Medici

The Capitol was on alert. Soldiers mobilized across many streets. Citizens continued work in a daze of confusion and slight unease. The city roads were now a hazard for any who were guilty. Even as night descended upon the city, the guard forces were still active as ever.

There was a river that cut through the entire capitol. An unnatural, ferocious current made it a treacherous obstacle for any that even considered escaping the enforcement of the state. However, one may find safety even within the confines of a raging beast's maw, as some may say. Various bridges connected roads to each other across the river. They were fortified checkpoints that guards would frequent.

Yet none even considered the possibility of rubbish hiding away from their eyes, with the bridge as cover.

Ritsuka took a quiet, deep breath as he slouched against a cobblestone wall. Above, they could hear the clamour of armoured footsteps marching. The cloaked man from before stood on the cusp of the bridge's shadow, vigilant for any sign of alertness from the oppressors above.

"Eh... still restless, the lot of them. Looks like we really stirred the waters." The man returned to the others, who were gathered alongside Ritsuka. "How's the poser?"

With a bit of a haggard glance, Ritsuka looked up at the man to question who he was addressing. His head turned towards Vega, who was still immobile. She sat slumped against the wall, though her eyes tracked onto him.

"Recovery still in process. Estimated two hours and thirteen minutes until minimum power requirements for motor functions are achieved" she uttered, sat still as a doll.

"So ya gonna be deadweight till then? Figures. Ain't like whatever ya did was worth the inconvenience we have now. Not to mention how sloppy ya were... what even are ya? Gah, makes me angry." The man turned away, seemingly frustrated.

There was a suspicion in Ritsuka's mind, as he stared at the man. Now was a better time than any to capitalize on that suspicion. Without thinking, he called out to him. "Hey... Izou?"

"Eh? Who?" The man turned back to Ritsuka, pulling his hood back to reveal his face at last. It was as if he was trying to help clarify Ritsuka's judgment, but...

For him, it was definitely Izou. The scruffy tied-back hair, a discerning amber-clad glare and a thick accent. And yet...

He shrugged. "Ya got it wrong, whoever ya on about. Name's Guillemot. Though, Izou eh... that's not a bad name either, I like the ring of it."

That's right. This was... something far from the history of humankind and earth. It would've been nothing short of a stellar miracle for the actual Heroic Spirit to turn up here. But even then, the resemblance was uncanny. Guillemot then rubbed his temples, his brow twitching a bit.

Ritsuka perked up in concern, standing up. "Um... is something wrong?"

"Nah, don't worry. Bet I just got a headache from all this sudden stress throwing around. More importantly... how's he holdin' up?"

His gaze shot over Ritsuka's shoulder and towards the other two, Marco and the boy. The latter was sat against a wall, sleeping away. Marco stood up and shrugged, approaching Guillemot. "I'm not a healer, but even I could tell that he was suffering from malnutrition and shock. I gave him some snacks I keep around, but it'll take more than that to keep him going."

"So more deadweight? The heck is this hand I've been dealt... maybe we can at least leave that one there." Guillemot clicked his tongue.

"I mean... you'd leave a child to die under a bridge? You were the one who took him out of that cage."

"Bah, I dunno what I was thinking. No one will care if he's left here, though. To his family, he was dead the moment the guards took him."

"How cruel are the ways of the world...? Well, be that as it may... the decision isn't mine to make. I'm just a Servant, after all! The verdict is down to..." His eyes trailed over to Ritsuka, who had moved over to assess the condition of the boy. He was skinny as a stick, pale in the face. Each breath seemed like a struggle... but it was a struggle that craved survival. This boy was holding on, for whatever reason.

He stood up, looking towards Guillemot. "We're taking the kid. If you won't take responsibility, we will."

After a moment of just staring at Ritsuka, Guillemot sighed. "... Fine, fine. For some reason, that look in your eyes is pissing me off. But... ya also the best bet I have getting outta here. So I'll play along." He sure didn't look impressed, but it seemed like he had surrendered himself to this choice one way or another. "So Mr. Leader, since that's how everyone else is treating ya... what now?"

