Calotte

Montmartre was in chaos. People had come spilling out of the houses. Chaldea made their way to the street to witness a panicked mob beelining for the slum border gatehouse, away from the giant in the distance. Even the slums were considered a sanctuary in the face of that calamity. The party followed along with the crowds, trying to stick together amidst the panic.

"Unknown Saint Graph registration. It is approaching. Distance is approximately 5.3 miles." Vega analyzed the situation as she ran along with everyone else. The giant had started shifting itself, rumbles persisting as it seemed to take lugging steps. The distant sound of buildings being demolished was heard.

Up ahead at the gatehouse, however, the doors had been sealed shut. Guards stood on the ramparts above the gate, silent and ignorant of the screams and pleas as bodies piled up against the doors. They were not permitting anyone to escape. Guillemot stopped and cursed under his breath. "Damnit, they've sentenced the entire district!"

"W-what's going on? What is that monster?" Marco inquired, trying to steer clear of panicked people dashing to and fro.

"Pantagruel. One of the Madame's pets. Or weapon is more fitting. To think she released it after us... that's the only reason I can think of. She must've been bored... damnit!"

The giant known as Pantagruel. In the distance, they could see that it was a towering, bulky yet malformed humanoid figure seemingly clad in metal armour. It must've been at least three hundred feet tall. No other features could be made out from here, as it continued to stride through buildings and people alike.

Ritsuka, however, was eyeing through the crowd. He was looking for them. The two that they had living with up until now in this place... but it was to no avail. There were simply too many people in the messy crowds. He suddenly started running in the reverse direction of the mob.

Guillemot yelled after him. "Oi! Where the hell are ya goin'?!"

"Blavet! Pecloz! I can't see them! I'm going back!" Ritsuka shouted back as he sprinted with determination.

Without hesitation, Vega went after him. After some deliberation, Marco awkwardly shrugged and dashed after them too. "W-wait up! We gotta stick together!"

Looking back and forth, Guillemot weighed his options. The gatehouse was sealed, there was no way out here. So where could they go? Unable to figure anything else out... "Shit." He dashed after the others.

The screams only escalated as more and more people realized the futility of their escape efforts. Sobs and groans could be heard of people succumbing to despair and those that had been trampled by the frantic herd. Ritsuka averted his gaze from the fallen and the grief-stricken. He wanted to help them all. He wanted to save them all. But he had a priority right now. People he wanted to save, more than others.

... But why? They weren't Chaldea. They were just like any of the other people here. He just happened to know them better. Are they really any more important than those he was passing right now?

...

The doubt was clouding his mind, but his body persevered and kept running. Vega and Marco caught up with him in good time, followed by Guillemot. "So, ya got a plan or we just running to our deaths?" Despite his decision, Guillemot was still cynical about the situation. The ritual had failed and now Pantagruel was attacking. As far as he knew it, this was the end of his run.

"I... I have no idea. I just want to make sure they're safe" Ritsuka replied as he kept on running, starting to pant from the anaerobic exertion. Guillemot simply chuckled and shook his head. Deep down, he knew that he had similar feelings. But he wouldn't dare admit to acting on them...

Soon enough, they did reach the patisserie. It was still intact but the neighbourhood had long since cleared out. "3.7 miles. The speed is steady." Vega stood watch outside of the place while the others searched the inside of the place, calling out the names of their friends.

But after anxious minutes of searching, they were nowhere to be found. "Their beds are messy. They must've already scrammed," Guillemot remarked, observing their beds and the fact that nothing else was really taken along.

They all regrouped outside. Ritsuka had a pang in his heart. He couldn't help but feel that they were endangered right now. He had no idea where they had gone, and he hadn't seen them on the way back. Even through the crowd, he felt that he would've recognized their faces.

Marco, however, was the next one to speak up with a plan of action. "Guys. I don't really understand why this is all happening... but I know what I want to do, right now! I want to save these people! They don't deserve this fate! The Great Kublai Khan would save them all without hesitation in the face of such a disaster. So that is what I shall do!" For once, he seemed resolved to do something. It seemed like the panic had settled and something else had become born as a result. He clenched his fist and held it to his chest. "There's so much to see in this world, and the others. I won't let the chance to experience everything escape these poor people. Come forth to me, Unicorn!"

Fuelled by an epiphany, Marco's body suddenly glowed as an entity started to form beside him. The light shifted into that of a quadrupedal, equine form as he summoned forth a creature of some sort. What stood there was something that resembled a bulky horse, yet not quite. It was covered in armoured scales and had a menacing-looking horn with a majestic mane of hair. To say it was a unicorn was... a bit of a misrepresentation.

