FATE/CATBOX FICTION

Chapter 2: Morbid Plea

"Someone…"

Within the vastness of what should have been a silent dream, a tiny voice reached the man's ears. He couldn't see anything but the familiar black void all around him. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of him. Did he even have arms to begin with? He felt like he was floating there with no limbs to help him move anywhere.

"Can anyone hear me?"

There was the voice again. It started to sound a little clearer this time. It belonged to a young female who clearly sounded like she was suffering. He even heard her gasp and sniffle a couple of times.

"Am I going to be ignored again? Does my voice never reach anyone? Or has it become too faint for anyone to hear?"

He wasn't sure what she was talking about. Even so, he couldn't resist uttering, "I'm here."

"Eh? Someone's there?"

"I can hear you."

"Who are you? I can't see you."

"My identity is worthless. Tell me – why are you calling out to the abyss like this?"

"I… I need someone…"

The girl obviously seemed too distressed to finish what she was saying. The man murmured, "What do you need me for?"

"Are you someone who'll do anything… for the sake of a better future?"

He nodded somberly. "I am. I became wicked in order to kill the wicked. That has become no different for me in my new life."

"You died killing bad people, and continue to do so in your new life… Are you a Guardian of the Counter Force, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"Then that's fine. Something terrible is going to happen. I need your skills, so that tragedy can be prevented."

"You want me to commit one tragedy in order to prevent another one?"

"I've become something ugly and unrecognizable. I wish I could do it myself, but I'm unable to do anything like this. That's why I need someone else's help…"

"Are you perhaps immobilized? Is that why you can't kill yourself?"

"Immobilized? Yeah, that would probably be the best word to use. I'm so sorry, but I can't prevent this impending disaster by myself. I need someone to terminate me before my ugliness festers into something monstrous."

"What do you mean by your ugliness? You sound like you're in your right mind."

"Maybe in this little space where our minds are meeting. But in the real world, I'm something completely different. If I were to look at a reflection of myself, I wouldn't even know who I am."

"Hm… Where are you? If it's such an important job, then I would be willing to accept the contract."

"I thought you were summoned by Alaya into my world. Are you actually somewhere else?"

"In a place called Chaldea."

"Chaldea? Oh, that's Geal's world!" the girl cried out, as if experiencing joy for the first time in ages. "That's wonderful! You should tell her about me! Maybe the two of you can come to Akakor and… Wait… No, that's not a good idea. I don't want Geal to see you do something so awful to me. She's already gone through so much."

"Who is this 'Geal' you are referring to? I've never heard of such a Servant."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Geal is the nickname I gave my counterpart who lives in your world. I've met her a few times in my dreams, so I know a lot about her already. Both of us have the same True Name - the Child of Cuchulainn. Our names are cursed by a geas, so I can't actually introduce myself properly. If you ever hear her say the name Cliste, that's what my nickname is."

"Child of Cuchulainn… Geal… Cliste… I understand. I will look into it for you."

"Then will you come and kill me?"

"I am a Guardian. Whether I like it or not, I am honor-bound to eliminate threats to humanity. Give me some time, and I will find you eventually."

"Thank you. But please hurry. I can feel… my sanity… slipping away…"

The girl's forlorn voice grew fainter with each passing millisecond. Her connection with the Guardian was being severed, until he could no longer sense her presence.

Then, some sort of odd emotion welled inside him. It was the familiar bitterness and disgust that he spent every waking moment struggling with. Even in his dreams, he couldn't escape from it. Yet this time, it felt a little different. Usually, the Counter Force would be the one commanding him to assassinate specific enemies. He was no better than a glorified hired hitman, although his targets tended to possess such lofty ambitions that they could threaten the sanctity of the entire world. This was a highly unusual job for him though. Never before had a target actually asked him to kill them. Who would be insane enough to ask for a hit on their own life?

"…"

The Guardian pondered that question for a moment. If the girl knew she was going to be a threat to her world, then she had to be kind-hearted enough to realize it in the first place. She must have been fighting with utmost fervor to preserve whatever little rationality she had left, just to make that request to a complete stranger. He didn't want to imagine what sort of monster she was turning into in her world. She must have been so terrified of her real visage that she was stumbling in the darkness begging anyone she came across to end her life. Was the Guardian the only person she ever made such contact with? It was impossible for him to know.

Either way, his mind was made up.

"… I see. You're not insane to ask me to kill you. You're being perfectly rational, aren't you? Then consider it a job accepted."


