Sea of Monsters Chapter 3:
A Dangerous Encounter
Day 4
The sun started to rise, and everyone was already at work. Last night's encounter with the Sea Kings was all that anyone could talk about. After the pod arrived that night, the crew could only stare in awe as they sang and swam alongside them for a while. It was only a couple of hours in the night after the curiosity of the Sea Kings were sated, and they swam off. However, Mashu and Okita managed to get many amazing pictures of the large Phantasmal Beasts throughout that small window of time. Alexander was up in the crow's nest looking for anything out of the ordinary. The Rider's eyes widened as he thought to have seen something in the corner of his right eye, and turned right to check it out. The moment he turned, he smiled and cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Land ho!"
Everyone dropped what they were doing and looked up to the Rider as he pointed towards the island on his right.
"Great job, Alexander!" Ushiwakamaru shouted.
"Alright Bombe, turn to starboard!" Drake shouted.
Everyone braced themselves as Bombe turned the ship to its right to sail towards the island. Ritsuka turned on his communicator to speak to Roman, with the doctor already prepared for contact.
"How long until we reach the island?" Ritsuka asked.
"About half an hour." Roman answered. "I know that you guys need to be protected, but I must suggest you leave some of the Servants on the ship in case it is also attacked."
"I have just the team in mind for going to the island." Tatsuko said. "Along with Mashu, we should take Alexander and Okita."
"That's a good team set up there." Ritsuka said.
"Mind if I tag along then?" Drake asked.
"Are you sure it is safe for you to come with us?" Mashu asked.
Drake smiled. "Are there any adults for the ground team?"
"I'm an adult." Okita said.
"Good to know there's at least one." Drake said. "However, I think two should be the minimum for this."
"What makes you think that?" Tatsuko asked.
"The majority of you are close range fighters." Drake said. "I have my pistols, so with that I can at least support you guys from a distance. Besides, I'd like to check out the island for myself."
"She does have a point with long range support." Roman said. "And since Mashu has Drake's Grail, then it would be better for her to come along so she can get a boost in power."
The group nodded and looked at Drake, who grinned openly. "Okay, when we get close enough, we're taking the longboat!"
The crew of the Golden Hind immediately got to work as they sailed the ship towards the island, all the while talking to each other. As they did so, Medusa and Medea felt a jolt hit their spines. The two women turned to look behind them with widened eyes, only to see nothing but the sea. There was nothing in sight, but it just made them even more uneasy. They turned to look at the crew and the rest of their team and saw that they didn't notice their reaction. The two women did not even look at each other. All they could think about was what they felt at that moment.
Something was out there.
(Thirty minutes later)
The going-away team made landfall on the island, and parked the small boat close to the shore. The Chaldeans and Drake took a look at the island now that they could get a better look at it, and noticed how it was mainly full of hills and forest. Before they could explore, Ritsuka went back to the boat to pick up something, causing everyone to raise their eyebrows.
"Senpai, why did you grab your bag?" Mashu asked.
"I just want to have it with me in case I need it." The black haired boy answered.
"What's in it?" Okita asked.
"Just some gear and my journal." Ritsuka answered.
"Good to know you came prepared." Drake said. "Now let's get moving. We need to see if this place has any clues."
The Chaldeans nodded and walked alongside the captain as they headed into the forest. Not long afterwards, Alexander was chosen to take point and walk in front in the event they were ambushed. While they were walking, Mashu came up to Drake with a calm gaze.
"What's up?" Drake asked.
"I just wanted to give you this." Mashu said. The Shielder reached within her shield, and handed Drake her Holy Grail back.
"I believe I told you that you guys won it fair and square." Drake said.
"This Grail comes from this era, so we will not be taking it with us." Mashu said. "I am also giving it to you for now in the event we come across powerful foes."
"So, is this a permanent exchange?" Drake asked.
"I was thinking about it, and I think that you should keep it." Mashu said. "You did own it before we defeated you."
"Okay, well let me make a proposal then." Drake said. "How about when we're not fighting, you hold onto that goblet. When the time comes for us to fight, then just throw it to me, and I'll hand it back when we're done."
"I….why do you want us to hold onto it at all?" Mashu asked.
"Because we're partners. We sail under the same flag, and eat and party together, so that makes us allies." Drake said. "Besides, I trust you to protect it better than I ever could."
