"Well, that was totally uncalled for." Sasaku, with a deadpan expression, was fending off Kiyohime's apparent attempt to strip her in order to find the Command Seals in a manner reminiscent of a cat duel. Though, perhaps given her very recent experiences with Chloe, she had a different mental image in mind.

"I figured you'd be able to handle her better," Gudako shrugged unapologetically. "Given you're also a Servant and all. Martha, if you would."

"It's on her left arm," the Ruler volunteered, without moving to help.

"Oh, that's what it was about." With that, Sasaku simply showed Kiyohime the bright-red marks. "Here, satisfied? I would've thought you could take Gudako's word for it and all."

"Settle down before Master gets angry over you making a mess in the My Room," Jeanne warned the troublemaker. "Good? Right. Georgios, take it away."

Shaking his head at the derail, Georgios began to retell Chaldea's last tackled Singularity.

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(res publica Singularity, 224 BC)

Vanguard deployment: Artoria Pendragon, Chloe, Georgios, Jeanne d'Arc, Sasaki Kojirou, Scathach

Masters: Gudako and Gudao

After Rayshifting successfully into Italy, the group quickly scouted out its landing zone, easily identifying their target leyline nearby in a conveniently hidden fold of the land. Unlike in the Wyvern Wars, there did not seem to be any immediate source of distress, so they decided to set up a fortified base camp there and rely on Chaldea's Control Room to do the heavy lifting.

As for the necessary magecraft rituals, Scathach was on point given her usual faculty with runes and Chloe did her best to contribute. It did not take long to establish the minimum; a tap into the leyline's mana flow and an anchor to support stable lines of communication with Chaldea.

About this time, a small group of mounted soldiers came riding up directly to the camp, which while not hidden, was neither along the way to anywhere nor particularly visible from the nearest road. Indeed, though they were headed in the right direction, some of them might have been second-guessing their maps, as they paused to scan the area several times. In the end, the Chaldeans felt sufficiently safe in not sensing any Servant-level signatures that Georgios simply revealed himself to them.

Their leader, an older man not wearing armor like his escorts, looked relieved rather than frightened or surprised at the sight of something as foreign as a man wearing plate armor. Then again, he could have identified, if incorrectly, pieces the Servant's equipment as a bronze cuirass, helmet and greaves. Though gauntlets and full arm harnesses would definitely have seemed positively futuristic. At least, with his helmet off, Georgios was clearly human.

Additionally, he had been picked for the role of spokesperson, thanks to the advantage of his Ruler class Skills - which were showing their worth already. The Romans hurriedly dismounted and hastened to deliver the message they had been sent with. "Honored foreigners, we were sent forth from Roma to welcome you under orders from our dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus."

Georgios responded to the welcome without giving away his likely surprise at the speed with which the party had apparently traveled halfway down the length of Italy. "What has your leader found necessary to speak to us, that he sends it with an escort?"

Showing no surprise at the question, the group was either well trained, or had been told in advance what to expect. "Your servants have been journeying about a week. We set out by ship when a prophet of the divine Founder, the great Romulus told the assembly of the salvation which he had 'called in' for the present circumstance. As for the reversals in Gallia and advance of the Carthaginians under Hannibal, when we left the city it was astir with unsubstantiated claims by those returning from the front. But it is certain that the Gauls and Carthaginians have made common cause against us."

"What year is it currently?"

"This is the first year of the dictatorship of Fabius?" They weren't sure how to take this line of inquiry, and after a moment one of them advanced, "The consuls Lucius Aemilius Papus and Gaius Atilius Regulus were sent to quell the ambitions of the Gauls. Due to the news of Carthaginians moving from Iberia, the selection of a dictator was given priority when their honorable deaths in battle were confirmed by the oath of eyewitnesses. There may already be new Consuls chosen since we left."

Georgios nodded impassively. "You have succeeded well in your mission. I understand these are dire times, let me consult with my colleagues regarding our own mission here."

