* Umineko – Mortal Stampede

* Rewrite – Frozen Soil

* Muv Luv Alternative – Ambush Attack

* Umineko – Mortal Stampede

From the very moment the Black Faction had made their entrance, Galahad had been moving toward Neo Helios. He understood well enough without asking Leo: since chances were Hatsuyo Toriyama would be over there, his Master was planning to go himself. Thus, it was only natural for his Servant to be making his way over to the floating temple as well.

However, that wasn't to say he had shaken off his opponents and ran away from battle.

Fergus was too stubborn to let him get away inthe first place and Ashurbanipal would not let go of a target. Hence, instead of a simple trip to the other side, it was more so that the battlefield moved with Galahad. On the other hand, should he really be calling it a battle? It was hard to say since his objective had changed: as far as Galahad was concerned, he was not trying to fight the two Servants of White as much as he was searching for Leo.

The direct consequence was that, instead of a mighty clash between legend, their battle had devolved into Fergus and Ashurbanipal trying to hold him in place.

"Come back here this instant!" An aggravated Ashurbanipal fired a barrage of golden threads but even those who hit him failed to leave any significant wound. The knight didn't slow down. "How dare you run away so shamelessly, Saber?!"

"...I'm not running away. I'm running toward." Galahad corrected.

"Do you think you can make a fool out of us?!"

Her chain slithered toward Galahad and eventually caught him by the ankle. Even so, he didn't feel trapped: if she intended to hold him back with force, then he would simply put more strength into getting away. In fact, even if she were to be stronger than him, that was no reason not to advance – so what happened was, instead of holding him back, Ashurbanipal ended up being dragged behind him.

" What is with this persistence?! Is he immune to mental attacks?!" She cursed while trying not to trip over.

"For once, I agree with her!" Fergus had caught up with Galahad and jumped onto his path to stop him. "Do you have any idea how frustrating this is?! We had a thing going on! I wanna fight more, I wanna fiiiight!"

His cries sounded more like a child's tantrum though. Galahad understood the concept of wanting to finish what one had started, so he could empathize with his to some degree. But Leo really was his priority in the end, so he didn't care about the warrior's feelings. It looked like Fergus wanted to grapple him to keep him in place, or perhaps he intended to push him back.

It didn't matter either way – trying to skirt around him was too much effort, so instead Galahad was the one who grabbed him and lifted him up. Somehow, he had ended up in a situation where he was dragging Ashurbanipal with his leg and holding Fergus in his arms, all while making his way toward his objective.

"Don't carry me! I'm not your bride!" Fergus shouted.

"...Okay."

Since that was what he was asking, Galahad tossed him aside into a street.

That was only a temporary setback for the warrior though: he came back with even more determination. Galahad truly wished they could be a little more understanding; he slowed down a bit, but it was only so he could used Ashurbanipal's own chain to pull her off the ground and throw her toward Fergus. She must not have expected it because she didn't offer any resistance and slammed into the warrior with a clangerous noise.

"Hey, take this a bit more seriously!" Fergus had been a bit more alert and had managed to catch her. "We were gutting each other just fine a minute ago, what happened?! Is that all our battle means to you?!"

"You're the one who needs to take this more seriously..." Ashurbanipal grumbled.

"Take this!" And, without an ounce of hesitation, Fergus hurled her back toward Galahad.

"I will have your head on a spike!" Veins popped all over her face.

She had had about enough being handled like a ball it seemed: the chain unwrapped itself from Galahad's ankle and returned to her. On the other hand, using the momentum given to her by Fergus' throw she swung her shortsword at the knight. Galahad effortlessly parried it with his shield; but although he had the occasion right there, he did not strike back. This was not a battle, after all. So instead, he jumped down from the roof and into the streets before she could attack again, and kept running.

This was not the first time, by the way. Even though the two Servants of White were unsuccessful in stopping him, it wasn't as though Galahad could underestimate either of them. He was trying to avoid confrontation in order not to waste time, and this meant that he would switch from the rooftop to the street and vice versa to keep going unhindered.

It had also forced him to make several detours as well. In the meantime, his opponents had come to understand his movements.

Ashurbanipal landed ahead of him inside the alley and drew back her bow. There wasn't enough space to get through anyway, so Galahad lept out. This was exactly what she had been counting on however: when the knight emerged, Fergus was waiting for him. This time, there was no time to defend himself – Galahad was struck in the head and sent flying. This wasn't going to stop him; he had barely felt anything, so as soon as he feet touched the roof he began sprinting again.

Unlike his opponents though, he was not adapting his strategy.

Ashurbanipal had learned from her previous humiliation and deployed her chain to bar his road instead of catching him. In general, it appeared both of them had realized it was easier to slow him down by staying ahead of him, rather than running behind.

Be as it may, he was still going to get through one way or another: avoiding the chain was simple enough as long as he was out in the open, the real issue was that Fergus was on the lookout for such occasions. On the other hand, if he focused his attention on the Celtic warrior, Arshubanipal could sneak around and attack from a blind spot. Both of them had radically different fighting style but they complimented each other well enough.

It wasn't perfect though.

As much as their respective tactics worked well together, they were still getting into each other's way sometimes. In that sense, it looked less like they were teaming up and more like they were taking advantage of each other. In those moments when the chain accidentally blocked Fergus or when the latter kept Galahad out of Ashurbanipal's view, the knight could break through with brute force.

Another thing that worked in his advantage was the difference between their goals. Fergus wanted to enjoy his fight against Galahad. Ashurbanipal wanted to eliminate Galahad. But as for the knight himself, he simply wanted to rejoin his Master. It was hard to eliminate him because he was constantly getting away (and tough enough to get through most attacks); it was also difficult to simply fight him because he felt no obligation to do the same. If Fergus was on the offensive, Galahad could fend him off with an attack. If he was on the defensive, he could just run past him.

It wasn't perfect either but thanks to this unusual situation Galahad managed to make his way to the other side of the Ark – however, it was as they approached the location of Neo Helios that something unexpected occured.

