Disclaimer: These are works of purely speculative fiction. It is not intended to infringe on any rights by any of the companies and/or individuals involved in the production of any series mentioned here. Fate Grand Order and all the franchises and series associated with it, are owned by Kinoko Nasu, Notes Co., Ltd. and their affiliates. Similarly, Fire Emblem Heroes is owned by Nintendo Co., Ltd. and their affiliates.
I DO NOT OWN THESE FRANCHISES.
The blazing hot sun of the New Mexico desert seared above them.
Corrin knew that the situation was dire, but she still couldn't help but feel nostalgic. They were on the run from two opposing armies after they decided to choose neither.
It mirrored her own experience when she rejected both Ryoma and Xander and afterward had to dodge both armies while gathering allies to join her faction.
Sadly, much like her previous experience, it came with casualties, sort of. Kiyohime wasn't dead, thankfully, as her saint graph was retrieved by Chaldea, but she won't be summoned for a long while.
As much as the girl infuriated her, she was still a comrade that she let down. Kiyohime might have tried to kill her when she told her that she had no intention of sharing Fujimaru-Kun with anyone, but Berserker wasn't a horrible person, just a bit delusional, unlike Peri. Kiyohime is an angel compared to her brother Xander's retainer, who constantly goes on about wanting to cut people up… for fun.
She was not fond of how Kiyohime would refer to him as 'Anchin' but after learning more about her legend and how her Berserker Class affects rational thinking, she had learned to tolerate her. However, she still refused to be part of a harem.
Camilla has told her many horror stories of the brutality and tragedy of the Concubine Wars. So much backstabbing, so much unnecessary bloodshed, and dead siblings. She doesn't want her children to suffer the same fate.
Even if the women after Fujimaru-Kun are much better than the concubines of her adoptive father Garon, the idea still makes her feel uneasy. Not that she planned on having children so soon with him, but she needed to make her stance clear to Kiyohime and every girl that planned to get into his pants.
After Kiyohime was banned from using her Noble Phantasm on her, they came to an agreement. Whoever can charm Fujimaru-Kun first wins, but on the caveat that their rivalry doesn't interfere with their missions.
"Alright. This seems like a good place to rest." Geronimo's words interrupted her thoughts. She felt some relief when he motioned the group over to a nearby Mesquite tree.
It was a large enough tree that they could easily take shelter from the unforgiving heat.
Mashu then started to hand out water bottles to everyone who could drink. Although both she and Fujimaru-Kun seemed fine, the trip was still exhausting for them, unlike the servants who could live without it.
Corrin took the water bottle from Mashu's hands with a "thank you" and she opened the cap with a twist. She slowly took small sips of water, as she was told to do by Nightingale and Romani so that her body could properly absorb what she was drinking.
"How much farther until we get to Deming Geronimo-San?" Mashu asked as she lightly poured water into a small container for the ever-present, and adorable Fou to drink from. One of these days, she will find out how to get her own, but for now, just watching him as he cutely drinks water from his bowl will have to suffice.
"It will be another day before we reach our destination. And it will be even farther afterward before we can reach the nearest Leyline." Geronimo said, answering Fujimaru-Kun's question.
The answer caused the group to sigh in defeat, knowing that there was no helping the travel time.
"I never expected America to be this big… even if there were freeways it feels like it would still take a long time to traverse it," Mashu confessed, clearly surprised by the length of their journey.
"Freeways?" Corrin's eyes moved toward Lucina, who was resting while standing near the edge of the Mesquite tree's shadow. Her confusion about the term was something that she and Lyn, who was leaning on the tree trunk, had on their minds.
They expected Romani, Fujimaru-Kun, or Mashu to respond, but surprisingly, it was Geronimo who answered.
"Freeways are long stretches of road made of liquid stone and rubber that connect cities together.
They usually cut straight through the land rather than follow it. Which makes travel much easier for transportation to move from city to city."
"Wow. That's amazing." The awe in Lucina's voice was palpable.
Doctor Romani cut into the conversation, "Wait, how do you know about freeways? The term wasn't first used until 1930, but you died decades earlier. Plus, the grail shouldn't have provided such details to you."
