Unfortunately for them, their plans to set the record straight went up in smoke as they learned Bronya had already left with Tesla to investigate the crash site. Ritsuka could only hope she wouldn't unwittingly spread any more word about the Ordeal Call. Mei— as Fu Hua had believed —was busy with class, leaving them little else to do until everyone else was free. Eventually, they decided to continue story time so as to prevent any more confusion. They returned back to the dorms where Paisen immediately voiced her thoughts.

"You know, this would be the first time I'm hearing of the oh-brave adventures you had while I was stuck in that coffin," the Assassin remarked as she waited for Ritsuka to start relaying his story.

"I thought you read the after-action reports with Xiang Yu?"

"No? What makes you think that?" She rolled her eyes at his assumption. "I don't have the time to be sitting down and reading how you nearly died like forty times in a row."

"Forty?!"

"It's an exaggeration," Ritsuka quickly said to calm Senti down… only for Xiang Yu to give a correction that he really didn't need to.

"To be more precise, Master had resolved a recorded fifty Singularities and similar events prior to our summoning to Chaldea, give or take some instances that may not fully qualify. If we are to say that there were near-death encounters in 90% of them, he would have forty-five."

"...Okay, I know that sounds bad but—" Ritsuka tried to do damage control before either Senti or even Fu Hua could react. Unfortunately for him, it was in Kama's interest to stir the pot further.

"I doubt he only had one near-death encounter in each Singularity. Even here, he's had two when he's been passive for the most part and it hasn't even been a week yet." The grin on Kama's face grew when she saw the obvious worry and concern on the two's faces.

"Hmm. That is true. Taking into consideration the varied lengths and severity of each adventure, we can assume an average of 3 near-death encounters per outing." Xiang Yu agreed with her assessment. "That would make roughly 135 occurrences before my beloved and I were summoned to Chaldea, and there are still many more afterwards up to this moment."

"...Yeah, I have nothing to say to that," Ritsuka sighed in defeat. He waited for one of them to respond, believing it'd be easier to answer whatever they may ask.

"One... one hundred and thirty-five… and more?" Senti muttered incredulously. While she did know Ritsuka was a trouble magnet, she didn't expect it to be that bad.

Fu Hua, on the other hand, was caught off by another detail. "Fifty Singularities? I thought you said there was only the seven and Singularity F?"

"Oh… that," Ritsuka chuckled nervously. "Yes, there were the eight major Singularities, but Chaldea also had to deal with minor ones that popped up from time to time. I've not gone over them because that would just make a long story even longer…" He saw no need nor wished to talk about the NeroFests or worse, Halloween. "But… Now that you mention it, maybe I should talk about the Prison Tower."

"The what?"

"It was when I truly met the Count after meeting him during… another incident," Ritsuka answered though he admitted he likely just confused them further.

"It was also the first time Master found his mind locked away and forced to deal with a Singularity on his own," added Xiang Yu. "If my memory banks serve me right, it was Beast I's curse that led to that."

"You mean Solomon?"

"Yes. When he came by for 'a visit,' he took the time to curse me too," Ritsuka sighed. Despite Solomon stating he saw them as no threat, he still went ahead and tried taking him out through the Chateau D'if. "It was thanks to the Count that I managed to pull through; if he hadn't intervened, I might have been trapped in the Prison Tower as we ended up calling it." Although the Count also chose to play the part of Final Boss, Ritsuka would forever be grateful for his continued help for the last few years. "That's the gist of what happened to be honest. I don't think we really need to delve into it any further."

There were more important tales and Ritsuka wanted to get through them as soon as possible. Additional stories like the Prison Tower would be too much. With Xiang Yu who would know more than what Ritsuka could remember from so long ago, it should be a breeze… or the opposite.

"Now where was I… oh, right. America."

Ritsuka was about to start narrating the events of the 5th Singularity when Senti interrupted, having finally recovered from learning how many times Ritsuka was nearly put six feet under. "Huh? Didn't you say last time it was something in Jerusalem?"

"No," Ritsuka bluntly answered with a smile. "I said it was the time we travelled from the East to West Coasts of North America." Despite the stares from everyone sans Xiang Yu and Paisen, Ritsuka kept beaming at them. "Ahem, so at the time, we were trying to figure out what Solomon's plans were when…"

A couple of hours passed before Ritsuka was almost finished relaying the hunt for the fifth Holy Grail. His throat was sore by this point, but at least that's another leg of his journey nearly over. "Here, Master."

"Thanks, Xu Fu." Ritsuka gratefully took the glass of water she got from him. After chugging down the cool drink, he resumed where he left off. "After Dr. Roman congratulated us on a job well done, Mash and I were returning to our rooms to rest up but… it was then that the consequences of how she was born reared its ugly head."