"I am honored to have such trust placed on me." Mashu said. "I accept your terms."
"Good to hear." Drake said.
Mashu's communicator beeped for a second before Davinci appeared on the screen. Drake raised an eyebrow before snapping her fingers in realization.
"I think I saw you on this little thing before." Drake said. "You were on this when I first met everyone and last night."
"That's correct." The Caster said. "Now I believe we haven't been properly introduced yet. I'm Leonardo Davinci. And like everyone aside from the Chaldean Trio, I'm a Heroic Spirit. I actually died twenty years before you were born as well. So surely you must know who I am."
Drake raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of you."
Everyone went silent in shock as they turned to look at Drake. The only sound that could be heard was Roman's laughter from behind the brown haired Caster. Davinci's eye twitched in shock as she stared at the pink haired woman.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "You never heard of the genius who created the Mona Lisa? Or came up with the concept of flying vehicles, parachutes, double barreled hulls?"
"Nope. Still don't know who you are." Drake answered.
"Damn, that actually stings….." Davinci muttered.
"Well in any case, I assume you wanted to tell me something." Drake said. "So what did you need to talk about?"
"Actually it's more of a question I have." Davinci said. "Ever since you acquired that Holy Grail, did you ever have a wish? Say for example, wishing for all the treasures in the world?"
"I'd never wish for something like that." Drake said. "I am a pirate after all!"
"Okay, you have a point." Davinci said. "Then you must have only used it to procure food, water and safety when we met you."
"Huh, you might be onto something there." Drake said.
"Of course that also begs to question why you decided to "celebrate" on land, instead of at sea." Okita said. "While I can tell that you and your crew were telling the truth about just wanting to celebrate getting your treasures, I can't help but think there was more to it than that."
"Aye, you're a smart one." Drake said. "Then let me reveal this fact to you all. If my suspicions are correct, then you all aren't the first Heroic Spirits I encountered here."
"Really?" Mashu asked. "What do you mean by this?"
"A week after gaining this cup, my crew and I were attacked by some Heroic Spirits." Drake said. "After we learned we couldn't destroy their ship with our cannons, we decided to escape."
Everyone looked at the captain in shock. If what she said was true, then that means they might be seeing them sometime.
"How did you escape?" Tatsuko asked.
"Well as luck would have it, a storm appeared, and lost them by maneuvering through a massive whirlpool." Drake answered.
"Can you tell us any details about them?" Alexander asked. "For example, what do they look like? Or even the ship's name?"
"Unfortunately I didn't get a good look at them." Drake said. "The storm was already approaching when they attacked, so visibility became an issue. But I did get to hear what their captain, or at least I think it was him, sounded like."
"What did he sound like?" Ritsuka asked.
"He had this deep voice." Drake said. "But he was definitely a…strange one."
"What do you mean?" Okita asked.
Drake clicked her tongue. "I'm not repeating anything he said. Just remembering it pisses me off."
"You don't have to." Tatsuko said. "And who knows? Maybe they gave up?"
"Perhaps, but I want to change the subject." Drake said. "I'd actually like to know more about you guys."
"Well we can't tell you everything about us." Ritsuka said. "We respect each other's privacy too much for that. But we can tell you a little bit about ourselves the best we can."
Drake smiled. "Aye, that sounds like a good proposition. Now how about….Alexander, right? You go first."
Alexander nodded. "Well, I'll just do my best. My life after my youth is a little hazy, so I can't say for certain after that."
Drake nodded back. "Fine by me. Just tell me what you know."
Alexander smiled. "Okay, here goes nothing."
(Thirty minutes later)
"Damn, so you're actually Alexander the Great." Drake said. "Well, the person who would BECOME him."
"Pretty much." Alexander said. "And that's pretty much my life story before I became the man history knew me as."
"Well how old are you?" Drake asked. "In this form, I mean."
"I'm sixteen."
Everyone's jaws nearly dropped to the ground at the statement. Alexander could only sigh as he saw the looks on their faces. "Yeah I know. I'm much older than my face suggests…"
"Yeah, no kidding." Drake said. "Now I believe you're called Okita, right? Tell me about yourself."
"Well I'm a fairly new Heroic Spirit as I was born a century before Ritsuka and Tatsuko." Okita said. "In fact the three of us are from the same country."
"I guess that means you two already knew about her before she came to your group." Drake said as she pointed to the Masters.