While the three of them were locked in battle, a shockwave threw them off balance and made the Ark shake. Or maybe that was only around the floating temple, as it was from the latter that it had originated. That was only guesswork at first, since Neo Helios was too low to be seen; but if the cracks spreading further into the city weren't convincing enough, a moment later a voice resounded:

"How long will I be made to wait?"

It was actually more like a vibration reverberating through Galahad's body and which happened to spell words. But no matter how unexpected and unusual the experience was, he couldn't possibly forget this voice.

"I accepted to follow that plan of yours the last time, but do you really believe I will simply stand by and watch? When there is such a gigantic waste of space trying to eclipse my radiance?"

The ground began to quake and, before soon, another shockwave came. These were not very dangerous for the three Servants, thanks to the fact that the Ark seemed to be taking most of the damage. But that very fact was also much more terrifying than if they had been the intended targets: all around them, faint cracking noises were echoing.

"It is nothing before me – I will not suffer to see it any longer."

And then came the third impact, more violent than the previous ones.

"Hey, is he seriously breaking our ship?!" Fergus looked around with confusion. "Isn't it indestructible?!"

"Do you really believe a mere human could make something that cannot be destroyed?" Ashurbanipal chided him.

"Well, I never managed to put a dent in it! That's tough enough to be indestructible!"

"It matters not what you believe – that vermin really is attempting to split our base in half."

"D'you think it'll sink?" Fergus looked at nearby fissures while stroking his chin. "It's not like this thing's supposed to be floating anyway, so maybe it will be fine..."

"You can ask your Master if you are so curious." She was starting to lose patience with him. "As for me, that is not something I wish to verify when it is already too late. If the Ark sinks, we will be stranded in the middle of an ocean, and then we will be fully at the mercy of the culprit."

Now that their home was threatened, the Archer and Saber of White had turned their attention away from Galahad. If he wanted to slip away unnoticed, now was his chance. Whether he would actually take it was a different matter though – simply because he belonged to a different Faction did not mean he was indifferent to this new imminent danger.

If the Ark sunk, it would affect everyone.

How much damage it would cause, he couldn't tell. But it didn't take a genius to realize that the worse case scenario could be the death of Leo and everyone else in the Red Faction. And even if they were somehow spared, the idea of it happening to the Black or the White did not making him happy either. Just as Fergus had said, the white ship was incredibly sturdy – if anything, the fact that Caligula couldn't break it after so many attacks was proof. It was only a matter of time against such firepower though.

Moreover, Galahad had not forgotten the tragedy of the Azores.

...

Leo, are you alright?

Saber?... I mean, I'm dead tired, but I'm fine.

Are you going the Black Faction's ship?

Actually, I was there just a moment ago.

So his intuition had been on the mark. However, it didn't seem like Leo was aware of what was currently happening, so he must have been far by now.

Is there a problem, Saber? I think I felt the ground shake a few times, but I can't tell if it's the ground or my legs...

...No, there is nothing wrong. My apologies, Leo: it will take me a bit longer before I can join you.

I'm holding up fine for now, so don't worry about me.

If Leo knew about what Caligula was currently trying to do, it would be a distraction for him. He had come here for his own reason, so the least Galahad should do was to make sure he didn't have to care about more problems. In the first place, it was something he as a Servant was supposed to take care of.

As long as Leo wasn't in the viscinity, that was all the knight needed to be at ease.

"..."

Wordlessly, Galahad walked between the bickering Servants of White and toward Neo Helios. Those two shot him weird glances though, and Ashurbanipal called out to him:

"What are you doing? Since you want to run away so dearly, you would better do it now." She scowled.

"...I'm going to defeat Rider of Black." The knight replied. "My Master is also in danger, so I can't allow him to do as he wants."

"And you believe you can do it? You too have felt that power just now, and you think you can match up to it?"

"...It's not a matter of believing."

Galahad was more or less aware of how dangerous Neo Helios could be despite having never faced it before. That was thanks to the information relayed by Maui after the battle in London – even without it, he knew what to expect from the mad emperor after their first encounter. In the Azores, fighting him on Diana Nemorensis had been an almost deadly experience.

It would certainly have been easier had he not needed to look after his Master, but the fact that Caligula would only ever fight on a terrain that advantaged him remained probably unchanged.

Thus, even if this was a different Noble Phantasm, he could expect the battle to be just as unbalanced. In fact, he might even be weakened on account of being a Divine Construct, just as he had been on Diana Nemorensis. Yet even so, he was going to take down the mad emperor. Not because he believed he could do it but because he had decided he would do it. Once he had an objective in sight, he did it no matter how ridiculous the odds.

That was how the knight Galahad functioned.

Besides, this was something he should have done a long time ago.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Fergus said before walking in the same direction as the knight.

"...I didn't ask you to come."

"I'm the one who should be saying that, y'know? This Ark belongs to my Master, so I can't let someone break it. And also, I still haven't had my fill of fighting strong opponents, so if you just go and die on your own, I'll be even more frustrated." Fergus winked at him, but Galahad really didn't understand what he was saying. Then, the warrior looked over his shoulder at his teammate. "How is that for you? As long as we kill the Servant inside that oversized bathtub, it should be alright, no?"

Ashurbanipal stared at Galahad for a moment, but eventually she sighed and came along with them.

"You are all too fast to make alliances, warrior." She grumbled.

"No, you're just too rigid."

"He is as much our enemy as the Rider of Black, do not forget it."

"You'd call me an enemy as well, so I don't really care." Fergus shrugged.

However, approaching Neo Helios was not as simple as walking up to it and knocking on the door. The shockwaves were not much of an issue as long as they were expecting them: Caligula only cared about the Ark, not those on board of it.

However, that was only until he noticed their approach.

"There are bugs buzzing around..."

The crevice where Neo Helios was stuck came in sight, but at the same time what appeared to be a rain of golden javelins erupted from it.

They did not pose much of a threat despite their impressive number: the trio could easily knock them aside and, when they did or when the projectiles missed their target, they dissolved into thin air. And if that seemed too easy to be true, that was because it had been nothing more than the first wave – the next thing to be spewed out of the fissure were golden flames.