Chaldea, September 2017

A kitchen knife chopped along the wooden cutting board, easily slicing through several carrots that were lined in rows. A large salad bowl was next to the board, and the person cutting the vegetables tossed them in with the lettuce and tomatoes. Next were some stalks of celery, followed by the finishing touches of cucumber slices and strawberries.

"This should be enough for tonight," the little girl murmured and brought the bowl to the main dining table in the cafeteria. The table was reserved for a small party of staff members who were celebrating their late-year birthdays all at once, and a couple of Servants agreed to help with preparations.

Emiya Archer was already finished setting the plates and silverware. He glanced over at the girl and said, "Perfect. Just set it right there."

"Mm," she nodded. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"No, I think we're all set. I'll handle the rest from here, so go ahead and take a break."

She took off her apron and left the cafeteria to go wash up. She wished she could have helped Emiya more in the kitchen, but since she was the shortest Servant in all of Chaldea, her height made it difficult for her to do much without needing stools and crates to stand on. Emiya was also a particularly picky cook, and she felt she wouldn't be able to work to his expectations. She decided that it was better to just stay out of his way and help him when he asked.

As the girl walked through the halls to the offices, she heard a male's voice call out, "Connlaaa~aaa!"

"Hm?" she stopped and looked around. "Father?"

"Bzzt! Wrong answer!" the newcomer exclaimed, then rounded the corner. For all intents and purposes, this 'Servant' was a small, floating teddy bear wearing just a yellow tunic and a scabbard on his waist.

"Oh, Lord Orion," Connla murmured, and her cheeks blushed bashfully.

"Geez, that's the third time in a row. Why do you keep confusing me with your old man?"

"I can't help it. Both of you sound so similar." †

"We're gonna have to do something about that later. But more importantly, you got a little time to spare? I wanna borrow you for something."

"I have some free time. Is it for something outrageous though? Cu Alter won't like it if he finds out I did something dangerous for you."

"Nah, nothing like that. I actually want to set you up for a super-important photo op!"

Connla raised an eyebrow. "A photo op?"

"Just come with me for a sec," Orion beckoned her to follow him. He brought her to a spare room where a chair was set up in the center just a few feet away from a camera mounted on a pod. He got her to sit down on the chair, then floated behind the camera and explained, "This is a special type of camera I had Da Vinci develop for me."

"A special camera? Like one of those x-ray cameras that Captain Blackbeard always talks about?"

"No, no, no! I'm nothing like that hopeless fanboy!" the small bear raged with an ugly expression. "This is completely different. Answer this for me - haven't you ever wondered what you would have looked like had you grown to adult age?"

She tilted her head in contemplation. "Not really. I died as a child, and Servants don't age like living humans do."

"Come on, have a little imagination. I'm sure you're curious to see yourself as a young adult, aren't you? Well wonder no more! This camera uses some kind of mumbo-jumbo tech that will read your face and properly age you by ten years!"

"Really? And you wanted to test it out on me?"

"Sure do! Now just sit tight and smile!"

"Um, okay…"

Try as she might though, Connla had a lot of trouble getting herself to smile more than creasing the corners of her lips. Orion kept urging her to try harder, but she couldn't do much better than that. He gave up and pressed the shutter, flashing the girl's eyes with a brilliant burst of white light. She wiped her eyes to rid herself of the afterimage, and she heard Orion humming to himself in delight as he waited for the photo to develop.

"Let's see, let's see… OOO~OOO~OOOH!" he cried out hysterically.

"What's wrong? Did it not work?"

"No, just the opposite! This is absolutely perfect! Holy moly, you're just as lovely as I imagined you to be! I've heard that Scathach has quite the body, so I figured her cute little niece would as well! You're not as stoic and rigid as her, but those weepy brown eyes and soft-spoken expression suit you wonderfully! You'd be like a combination of the warrior woman and girl-next-door tropes, with a sprinkle of tragic heroine for good measure!"

"I don't get what you're going on about. What's the point of taking such a picture anyway? It's not like it's going to do anything for you."

"You don't understand, sweetie. It's all about the man's dream of finding his perfect waifu!"

"Why-fool?"

"Even if she's too young for him to approach without getting arrested, there's always the idea of illustrating her as someone older to fantasize about during the late-night hours!"

"Is that… so…" Connla mumbled, but her voice trailed off. She noticed a pair of heavy shadows looming behind the excited Orion, and she looked up to see who they belonged to. She then immediately shivered and clattered her teeth in total fright. Her cheeks lost several shades of color, and her eyes practically bulged out of the sockets.

