There was noise in his ears, as his senses began to come back to him. He felt a soft feeling from the back of his head and below his neck. It honestly made him not want to move. He forced his eyelids to open and blinked a few times as the light and his surroundings began to enter his vision. He noticed a red figure in the white room that he was still processing. His view finally came into focus and he was now able to identify clearly the familiar red attire of the figure and their pink hair. It was Nightingale, holding a tablet screen that she was tapping on as she faced left from where he was.

He saw the sides of his bunk bed as his eyes observed the room. The nurse stopped what she was doing and turned her head towards him as she noticed his head moving around. She gave a smile as she spoke. "Good afternoon, Mr. Ritsuka."

Ritsuka tried to sit up as he slowly raised his upper body, and looked around the empty medical room of Chaldea. Nightingale walked to his side and gently pushed him back on the bed. "Easy, you suffered a serious concussion. Tell me, are you feeling any pain? "

Ritsuka turned to look at the Berserker as she put her gloved hand on his forehead, measuring where his injury had been. The Servant had come to be in his service 3 days after his adventure into the North American continent. "I got hurt?"

"Yes." She answered as she retracted her hand. "After you and your team rayshifted back, they and Dr. Romani brought you to the infirmary. You were bleeding from your head when you arrived, apparently you were hit with a large rock. But luckily, you did not suffer any serious brain damage. Once we had you in bed, Medea Lily came to heal you with her Noble Phantasm and you were as good as new."

Ritsuka gave a nod as he heard her explanation.

"You did not answer my question." Nightingale said as she crossed her arms.

"Hehe. Sorry." The Chaldean master gave an awkward smile. "I think I'm okay, I don't feel any pain."

The nurse gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Pain Breaker did its job then. Perhaps there is nothing to worry about."

Ritsuka put a hand on his head and gave a short laugh as he did.

Nightingale looked at him confused. "What?"

The Chaldean rested his hand back on the bed and looked at her. "Just thinking how this is another near death scenario that I've managed to get through."

The Berserker closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes, from what I've seen, this is almost becoming a habit of your adventures."

"Haha! Yeah. It's a hard road to walk on for sure, but it's one worth going through." As he spoke, Ritsuka looked at the command seals on his right arm, the tether that binds his will with his Servants. And something he didn't really consider a burden.

"Of course, as any righteous cause is. But..." She lowered her hands to her sides and looked at Ritsuka with a frown. "Please... try to avoid serious danger when you can. It does me no good to see you hurt. Or anyone else, for that matter."

Ritsuka gave an understanding look. "Of course. I promise to try my best to avoid doing anything unnecessarily risky."

The Berserker gave a smile again, trusting him to keep his word. "That's the best I can ask for."

Ritsuka got up to sit on the bed once he finally got to asking the question that was on his mind. "So, what happened during the mission once I was out?"

"That is a question for your visitors." Nightingale said as she walked to the door of the medical room.

"Visitors?"

Door-servos wired as the door was opened by Nightingale. Soon after, the familiar appearance of his kouhai came into view as she entered the room in her casual outfit. She looked at him relieved. Smiling, as all her worries washed away. "Senpai, you're okay!"

"Mash!" Ritsuka went to sit on the side of the bed facing the door. He returned her a bright smile, glad to see she was alrig-

"Master!"

"!" Ritsuka was pushed back down on the bed as Kiyohime came jumping onto him. The Chaldean managed to sit back up as the green haired Berserker held tightly onto him. "Kiyohime?"

"Oh Master! I was so worried when I heard you were hurt on mission. I'm so glad to see you're well!" Kiyohime said with a look of relief as she looked up at him.

Ritsuka gave a short laugh as he patted her head. "I'm sorry I worried you, but I think it would be best to avoid me getting another head trauma."

Kiyohime's eyes widened as she caught his meaning. "Oh." She got off of her master and bowed her head once as she stood next to him. "Forgive me, Master. A lover tends to be overcome with concern in times like these." She recovered a soft smile as she looked at Ritsuka.

"We are pleased to see you in good health as well, Master."

Ritsuka looked to see Atalanta enter the room and stand close along with Mash, Medea, Medea Lily, Euryale, and Nightingale. "Everyone." Ritsuka smiled brightly as he scanned the group in front of him.

"Glad you didn't lose your head this time, Ritsuka. We might want to get you a helmet for the next mission if this keeps up." Ritsuka turned his head to regard Romani Archaman as he stood to the front of the bed. The Dr. smiled as he held a hand to his side.

"Heh. No thanks, Dr. Roman. I'm not fond of having something like that over my head unless absolutely necessary. You were waiting for me too Dr.?"