He explained Mash's nature as a designer baby with a limited lifespan— one that was being shortened by using a Servant's power. "But they solved it by the end," Paisen chimed in a semi-bored tone. "Mash is still alive and being the 'ever so helpful Kouhai' back in Chaldea."

"Way to spoil the surprise," Ritsuka sarcastically replied though he was still grateful things turned out that way.

"Just saying how it is. At least I didn't say how that happened."

"Because no one knows," Kama spoiled the ending this time.

"Fou fou!" The little furball cried as he rested on Ritsuka's lap.

"What? You guys had a bunch of magical cups lying around and didn't bother using one to help Mash?" Senti sceptically raised an eyebrow at that.

"The Grails we retrieved from the 7 Singularities were kept under lock and key; there was also the danger of a potential side-effect since they came from Solomon," Ritsuka answered monotonously. Back then, he did ask Romani and Da Vinci if they could use the Grails and that was the answer they gave him. He recalled how pained they were to tell him that, also wishing there was a way to help Mash. It was a miracle she ended up living on in the end.

Xu Fu though had a question: "What about the other Grails from the other Singularities? Why didn't you use them?"

"...There's no need to ask unnecessary questions."

"But didn't Chaldea use them to power up the other Ser—"

"That's a completely different topic now, Xu Fu." Ritsuka cut her off before she could mention anything more about what Chaldea was doing with the Grails. "Back to the story, Mash collapsed and was rushed to the infirmary. Dr. Roman then told me what I told you about Mash's condition."

While Senti was still silently questioning why they didn't use the obvious solution, Fu Hua had a different question. It had been on her mind for a while, and now was likely the best time to ask. "Who exactly is the Heroic Spirit inside Mash? You've yet to tell us that."

"I'll keep that a mystery a little longer~" Ritsuka grinned. It wasn't every day he got the chance to keep people on the edge of their seats; it was usually the other way around. "Lucky for you, the answer was in Jerusalem so you won't need to wait long."

"Tease," Senti pouted cutely before remarking something towards Fu Hua. "You know, Mash is starting to remind me of someone. A girl who was genetically engineered and has the soul of someone long dead inside her which grants—"

"Yes, yes. I've noticed. The resemblance to Kiana is uncanny but likely just a coincidence." Fu Hua let out a lengthy sigh.

"Kiana?" Ritsuka initially thought that was a new name before vaguely recalling Theresa mentioning her in passing when they first met.

Senti then further explained: "Kiana Kaslana; she used to be a student of St. Freya until recently and was part of a trio with Mei and Bronya."

"I take it that something happened to her?" Xiang Yu inquired.

It became obvious that Kiana was a touchy subject, as a dour atmosphere immediately fell onto the room at the Berserker's question. "It wasn't something terrible if you look at it, but... she had to go somewhere far away." Fu Hua was muttering by the end of her answer before realizing how bad that sounded. "Don't take the wrong way; she's not dead, but she cannot leave where she is."

"And that is..."

"...The moon. To cut a long story short, she chose to exile herself there after a long series of events."

"Oh great, another moon person." Paisen scoffed, shooting a not-so-subtle glare at Ritsuka. "Better keep him away from her then."

"Hey!" Ritsuka cried indignantly at the jab. He didn't even know what she meant but it was obviously an insult. "Anyway… Kaslana? Mei mentioned that name before. It's some sort of noble house, right?"

"Noble may be pushing it, but yes," nodded Senti with Fu Hua explaining further. "House Kaslana have one of the longest lineage in the world, dating back to the Previous Era with the 'greatest hero of humanity.'" Though she kept an even tone, Ritsuka could sense the sorrow hidden underneath. "The Kaslanas followed in the original Kaslana's footsteps and historically produced warriors who've fought against the Honkai, including Kiana. However, she… is a complicated story."

"That's an understatement…"

"She was artificially born too?" Ritsuka could guess that from what Senti mentioned earlier about Mash.

"Yes. To be more exact, she's a clone of the original Kiana Kaslana who now goes by a different name, but that's another story in and of itself." And they already had a bunch of them waiting in line. "The Kiana we knew was a troubled but kind person. As I've said, she chose to exile herself away from us to save the world."

"She was a Herrscher too, I'm guessing?"

