Fate/Outside Experience

Chapter 3: Queen and Little Knight

FATE/OUTSIDE EXPERIENCE

Part II: Abhorrent Affection

Chapter 3: Queen and Little Knight

Connla nervously opened one of her eyes.

Am I back...?

Standing in front of her was an elated Da Vinci, whose smile was brighter than the sun's light. She looked absolutely ecstatic as she exclaimed, "Welcome home!"

"Ms. Da Vinci?" the girl murmured, then looked around. She was back inside the chamber containing CHALDEAS and the many Spiritron Coffins. She inspected herself to see if there were any abnormalities. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, so she asked, "Did it work?"

"Beautifully!" the inventor happily replied and hugged Connla. "Oh my gosh, this is amazing! We just successfully completed history's first independent Rayshift of a Servant! There were a couple of snags along the way, but I've got lots of data that I can work with to refine the system, all thanks to you!"

"N-No, I don't think I did anything special..."

"Don't be so modest! This calls for a celebration! We should have a nice meal and give a toast to Chaldea's newest function!"

"A toast?"

"Oh, speaking of new functions, I haven't actually given it a name. It should be designated the same way that CHALDEAS, SHEBA, LAPLACE and FATE are. Hmm... What to call it...?"

"The Bloodstone serves as a Servant's link to the Master, so why not just BLOODSTONE?"

"Nah, that's too easy. It has to be catchy. I like the idea of a 'link' though."

"A link to Master... Link... Connection... Attachment... Channel... Thread..."

"Oh, that's perfect! Very well! I shall christen it the Servant Independent Deployment Module, THREAD!"

"THREAD, hm?" Connla raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Sounds kind of off, but it still makes sense."

"Aw, don't be so stingy!" Da Vinci rubbed her hair. "It may not be perfected yet, but this will go down in the organization's history as the maiden voyage of THREAD! I can't wait to tell everyone about it and see how many other vict- I mean, volunteers will line up to give it a whirl!"

Connla narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she thought, Did she just call me a victim?

****

Two days later, Connla was back in Da Vinci's workshop observing the inventor as she scribbled some notes. The Lancer asked, "What are you working on?"

"Just finishing up my thesis, showing how your contributions to our pet project the other day will help expand THREAD's capabilities."

"Hmm..."

"What's wrong? You should be more excited than that. You and I are the pioneers for a new technology that can assist with the Grand Order."

"Oh, um... I guess I'm not seeing it in the grand scope that you are, Ms. Da Vinci."

"You take things way too seriously, missy. What you need is a sense of imagination! Think of the possibilities!"

"I guess so." The young girl still didn't seem convinced by the woman's enthusiasm.

"Goodness, you need to feel more gusto than that. You're killing the mood here... Oh, by the way," Da Vinci uttered, "I saw Ritsuka and Mash go into the summoning chamber yesterday. Have you heard word about any new recruits?"