Geronimo shrugged at the projection of the good doctor, "I became familiar with the term soon after I manifested in this singularity. In fact, Edison managed to build a few since he's been here."
"Wait what? How was he able to do that during the middle of a war?!" Corrin liked Doctor Romani, but she still disliked how often he would scream or yell when he was surprised by something, even if it is warranted.
"He had help from a servant, one that fortunately managed to defect to our side. Unfortunately for us, all of them lead straight toward Washington DC and are therefore the main focal points of the war, so it's best to avoid them. As for the servant, you'll meet them soon, but for now, everyone needs to rest. We have a long walk ahead of us."
They rested under the shade for a few more minutes before they continued their trek through the unforgiving desert.
Nightfall fell upon them much faster than they expected, and they had to set up camp once more.
They truly had underestimated the sheer size of this singularity.
0-0-0
The group continued their trek in silence the following day, occasionally interrupted by Geronimo pointing out some plants to avoid touching and the few water breaks they had to take along the way.
"By the way, Geronimo, you never did elaborate on who it was that defected from Edison's forces." Lyn, who didn't look too tired, even after hours of walking under the hot sun, asked.
"Ah. Yes, they were integral to the taming of the frontiers of America. They cut the forests down in one fell swoop, and their footprints deep enough to create lakes"
"That's… terrifying," Lucina's face turned pale as she looked to the sky with a hint of fear in her eyes, almost as if she was reliving something from her past.
"I agree with Lucina, is this servant a giant from the age of gods that somehow survived till the modern day?!"
Geronimo turned to Romani and waved his hand in dismissal of the doctor's assumption. "Ah, no, they are not that grandiose. Her existence is quite peculiar, however, since it is a miracle she even manifested as a servant in the first place due to how recent her legend is. "
The group suddenly stopped when they heard the sounds of metal slamming into wood.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. It would seem like we are about to meet the very servant we are talking about."
They made their way closer to the source, and what they saw baffled them.
A young girl, dressed in a plaid shirt, standing next to a mesquite tree with her ax lifted over her body.
With the swing of her ax, she managed to cut the tree in one fell swoop!
The girl wiped the sheen of sweat from her forehead with a white cloth she had around her shoulders before she noticed the group.
"Geronimo, you're back… and with… company."
Geronimo nodded at her before he turned back to them, "Everyone. This is Paul Bunyan. Paul Bunyan, these are our new comrades."
"..." The young girl stared at them, seemingly a bit too nervous to speak.
"Wait... Paul Bunyan, as in THAT Paul Bunyan?!" Mashu said with surprise.
"But it's a girl, isn't Paul Bunyan supposed to be a tall, muscular and hairy American logger?"
Wait. What? This cute little girl, who was currently fidgeting in place as she seemed to be a bit apprehensive about meeting new people, was supposed to be a tall burly man? How?
"I don't see what the big deal is. Isn't King Arthur, Nero Claudius, and many other servants also supposed to be male as well?" Lyn crossed her arms in disapproval of Romani's insinuation.
"Oh, uh right. Sorry." Romani apologized.
"..."
The group looked behind the servant to see a long stretch of dirt road that stretched into the distance, bundles of trees stacked to the side of the road at multiple intervals.
"Do you need help carrying those logs, little miss?" Lyn, the ever-helpful friend she was, offered assistance, much to the group's dismay.
Thankfully, the shy girl shook her head before she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Out of nowhere, a surprisingly tiny, and cute, blue ox came trotting toward them, hauling a comically large wagon like it was nothing and sat next to Paul Bunyan much akin to a dog. The girl proceeded to pet the animal behind the ears, much to the animal's delight.
She stopped petting the ox with a final friendly pat on the head before walking over to the stack of tree trunks… and the sun disappeared.
Paul Bunyan went from the size of a 10-year-old little girl to the size of a two-story house, her stature was large enough that her shadow fell over them. Using her new stature, she easily picked up the tree trunks as if they were bundles of sticks before she placed them all into the wagon of her little ox.
"This way." If she was a small girl, it would have been difficult to hear her voice due to how softly she spoke it, but as a giant, even her soft words were loud enough to make their bones tremble.
