The Triumvirate Chapter 1:

All Roads Lead to Rome

June 15th

Today was yet another peaceful day in Animusphere City, and the Masters alongside their Servants, were having a small nap under the sakura tree.

"You know? If no Singularities discovered means that we can stay like this for longer then I'm not complaining." Tatsuko said as she looked at Ritsuka.

"Well… I'm still a bit nervous about none being found but this is nice. Maybe we can have at least a few more days or…"

His words were interrupted by the sudden sound of alarms blaring across the city, and Roman's voice calling out to the pair of Masters.

"A new Singularity has been found. Ritsuka, Tatsuko, head to the control room immediately!"

"As soon as I open my mouth…" Tatsuko said in a tired and a bit angry tone of voice.

"Well, duty calls. Let's get to work." Ritsuka said. The Chaldean Trio immediately got up and ran for the elevator alongside Sanson and Liz. The moment they got in, Ritsuka turned on his communicator and put Roman on the line.

"Do you think we have enough time to get changed?" He asked.

Roman nodded. "I was actually about to call you and say to forget my previous statement and change."

"Thanks." Tatsuko replied. "We'll see you in the control room soon."

The moment the communicator was turned off, Ritsuka looked at the others with a curious gaze. "So, any ideas as to where we might be headed?"

"Hopefully either London or Jerusalem." Tatsuko answered.

"God I hope it's not London…" Ritsuka muttered.

"I am banking it on being in Russia." Sanson replied.

"Russia might be a bit too much for us." Mashu said. "Personally I find the idea of us going to Scandinavia very interesting."

"I don't think it's Scandinavia." Liz said. "I'm hoping the next one is in Japan."

"We already had two Singularities taking place there." Ritsuka countered.

"I can't help it!" Liz shouted. "I'm trying to become an Idol, and Japan is home to so many!"

"You know, she's got us there." Tatsuko chimed. The group stopped talking as the elevator doors opened, and they all walked out. The Chaldean Trio then ran towards the Masters' rooms, with Mashu following Ritsuka, leaving the two Servants to go to the Command Room by themselves.

It was only a few minutes later in the Command Room when the Trio finally arrived. Mashu being in her Shielder form, and the two Masters were once again in their Combat Mystic Codes.

"You know I never noticed this when wearing it in France, but I think I make this look kinda sexy." Tatsuko said.

"Yeah…..no comment." Roman said. Tatsuko pouted and huffed at the acting director, causing some chuckles from the analysts. Davinci then walked up and stifled a yawn.

"Well, good to know everyone's so full of energy." She said.

"Maybe you'd be too if you didn't stay up late last night!" Roman countered. No one even bothered to ask anything about that. They all just learned to go with the flow when it came to those two.

"So, where are we headed?" Ritsuka asked.

Roman turned to the group with a calm expression. "You're headed to 1st Century Europe. Specifically Ancient Rome, the great empire that grew from Italy to control the Mediterranean Sea."

"What will we find there?" Mashu asked.

"I swear to God if it's more wyverns, I'll be very unhappy." Tatsuko muttered.

"I don't know." Roman said. "But Sanson and Liz have volunteered to be part of the team that goes with you."

"I hope I can atone for what I have done in France by going alongside you." Sanson replied. He then turned to Ritsuka with a small smile. "And I really look forward to working alongside a skilled medic such as yourself."

Ritsuka chuckled weakly. "I'm not all that special. Doc and Roman are much better than I am when it comes to this sort of thing…"

"Nonsense. I have an eye for this sort of thing, and I can tell you have talent." Sanson countered. Ritsuka said nothing to this, and opted to clear his throat and return to the task at hand.

"So, which Servants are coming with us?" He asked.

Roman handed him a piece of paper. Ritsuka looked at it carefully and widened his eyes as he realized that this was the team that Roman suggested.

"Vlad and Jeanne…Roman, that's only two Servants." Ritsuka said in disbelief.

"Yes, but we didn't have time to complete the list when Sanson, Liz and some of the others came in."