Fergus and Ashurbanipal had to jump out of the way to avoid them, but not Galahad. The knight only had to raise his sword in front of him and the fire couldn't seem to approach him. This sword he was using to replace his lost Noble Phantasm was arguably more famous than the latter – it was known as the Sword of the Strange Hanging. And although he wasn't able to bring out its true power in his current Saint Graph, the sword still held the property to ward off heat and thaumaturgy.

Thanks to this, he closed the distance with the crevice in the blink of an eye and jumped inside without hesitation. He could now see the floating temple below but only had the time to behold it for a second – the next moment, he was violently blown away by an invisible force. It didn't feel like he had hit a barrier of any sort; on the contrary, it was as though he had been struck by a gigantic hammer.

"Whoa there!"

He flew right out of the crevice and almost slammed into Fergus before landing hard.

"...He didn't allow me on board."

"That ought to go without saying." Ashurbanipal was gauging Neo Helios from the edge of the cliff. "With a mobile fortress able to throw an endless onslaught of attacks in all directions, the most foolish thing to do would be to allow your enemies in."

But Galahad was not so certain about that. Considering the way Caligula operated, he would instead have though that the mad emperor was waiting for them to come in. After all, they were deliberately throwing themselves into his grasp.

The attacks coming from Neo Helios were not thaumaturgy, as otherwise they wouldn't be affecting Galahad. They were created by shifting the fabric of reality, a power that was only accessible to beings belonging to a higher plane – an Authority. Such an ability was probably not limited to the ship's surrounding, and so it made no sense for the emperor to keep his enemies away.

In fact, Galahad remembered Phaeton recounting how he had tricked Ravana into being trapped into the ship; at that time, Caligula had definitely gone out of his way to catch the demon king.

While running away and around streams of molten gold, the knight tried to think about what could possibly be different about the situation he was currently in.

With very little success, unfortunately: Galahad was admitedly not one to read too deeply into the thoughts of his opponent. He simply went out to defeat. On his quest for the True Holy Grail, he would have had rather leave such complexe excursion into the human psyche to Bors or even Percival. He could try to understand an opponent when he was clashing weapons with them; at such a time, a connection was made. But here there was no contact with Caligula, the latter was only attacking them mindlessly without paying them too much heed.

As though he did not really care about them.

...

As though he didn't care...?

Ah...

"...I see. We're bugs." He reached his conclusion.

"What are you blathering at a time like this?!" Ashurbanipal shot him a glance of annoyance and confusion while using her chain to repel a swarm of silver locusts.

"...He sees us as bugs, we aren't even a threat in his eyes. The only way he would allow us in was if he had personal interest..." Now that Galahad had made this connection, an imaginary light bulb lit up above his head. "...And he feels like a man who would keep grudges."

The knight had not quite worked out everything but there was one fact he was confident in: there existed a link between him and Caligula, and perhaps that was not a good memory in the emperor's mind. The Rider of Black was a deeply deranged man overflowing with bloodlust – if he had the occasion to take his revenge on someone, he would give in to temptation. What form that revenge would take, Galahad didn't know; but he knew how to make it happen.

Swiftly, he approached as close to the crevice as he could, after what he increased his spiritual signature. He knew his essence as a Heroic Spirit was unusual to begin with, so there was no way Caligula could be unaware of his presence.

And the mad emperor's reaction came without waiting: instead of another voley of weapons or destructive force, what erupted from within the fissure was a colossal arm – so huge in fact that when it grabbed Galahad, only the knight's head was sticking out.

Galahad calmly looked at the two Servants of White and said:

"...I'm going on ahead to scout the area."

He didn't have the time to hear their answer, for the arm immediatly pulled him down the hole. For a second, Galahad saw the absolute obscurity that filled the inside of the Ark; but his sight was filled with golden as he was pulled through the very roof of Neo Helios.

It was a very uncomfortable feeling; the only way to describe it was as though he was being dragged through thick syrup, except that the syrup was scaldingly hot. Heat wasn't an issue for him, but the fact he couldn't breath and that his nostrils were filled with the smell of burning plastic bothered him moderately.

It didn't last very long – eventually, Galahad was dropped inside of Neo Helios.

An inside which did not meet his expectations in the slightest.

Considering how the outside looked, as well as the fashion of Caligula's attack, Galahad would have though the inside was as much if not more lavish. The room he had been invited in was anything but. Actually, this wasn't even a room: he couldn't see any walls, floor or a ceiling.

All there was were... stars.

An infinity of pale dots floating in the middle of boundless darkness. The image that immediatly came to the knight's mind upon seeing such a beautiful scenery was a starry night sky. But the stars were not high above his head – he was floating among them. Below him – or was it around him? – there were spheres of much greater size moving in a circular patter around a sizzling ball of fire.

Galahad had found himself in front of a miniature Solar System.

And from within the Sun emerged a familiar figure. The emperor's face bore less madness than the last time Galahad had seen him; and yet, at the same time, it seemed to him as though his insanity had only increased.

Caligula raised his arm toward the knight, an open palm which he promptly balled into a fist.

"Pitiful doll wrought in divinity... Be crushed by a true god."

Chapter LXXXI: Pearl Puppet

* Rewrite – Frozen Soil

In another part of town, a small head was peeking out from a window with unease.

At the moment, Chris Mantel was hiding. Or rather, he was staying put at the spot where Ashurbanipal had hidden him.

He had very little idea what was happening across the Ark – he knew the Red Faction had arrived and, through his Servant's eyes, he had understood the Black Faction was also here. That was about it though. He was isolated from anyone else in the White Faction and didn't have the slightest idea as to how the situation was evolving.

For a little boy his age, these circumstances could cause nothing but fear and paranoia. Even if he tried his best to be confident and trust things would be alright, it would be a very short-lived conviction. After all, time was passing so slowly – agonizingly so. He had nothing to distract himself from the imminent yet unseen danger that could be lurking around every corner. He was too on edge to do anything anyway.

Incidentally, it wasn't strange for someone in his situation to grow anxious at the slightest sound that felt unusual. And creepy sounds, the Ark had plenty thanks to the wind whispering and moaning between the alleyways. It had gotten to a point where he was tired of being scared. If he could calm down even a little, he would be exhausted enough to fall asleep. Unfortunately, his unease was at an all-time high.

