Original AO3 posting: August 23, 2020
Damn, I miss being able to use A/N on here, but most of it is kinda pointless until I catch up with the AO3 version lol. Anyways enjoy!
Cold. Everything was cold. It was snowing. Outside of a small castle-like structure, two figures were walking away from the warmth of the building. Straining my eyes in the dark, I quickly realize that it was Mordred, clothed in the same outfit that I had seen before, though without a hood, revealing her wild mess of blonde hair hanging down her back. She kept her arms crossed, hunched forward as she shivered. "Mother, what are we doing out here?" She asked the other figure, who I had by now recognized as Morgan le Fay. The elder half-sister of King Arthur appeared unbothered by the cold, nor did she look back at her daughter.
"I told you when we returned that your training would intensify. Tonight, you will learn how to deal with the cold. Guileless child, either you will survive and grow stronger, or die a failure." The way she spoke about that indicated that if Mordred died, it would be little more than an inconvenience to Morgan's schemes.
Young Mordred stared at her mother with wide eyes, either in shock, or disbelief, emotions I myself was experiencing.
"Mother?"
Instead of responding, Mordred's mother turned around while waving her hand. Shaking her head, the future Knight of Treachery and Rebellion tried to follow, perhaps thinking she was just jesting about her child being left in the cold without winter clothing.
The invisible field that Morgan must have just casted with that flick of her wrist shattered that hope.
Mother…" Mordred groaned as she pushed herself up off of the snow, her small body shaking. Morgan continued walking, showing not a single gesture of remorse for her actions.
"Remember, my child, that the enemy you must kill will be without mercy. Therefore, you must harden yourself both outside, and within. One way or the other, I shall see you in the morning."
Mordred threw herself forward a few more times, crying out as Morgan returned to the warmth of their shelter. I swore that I could see the glint of tears starting to form in her eyes as the snow continued to fall without pity or kindness…
I bolted upright, shivering slightly despite the rather warm temperature. I could still feel the cold. I force myself to breath as I looked upwards. Instead of grey and lifeless clouds leaking snow, the night sky gleamed and glinted overhead as hundreds of stars danced before my eyes.
"Everything alright, Master?" I turned my body slightly to see Mordred looking at me while leaning against a tree, out of her armor. It appears that it was Mordred's turn to watch over the camp. Despite the posture she has that would seem to scream idleness and boredom, her green eyes shone with attentiveness, some of which was now boring into me.
"Ah, just some bad dreams," I said, deciding to tell only part of the truth. As much progress that I have been making with bonding with Mordred, I still had a feeling that it wasn't a good time to start pushing her about the things I had seen so far of her past. "Probably stress-induced, ya know? How has the night been?"
Mordred merely grunted in response, and a moment of silence feel between us. I gazed at her, my mind awhirl with thoughts, mainly regarding the dream I just awoke from. Apparently, Morgan le Fay had considered her own flesh and blood as disposable.
"Something behind me?" Mordred asked with an arched eyebrow, causing me to cough and look away. Thankfully she didn't add further comment.
"Well, I should try to get some more sleep. Good night, Mordred."
"Night Master."
Mordred looked at the now-sleeping form of her Master, her lips curled in a small frown. She didn't doubt that Jacob had experienced some unpleasant dreams, but she noticed how her Master had looked at her. It wasn't pity, but rather, sympathy.
She wondered what he had seen. Back in Trifas, she had noticed how her last Master had woken up with a troubled expression on his face. He had never asked about her past beyond what she had told him in that graveyard the night she was summoned, but it was clearly troubling to him.
Kairi Shishigou. A bittersweet smirk replaced the frown as the Knight of Rebellion thought about the scared necromancer that had been her Master. The outfit she had chosen and left back at Chaldea had been in part to remember the clothes Kairi had bought for her at the start of the Greater Holy Grail War. The other reason, though, was because they had been really comfortable for her. Why change what worked for her last time?
Her two Masters were similar in some ways. Both preferred to be involved in fighting, and neither had treated her as merely a tool. So far, Jacob had shown the same willingness to listen and take into consideration her advice and feelings that Kairi had after meeting Assassin of Red. They also treated her as an equal, though in different ways. The necromancer seemed to, at times, view Mordred almost like a daughter. Jacob seemed to prefer the idea of friendship.
