Chapter 22

The ground shuddered as the starlight sphinx began to pick up speed, its heavy footsteps punctured only by the constant drone of multiple engines. The quadrupedal nature of the sphinx quite literally threw Alex for a loop, as he was finding it difficult to keep his footing. Mina was faring no better, the back-and-forth motion of their transport prevented her from rising from her kneeling position for more than a few seconds. Saber, to her credit, wobbled only slightly when she shifted from one space to another. Ozymandias, to nobody's surprise, was completely unaffected by the sphinx's rolling motions. He stood tall between the beast's shoulder blades while all the while, mirthful laughter poured out from him like an endless stream.

"Haha! What an amusing scenario this is! This would be a far more pleasant walk without these annoying pests around. I should swat them down like the insects they are!"

Alex shouted back, "That's no good, Pharaoh! There are people living here! We need to draw them away, then eliminate them!"

The pharaoh seemed to mull it over for a moment, "Hmph. Very well. But I shall not suffer their insignificant whining for a second more than I must!" Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

Overhead, a flash of light reversed the darkening night and the first drops of rain made their brief existence known. Alex closed his eyes and counted, "Thousand one, thousand two, thousand three, thousand four, thousand five, thousand six, thousand seven, thousand-"

A deep reverberation echoed from above, bringing his count to an end. The sphinx took a hard turn, nearly sending him rolling from its back, but a firm hand kept him in place. Opening his eyes to meet the emerald pools that belonged to Saber, he could only offer a thankful nod. While she was still smiling as she seemed accustomed to, there was a deep seriousness buried underneath the obvious enjoyment. She gently guided him back towards the center, near to where Mina was keeping herself steady.

"How are you holding up? You look a bit pale."

Mina waved him off, "I'm fine, just…trying to concentrate. Can't say I'm used to travelling like this."

He nodded his understanding, "Hang in there, we'll be out of here soon." A disgruntled groan was all he received in response. Shaking off his own discomfort, he unsteadily rose to his feet. With the sounds of engines getting louder, his curiosity got the better of him. Keeping his center of gravity as low as possible, he was able to remain mostly upright despite the moving surface beneath his feet. Through the ever-increasing sheet of rain, he was able to make out no less than a dozen motorcycles. Each of which carried two figures at minimum, and they were gaining on them.

Alex turned and called out to the pharaoh, "Can't you make this thing go any faster!? We can't let them catch up!"

He never heard the response, if there was one. Another flash of lightning illuminated the darkness, revealing a scene that caused his heart to freeze. In the brief moment of light provided, Alex saw from the corner of his eye glinting reflections from each of the pursuing vehicles. There was no doubt as to what the source of those reflections were.

"Scopes!"

Before he could take any action, Saber threw him to the floor with one hand while her flaming blade materialized in the other.

"Get down!"

It was all she had time to say before thunder boomed overhead, louder than before. Alex saw her blade dance through the rain, sending sparks and the sound of shattering metal ringing through the air. In the blink of an eye, it was done. Saber stood defiant, her blade burning against the water that failed to extinguish it. The droning of engines continued.

Alex quickly pieced everything together as he crawled his way to Mina, who greeted him with a mixture of worry and curiosity,

"The hell was that!?"

"Gunmen on the motorcycles. They're using suppressors and seem to be using the thunder as cover. Saber put on a show, so I doubt they'll try that again. But still…"

"Those bastards! Do they have no respect for their home?" Her words were thick with bitter frustration, their weight catching him off guard. It was then that he noticed that she was gripping the hyeopdo tightly, while her shoulders were tense and stiff. Realization came like a bolt of lightning,

"Of course. I never realized how hard this actually must be for her. These are her people, and now they've turned their backs on their country. No wonder she wants Archer gone; she doesn't want her home to fall apart again."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, but said no words.

Flash. Four seconds. Drumroll from the inky sky. Silent volley. Saber traced fire through the air and prevented the bullets from finding their marks. Before them, the mountain of Namsan loomed large, gaining form out of the darkness.

"We're almost there! Just a bit longer, and we can be free of these pursuers. Just hang in there!"

A sudden shout from Saber drew their attention, "Master! Something's coming! Be ready!"

Their heads went to full alert, scanning the darkness for signs of whatever drew Saber's attention. "I can't see anything," Alex bemoaned, "my night vision is ruined because this sphinx is glowing too brightly!"

"Me neither, just stay wary!"

Several tense seconds ticked by, with no further developments. Alex's hand clenched and unclenched on the hilt of the khopesh while he struggled to keep his heartrate steady. "Saber is right. The air feels…heavier. I wonder if-"

Another flash, this one brighter than all the others that had come before it. This time, the light remained for more than a full second, and Alex saw something at last. A figure in dark clothing, seemingly suspended mid-leap by the strobing lightning. Twin red spears gripped in each hand gave away her identity. And she was leaping directly at them.

"L-LANCER!"