Fu Hua nodded again. "The final Herrscher; among many other abilities, she could siphon away the Honkai from Earth and seal them away. It'll be a while before they're all gone, but Kiana accepted what she must do to ensure the future." It was an incredibly abridged retelling without a doubt, but Ritsuka was curious about her now. She sounded like someone who had a lot of stories to tell to reach that point. It was a shame she wasn't around for him to meet, they might get along pretty well…

In any case, with his retelling of the American Singularity over, Ritsuka stood up and stretched his legs, with Fou hopping on his shoulders. "Well, my legs nearly fell asleep, so I should go for a walk."

"Want us to accompany you?"

Fu Hua's innocent offer drew a snort from Paisen. "If you guys go with him, we'll go do our own thing. No way am I hanging around you three together."

"Too bad, you'll miss out on all the fun." Kama had the complete opposite opinion, earning herself a glare from Senti.

"Oh, I didn't realize we were just some form of entertainment for you," she growled only for the Assassin to let an amused chuckle.

"You just figured that out?"

"Fou!" Sensing a fight ready to break out, Fou quickly took preventative measures… a leaping kick to their cheeks. Ritsuka always wondered if the diminutive beast was just able to catch them off guard or was actually strong enough to knock them all down. Either way, Senti's now directed her ire at Fou who immediately ran off, jumping out of the window onto a branch and disappearing.

"You really need to keep that furball under control!" The Herrscher pouted while glaring at the window, drawing a small laugh from the others. "I'm serious! I'm this close to—"

Beep beep! Beep beep!

Before Senti could scream what she would do to the poor innocent beast, Fu Hua's phone began ringing. "It's Theresa," she calmly told them before answering it. "Yes? …What? Where? What happened?" The light-hearted air disappeared as her face hardened, eyes wide with worry; whatever Theresa said could not be good news. "Yes, we'll be on our way." With that, she hung up before turning to the other with a grave face. "The investigation team was attacked by an unknown individual and… Bronya is down."

The group immediately rushed to meet up with Theresa at the clinic. The transport ship is on its way back from the forest but everyone was already waiting impatiently on the roof for its arrival. Welt and Mei were already there and pressing Tesla for more details of what happened to Bronya through a video call, the latter especially. "—a scratch?! How did they beat her then?!" They heard Mei crying even as they reached the top of the stairs.

"In all likelihood, it was a mental attack; that's our best guess with what equipment we have," Tesla answered as calmly as she could. However, Ritsuka could sense the barely concealed worry in her voice.

"What else did you learn?" Fu Hua made their presence known with that question.

"Fu Hua, I expect Senti, Fujimaru and the others are there too," nodded Tesla as Fu Hua stepped into view of the camera. The doctor was mostly right; the Servants had gone into their Spirit form and were still hiding. "Unfortunately, not much. A group of Quantum Shadows attacked us at the crash site and after taking care of them, she took off in the direction they came from. Roughly 2 minutes later, we tried contacting her but… Here, it's easier for you to hear for yourself."

"Zzt—sla? I can't—zzt—here. He's the one after—zzt—in for questioning." Bronya's voice came through the speaker. Despite the corrupted nature of the recording, her voice was calm if confrontational— likely directed at whoever was with her.

"Why's the recording all messed up?" Ritsuka asked to which Tesla answered that they don't know.

"When we found her, her comms were practically fried. We would assume she was hit by an incredibly powerful electrical blast under normal circumstances."

"But she had no injuries," Fu Hua nodded, finding it puzzling too. "An EMP?"

"That's doubtful too. Her communicator was made through her Herrscher powers; it'd be immune or resistant to any form of electrical disruption." A frustrated sigh managed to escape Tesla; the redhead was just as frustrated and stumped as them over what happened. "We found her unconscious about 600 meters away from the crash site roughly 3 minutes after she sent the message. Whoever or whatever she was facing not only managed to subdue her in that short time but did so in a way that's difficult for us to determine and was able to disappear without a trace. We didn't even find any footprints leading away."

It was then that Senti finally contributed to the discussion. "I can use my abilities to see what happens, assuming you all have no issues with me breaking into Bronya's mind."

Glances were exchanged between the others; it was a massive invasion of privacy without a doubt, but the situation was dire. "We'll wait for her recovery first," Theresa decided. "In the worst case that she does not wake up, then we may need you to, Senti." That was something they could all agree on.

"Anything else, Dr. Tesla?" Mei put them back on track, her voice still dripping with concern and frustration over what happened to her friend.

"There is; whoever she was fighting got her to fight in close quarters with only her polearm. We found her clutching onto it," Tesla shared. "Her cannon was near her, but there were no signs of it being fired nor was Project Bunny there."

"Did she underestimate who she was facing?" Welt questioned but it didn't sound like he believed his own theory. "Or perhaps the mental attack disrupted her ability to create Project Bunny."