As far as Ritsuka was concerned, the situation of having no combat potential was still prevalent. They needed to continue laying low and figuring out the situation here. Though, he had no idea where they would even go from here.

Suddenly Marco stepped in, hand on his chin. "Well... we're visitors, you see. We're not from this place. So you're our expert now, Mr. Guillemot. Please treat us well and we'll offer you many wonderful things in return!"

"Why ya treating me like a host all of a sudden...? But, well... guess that can't be helped. Though that's a weird thing to say. Ya not from here? How is that possible?"

"Like, from another country? Right?"

"Country? There's only the Capitol here. I dunno what you're talking about."

"... So that's how it is. I see, I see."

Leaving Guillemot with more confusion than ever, Marco pulled Ritsuka over a bit and whispered into his ear. "I expected something like this, but... this is a curious matter. It seems we can be correct to assume that this city is the only place that exists here. From what I gathered from Vega... the other Malgeneses are warring against each other. They should be aware, yet they are unaware of anything else beyond here." If the people of this place were clueless, then it meant... "It means that the battles haven't reached here. This place is cut off, or they are hiding the truth from the people here."

Right as he finished whispering, the voice of an annoyed Guillemot rang out behind them. "Ya highly suspicious, all huddled up like that. Look, if ya gonna off me, do it now."

"On the contrary, Mr. Guillemot. I was simply offering some personal advice to my Master here. He's not very good at meeting new people. But onto the matter at hand once again... I must emphasize that we are not from here and would greatly appreciate your cooperation. We cannot explain the logic of it, but we must ask that you trust us all the same. A difficult thing to accept and understand, I know, but it is how it is."

As Marco discussed things further with Guillemot, Ritsuka came over to check on Vega. Her gaze meandered towards him, machine-like as ever. He sighed and squatted next to her. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Negative. No vital damage was incurred in the previous escalation." She paused. "... Your concern is unwarranted. This is just a unit."

"Even so, it bears a likeness to someone I know. Even then, you're still "someone" to me. So you don't need to push yourself like that."

Vega just stared at Ritsuka. No semblance of emotion or motive could be discerned from her eyes. However, a question suddenly emerged from her lips. "The rugged one said I was just copying someone else. It is obvious for I have replicated an artificial Saint Graph off of an existing Heroic Spirit. I do not understand his frustration, however. He was frustrated, disappointed, angry. According to my self-analysis, I am performing optimally in replicating the combat capabilities of the Saint Graph, in regards to the limitations of this unit. So why..." Her gaze didn't falter in the slightest, however... the corner of her lips pursed a little. "Why have I developed such an anomalous reaction to his words? My processing capabilities have been hindered ever since. I suspect he may have infected me with a memetic agent of unknown classification."

Ritsuka shook his head. "No, Vega. That's probably just... the disappointment of being criticized, I guess? That's a normal thing to feel."

"... I do not understand it."

"Maybe you don't need to understand it just yet. Guillemot meant well by it, I'm sure. He's just a bit abrasive. But trust me when I say it's not a... memetic agent or whatever you said."

She simply stared at him for a few seconds, before her eyes closed. "I shall trust your judgment. I will now focus on recovery."

If Vega had the capacity to feel satisfaction, she definitely didn't seem like she was feeling it right now. But Ritsuka hoped he had at least cleared away some of the mental fog she had accumulated. He really didn't expect her to be thinking in such a way, considering how she carried herself thus far. It was less like a machine becoming more human-like and more a human struggling with being a machine.

Once he had stood back up, it seemed like Marco had finished up explanations and discussion with Guillemot. The rugged man scratched his head. "... Right, I gotcha. I still don't get the whole "not from here" thing but I think I can at least trust ya. That'll be our plan then, sounds good." Guillemot was smirking now, it seemed like Marco had struck a deal of sorts.

"Ah, Master. Guillemot is now informed of our circumstances. We've come to a civil agreement over our next course of action, it needs only your approval."

