Fuyuki
"Irisviel, stop the car!" Arturia screamed abruptly.
She and Arturia had been driving down a long winding highway that from afar, overlooked Fuyuki. The tires screeched shrilly against the asphalt and the headlights illuminated the hunched figure of a strangely cloaked man in the middle of the road.
"Irisviel," said Arturia. "Get out of the car, and stay very close to me." She narrowed her eyes at the man, his bulging eyes staring bizarrely at her through the window; she felt defiled just meeting his gaze. "This presence...it's a Servant."
As soon as they left the safety of their vehicle the Servant wheezed in a deep and enthusiastic breath before crying out with his hands extended to Arturia.
"I have come for you, my sweet and holy virgin!"
Irisviel blinked and glanced at Arturia.
"Do you know this man?" she asked before the pause got too long.
"I have never laid eyes on him."
The man frowned, the dramatic features in his face contorting in ways that made Arturia's stomach curl.
"Oh no!" he cried. "Are you saying that you've forgotten my face?!"
"Oh for the love of all that is holy," Arturia mumbled. "Another man who claims to know me." She then shouted louder at him, "I've never met you in my life. You mistake me for another!"
"Aaah," he sighed despairingly, placing a hand on his heart. "It is me! Gille de Rai, my darling!"
Well he is clearly French, Arturia thought with a hint of abhorrence, and that did nothing to quell the unease she felt before him.
"I have prayed for your resurrection and have been waiting for a miracle to reunite us!" he continued. "To that end, I have come all this way, to the end of time, my Jeanne!"
As if there were a spark in a circuit board, something sharp and electric pierced Arturia's mind. Something hacked deep into her memories, drawing for a word, and with that one word, unlocked a deluge of others. They flew at her so fast they sent her to her knees with a gasp of cold air.
"Saber!" cried Irisviel, falling to her knees next to her. "Saber, what's wrong? Do you know this name? What's wrong?"
She clenched her head at the temples, pulling locks free of the ponytail, turning her hair into tangles as she clawed for relief.
"I-ah!" she tried to muscle out even one sentence. "I know not-errgh- your name, I as-assure you." She gave Irisviel a desperate look. "Nor have I any idea of who-agh- I don't know who this Jeanne is!"
"No... No!" Gilles de Rais continued to cry out in hysterics. "My dear, no! You are fighting your former identity! You can't have forgotten! Do not fight it, my Holy Virgin, no!"
"Enough!"
Arturia willed herself into her armor, a flash of light enveloping her and Irisviel and sending Gilles back a few steps back. But this took more strength from her than she had, and before she could summon Excalibur, she collapsed in the middle of the road.
"Saber?" Irisviel shook the unconscious king. "Saber, wake up! Saber!"
Arabian Desert, just outside Uruk
Uruk was hot and dry. Those were the only things on which Arturia could focus. She had never seen such a clear sky as far as each horizon reached. The worn down path was the only way to differentiate between the right way and the vast desert on the side of the travelers. Arturia had taken very few with her: Lancelot, Bedivere, Gawain, and a few attendants to keep track of their precious supplies. Additionally, through Arturia's old friendship with him, Merlin had sent one of his higher apprentices to accompany them and keep the horses they rode enchanted with never-waning strength and speed. The wizard insured that the length of the trip would be halved, and he was right. The rigorous ride made the journey into the desert lands a little under a fortnight.
The horses had finally been disenchanted as not to drain their very life in exchange for the mana Merlin's apprenticed had assigned them. The hot sun beat down on everyone, and they had to resort to wrapping spare garments around their head to keep from burning.
As soon as Lancelot came up to ride next to Arturia, she knew this would not be a pleasant conversation.
"You know," Lancelot started. "We will have to take another route back to Britannia. Riding through the French territories was enough of a risk."
"Not if we bring an army with us," said Arturia, staring straight forward at the city. It had appeared to rise out of the sand; she hoped it was not another trick of the desert air.
"Of course, my king, but-"
"Do you think me a fool, Lancelot?" snapped finally snapped at him. "My ears have grown weary of your repetitive griping." She took a moment to breathe in the hot air and compose herself. "I am fully aware of the risks I take by traveling in this manner: My life, my comrades-" Her voice dropped for a brief moment. "-and my identity." Lancelot shifted uncomfortably. "But my people are dying at the hands of a man who thinks he can simply cross the waters and take our land from us." She stared down her most trusted friend remain unmoved. "If this is about the Bastard burning that girl at the stake for freeing her people, I would hardly tie it to my circumstances."
"She was your age," said Lancelot.
"And she was burned for witchcraft."
"Not true. Although that is the claim, Jeanne D'Arc was burned because she gave herself the appearance of a man while leading the rebellion. They simply added witchcraft to her charge of blasphemy because she claimed to have heard God order her to free her people."
"Her life and death is irrelevant."
"But yours is not, My King." Lancelot sounded more desperate than ever, but Arturia paid no heed and rode on ahead.
