Chef's Kiss Ch. 13 (Fate/Grand Order) (Patreon)

A/N: We finally reach the First Singularity~

-x-X-x-

“… I think we need to stick together. Teamwork makes the dream work, after all!”

Ritsuka’s cheerful tone sounds a bit forced, but her words ring true all the same. Shirou finds himself nodding along with her and while Rin looks like she might want to argue the point for a moment, she then glances to Ereshkigal before nodding as well.

“At the very least, we should treat this first Singularity as a trial run. If anything goes too wrong, at least we’ll have each other as back up, right?”

Perking up at having Rin’s seal of approval, Ritsuka nods her head enthusiastically.

“Right!”

Before Shirou can say anything one way or the other, another voice rings out from elsewhere in the room, and a new person pops up from where they were apparently doing some last minute work on one of the consoles.

“Wonderful! Now that that’s settled, we can send you on your way!”

Shirou and Rin both tense up at the newcomer. She’s a beautiful brunette woman who looks… vaguely familiar for some reason that Shirou can’t place. Of course, at seeing the looks of surprise and distrust, the woman lets out a sheepish laugh and clasps her hands behind her back as she gives them all a bow.

“Ah, my apologies for interjecting unannounced. I am the Servant Leonardo Da Vinci, at yours and Chaldea’s service. I will be assisting Acting Director Roman in making sure all of you make it in and out of the Singularities in one piece!”

Leonardo Da Vinci? But…

“Da Vinci was a man. Why are you a woman?”

Trust Rin to cut right to the heart of the matter, Shirou supposed. Still, he can’t help but be just as curious as Rin is. Smiling a soft smile that further pings on Shirou’s senses as ‘familiar’, Da Vinci just giggles lightly.

“Ah… simply put, I’ve manifested as my own ideal of beauty… you might have heard of her in fact. The Mona Lisa?”

That was what it was! The Mona Lisa was definitely the most famous painting in the world. So famous in fact that even a complete ignoramus like Shirou had heard of it and seen it once or twice via cultural osmosis. Yes, that was who this Da Vinci reminded him of. The painting with that oh-so-faint smile.

Rin slowly nods at that, seeming to run along the same lines of thinking. The two of them share a glance and Shirou can’t help but be glad he’s not the only one a little weirded out. Still, in the end it’s not really relevant is it? And besides… they’ve both seen weirder.

Clearing his throat, Dr. Roman steps forward and interjects.

“Right then, shall we get going? It’s time to Rayshift the three pairs of you into the First Singularity. This is the first mission of the Grand Order, so let’s make sure it goes well, alright? Each of the seven Singularities threatens humanity’s existence all on their own, so we have to take care of all of them if we want to restore the world outside of Chaldea.”

As they all move into place, Shirou gives Saber a smile and an encouraging nod that the blonde returns. It would seem the King of Knights has decided to oversee things alongside Dr. Roman and Da Vinci, even if she can’t actually come along.

At the same time, Rin is as inquisitive as ever. Though to be fair, the six of them are all about to be sent into some sort of other world where shit has gone out of control, so it makes sense that she would have a lot of questions.

“How exactly do you expect us to take care of these Singularities specifically? Is there one objective above all that we must complete, or will it be different requirements every time? Do we have to fix history or something like that?”

Da Vinci is the one that fields this question, even as the Rayshift Machinery begins powering on.

“Actually, you don’t have to worry about that at all! Temporal Paradoxes cannot occur in a Singularity, so you don’t need to concern yourself with keeping timelines intact or ‘fixing things’. The Singularities themselves are aberrations in the end. They only exist… because each and every one is powered and created by a distinct Holy Grail.”

Rin and Shirou’s eyes both widen at that and they exchange another glance with each other and also Saber for a moment. Multiple Holy Grails?! Just the one had been enough trouble as far as Shirou was concerned! Though in all fairness, if these Singularities were their own distinct realities, something like a Holy Grail WOULD be required in order to create them in the first place.

Nodding along with Da Vinci, Dr. Roman clears his throat to get their attention.

“Indeed. Only by collecting all seven Holy Grails and ending all seven Singularities can we possibly complete our Grand Order… and save humanity from complete annihilation. Err… no pressure though.”