Because of the cries.

He had though he was imagining them at first (or that the wind was playing more tricks on him). As time had gone on though, they had gotten more and more distinctive, until he couldn't chalk it up to paranoia. There was someone nearby who was weeping without end, he was sure of it. And despite how much the thought scared him, Chris was still taking a look outside to see if he could spot them.

No luck so far though.

Eventually, he grew even more concerned: it sounded like it was a child crying. It wasn't so simple to discern but that was the impression he had; it could very well be someone around his age. He had no idea how another child could have ended up here (he thought his case was quite unique) and he couldn't decide whether he should go or keep hiding.

If it was a child like him, they might be lost or even hurt. Of course it was hard for Chris to ignore that possibility. But he wasn't so tired that he had forgotten why he had been shaking in his boots all day: it may very well be a trap. He had heard from his teacher about creatures who could imitate human speech to lure people to their death. And even if not a monster, a human or a Servant was just as much possible. Ultimately, he had just heard the cries, and as long as he couldn't see their origin it could be anything.

Still, it could be someone in dire need of help...

Maybe they were hungry. Chris had some supplies of water and food with him. It wasn't much but he could share it. Or he might get killed without ever touching to it.

"Hmmm... ugghhhh...!" His indecision made him fidget.

He didn't have all day to make a decision either: just as the cries had gotten closer before, they were now getting further away.

He only had a few seconds to make either the mistake of ignoring someone, or the mistake of not ignoring them.

In the end, this sense of urgency pushed him to listen to his heart and to be courageous: he briskly made his way out of the building and searched for wherever those cries were coming for. It took him a bit of running, especially for his short legs, but at least it was easy to tell in which direction to go. More sooner than later, he finally found what he had been looking for. It was right around that corner – a twinge of apprehension made him slow down the span of a second; but after swallowing with some difficulty, he steeled himself and peeked around.

"...!"

He was immediatly overrun by shock – there really was someone there! – and relief – just as he had thought, it was a kid.

More precisely, it was a blonde little girl.

"...U-ummm..."

Ladylee Vasilia had her back turned to him and hadn't heard him. Chris came out of hiding and got closer to her, but he was awkward all the while. How long had it been since he had interacted with someone his age? Or let alone met someone he didn't know? He wasn't very intimate with most members of the White Faction, that much was true, but he at least knew how he should interact with them most of the time.

"E-excuse me...! Are you... alright?" As he walked up to her, he announced his prensence so that she wouldn't be scared – who knew how effective that could be. "Are you hurt?"

She stopped dead in her tracks and the sobbing came to an end, but still she wouldn't turn around and face him. Be as it way, Chris was the one who reached out his hand and grabbed her arm as carefully as he could.

She didn't resist – he finally got to take a look at her face.

It was... very much what one could expect: red eyes and wet cheeks. However, as to describe what effect seeing her like this had on him, it was a bit difficult. Chris had not only had little interactions with other people lately – he couldn't pretend to have much experience interacting with the opposite sex. Perhaps that seeing someone who (seemed) perfectly harmless, at a time like this, finally allowed his piled up tension to dissipate. In any case, he forgot for a moment that he was in the middle of a conflict and that there were Masters and Servants roaming around. All he could feel right now was bashfulness.

If not for that, he would surely have felt something was amiss.

Even now that they could see each other face-to-face, Ladylee was not looking at him. Her eyes were staring blankly in his general direction, but not at him. She was hanging her head slightly and wasn't saying anything back. Chris decided that it was because of the shock and fear she had been through. When he looked down at her arm he was holding, and incidentally at her hand, he saw her Command Seals. It wasn't really a revelation; there were few reasons someone like her could be here.

And so, although he wasn't completely at ease, he had lowered his guard.

"T-there's somewhere we can be safe... Come on..."

He didn't want to feel like he was dragging her against her will but Ladylee still wasn't responding. That's why he pulled her along toward his designated hideout. 'Pull' wasn't quite right since she didn't oppose it. On the contrary, she was following him in silence. And since she had also stopped crying, Chris was comforted into thinking he had made the right decision.

"Umm, where is your Servant...?" He still tried to ask her a couple questions along the way. "Are they near...? Did you lose them...?"

"..." Unfortunately, it was still nothing but deadpan silence.

Well, once she'd have eaten something and drunk a bit, she would definitely be able to calm down. With that conviction in mind, he made his way back to the building in question.

Although, they never reached it in the end.

"What are you two doing here?"

Before they could get to his hideout, they found someone standing in their way.

Well, not just one person actually: they were no less than five, all of them faces Chris had never seen before. Chris could tell that at least two of them were Servants; the others had to be humans. That was terrifying by itself already but then the little boy noticed a black object in the hand of the man who had addressed him – it was a gun.

"You're walking around without your Servants and you're making such a racket too." Alexander Lendric said. "Do you have any idea what is going on around you?"

Indeed, that was something Chris should have realized much earlier: if Ladylee had been loud enough for him to hear, then anyone in the viscinity could also find her. The look in Alexander's eyes was hard, and it inspired nothing but dreadful thoughts to the little boy. Chris wanted to deny everything that man said – in fact, he wanted to deny having anything to do with this situation.

"I'm... no, we're not... that's not true..." He couldn't line up words properly however.

"Don't even think of pretending you aren't a Master." Alexander retorted harshly. "I know that girl over there, she's the heir of the Vasilia – and a Master of Red. But I've never seen you before. That can only mean you belong in the White Faction."

"..."

"Am I wrong?"

A terrible chill went through Chris' entire body. He didn't know why that man was glarring at him so, he just felt that he was in danger. In his panic, he really couldn't think of any way out of this. His survival instinct told him to run away but he was frozen in place.

And since he couldn't do anything by himself, his thoughts turned to who could help him.

Ladylee was just as helpless as he was.

Ivan could surely help him but Chris didn't have any way to call for him.

That left only one person.

But before the little boy could try to use a Command Seal, Alexander snapped his fingers – one of the people standing behind him disappeared. Where to? That was easy: Chris suddenly couldn't feel Ladylee's arm in his hand anymore. When he looked behind him, she was simply gone. And when he turned back to Alexander, there she was in Fuuma's arms.

