CHAPTER 10: Nobunaga's Ambition

"In other words, I say we conquer France ourselves!"

Doctor Roman turned from the screen to look at Da Vinci, who had her eyebrows raised. "Is that even an option? Can they take the land by force and still restore the era to its normal conditions?"

"Hmm. It sounds quite aggressive, but confronting the Dragon Witch with an opposing force could stall her destructive grip on Orleans. However," said Da Vinci calmly, "Those two would be wise to not put too many civilians into collateral damage. Fighting for France or our own interests, we're not supposed to be the enemies of those also trying to preserve the Human Order."

The Renaissance woman looked down at the Coffins, then to the Master of Saber and his monitor. She wasn't expecting such an idea to manifest, but here they were, aiming to build an army whose intentions were rather vague. If she had to guess, Mash and the Ruler would not like the proposition completely , and their argument would begin right about…now.

Back at the campsite, Jeanne stood up with a frown, her banner furled. "I swore to defend France from her invaders. I thought I could assist you if your intentions were good, and at first, they were. But I see now that you are aiming to go down the path of the Dragon Witch herself." She put a hand to her chest. "Why not join me and go under my banner? We can save this land and still take on the other Jeanne."

"Pardon my french, lady, but you're not exactly a savior anymore. You saw how that soldier ran off in a panic the moment he saw your face. If you were to lead us, no one would join our cause," Alpha looked at Ruler coldly. "At least, not with that first impression."

"I hate to admit it, but Alpha is right. Senpai...from that look in your face, you agree, don't you?" Mash tried to look for signs of rebuttal, but no one fought back against that statement.

"Then I shall be the leader. After all, this is my plan!" Nobunaga materialized a rifle in a burst of golden mana and pointed it at Ruler, who barely flinched. "Ruler! No need to be afraid," she said laughing. "What do you plan on doing from here? Will you join us?"

The frenchwoman looked hurt. "I died not too long ago. Being a Servant feels so new, it is like standing on the battlefield for the first time. I know now that God will not always show the path clearly," Jeanne raised her head, meeting the Demon Archer's proud gaze even though the Ruler was taller than the warlord. "But even so, I cannot turn my back on this situation. I will fight knowing our goals coincide in the end."

Jeanne approached the warlord. "Please, allow me to assist you in defeating the Dragon Witch. All I ask is that you save my country, and keep its people out of the conflict as much as you can." Jeanne held out her hand, the campfire reflecting its flames in each of their eyes.

Nobunaga took it, and to the relief of the Shielder and the complacency of the rest, they shook hands. "Deal."

The next day, it was a long walk back to the ruined fort. Jeanne wore a cloak to hide her face, upon request of Alpha. It was to mitigate the suspicion of the civilians, but Naughty was sad he couldn't see Jeanne's pretty face clearly anymore. At Vaucouleurs, Nobunaga stood above the fortress, declaring her objectives to the startled soldiers below. Unfortunately, while Chaldea had a charm for universal translation, the few ragged soldiers listening could not bear the weight of another war and ran off.

"Well, so much for that plan. These French people really are a bunch of pussies," snapped Alpha as the group watched the last of the stragglers scurry off. He waved an Evil Bone idly, hoping to make the crimson object as some kind of useful weapon the next time some zombies or skeletons arrived to attack them.

"You take that back." Jeanne walked up to the blonde, glaring at him. "We are honorable people, but even soldiers have their limits. They have been through many attacks before you or I arrived here. If they leave now, it is because they are only human and they have reached their limits."

"No, I won't take it back." Everyone looked at Alpha. "They clearly understand that if even the English aren't taking advantage to invade France, the Dragon Witch is even worse than them. So what's stopping the soldiers from defending their homeland? Intimidation?" Alpha pressed on, not caring about Ruler and her shocked face. "I don't know what people made your army, but it's clear they're no better than rats. They don't even trust you anymore!"

"Break it up, you two!" Mash frowned at the blonde Master. "Stop it, we don't need any distrust between you and Jeanne." Her face fell. "She's already being hated enough by the villagers as it is."

One night of rest later, the party of six was navigating through the forest of Jura. Sunlight sparkled on the morning dew of the leaves, falling down as the group traversed through the lush scenery. Of course, our heroes had an idea of where they were going after the incident in Vaucouleurs. With Jeanne D'Arc as their guide to the land, they headed towards Orleans.

