Ici il y a des dragons Chapter 3

Dark Jeanne

Morning arrived, and the Chaldeans, alongside Jeanne, roused from their slumber. Tatsuko yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before getting up. The orange haired girl then noticed Emiya looking at something. She walked over to them and tapped his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Emiya brought a finger to their mouth to silence Tatsuko. He then pointed to the object he was staring at, causing Tatsuko to look at the scene with slight bewilderment.

Still asleep in his sleeping bag, with Fou curled up to him, was Ritsuka. The female Master's eyes widened as she noticed him shivering.

"He's been like that all night." Emiya said quietly.

"Seriously?"

Emiya nodded.

"I guess that discussion last night really did a number on him…."

"Yeah, maybe we should talk to Medea about this."

Tatsuko shook her head. "I don't know if that would be a good idea. She might just get upset again."

Emiya sighed. "If we don't discuss this with her, it'll just cause more problems."

"What do we do then?" Tatsuko asked.

"I don't know….."

The two of them simply sighed at the predicament. As they continued to discuss, Mashu walked up to the sleeping Ritsuka, and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Senpai, it's time to wake up." She whispered.

Ritsuka stirred from his slumber. "Oh, morning Mashu…."

"Are you okay?" She asked. "I know last night was….rough for you."

Ritsuka gave her a reassuring smile. "I think I'll be okay for now. Thank you for asking."

"Fouuuu…."

The two of them looked at Fou as he started to wake up. Ritsuka chuckled. "Hey there Fou, were you keeping me company last night?"

"Fou." The white haired critter stretched its limbs and shook his body around. The male Master and the Shielder smiled as Fou looked at them and wagged his tail. "Fou!"

"No idea what you said, but thanks for staying with me last night buddy." Ritsuka said.

"Fou!"

"Senpai, the others are already awake." Mashu replied. "We need to head to the next town and see what information we can gather."

Ritsuka nodded. The male Master got up and stretched before turning his attention to Emiya and Tatsuko. "Is something wrong?"

The two of them looked at each other. It would be for the best if they didn't tell him what Emiya saw.

"Nope, everything's fine." Tatsuko answered.

The male Master walked up to the rest of the group, and yawned as Mashu walked towards Kojiro. Tatsuko walked alongside him to make sure he was okay, which seemed to be the case. A moment later, they spotted Jeanne finishing a conversation with Artoria with the Saber walking away. If what they were told a couple weeks ago were true, then MAYBE they could get more allies. They walked towards Jeanne, with Tatsuko tapping her on the shoulder, startling the Ruler.

"Sorry for bringing this up right now, but is it possible for you to detect any other Servants aside from everyone here? I heard from Artoria that Rulers were capable of that." The female Master asked.

Jeanne shook her head in embarrassment. "Unfortunately with how I am now, I can't. I can only detect them when they're close like ordinary Servants do."

"I see, sorry to bother you then."

Jeanne shook her head. "It's fine. But there's something you two should know."

"Is something wrong?" Ritsuka asked.

Jeanne nodded. "This other me... No, Witch Jeanne... Urgh, it's too confusing, I will just refer to her as Dark Jeanne!"

"Sounds like a fitting name." Tatsuko muttered.

Jeanne exhaled to bring herself back under control. "Anyway, if that Dark Jeanne is truly a Servant then her Class, like mine, is Ruler. If that is the case, she will immediately be able to detect our location. We must be prepared for battle at all times."

The two Masters stared at her in complete shock. If it was true, then it's possible that this Dark Jeanne already knows the Chaldeans were here, and will be making counter measures to take care of them.

"What do you suggest?" Ritsuka asked.

"If possible, I would like to minimize our activities in any nearby towns and villages. But without any lead on our hands, I doubt that's possible….."

"I'm sorry Jeanne, but we need to figure out more on what's going on." Tatsuko replied.

"I know…" Jeanne answered. "I just don't want any innocent people to get hurt because we happened to be in the same area…"

"Not if we play our cards right."

Jeanne and Tatsuko looked at Ritsuka, who rubbed his chin. "What if, after we gain a good deal of information from one town, we immediately leave and head to the next?"