Ladylee wasn't struggling – she wasn't reacting at all.

The shinobi put her down on the ground without violence, but Alexander put his hand on her shoulder with unambiguous intentions.

"Don't even think of calling your Servant here." He said while staring Chris in the eyes. "For your security, and especially hers, you don't want a conflict happening here. Who's to say what I'll do if I'm unhappy?"

"...!" Chris was at a loss.

He had simply gone out because he wanted to help Ladylee, so why had it devolved into a hostage situation? Was it his fault? He didn't know what to do. All he knew was what he couldn't do: just as Alexander had demanded, he didn't call for Ashurbanipal. But then what?

In the end, the one who reacted to this turn of event wasn't the little boy, but someone from Alexander's side: a middle-aged man who looked like he was in pain and spoke with a strained voice:

"Kid, what are you doing?" Bruno wasn't addressing any of the actual kids here; he was talking to his leader.

"I'm doing what I have to." Alexander replied. "I have my own share of responsabilities here, so I have to take things seriously. And that's what this boy is going to help me with."

"..." Chris wanted to say something along the lines of 'Me?', but he couldn't muster the word and simply pointed at his own face.

"It's very simple, don't worry." There was nothing comforting about Alexander's tone, though. "I'm going to ask questions and you're going to answer them."

"W-why...?"

"I ask questions, not you. You just answer them." There was no room for compromise. "First, are you really a Master of White?"

Chris nodded.

"Good. Now, what is your relationship with Ivan Pedilefey?"

"...!"

Now he was starting to understand. The mention of his mentor's name gave him an idea as to what Alexander's motivation was. The little boy wasn't oblivious, he knew that Ruler had asked for Ivan's head. But what did that mean for Chris? Even if he understood what was going on, what was he in a position to do?

"He's... my teacher." He admitted.

"What has he been teaching you?"

"M-magecraft."

"Are you from a line of magi?"

Chris shook his head.

"A civilian, huh? Then how comes you are being taught by him?"

"We met... by chance..."

"Do you have a family?"

"Uh? Yes...?" That was a question the little boy hadn't expected.

"And do they know that you're here? What you're doing?"

"..." To that, he was unable to say anything – he felt guilt biting his heart.

"So he's essentially kidnapped you." Alexander added.

"That's not true! Mr. Pedilefey would never do that!" For one brief moment, Chris forgot his fear in order to correct that injustice. "I-I'm the one who decided...!"

"So you say. Do you know what it means to have the illusion of a choice, kid? ...Well, I don't really care either way." The look in Alexander's eyes became harder yet. "But you do seem to have a high opinion of him, don't you? Do you trust him so much?"

Chris nodded, with more vigor than before.

"Maybe you weren't such a bad pick then." The man sighed. "Now then, tell me: what is Ivan Pedilefey's weakness?"

"...!"

There it was. Chris had expected a question like this would come eventually. Alexander only cared that he was a Master of White – he was asking him to sell his mentor out. Unfortunately for him, he had really chosen the wrong target for interrogation.

"I don't know." He tried to support Alexander's gaze. "I don't know anything about his powers. I don't know where he is. I can't tell you how to find him."

"Do you think you can lie so baldly to my face?!" But those words fell on deaf ears. "You know, I have no personal attachment to this girl, nor to you. I don't even need that information at all cost. If something happens to you before I can get it, well that's just too bad."

"B-but...!" Chris felt a cold sweat. Alexander's expression told he wasn't kidding and he was truly getting furious. "I really don't know...! I don't know anything..."

"Do you really think you can sing that tune after admitting how close you are to him? You can cry all you want, I don't care: you will answer me."

That was too unfair.

What was Chris supposed to do? He had told the truth in all earnesty but it didn't matter to that man. And now the latter could decide at any moment that he had had enough. And once that happened, whose fault was it? Was it the little boy's, since it was on him the fate of Ladylee Vasilia rested? But all he could do was tell the truth, regardless of whether it would be believed.

In reality, his resolution was as thin as paper. Alexander was glarring at him in silence, weighting down on him. And all Chris could do in answer was to moan the same words over and over, and to cry. He shed tears, not because of the pressure, but because of how unfair it all was.

Eventually, Alexander sighed.

"Well, I figured." His expression loosened a bit, although he was still in a sour mood. "There's no way a magus would share their weaknesses with their apprentice, especially not a kid like you. I guess that goes even for nutjobs like him."

"...what...?"

It took Chris longer than it should have to understand that Alexander had been toying with him, threatening and pressuring him for something he had know Chris couldn't have. That was even more unfair. Anger and hatred began flaring inside the little boy because of this treatment and Alexander's condescendence. He wanted to express it with words even if it meant insulting that man out loud, but he didn't need to: those feelings must have been showing well enough on his face.

Not that Alexander cared – he resumed his interrogation.

"Even if you don't know anything about it, it doesn't mean you can't be useful. Giving Pedilefey what he deserves can wait; what I want is to learn more about in this place. Since he's the one who made it, there has to be something special in it: something he wouldn't want anyone to mess with. Of course, you have no idea what that could be, do you?"

Chris only scowled back at him.

"But you're a resident of the Ark he so fond of, so there are things you must know. For example, any secret? Any hidden mechanism?"

"...I don't know..."

"Really? Then you don't know what's inside either?" Alexander tapped his foot on the ground. "Or... any way to get in?"

"...!"

Chris almost gasped out loud, for unlike before that wasn't a subject he was completely ignorant about. After all, did he not have a map made by the master of this place himself? It wasn't as though Chris could find the entranceway to the Ark's bowels by memory alone, but with the map it was a different story.

And as it happened, he had that very same map with him. Not only was it something important for him, it was also a tool that could come in handy when he was left to his own device, a time such as now.

And Alexander didn't fail to catch that change in the little boy's expression.

"So you do know something after all."

Chris hesitated but it was already too late: if Alexander was convinced, then he wouldn't let him get away without spilling the bean. Even so, his heart was telling him to deny it as strongly as he had to inorder to convince that heartless man. He couldn't betray Ivan's trust.

