Chapter 5

Chapter 5: meeting of Heroes

Fate/Astraea

Chapter 4: meeting of Heroes

*Fate/Astraea*

Inside of chaldea The outsiders are waiting in the lounge area as The members of Chaldea decide Who will be going with them to negotiate with justice league

"It is obvious that we must send a Ruler Servant to meet those 'heroes'." said Jeanne d'Arc. "I would offer to go myself, but I'm needed here."

"Hah! As if I'd let you come with me!" rebutted Jeanne Alter.

"I will go. As humanity's first king, it is my duty to greet them, so that they may witness my glory and power." said Caster Gilgamesh.

"Alright. Caster Gil is one." counted Sherlock Holmes.

"I'll go too. Oh, I hope that there are believers there, so that I may show them how much I 'love' their 'God'." Jeanne Alter added. "And there's a bonus that there won't be that," she pointed to Ruler Jeanne, "thing to spoil my fun."

"Since Joan is going, then it is best that I accompany her." Sherlock once again said. "Avengers are a capricious lot, and Joan is a prime example of them."

"I'll go too. Maybe there's something fun for me to do there." said Merlin, smiling mischievously.

"No changing people, Merlin." reprimanded Jeanne, to which Merlin simply pouted.

"I'll go too. I've always wanted to see the real world, and seeing it from space... I'm not missing out on such an occasion." said Ereshkigal.

"We still need one more Servant to come." said Sherlock.

Suddenly revealing her presence, Jackie the Ripper asked, "May we come too, Mommy? We want to see others."

Sherlock considered her presence for a few seconds before saying, "Does anyone have an issue with Jackie coming with us?"

"So long as the wraiths keep themselves hidden, I have no issues with them." said Gilgamesh.

"Yeah, they're okay. I say they come." added Joan.

Merlin looked at the little wraith before merely nodding at them.

"So long as they don't kill anyone, they can come." Jackie looked curiously at Ereshkigal. "I don't want you killing anyone because I'm not in the Underworld, and that would leave a mess there that *I* would have to deal with." Jackie merely nodded at the Queen of the Underworld.

"Then we're agreed. Caster Gilgamesh, Joan of Arc, Merlin, Ereshkigal, Jackie the Ripper and I will go meet the Justice League at the Watchtower." said Sherlock.

Ruler Jeanne then continued, "We should also send some Servants to go with the younger 'heroes'. We did agree to make an alliance with them."

Sherlock mused for a few seconds before replying, "While the older Servants are needed, we could send child Servants to them. They would also be able to mesh well with them."

"Yes, but we need to decide which ones will go to them." agreed Jeanne. "Does anyone have any ideas?"

"While it would be okay to send child Servants to these 'Outsiders', we still should send an older Servant to watch over them, particularly since the children are quite finicky to deal with." said Ereshkigal.

"Nightingale should be quite capable of dealing with the children, and it does come with the advantage of the Outsiders having a dedicated healer on hand in case they have an emergency that they have to deal with on the spot." added Caster da Vinci. "I say that my Rider version should be sent. She could use some time away from Chaldea."

"Agreed. Da Vinci Rider is one." said Sherlock. "Child Gil should be one as well, as they might have need of his Gate, limited though it may be."

"Hmmmmm…." Caster Gil stroked his chin. "Yes, my child self would be an excellent idea. Plus, without me, those two knuckleheads separated is an excellent way to preserve the structural integrity of Chaldeas."

Sherlock felt his sleeve being tugged again. Looking down, he saw the little form of Jackie trying to get his attention. "Mommy, may we help? We know who would like to go out to play."

Sherlock pulled a few smokes from his pipe as he considered the little wraiths looking at him. "Well, Jackie would know child Servants better than we do." He turned his gaze to the wraiths and asked, "Go ahead and tell us." Jackie nodded. "Ana, Alice and Kuro want to go out to play with us." Using his True Name Discernment, Sherlock understood that the little wraiths spoke of Medusa Lily, Nursery Rhyme and Chloe von Einzbern. "Chloe may cause quite a bit of trouble with her kissing rampages." disagreed Jeanne.

"Aw, what's the matter? Want to keep Chloe around so that she can steal your first kiss, you bitch?!" Joan taunted her Ruler counterpart.

"That's enough, Joan. We're here on important business. You can tease Jeanne after this meeting is over." rebuked Sherlock the blackened Holy Maiden. Joan pouted at the detective. "Spoilsport."

In the cafeteria, Cassandra Sandsmark was talking to Achilles.

"I can't believe this! There's so many Greek heroes here!"

