The clothes were as good as gone. Mami sighed as she folded them, careful not to let dry blood flake onto the floor. The last thing she wanted on her case were suspicious maids sneaking around the room. She pressed a hand to where the cursed weapon had struck the night before, suppressing an involuntary shudder.

The wound had healed, but the pain (oh god the pain) still etched itself in her memory.

"You're awake." she saw Homura at the door frame through the mirror, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Akemi-san," Mami smiled at the sight of her slightly frazzled hair, watching the other girl give a small nod before gliding over to the main section of the room, silently planting herself at the desk which already held two mugs of steaming drink (coffee for Homura, tea for Mami), inhaling the invigorating scent of caffeine. Mami stuffed the clothes into a spare bag, joining the girl at her side.

"Kyubey filled me in on the details. Thank you for saving me."

"I did what I could. If Archer hadn't been there, you would be dead by now."

The last few years definitely hadn't changed her, if the girl's nonchalance towards death was anything to go by. It was a habit Mami had never truly grown comfortable with; she had assumed that Homura was trying to be difficult from the onset. Over time she had come to appreciate that it was truly her outlook on life.

Time to change the subject.

"I sent messages to the other girls in Japan, I also got Kyubey to search for any information he could obtain about Shengbey; his knowledge of Fuyuki could possibly prove useful for the upcoming battle." Homura acknowledged with a nod, taking an experimental sip of her coffee. Both lapsed into silence, as they rolled the implications of Mami's last statement through their minds.

The elephant in the room gave them a gentle nudge.

"Archer. I think he's telling the truth."

"I know, I know," Mami sighed, watching wisps of steam scatter from the mouth of her mug. "I should have trusted his warning more from the start. Even if everything was the way he said it was, I was hoping against reason that he was wrong," she gave a wry smile, "though things seem to be taking turn after turn for the worse, no one really wants to be faced with the possibility of the end of the world, do they?" Memories of how powerless she had been in the last fight threatened to overwhelm suddenly felt small and helpless, at a loss for what to do. The warm comfort of the room seemed a surreal, illusory respite from the impending danger.

"That is of no concern. Whatever threat there is, I will protect this world from it," Homura's words were resolute. Unyielding. "No matter what."

Mami stole a glance at her, wondering for the hundredth time just what she must have faced before, to become this stoic of a person, in the face of impending danger they faced. Her past had always been somewhat of a mystery; the girl always seemed to know more than she let on. Nevertheless, Mami latched onto her words, taking solace and drawing strength from them.

"I wonder if it felt like this; sixty five ago in Tibet," she mused, "a sudden darkness, out of nowhere. The world came so close…" she shook her head. "No. You're right, Akemi-san. We have to protect this world. Like how those girls defended humanity back then. We'd be unable to look them in the eye if we faltered now." she took a long sip of her tea, calming her nerves and gathering her resolve. "In any case, we have Mr mysterious superhero on our side now, although I must say, by himself he brings a whole other bag of mysteries."

"He isn't human."

"Well, yes, the way he was prepared to attack Lancer like that," she frowned, "but still-"

"Not that." Homura flipped her hair in slight annoyance. "Physically. He isn't from this world. He's doing things to my magic I can't comprehend at the moment. It's certain that he doesn't exist through earthly forces," she crossed her arms, "he wears military-grade armour that could be considered antique by today's standards - and uses magic. I can't explain him at all."

"Now you know exactly how we feel when you talk about that goddess of yours," Mami smiled gently at the glower Homura sent her way.


Ryuudou temple appeared much worse for the wear from the earlier battle. The floor was littered with the scars, miniature craters, and dried blood. Not to mention the split in the ground that stretched across the courtyard, from which an ominous aura now oozed.

That wasn't as much of an issue though, at least compared to the man seated in the middle of the plush armchair that had somehow appeared in the middle of the square.

Knitting.

"Be on guard. He's not normal." Mami said.

"In more ways than one," they acknowledged dryly.

He must have heard them; nothing else stirred in the immediate vicinity. The air was quiet, eerily so, as though the life had been sucked dry from the place. As they neared, he spoke to them in a silky, laid-back voice, his accent almost a drawl, his attention still firmly focused on the fabric in his hands, needles flapping tirelessly like some skeleton bird.

"Well, you don't look like one of those - what did they call themselves again, repairmen?"

"We have business here." Archer said. At his words, the suited man looked up, wide grin spread across his features as he studied the newcomers with a fierce intensity.

"Is that so? Unfortunately I've been told that this place is of grave importance, and that it would be troublesome if people were to interfere." his smile was an inscrutable, blank slate.

