Of the love or hatred God has for the English, I know nothing, but I do know that they will all be thrown out of France, except those who die there- Saint Jeanne d'Arc during her trial. March 15, 1431

Chapter 1: The Maiden

Ancient gears whirled to life as the rusted pistons heaved and hoed. An ear-piercing screech filled the empty concrete bunkers as the large doors slowly pulled up, shooting dust everywhere.

A figure stepped through as the lights slowly flickered on. At least four of the light sputtered and died, casting an eerie shadow down the empty corridor.

"Welcome back, Dr. Hasly," A female voice boomed in through the hall.

The figure stopped by a rack, unzipping her suit and hanging it back. Removing the helmet, a long blonde braid of hair cascaded down the young woman's back.

"Thank you, Diva," Halsy said with a smile. Satisfied that her suite was in proper Order, the twenty-five-year-old woman picked up the vacuum-sealed briefcase on the floor and walked down the hallway.

"Tell Dr. Anders I have the artifact."

"Very good." The bunker answered back with an almost refined British tone.

Reaching down the hallway, Halsy climbed down the spiral staircase and brushed past the dormitories and the empty cafeteria. Through the maze of empty corridors and rooms, the doctor arrived at the beating heart of the bunker.

A middle-aged man was nearby furiously typing away on his computer, no doubt asking the other subjects to join them.

With a mischievous grin, Dr. Halsy dropped the briefcase on the stainless steel table with a resounding metal bring sound.

The lean and thin man jumped in the air, practically knocking over his laptop. "SHIT!" He hissed as he rubbed his knee.

Halsy giggled with a cheeky smile as the older man looked over. "Emily…. Well, I would congratulate you on a successful mission.."

Emily's smile grew.

"But you nearly breaking an artifact would cause me to retract that statement. And all our work would be for naught."

Typical. The doctor was always so paranoid. Emily rolled her eyes as she knocked on the hardened briefcase. "A nuke couldn't crack this thing open."

The man sighed as he opened the briefcase and peered in. At the center, surrounded by stabilizing gel, was an insignificant little wooden cross partially blackened.

The man looked up with an eyebrow raised." You sure this is it?"

Emily sighed, "Yes. I followed the testimonies and matched them with the three journals. So can we get started?"

"We should wait for the others-"

"Please….?" Emily did her best to pull off the best puppy dog eyes towards her long-time mentor.

The doctor sighed again before nodding.

A grin started to form on the young blonde's lips. The junior scientist took the cross out of her supervisor's hand. "You're the best."

"We'll tell the others that we're calibrating the settings."

"Right," Emily said as she placed the artifact into the scanner. A light blue light scanned from top to bottom, copying the artifact. A holo display emerged, taking a fragment of the owner's DNA, constructing a biography.

"Right. Jeanne d'Arc, general and war hero of France during the third phase of the Hundred Years War. Burnt at the stake in the English-controlled village of Roen."

A slim figure appeared in plate armor; she had short autumn hair with a braid running behind her back. She had hazel eyes was a spark of determination as she hoisted up her white banner.

"Your turn."

Emily took out a combat knife and sliced her hand open, blood running freely into the machine.

Emily's DNA formed beside Joan's. Highlighted segments matched and traced over one another.

"We have 98.45 percent match. Melding should be easy. Just remember, let her get used to it. It's going to be a very drastic wake-up for both of you… Physical traits will be a struggle to adapt to."

Emily nodded as she headed over to the full-body coding table. She tucked her long blonde braid into the helmet and laid down on the machine. Emily felt a shiver creep up her spine as the machine interfaced with her nerves, a small IV embedded itself into the back of her skull. She felt the restraints camp down, holding her snuggly in place by the ankles and wrists.

"DNA match synced. Constructing digital body."

"Three."

"Constructing neural map."

"Two."

"Synthesising cells from DNA."

"One."

"Rebuilding personality from Cell memory. Injecting R-Cells"

A clear liquid slowly fed it ways through the helmet into Emily's spine. At the same time, she felt an ice-cold numbness spread up her arm. A bright light consumed her vision as her body went numb. Minutes, hours, days, years passed. The heat started to creep in around her.

She wanted to shout.

Her body burned as she tried to inhale to find her lungs stopped working.

The heat grew intense. Molten iron incinerated each and every nerve in Emily's body. Every single nerve in her body was screaming as her body convulsed. Heat. Fire. Incineration. She felt her arms flail and her legs kick violently; the only thing preventing her from falling off the table in a foaming mess were the straps that secured her.

