[X] Wait until you're connected to a Leyline. She'll balk at being left behind, and it'd definitely sour her relationship with the rest of Chaldea, but at the end of the day it's common sense. You need everyone you can get after the bombings, and as powerful as she is she's just not a combat magus. All it'd take is someone managing to get past her familiars and she'd be dead, and that's more likely to happen if she drops into those woods. The thought isn't exactly something you hate, not after that awful visit yesterday, but this is bigger than you. You'll just deal with the consequences as they come, and Olga will have to as well.
[X] Wait until you're connected to a Leyline. She'll balk at being left behind, and it'd definitely sour her relationship with the rest of Chaldea, but at the end of the day it's common sense. You need everyone you can get after the bombings, and as powerful as she is she's just not a combat magus. All it'd take is someone managing to get past her familiars and she'd be dead, and that's more likely to happen if she drops into those woods. The thought isn't exactly something you hate, not after that awful visit yesterday, but this is bigger than you. You'll just deal with the consequences as they come, and Olga will have to as well.
[X] Wait until you're connected to a Leyline. She'll balk at being left behind, and it'd definitely sour her relationship with the rest of Chaldea, but at the end of the day it's common sense. You need everyone you can get after the bombings, and as powerful as she is she's just not a combat magus. All it'd take is someone managing to get past her familiars and she'd be dead, and that's more likely to happen if she drops into those woods. The thought isn't exactly something you hate, not after that awful visit yesterday, but this is bigger than you. You'll just deal with the consequences as they come, and Olga will have to as well.
[X] Bring her with you from the start. As much as you hate her, you need all hands on deck for this, and you know better than anyone how powerful Niamh can be. With less civilization to deal with and having traveled back a couple centuries, her magecraft and her unique qualities will be more potent than ever before. Sure, it'll be dangerous to drop into an unknown, potentially dangerous forest that could be filled with monsters, but at the end of the day with four Servants she should be fine. It'd also avoid any problems from leaving her behind at first, and much as you'll refuse to admit it to anyone else, you'd rather keep her happy than risk her wrath.
The forest is Niamh's home field advantage as such it wouldn't make sense not to bring her. It would also let us look closer into her character since she'll be sticking by our side the whole time and nothing draws out a person's true character like the heat of the moment.
Additionally, it would allow us to get a better look at just how powerful she's become over the decade, sure Edward has a reasonable idea but not the whole picture. As such this option just allows us to deal with her better by taking her measure and keeping a close eye on her.
[X] Bring her with you from the start. As much as you hate her, you need all hands on deck for this, and you know better than anyone how powerful Niamh can be. With less civilization to deal with and having traveled back a couple centuries, her magecraft and her unique qualities will be more potent than ever before. Sure, it'll be dangerous to drop into an unknown, potentially dangerous forest that could be filled with monsters, but at the end of the day with four Servants she should be fine. It'd also avoid any problems from leaving her behind at first, and much as you'll refuse to admit it to anyone else, you'd rather keep her happy than risk her wrath.
keeps the creepy sister happy while also putting her in mortal danger? sounds like a win-win to me
[X] Bring her with you from the start. As much as you hate her, you need all hands on deck for this, and you know better than anyone how powerful Niamh can be. With less civilization to deal with and having traveled back a couple centuries, her magecraft and her unique qualities will be more potent than ever before. Sure, it'll be dangerous to drop into an unknown, potentially dangerous forest that could be filled with monsters, but at the end of the day with four Servants she should be fine. It'd also avoid any problems from leaving her behind at first, and much as you'll refuse to admit it to anyone else, you'd rather keep her happy than risk her wrath.
[X] Bring her with you from the start. As much as you hate her, you need all hands on deck for this, and you know better than anyone how powerful Niamh can be. With less civilization to deal with and having traveled back a couple centuries, her magecraft and her unique qualities will be more potent than ever before. Sure, it'll be dangerous to drop into an unknown, potentially dangerous forest that could be filled with monsters, but at the end of the day with four Servants she should be fine. It'd also avoid any problems from leaving her behind at first, and much as you'll refuse to admit it to anyone else, you'd rather keep her happy than risk her wrath.
[X] Wait until you're connected to a Leyline. She'll balk at being left behind, and it'd definitely sour her relationship with the rest of Chaldea, but at the end of the day it's common sense. You need everyone you can get after the bombings, and as powerful as she is she's just not a combat magus. All it'd take is someone managing to get past her familiars and she'd be dead, and that's more likely to happen if she drops into those woods. The thought isn't exactly something you hate, not after that awful visit yesterday, but this is bigger than you. You'll just deal with the consequences as they come, and Olga will have to as well.
