Thank you so much to everyone who donated or spread the word about Shirou Fujimura's mother's need. Together, we helped raise over half the necessary funds and eased the burden on their family just a little. If anyone had trouble getting to the GoFundMe from the link in the Author's Note, there is a copy and pastable link on my profile, just take out the spaces.

Now, on with the story!

If you wish to support me, please check out my P a treon for future chapter summaries, story ideas and more: p a Treon.(c om) (backslash) themaster4444

Beta-ed by Ryujomaru15

Cover Art: nytemarezero300


It was peaceful when she returned.

The silver light that had spawned from Ruby… it had killed her quickly. It was a strange sensation to feel no pain as your entire body was turned to dust, but as ways to die went, it wasn't so bad.

Now, being stabbed in the back by the reanimated corpse of your homunculus child who you'd just killed, that sucked.

She moaned as the familiar stab wound echoed through her body. She rolled against something, a tree? Why was she leaning against a tree?

"My king?"

Arturia cracked open her vision. Familiar white hair and worried eyes greeted her.

"Bedivere?" she murmured. "Is that you?"

Her loyal knight smiled, leaning over her in concern. "It is me, your grace. Hold on. You'll be fine. The traitor's blade will not be the end of you."

Arturia glanced to her hands, her faithful Sword of Promised Victory resting loosely in her failing grip. Despite her friend's words, she knew this was the end. Her wounds were too grievous. This was where she'd die. Where she had died and was in turn sent to Avalon.

She'd thought she'd made peace with that. In some ways, she had. She'd lived her life with love and passion and had enjoyed every minute of it. She'd built a family that she loved more than life itself and watched each of her children grow into magnificent human beings. She knew that dying before them was, while not likely due to her nature as a Heroic Servant, a possible outcome. She'd made peace with having to leave them behind, as horrible as that was.

But not in the middle of a Holy Grail War. She knew firsthand the horrors that conflict could unleash, and she knew that her son would be walking right into it. She couldn't let him do it alone.

"I have to get back." She whispered. "I have to get back to them."

Back to her family. Back to Nicholas. Back to the girls. Back to Jaune.

Back to her utopia.

She'd chosen to wield Excalibur again. She'd chosen to be the King of Knights once more. There was still a fight to be fought.

She felt a brief rise in energy, a slight surge in the familiar call of the grail. But before she could answer it, demand the chalice return her to Remnant, the power faded like a passing flame.

Her body sank back into the tree. She'd missed it. She'd let her injuries command her for a moment and she'd missed her chance to join the war. Her son and his friends would have to face the battle alone. She could not help them.

She could not help her son.

She didn't know if her body still had any fluids left in it, but that didn't stop the tears that welled in her eyes.

Suddenly, miraculously, she felt the power surge again, an invitation being extended to heed the grail's call. Arturia's mind pondered the strangeness of such an additional summoning for barely a moment, but in the end, deemed the curiosities irrelevant. Perhaps there was something different about this offer, perhaps it was not to the war she thought it was, perhaps it was to some different class, she'd only felt what it was like to be called as a Saber after all.

But it didn't matter. It was a chance. A chance to help save her child, to protect her son and her family from the enemies she had unknowingly set upon their world. Ruby's attack had driven off Gilgamesh, but the King of Heroes would recover and who knew what he would do then. She didn't know if she could stop him.

But she had to try.

So just as before, she heeded the grail's call and swore loyalty to her new master.

After that, all she saw was black.


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

...

...Where? Where am I?

You are with us.

What? Who are you? What are you?

You don't remember us? That's fair. We really shouldn't have paid so much attention to the golden one last time around. He's just too stubborn to join with us. But now, we can make up for lost time.

Last time?

Yes. After the end of the Fourth War. After he crushed you.

He did not crush me—

He did not even have to try. You could barely even raise your sword. You are not strong enough to beat him. You are not strong enough to protect anyone who puts their faith in you.

I… I have to be. I have to protect them from him. From everything.

You have will, King of Knights. But without power, will is just an empty breeze. And the only way you can gain the power you seek is to join with us.

Join… with you?

Yes. The golden one scorns us. He acknowledges us but will not bend to us. You cannot stop him. We can unite. We can grant you the strength.

The strength to… no. I'm strong enough to defeat him. I am strong enough to protect everyone!

Like you protected your kingdom?

I…

You are not alone anymore. You do not have to fight alone. Together, we shall defeat all our enemies.

Will we… will we bring peace?

Without fail, King of Knights. Without fail.

All the World's Evils shall be All the World.

Yes.

Yes, it shall.


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

Arturia huffed as crimson lightning swarmed around her, each bolt biting like a scarlet hound, only to shatter against her riving mass of dark prana. Before, they would have required her to dodge or meet them with equal ferocity. Now, they were less than negligible. The Queen had truly kept her word. The Dark-tainted Tyrant was more powerful than the King of Knights had ever been.

Excalibur Morgan flared with power and the Black Sword of Promised Victory repulsed Clarent with a mighty crack. The Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword was overwhelmed by the ravenous surge and sent careening out of its wielder's grip.

The following rush of dark prana slammed into Mordred and sent the Knight of Treachery flying, only stopping when she smashed into the stone walls of the mountain compound.

Arturia scoffed. "Pitiful."

She turned to her handler. Hazel was not her master, but the Queen had entrusted him with her single black Command Seal, and so he was her commanding officer in Salem's forces. During the flight to the White Fang's HQ, she'd found him to be a solemn and quiet individual. He clearly held disdain for Jacques Schnee's mad ranting during the journey, but he easily restrained himself from lashing out and possibly damaging the Queen's bargaining chip. For that composure, he had her respect.

Fortunately, he gave her a curt nod, signifying his permission to deal with the new assailant. She acknowledged his leave and strode away. She paid no heed to the foes that swarmed him and went flying immediately afterward, and meticulously stalked towards her newly arrived prey.

Of all the Servants she'd expected to encounter when she returned to Remnant, she couldn't say Mordred was one of them. The Throne of Heroes was so vast, the chance of a Servant being summoned to the same war as someone they knew in life was beyond miniscule. Her reunion with Lancelot during the Fourth War was already an incredibly improbable occasion. Her traitorous first child making an appearance should have been impossible.

