Journey To Castle Csejte Chapter 3:

Helplessness

(This chapter contains sensitive subject matter such as domestic abuse and child endangerment. Viewer discretion is advised.)

Rain hit the windows of the home like a million bullets. Inside the home, a lone woman sat down, her gaze broken, her eyes dulled and dead. Sitting on the other chair across from her was a man, balding, fat and with alcohol in hand. His gaze was unforgiving and stern as he stared into the fireplace. The woman trembled as she tried to keep her composure. Their daughter is alive, and she was glad of it, but their son…her baby boy…..

"Stop your sniveling, woman." The man said.

The woman's eyes shot up, widened in surprise as she saw her husband's gaze turn upon her. "I-I'm sorry….."

The man scoffed as he took another drink from his whiskey. "Sorry this, sorry that…..What good are you for, aside from making an embarrassment of me?"

"I-"

"Be silent, woman!"

"But I was just going to-"

The woman yelped as the man got up onto his feet and stamped towards her, pulled her by her hair and slapped her hard across the face, making her fall onto the floor. The woman started to sob more, causing the man to click his tongue and kick her down as she tried getting back up. With one more yank of her hair, she was now at eye level and saw the vile look in his eyes.

"Remember this well, woman." He said. "It was your fault our son died. His death is in your hands, not mine. And don't you forget it."

The man threw her back down on the floor, and left the room. The woman could only crawl to the corner of the room, and curled up into a ball to continue to cry. Aside from her only hobby, this was her only way of feeling like she had any control of her life. And now that her son was dead…

She couldn't help but feel helpless…

Day 2

The morning sun started to shine, but everyone was already awake and ready to move. After the ordeal last night, everyone had some difficulty sleeping, but they eventually found their rhythm before they had to set out. The path to the next village would take them all day to get there, so they had all the time to relax and explain each situation to the best of their abilities. Mata Hari and Mashu noticed that Carmilla was still lying on her fancy cot, and the Shielder moved to wake her.
"Ms. Carmilla, it is time to get moving." Mashu said.

Carmilla did not move. Instead, she stayed in place, not budging an inch. Mashu moved closer and tried to shake her, but a chill ran up her spine telling her that if she did so, she would not enjoy the consequences. Instead she just leaned in and took a deep breath. "Ms. Carmilla, please get up. We have to get to the next village."

Carmilla scoffed and turned her head to face the Shieldeer. "I am already awake, child. But I refuse to move with such drab sunlight."

"The sooner we get moving, the faster we can find Fou, get the Grail and leave." Iris countered.

"I am a vampire," Carmilla replied in annoyance. "The sun will ruin my complexion."

A gentle giggle caused the three to tense up for a moment as they turned to see Kiyohime smiling at them, her fan hiding her face. "Lady Carmilla, you know I detest lies…normally I would be a little more cross, but I am feeling generous today, so I shall give you one chance to repent, and make things right."

Carmilla scowled at the Berserker for a few moments before sighing and getting back up. "I will remember this, you brat."

"Would some fake blood for your baths make you feel better?" Ritsuka asked with a devious grin.

The white haired Assassin stared at the boy incredulously at his brazen question for a few brief moments. However, sensing his sincerity, she simply sighed. "Fine, fine, but I expect the highest quality fake blood. I do not want that swill that is sold by those Mini Nobu creatures down in their costume shops."

"I expect Medea would be more than happy to help out." Ritsuka replied.

It was at this moment, Carmilla's frown disappeared, and a small, almost undetectable smile formed. "In that case, I have no complaints. Very well, let us be off. But I take the lead."

Ritsuka nodded and moved to the side to allow the white haired Assassin to get to the front of the group. As everyone took their positions, Mata Hari noticed Kiyohime and Mashu discussing something, and could sense Mashu was in distress. The Assassin could tell that the Shielder was trying to keep from showing it to the Berserker, but her mask was starting to crack, and Kiyohime seemed to be noticing it as well. She had to act fast to try and diffuse the situation, and change whatever subject they were discussing. "Hey girls, did you have a good sleep?"

"O-Oh, yes I did, Miss Mata Hari." Mashu answered.

"And I had the perfect sleep myself." Kiyohime said, almost forgetting about what she was discussing with Mashu. "Although the bugs were a bit annoying."

Mata Hari giggled. "I know what you mean, but thankfully they left us alone."

"How about you, Miss Mata Hari?" Mashu asked. "Did you sleep well?"

The two girls didn't hear the Assassin for a few moments, and when they turned to face her, they saw a pained smile on her face. "I….had some sleep, at the very least."

Kiyohime was about to say something, but seeing the honesty in her words, she realized that it was best to leave the matter alone for now. Mata Hari soon recovered her composure and her smile returned to its usual shine. "Anyway, I've been wondering about something, Kiyohime. I heard from the grapevine that you popped out of the vents in our Master's room to tell them of Fou's disappearance. You weren't doing anything naughty there were you?"

Mashu's eyes widened. "I was wondering that too, and it has been bothering me all day!"

Mata Hari stared at the Shielder and saw that her eyes were no longer showing any kind of distress. So that was what was bothering her…..

Kiyohime blushed, making her conversation partners more suspicious. "I-I wasn't doing anything inappropriate, I swear….."

"Please tell us why you were in there." Mata Hari said. "I promise I won't get mad."

"You promise?"

Mata Hari nodded proudly and held out her pinky. "Pinky promise."

Kiyohime looked at the Assassin with uncertainty, but then realized that she had no real choice. She took Mata Hari's pinky into her own, and shook. "Okay, I will tell you…"

"If it is something that makes you uncomfortable, you do not need to share." Mashu said thoughtfully.

"It's fine, Mashu," Kiyohime replied. "The reason is…I was cold. The vents were surprisingly warm, so I climbed in, and crawled in them to continue staying nice and toasty. I have been doing this for a few weeks now, so that is why I have not been making my presence known as much."