Gathering together a little out of earshot, the group opened a connection to Chaldea, and were greeted from the Control Room by da Vinci, whom they quickly filled in. At the same time, Blackbeard and Anne & Mary were bought in. Though the ratio of three Servants to a Master was their optimal deployment pattern, the tap was sufficient to allow two others, provided they stayed close to the leyline; defenders for the critical position when the main group left.

"That's not good," was the evaluation from Chaldea after some historical records had been cross-referenced. "Those consuls went through the Alps and should have succeeded. And while I'm sure everyone remembers Hannibal, this early on Hasdrubal should be the one in command."

"Should we worry that there's apparently a god getting involved?" Jeanne did not seem happy with the possibility. "After all, we haven't been here even one day, but they were told to travel here over a week ago."

"This is an age where the gods had some influence, and though I don't understand why Romulus thinks he called us in, the facts would suggest strongly that we cooperate with his people." Back in Chaldea, da Vinci tried to plot the apparent divergences on a timeline of the Second Punic War and frowned. "But the scale of such a war is... for example, if we had to help them until Scipio comes around..."

Artoria frowned, toying with her deep blue Caliburn. "Because the Roman Republic has to survive the current conflict, yes? How fortunate for them..."

"Some parts were touch and go historically, so it makes sense as a good point to target for a Singularity." Scathach thought back to the events of the Wyvern War in France. "Anyway, absent any better information, it seems conceptually rather straightforward. Keeping the city of Rome itself alive is critical, but the World can surely rectify any smaller issues when the next Quantum Timelock comes around."

"Since the front has apparently collapsed ahead of schedule, we should consider moving there as quickly as possible to prevent the situation from going even further off the rails," Gudao concluded for everyone present. Kojirou seemed to consider this prospect positively. "Especially if we're early enough that the Romans haven't suffered later and even more serious setbacks that historically led to Fabius becoming dictator. We might need that wiggle room."

Everyone agreed with the proposal, and Georgios went to speak with the Romans who were waiting somewhat anxiously. "Did the dictator have any suggestions regarding the matter at hand?"

One of the soldiers presented the Servant with a map, which was part of the message. "Mediolanum, here, was taken from the Gauls, but might have been lost back to them, along with the consuls. Massalia, here to the west, is allied with Roma and are capable of mounting their own defense as any city-state of their stature, but ultimately they will not stand out against a combined force. Still, they have not as of yet asked for aid."

The leader hesitated before adding apologetically and in some haste, "The city is very volatile at the present, and the prophet was certain that you would have your own priorities, which would nevertheless be to the good of our people. Please carry out your mission and may the gods bless you!" Leaving behind the map, the Romans quickly took their leave and began traveling back down to the sea, presumably to return to Roma.

Watching the humans leave, Blackbeard shrugged out of his coat. "Not the greatest shore leave, but I'll park the ship on those heights and get range down here."

"That's thinking outside the box if I ever heard of it," Jeanne looked over at the mountains off the distance. "Though you can always just store it, I guess."

Mary frowned. "How come you get a stash of loot when we don't?"

"Now, now, Mary. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory. Besides, we have..." Anne paused when she realized that everyone had paused their discussion to focus on the side-conversation.

"This is kind of the important part, you know?" Chloe prompted her wickedly. "It's bad form to just leave things half-said, and then *bam* a disaster strikes! You know? That sort of death flag."

"In the first place, pirates use death flags to tell you to surrender, right?" Mary retorted.

"As I was about to say, we have our lives, in a way anyway, and each other. Two counts more than we expected at the end of it all." Anne shrugged nonchalantly.

Blackbeard, who was apparently lazily drinking something from his stash, appeared struck by a sudden realization. "This must be what da Vinci was telling me about, that beautiful phenomenon known as yu-"

"Enough of that," Jeanne cut in sternly. "Look, party with Blackbeard if you want, just make sure to prevent anyone tampering with the anchor and tap. Having to use (Contact Other Plane) is quite troublesome. Right, Scathach?"

