Through Pink Eyes

Two Weeks Ago

Koleen's form laid still on the bed, one of the few that wasn't procured from the other rooms around. With her Combat Uniform discarded, she now had bandages wrapped around the left side of her head, a reddened cloth on her abdomen, and a temporary cast on her right forearm and foot. On the beds to her sides, there were other Master Candidates just as injured, and just as unconscious. The rows of beds, filled. And the rooms next over, used to house the crew. And though their jobs were not yet done, those awake within the infirmary took this moment to rest before they once again worked nonstop.

A bespectacled doctor, the person who answers to Doctor Roman, resting his head on his desk with a bandage around his eye. The 3rd Servant, Da Vinci, wiping her bloodied hand on a now red towel. Kagiso, with his now useless right arm wrapped in a cast, praying with his beads at the corner of the room. The small puppet familiar of Ayako's, leaping from one patient to another, a rest not even in its thoughts as it worked tirelessly. The Nurses, only two women, the rest lost in the explosions as they sat themselves on the floor. There was no room left. The door slid open, and a familiar technician walked in, carrying supplies for the attendees. He was a fish out of water in this environment, but he didn't want to stand around doing nothing. So Helix took on the role of a courier.

And on a bed next to Da Vinci was the still puppet that she and Ayako had created. A perfect recreation of the Director. Almost uncanny.

The resting doctor visibly shivered. "You made that?" he asked the Servant.

"Along with Ayako, yes." Da Vinci said, throwing the towel into the trash bin.

"And she's… good at this?" he continued asking.

"She's the daughter of someone who is known as the Grand Puppeteer, among many names." Kagiso said in between his prayers. "Right now, she's pretty much second to her mother, who is the best in the world."

The doctor shook his head. "You wizards are terrifying."

"Will we be okay?" one of the nurses asked, long black stringy hair that covered most of her face, speaking up to the room with a distraught voice.

"Define 'okay.'" Da Vinci asked back.

"We lost so many people." The other nurse said, a bright orange shoulder length hair, as she looked around the room. "So many of the Masters died. Just as much are in stasis. Including the ones that are out there, there's just over a dozen and a half left. Including the injured here."

"And that's not even counting the numbers for the rest of the crew." The first nurse continued, shaking her head despondently. "How many are still around after that?"

"Not many." Helix said, fixing his shattered glasses over his face. "Engineers and techies are scattered. Literally more than a dozen are helping the Doctor man the control room. Everyone else, either too injured as you all know, or trying all they could to help out in this mess."

"And not to mention, some of the Masters are rethinking their career choices." Kagiso told them with a shake of his head, wrapping his beads around his neck.

The somber mood showed just how much the explosion affected them all. Dealing an almost crippling blow to Chaldea, through numbers and morale. It was devastating. And not something the single Servant in the room liked, hiding her emotions with her picture perfect smile.

She clapped her hands. "Alright everyone, let's not wallow in our self-pity. We still have our legs here. We're not gonna let this get us down, yeah?"

Really, besides Kagiso, they all still looked unsure. The African Shaman gave the Servant a thumbs up with his one good hand. The rest, looking to each other, their answers still held back.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" they all jumped, immediately going on alert, as the puppet that had been dead to the world almost flew off the bed, springing to life. The Director's golden eyes, pupils contracting to mere dots, traumatized and shrieking in the room. "NNNNNOOOOOOOO! SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEEEEE!"

Da Vinci held the frantic Director down with her hand, her E Strength parameter was still more than enough to pin a human down. "Adrian!" she called to the doctor.

"I'm on it!" he was already on his feet, going through the medicine cabinet. The nurses catching the things he was throwing, until he got what he was looking for. He took a syringe, drawing the drug out, and almost leaped to Da Vinci. He took to the other side, almost stabbing the syringe on the hysteric woman's neck.

The effects of the powerful drug was almost instantaneous, as Olga Marie's cries died down, her movements coming to a still. In a few seconds, she was out. Though unlike before, there were telltale signs of life on the body, slowly breathing and the occasional muscle spasm. It was a good sign. But, it didn't exactly come at the best of times, and with such a shocking wake up. Even the Servant sighed, leaning on the Director's bed with her hand, as everyone began working again. The puppet familiar in particular landing on the bedside, inspecting the Director thoroughly.

She brought her other hand close to her. "Romani, what happened?" there was a gap, a second lapse of silence. "Romani?"