"Then what did this have to do with Fou?" Mata Hari asked. "Does he join you down there to play?"

"Occasionally yes. So when he didn't show up, I grew nervous and decided to ask Anchin and Mashu if they had seen him."

"So that is how you came through Senpai's vent!"

Kiyohime nodded. "The vents represent the truth of many things. I felt quite at home exploring their maze-like interiors with small Fou. Occasionally, I even retreat there to shed my skin, it's a very private and intimate place."

Mata Hari looked at the blue-haired Berserker in confusion, but decided to nod and accept her unusual reasoning. "I remember we used to have a place like that back when I was alive. It used to be a janitor's closet, but we knocked some of the walls to renovate it to a relaxation room for the girls. We would touch up our makeup, talk about our clients, and try to take some time to replenish our spirits. It really goes to show how a 'special place' can help the mind."

Mashu felt compelled to speak up, a memory coming to the forefront as she heard Mata Hari recount her past.

"Yes, I agree!" exclaimed Mashu, "I remember Doctor Roman and I had a secret room where we would eat ice cream together! He said it was instrumental I not tell Da Vinci or the others, or else we would get in trouble!"

That was the first time she could recall the flavor of ice cream. It was cold, but extraordinarily sweet, Mashu remembered; Doctor Romani had a tub and cups within that room to serve as much as she wanted. He tried to give her the classical 3 scoops on a cone, but it had melted before she could finish it. Since then, he had always served her ice cream in bowls, though Mashu had secretly desired to finish a cone properly.

Eating ice cream and watching Magi*Mari streams in a special place, such was an important memory to Mashu.

"Ice cream, I remember the taste quite well!" responded Mata Hari blushing in joy at the mention of the tasty desert, "You can always solve any problem as long as you have enough ice cream!"

"Yes!" Mashu replied. "Do you remember your first one?"

"Unfortunately no…." Mata Hari answered. "But I do remember my favorite flavor is a tie between vanilla and caramel."

"Oh I love those together as a combo!" Kiyohime replied. "The way the caramel blends with the vanilla…mmmmm that is just delicious!"

"I personally have no favorite so far." Mashu said. "All of them taste great to-"

Beep Beep!

Ritsuka immediately picked up his communicator and saw Roman's and Tatsuko's faces onscreen, their expressions nervous and uncertain. "Let me guess, Servant is tailing us and catching up?"

"Yeah, we think it's the one Eric Bloodaxe and Gunnhild mentioned." Roman said.

A deafening roar caught everyone by surprise. A great pressure soon enveloped everyone, and nearly made them buckle from the sheer weight on their shoulders.

"No…it is definitely him." Eric Bloodaxe said calmly. The red haired Berserker gripped his weapon tightly and scowled. "I'd remember this amount of power anywhere."

"I don't think we should fight him yet, hon." Gunnhild replied. "No offense to our allies, but I don't think they'll be enough."

"Oh come on, we can take him!" Liz shouted. "We outnumber him!"

"Don't be so childish," Carmilla retorted. "Numbers mean nothing when one person has overwhelming force."

"Should we run?" Mata Hari asked.

"No, I want to see who we're up against before we decide anything." Ritsuka said. "Just in case, though, Iris, you stay behind us right now. And Mashu, be prepared to carry her in case we need to get out of here."

The two women nodded and got into position, but their minds nearly went blank as the ground began to shake suddenly. Everyone waited with bated breath as the pressure built up more and more until it was right in front of them. Another roar filled their ears and trees soon toppled over until silence filled the air. The Chaldeans and the two viking Servants waited for what seemed an eternity, their bodies tense and ready to fight at a moment's notice. Eric's eyes widened as he felt something was wrong, and immediately rushed towards his wife, tackling her to the ground and catching everyone by surprise as something was launched straight for her. The impact of the attack shattered the ground behind them all, causing them to stare in disbelief. They saw the weapon, a halberd of foreign design, lodged into the ground in the small crater it created.

"What in the hell…." Liz muttered. Another roar nearly deafened her and the others as the footsteps shook the ground even more than before. Soon, their new guest revealed himself, forcing almost everyone to stare at him in awe.

He was a large man, his arms nearly the size of tree trunks. His armor was blood red like his hair, and his eyes completely blank. Atop his head was a small hat that had feathers the same color as his hair running down the back. Ritsuka felt a chill as he saw the man's figure and fear crept through him. This was no mere human, but a demon wearing a man's visage.

"Oh shit…..it's Lu Bu!"

Aside from Liz and the vikings, the Chaldean's felt the color leave their skins, making them pale as ghosts. The silent Servant before them raised his hand, and summoned his halberd back into his hands. And charged at the group. Eric Bloodaxe, Mashu and Liz were the first to mount their defense, with the Viking Berserker rushing at the enemy to try and keep him from getting close to the others. Lu Bu swung at him, but Mashu came to Eric's defense and blocked it with her shield. The sheer force, however, caused both of them to be knocked back and hit each other as they fell. Lu Bu raised his halberd to finish off Mashu, but the Shielder raised her weapon in time to deflect it. However, the enemy Berserker did not give up and kept hammering away at Mashu's defenses.