"...Of course, it will be difficult to enter directly. There have been sightings of those wyverns swarming around Orleans, and who knows what else that Dark Jeanne has within her arsenal." Jeanne's eyes gazed beyond the trees into the open space ahead. "We are almost at La Charité. Hopefully we will find more information there-"

Dr. Roman's worried face emerged from Naughty's communication bracelet. "Please wait, I'm detecting a Servant up ahead!"

"Fou, fou!" To the surprise of everyone, the little rabbit creature had emerged from Mash's shield and was making noises incessantly. It ran around the group, before suddenly climbing on Alpha's back and reaching his head. Mash would have laughed had the situation been different. "What is it Fou? You want to see the sky over there?"

"Fou! Fou!"

"Seriously?" Alpha sighed, until he moved his gaze upwards and noticed wisps of smoke emerging from what was probably La Charité up ahead. "Is that town...burning?"

"Damn it. Looks like the enemy forces have started without us!" Nobunaga rushed forward. "We can't let them get away!"

"This can't be.." Jeanne was right behind her with a silent prayer for those townspeople.

"Doctor," yelled Mash as the group ran forward. "Can you detect any survivors?"

"There's nothing. I can't find any signals of humans!"

The roar of wyverns made the earth rumble, and from the destroyed town buildings rose many small wyverns, their green scales gleaming in the daylight. The maws of these creatures dripped red with blood, clearly having been feasting on the citizens. Jeanne looked at the sight in disgust.

"Well, crap. We stumbled upon more wyverns. And it looks like they're the reason there's no one left." Alpha felt his mood go from a bleak neutral indifference to slight annoyance. Which wasn't much of a difference, but it wasn't a mood improvement.

"Mommy, didn't the sparkly blue man say it was a Servant?" Jack took out a pair of knives.

"Let's just say the Servant brought friends," replied Alpha. He pointed to the advancing fleet of juvenile wyverns. "And now we need to get rid of them. Can you do that, Jack?"

"Of course Mommy!" The little Assassin ran off, climbing on top of a house and then proceeding to jump from rooftop to rooftop, never missing a beat. "Make me proud, Jack!" Hopefully she could hear his yell from where he stood. Alpha pulled out his sack. Da Vinci said the backpack had near-limitless storage, right? Maybe he could do something with it. The blonde Master went off to a nearby well, hoping there was still water to collect.

"Retainer, if there are no survivors, then there's only one positive out of this." The Demon Archer materialized an array of floating muskets. "I won't hesitate to go all out! Keep me supplied with mana!" Naughty nodded, though he wasn't sure how he was going to do that. The most important objective at the moment was to keep himself out of the attack zone….and maybe enjoy the view. It's not every day he was seeing two ladies with big chests fighting in rather fitting armor, or that crimson devil that was his Archer-

"Senpai! Don't just stand there, Senpai!" Mash blocked a hit from falling debris.

"Oops, scusa!" Ok, maybe admire Mash's chest another time. Naughty ran with the Shielder through the streets of La Charite, dodging fires, bullets, and rubble.

"Grrgrggrr.."

From a nearby toppled building shambled an entire congregation of people, moving aberrantly and without purpose. That is, until they made eye contact with Mash and Naughty.

"RAAAAAAUUUUUGH!"

And just like a store opening its doors during a flash sale or Black Friday, the horde of zombies scrambled for the pair of unlucky Chaldeans. From his observation monitor, Ryuuto wanted to either laugh at Naughty's expense or facepalm. "What kind of timing does someone need to have for this kind of crap to happen?"

"Senpai! Get behind me!" Naughty darted behind the Shielder, and both braced for impact. But the full impact never came. Just as both of them felt the initial collision of one body slamming into Mash's shield came the ear-splitting noise of gunfire. Bullets whizzed left and right of Mash and Naughty, perforating the zombie attackers. Their bodies spasmed as their flesh was riddled with bullets, fading into dark purple dust before anything could hit the ground. It was clear who was their savior, and she laughed with much gusto.

"Retainer! You've got some nerve putting yourself in danger like that!" Nobunaga grinned, walking over the dusty remains of the undead.

"Ah, Archer. Thank you for helping with the-" Mash's words were interrupted as her Master was suddenly wrenched from her arms and onto Nobu, who proceeded to yank Naughty down by the collar to kiss him. In the lips.