However, at the same time, an idea budded in his mind.

In the end, he told Alexander about the map.

"An actual detailed map?" Alexander couldn't hide his surprise. Nor his interest.

"I-it's a little confusing, but if you follow the path drawn on it, you can get inside the ship..."

"If you have something like that with you, give it to me." And as expected, Alexander held out his hand.

That was what Chris had been waiting for.

The map wasn't the only thing he had with him.

It may not have been much but he did have some manner of self-defense: a familiar he had made following the untimely death of Tsar Pushka. It was just as small and thus easy to dissimulate, and he could take it out quickly. It was shaped like a relatively large spider and had received the name of Sergei Eisenstein. It wasn't very impressive as a weapon; even if Chris had made it larger, he lacked the experience to make a truly strong familiar. But its bite could inject a paralyzing venom (it could even kill smaller creature).

In order to give Alexander the map, he would have to get closer; Alexander had no reason to suspect anything from him. When Chris would be close enough, he would have Sergei attack and, while Alexander was incapacitated, he would grab Ladylee and make a run for it. It was a bold plan and awfully dangerous too; there were four other people here including two Servants. But, simply, Chris was not thinking straight. There was the resentment from being manipulated by Alexander, of course. And the latter, by making exaggerated threats, had given the little boy something of a small sense of security – maybe he wouldn't truly attack them.

If bad came to worse and they didn't manage to escape, he would summon Ashurbanipal.

Chris took out the map while trembling harmlessly. He wasn't really acting though: despite the courage he had mustered, it was still a nerve-wracking plan. While taking out the simple sheet of paper with a hand-drawn plan of the Ark, he prepared Sergei as well.

He had never done something like that before. So, even as he began walking toward Alexander, he didn't know if he had done anything right.

The best way to not get anxious was to not think too much about it – that was how adrenaline helped.

"It really is a map..." Alexander caught a glimpse of it while it was still in Chris' hand.

His guard was lowered.

Now was the time.

* Muv Luv Alternative – Ambush Attack

Before Alexander could grab the map, Chris unleashed Sergei – the spider familiar lept onto Alexander's arm and nimbly crawled up to his neck.

"What...!" Alaxander flinched and recoiled.

Using this opportunity, Chris proceeded with his pland: he grabbed Ladylee's hand and turned around without looking back. Just like before, the little girl didn't oppose any resistance, even if she had trouble keeping up with his running pace.

"Get away from her!" He heard Alexander shout behind them, but of course he wasn't going to listen to that.

However, that was Chris' mistake.

Because he had such a small window of opportunity to escape, the little boy had fled before he could witness his familiar's work. The truth was, Sergei had not biten Alexander at all – Fuuma had grabbed and crushed the spider before it could do any harm. And that was something Alexander had full trust in his Servant for – then, why had he reacted the way he had?

When Alexander had flinched, he had not paid attention to the spider (if he had ever noticed it). Instead, he had looked at his hand; the same hand he had held Ladylee with. It was a coincidence in timing and Chris had been too busy to care about such a detail. However, had he taken a better look at Ladylee, maybe he would have noticed the blood on her shoulder.

When Alexander shouted to him to get away, it wasn't a threat: he meant to warn him.

Suddenly, Ladylee stopped – and the next second, Chris was lifted off his feet. With a prodigious strength he wouldn't have expected from her small body, the little girl threw him to the ground. Pain spread through his entire body and the air was knocked out of his lungs. But even greater than the pain was his confusion; he didn't understand what had happened.

When he opened his eyes and looked at her, his confusion was replaced by horror.

Thinking about it, he had assumed from the start that Ladylee was his friend (for lack of a better word). After all, he had come out of hiding specifically to helpi her, and he had even taken great risks to save her from Alexander. It had never occured to Chris that, since the little girl had never said anything to him or even looked at him, he might as well not have existed to her.

Well, now she was looking at him for real.

Her eyes were glarring with a fearful spark, the look of someone who had identified an enemy. There were thorns sprouting out of her body and piercing through her clothes; at first he thought them to be made of metal, but that deathly pale white was more characteristic of bones. And finally, there was her mouth – her charming face was split in half by a nightmarish maw dotted with long, sharp teeth.

It was so absurd and sudden that, at first, Chris didn't recognize her. He wondered where Ladylee had gone to and who this monster in her place was. By the time the pieces started falling in place in his head, Ladylee opened her mouth wide and pounced on him.

"Don't stay there, move!"

Help came from the most unexpected place: Alexander rushed forward and crouched down next to Chris to shield him. Ladylee's teeth sank into the man's arm instead of her intended target; but far from pulling away, she doubled down and started chewing on it furiously, turning it into a mess of torn flesh and blood.

"Assassin...!" With a voice strangled by pain, Alexander called for his Servant. With his other arm, he pulled Chris in.

Fuuma had not waited for his order though; already he had grabbed the little girl by the hips and tried separating her from his Master. There was some hesitation in it, as doing so was harming Alexander's arm even further, but it couldn't be helped since Ladylee was getting more savage by the second. By now, she was howling like a feral creature and struggling like one too.

But before soon, another roar became mixed in – a low rumble at first, which quickly became louder than Ladylee.

"What are you doing to Lily?!"

Alexander cursed under his breath and reacted fast: dragging Chris with him, he hurriedly moved away.

A second later, a fisherman made a groundshaking landing right next to Fuuma and Ladylee.

In all honesty, Maui had expected to find Ladylee very quickly. After all, with the human compass known as Laurent, it was just a matter of catching up to her – and how far could those little legs take her in this much time?

As it turned out, very far.

Maui had ended up crossing half the Ark in search of her small Master. The fact that the little girl didn't answer when her two friends called her out loud did not help pinpointing her location; there had been the fear of passing right by her and missing her.

During their trip, Maui had been able to tell things were starting to shake up around the battlefield.

Or was it just her gut feeling?

There was something strange floating about the air and it felt like an omen of disaster. Up here on the Ark, there was the smell of the sea and its familiar cold breeze but there were no birds flying around. She wasn't so superstitious that she would let that feeling nag her into panic, but she wasn't dumb enough to ignore her instinct either.