"Yeah she's pretty famous in Japan." Ritsuka said.
"So why is she so young?" Drake asked. "She doesn't look like an adult."
Okita opened her mouth to speak, but Mashu raised a hand and cut her off. "There is something ahead."
"Do we need to turn around?" Tatsuko asked.
"I do not know." Mashu answered.
"Then let's see what it is before we decide anything." Ritsuka said. Everyone carefully made their way to where Mashu pointed until they were right in front of what the Shielder sensed. The moment they laid eyes on the point of interest, they were immediately in awe.
Right in front of them was a beautiful oasis. Its waters were deep and were nearly crystal clear. A large waterfall cascaded down to the water down below. Schools of fish swam around, ignorant of the Chaldeans and Drake looking upon their territory.
"Is the oasis safe?" Alexander asked. "Or should we be careful?"
"Most likely." Davinci said. "I'm not picking anything up from the scanners, so unless there's something dangerous at the bottom, then it doesn't seem dangerous."
"You know I've always wondered about something." Tatsuko said. "How is it whenever there's an oasis or a pond smack dab on an island there's always fish in them?"
"Oh wow you're right!" Okita said. "I never realized that whenever I saw a movie but they usually have fish in them."
"What's even stranger is that these fish are freshwater fish." Drake said.
"Well there's that waterfall above." Alexander replied. "Maybe that's how the freshwater is brought into the oasis."
"That still does not explain how freshwater or fish can be out here on a deserted island." Tatsuko said.
"It could be that this Singularity has something to do with this." Mashu said.
Okita raised an eyebrow. Someone was being incredibly quiet. Ritsuka would usually have something to say, so for there to be nothing but silence is unheard of. The Saber turned to look, only to widen her eyes in surprise.
Ritsuka was nowhere to be found.
"Ritsuka?" Okita said.
Everyone looked at the Saber, only to realize what was wrong.
"Senpai?!"
"Ritsuka?! Where are you?!" Tatsuko shouted.
"YAAAAHOOOOOOO!"
Everyone's eyes widened as they heard a loud cheer ring through their ears. Not a second later, the source of the sound, still cheering rushed passed them in a blur and leapt into the air.
"CANNON BALL!"
SPLASH!
Everyone didn't have time to react as the water from the splash hit them all over. They waited for the source to come up for air, and when it did, their answers were given.
The one who leapt into the water like a maniac was none other than Ritsuka. The girls looked back and saw his bag sitting on the tree.
"What are you doing?" Tatsuko asked as she tried hiding her amused grin.
"Hey don't judge me." Ritsuka said playfully. "When I see a body of water like this I HAVE to dive in!"
Tatsuko leaned close to Drake with a mischievous grin. "I'd never thought I'd say this, but a guy actually managed to get me wet."
Drake snickered at the comment. Mashu, on the other hand, looked at all the water that was splashed on her. It would seem that she was absolutely wet…..in more ways than one.
"Hey Ritsuka, are you still eating properly?" Okita asked. "Because you still look pretty thin."
"Actually I gained about twelve pounds." Ritsuka answered.
Silence filled the air. The Chaldeans stared at him with horrified expressions. They never saw him shirtless before, so if this was him after only gaining twelve pounds….
Drake, on the other hand, could not help but raise an eyebrow. "Can someone tell me what's going on here?"
Okita leaned in and whispered into the pirate's ear. Drake then briefly widened her eyes for a moment before staring at the black haired Master. "Damn kid, you're actually pretty tall for someone who hasn't had a decent meal until a few months ago!"
"Actually I'm pretty average height wise." Ritsuka said.
"Not really." Drake said. "For someone who's been underfed for most of his life, you're pretty much taller than normal."
Ritsuka shrugged. "Maybe I have some more growing to do. But in the meantime, I have something that must be done."
Everyone watched as the male Master dunked under the water for a moment, only to come back up and perform a backstroke. The Chaldeans and Drake walked closer to the water as they watched him dive under the water again, and rise up and perform a sidestroke, then a butterfly stroke. The black haired Master merely hummed to himself as he dove down, twirled in the water, and dove back up, almost splashing everyone again. Fou got off of Mashu's shoulder, and shaked the water off himself and wagged his tail watching Ritsuka swim.
"Fou, Fou!"
Ritsuka smiled as he dove under, came back up and backflipped into the water again. The male Master came back up and smirked.