Liz came from behind to try and get a sneak attack, but Lu Bu smacked her away with his hand, knocking her into a tree. Iris used her mage craft to use some vines to bring Liz over towards her so Ritsuka could heal her up for another assault. Eric Bloodaxe came to Mashu's aid and swung his ax straight at Lu Bu's neck, but the enemy Berserker dodged at the last second and was about to swing right at the Viking's head, but Eric dodged the strike with ease. Mashu managed to get back up, jump into the air and slammed her shield into Lu Bu's head. But the Berserker simply shrugged the attack off and raised his fist at Mashu, punching her in the stomach. Mashu gasped as the air left her lungs and sent her flying back into Kiyohime who caught her with her body to break the Shielder's fall. Lu Bu resumed his attacks on Eric Bloodaxe, but the Viking was fast enough to keep pace with him, allowing the others time to try and recover. The Viking was slower than his opponent, but he could anticipate his attacks much easier, and could retaliate in response. He saw an opening and swung his ax into Lu Bu's side. Unfortunately the attack didn't hurt the enemy as much as he had hoped. Eric Bloodaxe clicked his tongue in annoyance and was forced to duck under Lu Bu's retaliation.

Kiyohime and Mashu got back up, and with Liz back in the fight, the three girls immediately pressed their attacks. Kiyohime unleashed several flaming serpents to lash out and pin him down, but that was a mere distraction for Mashu and Liz to constantly attack Lu Bu alongside Eric Bloodaxe. Gunnhild and Carmilla soon joined the assault and attacked in unison with the power of blood and fire to try and keep Lu Bu pinned. The enemy Berserker simply shrugged off all of these attacks, and swung his halberd at Eric. The viking grunted as the blow landed, but the weapon did not cut too deep, and allowed himself a moment of reprieve to think of his next move. He saw Lu Bu ready to strike again, and swung his ax to meet his opponent's strike. Their weapons clashed in a symphony of metal and sparks. Again, they clashed again, their weapons singing in the morning sky. Again, and again and again, they unleashed a flurry of attacks to meet each other, and each time they canceled each other out. This gave the others enough time to try and attack again. Gunnhild conjured ice around Lu Bu's feet to keep him trapped, and Liz used her trident to pierce Lu Bu's side. Kiyohime summoned more flaming snakes to wrap around Lu Bu to trap him, Carmilla tried to use her iron maiden to immobilize him, and Iris and Ritsuka fired several spells to try and hurt him so Mashu could knock him forward into Eric so the Berserker could try and finish him off.

Unfortunately the plan fell apart almost immediately. Lu Bu shrugged off Liz's attack, Carmilla's iron maiden was grabbed by Lu Bu who threw it back at her and the others, forcing them to roll out of the way to not get hit. Lu Bu grabbed Liz by her tail and threw her into Kiyohime, knocking them out of the fight completely. The Berserker grabbed Eric by the throat, and slammed him onto the ground, Mashu tried to stop him, but was kicked back. Lu Bu decided to leave Eric where he was, and started to attack Mashu. The lilac haired girl had only enough time to raise her shield to protect herself, but the onslaught Lu Bu performed threatened to destroy her defenses. Ritsuka tried to fire off with his new staff, but the attacks did nothing to harm the Berserker. Lu Bu broke through Mashu's defenses, and roughly grabbed her by her waist before turning to face Ritsuka. The enemy Servant lumbered towards him, keeping the Shielder in his grasp and raised her up in the air, terrifying both of them. He meant to beat them both to death in this manner.

However, Lu Bu stopped in his tracks, his face a mystery as his body forcefully shook. Whatever was happening, Lu Bu wasn't happy about this. The Berserker soon put Mashu down on the ground without any gentleness and scowled at the team before slowly lumbering away into the treeline. It took about twenty minutes of silence before anyone was willing to move, with Ritsuka being the first one to rush to Mashu's side to check on her. After seeing that she was merely shaken up, he rushed to Eric's side to heal his wounds. Gunnhild panted for several moments, trying to get her bearings, her body shivering in dread. "That was no man, that was a beast!"

"That's too generous." Iris said. "He was more devil than a beast."

"That's not important." Mata Hari replied. "What's important is that we survived."

Ritsuka remained silent as he continued to heal the injured. His mind was a whirlwind of shock and fear. He was trying his best to keep his mind focused at the task at hand, but it was becoming more difficult as he kept thinking about the terrifying image of Lu Bu standing over him with Mashu in his hands. He could have called for a retreat earlier, he could have done more, but he didn't. All he did was decide to fight a battle they couldn't win, and it would have costed them everything.

"Hey boy, are you listening?!"

Ritsuka snapped back to attention as he heard Eric Bloodaxe's voice ring in his ears. "S-sorry, I just got too focused on the spell."

"Well, I'm fine right now." The red haired Viking said. "Now, as I was asking, how long until we follow him?"

"Follow him?" Ritsuka asked.

"Yeah, aren't we going to go after him?"

"What, are you crazy?!" Tatsuko asked from the comms. "Ritsuka, don't listen to him. Do not pursue Lu Bu!"

"The biggest reason we lost was because we were caught unprepared." Carmilla said. "We have to wait and come up with a plan to beat that barbarous brute."

"Then we should…Ritsuka? Are you okay?" Iris asked.

The boy simply stood there with his eyes unblinking. He was trying to figure things out, how they could defeat such a monstrosity. He was big, fast and more importantly, brutal. Fighting Lu Bu would require so much of them, and he wasn't sure if-

"Hey, kid, stop spacing out already!" Gunnhild shouted.

Ritsuka snapped back to attention and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "S-sorry, I was just trying to think on how to go about it."

"Well let's not worry about it right now, Puppy," Liz said. "We got to head over to that other village now so I can get fixed up!"

"Right, then let's get over there pronto."

Without uttering another word, everyone got into their formation perfectly, keeping an eye out for any other surprises. As they made their way over, Mata Hari kept glancing at Ritsuka, and noted his posture, the way he walked, everything trying to discern what was going through his mind. It was obvious that he was shaken up, but how to help him through it….

