"Me neither, what is that thing!" Ritsuka shouted as the thing continued to approach them.
"Genuinely have no idea man, but if it's like everything else we've run into down here we're gonna have to fight it," Andy said, shooting herself in the head and summoning Ahriman as well just in case, since the thing did not look friendly. "Hey, any chance you just wanna have some tea and cookies?" Andy offered just in case she was misinterpreting.
"Me no want that, me want you to feel pain," It spoke back in a garbled voice as it pulled the trigger on one of its guns and Andy saw the familiar aura of Concentrate surrounded it.
"Hahahanope." Andy nervously laughed into an Eigaon as she, herself shot some fire runestone slugs at it, probing its defences.
And it seemed to hurt it, but the thing just tanked through and continued onward as it pulled the trigger again and fired a beam of concentrated plasma that was cancelled out by one of Gilgamesh's shields.
"The foundations of Human History must truly be shaken, if this Shadow from the Sea of Souls was able to manifest here in Kur," He spoke as many more gates were opened up and various staves came out and opened fire.
"So that's a Shadow, a bit different from the ones you said you met in Magical Girl land," Ritsuka said as his darkness spread out and tried to redirect all the spells the juggernaut of a monster was firing that Mash couldn't block as they retreated backwards as the could not go to the side or else they would fall off the path and into the Abyss below.
"Yeah, pretty sure those ones were rip-offs. This one's probably closer in strength to a Servant; whoever this guy's human reflectee was must have been pretty strong." Andy said as she now tried a lightning slug and a physical attack from Ahriman to try and figure out if the thing had any weaknesses.
"There are two types of Shadows, the ones born directly from humans, in the form of a suppressed and ignored self," Ishtar's small and high voice explained as she rode on Fou once more. "The second is this guy just born from humanity's collective unconsciousness, a coalescence of emotions clad in Archetypes. These ones were directly made by Nyx, and they represent death's eternal pursuit, they are the closest you get to a true grim reaper," She finished explaining. "And they are beyond annoying because they don't quit!"
"Yeah, this thing is pretty damn tough," Andy said as it continued to tank everything they collectively threw at it. "Shit, okay, hopefully, this works," Andy said, before shooting a few blue slugs at the area between it and them, causing bursts of ice to sprout up. "Alright, can you jump fuckboy?" She taunted.
"I think it didn't like that Senpai!" Mash shouted as the thing began to scream from behind the ice wall.
They heard the sound of the guns being fired again and in front of Mash, Andy saw a voodoo doll manifest that got punctured by needle after needle. Andy, the second she saw it, sent in Ahriman to try and grab it while Andy interposed herself between the doll and Mash in an attempt to block what was either something really bad or really painful or both.
The fifth needle hit and Andy felt for a very long second that her heart skipped a beat before the feeling disappeared. "You okay Senpai?" Mash asked.
"Yeah, yeah it's fine," Andy assured her as Ahriman continued to Rip and Tear at the fucker, too little reaction, so Andy pulled her Persona back and started Concentrating herself. "Hey King G, you wouldn't happen to have any Anti-Shadow weapons on you, would you?"
"Weapons that specifically exist to harm them do not exist, so anything physical and magical goes," He said as the Reaper was blasted with bolts of lightning after Ahriman had stopped attacking it. "Though it is getting weaker, debilitate," He said as a staff, was fired at the Reaper and its previously murderous presence was lowered quite a bit.
"Oh good, couldn't tell." Andy said, throwing on a quick Riser on Ahriman before having the shadowed wolf get as up close and personal with the thing as possible before unleashing a full-powered Ziodyne straight to its face with a cry of "INDRA BOLT!"
And after it had done that, they watched as the Reaper fell to the ground, and was finished off by Mash piercing the head with her sword.
"Yay you did it," Ishtar congratulated them in a monotone and unimpressed voice.
"...King G, should I exercise the contract?" Andy asked.
"Nah her having all that power she managed to squeeze out of others taken from her is fine enough for me, the small thing is just the fresh fruits on top," The King said. "Though her having lost it is going to make the fight with Ereshkigal a bit harder."
"Is Ereshkigal stronger than Ishtar Your Majesty?" Roman asked. "And also glad to see you all got out unscathed, when we saw Andy's life signal disappear for a single second. I cold sweated a bit there."
"I'm sorry my what did what now?" Andy asked.
"Thought you died, but it was just a blip, looked like your heart had stopped beating for a single second, but that just looked like a bug in the system," Roman answered.
"Oh haha yup definitely just a bug, totally." Andy agreed nervously, really not liking the implications of that at all. "So anyway, we go have a talk with Reshy now right?"