"Lev…" came his reply. "It was Lev."

"Damn it. Should've known." The Servant said, disappointed in herself. "Well, you seem busy. So, just to let you know, the Director's back."

"WHAT?!"

"See you." She cut the internal comms. She chuckled in the room as she too got back to work, poking the small puppet that was working on the Director.

And all the while through all of this chaos, the pink eyed American Witch was still completely unconscious.

2017, Present

She heard beeping. Constant, like a heartbeat, beating every few seconds. In fact, it was in sync. With her own heartbeat. She was, out. Her mind had awoken, but her body was still unconscious. So deep, in its slumber. What happened? Why was she like this? She couldn't remember perfectly, what was going on. What was she doing before? Think, while she's in the dark recesses of her mind. Think, while she has all the time in the world. Think, what caused her to be in this state?

She was in the Antarctic. To protect Humanity? No, to protect the Human Order. For… Chaldea! She was among the selected few of people. Masters. And chosen for an even smaller group. B Team, with seven other people. Ayako. Her friend here. The one who was there for her, who kept her company. Who made her feel like she was still back at home. And all them, were about to go on a mission. The first. Singularity F. And then… and then…

Her eyes slowly opened, the bright lights blinding her even more, not at all helping their blurriness. She tried to move her head, but found herself having great difficulty in doing so. Eventually, she turned her head to the left, blinking away the blurriness and drowsiness. Slowly, they became clearer, and her pink eyes weakly widened. She was in the infirmary. And she was injured, that much she could tell as her senses came together. It was filled, almost tightly packed with only enough room for people to stand and walk. What happened? She put all her effort in turning the other way, and let out a raspy gasp.

"Di… Director?" she croaked out, surprised to see the Director also in the infirmary.

She was dressed in a patient's gown, sitting on the bed with her back to the bedrest. She looked physically fine, from what she could tell with her limited knowledge in medicine, barring a few patches and bandages around her arms. And yet, the white haired woman never looked so lifeless before. A thousand yard stare, that's what her uncle who had been part of the military described those who had seen great horrors. Associated with horrific trauma. Something like that happened to the Director?

"Director?" she called out again, Koleen wondering if the condition of her throat made it difficult in getting her superior's attention.

"She won't be waking up soon enough." Her eyes widened when she heard the familiar voice of her teammate

She turned to face the man, meeting him half way as he approached her bed. Behind him was one of the nurses she's seen before, one that looked like Sadako from that horror movie, carrying a tray with a glass of water. "Kagiso." She said with a tired smile, but her expression quickly shifted to one of horror. "Your arm…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. This." He lifted what was now a stump just below his shoulder. "The explosion really ruined it."

"Explosion?" she asked as the nurse approached her with the glass of water, carefully lifting her head and giving her the fresh glass of water.

She coughed when she drank too much of it. "Careful, Ms. Bertrand. Just take easy sips." The nurse said to her.

"Thank you." She coughed again, before taking another sip, her throat already feeling exceptionally better. When the glass was emptied, the nurse bowed and left the congested room. Koleen looked back to the African Shaman. "What happened? You said an explosion?"

He nodded further. "It happened while we were all getting ready. A lot of people died, Masters and crew members alike. Chaldea's still running on low power right now, the few people we have still alive doing their best to get everything back together."

"How?" she asked in teary eyed horror.

"We were betrayed." He told her, glaring elsewhere away from her. "This whole project was sabotaged from the inside."

"The whole… project? What happened then? Weren't we going to get deployed?" she continued asking him, trying to sit up but finding herself incapable of doing so.

"Uuhhhh…" he looked unsure of his answer, before he walked to her side and helped her up, leaning her on the head of the bed. "We did. You can say it was a success."

"Oh." She sighed with relief, yet something didn't sit right with her. "But then, who betrayed us?"

"The Professor." He said, looking away from her.

"Really? He seemed nice." she commented, before her eyes widened as she remember a very important fact. "He was the Director's most trusted confidant."

Kagiso nodded. "That he was. And you can see how she took his betrayal." He turned to the catatonic woman, completely unresponsive.

Koleen too looked at the Director, visibly wincing at the despondent and lifeless woman. "What happened?"

"Ayako killed her."

"Ayako's alive?!" the tall African almost jumped at the blonde's outburst, the American Witch covering her mouth with her one good hand as her face turned red.