Even Shirou gives the doctor a deadpan look at that, causing Roman to flush and then press a button on his console which starts the Rayshift. All of the sudden, the six of them are surrounded by light and the room they were in quickly vanishes from view as the Rayshift takes them… elsewhere.

One moment Shirou is standing on a platform inside of Chaldea right beside Saber Alter and the next he’s standing on a dirt road in the middle of seemingly nowhere. Fortunately, Saber Alter is with him, as are Rin and Ereshkigal as well as Ritsuka and Mash. All six of them have made it safe and sound, though there is one small issue.

“Uh… where are we?”

Before any of the others can answer him, a voice speaks directly into their ears from seemingly nowhere and everywhere all at once. It belongs to Dr. Roman of course, and he sounds slightly apologetic.

“Right… give me a second here… aha! Okay, so here’s the information on this First Singularity. You’ve all just arrived in 1431 AD in the middle of Orleans. That’s in France to be clear.”

Shirou flushes a bit. He totally knew that… but he might have asked anyways, just to spare anyone else who didn’t know that the embarrassment of having to ask. Fortunately, Dr. Roman had spoken up before it needed to be said.

“1431 puts you all smack dab in the middle of the Hundred Years’ War. But don’t worry, despite the name, it wasn’t literally a hundred years of war and nothing but war. In fact, this time period SHOULD be a brief period of peace since King Charles VII of France has just signed a treat with Philip III of England.”

They all process that for a moment… or rather, Shirou initially assumes the others are processing it the same as him. As it turns out, Rin might have not needed as long as him, because he’s still thinking through the ramifications when she points up into the sky.

“And is that massive ring of light in the sky above also native to this time period or…”

“… Hold on a second. Let me see what you’re looking at- err no. That’s… that’s definitely an anomaly and likely a result of the Singularity you find yourselves in. Da Vinci and I will look into that on our end. For now, you six should begin hunting for the Grail. I don’t expect it to be easy to find but who knows… I’d love to be proven wrong.”

Ritsuka, Rin, and Shirou all share a glance at that. For a moment, Shirou expects Rin to take charge… but instead she just nods to Ritsuka, causing the red-haired girl to tense up.

“You’re the actual Master of Chaldea here. Shirou and I are just provisional. So… lead the way, Ritsuka.”

Blushing a bit at the vote of confidence, Ritsuka fidgets momentarily before looking around. Then, her eyes widen and she points off down the road.

“Look! People!”

Shirou and Rin both jolt at that but Ritsuka is right. There are indeed people coming down the road towards them. More specifically, there are soldiers coming down the road towards them. Shirou grimaces at the angry looks he can see on the faces as they approach. Right, their little party probably won’t be welcomed with open arms, will they? They did sort of show up out of nowhere, with no obvious allegiance to the liege lord of these lands…

“We should probably play this carefully… don’t do anything to piss them off, but don’t let them walk all over us either. We can’t afford to spend any time in a cell when this whole place isn’t even real.”

Rin’s words of wisdom are the last thing any of them get out before the French Soldiers are upon them. Shirou knows they’re French Soldiers… because they immediately start shouting at them in French and brandishing weapons at the six of them.

The only problem is, Shirou can’t speak French. Or understand it in the slightest for that matter. And judging by the blank looks on the faces of the others… neither can they. Though Saber Alter’s look is less blank and more angry, with the Servant’s hand having fallen to her sword’s pommel, ready to pull it at any moment.

“Alter… we don’t need to fight these guys necessarily…”

Just as Shirou is trying to keep things from escalating, Da Vinci’s voice suddenly cuts in the same way Roman’s did.

“Oh hey! Sorry about this, I was supposed to have the translator up by now, but… well, you know how hectic things have been. Look, I’ll have it online in a little while, but until then just remember what I said… you don’t have to worry about creating paradoxes by killing the wrong person. At the end of the day, the Singularities won’t be able to survive without their Holy Grails anyways so…”

… So no matter what, everyone in the Singularity would die when they claimed the Holy Grail that was used to create it? Shirou’s eyes widen at that realization, even as Saber Alter grunts… and draws her sword, darting forward.

What follows is a one-sided slaughter that soon turns into a full-blown retreat on the part of the French Soldiers. By the time Shirou is able to catch up to Saber Alter and stop her, she’s already cut down half a dozen men. The rest turn and run like the hounds of hell are on their heels… which to be fair, given who their opponent was, that wasn’t entirely unfair to think.