"Oh yes, being able to go to battle alongside a skillful ally is indeed beautiful," the Caster sighed. "Also, while it can be used as a ritual, Contact isn't fast enough in an emergency..."

"Wait, she's the one that didn't get it?" Gudako summed up everyone's thoughts.

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(About a week later)

"This will be rather awkward," Chloe commented while holding up her black bow. The group had made haste northward following the coast, before turning inland to the north on their way to Mediolanum. "We can't kneecap the Carthaginians, because that would simply shift the imbalance in the other direction."

"We also need to deal with the Holy Grail that is presumably present," Gudao added. "If there's a Servant utilizing that, no amount of minor tweaks will allow a permanent solution."

Gudako and Jeanne nodded. Unsurprisingly, for the Ruler the Holy Grail was the primary issue of concern, the war itself more of a backdrop. "It's entirely possible that Hannibal himself isn't the historical human, but the Servant. If so, the situation might be even more slanted since he might have his own army apart from what Carthage should be fielding."

"With a Grail, it would indeed be possible to endlessly summon them forth, if they were part of his Skills or Noble Phantasm," Gudako agreed. "If this Hannibal lives up to his reputation, they will soon be rampaging around Italy, but several years ahead of schedule."

"If so, we would do the most good by killing as many as we can. Restore the proper balance," Kojirou observed.

"The eager swordsman has a good point," Scathach pointed out, herself an eager spearwoman despite the fact she was usually dual-wielding a druid staff and runic wand. "If we kill a few of Hannibal's soldiers, we can confirm if they are or aren't from this era."

"..."

"Wait!" Chloe stopped abruptly, motioning everyone to move off even the rough trail they had been moving along in lieu of the more obvious roadways. "It doesn't look good..."

"So it fell?" Artoria tried looking at Mediolanum, but as the city was at the edge of Chloe's sight, the Saber couldn't make out anything useful. "More likely surrendered. Or was abandoned."

"Who are on the walls?" Gudao asked after a moment. "Carthaginians or Gauls, I mean."

The Archer was silent for a moment before replying, "Their banners are Gallic."

"Should we take them out?" Gudako suggested. "They shouldn't be taking, retaking rather, this territory."

Georgios had his doubts, however. "What that tells us is that the wild card, Hannibal, and his army are somewhere around. Likely waiting for a Roman counter-attack."

"Being surprised by a Grail-empowered Servant would be dangerous, even if there are six of us to one of them. Well, they might have a noble phantasm like Okita Souji's that immediately summons soldiers..." Jeanne's flag functioned perfectly well as a spear or quarterstaff in a Servant's hands, which was good since for obvious reasons she preferred to not draw her sword.

"Snipe them." After considering their various options, Gudao suggested a tactic that leveraged their Archer's skills. "See how they respond to exploding Broken Phantasms." No one seemed particularly against this strategy.

"Artoria, Georgios, we'll need your horses again." Gudako eyed the group while planning the formation to use. "Along with Jeanne to make up the rear. Chloe will obviously be taking point, with Kojirou and Scathach backing her up."

"Poke them from long range and stay mobile, is it? Like killing a dragon with a lance," the dragonslayer quipped.

Minutes later, explosions shook Mediolanum, blowing holes in the fortifications and taking off roofs. Shouts of surprise and dismay punctuated the attempts of the defenders to get their bearings. In the middle of the chaos stood a single green-cloaked figure with a disappointed look on his face, who leapt up onto a corner tower, trying to ascertain the source of the attack.

"Tsk. An Archer." Turning to look down at his companion, a heavily armored giant even among the Gallic champions serving as his bodyguard, Robin Hood shrugged helplessly. "The surrounding area is cleared, but they're shooting from the forest beyond. It's beyond even siege weapon ranges."

