At first glance, it seemed like no guards were posted outside Vill-V's workshop but that was a smokescreen. There were likely several Assassins with their Presence Concealment ready to show up should someone attempt to sneak inside. "So what's the plan?" RITSUKA whispered as he, Eden, Kosma, and Sakura peeked from the corner at the end of the hall. Even at a decent distance, they could already hear the sound of metalwork coming through the door.
"Firstly, we'll need to confirm how many guards there actually are." Eden took command as they pulled back from the corner. "Sakura, you can detect them, right?"
The Assassin nodded. "So long as their skill is an equal rank to or less than mine. I just need to get close enough," she added. "But that also means I can't use mine to sneak in if there's an Assassin with the same rank as me."
"I know Fuuma is on guard, assuming they hadn't changed shifts," shared RITSUKA, making Sakura sigh.
"His Presence Concealment is equal to mine." Just like that, their easiest plan had gone up in smoke. She should have expected someone with an A in the Assassin Class Skill to be part of guard duty. "What about the vents? The ELFs should be small enough to go through them," Sakura then suggested while glancing at their mechanical assistants, mainly the one with the smallest frame.
"Ooh, we get to be all spy-like? Count me in!" As expected, Elysia immediately volunteered on the "mission."
"Wouldn't we need the floor plans?" Kosma pointed out which Eden agreed with.
"Why don't you and Griseo visit the archives? A copy of the blueprints should be there. In the meantime, the rest of us will determine how many are posted outside V's workshop." With a plan set, Kosma split off to swing by the Storm Border's archives to acquire the intel they needed as the others remained.
It had been some time since Fuuma was last tasked with an "important" assignment; it was a relatively easy one: prevent anyone not on the shortlist from sneaking into the new Alter Ego's workshop. Though many were curious, most were compliant when he told them to go the other way. Some required a little more convincing— namely, him going inside and dragging his hardworking Master out to tell them he was doing fine.
"Just putting together a… a little thing," Ritsuka would normally say to reassure them before rushing back inside. That was the usual routine for the last couple of days while Master and Vill-V toiled within, occasionally joined by the likes of Babbage, Kintoki, and even Odysseus. For that afternoon, he and Danzo were on shift together but they were about to swap with Cursed Arm Hassan and Cu Chuulain.
Then two of the new Servants came by.
"Is V and Master still busy?" One of them asked as he appeared before them.
"Unfortunately they are, Miss Eden," Fuuma answered apologetically. "Would you like me to fetch them?"
"No need, but do remind Master of his promised appointment with Sakura." That was the first Fuuma was hearing of any sort of "appointment."
"Wait, what?" And judging from Sakura's reaction, this was the first she was hearing about it too. "Don't tell Master anything! Eden is just making things up."
"I'm sure Master would not mind being pulled away from work to spend time with—"
"Let's just go, Eden!" The flustered Assassin didn't give Eden the chance to continue as she dragged her away before Eden could embarrass her any further. They vanished around the corner and Fuuma was left speechless but still amused. He could even hear his mother's soft laughter despite her still concealing herself.
Behind the corner, Sakura was glaring at Eden who only found it adorable how her fellow Flamechaser's face was matching red as her own hair. "Did you have to say that?"
"Well, we don't want them to suspect anything, do we?" Eden grinned as she teased her. "In any case, did you figure out how many there are?"
"Assuming the First Hassan isn't there, there are only two on guard," Sakura answered with her eyes still narrowed. King Hassan was technically the only one in Chaldea with EX Ranked Presence Concealment so nobody would know if he was around.
RITSUKA, meanwhile, could only look confused like a lost puppy in between the two and wonder what Sakura was upset at Eden for. "So we stick to the plan?" He asked hesitantly to which Eden nodded.
"We do as Mobius planned and make a distraction. While we keep the guards busy, the ELFs would sneak in through the vents," she relayed the game plan; all they needed to do now was wait for Kosma to return with the blueprints and… wait. "Where's Su?" Eden asked upon noticing he was missing.
"Oh, he said he was going to look for someone who could help us." Frankly, RITSUKA had his doubts about bringing a third party into their mission but Su was already off before he could raise them.