She made her way east, her footsteps flattening the road and in turn compressing the dirt into a smooth surface, while simultaneously loading the bundles of trunks on top of the wagon which didn't seem to bother the ox whatsoever.
The group followed, not uttering a single word as they were too gobsmacked by the feats performed in front of them.
0-0-0
Paul led them into a nearby settlement, which was their destination. After 4 days of travel, with Martha's Tarasque and her transformed dragon state running at an optimal speed for the first few days, they had finally arrived.
It was a grim sight.
The tents that they had walked by showed just how haggard the resistance army was being run.
Many of the men were smiling, playing card games, and telling stories, but it was clear to see that while their spirits were up, their bodies were pretty beaten.
They had walked by so many men who wore filthy bandages to cover their wounds. It was a bad sign that they were clearly running out of medical supplies.
It was a miracle that Nightingale hasn't gone completely unhinged and started punching people for being 'unsanitary' though she guesses it could be because she knows that there is someone who is on a higher priority to punch than these soldiers.
"Welcome back Geronimo sir. Oh and Paul, you can leave the trees over there, our boys will take over from there, ma'am." He pointed towards an empty space near them. The man did not seem to pay any mind to the giant in front of him nor the baby blue ox carrying a mountain of supplies through their camp, almost like it was a daily occurrence.
Paul acknowledged his request and motioned the cute blue ox to haul the load to where it was needed before she unhooked the animal, she shrunk to a normal size and unhooked the ox from the wagon. Only to then ride on top of the little guy like it was a horse.
So cute.
"Greetings. How is Rama doing?"
The soldier's smile turned sad, "it's honestly a miracle he could even still be alive in his condition."
Nightingale, no longer willing to stand back, came in front of the man and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Show me the patient. Now."
He turned toward Geronimo, who gave him a nod of approval. "Right this way ma'am."
Nightingale released the soldier, which allowed him to show their group the way toward this so-called Rama.
The soldier led them to a nearby building, which was actually a healer's room.
The soldier continued to the back of the room and opened the door. Immediately, Nightingale pushed her way through and entered the room before them.
Corrin and everyone walked into the room, an action which they regretted immediately since they caught sight of the gaping hole in the servant Rama's chest, his heart exposed to the dust and sands of the desert.
She was not a stranger to war. She had seen many horrific injuries, but what she was seeing was beyond what she had ever seen in her life.
"I have never seen a wound like this before. Surprisingly, you are still alive."
"Heh… my wife… always did tell me.. endurance… was my strong suit… ugh…"
Corrin, alongside every woman in the room, rolled their eyes when they heard Rama make that joke.
"Even so, I will not turn you away." She put a hand on his shoulder, "not to worry young man. Even if the devil himself comes to collect your soul, I'll punch him in the face before he can do so."
"...thanks? OW! C-Can't you be a little more gentle!?"
"I apologize for my incompetence, but I have run out of morphine. Just bite on this."
She stuffed a wooden block in Rama's mouth.
Nightingale then turned to Paul Bunyan, who instantly shrank from the berserker's attention.
"I require your assistance, child. May I borrow your axe?"
"Uhh… Ummm… why?"
"Because, his heart is crushed, which means the blood cannot circulate properly in his body… So that is why I must cut off all of his limbs."
The whole room nearly snapped their necks when they turned to the Berserker's face and saw that she was being completely serious.
Rama tried but failed to say something due to the piece of wood in his mouth, but it was clear that he was the most shocked hearing Berserker's words out of all of us.
Meanwhile, the poor girl put her ax behind her back and was looking at Nightingale with fear in her eyes.
"I don't think using the ax is a good idea to-" Corrin tried to interject, but she was cut off mid-sentence.
"You're right. That ax is much too unsanitary, but it will have to do. Miss Corrin, please turn into a dragon and sterilize the ax with your fire breath."
"I am not going to help you cut this poor man's limbs off Nightingale."
"Then you are useless to me." She sighed in disappointment, which annoyed Corrin.
"I guess I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way, I will have to rip off the arms, legs, and maybe some organs by hand."
Rama finally had enough and spit out the block in his mouth, "W-Wait, wait, wait!
Focus on repairing just my heart, no amputation! I cannot lose any means to fight!"
"What are you talking about?
There is no greater joy than being alive!"
