I hit the ground harder than anything I can put into words; I cough, and I can see faint blood droplets sputter from my lips and fall back on my face. I try to rise on my forearm, but I'm short of breathe and fall over, coughing and heaving up blood with every breath. My eardrums explode with sound as my senses reconnect at their natural state – if I don't die from the crash, it will probably be the sound.

But what little strength I have leaves me as I see what surrounds me. Balls of light drip energy, bleeding on the ground as they surround me. First from the light spawns mass, then comes matter. It is the beginning of a solar system, the beginning of a new body that orbits the most distant of astrological wonders. And yet it is born right here on Earth. Beyond the light, a heaping mess rises from the ocean.

And its right in front of me.

Not "it", really, but rather "they" – there are eight masses of light that bundle up, little stars that collect and fall like teardrops from the gods.

One, the first to take shape, is some sort of case for a sword. Another is a decaying, maggot-infested lion head.

Then there is a staff with a massive blade with what I can only assume is ancient inscriptions, and a knife darkened with rich, thick blood.

I see some sort of tattered book, pages torn and the binding in shreads. A rusty arrow coated over in red. One continues to drip with raw magical energy, the glow just as blinding as a bleeding sun.

And each object catches fire – red, teal, indigo, black, opal, and everything in between – and reshapes into a human being. Like clay in the hands of a god, with wind whipping so wildly I'm blinded as I shield myself.

This has to be it.

This has to be the end of the world as I know it.

There has to be something I can still do, right?

I turn to Archer instinctively as he appears off to my left, and for the first time ever, I see raw emotion in his beautiful eyes. Is it fear? Is it excitement? All I can think of is a lost boy from a dream a million years ago, a little boy who was saved by super soldier. Those boy's eyes were wild with awe and terror, not something unlike my scarlet savior right now.

He is a little boy who found something long lost: a reason to live in fear.

How do I react? If this is the end of it all, what do I do? I keep my arm up to shield my eyes and focus on the body shaping closest to me. I try to stand, arm still raised at eye level.

And as the dust settles, several new bodies rise.

The owner of the lance stands first, dark, pupil-less eyes staring into the abyss. Tattered robes wrap him carelessly, his skin dark in the lightless day. I can't help but feel bothered by his lack of shoes, but he grips his staff aggressively, asserting himself as something more than a random homeless man. Something of a super-soldier in his own right.

I was under the weird impression he was staring at me with those dark eyes, but it was the gush of hot air that flushes against my back that makes me realize someone is behind me. With shivers racing down my spine, I turn slowly, my neck about as stiff as a giant tortoise's, to see a beast even larger hunkered down behind me. "His" face is almost as big as me – like, literally, almost as big as me altogether, and his vile eyes bulge from his wild skull. It straightens up to stare intently at the ancient homeless soldier, and within a heartbeat a rush of magic gags me as the two prepare to fight. I stand to prepare for my flight of survival.

And a woman appears beside me, a frail-looking, petite thing. Her skin is dark like Archer's and her hair glistens white – also like his – but at least Archer seems to have emotion. This girl waltzes beside me, between the thickets of this hostility, and raises an arm. Her long hair flows behind her carelessly, perfectly.

The men stand somewhat shocked by the girl's presence, and it takes me an instant to recognize the mess I'm in – no, she isn't here to protect me.

She's here to assert herself.

A sword falls from the heavens, radiant and prism-like as it shines with all the colors the naked eye can bear. It falls faster than any force could ever bear, almost is if it appeared in her hand randomly, as opposed to being thrown down hastily by the gods. I watch in slow motion, focusing everything on my eyes in hopes of absorbing everything that was about to happen.

But as the sword reaches her hand, I realize I can't afford to stand here. I can feel my pupils dilate as the truth seeps into my bones and I throw my hand deep into my pocket for my one true source of protection.

She could kill me.

She will kill me.

And she won't think twice about it.

It sounded faintly like a horse was running at me, and I can only turn my eyes a little to the oncoming storm, as everything was happening all at once. I can't react fast enough to evade him, but a man sweeps me off my feet; in the blink of an eye, an explosion has erupted behind me, and I'm in the caring hands of a man I have never met.

I look up at him and release a shaky breath. This man sets me down on my feet without looking at me twice, his green brows furrowed as he assess the situation. Archer appears beside me just as blazingly fast, despite the ushing blood that still comes from his leg. The two men don't look at each other as Archer checks me once-over.

"Are you up to speed with the situation."

"Yes." The man's voice is surprisingly soothing for such a husky build; he's decked out in some armor too, suggesting a warrior class hero of some sort.

"I don't have time to decide if I can rely on you. I-"

"I will handle these fools. They seek only to express their limitless power." For the first time, the man with green hair looks down at me. He smiles: it isn't as fatherly as Lancer's or as charming as Rider's… rather, it's really calming. Empowering, maybe? He refocuses on Archer with an opened mouth before he's plowed over by some new force. I can't help it – I cry out in shock.

"Oh my god!"

God is the least of your worries, my child.

Oh my God.

There's a voice in my head.