All eyes turned in the direction of his shout, but there was little he could do to stop her. A rapid gesture from Ozymandias brought down a fiery bolt of light that pierced the stormy skies, it was aimed perfectly to bisect the airborne Servant. Yet before it could make contact, Lancer twisted her body in such a way that Alex could only understand as inhuman. Her eyes never left her target, so there was no way to know the angle and speed of the ray, and yet she did. What it did accomplish, was it forced Lancer to adjust her flight path in such a way that Saber was given the extra half-second that she needed.

Sword and spear clashed in a shower of sparks as the two Servants collided atop the starry beast that refused to stop despite the interruptions. Blows were traded and dodged as quick as the eye could see; each step that Lancer gained, Saber pushed back twice as hard while constantly interposing herself between Lancer and her Master.

An irritated voice, border lining on anger rang out from the head, "How dare you set foot on the mighty Sphinx!? Child it may be, but that does not grant you the right to approach it! Begone!"

Bright sigils appeared all around Lancer as she danced around Saber, ducking expertly under a particularly vicious slash. In that brief instance, the floating sigils flared with angry light sending white-hot beams of magical energy in her direction. Alex fully expected her to be torn apart by the multi-directional assault, but that brief hope was quickly dashed.

The instant before the rays made contact, a dark red wave emanated from Lancer's body and shattered the sigils to pieces. Taking advantage of the shock on Saber's face, she made her move. Dropping low, Lancer swept the legs out from underneath Saber, rotated her body once and planted a heavy kick straight into her side. Saber was sent careening backwards across the sphinx directly into Alex and Mina, who were nearly sent flying by her momentum.

"Tch…this is a real downer." Saber rubbed her side as she rose to her feet, "Are you alright, Master?"

Mina nodded, despite being shaken up, "Yeah, yeah I'm okay. What about you, Saber? Are you badly hurt?"

Saber confidently shook her head, "Umu! I've just been getting warmed up! Don't you worry, Master. I'll keep you safe!"

"That's a relief. But what did she do to block those attacks? She didn't phase into her Spirit Form, or anything! She just…broke them."

Alex knew. He was at the right angle to see that the wave of energy did not come from nothing, not even her body. "I-it was…a rune of negation." There was no way he could keep the quiet awe out of his voice, for he was truly impressed and terrified of what that signified.

"A what?"

He scarcely heard Mina's question. The moment he had uttered the words, Lancer suddenly fixated her eyes on him. Twin pools of burning crimson rooted him in place as cold dread wormed its way into his heart. Instinct told him to run; run and hide as quickly as possible and to never look back. The fear within him was only compounded by the aura of dead calm that exuded from her person. Alex wasn't even sure if she was breathing, so expressionless was her countenance. The rolling motions barely affected her and even the shimmering glow emanating from the sphinx seemed to dim slightly wherever she stepped. He need not see her full face to know that she was looking at him with all the cold, callous indifference of death personified. A monster to be feared. She was no less than the embodiment of grace under fire; a deadly beauty from whence there could be no escape. In those eyes, he saw only the void.

No matter how much he desired to tear himself away, his body simply refused to respond to his will. It was as if a part of him, no matter how small, was entranced by her movements and skill at arms. A sudden, sharp pain snapped the disparate pieces back into place.

"Ow!" His free hand went to rub the side of his face that was now smarting from where he had been hit.

"Don't go zoning out on us like that then!" If Mina was actually worried, he couldn't tell beneath her understandably tense exterior. He rubbed his face and looked away from Lancer,

"Right. Sorry."

There was a lull in the fighting, neither Saber or Lancer made any aggressive moves as each carefully sized the other up and down. All the while the engines droned, the rain poured and the sphinx lumbered on.

This peace lasted for only a few precious seconds. As the buildings around them began to thin and the mountain grew ever closer, whatever patience Ozymandias retained, ran out.

"Have you scarabs in your ears? You were told to vacate this place, and yet you still refuse. Impudent. Insufferable." The pharaoh had not even deigned to turn his head to acknowledge Lancer's presence, and judging by the lack of haughtiness in his tone, Alex guessed that he wouldn't suffer her presence much longer.

"Those who ignore the will of the pharaoh, must be punished. Severely." At the flick of his wrist, more than a dozen glowing hieroglyphs appeared once more and initiated a constant barrage against Lancer. Under such withering fire, one might've expected Lancer to at least be pushed back, but that was not the case.

Lancer ducked and dodged, weaving her lithe form with such grace that Alex almost believed he was watching a ballerina dance her way through a laser light show. Whenever a sigil came into range of her spears, a quick thrust or cut sent them shattering into nothingness. It was during this dance that Alex grabbed a hold of Mina,

"We can't keep this up! If we let her group with Archer, then we'll be in trouble! We have to get her off of here! Before Ozymandias does something really explosive!"

Mina bit her lip, "I know that! It's just…oh damnit all! Saber!"

The red swordswoman turned her eyes to Mina, "Yes?"

Stretching out an arm to make herself seem more authoritative Mina gave her command, "Stop Lancer. Here and now. Keep her away from the tower under any circumstances. However, you are NOT to unleash your Noble Phantasm unless your life is in immediate danger. Understood?"

