They Call me Vox

Singularity 1: Act 15

Jeanne, Mash, Artoria, and I race through the halls of the castle. Raido burns on my clothes, allowing me to keep up with my Servants. As we twist through the maze of corridors, trying to find Alter, I notice Jeanne beginning to lag behind.

"Jeanne, keep your head in the game!" I shout, snapping the Ruler out of her thoughts.

"Uh, what is that supposed to-"

"It means focus!" I explain, "Now, come on!"

"Yes! Right! Sorry," Jeanne says, picking up her pace.

We round a corner a run straight into what looks like a throne room. It's decorated similarly to the rest of the castle; mostly red and black wallpaper and furniture, but with a few flecks of gold here and there and far fewer bloodstains. And in the center of it all, is Jeanne d'Arc Alter. The Servant has her back to us, standing over a large summoning circle of sorts and muttering to herself.

"Dragon Witch!" Jeanne declares.

'And there goes any chance at a surprise attack. Although, now that I think about it, I don't think Jeanne or Artoria would approve of such methods anyway.'

"So, you finally made it here? Gilles is... alive, but delayed," Alter says, turning to us as her standard materializes, "And I see that you are back on your feet, foolish Master. Impressive, though it does not matter, everything is ready."

"Wait, I have something to ask of you," Jeanne says, stepping forward so that she is at the front of our group.

Alter scoffs, "It is too late for talking-"

"Do you remember your family?" Jeanne asks.

"...what?" Alter finally responds after a few seconds of hesitation.

"I asked you a simple question," Jeanne say, "No matter how vivid my memories of battle are, I remember far more of my life as a simple country girl. Even my dark side should remember those peaceful days. It's precisely because she remembers them, that the hatred and betrayal brought her such pain."

"I..." Alter tails off, her expression a mix of confusion and frustration.

"You don't remember, do you?" Jeanne asks sadly, though she says it more as a statement.

"What..." Alter rasps, "What does it matter? Whether I remember or not, I'm still Jeanne d'Arc!"

"That's right. It doesn't matter whether you remember," Jeanne says, her expression one of determination, "But this settles it. I shall defeat the Dragon Witch with sadness, not anger."

Alter stares at Jeanne for a second before growling and slamming the butt of her standard into the ground, "My Servants!"

The summoning circle glows a bright red and a figure that seems to be made of shadows appears, followed by four more. Their mana concentration is strong, close to that of a Servant's. I also notice the similarities between these shadows and the Berserk Servants.

"Master, these are the Servants we saw in Fuyuki!" Mash exclaims.

I growl, shifting into a battle stance with Solas Dawn held like a spear, "Shadow Servants!"

"Kill them!" Alter orders, and the Shadow Servants charge us.

"ArRrThHhUuUrRr!" came the distorted cry from the Lancelot look alike, and my theory is confirmed.

"Arty, you get shadow Lancelot," I order, and Artoria sends me a grateful nod before bursting forward to intercept, "Mash, get Archer! Jeanne, Assassin! I'll set Rider straight again."