"Well, if it was just her, then that could work, but we also have wyverns to worry about…."

Ritsuka sighed. "I know, I just wanted to see if we could make the best out of this situation."

"Well it's definitely better than nothing." Tatsuko replied. "Wait! What if we leave some of the group outside any town we visit and have them defend it against any attacks from wyverns or whatever this Dark Jeanne is?"

Ritsuka smiled. "That's a brilliant idea! Good thinking!"

"See? I can be a planner too." Tatsuko snarked.

Jeanne giggled. "Thank you for taking the time to help me figure out how we do this."

The two Masters nodded, and walked away to speak to Medusa and Emiya about their plan. Jeanne turned around and nearly walked into Mashu.

"Oh, pardon me Mashu."

"No, I apologize Jeanne!" Mashu exclaimed. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!"

The two girls stared at each other and giggled for a moment at the silliness of what happened. The moment they stopped, Jeanne noticed the curious gaze in the Shielder's eyes.

"Is something wrong?" The blonde Ruler asked.

"I wouldn't go that far. But I do think something is off….Now, I could be imagining things, but is there something you aren't telling us?" Mashu asked.

Jeanne said nothing, causing Mashu to flinch.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry...I just thought it best to confront you in case it should become an obstacle in battle."

"You're right." Jeanne said. "Okay, I'll tell you."

The Ruler exhaled. "It could be because my summoning was incomplete. Or, perhaps it's because my original self died just a few days ago…..oh goodness, How can I put it? It feels as if I am a "brand-new Servant."

"A rookie, you mean?" Mashu asked.

Jeanne nodded. "Yes. There is no future or past in the Throne of Heroes. But, I don't have the power to access the records , it is difficult for me to act as a Servant."

"I see….that does sound complicated…."

Jeanne sighed. "It feels like going into battle for the first time all over again. And that bubbly-looking mage from before… He called me a saint and savior, but I don't see myself like that. I'm just an ordinary farm girl that somehow became a Heroic Spirit. I am afraid that I will become a burden to you."

Mashu smiled. "It's okay Jeanne, you don't need to feel that way."

"What?"

"I mean, this also feels like my first battle, so we are similar in that regard."

"Really?"

Mashu nodded. "As a Demi-Servant, I cannot fully harness my power as a Heroic Spirit. However, the Heroic Spirit inside of me said 'It's okay.' And Senpai and Tatsuko trust someone like me."

Mashu took a deep breath. "I don't know how to say this, but they didn't choose to fight to prove something. They are simply trying to do what should be done, I think. So, it's all right.

There's no reason for you to worry. I'm the same way right now."

Jeanne smiled. "Thank you. I feel a little better."

"I'm glad that I could help." Mashu replied.

A few minutes passed since they left their camp, and headed towards their next destination. As they continued to walk, Ritsuka took some time to go up to Medea with a guilt ridden expression.

"Hey, Medea, about last night I'm sorry if I-"

"Don't bother apologizing, Master." Medea said. "You said you'll explain yourself when we return, so consider that your apology to me."

"I still feel bad about it though."

Medea nodded, and walked away from him, causing Ritsuka to sigh.

"If it makes you feel better Ritsuka, I agreed with your opinion on sparing them."

The male Master turned around to see Artoria and Jeanne smiling at him.

"Thanks. I know Medea doesn't agree with much of what I do, but I firmly believe that I made the right choice here, and I won't change my mind about that."

"You have strong convictions Master, that's admirable." Jeanne said.

"Please, just call me Ritsuka." The male Master replied.

"But aren't you and Ms. Tachibana both Masters?"

"That's exactly why they prefer we call them by their names." Artoria answered. "If we called them by their title, then it could sow confusion and discourse in the team."

"And we both don't really feel comfortable being referred to as Masters anyway." Ritsuka replied.

"I see. I apologize for my ignorance."

Ritsuka smiled. "You don't need to apologize Jeanne."

"He's right, it's not like you already knew." Artoria replied.