Nodding once, Saber took a deep breath and flourished her sword, "Watch me, Master! I'll dance with her until she can't dance anymore! Umu! I can already hear the applause!" Without another word, she launched herself forward at tremendous speed directly at Lancer who was still preoccupied with three of the remaining blazing sigils. Upon seeing this, the twin spears flashed through the air and shattered two of the sigils immediately, but the third remained out of reach. This time, the beam of light connected with its target.

While it was apparent that this was not a death blow, it was enough to push Lancer off-balance. Saber made use of the minute opening and slid under her guard, delivering a bone-crushing kick to Lancer's midsection. The force behind the kick was enough to send Lancer soaring through the air, though she was able to regain control before she impacted a nearby building. Saber turned and flashed a winning smile before leaping off into the darkness to chase after Lancer.

Alex watched as she arced through the air until he could no longer track her movements. While he was happy that Lancer was being occupied, there were still nagging doubts that refused to dissipate,

"Do you think it was a good idea, sending her off on her own like that? Will she be okay?"

Uncertainty flitted across Mina's tense face, "She has to be."

He didn't have any way to respond to that. Instead, he remarked on their progress,

"We're almost out of the city, shouldn't be too long until we get to the tower and then we can finally put an end to whatever Archer is up to."

"Agreed, I'm ready to put this behind me. But first…" Mina stood on wobbly legs, using the butt of the hyeopdo to remain upright and turned to face their pursuers. Icy fear latched onto Alex's heart, for without Saber's protection, there was nothing stopping the guns from at last reaching their targets. He reached out to pull her back to safety before the worst came to pass,

"Mina! You need to stay down!"

Another bolt lanced through the clouds, illuminating the world once more. In that moment Alex saw the emptiness in her eyes and recoiled. She bore the same, exhausted eyes as one who has resigned themselves to the inescapable. A raw, emotionless determination to simply progress for the sake of continuing. He felt no warmth from her, only stone.

A dozen gleaming mirrors flashed at them, each promoting singular death. She spoke without inflection,

"Sorry for this, pharaoh, but I'll be taking these ones."

Ozymandias simply waved a hand, "Be quick about it."

"As you wish."

Mina took up her hyeopdo and pulled it back for a lateral swing, "Forgive me. Find repentance in the next life. Gale force crescent slash!"

Strands of glowing light infused the heavy blade as she performed a mighty swing towards the pursuing vehicles. At its apex, a rolling torrent of pressurized air blasted forth in the shape of a crescent moon. Its impact with the motorcycles was deadened somewhat by the rolling thunder, but the results were no less significant. The road had narrowed significantly since the chase began, forcing the pursuers into a tight formation. Mina didn't even need to aim.

The lead vehicle was obliterated in its entirety, sending its riders somersaulting through the air. One had attempted to swerve at the last second but had only succeeded in slamming into another, sending parts and bodies flying in multiple directions. Alex looked on, stunned, as Mina ended the chase with a lone, decisive blow. Somewhere in his gut, he knew that it was probably pointless to check for survivors, not that he could really justify doing so anyways. He stood as she turned away from the carnage,

"Good work. We should have no further issue reaching the tower."

She nodded, her wet hair falling in front of eyes made determining her thoughts difficult. "I'm going to see how long it will take us to get there, looks like we've cleared the city at least. Can't be much longer now."

Another nod without much substance. As he turned to move towards the head, he caught a quiet whisper, just barely audible over the rain,

"I couldn't just watch."

The rain intensified.

Ozymandias urged the sphinx up the well-traveled road towards the summit of Namsan, tossing a comment out that they would reach their destination perfectly on time. Alex only half-heard, he was getting anxious. There was no telling what they would find once they arrived, which meant that they really couldn't formulate a solid plan. Instead, he tried to focus on other things. Ordinarily, a hard rain such as this would have had him soaked to the bone, but the warmth emanating from the sphinx kept the cold at bay. Indeed, Alex marveled at the quick evaporation of water from his body despite the rapid speed at which the rain poured.

More lightning, quickly chased by rumbling thunder drew his attention skywards. Despite the anxiety rising within his gut, he found a strange sense of calm within the tumultuous storm. With the increased frequency of lighting, he judged that the epicenter of the storm was about to reach them. "There's no need to worry," he reassured himself, "we'll find a way."

"Alex! Look at the peak!"

"Huh?" He shifted a bit to get a proper look, "Oh fuck."

That just about summed everything up. Alex's mouth hung open in disbelief as he got his first up close look at the peak and the now visible CJ Tower, which was bathed in a dull purple light. Alex murmured aloud, "That can't be good." There was no time to ponder; the sphinx gave one final leap and cleared the last few feet, landing heavily roughly a hundred feet away from the tower itself.

The beast slowly lowered itself and tilted gently to one side, indicating to the passengers that this was as far as it would go. Alex and Mina slid down its flank and splashed into the muddy ground, a wave of cold spreading over them as they left the sphinx's warmth. On a whim, Alex turned and placed a hand on the sphinx's starry body,

"Thank you, that was exhilarating."

