"Uh... where am I?"
"You could have gotten up without destroying my precious treasure..."
"What's this?"
"A healing machine."
"Was I out for long?"
"No, you woke up sooner than expected."
"Just in time for breakfast! We have jam, peanut butter, normal butter, honey and chocolate cream. I personally recommend all of them, and Salty does too!"
"Mmm... delicious..."
"I'm not hungry... Damn, it's cold in here!"
"Sorry..."
"Well you are not in the territory of the Mildly Temperate Habitat Queen."
"Here. Magic cloth. Becomes what you want. You can use it. My pleasure."
"That was very kind for you, Goldie."
"I had to surrender some of my dignity for practicality."
"Umu! That's the spirit!"
"No! No... don't start."
"I was given a pass to use it with moderation!"
"And I can revoke that pass whenever I want."
"Not fair! Not fair!"
"Do you have a bathroom in here?"
Mordred asked absently.
"First room on the right upstairs."
Father Time said with an elderly calmness in his voice.
"Thanks..."
"... she doesn't seem fine."
"She hasn't had time to process her loss. You should threat her accordingly. After all... time heals all wounds."
"That was a poorly-timed pun."
"I wasn't joking."
After around an hour, the group exited the palace, ready to part ways.
"Thank you once again. We are in your debt."
"Don't even say that. You're good people. That's enough for us to help you."
"What will you do now?"
"We are currently trying to find someone. Then... who knows... ideally, we want to find a way to exit this world."
"Are you sure you want to do that? What will happen to everyone stuck here?"
"That shouldn't be a concern. The winner dictates the terms of his victory."
"I suppose that's true."
"What will you two do? You sure you don't want to come with us?"
"No, thanks. If spending time with Miki taught us anything, is that there are many in need in this world. Therefore, it's best if we spread as much as possible to help the most people. Is there a place that you know of that might need our help?"
"I think it would be best if you helped people crossing the big swamp. It's in that direction, I'm pretty sure."
"Isn't that really far away?"
"Don't worry, you're not the only ones with a ride."
"I guess not. Farewell."
"Wait. As a token of gratitude, let me give you this."
Father Time stretched out his hand, revealing a small vial with apparently nothing inside.
"What's this?"
"A reproduction of my powers. Once you open the vial, you'll be transported into another dimension, similar to the one I trapped you two in. But you can leave it whenever you want. Use it wisely."
Gilgamesh took it, and looked at it, unsure of how to feel. It had been so long since he had acquired a new treasure. A nostalgic feeling of excitement brushed over him for just a second.
"We appreciate it. Goodbye, everyone! See you around!"
"Goodbye, and good luck!"
"And never forget... don't waste time!"
Gilgamesh and the three Sabers resumed their traveling, though there was an unusual quietness.
Mordred stayed with her head against the window and her face was half-hidden by her knees as she looked down thoughtlessly.
"If Father was there instead of me... surely... he would have made... things right... and he could have saved... everyone... once again... like always..."
"Psss... Goldie... psss..."
"What is it?"
"We have to cheer her up in some way."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Gilgamesh moved towards Mordred and touched her shoulder, getting her attention.
"Don't beat yourself down, great knight. From now on, your stepfather will help you."
He immediately got booted out of the carriage.
"What a dumbass. But hey, if you ever find yourself in need of a hand, your alternative father is here."
Salter also got booted out of the carriage.
After a few hours of cruising through a changing climate, they arrived at a temperate region, with Nero describing the landscape as fairly similar to central Italy.
"Let's stretch our legs a bit."
"How close our we to the other me?"
"I can't really tell. I just know we're going in the right direction and that we are closer than we were before, but I can't tell exactly how close."
"Can I have some water, Goldie?"
"I can hear a river nearby, why don't you get it from there?"
"A little kindness goes a long way, you know?"
"Sure, except when you ask me to wash down my water with my wine."
"Perfectly reasonable, right?"
"I'm sure the river is close to a wine stream."
"Only one way to find out!"
Sure enough, they did reach a river.
"Wow, the water really is fresh here. We could even have a swim inside here!"
"I don't know, you'd have to ask Galter, he's the expert in diving into rivers."
"Quiet you!"
"There's a little girl."
"What, Mordry?"
"Over there."
Mordred pointed at a distant tree, underneath which sat a little girl all alone.
The group decided to inspect, though a bit weary of the... surprises... that this meeting could bring.
Upon closer inspection, they could see that the little girl had long silver hair held together by two pigtails decorated with ribbons which were similar in shade to her iris-coloured eyes. Her dress and hat were also adorned with ribbons and were black. She held a big book, and she was totally wet.
"Hey little one, what's the matter?"
"I fell into the water, I'm scared to cross the river alone."
"Well, that's no problem, we can help you! What's your name, by the way?"
"My name? ... I guess you can call me Alice."
