Well I did promise I'd begin work on Septem soon. I...not going to lie I haaaate this singularity. It's boring and there's a couple characters that I cannot stand. Seeing Artoria react in this one is going to be fun for sure. I will be making some...changes here and there and hopefully giving a certain Briton Queen what they should have given her in game. It's not Artoria that I'm talking about...

Septem: Prologue

The sun was shining through the stained glass windows as she read in the little corner of the library. A nice, brisk spring morning in which the birds sang and the apple blossoms twirled about on the breeze. She tilted her head back against the cool stone wall and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a contented sigh. These were the days that reminded her of home, where a crystal blue lake surrounded by snow capped mountains lay.

The door to the library opened and a young, petite blonde-haired girl peeked her head through. She was dressed simply in a livery of evergreen and creamy ivory, her emerald colored eyes shone brightly in a bit of mischief as the girl lay eyes on her.

"There you are!" the new girl beamed, rushing into the room, "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you?"

"I've been where I always am," came the reply as she turned the page of her book, though her voice was lower than normal, "It is your fault you did not come here first,"

The blonde haired girl rolled her eyes, twirling a bit of the blackened streaks in her hair around a lily-white finger from nervous habit.

"Aaaaaanyways, your father is looking for you. Something about a quest that's just you and him? I tried to ask what it was but he was very tight lipped about it,"

"You were his squire, the fact that he did not tell you slightly worries me," she frowned, closing her book as she swung her legs off the bench and stood upright, "Where did he want me to meet him?"

"Stables," the other girl smiled as the two walked out together, "I'm jealous...I've not been on a quest in such a long time. I might have to pester one of my brothers to take me with them."

"You say that as if that would work," she snorted, "Ask Percival, he would probably take you up on some wild adventure...Lord knows he's excited for it,"

"True...but…" the girl gave a soft huff as she crossed her arms, "He's been infatuated with that girl from Corbenic. He's been ignoring everything I've tried to convince him with."

"Well, that is quite unfortunate,"

"A-and...well…" the girl stammered, a very heavy red color entering her cheeks, "I'd rather go on some wild adventure with you and him and not anyone else. It's been ages since I've left this bloody castle and it's driving me mad!"

"As soon as I find out what my father wants, how about we go on an adventure of our own?" she asked, "You and me. We haven't done that in years,"

The other girl stopped short, blinking rapidly as her mouth opened and shut multiple times before she finally gave a smile.

"I would love that, Ga...l...ad…"

Mash's eyes flashed open as she put a hand to her heart. She didn't know where that came from...but that girl, that situation...it seemed so achingly familiar to her that it hurt. A faint wetness made itself known on the tops of her hands and she reached up to her face...noticing that there were indeed tears dripping down her cheeks.

"What is this?" she breathed as she sat alone in the dark.

But as always...no answer.

Cira had just finished putting her hair up in a ponytail when the door to her room opened. The young Master's face lit up as she saw Mash come in while Fou hopped up on her bed and stood on his hind legs...before flopping over from gravity. Cira gave a short laugh and picked the small creature up, setting him on her shoulder as she gently fluffed his ears.

"Morning, Cira," Mash greeted, "Did you sleep well?"

Cira shrugged.

"Well enough, I guess," she admitted.

There...had been the occasional nightmare last night, she was going to have to have a long talk with some of her Servants about their lives. She knew Cu Chulainn's legend fairly well, but seeing that final battle was...something else.

Mash's face darkened slightly and Cira immediately rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"You need to make sure you're well rested and all," Mash told her, crossing her arms.

"Fou fou!" Fou chirruped, leaping off Cira's shoulder and scurrying between the two girls, getting both of them to crack a smile at his antics.

"As you can see, he is a bit fired up as well," Mash continued, "I'm sure he's had enough sleep and breakfast…"

"Which I have yet to have," Cira pointed out, "Why don't we talk as we head to the cafeteria, ok?"

Mash sighed and nodded, following Cira out of her room and then trotting a few steps to come alongside her.

"Cira…" she continued, "We don't know what it'll be like beyond the Rayshift. There's no telling how much rest we will get. We could be in constant battle or we could be very relaxed and not straining ourselves. So please, as much as possible...get enough sleep,"

"I'll try," Cira promised, "Thank God we got those locks installed. I haven't had Kiyohime try to sneak into my room for a few weeks now. I'm starting to enjoy the quiet."