[X] Bring her with you from the start. As much as you hate her, you need all hands on deck for this, and you know better than anyone how powerful Niamh can be. With less civilization to deal with and having traveled back a couple centuries, her magecraft and her unique qualities will be more potent than ever before. Sure, it'll be dangerous to drop into an unknown, potentially dangerous forest that could be filled with monsters, but at the end of the day with four Servants she should be fine. It'd also avoid any problems from leaving her behind at first, and much as you'll refuse to admit it to anyone else, you'd rather keep her happy than risk her wrath.
Right, so I have to admit I just like seeing our MC suffer, but I'm also ridiculously curious about Niamh. I just did a reread to catch back up, but there's a lot I'm sure I missed.
Although... Did he choose to be Edward over Eamon specifically just to spite his family? With the whole English and Irish hatred that is.
You can justify leaving her behind for a little, no one would blame you. Even she probably wouldn't so long as you said you did it to keep her safe, and that's if Da Vinci let her know it was your choice in the first place. It's enough to make you pause for a moment, the words on the tip of your tongue. But you knew what your answer would be from the start, and even with all the excuses you could give, you know you're not going to give any of them. Your sister isn't a fighter, but you are, and she's phenomenally powerful for a modern magus. She's practically a doorway to the past all by herself, and you can only imagine that dropping her back about six hundred years is only going to make her even better. A Servant might be able to defeat her and her familiars, but she'll have four Servants backing her up, including one who's practically prescient when it comes to defending others.
This is bigger than you and your grudges, your hatred.
Your fears.
"We'll take her with us from the start." The words come from you like drawing blood from a stone, but they come all the same. You can practically feel Circe's curious glance at you from aside, but you pay it no mind. "We'll keep her safe, and she can't do much to help from here. We can't afford to go in half-cocked."
"Alright." You were almost expecting her to push the decision, but all she does is give a sharp nod. All business, then. "Your uniforms come equipped with translation charms, but since you've got your armor I modified your communicator while you were recovering from the Fuyuki Singularity. It should be much more durable now, just in case, and it's got its own translation charms too. Ideally you'll just pick up the knowledge from the Throne like other Servants, but better safe than sorry. Head down to CHALDEAS and I'll be right there."
She takes off as soon as you nod, and as soon as she's turned away from you Circe flits into view, floating up at eye level and tilting her head. "You're sure about this, piglet? I mean...you certainly don't seem happy."
"Doesn't matter. It's just easier this way for everyone, and it'll give us a better chance at actually fixing things. She can handle herself." She doesn't look convinced, one eyebrow arching up sharply, but after a moment she shrugs.
"Well, if you say so. Just say the word and I'll make sure she doesn't bother you." Her expression shifts to playful as she speaks, and all of a sudden you're acutely aware of how Dangerous that look is, now that she's so close and level with you. Is Archer going to pull her bow on Circe? You want to check, but it's kind of hard to look away. "Personally, I think you only need one witch around taking up your time, piglet."
Goemon's loud snort spares you from having to respond to that, and you both turn to look at him as he grins at you, twirling his pipe in his fingers. Archer's frowning at him, but at the very least no weapons are coming out. "Oh, come on. You can do better. I mean, sure he's cute but he's got a stick up his ass. Now, me on the other hand..."
You suck in a breath to cut off the conversation before it can begin, glancing over towards Olga to make sure she hadn't noticed you were still there yet. Her face is still buried in the screens, so you're safe for now, but you're not pushing it. "Goemon, shut up. We're on the clock. All of you in spiritual form, now."
Archer vanishes the moment you say it, while Circe gives you a pout first. Goemon stays for another few seconds and you meet his gaze until finally he smirks and disappears like the other two, and you can get a move on. It's not far from the command room to CHALDEAS, and you barely pass anyone along the way this time. The few you do give a nod, but otherwise focus on getting where they're going, and you honestly can't blame them. Fuyuki was meant to be the trial run, the first attempt, and it ended up being a disaster. This time, the ball is in Chaldea's court. No one wanted to fumble it. You can appreciate that, especially when they're going to be directly working on keeping you alive as you time travel.
There's a weight to it, when you walk into the enormous room. CHALDEAS revolves slowly, the enormous replica-soul of the planet and all the measuring instruments around it thrumming softly. It's like a vibration that's resonating inside your body, your spirit, so much more than just noise. You didn't notice it before because of the fires, but now with everything under control it's impossible to miss. Despite it all, the magus part of you can't help but be awed by the creation. You could never have dreamed of something so incredible.
Matthew stands over to the side, an empty metal coffin shaped like a cylinder standing upright beside him, and you start to make your way over to it. Every step you take is above one of the sealed metal openings that dot the room, above one of the coffins that hold the frozen Masters that weren't as lucky as you or Niamh. For a moment, you imagine what it'd be like to be trapped in there, your last moments of awareness filled with pain and fire before icy cold dragged you to sleep, and you shudder a little just before you reach him.