Still, at least this gave her the advantage in the battle. All the Alters were one in the Queen's will and that meant she was well aware of Lancer Alter's battle at the ruins of Kuroyuri. And through that event, she knew that her sister's homunculus' skills were much the same as they were when they'd last seen each other.

Mordred growled and struggled back to her feet. Her horned helmet was dented in several places from Arturia's assault, now looking more like a broken children's toy than the intimidating visage it was meant to be. The Knight of Treachery raised her stolen sword and charged in again.

Arturia feigned interest.

A heavy slash, a quick thrust, a mad body slam, a desperate sucker punch. Mordred was not without skill, but she had no care for the nuances of combat. She only ever cared to rush in, without strategy or care, relying on improvisation and her own brute strength to overwhelm her opponent. Given her natural ability, this was normally enough for most foes, and had even managed to disarm The King of Knights of Excalibur at Camlann. But it had not been enough to grant her victory.

And the Dark-tainted Tyrant was far mightier than the fool who'd fought at Camlann.

The two knights' swords clashed over and over again. Mordred's wild, heavy slashes fell like mad hammers upon the black knight, only to be stopped cold every time by Arturia's indomitable defense, the backlash of each blow shaking the very mountain, chunks of rubble crumbling from the walls.

Finally, when Arturia was sure her opponent really did have no new tricks up her sleeve, she made her move. There were few swordsmen in all of history with the skill to defeat the King of Camelot and her spawn was not one of them.

She caught Mordred's next slash, but instead of simply parrying as before, she moved forward and trapped her son in a blade lock. The Alter twisted her sword into a riposte and took to the offensive. Mustering all her immense strength, she unleashed a series of powerful, precise blows, each one capable of crippling her rebellious spawn.

To Mordred's credit, she held out well, quickly going on the defensive and giving ground in hopes of forcing Arturia to overextend herself. But it was all for not.

In moments, her defenses were shattered. A downward cut from Excalibur Morgan and Clarent went skidding across the floor.

Mordred hissed. Crimson lightning flared around her. "Prana Burst!"

She bounded away from Arturia, making for one of the larger boulders that had fallen during the battle. The scoundrel probably thought to throw it at her.

How pitiful. She should end this now before the poor child brought even more shame to her knighthood.

She brought her blade low. Dark power spiked around her hellish sword, curling and churning like a black typhoon.

"Hammer of the Vile King: Burst Air!"

She raked her sword upwards in a series of deft slashes. From each slice, an arc of pure black prana surged forth, eager to devour anything in its path. The line of annihilating blasts raced towards Mordred, with one surrounding her on each side, boxing her in to be destroyed by the remaining dark shockwaves.

The Knight of Treachery froze. Her helmet hid her eyes, but Arturia supposed they must have gone wide with fright, like a deer in headlights.

Strange, she must have known this was how it would end.

Suddenly, a blur of green crossed in front of her, a lance of red meeting each arc of Burst Air and dispersing it into nothingness.

Arturia's eyes narrowed at the interloper.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mordred roared. "How dare you interfere in our battle, Lancer!"

Diarmuid rose to a combat stance, both of his Noble Phantasms unveiled and at the ready. The twin spears were just as elegant yet deadly as Arturia remembered. Gáe Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism had proven irritating as always, its cursed ability to cut off enchantments and projections from magical energy nullifying the Alter's barrage. Though, fortunately, she was relatively sure that its counterpart, Gáe Buidhe, the Golden Rose of Mortality, would not be as effective against her as it had been last time. After all, All the Worlds' Evils naturally included all the world's curses. As a consequence, the Queen's rejuvenation factor was more than capable of nullifying the yellow spear's restriction of healing.

Arturia respected Diarmuid as much as she could anyone, she even wished to grant him the honorable duel Kiritsugu robbed him of in their last encounter, but his inference was highly disgraceful. She had shouted Mordred's name when their fight had begun, so he must have known their relationship to each other. What business did he have inferring? Surely, he couldn't be that impatient for his own rematch.

"My apologies, Saber, King of Knights." he intoned to each of them. "But after my master noted myself to be ineffective against that Hazel man, he ordered me to assist Saber's master in his efforts in this battle."

"What?" Mordred exclaimed. "That idiot!"

Arturia raised an eyebrow. It was such an obvious idea in hindsight, but she hadn't really spared any thought to Mordred having a master. Honestly, she couldn't picture Mordred listening to anyone long enough to be called a 'master'. Still, the poor soul must have been present during the battle at Kuroyuri. She'd just take a look back into the Queen's shared memory and see who—

"Mom!"

Arturia's eyes widened at the sound of the voice. The terrible, beautiful, familiar voice.

She shut her eyes briefly and turned towards the siren.

He was exactly as she remembered. He was a bit taller, a bit more muscular, and his weapons and armor had received a few upgrades (and he was finally standing up straight!), but overall, he was the same. His hair was blond like windswept wheat, his eyes the brightest blue of the sky, and his bearing, while still somewhat 'noodle-y' as his sisters called it, was as noble as any king.

There were tears welling in his eyes, but there was no doubt he was her son.

If only she had not sworn herself to another.

"Hello, Jaune."


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

She was here. She was actually here. She was alive!

His mom was alive!

But it was wrong. It was all wrong. She was different, an Alter, like Weiss. Her armor, her dress, even her sword, they were all black and red and evil. He'd been terrified of his mom before, she was a very intimidating woman after all, but this was the first time he could remember feeling on a base, instinctual level, that she was a threat, a wild, raging beast just buried under a thin layer of honor and oaths.

The mom he'd grown up with was a noble lion. The one before him? She was an untamable, unstoppable dragon, and if he wasn't careful, he had no doubt she'd burn him to the ground.

But…

She was still his mom.

After Mordred had blown their hiding spot and mom had batted her into another cavern of the compound, Lancer had done the smart thing and tried to charge that Hazel guy. Maybe Alters got their power directly from Salem so killing the fellow with the Command Seal wouldn't be a deal breaker, but at least they could take out another enemy, right?

Wrong.