"Yeah and to answer your question Romani, no she is not, she is a bit weaker if we speak in terms of raw power. As Ishtar is a daughter of the Heavens, she got everything she wanted. The gods spoiled her, and tended to her every beck and call. Also, Ishtar got Enki, the god of the Abyss, drunk, and robbed him blind. It was the greatest heist in the history of the gods. It was also pretty funny, even to the other gods. Enki got completely smashed and gave all of his divinity to Ishtar. When he woke up, he had nothing left. Ishtar had already loaded all his wealth onto Maanna, and was on her way back to the surface. Enki went into a panic and had his slaves chase after her, but the Boat of Heaven was far too fast," Gilgamesh said and also took an opportunity to shit on the gods of Mesopotamia by telling an embarrassing story for most of the parties involved. "Enki was in tears. He wrung his and screamed, warning that a stupid, bratty girl was going to run the Heavens and the earth, and begged for help. The gods and humans that were watching screamed out, "Take a look at that driving technique!? Who would have thought the Boat of Heaven could be used for drift racing! No one can catch up to that! Surely her driving mastery will go down in legends as the Drunk and the Divine: Underworld Drift! No one in Uruk Could ever be faster!" I hate to admit it, but even I thought so too! Ishtar had been hiding her true colours up until then!"
"What are you talking about true colours? Maana's automatic driving was broken that day, so I just switched to manual gear. And I always carry Nitro in my boat, just in case I need it. Always. Anyway, what does that have to do with Ereshkigal's abilities?"
"Ishtar, I think that was a compliment." Andy stage whispered to the micro-goddess, while silently wishing she'd had the Tokyo Drift ready to play when Gil was telling the story.
"...Oh me you're right, we need to get him out of the underworld pronto because it is clearly getting to him," She said.
"Tsch I was using that story as an example of your nature Ishtar, you're the Goddess who had everything and coveted everything. While Ereshkigal your sister Goddess, never desired anything. When the Underworld was created, she was sent to become its ruler and foundation. Someone had to maintain the Underworld, Ereshkigal was unlucky enough to have that responsibility thrust onto her. Ereshkigal had only just been born when she was thrown down here to become the mistress of the earth's depths. She managed the spirits of the dead for tens of thousands of years without being able to spend a single moment on the surface or in the Heavens."
"...Well damn, if she wasn't trying to end the world I'd feel like the bad guy for fighting her now," Andy said after a moment.
"Yeah her motives are now very understandable, and to make it worse being not able to leave she couldn't see new places or even meet new people," Mash said. "I understand."
"...In exchange for that Ereshkigal became invincible in the Underworld. Even the gods cannot go against her laws in the Underworld. Just ask that tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, girl, over there. But outside the Underworld, her special privilege disappeared. She's about a mid-level in terms of divinity, I'd say. Also, if she's up against someone who's alive, then she has to kill them first, or the laws of the Underworld won't apply. So the only ones not affected are Ritsuka, Andy and Mash. You three mongrels are very lucky."
"Oh boy, wait, but Ishtar's host is alive, so is having died even just once enough for it to count, or is it more because she's a Servant and thus in a Schrodinger's state of dead/alive?"
"Did you even listen? It's because I am a Goddess, not a Servant my status is living very much," Ishtar screeched at her.
"Well, I was just worried since Mash is carrying a dead person around in her soul too, you know." Andy defended herself. "So I was just trying to make sure that wouldn't make her vulnerable. Senpai's gotta protect Kouhai too."
"Well she is going to die, if you continue saying that stuff," Ritsuka said, and Andy turned to Mash who was looking like a tomato instead of an eggplant.
"?" Andy made a confused noise, before immediately starting to fuss over Mash, getting close and looking her over, genuinely unsure to the source of her reddening. "Wait, are you okay? Is something wrong? Did I say something weird? Or is the Underworld getting to you?"
"...She is fine tungsten, let's move onto the seventh gate," Ritsuka said as he turned around and began to walk.
"Tungsten?" Andy asked, not getting that either, before ignoring it and kissing Mash on the forehead. "If it's something I said, tell me later I guess Kouhai?"
"It's nothing Senpai."
Xxx
"Whew it's getting a lot colder now," Ritsuka said as they continued downward after having passed through the seventh gate and was on their way to meet the seventh trial. Ereshkigal herself, but her Temple as it were was a little bit further down, and inside a spiral hole in the ground.
"It's because according to the instruments you're technically going upward and are currently in an altitude of 5000 Meters," Roman explained. "So don't move too fast or you'll get decompression sickness with a high chance of your pulmonary cells exploding."
"You want some extra layers there bud?" Andy asked, unaffected and offering a silkie. "I can at least help with the cold part."
