[Diana's Dream]
The smell comes first.
Salt. Wet wood. Something rotten, barely masked by smoke and cheap incense. I open my eyes, but the light is too harsh, reflected off white cloth snapping in the wind.
Sails.
I'm on a ship.
The ground sways beneath my feet, slow and constant, like the world itself is breathing. I try to move my hands — they aren't mine. They're thick, scarred, rough with old cuts. There's dried blood between my fingers. I don't know whose it is. Maybe it doesn't matter.
I swallow. A metallic taste lingers.
"Captain."
The word comes from behind me. It isn't a request. It's expectation. I turn without thinking. This body already knows how to move here.
Men are staring at me. Too thin. Too tired. Sun-burnt faces, hollow eyes, fear forced down through discipline. They're waiting for an order. Any order.
And I understand, with a sudden weight in my chest: their lives are tied to my decisions.
Ahead, the sea is far too calm. A clean blue. Beautiful. Lying. For days — maybe weeks — water has been rationed, the dead have been thrown overboard without ceremony, and prayer has served more to keep men standing than to save anyone.
Someone coughs. Deep. Ugly. The body recognizes it even if the mind doesn't know the name. Disease. Hunger. Too much time away from land.
I rest my hands on the railing. The ship groans, old and tired. There's no glory here. Just persistence. Just stubbornness.
A thought cuts through my mind, cold and clear:
If I turn back now, I've failed.If I keep going, some of them will die. But the world will remember.
It doesn't sound noble. It doesn't sound heroic. It sounds inevitable.
The wind shifts. The smell changes too. Land, maybe. Or just hope playing tricks. I hear murmurs behind me. When I raise my hand, silence falls instantly.
"Forward."
The word comes out rough, worn down, but firm. Not the voice of someone asking permission. The voice of someone who accepted the cost a long time ago.
The sky darkens too fast.
The storm doesn't warn us. The sea stops being a surface and turns into a wall. Water. Wind. Wood tearing apart. A scream vanishes into a wave. Another cuts off halfway. Each impact hits my chest like it's mine. Every loss weighs on me. But I don't retreat.
I can't.
Captains who hesitate don't enter history.
Cold cuts through bone. Pain tightens. And then I feel something else — like I'm being watched. Not by the men. Not by God. Something more distant. Something that judges.
I try to turn, but the world begins to dissolve, like ink spreading through water.
Before everything disappears, I hear a low voice, heavy with ancient exhaustion:
"The sea doesn't forgive… but it doesn't forget either."
[Back to Gabriela pov]
Mmph... I'm feeling so weird...
I feel my consciousness returning... But I feel something strange...
My head feels so empty... It's probably nothing, but I feel like I should know something...
But I also feel something else... I feel something on top of me...
Gabriela (opening her eyes)
— "...."
Hold on... Where am I? I don't recognize this place... This is not my house...
I look down and I see an arm... And this arm would lead... to Diana?! And she's pressed against me?! No, wait. HER BOOBS ARE PRESSING AGAINST MY BODY?!
She starts opening her eyes from her sleep, when she starts murming something I couldn't understand. Her eyes slowly made contact with my slight surprised expression.
Diana
— "...You are awake... I'm glad... Good morning~"
Gabriela
— "G-Good Morning."
What she means by "I'm glad"? Something happened yesterday I don't remember?
???
— "Oh? You are finally awake, Master!"
A familiar voice reaches my ears. I turn my head and see Saber happy. I don't know what's happening here.
Rider
— "I don't know what you did, gurl. But Im glad Master and you are well..." (Sigh)
Then is followed by Diana's Servant, Rider.
???
— "You really scared me! Don't even do that again!"
Another familiar voice starts speaking. It was (Rogue) Archer.
Gabriela
— "A-Archer!!! You-"
Rogue Archer
— "Yep, Big Sis is well and alive. And don't worry, I already know what happened yesterday."
— "And I didn't come alone either!"
— "Come on girls, don't be shy."
Archer looks at the corner of the room where there are two female figures. Two twin female figures with a stoic expression.
Gabriela
— "...Who are they?"
They appear to be... Very specific. They have the bodies of someone my age and slender. They both have short hair and bangs covering one eye - the one on the left has bangs covering her left eye and the one on the right has bangs covering her right eye. Even their hair colour is specific: generally white but black at the tips and a rebellious strand of hair on top (ahoge). They are eyes is a dark blue for some reason I don't even know.
And they are wearing a white and black body suit, with boots and gloves which makes me wonder if they are robots or something else.
Rogue Archer
— "Long story short. While you were gone, a Master appeared and said she's from a place called Chaldea."
— "She didn't elaborated very much about it but she has a Servant too. But she said this two must be used very carefully. C'mon girls, say something."
Both twins maintain a serene and stoic expression, which doesn't resemble shyness at all.
Twin #1
— "..."
Twin #2
— "...We are Moon Cancer Servant."
Gabriela
— "M-Moon Cancer...?"
The room fell on silence for a moment to process the information. Until...
Saber
— "Ohhhh! Moon Cancer! So you are an extra class Servant! Can you tell your nam-"
Twin #1
— "No."
Saber
— "Ah-!" (defeated)
Diana (still sleep but still cuddling Gabriela)
— "Huh? Extra Class-? (yawn)... I never heard of that class before."
— "I already heard about Ruler and Avenger, but never heard Moon Cancer."
Moon Cancer #2
— "We are not gonna elaborate further either."
Moon Cancer #1
— "We are here because it was promised we would have a Master."
Both girls say it so directly and brutally honestly. It seems like they're not the type to beat around the bush.
Rogue Archer
— "See? They are just shy."
Gabriela
— "I-I suppose they are saying Im the one but their Master... Geez, I can't even catch a break."
— "...Honestly... I don't remember anything that happened yesterday.
Then everyone looked confused at me, like o just dropped a bomb.
Rider
— "...You don't? Don't you even remember curing Diana?"
Gabriela
— "Yeah, I don't remember nothing."
Rogue Rider
— "You fainted when you healed her, and your nose was bleeding. But for whatever reason, you have healing magic for a newbie Master but the price is memory loss."
Now he says that. I feel my nose I bit hot and flakes inside my nostril. And he saw through me. When I use this healing "powers", I lose memory when I only remember when something clicks on my mind or someone mentions something happened on that day.
Diana
— "But who cares~? I am alive thanks to her~" (pressing more against Gabriela's body
Gabriela
— "...!" (Blushing)
— (How she's so strong?!)
Saber
— "Now I remember it. You said that Master has a Servant. What's her business here?"
Rogue Archer
— "Basically, she's from Chaldea as I said, an organization whose goal is to save humanity. She somehow knew who I was but that's other topic. Her goal is not to win the Holy Grail. It's to save us from this Holy Grail."
Saber
— "What do you mean?"
Rogue Archer
— "The supervisor of this Holy Grail, Nrvnqsr Chaos, is one of Dead Apostle Ancestours. Or in its current meaning - a vampire. And not only that, this Chaos guy is a Beast. Literally. So probably we are dealing with some evil against humanity."
Saber
— "Hmmm... That seems... Very concerning. A Dead Apostle as a supervisor is not really good."
Rider
— "Not at all. Now comes my question. Who's this Servant of this Master in question."
Rogue Archer
— "It might be crazy what Im about to say but... Is Archer-class Servant - Simo Häyhä."