"That's what I'm guessing too."

"Um… Sorry for interrupting but what exactly can Bronya do?" Ritsuka winced as he asked that question. That in turn led to Welt apologizing for forgetting Ritsuka was not as informed as they were about Bronya's capabilities.

"To put it simply, as the Herrscher of Truth, Bronya can make constructs of anything humanity could create— past, present, or future."

Ritsuka could only blankly stare at Welt for a few seconds before slowly saying, "...Okay, that sounds incredibly broken." That only added to the weight of the situation; if someone like that could be beaten so soundly…

"Setting aside what Lord Yang just said, a mental attack sounds to be the most likely answer—" Ritsuka heard Xiang Yu's voice ring in his head. "—but that does not explain why Miss Zaychik's communicator got damaged."

"Agreed…" Ritsuka muttered before telling the others about the Berserker's doubts.

"Best guess is that there was something else on top of that," Tesla shared but sounded sceptical as well. Right now, it seemed to be the limit of what they could guess with their current information. "There's something else too. Before we were attacked by the Quantum Shadows, we detected a spike in Imaginary energy." Yet another term Ritsuka was unfamiliar with but he got the gist of it from the name. "We took another reading where we found Bronya and there was an even higher concentration. Considering that we found no traces of where the perpetrator could have gone—"

"They retreated into the Sea of Quanta," Theresa finished, coming to the same conclusion. "That throws a wrench into everything. If they could come and go wherever they wanted, then nowhere's safe."

"That's why I needed you to check on the 2nd Divine Key," sighed Tesla. "But since it's still locked away, there must be another method for them to do so."

"So what do we do now? If this is the same person who attacked Welt and Ritsuka before, then not even St. Freya is safe," Mei turned towards Theresa, who was now deep in thought over their next move.

"…we stay the course. With this new information, it is even more important than ever that we make them come to us on our terms. Hopefully, Bronya can tell us more when she wakes up. How much longer before you arrive?"

"...We're about five minutes out," Tesla answered after glancing away from the screen to ask the pilot. It'll be the longest five minutes of their lives (well, in recent memory) but all they could do now was wait for the ship to arrive.

As soon as the transport ship docked, Bronya was rushed into the emergency ward meant for serious training injuries; the next couple of hours were nerve-wracking for everyone as they waited for the doctors to complete all the tests. As Tesla had noted earlier, Bronya had sustained no obvious injuries— external or internal. Their theory of Bronya getting into a fight with someone with telepathic abilities both became more likely, but that started to pile more doubts on it— mainly from Senti. "Bronya's not some weak-willed scrub who'd cave to a random illusion, and definitely not in that short a time."

Welt agreed with Senti wholeheartedly, recounting an incident where Bronya was trapped in the Sea of Quanta and faced with multiple scenarios that tested her willpower. "She came through stronger than when she went in. It's the most likely explanation... but also equally hard to believe."

"Well, if it is some dude with mental powers, at least you'll be safe. Kama and the Count should be able to protect you," Paisen remarked aloofly inside Ritsuka's head. Despite sounding like she didn't care one way or another, Ritsuka couldn't help but smile at her obvious concern and relief that he'd be fine… hopefully.

"Master, can you ask Doctor Tesla about something in my stead?" Xiang Yu requested. Unfortunately, the hallway would be way too cramped for him to materialize in.

"...Got it," Ritsuka nodded before turning towards Tesla, calling her name to get her attention off analyzing her readings. "Xiang Yu wants to know about the 2nd Divine Key. You and Theresa mentioned it earlier."

"Also known as the Key of Infinity and the Cosmic Juggernaut, it's an invention of the Previous Era that allows one to observe the Imaginary Tree and the bubble universes within the Sea of Quanta," Tesla explained like she was reading out an old report, not even looking up at him and still completely engrossed in her work.

Seeing as Tesla was too busy, Theresa chimed in. "Divine Keys are created from the Herrscher Cores of the Previous Era, usually weapons but some have a more utilitarian purpose outside of combat. The 2nd Divine Key specifically can do as Tesla said but also be used to open a gate into the Sea of Quanta. However, Schicksal's previous tests with that specific purpose more often than not led to Quantum Shadows getting through. That's why we didn't think to use it to send you back to where you're from; it's too risky to use."

"But somehow, someone could do something similar without it," Ritsuka muttered with a low hum. At the same time, there was a stray thought in the back of his mind. '2nd of its kind… used to look into and travel to parallel worlds… Why does that sound familiar?'