"Nah my Mystic Code is already starting to heat me up, though where is Ereshkigal shouldn't she be down here?" He asked as their feet touched the bottom.
"Oh she is here all right, come forth Goddess of the underworld there is no reason to hide," Gilgamesh said.
"I do not hide," Ereshigal's distorted voice spoke as the fog and mist of the Underworld began to compressed and formed a giant spooky skeleton ghost.
"Woah holy shit you look rad as hell!"
"...Why are you not scared of my fearful form?" She asked in genuine shock, not expecting the compliment.
"Because you look so fucking cool!" Andy said enthusiastically. "Were you going for like, a twisted bride look? Because that's the vibe, I'm getting, like it's supposed to be the image of a bride or something turned into a being of pure fright? Is that your blood or someone else's? And that crown looks even cooler on there with the veil! Maybe you should keep the veil when you're in Ishtar's body? Wait, maybe not, that may clash with the hair...anyway, it's fucking cool! What inspired you to have the serpentine-spine-thing -which is in and of itself metal as hell- instead of legs? Was that inspired by Gorgomat? Or were you just generally going for a cobra kind of look with the veil as your hood?" Andy's questions came machine-gun fast as she was now in The Analysis Zone. "Ooh, are all those skulls yours or no? Like can you see through the eyeholes? Or is it more like a supernatural sense? Do you get surround-sound audio with that many skulls? What's that veil made out of? Are those your real bon-"
"Noooooo! This wasn't how this was supposed to go!" She shouted as she fell out of the massive skeleton and onto the ground.
"...It seems Ereshkigal has collapsed, cradling her head like you have dealt a blow. Do you want to defeat her now Senpai?" Mash asked as they watched the Goddess of the Underworld roll around on the ground.
"Why? She's not really an enemy, I think. Plus, for a goddess, this may be a bigger loss than anything we could do physically, what with the invincibility thing." Andy replied.
"No, that is not how this goes! My plans are ruined, but that is that, and this is this! The plan to kill you here hasn't changed. Gorgon will assault Uruk in a few more days. Before that, I will conquer and seize its Greater Grail. Then, the world of humans will be over! Every last human on the surface will be trapped in the Underworld, and become my property. This is my choice. Ereshkigal's very first choice of her own free will," She said as her eyes turned gold. "Andy. If you're going to stand in my way, I will show no mercy even to you." Ereshkigal said as she stood back up. "And don't look at me with those eyes, it just makes it harder on me."
"Your pardon. Going to interrupt from the sidelines, Ereshkigal. I never was great caring about moods," Gil spoke.
"...What? I had no intention of killing you. You ended up here because you worked yourself to death. I have no need for you. You're a nuisance in the Underworld, though thank you for removing the Reaper. Ahem, so go and get yourself turned to stone by Gorgon or something."
"Hey, Ereshkigal?" Andy said as she fiddled with something on her armband.
"Save it for later Andy the King is speaking," Gil said.
"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Ereshkigal defended her.
"Thank you, as I was saying. I know it may not be quite the real thing, but…" Andy said as she began projecting a hologram of the same night she'd met the Goddess. Specifically, the sunrise of that day, on as big of a hologram as her armband could muster. "Better than nothing, right?"
"That is, that is...Thank you," Ereshkigal thanked her. "So King Gilgamesh I guess you're going to judge me using Dingir?"
"Yes, as that is within my Royal Authority, you have committed a heinous crime by siding with and joining the Three Goddess Alliance," He said.
"Yeah, so you're going to kill me at the cost of your own existence?" She asked.
"Well, that will depend on your answer. Now, answer me, Ereshkigal! Why did you join the Three Goddess Alliance? Have you abandoned your duty to protect Sumer's people and its culture!"
"Of all the things I thought you'd ask! Make no mistake, King of Uruk! Neither my role nor my obligations have changed one bit. I am Ereshkigal, the one entrusted with the Underworld! I exist to manage all humans,… all souls with the Underworld. That is my destiny! I have no regret or remorse for dedicating all I have to that task! If you bar my way, I will destroy you with my Authority!"
"Oh. A marvellous statement. If so, I have learned all I need to know about your sins. Now, present your head so we can make this clean! Your defeat will serve as punishment for your sins!" Gilgamesh said.
"Just what I hope for. I'll skewer you all on my lance without tormenting you. But before that, Andy, I would like you to answer one question. I have managed the souls of the dead here for a numbingly long time. Entertainment, joy, sadness, friends to call my own… I didn't have any of those, while I watched my other half fly freely through the Heavens. So will you commend me for all the work I've done? A job I did all this time all by myself? That, what I do, is not evil?"