"Now you're just being a showoff!" Tatsuko said.
"Is that jealousy I hear?" Ritsuka asked teasingly.
Mashu couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help but feel happy seeing Ritsuka acting so happy and carefree. That is, until she saw something upon his left pectoral. It was a large, black mark. But that wasn't what made her curious, instead it was the shape that grabbed her attention.
It was the face of a strange, draconic looking lion. It's eyes staring ominously at her. Its mane looked as if it was made of fire. Its horns curved backwards and reached the back of the mane.
"Senpai, what is that on your chest?" Mashu asked.
"What, this?" Ritsuka asked. The male Master looked down and saw where the Shielder was looking. "Oh that? That's just my birthmark."
"Really? It looks too detailed to be a birthmark." Mashu said. "In fact, the coloring is not normal for birthmarks."
"Yeah, it actually looks more like a tattoo." Tatsuko said.
"Hey I have had this since I was born." Ritsuka said. "In fact, I'll ask Medea to prove it by looking through some of my memories."
"That won't be necessary." Davinci said from the comms. "I took a look at your body scans and it definitely reads as some sort of birthmark."
"Then why in the hell does it look like a tattoo?" Henry asked from behind the Caster.
"I have no idea." Davinci said. "It's probably that something went wrong during his birth, and the skin pigments didn't work properly."
The group then returned their gaze upon Ritsuka. The Chaldeans and Drake stared at the birthmark with interest. The male Master simply blushed. "Can you guys stop staring? It's making me feel dirty…"
Tatsuko grinned mischievously. "Well isn't this a nice surprise? You went from a confident swimmer to a blushing schoolgirl in less than two minutes."
Ritsuka rolled his eyes in annoyance before he looked down. The male Master raised an eyebrow, causing everyone to stare at him curiously.
"What's wrong?" Drake asked.
"There's something down there."
"Is it something alive?" Alexander asked. "Is there something moving?"
Ritsuka shook his head. "No, it's neither."
Not a second later, the male Master sunk into the water, causing everyone to have a small panic attack. The group looked down to check up on him as he remained submerged in the waters below, and saw that the black haired teen was staring at something. The Chaldeans and Drake stared intently at the male Master and whatever he was looking at. This did not last, however, as Ritsuka swam up, and shot his head out of the water, splashing everyone again, and getting everyone soaked again.
"Senpai, can you please stop getting me wet?" Mashu asked.
(OC: Are we immature and have our heads in the gutter? Yes. Are we still going to milk this joke for all it's worth? Also yes!)
"Sorry, I didn't know you'd all be that close to the edge." Ritsuka said. The male Master turned to Drake. "Can you help me with something? I don't think I'll be able to do this alone."
The pirate captain nodded and proceeded to hand over her hat, pistols and cutlass to Okita. The pink haired woman then took off her coat, much to Tatsuko's delight as she ogled the captain, and stared at the sleeveless white shirt that covered everything but Drake's shoulders and arms. The Chaldeans then moved out of the way to give the pirate some room as she dove into the water. Ritsuka dunked down into the water to lead the pirate captain to where he was looking.
"I wonder what he found down there." Mashu said.
"Probably a clue regarding this place." Alexander said.
"Or maybe Drake just wanted to get away from Tatsuko's gaze." Davinci said jokingly.
"Hey, I can't help it!" Tatsuko shouted. Not a second later, Drake and Ritsuka came back up for air, and threw something heavy onto the bank. Everyone else stared in shock as they saw a large chest sitting right in front of them.
"You made the right call asking for help." Drake said to the male Master. "You'd probably not have gotten it out of there by yourself."
"Thanks." Ritsuka said. The male Master then felt more eyes on him, and looked at his fellow Chaldeans as they stared at him. "Is there something wrong?"
"Not really." Alexander said. "It's just that we're wondering why your swimsuit is so big and baggy since it reaches your shins."
"It's for comfort." Ritsuka said.
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Comfort?"
"Yes. It's for comfort." Ritsuka answered.
"Ohhhhh! I see what you mean." Alexander said.
"Okay, time to cut the chatter and open this thing up." Drake said. Not even bothering to be subtle, Drake knocked the lock of the chest, and opened the lid. The moment everyone saw what was inside, Drake grinned before hollering and cheering in celebration.
Inside the chest was vast amounts of gold and jewels.
