Several hours had gone by, and it was almost night now.
It had taken a little bit longer than I had imagined, but we had located a small grove. The trees would provide protection against any aerial threats, and also impede some terrestrial foes long enough for my Servants and I to either throw up some defenses or retreat. Hopefully, neither will happen, but better to be safe than sorry.
"So, find anything else out from that book, Da Vinci?" I asked the Caster. My Servants and I were seated around a decent-sized campfire, having just finished heating up some of the rations that had been packed. The food was good, though obviously not on the same level of tastefulness as we would have gotten in Chaldea's cafeteria. However, what it lacked in flavor, it made up for in protein and other nutrients.
Da Vinci hummed softly, flipping one last page before reluctantly putting the copy of her own work down. "Not quite. This is the book Alexander said would tell us where we would find the location of the next counterfeit workshop, but so far, it is only containing the information I wrote down in my own copy. Granted,
"Have you tried holding it by the spine and shaking it firmly?" Mordred piped up, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her right hand. Da Vinci's face scrunched up in distaste.
"I would never do something so cliché and obvious as that! Judging from the near-identical layout our counterfeiter achieved, then she would surely not do so!" Mordred and I both stared flatly at Chaldea's 'greatest mind'.
"Then what do you have to lose? Just do it already," Mordred said with a scoff, crossing her arms and leaning back. Da Vinci glared at my knight for a moment before harrumphing.
"Fine," she said, re-adjusting her grip of the manuscript so that she was holding the spine. Thankfully, she had also adjusted her posture so that if any pages fell out by accident, they wouldn't end up becoming kindling for our fire. Then she began to lightly shake the book. "And when I show you that I was correct, I expect a proper apolo—"
Da Vinci didn't finish stating her demand with words, but instead a choked gasp. I snickered softly at the equally shocked and horrified Da Vinci as she stared at the folded piece of parchment that had fluttered out from the book. Too bad Doctor Roman wasn't here. He'd probably be laughing his ass off.
"You were saying?" Mordred asked. Naturally, my partner had one of the biggest, smuggest expression that I had ever seen pasted across her face. "I didn't hear the rest of that sentence. What was it that you wanted me to do?"
The mocking tone seemed to do the trick of rousing Da Vinci from her semi-catatonic state. She shook her head violently, as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. Something I suppose was kind of true as she had been proven wrong.
"B-But…I would never…that's impossible…How?" Da Vinci sputtered, and I shook my head slightly as I bent down and gingerly picked up the piece of paper.
"Never underestimate the chance of someone going with the simple option," I said softly. "You expected something elaborate, but why would our counterfeiter want to have a map be hidden like that when there was already a guard to protect it?" I started to unfold our prize when another thought entered my mind. I paused and looked back up.
"Also, remember what Alexander said? That the book you were holding held the locations we should visit. He didn't say anything about them being written inside the covers or anything."
"…" Da Vinci didn't immediately respond, looking rather deep in thought. Then, without any warning, the Caster threw her head back and started laughing. "I see! I see! So even a genius can be tricked, it seems! I'll have to be smarter next time then," she said. I shook my head with a wry smile and a slight roll of my eyes. Apparently, she seemed incapable of flat-out admitting that she was wrong.
I returned my focus to the now-fully unfolded parchment on my lap. I whistled softly. "My, my, this is useful, alright."
"Master?" Boudica asked, leaning forward slightly as she tilted her head to the side. I gestured for the others to come closer, and with the exception of Lu Bu, the others made their way to either stand behind me or squeezed in on either side of the log I was sitting on.
"This looks to be a map of the entire area!" I squinted slightly, focusing on the text scrawled around the area. Several circles were also laid out. One of them was labelled 'Towne', and if I had to guess, was a reference to the location of Da Vinci's mimicked workshop.
Oddly enough, the handwriting looked eerily familiar to that of Jeanne's when I had first started teaching her how to write…
I shook my head, instead focusing on the map proper. After a few seconds, I spoke up. "From the looks of it, it seems we're pretty close to the next location. If I'm reading it right, it is about fifteen miles or so east of our current location." I paused again, scowling this time. "Oh, come on!"
"What?" Mordred asked, her gruff tone contrasting with the concern her eyes held as she looked at me. I sighed and gently tapped the circle that was relatively closest to the town.