"Yeah, you've done a pretty good job up to now. What you've done until this singularity was, in my mind, a good thing that I wholeheartedly support." Andy said. "But what are you doing now? Trying to destroy everything? I can never support that. Right now, you are acting as wicked as Ishtar is arrogant, as evil as Ishtar is useless, and as vile as Ishtar is tiny."
"Yeah… wait what?" Ishtar's small voice shouted.
But it seemed that her words had an effect on Ereshkigal as she fell to her knees and began to cry.
"Uh," Andy said confusedly. "Should I...go comfort her?" She asked her compatriots, confused if this was a trick.
She got her answer in the form of Ishtar returning to her bigger self.
"...I'll take that as a yes," Andy said, walking over and gently giving the blonde Goddess a hug.
"What are you doing?" Ereshkigal asked.
"Comforting," Andy said, patting her on the back. "Cuz I know you're better than the actions you've been taking, which I figured was why you were crying. Because you're a good person under the stuff, I said."
"But, you're right I've been acting like Nergal," She said. "So go and take my head. That is a just end for a Goddess who tried to take control of Uruk after being cajoled by the King of Mage's flattering words."
"I'd rather take your hand," Andy said, pulling back from the hug somewhat and gently grasping Ereshkigal's hands in her own. "There's no need to end this like that. The inevitable may be inevitable, but that doesn't mean it has to happen today."
"But I tried to reap the souls of all the humans, Gorgon's wants to kill them out of vengeance, because humans took everything she loved away from her, I just did it out of petty domination. There is no greater evil than me."
"Petty?" Andy chuckled. "If pettiness is a sin, I'm the biggest sinner in the room. Plus, you said it yourself, right? You're just trying to do what you thought was best for humanity. You didn't say you wanted to rule, you said you wanted coexistence. Coexistence could be nice. And anyway, reaping is your job. Getting mad at you for doing it would be like getting mad at the sun for rising, or the stars for shining, or the flowers for blooming." She paused. "Maybe the part about all of them at once expediently, but not the act itself."
At that, Ereshkigal stood. "You-you're not one of my dead so don't act like you understand me," She said in a red face and stuttering.
"I mean, I did die for a second earlier against that Reaper thing," Andy noted as she also stood, and noted Eresh was about the same height as Mash. "And I am just a pretty empathetic person."
She just grumbled in response.
"So? What do you say? You wanna try and save the humanity you love with us?" Andy asked, holding out her hand.
"I wish I could, but my pact prevents me from taking direct actions against Gorgon, so I can't he-." And she was stopped as she was cleaved in half by a sword.
And she dropped to the ground behind her stood Ziusu-dra.
"Ereshkigal!" Ishtar shouted, and she immediately tried to dropkick him, but she just phased through his body.
"Calm yourself, children, what I severed was not her connection to her life, but her connection to this misbegotten alliance," He spoke.
"You better have Mystic Eyes of Death Perception you sneaky fuck!" Andy said, seething rage dying down in the light of that information, as the demon part of her was telling her to try and rip Ziusu-dra's throat out. But she was still very much so mad, and also confused since with the time period only like, Balor should have eyes like those, if he even existed yet, so this guy was definitely lying about his identity.
"Wha, you didn't kill me?" Ereshkigal asked as she stood back up, her body completely fine and she checked herself.
"So who are you, old man? The only living humans in the Underworld are Andy and Ritsuka. You may not be dead, but no ordinary man could have done what you just have. It wasn't me. Nor the Mage King, Nor Chaldea. Old man… Who called you here?"
"A good question. Little and less has been achieved here, and so I have come from the Abyss to set events in motion. I appear here as a friend from another land," Ziusu-dra spoke. "Ereshkigal. You hide the truth with so many lies. If you can yet feel shame, answer me: Why have you striven to create a land of the dead? Are the words that the Master of Chaldea speaks not the truth? Do you not love humanity?"
"...Yes, I love humans both the living and the dead," She answered.
"Good, which is the true reason you cast your lot with the Alliance, you sought to safeguard the humans from Gorgon's wrath by saving their souls and keeping them safe within your land. Even if they would not understand you would still keep them safe in this land of silence," Ziusu-dra said as he vanished from sight.
"...So, you wanna join us now that you're free, Reshy?"
"Yeah I'll help you out, though I won't be forming a contract with you," She said as she took Andy's hand.
"That's good, but also a shame since I could probably figure out how to reverse the Servant-Master scry-view-thingamajig so you could see through my eyes to see a sunset basically first-hand, if you're like literally forbidden from doing it yourself," Andy said. "But this is still acceptable."
"So this situation has been dealt with, now Ereshkigal could you release all the souls you took?" Gilgamesh asked.
"But the bodies."
"Are completely fine," Ishtar added.