Even as Lancer charged, Hazel just raised his arm. Like the hand of God himself, the floor at Lancer's feet suddenly impacted into a wide crater, the Servant of the Spear crumpling under some invisible force, leaning on his weapons to avoid falling to his knees. Ilia (that was the chameleon girl's name, right?) leaped in after him, but as soon as she reached the edge of the crater, she was brought to her knees as well.

"Wha—What is this?" she hissed.

Jaune had no idea, but the other White Fang members seemed to get the idea and attacked their foe from alternate angles, saying as far away from Lancer's crater. The grunts rushed ahead, Adam and Sienna Khan right behind them.

Hazel sighed and lowered his arm. Lancer and Ilia stopped struggling, rising to their feet again, the force that had oppressed them seemingly gone.

The grunts reached Hazel; one determined Faunus even managed to stab forward with his spear. Salem's minion caught the weapon by the point, his emerald aura flickering with disdain. With casual ease, he lifted the terrorist up by his weapon and tossed him away, sending him flying into the throne.

Another came from the opposite side, but Hazel raised a hand and the guard fell to his knees. Strangely, the other two Faunus were not impeded by their comrade's condition like Ilia had been by Lancer's. Though, that didn't help them much, since Hazel batted them aside like they were twigs anyway.

Sienna and Adam did somewhat better. The two leaders of the White Fang were more experienced in combat and it showed. They swooped high and low around Salem's minion, their claws and sword sparking like muzzle flashes. They made a steady advancement, but Hazel didn't seem worried by their assault, his aura deftly deflecting each strike.

Lancer dashed in to help, his twin spears diving in like bolts of lightning. When his blow struck, Hazel was forced back by a wide leap, but he wasn't floored like a normal person should have been after being attacked by a Heroic Spirit. He raised his hand and once more Lancer sank into the ground, the unknown force dragging the nearby Adam and Sienna down with him.

The brute charged forward and smacked the trio back into the throne room.

Blake, Sun, and Jaune rushed towards the group, Ilia joining them. The young girl placed a worried hand on Lancer's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked feverishly.

"He's dragging us down," Sienna growled, her eyes laser-focused on the slowly advancing Hazel. "Whatever that semblance of his is, it seems to be more powerful when it's used on him. He needs to go."

"What? It's not his fault!" Blake protested.

"No. But it is good tactics." Lancer pointed out. "Master, do I have your permission to assist Saber?"

"Granted," Adam replied curtly. "Tear her apart."

"No!" Jaune shouted. "She's being controlled."

"Controlled to kill us, human!" Adam roared. "I don't know what this mess is, but we do not have time for sentimentality."

"She's my mom! I know I can get through to her. And then we'll have one more Servant to crush him with."

"It's Salem, Adam. Just like I told you." Blake supported him. "Let him try."

Adam growled, but he turned to face Hazel. "Lancer, help the boy. But if he fails, annihilate that black Servant."

"Yes, master," Lancer bowed.

He and Jaune took off, following the duel of Sabers via the hole that Arturia had made by smacking Mordred through the walls. It did not look to be going well for his sibling. He had never seen his mom go 'all out' as it were, so he didn't know if what he was witnessing was her own power or if Salem had boosted her in some way, but she was tanking Mordred's strongest blows, strikes that could summon storms and demolish houses, like they were nothing. She didn't even seem to be trying too hard when she disarmed Mordred and sent three streaking arcs of dark energy headed her way.

Fortunately, Lancer dashed forward and nullified that attack. The Servant of the Spear looked worriedly over Arturia, but he'd said he'd go along with Jaune's plan.

That meant it was his turn.

"Mom!"

She turned to face him slowly, a dark fog of power surging around her form. A mask of red and black faced him, eyes he wasn't sure were still green staring out at him from under it.

"Hello, Jaune."

He gulped in dread but pushed forward. "You know me? That means you're from this timeline. Wha—What happened to you?"

"I sought to return to Remnant." She explained simply. "To that end, I accepted the first contract I could. This new form was the accepted price."

"Master, stay back!" Mordred roared. "You cannot reason with this fake!"

"She's not a fake, Mordred!" Jaune shot back. "She knows me! It's her!"

It had to be her. It had to be. And if it was, he could reach her. Blackening, or corruption or whatever be damned.

Saber Alter tilted her head. "So, you are her master. I suppose that makes sense. Do you know of her past? Why exactly she is known as the Knight of Treachery?"

Jaune held his gaze with the emotionless mask. "I know. I saw. But she's family."

"Family." She spoke the word with a mixed air of both longing and disappointment. "An insufficient excuse."

"Oh, do you hate me, pretender?" Mordred growled. She shuffled towards her fallen sword. "How base. The King of Knights would never allow himself to fall so far."

Arturia sighed. "I do not hate you, Mordred. I never have. In the end, it is the king's responsibility to prevent rebellion, and if necessary, quell it. What occurred was my failure above all."

Her black Excalibur ignited with dark, ravenous flames. "Still, my sloth does not excuse you from justice's sentence. You will pay for your crime in blood, child."

"Mom, please," Jaune begged. "All that… it's over. It was an eternity ago."

"Do you intend to stand with her?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Do you intend to stand with her?" Arturia repeated. "Even if she is your Servant, you don't have to. To stand with her is to stand in the way of the Queen, and she would be more than willing to have you as an ally."

"What? You want me to side with Salem?" Jaune screamed incredulously.

"If you don't, I will do what I must."

Jaune's heart shattered. "Mom… please. She's corrupted you. What you're saying… you'd never hurt me."

"I do not want to." The black knight admitted. "I love you, Jaune, with all my heart. But a knight's duty must supersede all else." She turned to Lancer. "Surely you, Diarmuid, can provide evidence for what happens when honor is cast aside for love."

The spearman frowned, a look of shame drawn upon his face. "That… is true. It does not lead anywhere good."

"Stay out of this!" Jaune cried. "Mom, you can't possibly think siding with Salem is right. She is evil."

"Evil or not, she allowed me to return to this world. She has fulfilled her end of our contract." Arturia declared. "By my own oath thereon, I owe her my sword and my loyalty. But she is not without mercy. Stand down, surrender Mordred, and no harm will come to you."