"...Hey, Ed. It'll be fine, I promise." His gentle voice pulls your attention back to him, and you smile before you can help yourself. Whether he trained to get that kind of reassuring aura or it's just natural, you appreciate it all the same. "I've triple-checked everything on both of the working Klein Coffins, and so has Da Vinci. The formulas are perfect, and we've got a team of two dozen working observation constantly. Bet you it'll be a walk in the park compared to Fuyuki!"
"Hah. Yeah, I hope so." You don't look at him, instead staring into the interior of the Coffin. It looks about as comfortable as a metal tube just wide enough for a person to stand in can be, and after a moment's hesitation you close your eyes and reach down into your soul, searching for the power you've been gifted. Despite your lack of practice, it feels as natural as breathing, the power flowing outwards and coalescing into your armor. A quick check confirms that your chains and communicator are exactly where they were before, and before you can let your worries gnaw at you any more you step up and turn, leaning back against the Coffin with your arms at your side.
"You'll be fine. We're starting the preliminary checks now, so just relax and think about something nice, like how you thought I was twelve or something." You're barely able to stop yourself from laughing, though you still snort with amusement, and even if Matthew's off to the side now you can just imagine the grin on his face. The hiss of the central door opening draws your eyes to Da Vinci and Niamh, and thankfully all Niamh does is glance over to you for a few moments before making her way over to the other open Coffin.
"Attention Chaldea. We're making preparations to begin the Rayshift in t-minus two minutes." Olga's voice rings out crystal clear through the PA system, and you close your eyes and listen while you wait. "This will be our first official expedition into the past. Our destination is France, 1431. What we are undertaking is greater than anything any magus has ever done before. We will not allow anything to stop us. This is an official declaration of Chaldea's Grand Order: to restore human history!"
It's a good speech, but she had a lot of leeway to work with. It's easy to impart a sense of purpose when you're fighting for everything that's ever lived. You tune your ears to the noises around you as the countdown reaches closer and closer to the end, the humming of CHALDEAS, the tapping of fingers on panels, the hiss of the door opening once again.
"Good luck." Matthew's voice.
You can hear the lid of your Coffin starting to close, not long now until you find out what it feels like to-
"Fou!"
Something warm and fuzzy lands right on your stomach, and you have just enough time to glance down at Fou's innocent looking face as he clings to your armor before the lid seals shut.
"Unsummon Program Start. Beginning Spiritron Conversion. Executing Rayshift."
----------
You hear voices.
You did it.
You're not sure if you should be hearing them.
I always had faith.
Maybe this is all just a dream, something your mind conjured up during the transfer. Or maybe someone slipped up, and you're listening to someone who didn't expect it.
I'm proud of you, but there's more to come. So much more. I wish I could help you.
Who's to say? Not me. But listen close anyway. Isn't it fun to hear your critics admit defeat?
It's hard for me to speak even now. Like swimming through tar.
He hasn't proven himself yet. Bael let him live.
I know you can do this, Edward.
Oh, don't be like that. He impressed you too, you know he did.
All of my power belongs to you now. You just need to call on it.
Mmh. He'll do. He'll have to.
I hope you remember this, if nothing else.
He will. But we chose well. All of us did.
We chose well. I know it. Be brave.
???'s Bond Level has increased. New information is available.
----------
You're only just opening your eyes and the dream is slipping away from you like sand through fingers, and it's all you can do to grasp at what little you can recall. Voices, you remember voices, and...something. Something about power? It's fading no matter how hard you try, and as soon as you take your first breath it's gone, drowned under the scent of the forest around you, rain on leaves, wet bark, even the musty earth all around you. It's such a shock to your senses after Chaldea's sterile air and Fuyuki's smog that you almost freeze, before you breathe out and take another breath, slower this time, savoring the scent of life all around you. It hasn't even been a week since you left for Chaldea and you'd already half forgotten what it felt like to be somewhere real.
The spell can't last forever, even with your longing fueling it. You start to notice the imperfections almost immediately. The first one, glaringly obvious, is that Niamh is slowly coming to over by your left. You're not sure if it's the fact that you're a Demi-Servant that's letting you adjust so quickly, but she looks like she's waking up after a long night of drinking. Besides her, though, there's more to it. The trees are taller, thicker than they should be, and their leaves are darker too. You had figured you'd be sent in during the day, but the light just can't properly penetrate the foliage, throwing the entire place into some facsimile of dusk. There's no rustling around you from animals vanishing from the sudden appearance of two travelers, no chirping in the branches above you, no cracked twigs or gnawed-on bushes or anything that might suggest that this forest was inhabited. You knew something would be off from the start, but this is more unsettling than you'd imagined.