Grumbling while his picked soldiers tried to avoid cowering when an arrow exploded nearby, the Saber appeared more displeased than worried. "So they've arrived... Chaldea, the enforcers of the world order. They dare only to shoot from a distance."

"Please don't go charging off into them, not only would that would give away everything, you'd die pointlessly." After a few battles together, he'd discovered that being as to the point as possible worked best with his aggressive comrade.

"Standard Roman tactics, missile attacks." One of those missiles caught an unfortunate who was trying to put out a fire, blowing them to pieces. "But we're losing men for no gain."

"While Chaldea didn't walk into the zones I prepared around the main roads, the Romans will still have to come up if they want to reclaim this place. So take heart and keep on the defenses." Unfortunately, though he was nearby, Assassin wasn't at his best matchup against a small group as the Chaldea team.

Nodding, Saber turned away. "Take cover! Let it burn, but stay safe!"

"They're not responding," were Chloe's first words as she returned. "Maybe they think that if we destroy enough, it won't be of any value to the Romans either?"

"Despite the size, it's possible they are treating it more like an expendable outpost, or fort," Georgios thought for a second. "They either have a well-thought out plan for this scenario, or they are simply hoping to draw us into a street fight to reclaim the city."

"They might simply have realized that any attempt to leave would only leave them more vulnerable," was Gudao's opinion on the matter. "If it was a Roman army with ballistae, those would hardly be able to shoot someone leaving via the northern gates."

"The firepower of Blackbeard's (Queen Anne's Revenge) would have been useful here." Gudako turned southward as though it was possible to transport the Servant across the the length of Italy; unfortunately, Chaldea's Command Spells were not up to such a task.

"Even with that, we'd still be playing according to the enemy's plan," Jeanne pointed out. "This situation is very unlike Orleans in that we don't even have a lead on the mastermind, and they would be making full use of the forces historically present, regardless of any other special reinforcements."

"Hanging around to fight out the Second Punic War will likely not resolve the Singularity either, unless we are against an incompetent who couldn't make use of all the time and space to twist things further out of the proper historical path," Artoria agreed. "Ironically, it seems like the best approach is to play the delayer; make the Grail holder employ assets that will reveal useful information about them."

Kojirou did not hesitate to make his disagreement known, but Chloe and Georgios agreed with the Princess Knight. After considering the additional factors that had led to Fabius' early rise, the two Masters followed the majority in concluding that convincing the Romans to stall against the presumptive Gaul-Carthaginian invasion, with Chaldean interventions of course, would be ideal.

"Cheer up Saber," Scathach tried for a reassuring tone, though if anything it sounded eager. "After all, as the rapid response force, it will surely come down to us relieving some garrison against determined attackers."

"Since I have (Independent Action), perhaps staying here to poke at them while you go south might yield some results? They can't just sit there forever," Chloe suggested, but rhe Masters immediately dismissed the idea.

"Putting aside the fact that your Mana rating means you wouldn't have enough magical energy to keep using exploding arrows on them, if the enemy has a capable Archer you might easily be taken down. Or directly overwhelmed due to being solo," Gudako said firmly.

"In hindsight, what were we really expecting? An army of humans we could potentially take out, but using Anti-Army Noble Phantasms would be quite the drain. It's a bit telling that Fabius not only handed us a map and said to do whatever, but he didn't even try to meet us, quite the opposite." Gudao's observation met with several nods. "He's had a week to get everything in order, likely a few more days by the time we get there; perhaps it's time to speak with either him or that prophet."

With that the group turned south and made haste for Roma. Moving with the Servants' speed and the help of mounts, the journey would take only a couple days.

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Additional information:

Cat duel, as in when you see two cats trying to grab or swipe at one another very rapidly. Since Kiyohime remained sitting down during the exchange, she might have had disadvantage on the opposed skill check.