"Yeah, but even with Sanson and Liz volunteering, that's not really going to be enough even with Mashu." Tatsuko countered.

"Then allow me to volunteer."

Everyone turned around to see Siegfried standing by the doorway. The Saber walked towards the team and nodded.

"Count me in too!"

Everyone turned to see Nobunaga, who was already in the room, running up to them. The black haired Servant grinned confidently as she took her place by Vlad.

"If I may be so bold, why do you want to come along?" Vlad asked.

"I just feel like it." Nobunaga answered. "Besides, you guys would definitely need my muskets to give you guys some cover."

"She has a fair point. She offers a lot of offensive power and would be of great aid." Da Vinci said. "Very well, welcome to the team."

"As expected."

"Fou Fou, Fo kyu!" Fou shouted. Everyone looked at the little critter with amused affection as he wagged his tail upon Mashu's shoulder.

"It would seem that Fou has decided that he is coming along too." Mashu said with a giggle.

"Well with this line-up, we have nothing to worry about."

Everyone turned to see Artoria and Cú standing by the doorway, before walking towards Roman and Davinci.

"Mind if we stay and watch?" Cú asked.

"Sure thing. And if they need any sort of backup, we can have you two come in immediately." Roman answered.

"That sounds like a good plan." Artoria said. Roman then turned to the others with a calm, authoritative gaze.

"Okay, time for you guys to get going." He said. "Remember the mission, find out what's causing the Singularity, solve it, and get the Holy Grail from that time period."

The team nodded and headed towards the coffins. The moment they stepped in, the doors closed behind them, and the countdown started. They all closed their eyes as the lights of the Rayshifting process encircled them.

DAY 1

It didn't take long for the team to make it into the Singularity, and when they opened their eyes, they couldn't help but admire the countryside, barring the huge ring in the sky. Mashu then proceeded to grab her communicator to call Roman of their safe shift.

"Doctor Roman, we have safely arrived in Rome, and we have found that strange ring again in the sky, just like in France."

"And like last time, we can't get a good look at it from here." Roman said. "But it is an intriguing phenomenon. I will continue to investigate. By the way, is that... Oh? Weren't you supposed to be in... Rome?"

"We are in Rome." Tatsuko answered.

"Oh ha ha, very funny." Roman said sarcastically. "I meant the capital."

"Oh…then no, we're actually in the hills." The female Master replied.

"Maybe that's for the best." Liz said.

"Why is that?" Vlad asked.

"Well how would you react if you saw some strangers just appear out of thin air in your city?" Liz snarked. "We'd be treated like a bunch of invading weirdos, that's what!"

"When you put it like that, appearing in the hills really is the better option." Ritsuka replied.

"Well as long as we don't get attacked randomly with every step we take I'm satisfied." Tatsuko said.

"And with that, I think it's the perfect time to introduce you all to someone." Davinci said. "Come on out!"

The Caster stepped aside, and let a woman step forward. An attractive woman in her late thirties, she had green hair and black eyes. One could tell that she was professional, but that she wasn't a cold hearted woman. "I am a specialist in studying phantasmal beasts. My name is Iris Idanphere, and I look forward to seeing what kinds of beasts you will find."

"Wait, if you're the expert, then how come you didn't come in to tell us about the wyverns in France?" Ritsuka asked.

"I considered it, but Ms. Artoria and Ms. Medea were more than sufficient in their explanations about the different subgroups that I didn't think it was necessary to leave my workshop."

"Of course you'd say that….." Ritsuka muttered under his breath.

"Hey, I have a question then." One of the staff members in the Command Room said. "How come a few of those wyverns looked like the Rathalos and Rathian and their variants from Monster Hunter?"

"An excellent question!" Iris said excitedly. "You see, the developers of Monster Hunter thought they made them up and that their designs looked good for a particular monster and used them. And it's not just them, they managed to do that for quite a few monsters as well, all the while not knowing they were basing them off of actual phantasmal beasts, especially some of their names."

"Wait, are you saying they got them right by ACCIDENT?" The man asked.