"Oh," She said in a small voice. "I'll do that, and I'll let you out from here."
"Well, thank you Reshy," Andy said, before visibly remembering something. "Oh, but before I go: here, take this," Andy said, pulling out a black with gold embroidery Team Scarf.
"Oh, thank you," She said as they were transported up by a golden beam of light.
Though as they were pulled up, Andy saw that Gilgamesh was looking in a certain direction and her eyes followed his. And they landed on a hole in the earth of the Underworld that looked like a dug-up grave. "So they did take his body."
"What is...oh." Andy started to ask before she context clued in on whose grave this would be. She put her hand on the King's shoulder. "We won't let them puppet his body like that for much longer, Gil. I promise."
Xxx
"Welcome back," Ana greeted them at the gate as the moon shone down on them.
"Good to be back, Ana," Andy said, immediately giving the tiny would-be godslayer a pat on the head.
"Everyone is up again, and the King is too," She told them as they entered the city proper and it was once again buzzing with everybody celebrating the King's return from the Underworld and all the others.
"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Andy asked, contrasting the buzz to the silence of the last time they were there, and still patting Ana's head.
"It is," She responded with a smile as they walked to the Ziggurat where all their Servants were waiting for them, alongside Bunyan, Semiramis and Ibaraki. Though she looked like she didn't want to be here, though that was probably more due to Raikou being in the vicinity than having returned to Gilgamesh's service.
And speaking of the King, he saw sitting in his throne, though the second they laid eyes upon him…
"Bwahahahahaha!" Ishtar began to laugh as she clutched her stomach.
"What are you laughing at, you insolent Goddess?" Gilgamesh asked, unaware of the markings that had been drawn onto his face.
"I believe she just doesn't appreciate your choice of makeup, King G." Andy said, not laughing in the slightest, nope, not at all. It wasn't absurd at all that the King would have some very stupid marker markings on his face, nope, no laughter for Andy, none nada zilch.
"Makeup? I-." He stopped, and his none gloved hand reached up to his face and smushed some of the black stuff onto his fingers. "Haaaaa," He sighed in disappointment as he held out his other hand and a bowl with hot water a towel dropped into it, and he quickly washed his face. "Not even going to ask," He said as Ibaraki looked very smug at the successful prank.
"Well, at least you can be doubly sure your wonderful visage's return has brought joy to the people of Uruk, don't you think Meshy?" Andy said.
"Well, Ereshkigal has been neutralized so now we can focus our attention upon Gorgon," The King of Uruk said.
"Right, right. I hate to say it, but I don't think we'll be able to use the Power of Friendship to just recruit her and make her stop fighting." Andy said in disappointment. "I really want to, but I don't think it'll be possible since she's driven by revenge. So it's a good thing we have basically everything else we need to take her down, right?"
"Yes though we're still waiting for the Axe of Marduk to arrive," He said.
"Jaguar Warrior is saying it was heavier than expected so it will take some time to get it to the wall, have it by tomorrow morning," Ritsuka said.
"That is fine, you can spend the day relaxing before you set for the wall tomorrow evening," Gilgamesh said.
"Fantastic. Make sure you do the same King G, we can't have you dying on us again from stress." Andy lightly teased.
"He won't because I will take over some of his administrative duties like I should have from the beginning," Semiramis said.
"You had a more important job in fortifying Uruk and its walls," He told her.
"Yes, and now I am finished," She said back.
"...Well okay, I'm gonna go melt for a bit and relax back at the Embassy, anyone who wants to join is welcome to." Andy offered through the awkward.
"I would like to," Bunyan said as she came over to her.
"We'd be happy to have you! Just, y' know, stay small enough to fit in the house, okay?" Andy said with a smile as she patted the very small giant (or was it a very tall midget?) on the head.
"I will," She said in response.
"Great! Anyone else who wants to join, feel free, and if nothing else important needs to be said right now, I'm going to go do that now."
Xxx
December 14
"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Astolfo asked as the couple sat in the Embassy they had all to themself for the moment.
"No, not really," Andy said, face down on the table. "Two out of three we could get through talking, and now Medusa, even as Gorgomat I still know her, I know her and I'm pretty sure there's still nothing I can do to prevent this from coming to blows. And we were so close to an entirely non-lethal resolution…"
"Not everything can be solved that way, she is obviously too caught up in her own hate to want to even hear us out," Astolfo said.
Andy sighed. "Yeah, I know. It just...it would have been nice, y' know? For just this once, this one time, we can solve the problem by just talking to people with just a bit of ass-kicking on the side…" She sighed again.
"I know you would like that Senpai, but I don't think that can happen, Gorgon needs to be put down, and I think Ana agrees with that fact, she knows herself best after all," Mash said.