"Mmmph!" To say Naughty wasn't enjoying it wouldn't be a lie. But it certainly caught him by surprise. He wanted to be the one to kiss her! He could feel his energy slipping away, but he didn't feel..so bad...

It felt like a minute had passed, but it could have been seconds. But finally the Demon Archer pulled back and licked her lips. "I did say to keep me supplied, retainer. Now keep yourself out of trouble." She gave her Master a smirk. Naughty stumbled a little from being free of Nobunaga's grip, but gave her a thumbs up.

Mash was frankly, speechless. Maybe it was better if she had looked away….

"She did not just do that. She could have killed her Master with that move! And in the middle of a warzone too!" To say Okita was just a little miffed would be an understatement. "What a terrible Servant that infernal warlord is." She turned to face Ryuuto. "Master, I will always protect you no matter what. I'll only take it from you when necessary, and with your consent."

"Y-yeah…" Ryuuto was still reeling from seeing that sudden display of public affection(?). "Wait, is this how you Servants receive energy?" Ryuuto looked at Da Vinci for an explanation. Luckily, the Caster was willing to give one, judging by the twinkle in her eyes.

"That's right! While it is true Chaldea provides Servants with enough energy to not be forced into spirit form, sometimes we need a little more "oomph" to be able to more effectively use our Noble Phantasms or special attacks."

"And kissing is one of those ways to get it?"

"Well...it's more of the exchange of body fluids. He could have easily done it by giving her blood, but saliva works just fine. There is, however, another way…one could argue it's the most effective." Da Vinci gave Ryuuto an expecting gaze. Okita blushed, and Roman was just trying to focus on the observation data.

1, 2, 3 seconds passed, and a lightbulb went off in his head. "Wait, you don't mean-"

Jeanne D'Arc grit her teeth as she pierced through undead civilians and skeleton warriors, grief strengthening her every strike and quickening her pace. All day, it was fighting and scouting, and yet as the sun was beginning to sink in the sky, there was no sign of life anywhere in the town.

Under the hood there was a mournful expression in her eyes. Surely, there had to be at least one person alive, right? Jeanne held on to that hope. La Charité had once been a site of great joy when she had liberated its people from the invading forces of the English. To see it like this was like a scene coming out of a nightmare, a future that should have been avoided.

Why was this town in complete and utter ruin? Who would do such a thing? These were but rhetorical questions. The answer was already there, unspoken, and weighing heavily in her heart.

The answer was also standing in front of her, her dark silhouette flickering like a mirage amongst the sheer heat of the flames.

"You."

"Me." That smile was too big on her face, one that matched hers in every way except for how pale it was. Those sickly yellow eyes that were filled with so much hate. Everything about this woman was a terrible mix of familiarity and fear, like looking into a funhouse mirror. It was Jeanne, but not quite Jeanne.

The Dark Jeanne raised her sword, letting loose a torrent of flame that charged towards the Ruler.

"Augh!"

Ruler braced for impact as the flame collided with power against her flag, the hot blast knocking the frenchwoman's hood off. There were no injuries on the saint, but she could still feel the intense heat in the metal of the pole.

"There, now I can see you better, you pathetic Heroic Spi-" The woman in black armor paused, frowning. She took a few steps forward, as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing. Upon recognition, the psychotic smile was back in its rightful place.

"Well, well, well, I didn't think this was even possible. Take a look, Gilles."

And conveniently for Ruler, Naughty, Alpha, their Servants, and Mash arrived on the scene. They had been feeling pretty satisfied, having cleared out the monsters in the area.

"Jeanne, why is there another one of you over there? And why is she hanging out with that tentacled creep?" Naughty's bracelet beeped, and a hologram of Ryuuto popped out to join the fray. Which was then squished by Roman, who also joined in to inspect the situation. It was starting to look more like a group call. "This is the Servant! Or rather, Servants...a Ruler and..."

Jeanne Alter was getting even more infuriated. Her eye twitched upon the sight of the group gathered around Jeanne. "Could someone please pour water on me. I think I'm about to lose it."

"Say no more," said Alpha as he burst open his satchel. "Release!"

With the force of a water hose, a spray of water suddenly assaulted Dark Jeanne, causing her to flinch from being caught in a surprise splash zone. From Chaldea, everyone except Da Vinci's mouth was agape. The Caster could only chuckle. "Well now, I didn't expect him to actually try putting water in that thing. I did say materials could be stored and released, but this is a rather abstract take on it!"