"Mostly yes." Iris answered. "Though some names are different, and some behavioral patterns aren't accurate, but then again, they were making a game about hunting these creatures, so it's only natural they'd take some liberties with them."

"Wow, you sound like a bona fide gamer there." Tatsuko said. "And here I thought mages weren't into that sort of thing."

Iris blushed. "W-well, one of the staff members invited me to play it a couple of years ago, and when I saw some of the monsters there, I was immediately invested….."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes dismissively, with no one even noticing. Roman then cleared his throat and gently bade Iris to move aside. The mage did so, allowing the doctor to stare at the team.

"Well, it looks like where you are is in a suburb of the Roman capital." Roman said.

"Was there an error in the coordinates?" Mashu asked. "Is the era correct?"

"The era's correct. Definitely the 1st Century where the singularity exists." Roman said.

"I have a question then." Vlad stated. "Which emperor is currently ruling Rome at this point in time?"

"You and Jeanne aren't going to like the answer….." Roman said.

"Don't just leave us in the dark, tell us already!" Liz said impatiently.

Roman gulped. " Nero Claudius, the fifth emperor of Rome….."

Jeanne and Vlad looked at the doctor with unamused glares. The Chaldean Trio looked at the scene in confusion, something that Roman noticed. He then cleared his throat and leaned in close to the comms.

"To be brief, christians and Nero don't exactly mix…" He whispered.

"I'm just…not going to ask…." Tatsuko said.

"Good." Jeanne and Vlad said in unison. The two Servants turned to each other and chuckled. Ritsuka looked back at Roman with a curious stare.

"Quick question, just how long has Nero ruled Rome at this point?" He asked.

"Let me check." Roman replied. The doctor looked at the charts of the Singularity and sighed in relief. "Okay so it's still pretty early into his reign. So at this stage he should still be quite popular with his subjects."

'Wait, you're saying Nero was actually popular with people?" Tatsuko asked in disbelief. "Now that's a bit shocking."

"Roman's simplifying it." A voice with a subtle German accent said from behind the doctor. Roman turned around and allowed the man to step up to speak to the Chaldeans. An elderly man, he was thin and sickly with white hair and a bushy mustache. Despite his weak appearance, a hint of strength could be found in his posture. "I'm Johan Grueber, Chaldea's resident therapist, and I happen to be a bit of an expert of Ancient Rome and its history as well."

"Okay, where are these people coming from, and why are we just learning of them now?!" Tatsuko asked.

Johan coughed weakly. "I apologize, it's just that I never got around to introducing myself to you all yet."

"It is fine Jonas." Jeanne said.

"Hang on, but what about SHEBA?" Ritsuka asked. "Mashu always goes through SHEBA to learn about world history. So wouldn't she be a good source?"

Mashu blushed at the question, but Johan simply cleared his throat. "SHEBA is definitely one of the best databases of history that I have ever seen. And it is true that Ms. Kyrielight would be a wonderful source of information. However, there are some flaws within SHEBA, and that is where people like me come in."

"What kind of flaws?" Sanson asked.

"SHEBA may tell us about the reigns of each monarch, and how they ruled. But it doesn't actually go into detail about their hobbies, or even minor trivia."

"Then can you explain why Nero was popular?" Liz asked.

"That is a complicated thing to answer, because he was popular with a specific group of people, while being despised by another group." Johan said. "You see, Emperor Nero threw lavish entertainments for the lower-class citizens, and made many reforms that made him quite popular with them. It was actually the aristocracy that despised him for the very same reason."

"So they hated Nero because he…..helped the common folk?" Tatsuko asked.

"Kind of. There are other reasons, but in the end it didn't matter, and everyone eventually turned on him." Johan answered.

"What else can you tell us about Emperor Nero?" Mashu asked.

Johan started to cough loudly, causing everyone to look at him in concern. The man flashed a warm smile to put them to ease. "No need to worry, it's just my illness acting up. As for your question Ms. Kyrielight, I will be more than happy to answer it later. For right now, I think it is time I get some rest."

"We have a chair for you right here, Mr. Grueber." Saint George said. The Rider bade the man to follow, and Johan was more than happy to accept. The moment they were out of sight, Roman returned to his post.