"Yes, she is." He said with a deep chuckle. "She, Mash, the Director and Ritsuka were the only ones rayshifted."

"Who's Ritsuka?" she asked confusedly.

"He's the 48th Master, remember?" he answered.

"Oh…" she nodded, her face grimacing in thought as she tried to remember his face. She sighed when she found that action to be proven difficult. "You said Ayako killed the Director?" she asked again.

"Yes, she did. Well…" he sighed amidst his explanation. "She didn't directly kill the Director. The Servant they summoned did."

"Why did she kill the Director?" Koleen asked.

"Because she would have suffered a fate worse than death, Koleen." His free hand moved to hold his right shoulder, thinking of the discarded limb. "Ayako and Da Vinci had prepared her a replacement body, in case the worst could happen, which it did."

She turned to the Director again, seeing not even a single response from the white haired woman. The grimace on Koleen's face became even more pronounced, as she faced Kagiso again. "How bad, is it?'

"We're running on a skeleton crew right now. Of the crew, only 72 people are accounted for."

"From more than 200." She said in horror. "How about the Masters?"

"Not many left, including the ones in this room." he said to her with a slow shake of his head. "We lost a few more. Those who, while conscious, had most of the damage done onto them being internal. No one realized until it was too late."

"How many are left?"

"With fourteen that died, we still have fifteen in cryostasis, ten still unconscious, and nine that are awake. Including you." He elaborated for her.

"Only nine? Including me?" the door to the infirmary slid open, and the nurse that had left before returned, bringing along with her a wheelchair.

He nodded his reply. "Honestly, you were actually very lucky. Your wounds were, shocking to see. But, you got off light compared to a lot of the Masters here."

"That's a frightening thought." She said as Kagiso moved away from her bed, allowing the nurse to go to Koleen's side with the wheelchair.

"Can you move your hands and feet, Ms. Bertrand?" the nurse asked as she pulled the blanket off of her.

"Uh, I don't know." She said, looking down on herself. Both her right arm and leg were covered by thick bandages, not fully rendering them useless like a full cast. She felt an ache on her stomach, a dull feeling that's slowing her down. But, she can move them. She flexed her fingers and toes, then she slowly brought her feet closer, bringing her knees to her chest, before straightening them again. "Yes, I can."

"That's great. I'll help you get on the wheelchair, if you don't mind?"

"I don't." Koleen replied, as she got on the wheelchair with the assistance of the nurse.

"I'll take over, Aleksis. You take stock of what we have left."

The stringy haired nurse stared blankly at Kagiso, before she smiled tiredly. "Joining your fellow Masters, I see."

"Haha, not for a long while." He reassured the nurse. "With the Doctor taking over as acting Director, I'll be here with you lot."

"You don't think Adrian's up to the task?" Koleen just sat silently, listening to the exchange.

"Have you seen the man? All you have to do is speak louder and he'll bend to your will." He said, sounding the most demeaning he has ever sounded from the first time Koleen met him.

The nurse sighed. "Yes, he will. He is a very weak willed man." She turned around, taking the few steps to move towards the single desk.

Through the tightness of the room, the African Shaman wheeled Koleen out of the infirmary, and for the first time, she got a sense of what had occurred. The corridors were still in a mess; though the main paths have been cleared, dust and pebbles were pushed to the side. Parts of the wall showed the cracks and holes as the explosion shook the foundations, some rooms even being completely blocked off as it collapsed from the inside. The lights of the corridor were also snuffed, as a good distance found itself in close to darkness.

"Large sections of Chaldea have been walled off, thanks to the bombs. We don't have enough able bodied people to begin tackling them yet." He said as he pushed her along. "It's a shame. There are still many of the crew that's unaccounted for."

"So what is running?" she asked, trying to get an understanding of the extent of the damages.

"The central bulkhead along with the control room and the section where the infirmary resides were given priority. Following that, the cafeteria and a few of the dorms for the crew." He relayed to her. "We lost a few of the supervisors, and now the command structure is off balance."

"And Doctor Roman's handling all of that?"

"With Olga Marie being like she is now, yes. Maybe temporarily, maybe permanently, I'm not sure yet." He further explained.

She looked back down the path they left, a thought popping in her mind. "I didn't know you were a doctor, Kagiso."

He chuckled. "I'm not a doctor. I just helped out at the clinic in the shanty town I grew up in."

"And now you're here." She said, facing forward again. "That sounds like it would make an awesome story."