Mordred shook her head, snorting in amusement. It had been a real shock to hear that her current Master was willing to blindly trust the infamous Knight of Treason, and yet he hadn't betrayed his reasons. It seems that the two really were crazy. If Jacob truly was like her last Master in any way, the future would certainly be as interesting as the Greater Holy Grail War had been, even though she had chosen to fade after Kairi died.
This time though, she had no intention of letting her Master die, not as long as she lived.
When I awoke for the second time, the sun had already risen. My nose twitched slightly at the scent of food, and I pushed myself into an upright sitting position. Mash and Ritsuka were already up, and crouched around the fire, warming up some more of the rations we had been given.
"Good morning, Jacob Senpai," Mash greeted me, and I returned the gesture, standing up and walking over.
"Didn't sleep well?" Ritsuka asked, slightly concerned. I grunted in acknowledgement while I stretched my back before speaking.
"Just a bad dream. What about you guys? Enjoying camping?" Mash nodded while her Master shrugged.
"Oh, yes. I had never slept outside of Chaldea before, so it was a very exciting experience, especially to get to see the stars shining so brightly!" Mash exclaimed with near child-like wonder. I feel myself grinning instinctively at the sight before turning to Ritsuka, who shrugged again.
"It was ok. It will be good though to get a move on. Here, we made you some food," my friend said, handing over a small, disposable try. While the food itself seemed rather bland, the fact that it had been warmed up was the cause of the smell. I began to eat as the other Servants all began to make their way over to us.
"Mademoiselle Jeanne, what's the plan for today?" Mash asked the Ruler.
"Once Jacob finishes eating, we should break camp and start moving. First, we'll cut through this forest, in the direction towards Orléans. As we discussed yesterday, it will be difficult to approach the city directly. Therefore, we should try to see if we can discover any information from the surrounding settlements. The nearest one is La Charité. If no one disagrees, I suggest we go there first," Jeanne offered. I looked first at Ritsuka and Mash, then towards Mordred and the others. Seeing expression indicating either indifference or agreement, I nodded toward the Ruler.
"That sounds like a good plan. Just give me a few minutes to eat, and then we can move out."
The next few hours were spent marching through the French countryside in relative silence. Jeanne was leading us, Ritsuka, Mash, and I following right behind her. Mordred and Chulainn were close behind, while Sasaki and Medea brought up the rear.
As it was approaching noon, and the sky above us being clear of clouds, we moved cautiously, prepared to defend against any wyverns that might try to swoop down upon our group. Finally, we paused, with Jeanne turning toward us.
"We're almost at La Charité. If we can't get any information here about Orléans, we'll have to move closer. That is something I would prefer to avoid as much as possible given our current situation. I will not engage in combat with so many uncertainties about what we face and if we could get any support from the French army," Jeanne explained.
"Logical," I grunted.
"You're really calm," Ritsuka remarked in mild awe. Jeanne frowned, shaking her head slightly.
"No, to be honest, I am panicking inside. No matter how one looks at it, the other 'me' cannot be in her right mind. What that monster will do by controlling the people…" Jeanne paused, shaking her head again. "It's easy to imagine. Overwhelming power and hatred can easily destroy a person, no matter how noble they are." For a few minutes, no one commented on that statement. I gazed ahead at the horizon, chewing on the inside of my cheek lightly in thought, idly noting the dark cloud that had just appeared.
I blinked as I processed that last part. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the cloud. It's dark, almost black. At the same time, a breeze blew past us, carrying a somewhat familiar scent. The smell of burnt wood. That's not a rain cloud.
"Something's wrong. We got to move," I said briskly. I hadn't noticed it at first, but the 'cloud' was hovering in the direction of the town. "Look," I added, pointing at the plume of black smoke.
"Be careful guys!" Roman's voice broke over the commlink. "We just detected a Servant just ahead of your current path. It appears to be in the town you guys are headed to."
"Any idea if they are friendly?" I barked, my senses at high alert as an all-too-familiar gut feeling formed.
"No idea. Crap…it appears to be moving away from the town," Roman said, falling silent for a few seconds before letting out a frustrated curse. "We've lost the signal. It's moved out of range. We'll keep scanning for it or any other Servants, but be careful!" Doctor Roman advised.
"Understood," I said curtly before I began jogging forward, Mordred and the others close on my heels.
'Please, let there be someone to save,' I thought desperately.
It took us another fifteen minutes before we arrived at La Charité. The smell of fire had grown stronger the closer we got, the acrid burn of smoke filling my nose.
"Oh no…" Jeanne whispered in horror as she gazed at the devastation. If memory served me right, she had led the army that had retaken the town from the occupying English forces only two years ago from the current date. Now, it looked like it had been in vain.