"Way to go kid!" Drake said as she patted Ritsuka on the back. "We have to get this back to the ship!"
"Okay, but how?" Okita asked.
"I shall put it in my shield for safe keeping." Mashu said. The lilac haired girl opened up a large compartment in her shield, and shoved the large chest inside it.
"Okay, let's head back to the ship." Drake said. "I think this would be good enough for a journey here."
The Chaldeans nodded and followed Drake away from the Oasis, and back from where they came from.
Unbeknownst to them, two figures stood atop the waterfall out of view, watching them leave. The two of them nodded to each other, and decided to stalk the group.
(30 minutes later)
After Ritsuka and Drake dried off, and with the male Master having put on his Mystic Code once more, the group headed out back to the small boat. Along the way, the group discussed what they would do with their share of treasure after Drake split it up among them with Mashu's help. It was during this talk that they neared the edge of the forest, with their boat in view.
However, something caused them to stop before they stepped onto the beach.
The communicator buzzed to life to show Roman's face, but the doctor did not look up from the screen he was looking at. "Servants are inbound."
"How many?" Ritsuka asked.
"Two." Roman answered. A rustling behind them caused the Chaldean Servants and Drake to draw their weapons. The rustling continued causing them unease. Everyone raised their weapons as the rustling grew more frantic and increased in intensity. Soon a small blur shot out of the bushes and ran away for a moment before falling to the ground to catch its breath.
It was a simple monkey. Minor cuts could be seen across its arms and legs, but nothing life threatening.
"What could have done this?" Mashu asked.
"I don't know." Okita said. Ritsuka took the monkey in his arms, and listened to its breathing.
"The monkey's going to be fine, but I think I should heal it before releasing it back."
No sooner did he say that, Mashu's eyes widened as she saw a shard of ice shoot out from the bushes and towards the two Masters. The Shielder rushed to their side and blocked the strike, shattering the ice.
"Well well. Looks like someone has good reflexes."
Everyone watched as a lone woman stepped out of the bushes. She was beautiful with long flowing blonde hair tied in a short ponytail. She had steely gray eyes with a hint of malice. She wore the pelt of wolves across her body and clothes. In her hands was an ornate wooden staff with runes written across it.
"Surrender." She said. "Do that, and I will spare you and the men of that ship."
"Whoa, whoa, can't we talk about this?" Tatsuko asked.
"Surrender and then we can talk." The woman said.
"Not until we know why we have to surrender." Drake replied.
The woman snapped her fingers. Not a second later a loud roar rang through the forest. A large figure leapt to her side and stared at the Chaldeans.
The figure was a large, muscular man. He had short flowing red hair and a beard. His upper torso was bare except for the bear pelt that covered him, showing his hairy chest. Two one-handed axes were strung on his hips. On his back was a shield, and what looked like a bigger axe.
"Does this help?" The woman asked.
"Not one bit." Drake answered. "The answer is no."
"Then it's a fight then." The woman answered.
The man reached behind him, and took out his two-handed axe. Mashu noted its appearance. It was large, with two bladed sides, with stone like protrusions jutting out of the blades. But the most unsettling thing about it was the veiny marks surrounding the axe itself. It looked like…..
Mashu's eyes widened. "I know who this is."
"Really?" Tatsuko asked.
"The king of the Vikings who wields a bloody axe. This is Eric Bloodaxe, the Bloodaxe King!"
"Who?" Ritsuka asked.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the male Master in shock. Ritsuka stared at them in confusion. "What?"
"Dude, you're the history buff here!" Tatsuko said. "I might not know who he is either but how do you not know?!"
"Hey, just because I know a lot of history doesn't mean I know all of human history!" Ritsuka countered.
Eric roared in anger and charged at the male Master. Mashu gasped and blocked his strike, but nearly buckled from the impact.
"I'll make sure you remember me well and good, boy!"
Drake shot at Eric, forcing the man to jump back a bit. Alexander and Mashu took the opportunity to attack the blonde woman, but the woman shot two familiar curses upon Mashu and Alexander. Ritsuka stared in shock as he saw the familiar colorations.
"That's Gandr!"
Mashu and Alexander immediately deflected both curses, causing the woman to chuckle. "I had a feeling you two would be trouble."
Not a second later, Eric Bloodaxe snarled and swung his axe at the two Chaldeans, forcing them to jump back.