Then it stopped.

Emily's body went limp.


Amethyst eyes popped open as a young woman inhaled sharply. Air.

Wait…

Air, fresh air! Breathable crisp cool air!

It smelt so fresh, and clean, and just…. Great!

Sky.

Air. Clouds.

Was she dead?

Was this heaven?

The girl sat up, but it felt strange. Very strange. Her body felt sluggish. As if she was pulled into the ground.

Indeed this had to be her heavenly home; maybe she just needed to get adjusted to her new home and this new angelic body. She was in the afterlife, after all.

That's when she saw her clothing. A deep saturated battle dress metal gauntlets, with metal cuirass with a purple blouse with a purple shroud, clasped together.

She lifted her arm, inspecting the gauntlets. It was undoubtedly fine craftsmanship.

Though, she never had such ornate armor. Let alone her current attire.

Then again… maybe this was a gift. A gift from God. But why would she need armor?

She bawled her hands up into fists realizing that it took a minute for her hand to respond.

Even breathing was becoming more and more difficult.

It was like she had to think about it for the body to respond.

That was when she noticed a stray blonde hair in front of her eyes. Amethyst eyes widened with alarm. She never had blonde hair. Turning her head, she felt something pull slightly on her head. Reaching behind, she pulled on a long blonde braid that would easily reach down to her knees.

Her heart skipped.

Her.

Heart.

It started to beat faster as she began to breathe faster.

No.

No. No.

No. No. No.

There was no way she was alive. She remembered the fire—the agony. Then the bright light and the sweet voice that welcomed her. Her mind froze. Images flashed in her mind before… what happened.

Her mouth started to dry as if she hadn't drunk anything in what felt like an eternity. Her throat was parched from the heat of ten thousand suns.

Rouen.

There is no way she could be alive. She…. the fire… the pain and agony.

So why was she here?

And not in her own body.

She wanted to scream but found nothing came out of her mouth. Gasping for air; but it felt like her lungs did nothing. Flung to the ground in agony, as a fire started to consume her, she could hear a voice.

Jeanne, I know you're scared.

SCARED? Jeanne lamented; she wanted to be out of this nightmare. She didn't want to relive the nightmare.

It's going to be alright. She heard the voice say as it tried to calm her down gently.

Was it God? Or the Lord? Well, maybe… but it didn't feel like it. It wasn't the Virgin Mother. It was like she already knew this person.

You are inhabiting my body.

Jeanne blinked. She was in another person's body…. Unless… This was a trick. It had to be. It's the only thing that made sense. This was the trick of the devil.

No… we were able to reconstruct your personality from the DNA…

Was this a spell or witchcraft?

Okay… right… well no… ummm… science?

As the voice stumbled into making sense of this situation, Jeanne concluded it wasn't the devil or one of its minions or an angel. They tend not to fumble with words in such a… human kind of way.

"Why..?" Jeanne finally found herself asking in a strange voice. It was much like her own, but more… English in a way.. lighter tone.. and slightly older.

We need your help to save humanity.

To save the group that quickly abandoned her and condemned her to die in a fate worse than death. What did she owe them?

Then… again… that's not what the Lord would want. If this was the Lord's will, then so be it. His will be done. "Alright." Jeanne finally answered in a strange voice.

It will take some time to get adjusted in my body.

Yeah, that was most certainly the truth. But how was this… arrangement going to work? Jeanne thought to herself.

Two minds… two souls… share the same body. What you know, I know. What I know, you will know.

Apparently, they shared thoughts too.

Yes, we do, feelings and emotions.

That means…

Yes… I felt your… death….

Jeanne looked down at the ground, so much remorse she was condemned to the same pain she went through.

It's alright, Jeanne… To be honest… it was an honor to see how brave my ancestor was…

"Ancestor…" Jeanne blinked, looking over her body again, trying to grasp the situation she found herself in. "That means…"

Indeed, Your brother, Pierre's side. I'm sure this is all a shock to you right now.

That was an understatement. So either she was in the future… or her descendent travel back in time? No. None of this made any sense. It sounded like witchcraft or the work of the devil. Then again… she said it involved science.. And something called… DNA? Then who exactly was the person… she was living in.?

Fair. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is-

"Emily Halsy." Jeanne stated, which practically caused the maiden to jump up as a flash of images ran through her mind. A dark and dusty corridor, a man in a white coat. A container of sorts. "Doctor." Was she a healer?