"Looks like we have to go explore another cave," I growled, tightly pinching the bridge of my nose. Seriously, what the hell was up with caves and other subterranean caverns?! Knowing my previous streak of so-called luck, our counterfeiter probably had several eldritch horrors as well as a thrice-damned Servant! I took a deep breath, calming myself down before I could further work myself up into a fit.
Mordred and Sasaki both looked as equally thrilled by this revelation as I was. Boudica wasn't as bothered, nor was Lu Bu, as neither had to go into one just yet. Emiya looked more curious, though. "Not a fan of going underground, Master?" Asked the Archer. I grunted.
"Well, considering that the last few times I've gone into one, I've either been almost mauled to death by either Servants, skeletons, or frickin Chimeras, or crushed by a partial collapse of a cavern, yes, I'm not a fan of spelunking."
"…I see," Emiya said after a minute, uttering each word slowly and carefully. "However, if that map is correct, we have no other option." I nodded reluctantly.
"I know. I'm just bitching to get it out of my system," I said with a sigh, before looking back at the map. "In addition to the cave and the 'town' we were in, there seems to be some kind of a larger city. Coastal, too, if the markings nearby are any indication.
"How much more walking will we have to do, Master?" Mordred asked brusquely, arms crossed over her chest once more."
"If the measurements are correct, I'd wager somewhere between seventy-five to a hundred miles southwest of our current position. It'll probably take us a day or two to get there," I said grimly. Boudica let out a polite cough before she began speaking.
"Not necessarily," she said a bit hesitantly.
"What do ya mean?" Mordred asked. My Rider scratched her chin, looking deep in thought and so didn't answer immediately. After a minute or two, though, she finally answered.
"I haven't tried it on the field, but theoretically, we could use my chariot," the British monarch said. "It would be rather cramped, though. Not to mention the fact that Lu Bu would have to run." I chewed softly on the inside of my right cheek, mulling over this piece of information.
"We'll walk to the next location. Depending on how things turn out, we'll ride on the chariot. Lu Bu could keep up with us, right?" I ask, directing the question at my accompanying Berserker. The Chinese Heroic Spirit bowed his head and growled softly as he lightly thumped his right fist against his chest.
"Then it looks like everything is settled for now," Da Vinci interjected, resuming her earlier posture and opening back up the manuscript she held. "I'll take the first watch tonight, and maybe the second as well. I want to see if this book does hold any secrets on the pages themselves, anyways."
Seeing as we all had finished our dinner anyways, there wasn't really much else we could do. Doctor Roman had already called in to inform us that Ritsuka, Mash, Jeanne, and the other Servants my fellow Master had brought with him had already found not only somewhere to use as a base of operations but had also established contact with not one but several friendly Servants. For some reason, the acting-director had sounded particularly bemused when he had mentioned that last part, but didn't reveal why.
I nodded at Da Vinci. "Very well. Let's grab some shuteye. We'll leave early tomorrow morning after breakfast. I want to reach the entrance of that cave before dark." No one raised any disagreement with my statement, and quietly we all began settling down for the night. Or at least, most of us did.
Sasaki and Emiya had insisted on staying up and helping Da Vinci keep guard for at least part of the night. However, the fact that they looked bothered didn't go unnoticed by me. I suspected that they wanted to talk, but about what the two former enemies would discuss I knew not. However, unless the situation changed, I had no reason or responsibility to get involved. I said this not as a Master, but as a friend, to them.
About thirty minutes later, Mordred and I were on our bedrolls. While we couldn't cuddle up due to being on a mission and all, the relatively close proximity was still pleasant. My eyelids weighed down with sleepiness, I rolled over to look at Mordred, smiling at her.
"Good night, Mordred." I smiled at hearing Mordred's affectionate, soft chuckle, though my ears burned slightly at her response.
"Night, princess." And with that, I closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep.
It might have been better if I hadn't, as it would turn out…
I found myself chained to a wooden stake. In front of me was a crowd of men, women, and children, many of whom were jeering and throwing out taunts.
"Fiend!"
"Witch!"
I recognized my settings. How could I not, considering I had witnessed it before? It was May 30, 1431. The day the death sentence for Jeanne d'Arc was carried out. And yet, it wasn't like the last time.
Instead of watching the kind-hearted Ruler, bound with iron chains, instinctively thrashing in a vain attempt to escape the fire licking her heels, it was as if I was Jeanne. The heat was indescribable. My mouth was opened, and I tried to scream, but no words came out.