Two hours had passed since their encounter with Lu Bu, and everyone seemed to have recovered from the ordeal. Well, almost everyone. Mata Hari could see Ritsuka was now talking to Mashu, Liz and Iris over something, and Kiyohime and Eric Bloodaxe were discussing ideas for a combination attack to try in their next battle, so that only left her with Carmilla and Gunnhild, who seemed to be in a deep and pleasant conversation, given the state of their smiles. The very idea of seeing Carmilla smiling like this surprised her for a moment, given the white haired Assassins usual dignified, if slightly dour, expressions. Curiosity finally won out, and she had to see what was being discussed. "Sorry for barging in, but do you mind if I join?"

"Eh, why not?" Gunnhild said. "We were just trading beauty tips anyway."
"Oh lovely!" Mata Hari exclaimed.

"As I was saying, I'm impressed with your nails, Carmilla." Gunnhild said. "However I'm not really into making them as long as that for myself. I prefer mine to be nice and short so they don't get snagged when I need to grab something or punch someone in the face."

"Perhaps just a paint job for them then," Carmilla said. "As for your hair, perhaps a special shampoo would suffice, to make it nice and bright."

"Oh I know just the one she could use!" Mata Hari replied. "If you ever come to Chaldea and need it, just give me a call."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Gunnhild said. "Though speaking of…..how do you do your hair, Carmilla? Do you also bathe in blood for that?"

Carmilla's laugh was chilling as it was intoxicating. There was no hint of anger or annoyance, and instead was filled with amusement. "No, no, that is solely for my skin. What I use for my hair is the same kind Mata Hari uses, except it's colored red."

"Of course it would be…." Mata Hari muttered. "Oh, and what about makeup, Gunnhild? What do you prefer?"

"Makeup? Hah! As if I need any of that nonsense!" Gunnhild said in amusement. "I'd say I come naturally, like that shield girl over there."

The two Assassins raised an eyebrow at her remark. There was no way that someone of Gunnhild's rank would not use even a hint of foundation to look her best. Or would she… Mata Hari got in close, making the Caster raise an eyebrow in suspicion and almost pushed her away, if it wasn't for the gasp from the Dutch woman. "Oh my gosh, she's telling the truth!"

"What, did you think I'd lie about something like that?" Gunnhild asked.

"Kind of….." Mata Hari muttered.

"You're a queen, are you not? It would be difficult to believe you wouldn't use even the tiniest bit to look better." Carmilla said bluntly.

"Shows what you know!" The Caster said in amusement. "Just like my muscles, my looks are all natural."

"Oh right, I heard from Medea and Mashu you have quite the physique." Mata Hari replied.

"Ah, so that blue haired Caster mentioned me, did she? Shame she isn't here, so I could settle the score."

"She had other business to attend to," Carmilla said. "Though I will be honest, and say that she would be more amused by your words than feel threatened….."

Gunnhild clicked her tongue. "And what's worse is that your voice sounds just like hers…."

Carmilla grinned in amusement. "We have had people say such things before. The two of us have noticed it as well."

"I bet…."

"A-any way, how did you get such a wonderful physique?" Mata Hari asked, trying to steer the conversation away from getting awkward.

"Simple, some heavy weight lifting, push ups, situps and a lot of juice afterwards." Gunnhild answered. "And also sparring with my husband, that gets the blood really pumping."

"Well that's one way to get physical." Mata Hari said with a wink and giggle.

"Eric, on the other hand, lifts cows." Gunnhild said in amusement. "I'd always ogle him when he did that, hehehe, what a body…."

"I know that feeling all too well," Carmilla said. "I'd enjoy seeing my Ferenc's body whenever he returned to our bed chambers after a war."

"Ahhh, what happy marriages…." Mata Hari said in sad bliss. "I wonder what a happy marriage is like…."

Gunnhild stared at the brunette and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you were married?"

"For a time," Mata Hari answered calmly, yet coldly. The Assassin shivered and scowled before returning to he usual happy self. "Well, the less said about my ex-husband, the better."

The countess and the viking queen stared at Mata Hari for a few more seconds before she gave a sad smile. "The only way I'd really like talking about him is when I'm really, really tipsy…let's just leave it at that."

"Noted." Gunnhild said with a hint of fear. As the three women changed the subject to something else, Iris and Mashu were in their own little world, talking about their own experiences in Chaldea, and their plans for the next DnD session.

"I see, so you think Teach is planning something devious for next week?" Mashu asked.

"Aye, he's a slippery bastard." Iris answered. "We all know how cunning he is whenever he's around Captain Drake after all."

"I remember their latest drinking battle…." Mashu said with a shudder. Several barrels of ale and rum were downed and in the end it was a tie. Those two pirates sure knew how to put away their alcohol…. "A-anyway, we should probably tell Senpai and the others about your suspicions regarding the story later. We must have a plan."

"That's the spirit!" Iris exclaimed. The green haired woman felt a chill in the air, her eyes dilated for half a second as she looked around. "Hrmmmmm, that's odd."

"What is wrong?" Mashu asked.

"The air turned slightly sour, and the aura of the road before us turned much more ominous…." Iris said. "Nature here is all wrong somehow…."

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain unless you had training in the druidic arts," Iris answered. "I don't know the details myself yet, but my gut says something is very off here."

"Perhaps we shall learn more when we go to the next town?" Mashu asked.

"With any luck, the feeling will pass in time." Iris hissed as she reached down to soothe her leg. "Damn thing's flaring up again…."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mashu asked.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Mashu, but there's nothing you can do for me now." Iris answered.

"I understand you got it from a sparring match gone wrong…." Mashu muttered.

"Ritsuka told you, did he?"

"No, Roman was going over his notes regarding your last check up, and I…..I may have eavesdropped." Mashu answered bashfully.

"Eavesdropping eh?" Iris asked mischievously. "How naughty of you, Mashu."

Mashu blushed slightly and stammered her next words. "I-I did not mean to! I just overheard him and-"

The sound of Iris's laughter broke the tension. "I'm just messing with you, kid. I don't mind talking about it."