Not quite, she dealt… with numbers, Earth, rocks, logic, philosophy. Images of large brick buildings, tiled floors, strange metal chairs, strange… rectangle contraptions that showed images, buttons… Computers! Whatever that was.

Hundreds of people at this place, moving from strange building to building. University. Harvard rang in her mind. Harvard University.

Jeanne… don't try and absorb all the info. It's too much for you. The voice rang out as strange images, sounds, smells, tastes, and even sensations overcame her. "It's… too much…" Jeanne grunted.

Strange lights in the skies with orange and blue and green streams filled the sky. Men in black armor came with strange things in their arms. Cracks and loud pops filled the air. Something slammed into her shoulder with the feel of searing pain. "Make it stop!" Jeanne cried out as she fell to the ground a second time.

I can't! Jeanne, you have the power to do so. You're the one in control.

Shutting her eyes, trying to push the images and sounds out of her mind, she focused on her breather. "Lord guide me." She chanted to herself.

The images started to die down, the pain in her shoulder started to fade away as her breathing and heart rate started to slow down. That was close…

"Yes it was, Emily." Jeanne sighed as she opened the eyes. "Why… why is any of this happening." She whispered as she wiped the sweat from 'her' brow.

Humanity is dying in a war. You and your memories are one of the keys to saving it. There… are others like you who fought the same war… The real war against the Order. You're in a digital reconstruction of Earth that houses the rest of the human population under the direct control of the Order.

"Stop." Jeanne sighed and tried to take any of this in. A pang of regret filled her heart.

Sorry.

"No, I'm sorry. This is just...so much…"

Yes… it is…

If it had anything to do with the Order, Jeanne would pick up the banner and fight the war, no matter what. This place, all of this, was just too much for her. Jeanne sat up, rubbing her head. "Emily. I will help… but this is a lot to take in. You're from the future, no?"

I am.

"Did we win the war…?"

Which war?

Jeanne looked out to see a valley of small villages scattered around large farms and estates. Off in the distance was a walled city. It seemed all so familiar to her, "Did they take my beloved France?"

No… the English were driven off. Your sacrifice rallied all of France.

"I see…" Then her death was not in vain. Looking around, she saw a staff to her side. Her heart skipped a beat upon the realization that it was her banner, the golden spear tip and white fabric unmistakable to her. Next to that was her own sword. Seeing it again filled her heart with some modicum of comfort.

Recreated from your memory. Emily's voice said with a hint of pride. It should be just as remembered.

Guilt filled Jeanne's heart as she saw the weapons. The weapons she reluctantly took up to defend her country. The weapons that God wanted her to use to liberate France. That the English nearly persuaded her that she took up with enthusiasm to unleash her blood lust.

We've read your accounts, Jeanne. You were a good person at heart.

Yet the English words still dug into her heart like knives.

If you don't feel comfortable about this…

Jeanne stood up on shaky legs, trying to get used to her new armor, let alone her body. She reached down and picked up the sword, and strapped it around her waist. Picking up the banner, she could feel the familiar, comforting weight of the blessed flag.

"You were talking about the Order?"

They nearly control everything—even humanity.

"Then I will do anything to save our people."

A sense of relief passed over her. Thank you, Jeanne.


This...

This has been such a blast to write. I have I think like 5-6 chapters backlog... So I guess it's time to unveil my project. This story incorporates elements of history, Fate, and elements of assassin's creed.

I had such a blast just thinking up this story. The maiden has returned to France! But how will she react to this strange new world in a strange new body?

Magic is being replaced by technology that is far beyond human understanding... I'm really interested in exploring that.

Anyway, if you enjoyed it, please leave fav, follow, and/or review. It really does help to motivate me.

2/16/2021- I apologize for the lack of editing. I went through with an extra thin comb, but I think some things escaped my grasp.

2/17/2021- Used Italics to separate Emily's speech. Thank Dan for pointing that out! Great help. Unforunately, the italics didn't copy over from my google docs xD

Also Reviews:

Guest: Thanks xD,

Goldenboy: Correct, due to her not being summoned through the Grail system, it is going to take time for her to learn about the world after her death through her host, as well as other stuff down the line. I want to take a less magical approach with this, if that makes sense. But trust me they will still very much awesome.

Next chapter hopefully by this weekend!

Thank you,

LordxSauron