They Call me Vox

Singularity 1: Act 1

I open my eyes to a blue sky dotted with white clouds, rolling green hills as far as the eye can see, and the landscape is dotted by the occasional tree. I contemplate, as I get to my feet, that the entire scene looks like one of those ideal countrysides that you see in postcards.

"Wow..." I hear someone whisper from beside me.

I look to my left to see Mash standing there, and near her is Ushiwakamaru. I look to my right to see Artoria standing close by while keeping an eye on Gil, who has decided to take advantage of the land and start running up and rolling down hills, laughing the entire time. I smile, it's nice seeing Gil act like a kid, and not a future king or a Servant who is burdened and troubled by the actions of his older Archer self.

"Looks like the gang's all here!" I declare.

"Yip!" Sionnach says, appearing on my shoulders.

"Fou! Fou!"

"Wha!" Mash cries out.

I look to Mash, alarmed, only to relax when I see Fou scrambling onto her head to sit atop it.

"Fou!?" Mash exclaims, trying to look up at the creature, "Did you tag along again?"

"He probably snuck into your Coffin," I reason, "I don't think Fou will cause any problems, right gang?"

"Nope!" Gil answers, already running over to Mash with his arms held out.

"Fou!" Fou chirps, leaping from Mash's head and into the arms of the child Servant.

Gil laughs, hugging Fou before placing him down. Gil and Fou begin chasing each other up and down the hill we're standing on, occasionally rolling down it.

"I do not see a problem, Vox, so long as Fou behaves," Artoria says.

"I agree with Artoria, Master," Ushiwakamaru says.

"Now, when and where are we?" I ask, "I don't think Roman said."

"Allow me, Senpai," Mash says, retrieving a computer-like device from... somewhere, and begins doing something with it.

"Do you know where she keeps that?" I stage-whisper to Artoria.

"No Vox, nor do I think we want to know," Artoria replies.

"Master, I have confirmed the time axis coordinates. It appears we are in the year 1431," Mash reports, "This means we're in the middle of the Hundred Years' War, but this should be during the war's respite period."

"Well, that's good," I say, "Really don't want to deal with the complicated politics of war on top of our mission."

"Yes. In fact, the Hundred Years' War did not fight for the full one hundred years that its name implies," Mash supplies.

While she talks, I look up again... and freeze. How the hell I missed this before, I will probably never know.

"...Senpai?" I hear Mash ask.

"Is something the matter, Vox?" Artoria adds.

I can feel the eyes of all my Servants on me.

"I'm either seeing things, or there's a giant ring in the sky," I mutter, not taking my eyes off the... thing.

By the gasps I hear, I assume that my Servants are seeing what I'm seeing.

"Yes, we're connected!" Roman cheers, his voice coming from the armband on my left arm that I had requested and received from Chaldea's science department a few days ago, "Not the best quality, but I've got video feed too!"