Fate/Brothers in Destiny

Chapter 19: To the Next Dream

FATE/BROTHERS IN DESTINY

Chapter 19: To the Next Dream

Once Zhuge Liang concluded his business with Connla and allowed her to fall asleep, he took his leave and headed to the waiting room. There, he found Ritsuka, Mash, Cuchulainn Alter and Medb sitting there in anticipation for seeing the young patient. Cuchulainn appeared especially antsy, constantly fidgeting and tapping his foot on the floor.

Once they saw Zhuge, Ritsuka asked him, "How is she doing?"

"She pulled through the operation with flying colors," he replied with a light smile. "I wanted to ask her a few questions, but she was terribly exhausted from the whole ordeal."

"I'll bet she was," Mash frowned. "So can we see her now?"

"Roman gave the okay."

"Finally," Cuchulainn grumbled and immediately headed for the hospital room. The others followed behind him, and Zhuge watched them leave. He thought about the conversation he had with Connla, which inevitably sidelined the scholar into topics of similar interest such as parallel universes, the Second Magic, Zelretch, and the true nature of the child Servant's unnatural ability to see other versions of herself through dreams.

Is there any way for Chaldea's currently existing technology to actually visualize her dreams for us to observe? No, more importantly, I need to understand the source of this skill first and foremost, along with the level of control she can exercise over it. Then it would be a matter of finding practical usage that could benefit the Grand Orders, though such investigations could only be limited to worlds with other Connlas in them...

He wandered off to his workshop, brainstorming dozens upon dozens of different ideas to explore in the near future.

****

Ritsuka's group soon arrived in the hospital room that Connla would be staying in for who knew how long. Roman, Nightingale and the other nurses were finished tending to her for now, so they stepped aside to allow the group to see her.

She looked like a complete stranger, with all of her hair tucked beneath a hospital cap while an oxygen mask covered the entirety of her lower face. One intravenous tube delivered painkillers through one arm, while the other administered blood that Cuchulainn donated earlier. Her injuries had been so awful that most of her body was covered in numerous bandages. She looked exceptionally fragile as she lay there in a quiet slumber, as if moving her even an inch would cause her to fall apart at the seams. Mini-Cu was tucked in the sheets next to her, practically keeping a valiant watch on her. The shelves and tables nearby were decorated with a large variety of flowers in vases given as get-well gifts from the staff and Servants, brightening up the bland white room with splashes of vibrant colors like paint on a blank canvas.

The moment he saw Connla, Cuchulainn clenched his teeth and fought back the urge to scream. His eye twitched uncontrollably, and every nerve in his body trembled.

"Cu..." Medb whispered.

"I know," he murmured. "I know she's gonna be fine. It's just... Ungh..."

Nightingale approached him and said, "Da Vinci explained everything to me. You inhabited the body of that doll in order to stay by the patient's side should she be in any danger. It was a precautionary measure due to the potential of an unknown enemy targeting the patient's life."

"I just had a bad feeling about it. Every time she goes on a mission, she winds up suffering much worse injuries than most Servants of her level can survive."

"So I've heard. But your strained expression is telling me the truth. You must be saying to yourself, 'Even though I was right there, I still failed to protect her.' Am I wrong?"