"Which also means," Mash started, snatching a book from under Cira's arm and getting the Master to yelp in protest, "Staying up late is prohibited. Since your magical energy is linked to your stamina."

"It was one chapter! I couldn't put it down!" Cira protested, reaching to grab her book only for Mash to dodge out of the way, "Mash! Give it back! Come on!"

Mash raised an eyebrow and held the book out, looking at the cover.

"The Adventures of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table," she mused, "Wouldn't it be more prudent to ask Artoria these things rather than read about them?"

"Aha!" Cira grinned, grabbing the book and swiping it away from her friend, "Well...I could. But this one is special to me. It was a gift from my great-grandfather before he passed. He'd read to me all the time from this and it was the one thing he willed to me. I...like to read it from time to time. And I do talk to Artoria about it! Same with Lily!"

She gave a slightly nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her head.

"I've...made sure to steer clear of the whole Mordred and Camlann subject. Artoria gets really quiet and cold if I mention Mordred and she made me swear not to even breathe a word about it to Lily." Cira admitted, "But I wasn't reading about that part last night. I was reading about Galahad and the Grail Quest. I didn't know that his father was with him at one point…"

"He was injured badly by the Grail hurling a fireball at him," Mash said, simply, "And couldn't continue, Sir Gareth brought him back to Camelot to heal...and found out only afterwards that Galahad had perished."

She stopped, giving a shake of the head.

"I don't know how I know that," she sighed, "I think I've been listening to Artoria and Lily a little too much."

She paused slightly.

"Also um...about that dream…" Mash started, "Did you...see something?"

"Dream?" Cira asked, "Why?"

"It-it's nothing special!" Mash sputtered, "It's not like I saw anything! It's just…"

She turned a very shocking shade of red, a stark contrast to her normal pale complexion.

"DaVinci said something about Masters and Servants under contract see the same dream," she admitted, "I don't know exactly what she meant but...I mean...if you didn't see anything then it's not a problem,"

"I mean I had a nasty one about Cu, was that it?" Cira asked.

Mash shook her head.

"Don't worry about it then," she said, "Maybe it was my own mind playing tricks…"

"Or maybe it's whoever's possessed her," Cira thought as they entered the cafeteria, "maybe their memories?"

She looked up to see a strange sight. Artoria looking incredibly annoyed while Lily tried her best to stay on the opposite side of the table from one of the recent summons. One of the new Casters that had shown up...Medea, the Witch of Betrayal.

Lily's green eyes flicked up to see Cira and relief washed over her face as the Princess Knight bolted over to her, hiding behind Cira.

"Oh thank the Lord you're here," she hissed, watching Medea warily, "Master she's been trying to make me dress up all morning. Please help."

"I...thought you were getting along with Medea?" Cira asked.

"I was!" Lily huffed, "And then she started acting really weird. She tried to get Artoria to try on some clothes but my older self is a lot more intimidating than I am…"

"...Artoria did you threaten to blast Medea!?" Cira demanded.

Artoria said nothing, just calmly sipped her tea and watched the Caster with a very icy gaze.

Cira gave a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head.

"Medea...can we talk for a second?" Cira asked.

Lily's iron grip on Cira's arm tightened as Medea glided closer.

"Master, good morning," Medea nodded, "I assure you my intentions are not harmful."

"Oh I don't doubt it," Cira sighed, "But...you have to consider the fact that they are actual people, just like you, and have wants and dreams. And if they don't want to play dress up, you can't force them."

"But there's so many adorable things I…"

"Medea…" Cira warned, "I understand that Lily is adorable and it's very hard not to just hug her and dress her up like a doll. But she's just as human as anyone else. She does have a will and right to say no. You need to understand that...if she wants to dress up a bit, that's fine. But if she doesn't want to, you can't force her."

Lily stepped out away from Cira and her hands bunched the fabric of her skirt.

"I don't mind dressing up every once in a while," she admitted, "But please...don't be too forceful and adamant on it...Lady Medea, I enjoyed the cooking lessons you've been helping me with...I really don't want to stop them, but I do get a tad uncomfortable with the dress up bit,"

The Caster's violet lips pursed slightly in a pout, but her face softened as she let out a sigh.