Andy sighed once more. "I know, I know. I'm just… I'm just getting sick of it, I guess."
And after a second of silence, a new voice broke the quiet. "Excuse me but is this the Chaldean Embassy?" An elderly woman asked as she stood in the doorway.
"Yes, hello and welcome to our humble abode!" Andy said, mood pulling an immediate 180, standing and greeting her with a cheer that was entirely lacking a moment ago. "How can we help you, Elder?"
"No need to be so formal, and I am glad I found the building and here I thought I had gotten the wrong building again," She said as she lifted her head and saw her almost whited out eyes. "I didn't think I'd ever walk outside again, but I came wanting to give thanks one last time."
"You wanted to give thanks to us?" Mash asked.
"Yes to that little girl with the hood she said you were the ones taking care of her. She treated me so well, and helped me out with my flower shop. I am a very stubborn woman, I kept it open despite my family's opposition. But I couldn't be at the storefront and attract customers so all those flowers my grandchildren brought me just wilted in place. But then that girl Ana came to help me out. She made me feel like I was young again, but I, too, was hit by that illness. I thought I was going to die... until yesterday. My family was preparing for my death, but that girl just clung onto my body and told them not to bury me yet. Such a silly little girl, but miraculous I got better, and so I wanted to thank her by giving her this floral headpiece I wanted to give her," The old woman said as she got out a flower crown made from white flowers.
"Oh, yes, of course, just one moment, I can call her over." Andy said, before concentrating on the Scarf, she had marked mentally as 'Ana' and focused on it. "Ana, can you come to the Embassy? There's someone here who wants to see you." She whispered through it, the next best thing to giving someone an armband or using telepathy.
"Ah, that I can do," She said, and a few seconds later Ana came in through the window.
"Miss," She said in surprise as she walked over to the old lady.
"Ah there you are Ana, I wanted to give you this," She said as she handed her the flower crown. "And have you pulled that hood of yours down yet? Nobody can appreciate that beautiful face of yours if you keep it up."
"I will," She responded.
"Good girl, now I will be on my way back home," The old flower woman said as she left the Embassy.
"You should put it on, Ana," Andy said gently.
"I can't, not yet. Not until Gorgon has been dealt with, until then I don't deserve to wear it," She said. "So could you hold it until then?"
"Of course sweetie," Andy said, very carefully taking the crown and storing it away in hammerspace, where it wouldn't be affected by much of anything. "Oh, I just remembered, I tried to make one of those local butter cakes earlier. Do you want a piece?"
"I would like that, I like the city of Uruk. It is like a dream come true as the humans treat me nicely, and I treat them nicely. That is all I ever wanted, that is all my adult self wanted, but it's a dream that she has forgotten. And now she hurts them. One of her grandchildren was posted on the wall, and they are now dead. So please Andy, would you help me stop Gorgon?" Ana asked.
"Of course, Ana. We'll do it. And then when we're done here in Babylon, you could come back with us if you'd like and meet up with your sisters again." Andy said.
"I would like that," She said as she took a seat.
"Great! So in that case, enjoy." Andy said as she pulled a plate with a slice of butter cake out from hammerspace and placed it in front of Ana.
She took the large piece and began to delightedly eat it.
And soon after they left for the Wall which they would depart from in the morning.
Xxx
December 15
"Ah there is the Blood Fort," Merlin said as they stood on top of a cliff that overlooked the Greek Temple that was built into the mountain. The eleven o'clock sun shone down on them as it had taken a few hours to sneak their way through the Cedar forest and avoid all the beasts. Andy, in particular, was finishing carefully wrapping Hades' Cap around Ana's arm to keep it on her, turning the little Lancer invisible.
"So what is the plan to avoid Quetz getting killed by the pact after she has thrown the axe exactly?" Ritsuka asked.
"She is not throwing it at the Blood Fort, she is throwing it at my staff specifically, and I've enchanted it to follow it after it has been thrown," Merlin answered.
"Oh, okay, see this is why I actually look up to you in a way you Marlin," Andy said with a grin. "The sheer levels of bullshit you can pull off make me jealous."
"Yeah, now we just have to tell Quetzalcoatl to throw it, and thankfully I have a custom spell for that. "Arturia it's time for dinner!"" He said as he fired up some magical firework. "And now we just have to wait."
"For how long?" Mash asked.
"Just a few seconds and here it comes," Merlin said as now they could all clearly see the massive axe come hurtling towards them.
"MERLIN!"
"Oops, my hand slipped," He said as he dropped the staff and it flew in the direction of the Blood Fort and the axe changed course before it hit them and smashed into the Temple.
And the second it did a flash of thunder was heard in the distance.
"Huh guess that did count as breaking the pact?" Merlin said in a questioning tone.