Regardless, Marco hopped up on top of the beast. "It just came to me, this is something I can do! I must be a Rider-class, then... nevertheless, I will go on ahead and start wrangling the mob away from the gates! You guys find a place where we can direct them to for safety!"

His plan was haphazard and the others hadn't formally agreed to it yet. But Ritsuka was immediately onboard with it, pumping his fist in agreement. "Let's do it. If we do that, the chances of saving Blavet and Pecloz go up too."

"Affirmative. New objectives received." Vega immediately agreed once Ritsuka did, and Guillemot hesitated before nodding. With the plan in place, the party set out.

The unicorn galloped forth with impressive speed and agility, weaving past and through clusters of people. Marco clearly had the skill to ride such a bizarre beast as he started to approach the gatehouse. He slowed down as the people grew more dense, preparing to rally them towards him. "C'mon, Marco... you got this. Just imagine... it's the Great Khan's court, all eyes on you. Like another story..."

===

Meanwhile, the rest of Chaldea scoured the district as best as they could for hideaways. However, it was proving difficult to find any for such a large amount of people. No buildings would be safe and there weren't enough basements either. Not to mention that they could only cover so much ground between the three of them.

The tremors were intensifying. Pantagruel was now only just over two miles away from the crowds. The others had to fall back a bit as the giant had gotten too close to the patisserie by now. As the giant moved, it swept through many structures with its long, armoured arm. It cleaved through them effortlessly, creating a field of sheer destruction in its wake as it roared again.

As they ran, Ritsuka tried to filter through ideas in his mind... until he arrived at one. "The waterways!"

"Are you insane?! We'd be delivering a banquet to the dead!" Naturally, Guillemot opposed this idea.

"But there's the safe tunnels you enter through from the surface, right? Couldn't we use those?"

The swordsman pondered the strategy, trying to conceive it properly in his mind. "Gah... we don't have many other options right now. Guess we need to find an access door, then!"

He didn't know these parts well, but he knew roughly where one could likely find a doorway to the underground tunnels. They directed themselves to the northern border of the district before following along the walls that sectioned off Montmartre. These walls were tall and imposing, and guards were posted on parts of it. There were traces of commoners having tried to scale the walls, only to be shot and knocked off by the guards.

It was truly a tragedy, the way that the Gendarmarie just stood and watched the mayhem. They didn't even pay much heed to the party's scampering about as they searched for a doorway. Soon, however, Guillemot found it. He came to a dipping alley just shy of a large canal that intersected the wall. A door to the waterways was there, larger than the one they'd used before.

"This looks promising! Got any way to let the other fella know?" Guillemot turned to Vega, expecting her to have a means. She nodded and her eyes glowed blue as she relayed a message to Marco.

By this point, Marco had successfully started to redirect people from the gate. He promised them salvation as he led them along to nowhere in particular. That is until he received that message, as well as a mental cue that pointed him in the direction of Vega. "Wow that feels weird... but I won't complain! It is simply another marvel of wonders that adds to the story! Come, everyone! We have sanctuary!"

They didn't question it. All they saw was hope in following that man on the beast, and that hope was the only thing they could currently latch onto. After another couple minutes, Marco met up with the others and heralded the arrival of the crowds. The doorway was opened and citizens started piling into it, some pushing past each other to do so. Ritsuka and Guillemot tried their best to calm the horde as Marco kept directed the traffic from his mount.

Thud.

Vega scanned towards the giant again. Its form was even bigger to them now. It was only a mile away. The quakes were strong enough that people were falling over and the others needed to steady themselves now. Screams escalated, yet Marco kept going strong in herding them in. "We still have a lot of people coming in... wait, aren't we throwing them in with the dead?!"

"We took a risk on there being no dead here. Considering the lack of people piling back out, I say it checks out!" Guillemot laughed at how bad it sounded. They could be being massacred deep inside that tunnel enough that they couldn't run back out, but all he could feel right now was a rush of adrenaline. If this was the end, he was certainly making the most of it.

Thud.

It was then that he was suddenly hugged out of nowhere. His laughing stopped abruptly and he looked to see a tear-ridden Blavet, clutching onto him. "I-I can't believe what's happening... but I'm so glad I found you!" She looked up at him. Pecloz was right behind her, cuddling her leg a bit in sheer terror as the tremors shook his entire being.