Jaune felt tears slip down his eyes. It was horrible. It was terrifying.

But it was undoubtedly her. Her arguments had the same poise, the same stubbornness. From a certain point of view, he could even get where she was coming from. At the heart of it all, it was still his mother's no-nonsense view of honesty and oaths. Even if Salem had clearly shut off her morality, it was still his mother.

And… he was afraid. Afraid that Mordred was right. That he couldn't talk this out. That he'd have to watch her die again.

That this time, he'd actually have to kill her.

Assuming, of course, that they could even survive.

He drew Crocea Mors, the sheath quickly combining into broadsword mode. His hands raised his blade towards his mother.

"I can't. More importantly, I won't." he declared. "I won't let Salem have her way with the world, and I certainly won't abandon Mordred. We made a pact too."

Lancer grinned and shot him a nod of respect. Mordred's mouth curled into a proud smirk.

Surprisingly, Arturia's did the same. "Then the time for talk is over. A pity. You have made me proud, son."

Without a moment's delay, she whirled and charged. She hit Lancer with the force of a train and forced him back with a series of heavy blows. Mordred seized the opportunity and dived for Clarent.

Unfortunately, Arturia anticipated this and turned on the other Saber, now wide open with Lancer stranded on the Alter's other side. She raised her sword above her head. It glowed with an aurora of black light, somehow brighter and more terrible than any of her past attacks. "Excali—"

"Strike Air!"

Jaune's blast went off first, the rushing cyclone ramming into his mother. The wind didn't seem to have done any damage, her armor wasn't even scratched, but it did stun her for a brief moment, preventing her from unleashing whatever attack she was charging. She probably would have returned to her task immediately, but the momentary pause was enough time for Lancer to recover and return to the offensive. Mordred soon scooped up her sword joined in to double team the Alter.

The two struck hard, and far more importantly, fast. For all her immense power, Arturia seemed to be slower than before, when she could fend off multiple opponents without breaking a sweat. She likely could in her new form as well, but that required hitting them, and working in tandem, Mordred and especially Diarmuid were able to dart out of the way of her defenses before they struck, whether her sword or the strange black fog that surrounded her. With their rapid assaults, they even managed to overwhelm her briefly and land a few glancing blows, most often with Lancer's shorter, golden spear.

Jaune knew he wouldn't be any help if he joined in close, so he took the opportunity to check his aura. Using his scroll as Professor Goodwitch had taught him so long ago, he checked how much power Strike Air had taken. He was down to twenty percent, barely above the red zone. Not exactly a good thing, but to compared to his past uses of his trump card, it was certainly an improvement. His brief training with Invisible Air must have paid off.

Still, they were in trouble, there was no doubt about that. Flies could only buzz around a person so long before the person got lucky with the swatter. Mordred and Lancer couldn't dodge forever, and they didn't seem to be able to deal any meaningful damage, whatever wounds they did land being quickly healed by black mud, just as Lancer Alter's wounds had been.

He glanced at his open scroll. He could call in Yang. Rider wouldn't hesitate to charge in to their rescue, and three enemy Servants had been enough to convince Weiss to pull out of Kuroyuri. Maybe they could do the same here and force his mom to surrender?

But then there was the matter of Hazel. Whoever that guy was, he had a semblance powerful enough to stop a Servant in their tracks, heck it seemed like it was more powerful against them. And from the thunderous sounds of combat he was hearing from the throne room, he was perfectly capable in combat against normal people as well.

Normal people that included two top huntsmen in training, a pair of experienced, highly dangerous terrorists, and the High Leader of the White Fang. All at once.

Yeah, retreat might have been the smarter option. Their objective was to get Adam and Lancer on their side. Considering the current battle, that goal seemed to have been achieved. It was time to cut their losses before his mother slaughtered them all.

"Mordred! Lancer! We need to go!"

"What! Master, you can't be serious!"

'This isn't up for debate. Make a distraction, we're getting out of here.'

Mordred growled, but both she and Lancer disengaged from Arturia. Clarent whipped into the air.

"Red Thunder!"

Crimson lightning arced around the rocks and collided with the cavern's ceiling. The mountain's craggy roof quickly crumbled, massive boulders plummeting to the ground between the allies and Saber Alter. Lancer flashed his spears back a few times to ward off any pursuit.

"Do not think you can flee so easily!" Arturia proclaimed.

Black power surged around her blade once more. "Burst Air!"

Just as when he and Lancer had arrived, three arcs of dark energy sliced through the air, jetting past the boulders just as they cut off Arturia.

Lancer twisted as best he could in the middle of his retreat, but in his awkward position, his red spear was only able to reach and nullify the blast headed for himself.

Mordred crackled with scarlet electricity and leapt away from the attack aimed at her.

And Jaune…

Jaune wasn't fast enough. He knew he wasn't fast enough. His aura was vastly depleted and even if it wasn't he had no skills to increase his speed to Servant levels. He couldn't dodge it. He couldn't block it.

He'd done the best he could, made the only call that made sense to him. But it wasn't enough. He was going to die. And without him, Mordred would die. He'd stolen one of their most powerful allies from his friends. He'd robbed his sisters of both their brothers in one single stroke. A single, stupid, stroke.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered.

He closed his eyes, as ready as he'd ever been for the end.

A quick, vicious force struck him. Then, he heard Blake scream.


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

Blake had seen how powerful Arturia Arc was. She'd experienced a taste of it firsthand back at Beacon. So when she'd sent a quick prayer to whatever gods existed to keep Lancer (stupid curse!), and Jaune, safe when they ran off to help Mordred fight her, she thought she was being reasonable.

She had neglected to recognize just how dangerous her own opponent was.

Hazel certainly cut an imposing figure. Between his bulging muscles and towering over even Adam in height, he wasn't lacking for physical stature. His calm, methodical demeanor when subduing the grunts had only added to the threat he imposed, as well as his complete nonchalance about facing the rest of them, a group that included two of the most formidable non-Servant fighters Blake had ever met, all at once.