"How about you handle those two, darling." The woman said. Eric Bloodaxe grinned and gave a small nod before attacking Mashu and Alexander once more. As that was happening, Ritsuka and Tatsuko stared at the woman in confusion. The orange haired Master widened her eyes in realization.
"That man's your husband, isn't he?" Tatsuko asked.
"Well, aren't you a sharp one?" The woman said sarcastically. "Yes, I am the Berserker's wife."
"Berserker….." Ritsuka muttered. "Then who ARE you?"
The woman grinned. "I am Gunnhild, Caster."
As that was happening, Eric Bloodaxe kept swinging his axe at Mashu's shield. The lilac haired girl tried to keep from buckling, but each blow was as if being hit by logs. Alexander leapt at the Berserker, raising his sword to strike. Eric Bloodaxe simply smacked him with the back of his fist, knocking the red haired Rider down for a moment. However, this gave Mashu the opportunity to rise up a bit, and smack the Berserker with her shield. The Berserker grunted as he flew and hit the trees behind him.
Before he could regain the offense, Mashu and Alexander charged at him together to try and take him down. However, Eric Bloodaxe blocked both of their strikes with his shield. The Berserker knocked them back onto the ground, and walked towards them.
"You sure know how to use that shield of yours, girl." He said. "However, you still won't be able to keep me down."
"Why are you doing this?" Alexander asked.
"Because you have something we want." Eric Bloodaxe answered.
"What is it that you want?" Mashu asked.
"That chest you all found." Eric Bloodaxe answered. "We want it."
"I don't think so, what's-your-face!"
A blast of magic was shot towards the Berserker. The blast hit him in the face, but the sensation was like that of a mosquito stinging its victim. He turned around and saw Tatsuko running towards Alexander and Mashu to help them.
"Sorry I'm late." Tatsuko said. "Ritsuka and the others are going to hold off Gunnhild as long as they can while we deal with this guy."
As she said that, Okita lunged at Gunnhild. The Caster conjured a barrier to stop the Saber's attack from landing, but Okita was quicker, and left a light cut on the Caster's cheek. The Caster smirked as she vanished into thin air, shocking Okita.
"What the hell?" The Saber muttered. A Gandr blast knocked the Saber to the ground. Okita, Ritsuka and Drake watched in shock as multiple Gunnhilds walked out of the trees.
"You are incredibly foolish in thinking you all could face me with a pathetic excuse for a Servant such as her." Gunnhild said.
Drake shot her pistols at one of the copies, but Gunnhild raised her hand, and stopped the bullets in their tracks. With a wave of her hand, she shot the bullets back, with both projectiles grazing Ritsuka's left leg. The male Master grunted in pain as he dropped to his knee, clutching his wounded leg.
"Senpai!" Mashu shouted. The Shielder gasped as Eric Bloodaxe lunged at her and Alexander. The Berserker swung his axe at the lilac haired girl, cutting into her leg. The Shielder hissed in pain as Alexander rushed to face the Berserker, only for the Rider to get sliced in the arm. The Berserker then grabbed the Rider, and threw him into Tatsuko, knocking both down to the ground. As they slowly got back up, both they and Mashu watched in shock as they saw the axe starting to glow.
It was drinking the blood that was spilled.
Drake also saw this and clicked her tongue. They were not doing so well here….
"You really should have agreed to our terms." Gunnhild said. "Now we'll just have to pry that chest from that poor girl after we're done killing you. And when we're done, we'll just put her out of her misery."
Ritsuka's eyes widened in anger. The male Master slowly tried getting up, struggling because of the wounds on his leg. "You're not going to lay a finger on her!"
"My my, you're a bold one to talk back to me like that." Gunnhild said.
"He's become braver, that's for certain."
The Chaldean's and Drake looked on in surprise as Dragon Tooth Warriors appeared behind the copies of Gunnhild,and cut them down with ease. The blonde Caster gasped as butterflies appeared out of nowhere, only for Medea to appear before her. The blue haired Caster shot a bolt of lightning at Gunnhild, knocking her down.
"Having that Berserker take on the two Servants with any semblance of Magic Resistance was a smart move." Medea said. "However, you underestimated our numbers."