The massive, empty face turned in his direction. While there were no words, the stars within twinkled in what could have been mistaken as a pattern. He had to turn his head away so as to not be drawn into the substantial space that was this magnificent beast. Ozymandias also dismounted, by gently floating down from his perch to touch the ground. Alex was chagrined to notice that there was not a speck of excess moisture upon his body, for it seemed that the pharaoh was emitting just enough heat to evaporate the rain before it ever made contact.

"Wow. That's extra, even for him."

A deep rumble of pseudo-thunder rolled from the sphinx as it inclined its mighty head once towards Ozymandias and then vanished in a shower of twinkling light. Alex shivered at the sudden lack of warmth as the rain began to take its toll. He put up a minor shield to deflect some of the rain, though it was no comparison to the massive space heater that had just disappeared. Mina sidled up next to him,

"That's disappointing, keeping it around would have been a great advantage."

The pharaoh turned an ear in their direction, "Do not be so hard on her. She is merely a child after all, and is wary of the unknown."

"Just a kid, huh?" Alex wondered aloud, "Man, I'd really hate to piss off the parent then."

"Indeed." Ozymandias' eyes gleamed in the dim light, "Though I suspect you have more pressing matters to attend to. Surely, even one such as yourself has sensed it."

Alex opened his mouth to retort, but abruptly closed it when Mina slapped his arm,

"He's right. Something is really, really wrong here. My mana feels…unstable? I can't quite explain it…"

Taking a deep breath Alex focused on his mana, the connection between himself and the magical world without which he would be no more than an ordinary human. He could sense his connection to Ozymandias, the tie that bound his Servant to the mortal world, and found it surprisingly light. He expected more to have been taken after the summoning of what could only be described as a truly godly beast. Yet there was something off about his mana, and the more he concentrated to try and determine what it was, the more elusive it got. All he could determine was that something was pulling at the source of his magical abilities.

"You're right. I can't pin it down either, but I suspect it has something to do with the tower and whatever Archer is doing there. We need to get closer."

Mina nodded her assent and hefted her hyeopdo into a ready position. The pair crept forward, keeping low as they pushed closer to the tower that now loomed large overhead. They barely made it a dozen feet before the purple glow that emanated from the ground around the tower began to pulse with rhythmic intervals. Alex froze in place as a wave of pure mana rolled through his body; he expected pain or discomfort to follow, but was surprised to find the exact opposite.

In the place of pain was pleasure, a sense of satisfaction and tranquility blossomed from deep in the pit of his chest as the tower pulsed over and over. He felt rested and content, not at all anxious like he was just moments before. The white-knuckle grip on the khopesh loosened, and his stance went slack. His mind dimmed as the contentment strengthened its grip, "So warm…this is…nice…" The world darkened and narrowed until his senses were dull shells, ignorant of the world around them.

"Alex! Alex, damnit what's wrong with you!?" Mina shook his stupefied form, but to no avail. She stepped away and looked about nervously, unsure of what to do. Seeing the pharaoh a few feet away, she called out to him,

"What's going on with him? Is the tower to blame? How do we stop it?" Ozymandias held up a hand to quiet her, "The cause of his plight is his own foolishness. This is what occurs when one rushes ahead without proper preparation. Observe."

He stepped a few feet laterally and mused momentarily, "Yes, I see. Right about…here."

Taking his staff in hand, Ozymandias struck the ground with substantial force. From the point of impact, a veritable spiderweb of glowing purple lines snaked through the grass and mud. Mina looked on in horror as the lines connected and intersected, exposing a massive ritual site that encompassed nearly the entire peak and featured the CJ tower at its epicenter. Another pulse of energy and from the outer circle, beams of pure mana projected themselves from the ground and soared through the air. The beams of light met at the antenna that was perched atop the tower itself. Alex and Mina now seemed trapped within a cage of runic light.

"Wh-what is this?"

"I was wondering when you would finally ask!" Mina's head shot upwards towards the arrogantly victorious voice, "Archer! What have you done?!"

Archer perched atop the railing that surrounded the uppermost viewing platform and cast an unimpressed eye downwards, "Perhaps you should be commended for making it this far, but it wouldn't suit me to recognize the work of mewling kittens like yourself. Why don't you be a good girl and bow your head already? If I'm feeling generous, maybe I'll make you one of my handmaidens."

"As if!" Mina pointed her blade up at Archer, "There's no way I'd ever kneel to someone who can't seem to get a guy to like them without a charm spell. Maybe you should try online dating, I hear there's plenty of room for washed-up idols like yourself." Her harsh words had a noticeable effect as Archer visibly tensed, her face contorting into a vicious snarl,

"How dare you speak to your better in such a manner! Pitiful mortals such as yourself ought to know their place! I have half a mind to teach you a lesson in obedience right this moment!" For an instance it seemed as though she would follow through with her threat, then her small body shuddered briefly. The rage in her eyes dimmed to cool satisfaction as she straightened her dress,

"Hmph. You aren't even worth the effort. Struggle and scream all you want; it makes no difference. In a few moments, the leylines of this city will be drained completely and the ritual will be completed. Then there will be no corner of the earth that will be able to ignore my song! I shall regain what is rightfully ours! You should rejoice, you and Goldie over there shall be the first to witness my true beauty!"