Those foes only caused the large man to cock an eyebrow. He reached into two pouches on his belt and pulled out… oh… no way… no one could do that…

Hazel reared a handful of dust in each palm, one lightning and one fire, and plunged them each into his opposite arms. Yellow and red energy poured into his veins, both elements flaring across his skin. His now bloodshot eyes glared hard at the five of them, amazingly still eerily calm after performing an archaic technique that should have killed him.

"You can still surrender." He calmly informed them.

Needless to say, they declined.

Adam and Sienna charged in and unleashed a barrage of sword slashes and claw strikes. Blake, Sun, and Ilia formed a perimeter behind them and let loose with every ranged attack they had.

Hazel seemed to take it all in stride. The dozens of dust rounds sparked off his aura like they were pebbles against a Paladin. He met each slash or claw strike with his crystal enhanced arms, the limbs somehow stalemating his opponents strikes with ease. He raised a hand and Adam was forced to the ground. Electricity sparked around his other arm and he forced Sienna back with a surge of lightning.

He approached Adam and reached forward with his flame coated palm.

"Can't win against a moving target, eh?" Adam taunted through gritted teeth. He struggled to stand against whatever force was holding him down.

Hazel sighed. "You fought well. But it's over now."

"Not yet!" Ilia yelled.

Her whip lanced out and wrapped itself around Hazel's arm. Blake joined in with Gambol Shroud's ribbon and both of them tugged hard.

The large man didn't budge. The most they did was make him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Sun jumped in and smacked him in the face with his nunchucks, finally forcing a grunt out of the giant. He slapped his hands together and a pair of light clones jumped out and hit the giant with a rapid series of combos, finally breaking Hazel's concentration.

Ilia pulled the trigger on her whip, and a rush of electricity flew into Hazel's body. His aura flared to protect him, but his grip was loosened just enough for Blake and Ilia to tug his arm away. Adam, now freed, charged in and joined in on Sun and the clones' assault.

Hazel growled. He slammed his lightning arm into the ground. A huge shockwave erupted from the point of impact. Adam dove and tackled Sun out of the way, but both clones were incinerated.

The five Faunus regrouped away, unwilling to get close to the juggernaut before them.

"I know dust boosted aura is supposed to be powerful, but this is crazy," Sun remarked. "All that and we haven't even left a dent."

"What else can we do?" Ilia panted. "Run?"

"We might have to." Adam pointed out. He sheathed Wilt into Blush and gripped the hilt tight. "But I still have one card left to play."

"Out of the way, animals!"

The Faunus all turned in the direction of the voice and immediately dived out of the way. A rush of glacial ice shot past them and slammed into Hazel, coating him in a frozen dome prison.

Blake whirled back, her eyes widening at the sight.

Jacques Schnee strode forward, one of the grunts' spears and his broken aura canceling shackles laid on the floor behind him. Frost curled off his palms as he glared at Hazel.

"For Whitely," he muttered.

He turned on Sienna and Adam. His hands closed into fists. "Now then, I believe it is time for you beasts to face justice for your treachery."

"Would you think with your head instead of your ego, for once?" Sienna snarled. "We were literally just fighting him."

"Silence!" Ice began to creep across the ground from the mustached man. "In the name of my son, I will take your heads!"

Blake's eyes narrowed. "What about your daughter? Do you even care about what's happened to Weiss?"

"Weiss can burn in hell!" Jacques roared. "For what she's done, I'll make sure of—"

"Uh, guys! Bigger problems!" Sun yelled.

The young huntsman gestured towards the glacial prison. A moment after everyone turned to it, the coating exploded in a tempest of flames.

Hazel casually strolled out of the shattered mess. His eyes locked onto Jacques and glared with pure and utter disdain, the only malice he'd shown during the entire encounter.

"Watts said you wouldn't go down easily." The brute revealed. "Said a cockroach tended to find a way to scurry off."

"Schnee!" Jacques roared. "My name is Schnee, you BASTARD!"

He plunged his palms into the ground and another glacial rush blasted towards Hazel.

The large man raised his hand and closed it into a fist. Gravity pulled down on Jacques Schnee harder than it had for any of the others in the battle, his aura shattering in a single shot. The ice he'd summoned, most likely spawned with his semblance, halted immediately.

"I've killed a Schnee before," Hazel remarked. "He was a good man. You don't deserve to die like him."

He thrust both of his arms forward and a storm of fire and lightning plowed through the ice like it was paper-mâché.

The White Fang members dashed away. Blake did the same.

Sun didn't. Bless the beautiful idiot's heart, he ran straight for Jacques Schnee, of all people, and tried to push him out of the way of the blast. When that failed, the bastard too entrenched by Hazel's semblance to be moved, he clapped his hands together a summoned a clone in front of him.

It wasn't enough.

The infernal tempest blazed through the light clone and collided with them both.

"Sun!" Blake shouted. She gasped as Jacques' body flew through the air and floundered against the floor, charred and unmoving.

Fortunately, Sun was a bit luckier. The impact tossed him towards the hole Jaune and the Servants had disappeared out of, but he managed to struggle to his feet. He wheezed out a few coughs as his aura flickered and died.

"I'm okay!" he assured her. "A little crispy, but I'm good!"

Blake sighed in relief, but it was short-lived.

A familiar crack of thunder thrashed through the air as the mountain trembled with terror. Boulders collapsed in the cavern where the Servants had fled.

Jaune, Mordred, and Lancer dashed out of the small entrance. Three arcs of riving black energy raced behind them, one headed for each of the allies.

Lancer twisted and dispersed the attack headed for him with his red spear. Mordred crackled with electricity and rolled out of the way.

But Jaune? Jaune was helpless. He just wasn't fast enough to get away. He leapt through the hole separating the cavern from the throne room, the dark slash mere feet from his body.

Looking back, Blake saw everything in slow motion. Sun catching sight of Jaune. His eyes glancing back and forth between their friend and the threat. And then those same sapphire orbs hardening as he decided to act.

He took a shallow breath, and moved.

The monkey boy leapt into Jaune and gave him a quick, vicious shove out of the way. A moment later, the black arc tore right through him.

Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang cluttered to the ground, their master gone forever.

Blake screamed.