"Hmmm, how nice!" the bear crooned and rubbed his cheek against the picture, oblivious to the danger behind him.

"Um, ah… L-Lord Orion?"

"Say, can I keep this pic? I want to start a line of dakimakuras and doujinshi starring Chaldea's favorite female Servants, and I think depicting you as a cute teenager is just the thing I need to start hitting it big!"

"Um, I-I don't mind, but, um…"

"Hm? What's the matter? You look like you're staring a hungry Demon Boar straight in the eye. Then again, maybe getting Artemis upset is a more frightening prospect."

"B-B-B-Behind you," she feebly pointed at the two figures pointing their weapons at the back of Orion's head. Within their demonically silhouetted forms, a busty woman's eyes glowed bright blue, while the monstrous spiky-tailed man next to her had his eyes glow deep crimson.

Orion fell silent for a moment.

"… I'm in a load of trouble, aren't I?"

Connla nodded fervently.

"I see. Do yourself a favor and turn around this instant. Close your eyes and cover your ears if you want as well."

She did just that. For the next few seconds, all she heard were flailing weapons, flying arrows, and Orion's high-pitched screams. Even when it became quiet once again, she wasn't sure if it was safe to look back. She saw the photo fluttering in front of her and tried to reach for it, but the man snatched it before she could. She looked up and saw that it was Cuchulainn Alter, who clearly looked irate after he 'assisted' the goddess Artemis with beating up Orion.

"I thought something was fishy when I saw that stupid bear luring you here," he grumbled darkly.

"Um… Did I do something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"No. You just need to learn to be more careful around fools like that."

"I don't really understand what he was talking about."

"Tch. I don't care for explaining these dumbass fandoms that the men like to get hung up on, but you need to wise up about staying away from those types of characters. I'll swallow my pride and tell you all about it during supper."

"Huh," Connla nervously mumbled and looked back to see an equally angry Artemis hauling Orion away. The small bear had been so brutally mangled and pierced that he was reduced to a pile of fluff and fabric. Cuchulainn even took the time to destroy the camera so Orion couldn't use it again.

Cuchulainn urged his daughter with a dismissive wave, "Run along now. I'll clean up in here."

"Okay."

He watched her take off. Once she was gone, he glanced at the aged-up photo of Connla. A small whistle of admiration escaped his lips. He thought it turned out pretty well… and his paternal instincts caused him to worry even more than usual. He stuffed it inside his mantle and thought, Think I'll just hang on to this as a secret keepsake.

Meanwhile, Connla decided to go help the staff with sorting through paperwork, as she originally intended to do before being sidetracked by Orion. As she headed for the offices though, an unusual chill crept up her spine. She halted in mid-step and looked around to see if she was in any danger. Nothing looked out of the ordinary though. She even spotted Boudica and Raikou passing by in the distance as they happily chattered with each other.

Must've been my imagination.

Now feeling more uncomfortable than usual, she wanted to make sure the staff members weren't in any sort of trouble. She entered the first office and spoke with its occupant, then proceeded to the next, and so forth.


The next morning, Connla woke up refreshed and ready to do more menial tasks around Chaldea. She had already caught up with the cleaning in Gilgamesh's chambers, so he didn't have any orders for her today. Hans Christian Andersen, on the other hand, often complained to her about how the staff and Servants never brought library books back, and that they expected him to do the grunt work since he always cooped himself in the library to do his writing. Since Hans used a lot of those books for his own studies, he instead insisted that Connla go around and collect then on his behalf. Of course he wouldn't expect her to work for free; she was paid a tidy sum of QP in exchange for her services.

As she stepped out of her room, she spotted Cuchulainn Alter and Medb heading for the mixed baths – although it was more like the queen was dragging the irritated warrior along with her. Medb's eyes met Connla's, and she patted the little girl's head saying, "Morning, Connie. Off to do chores again?"

"Yeah," the girl nodded.

Then, that bizarre tickling sensation happened again, as if her skin was covered in insects that crawled all over her. She seemed a little apprehensive as she turned her head slightly to peer at the opposite hall from the corner of her eye. She was certain that someone was there, but they were perceptive enough to know when she was on to them so they could escape in time.

Cuchulainn noticed the child Servant's trepidation and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Um… It's nothing…"

Medb kneeled in front of Connla and cooed, "No need to bottle it up, sugar plum. Why don't you tell Auntie Medb all about it? If you're having trouble with something, you can always count on me and your daddy to help out. Three heads are better than one, after all!"