Ryuuto shook his head, but he laughed. "He got that Dragon Witch good, though. Look, she's really soaked."

Soaked was an understatement. So was the word angry. Livid came close, as the evil Ruler gave Alpha the meanest look she could muster. "Hey, Gilles. Don't you think these miserable wretched people deserve punishment? Because I am about to deliver what they fucking deserve!"

"Stay behind me!" Jeanne unfurled her banner just in time as the Dragon Witch hurled herself at the group, flames sputtering as they tried to manifest. "Khh!"

"First, a mockery of me, Jeanne D'Arc, standing before me and trying to avenge the very people who betrayed her." With a powerful thrust, she pushed the saint back and scorched the earth with her feet.

"And then, these idiots come out and take this stupid holy virgin's side, and one of them decides to have the audacity to mock me?!" Jeanne Alter cornered the Ruler to a crumbling wall. The Demon Archer stepped back, trying to fire a bullet at the witch. But it was useless, the shrapnel turned to ashes the moment they came within an inch of her armor.

"It's so, so funny, you know? I think I might die of laughter!" The witch pushed against Jeanne, who countered with her pole, pushing it against the maniacal woman with all her might. "To see you, of all people. A wimp, a pathetic girl." She stepped on Ruler's foot, making Jeanne cry out in pain. However, this was not enough to make Jeanne's strength waver. "Ah...it makes sense, as I originated from people like you. No, mice would not be the proper word to describe this country's people. I can't even muster any sympathy for rats, let alone you lot!"

Alpha blinked, remembering a prior conversation. "Mommy." Jack tugged on Alpha's shirt. "Just say the word and we can be very sneaky. We can be very, very sneaky, and tag that bad lady!" For emphasis, the little Assassin held up a knife.

Tag? Oh, she meant stab. Right. "Don't worry, Jack. Ruler can handle it. See? She's doing juuust fine."

That was a severe understatement, and Mash couldn't help but feel disappointed looking at those two. At least Senpai and Archer were helping, even if it was rather useless.

"Get. Off!" Somehow, Jeanne managed to find a burst of strength and pushed the witch backwards, who stumbled back in fury. "Who even are you," gasped Jeanne, now angry. "Why would you do this to La Charite?"

"You are Jeanne D'Arc, right? Then you should understand. Hahah, Gilles, I didn't know I could be so stupid!" She turned to face no one in particular. "Ah, I see we left Gilles behind this time."

"Well, no matter. The people have betrayed me. I no longer hear the voice of God, therefore He does not love this country anymore. So as someone designated as Ruler, I shall pass judgement upon this land. For the people that betrayed the me who gave up her life to their ungrateful lives, I declare destruction to all of France! Oh, but through political and economic methods it would be so boring and slow. It's better to physically crush things by your own hand!"

"That's funny," mused the Demon Archer. "We were also thinking of razing France!" She loaded up a rifle. "But there's only room for one avatar of destruction here, witch."

Jeanne Alter was silent for a couple of seconds. And then, she laughed. It was a harsh cry of crazy joy, and ferocious incredulity. "You? You cannot even hope to best me! This is my homeland, however disgusting it is to me now." She spread her arms out. "I have an army of dragons at my command. Fafnir is under my control as well. And while you all may have Servants…"

Two shadows formed at the feet of the Dragon Witch and rose, solidifying into two pale people, both with pale hair and armed with sharp-looking weapons. The woman wore a dress of steel, resembling an iron maiden. The man was dressed in a noble's clothes, his long platinum blond hair flowing in the wind.

"I have some of my own. Berserk Assassin, Berserk Lancer." Jeanne Alter grinned wickedly as both readied their weapons. "Take care of these miscreants for me, will you? Do whatever you wish to that country girl. I want her out of my sight. And rejoice, for they are strong. This will not be the usual hunting of weak prey."

Berserk Assassin gave them a thin smile. "How delightful. A virgin's blood is hard to come by."

Berserk Lancer's eyes narrowed. "Not so fast. I too wish to partake in their blood. You may have those girls, while I shall feast on the rest."

"Hey guys? I hope you packed wooden stakes," said Ryuuto from the hologram. "This looks like it's going to be a vampire attack!"

Author's Comment: Hey hey, it's me. Back with a new chapter and some drama. Please understand that Alpha despises the French. Also, having valentines voiced this year on FGO NA is really nice. Here's to a lovely February! I could really go for some dark chocolate right now...