The taunting continued, as the sensation of agony washed over my body. It was as if the fires were trying to consume my very soul. I could barely manage a single cohesive thought. I was terrified. Was it possible to die in a dream? Was I about to actually die?
The crowd continued its mockery, and through the imagined pain I felt a sense of anger. Of hatred. How dare these bastards find amusement in my—Jeanne's—suffering?
As my vision began to fade, hopefully serving as a herald of my body and mind waking up, I was left with one last 'gift'. When I had seen this from Jeanne's perspective, standing nearby, I had heard her whisper to God that she offered him her body.
This time, the words were not uttered. Instead, a singular thought echoed in my mind.
"I hate them. Burn them all…"
I woke up with a soft gasp, my forehead slick with sweat. I pushed myself up into a seated position, quickly using the back of my left hand to wipe away the thin layer of perspiration from my face. I wasn't in a town square, being burnt to death. Not that Mordred would let that happen, thank god for that. No, I was right where I had fallen asleep: in our little campsite. It had just been a dream.
What…What the hell had been that dream? No, that dream was hell, in a way. A different perspective I had, re-witnessing the execution of Jeanne.
And yet, the memory hadn't felt like any of the others. It felt more like a dream. An actual dream, nightmarish as it was. Why, though? Why did I have it?
Calming down, I noticed that others were waking up. I took a deep breath, and put on my best calm expression onto my face as Mordred got up onto her feet after letting out an adorable yawn.
"Morning, Jacob," my partner called out.
"Good morning, Mordred. Sleep well?" I asked. The blonde knight shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Eh, well enough. You?" This time it was I who shrugged.
"Not as well as I would have liked," I admitted softly. "I had a…a bad dream." Mordred's brow furrowed slightly. My partner could tell that I was purposefully being vague. Instead of calling me out on that, though, the Saber tilted her head to the side.
"Anything I should be worried about?" She asked. I shook my head firmly.
"No. It was just a dream." Or more like a memory, maybe, but that last part had me confused as all hell. It didn't matter now. It was the mission that mattered. "I'll be fine, I promise." Mordred hesitated for a second, before grunting in acknowledgement, trusting in me as I trusted in her.
"Alright. Boudica's finishing up breakfast. After we eat, we'll be moving out like you said."
"Sounds good to me."
Four and a half hours had gone by with little fanfare. We had packed up our bedrolls after breakfast, reported in with Doctor Roman to inform him that we were on the move again, and then headed out. Even better, we had made great progress, even if my feet were starting to feel a bit sore from the constant walking.
Most of the journey to the cave entrance was through a rather pleasant-looking forest of pine trees, with the occasional solitary oak to spice things up. I quickly relaxed, enjoying listening to the sounds of birds greeting one another overhead.
It was the sudden lapse in their singing that was the first hint that we were no longer alone, as the day started to approach noon. Without even realizing it, my right hand slid down and loosely gripped the hilt of my sword, not drawing it forth, but ready to do so at a moment's notice.
"Enemies up ahead," Emiya suddenly called out, summoning his two short swords as the other Servants tensed up. Instinctively, they formed a loose circle around me, looking around intently. "Not just ahead," Emiya added a few seconds after. "They're all around us."
A few more moments later, and I got my first glimpse of what we were facing. About two dozen or so giant humanoids. My first impression was that they were more refined golems, but I quickly discovered that wasn't the case.
First of all, the white coloring wasn't marble. Upon closer examination, I realized queasily that it was skin, though textured almost like muscle and flesh rather than skin. It also didn't have a truly definable head. Rather, a large lump with two black orbs that served as eyes rested between two broad shoulders.
Well, this was new. Thankfully, oddity aside, these were the only things that had sprung the ambush. I couldn't see any possible Servants hiding further back. Not to mention, I knew that Roman would have warned us if there was a Servant. Granted, he should have given us a head sup sooner, but I was willing to let it slide for now. Rits and the others must have had a more difficult run-in with an enemy at the same time, if I had to guess the reason.
"Ah, so this is the cliché ambush scenario?" Da Vinci said rather enthusiastically. "I've heard about them from Doctor Roman, but it's another thing entirely to get to partake in one!" Geeze, does one spending almost their entire existence cooped up in a workshop really get excited over any kind of action?!