"Johan suffers from a chronic illness, so he's not in the best shape." He said.

"It's not contagious, is it?" Nobunaga asked.

"No, it's not." Roman answered. "And it isn't life threatening, but it takes its toll on him, especially at his age."

"I heard that, young man!" Johan shouted.

"Please just sit down and rest, Johan." Roman said. "You're going to need all you can get."

The doctor returned to gaze at the Chaldean team and smiled. "Try to look for any clues as to how close you are to the capital. In the meantime, we'll continue to monitor you all."

The team nodded and looked behind them. To their surprise, a road was right there in plain view.

"Well, you know as they say….All roads lead to Rome." Sanson said jokingly. The others ignored that remark and made their way to the road, hoping to figure out how close they were to the capital.

It was only a few minutes later, and everyone continued to travel in a comfortable silence, not wanting to distract anyone from finding any clue as to how far they were from the capital. Well…..almost everyone. Siegfried looked down and saw Liz staring at the area with great irritation.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered. "Just where in the world are we?! It's just hills, hills and more hills!"

"She's got a point." Nobunaga said. "It's like we're in the middle of nowhere, and we…wait a minute….no, there is something happening!"

The group stopped in their tracks, allowing Mashu and the other Servants to focus on what was going on. They could hear the ringing of steel, clattering of wood against wood. Men were shouting at one another, and cursing them. The sound of arrows hitting wood or flesh brought them out of their trance and turned to the left to face the source of the sounds.

"There is a battle right over there!" Mashu shouted.

Roman appeared on the comms once more and looked at the two Masters. "Normally I'd say to ignore it, but considering the circumstances, I have to suggest that you go check it out."

Ritsuka and Tatsuko nodded and urged the Servants to follow them, with Mashu taking the front.

A minute later, the group could hear the sounds of battle getting louder and louder, until they were over the hill, and could see the battle being played out before them. On one side was a much larger army, wearing crimson and gold. Then there was the other army. It was much smaller, and like the much larger army, wore crimson and gold, but with a different design.

"Does anyone have an idea what's going on here?" Liz asked.

"It looks like a large-scale battle." Roman said. "But something isn't right. Hey Johan, were there any large-scale battles like this during this time period?"

Johan shook his head. "No, there wasn't. This isn't something that should be happening."

"Then that means we have stumbled upon a historical anomaly!" Mashu said.

"Okay, before you guys charge in to fight, we must be certain what is happening." Roman said. "Try to look for anything that stands out to you."

"Well I'm off to a good start, because I already found something." Nobunaga said. The Servant pointed towards the smaller army, raising eyebrows from everyone else until they saw what she was referring to.

A lone woman rushed from behind the smaller army with reinforcements, shouting words of encouragement, and rallying the army to her side. What really got their attention was the fact that she looked like Artoria, with her blonde hair wrapped in a proper bun. But there were major differences, whereas Artoria wore blue, this woman wore red and gold. Her sword was large, curved and jagged.

Cú took this opportunity to appear on the communicator and looked at the Chaldean team. "Okay, please tell me I'm not the only one thinking she and Artoria look alike this time….?"

"I'm seeing it." Liz answered.

"Same here." Tatsuko replied.

"Yeah, there's no denying it this time." Ritsuka chimed.

"The resemblance is really shocking." Mashu said.

"My goodness, she could be Artoria's ancestor!" Jeanne said.

"I will admit, it is almost like looking into a mirror." Artoria said from behind Cú.

"Opposing Romans, heed my words!" The woman shouted. "Surrender now, and you will be shown mercy, but if not, then I cannot guarantee your lives!"

The larger army did not budge. Instead, they formed a shield wall in order to intercept the advancing smaller army. The Chaldeans then looked to their right, and saw a grand city not far from the battlefield. No, that was the capital! Ritsuka looked at Roman with a knowing gaze. "I think we just found out which army to back."

Roman nodded. "Okay, help that woman and defend the capital!"