"Perhaps I was a bit too forceful," she admitted, "Lily, forgive me...it is quite difficult seeing such a beautiful young girl and seeing her dress in naught but armor."

"Are we going to be able to get along now?" Cira asked.

"Apology accepted," Lily nodded, giving a small curtsy, "Perhaps soon I'll try on that dress...however, I did promise Saint Georgios that I would help him find more film for his camera."

"Ah, how is the resident shutterbug?" Cira grinned.

"He ran out of film, so he is not very happy," Lily admitted, "but he's been enjoying taking pictures of the staff and the other Servants. I genuinely think he's happy here!"

"Good. I know you, Artoria and Kiyo are a little wary about him...cuz the whole dragonslayer bit," Cira started, "But it's good to hear you're getting along with him,"

"Oh yes!" Lily beamed, "He's let me take care of Bayard and told me that later we can go to the simulator and he'd let me ride him!"

"That's awesome, Lily!" Cira smiled, "Now...you all I have fun, my stomach's growling and I have a feeling I'm going to get pulled into a meeting if I don't start eating."

"Doctor Roman did say he wanted to talk to us," Mash added.

"Case in point," Cira sighed, "Alright...oh! Looks like it's bacon from the boar Cu managed to kill. And scrambled eggs too? Nice!"

With a full belly and completely content, Cira and Mash made their way into the control room where Romani was waiting for them.

"'bout time you showed up!" he teased, "Good morning everyone. Which...means you two an-"

He gave a yelp as DaVinci yawned, stretching and smacking him in the shoulder as she did.

"Good morning," she yawned, "Oh, right...the tech department is analyzing the Grail you guys picked up as we speak,"

"What's there to analyze?" Cira blinked.

"Honestly, Romani, why must you call these stupidly early meetings!" DaVinci huffed, sipping at the coffee in her mug.

"And by 'everyone' I meant you two, this half-asleep genius," he nudged DaVinci, making her give a startled gasp as her coffee sloshed in the cup, "And myself."

"You make me spill my coffee and I will cut you," DaVinci threatened, jabbing him with a pen.

Romani rolled his eyes.

"Please pardon the work crew for not being very reliable," he sighed, "Anyways...we found the second Singularity and we're all set to Rayshift."

"Already!?" Cira demanded, "Didn't we, y'know, just save France a few weeks ago?"

"Yep, but despite our sleepy head tech person being a coffee-addict...we did manage to pinpoint the location of the next Grail," Romani preened, only to swat at DaVinci who jabbed at him with her pen again, "Congrats, you two are going to Ancient Europe again. 1st Century Rome actually,"

"Wait," DaVinci piped up, looking suddenly very alert, "Rome. Ancient Rome!? Really?! I wanna go!"

"Someone wants to go home I think," Cira grinned.

"That was before my time!" DaVinci huffed, "I'm not that old!"

"You have analyzing to do," Romani said, gently bopping her on the head with a clipboard, "You can partake in Roman pleasures some other time."

DaVinci's blue eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms...pouting, to Cira's amusement.

"Darn it," she huffed, "I don't care which one...but I've always wanted to talk to a Roman Emperor. Caligula, Nero...those would be fun…I think we'd have a lot in common!"

"Didn't they both go crazy?" Cira asked.

"You could say that about a lot of geniuses," Romani stage whispered, "So yeah, I can see the simularit-OW!"

He rubbed his shoulder from where DaVinci whacked him with her staff.

"Oh, so sorry, Romani," she purred, "Gauntlet spasm…"

"You did that on purpose!"

"Oh, really? And here I tried so hard not to be obvious," she deadpanned.

"Anyways," Romani huffed, "You hear me, Cira? Your destination is Rome, we don't know where the Grail is going to be...so you'll need to keep an eye out, ok?"

"Gotcha," Cira nodded, "Anything else?"

"There...may or may not be some historical changes," Romani admitted, "Unfortunately I can't determine what's going to be the same or different. So you'll have to be extra careful."

"That won't be a problem," Mash piped up, "Either way, we'll locate it,"

"And the mission is the same as last time. Find the Grail and either capture it...or destroy it," Romani nodded.

