Litmus

"Absolutely not!" The one proclaiming himself as Marco Polo formed his arms into a cross. "I do not belong on the frontlines of battle! I observe battles and report the outcomes!"

"Yet you have answered the Master of Chaldea's call. You will fight, Heroic Spirit." Vega's expression was unchanging as she chastised the Servant before her.

"Do you think I even look credible for battle like this? Maybe I'd be a great supporting act, but... as is, there's no way!"

"The Master of Chaldea at least requires a shield-"

"You just labeled me as a disposable, did you not?!"

Ritsuka did not think Vega capable of entering petty arguments, but here he was sitting of the sidelines of one that had broken out between the two.

After summoning Marco Polo it was revealed that this facility, the Cadens Weft, was not sufficiently outfitted for summoning rituals since the systems were incomplete.

This was to say that at this moment, Vega was only capable of this single summon and would need time and resources to repeat the process.

Hence there was a form of pressure on this young lad to do his job, yet...

"I don't even know my own class! I feel like I'm in the dark here because... it's like I know I'm supposed to know things, yet I do not. Are you sure you haven't messed up somewhere? If this were the Khan's court, such a thing would be treacherous..."

"The summoning ritual was an experimental procedure, using the Master of Chaldea... Ritsuka, as a catalyst. However-"

Her fingers fiddled about with holograms in the air before her.

"You are not at fault for the missing data. I cannot verify the statistics of your Saint Graph. It seems that it has been corrupted in some way."

"... Corrupted? What sort of misfortune is this..."

He let out the heaviest of sighs as he turned to look at Ritsuka.

"That matter aside... I must formally apologize for the inconvenience, Master. It seems a little bit of everything is at fault here, so I'm unsure how much I will be able to contribute. I know well enough that this circumstance... is far disjointed from the Human Order, am I correct?"

"It wouldn't say it's completely unrelated... but, it is quite a unique case. Also, you can call me Ritsuka Fujimaru."

"I see, I see... I suppose it is like we share a court. Umu. I shall regard you as Fujimaru, in that case, since we seem to be in the same boat! Haha!"

His hearty laugh brought a type of vibrancy to those white halls. Ritsuka had a gut feeling from the laugh that he was a good guy, at least.

"... Process complete." Vega closed the projections she was working with and looked towards the other two. "After extensive analysis, I propose an alternate course of action. The decision shall be left to Ritsuka to decide."

"Hoho? Let's hear it, then. I hope it utilizes me in a meaningful way..." Clearly, Marco hadn't developed the great first impression of the strange girl.

"All three of us shall be inserted into the Malgenesis."

"Huh?" Marco blinked.

"W-wait... you too, Vega?" It wasn't what Ritsuka expected at all as he figured that she was needed in an observatory position, just like Da Vinci and Doctor Roman would have done.

Vega decided to continue: "I shall equip this unit for combat with an artificial Saint Graph that will be adapted to suit the current combat circumstances. Furthermore, I shall be creating an uplink between my database and Marco Polo's Saint Graph."

"You... that doesn't exactly sound work-safe." The Venetian wasn't exactly eager for this course of action.

"With this uplink, I shall be downloading data for you to register. This data will be everything within my database regarding the Malgeneses. You will serve as our tactician."

"Hmm... I understand. Not my forte but if that's what I need to do, then I can do it! I can finally put the things I learned from Hundred Eyes to the test...!"

He seemed a tad more elated now. Ritsuka was still unsure about the idea of Vega being made to fight instead... but at this point, what other option was there?

"Alright... yeah, let's do this. But I have a final question..."

"Yes, Ritsuka?"

"Are you going to be... alright?"

Vega tilted her head as if it were a strange question. "Even if this unit were to sustain grievous damage, another one can be manufactured to replace it. However, the destruction of this unit will force us to retreat from combat with an emergency Rayshift. That failsafe has been programmed into this unit."