"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Nero. She's Salter, she's Mordred and he's Gilgamesh."
"At least use my real name..."
"Are you my teacher's sister? You look exactly like her, Miss Nero."
"Hehe, do I?"
"Exactly like her..."
Gilgamesh's eyes widened as he stopped a moment to process that thought, before starting to get closer to the little girl, before Salter stopped him.
"Galter, I want you to wait a minute, gather your thoughts, keep your calm and approach that girl with kindness and without scaring her."
"... ok..."
He turned around, giving everyone the shoulders, and stayed like that for a minute. After that, he kneeled down next to the girl and, with a snap of his fingers, made a portal appear in front of her.
A warm air came out of it, nearly making her hat fly away, but Gilgamesh was quick to catch it.
"Are you dry now, Alice?"
"Yes, thank you. I thought my book had gotten ruined."
"It's a very nice book, I imagine."
"Yeah, my teacher always reads it to me before bedtime."
"Your teacher... you mean the one that looks like Nero."
"Yes, her."
"How is she?"
"She's very kind, always helping me, and so brave, some people wanted to hurt us, and she made them go away."
"How?"
"She was waving around an invisible stick. I think it was her wand. After all, she said she was trained by a wizard."
"... and where exactly do you live, Alice?"
"Just over that hill."
She pointed to a place not too far away, on top of which a group of buildings were unmistakenly there. Gilgamesh stood up, and he couldn't hide a smile forming on his face.
"Let's go there then."
They started walking towards it, with Alice using Nero and Mordred's hands as a swing, while Salter looked at Gilgamesh with concern.
"Don't be impatient."
"I haven't said anything."
"I can tell. If you were so eager to arrive, why didn't we use your chariot?"
"It's quite the opposite. I want to savour every moment that brings us closer to our fated reunion."
"So what will you do once you see her? Will you propose immediately?"
"Of course!"
"He, that's totally not like you."
"Shut up. In fact, I already proposed to her the last time she saw me."
"And did she say yes?"
"... I was very close to convincing her."
"I'll just say it this once since I know you won't listen to me: when getting together with someone is such a bother, you should just let it go."
"What could you possibly know of the struggles of love?"
"... yeah, I haven't been that chatty about my life. My Lancelot had a beautiful wife, Guinevere. Now, I have a preference for males, but I do suffer from the condition of not being blind, so I also ended up head over heels for her. And I thought she did the same for me. Of course, Lancelot wasn't happy about it and started a rebellion together with Gawain, but in the end I won, and so Guinevere became my wife, from which my son Mordred was born. Over time, I realised her true colours: she was a power-hungry witch-bitch who would do anything to rise the ranks. Unfortunately, when I finally got rid of her, she had already eliminated my beloved sister Morgan."
"Your personal struggles have nothing to do with-"
"I let passion cloud my judgment, and in doing so lost my way, my friends, my humanity, and nearly my life. You've been slowly improving, becoming a better person. Don't let the little games of love ruin everything."
"As I was saying, the problems you suffer aren't mine, I don't have to worry about a thing."
"It's incredible how like and unlike him you can be..."
"Who's him?"
"... nevermind. Just don't forget that I warned you."
They finally arrived atop the hill. Alice led the way. They first passed in what seemed like a hospital.
"Here is where Mr. Henry and Miss Florence treat those who got hurt."
They kept walking until they were in front of a big wooden door.
"Here is my classroom."
"Is your teacher inside right now?"
"Yes."
"Want to pave the way, Galter?"
"Obviously."
Gilgamesh took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then, once he reopened them, he pressed the doorknob and charged forward, nearly ripping the door off.
"SABER! MY BELOVED SABER! AT LAST, WE REUNITE, AND NOTHING WILL SEPARATE US EVER AGAIN, MY DEAR SABER!"
There was a moment of silence, everyone was too surprised to speak.
"Who are you?"
The teacher asked, before looking down and noticing the little girl.
"Ah, Alice! There you are! We went looking for you everywhere! Don't ever make me worry like this again, ok?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Jeanne. I fell into the river, but they rescued me."
"Oh... well... I suppose I have to thank you... what's... what's the matter?"
There was a loud noise as Gilgamesh fell to his knees.
"Oh dear God, another time? Talk about shit luck."
"So this is what it feels like to experience it as an outside viewer? Pretty pathetic."
"It can't be helped, seems like this mysterious Saber is nowhere to be found."
"What was that noise, Jeanne? Did Alice come back?"
A voice from behind came from the hallway.
"Did she find her way ba- Mo... Mordred?"
"Hey... father..."
"What... what are you doing here... and who are you?"
"I'm you."
"And I'm just a friend."
"What's going on here? Jeanne, what's happen- oh... God."
The newcomer stood still just outside the classroom, while Gilgamesh looked back at her, both in disbelief.
"Sa... ber..."