Achilles smiled at her. "You're an Amazon, huh? Then let me show you Teacher and Heracles. Did you already meet Missy? An Amazon would be delighted to see her, from what I know. Or maybe the Gorgons? Don't worry, they won't kill on sight. Or Odysseus? Or the two Medeas? Or Circe." Cassie paled at the mention of the Gorgon sisters, Medea and Circe. "Don't worry, Medea Lily is the Princess of Colchis, and not the Witch of Betrayal."

At that moment, a tanned loli with pink hair and quite revealing red-and-black outfit approached them.

"Mmmmm, what's going on Swiftie?" said Chloe von Einzbern to Achilles.

"Y'know, I should've seen this coming." sighed Achilles. "You should've seen what coming?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Kuro coming to meet you guys. Kuro might not be the biggest flirt compared to Medb or Fergus, but don't think that she's harmless either." Wonder Girl had a curious look on her face. "Kuro is known as a Kissing Freak, and she doesn't ask for permission when she's on a kissing rampage."

"Ah booooo Swiftie." pouted Kuro.

Achilles sighed once again. "Did you come here to steal her first kiss, Kuro?" At that moment, the door to the cafeteria swung wide open and a similar-looking girl in a mahou shoujo outfit flew inside. She immediately focused on the newcomers. "Kuro, what are you doing?! Get away from them!"

"Aw, what's the matter, Onee-chan? Do you want to take her first kiss instead?" taunted Chloe.

Illya stammered. "D-d-d-don't be stupid! Of course I don't!"

"Oh? Then why are you blushing?" countered Kuro.

"Because I don't want my Onee-chan kissing others!" stammered Illya. A moment later she realized what she said.

Her mahou shoujo wand then 'looked' at her owner. "Oh? Does Illya-chan want to kiss her sister instead? Naughty, naughty."

Illya was blushing so madly that she could put tomatoes to shame.

"If my Onee-chan doesn't want me kissing strangers, then I can always kiss Miyu or Onii-chan." giggled Kuro.

"That's even worse!" screamed Illya.

Cassandra looked stupefied at the exchange between two sisters.

"Is this really how they act?" she asked Achilles, to which he chuckled.

"If you think that this is weird, then you should see how many versions of King Arthur there are here. It's enough to make your head spin. And plenty of them are not exactly pleasant to each other, Saber and Salter being merely two of them."

Suddenly, Sherlock Holmes showed up. He approached Achilles and Cassandra.

"Greetings Achilles. And greetings to you as well, Miss Sandsmark."

"Heya Detective. How did the meeting go? Did you decide who's going to go?" to which Ruler nodded. "Indeed. The Outsiders and the rest of the Servants we're bringing are waiting in the lab." Sherlock then turned to Cassandra. "A warning. In the spirit of cooperation, we have decided to send some child Servants to the Outsiders. However, you must be wary around them. We did send one of the senior Servants along in case they need to be restrained, but given that she's only one, she cannot be in every place at once, so being able to control them would go a long way in keeping a sense of normalcy with them around. If you'll proceed to the command center, you'll be able to meet them." He drew a smoke from his pipe.

Cassandra then turned to the Greek hero. "Child Servants?", to which he chuckled. "Hehe. You haven't seen it yet, but there are some Servants that are little more than children. Medea Lily and Medusa Lily being excellent examples. You undoubtedly know about Medea the Witch of Betrayal and Medusa, the Gorgon who killed her sisters. However, Lily Servants are the younger versions of themselves. Medea Lily is the Princess, at the beginning of her legend, and Medusa Lily is Medusa that hasn't killed her sisters yet. Of course, there are other Lily Servants, but those two should be most memorable for you. Or Chloe and Illya. They are both sisters and, although they are the only versions of themselves, they are literally young, still being highschoolers."

"I don't even know what normal is anymore here," said Cassandra. "Just another day at Chaldeas." smiled Achilles.

"Now we must go. The elder Servant that we've selected to go with the Outsiders will be able to explain things in more detail." explained Sherlock.

They went to the command center, where a group of children, as well as some of the older Servants were already waiting.

