DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fate or Red vs. Blue. Both are properties of Nasu and RoosterTeeth respectively.

It's life greatest mystery.

DIGITAL GULCH

A dream.

A memory.

A time that had long since passed.

The city was engulfed in flames. The sky bright orange, lit alight by the inferno raging before her.

She could hear it in spite of the roaring fire. The sounds of people screaming for help.

But all she could do was stare blindly at the flames, unsure of what she should do or if she could even move.

"Hey."

She turned her head slightly. Someone was walking past her. She couldn't see their face as it was obscured by shadows. All she could see was their copper-red hair and an expression akin to desperation and melancholy.

Behind her was someone else. They felt familiar to her, yet like the person walking into the inferno all she saw was a shadowy face.

"That's hell you're walking into, you know."

EP 2: n+ICE 2 Meet u

Hakuno stirred awake. Her surroundings were similar to the steel walls she found herself taking refuge in. At first she panicked, wondering if she was in danger or she was kidnapped. At least until she heard someone scream out in anger.

"God dammit, Caboose! What did I tell you about spilling ketchup on my helmet!"

"Tucker did it!"

"I'm Tucker, idiot!"

The brunette relaxed upon hearing the familiar voices, allowing herself to settle in her bed while rubbing the gunk and sand out from her eyes.

Hakuno did not remember how she found herself in this odd place, only that she somehow managed to escape deletion from the Moon Cell and from whatever the thing trying to reach her was. She had no idea what it was, only that she knew if it caught her, she was dead.

She happened upon this base by pure chance, encountering a blue armored soldier in the process. The soldier, Caboose, was very pleasant if maybe a bit childish, asking her if she was lost and if she needed to call her parents before the aqua-colored soldier, Tucker found them. At first he seemed excited to see her until he got a closer look.

Why her age mattered to him, he wasn't entirely sure. She instead opted to go with the simple solution and go with the flow and kindly asked Tucker if she could enter the base, wanting to get out of the scorching heat. He was kind enough to oblige her request and outfit her with armor similar to theirs, even matching Caboose's armor in color. To her relief and fascination, the armor came equipped with some kind of shielding system and air conditioner.

It was very uncomfortable to sleep in, however.

Taking the moment to wake herself up, Hakuno put her helmet back on. The helmet locked into place with a hiss and she stepped outside her room. Upon exiting, she came across Tucker flailing his arms animatedly at a very confused looking Caboose. She took notice of the red stain on the left side of Tucker's helmet, as well as the splatter that covered the entire right side of the visor.

"Do you realize how long this is going to take me to get rid of?!" Tucker raged. "It'd be one thing if it was clothes or maybe sheets, but with armor it's damn near impossible to get out! And how the fuck is that even possible anyway?! It's armor! It's literally nothing but steel! Dammit, only you can manage to pull this off!"

Caboose cocked his head. "I'm sorry? Should I have used mustard?"

"…my fucking god I hate you so much. So, so much."

Hakuno hummed. "You two get along very well."

"Morning, Sailor!" Caboose greeted cheerfully. Hakuno did not know why he called her that, though she was inclined to believe it was probably her school uniform.

Tucker sighed. "Mornin, kid. How'd you sleep?"

"Fairly well."

"That's good at least. Usually, we don't get that much sleep. The Reds must be having an off day or something."

"Or maybe they're having a holiday!" Caboose suggested.

"Or that," Tucker nodded in agreement. Somehow seeing Hakuno's befuddled look in spite of the helmet over her face, he began to explain. "The Reds are the assholes on the other end of the canyon. To give you the TL;DR version, we're in the middle of a war going on for shit-I-don't-know for this place. Why anybody wants the canyon hot-as-hell version of bum-fuck-Egypt, I have no idea. I'm starting to think we don't get paid enough for this."

Caboose stared. "…we get paid? Really?"

"I wish!" Tucker snickered. "Anyway, come on, kid. Time for your initiation."

Hakuno frowned. "Initiation?"

"Well, you are in blue armor. And your staying here. So, like it or not, welcome to Blue Team! Oh, and word of warning. Church is a fucking asshole."

"I heard that, dickhead!" an irate-sounding man shouted somewhere up above. "Just get her up here already!"

A soldier wearing cobalt-blue armor stood on the roof of the base, looking over all of the canyon with a sniper rifle attached to his back. Like Tucker and Caboose, she couldn't see his face, but she could tell from the aura radiating off him that he was very annoyed and very angry.

At first, Hakuno worried that he was angry with her. She did appear without warning after all and was unknown to him. Someone just showing up out of nowhere like she did just screamed warning bells. This, of course, made her anxious. Was she brought before him to decide her fate? Interrogation? What was she going to do?

"So, you're the brat Caboose decided to pick up?" the cobalt soldier, Church, asked her gruffly. She nodded. "What'd you say your name was again?"

"Hakuno."

"Told you she was foreign," Tucker commented with a snicker.