"Mmmh...Edward? Do you feel that...?" Niamh's dreamy voice cuts through your thoughts, and you turn to see her pushing herself to her feet with a smile on her face. Despite her question she seems to have forgotten you moments later, spreading her arms wide and giggling softly. tYou're not under attack and you don't sense anything just yet, so you'll take the chance to ignore her a little longer. You need to make sure that your Servants made it with you alright, along with-
"Fou!"
The familiar rushes forward from under the cover of a nearby bush and leaps up onto you, skillfully scrambling up your arm and taking his place on your shoulder, and you sigh. You hadn't at all intended to be babysitting Chaldea's mascot and you're not particularly pleased about it, but he's here now and you'll just have to deal with it. You'd like to think your decision-making isn't being impacted by the way he's rubbing his cheek against yours and purring softly.
"Hhhdamn it. Fine, just this once." You barely have to stretch your mental connection at all before your Servants start to materialize, and now that you're outside of Chaldea you can feel the way it strains your circuits. Just a little, not enough to be worrying, but it definitely feels like you're adding weight to the bars. Contracting with every Servant you see isn't going to be possible, then.
Archer appears first, bow drawn and violet eyes flickering this way and that, followed by Circe and then Goemon. Your witch is looking around too, kneeling and pulling up some of the dirt underfoot to look at it closely, while Goemon has his eyes fixed on Niamh with a lazy smirk. You fight down the flash of annoyance as he watches her flick through her notebook with the kind of glee usually reserved for kids finding presents under the tree and instead meet Circe's eye as she looks up at you, speaking before you have a chance to even ask.
"Bounded Field, no doubt about it. I don't think it's meant to keep people in, but there's something weird going on." Her eyes are drawn to Niamh and her lips flick upwards in a small smirk for a moment. "More than her. Her faerie blood acting up?"
"Mmh. She's a living reversion, makes magecraft act like it's from years ago just by being around it. Stronger outside of civilization, must be hard to handle in a forest from six hundred years ago." You're not in the mood to talk any more about it and Circe at least gets the memo, but that just gives Goemon a chance to pipe up.
"Faerie, huh? Never stole from a youkai before, but her..." You suck in a breath to reprimand him, before Archer finally speaks, her eyes focused on something in the distance.
"Quiet." Her voice is a low, quiet hiss, and instantly you cut yourself off. Fou's stopped moving beside you too, and a quick glance confirms he's staring in the direction that Archer is. As much as you strain your eyes, you can't see through the gloom, and you can't hear anything either. A tense moment passes in silence, another with a quick breath to ready yourself. Nothing.
Shadowy fur blitzes into view in front of you and your shield is in your hand in an instant, twisting to put yourself in front of Archer before whatever attacked you can reach her. You hear snarling and feel something slamming into your shield again and again before it pulls back, and you catch a flash of something like a wolf before it vanishes into the gloom. Niamh's yelping but she's not under attack and she's moving closer and that's as best you can do, because you only have an instant before you hear another snarl from behind you. Once more, your eyes strain against the darkness as you whirl, but your Servants are ready this time.
You catch a glimpse of silvery claws before Archer fires into the darkness, a pained cry echoing out an instant later, and when one launches itself at Goemon from behind he vanishes only to reappear behind it, slicing it in half with a single strike from his kunai. One divine word is all Circe needs to conjure a ball of searing light above your heads, finally throwing your attackers into clarity as they snarl and pull back, and you swallow thickly as you see them.
They're something between a dog and a wolf in terms of size and shape, but there's something wrong with them. Their tails are almost as long as their bodies, and their fur bleeds into wispy shadows as they move. Unnaturally long jaws reach down halfway to their neck, ivory fangs flashing as they growl, and their eyes are pure white, no iris or pupil to be seen. You can see a flash of pale white fur on the underbelly of the one that Goemon cut in two, but it's already fading, dissipating into smoky blackness that's pulled back towards the gloom surrounding you. They're not attacking for the moment, retreating from the werelight Circe's conjured, but something's wrong. It's not just your Instinct, not just the flow of magical power. There's something deep inside you pushing and screaming, something primal and unfocused and certain that you are in danger.
"Behind you!"
Niamh's cry is accompanied by a rush of energy, and you twist just in time to watch two great beasts appear out of nowhere. The darkness surrounding you grows deeper and deeper until those pale white eyes flash open in the gloom, one of the wolf-creatures emerging- no, forming out of the darkness like ink, its body pulling together mid-lunge as it soars towards Circe's light. You're moving, you're fast enough to block it, but Niamh has a head start and your senses are downright drowned in the feel of sun-on-skin, the scent and taste of spring on the air. Faster than you've ever seen her do it before, she conjures one of her fae familiars, the enormous black-coated hound of the Sídhe bursting forth from her outstretched hand. It's far bigger than usual, the size of a damned horse, and you can practically feel the shockwave as it slams into the smaller beast and knocks it off course, snarling and ripping and clawing at it as Niamh laughs with glee.