"It's nothing too special. A young boy from a developing world, making a name in a developed one." He said without much interest. "Yours is much more interesting."

"Really? I just studied witchcraft in my spare time." She said back confusedly.

"Exactly." He said with an unseen nod. "American witchcraft is different from the witchcraft of other regions. Especially in the modern land of America? You're probably one of the very few that practice it."

"I guess." She said unsurely, never really giving the craft much thought. "Speaking of craft, what is the 48th Master capable of?"

"You can ask him that yourself." He said with a knowing smile as they rounded the corner.

There they were, as Koleen's eyes widened, the 48th Master and Mash walking side by side towards them. Mash was also holding some kind of tablet, with a small white creature perched on her shoulder. Their uniforms looked a bit scuffed, but they didn't look too worse for wear. They were talking to each other, and Mash looked a bit more lively than she used to before. She still had a slightly stiff expression, but it was more lax than Koleen, and pretty much every one noticed.

The young Japanese man was the first to notice their approach, his face showing his delight at their presence. "Kagiso-san, good morning! We have someone who woke up?"

"Yes we do, Ritsuka." He said as he stopped in front of them. "She's our teammate, from B Team."

"Koleen." Mash greeted her with a small bow.

"Mash, you're alright?" she asked from where she sat.

"I… am now." The answer confused her, but she didn't push.

"And you must be Ritsuka. I'm Koleen." She raised a head, inviting his.

"Yeah, I am." He said, returning the shake. "You're part of B Team, like Ayako-san and Kagiso-san? You must be really awesome."

She laughed nervously at the praise. "I'm nothing like them. Especially after all of that? You've done more for Chaldea than me, even."

Now it was his turn to laugh nervously. "I just, stand there and try not to get killed. I don't have any skills."

"But you are learning, Senpai." Mash spoke up, followed by the bark of the creature. "We're very fortunate that we have people teaching you the basics."

"We try to make sure it sticks to one base craft." Kagiso said. "If we mixed it up, like Ayako's runes and my shamanism, you'll just be overwhelmed."

"I can help out with that as well." Koleen said with a light smile. "Has Ayako been showing you the basics?"

"Well, not really." He said with a shrug. "It was mostly Caster that's been teaching me."

"Caster?"

"Yes?" Koleen would've jumped if she wasn't on the wheelchair, as a form rippled right beside the four of them. An elfin like woman dressed in a deep shade of purple, with eyes and hair a very cool blue. She was floating, her gloved hands crossed over her chest. Her icy blue eyes then moved to Koleen. "Ah, one of the survivors has awakened?"

"Yes, she has." Kagiso replied. "This is the Servant that they summoned in the Singularity, and is now helping us through these hard times."

"I-I-I'm, Koleen." She stuttered, overwhelmed by the figure before her. "The people here, call me The American Witch."

"American Witch, hmmmm?" the Servant's eyes narrowed onto her, and Koleen felt like she could shrink even smaller. Then she smiled, but Koleen couldn't make out what that smile meant. "I am a Caster Class Servant, Medea of Colchis."

"Medea of…" Koleen's own pink eyes shrunk in horror. "Oh my god, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"

"Koleen-san?" Ritsuka asked worriedly, lowering himself to her level. "What's wrong?"

Before she could explain, the dilapidated corridor was filled with laughter that she has never heard of. She looked up, seeing the Caster laugh with the back of her gloved palm covering her mouth. When Medea finally had her fill, she ruffled Koleen's messy blonde hair with her other hand, leading the pink eyed blonde to stare at the Servant incredulously and fearfully.

"Medea-san, do you…" Ritsuka began to ask, but lost his words in fear of offending the Servant, if he was understanding Koleen correctly.

"There's a name that I do not wish to be referred to as, yes." She admitted, her voice reaching a touch sorrowful. "But, you are different, even though that word still has negative connotations associated with it, you embrace such a title."

"Well, it helps when people tend to not believe in such things." She said, looking up to meet Medea's eyes, the Servant's hand still on her head.

The Caster chuckled amusedly. "Yes, what have they to fear of things that do not exist."

"I'm sorry, if I offended you, Medea." She apologized again, still not feeling too safe.

"It's fine." The Caster ruffled her hair one last time before finally letting go. "Though I am surprised you would know of such an obscure fact about myself."

"I read up on how witchcraft is viewed around the world." Koleen elaborated.

"Even though it has nothing to do with American witchcraft?" Kagiso commented.