"SUICIDA! MERLIN I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Echoed the voice of Quetzalcoatl.
"Merlin you better hope we can beat Gorgon before Quetz gets here cuz I don't think we can stop her," Andy said.
"Don't think she will for the moment as she is keeping Kingu occupied now," Roman told them.
"Well in that case gogogo!" Andy said, kicking them all into motion and headed into the former Blood Fort and into the Temple.
And what they saw inside looked like something that was closer to that of an alien nest, pods that grew Demonic Beasts aligned the walls.
And inside, they could see how they were made, and that was putting humans into them and then converting them.
"God that is disgusting," Ritsuka said as they eyed the sacks filled with mutated people.
"Hello, fire my old friend." Andy sang as she began putting the poor things out of their misery as they passed by via flamethrower, since she was already fully armoured. "I've come to borrow you again. Because the monsters are made of people, and they shouldn't be in this steeple."
"Save that for later, Andy we need to beat Gorgon first before Kingu returns," Ishtar said. "Though now it is obvious she has gone too far, killing humans is one thing, but using them like this is too much even for her revenge."
"Right, right, beat Gorgon to save everyone, got it." Andy agreed, picking up the pace a bit as she stopped torching the tortured souls as they ran.
And a few seconds later they entered the main chamber.
"Oh hello Ms Medusa Gorgon Tiamat Queen Goddess Lady Person, you wouldn't happen to want to just talk this out?" Andy asked, just in case.
"Oh if it isn't the ants that I let go, and what is there to talk about? I shall have my vengeance on humanity, and there is nothing that can stop that," She spoke as she leaned her head down to look at them.
"You do realize that none of the people you want revenge on have even been born yet? And that with the time period, if you succeed here, you and your sisters will never be born, yes? And to be clear here, I'm not saying you don't deserve some kind of vengeance, just that this seems a little extreme considering?"
"And that is preferable, destruction is the only thing I desire because it is all that I have left, for the ones that worshipped us, the ones that banished us and demonized us died millennia ago," She said. "I will kill everything, trample everything, slay the whole world and die myself. That is what it means to be an Avenger. That is what I want. I will destroy Uruk… I will destroy every single human… For such is the level of hatred you humans had for me. But you human, you understand me. So if you embrace me and join me, I will keep you as my pet."
"Ha, no." Andy immediately denied. "As much as I want to help you as a person and show you human kindness, you aren't going to actually let me do that and are just gonna destroy the world. So, it is with a heavy heart that I say: BFG, mothafucka." Andy said as she pulled out the Claws already in the shape of said Big Freaking Gun and shot Gorgon right in the face with a massive ball of green plasma.
"Argh you insolent pest," Gorgon shouted as she recoiled back.
"Gorgon this is coming to an end now," Ana said as she removed the cap of hades, and was once again visible.
And Gorgon and got an eye full of her and she instantly began to panic and further scrambled back. "What are you, what are you? Get away from me, creature. Kingu! Kingu! Kingu! Where are you!" She shouted as her snakes went wild, but Ana quickly sliced them apart as she rushed towards Gorgon, who was screaming in a blind panic. "No, I can't die. I have to take my revenge, I have to take my revenge. I am Tiamat, I am Tiamat, I Tiamat or I should be: I can hear the voice, the voice of a sobbing mother… I am taking revenge in her place," But Gorgon stopped speaking as Ana with their help managed to stab her in the chest with what was obviously Harpe.
And it was instant death, as it was the ultimate Anti-Medusa weapon.
And the effect it had on the Blood Fort was instant as during the fight it had been damaged, and then the blade hit it broke further apart.
And soon after her large body began to fall to the ground, which had opened into a ravine that Gorgon and Ana fell into.
Andy tried to grab her, but she just rebuffed her as she fell. "I don't deserve to exist here," She said as she fell into the abyss, Andy falling to her knees and just staring down into it.
"Both of their Saint Graph readings have disappeared, and the Blood Fort is collapsing slowly," Roman told them.
"Senpai, you can still give it to her, she did a good job," Mash said.
"...Yeah," Andy said shakily, pulling the flower crown out from storage and holding it over the chasm like she was going to put it on someone's head. "Here you go, Ana. Medusa. Whatever you wanted to be called. M-made just for you." Andy choked down a sob. "You deserve it." She said before she dropped it.
"An offering of flowers? Yeah, she deserves nothing less," Ishtar said in sympathy as she placed a hand on Andy's shoulder.
"Andy, I know it hurts. But we need to get the… where is the Grail, I am not getting a reading on the Grail," Roman said in a concerned tone.