"If Su thinks we need someone, he's probably right." Elysia shared her thoughts before noticing someone approaching them from the other end of the hall. "Oh, that was fast. He's already back."
And accompanying him was one of the earliest Servants Chaldea contracted. "Yo, this small guy said you needed help getting those guys' attention?" Cu Chuulain (Caster) greeted them with a two-finger salute.
"...What do you need the ventilation layout for?" The record keeper of Chaldea asked with a slightly dumbfounded look at Kosma for his request.
"We're trying to find out what Master is doing," he replied like it explained everything… which was surprisingly enough for her.
"Please wait a moment while I retrieve the blueprints," Elron told him before she went to find the hard copy of the requested document. Kosma was admittedly stunned that she didn't question him any further, but he wasn't going to complain. He leaned on the nearby wall and waited for Elron to return; meanwhile, Griseo was inspecting the mostly white room. Kosma may not be a mind reader, but he could tell what she was thinking.
"Have you asked Mobius for a canvas?" He didn't see one when he was in her lab earlier.
"Granny did… but I already used it," the ELF confessed in a small voice.
"Hmm… I'll ask one of the painters if they have extras." Kosma made a mental reminder to do that after they were done running Mobius's "errand." "But do you have enough paint?"
As Griseo nodded, Kosma heard the door opening and turned his head to see the last person he expected: Pardofelis. "Oh, Kosma? Griseo? What are you two doing here?" She was equally surprised to see them.
"Eden asked us to get something for her here," he answered concisely. Though she was a Flamechaser, Mobius had told him to only bring RITSUKA earlier because Pardo would be too busy running her shop. Sakura could carry out the infiltration by herself either way so the feline MANTIS was not needed. "Why are you here?"
"Filing my taxes."
"...We have to do taxes?" Out of everything so far in Chaldea, that was the most out-of-left-field thing he'd heard.
"Only if you run a shop like me. A portion of the QPs I earn goes to the Chaldea's reserves," Pardo whined with a pout. "It's truly as they say, there's only two certainties in life."
Well, it was no skin off his back so Kosma didn't question it any further. Elron was returning with the blueprints anyway. "Thank you," he nodded as he took the rolled-up plans and left with Griseo so Pardo could do her business.
It was a couple of minutes before he rejoined them and was mildly surprised to see one of the Cu Chuulain variants but again, he wasn't going to question it. If having an outsider around was something Eden thought was needed, he trusted her judgment. "Here, the plans for this wing of the ship," he said as he handed over the blueprints.
Eden unrolled the paper and, with the ELFs looking over her shoulders, inspected them for an infiltration route. After about a minute, she let out a satisfied hum and declared, "Alright, here's the plan—"
"Yo, Fuuma! We're here to take over." The Assassin heard the familiar voice of one Cu Chuulain (Lancer) approaching with Cursed Arm. With a brief thank you, he and Danzou left them to guard the entrance to Vill-V's lab.
Minutes passed without any word shared between them, with Cu only whistling while leaning next to the door. After a particularly loud bang originating from inside, the Lancer couldn't help but make small talk. "Did Master ever tell you what he's working on?" He asked the Assassin who reappeared to shake his head.
"No, Master had neglected to mention that particular aspect of this task," Cursed Arm added with a curious hum. "Considering Master's interests, however, I think we can make an educated guess."
"You're not wrong, but I don't get why he's keeping it such a big secret."
"Maybe he's worried someone would want to give some suggestion? Tesla and Edison are not on the list and if it is what we think, they would want Master to use their preferred current."
"Hmm… True," Cu conceded as he pulled out the list of those allowed to go in.
"Kintoki, both versions… Odysseus… Charles Babbage…" Those were the three that frequently came by. There were also Da Vinci, Sion, Jeanne Alter, and Muramasa. The former two made sense, but it took a little thinking for Cu to understand the latter two. There were a couple more names besides those, including one of the so-called Flamechasers—the snake-like one who was usually cooped up in her laboratory. Cu didn't think she ever came by though, at least during his previous shifts.