….Right, forgot who I was talking about for a moment. I exhaled slowly. "Glad to see you're feeling some enthusiasm, Da Vinci. Yes, this is one of those situations." Mordred let out an excited-sounding grunt, a feral look in her eyes as she readied Clarent.
"And just like in the past, there's only one real solution to it," Mordred added, her helmet reassembling itself over her features as she spoke. "Orders, Master?" I unsheathed my own sword.
"Take them down, hard and fast." I had barely finished issuing my command when Mordred darted forward, momentarily turning once more into a blur of steel and crimson before reappearing between three of the enemy figures.
Whatever they were, they reacted damn faster than the various golems I've encountered thus far in my life. It was nowhere near the speed of my Servants, however. Bringing Clarent up before her face, my knight's body glowed with arcs of red lightning all over her body as the trio of flesh-golems (which I would call them until we could properly identify them) moved closer to her.
Suddenly, all three of them began trembling and recoiling violently, even as Mordred stood still. Or rather, it appeared that she was standing still. Straining my eyes, I could barely make out ghostly afterimages of a Mana Burst-enhanced Mordred unleashing a fearsome flurry of blows with Clarent. A few seconds later, the blonde Knight of Rebellion dashed out of the circle. Her opponents fell to the ground almost in unison. They didn't get up.
Another flesh-golem collapsed under the combined swords of Sasaki and Boudica, while nearby, Lu Bu manhandled two of his own flesh-golem foes and slammed them into one another viciously. Closer to me, Da Vinci launched energy attacks reminiscent in some ways to those of Medea, while Emiya continued using his sword-arrows (or would it be arrow-swords?), bringing down enemy after enemy with carefully aimed shots.
There were still enough ambushers, though, that meant I would have to get directly involved. Fortunately, the one bearing down on me was closer to my own height, though in every other respect, it was still identical in appearance to its brethren.
Silently, it raised a crude fist overhead. The air whistled as the fist descended, only to be met by my sword swinging in from the side. The steel blade bit deep into the wrist of the flesh-golem, shearing through muscle and bone.
The thing didn't cry out in pain as its hand hit the forest floor. A clear, viscous-looking fluid served as its blood, leaking out of the stump that was once it's hand, and trickling down the length of my sword. Then the flesh-golem charged forward at me again.
I sidestepped the punch it threw at me. The moment it passed by me, I lashed out again. This time, my sword sunk deep into the unprotected heel. More of the transparent blood spilled out, and the flesh-golem fell onto one knee.
To its credit, the badly-injured creature wasn't interested in dying without taking me with it, for it twisted around and swung it's uninjured fist at me. I heard Da Vinci call out my name in alarm, but I remained focus on the threat in front of me.
I spun the hilt in my hand, bringing the flat of my sword to meet the fist as a shield of sorts. A dull ache traveled up my arm as the blade caught the fist, but I ignored it. My other hand grabbed the hilt of my pugio, drawing out the broad-bladed dagger from its beautifully decorated sheath.
Reversing my grip on the hilt so that the blade was pointed at the dirt, I darted in closer, lashing out with my Roman dagger towards the creature's neck. Unable to protect itself in time, the heavy yet well-balanced dagger sunk deep into the side. More of the weird blood spurted out of the wound. I must have cut the equivalent of the jugular with my attack. The creature spasmed and twitched for about half a minute, before going still.
"Not bad, Master!" Mordred called out, and I grunted loudly as I pulled out my dagger from the dead body. Judging from the lack of the sounds of fighting, the skirmish must be almost over.
"Thanks," I said, crouching down on the corpse. Two pairs of footsteps drew closer from behind. "I take it the fight's over?" Mordred grunted, and I looked over my shoulder to see her and Da Vinci standing behind me.
"That's the last of them," Mordred said, flicking Clarent downwards and shaking off the last of the fluids. "Looks like some sort of crude homunculi." She said the words with barely restrained bile. I looked at her in concern, but my knight merely shook her head and mouthed that she would talk about it with me later. Reluctantly, I returned the nod, looking back down at the corpse in front of us.
Homunculus. That was what we were fighting, then? Well, it was better-sounding than flesh-golems, that's for damn sure. But weren't they supposed to be more, well, human-looking? I hadn't really studied up on the artificially-created beings, but I felt fairly confident that I would have remembered reading a similar description to what I saw. I wasn't the only one staring at the nearby homunculus. Da Vinci hummed, crouched on one knee beside the remains.