Cuchulainn shifted his eyes away and grumbled, "Except when one of them is yours."

Connla snapped at him, "Don't be rude, Father."

"Feh. When it comes to that woman, I'll be as rude as I want."

"Ah ha ha ha!" Medb giggled. "Don't worry about it, Connie. I've gotten used to his abrasiveness. I think it's what makes him so endearing!"

The Berserker rolled his eyes. "Only you would find a thorny bastard like me appealing."

Connla watched their exchange, then sighed and said, "Anyway, if you're worried about me, then everything's fine. Sometimes I still have the occasional vivid dream, so I wake up feeling a little exhausted. That's normal though. After I move around for a bit, I'll feel better."

"Are you sure?" Medb asked worriedly. "If you ever need help with your work, I can always entrance the male staff and Servants to have them obey my commands. Then you'll have all the helping hands you could ever ask for!"

"No, it's all right," the Lancer dismissed her with a wave. "After I'm done helping Mr. Andersen, I have to finish my report regarding the Fomorian Singularity and submit it to Dr. Roman. I don't think there's anything you could do to assist me with that."

"Reports, huh? How boring. Well as long as you're fine, then Auntie Medb is happy. Now I can go back to my usual pursuits!"

"Usual pursuits?"

"I'm taking up drawing in my spare time! My goal is to write a fanzine featuring my wonderful Cus idolizing me! Then they wouldn't be able to hold back, and they would pin me to the bed, and then… and then… Ahhh, it makes my heart race just thinking about it!"

Connla had no idea what Medb was talking about, so she wondered, "What would they do then? Get into a pillow fight?"

"Oh, you silly little puppy! They'd do way more than that! First, as Lancer restrains me and Alter drowns me in passionate kisses, Caster would get a bottle of-!"

Cuchulainn immediately covered the confused girl's ears with the palms of his hands, and he shouted, "Okay, that's quite enough! Get out of here already, woman! We don't need to listen to you prattling about your fantasies!"

Medb chuckled sardonically at him and muttered, "Okay, okay. Wouldn't want to spoil the story for you, my king. Just sit tight and wait for me to finish, all right?"

"The moment you do, it's going straight into the incinerator!"

She ignored his outburst and strutted down the hall until she turned the corner. Once she was gone, Cuchulainn released Connla from his grip and snarled like an angry wolf. She still wasn't sure what was going on, but believed it was wiser not to ask after seeing her father's livid expression. She instead asked, "Um, can I get going now? Mr. Andersen hates it when I'm late."

"Yeah, you can. Sorry that you had to put up with Medb's antics. I'll keep an eye on her so she doesn't bother you anymore."

Cuchulainn watched Connla jog through the halls until she was out of sight. He put his hand on his hip and sighed deeply. After spending so much time with his daughter in Chaldea, he was becoming more and more perceptive to her mannerisms. He came to realize that she was the type of person who expressed her true personality through her body language rather than with words, so he actually needed to pay close attention to what she wasn't saying. If she was appearing uneasy just after celebrating Chaldea's victory over the Fomorian Singularity, it had to mean two things to him:

Either Connla couldn't feel at ease due to her terrible luck getting her caught in ridiculous situations at the worst of times… Or she was already trying to cope with something, and she didn't want to tell anyone about it.


In the early evening, Connla visited Roman in the infirmary so he could do a quick check-up of her vitals. He needed to be absolutely sure she was healthy and fit for fighting after everything she went through in Okeanos. He was rather surprised by the absence of the hundreds of scars that formerly covered her body. She told him that when Lugh first inhabited her Spirit Origin, he must have healed her wounds. Thanks to that, she had the confidence to run around wearing the white leotard she donned during the majority of her time as a Saber. Her physical condition seemed to be a lot better than before, from an overall perspective.

Once Roman finished the check-up, he let Connla return to her activities. She was about to head to the janitor's closet and work on mopping the floors, but then someone barked at her, "There you are."

She glanced over and discovered Cuchulainn Lancer approaching her. He was garbed in an outfit consisting of little more than an igote draped on his right shoulder and blue tights over his legs. This was a particular Ascension form of his that he liked using whenever he was doing some serious training in the simulator or during a Rayshift. Despite Cuchulainn's bold attire, he appeared rather sheepish as he greeted her with a halfhearted wave.

"Yo… How's it going?" he reluctantly asked.