"Not exactly." Romani said as he let his hand hang to his side. "After I and the others got you to the Medical Room and you were healed, I went back to my work at the Command Room. But, I came here recently to see how you were doing, once I finished a few errands."

"I see." Ritsuka then turned his attention to Medea Lily. "And this work is all thanks to you. Thank you. I owe you big time, Lily." The Chaldean said as he leaned forward to stoke the Caster's head.

Medea Lily blushed while giving a shy smile as she held her staff close to her chest. "I'm just glad I was able to heal you, Master."

"Master..."

Ritsuka sat back on the bed and went to look at Medea once he heard her voice. She looked at him with a frown as she lowered her hood from her face. "Forgive me, Master. I could have easily prevented this if I had just teleported us out of the cave, before it caved in on us."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." The Chaldean tried to give her a reassured look. "We were all stressed by the situation in the moment. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was fully aware of your abilities and didn't choose to utilize them. But, everyone is alright and that's what matters. We learn from this and do better if something similar occurs."

"Yes, you're right." The Caster gained a small smile as she spoke. "Thank you, Master. You can count on me."

"I know I can." Ritsuka turned to look at the group as he returned to his question. "So, what happed after I was out?"

"When we came to you, Medea managed to shield us as the cave came down on us. We stayed under the rubble for some time until the ground finally stopped shaking. After that, she mustered enough magical energy to teleport us all out the collapsing cavern and back to the open forest." Atalanta said.

Mash continued her explanation. "Once we were outside, I contacted Dr. Roman so we could quickly get back to Chaldea and have you healed. When we rayshifted back, we went to the medical room as Lancer carried you all the way to your bed."

"Altria?" Ritsuka asked.

Mash gave a nod. "Yes. Before we arrived to help, Altria Alter was protecting you under her body. Anyway, once you were in bed, we had Medea Lily come as fast as she could to heal you."

"Well, I'm glad no one else got hurt." Ritsuka eyed the room for a moment after he spoke, noting that two people were absent. "Where is Altria and Boudica?"

"Boudica went back to the cafeteria after waiting outside the medical room for a while." Atalanta crossed her arms as she spoke. "And Altria Alter left the room after you were healed, to where I know not. She... looked strange as she walked away."

"Strange how?"

" I do not know. Her face looked stern, but I felt a sense of frustration in her eyes. Perhaps seeing you hurt wounded her pride as a Servant."

Wounded her pride... "Does anyone know where she is now?"

"Not at all." Medea responded. "But, from what I've seen, she's usually spending her day at the Combat Simulator or hanging around with Drake in the cafeteria. So, if you wish to find her, it won't be very hard."

Ritsuka got off the bed to stand. "Thanks Medea. I think I'll go to the cafeteria first and see if I can go check up on Boudica too."

"Not so fast."

"Huh?" Ritsuka turned his head to see Nightingale had her hand on his shoulder.

The nurse's lips formed a line. "You may look fine now, but I wish to run a diagnosis on you, before I clear you to leave."

The young man gave a pout. "But, I feel okay. I doubt Medea's magecraft-"

"No buts." The Berserker interrupted. "You can't leave everything to magic."

Ritsuka gave a sigh as he relented. "...Alright. Let's make this quick, okay?"

Nightingale gave a smile as he finished. "If you cooperate, it will be."

As Nightingale did her check up, Ritsuka, Romani, and the rest of the Servants conversed about what he missed during the day. Kiyohime cherished every bit of time she spent with Ritsuka, as she told him about her day spending time with Elizebeth. Dr. Roman said his goodbyes as he left to take care of his other work at Chaldea. Ritsuka started to think that Nightingale was doing this to partially give him time to catch up with the group. If so, he appreciated the thought. Once Nightingale was done, Ritsuka said his farewells to the group as he left the medical room with Nightingale's approval, much to Kiyohime's dismay.

As the Master began to walk the halls of Chaldea again, he wondered of what exactly was going through Altria Lancer Alter's mind when she left the room. Was it really as Atalanta said, and she was feeling some form of frustration from the events of the last mission? It wouldn't be the first time such a feeling, but this would be the first she'd express herself that way in relation to him. Did... did she blame herself for his injury somehow? Or... was she upset thinking this was a byproduct of his inadequacy as a mage and she didn't want to deal with it? He didn't want to concern her, but he certainly hoped it wasn't the latter.

He stopped walking as he finally reached the entrance to the cafeteria. He entered as soon as the door opened and was greeted by a lively room. A few Servants were lining up with trays in their hands to have their food served by Emiya and Tamamo-Cat while others filled some of the tables around the room. The sound of conversations filled his ears as he made his way around the cafeteria. Some Servants greeted him as he walked around, happy to see him in better health. News about what happened seems to have spread.