She had to find Ladylee quickly and keep her under safety.

Thankfully, this wasn't some wild goose chase and it was only a matter of time – Laurent said he felt that Ladylee was close. After that, Maui heard screams. Not shouts of pain or distress: battlecries the likes of which had their place in a heated fight. But even if it was very unusual, there was no way the fisherman wouldn't recognize her little Master's voice.

What circumstances could lead Ladylee to utter such cries?

Rather than imagine it, Maui hastened and bolted toward the origin of the noise.

What she saw when arriving doesn't need to be described. However, the lack of a context twisted her perspective so much that what she saw was different. She discerned the small silhouette of Ladylee trapped in the grasp of an assassin clad in shadows – and upon getting closer, she spotted the blood on the little girl's clothes. From there, her brain stopped thinking, having reached the obvious conclusion.

"What are you doing to Lily?!"

With a wrathful howl, Maui stuck her feet in the ground next to the assumed aggressor. Everything other than what was in front of her eyes might as well not have been there. And finally, without waiting for any excuse or explanation, she slammed her fist into Fuuma with all her might. The sheer impact forced the shinobi to let go of his victim and he was sent flying like a ragdoll.

Maui then dropped Laurent (who she had still been carrying until then) and bent forward just in time to catch Ladylee. Having finally found the little girl and holding her in her hands, still warm with life, appeased Maui for the span of a moment. It recomforted her so much in fact, that she didn't realize what was happening to Ladylee's body. But thinking about the peril she had just found her in ignited the fisherman's anger once again.

And it didn't take long for her to find a culprit – looking through the crowd gathered ahead, she recognized Chi You's Master. From there on it was simple to guess who these people were. When her eyes fell on Alexander, she also recognized him as the Master of the Servant who had just mistreated Ladylee.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Maui cracked every bone in her knuckles and her neck. She stepped toward the leader of the Black Faction with rage barely controlled. "How low are you ready to stoop to go as far as attacking children?!"

"That's slander." Alexander tried to keep his composure, which was no simple feat when a force of nature was stomping in his direction. "I haven't attacked anyone here. On the contrary, I found the little Vasilia heir on her own with someone from the White Faction and rescued her. We're allies after all."

"Don't open your mouth if all that comes out is shit!" Maui clenched her teeth so hard veins popped all around her temples and her forehead. "Do you think I'm dumb? I saw how much you care about that alliance when you didn't show up to do your part! What, it was too dangerous for little cowards, so you only came once we already had a foothold here!"

"..." Alexander didn't retort. From the troubled face he made, she must have struck a chord. "Well, I suppose it's too late to care about that. No matter the case though, I'm not planning to fight you here. You've already laid my Servant flat."

It would have been generous to call it a fight. Just as he had said, Assassin was struggling to even stand up after the blow he had taken. Other than the shinobi, there was just a bunch of humans and a Servant so weak she could be overlooked. If Maui followed through with her emotions, it would be a one-sided slaughter. That didn't mean she had any sympathy for them, however.

"And you thought I would let you slip away at your convenience?" By now, she was towering right in front of Alexander. The little boy by his side was frozen with terror. "I'm not letting you off with just a few broken bones – you're gonna learn to cry and beg for your life!"

"This is why I can't stand unreasonable people." Alexander sighed, although it came out as a strange rattle. "Rather than me, the one you should tame is your Master, you know that?"

"...?"

Maui didn't get the time to ask what he meant: the same cries she had heard earlier, Ladylee's wild screaming, resounded again. In the fisherman's head, those meant the little girl was in danger – hence her confusion. When Maui turned around and looked at her two Masters though, the absurdity of this sight stunned her mind blank.

While she had been busy channeling her anger toward Alexander, Laurent had been taking care of Ladylee. He had to be just as relieved as her, especially since he had been the one supposed to look after her. But when Maui looked at them again, she didn't see a tearful reunion between master and butler – all she saw was the color crimson. Laurent was crouching in front of Ladylee, seemingly in an embrace; but the little girl wasn't hugging him. She was sinking her teeth into his neck and her fingers into his arm. Everywhere she touched him, a red hue was spreading.

"Milady...?" As for Laurent, he was in a stupor.

He was too shocked to react or fight back. This was in contrast to Ladylee who was energetically biting down on him. Someone had to react though: Maui stopped caring about Alexander and the Black Faction entirely and she rushed over to her Masters. But when she grabbed Ladylee and wanted to pull her away from Laurent, the little girl resisted with all her might. It was worse than trying to remove a leech, because in this specific case Maui had to look out for the leech as well.

"Lily, calm down! Lily!"

At any rate, she wouldn't come off Laurent without using force, in which case there would be even more damage. Laurent was already weak, he couldn't afford to be mauled to that extent. And though Maui was naturally worried for him, she also didn't want that little girl to wake up and find out she had killed her friend.

But other than plucking her away, there weren't many options – should Maui knock her out? The best way to make her calm down might be to let her sleep for a bit. But this fisherman couldn't trust her own strength to not harm Ladylee – and even then, she couldn't imagine laying a hand on her.

In that case, there was one solution left. Maui still didn't understand what was going on or why Ladylee was acting that way, but there was one thing she knew for sure: Maui herself would in no danger even if Ladylee went all out on her. The best way to get her off Laurent without turning it into a struggle was to make the little girl switch target.

But how was she supposed to achieve that?

"Ha–mh!"

Since the little girl was acting feral, it was only natural to do the same in order to gain her attention. For that reason, Maui bit the nape of Ladylee's neck. It was very harmless bite of course, all she wanted was to get an overreaction from her. It was working at least a little: bony thorns emerge around her neck to fend Maui off, but the latter just ignored them. She pretended to chew on her neck a bit to rouse Ladylee's sense of danger a bit.

This time, it worked a little too well: Ladylee let go of Laurent on her own and proceeded to leap onto Maui with a vigor she had never displayed before. She was like a wolverine, using her small body to her advantage in get around and attacking furiously. At that time, Maui noticed that not only had her teeth gotten awfully sharp, her hands had also transformed to grow claws and hair, and even cat's pads.