Gunnhild gasped as she turned to see Eric Bloodaxe roaring in frustration. Ushiwakamaru stopped him from killing Alexander. Medusa then kicked the Berserker in the jaw, but Eric Bloodaxe was not fazed. However Medusa used this moment to wrap her chains around him, and stabbed the daggers to the ground to pin him down. This gave them all time to try to run, or in Mashu's case, hobble, back to the others. This didn't last, however, and Eric Bloodaxe broke free, giving chase. The Berserker was closing in on Mashu when Medea shot a pillar of ice at him, knocking the viking down.
Medea grinned as she looked back at the subdued Gunnhilde. The blonde Caster seethed in anger as the magic barrier prevented her from moving.
"That'll slow you down for now." Medea said. "Now, if you don't mind, we'll be off."
Gunnhild could only watch as the Chaldeans and Drake got on the lifeboat, and teleported away.
The lifeboat hit the deck of the ship with a loud thud. The crew of the Golden Hind rushed to help, giving support to the injured members and sat them down.
"Thanks for the save, guys." Tatsuko said. "Especially you, Medea."
"How did you know I spearheaded that?" Medea asked.
"I had a feeling it was you considering how you were handling everything." Tatsuko answered.
Medea smiled as she proceeded to heal Mashu and Alexander of their injuries. As that was going on, Ritsuka took a deep breath as he applied a healing spell on his own leg and the monkey. He then looked at Drake with a knowing glance. The pirate captain returned his knowing gaze. "We should check out that chest again to see what exactly they wanted."
"I agree." Ritsuka said.
Drake turned to the crew with a stern gaze. "Hoist the anchor, we need to get the hell out of here!"
The crew immediately went to work, setting the sails and bringing the anchor out of the water. The moment they were about to leave, Medusa felt a chill up her spine. The Rider looked back, but saw nothing there again.
"What's wrong Medusa?" Mashu asked as Medea applied a healing spell on her leg. Medusa looked at the vast ocean for a moment, before shaking her head.
"It's nothing." She said. "Just my imagination."
The Rider went back to check on the injured Ritsuka, and gave him some water to soothe his throat.
However, it wasn't her imagination. Out in the distance, out of her view in a small boat was someone staring at them.
It was a tall young man with short dark red hair. He wore a black cloak, with a dark gray mask with black patterns. Inside the cloak was silver Greek armor.
He was unsure if they spotted him almost an hour before, but now he was certain that they hadn't and were just imagining things. The moment he saw Medusa, the man took a deep breath.
"It seems things will become complicated after all."
The man pulled out a helm. "I should probably keep my distance for now, and gather more information on what they're doing."
The man put on his helm, and became invisible. He did not want them to see him, or the boat so as to not create any unnecessary violence if Medusa saw him.
"I swear on my name of Perseus, I will get to the bottom of this."
OC: And once again we have more surprises!
CV: And not only for the readers, but for me as well.
OC: Yup, not only did we bring in Gunnhild, but I decided to surprise Vlad by bringing in Perseus! So for those who knew the original draft of Prototype….SURPRISE!
CV: Medusa's arch nemesis himself, you know him, you may love him, you may hate him, it's Perseus!
OC: But is he a friend? Or foe? A question that will be answered at some point! But onto the chapter. So not a lot happened in Scene One, but that was more or less intentional. We just needed to set up the plot of scenes two and three by taking things slow, and I think it worked well. As for those confused by Medea and Medusa sensing something in that scene. It wasn't the enemy Servants. It was Perseus, but he was hiding pretty far away with his helm. He didn't see Medusa there yet because of an angle at which he was looking, but he was studying the ship.
CV: One could say he was studying the new arrivals to see how to better proceed in the future.
OC: Indeed. And he wasn't the only one making interesting observations. We also had Ritsuka finally showing off his swimming chops! To be perfectly honest, we just wanted to include that scene not just to give him a chance to shine with finding that treasure chest, but we also wanted it to be funny in that he decided to be a bit of a show off and basically be a little smug with his swimming skills.
CV: Everyone needs to be cocky at least once lol. And needless to say, he got the others impressed.
OC: And more importantly, getting Mashu wet lol. Yeah yeah, we know it's a stupid joke, but like I said before, we're milking it for all it's worth because of context!
CV: True, it was very funny.
OC: And we also got to see him shirtless, and damn, if Okita's statement is anything to go by, he's still not out of the woods yet regarding his thin frame. Then again he still has room to grow.
CV: The boy's slowly getting better lol.
