FATE/IRREGULAR SUMMONS

Chapter 29: Fuyuki/Chaldea Intertwine

The moment Nightingale got word of Connla waking up, she rushed over to the medical ward and threw open the curtain obscuring her bed. Cuchulainn Lancer, Caster and Prototype had already left, so only Alter remained with Connla.

"Is the patient awake?" Nightingale demanded.

"Yes, I am," Connla replied.

The nurse instantly pounced upon the bewildered girl and pressed a stethoscope to her chest, then pressed her fingers all over her wrists, upper chest and throat. In a low voice, she murmured, "Palpitations normal… Heart rate is good… Blood flow acceptable…"

"U-Um, Ms. Nightingale…? You're being kind of rough…"

"Do not speak during the examination. I must make absolutely sure that you are healthy enough before I let Roman see you. If I find even one thing wrong, I will do everything in my power to fix it. Now, open your mouth."

Connla did so, and Nightingale became particularly aggressive with the tongue depressor as she scoured every inch of her mouth. She was likewise as thorough with examining her ears to the point that the tip of the otoscope threatened to puncture Connla's eardrum.

"Ow, ow, ow!" the girl cried out.

"What's wrong!?" Nightingale barked. "Are you in pain somewhere!? Tell me at once and I will sever it immediately!"

Cuchulainn brusquely pulled the nurse away and growled, "You're the problem, lady! Stop harassing the kid and get Roman already!"

"I am not harassing her! It is my job to ensure that she is fit enough to be discharged!"

"Enough blathering about your oh-so precious duty, you crazy bitch! If you actually give a damn about her, then you would get out of our sight and call Roman this instant! Or are you saying you want to pick a fight with me?"

"I do not seek conflict," Nightingale retorted firmly, then softened her expression as she said, "But I am not one to disrespect a parent's wishes. Although I am not finished with the exam, the results are satisfactory enough for me. Give me a moment and I will bring the doctor in."

The nurse departed to inform Roman of what was going on. On Cuchulainn Caster and Sigurd's requests, he assembled a small team of staff members and Servants dedicated to treating Connla's long bouts of sleeping and the symptoms of her cranial Runes. Thus, Roman was accompanied by Zhuge Liang since the Pseudo-Servant was the most well-versed in her condition.

"Hello there," Roman said. "How are we feeling today?"

"Kind of tired," Connla admitted.

"Hey, doc," Cuchulainn muttered, "think you could do something about Nightingale's penchant for aggressively treating her patients? If I hadn't stopped her, she probably would have done worse things to the kid than what Brynhildr did."

"What are you looking at me for?" Roman uttered nervously. "It's not like she's my employee or anything. She just muscled her way into my office and declared herself as my top nurse. You really think I can do anything against someone who can wrestle a bear into submission with her bare hands?"

"Pathetic as ever, I see. Maybe I should consider chopping off one of her legs so she can nurse herself with such brutality."

"Please don't. Just… don't. I'll talk with Ritsuka about keeping Nightingale under control, I promise."

"Hmph. Fine."

Cuchulainn sauntered off to the side, and Roman gasped for air as he yelped in a relieved tone, "Hah! Talk about scary…"

"I'm sorry," Connla apologized. "I know Ms. Nightingale was just looking after me, but if Alter thinks I'm in danger, he won't hesitate to threaten his own allies."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure he wouldn't go that far… probably."

Both of them became uneasy right after he said this. Not even Connla could agree with his assertion. Zhuge coughed to get their attention, then said, "Doctor, if you would please."

"Yes, of course," Roman uttered, then leaned in to examine her vitals in a far more delicate manner than Nightingale's check-up. Connla's vision blurred over several times. She stared at his smiling face… or was it Roman at all? For just a split second, she saw a strange man who had shining golden eyes and long locks of messy white hair tied into a loose braid that hung over his left shoulder. His smile was just as warm and assuring as Roman's… In fact, they looked virtually identical. The image quickly returned to the orange-haired doctor's face however, and Connla was compelled to wipe her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Mmn… Y-Yes… I think so… My sight is kind of fuzzy though."

"Let me see," Zhuge said and leaned in with an ophthalmoscope to inspect her pupils. He narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Hm… Interesting."

"Is something wrong?" Cuchulainn asked.

"Her mind is still trying to readjust from the shock of being lost in the Kaleidoscope, so it's having an effect on her vision. I can just barely make out hints of various colors swimming in her retinas. I wonder if the cranial Runes and her Imbas Forosnai ability have granted her some kind of Mystic Eyes. Perhaps this is a left over effect of being in the Kaleidoscope… Or am I just over-thinking this?"

"Enough rambling. I want to know if she's going to be fine."