Fuyuki, Tohsaka Mansion
"Apparently, there are those in this world other than myself with an abundance of time on their hands," said Gilgamesh, a lazy tone to his low voice. He spoke casually to Kirei Kotomine while he lounged on a lavish leather couch, various empty wine bottles strewn about the floor. Yet the king showed no signs of intoxication. Kirei did not bother guessing why.
"I've been meaning to ask," said Kirei. "But what is your connection to Saber?"
Gilgamesh opened his eyes, a flash of red appeared for a split second, and was then gone as quickly as it came.
"Why must you know?" he asked.
"Because I must have read what tablets remained of your epic over a dozen times. Nowhere does it mention a woman, apart from your 'junior wives.'"
Gilgamesh smirked and closed his eyes again.
"So none of these 'tablets' ever mention a queen, do they?"
"No, none that are still intact at least."
"Then my secret is safe." A sly grin appeared on his face. "Besides, few are worthy to know the truth of my relationship with that woman." He paused, the smile fading. "It seems that she does not even remember the truth."
Kirei watched Gilgamesh's face change ever so subtly. He wondered what the king thought about when he was not busy flattering his ego.
"Master, my apologies," a dark figure faded into existence before Kirei and Gilgamesh; it was Assassin. "But I have more news about Caster that I thought you should hear."
"You mean other than the rampant kidnapping of children?" said Kirei, his voice monotone as always. "One of you already told me this."
Gilgamesh watched the exchange between the Master and Servant. It was the first time he had seen a different member of the Assassin clan appear before Kirei, even though he had heard of this strange ability. The Servant summoned had been a multitude of Heroic Spirits gathered into one. Perhaps this was their Noble Phantasm.
"No sir," said Assassin. "It is something else."
"Well what is it?"
"It would seem that Caster, but not through the influence of his Master," she began, "has taken a very strong interest in the Saber Servant tonight."
Gilgamesh abruptly sat up onto the couch and dropped the bottle of wine he had been holding. This sudden action caught both Kirei and Assassin off guard. They glanced at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Caster?" he said. "Yet another mongrel has drawn his dirty gaze to Saber? Where is he? How powerful is he? I wish to know, now!"
"Please settle down, Archer," said Kirei. "I'm sure she was just about to tell us that."
"Right now, they are on Road 16," Assassin continued. "And I know not of the power he possesses, but as I watched the exchange between he and Saber, he merely called her a name-'Jeanne' and she collapsed."
The words had hardly left Assassin's mouth when Gilgamesh leaped up, and with a quick flash of gold, he donned his armor and disintegrated in a rush of gold mist.
"Uh-" Assassin murmured. "Master...may I ask what just happened?"
"You might want to inform Tohsaka what happened to his Servant," said Kirei, looking unamused. "He might want to know where his mighty King of Heroes is going."
Uruk
The ride through the city was unlike anything Arturia had ever experienced. The streets were packed with people. There were wagons parked on the side with goods tumbling out of them: Fruits, nuts, fish and cuts of cattle. Other stands held exotic looking jewelry and another held clothing that bore the brightest colors Arturia had ever seen. Bedivere had been stopped by a small boy selling flowers. Unfortunately, they had not the currency of this land to do any business with the very friendly merchants who never seemed to stop coming. Gawain ended up bartering a jewel from his sword for a large skin of water, but no one else paid much heed to the swarm of people below their horses.
They finally reached the palace and were greeted by a group of guards.
"Which one of you is, King Arthur."
Arturia stepped down from her horse.
"I am," she said, her voice cautious. The guards asked her to show her insignia ring to prove her identity, comparing it with the wax seal on the scroll she'd sent nearly a month before.
"You will leave your weapons here," said the guard; he seemed significantly more ornamented than the other two who stood on either side of him. "And you may only take one other man with you to into the presence of the King."
The high guard explained all of this to them while they walked down a maze of corridors until they reached a great wooden door, decorated with more gold that Arturia had ever seen in her life.
"But you may not take that man with you," the guard pointed to Merlin's apprentice. "He radiates of sorcery."
Arutia frowned and then nodded at her men. They proceeded to disarm themselves.
"If I am only permitted one companion, must all my men part with their swords?" asked Arturia.
"If the wish to remain outside the palace for the remainder of their stay, then no. They may keep their blades."
Arturia heard Lancelot sigh the loudest as he audibly smacked his sword, Arondight, onto the stone slab with Gawain's blades and Bedivere's bow.
"Be still, Lancelot," Arturia said calmly as she turned to place Excalibur on the table. "You will come in with me, friend. I trust you will know your place."
Lancelot's frown did not fade. It was apparent that he would fight this until the very end. And he had also been oddly bitter with Arturia for now allowing Guinevere to accompany them.
"Very well," he said curtly. The rest of the knights were escorted to their temporary quarters. Arturia hoped that they would be fed soon.
Finally the doors opened for them to meet the king of Babylon, the hero of Babylon, Gilgamesh.