"So I understand it was a member of Team A, my team, that did that to you…." Mashu said shyly. "It was an accident, so I can rule out…..a certain individual who could have done that."

"I'll save you the trouble and tell you," Iris replied. "It was Pepe who did it."

Mashu's eyes widened like saucers. "Mr. Peperoncino did that to you?!"

"Aye, he did. He was a fast and slippery little bird," Iris said. "However, after the whole ordeal he visited me regularly during my recovery and we became drinking buddies."

"I always thought he was a good person….." Mashu muttered.

"Well he was a mercenary from what I remember," Iris replied. "I don't know if he was a good man. But he was definitely a kind man."

Mashu smiled and nodded. "Yes, I agree, he was indeed a kind person. Doctor Roman and Henry seemed to trust him."

"In any event, what were you planning on dressing Fou as for Halloween?" Iris asked. "Just wondering what that little furball would want to go as."

"Oh he and I already chose his costume." Mashu answered. "He will be dressing up as a classic spy. Full tuxedo and with little gadgets!"

Iris chuckled. "He's going to make a lot of the girls in Chaldea swoon with his charms."

Mashu couldn't help but giggle. "He certainly enjoys the attention."

"I'm worried about him too, you know." Iris said calmly. "Little critter like him all alone out there without any supervision? He wouldn't survive long out here."

"I am too, but I think I might have found a solution to our dilemma." Mashu replied.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"You know how much he loves bacon, right? Well, I just so happen to have a lot of bacon and bacon bits whenever he gets hungry. So, we could go to the next village and cook some bacon out in the open air so the scent travels."

"And if he's there, he'd be able to smell it and come right to us!" Iris said. "That's clever."

"It is fool proof." Mashu said proudly. "And if he is not in the next village, then we can go to the next and repeat the process."

"Do you have enough bacon for all of that?" Iris asked.

"Yes I do," Mashu answered. "My shield has enough bacon to last about…..a year or two I think."

"Damn, that's a lot of bacon!"

"I told you, Fou loves bacon."

"Clearly that wasn't an exaggeration…."

"Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask more about you, if that would be okay." Mashu said.

"I don't see why not, but I can't say anything about magecraft, family secrets and all."

"N-nothing like that." Mashu said. "I was just wondering what it was like…being so close to nature, and what it would be like during your childhood."

Iris smiled. "Okay, I might not remember everything at the drop of a hat, but I do have this one funny story from my time back at the grove."

"Funny story?"

"Aye, it involved me, my friend, and a bear."

"A…a bear?"

"Aye a bear." Iris said. As the green haired woman told of her story, Mashu stared at her with bated breath, listening intently as Iris regaled her tales of her childhood, and of the mischief she would get into. All the while, that same nagging feeling that Iris felt never went away, something was wrong here, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She could only hope to distract herself from this feeling as much as she could.

It was now past noon and the team were starting to leave the woodlands, and as they did so, only Iris felt off about what was happening. Everyone else found the journey to be perfectly normal as they continued to discuss their plans, with Eric Bloodaxe and Gunnhild in particular, expressing relief at the mention of a particular Rider within Chaldea.

"So you're saying Blackbeard's in Chaldea?" Gunnhild asked.

"And you didn't think of telling us this yesterday?" Eric replied.

"Sorry, it kinda slipped my mind." Ritsuka said. The black haired Master gasped for a moment, and soon let out a devious cackle that sounded like a little gremlin. "Ohohoho, we have to bring you to Chaldea now. But we must keep you both a secret!"

The two vikings looked at the boy in confusion for a moment before the gears started turning in their heads, leading Gunnhild to grin evilly. "I think I might be starting to like you."

"At least this way you can kick his ass at UNO again." Eric chimed.

"Wait, you guys played UNO?"

"Long story." Gunnhild answered. "Speaking of old acquaintances, how's that blue haired bitch doing?"

"Medea? Oh she's doing just fine," Mata Hari answered. "She's become much more sociable since you last met her. Although she still refuses to join the new Mom's Club though…."

"Mom's Club?" Ritsuka asked. "Since when was that formed?"

"Not too long ago," Mata Hari answered. "We all got to talking and eventually we all decided to make a club for us mothers. Andromeda is the president, and I am the vice president!"

"Mom's club…." Gunnhild grinned. "Is there a limit to how many members?"

"Nope! Any mother who wishes to join can come!"

"Then in that case where do I sign up?"

"We can discuss the details when we get back to Chaldea," Mata Hari answered. "Though now that my curiosity has peaked, how many children did you and Eric have?"

"Nine in total." Gunnhild answered.

"Nine kids?!" Iris shouted. "You definitely look great for someone who had nine kids!"

Gunnhild laughed proudly. "Getting lots of exercise after childbirth never hurts!"

Mata Hari couldn't help but blush. "I-I know that I'd like to have at least four to five in my own fantasy….but nine might be too much for me….."

"Everyone, I see a town coming into view!" Exclaimed Mashu. With those words ringing in their ears, the entire group rushed to her side and saw that the town they were looking for was indeed in view. It looked normal, but something was wrong, Iris felt a shiver down her spine, as did Gunnhild.

"You felt it too now, huh?" Iris whispered.

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this…." The blonde Caster muttered. "We must be cautious."

Without noticing, the two women realized everyone else had left them behind and they had to catch up quickly. When they caught up, their faces soon joined the others in that it became one of uncertainty and concern as they saw the entrance of the town and how ... .unsettling it was. It wasn't lively and welcoming like the last town, instead it was empty, dark and foreboding. However, they had to enter anyway in order to find Fou, if he was here. The group decided to stay together this time for personal safety, and the area made Iris feel more dread and uncertainty. The trees in the town, the very will of nature here is sickly, blackened and wrong. A loud cough brought her to attention along with everyone else and they saw someone hunched over, hacking their lungs out. Ritsuka rushed towards him, wanting to see what ailment the person had. He checked the man and the man in turn did nothing to stop him, barely registering the boy's presence. Soon, Ritsuka got a closer look, and widened his eyes in fear.