Wait, there's a voice in my head?

Relax.

I spin frantically, searching out whoever is bestowing this horror on me. I can feel my brain twisting in agony over a life I never lived. Archer picks up pretty quickly and sweeps me into him, nesting me under his arm as he raises one of his twin blades once more. The voice barely shows any signs of being human, as it's bland and gives away no clue as to gender or intention. Evenso, I pick up hints of it being iced-over and traditional, almost English, kinda like Berserker's.

That fool you belittle wants to control all of us.

"H-h-h-how d-d-d-o you kknnnow this?" my skin crawls, a million spiders coating me over. What is this awful sensation?

I materialized within his mind upon the summoning. I want nothing to do with him.

I gulp, reassured by Archer's powerful hand on my shoulder. Another shock wave sends unbearable heat across the small beach-side corner of hell we are trapped in, yet he remains stoic. I try to mimic his unwavering strength. "I want to trust you." My eyes fall on a little girl clad in white, luminescent in the dark space around us.

Then do, child. I want to kill, we all must strive for the things we want.

"How can you help us?" Cool motive, still murder… right?

I will aid Rider in ending these new servants. I suggest you beware them, as they seek nothing but absolute assertion.

"Where are you?!"

"Here." A body draws out from my feet, something somewhere between nowhere and infinity, a being of shadow. It rises in the form of a man that is figureless and shapeless, with ebbing shadows rising from it in a steamy fashion. The almost face turns around, and an almost smile arises. Then the shadow takes the form of me, messy hair and torn clothes perfect to the T. It winks and springs into the mess somewhere in front of me, the constant collisions overwhelmingly undifferentiated from each other.

Wait, it wasn't the girl? I thought it was that girl in my head.

Archer breathes quietly as he traces where the shadow vanishes off to. "We need to get you out of here." He asserts gently.

"No."

"Gir-"

"I said no. I can still stop Caster, right?" He doesn't look at me, he doesn't have to. "He will continue to harvest prana, likely at a rapid rate. I would be surprised if he didn't spawn new beings again very quickly."

"Then we need to act fast."

I can see explosions. They surround my entire vision, lighting up the darkness. Waves of heat pulsate across my skin, and I know that I have every reason to be terrified. I feel like I should be on a whole new level of terror, but I am entranced by this girl in white.

She isn't that old, no older than ten I'd say. She's dressed for the cold, not for war.

So… who the hell is this? What kind of Heroic Spirit has me trapped in my own skin?

"Girl."

"What? Yeah, no, no I get it." I look up at him. Relief washes me over as I can control my body again – maybe it's his presence that broke the spell. Speaking of which, how many chances do I have to do this now?

An overwhelming force suddenly swallows me whole… then it passes over. "I will try to weaken him. Be ready to make the final move."

He's hot, but not my type.

He sees me staring and nods curtly before dashing off. Hot damn I wish I could move that fast, bonus points if I could with that gimpy leg.

I turn back to where that girl was perched on the low tree branch but she's gone. I… I think her smile is still there, but I don't see her eyes. Archer definitely didn't see her, maybe it was an illusion.

Wait

There are eyes.

But those aren't hers – and defiantly not, not human.

The face gains color, the smile gruesome and wide. The trees rustle as marbled flesh takes shape, and a large fore-hand/paw emerges from the darkness beyond. The eyes illuminate with each passing instant, a vibrant orange to match the smileless grin.

I take a step back: the hand is about as big as me.

Someone hums from the forest, and despite the low tune, it rises and sings through the violent air. The tune vibrates from the beast and resonates with my childhood.

Another heat wave rolls over my back, and as the other hand emerges, a shiver runs down my spine.

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The Frumious Bandersnatch!

"Uh… Archer? Somebody?"

The trees fall over as the body emerges fully. The fists appear wooden like the muscular skin. Wings emerge from above the tree tops.

"Archer?"
The body heaves closer, blue veins coursing over the almost-skin.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

"Archer, I could use you again."

Rider appears in an instant, hair still swaying despite no longer being in motion. His smile is as beautiful as ever, despite the blood splattered across his cheek. "Wait for it, commonergirl."

And from the right comes a roar so infinite and so uncontrollable, I'm forced to clench my jaw just to bear the pressure. The pride in the Egyptian's eyes is everlasting as a new onslaught of air forces its way across my mortal skin.

And thus appears the Sphynx, the guardian deity of the most regal of kings. The stone crumbles away, revealing decayed, servant flesh that stretches and flexes with every movement the manbeast takes. A shadow slides off its neck as the head twists around as it roars again, a cry of destruction and devastation only equal to that of a solar system being born, rippling across the planet. The shadow falls to the ground and crawls away, and on instinct I lunge for the nearest weapon I can find – in this case, the stick that's in Rider's hand – and I charge the shadow.

I'm ape-shit DONE with being scared, especially after what I just friggin' witnessed.

The shadow looks up at me as I approach it (I think Ozymandias was more shocked than anything else when I made my move, because shock resonated across his face as he watched me charge) and I hold the staff just above the person's neck.

"Ohmygod."