"It pays to learn the differences, and see where we can improve on our craft if needed." She explained herself with a resolute nod.

"You sound just like Ayako-san when she's talking about her runes." Ritsuka said, failing to hold his laugh.

The blonde pouted. "It's true though." Then, as if she was reminded of something, she asked. "Where is Ayako anyway?"

"She's doing a supply run." Mash answered. "Rayshifting into a minor singularity to gather supplies that we need."

"Is she doing this alone?" she asked further, turning to Medea.

"No, she's with another Servant."

"Chaldea summoned two more Servants?!" Koleen asked flabbergasted.

Kagiso chuckled heartily at her outburst. "I know, right? Years this place had spent with just one Servant, just Da Vinci. And now all of a sudden Servants are answering Chaldea's call like it's nobody's business."

"It's connected to her shield." Medea said, pointing to Mash. "It's a powerful catalyst, more so than whatever Servant lent you their power."

"Wait, what?" there was another thing that Koleen apparently didn't know and was out of the loop for.

"Mash is a Demi-Servant. A Servant is lending their abilities to her." Kagiso explained.

"How?" she asked again, confused and curious.

"It's a complicated story." Mash answered. "Director Olga Marie knows, and I think she told Ayako about it."

"You know, that would explain why she seemed so calm about… this." Kagiso said, gesturing to Mash with his one hand.

"This all seems really complicated." Ritsuka said as he massaged his forehead.

"Such is the nature of our commitments." Medea said to them, before turning to the shaman. "Where are you taking her?"

"The gymnasium." He answered as he began pushing the wheelchair again. The other three followed behind, with Medea floating along. "There's not really anywhere else for us to conduct her physical therapy."

"Can you not walk, Koleen?" Mash asked with concern.

"I don't know, the nurse just arrived with a wheelchair for me." She answered unsurely.

"Uh, couldn't we use, spells for this?" Ritsuka asked, being the only one without prior knowledge to magecraft.

"There's a whole slew of reasons why we're not just using magecraft to heal everyone up immediately." Kagiso started, glancing to the young Japanese man.

"I'll explain it to you in our next lessons." Medea said from behind them, causing him to sigh tiredly.

"I hope no one ever told you that magecraft was easy." Koleen commented as they wheeled her down the messy corridor.

She was really thankful that her room wasn't a mess. Just a few of her things that fell, the explosion apparently powerful enough to shake the room. Even more thankful that the plumbing around her section was operating, granting her this appreciated reprieve that was a hot shower. Her legs ached a bit, but she had no trouble walking after the therapy session she had. And now to be alone for just a second, dressed in a fresh change of clothes, she was ready to head back out.

Taking a page off of Ayako's book, she too ditched the short skirt, instead opting for a black gypsy skirt that she had brought. Her long blonde hair that was left in a mess during her time in the infirmary was now back in the braids she was used to. Just as she was putting the finishing touches to her makeup, ready to meet up with the rest to welcome Ayako back, her pink eyes caught the leather pouch she had planned on using.

It had been recently washed, no doubt it must have been caked by blood and ash, with the potions she brewed now amounted to nothing. She stood up and made her way towards the nightstand, opening the drawer and searching for something. That something turned out to be a single Draught of Vitality that she had brewed, more than she thought she needed. The extra potion looked immaculate, but still far from perfect at her current level. She walked back to the desk, placing the potion atop it and picked up the pouch. She fastened it around her waist before placing her potion inside it. She put in a few other things she'd need; a needle, a small straw doll and a miniaturized personal grimoire, along with various other things that a mundane person would consider trash.

She walked out of her room feeling reenergized, the light smile on her face contrasting with the dour atmosphere that had blanketed Chaldea for the past two weeks. But she saw things differently; she survived, and now she has the chance to right by it. Ayako had taken the plunge without a second thought, and Ritsuka along with Mash were there right beside her. She won't be left behind, not when the Human Order was at stake.

Four of them were standing outside the sealed doors of the Central bulkhead, whereupon the heavy doors will open in a few minutes to welcome Ayako back into the land of the living. Herself, Ritsuka, Mash and Medea. Behind them were six of the crew, those who worked within Chaldea's designated warehouse, were here to ferry the supplies that Ayako had gotten, as evidenced by the forklift they had brought along. The six of them were talking amongst themselves, some even sounding hopeful after news spread of one of the Masters waking up; ie: her.