Caster Servant, Leonardo da Vinci spoke, "I believe that everyone needed is present right now." She turned to the Outsiders and said, "Since King Arthur vouched for you, we have selected a group of Servants to go alongside you, while a group of older Servants will be sent to meet with the Justice League." She pointed to the younger group and said, "Those little meddlers will be going with you." She started naming them one by one. "The golden-haired mischief-maker is Child Gil, the younger version of Gilgamesh. He's an Archer Servant, just like Chloe, or Kuro." She pointed to the pink-haired loli next to him. "The caped, silent one is Ana, or Medusa Lily. She's a Lancer." All Outsiders paled at the name of one of Greece's greatest villains. Seeing the distress at their faces, da Vinci continued, "Don't worry, she's not going to kill you. Do keep in mind, though, that she still has her Mystic Eyes of Petrification, so try not to give her a reason to use them. Her eyes are weaker than her elder version possesses, but should still not be underestimated."

"That's stone cold." said Virgil. "I don't know if I should be impressed or scared that Medusa is a sweet little girl, that King Arthur is a girl or that Astolfo is a man despite looking female." said Garfield.

Da Vinci then pointed to the little girl with a black hat, silver hair and frilly dress. "That's Alice, or, more commonly known, Nursery Rhyme. She's a Caster." She pointed to the younger-looking version of herself. "That's the Rider version of myself. She's not as smart or as good-looking as myself," she twirled around for the Outsiders to see all of her, "but I'm sure she can prove useful to you."

"How can there be multiple versions of the same person?" asked Jaime. Cassandra explained, "Your head is only going to hurt if you try to make sense of it." Da Vinci smiled. "Simple: they are the same person, but with a different legend. King Arthur is a perfect example. While most people remember that she used both Caliburn and Excalibur, not many remember that she also had Rhongomyniad, her spear, or that she rode Dun Stallion, her horse. In fact, at the Battle of Camlann, King Arthur slew her son Mordred with Rhongomyniad, not Excalibur. It is merely how her legend is remembered that not many know about it." Da Vinci pointed to the older-looking woman in a red outfit, black overcoat, black skirt and knee-high white boots. "That's Florence Nightingale. She's a Berserker Servant, and will be in charge of keeping the kids in line." Garfield suddenly asked, "But how can she be a Berserker if she's sane enough to talk?" The elder Servants merely snickered. "That's because I will always make sure that my patients are healed. I will heal them, even if I have to kill them to do so." responded Nightingale. The Outsiders were unnerved by the blunt answer that the maddened nurse gave them. "So it's in everyone's best interest that you do not get hurt, because you won't like the treatment that Nightingale will perform on you, since she's not joking around. Ask whomever you want." Da Vinci then pointed to the little waif of a girl in a black thigh-high boots with pink soles, bandaged hands that held wicked-looking knives that sent shivers down female members' spines, black panties and a black corset. "That's Jackie the Ripper. They are Assassin Servant, though they will be meeting the rest of you later."

"Why do you call Jackie 'they' and not 'she'?" asked Jaime. "Because there are many of us." answered Jackie. "To make things simple: Jackie is an amalgamation of thousands of souls of dead children. It's for that reason that everyone refers to Jackie as 'they'." Garfield whispered to Cassie, "Am I the only one freaked out that England's most notorious serial killer is a little girl?" to which Cassie merely shook her head.

"I guess that, at this point, we shouldn't be surprised at her answer." said Garfield.

"Alright everyone, let's get to our destinations." said da Vinci. She nodded to Sherlock. "If you'll follow Sherlock, he'll explain things along the way." Cassie whispered to Jaime, "To think that we're talking to Sherlock Holmes of all people…. It's like a kid's dream come true. Or da Vinci…." Jaime hummed his agreement. "Or the frickin' Jack the Ripper. To think that we know what she looks like… Imagine the fallout that would cause…."

Sherlock heard the whispers of Wonder Girl and Blue Beetle and added in, "Do keep in mind that, even if you do try to reveal Jackie's identity, it wouldn't matter, as the Information Erasure skill that Jackie have would ensure that any kind of information about their identity would not be revealed to anyone. And yes, that does include the modern day pictures and video recordings. So you have no need to bother." Jaime countered, "Not that some people wouldn't try anyway…."

The Coffins start opening up and everyone starts going inside one by one.

"Are we going to be okay in this?" asked Virgil. "Not to worry, everything will be alright."

"Provided we don't fall from the sky." quipped Chloe, to which Virgil paled. "Please don't tell me that we will fall from the sky." Sherlock reassured him. "Unless the location has some kind of protection against unwanted spatial transportation, you will not experience any difficulties in reaching your destination safely." The Coffin doors were closed safely and Sherlock nodded toward the big glass. The last thing that the Outlanders saw in Chaldea was a stream of particles. The next thing they knew, they were standing in The Hub, with the child Servants and Nightingale along with them.

(So sorry this took so long i have been vary busy with college and helping my famliy I hope that i can get more work done)