"They're targeting the light! We need to move!" As if drawn to Circe's voice, one of the smaller beasts lunges at her despite the illumination around you, and she spits something in some divine tongue to blow it away with a gust of wind. You haven't been overwhelmed yet, but she noticed what you did. As long as there's shadows around you, you're in danger. You need to get out of this forest, but how? There's no sign of any right direction, and if you just run off hoping you'll find the exit you could get turned around and drawn deeper.
You spot a flash of white and blue amidst the darkness, and for a moment you just stare as Fou silently waves his paws as he leans back on his hind legs. On some level you can't help but find it a little ridiculous, but he knew where the beasts were coming from before you did, and you don't have many more options.
"Goemon, get Niamh! Circe, over there!" Archer falls in beside you without needing instruction while Goemon vanishes once again, and you can only assume from Niamh's yelp that he's picked her up. Circe points her staff towards Fou and the werelight rockets towards that direction, rapidly dimming the world around you before you bolt to keep up, lunging down to pick up Fou before letting your shield disappear and starting to sprint despite the familiar's protest at the rough treatment.
You're fast, at least. Sprinting through the forest is treacherous, but even your duller Instinct is enough to help you avoid tripping. Goemon and Archer seem far too graceful for a misplaced step, and Circe's simply flying low enough that it's unlikely she'll hit any branches. You hear snarling and howling behind you, and every so often you catch one of the inky hounds melting into existence from the shadows around you, but in a dead sprint they can't keep up. You run and you run and you run, and just as soon as you start to doubt Fou's wisdom you see it.
Light.
You burst through the tangle of leaves and branches that hide the outside from view and you look up and your heart stops.
Some part of you, deep down, notices that you're just in a glade where the trees haven't grown, save for one in the center. The sun shines down and the wind rustles its leaves gently, but that's irrelevant, utterly inconsequential. Even the hounds that were chasing you seem like distant memories in light of what you see beneath the tree, and out of the corner of your vision you can see that your Servants have frozen all the same, staring at the same thing you are.
There's a woman sleeping beneath the tree, and she's the most beautiful woman you've ever seen in your entire life. Tawny hair falls down to her neck and shimmers in the sunlight like silk, framing features so breathtaking they put Da Vinci's to shame. Her skin is pale and flawless, full, pink lips lightly open as she rests, and though you can't see her eyes while she slumbers you know that if you could they would be mesmerizing. She's wearing something like an armored dress, rose-red silk and frills swelling out over her generous bust and flowing down her body before finishing in a frilly hem below her knees, with elegant sleeves and a tight collar covering every inch of skin below her head and a dark purple trim running along the entire garment. Above that, she wears oddly spiked armor as gold as the setting sun, layered metal tassets hanging from a belt around her waist, her hands and lower arms covered with delicate gauntlets with those same strange, short spikes on the knuckles and towards the elbows. From what little you can see of her legs, they're covered by the same golden armor, the same spiked design towards the bottom of her sabatons.
She sighs in her sleep and shifts softly and you step forward without thinking. Whoever she is, you want to be closer, want to let her rest, want to keep her safe. Nothing's ever been more important to you, nothing will be more important to you, and you take another step closer and-
Your awareness rushes back like someone dumped water over your head, and you shake away the remnants of whatever charm seized your mind like a dog shaking off water. When you look again, the woman is still downright gorgeous, but you're not thrown into that same stupor. A quick glance towards Circe confirms it wasn't some kind of spell, from the way she's still staring contentedly at the woman, so...something to do with you, then? You bite down your frustration at still not knowing who's power you borrowed, before reaching out to grab Archer by the shoulder and shake her gently.
"Archer. Archer, snap out of it." Nothing happens, and you raise your voice just a little. "Archer!"
She doesn't respond, but you hear a soft voice groan towards the center of the glade, and you turn just in time to catch the woman rubbing at her eyes before stretching her arms above her head and yawning. The spell is broken the moment she does, and Archer slumps a bit backwards before realising what you'd been doing and bolting to keep straight, apologising even as you keep your eyes on the woman beneath the tree. Circe and Goemon's grumbles reach you next, as do Niamh's, but you keep yourself focused. When she opens her eyes, you can see they're a deep, vibrant purple, as breathtakingly beautiful as the rest of her.
"Mmh...ah, was I asleep...? I do apologise..." Even shaking off the remnants of slumber, her voice is beautiful too, soft and rich and enticing without meaning to be, but you can't feel anything like just a few moments ago. Had she been trying to ambush you?