Church glared at Tucker, or at least Hakuno was assuming he was underneath that helmet of his. "Tucker, shut it." He turned his attention back to her. "Okay, Hakuno. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you better god damn well answer 'em. Got it?"

She nodded. She saw no point in denying him at this point, not with Caboose and Tucker flanking her on either side. If she tried to escape, she'd be killed instantly. Maybe she would have more time if she used a Code Cast?

A thought occurred to her and paled. Could she even still use Code Casts in this new environment?

"First off, can you shoot a gun?"

Hakuno blinked. "I-I'm sorry."

"A gun. Do you know how to use one?" Church clarified. Hakuno stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Okay, do you have any sort of combat experience?"

Hakuno nodded, but was still confused by his line of questioning. "Yes. I have combat experience."

"Wait, really?" Tucker asked in surprise. "How old are you again?"

"Fourteen," or so she assumed. Now that she thought about it, how old was the original Hakuno Kishinami anyhow. For some reason, her response made Tucker stare at her. She couldn't tell what the man was expressing beneath his helmet.

"…okay, I'm just gonna ignore that." Church said after a moment. "Next question. Do you know first-aid?"

Again, Hakuno nodded.

"Perfect. Congrats, kid, you are officially hired!"

…wait, what?!

It wasn't long before Hakuno was taken to meet with 'Sarge,' the apparent commanding officer in charge of this base. Donut had attempted to strike up a conversation, but Grif shut him down almost immediately with a very irate and very aggressive "Shut the fuck up, Donut."

'Sarge' stood on the roof of the base, surveying the entirety of the canyon, back turned to her. "Any sign of movement, Simmons?"

"No, sir." A maroon colored soldier, Simmons if she were to guess, shook his head. "Are you sure the Blues are attacking today? I mean, they haven't even tried to go after us since we blew up their tank six months ago."

"Don't underestimate the Blue menace, Simmons. They can attack you when you least expect it. They wait for you to drop your guard, for you to be relaxed, thinking your safe…and slit your throat, blow up all your stuff and take everything that isn't nailed down!"

A pause. "…wouldn't they steal our stuff before blowing us up?"

"Dagnabit, Simmons, quit distracting me!"

"W-what? But I wasn't-"

Grif cleared his throat. "Yo, we brought the new girl."

'Sarge' and Simmons ceased their conversation and turned around. The latter let out a strangled sound that she couldn't make out, whereas 'Sarge' simply looked straight at her before looking at his men.

"What in Sam Hill is this?"

Donut cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? She's a lost school girl and-"

"I know who she is, Donut!" 'Sarge' interrupted. "I want to know why you thought it was a good idea to bring here to our base! She could be a spy for the Blues!"

The Blues?

Hakuno did not recognize the term, but considering who was standing in front of her and her surroundings, it was likely that they were perhaps a military unit in direct opposition to them.

Actually, now that she was looking at the soldiers, they were all wearing variants of red.

"No offense, but how is a school girl, a civvie, supposed to be a spy?" Grif asked plainly. "Also, she came here on her own."

"That's even worse! That means she infiltrated our base!" 'Sarge' rounded on her, likely about to go into some sort of rant or threaten to gun her down, only to come to a grinding halt. "…er, how old are you, missy?"

"Fourteen, I think?"

"Wha-those dastardly Blues recruited and brainwashed a child?!" the red-armored man roared with thunderous fury. "Those rotten fiends! Does their treachery know no bounds?!"

Simmons stared at his commanding officer. "Sir, her possible relation to the Blues aside, how is her age relevant?"

"For one, Simmons, she's a woman!" 'Sarge' stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And I've made it a personal rule to never harm a woman in my life! …except that Freelancer chick the Blues hired. She's more silverback gorilla and shark than woman. And secondly, she's underage! A child! A minor! You can't seriously expect me to give a kid a shotgun trial?!"

"…well, when you put it like that, sir…"

Hakuno frowned slightly. She really had no idea what was going on. At first it seemed as though she was being held on trial, and she was pretty sure she was, but it sounded like 'Sarge' thought she was with these Blue individuals. She doubted he would accept her words as truth, but it was better than remaining silent and potentially making the situation worse.

"I'm not with the Blues," Hakuno said firmly. "I don't know where I even am."

The red-colored army stared at her.

"Seriously?" Grif asked. Though they had this discussion before, he assumed she was dumped here for whatever reason. Now it seemed like there was a lot more to her being here than he thought. "How do you not know where you are?"

"Wait, was she kidnapped?!" Donut suddenly gasped. "By who?!"

Simmons hummed. "I doubt she was kidnapped, Donut. And I also doubt she was sent here by the Blues. Because, you know, they're total morons."

"Like us," Grif followed up.

"Eh, I'd say we're slightly smarter. For one, none of us hasn't team-killed each other." A pause. "Yet. For the record, I'm still waiting for Sarge to give me the green-light to slit your throat while you're asleep."

"Thanks for reminding me you're still such a kissass, Simmons."

…are they flirting with each other? She swore, she was missing something here.