"Hey, Jacob, can you contact Romani?" I cocked my head to the side but nodded. I opened the link to Chaldea, and after a brief second, Doctor Roman answered.
"Hey, everything all right down there? I saw that you were in a fight, but I was helping out Ritsuka with one of his own against an enemy Servant."
"It's fine, Doc," I said, waving off the apology with a wry smile. "They were just homunculi. No Servants among them. However, Da Vinci wants to have a word with you, apparently," I added, moving over and crouching besides the Caster in question. I held my wrist out to her.
"Hey, Roman. Analyze this homunculus for me, would you?" My lips quirked upwards slightly at Roman's put-upon sigh.
"You always make me do everything, don't you?" Roman groused even as he began typing on his keyboard. "Fine, I'll do it." There was another pause. "Talk about coincidences between the London Singularity and Pseudo-Singularity C!"
"Doc?" I asked.
"Ritsuka's team has mostly encountered mechanical enemies, but they encountered a few homunculi. I have a frame of reference now. Just give me a few more moments…I see. It's different from the ones not only in London, but also with the previous records on the matter. It's similar, but slightly different. Just like with Alexander being a Counterfeit Heroic Spirit, or the various copycats of Da Vinci's creations."
"Well, if nothing else, this is as good an indicator as any that we're on the right track. Hopefully that's the la—"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Boudica, Emiya, Sasaki, Mordred, and I all cried out in unison.
"That's one of the most common trigger flags! Are you trying to get us killed?" I added, staring at the reckless Caster. Da Vinci blinked owlishly at us, utterly taken aback by our reactions. Fortunately, once she had recovered her senses, the artist had the grace to bow her head in an apologetic manner.
"Ah, I think I understand. The whole concept of one jinxing themselves, yes?" I nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sorry for being rude there, but if there's one thing I've learnt about this job, it's to never tempt fate if you don't have too."
"My main concern is that one of those jinxes'll somehow get our idiot here killed," Mordred added, lightly (by Mordred's standards) clapping me on the back and almost sending me stumbling forwards. Da Vinci giggled at our antics, as did Boudica. Emiya, Sasaki, and Lu Bu, however, looked far more eager to resume our journey, and I couldn't blame them.
"Alright guys, I think that's enough lollygagging. We've still got twenty or so miles left, so let's get to it."
Original Endnotes: And done! What did y'all think? I had to figure out a way to introduce the style of homunculus used in the game, since they aren't the ones we saw in Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Apocrypha but from the game, so I hope I did well considering we have zero lore for the lancer-type foes (at least, so far as I've found). I enjoyed Mordred discovering the solution where Da Vinci failed regarding the hidden map. It just seems like something that would happen, and I'm not hating on Da Vinci or anything, either.
Also, how did you like the dream sequence? Been a while since we did one. And before anyone starts asking, yes, it is possible for both Jacob and Ritsuka to have ones belonging to the other Servants they summoned. At least, in my story. It's interesting because I just started working on the backlog of supplemental material I've been talking about so much for so long, which in this case is going to be Jeanne d'Arc and Jacob. I plan on posting it on May 30th, but obviously, the main story takes precedence. More than likely, the rest of the supplemental material, like the chronicle of Mash and Ritsuka's London adventures, will be postponed until I finish The Will to Fight. It's proven harder than expected to work on multiple projects actively at once. Plus, as a side benefit, that means more reading material once this story ends and I finish brainstorming the sequel! :)
Now, for the question(s) of the chapter! First up: Who here has seen the trailer for the Timeless Temple anime adaptation? I have, it looks so good, and Mordred's going to be in it and be awesome as we all know she is! The follow-up question is, naturally, what are your thoughts on it? The second question is this: What are your thoughts on the current event on the NA server for FGO? The movie-set one.
As always, thanks both reading another chapter of The Will to Fight, and also for the constant love and support! I'm not sure I'd have made it even close as far as I have without it. Please leave your thoughts and question answers down below, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a wonderful day, and see you in Chapter 91!
Updated Endnotes 08/08/22: As always, the up-to-date version of The Will to Fight can be found on AO3 if you want to skip the wait, with Chapter 202 having been posted just today. Otherwise, have a great day, and see you in Chapter 91!