"Forgive me for that, I'm simply...very tired." She stands up and brushes the hem of her dress and idly you note she's not that much shorter than you are, five-ten at least, before giving you all a polite curtsy. "It's truly a pleasure to meet you all and welcome you to my glade, and once again I apologise for any trouble that my nap may have caused you."
She meets your eyes, and for a moment hers go wide with...something. Shock? Surprise? You can't tell, and in an instant she's back to giving a simple, angelic smile before continuing her introduction.
"My name is Avenger. How do you do?"
[ ] Ask her what this place is. A Bounded Field surrounding the forest and all of a sudden there's a glade like this, stepping right out of a fairy tale? You don't buy it. She has to be the one controlling this place, especially with a class like that.
[ ] Ask her how to escape. If she can find a place like this inside of the shadowy forest, there's no way she doesn't know her way around it well enough to find the exit. It's not exactly your favorite option, asking a random Servant you found sleeping in the forest, but it's the only one you have.
[ ] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
[X] Ask her what this place is. A Bounded Field surrounding the forest and all of a sudden there's a glade like this, stepping right out of a fairy tale? You don't buy it. She has to be the one controlling this place, especially with a class like that.
Maybe this is all just a dream, something your mind conjured up during the transfer. Or maybe someone slipped up, and you're listening to someone who didn't expect it.
I'm proud of you, but there's more to come. So much more. I wish I could help you.
Who's to say? Not me. But listen close anyway. Isn't it fun to hear your critics admit defeat?
It's hard for me to speak even now. Like swimming through tar.
He hasn't proven himself yet. Bael let him live.
I know you can do this, Edward.
Oh, don't be like that. He impressed you too, you know he did.
All of my power belongs to you now. You just need to call on it.
Look at what you'll cowards have done, you gave him anxiety. We could've yeeted her from the start and made everything so much more entertaining.
She takes off as soon as you nod, and as soon as she's turned away from you Circe flits into view, floating up at eye level and tilting her head. "You're sure about this, piglet? I mean...you certainly don't seem happy."
"Doesn't matter. It's just easier this way for everyone, and it'll give us a better chance at actually fixing things. She can handle herself." She doesn't look convinced, one eyebrow arching up sharply, but after a moment she shrugs.
"Well, if you say so. Just say the word and I'll make sure she doesn't bother you." Her expression shifts to playful as she speaks, and all of a sudden you're acutely aware of how Dangerous that look is, now that she's so close and level with you. Is Archer going to pull her bow on Circe? You want to check, but it's kind of hard to look away. "Personally, I think you only need one witch around taking up your time, piglet."
YANDERE FIGHT YANDERE FIGHT YANDERE FIGHT but seriously it's nice for Circe to be keeping an eye on Niamh's shit.
"Attention Chaldea. We're making preparations to begin the Rayshift in t-minus two minutes." Olga's voice rings out crystal clear through the PA system, and you close your eyes and listen while you wait. "This will be our first official expedition into the past. Our destination is France, 1431. What we are undertaking is greater than anything any magus has ever done before. We will not allow anything to stop us. This is an official declaration of Chaldea's Grand Order: to restore human history!"
Wait no she didn't she should've called it an ethereal order. PLOTHOLE, DING.
You hear voices.
You did it.
You're not sure if you should be hearing them.
I always had faith.
Maybe this is all just a dream, something your mind conjured up during the transfer. Or maybe someone slipped up, and you're listening to someone who didn't expect it.
I'm proud of you, but there's more to come. So much more. I wish I could help you.
Who's to say? Not me. But listen close anyway. Isn't it fun to hear your critics admit defeat?
It's hard for me to speak even now. Like swimming through tar.
He hasn't proven himself yet. Bael let him live.
I know you can do this, Edward.
Oh, don't be like that. He impressed you too, you know he did.
All of my power belongs to you now. You just need to call on it.
Innnnterrrresssstiiiiiing. I don't recall if bold voice was in the other instances of Mysterious Disembodied Text but it adds an extra wrinkle to this. The invisitext is obviously Galahad, plain italics continues to sound very much like Merlin, but the bold one does me a big thonk. There's simply not enough information yet to make a reasonable prediction for who Bold Voice is, but if I were to shoot my shot way into the dark I'd say it's Morgan le Fay - another powerful magic user, someone with good reason to be as icy and curt wth Merlin as Bold Voice is shown and implied to be, there's the fae connection, but possibly most important of all there's versions where she is terminally horny for Lancelot which is relevant when his son is what this all revolves around. But again that's based on a wild stab in the dark.
"Fou!"
The familiar rushes forward from under the cover of a nearby bush and leaps up onto you, skillfully scrambling up your arm and taking his place on your shoulder, and you sigh. You hadn't at all intended to be babysitting Chaldea's mascot and you're not particularly pleased about it, but he's here now and you'll just have to deal with it. You'd like to think your decision-making isn't being impacted by the way he's rubbing his cheek against yours and purring softly.