Bodies littered the street, men, women, and children. Some were burnt, while others had been cut or mangled. The metallic scent of blood soon joined the smoke, and I saw Ritsuka recoil in horror.
"Spread out! Search for survivors!" I said, shaking off the shock and horror. I pushed forward, gripping my hilt as I moved to the nearest house. I pressed my weight against the door, seeing if I could open it, to no avail. It appeared to be either blocked, or jammed shut due to whatever had happened here. Taking a few steps back, I activated my Magic Circuits and flooded my leg with prana to reinforce it before kicking forward. I repeat the action two more times. On the third attempt, the door groaned as it fell forward. I drew my sword as I pushed inside.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. The scent of death struck hard, and my heart plummeted at seeing the mangled remains of three bodies. The father, with a kitchen knife, had apparently attempted to defend his wife and infant daughter. The trio of remains had been slashed and hacked, and I looked away.
I fight to keep the contents of my stomach down as I backed away. Looking back, I see a pale Ritsuka stumbling out of another house, leaning against Mash in support. It seems to have been a slaughter. Mordred was scowling, her eyes chips of cold emerald as she surveyed the area. Medea's slight smirk was replaced with pursed lips, while even the unexpressive Sasaki looked troubled.
It felt like the bombing of Chaldea all over again, only this time, we could help no one. "Doctor Roman," I said sadly, activating my commlink. "Are you getting any readings of life other than us?" I asked desperately.
"Aside from you guys, there is nothing left alive, be it humans or animals," Roman reported in a mournful tone.
"Damn it!" I snarled, while Mash muttered something that I couldn't hear to Ritsuka in shock. "It's no use-" I was cut off by the sound of metal rustling. We all went still, on guard. The noise appeared to have come from somewhere ahead of us, towards the center of town. However, we couldn't see much in that direction due to the smoke.
Something wasn't right…
"Jacob, duck!" Ritsuka suddenly shouted out, appearing to be making a finger gun towards me. I ducked down and hurled myself to the side as my fellow Master fired a single shot of Gandr. Looking at the spot I had just been standing in, I see the body of a French soldier falling backwards. Eyes narrowed, I push myself up off the ground, drawing my sword as Mordred and the others summoned their weapons.
"Thanks for the save, Ritsuka," I said, eyeing him from the corner of my eye for a brief moment. The Japanese youth had a queasy look on his face as he lowered a trembling hand. If memory serves me right, this is the first time he took down an enemy. The fact that it was apparently a person didn't help, no doubt.
However, there was no time to offer words of comfort or anything else that could be helpful, as the sound of shuffling feet filled the air, getting louder and louder. I activated my commlink again.
"Roman, I thought you said that you weren't getting any lifeform readings?!"
"I didn't! Still only getting readings from you guys only!
I cursed under my breath as a certain dismissive comment I had made the other day came to mind just as more figures appeared from the smoke.
"No…" Jeanne gasped in a mixture of shock, horror, and anger. "It can't be!"
"Whoever is responsible must have also turned them into the living undead! Master, I will scatter them," Mash said to Ritsuka, moving forward as Sasaki hurried over towards us, taking up a defensive stance before the Masters of Chaldea.
"Those bastards," Mordred snarled in disapproval before her helmet slammed back into place. She hurled herself forward, impaling a zombie on Clarent before swinging to the side, dragging her blade out of the side of the undead foe and then bisecting the next two walking corpses in a single stroke.
Medea raised her hand, and a dozen dragon-tooth skeletons arouse from the ground, silently charging into another cluster of zombies. While her familiars engaged in a brawl of the undead and unliving, she point her staff at yet another cluster of zombies, chanting briefly in ancient Greek before a column of fire erupted from the ground beneath their feet, incinerating the entire group in a single strike.
Chulainn became a blur once again, the Lancer thrusting and stabbing with Gàe Bolg effortlessly, though not engaging his Noble Phantasm against shambling corpses.
Jeanne twirled her flagstaff like a baton, using both ends of the rod as weapons. One moment she swept a zombie off of their feet, the next driving the spear tip into the head before the zombie could get back up and attempt to continue its assault.
Mash charged forward, using her shield to both block and unbalance any zombies that tried to attack her, staying close to both Jeanne and Mordred. The fighting continued for what felt like hours, but in all honesty was probably only a few minutes. Towards the end of the fighting, some wyverns joined in, but Chulainn dealt with them quickly with his cursed red spear.