Jeanne smiled. "Well in any case, I'm glad to hear that you had your Servant spare the soldiers on the road yesterday."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

Jeanne nodded. "It wouldn't have been right to kill them over an honest mistake. They were just wanting to protect their home."

"I can certainly respect them for that." Artoria replied. "I'm no stranger to war, so they had the right to be suspicious of us."

"Well to be fair, they were right to be suspicious." Jeanne said. "You ARE a British king after all."

Artoria chuckled. "You make a fair point."

Ritsuka laughed, causing both Servants to look at him in confusion.

"What's so funny, Ritsuka?" Jeanne asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just….nice seeing you both interact like this."

"What do you mean by that?" Artoria asked.

"Well think about it, both of your countries are currently at war with each other, and yet here you two are; a French girl who became a saint, and a British king, talking as if you've been lifelong friends."

The two Servants laughed. He did have a point about the irony of the situation.

"Well, I guess it's because when we see each other, we don't see our nations." Artoria answered.

"She's right, when I look at her, I see a steadfast and loyal ally." Jeanne replied.

"Or maybe it's because they share the same face."

The three of them turned around to see Cú smiling at them mischievously.

"I…beg your pardon?" The two girls asked in unison.

"Oh don't play dumb." Cú said jokingly. "For all we know, Jeanne could be your clone, Artoria."

The Saber and Ruler looked at each other for a few moments before giving a light shrug.

"We don't see the resemblance." They both said in unison.

"You can't be serious…." Cú turned to Ritsuka first with a curious look. "Ritsuka, don't you see it?"

"Well, aside from the blonde hair, not really."

The Lancer raised an eyebrow, then turned to Tatsuko. "Tatsuko, back me up on this."

"Honestly, they look different enough to me." The orange haired Master answered.

Cú looked at Kojiro. The Assassin shrugged. "I can see why you'd believe it, but I fail to see how they could be twins."

Cú then turned to look at Emiya. "Back me up here Emiya."

"Oh no, leave me out of this."

Cú stared at him in disbelief before turning to look at Mashu. "What about you?"

Mashu said nothing. The lilac haired girl merely gave a sad expression to the Lancer, before looking away.

"Oh come on!" Cú shouted. "Am I the ONLY one who thinks they look alike?"

"Yes." Everyone said in unison.

Cú clicked his tongue in defeat.

After that conversation, the group continued their trek towards the next town. Unfortunately for them on the way, they encountered a group of attacking wyverns. It didn't take long to defeat them, but it would seem that for every time they took a step after defeating one group, another pack of wyverns would attack, cutting into precious daylight. However, the monsters would quickly be dispatched by the Servants, though Kojiro seemed to have the easiest time slaying them. As the last group of wyverns were defeated, Tatsuko groaned in annoyance.

"Ok, I get that, we're supposed to fight these guys and liberate France and such, but I just have one question: Why the FUCK are there SO MANY OF THEM!? We can't even walk a few minutes without running into more of those winged fuckers!"

"I agree with what you said but try to calm down Tatsuko." Ritsuka said as his partner's head turned red from anger.

"I agree with Senpai." Mashu's eyes widened along with her smile. "Oh! I heard that deep breathing exercises can help one with their anger. Why don't you try it?"

Tatsuko did as Mashu suggested, and took deep breaths. The female Master felt her muscles relax, and a smile formed on her face.

"Oh wow, it did work! Thanks Mashu."

"You're very welcome."

As the group resumed their march, Mashu watched as Heracles handed Medea something, and the Caster began counting it in her hands. The blue haired woman noticed the Shielder's gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?"

"I apologize for staring, but…what are you counting in your hand?"

Medea shrugged and showed the object, or rather objects, in her hands. The Shielder's eyes widened as she looked at a dozen or more wyvern teeth in the Caster's hands.

"Why do you have those teeth?" Mashu asked. "Is it some sort of trophy to acknowledge a hard won battle?"

The Caster shook her head. "No, I actually use these to create dragon tooth warriors."

"Dragon tooth…..warriors?"

Medea nodded. "They're much stronger than the regular skeletons you faced in Fuyuki. Not by much of course, but they'll be handy in a pinch."