"Yes, she will be. The aftereffects are gradually fading, though she might see hallucinations for a few days. Give it about a week, and she should be back to normal."

"Good," the Berserker muttered. "I'll take hallucinations over her being completely lost to us."

"It's a good thing you suggested that Cuchulainn connected his Spirit Origin with hers," Roman said to Zhuge. "Who knows what would have happened if he didn't."

"Not to mention it took the effort of three variants to stay connected with her. The strain of maintaining such a bond must be tougher than I realized."

"All three versions of Father?" Connla murmured, then immediately grew pensive.

"Don't worry about it," Cuchulainn assured. "You have no control over it, so you can sleep for as long as necessary. Like Caster said, we're all working to figure out a way to at least lessen the effects, if not outright sever you from the network of Connlas residing in other worlds."

She stared at him with an absolutely confused expression. He sighed and grumbled, "Right… You were asleep during that conversation. Once you've recovered, I'll get you up to speed on what I've learned about your condition."

"Mm. I don't think I could take in something that complicated right now."

"I'll bet."

On Roman's suggestion, Connla remained in the medical ward for another two days before she was finally discharged on the third morning. Cuchulainn took this time to explain everything that he had learned about her dream-hopping ability. Although it was difficult for her to understand the specifics, Connla knew that everything linked back to the Runes on her brain, and that she needed to be careful about what activities she engaged in. All they could do now was wait for the researchers to come up with a solution that could potentially cure her of this ailment.

Not only that, there was also the matter of the mysterious Aisling still lurking out there, intent on assassinating Connla for unknown reasons. No one had been able to find any clues about this person during the time she was asleep, so she now had two huge problems to contend with. Compounding her anxiety was her primary mission as Ritsuka's Servant; to assist in the Grand Orders and stop Solomon's plans for destroying humanity. How could Connla do anything for her Master if she was being assailed with so many problems at once? A dreadful feeling of worthlessness welled within her, which led to her sinking into an abysmal depression.

It had been around mid-April when Connla succumbed to her dream, so it was now early June. This realization genuinely horrified her, as she had completely missed out on every Chaldean mission throughout the month of May. The other Servants were anticipating the summer months, and here she was still stuck in the mentality that it was the middle of spring. It only served to worsen her gloomy mood, yet she didn't want to ruin the fun-loving atmosphere with her miserable attitude, so she decided to keep her distance from the other Servants for now.

It was in the early evening hours that Connla decided to go for a walk, while the majority of the staff and Servants were either training or eating. She was so upset that she didn't feel like opening the many presents she received from everyone while she was asleep. She tucked Mini-Cu under her arm and quietly left her room to wander the silent hallways of Chaldea. Before Connla had been discharged, Cuchulainn Alter said that he would keep his Spirit Origin inside the doll like before. He implored her to keep it with her as much as possible so she could call upon him if needed, but he wouldn't interfere with her interactions otherwise. Most of the time he would be sleeping anyway, so she didn't have to worry about him.

She looked around, then ambled about with little purpose or reason. Her gait was still a bit wobbly, and everyone implored that she take it slowly so she could recover at a steady, healthy pace. She kept her steps light, and she blanked her mind to any thoughts other than concentrating on her walk. She didn't pay attention to anyone who incidentally passed by, so anyone who saw her thought she was incredibly distant. About 15 minutes later, she rounded a corner and came across a most familiar face.

"Lancer!" Ritsuka exclaimed happily. The young Mage had finished eating dinner and was about to do some exercising on the treadmill.

"Master…"

Ritsuka leaned in and gave her youngest Servant a hug while crooning, "Mmm, it's so good to have you back! You don't know how worried I was about you!"

"A lot of people have been saying that to me lately."

"They should be. That whole Denmark incident really threw everyone off their game for a while. Da Vinci's been working hard to make sure our Rayshifts are much less prone to outside interference like that, but some Servants are still rather skeptical."

"It was my fault. Aisling targeted me, and Sir Mordred got dragged into it…"

"Come on, don't be like that. Mordred told me how much fun she was having despite being in such a situation. I made a contract with Sigurd to boot, and he's been amazing to have as a Saber-class Servant, so it's not as bad as you think."

"Is that so?" Connla murmured as she stared upon Ritsuka's face. For just a second, Shirou's face overlapped with Ritsuka's. Their rust-colored hair and yellow eyes were so similar that she thought she was looking at the same person. She rubbed her forehead and teetered on her feet so clumsily that the Mage had to snatch her shoulder to keep her upright.

"Take it easy. Don't push yourself," Ritsuka implored.

"Uuh…" the child Lancer moaned, and she sat on the nearby windowsill to compose herself. After a minute of resting, she stared at the teenager again and mumbled, "Master?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You're fighting these Grand Orders to save mankind… Is it something you want to do?"