Ritsuka nodded and turned to the others. "Okay, let's get to it, but remember, don't kill any of the opposing soldiers. Non-lethal takedowns only!"

"Easy peasy!" Nobunaga said.

The black haired Servant took aim with her muskets as the other Servants charged at the larger army. Vlad was the first to make contact, the Berserker using his lance to break the shield walls from the sides, allowing Mashu the opportunity to break into the enemy lines and sow chaos into the right flank. Ten soldiers charged at her, but the Shielder swiped her shield at four of them, sending them flying into the air slightly. She then bashed her shield into five more of them, knocking them down and out of the fight. The last soldier raised his blade to strike her, only for a rock to hit him in the head, knocking him out. The lilac haired girl turned to see Tatsuko, waving her arms and sending two more stones towards two more soldiers. The moment they were disoriented, the female Master found three more rocks, and sent them flying at the enemy forces while Ritsuka continued to use Gandr at its lowest setting to paralyze the enemy soldiers. The male Master then looked at Tatsuko in both confusion and shock.

"I thought you were only capable of dust clouds." He said.

"Well aside from that, I could also fire only one good sized rock." Tatsuko answered. "But it's because of the Mystic Code that I'm able to perform much better than I can normally do."

"Okay, that explains it." Ritsuka said as he fired another Gandr at a soldier attempting to attack Sanson. "But how long can you keep this up?"

"No clue." Tatsuko replied as she fired her rocks into the backs of more soldiers. "But I'm already starting to feel the fatigue setting in."

"Hey, less talky and more fighty!" Nobunaga shouted as she incapacitated fifty more soldiers with her musket rounds. The two Masters did not respond, but acquiesced to the black haired Servant's request.

As that was going on, Sanson defeated his two hundredth opponent, having smacked him upside the head with the pommel of his sword. The Assassin then blocked two incoming strikes from two other soldiers, before putting down his blade, grabbing them by their armor and throwing them to Siegfried and Jeanne, who knocked them out accordingly. Sanson then felt another enemy soldier try to attack him from behind, but the white haired Servant summoned his blade, deflected the blow, and used his free hand to smack the soldier away, who was then sent flying courtesy of a shield bash from Mashu.

Siegfried flourished his blade on all sides of him to give him some distance from the enemy soldiers attacking him. The Saber then saw an opportunity to slam his pommel into the gut of one soldier, and elbow the one to his left right in the jaw. Another soldier came from behind, but Siegfried simply swiped at him with his tail, a super effective move, as it sent the man reeling away, until he was attacked by Liz, who smacked him upside the head with her own tail.

Jeanne dodged an attack from her right, and knocked the soldier down with her flag. Two more soldiers attacked her, but the Ruler then twirled her flag around, before smacking it into their heads, knocking them out instantly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tatsuko's rocks coming toward her, and the blonde Servant knew what to do. The Ruler twirled her staff in both hands, deflecting the rocks into different directions, watching them knock down multiple enemy soldiers. Siegfried saw one, grabbed it, and threw it towards Vlad. The Berserker twirled his lance and deflected it towards another enemy soldier, while grabbing another by the head, and throwing him towards Mashu, who bashed him with her shield.

As that was happening, Liz slammed the handle of her lance into a soldier's side. The Lancer saw another soldier attempt to attack her from behind, but the blonde Roman woman stopped him, having slammed her pommel into the man's helmet. The woman pointed her blade at Liz, causing the Lancer to stare back at her in irritation.

"Hey, I'm on your side you idiot!" Liz shouted.

"And who are you to call me that?" The woman asked.

"Please move out of the way!"

The two girls looked to their left, and saw Mashu charging at them. The Shielder then leapt into the air and brought her shield to her front, forcing Liz and the Roman to move as Mashu slammed her shield into two enemy soldiers. The two soldiers were then knocked unconscious by the Shielder. Liz looked back at the Roman leader and grinned.

"See? Told you we're on your side." She said.