"Alright, let's hear it," Ritsuka replied as he nodded.

Marco whipped out a set of round spectacles and put them on. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his current role, as he smiled. "Our objective is to find the Strand, correct? Yet we have no leads, and now the enforcement is hot on our tails. It's a bad scenario, all things considered, so here's what we have to work with." He pulled out a notebook, scribbling into it with a quill. "According to Guillemot, there exists the potential of dissident entities in the Capitol. Himself being one of them. I believe that if we capitalize on these potential elements, we will be able to make a move against the authority proper. Of course, this is mostly theoretical since we cannot validate the actual existence of such parties in this place..."

Guillemot chimed in. "They're out there for sure. Not all of 'em get caught like me, either. Lucky for ya, I've got an idea of where to start. The guards probably already seized my old place, but I have an acquaintance close to it that chose to stay in their good books. She's the one who kept me up to date on goings-ons in the Capitol while I was caged up. She probably don't have the mettle to oppose 'em like us, but... she'll help, she's too nice for her own good after all."

They took a moment to digest all the information properly. While avoiding the alerted guards, they would have to return to Guillemot's old district to pay a visit to one of his acquaintances. From there, they may acquire leads toward other rebels in the city-state.

Marco slapped his notebook shut after writing down everything he desired to. "There we go. So we just need to reach that district. Which direction would you say it is from here, Mr. Guillemot?"

Pulling his hood back up, Guillemot poked his head out from under the bridge and checked the sky before glancing down the river canal. "Kinda hard to tell but I guess we ain't far from it, they never did take me far from where I was caught."

"Not far, then. In that case, how about the waterways? Surely this city has them."

Guillemot turned, staring towards Marco in a dumbfounded fashion. "Ya have a death wish?"

"Huh?" Ritsuka and Marco looked at each other. The both of them didn't see the problem with the idea.

"Not even the guard go down there. It's a death trap of nasty things. They say the dead linger down there, unable to pass on properly. Some even say outright monsters lurk there. Not exactly a great place for a buncha non-fighters like us to be, eh?"

It didn't sound good, but Marco saw scarcely any other options. "But would you say our odds are better on the surface, Mr. Guillemot?"

"I think neither option is really good. We'll definitely get caught up above, but least the guards won't off us immediately."

Suddenly, a voice perked up from behind Guillemot. It was accompanied by a faint light, emanating from Vega. "Current data indicates the waterways to be our highest probability of plan success, with a 1.34% increase over options. In order to assist with increasing probability of success-" Metal clanged against the floor in front of her, as she summoned the sword that she had previously used. Upon closer inspection, this sword bore a resemblance to a certain holy sword that Ritsuka had witnessed before. Except this one was featureless, only retaining its shape with a silvery hue. "The one classified as Guillemot is a purported swordsman. Thus, I shall grant necessary permissions to utilize this unit's assigned armament."

With a little hesitation, Guillemot bent down and claimed the sword. He held it before himself with both hands, giving it a test swing. "... Not bad. As I said, there's no sword in this land I can wield properly. But I never said that I couldn't wield a sword at all. Fine. I can't fight monsters or the dead, but I can probably give 'em a cut or two." He was definitely more comfortable now, as his body seemed to relax a bit more with the sword in his grip.

After that, the group organized themselves. Since Guillemot was now the armed escort, Marco was left to haul Vega around while Ritsuka took the child. Marco huffed a little bit, not being used to this form of labour. Though he seemed pleasantly surprised. "Y'know? I thought you'd be much heavier, Vega. It's like I'm carrying an actual bride! Except I'm not!"

Vega didn't really offer a response, other than slowly cranking her head upwards to stare at Marco. Was that offense she felt? Or simply confusion?

"Don't lag behind. Soon enough we'll have the night to cover us, but that ain't making things any easier when we reach the waterways." Guillemot led on, as the Chaldea motley crew departed from their hideaway and approached the entrance to the waterways...