"You would be right in saying that; we have to draw the darkness out, to fight some of it, somehow." Mami stepped forward, voice earnest. "We can't let it gather more than it has here, the results would be terrible."

"Well, that is quite the dilemma then; I've been told to guard this area at any cost, letting anyone in would be a problem, no?" he shrugged flippantly, not budging from his spot. Archer weighed in his mind the merits of simply leaving and blowing him up with a well-placed broken phantasm from afar.

Had to admit, the option was pretty enticing.

"We weren't asking you to move." Homura stated flatly, flipping her hair as she shot him a look of disdain, "How difficult things become is completely up to you."

The atmosphere subtly shifted; the man let out a low whistle as he stood, tucking his kit into his suit.

"My, my, looks like you guys aren't going to quietly leave after all," the strange guard waved his arms like a conductor in an orchestra calling his players to attention. "Well, there are three of you, and only one of me, perhaps I can make my argument a little more… convincing."

Homura, Archer and Mami tensed as they felt mana surge from the unnamed stranger. He made as though to pull on a string, a string of mana channeled skyward. From a three-foot circle around the him, fine lines, an intricate latticework of miniature mana channels glowed on the ground. their threads stretched beyond the immediate distance their eyes could see, covering every conceivable surface of the ground. A throb echoed through the air as power pulsed through the artificial veins.

"A bounded field. His preparations were extensive." Archer broadcasted, internally cursing himself for getting caught off guard. He watched the stranger snap his fingers, as figures moved into his field of vision. They appeared to be ordinary people, dressed in a variety of different clothes, sporting an assortment of business suits, floral sundresses, shirt and jeans. All of them, however, shared the same blissful, unaware smiles on their faces. Some linked their hands as they formed a human shield around their hypnotizer. Several others shambled forward towards the group, household items grasped in their dangling arms; kitchen knives, hammers and razor blades bobbed as they drew menacingly close.

"Please, lay any arms on yourselves down. I'd like to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed." The man's polished grin belied the glee in his eyes, hand poised as a puppet master would hold his strings. "If not," he made a snipping motion with his fingers, gesturing to the mindless bodies around him.

Homura tensed up, lowering her body slightly, soul gem at the ready. She glanced at Archer as he held his hand up, a look of warning in his eyes.

"The difference between one who forges ahead with a calm mind, and a monster who attacks with no regard for life is a fine one. Do not be brash, Akemi Homura."

"I don't expect you to agree with my methods," she ignored his warning, willing her transformation into existence, feeling her soul gem transform with her uniform, her bow-

A wave of cold sweat swept through her.

Her bow wasn't there.

A click sounded as a mechanical bronze shield snapped onto her wrist. Her eyes widened in shock, staring at the weapon she thought she would never see, let alone use again, manifest. She snapped her head towards Archer, searching for any indication of response. The red knight seemed oblivious to what had just happened, though he picked up on her expression, sending a searching look in return. She brushed him off, feeling the familiar reassuring rev of gears as the mechanism whirred to life.

Answers could come later.

Time froze as she walked over to the enemy. She assessed her weapon stock; sidearms, five grenades, nothing more. Leftovers from that battle. Sand: full, for some reason. Not that she was complaining.

She stepped close to the suited stranger, ducking through his human shield, out of the lines projecting what Archer had called the "bounded field", pulling her beretta from her shield, removing the safety and placing the barrel at his temple. The shield clicked once more as time resumed its flow.

"Call off your mind control. Now. Tell us who you work for, and your objectives. Do that, and we might spare your life." her voiced was practiced, cold, calm. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Mami, already transformed, take advantage of the opening she had created, trussing up the hostages with her ribbons. "Don't even think of pulling any tricks." She jammed the barrel into his head for emphasis.

"Teleportation!" the man held up both hands, salesman's smile still squarely in place, "that is a wonderful ability to have. However," he snapped his fingers again.

"You are exactly where I need you to be."

A man-sized gourd appeared directly above him, opening pointed downwards. With a sucking sound, Archer watched as Homura's figure seemed to distort and flicker, before being drawn into the vessel as though through the mouth of a vacuum, before the girl could react. Archer called his bow to his hand, only to freeze as the lines on the ground glowed angrily in response. He felt the strength leave his body, feeling faint as a wave of dizziness swamped him.

Those lines, that gourd. Shit, should have known sooner.

The last thing Archer felt was a sensation of tumbling through empty space, consciousness fading as he and Mami fell to the assault.


Servant stats sheet for Anansi will be up the next chapter.

As always thank you for the support, and see you around next time!

Skytracer out.