The Roman leader nodded, and raised her blade back to the enemy. Mashu got up and joined them in defeating the last of the enemy soldiers. The Roman leader dodged an incoming strike, then incapacitated the soldier with a quick punch with her armored hand. Another tried to attack her from the rear, but the blonde woman sensed it coming, and sidestepped. She then slammed her pommel into the man's head, knocking him out cold.

Mashu threw her shield towards Liz, causing the Lancer to smack it away with her tail towards a group of roman soldiers, breaking their shield wall and allowing the Roman leader to lunge at them. The blonde woman grabbed one of their shields, and bashed two of the soldiers to the ground, allowing Nobunaga to knock them out with a low powered musket round each. The Roman leader then proceeded to block and deflect two more attacks before knocking them down with the shield. The moment they were incapacitated, the woman moved on to the next group.

Liz could only raise an eyebrow at the leader's fighting style. While she was no expert in swordsmanship, she could tell that the woman was good, but she lacked skill. The Roman leader then proceeded to make her way to Vlad. The Berserker rushed towards the frightened soldiers, and used his spear to cut into their legs, bringing them to their knees, and allowing Tatsuko's rocks to knock them unconscious. The Roman leader took out a soldier that was about to attack Vlad from behind, and blocked an incoming strike from another soldier. Unfortunately, this soldier was stronger than the others, and started to overwhelm her with his blows. The woman looked around and clicked her tongue in frustration as five more enemy soldiers broke through her soldiers' defenses and made their way towards her. She already had her hands full with the one in front of her now, there was no way she'd be able to handle the others.

Thankfully, a large shield hit the enemy in front of her, freeing her from her predicament. The blonde woman stared in awe as Mashu grabbed her shield from the unconscious soldier, and leapt towards the five soldiers that made their way towards them. Mashu slammed her shield in front of her, blocking their attacks. The moment their blades bounced off her shield, the lilac haired girl immediately reacted by smacking them all away with one swipe of her shield. The Roman leader widened her eyes in amazement at Mashu's skill, only to gasp as two soldiers rushed towards the Shielder.

"Look out!"

Mashu turned around and saw the two soldiers incoming. She raised her shield to counter, but they fell to the ground, paralyzed by Ritsuka's Gandr. Nobunaga readied her muskets and fired more powered down musket rounds at the enemy soldiers to provide relief for the smaller army.

That was until the sound of a horn blared throughout the battlefield. The enemy soldiers proceeded to retreat in a hectic manner, helping up their still conscious comrades and ran into the woods. Not wanting to risk walking into a trap, the smaller army and the Chaldeans did not give chase. Tatsuko started to breathe heavily, her knees starting to buckle. The female Master nearly fell to the ground, but Ritsuka caught her in his arms just in time, amusing the both of them greatly.

"Talk about a role reversal…" She muttered.

Ritsuka chuckled. "I'm not the one who used rocks to hit soldiers like a pinball machine."

Tatsuko snickered at the remark. The orange haired Master slowly regained her strength, and with Ritsuka's support, got back up on her feet. The two Masters and Nobunaga then walked down the hill to check on their teammates. The Chaldean team members were thankfully all together and surveying the unconscious enemies, and it didn't take long to reach them. However, before they could decide on their next plan of action, the blonde woman walked towards them, clapping at them.

"I must commend you!" She said. "I appreciate your aid."

"No need to thank us." Tatsuko said. "We were just passing by."

The woman nodded and turned to Mashu with a smile. "More importantly, I praise the way you fought just now. For a girl to brandish a weapon larger than herself…"

"O-oh, I did not do anything special…." Mashu muttered.

"Umu, I must say I like you!" The blonde woman said. She turned to the other Chaldeans and pointed at them. "I shall allow you to fight by my side. Revel in the ultimate honor!"

"Hang on, what about these enemy soldiers?" Ritsuka asked. "What are you going to do with them?"

"I plan on taking them prisoner." She answered. "If they were executed, then it would just make their comrades less of an incentive to surrender."

"Makes sense to me." Nobunaga said. "If you kill all of their buddies, then it would just make them fight harder."

"That still doesn't excuse you pointing a blade at me!" Liz shouted.

The blonde woman stared at Liz with an amused glance. "Umu, You sure do have courage to speak back to me like that."