The throne room was, again, unlike anything the two of them had ever seen. The ceiling was higher than any at Camelot, with marble pillars every twenty paces or so. The walls were crawling with lush vines, and wherever there were not vines, there was gold, gold vases with the largest flowers Arturia had ever laid eyes on, with brighter colors than she could have imagined. And at the end of the great hall, lounging on a largely cushioned gold chair, sat a tall man with gleaming bright hair that matched the gold jewelry that adorned him. He seemed preoccupied with the lion that lazed next to the throne. Gilgamesh ran his long fingers through the creature's mane, smiling as a low purr came through the creature's mouth.
"My King," said the high guard, still standing outside the great hall. "I present before you, Arthur Pendragon of Britannia, and Sir Lancelot of the Round Table."
He closed the doors behind him and the only guards that remained were the six that were placed on both sides of Gilgamesh at the back of the room.
As according to protocol, she and Lancelot went down onto one knee to acknowledge Gilgamesh as a king of his land. As the two bowed their heads in respect, Arturia heard a small mocking chuckle echo through the hall.
"What a sad excuse for a bow before your king," said Gilgamesh. "Just stand up."
"You are not my king," Lancelot snapped as they rose to their feet. "My king stands before you now, King of Britannia, Arthur Pendragon, stronghold of Camelot and-"
"You would do well to silence your dog, Arthur," said Gilgamesh. He suddenly narrowed his eyes towards Arturia, tilting his head ever so slightly. Stepping down from his throne; he got closer and closer to them with every word, "This is my kingdom, and I will say... and do...whatever I please."
He reached Arturia and then, without so much of any warning or glint of the eye, he reached forward and grasped Arturia hard between her legs.
"Ayee!" Arturia gave a high-pitched yelp and reflexively pushed away from her assaulter. A knowing smile flashed across Gilgamesh's face. As soon as the initial shock wore off, Lancelot lunged forward to defend his king, only to be blocked by the lion that viciously leaped forward with a ferocious growl. It's yellow fangs were sharp and glinted in the light.
"How dare you!" Lancelot boomed over the lion's roar. "You befouled, heathen tyrant!"
"Lancelot, stop!" Arturia gasped, her eyes locked onto Gilgamesh's. The gleaming king finally released her and she stumbled back and hurriedly checked the front of her robes that were now bunched up between her thighs. She smoothed them down and regained her composure.
"In the name of God and the glory of Mother Mary," she breathed harshly through her teeth. "How dare you-"
"Don't flatter yourself, girl," Gilgamesh said bluntly. "I was just checking."
Arturia's eyes widened as panic set in. Her gaze immediately darted to the half-a-dozen guards that stood next to the throne. Her secret had suddenly been dismantled and defiled by this arrogant tyrant in one movement. How had he seen through her guise?
Panic turned into anger.
"You violate me and then reveal my greatest secret before the ears of those I know not," she spat. "I have a kingdom to uphold and-"
"-to lie to?" said Gilgamesh, relaxing back into his chair; the lion followed him back loyally. "I can order my guards to fall on their swords right now and they will do so without question. Your precious little lie will continue to remain unknown, well, to everyone but myself."
"You would just put your knights to the sword without a second thought?" said Arturia, her voice in disbelief and shock.
"Knights?" Gilgamesh laughed. "Girl, these men are no knights. They are replaceable. I have an army of them waiting to die for me."
"Madness," was all Arturia could get out.
"Power," Gilgamesh countered.
The hall was silent for a moment, although it felt like an agonizing eternity.
"Or, if you grow faint at the sight of blood," Gilgamesh teased. "I could wait until you have left and then order them to fall. I can show you the bodies later." He leaned to the side. "Or if your delicate heart could not bear the thought of those men dying for your secret, I'll have their tongue's cut out. They are all illiterate so they couldn't write it down for anyone." His grin made her stomach churn. "Well, girl?"
Arturia clenched her fists. Ultimately, Lancelot stepped forward and asked that they fall on their swords and Gilgamesh ordered them to do so. Arturia looked away as they ended their own lives one by one. How could he do this to his people? To those loyal to him?
"My king," Lancelot said quietly. "You may not agree with their customs, but things are clearly done differently here than they are back home."
"Are you satisfied?" asked Gilgamesh, his eyes gleaming bright red.
"No," she said.
"Well, your secret is safe with me."
"I wouldn't call that safe," Lancelot added.
"You would do well to muzzle your dog like I suggested," said Gilgamesh, not taking his lewd gaze off Arturia. She shifted uncomfortably.
"I will command my men the way I see fit." He leaned into his hand and took a revitalizing breath. "I do not feel that the environment for this discussion is entirely appropriate," he said. "I will not agree to anything unless I speak privately with you." His gaze shifted from Arturia to Lancelot. "Without your dog."
Arturia placed her hand in front of Lancelot as she sensed him shift suddenly.
"Very well," she agreed. "We will speak among each other's company, but I trust you to be appropriate."
She really didn't.