"I... see." It wasn't an answer that he was satisfied with but it was likely the best he would receive right now.

"Furthermore, we will likely be able to acquire further aid when within the Malgenesis. Leylines exist in each Malgenesis and can be used as energy reservoirs. This unit is equipped with the necessary resources to reproduce summoning rituals within Malgeneses, as long as there is a power source connected."

More Heroic Spirits was certainly a good thing, but Ritsuka couldn't help but question if they'd also be awkward cases like Marco Polo here was.

Only time would tell. For now, the three of them entered an adjacent chamber where the Rayshifting was to take place.

Unlike Chaldea, this didn't involve specialized pods for the procedure. All they had to do was stand in the centre of a large pad...

"Preparing systems for transfer-"

"Psst, Master..." Marco ushered Ritsuka in for a whisper. Despite it being obvious, Vega seemed all too focused on the Rayshift procedure to notice. "Our first encounter wasn't the best, but I want you to know this... you can safely rely on me. I may not remember much about... a lot of things, actually. But I know that I, Marco Polo, carry a substantial legacy to my name. I will represent that legend to my fullest through serving you. I wish to assure you of that."

It was almost a strange thing for a Heroic Spirit to be declaring but, in a way, that made him a bit more relatable.

He may be missing important information, but he genuinely wanted to do his part for the sake of Ritsuka. That in itself was enough to reassure him that things would work out. "... Yeah. I'm counting on you, Marco."

"Hehe! Whenever I hear those words, I feel like I can do anything!"

"Commencing Somatic Paradigm Transference in-"

"3"

"2"

"1-"

White engulfed all of Ritsuka's senses, as he was plunged into something like a dream.

Only to soon wake up into a nightmare.

===

The sky was empty.

A bright sun sat high in the sky that overlooked the Grand Trianon Capitol.

Even then, the workers continued to slave away in the direct sunlight. Carts and supplies were constantly being peddled, its ultimate destination being the upper levels of the city-state.

The streets of the slums were only clean down the center. Knights with strange, glowing armor marched along these clean lines, patrolling and monitoring the workers who trudged along in the filthy sidewalks.

There were even child workers, born and raised to do nothing but labor. Most of them were able to adapt to this lifestyle...

"Guh..." However, some would never be cut out for it. A young boy fell to his knees in the working procession, dropping his sack of wheat.

The man in front of him turned around with a gasp. "No...!"

One arm clutching onto his own cargo, he quickly reached down...

To pick up the other sack and turn back around.

"W-wait, dad-" The boy reached out from the ground.

"I'm sorry, son. We can't disrupt the line." And just like that, the boy's father had moved on. The boy remained there, causing some of the other workers to thread around him as they proceeded with their own goods.

None of them offered him any looks whatsoever.

Suddenly an armored gauntlet shot forth and seized the boy, dragging him into the air and out of the way of the other workers. The boy was suspended by a knight in elaborate silver armour. "Another one has fallen."

"W-wait... I can still work, I just haven't eaten... dad! Daaad!" His father was long gone. He couldn't even see him in the work lines anymore. His words fell on deaf ears as the knight shook him violently.

"Noise pollution, as well. Energy to cry but not to work? You are nothing but a waste of energy."

"Wait, no..."

"You are a hindrance to the nobles. Thus, you shall be sentenced to death." Despite cries of resistance, the boy was carried away by the knight. It was almost like he was being paraded shamefully through those streets, even though no workers would dare to look at him.

The fact that no one would laugh, cheer or cry for him made the whole experience that much worse.

Eventually, they reached a plaza where multiple streets connected to each other. An airship, with a balloon and banners woven in noble colors, lifted off from a station inside the plaza. It was here where the workers dropped off goods for the nobles... and collected their waste for disposal.

Like ants, they moved in lines to deposit and collect. There was nary a look of radical intent nor hopefulness among them. Just a lull of sullen acceptance.