Connla stared at him, then mumbled, "Okay."

The atmosphere between them was tense. Of course it would have been, considering the huge mistake he made a few weeks ago. Since then, they had kept their distance so he wouldn't screw up and cause her to be disappointed in him again. She hadn't quite gotten over her bitterness toward him, so she was rather surprised that he would try to approach her so soon.

"Hey, about that QP I owe you," he said, then forced a plastic card into her hands, "I finally saved up enough to repay the debt. I added a little extra as a bonus for your accomplishment in the Singularity. Think of it as a gift from me."

"You saved up 50 million QP already? And made extra?" she wondered in astonishment. "Usually that takes months of repeated sessions in the Treasure Vault simulator."

"Hah! You should know me by now! When I put my mind to it, I can eat an elephant in two days! Although knowing Scathach, she probably would've expected me to eat it in one."

"Yeah… She probably would…"

Both of them shivered simultaneously as they thought about their mentor. Regardless, Connla's dissatisfaction with Cuchulainn Lancer's immature behavior subsided once she realized that, however foolish he was, he would do his damnedest to make up for whatever mistakes he made. It would be silly for her to continue holding a grudge against him, so she relaxed a little and murmured, "Thank you. It must have been extremely tough to save that much in such a short time."

"Nah, don't worry about it, kiddo. You deserve it," he patted her shoulder. "Fergus coached me the whole way through. Said I would be drilled through the stomach with Caladbolg if I let up even a little bit."

"That seems a little extreme."

"Well, that's Fergus for you – friendly on the outside, ferocious on the inside."

"I'll have to keep that in mind whenever I get to training with him."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Cuchulainn blurted. "I heard what happened while you were in Okeanos with everyone else! Apparently my old man Lugh transformed your Spirit Origin to a Saber, and you had to fight Crom Cruach in the end?"

"That's right," Connla nodded. "It was a really tough journey since I had to learn a brand new class vessel in such a short time."

"But you're back to being a Lancer now, aren't you?"

"Mm-hmm. Once Grandfather's influence waned, my Spirit Origin returned to normal."

"Don't you think you might be a little rusty after going through such rapid changes like that? You really should get back into the groove of being your proper class."

"Hmm… Now that you mention it," she said and flexed her shoulder, "I do feel a little stiff here and there. Dr. Roman thinks that all of those radical changes plus fighting a bunch of tough battles has left me feeling a bit sore. He gave me a clean bill of health otherwise."

"Perfect. I was about to do some warm-up exercises in the simulator. You should tag along – today's Monday, so it's the Archer-class simulator. Easy pickings for us Lancers. You should be back in the game in no time flat!"

"I suppose I should. Who knows when an emergency will pop up? I need to get back in shape so I'm ready to respond to Master's summons at a moment's notice."

"That's the spirit! Let's go!"


Several hours later, a thoroughly exhausted Connla returned to her room. She fought as much as she could with Cuchulainn in the simulator, and she certainly felt a lot more limber compared to before. However, while he had the energy to keep going for days, she was tired after just a few hours. He wasn't too surprised; having a small child fight such grueling battles would be incredibly taxing on her. She was notorious among Chaldea's Servants for being the glass cannon type – great offensive power, with some survivability due to her Protection From Arrows actually being superior to her father's version, yet she was marred with an atrocious endurance growth rate.

Cuchulainn told her to get some sleep for the night. She wished she could help him tidy up the simulator, but he didn't want her to overexert herself and insisted that she leave. She did so and changed into her nightgown before falling onto her bed. It didn't take long for her to pass out, and she found herself sinking through the familiar colorful sea known as the Kaleidoscope.

Uh oh… Am I going to have another one of those dreams again?

She hoped it wouldn't be a lengthy vision this time. She hated it whenever she was lost in one of her counterpart's lives for too long, especially since she was a Servant of Chaldea and needed to be ready for any incidents that came up. She didn't think she had worked herself too hard today, and she wasn't injured or stressed out. Maybe there was some kind of other trigger she wasn't aware of, or perhaps it just happened spontaneously and there was nothing she could really do about it.

However, Connla's eyes gazed over when she spotted something inside the Kaleidoscope. There was a floating island covered in a forest of apple trees. A little cottage was tucked in the outskirts, and the scent of freshly baked apple pie wafted in her imaginary nostrils. Her fears immediately turned to delight. She had been here a couple of times before to meet a very special friend, and now she was unintentionally paying another visit.