OC: Not only that, but we also got another interesting feature. And that is his….pretty detailed birthmark. That was actually Vlad's idea in that he would have one, but I decided on the appearance, and the color. We wanted to give him something to stand out and pop, and having a birthmark like that was a way to do so. Especially with the whole lion motif he's got going on.
CV: A special birthmark is always cool to see isn't it?
OC: Definitely. That and his reaction to them ogling him lol. Now as for the chest, yes it does have important information regarding the main story, so all this chapter was, was to set that up in order to break it all down.
CV: An entire chapter for that lol. That's how important that thing is.
OC: Yup. But it also came with its own set of problems.
CV: It always does, doesn't it?
OC: And it came in the form of only one Servant. Gunnhild!
CV: I feel like we're forgetting someone… Bloodyspear maybe?.. Oh yeah, Eric Bloodaxe. Sorry for that.
OC: Who?
CV: My initial reaction. Alright, jokes aside we decided to change a bit of his appearance and character. For one, he can actually speak with his wife here instead of just grunting.
OC: Well technically he CAN speak without her. The problem is that she's a jealous woman, so he PRETENDS to do that in order to keep her from throwing a hissy fit. Then again she somehow speaks for him according to his profile…Honestly they really didn't think him through since they can't decide which one is real. As for his appearance, Vlad actually brought it up to me a couple of days ago in that he wanted his appearance to not be bland and stick out. So he decided he should wear animal pelts and what not. I took it a step further by giving him smaller axes to use for speed while the bigger axe would be for multiple opponents.
CV: And also making his titular bloodaxe a bit bigger so he would two hand it, and add that little bit more strength to every attack.
OC: And then there's Gunnhild. I know she doesn't seem the jealous type here, but I decided that it's because since she's here, she doesn't get jealous as much because she's with her husband. The problem with how she's "handled" in FGO even though she's not a Servant, is that they make her this extremely jealous woman, and though it was a funny line, it also makes it difficult to implement that here in a fight since Eric is protecting her from Mashu and Alexander. So we are toning DOWN the jealousy for now in order to make her her own character. And boy she does not mess around.
CV: Sadistic and powerful, a very dangerous combo.
OC: Too bad she ran into the one person who could make her look like a child. Medea showed just how much more powerful her magic is, and proved why messing with her isn't a good idea. Considering Gunnhild just encountered a Mage from the Age of Gods, it's only natural she'd take the L. And before anyone asks, no, Gunnhild did not hurt the monkey, nor did her husband. The monkey was hurt by another animal and just jumped in front of them before they could ambush the Chaldeans. They didn't attack after that because they were just surprised about a random animal running in their direction.
CV: She'll have to wait for her strengthening quest to get back at Medea.
OC: That is if she's ever implemented in FGO. Which at this point she won't be. She's been forgotten like that….what's his name again? Edric Redspear? Eric Bloodsword?
CV: Lmao, good luck she can't reach here or she would try to kill us for making fun of him.
OC: It's his fault for being so forgettable! But let's move on shall we? Now I know people will be surprised for Perseus of all people to be introduced here when he was only a concept/storyboard idea for Prototype. Well the thing is that Okeanos had loads of Greek Servants, that one more couldn't hurt. And so I kept him a secret from Vlad the entire week. Gunnhild was also meant to be a surprise for him, but he mentioned her for one of Eric's ascensions, so I had to tell him early that I thought of making her her own Servant to give the enemy factions more fire power. If there's one thing the villains lacked in Okeanos, it was numbers.
CV: My original idea was for Gunnhild to appear alongside Eric as a spirit, for the general idea see Fallen Berkut in FEH, but the idea of making her a Servant is much better.
OC: And it also makes her her own character. Now I know that the fight we made doesn't make her seem impressive, considering we showed Eric more, but that's because Gunnhild is such an unknown in Fate because they never tell us what she's capable of aside from her being a powerful witch. We had to make some stuff up to make her seem credible, but we also were getting tired, and needed to wrap up the fight so we could get the Chaldeans out of there. She and Eric will get another chance to show their mettle again. We promise.
CV: Exactly, it will be just a little bit more.
OC: Oh would you look at the time. Thank you for reading this week's chapter of Chaldean Chronicles. Please stay tuned next week as we go more into the main story, with a very special surprise. OwenChaser and CosmicVlad, signing off.