Jeanne remained crouched as Chulainn impaled the last of the trio of wyverns that had joined the fight. The blonde Servant was panting slightly, sweat drenching her hair. Mordred flicked Clarent to the side, flinging away the blood sticking to the metal. Her helmet remained over her features, undoubtedly scowling at what had just happened.
"That's the last of the wyverns," Mash reported, adjusting her own posture. "No sign of there being any other enemies nearby. The battle is over." There were no cheers or words of acknowledgment. "Jeanne?" Mash asked in concern, noticing how the Ruler was bothered, and not just in a physical sense from fighting.
Jeanne slowly straightened her back, forcing herself to take a more neutral stance before speaking. "It was most likely 'me' who was behind this," she said bitterly. I stepped forward.
"We can't be sure of that yet," I began to say before the Maid of Orléans swung herself around, looking directly at me with hardened features.
"No, I can tell it was, Master. I am sure of it." She said, the bitterness growing. "There's one thing I don't understand though. How much do you have to hate others to wreak such havoc?" She gestured at the burning buildings and scattered bodies before she continued speaking. "I can't understand it."
I was trying to think of something, anything to say to comfort my temporary Servant when my commlink began beeping rapidly and urgently. I activated it as Roman called out.
"Servant signatures had just appeared! They're headed your way, and are coming in the direction the previous signature was going when we lost track of it. They must have sensed you guys were here," the acting-director explained rapidly and in an urgent tone.
"How many?" Mash asked as Mordred growled. Doctor Roman made a choking sound of disbelief and shock.
Well, that wasn't a bad sign now, was it?
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Roman groaned. "There are five! They're moving fast, too…are they Riders or something? You've got to get out of there!" Roman urged us. Knowing that we had four Servants operating at full capacity as well as Mash and Jeanne only highlighted how bad the readings Roman was getting were.
"But," Mash began before Roman cut her off.
"We might be able to face them if we knew who they were, but right now they are probably fresh and you all just finished fighting off wyverns and what seemed to have been half of the town. It's stupid to fight an opponent that's possibly stronger than you, is there? Retreat like any sane person would! It says so in the Thirty-Six Strategies of War!"
Jeanne planted the butt of her staff into the ground, a determined expression on her face. "No. I won't run. I must at least find out what their true intentions are!" Jeanne declared.
"But Jeanne," Mash protested as most of our party readied themselves for whatever was decided next.
"It's no use, we won't make it! Mash, Ritsuka, Jacob, just take your Servants and run, got it?"
I looked at the French Servant who was resigned to dying if that was what would happen next, and bit back a curse. "No."
"What?!"
"Jacob Senpai?" Roman and Mash roared and asked respectively at once.
"I said no. If they are moving in as fast as you say they are, Roman, then running would only further tire us until they do catch up. Besides that, I'm not leaving anyone to die. This town has seen that happen too much today. Mordred, Sasaki, prepare to fight!
"I haven't run from a fight yet, and I'll be damned if I start now. Let's give them hell!" Mordred snarled under her helmet, taking up position to the right of Jeanne. Sasaki merely sighed softly with his eyes closed, before opening them.
"Nor while any pass me whilst I stand," the Assassin said in his near-monotone manner as he took up his position on the other side of the wide-eyed Ruler.
"Master…" Jeanne started to say before I raised my hand.
"Remember, you're not fighting alone. Besides, Mordred would harass me over this if I just left this fight," I added, looking dryly at my first Servant. She merely shrugged without a shred of apology or denial, causing me to snort in amusement. Jeanne however shot me a small and beautiful smile before looking back forward.
"We're staying too then," Ritsuka said, standing next to me as Mash and his other Servants formed up behind mine. I grinned and nodded to my friend.
For a few minutes, we saw or heard nothing. Then, the sound of several sets of footsteps, walking calmly and at an even pace, until we saw them emerging from the smoke.
The five Servants appeared before us, though my focus, along with that of the others, was drawn to the lead Servant. Her armor was blackened, as was her clothing. Her skin was pale, almost ashen. Her hair was a pale blonde that bordered on the edge of being white in color, and was cut short. She carried a banner that bored aloft a stylized dragon emblem. Her yellow eyes blazed at hatred as she stared at Jeanne, who stared back at the Servant that looked like her.
Question: What were your thoughts about the interactions and relationship between Mordred and Kairi Shishigou in Fate/Apocrypha?