"Kingu," Andy said, her sobbing cut off by the realization, though she was still crying as she snarled. "Gilgamesh complimented him for having a better mana reactor than Enkidu. It has to be him." She said as she stood, shifting into demon mode as she did, Ahriman forming behind her from the sheer emotion she was feeling. "I'm going to rip it from his chest so we can be done here."
"Yeah, that must be true, she had the blessings of the grail, but not the grail itself," Merlin said, and at that moment Merlin said that Kingu broke through the ceiling.
"Mother!" He shouted as he looked at the area. "Dammit too late, damn that Goddess."
He wasn't able to say much else because a second later an absolutely seething Andy pounced on him, sparking with so much lightning she looked like a bolt herself as she proceeded to make the model for her armour proud and rip and tear away at the clay facsimile, trying to rip out his heart, his core, with animalistic fury.
And Andy found herself instantly bound in chains. "Why are you so angry?" He asked. "Ah, she died while killing Gorgon, didn't she?" He asked, while his fist collided with Ahriman and sent the Persona flying back to the ground. "Ah, that hurt, nifty ability."
"You. Grail. Core. Mine. NOW." Andy growled through gritted teeth as she continued to try and take it from him, one arm bursting free and Ahriman coming back around from behind to try himself.
But more chains were summoned up, and they were both bound. "Sorry, but it is not for you. You just had to kill her early didn't you? If you waited five, then it would have been perfect, but it seems that Mother is going to have to awaken earlier than planned."
At that, a gurgle came from Merlin on the ground, and Andy turned her head to look at the Wizard who was coughing up blood for no discernible reason. As the ground began to shake like an earthquake was happening. "Wizard of flowers, you put Mother in a cage of dreams to postpone her awakening. But when she fell asleep, she gave me the Grail and made me her first son," He was briefly cut off by the eye lasers via the Mystic Eyes of Fuck You, but he just continued. "Which meant that I had only one job: Find a way for her to wake up, and Gorgon was used for that."
"Dammit her senses were synchronized with the real Tiamat to gain Potnia Theron," Merlin said.
"Yes, and now she is dead. Her death reverberated back, and she was able to break the cage, and the backlash is now killing you, as you became revealed within her dream, and she crushed you. And now the Primordial Mother is awakening, the original sin of humanity."
"Everyone Sheba is detecting massive movement in the Persian Gulf, with many new life forms being spawned," Roman told them.
"Yes, that is the new humanity, Mother plans to replace you with, so this is goodbye met your end at the hands of your successors," Kingu said as he flew out and the chains that held Andy and Ahriman vanished and they fell to the ground.
Thankfully, the looming threat was enough to make Andy clear-headed enough to not chase Kingu, and instead, go over to Merlin and start both A. Using the healing spells she had on him, and B. pushing mana into him. "Mermer, mind explaining a bit while I make sure you don't die?" She asked.
"Sorry, but I messed up, and that isn't going to work. My Spirit Core was crushed. She has awakened, but she hasn't started moving, so there is still time to do stuff. Get to Uruk and tell Gilgamesh this. Tell him that one of the Beasts of the Counter Force, one that devours humanity, one that can only be beaten by the seven Grands, has roused from her slumber. The Sea of Life. The Primordial Mother. One of the Seven Evils of Humanity, and one of the Beasts of Original Sin is awake," Merlin said as he dissipated in golden particles. A singular Saint Quartz falling to the ground.
Andy picked it up and stood for a moment staring at the Quartz, before storing it away. "Semiramis." She said, whispering through the team scarf, "Is the King nearby?"
"Can't speak arghhh!" Came the scream of pain.
"Godspeed protocols, now," Andy said, dropping out of her armour and demon mode as she did to reduce her weight as much as she could, revealing her tear stricken face and the glow of a Command Seal disappearing, Astolfo summoning Hippogriff and said bird-horse being mounted immediately. "Ritsuka, are you coming too or arriving on Maanna?"
"Maana can keep up, you get on now," Ishtar said and as the boat grew in size and they followed Andy quickly as Ishtar burned her Nitro.
They raced over the forest and the wall where Quetzalcoatl jumped onto Maana, and in the span of five minutes, they arrived at Uruk. And they could see that many buildings were on fire. And Andy, with her enhanced eyes, could certainly see what was attacking, and it was disgusting.
"We need to get to the Ziggurat, the most people will have gathered there," Andy said. "Anyone who feels like jumping off and fighting the ones on the way, feel free."
"Staying with you Senpai."
"I'll go and try and eliminate as many as possible on Mainstreet," Parvati said as she jumped off, and so did half of Team Ritsuka. With him, Ishtar and Nezha going to the Ziggurat with them.
"And I'll go with you Andy," Astolfo said.
Andy, now, could only hope for the best.
