They Call me Vox

Singularity 1: Act 9

"Senpai, look," Mash points ahead of us as we walk down a road.

"I see, Mash, I have eyes," I tease, as what looks like an abandoned fort comes into view.

"Sorry, Master," Mash says, ducking her head.

I roll my eyes, "Relax, Mash, I was joking."

"O-oh, right. Of course."

I sigh and glance over at Artoria, who is walking beside me, before turning to the rest of our little party.

"Okay, you all see that fort over there? We're taking a break," I announce, smirking when at my Servants' very approving replies.

Timeskip(brought to you by Marie trying, and failing, to teach Vox how to be a "lady")

"How's the patient?" I ask, walking over to where Marie stands beside Siegfried.

We're now inside the abandoned fort, which is relatively intact, thankfully. We're currently resting inside what might have been the main hall. Judging by the tattered banners and paintings on the wall, I like to think I'm correct.

Marie glances down at Siegfried, who is sitting against a wall, "My Noble Phantasm can heal wounds, to a certain extent, but not this one for some reason."

"I believe it is some kind of curse," Siegfried says.

"Why were you in that city?" Jeanne asks.

"It seems that I was summoned relatively early," Siegfried explains, "I was drifting without a Master. That's when I saw the town being attacked."

"So you went to rescue them?" Marie asks.

"Yes, though it's not like when I was alive. Still, with Balmung, I managed somehow," Siegfried says with a grin, which quickly disappears, "When you're attacked by multiple Servants, it's not easy to pull off. Then one of them hid me in the castle. My wound wouldn't heal, and I couldn't ask anyone for help either. I had no choice but to wait."

I raise an eyebrow, already coming up with a possible candidate for the mystery Servant.

"Was it a woman who could control a dragon?" Mash asks, probably coming to the same conclusion as me.

"Dragon? No, it was a turtle... no, a dragon... a dragon turtle?" Siegfried tilts his head in confusion and I snicker, "Now that I think about it, is it possible for that kind of dragon to exist?"

"Buddy, I'd like to think that, in the world we live in, anything is possible," I say, sagely, "I mean, have you seen some of the crazy stuff humans come up with?"

"Very true. Anyway, she had the aura of a Ruler, similar to what Jeanne has," Siegfried says.

"Yeah, that was probably Saint Martha," I decide, "But, a Ruler? She was a Rider."

"Perhaps she has an alternate form that is a Ruler?" Artoria suggests, and I nod.

"So it was Saint Martha, the one who drove off the evil dragon Tarasque. I wish to thank her," Siegfried says.

The rest of the Servants fall silent, and I grimace, "About that..."

Siegfried sighs, "I see, then never mind. Still, I feel guilty that she saved me when I was useless."

While we are talking, I notice Jeanne stepping back from seemingly inspecting Siegfried's wound.

"Baptism Rites could likely remove this curse," Jeanne says, "But, a Servant of considerably high rank must perform it."

"I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that, in your weakened state, you don't have the ability to do that?" I ask.

"Unfortunately," Jeanne confirms, "I had tried, but I am currently too weak. With the number of curses, it's a miracle you are alive, Saber of Black."

I raise an eyebrow at the title but ignore it for the moment.

"We need another Saint to remove all of the curses at once," Jeanne says.

"Only problem is finding a Servant that matches the criteria and doesn't want to cut us into tiny bits," I groan.

"Perhaps we should split up and search?" Marie suggests, "While it isn't exactly safe, we do need to find a way to get Siegfried on his feet if we want to defeat Fafnir."

"Sounds like a plan," I say, "Now, how do you all want to do this?"

"Well, Artoria will stay with you, naturally," Marie says, smiling.

"What are you inferring?" Artoria asks while I feel my cheeks heat up at Marie's implication.

Marie giggles and says in a sing-song voice, "Nothing~!"

"Marie," I grumble.

"Oh, don't be like that, Vox. Think about it," Marie giggles again, "The roguish Master and her elegant knight! It's so romantic!"

"Marie!" I exclaim, blushing.

From beside me, Artoria clears her throat with a small blush of her own, "Perhaps we should return to the topic at hand?"

"Hey, Vox? I hate to intervene, but I'm picking up some monsters approaching," Roman says over the comm.

I sigh, "Come on, Arty, we've got some pests to get rid of."

Timeskip(brought to you by Vox cracking some skulls... literally)

"That was oddly stress-relieving," I admit, as Artoria and I walk back into the fort.

"Should you not be worried? Using violence as a stress reliever is a bad habit," Artoria reprimands.

I shrug, "It's not like I'm bloodthirsty or anything, I just like the adrenaline rush. I blame Oide for that one."

"Just be sure to not let it overwhelm you," Artoria says.

"Yes, Artoria," I sigh.

Soon enough, we enter the entrance hall of the fort and are met with the rest of the party.

'Huh, they must've moved.'

"We're-"

"Master has returned," Ushiwakamaru announces, unintentionally cutting me off, from where she stands guard beside the entrance.

I cross my arms in a pout, ignoring the amusement I'm getting down the bond with Arty.

"Fantastic, we have already figured out who will go with who!" Marie says, joyfully.

"Sorry, Senpai," Mash says, "I attempted to reason with Marie and say that we should wait for you, but she didn't listen."

I chuckle, "It's fine, Mash, this saves us from wasting time debating how this should be done. Speaking of which, the results?"

"Ushiwakamaru, Marie, and I will make up one team," Jeanne says.

"Which leaves Gil, Amadeus, Mash, and Artoria with me. I assume we'll be the ones keeping an eye on Siegfried?" I ask.

"Yep!" Marie confirms, "Now, let's be off! See you, Amadeus! I'm leaving now! When I come back, let me listen to your piano again!"

While that's going on, I toss a comm unit to Jeanne, "Jeanne, catch!"

Jeanne, with the reflexes of a Servant, manages to catch the device, "Oh, um, what's this?"

"Communication device. It'll let us keep in touch," I explain, "I want a report every night on your progress."

"Yes, Master," Jeanne says.

"Come along, Jeanne!" Marie says from the entrance of the hall, Ushiwakamaru beside her.

"Yes, of course, farewell everyone," Jeanne says before following after the Riders.

"Stay safe you three," I reply, watching as the three Servants exit the abandoned fort and onto the road until they disappear from sight.

A gauntleted hand lands on my shoulder, "They will be fine, Vox."

"I hope so, Arty, I really do."