"Shit, he's got some sort of plague!" Ritsuka said. Thankfully for him and Iris, their Mystic Codes prevented them from receiving such things and were completely immune. However, that did not make the situation any less strenuous.

"Is there anything we can do for this man?" Kiyohime asked.

"A pointless endeavor," Carmilla answered. "Judging by his boils, he won't be alive much longer, and that probably goes for everyone in this village."

"Oh my god….he's already dead…." Ritsuka muttered. The boy clicked his tongue in sadness as he closed the man's eyes and gently laid him down on the ground. Carmilla looked around the center of town, and noted that pretty much everyone was carrying this plague, and most of them might die before any real treatment could be used for them.

Before she could voice her desire to leave, Ritsuka bolted towards one of the townsfolk, making her stare at him agape. "Are you serious?! This is pointless!"

"It's better than letting them all die without lifting a finger!" Ritsuka countered. "Gunnhild, Iris, can you help me find a way to treat them?"

"I'm on it!" Iris said.

"Not like we have much of a choice." Gunnhild said.

"Good, now Eric, I'm going to need you to find any dead body you can find and get them outside the town. Kiyohime, when he's got enough bodies, I need you to burn them to prevent the plague from spreading any further. I don't want even a speck of ashes to remain."

The two Berserkers nodded and ran to their jobs. Liz then cleared her throat and stepped up. "What can I do? A beautiful idol such as myself can't be seen getting dirty though, or I'll disappoint my fans!"

"Then it's a good thing that you won't need to touch anyone, because I need you, Margaretha and Mashu to find anyone you can and bring them here."

A slight beep caused everyone to look at Ritsuka's communicator and Roman's face appeared on the screen. "Ritsuka…I know you don't want to hear this…but this won't work the way you think it will…."

"We can at least try!" Liz shouted. Without uttering another word, the three women ran towards different areas of the town to find any surviving carriers to bring them to the healers.

"You should listen to Director Roman," Carmilla said coldly. "This is not going to end well."

Ritsuka did not listen, he was too embroiled in saving the person in front of him to hear what was said. Unfortunately, Iris failed to save the person in front of her, and Gunnhild failed not too long after. Both women were perplexed by this turn of events, for their healing spells could not do anything for the plague. Ritsuka widened his eyes in fear as he soon realized that he couldn't save the person in front of him either. As soon as the person breathed their last, Ritsuka became frantic, and rushed to the next person, only for them to die not a second later. Gunnhild noticed Carmilla was making a move to probably try and drag Ritsuka away, and intercepted the Assassin and gave her a calm, yet stern look. Carmilla stopped in her tracks, understanding that the Caster was trying to tell her that her interference would only sour Ritsuka's mood.

"Iris, try to talk to him…" Roman said from the comms. "I already sent Tatsuko out of here so she didn't have to see this…."

Iris was about to make her move, when she saw Mashu and Liz return to them, both of them saddened and without anyone with them. It would seem that they didn't find any survivors…..Ritsuka didn't even acknowledge their presence, he tried to heal anyone he could, but each time, he was met with failure. All he could do was watch them die in fear, or with comfort knowing someone at least tried to help them.

"Ritsuka, you have to stop!" Roman said. "There isn't anyone left!"

"I think I have someone!" Mata Hari cried out as she carried a small child in her arms. Alongside her was a sickly woman, who was more than likely the child's mother. The Assassin brought the child to Ritsuka, her eyes frantic as the Master scanned the child for the plague.

"Please…help my child…." The mother said as she hacked her lungs out. It was clear that she wasn't long for this world either, but Ritsuka buried those thoughts from his mind, and did his best to try and figure out how to treat the child. The little one was hacking as well, their breaths shallow and light. This was worse than Ritsuka thought, and he tried to rack his brain to see what he could do. He was helpless to do anything against Lu Bu, he was helpless to save the other villagers, but he would not fail here. He couldn't…..

"Please!" The mother cried out, falling to her knees and crawling towards her child and Ritsuka weakly. Mata Hari gently picked her up to try and get her towards her child, but Ritsuka raised an arm to usher them away. He needed space to do this, but it was proving to be an impossible task.

"Come on, come on…" Ritsuka muttered. Applying any healing spell he could muster, using everything in his repertoire to try and stop the child from dying. "Why isn't this working?!"

The child raised their arm weakly, trying to move, but Ritsuka gently took the child's hand, and pushed it down to conserve the child's energy. "Don't move, everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay…."

That one phrase became like a mantra to the male Master as everyone watched in silence. They couldn't do anything to stop him, but it was clear it was a losing battle. That is until, the child sighed one last time, and the coughing stopped. Ritsuka stared at the boy in confusion for a few moments, before checking his pulse, his heart sinking and his skin becoming pale as he felt nothing. "No no no no, don't do this!"

"My child…" The mother muttered. The woman slowly made her way towards Ritsuka and her child. Mata Hari tried to stop her, but the woman would not relent, pushing past the Assassin with what little strength she had left, and made her way towards them. Ritsuka looked at her with a blank, hopeless stare, his hands hanging by his side, and the woman saw her child, and sank to the earth. With a blood curdling scream into the sky, she turned her attention to Ritsuka, her strength leaving her as she scowled at the boy. "How….could…..you…"

Her last breath was as silent as her body hitting the ground at last. Ritsuka took several breaths, his heart beating quickly until he got it under control, and turned to look at Roman's holographic form. "You were right, Roman…..I'm sorry for not listening."