"What about Alex?"

"Hmm? Oh, the boy?" Archer chuckled darkly, "My dear girl. That boy is already mine."

Mina chewed her lip as she whirled around, trying to find some avenue to victory, "Damnit, I can't read any of these markings! Whatever this is, it's way above my level. Pharaoh! Any brilliant ideas?"

Ozymandias leaned casually on his staff, "How fascinating. Indeed, what a wonderfully useless plot you've concocted here. I will most certainly be staying; I anticipate that the look upon your face when this all fails will be exceptional! Hahaha! I can hardly contain my laughter as is!"

The ritual sight pulsed again as Archer rose to Ozymandias' condescending words, "You know nothing, you pompous excuse for a figurehead! Even you should be able to understand the difference between us! My core shines with the brilliance of the stars themselves!"

His eyes darkened, "Not yet it doesn't. When this is over, it will be you who bows to me. Through Ma'at's blessing, this shall become truth."

Archer recoiled slightly, "Y-your invocations mean nothing here! This is MY realm!"

The pharaoh just smiled at her and then directed his attention at Mina, "If you haven't figured out a way to disarm this, then I will have no choice but to destroy the tower. It is being used as the focus, and by its dismantling the ritual will cease. Should you fail to solve this issue within the time limit, then that will be the only solution."

"Fuck!" Mina tried to investigate the aspects of the ritual, but quickly got overwhelmed by its sheer size and complexity. "I-I have no idea where to start! There's no way I can counter something like this on my own! Damnit Alex, I need some help here!"

Her words fell on deaf ears. Alex's mind had receded to such a point where he was no longer aware of any outside stimuli. Thoughts came to him slowly and his limbs felt leaden, even blinking took a massive effort. He felt as though he was being slowly consumed by a warm liquid, his entire being was slowly but surely succumbing to this foreign comfort. He knew that he should be scared, that he should fight back against the loss of self, but he couldn't. An iron weight settled in his chest, pulling him downwards into the certainty of nothingness.

"There's no way I'm cut out for all this. The hell was I thinking, getting myself into this whole business? All I've done is make things worse. It would be better if I gave in. Maybe…maybe she'd have a good chance of winning without me."

He felt tendrils of comforting warmth begin to envelop his being, Yes, of course you were never ready, they whispered to him, sink down and sleep, all will be well. They traced along the scars that covered nearly half his person, hidden only by the enchantment on his ring. He was tired. Hadn't he done enough? Surely, nobody would blame him for closing his eyes just for a moment?

Overhead, a terribly loud crash shattered Mina's frantic thinking as lightning and thunder rocked the sky in tandem. It was then that Mina realized that the rain was slowing down, despite the constant churning of the darkened clouds.

The eye of the storm was upon them.

Alex felt the disturbance and tried to lift his head to see what was the cause, but found that he could not. That irritated him to no end. Why should he be kept from raising an eye to the heavens? How dare someone prevent him from doing what he wants? "I am the master of my own desires. My actions are my own! If you're going to get in my way, have a damn good reason for it!"

The warmth suddenly turned to ice and he felt something press down on his thoughts, trying to suppress them. Irritation quickly kindled anger, "How dare you? I'm not finished here yet!" Heaving against the heavy weight that pressed down upon his mind, Alex thrashed desperately to regain control of himself. "Fight this, damn you! Get a hold of yourself! Losing here means losing more than just your life!" He recalled the flight from the tower, he remembered the tense implications when they planned this night, he saw Mina's silent anguish at having to fight against her own people. He remembered his purpose.

Defiance blazed within the depths of his mind, and he threw off the iron in his heart. In an instant, the curse shattered and he was thrown back into himself. Taking a deep breath for the first time in what felt like an eternity, Alex raised his head and grinned broadly,

"Sorry, Archer! I'm my own man!"

"Alex!"

Mina's relieved face entered his view, and though worry was primary, there was just a bit of happiness to be found. He gave her a thumbs up, "It's good to be back. I take it things are about as bad as we expected?"

She shook her head, "Worse. Unless we do something now, Ozymandias is going to blow up the tower."

He grimaced, "Shit. That is bad. How long do we have?"

She looked around, "Minutes, if that. Why? You have a plan?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say that, but yeah. Kinda." He started to move away from the tree line, laterally to the tower. Archer looked on with a shocked expression, then regained a bit of her earlier composure,

"It doesn't matter what you think! You'll all belong to me in moments! Cease your scurrying and prostrate yourselves before your new goddess!"

Alex sighed, "Does she ever shut up? I swear, her and Ozy have more in common than I'd care to admit. Alright, this should be good."

He was standing out in the open, perfectly exposed to anyone and everyone. Mina eyed him warily, "Just what are you planning to do?"

"Something stupid. You might want to back up a bit."