"Where is she, anyway?" she asked to the three with her.

"I think Doctor Roman said the minor Singularity is in the 1700s, somewhere in Eastern Europe." Ritsuka answered, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest up more, Koleen?" Mash asked with concern, the white creature barking along with her.

Koleen shook her head. "No. I've had enough rest as it is. Considering the state Chaldea is in right now, we need all the willing Masters we can get." Her brows furrowed, remembering the other candidates that were now too scared to join Ayako and Ritsuka.

Ritsuka turned to the Servant behind them, now with her hood back up. "Do you think I can join Ayako in the next supply run?"

Although she couldn't see, she was certain that Medea looked back with a raised brow. "Do you think you're ready, Ritsuka?"

The 48th Master grimaced, looking down on his Command Spells. "I'm… not sure. I don't think so."

Mash looked like she was about to say something to him, but the words never left her mouth. Koleen just saw her sighing to herself.

The doors began unlocking, the heavy metal noise not really echoing down but the sound still resonated through the crowded space. The crew silenced themselves, the forklift starting up immediately. The heavy metal slabs began parting, light smoke flowing out through the opening. They waited until the doors were fully open, signaled by the distinct sound of them stopping before the all stepped inside. And at that moment, Koleen finally understood the extent of the damage the explosion had wrought.

Large sections of the walls and ceiling were gone, leaving behind chunks of nothing. Craters left behind by the explosion and the rubble, the size of them made a lump form in her throat. And the coffins, the few that were damaged were still there, but the most damning one of all were the ones that were not. Not the ones that had Masters still in cryostasis, but the remnants of the coffins that were flat out destroyed. It really was a massacre.

Her silent ruminating was halted when she took note of the figure that walked out of one of the remaining and functioning coffins. A tall, blue haired man, dressed like a druid. Or at least, what she thought they dressed like, because it wasn't like she had met any of them in present time. The man, who she could feel was a Servant like Medea, walked to the coffin across from him, and waited. The coffin opened, and a smile formed on Koleen's face when she saw the distinct red coat and hair of her friend. The tall Servant helped Ayako out of the coffin, her golden eyes turning to the assembling people.

"Hey guys!" she greeted almost on instinct, before her eyes widened on her friend. "Kalls!" The Japanese Puppeteer rushed to Koleen, enveloping Koleen in a tight and relieved hug, one that was reciprocated. "You're alright."

"Thanks to you." She replied, letting the hug go. "Kagiso told me what happened, and also what happened to you."

"Yeah, but I'm all better now." Ayako said reassuringly. Considering that she looked better than any of them at the moment, Koleen was inclined to believe her.

"A new addition to the roster, huh?" the blue haired Servant joined them. "Now that's some refreshing news. Can you guess who I am, lass? This one here got it pretty much in seconds." He said, gesturing to Ayako.

Koleen's pink eyes scrutinized the tall Servant. "You're, dressed like a druid. And you sound Irish. I don't know many Irish druids, but there is one Irish hero that stands out."

A prideful, almost feral smirk formed on his face, as he straightened himself and looked up at nowhere in particular. "Sorry, got you on that one, Teach." His gaze then returned to her. "That's right. Cú Chulainn, Caster. At your service."

"I thought you'd be a Lancer." She commented, causing the male Servant to sigh.

"I told these kids that if they were to summon me, they need to summon me as a Lancer." He said disappointingly.

Medea's deep chuckle drew their attention. "If you really wanted to appear as a Lancer, you would have done so, Cú Chulainn. Don't blame them for your shortcomings."

"Oh, you're picking a fight there, woman." He said, though as annoyed as he sounded he wouldn't have gone through with it.

"Should we get straight to debriefing, Ayako?" Mash asked, approaching Ayako with a few steps.

Ayako stretched her arms around her, popping her spine with an audible crack. "Yeah, that sounds good. 'Cause it seems like we have a lot to talk about now."

"You mean involving Koleen-san?" Ritsuka asked the senior Master.

Both B Team Masters nodded, showing they are of the same mind. Koleen looked to her friend with an unsaid question at the tip of her tongue. "I rushed into Singularity F immediately after the explosion. I'm the last person to judge." Ayako said with a smile to her friend.

Koleen smiled with relief, before she turned to the rest. "Let's get it on then."

"I don't think I've been in this room before." Koleen said, her eyes looking around the unfamiliar layout.