"I'm sorry Ritsuka, I wished you were able to get at least one person….but the stage they were all in…."

E

"I know."

The air grew cold around them all, and it took Kiyohime to break the silence. "Anchin…..are you okay?"

Ritsuka said nothing for a few moments, his eyes blanked out, his hands shaking before he could sigh and walk away. "I need a few minutes. Carmilla has command until I return."

Before Mashu or Kiyohime could reach him, Ritsuka walked away and went into a secluded area after walking passed Carmilla. The white haired Assassin took note of his posture for a few moments before clearing her throat and staring back at everyone. "We leave in a few minutes, and burn this village so the disease doesn't spread."

"Will I have enough time to look around here?" Iris asked.

"Very well, do what you must. But do not waste time, and be at the edge of the town promptly."

"I'll go with her." Gunnhild replied. Carmilla nodded and watched as the Caster and Irish woman walked away towards the center of town.

"What about Senpai?" Mashu asked in concern.

"He will join us when he's ready." Carmilla answered. "We must not trouble him."

Mashu and the others stared at her for a few minutes in uncertainty. Carmilla was not deterred and strided towards them without letting her face show any signs of emotion. She then turned to Mata Hari, who immediately saw the look in her eyes. "You know what you have to do."

Mata Hari nodded, and walked away passed the white haired Assassin. Carmilla then gestured towards the others for them to follow. However, Kiyohime and Mashu could not help but feel unease as they were forced to walk away from the town. Meanwhile, Mata Hari walked towards where she suspected to find her target, and found Ritsuka sitting down, resting his back against a house. The male Master noted her presence, and watched as she sat down next to him. The maternal Assassin gently took his communicator and stared at Roman calmly. "Can you cut the feed for a little bit, please?"

Roman nodded and immediately turned off the communicator, leaving the two of them alone. Mata Hari smiled gently at Ritsuka and saw the look in his eyes, recognizing his dilemma. "You did everything you could."

"I know. I just…. I just thought that if I could save at least one of them, we could figure out what happened."

"That's not the only reason," Mata Hari said. Ritsuka said nothing, and instead just looked away, as if in shame. The brown haired Assassin placed a hand on his shoulder, and stroked it. "It's okay to open up a bit, Ritsuka. Tell me what's wrong."

"I….I should have been more in control earlier," Ritsuka said. "But I let my emotions get the better of me again, and in the end, I didn't have anything to show for it…."

Mata Hari stared at the boy as he hugged his knees and stared at the ground beneath him. Ritsuka started to shake, trying to keep himself composed. "Back in Shinkaichi….. the girls would occasionally come to us and I could tell they had a rough time. So I took it upon myself to make them smile and forget about their problems. I had to be strong for them."

Mata Hari said nothing. All she could do was watch as Ritsuka try to keep himself composed as he recounted everything he could. "But even with all that, they kept getting hurt, abused, and….some things that I cannot stomach saying aloud. Even with all of that, I was helpless in truly making a difference in their lives…."

Mata Hari nodded alongside him, and rubbed his shoulder again. "I get that….."

"I….oh, right…."

Mata Hari took a deep breath and looked at Ritsuka with a morose expression. She didn't like talking about it unless she was drunk…..but for this boy, this one moment, she knew she had to make an exception. "I know what it's like to be abused, beaten and belittled. My ex husband was…well, he was a cruel man. He was a good father, true, but that's the only good thing about him."

Ritsuka went silent as he returned his gaze back to Mata Hari. The Assassin sighed and composed herself a bit more. "I was glad to see that our son was nothing like him. And if he… my sweet baby boy had survived... .I just wish he'd be a lot like you."

The male Master felt a hitch in his throat as he saw the sadness, no, not just sadness, the sheer grief and pain that she felt in saying those words. Mata Hari fought back her own tears and smiled sadly at the male Master. "I saw that man on your dart board earlier. I won't pry, but when you are ready to talk about him, then you know I am more than happy to listen."

Before Ritsuka could say anything, Mata Hari pulled him in close, and hugged him gently. "I remember how helpless I felt when my son died…it's the exact same for you right now isn't it."

Ritsuka could say nothing as he registered her words. His body started to shake, but he tried to keep himself from breaking. He had to hold himself back, he had to remain strong.

"You did everything you could, Ritsuka…." Mata Hari said. "And that's more than enough. Just like what you tried for the prostitutes back home. You were trying to remain strong for them, but I think that they were thinking about how lucky they were for having not just Doctor Williams in their life, but you as well."

Ritsuka's lips quivered. Why was he failing to remain strong now? He had to calm down! He couldn't break his walls down, lest he shows his pathetic side now…..

"It's okay," Mata Hari whispered. "You've been trying to be strong for everyone for so long. It's okay to show some weakness, so just let it all out."

Ritsuka couldn't contain it anymore. The dam finally broke. He clung to Mata Hari softly and started to weep, the first time in a long time, he couldn't hold it in any longer as sobbed in the woman's arms, as she gently stroked his hair and rocked them back and forth.

(OC and Yatsu sit silently for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to say)

OC: …..

Y: Cat got your tongue? Nyan~

OC: You can say that. I guess this chapter hits differently, given what happened recently…..

Y: Yeah, I hear ya. Well, these things happen, just part of life. Best to let things stay independent, but that's easier said than done.

OC: Yeah.., sorry ladies and gentlemen, but it's been a chaotic month for everyone. And certain things have happened… I think I don't have to say anything about what happened in America. But the fact is that after seeing what happened here, in my own country, I couldn't help but feel helpless….. Thankfully, Yatsu and some other friends were able to help me through it. But I wanted to convey this sense of helplessness, and make something constructive with it. I just want everyone around the world to know that not all of us voted for…..well, you know who I'm referring to. So please, don't think all of us share the same opinion as them….