"I hate it when you say that." Nevertheless, she took a few wary steps away as she cautiously observed their surroundings. He knew that she was not only keeping an eye on Archer, but also for her Master, who was most certainly making all haste to this very spot. Uncertainty gnawed at him as he slowly centered his breathing, a single wrong move would mean his total and utter destruction. As he took the khopesh in hand he heard a warm voice from behind him,

"So begins your third lesson: a true king trusts in his own abilities above all else."

Alex nodded and forced down his doubts. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he raised the blade towards the sky and murmured a few quiet words. A tingling sensation spread across his body as he began to concentrate on the link between himself, the weapon and the storm above. Mina shouted incredulously,

"What in the hell are you doing?"

"It's simple!" He shouted back, "What is a ritual but a gigantic system? And just like any other delicate system, what do you think will happen when it gets overloaded!?"

Mina paled, "You…you're not seriously considering…"

"Oh, I'm way past considering! If we don't have the power to undo this thing, then we just have to borrow strength from something that does!"

"That's tantamount to suicide! The human body can't stand that much power, you'll explode!"

Alex paused briefly, "Yeah. Maybe. But I'm not turning back now! Time to get positive!"

He was intimately familiar with how lightning works; all that was required was a significantly high concentration of positively charged particles, and the negative charge that was building near the top of the clouds would attract, generating the insane levels of power that he needed. The issue for him was that he was not the tallest object around, and therefore not the path of least resistance. Fortunately for him, altering and amplifying the charge on his weapon was easily accomplished. Beyond that, he'd need to rely on luck.

Anticipating the possibility of his own system overloading, he enacted protective wards that would help deflect any overcharge away from his vital systems. Still, the chance for failure remained uncomfortably high. "Come on Zeus, you horny bastard. Hit me with your best shot!" He didn't have to wait very long to get a response.

The scent of ozone filled his nostrils as every hair on his body stood abruptly on end. "Here it comes!" Pushing every bit of reserve energy into his wards, Alex braced for impact.

The world flashed the most brilliant white, cutting his sight off from the rest of the world. Then came the impact. It was as though the very fist of God had descended to Earth and crushed his body to nothingness within the span of a heartbeat. Before his heart could beat again, his eardrums screamed from the shattering sound of the merciless bolt. Something snapped in his wrists, but he could not feel anything. He was actually grateful for that, as he was sure he would collapse from the pain. Just as soon as it had begun, it was over. The rain was beginning again, they eye was nearly past.

His vision swam and his head spun from the concussive impact, the rest of his body fared little better as it crackled and twitched from the overload, but he was alive. The hieroglyphs on the khopesh glowed with a brilliant white glow and the blade itself quivered slightly with pent up energy. He had done the improbable and collected the raw energy of the storm.

While his physical body was struggling to comprehend what had just happened, his circuits were quite literally firing on all cylinders. Power coursed through his veins, flowing from the gleaming gem set within the blade's hilt. In the past, he probably would have feared this strength and would have been wary of it. But now he embraced and took solace in this power, knowing that he could not control it forever. He was merely a conduit that would redirect the storm's fury.

"What is this!? Just what do you think you are doing?" Archer's voice now wavered having lost its previous confidence, "Curse you all! I don't need Master here to put you down!" The golden short bow appeared in her hands and she quickly nocked an arrow, taking aim at Alex who was transfixed in place. Mina leapt into action,

"As if I'd just let that happen!" Dashing in front of Alex's struggling form, Mina flourished her polearm and slammed the butt into the earth, "I won't make this easy on you! Windwall!" On her command, a howling gale sprouted from the ground and curved into a protective shield of whistling wind. Archer laughed derisively,

"Do you really expect a little bit of wind will stop my arrows? Hah! Pathetic. Die now in vain." She drew back the bowstring and released, sending the arrow rocketing forth. Mina grinned triumphantly, "Stop? That wasn't the intention at all."

The arrow never made it to her wind wall, as a streak of brilliant light pierced the clouds and incinerated the arrow before it even reached the halfway point. Ozymandias laughed from off to the side, "Haha! How foolish of you to focus so much on the inconsequential! Clearly you are not a goddess of wisdom!"

"One…more…" Mina whirled around, "What do you mean Alex?"

"Need, one more. Gotta guarantee this will work."

Her eyes widened, "Alex you can't take another hit like that! One is enough, I'm sure of it!" He shook his head, "And if it isn't? Only have…one chance. Gonna be close."

Conflicted emotions flashed through her eyes, but she relented, "Alright. if that's what you think is best, but make it snappy! I'll defend you as best I can!"

He grinned lopsidedly, "Thanks. Here I go!"

Once more he called upon the heavens, and once more the heavens answered. A second powerful blow was delivered unto him, courtesy of the angry storm that had failed to stamp him out with the first blow. The storm let fly its fury once more so that Alex might taste its divine judgement. This time, his wards only absorbed part of the impact. Muscles shrieked and bones rattled under the immense weight placed upon them, his mind itself threatened to quit on him as sight and senses resigned themselves to fate. He would have howled in pain, if he could have moved his jaw. Resonating along with the intense pain was exhilaration unlike any he had ever experienced before. For this singular, brief moment, he held the storm in his grasp.