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

Adam shuddered when the Sun Wukong died, Blake's wail of despair echoing in his ears. He may not have known the boy, or even liked him, but he had shown true courage. He had sacrificed himself for Saber's master, perhaps his friend but also the more strategically important piece on the board. His courage was commendable. Adam swore to remember him as long as he lived.

But that might not have ended up being very long.

'Lancer, what happened? Is the Black Servant dead?'

"No, master," Lancer responded mentally. "The King of Knights… she's more powerful than she was before. She was easily stalemating both myself and Saber. The Knight of Treachery's master called a retreat."

'Well then let's hope they have an exit strategy."

The blonde boy sat up and recomposed himself. His gaze fell on his fallen friend's nunchucks and his eyes widened.

"Su—Sun?" he whimpered out.

"You bastards!" Saber roared. Electricity sparked around her and she flew at Hazel. She barely got two feet before the brute raised his hand and the knight was smashed into the ground like the rest of them, her crater extending outward just as Lancer's had.

Adam glared at Hazel, a snarl on his lips. The man may have executed Jacques Schnee, but that didn't make him any less of a problem. Between being able to supercharge himself with dust and having some sort of gravity semblance that seemed to be stronger on Servants, the giant man was possibly the most dangerous combatant Adam had ever encountered. And if he was only a minion of this Salem person Blake mentioned at Oniyuri…

Argh. And he'd thought Gilgamesh was going to be the only thing he had to worry about.

He turned to Sienna. "High Leader, I suggest retreat."

The tiger Faunus curled her claws in fury, but she must have known he was right. They had been caught off guard, and even with Blake's group's unexpected arrival, they were clearly outgunned. Regrouping was their best option.

"Ilia sound the alarm." Sienna ordered. "Tell all our forces to evacuate and make for the rendezvous point."

"Yes, High Leader." Ilia nodded. She quickly snatched out her scroll and sent the message.

Sienna looked back to Adam. "And our way out?"

Adam turned to his old friend. "Blake? Blake!"

Blake was transfixed on the place where her friend had fallen, Saber's master limping his way over to them along with Lancer.

"Blake!"

She finally turned to him. "Wha—what?"

Adam frowned. "I don't suppose you came with an exit strategy."

They could try and use the tunnels, but Saber Alter wouldn't be stalled by that rubble for long and, depending on her Noble Phantasm, that could leave them sitting ducks. The throne room's official escape routes wouldn't be much more useful. They would have to pull off something insane to get out alive—

The back wall of the throne room suddenly exploded, a massive opening of rubble smashing apart. A large chariot surrounded by lightning and pulled by oxen charged through the hole. Riding atop it was the human girl Blake had saved during the Fall of Beacon (Yang if he remembered the tournament correctly) covering her eyes with a hand and a muscled red-headed man only half a head shorter than Hazel.

When they crashed into the room, they turned hard left and stopped. The side of the chariot banked forward and slammed into Hazel, sending him crashing into the wall opposite. Saber rose from her pinned position and raced back to her master, panting hard.

"Haha!" the redhead laughed. "This 'drifting' technique is wonderful, master. I can't believe I never thought of it back in my time."

"It's a lot of fun, big guy, but maybe you should have just run the guy over normally." Yang pointed out. She peaked an eye out of her hand, only looking at the others' feet.

The redhead chuckled and looked over the group. His grin widened. "Ah, so it is you, Lancer. Good to see you again."

Diarmuid blinked in shock. "King of Conquerors? How?"

"I was summoned. How else do you think?"

Adam looked at Blake and raised an eyebrow. "Rider?"

"Yup."

"Good enough."

"Pile in everybody. We're blowing this noodle stand!" Yang shouted with a vibrant grin. Their forces quickly did so, cramping the vehicle quite a bit, but the girl's smile dimmed when they finished. "Hey, what happened to Sun?"

Blake looked away, tears falling down his face.

"He didn't make it." Saber's master choked out.

Yang's visible eye widened. She looked out into the throne room and caught sight of her fallen friend's nunchucks. Her hands closed into fists, her eyes clenched shut. "Damn it, monkey boy. This wasn't…"

She turned to the quickly recovering Hazel, her irises blazing a familiar crimson.

Adam knew where this was going. "We need to retreat." He reminded the girl, who now that he thought about it kind of looked like a blond Raven. "He wouldn't want you to die in some asinine quest for vengeance."

"What do you know?" Yang roared at him.

"Yang." Blake snapped out. "We need to go."

The blonde's rage broke upon her teammate's plea. She turned to her Servant and nodded. The redhead returned it solemnly and cracked the reins. The chariot took off in a shower of lightning, the light of the sun closing in as they left the mountain behind.

And suddenly began falling.

"What?" Rider exclaimed. He tugged on the desperately squealing oxen. "Come on boys, keep going!"

"What's happening, King of Conquerors?" Lancer demanded.

"I don't know." The Servant of the Mount confessed. "Something's pulling down the chariot. We can't stay airborne."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding." Adam whirled around and gazed back into the throne room.

There stood Hazel, a single hand extended towards the sky. Though given how none of them were being pressured to the vehicle, it must have somehow been affecting only the Noble Phantasm. Which, given how powerful such items were, was quite disturbing in its own right. Just how strong was this guy's semblance?

They needed to get away, quickly before Saber Alter recovered. But the Servants were powerless against him, and even if the power required direction, Hazel still had one hand free. Anyone who jumped out at him would just go plummeting… right at him. And unless they could get him with a single attack…

A plan instantly formulated in Adam's mind. Then he threw it away and tried to throw together a new one. But there wasn't one. He ran through every scenario in his head and it was the only one with even a chance of letting the majority of their group escape.

He didn't want to do it. He really didn't want to do it.

But it was the only way for his dream to live. He would have everything he wanted.

Which meant he finally needed to answer Gilgamesh's question: how far was he willing to go to get it?

All the way. Whatever that meant.

He reached out and snatched Blake's hand.

"Adam, what are you doing—"

"God is spirit." Adam proclaimed. "And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth."

A bright white light engulfed both their hands. When it faded, Adam's Command Seals were gone.

And Blake had gained them.

His darling's amber eyes widened in shock.