However, he wasn't given any more time to ponder over the list as he heard frantic footsteps running towards them. He initially thought it was yet another Servant trying to make a break for the door but was shocked to see it was his Caster version, looking completely out of breath. "You… You—" he breathed out.
"What? Did something happen?" Cu asked with an unbothered tone.
"Shishou… Shishou is looking for someone to spar with."
"...Hey, Assassin. Really hate to ask this but—"
"Don't worry, Lancer. I doubt there'd be any trouble I cannot handle by myself," chuckled Cursed Arm. Cu flashed him a grateful grin before disappearing in a cloud of dust along with his Caster self to hide from Scathach's "training."
All was calm for about a minute before the Assassin sensed another presence approaching. "Oh, Shielder. How can I help you?" He politely greeted the doppelganger of his Master. It was still a bit jarring to see someone with the same face as him running around, but it was not something anyone was not unused to by the time RITSUKA was summoned.
"I saw Cu Chuulain running this way. What was that about?" Shielder asked.
"Ah, he was just warning his Lancer self regarding an important matter. You'll learn to understand how things are around here soon, Shielder."
"I… see…" He still sounded confused but didn't ask anything further. His curiosity now seemed to be directed at the workshop. "Is Master and Miss Vill-V still working inside?"
While RITSUKA was keeping Cursed Arm busy, the other Flamechasers had split up to find and wait by the vents with the shortest routes to the workshop. "Alright, he's busy. Go!" Eden ordered through their comms before nodding to her partner. "Good luck, Ely."
"Leave it to me!" Cheered the pink-haired ELF before she flew into the vents, having already memorized which way she needed to go.
"Griseo and Su are in." "So is Kevin." Both Kosma and Griseo notified her. Now they just had to wait for the ELFs to reactivate their communication modules when they reach the workshop. "I'll go check on RITSUKA," Sakura then added.
"...Eden, are you sure this is safe for them?"
"There's no need to worry, Kosma," Eden assured him. "Mobius wouldn't have allowed Griseo to help had she thought any of them would be in danger." Even if it was an ELF version of the adorable painter… Eden believed that to be the case anyway.
…Well, until the communication line flared up to life with Elysia's panicked voice— "THEY'RE IN THE VENTS!"
"...Oh dear."
"—see… He really doesn't have much time for his own… hobbies?" Sakura overheard RITSUKA talking with one of the Hassans who replied that "he" doesn't. Chances are they were talking about Ritsuka.
"There you are, RITSUKA," she calmly interjected herself into the conversation with them. "Are you still trying to find out what Master and Vill-V are doing?"
Fortunately, he was able to play along with her act as he spluttered, "Oh come on, you're curious too!"
A small deep chuckle escaped the masked Assassin. "There's no need to be ashamed, Lady Sakura. Many others are curious too, myself included."
"You don't know?"
"No, Master didn't tell me but as his Servant, it's not my place to question a direct order," Cursed Arm replied with amusement in his voice. "It's more than likely he and Vill-V are working on a mechanical contraption from his childhood, however."
"Is that so…?" Sakura hummed. It was the most likely answer but "most likely" would not be enough for Mobius. "But does it really deserve 24-hour security?"
"Perhaps not, but lesser inventions were exploited for more around here. It's a safety precaution," the older Assassin added.
Sakura was about to question if something similar had happened before when— BANG! —one of the vent grates above their heads busted open and another Hassan poked her head out. "We have intruders! Check the other openings for them!" Without any further explanation, Serenity disappeared back into the vents followed by the banging of her moving within.
"Hmm… Do excuse me for a moment," Cursed Arm politely requested before swiftly leaving to find the culprits of this attempted break-in. What he failed to consider was RITSUKA and Sakura being in cahoots with said culprits.
And though things did not go the way they planned, there was now nothing standing between them and Vill-V's workshop. "So uh… do we just go in?"
"Yes," Sakura bluntly replied before opening the front door and going inside.
A/N: After enough consideration, I've officially rebranded this fic on all sites this story is being posted on. About time for that… In any case, the rest of the Flamechasers have now officially joined in on Chaldea shenanigans after Pardo did without any hesitation. I don't really have much else to say so uh… see you all next time!