He opened his eyes to an unsteady world, his eyes misty with rain and tears of pain. Through the fog Mina stared at him with clenched jaw and steely gaze, he knew that she wouldn't allow him to go any further. "Not...that I can do another. This better be enough."

More pulses of energy from the ritual signaled that time was just about up, it was now or never. The khopesh vibrated violently in his hands, its hieroglyphs and scarab jewel glowed with a near blinding light. He struggled mightily to remain standing, despite his body begging him for permission to shut down. No human could withstand the punishment that he had just endured. "Good thing, I'm not really human!"

When he spoke, his words were thick and slurred, "Mina…when I…say jump, do it!" There was no feasible way for her to escape the diffusion zone, so once more they would need to gamble. Mina nodded firmly, "Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"

"Stop this at once!" Archer shouted desperately from the overlook, "How dare you defy me? You belong to me!" Thrusting out a hand, a magical circle formed in the air around her. Ozymandias snapped his fingers and a bright burst of light enveloped Archer's frame, causing her to shriek in pain as she stumbled backwards. Ozymandias smirked, "I believe the phrase is; don't stare at the sun for too long, or you may grow blind."

Alex positioned himself over what appeared to be a larger concentration of symbols and flipped the khopesh so that the point now faced towards the earth. He looked up to where Archer had recoiled to and shouted with as much clarity as he could muster, "I don't know much…but I do know this! I sure as hell don't belong to you. Not now, not ever! Mina! Jump!"

Urging the energy he had just collected into the blade itself, Alex brought forth all the strength that he had left,

"With this borrowed power, I denounce thee! With this borrowed power, I condemn thee! With this power, I smite thee! Lords of Thunder, break this unholy curse and free this land! SHATTER THE EARTH! TEMPEST BREAKER!

And he brought the sword down.

The instant the tip of the blade touched the ground, the millions of volts of energy that Alex had captured were suddenly and violently released. There was no semblance of control at this moment, only wanton destruction. Snaking tendrils of white-hot electricity cascaded outwards in every direction, intersecting and overtaking the geometric patterns of Archer's ritual. Within the same heartbeat, the ground ruptured and spewed forth from the point of impact as a thunderous crash blasted outward from the epicenter. The magical lines that had been so carefully drawn out were sundered as the ritual collapsed. There was one final flash of light, then the lines vanished from existence.

Bits of earth and rock cascaded over his bent form while a thick cloud of dust obscured his vision. Breathing heavily, Alex cautiously flexed his extremities and found them weak and erratic. Physically, it was a miracle that he was able to stand or move at all. Most people who got struck by lightning would be hospitalized for weeks, and they were the lucky ones. Still, he could feel his muscles twitching and spasming at random which told him that his body still retained a dangerous level of latent electricity. From above him came a concerned voice,

"Alex? You okay?"

He looked up to see Mina borne aloft on a whirling current of air floating above him. She wobbled a bit as she began her descent, "That was pretty impressive. But you look a little…twitchy." When she extended a hand to help him up, Alex brusquely waved her off,

"No! Don't touch me!" She immediately recoiled at his harsh words, which elicited a quick explanation from him, "I'm still overloaded…any charge left in me, goes into you. I need to discharge somehow."

Mina landed amongst the ruptured earth a few feet from him, "How are you gonna do that?"

He smiled at her, "I've got an idea. Mind blowing away all this dust?"

"But that'll expose us to Archer."

"Yup."

She rolled her eyes, "Just remember that this won't be only your funeral."

He nodded his thanks and pointed the khopesh, which had survived the whole ordeal without a scratch, towards where he remembered Archer being last. Steadying his right arm with his left, he raised his voice above the rising storm, "Pharaoh! Dethrone the pretender!"

In a single sweep Mina cast aside the dust and debris, clearing the air in their immediate vicinity. From atop the tower came a bright pinkish glow that flared angrily in their direction accompanied by Archer's furious shouts, "You pitiful insects! I'll make your deaths slow and painful!" Three bolts of raging energy were loosed from her bow in his direction just as Alex pulled on the leftover energy coursing through his body,

"I'd like to see you try! IMPROVED LIGHTNING BOLT!"

A stream of blazing lightning raced through the air, racing upwards to meet Archer's arrows. The first and second burning arrows corkscrewed around his attack as the third met it head on, detonating in spectacular fashion midair. Alex grit his teeth and pushed more mana into the khopesh to maintain the steady stream of electricity. Archer's eyes gleamed with deadly intent and swiftly sent six more arrows forth. Three slammed into the electric stream, slowing and splitting it apart while the rest snaked wide and came down upon him like the talons of an eagle. Just as he was out of ideas, a figure stepped behind him and raised a blue and gold crooked staff,

"Hmm. There may be hope for you yet."