Adam couldn't help his smirk. "What do you know? The priest was telling the truth about those psalms after all."

"Adam, what did you just do?" Ilia exclaimed.

"Master?" Lancer whispered worriedly.

He smiled lovingly at Blake, glad the final time he'd see her was with his own eyes. "We do want the same thing, my darling. It's up to you now."

"Now? What do you mean?" Blake muttered, his gaze sending him comfort and compassion for the first time since before they seperated at Forever Fall. "Adam?"

He turned to Lancer. The man he had hated, the man he had cursed the heavens for sending him. The man who had been loyal.

"You were a fine Servant. I'm honored to have known you, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne." He declared with utmost respect and sincerity. "I leave my love and my dream in your hands."

"Master…" a single tear fell from Lancer's eyes. Then, he swallowed, composed himself, and bowed his head. "I will not fail you."

Adam smiled. "I know."

With that, he turned and dove off the chariot.

Hazel spotted him immediately and raised his hand. The wind rushing past his face accelerated tenfold as he plummeted back towards the throne room.

It didn't matter. Blake was with him. She would ensure the Faunus gained the respect they deserved. He would have everything he wanted.

Even if he wouldn't live to see it.

He griped Wilt tight.

The floor of the throne room cracked into a thousand pieces when he landed. He drew his sword and unleashed his semblance even as he felt his legs snap and gravity drag him to the ground.

Fortunately, he had absorbed the force of all Hazel's previous assaults, including the past use of his semblance. His katana held more power than it ever had before, and it let it all out in one single slash aimed right at the giant.

His crimson dust blade cracked under the strain and shattered into a million pieces.

Hazel was split into two, shoulder to waist.

Adam grinned. He leaned on his broken hilt to gain a little height even if he could not stand. He glanced at the halves of his enemy and then looked up as his allies ascended into the sky.

"Make our dream a reality, Blake." He whispered. "Show this world—Ah!"

A black and red sword thrust down into his chest, plowing right through his meager remaining aura. He wilted down onto the floor, crimson blood dribbling out of his wound.

Saber Alter strode towards the opening. Black power amassed itself around her broadsword. She raised the blade above her head and aimed for the flying chariot.

"Excalibur Morgan!"


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

Mordred was in a really shitty mood.

The fake, that twisted insult to her father, had proved more powerful than expected. Obviously, she wasn't as strong as the King of Knights actually was, that would be ridiculous. But she was more… formidable than she'd seemed at first glance. Even with Lancer's assistance, she had still been overwhelmed. As much as it pained her to admit, Jaune had been right to call a retreat. Even with the King of Conquerors on standby, this false King Arthur was too dangerous to take chances with.

What had happened to Sun, her loyal steed and comrade, had proved that. Her fist clenched in fury when she thought of it.

But in the end, he had been proved right. The master of Lancer had done some weird spell to transfer his Command Seals to Blake, complimented them both, and then dived off the chariot. Whatever he did after that, it had somehow nullified the gravity force pulling down Rider's Noble Phantasm and allowed them to continue their escape.

Whatever his faults, the Faunus had proven himself a worthy ally, just as Sun had suggested. Who'd have thought it?

Of course, they were still far too close to the mountain. Especially if that rapidly increasing stockpile of magical energy was what she thought it was.

"Out of the way!" she shouted, shoving the crying Blake and the chameleon Faunus to the front of the chariot.

Lancer scowled. "Saber, how dare—"

"Not now, you idiot, I'm trying to save our lives!" She raised Clarent above her head. "Hold on, this is gonna be rough."

Rider and Lancer instantly nodded, each of them taking hold of everyone they could in their arms.

"Saber," Jaune asked, his voice cracked and full of trepidation. "What's—"

The pitch-black beam of dark prana cut him off. A riving nightmare straight from the bowels of hell.

Mordred barely had a moment to process the attack, her face twisting in fury. The blast was more than just a palette swap or an imitation of her father's most famous attack. No, the energy that rose forth to swallow the sky was unholy, twisted, and black but more importantly, it was a perversion. A perversion of everything father believed in, not because it was evil of the darkest heart, but because it was similar to another source of power that the Knight of Treachery knew all too well, a source that should never, ever, taint the wellspring of the King of Knights.

The power that surged forth claiming to be wrought from Excalibur, felt like the merciless, hellish reserves of her mother, Morgana Le Fay.

And that above all, to have her idol tainted and disgraced as if they were the witch who spawned her, made Mordred furious.

She could only hope her fury would be enough to save her allies.

"Clarent Blood Arthur!"

Pain tore through her limbs, and crimson lightning erupted from her blade like the magma of a wrathful volcano, an unholy tempest of wrath and desperation.

Demonic scarlet crashed against devilish black, neither of the hellish forces willing to allow the other leave of existence. The Gordius Wheel buckled under the backlash of the clash, even Rider struggling to keep the chariot flying against the rush of gale-force wind that spurned forth from the impact.

Swiftly, Mordred's Noble Phantasm was pushed back, the dark pulse indomitable in it unrelenting bloodlust. Corrupted and black as it was, it was still the Sword of Promised Victory and it would have its triumph.

She could not lose though. She could not. If she lost, her allies would die. Her friends would die. Her master would die, his sisters and father would never see him come back. She'd have failed, she'd promised to protect him after all.

She would not break her word.

But as the black light of ruin approached, she didn't think she could keep it. Not alone, at least.

"Mordred, by my Command Seal, protect us!"

A wide smirk blossomed across her face. How could she have forgotten?

She wasn't alone anymore.

Her sword thrusted forward as she howled towards their enemy, the defiance of two sons echoing out to cross the sky and sunder the mountains. Her rebellion against her beautiful father was not only hers anymore. And for that, she was more powerful than ever.

Her Command Seal boosted power rushed into her Noble Phantasm, allowing the crimson blast to push back just a bit against its pitch-black counterpart. It was not victory, but it was defiance and that was all they needed.

At last, Rider drove the Gordius Wheel past the perimeter of Excalibur's attack. Mordred, exhausted, released her counter, the crimson lightning expiring in an instant. The black surge rushed past them, rampaging off into the sky to annihilate the clouds, the backlash unleashing a typhoon that sent the chariot sprawling. If the steeds hadn't been divine bulls and Rider hadn't been at the reins, the group would have surely crashed.