"Huh?" Ritsuka became puzzled.

"I mean… Well, um… It's just that, I met someone in my dream who had strived to save others to the point that he nearly destroyed himself. At first, he thought it was something he had to do out of obligation to his father. But he came to realize that it wasn't just his father's wish; it was his own as well. He found something beautiful in it, and thus continued on his path while awakening to the reality that he can't possibly save everyone."

"Is that right? He must have been such an incredible person."

"Mm. So then, I can't help but worry about you. Are you working as humanity's last Master because it's something you simply have to do? Are you pushing yourself to such limits without telling anyone out of some robotic sense of duty?"

Ritsuka was surprised to hear such a question from Connla. She narrowed her eyes, then sat next to the little girl and droned, "Well… Maybe at first. I saw the first couple of Singularities as missions I needed to fulfill, since the previous Director had been killed during my very first outing with Mash. I felt that I had to do what I could so that the organization wouldn't fall apart during those precarious first months. I'll admit that those days were extremely tough for me. But by around the Third Singularity, I began to realize that for all of the danger I was experiencing, I was also having a lot of fun."

"Fun?" Connla tilted her head.

"I've been summoning so many fascinating Servants, and I've been meeting so many people in my travels. I have Mash, Da Vinci, Roman, and all of the staff with me. For all of the farewells I have to go through, there are just as many new meetings. I guess you could say I always had a sense of adventure, and signing up to be a Master of Chaldea was just my wish being fulfilled. Sure, it's tough that I'm the only one who isn't in cryogenic sleep like the other Masters, so I have to shoulder the burden of dismantling all seven Singularities on their behalf, but I'm still having the time of my life."

"A sense of adventure…"

"If you ask me, I think that's what you're missing," Ritsuka admitted. "You never seem to have fun with any activities that you do, and that's been concerning me lately."

"Eh? What makes you think I'm not having fun?"

"You don't act the way that girls your age should. You're always so serious and focused that it actually creeps me out."

Connla did not expect to hear Ritsuka be so blunt and direct with her opinions. That was a quality which everyone else grew adjusted to, but Connla didn't actually have much experience with fighting alongside her Master. The Mage continued, "If you ask me, it's almost like there's this thick wall surrounding you that no one can penetrate."

"Well," the young Servant mumbled, "I did live in isolation with my mother. I never got to see an actual city in my lifetime, so I guess I'm not used to being around so many people."

"Oooh, that must be why! That would certainly explain it! So it's just a matter of making friends!"

"Maybe."

"I tried telling the same thing to Medea, but she just laughed me off and went back to carving her sculptures."

"Lady Medea is here?" Connla wondered.

"Yeah, I finally summoned her a few weeks ago. It was rather strange, but the first thing she did was pay a visit to you… Wait, you know Medea already?"

"Not personally. It's just that I saw her in my dream. A lot of things happened between her and my alternate self… and none of them were particularly nice."

"Wow, that is seriously weird, and that's saying a lot," Ritsuka uttered. "Are you saying that any of the other Servants could show up and be an enemy in your dreams?"

"Yes. That's what happened with Lady Medea."

The Mage became quiet as she narrowed her eyes at Connla. She came to realize that her problems were far more complex than just trying to make friends with everyone in Chaldea. As the pair stared at each other, they heard a pair of heavy footsteps approaching.

"There you are, Connla," a familiar white-haired man in a red coat and black armor said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Hey, Emiya," Ritsuka waved to him. "We were just chatting for a bit. You need her for something?"

"Yeah. Nightingale's been pestering me to find Connla and make dinner for her."

The child Servant gazed intently at Emiya as he spoke to Ritsuka. Another bout of delirium struck her as the image of Fuyuki Emiya overlapped Chaldea Emiya. She couldn't forget how the Fuyuki version of him pointed his blade at her throat and declared that she would die by his hands. His cold, calculating expression didn't match the more relaxed and personable Chaldean version's demeanor, and it downright spooked her. For just those short moments, she was caught in some kind of bizarre realm where the events of two parallel worlds tried to reconcile with each other in her overwhelmed mind.

Connla was so transfixed on Emiya that he couldn't help but notice. He leaned over her and asked, "Why so gobsmacked? You got something you want to say to me?"

"Uh… N-Not really. I was just daydreaming, that's all…"

She didn't sound very convincing though. Emiya patted her head and said, "You must still be out of it after suffering such tremendous injuries. I'll make something extra healthy to celebrate your recovery. How about roasted salmon and spinach salad with strawberries and mandarins? I'll even throw in some beets on the side."

"That sounds good."

"I'll have a plate as well, if you don't mind," Ritsuka said.