He waved back to them and said his hellos as they greeted him. The Servants of Chaldea always had higher spirits when their master was around. Half a year of bonding had made Ritsuka very familiar with most of his servants, and he tried to spend time equally with each one the best he could, and trying not to make favorites. But he would be dishonest if he didn't admit he preferred to spend time with some more than others.

Ritsuka turned his attention to the far side of the counter as he finally spotted the goal of his search, Francis Drake. She was holding a wooden cup, sitting on a seat as she leaned her back against the counter.

The pirate was about to take a shot of her rum, but stopped as soon as she saw Ritsuka walking towards her. She gave a wide smirk and put her cup on the counter as she straightened her back to turn towards him. "Well, look who's back to walking around. You feeling better, Master?" The Rider asked

Ritsuka returned a smile as he stopped in front of her. "I don't really remember feeling anything, but the wound on my head has been healed, thankfully. The nurse finally let me go after giving me a last minute check up."

"Glad to hear you're well, Master!" The pirate said as she raised her cup enthusiastically, splashing some of the rum on the floor. "It'd be a real shame if you died, especially now. You're a really special person, Master. The world would lose a heart of gold, if you left it so soon."

Ritsuka felt rather humorous as he went to sit next to Drake. "Are you sure you're not just saying that because it'd mean that you'd lose your mana supply as well?"

Drake went to face the counter as she gave a short laugh. "Hah! That too. I'd be sad not to get a chance at discovering more treasure, and I doubt I'd find another master nearby, or one as fun as you." Drake took a short drink from her cup before putting it back on the counter. "But, I meant what I said."

Ritsuka went to face the counter as well once she finished. "Well, I appreciate your words, Drake." Ritsuka said in a calm voice.

"Don't think that means I now like heroes though." Drake said as she eyed the Chaldean.

"You think I'm a hero?" Ritsuka asked honestly as he turned his head to look at her.

"Of course." Drake said as she lifted her cup close to her face. "You're noble, kind, honest, selfless, and you've helped saved this world from several world ending events. You have the admiration and respect of almost everyone under your service. With a resume like that, how could you not be a hero?"

Ritsuka looked back towards the counter and thought about what the pirate had said for a moment, Drake drank from her cup as he did. "... I don't know." He began in a low voice. "I don't feel right taking that title. I mean, I've rarely done any fighting myself, I just leave most of the work to you and the other Servants as I stand from the sidelines. Those accomplishments are more yours than they are mine."

Drake finished her drink and put the cup back down before she spoke. "There you go trying to be humble." The Rider turned to look at him and he returned her look. "Leadership brings it's own brand of heroism, Ritsuka. You may be inexperienced as a mage, but nothing we do out there on the field gets done without your direction. That's all you, Master."

A smile crossed Ritsuka's face again. He wasn't totally convinced of being a hero, but he saw her point. "Thanks Drake, that means a lot."

"Sure thing. And who knows, maybe when you die, the Throne will recognize all your good deeds and make you a Heroic Spirit."

"Heh. That would be interesting, but I doubt there would be many people that would remember it all."

"I don't know, Altera entered the Throne didn't she? If she made it there, I'm sure the few staff in Chaldea remembering your feats would be enough. And if not..." Drake leaned against the counter as she looked onto the group of Servants still eating in the cafeteria. "Maybe the memories we have now are enough."

Ritsuka turned to look around as well. Every Servant under his service in Chaldea owed their very existence to him. All the grand feats they'd accomplished in the Singularities, all the adventures and time they'd spent with each other and their master; he hoped a part of them would never forget it when they returned back to the Throne of Heroes. Or at the very least, a hint of familiarity would remain. He knew it wasn't likely, but he appreciated Drake's sentiment.

Ritsuka turned to look back at the pirate. "You're quite the talker, Drake."

The Rider turned to look at him as well. "It comes with being a captain of a ship. Now, enough of this mushy talk." Drake grabbed her empty cup and lifted it forward. "Let's make a toast, to your recovery."

The Chaldean made a short laugh as his body faced back towards the counter, keeping his face looking towards her. "Haha. You know I can't drink, Drake."

"Whatever. You can be a wuss and have water instead."

"Heh. I'd love to. Six hours under a bed has made me feel kind of parched." Ritsuka said as he passed a hand on his neck and then lowering it back down.

"Perfect then. Boudica!" Well that's convenient. Drake shouted out for the Queen of Victory and Ritsuka heard a very faint groan from the other side of the cafeteria.