Mashu smiled wide. "I see, then it's a good thing you decided to take them with you. You're very wise to have thought that far ahead."

Medea smiled back at the lilac haired girl. "Thank you Mashu."

Mashu nodded as Medea turned her attention back to counting the teeth.

"Well well, getting a word of thanks from Medea. Color me impressed."

Mashu turned to see Kojiro smiling at her.

"Oh, I didn't do anything special." Mashu said. "I just said what I truly felt."

"Precisely." Kojiro replied. "It's because of that, that you managed to get that word of thanks. I did mention she prefers people who are honest."

"Oh right, you did tell us that." Mashu replied. "But…..why did you want to help us back then? I thought you and Medea hated each other."

"Just because we don't get along right now, doesn't mean we won't in the future. Besides, I think it's for the best that you three try to get on Medea's good side."

Mashu opened her mouth to speak, only for Fou to jump up and down frantically.

"Fou, fou, fou!"

"What is it Fou?" Mashu asked. "Did something happen?"

"Oh no! La Charite is on fire!" Jeanne shouted. The Chaldeans ran to look as they saw the smoke in the air. The communicator sprang to life, showing Roman's frantic expression.

"Guys, we have a Servant in there….wait, no….Damn, they got away!"

Jeanne looked at the town in horror. "No…..it couldn't be….."

The howling of wyverns snapped her back to attention. The Chaldeans watched as the flying reptiles dove into the town, as if looking for their next meal.

"You can't be serious….MORE wyverns?" Tatsuko asked.

"It can't be helped." Kojiro replied. "I suggest we go in there to take them down. That way they don't attack any more villages."

The two Masters nodded. "Okay everyone, let's stop their attack!"

The Servants readied their weapons, and rushed towards the burning city.

The Chaldeans arrived into the town, and yet when they did, they immediately had a bad feeling. Mashu turned on the communicator and looked at Roman with a frightful look.

"Doctor, are there any signs of life?"

Roman shook his head. "There's nothing….no one survived."

The Chaldean Trio looked at each other as their heart's sank. It would seem they were too late. Jeanne stared at them sadly, until a chill ran up her spine.

"Wait. Did anyone hear that?!"

"Yeah, it sounded like something moved." Cú answered.

The Servants readied their weapons, waiting for whatever was about to happen. Out of the corner of Mashu's eye, she saw something rise from the ground. Jeanne looked towards Mashu's direction and gasped.

"No... It can't be…." She muttered. Unfortunately, it was. Rising from the ground were the skeletal remains of the villagers of La Charite.

"Looks like they became the undead." Emiya muttered. Medea looked at Ritsuka with a curious gaze.

"I suppose you don't want us to kill them too?" She asked.

Ritsuka shook his head. "They're already dead, so no need to hold back."

Medea nodded and shot a fireball at some of the skeletons. As soon as Fou leapt onto Ritsuka's shoulder for safety, Mashu took the opportunity to slam her shield into one of the skeletons, before vaulting into the air, and slamming her shield again into another pair of skeletons close to Artoria and Jeanne. Two skeletons weren't hit by the attack, and rushed towards Artoria, while three rushed towards Jeanne. The skeletons rushing towards Artoria lunged at the blonde woman, but the Saber sidestepped, and swung her blade downward, shattering one skeleton and slamming her hilt into the other one to stun it. The undead assailant stumbled a bit, only for it to shatter in one hit as Artoria swung her blade, and cleaved it in two. Meanwhile, Jeanne twirled her flag pole, and pierced one of the skeletons, and swung it towards Mashu, who shattered it with her Shield.

Another skeleton attacked Jeanne, but the Ruler deflected the strike, and sidestepped. She whacked the skeleton on the spine, sending it towards Artoria, who destroyed the undead assailant with her blade. The last skeleton attacked Jeanne, but the Ruler jammed her flag into its torso and lifted it off the ground before slamming it back down, completely shattering the skull.

As that was happening, Heracles roared as he wildly swung his axe sword at the skeletons, while Cú kept any of the undead assailants from getting close to the Berserker. Three skeletons attacked the Lancer, but Cú swung his spear at them, taking them out in one attack. Four more rushed towards him but were quickly blown away by Heracles.

