeanne answered in unison, not even thinking as they spoke over each other.
Marie nodded firmly, and smiled, "Alright then, in that case, we shall join together to save France, as homies!"
"You're not going to ask about the rest?" Trent inquired, his brows raised.
Lifting her hands up, Marie gestured, pushing an imaginary object aside. "Saving France is what's important right now. The rest can come after."
"I mean, you aren't technically wrong," the Canuck started, taking a deep breath. "But there's a lot more-"
"Now, how about you all come to our base? We have a wonderful little cottage, and supplies for tea," Marie interrupted, smiling sunnily as she dropped to the ground and spun on her heel. "It's just this way!"
As the Queen started to move, her companion chortled, "Maria can be rather forceful, especially when it comes to France." As he finished, his mouth curled slightly, a melancholic light in his eyes. "Still, needs must."
And with that, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart strode after the monarch.
Trent took a deep breath and then scooped Medb up on his shoulder again, the Queen of Connacht letting out a yelp. "Hey, what the Hell?"
"Like you'd have started moving on your own," the Canadian grunted as he started after the pair.
With Jeanne, Mash, Scheherazade and the legion of Handsome Braves at their backs, the pinkette hummed.
"Fair."
{~}{~}
As Marie had said, the pair did indeed have a cottage in the woods of Jura.
It was surprisingly well kept, a two story building that looked centuries out of time from the architecture and make. The glass in the windows was clear and strong, and the make seemed almost gothic to Trent's eye.
Deciding that it was none of his business questioning why a house that looked to be out of time was in a Singularity, the Canadian took a deep breath. He could feel something different with the air itself, a sort of electricity humming through the ground as an odd taste filled the air. Letting Medb down, he checked his link to Chaldea's Control Room, and when it connected he spoke.
"Doctor Roman? Director? Da Vinci? Am I coming through?"
"You are, Blackmore," Olga confirmed, sounding slightly strained. "I assume that you've reached the Leyline?"
"And made contact with the two Servants, who have agreed to help us in resolving the Singularity," the Canadian said, watching as Jeanne moved to study the building and Mash started to look around for defences.
The Director let out a relieved sound as she remarked, "Good, you've managed to exceed expectations. Who are we working with? Perhaps some of Charlemagne's Paladins or Napoleon? Vercingetorix?"
"Sorry to disappoint, Director, but we've got Mozart and Marie Antoinette," Trent replied, letting out a huff of amusement. "The former is a Caster and the latter a Rider."
"I- Those- How?" Olga started and stopped, her voice rising as she tried to formulate a sentence. "What is it with you and Casters and Riders! And why those two rather than famed warriors!"
"I do not control which Servants are summoned, Director," Trent declared dryly as Scheherazade sashayed past him to enter the cottage. "I only do what I can to marshal them."
"[i]Just-[/i]" the Director was cut off as she let out a massive sigh. "Just set up the summoning circle so we can send some allies through to you."
"Roger, roger," the Master grunted before looking to Shielder. "Hey, Mash, can you join me over here?"
"Of course, Master!" She replied, trotting over and hauling her shield with her. "What do you need?"
"We need your shield for the summoning circle, that alright?" Trent asked, meeting her violet gaze.
"Understood, Master," she declared, slowly putting the mass of metal down, only to pause when a high-pitched noise sounded. After a moment, Fou darted out from beneath the shield and jumped up the girl's armour to stand on her shoulder. "Fou… were you hiding in the shield's storage compartment?"
Rather than answer, the small animal just nuzzled her cheek and brushed at the fur on his brow.
With the creature out of the way and the shield on the ground, the circle was quickly constructed. Tilting his head to the side, Trent grunted, "Alright Director, send them through."
"Who do you want, Blackmore?" Olga replied, sounding rather tired.
"Everyone?" the blond said askingly, not understanding how that was in question.
"Everyone? Blackmore, do you have any idea how utterly impossible that is? Do you have no sense for-" the Director was nearly shouting before the microphone was audibly pulled away from her, her voice continuing to echo in the background.
Da Vinci took over, sounding a good deal calmer than Olga as she explained, "Unfortunately, Blackmore, that's impossible. Even with the power provided by the Grail you claimed in Fuyuki, between stabilising your and Mash's existences, we can't spare the power to send through that many Servants and empower them."
Clicking his tongue, Trent ran the numbers in his head before asking, "Right, how many can you send through then?"
"We think that at most we can send through five Servants but even then, those aren't hard numbers," the artist answered, which caused the blond to frown.
After a moment's thought, he grunted, "Right, how about Caster Cu, Emiya, Saber, Herc, and Cursed Arm?"
"That won't work, Herakles would take up a significant chunk of energy that you'd probably need to cut out Saber and Emiya if you wanted him," Da Vinci replied, causing Trent to sigh. The Berserker would have been massively useful in his opinion.
Tilting his head, the Canuck grumbled, "Right, Caster Cu, Emiya, Saber, and Cursed Arm, then."
"Coming right up!" Da Vinci chirped. After a few moments, the air above the snowflake shield flared four times, the Servants appearing around it and studying the area.
Trent was about to give them directions for what to do when he winced from someone jabbing him in the side. Turning to the source, he found a frowning and befuddled Medb staring at Caster Cu Chulainn. Quietly, he murmured, "Medb?"
"Who the fuck is that?" the Queen hissed, her eyes still on the Caster.
Blinking, the Master whispered, "Don't worry about it."
"That's… he's like… pseudo-Cu. Cu-lite. The Pepsi equivalent of Cu," Medb rattled off, wracking her mind for comparisons. "The No Name Brand Cu."
After a moment, Trent hummed, "American Cheese-equivalent Cu."
Medb convulsed, her expression twisting as she gagged. Patting her on the shoulder, Trent leaned down and murmured, "Just… don't mention it. There's some shit going on there."
Leaving the still rebooting Rider to defragment, he stepped forward and clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone, gather round, it's time for a hoedown!"
With an eyebrow raised, Saber Alter looked between Medb and Scheherazade and hummed, "Neither of yours are on the ground, Master."