"Can the pillow talk, you two." Sarge grunted. Once everyone quieted down, he looked at the brown-haired girl intensely beneath his helmet. "Assuming you really aren't with those cunning Blue rascals, and you did get dumped here for whatever reason, we need to send you back where you came from, prompto! This here is a combat zone, missy."

Donut whined. "Aw, come on, Sarge! Don't you think having a girl with us could help spice up the life here at Blood Gulch?"

"W-wait, what?" Simmons gulped. "Y-you mean, have her stay here? W-with us?"

Grif sighed. "Oh boy, it's already started…"

"Donut, she's a civilian." Sarge stressed. "She's not trained for combat! Look at her! She doesn't look like she's seen a battle in a day of her life! Not that she would, being a girl and all. The battlefield is no place for a woman! A woman's job is to provide moral support for her husband, cook him a nice warm meal upon his return, and beat his ass with a five cast-iron skillet when he starts drinking!"

Grif stared at Sarge. "…that last one was oddly specific."

He was ignored, unsurprisingly. "Unless she has something to contribute to the Red Army, I'll call Command and-"

"I know medical aid."

"…say what now?"

Hakuno wasn't sure why she blurted that out all of a sudden. Sarge informing his superiors about her and sending her away was a good idea, but something about this situation unsettled her for some reason. She felt that, if he called her in, she would be in danger.

Having fought in the Grail War, killed Attack Programs, Servants and Masters alike, she knew better than to deny her gut. She didn't know why she felt that Sarge telling "Command" about her was dangerous, and didn't question the feeling.

That said, saying she knew medical aid was a bit of a stretch. Mainly because she learned about it half an hour ago, thanks to the book she found while waiting for Grif and Donut to convince Sarge to meet with her. It was very informative, but knowing how to administer first aid and being able to administer it were two different things.

Even so, her words were enough to give Sarge pause. Not just him, but also his subordinates. A period of silence fell over them, staring at her and making her shift uncomfortably. She was feeling unbearably warm again beneath the sun. She wanted out of her uniform and into something more comfortable, something cooler.

"…what'd you say your name was again, missy?"

"Kishinami, sir." Hakuno said and bowed. "Hakuno Kishinami."

Sarge turned to the closest soldier next to him. "Get this cadet a bunk and a suit of armor. And arm her for God's sake. I will not have a Red soldier under my command without a weapon!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, would you look at that? It's an update.

And speaking of updates, some news for you all. Some of you may have already noticed when browsing my profile page, but a few of my fanfics have been retired. And by "retired," I mean they are being placed under indefinite hiatus, or are undergoing the process of being given an overhaul of sorts.

The fanfics that have been retired are Overlord/Grand Order, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: The Chains of Fate, Death Note: Blank Pages, P5: Trickster of Fate, and An Extraordinary Spider-Man.

These fanfics are being retired for numerous reasons, such as having lost the passion to continue writing them, being burned out, or decided to ultimately scrap whatever plans I may have had for them and just decide to re-work them. Some of you might call me out on doing this with Overlord/Grand Order, but keep in mind that particular fanfic only underwent a sort of "reboot." The overall plot and setting was mainly the same, but for fanfics that I do eventually want to bring back from retirement, they will be fundamentally different.

For example, in the case of "The Chains of Fate," I realized that I really did not have much of a plan going forward with this fanfic. It was better for me to cap it off then and there instead of writing something that would end up a fumbled mess. A proper rewrite is planned, but that is still currently in the works.

With this status update aside, let's get into the chapter proper.

…the Reds and Blues really need someone with medical skills, and who better than our adorable Hakuno? And when I say they really need someone who knows first-aid, do I mean it. Doc really does little to nothing, except maybe just stand by and watch you die painfully unless your giving birth to an alien baby.

'nuff said.

REVIEWS:

Ether02: That's not how I'd describe it. Honestly, a "clusterfuck" is being generous considering the shenanigans the Reds and Blues get themselves into on a daily basis.

vincetmcm: Well, at least Hakuno will have some fun along the way! …maybe. If she survives.

Dxhologram: Hakuno's sanity is the least of their concerns, but yeah. She'll more or less be the Reds and Blues' unofficial "mascot" I guess you could say, or the team's resident kid sis or that one cute thing that you must protect at all costs?

The Loud Person: I cannot deny or confirm anything relating to Hakuno's "body."

nofirekiller123: YouTuber ZVN (I think that's his/her username?) is either in the process of translating Fate/Extra CCC or has completed their translations, though keep in mind the vids mainly follow Female Hakuno with Gilgamesh.

demonoid217: …it really is sad that someone who's not even from this dimension is the only one who would understand our resident Spanish robot.

Redbull98: Tucker will not hit on Hakuno or be sexually attracted to her, mainly because I'm certain even he would draw the line on hitting a minor. Unless I missed an episode or segment where he'd hit on a minor. Unless I'm told otherwise, he'll mainly have a "brother-sister" relationship with Hakuno.

ptl: Could be worse. She could summon Elizabeth and all of Blood Gulch would be forced to hear her concerts.