068 - The Purple Empress

Mashu Kyrielight

Wakefulness comes slowly and reluctantly. Mashu feels… comfortable, tired, wistful. At first, it's hard to even conjure up thoughts, beyond the desire to remain like this for a bit longer. Her head is resting on something soft and warm and she feels… nice. Surely, whatever it is she has to do can wait a bit longer?

But, much to her dismay, her own reflections are enough to engage her mind and, once roused, it refuses to settle down again. Lethargic and clumsy at first, memories slowly resurface to give context to her current circumstances. Because she was supposed to be doing… something? It was… urgent? No, it was important, and then it became urgent.

And something happened… a setback?

A dark man clad in an ever darker armor and wielding lightning as if it was a spear. It stood before them, tall and proud, voice grave but without hatred, to put an end to their quest. And not even Senpai felt confident they could push through.

When they tried…

A spear of lightning stabbing her chest, after piercing through her Noble Phantasm as if it wasn't even there.

And then… darkness.

Mashu's eyes open with a start, a hand reaching towards her chest and the pain…

The pain…

…

There's no pain.

Thinking back on it, there was never pain. Even back when she was hit by Lancer of Purple, it was shocking to feel his spear running through her heart, but… but it wasn't painful. It just put her down… without any apparent harm.

Huh.

"Mashu-chan, I see you're back with us." A familiar voice calls out from somewhere very close, right above. "I hope you had a pleasant dream?"

Turning her head, Mashu sees…

"Matou-senpai?" Mashu blurts out in confusion. "What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"Surprised? But it only makes sense." Matou-senpai smiles softly, using a hand to gently comb Mashu's messy hair. "Where else would Lancer of Purple bring captured enemies, if not to me?"

Mashu feels her cheeks warm up a bit at the gesture. She didn't know being fussed over would feel this nice. But she can't let herself get distracted now, Matou-senpai just said something very important.

"You are the Purple Empress?"

"Demon Lord Re'em entrusted this Singularity to us." Matou-senpai's gentle smile turns a bit sheepish. "And yet things turned out like this."

"So it wasn't just Tohsaka-san…" Mashu trails off thoughtfully. "Is that why she wanted us to face you directly?"

"That was her plan? Rather hands off, coming from her." Matou-senpai muses. "She must have been hoping Haku-se— Haku-san would find a way to solve this without anyone dying."

"Senpai has a way of always pulling through, somehow." Mashu declares loyally.

"She does have a talent for that, doesn't she?" Matou-senpai agrees with a giggle. "Almost like some sort of fairytale hero."

To be fair, Haku-senpai had never outright lost until today. Usually with great ease and confidence, even. Sometimes she had to get creative to pull off a win. Sometimes she did something reckless and had to leave everything else to the rest. Sometimes she was outmatched and her victory meant fleeing to safety instead. But only Lancer of Purple managed to deliver a crushing defeat so far.

Mashu thought it might feel like an earth-shattering revelation, that her faith in Senpai might get shaken by this shocking revelation, but she's just not… feeling it? Considering the circumstances, Senpai's record is still very impressive. And they're not dead even after losing, which should count for something too.

"Nee-san has always been a big softie, deep down." Matou-senpai continues after a while, breaking Mashu out of her musings. "As much as she hates losing, she'd hate hurting me even more. And that's why she'll end up losing this war, in the end."

"Eh?"

"I'm not a nice person, Mashu-chan." Matou-senpai shakes her head sadly. "I try my best to be, for those who love me, for those I love. But, when push comes to shove, I'll stop at nothing to get my way. Geass or not, Nee-san is too soft to win this war."

"But, if you know that she's under geass… Why keep fighting?" Mashu frowns confusedly. "Can't you just surrender and let it break? Would it be so bad to let Tohsaka-san win?"