"Something like that would require specialized equipment and materials that are highly regulated. I've already assigned people to look into it; if there's something that doesn't add up, we'll know," Theresa then said before sighing. "I don't think I've had this many operatives tasked with top-priority missions since…"

"Way to go, Kouhai. You really are a walking disaster with how much paperwork you got people doing."

'Oh, shush.' Ritsuka did not need to be reminded how he was responsible for all this; that fact was already etched in the forefront of his mind. In an indirect way, Bronya got hurt because of him and all he could do was sit around twiddling his thumbs. He glanced in Mei's direction to see her still pacing around, mumbling something indecipherable under her breath. A part of him wanted to comfort her, but he also knew that right now was likely not the right time to be near her; he felt the hair on his body stand up, and something told him she might be the reason why.

With the tension only continuing to rise, it was only a matter of time before it reached its boiling point. It was increasingly looking like Mei was going to break into the doctor's room to demand the results. Fortunately for everyone involved, the door soon opened. "How is she?!" Mei immediately ran up to the doctor before he even passed through the doorway.

"Mei, breathe…" Theresa reached to grab Mei's hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. Once she had sufficiently calmed down, the principal turned back towards the doctor. "What's the diagnosis?"

"We're still trying to determine the root cause, but whoever Miss Zeychik encountered had weakened her biological processes; even her brain activity had slowed down," he informed them in a grave tone. "The best thing we can do now is let her rest and recover her strength. She's not in a critical condition, but I don't believe I could say the same had she been fighting for a minute longer."

"And… any idea when she'd wake up?"

"That's difficult to say but with all hopes, maybe tomorrow?" The doctor gave the most optimistic guess he could.

"Can we see her? Please."

Mei's plea was initially met with a stern stare from the doctor before he swiftly relented. "Two at a time, and keep any noise to a minimum." As soon as she got the go-ahead, Mei was already through the doors to see her. Ritsuka had expected Theresa or Welt to go in too, but the former offered the other to go as there were few more things she needed to discuss with the doctor and Tesla.

He overheard Senti about to make a snarky comment about how they weren't even offered, but Fu Hua stopped her. "We'll go in later," Fu Hua told Welt who nodded gratefully in turn.

'Well, back to waiting then…' Ritsuka thought as he sat back down. He wasn't able to be alone with his thoughts for long though as Xiang Yu started speaking again.

"Master… I think it's imperative now that we find a way to contact Chaldea," the grave voice rang in his head. "If Lady Zaychik is truly capable of what they say, and she was defeated soundly by someone who is targeting you—"

'I know, I know… Any ideas then?' Ritsuka was open to any suggestions; he agreed that getting in touch with Mash and the others was now crucial. Well… it was more accurate to say it was crucial from the very beginning but now it was even more— never mind… 'I'm not going to ask Theresa to break out her super secret weapon if that's what you're thinking.' Someone like him shouldn't be trusted to be near something like that with his track record of stirring up trouble…

"I believe that would be the most ideal solution to our dilemma… But if you say otherwise, then we will find another way."

'…Oh wait, maybe…' Ritsuka recalled something; it was a long shot but… 'Merlin, Avalon, can you hear me?'

"Those two? Why are you—?"

"Yahoo~ We're here, Master!" The ever-so-playful voice of Lady Avalon cut into Paisen's question. It was then that Ritsuka realized he had neglected to tell them that the Caster and Pretender had now joined them. That had somehow slipped his mind even when he mentioned the time Merlin briefly assisted them in the American Singularity.

…It was starting to feel crowded in his head.

"I assume you want us to contact our… friend? That may be difficult but perhaps with sufficient prodding, he may respond to our calls," Merlin added. "He's not done responding when we tried earlier before showing ourselves, but if we have Miss Elysia do it then perhaps…"

'Just try. It's better than nothing,' Ritsuka commanded; he couldn't see it, but he was sure Merlin was giving a nod of affirmation before he felt his and Lady Avalon's presence disappear. …No, it was more like they sunk further into his mind.

"…SO NOW THOSE TWO HEADACHES ARE HERE?!" Paisen's exasperation was going to give him a migraine they were giving her…

A/N: And the chapter had finally come out of the oven. We've also reached a rather weird point cause I have not completed the next chapter yet so I have no clue when it could come out. Either way, stuff happened and that's what's important.

And yes, I really just did have Bronya get defeated off-screen. The "fight" scene has been written, but as I mentioned last time, it would be more intriguing if I hold off on revealing what actually happened. Other than that, we have the cast learning a bit more about the other's story and a very subtle reference to something else I wrote.

Also, I only realized the parallels between 2nd Magic and the 2nd Divine Key while writing this. I have no idea why it took me that long lmao.

As always, enjoy and see you all next time!