Liz grumbled as the woman glanced at all of them with that same smile on her face.

"Are you all foreigners by chance? You must be, given your attire." She said. The woman then looked at Mashu and Tatsuko. "Or even the lack thereof."

Mashu blushed as Tatsuko put her hands on her hips akimbo.

"Hey, I'm completely covered." Tatsuko said.

"And yet I can still see the curves of your body." The woman said with a flirtatious tone. "And I like what I see."

Tatsuko blushed at the comment, causing the woman to chuckle. "I must tend to the men, but my offer still stands. I would like for you all to accompany me to the capital."

"We appreciate the offer." Sanson said.

The woman nodded and walked towards her men. Ritsuka turned to Tatsuko with a raised eyebrow. "I'm surprised at you Tatsuko. A girl was showing interest in you, and you didn't even flirt back."

Tatsuko shrugged. "She's not really my type."

"And what exactly IS your type of girl?" Liz asked.

"Well for starters, my type of girl is one who is a few years older than I am. Has big boobs, an energetic and goofy personality, blue or gold eyes, pink or silver hair, or even pink hair that looks like it could be silver."

"That is…..oddly specific." Ritsuka said.

Tatsuko shrugged. "That's the kind of thing I was attracted to from a young age."

"Well, that lady does seem to meet one of the criteria….." Nobunaga said.

"Speaking of that woman." Vlad said. "I find it odd that she told us to go with her, and yet not give us her name."

"You're right, she never told us!" Jeanne said. The Ruler looked to see if the woman was still in their line of sight, and found her not far away talking to some soldiers. "Excuse me, but you never told us your name!"

The woman turned around and smiled. "I am Nero Claudius, fifth emperor of the Roman Empire!"

And with that, the emperor walked towards another group of soldiers and helped them with tying the enemy soldiers, leaving the Chaldeans absolutely speechless. Ritsuka turned on his communicator slowly, and looked at Roman.

"You heard that right?" He asked.

Roman nodded slowly. "We all did."

"Is Johan still there?"

"I am right here, Mr. Fujimaru." The man said.

"How do you feel about this?" Ritsuka asked.

"I will admit, I am surprised." Johan said. "But this does not change my opinion on the emperor."

"Well here's my opinion. I don't like her." Liz said.

"I just cannot believe we talked to an emperor like that, and got away with it." Jeanne said.

"I can." Nobunaga said. "We just saved her and her army's hide, so we got on her good side."

Siegfried turned to look at Tatsuko, and noticed her frozen expression. The Saber turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Tatsuko did not even move a muscle, opting to remain as she was. "I was just hit on by an emperor of Rome, who happened to be a girl, who is also perhaps one of the worst rulers in history…"

"When you put it like that, I can understand your shock….." Vlad muttered.

"Well in any case, she just invited us to the capital, and considering that is our goal, we should help her, for now." Ritsuka said. "Let's start by tying up these soldiers here and take them prisoner."

"Oh, I have some rope we can use." Mashu said. The Shielder reached into her shield, and brought forth hundreds of pieces of rope. The group took a few, and some of the allied soldiers came by, and asked for some. As soon as they all had some rope, they all began tying up the enemy soldiers and preparing them for transport.

However, far off in the distance, a green suited man watched them at work and grinned.

"My my. Things are about to get more lively."

OC: And so The Triumvirate Arc starts off with a bang.

CV: New Singularity, new team.

OC: And old enemies. I'm sure you loved that little surprise at the end because that is how you reintroduce a villain.

CV: He's just watching from the distance not knowing he's going to get his ass kicked.

OC: Oh most definitely. But I'd say one of the best parts was introducing the two new OCs, and their professions. Iris basically giving a little lore about what kinds of Monster Hunter creatures are actually phantasmal beasts was something Vlad and I were going to do much earlier, but we forgot to address it at the time, and now we have a person who is a historian on Ancient Rome so that way Mashu doesn't always have to be the one to give exposition.

CV: We basically created a character so the crossover could work and the MH monsters could fit into the world, and I'd say we did quite well.