Rama yelped in pain as she climbed on top of his bed, and grabbed his arm in a firm hold.
"As an individual life form who has taken root on this earth, you have a sworn duty to survive, come what may!" She started to apply torque to his arm, which caused Rama to howl in pain.
"Easy for you to say! Someone get this crazy woman off me!"
Despite his pleas, everyone just chose to not get in the nurse's way.
"So, who exactly did this to him?" Romani asked, blatantly shifting the topic.
"It was Cu Chulainn. More specifically, a twisted version of him that claimed to be the king of the new Celtic kingdom."
"That doesn't sound like Cu at all," Mashu said. "He isn't the type who would care about such things, only for a good fight."
"Indeed, however, based on what Rama told me, he was rather dispassionate about it. Like his fight with Rama was nothing more than paperwork for him." Geronimo sighed as he looked at Rama, who was still struggling to get away from Nightingale. "Rama is our strongest fighter, he could stand toe-to-toe with Karna as he was summoned into this world. I would prefer if we could heal him."
"Even so, this information confirms that simply healing Rama will not be enough. We need to break this Cu Alter's Gáe Bolg so that the curse can be undone."
"How utterly vexing," Nightingale complained as she walked back toward them, frustration deeply etched into her face. "It would seem you are right. No matter what I try. I can't keep the encroaching death from getting to his heart. I will require your assistance in removing this curse, as it is beyond me at the moment."
Romani then hummed before he offered a solution, one where they had to make a contract with a servant who knew Rama while he was alive to strengthen his existence, that way Nightingale can properly heal him.
"I know someone… my wife, Sita. We are normally never summoned in the same era due to our Curse of Separation, but I could feel she is somewhere in this world. That is how I got my injury. Because I wanted to beat the answer out of that lancer."
"We can help, but since we have no idea where your wife could be, we are going to have to try and search for clues. Considering the sheer size of this singularity, we are definitely going to need some reinforcements." Romani said.
Geronimo nodded, "The nearest Leyline is still a few days away by foot, but at a servant's travel time, it should take a few hours… uninterrupted, of course."
"That's great then! Let's move out."
Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing a soldier who was panting heavily.
"Geronimo sir! Enemy attack!"
They had already moved before the man finished his sentence.
0-0-0
"That should be the last of them." Corrin sat on a nearby rock, sweat pouring from her forehead. The sun had set over an hour ago, but the sheer heat emanating from her was enough to keep her warm from the surprisingly cold breeze of the desert night.
Truth be told, guns were annoying to defend against and avoid. So she was glad that the enemies were using melee weapons rather than guns. But after they fought off the Celts, she realized that they somehow managed to be even worse due to the sheer number of them.
They were an unrelenting horde that would not rest until her demise. She truly underestimated them, and it nearly cost Corrin her life had it not been for Lyn or Mashu saving her when she got caught flatfooted.
"Now that we have taken down these brutes, it's time we take a rest. We will leave in the morrow." Geronimo looked no worse for wear than when the battle started.
She truly envied a servant's stamina at times.
"You coming, Corrin? We have a long trek ahead of us tomorrow." Mashu asked.
"Yeah, coming." Corrin reluctantly got off her boulder and followed behind the group.
Once she arrived at her designated tent, she wrapped her thin blanket over her form and allowed her body to fall into the void of dreams.
Author's Note: No picture for this week's chapter, just text as god intended. So yeah, Merry few days after Christmas. I managed to plot an outline for the 5th singularity and I realized that I don't have to follow canon 100% So sorry to the Eli and Nero fans out there, but I effectively cut them out of the singularity and replaced them with other servants.
Paul Bunyan technically should not exist in the Throne of Heroes "yet" but I find that contradictory since the Throne of Heroes is outside space-time regardless of whether the Fujimaru Siblings are doing. Therefore, all servants exist in the Throne as of this moment, at least in this story.
It also bugged me that everyone in the singularity kept on saying they were "in a rush" or "running out of time" yet they somehow ran across state lines to their destinations. Not the case here. The singularity is mostly, canonically the same but travel times have been made much more appropriate.
Gudao and friends are definitely going to be doing tons of cardio while in this singularity.
Once again, thanks for reading.