Goemon played too much Nioh, he's jonesing for those loot drops.
They're something between a dog and a wolf in terms of size and shape, but there's something wrong with them. Their tails are almost as long as their bodies, and their fur bleeds into wispy shadows as they move. Unnaturally long jaws reach down halfway to their neck, ivory fangs flashing as they growl, and their eyes are pure white, no iris or pupil to be seen. You can see a flash of pale white fur on the underbelly of the one that Goemon cut in two, but it's already fading, dissipating into smoky blackness that's pulled back towards the gloom surrounding you. They're not attacking for the moment, retreating from the werelight Circe's conjured, but something's wrong. It's not just your Instinct, not just the flow of magical power. There's something deep inside you pushing and screaming, something primal and unfocused and certain that you are in danger.
There's a woman sleeping beneath the tree, and she's the most beautiful woman you've ever seen in your entire life. Tawny hair falls down to her neck and shimmers in the sunlight like silk, framing features so breathtaking they put Da Vinci's to shame. Her skin is pale and flawless, full, pink lips lightly open as she rests, and though you can't see her eyes while she slumbers you know that if you could they would be mesmerizing. She's wearing something like an armored dress, rose-red silk and frills swelling out over her generous bust and flowing down her body before finishing in a frilly hem below her knees, with elegant sleeves and a tight collar covering every inch of skin below her head and a dark purple trim running along the entire garment. Above that, she wears oddly spiked armor as gold as the setting sun, layered metal tassets hanging from a belt around her waist, her hands and lower arms covered with delicate gauntlets with those same strange, short spikes on the knuckles and towards the elbows. From what little you can see of her legs, they're covered by the same golden armor, the same spiked design towards the bottom of her sabatons.
She sighs in her sleep and shifts softly and you step forward without thinking. Whoever she is, you want to be closer, want to let her rest, want to keep her safe. Nothing's ever been more important to you, nothing will be more important to you, and you take another step closer and-
Your awareness rushes back like someone dumped water over your head, and you shake away the remnants of whatever charm seized your mind like a dog shaking off water. When you look again, the woman is still downright gorgeous, but you're not thrown into that same stupor. A quick glance towards Circe confirms it wasn't some kind of spell, from the way she's still staring contentedly at the woman, so...something to do with you, then? You bite down your frustration at still not knowing who's power you borrowed, before reaching out to grab Archer by the shoulder and shake her gently.
"Archer. Archer, snap out of it." Nothing happens, and you raise your voice just a little. "Archer!"
She doesn't respond, but you hear a soft voice groan towards the center of the glade, and you turn just in time to catch the woman rubbing at her eyes before stretching her arms above her head and yawning. The spell is broken the moment she does, and Archer slumps a bit backwards before realising what you'd been doing and bolting to keep straight, apologising even as you keep your eyes on the woman beneath the tree. Circe and Goemon's grumbles reach you next, as do Niamh's, but you keep yourself focused. When she opens her eyes, you can see they're a deep, vibrant purple, as breathtakingly beautiful as the rest of her.
"Mmh...ah, was I asleep...? I do apologise..." Even shaking off the remnants of slumber, her voice is beautiful too, soft and rich and enticing without meaning to be, but you can't feel anything like just a few moments ago. Had she been trying to ambush you?
"Forgive me for that, I'm simply...very tired." She stands up and brushes the hem of her dress and idly you note she's not that much shorter than you are, five-ten at least, before giving you all a polite curtsy. "It's truly a pleasure to meet you all and welcome you to my glade, and once again I apologise for any trouble that my nap may have caused you."
She meets your eyes, and for a moment hers go wide with...something. Shock? Surprise? You can't tell, and in an instant she's back to giving a simple, angelic smile before continuing her introduction.
There's much to think about here and I don't want to jump to conclusions, but also this sounds a hell of a fucking lot like Nero. There's too many design similarities to dismiss, Nero is more than qualified to be an Avenger and more besides, and then there's that aura of blatantly unnatural ~C h a r i s m a~ that only Ed was able to snap out of early, no doubt thanks to Galahad's potent No Nut November Is Every Month powers.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
I think the first two questions are obviously the more immediately practical, but this one has the most potential for an interesting answer. The more information we can glean about this Danger Waifu ASAP the better, and even if it's a simple 'no' (which I doubt it will be if it was even an option) there's still more to be gleaned from how she replies and how everyone else reacts to her compared to Ed.
Her expression shifts to playful as she speaks, and all of a sudden you're acutely aware of how Dangerous that look is, now that she's so close and level with you.
glancing over towards Olga to make sure she hadn't noticed you were still there yet. Her face is still buried in the screens, so you're safe for now, but you're not pushing it.