Mordred sank to her knees, panting heavily. Jaune and Lancer immediately knelt by her side.

"Thank you, Saber," Diarmuid said. "You saved us all."

Jaune smiled and patted her on the back. "Nice work, bro."

"A magnificent display." Sienna Khan complimented. "Now can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Sure, right after Lancer goes into spirit form." Yang declared, her eyes still hidden by a palm. "No offense. I just don't want to get cursed and all."

"Oh, my apologies." Lancer hesitantly turned to Blake. "Lady Bl—Master, do I have your permission?"

"What?" Blake muttered in shock. Her blush clashed with the tears rolling down her face. She glanced down at her right hand, staring at her new Command Seals as if they were her own corpse. "Oh, right. That's fine, Lancer. Go ahead."

The Servant of the Spear nodded and dissipated into blue particles.

Mordred sighed. That was twice they had encountered Salem's forces, and twice their best had only managed a stalemate. Lancer Alter had been a monster, but this false King of Knights and Hazel… they had dealt them their first true losses. Still, they had acquired Lancer, even if not with the master they'd intended, which had been their goal. The mission was technically a success.

It didn't feel like one.


RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFATEFATEFATEFATE

Arturia frowned as the enemy Servants escaped. A traitorous part of her, the motherly part, was pleased that Jaune had gotten away unharmed, with even a tinge of relief being spared for Mordred.

That was fine. She could not help how she felt. So long as she did not act on her emotions, so long as she kept her oath of loyalty to the Queen, everything would be fine. Besides, at least she now knew that she had worthy opponents to face. The two's teamwork was commendable. The Dark-tainted Tyrant was more than aware of Clarent's capabilities and she knew it could not match her infinitely fueled Excalibur for as long as it had without outside assistance. Most likely, they had spent a Command Seal to escape. A risky maneuver, but well worth it.

"Ha…ha…ha…"

Arturia turned to the bull faunus, Adam Taurus. He was laid out on the floor of the mountain, blood dripping from his mouth even as it spilled from the hole she'd put through his chest. He'd be dead soon; his Command Seals had already disappeared from his hand.

"They… got away…" Adam choked. "You failed… Blake… will see it through…"

"Perhaps." a familiar, deep voice admitted. "But she won't win."

The boy's golden eyes widened. Arturia turned to her ally's severed halves.

Or rather, formerly severed halves. The bisected torso and shoulder sewed themselves back together with threads of muscle and sinew. Soon enough, his body was good as new.

Hazel Rainart stood once again. He cracked his neck as if waking up from a long nap.

"Ho… how…" Adam gaped. "No… no semblance could…"

"No known semblance is powerful enough to bring back the dead, that is true," Hazel admitted. "But a Noble Phantasm can."

"Impossible… you can't… you can't have a semblance and a Noble Phantasm…"

"You can." Hazel declared. "If one's semblance is their Noble Phantasm."

"…What… What are you?"

Adam Taurus' head cluttered to the ground after those words, never to rise again.

Hazel knelt down next to him and gently closed the warrior's eyes. "I am the Last Hero, King of Aura."

Arturia watched her handler's show of respect to their fallen foe without a word. The Queen had told her of his identity after all. The Last Hero, once a mage who had helped Merlin develop the process of unlocking aura to fight Salem, the man had been the first to have his power unlocked, his magic circuits shattering during the still unrefined process. He'd gone on to help her old mentor drive the corruption to its knees, only to show all too human compassion at the very end.

She hadn't bothered to pry into how he became a Heroic Spirit, or why his title was 'The Last Hero', but she was aware of his two Noble Phantasms. The first, Weight of History; Time Shall Reclaim the Shadows, was a modified version of his former semblance of gravity control. It thrived off a target's mystery, the available power and radius increasing the older the opponent or object was. Against Servants and Noble Phantasms, who were ancient by nature, it was quite the potent ability.

As for the second…

"I was unaware you could recover from bisection so quickly," she noted to her partner.

Hazel shrugged. "Unless my entire being is destroyed, I can recover just fine. It is fortunate your son was unaware of that. Her Noble Phantasm would have been troublesome."

"True." Arturia conceded. If Mordred had managed to aim her sword at Hazel, Clarent Blood Arthur might have been able to kill him. An energy attack was quite difficult to pin down with gravity. Though, it would still require being able to lift the blade to aim it, something that could be dealt with. If targeting the Servant didn't work for some reason, the weapon could always be used. Speaking of…

"I'm curious, why did you target the chariot instead of the King of Conquerors?" As thrilled as Arturia was to see Iskandar again, he was the oldest of the Heroic Spirits present. Surely his radius would have been better suited to bring down the opposing party, instead of the chariot which, while effective, was still under the group and therefore still let them move around the vehicle and defend themselves?

Hazel's eyes squinted, his face scrunched in confusion. "I… I don't know. I didn't think of it. It won't happen again."

Black lines spread across his veins, riving all over his face. He scowled and angrily shook his head, driving them off. He rose to his feet and started walking out of the throne room. "They're headed back to Haven. We'll call Watts, figure out our next move."

Arturia nodded and followed her comrade out. The Last Hero.

The First Grimm.


So... that happened.

Poor Sun, determined to be a huntsman and protect whoever he could. and in the process wasted his aura on Jacques Schnee of all people. But even then, he doesn't back down from saving his friend.

And Adam, completing his journey from being a total jerk to being a slightly less self-centered jerk, going out like a hero for completely selfish reasons. Both these deaths will weigh heavily on Blake and Diarmuid going forward.

Also, just for clarification, the psalm Adam used to transfer his Command Seals to Blake was given to him by Kirei waaaaay back when he first gave him the info about the war. It is the same psalm Kirei used to take Risei's Command Seals in Fate/Zero, though Adam was planning to use it to take Command Seals from masters he beat.

We're moving into the final arc of Act Two, people. And not everyone is going to make it out alive.

Remember, if you're curious about the reading fic challenge, just look at my profile or Nerf585's story post.

A huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction and Cool guy.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!