The boy was thrown into an ugly iron cage, along with two other men. One was emaciated, naught but skin and bones. The other one was clad completely in a mantle that hid all their features. The boy clutched to the bars of the cage, his scrappy brown hair hiding his tearful eyes. "Please... let me work. I want to find my dad too..."

The knight that dropped him off addressed the warden with a salute. "This will do for now. Take them to the Royal Prison for execution."

Unlike the knights who wore polished armor with glowing decals on them, the warden was clad in tarnished plates and a dark cloak... with an executioner's hood over their helmets. "Hmm... it's a paltry sum, but it'll do. The Kitchen will use them properly, down to the bones and waste."

Upon hearing about the Kitchen, the boy's expression turned to one of quiet despair as he sobbed. The knight kicked the cage violently. "You're being too loud. You want to die that badly?"

The cloaked man spoke out with a raspy voice that sounded like he hadn't been quenched with water for a long time. The boy could only look up, holding back his whimpering in compliance. This elicited a chuckle from the cloaked man. "Heh. Crying means you have a will to live... don't forget that feeling, 'kay? I've a gut feeling something convenient will happen soon."

After saying this, the cage shifted. The warden had dragged it across the station by himself and had hitched it onto a grounded airship. Holding onto the bars, the boy looked fearfully towards the airship and then to the skies... his hands closed in prayer.

No manner of god or divinity existed here. Yet, he felt the need to clasp his hands and pray to something... anything that could help him from this situation.

And at that moment, a light emerged from nothingness... right in the middle of the knight's station. Three individuals appeared there... the boy was the first to gaze at them as he rubbed his eyes to see properly. Those three were not workers... they were not knights, nor were they Highcastes.

They were, in fact-

===

"... The coordinates were inaccurate." Vega uttered as the three of them materialized out of thin air in the middle of the plaza.

"What, inaccurate? Khans should not make mistakes!" Marco was the first to criticize Vega for this mishap, ignorant of the shapes that started to gather around them.

"I am not a Khan. Also, according to my data, many Khans made many different mistakes during their times of rulership."

"L-lies! There's at least one who was perfect!"

Again, Vega and Marco were arguing. Ritsuka interjected as a voice of reason, as he glanced at the knights that had already surrounded them. "Guys... I think we have bigger problems at hand here."

"Affirmative. It appears that we have been compromised."

A knight brandishing a halberd stepped forward. "You. Invaders. Are you with the Institution of Flyology?"

Those words were alien to Ritsuka, though it sounded like some kind of faction. Regardless, they certainly were not part of whatever it was. It was written on his face.

The inner ambassador of Marco compelled him to respond in kind.

"We are not, but we do come in peace. Might we discuss potential relations over some fine wine?"

"... They are not members of the Institution. This is not an invasion, yet their affiliations are still unknown. You will be taken to the Royal Prison regardless, for your anonymity is a threatening factor."

"Didn't this collapse a bit too quickly?!" It seems like Marco's plan had already failed. With the conversation ending there, the other knights drew their halberds. "Well... what do we do now? Accept capture? Maybe they're generous to their captives?"

"Initiating escape option-" Vega suddenly spread her arms out as a glowing enveloped her body. Seeing this as a threat, one of the knights lunged forth to stab towards her.

"Vega...!" Ritsuka cried out. His response was a harsh clang of metal clashing with metal as the glowing dissipated.

With a blade drawn and plates lining her plug-suit, Vega parried the incoming blow as a visor appeared over her eyes. "-sequence complete. Saber Class Augmentation activated. Proceeding to engage enemies."

More knights closed in to launch attacks, but Vega nimbly bolted about to deflect their blows. Even though the knights had a ring of halberds encroaching around Chaldea, they were unable to advance due to Vega's defenses.

Marco had thrown his arm around Ritsuka's shoulder and ducked him towards the ground, behind Vega. He glanced warily at any attacks that were incoming. "Usually I'd have more of an escort for stuff like this... we're in a bit of a pickle unless Miss Vega here is some omnipotent fighter like the Khan himself."