"Thanks for the help, big guy." The Lancer said with a grin. The blue haired Servant returned his attention to the skeletons charging towards the Berserker, and continued to fend off the undead assailants.

Emiya shot another skeleton in the skull while Medusa and Kojiro picked off any that escaped the Archer's notice. Two skeletons rushed towards the Archer, but Medusa was quicker, and wrapped her chained dagger around their thin necks, and pulled them closer to her. The Rider then finished them off with a series of kicks, each taking them out in one strike. Kojiro saw only three more skeletons left, and swung his blade, taking them down in one strike.

"I think that's the last of them." Emiya said. The Chaldeans looked around and nodded. It was indeed the last of the skeletons.

"Wait, where are the wyverns?" Tatsuko asked. "They couldn't have just disappeared."

A snapping sound broke their attention, causing them all to look towards the source of the noise. Whatever it was, it didn't put their minds at Chaldeans and Jeanne slowly made their way towards the sound so as to not get noticed. A guttural growl proved that the wyverns were still here, and that they weren't moving anytime soon. But for what reason?

Their question was answered as they finally saw what they were doing. The wyverns were in the middle of eating. The corpses of the dead villagers were their meal. The Chaldeans and Jeanne looked at each other and nodded. They would have to sneak up on them in order to get the best chance of victory.

Kojiro went first. The Assassin snuck up on the closest wyvern with his blade drawn and once he was close enough, he delivered one single blow aimed at the neck of the creature, which separated from the rest of its body slowly. What Kojiro didn't realize was that he actually managed to kill a second wyvern with his attack, even if it wasn't intended.

"I must have a gift in killing them." he muttered while cleaning his sword. The two remaining wyverns turned to face him, with one of the corpses falling from one of their jaws. The Assassin knew he was caught.

"Oh…."

The wyverns roared at the Assassin and prepared to attack him, only for Heracles to charge at them, wrapping one arm each around the necks of the two reptiles. The two wyverns turned their attention to their captor and bared their fangs. Heracles simply roared into the air and tightened his grip around their throats. The wyverns struggled, but the Berserker's grip tightened and tightened.

SNAP!

The wyverns were finally silenced. Their necks were snapped like twigs thanks to the Berserker's monstrous strength.

"Okay, that was a little hard to watch." Tatsuko said quietly. "Seriously, that was pretty brutal."

Ritsuka gulped in acknowledgement. The male Master rubbed his neck gently as if trying to protect it. A moment later, the rest of the group walked towards the two Servants to survey the damage. Jeanne could only stare in grief and sadness as she saw the ruined flag that once stood proud over La Charite's chapel on the ground, torn to shreds.

"Jeanne?" Mashu asked. "What's wrong?"

"This attack….." Jeanne muttered. "It was most likely that other "me" who was behind this."

"Jeanne, don't think like that." Artoria replied. "It's too early to tell if that's true."

The Ruler shook her head. "No, I can tell. I am sure of it. There's just one thing I don't understand."

Jeanne knelt down, and tenderly picked up the tattered remains of the flag, and held it close to her chest.

"How much do you have to hate others to wreak such havoc?" She asked. "I can't understand it."

Communicator sprang to life, showing Roman's terrified face. "Guys, I have some bad news."

"Roman, what's wrong?" Tatsuko asked.

"The Servants that just left have reversed course!" Roman shouted. "They must've realized you're here!"

"How many?" Cú asked as he readied his spear.

Roman stared at the screen in shock. "You must be kidding. There's five of them, and they're fast!"

Everyone stared at the communicator in absolute shock. Five Servants were gunning for them, and while they had the advantage in numbers, the city limited the space required for most of them to go all out.

"We have to retreat." Artoria said. "We don't know what we'll be dealing with!"

No one raised any argument, and started to run towards one of the city's exits. They turned from where they came from, only to stop in absolute shock as their exit was cut off. Standing before them were Dark Jeanne, and four other Servants. The Dragon Witch merely stared at them with a calm expression before bringing her standard to the ground.

"Found you."