"Ah, you misunderstand. My hands are just as tied as hers, we are duty-bound to try our best at destroying each other." Oh… yes, that makes sense. "It just so happens that my 'best' implies sinking to lows that Nee-san would never even consider. I have no pride, I have no honor, I have no shame. I'm just a wretch who was handed far too much power, willing to do whatever it takes to secure her own happiness regardless of the consequences."

Mashu doesn't say anything. She doesn't really know Matou-senpai all that well. This is barely the second time they meet and Mashu has never been a good judge of character to begin with. By all accounts, she has no choice but to take Matou-senpai's words as truth. And yet…

And yet, she can't help but feel miffed at these words, angry for Matou-senpai's sake. Maybe she's just being naïve. Maybe she's just selfishly trying to impose her own thoughts and perceptions upon reality. But her heart can't help rebelling against Matou-senpai's words.

"You don't believe me." Matou-senpai's voice shakes Mashou out of her thoughts again.

That wasn't a question. Looking up, she finds herself staring into deep, knowing eyes filled with amusement. She still shakes her head in denial, what else is she supposed to do?

"Good. A wretched woman like me will surely lie if that's what it takes to get her way." Matou-senpai nods in approval. "But enough of that. How about some lighter topics? I cannot let you guys run free, but that doesn't mean you have to rot in an underground dungeon. How about we resume your lessons from last time? Maybe you can surprise Haku-san with a homecooked meal all of your own, this time."

After a conversation that leaves Mashu with more questions than answers, she can't bring herself to begrudge the chance to do something less confusing. She sure wasn't expecting things to end like this when she left Rome this morning, but at least she has confirmation than everyone else is fine too,

She needs time to consider Matou-senpai's words carefully.

Olga Marie Animusphere

It's with a despondent feeling of defeat that Olga wakes up, on top of a soft mattress inside a rather comfortable-looking room. To be honest, she wasn't sure she'd ever wake up again, much less in a place other than an underground dungeon, but that alone doesn't really feel like much of a consolation at the moment. Tohsaka-senpai had entrusted them with an important task, they were the lynchpin on which the whole offensive relied upon.

And they failed, rather miserably at that.

Olga herself couldn't do anything but watch as the whole Exploration Team was systematically dismantled by an utter monster on par with the best the Crimson Empress had to offer. Heck, she couldn't even keep her morale, shrilly calling for a doomed and pointless retreat out of nothing but mindless panic.

She's pathetic, no wonder everyone ends up abandoning her in the end. An incompetent and unreliable pufferfish trying to look intimidating to hide her cowardly self and many shortcomings.

(It's only a matter of time before Mashu and Haku come to the same conclusion and turn their back to her too.)

"Ouch, ouch, ouch…." A familiar voice groans out somewhere behind her, making her eyes widen and finally startling her out of her mood. "Anyone got the plate of the truck that just tried to isekai me?"

She jumps off her bed and turns around towards the source, finally noticing she's not alone in the room. Most importantly…

"Hak– Fujimaru!" She barely manages to correct herself as she practically pounces on her (dear) precious subordinate to confirm her wellbeing. "How are you feeling? Are you alright? Does anything hurt? I'm no healer, but I should have a couple emergency– Oh, they took my jewels."

"Easy there, Lady Director, or I might get the wrong idea and start growing a swollen ego." Olga turns her head to the side, feeling her cheeks burn at the idiot's very much uninspired attempts at levity. "I'm fine, a bit tired but nothing hurts… other than my pride. Damn, I knew the Grand Order would throw some crazy challenges our way, but I wasn't expecting anything like that so soon…"

"Oh, thank heavens…" Letting out a long-drawn sigh, Olga feels herself relax a bit. Haku is fine, at least. That's a relief all on its own, and gives her hope everyone else will be too. "We might've lost, but—"

"Nah." Haku cuts her off, intertwining her hands behind her head and throwing herself back into her bed. "We haven't lost yet."

"Eh?"