Even then, neither swipes nor bites managed to penetrate Maui's skin, so it was just a matter of settling her down.

Which turned out to be an ordeal because the little girl just wouldn't stay put.

She climbed up and down the fisherman's body, biting everywhere she could and refusing to be caught. It was a wonder how she could have enough energy to pull that off. It was just a matter of wriggling and twisting her body around for Maui, and eventually she managed to grab the feral little girl and hold her in one place. No matter how hard Ladylee struggled, she couldn't escape the fisherman's grasp.

"Calm down, Lily. Everything's alright now." While she squirmed in her arms, Maui whipered into her ear softly. "There's no more danger – I'm here with you."

Did those words get through to her?

Her little Master was in such a frenzy, perhaps she couldn't hear anything.

"It's me. Don't you recognize me?" Maui pleaded. "Sorry, I'm so late. But I'm here now. We came to find you with Laurent, so everything's alright. Everything's gonna be alright..."

She couldn't tell how much time passed like this. Little by little, her words seemed to have an effect. Ladylee was fighting with less energy and, eventually, she stopped moving. When Maui loosened her grasp however, Ladylee jolted violently.

"It hurts...!" She lamented with a small voice. "It hurts... help me...hic... it hurts..."

Maui held her Master in front of her and took a good look at her face finally. It was wet with blood and tears, her eyes were brimming with pain. She wasn't wounded anywhere, yet it was easy to guess what could be so painful: the protusions and mutations all around her body had not disappeared. Those were not meant for a human body, let alone a frail child. It was also probably the first time she ever did such a thing – she was paying the price of going overboard.

In answer to her pain...

"Don't cry." Maui said firmly. Now wasn't the time to let their emotions get the better of them. "Lily, you have to focus. Please, calm down and listen to what I say."

Maui had no idea how her Master's ability worked. However, it was clearly one method of shapeshifting – as it happened, Maui was no stranger to it, even if it was probably not the same technique. There was something universal to changing shape and body: no matter what method was used to reach a point B, it was always the same to return to point A.

If she was wrong and this wasn't Ladylee's doing, then she wouldn't know what to do. But it her hunch was right, then there was something she could teach her.

"Think about your body. Your usual, normal body. Remember how it feels like." This was a hard task for someone at such a young age, but it would never be easy until she had done it first. "Imagine that you're looking at yourself in a mirror. If you can do that, then you have to wish you were back inside that body. You have to want it really hard."

"It hurts... I can't..." Ladylee was trembling with pain.

"You can do it. Ignore the pain. In your normal body, there is no pain." Maui encouraged her as best as she could. "I'm here, so you don't have to be afraid. Just focus. When this is over, we'll be together again like before, all three of us."

But the truth was that Maui couldn't do anything more for her, only nudge her on. The only one who could save Ladylee at the moment was Ladylee herself. That was why Maui decided to remain strict as a teacher would: if she only accompanied that girl with kindness, she wouldn't find the courage.

And Ladylee gave it her best effort.

The first to disappear were the protuding bones; they had to be the ones causing the most pain and they were an oddity for any living being. It was most likely easier for her to get rid of what hadn't existed on her regular body. On the other hand, modified body parts were a matter of remembering the feeling of a human body. It could be a problem if the shapeshifter became confused but that was an issue faced by those who had spent too much time transformed – it was Ladylee's first time, so the memory of being a normal human was strong.

The large feline claws shrinked and their fur disappeared, leaving place to five short, thin fingers.

Her overgrown teeth lost their sharpness and decreased in size until they could all fit in her mouth.

Eventually, Maui was looking at the same Ladylee she knew and loved. But there was one part that could never return to how it had used to be: the little girl passed her arms around her Servant and hugged as tightly; her face was buried against Maui's chest as she cried all the tears in her body.

"Hic... hic...!"

"Everything's fine now. You've been brave~!" Maui gently patted her small back.

"Everyone... everyone was gone... hic... I was all alone and... and... ... ... don't leave me... don't leave me behind... I just want to be with you and Laurent forever..."

.

"That's... not possible..."

.

"...!" Hearing Laurent's voice all of sudden reminded Maui that he was here to. "What are you saying, slave d– Hey!"

She had also forgotten what sorry state he was in. She wanted to inquire about what he had just said but when she looked down at him, Laurent had vacant eyes and was pale like a ghost. The fisherman had been so preoccupied with the Ladylee emergency that her other Master had found the time to lose consciousness from blood loss.

"H-hang in there! I don't want to deal with two crisis back to back!"

* Stop music

Needless to say, Alexander and his group had not wasted any second to get away while Maui had to deal with her Master. In the process though, Alexander had also brought Chris with him and was carrying the boy over his shoulder. This did not make Chris happy in the least, but the events which had just transpired had been so wearisome that he didn't voice it.

The group wasn't advancing very fast because of Bruno , who needed support to walk properly. Nonetheless, once they had put a certain distance with where they had met Maui, Alexander dropped Chris.

"You should go hide somewhere for the rest of the day. If someone else finds you, they might not be as generous as I am." Alexander turned his back and walked away. "Kids should act like kids and stay out of what's beyond them."

That part, however, made Chris feel like getting vocal.

"I-it's not beyond me! I can deal with it like any adult!" He said while putting his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest. "I decided to be here, so don't treat me like a kid!"

"As if. Who do you think you're kidding – we've all been kids once. Kids make stupid decisions. And it's not that easy to stop being one." Then, Alexander looked over his shoulder and flaunted a piece of paper at Chris. "At any rate, thank you for this."

"Ah...!"

Chris reached into his pockets but couldn't find the map. It had been in his hand when he had tried to run away with Ladylee; but he hadn't noticed that Alexander had snatched it while carrying him away.

"So long, kid. You better look after yourself, I think you really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

And Chris could only watch them walk away powerlessly. He should probably be happy that, after everything that had happened so far, he was getting away with his life. However, all he could think about was that he hadn't managed to achieve anything. In the end, he had just been made fun of.

"I'm not... useless..."

Saying words only he believed, he clenched his fists.

Thank you for reading.

Chris is having a bad day.

~Legends Storyteller