"Negative. I am able to defend against incoming attacks but there are currently no valid options for escape nor counterattack." She deflected another pair of blows that came in from either side, though the swiftness of her parries was becoming a little more desperate. Even if it didn't show on her expressionless face, it was clear that Vega's body wasn't used to this type of movement.

"Then... we must disengage. Miss Vega, figure something out that'll create a window of opportunity. Something not within your calculations!" Marco's words seemed to resonate a bit with her, as she blocked another thrust.

"... Affirmative. Evaluating possibilities-" As she said this, a fearsome blow knocked her back into Marco and Ritsuka a little bit. The knight attempted to follow through with a sharp thrust, locking up Vega's blade as she blocked against it. "-possibility determined. I shall employ my pseudo-Noble Phantasm with current level of power stored. Please remain still, Ritsuka."

"W-wait, is this like... an all-out attack? Are we too close? With so many innocents nearby too? But there's nowhere to go... I'm trusting you, Miss Vega!"

Both Marco and Ritsuka planted themselves on the ground as energy started gathering within Vega, her sword glowing brightly.

"Initializing pseudo-Noble Phantasm, designation: Cadens Weft: Tir-Anna, 53% charge. Commencing attack-"

With a radial cleave around herself, Vega's glowing sword erupted with power as the entire station was engulfed in a blast of energy. Both knights and workers were flung away from the force of the attack, as the center of the plaza was essentially cleared out.

Sacks and creates of supplies and trash were scattered as well. The grounded airship tipped over with its balloon ruptured, sending its hitched cage toppling over as well.

As the smoke cleared, Vega stood over the other two who had been thankfully spared from the blast. Marco shot up with a gasp. "That's a big window! But we can run now! But... to where? Dang, I should've thought about that first!"

"Anywhere is better than here, surely!" Ritsuka glanced around to see if there were anywhere to go like directions civilians would be running toward...

Yet they weren't running. The ones that had been flung were knocked out or dead, it was difficult to tell, but... the ones that still stood were simply frozen there in confusion, not fear. They seemed unsure of how to react here.

Worse still, the knights were starting to stand themselves up after being toppled over.

Just then Vega fell backward, prompting Marco to catch her. "Power has been depleted in this unit. Motor operations have been suspended, auxiliary power has been directed to cognitive functions."

"Oof! This wasn't what I meant when I said disengage!" Marco frantically glanced about as the knights all rose to their feet.

What approached them first, however, was not a knight... but a man in a concealing cloak. He carried with him a boy that seemed to be unconscious, as he started to address Vega. "Oi... the way you swung your blade. You're just copying someone else, aren'tcha? I'd be one to know... you weren't doing it properly though. It's like you'd only ever watched them before. That only works for some though, like me..."

That voice... ego delivered in a raspy, nasal tone. A man who knew his purpose in the world. It was a familiar voice for Ritsuka. "Are you...?"

"I dunno. Never met ya. But... you're in big trouble right now, and it seems a whole lot better than what I've gotta deal with. So... I'm gonna help you out in this pinch. That's reasonable, right? You lost your blade too, after all."

There wasn't much room for negotiation. They needed all the aid they could acquire. Marco nodded to Ritsuka, before the latter nodded towards the hooded man. "Will you fight with us, then?"

"Are you stupid? I can't kill without a blade. I'll never find a blade I can wield in this land, either. No. I'll help you run like a cowardly dog. That's what we're reduced to, after all. That's all we can do. So live with it like ya mean it and follow me."

With the boy in tow, the mysterious man suddenly bolted towards a nearby alley with surprising agility. With Vega in tow, Marco and Ritsuka sprinted after him as fast as they could.

The knights were already rallying, as a group of them charged in pursuit.

With Chaldea's entrance into the fray, the Grand Trianon Capitol had been shaken.