"Here's hoping we find a Leyline faster than we did last time," Cira sighed, "I'd rather not have Artoria lecture me again."

"Yeah that wasn't fun to listen to," Romani winced, "But I hope you both are successful...and that you both get back safely. Cira, please try not to get hurt like that again...that was a nightmare and a half to witness,"

"I'll try," Cira nodded, "I bet there's going to be Servants there too...maybe we can get help from some of them,"

"Is...there any way to find out beforehand if they're hostile or not?" Mash asked, "So we know whether or not that's avoidable?"

"That's...kinda a tall order, Mash," Romani admitted, "Whether or not someone is going to be friendly or hostile is entirely dependent on their psyche. Even if we could combine the powers of Sheba and Trimegistus, the best we can do is detect energy readings and lifeforces. However...I'll warn you if there's over a 70% chance of hostility, ok?"

"Sounds good to me," Cira nodded, "My guess you just wanted to avoid fighting, right?"

"I don't want what happened in France with Sir Lancelot throwing me into you to happen again," Mash growled, "I don't want you to get hurt because of something I couldn't handle,"

"Mash, that wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known he was going to do that. And it's my fault for getting too close," Cira protested, "Don't beat yourself up about that. Hell, even Artoria can't predict what's going to happen in battle...even though she's scary accurate at times."

Mash's shoulders seemed to sag slightly as she held her arm.

"I know...but it's also strategically better to avoid conflict," she admitted, "And sometimes battles cannot be won by words."

"And part of it's my fault as well," Romani sighed, "I keep putting you both in unnecessary danger. So, I'll make sure to do an even better job of making sure you don't get hurt, ok?"

"Sounds good to me," Cira nodded as Mash also bobbed her head in agreement.

"Well!" he clapped his hands together, "Now that that's out of the way, on to the Rayshift!"

"...That mood shift was a little out there, Dr. Roman," Mash sputtered as he gently pushed them back towards the entrance.

"Go get dressed, we'll talk about that later...maybe," he chuckled.

"I swear he gets more and more random with every Rayshift we do," Cira sighed.

The two came back into the command room dressed and ready to go on the Rayshift. Both girls made their way to their respective Coffin. DaVinci worrying over Mash and getting her ready while Romani stayed with Cira.

"I swear if you try to ninja-jab me with the needle again…" Cira warned, "I don't care what happens, I'm reserving enough energy to let Mash have at you."

"Relax," Romani rolled his eyes, holding up the needle, "That was once and only once. Arm please,"

Cira gave a soft whine as she held out her arm and tensed, turning her head.

"I really wish I didn't have to do this to you," he sighed, "I know you hate it. I know you're only putting up with it so that we don't have to replace your Coffin and they're in short supply...you're a lot braver than you think, Cira,"

She relaxed at his words and looked up at him, only flinching as sharp pinch was felt in her arm.

"We also need to figure out a way to get you in the Coffin without knocking you out," Romani said, "The anesthetic stores are gonna take a major blow if this keeps up...and I don't want you getting addicted to it either."

"I…" Cira started, swaying on her feet as the edges of her vision started going black.

She felt hands catch her as her knees buckled, as well as the cool metal of the Coffin at her back as she was laid in it. She wanted a different way as well...but as of this moment…

She couldn't think of anything.

"Unsummon Program start. Spiritron Conversion start."

She felt water lapping against her ankles, her knees, slight fear jolting in her heart but it faded away, draining into the dark of the anesthetic calming her.

"Rayshift starting in 3, 2, 1…"

Her world started to fade from black into a pulsating blue and white, swirling around her like a blizzard.

"All procedures cleared. Grand Order commencing operation."

A slight feeling of panic as Mash's bond suddenly cut off...but it was replaced by a feeling of floating as the Rayshift Void opened up around her...and everything exploded into blue and silver light.

Second Singularity

Humanity Foundation Value: B+

AD: 0060 Eternal Madness Empire: Septem

Emperor of Rose

Master: Cira Albion

Servants Mentioned:

Servant: Shielder- Mash Kyrielight

Servant: Saber-Artoria Pendragon

Servant: Lancer/Caster-Cu Chulainn

Servant: Saber- Saber Lily

Servant: Caster-Medea

Servant: Rider-St. Georgios

Servant: Berserker-Kiyohime