She's tallying up everything she can ping your salary for after this is all done, Ed.
(no, she's just trying to be professional)
The invistext bit is... very interesting. At least one of those voices is Galahad (assuming Squirt didn't throw the mother of all curveballs), but there are at least two other voices besides Galahad and Ed involved, it seemed to me.
The trees are taller, thicker than they should be, and their leaves are darker too. You had figured you'd be sent in during the day, but the light just can't properly penetrate the foliage, throwing the entire place into some facsimile of dusk. There's no rustling around you from animals vanishing from the sudden appearance of two travelers, no chirping in the branches above you, no cracked twigs or gnawed-on bushes or anything that might suggest that this forest was inhabited. You knew something would be off from the start, but this is more unsettling than you'd imagined.
They're something between a dog and a wolf in terms of size and shape, but there's something wrong with them. Their tails are almost as long as their bodies, and their fur bleeds into wispy shadows as they move. Unnaturally long jaws reach down halfway to their neck, ivory fangs flashing as they growl, and their eyes are pure white, no iris or pupil to be seen. You can see a flash of pale white fur on the underbelly of the one that Goemon cut in two, but it's already fading, dissipating into smoky blackness that's pulled back towards the gloom surrounding you. They're not attacking for the moment, retreating from the werelight Circe's conjured, but something's wrong. It's not just your Instinct, not just the flow of magical power. There's something deep inside you pushing and screaming, something primal and unfocused and certain that you are in danger.
You spot a flash of white and blue amidst the darkness, and for a moment you just stare as Fou silently waves his paws as he leans back on his hind legs. On some level you can't help but find it a little ridiculous, but he knew where the beasts were coming from before you did, and you don't have many more options.
Her skin is pale and flawless, full, pink lips lightly open as she rests, and though you can't see her eyes while she slumbers you know that if you could they would be mesmerizing. She's wearing something like an armored dress, rose-red silk and frills swelling out over her generous bust and flowing down her body before finishing in a frilly hem below her knees, with elegant sleeves and a tight collar covering every inch of skin below her head and a dark purple trim running along the entire garment. Above that, she wears oddly spiked armor as gold as the setting sun, layered metal tassets hanging from a belt around her waist, her hands and lower arms covered with delicate gauntlets with those same strange, short spikes on the knuckles and towards the elbows. From what little you can see of her legs, they're covered by the same golden armor, the same spiked design towards the bottom of her sabatons.
She meets your eyes, and for a moment hers go wide with...something. Shock? Surprise? You can't tell, and in an instant she's back to giving a simple, angelic smile before continuing her introduction.
She either recognises something about Ed - most likely his fae blood stuff? - or Galahad. Which narrow the field some, but it's still very interesting to consider.
Also, the sleeping beauty bit furthers my thoughts wrt to fairy tale stuff. I kiiiinda doubt she's straight up Sleeping Beauty, but something there.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
Escape is a good choice, very practical and enforcer-like - well, considering the context - and the place question would be very telling as to who she is.
But in a way, this is the most time sensitive question we could ask - she was clearly thrown off balance, and if there's a chance to ask later, she could very well have organised her thoughts enough to bullshit away.
Her charm effect, whatever it is, seems to be quite potent - or may not be magecraft at all. It went through both Ed's MR: B and Archer's C-rank MR, after all. A passive Noble Phantasm, perhaps?
[X] Ask her what this place is. A Bounded Field surrounding the forest and all of a sudden there's a glade like this, stepping right out of a fairy tale? You don't buy it. She has to be the one controlling this place, especially with a class like that.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
Honestly I was half thinking from the red spiked armored that we were meeting an alternate Mordred, like Artoria Lancer is an alternate Saber. But there's that mention of "my glade". She's not Nero. She's not Mordred. Someone from Arthurian myth tied to nature and fairies who wears red. Hmmmmm...
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
[X] Ask her what this place is. A Bounded Field surrounding the forest and all of a sudden there's a glade like this, stepping right out of a fairy tale? You don't buy it. She has to be the one controlling this place, especially with a class like that.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
[ ] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
[X] Ask her what this place is. A Bounded Field surrounding the forest and all of a sudden there's a glade like this, stepping right out of a fairy tale? You don't buy it. She has to be the one controlling this place, especially with a class like that.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
[X] Ask her if she knows you. You've never seen her before in your life, obviously, but you know she saw something that made her pause. If you can have any hint towards the name of the Servant you've fused with, any hint at all, you need to take it.
Due to some tremendous fuck-ups from my ISP I'm not going to have internet besides mobile data until Wednesday, which unfortunately also means I won't be able to access any of my drafts or post anything. Looking like the chapter will be delayed, hopefully not too long.