"Coming!"

As they both heard Boudica give her cheeeful reply, Drake turned her body back towards the counter, facing Ritsuka before speaking again. "So, what made you walk all the way here towards me? Already gathering a team for another mission?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "No. Actually, I came to ask you something. Do you happen to know where Altria Alter is?"

"You mean Lancer?"

Ritsuka gave a nod. "I want to thank her for keeping me safe during the last mission. I was hoping you would know where I can find her, since you're the only one she ever really talks to." Ritsuka said, finishing in a soft voice.

"Hmmm." Drake's lips formed a line as she closed her eyes for a moment and put a hand on her chin. "Well, I don't know where she is now. She did come here a few hours ago to come and eat, but she left almost as soon as she came. She told me a few details about what happened during the mission, after I went to pry her about it. Once she was done eating though, she left without saying a word. But, I'd hazard to guess that she's probably somewhere around the Combat Simulator. I've never seen her do anything else but that, outside of eating and drinking."

"Yeah, me neither..." Ritsuka gave a thoughtful look as he looked down at the counter, before looking back at Drake. "Thanks for letting me know, Drake."

The pirate returned a smile. "Of course, no problem."

Both of them put their attention somewhere else, as they heard Boudica's voice as she walked from the other side of the counter.

The Queen of victory came bearing a friendly smile while wearing her pink apron. "Honestly Drake, this is your 9th refill. I have other-" Boudica went silent and a look of surprise formed on her face for a moment as she looked at Ritsuka next to Drake. The red headed Queen smiled again brightly. "Master, I'm happy to see you're awake!"

Ritsuka returned the Celtic Rider a smile. "Hey Boudica, glad to see you're doing well too."

"Likewise, Master. Did you come here to eat after waking up?" Boudica asked as she walked closer to face him from the other side.

"Not yet, I came to ask Drake about Altria's whereabouts. Now that you're here though, would you happen to know where she is now?"

"Well." Boudica firmed her lips as she gave a thoughtful look. "A few hours ago, I did overhear Darimund and Cú Chulainn talking about how they'd left the Combat Simulator to Altria, after she asked if she could use it after them."

"Bingo." Said Drake as she faked a pistol shot with her finger.

"They mentioned something strange too." Boudica continued. "Darimund and Cú mentioned how they agreed so long as Altria spar with them first, but she declined, preferring to fight in the Simulator alone."

"Huh." Drake gave a look of surprise. "I've never heard of or seen Altria refuse a duel before. That woman is always looking for a chance to test her metal."

"I was pretty shocked as well. I guess something about what happened in Greece really got to her." Boudica went to face Ritsuka once again. "When you see her, try to find out what's going on."

The Chaldean smiled as he gave a nod. "I will."

Boudica's smile returned as well. "I know I don't need to ask. Your kindness never ceases, Master. Now, was there something you two needed?"

"Just the usual." Voiced Drake.

"And you, Master?"

"Just water for me."

"Do you want something else for later?"

"No-" Ritsuka paused as an idea came to his mind. "Actually... before I go, I'd like for you to make me something."

...

There was an unusual sense of anxiety, as Ritsuka stood in front of the door to the Combat Simulator. If what Boudica said was true, Altria had been inside for hours now. Ritsuka had seen her fight in the Simulator a few times, and from he noticed, she was very creative in her use of it. Every time she came back from a mission, the Lancer would input a simulation with enemies and terrain similar to that seen on the mission, testing to see if she could find a way to fight more effectively if she found herself in those situations again.

He thought it was a smart use of the Simulator, and he was somewhat surprised by it. He knew she wasn't always the King of Storms, but even Artoria had not made use of the Simulator in that way, and Altria fought almost as aggressively as Artoria Alter. It seemed she wanted to perfect her craft on the battlefield. Or... maybe she didn't know what else to do. Perhaps that's what she was doing now.

Ritsuka raised his hand to see the plastic bag he was holding. Inside were the things he asked for Boudica and Emiya to make for him. After he did his toast with Drake and did a few more minutes of conversation with her and Boudica, he thanked them both before leaving the cafeteria with the items he had requested: a medium sized box filled with pancakes, a bottle of syrup, the necessary utensils for a proper meal, and a plastic bag to carry it all together.

He lowered the bag back to his side and took a deep breath. "Come on, no need to get nervous." He said to himself. With a calmer mind, he opened the door and entered into the simulated environment, and he was greeted by an unexpected sight.

