ARC 2 - Prologue : Light Sleet

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December 31, 2019

The once clear, blue sky is slowly obscured by ominous clouds. This is the beginning of the end of 2019.

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…..

Gudako sighed, her back resting against the cold wall of the room. The three of them plus Fou have been stuck here for quite a while ever since Da Vinci was called out to be interrogated. The guards were kind enough to give them some food and water upon request, but they haven't been let out since. At least this room had a bathroom…

"...Da Vinci still isn't back…"

"Fooou…."

"I know Fou, Gudako. It's been twelve hours since Mr.Goredolf called for her last night. It's 4:30pm right now…that gives us less than 8 hours until the year ends…"

"..Pardon me."

The door to the room suddenly opened, revealing someone dressed in a long black cloth with a shining cross around his neck. Gudako squinted, the bright fluorescent lights behind him slightly blinding due to the innate dimmer lights of the room they were in.

"The priest…."

"Hello there, Gudako, Mr.Meuniere, Ms.Demi-Servant. I hope you don't mind my stopping by. I just wanted to chat with you all again one last time."

"Father….Kotomine?" Mash questioned.

"My name is of no great consequence. 'Father' will be more than sufficient", Father Kotomine replied as he settled himself on the floor right before the doorway, having closed the door already.

"Very soon, your four-day house arrest will come to an end. The investigation will continue until tomorrow, but you have been cleared of suspicion. It seems the Mage's Association wishes to have you arrested, but we at the Holy Church feel otherwise. We see the battles you have fought and the contributions you have made, and recognize them for what they're worth. My superior, Pontifex Noi, commended your accomplishments personally. He also told me to keep you safe from the Mage's Assocation's concealment system, saying it was the least we could do for those to whom we owe our lives."

"R-really!?", Meuniere exclaimed, "Then, does that mean we're fully acquitted?"

"It does. I talked to Musik, and he agreed to release Chaldea's entire former staff from their confinement in just a few more hours."

"What about Da Vinci?", Gudako asked.

"Right, the investigators called her in last night. Where is she?"

"Ah, Leonardo? She's a Servant so we can't afford to release her. We will unsummon her once she finishes helping us with our current task. This is the world of the living. It has no place for the lingering dead, like Heroic Spirits. Even the saints are no exception. The remnants of days past have no place in today's world."

"...So you don't think Servants are valuable? Are you telling us that only the Holy Church is on humanity's side, and that Mystics must be opposed in all their forms, no matter what?"

"Not at all. Servants are useful tools. What I hate is the very concept of Heroic Spirits itself."

"Nevermind all that", Gudako waved,"What's Da Vinci working on?"

"The process to unthaw Team A has already begun. Now that the Coffins have been repaired, they were to be thawed by 4:00pm today so I expect we'll be hearing word of their success any moment now. Leonardo will be on her way once that is done, but I am willing to at least grant her a last supper. By all means, enjoy your final meal together this evening. Once you are done, I will have you taken to my helicopter and ensure you return to your family safely."

"That's…", Mash hesitated only to be cut in by Gudako who voiced both of their concerns.

"Frankly, I don't trust you."

"Well, that's a shame. Here we've only just met and you've already decided you dislike me. Of course, since it is your decision, I will respect it. You ARE the Master who prevented the Incineration of Humanity. Your instincts must be impeccable."

Father Kotomine smiled warmly at Gudako, but Gudako only felt as if that smile hid malice and deceit behind it. She shivered slightly and gave a fake smile back.

Then, the intercom buzzed on.

"Operation complete. Coffin thawing: successful. The Coffins will be released in 3 minutes. Father Kotomine, please report to the Command Room."

"So they succeeded! Da Vinci must have pulled it off!", cheered Mash, hugging Gudako tightly.

"Indeed, she is quite gifted. I wish that I could overlook her secrets out of respect for her capabilities, but alas…Ahem. At any rate, this brings us to the end, doesn't it, Gudako? I truly admire your hard work, restraint, and patience. More's the pity…"

"What do you mean?..."

"Come now, you really don't know? All the miracles you performed are about to be destroyed at the hands of the very paragon of mediocrity."

*Author's note. Okay that's great. Now layman terms please? You realize we aren't as word as you right??*

—

"Operation complete. Coffin thawing: successful. The Coffins will be released in 3 minutes."

"Fwahahaha! Well done, Da Vinci! I'm impressed! We waste 3 days trying at this and nothing! You come in and get it done overnight! Maybe I should reconsider getting rid of you. I would have to lose such a talented engineer. In fact, I just received word that my own engineers are having trouble with Chaldea's generator. If you stayed on as my secretary, that little problem would go away as well. What do you say? I'm quite generous to those who obey my commands."

"Thanks, but if that's my only option, you can consider this my resignation. I'm here only out of interest for Chaldea as it was. I couldn't possibly care less about yours. I'll be on my way as soon as I have dinner with the rest of the former Chaldea staff."