"I thought you just ate," Emiya muttered. "It's not good to take in too many calories at once, Master."

"He he. Your cooking's just too good to pass up."

"Good grief. You eat like a horse, you know that?"

Ritsuka and Connla followed Emiya through the facility until they approached the mess hall. Before they could reach the galley, they heard a firm and bold voice declare, "At last, I have found you!"

They turned toward the sound of the voice and discovered Gilgamesh standing there, confidently folding his arms and glaring intently at Ritsuka.

"Good day, my liege," she replied in a frightfully casual manner. "Is there something you want from me?"

"Nothing more than- Hm?"

To both Gilgamesh and Emiya's surprise, Connla immediately got behind the Archer and gripped the red cloth around his waist, tightly hugging Mini-Cu while nervously staring at the Babylonian king. She couldn't forget Fuyuki Gilgamesh's desire to destroy humanity and rule over the survivors, so she was afraid that Chaldea Gilgamesh harbored such enmity towards everyone as well.

A moment later, she realized that she must have been incredibly rude for gazing at him so intently, so she turned her eyes away from the stern king and shuddered. Gilgamesh already knew that Connla became anxious and aversive towards royal figures such as himself, but nonetheless still felt irritated. Despite this, he decided that lecturing her on proper behavior when around a king would be a waste of his precious breath, especially since she looked too dazed to listen to one of his infamous spiels. He humphed to himself and returned his gaze to Ritsuka.

"Mongrel," he grumbled, "I do hope you realize that it has been some significant time since you last entertained me with one of your little side jobs."

"Uh oh. Looks like the king bully's getting bored," Emiya quipped. "What ever are you going to do to sate His Rudeness' appetite for world-class adventures, Master?"

"Silence, faker. Your verbose input is neither appreciated nor asked for."

"My apologies, Your Highness," Ritsuka scratched her head. "I figured you were in quite the foul mood after that whole talking dragon incident."

"I most certainly was disappointed with that sorry excuse for a creature," Gilgamesh retorted. "But now I have found a most suitable prey for you to further sharpen your skills as a Mage. I hereby order you to find Mash and accompany me to the depths of an underwater palace."

"Wow, a castle under the ocean!? Something like that has to have good treasure!"

"Hey, what about your meal?" Emiya implored as Ritsuka was about to run off.

"Just make a care package for me, okay?"

He rubbed his forehead and groaned, "Does that girl ever sit still?"

"If you mean she lacks proper decorum, then she certainly does," Gilgamesh muttered. "But that is something I can forgive so long as it gives her the energy to heed my bidding."

"Right, right. Sorry, but I can't stick around to listen to your usual bantering. I've got someone who needs feeding here."

"Making your presence scarce is acceptable to me. Oh, and one more thing," the king said as he shifted his eyes toward Connla. "Do be quick about your latest Dream Diary entry, runt."

"Huh? Dream Diary?" she wondered.

Emiya told her, "That's what we've been calling the records of those dreams you have of parallel worlds."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Gilgamesh said, "Your previous entry was quite the comedy. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have quite the wild imagination for sticking yourself in a different version of the Fifth Singularity and fighting against the Mad Mongrel. Alas, your creativity is dull, and the story you tell is naught more than plain verbatim. Even so, I anticipate that the next story will be better than the last one. If it meets my expectations, I may grant you a once-in-a-lifetime audience."

"Um…"

"Hah hah, your confusion is most delightful, runt. I can see how Medb enjoys teasing you with her girlish prancing. Nevertheless, you should snap out of your stupefied reverie and get to work as soon as you can, now that you have received an official order from me."

With that, the King of Heroes turned and walked toward the Rayshifting chamber without looking back at Emiya and Connla. The red-garbed Archer grunted, "Don't pay any attention to him. He's just picking on you like he does with everyone else."

"Is he always like that?" she asked.

"Bullying isn't just his hobby; it's his entire reason for living. You ought to learn to brush off behavior like that."

"I see."

Her stomach audibly gurgled, and her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. Emiya chuckled, "Right, right. Pick a seat in the dining hall and wait for me, okay?"

"Mm," Connla mumbled and followed closely behind him.

There was a lot she wanted to catch up on and do around Chaldea to make up for her prolonged absence, but her full recovery came first. She could worry about chronicling this tale at a later time.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay folks, this one is officially wrapped up. I have to admit that the ending is rather sloppy and probably rushed, but I couldn't believe how long this one was taking. The original UBW route took a lot more work than I expected to adapt for this story, so I am genuinely exhausted after so much writing and researching. I probably won't write much during the summer months like I did before, so expect new content around NaNo 2020. Until then, see you later.

- Benit149, 2019-2020