He was in a large grassy field, but the grass looked yellow and dead. The sky was darkened and he heard thunder as he saw lighting split the sky above, but there was no rain. He looked back down on the field and there were scores of knights and broken carriages covering the whole field. A few parts of the field were blazing, engulfed in fire by the strike of lighting. It was only until he looked onto the mountain filled with corpses of armor, that he understood where this was. A vision of Artoria's past he had seen once before, The Battle of Camlann.

Below the hill, he spotted her. Altria Lancer Alter was fighting the few knights remaining alive in the battlefield. There were four of these knights, all with swords, and he saw her charge with her horse towards them. He noticed her helmet was not present.

She struck one of the knights with the side of her lance, the spikes on her spear tearing through the knight's armor as he was launched to the other side to lay dead. Lighting hit two of the knights, falling dead to the ground as their armor began to steam. Llamrie kicked the last knight causing him to fall to the ground. Altria then stabbed through the knights chest, finishing the fight. Silence filled the air as she retracted her lance from the knight's chest and she looked at her weapon, stainless despite it's ruthless assault.

She and Llamrie then turned around as they heard someone walk through the grass, and a look of surprise formed on Altria's face as she looked at Ritsuka walking towards her. "Master...?"

Ritsuka gave a small smile as he came to stop in front of them. "Hey there, hope I'm not interrupting."

Llamrie gave a neigh, and Altria's face relaxed as her stoic persona returned. "Not at all. This battle is already over." She dismounted from Llamrie as she finished and walked three steps closer to him, both of them now almost at arms distance. "I am... glad to see you are well and awake, Master."

"All thanks to you, Altria. I'm glad to see you came out safe from the mission too. Here, I brought you this." He raised his bag towards her. "I wanted to give you something as thanks for keeping me safe on the mission and for bringing me back home. I wanted to give you something for all you've done. I know you like junk food, and I know you've probably wasted a lot of energy after fighting for so long, so I brought you some pancakes that I had Boudica and Emiya make for me, along with some syrup and forks of course."

Her lips formed a frown and she closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "Your thanks are wasted on me, Master. I failed to protect you from danger. If I had not been the one to retrieve you, perhaps you would have gone unharmed."

Hmmm. Is that why you're here? Ritsuka shook his head in denial and looked to her with sincerity as he lowered his bag. "Not at all. You acted fast when things began to fall apart, I applaud you for that. You can't blame yourself for me getting hit in the head, a lot was going on at the end that no one could control. What happened, happened. What matters is that everyone came out alright."

He put his left palm on his chest. "And you helped make that happen. You've saved my life before and you did the same thing now. You brought me back safely. I can never thank you enough. So please, accept this small bit of gratitude that I can express to you."

A small smile graced Altria's lips. The Lancer felt appreciative of his praise. She didn't feel deserving of it, but the Chaldean made every situation look a little brighter. "Alright, Master. I happily accept your words. But, I will still endeavor to be of greater use to you and your cause, so that no harm ever befall you again."

Ritsuka felt a warm feeling in his chest, seeing her smile like that again. "Thank you. I expect nothing less, but try not to surround yourself in the fight all the time. There can be more to your time here than just the battlefield."

Altria's lips formed into a line before she spoke. "My spear is yours, Master. I live to fight your enemies, nothing else."

Ritsuka's face softened as he spoke. "No. You don't have to live for just that. I don't want you just to thrive as a warrior. I want you to prosper as Altria Pendragon too."

Altria's mouth stood slightly agape, unsure on how to respond. The two of them stared at one another for a short while, feeling the flow of the wind as silence filled the air once again.

Ritsuka's cheeks reddened slightly as he noticed how long he had been looking. He scratched the back of his head and looked to the side as he felt slight embarrassment. "A-anyways, let's go change this scenery. It wouldn't be good for you to eat in such a gloomy atmosphere."

"Would you eat it with me?"

Ritsuka looked back to the Alter confused after she spoke. Her face looked almost expressionless, but there was a slight bit of shyness on her face. "W-well?"

The young master recovered after she spoke again. "Sure, that'd be great." His face formed a smile once again. "I'll go set us up then."

Altria looked as Ritsuka went away to finish the task of changing the simulation and looked down to ground in thought. Analyzing what he had spoken to her.

"I don't want you just to thrive as a warrior. I want you to prosper as Altria Pendragon too."

"... But who would that be?" Altria looked forward again. She wasn't sure what that would mean.

Whatever those words would entail, for now, she would just look forward to enjoying a meal with her master. It would feel wrong to eat such sweetness alone.

Author's note: This chapter and the last one were originally going to be one, but it didn't feel right for me to continue the chapter after the cavern collapse. We're finally entering the chapters I look to writing the most, so I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I'll enjoy writing them. Please leave a comment if you'd like! :) I really appreciate the feedback.