OC: I'd say so too. And for our audience in the studio, you all have noticed something interesting in scene two with the day part. Well Vlad and I discussed this a few months ago, and we decided back after the Singularity in France that we would now have a Day Counter to show how many days are passing inside the singularities. Some chapters will take place in one day, while others will have multiple days, but it is to give us a way to be able to keep track at how long they've been in there.

CV: Now we need to make them stay for 69 days.

OC: Hehe, that would be fun. But another thing as you all might have guessed based on the ending here, Lev Lainur WILL have more of a prominent role in this singularity, instead of him just hanging around until the end. This way he actually becomes more of a PERSONAL threat and enemy, well, more than he already is, but it gives us an excuse to actually utilize him.

CV: Yeah in the original Septem he was just jerking off in the palace until the last like, 3 acts I think. This time he's actually going to be doing shit.

OC: He was mentioned by Nero earlier in the game but that didn't really amount to jack shit. But we ain't doing that. He will still meet a similar fate though, so he has that going for him.

CV: He ain't getting scot free this time.

OC: No, he won't. But I must ask, what was the funniest thing to you in this chapter?

CV: Hm…Tatsuko throwing rocks.

OC: Okay yeah that was pretty fun. And the excuse that it's the Mystic Code allowing her to be able to enhance her abilities to that degree is a nice way for her and Ritsuka to actually help their friends and not just be support, because that gets old INCREDIBLY quick.

CV: True I'd say.

OC: Though personally for me the funniest part was Tatsuko explaining her ideal woman, and how oddly specific it is. Then again there are quite a few girls in Chaldea that would fit those criteria.

CV: Right, so it's a mystery whom she's going to be with. Speaking of, it was kinda funny what she said about Nero.

OC: I mean, that is a perfect comedic moment, having the most powerful person in the world at the time period make a pass at you and then turn them down only to realize what you did is always funny to see.

CV: Me when I go to the past and turn down a girl who later turns out to be an emperor lmao.

OC: And another interesting thing about our dear Umu is that she seemed to struggle against an opponent but still hold her own, unlike in the game where she took them all single handedly with no explanation at all. Yeah, I'm sure all of you will be happy to hear that we are NOT going to have Nero be this one woman army, but have her be an actual human that needs to be careful on who she fights. It gives us more leeway and more interesting interactions for this arc.

CV: One of Septem's biggest gripes in my opinion is how much it oversells Nero like she's the be all end all of characters, which is something that we don't agree with.

OC: Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love Emperor Umu, but it felt kind of forced. Though to be fair for Sakurai, while she DOES go overboard with this sort of thing with her female leads, I cannot go without saying on how hypocritical it is that SHE gets flack for it, when Nasu does the same with his, and HIS female leads, especially the villainous ones, and they get fan wanked to hell, and the fans praise him for it. It's kind of a double standard in my opinion, and it actually confuses me as to why that is. That is NOT to say that Nasu isn't a phenomenal writer (He did give us the best chapters afterall), and his writing style has influenced us for years to come, but I just had to get that off my chest.

CV; So in other words, we ain't going to wank anyone in this story.

OC: Not unless the plot demands it lol, but yeah, when it comes to characters like Nero, or even others down the line, we will have others point out their character flaws, whether politely or not, and see how these people actually GROW and develop instead of just staying the same.

CV: So unlike the saying "Can't teach new tricks to an old dog", we're going to be teaching dead people how to be better. Best therapist ever.

OC: You know, you ain't wrong there.

Mini Nobu: Nobu Nobu Nobu!

OC: Oh? The boss wants our help with something? Well, this is interesting.

CV: She's been in the dark for a few weeks, wonder what she wants.

OC: Probably something fun. Whenever she gets back from her hiatuses, she always has fun activities for us.

CV: True, let's see if she brought any new toys for the studio.

OC: I'm sure she has.

CV: Well then, we better not keep her waiting. That was all for today folks, we hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this new arc and we hope to see you all next week as well. CosmicVlad and Owenchaser signing off, have a good night everyone.