Y: I don't particularly care for the opinions of others lambasting others for not doing the 'popular' thing. Trump's been in office once; didn't do well, but the world didn't end. Best way to deal with him is to just ignore his social media stuff and hunker for another term. It's a lot better for your mentality too.

OC: I intend to at the very least. Though what stings more is that my ancestors fought to create this country. I had relatives who were in the American Revolution, and one of whom was one of the Founding Fathers, and to see everything they worked for reduced to this… well I have my opinions on it but that's neither here nor there for now.

Y: Well, that being said, how did you feel about the construction of scene 1?

OC: I found that to be very fun hehehehe. I liked how Mata Hari used her charisma to brighten the mood between Kiyohime and Mashu. And yes, Kiyohime loves going through vents.

That was a running gag between me and Vlad, where Kiyohime would pop out of vents, and we just made it our official headcanon because the idea of this crazy blue haired mana prism coming out like an imposter was too good to pass up. And that little moment Yatsu wrote of them talking about ice cream was wholesome as heck.

Y: Ice cream can bring together several people, no matter how many legs. Also, yes, the blue-haired snek goes around unseen like a certain bandanna-wearing video game protagonist…Sam Fisher

OC: And of course Lu Bu showed up. We kinda wanted a Servant who would be a genuine threat to the group, and Lu Bu was that threat. In fact that's kinda why Eric and Gunnhild were brought back for this arc….. because otherwise the Chaldeans would have been completely destroyed because none of them aside from Mashu would be physically strong or durable enough to survive him…..

Y: Yeah, it's easy to forget since he can't speak and is a 3, but Lu Bu is genuinely pretty crazy-strong and terrifying. A good amount of the humor in Extella Tamamo's Route is her being low-key terrified of Lu Bu. The fact that betrayal is legit part of his makeup (hence why it's necessary to keep him as a Berserker) doesn't help much either.

OC: And another reason why I think having him in Chaldea would be a bad idea. If he betrays you, then you can't pursue him! And now onto scene 2. I'd say the most important thing about that scene was Iris's discussion with Mashu about who injured her. So originally I had the idea it was….well, we all had the prime suspect in mind, but then before writing the first chapter of the Halloween event we decided it should be someone different to garner more attention to the other members of Team A. And Pepe was that person! It also makes sense as to why he'd feel bad.

Y:Pepe is a wonderful character. Was a bit ambivalent on him at first, then LB4 came and he silenced all detractors. Given his neat abilities and suspicions of what was going on behind the scenes, it's a bit sad he couldn't join the boat with Kadoc later on. Would've been wonderful to see him in the main crew.

OC: He's always been a bro. And for scene three we started out strong with the introduction of the Mom's club. That was something that has been happening since the early days of Chronicles, and Vlad and I were always discussing ideas of how it would come to be. And now we finally get to introduce it! And with Andromeda as President with Mata Hari as the Vice President. Such a great team!

Y: Good mommas, lots of kids to pass around.

OC: As for Gunnhild I actually had to look up how many kids she and Eric had, and I was shocked to see that they had NINE children. They really wanted a big family!

Y: Big families were something to be celebrated and praised for in those times. It meant that you could spread the seeds everywhere after a long and successful life.

OC: And now for the most important part of the chapter. Originally Yatsu and I had planned on having the Chaldeans save at least some of the townsfolk before we even got to this arc, but after thinking about it, we decided that having them fail would be a more important step in their journey as they can't always succeed. But most importantly? It gave Mata Hari time to shine, and show exactly why she's considered the heart of the team. Out of everyone in the ground team, she'd understand Ritsuka the best in this situation, and having her comfort him when he's feeling helpless I felt is one of the most powerful moments of the series so far.

Y: It was a pretty solid scene, and very good at establishing the character, something any story must be able to do. In a very tragic twist, it's generally agreed that Mata Hari, despite her popularity as an archetypical dancer-spy, didn't really provide any worthwhile information. So, a lot of her tragedy was ultimately pointless. Well, that's also part of war; you don't usually go out in a blaze of glory, but sometimes just peter out without purpose due to accident.

OC: And as for the final scene I couldn't help but listen to "Let it Out" from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. It really helped seal the tone, and I couldn't help but imagine this as the ending credits song for this particular arc in general, given how much shit Ritsuka and Mata Hari had to endure in their lives.

Y: Yeah, the FMA crew would empathize with that. Especially the first series which brought up that, sometimes, you don't always get out what you put in. The world is at least inherently unfair (it's baked into physics ala waste heat), but it's the only world we got, so best to just pick yourself up and go at it again.

OC: Don't worry guys, the next few chapters will go back to some comedic beats, but we just had to express our feelings over the past month and get it off our chests. And with this out of the way we have some news to share with you all because we want you guys to be in the loop and understand what is going on. Yatsu, do you want to give them the news? Or shall I?

Y: I'm going to be away on training for the next few months. I can't say exactly when I will be back, but I'm not going to have regular access to my phone or laptop, so it means I won't be able to contribute to writing for a while.

OC: To be more precise we don't know when he will be available. He will still be able to contribute but it will be very limited due to his situation. So Chronicles will be having a MUCH slower release schedule until such a time when he is able to make a return. It's only for a few weeks folks, so it shouldn't be too long before he gets back to us.

Y: Effectively, that's how it is. Well, it's going to be a very important time, so it is what it is. I'm looking forward to it though.

OC: We felt that we should let you all know that he isn't stepping down in any capacity, but his availability is much more limited than it was before. He and I are still working on the details, but we are very grateful for your understanding of the situation. And with this, our time is up. Thank you all for stopping by to read this chapter of Chaldean Chronicles. Please be sure to check out the next chapter whenever that comes out. Owen Chaser and Yatsu, signing off.

Y: Bye everyone! I'll see you guys next year!