Connla righted herself and gently landed on the soft dirt path leading to the cabin. She immediately glanced at the large tree stump near the front entrance and found someone else sitting there. It was a girl identical to herself, except she wore a hooded lavender poncho and thick scarf around her neck and shoulders.

"Cliste!" Connla called out and ran to her.

The other girl, known as Connla Cliste, languidly stared at her counterpart. She sighed deeply and murmured, "Geal…"

"It's been a while," Connla took her hands. "Have you been okay?"

"Yeah…" the hooded girl murmured in an empty voice.

"Are you sure? You don't sound well."

"Just your im g1... na710n."

"Eh? Are you all right?" the Lancer yelped when Cliste's voice suddenly sounded broken and distorted. The mystery Connla's head seemed to twitch uncontrollably as well.

"Just your… 1magin… Ah, wr1te. I pl yed ch35s wi7h 5 n50n... And th3n I… w17h Spar7a[u5… 3h? W-Wh t d1d I do w1th hiM aGaiN?"

"Cliste! I don't understand what you're saying!" Connla exclaimed after seeing her friend experiencing some sort of seizure. "Calm down and talk to me slowly!"

"5n0w… Sn0wb lls... 7hr0w… far, fAR aw y... A for8idd3n hEx… Und3rm1ne… Th3 CaT w1ll s0on… em3rge… Eh geh geh geh geh…"

"Hey, get a hold of yourself!"

Cliste stepped back and giggled at random intervals. Her eyes widened so much that Chaldea Connla thought her eyeballs would fall out of the sockets. She grabbed her spastic friend's shoulders and fervently shook her while screaming, "Please, stay with me!"

"J1ng ... 8ring me... F40m nowh3re... G0 hom3 nd DIE... Ev3ry1 dIe DiE dIE DIe dIE- 5HU7 UP! C4et1n5! 5cuM! r0t! g0 to h3l1!"

"CLISTE!"

Cliste jolted upon hearing Connla's shriek, and her expression seemed to return to normal. They stared at each other wide-eyed for a long while. Then, Cliste grew increasingly wistful as she gazed into her Chaldean counterpart's eyes.

"Geal…" she finally murmured in her usual voice. "I need you to listen to me."

"What is it?" Connla asked. "What do you want to tell me?"

"There's not much time left…"

"It's okay. Just tell me what you can."

"Ah… Y-You have something that can scan the entire timeline, along with the parallel worlds that branch from Proper Human History, yes?"

"That's SHEBA, the Near-Future Observation Lens. Ms. Da Vinci told me that, along with the Global Environment Model CHALDEAS, we're able to search for abnormalities within the timeline and correct them. That's our primary mission at Chaldea."

"T-Then that's… fine."

"Why do you want to know?"

Cliste leaned in and rested her cheek against Connla's shoulder, then murmured, "I need to warn you right now. That thing you call SHEBA… is going to react soon."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Because… I will be… the abnormality… you need to correct…"

"You? Why?"

After a long bout of total silence, Cliste whispered, "… Soon, the catbox… will be forced open. The line between… fiction and truth… will soon be drawn…"

Connla wasn't sure what her friend was mumbling about this time, but she could tell that her sanity was intact compared to before, so her words had to have some meaning behind them.

"Geal…" Cliste moaned, bit her lip, and looked into Connla's eyes as if pleading for her life. "Whatever you do… don't let the cat… that has been locked inside… free."

"I don't understand," the Lancer replied worriedly.

"Ah, so warm… and fluffy…"

"You're going to fall asleep again?"

"I'm so tired…"

Connla's anxiety gave way to growing determination, and she said, "Okay. If SHEBA reacts to anything unusual, I'll check it out for you. Where should we be looking?"

"… South… America…"

"South America? Is that where the abnormality will be located?"

"Yes. Somewhere within… the boundaries of… Brazil… Bolivia… and Peru… there's a secret. But you can't… get there… directly…"

"Why not?"

"You need… permission… to enter… the sacred realm… of…"

Cliste soon slumped onto her knees, and Connla followed her down so that she wouldn't collapse and hurt herself. The hooded girl gradually passed out, then faded away in a plethora of violet glitter as she murmured one last word between labored gasps:

"A… ka… kor…"


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

† - Orion/Super Orion and FSN Cu Lancer/Cu Caster/Cu Alter are all voiced by Canna Nobutoshi. This doesn't include Prototype Cu Lancer, who is voiced by Nakai Kazuya.