“Alter, wait! We don’t have to kill them!”

The yellow-eyed version of Artoria looks at him with a raised brow at that, but before Shirou can say anything further, Rin pipes up.

“We need to leave at least some alive for questioning anyways. Don’t kill unless you absolutely have to, because you never know what sources of information you might be cutting yourself off from.”

… That was rather cut-throat wasn’t it? And yet, Shirou realizes a moment later that it’s exactly what Alter needed to hear. The yellow-eyed Artoria processes Rin’s words and then nods sharply before wiping her blade clean and sheathing it back at her side.

“Then I suppose we should follow them to see where they’re going next.”

And with that, they do. As Rin had said, they need information. Still, Shirou finds himself a little torn, even as they make their way down the road towards the fort. Ritsuka and Mash look slightly green, but don’t speak up. And Ereshkigal seems entirely unperturbed. That said… knowing that everyone in this Singularity was doomed from the start, it sort of turned Shirou’s head.

He’d always had a saving people thing. But there was no one here he could save. In order to save humanity properly, everyone in this Singularity had to be sacrificed. Though if Da Vinci was to be believed, they weren’t really ‘real’ in the first place. But then, that was like saying Servants weren’t ‘real’ because they were just projections summoned from the Throne of Heroes. Shirou didn’t subscribe to that belief, however. Hell, he’d gone through so much trouble to make sure Saber stuck around after the Grail War simply because he didn’t believe she should have to just… go away.

Eventually, while he’s still grappling with all of this, their ultimate destination comes into view. The fleeing French Soldiers who survived Saber Alter’s one-sided slaughter have retreated to a fort… however, the fort itself has clearly seen better days. Hadn’t Dr. Roman said this was supposed to be a time of relative peace? The fort looks like it’s been through a battle RECENTLY.

“Ah! There it is! The translators should be working properly now!”

Shirou blinks at that message from Da Vinci, even as he and the others approach the fort at a… sedate pace. Some of the soldiers, trembling in fear, nevertheless try to stand their ground outside of the fortress. Shirou wonders at that, before Ereshkigal suddenly inhales sharply through her nose.

“Mm… there are a lot of dying men behind those walls. So many on death’s door.”

That explained it. The soldiers trying to put up a defense were attempting to protect their wounded comrades. Before Alter can step forward again, Shirou puts a hand out and stops her this time.

“Let me try and handle this, guys.”

Clearing his throat, he calls out to the French Soldiers, hoping that Da Vinci was telling the truth about the translators working now.

“We mean you no harm! We apologize for the earlier altercation… we’re just looking for information! What happened here exactly? Who did all of this?”

The French Soldiers all glance at one another before one of them steps forward.

“Where have you lot been, living under a rock?! The one who did this is the same one who killed the King! The Dragon Witch has risen again and she’s brought an undead army with her!”

Wait, what? Shirou looks back at the others, a little caught off-guard by that… but before anyone else can speak, the soldier’s words are proven true when the clacking of bones fills the air.

“Skeleton Attack!”

The shouted warning from the French Soldiers as they ready themselves for battle has Shirou and everyone else looking to the side… where a literal horde of undead skeletons are making their way out of the forest towards the fort. It just so happens that the three master-servant pairs are all standing right in the horde’s way.

Tilting her head to the side, Saber Alter grunts.

“Do we need to leave… these things alive for questioning?”

Chuckling, Shirou rubs the bridge of his nose for a moment before shaking his head.

“No, Alter. Go ahead… smash.”

The yellow-eyed version of Artoria doesn’t need to be told twice. And neither does anyone else. They were together for a reason… to have each other’s backs whatever happened. Needless to say, the undead skeletons didn’t know what hit them.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Discussion Question Time! So obviously I'm following the original plot pretty closely at the moment, but now that we're in the First Singularity with all three Masters and their Servants, I wanted to ask you all for your advice.

How should Rin/Ereshkigal & Shirou/Alter's presence change the coming events in this Singularity? What sort of things do you guys want to see in the next several chapters as the three pairs tackle the First Singularity?

This is a story I'm flying by the seat of my pants on more than almost any other so while I can't promise I'll use all of your suggestions, I can promise that they'll probably bear even more weight than usual, heh.