"Sure Purple Lancer bulldozed through us with all the effort of a green force of nature going ham on a god of trickery…" Haku explains in a relaxed voice, using a strangely specific example that Olga can't help but feel she lacks the context for. "But we're exactly where we wanted to be. And I very much doubt it was a coincidence."

Olga frowns at that comment. She had, of course, realized the enemy wouldn't have gone through the trouble of capturing if they didn't have any plans for them. But she hadn't stopped to think about the implications of it just yet. For one, it means they still have a chance to carry out their task, they haven't failed yet. For another… the Purple Empress has a plan for them.

"But… why?" She wonders aloud. Too many possibilities, too little information. But the most obvious jump to mind first. "Do you think the Purple Empress will try to sway us to her side?"

"Honestly, I don't think there are any 'sides' here." Haku comments distractedly as she sighs, throwing her for a loop again. "Romulus-Quirinus is a dangerous bastard and I hate that I couldn't get a good read on him. But he was holding back."

"He mentioned something about his Master's orders."

"Yeah, the Purple Empress doesn't want us dead. And there aren't that many ways to Blacken a servant of his caliber, especially without utterly crushing their egos in the process. With all that put together, I would dare make a guess about her actual identity."

"And that identity would be…?"

"Matou Sakura, Rin's sister."

"Sharp as always, Haku-san." A new voice joins in on the conversation. "It's been a while, how have you been?"

The two of them turn towards the room's previously locked door. A woman with a warm, gentle smile and gorgeous purple hair stands now there, leaning a shoulder on the frame.

"Yo, Sakura-chan!" Haku greets the woman with a hearty wave, not really getting up from her bed. "Congratulations on your Empresssss… ship? Empressness? Empresssination?"

"Please, this role is hardly something I ever desired or asked for."

"Seems to be a bit of a recurring theme for you."

"Tell me about it."

Olga's eyes narrow as she watches the byplay. Of course, the banter between nominal enemies is noteworthy all on their own, but there's more to read into here. That is… well, it's clear the two of them have known each other for much longer than their brief interaction back in Singularity F can account for.

The cult of the Demon Lord Re'em… She's already decided not to get involved with whatever investigation Roman and Da Vinci are performing on their own, but that doesn't mean she can't notice things on her own. It's becoming clearer and clearer that they are more than a collection of weird fanatics scattered through Human History.

… What are they, and how come one of them ended up becoming the most vital person for the continuation of Chaldea's mission?

"And yet…" Haku finally lifts her head from the bed to look the woman in the eye. "Something tells me you're not quite as tightly bound as Rin."

"Nee-san is serious and uncompromising, someone who does her level best to keep her promises and uphold her duty, that which she believes to be right. Sometimes, she ends up learning that the right thing wasn't what she thought it was, but she'll always remain loyal to her beliefs in the end. A stubborn and talented woman some have even called a monster." The woman answers with a small, fond smile on her lips. "This… Empress role the enemy has forced upon us, it takes advantage of that nature, turning one of Nee-san's best qualities against her."

"But you aren't like that?" Olga finds herself blurting out, and she's honestly unsure whether she's voicing legitimate suspicions or (just acting out of petty jealousy) something else.

"Oh, Animusphere-san…" The woman turns her eyes towards Olga. "I am a whole different brand of monster."

For a moment, the expression on Sakura's face seems to flicker. All warmth and gentleness fading away to leave behind dead eyes and foreboding smirk, but the sight is gone in the blink of an eye and Olga isn't sure it wasn't just a trick of the light in the first place.

And yet, as the three of them discuss their plans for the next day and try to figure out a way to solve this unpleasant situation without losing anyone… Olga can't quite shake the feeling of something cold and dangerous breathing down her neck. Matou Sakura is a gentle and soft-spoken person, with a warm smile and a kind attitude…

But Olga won't be making the mistake of venturing into isolated places alone with that woman anytime soon, thank you very much.

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