It was mostly an open space, a corner section of the room reserved for a terminal that powers the room. In the middle of the room was a slightly raised platform with blue light emanating below it, with a summoning circle carved into the stone. The terminal was connected to the platform, also serving as a repository for materials to power the summoning. The room itself was only dimly lit by lights in each corner of the ceiling.

"Well, it was sort of closed off before." Doctor Roman said to her, tapping something into his tablet. "We've had failure after failure, with the only successes being Da Vinci, and the Servant that's lending their strength to Mash."

Mash herself had just placed her shield in the center of the room, above the summoning circle. This also meant that Koleen got to see Mash in all her Demi-Servant glory, looking just a little bit more confident than her usual self. With the shield placed, she walked back to where they all were standing, next to the terminal. Koleen stood in between her fellow Masters, with Doctor Roman moving to the terminal where a technician was waiting. Mash joined the Masters, standing beside Ritsuka, with the two Caster Class Servants each standing with their backs to the walls, silently observing the process.

"Maybe we can get a frontliner this time." Cú Chulainn commented, his wooden staff materialized and placed on his shoulder.

"I agree with him in that regard." Medea said from across the druid, her own staff in her hand.

A few chuckles were shared between them, as Koleen turned to her friend. "Is Da Vinci not going to join us?"

"She's a bit busy with her own things." Ayako answered, clapping her hands. "Let's start it!"

The Doctor nodded, even though the Masters wouldn't see it since they were facing the summoning circle. With the technician beside him, they operated the terminal, letting the dim room light up. The summoning circle began pulsing with power as the materials that Ayako had accrued before disintegrated through the machine, the pooled energy pumping through Chaldea's system and empowering the ritual. The light grew brighter and brighter, so bright that Koleen had to cover her eyes with her hands. She winced when she felt pain on her right hand, and saw a pattern forming on the back of her palm. She could make it out, barely thanks to the light, an old fashion key from the middle of her knuckle to just before her wrist. And, interestingly to her, it looked as if there were two lines connected to the keyhole, giving the image of a hanging key. The left line looked like a chain while the right line looked like interconnecting butterflies, and both lines circled around her fore and ring finger.

That pain lasted for less than a second, just as the light began to dim again. Koleen lowered her hand, and they all saw a figure standing just in front of the shield. Shorter than her, even shorter than Ayako, a feminine figure with an intricate looking spear; the shaft was an almost blackened steel, the spearhead had a crisscross pattern with pink diamonds adorning it. The figure herself wore what might be considered a dress, with the lower portion staying afloat like a saucer; a ribbed white top held in place by a black corset, and heels with a single spike protruding upward from the toes. She wore detached sleeves, and had long pink nails (claws?). Her face, pretty and young with bright blue eyes and pointy ears (though not as pointy as Medea's), along with mismatched dark pink horns that appeared from her pink hair. As if that wasn't obvious enough, she had a dark, not as black tail with a bow tied at the end of it.

The Servant smiled at them, with a hint of haughtiness. "Ho, three managers? How lovely." The Servant spoke with a voice still distinctly young. "Lancer Class, Elizabeth Báthory. Nice to meet you all, and please take care of me!" the Lancer Class Servant said, curtsying before them.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

i did not plan, nor intend, for a chapter from Koleen's point of view to be the longest chapter of the fic thus far. that was an accident.

i tried to see if i could shorten it, but all that i've wrote felt right, you know? so, there you go.

also, let me tell you this, it wasn't as hard as i thought it was to come up with Ayako's and Koleen's Command Spells. Ayako's is simple, it involves the things she's known for (you guys can check it out, two chapters before this one.) Koleen's was even easier. i wished i could draw, just to further visualize them, but i'll settle for theater of mind. and, it will (hopefully) tie in to a far future chapter. in fact, we might get snippets of it sprinkled here and there.

we'll definitely see chapters like these in the future, not necessarily from Koleen's PoV. it might be Ritsuka's, Mash, the Doctor, event the other Servants. we'll see, hopefully.

fingers crossed!

onto the reviews!

Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: i can't wait to see it too!

King0fP0wers: same Singularities, but they will definitely play out differently. we have three Masters now, so somethings will be harder, and a lot of thing will be easier. and yeah, i also assume that the puppet bodies of the Aozaki's are somewhat biological in nature. they're that good, from what i gathered.

well, that's all for now!

hope you guys had a great read, and i'll see you all next time!