From the end of the staff came a flaming hieroglyph that bathed the air in crackling light. His body tingled as he sensed a massive buildup of magical energy from the hieroglyph and it was only by pure instinct that he managed to avert his eyes in time. A wide beam of sunlight rocketed forth from the hieroglyph, completely enveloping his stream within its burning brilliance. But it did not destroy the electricity, rather, he sensed the opposite. As the sunbeam made contact with Archer's arrows it simply disintegrated them and pushed his own magic onwards to its target. Several smaller beams of light split off from the parent to annihilate those arrows that had avoided destruction, then converged on Archer.

The combined attack impacted the observation deck with tremendous force, exploding on contact and sending a shockwave rippling through the air. Alex shielded his eyes and released the spell, dropping to one knee as he did so. Despite all that he had just been through, there was no keeping a slightly-crazed smile from his face.

Mina approached warily, "So, that was your 'discharge'? Couldn't you have just sent it into the ground or something?" Alex shrugged, "I mean, yeah. But that wouldn't have been nearly as cool."

"You and your obsession with cool," Mina groaned, "is going to get you, or more importantly me killed one of these days." Despite her chastising she still offered a hand, "Can you stand?"

He nodded gratefully and took her hand, staggering to his feet, "Yeah, just a broken wrist and some muscle spasms. I can fix that right quick. Lucky I'm attuned to lightning, or I would've fried!" Chuckling at his own fortune, he drew upon the mana residing with the pommel gem and began to repair the damage to his body.

"How about your circuits?" Mina questioned, "You put them through the ringer again, right after you said you wouldn't!" He glanced sidelong at her and then around at the ruptured earth, "Technically, none of that was actually my mana. Sure, I put a big load on my circuits, but since I was only acting as a conduit it really didn't do much damage to me. Actually, to be totally honest I feel great. I guess I just needed a bit of a jumpstart to get back to peak performance!"

Mina just stared at him like he had grown a third eye and pinched the bridge of her nose as she pointedly sighed, "Whatever. But I wouldn't go making a habit of doing that."

"Are the two of you finished conversing? Remember that this is still a battlefield."

Alex turned to Ozymandias, "Ah. Sorry about that. Thanks for the help back there."

The pharaoh waved his hand dismissively, "All works of a pharaoh are worthy of adoration, a skill that you have yet to properly master. But hearken, the serpent rises to strike back."

The dust by now was nearly dispersed and without the ritual's glow, vision had dropped considerably. But there was just enough light coming from the tower's warning lights for the two mages to make out a pair of shapes through the gloom.

One of the shapes belonged to Archer, her white dress now singed at the edges and she bore a murderous look upon her face. At the moment when they caught sight of each other, she was in the process of being hoisted upon a pair of broad shoulders. Before them stood a large man dressed in dark clothing, a heavy mask with burning coals where eyes should be staring directly at them. Over his other shoulder was slung a scoped, bolt action rifle. Alex could tell that he had more firearms strapped at varying points on his body. The scar on his neck throbbed in remembrance.

"You…"

The ember-red eyes glowed faintly as the head tilted towards Archer, who wrapped her arms around his neck as she glared at him,

"Don't think this is over, insects. I will have my vengeance on you. Master! We're falling back!"

Ozymandias spoke, "What you lost can never be reclaimed. This is no longer a world fit for your kind."

Archer's head snapped towards the pharaoh, a mixture of horror and rage wrought across her face. Alex nearly recoiled from the sheer volume of emotion present in her eyes, within them he could clearly see anger and frustration, yet there was something else deeper in. Desperation? Sadness? Fear? He could not tell. What was clear was that Ozymandias had clearly touched a nerve, and yet there was no triumph in his words. His statement carried a heavy weight that refused to leave the air.

Archer tightened her grip on her Master, "Maybe. Maybe this is pointless, but I don't care! I will reclaim what is mine! Master!"

At her shout, the man swung the rifle from his shoulder and fired from the hip in Alex's direction. Both he and Mina threw themselves to the ground and rolled to avoid a follow-up, but there was none to be had. Pulling himself upright, Alex caught the very end of the duo vanishing into the stormy night. he looked around for Mina and saw her standing up, unharmed. She ran over to him and Ozymandias,

"What was that all about?"

The pharaoh was not smiling, "I was simply reminding her of the limitations imposed upon her. But it would seem she has no time for wisdom. Regrettable."

Alex narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Do you know Archer's True Name?"

"I have a good idea, yes. But you shall figure it out for yourself. She has already let slip plenty of clues, for those with eyes to see them."

Alex groaned.

Ozymandias paid him no mind, "So then, are you satisfied with the results of this evening?"

Mina shook her head emphatically, "No way! Saber's probably still fighting Lancer right now! If Archer interferes somehow, there's no telling what could happen."

Alex agreed, "She's right. Not only that, but we've got Archer within our grasp right now. I say we make sure this doesn't happen again. We need to stop her tonight. Permanently."

Mina cracked her knuckles, "Great. Another chase through the city. Well at least we're the chasers this time, it's a nice change of pace."

"Couldn't agree more. Let's go catch us a goddess!"