"Hmph, so it's like that? Fine then! You there, why aren't the Coffins open yet? Hasn't it been 3 minutes now? How long are you going to make me wait!? I trust this goes without saying, but Wodime is our priority! The crown jewel of the Clock Tower!! We'll wake him up first and put him in my debt by telling him I saved his life!"

"Yes sir, opening the Coffin now!"

…

"...Huh?"

"...." Da Vinci wore a shocked face, her brain going into overdrive in trying to figure out what exactly she saw before her. And how it came to be.

"...What..the…?"

The Coffin was empty. Devoid of anything, it was clear that 'Wodime' did not exist inside that Coffin.

"...It's empty. He's not in here! There's no sign of Kirschtaria Wodime in his Coffin!"

"It's not just him, there's nobody in Coffins B, C, D, E, F, or G either! They're ALL empty! What's going on!? We had vital signs in all of them just a moment ago!"

Da Vinci blinked rapidly, quickly taking control of the control panel that connected to the Coffins.

"The Coffins' contents can't be verified until they're open. There are any number of ways to make it seem like they're still giving off readings…."

Does this mean that someone in the last four days opened them before I did and set them up to give off false signals? But who could have done that! And more importantly, how did they get Wodime and the others out of-

Da Vinci's thought process was suddenly interrupted by the flash of red and the loud sound of the alarm going off.

"Warning, warning! A 𝩊𝩊 has occurred in observational data. No past observational data found. Statistical response, forecast, and prediction abilities compromised. Unable to detect anomalies in observational data. Unable to detect any form of electromagnetic waves. Unable to detect cosmic rays reaching Earth. Satellite visual feed lost. Mauna Kea Observatories transmissions lost. There are currently no observable celestial objects on Earth."

"...Did I hear that right?"

"W-what's going on!?? A-aaahhh!", Goredolf screamed in terror, his panic making him tremble on the spot, unable to move.

"I didn't do anything! Wh-wh-wh-what's going on!? What are those cracks showing up on Chaldeas!?"

Chaldeas slowly cracked, it's light blue glow having been reduced to a dim gray aura. It almost looked like the moon.

"Pseudo-Celestial Sphere Chaldeas overloaded. Shutting down Observation Lens Sheba."

"N-n-now what's happening!?"

"...Intruders! I'm picking up magical energy signals at the front gate, Gate 3, and Gate 6! What…what the hell!? There's more pouring in every second!"

"Snap out of it! We don't need Sheba to use our internal security cameras! Get the footage of the front gate and Chaldea's surroundings on the screen!"

"Uh..Roger! Putting up visuals now!"

*bzzt…bzzt*

The screen flashed on, showing a snowy terrain that was entirely black. A sea of soldiers dressed in black. They all wore strange crow-like masks almost like the Oprichnik of Russia from days past….and in front of them all was a long, silver-haired girl who wore royalty robes colored blue and held a small doll in her arms. Although her face was blurred, it was clear that she was the leader of this massive army.

"They're human soldiers! We're surrounded!"

"No! They're already IN Chaldea! Gate 3's shutters have been destroyed!"

"This is Gate 3, this is Gate 3! We're under attack by an unknown force! Requesting immediate backup! The Club Brigade has been wiped out! I repeat, the Club-*bzzt*"

"Your Excellency! We just lost contact with the Club Brigade! I'm not getting any biometric feedback", shouted a soldier, his hand desperately tapping the earphone in his ear.

"What's going on…? N-nobody told me this sort of thing was going to happen! Koyanskaya! Where did Koyanskaya go!?"

"Attention all staff! Attention all staff! Front and inner gates have all been shut down. All exit routes are currently inaccessible. Please wait until functionality is restored."

"They've taken over the gates…Now what!? How do we escape!?", yelled a staff member.

Somewhere in Chaldea by the back gate…

"This is the Heart Brigade! We need backup! We're currently engaging unidentified enemy forces!"

The soldier fired a couple shots, each of them hitting one of the enemies right in the heart…except….

"What the hell!? They keep getting back up even after we fill 'em full of holes! D-dammnit, stay back! Don't move! Stop! Get awaaay!"

And then the sound of a knife tearing through flesh was heard along with the pained scream of the soldier.

Back at the Command Room.

"We've lost contact with the Flour Flush! What are your orders!?"

"This can't be happening. Are all my soldiers…dead!? What in the world is going on heeeere!!?"

Back in the room where Gudako, Mash, and Meuniere were staying.

"Senpai! It seems like Chaldea has intruders! What's…what's going on? After Father Kotomine left for the Command Room, Chaldea has been in shambles!"

"I don't know?"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Fou! Fou, fou fou!"

*Special translation: Meuniere! Shut up!

While the four of them pondered their choices and worried over the situation, somewhere in the room where Gudako had put the box Da Vinci and Holmes gave her…

*Click*

*Thunk*

"Did you here that Mash?"

"Yes…I did…where?...Over there! The box!"

…

"It opened!"