"Where the hell were ya guys?! Eh whatever... you're in one piece. Couldn't ask for more." He pointed to the doorway. "Get in. It's gonna be safer underground than up here."

"W-wait, I want to help!" Blavet shook her head, not wanting to simply run away. Seeing her friends struggling like this to save everyone, she wanted to be part of it too. Pecloz looked way more shaken up, but even he nodded to this as well.

Thud.

"Absolutely not! Ya gonna get in the way! Just run into the-"

"Guillemot! I can do this! The people know me!"

Not expecting to be defied like that, he groaned and rubbed his head. "Hell... aight, aight. Help guide them into the place then, make sure no one's being trampled. 'Cause we got a big problem to deal with."

As Blavet and Pecloz joined the efforts to assist everyone, Guillemot approached Vega and looked up at the approaching Pantagruel. "He's gonna reach us before we finish, ain't he?"

Thud.

"Affirmative. Estimated casualty count is high."

"Then we're gonna do somethin' about it." He turned and waved to Ritsuka. "Oi."

He immediately came over, leaving the crowds to Blavet and Pecloz. "What's up?"

"Pantagruel's gonna reach us soon. We need to stall it or take its attention elsewhere."

Thud.

At that moment, Marco rode up to them and gazed up at the giant. "Uwah... it really is massive... but hey, it's slow. I can draw it away from here."

It was then that Ritsuka thought of something, as he gazed up towards Pantagruel... and somehow, he felt that it gazed back at him. The giant roared, causing the air itself to tremble as everyone had to shield their ears.

"G-guys! I think... it's locked onto one of us! Why else would it approach this direction in particular?"

"Observation has probability to be correct. Designated target of imminent threat is unknown." No matter how much Vega analyzed the situation, she couldn't come up with that answer.

Guillemot then smirked, while chuckling. "Guess we're all going. If we confront the big fella, he'll stop in his tracks."

"You're crazy! Can we even stand up to that thing?!" Marco wasn't confident in their odds, but he wasn't running away from the idea either.

Thud.

Ritsuka took a deep breath and clenched both his fists. "We gotta do it. We're going to stall Pantagruel."

"New objective received." Vega immediately shifted into battle mode, the visor and armour appearing on her as she created a sword for herself and Guillemot.

Chaldea banded together and set out towards the giant. Ritsuka waved back to Blavet. "We'll be back! I promise!"

Thud.

The lady watched them go, a mix of fear and confusion in her eyes. They... were going to fight? That thing?

Thud.

There was no way. In her mind, there was no way.

Thud.

She simply could not even fathom a reality where her friends would come out unscathed...

Thud.

Yet he promised. And they had a job to do here, to save everyone.

Thud.

The conflict in Blavet's heart grew as she watched them wander away. "No..."

===

The giant towered over them, like a colossus against the sky. Chaldea arrived at a large bridge going over one of the canals, as the giant was now dead ahead of them. It must've only been a few paces for the thing, as it lurched over menacingly to spot them.

Up close, Pantagruel was a humanoid of malformed proportions. His legs were relatively stubby compared to his bulky, girthy frame and long arms. His head was comparatively tiny, enclosed in a full helmet that matched the rest of his mythril armour. In a way, he much resembled a grotesque oversized caricature of the Gendarmarie soldiers.

As the giant tried to lean on a building, it crumbled like paper before his titanic constitution. Slobber seemed to ooze from the dark grates of his helmet as he roared once again. It was deafening at this range, even shielding the ears wasn't enough to stop the consequent ringing.

Just the presence of this monstrosity was enough to make Ritsuka dizzy. Vega stood between him and the giant, raising her sword. "Ritsuka, withdraw from here. This unit shall commence objective of delaying imminent threat."

"Now that we have it... Marco, take the boy. Let the fighters do their job." Guillemot was stood beside Vega, with an identical sword in tow as he assumed a stance.

Following those orders, Marco helped Ritsuka onto his mount and started to ride back across the bridge... however, he suddenly halted the unicorn as he saw something at the other end of the bridge.

A procession of guards had emerged. They were now walling off their exit. "Uhhhhh! We have problems! The Gendarmarie have barred our way out!" Marco looked back and forth, between his allies and the Gendarmarie. The guards did not make any moves, however. They simply stood there, blocking their escape.

"Then just keep Ritsuka safe! 'Cause he's comin'!" Guillemot yelled out as he watched giant stumble forward. The ground shuddered, dust and grit rumbling off of the bridge as Pantagruel raised its colossal fist into the air. The two sword fighters clutched their weapons and prepared for the first strike.